by Kalyn Crowe
She rolled her eyes. "Rhys will help unless he can't."
"How do you know?" I said.
Conrad and Eda exchanged an amused look.
"What?"
Leyla answered. "Are you kidding? You catch him outside with your bed hair and tight little jacket on. I'm surprised he could talk."
I smoothed my hair. "I don't know." His smile, that uncertainty when he claimed he was only some guy with eyes for the girls — his real disguise. "I don't know," I said again. "I mean, I was a jerk."
"Even better, then!" She batted her eyelashes.
My cheeks went warm, but not from what she said.
"If that's settled, let's get ready." Conrad stood. "Oh, and Meredith?"
I looked at him.
"Ask Rhys if he saw Bora deliver the disk as Gunnar said he told him to do."
✽✽✽
The closer we came to the middle of Pinnacle, the more vertical the city became. Buildings shot skyward, even taller than the ones near the train station. Even still, always the High Hall stood above.
Foot traffic on the streets grew thick. Still, once again, everyone flowed around Conrad and me.
Leyla trailed behind but stayed close in our wake.
Kepi stirred in the bag.
"The next turn is Mainway," said Conrad. "If it were empty, you would see it runs straight through the city. The larger section is behind us, all the residential buildings, shops, and storehouses. In front is the military, religious, and parliamentary buildings."
We rounded a corner tower.
I stopped dead.
The road branched open. It flowed around the foundations of five enormous obelisks. The most massive of which shot straight skyward. Two smaller ones jutted from either side of this central tower's base — both at impossible, mirrored angles.
Carved and curved buttresses filled the space between the central and side wings. Their lines swept and connected like ant tunnels. They also formed airy structural wedges between the last two obelisks. These laid horizontal along the ground, one on either side of the other three towers. Silver capped the long edges of all five of the incredible structures.
Conrad said, "The middle tower houses the meeting areas, courts, and records. The wing along the ground on the right is the invokers'. The left is the templars'."
"Is anyone in the angled ones?"
"Those are mostly the offices." He gave me the slightest nod. "There are also libraries, meditation rooms, and residential areas. The hospital is in the rear of the main tower." He pointed near the top of the central obelisk. "I'll be there today, giving my reports on the attack and Ansgar."
"What area is that?"
"The Theocratic Council chambers. Above are the High Lord's office and living space. As I briefly mentioned before, he's gone, but I'm hoping for a big audience."
"That doesn't seem like you, Uncle."
He chuckled. "It's for the best."
I turned around. The streets shot out in five directions from the hall. "They sure like the Rays."
"And think, the Maw of Abyss sits behind the Hall."
I sucked in my surprise. "Will we see it?"
"Perhaps." He glanced at my bag and then motioned us forward.
A grand fan of stairs tapered into a two-story set of arched doors. They stood ajar, but this allowed for an eight-person-wide entry into a lofty hall.
Three staircases cascaded over the vast, far wall. One rose straight to the central tower for at least three floors with the same tapered shape as the front steps. The other two arched off either side to the offices.
Everything echoed the exterior's smooth white and silver motif. Pale silk curtains lined the walls between suspended orbs of light. Overhead, more voluminous lights floated in the peaks of the high ceiling. Their light oscillated between a hint of pink and green like all the other lights here. Not steady like the Sleigh's horses' starlight, just as Conrad said.
Groups of chairs and small couches filled with people pattered the shiny floor.
A vicar with a tray of drinks walked toward us.
This place wasn't a waiting room; it was a ball.
I took one of the tall glasses. "Thank you."
He moved his hand in a half-circle before him, like a tiny bow.
Another silenced vicar.
I looked at Leyla, head still bowed, no drink.
Conrad sipped at his glass with palpable frustration. "Half of these people won't see any help today."
"Who are they?"
"They are almost entirely not vicars or Order, but regular people here for witnessing trials, registering land or titles, and licensing. Some even issue well-structured complaints," he said.
"Who are they here to see? I thought the vicars handled all day to day civil matters at chapter houses."
"Low-level invokers handle paperwork like licenses for Anima use or magic items. The Theocratic Council oversees different legalities via subordinates. The luckiest new templars get sent to settle disputes like where to build a fence on land borders. Those sorts of things."
"And the lucky hunters?"
"Local enforcement sometimes needs oversight or assistance. Everyone wants information." He finished his drink and set it on a nearby table. "This dispersal of Order resources is why there are local Order buildings. However, it is all orchestrated from here."
I set my glass with his.
He took us to an overly ornamented counter of sorts. Its top came shoulder high. Two invokers who might have passed for, or were, twins sat on something tall behind it. They loomed over us.
"How can we assist you, our Lord High Hunter?" they said in unison. They touched their chests and dipped their heads.
The more masculine one said, "Our apologies, and our thoughts and prayers for your Arm. Such a tragedy." They looked sad but removed from actually feeling it.
Conrad cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I am doing everything I can for my people and our High Templar. I'm here to give my report."
"We can escort you immediately," the other said.
"I know the way, thank you. My niece has taken a particular interest in Ansgar after he saved us. I wish to send her with her assistant to the templar wing so she might learn more about him while I'm in my meeting."
"What a wonderful idea. We, of course, still need a sponsor." The second one smiled and interwove their fingers.
Conrad looked over.
"Rhys Fortier offered to sponsor me," I said. "I hope this will be sufficient."
"Oh, yes, yes." The first checked something. Papers fluttered, hidden behind the high bar. They lowered down and whispered something barely more than a breath. A green light glowed upward, and the turn of pages flapped incredibly fast.
Then stopped in an instant.
They said, "Ah, he's an apprentice, but one with four years under his belt. Yes. Please feel free to sit while we call him." They indicated a set of satin chairs.
We walked over, and Conrad said, "Good then, I'm off, but Nancy if Rhys doesn't come, wait here. Either way, in two hours, meet in the resource library on the twelfth floor of the central tower."
"All right."
"Leyla will know where it is." He squeezed my shoulder and strode off.
I sat and set the bag to one side.
Leyla continued to stand.
"Please." I patted the cushion on the other side of me.
She happily alighted beside me.
"Sorry, I can't get used to the expectation I ask you to do things."
She shrugged.
"How long do you think Rhys will be? I mean, if he shows up?"
She opened both hands, shrugged again, and pulsed the first hand.
It took me a second. "Ten or fifteen minutes?"
She nodded.
A half-hour went by.
"So, what does this mean?"
Leyla sniffed and blinked like she woke up.
I giggled.
"Nancy and Ley—? I mean, Lady Nardovino?"
; We stood up and turned around.
Rhys nervously straightened out his damp hair and shot us a big grin. He came closer.
The scent of soap still hovered around him.
"Apex, I'm sorry, they got me up, and then they said who it was, and I…" He sighed and pulled at his shirt.
He fastened it one button off, so the bottom hung lopsided, and left collar pushed up under his chin.
"Young Lord Fortier." The first of the twins from the desk came over. "It would do you well to respect Lady Nardovino's time. Even with your delay, you still look a mess."
Rhys blushed. "Sorry, Invoker, early morning patrol, and all that. Let me get to, uh, hosting." He bowed. "Ladies."
"She is a single person," the Invoker said.
Rhys didn't look at them but said, "What did you hear?"
"The plural. There is but one, Lady."
I stepped forward. "If it would please you, Invoker, I would like to start my tour and see the High Templar's accomplishments."
They swallowed. "Of course, Lady Nardovino. Do enjoy your stay." They retreated behind the gaudy high desk.
I still scared people. Others avoided Meredith, but Nancy intimidated them. I realized then that both felt hollow.
We left the lobby through the beautiful stone doorway into the templar wing.
"Thanks for that," Rhys said.
"No problem."
"So, what can I do for you, Ladies?" he said with a silly smirk. He walked backward, so he faced us.
Another templar came down the hall.
I didn't warn Rhys.
They bumped shoulders. "Watch it, Fortier." She strode by in her polished breastplate and leather pants.
"Don't be jealous," he called.
Leyla and I exchanged little smirk of our own. "Friend of yours?"
"No, but I'd be jealous of me right now, off duty, tour guide to you two." He stretched. "Is this what I get for snooping?"
Leyla silent chuckled.
I said, "It is." I smiled. "I'm calling in that favor you offered."
He opened his arms and bowed. As he rose, he pushed back his hair. "All ready, eh?"
"We need to see the archives."
He finally stopped his ridiculous back peddle. "They said you wanted to tour the memorials and medals room for the High Templar."
"Sort of, I want to see if there's any reason he didn't arrest the Weaver, Philomena."
He halted. "So, all right, but this is snooping." He leaned in. "It's my ass if we get caught."
That put it mildly.
I adjusted my hat. "Conrad thinks she studied the disks; historically, I mean. We want to know if Ansgar disappeared on accident or not."
He smiled. "Historically. Good word." He tapped his lip, looked at Leyla, and then me again, and lit up. "Ah, so Nardovino must think the Chimeras and disks share a link."
I tightened my mouth into a line. Conrad hadn't said as much, but it made so much sense.
He folded his hands behind his head with another smile. "Why else work with the Voclain Ladies? By the way, your uncle could formally request to see the file, you know, legally?" he said.
I crossed my arms. "Farago is in charge right now; she and he don't exactly see eye to eye." I bit the inside of my lip. "And, well."
He closed his eyes. "I know you couldn't wait to see me again."
Leyla's shoulders wiggled.
I sighed. "I wouldn't mind a peek at Farago's logs."
Leyla blinked and opened her mouth.
I shrugged. "I'm just, well, double-checking."
He pulled at his collar, but as he lowered his hand, his expression turned confident, eager. "Not like my training hasn't been mostly sneaking around anyway."
"Thank you," I said.
He motioned for us to follow and walked down the hall. "You know, I met you six, only six hours ago. You're lucky that I'm so trusting." He smiled over his shoulder.
14 - Between Isles
We entered another much smaller, dimmer lobby.
Templars picked up their mail and other papers from a grid of floor to ceiling numbered boxes.
It reminded me of the mailroom back at school except, like everything else, this was much bigger. A sliding ladder stood a story and a half tall for the highest boxes. What I assumed was the clerk's desk sat empty in the middle.
Rhys slipped behind it and then checked a box in the grid off to the side. He shrugged and walked toward the exit on the far side.
An older man who read a scroll stopped a moment and nodded in greeting.
I dipped my head in return.
We left the lobby and entered a wood-paneled hallway with archways to six more paths. No one walked any of them.
Even with the emptiness, a veil of mourning fell over the wing.
The templars thought Ansgar was dead. But no one knew how, or with any certainty, so frustration tinged the reserved quiet.
The mix set me on edge. I was there. Part of me wanted to shout Ansgar was alive, and how dare they do nothing. Another part hoped no one would ask about what happened.
At the end of the hallway, we passed through another set of double doors. Twice my height, these wooden gates held intricate carvings. Templars and invokers battled Abyssites. By comparison, each creature looked twice the size of the one at Hunter Headquarters. Cavernous twists and turns wound around as a backdrop to the battle. Signs of wear adorned the brass handles and some figures.
"Oh, I should tell you our High Templar commissioned this after the war. It's to remind us that even small duties prepare us for greater battles." Rhys scanned over it.
"Or it could always be worse?" I said.
He chuckled. "That, too." He tugged the handle and, with a grunt, opened the door. "I think it's also to remind us everything takes effort."
Leyla silently giggled.
We entered what might have passed for a small library, except every book looked the same.
Rhys picked up one from the shelf to our right and motioned around the room. "These are the rules." He held it up and said, "This is one of five codebooks to understand the rules," then flicked through it.
Columns of text covered each page.
I looked around again. "So, this room is essentially the Templar Code?"
He replaced the book and made sure it lined up with the others. "Basically. Didn't they show you the hunter rules?"
"We got a bit sidetracked."
He frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize the attack came so soon."
"Right after Bora left with the disk Conrad had." I crossed my arms. "She was waiting with Duri and Ansgar when we got to HQ."
"Interesting, but do you think she knew High Templar Ansgar wouldn't take the disk himself?" He walked to another door and pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket. Gems glittered along their edges.
I looked at Leyla and raised an eyebrow, but said to Rhys, "I didn't think about that."
He said, "You know, Gunnar sent me to make sure the disk got back to the High Hall and then went to the Hunter HQ. It surprised me when Bora and Duri returned to the Reliquary without Ansgar. Gunnar said it would be all of them."
So, I didn't have to ask him after all. He volunteered that information.
I smiled at Leyla.
She kept a regular parchment and pen on her and wrote something quickly. After she smiled back, she pointed to the keys Rhys held. "Anima coded."
Rhys added, "These work like a Weaver seal by repelling the tumblers farther than the teeth would."
Leyla tapped my shoulder and pointed to her paper. "Unpickable locks."
So they replaced Weavers with fancy imbued keys and locks for security like this. "I see now why the Order doesn't want Weavers in colleges. They are trying to replace them with something more, well, manageable."
She lifted the pen, scratched away, and then tapped it. "Something less amazing."
I couldn't help but smile, and well, blush.
Rhys stood by the door. His face gave away his con
fusion.
"Can I see those keys?" I said.
He handed them over.
I took them, surprised at no follow-up question.
Each key wore an Anima coded edge on the teeth. No doubt, these corresponded to the same sequence on the tumblers in the lock. I wouldn't call a lock like that 'unpickable' for a Weaver. If it were a single Anima, it would be too easy.
I gave them back. "My uncle doesn't have keys like that."
"High Hall only. I can't leave here with them," Rhys said.
Leyla touched my forearm and reached in my coat pocket. She pulled out only air and then pointed at Rhys.
I smiled. "Did you steal those?"
"What? No, I borrowed them from the front desk."
I glanced over my shoulder and back. "The empty one in the mailroom?"
He spun them around his finger. "The old man with the scroll is the desk guard. You were rather distracting."
Leyla nudged me again.
I returned the elbow. "Let's see those files. I'm supposed to meet my uncle in about an hour."
He unlocked the door and revealed a long room with row upon row of little square drawers. "No one will question us in here; we have keys, so we're definitely in here with permission." He grinned.
I smirked back. "This is why hunters do the investigating."
"You don't have to tell me your Arm is valuable. Maybe too much so."
Leyla skipped past and set to work.
We watched her and bumped one another to follow.
I said, "What do you mean, too much?"
"Well, look, the hunters are the investigative Arm, right? A traitor should worry about them first."
I narrowed my eyes. "I never said there was a traitor."
"No, but why look for clues in here if it's not an inside job?"
Leyla peeked over her shoulder from the files with a half-smirk and shrug.
Rhys added, "Also, everyone knows Conrad worked with Lady Sybil. She had a theory about the disks getting out." He pushed his hair back. "Inside job."
"Well, all right, yes. We think there's a traitor."
"So the problem is, while this is valuable research, it won't give us answers."
"Why not?" I said.
"You think I'm the only one who can lift keys or act all official?"
I looked at my jacket.
