by Sarah Jaune
The man’s eyes flicked over to Ivy, who Eli knew was awake, then back to Claire. “Who are you?”
“Eli,” he answered. “My cousin, Ivy, and my sister, Claire, in the back.”
The man actually snorted. “There’s no way that dark girl is your sister.”
Eli scowled at the man as though he was actually offended. “She’s my step-sister, okay? Her dad married my mom five years ago. She is my sister and has been since she was four years old.” He annunciated every word precisely, like he was tired of having to fight this fight.
The man’s expression shifted a bit into curiosity, and maybe respect. His clothes were what everyone else wore, but his were clearly old and in need of replacing. It wasn’t like the party clothes he’d seen downtown the night before. This man’s teeth were not well cared for, and he didn’t appear to have a spare ounce of fat on him. “What are you doing in my town?”
“My brother is here somewhere,” Eli said as he plastered a look of concern on his face. “He’s a year older than I am. He came here a few weeks back, but we haven’t heard from him. My parents are worried.”
The man’s expression hardened. “You brought a little girl here to search?”
Eli laughed mirthlessly. He had baby sisters. He knew exactly how to answer this one. “Of course not! Ivy and I left without her, only to discover she’d snuck into the trunk when we weren’t looking. By then it was too late to turn back. She’ll be in big trouble when we get home, but that’s not my biggest worry right now.”
Appeased, the man nodded to the jeep. “That’s a nice car for a snot-nosed teenager.”
“My dad’s before he died,” Eli lied evenly. “He was an official in our home zone, so the Overseer gave it to him. We were allowed to keep it.”
The man nodded, and Eli had to stop himself from staring into his mismatched eyes. On another face, it might have been weird, but on this guy it was simply interesting. It gave his face character. “What’s your brother’s name, then?”
“Thane,” Eli told him, then swore when he realized he didn’t know the last name Thane might be using. Hopefully, this man wouldn’t ask that. It was always the important, little details that tripped up the good cover stories. “He is six foot three, about two hundred pounds. He’s black as well, same as my sister. He’s my step-brother too.”
The man let out a low whistle. “That big of a guy, he’ll be remembered.”
“I’m hoping so,” Eli said. “I need to ask around, try to find him.”
“I can take you to ask a few people,” the man said, holding out his hand. “My name’s Ford Durante.”
“Elijah Matthias,” Eli shook the firm handshake. “I would really appreciate the help.”
“Come on then,” Ford told him, inclining his head towards the girls in the jeep. “I’ll take you to where you can get food.”
The girls came out and Claire, bless her, scampered around to grab Eli’s hand, holding onto it tightly. It was the exact sort of move that his sisters, Ava and Alexi, might use if they were in a new situation.
“We appreciate the help,” Ivy smiled gratefully as she shrugged on the backpack.
“For sure,” Ford said as they wended their way through rundown back alleys, through moss-coated side streets and out onto a dam that held back what appeared to be a huge bay full of water.
Ivy stepped closer to him as her eyes darted around the walls.
Eli tried to ask what was wrong without saying anything, and apparently he’d succeeded because she whispered, “Cracks.”
Confused, Eli followed her gaze and saw she was pointing to the dam they were walking on.
Cracks.
Oh. Cracks in a dam were a very, very bad thing.
Eli swallowed back his fear and sped to catch up with Ford, dragging Claire along behind him.
CHAPTER 14
DINGUS
They walked on for another five minutes before Ford brought them down into a small, cobbled courtyard full of people preparing fish.
The air was full of the decaying fish, along with the tangy scent of blood, and something else that Eli struggled to place.
“Listen up,” Ford said as he hopped down the three foot wall. He turned to hold a hand out for Ivy, who took it, while Eli jumped down as well, and boosted Claire down next to him.
The people paused for a moment, but then went back to skinning. They were an assortment of ages, genders, and skin colors. Everyone, from a tiny toddler in a diaper, on up through a wizened older woman with gnarled fingers, was gathered there.
“These folks are looking for their kin,” the man explained. “His name is Thane, and he’s a big dude. Six-foot-three.”
“He’s really strong,” Claire piped in hopefully. “He looks like me, sort of. His eyes are darker than mine.”
“He came here looking for a job,” Eli explained, even as he noticed that these people appeared to be a lot more like the people of Chicago. Something was not right in this city. “I don’t know what sort of job he’d have tried to find. He’s good at a lot of things.”
A woman close to them shook her head. “I ain’t seen someone that big in a long time. He’d have stood out.”
Eli and Ivy exchanged looks.
“Anyone else seen someone that tall?” Ford asked, to general headshakes. “Would he have gone to the other side of town?” he asked Eli.
Eli had no idea what he meant by that, so he shrugged helplessly.
Ford nodded grimly. “We have two worlds here in New Orleans; the haves and the have-nots. If he’d gone to the nicer part of town to find work, we might never have crossed paths.”
“I honestly don’t know which way he’d have gone,” Ivy said hesitantly. “I don’t know that he’d have been aware of the difference before getting here. We didn’t really talk about it before he left. He promised to write, though, but we haven’t heard anything.”
“The mail could be lost,” Ford reminded her. “Where did you come from anyway?”
“St. Louis Zone,” Eli lied quickly. “We know, but we had to come check. He’s my brother.”
Ford shrugged. “Let’s get you some breakfast, and I’ll point you to the people to ask.”
They ate some sort of fried, battered fish that Eli could have cheerfully eaten all day, then Ford sent them off towards another part of town to find a man named Dingus, who knew everything that happened on the streets.
The second they were away from Ford, Eli had to ask, “What’s up with the dam?”
Ivy shuddered. “It’s weak. It needs to be fixed. I’m a little surprised that it’s holding up at all, actually. If a big storm comes through it might be knocked out.”
Claire squeaked. “Will we drown?”
Ivy shook her head. “I don’t think we’re in danger today, but the Overseer needs to fix it or a lot of people are going to die. Too bad we can’t just tell the Overseer and expect him to do something.”
She sounded so bitter, that Eli winced. “We should say something.”
“We can’t say how I know,” Ivy reminded him. “I only know because of my powers, and we’re not supposed to be here. I’m not even supposed to exist.”
Eli shot her a quelling glare. “Stop that.”
“You know what I mean,” Ivy said with resignation.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Claire told her.
Ivy ran her hand over Claire’s braids and shook her head. “Let’s just say I don’t fit in, just like you. I have no real place in this world.”
Eli wanted to change the subject. He wanted away from this train wreck. “What’s up with this city? Everyone looked to be having a good time last night. It looked like there were a lot of people who aren’t living in poverty, but over on this side of the city it looks like people are barely scraping by. It doesn’t even seem like this city has a curfew.”
Curfews were one of those things that changed depending on the zone. In some zones, everyone had to be inside by a certain time unless t
hey were certain personal needed to work overnight. Other zones had no curfew at all. The time of the curfew also changed depending on the zone. There was no curfew in the Portland Zone, but there was a ten o’clock curfew in the Chicago Zone. San Diego also had no curfew.
“I don’t know,” Ivy said as she studied the buildings around them, none of which looked to have been repaired in at least a decade. “Do you think we’ll find Dingus?”
“You found him,” a low voice said from behind them. Eli spun to find a short, skinny man with blood-shot blue eyes. He had thick, curly, brown hair that stuck to his head. It almost looked like dog hair. “Now, what do you want with me?”
Eli distrusted this man instantly. There was nothing friendly about him. The eyes that stared him down were shrewd and calculating. It was almost as though he was being sized up to see how much he could get for them. Then he turned to Claire and his eyes gave him away. He recognized her. Quickly, though, Dingus schooled his face. It was so fast that Eli almost dismissed it.
Unbidden, an idea of what might have happened to Thane popped into Eli’s head, startling him so badly that he had to fight to keep his face neutral. Before Ivy could say anything, Eli jumped in. “We’re looking for a place to stay tonight.”
Ivy shifted next to him, clearly unsure of where he was going. Thankfully, Claire kept quiet.
“A place to stay?” Dingus questioned, staring between them. “That’s what you’re looking for?”
“Actually, we—” Ivy began, but Eli shot her a look, and she shut her mouth.
“Yeah,” Eli said as he turned back to the guy. “Ignore my cousin. She’s an idiot. I need a place to stay where no one will question us. I hear you’re the answer man.” He ignored Ivy’s indignant huff and was rewarded by a quick grin by Dingus.
Eli’s dislike of the man redoubled. “This way, then.”
He led them to a large house that let out onto the main road, which would take them towards the better part of town. A large, black woman in a dress and apron stood in the door, eyeing them as they made their way up towards the steps.
Dingus stopped and waited. Eli knew what he was after. He pulled one gold disk and handed it over. “Thanks for the information.”
Dingus studied the disk carefully, then tipped his head towards Eli. “Anytime.”
It wouldn’t be any time. If they were in town longer than a day, Dingus would be back to rob them blind. Eli was sure of it. As soon as the man was out of sight, Eli pulled the girls away from the large house with the curious woman and hurried them down the street.
“What was that?” Ivy demanded in annoyance.
“He turned Thane in,” Eli explained quietly as they skirted around to another block. “He knows exactly what happened to Thane, Ivy. I could see that he recognized Claire. I couldn’t say what we wanted.”
“Where are we going?” Claire asked him. “Where is my brother?”
Eli shook his head. “I don’t know, but we need to get away from that part of town. We’ll get away from Dingus’ turf, or he’ll try to kill us.”
“But we need his information,” Ivy reminded him as they made their way back towards where they’d parked the jeep.
“I know,” Eli assured her. “I’ll go back by myself and get it.”
“No!” Ivy argued instantly. “We’re a team.”
Eli stopped, causing her to nearly crash into him. He pointed towards Claire. “She has to be protected, Ivy. In a fight against Dingus, I can win. If I corner him alone, with no witnesses, I can get what I need out of him. If we hide you and Claire tonight, you can keep watch. Odds are good you won’t have to fight anyone, but if you have to, you can. We’ll park near the water so you can easily overwhelm anyone who comes after you.”
“I do not like it,” Ivy muttered darkly. “But I don’t have any better ideas.”
They moved the jeep to a section of swamp near the edge of the lake. Eli was afraid the jeep would get stuck, but Ivy reminded him that she could push the water out of the mud and get them free.
Her power was extremely handy.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Eli promised the two girls.
“Be safe,” Claire pleaded quietly. “Get my brother back.”
“I’m going to try,” he assured her.
Eli took off at a fast clip back towards the city, running just fast enough in the dark that if a person weren’t looking directly for him, they’d have missed him. It wasn’t a pace he could have kept up for hours, but for the ten minutes it took him to get back to the area where they’d met Dingus, he was barely winded. Eli slowed down along an alley, pausing to catch his breath and eat a quick snack that he’d stashed in his jacket pocket. He’d need all his energy and strength in order to do what needed to be done.
Eli moved forward, walking purposefully as though he was exactly where he belonged. He kept his eyes open, trying to spot the man, but he only saw fisherman. Finally, after ten minutes of fruitless searching, he asked after Dingus.
“You don’t want to find him,” the man told Eli. “He’s not someone to tangle with.”
“I’ll risk it,” Eli said quickly. “Where is he?”
“He’s usually playing cards in the back room of Ginny’s place,” the man said, pointing down a narrow street, paved in bricks. “You best not go in there, though, little boy. That’s no place for the likes of you.”
“Is Ginny’s a bar?” Eli asked, ignoring the warning.
The man shook his head sadly. “Yeah. Look for the sign above the door.”
“Thanks,” Eli replied.
Ginny’s was easy enough to find. It was one of those places that Maia would have absolutely never let Eli go into.
Eli went in anyway. He pushed the door open and found the place filled with smoke, music, and the smell of stale beer. He marched up to the bar, to a pretty blonde girl only a little older than he was. “I need Dingus.”
Her brown eyes widened in alarm. “Are you sure about that?”
“I’m sure,” Eli said, starting to get annoyed by how much work he was having to put in to finding this man. “Which way?”
She pointed, wordlessly, to a room out the back.
Eli marched over to the door and pushed it open. The chaos of the main bar was drowned out immediately by the quiet murmurings of the card game in action.
Everyone turned to stare at him, each one just as rough-looking as Dingus. Eli zeroed in on the one he’d come for and didn’t bother studying any of the others. “I need a word.”
“Well,” Dingus said slowly, not lowering his cards. “If you have more gold, that might be arranged, but I’m not in the mood to hand out information.”
Eli shrugged. “We can talk, we can fight, whatever.”
A low laugh rumbled through the group. “I’d pay money to see that,” one of them said.
“Let’s throw them in a ring,” another agreed.
Dingus smiled lazily. “I like your nerve, kid. I can’t tell if you’re really that brave or just that stupid. Whichever it is, I’m willing to give you another few minutes of my time.”
“Alone,” Eli demanded, unwilling to do this with an audience.
The man rose slowly, placing his cards on the table. “I do not take orders, lad. You best watch your tone.”
Eli didn’t reply. He had the man’s attention. That’s what he was after.
“Fine,” Dingus pointed towards a side door that must lead to a room behind the bar. “We’ll speak in there.”
Eli followed after him and entered into a large office, furnished only with a small, metal desk.
The moment the door was closed, Dingus threw out his fist, ready to take Eli down.
Eli used a bit of his speed to dodge the strike. He smacked Dingus hard, sending him flying backwards over the desk, where he landed in a heap on the floor. He strode over to the man and stared down at him. “I am not someone to be messed with, either,” Eli assured him quietly. “You will answer my questions or you will b
e very sorry.”
It wasn’t anger that fueled his words, but fear. It was fear that had him laying on an extra thick skin of toughness. This man probably had answers about Thane, but Eli knew that if given half a chance, Dingus would hurt Ivy and Claire to get to him. That was why he’d removed them first.
