AER:
Aer made her way back to the walls. She checked all the medic wings for the healers and had just gone and gotten the last things she needed from her apartment. She doubted today could have been classified as going “well,” but she wasn’t about to miss a chance to meet with the Ice Man just in case.
Aer knew her own day couldn’t be called anything near fine. She knew a reckoning was bound to happen between her and Korvo. But, why had the words come out so poorly? How could she not tell him she had tried to keep Bryce out of it? That she wouldn’t sacrifice him. But somewhere in the darkness as she walked toward the opening in the wall, she wondered if she would have.
Curfew had settled over the city, and Aer felt like there were still too many things that were making noise. Her ragged breath and her crazy heartbeat were the two biggest culprits.
The gash in the Wall that served as an entrance was dark. She felt around with her feet for the first twenty steps or so without lighting the lantern, but after that, she figured there was enough space and metal between her and the outside world. There was, after all, a curfew in place. Still, she let the lantern burn low, and she kept it down near her feet to light only what was needed. Within minutes that felt like hours, she found herself in the same meeting room she had been in twenty-four hours before. She looked over the seats arranged around the large table, and with a moment of hesitation took the seat where Sid had sat. The head of the table. They had asked her to lead now that Sid was gone. She wondered if Kor felt the weight she felt now.
Aer sat alone. Her winds fluttered around her, but she was so tired only the weakest of breezes would listen to her. It felt suffocating sitting there waiting.
“Was Kor right?” she asked the little wind as it danced around her, playing with the edges of the papers that had been left on the table, completely oblivious to the concern in Aer’s voice.
“I’m sure there’s another option,” a voice sounded from outside the door. It was muffled, but it was clear and authoritative. Aer stumbled to her feet. The door creaked open.
“There’s no need for you to stand, Aer.”
Instinct told her to stand, hands raised in fists. No one was safe. A large man filled the doorway and then came to lean against a chair on the far side of the room.
“How do you know my name?” She leaned close, careful to keep herself out of range of the tall, lanky man’s reach.
“It’s a murmur on the people’s lips. And all of those murmurs get back to me. You’ll find I know about a great many things. Including your friend Korvo.” Slightly stronger winds swept around Aer, causing her hair to lift. They must have followed him in. She felt sturdier with them around her. Braver.
“You know Kor?”
“Longer than you have, I suppose.”
Aer looked at him then. The man wasn’t dark like Kor or Tiernan. He wore no uniform, but the straight back, and the close-cut facial hair, screamed soldier. His face was full of hard lines, as if they were all there from years of practice. Even the smile he wore felt routine, like part of a drill he had perfected in the mirror. When she finally looked up from his plastered smile, she took a step back. His eyes were bright blue. The color of ice. They flickered and shone in the light, and it made him seem even more out of place.
“You’re from Hadran?” She gave him another once over. Nothing about him reminded her of Kor. Kor was the warmth of wood that had sat in the sun. He was comfortable silence and faith that things would get better. The man before her felt like winter.
“You don’t seem convinced.” The man leaned closer to her. She dropped her fists, but the gusts of wind stayed tightly packed around her.
“You don’t look like you are from Hadran,” was the best she could manage.
“You don’t really look like you belong alone in a revolution, but here we find ourselves.” The man removed a speck of dirt from his shoulder and flicked it toward the empty corner of the room.
“How do you know Kor?” She shifted now to a seated position. She tried to make it casual, as if she had power in the situation, but really she was just tired. Besides, if the man were going to attack her, he’d already had his opportunity.
“He helped me during the war in Hadran.”
“You knew him in the revolution?” This man had fought with Kor, she thought. Why didn’t he go talk to him?
“For years. He’s grown into quite a leader.”
Aer didn’t know how to respond. The blue-eyed man was right. Kor was a great leader. Everyone valued his opinion, his vision, his faith. They followed him because he was clear. They followed her because she was angry. She was filled with deep anger that even Korvo couldn’t control.
“Still,” the man continued, “there isn’t always a time for peace and talking. Sometimes actions need to be taken.” He said it quietly, like he was simply thinking out loud.
“Well, currently this is where action gets you. Five dead and more wounded.”
“Only because you tried to save them.”
“Most of them are just kids.”
“Sacrifices sometimes need to be made, Aer.” The familiar line grated on her. She had hated herself for saying it to Korvo, she had hated when Sid had said it, and she realized now it all stemmed from this man.
“Besides, the deaths of kids make headlines.” There was no change in his facial expression. Aer shuddered.
“Who are you?” Aer asked.
“A friend.”
“How did you get past the Watchers?”
“You’ve made your way around the city tonight with the curfew in place.”
“Well, yeah, but…”
“Anything is possible with enough of the right stuff.” He plucked at his sleeves, straightening them. In the dim light, Aer could only barely make out a blur of black lines on the man’s wrist. It had to be the Raven’s head. She let her shoulders relax.
“So, what’s the next move?” Aer asked. She rapped her knuckles on the table in front of her.
“Today went better than expected,” the man said.
“Better? People died.” Her voice rose until it echoed through the room.
“You want change, don’t you?” The man’s expression never faltered. His face stayed in its practiced perfection.
She wanted change more than anything. It burned so fiercely in her that it was hard not to agree on principle with everything the man was saying.
“I don’t want a war,” she said finally.
“You do,” the man said. There was no hint of a question. It was like he could see into the very nightmares that kept her awake. Kept her from being close to other people. It’s like he could see the anger projected outside of her. She did want a war.
“War never worked in Hadran.” She tried to match his calm demeanor.
“Didn’t have the resources then.”
“What resources?”
“Sid claimed there was a Fire Magic he could get in our service.”
Aer balked. Tiernan. She knew Sid wanted him. But the way this man talked about him seemed sinister. Calculated.
“He’s only a little boy.” Aer scooted back her chair. She stood again, realizing the man with the blue eyes had never sat. He stood straight and tall with perfect posture.
“I’m sure his youth hasn’t helped him escape a lifetime of tragedy,” the man took a moment now to pull out a chair and sit.
Aer sat, too. “Tiernan has suffered enough.”
“Haven’t we all? People need to see Magics as powerful,” the man said. “They need to see that Magics are not just for convenient use when non-Magics have a need.”
“So, what is the plan?” she asked again, tapping the contents of the folder in front of her. She needed some illusion of control.
“Show your power. That boy with the plants today, will he recover?”
The abrupt change to Bryce threw Aer off track.
“He should be fine.” She hoped. She had just left him and sent messengers for Kor and Merin. Kor had said he would be fine, but she had wanted to check on him. Even thought about doing it after this meeting was over, but she knew she was too tired to avoid the Watchers patrolling for curfew.
“Good. We’ll want him there, too,” the man said. His answers were so brief Aer was chasing after him for every scrap of information. It was not a feeling she liked.
“Where? If I’m to lead people into a revolution, I damn well better know where the hell it is I’m going.” Her voice admitted her frustration with his cryptic nature.
“The Council Building.”
“And what, pray tell, are we going to do at the Council Building?” She had spent hours in the marble halls of the Council Building with Kor. She had sat through fifteen of his speeches. She had given three of her own. The place reeked of injustice and rich fabric. She had no intention of going back anytime soon. The time for talking to the Council was over. That was Korvo’s route. Today had blocked her from ever attempting that again.
“Surprise them with power. Show them control and mastery. Show them you will not stand down to live as second-class citizens anymore.”
“And how do we make sure the Watchers don’t know we’re coming like they did today?”
“Sid, Twelve Gods guide him, had a bit of a mouth. He told too many people. Which we needed then. But this is now. Now you work with only those who will come through. The people who have the conviction.”
“The anger,” Aer interrupted.
“The power,” he continued without acknowledging her, “to see this through.”
She thought of the people who had been in the marketplace today. Most of them did not fit that bill. They were angry, sure, but most of them were scared. She knew a few. The ones that took up the battle cry when Sid had died. Bryce. She knew deep in her soul Tiernan should be the angriest, but she left him off her mental list. She hadn’t lied to Kor when she told him that Tiernan had pushed her over the edge. The injustice and torture he had faced—to be sentenced to death as a child—was the final straw. The fear that something like that could happen here, that it felt like they were getting close, was forcing her to act. Forcing her to stay in the room with this stranger.
“And what are you going to be doing during all of this? I didn’t see you at the marketplace today.”
“I was there.” The man smiled now.
“And you didn’t help?” Aer asked. She hadn’t gone a single minute of today where she wasn’t trying to get the winds to stop bringing her the screams of the marketplace.
“I had to make sure it would work. That there were people in Kaybrum who could stand up and fight.”
“And now that you’ve seen it?” she asked.
“I am ready to back this campaign financially.”
“But not fight? Not take the same risks you’re asking us to take?”
“Years of war in Hadran leave you a little tired. This is the best way. You know as well as I do that revolutions take money.”
Aer gritted her teeth. She knew that all too well. “And what will your financial support get for us?” she asked.
“You are wise to ask. Our late friend Sid never did. I’m glad you’re in charge now, Aer.” He rose from the table. Aer watched him move to a box at the edge of the room that had been put there a few days earlier. Aer was pretty sure no one had touched it in all that time.
“What’s in there?”
“These,” he held up what looked in the dim light to be woven gray suits, “are a technology that has been perfected in Hadran.”
“Something that helps Magics is coming from Hadran?” She was skeptical of what a garment could possibly do.
“As if you and Korvo haven’t gotten smarter when you’ve had to hide from the world. There is still resistance in Hadran,” the man scoffed. He gingerly tossed her the jacket. She felt the weight in her hand.
“Is it supposed to be armor? A uniform so they know who to shoot at? This isn’t going to protect from any bullets,” she said, laying it down on the table in front of her.
“If you’re wearing this, you won’t need to worry about bullets,” the man said, coming back to lean against the chair.
“Because we’ll be too fashionable to shoot? You have to give me something to go on here. I need to know what to tell my people.”
“Are you tired tonight?”
“Is that a real question? Of course I am. I used the wind to call weather from thirty miles away.” She could barely move her arms, her head was swimming, and it was taking more concentration than she’d like to admit to follow this conversation.
“You could pull weather from one hundred miles away with this and be no more tired.”
Aer held the jacket in her hands. Something that could increase their abilities without the risk of draining away their life force. That would be an immeasurable help in something like what happened today.
She thought for a second and pulled it on. Immediately the small breezes that had come into the room were growing. She put her hand on the papers in front of her, but the wind was hungry and pulled at them. She didn’t know how, but the jacket seemed to work.
“When can you get enough of these?”
“Three days,” the man said. “I’ll have them delivered here.”
“I assume I won’t see you again before then.”
“You assume correctly.”
“Our business is done?” She couldn’t help but feel on guard. This was someone who was giving her a huge advantage, someone who wanted to help, someone who knew Kor, but she couldn’t let herself fully relax. Maybe it was just the events of the day or his overbearing sharpness, but she was ready to have him gone so she could get some sleep.
“Goodnight, Aer.” He turned and slid back into the darkness of the hallway from which he came. Aer slipped the jacket off, but couldn’t quite put it down yet.
She carried it into the makeshift bedroom and placed it next to the bed.
When she woke from a nightmare, she found she had pulled the coat around her.
MERIN:
Merin had watched over Bryce until she could hardly keep her eyes open. When she had enough strength to get up and take Tiernan to Korvo, she decided she was coming back and sleeping in the school. Even if a Watcher had seen her, she would just plead ignorance. Nothing on her marked her as a Magic. They would let her through.
It was cold during the night, but she was too exhausted to really notice. When the sun peeked in through the windows, she jolted upright. It was the first time in her life she had spent the night outside of her parents’ house. Her back ached, and she stood to stretch before checking on Bryce. Bryce, who slept like this every night. Who spent most nights, even those in the winter, outside in the garden. Bryce, who had slept with a grimace on his face.
The wound was healing well. She had spent most of her energy on that. It would take another day or two, but he would be okay. His clothes were still drenched with blood. She ran a finger across the furrow in his brow, and it softened beneath her touch.
“Merin?” Bryce said. His eyes fluttered open.
“How did you know it was me?” She smiled at him.
“You smell good.” He tried to laugh but he grabbed his side.
“What’s wrong? You shouldn’t have any broken bones.” Merin moved toward him.
“Just sore. Used a lot of magic.” He struggled into a seated position. He looked down at the little blanket nest she had made with some of the old furniture coverings. “Did you sleep here?”
She nodded. “Are you feeling okay?” She put her palm to his forehead like she was feeling a fever, but if she had to be honest, she just wanted to be closer to him.
“I’m just sore. It’ll take me a while to get up,” he said with a groan. He looked down at his clothes and sighed.
“I can get you some more when I go home,” she said. She was going to have to get home soon anyway. Her parents would be furious with her for not being there, but the curfew gave her an excuse. Her plan was to say that she stayed with a friend because of the curfew. It was best to come up with a half-truth.
Merin started to gather her things. She had brought her medical supplies with her. Aer had sent a messenger and all they had said was that Bryce was at the school and he needed help. Her medical bag had already been packed. Her house was far from the marketplace, but not far enough that she didn’t know something big had gone on, and she was smart enough to know that, based on how distant he had been the day before, Bryce had been involved.
“Could you stay for another minute?” Bryce asked. His gray eyes looked scared and small. She set down her things.
“Of course.”
“I ... I had something I wanted to tell you. And I wanted to tell you before anything went haywire, but it’s too late for that now. But since I still can, I want to tell you.”
“What is it?” She leaned closer to him.
“Well, my mom used to bake these little cream puffs all the time when I was little.”
Merin squinted a little, and Bryce hurried on.
“This was before, of course, they knew what I was. Those were the good years. Those cream puffs made me feel special. They made me feel like I could grow up to be someone successful. They just filled my belly with warmth and confidence. And… you… you make me feel like that. Like the good times.”
“I do?” The smile that forced its way onto her lips betrayed her happiness.
“It’s just, there have been bad times, too. So many bad times. And I never got cream puffs again, so it’s hard to not want to make sure that feeling won’t go away again. And I know it isn’t your fault that your family has been able to keep you from all the horrible things out in the world. But sometimes it makes me feel like the cream puffs are going to be taken away again. That, one day, you’d rather not spend time on the streets with someone who sleeps in the dirt and whose only pair of clothes is covered in his own blood. Someone who has been labeled a criminal, a nuisance to society. That someday you’re going to choose to walk away because you can. And I’m sorry I take that out on you. And I’m sorry I push you away. I just want you to understand that I’m not sure I can handle the good times going away. That’s why I want to help Aer. I need to help Aer. So they never have to.” He stopped for a minute, and she tried not to move toward him.
“I love Kor,” he said finally, “but I can’t keep waiting and hoping. I have to do something so I can make sure the good times stay. That you stay.”
“I understand that,” Merin said looking at him. “At least I think I do. I can try.”
“I get it if you don’t feel the same way,” Bryce said. His fingers rubbed his wound as if he was ashamed of it. “About me and about the revolution, but I had to tell you how I felt. Just in case…” he tapered off. She let it remain unsaid.
“I can’t say I feel the same way about the revolution brewing. But, Bryce, I do feel the same way about you.”
His eyes met hers.
She didn’t have far to lean down so her face was next to his, and she kissed him. She felt him tense and then relax. His arms went around her. She felt his strong muscles against her back. His lips were rough and salty, but she didn’t mind. She liked it. It was exactly how she thought it would be. Warm and safe.
He pulled away from her for a second. She didn’t want to let him go.
“I’m going to hang out here today,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. “I’ll even practice my reading like a good boy.”
She laughed. It was a giddy laugh she hadn’t realized she could produce.
“I need to run home and get you new clothes and make sure my parents don’t kill me for being gone all night, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Take your time,” he said with his spectacular grin, “I’m not going anywhere fast today.”
She leaned in and kissed him again, and then reluctantly pulled herself away to get home.
When she was outside, she let herself pause for the moment sink in. Then, once she had pulled herself together, she checked herself all over to make sure she hadn’t gotten any blood on her clothes. That would be difficult to explain to her parents.
When she stepped into the house, no one was around. She wandered the halls for a bit but didn’t see her mother in her normal chair by the window. She also didn’t see any of the help bustling about. She hoped they weren’t sent looking for her.
Merin tiptoed through the house, expecting to see her mother’s angry face at any point. It wasn’t until she had gone by her parents’ bedroom that she noticed the door was open. She stuck her head inside, ready for the hysterics.
“Oh, there you are, Merin. Your father could use some assistance in the study,” her mother said, without any indication that Merin had been missing up until that point. Maybe her mother was just choosing to ignore it so she would be useful, or maybe she didn’t know.
Merin stopped by her room before heading to her father’s study. She changed clothes. Her clothes were wrinkled and sweaty, and she also couldn’t get over the fear that there was some of Bryce’s blood on them. She stood at the closet, thinking about what Bryce had said about his one change of clothes. She had plenty. She could choose to spend an hour trying on outfits and pick the one Bryce would like her in the most, but she couldn’t bring herself to take out the light blue dress she had planned on wearing. Instead, she grabbed a simple brown dress and a jacket to match.
She had to get clothes for him. She wasn’t sure how she could get into her parents’ room without them knowing.
“Ms. Merin. I hope you had a pleasant evening.”
Merin turned to see Rachael, the person who had helped raise her most of her life. She was a thin woman, but she always looked pressed and clean. Her hair was mostly silver now, but it had been chestnut when Merin was little. Rachael had always been there for her.
When Merin didn’t respond right away, Rachael began placing Merin’s dirty laundry into her basket. “I don’t suppose that mess yesterday and that little Bryce boy had anything to do with you not coming home last night?” she asked nonchalantly.
“Do my parents know?”
“Ever since yesterday afternoon, your father’s been locked in his study. He was getting a stream of messengers all last night. He even gave most of the staff some time off so he didn’t have any noise about the house while he worked.”
“And my mother?” Merin asked.
“She’s been holed up in their room. She was quite scared. ‘Attacking us next,’ she kept saying. But I’m sure she didn’t know you were out.”
“Rachael, thank you for not saying anything to them.”
“Oh, but I’ll say something to you. Staying out all night with that Bryce fella … He’s trouble. I know he’s got a grin that makes ya feel like melting, but his eyes are troubled. Best not happen again on my watch.”
“It’s not like that. He was hurt yesterday at the marketplace. I was just helping him feel better.”
“I’m sure ya were. I saw you taking your time picking out an outfit before I came in.”
“Rachael.”
“But them marketplace people is dangerous. If Bryce has gotten himself involved, you are going to want to stay away from him.”
“Why? Bryce isn’t dangerous.”
“Not him sweetie, but the world. While you were snoozing away somewhere, the world was buzzing. Things are on the edge now. Just talk to your father, and you’ll see the Council is up in arms. And I’m old enough to know that when things become unstable it’s people like your friend Bryce that pay the price.”
“Because he’s a Magic? So am I.”
“Not because of that, dearie. People with anger in their hearts … It’ll consume them. They can’t rise against the Council. They’ll just tear themselves apart.”
“So you’re saying there’s no point in them fighting?”
“The world is the way it is. I just don’t want you going down in flames with it. Your parents worked hard for you to remain unmarked. Don’t let that boy’s anger drag you down.”
“But I should be able to let people know about my magic. I help people. Why should I have to keep that hidden?” Her voice rose to a squeak.
“I know it’s hard, sweetie,” Rachael smoothed the hair around her face, “but people with powers make others feel uncomfortable. And when people feel uncomfortable they get defensive, and you know how an animal is when they get backed into a corner.”
“So what if it makes them uncomfortable?” Merin asked. She was having a hard time keeping her voice level.
“Aww, sweets. You’ll understand someday.” Rachael patted her arm. “Just promise me, you won’t get yourself involved. You’ll stay hidden while all of this blows through.”
Merin didn’t respond. She had no intention of fighting, but hearing Rachael tell her to stay hidden didn’t sit right.
“Rachael, will you do one more favor for me? Just let me see something through.”
“Of course.”
“Will you get a couple changes of clothes out of Father’s dresser? Things he won’t miss.”
“Things that might fit young Bryce?”
Merin nodded.
“Have it to you in an hour,” Rachel said, picking up her basket and placing it square on her hip.
Merin took another look around her room and headed into her father’s study. There was only one reason she was ever asked to come in there. He wanted her to use her powers, but maybe she could use him, too. She knocked quietly.
“My sweet.” Her father didn’t look up from the paperwork in front of him.
“Hello, Father. Mother said you had something you wanted me to take care of.”
“Just a bit of back pain.” He tapped the top of his left shoulder, still looking at his work. Merin moved into her familiar place. She took a moment and spread her fingers wide over the edges of her father’s shoulders. She glanced over him at the type covering the pages in front of him.
The pages were a blur of writing. Clearly, things were happening fast. Whatever it was, despite being a week or more away, looked like it would be happening in a matter of days.
“What is the Council saying?” She added a little fear to her voice to try to coax her father to give her some information. She found important men like her father almost always fell for the damsel in distress routine.
“A little to the left, please, Merin dear,” her father responded. She shifted her fingers a few inches to the left. Her magic jolted over a few knots in her father’s back before returning to the nice, even, steady flow she was giving out.
She wondered if she should ask again. She needed time to work out what was in front of her. If she could get information to Kor, then maybe whatever it was that Aer was going to do next, that Bryce was going to do next, she could stop. She could bring them back to the idea that the school would work.
Her desire to try to understand Bryce filtered through her mind, and her power wavered.
Shifting the papers in front of him, he sighed. “That’s enough, Merin. No need to tire you out.”
“I have a lot more—” she said restarting the flow of warmth through her father’s tight muscles.
“Run along, child.”
She had been dismissed. There was no more arguing that would get her any more information.
“Yes, Father.” She stole one last look at the papers on the desk. His shuffling had caused the cover page to come into clear view. ‘Operation Fire Bird’ was in clear black letters along the top of the page. Merin’s mouth opened, and she was about to ask, but she knew she would just get reprimanded for not knowing her place. Better to find out on her own.
Rachael had left clothes bundled up in Merin’s bag. They were sturdy, plain clothes that her father never chose over his wardrobe of elaborate fabrics and bright colors. But they would fit Bryce, and he wouldn’t have to walk around in his own blood. She hoped he would take them.
She shifted the clothes aside so she could fit more medical supplies inside. She figured by now more people were going to need help. She would go check on Bryce and then maybe see about heading over to the Wall to see if she could help. Maybe Bryce would even come with her.
Bryce. Her cheeks flushed with color. She had been waiting for Bryce to say something to her about his feelings, but she hadn’t expected how little anything else seemed to matter when they kissed. Her bones had ceased wanting to hold her up. But that had been fine because his arms were around her. Her stomach dropped. It was too much to think about in more than small spurts.
She shook her head. She had places to be. Why spend the day dreaming when she could be reliving it instead?
“Mother?” Merin called, as she headed into their bedroom. Her mother sat, but she didn’t have a book with her like usual. Instead, she just stared out into the city. Her tea sat untouched on the table next to her.
“Mother?”
Her mother finally turned to look at her. She had worry lines Merin had never seen etched into her face. Merin wondered how much of what had happened in the marketplace had affected her.
“Is everything okay?” Merin asked, sitting next to her mother.
“Promise me you won’t get mixed up with any of these rebel Magics,” her mother said. Again with the promises. Merin felt like bile was burning the edge of her stomach.
“I’m sure they don’t want to hurt anyone.” Merin tried to keep her voice pleasant. If her mother caught any hint that she was helping someone who was there yesterday, she knew there wouldn’t be a second night when no one seemed to miss her.
“People should just be happy with what they have,” her mother said. “Wanting more than what you have always gets you into trouble.”
Merin couldn’t help herself.
“What they have? Most Magics live on the streets. Some of them are abandoned as children just for being Magic. They just want to be able to live.”
“That’s why we have the Refuge. For those less fortunate. Somewhere to live, to be educated among their own kind.”
“That horrid place?” Merin’s voice rose an octave.
“Surely, you don’t think now is the time to take this tone with me, young lady. Your father has been up all night helping the Council because some people aren’t happy with what they have. You of all people should understand when it’s best to keep your mouth shut.”
Merin wanted to scream, but she used the training her parents had purchased for her in private schools for years and bit her tongue.
“I was hoping to go over to a school friend’s to study since they seemed to have canceled school.” She wasn’t sure that was true, but it was a safe bet her mother didn’t know either way. “Maybe they will be able to help me remember my place.”
“Very well dear, just remember that when you come back, I expect that you will have stopped with this nonsense.”
“No more of the nonsense, Mother,” Merin said. And she meant it. She just didn’t quite agree with her mother on what part the nonsense was.
“Run along.” Her mother looked back out the window.
Merin had never run faster out of her house. She quickly made her way to the dilapidated school building. Bryce was waiting for her and so was Kor.
“Good morning, Merin,” Kor said. The same deep lines of worry were etched onto his face. He looked old at that moment. His features were heavy.
“We’ll finish our conversation later, Bryce. I have to go finish preparing for the Council.”
“The Council?” asked Merin.
“Yes, they moved up my meeting with them. I think they’re trying to catch me off guard while everyone is still dealing with yesterday.”
“Something is happening with the Council,” she said trying to remember all the little details that she had seen in her father’s study. “I told Bryce that something was happening in a week, but now it looks like they have something big planned in just a couple of days. Something they’re calling ‘Operation Fire Bird.’ My father has been working on it all night. They need him to get all the legal permissions.”
“Do you know anything else?” Kor asked. There was something in his yellow-green eyes, and it certainly wasn’t hope.
“No. My father wouldn’t give me any details.”
“That’s okay,” he sighed. “At least I’m going in with something. Take it easy, you two. I’ll take Tiernan to Bethlem’s so Bryce can rest.” He left then, his shoulders square, but Merin knew he was forcing it.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” Bryce said. She turned to smile at him.
“But I could use some more care, just to make sure.” He smiled. Merin was happy to see him smile again. He hadn’t done it much since Aer had sent them out to find Tiernan. That felt like it was years ago.
Bryce pulled her into a hug, and she let him. There was nothing she wanted more than to spend all day wrapped up in his arms.
“I brought you clothes,” she said letting the tip of her nose rest on his. They were so close she was sure he could feel her heart beating.
“How was your house?” Bryce let his hand glide across the edge of her face.
“Same as always. My parents seemed pretty rattled about the marketplace, but other than that, nothing has changed.” She wasn’t sure how to tell him what her mother had said without bringing back the anger. She wanted a few more minutes with calm and happy Bryce.
While he changed, Merin told him she wanted to go see if she could help anyone who was hurt yesterday and was in the medic wards in the walls. Merin had never been inside the Wall. That was always an errand for Bryce or Aer. People in the Wall District didn’t trust her much.
Bryce smiled.
“I was hoping you’d want to do that. I want to go over and check on Aer, now that she’s staying in the Wall. It’s been driving me nuts all morning not knowing how she’s doing, and Kor won’t even mention her name.”
“He’s that mad? He didn’t seem mad at you.”
Bryce shrugged.
At the Wall everything was bustling. Lanterns bobbed up and down throughout the tunnels, and Merin was glad Bryce was holding her hand. She didn’t want to lose him in the chaos.
Bryce led her to the medic ward. There were beds crammed together. People were everywhere.
“Will you be alright if I leave you here for a minute?” He leaned in so he spoke directly into her ear. His breath made all the hairs on her body stand up.
She nodded. “I’ll be busy here.”
“I just saw Aer outside. I’ll only be gone a minute.”
He gave her hand a squeeze and threaded his way through the healers walking around. Merin stopped one of them and they immediately put her to work. It was mostly soothing bruises and small cuts, but a few people had broken arms from when everyone tried to escape the bullets. She was busy enough that she didn’t miss Bryce until she heard his voice as she passed by the door.
“Two days. I’ll be there,” he said. She imagined he spoke to Aer, but the dark prevented her from seeing.
Was two days all she was going to get before he went back to something that had put all these people in the hospital? She’d have to enjoy it while she could.
KORVO:
Before this whole mess with Aer, he had been getting somewhere with the Council. Merin had been bringing inside information from the rich districts; Bryce was running all the errands, and—even in his thoughts he struggled with her name—Aer was helping him with the recruiting process. He wondered when she had stopped doing it for him and started doing it for herself.
He had wanted to bring Bryce, had been planning on bringing him, but it was too much of a gamble to put someone who was at the marketplace in front of the Council today. It would have to wait. He would have to hope for another chance.
He ran through the possible scenarios. His hand subconsciously found the edge of the cards in his pocket and riffled the edges without him even knowing.
Scenario 1: They would ask him for a peace offering to make everything go away as quickly as possible. He would tell them to end the Refuge. This was the best option.
Scenario 2: They would refuse to see him completely, having invited him only as a show of their power.
Scenario 3: The Council would declare Magics enemies of the state. This was obviously the worst.
Scenario 4: He would be a puppet for their press releases. He would talk. They would flaunt the fact that they were in open discussion with a Magic leader no matter which leader it was.
Scenario 5: They would ask him to talk to Aer. His stomach plummeted. What would he even say to her? He’d been avoiding her name, but not for the reason Bryce kept implying. He didn’t hate her. He couldn’t blame her for what she was doing. And dammit if she wasn’t better than Sid. It just hurt. She was his first friend in Kaybrum. She was… he couldn’t finish that thought and still make himself presentable to the Council.
He ran through about ten more scenarios in his head, but he had no clarity for what was going to happen when he got to the Council. Even the cards weren’t helping make anything clearer. He rubbed his right hand.
The Council building was the second tallest building in the city next to the Refuge. On the side of the building with the least windows, someone had painted the Raven’s head in dark, black paint still wet enough that it was dripping down the stone. Kor couldn’t help but smile a little, even if its presence made his job harder for him. But at least the Council was still standing; that got one of the worst of the possible situations out of the way.
He took a deep breath before he opened the door and went up to see the Council.
“And why should we believe a word he says,” the Council member behind Kor asked. He was surrounded by council members who all sat in their large, ornately-carved seats high above him. Currently, they were just talking over him. They hadn’t offered a peace offering.
“If I may,” Korvo interjected. His voice was lost among the clatter of Council members arguing about him as if he weren’t there. He knew them all. Not personally. Very few Council members would be seen with a lowlife like him outside of this room. But he knew them from the intel he had gathered. The pieces he had moved. It was all supposed to lead up to this moment.
“Why are we even talking to him?”
“Let’s just hear what he has to say. What can it hurt?” The Council member closest to Kor’s right hand spoke now. Kor couldn’t hide his smile. Out of everything they had researched and done, they hadn’t had to do anything for Councilman Jacqui. He was the youngest member of the Council and the only one who fully supported the rights of Magics.
Kor had still done his research. Jacqui’s youngest brother was a Magic. He moved earth. Something had happened in a bar one night that led the brother to a labor camp. Kor sighed. Magic was preferred only when useful.
Kor stood as straight and tall as he could. He tried to let the events of the past age his face as much as they had aged his soul. He would not give them vapid reasons like his age to shoot him down. He had to make them really listen to the problem, and not find a reason to sweep it under the rug. He used the deep voice he often used to order Bryce to calm down.
“Your esteemed Council,” he said. The men stopped and looked down at him, and Kor cleared his throat. “If I may? I know I was not there at the marketplace. But I know their concerns. I know their feelings, and I know their plight.”
“So, you sympathize with them,” someone off to his left said. Kor ignored the comment. Of course he sympathized with them.
“Show them you are listening, and their fears can ease. Show them you care about them and not the destruction they cause, and it may stop.”
“May stop, or will stop?” someone else asked.
Kor took a deep breath, letting things come out as calmly as possible.
“Right now they won’t stop.”
“Are you threatening us?” The head of the council stood up from his chair so he could lean down and stare at Korvo.
“No sir, I came here today for the same reason I’ve been coming for years. I have been asking for a chance to meet with you all about the Refuge. It is time we find a new way to help our young people. The school I started will—”
“The Refuge is a re-education program,” the bald Council member said, sitting back in his chair.
“No offense sir, but it is not. It’s crowded and infested with rats. It is no place for a child. Just last night they turned off the furnace.”
“I saw smoke coming from the Refuge last night,” the Council member said. Korvo hesitated. He couldn’t tell them Tiernan had lit the fires without exposing him.
“Eventually,” added Korvo.
“There is a reason each of those children gets placed in the Refuge—”
“Because they are Magic,” Kor said. His voice was cold and flat.
“They’re on the street causing trouble,” another man cried. Kor wasn’t bothering trying to keep them straight.
“Because there is no one to care for them. Adult Magics more often than not end up in your work camps or have to work three jobs to support their children due to the low wages they take home. Or if a Magic has the immense misfortune of being born to a non-Magic family, their parents kick them out because of the stigma and there is no one to watch them during the day. Without school—”
“Magics can’t be at school. They don’t have control. That’s why the Refuge is…”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but no Watchers were killed at the marketplace. No random passersby were harmed by magic.” The Council members said nothing. “That’s the definition of control. We can control our powers, but you want control over us.” He didn’t care that his skin was turning red, or that his bad hand was clenched into a fist. They would hear him. Aer wasn’t the only one who had that deep need in their soul.
“And what would you suggest?” Jacqui asked.
Korvo opened his mouth, but before he could say anything a Council member slammed his hand onto the desk. The sound reverberated through the round room. Even Kor jumped a little, his shoulders tightening up around his head.
“Why are you listening to some kid, Jacqui?”
“Listening to ourselves hasn’t made this get better,” Jacqui replied calmly. The other man turned away.
“First, I would suggest you go and visit the Refuge unannounced and see if it truly is a ‘reeducation’ center for lost children. Then, when you realize it’s not that at all, I want you to disband it.”
“I’ve heard enough,” the head of the Council said, and Kor knew he had been dismissed. Already the Council members had turned to each other and the plans for lunch floated down to him.
“Korvo,” Jacqui called out to him. Kor looked up. The robes the Council wore looked even sillier when they weren’t seated on almost identical thrones. The man had stuck out his hand. Kor shook it. Jacqui looked down at his mangled hand for a moment, then the man stared up at him. Kor shrugged. He was used to people being put off by his hand. It was just a fact of life.
“I appreciate the time,” Kor said, turning to go again, but Jacqui held him. His eyes fixated on Kor’s hand.
“I would like to take you up on it. I want to see the Refuge.”
Kor nodded.
“It won’t be pretty,” Kor said.
“I can imagine.”
“I can’t go in with you,” Kor said after a moment.
“I would never expect you to, but company on the walk over would be nice.”
Kor smiled and shook the man’s hand again.
“Wait just a minute for me to change,” Jacqui said, heading for the large red door at the end of the room. Kor waited patiently in the foyer.
“Jacqui is too young to understand,” a voice said, drifting through the empty hallways to Kor’s ears.
“It’s pointless. We’ve already made our decision. Operation Fire Bird is necessary to deal with this problem once and for all. They’ll see that eventually.” Kor strained to see if he could tell who was talking, but the echoes of the marble walls distorted the voices too much.
“The only reason I agreed to see that dirty child was the hope he would implicate himself and make it easier on Jacqui.”
“Easier?” whispered Kor to himself. He didn’t like the sound of any of this. He would need to get more information from Merin and to check in with Bethlem on his way to her.
Jacqui appeared to Kor’s left with a big smile.
“So you really think this will change anything?” he asked. Kor took a second to realize he was talking to him.
“Getting rid of the Refuge? Getting rid of the marks on our skin? Yes. Anything to make us feel human,” Kor said, wondering if he should just ask the Council member about Operation Fire Bird.
Jacqui nodded. Kor didn’t want to blow his opportunity to show this man the Refuge. Out of his robe, he looked like the typical rich person in Kaybrum. Kor couldn’t see any difference between him and someone from Merin’s family.
“If we end the Refuge, what’s going to happen to those kids?” Jacqui asked. Something in his tone made it obvious he was testing how far Kor had thought this through. Kor smiled.
“I’ve already started the school I was asking for help with for months. Students come every day.”
“But some of these kids have no education. How will you get them caught up?”
“Any education will be better than the Refuge.”
The Council member cocked his eyebrow.
“You’ll see.”
“But what about food and shelter?”
“That’s part two of the plan. And honestly, anything is better than the Refuge,” Kor said.
The rest of the walk went quickly. There wasn’t much traffic in the streets when you were worried another brawl might start at any moment.
The Refuge came into view.
“There it is,” Kor said. “And this is where I leave you.” Jacqui shook his hand one more time and crossed the courtyard by himself. Kor stayed long enough to watch him demand entrance from the guards. After that, he figured, it was up to him to see.
He headed straight for Bethlem’s. Tiernan and, hopefully information, were waiting for him.
“Kor,” Bethlem beckoned from the front of his bar. Kor walked over to him. The bar was filled to capacity.
“What is it?” Kor asked once Bethlem led him to the back.
“You told me to tell you if I heard anything about a Fire Magic,” Bethlem said. His forehead was creased.
“What did you hear?”
“Not much, just rumors that one is around. It’s really stirring those who are on Aer’s side.”
“But nothing specific,” Kor said. He could feel beads of sweat forming at the edge of his hairline. “Right?”
“I just heard snippets of conversations, but you made it clear you wanted any information.”
“Thanks, Bethlem.”
“How did the Council go?” Bethlem pulled up a chair.
Kor sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “Not well. Not horrible. Jacqui is still on our side. But Aer and Sid did some serious damage.”
“You have to admit that people here are feeling more empowered.” Bethlem nodded toward the tight-knit groups of people whispering up a storm. Kor sighed.
“Until they catch Aer and drag her screaming away to a prison camp.”
“You think that will happen?” Bethlem’s eyes searched Kor’s face.
“She won’t scream. She’ll be as stoic as ever, but yes, at some point this will catch up with her.”
“What’s your next move?”
“See how Jacqui reacts to the Refuge, I guess. And hope he can convince someone of something,” Kor turned to go and stopped. “Have you heard anything about an ‘Operation Fire Bird?’” Kor asked.
“No. But I’ll keep my ears listening like always.”
Kor nodded.
“I haven’t seen Bryce today,” Bethlem said before the moment could turn to an awkward silence.
“He should be with Merin, resting.”
“How did Bryce get caught up in this? He’s your biggest follower. That boy looks up to you.” Bethlem reached out his hand for Kor’s shoulder. “He’s grown a lot, too, since you first brought him here. I could barely tell there was a boy under all that dirt,” Bethlem said with a small laugh.
“Yeah,” said Kor. He remembered the Bryce from three years ago, too: a bundle of pine needles and resentment. “But he’s still angry inside. And anger can cause almost any thought process to be lost.”
“Speaking from experience?” Bethlem’s eyebrows were slightly raised, his forehead soft.
“There is a reason Bryce likes me. Just like there was a reason Aer did.” He rubbed at his hand.
“Because of that hand? Because of some horrible life you lived a lifetime ago, a country ago?”
Kor didn’t respond. He stared at the tapestry. The whirls of color called to him.
“Korvo, you know that is ridiculous, right?”
Kor continued to look at the door.
“They don’t care for you because you are some sort of war hero.”
“I don’t know if Aer would agree with you.”
“Kor, I have known you for over three years now. And I’ve known Aer since she could barely walk. They care because you care about them. You see them. You care about their struggles. You give them the space to safely worry and complain.”
“Well, worrying and complaining aren’t going to make the world a better place,” Kor said. He was done with this conversation and just wanted to go home. There was nothing more Bethlem could tell him.
“You can try not to believe me. But I’ve got a few years on you, kid. You may have a better mind for strategy and politics, but I’ve seen enough people come through this bar to know what I am talking about.”
Korvo nodded, but his heart wasn’t in it. Bethlem rapped the table with his knuckles. He patted Korvo on the shoulder one more time, and then he went back into the crowded bar.
“I hope you’re right,” Kor said to the empty room. “I really do.”