by R F Hurteau
But it was too dark, too difficult to navigate on his own. It could take hours to find his way out. Far too long to be of any assistance to the Weaver, even if he could find his way.
The silhouette of a head appeared, casting a huge shadow on the floor of the tunnel. Disheveled strands of white hair cascaded down into the hole like trails of spider silk.
“Come on,” chided the Weaver, “before their friends show up.”
Felix felt his breath escape in a sigh of relief before he leapt again, his hand closing around the Weaver’s wrist. He grabbed the rim of the hole, hoisting himself out.
Two Elves in shimmering silver cloaks lay on the ground, unconscious.
Bohai was pressed against a wall, cowering, his mouth agape and his eyes trained on the Weaver.
“I got lucky,” the Weaver explained with a modest shrug. “They weren’t Envicti, just common city guards. But I don’t fancy another round, so help me get them out of sight.”
Together, he and Felix lowered them into the sewer by the arms, letting them drop one on top of the other with a satisfying thud.
The Weaver pushed the cover back over the hole. “They should be out for a while.” He was brushing the sand from the front of his tunic. “Come on.”
“They could discover your hideout,” Felix pointed out, taking the shaken Ambassador by the elbow and guiding him toward the nearby gate.
“They saw me reaching in there. They’d have checked it out anyway. No matter. Wherever there is light, there will always be shadows to hide in.”
Gavin had the Floater waiting for them just beyond the cover of the trees.
“Did you get ahold of them?” Felix asked as they climbed in.
“Yes.”
Felix gave him an anxious look. “And Pluto?”
Gavin shook his head grimly in reply.
Cursing under his breath, Felix ran a hand through his hair, dragging his hood back as he did so. His fingers tangled in the knotted locks, no more able to progress than their plans.
“Great. Now what are we going to do?”
He shoved down panicked, wild thoughts about never seeing his family again. He wasn’t ready to give up.
Gavin nodded his head in Bohai’s direction. “Why don’t you ask him?”
“Muh...me?” the Ambassador stuttered. Gavin raised an eyebrow.
“You have some sort of transportation, do you not? Isn’t that why you came?”
Bohai looked more disconcerted than ever. “Well, yes, I do, but—”
“There you go,” Gavin told Felix calmly. “You don’t need Pluto, you just need to get through the Evenmire and make it to the Ambassador’s prototype.”
It was a better idea than anything Felix could offer, but still seemed like a long shot.
“Sure, that would work,” he conceded. “But getting through the Gate is going to be tricky if Nero’s got Envicti guarding it. A dozen, isn’t that what you said before?”
The Weaver gave an almost imperceptible shrug. “For now. Many more, once he discovers the Ambassador is gone.”
“How many do you think you could take, Gavin?”
Gavin looked dubious. “I doubt more than two or three.”
“What! But I watched you take down Laevus’ guards without breaking a sweat!”
“Yes, but they weren’t expecting an attack. We caught them by surprise. The Evenmire sits in the middle of a clearing. There’s nowhere we can sneak up on them from, and they’re on high alert. They’re younger than me—”
“And much younger than me,” added the Weaver.
“And I just don’t think the odds are in our favor,” Gavin finished.
“I have a few ideas that might help,” said the Weaver, “if you’re interested.”
“I have a feeling,” Felix groaned, “that I already know what you’re going to say.”
The Weaver smiled approvingly. “To start, you’re going to need to pretend to be Laevus one last time. Think you can manage to pull it off?”
Felix grimaced. “I sure hope so. And it better be the last time. I’m getting kind of sick of this game.”
***
Gavin radioed the rest of the team with directions to a rendezvous as they drove. Felix used the tense silence to contemplate the Weaver’s plan.
It seemed like they had a solid chance of success if everyone did their part. Bohai was a bit of a wild card. After the way they’d betrayed him at the talks, would he be willing to trust Felix a second time?
Laevus also might prove to be a liability, if he tried to pull anything during the escape. Felix had no way of knowing if his brother would cooperate or cause a scene, putting all of them in danger.
And what about the Envicti? Would they obey him without question? Ultimately, there was only one way to find out.
The hard way.
The trip took longer than Felix had expected. Wishing to avoid running into anyone with Bohai aboard, Gavin took a circuitous route through the trees, maneuvering the Floater through areas of thick underbrush. Bohai stared listlessly into the distance until Felix addressed him.
The Ambassador shrank back a little and cringed, and Felix frowned.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m not your enemy, Bohai. I’m trying to help you.”
The Ambassador still looked uncertain.
“Listen, we are going to get you back to your people. But you’re going to have to do your part. Can you do that?”
“And what is ‘my’ part, exactly?” Bohai asked, a hint of his diplomatic tone returning. “Am I to help you abscond with Her Majesty’s drill?”
“No, of course not. But your team—”
“Then you will be accompanying us to Culei?”
“Well, no. We need to get back to Pravacordia.”
“Where we will be prisoners?”
“Listen,” Felix snapped in frustration, “You can either come with us, or I can leave you here for Nero. Is that what you want? Just don’t speak, follow my lead, and we’ll all make it out of here alive.”
I hope.
Bohai looked at Gavin, and then at the Weaver, and then back at Felix, who knew what he was thinking. The last time I followed your lead, I ended up in a cell.
But the Ambassador didn’t say any of that. As before, all he said was simply, “All right.”
Felix turned back around and spoke in an undertone to Gavin. “There’s a lot that could go wrong. We need to be ready to improvise.”
Up ahead, he spotted the vague outlines of people. As they drew closer, they became clearer, and he waved.
Penelope and Ambrose waved back. Onyx and Tobias stood on either side of Laevus, gripping him firmly by both arms. Laevus just looked bemused as Felix jumped out of the Floater.
“Everyone ready?”
He was met with several nods of affirmation, and they all piled into the Floater.
It wasn’t meant to hold so many, but with some difficulty, they were able to squeeze in. Penelope managed to make room for herself up front between Felix and Gavin. Ambrose and Tobias sat in the rear with the Weaver, whom Tobias eyed with suspicion. And in the center, Onyx and Bohai flanked Laevus.
The Ambassador was staring back and forth between Laevus and Felix, slack-jawed, and Laevus offered him a devious grin.
“This is exciting, isn’t it?” Laevus asked, folding his legs and placing his bound hands in his lap, as if getting ready to go on a relaxing ride to gaze at the scenery. “I’m quite looking forward to seeing what happens next! Aren’t you?”
Bohai was stuttering. “But, but you—”
Laevus gave Bohai a curious look, following his eyes as they flitted back toward Felix.
“Ah yes,” he said at last, his tone one of understanding. “I can see how this might be somewhat confusing.”
Bohai shut his mouth and gave a slight, hesitant nod.
“Would you like me to let you in on a little secret?” Laevus leaned in toward Bohai, who nodded again.
“I’
m a time traveler,” Laevus whispered conspiratorially. “From the future. I made the mistake of running into my past self, and I’m afraid I’ve driven myself quite mad. I even tied myself up!”
He lifted up his bound wrists for proof. “Such a pickle I’ve gotten myself into!”
“T-t-time travel?” Bohai whispered back breathlessly. “You don’t say? Fascinating, I had no idea that was even possible.”
“Oh, it isn’t,” Laevus said, his eyes widening before offering Bohai a cunning wink. “That is to say, not yet.”
Bohai was looking quite impressed, and Felix exchanged a glance with Gavin, who rolled his eyes.
“Just don’t try anything, Laevus,” Felix warned. “Or your adventure will be coming to a swift end.”
“You see?” Laevus murmured despairingly to Bohai. “I’m even threatening myself now.”
When they at last reached the edge of the clearing where the Evenmire stood, Gavin brought the Floater to a gentle halt.
Everyone climbed out. Bohai made to follow, but Felix put out an arm to stop him.
“You’re coming with us.”
Bohai nodded and sat back down.
“And we’re going to have to tie you up. Sorry about that.”
“You see?” said Laevus over his shoulder as he moved away. “What did I tell you? Quite mad.”
Felix rolled his eyes again as he wrapped a rope several times around Bohai’s wrists and fastened it with a loose knot.
“He’s not a time traveler.”
Bohai didn’t answer, instead rising out of his seat to shout after Laevus.
“Do we make it out of this?” he called, voice cracking with evident panic.
“I do,” came Laevus’ amused response.
Twelve hoods turned to watch their approach as they came into view of the Evenmire. Felix felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck as he mentally prepared himself for the charade.
Gavin gripped Bohai’s arm, pulling him along, and Felix addressed the nearest Envictus.
“The Most High Elder Lord Nero has sent me to escort this Human scum through the Evenmire. You will come with us, subdue his personal guards, and once we have secured his vehicle and his crew, I will be bringing it back to Imradia.”
He had expected an argument. He’d gone over a dozen scenarios in his head on what to do if they didn’t comply with his orders.
But the Envictus just nodded. “As you say, my Lord.”
He and his fellows turned in unison to face the Evenmire.
Felix glanced at Gavin, who gave him the tiniest look of approval. “Very well then. Proceed.”
The Envicti drew their swords and advanced silently through the Gate in two neat rows. When the last had disappeared, Felix turned toward the trees, signaling to the others.
Onyx was the first to reach them.
“Give us a few minutes to get into the drill,” Felix said in a hurry. “Then follow the Weaver to the tunnel. Stay hidden there until the Envicti come back through.”
“We know what to do. Just go! Hurry!”
She gave him a gentle push and he nodded to Gavin, who followed close behind him with Bohai.
Felix stepped through the Gate.
It was the strangest sensation. For an instant, he felt almost weightless. He floated in a void, warm and comforting. The Gate’s pale violet light pulsed around him, through him. And there was a noise, almost like voices, whispering. He felt warmth as he bathed in the nothingness.
Felix forgot why he was there, where he had been going. The whispering surrounded him, whirling around him like a cloak.
Then the moment was over, and Felix found himself stepping out into the frigid Antarctic landscape.
Fourteen
Damage Control
“IT’S true, isn’t it?”
The anxious-looking woman was not speaking to Nelson. She was looking away from him, at someone beyond the crowd that had swollen to block the street, pressed up against the apartment buildings on either side.
The sight had irritated Nelson, who had initially decided to circumvent it by slipping down an alley, but Sylvia’s haughty directive was still echoing in his head.
“We can’t leave this to just anyone,” she’d insisted. “It’s important that we deal with this ourselves, so that we can recognize and contain any restlessness before it gets out of hand. And I can’t do that on my own, not unless you want it to take me a week.”
So, instead of avoiding the crowd, Nelson pressed his way between the people, intending to take the opportunity to address them all at once.
His legs ached, and he barely had the energy to lift his feet, causing the toes of his boots to make little scuffing sounds as they scraped the ground with each tired step. The crowd seemed hesitant to part before him, and when he had reached the front, he found the object of everyone else’s rapt attention.
Standing on the black steps of one of the andesite mansions, the woman wore a cool smile and a pair of spectacles that perched atop a small bump on her sharp nose. She appeared collected and confident as she nodded in understanding while those in the crowd voiced their concerns about the interlopers that were rumored to have entered New Sanctuary. She listened to the babbling voices and then shook her head, her concerned look deepening, wrinkling into folds that spanned her brow.
“My dear friends,” she said in a tone that made Nelson raise a skeptical eyebrow, “you are right to ask questions. We must ask questions, it is imperative. The failure to do so was, in part, what led us to spend 125 years in slavery beneath the Elven overlords. But, I’m afraid, you aren’t asking the right questions.”
As the chatter began to rise again she raised a dainty, and, Nelson thought, somewhat condescending finger.
“Let us not forget that the Council is bursting with individuals handpicked by the Elven invaders. Handpicked and groomed for the positions of power which they now hold as if it were their birthright to do so.”
Nelson had heard quite a few outrageous statements on his travels tonight. He’d heard whispers that the Elves had returned, fears of a new outbreak of the Sequencing, and even met a man who had been on his way to the Tube station, assuming that everyone would be evacuated.
But not until this moment had anyone had the audacity to suggest that the new Council was just a new face for the same authoritarian government the Elves had established.
“That’s preposterous!” he shouted, regretting the words as soon as he felt them leave his lips.
But it was too late. All eyes, including those of the woman on the steps, shifted in his direction. She offered him a simpering smile that he found, by its very nature, offensive. Nelson felt himself bristling.
“Ah, Councilman Boggs, how kind of one of you to make time to come and call on us,” she greeted him. “To what do we owe the honor of such a visit?”
For once in his life, Nelson wasn’t sure what to say.
Then Sylvia’s words drifted to the forefront of his mind once more. Recognize and contain.
“I’ve come to...to ask everyone to attend a city-wide meeting. Tomorrow. At Sigil,” he finished, feeling his confidence returning. “To address the rumors flying about.”
“And why not address them now, while you’re here?” Her voice was sickly-sweet. Nelson resisted the urge to scowl.
“We want to talk to everyone at once.”
“You mean you want to placate everyone at once,” she corrected. “You want to gather us all together in order to insist that your Council is doing everything it can to protect us. Isn’t that right?”
“No, that’s not—”
“This man,” she cut in, pointing at Nelson and turning back to the crowd, “is just one part of a bigger problem. The Council says they are taking care of us, but where is the proof? Why are there outsiders in New Sanctuary? Why aren’t the Halfsie sympathizers being investigated? Why are there still food shortages? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want answers to our questions, not more platitu
des. And I won’t stop until we get them!”
The crowd applauded, some exuberantly and some seeming to follow the lead of the others. Nelson backed up a bit, shaking his head in disgust.
This was the type of thing they’d been hoping to avoid. People like this woman taking it upon themselves to stir up trouble.
“I implore you,” he shouted over the clapping, “to come to tomorrow’s meeting. I’m sure you’ll find it very informative.”
He began to walk away before the woman on the steps called out to him. “Thank you, Councilman Boggs. I’m sure we will all find it very informative, indeed.”
***
Nelson had finally finished his assigned rounds and had just returned to his office in Core Operations, feeling almost incapable of movement now.
He was waiting on Terrance’s return. The Culeian engineer had spent the time while Nelson was away under Killian’s supervision. When the pair showed up at last, laughing and smiling, Nelson greeted them with a scowl.
“It’s about time,” he said curtly. “What took you so long?”
“Well, Killian here was just getting me situated, going over the supply lists and showing me where to find everything.” Terrance chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, and he told me the funniest joke. Of course, he had to explain it to me, because I don’t know too much about life here, but it was still funny, which is saying something. Anyway, it goes like this. An Elf, a Human, and a Halfsie walk into a bar—”
“Seriously?” Nelson snapped, cutting him off and standing. “You’re telling jokes right now? And about Halfsies, no less? Kind of an inappropriate subject, don’t you think?”
Killian looked shame-faced as Nelson waved a hand at him. “Never mind. Just go, Killian, I’ll take over from here.”
Once Killian had left, Nelson looked Terrance over. The pony-tailed man seemed quite at ease, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and humming appreciatively as he glanced around the office.
“Nice little setup you’ve got here,” he remarked, unfazed by Nelson’s piercing gaze.
“Forget the office,” Nelson said, rapping his knuckles on the desk to draw Terrance’s attention back to himself. “Focus, man! What have you learned about the weapons controls? How long will it take to fix?”
