The Veil

by Stuart Meczes

  Alex tapped my shoulder. “Hey, Ella, check this out,” said Alex.

  He led me through the park towards a paved area where a large black device that looked like an upturned talon poking out of the ground was standing. An Elf and her young daughter were using it, the mother staring at the screen intently while her child tugged impatiently at her hand, clearly wanting to go to the gaming stalls. Over her shoulder I could see a large display screen.

  “I think this is the DIAS that the Lightwarden mentioned. Maybe we can use it to find the White Keep,” Alex said.

  “Good idea.”

  Alex and I walked over. As we drew closer, the girl noticed me and gave a grin, exposing a cute gap in the middle of her teeth. I gave her a wink and she giggled. “Mother, she’s so pretty,” she whispered.

  “Who is, darling?” The woman turned and noticed us. She gave a quick frown and then pulled her daughter away. “Come on, Elabeth, let’s go.” The girl traded places with her mother, being tugged along, the whole time arching her head around and grinning at me.

  “Well that was rude,” I said as we stepped up to the DIAS.

  “Maybe she was one of the citizens who saw us arrive with Iralia,” said Alex. “Either that or she’s jealous of your looks,” he added with a mischievous grin.

  “Flirting after we’ve found Iralia,” I said, and then turned my attention to the screen. It showed a map of Fenodara, each district highlighted in a different colour. A blue dot blinked near the centre. The words “Current Location” were written next to it in Qi’lern. It was at that moment that I finally realised just how large the city was. The dot was tiny compared to the vast labyrinth of areas that surrounded it. It made London look like a village in comparison. Should be easy to find your way around? I thought, thinking of the Highwarden’s words. Yeah, maybe if you’re some kind of savant.

  I almost jumped when a voice came from within the machine. Welcome, citizen. To use the DIAS, please select a location to reveal local information. For directions, please trace a line to the area you wish to proceed to.

  I glanced at Alex. “Give it a try,” he said.

  Shrugging, I pressed my finger against the glass on an area marked “Recreation District.” The machine made a low bleeping sound.

  You have selected the Recreation District. The Recreation District has many entertainment features, such as air bowling, theatres, opera houses, Unicorn racetracks, combat arena shows, leisure pools and mineral bath houses, as well as the world-famous Arcarian Theatre. Please be aware that the Recreational District, like all other communal districts, is closed for access after curfew. For more information on specific entertainment options, please double tap the screen. For directions, please trace a route from your current location.

  I tapped my finger against the flashing dot and drew upwards to the Recreational District. The action left a white trail, which turned blue as the DIAS calculated it.

  Directions. To reach the Recreational District most effectively, please walk three hundred meters north to Railport Three and take an Eastbound Lightshuttle to Railport Ten. The journey will take twelve minutes, and call at six stops before the desired district is reached. If you cannot afford to use the Lightrail, please summon a Passageboat at the dock forty metres to the southeast. Using a waterway will take twenty-six minutes.

  The screen refreshed itself. I glanced at Alex, expecting him to be impressed at the smart little machine, but instead he had a frown on his face.

  “What are those parts?” he asked.

  I looked at where he was pointing and saw several blacked-out areas that seemed to encase the rest of the city like a shadow, connecting to one another with thin strands. “They’re the waterways, aren’t they?” I said, squinting down at the dark patches.

  “No, that’s the blue trails there, see,” he said, pointing them out. “And the ocean is the blue area here. These are part of the city itself. Maybe that’s where the White Keep is.” Before I could say anything else, he stabbed a finger at a big patch that looked like an inkblot. I was surprised when the edges of the screen flashed red and the DIAS let out a harsh noise.

  Potential Error. You have selected an area of Fenodara not accessible to citizens or tourists. If you are a Lightwarden, please press again. If you are not a Lightwarden, then please wait for the system to refresh itself – under no circumstances should you press the screen again.

  I looked at Alex in confusion. He stared back and slowly reached out a finger to touch the screen again. I should stop him. I promised the Highwarden that we would stay out of trouble, and this looks like it has trouble written all over it. But I want to find Iralia as soon as possible…this might be the only way.

  Still unsure, Alex raised his eyebrows, questioning.

  I nodded.

  Alex tapped his finger against the screen. The screen turned black and a series of six boxes appeared in the middle. A tapscreen keyboard filled with Qi’lern numerical symbols appeared below.

  Welcome Lightwarden. Please input your six-digit access code within ten seconds.

  “Um…I think I left my super secret six-digit code at home,” said Alex.

  Input six-digit access code now, said the DIAS again, its tone somehow more aggressive.

  “Press something!”

  “Do you know how many millions of number and letter combinations it could be?”

  “Try!”

  Alex tapped six random keys and for a moment the screen went still. Wait…did we actually get it right? A second later the image turned red and a loud, harsh noise escaped from the machine. No…course we didn’t.

  Error. Unauthorized access. Citizen or visitor, you have committed a level 3 offence. All nearby Lightwardens have been notified and are en-route to your location. Remain where you are, or risk further prosecution.

  Alex stared at me, his eyes wide. “Shit.”

  The DIAS broke into a shrill alarm that rang in my ears. I could feel eyes staring at us from all directions, and the band had stopped playing.

  “I think it’s time to leave,” he said.

  We both stepped away from the unit and skulked away. I glanced over my shoulder and saw three Lightwardens stirring from their positions at the edges of the park, eyes shifting to the DIAS and then us.

  “Go, go, go,” Alex urged, walking faster.

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know, just away.”

  We slipped through the crowds, quickening our steps. The guards sped up too. “Citizens, stop immediately!”

  I grabbed Alex’s hand, pulling him to a halt.

  “What are you doing?” he hissed.

  “I don’t want to piss off the Highwarden. We both want to find Iralia, but what we just did was a mistake. Let’s just stop and explain, before we make things worse.”

  Alex nodded. “Okay. We can-”

  His words were cut off by a ascending whine followed by a cracking blast when a blast of energy that shot between us, missing our faces by inches and taking a smoking chunk out of a nearby building.

  “They just shot at us!” I gasped incredulously.

  Another burst of energy streaked towards us, hitting a tree and knocking off several of its branches, sending those under it screaming and running for cover. Are they insane, what the hell are they doing? The Lightwardens were fast approaching, barging past the crowds.

  “So much for explaining!” Alex seized my hand and we ran.

  We snaked past the panicked families and sightseers, who pulled their loved ones away as we tore past. There was a series of loud buzzes behind us, and I jerked my head around to see that the chasing Lightwardens had re-activated their pike-guns, which now crackled with energy.

  I can’t believe this is happening. All we did is walk away and then they shot at us! What kind of place would allow its protectors to behave like that?

  The wardens were right on our tail, barging people out the way and shouting for us to stop.

  Yeah like we’re going to just qu
it running when they’ve just tried to take our heads off!

  We sprinted through the park and emerged into a vast area, packed full of more people than I had ever seen in once place. In a second I had scanned everything in my mind, taking it all in and sorting it into information I could use.

  Enclosed, circular courtyard with five entry/exit points. I glanced up. Twelve seated ion cannons fixed to rampart turrets…all manned. More Lightwardens patrolling the along the six interconnecting bridges that meet in a floating platform in the middle – like wheel spokes. I glanced at a sign. Union District. Why do I remember that name? I scanned my brain. This is where the parade is being held. I swore under my breath. Great, probably the most-guarded area in the whole of Fenodara.

  As if in time to my frantic thoughts, a moment after we burst onto the scene, a loud chime rang out over the city, its resonance hanging in the air for some time after it had finished. That was the great clock. The parade is about to start.

  Right on cue, all of the citizens pulled away from whatever they were doing or watching, streaming towards the centre.

  I grabbed Alex’s shoulder, forcing him to change direction. “We need to hide with them!”

  “Okay.”

  We joined the thousands of excited bodies moving towards the centre. I glanced over my shoulder and could see the Lightwardens knocking people to the ground with their staffs in their desperate attempts to catch up with us. My heart was hammering a pulse in my ears as we continued to barge our way forward – not even bothering to apologise as we tried our best to sink deep into the crowd. Before we knew what was happening, we had burst out the front of them.

  “Ella, careful!” shouted Alex, yanking me back.

  I narrowly avoided getting hit by a large tank-like truck. My heartbeat seized as I prepared myself for it to release a dozen Lightwardens and for the game to be up. But instead it trundled right past – it’s shimmering pale metal mirroring our faces. It was convoy leader to two smaller trucks, which followed behind it like its offspring. The leading tank-truck gave a few warning blasts and meandering citizens moved quickly out of the convoy’s path. We sank back into the folds of the crowd, hearing the yells of the Lightwardens as they tried to pushed through the crowds and find us.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  As the first trailing vehicle passed, it unloaded tall glass stakes, stamping them down into the ground with hydraulic wings that protruded from their sides, and the last one reeled off some kind of bright tape that attached itself to the stakes, creating a wide, blocked off pathway right through the district. The convoy kept doing its work until they had cordoned off a large area, and then continued to drive away, shrinking into the distance and vanishing.

  Is that for us? Are they trying to stop us going any further?

  I stared around wildly, but no one seemed to be acting alarmed. As soon as they were gone, the citizens poured towards the edges of the barriers. No…this is for the parade. Thank god.

  “Ella, come here.” Alex grabbed my hand tightly and moved us to the right. Out the corner of my eye, I could see Lightwardens among the citizens, their staffs raised and searching.

  Did they see our faces? I don’t know. Oh god.

  Alex pushed me further back into the crowd and we were gathered up in the fray, being ushered forward by people wearing bright robes of delicate silks and adorned by jewels that winked in the dim light from the hanging lanterns. There’s too many people. This was a bad idea. I tried to double back, but there was nothing but a wall of bodies and excited faces blocking our way. It was either a case of get violent and draw attention from the trigger happy Lightwardens or stay put. Alex looked at me, and I knew he was thinking exactly the same thing as me.

  We’re trapped.

  The only good news was that the sheer volume of bodies was making it almost impossible for the Lightwardens to move through. It was like they were trying to push their way through tar, and not even a few painful-looking jabs with their staffs did much to separate the crowds. Instead, they unfurled their wings and flew upwards, drawing away from the crowds. They settled on walkways overhead, scanning downwards and speaking into bracelets on their wrists, just like us Guardians did.

  The parade is too important to disrupt. They’re hanging back until its over. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, they wouldn’t be able to find us right now. On the other hand, if they had seen our faces, we’d be sitting ducks when the crowds dispersed. There was nothing more to do but wait.

  The steady chatter of the citizens fell into a hush when a loud, steady drumbeat began in the distance to our right. It was followed shortly by the sound of jangling bells, working together to create a hypnotic rhythm that rolled through my body like musical liquid.

  “Idirian Waterdancers!” squealed a small Pixie sitting on her father’s shoulders. She pointed and I followed her gaze to a group of young Elf girls moving into eyeshot. They were draped in exotic, Middle Eastern-style garments and wearing jeweled headdresses, spinning and dancing on top of a wave of Lunafell water, wrapping and swirling silk ribbons around themselves to create an almost overwhelming visual display. They controlled the malleable liquid expertly, stepping down hard with their leading foot to force it to return to liquid and then riding the huge wave crest down before leaning backwards and forcing it to heave up as large peaks of crystalline ice and then making it break again, creating an endless undulating wave of water and ice that rolled through the parted crowd.

  I glanced at Alex, who was temporarily transfixed by the spectacle. As panicked as I was, I couldn’t deny the beauty of what we were witnessing – haunting in its otherworldly perfection. The females were followed closely by a group of male Idirian Elves, who danced behind the wave, their hands beating large, shouldered drums, and their bare feet attached with belled anklets that produced the jangling sound that accompanied the steady beat of the drums. As they moved further down through the district, they were replaced by a swarm of water nymphs who were painted in a variety of colours and who each carried tiny buckets of water. They spiraled around each other and flicked out the water onto themselves, which made the paint glow. They did it in a complicated pattern, creating incredible displays of flashing light that made them look like living Catherine wheels.

  The parade continued on for some time – every element of it a stunning display of light and water, music and dance. It was incredible to watch, and were we not being pursued by Fenodara’s finest, it would have been something I would have really enjoyed. But I was acutely aware of the searching eyes above us, and the soldier in me was growing restless with being so stationary and vulnerable. I turned to look behind me, but the crowds were still pinned tightly behind us. I swore under my breath.

  A low horn blared – like something from a medieval trumpet, and the tone shifted in an instant. The crowd stopped cheering and shouting and fell deadly still, their hands at their sides.

  Through the archway, I saw a unit of Lightwardens appear. They marched in perfect timing, gunpikes pressed against shoulders, and wore ceremonial armour ringed with decorative flourishes and long, flowing capes that billowed in the breeze. Behind them was an armoured car, supporting a giant metal statue of Prince Ashan, standing in a noble pose. The Qi’lern message we had seen earlier came from within the vehicle, powerful and booming, as if the voice was coming from all around us.

  Never forget those who fell. Never forgive those who felled them.

  In response, all of the citizens around us pressed their fingers to their hearts and then raised them in the air in salute. A solitary man walked in after them, sporting a curled-up instrument that looked like a trumpet that had been coiled around itself a dozen times. He raised it to his lips, producing another powerful blast that rumbled through the crowds.

  “All pay your respects to Prince Rashad, leader of the Luminar.”

  Everyone around us sank to one knee, a closed fist pressed against their hearts. In a split-second, Alex and I be
came the only people still on their feet. I grabbed his arm and yanked into a kneeling pose, praying we hadn’t stood out. A small army of Lightwardens came into my peripheral view and my heart stalled for a second. But they were just part of the parade, marching in front of a line of Pixies in tightly wrapped silk dresses who threw a rainbow of flower petals down onto the ground. I heard the unmistakable sound of hooves and then saw Prince Rashad appear through the archway, protected from the rear by more Lightwardens, and riding on top of a beautiful black unicorn.

  He was young – probably only ten or eleven in human years, his face still growing into its features. He looked tiny on top of the huge creature, his hands dwarfed by the large reins he held in them. He was draped in finery and his head held a glass crown that glinted in the lantern light.

  “Rise, citizens of Fenodara,” said the prince, his voice high and reedy. “Let us bathe ourselves in the light of Cetus and be renewed together through Ar’Quistis!”

  As he finished his words, countless numbers of the water fireworks we had seen burst into the sky in an explosion of sound and colour. The crowd rose up and broke into a roaring sound of cheers and shouts of adoration. As the fireworks continued to burst into patterns of colour, multicoloured rain sprinkled down without dissolving, and painted everyone – including us – in an array of colours.

  Brilliant, now there’s no denying we were here.

  Prince Rashad waved and smiled at the feverous and doting crowd. As he moved down the parade path, the crowds moved with him, barging past us in their desperation to keep sight of him. I grabbed Alex’s hand.

  “Now’s our chance. Come on!”

  We weaved and ducked through the sweeping hordes, moving diagonally and with the flow of people, edging our way to the outside of the crowds as subtly as possible. It was like fighting a wave, and shoulders and elbows dug painfully into my side as we forced our way through. After what felt like an eternity, we broke free of the masses and into space.