by MJ Fletcher
I was risking losing them, but I didn’t have time to sugar coat the truth for anyone. If they weren’t going to play ball, then they were out. “You don’t get this do you?” I said annoyed. “Times have changed. It’s no longer the way it used to be. It can’t be one Society over another. If we don’t present a unified front, then the First Kind win, the Societies will fall and the world will belong to them. I don’t know about you, but I intend to fight till the bitter end.”
“Agreed.” Jacob finally spoke up, nodding his head as he did.
“How can we trust you?” Danika asked.
“I would trust Chloe with my life,” Slade interjected. “If she says it, you can damn well bet it’s true. You both have known me for years. Our parents aren’t prepared for the coming fight. They think if we roll over and play ball with the First Kind that there’s a chance we can survive. I’m with Chloe, I would rather go down fighting. They’re counting on old prejudices keeping us apart. I, for one, intend to prove them wrong.”
“The things they’ve been asking us to do,” —Danika lowered her chin and shook her head, lost in thought for a moment— “I don’t agree with. I’m not sure about you, Masters, but at least you’re blunt, telling it like it is, sticking to your convictions. That takes courage and integrity.” She stretched out her hand. “I’m in.”
We shook on it, and I was relieved to have the Impossible Engineers as allies.
“What’s the plan?” Jacob asked.
“First, I need to know what they have you working on,” I said.
“They have us building a bridge, but the schematics on it are ancient. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Jacob said scratching his head.
An Old Kind Bridge was a device used to break through any type of lock that could be placed on a dimension. It needed to be powered by the abilities of each of the Societies to actually work, which is why they are such rare devices. And I had a pretty good idea what the First Kind intended to do with it.
“How close are you to being done with it?” I asked.
“Two weeks tops,” Jacob answered.
“You need to delay it until I get word to you. Can you do that?”
“We can slow it down, but they will realize we’re stalling if we delay too long. They have a lot of Engineers working on the damn thing,” Jacob grumbled.
“Buy us as much time as you can and keep in constant touch with Slade.”
“What do they want it for? Are they trying to get back into Storm Reach? We heard you locked it down,” Danika said.
“No, I think it’s something much worse than that.”
Danika rubbed her hands together nervously. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not, but the good news is that they don’t have the pieces they need to make it work, thanks to us.” If I was right about their intentions for the Bridge then they would need all the Artifacts they had been searching for over the past few years. They would be the only things powerful enough to break the lock they were attempting to open.
“It’s been a revolving door with people coming and going to check on it since we got started,” Danika said.” We’re not even allowed to be alone with it. The HVO guard it all the time. The only way we can possibly delay it is when Jacob and I are partnered on it.”
“Where are you building it?” Slade asked.
“That’s the thing I don’t like, no one knows. Guilders bring us to whatever dimension it’s located in. I don’t like the whole feel of the place,” —Danika shuddered— “it’s creepy.”
“When do you go back?” I asked.
“Our next shift is tomorrow.”
“Okay, do whatever you can to create a delay and we’ll work from there. I have another meeting. Make sure you deal only with me or Slade, no one else. No one can know we’re working together.” I nodded to them and they walked off talking quietly to each other.
Slade slipped his large hand over the back of his neck and rubbed it roughly. He leaned his head back and yawned deeply.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Tired.”
“You’ve been on too many missions. You need to slow down.”
“Can’t, we’ve got too much to do.” He rolled his broad, muscled shoulders.
“You don’t have to take every Impossible Engineer job. We could find someone else.”
“It’s my responsibility.”
“No it isn’t.” I reached out resting my hand on his shoulder.
“Just like it isn’t yours to do everything you do? Does that mean you’re going to stop?” He flashed that bright smile of his at me and I laughed.
He certainly knew how boneheaded I could be about things, but I argued anyway. “That’s different.”
“How?” he challenged.
“It just is, damn it.” I pulled my hand away and balled it into a fist punching his stone-hard shoulder. I winced and realized I would have been better off hitting real stone instead. I should have used my mechanical hand, then maybe I would have made a dent.
“I need to do this,” Slade said seriously.
“Because of your dad?” I wagged my finger at him. “Not necessary.”
Slade tensed. “He is betraying the Impossible Engineers.” He lowered his head and turned away for a moment. “And our family.”
“I doubt he sees it that way.”
“Regardless, that’s the way it is. My whole life he’s trained me to be ready to lead the Engineers. It was bullshit, everything he taught me, everything he said, nothing but bullshit.”
I could relate to how Slade felt. I’d hated my mother for such a long time. I believed she had deserted her family and my hate grew when I thought she’d betrayed us. I was lucky enough to find out in the end that it wasn’t her fault. I didn’t think Slade was going to be afforded that luxury.
“All you can do is stay true to what you believe. Our parents don’t define us, Slade, trust me, I know.”
“I know you do.” He smiled and gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“We’ll do this as a team. If you need any of us, you know we’ll be there for you.”
“I know and I appreciate it. I don’t want to mess up again.”
“Slade.” I knew he still blamed himself for leaving me behind to save an Artifact a few years ago. He’d never gotten over that choice. “You’ve proven yourself time and again. You’re not defined by one choice.”
“Maybe,” he said, “but it’s damn hard when you realize what a bad choice you’ve made.”
“You’re a good man, Slade.”
“Hell, maybe one day I’ll believe that again.” He shook his head and stretched his arms above his head.
“You going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. I better go check on a few things. We’ll talk again soon.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek, and then walked off.
The weight of his father’s betrayal was crushing Slade, but I couldn’t do anything about it. It was up to him to deal with his father. I could only hope it didn’t end as badly as my reunion with my mother.
I slipped my hand into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and checked the time. I had somewhere else to be, though I had just enough time to do one more thing. I scrolled to my messages and checked for Nightshade’s name, but there was nothing. He would already have left to try and find a way to convince the Guild. I didn’t like it, but it was more important than ever with the deal I just made with Dante.
I walked swiftly down the street and made my way around the corner to a small bistro I was familiar with. A small bell tinkled above the door as I entered and walked to the counter.
“Puis-je vous aider?" The counter girl asked how she could help me in French and I smiled.
“Un café s'il vous plaît.” My French wasn’t perfect but I still knew how to ask for a coffee.
It didn’t take long for her to whip one up and I smiled and paid, lifting the cup to my nose and took a deep appreciative breath. I didn’t mind the Reliquary as mu
ch as the others. Having grown up a vagabond, I was used to living in different places. But the one thing I couldn’t take was the coffee. It was terribly weak and I couldn’t abide it.
The dark aroma made me quiver with expectation. I laughed feeling as if I was cheating on Nightshade, since I damn well loved coffee almost as much as him... almost. I took a sip and the dark liquid filtered warmth through my whole body as I walked out of the café to sit at one of the bistro tables spanning the front. I glanced around and saw that no one was watching me and quickly opened a portal to my personal dimension, pulling out the Looking Glass. I clicked the button on the base and Hawk materialized in the mirror.
“Now that is pretty cool.” I laughed.
“I’ve been waiting for your call. I expected you to contact me earlier. I felt a very old power.
I remembered the vibration I had felt from the Looking Glass when I had entered the Cantina to meet with Dante.
“That wasn’t me. It was the place we visited.”
“Well, I haven’t been out in a long time, I suppose it’s nothing.”
“So tell me, where the hell are we going to get information on the Skeleton Key Guild Artifact?”
“The location is in the Hollow, though I doubt most people know the place exists.”
“The Hollow is the home dimension of the Skeleton Key Guild, right?” If I could get in there perhaps I could start to chip away at Tower’s control over the Guild. Maybe even get some of them to join our side and convince the Doorknob Society to help as well. That would certainly help make Nightshade’s task that much easier. Maybe I was tricking myself, just finding a way to get back to Nightshade.
“Yes.” Hawk was peering around the edges of the Looking Glass “Where are you?”
“Paris,” I answered quickly, anxious to learn more about the Hollow. “How do I access the Hollow, since I assume I can’t just stroll in there?”
“No, you’ll need someone who knows the Hollow well, preferably someone familiar with the old section.”
That severely limited my options. Jess would know the Hollow, but I didn’t think she would be acquainted with the older areas. But there was someone I did know who just might be able to help.
“Keep the coordinates handy, I have just the right person in mind.” Hawk was opening his mouth to say something when I clicked the button and he disappeared from the Looking Glass. I didn’t have time for a lengthy goodbye.
I knew exactly who could help me, but first I needed to make one more call. I lifted my phone and tapped the screen until I found the name I needed and hit call.
“Hi, Chloe,” Edgar said.
“You busy?” I asked.
“Well, I’m calculating several different Map points, but no, not really.”
“Good, because I have a job for you.”
“What’s that?”
“The Engineers are builing a Bridge for Mr. Tower. I need you to research them so we know everything about how they work.”
“No problem. I’ll head to the Infinite Library and learn as much as I can.”
“Is Val going to be okay with you leaving?”
I knew Val was concerned about all of us and probably a little upset she couldn’t help more. But I wanted to keep her as far away from this as I could. She wasn’t an Old Kind and I didn’t want her getting hurt.
“She’s busy rearranging the kitchen here at the Reliquary, something about how it isn’t correct.” His voice had the tone of not understanding. Val was always Edgar’s one puzzle he couldn’t figure out. Maybe that’s why they were so perfect together.
“Okay, contact Slade, he might be able to point you in the right direction about where to start your research.”
“Will do,” he said, “and, Chloe, be careful.”
“You too, rock star,” I said with a laugh and tapped the screen, ending the call, and dropped my phone into my pocket.
I left the bistro table and moved into a side alley and pulled my Doorknob from my pocket and pushed it against the building wall, activating it. Lines of blue energy poured from it outlining a doorway. A clicking sound echoed in my head, signaling that the final portal connection had been made and I pulled it open.
I stepped through and felt the power surrounding and rushing over me. I was beginning to hate traveling to the Markets. They obviously wanted to make it more difficult to reach the place, but damn was it annoying.
I finally stepped out of the other end of the portal and onto the streets of the Market. Carts littered the area with people hawking their wares and behind them were shops selling even more illicit items.
The people nearest turned a wary eye on me but quickly looked away when they saw my scowl. It wasn’t my first time here, so I was aware that if you didn’t look like you belonged, you would get eaten up by this place.
I took a long sip of my coffee and started down the street toward my destination. I didn’t like that this was where she chose to be. If it was up to me we’d be back at the Reliquary, but she felt safer here. I guess if I had been hiding off and on for as long as she had I wouldn’t trust any place I didn’t know either.
I was always amazed by the amount of things you could find at the Markets. Jetpacks sat on carts next to all manner of Silver Stars. There was even a stand of good old fashioned hand-guns. I laughed thinking about how my dad had made me learn to shoot as part of his magic act. Old Kind could deflect bullets with a shield, but I bet they would be shocked by having to deal with a gun-wielding, crazy human.
I turned a corner and saw the shop at the far end of the street. Portal energy flowed all around the Dying Star Markets, yet something was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. That was never a good thing.
I sighed and took a deep gulp of my coffee, thinking I might not get another. My fingers tightened around my Doorknob and a warm glow flowed from my chest down my arm and engulfed my hand and knob.
I walked steadily, but quickly to the shop front and pulled the door open and remained standing in the center of the frame, not fully entering it. The shop was the same as it had been the last time I visited, with devices and remedies lining the dusty old shelves. But standing behind the counter wearing a scornful smile was the last person I ever expected to see.
“Long time no see, Chloe,” Faith said.
Chapter Eighteen
Status: I hate this girl so much.
“Faith.” My eyes moved around the room quickly, waiting for an attack that didn’t come. This was not good, if she was here, then where was my contact.
“I know what you’re thinking. Did she kill her or is she just holding her somewhere, right?” Faith picked up one of the devices on the counter, turned it over, gave it a quick once over, shrugged, and then tossed it over her shoulder.
“I take it you’re not alone? Where is your little entourage?” I smirked, and remained standing in the open door way. I wanted to be able to make a hasty exit if I needed to.
“Haven’t you heard? I’m moving up in the First Kind. With all I’ve learned, I’m much more powerful, though I’ve kept a few of the old group around for old time sake.”
“Is that so? I guess sucking up to all the right people is really paying off for you.”
“So mean,” Faith said with a feigned pout. ”And to think I was all set to thank you and your boyfriend. I mean if it wasn’t for him killing Caleb Darker and you offing your own mother— that was cold by the way even for you— then I wouldn’t be rising in the ranks as fast as I am.”
I tightened my grip on my Doorknob, though didn’t take the bait and attack, which was what she was aiming for. “Your boss must be desperate if he’s put you in charge.” She shot me an angry look and I smirked. I could still get under her skin.
“Desperate? I’m not the one handing over family members to the enemy. How is it that someone like you, who gets her friends and relatives killed routinely, is considered a leader? I mean do people not see you and your murdering boyfriend for what you bo
th really are?”
Anger flared in her eyes and I felt her powers surge. She was right; her abilities had increased. I could sense it even from this distance.
“I guess they think it’s better than dealing with a traitor who needs to use mind control to get people to follow her.”
“You bitch,” she spat.
“Where is she?”
“The old woman? She’s around somewhere.” Faith waved about the store.
That was one plus. They still hadn’t figured out Rosalita was my ancestor. Thank goodness for little favors, but I still didn’t know if Faith had her or not. Or if she was just keeping me talking till her friends got there.
I rested my shoulder against the door jam and smiled. “Couldn’t even catch an old lady, that’s pretty lame, even for you.” Her eyebrows shot up and she looked ready to retaliate for that one.
“I’ve got an idea,” Faith said. ”Why don’t we settle this once and for all... you and me, right now. You game?”
“Always.”
“I was hoping you would say that.” Faith braced one hand on the counter top and flung her legs over it, landing only a few feet away from me.
I backed out the doorway, retrieving my Doorknob as I did. I flicked my wrist and a long thin tendril of energy unspiraled, dropping like a slithering snake to the street.
Faith activated her knob, a glimmering blade slid out of it, and she spun it in circles around her. She wasn’t kidding about her powers increasing, energy oozed like heavy goo off of her, something had changed.
The vibrant sounds of the vendors suddenly died around us as they all backed away out of the line of fire. They didn’t run or hide, instead they stood in eager anticipation of the fight.
Faith’s eyes flashed with anger. “I’ve been waiting for this since the first day you showed up and ruined everything.”
“Is that what this is all about? You’re still upset you’re not number one? How pathetic.”
“I was the chosen one of the Doorknob Society until you showed up. The most brilliant member of my generation, and then the all great and powerful Chloe Masters shows up and steals it away from me, everything, my future... my entire life.”