by Jamie Davis
Had he even left his car? Maybe that was the safer thought. He hadn’t seen anything in the crater, or visited it at all.
Victor settled his breathing, convinced himself that he’d imagined the entire incident, and continued to drive towards his exit, forcing himself to think of Morgan and his bed at home.
He was desperate for sleep. And if he got enough, Victor might be able to laugh all of this off in the morning.
CHAPTER 29
Winnie stared up at the night sky. It had been a month since anyone had seen a clear sky like the one above her now. Again, she wondered how she had the power to do such a thing. Artos said it was a gift. She snorted, considering the irony. This gift had sharp edges and could hurt her if she wasn’t careful. They agreed on that much, though she’d never admit it to him.
Winnie was still staring at the sky when she heard a car pulled up nearby. Doors opened and slammed shut. She looked toward the noise and saw a pair of men in dark suits approaching her. Winnie stood and looked around, trying to determine whether she should run or wait and see what they wanted.
One of them pointed at her and called her name. “Winnie? Winnie Durham? We’d like a few words, or rather, a friend of ours would.”
“My mother told me never to accept rides from strangers.”
Winnie backed up as they got closer. The men separated. The taller of the two moving to her right while the short, chubby one kept talking.
“We won’t be strangers if you’d let us introduce ourselves.”
“You can introduce yourselves from where you are.” Winnie pointed to the taller man now off to her right. She was having trouble keeping them both in view and had to swivel her head to track them.
“Alright, fair enough. Vito, let’s stop and talk like civilized people. No need to scare the lady.”
Winnie checked to her right. Vito had stopped. She looked back at the chubby guy. “I know his name and you know mine. What’s yours?”
“How careless of me. Sorry, Winnie. The name’s Ricky Shanks. I’m in town from Philly. Vito and I came down here looking for you. Imagine my surprise when I spot you sitting here, alone, while I’m driving around. Must be fate, am I right?”
Winnie shrugged. “This friend of yours, he wouldn’t be Benny Borelli, would he?”
“See, Vito? I told you this girl had to be one smart cookie.” Ricky looked back at her, nodding. “I told him. I also told him we’d be able to bring you to meet our boss without any problems. That true?”
Winnie took a step backward. Both men matched her, keeping the distance between them constant. “What if I don’t want to meet go with you? I’m tired of meeting bosses, and of people trying to tell me what to do.”
“What other bosses you been meeting with?” Ricky asked. “You haven’t made any promises yet, have you?”
Winnie shook her head.
“Then you’ve nothing to lose.” Ricky smiled. “Meet with Benny. I promise, you’ll want to hear what he has to say.”
Winnie shook her head. This wouldn’t end peacefully and she wasn’t going to Philly, especially not to meet some guy known as Benny the Blade. But she was also afraid of the possible consequences of her refusal. Cleaver scared her but the man did seem reasonable. The rumors all agreed that Benny was insane.
“I think I’ll stay in Baltimore, guys. I like it right here where I am.” Fear and anger began to mix, and without thinking about it, Winnie opened herself to the magic around her. She’d never used magic as a weapon, but was willing to now if it meant scaring her attackers.
She took another step back, gaining distance between herself and the goons threatening to nab her, pulling the magic, weaving a complex pattern that she hoped would harden the air molecules between her and the men.
Vito spoke from her right as she moved her arms. “Careful, Ricky. She’s pulling in magic. And damn, is it a lot.”
They were chanters. Vito had enabled a viewing spell and was observing her flows. He might not be able to see or understand precisely what she was doing, but he’d definitely know she was up to something.
“Gentlemen, I don’t want to do anything we’ll all regret. Why don’t you two get back in your car and head back to Philadelphia? I don’t want to work for Benny, or Cleaver, or even Artos Merrilyn. I want to be left alone.”
Winnie was about to release the spell, hoping it blocked them from chasing her, but another car pulled up behind the first before she could.
Four men got out and walked her way. Ricky and Vito must have called for help. She was inches from panic when she heard a familiar voice.
“These guys bothering you?” Cricket asked.
Winnie didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried even more. “They are,” she said, looking Cricket dead in the eye. “They want me to come with them to Philadelphia. I told them I want to stay. That I don’t want to go anywhere, with anyone, but home.”
“Completely understandable. You’ve had a long day.” Cricket turned toward Benny’s men. “I’m sure these gentlemen understand that?”
Two of Cricket’s guys had moved over next to Vito. Cricket and his other companion — Winnie thought it was a guy named Jimmy — had stepped up behind Ricky, who now looked around, considering the odds against him. She could almost see the calculation in his eyes.
Ricky raised his hands, palms outward, and took a step sideways away from both Winnie and Cleaver’s men.
“I just wanted to have a chat with the lady. That’s all. We didn’t know you guys had already made friends. Tell Cleaver that Benny didn’t mean to step on his toes, alright?”
Cricket smiled at Ricky and nodded. “I’ll pass along the message. Perhaps you should go back and explain how things are rolling here in Baltimore.”
“So me and Vito can leave without a problem?”
Cricket nodded and pointed to their car. “If I don’t see you again down here, Ricky Shanks, then sure, you can go free. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough. Come on, Vito. Time to split.”
Winnie watched the two members of the Philly Mob get back in their car and drive away. After they rounded the corner, she turned to Cricket, still holding the massive amount of magic that had gathered around her.
“So what now, Cricket? I suppose you want me to come for a ride with you. I just swapped one boss for another.”
He waved to his guys, laughing. They started back to the car.
“Cleaver had a change of heart. So we’re taking a hands-off approach with you for now. He hasn’t changed his mind about how important you are, mind you. Or how much he wants you. Cleaver merely believes that we’re best served by letting you decide on your own, at least for now.”
Winnie couldn’t hide her surprise.
Cricket wagged his finger. “And don’t think that you can take forever making up your mind. Something big is coming. Cleaver’s seen it and I’ve learned to trust his visions. I believe it if he thinks you’re supposed to stand beside him for us to survive. So that means that, at some point in the near future, you’ll need to make a decision about who you are and, more importantly, who your friends are.”
“I know who my friends are. I’m only confused about my enemies.”
“We’re not your enemies, Winnie. There’s only one bad guy in all of this. He wants us all dead so he can keep the magic all for himself. Nils Kane is the only person you need to worry about. He tried to kill you once, and will definitely try it again.”
Cricket turned from Winnie and walked back to his car. The driver started the engine. For the first time, she believed that they’d leave without picking her up.
Cricket stopped at the passenger door and looked back at Winnie. “I don’t suppose you’d take my offer for a ride home? Bennie and his goons aren’t the only bosses that are going to want you to work for them. That video feed is everywhere, and this country’s a big place. Be on the lookout for other crews trying to move in on you and your friends.”
“I can take care of myself
, Cricket. Thanks for the offer. Forgive me for turning it down.”
“Suit yourself. Artos is too soft to be operating this close to the capital and Director Kane. The situation calls for a stronger, tougher approach, and Yorke is the man for the job. We’ll try and stay out of your way, but we’re moving in on the city’s trade and you won’t be wanting to stand in our way.”
“Thanks for the warning. You know I’m going to tell Artos, right?”
“Cleaver doesn’t care. This is a promise, not a threat. Artos needs to know. We have the goods on your local boss. It’s only a matter of time until we fold things up and move in for good. Then you’ll have to make up your mind. We’ve been told to leave our hands off your business until we have no other choice.”
“I guess, then, I say thank you for the help with Bennie’s goons and for the warning about your future plans. We’ll try and stay out of your way, too, for now.”
Cricket smiled, then waved one final time before he got into the front passenger seat. The driver pulled away and drove down the street.
Winnie watched them leave, then looked around at the deserted bus stop. She was alone, feeling more exposed and vulnerable than she had upon her arrival.
She hoped the bus came soon, before anyone else decided to offer her a job she didn’t want.
CHAPTER 30
Tris’s phone buzzed loudly, startling her. The ringtone meant that her boss was sending out an ALL ATTENTION call, alerting his employees that all techs were supposed to report in.
She was tired and preoccupied. The last thing that Tris wanted to do was go into work. She dug in her pocket, pulled out the phone, and looked at the display. Just as she thought — all techs were being asked to report in to the main electrical generation and routing station ASAP.
She was wondering what the problem was when the lights went out.
Damn, she didn’t have time for this.
Tris was trying to figure out how Winnie’s abilities, and what had happened at the steel mill, was affecting the coastal cities. She’d helped to stave off a catastrophe with the water pumps feeding the municipal water supply. Now, apparently, she was needed to fix the electrical systems, too.
Tris knew everything had to be related. But she also couldn’t prove anything. She was operating on instinct, but she’d learned to trust herself before. It was why she was so respected among the other techs. Her ability to troubleshoot and repair broken systems was unparalleled, so far as she knew. Right now, her instincts said that Winnie’s newfound ability was involved in this mess, if not downright responsible for it.
She fumbled in the dark when her phone buzzed again, now calling for help at the water and sewer central station.
Which should she reply to? Tris had experience fixing the water pumps, but the electrical station was closer, and with the blackouts, it would be easier to reach than the central station downtown.
Tris used her phone to light a path to the door. She grabbed her coat and ventured into her apartment building’s pitch-black hallway. The elevators were out so she went left to the stairwell. A door opened as she passed and a voice called out from inside.
“Tris, honey, are you going to fix the power? I need to watch my shows.”
Tris shined her light on Mrs. Swanson’s face. Her elderly neighbor had lived alone ever since her husband died. Tris looked in on her from time to time to make sure she was alright.
“That’s where I’m going now, Mrs. Swanson. I just got the call. Are you alright? Do you need a flashlight until we get this fixed up?”
“I have one, sweetie. I didn’t want to waste the batteries by leaving it on. I’ve lived here a long time. I can find my way around in the dark.”
“Well, be careful and stay inside. You might want to fill your tub and sinks with water. Apparently, the central pumping station is having a problem, too. The pressure might drop and you’ll probably need the water before we can get it fixed.”
“Good idea. Thanks for telling me. Any idea what’s causing all of this?”
“Not yet.” Tris shook her head. “But I promise we’re working on it. Now, you go back inside and save that water just in case.”
Tris waited until the woman closed her door, then turned and started towards the stairs. With the streetlights and traffic signals all out, she wasn’t likely to catch a bus. Tris would have to walk the entire way in the dark, and might as well get started.
Tris stepped into the cool, black evening.
———
Tris disembarked at her stop and immediately turned to look at the city’s primary power station across the street. The building’s lights were flickering — a terrible sign. The plant should have a steady supply of power for itself, regardless of problems down the line with the distribution network. Flickering lights meant the generators were failing. A complete shutdown might be imminent.
She waited for traffic to clear, then ran across the street and up the power plant steps. The door guard checked her ID and waved her through. Tris headed for the bank of elevators but stopped before she reached them. Boarding a vertical coffin would be an awful idea if the building’s power was unreliable, so instead, she took off for the stairs at the other end of the hall.
Loud shouts came from the control room level as Tris stepped onto the landing and started down the hallway outside the main control center. A small group of techs were assembled, getting instructions from a supervisor named Nathan. He sent the group to follow their orders before looking over to see Tris standing nearby. He sighed and waved for her to follow him as he started down the hallway, past the control room.
Tris was surprised he wasn’t going in to check things in the control room. She walked faster to catch up.
“Nathan, what’s going on? It looks like the generators are failing.”
“They are. I just ordered the switch to coal and natural gas auxiliaries, much as I hate to do it. We’ll catch hell for the smoke and haze, but we don’t have a choice. Come on. I’ll show you what I mean.”
Tris followed Nathan to the generator floor. She cast a spell to shift her vision to the magical spectrum as they entered, looking toward massive shafts drilled in the chamber floor where the magical flows powering the generators were born. Some magic came from the surrounding air, but the biggest flows rose from deep in the earth. It had always been supposed that there was an endless supply, but you wouldn’t know it from the feeble flows rising from the shafts now.
“Nathan, when did this start?”
“We’d been having problems on and off for about a month. When that chanter girl cleared the dust storms and pulled fires from the Enclave, the streams temporarily returned to normal. They even seemed stronger. But that only lasted for a few hours. After that, we started seeing major gaps in the flows. We needed a steady stream of techs to patch and fix the feeder spells. But that isn’t working now.”
Nathan stopped at the edge of the main shaft and looked over the railing. Tris walked up beside him and turned her magically-enhanced vision downward. In the magical spectrum, it should’ve been like staring into the sun. There should have been a solid orange-white flow ten feet across, blooming from this shaft to enter the massive generator housing above. There should have been a roiling mass of magical energy feeding the generator spell at the bottom. Instead, there was a broken stream of muddy red rising with barely any light at all. It was as though someone had turned off the faucet while the tub was still filling with water. What should have been full of light and energy was now an empty vessel with puddles of light on the floor.
Tris looked at Nathan in alarm. “Where did it all go?”
“No one knows.” He shrugged. “I’ve contacted the university to see if some of the professors in the theoretical metaphysics department will come and take a look. I’m afraid to think what will happen if the city’s other sources start failing as well. Baltimore could shut down.”
“How long until the backup fossil fuel generators are running at full capacity?
”
“They’ve been offline long enough that we had to rebuild some of the control circuits on the fly. No one was maintaining them, even though they were supposed to be fired up and tested twice a year.”
“When’s the last time you tested them?”
Nathan shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes. “Ten years ago.” He raised a hand. “In our defense, we’ve never needed them before. Until now, our magical systems just worked. They’ve been supplying our basic electrical needs without strain for more than half a century. There was even talk of dismantling the auxiliary generators for scrap metal and parts.”
“Well, thank God you didn’t.” Tris was angry, but rage wouldn’t fix what was broken. She wondered if what Winnie had done in the Enclave had anything to do with this situation. It could be a coincidence, but probably not.
Tris felt an odd rumbling in her bones. She looked at Nathan, puzzled. She thought it was a piece of machinery, like the auxiliary generators firing up, until she realized the rumbling was getting worse. A crack appeared in the wall of the generator room directly behind Nathan.
Tris turned. “Earthquake! We need a doorway for cover.”
Nathan nodded, then they returned to the stairway entrance and rode out the tremor. Tris leaned out into the generator room and looked up at the ceiling, past the glass skylights. If anything failed in an earthquake, surely it would be the glass panels above her.
“Well, that was a new experience,” Nathan said. “Since when do we get earthquakes here? I thought that was a West Coast thing.”
“Since we’ve had a catastrophic failure of our natural ecosystem at a basic level. Something changed the way magic flowed in this region. My best guess is it’s become a finite resource and will continue to dwindle until we have little, if anything, left for normal chanters to access.”
“You said ‘normal chanters.’ You mean other than that girl who stopped the storms. We should ask her to get down here and fire up the system again,” Nathan joked. “You repaired flows into the central pumping station a few days ago. I’ll get you help, but I need you to try and do the same thing here. We must stabilize this flow.”