by Abby Dewsnup
The city spanned out below me. The roads were glowing, the buildings lit up the same. As far as the eye could see was neon, artificial light to combat the darkness.
Something tugged at my neck, and I realized that my light orb had snagged on my shirt. Having forgotten about it until this moment, I stared at it, mesmerized. It was a remnant of my old life, and I was grateful I hadn’t broken it like the others. The necklace was the only evidence I had of that small, fiery girl who had stolen light to stay alive. She and I were the same, but I felt as if I had grown into something more. It was as if the light that had only blistered my hands before now burned inside me.
I regretted not interrogating the High Prince on who I really was, and what my light marks meant. It seemed as if the matter at hand always outweighed my inner desire, and I was left without any answers of my own. Mane, the Glass Trader, had known what my power was. I wished I could talk to him now.
In truth, I wished I could talk to anyone right now. All my life I had been alone, with only James to keep me company. And it had felt normal, the loneliness. And suddenly within Jay I found this friend only moments before he became foreign to me, a ghost within his body. I wasn’t sure if he would ever be the same, and the thought made me sad.
Let it go, my thoughts were screaming. You aren’t some love-dovey girl. You have a mission.
But I wasn’t sure what I had anymore. Uncertainty was my enemy. All my life I had known what I was doing and how to handle the situation. And then, in the midst of it all, was the disappearance of my parents, the broken promise. The uncertainty. I had always hated the feeling. And now, with the Oracle Stones so close, the feeling was itching away at my insides.
Next to me, one of the flat boards flickered to life. Across its surface, in purple lettering, were the words There is No Threat, and they began to pass through the board as if on a spinning wheel. I stood and approached it, transfixed by the strange glow. The board was flat, without so much as a stand to keep it upright, and yet it was alive and writing words.
I reached my hand out, letting my fingertips brush the glass case. It hummed beneath me, and I could sense the strange electricity within it, though I wasn’t sure why. I pressed my palm against the board, feeling a surge of energy.
I flinched in shock as my light marks sprouted across my skin. They were the same glowing shade of purple, and the indecipherable shapes glared up at me. They swirled beneath my skin, the usual bands of color mocking me with their mystery.
“You’re glowing again, I see.”
I spun around, greeted by Jay leaning against the board frame. He still looked worn, with undereye circles and a pale face, and I was angry that he was up here. “You should be in bed,” I said.
He raised his hands in surrender. “We’re Bonded, Anya. I can feel when those,” he nodded to my light marks, “Are coming to life. And you were dancing with them.”
“Dancing?”
“With the energy. It’s a figure of speech.” He ran a hand through his brown hair, letting it fall across his scar. “Can I join you?”
I took a step away from the billboard, watching my light marks fade away. “You’re always welcome to join me.”
It was in that instant that a flash of light illuminated the rooftop. Warren was standing on the white stripe, a loaf of bread and a canteen of water in his hands. “Eat up,” he said dryly, tossing me the loaf. “It’s all I could get my hands on, sorry.”
The fingerless glove on my hand hid the thief mark on the backside of my palm, but I laughed nonetheless. “I’ll have to teach you how to swipe the best food. It’s an art, you know.”
Warren shrugged. “Hey, I’m aware it’s an art. I was cast out of my tribe for a reason, you know,” he mocked.
“What is this, the who-can-be-the-biggest-bad-guy competition? Thanks for the bread, Warren. I was beginning to think I’d have to eat Anya,” Jay said.
I shot him a glare. “You’re always so pleasant to be around, Jay,” I retorted.
He grinned. “I try my best.”
After Warren left, we lapsed into silence, eating as politely as our desperate hunger would allow. I may have grown up on the streets, but my mother taught me my manners, especially in the presence of someone who was quite literally Bonded to me. I glanced over at him and noticed that he was already watching me, his head cocked in my direction as we ate.
“There’s a festival going on in the streets behind our building,” he finally said. “People are dancing, there’s music. Seems like a good time.”
“It’s late,” I replied.
“Nevermind, I knew you wouldn’t —”
“Are you saying I don’t know how to have a good time, Jay?” I grinned, rising to my feet. “Alright, let’s go check it out for a bit. But then you’re going to bed, you look — you look like garbage, honestly.”
“Thanks.”
I stood and walked over to the white stripe, waiting for Jay to follow. He smirked as he came to stand by me, his hands hanging loosely at his sides.
“Wipe that look off your face,” I said. “You know I can’t let you win.”
“Oh, I know,” he replied.
We dissolved into the air, appearing moments later on the ground. I gasped, trying to steady the dizziness that washed over me. “I need to get used to that.”
Jay was right — cutting down our street was a riot of people, their tight clothing decked out in glowing strings of lights and accessories. Booths lined the sidewalks, and lanterns were strung out across the towering buildings. It seemed as if they had set it up only moments after we entered Roland’s flat, which I assumed was because the storm passed.
In the center of the street was an open area, where people were dancing in a frenzied group. I had never seen dancing like this, with pounding music and no room to breathe. It made my pulse quicken and my excitement rise, though I wasn’t sure why.
Jay bent over and picked up a glittering object. He showed me the necklace, a flat golden piece of metal with the flag of the Light Districts engraved across it. “It’s yours now,” he said, clasping it around my neck.
I laughed, feeling the crowds surge around us. Jay pointed to the source of the music, his hand silhouetted against the beams of light. “Come with me,” he cried over the noise.
I followed him into the rioting crowd.
We were tossed back and forth, laughing until I couldn’t breathe as the music waned and sped up. The beat of it hammered along with my heart. “I don’t think I could ever get used to this city,” I shouted.
Jay turned to me, taking advantage of a temporary opening in the crowd. He entwined my fingers with his and twirled me around, dipping me low enough for the lights to illuminate across our faces.
The pounding music ceased, floating away into a slow melody. It reminded me of Jay’s radio, and the haunting sound that came with it. Slowly, soft flecks of light began to float around the crowd, resulting in a cacophony of cheering.
“I think it’s a celebration for the High Prince,” Jay said. He was right — the billboards around us were flickering to life with messages from their beloved Prince, their anarchist of a ruler. The man we had spoken to only hours before.
I turned back to him, bumping into his outstretched hand. “Care to dance?” He asked, laughing.
I hesitated, watching the glitter and light fall around us. “Fine, but then we’re going back,” I said, accepting his hand.
The only other time I had danced before was at the mining festival, when James had spun me around and around beneath the wooden shafts. I let Jay guide my hands into place, feeling sheepish as we danced among the crowd of Light Citizens. He held my waist and our hands fit together like puzzle pieces.
It felt strange to be dancing in such a foreign place. In all my years, I would never have seen myself in such a city as the Blue Light District. For a long time neither of us spoke, listening to the metallic drones of the song.
“I know all about waiting,” Jay finally sa
id.
“What do you mean?” I asked, his hand shifting in mine.
He pulled a fraction of an inch closer. “You, your life. I can’t read your mind, Anya. Don’t be worried about that. But I can feel you, and the wait inside you — it’s hard to ignore. Do you really think your parents are coming back?”
His words ignite the familiar fire within me. “No, I don’t think they’ll be back. If I did, I would still be in the Caves, waiting for them.” I knew it in my heart to be true.
“But they loved you a lot. I feel that much.”
I grit my teeth and looked away from him. The words escaped my lips before I had even a second to think about holding them back. “See, that’s the enigma of it all. I don’t know exactly what love is, but I think it means, ‘I won’t ever leave you here alone.’ And if they loved me, they would have stayed.”
He stared at me for a long time, the glow of the city lights painting his face a cool shade of blue. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re like the sun?” He whispered.
My voice broke and fell apart as I studied him, a question on my tongue. “You’re exhausted, Jay. It’s plain on your face,” I replied lamely. “Should we go back?”
“I mean it. You’re really bright. I’m not very good with words but,” he took a deep breath, “I want you to know that I won’t ever leave you here alone, okay?”
I froze. A tingling sensation spread from my heart and down my limbs, cracking across my fingertips like the lightning in the clouds above. I must’ve looked ridiculous, standing there with my eyes wide and face pale from the sheer weight his message held. My fingers toyed with the necklace he had given me.
We had stopped dancing now, but he didn’t take a step away. He reached out with his free hand and brushed a stray piece of black hair from my face. And then his lips were on mine, and I was spiraling away, sinking into him and he into me. The fire within me bristled and grew, and I burned.
He pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine. I squeezed my eyes shut, inhaling his scent, feeling the way his scar presses into my own skin. “Can I tell you a secret?” I whispered.
He pulled away, his eyes questioning. “Of course.”
“I am afraid.”
“Of what?” He asked, winding his hands through mine and down my back.
Of eternity, of oblivion. Of the Creation, and the Bond — the World Shakers and the Solifeer, I thought, my heart hammering in my chest. But mostly of you.
“Spiders,” I replied.
He let out a laugh, his eyes dancing in the dim lights. He kissed me again, slowly, his hands winding through my hair.
Around us, the skeleton city bloomed with light. A shadowed figure moved through the alleyways, his face concealed beneath a hood and his riding helmet tucked away at his hip. The crowd swirled around him, unaware of his identity. He pressed his hand against the honeycombed building, his steely eyes following the silhouetted Cave-Dwellers as they danced.
A few moments passed before he pulled away, fixing his hood in a hurry. For the first time in a long while, the High Prince recalled something long since passed. His bones are burning, and he vanished once again into the glowing streets.
But he did look back, which is intriguing. Because it is so human of him.
16
Sol Tavern
I awoke the next day to Roland shaking my shoulders. “Get up,” he said in a groggy, sleep-deprived voice. “It’s noon. We need to be on our way.”
I sat up, wiping my eyes. The previous day felt like a long running dream, with the Dark House, the High Prince, and the kiss. I mentally cursed as the memories returned.
“Why’re you waking me up in the middle of the night, man?” Warren asked, rising from his sleeping mat. His wings clicked and whirred to life.
“It’s noon, there just isn’t any sunlight here, period. Get used to it.” Roland replied harshly. “Get up, get dressed.”
I stretched, stifling a yawn. Warren stared me down, a sly grin across his impish face. “Maybe you wouldn’t be so tired if you and Jay had come in for the night earlier.”
I threw my pillow at him. “Maybe you wouldn’t be so annoying if you shut your—”
“Hey, hey. Let go, it’s okay,” Roland’s voice interrupted us, and I saw Jay’s fists wrap around Roland’s shirt collar. Slowly, his fists opened and Roland pulled away with a scowl. “Geez, someone doesn’t want to get up.”
“Sorry, I was dreaming.” Jay sat up, his eyes bloodshot and hair messed up. “Not that I, you know, strangle people in my sleep.”
I laughed half-heartedly, making eye contact with him as I did so. His gaze softened slightly, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Could what I was feeling be a part of the Bond? Was it all just a Death Bringer induced, soul-crushing lie?
I looked away hurriedly, accepting a bag of almonds from Warren. Today, we would visit the Oracle Stones. Today, Roland would undergo the Creation. And hopefully, the gateway to the Light Kingdom would open and I would have my brother again. I needed to focus.
“The Sol Tavern isn’t far from here; we’ll take the Stream service to get there. And when you enter, do not look at anyone and do not speak to anyone. Stay with me,” Roland warned. “It is from there that we’ll find the opening to the Oracle Stones, understood?”
We nodded in unison. I didn’t know what the Stream service was, but I imagined it was the giant metal worm we had taken yesterday.
Jay’s voice was steady as he said, “Ad meliora.”
Towards better things.
I stood on the white stripe with my companions, still eating the small sample of almonds in my hand. When all this was over I planned on getting a decent, filling meal.
Roland stated our desired location, and in an instant we were standing back on the metal street. The booths and lanterns from yesterday were still set up, the wind rattling their empty frames. “Oh, so this is where you two went,” Warren noted.
I elbowed him, trying to hide the blush creeping up my cheeks. “There was a party going on. Jay likes to dance, or something.”
“Or something,” Jay echoed.
“Remember, the High Prince knows what we’re doing, and he isn’t known to keep his end of the bargain. If, at any point, his brainwashed servants come for us, you run hard, and you run fast. Understood?” Roland said, unsmiling.
Jay grinned. “They’ll never take us alive.”
Something in his words felt ominous, like a rising storm. I brushed my worries aside and followed Roland up the street, trying to ignore the way Jay’s hand brushed mine, or the way his footsteps met with the metallic ground. I’d had enough teasing from Warren for one day, that’s for sure.
I could see the Stream rails rising from the ground a little way ahead of us. Every few seconds a metal worm would whoosh past, silent as the night and half as deadly. A few people mulled about next to the rails, waiting for one of the machines to stop.
It wasn’t long before the worm came to a rest, and people poured inside. Roland pushed his way through them with a scowl, annoyed to even be in the presence of everyday citizens. We stood next to the windows, feeling the machine lurch and wobble on the rails.
Jay grabbed onto a glowing pipeline in the wall, and Warren copied him. I reached for it, but my fingers only brushed the line. With a shrug I wrapped my arm through Jay’s, grumbling under my breath about short people and disadvantages. Roland was exempt from this problem, and he stood with his arms crossed, immune to sudden stops and starts of the machine.
“Are you excited to see your brother?” I asked Jay. I didn’t mention how contingent that happiness was, considering Kye might be dead.
He looked down at me with a slight smile. “Very much. And you?” he asked, his voice slightly upturned in a forced stifle of emotion.
“I’m excited for him to be safe again,” I replied. “I don’t think I will ever forgive the Elders for sending away someone so young. He must be so scared.”
“Hopefully not,”
Jay looked out the train window and yawned, “The Light Kingdom is glorious. He might not want to leave.”
I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. “James would never want to stay. I’m the only person he has ever known, I don’t see why he wouldn’t return to the Fringe with me.”
Jay’s smile seemed somewhat forced as he said, “Of course he would come with you.”
I couldn’t help but feel that Jay Kurtis had another secret locked behind his teeth. I didn’t press him, reminding myself that he would tell me if he knew — or sensed — something important. But still, the thought of what he was hiding sent a chill through me.
The worm rounded around a towering building, and I caught my first glimpse of the Sol Tavern. It was shorter than the surrounding structures, with a thatched roof and an old-fashioned doorway. It was the beacon that caught my attention, the current of iridescent blue light beaming from the roof and straight into the sky. I followed the light into the clouds, where it vanished into the dark.
“That’s one way to attract customers,” I said.
Behind the tavern was the wall of the city, a gilded metal gate that crackled with electricity. Beyond that was open sea and certain death in the cliffs below. I didn’t see any evidence of ancient Oracle Stones.
“And you’re certain the gateway will be open?” I whispered to Roland.
He nodded. “I know he will uphold his promise on the opening. It is our return that has me the most concerned.” I noticed that he didn’t say the High Prince’s name as he spoke, aware of the dozens of people around us.
“And how do we open it?”
Roland sighed. “I must converse with an old friend. Let’s hope he is still in favor of his leader, aye?”
The worm came to a stop, and I stepped onto the floating platform. My breath hitched in my throat at the sudden onslaught of wind. We were close enough to the cliffs that the remnant of the storm blasted sea salt and sand against us, burning my skin and eyes. I was grateful when Roland led us down a ladder and onto lower ground where the wind wasn’t as powerful.
