The Light Thief

by David Webb

  He was looking right at her.

  Aniya took a deep breath and looked the man in the eye, doing her best to stare him down with whatever dignity she had left. As the spots in her eyes began to fade, she realized it wasn’t a man, but a teenage boy. The last of the spots disappeared, and she saw the details in his face—the last face she would ever imagine underneath one of those helmets. The face of her oldest and closest friend.

  “Nicholas?”

  30

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Aniya wanted to run into Nicholas’s arms, but heavy news bore down on her, and she looked at the floor. “They took Roland.”

  No response. She looked up at him again.

  “I guess they told you. What happened to you? Did they force you to join the Silvers?”

  Aniya stepped toward Nicholas but halted abruptly as he raised his gun.

  “Nicholas, what’s going on? It’s just us. If we hurry, we can leave now and save William. I don’t think I can do it alone.”

  She stepped toward him again, but Nicholas also took a step backward.

  “Better yet, you can sneak me inside if they think you’re on their side. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it into the Hub, but if you’re on the inside, then maybe—”

  Nicholas cut her off by pulling something from the back of his belt and tossing it toward her, all while keeping the gun pointed at her head.

  A pair of handcuffs landed at her feet.

  “Put them on.”

  Aniya stared.

  “Nicky—”

  “Now.”

  After a moment, Aniya bent over and picked up the handcuffs. She looked again at Nicholas for any hint of a gesture or look that might indicate he was acting against his own will.

  Nothing.

  In desperation, she threw the handcuffs at her old friend in an effort to distract him, and she turned to run.

  A deafening shot rang out, and Aniya felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She froze and looked down at a small rip in her shirt, bleeding skin beneath, torn by the graze of a bullet.

  The damage to her shoulder was minimal, but her heart was irreparable.

  She started to turn, tears in her eyes, but she was tackled to the ground from behind.

  Nicholas wrenched her hands behind her back and pressed her cheek into the concrete. She felt cold metal slap down on her wrists, and then she was forced to her feet.

  “Let’s go.”

  She was paraded to the train station, escorted by four other officers that had finally caught up to her and Nicholas.

  The Operative and ten more Silvers stood over Urich and Kira, who were both on their knees and bound.

  “No,” Aniya whispered as she looked at Kira, whose cheeks were wet with tears.

  The Operative stretched his arms wide. “Ms. Lyons, so good of you to join us again. I’m sure you know Urich, the man who betrayed you.”

  Urich bowed his head. “I’m so sorry, Aniya. I couldn’t let them hurt my daughter.”

  The Operative shook his head and smirked. “You must be frustrated at this betrayal, considering the lengths you’ve gone to in order to stay hidden. I was planning on killing the girl’s father myself, but if it would make you feel better, you’re more than welcome to pull the trigger.”

  “No, you promised us protection!” Urich shouted. “You said we would be spared if we turned her in.”

  “Oh, I wish I had the authority to make good on such a promise. But I have no way of knowing what the girl has told you.”

  “They have nothing to do with this,” Aniya pleaded, resorting to lies. “I didn’t even tell them who I was, so they couldn’t have possibly known that I was on the run from you.”

  Nicholas forced Aniya to her knees next to Kira, and she jerked her shoulder back into his hand as he let go.

  “Even so, they’re here now, so even if you’re telling the truth, it doesn’t make a difference.” The Operative withdrew his gun and fastened the silencer. “We have peace to maintain, and we can’t very well do that if they’re running around and telling the population about how the big, bad Silvers kidnapped their houseguest.”

  “But whipping them in the street is okay?” Kira muttered.

  “Oh yes, they told me about that. It’s a shame that had to be done to a girl as young and pretty as yourself, but an example had to be set.”

  Kira turned to her father. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Papa.”

  Urich just nodded slowly, his head pointed to the ground. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew it had to be you.”

  “Please let them go.” Aniya tried again. “Move them to another sector if you have to. Put them in relocative servitude. Just let them live.”

  “Oh, we fully intend on milking young Kira here for all she’s worth. In the past, we have only allowed males the great honor of serving the Lightbringers directly, but I’m confident she’ll make a fine addition to our team. However, we have no need for a blind man.” The Operative pointed his gun at Urich’s head, lightly resting the barrel on his temple.

  Urich bowed his head, pressing against the gun. “Go ahead. I have dishonored my name and forsaken the cause I once stood for, all for nothing.”

  “Papa, no!” Kira now sobbed heavily.

  Urich shouted, “Don’t look, Kira!”

  Kira turned and cried into Aniya’s shoulder.

  The Operative let the moment drag on, tapping the barrel of the gun against Urich’s forehead as he smiled.

  “But then, it’s not fair to shoot a cripple.”

  He turned and fired.

  Kira’s head snapped backward, and she fell to the ground and rolled over once before lying still.

  The scream that emanated from Urich’s lungs chilled Aniya to the bone, and she became numb with shock and rage. She opened her mouth to protest, curse, anything, but she couldn’t find strength to speak or the words to say.

  Urich’s scream turned into miserable sobs. He crawled over on his knees, his hands still bound, to where he last heard Kira’s voice. When his knee touched her side, he let himself fall forward, resting his head on his daughter’s chest, crying into her clothes.

  The Operative put his gun away. “Dispose of the body, tranquilize the girl, and leave the old man. Be on the train in five minutes.”

  One of the officers piped up. “I thought we were going to kill him.”

  “Do you really think anyone would believe an old, blind man? He’s inconsequential. Now, follow your orders.” The Operative turned and walked toward the train.

  Silvers pulled Urich away from Kira as the crying man shouted through his tears.

  “Don’t touch her! You stay away from her!”

  Aniya watched the officer pick Kira up as a gun cocked behind her.

  Then, everything went black.

  31

  In the front passenger car of the train, the Operative slouched back in his booth and allowed himself to relax for the first time in weeks. He had been studying maps, analyzing escape routes, and barking orders nonstop ever since the first Lyons brat had escaped the Hub.

  But now everything was as it should be.

  The lights were back on, everyone was back in their pods, the peace was kept, and the Web could continue on as normal. Of course, there was still the old, blind man back in Shyvale, but he would soon be dubbed the village lunatic thanks to his crazed rants.

  The Lyons girl and her brother had caused quite a stir. It seemed they had inherited the troublemaker gene from their parents. All things considered, the Operative felt he deserved a raise. In fact, he decided that as soon as he got back to the Hub, that would be his first order of business.

  If nothing else, at least he got a small bonus. The crystal that had hung around the girl’s neck now lay on the table, wobbling with every vibration of the train. The Operative flicked the crystal and watched it spin, sparkling as it caught the glow of the interior lights.

  How a girl like that could get her hands on a
rock like this, he had no idea. He was no scientist, but he knew enough to recognize that this was not a common crystal. This looked like the kind the Lightbringers used under the Citadel, perfect for storing energy. They were quite valuable, and he could surely trade it for just about anything. If nothing else, it made for a nice trinket.

  His reverie was disturbed by an officer’s entry into his cabin.

  “She’s secured, sir.”

  The Operative shook away his annoyance at the interruption and sat up in his seat as he shoved the crystal in his pocket. “Thank you, officer.”

  The Silver turned to leave.

  “You know, I doubted that you would remain loyal to our cause.”

  The officer stopped and turned.

  “Why’s that, sir?”

  “I seem to recall dragging you kicking and screaming from Holendast just weeks ago. Weren’t you and the girl close?”

  Nicholas shrugged. “The Chancellor made some very good points. Besides, it’s not like he gave me a choice.”

  “He never does, does he? Still, you could have betrayed us.”

  “I would never do that. The Chancellor was right. The power and the peace it provides are more important than any one person.” Nicholas looked at the ground. “I loved her, but she endangered our way of life. We could have lost the entire Web to darkness. She had to be taken care of.”

  “Quite right.” The Operative pulled a bottle from the side compartment and placed it on the table. “Come, sit with me.”

  Nicholas hesitated but obeyed.

  The Operative pulled two glasses from a tray on the edge of the table. “The Adviser was right about you. I don’t agree with him on much, but he made a good call with you.” He poured a small amount of liquid from the bottle into both glasses and passed one of them to Nicholas. “If it had been anyone else that cornered her in Shyvale, she would have gotten away. You were a risky move, to be sure, but a good one.”

  He raised a glass and motioned to Nicholas, who picked up the drink and eyed its contents briefly.

  “Relax,” the Operative said, laughing. “You’re no good to me dead. Besides, poison is a woman’s game.”

  Nicholas tapped his glass against the Operative’s, then downed its contents with one swig.

  The Operative smiled. A boy after my own heart. He drank from his glass as well and set the cup back down by the bottle.

  “Now, listen to me closely, boy.”

  His smile vanished, and he drew his gun, placing it on the table with the barrel pointed at Nicholas.

  “It may not have been poison, but it was a chemical designed for one purpose: to truly test your loyalty.” He smirked again as Nicholas’s face turned ashen. “You can calm down, boy. I’m not going to make you kill your girlfriend or anything, as amusing as that would be to watch. This is a truth serum. Very effective during the war, and something we didn’t anticipate needing again. I’ll admit that much bloodshed could have been avoided if I had used this earlier. The girl’s family may not have needed to die after all. But then, that wouldn’t have been nearly as fun. Besides, I had to finish something that they started a very long time ago.”

  Nicholas’s expression turned sour, and the Operative laughed again. “Just be glad that while my superiors give me carte blanche to act as I will, I unfortunately have to proceed with caution when it comes to the Lightbringers’ assets. Sweet Annelise, for example, is not in any immediate danger. Neither are you if your answers to my questions are acceptable. And because I just drank from the same bottle, you can be sure that I am telling you the truth when I say that I will kill you if I don’t like any of your answers.”

  Nicholas nodded slowly.

  “Let’s begin.” The Operative relaxed his gun hand and set his weapon on the table. “I understand the arrangement you have with the Chancellor, but did you say anything to the girl when you arrested her?”

  “I told her nothing except to restrain herself.”

  “Good. Now, we are all aware of your passion for technology. Somehow, the girl obtained a short-range electronic pulse bomb that wiped out our electronics, similar to the one you used back in Holendast. Do you know how she acquired the device?”

  “She got it from me.”

  The Operative snarled and picked up his gun.

  Nicholas held up a hand. “It was before you took me from Holendast and brought me to the Hub. It was in my pack when we got separated.”

  The Operative slowly brought his hand back down, but he did not release the gun.

  “Next question. Will you follow my every order to the letter, no matter what I say?”

  Nicholas shut his mouth.

  “You may want to answer before I take your silence as a negative response.”

  “I get my orders from the Adviser.”

  The Operative narrowed his eyes. “You answer to me.”

  Nicholas shook his head. “I was deployed at the request of the Chancellor. He left the details in the hands of the Adviser, whose explicit instructions were that I answer to him and no one else.”

  “Then let me be as clear as possible.” The Operative raised the gun and pressed the barrel against Nicholas’s chin, pointing up. “The Adviser gave me very explicit instructions as well, and if you act against my wishes, you directly disobey the Adviser. If I, as an emissary of the Chancellor and of the Glorious Bringers of Light, give you an order, will you follow it?”

  Nicholas looked the Operative in the eye. Then, with an unfaltering voice, he responded.

  “Yes.”

  The menace vanished from the Operative’s face, replaced by a large smile.

  “Good. Then bring me the girl.”

  Nicholas left, and the Operative poured another drink, setting it across the table.

  The boy knew enough that if he chose his childhood crush over his new leaders, he could bring this operation to a swift end. His newfound dedication to the Lightbringers was more than a little suspicious, but it seemed that there was no cause for worry after all.

  Of course, it was still worth keeping a close eye on him.

  Now, all that was left was to find out what the girl knew. It’s not like she was going anywhere, but if she did know something and had managed to tell anyone else, there could be a problem.

  But that’s what I do best. Fix the Lightbringers’ problems.

  He looked at the drink on the table that he had saved for the girl.

  Eh, what’s the harm?

  He grabbed the drink and downed it with pleasure, then poured another glass. Whatever chemicals the geeks from the lab put in the liquor somehow made it even tastier.

  “Here you go, sir.” Nicholas entered the train car with their captive in tow.

  The Operative didn’t turn but instead gestured at the booth across from himself with a wave. “Have a seat, Annelise. I hope the journey has been pleasant so far.”

  Nicholas forced the girl down across from him, then sat across the aisle.

  Aniya slumped forward slightly, her eyes rolling.

  “Wake up, girl.” The Operative snapped his fingers under her eyes. “I know the tranquilizers we use are quite strong, but I need your full attention.”

  Aniya slowly sat back up, shaking her head.

  “Good morning. I gather this is your first time on one of our trains. Quite different from the tunnels you’re used to, I’m sure. How does it measure up?”

  She didn’t respond as she wiped her eyes with her shackled hands.

  “I apologize. That’s quite rude of us.” The Operative snapped his fingers again, this time in the direction of Nicholas. “Free her hands.”

  Aniya glared at Nicholas as he unlocked her handcuffs, but he wouldn’t return her gaze.

  “There, that’s better. Now, please, enjoy a drink,” he said, gesturing toward the glass on the table. “You must be thirsty.”

  “No, thank you.”

  The Operative gestured toward Nicholas. “Would you mind, Officer?”

  Nich
olas hesitated.

  “It seems our guest needs assistance, Mr. Kent,” the Operative said, snarling. “I suggest you help your friend.”

  With a glance toward the Operative, Nicholas marched across the car and took the glass in one hand and Aniya’s hair in the other. He pulled her head back and forced the drink into her mouth before she had a chance to close it.

  “Swallow,” Nicholas said.

  Aniya refused, trying to spit the liquid out but only gagging on it.

  The Operative shrugged. “You can either drown in it or drink it. Your choice.”

  Finally, she swallowed, and Nicholas released her.

  “Good. Let’s begin.”

  32

  “Aim higher.”

  The arrow thudded into the dirt wall behind the target, and Roland laughed.

  “Not that high.”

  Tamisra threw the bow to the ground and put her hands on her hips. “I didn’t even aim any higher. I’ve been ignoring you this whole time.”

  “Well, that’s probably why you still haven’t hit anything,” Roland said, rolling his eyes.

  “Says the guy who couldn’t hit the broad side of a mole with a spear two weeks ago.”

  Roland smirked. “Yeah, but I got better. You still can’t hit anything with a bow.”

  “What do I need a bow for? We do have guns, you know. It’s not like we get to use them that often, but we do have them.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Roland put a hand on his hip. “What are you going to do when you run out of ammunition? Besides, if you can’t aim with a bow, I’m sure your aim with a gun is questionable at best.”

  Tamisra jumped on Roland’s back and wrestled him to the ground. He went down easy, and she vaulted him and pinned him to the dirt floor.

  Roland winced as his leg and hip pulsed with pain. His injuries had significantly healed, but he was still recovering.

  “What are you going to do now, boy?”

  “Judging by the state we’re in, I’d say that’s entirely up to you.”