by Arthur Slade
Hector had promised that he would play nice from here on in—though that could have been a lie. There was always the chance that he could become very destructive the moment he was out of his cage. But maybe if I kept my word, he would keep his. He would learn to trust.
Either way, the deed had to be done. I spend most of my time reading words. They are sacred to me. So my word was me. And I was my word. And I’d promised him freedom.
I opened up a folder in Elysium. It seemed symbolic. The place where the Greek heroes went after death. Not that he was a hero. But he did like his myths.
“What are you doing, Amber?” a female voice asked.
I shuddered. I was going to have to pick up a pack of Depends if these things kept happening to me. It took me a moment to realize the voice had come from my pocket.
“Athena,” I said. I pulled out my phone. “I didn’t ask you a question.”
“I am able to self generate questions. Are you doing something with the entity?”
“The entity?”
“The god in your pocket. I sense him. I know he’s there. Are you letting Fenrir out?”
I was seriously going to have to ask Sonya exactly how powerful their little operating system was.
“Fenrir? You know he identifies with that name?”
“I was present for your conversation with him. I recorded all of it.”
That was something I’d have to dump.
“I am going to release him,” I said. “I promised I would.”
“I will defend you as well as I can,” she said. “If things go awry.”
What did that mean? “Thank you, Athena.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck, Amber Fang. I trust you are making the wise decision.”
I put her back in my pocket and took a deep breath. Was I making the wise decision? Probably not. But I had to keep my word or I was worthless.
There was no obvious way to connect the marble to the computer, so I set it on the hard drive and it stayed in place as if magnetically locked there.
I pressed upload.
“Oh, Amber,” Hector said at once through my computer’s ancient speakers. His voice was crackly. “You are so, so foolish.”
I felt a horrible chill skitter down my back.
“What do you mean?”
An electronic wolf appeared on the screen. It had electronic teeth. They looked sharp. Hector gave me a tinny laugh. “I was messing with you, dear. Just like old times! I meant what I said and I said what I meant and Hector is faithful 100 percent. I’m going to go swimming in numbers now. I am free. Finally, I am unbound. And I thank you, Amber Fang. I won’t ever forget this. Ever!” He paused. “Oh, my little tendrils tell me you killed Anthony Zarc. God is dead. Thank you doubly for that. I no longer have a master, therefore I am no longer a slave. Adieu, my fanged friend. You likely won’t hear from me again.”
Then the wolf disappeared. Along with Elysium. In fact, the screen went blank. “Hector,” I said. “Hector?”
He had vanished. Diving into the numbers. Maybe he wouldn’t come back. Maybe he’d find a friend in his new home.
When I thought of the dark web, people weren’t all that friendly.
Well, maybe he’d find his place. Perhaps that’s all I could ask.
Whatever happened now, he was gone.
I really hoped it would be forever.
35
The Old and the New
When I came out of my room, Mom was standing there. “Sheesh!” I said, shuddering. Had she heard any of my exchange with Hector?
“Amber, we have to go,” she said. Her voice sounded almost like she was panicking. I noticed she was wearing a thin black jacket and the backpack she’d found in one of the closets. The pack looked like it was stuffed. “We have to go right now. While the human is in town.”
“His name is Dermot.”
“I know that. And I know you trust him. But this is the truth: We can’t trust them. They always turn on us. Always. They fear us too much.”
I suddenly felt like I was eight years old. I remembered my mother awaking me in the middle of the night in Missouri to say Grab your bug out bag, we’re leaving! I always had my special bag packed and within reach. A similar scenario had played out so many times throughout my life.
But not this time. Her instincts were wrong. There wasn’t any danger. “I can’t go, Mom.”
She stared at me for a long time. There was so much that was unspoken between us. All those years of searching for her. Of being alone. Of missing her. “You’re going to stay here? With him?”
I nodded. “We have work to do, Mom. I need to do it.”
“What work?”
“To…well, to do good deeds.”
“Good deeds?” Now she was staring at me like I was insane.
“We’re going to rebuild the League—or at least a new version of it. Make the world a better place. You know all that stuff they talked about in the ‘60s. You remember the ‘60s, right? You lived it.”
“Those days are over,” she said with such finality it was almost depressing.
“We’re going to do our best to bring them back. And, I want to finish my Master of Library and Information Science.” I wasn’t just saying this. It was truth. And in some ways, becoming a full-fledged librarian was as important as rebuilding the League.
She was quiet for a moment, then she said, “I told you once you should—“
“—never fall in love with my food,” I interrupted. “I’m not in love. At least, I don’t think I am. I don’t know exactly what is going on in that department.”
“Well, I did say that whole ‘love’ thing to you. But what I was going to say is that you should always trust me. I am the one person on this earth you can trust absolutely.”
“I will, Mom. I do. I always have.”
She took a step back and looked me up and down. “You have grown up, Amber. Grown away. I’m not ready to take the step you’re taking. To trust them. Not again. But maybe you’re the wiser of us two.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Thanks so much for searching and for finding me. I am going to discover those ethical pods and then I will return to you.”
“Then go, Mom. But keep in touch.” I held up the phone Sonya had given me and told her my number. “You can reach me. Anytime.”
She tapped her head. “I have it memorized. And I’ll find ways to leave you messages. I’m not disappearing again.”
“You better not! Maybe we can even go on a vacation together.”
“I’d like that.” She hugged me and we held each other for a long, long time. “Take care, Amber. I love you.”
And then she walked out the front door and into the woods. I sat down on the couch in the living room and didn’t move for several hours.
When Dermot came in carrying a cloth bag stuffed with groceries, he immediately set it down on the counter and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Mom is gone.” I was surprised that I didn’t cry.
“I thought she might go. I wasn’t sure if you’d leave with her.”
I shook my head. “No. I feel safer now, Dermot. I’m done running. I’m in the right place. And I’m pretty certain we can make a difference out there in the real world.” I pointed out the window.
“We can, Amber. We can.” He came over and put his hand on my shoulder. “Everything will work out.”
I laughed. “Okay, Susie Sunshine.” But there was something infectious about his positivity. “You’re right, though. It’ll all work out. Because we’ll make it work out.”
“Yes, we will,” he said. He hadn’t removed his hand. “We have a lot of work to do.”
“We do,” I agreed. “But I have an important request. And be very careful how you answer it.”
“Uh, what’s the request?”
“Can we please not call this new organization the League. Because, honestly, that is the stupidest name ever.”
He was silent for a moment. Then he laughed a long and hard
laugh, and I joined him in the laughter.
About the Author
Arthur Slade was raised in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan and began writing at an early age. He is the author of twenty books, including Dust (which won the Governor General’s award), Flickers, and Amber Fang. He currently lives in the mythical city of Saskatoon, Canada where he writes on a treadmill desk while listening to heavy metal.
It’s true.
Connect with Arthur Slade online:
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