Residual: The Gray-Matter Chronicles Book 3 (The Matter Chronicles 6)

by P. G. Thomas

  Jedimac threw the bottle across the room, “I knew you saw the damn play! Zack is the Legend Absent, but he is only called that in the great saga. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?”

  “All!” exclaimed Panry.

  “Are the boys here? Are the watch posts manned?” One nodded. “After you take them to their rooms, pace yourselves because we are getting paid by the hour. In fact, set up diversions for our Darkpaye guests that will arrive shortly, which we will also put on Moonshadow’s tab.”

  “I want my men to observe the questioning of those four.” Then Panry pointed to the one that Lauren identified to be the leader, “I want to question him myself.”

  “You will not get a discount, my indebted friend, as my man will be present should you need his assistance.”

  “I will not!”

  Ensuring the translation ointment was unable to misconstrue his words, Jedimac again spoke in elf, “I do not care.”

  Then, before they carried the unconscious trollmare walkers to their interrogation rooms, Panry called out to his Earth Guards, “Bring all brands you find on them.”

  *******

  It was three hours later when the door burst open. “We have to leave now!” Jedimac screamed at Panry, “While you can stay if you want, the Arson’s Guild has arrived, who are fulfilling their contract!”

  Panry wiped the blood from his face, “I AM NOT DONE!”

  “Then hold your breath and keep your cool.”

  Before he could protest, the guild leader was gone. Panry walked up to the bloody mass tied to the chair, pulled out his dagger, pushing it into the shoulder of the man who refused to talk. “I will cut you deep, so you shal die before the flame embrace you.” Then he headed to the street.

  *******

  Steve, his face a mass of bruises and cuts, watched from the end of the street while the building burned to the ground. What the hell’s happening? In a town primarily constructed of wood, he was not surprised to see that the Bright Coast had a fire department, but a better description would be a group of poorly trained and equipped men. By the time he arrived, flames had completely consumed the building, draining the three tanker wagons that they had brought, and they were currently attempting to set up a bucket brigade to the ocean to retrieve more water. By all means, a fire of that size should have easily spread to the surrounding buildings, engulfing that entire section of the Bright Coast. Watching the flames blown onto adjacent buildings, even though he saw them take hold almost instantly, they extinguished even faster. After watching the unusual spectacle for an hour, he headed back to the house.

  Chapter 5

  Rolling over on the couch the next morning, Steve, smelling the hot bean juice, could feel the pain written on his face. Heading to the kitchen, he saw Panry thanking one of the scared members of the house staff for a mug of the addictive drink.

  “What happened to you?”

  “Lauren said the men in the park were trying to send a message. Figuring it was from Zymse, I went looking for you.” Then Steve smelt the smoke from Panry, “I take it you made it out of that inferno in time. Who’s blood?”

  “The leader that Earth Mother identified, but he does not talk.”

  “Probably mob scared.”

  “There was no crowd in room where I questioned him.”

  “Scared of Zymse,” Steve said, sitting down at the table.

  “You made the guild members speak to find me. Even though precaution number thirteen they used?”

  “What the hell’s that?”

  “I do not know. Those that you questioned, did you kill any?”

  “I don’t think so. There were only three of them and two were smaller.” Steve pointed to his face, “The big guy, he did most of this, why?”

  “While I suspect your injuries inflicted now register on my debt, Jedimac shall not collect.”

  “What?” asked Steve.

  “It is not your concern. How did you get them to talk?”

  “I tried to beat it out of them, but when that didn’t work, I told them that Jedimac might be in danger. I also told them I would bring back the Champion and Bastard if they didn’t tell me where you were.”

  “Did Earth Mother provide any more information?”

  “I don’t know. It was late when I returned.” Then he saw the house staff pointing at Panry, “You might want to get cleaned up.”

  After Eric, Logan, and John entered, Lauren with Ryan walked down the stairs holding hands, “Panry is having a bath?”

  Steve was rubbing his face, “He awe—he awe—Roger that.”

  She looked at him, “What happened to you?”

  “I had an animated discussion at the bar I stopped off at.”

  Eric smiled, “I think you mean ‘and mated’ your face with a fist.”

  “Whatever. Just pass the bean juice.”

  “What did the four of you see yesterday?” asked John.

  “Not much,” began Ryan. “As we watched his Academy, we never saw him. I think there has to be something else we can do?”

  “About his house of the New Age,” began Steve, “I really don’t like the idea of people showing up to get branded. I imagine that was the reason for the attempted trollmare attack last night, as he wants people to think they’ve arrived in the Bright Coast. That way, if they attack a few, there’ll be a line a mile long to get inside of that place. Since it’s scheduled to open tomorrow, I was thinking we should delay that event.”

  Lauren set down her mug, “I thought you said no drastic actions?”

  “I just want a simple workplace accident, which causes minimal damage, preventing his new age from arriving.”

  Panry walked into the room drying his hair, “What justifiable prevention would you suggest?”

  “Right now, even though I’m not sure, I think our Darkpaye master needs to have a new servant tag along today, some poor bastard from Calicon.”

  “Who would that be?” asked Logan, but smiled when Steve pointed at him.

  “John, with the root dead in that forest, can I replant gifts from Mother that grow next door?”

  With that staff, just command them to be there. Then he struck the thought from his mind. “It’ll take a few days for the roots to establish, but with it being so wet, that electrical discharge would’ve helped to dissipate the salt, so I guess the short answer is yes.”

  “That’s the longest short answer I’ve ever heard,” replied Logan.

  “Enough,” Lauren stood, “From the sounds of it, five are traveling to watch Zymse today. John, are you going back to the school?” Even though he nodded, she wanted more, “And?”

  “I’m working on a plan.”

  “I like those five words better. Gayne, can you take him with you?”

  He nodded.

  “Eric we’re going back to the forest today,” advised Lauren, “but first we need to harvest our transplants from Danex’s garden.”

  From the corner of Jasmine’s eye, thinking that the dwarf who held Heart of Earth Mother had smiled, his face showed no emotion when she looked straight at him.

  “Panry, has your Earth Guard seen any signs of Sam or Hope?” asked Lauren.

  “No, but they shall continue to search.”

  “Did you use up all of my hot water?”

  “No, but I made sure to remove your bath oils.”

  “I don’t have any.”

  Avoiding their looks, Gayne walked over to Panry, asking for the amulet of the carriage. Taking it to the kitchen, he instructed one of the servants to stoke the fire in the stove, as he searched for an old pan while he waited. When it was in hand, he dropped the amulet into it, setting it down on an open burner, causing the gold to liquefy. Let’s see you bastards find that scent.

  *******

  Sitting down in front of the significantly smaller root, after John donned his cloak, grasping a beaker of water, he began concentrating on the atomic structure of hydrogen peroxide, and when done, poured the contents on the root. Then he
turned his attention to the chalkboard with the representation of Calicon drawn on it. Now I just have to find all of the forests and cure them. When boredom overtook him, he headed down to his machine.

  *******

  Jedimac, dressed in foul smelling rags, was sitting in the bar section of his guild, rubbing the tired from his eyes, when he heard a knock at the front door.

  “Darkpaye Watch, official business.”

  “About time,” he muttered. Taking one last glance, he inhaled the odd mixture of the toxic chemicals used to clean the room, and the pungent floral fragrances to mask the first. He nodded to the large thief at the door who opened it.

  Three large black-clad military men entered, “We are looking for five missing men. We believe they may have visited here last night.”

  Jedimac smiled, “Ifin they ‘ad coins, wants cheap beer, they mightof been here. But when I sweeps da floor tis morning, none be sleeping.”

  “Is the owner around?”

  “End of month I only sees him, to pays my rent.” Then Jedimac saw one of the Darkpaye men sniffing the air, “Bad fights last night, three gots the crap beat outta of em. Done wishes they could of afforded belts, been easier to cleans up.”

  Turning, the three men left.

  The door guard headed over to Jedimac, “Whats about the dock?”

  “That student we hired from Gayne is a damn magician with numbers and records. They will never be able to trace it to me, In fact, I have been thinking of hiring a third, to check on what the first two are doing.”

  The other thief nodded, “Tats whys I likes breaking bones, you knows whatcha done.”

  *******

  As the rains had let up early that day, Mirtza had stayed on the front bench of the carriage where he was currently napping. Inside, Panry with Logan had also lost the battle to monotony, leaving only Steve and Ryan watching the events outside.

  “We have stayed here a long time. Will not the foul Watch suspect us?” asked Panry as he yawned.

  Steve was staring out the window at the New Age Academy of Insight. He nodded to the Darkpaye version of Ryan, “Not with him here.”

  Logan gave his head a shake to fight off the boredom, “While I don’t know about the new age, the current one sucks.”

  “So does getting caught, Kid. Instead of napping off again, tell me what you see.”

  “A bunch of painters, guys carrying out garbage, workers taking in stuff. It looks like somebody is trying to open a new business.”

  “Kid, you’re missing the small details. That pile of garbage is right beside where the painter has been cleaning his brushes, and did you notice he was smoking a pipe?”

  “He’s probably bored like us, old man. Did you want me to go borrow it for you?”

  “Focus. We really don’t want that place to open up, but we don’t want to burn it down either. The next time, when he knocks the ashes out of his pipe, can you generate a breeze, causing them to fall into the tin where his brushes are? When it catches fire, it should spread to that pile of garbage, looking like a simple accident. If it does some damage to the building face, well, that would be a bonus, but it has to look natural, just a small accidental fire.”

  “How small?”

  “Think of your grades before John started tutoring you in math.”

  “We’ll need something better than that.”

  “I agree with the Bastard. Why not just make a large pile of charcoal?”

  “Look, we don’t want Zymse thinking somebody’s out to get him. Small, simple. Just enough damage to delay his opening. Okay, Kid, the painter just lit up his pipe so start on the breeze.”

  Rolling his sleeves back, Logan began to rub both feather tattoos at the same time, calling to Sister’s magic. Ten minutes later, when the painter headed towards the tin, he asked, “You’re sure about this?” After Steve nodded in agreement, Logan concentrated on the magic, seeing the breeze along the street pick up. When the painter dropped a brush into the tin, he raised his boot to knock the hot ashes out of his pipe. Even though Steve was watching intently, it was the keen elfin eyesight of Panry who saw the red embers alter their course, being blown into the tin. Immediately, flames appeared, leaning towards the pile of garbage, which accepted the magically started blaze, spreading quickly. When the entire heap was a large roaring fire, the breeze shifted slightly, allowing the flames to embrace the freshly painted building. More than just the fire erupted, as chaos quickly joined the erratic confusion on the street. While some workers tried to beat the flames out, others pulled out burning pieces, throwing them into the street. Most ran to the Key River with any device that would hold water, forming a bucket brigade to fight the orange and red menace that wicked up the outside of the dried-out wooden building, turning the once brightly painted surface to a smoldering black. They watched for twenty minutes, as workers raced around the fire trying to fight it, but when the Bright Coast Firefighters arrived, they surrendered their task to those more qualified.

  “Beautiful, Kid. Just beautiful!”

  Logan rolled his sleeves back down, “You have no idea how hard that was.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Steve.

  “I’ve never set water on fire before. Wasn’t even sure if it was going to work.”

  “Water? That wasn’t an oil base solvent in the tin?”

  “Have you not painted before? Oil and water do not mix, but it appears the Bastard has solved the problem with the grand dedication,” then he called out, “Mirtza, take us back.”

  *******

  “My back’s killing me, so can we go now?” pleaded Eric.

  “Yes,” Lauren said, looking at the two bushels of mixed roots, clippings, and seeds. After Silmon and Jacping picked up the harvest, they followed her to the waiting carriage. While Jasmine held the door open for her, the Guardians and blood wolves did not immediately enter. Lauren looked at them, “If you’re hoping for a larger apology, I’ll carve it into a boulder and have it drop out of the sky.” The twelve immediately joined her inside. Riding through the town, she looked at the people in despair that they passed by: the stoned kids motionless in the wet shadows, parents scolding young children away from refuse containers, who then checked them for themselves, and so much more. At one point, they passed a building that had a dozen girls, each holding a small baby, waiting in a line outside of it, and all very obviously too young to be the mothers. Being unable to read the sign in front, while she thought it was a clinic, it actually said Orphanage.

  Being early evening when they arrived at the forest, all waited for the four Guardians mounted on their blood wolves to do a perimeter search, and when the one who held the Heart of Earth Mother sighed, they knew it was safe.

  Removing the bushels, Eric waved his hand in front of the carriage, and bending down, he picked up the magic amulets, “I don’t want anybody to see our carriage this time.”

  When Lauren reached for one of the bushels, Silmon took it from her.

  As Eric held out his to Jacping, Jasmine shook her head, “He does not serve you.”

  They walked for forty minutes into the forest, working their way through the overgrown underbrush. When Lauren found a small, secluded clearing, she began to plant the harvest. Realizing that nobody else was going to help, Eric did the same. Taking over an hour, when done, she stood in the middle of the clearing, concentrating with the staff. In her mind, she saw the freshly planted clippings, roots, and seeds. She then commanded the staff, Grow. Ten minutes later, after she had stopped, everyone who had gathered in the clearing could see that the staff was now barely four feet tall. She turned to Eric, who pulled off the bracelet, dropped an amulet through it, and they all stepped back into Gayne’s house.

  After the meal that night, they reviewed their day. When Steve headed down to the wine cellar for a fresh bottle, Lauren asked Gayne if she knew who was helping the girls with the young babies, wondering if there might be aid that she could also provide.

  “They were not lo
oking for help,” advised Gayne. “They were trying to get rid of their children.”

  “I don’t understand,” replied Lauren.

  “They are just children themselves, who have no way to raise a young one. They have no wealth or family, and in most cases, they have a greater interest in getting more Sun. The few that still have a clear mind, well, they try to get the respectable orphanages to take their children.”

  “Try?” asked Lauren.

  Mirtza nodded, “As most are full, they have their pick, and with limited resources, they cannot afford to take in all who knock on their door.”

  “Explain respectable orphanages to me,” stated Logan.

  “Some have a low occupancy, as they find homes for their new residents promptly,” then Mirtza paused, “from those who have the most gold.”

  Gayne nodded in agreement, “There are some who give their child to the first Darkpaye resident they see.”

  Taking several deep breaths, Lauren raised herself from the table, announcing she was going to bed. Logan, grabbing a half bottle of wine, headed out to the raining patio.

  After Ryan had stood, he scanned the group. “The straw just met the camel.” Then he went up to see if it was possible to comfort the one he loved.

  When Steve returned to the dining room, everybody had left, so he walked to the front room, sitting down on the couch. Quiet, I could grow to like this. I wonder how long it’ll last.

  *******

  Sam wished it would stop raining, as even his sense of smell was beginning to revolt against the aroma of wet canine. When they rounded the corner, familiar scents committed to memory returned, and he forced his sister wolf to cross the street. Once there, going out of focus, his image was replaced with that of a squirrel. When Hope had done the same, both began to climb the large old structure. At the top, they found a rotted section allowing them passage inside, but being dark, they transformed into foxes to gain the benefits of better night vision. Crossing the old ceiling beams, they headed towards a light shining through the far wall, and once there, they looked down to the large open area below them. The interior measured over one hundred feet squared, and on the ground level, four stories beneath them, they could easily see over two hundred metal doors hinged to the dirt. After scanning the large interior, Sam felt sure it was safe, so changing into eagles, they launched into the air, gliding down to the ground. Once there, they transformed into otters so the dark fur would blend into the shadows. Even though numerous metal barred doors on the walls permitted access into the interior, it was the faint scents drifting up from the earthbound doors that held their attention, as they were the scents of Alron. After racing around for several hours, sniffing all, they transformed into eagles, flying up to the perch that had gained them access. Being tired from the long day, they transformed back into otters, curled up together for warmth before drifting off to sleep.