In the distance, right outside the door to Clairvert, Ezra could see the huge shadow of a Creux standing at its full height. “No, that’s not Jade Arjuna,” Ezra said.
“You don’t think—,” Erin added. “You don’t think Director Blanchard sent others from Zenith, do you?”
Ezra could almost feel himself smiling inside the Egg. The idea of being joined by other pilots of Zenith made him happy. There was danger in here, and the extra hands of other Creux could—
“I don’t understand,” Erin said when they finally came close enough to the mysterious Creux. Jade Arjuna was still kneeling where it had been left, and he recognized this new Creux, though it had never set foot inside of Zenith, or anywhere near Roue. Erin sounded more scared than confused when she asked: “What is Lazarus doing here?”
Quantum Ares stood next to Lazarus while the other three desynchronized, afraid of the Creux, and whoever was controlling it.
Despite Erin’s protests, they had left Lazarus back in the last oasis. She had synchronized with it, and no one else dared try. Lazarus seemed dangerous, entirely different to all the other Creuxen.
Just like Milos Ravana, whom it resembled perhaps too closely.
“There is blood on its hands,” Erin said, looking up at him. Ezra noticed several citizens of Clairvert had gathered just outside the stony gates of the city to look at the new giant who had joined the other invaders.
It wasn’t until Akiva ran towards her that Ezra noticed Jena standing among them, almost afraid to come out.
“Suddenly, it was here,” said Jena, and noticed the bruise in Akiva’s cheek, though she chose to ignore it. “There was a sound, like a horn someone blew up there in the watch’s post.”
“Lights are off,” Akiva said. Lazarus’ orange eyes were dead, a clear sign that there was no synchronization in progress. “Did anyone get out? Did you see who was piloting it?”
“No, no one did,” said Jena. Akiva held her hand.
Ezra looked away, but his diverted eyes met the welcome sight of someone else, someone who was being too reckless: Elena. She was peeking out from behind a fold of stone that was almost invisible from his perspective.
He wanted to wave her off, and tell her that she was too conspicuous, even if not to the citizens of Clairvert. It was like she could read his mind. She took a step back and almost disappeared behind the rocky formations.
After making sure Elena was gone, or at least entirely out of sight, Ezra joined Erin. She was looking up at Lazarus, almost too happy to see it again.
“This makes no sense, does it?” she asked. “What the hell is Lazarus doing here? Who could have possibly brought him here?”
“Jena says no one’s climbed out. Whoever’s piloting it is still inside.”
Erin waved his hands towards Ares, and inside, Garros understood her meaning. Quantum Ares brought its knee to the floor, and all the lights in its steel frame went dark. Its Apse slid open and Garros stepped outside. Every step he took when climbing down Ares’ leg, Garros was looking at Lazarus, as though it would swipe its bloody hand if given a chance.
Once he hit the floor, he walked backwards towards Ezra and Erin. “Do we know who brought it here?”
“What is this?” came a fourth voice. It was Malachi, who wasn’t wearing his guard’s uniform. Before speaking again, his eyes stayed on Ezra, almost failing to recognize the kid who had left Clairvert, now that he had lost most of his hair, his skin was tender, and his uniform was torn.
“It’s called Lazarus,” said Erin.
“My father saw him approach from the caves, the ones you came from. Did you bring him with you?”
“No,” Erin replied after looking at the others, confused. “We saw this thing a few days ago, far away from here. I want to know who’s piloting it, because it has no business being here, or back in the caves.”
It made no sense, Ezra thought. Unless—
“Do you think it’s another one? Maybe this isn’t the Creux we saw in the oasis.”
“No, it is the same,” argued Erin. “I know it is. The marks on its boot, the brand of its name. It’s the same one. I’m not leaving until I find out exactly who it was that brought him here.”
For two more hours they waited, and Lazarus remained still, dead in the eyes. The people of Clairvert began to lose interest rather quickly and returned to the city. Then, no one except the pilots from Zenith were left, sitting on the floor, eyes on the giant as the light from the horizon drew a shadow at its feet.
And then, after some more time, even the pilots themselves chose to leave. First, it was Jena, who grabbed Akiva by the hand and took him back to Clairvert.
Then, just as Ezra was about to leave, Garros got up.
“Erin, we need to go,” Garros said. “I need food, I need sleep. I know you do too. It’s almost dawn, and the pilot’s still shy.”
“We can’t leave,” she said. “I need to know who’s inside.”
Erin had become strangely stubborn when it came to Lazarus—she was obsessed—and Garros could immediately tell that that an argument would be a lost battle. He had to stay. “Might as well go,” he said, looking up at Ezra. “We’ll tell you what happened later.”
Ezra took that chance to leave. He wanted to shave off the remains of his hair, put cold water on his burns. Maybe take a drink so he wouldn’t have nightmares when he finally found the sleep he so desperately needed.
But there was something else stirring in his head.
Making sure Erin and Garros wouldn’t see him, Ezra walked past the main entrance to Clairvert and found the entryway behind which Elena had disappeared.
It was something of a squeeze to go through this tunnel, and he was glad daylight was almost breaking or else he wouldn’t have seen the way. He had to lower his head and keep going until it was dark and the tunnel finally ended in a larger chamber.
Elena was sleeping inside, curled on the dirty floor like a stray cat.
When Ezra stepped closer, trying to call her attention without startling her, he failed. She could almost feel his presence near him, and in one dizzyingly quick motion, she was awake and alert, fists clenched, looking at him like he was a threat.
It took her a moment to realize his visitor was not hostile. “What are you doing here?” she asked, breathing heavily.
“I saw you get in here,” he said. “I know you saw me.”
“No—what are you doing here?” she repeated, looking behind him, still scared.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he replied. “I just wanted to talk to you.”
She finally calmed down and sat. Ezra looked around at the mostly empty space, wondering for how long she had made a home in this miraculously hidden area.
“You were exiled, weren’t you?” Ezra asked. “Captain Farren said people could be exiled if they didn’t want to be jailed in there. How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know,” she said in her wispy, beautiful voice. “It’s hard to tell. Sometimes I don’t leave. I do what I can to survive.”
He wanted to ask her: How did she survive? What did she eat? Where did she do her business? But he couldn’t; he could read in Elena’s voice that she was embarrassed by her situation. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable to satisfy his morbid curiosity.
“Did you—” he started. “Did they think you went crazy? Is that why you’re here?”
She laughed. “Maybe I did. I don’t even remember what it was that told the others that I wasn’t right. Maybe it’s all the things I know, about you and the Creux.”
“How do you know all those things?”
“I don’t know how I know,” she said and laughed again. It was delightful. “I saw the Minotaur and Milos Ravana, and I knew what they were. Before, I always told stories about the Creux: giant man-made monsters built to protect us. I thought it could have all been a dream, but it always felt so real, like memories. Then you were there, in Kerek, and you took care of me by the tree with the as
h leaves.”
She does sound crazy, Ezra thought, and felt guilty.
“I’ve taken care of myself for a long time, and just when I thought I would die, you were there. Then, earlier, Farren could’ve seen me, and you covered for me again,” she said, putting a hand on his hand and looking straight into his eyes with her violet ones. “Thank you.”
He was too lost in her eyes to reply, and when he finally was ready to do it, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the tunnel behind him. He looked back, and could feel sweat pour from the palm she was holding.
There was a shadow. Someone was coming.
He had lured them into Elena’s hiding place.
Ezra was quick enough to move away from Elena to meet the visitors as far from her as he could, and maybe they wouldn’t see her.
“Blanchard,” came Garros’ voice. “Blanchard, I saw you come in here, where—”
Ezra finally came into his view, and Garros stopped.
“There you are,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
Garros walked farther, almost pushing Ezra back. “What’s up?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Nothing.” He was a bad liar.
The large man looked behind Ezra’s shoulder. Ezra wouldn’t turn to make sure, but he knew Garros could see Elena at the end of the tunnel. He looked down at Ezra. “I, uh . . . I don’t know what what’s going on here, but you have to come now.”
Garros gave Elena one last look over Ezra’s head, and chose to ignore her, maybe out of discretion.
“Lazarus’ Apse is open,” he said, and made his way through the maze, squeezing his big frame through the tighter segments.
“And?”
“Something’s weird about this guy,” Garros said and they finally stepped out. Wind hit his face and wiped the sweat off his brow and bald head. The sun was rising behind the clouds in the horizon.
Erin stood next to Lazarus’ foot, taking several steps back from the Creux, for the first time genuinely afraid of it.
“Erin?” Ezra asked.
“It’s empty. I looked into the Apse and it’s completely empty. There’s no pilot, Garros—this thing walked all the way, fought all the way here, all by itself!”
Chapter 12
Ties That Bind
Ezra, Jena, Akiva, Garros, and Erin spent the night in Malachi’s home. It was located in one of the upper clusters of huts, right next to Farren’s, and it was barely big enough for Malachi and Solis, his father, the watchman of the city.
Of course none of them cared about the space; all they needed was a soft bed and a tub of water in which to clean themselves. Solis, a bald man himself, helped Ezra shave the rest of his head so he wouldn’t look like a sickly dog, and Garros took the chance to do the same.
More than once he heard the same remark from different people, including Jena: “You two are starting to look alike—he’s ways bigger, but you could be brothers!”
Garros laughed at these, and though Ezra knew he should be flattered, the concept of losing all of his hair still made him anxious, despite having lost it in what some would call a heroic act; he blamed his stupid vanity and tried to fight it.
After at least eight hours of sleep, they dressed in borrowed robes—a traditional attire in Clairvert that made him feel comfortable for the first time in weeks—and finally met with William Heath for a late debriefing.
The man had been suspiciously reluctant of meeting them at the entrance of the city, and it was clear to Ezra that it was because of Lazarus. William was afraid of the monstrous version of Milos Ravana, as though he could easily recognize it as a force of evil. He saw in it something he didn’t see in any of the other Creuxen.
It was hard to blame him; Lazarus was horrifying, even by the standards of giant robotic monsters.
“To be perfectly frank, soldiers, I was worried,” he had said when they met him in the privacy of the chapel behind William’s office. “You took longer than I anticipated, and when that thing showed up outside with blood on its hands, I was sure something had gone wrong.”
“Something did go wrong,” Garros said and looked at Akiva, who ignored the comment.
Erin didn’t. She pulled at his clothes and whispered: “Let it go.”
“You told us we wouldn’t run into trouble,” said Garros. “Why were there so many Flecks in there, and why were they so pissed?”
“I’m sorry things went sour. I can’t imagine what happened to you,” he said, and looked directly as Ezra; it wasn’t the lack of hair that alarmed William, but the red spots of tender flesh left where Milos’ power had brushed him. “I imagined that if there were any of those things still roaming the tunnels, they would be either too weak or too scared to attack you.”
“They were scared, but they were not weak,” Erin said. “And they were smart, unusually so. They knew where to go; they were the ones who shut off the repeater, not a rockslide. They did that consciously.”
“That’s not hard to believe; I saw them plan and execute a strategy when Kerek fell,” William said. “They’ve been acting very strange since the Shift. It just tells me that something else is coming—I know it just like I knew Kerek was in danger back before it fell.”
“Clairvert might no longer be safe for you,” said Jena, and looked at Erin. “I wanted to talk to you since yesterday, about this. William was right about the tremors. I felt more than one since you left, and they say they’re growing stronger. These caves are all connected, and if there really are angry Flecks—angry Carriers—near here, it might be a good idea to consider relocating.”
“Relocating? You mean moving everyone away from here?” asked William, almost laughing. “That’s impossible.”
“That’s exactly what I mean and I don’t think it’s impossible,” Jena argued. “There are safe islands in the wasteland not far from here. You and the people of this city will be safer out there, away from the Flecks and away from the Asili. There’s nature there, and plants and even some animals. It’s closer to the planet that existed before, and the Flecks don’t go into them.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, girl,” he said. “We can’t leave this place.”
“Of course we can.”
“No, we can’t. I won’t allow it.”
“Somehow I feel your brother said the same thing when you proposed moving away from Kerek,” Jena said, and the comment made William clench his jaw.
“Jena, stop,” Akiva said.
Ignoring him, she turned to Erin. “This place isn’t as safe as we think. Maybe it was, but that was before Lys—before the Shift. That thing is growing stronger, and it’s just beyond these walls. I’ve been thinking about it ever since we were locked in the cells, and hearing what you guys fought back there only makes it more vital. People are being locked up or exiled just because they live here. How is that living? It’s not even surviving.”
“How do you intend to move hundreds of people hundreds of miles? The Laani are disappearing, but the wasteland isn’t safe yet,” asked Erin.
“We have four—I mean, five—Creux. Including Milos Ravana. Erin, I can get this done, if you let me make a plan, and offer to do your part.”
Erin looked at Jena, reluctant. “This isn’t why we came, Jena. We’re supposed to protect Roue.”
“No, we’re supposed to protect people,” Ezra said, and Jena smiled at him. “Jena is right. I know it’s what my mother would’ve done. I’ll help.”
“Fair enough,” said Erin. “Okay. If you can think of a way to do it without interfering with our main objective, which I really don’t want you to forget, then be my guest. If you figure out a plan that makes sense, I’ll listen to you. If you convince me, I’ll play my part. You have the lead on this.”
William’s face had turned red, his brow furrowed in silent rage, most of it focused on Jena. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m no one,” Jena said. It wasn’t defiant, but her confiden
ce masked the words as such.
“Mr. Heath, relocating your people isn’t why we are here,” Erin said. “We’re on a mission, and we’re on your side. The repeater is on, so communication with Roue should be up. We did our part and I would appreciate if you’d do yours.”
It took William a few moments to cool down and give a reluctant nod. “We’ll talk about this later, you can be sure. As far as our deal, I promised two things, and I intend to keep both promises. Parks and Perry, if you’re ready, then come with me. You can meet with the others in the city proper after we’re done.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Ezra, noticing Garros’ smile.
“We’ll talk to you later,” said Erin.
“When we’re done, I’ll take you to the Asili,” he said and pointed towards a red curtain draped at the far end of the chamber, a veil covering the way to Lys. “If you think you can handle it.”
“Wait, where are you going?” Ezra said, and noticed that both Jena and Akiva were as confused as he was. “I thought we were all going back there.”
“We are,” said Erin. “But there’s something we have to do first. It’ll only take a few hours, and then we’ll meet again. Jena, use this time to plan a strategy, if you can.”
Ezra had grown used to knowing, for once, what was happening around him, so he didn’t appreciate being kept in the dark. He was angry at Erin and Garros; after all they had been through, they should trust him enough to keep him in their plans—he was now a part of them, whether they liked it or not.
Not even the fact that both Jena and Akiva were also uninvolved made him feel better.
He knew he should have stayed with Jena and helped her begin planning the exodus to which William was suspiciously opposed, but he only wanted to be alone, so he left her with Akiva; they could fill him in later.
When he emerged from the hallway to Clairvert proper, he noticed there was more movement in the city than he had seen in the previous days. People were setting up torches around the dais at the heart of the city, and the massive pillar reflected the fire beautifully. Seeing the sunlight bleed through the thick clouds outside was a rare blessing, and it was particularly beautiful at this hour, when the light crept through small gaps in the stone of the atrium; it almost seemed to charge the blue stone walls with light.
The Unfinished World (The Armor of God Book 2) Page 17
