The Traveller's Stone

by S J Howland

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, Flint kept his promise and came over to brief Thea, but whatever he had said, it left her frowning in concern and sending worried looks over at the table where Xander, Len and Ollie were finishing their breakfasts. Finally, they walked towards the door and within earshot, clearly disagreeing about something. Xander kept his head down and listened intently.

  ‘I need to head over to the Nexus headquarters,’ Flint was saying with obvious irritation. ‘I haven’t got time for baby-sitting, Thea.’

  ‘Well, that’s too bad. I have to visit some patients and stock up the pantry, just in case these power outages get worse. I don’t intend to leave this lot on their own and unsupervised until we know what the situation is at the Nexus. You can take them with you.’

  Mrs Stanton’s expression was steely, and Flint sighed and shook his head in resignation.

  ‘Fine,’ he grumbled. ‘Have it your way.’

  ‘I intend to,’ Mrs Stanton said sweetly, patting Flint on the cheek while he glowered at her. She drew her basket over her arm and turned to the three still sitting at the table. ‘Make sure you stay out of trouble, and no repeats of last time, please.’ Her gaze rested on Ollie for a moment before she swept out of the kitchen.

  ‘Baby-sitting?’ remarked Len. ‘That’s fairly insulting.’

  Flint grimaced unrepentantly. ‘We’ll see,’ he said. ‘Well, get your things. I’m in a hurry.’

  ‘No repeat of what?’ Xander asked Ollie as they raced to grab their shoes.

  ‘Nothing really,’ replied Ollie evasively. Xander heard Len’s snort of laughter.

  ‘Come on, you lot,’ came Flint’s impatient yell from the front door, so Xander’s question went unanswered.

  Flint set a fast pace down the lane towards Wykeham. He did not seem inclined to talk, but Xander suddenly realised that this was his first chance to ask the taciturn Traveller about the hostile boy who had met him on his arrival in Haven, and to pass on his message. Xander hurried to catch up, and Flint eyed him as he fell into step beside him.

  ‘Flint, who was that person who came to fetch me out of the room when I first arrived here?’ he asked.

  ‘No-one important,’ Flint replied dismissively. His face was expressionless, which was a cue that Xander was learning to read.

  ‘He said to give you a message,’ Xander persisted.

  Flint did not react. ‘Really?’ he said, without interest. It was clear he was not going to ask anything further.

  Xander sighed. ‘He said to tell you from him that you could clean up your own messes in the future.’ He watched Flint for his reaction.

  Flint just snorted under his breath.

  ‘Did he?’

  Xander gave up and marched along in silence until they reached the little bridge onto the green.

  ‘Aren’t we jumping?’ he asked, rather disappointed that Flint was walking towards the more prosaic gate. It was startling how quickly he had become accustomed to covering many miles in a couple of steps through an archway.

  ‘No, it’s best to stay unobtrusive where possible,’ Flint replied. He lifted an eyebrow sardonically at Xander. ‘Something you might want to consider from time to time.’ He turned back to the gate and Xander relieved his feelings by pulling a face. Len caught the tail end of it and smirked.

  Flint led them through the Wykeham Gate but on emerging from it in the great cloisters he did not take the route towards Fountain Square. Instead he strode off to a narrow lane opening on their left, and then threaded his way through several winding streets, most of which were bounded by the backs of tall buildings or high walls. Xander was completely disorientated after the first five minutes and he dropped back to fall in beside Ollie.

  ‘Where are we going?’ he asked.

  ‘The Nexus,’ Ollie said promptly, and then comprehension dawned. ‘Oh, you mean now? We have to go via the North Gates – this is just the quickest way to get there from the South Gates, where we came in.’

  ‘Is there a gate for every place from the city?’ asked Xander curiously.

  ‘Not exactly,’ replied Ollie. ‘Wykeham has a direct gate because it’s one of the oldest settlements, and so does the Nexus because they built it next to the hobs’ Core, which is pretty ancient. Most of the main gates here in the city go to regional hubs, with other minor gates there.’

  As he spoke, Flint led them into a space that was almost a replica of the cloisters they had arrived through and over to a soaring archway. It was one of the largest in the row, with the word ‘Lodehill’ carved into its apex, and there he paused, gesturing them through, before passing under the arch himself.

  Xander found himself standing on a neatly paved path, surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens and looking at an enormous building that reared up ahead of them. The edifice had no battlements or towers, but still it was vaguely reminiscent of a castle with its thick walls, narrow arched windows and the pool that surrounded it like a moat. The pathway led forward over a little stone bridge and Flint marched forward without hesitation, over the water and up a flight of steep stone steps. The large and imposing entrance had heavy doors made of a grey, glistening material set back against the walls and Xander reached out to touch one as they passed by. It was smooth and cool, and gave slightly under his fingers, not at all like the metal it resembled.

  ‘That’s impregnate,’ said Ollie, seeing Xander’s gesture. ‘It’s a fusion of stone, metal and a sort of foam that the Constructionist Guild developed. It’s pretty impervious to anything, which is why they use it here on the Nexus.’

  Inset from the main entrance was a ten-foot-high revolving door, with clear glass panels. The segments were narrow enough to force them to pass through one at a time and, as Xander shuffled forward in his own section, he felt a light but intrusive touch shimmering over his body and tingling in his fingertips. It was instantly recognisable as a ward but unlike the previous wards Xander had encountered, this one had a strange metallic tang to it.

  The feeling vanished as quickly as it had come and the next moment Xander stepped out into a huge vestibule, marble-floored and echoing. Several doors were set into the angled walls, all closed, and the only furniture was a large marble reception desk and two rows of stiff upright chairs set against the walls on opposite sides of the hall.

  As Flint strode towards the reception desk, Xander leant over to Len, who was walking beside him. ‘Did you feel that, as we came through the door?’

  Len nodded, seemingly unconcerned.

  ‘Of course. They’re just making sure you’re not bringing anything that’s prohibited into the building.’ She cast a wicked grin over her shoulder at Ollie who was trying, and failing, to look inconspicuous behind them. ‘Surprising really that Ollie’s not classed as prohibited yet.’

  Before Ollie could retaliate, Flint called to them peremptorily from the desk and they shuffled forward. Looking around, Xander felt rather small and overwhelmed by this building, and he had the strong feeling that this was exactly the impression the vestibule was designed to create. As they lined up in front of the desk, the receptionist looked down his long nose at Flint, before his eyes fell with obvious disfavour on Ollie.

  ‘You again,’ he said sniffily. ‘And only six months’ recovery time from your last visit.’ He stretched out a pale hand, palm up. ‘Your orb, please. Let’s try to limit this visit to uncomfortable, rather than catastrophic.’

  Ollie, his face burning, fumbled with his wristband and then dropped his orb into the man’s hand. The receptionist eyed the singeing and the dull stone with distaste, and then tossed the band in a box beneath his desk. He motioned impatiently to Len and Xander, and his eyebrows shot up as Len brandished her bare wrist with a sarcastic flourish. Xander hesitated, before following suit. Flint ignored this byplay and reached over, past the disapproving receptionist, and touched an indentation on top of the marble desk. It lit with a soft blue and Flint’s orb flared once, tiny lightning bolts flickering
in its depths. The light faded and the receptionist checked his terminal.

  ‘You are cleared for access.’ He did not sound very pleased by that, and pointed bossily at the rows of chairs. ‘Please take a seat and wait for someone to come and escort you.’

  Flint waved him off with casual authority and walked to the double doors behind the desk, gesturing for Xander, Ollie and Len to follow him.

  ‘I know the way, thanks,’ he said off-handedly.

  Ignoring the spluttering of the clerk, he placed a hand on the panel beside the doors, which once more glowed blue. There was a soft chiming sound and a disembodied voice announced, ‘Authorised. Please enter’.

  The doors slid apart smoothly, disappearing into the walls on either side, to reveal a lift with dimensions as impressive as the vestibule it served. It seemed odd to Xander to see something so familiar and prosaic in Haven, where so much was strange. Len stepped in with a grimace.

  ‘I really don’t like this place,’ she said, looking about her with distaste. ‘It makes my skin crawl.’

  ‘Level 3,’ Flint said, paying no attention to Len’s grumbles, and the disembodied voice confirmed, ‘Level 3, stand by.’

  Xander waited for the lift to move, but after a moment the doors just swept open again and his eyes widened in surprise. Before them was now a long hallway, white painted and sterile-looking. Xander stepped out, with a quick glance back at the lift that could apparently transport them with no sensation of movement whatsoever; it did not appear to have much resemblance to the mechanical lifts he was familiar with after all.

  The corridor was full of people, working in the offices which opened out of it or walking along deep in conversation; a few wore white coats over their clothes, as if they were doctors in a hospital. Some people glanced at them with curiosity as they passed, but most ignored them. Flint headed straight for a set of double security doors at the end of the corridor, disregarding the sign stating ‘Level 3A – Restricted Area.’ The corridor on the other side appeared identical, except that now most of the people wore white coats. One man, with thinning dark hair and bright brown eyes, hurried up to them, smiling.

  ‘Petros,’ said Flint tersely, shaking his hand.

  ‘I thought you would be over,’ Petros said, before leading them down the corridor. He was a rather strange-looking figure, his white coat hanging on him as if it were several sizes too big. Xander noticed that his pockets were stuffed with pencils, most of which appeared to have broken points, while a large pad hung around his neck tied on with what looked like several frayed shoelaces. Despite his haphazard appearance there was something warm and engaging about him.

  ‘We’re trying to identify why this surge happened,’ he said, as he hurried along. ‘We think it may have originated in the hobs’ Core and then impacted us from there, but you know how hard it is to get them to share information with us. It’s not clear yet whether the border breach was an artefact of the surge or vice versa, but the fact that they occurred at the same time is not a coincidence, we believe. Reeve’s down on the floor now but I warn you, he’s not in the best mood. The surge last night immolated the new node he was bringing on line, so that’s six months’ work blown, quite literally.’

  ‘How big was it?’ asked Flint. ‘The damage seemed fairly limited topside, except for the breach.’

  ‘Really?’ replied Petros, looking surprised. ‘We’re still calculating but it seems pretty large, and there’s a strange signature which we haven’t yet managed to decode. Maybe the damage was limited topside because the majority discharged internally. We’ve suffered a fair amount of damage to the system. Thorne was in here this morning, and he wasn’t happy.’ Flint nodded, tight-lipped as Petros glanced sideways at him. ‘Reeve will want to talk to you,’ he added but his eyes lingered over Xander, Len and Ollie. Flint followed his gaze.

  ‘They need to stay with me,’ he said firmly and Petros nodded in acceptance. He led them through more doors and down a short hallway to another lift, mirroring the one in the vestibule but on a far less grand scale. When they entered the lift, Petros said, ‘Level 5, Sub-section C’. There was that pause again and then, ‘That area is restricted to authorised personnel. Please confirm clearance’. Once again, a small panel glowed blue and Petros rested his hand on it. This time the pause was longer, and then the doors swept open. The others filed out but Xander stopped in the doorway, transfixed by the incredible sight in front of him.

  The space was shaped like the nave of a great cathedral but about five times the size, with walls that soared up to a huge height. It was filled with enormous aisles of crystal, towering up in angular, asymmetrical shapes and glittering in pale blue and icy white. The entire mass glowed, lit internally by the intricate threads of metallic coding which wove through the heart of each crystal, a vast silvery web. The whole thing pulsed with a palpable vibrancy, leaving a perceptible buzz in the atmosphere.

  Xander felt his scalp prickle, as if his hair was trying to stand on end. He was only recalled to an awareness of his immediate vicinity by the sharp jerking motion of the lift doors, denied the opportunity to close because he was standing in the way. He took another step forward and Ollie gave him a quick, understanding smile.

  ‘Pretty amazing, isn’t it? We came here a while ago on an Academy trip. There are six more like this here,’ he said.

  Xander stared. ‘You’re kidding?’

  ‘No. The Nexus powers almost everything,’ Ollie said.

  ‘What would happen if it broke down?’ wondered Xander.

  Petros, who had seemed to be deep in conversation with Flint, turned around at this and shook his head with a confident smile.

  ‘Not possible,’ he assured Xander. ‘They all operate independently and act as fail safes for the others, and each one is broken down into nodes, which can also be operated separately.’

  He pointed to the strangely-angled aisles of crystal, then caught Flint’s impatient expression and led them off to a long, gated platform just to their right. It had high safety rails but was otherwise open, giving them a wonderful view of the Nexus as it lowered them all down to the ground level. As they arrived, and Petros undid the safety gate, Flint sent a warning look at Xander and Ollie.

  ‘Stay close. Don’t touch anything.’

  Ollie went red again, but it was on Xander that Flint’s gaze lingered before leading them on after Petros’ trotting figure. Within moments, Xander was completely lost as they wove in and out of the maze of glowing crystalline walls. It was cool in the Nexus and Xander wished that he had grabbed his jumper before they left. They passed quite a few people in white coats, who nodded to Petros and glanced curiously at his strange entourage.

  As they approached a sharp right turn, Xander saw a pair of feet sticking out around the corner; inconsequentially, he noticed that they wore odd socks. As they turned the corner, Xander’s eyes were drawn away immediately from the recumbent figure to the crystal walls and he stared, even as he heard gasps from Ollie and Len, and Flint’s growled exclamation. This crystal was no longer smooth and clear but pitted and opaque, with thick black striations where the gleaming coding had been. Several of them were gouged and blackened, and scattered around them were the shattered remnants of the crystal that had been blasted outwards. Also on the floor was the owner of the odd socks, sprawled full length along the base of the wall and holding some kind of device. His trousers were as rumpled as his thick dark hair and he had bundled up his white coat into a cushion to support his shoulder. He was oblivious to their presence until Petros leaned down and gently shook his arm.

  ‘Callan? Ben Flint is here.’

  The man started and then twisted to look at the group staring down at him, his eyes still slightly unfocussed until they rested on Flint’s concerned face. He rolled to his feet in an easy, practised motion. He was taller than Xander had supposed, his lean build half-disguised by the big, scruffy jumper he wore, which had holes in both elbows.

  ‘I thought you’d be down
,’ he said to Flint, rubbing his hands through his hair.

  ‘What in Haven happened here, Reeve?’ demanded Flint. He reached out to touch the shattered stone, his eyes following the damage which continued down along the angled aisle as far as they could see.

  Reeve shook his head, sombrely.

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to work out,’ he said, his gaze wandering over to Xander, Len and Ollie.

  ‘Thea wasn’t comfortable leaving them unsupervised, given recent events,’ Flint explained.

  ‘I can understand that,’ Reeve said wryly. The device in his hand bleeped and he looked down to check the screen. He made a frustrated sound and held it out to Petros, who leant over it with a frown.

  ‘But I just recalibrated this one. It should definitely pick up something,’ he said, shaking his head.

  ‘Some kind of radiation being emitted, do you think?’

  ‘Possible, but why wouldn’t the sensors have picked up on it?’

  The two engineers seemed to have forgotten their audience in their engrossment with the malfunctioning device. Flint cut across them.

  ‘Do you have any theories about the cause? Any potential link between this and our border security makes this pretty serious, far more so than a minor glitch in people’s power supply.’

  Reeve did not appear offended by the interruption.

  ‘Well, this level of damage is unprecedented but we are working to exclude any obvious possibilities. For instance, we are fairly certain that Ollie here is not responsible,’ his voice was amused and Ollie went scarlet again, staring at the floor. Reeve continued in a more serious tone, ‘We’ve only recently flushed the whole system, so that discounts build-up –’

  While he was speaking, several other white-coated engineers gathered around, chipping in to offer their own opinions and debating with huge enthusiasm. Flint stood back, listening with a slight frown on his face, while Xander and Ollie exchanged glances and Len scuffed at the floor, her boredom quite evident.

  Suddenly, a loud, domineering voice broke into the conversation.