by Kyle Prue
“About six. You all slept very late. But I suppose you deserved it.”
“Well, now I’m up,” he declared. “Time to train.”
“So, tonight’s the night,” Darius said, dropping into push-up position in the middle of the room. “How do you Vapros prepare for a battle?”
Rhys watched Darius do a few push-ups. “We practice our balance. It helps with materialization.” He looked toward the door as Neil entered. “You’re awake,” he noted. “Finally. Where’s Lilly?”
“No idea,” Neil said.
“Miss Celerius is preparing for the day,” Jonathan supplied.
Darius paused mid-push-up. “So she’s training?”
“She’s doing her hair.”
“What?” Darius almost dropped himself. “That’s how she prepares? She combs her hair?”
Jonathan seemed confused by the question. “Um . . . yes?”
Darius rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded distinctly like, “Women.”
Neil materialized up to the rafters of the attic and let himself fall. A few inches before he hit the ground, he materialized back up to the ceiling and caught a rafter in his hand. Meanwhile, Darius dusted himself off and moved to sit on a dusty couch. “That’s all you do to warm up?” Neil asked between materializations. “A handful of push-ups?”
Darius followed the bouncing Vapros with his eyes. “I weigh four hundred pounds,” he said casually. “It’s a good amount of lifting. And anyway, I’m already stronger than the Imperial Guards. I was just working out because Rhys says it’s ‘necessary’ if I’m going to go into battle.”
“You weigh four hundred pounds?” Rhys asked with interest. “I never would have guessed that. Your footsteps aren’t as loud as I would have expected.”
Darius flexed his bicep. “Skin of steel comes with the weight of steel.”
The door to another room opened and Lilly stepped in. Her hair and makeup were done to perfection. Neil let himself land on the ground and pushed a hand through his hair a little self-consciously. He’d hardly even looked in a mirror the better part of two months. “Good morning, gentlemen,” Lilly said, taking a seat beside Darius on the couch. “Training for this evening?”
Darius nodded and fell back into push-up position, this time using only one arm. Rhys looked impressed. “Four hundred pounds,” he said under his breath. “Unbelievable.”
“Does anyone want to spar with me?” Lilly asked. “You know, to practice for tonight?”
Darius laughed. “You don’t want me,” he assured her. “I’m nowhere near as fast as you.”
“I’ll do it,” Neil said.
Lilly pulled two wooden swords out of the crate on the floor and tossed one to him. “Be careful, Vapros,” she warned as she whipped her sword around in a circle. “I’ve been training.” Neil brandished his sword confidently and lunged at her. She was expecting it, blocked him effortlessly, and parried. Before she could finish him off, he materialized behind her. She ducked beneath his weapon and blocked his sword. But just barely. “You’ve been training too,” she exclaimed, preparing to strike again.
“Living as a fugitive gave me a little practice,” Neil said, swinging his sword toward her neck.
She dodged the blow and quickly swiped her sword against his back. “Gotcha!” Neil stumbled forward, wincing a little at the pain. Lilly smiled triumphantly and patted daintily at her hair. Inexplicably, it had all stayed perfectly in place. “Best two out of three, Vapros?”
“Apologies Miss Celerius,” Neil said with a sarcastically elegant bow. “I’ve got a little errand to run.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
THE POOR CHAP’S TAVERN
NEIL VAPROS
Neil did his best to make it through the city quickly, but his fugitive status made it especially difficult. Wanted posters were plastered around every square and on every major road. To make matters worse those roads were also the most popular, which meant he’d have a greater chance of being recognized despite his disguise and turned in for the reward. These factors, working in tandem with the fact that it was the middle of the day, made it nearly impossible to get anywhere quickly, even if he wasn’t travelling very far. Neil darted from alley to alley and never lingered anywhere so that no one would be treated to anything more than a passing glance. The streets were unusually crowded today and Neil had to revise his route several times. Since their escape that terrible night, Neil and his siblings had picked up new clothing around the city and burned anything that was remotely purple. He now wore a tight brown coat that covered his midsection just enough to hide his armor. Rhys had also sewn on a brown hood to match and Neil kept it pulled far over his forehead to hide any stray, raven-colored hairs.
He eventually reached his destination, The Poor Chap’s Tavern, and slipped inside. He’d decided to come in the middle of the day because usually bars and taverns were vacant before the factories closed, especially in the working district, but to Neil’s surprise he noticed that the bar had over a dozen patrons. It was probably because of the Emperor’s new economic policies. Despite his attempts to study up on the families before seizing their businesses, the economy was falling apart. Factories closed left and right and some products stopped appearing in the markets all together.
Neil noticed Bill the Bartender and approached him casually. Bill placed a drink on the bar and then turned toward Neil. Bill did a double take as recognition dawned. “Bianca says you’re bringing me some sort of letter?”
“Yes sir,” Neil said as he pulled the letter from his inside pocket. “I appreciate you doing this,” he told Bill quietly. Neil had known Bill the Bartender since he was a child when he’d worked in one of the Vapros bars.
Bill the Bartender didn’t reply. He just nodded. Neil looked at him curiously and noticed that his hands were shaking. Neil turned and surveyed the room again. “Lot of customers today, Bill,” Neil said carefully.
Bill shrugged. “They don’t have much else to do now that the Emperor closed their factory.”
Neil’s hand was now wrapped around the hilt of his knife. “Why aren’t they drinking, Bill?”
Bill the Bartender stared Neil down. “They’re not thirsty,” Bill said frantically.
Neil turned to face the patrons again and realized that they’d blocked the door and that they were now armed. “Seriously?” Neil growled.
Bill came out from behind the bar. “I’ve got nothing but love for you and Bianca, but this bar is all I have. And five thousand gold pieces would really go a long way to helping me keep it, Vapros.”
Neil realized quickly that he was surrounded and that his enemies were armed with knives, shanks and metal bars. A few men even had pistols trained on him. Neil had a sinking feeling as he realized that he couldn’t fend them off. “If he looks like he’s gonna teleport, shoot him,” Bill said.
“You can’t do this, Bill.”
“I really don’t want to,” he said as he pulled out a knife of his own and joined the circle surrounding Neil. “But I’ve got to eat. I’ve got to put food on the table for my family.”
Suddenly the door burst open and sunlight streamed in. A drunken teenager hobbled in and fell to his knees seemingly disoriented. “We’re in the middle of something,” Bill yelled.
The teenager swayed dizzily and hugged his bottle of liquor closer to his chest. Neil stared at the teenager and tried to stifle his excitement. “Any time, Robert,” Neil said.
Robert dropped his façade and hurled his bottle at the closest attacker. Before anyone could react, Neil materialized behind the bar. Robert pulled a small pistol from his coat and fired off a shot as he leapt over the bar and behind its sweet cover. As Robert reloaded his gun Neil desperately searched the cupboards, still in shock that Robert Tanner, Victoria’s old boyfriend, was coming to his rescue. “You’re a very convincing drunk,” Neil said as Robert fired off a shot at the attackers who were now shooting at the bar.
“I appreciate that,” Robert repli
ed. “Do you have a plan to get us out of here?”
Neil began hurling bottles over the bar. “I do.”
After Neil was sure that his attackers were ankle deep in alcohol, he risked the chance to grab a candle off of the bar. He heard Bill the Bartender yell at the men to get down but it was too late. Neil threw the candle into the puddles of alcohol and the bar sprung into flames. “You’re gonna burn it down?” Robert asked incredulously.
Neil just grinned. “Ready?”
Robert nodded. They popped out from behind the bar and Robert shot the first man who tried to shoot them. Neil materialized to the other side of the bar and cut down the only man who wasn’t on fire or fleeing in fear. In the confusion Robert hopped over the bar and the two young men escaped into the street. “Follow me,” Robert said as they sprinted away from the blazing bar. “I’ve got a place where we can talk and lay low.”
The neighborhoods got worse and worse as Robert led Neil towards his hideout in the slums. He’d brushed away a tear when Neil told him about Jennifer. Neil figured it was probably because she looked just like Victoria, his lost love, and therefore he’d lost her again in a way. Obviously Robert was trustworthy so Neil filled him in on the events since their last meeting. Neil trusted Robert because of his history with Victoria. This trust was further reinforced by the fact that he’d protected Neil with his life, even though five thousand gold pieces would put him out of the slums forever.
“You’re sure you can get us to your hideout without being seen?” Neil asked.
“You’re a nervous guy, aren’t you?”
Neil laughed mirthlessly. “That’s what being a fugitive does for you. You saw what just happened. Life on the run isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Neil paused. “How’d you know to show up, anyway?”
“Bill the Bartender was hiring guys out of the slums to be his muscle. I heard in some of the underground markets that you were going to deliver him some letter for Bianca and he was going to jump you. I heard too late to bring some muscle of my own so I had to improvise.”
Neil looked at Robert gratefully. He’d shown an enormous amount of courage coming alone to an ambush. It was very clear why he had to leave the city now. When everyone in town had five thousand golden reasons to stab him in the back, every second of life was a luxury. “I appreciate it,” Neil said.
Robert waved away the gratitude. “I can get your letter to Bianca. I already sent word for her to meet me after I heard about Bill’s plan. She should be here before sunset.”
Neil ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t thank you enough, Rob.”
Robert just waved him off again. Neil wondered if he’d always been so serious or if that was an aftereffect of losing Victoria. “Why do you keep your hands so deep in your pockets when you walk?” Neil asked.
Robert looked down at his hands, which were deeply shoved into his coat pockets. “It’s so none of the coins in my pocket hit each other or jingle at all.”
“Why’s that?” Neil asked.
“Because if someone hears that I have coins in my pocket, they’ll kill me for them.”
“Oh,” Neil said. It dawned on Neil how tough life had become for everyone since the toppling of the families.
“So you’re really leaving, huh?” Robert asked.
“If we stay in this city we’re gonna die, Rob. There’s no scenario in which we’re able to start the revolution before we get caught and killed. We have to leave.”
“You think you’re gonna find your revolution out there?” Robert asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Neil said. They’d stopped walking and were standing in an alley. “I just know I can’t make it any longer inside the wall. I can’t start a revolution if my head’s on a pike.”
Robert stared at him. After a while he scratched his head. “Yeah, I suppose that makes sense.”
He turned around again and led Neil to an unassuming shack. “This is…?” Neil asked.
“My home,” Robert replied as he opened the door and gestured for Neil to enter.
Neil entered the hovel and tried not to wince. It was even more dilapidated than the hideout that he and his siblings had been living in. Neil tried to ignore the family of cockroaches in the corner and the spider webs that were hanging from the ceiling. “You live here?”
Robert said. “For the time being, yeah. I used to live in the working district but things are getting worse. This revolution is all I have, Neil. I mean, what would you do if you were me?”
“If I were you I’d shoot me in the face and take that reward,” Neil said.
Robert laughed. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Is that why I’m here?” Neil asked.
“Nope.” Robert said as he walked over to the center of his “living room,” if it could even be called that. He rolled up his tattered rug and showed Neil a small hatch in the ground. With a grunt and a heave, Robert pulled it open and stood next to it.
“Is that your murder hole?” Neil asked.
“Just look,” Robert said.
Neil walked over and peered into the dark hatch. His jaw dropped. “How many?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I think I’m nearing two-hundred,” Robert said.
In Robert’s hatch there were hundreds of rifles and pistols lying side by side. He actually had enough firepower to arm a small militia. Now it was evident why Robert didn’t just burn the place down and live in an inn. “This is more than I expected,” Neil said.
Robert grinned. “I thought it might be. A small group of men and I stormed an old Celerius workshop and found dozens of guns in the basement. That combined with all the weapons we got from the Pig’s place has left us with a pretty substantial armory.
“I’m still leaving, Rob,” Neil said. “I’ve got to. Despite how many guns we have, we’re still going to need a lot more people and firepower to make this a reality. It’s only a matter of time before we’re captured or killed, if I stay.”
Robert said, “I understand that. I’m just showing you those because I want you to remember that you still have very capable friends in this city. I’ve heard the rumors, same as everyone else, that there’s something outside the wall other than desert.”
“Villages, I’m told. An army,” Neil replied.
“Villages isn’t exactly a term that inspires a whole lot of confidence, Neil,” Robert said. “I’m just asking you to keep this fire power in mind. I’m just getting started, Neil. If you don’t find your giant revolutionary army out there, I still want you to consider coming back.”
Neil stared at the floor. He didn’t respond. “The revolution isn’t dead inside this wall,” Robert continued. “I’ll keep fighting it. But I’m not confident that I won’t end up facedown in the river. I need help.”
Neil finally met Robert’s eyes. “I’ll consider it,” he said.
Robert gave him a half smile. “That’s all I ask.”
Neil finally looked at Robert’s coat. Jennifer had told him about it a few times, but Neil had forgotten to ask. “Is that it?” Neil asked gesturing to his green faded coat.
Robert looked down at himself. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Victoria bought it for me about a year ago. I’d wear it so that I could go to parties and not be thrown out.”
A few of the buttons had broken off and it was stained by what looked to be mud and blood. “Doesn’t wearing it make you a prime candidate for mugging?”
Robert said absently, “Yeah, I suppose it does.” He ran one hand across the sleeve. “But I don’t care.”
Neil pulled a pouch of gold from his pocket, a leftover from Quintus’s house, and tossed it to Robert. Robert caught it. “It might not be of use to me outside the wall,” Neil told him. “Might as well give it to someone who’ll make the best of it.”
Robert didn’t say anything. He just pocketed the coins and smiled awkwardly. He probably didn’t know how to thank anyone for giving him money. It had been a long time since Neil had seen someone do som
ething honorable and he wanted to do it for Victoria. He now understood why she risked their father’s wrath for this brave, young man. “I hope to see you soon, Rob,” Neil said as he waved goodbye and walked toward the door.
Robert chuckled. “Yeah. I hope you do too.”
And with that Neil exited Robert’s shack and proceeded down the road in the direction of Lilly’s hideout. He was worried about Robert. Sure, he was charismatic and dedicated, but those were the kind of people that the empire put the most energy into crushing. Hopefully he’d still be fighting if Neil ever came back. And hopefully he’d still be wearing Victoria’s coat.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CELERIUS HIDEOUT
DARIUS TAURLUM
For the first time in two months, Darius slipped on his strategically placed armor, covering his pressure points. It took a few minutes to get used to the weight, but he felt powerful with it on his shoulders. “Everyone ready?” he asked, turning to his fellow warriors. Everyone had bathed and looked considerably better. The Vapros boys were still strapping on their leather armor, but Lilly looked prepared for battle in her blue and gold military coat. “Tonight’s the night we leave Altryon behind,” Darius said as he flexed his muscles experimentally in his armor.
“It’s weird,” Neil said, flipping up his hood. “This is where I was born, took my first steps, said my first words.”
Lilly weighed different swords in her hands. “Hopefully we’ll take our last breaths here, too,” she murmured. “Once this war is won, we’ll be back.”
Rhys said, “We leave as fugitives, but we will return someday as free men. And women,” he added quickly at a glance from Lilly.
“The sun is setting, Miss,” Jonathan said nervously. “It’s time!”
Lilly sheathed her sword. “My guards have elected to remain in the city so that we can move more inconspicuously. It means fewer weapons, but it’s also a greater chance of survival.”
“Is Bianca coming with us?” Rhys asked Neil.
“I don’t know. She was planning on leaving anyway, with or without us. She might already be there. I sent a letter with Robert, so hopefully that’ll reach her.”