by Robin Roseau
“No, Cecilia.”
“I’m working on something,” she said. “I have been for a while. I have some influence, too, and it’s not limited to Talmon.”
“I don’t want one if it means a village doesn’t get power, and I really don’t want one if it costs us a rejuvenation pod.”
“It might delay a village,” she said. “And I won’t offer if I could get a pod instead. I’m working on that, too, but that’s an entirely different direction.”
“Did we just come to an agreement?” Pippa asked.
“I believe we did, Minister.”
“That’s my title? Seriously? Minister of Education for an entire planet? An entire planet?!”
“Yes, Pippa. Maddalyn, give her whatever access makes sense. Pippa, it will take time to get another jumper here. For now, you’ll need to coordinate with Maddalyn if you need one.”
“Can it be cute and sporty?”
“I want it to seat four,” Cecilia said. “With good range. But yes, it can be cute and sporty.”
Pippa stepped away from Luradinine, approaching Cecilia. “I have one more requirement.”
“Do you?”
“Please forgive me, and I would like a hug.”
Cecilia opened her arms, and the two hugged tightly. A minute later, Luradinine pulled her away then grabbed Pippa and me by our wrists to pull us back into Galatzi lockup.
Pippa couldn’t stop smiling.
* * * *
Luradinine brought Cecilia to our lockup. She retied all of us, adding Cecilia to the mix. Then she led us through the manor and out the front door. We walked a short distance to a carriage. It was cozy fitting all of us in, and there were shades over the windows, so we couldn't peek.
They took us to the inn next to the harbor. Luradinine led us inside, where we greeted the other diners. There was a large, round table waiting for us, and we found ourselves seated with Luradinine and several others. Luradinine stayed for drinks and then said, “I’ll see some of you later.” She stopped by Pippa on the way, giving her a soul-wrenching kiss, then headed from the inn.
Our guards remained.
We had a nice dinner. Pippa was still stunned from events. In a way, I was, too. At the same time, I was ready for the event to begin.
I missed Kalorain, and I couldn’t wait for her to catch me.
Oh, I was going to try to win, but I thought the chances were slight, if it was even possible.
Partway through the meal, Cecilia turned to one of our guards. “Are you here to help catch us?”
“That would hardly be fair,” the woman replied. “We’re just keeping you here until the start.”
“So if we talk strategy in front of you, you won’t tell anyone.”
“No, we won’t,” she said. Then she hooked her thumb. “I can’t promise for anyone else.”
Cecilia smiled. “That’s fine.” She switched to English. “Does anyone not at this table speak English?”
Farratain looked around. “None I know.”
“What sort of strategy have you discussed?”
“Like that’s going to matter,” Pippa said.
“You give up too easily,” Serenity said. “What did you have in mind, Cecilia?”
“Well, are we working together or going our separate ways? Or maybe some of this and some of that?”
“I wonder if we should have talked about this earlier,” I replied. I turned to Farratain. “What was your first raid here like?”
“I have been asked not to answer any questions like that,” she said. “Please don’t ask me.”
I turned to Pippa. “Has Luradinine spilled the beans with you?”
“No. She’s been very careful with me. But Tranquility is here, and she looked awfully pleased with the pending events.”
“I wonder if I can tap into her tablet,” I said. “I bet Cecilia can.”
“Have you tried accessing the network in the last hour?” Cecilia asked
“Melina,” I said. “Establish connection.”
“Working,” she said. “I am sorry, Maddalyn. I am unable to do so.”
“How did that happen?” I asked Cecilia.
“Sartine ordered it, and as it falls under our Galatzi relationship, I obeyed. You and I are both locked out, as are all their tablets, until authorized by whomever catches us.”
“Melina, establish a direct connection with Cecilia Grace.”
“Unable,” she replied.
“Sartine has lockout codes on my implant,” Cecilia explained. “She used them.”
“You gave her that?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Well, so much for that. You and I are better fighters than any of them.”
“I am. You’re about as good as Sartine.”
“You’ve never seen me fight.”
“I have your records,” she said. “And I’ve fought Sartine. She’s good. You might be better, but it’s not like you’d face only her. We’re not going to win by fighting.”
“What do you think?”
“I think if we stay tied together, it’s harder to pick us apart.”
I thought about that. “I bet they have a plan for that.”
“Probably,” Serenity said. “Do they have swords on this planet? Yank on one of us and cut the rope.”
“I’ve never seen one, but they have machetes,” Cecilia said. “They’re wood, but with obsidian edges. Very sharp.”
“Why are we talking about this?” I asked. “I don’t want to break any rules, and Luradinine told us we weren’t allowed to untie ourselves.”
“I’m fairly certain the rules all change the moment the game starts,” Cecilia said. “Or was she specific about it?”
“She was talking about earlier,” Serenity said. “She didn’t mention a thing about what was allowed once it starts.”
“All is fair,” Cecilia said.
“You know,” I said. “Two of you were out and about today. She kept us inside for a reason.”
“Yes, well. She kept us inside, too,” Pippa said.
“You’re a crappy spy,” Serenity complained.
That was when Mama said, “Why are you talking English? If you speak Talmonese, I might understand.”
“We didn’t want our guards to understand,” I replied. “We’re wondering if we should work together or separately.”
“Why would we separate?”
“That would make us several small targets rather than one big one. They would have to divide their attention. If we stay together, ten people can catch us. If we separate, and we manage to split up, then it might take ten each, just to track us until they can catch us.”
“If they don’t catch us the minute we step outside.”
“What’s the fun in that?” I asked. I switched back to English. “Well?”
“Untie,” Serenity said, “but stick together as long as we can.”
“And if we’re separated?”
“Then we’re separated,” she said.
* * * *
It was full dark outside when drums all over Beacon Hill began ringing. Talmon didn’t have bells, but they had drums. The moment that started, one of our guards said, “The event begins. We will pay this bill. You may untie yourselves if you wish. We are to tell you: anyone caught while within direct sight of this inn will be dunked in the harbor, and it’s awfully cold.”
“Let’s go,” Cecilia said. “Stay tied until we’re clear of the inn. Serenity, you lead.”
We began moving, Serenity leading our chain, her left arm stretched behind her to Farratain’s waist. Behind us, we heard various wishes, including both, “Good luck,” and “Enjoy being caught.”
Outside, Serenity turned right and began jogging, tugging us along. “Where are you going?”
“Getting away from here on an unexpected direction,” she said over her shoulder. “Move.”
We moved, for about a block before we reached an unexpected dead end. There was a makeshift wall stretched acros
s the road, and in front of it, a dozen villagers, all wearing sashes. The moment they saw us, they lifted wooden whistles to their lips and began whistling, but they didn’t come after us.
“Oh shit!” Serenity said. She spun around, and then we were retracing our path. We returned all the way to the inn before we could turn.
“She did this last time, too,” Farratain said.
Serenity ran us straight across, passing the inn and now heading south. This time, we got further before the road was blocked, but it was just past a corner, so we turned right, heading deeper into Beacon Hill, the whistles behind us announcing our location.
We ran, but Farratain began struggling. Soon, we were half dragging her as she panted for breath.
“I can’t,” she said finally. “I can’t run anymore. Untie me.”
“Slow it down, Serenity,” Cecilia said. “We’re not leaving her behind.”
Serenity ducked us into an alley, and then we let Farratain catch her breath. “All right,” Serenity said. “She’s shown her hand. I wonder how many streets are blocked.”
“The first time, she didn’t block that many, but she had patrols out, too,” Farratain said. “I think we’re making a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“I’m going to slow you down,” she said. “That hurts us all. We should either sneak separately or run fast, but I can’t run like you can. You should untie me, and I’ll try to sneak.”
“I bet they aren’t counting that carefully,” Mama said. “They might not notice if we’re one short. If she hides for a while, we’ll probably draw off the attention. It might be an hour or two before they realize she’s not with us. Even if we do get caught, they might think she’s already caught somewhere else.”
“I don’t want to leave anyone,” Cecilia said.
“You’re not leaving me. You’re giving all of us the best chance. Either we sneak, or we run. We’re not sneaking, and we’re not really running. We’re taking the worst choice.”
“It’s not the Talmon way,” Pippa said.
“Pippa,” said Farratain. “If you make it to your destination, does that mean you won’t stay with Luradinine, or you won’t be her Galatzi wife?”
“No.”
“Serenity, how about you?”
“No.”
“So this is just a fun game,” she said. “We should play to win. Leaving me but drawing them off helps me and you.”
“She’s right,” Cecilia said. “Should we all untie?”
“No, just untie from her and retie the gap,” I said. “Then we’ll go.”
That took a minute. We hugged her quickly, and then we were running again.
We were spotted. Whistles sounded. We changed directions. And again.
And then Serenity was the first taken.
* * * *
They caught her -- and really all of us, in a way -- entirely by surprise. We hadn’t seen anyone in several minutes. The entire town knew approximately where we were, but the street was dark, and we were running along, single file. And then suddenly, with no warning at all, Serenity gave a squeak and then was just gone.
Although the rope connecting her to Cecilia stretched taut, caught in a tightly closed door. Serenity was somewhere on the other side of that door, and we’d never seen how she’d been grabbed.
Cecilia tried to open the door, but it was locked tightly, probably barred from inside. She tried yanking the rope loose, but it didn’t budge. She began trying to untie it from her waist, but the knot had tightened, and she was struggling with it.
“What have we here?” I spun, as much as I could, anyway. Wenolopid was ten paces away, alone, watching us. “Tonight,” he said. “I am a messenger. Discounting whichever of you is on the other side of that door, anyone caught here is getting a tattoo.”
“What?” Cecilia said.
“On her ass,” Wenolopid added. “Mother told me to say it that way. You’ll be stuck with it until your next rejuvenation.”
And then he calmly turned around and walked away.
I didn’t think of it at the time, but this was Luradinine’s plan to cause us to panic. It worked, after a fashion. It would have worked more if they gave us more time.
“Hurry! We need to get untied,” Pippa said. She began working on the knot that connected her to me. Mama began on a knot connecting her to Pippa. And I looked at the rope between me and Cecilia, but stood there, not moving, still stuck to our plan to remain together.
Then there were boots, lots of boots. We spun, and a crowd was running for us. Cecilia struggled with the rope. Then they were upon us. Several of them grabbed Mama and pulled her further into the street, tugging hard and dragging Pippa with them, and then me until we were stretched out as far as we could be. Cecilia continued to struggle with her rope, but we were now all working one-handed, our left hand stretched out further into the street.
And I was sure they had us all at once.
I wasn’t thinking fully clearly. Everyone was wearing a sash and a cloak pulled up, but I didn’t see Kalorain -- and in the glimpses of faces I saw, I didn’t see anyone I knew.
They stretched us tightly, then two people stepped into the gap between Cecilia and me. Another stepped into the gap from me to Pippa, and one more into the final gap from Pippa to Felda. They were each holding a pail with a wood handle sticking out of it, and then I watched as one of them lifted the handle and I saw it was a brush.
“Tighter,” she said. I didn’t recognize the voice. The people pulling on Mother pulled harder, stretching the rope. “Anyone who fights this part get some in her hair,” the woman added.
“What is it?”
“It’s the sap they use to make coins,” Cecilia said. “I recommend letting them do whatever they’re going to do. If it dries, you’ll have to cut it out.”
We all stopped struggling. And the townspeople painted the knots of the ropes, the one around Cecilia’s wrist, the one around my waist, and on down the line. They were each very, very careful, and if any of the sap landed in unintentional places, I don’t know of it.
“You may buy a clue,” said the woman who had brushed my wrist’s rope. “It’s a good clue, but the price is this: one of you has to willingly let us brush her hands. It’s hot, but it won’t burn you.”
“Brush?” Cecilia asked.
“Heavily brush,” she clarified. “Do you know what will happen?”
“It will dry,” Cecilia said. “How do you get it off?”
“I had it done to me once,” said another. “It takes hours with a small hammer and chisel. Any volunteers?” None of us spoke up, and that woman said, “Yeah. It’s a good clue, but I wouldn’t do it, either. Remember what Wenolopid said.”
Then someone else stepped up and used one of the machetes to cut the rope connecting me to Pippa, separating our chain of four into two chains of two. “Run!”
Pippa and Mother hesitated, then Cecilia said, “If you don’t want to be tattooed, run! Luradinine doesn’t bluff.”
Pippa and Mother took off, continuing in the direction we’d been going. The townspeople let them go. I wouldn't see either of them until the game was over. The villagers grabbed the dangling rope and pulled it tight, stretching Cecilia and I out.
I was sure we’d been caught, but one of them stepped to me. “You get a choice, Maddalyn. We’re cutting one more rope. You get to pick which rope. If you pick that one,” and she pointed towards the one connecting me to Cecilia, “You may run in any direction you want, and we’ll give you the clue besides. We’ll leave Cecilia here. She might free herself, but I doubt it. If you pick the other rope, we’re herding you back the way you came, and no clue. Choose wisely.”
“Free us both,” I said.
“So be it.” A second later, Cecilia was free of the door. Together we turned and ran.
* * * *
We had no choice. We ran all the way back to the front of the inn. It was the only unblocked path, and there were ample whistles besi
des. We took the road directly away from the inn. We were twenty minutes into the game and back at the starting point.
We ran two blocks then ahead we could see the road was blocked. Cecilia pulled us into an alley. There weren’t any whistles, either because it was dark enough they hadn’t seen us, or because they decided not to announce us yet. We came to a stop and she turned to me then spoke German. “How much do you want to win?”
“I’m just here for fun, but I want to put up as good a chase as I can,” I said.
“Yeah, me, too,” she said. “Wow, Luradinine is good at this.”
“I think the entire village turned out for it. It’s a sporting event. Are you having fun?”
“My heart was pounding back there,” Cecilia said. “Yes, I’m having a blast.”
“The only thing I don’t want is for it to be over too quickly,” I said. “I’m not ready for that.”
She nodded. “Do you think this alley goes anywhere?”
“Do you think they know where we are?”
“Yes. But it’s really dark, and they don’t have any technology. The only way to track us is sight. If we stay in shadows, we might be able to sneak outside their net. They can’t have blocked every single path.”
“Let’s head north then,” I said.
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
We followed dark alleys for several minutes, finally reaching a real street. I was utterly lost, and I hadn’t thought to load Melina with a map. “I have no idea which way we’re going.”
“North is this way,” Cecilia said. “This is too easy. We’re walking into another trap.”
“Head towards the harbor until the next chance to go north.”
“Sure.”
That plan worked about thirty seconds. From a side alley, a half block up, a crowd of sash-wearing people appeared. They began whistling and chasing us.
We turned and ran, ducking into the alley again and running pell-mell. Then Cecilia tugged us into a recess between two buildings, and we came to a stop. I clamped my free hand over my mouth, trying to silence my panting. Seconds later, our pursuers ran past us.
We waited, and once it was quiet, we slipped back into the alley and crept towards the mouth. We peeked out and saw not a soul, so we stepped out, took three steps, and then I nearly had a heart attack.
