by Ivy Baum
Great. Another underground hide-out.
As we followed Sol deeper into town, I understood why we’d had to abandon the van. Junk was strewn everywhere. Mostly, it was just the detritus of every day life. Furniture, garbage, old toys, bikes, even rusted-out old cars.
As we picked our way along the increasingly cluttered path, Sol explained how Outlaw City had gotten its start.
“Charles Marovech and Liberatus Sforza. Those are the guys who started this place. One hundred and seventy-two years ago, if you can believe it. Too bad their alliance only lasted a few generations. After they had their falling out, this place went from a sort of well-ordered anarchy to outright chaos.”
“Falling out?” Junie snorted. “More like one of the guys turned out to be an evil bastard.”
Deo muttered something under his breath.
Sol raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, after they got tired of duking it out, the Founders just kind of let this place go to shit. Now any asshole on a power trip can come here and install his gang in the Tower—at least until the next asshole kicks him out.”
He caught my eye. “Believe me, this place goes through a lot of assholes.”
I thought of what Clover had said. “Is it true that you can’t do magic here?”
Sol nodded. “We got the Dampers in the eighties. The ruling gang at the time took credit for it, but everyone knew that only someone very powerful could have pulled off that kind of fixed magic.”
I hesitated, then said, “I thought you weren’t affected by Dampers.”
He smiled. “I did say that, didn’t I? Well, it’s true. But only where human Dampers are involved. The city Dampers aren’t alive—so I can’t drain them. Which means that I go in here unarmed, too.”
We kept walking. After awhile, I noticed that the place was blanketed by an unnatural silence.
I shivered and pulled my sweatshirt closer. “This place gives me the creeps.”
We passed empty windows, which seemed to stare at us as we passed.
Sol nodded. “It’s supposed to do that.”
Junie said, “Even with all the signs, people still come poking around here. This stuff is supposed to discourage them.”
“Personally, I think the decorations draw even more tourists.” Sol grinned. “What can I say? People are sick.”
A gust of wind came whipping across our path. In spite of the bright afternoon sunlight, the air was cool and dry.
The path had long since disappeared. Deo, who was in the lead, simply seemed to be picking his way between the piles of junk.
At some unnoticed point, the sunlight had gone from painfully bright to distant and muted. I craned my head, expecting to find clouds—but the sky was still its almost unnatural shade of blue.
My feeling of disquiet grew.
There was a chain-link fence up ahead. It was pockmarked with various warning signs. As we drew closer, I saw that there was no path around it—or at least there didn’t appear to be.
Beyond it, I saw something that might have been a junkyard. But it barely looked any different from the rest of this place.
Deo stopped in front of the fence.
I came up behind him.
“Where do we go now?”
“This is it,” Deo said. “The front door.”
Sol caught my eye and winked. “I’ll admit, the curb appeal is lacking. But it does keep away the riffraff.”
I tried to see beyond the fence. “That’s Outlaw City?”
Junie, who had come up on Deo’s other side, grinned. “You’ll see.”
The others had ranged in a semi-circle around the fence.
Sol sighed. “We might as well get it over with.”
“Ladies first, I guess.”
And Junie stepped through the fence. Or maybe into it was a better description.
It was as though she’d passed through an invisible curtain. The chain link fence looked the same as it had before. Only Junie was gone.
Deo was next. This time, I was determined to watch more closely. As he made contact with the fence, the air around him seemed to shimmer and warp.
Something brushed my fingers. I looked down to see Sol take my hand.
“Come on. We’ll go through together.”
We stepped into the fence.
Instinctively, I held my breath. But I felt nothing.
Then everything seemed to dissolve, and the light sluiced around me like water.
When the light receded, I gasped.
We stood at the edge of a vast, shallow basin. Down below, every square inch was occupied by a riot of colors and styles, the buildings crowded together in an almost haphazard manner.
Most of them were no more than two or three stories. One, however, stood out. In the center of the city, a single narrow tower rose from the chaos.
We stood on a path that led away in both directions. This area, the edge of the basin, was sparse desert—and completely unoccupied.
A single footpath led down—all the way to the gates of the city.
A sign in front of us read, Welcome to The Underworld.
I couldn’t stop staring. “How is this even possible?”
Sol grinned. “You mean unlike all the other magical stuff you’ve seen so far?”
I felt a rueful smile—but it dropped away as I caught sight of movement on either side.
Two men hurried down the path—one from each direction.
Both of them carried a weapon—some sort of blade that looked like a Grim Reaper-style scythe.
The others exchanged a look.
Sol smiled. “Okay, guys. Time to turn on the charm. Looks like the welcoming committee is here.”
Chapter 34
One man approached, his manner brusque and officious.
“I’m here to inform you that you have officially entered the sovereign city of the Underworld.”
Sol looked unimpressed. “Yeah, we kind of figured that out when we went through the invisible magic fence.”
Then man’s eyes narrowed. “This territory is now property of the Archon Corporation. Please state your names and business here.”
There was a brief, uncertain silence. I saw Sol and Junie exchange a look.
Sol frowned. “Since when do you have border control?”
The guard lifted an eyebrow. “Names, please.”
We gave them our names—though Sol introduced Deo simply as “Deo.” I wondered if he even had a last name.
The guard entered these into an electronic tablet. “And your business here?”
“Sightseeing,” Sol snapped.
Junie offered, in a more conciliatory tone, “We have friends here.”
“And their names are?”
Sol looked like he was about to explode. “Liberatus Sforza and Charles Fucking Marovech.”
The guard lowered his tablet and gave each of us a long look.
“Have any of you visited the Capitol in the past twelve months?”
Sol said, “The one with the White House, or the other one?”
The guard raised his eyebrows.
Sol sighed. “No. Geez, we’re half-bloods. Don’t you think we want to keep our heads attached to our bodies?”
The guard excused himself and conferred with his partner. When he returned, his face wasn’t encouraging.
“I’m going to need to run your names by the office of security in the Areopagus. In the meantime, you’ll have to wait.”
“Here?” Sol was incredulous.
“Or on the other side of the fence, if you prefer.”
“Look, we don’t have time for this. There are things going on out there—”
“There are always things going on out there.” The guard gave him an insincere smile.
A look passed between Deo and Sol. I wondered if they were planning on jumping the guards.
Sol gestured at Deo. “Do you know who he is?”
The guard glanced at his tablet, obviously unimpressed. “According to this, he’s some
one named Dee-oh.”
Sol said, “His full name is Desiderato Francesco Achilleus Sforza.”
The guards perked up a little at the last name.
Sol smiled thinly. “Yes, that Sforza.” He stood a little straighter. “Now, do you really want to deny entry to Mr. Sforza’s own son?”
The guard with the scythe looked genuinely impressed. But the one with the tablet was harder to crack.
“Mr. Sforza has ninety-nine other bastard sons. Why should he care about this one?”
Deo stepped forward, and the guy with the scythe tensed. Deo could be intimidating, when he wanted to.
He said, “And just how much are you willing to gamble on the fact that I might be one of the half-blood bastards he happens to favor?”
The guards exchanged a look. Finally, the officious one typed a few notes into his tablet.
He looked up, his expression bland. “I’ll allow you entrance. For now. But I’ll be checking on your story, and his parentage.” His eyes cut to Deo.
We started down the path.
When we were out of earshot of the guards, Sol quipped, “Well, that was new and unpleasant.”
Junie looked thoughtful. “The Archon Corporation. You think they have any relation to the old Archon government?”
“I don’t know, but I miss the good old-fashioned criminal gangs that used to run this place.”
Deo observed, “Maybe you should have offered him a bribe.”
I glanced over my shoulder, back toward the invisible fence. From this side, it was not chain-link, but a smooth, unadorned expanse of dark wood. Beyond it, I saw no evidence of the abandoned town—only empty desert.
Well, I could hardly blame them for not wanting that view.
This part of the path went through an empty stretch of desert, a sort of no-man’s-land. Up ahead, the city loomed like a solid wall of strange colors and shapes.
I glanced at Deo. “Are you really that guy’s son?”
He nodded, and gave a slightly pained smile. “Let’s just say that my father likes to keep busy. He has many sons—and many daughters too, though he mostly ignores those.”
Sol caught my eye. “In case you were wondering, Deo is not actually his favorite bastard. But it’ll take Mr. Rent-a-Cop up there awhile to figure that out.”
We had come to a large, ornate gate. It had an archaic flair that made me remember that this place was supposed to be nearly two hundred years old.
I tensed, wondering if there would be another guard. But no one rushed out to meet us this time.
Sol reached for the enormous wrought-iron handle.
“Wait.” Junie put a hand on Sol’s arm. “We need a plan.”
Deo said, “We could go straight to the Tower. See if we can get a meeting with whoever’s in charge.”
Sol lifted an eyebrow. “The CEO of the Archon Corporation?”
Deo shrugged. “What are our other options?”
Junie said, “We could go to the Common Market. See if anyone there knows anything about Blood Right.”
Neither Deo nor Sol seemed particularly enthusiastic about this.
“What’s the Common Market?” I asked.
Sol caught my eye. “A place that’s dangerous even by Outlaw City standards.”
“But possibly useful,” Junie pointed out.
There was a long silence, during which Sol and Deo seemed to be having a silent conversation.
Junie looked annoyed. “Well, whatever we decide, we need to do it. It’s going to get dark soon.”
I looked toward the sky. The light here was muted in a way I couldn’t quite describe. But when I looked up, the sky was still a brilliant, unmarred blue.
Sol saw me looking. “They didn’t get it quite right, did they? Still pretty impressive, though.”
“Is it magic? Or technology?” It reminded me a little of the fake Rec Dec sky I’d seen in Sanctuary. That, Sol had assured me, was magic.
Sol shrugged. “I don’t know. A little of both, maybe? Either way, it’s not real.”
I frowned. “Then how does it get dark?”
“They turn out the lights.” Junie grinned. “They used to keep it bright all the time. Apparently, it made people go a little crazy.”
Deo raised an eyebrow. “More than a little.”
“So they gave us a bedtime,” Sol said. “Believe me, when they turn out the lights, you’ll know it.”
We were still standing in front of the gate. The city that lay beyond it was eerily quiet.
Junie looked at Sol. “So what are we going to do? Please tell me our plan isn’t to just walk around until hilarity ensues.”
Sol sighed. “We need information. I think we need to talk to someone.”
Deo raised an eyebrow. “The Archon Corporation?”
“No.” Sol smiled thinly. “A friend.”
Chapter 35
Junie gave him a skeptical look. “You don’t have friends in Outlaw City.”
Deo said, “He means Roche.”
The silence that followed was distinctly uncomfortable.
Junie shook her head. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Sol grinned. “Why wouldn’t it be?” His face grew sober. “Look, Roche has about as much love for the assholes in the Tower as he does for syphilis. He’ll help us.”
No one said anything. I got the sense that they weren’t fully convinced. But when Sol yanked open the gate, no one protested.
We were going in.
Just like that, I found myself on a cobblestone street with buildings pressing all around me.
The gate behind me had disappeared. Now it looked as though there was only more city behind us.
It was disconcerting. For one thing, how did anyone ever find their way out of here?
I glanced uncertainly at Junie. “So…what happens when we want to leave?”
“Don’t worry.” She smiled, but it seemed forced. “Believe it or not, there are many passages out of the city.”
“Yeah, and for all we know, we’ll meet our Border Control friends there, too,” Sol muttered. But he strode forward anyway.
On either side of me, two- and three-story buildings loomed. Maybe it was just the narrowness of the street—it couldn’t have accommodated anything larger than a golf cart—but the buildings seemed to crowd in overhead.
We were on some kind of main thoroughfare, but I occasionally caught glimpses of narrow passageways leading to even more narrow streets.
I noticed, again, the unnatural quiet. It was a jarring contrast to the riotously bright colors around us.
“Where is everyone?”
Up ahead, Sol laughed. “Nobody walks around above ground. The streets are for tourists and those who want to rob them.”
I glanced at Junie, who was walking next to me. Sometimes it could be hard to tell if Sol was joking or not.
She said, “This part of the city is mostly for show. The real stuff is underground.”
Well, that definitely explained the weird vibes I was getting. There were no public shops or restaurants. No courtyards or parks or even any open spaces. Just an unbroken line of buildings—rows and rows of closed doors and shuttered windows.
Junie caught my eye. “There’s not much space to work with up here, so most people build down, not up.”
We came to our first major intersection. Four streets, seemingly identical to ours, branched off in each direction.
In the center was a modestly-sized stone fountain with a vaguely Italian look. The water burbled gently—all the more unnerving in the silence.
Sol approached the fountain. “They have one of these in every neighborhood. They’re supposed to help navigate through the city.”
He waved me over to where he was crouching next to the fountain.
Near the base of the fountain was a series of markings—a jumble of letters, numbers, and even symbols, half of which I didn’t recognize. None of them made any sense.
“Of course, true to form, th
ey never agreed on a consistent method of labeling, so fountain-directions are next to useless.”
Nevertheless, he got up and strode with seeming confidence toward one of the streets.
As we pushed deeper into the city, my sense of unease grew. It wasn’t just the lack of people, or the unnatural silence—or even the strange light, which was muted in spite of the brilliant blue sky.
No, it was the sense that there were other people here—and that they just hadn’t shown themselves.
In fact, I was starting to get that itchy feeling at the base of my neck, like I was being watched.
As Sol led us down a series of ever more narrow passages, the buildings crowded so closely overhead that the sky seemed to disappear.
Just when I was starting to feel like a rat in a maze, we emerged into a large, empty square dominated by the largest fountain yet. At least ten different streets led away from here.
Sol approached the fountain.
As we waited, a deeper hush descended on the group.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that the city hovered over us, watching.
Deo came to stand next to me. There was a knowing glint in his eye.
“They used to call this place the City of Eyes. It fits, doesn’t it?”
Junie had come up beside him. “I prefer Creepy Disneyland.”
Sol straightened with a grunt. “Come on.” He pointed to a narrow gap between two buildings.
Junie gave it a dubious look.
Sol smiled. “It’s a shortcut.” He pointed. “Fontainebleu should be three blocks that way. If I read this thing right, anyway,” he added, aiming a kick at the base of the fountain.
The narrow passage forced us into single file. As we made our way down the path, I tried to ignore a rising sense of claustrophobia that threatened to turn to panic. I tried to distract myself by cataloguing the different architectural styles I had seen so far.
But as I started to go over a mental list, I realized it probably would’ve been easier to list the ones I hadn’t seen. I’d already glimpsed Greek Temples, Byzantine Mosaics, Gothic Spires, even Russian Orthodox domes. And that wasn’t even counting the stuff I didn’t recognize.
I caught up to Junie, who was ahead of me.
“Hey.” I kept my voice instinctively low. “What’s Fountainebleu?”
