The Red Tower (The Five Towers Book 2)

by J. B. Simmons

  At the far end, the room extends onto a muddy terrace open to the sky. There’s no door or wall separating it from the rest of the room, so a steady breeze blows in and out, making the stench a little lighter near the fresh air.

  “You guys mind if I clean?” Seymour says. “I did it yesterday and I think I’m getting the hang of it. All you’ll need to do is feed them. You fill up the containers there.” He points to a trough full of slop. “And dump them out in each pen. Remember, Chuck, the biggest black pig, he eats a lot.”

  “Got it.” I look to Hank and he nods.

  Seymour springs into action, as much as Seymour can spring into anything.

  Hank and I move to the huge trough. The containers are hollow clay bowls. Hank and I each dip them into the slop, and with the scoop of mushy, mixed food inside, the bowl becomes very heavy. This is going to be a long day. But it leaves Hank and me plenty of time to talk.

  “When did you last see Emma?” I ask.

  “In the Scouring.” He pauses, heavy bowl in his hands. “She took a hard hit. We were both surrendering, but we got caught between the Black and Red teams. Never a good place to be.”

  This makes me angry. I could have been there. I could have protected her. “Who did it?”

  “Easy there,” Hank says. “No need to kill anybody over it. Even if she got wiped, she’ll get her memories back, just like we all do.”

  “Who did it?” I ask again.

  “The Alpha.”

  “Axe. I knew it. He wouldn’t answer when I asked about her.” My mind races through the possibilities. Is she his servant? Has she been wiped? The thought of Axe barking orders at Emma makes me sick to my stomach.

  “What are you going to do about it?” Hank asks.

  “I’m going to knock him off his throne.”

  “Same old Cipher.” Hank smiles. “But in case you forgot, he’s a lot bigger than you...and you can’t use you powers here.”

  “You heard about that?”

  “Sure did,” he says. “The first night in the Feasting Hall everyone was talking about some boy from Blue who blew all the fires out. Apparently, the woman who leads this tower doesn’t like you very much.”

  “It’s not that simple,” I say. But maybe Hank’s right. Why else would Rahab tell the girls that I’m off limits? “She has let me stay in the Scouring group.”

  “Is that a good thing?” Hank asks.

  “I don’t know.” I pour out a bowl of slop into a pen and watch the pigs battle for prime eating position. “I can’t just fight Axe,” I say. “I need to think of some other way.” What makes Axe tick? I’ve learned more about the guy. He was in Blue, with the name Max. On earth he was in China. He said it was thousands of years after the Romans. Maybe he lived around the time I did. He’d proudly told Marcus that he’d owned casinos and won bets. Maybe I could use that.

  “Anything I can do to help?” Hank asks.

  I smile. “It helps a lot just knowing you’re here. At least somebody has my back.”

  “You got that right,” he says. “Now, could you fill up that bowl and help me feed some pigs?”

  As we work, Hank gives me an update on the Blue Tower. Not much has changed. Kiyo, my first friend in this place, was doing well the last time Hank saw her. She made it to third class pretty fast, after she caught a boy from Black. She was not in the Scouring when Hank and Emma got captured. Blue’s numbers have been hovering around 144. “You got the momentum going in Blue,” Hank says. “I’m sure you’ll do the same here. Hey, what’s Red’s motto?”

  “Not sure.” I remember what Rahab always says in the Feasting Hall. “It might be: Let passion burn.”

  “Eh, doesn’t have the same ring to it,” Hank says.

  “Maybe if I’m the Alpha I can start something new.”

  Hank laughs. “Only a matter of time.”

  20

  THE BELLOWING HORNS wake me. The boys in the Barracks begin to rise and wash up. The line forms before the door. We find our groups by task. There’s a new boy to take Jafari’s place for pig duty. He says his name is Nigel. He looks about as weak as I am. Jafari has been promoted to task number 7: Runner. He’s learned Jacana is his sister. He’s learned what Marcus did. It won’t be pretty if they fight again.

  Khan, Seth, Marcus, and I spend the day on the training ground. It’s just the four of us because Axe doesn’t show up, and Rahab still hasn’t assigned a sixth boy to our Scouring group. As we train, I manage to stay on my feet for a while, but Khan takes me down with a staff to the side of the head. Seth makes quicker work of me, with an elbow to my right eye. I’ll have a black shiner to match Hank’s. After that, Marcus pulls me aside and shows me how to hold a sword. The blisters on my hands begin turning into calluses.

  At sundown we go again to the Feasting Hall, and then the Arena. This time the performer is Apple, the girl who took care of Hank after he got trampled. She has a clear voice and a single, razor-thin flame that stretches to the ceiling. Only six boys go after her. It’s the fewest I’ve seen, but before anyone has even reached her, Axe says, “I want her with us.”

  And just like that Apple joins the Scouring group, taking Bea’s place. Apple hardly seems impressive enough for the change, but this is completely up to the Alpha’s discretion. Unless he is only doing what Rahab says. Whatever is behind it, no one reveals anything to me. The girls remain a total mystery. I pick up only bits and pieces from the boys’ bantering. No girl has hinted anything to me about Pairing. They just watch me get pummeled on the training ground. You’re off limits, Jacana said. Or I’m just the runt.

  The horns blast to dismiss us from the Arena.

  We sleep.

  The horns wake us. My body protests at getting out of bed, with bruised muscles, a bruised ego, and an eye nearly swollen shut. But there’s no choice. It’s the training ground again, and again. We train, we feast, we sleep.

  Each day after training, with my tiny window of free time, I head out of the Barracks on a mission to find Axe’s quarters and, maybe, Emma. Axe of course won’t tell me where to go. My attempts to follow him fail, because the boys are required to return to the Barracks immediately after the Arena each night. I ask around but no one seems to know, or want to tell me, how to find Axe. One boy says to me, Just keep going up. I try but find myself circling round and round the same reddish pathways carved into stone. The low ceilings make the tower feel like a maze of tunnels with flames burning on torches every twenty feet.

  The only useful bit of information I get about Axe is from Marcus. When I pressed him, he told me more about Axe’s past. The Alpha had wanted to talk to him because of his memories of the Roman Colosseum. Marcus said he didn’t know many details, but apparently Axe had been a very wealthy man in China. He had four daughters who loved to watch fights in the replica Colosseum. One of his daughters had fallen for one of the fighters. Axe had placed a large bet against the fighter his daughter loved. He had won the bet, but she’d found out about it. Marcus said that whatever happened, it must have ended badly, because Axe became very upset and refused to talk more of the story. This all confirmed an idea formulating in my mind: to avoid a fight against Axe by drawing him into a bet.

  But time is running short. We have only two days before the Scouring.

  I head out exploring again after we finish training. When I circle around to the Feasting Hall for the seventh time, with its dozens of doors leading out, a girl is there in a red dress. I ask her for directions to the Alpha. She points to one of the hallways leading out. “You turn right there, then go up there, then right again there, and then you’re there, or something like that.”

  I follow her directions and get lost again. I’m not even sure how to get back, so I start heading down instead of up. When I finally get back to the Barracks, it is empty. The boys are out doing their tasks. I sit on the bed and wait and think. Jafari shows up in the doorway a while later.

  “Cipher,” he calls out. “You seen Khan?”

&
nbsp; “No, sorry,” I say. “We finished training already. He could be anywhere.”

  “If you see him, tell him the Alpha wants to see him.” Jafari leaves as quickly as he entered. This is his task as a runner, delivering messages and whatever else needs shuttling around the tower.

  Wait. The Alpha wants to see him.

  I jump off the bed and rush after Jafari. He’s turning a corner when I leave the Barracks. I follow him as fast as I can but there’s no way I can keep up. He’s too fast. No one else is around. This seems like my best chance. I feel desperate.

  Before I even consider what I’m doing, I summon the wind. Only a little at first, giving me a boost in speed from behind. Rahab does not appear.

  I turn the corner after Jafari just quick enough to see his next turn. I keep the wind blowing at my back, whipping over my head, and at my back again, in a small, contained loop. It’s enough to keep me within the same distance from Jafari. It’s enough to remind me how much I’ve missed this power.

  After a long pursuit, I make another turn only to find a dead-end tunnel with Jafari nowhere to be seen. Veins of faint gold line the walls, and specks of red rubies glitter in the torchlight. I’d passed this alcove before but thought nothing of it.

  Where did Jafari go?

  I release the wind and enter the alcove to inspecting the far wall. There’s a small flame, the size of my fingernail, in the center of the wall. The color blends with the red stone almost flawlessly. It’s only visible up close.

  I press my finger against the small outline of a flame. Then I put my whole hand over it. My eyes close. Would my power work?

  It is so quiet. Envisioning the flame, I begin to weave the air into it.

  A touch on my shoulder startles me. The power slips away. I turn around and find Rahab standing directly in front of me, only a few feet away. I stagger back in shock but bump against the wall.

  She must have appeared out of thin air. She has me cornered.

  “Thought I wouldn’t notice?” she asks, arms crossed, staring down at me like she could shoot fireballs out of her eyes.

  I swallow, heat rushing to my cheeks. “Notice what?”

  “Don’t play stupid with me.”

  “I need to find Axe.”

  “You see him every day in the Feasting Hall and the Arena.”

  “Are these his quarters?” I ask. “Where his servants are?”

  “You really want to find her that badly?” Rahab sees right through me. But for once she doesn’t seem angry about what she sees. “You’re willing to risk getting reset for her?”

  I hadn’t thought of it that way, but... “Yes.”

  Her hand moves forward, between us. A small flame surges from her pinkie finger, and another from her thumb, like two candles being lit. The two flames join a few inches above her palm and coil together into a bright blaze. The heat from the fire warms my face.

  “Your instincts are...advanced,” she says. “It usually takes those from Blue the longest to learn that two are stronger than one. How did you meet this girl?”

  “I captured her in the Scouring, from Yellow. It was my first assignment from Abram.”

  “I see.” She looks past me, at the sealed door, as if this information has revealed something so important that she’s momentarily forgotten I’m standing in front of her, guilty of summoning the wind in her tower.

  Maybe Rahab, powerful as she is, doesn’t know everything. When I heard Abram talking with Daniel, the leader of the Green Tower, it was clear they spoke rarely. Abram may not have spoken with Rahab at all about me. She might not know that he thinks I’m some sort of chosen one. She knows about my power over the wind and my scar, but what if she doesn’t know that I’m number 720? According to Abram, it means I’m the first to arrive in the Five Towers who has made equilibrium possible.

  “Abram told me other things,” I say. “He said that Blue had never had a student as strong as I am. He said that I’m the first to bring the towers to 720 total.”

  “Yes, I know.” Rahab does not look impressed. “Do you have any idea why you have more power than others?”

  “I...no.” I’d asked myself this many times in the Blue Tower, but now I almost take it for granted.

  “It’s nothing to be proud of,” Rahab says. “The girls’ power over fire begins with their capacity for passion. But everyone’s power depends on the difference between that capacity at its best and what each person actually did with that capacity on earth. That is your starting point here. That determines your potential.”

  “Oh. I see.” If I understand correctly, this means I’m more powerful because I was capable of so much on earth, but actually accomplished so little. She’s right. I’m not proud of that. I’m...ashamed.

  “To whom much is given, much is required,” Rahab says. “But you should be thankful. Your potential here remains great. Do not underestimate the Scouring. It can close any gap, even the one between what you could have been, and what you were. First, however, you must be paired.”

  Rahab knows why I risked using my power, trying to reach the Alpha’s quarters to get to Emma. And now she brings up the Pairing. It does not seem like a coincidence.

  “Can I pair with Emma?” I ask. “We have already bonded. I know how strong we can be together. We’ve captured many in the Scouring. We’ll fight for Red.”

  Rahab grins in amusement as she shakes her head. “Emma is the Alpha’s servant. Someone else will pair with you.”

  “Who?”

  “She will summon you.”

  “But—”

  Rahab holds out her hand, cutting me off. “You are lucky I have decided, one last time, to forgive your violation of my rules. You will accept this Pairing, and you will serve the Red Tower.”

  If I’m not being demoted or wiped, then the Pairing must be with another girl in the Scouring group. “Can I use my power in the Scouring?”

  “Yes,” she says. “It is outside my domain. I suggest you use your power to your advantage. But the Alpha will not take kindly to your interference.”

  “I understand.” Maybe this is how I can challenge Axe. It would be nice to not be on my own, or surrounded by his allies.

  Hank. I’ll need Hank with me.

  “How do you choose who goes into the Scouring?” I ask.

  “It can be done many ways,” Rahab says, clearly dodging my question. “Eleven have been chosen. The Alpha, the six most powerful girls, and four boys.”

  “So we still need another boy.”

  “You have someone in mind?”

  “Hank,” I say. “From Blue.”

  “Tell me why.”

  “He’s as strong as any boy here. He would be a great asset to our team.”

  “Very thoughtful,” Rahab muses. “You at least try to sound loyal to Red. But the Alpha is responsible for leading our team into the Scouring. He decides how to use our—how did you put it—assets.”

  Not good, I think. There’s no way Axe is going to let me choose. Unless...

  “What if the Alpha’s not the only one leading us?” I ask. “What if we were both leaders in the Scouring?”

  She looks surprised, but not upset. “Interesting. It has been many Scourings since such a thing happened. What makes you think he would agree to this?”

  “I have an idea. I’ll risk whatever it takes.”

  “Very well. I am not like Abram, always meddling. He likes things cold, clinical, and controlled. Suitable for a neurosurgeon, you might say. Here you must pursue your passions to understand them, just as everyone else does. Tell me Dr. Fitzroy, do you think competition over a girl fuels passion?”

  Her words make me think of the memory of Johnny and Samantha on the dock of Lake Michigan. I keep my expression calm. “That’s one way to put it.”

  She steps back, hand on her chin. “If you convince the Alpha of your proposal, then I see no reason why I wouldn’t choose Hank to fill the final spot for the Scouring.”

  A minor miracle.
Rahab actually letting me do what I want?

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “You are quite welcome. But don’t ever let me catch you using your power in my tower again. My tolerance, even for you, has limits.” She nods to the door behind me, which has opened without a sound. “Good luck in there.”

  She spins away and walks off without another word.

  The open doorway leads to stairs going up. When I enter, the door drops silently shut behind me. Red torchlight guides the way to the top of the stairs, where another door waits. This one is made of iron with rubies forming an intricate flame pattern in the center. It matches the door to the dragon at the bottom of the tower.

  I press my ear to the door. The voices are muffled and faint, but I can tell they are close. It sounds like two girls on the other side of the door. I can’t detect what they are saying, but one sounds just like Emma.

  My heart thumps in my chest as I knock.

  A narrow slit slides open at head-level, and two bright blue eyes appear.

  21

  “EMMA!” I SHOUT from outside the door.

  Her eyes look surprised through the narrow slit. The opening quickly slides shut. Then the door begins to swing open, revealing a huge room. In the center there’s a table with a feast spread over it. A fireplace crackles to the left, and on the wall to the right there’s a rack of weapons, mostly axes, and an opening to another room.

  Emma and another girl flank me as I enter. They both wear drab brown robes and silver collars around their necks, just like mine. They’re the only girls I’ve seen in the Red Tower with collars. As I pass the table of food, I realize that the far end of the room has only open air where there would normally be a wall. There’s no glass or window, just a gap from floor to ceiling with an expansive view of the other towers and the Scouring far below.

  “Who are you?” asks the girl to my right. “And why are you here?” She has plain brown hair to match her drab brown robe. Her round face and green eyes remind me of Seymour. But she’s not why I’m here.