by Colby R Rice
She buried the console beneath the snow and dirt, jumped to her feet, and dashed out of the Observatory, with Manja bobbing around on her back. Manja curled her arms and legs more tightly around Zeika's torso and leaned in, making their separate weights one. Zeika skipped over fences and slid over patches of glistening slick, flying to the front entrance of the Botanical Gardens. Manja giggled as she hung on.
"Go, Zeeky! Faster, faster, faster!" She cheered.
Zeika hopped another low fence. It was like this every time they came here; she had to make the half-mile sprint to the other side of the garden in three minutes, else she'd have to go back and re-enter the code again. She'd programmed the door like this, because she was the only one who could make it in time.
Her senses opened to the sharp breath of Winter; its frost nipped at the corner of her eyes as she ran, and when she skid over a frozen pond on her knees, icy fingers of water crawled up the legs of her jeans. At the pond's other side, she gripped the carbon bars of the border fence and swung herself and Manja over.
Just as she was scaling the trellis gate of the Rock Garden, she could see movement beyond the dry branches. A square plot of rocks was moving inward and sliding up behind a frozen waterfall, revealing the 3 x 3 back entrance to her shop. She jogged up to the door, unraveled Manja's harness, and set her on the ground.
"How's that for super speed, kid?" She put an affectionate grip on Manja's head.
"Meh. Coulda gone faster."
Manja stuck her tongue out, and before Zeika could say anything smart, Manja ran and ducked inside the shop, squealing with delight. Smiling, Zeika crawled in after her, not noticing the eyes on her back as the door slid down behind them.
Ten minutes after they had gotten inside, Manja was yelling at her. Crunch had taken his usual perch on top of her head, and he cooed, fluttering his wings against her afro puffs, struggling not to fall off. She had one little hand on one little hip, and Zeika tried not to smile as Manja pointed at her and cut her with those diamond blue eyes of hers.
"I SAID OPEN IT! NOW! I'm the Queen, not you!"
"Oh, and what's your crown, the pigeon?" Zeika snapped. "I already told you no."
"But he got the bad men at the Guild! He took us home!"
"Manja. He's an Azure."
"But what does that mean?"
Zeika struggled as she looked at her, at the innocent crease of her eyebrow.
"It means— fine!" She growled finally. "I'll let him in." She walked over to her bookshelf and flicked a switch next to the dumbwaiter. A faint rumble echoed its way down the cave as the platform hidden in the fountain lowered in.
Hopefully, he wasn't still standing there.
Manja turned her nose up and strode to the door, pulling something out from her pocket. Zeika stiffened. Manja had put something in her pocket that day they were in the Lobon Inn. Something that Caleb had given her. Zeika folded her arms, the question clear.
"It's a password," Manja retorted.
A knock came at the front door.
"A password for what?"
"So that we know it's him, and that he's real."
"You gave him a password?"
"Because you're mean and crazy!"
Zeika snatched the paper from her hand and walked to the door, moving Manja to the side. "All right, what's the password?"
"Hospitality. Nice." Caleb's amused chuckle filtered through the wood. "Boku no me wa midori da."
Zeika looked to the scratchings on the paper. The words were Japanese, from what she could tell, and the password was a perfect match. She unlocked the door, and of course, standing there was the Azure, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
"Glad to know that you and my sister are plotting behind my back," Zeika seethed. She didn't move out of his way.
"Even gladder to know she's not as much of a bigot as you are. Are you going to let me in?"
"What's your problem? Why didn't you buzz off?"
He leaned against the door frame. "I'm on my biggest case of the year. Trying to find out how you can still walk straight with that huge chip on your shoulder. Also trying to figure how you can lie so easily with a straight face."
She opened her mouth to respond, but then she shut it up tight, not really knowing what to say. She turned her eyes away from him with a huff. "I didn't lie about Sal Morgan. But… I can't tell you the whole truth, either."
"Fair enough. I don't need to know the truth to see you need help, kid. But you're not even trying to give me a shot here."
"I can't give you a shot because I don't understand your investment. I mean, what do you care about Civilians, anyway?"
"I worked Civilian cases all the time in the Fifty-Second."
"Cases? Well that's great, but I don't need your charity."
"And what makes you think I came down here for you?" He smiled, casting a look down.
She turned to see what he was looking at, and she saw Manja peeking out from behind her leg, beaming. Defeated, Zeika sighed and stepped aside. He sauntered in, as though there hadn't even been a question.
"Nice place," he mused. He stopped to examine the stacks of science books on the shelf near the door. Physics, anatomy, chemistry, field medicine.
Zeika shut the door. "Thank you."
He turned, brows raised.
"For everything, I mean." She swallowed and began to play with her fingers. "Thank you. I've been trying to get it out ever since the attack, but I, well, you know—"
"You got a mean mouth!" Manja snapped.
"Yeah," Zeika nodded. Then thinking on it, she grinned, embarrassed. "Yeah, I have a mean mouth."
"Don't worry about it. You're going to pay me back anyway." He walked further in and set his duffel bag down on her desk. Its contents jangled against each other, the sound all too familiar. "The kid told me you used to fix hardware for the force, so—" He smiled.
Zeika's eyes widened. He couldn't be serious.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He was serious. "I've brought you two Glocks and a rifle. I need them cleaned and oiled, and I'd also like the rifle blued. And this—" He took out a Colt Government .45. "It jams during rapid fire. I need you to ramp and throat it."
Her gaze bounced between him and the parts, and in spite of herself, she smiled. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt stirrings of excitement in her gut. Gun parts were the best puzzle pieces in the world; it had been a while since she'd been able to wrap her fingers around some.
"A rifle, huh?" She began to rummage through his bag, pulling out the bones. "Woah." She was holding the parts for a Dragunov SVD. Sniper rifle. Old school. And heavy. She started putting it together.
"Are you special ops?" She asked. She slid and screwed in the gas system, worked in the bolt assembly, popped on the sidings. She was already halfway through. He was watching her. Closely.
"Something like that."
"From when, the Stone Age?" She attached the scope.
"Real cute. It's a little old fashioned, but it's damned good at what it does."
"And you're trusting your hardware with me?" She admired the body, running her fingers along the stock. Then she turned it sideways, off-setting its weight on her shoulder as she looked down the scope. "What if I run out with your hardware and start blowing Azure heads off? Are you willing to shoulder that kind of responsibility?"
Caleb smirked. "Nice try. They're all Kshessinkas. No one can use them but me."
"Kusha-what?"
"Special issues. Engineered so that the guns will lock if it can't strike a DNA match between it and the shooter. You can disassemble it, but it won't fire for you. Not as Stone Age as you think."
Zeika's blinked. "Is that an alchemy thing?"
"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't know about it, being a gunsmith and all. It came right out of your demesne's guild. Drop the hard science for a sec, and pick up a history book, kid."
"What's the point? Azures wrote them all, remember?" She smiled.
/> Caleb chuckled and started counting bills. He dealt out five hundred blue dollars, which was worth nearly twice the amount of their green.
"Here's a down payment." He tossed them onto the desk. "No offense, but please, get the kid some sneakers that don't look like they came out the ass' end of a cheese grater."
"Thanks for the shopping tip, genius."
He smudged her face playfully, and Zeika grinned, wrapping her arms around the rifle. "About the quarantine. Are they going to keep us here forever?"
"No. I'm sure they'll take it off once we've smoked out all of the Ninkashi."
"You're going to help get them?"
Caleb nodded, and for whatever reason, Zeika felt worry spike inside her. She shrugged it off as quickly as it came. He could take care of himself. Why did she even care? Unable to answer in a way that made her feel cozy, she looked away and hunched.
"Make sure, you— you know— be careful." She cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Just watch your back. These streets are hard out here for Azures."
Caleb smirked, amused. "Yes, I'm sure."
She avoided the teasing gaze. "I don't even know how I'm supposed to work with those things running around out there."
"Listen, if you need to go out, go at night."
"Night? But what if—"
"The Ninkashi aren't vampires. They're active during the day, particularly in early morning, because that's when people are active. You're safer walking around at night. But I want you to limit that as much as you can."
"Are they smart? I mean, are they people-smart?"
"Maybe as smart as really hungry chimps. But only as far as how to strategize on trapping and hunting food."
Which, to her, meant smart as hell. Where did these things come from? She looked away, rubbing her arms. "Then, did someone do it on purpose?"
Caleb cocked his head, and she took a breath before she pushed on. "I mean, the Guild is at least fifty miles inland, right? The Ninkashi would have had to walk miles, through hundreds of people, through an entire buffet, just to reach it. If food's their only motivation, they would have eaten right by the borders. So I'm asking you: do you think someone brought the Ninkashi into the Guild of Almaut?"
He gazed at her silently, and immediately she knew: he did think so. And he had come to that conclusion long before she had. Seems like she wasn't the only one practiced in playing innocent. His mouth tightened, probably preparing to tell another lie— until his phone chimed. He broke their gaze to glance at it, and he frowned.
"My Vassal's calling me in. I've got to go."
He hesitated, searching her face, maybe looking for a way to kill the convo. Whatever he was thinking, if he was keeping information from her, it was probably for her own good. Dropping hints of an inside job would only make her more paranoid than she needed to be, and it could possibly ruin his investigation. He'd told her the basics of what she needed to know— how to avoid the monsters— and that was enough. She'd let him off the hook. For now.
"So, a Vassal, huh?" She smiled, changing the subject. "You have a live-in servant?"
The corners of Caleb's mouth turned down. "Don't be fooled by the title. I am his apprentice, and he is my master."
"Then why are they called 'Vassals'?"
"Because they are in service to the Alchemic Order. They are the highest ranked and most trusted servants of Azure society."
"Uh… okay. Wow."
"Pretty charming, isn't it?"
Seems like she wasn't the only one who thought this was a little ridiculous.
"Hey, look," he continued. "I listen to you sometimes, the way you talk to APs. I've wondered how you're still walking around healthy."
"I jog."
"I'm not kidding, Zeika. I'm not saying they deserve respect on the merits of where they come from. This isn't about Civilians versus Azures. This is about common sense. It's about safety, for you and for the kid. You can get into a lot of trouble if you mouth off to the wrong person. You hearing me?"
"Yes. Loud and clear."
She hid a smile. His eyes were so calm and concerned that she felt compelled to say it. He looked genuinely worried. It was kind of sweet.
"If you ever stumble across a Vassal, please, just stay out of his way. You might be able to snap off to APs, but a Vassal will tear your tongue out. They will hurt you, if they can get away with it. And they can."
"Well then! For someone who serves such a powerful guy, you certainly don't seem to give a damn about putting on the chicken. You didn't even respond to his message, and you're still in one piece."
"Not really, kid."
Zeika blinked. Maybe he wasn't as together as she thought.
"Don't follow my example," he continued. "Promise me you'll be more careful. If not for yourself, than at least for her. All right?"
So cute. He didn't know a thing about her powers. No one could really hurt her so long as she had them. The problem was being forced to use them. As long as she and Manja could run, hide, or stay away from Ninkashi and assholes like Sal, they would be fine. She smiled and leaned back against her desk, feeling safe in her secret. "I don't have to defer to anyone, Azure. I write my own tickets—"
Caleb groaned and rolled his eyes.
"—but fine, I'll be careful. For the kid. And because you asked me. Okay?"
His gaze halved as he looked at her with skepticism.
She held up her hands. "I promise! Manja comes first. Always. I'll keep my mouth shut."
He smiled, seeming relieved. "All right. I'll be back. Not today. But soon. Is that okay?"
"No! Don't go, Caleb!" Manja ran over and grabbed his pants leg. "I'll miss you!"
He knelt down. "I'll be back, kiddo. I promise."
The girl crossed her arms and put on the biggest pout Zeika had ever seen. Manja had never pouted like that for her, ever. Scam artist.
"Come on, kid. Don't be sad. I got something for you."
Zeika looked at him, brow creased.
"In the bag. Side pocket."
She glanced at the duffel bag, noticing the bulge in the side pocket for the first time. She opened it and pulled out something furry. It was a teddy bear, darker than Manja's other one, and dressed in commando gear.
Manja gasped. "Oh my gosh! A bear, Zeeky!"
"Yeah. Sorry it's not a girl bear. They had one in some glittery pink get-up, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to question my manhood quite yet. But its yours, kid. Maybe it can get married to your other bear, or endure whatever torture you kids inflict on your toys nowadays."
Manja ran over and grabbed the bear, just loving the hell out of it.
"Thank you," Zeika murmured, smiling.
Caleb rose to his feet. "See you two later."
The door closed behind him, and Zeika stared at the doorway, becoming increasingly aware of how calm and warm she felt. Somehow, it made it harder to focus. Made her reconsider staying…
Nope. Gotta get Manja out of the Protecteds. Gotta find Mama and Baba.
The cold voice of reason snuffed out the warm glow in her chest. It was time to get back to business. Besides, Caleb was an Azure, and as much as he wouldn't admit it, he probably wouldn't be caught dead hanging around with two Civilian kids. There was no reason to believe that any friendship could emerge between them. He was just doing his job. Now it was time to do hers. It was time to get the hell out of Demesne Five.
She turned from the door, already in thought. That dickhead Officer Kirk said smugglers had already started to pop up around the edges of the demesnes. She didn't need them for travel between the Protecteds, though. Sneaking across the borders herself would be hard but not impossible considering her powers.
Getting onto the Island, however, was a different matter entirely. Over five miles of water stood between them and the Island, and they wouldn't even be able to skirt through Demesne 18 on the eastern border. The Eighteenth was solid Azure territory, both war-torn and now locked down, even to passing refugees
. It would be impossible to gain access to any direct routes unspotted, even with her powers.
Smuggling it was, then.
Finding out who the smugglers were was the first priority. Getting up the cash was the second. Knowing shipping rates, getting trafficked to the Island would probably set them back about five thousand Azure dollars. The Anon trade name still carried a little weight, though, enough so that Civilian runners might be happy with three thousand instead. The only thing in her way was the money.
She looked at the rubber-band of blue bills on her desk. A good start, but they'd need way more than that. They could wait until Caleb came back. Fix his hardware, get the rest of their money, get closer to their goal—
But would he let us leave?
She smiled, already knowing the answer. Mr. Captain-Save-Em would build a settlement in their asses just to make sure she and the kid were "safe and sound".
Yeah, that'd be an issue. Then, she'd also have to feel guilty the day they'd have to trick Caleb, the day they'd have to lie to him and say they were coming back, when really they were leaving for good. She wouldn't feel badly about it, no, just a little… off-kilter. Yeah.
She gazed at Manja, who was snuggling with her "Butch Bear" (as she had just christened it) and brushing its hair. Caleb wouldn't be able to stay away for too long, not with the kid growing on him the way she was. They had to move quickly, had to survive the world they'd been given before they could take the life they wanted. If they were going to get themselves to the Island, they'd need more money. To get money, they'd need metal… and Zeika knew exactly where to get it.
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