by N E Riggs
Pludes waved a hand. “Killing is so messy. It brings the Sword Priests down on us. So long as we avoid killing, they’re happy to ignore us. No, you won’t have to worry about that.” He stood up and walked around his desk, placing a hand on David’s shoulder. “I’d like you to stand beside me when I’m having meetings. Protect me from people foolish enough to attack. And perhaps I might have you run an errand or two, like I did today. Can you do that? Or does helping an old man offend a man who consorts with Nephilim?” His tone turned hard at that.
David bit back a curse. Whatever records Pludes found on him had been very thorough if they included that. “I do not consort with Nephilim,” he said softly but firmly. “It was a misunderstanding.”
“I know,” Pludes said, sounding kind again. “Priests grow deaf when Nephilim are involved. You don’t seem the sort to work with Nephilim to me.”
“I’d like to work for you, if you’ll have me,” David said. His gut twisted at the thought of becoming a gangster, but he ignored it.
“Very good. Come by tomorrow morning at seven, and we’ll get started.” Pludes pulled out an envelope and slipped it inside David’s jacket pocket. “An advance.” He stepped back, and David headed towards the door. “Oh, one more thing. No need to hide that agitator. I want people to know what you are.”
David nodded. “Fine.” He kept the agitator beneath his jacket as he walked out of the dance club. Once outside, he walked quickly back to Seth’s apartment. Only after he arrived did he think he should have hidden his destination. He shrugged darkly. Seth was part of a group that worked to undermine the government; he had to be used to danger.
He paused outside Seth’s door and opened the envelope Pludes had given him. His eyes widened as he pulled out bills. He quickly counted ten thousand dollars. He shoved the money back inside his pocket so Seth wouldn’t see it.
It seemed he wouldn’t have to depend on Seth for his livelihood. That should make him happy. David sighed and wondered again how he’d reached the point where becoming a Mafioso could be a good thing.
3
The Core
“I can’t believe you’re working for Pludes Hato,” Seth muttered from the couch, reading the morning news on his com pad. “That man is scum.”
David put away the last dish from breakfast. He didn’t want to just sit around while a kid played host for him. “I don’t want to be beholden to you,” he said. “Anyway, I didn’t have much of a choice. I thought he was just looking for a bouncer. Once I knew who he was, he knew who I was. I couldn’t really say no, could I?” He thought again about the bartender who’d sent him to Pludes’s dance club. He still had half a mind to teach that man a lesson. Pludes would probably like that. David scowled at the thought. Maybe he’d just drop in with his agitator visible and give the bartender a scare.
“I suppose,” Seth sighed. “Still, don’t mention it to my associates. They won’t approve.”
David turned around from the cabinet. “They won’t approve? Seth, your associates are terrorists. They can’t really take the moral high ground.” At Seth’s furious look, David held up his hands. “Hey, I’m joining your group as soon as you let me. I’m fine with being a terrorist.”
“We are not terrorists,” Seth said, throwing his com pad beside him on the couch. “We haven’t killed anyone.”
David knew the priests would see it differently. Even if it had been indirect, the Core had sold information that led to a priest and many civilians being killed. He’d stopped worrying about things like that. He probably would never go home. He had a pitiful life that would probably get him killed one day, and soon. If he died knowing that the priesthood felt some of the same pain as himself, he’d be satisfied. “Well, soon enough I’ll be able to afford my own place.” He sat down across from Seth. “So when do I meet your friends?”
Seth said, “In two hours,” and David couldn’t help jerk in surprise. He had expected it to take longer – the Core seemed like a group that took things slowly and cautiously. Had they looked up his records too, and saw that he was no longer a Sword Priest? They didn’t seem rich enough to bribe Law Priests, unlike Pludes. “They were very impressed by how easily you got that gateway information.”
“I got lucky,” David said. He’d turned on the television and checked the news on Seth’s com pad, but he’d heard nothing about a robbery in Shamla. He’d been right to use the photocopier. He knew a lot of it had been luck: that he’d found the janitor, that the keycard got him into the sorting office, and that he hadn’t run into anyone else while inside. It wasn’t just luck – security in Shamla had been surprisingly lax. Did the Passion Priests just assume that no one could easily steal a keycard? Or had they found out about him, and he just didn’t know it yet?
“Your Sword Priest training and experience was good for more than just working for crime lords,” Seth said.
“You don’t get it,” David said, slouching back and crossing his arms over his chest. “I was a lousy Sword Priest. I barely passed the test. Everyone in my division was better than me. And I never trained to sneak into places.”
Seth shook his head. “If you were a bad Sword Priest, I’d hate to see one of the good ones. The whole neighborhood’s been whispering about what you did yesterday.”
David tensed. “They know about it? There weren’t that many people there.” He passed plenty of people between the dance club and where he delivered the package, but none of them paid him much attention. “Wait, people are impressed by me? I’m not just being humble – I really did suck as a priest.”
“Pludes and his goons have been talking about you constantly,” Seth said, rolling his eyes. “I heard about it at the gym. And most regular people have never seen a Sword Priest in action. The riots they show on television don’t count – the Sword Priests don’t fight back properly at those.”
“Oh.” David sank back into the chair. He didn’t care for the idea of Pludes talking about him. He really wasn’t that skilled, not compared to someone like Bellon. Or any of his comrades from the sixth division, really. He didn’t want all the local muscle aiming for him, so that by defeating him they could effortlessly make a name for themselves. He also didn’t want word about him getting back to Pardis. The Law Priests hated him. They’d only exiled him from Pardis, but he was sure they could easily turn that into exile on Jahan.
When he saw Pludes next, he’d have a word with him. Not that it would do much good. He didn’t think Pludes would care about his objections. No one on Bantong cared what he thought.
Seth pocketed his com pad and stood up. “Come on.” David swallowed and followed him. He wore his agitator in a holster today, where anyone could see it. As he followed Seth down the streets, people stared and whispered. He hunched his shoulders, wishing he could turn invisible. Then he straightened his shoulders and glared. People shied away, looking fearful. Their reaction made David feel powerful, and he wasn’t sure he liked that reaction to their fear.
The streets wound and turned. They passed many gateways and subway stops, but Seth avoided them all. David wondered if Seth just liked to walk or if he was being paranoid. Or maybe Seth was trying to get David lost. If so, he was succeeding. David had no idea where he was even as he passed the intersection of Pine Street and Market Drive. He also thought Seth might be taking them in circles – they’d made an awful lot of right turns. After walking well over an hour, they found themselves on a narrow side street, bracketed by tall buildings that seemed to lean over the street. Seth led them inside one of the buildings after unlocking the door with a nine-digit numerical code.
The building was nothing fancy. Faded blue carpeting covered the floors. The walls had been painted off-white and now were stained and peeling. Two of the lights in the entrance-way blinked on and off. The elevator moved only up and down, just like the one in Seth’s apartment. David wondered if Pardis was the only place on Bantong with sideways moving elevators. They got off on floor 20. Seth knocked loudly on the
second door on the right then let them inside.
Inside stood a long table around which five people sat. Seth took an empty seat and pointed for David to sit beside him. David sank into the hard backed chair and looked around. There were three men and two women. One man looked at least eighty years old, with thinning white hair and liver spots all over his brown skin. Another man wore heavy glasses and a sharp suit and had features similar enough to the old man’s that David assumed they were related. The third man held a com pad before him, only his curly pink hair and forehead visible behind it. One woman also looked older, perhaps sixty, a no-nonsense frown on her pale, severe face. The last woman had dark skin and dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and a flirtatious smile. David grinned back at her before remembering how poor his luck was with Bantonan women.
“This is David Kemp,” Seth said. “He’s from the same world as me and is a former Sword Priest. He’s now working for Pludes Hato.”
David leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. Probably not a good first impression, but he really didn’t care. “I’m also the guy who got that gateway information for you. Did you have fun with it?”
The man with glasses gazed coolly back at him. “We don’t need a man like this, Seth. He would only be a liability.”
“You really think that?” David snapped before Seth could reply. “Look at yourselves before you dismiss me.”
“And what do you think you know about us?” Glasses asked. From his tone, he obviously thought David was an idiot who didn’t know anything.
David scowled. “I may not know much about you, but I know enough. You’ve been working for how many years to do something major to hurt the Eternists, and how much have you accomplished in that time? You’ve stolen two sets of gateway information – and all you could think to do with that was sell it for cash – and you got one of your members exiled forever to Jahan. That isn’t exactly an impressive record.” He leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Now you’ve got me – I bet I know more about the Eternists than the lot of you combined, I stole gateway records without getting caught, I gave you agitators, and I know how to fight and kill. And you’re just going to dismiss me like that?” He snorted. “I can get my revenge without your help, thanks.” He made to stand.
“Stop,” someone croaked. David sat back down to see the old man studying him closely. “Sit down, young man. We know what you can offer us. Intu,” he turned to the man in glasses, “calm down and listen. We are not strong enough to turn away help.”
Intu looked away. “Forgive me, grandfather,” he said.
The old man nodded. “I am Odi Si, leader of this group. My grandson, Intu. My daughter-in-law, Musha.” He motioned towards the severe woman, and David wondered if Musha was Intu’s mother. “Volk,” he pointed to the young man with the com pad, “and Saikee,” he finished with a nod to the pretty woman. “You do not think highly of our organization, former Brother Kemp?” His voice wavered and cracked, but there was no weakness in the steady way Odi stared at David.
David settled back down in the chair. “I know very little about you. Seth wouldn’t give me many details. I know you hate the Eternists though, especially the Lost and Law Priests. That was enough to get me interested.”
Odi folded his hands. “We are the Core. Since the desolation, the Eternist priesthood has fallen further and further away from what it should be. They see themselves slipping away and, in their attempt to save themselves, hurt those they claim to most want to help. We are not the only people upset with the Eternists. We in the Core decided early on that if the Eternist priests acknowledge their mistakes and strive to fix them, we would forgive them and help them as best we can.”
“Not that that will happen any time soon,” Musha said, her fists clenched.
“It does seem unlikely at the moment,” Odi nodded. “So long the priesthood remains corrupt, we will do everything we can to fight it. Over the years, we have achieved somewhat more than just stolen information on gateways. When Met was still here, we stole travelers away from the Lost Priests, before they could be deceived and kept here indefinitely. To those who could not get home, we offered succor and friendship, as we did for Seth and Volk. We supplied weapons to rioters, tracked gateways, stole money and resources. That’s all changed now.” He shook his head, looking very old.
“What happened?” David asked.
“We lost Met,” Musha said. “My son was the heart and soul of our group. He had vision and strength and didn’t fear anything. And the Eternists took him away from us.” She slammed a fist against the table. “I will have my revenge!”
Volk frowned over his com pad. “It isn’t that easy, Musha. However much we hate them, the Eternists are stronger than we are. If we tried anything major against them, all the Bantonan natives would rise against us. Even most travelers wouldn’t support us. We’re fighting a war we can’t win.” He tapped a few things on the com pad screen. “Best to continue as we have been, so we don’t lose anyone else to Jahan.”
“And let the Eternists win?” Intu asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. “We should work harder now!”
The group descended into arguing, each person talking over the other, and David stopped listening. He watched them silently, his mind churning slowly. Ever since he heard about Seth’s friends, he’d wondered what sort of things they got up to. Even hearing about supplying weapons and stealing, he wasn’t impressed. He could see why Seth said they weren’t terrorists. They didn’t hurt anyone. They didn’t do much of anything. The Eternist priests could happily ignore them without fear.
“You aren’t thinking big enough,” he said. The others fell silent and turned to him. “You really want to hurt the Eternists, to have revenge for Met Prous? Then you need do more than just annoy them. They already think of you as criminals. It’s time you start acting like it.”
Seth frowned. “What exactly are you proposing, David?”
He shrugged. “You’ve never actually attacked them before. Maybe you should.”
“Oh, because that’s such a good idea,” Intu snapped. “We might have agitators now, but we are few and untrained. We would be defeated instantly. If you really want to kill priests, you can do that on your own.” He glared at David.
David ignored the way his stomach twisted at the thought of killing someone. If he didn’t do it himself, it didn’t count. Anyway, the Eternists deserved it. “Who said we should attack them personally? You have gateway information. Surely you can find a world with powerful, vicious monsters who’d happily come and kill priests for you. It’s not like it’s hard to find terrible creatures. I should know.”
The others sat silent, looking between one another. Volk typed something quickly into his com pad. “None of the gateways we know about led to worlds with monsters. Not any in sufficient numbers or ferocity. It won’t work.”
“Met said once that the Passion Priests keep those records separate,” Intu said. “We were only interested in gateways to worlds with travelers, so we didn’t care. I’m sure, if we could get into Shamla again, we could find information about worlds with powerful monsters.” David raised an eyebrow at that way Intu used ‘we.’ “Since we wouldn’t personally fight anyone, there’d be little danger of getting caught or killed.”
“Would just knowing about a gateway be enough?” Saikee asked. Her voice was deep and pretty. “If a bunch of monsters appear through a gateway in the middle of nowhere, that won’t help us much.”
Odi nodded. “Then we shall have to acquire a gateway manipulator too. I’ve heard rumors about people in Jigok having access to gateway manipulators. Intu, see if you can find anything.” He looked around the table. “What else do we have to worry about?”
David shrugged. He couldn’t think of anything else, but he’d never planned an attack before. After typing a bit more on his com pad, Volk said, “We may need to time the attack very carefully, when there aren’t a lot of Sword Priests around. If the monsters get killed as so
on as they pass through the gateway, they won’t do us much good. That means we can’t attack Valal or Castle Eternal. Where in Pardis should we send the gateway?”
“Kumarkan,” Seth said at the same time Musha said, “Jod.” They scowled at each other.
Odi pinched his nose. “Not Valal and not Castle Eternal. Those are too well protected,” he said slowly. “I won’t have Thul attacked either. We have no grudge against Heart Priests.” David sighed softly in relief at that. “Does anyone think we should attack Shamla or Avon?” The others shook their heads, and David felt better yet. He had no problem with Passion Priests – they’d done nothing to wrong him. He had no opinion on Beloved Priests, mostly because he’d never seen one. “Then we must decide between Kumarkan and Jod. Thoughts?”
“Law Priests exiled Met,” Musha said, her hands clenched. “Don’t we all want revenge for him?”
“We’ve all been wronged by Lost Priests too,” Seth said. “Gateways appeared to each of our home worlds, but none of our Lost Priests bothered to tell us about them. And they did know. If they’d let us go home earlier, Met would never have been exiled!”
Saikee placed her hand over Seth’s and leaned forward. “There are reasons to attack both places. Maybe we should wait and see which works out better? If we get a manipulator, we can change where on Bantong the gateway appears, but not the time. If there are more Sword Priests in Jod at the time, we should attack Kumarkan, and vice versa.”
“We might find better places to put the gateway in one area,” Volk added. “While we’re looking for a gateway manipulator, we should study the layouts of Kumarkan and Jod to find the best place to kill as many priests as possible while avoiding civilians.”