The Rathmore Chaos: The Tully Harper Series Book Two

by Adam Holt

  See this, see it all. The sounds echoed in the dark, but the Sacred powers changed them into something quite different. I could see the sounds. They made each of the exits glow. Six of the catacombs glowed red, but there were two that glowed with a peaceful blue.

  “Take this one or that one,” I told Icarus. “They are safe.”

  Icarus weighed our options and then rushed down the catacomb on the left. Adèle shook her head and ran after him. The rest of us followed him. We dashed over the damp cobblestones, twisting and turning our way up until we reached a series of pipelines. The smell of rotten food and waste replaced the clean smell of stones and lichen. The sewers of the Fourth Step. Behind us, sounds of battle diminished but we bounded on for several minutes until we saw a light.

  During the escape, I thought about my encounter with the Sacred. It had appeared to me, not just given me visions. It had also given me powers that the other Encountered did not seem to have. I thought that they would be more powerful.

  “It’s not far now,” Adèle said, leading us toward the exit.

  Up ahead we saw the light growing brighter. It looked like a quiet place to exit.

  Wait, I thought. This is Sawyer chasing me. He’s always one step ahead. Remember what Trackman said about him. ‘I would never play the Android in chess because he would win.’

  “Stop,” I whispered to Icarus, closing my eyes again. Adèle stopped, too, but a few of the Thirders kept walking toward the exit. I tried to picture the street. Something seemed wrong about it. It was all quiet, too quiet, except for a low hum. The hum became a color. The color was a faint red.

  “It’s a trap,” I said. One of the Thirders heard me say this and ran forward to warn the others. Two of them were almost to the exit. I could see the sound echoing down the tunnel. Whoever is outside must be able to hear it.

  “I do not trust this one,” she said. “He is hiding something from you. You know this!”

  “Adèle, cover us,” said Icarus.

  “But it’s been so long,” she said. “The last time I tried—”

  “You must,” pleaded Icarus.

  Up the tunnel the Thirders crept back toward us. Adèle closed her eyes and shook violently. Then it happened. Her spider web of tattoos came to life. They began to rise off her skin. Her hair floated on a breeze that was not there. With her tattoos gone, I could now see what they covered—a lacework of scars on her shoulders. Lightning flowers, just like on my hands.

  “I get it now,” Janice whispered. “They touched the Sacred but it gave them different sorts of powers.”

  I nodded. Adèle’s web stretched across a section of the tunnel and Icarus motioned us to get against the wall. Janice grabbed my hand.

  “Her powers return,” Icarus said. “As of now we can be neither seen nor heard.”

  “Yes, but let me focus,” she said, holding out her hands, the lighting scars on her shoulders glowing.

  We flattened ourselves against the stones. To my eyes the web-covered walls glowed red, and beneath them I could clearly see the others. But how would they look to our enemies?

  The Thirders who had run ahead made it back to us and hid beneath the web. Just in time. A wicked buzz filled the tunnel. Black staffs rushed in from both sides, thinking they had captured Tully Harper or the Encountered. Such was their excitement at catching us that they fired their staffs from both sides. Purple fireballs exploded in the sewer. Most of the black staffs dodged the shots, but one of them was caught in the crossfire. He opened his mouth—to scream or to gasp for air—but before he could make a sound, his entire body glowed purple and then froze. When the purple dimmed, only a statue of dust was left in its place.

  One of the black staffs walked up to the statue of dust. He was seven feet tall, muscle-bound, sweaty, and angry. He sniffed the air and narrowed his eyes. His deep voice filled the room. I pulled Little Bacon from my pocket and told him to translate.

  “You were told to stun, not to burn,” said the leader of the black staffs. “The Lord Ascendant will want a boy, not a pile of dust.”

  “Sorry, Commander Akakios,” said one of the black staffs. “We thought that we heard them.”

  “Wicked magics,” said Akakios. “They were here.”

  Akakios brushed his staff against the statue, and the thing that had been a living, breathing being crumbled to dust.

  “At attention!” Akakios demanded. The black staffs fell into line in front of him. A shadowy figure appeared at the entrance to the tunnel. His glowing blue eyes lit his face.

  “You probably don’t know the phrase friendly fire, do you?” said Lincoln Sawyer. “Well, congratulations. You do now.”

  Sawyer looked around the “empty” tunnel. He surveyed the walls for a moment.

  “Fortunately you did not incinerate anyone important, but it appears that our trap failed. The Encountered and the boy have escaped. If only these walls could talk, maybe they could tell us where they went.”

  Sawyer ran his hands along the wall. “Commander Akakios, come forward.”

  They both walked directly toward me, Sawyer’s blue eyes boring into the wall above my head. I held my breath and Janice death-squeezed my hand. They can’t see us. Icarus promised. Stars, but what if Sawyer can? He took your pulse one time just by looking at you. I prepared for a fight. Sawyer reached out suddenly, and I dropped to the floor as he placed his hand on the wall where my head had been. His eyes fixed upon the spot inches above me. “Akakios, place your hand on the wall. Tell me what you feel.”

  “Warmth,” said Akakios in a deep voice, “and the fear of the Encountered.”

  “Usually people smell fear, but I’ll allow that. The walls are warm though. There is a faint heat signature here, but why are these walls not burned? An incinerator shot hit this spot, yet it is not hot.”

  “Encountered have wicked magics,” said Akakios, sniffing again. “They spelled this place evil.”

  “Wicked magics, indeed. Search the streets and wait for further orders, Commander.” The black staff left and Commander Akakios reluctantly followed. Sawyer patted the wall above my head. Then his blue eyes shined and he faced the other wall. From his eyes came a projected image of a figure in a dark room.

  “Report,” said a high raspy voice.

  “We lost them for now,” Sawyer said.

  “I don’t care about them. What about the boy? Is it really him?”

  I recognized that voice. The shadow figure leaned into the light so we could see his face.

  “Yes, it is definitely him,” replied Sawyer. “He can’t be far. We will gather the Ascendant in this sector and I will find him. He will be brought to you alive, Mr. Trackman.”

  Trackman. Still on my trail. The name meant nothing to Janice, but Icarus and Adèle looked stunned. The image on the wall disappeared and Sawyer quickly exited the tunnel. Icarus blew out a deep breath. One of the Thirders did, too, and he took a step into the middle of the tunnel. It was too soon. Akakios had returned, still troubled by our escape. The Thirder froze and threw his hands into the air as the black staff advanced on him.

  “Icarus, do something,” I said.

  “He will be captured,” said Icarus. “We will free him after the march.”

  The Thirder had other ideas. He threw down his hands and ran. Akakios shouted a warning and then stunned him. The commander looked over the Thirder carefully. He took a few steps more and then, without warning, reared back his staff for an incinerator shot. Boom. Where there had been a young Ascendant there now stood another gray statue. Akakios laughed. He was about to crumble the Thirder to dust, but I could stand it no longer.

  “No!” I stepped into the tunnel. My left arm was still in a sling, but I balled my right fist. What was I thinking?

  He whirled around to face me. Akakios raised himself to his full height. He blotted out the light at the end of the tunnel. He flexed his massive arms and shoulders, grinning wickedly.

  “You choose a brave death,” he told me. Th
en he threw down his black staff and advanced toward me.

  I tried to remember the fights we had on the Mini-Mane. Will you be able to kill? my dad asked me. I wasn’t sure, but I knew I had no choice but to fight.

  Akakios ran toward me and tried to throw his arms around me. I slid to the side and scaled him – he was like a mountain – until I had my arms around his massive neck. I put him in a chokehold. He grabbed for my hair but couldn’t reach me. He stumbled like a drunk, starting to lose consciousness. I thought he was done, but then he suddenly lurched forward and threw me over his shoulder. I landed with a thud in the sewer. His roared and tried to stomp me, but my sacred powers were with me. I rolled out of the way. He threw another punch. I ducked and dove between his legs toward the exit of the tunnel. I wasn’t planning to leave though.

  Akakios charged after me but stopped abruptuly. He stared in disbelief. I had his staff in my hands and spun it once overhead with my good arm.

  He grinned, said something in Greek, and spit at my feet. I locked eyes with him. He has no mercy, he showed no mercy. There is only one way to end some fights. Before he could move, I fired at point blank range. A purple blast of fire sprung from the black staff, and a second later a monstrous statue stood in the middle of the tunnel. I dropped the staff, and the statue crumbled to ashes.

  On the far wall, everyone looked to Icarus for the “all clear.” He signaled to Adèle. Enough. The red web withdrew and shrunk, becoming a spider web of tattoos on her back again. She crumpled to the ground, exhausted from the Sacred powers. I felt the same way.

  Icarus helped Adèle to her feet. He moved to the middle of the tunnel, his eyes glowing with emotion. He scooped up a handful of ashes and they sifted through his fingers.

  “It should not be so easy to erase a life.” He shook his head at the scene before him, then turned his attention to me. His eyes shot through me again. “Are you okay, Spaceboy?”

  I nodded as Janice helped me to my feet.

  “Who is this boy that Sawyer and Trackman hunt, who can defeat a black staff?” Adéle gasped.

  “We must move,” Icarus said to me. “Sawyer still hunts you, and now we see why.”

  “SHE RAN”

  All the way through the Catacombs I wanted to ask Janice a thousand questions, but the Encountered would have heard our conversations. We had to act like strangers just meeting for the first time as they debated the peace march.

  Finally we reached Adeéle’’s apartment. It was a three-bedroom with very little furnishings. On Earth we take a lot of things for granted. On Europa there aren’t vast forests or tons of room for animals. That means they don’t have basic things like feathers for a pillow or wood for furniture. At Adéle’s we found a few pillows stuffed with crunchy stuff–dried seaweed?—and sealskins lined the walls and floors. She did have one couch. Janice scanned the apartment and pointed at a row of books, the first we had seen on Rathmore. Adéle frowned at us, as if we were planning to steal them. Janice probably wanted to. She wanted to understand the Ascendant as much as I did.

  BWAAAAMP. A loud siren cut through the air. It meant roll call.

  Icarus and the rest had to leave. Adèle eyed us and said, “Outlanders, there is food in the kitchen. Stay away from the windows. Touch none of my books. They are precious things.”

  “When will you return?” Janiced asked.

  “It is hard to say. There will be roll calls across Rathmore after the events of today,” Icarus told us. “Sawyer will undoubtedly be at our roll call, and his eyes miss nothing.” With the Encountered gone, Janice and I hugged like long-lost soldiers coming back from a war. I was the wounded one with an arm in a sling. She was the healthy one. We were happy to be alive, and it felt dire good to be ourselves again and not the fake us. She put on her glasses, and I gave Little Bacon some air.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, looking at my arm. I gave her the short version, but that wasn’t important right then.

  “Did Operation Grabitha work?” I asked Janice. “Tell me everything.”

  “Part of it. Your distraction worked. The black staffs followed you, but you should have told us.”

  “Sawyer didn’t give me any time.”

  “Oh, I think I see. So we jumped on stage and made it backstage – all of us – and found Tabitha and...” she slowed down and took a breath.

  “What?”

  “She, uh…”

  “She what?”

  “She ran from us.”

  “Why would she do that?” I asked. “Did she recognize you?”

  “I don’t know. We look like Ascendant now, so maybe not. There were lots of actors backstage. They panicked. She bolted. Alarms sounded. I grabbed a costume off a rack and ran for an exit. There were lots of Ascendant in the streets, and I saw Tabitha for a second. She was with alien Romeo. Then some weasel-y looking guy grabbed her hand and they disappeared into the crowd.”

  “What about the guys?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Your dad was in the street. Maybe he was able to save her, but I don’t think so. And Sunjay…I don’t know if he’s safe.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Tully. I think we failed.”

  “No, we didn’t,” I said. “This isn’t over. My powers are back. We just need a new plan. What time is it?”

  She pulled out her holophone and checked the timer. “We only have twelve hours to get back to the sub.”

  Stars, the others might be waiting at the submarine with Tabitha already. We should go! My mind jumped into high gear, but I knew it was misleading me. Things didn’t go as planned. Be patient. Don’t rush into a trap.

  A chime sounded. Outside, two black staffs appeared before the crowd, flexing their muscles. The crowd lined up in front of the fountain where I had landed just a few hours earlier. They began their drills, similar to what we did on the Mini-Mane, except there were five thousand Ascendant all lunging, thrusting, and shouting in unison. We are Ascendant. We always rise. I imagined this same scene happening on every Step.

  “Do you see Icarus or Adéle?” I asked.

  “You won’t recognize them,” said Janice. “They can change their tattoos. Remember how you did that in the Ink Squad? It’s nice to have so many disguises.”

  “I guess so,” I said.

  “We should get away from the window. Now, how much longer should we stay hidden? Do we need to protect our identities? Should we march? How do we find your dad and the rest?”

  So many questions and so little time. In the end we decided to “join the peace march,” then split off and regroup at the submarine and come up with a Plan B.

  At least that’s what I explained to Janice.

  IN THE NIGHT

  That night I had a vision. In my vision I stood on a narrow ridge at the base of a mountain peak. Fog obscured my view. The wind whipped my hair and threatened to blow me off the rocky cliff. I had to move, but which way? There was a path down the mountain behind me. It would be easiest to turn back, but no. I want to make it to the peak. Up ahead the peak loomed, and on top of it, a purple tower. There was no straight way to my goal.

  Two paths stretched around the mountain on different directions. There was no way to see their ends. To the right was a rickety bridge that looked like a piano with missing keys. On the left was a frayed guide rope strung between rusty poles. It’s either trust the bridge or trust the rope.

  Something brushed against my shoulder. Standing next to me was a creature with a face like a man’s and wings of a dove. His red and gold eyes shined. He nudged me toward the rope, then began to climb. It’s too windy for him to fly. Should I go that way? Maybe he knows the mountain. At least I will have a guide.

  Following him were other creatures, some with wings, others with antlers or claws. They trudged along the rope, but a strong gust of wind nearly blew them off the ridge. They stopped in their tracks, unable to move forward. They’re not going to make it to the top like that, I thought.

  “The wind isn’t going t
o die down,” I shouted. “You have to press on. Why are you waiting?”

  “For you,” the dove man said.

  “You want me to follow you?”

  “No,” he said, “we want you to lead.”

  I looked down the two paths. The rope path seemed long and safe. The bridge looked weathered and dangerous.

  “Why would you want me to lead? I don’t know this mountain,” I said.

  “But I know you,” he said. Then the fog covered the scene again.

  There are times where waking up takes twenty minutes, like my brain is some ancient laptop trying to boot up. Other times my brain snaps on so fast it makes me move before I know what I’m doing. After this mountain dream I found myself standing in Adele’s apartment beside the sleeping Janice and looking out the window. There was a picture in my mind of a purple tower, and only one thought.

  Go.

  I stepped lightly over Janice and made it down the hallway to a sitting room before pausing to think. What am I about to do? It was just long enough to feel someone else in the room with me, peering into the lonely street. Icarus.

  “Sorry if I startled you,” he said. “Adéle has a perfect sitting room. I come here sometimes when I can’t sleep. Or when dreams awaken me. Maybe you were the same way tonight.”

  I rocked my weight back and forth but didn’t move. I needed to keep my secrets. I am Spaceboy the Outlander. Just a scared kid running away, maybe headed back to my family, too scared to march with you.

  “What did wake you?” he asked, standing slowly and looking out the window. I saw his tattooed wings unfold. They stretched across his shoulders and glowed red in the near darkness. Beautiful.

  But I did not answer. More rocking back and forth, feeling ready to run, jump, sneak, and attack.

  “You want to leave,” he said, “but not because you are afraid. This much I know. I have many and more questions about you, my young friend, but I will promise to ask only one, if you will promise to answer it.”