by Barbara Taub
“They’re fine.” She reached a decision. No matter what Harry had to tell them, she wasn’t going to be the one who added more layers of icy distrust to his mask. “You have to talk to Harry.” She sat bolt upright, hands rubbing her crossed arms as if they could provide warmth against his frosted gaze. “But there are things I have to tell you first. Only… just sit down and don’t say anything because I’ve never told anybody this.”
He put the bottle of wine onto the sofa table and sat stiffly across from her. Nervously, she reached into her pocket for the little kaleidoscope he’d given her and turned it over in her hands. She glanced at his frozen blue eyes and took a breath.
“I’m not asking you to say whether you believe me or not, but please just listen. My family comes from a place called Null City. You can’t find it on a map, and the only way to get there is on a special train called the Metro. The City was established about a hundred years ago as a refuge for people like my family who have special gifts that make them … different. In the past, those gifts might have meant witch trials and worse. When Null City was founded, we hoped that danger would be over. But a group called Haven has been at war with us for a long time. We don’t know much about who they are or where they came from or even what they really want. But we know what they do. They kill people who are different. They murdered my parents, and today they came for Connor and Casey and me.
“In Null City, each person has one day a year when they have to decide whether to leave or commit to stay for an additional year. My parents had moved to Null City for safety when I was born, but then my father decided he needed to rejoin the fight. When I was eleven, he took his Amnesty Day and left.
“Connor and Carey were babies, so my mother stayed in Null City to take care of us. Then she got word Dad was injured and needed her help. Of course she realized it could be a trap even though another relative brought us the news. But when her Amnesty Day came a week later, she took us and went to look for him.”
Gaby gave a humorless chuckle. “I don’t think anyone was more surprised than Mama when she actually found him. We all moved into our little house on Bainbridge Island while he recovered.”
Her voice was soft. “It was the best part of my life. For the first and only time, we were a normal family. My dad got a job as a locksmith, and my mom worked at the library. The twins and I went to regular schools. We even had Mrs. Allen for a kind of grandmother. Just like everyone else. Normal.”
She had been looking down at the kaleidoscope rolling between her fingers, but now she looked up. At the sight of his motionless face and icy blue eyes, she fisted both hands around the little instrument. The rest of her words poured out in painful fits and starts, like rusty water from an unused pump.
“It was the day before my eighteenth birthday. Mom and Dad said they had a surprise for me, and they went to pick it up. When I got the call from the fire department, they said my parents were in a used car they’d just bought—my birthday present—and it went off the road, and they both just … they were… They found them together where they’d been thrown from the car.
“I never believed for one minute my father lost control of the car. And I didn’t think there was a problem with that used car, either. His gift was organization, like mine, only in his case it meant he could see the patterns for anything mechanical. There is simply no chance he overlooked a problem in a car he intended me to drive.
“I know Haven got to them and killed them. And every single day since I’ve prepared for what happened today. I’m not brave like them or a fighter like Carey. My only plan was to run. I had a little money saved and fake IDs, and I practiced packing until I could have all three of us out the door in minutes.
“The only thing I never knew—still don’t know—is whether we should try to hide or go back to Null City. It’s why we stayed on Bainbridge. There is a special train, the Metro, and one of its main stations is Seattle. Only certain people, mostly those with gifts like ours, can get to the Metro, and it only goes to Null City.
“I told you our family has gifts. Most of us are harmonia, which just means we can see things out of place in certain patterns and how to fix them. My dad could do it with anything mechanical. I can see when a financial pattern is off, and I just know how to figure out why. It’s what all good accountants do, but I get a deeper picture of what someone was trying to do plus what needs to happen to fix it. It’s how I could find out so much about what’s happening with your money.”
He was listening to her words, but the mask was still in place.
“Do you know why I’ve never looked into this?” She held up the kaleidoscope in her hands. “In kaleidoscopes, other people see beautifully shifting designs. But they don’t work for harmonia. No matter how our gift manifests—finance, mechanical, warrior, or others—in kaleidoscopes harmonia see fractured patterns from choices made by the person who selected the bits of glass and other items, and why they made those choices, and what they mean. The things in their lives which need to be fixed make the kaleidoscope’s designs look broken to us. There are rare harmonia who can take it one step further to help fix the broken patterns in people. But for the rest of us, it just actually … hurts … to look and not be able to fix them.”
It wasn’t working, of course. There was no way he was going to believe any of it. And to be honest, she didn’t blame him. She raced to finish before he could speak.
“I think Connor might be one of the rare ones who can fix emotions. My mom was from the Null City bloodline, but I’m not allowed to tell you about that. And I think Carey is gifted as a warrior because she says she sees patterns when she fights, but she was pretty much born that way, so it’s no surprise.”
Her voice wound down. “And that’s all. Except … the people who came today? I’ve never seen them before, but I am absolutely certain they were Haven.”
Silence.
Finally she looked up at him. “Say something.”
His beautiful voice echoed the frozen landscape of his eyes. “I was prepared to help because of your brother and sister. But this … fantasy … of yours is just insulting. I’ll make sure you’ve been paid through today. But tomorrow you all need to leave.” Luic picked up the wine bottle and moved to the door of his room before half turning to face her. His words struck like hail against glass. “I don’t like liars and that includes you.”
She flinched as though taking a body blow and stumbled to the bedroom where the twins were sleeping. The door to his room closed, followed moments later by the sound of glass shattering.
“Gaby?” whispered Carey. Connor sat up.
“Get dressed,” she told them. “Quickly. We have to leave right away.”
Connor nodded. “I know. The patterns here hurt too much.”
Luic woke to the sound of glass crunching softly underfoot. Must be the smashed bottle of wine he’d brought to share with Gaby, he realized. At least it was good for something. He watched from the shadowed chair in the corner as the dark figure moved toward the empty bed. Moonlight from the open window caught the flash of a knife. Bring it, he thought grimly. A fight sounded pretty good right now. Glancing around for a weapon, he spotted two empty guitar cases. An evil grin lit his face as he reached across his own battered case for the custom designed hard case that was Harry’s pride and joy.
What Luic knew about fighting he’d learned in a dirty school. He had no illusions about fair play as he moved behind the figure standing over the bed. From behind, he swung the case against the intruder’s head. With his body angled away and the case between him and the hand wielding the knife, he reached forward and grabbed the dazed man’s wrist. Adding his other hand, he forced the knife down, causing the stranger to slash across his own stomach. Gasping, the man dropped the knife and twisted to face Luic. Okay, that works… He rammed a fist into the testicles before him and followed with a hard punch to the would-be assassin’s already bleeding stomach.
He was having a pretty good time taking apart
the intruder when he heard a noise from the other room. Gaby! The twins! The ice of pure panic stopped his breathing. Without thought, he head-butted his opponent’s nose and heard the gratifying crunch of cartilage. As the man pulled back, already gagging on his own blood, Luic slammed the side of his hand against his throat.
Leaving the collapsed intruder choking for air, he raced from the room to see another man bent over a still figure on the floor. Luic was almost on him when he recognized Harry. He swung past Harry and lunged for Gaby’s room. As the door swung open, the light from the hall reflected on the brass fittings of the kaleidoscope centered precisely on the neatly made-up cot in the unoccupied room.
He heard Harry go into his room to check on the other man, whose choking noises had stopped. “Both dead.” Harry sounded disgusted as he returned to Luic. “They always have poison if they’re captured. My guards are down outside, but I think they’re just unconscious. Where are Gaby and the kids?”
Luic moved stiffly to the bed and picked up the little kaleidoscope. “She told me a crazy story about a secret war and an invisible city and that you were behind the theft of my money.” He looked back at Harry. “So of course I told her I didn’t like liars. And then I told her to get out.”
Harry sat down on the cot. “Everything she told you was true.” He looked at Luic, and for a moment something ancient looked out of his eyes that didn’t look like Harry at all.
He leaned elbows on his knees and braced his head on his hands. “I’ve spent a lifetime on you. You have no idea what it’s taken to get you to this point and bring you together with Gaby. But even I didn’t realize what an arrogant asshole you could be. Now she’s out there with two children and an army after them. And before I can even look for them, I have to get this mess cleaned up.”
Harry made a phone call and told the person on the other end he had two guards down outside and also needed them to remove two items of trash immediately. Hanging up, he turned to Luic.
“We’re going to my room to get cleaned up. Then you’re going to tell me everything you can remember of what Gaby told you, and we’re going to try to figure out how to find them before someone else does.”
Harry poured coffee and handed Luic a bag of ice for his swollen knuckles. “I’ve told you before not to lead with your guitar hand.”
“Actually, I led with your hard case.” Luic’s grim mouth relaxed slightly at Harry’s moan.
“Damn it Luic! You couldn’t have used that piece of crap you’ve been dragging around for the past ten years? I waited six months for Fender to send that case.” Harry glared at Luic. “Keep the ice on your hand and start telling me everything you heard from Gaby.”
Luic pulled off the bag of ice and folded his hands around the steaming coffee. “This all started because you were stealing from me.”
“Oh that.” Harry drew an envelope out of his pocket and threw it down in front of Luic. “This is an account in your name in a Swiss bank. They may not be as good as Gaby, but my accountants assure me every penny I diverted is there.”
“Harry… Why?” Luic’s icy mask slipped, and for a moment lost blue eyes stared at Harry.
“I had find a way to get you together with Gaby. I knew as a harmonia, she would see patterns invisible to most accountants. Getting her here was the easy part once I made enough comments for you to finally get the idea through your thick skull there was a problem with your accounts.”
“And you couldn’t just tell me?”
Harry grimaced. “Would you have believed me? I’m only telling you now because the one chance the Parkers have is for us to find them before Haven.”
Luic put down the untouched coffee. “Why you?”
“I’m part of a group interested in the outcome of the war Gaby told you about.” Harry stood up and moved over to the window. He leaned forward until his head rested against the glass, and his eyes searched the darkness outside. When he finally spoke, his words frosted the pane, obscuring the sky. “We’ve been watching for a long time, and we think things are heading toward a battle. Some say the results of that battle could reinvent the world.”
He turned back to Luic. “My … organization has severe limits on what we can do, and the same goes for our opponents. So we’ve each been looking for a group who can act. The decision was easy once Haven appeared and we realized they were getting support from our opponents. Naturally, we decided to try to support the Gifts, people like Gaby’s family and those in Null City.”
He moved back to the table and absently rubbed the bruises on his neck left by his would-be assassin. “The problem is that the Gifts aren’t winning. So our only choice is to stall Haven—and the side backing them—long enough to find a way to win that decisive battle. But the other side is just as determined to prevent the battle from ever occurring. With Haven winning the war, they see no reason to risk everything on one battle.”
As Luic opened his mouth, Harry held up a hand to stop him. “Yes, that’s where you and Gaby come in. There are a few critical points in time, and whoever controls them has a chance to control part of history—including future history—in their favor. You and Gaby are part of one of those pivot points, the one leading to the founding of Null City. So Haven’s strategy is simple: eliminate Gaby or you, control the pivot point, and avoid the battle.”
Luic stared at him. “This is kind of hard to believe.”
“Have I ever lied to you?” Harry raised an eyebrow.
Luic looked pointedly at the bank envelope on the table.
“That’s just money,” Harry said. “I’ve never lied to you about anything important like your songs or whether the Saints could go all the way this year or the stupid thing you do with your eyebrow…”
“I learned the eyebrow from you,” Luic protested.
“And you should leave things like that to the master.” Harry eyed Luic carefully. “Are we okay?”
“Hell no,” said Luic. “Touch my money again and I’ll shave both your eyebrows. But for now, what about Gaby?”
“If we can’t find her soon,” Harry replied, “we all lose. And Gaby dies.”
LEILA, Chapter Six
1890, Seattle
“Have you ever been to Seattle before?” Thomas eyed the two rail tracks crossing a sea of mud as the rain poured down.
“No, but it’s supposed to be fantastic. And I think it rains a lot.” Leila led him along the raw train platform toward the small wooden station building. “Maybe the fantastic stuff happens later?”
Inside Thomas sank onto a bench with their cases while Leila approached a man sporting a huge mustache and bowler hat. “Excuse me? We just got off the train and were wondering if you could tell us where we can find a hotel?”
“Hello, little lady.” The Mustache grinned at her. “Are you here alone?”
WWMD? What would Mom do? Leila channeled her mother’s haughtiest face-down-recalcitrant-vendor look. “I’m here with my big brother. All we need are directions to the nearest hotel.”
“That would be the Seattle Hotel. They just finished the new one after the Great Fire took out most of the town last year. But with all the construction projects, it’s usually full up.” He pointed up a dirt street where dogs dodged between horses, carts, and people. “Just head up that way to Pioneer Square. The hotel is triangle-shaped and five stories high. Biggest thing around.”
Returning to Thomas, Gaby eyed the road in front of the station. Piles of lumber, barrels, and garbage banked the edges, liberally flecked with mud churned by passing horses and wagons. “Do you think you can make it? I don’t think we should let people know you’re hurt.”
Thomas glared at The Mustache, who was staring at them and grinning. He grabbed his bag and her arm and led the way back into the mud. Despite having to stop twice for Thomas to catch his breath, they were soon entering the new hotel.
“They have one room left.” Thomas joined Leila on one of the lobby sofas. He closed his eyes and leaned back for a moment before
pointing to the stairs. “This way.”
“Top floor?” Leila guessed. Thomas just held his breath and grimly started climbing. After the third floor, she grabbed both carpetbags in one arm, put the other around his waist, and staggered upward.
“Only … fourth … floor,” he gasped as she grabbed for the key.
“No, you Brit.” She jiggled the key and the door opened to a small room. “This is America and we call this the fifth floor.” Thomas collapsed onto the tiny bed as she looked around.
“No bathroom.” She sighed. “I just realized we’re not going to get a room with a Jacuzzi for another hundred years…”
“And I’m guessing room service is out.” Thomas’ good arm covered his eyes.
“How much money do we have left?” Leila pulled the wallet from his coat and counted the bills. “It’s not going to last long. Seems we have two choices—sell something or get jobs. Do you know anything about history, especially the 1890s?”
“I was studying art—mostly painting,” said Thomas. “How about you?”
“I was supposed to start at Georgia Tech in computer science, and I had an athletic scholarship for softball. But I took a year off when Dad got sick. So what you’re saying is we don’t know much history, we don’t have marketable skills, and we’re hungry.”
“Pretty much. Especially the hungry part.”
“Well, my Mom says when you don’t know what to do, you do the next thing. I think it means I go for food and you go to sleep.”
She helped him peel off his coat and pulled boots off the big feet hanging over the end of the bed. His eyes closed before she spread his coat over him. “Thomas?” She smoothed the coat carefully around his injured arm. “I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life.”
“Careful, Princess,” he muttered without opening his eyes. “You’re starting to sound like a nice person.”