“You’re right,” said Tad hastily. “I’m very sorry for my silly remarks.”
Weston looked at Vijay. “Do we forgive the infant?”
“I suppose we have to make allowances for a boy barely out of crèche,” said Vijay grudgingly.
They manoeuvred Phoenix’s chair around the bend in the stairs, and started on the next flight of steps, moving with perfect teamwork. “Where are we taking the off-worlders anyway?” asked Weston. “Back to their old rooms on corridor B6?”
“No!” said Phoenix sharply. “We can’t go back to those rooms. We were in them when Tad nearly got thrown off the roof before. We have to go to Blaze’s apartment.”
I blinked. “My apartment only has a small bedroom and living room. It will be over two months before the alliance leaves New York. I can’t have the three of you sleeping on my living room floor for that long.”
“The rooms on corridor B6 aren’t suitable for a patient in Phoenix’s condition,” said Nadira, “but neither is somewhere as cramped as Blaze’s apartment. I was planning to set up a temporary hospital ward in one of the large meeting rooms.”
“But we have to go to Blaze’s apartment,” Phoenix’s voice shook with distress. “It’s the only place I’ve felt safe since we came to New York.”
“We’ll go to my apartment to begin with,” I said quickly. “Nadira is right that we need more space though. How about using the apartment next door to mine? It’s much bigger, with two bedrooms and a large living room.”
“Would all four of us move into that apartment?” asked Phoenix.
“I thought that I’d stay in my own apartment while the three of you live next door,” I said cautiously.
Phoenix made a soft doubtful noise. Clearly her fever-ridden state had made her fix on the idea that my apartment wasn’t just the only safe place in New York, but on Earth.
“Remember that I can protect you much better now I’ve got my gun,” I said.
There was silence for the next two flights of stairs as Phoenix considered that. “Your apartment has eight bolts on the door to make it extra safe,” she said thoughtfully. “Could we have eight bolts on our apartment door as well?”
“Of course,” I said. “I’ve got lots of spare packets of bolts. If anyone tried to break through your apartment door, I’d hear the noise and come to deal with them at once.”
Phoenix gave a soft sigh that seemed to indicate consent.
Once we reached the sixth floor, I put my hand on the security plate, and the bulky steel door slid open. “Weston and Vijay, I don’t think we’ll need your help any longer, so the two of you can go back to join Donnell in Reception.”
Weston and Vijay carefully lowered Phoenix’s chair to the floor, and turned to start walking down the stairs.
“Weston, have you ever stopped to think how different our lives would have been if Sean Donnelly hadn’t been so staggeringly good looking?” asked Vijay. “Neither of us would have been dazzled into joining the Resistance.”
“That’s very true,” said Weston. “We’d probably never have met each other, and you’d have ended up marrying the man who shot me.”
“He didn’t shoot you deliberately,” said Vijay.
Weston gave a disbelieving grunt.
I wondered whether the man had ever existed, or Vijay and Weston had just made him up. Their joking exchanges usually included elements of truth, but they were generously mixed with complete fiction.
I led the way on towards my apartment, with Nadira pushing Phoenix’s wheelchair after me, and Braden and Tad bringing up the rear. As I went through the fire doors into the final stretch of corridor, I became aware of a sick feeling in my stomach.
Promising the off-worlders the apartment next door to mine had been a mistake. After all the things I’d learned in the last few weeks, I’d thought I wouldn’t care about going into that apartment again, but I was wrong. Memories from six years ago were surfacing, and my new knowledge just added extra reasons for them to be painful.
I forced myself to walk steadily on, open the door to my apartment, and turn on the light. “Phoenix, you can rest in here until we’ve got a room in the other apartment clean and ready for you. Nadira will make you as comfortable as possible.”
“Thank you,” said Phoenix.
I took Phoenix’s medicine and treatment chart from my pocket, and handed them to Nadira. “I’ll take Tad and Braden to see the apartment next door now.”
Nadira nodded, and Tad and Braden followed me to the door of the neighbouring apartment. I felt ludicrously tense just looking at the door handle, but tried to speak in a calm voice.
“This apartment belonged to Hannah before she was caught stealing and moved downstairs.”
Tad frowned. “Why did Hannah get a bigger apartment than you?”
I shrugged. “She wanted the extra space, and I didn’t care enough to argue about it. No one has been in there for six years, so I expect it will need a lot of cleaning.”
“I can do the cleaning,” said Braden cheerfully. “I worked as a cleaner on Adonis.”
I gave him a confused look. “I thought you worked as a pilot.”
“I did work as a pilot, but aircraft are like portals. All the old ones are breaking down, and even Adonis doesn’t have the technology to build new ones. There’s less work available for pilots each year, and if we ever get to Zeus, then I doubt there’ll be any aircraft there for me to fly at all. I’m thinking of training to be a nurse instead.”
“That’s a very good idea,” I said. “You’ve been doing an excellent job helping Nadira care for Phoenix.”
I reached out to touch the door handle in front of me, and was hit by memories of one crucial day. Hannah had been caught stealing the precious medicine stored here on the sixth floor. I could remember the exact whining tone of her voice, as she’d told me it was all a silly misunderstanding.
Hannah was my best friend, so I’d believed her version of the story, and tried pleading with Donnell on her behalf. He’d been implacable though, taking away her security access to the sixth floor, and ordering her to move downstairs.
Hannah hadn’t even been allowed time to get her things from her apartment. I’d stood in this corridor, helplessly watching as Donnell and two of his officers went in there, reappearing a few minutes later with her possessions crammed into sacks.
Once they’d gone, I’d walked into the forlornly empty apartment, and stood there for a while in silent misery at Donnell’s injustice, before turning around and leaving. I’d slammed this door savagely behind me, and it hadn’t been opened since.
Why hadn’t I guessed something was dreadfully wrong back then? Why hadn’t I realized that Hannah might have been truly my friend during our childhood back in London, but now she was working for Cage? Why had I stayed loyal to Hannah for the next six years, believing her poisonous lies about Donnell?
I remembered the words Vijay had said earlier, about how different his and Weston’s lives could have been. My life and my relationship with Donnell could have been so different too.
“Is something wrong?” asked Tad.
I hastily opened the door, and was reaching to turn on the light when a rank smell hit my nostrils. “Yes, there’s something wrong. We won’t be able to use this apartment because the window seal has failed and let water in.”
“Couldn’t we mend the window seal and clean up?” asked Braden.
“No.” I turned on the light, and gestured at the thick patches of mould on the walls and floor. “You’d never be able to clean that up.”
“You’re right,” said Braden sadly.
I stepped back and closed the door again. Hannah’s apartment had been decaying for six years, so the place was uninhabitable now. It somehow symbolized our old friendship. That had been decaying for six years too, being slowly killed by Hannah’s lies and her spying for Cage, until now it had gone far past the point where it could be salvaged.
Braden looked at me anxiously.
“What shall we do now? Phoenix was counting on us being able to use that apartment. Is there another apartment on the other side of yours?”
I sighed. “Yes, there is.”
“Then let’s check if that one is usable,” said Braden briskly.
I hesitated. I didn’t want to let anyone set foot in the other apartment, but I couldn’t refuse and distress Phoenix when she was so ill. Obscurely, I blamed Hannah for this situation. She’d caused me so much pain in the past, and now I had to face another old, emotional wound because of her.
“I know the other apartment is in good condition, and the bathroom is in working order. It was only used for a couple of weeks six years ago, but I store a few oddments there because it has four large rooms.”
“That sounds ideal,” said Braden.
I led the way to the other apartment door, forced myself to open it, turned on the light, and beckoned the off-worlders inside. Braden took a rapid look around the living room, then opened the doors to the other rooms to glance inside.
“It should only take me a few hours to get this place thoroughly clean. Two of the rooms are totally empty, but Tad and I can bring the furniture from our old rooms on corridor B6.”
Braden moved towards the smaller of the living room cupboards, but I hastily blocked his way. “The person who lived here left some things in that cupboard. I’d rather you didn’t touch them.”
Tad wasn’t always good at understanding things, but he’d obviously worked out what was happening here. “We promise we won’t open that cupboard.”
Braden looked confused. “Did the owner of this apartment die, Blaze?”
“The owner of this apartment didn’t die,” I said coldly. “Seamus sold the alliance secrets to the people at America Off-world, and helped them blow up the New York portal relay centre, in exchange for a place on a colony world called Pyrrhus in Beta sector.”
I moistened my lips. “My brother’s betrayal is the reason there are no working portals in New York, so no easy escape from the coming firestorm. Seamus is probably still alive, but I don’t know for sure.”
There was a short silence. I wondered if I’d been wrong to blame Hannah for the six-year rift between Donnell and me. It had been Seamus’s betrayal that lit the flame, while Hannah just piled fuel on the fire.
“I’m sorry.” Braden looked anxiously at my face.
I brushed my hand across my eyes. It didn’t matter whether Seamus, Hannah, or both of them had caused the rift between Donnell and me. The important thing was that my father and I were building a new relationship now.
“There’s no need to apologize,” I said, “just don’t touch the small cupboard. The packets of bolts and the drill are in the larger cupboard.”
Braden nodded. “Let’s go and tell Phoenix about the apartment. I expect Nadira will want to make a quick check of my cleaning efforts before allowing Phoenix to move here.”
I managed a fleeting smile. “I’m sure Nadira will want to make an extremely thorough check.”
I led the way back to my own apartment, and saw Phoenix was lying on the couch with a blanket over her.
Nadira turned to look at us. “Braden, can you make sure that Phoenix gets her next dose of medicine on time? I need to take first aid supplies downstairs in case there’s trouble later.”
“Of course,” said Braden.
Nadira hurried off, and Braden and Tad began telling Phoenix about the apartment next door. I sat down on a nearby chair and listened to them, with the ghosts of old memories drifting through my head. A knock on the door dragged me back to the present.
Phoenix looked nervously at the door. “Who is that?” she whispered.
I stood up. “Who is that?” I repeated Phoenix’s words in a louder voice.
“Blaze, it’s me, Aaron,” called a voice from the other side of the door. “Donnell sent me to tell you that Major won’t let anyone out of Queens Island.”
I grimaced and shouted back. “That means Donnell couldn’t get a message to Raeni. That’s bad.”
“It’s very bad,” said Aaron. “Donnell says he’ll need you downstairs at first light, and while I’m here ...”
Aaron’s voice hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Blaze, will you marry me?”
Chapter Fourteen
I opened my apartment door, and looked out at where dark-haired Aaron was standing in the corridor. He had a naturally slim build, but now he’d crossed the line from looking slim to being haggard.
“This is a thick door,” I said, “and I think I must have misheard what you just said. Would you mind repeating it?”
“I said that Donnell will need you downstairs at first light, and then I asked you to marry me,” said Aaron. “I know it’s not the best time to suggest marriage, but I couldn’t delay. The situation will get even worse if Major regains the leadership of Queens Island.”
“That’s true,” I said, in a dazed voice. “I’ll be back in just a moment, and we can discuss this.”
I closed the door again, turned to the off-worlders, and saw they had matching stunned expressions on their faces. Tad opened his mouth to speak, but I put a finger to my lips, before grasping his arm to tow him further away from the door.
“Tad,” I whispered, “there’s absolutely no need for you to worry about Aaron and me.”
Tad gave a paranoid look at the door before whispering back. “I know that. I’m just wondering if I’ve been following the wrong set of social rules. Last time we were all in this room, Luther knocked on the door and asked you to marry him. Now we’re back here again, and Aaron asks you to marry him. Things normally happen a lot slower on Adonis, but if the custom here is ...”
He took a deep breath. “Blaze, will you ...?”
“No!” In my haste to interrupt him, the word came out louder than I intended. I carefully lowered my voice before continuing. “What I mean is there’s no need for you to rush into anything. Luther only asked me to marry him because he thought that would get him the deputy leadership position. I’m not sure why Aaron has asked me to marry him, but he’s clearly been badly shaken by Cage shooting Rogue, so I’d better go and talk to him now. Is that all right?”
Tad pulled a face but nodded. I went back to my apartment door, and caught myself automatically reaching for the spare coat that hung on the wall next to it, but pulled my hand back. I wouldn’t have time for my usual routine of going up to the Resistance roof to salute the flag this morning, because Donnell wanted me downstairs at first light, and there was no need for me to wear a coat inside the Parliament House. Everywhere was gloriously warm now that Tad had turned on the power supply.
I opened the door, stopped, and frowned in thought for a second before grabbing the coat after all. I went out into the corridor and closed the door behind me.
“I need a lantern,” I said to Aaron.
He gave me a confused look. “A lantern?”
“Yes. I think there should be one in the store room in corridor A3. We can talk while I’m getting it.” I started walking down the corridor. “I know you’re still mourning your wife’s death in the winter fever, Aaron. If you’re asking me to marry you, then it has to be because of Rebecca.”
Aaron fell into step beside me. “Yes. When my wife and I got sick with the winter fever, we knew that several people had already died from it, so we made each other a promise. If one of us didn’t make it through the winter fever, then the other should marry again immediately. Life here was too uncertain to leave Rebecca with only one parent to protect her.”
His face twisted in distress. “I gave that promise to my wife, but then I found I couldn’t bear to put another woman in her place. I felt there wasn’t a suitable unattached woman for me to marry anyway. If there’d been a smaller age gap between us, then I’d have considered asking you, but I felt that a difference of ten years was too much. I broke my promise to my wife, and yesterday ...”
Aaron let the sentence trail off. I glanced at his face, and knew I h
ad to let him take his time explaining this. We were turning into corridor A3 before he could make himself speak again.
“Yesterday, Cage shot Rogue. It’s obvious that Cage chose Rogue as his target because he wanted to create a new blood feud between Queens Island and Manhattan. It’s equally obvious that if Rogue hadn’t been in my hunting party, Cage would have shot me, and Rebecca would be an orphan today.”
Aaron stopped outside the store room door and faced me. “Whether Raeni keeps the Queens Island leadership, or Major takes it from her, the alliance is heading for disaster. Whichever of Raeni and Major wins will pursue the blood feud with Manhattan. They’re going to rip the alliance apart, while we’ve got Cage running loose with a sniper rifle, and a firestorm coming to turn New York into an inferno.”
Aaron had the expression of someone seeing nightmare visions of the future. I felt the deepest sympathy for him, because images of New York in flames had been troubling my dreams for weeks.
“People are going to die, Blaze,” he said. “I may well be one of them, and I know what being orphaned would mean for Rebecca. If any of the alliance manage to escape New York before the firestorm hits, then it will probably be at the last minute. Rebecca would have no chance of keeping up with a fleeing crowd without help.”
Aaron gave me a desperate look and babbled urgent sentences at me. “I must marry someone so Rebecca has a second parent to help her escape the firestorm. Of all the women in the alliance, you are my first choice, Blaze. Rebecca knows and likes you from the time you’ve spent working in the crèche. I’m sure you’d take good care of her, because of the way you helped nurse her when she was sick with the winter fever. I have the greatest respect for you. I hope you respect me too, and I feel there’s every possibility that in time our mutual respect may grow to be something more.”
A few weeks ago, I’d have gladly said yes to Aaron’s offer of marriage. I should be saying yes now. Logic said that there was no chance of a relationship between Thaddeus Wallam-Crane and me succeeding when we literally belonged to different worlds.
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