The Entean Saga - The Complete Saga

by C B Williams

  “Aw, Mouse,” Flick covered her hand where it still lay on his shoulder. He gave it a small squeeze.

  She kept her hand there for a moment, might even have given him a small squeeze back, before she withdrew it.

  “I found these,” she said and took out two throwing knives. “They were Wren’s. See? Her mark is scratched on them.”

  “Where’d you get them?”

  “I went to our compound. They were hidden in the wall behind the door of her room. She showed me where she’d hidden all her weapons, just in case.” She held a knife out to Flick. “Here, take it. One for you, one for me. To remember her by.”

  Flick took it with a short nod. “Thanks,” he said, swallowing and blinking rapidly. “Thanks,” he repeated.

  “Sure, Flick. Of course.” Mouse paused. “They shit in her pool. Filthy bastards. She loved that pool.” She fell silent.

  “Well,” Flick said after a few moments. “The best revenge is to carry out Wren’s plan. All she ever wanted was a better life for her Kin. So, we’ll make her better life happen.” He grinned suddenly. “Remember how she’d force us to be all polite? Eat just so? Say the proper words?”

  Mouse giggled. “She got so mad at us when we acted out, didn’t she?”

  They watched each other’s smiles fade, then disappear.

  Flick picked up his pencil. “I better get back to this. I need to relieve Cricket in an hour. You?”

  “Going to keep searching for Max.” She shook her head. “He’s relocated so many times, I’m still having trouble picking up his trail. I think he’s slipped into the UpperUpper. Don’t want to ask too many people. Don’t want him knowing I’m looking for him. Don’t want to spook him.”

  “But he was a friend of Wren’s, wasn’t he? I thought he’d want to help her Kin.”

  Mouse snorted. “Max’s no friend of nobody’s. But he did owe Wren lots of favors. So let’s hope he’ll honor them when he learns she’s—” Mouse couldn’t find it in her to finish.

  Flick nodded slowly. “Well, you know what’s best. I’m a stranger to the workings of Above. You and Spider find Max and make your plans. I’ll focus on keeping the rest of the Kin safe and fed.”

  “You’re good at it,” Mouse said quietly.

  With another squeeze of his shoulder she slipped out of the room, down the stairs, and into the square with the fountain to search for Spider.

  It felt good to be living in the Above again, she decided. She’d always thought Wren’s plan was crazy, but if it meant living in the Above, she was all for it. The open air, whether hot or cold, was such a welcome difference from the stench of Sub-City.

  A couple of the Kin were gathering water at the fountain when Mouse passed by. They gave her a wave and a cheerful hello. Seemed like the Kin liked it in the Above just as much as she did. Already they were losing their pallor. All of them. Soon they could start blending. For now, though, until they had their new idents, only the runners and the eyes were out.

  The runners were having a hard time finding food, so it was fortunate there were so few Kin left to feed. They’d known Sub-City. They’d even known the area surrounding Sub’s entrance. But here, and without any escape tunnels, the runners were a little lost. And afraid. She was doing the best she could to teach them about their surroundings.

  The eyes were having an easier time of it. Probably because they used the rooftops as their highway. Who ever looked up? Hadn’t Wren kept telling them that? “Just as long as you kept your tread light, minded where your shadow fell and knew where the lose tiles were, you’d be good.”

  As Mouse entered the building across the way and began to climb the stairs, a sliver of an idea took shape. Why couldn’t the runners use the rooftops as well? Instead of escaping into tunnels, they could escape to the roofs. She’d talk with the eyes, see if they could map out some sturdy roofs with solid drain pipes a runner laden with food could scramble up.

  Mouse found Spider where she thought she would, propped up on his bedroll in the semi-isolated room he’d chosen a short distance from the other Kin. Although the door was open, she knocked softly on its frame and waited for Spider’s nod before she entered.

  Spider watched Mouse cross the short distance from his doorway to his bedroll. Her size and movements reminded him too much of Wren. Made him sad. He composed his features.

  “Greetings, Mouse, pull up a floor, or sit by me on my luxurious bedroll if you dare.”

  Mouse snorted. “You sound exactly like the spoiled UpperUpper that you are, Spider. At least you have a bedroll.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You don’t have a place to sleep? I didn’t realize.”

  She waved a hand as she settled herself beside him on his bedroll. “I’ve a room, but no bed yet. I’m good at finding little nooks and crannies. The bed at the compound was the first I ever had.”

  He looked at her with schooled features. Only his silence gave him away.

  “I’m not here for your pity, Spider.” She nudged him. “Nor your bedroll. I’ve come to pick your brains. I’m stuck.”

  He straightened. “How so?” he asked, closing the book where he’d jotted down everything Wren told him about her plans.

  “I know a lot about the dark alleyways of Sub and Upper, and I’ve searched everywhere I know for Wren’s contact, Max. He’s vanished. Word on the street is he’s called in some favors and gotten himself moved up the ladder. Word on the street says he’s retired. Then the word on the street won’t say any more. All hush-hush. A big ol’ wall of hush that I can’t seem to climb over or go around. So where does a retired forger go if he’s living up the ladder, Spider?”

  “Wren told me to trust you and Flick,” Spider said slowly.

  “Yeah? She told us to trust you, too, so I’m trusting. You? You trusting?”

  “Wren brought me in when no one else would touch me. It’s hard to trust, but I’ve got nothing left anymore, and no one to turn to. Up here, without the Kin, I’m a dead man. So, yes, you can trust me, Mouse, because of that. And I can trust you, because up here is the City and it’s got a whole different set of rules.”

  “I know those rules. I lived here most of my life. I’ve worked here all of my life,” she shook her head. “But there’s the wall of hush that I suspect you know how to scale. I suspect you once lived behind it, Mr. Spoiled UpperUpper.” The grin she flashed took out the sting.

  “Guilty,” he said self-mockingly. “And I knew a couple of forgers. They came in handy when I was a young, punk student wanting to go for a little ramble. Perhaps they’d know where Max is.”

  “Can you take me to them?”

  “Sadly, no.” He glanced at her. “Here comes the trusting, Mouse. That young, punk student I was telling you about? He organized a demonstration. Funnily enough, it was against Culling. Anyway, someone was killed. And since I thought I was untouchable because of my family’s connections, I took the blame. Only,” his mouth tightened, “the dead one had family connections as well, and his connections apparently trumped my own, because I am now a wanted man with a price on my head.”

  It took Mouse a few moments to process this news, leaving Spider with an edgy feeling growing in his stomach.

  “Well,” she said at last. “I guess I’ll have to rethink all those opinions I had about you, Spider. It was a brave thing to take the blame. Brave to oppose the Culling. They were both brave things. Stupid, but brave.”

  He shook his head. “Brave when you thought your father could bail you out? No, it took far more courage for me to go to Sub-City and hide with Wren.”

  “Perhaps,” Mouse mused. “And now you’re stuck with us, and we’ll help you while you help us.”

  She spat on her hand and stuck it out to him.

  He responded in kind.

  They shook hands and sealed the pact, both ignoring the electrical current that sparked the instant their fingers met.

  Suddenly aware she was sitting next to Spider on his bedroll, Mouse rose and wiped
her palm on her leggings. “Well,” she said into the silence. “I think I’d better go and investigate what lies behind the wall of hush,” she said, making her way to the door.

  “Wait,” Spider called. He set down his book of notes and stood.

  Mouse paused, one brow raised.

  “Don’t you want the names of those two forgers?”

  Mouse laughed, feeling the warmth creep up her face. “I would need that, wouldn’t I?”

  “I could sketch what they look like if you’ll wait a second,” Spider offered. “It’s the least I can do, since I can’t go with you.”

  “Why not?” Mouse said suddenly. “You can go with me if you’re disguised.”

  “Disguised? I dunno,” he said slowly. “I don’t want to be spotted. You forget about that price on my head.”

  A smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. “You forget, they’re looking for a skinny student, not an ugly woman.”

  “A woman? You want me to dress like a woman?”

  “Why not? What’s wrong with women?”

  “N-nothing,” Spider sputtered. “But to dress like one?”

  Mouse put her hands on her hips and grinned as she looked him up and down. “You’d be pretty ugly, but you’ve got good legs. Men will forgive a lot of things if you’ve got good legs.”

  “Mouse, come on! You can’t be serious.”

  “I am. Very. Wouldn’t it be fun to be free for a day? To be able to just walk around without worrying that someone will spot you? Just for a day.”

  “I’m going to have to think about this one.”

  “Well, don’t take too long,” Mouse told him as she stepped out of his room. “One of Wren’s last orders was to find Max, and I’m going to find him, if it’s the last thing I do.”

  Spider gazed at the doorway and tried to hear Mouse’s footfalls, her silent assassin’s walk. With the tiny woman gone, the room suddenly felt very large and empty.

  “Leggings,” Mouse said, flinging a pair at Spider. “Skirt,” she said and flung that as well. “Tunic, long enough to cover your man bump,”

  “Hold!” Spider said, bending down to pick up the skirt he’d dropped.

  Mouse waited, arm raised, then flung the tunic with a grin as soon as he straightened.

  The tunic hit his chest in a wad and slid through his hands while he groped for it. “Ah! Dammit, Mouse, wait.” Spider glared at her.

  “And a scarf to cover up the neck bump,” Mouse said. She dangled it on her finger and waited for him to organize the outfit to his satisfaction.

  He took a step toward and snatched the scarf from her finger. “Now go away so I can put them on,” he told her.

  “You sure you know how? Sure you don’t need any help?”

  He glared again. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “Sure am, Mr. UpperUpper. Sure am.”

  “Just leave.”

  Mouse giggled. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

  “I said leave, Mouse! Now!”

  “Okay, but don’t take too long making yourself pretty. It won’t help.”

  Mouse left, feeling satisfied. She always thought anger was the best way to overcome fear. She’d seen how white Spider’s face was when he let her into his room.

  She listened to him muttering and throwing things around. Couldn’t have stopped her grin if her life depended on it. He sure had a righteous mad going.

  The door opened, slamming against the wall, and she walked back in.

  Spider scowled at her from the center of the room, hands on his hips.

  She studied his slim form. He would be tall for a woman, but otherwise it wasn’t too bad. She nodded. “I knew you’d look good in a skirt. It’s the legs. And you’ve got really pretty eyes, too. All dark and lashy. Gotta do something with that hair, though.”

  “I’m not going to braid it or anything,” he told her taking a step back when she crossed over to him.

  “I wasn’t thinking of a braid. Hold still. I’m not going to bite.” She withdrew a comb from her pocket. “I think if you parted it on the side,” she said, doing just that, enjoying its soft, silky texture. She stood back, and surveyed him. “Okay. That works. I like how it keeps falling over one eye. Very sexy.”

  “Very annoying, you mean. I feel ridiculous.”

  “No, it’s a very good disguise. Think of it like that. A disguise.” She adjusted the scarf. Frowned and retied it. “Better,” she said, standing back again, head cocked. “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  Mouse gestured to her chest. “We’ve hidden the man bumps, but you need some woman bumps. Got a pair of socks? You can stuff them down your under-tunic. They should stay in place.”

  Spider groaned and went to rummage in the knapsack by his bedroll while Mouse admired his posterior. He really did have great legs. And a nice bum, too. She wondered why he didn’t look as good in his own clothes. Perhaps because they were so loose and baggy.

  Spider stood and held out two socks.

  “Bunch ’em up and slide ’em in,” Mouse ordered. “Want me to help?”

  He wadded up the socks and crammed them down his tunic front, glaring at her the whole time while he shook his hair out of his eyes.

  Mouse bit down hard on her lip, enjoying the flash in his deep brown eyes.

  “Well?”

  “Looks good to me. Your shoulders are a little broad, but I don’t think people will be looking at your shoulders.”

  “Stop smiling.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mouse said, coughing to cover a snicker, and then giving up and laughing out loud. “I can’t help it. It’s good. Really. I don’t think anyone will suspect you’re a man. Come on. Let’s go find Flick and tell him where we’re going.”

  They descended the stairs in silence. At the bottom, Spider opened the door and waited for Mouse to go out.

  “Don’t do that,” Mouse instructed. “We’re both women, remember?”

  Spider sighed and they exited together.

  “No clomping, either.”

  “Clomping? I do not clomp.”

  “Trudge, then. You trudge.”

  “I do not trudge either.”

  “Can you walk a little more lightly at least?” she asked as they crossed the square. Mouse noticed one of the eyes on the rooftop attentively checking out Spider. She grinned at the eye when he mouthed, Who is she?

  “I’ll do my best, Mouse.”

  She reached the door first and opened it, making sure they stepped inside together.

  “Flick?” she called. “You close by?”

  “Aye,” he said coming out into the hallway. “I was just going over to check on our food supplies and—Helloooo there,” he said when he noticed Spider. “Who have we here? Pretty lady, I’m Flick. Where have you been all my life?”

  “I know who you are, Flick, and I’m not interested,” Spider said.

  “I-uh-S-spider? Wha?” Flick looked at Wren and back at Spider and back at Wren, who was now completely doubled over, hugging herself while her laughter echoed down the hall.

  Flick scowled at her, as did Spider, which sent her off into a fit of giggles and snorts.

  “See?” she said when she caught her breath. “I told you it was a good disguise. I’m taking Spider with me to hunt for Max,” she explained to Flick.

  “Isn’t that risky?”

  “As risky as anything else we do. It has to be done, Flick. I’ve hit a dead end. Spider’s the only one who knows the UpperUpper.”

  “If it has to be done, then be careful…and have fun, you two—and whatever you do,” he turned to Spider, “don’t talk. It’s a definite giveaway.”

  “He won’t,” Mouse said. “Or if he needs to, he can whisper. C’mon, Spider. Let’s go.”

  Spider followed her out.

  “Nice legs!” Flick called after them.

  “Asshole,” Spider replied. He made a rude gesture as the door was closing, shutting off Flick’s answering guffaw.


  “I think whispering would be the way to go,” Spider said after a while.

  “Best let me do the talking.”

  “Sure, but I know the speak, you know? If I ask the questions they’ll see an equal. Less attention drawn.”

  Mouse flashed him one of her rare smiles. “Good point, Spider. And thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed that hard. Haven’t felt much like laughing, you know?”

  He glanced at her in sympathy. “Yeah, I know.”

  “So whisper for me. Let’s see how it sounds.”

  By the time they had arrived at the City, Mouse was satisfied. “Okay, this is as far as I’ve ever gone. Wren used to be all over the UpperUpper, but me? No. I hope you know where you’re going, because I’m already lost.”

  “I know exactly where I am,” Spider whispered.

  He sounded hoarse and husky and female.

  “Just a warning now,” Mouse said. “With that voice and those legs, be prepared for some serious flirting. You’re going to have to pretend you like it. Flip your hair and bat your eyelashes and stuff. I’ll do my best to run interference.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

  The two strolled into the busy foot traffic of a bustling metropolis. Mouse quickly learned it was a great deal easier getting around in the UpperUpper with an UpperUpper by her side. She was grateful for it. The beauty of the smooth, columned buildings with their store displays of products she couldn’t believe anybody could afford intimidated her. And the way they spoke! How could Wren ever think they would all learn to speak like that? It would take her the rest of her life to get rid of her low-birth dialect. Without realizing it, she had snaked her fingers into Spider’s hand.

  He looked down at their entwined hands and then at her face. “What’s this about?” He asked. She was looking a little wide-eyed and unsure. “Everything okay, Mouse?”

  She shrugged. “It’s different here.”

  “You’re right,” he said, giving her fingers a slight squeeze. “Good thing girls hold hands all the time, eh? We can support each other.” He drew her to a shop display and stopped. “They do this, too. Stop to look at the merchandise. We can stand here for as long as you’d like.”