by Joe Ducie
Annie pondered that and then nodded. “Okay. So what were you to Ascension City?”
“Almost king, once upon a time, before I was cast into this wonderful, scotch-soaked exile.” I took a sip. “But my rank? During the war I was a field-commander in the Cascade Fleet. Rather prestigious, like Special Forces. But say there was no war, no military designations... I attained the rank of Arbiter before I became a threat to the throne.”
“Arbiter?”
“There’s a hierarchy of five levels to being a Knight Infernal. Apprentice, Guardian, Sentinel, Lord, Arbiter.” I held up my hand and checked them off, one by one. “At nineteen, I was young for an Arbiter. Times were, no one under fifty would even be considered for anything higher than a Sentinel... but you can’t expect children to fight a war and not grow old in the soul, Annie.”
“Arbiter...” she said, rolling the word around her mouth.
“There are other ranks, of course, elements and factions within the Knights that hold varying levels of power and respect against the core five levels. Take the Healers, for instance, those with the knack for learning and using healing enchantments, charms, and spells. A healer might be only a Guardian in the normal hierarchy, fresh out of the Academy, but their skill could make them a Wiser within that particular faction—which is roughly the equivalent of a Sentinel in the main structure. You follow?”
Annie shrugged. “Somewhat. You don’t look much like a healer, Declan. Did you have a specialty?”
“I was good at being a soldier. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“Okay.” Annie folded her hands in her lap. “And the Renegades? Who are they?”
A weak smile came and went across my face. “You met their Queen just last night. Graceful Emily, at Paddy’s. Yeah, I know, she seems too kind and too pregnant to be the leader of a rebellious faction of the Knights Infernal, responsible for a century of bloodshed and war, doesn’t she?”
“Tell me more about the Renegades. Are they like an outlaw gang?”
I sighed. “The Renegades splintered off from the rest of us in Ascension City and set up their own city on one of the empty worlds in the Uncharted Realms—Voraskel, named for their first king. The lunatic who started it all. They followed different laws, different beliefs. They set themselves above the Knights and our key precepts.”
“This all happened a hundred years ago?”
“About that, yeah. The backlash of the Knights and Renegades falling out spilled over onto Earth, at the time.”
Annie’s lips moved as she did some quick math. “About a hundred years ago... are you talking about the First World War?”
“Yes.” I smiled grimly. “The Renegades wanted to use Forget—and our power to navigate worlds—to pillage and plunder. That’s a very broad look at what became a complex society, but the general gist of their insurrection was that no world should be off limits, and if they couldn’t find something they wanted, they’d just write it into existence. A complete and utter abuse of Will, and we’re lucky the war here on Earth only lasted four years.”
“And killed millions!”
“Millions more than you know.” I let that hang in the air a moment. “Now, we may be seeing something similar again. This being the key world, the Knights have members in every level of government across the planet. And have had for centuries. The fact that they’ve seemingly abandoned their posts could, conceivably, have the same effect that the Renegade desertion did a century ago.”
“You’re talking about another World War.”
I shrugged. “Worst case scenario, but it certainly puts things into perspective, yeah? With no teams here on Earth searching for the unfound—kids who can control Will—we could see a lot of unexplained accidents and power grabs. We have to stop that from happening, or a lot of innocent lads and lasses will suffer.”
Annie nodded. “And Emissary has to answer for the deaths he caused last night. For Grey.” She clenched her fists. “That’s why I’m coming with you. Why I let you out of that cell.”
“Yes, I know. And fear not, we’ll make him sorry he ever set foot on this world.”
“Good.” Annie leaned forward and swiped the glass of scotch from my hand. She finished the drink in one harsh gulp. “Righto, then. So tell me how we’re getting to this Ascension City of yours?”
“If that bastard hadn’t branded me, we could be there in seconds using one of these fine books.”
“How so?”
“Books written by authors who have some command over Will, however small, can become part of the Story Thread. A Knight can use those books to travel to that world. Some of the greatest stories ever written actually exist, Annie, among the plethora of worlds out there in Forget. I’ve read them. I’ve been there. It’s why we call this world True Earth, because so many stories are set here that they’ve spawned countless copies of Earth.”
Annie licked her lips and her eyes glinted. She had the taste for adventure now, seeing the possibilities, surrounded by a hundred thousand worlds in this shop alone—all just a heartbeat away, if I hadn’t been branded by Emissary. “Like what? Where’ve you been?”
I rubbed my hands together and grinned. “I’ve strolled along the riverbanks on the grounds of Grahame’s Toad Hall. I watched a giant squid glide across the lake at Rowling’s Hogwarts. Oh, Annie, you haven’t lived until you’ve almost been devoured by Dune’s sandworms or watched icebergs of pure diamond crash together on a foamy, purple sea in Auron’s Folly.”
“You’ve done all that?”
“All before my eighteenth birthday, and visited a thousand other worlds out there. What’s your favorite book?”
“The Hobbit,” she said.
“Ah...” My smile faded.
“What? Tolkien didn’t have the power to make his world real?”
I shook my head slowly. “No, no, he did... But Middle Earth is a banned realm, sealed away by the Knights using some very complex and soul-consuming runes and enchantments.”
“So you can’t visit it?”
“No. That story is part of what we call the Dream Worlds. Worlds of the Story Thread cut off from the rest of Forget, for protection.”
“What do you mean?”
“Worlds too hazardous to visit, Annie. Littered with artifacts or creatures too dangerous to unleash on the rest of Forget.” I suppressed a shudder. “One Renegade set a nest of Tolkien’s Orcs loose on some of the more peaceful worlds out there fifty years ago, before Middle Earth was sealed away in the Dream Worlds. They spread like a plague, burrowing and infesting—some even attacked Ascension City back in the eighties, burning the outlying districts. Last I heard, they’re still not under control. And don’t get me started on what the Rings of Power could do in the wrong hands.”
Annie nodded along, but she looked afraid now. “This is a lot to take in, all at once. I’m not sure if you’re just pulling my leg, but after what happened last night... the officers we lost... Declan, are you being straight with me?”
“As an arrow, Annie Brie. How does it feel to tumble through the looking glass?”
“God, is that one real, too?” She rubbed at her eyes, fighting fatigue.
“No, that one’s just a story.”
Annie sighed what may have been relief.
“It’s the Wizard of Oz you’ve got to watch out for.”
Chapter Nine
Surly McSorley
All conversationed out, I left Annie with her thoughts and set about brewing a fresh pot of tea in my seldom-used small kitchen in the back of the shop. Surprised to find teabags, I spent a good two minutes searching for the kettle and found it atop a stack of paperback horror novels—Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz, as good as it gets—leaning precariously over the stovetop. Fire hazards and kind-hearted fry cooks aside, I set the kettle to boil and dozed leaning against the sink for a few stolen minutes.
In no time at all, I was jolted awake by the kettle’s shrill whistle, and when I returned to my writing alcove, two cups
in hand, I found Ethan and Sophie sitting with Annie and chatting about the weather.
“Ah, you shouldn’t have,” Ethan said, reaching for one of the cups.
“I didn’t. One for Sophie and one for Annie. Kettle’s in the back, Reilly.”
Once my apprentice returned with two more cups, I filled Ethan and Sophie in on all that had transpired since I’d seen them yesterday evening. Their faces grew grim as my story progressed through Paddy’s to Hillarys, to the night I’d spent in the cells, and finally back to my shop earlier that morning.
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Sophie said to Annie. “Actually, you too, Declan.”
“Don’t I know it. But Emissary... he didn’t want me dead, ’Phie. He invited me to the ‘ascension’ of Blessed Scion, as he put it.”
“What do you suppose that means?” Ethan asked, sipping his tea, as Annie’s phone chimed.
“Hard to say. We need to speak to the Knights at the Fae Palace. My brother. Rally some support.”
“How wise is that, though? Going back?” Sophie asked. “Last time they clapped you in star iron. And let’s not forget you were attacked and stabbed in the palace itself.”
Annie cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think I have a lead on whatever Scion’s ascension might be.”
I blinked. “How could you possibly...?” She handed me her phone and a few more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The screen displayed an image of a whitewashed wall in some alleyway, probably in the city. Written on the wall in a familiar, crimson script was yet another message for me.
Blessed Scion on His pale throne
The Younger God sits all alone
Ten thousand years awaiting rebirth
The Everlasting will cleanse the earth
:)
NO RAIN OR HALE
CAN STOP THE NIGHT TO COME!
“How many did he kill?” I asked softly.
“Three,” Annie said. “Another three.”
I’ve already lost count... Two the day before, the six policemen, Grey... And let’s not forget to add the man who tried to shoot me at the uni tav to the red tally. People were dead and getting deader.
“No rain or hale,” Sophie said, reading over my shoulder. “Well, that’s a not-so-subtle shot at you.”
I handed Annie her phone back and cracked my knuckles. “Well, this doesn’t change the plan. Ascension City. Are you two in?”
“Never miss a chance to tango, boss,” Ethan said.
“I guess so, Declan, but you’re courting disaster.” Sophie gave me a tight smile. “As usual.”
“Actually, I think I’m trying to prevent a disaster, for once.”
Ethan put his mug down on the counter and slapped a stack of paperbacks. “Well, what are we waiting for? Emissary could come gunning for you any minute. Let’s grab a book and slip across to Ascension City while we can.”
I shook my head before he finished and rolled up my sleeve, exposing the ugly, black rune scorched into my flesh. Ethan recoiled at the sight of it, and Sophie grimaced. “I’ve no Will. It’s been locked away from me, and it would take more than the power you two have to undo this mark.”
Sophie bit her lip. “I could do it, I think. I’ve never really tried before, but if you talked me through it, Declan.”
“No, you don’t understand. This mark locks me to this world. I can’t travel using Will even if someone else is doing the invocation. At best, it just won’t work. At worst, trying to dive will tear the flesh from my bones.”
“Then what?” Ethan asked. “How do we get to Forget?”
“We can’t cross the Void,” Sophie said. “Not like you. Ethan and I can’t, and Detective Brie certainly can’t.”
I wondered about that and just what Annie could do. “There’s another way,” I said. “McSorley’s.”
Sophie scoffed. “He’ll shoot you on sight. No, actually, he’ll make you pay your tab first, and then he’ll shoot you.”
“It’s the closest door, and it leads straight to the Atlas Lexicon.”
“What about the Knights guarding it? They won’t let you pass, on Faraday’s order.”
That much was true. “All the Knights Earth-side have been recalled to Ascension City, and we can blend into the crowds at the Atlas Lexicon.”
“Sorry,” Annie said. “What’s the Atlas Lexicon?”
“I’d like to know that as well,” Ethan chimed in.
“A nexus of gateways and portals between worlds,” I said. “Natural waygates, of a kind, amalgamated in one place and not constructed of Will. A train station of inter-dimensional tracks to thousands of worlds throughout Forget. And, of course, Ascension City.”
“Think of Grand Central in New York,” Sophie said. “Only grander. Much grander. I’ve only been there once. Back when it was first conceived, no one thought it could be done—all those doorways so close together. Enough cracks to cause a Voidflood.”
“The Lexicon was the work of a... mad genius, Thomas Lucien Atkinson, and its creation sparked the Tome Wars a century ago. Well, one of the sparks.” I stood and stuffed a novel into my holster. “Travel between worlds was suddenly cheap and affordable to anyone, to the masses in Ascension City without a drop of Will. Before the Atlas Lexicon, you needed a Knight to cross worlds. After, just a few gems for a train ticket. It... Heh, I suppose it ruined the majesty somewhat.”
“I know McSorley’s,” Annie said. “It’s a bar on Murray Street in the city.”
“Yes, my old haunt, until I had a... falling out with the proprietor.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Sophie muttered.
Annie frowned. “It burned down a few years back, didn’t it?”
“It surely did,” I said. “And it wasn’t my fault. Not one bit. Mostly not one bit. Partly. I saved the old bastard’s life, after the gateway in his basement malfunctioned and started spewing out demons.”
Ethan whistled. “Demons, really?”
“Well, tiny little imps, for the most part. Can only really get up to minor mischief. But in my opinion anything that chants in Hellspeak is a demon.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being serious,” Annie said, shaking her head.
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Declan, halfway through a bottle of Bowmore’s, took it upon himself to clear the imp infestation and inscribe fresh runes in McSorley’s gateway, realigning the path. McSorley gets half his business from Forgetful travelers visiting Perth through the Atlas Lexicon and using his archway to return.”
“What the hell do they come to Perth for?” Ethan asked. “Our overpriced coffee and six o’clock closing times?”
“Perth has some of the nicest beaches in the world—in any world,” Sophie said. “Anyway, Declan missed a binding rune, and the basement went up like a firework.”
Annie raised an eyebrow. “Is that true?”
I grabbed my keys and wallet from the counter, ducked around the counter and retrieved another wallet—a leather pouch of Forgetful currency—and pocketed that as well. “Doesn’t matter. We’re getting off track. McSorley won’t be holding too much of a grudge, I’m sure, and he’s not going to shoot me with one of Perth’s finest watching my back.” I squeezed Annie’s shoulder, felt her tense, and took a step away. “Anyway, shall we drive in or take the train?”
“Didn’t bring my student card,” Ethan said. “I’m not paying full price on the train! That’s, like, four dollars.”
“Fate of the world in the balance and you don’t have a spare four dollars?”
“Spent it on ice cream and noodles last night.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And I’m pretty sure I’m fired for coming here instead of work, so I can’t afford no fancy train rides.”
Annie laughed—the first time she’d done more than crack a grim smile since Grey’s death the night before. “I’ll drive. My car’s out back.”
“I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. Just have to collect a few supplies from upstairs.”
&
nbsp; I took the stairs two at a time and stepped into my room. The star iron sword glinted in the sun shining in through the eastern window, and I kicked open the trunk of odds and ends I’d been collecting for the last few months and retrieved a simple leather scabbard. Ugly and worn, and mostly ornamental, Ethan had found me the damn thing on eBay. The scabbard came complete with a sword belt, which I strapped around my waist now.
The sword wasn’t ready, but it was close enough and would have to do. I’d already been disarmed, thanks to Emissary’s brand, and I couldn’t face Forget without some sort of protection. If I was reading the weather right, then my presence might not cause as great a stir in Ascension City as it had done three months ago. I hefted the sword from its stand and tested the weight. Light, versatile, and as sharp as a razor. I sheathed it carefully in the scabbard and wished, not for the first time and not for the last, that I could access my Will.
Downstairs I set the wards and locked up the old, stuffy shop. I found the others around the back, Annie’s car idling on the curb.
She took one look at me, at the sword on my hip, and cursed. “You know it’s illegal to carry one of those without a lawful excuse.”
“Whatever do you mean, Detective?” I said lightly and slipped into the backseat next to Ethan. The sword I pulled up and rested on the compartment in between the front seats. “This is purely for ornamental purposes.”
“I think it looks badass,” Ethan said. “When can I get one?”
“When you can convince me you won’t cut your own hand off.”
Annie leaned over the driver’s seat and pointed a stern finger at me. “Just keep it out of sight until... until we’re away from here.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Perth, the actual city, was twenty minutes from my shop in the northern suburbs. Heading south into the city on the Mitchell Freeway, Annie got caught in rush hour traffic, and we slowed to a crawl. Stuck in the backseat with Ethan, I took the opportunity to catch a half hour’s rest. The rune on my arm stung too much for any real sleep, but I dozed, thinking about things best left alone.