by Alan Baxter
Silhouette’s eyes widened at the thought of Joseph and her Clan. Only Kin could use the pathway, so while it was a way out for her, it was also a way in for any others. If she could get out and lead an army of Kin back into Obsidian, they could take over from this hierarchy and free Alex.
The idea died almost as soon as it had been born. First generation, she had always been a pariah among her kind. And she had directly disobeyed Joseph and sided with Alex. While Joseph may one day forgive her, even accept her back into the Den, he would never lift a finger to help Alex. And there were no other Kin she could really call on in great enough numbers, or mobilise quickly enough, to be of any use. Once more the thought of slipping through the pathway and saving herself rose in her mind and she ached with love for Alex.
Despondent, she sat in the shadows and stared across the street.
Movement caught her eye. With a soft hiss, she sank deeper into shadow as two Autarch Guard made their way along the street. One of them limped and there was something odd about the other. Silhouette realised it was the way the breastplate sat over a distended stomach. Lily’s pregnancy. Holding her breath, Silhouette looked closely and saw Claude’s satchel over the shoulder of the limping Guard, but she couldn’t be sure if it was Claude or an actual Guard forcing Lily to give up the location of their meeting place. If that was true, why would Lily be wearing a uniform too?
The second Guard glanced left and right before they ducked into the house and Silhouette saw the unmistakable profile of Hood’s unfortunate son. A smile flickered over her lips. The first thing to go right in a while. She slipped from the shadows and ducked into the house behind them.
Claude spun around, raised a shining black dagger and Silhouette held up both hands. ‘It’s me!’
Claude nodded, his face twisted in pain. He slumped down onto a threadbare sofa and Lily sank down beside him. They were both badly cut and bruised.
Silhouette pulled out her pouch of healing powder and looked for a jug of water. ‘Tell me what happened.’
Claude grimaced against what appeared to be many different hurts. ‘What a fucking mess.’
Silhouette looked at him, her eyes hard. ‘Edmund? Duncan?’
‘Dead. Monty too. We were ambushed on the roof as we tried to get across. I was carrying Edmund, still unconscious, and there was no time to think. I couldn’t run with his weight, so I threw him at the Guard trying to get to us. They tore him to pieces, shifting between animal and human. It was ferocious. But it gave us a moment to get moving.’
‘When Edmund died, he was still unconscious?’ Silhouette asked.
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, there’s that, at least. Unconscious, the ridesprite couldn’t escape and, if he died, the ridesprite would have died with him. A shame, but at least it’s not out again.’
Claude made a face like he really didn’t give a shit about that. ‘We made it down off the roof on the other side of the buildings and started to run. The Guards chased, not far behind. We knew we couldn’t outpace them, so we turned to face them. All we had were these knives.’ He brandished the obsidian dagger. ‘And my ritual dagger, which I lost in the fight. We turned a corner and stopped, jumped them as they appeared. That was all that gave us a chance, the surprise. We took two out quickly and two more were there about to tear us to pieces. Duncan and Monty threw themselves in and screamed at us to run. So we did.’ He looked ruefully at his swollen ankle. ‘As best we could anyway. They bought enough time for Lily to lead me to another place she knew and we managed to hide. When we decided it was safe we moved out again. We doubled back, took these uniforms from the Guards we had killed, more by luck than judgment I might add, and slipped away. It took a while, avoiding patrols. There aren’t many of them, but they cover ground well.’
Tears rolled down Lily’s cheeks. ‘Duncan and Monty gave their lives for us. We can’t let that be for naught.’
Silhouette gave a small cup of healing potion to each of them. ‘Drink. It’ll heal you right away. And no, it won’t be for nothing. But we have to figure out what to do.’
Claude swallowed the drink in one gulp, grimaced. ‘What can we do? Odds are stacked against us.’
‘Odds are something I’ve played against all my life.’ Silhouette’s words sounded empty even to her own ears.
‘You can just leave,’ Claude said. ‘We can’t, but you can.’
‘I meant it when I said I wouldn’t leave Alex.’
‘How do you know he’s still alive?’
‘I don’t. But until I know for certain he’s dead, I’m staying here.’
‘Couldn’t ye go and get help?’ Lily’s voice was weak and she looked suspiciously at Silhouette’s potion as she spoke.
Silhouette gestured at the cup. ‘Drink. Really, it’ll heal you. And I thought about getting help, but there’s no time. I could bring Kin back through but it would take me a long time to raise enough. Far longer than you guys could hide out or Alex could survive.’
Lily looked at her empty cup with one eyebrow raised. A smile flickered at her lips. ‘I feel …’
Silhouette smiled back. ‘I know.’
Claude rolled his ankle around, pressed at his ribs. ‘Bloody hell. That’s some good juju. Thanks.’
Silence descended on them, carrying a curtain of despair with it. Silhouette looked from Claude to Lily and back again and wondered what their options really were. She was surprised when Lily spoke.
‘Time for a revolution then.’ Lily’s conviction was startling.
‘Revolution?’
Lily stood, straightened her ill-fitting uniform. ‘The underground here is small but ever-growing. There are a lot of us who knew something wasn’t right, though we didn’t know what. We either suspected there had to be something more than Obsidian, or simply hated the hierarchy rule. Many people agreed but had no intention of doing anything about it. Others were simply looking for … well, for something to do. I have no idea if there’s any chance for us to see change. I really don’t understand where ye’re from, or pretty much anything else ye say. But I’m tired of living on my knees. There are those among us who believed we should be allowed to rule ourselves even if there was nothing more than Obsidian. The resistance has many faces, many agendas. And rumour is running around like I’ve never known it before. Even the most nervous people are openly talking about things they would never have believed a few bells ago. I think it’s time we stirred them all up together. If nothing else, perhaps now it’s time we challenged the hierarchy.’
Silhouette smiled, put a hand on Lily’s shoulder. ‘I like the sentiment, but I can’t guarantee success.’
‘I don’t care. If it gets Alex free, that’s great. If it gives us all a chance to see something more than Obsidian, even better. If not, we’ll still have stood up against the hierarchy, and maybe we’ll be able to rule ourselves. Even if we all die trying, I don’t care. I won’t be a slave any more.’
Silhouette scanned Lily’s frail body, the strangely large swell of her unborn child. So young, so fragile, yet so determined. Perhaps it was true that the indomitable human spirit could never be cowed, even with generation after generation of oppressed breeding. Lily was not a slave. She was a farm animal. Yet still she stood against those who would own her. ‘And how do we start this revolution?’ Silhouette asked.
‘We need to get out to a few key Obsidianites and make it known that we’re moving. There are many cells and there’s always been an agreement that if something should betray us all, we would move as one rather than be taken. With recent events, it won’t take much to convince them the threat is real.’
Movement outside silenced them. A small crowd of lowen walked past the window, chatting animatedly. Lily’s eyes narrowed. She threw off the uniform, her plain rough-spun dress still underneath, and moved to the door. ‘What’s happening?’
‘A special games!’ one said.
‘The Autarch has caught a demon and he’ll be put into the pits against a hoar
d of monsters and destroyed!’ said another.
‘It’s no a demon,’ a young man said, his eyes alive with excitement. ‘It’s someone from outside, I tell ye. That’s what Garrel said and he knows.’
‘Garrel is always convinced of one crazy idea or another. Outside, really …’
The crowd moved on and Lily turned back to face Silhouette, a broad smile on her face.
Silhouette was distraught. ‘That can only mean Alex. Why are you so pleased with that news?’
‘They’re moving everyone to the pits to make a big show of how they’ve caught this “demon”. It means most of Obsidian will be gathered in one place. That will include many within the resistance. We can trigger an uprising right there and then!’
Silhouette looked at Lily’s face and saw the eyes of a zealot. She also saw the dawning of a determination that might be all they needed. ‘If the streets are crowded with people going to this impromptu blood games, we can probably move more easily too.’
Lily nodded. She pointed to the Guard uniform she had removed. ‘Ye and Claude wear those clothes and let’s go. If we take a circuitous route, we can pre-warn as many in the resistance as possible. We need to fetch my grandfather. He’s always been a trusted thinker. Then, at the games, we give the signal and the lowen will finally rise up!’
The Autarch gathered his council in preparation for the games. ‘We need to watch closely. They’ll try something, for certain.’ He turned to Rowan and grinned. ‘Want to give us their descriptions?’
Rowan wrung his hands together, like he tried to wash blood from them. ‘Jarrod is a big guy, Maori, dark hair and skin, but he was sent back.’
The Autarch sneered. ‘Yes. Killing a few of ours on the way, it turns out. We can assume he hasn’t returned?’
Rowan shrugged. ‘I have no idea.’
‘Regardless,’ Salome said, her voice dark, ‘the pathway is compromised.’
The Autarch’s sneer deepened. ‘I know, I know. We’ve sent emissaries to see what’s happening there. They haven’t reported in?’
Gerald leaned forward. ‘No, we’ve heard nothing. But they haven’t had long. If they manage to get reinforcements, it’ll take a while. Assuming they got through okay. Of course, by the time they return there could be any number of compromises preventing them getting back in.’
The Autarch nodded, turned to Rowan. ‘This Jarrod, what was his task exactly?’
‘Alex asked him to go and tell Armour what’s happening. But I don’t see what they can do. Jarrod is one of a very few Kin in Armour.’
‘They could mobilise and guard the pathway. It could prevent our people getting back.’
‘Or us getting out,’ Salome said.
Katherine sniffed haughtily. ‘This feeding ground is all good fun, but I won’t be trapped. Without access to the real world, this place is as good as a death sentence.’
‘I know,’ the Autarch said quietly. ‘Which is why we need something. A certain hostage arrangement, perhaps, to ensure our passage out.’
‘If the pathway is compromised, our reign ends.’
‘Not necessarily. Before Parlan chose to let his insanity out of the bag entirely, he and I had several conversations. There is a way to move the other end of the pathway.’
Katherine absently touched her bandaged face. ‘And you can still work that kind of magic, without Parlan?’
‘Yes, it’s not complicated. But we need to regain control here first and we may need bargaining chips.’
‘Killing Caine and Haydon in the arena will reduce our bargaining power,’ Gunnar said. ‘Besides, they’re human. How can we use them?’
‘We have to expose the others. They’re like a cancer within Obsidian, undermining everything we’ve built. If Caine and Haydon die, it doesn’t matter. One of their friends, according to Rowan, is Kin. We have to hope she’s of enough value to whoever might be blocking our way that we can negotiate with her. If they all die, we find another way to deal with the problem. But we’ll worry about that later. For now, we have to concentrate on excising this fast-spreading tumour in our city. Which brings us back to the point at hand.’ The Autarch turned to Rowan again. ‘Tell us more about these other friends of Caine’s.’
‘Well, assuming Jarrod isn’t coming back, there’s Silhouette, Alex’s girlfriend. She’s blonde, very athletic, quite beautiful. And then there’s the human, Claude. He’s a strange one, has unusual magical abilities, but I’m really unsure how powerful he is. Tall, skinny, sandy hair. Dresses like Indiana Jones.’
The Autarch nodded. ‘Just those two left then, as a rescue party?’
‘Plus however many lowen fucking resistance fighters they’ve rallied,’ Henri said.
Archibald, the usually quiet Brit, made a derisive noise. ‘Enough. We have Guard and Priests all over this arena. However organised those two might be, however many lowen they have, we have strength, power and there are thousands more lowen out there to step up when we instruct them to tear apart the infidels in their midst. Let’s just get this thing done.’
The Autarch scanned the gathered council. His gaze fell on Rowan. ‘Anything else you want to tell us? Anything you might have … forgotten to mention?’
Rowan shook his head, wearing his hands down to the bone.
‘Right. Let’s go. Unity, strength and absolute authority. These people are ours until we lose them. We won’t let that happen.’
21
Alex walked with his hands tied behind his back. The corridors throughout the Tower of the Autarch bustled with activity. He sensed an electricity in the air that was all too familiar, the pre-fight buzz. Haydon trailed behind, whimpering and snivelling. They were surrounded by Autarch Guard and the Autarch himself walked confidently in front, leading the way from the Tower to the pits. Alex could not help a wry smile at the irony. They were to fight, he had been told, before the eyes of all Obsidian. They would face horror in the arena of combat and die there, proving to the populace that they were nothing but weak demons and the power of the hierarchy was absolute.
Any other time the prospect would have thrilled Alex, but without his magic he felt trapped. His skills were unquestionable, but only against regular humans could he trust his skills alone. Faced with whatever the Autarch might throw at him, he would surely need more than his training and fighting experience.
He wondered if Silhouette and the others had achieved anything. One small solace in all of this was the thought that at least she would have an escape once this ridiculous charade was played out.
He squinted against the wan light as they emerged from the Tower into the square that buzzed with a throng of people. He had never seen the lowen so animated, so alive. Perhaps these blood games were all they really lived for and he could hardly blame them for that. They were not the first for whom a raucous display of violence was the only salve to a miserable life, however temporary it might be.
The Guards around them closed ranks, shielding Alex and Nicholas Haydon from the view of the excited crowd. They stumbled and pushed through for only a few seconds before they were ushered into a building on the other side of the square. The Guards fanned out again and the Autarch led them through several rooms and down a steep stairway. The stairs opened into a room made orange by flickering torches in wall sconces. Alex and Haydon were sat on benches and the Guards moved away.
The Autarch stood before Alex, sneering down at him. ‘Ready to die, human?’
‘Enjoying your show of power?’ Alex retorted.
The Autarch barked a laugh. ‘You have balls, human, I’ll give you that.’
‘So I’ve been told.’
‘Well, those balls are about to be ripped off, along with every other part of you.’
Alex shrugged, looked away with a disdainful expression. ‘Do your worst, fucker.’
The Autarch laughed again, turned to Haydon. ‘And what about you, eh? You ready to face the pits?’
Haydon held both hands up, tied, but in front rather t
han behind like Alex. ‘Please, Autarch! Tell me what I can do. I’ll do anything, I can be of help to you, I’m sure. I have knowledge, magic that …’
Haydon’s head whipped aside, taking his words with it as the back of the Autarch’s hand silenced him. ‘Don’t think to speak to me, even if it is to beg uselessly for your worthless life!’ The Autarch stood back, looked from Haydon to Alex and back again. His rage was sudden and incandescent. ‘You think to just turn up here in my fucking place? You come along and disrupt everything we’ve spent centuries building and put it all at risk? And you have the fucking audacity to beg for mercy? It’s only because we have to make an example of you both that I’m not eating you alive, slowly, bit by quivering bit.’ He leaned forward, nose close to Haydon’s face. ‘Do you know how long I can keep someone alive while I eat them? I’m quite the expert at it.’ He grabbed Haydon’s chin, squeezed until blood drops sprang from beneath his long, hard fingernails. ‘I’ve had a lot of practice.’
The sick aroma of fear and piss sprang up from Haydon and the Autarch stepped back, disgusted. He turned to the Guard behind him. ‘Get them ready. Make them look the part.’
