by T. C. Edge
“You are unique to this cause, Brie. Yet, if you have any shred of doubt, you have to tell us. And you have to tell us now. Time is of the essence, and if we’re to push toward with this, we need to do it quickly, and with your full and total co-operation. I know it’s a lot to take in, but I’m afraid that’s the situation we find ourselves in. We don’t have the luxury of time.”
She stops abruptly. A silence follows. I say nothing for a few moments, expecting her to suddenly continue once again. The brief period of quiet gives cause for Lady Orlando and Zander to doubt my participation. They share a look, before returning their eyes to mine.
They have no need to doubt me.
“It’s a lot to take in,” I admit. “I’ve learned so much about this city, about my past, and myself, over the last few days. I guess it’s still settling, and it’ll be a while before I get my head fully around it.”
I lean forward, and set my hands on the table, squeezing them both into tightly bound balls.
“But one thing I’m sure of, Lady Orlando, is that I’m in. You want my complete co-operation? You’ve got it. I told Zander already, and I’ll tell you both again. There is no going back for me now. My old life is as dead as both of yours.”
That mixture of pride and concern appears once more on my brother’s face. Lady Orlando merely raises a tight smile, her eyes narrowing to little more than squints.
“I believe you,” she says. “I can see it in you, see the conviction. I’ve seen it in many eyes before. I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine around here.”
I bow my head respectfully as Zander sweeps to the other side of the room and fetches three new glasses of whiskey. By now my head is already beginning to swim with the alcohol, a sensation I’m not used to and one that I don’t particularly enjoy.
Still, when the glasses are passed out, and raised to greet each other in the centre of the table, I’m forced to take a further sip.
“Welcome to the Nameless, Brie,” says Lady Orlando again, now with Zander’s voice alongside.
This time, it’s they who bow to me, as if this is some sort of initiation into their ranks. Tess, with her recent fondness for this acrid brown liquid, would be loving this…
Setting my glass back down, a quick flash in my mind questions what the hell I’ve just done. It’s fleeting, but enough to set my heart fluttering unnaturally for a few beats.
Is it the alcohol that’s giving me this bravado? When I wake up tomorrow morning, will I doubt my conviction? Will I want to back out? And now that I’ve committed, will I even be able to back out?
I shake the thoughts away like old cobwebs, and tell myself that these doubts are going to crop up occasionally. In fact, it would be weird if they didn’t. Going through such a change, it’s only normal to expect to want to retreat back into the safety of the past every once in a while.
Quickly dismissed, I turn my mind back to the task at hand.
Look forward, not backwards, Brie. There’s no light behind you, only darkness…
“So, this bachelor ball,” I ask. “When is it exactly?”
“Three days time,” answers Lady Orlando immediately. “Hence the need for speed here, and the fortuitousness of your discovery. These balls don’t occur too often, so we need to be ready for this one.”
“And, you’re sure I’ll get in?”
“Quite sure,” she says. “You are well known now, Brie, after your appearance at the ceremony the other day. There will be many across Inner Haven who will be happy to court you. However, that’s not what convinces me. It is our man on the inside who will ensure you receive an invite, even at this very late hour. He will be specifically requesting your attendance, and that will be sufficient. In fact, there may be others who have done the same…”
“But…what about the Council of Matrimony? I thought that any Unenhanced needed to be officially scouted and tested if they’re to marry up?”
“You’re well informed, and yes, usually that is the case. However, particular requests from certain members of Inner Haven will serve to bypass such processes. Needless to say, it’s clear, even without your full capabilities manifesting, that you’re a smart girl. I suspect you’d happily pass the Council of Matrimony’s tests should you be required to attempt them. Yet, there is no time for such things, and our man will ensure that there’s no need for them either.”
“So, I’m going to get a free pass?”
“Indeed. Adryan will put in the request this very evening. You should get the invite tomorrow.”
“Adryan? That’s his name?”
“Yes. He will greet you at the ball.”
“And how will I know who he is?”
“He’ll make it clear, Brie. You’ll be told what to expect by your chaperone. They’re really very simple affairs, these balls, and little more than a preliminary opportunity for members of Inner Haven to meet potential partners. Adryan will see you through it.”
“And what happens after?”
“Afterwards, you’ll go through transition, and that will give you an opportunity to develop your abilities in Outer Haven before you’re officially invited to live in Inner Haven. Zander will see to your development.”
I turn to my brother, who adds his voice to the fray.
“Your abilities will begin to manifest quickly now,” he says. “I’ve been through it all already, and will guide you through it too. The drugs will remain in your system for the next few days, but when they wear off, you’ll know it. It will be…uncomfortable at first. You’re not like most others, Brie. You have a lot of changes to go through.”
“But how do you know I’ll actually develop the same abilities?” I ask. “I thought that it wasn’t guaranteed that children of Enhanced actually took on the traits of their parents.”
“Yes, that’s true,” says Lady Orlando. “Mostly they do, to some degree or another, but sometimes it so happens that the offspring of Enhanced will have no powers of their own. They’re usually shipped to Outer Haven to live among the Unenhanced.”
“But that won’t happen with you,” adds Zander.
“And why not?”
“Because we share the exact same genes and DNA. You’re just the same as me, and will develop the same powers.”
He seems sure. I choose not to further question the matter. And, if he’s wrong, then I guess we’ll find out soon.
“Needless to say, you need to keep all of this to yourself,” warns Lady Orlando. “You will need to return to your academy tonight to be ready to receive your invitation tomorrow. Things will move quickly, and you have to be prepared. Don’t speak to your friend Tess about this, or anyone else you’re close to at Carmichael’s…”
“And Mrs Carmichael?” I ask. “She knows what’s happening now.”
“So I understand. I don’t know her personally, but I’m well aware that she’s done a fine job of raising you, and hiding you, up until this point. If you feel like you owe it to her to keep her in the loop, you may do so. However, only give her superficial information, nothing more.”
I don’t have much more than superficial information right now…
I look to the side of the door, where my little backpack was discarded when I first entered. I feel a little stupid for bringing it along now, seeing as I’ll be back at the academy tonight.
“Zander will escort you home, and make sure you get there safely. He will act as your liaison with us here, and will keep an eye on your transition. For now, though, I believe you’ve seen and heard plenty to start with. There is no point in overloading you unnecessarily.”
There’s a finality about her words, an authority. She must realise that, right now, there’s so much more I want to know. So many more questions attempting to journey from my head to my tongue. Yet she shuts it all down, giving me only what she deems necessary.
She stands from her chair and moves towards the door, before opening it up and presenting us passage beyond. I join her, along with Zander, who moves straight out an
d down the corridor.
Lady Orlando stops me before I follow.
“Good luck, Brie,” she says. “We’ll be keeping our eye on you.”
Another stiff smile stretches her old skin, and she ushers me away down the corridor, shutting the door tight to keep the warm air of the fire from escaping.
Together with Zander, the journey home begins.
We pass through the church, the eyes of the various Nameless spying me as I go, and back out into the misty green night. Our precautionary gas masks are briefly worn, before we reach the barn and descend back down into the tunnels. I barely get to glimpse the distant lights of the city before we plunge back into the darkness.
Before we continue, my eyes are once more hidden behind a mask, blocking my view of the route through the tunnels. I query Zander once more on the necessity of such a thing, given my newly appointed position among the rebels, but he merely replies as he did before.
“I told you already, it’s not about you. You’re about to go into the lion’s den. If someone found out about you, you wouldn’t be able to stop them getting inside your head and discovering our tunnel network. At least, not yet anyway…”
“So I will when my powers develop?”
“We’ll have to wait and see.”
“And you? Can you read my mind? What am I thinking, right now?”
I place the image of our parents to the forefront of my mind, now with an additional child added to the picture. I wonder, for a moment, if it’s actually me my parents are holding in the picture that’s spent its life beside by bed. It could very well be Zander.
“That’s not how it works,” comes his voice from the blackness. “I’d have to get into the right frame of mind for that. It’s not like I can just hear random thoughts all the time.”
He takes my arm and continues to lead me along in the dark.
“And, in any case, you need to look into the eyes to read or manipulate thoughts and memories. I couldn’t do anything with that mask covering your face.”
We journey on, and I begin to hear voices once more, and feel the heat of fires lit in the shadows of the underlands. Occasionally, too, the snap of a gun sounds above us, heard even down here beneath the city streets.
“Are they still fighting up there?” I ask.
“It’s possible a few stragglers are still being hunted down,” he says quietly.
I note a sudden hush fall upon the caves and caverns. Perhaps, even down here, the Stalkers can hear us. Those with the blood of Bats inside them might just be able to trace our distant steps, hear the whispering voices of those sitting in their groups around crackling fires.
For a few minutes, we walk more slowly, more quietly, feeling our way along to empty passages and tunnels as we move deeper into the city. Back to the northern quarter, a place of darkness and dirt and death. A place of pity and pain.
Occasionally, we stop for a short time as Zander searches for openings or switches to open secret doors. Even he, right at the heart of the rebels, needs to take his time discovering the hidden doorways and passages down here.
Only when we’ve ventured far enough does he remove the mask from my eyes. I blink in the sudden light and find that we’re in an acid rain shelter, one of dozens that dot the city.
“Where are we?” I ask, looking around. It’s not the shelter we first met in.
“Near the academy,” he says. “Western quarter, district 6.”
District 6 of the western quarter makes sense. It’s one of the northerly districts here in the west, and therefore close to the northern quarter. Each quarter is shaped like a pie, with district 1 occupying the centremost point of the quarter nearest to Inner Haven, followed by districts 2 and 3 above it, then 4, 5, and 6, and finally districts 7 to 10 around the boundary of Outer Haven.
All quarters share the same format, giving the city 40 districts in total.
Mostly, each district has its own shelter too, although the most populous parts of the city will generally have more than one. Given that the western quarter where I live is the most residential, there are often 2 or even 3 shelters per district.
With Carmichael’s situated towards the southeast of district 5 here in the west, I’m not too far away from home.
Still, despite my proximity, Zander makes certain to lead me as close as possible. As we rise up out of the shelter, he spreads his gaze to all angles, making sure that the streets are clear before leading me up and towards the academy.
As has been the case in recent days, the presence of Con-Cops and drones, in particular, has been heightened. All part of the Consortium’s – and Director Cromwell’s – plan to take greater control of Outer Haven.
“It’ll get worse,” whispers Zander as we creep between the shadows. “The Consortium will order more attacks from the Fanatics. Then more Con-Cops, and City Guards, and drones will follow. They’ve set the precedent now. Slowly but surely, they’ll make the people believe that this isn’t going to end. They’ll make them so afraid that they’ll agree to anything…”
“The reckoning,” I say. “During the ceremony, when the Nameless took over…the man said that a day of reckoning was coming. He didn’t mean from you, did he?”
Zander stops under the blanket of night, his hazel eyes giving off the only light.
“No, he didn’t. The reckoning is coming from the Consortium. It’s coming from the heart of Inner Haven. And it’s coming soon.”
“And that’s what you’re trying to stop?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“No, sis. It’s what we’re trying to stop.”
My brow furrows and my muscles tighten.
We.
We’re in this together now. Me…and my brother.
The thought, despite it all, brings a glow to my eyes. I look upon Zander’s face and see a reflection, his features stronger, sharper, and yet familiar.
The shape of his nose, the shade of his eyes, the colour of his hair. He’s my twin brother, through and through.
“So…you calling me ‘sis’ already?” I ask, grinning.
“I guess I’ve wanted to say that for a while,” he admits. “You’d better get used to it. Sis.”
I fake roll my eyes.
“OK, bro.”
A gurgle of laughter drops from his throat. I step in and hug him again.
“And you’d better get used to this,” I say.
“I didn’t take you for the huggy type.”
I let him go.
“I’m not. But I get the feeling it’ll annoy you if I keep doing it.”
He raises his eyebrows.
“We’re there already are we? Brother and sister, annoying each other. And here was me thinking it would take a while.”
A giggle threatens to spill from my mouth, but I slap my hand against it to lock it away. After last time, I don’t exactly want to draw attention.
“Well, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” I say through my fingers. “And there’s no time to waste…”
“Yup, no time at all.”
His eyes flash back down the alleyway as a cat scuttles through the shadows. The brief levity is broken.
And back to reality I go.
3
My eyes crack open to find a looming figure before me. I blink a few times and the form of Tess materialises, standing above me in her nightclothes and peering at me with a great deal of suspicion.
“Where the hell have you been?” she grunts.
I shuffle up against the wall, pulling the blankets with me.
“What the hell, Tess! How long have you been standing there, you creep?!”
“Don’t shift around and avoid the question. Where were you yesterday? You’ve been like a ghost the last few days.”
“Nowhere,” I say defensively. “I don’t have to tell you everything, Tess.”
Her eyes skip to my right, just to the side of my shoulder. There, the clear outline of a rectangle forms, a spot that the picture of my parents use
d to occupy. I was going to put it back last night when I returned. I must have forgotten.
Damn it.
“Then if you didn’t go anywhere, why is your picture missing?” she asks triumphantly.
Think fast, Brie.
“Fine,” I say. “You got me, Tess. You’re too clever for me. I went out yesterday to try to get the picture restored. It’s so faded now I can barely make out my parents’ faces…”
“And that took all night did it? You were still gone when I went to bed. And when I woke up at midnight too. Why are you lying to me?”
“Jeez, can’t a girl have any privacy these days? It’s got nothing to do with you!” I bite.
Hmmm, perhaps a little harsh. But dammit if she’s not nosey.
“So it’s like that, is it?” she asks sorely. She holds up her palms and takes a couple of paces back. “Fine, keep your secrets if you want to. You know, I thought we were best friends – no, more than that, sisters – but clearly you don’t.”
She brings her palms together and wipes them dramatically, before turning, grabbing a towel from her bed, and heading towards the door.
“Tess, don’t be like that,” I say as she marches off.
“No no, Brie, it’s fine. Really.”
She disappears from the room, but falls short of slamming the door. She can be quite the child when she wants to be. Mostly, she just hates to be kept out of the loop.
Unfortunately, Tess is currently the least of my worries. I can spare her no time, and no information. One day, if she ever finds out, she’ll realise that it’s for her own good. Knowing just what I’ve been up to is only likely to put her in danger.
And I can’t have that.
Mrs Carmichael, however, is another matter.
I take the opportunity to dress while Tess showers, and escape the room and head down to breakfast. Immediately, I seek out the latest youngster put in charge of managing the mail. I find Nate, a usually shy young boy, on duty at the small reception desk that sits in the hall.
