The Necropolis
‘Man, you people are always whinging! Come on.’ Kaide gazed out on the sea of contrasting faces that crowded the courtyard and garden of Satarial’s house, where she had been living for the last two months. She tried to like the Nephilim, and she did find them endlessly amusing with their uptight, aristocratic ways, but they complained about everything, and with Satarial missing for the last few days she had to deal with them whining like nervous old women.
‘I know you are . . . sca— concerned about Satarial,’ Kaide quickly corrected herself, ‘but if he is somewhere in the City we will find him. I have sent people to every house . . . everywhere to look for him. If he’s not here – then we just have to assume that for some reason, and I’m sure it was a very, very good one, he went into the Maze.’
The faces in front of her, some milky pale, others pitch-black, all wore the same expression. Fear. She felt a little of it herself. Tossing her hair, she smiled as calmly as she could.
‘We are not people,’ a tight voice called from the throng who jostled each other politely to get closer.
‘What?’ Kaide frowned.
‘You said, “you people”. We are not people.’ It was a distinction the Nephilim could be relied upon to make.
She sighed. ‘Yes, I know that. I’m sorry.’ She hadn’t realised how much the Nephilim relied on Satarial to give them purpose. ‘Who is on training duty today?’
There were sneers and sighs of discontent. ‘Do we have to continue that?’
‘No. You don’t. You can stand here and keep complaining.’ She laughed this time. None of the Nephilim laughed back. She had rarely seen any of them laugh. Or even crack the slightest of smiles. Especially when it came to training.
After the fall of the Trials, Kaide had spoken with Enoch and discovered that the Arena was once a training ground for humans and Nephilim to prepare for the Maze. With Satarial’s reluctant help she had re-established the old tradition, using highly skilled Nephilim to train any human wanting to learn. They complained endlessly about the duty. Apparently it was beneath them to help humans – they often referred to it as ‘tending animals’. Kaide was not offended though. They were respectful to her and curious about her presence. She found it almost amusing, the ignorant racism of the Nephilim. Most of them had lived lives of sheltered wealth on Earth and had only ever encountered humans as slaves. That kind of insular lifestyle led to some obvious misgivings about those they saw as underlings. It wasn’t any different to the racial tension back in India, and being part Japanese, she was used to being seen as odd and understood the social dynamic well. At least the Nephilim didn’t notice her height. Among the giants she was almost petite.
The humans in the Necropolis were just as bad. While they had embraced the idea of training, they were understandably wary of doing it with the Nephilim. Mostly they watched each other with suspicion from different ends of the charred Arena, its giant trees only just starting to bud with new leaves. They did find some converts though – the newest dead – those with no memory of the Trials or the role of the Nephilim. They were easily convinced by their Guides to join the training and their Guardians stood nervously on the sidelines, eyes narrowed at the Nephilim who begrudgingly led the rigorous exercises.
‘Oh, for God’s sake. Dariel, you and the Western Quarter can run training today. Don’t complain. It will give you something to do. The rest of you can go and do a day’s work in the orchards.’ Kaide smiled, knowing it was the last thing the Nephilim wanted to do, but probably the one thing that would sort them out. They probably just needed some exercise. Some purpose to keep them distracted from the obvious changes that were occurring around them.
Dom’s triumph in the Arena had meant more than just the end of the Trials. At least for now, hundreds of new faces had shown up in the Workhouse, earning minutes and preparing for the Maze. He had inspired a shift in the humans and the results had been difficult for the Nephilim to deal with. Even aside from the loss of face at the Trials, and the reactionary riots and looting that followed, many of their businesses had been affected. People were no longer spending minutes on luxuries or wasting it on gaming or fights. Satarial had made an effort to change them, to become at least in some way a part of the change in the City, but it was difficult to change centuries of belief.
‘The orchards!’ The uproar was instant yet still controlled. ‘We don’t need the minutes,’ they yelled, staring down their noses at Kaide. ‘Who are you to tell us to work?’
Kaide looked at them all again. ‘I am the person you came to for advice. And that’s what I have given you. Go to work. Go and sleep. Go do whatever. Up to you. I am heading to the market quarter to find out if there’s any news of Satarial.’
She shrugged and left the throng murmuring among themselves as she headed back to the suite of rooms she had been sharing with Satarial for the last few weeks. Her worry bubbled up as soon as she no longer needed to appear strong. He had walked out of the room over a week ago and never returned. She and the Nephilim had searched every inch of the City and they had uncovered nothing. No one had seen anything at all. Enoch had no answers for her, and she didn’t know of anyone else to ask. Satarial would never have just left her. She was sure. He loved her. But there had not been a single clue as to his whereabouts and any further searching was just to keep herself and the Nephilim busy.
She peeked through a small window and saw the group slowly dispersing. Dariel seemed to be corralling the Western Quarter’s inhabitants to help him with the training, and another small group were headed out the front gate, hopefully in the direction of the Workhouse. At least some of them were still taking her orders. She wondered how long that would last if Satarial was gone for good.
Kaide’s shoulders slumped as she walked into the opulent bedchambers.
‘You!’ She jumped back in surprise to see the swarthy man lounging on her bed. ‘Oh, thank God.’
‘That is exactly how I like to be greeted.’ Eduardo barely opened his eyes.
‘You look like a man again. A dirty, drunk man – but a man. Whew, you smell like alcohol.’ Kaide grinned at him and flopped down on the huge bed beside him, glad to have someone to talk to.
‘It’s my favourite role, the drunk,’ he smiled, ‘I’ve even cultivated the aroma.’ A stringent whisky breath wafted over her.
‘Eh. You will be unimpressed to know that just makes me miss my mother.’ Kaide propped herself up on one elbow. ‘So where the hell is Satarial? You have to know something.’
‘Why would I know?’
‘Because you’re an Angel. If these highly-strung, neurotic creatures are apparently far superior to me in intelligence, then surely you are smarter again.’
Eduardo laughed heartily and Kaide smiled, despite her concerns.
‘You know what? I think he’s in the Maze and I think something’s taken him,’ she said. ‘Maybe that other Angel you were talking about.’ She grabbed his arm, shaking it slightly.
He rubbed the stubble around his face and snorted gruffly. ‘For a start, I clearly am no smarter than you, Kaide Mathers. I’m still here am I not? And if Anubis has taken Satarial, and I cannot imagine why he would, he’s got far more trouble coming than he knows.’ He sighed. ‘I will admit to being concerned though. I heard Satarial was gone and the only reasons why this would happen are disturbing.’
‘What reasons?’ Kaide leaned forward.
He seemed unready to voice them, but he rubbed his face again and narrowed his eyes at her. ‘This whole place is worrying me. There have been very few changes in millennia. The Afterworld reflects the beliefs of all living beings, and beliefs are very slow to change. The only way it could change is if there were external forces at work. Very powerful ones.’
‘The Awe?’ she asked. ‘But why? I thought the Awe made this as part of our life-death cycle?’
‘I don’t mean the Awe. I mean . . .’ he took a breath and hesitated, almost whispering, ‘I mean the Archangels. The Superios.’ His eyes darted around as though someone were listening and Kaide couldn’t help glancing around as well.
‘Again I ask why? Why would they care what humans do?’
He sighed. ‘The same reason Angels care. Humans are magnificent. Driven. We are all fascinated and envious of them. Sometimes to the point of despair. Even rage.’
Kaide shook her head. ‘Bizarre. Truly. Bizarre. But okay. So now you really need to help me. What chance do I have against a super Angel without you?’
‘No more than with me I’m afraid.’
‘Come with me to do one more search of the City, please? And if we can’t find him, I will go into the Maze. Satarial has many minutes stored in this house.’ She begged quietly, trying to sound upbeat but descending into desperation.
‘Here, I will help you.’ He sighed. ‘In the Maze, you’re on your own.’
‘Well, I’m hoping my considerable powers of persuasion will change your mind on that one.’ She lay back beside him.
He gestured to a small pottery vessel on the table in the corner of the room. ‘I brought you a gift. Dominic loved this stuff and I thought you might too.’
She walked over to the pot, lifted the lid and breathed in. ‘Oh my God, coffee. You are an Angel!’
Eduardo smiled. ‘I miss him.’
She sighed. ‘Me, too. I thought I’d be fine, we’ve spent half our lives away from each other. And I had Satarial. But I was wrong. He’s made of gold isn’t he – Dom? Do you think he made it through the Maze?’
Eduardo said nothing for a moment and then sat up suddenly, his agility betraying his alias. ‘Where is Deora?’