Allie's War Season Two

by JC Andrijeski

  “We will pass through the Meridian Gate,” the seer answered at once. “Where our leader, the graceful Voi Pai, has asked that you be escorted to her own place of greeting near the Hall of Literary Glory. She thought it a comfortable place for you to meet...informally...as you requested.”

  Revik didn’t respond, but felt his jaw harden a little.

  She didn’t want him anywhere near Allie, in other words.

  Still, she’d let him walk through the gate. Was she trying to avoid war?

  Or did she plan to sell his wife back to him?

  His frown faded somewhat as he looked around. He couldn’t help but be captivated by the vision that unfolded as they left the front entrance behind. Within a few turns around a secondary structure, he found himself faced with lush gardens to either side of a wide, and nearly pearl-white, stone path. The path itself led to a large, u-shaped gate, barely discernible at the opposite end, but only due to the length of the road through the secondary corridor itself. He knew from Barrier imprints that the walls of the Meridian Gate would be considered quite impressively high if not for the outer walls rising to herculean heights to either side and around the entire enclosure.

  Revik scanned buildings lining the main road. Most were barely visible through the trees, set back from the road and even enclosed in stone walls. He felt livestock and exotic animals and birds, gardens of flowers and vegetables and herbs, glimpsed what looked to be a small lake where he felt an abundance of fish, turtles and water birds. He looked around at the carefully placed trees and lawns, noticing stone statues and benches, along with small pagodas where sat the occasional seer or human. He noticed what appeared to be servants as well, working and relaxing on the grounds, cutting flowers, hoeing plants and bulbs, bringing food out to livestock and coming back with milk from goats and cows, talking amongst themselves quietly.

  He even felt horses inside the gates, somewhere, although his eyes could not find them.

  He’d heard from Wreg and others, while they briefed him on coming here, that the seers influenced this as well, increasing the amount of greenery inside the City’s walls, especially over the past fifty or so years. A park of some kind stood on this spot for thousands of years prior to that, of course, but it had been open to the public until the second wall around the City had been erected following World War II. In the intervening years, the seers expanded those gardens further. They’d added crops to buttress the self-sufficiency of the City, and livestock for the same purpose. They ripped up cement and stone...and planted trees.

  They also expanded the size of the lake, and filled it with fish.

  The “new wall,” as it was still called, despite the fact that it had now stood for more than a half-century, surrounded the moat around the palace wall itself, as well as the two parks lining the walkway to the Meridian Gate, all the way up to the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Revik glanced at the barrier erected by the new wall, and felt almost as if he’d entered an enormous amphitheater. The wall rose so high above the trees of the gardens that it darkened the space within; it also hushed sound, creating a kind of fishbowl effect.

  Thanks to Barrier tech, the fortress also held out foreign energies, as well as most sound from the city outside. The pollution still affected the air of course, but even that seemed muted once he’d passed through the main gate.

  It truly existed as an oasis within the world, a place with little relation to the city of Beijing, or even the rest of humanity outside.

  Ahead, the red gates of Meridian loomed high, with two watch towers on either end, and what looked like another structure in the center part of the u-bend of the gate itself.

  Already, the sense of space inside the construct surprised him.

  Revik had heard of course, of the size of the City. It was famous among seers, despite being nearly impossible to see from the Barrier due to the age and density of the constructs protecting it from prying eyes. Airspace over the City remained closely guarded, as well, so no unclassified images existed, even for someone like Revik whose people could hack most of the high tech security feeds coming from satellites. The human government of China guarded the space with the help of the Lao Hu; as a result, they knew how to keep other seers out far better than the vast majority of human governments could ever accomplish on their own.

  It wasn’t only the Rebels they managed to keep in the dark. Revik had never once happened upon any images while working for British Intelligence, either. It had been a priority for the West, to breach that wall...especially given the power of the Lao Hu.

  So far, however, no one had accomplished it, at least not that Revik was aware.

  Even now, he could feel the construct tampering with his light. He’d tried to take a number of snapshots with his aleimi, to remember the basic layout of the grounds...but the construct unraveled these images as soon as he stored them in his aleimi.

  He’d leave here remembering a few things, of course...just from emotional impact, if nothing else. He would attach elements of the physical grounds to specific memories and interactions. But any detailed images of the layout, security, specific size of the grounds, aleimic structures, security features of the buildings...much less the precise location of various Barrier traps...would remain here, and not with him, after he left.

  He and his escort reached the Meridian Gate some minutes later, after passing several more structures to the right and the left, along with accompanying garden sanctuaries. The walkway leading directly to the gate itself consisted of a tree-lined, white stone street that Revik found very pleasant...or would have, had he been there simply as a guest.

  He glanced again at the high walls as they passed, feeling his sense of perspective alter again. It was then that he noticed that they’d dismantled his mobile construct, too. It had been done so quietly and non-invasively that he didn’t notice until he’d attempted to ping Wreg to let him know where he was in relation to breaching the Old City.

  He fought to shrug it off. But, not for the first time, wariness flooded his light.

  He questioned if what he was doing was particularly smart. There was some chance the Lao Hu had allied with Balidor to take him prisoner. If the Adhipan already held Allie against her will...which he couldn’t be sure wasn’t the case, even now...they likely wouldn’t balk at doing the same to him. He had known, of course, that losing his connection to his people outside was a strong possibility, once inside the gates. Even so, he found himself adjusting to the change with an effort. The fact that he hadn’t noticed bothered him as much as anything.

  He should have felt it, the instant he’d been cut off.

  The construct’s boundaries had felt almost physical as he passed that first doorway in the Gate of Heavenly Peace. He wondered now if they’d done it then, while he’d been adjusting to the change in his light...and distracted by the ceremony of his guides.

  They walked past rows of willow trees, with taller, older-looking elms rising higher in the background, interspersed with cedars and pines. Revik saw birds in wooden cages hanging from a cherry tree by a pavilion, with a young female seer in a dark blue sash whistling to the creatures inside.

  His throat moved a little as he glanced at his escort.

  “Apprentice?”

  The seer followed his gaze. “Yes. She is in training.”

  Revik nodded, folding his arms. He continued to walk, watching the red walls of the Meridian Gate loom higher.

  It was so quiet here; it felt like the world held its breath.

  Clearly, they weren’t afraid of him. Not if they had their young seers in training wandering around him in plain sight.

  Birds winged by as he thought it, their cries and calls back and forth loud in the quiet of all else. A breeze waved the long willow fronds, sending him the smell of blossoms from some other part of the grounds.

  He walked, trying not to think about Allie as he looked around.

  She would love this. She was enamored of graceful artificial environments, especially t
hose that mimicked nature, or wove civilization inside it without disrupting either.

  As he thought it, it occurred to him that she’d never told him this. He’d picked it up from years of watching her, and from being in her thoughts.

  He’d felt glimpses of that in her recently, too, he realized...while she’d been staying inside the City’s walls. She liked the beauty here. Perhaps it was the artist in her; even under less-than-ideal circumstances, she appreciated beauty for its own sake. He still turned this over in his mind as he and his escort reached the front entrance of the old palace grounds.

  The seer led him through a series of arched openings in the red-painted walls. They passed several sentries, seer and human, who bowed deeply to Revik as he passed.

  Seconds later, he found himself in a courtyard so vast he paused a little, reorienting his vantage point yet again...and in spite of himself.

  A river-like canal ran through the center of the first open space that met his eyes, spanned by five white stone bridges, like he’d crossed outside the main gate. These however, without the pollution and dirt outside the City’s walls, appeared newer, almost a pearl white from having been washed almost entirely of dirt and dust.

  Revik glanced around, taking in red and orange-roofed buildings on all four sides. Elaborately painted tiles and carvings decorated their edges. Giant stone lions guarded several of the lesser gates, pulling his eyes long enough to pause his gaze.

  Yet, the canal and its five bridges, as well as the flat expanse of white stone itself, larger than any city square he’d ever seen, somehow held his interest the longest. He had heard rumors, of course, of the size of the great city of the Lao Hu.

  Even so, he found himself adjusting to the proportions anyway.

  Trees rimmed the canals in long, ornate planters embedded in the stone, creating what amounted to an artificial bosky alongside the steep banks. He saw cherry trees among the willows, but also maple and a few types he didn’t recognize. Cypress and twisted pines rimmed silent and ornate structures he could see to either side, along with high lampposts with tiered silk lanterns and banners hanging from bronze hooks with dragon’s bodies. It struck him that the lanterns likely served to illuminate the pathways at night, and for an instant he had a mental image of a kind of fairyland under the trees.

  Birds floated in the canals, swans and colorful Asian wood ducks, what might have been loons with their spotted black backs. He saw an orange flash of fish scales darting under the surface before his eyes drifted back up to the stone stairs leading to the building on the far side of the square. Scanning, he felt another large courtyard beyond that, then more structures...a gate...gardens...what felt like residencies...

  All of it dissolved from his light as soon as he felt it.

  “Sir?” His escort pulled his eyes back to him. “This way, sir.”

  Revik turned, walking just ahead of the robed seer, following his light’s prompts. He saw more seers wandering the walkways under the trees, talking either to other seers or to humans. He couldn’t help but look for her, although he knew she wouldn’t be among them. Many of them wore the blue sash he’d seen on the young apprentice, but he saw sashes of other colors, as well...reds, purples, yellows...all with the symbol of the Lao Hu.

  He saw black sashes dotting the others as well.

  He grew suddenly aware of his own conspicuousness, even if Voi Pai had her people shielding his light from common view. Wearing western clothes, including dark pants, a thigh-length jacket and t-shirt, he stood out as an outsider well beyond his facial features, which were unusual enough among Asian seers to get him looks.

  The feeling of hush remained, despite the wide-open space.

  Revik followed his escort down a side path winding around the right side of the enormous courtyard. They walked the canals for a ways without crossing, but the seer didn’t point out landmarks, or even comment on the scenery.

  Instead he led him straight through another gate, and towards a tiered building beyond, due east to the main square and around which the canals wound. Without pausing, Revik’s guide led him through the double red doors of an old-looking building.

  Two of the black-sashed seers stood out front. Both bowed to him gracefully, their eyes carefully below his.

  Revik hesitated again, but only for a breath.

  His guide had told him where they intended to bring him. Yet, after seeing the vastness of the grounds, especially in the warm sun of springtime in the morning, Revik didn’t particularly want to be trapped indoors. In that breath of a pause, however, he found himself unwilling to wait while they established another place for conference that might feel less claustrophobic to him. He could feel the added security around this building already.

  Following his seer escort, he scanned his way forward as he entered the high doorway, facing a room that seemed to be entirely painted in gold, with black Chinese writing in banners over what looked like a highly-placed throne. Giant urns and delicate pottery stood to each side of the raised dais. Trees grew inside the urns, likely another token of the seers’ influence. What looked like scrolls filled high, square shelves alongside one wall.

  Revik’s eyes slid further upwards to the ceiling, where elaborately painted beams formed a receding square, and more lamps and silk kites hung from the gilded fixtures, blowing lightly in the breeze.

  The seer led him past the gold throne to a side chamber with a red door. Inside, he saw silk pillows, a glass-less window to the trees that rimmed the building and the canals beyond. The window shed natural light on a long, elaborately carved wooden table. Book-ending the table, comfortable-looking chairs fitted with silk cushions were positioned to invite sitting.

  A tea set stood on the dark wood table in a lacquered tray, its pot steaming from the spout next to white and blue china cups.

  Revik entered cautiously, scanning his way through the construct while keeping his energetic footprint as low-key as possible. He could still feel someone, or several someones, trying to keep his presence in the construct isolated. Clearly, they didn’t want his arrival widely announced.

  So this was still to be a private meeting, then.

  Revik glanced back as his escort receded, bowing his head low as he closed the double doors. He was about to speak, when another voice rose from his right.

  “Illustrious Syrimne,” it said, in accented Prexci.

  The female-sounding voice held a hint of a purr, and the faintest trace of humor as well.

  “...I am honored,” it added softly. “Truly.”

  Revik turned, and found himself facing a tall, slender seer with high cheekbones and cream-colored skin. Her yellow eyes struck him first among her physical traits, both for their color, and their vertical, black pupils, which immediately narrowed at him.

  They made her look predatory. The impression was heightened by her thin mouth and angular face, despite the careful make up and sculpted hair. She smiled, lowering her head so that she looked up at him from below.

  “I am Voi Pai,” she said. “Leader of the Lao Hu.”

  Revik executed the counter to the bow, keeping his head above hers.

  As he did, he let his light whisper over hers, as well.

  The polite scan told him nothing. She had so many protections and shields over her aleimi, she appeared as featureless as a flat wall.

  “I am Dehgoies Revik,” he said after a bare pause. “I thank you for agreeing to see me with no notice.”

  “The Illustrious Syrimne is welcome in the City whenever he wishes,” the female purred, her head still lowered. “We only ask your pardon that we were not able to arrange a more appropriate welcome, for one of your stature...”

  “I would have asked to be spared that formality, sister,” he replied. “...So kindly stop apologizing for providing me the welcome I would have wished.”

  Indicating towards her bowed head, he added,

  “...Nor is that necessary, friend. Although I must repeat how deeply I appreciate my reception
here.” He allowed himself what approached a genuine smile. “In any case...despite your very impressive stature, sister...I am still taller than you. Standing in a comfortable manner does not breach protocol for either of us.”

  She smiled in return, straightening. “You honor me.”

  “Not at all.”

  “Will you join me, Illustrious One?” she said, indicating towards the chairs.

  Gesturing the polite form of affirmation, he walked to the nearest and sat at once, knowing she would not until after he had.

  Still, he hid his impatience with an effort when she lowered her face once more to be below his before taking her own seat across from him.

  “Tea?” she asked, indicating towards the pot.

  He gestured yes, but frowned.

  “May we dispense with the formality?” he said yet again, letting the edge touch his voice this time. “Please...and with all respect, sister. I find I would rather preclude with the usual dance. You know why I am here.”

  She straightened in her seat, leaning over the table to pick up the bamboo-handled pot. Carefully pouring him a cup of tea, she did a blessing over it with one hand before lowering the pot briefly, and then pouring one for herself.

  Only then did she meet his gaze, studying him thoughtfully.

  “I do,” she said. “...Know why you are here, Illustrious Sword.”

  “She is here, is she not?”

  The seer hesitated, glancing at his hands on the table. He saw her eyes linger on the ring he wore on his left hand’s index finger. She met his gaze again, those odd pupils narrowing at him slightly.

  “First, I must ask,” she said in formal Prexci. “...Does the Illustrious Syrimne blame me for any part of her unfortunate situation? Or for harboring our Esteemed Sister in its aftermath?”

  “I do not.” He accepted the cup of tea from her. “Please don’t give me a reason to change that opinion. I would like to maintain friendly relations between us, Voi Pai.”

  “I, as well,” she said, leaning back slightly. Her eyes continued to study his. “What do you want from the Lao Hu, Illustrious Syrimne?”