The Fourth Sage (The Circularity Saga) (31 page)

The fragile nerves hung by a thread as Dr. Foster, in an attempt to remove a splintered piece of the vertebrae, clipped them ever so slightly. Meredith was paralyzed below her neck. That included her ability to speak. She died two days later. Paul McNamara wanted Carl's blood. He wanted him imprisoned. There was no way the board would allow that, but he convinced them to immediately have the surgeon’s license revoked and to void the ten-year contract he had signed only a week prior. The board negotiated a deal in which he could keep a very limited version of his license but was cut off from most of the social functions he had an automatic invite to. He was subsequently transferred to Building II where he was put in charge of a group of girls who were rotated between the buildings. It was a group of twenty or twenty-five girls, some as young as fifteen. He was there to administer their meds and see to it that they were in good health. Up until a few weeks ago, he hadn't cared why they were here. He just gave them what they needed without question.

On the morning of Claudia-Jean's escape, he got up as usual at 5:00 a.m. for the first shot of the tranquilizing agent. C.J.'s room was the fifth one. When he opened the door, he saw immediately that she was gone. "What's going on here?" he said loudly. "She's gone! She escaped!"

After he had pushed the alarm button on his intercom, he stood there for a few moments listening to the silence, looking at the empty, unmade bed, the ties around the bedposts. Something in him broke at that moment. Something hard and unyielding. He didn't know where the tears came from when he took off his lab coat and placed the syringe back into the small container in his hand. Cameras picked him up several times on his way to his apartment, but he never reached it and has never been seen since.

// end of upload t.0991_11_91xtl//

* * *

Aries drops onto her stomach, inches forward to get a glimpse over the edge. Her thoughts are chaotic, unconnected images pushing themselves into her mind. She senses more than sees Seth kneeling next to her. It takes her a few seconds to become aware of the scream. It's not in her thoughts but in her ear. It's Max. When Aries looks down, she sees him hanging from a small ledge. His face shows utter panic. His voice is hoarse and she realizes at that moment that Max might have never used it until now. She grabs his wrist at the same instant Seth grabs the other one.

"We got you," she says. "We won't let go. Be still. Don't move. You need to let go of the ledge and grab our arms, you hear me? Max!"

There is no answer in her thoughts. Just a nod. She becomes aware of the terrifying silence between them and the fact that she can't hear his thoughts. A wave of dizziness washes over her.

"Concentrate on him, not what's below," Seth says. "And it's better if you kneel as well."

Aries moves her legs in until she’s kneeling. Her eyes don't let go of Max's. If there has ever been a time to encourage him rather than Max encouraging her, this is it.

"Come on," Aries says. It seems to cost Max all of his courage to let go of the ledge and grab onto Seth's wrist.

"Good, that's good!" Seth says. "Now the other one. You can do it. I got you."

Max lets go of the ledge and grabs onto Aries’s wrist.

"
Pull!
" Aries says, as they both haul Max to his feet.

"We need to move," Seth says. Aries nods to him. She kneels beside Born-of-Night, lifts her up and gently holds her against her chest.

"Come," C.J. says. "We'll take care of her once we're inside."

When they cross the top of the center part, Seth slows down.

"Look! Here's where they came out from."

There is an opening of about four feet in diameter. Aries has visions of other drones coming up toward it. "Wait here," Seth says, and runs toward the crashed drone closest to them. Max follows him, and they both drag the drone toward the opening.

"I think something is happening inside!" Aries says, when she sees something move ten feet below her. A low humming sound builds. Too slow, Max and Seth pull the drone toward the opening.

"There are more coming up," she cries, realizing that they will reach the surface before Seth and Max can make it. Without thinking much about it, Aries jumps into the opening, landing on top of the drone below her. She uses her boots to break two of the sensors off. The drone sputters. Its upward motion slows down.

"Come out!" Seth cries.

She climbs out just when Seth and Max move the broken drone over the opening and drop it down. It crashes onto the other one.

"That should do it," Seth says.

As they run toward the other building, Aries tries to push her thoughts about the hawk out of her mind. "Don't leave me," she says under her breath. "Stay with me!"

But the emptiness she feels spreads within her and when they reach the ladder leading up to the hatch and into the building, she is convinced that Born-of-Night has died. Almost in a trance, she grabs the six-point hexagon key when they reach the top of the ladder. She unlocks the hatch, pulls it open despite the wind, and climbs inside. Max follows closely, then C.J. and Seth, who closes the hatch behind them. Max points in the direction of the elevator.

"I have to take care of Born-of-Night first," Aries says.

Max shakes his head and points toward the direction they came from before.

"
No
!
I have to help her," she says. "I need to revive her and get her back!" Aries isn't aware that she is saying this out loud.

Max takes her hands, his eyes pleading with her. Aries knows he's right.

"We have to get out of here first," Seth says.

"Okay," Aries says. There is no conviction in her voice.

Max turns and moves into the shaft. The others follow. From here, Max leads them through several different maintenance tunnels until they reach a panel. Aries opens the bolts.

"I hope the chip still works when we get into the elevator," she says.

One by one, they climb out of the opening. Max points to the left. They follow the hallway until the elevator door comes into view. When they get there, C.J. pushes the button. Above the door, the floor numbers begin to change in ten-floor increments. Then the elevator doors open. Aries holds her breath, hoping nobody is in there. No such luck. Two women and one man are about to exit the cabin. They seem as perplexed as they are. For a split second, Aries realizes how strange they must look to them. After a moment, Seth moves to the side, creating an opening through which they can leave the elevator.

"What are you doing here?" the man asks.

Seth is the first to get his wits back.

"Evidently there is a rat problem in Tier Six," he says.

"A what?" one of the women asks.

"Yes. I am from Rodent Control and we are investigating a power outage in these levels, caused by rats chewing through the wires. I'd be careful for the next few days," Seth says. "Some of them have been spotted inside the elevators."

The two women and the man quickly leave the elevator. The four of them enter. Max pushes the buttons for the basement level, and the elevator begins to move downward.

"Stay close together," Aries whispers. One hand is in her coveralls, holding Born-of-Night's limp body.
It's still warm,
she thinks, while looking at Max. He looks straight ahead. Her thought doesn't reach him.

The ride down lasts thirty-eight seconds, but in Aries’s mind it might as well have been an hour. Then the doors open and they enter the hallway.

"Which panel is it?" Aries asks.

Max shrugs his shoulders.

"Ty would have marked it. Look for a mark. A scratch or something similar."

"Here it is," Seth says, after few moments.

"That's it!" Aries sees the letters T and Y scratched into the surface. She pushes a small screwdriver under the lip of the panel. It comes loose and snaps out of its magnetic hinges. They crawl inside. Seth moves the panel back and locks it in place. A few minutes later, they reach the empty elevator shaft. Aries kneels down, gently pulls Born-of-Night out of her coveralls and holds her in the palm of her hand. She has grown again over the last few days. Her head rests on Aries’s forearm and her tail feathers reach beyond her hand. The others kneel next to her, forming a circle around the hawk.

"I don't know what to do." Aries says.

"Let me take a look," C.J. replies. "She’s breathing. That's good. See this?"

She points at the edges of her wings.

"Burn marks," Aries says.

"Must be from the electric charge," Seth says.

"What can we do?" Aries asks.

"Put your hands on her," C.J. says.

"What?" Seth asks.

"Put your hands on her. Like this." C.J. places both of her hands on the hawk's body. The others do the same.

"What now?" Seth asks.

"Close your eyes," C.J. replies.

One after the other, they close their eyes. Aries’s thoughts reach out to C.J. and Seth and Max. Then they go beyond and to the others: Ty, Amber and Jeremiah, Sam, Mila and Kiire. From there, an image appears within her mind. It is indistinct, fluid at first. Like oil paint moving on a canvas. A slab of blackened stone becomes visible. On it, eight shapes stand in a circle. First, all she can see are formless figures, but after a while the figures become more defined. All cloaked in hooded robes, they stand facing each other. The figures are made of stone. But the clearer the image gets, the more Aries becomes aware of the finely crafted details of the statues. The thin ropes around their waists, their hands folded in front of their bodies, the robes flowing down to the floor, their heads slightly bowed as if in deep reverence.

It is as if the statues are not made of stone, not carefully chiseled and carved by a master sculptor. No. It seems as if the stone itself is alive, filled with life. And when she looks at each of the figures more closely she cannot deny how familiar they seem to her—their difference in height and body shape from each other, even how they stand.

And then her eyes arrive at the statue that she knows unmistakably represents her. And what she hasn't seen before now becomes visible. On her left shoulder and looking toward her, she sees the hawk. And suddenly her mind is flooded with Born-of-Night's presence. It fills her completely. For an instant it encompasses not only her mind but the mind of the others. Aries opens her eyes. Born-of-Night shakes herself, jumps up and flies to the ladder, where she lets out a few cries.

"What was that?" Seth exclaims.

"You saw it too?" C.J. asks. Tears stream down her face. Unsuccessfully, she tries to wipe them off.

"We all saw it," Aries says.

Max nods when she looks at him.
I can hear you,
he thinks.

"Oh, thank God," Aries replies. "I'm so glad." She puts her arms around him, holds him.

"What does this mean?" Seth asks.

"I don't know," Aries replies.

Don't ask me.
She hears Born-of-Night in her thoughts.

I was worried about you,
Aries thinks.

There's one thing I do know,
the hawk replies.

What's that?
Aries asks.

The circle is now complete,
Born-of-Night answers. The thought lingers in her mind.

I'm guessing that's all the information you have at the moment?
Aries asks.

The hawk shakes herself a few times, then continues to clean her feathers.
Yes.
Aries hears her.
And we have a visitor.

At that moment, Tuari climbs out of the opening on the opposite side of the shaft.

"Tuari!" Aries exclaims. She kneels in front of him. "I'm so glad to see you. Tuari, these are my friends, C.J. and Seth."

"It's very nice to meet you. Gentlemen. Ladies. I'm here to lead you to Mrs. Abernethy. But I need to inform you that we are no longer where we lived before."

"Why?" Aries asks, slightly alarmed.

"We had to leave. Sam went up into the prison to see if he could find out what was happening. He came back saying that they were searching high and low and it would only be a matter of time before they found the door. So we left."

"Where did you go?" Aries asks.

"We took all the rations and went further down."

"Further down? Weren't you already at the bottom?"

"Yes. And no. We found a tunnel that went below."

"Can you show us?"

"That's why I'm here," Tuari says, in his matter-of-fact tone. He holds Aries’s gaze, and says quietly, "The whole building is looking for you."

I'm not surprised,
she hears Max think.

"Then let's get out of here," Seth says.

"Will you lead us to them?" Aries asks.