Queens of Tristaine

by Cate Culpepper

  The small guard post Jenny and Eva identified was manned by only two soldiers on an isolated stretch of rural road. Craning her neck between Dana and Eva in the front seats, Brenna caught a glimpse of the long, red-striped gate in the distance that barred the path past the station.

  Jess and Jenny and Eva had finished tying up their hair. Through the scratched plastic windows, the women in the back of the truck should just be shadowy forms to anyone standing outside, but Jess wanted their silhouettes to resemble the genders of the soldiers in the lost patrol.

  “Here we go, adanin.” Dana was wearing the pair of mirrored sunglasses she’d found in a dead soldier’s pocket. “Jess, like we agreed, I’ll say ‘kilo’ if this starts to turn funky.”

  Jess whistled acknowledgement, and Brenna was grateful she still had hold of her hand. After an hour in this dank, enclosed space, Jess seemed as calm as if they were trundling up to a Tristainian picnic, but Brenna saw the faint line of sweat beading her brow. Jess looked down at her and winked, and suddenly they were there. Dana slowed the truck and cranked down her side window. They came to a creaking halt.

  “Unit Red Fourteen, end of watch.”

  Brenna closed her eyes. Dana sounded bored and tired. She knew she was extending the female officer’s plastic ID through the window, and Brenna whispered a swift prayer that this inspection would prove as brief and cursory as Dana predicted. A few unbearable seconds ticked by. Kyla and Jenny kept their gazes on the corrugated tin floor of the bed.

  A khaki-colored form appeared near the front of the truck. Brenna could see it through the first window. It was impossible to tell whether the sentry was male or female. Jess’s gaze was keen and still as they waited.

  “End of watch,” a man droned.

  Brenna let out an explosive breath and then stifled it instinctively. Their tense silence held as the striped gates swung slowly open, and Dana pulled past the station with a laconic wave. They continued down the dirt road for a full minute before anyone spoke.

  “Hoo,” Dana said softly.

  “Oh my, damn straight, hoo,” Eva agreed fervently. She twisted in her seat to see Jenny through the panel window. “You okay back there?”

  “We’re just fine.” Jenny fanned herself briskly. “Beautiful job, Dana!”

  “Thanky, ma’am.” Dana cranked the truck around a bend in the road, and Brenna saw Jess’s face go still as she stared through the dusty front windshield.

  A dense mass of buildings loomed ahead of them, high rises and squat factories of every shape and size, surrounded by a yellow cloud of low-lying smog. The City was opening its maw to swallow her and Jess whole again.

  Brenna gripped Jess’s hand tightly and held on.

  Chapter Eight

  There was only so far they could drive an Army truck into the City in broad daylight without drawing attention. Smaller Military vehicles were a common sight on paranoid urban streets, but one of them was bound to question the presence of a troop transport in the City’s core.

  “Keep a sharp eye, adanin.” Jess shucked off the dead soldier’s jacket gratefully. “We need a large space, untended.”

  The untended part should be easy enough, Jess thought. Eva and Jenny chose this neighborhood wisely. While well within the City Lines, this shabby street seemed all but deserted at high noon on a Friday. Dana trundled the truck slowly past a series of shabby, shuttered retail stores, most of them closed for good.

  “There, Jess.” Kyla was pressed against one of the small plastic windows.

  “Aye, Kyla, good catch. Dana?”

  “Yep, I see it.” Dana cranked the wheel, and the truck lumbered into the wide entrance of a large, abandoned storage shed. Its concrete floor and walls were coated with dust and cobwebs, and it was deep enough that the truck was parked in shadows. It wouldn’t go undetected here forever, but they only needed a day.

  Jess slid off the metal bench, crouched stiffly, and unlatched the truck’s tailgate. They clambered out quickly, and Dana and Eva joined them. Under the army jackets, the Amazons had donned several items of clothing Jenny and Eva had packed, to lessen the strangeness of their hand-sewn Tristaine attire.

  “What do you say, Jenny?” Jess asked. “Do we look ready?”

  “Hmm.” Jenny went to Jess and straightened the collar of her long chambray shirt. “You still look a little über-Amazon in this, Jess, but then you would look butch in a bikini. I think you guys are disguised well enough as City dwellers to pass, yes.”

  “Now, the streets that lead to your friend’s place outside the East Borough are just north of here.” Eva slid the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. “It’s a pretty rough part of town, folks, so be careful.”

  “We will, sister.” Jess cast a longing look at the truck, sorry they had to abandon the rifles. At least their hand weapons could be concealed in their clothing. “Jenny, Eva, tell us your plan again.”

  “We’ll walk east of this neighborhood until we find a land line.” Jenny recited their strategy with confidence. Jess had heard her whispering it a dozen times while they traveled. “We’ll call my sister, who will come and pick us up. Then Gina will help us find out everything we can about Brenna’s niece.”

  “We’ll find a way to refuel this hulking jeep.” Eva adjusted her glasses and frowned at the truck. “Then tonight, at 3:00 a.m., we’ll be parked on the frontage road that runs behind the City Clinic.”

  “You think you’ve got the gears of this rig down, Eva?” Dana looked worried. “It’s not like driving a compact.”

  “Yeah, I watched you pretty carefully.” Eva smiled and extended a trembling thumbs-up. “It might not be pretty, but I’ll get us there.”

  “Thank you, Jen.” Brenna clasped Jenny’s arms. “For helping me look for Sammy’s baby. We’ll try to check the Clinic’s database, but your sister has a much better chance of finding Foster Care records.”

  “We’ll look hard, Brenna.” Jenny patted Brenna’s cheek. “I hope we find something that helps.”

  Jess knew it was time to move. The sun was high in the sky now, and they had to find Jode. “We’ll see you tonight, adanin. Walk by our Mother’s light.”

  “You two watch out for each other.” Kyla hugged Eva tightly, then Jenny.

  Jenny went up on her toes and kissed Jess’s cheek, and then she and Eva were gone.

  *

  Brenna remembered the East Borough as a sparsely populated ghetto on the outskirts of the City’s Downtown District. The people who lived there were lucky to get basic services—water, electricity, heat—and were reminded of that fact forcefully when any unrest threatened.

  The few schools were as ramshackle and antiquated as the policies that ran them. Housing consisted of dilapidated apartment complexes, Government-run developments, and the occasional isolated trailer.

  In one of those trailers lived the son of an Amazon and his wife, driven into poverty because of their loyalty to Tristaine. It was still a stone in Brenna’s heart that after helping her and Jess escape, Jodoch and Pamela had to leave their jobs and their home and go into hiding to escape Caster’s wrath.

  The cramped streets of the Borough baked in the high sun, and they encountered only a few other pedestrians on the cracked sidewalks. Brenna was relieved to see that none of the people passing by took any particular notice of their small cadre. In fact, none of them met their eyes, a defense mechanism among Citizens that was all but unheard of in Tristaine.

  “Should we cut through, Jess?” Dana eyed the shoddy storefronts on either side uneasily. “This seems like the right neighborhood.”

  “Eva wanted us a bit farther north.” Jess paused, and Brenna saw her frown darkly at two shabbily dressed men who stood looking at them from the curb. The men exchanged glances, then moved quickly on.

  “Adanin, I give you Jesstin’s killer stare of death.” Brenna smiled and nudged Jess. “Works every time.”

  Jess led them several more blocks, then checked an alley darkened by the build
ings on either side. “Through here.”

  The alley was wide enough that they could walk side by side down its stinking length, avoiding the overflowing trash bins on either side. They were halfway through the dingy passage when Brenna heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Jess snapped her fingers, and Dana and Kyla moved smoothly behind them.

  A loose clump of five people lurched around the corner into the alley. Four men and one woman, and judging by their gait and raucous voices, they had hit happy hour early and hard.

  “Wonderful choice, Jesstin,” Jess grumbled aloud.

  “We could try your killer stare of death, Jess,” Dana suggested.

  Any hope that they could simply slip past this group faded as the men bunched across their path, falling silent as they drew closer.

  “Good afternoon to you lovely ladies!” The largest of the men kept walking, his bleary eyes fixed on Brenna, until he almost touched her. Jess put out a calm hand and laid it on his T-shirted chest, and he backed off, his arms raised in exaggerated surrender. His friends clustered behind him.

  “Man, it’s so cool you girls came along!” A second man grinned, blowing beer breath through his beard into Jess’s expressionless face. “Me and my family, we all got stranded when our van broke down over on Yesler.”

  The woman with them giggled, holding onto the vest of the man who had his arm around her, almost too intoxicated to stand. They were all drunk, but there was an ominous sheen in the eyes of the two men closest to them. Brenna was all too familiar with the toxic street drugs that were the constant plague of the outer Boroughs, and these two looked ripped on them. It seemed unlikely that they could talk their way out of this.

  “Maybe you guys could stake us a few bucks, just enough for bus fare back home?” The bearded man grinned at Jess, scratching a small sore on his nose.

  “We have no money.” Jess checked their positions. The fourth man, more a skinny kid, had rested his butt against the brick wall, and was yawning widely. “We’re just passing through.”

  “Well, what say you come party with us for a while?” The second man stepped closer to Jess, still smiling. “Then maybe we can pool all our resources, see what we got, and make everybody happy.”

  Jess felt Dana shift behind her, and she reached back and touched her wrist. “We have plans we can’t change, and no time for this. Either let us pass, or draw arms.”

  The bearded man let out an explosive hoot. “Draw arms? We’re just having a friendly conversa—”

  But apparently his partner welcomed Jess’s invitation, and he lunged at Brenna with a lusty roar. Jess shot sideways and rocketed her fist into his chin, cutting off his bellow abruptly and spinning him off his feet. She whirled and saw Dana and Kyla tackle the bearded oaf, taking him down against a trash bin. The woman’s shrill scream echoed crazily off the brick walls around them. The kid bolted back down the alley, obviously wanting none of this.

  Jess advanced on the man holding the hysterical woman, and he backed away quickly, dragging her with him, one hand raised in panic.

  Jess heard the meaty impact of Brenna’s boot in the midriff of the big brute, who was still scrabbling over the concrete to get to her. He grabbed her ankle and she fell. Cursing, he grappled in his shirt and yanked out a blue steel revolver.

  Time condensed into seconds. The small black bore of the gun’s muzzle weaved toward Brenna, who was crouching only inches away. Jess heard Dana’s warning cry even as her dagger filled her hand, and then it was flying, all the strength in her arm launching the blade in a sizzling trajectory toward the center of the man’s chest. Its wicked edge passed so closely to Brenna’s head that it sheared off a strand of her blond hair before slamming to the hilt in his heart.

  “Jesus!” screamed the woman, careening in her boyfriend’s arms, her hands plastered over her face. “Jesus, stop!” He yanked her away, and they staggered into a run back down the alley. Jess gestured to the others to let them go.

  The bearded man lay slumped and insensible in piles of wet garbage. Jess went to Brenna and helped her to her feet. She was shaking and pale, but unhurt, and Jess kissed the top of her head. She walked to the man sprawled on his back and knelt beside him.

  The last spark of life was leaving his eyes. Jess watched dispassionately as it faded, waiting until the last guttural breath left his spit-flecked lips. Then she grasped the hilt of her dagger and drew out the obsidian blade. She wiped the blood off on the man’s shirt methodically.

  “It was a necessary kill.” Jess heard Dana behind her. “Well done, Jess.”

  Jess stared at the ebony sheen of the blade, a gift from Dyan. She rose and sheathed it in her belt. “Are we injured?”

  “We’re whole, Jesstin.” Kyla put her arm around Brenna and squeezed her shoulders, and Brenna was able to offer her a tremulous smile. It had been very close.

  “This kind’s not likely to run to the police for help.” Dana nudged the leg of the bearded man with her foot. “I don’t think we need to worry about pursuit.”

  “Then let’s find our brother.” Jess stepped over the dead man, and they left the alley and its silent denizens behind.

  *

  Their shadows slid across the cracked plaster wall of a utility substation. Brenna crouched in the high weeds beside Jess. “Do you think that’s it?”

  “Aye, seems likely.” Jess tossed a dead bush aside so she could see the tinny length of the trailer that stood a stone’s throw away. The land it stood on looked barren and parched, but splashes of color from a carefully tended flower garden pleased the eye.

  “Can you see any security system?”

  “Guard dog.” Dana nodded toward a small white puppy high-pawing across the fenced yard, sniffing the air industriously. “I can take him.”

  Jess touched Brenna’s knee. A screen door on the trailer was creaking open, and a large man backed carefully down the two rickety steps. She twirled her fingers sharply, and the others rose with her.

  The area was fairly deserted, but Brenna knew Jess wanted them inside as quickly as possible. They ran as one body, and Jess vaulted the low fence in one easy leap, sending the puppy into a frenzy of alarmed yaps. “Jodoch.”

  The man had been bending over something, and now he spun into a defensive stance. Jess skidded to a halt, obviously startled by the wild light in her gentle brother’s eyes. “Jode, it’s me.”

  Jode gaped at the four women who had magically appeared in his backyard, and his body relaxed. A smile wreathed his acne-scarred face. “Jesstin!” He took two steps and clapped his burly arms around Jess.

  “Jodoch!” Jess grinned, returning the embrace. “Get us inside.”

  “Jeeze. Yeah, sure.” Jode released her, looking around the empty lots adjoining his. “Come on in.”

  “Hello, Jodey!” Kyla, holding the squirming puppy, rose on her toes to kiss Jode’s cheek.

  “Hey, my sweet little sister!” Jode ushered them quickly up the wooden steps into the trailer. “Uh, Pam? Company for dinner!”

  Light splashed through the small windows, but it took a second for Brenna’s eyes to adjust to the relatively darkened interior. Jode’s home was tiny but clean, cluttered only by the pleasant disorder of daily life.

  “Kee-rist, is that Jess?” A short, stout woman with a beautiful sway to her hips tossed a dishcloth over her shoulder, smiling. She bounced on her toes and peered past her. “What, did you bring the entire tribe? We’re having Jell-O.”

  “Pamela.” Jess bent down and kissed her cheek. “Forgive us our ambush.”

  “Something big must be up. You guys look like roadkill.”

  “Aye, there’s trouble.” Jess made quick introductions. Adding four women to the cramped living room made for much shifting of positions.

  “Is Shanendra all right?” Jode ducked back in through the screen door, carrying the reason he had reacted with such swift protection when Jess startled him.

  “Jode, you’re a father!” Brenna brushed the backs of her f
ingers across the baby’s downy cheek. It ogled up at her comically, wearing an infant’s classic pleased to meet you, freaked out to be here look. “And yes, Shann’s still with us.”

  “Hey, Brenna.” Jode smiled down at her with a sudden shyness, jiggling the baby gently in his big arms. “You look fantastic.”

  “Yes, right,” Pam called from the kitchen. “Now, if we could get all Amazons and all hulking carpenters to please sit the merry hell down, even short people might be able to see what’s going on.”

  *

  Pamela claimed she could concoct a feast from two cans of pea soup and a chicken leg, and she proceeded to do so. Fresh spices and vegetables from a second garden supplemented an excellent meal that filled Jess with nostalgia for Aria’s home cooking. Though artfully prepared, the vegetables were puny and stunted specimens compared to Tristaine’s lush produce.

  “It’s been hardest on Pam.” Still chewing, Jode brushed his callused, scarred hands together, his elbows balanced carefully on a TV tray. “She grew up in a pretty well-off family in the City, with nice things. She’s got nothing out here.”

  “Precious, feel free to throw yourself off the nearest cliff.” Pam smiled at her husband with undisguised affection. She glanced down at the baby nursing at her breast. “I can name a few wee compensations for the loss of my stupid rice cooker.”

  “Are you finding work?” Jess measured the care-lines etched at the corner of Jode’s eyes, but he nodded with enthusiasm.

  “Yeah, plenty, actually. There’s steady work on construction crews, at least in the summer. Pay’s not much, but we won’t starve. I’ve got a good hand with a band-saw.”

  And a good mind for mechanical engineering, Jess thought. Dreams of a more prosperous life were probably forever beyond this small family now.