by RaeLynn Fry
“I feel like you’re somewhere else at the meetings, Karis. There are moments when you being engaged and would have really had a strong impact, but you aren’t paying attention.”
“Ethan, that's not fair—” A wave of exhaustion slams into me.
“These are your people, Karis. They don't trust me, yet. We agreed that we would do this together because it was—is—something we both feel passionatly about. When you're not there, when you look like you'd rather be somewhere else, or that you don't have an interest in what I'm trying to convince them to do, it's all for naught.”
“Don't blame the lack of an uprising on me, this isn't my fault.” I catch myself before I follow my thoughts with words, because they're dark and I don't want to say something that I can't take back.
Ethan stops, grabbing my elbow. “What is going on between us?”
I take a deep breath. “Look, we're both on edge and I think we can agree this thing between us isn't going away. It’s getting bigger.”
He's quiet for a little bit and his voice is soft when he speaks again. “What thing between us?”
My words are a little less hard than before. “Oh, come on. You can't pretend like you haven't noticed it, too. It's like there's this wall growing between us, and neither one of us is doing anything to tear it down.” I pinch my eyes shut and swallow the lump that’s formed in my throat. “What if it just keeps getting bigger and stronger?”
I can hear him swallow, too. “Do you want it to?”
“No, I don't. But it just seems like there's so much we don't agree on anymore. It's like we're not the same people who met in Dahn. The same people who fell in love.”
“We aren't the same people. No one is the same as they were the day before. And tomorrow they'll be even more different than they are today. That's just how things are. We aren't stagnant beings. But that doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped loving you. I don't want to be fighting with you all the time. I want us to be partners; in this and in the rest of our lives.” His fingers slip from my elbow to my hand.
“I still love you, too,” I say, “but I can't ignoring the right thing to do because you don't agree with it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Going and getting Ajna. I talked through it with Gandā and—”
“Gandā? Who is Gandā?”
“The Untouchable.” I shouldn’t have brought this up.
“You've named him? Karis, he's unconscious. You can't talk to him about anything. Not and get any feedback, anyway.”
My softness disappears, irritation taking its place. “I can talk to him if I want, and I do. All the time. In fact, it's nice having someone listen to what I have to say instead of always trying to shoot down my ideas and discourage me. I've actually worked out a lot of my plan while talking to him.”
“You can't be serious about going through with this!” Ethan rakes his fingers through his hair.
“I am, so please don't try to talk me out of it anymore.”
“Because an unconscious man doesn’t disagree with you, you think your plan is a sound one? Do you even have an actual plan, or is it more of a, I think I’ll bust into the Inner City and wing it? Because I really think that’s all you’ve got. What about the uprising? I need you for that. I need you to be there and invested one hundred percent. Have you thought about what will happen to the rest of us if something happens to you when you go to Dahn? Because it will. What will it do to Jeret, Journey, me? Or how about your brother?”
“My top priority is getting my brother back, and yours is taking your father down.”
“Don't put it like that, Karis, you know it isn't that simple.”
“I put it like I see it.”
“Aghh! I hate it when you get like this! You're so....impossible to even interact with.”
“Like what?” I get indignant.
“So prideful and self—righteous. You don't see reason and are never willing to compromise.”
“Once upon a time, you told me those were qualities you liked about me.”
“You hate your mother so much, yet you are so much like her.”
“I told you never to talk about Rebeka here!” I take a step closer to him, my jaw set. “No one can know that we saw her.”
“That she's Akin's little pet, you mean?”
“Take that back!”
“No. What do you care, anyway? You don’t even like her.”
“Take it back!” I shove him hard in the chest.
“You're acting like a child, Karis, and I’m not going to let you suck me into it. You can find your own way back home, I trust?”
“Better than you can.”
“Good.”
“Good.” I go to say one last thing, but he beats me to it.
“While we're on this little honesty kick, I've decided to find the proof that the people of Neech need, with or without your agreement. And maybe, while I'm doing that, we should take a break.”
I swallow the lump that's taken form in my throat. “Oh, yeah? Well, I've already made that decision for myself; I’m breaking up with you!” And with that last childish remark, I spin on my heel, blood boiling, and my breath seething.
Ethan
A long time ago, back when I was still a boy following my father around like some lovesick Candidate, he used to take me to his office in The Tower. Every day, I’d sit and play under his desk while he was in meetings or lay on the couch while he worked on important paperwork.
One day, during a series of meetings with the board members, I was looking for a pen, rifling through his desk, when I found something much better. My fingers had come across a bronze key. It was old. Long and straight with a few teeth at the end and an intricate handle that bent and twisted into a complex design. There were words from the old language scripted along the shaft. I shoved it in my pocket. I never told my father what I had found and he never asked me if I’d taken it, although I’m sure he noticed it missing soon after and figured it was me who had taken it.
As the years passed, I tried every lock and every door to see what it opened. I was never successful inside the Corporation or Dahn. Eventually, though, I found a list of the things it did open. Safe houses. Places for meetings, refuge, storage, hideaways. I had always known places like these existed, but what I didn’t know was that there were safe houses in Neech.
I don’t know why the Corp needed ones in Neech, but today, I’m glad they did. The safe house isn’t hidden. It isn’t in a bad part of the city or an inconspicuous corner. But neither is it labeled with a golden plaque nor a paved and landscaped walkway. Instead, it’s a plain house, set in a line of other houses, attached at the sides in one continuous structure. It’s narrow and tall, three stories in all. I climb up five stone steps to a small porch.
There are two ways to enter into any safe house; an approved Mark or a key, of which there are only a few that I know about. I take the key out from my pocket. Since the day I found it, I’ve never gone anywhere without it. I never knew when I would come across a place to try it. It fits cleanly into the keyhole. Safe houses aren’t used as much as one might think. Confidential deals are done out in the open, veiled by political speak and sleight of hand which are enough in themselves to cloud one’s vision.
The entryway is dark and musty. If I had to guess, I’d say this place hasn’t been used in years. I walk down the hall, flipping the light switches as I go. It takes a few seconds of electric hums before the milky yellow light fills the space. There are rooms off each side of the hall, all separated from me by closed doors. None of those places interest me, anyway. I head to the back of the house, to a sitting room. I hit the light switch.
“Always one for the dramatic, aren’t you?” I say.
D’mitri is sitting in a tall-backed armchair. I expected him to be right on time, not early. Only he knows how long he had been sitting here, in complete darkness?
“I like to make an impression, it’s true. I do have a bright streak of narcissism.” He looks
me up and down and then around the room. “But then, it would seem that you, too, have an air for the dramatic.”
“This was the only place and time we could meet.” I move to sit in the other chair. “To be honest, I’m a little surprised you came.”
“The request came at a lull in my schedule. And besides, an offer this intriguing has to be worth my while. Or at least, it’d better be.” He crosses one leg over the other and gives me a look that tells me what will happen if it isn’t.
“You found the safe house easy enough?”
He spreads his arms out, showcasing his presence, as if to say, I’m here, aren’t I?
“How did you get into the house?” I was planning on letting him in when I got here. The Marks of the Corporation’s board members are the only ones that can get inside.
“You’re not the only one with keys that open doors. Now quit stalling and inquire on what it is you’re hoping I will help with.”
“A man of business,” I say, leaning forward in my chair.
“But you knew this. I’m tiring of this game, Ethan, what do you want?”
I lean forward more and dig my elbows into my knees, folding my fingers together. “I need information.”
His eyes brighten. This is D’mitri’s favorite good to trade in. “There are different types of information at different prices. What exactly are you looking for?”
“I need information on what the Corporation’s interests are out in the Further. What is so motivating that they keep sending Guards out there? My father has to have a plan, and I need to know what it is.”
“You come to me about your father’s plans? You were the one who grew up under his roof and were being groomed to run the Corporation. Surely you had access to the information you’re now asking me for.”
“I did have access to information, but it was slight and well-guarded. My father never left anything unprotected, you should know that.”
“Your father does tend to be a tad obsessive about his toys and keeps his information on a short leash. What makes you think I would have any better luck that you?”
“You can get into places I can’t. It’s the nature of your skill set. It’s why people pay you ridiculous prices to get things that are unobtainable. I don’t want to quibble over details, I just want to know if you can get what I need.”
“It’s in the details that we find if we can work together or not.”
I sigh, trying to keep my patience. “Fine,” I say. “I’ve given you the details of what I want, now tell me what it is you need in exchange.”
“I’ve heard rumblings that you’ll be going out into the very same Further your father is.”
My heart slows and my breathing lags. The fact he knows this solidifies things are not on the up and up with Raj. Besides Eta, he’s the only one who knows what we’re going to do.
“I would need you to look for two somethings while you’re out there.”
“Your payment is out in the Further?” This piques my interest. What could he want out there?
“I need you to bring someone back to me.”
A person? He wants his payment to be a person? “What do you want with them?” I’m not sure I want to know the answer, though.
“That doesn’t concern you. The only thing you need to worry about is finding them and getting them back to me when you return.”
“I can’t pay you with another person’s life. That’s not fair to them. I’d be turning them over to who knows what.”
“That is the cost and it is non-negotiable.” He gives me a repulsed look. “Good God, Ethan, who do you think I am, your father? I’m not going to kill the boy.”
“Now it’s a boy?”
“Oh, please, refrain from getting high and mighty on me. I know the price you were willing to pay to gain your freedom from your father, so don’t sit here and act like what I am asking you to do is beyond your consideration. Don’t insult me.”
D’mitri is the only one who can get me the information I need, if I’m going to survive the Further. I have no other option and acting like I do is only wasting time. I may not like it, but I will pay it. I can bring the boy to D’mitri and then I can get him back. I won’t let him stay long in the cities.
“How will I know when I find him?” I say.
“He’s a few years older than you and his name is Kayde. That is all I know.”
I stare at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You expect me to find one person in the middle of the Further with nothing more than a name?”
“The Further isn’t as big as the Corporation would like you to think.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“There are only so many places you can go and only so many ways to get there. You’ll see.”
I furrow my brow with a thought. “Have you been to the Further?”
“No.” He says the word as if I’ve asked the most ridiculous question he’s ever heard. “Do we have a deal?”
“If the information you have for me is what I need, then we have a deal.”
“You have no information on the Further, therefore, whatever it is that I give you, will be what you need. This is a take it or leave it arrangement, not a pick through what you want sort if deal.” He sits back and waits for my answer.
“We have a deal. I will do my best to find this Kayde fellow and bring him back to you.”
D’mitri unbuttons his suit jacket and reaches inside. He pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to me. I reach out and take it, but he doesn't let go. “Should this get into the wrong hands, I will deny everything; and then I will come for you. So guard it well.” He lets it go. I open it up. “It’s a map of the Further,” he says to me, as if it needs an explanation. “Follow the route mapped out and you will get to exactly where it is you need to go.
“And where is that?”
“Where the Corporation is sending Guards as well as where you will find Kayde, which coincidently is where the Corporation has been trying to get to for years.”
“Where did you get this?” I ask.
In my hands is a very detailed map. More than just the terrain of the Further. Scrawled and scribbled and written on any available space are the notes of several journeys. A section in the upper right portion of the paper is blank, probably for yet to be discovered wilderness. The notes are all in different handwritings. This is an original, and I’m sure that the Corporation has noticed it's missing.
“You, of all people should know that my reach is endless.”
“How do I know this is the real thing?”
“Don’t insult me. I would gain nothing by giving you false information.”
That's true. I have a feeling he wants Kayde more than I need this map. Sending me out in circles would only guarantee him not getting what he so critically wants.
“The map, as it is now, is relatively harmless, should it land into the wrong hands. However, if you know its secrets…” He reaches for the paper. I hand it back to him. He holds it up to his mouth and breathes hot air in the blank portion. The warmer the paper gets, the more faint black lines start to show. He hands it back to me.
I push my eyebrows down. “A secret portion?” I look up at him. “To what?”
He lifts the shoulders of his expensive suit, his eyes gleaming. “But I suggest you don’t tell the others.” He waits a moment, assessing me. “I trust you know that Raj is working for your father.”
“Yeah. I picked up on that pretty early. Karis told me the Corporation came one night and killed his family, taking him away. No one has seen him until the other day. What do you know of him?”
“That he is a shady and dishonorable man. No integrity. He is willing to do whatever it is that needs to be done to get what he thinks is most important.”
“And what is that?” I ask. “The man has nothing anymore, my father saw to that. I can’t imagine his life holds much meaning, now.”
“For some reason, your father has a hold on him, an
d it has to do with his family. Raj spends most of his time in Corporation Tower, in either your father’s suite or down in the labs. Don’t ask me doing what, because I have had other tasks on my plate.”
I turn this over in my mind. Could Raj really believe he’s doing this for his family? To restore their honor, in some twisted way?
D’mitri continues, “Just know that Raj’s stated reasons for getting you out into the Further are not one hundred percent honorable and you will need to be watching your back day and night. That big fellow you’re bringing with you should help. A weapon wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.”
I’d already thought about that. It was foolish to go out into the unknown without a way to directly protect myself.
“Here.” A knife slips down from his coat sleeve, the handle stopping in his palm. He flips it over so that the blade rests between his fingers and the handle points towards me.
I narrow my gaze at him, trying to read his intentions. “Why? Why would you give me this?”
He sighs, seriously irritated. “Must you always question my actions, Ethan? I am a man of business and sensibility, not emotion. If I give you a weapon, it is to increase your odds of survival and therefore, success. I am helping you because I need something you can get me. I am not helping you so that you can reach your goal of ultimate rebellion against daddy and tear down his life’s work.”
As much as his words get under my skin, he makes sense. D’mitri would give me a weapon to get what he wanted. I reach out and take the knife. The handle is a polished pearl. It’s cool against my skin. There’s a gold inlay of a beautiful and twisted design. Two men struggle together, fighting. I turn it over. One man stands over the other, a knife held over his head.
I look up at D’mitri. “Charming.”
“It’s from my personal collection, so please bring it back to me in the condition in which I loan it to you now. It is also very sharp, so take care you don’t take a finger off—yours or another's. I hear that Dhevan fellow can be a bit obnoxious.”
I smirk. “I’ll do the best I can.” He hands me a leather sheath and I slip the long blade into its cover, tucking the entire thing into the back waistband of my pants.
