“Yes, sir,” Kallista said, her eyes smoldering.
Trenton glanced at the ceiling. How long would it take for the dragon to break through the entrance and find a way to this level? They should be preparing to fight it instead of standing around, accusing and judging.
“Let us begin,” the chancellor said. “Do you admit to building this invention?”
Trenton nodded.
“Yes,” Kallista said.
The chancellor snapped his fingers, and the woman who had denied Trenton’s transfer unrolled Leo Babbage’s plans. The chancellor gestured toward them. “Are these the instructions you used to build it?”
Trenton glanced at Kallista, regretting that he’d ever shown Simoni the dragon. What had he been thinking? How could he have possibly believed she would keep it secret?
Kallista refused to look at Trenton. “They’re my plans.”
The chancellor slid a hand into his vest pocket. “I see. And I also see that these plans were drawn up by your father, Leo Babbage the lunatic.”
“Leo Babbage the genius,” Trenton said.
Chancellor Lusk leered. “Genius and insanity are not mutually exclusive.” He looked up at the workers climbing over the dragon. “Have you inspected this piece of equipment?”
“We have,” a man called down.
“Would you consider it a danger to the citizens of Cove?”
“No doubt about it,” the worker shouted down. “The method of power generation is unapproved and could cause a powerful explosion. The flame thrower attached to the head is a city fire waiting to happen. And, although the contraption could never get airborne, it could do serious damage to people and property in the attempt.”
Trenton fought to keep from telling the worker he was a fool.
“Thank you,” the chancellor said. “So, in your professional opinion, would you then say that this would qualify as unapproved equipment? Perhaps even an . . . invention?”
“There’s not a piece of approved machinery anywhere on it,” the man said. “It’s a bent gear from top to bottom.”
The chancellor walked back and forth in front of Trenton and Kallista, as if performing on stage. “We have two citizens who have admitted to building what is not only unapproved equipment, but machinery that is a danger to themselves, other citizens, and the city as a whole.”
With tears in her eyes, Simoni looked at Trenton. He couldn’t be mad at her. She still thought she was doing this for his good. He should never have put her in this position.
“Well,” the chancellor said. “What do you have to say for yourselves? The girl first.”
Kallista glared over her shoulder at the marshal, who was still restraining her, then back at the chancellor. “Are you going to let this oaf break my arms?”
The chancellor smiled indulgently “Darrow, release her. If she attempts to escape, you have my permission to do more than try to break her arms.”
The marshal let go of her, and she rubbed her elbows.
“We have all been lied to by our government,” she said, looking at everyone in the room except Trenton. “Our city wasn’t founded because technology had ruined the world. It was built because fire-breathing creatures called dragons attacked the people on the outside.”
Several security officers, including Angus, burst into laughter.
“It’s true,” Trenton said. “Leo Babbage knew it.” He glared at the chancellor. “That’s why you killed him.”
“The only person to kill anyone was crazy Leo,” Marshal Darrow growled.
“We have proof,” Kallista said. “It’s in the box you took from me.”
The chancellor’s eyes narrowed. “What box?”
An officer trainee carried the box forward.
With obvious distaste, the chancellor took it from him. “Have you looked inside?”
The trainee shook his head. “No, sir.”
“Very good,” the chancellor said. “I’ll deal with it.” He looked from Kallista to Trenton. “Is there anything else either of you wish to say?”
Trenton spoke up. “I know it’s hard to believe, but there are dragons. They are huge creatures with wings and scales. That box has pictures of them.” He pointed to the ceiling. “A dragon is trying to break into the city right now. We saw it outside, ripping down the seal over the entrance. Once it gets in, it will find a way down to the city.”
Angus, Simoni, and a few of the others looked up.
“A dragon?” the chancellor mocked. “Up there? Right now? Tearing down seals and coming to take our lives?” He climbed the steps of the foundry and put a hand to his mouth, his lips twitching. “Oh my, that does sound serious.”
“It’s true,” Kallista said. “If you don’t do something about it now, it’ll kill everyone in the city.”
The chancellor held a finger to his lips. “Everyone be silent. Let’s listen for this terrifying beast that is about to destroy our beloved home.”
They all grew silent. Trenton strained to hear, praying that the dragon would let out a roar.
“I don’t hear anything,” the chancellor whispered after a moment. “Perhaps it’s a very quiet dragon. A stealthy beast.”
Marshall Darrow burst into laughter, and almost everyone else joined him. The only people besides Trenton and Kallista not laughing were Simoni, who only looked sad, and Angus, who was looking at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression.
“You say you saw this make-believe beast from the outside,” the chancellor said, “which is clearly a lie. If you had access to the outside, the air would have killed you instantly.” He raised his walking stick, and Trenton recognized that the creature on the top of the staff was a dragon—how had he never noticed? The chancellor said, “I am ready to pass judgment.”
“What about the city council?” Trenton quickly asked.
The chancellor pulled out his pocket watch. “It’s too late to bother them, and I’m afraid we must finish this business now.”
“Don’t you people understand?” Trenton yelled. “He’s lying to you. Kallista and I have been exploring up here, and you know what we found? A metal alloy that’s stronger and lighter than steel, a mesh fabric that can prevent mine cave-ins, and a new way of burning coal that produces twice as much energy as what we have now. It’s all been here for years, but the government doesn’t want us to know about it.” He looked from one person to another, hoping someone would believe him. “They’ll do anything to keep you from knowing the truth. City Hall has a room full of books and paintings, but it’s locked up so no one will find out what really happened. Go there. Look for yourself.”
“That’s enough!” the chancellor shouted, spittle flying from his lips. “The safety of the citizens of Cove is my responsibility. If technology exists that we’re not using, that’s because it’s dangerous. Yes, we locked up books written by people like yourself who were intent on spreading fear and lies. Leo Babbage spouted the same lies a year ago—right before he killed himself and others with unapproved equipment. He made up these nonsensical stories about these so-called dragons to hide the fact that he intended to endanger everyone in the city with inventions! He wanted to bring back the exact things that destroyed the outside world.”
“Kallista said she isn’t the kind of person who can bury her head in the ground,” Trenton said, “but that’s exactly what you’re doing. You think you’re digging your way to safety. But you’re actually digging your own graves.”
The chancellor pointed an accusing finger at Trenton. “I find you both guilty of stealing, lying, trespassing, making false accusations, building unapproved equipment, and endangering the citizens of Cove. By your own admission, you broke into the city offices and damaged valuable documents. I sentence you to twelve months of retraining and a lifetime of imprisonment.”
“No!” Simoni cried.
Trenton looked at Kallista, but she was staring at the ground between her feet.
“What do you want us to do with this invention?”
one of the workers asked.
“Take it apart and bury it in the mines!” the chancellor shouted. His eyes glistened, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Better yet, send the pieces up the feeder belts to the smelters. Melt them to slag.” He held up the box with every piece of proof Kallista’s father had gathered. “Burn the machine the same way I will burn this abomination.”
“No!” Kallista tried to run forward, but the marshal yanked her by the arm. She stomped on the inside of his foot, and he howled in pain.
As several officers ran toward her, she picked up a pipe and swung it around and around, knocking them away from her. Trenton pulled off his mining helmet and shoved the flaming lamp against the uniform of the man behind him. Screaming, the man batted at the flames burning his shirt. Several of the others ran to help him.
Using the confusion as a distraction, Trenton pulled Kallista’s hand. “Come on,” he yelled. “We have to run.”
“I have to save Ladon!” Kallista screamed. “And my father’s letters.”
“There’s no time,” Trenton said, pulling her away.
She looked at the dragon, her face contorted in misery, then turned and ran.
Seeing his prisoners escaping, the chancellor shouted, “Arrest them!”
The officers chased after them, but Kallista and Trenton had the benefit of knowing the level. Ducking between buildings and hiding behind machines, they made their way to the air vent, where security wouldn’t be able to follow.
Gasping for breath, Trenton pulled off the cover.
Just before they climbed into the duct, they looked back in time to see the dragon tilt, and then fall. Ladon crashed to the ground with a clang of metal on stone, and a cheer erupted.
38
Sorry was something you said when you accidentally bumped into someone or dropped a tool on their foot. It couldn’t begin to make up for the pain Trenton had caused, the betrayal.
So he said nothing as they slipped through the dark streets and alleys of the city, avoiding the security officers who seemed to be everywhere.
Clearly they couldn’t go back to either of their apartments. Only one place might be safe—her father’s repair shop. But when they reached the soaped windows, the lights were already on and a line of uniformed men and women were carrying crates of tools out the front door.
Tears dripped down Kallista’s face as she watched everything her father had left behind now being carted off. Trenton touched his cheek and realized he was crying too.
“If there’s anything I can do . . .”
Kallista smeared her tears away with both hands. “I don’t want to talk about it. Where else can we go?”
Trenton tried to think. His family had to have been alerted by now, and for all he knew, his mother would turn him in the moment she saw him. His teachers would know too, so the food-production level was out. No place to hide in the mines or manufacturing levels, either.
“I know a place we can hide for a while,” he said.
Sticking to the shadows, he led her back to the power-distribution station where it had all begun. They passed under the giant turning gear where he’d once built a swing. Looking up at it, he tried to remember how innocent he’d been, not thinking beyond trying to make a girl smile. That boy seemed like a completely different person.
The lock on the door to the power station was broken. One of the reasons he’d chosen to build the swing here was so he could hide the parts inside. They entered a small maintenance room, where they collapsed against the wall and slid to the ground.
Trenton closed his eyes. It was over. Really over. Without the dragon, tools, or a home, they had nothing left. Even escaping the city was out now. For once in his life, he couldn’t talk, lie, or sneak his way out of the consequences of what he’d done. He had no one to blame but himself. His chin sank to his chest, and his body shook as he quietly sobbed.
An arm slid around his shoulders. He looked up to find Kallista sitting beside him. They wrapped their arms around each other and cried in the darkness.
When at last their tears had dried, they disentangled themselves.
Trenton swallowed. “You can hate me forever.”
“I don’t hate you.” Kallista took a deep breath. “And I don’t blame you, either.”
“How can you not?” Trenton asked. “This is all my fault. I lied to you. I betrayed your trust.”
Kallista faced him, only her silhouette visible. “You might have lied to me, but only because you were trying to tell the truth to everyone else. You were trying to warn them. My father did the same thing, and he’s the smartest man I’ve ever known.”
Trenton wished that was all he’d been trying to do, but he couldn’t even take credit for that. “I wasn’t trying to warn anyone,” he said. “I was trying to impress Simoni.”
Kallista said nothing for several seconds. Then, “Okay, maybe I do hate you.” She made a noise, and in the darkness he thought she must be crying again. But tears weren’t making the sound. She was . . .
He squinted at her. “Are you laughing?”
She pressed her hand to her mouth and snorted between her fingers. “Trying to impress a girl. Seriously, what do you see in her?”
Trenton didn’t know how to answer. He’d never given the idea a lot of thought. Simoni was easy to talk to. She was fun to be around. Until today, she’d been a great friend. Was that it? Was that all he saw in her?
“She’s nice,” he finally said.
Kallista laughed even harder, and he wondered if she’d completely lost it. “Compared to me, anyone would seem nice.”
“How can you laugh about any of this?” Trenton asked, honestly bewildered. “Because of me, the dragon is destroyed. Scream at me. Hit me.”
She laughed, tried to stop, hiccupped, laughed again, and finally managed to get her giggles under control. “Without you, there wouldn’t have been any dragon. I would never have figured it out on my own.”
“But your father’s tools, his letters—”
Kallista shook her head. “All this time, I’ve been thinking that I needed things—objects—to remember him by. Now that they’re gone, I realize I don’t need his books or tools. I have my memories of him. And he gave me the gift of flight and knowledge. No one can take those things from me. Thank you for helping me realize that.”
Of all the things she could have done, Trenton never would have expected her to thank him. “So you forgive me for telling Simoni about the dragon?”
“No.” She hiccupped. “That I will never forgive you for.” Kallista began giggling again, and, although they’d been crying together only moments before, now they couldn’t seem to stop laughing.
When at last they got themselves under control, Kallista looked at Trenton, her eyes serious. “You need to talk to your mother.”
Trenton stared at her, trying to understand the sudden change in the conversation. “About the dragon?”
“No, about her visit to the chancellor. About how you feel.”
Why did she have to bring that up now? Trenton got up and paced the small room. “We’re probably all going to get killed, and you want me to start an argument with my mom?”
“Of course not.” Kallista stood. “You’ve already been arguing for months without saying a word. I want you to make peace with her. I have so many things I wish I’d told my father before he died. I never got that chance, but you do. Tell her how you feel while you still can. Who knows where we’ll be tomorrow?”
Footsteps sounded from outside, and they both froze. Trenton pulled a wrench from his tool belt, and Kallista took out her hammer.
The door swung inward slowly, and a figure stepped into the doorway. Trenton raised the wrench over his head, squinting at the dark silhouette. “Stay back. We won’t let you take us.”
“Trenton,” a female voice said with relief. “Thank goodness. When I heard you hadn’t gone home, I thought you might be here.” It was Simoni.
Trenton lowered the wrench
. After everything she’d done, he couldn’t believe she’d dared to come looking for them. He folded his arms across his chest. “What do you want?”
Simoni tugged at a strand of hair. She opened her mouth and then closed it.
“Really, Red,” Kallista muttered, “haven’t you done enough today?” She glared at Simoni.
Simoni’s chin trembled, and Trenton realized she was crying. “I’m s-sorry,” she stammered. “I swear I had no idea they they’d treat you that way. I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me?” Trenton shook his head. “You betrayed me. You lied to me.” As he spoke, he realized that he’d just accused Simoni of exactly what he’d confessed to doing to Kallista. The idea made his head pound and his stomach churn.
“I didn’t mean to,” Simoni said, wiping her eyes. She stepped into the room toward Trenton. “I know you. You’re a good person. You made a mistake. But you never would have done something like that on your own.” She glanced at Kallista and quickly looked away. “If you go back to the chancellor and explain . . .”
“Explain what?” Trenton said, his hand tightening around the wrench. “You think Kallista talked me into building the dragon? That she tricked me? That maybe I thought I was building a bicycle or a really big roller skate?”
“I didn’t—” Simoni began.
“You’re right.” Kallista cut her off. “That’s exactly what happened. Trenton had no idea what he was doing. I made him help me in the beginning, and when he realized what he was building, I threatened to turn him in. The two of you should go back to the marshal to explain. I’ll take the blame.”
“I knew it.” Simoni nodded. “That’s what I was trying to tell them.”
“I can’t believe this!” Trenton yelled. He slammed the wrench against the wall. The sound of metal on metal echoed in the small room and Simoni flinched. “No one talked me into anything. You once told me that I think different from other people. For most of my life, I thought that was bad. I thought something was wrong with me.”
He turned to Kallista, his heart pounding. “You taught me that I wasn’t some kind of freak. You showed me that it’s okay to be creative. Better than okay. It’s good. Because of you and your father, now I know that the founders of our city invented things. They had ideas. They made up stories and painted pictures. Maybe their ideas didn’t work the way they wanted them to, but that’s not a reason to stop thinking, to stop hoping.” He held out his hands to Simoni, trying to make her understand. “Our city, it’s . . . it’s dying. Not because of the dragon, but because we let ourselves become stagnant.”
Fires of Invention Page 25