by Jon Robinson
As much as it pained Stephen to accept that the others were right, Emmanuel was a growing concern, a dangerous enigma without an obvious motive.
‘If it comes to it, Emmanuel will have to be removed,’ Stephen answered, although he suspected that it might be a little more difficult than that.
4
‘This way,’ Emmanuel said, holding a lantern in front of him.
Dressed formally in a grey suit, his tidy black hair and calm demeanour gave no clue as to his intentions; he was a blank canvas, a seemingly ordinary man, the kind of man you might pass on the street and give no further thought to. Still, Alyn detected something cold yet strangely compelling about him.
Something dangerous.
‘You can stay here with me,’ Emmanuel continued. ‘This is a safe place, somewhere the Pledge will never find you.’
Alyn followed him through a narrow arch, brushing his dark fringe out of his eyes.
Everything had descended into chaos last night at the opera house. Felix had planned to vote Stephen out of the Pledge, but Stephen had secretly been using Nowhere to cause Felix’s fortune to crash. That was the last time Alyn had seen Felix alive. He paused and leant against the wall. His friends had been there too: Ryan, Harlan, Elsa, Julian … Jes. And he’d saved them. Alyn shut his eyes, but the scene repeated itself again and again: the brass chandelier plummeting down on to Stephen’s men, the screams and the shattering of bones …
‘Come on,’ Emmanuel said over his shoulder.
Alyn walked after him in silence and soon they entered a large chilly room. The wind howled through the crumbling stone. Emmanuel placed the lantern on a hook and slowly the darkness peeled away, revealing a derelict church.
Alyn walked between the rows of pews, shivering. Strange, sinister-looking glyphs were etched on the walls in chalk, the graffiti of a deranged and dedicated mind. A few leather-bound books were scattered on a broken chair in a corner at the front. Alyn lifted one up.
‘You don’t have much to say,’ said Emmanuel, watching Alyn carefully.
‘I’m more interested in what you have to say,’ he answered. ‘I want to know who you are. I want to know how to destroy the Pledge. I don’t care what it takes. I want them gone so me and my friends can get back to our lives. I want to know when all of this is going to end.’
Emmanuel held a candle against the lantern flame until it took light. ‘It will end as soon as I take control of the project – of Nowhere.’
A creeping suspicion filled Alyn. ‘Why do you want control of it?’
‘To start a revolution. To tear down everything, to overthrow our rulers so we can start again. So we can start anew from the ashes. It’s what everyone wants, Alyn. Haven’t you noticed the anger? The hatred simmering beneath the surface?’ Emmanuel’s voice was quiet but cold. ‘I’m going to use Nowhere to cause a blackout in the city. It’s the only way the revolution can begin. In the darkness.’
Alyn looked at Emmanuel, unable to muster any words.
‘Society is a work in progress,’ Emmanuel went on, ‘and progress is the work of a blind sculptor. Once in a while it needs a helping hand.’
Alyn watched him closely. ‘That’s what the Pledge says.’
‘The Pledge is only concerned with keeping things as they are, so they can prosper. A true revolution would mean they too are overthrown. The Pledge was necessary. The project would have never got underway without the funds and influence of the wealthiest.’
And you were the one pulling the strings all along, Alyn thought. ‘So that means you want to get rid of them?’
Emmanuel lit another candle and placed it on the far wall.
‘Soon, Alyn. But I have another concern. A group who call themselves the Guild.’
A surge of panic rose in Alyn’s chest. ‘Never heard of them,’ he lied, and walked over to the wall. There was a mound of crinkled and cracked leaves, and weeds poked through the stone.
Emmanuel gave him a piercing look. ‘They’re planning to free everyone from the prison and expose the Pledge. But I can’t allow this to happen before my own plans are realized. Help me, Alyn, and you will never need worry about the Pledge ever again. And you and your friends will be free.’
‘What if I say no?’
Emmanuel smiled and walked away. ‘Rest now. And think carefully, Alyn.’
Alyn waited until Emmanuel was gone and lay down on the nearest pew, looking up at the stained and crumbling ceiling. Finally there was someone else who wanted to destroy the Pledge, the group who had kidnapped him and his friends – and many others – imprisoning them in Nowhere. As long as the Pledge was still around, none of them were safe. But could Emmanuel be trusted?
‘The lesser of two evils,’ he murmured, and closed his eyes.
5
Harlan stood in the dingy, noisy amusement arcade a short distance from the Guild’s headquarters. A crowd of people gathered around him as he fed another coin into the flashing machine.
‘Hey, you wanna give me some of that luck?’ said an overweight man beside him, laughing.
‘Me too,’ said another. ‘I’ve never seen anyone do this to a machine. The damn thing must be broken …’
‘It ain’t broken, unless every machine in the place is. This is the third machine I’ve seen this kid wipe out in half an hour.’
The other pair murmured and ran to the surrounding machines, fumbling in their pockets for coins.
Harlan shrugged. ‘Just one of those days,’ he said humbly.
He jabbed the red button and closed his eyes, willing the jackpot. Unlike his friends, Harlan didn’t need a locus – a word or gesture or tool to help him concentrate. It was being in the prison, with nothing more than a silver coin, where he had learned how to manipulate coincidence, to change the world.
As a clatter of warm coins cascaded into the tray, the young man beside him burst into laughter, patting Harlan enthusiastically on the back.
Harlan grinned. It wasn’t even so much the money that excited him, but the sense of winning, the feeling that he had broken the rules.
‘Hang on a minute, I know you,’ the young man said suddenly, frowning as he looked closely at Harlan. ‘You’re that missing teenager. I saw you on the news. I thought you looked familiar.’
Harlan froze. ‘You’re mistaken,’ he answered, shovelling the money into the makeshift pouch he’d made with his jumper.
‘Hey, that’s right,’ said the older man, who had given up on a machine behind the pair. ‘I’ve seen you too. What happened, you run away or something?’
‘I – I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Harlan said, and walked away anxiously.
6
Ryan pulled his hood over his head and hurried down the stairwell. He screwed up his face as he entered the musty hallway, treading on litter and leaves, and unlocked the security gate.
He wondered how Henry was getting on at the prison. It was their fault he’d got caught, after all. He thought back to being there with Jes in those tunnels. At least now he had a clean bed and food and warmth, but he couldn’t help but think how great it had been then, just him and her together.
The Guild said that the Ability could make things happen, as long as you could imagine them; he still wasn’t sure he believed it. But one thing he could imagine was Jes falling helplessly in love with him. It was all he’d thought about since he’d met her.
Pyra was furious with him when he’d mentioned using the Ability to move things on a little with Jes. Bet she’s done the same thing before, Ryan thought. Bet they all have. The Ability was like using a cheat code in a computer game, or so Anton said. Sometimes, when it mattered, you needed to cheat now and then.
‘Ryan.’
He glanced up. Luthan was leaning out of the window of a car, pulled up at the kerb.
‘What do you want?’
‘I’m going on a little errand,’ said Luthan. ‘Want to come?’
‘Dunno. Depends where you’re going.’
/>
‘The apartment of a dead billionaire,’ Luthan answered.
‘Go on then,’ Ryan said, trying to hide his excitement, and yanked open the door. ‘Got nothing better to do.’
They drove in silence to Felix’s apartment, Ryan gazing out of the car window.
Luthan parked outside a huge glass-fronted building. ‘So you think you’re gonna find something here, right?’ Ryan asked as the pair left the car and walked towards the main entrance. It was early evening and snowflakes fluttered down around them.
Luthan smiled. ‘Right. And it also gives you and me a chance to get to know each other.’
Ryan looked at him sarcastically, then followed him over to the secure glass door at the front, where a security guard was standing. ‘Good luck getting in here.’
‘We don’t need luck.’
Ryan scowled, glancing through the glass at the guard. ‘So are we gonna beat him up or –’
‘No beating people up.’ Luthan shut his eyes. ‘You’ll be surprised how persuasive the feeling of a full bladder can be.’
Ryan watched as the security guard shuffled uncomfortably and loosened his belt.
‘So you’re gonna make him p–’
‘Wet himself?’ Luthan interrupted, and returned his attention to the guard. ‘I hope it doesn’t come to that.’
The guard looked left and right; when he was quite sure nobody was watching, he turned and ran towards the public toilets.
Ryan shrugged. ‘Still reckon we should’ve beaten him up.’
‘The Ability is a gentle art. It’s about working with the universe. Not against it.’ Luthan removed some black gloves from his coat. ‘Put these on.’
Ryan pulled on the gloves and the pair entered the building and went straight to the lift. At the penthouse on the top floor they stepped out on to the mahogany floorboards and walked over to another frosted-glass door. Luthan took some pieces of wire from his pocket and slipped them into the lock.
‘So what’re you looking for?’ Ryan asked, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.
‘A key, a code, anything that might help us get into the prison and free everyone. It’s the only way to end the project.’
Luthan looked up as a security guard emerged suddenly from round the corner.
‘Hey!’ the guard yelled, reaching for his radio, but before he could say a word Ryan pulled an ibis from his sleeve and fired. A translucent blast streamed out of the barrel, slamming the security guard into the wall. A grin flashed on Ryan’s face. He and the others had taken the weapons from the guards shortly after escaping from Nowhere. He still didn’t really understand how they worked; it was something to do with a sound wave. But he didn’t care. Considering all the recent happenings, Ryan had taken to carrying his ibis wherever he went.
Ryan leant down and swooped the guard’s set of keys up from the floor. He tossed them towards Luthan. ‘I don’t do gentle,’ he said.
Luthan smiled and opened the door. ‘I’ll find somewhere to put our uninvited guest. You start looking.’
Luthan went over to the security guard and dragged him inside.
Ryan looked around at the extravagant interior of white walls and screens and whistled approvingly. He quickly began searching the apartment, looking behind picture frames, inside books and beneath the rug.
‘We’ll need to hurry,’ Luthan said once he had finished securing their prisoner. ‘They’ll send back-up when they realize they can’t get through to him.’
Ryan opened a walk-in wardrobe, stopping to examine an expensive-looking watch on the table. It must be worth tens of thousands, he thought, and shoved it in his pocket. It’ll make a nice present for Mum when I get back. An apology for me being gone and everything.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly. ‘Found anything, Ryan?’ Luthan called from the next room.
‘Nah. Nothing,’ Ryan said, making sure the watch was well hidden. ‘Nothing at all.’
He had just entered the bedroom and was close to giving up when he noticed something on a glass table beside the window. He picked it up. It was an envelope, with Alyn written on the front.
‘Wait!’ he called. ‘I think I’ve got something.’
Ryan opened the envelope and took out a piece of paper. He read it out to Luthan.
Should anything happen to me, I hope this letter finds you well.
As you know, I formed the Pledge as a force for good: to repair everything that has gone wrong in the last several years and to restore the country to its former glory.
As time passes, I fear that I made a grave error and Nowhere will be used for the wrong reasons: for evil. Should this happen in my absence, Alyn, the project must end and Nowhere must be erased from existence. There will be casualties, but there is no other way.
Each of the Pledge has a key; this is mine. Combine the four Pledge keys and the prison will be destroyed, the prisoners will be released and the project will end.
It is the only way to stop the madness I had a part in making.
James Felix
‘Is there a key?’ Luthan asked from over Ryan’s shoulder.
‘Not here,’ Ryan said with a sinking sense of disappointment.
‘Maybe Alyn already took it.’ Luthan looked at his watch. ‘Come on, we’d better hurry.’
7
Pyra held her hands a few centimetres from Jes’s head. ‘If you concentrate hard enough, you can feel the Ability,’ she said. ‘It surrounds people, like a force.’
‘Well, can you feel anything yet?’ said Jes.
‘No. Keep trying.’
Jes breathed deeply and looked out of the window. Outside, birds were perched in the bare trees. It had been snowing through the night, and the snow had turned hard and slick. Jes watched a few people teetering on the pavement below.
Pyra glanced at a metal box with a flashing row of digits. ‘The number generator isn’t showing any patterns.’
‘I was concentrating, I swear.’
‘You’ve tried all the basic tests,’ Pyra said. ‘You couldn’t put out the flame?’
‘No. Ryan could.’
‘Maybe you need to start with something even more basic. How about making the coin land heads up ten times in a row?’
Jes shook her head.
‘Five times then. Start small …’
Jes shook her head a second time. ‘Already tried. Couldn’t do that either.’
‘Hmm.’ Pyra removed her hands. ‘Sorry, Jes, but I’m beginning to think that you don’t have it.’
‘But, wait, they put me through all of this – kidnapping me, making me stay in that place … and I don’t even have the Ability?’
Pyra shook her head. ‘You might have had it. At one point. But like anything it can be lost. It’s usually caused by some kind of traumatic event.’
Jes was silent for a few moments. Adler, the chief warden. On the day of their escape he had surrendered, defenceless. But by then the anger had already consumed her and she’d shot him with the ibis again and again until he had stopped moving.
I took a man’s life. Everything had changed from then on. She felt different, older. Like she had lost something.
‘A traumatic event,’ she repeated, feeling the blood leave her face and nausea swirling in her stomach.
‘You OK?’ said Pyra.
Jes nodded. ‘Try again,’ she said, attempting to change the subject. ‘Please. This time I’ll concentrate even harder.’
Pyra sighed and held her hands close to Jes’s head again.
At that moment Elsa burst into the room, smiling. ‘I’m ready to take my test,’ she said. ‘I’ll be a level-two member of the Guild. How cool is that? I’m basically a superhero!’
Jes forced a smile. ‘Good for you, Elsa. I’m sure you’ll do a great job.’
Elsa beamed. ‘Anyway, Luthan says he wants to talk to us. Come on. He says it’s important.’
‘Now you’re all here, we can get started,’ said Luthan, as Jes f
ollowed Elsa into the dining room. ‘There have been some developments. Thanks to a recent discovery, we –’
‘Thanks to me,’ Ryan interrupted. Jes noticed he was looking at her, smiling.
‘Yes. Thanks to you, Ryan, we found a note from Felix.’ He paused, making sure they were all watching him. ‘To your friend, Alyn.’
There was a murmur from the group at the table.
Jes’s eyes went to the floor as she felt the air leave her lungs. He was working with Felix after all. Elsa had been right.
‘It seems that each of the Pledge has a key. When all the keys are combined together, the prison will collapse.’
‘Literally?’
‘That’s what Felix’s note suggests. It looks like the Pledge wanted the project to last a couple of years before releasing everyone – including all of you – and leave no trace of it ever having been there.’
With Stephen in charge, there’s no chance of it ending any time soon, if ever, Jes thought, crossing her arms. She noticed Ryan looking at her across the table and returned his smile.
‘The rest of the Guild have left for Nowhere. They’re hoping to find some way to free Henry. That just leaves us,’ said Luthan. ‘I suggest we split into teams.’
‘I’ll take Stephen,’ Julian declared. ‘Preferably alone.’
‘Stephen’s the most dangerous of them all,’ Luthan said. ‘I’ll take him.’
‘But he knows me,’ Julian said. ‘I can draw him out.’
Luthan scrutinized Julian carefully. ‘We’ll go together,’ he said. ‘You and I.’
‘Harlan, Elsa, you two come with me,’ said Pyra. ‘We’ll go after Antonia, along with Charlie.’ Charlie, an Asian man with a silver crucifix dangling against his T-shirt, nodded his agreement.
‘Guess that leaves me and you,’ Ryan said to Jes, sounding pleased.
‘Actually, Ryan, you’ll be with me,’ Anton said. ‘We’ll take Blythe.’
‘That just leaves me,’ said Jes. Or have you already forgotten me?
Luthan shared a look with the other members of the Guild before turning to her, but it was Pyra who spoke. ‘We don’t think you have the Ability, Jes. We think it’d be best if you stayed here for now.’
