Eve of Destruction

by C. E. Stalbaum

  “Now we hope he’s in,” Danev said after they left the carriage and he paid the driver.

  “This guy doesn’t seem like he’s doing as well as your mayor friend,” Zach commented dryly as he eyed the haggard buildings.

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Danev reminded him.

  Zach grunted. “Hopefully very deceiving, for his sake.”

  “We should get this over with,” Aram said, his cold gray eyes once again scouring the area.

  “Indeed,” Danev agreed. “Come.”

  Eve pulled her coat more tightly about her. She had felt out-of-place the moment she’d stepped off the train, but here it was even worse. It went beyond the icy glares and rustic fashion—something about this place just felt…wrong.

  Mercifully they were off the streets and into the building quickly, and a few moments later Danev was knocking on one of the doors. A tall, heavyset man with thinned hair beyond his years opened it. He seemed startled at first, but then fixated on the wide moustache of the man standing in front of him.

  “Gregori? Blessed Kirshal, what are you doing here?”

  “Hello, Jack,” Danev said softly. “It’s been a long time.”

  The other man shook his head in exasperation and examined the rest of them. His eyes stopped on Eve. “Oh my…Tara? No…”

  “Evelyn,” she corrected. “Evelyn DeShane.”

  Polard laughed heartily. “And to think, for a moment I thought Gregori had finally created a worthwhile illusion. I always told him he could make a fortune giving old people good looks.”

  Danev smiled and shook the man’s hand. “This is her friend, Zach, and this is my associate, Aram.” He lowered his voice. “I brought Eve here because we need to talk, Jack. Can we come in?”

  “Of course. Absolutely.” He gestured inside. “Make yourselves at home and let me get you something to drink. I, uh, I apologize for the mess—I don’t get many guests these days.”

  The apartment was modest but surprisingly pleasant given the exterior. He had enough sitting space for everyone, and Eve couldn’t help but notice the striking juxtaposition between some of his decorations. Eccentric baubles that probably passed as normal in this part of the country mixed with other, more traditional ones from out east… It painted the portrait of a man unsure of who he was, or at the very least one trying to fit in and only partially succeeding.

  “This is certainly not what I was expecting when I heard the knock,” Polard told them as he poured some tea. Everyone sat down except Aram, who remained standing by the door. “What’s it been? Twenty-five years?”

  “At least,” Danev admitted.

  “And you, my lady, look exactly like your mother.”

  “So I’ve been told,” Eve said politely.

  “What in the void is she up to, anyway? Not that I mind seeing her daughter, mind you, but I haven’t spoken to Tara since…”

  He trailed off when he saw her face. She did her best not to let her expression sag.

  “She’s dead, Mr. Polard,” Eve told him. “That’s actually the reason we’re here.”

  ***

  One of the first lessons Zach had learned in the army was how to make snap judgments about a situation. They weren’t always accurate, of course, and often times when he applied that technique to social interactions, he got himself into trouble. But he hadn’t been able to suppress the habit since getting back, and the moment he had stepped into this apartment he had immediately come to one very simple conclusion.

  Polard was not to be trusted.

  It wasn’t any one particular thing that stood out, but the overall impression was undeniable. The man looked a little haggard, but his finely-stitched cotton shirt and trousers were way out-of-place for anyone living in a dive like this. A single glance at his kitchen similarly revealed a collection of dinnerware appropriate for an upscale restaurant.

  Clearly, Danev had been right: appearances could be deceiving. But beyond the subtle lifestyle idiosyncrasies, Zach found Polard’s behavior suspect all by itself. He certainly looked a little surprised to see his old friend, but not completely flabbergasted. It meant that he was either a man that played his emotions close to his chest…or that he’d been expecting them.

  And if that was the case, it meant they needed to be careful. Zach shared a glance with Aram, and in that single moment he knew the other man had drawn the same conclusion.

  “I’m so sorry, my dear,” Polard whispered after Eve told him about the murder. “She was a good woman.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s not exactly an isolated incident these days,” Danev said. “Magi all across the country are under attack.”

  Polard nodded gravely. “Something I know all too well.”

  “But you’ve stayed here, right in the center of all of it,” Zach pointed out. He belatedly realized how accusatory that sounded and quickly corrected himself. “I just mean, it seems like it would be dangerous to live here.”

  “It’s my home,” Polard said with a heavy smile. “I’m quite stubborn when I want to be. Just ask Gregori.”

  “We all are in our own way,” Danev replied coolly. “But what are you doing here, Jack? How are you making a living?”

  The other man’s eyes narrowed. “Is this you asking or the Enclave?”

  Danev waved a hand dismissively. “I haven’t had anything to do with them in a long time. I’m genuinely curious.”

  Polard sighed. “I fix people on the side. Been doing it for almost nine years now. It pays for everything I need and keeps the heat off.”

  “You’re a doctor?” Eve asked incredulously.

  The man grunted. “Doctor? Oh, please, I wouldn’t have anything to do with those charlatans. All their tests and instruments just to tell someone what’s plainly obvious if they actually looked.” He shook his head. “I’m a trained healer, and given how hard these people have made life on magi, I’m the only one I know of in the city. It’s amazing how fast even a gun-toting Dusty will come around when he gets his hand crushed at the textile mill.”

  “I thought all the temples were abandoned,” Eve said.

  “You don’t need to throw on a robe and sit by an altar to heal someone, dear,” Polard scoffed. “Just because the Sisters all ran away scared doesn’t mean I’m going to. Like I said, I’m stubborn.”

  “And Simon’s aware of this?” Danev asked. “He hasn’t tried to stop you?”

  Polard snorted. “Are you kidding? He’s smarter than he seems from all those insipid pamphlets you find everywhere. He knows he needs to stay on my good side. How many people do you really think he’d get to work for him if they knew how dangerous it was?”

  Danev cocked an eyebrow. “So you work for him directly?”

  “He pays the bills,” Polard said with a shrug.

  Eve clenched her hands together in her lap. “He’s the one who killed my mother.”

  The man frowned. “What?”

  “He hired assassins to kill her,” Eve told him. “Then he sent them after me. They’ve been chasing us across the country and—”

  “You didn’t fill her head with this nonsense, did you?” Polard asked Danev with a pointed stare. “I know you and Simon had a falling out, but you can’t seriously believe he would do anything to harm Tara or her family.”

  “Have you not been paying attention to this campaign the last few months?” Zach countered. “He’s basically advocating blood on the streets.”

  “Goddess save us from the young and the ignorant,” Polard grunted breathlessly. “I know you’re hurting right now, but you can’t blame one man for the actions of some lunatics on the other side of the country.”

  For a moment Zach wondered if Eve might leap out of her chair at him. Her eyes simmered, and her hands clenched and unclenched in her lap...

  “Look, it’s nice to see you Gregori,” Polard continued, “but I wasn’t expecting an interrogation here.”

  “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to throw all this on you,” Danev soothed w
ith a practiced smile. He nodded to Zach and Eve with a look that clearly said back down. “We just came here for information about Tara. You stuck around the area for quite a while after the rest of us moved away.”

  “I suppose I did,” Polard replied skeptically. “What are you looking for?”

  “Whoever they were, the men who murdered Tara took one of her journals—the one where she wrote down her dreams.”

  “She kept on writing those, huh? I thought she gave it all up.”

  “Evidently not,” Danev told him. “Do you have any idea what might have been in it? Specifically, I mean.”

  Polard frowned and glanced to Eve. “Didn’t she tell you?”

  “She rarely spoke about her visions,” Eve said. “Sometimes I could tell that one had shaken her, but she never revealed specifics no matter how much I pressed.”

  “I guess that’s not surprising,” he murmured, leaning back in his chair. “But why would you expect me to know anything? I haven’t spoken with Tara in almost thirty years.”

  “Yes, but you see Simon much more frequently,” Danev said. “I suspect she knew a lot of things about him the rest of us didn’t. And with him on the verge of the presidency, you have to admit it would be a perfect time to settle old grudges.”

  Polard rolled his eyes. “I already told you Simon had nothing to do with that. He moved on with his life, and I’m sure she did the same.”

  “So you can’t think of anything she might know that would be a threat to him?”

  “How much dirt do your ex-lovers have on you, Gregori?” Polard asked with a snort. “I’d wager quite a bit. But as far as specifics? Sorry, I have no idea. We don’t exactly sit around the table reminiscing very often.”

  Eve sighed. “So we’re at a dead end. Again.”

  Polard’s eyes shifted back to Eve, and for a moment Zach swore he saw a twinge of sympathy in the man’s face. But then it was gone and he just shook his head.

  “Look, I’m very sorry for your loss,” Polard said, “I really am. I always liked Tara, and I respected her even more. All of us did. But if you’ve come here looking for answers, I’m afraid I don’t have any to give.”

  Zach tapped a finger on his lips. “You said a moment ago that you weren’t surprised Mrs. DeShane didn’t talk about her visions. What did you mean by that?”

  Polard shrugged. “We’ve all done things in the past we aren’t proud of. I know Tara had a lot of regrets.”

  “About Chaval?”

  “About using her power to help him,” Polard corrected. “The Enclave might never have bought into the whole Prophetess mantra, but anyone who spent time with Tara DeShane knew she was the real deal. Simon even more than the rest of us.”

  Eve frowned. “How do you mean?”

  Polard cocked an eyebrow at Danev. “Surely you told them.”

  “I told them that Tara and Simon were involved,” Danev said. “I told them she was instrumental in his early successes.”

  “The understatement of the millennium,” Polard muttered, shaking his head and turning back to Eve. “Simon may get all the credit for this little ‘revolution,’ but without your mother, it never would have been possible. She’s the one who started it all.”

  Zach’s mouth suddenly went dry. “You mean Steamworks?”

  “I mean everything,” Polard said. “I know it’s hard to understand, but back when we were in college, the world you see outside that window was just a fantasy…except to one woman. Trains, factories, mass production—you name it, and your mother dreamt it up. Simon was just the man who knew how to turn those dreams into reality.”

  Danev leaned forward, hand on his moustache. “That wasn’t the story the rest of us heard.”

  “Tara liked to deflect praise, you know that. It actually wasn’t until a few years ago that Simon admitted to me how instrumental she’d been in everything. If you want to talk about regrets, the only one he has is letting her go. But he absolutely wouldn’t have hurt her. For Edeh’s sake, I think he would have wanted to share what he had with her.” He swiveled his eyes to Eve. “And probably you, too.”

  “I…” Eve breathed, sighing and swallowing heavily. “I just wish she would have told me about that.”

  Polard smiled, and for once it actually seemed reasonably genuine. “I wish I had better answers for you, my dear, but I’m afraid I have nothing else to offer. Simon isn’t the villain you’re looking for. He would probably help you in your search if you asked, to be honest. You should go and see him while you’re here.”

  “We might drop him a line before we leave,” Danev said. Somehow he managed to sound completely earnest even though Zach knew it was a bold-faced lie. “But in any event, I thank you for the help, Jack. I’m sorry for any inconvenience we might have caused you.”

  Polard grunted. “Nonsense. I just wish the reunion were under better circumstances.”

  “As do I,” Danev whispered. “I don’t know what Simon is paying you, but I never expect people to give me information for free.” He set a small pouch of coins on the table between them.

  “I guess those rumors about you being a big shot were true, eh?” Polard asked with a crooked odd smirk. “I think you owed me for a case of whiskey or two anyway.”

  “Then consider this payback plus interest,” Danev said, standing and shaking the other man’s hand

  “I appreciate the help, Mr. Polard,” Eve added. The color had yet to return to her face.

  He nodded. “Do send me a letter if you find out anything. I’d…I’d really like to know.”

  Eve nodded. “I will.”

  Five minutes and a handful of pleasantries later, the four of them were once again outside the apartment complex. Zach waited until they were back at the street corner waiting for a carriage before breaking the silence.

  “At least we have a motive now,” he commented.

  Danev nodded. “And several intriguing possibilities.”

  Eve frowned and glanced between them. “What are you talking about?”

  “Chaval was worried your mother was going to steal the credit for all of his successes,” Zach told her. “That could destroy his entire image in one fell swoop.”

  “That’s one option,” Danev agreed. “Though it still doesn’t explain the journal.”

  “Unless it included other inventions Steamworks hasn’t produced yet. Maybe he suspected she’d dreamt up something new, or maybe he thought she had old records of something they had talked about back at Valmeri.”

  Danev’s face scrunched. “It’s also possible that Tara actively antagonized him.”

  “You think she threatened him?” Eve asked.

  “It’s possible. She could have warned him that she’d go public with this information. Like Zach said, it could seriously damage his image among his constituents. The fact he got help from a mage in any form would probably annoy them.”

  “And the thought that it was a mage’s vision who started it all would probably break them,” Eve reasoned. She squeezed her arms more tightly about herself then shook her head. “But mom wouldn’t do that. I can’t see her threatening anyone.”

  “It does seem out-of-character,” Danev conceded. “But it could have been a reaction to his rising popularity, a sort of last-ditch effort to try and keep him from winning the election. Who knows, she could have even had a vision about it.”

  “That’s a lot of speculation,” Aram said, his eyes sweeping the area to make sure they weren’t being watched. “It also doesn’t change your first theory. You already suspected she knew something that was a threat to him.”

  “Right, but now we have an educated guess as to what it might be,” Danev said. “But educated or not, it’s still just a guess. We’re missing something important.”

  Aram shifted his eyes to his employer. “I’m sure you also noticed that he wasn’t surprised to see us.”

  Danev nodded. “He’d been coached.”

  Eve blinked and shook her head. “Huh?” />
  “Chaval knew we would come here,” Zach told her, his mind racing as he tried to put it all together. “And he told Polard what to say, more or less.”

  “So you think he was lying, then?”

  “At least partially,” Danev said. “I think he was telling the truth about your mother’s early involvement, though.”

  Zach rubbed at his temple and unwittingly took a deep breath of the Cadotheian air. He immediately regretted it. “That doesn’t make sense. If this information is dangerous to Chaval, and Chaval was coaching Polard, then why would he tell us about it?”

  Danev shrugged. “We don’t have any proof, so there’s nothing we could really do about it. Jack mostly seemed interested in clearing Simon’s name.”

  “And he suggested we go see Chaval,” Zach added. “I hope you were lying when you said we would contact him.”

  “Naturally,” Danev grunted.

  “It all seemed a little too obvious,” Aram said. “Surely with your reputation, Chaval wouldn’t underestimate you that badly. I’m not sure what he hoped to accomplish.”

  Danev sighed. “I don’t know, either.”

  “So we don’t have any answers,” Eve told them, “and now we’re talking in circles.”

  Danev glanced to his bodyguard, then back to Eve. “We have our answer. It’s just one I had hoped to avoid.”

  “We need the journal,” Zach murmured. “It’s the only way to find out anything for certain.”

  “Right,” Eve said. “Except we don’t even know where it is.”