The Seers

by Katherine Bennet

  “I’m about to lift the lockdown. What’s the status?” Josephine asked.

  Henry’s mouth hung open as his eyes jittered from Josephine to Nora and back again. “I was under the impression that you didn’t want updates—not that you can’t be updated. I would have most certainly updated you, but I thought you wanted plausible deniability.”

  Josephine stared at her as if she hadn’t heard a word Henry had said. “You can’t expect to get very far with that thing on your face.”

  The headset.

  “I knew it!” Nora spun to Henry, who threw his hands in the air with a groan.

  “You need the implant to get around Octavius, and you can’t use the implant without the headset.”

  “Oh, honestly.” Josephine swooped a portion of Nora’s hair over her forehead, creating the illusion of bangs.

  Henry grinned. “Yes, that works! You can’t see the headpiece at all.”

  “That’s the idea, right?” Josephine stared at Nora’s hair. “Now, tell me the rest of your plan.”

  Henry cleared his throat. “The implant will automatically interface with the mainframe once it’s close enough. She’ll teleport in and make her way to the central headquarters—”

  “Make her way to the central headquarters? How?”

  Henry blinked. “I’m hoping to teleport her close enough for her to walk.”

  Josephine’s shoulders dropped. “Yes, I assumed that much. How will she move through Octavius without attracting attention to herself?”

  She hadn’t thought about that. She glanced at Henry, whose mouth hung open. Apparently, he hadn’t thought about it either.

  A heavy silence hung between them until Josephine let out a slow breath. “Can you alter the implant’s credentials?”

  “The credentials.” He glanced at his screen.

  “Yes.” Josephine scowled. “How far do you think she would have gotten if her implant registered as a male Tavian guard?”

  Nora bit her lip.

  Henry clamped his eyes shut. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  Josephine thrust her head forward. “You didn’t think about the credentials?”

  “It’s been a long day.” Henry’s curls bounced all over. “I’m not normally working in the wake of a massacre. What do you suggest?”

  Josephine pursed her lips. “A janitor.”

  “Janitor?” Nora and Henry asked in unison.

  “Yes. You can’t hide those blue eyes of hers, and her hair is way too dark to be the standard Tavian white. She’s a Variant, and as a Variant, they’ll expect her to have a supportive services job. Their uniforms aren’t all that different from our own. A janitor with the right credentials could gain access to the central headquarters without raising suspicion.”

  Henry nodded as his fingers sailed over the screen.

  “I-I don’t have a uniform.”

  “Relax. I’m already too deep into this mission as it is.” Josephine disappeared down the last row of the archives and returned moments later with a black, baggy jumpsuit. “Put this on over your clothes, and don’t ask me how I got it.”

  Nora nodded and quickly dressed.

  Henry grimaced and cleared his throat. “I altered the credentials, but I can’t guarantee it will meet their exact standards.”

  Josephine glared at him.

  “It would take hours—maybe even days—to write a complete backstory. It’s not like we have all the time in the world.”

  Josephine pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before turning to Nora with a deep breath. “It’ll have to be enough. You can do this. Keep a low profile. Avoid eye contact when you can. Answer questions, but less is more. They’ll be expecting you to be subordinate and quiet. If you stay within their expectations, they won’t get suspicious.”

  Nora’s gaze fell to the floor. Could she really do this? She wasn’t some covert operative or warrior. She winced, imagining herself throwing a punch. There couldn’t be anything further from her skill set.

  But if I don’t do my part, Tobin won’t come home.

  She drew in a deep breath and waited for her heart to slow. Josephine had said to remain below everyone’s notice. She could do that.

  “What do I do once I’m inside?” she asked.

  “All you need to do is get close enough to the mainframe. Our best intelligence states it’s in the heart of the building so keep moving to the center. When you’re close enough, a status bar will pop up in your view, and the implant will do the rest. It will take a while. The code is extensive, and you’ll have to stay put.”

  That sounded easy enough. “And when it’s done?”

  “We don’t have any intelligence about how often their mainframe refreshes,” Henry replied. “But it will likely take some time for the protocols to take effect.”

  “I wouldn’t do anything to attract attention to yourself before the fatality signal is sent. You remember the noise from Gideon? Stand to the side, and act as busy as you can until you hear it,” Josephine added.

  “One more thing,” Henry added. “I programmed two presets into your teleportation app. The first will get you into Octavius, the second will bring you back here. If you teleport out before the fatality signal is triggered, they’ll be able to trace your signature, and they won’t be far behind you. Given the state of things, Nios won’t be able to protect you.”

  It was all or nothing. Either she’d return with Tobin, or she’d never return at all. Nora brushed a strand of hair behind her ear but quickly shook it free to keep the headset hidden.

  This was real.

  She was really about to go into Octavius alone. She would try to take down the very people who had tried to kill her, who’d taken Tobin, and who had crippled Nios.

  She smoothed her hair with a shaky hand and swallowed hard despite feeling like her throat was full of glue.

  “You can do this,” Henry said, but his voice carried all the doubt Nora felt.

  “You are still the same person who refused to bend to the council,” Josephine said in a surer tone.

  Nora wasn’t so sure, but she had a part to play, and she’d do it. She swiped until she saw the blue icon for teleportation and blinked to open it.

  Two serial numbers appeared. She stared at the second, wondering if she’d ever get to use it.

  “Is there anything else I need?” she asked.

  Josephine scoffed. “There’s a lot more that you need, but you have all you’re going to get.”

  Henry grimaced before nodding in agreement.

  “See you when you get back,” Josephine said, her dark eyes softening.

  Nora smiled in return. Sucking one last breath to slow her heart, she blinked hard over the Tavian preset. Static vined up her arms, then a familiar blue flash encompassed her, and a sprawling parkway appeared. She blinked in the bright, milky-white light and took in the floral scent.

  “Octavius,” she whispered.

  Black brick shops with large storefront windows lined the sprawling slate-tile parkway. Many had black clothing hanging in the windows; others had icy-blue holographic products she didn’t recognize on display.

  Occasional blue light flashed from the steel platforms on every corner as Tavians materialized. They bustled on foot in every direction, most with white hair, pale skin, and black eyes. Many were scowling.

  “I haven’t gotten any of my messages in over two hours!” one Tavian ranted to another as they passed her.

  She bit her lips, trying not to smile. If only Henry could see his handiwork.

  A stiff nudge from behind knocked her off balance. She stared at a man as he passed. His black eyes bored into her. She froze.

  “Get off the platform,” he snapped, walking away and shaking his head.

  The platform! She sprang off the teleportation zone. He didn’t know—no one seemed to know who she was. The crowd wove around her, and she slunk to the side to get out of the way. Josephine had been right. Whether it was her blue eyes or janito
r’s uniform, no one seemed to notice her.

  She craned her neck to see down the street. The buildings got taller as the parkway went on, and black roses grew in the center island. In the distance, a dark point rose above the skyline—central headquarters. With her head hung low, she merged into the crowd again.

  I’m coming, Tobin.

  Chapter 38

  Nora slowed her pace in the white cobblestone square as the black obelisk loomed in front of her. Tavians around her climbed the marble stairs, grumbling about the messaging system.

  She wiped her palms on her thighs as she took the smooth black steps one by one. This was stupid. She shouldn’t be here—

  But neither should Tobin.

  Henry’s computer simulation hadn’t done the central headquarters justice. It easily rose above any other structure in the area and stood in stark contrast to the gloomy-white sky.

  Reaching the top of the stairs, she merged into a line for the entrance. The crowd slowed as they reached the door. An icy blue line glowed along the frame, and a large guard with a sullen expression stood inside, watching the light.

  A credential check—it had to be.

  Henry had thrown together her credentials, and now she’d see if it had worked. She balled her hands to stop them from shaking, but regardless of what happened from here, she wouldn’t regret her decision. Tobin was worth the risk.

  She kept her head down and crossed the threshold, half-expecting the guard to tackle her at any moment.

  Nothing happened.

  It had worked? Her knees wobbled, but her legs flopped forward anyway, desperate to carry her as far from the guard as possible. She veered to the right with the crowd making its way through a wide, gray stone hall lined with black marble pillars. Tavians dispersed into the countless unmarked doors as she moved farther along in the hallway.

  There was no sign of any path to the center of the building. She searched her entire field of vision for the status bar, but it never appeared. The hallway turned left once, then again. Each hall was the same; lots of unmarked offices, no halls leading to the center. She was making a giant circle back to the entrance.

  Think, Nora.

  She eyed each of the doors she passed. Most offices seemed small and not meant for visitors. Was it too much to hope for a large waiting room or something? A small sign with a trash can on it hung next to the third door.

  A janitor’s closet.

  She slipped inside, shut the door, and leaned on the shelf at the back. The harsh smell of chemicals wasn’t all that different from the real world, and at this point, anything familiar was comforting. Her heart slowed.

  She would figure this out. It shouldn’t be too hard. All she needed was a hallway, or a waiting room—anything that could get her just a little closer. She pulled up the map, and after several clumsy attempts, she zoomed in on the central headquarters. It was nothing more than a black square—a large, blank, black square. No halls. No detail. No clues.

  Nothing.

  Her eyes fell shut. She’d gotten so close to Tobin, and now her plan might fail because she couldn’t find her way to the center of the building?

  She shut her eyes and drew in a steadying breath. The dungeon would be heavily guarded. Planting Henry’s virus was the only way she’d be able to rescue Tobin, so if that meant she had to wander, then that’s what she would do.

  She grabbed a rag from the shelf and opened the door just as a large group of guards in black gear marched down the hallway. They were only ten feet away and closing the distance quickly. It was too late to jump back into the closet and definitely too late to run.

  The lead guard passed without slowing, and the others followed. Was this possible? They must have seen her. Josephine’s words echoed in her mind.

  She was a Variant, and in Octavius, Variants weren’t important. Just like in the real world, she was below their notice.

  She stood a little taller, happy to use their preconceptions against them.

  She looked down both directions of the hall. One way would take her back to the entrance, and the other would have her following the guards. The entrance would land her back where she started.

  Guards it is.

  Clutching her rag, she followed them. Even though she occasionally stopped to wipe at imaginary smudges on the walls, she never lost sight of the black-clad group. They didn’t stop or slow for anything. Their gaze remained fixed forward. This was more than a patrol. They were headed somewhere important. She hurried to get closer.

  Halfway down the hall, they entered a set of unmarked double doors. Although the heavy doors shut quickly, she saw all she needed. It was a long hallway leading directly toward the center of the building.

  She’d done it. She found a way.

  Creeping inside, she blinked at the fluorescent light reflecting off the white walls and floor. The guards were grouped around a door at the end of the hall. Inching closer, she busied herself with scrubbing even the slightest scuffs along the wall and searched for the status bar with every step.

  A thin man with a gray pallor emerged from the door. Even though the distance was considerable, voices traveled clearly down the barren hall. She took the momentary distraction to take three large steps forward, and a red status bar appeared in her periphery. She let out a silent breath in relief.

  “Captain Valle, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “You know why I’m here, Elias. What’s the status on the messaging system?”

  She turned her head away from them to hide a smile. No amount of thanks would ever be enough for Henry.

  “We have our best technicians working on it. We should have answers very soon.”

  “Best technicians?” Valle sneered. “I want every technician working on it.”

  “Sir, it’s not that simple—”

  “I’m here on orders from Cyrus Renaud himself. So, guess what? Your problem is now my problem, and I don’t like problems.”

  The status bar had barely moved. Henry had warned her it would be slow, but this was crazy. There were only so many scuffs she could clean.

  “I’m going to sit here and wait until the problem is solved, but you should know something about me.” Valle leaned in. “I’m very, very impatient.”

  Elias stood straighter. “I understand, but as I told Commander Moret, sending a guard detail won’t help matters. The servers are vulnerable to a number of things from dust to magnets. Screening you and your men would only divert my resources further. If you’d like to wait, you’ll need to wait here.”

  Captain Valle wasn’t a particularly large man, but he took a step forward and towered over Elias. Hopefully, the intimidation would work. The status bar for the security override had just reached fifty percent, and the last thing she wanted to do was loiter in a hall with a bunch of bored, hotheaded guards.

  Elias’s beady eyes met Valle’s glare without so much as a cringe.

  “Fine,” Valle growled. “But I want regular updates.”

  The hall door behind her burst open, and she leaped.

  “Valle!” A man the size of a house, dressed in black tactical gear, strode down the hall.

  She clung to the wall of the wide hallway and scrubbed at an imaginary mark.

  “Commander Moret,” Valle said, trading his harsh tone for a hurried, apologetic one. “I’m doing all I can to rush this process.”

  “Really? I wasn’t aware you could fix the messaging system.”

  “I wasn’t—I mean, I’m here to—”

  “Because if you could fix the messaging system, that would almost make disobeying my orders okay. Almost.”

  Nora silently urged the little red status bar along and kept her head low as he passed.

  “Sir, I wasn’t disobeying orders,” Valle said in a high defensive tone. “I couldn’t reach you in the dungeon, and Cyrus demanded we come here to pressure Elias and his team.”

  “I don’t care if Octavius Renaud and his entire following of original Tavians co
me back from the dead. I am your commander. You follow my orders. No more. No less. And I wanted the ruling family’s estate secured.”

  The spot on the wall was now completely gone, but Nora continued to scrub, too scared to lift her head to look for another mark. Was it possible that the status bar was slowing?

  “Yes, sir,” Valle replied.

  “And what are you doing?” Commander Moret yelled.

  Not me, not me, not me.

  Nora scrubbed so hard she might be wearing holes in the rag.

  “I-I was just explaining to Captain Valle that our servers are too vulnerable to allow anyone beyond this point and—”

  “I don’t care. Go do your job.”

  “Yes. Yes, sir. Right away.” After some flustered shuffling, the door shut.

  “Sir, I was only trying to—”

  “Hey!” Commander Moret’s voice boomed down the hall.

  Silence.

  She kept her head down. Holding her breath, she stared at the status bar, still inching along.

  “You.” Moret’s heavy footsteps approached her—fast.

  She stared at the small blank space left in the status bar. It was so close to complete.

  “Me?” She slowly turned to face him.

  “Yes, you. You’ve been scrubbing that same spot for over a minute—” His black eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.

  He knows.

  The program upload wasn’t complete. She had to do whatever it took to stay put.

  “How did you…” He glanced back at Valle before gaping at her again. “Valle, raise the alert status!”

  “The messaging system is down. How can I—”

  “Do it! She’s Niotian. Secure the area!” His massive hand closed around her bicep. The other Tavian guards swarmed around her.

  “I’m not Niotian!” she said, trying to sound surprised.

  That part felt true.

  “I’m a janitor!”

  He pinned her arm firmly against the wall. “Don’t bother. I was at the hotel when we took you the first time. I know who you are. How many guards are with you, and how did you get this far?” Tilting his head, he frowned. “What’s this?” He yanked the headset from her ear, and the status bar disappeared.