Meadowcity (18 page)

Only a few paces away from the bread woman, Flint casually grabbed Sylvia’s arm and led her to sit by a woman about the age of Sylvia’s mother, with fading red hair.  The woman glanced at them but looked up as the bread woman approached.  Sylvia and Flint reached up to take their ration like everyone else.

The guard woman from Skycity was narrowing her eyes at one of the families across the way, which Sylvia was thankful for.  She didn’t know how intently they were trying to find Flint, or if they even knew what he looked like.

Sylvia bit into her loaf of bread nervously as the two women continued down the aisle, making slow progress.  The woman they had sat next to now turned to them, but continued eating her bread as if she had expected them.

Her eyes were a beautiful cross between green and grey, and Sylvia stared into them.  Her heart-shaped face was framed by ringlets of muted red hair which dropped down to her shoulders.  Soft wrinkles creased around her eyes as she narrowed them at Flint.  A slow grin formed at her lips.

“Long day in the mine?” she asked, her eyes glinting.

Flint swallowed the bread in his mouth, returning her grin. 

“Like I walked to Meadowcity and back.”

The woman raised her eyebrows and looked at Sylvia appraisingly, then back at Flint. 

“You know, someone was looking for you earlier,” she said meaningfully, shifting her eyes to the Skycity guard pacing down the aisle.

“I know,” he said, taking another bite of bread.

There was a commotion across the aisle when a toddler tripped, dropping his morsel of bread onto the ground.  He began crying loudly, and everything the mother did to soothe him went unnoticed.  He wailed in his mother’s arms, and Sylvia was glad for the noise.

Flint leaned into Sylvia’s shoulder and said, “This is my aunt Rekha; Rekha, this is Sylvia.  She’s a Rider.”

Rekha reached for Sylvia’s hand in her lap and squeezed it, smiling. 

Sylvia squeezed back, as the woman whispered “It’s nice to meet you.”

The toddler next door was working up quite a crying fit, and the mother desperately tried to hush him as the dirty looks from the neighboring people increased.

Sylvia turned to face Rekha, “Do you know where Ember is?” she asked, hoping to get out of the Hall as soon as possible.  Despite being buried in the crowd, Sylvia felt very much trapped.

“We saw her with some guards earlier,” Flint offered, worry in his voice.

Rekha nodded. 

“She’s been stirring up trouble again,” her eyes on the crying toddler, now being offered another piece of bread by his father. 

“I haven’t seen her since the mine this morning.  We have the same shift, and she’s been camping out here with me.”

Sylvia stuffed the last bit of her bread into her mouth, and wiped her hands free of crumbs.

Rekha straightened suddenly, and reached behind her, bringing out a nearly empty water skin and handing it to Flint.  “Why don’t you go get me some water from the tap, hon,” she said, pointing behind her down the great wall, her eyes darting to the entrance.  “It’s all the way in the corner.”

Flint stood obediently, knowing she was getting rid of him, leaving Sylvia sitting facing Rekha.  She watched Rekha’s eyes track someone behind her for a minute as they sat quietly, and she tried to relax into a better sitting position, hoping that Rekha wasn’t about to turn her in or something.  Rekha smoothed her red and black frock against her leggings, looking down.

“Rekha!” a man cried out jovially a few paces behind Sylvia.

Rekha put a smile on her face and looked up, “Apex, how’s your evening?” she said breathily, but it brought on a coughing fit.

The man came to stand above them, and Rekha stood, grabbing Sylvia’s hand as she rose.  Sylvia quickly put her legs under her and stood straight.  Facing them was an enormous Skycity guard, still towering over them even though they now stood.  He too wore a heavy-looking leather pack on his back.  Looking at it closer now, Sylvia could see it bulging with lots of round, globe shaped objects.  Apex sheathed his long knife, the ringing sound sending a shiver down Sylvia’s back.

“Just fine, just fine,” he said, adjusting his pack and easing the straps to rest on his thick leather vest.  White fur stuck out of his collar, and Sylvia thought he must be hot in here with all these people. 

“And who’s this now?” he asked, peering down at Sylvia. 

Sylvia’s stomach tightened, but Rekha’s grip on her hand was reassuring, and the woman spoke first.

Rekha cleared her throat. 

“My old partner’s daughter—come to try and convince me to switch shifts with her.”

Sylvia shrugged, “It was worth a shot,” she said and glanced up at Apex.  His dark skin held a light coat of stone dust, and Sylvia forced herself to look into his eyes, a deep brown.

Apex spared a nod for Sylvia and turned back to Rekha. 

“Listen,” he said, his deep voice rumbling through the background noise.  “I need you to talk to that niece of yours,” Sylvia was shocked to see him put a hand on her shoulder.  “Next time she acts out at the Scouts, they’re going to do something a lot worse than give her another shift.”

Rekha nodded, looking into his deep blue eyes. 

“I know, she’s a troublemaker,” she smiled charmingly.  “It just runs in the family I guess,” she shrugged.  Sylvia figured she was talking about Flint’s noted disappearance.

“Not with you I hope,” Apex said, managing to look stern and smitten all at once, a sly smile bringing up the corners of his mouth.

“Didn’t come from my side of the family.”

Apex chuckled.  “Anyway, have a word with her, will you?”

Rekha nodded, and Apex reached for her hand, squeezing it in parting before turning to Sylvia and nodding, “Miss.”

He walked away and Rekha’s cheeks flushed red as they both sat back down.  There was a ripple of motion as everyone around them turned away, pretending they hadn’t been watching.

The toddler across the way had stopped screaming long ago, and was now sucking happily on another piece of bread.  Sylvia looked around the perimeter of the room for Flint, wondering if he had seen.

She saw his head bobbing along the wall, slowly pacing towards their aisle.  He carried the full water skin like it weighed nothing.  His eyes were pinched, his brow creased in worry.

Sylvia didn’t know what to make of it—only that Rekha hadn’t turned them in.  But she seemed to be quite familiar with Apex.

Flint reached them and silently handed the water skin to Rekha.  Sylvia could see the people around them sneaking glances at their little group.  She adjusted her position on the floor, sitting so that she could get up quickly.  She wished they hadn’t attracted so much attention.

“She’s not here,” Sylvia said quietly, “She’s in the mine again.”

Flint’s eyes darted to his aunt as he carefully sat.

Rekha shifted uncomfortably. 

“It’s not what you think,” she said.

Sylvia noticed the Scouts were moving around the Hall, telling people off for talking now.

“We need to get going,” Flint muttered to Sylvia.

“Not til the shift bell, I wouldn’t.”

They stared at her.

“It’s too late,” she whispered.  “They’re shutting everyone in for the night.  You should rest.”

Flint grunted, and Rekha handed him a blanket.  Flint tried to pass it to Sylvia but she shook her head no.  There was no way she could sleep right now.

Chapter Twenty Two

Wide awake in the dimly lit room, Sylvia lay flat on her back against the cool stone floor.   Head cradled on her hands, she stared up through the recessed sky window far above, full of darkness.  Her eyes followed the intricate square pattern carved fantastically across the ceiling, the dark sky windows contrasting with the bright polished stone.

Flint and Rekha lay stretched out beside Sylvia on the hard floor.  Rekha was curled up with a soft leather blanket, clearly having slept this way for a few weeks now.  Sylvia guessed most of the people in the room were asleep, since the expansive room was rather quiet.  The sound of coughing would echo around the room every so often.

Sylvia sat up, unable to lie still any longer, hoping the next mine shift would be starting soon.  She had been lying awake for several hours as Flint and Rekha slept next to her, Flint a little restlessly.  She stretched her legs out and straightened her back, her muscles complaining from the hard stone floor, but the Scouts would have been suspicious if she sat up all night keeping watch.  All she had done was think of Ven as she waited for the shift bell.  Ember was also on her list.  And Sonia.  And everyone else back in Meadowcity.

Sylvia puffed out a breath in annoyance as she looked around the Great Hall, unbelieving that they had gotten stuck in here.  The immense room
was
beautiful though, other than the thousand or so distressed people currently residing on its floor.  Massive white columns lined the walls, carved right out of the rock in one enormous slab apiece.  Sylvia had only been in this room once before, when she had gotten stuck travelling during Summer’s End one year.

Sylvia had hated to be away from home for the holiday, but Riftcity had put on a good celebration, and her pay had been tripled for the journey being delayed into the holiday. 
No Summer’s End celebrations at home this year
, she thought bitterly.  It was only a few weeks away, and she couldn’t imagine it taking place amid this disaster.

As she counted on her fingers the days left until Summer’s End, she casually surveyed the hall, noting the Scouts still standing at their posts around the room.  Apex was nowhere to be seen, for which Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly a loud ringing echoed through the cavernous room, and those not already awake jolted up. 
That’s gotta be the shift bell
.  Sylvia grimaced.  It sounded like they were using the emergency warning bell to terrorize the Riftcitizens into going off and doing manual labor for them.

Flint and Rekha both sat straight up at the awful ringing, echoing a thousand times around the hall.  Flint locked eyes with Sylvia.  It was time to go.  There was no time to get any more information from Rekha, a crowd was already clambering for the door.

Syliva tucked a sandy strand of hair behind her ear and rose, gathering nothing because all she had with her was already on her person, her few weapons safely tucked away.  Rekha stood to give Flint a hug, whispering something to him.  The older woman turned and gave Sylvia a quick hug as well, surprising her.

“I’m sorry I can’t go with you—but good luck,” she breathed by Sylvia’s ear.

Sylvia withdrew and gave Flint’s aunt one last smile before they turned down the aisle to join the others leaving for the mine.  They fell in behind an older couple walking down the aisle.

Sylvia tugged on Flint’s sleeve and muttered to him through the commotion, “Ven and Ember should be leaving the mine.  We need to find them.”

Flint nodded, head down. 

“Let’s not get stuck in the mine though, alright?”

Sylvia bobbed her head once, focusing her eyes on the couple in front of them.  It was going to be a miracle if they spotted both Ven and Ember in the masses leaving and entering the mine.  But what other hope did they have?

They followed the older couple up the once gleaming stone stairs, now dusty from the thousands of steps they had seen in the past couple of weeks.  As they passed back through the corridor leading out into the city, Sylvia could hear a coarse voice carrying loudly through the chatter of the crowd.  She grabbed Flint’s sleeve again and edged her way over, wanting to know what the boisterous voice had to say.

“Slavery!” it shouted, gathering panicked looks from the nearest faces.

Sylvia edged into a gap, and saw a dusty black shock of hair through the throng, whom everyone seemed to be giving a wide berth.

“Slavery and robbery!” the man shouted again, the lines in his face creasing in his anger.  The man wasn’t much older than her father.

Sylvia could see that one of the Scouts stationed by a tall column was searching for the owner of the voice through the crowd, his hand gripping a thick leash, at the end of which stood a menacing looking wolf, it’s sleek black fur brushed with white stone dust.

Sylvia drew back from the angry man, not wanting to be associated with the troublemaker.  As she did, the man yelled again: “Slaves! They’re making us all slaves!”
Finally spotting the man, the Scout and the wolf beelined for him.  The man was swiftly struck down by the Scout’s sheathed sword.  The passersby froze, unable to move and unwanting to draw the attention of the wolf, but the animal seemed only interested in what his Scout told him to do.

The wolf lunged when the Scout gave a terse command, wrapping his teeth around the man’s throat but not clamping down on his bite. 

Gasps and shrieks issued from the crowd, and Sylvia backed up, bumping into Flint, who grabbed her by the elbows and slunk back, trying to divorce themselves from the scene.  People filled in around them as they heard the man still shouting, voice hoarse now.  All around the corridor, whispers turned loud, and shouts echoed out from the Great Room, the throng unable to see why everyone had stopped moving.

“That’s enough!” the Scout said, his authoritative growl easily cutting through the commotion.

The crowd fell silent, eerily so.  A woman next to Sylvia gasped, pointing.

Sylvia ducked down to peer through a gap and saw another Scout holding up a glass globe, just like Sylvia’s light orbs, but it was causing a chill fear to slither through the crowd.  The Scout’s short blonde hair stuck up at odd angles.  He gazed around the room, fist high in the air daring any of them to defy his presence.

The globe, which explained what the Scouts had in those bulging backpacks, looked just like one of her portable lamps, but it was sealed shut.  Inside, what looked like clear liquid, and another tiny ball rolling around, filled with some dark substance.

The woman beside Sylvia was frozen, her eyes filled with terror, like many of the people in the crowd.  A child no older than Sonia whimpered from beside the woman, and the mother hushed her swiftly.

Two more Scouts were forcing their way down the side of the corridor, the one in front held the leash of a massive mountain lion, slinking down the corridor and easily moving people out of its way with its sheer presence.

Sylvia recognized the Scout in back from last night—the one with the missing finger.  His scraggly beard practically grew into the fur lining the collar of his vest.  The two Scouts and the lion approached the man on the ground, tears of pain silently rolling down his face to mingle with the thin tracks of blood now streaming from his throat.  The wolf wasn’t biting, but his hold wasn’t gentle either.

The Scout with the missing finger came forward and muttered to the wolf’s owner, who made it let go of the man’s throat with a whispered command. 

The man lunged back, massaging his throat, sitting hard on the ground.  The three Scouts surrounded him, the fingerless one turning and shouting to the crowd, “Get a move on!”

Everyone shifted at once.  Sylvia tripped when someone bumped into her, and she grabbed Flint’s arm as they lunged into motion.  She turned her head to see what was to become of the man on the ground, but the crowd pushed forward and she could do nothing but march her feet forward, and out into the sun.

The air in the corridor was stale, and it was a relief to pass under the doorway and out onto the veranda.  Sylvia took a lungful of the clean air, free from the smell of fear, but quickly noticed that the crowd was moving to the left, and not the right like she thought they would.

The mine was to the right—south—past Flint’s villa, from what she figured from the guards last night.  Why were they going north?

The Riftcitizens trudged to the left across the veranda, heading for the stairs down.  Sylvia met eyes with Flint, who looked panicked, but then she saw why they weren’t going back the way they came in.

At the top of the other staircase a mass of people stood, held back by more Scouts, waiting. 
In one way, and out the other?
, Sylvia thought, panicking to her very soul.  They wouldn’t even pass Ven and Ember this way. 
How are we going to find them!

Forced to the stairs, Sylvia began to descend, mind racing. 

They reached the bottom of the stairs far too quickly, and were funneling to walk two by two on the flat stone path that clung to the cliff.  Sylvia instinctively grabbed Flint’s arm, so as not to lose him too.  Her head began to hurt, her teeth clenching together painfully.  How many hours had they already wasted?  How much more time could they afford to lose?

They walked on and Sylvia spotted another temporary bridge up ahead, anchored to the once beautiful plinth that adorned the end of the stone bridge.  The sharp scent of freshly cut pine assailed her nose as they reached the bridge, but the steady traffic slowed as people crossed carefully in a single line, the fear obvious on their faces.

Wind whipped up from the rift, and Sylvia’s stomach leapt into her throat.  Crossing last night hadn’t been as bad—when she couldn’t see the bottom.

The queue was moving up, and there were only two people in front of her and Flint.  Then, Flint was next.  He took a step forward, placing one foot on the wood, then the next.  She heard him let out a shaky breath as he moved on, arms slightly away from his side as if for balance.

Sylvia was next.  She took a step forward onto the thick planks, forcing her eyes to focus on the wood, and only the wood,
not
on the chasm below.  The wind coming up from the rift taunted her, but the weight of everyone on the bridge kept it steady.  One foot after another, one breath after another, keeping her eyes on the planks.

Finally they reached the other side, and Sylvia let out a deep breath, catching up with Flint and snagging his arm again.  She didn’t care what it looked like—she wasn’t going to lose him too.

This side of the city was cast in cold shadow.  Sylvia had a selfish wish for her coat, safely tucked away back in the tunnel.  They continued down the path south, passing by deserted villas as they got closer to the bridge they had crossed last night.  The wind from the rift drew itself up and tousled Sylvia’s short hair, throwing it into her eyes.  Shaking her head, she tried to tuck her hair behind her ear, failing, when the wind ripped it out again.

They were on their way to the mine, but getting stuck there would be worthless.  The crew from the mine was already back in the Hall.