Waiting in the shadows of the small tavern’s alleyway, Justin confronts the group, wielding his only weapons – his fists. As he lunges forward, his hood falls and his foe before him stands stunned, before running up to him and swinging her arms around his neck.
◆◆◆
Chapter THIRTY-FOUR
Brick buildings with slanted roofs of ochre red tiles sit beneath a glass terrarium.
Colourful flowers of red, magenta and baby blue bloom amongst the low-lying shrubs. A small creek divides the village of Tuchersfield into two. The cobble stone streets are dotted with bronze lampposts. All is silent but for the slight rustle of the leaves of a passing breeze and the soft burble of the creek. Ari feels as if she’s entered a fairy-tale realm. But she knows better. This village belongs to Sub-Elites and her kind would definitely not be welcome here.
Tuchersfield Village seems completely empty, but Ari has a sense that eyes watch them as they make their way through the cobblestone streets. The wooden windows are all flung open to the blue sky, but no one stands at them, looking into the streets below.
Ari notices many of the houses and other buildings have been defiled with the same depraved graffiti she had seen in the shantytown. Words like Die, form a new Human Race, Chvostek – our leader, commoner scum are scrawled on every empty wall, along with the symbol of the phoenix rising from its ashes. To Ari’s surprise, however, amongst these words are slanderous phrases about Elites and Sub-Elites.
They chance across an inn, and deciding to try their chances at a welcome for a warm bath and proper bed, they enter.
The Prospa Inn, is warmly decorated, the walls painted a bright yellow. Two tartan chairs sit by an open fire in the hearth across from the entryway. To the left is an unmanned counter. Small pots of red and green plants, matching the tartan chairs sit atop it. As Xavier and Guy head to the counter, Ari wanders around the foyer, noticing faded areas on the walls where paintings once hung.
There is one painting left, however, sitting above the hearth in a bronze ornate frame, spanning the wall from the mantle to the ceiling. To Ari’s disgust, the face staring back at her is that of The Chancellor. He sits on white stone throne above a stone hill. On closer inspection, Ari notices the throne is not white stone at all. It is constructed of human skulls, thousands of them, and below, a mountain of skulls supports the throne.
Unable to peel her eyes away, visions from her nightmares flood her mind.
A wolf chasing her down in a dark forest.
The Chancellor accusing her of killing her friends.
Her heart starts to pound in her throat and she feels she might hurl the empty contents of her stomach on to the beige-tiled floor. Sensing her pain, Kaley approaches.
‘Ari, are you okay?’
Ari is transfixed by the painting, a roaring filling her ears as the visions from her dreams continue to haunt her.
‘Ari?’
‘Ari!’
She is snapped back to reality. Kaley stands before her, hands on each of her shoulders, as she shakes her sister awake.
‘Kaley?’
‘It’s time for us to go,’ Kaley responds, cautiously, gesturing to the others who now wait at the base of the stairs leading to the bedrooms above, all eyes cast on the sisters before the hearth.
A small Sub-Elite woman stands behind the counter, watching the scene before her with curiosity. Earlier, to her dismay, she had given up the inn’s four bedrooms to the seven traveller’s at the threats of their leader.
Commoner scum, she sniffs as she watched the sister’s talk, standing below the portrait of The Chancellor.
Chancellor scum, the inn’s mistress sniffs again.
He and his people had waltzed through the village and taken most of its inhabitants far away – Elite and Sub-Elite alike. Commoners didn’t venture into this village but now it seemed they thought they had the same rights as she. If it were not for her selling out those who hid in her inn to The Chancellor and his men when they came, and lied about her loyalties, she too would have been taken. But for now she had been spared. Perhaps, she would be given bullion and other prizes for selling out these seven commoners who have happened upon her doorstep.
◆◆◆
As Ari ascends the stairs, following behind her sister, she notices Xavier waiting outside one of the bedroom doors. He exchanges a few words with Kaley, before slipping into the room. Kaley, appearing slightly flustered opens the door to the neighbouring room. Inside are two single beds, bedclothes worn but clean. The adjoining bathroom is small but to Ari’s delight, houses a claw-foot bathtub. After asking her sister is she minded if she bathed first, she shrugs out of the black and white uniform of The Founding Family Palace, and sinks low in the warm water of the bath. Tiny bottles of soaps and bubble-bath liquids sit on a nearby stool. Ari inspects them, their scents transporting her back to The Holly Oaks Centre. Not wanting to be reminded of that place, she replaces the bottles, opting for a bath of water and plain unscented soap.
Restoration washes over her body, melting her tight muscles and sinew as she rests her back and closes her eyes. She lathers her hair, now grown down to her chin – a luxury she hasn’t had in years, given Matron forced all her service men and women to shave their heads bald. She didn’t want them to be a temptation to the Elite customers who frequented her establishment, nor a temptation to the Sub-Elite Guards. Little did she know, however, that many of the service men and women fooled around with the guards, mostly after being promised a better life outside of the Centre and even Ascension to Elitehood, though such promises could never actually be fulfilled by them.
As her body unwinds, her mind drifts in the thick fragrant steam of the bathroom.
Arielle is wandering a plain, barefoot and comes across a large expanse of swamplands. To her left, as far as the eye can see, are snow-capped mountains. To her right, empty dry, arid plains.
She is searching.
But for what?
Or whom?
Multiples paths of stones cut through the swamplands. She takes a tentative step to the first stone of the path leading West. Regaining her balance, she then leaps to the next and the next, continuing along the snaking path until she suddenly looses her footing and falls forwards. With a splash, she lands in the low water amongst the reeds. A tiny green creature, sits on a lily pad, watching her intently with its bright yellow orb-like eyes.
As Arielle gets to her feet the creature hops away before turning to look back at her. Sure the creature wanted her to follow it, she runs after it, whilst it continues to hop from lily pad to lily pad, guiding her East, closer to the mountains.
The creature then hops to its last lily pad before submerging itself below the swamp’s greenish water and not resurfacing.
Arielle looks around at where the creature has led her. She now stands at the other side of the swamp, gazing upon the snow-capped mountains in the distance. She walks forwards, shivering in her wet clothes as a breeze ruffles her skirt. She glances around once more for the green creature. Satisfied that it would no longer be returning to her, she ventures on, towards the mountains.
Eventually, she comes across a signpost: Almanach 2400 kilometres East; City of Secrets 3560 kilometres West.
Heading West towards the City of Secrets, there is a sudden shudder in the earth before her feet. A wide crack splits the ground and before Ari could even think to run, clawed feet emerge from the bowels of the earth. A winged creature with a broad body and long snout emerges; eyes pinned on the girl before it.
Ari runs in the opposite direction, as fast as her lungs will allow her. The creature follows, steam billowing from its nostrils, wings flapping behind it. Heading East, Ari comes across a small cave. Flinging herself inside, she tries to compose her nerves, and calm her pounding heart. Gathering her strength, she digs deep inside, searching for that dark power of hers she’s not yet learnt to master.
The cave shudders.
The little bit of light that was streaming t
hrough the entrance is now blocked by shadow.
Ari braces herself, extending her arms forwards, palms facing outwards to the creature that now approaches.
She takes a deep breath and then sets forth all the energy and power she can muster.
The creature falters before taking more steps.
She blasts it again, searching deep inside, willing for her dark power to come forward, and consume the beast that threatens her.
The creature falters again, before it shudders and with a flash of light it transforms into a human.
A tiny human form lays naked on the ground, cradling its head in its arms, shivering with the pain it had just endured.
Unsure whether to approach the human, Ari decides to trust her instincts and steps forwards. She kneels beside the frail body which now breathes with deep uneven breaths.
‘I can help you,’ Ari says quietly, soothingly. ‘I can heal you.’
A face Ari could recognise anywhere looks up at her. The face is withered and ravaged with the age of the woman finally catching up to her. Her fish-like mouth is puckered with hundreds of years of wrinkles, her grey-blue eyes dull, set amongst the flaps of skin of her sagging face. But having restored youth and beauty for as long as Ari could remember whilst being at The Holly Oaks Centre, she would never forget this woman’s face.
‘Madame Chavez?’
The woman croaks, ‘service-wench.’
‘But how..?’
‘The evil one,’ Madame Chavez utters huskily, ‘The Chancellor. Experiments. Death.’
‘Death? I can help you’
‘Death is coming girl. Run.’ With a huff the last inkling of life leaves her body which then turns to dust.
Confused at this interaction, and how Madame Chavez could have been turned into such a creature, Ari stands and emerges from the safety of the cave.
She looks to the west, towards the City of Secrets.
But something tells her she must turn east.
To the Almanach Town instead.
◆◆◆
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
‘Ari are you okay? Ari?’
‘Oh, come in,’ Ari sits up in the bath, the water now cold. All the bubbles have disappeared into a murky white film.
Kaley enters, a concerned expression on her face.
‘What is it?’ Ari asks.
‘You’ve been in here for hours. I was worried about you.’
Ari feels slightly embarrassed for spending so much time in the bath. ‘Sorry, I fell asleep, I think.’
‘Well, Xavier has dropped off some soup for us. And he has given us instructions on the next leg of our journey to the City of Secrets.’
Ari recounts the events of her dream. Something tells her they are to veer east of the City instead.
‘I think we need to go to Almanach town,’ she says, as she climbs out of the cold bath and into the waffle robe hanging behind the door.
‘But we need to go to The City of Secrets to gain access to the tunnels that will lead us to The Underground,’ Kaley counters.
Ari shakes her head. ‘I think we need to go to Almanch.’
Kaley watches her with concern, as she exits the bathroom and takes a seat on the empty bed, tray of soup before her.
‘It’s just a hunch,’ Ari explains, noticing the unease on her sister’s face. ‘Trust me on this.’
Kaley does not reply, but settles down on the other bed and consumes her soup, concern still creasing her face.
Chapter THIRTY-FIVE
Laying awake on the over-starched bed-covers, Ari listens to the soft breathing of her sleeping sister.
It is well past midnight and though she is exhausted, she cannot switch her mind off long enough to fall asleep. Images of Madame Chavez transforming into a four-legged winged beast enter her mind, followed by images of her sister and friends lying in a heap, throats cut, eyes staring blankly ahead. Just as her mind finally starts to drift off to sleep she is jolted awake by a knock at the door.
Still wearing the waffle robe and nothing more, she slowly climbs out of bed, wrapping the robe tighter around her skinny frame, before unshackling the bolts and opening the door just a crack.
A green eye stares back at her.
Ari opens the door more widely to see Xavier standing there, slightly abashed.
‘I was looking for Kaley,’ Xavier whispers.
Ari looks back at her sister sleeping peacefully. ‘She’s sleeping – she’s exhausted.’
Xavier nods quickly before turning on his heel to head back to his room.
‘Wait,’ Ari follows after him.
Before telling him of her dream/ vision, she softly closes her room’s door and glances around. She is unsure of how he will take what she says next.
‘I don’t know if our plan to head to The City of Secrets is the right thing to do.’
Perplexed, Xavier remains quiet, allowing Ari to give her reasons.
‘I..,’ Ari hesitates before continuing, ‘I had a dream. Or maybe it was a vision.’
At this, Xavier lets out a long sigh, ‘so you have the ability for soothsaying now?’
Ari is slightly taken aback by Xavier’s words. ‘Well, no. I don’t know. I’ve been having dreams. And I had a dream that if we tried to cross the swamplands it would not end well. Instead we need to head to Almanach.’
Xavier shakes his head, ‘The City of Secrets is our best bet at getting back to The Underground. And last thing we need is another missile from our friend.’
‘But-,’ Ari starts to protest.
‘But nothing, Ari,’ Xavier states, voice a harsh whisper. ‘I’m sorry but we cannot change our plans based on some strange dream you had. It’s not like you have a gift for seeing the future. No one has.’
‘Well, no one had the gift to heal, or manipulate the oceans or the winds, or earth,’ Ari says, folding her arms across her chest, ‘and yet here we are.’
Realising he may have been a bit harsh, Xavier concedes. ‘I’ll talk to Guy about it before we leave.’
Ari nods but says nothing more; sure Guy would have an even stronger opposing opinion on straying from their path.
As they part ways, there is the sound of a thudding on the door to the inn below, followed by muffled voices and the voice of the inn-keeper stating, ‘Up there.’
Eyes wide with alarm, Ari turns back to Xavier, frozen with realisation of what was happening. Without a word, they each bolt to the other two rooms, banging on the doors.
Ai-Ling opens her door first, bleary eyed.
‘We must leave now,’ Ari says, before heading back to her room to wake her sister.
As she enters, she bolts the door shut with the old-world style locks, before turning to find Kaley already awake, sitting up, confused at the commotion outside.
Suddenly, there is a pounding on the door.
‘What is going on?’ Kaley asks, as she watches Ari move from one side of the room to the other, picking up their belongings and tossing them onto the beds.
‘We must leave. Now.’
Ari shrugs out of her robe, and puts on the set of men’s pyjamas she found in the wardrobe – an oversized white shirt with grey stripes and matching slacks. She places her belt of survival items on her hips, before opening the window.
Looking out onto the street below, she gulps, as she realises how high up they are.
The pounding at the door suddenly stops.
As Ari looks out the window once more she sees Ai-Ling, climbing out of her own window, to stand on the narrow wooden ledge. Delta stands in the room behind her, ready to climb out soon after.
There is a cracking behind Ari, and as she whips around to see the source of the sound, she glimpses purple flame cutting through the door, as the guards on the other side use their sabres to try enter.
‘There’s no more time!’ She calls to Ai-Ling.
Ai-Ling faces her palms down to the street below and with a roar, the earth starts t
o open up. Bricks and dirt start to lift and form a mound before them. Before it is fully complete, Ai-Ling jumps down, skidding along the slope to the ground below. She is followed shortly by Delta.
Ari takes her sisters wrist, as they climb out the window.
‘I don’t know,’ Kaley starts to say but before she could finish, the door behind the, splits apart into multiple wooden shards and the guards burst into the room.
Without looking back, Ari jumps onto the mound before them, dragging Kaley with her.
She loses her footing, and they both go tumbling down the steep slope together, landing in a heap at the bottom.
One of the guards makes to jump after them but in a swift movement of her hands, Ai-Ling disintegrates the mound to a pile of rubble. The guard takes an ill-timed step, and is soon buried in the debris. His hat rolls towards Ari’s feet.
Curious, having not seen the blue and white or silver badge with a phoenix on any of the Elite guards before, but sure she has seen something similar before, she picks it up before the four girls run to the other side of the inn.
Xavier, Guy and Malik are fighting off the other guards who managed to follow them outside during their escape.
One of the guards makes to hit Xavier with his sabre, but Xavier blocks it with his double-bladed staff, plasma cutters at the each end. Guy fends off two guards with a blade in each hand. He ducks and plunges the shaft of one of his blades into the thigh of one, before slicing through the others abdomen with the flick of his other wrist. Before they have both hit the ground, he re-sheathes his daggers, before pulling the two pistols concealed in his cloak. He shoots at close range and two more guards lay on the road, blood pooling behind their heads.
Malik gathers the air around him, creating a tiny tornado about his figure, at the eye of the storm, before pushing it out to consume the five guards around him. They are swept up into the air metres above the scene occurring on the street below, before the storm suddenly dies out and they land hard, heads cracking on the cobblestones.
Elite Nation: Book One Page 16
