by CM Raymond
The rearick dropped his hands flat on the table and proceeded to tell the group about his conversation with Garrett at Sully’s. The room became grave when he told them the rumor about how Arcadia was going to soon slow the supply of amphoralds from the Heights.
Everyone at the table knew what this meant, but he nevertheless pushed the point home. “If it’s true, the weapon is all but done, and its power source is nearly in place. Time to take our thumbs out of our asses and strike—before it’s too late. Even if it’s just the seven of us, I like our chances better when we’re not being blasted from the damned sky.”
Gregory spoke, his voice little louder than a whisper. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be just the seven of us. The other rearick, would they help us?”
Karl narrowed his eyes at the boy and stroked his beard. The engineer’s son was no fighter, but he was earnest, and Karl couldn’t help but respect him for it. “The rearick are a funny bunch, lad. Hard working and loyal to a fault. But over the past decade, Arcadia has made many of my kind rich. We’re not the people we once were, scrabbling whatever life we could out of the rocks. We’ve become accustomed to a life of luxury. And it’s hard to bite the hand that feeds you—let alone to rip it off and shove it up the master’s ass.” He paused, staring off at an invisible dot on the far wall. “Ashamed to say it, but I just don’t know.”
“But your master is a maniac,” Hannah said, passion in her voice. “It’s only a matter of time before the hand that feeds you becomes the fist that beats you.”
“Aye, you don’t have to convince me. I saw what they did to young Parker there. But the rearick ain’t likely to see it that way. Even if Adrien is crazy, he’s all the way in Arcadia. What kind of threat could he be to them way up in the Heights?”
Tension grew thick in the room. Julianne stepped into it. “They shouldn’t be so sure of that. Most soldiers haven’t been let in on the airship secret yet. Hell, most of the commanding officers don’t really know what’s going on either. But we’ve been training nonstop, and recruiting new foot soldiers, too. And some of the maneuvers we’ve been practicing, I’d swear they had the Heights in mind. Tight, double-file formations. Perfect for assaulting rearick holed up in caves. And not to mention their magitech rifles. That would give them range that the rearick couldn't match.”
“Julianne,” Ezekiel said, “do you think you could work your way up the chain? Find out something that we don’t know yet?”
She shrugged. “People are so tight lipped—it’s as if Adrien’s paranoia has filtered down throughout the whole Guard. I’ll try my best, but unfortunately, I’ll be too far away from Arcadia to get close enough.”
Everyone looked at her confused. “What do you mean?” Hannah asked. “Where would you be going?”
Julianne shook her head. “It’s why I was late tonight. Stellan’s unit—my unit now—we’ve been given an assignment, last minute. Doyle is sending me and my men up North, to retrieve some sort of ancient ruin. It doesn’t make sense—unless…”
“What is it?” Ezekiel asked. Talk of Adrien wanting something in the North made him uneasy.
“Unless they’re suspicious of me,” she said, “And they want to get me away from the city for a while. The whole mission could be bullshit, some sort of fool’s errand.”
“You’re not wrong about Adrien’s paranoia,” Amelia said. “He reacts harshly to even the slightest whiff of danger. Have you given him any cause to doubt you?”
“I don’t know. It’s been difficult,” Julianne responded. “I’ve managed to keep focused, keep my illusion up all the time. But Stellan died before I had the chance to peer into his mind—which means that I’m flying blind for the most part. Illusion magic is powerful, but it’s also brittle. One mistake, and the whole spell could snap. Luckily, the men I work with are idiots, but a new recruit was assigned to me today. He asked plenty of questions. Seemed more interested and more intelligent than the others. As we talked, I tried to get into his head. But there was nothing there.”
“Nothing?” Parker asked. “That’s a good thing, right?”
Ezekiel shook his head. “It means the man has been trained to protect himself against the mystic arts. Not something you find in every Guardsman in Arcadia.”
Nodding, Julianne said, “It could be true. But I don’t want to overreact. I was worn out. Takes a lot to keep up the image. Maybe I just couldn’t get in, but I’m pretty sure he was sent to keep an eye on me. And with this trip, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so.”
“Be careful,” Ezekiel said. “Your safety trumps whatever intel you’d find. If things get dicey, use your powers to get out of there.” Everyone around the room nodded in agreement.
Ezekiel thought for a second, then he turned to Gregory. “Son, you’re the closest thing we have to an insider… for now. What do you have to say about all of this?”
Gregory’s hands shook on the table. Just sitting with the Founder was intimidating, being questioned by him nearly made him soil himself. Finally, he said, “I suck at magic. I suck even more at fighting. And no one has ever confused me with a rebel before. But I do know this, if the Guard are using magitech weapons, we need to get some of our own. They may be crude compared to what you and Hannah can do, sir, but it could turn the people from the Boulevard into a force to be reckoned with.”
“Aye,” Karl said. “It would certainly be better than sending them in with torches and pitchforks.”
Gregory paused, trying to read the faces in the room. Hannah gave him a little nod, encouraging him on. “But even if we could equip an army, the real problem right now is the airship. Karl is right. If the orders for amphoralds are slowing, my father is nearly done. I still don’t understand how the technology would work, but I do know that once that thing gets airborne, it’s too late. We’ve lost.” He nodded at Ezekiel. “Even one as strong as the Founder would have a hard time taking on Adrien when he has the ultimate high ground.”
“So, then we destroy it,” Hannah said. “While it’s still grounded.”
Parker said, “That place is too well guarded for us to just storm the gates and burn it down. And I bet they’ve doubled their defenses since I escaped. Plus, there are men—our men—inside.”
Gregory nodded. “You’re right about not being able to just waltz in and take them down. But maybe there is a way. A small team could probably sneak in and disable it, if they knew what they were doing. If I could see my father’s technical drawings again, I might be able to figure it out. But he keeps all of his drawings locked up tight in his home office. I can’t even access them there—not without it being obvious.”
Hannah reached over and squeezed his arm. “There’s a way, and you’ll find it. We’ll keep thinking about it, OK?”
“And you, Hannah?” Ezekiel asked. “Any luck finding students who we might be able to convince to join the movement?”
Hannah shrugged. “I’ve found plenty that I’m going to look for on the battlefield, that’s for sure.”
Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “You’re supposed to be finding allies, not enemies.”
“I know,” she said. “But it hasn’t been easy. They’ve all been raised in privilege their whole lives. It’s made them all douche nuggets—no offense Gregory. Most of them have no idea what conditions are like down in the Boulevard, and most of them wouldn’t care. They’ve bought Adrien’s story, hook, line, and sinker. And, why wouldn’t they? It’s a story in which they play a leading role. As long as no one upsets the boat, they think they’ll get their happily ever after.”
Ezekiel opened his mouth to respond, but Amelia cut him off. “She’s not wrong. Most of the faculty are the same. I wouldn’t expect much help from their quarter. I’m afraid to say it, but we might not be able to pull this off. Adrien has done his work well. He’s no idiot. His paranoia has left him well guarded.” Her eyes cut to Gregory’s. Clearly uneasy with the Dean’s presence at the rebels’ table, his eyes dropped to his lap. “And there�
��s another thing. Adrien wants me to send him another student by the end of the month. I still haven’t heard back from the last one. I can’t in good conscience assign another student to their doom, even if they are a bunch of ‘douche nuggets’.” Amelia winked at Hannah, drawing a smile from the girl.
Everyone fell quiet. They were all thinking the same thing. While they might be effective at guerilla-style attacks on the Capitol, the chance of winning a war was slim to none. There were just so few of them, and Adrien and the Governor were so strong.
Hannah stood. All eyes turned toward her. “We can’t just give up. Don’t even think about it. Adrien is a butcher. We all know that he isn’t going to stop with Arcadia. If he’s building what we think he is, all of Irth is in danger. It doesn’t matter the risk or how long the shot, we’ve gotta take it. We need to take this bastard down—whatever the cost.”
Ezekiel smiled as pride in his student welled up inside of him. Hannah had come so far in a short amount of time. She had lived under the hand of oppression all of her life—but unlike so many, it hadn’t broken her. The pressure hardened her, like a diamond formed within the earth. He knew that she wouldn’t stop until either she or Adrien were dead—and Ezekiel would die with her if he must.
He wouldn’t let her stand alone.
“OK, then here’s what we are going to do,” Ezekiel said. “Karl, I need you to head back to the Heights and test the water with your people. They have a right to know that they’re in danger, too, but by the time the danger arrives at their doorstep, it will already be too late. I know it’s a longshot, but if your people are even a fraction as honorable as you are, there may be some who will heed our warning—and take up arms with us. Even a small number of rearick could make the difference.”
“Aye, I’ll bash their heads in myself if it’s needed,” the old rearick said. “They’ll get the message, sure enough.”
Ezekiel smiled. “I think you’ll make a perfect envoy. And while you’re there, stop by the Temple. One of our associates has offered us his services. I was already planning on bringing him down, but now that Julianne will be otherwise occupied, we will need a talented mystic in our midst.”
“Hadley!” Hannah shouted. “He’s coming here?”
Parker’s face soured at the man’s name. Since returning, Hannah had talked about the mystic enough to make the young man jealous.
Ezekiel nodded. “Yes. Hadley has agreed to join in the fight. Actually, I’m hoping that he will take your place working alongside Parker.”
“Why me?” he asked, face twisting.
“Hannah is too valuable in her position within the Academy. We can’t have her masquerading as a noble student and also risk her being found working with a rogue prophet. It’s just unwise. Plus, I believe that Hadley’s gifts will add a certain flair to your work.”
Parker nodded, although it was clear he wasn’t happy about his new partner.
Karl must have seen it, too. He grunted. “Why don’t you come with me to the Heights, Parker? I could use the hand. Don’t like being alone with those mystics much, no offense.” He gave Julianne a nod. “And it’ll give me a chance to focus on yer training. I’ll make a soldier out of you yet. Besides, the Boulevard can survive a few days without their preacher. It’ll whet their appetites.”
Parker opened his mouth to argue, but Ezekiel beat him to the punch. “Perfect! It’s settled then. Julianne, you’ll try your best to put off the Guard’s suspicions. We need you on the inside. Hannah and Amelia, keep looking for more allies amidst the nobility. I have faith in my people, even if you don’t. But be careful. One wrong word to the wrong person and we’re sunk. Gregory, figure out a way to get into your father’s office. We need to see those blueprints. And Parker and Karl will be our envoy to the rearick.”
Hannah grinned. “Aren’t you forgetting something, Zeke? What the hell will you be doing as we do all the work?”
A wicked smile spread across his face. “In case my plan fails, we’ll need a backup, so I’ll be following your plan, Hannah.”
She cocked her head to the side. “My plan?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s as we discussed—the true purpose of all of this.”
Everyone leaned in.
“I’ll be figuring out a way to tear Adrien limb from limb.”
****
The billowing hood of a brown cloak covered Adrien’s face as he spun his way through the market. Each step brought him closer to the Boulevard and increased his unease. The Chancellor held the lower class with such disdain that he hated even walking along their streets.
If he could, he would wipe the entire quarter off the face of Irth.
Stepping into the Boulevard, his mind turned to the little bitch who grew up in the slums—Ezekiel’s newest student. None of the Guard could find her, but it was clear that she was back in town. It was clear that she and Ezekiel had everything to do with the attacks on Jed’s Disciples—everything to do with that punk Parker who was trying to prop himself up as a voice for justice.
Adrien needed to find her and take her down. It would be the quickest way for him to destroy his old mentor.
A few hundred yards into the Boulevard, Adrien turned down a narrow road and located the house he was looking for. It was a tiny place and run down—like most in the Boulevard. Stepping up on the front landing, he found the door ajar. The jamb was freshly shattered from a forced entry. Without announcing himself, Adrien stepped through and proceeded down a set of stairs to the dim and damp basement.
In the middle of the room, there was a portly man with a receding hairline and three days of scruff tied to a chair by his wrists and ankles. The man’s eyes were nearly swollen shut and surrounded by bruises. Dry blood crusted under his nose.
Three other bodies were tied up and scattered around the room. Adrien had no idea if they were dead or alive.
As Adrien entered the room, the man’s swollen eyes went wide, hopeful that a savior had finally come to rescue him. But those hopes were dashed to pieces as Adrien reached up and lowered his hood—and he recognized the cruel smile of the Chancellor. The poor soul lowered his face and began to sob.
“You better have some good news for me, Alexandra,” Adrien hissed.
A beautiful woman slinked out of the shadows, her pale skin contrasting sharply with her tight black corset—an outfit that Adrien knew from personal experience.
She grabbed the man by his thinning ponytail and yanked it back, exposing his face to Adrien. The man screamed bloody murder as she leaned her face close to his.
“Darling, don’t be rude,” she whispered tenderly in the man’s ear. “Tell our guest what you told me.”
Tears streamed down the man’s face.
“No… please.”
She raised a hand and caressed his cheek before wrapping her fingers around his throat and squeezing. His eyes bulged as if they were going to pop out of his head. “Francis, honey,” she said in the same sultry tones. “Stop playing so hard to get. You know I like it rough, but there just isn’t the time for foreplay. If you don’t give me what I need, I’ll have to get it from someone else. Perhaps your young wife? She’s home alone waiting for you, right now. Maybe we should pay her a visit.”
She released her grip, and Francis whimpered like a child as he tried to suck in air. “OK… OK… I’ll tell you anything. Please, just don’t hurt her”
Alexandra stood and patted him on the head. “Good boy, Francis. Tell our guest your story now, before I get angry. You wouldn’t want to make me angry.”
She looked up at Adrien, lifted her eyebrows, and smiled. Adrien returned a grin. She was right, the man didn’t want to make her angry, and neither did Adrien.
“Parker,” Alexandra’s victim sobbed. “He’s one of us—from the Boulevard. I knew him when he was a kid. None of us knew where he went, but my aunt, she’s friends with Parker’s mother. A few weeks ago, Eleanor—Parker’s mom—disappeared from the quarter. No one thought anything about
it, people come and go. Except my aunt, one day, she saw Eleanor shopping in the market, big basket of fine meats and ale under her arm.”
He stopped and stared at the ground, still as a statue. If there was one thing you did in the Boulevard, it was look out for your own. Francis was transgressing the code, but he was doing so for the sake of his family. Adrien was impressed by how effective Alexandra’s methods had become.
In a gentle voice, the Chancellor said, “Tell me more, Francis. Parker is a dangerous person—he must be found.”
The man looked up, his eyes softened. For a moment, he believed that Adrien was good, just looking for information that would, in the end, help the city. This is what he told himself. “Eleanor told my aunt that she had gotten a job with a nobleman—as his cook or something. Dunno anything else.”
Adrien’s face darkened. Alexandra had been scouring the Boulevard for weeks, looking for any sign of Parker and the bitch. It hadn’t occurred to Adrien that they could be connected with someone among the nobility. If it were true... it could mean Adrien had a serious problem on his hands.
