Garden of Spiders Volume 2: A Companion Book to The Fallocaust Series Book 3

by Quil Carter

  Silence filled the cockpit, awkward silence. This information was valuable however, it was obvious from Garrett’s attitude that he did hold some malice against Silas. It will be easier to get information out of him, I just had to make myself his confidant.

  But as I said this in my head, another thought creeped in, an unwelcome and surprising thought.

  I kind of… enjoyed hearing about Garrett’s life. I felt a pull to help him… and I don’t believe it was purely to advance my own agenda.

  I think I may… care.

  No, that can’t be it.

  I stuffed that odd notion down, and decided to continue. “Silas should just come right out and tell us he’s planning on killing our boyfriends,” I said with bitterness. “It would’ve been nice for him to tell me he didn’t kill Julian like I thought. But then again, if he said he’d dropped him off in the blacksands I would’ve assumed him dead anyway.”

  “True,” Garrett said. “It’s really quite jarring having him back. I didn’t really get to meet him properly, but I did see him before he left and he was just so… innocent-looking. It’s amazing a boy who appeared so sweet, did such terrible things. You really forgive him?”

  I shifted around uncomfortably. This was supposed to be about him, not my personal issues, but I suppose being honest with him would get me closer to my goal. “I’ve had a really shitty twenty-six years to be honest, Gare. Right now, I just want to enjoy my freedom and my freedom of mind as well. I’m through holding grudges. They end up poisoning me from the inside out, not the man I hold malice towards.”

  “Sage words, brother,” Garrett agreed. He reached for his tea and took a sip. “You really do seem different, different than I thought you would be once Silas restored you. I can see why Silas is so shocked by it. I like it though, truthfully. You seem happier.”

  “I am quite happy,” I said. I suppose there was honesty in those words. I was the happiest I’d been in, well, probably since before Cristo was killed, and I was young then so that didn’t really count. “Are you?”

  Another funny look from Garrett, those were beginning to get grating. “Not really,” Garrett said, his tone switching. “I’m lonely. I’m worried about Silas going off the rails with this new Sky clone, and worried that you’re going to kill us all in our sleep with all that pent-up rage I know is beneath your skin.” He glanced over at me and laughed at the flat look I was giving him. “I’m most nervous when it’s calm, I guess. Our family is never calm for long, the only peace we get is in between the shits being thrown at the fan.” He glanced again. “You’re not planning anything, right? This isn’t some master plan where you end up encasing us in concrete like that poor soul Silas has in the basement?”

  The concrete prisoner. Silas had shown him to us when we were eighteen years old. He was threatening us that we would end up like him if we disobeyed his orders, even when we were immortal he’d do it. That unfortunate soul was bones by now, but I always wondered just what he’d done to make Silas mad enough to give him such a grisly death.

  “I’m not planning anything,” I said blandly. “And it sure would be nice to be able to speak to my family without the entire lot of you thinking I’m either plotting or that my implants are misfiring.” I rose, even though I had wanted to speak with him more, the annoyance at his words was too much for me to wish to continue. I took my tea and slid open the cockpit door as Garrett attempted to apologize.

  “I’m sorry. Come back,” Garrett said as I stepped out into the cargo hold. Nero was surrounded by beer cans and was playing a handheld game system. “Elish, come on! I like talking to you… it’s just… not you, that’s all and it’ll take time for, you know, us to get used to the new you.” I slammed the door and stalked over to the benches. Nero glanced up at me while I did this but he said nothing, he went back to his beer drinking.

  I made casual conversation with Nero as the plane drove us back to Skyfall. Nero was a lot easier to talk to than Garrett and never once pestered me about acting out of the ordinary. That’s one of the things I enjoyed about Nero, he wasn’t complicated. You knew how Nero was feeling because he was horrible at masking his emotions. Nero was a simple man with simple needs, and if you treated him like a person, and wasn’t scared of him like most people, he’d give you honesty back in spades.

  I learned a lot of things about my brother during those several hours spent, and I believe I succeeded in my goal of planting some seeds in the small area of my garden that was his own. Nero was going to be Imperial Commander of the Legion soon, and it was best to not only be on his good side, but to also get him used to telling me everything that was happening. The Legion was Skyfall’s military, and vital to greywaster relations, I needed Nero on my side and trusting me, and by the time the plane landed on top of Alegria, I believe I had achieved exactly that.

  And I may have just enjoyed speaking with him too.

  I may have missed my siblings…

  The three of us stepped off of the plane, and I was immediately greeted by Finn.

  And he didn’t look happy at all.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. I left my brothers to unpack Kratz’s notes and the hard drives Garrett had brought back for Skytech, and walked with Finn towards the elevator.

  “Julian is in the apartment and wishes to speak with you,” he said stiffly, his eyes pinned forward and glaring holes into the elevator’s wainscoting.

  Oh, of course it had something to do with Julian. I think Finn had been enjoying the Julian-free week we’d been having. He had been much more affectionate with me and been enjoying an increase in our intimacy. The boy was starved for attention, and had been glued to me.

  “How long has he been there for?” I asked.

  “Five hours.” Finn’s voice was frigid steel, cold enough for the temperature in the elevator to drop.

  “And he’s still alive? Surprising.”

  Finn glared forward, then said through clenched teeth. “Jack and Kessler are currently under my care, or rest assured, Master Elish, I’d be scrubbing his blood off of the walls.”

  My eyebrows rose. That was rather… graphic of him. “He didn’t threaten you, or any of the sort… did he?” I watched Finn for his reaction but he was still looking at the wall of the elevator like it was calling him names.

  “He did what Julian does,” Finn replied curtly. The elevator stopped and he let me step out first. “He’s annoying, sneaky, and manipulative and knows exactly how to press my buttons.”

  “Want me to smack him around for you?” I asked in a voice dripping sweetness.

  When I glanced behind my shoulder to smile at the sengil, I saw that he was giving me a bewildered look back. It certainly was fun catching them off-guard like that. None of my family was taking this change in my personality well – but I was having quite the time.

  I opened the door to my apartment and saw Julian sitting on the floor between the dining room and the living room with Kessler and Jack, there was a bunch of Legos scattered around them and a few military vehicles and airplanes that Kessler liked to play with.

  Julian looked towards the doors, and when he saw me, he smiled. I could smell the greywastes on him from where I was standing, and his dark brown hair was tinged with ash and dust.

  And as I approached and Julian stood up, I saw several minor injuries on him too, especially on his knuckles which seemed bruised and sore.

  “You’ve been busy it seems. I hope you have news for me,” I said, and before Julian could answer, I turned to Finn.

  But he wasn’t there, as I continued to turn around he walked along my blind spot, and by the time I was facing him he was picking up Kessler. “I’ll leave you two alone then,” he said in a familiar poison-laced tone. He said nothing more, and I made the decision to let him go without comment.

  When we were alone, I removed my shoes and my jacket, both giving off the same dusty, almost burnt smell that the greywastes had. “What news do you have for me?”

  Julian
motioned me over. “Lots actually, and I think you’re going to like it.”

  This caught my interest. I sat down on the dining room table and Julian took a seat beside me.

  “The greywasters that the Legion ended up killing were actually family members of greywaster immigrants,” Julian explained. Well, that wasn’t much of a surprise, I knew they had to be connected some way or another. “They’re a part of a big family too, with more members living in Irontowers and a lot more members living in Skyfall.”

  “So that’s the reason for these terrorist attacks then?” I asked.

  Julian nodded. “The Legion basically declared war on one of the biggest, most widespread family groups in all of the western greywastes. They’re not weaklings either, these are men and women who were brought up to be fighters. There’s even a few of them who branched off to become legionaries, but for the most part, they’re either mercs, raticaters, or slavers. Tough fucking bunch.”

  I snorted at his choice of words. “The Legion will make short work of them,” I said.

  Oddly, Julian shook his head, and I saw a shine in his eyes. “No, it gets better,” Julian said, a smile cradling his lips. “This family, the Bratva they call themselves, has a lot of enemies. They’ve taken over entire settlements in the west and have no qualms about killing or enslaving… Elish, these guys are complete crazy fucking assholes and they’ve been fighting with people long before the Legion has noticed.” Julian rose and walked to the entrance of my apartment. Why became clear when he brought his old leather jacket to the table and dug into the pocket.

  He pulled out… a well-worn radio, one streaked with ash with a strip of old duct tape around the base. “One family in particular,” Julian said, a proud smile on his face. “And this rival family… wants to talk to you.”

  My gaze rose and I stared at Julian as his words sunk in. “You’re trying to tell me the family that has been doing these bombings… is fighting with another group right now?”

  Julian smiled and nodded. He sat back down and began spinning the radio around with his finger. “That’s right, my lion. The Bratva has been fighting for Irontowers and surrounding settlements for the last several years, they’ve been getting their family members into Skyfall, using them to send back money for the arms that are needed to continue this fight. This family probably has about a hundred members living in Skyfall right now, and at least a dozen of them have to be hostile considering the bombings that are going off.”

  I smirked. “Easy then,” I said. “We get a DNA sample of one of these family members and have the A.C.L on their doorstep. Execute the lot of them in front of a Stadium crowd… and the terrorists are taken…” My words trailed when Julian let out a groan, and rolled his eyes like I’d just suggested we invite them over for a tea party.

  “Elish! My love Elish… have I taught you nothing!” Julian exclaimed, dramatically throwing his hands up into the air before slapping them onto his face. “He’s learned nothing… my handsome man has learned nothing from me!”

  “Oh, shut up,” I said irritably. “What the hell are you going on about?”

  Julian picked up the handheld radio and put it down beside me. “Why was it a good thing that the terrorists were targeting Skyfall?” he said, his eyes fixing on mine.

  “Distraction…” I said slowly. “Distraction and stressing out Silas so I can be the one there to support him… so I can make him dependant on me…”

  “And not to mention your royal approval goes up… chaos in Skyfall with the royals tearing apart the city to defend them…” Julian began to spin the handheld radio with his finger. “War is a great distraction, Elish. Leaders for the past ten thousand years have been using war to get loyalty from their citizens… and if you wish to dig deeper, to get loyalty from their… king.”

  I nodded. “I know that. So you want me to continue letting them bomb Skyfall? That was already the plan.”

  “It was… but I have a better plan, my lion.” Julian picked up the handheld radio and brought it to his lips. “We’ll be at the spot in half an hour.”

  He pulled the radio away as I gave him a narrowed and suspicious look, and seconds later, it crackled to life.

  “Is he interested?” a rough male voice asked over the static.

  Julian smirked at me, then without breaking eye contact, he said to him: “Yeah, he’s interested.”

  He put the radio down, a smile of satisfaction deep on his face. “I have uncovered and hand-delivered to you, my love, a solution that will not only weld you to Silas as the king runs around with his head cut off... but will have all of Skyfall eating out of your palm.” He rose, then rested both of his hands on the table and leaned over me. “His name is Ivan Jackson. He’s the head of the family currently at war with the Bratva’s… and he dearly wants to speak with you.”

  Alarm bells began to ring in my head. “What the hell did you tell him?” I jumped to my feet, and when Julian saw the expression on my face his smile faded. The boy even took a step back, a smart move considering I was five seconds from actually needing Finn to scrub Julian’s blood off of the walls. “I swear on the dead gods, Julian, if you told some stranger about my plans with Silas…”

  “I didn’t!” Julian exclaimed, both hands being held out in front of him. “I didn’t tell him anything, Elish. I didn’t even tell him who I know in the family. I told Ivan we’ve been having trouble with the Bratva in Skyfall and that we may be able to reach an understanding. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. He’s on a visitor’s permit. He has three days here, him and his son and daughter. I wouldn’t tell him what our plans are, are you insane?” My body was still burning from the adrenaline but his words calmed the flames and I sat back down.

  “No one can know about this, Julian,” I said lowly. “Only you, me, and Finn. No one can know what I’m planning. I will kill you before this gets out.” I found his eyes and glared him down. I was satisfied to see real trepidation on his face. “Understand me? I have little attachment to an ex-boyfriend who decided to come back to the dead, and I will dispose of you if I feel my life here within Skyfall, and my relationship with my family and Silas, is threatened.”

  Julian’s hands dropped. “Yeah, I understand you, asshole.” He picked up his jacket and put it on, his body language showing me plain as day that he was pissed off. “You’re welcome, by the way, for trekking my ass all the way to Salt, digging up these fuckheads from the slummy bars and catering to them as I uncover information for you.” He stormed towards the door, his head hung low and his shoulders knitted.

  Jesus fucking Christ, now this? I sighed, irritated about having two men I now had to reassure, and walked to where he was seething.

  “You know, I’m trying to fucking help you, Elish,” Julian said as I approached. He turned around, his rugged and scarred face boiling with anger. He couldn’t look at me though, which I found interesting. “I know I have a lot to repent for, but how about you actually show some appreciation? Or maybe a ‘Hey, Julian, have a good trip to the greywastes? How are you doing?’”

  I blinked. “You didn’t even give me a chance; you were dancing around my apartment eager to tell me about your findings. If you wish for praise and accolades over this, perhaps wait until we’re done speaking before you get mortally offended that I didn’t ask about your day.”

  Julian paused, then, deciding to ignore me apparently, muttered something under his breath and opened the door to the outside. I didn’t follow him right away, instead I brought out a trench coat from the closet and one of Garrett’s rimmed hats, then dug in deeper and found a pair of dark sunglasses too. If this man was from the greywastes, there was a chance he wouldn’t recognize me. That being said I had been plastered on the news stations during my supposed kidnapping, plus during ordinary addresses from King Silas, but there was no harm in trying to disguise myself a bit.

  I put on the jacket and the hat then tucked the sunglasses into an inside pocket, then I followed Julian who was waitin
g for me in the elevator and let him take the lead.

  He led me down one of the many alleyways near Alegria, across a road, through a park, until we were standing in front of an abandoned warehouse that was one of many lining the harbour of Skyland. It used to be a packing plant I believe, or some sort of place to house merchandise coming in from overseas, but now it was a rickety old white building with a sagging roof and a wooden dock that I didn’t trust to handle the weight of both Julian and myself. Just to the left, another building of a similar build had collapsed, half of it fallen through the dock and onto the beach below.

  “It really isn’t intelligent to be here,” I said to Julian. The longer we’d had to walk, the less impressed I was with where he’d led me. “You do realize it would be quite simple for someone to ambush us. You crow about my safety but this is where you lead me?”

  “I have five guns on me and three knives, and also a grenade and a Taser,” Julian said under his breath. “I also have three friends of mine watching us right now with assault rifles. I’d never lead you into anything dangerous. You know that.”

  He had three people watching us? I looked around the half-standing structures that surrounded us. The windows were all crushed, their frames either snapped like toothpicks or squished in their entirety, and the doors looked like crumpled pop cans. I couldn’t see anyone at first, until I spotted a figure cloaked in green tucked behind a chimney. He saw me watching him, and slinked behind the chimney, a large gun in his hand.

  “That’s Gatsby,” Julian said under his breath. We continued to walk down the rickety dock, the wide open doors of the old warehouse beckoning us into the darkness. “He’ll be on the ground and in shooting range the moment we go into the building.” He glanced around and his eyes locked on the forest that surrounded this area. “Beret is in the forest and Katie is hiding in the shipyard and is watching us as we speak.”