The Gatekeeper Trilogy

by Scott Ferrell

  We turned a final corner and came to a dead end. Or so it seemed. He reached out a fist and banged on the wall four times on the right, then banged two times on the left. He stooped to bang on it at about knee height once before standing up straight and stepping back. A moment later, a few clicks sounded in rapid succession and the dead-end wall clicked open. It swung out with only a whisper of noise.

  I peered over his shoulder at the large room on the other side of the doorway. It stretched about thirty feet back and was twenty feet wide. Wooden structures had been built in the four corners. They were completely walled in spaces about four by four feet wide and deep. Slits had been cut in the wood and I saw eyes peering out from them. It reminded me of the city walls when we had come in. Whoever these people were, security was a priority. The eyes watched as we passed through the room.

  Other than those boxes, the room was empty save for a few lamps burning along the walls. As we reached the far wall, I looked a little closer at the box on the right. There were tiny gaps in the wood. It seemed more like a security feature than faulty construction. I was relativity sure the gaps were really openings for defense. I wondered what was on the other side of those hatches. I hoped Aoife was right about these people or we were waltzing into something very, very bad.

  Our guide stood still as we reached the wall. I expected him to give another secret knock, but it wasn’t needed. After a series of clicks and a scraping sound, the wall opened out to reveal yet another room.

  We followed him inside. This one was massive. Not necessarily overwhelmingly spacious, but large enough in scope to hold several dozen people. All eyes turned to us as we entered. Men, women, and children alike. They all stopped what they were doing to watch as we moved into the room. That’s not to say they were doing anything important that I could tell. They sat in groups. I assumed there had been a buzz of conversation before we entered, but all was silent as they looked the newcomers over. Even the sirens going off around Delicia was little more than a distant hum down there. I couldn’t tell if it was the silence or the staring that made me the most uncomfortable.

  Their heads turned to watch us as we passed, the eyes filled with suspicion. The adults, anyways. The children’s eyes were filled with wonder and just a touch of fear. We passed one boy of no more than four sitting on his mother’s lap. I tried to smile in what I thought was a reassuring way, but he turned away, clutching his mom just a bit tighter.

  We made our way across the room to find an empty space in the far corner. Our guy turned to flop in a ragged chair, gesturing for us to do likewise in other vacant seats. Aoife and Seanna sat, I eyed the remaining two chairs. Calling them “ragged” had been a generous use of an adjective. I hesitated, afraid either one of them would collapse under my weight. Finally, I picked the one that looked the sturdiest, meaning it didn’t wobble when I touched it, and gently lowered myself, ready to stand if I felt it gave at all. Surprisingly, it held.

  Once I settled in, I looked to our host who watched me with a bemused expression. He smiled a gap-toothed smile and gestured grandly. “Welcome to Delicia’s Underground. Pray to whatever god you favor that you won’t have to stay long.”

  7

  DELICIA’S UNDERGROUND

  The people scattered around the room tried to act like our sudden appearance was nothing of note, but they were less than successful. Their conversations faded noticeably to a quiet hum as we entered. I saw more than a couple eyes move to watch us pass. Whoever this man was, it was obvious they trusted him enough to allow him to bring in three strangers without challenging it. Still, the air was thick with trepidation and a hint of curiosity.

  The people sat around battered tables scattered throughout the room. The city sirens were a barely audible whine this far underground, but a few still cast their eyes to the city above when they weren’t eyeing us. They were a mixed bag of humans. Kids clung close to mothers. Men hovered over them. Three older men huddled together at a table. Casual, but alert. Some wore clothes of fine fabric, cut and tailored to them, while others wore slightly worn and rough looking garments. Still others had old clothes that hung limply from their frames. I wondered what kind of organization could bring together a population so diverse into one hideout even if they clumped in groups obviously divided by social status and wealth.

  “What is this place?” I asked our guide. “What’s the Delicia Underground?”

  “You’re in it, around it, and now you’re a part of it, son,” he answered.

  “What do you mean a part of it ?” Aoife asked. “I don’t remember signing up for the grand tour of the underworld for a place I don’t want any part of.”

  “You know about this place, girl,” he said. “That makes you a part of it whether you like it or not. The moment you stepped through that passageway, you became one of us.”

  Aoife opened her mouth to retort, but I caught her eye and shook my head. For once, she bit her tongue. She might not have liked being dragged down into this place, but she was the one who said we could trust him.

  “Okay, we know about this place,” I said. “That still doesn’t tell us what it is. Who are you?”

  “Ah, right. You must think me a terrible host. I know who you are, of course, but you don’t know me. I’m Tias.” His lips split into a wide smile that would have been welcoming if it wasn’t for the missing teeth. Something seemed vaguely familiar about him.

  “You say you know who we are,” Seanna said.

  Tias nodded. “There are many rumors going around. Most are completely ridiculous, of course, but among the most believable are the ones involving a Gatekeeper traveling in the company of an Ashling in disguise and another Earthling.”

  “And the other rumors?” Seanna asked after a moment.

  “Oh, you know, the usual drivel.” He waved a dismissive hand.

  “Humor me.”

  “They say this group of said travelers laid waste to a Jo-Shar village?”

  My heart clenched at the mention of the Jo-Shar. Once again, the vision of Elder Narit smiling serenely with that horrible shadow floating above her rushed into my head.

  “Do they?” Seanna asked. Or stated. I couldn’t tell if it was a question or a prompting for Tias to go on.

  “They do, indeed.”

  “What else do they say?” Aoife asked.

  “That this group of intrepid travelers ran with Sholto the Lizard King and the Minotaurs.”

  “They sure say a lot,” Seanna said.

  I closed my eyes and shook the vision of Elder Narit from my head. “Seems you know a lot about us, but all we know is you are Tias and you live underground.”

  “Live?” He shook his head. “No, no, no. I live up there like everybody else.” He waved a hand over our heads.

  “What is all this then?” Aoife asked.

  “This is where we hide, of course.” He smiled that gap-toothed smile again.

  “How wonderfully vague,” Seanna said.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m afraid I’m not being very clear.”

  “Really?” Aoife said.

  “Truly!” Apparently, he missed her sarcasm. “There is a group of us who do not...” He trailed off, tilting his head in thought. “Let’s just say we do not agree with Daresh’s politics. For the past forty years he’s been in power-”

  “Forty?” Aoife interrupted. “That man couldn’t be more than thirty years old, tops!”

  I had to agree. He didn’t look nearly old enough to have ruled for that long.

  “Power does have its perks, eh?” He smiled begrudgingly at her. “But he has indeed ruled for that long. We don’t know how old he was when he took power. He seemed to have come out of nowhere with his group of Aweng .”

  “Aweng ?” I asked.

  “His personal guard,” Seanna explained. “We’ve met two of them so far.”

  “Kall and Mr. Bloody-eye?”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “I guess you never met him. He was in the r
oom when Daresh...” I trailed off, not really wanting to dig up the events of the previous night.

  “Then you’ve met three,” Seanna said.

  “Who’s the third?”

  “The hooded man with Daresh,” Aoife guessed.

  Seanna nodded. “Using man as a loose term.”

  “Three and yet you’re here for us to rescue?” Tias said. “I’m suitably impressed.”

  “Rescue?” Aoife asked. “We did all the work.”

  “We only had to deal with one in our escape,” Seanna explained.

  “You are lucky then. I doubt your escape would have been possible if the full of the Aweng were present on the hill,” Tias said.

  “There’s more?” I asked. He nodded. “How many?”

  He shrugged his thin shoulders. “Not sure. The only thing we’re sure of is when they showed up forty years ago, they requested an audience of the king at the time. What was his name?” Tias thought a moment, then shrugged. “Not important, I guess. Daresh and two of his Aweng went into the private audience chamber and came out as the new rulers. Since then, Aweng have come and gone, so we haven’t been able to get an accurate count. As far as we can tell, there’s at least twenty-four. We expect there’s many more. It’s hard to keep track of those buggers. Could be a dozen more, could be a hundred. Who knows? Of course, that’s not counting the small army he commands.” He hocked something out of his throat and spit it out between his missing front teeth.

  “Lovely,” Aoife muttered.

  “So, you fight against Daresh and his Aweng ?” Seanna asked.

  Tias made a face. “Not so much fight as harass. They have the full of the Delicia’s army behind them.” He thought, then shrugged. “For the most part, anyways. We are but a few.” He waved his hand at the collection of people in the room.

  “This is the extent of your underground movement?” Aoife laughed.

  “Oh, no, no. This is only those in the area when the alarms sounded. Daresh has a nasty habit of taking his frustration out on the Delicians. There have been too many of us who have disappeared never to be seen again after the alarms stop. It is better to hide when we know there’s trouble about.”

  “The Ashlings didn’t know there was an underground movement here,” Seanna said.

  “It wouldn’t be much of an underground movement if the whole of Alisundi knew about it, now would it?” He winked at her.

  She scowled at him in return.

  “So, what’s the point?” Aoife asked. “I mean, if you’re so few in numbers and it looks like you don’t really do anything, why bother?”

  “Don’t do anything, eh?” He laughed. “What do you call this?” He indicated the room.

  “A basement.”

  Tias laughed out loud at that until somebody sitting nearby hushed him. He smiled sheepishly and turned back to us. “We do so much more, most of which I’m not inclined to tell you. We’re building a foundation of revolution. It might not happen in my lifetime, but it will happen. When it does, those fighting that fight will have all the means they need to win. If it happens while I’m alive, you can bet your five fingers on your right hand that I’ll be there to fight. Even if I have to do it by rolling over a few men with my wheelchair.” He laughed again, only quieter. “If I die before the right time comes, then it will be on our children to fight.”

  “Papa!”

  Tias’ face split into the biggest smile yet. “Speaking of little devils!”

  I turned to the sound. A doorway had opened in the wall behind us, leading to a long, dark passage beyond. Two men stepped through it, trailing behind a little girl who bolted straight for Tias. She jumped into his lap, throwing her arms around his neck, her long, red hair sticking out all over the place.

  She turned and smiled like she hadn’t noticed us sitting there. “Oh, hi!”

  I smiled back instinctively, but it fell from my face as I looked into her sky-blue eyes. “Wait a minute.” I reached out a hand and pushed the hair from her face. “I know you. And you, too!” I pointed at Tias.

  “Do you, now?” His smile didn’t waver.

  “You’re missing something, though.” I ran a finger down my jaw. “An open sore right here.”

  “Ah, figured it out, eh?”

  “You’re the beggar?” Seanna blurted out.

  “Quick one, isn’t she?” Tias winked at me.

  I had to swallow down laughter. The whole time I had been on Alisundi, I’d been made to feel like a complete idiot. Maybe it was a little childish, but I felt of pride for figuring it out without anybody having to draw a picture for me.

  “You had a bad accent,” I said.

  He shrugged.

  “You tried to pick my pocket.” I said to the girl in his lap. “But I caught you.”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  “I hate to tell you, but if she hadn’t wanted you to know she was trying to pick your pocket, you wouldn’t have. Trust me, eh,” Tias said.

  “Why let me know?” I asked, confused.

  “To keep an eye on you!” She beamed at me.

  “Why?”

  “Daresh wanted you. That’s all we needed to know.” He set his daughter down off his lap. “Go get some food, would you? These two look half-starved.” He indicated Aoife and me.

  She nodded and scampered off. Just the mention of food caused my stomach to cramp. In all the excitement, I had forgotten how long it had been since I’d ate. An odd thing happened, though. Thinking about eating made a wave of nausea hit me. What’s up with that?

  Tias watched her go, a sad smile on his face. “She’s why.” He turned his attention back to us. “Are your people violently oppressed where you come from?”

  Aoife shook her head.

  “Then you have no idea what it’s like to live in constant fear. Do you want to know what happened to my wife? Her mother?”

  “What?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

  “Yeah? Me too.” His eyes flared with anger, a passionate heat replacing the good-natured glint that had been there moments before. “Awar’s never known her mother.” His eyes flicked to his daughter. “Not that she remembers, anyways.”

  I turned to see the girl scooping something out of a barrel into wooden bowls.

  “I try not to blame myself. Daresh is responsible, but I’m the reason she got mixed up in the Underground.”

  “What do you mean?” Aoife asked.

  “I’ve been a part of this since I was a boy,” he waved a hand around the room. “My dad joined and I followed in his footsteps. Adire had nothing to do with it. She was just another Delician, trying to survive from day to day.”

  “Your wife?”

  He nodded. “I was so stupid to get involved with her. I didn’t want to because I knew the life I’d led since I was Awar’s age. Younger, really. She was too good to get mixed up in this.” He said more to himself than us before turning to Aoife. “Do you want to know how to capture a man’s heart?”

  “No, not really,” she replied honestly. She cast a quick glance my way.

  “You may think not now, but it won’t be long because you’re half way there,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “The secret to a man’s heart is to look at him with those beautiful eyes of yours while he smells something delicious that you’ve cooked. That will capture his heart and he’ll be yours forever.”

  I’d never seen Aoife blush in the time I’d known her, but she did then when he mentioned that part about her eyes. I guess I had never noticed before, but they were quite striking even without the gold in them.

  “That’s how it happened for me, anyways,” Tias went on after a wistful moment of silence. “I first saw her selling loaves of fresh baked bread.” He inhaled deeply as if smelling the bread right at that moment. “Ah, a smell like no other. So divine. Awar has her mother’s eyes. It brings me great joy to look at them. Joy and sharp pain straight through the heart. We’re not so hard to f
igure out, us men. We all have direct paths to our hearts.”

  “What happened to her?” Aoife asked. “Your wife. Adire?”

  “The metalwerks know,” he said with a shrug. “When Awar was only three, Adire was out selling her bread when the sirens sounded. We’ve had no sign of her since.”

  A silence fell between us. It stretched for what seemed like forever before Tias broke it with a deep sigh. “Awar doesn’t remember her mother at all. I’ve tried to prompt some memories for her, but it only upsets her. I’d appreciate you not mentioning it around her.” His face split into a smile as his eyes slid to his daughter approaching. “Here she is! Look at that talent!”

  I turned to watch Awar. She carried four bowls, two in her hands and two more propped on her forearms. I took one with a smile. She passed the rest around. Tias refused the forth, telling her he’ll eat later and pulling her onto his knee for her to eat his helping.

  I examined the contents of the bowl and sighed. Whatever it was, it somehow managed to be both mushy and stringy at the same time. Following Awar’s lead, I pinch some out, pulling it away from the bowl until the cheese-like stuff gave way. After a moment hesitation, I put it in my mouth. It was surprisingly good. It tasted vaguely of spinach and pork. After my run-in with the Balataur jerky, I didn’t ask what it was. I didn’t want to know.

  “That’s why we do what we do.” He said as we ate. “Daresh wanted you. I don’t know why he wanted you, but if we could prevent him from getting you, then it’s a victory for us, no matter how big or small.”

  8

  COST OF BETRAYAL

  The sirens continued somewhere above us. I almost asked how long they would go on, but I was sure Daresh wouldn’t be happy until I was caught. I felt bad for the people of Delicia who were above ground. They had to listen to that noise full volume and in stereo. I wouldn’t give myself up to make it stop, though. I didn’t feel that bad for them. I focused on the hum of conversation around us to try to drown out the sounds of the alarms above. I couldn’t catch any snippets of what they talked about, but by their glances toward the ceiling, I could guess their conversations centered on what was going on in the city.