Quill and Staza looked at each other, dumbfounded.
“Oh—we’re doing our own thing,” Letty replied hurriedly.
“Really! That’s so cool—do you have a script written yet? It looks like a fantasy horror—I love this dress; the ripped part is great!”
Letty smiled like an idiot and waited for the girl to finish. “No—we’re sort of designing the costumes first, and then we’ll fill in the details.”
“Ooh, avant-garde,” the man in the robot suit said, while admiring Quill’s trident.
“Yeah, say, I lost my purse and phone on the subway—I’m afraid someone snatched it—can I borrow your phone for a minute?”
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry.” The man in the blue spandex said, opening a fanny pack. He pulled out his cell. “Here, take as long as you need,” he said, handing Letty the phone.
Letty tried calling her parents, only to hear their voicemails. As she was waiting nervously for someone to pick up, more people approached Quill and Staza. The strangers wanted to take pictures together.
“Hey, look at his trident. Very nice!” A man dressed as a pirate, with too much eye-liner, said to Quill.
Letty gave up on the calls and looked up a map. Learning generally where they were, she returned it. “Thanks.”
“I made it myself,” Quill said, pleased at the interest.
A few girls in bright green and blue wigs were touching the chainmail on Staza’s outfit. Staza looked over at Letty, clearly displeased.
“You made this yourself?” The pirate asked, astonished. “Are you a blacksmith?”
Letty rushed forward and grabbed Quill by the shoulder, casting a cautionary glance at him.
“Yes. I’ve made a few,” Quill said, giving Letty a confused look.
“How much for this one? I need it for a new costume I’m working on. Going to be the king of the ocean.”
Letty burst into the conversation, “He wants two hundred dollars for this one.”
“Only two hundred!” The man was astonished and reached into his satchel for money.
Quill glowered at Letty and whispered, “I’m not selling my trident!”
“We need the money!” Letty whispered back. “And you can always make another one.”
Staza tapped her shoulder. The man was holding out two hundred dollars.
“Is there a problem?” he asked, noticing the argument.
“Look man, they just got robbed, maybe give them a little more,” the man in the blue spandex suit said.
“Wait, is that actual blood?” The pirate leaned in and looked more closely at Letty. “Did you get beat up?”
“We had some trouble on the way here.”
Not really a lie.
“I usually wouldn’t do this, but—we have to stick together,” the pirate paused, looking closely at the trident. “Is that real blood too?”
Everyone was silent.
“Say no more,” the Pirate grinned, “I’ll up the price to three hundred.”
Quill took the three bills from the man and reluctantly handed over the trident.
A line had formed. A few dozen people wanted to get their pictures taken with Letty, Staza, and Quill. They obliged, accepting money from almost every group who came up to them. Letty shrugged off the annoyed glances from the Caspians.
I can’t turn these people down; we might need the money.
Eventually, someone in a security uniform approached. “You can’t be conducting business out here – it has to be done inside. Now clear out, before you get banned.”
The people scattered, and Letty led the Caspians away from the conference hall and back to the street.
She counted the cash. “Wow, we just made six hundred dollars.”
“Is that a lot?” Quill asked, still sour about the trident.
“It should keep us going for a while,” Letty said.
“Well,” Taptalles poked his head out from Letty’s hair, he was breathing heavily, “is it safe to come out yet?”
“Where are we going next?” Titus asked.
“We’ll take the train to my house. Now that we don’t have that trident, we shouldn’t attract so much attention; though the sword and daggers might still cause us a problem. You know what? Let’s take a cab instead. We can afford it,” Letty spotted an empty yellow cab and held her hand out.
The driver smirked at their outfits as they piled into his car. Letty sat down for the first time in hours and felt something jabbing her. She reached into her dress and found two things. The first was the contract Andy had signed for Pythia, and the second was the small notebook he had given her.
Chapter 2
Parents
“I must have hidden it after he handed it to me outside Caspia,” Letty said, flipping through the notebook. “I’ve seen this before. It’s supposed to be the Infiniteye, but Andy isn’t the best artist,” she said, showing the notebook to the others.
Quill and Staza weren’t impressed.
“It’s a sign of the Argument,” Staza said plainly.
“It features prominently in Seer history,” Quill added.
“What are you kids talking about? Some new book?” the driver asked.
“Oh—it’s nothing,” Letty said with a laugh.
“My daughter loves that fantasy stuff, and I want to get her something she doesn’t already have,” he said.
“It’s just something we’re putting together,” Letty said.
“All right,” the cabby said, enthused, “good for you, kids. Get in on that market. I wish I was creative at a young age. I bet it goes with those costumes too.”
Before Letty could change the subject, the cab had pulled up outside her building.
“Here we are—good luck with the productions, writings, and whatnot. Hopefully this doesn't cut into the budget too much,” he said, pointing at the fare readout.
“Thanks,” Letty said, paying and tipping the driver.
They stepped out into the street. It had gotten dark and there were fewer people out.
“Okay, be quiet, and I’ll try to figure out a story for us.”
Letty scrunched her face in thought. Titus and Taptalles also conversed.
“We need to be going now,” Titus announced to the group.
“What! No, we’re not—” Letty paused, looking at her building and realizing that she couldn’t offer up an argument.
They did see us home.
“Thank you for getting us this far,” Quill said with a sad smile.
Staza looked around to see that no one was watching and patted their heads.
They bounded off Letty’s shoulders and into a nearby shrub.
“We will come and find you when things calm down. Remember, you need to work together,” Titus said.
“How do you know where to go?” Letty asked.
“I’ve traveled these streets before. There’s a portal we control not too far from here.”
“Where exactly?” Staza asked.
Titus shook his head. “It’s dangerous. I apologize, but I can’t let you know.”
Nobody argued. They shared a long silence before the mice rustled away through the bushes.
“Which direction is that?” Staza asked. “I don’t have my bearings here.”
Letty took a moment. “East.”
“East?” Staza repeated.
Letty sighed, “We don’t have time to go over directions.”
Staza didn’t argue. “At least we know which way they went. It might help when we go hunting for the portal.”
Quill nodded, looking up at the structure. “If only Arke could see this. I’m not sure if he’d be sick or inspired. Everything is so perfectly angular and reflective. Am I crushed or elevated?”
Staza looked up at the skyline. Her face betrayed a slight discomfort, where Quill was plainly alarmed.
“Come on—we can stare at buildings later.” Letty said, leading them to the door. She typed in the security code, and the door clicked open.
“I think I have a plan, just go along with what I say. Don’t mention anything about—down there.”
“The Netherscape,” Quill corrected.
“Right, nothing about it. Pretend you’re from the surface.”
The elevator in Letty’s building was working, and it fascinated the Caspians.
Letty felt her heart beat faster as they approached the apartment. She hesitated before finally knocking.
They will go insane.
Letty heard shuffling behind the door and some mumbled words before it finally opened.
“Lysette, dear!” Letty’s mother cried.
Letty nearly bowled them over. They shared a long hug while the Caspians stood awkwardly at the door. Letty noticed that it smelled a little odd inside.
“Where have you been?” her father asked. “And what happened to you?”
They stopped hugging to get a look at her.
“You’re covered in blood!” he said.
“And who are these people?” her mother snapped.
“Let’s just go inside, please,” Letty said, pulling Quill and Staza in with her.
Letty’s parents sat Quill and Staza on the sofa in the living room before dragging Letty off to the bathroom. On the way, Letty noticed the sofa had been moved. She looked around the room, and realized that almost everything had been disturbed. Picture frames were in the wrong place, potted plants had been turned around, and some things were missing altogether. She could only imagine how scared they must have been, and expected that they tore the place apart, looking for clues to help find her.
Once in the bathroom, her mother put a washcloth under hot water.
“What is this dress?” She asked angrily, while scrubbing the blood off her face. “Where did you even find something like this? Were you at a Renaissance fair?”
She left Letty in the bathroom for a moment, to find a change of clothes. While alone, Letty emptied her pockets. She found the pile of cash, the Argument, and Andy’s notebook and contract. In a sudden rush she opened a bathroom drawer and hid everything.
Letty’s mother came back with a change of clothes, right as she was closing the drawer.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” Letty slammed the drawer.
Her mother came over and forced it open.
Letty thought she saw a flash of light, but it was just for a moment.
“What is this?” She asked, pulling out the pile of cash. “What have you been doing?”
Her mother looked down and spotted the Argument.
For a moment they were both silent. Letty’s eyes flexed and twinged with pain. She felt lightheaded and realized that something wasn’t right.
Letty’s mother almost reached out for the Argument, before asking, “What is that, Lysette?”
Letty bent and grasped the Argument. Seeing this, her mother recoiled. There was another flash. Bolts of silver and purple cracked in the air for a split second. Letty’s eyes tensed and, for a moment her mother’s silhouette was framed by feathers.
Letty grasped the marble and the glow shone out.
There was a creature with a fox face standing where her mother should have been.
Letty screamed and tightened her grasp, summoning the blade. The creature struggled with the knob, and nearly tumbled to the ground as the door opened.
“Quill, Staza! It’s a trick! They aren’t my parents!” Letty yelled, charging out of the bathroom, after the creature.
Staza and Quill drew their sword and dagger respectively.
“Block the door!” Letty yelled.
She saw a creature standing where her father should have been.
“What are you? Where are my parents?” Letty screamed, tears filling her eyes.
“They’re ychorons,” Quill said.
“They are pets and spies of the ryle. These ones probably work for Ziesqe.” Staza added.
“Do you see those bands?” Quill asked.
Letty saw metal disks on their wrists, ankles, and necks.
“Ryle contrivances,” Quill said, speculatively.
The two creatures shared a look.
“Please don’t kill us. We will cooperate,” the male said.
“Answer my questions then. Where are my parents?”
“They are being treated in a facility nearby.”
Letty shook her head and stepped closer. “You don’t understand, there is nothing stopping me from killing a few more of Ziesqe’s servants; we’ve been doing it all night. Answer completely!”
Letty felt an arm on her shoulder. Quill was there, giving her a serious look.
“They are behind Ziesqe’s office. There is a locked metal door. Behind it you will find your parents and some others. They are undergoing memory alteration,” the female ychoron finished desperately, her fox face bent with fear. “Once altered, they would have been returned.”
Letty took a heavy breath. They weren’t dead. She was torn between crying and laughing. In the end she did both.
“Hold on,” Staza interrupted. “We must know more. Tell us what you’re doing here.”
“We’re here to imitate her parents for a time… and to take their daughter in for treatment as well. We were told that you might return, though there was only a small chance,” the male said.
“How many guards are posted at this facility?” Quill asked.
“A dozen brutox and one of my kind, who serves as an administrator,” the female said.
“Where is Ziesqe? Where would he take a special prisoner?” Letty asked, waving her blade.
They crawled backward. “Ziesqe has many palaces in the Netherscape. I know his favorites are in Pansubprimus and Euboia,” the male answered.
Letty looked at Staza and Quill.
“Pansubprimus is our part of the Netherscape,” Quill said, “Euboia is another part, but it’s very different from ours.”
“What? More than one Netherscape?” Letty grimaced, knowing this wasn’t the time for more questions and waving her hand in negation. “What will you do if I let you go?” Letty asked, lowering her blade.
“We cannot return to Ziesqe. Our failure will mean re-articulation,” the female said.
“He will put a bounty on our heads. We will have no choice but to return to Pansubprimus and flee to Degoskirke,” the male added, looking at the female questioningly.
She nodded.
Letty was about to let them leave before asking, “Why do you serve a monster like Ziesqe?”
“We need to eat. The ryle have the food,” he said plainly.
“Is any of this true?” Letty asked the Caspians.
“I believe so,” Quill replied.
Letty’s face softened. “Fair enough. I hope you survive,” she said, stepping out of the way.
Letty loosened her grip and the blade disappeared. They looked almost like her parents again. The illusion was strong, and she felt herself sneer in disgust.
They saw this and rushed from the apartment, leaving the door ajar as they left.
“Shouldn’t our eyes see through their disguises?” Letty asked.
“As far as I know, the ryle don’t wear those etherium powered devices on the surface, they have a latent false self that regular eyes detect, which is constant, even in the scape. Their servants, however, need aid, or they can’t work on the surface. Why our eyes see through one and struggle with the other is beyond me.”
“One is natural, the other is engineered,” Staza added. “The ryle never bother with the devices, because almost no one can see them anyway.”
“The illusion vanished when confronted with the blade,” Quill muttered, trying to work something out.
“We aren’t done for the night,” Letty said. “We need new clothes first.”
She led them to her room and found a change of clothes for Staza, before rummaging through her father’s cabinet for something that Quill could wear.
“We should have killed them,” Staza said.
&nbs
p; Letty ignored that. Though she already regretted her decision, she wasn’t ready to murder defenseless beings, even if they did work for Ziesqe.
After the Caspians received new clothes, Letty returned to the bathroom and peeled herself out of the destroyed dress. She wanted to shower, but knew there wasn’t any time. She put on a pair of dark track pants, and an equally dark jogging jacket. She brushed her hair, suffering through more tangles than she expected before tying it back.
Coming out of the bathroom, she burst out laughing at Quill and Staza. He sported shorts that were far too large and a polo shirt, while Staza was wearing a pair of Letty’s blue jeans and a green t-shirt. They both looked supremely unhappy.
“You guys look great. Let’s go.”
Instead of complaining, they followed silently.
Letty nearly rushed out empty-handed, but she ran back in and took the pile of cash and a set of house keys. She locked up and they headed down to the street.
“Cab or the bus? Probably should pay for the cab again. I don’t want to be seen, but now we’ll blend in,” Letty whispered to herself.
They stepped out into the night, and Letty realized that it was almost too late for people her age to be out.
“Look at the sky, it has changed color. It’s speckled now,” Quill said.
Letty ignored the pondering as she flagged down a cab.
The drive went by wordlessly, though Letty noticed the cabby eyeing Staza’s sword.
Should have told her to leave that, but we might need it.
She had the cabby pull over a few blocks from the optometrist’s office. They walked the distance, and Letty felt her head hurt as she stared for too long at the sign outside Ropt’s office.
“You guys can see that?” Letty pointed at the sign.
“Ryle script,” Quill said, wincing, “it hurts just to look at it.”
“Seer script still makes me dizzy,” Staza said.
“Spend more time in the gallery,” Quill replied.
They walked casually around to the side of the building.
“Wait,” Staza grabbed Letty, “what’s our plan? Are you just going to cut a way in and attack?”
Letty knew that she should stop and listen, but the thought of her parents in there, held captive or being tortured, made her frantic. She became agitated as she tried to slow herself down.
The Ryle of Zentule Page 3