Chapter Two

 

Sobbing came from the back of the cavern. Choo-Choo had been inventorying their supplies. Since they'd left the Terreno, they'd had to keep a tight control over their food. Not that foraging wasn't possible, but one grew pretty sick of eating crickets and tasteless mushrooms for weeks on end. Yara was sitting across from him, sharpening her blade. Tick was around the front, providing lookout with Koro.

"Are you gonna…?" asked Yara, nodding towards the sobbing with a surprising amount of pity in her gaze.

Choo-Choo left their supplies organized in neat piles and climbed over the rise to the spring-fed watering hole. The air was cooler near the water. His sister, Vasilisa, was sitting against the wall, arms squeezed around her chest, cheeks glistening with tears.

"Vasy..."

The blank, empty stare barely flickered with his arrival. He stood near her, unsure of how to provide comfort.

"Is there anything I can do? Do you need something to eat?"

His sister grunted, scrunching up her face and looking at him like he'd asked her to eat a demon's liver. She pulled herself into an even smaller ball, rocking slightly on her rear. Choo-Choo wished their mother wasn't in the city above. He could use her soft touch. Choo-Choo approached his sister and when she didn't bite, he sat next to her, resting his forearms on his bent knees. She leaned over, putting her weight against him. Choo-Choo didn't say anything, mostly because he didn't know what he could say that would make Andelei's death less painful. It was her first real relationship, and she'd had to watch him be murdered before her eyes.

"What was he like?" asked Choo-Choo.

Vasilisa wiped away wetness near her eye using the inside of her thumb.

"I hated him at first," she said, speaking into the ground. "Because he was Alliance and everything they'd done to our clan. But he was kind. Sometimes it was hard for me to believe that he was a waku. I couldn't imagine him killing anyone. He was polite to everyone, even the weird vendors in the Terreno, greeting them as if they were old friends. Najani even liked him and she doesn't like anyone."

Choo-Choo put his arm around his sister and pulled her tight. "I would have liked to have met him. In another life, we could have been clan brothers."

Vasilisa tensed. He chided himself for saying something so stupid, reminding her that if they hadn't been opposing the Alliance, then he would still be alive and she'd still be happy.

"He cut him down for no reason. He didn't have to. That murderous fuck."

Deacon. She couldn't even say his name. The former Crow would have killed them all except for Tick's intervention.

"What are you going to do about him?" asked Vasilisa, staring into his face with the intensity of a supernova.

Choo-Choo hadn't thought about it since the day at the Terreno. Getting away and surviving had been enough for the moment. Even when they'd had more resources available, they hadn't considered tangling with Deacon. Their two encounters with him had each ended with them barely escaping with their lives. But the need in his sister's expression, that while Deacon still lived, she would be in pain, had him speaking before he considered the odds.

"I promise you on Dad's grave that I'll gut that wayhos. Make him pay for what he did to Andy, and the Drops, and hell, even Razor."

He surprised himself with the last part, but after years with Tick and Yara, he no longer thought of Razor as his enemies. The past was rearranged in his mind, where the two clans were like a bickering family.

"I will hold you to your promise," said Vasilisa.

Her cold stare sent a shiver through Choo-Choo. She couldn't ever be a waku, but she had the heart of one. No stone and no hand wouldn't make a difference as far as Choo-Choo was concerned.

They turned their heads at the same time when a pressure shift in the cavern made them aware that something had happened. He felt electricity in the air, and rose to his feet as he reached for his blades. Vasilisa joined him at his side with a knife of her own—it was never safe to be unarmed in the Undercity.

The Great Arch was a man-made structure at least thirty feet tall built in the early years of the Undercity when few dared to live in the shadows. No one knew who had made it, but most speculation centered around a renegade mage of the Halls, performing forbidden magics in the protective darkness. The construct was imposing even if it'd proved benign, or at least without magic they had no way of affecting it. But it wasn't the only unusual thing in the area. A glossy black pillar of obsidian lay not far from the archway, a portal for the mages of the city, probably put in place by the very same mage that had created the arch. During their months camping nearby, they'd never seen anyone coming or going through it, though once they had some evidence that it'd been used while they'd been on a raid.

A white mist had formed like a miniature cloud, flat and growing like a disc above the pillar of obsidian. Tick came running from the front with Koro weaving above him. Choo-Choo knew the mages of the city used the portals for travel around the city, but he'd never heard of clouds forming during their use.

"What is it?" asked Tick, horrified.

"Be ready. We don't know who or what's coming through." He turned to his sister. "Stay behind me if things get bad."

Vasilisa made no move to retreat, keeping her blade outstretched. Choo-Choo hoped she wasn't being suicidal in her grief. It was a thing that happened to waku after losing too many of their friends.

The crack of electricity followed by a flash of light had him putting his arm up, even if it passed quickly. As the afterimage faded, he spotted two figures in the gloom, standing on either side of the pillar. His gut tightened the moment he recognized the chalky-gray skin of the maetrie. The woman wore expensively tailored clothing that marked her as a noble. The man on the other side was stocky, carrying a wicked mace on his hip, dressed as if he were a personal bodyguard. Choo-Choo had a good idea the pair were friends of Dominion, which meant they were enemies, even if they'd never met. He reached for his topaz, preparing to sprint into battle, knowing that Tick and Yara would be at his side.

As he switched to an underhand grip in his left hand, Choo-Choo sensed two things that made him hesitate. First, there was something familiar about both figures, even as he knew he'd never seen them before. The second was they both wore shocked expressions, and despite his side producing weapons, it'd not triggered the same response.

"Yara? What are you doing here?" asked the stocky bodyguard.

Yara's stance softened. "How do you know my name?"

"It's me, Kuma." He gestured to the other side of the pillar. "That's Pandora."

"How? Why?" asked Yara.

"Don't put your blades down," said Vasilisa. "It could be a trick." She looked ready to take them both on at the same time.

"Hey Vasy," said the maetrie woman, the harsh exterior mixed with the friendly demeanor making Choo-Choo feel dizzy. "I used to beat you playing that board game your family made called Undercity. You always came in a close second."

"Pan?"

"I'd show you our real forms, but it takes a lot of energy and it's been a rough afternoon."

Weapons returned to sheaths. The two sides met halfway, embracing tightly.

"I wish I could see your true face," said Yara, grabbing her cousin by the shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" asked Pandora in breathless awe. "We expected to find an empty chamber."

Choo-Choo had a hard time rectifying the honey-mixed-with-glass voice and that it was his friend beneath the illusion. He reached out and pinched her face.

"Sorry. I had to check."

"Check what? It's a transformation. It's not a mask."

He gestured to the small camp nearby. "We're living in the lap of luxury. Can't you tell? What happened to you two? After we leapt into the waterfall, we kept expecting you to show up, and then after a few months we thought you must have died."

"I think we have a lot of catching up to do. A lot has happened since we've been gone I can see," said Pandora. "Is this place safe?"

"As anywhere in the Undercity."

The six of them settled around the makeshift camp. By virtue of being the last to sit, Choo-Choo was looked upon to explain their side of the nearly two years since the unsuccessful raid on the Alliance complex. He didn't think it was going to take long as most of their time had been spent hiding out in caves or in the secret room above Club Onyx, but between the regular clarifying questions and the addendums from his companions, it took nearly two hours to fully explain their side of the story.

When he was finished, he was struck with a realization that their experience had been fairly fantastic, and they were lucky that all three of them had survived with their lives. Which made it all the more painful that his sister's boyfriend had lost his life on the day they'd tried to rescue her. He wouldn't ever be able to forgive himself for allowing that to happen.

The other side of the story—the one about Pandora and Kuma's experiences in the Eternal City—put their meager rebellion to shame. The tale took much longer as even the smallest detail required an explanation. How do things made of concrete and glass live? What do you mean there's no directions? You met the Queen of the Ruby Court and lived? How can an entire realm be kept in a weapon? And so on.

The stories about Hylakane, the Steel Sun, interested Choo-Choo the most. He almost didn't seem real, but their transformation made it clear they hadn't been resting on their laurels in the endless city. Choo-Choo thought he'd been catching up to them in ability, but something about the way they carried themselves now suggested they'd ascended to another level. In his younger years, this would have angered him, but now he saw their return as a chance for them to make a real difference against the Alliance and Dominion Thule.

"Can you really change into anyone?" asked Vasilisa, eyes wide with wonder, her grief momentarily forgotten.

Kuma threw a pebble into the center. "Theoretically, yes, but it takes a toll. The energy for transformation is not cheap, and I'm exhausted afterwards."

"But you said Hylakane could do it effortlessly," said Vasilisa.

"He has the Zhinzi to draw on."

"Not to be rude," said Yara, "but why did you come back?"

"To stop my grandfather," said Pandora right away.

Yara had been playing with her knife. She twirled it in her palm absently.

"Maybe if you'd come back like this when it first happened, but I think the chance to stop them is long past. We've only been trying to survive this last year, and we only tangled with them again to free Vasy."

"Yara's right," said Choo-Choo. "We can't defeat them head-on. They have everything and we have nothing."

"I don’t plan on destroying the Alliance," said Pandora. "You're right. It's too late for that. But that doesn't mean that he's not vulnerable."

"Where? We couldn't even put a dent in Deacon," said Tick, stroking Koro's back as she snoozed in his lap.

"That's what I mean to find out. As Lady Saha and her bodyguard, we'll be able to go where otherwise we wouldn't be able to. I don't know my grandfather's long-term plans, but as a minor noble adjunct to the Jade Queen he'll want to court my influence, or at the very least use my skills as a warrior." Pandora hung her head. "It's all very theoretical at this point. Most of it will have to be improvised."

"It'll be much easier than that," said Vasilisa, raising her head. She'd been tapping on her knee and frowning with thought, but an idea had sparked, and she became animated again. "The Alliance is hosting a tournament and offering rare stones as prizes for the top finishers. I think it's meant as a coming-out party for the clan. Legitimizing its presence now that it has complete control of the Undercity. Lady Saha and her bodyguard should enter the tournament as a way to infiltrate the clan."

Stunned silence followed. She could see from the others that they thought it was as great an idea as she did.

"He's probably using it as a recruitment tool," said Yara.

"But for what?" asked Tick. "He has control of the Undercity. Why keep bringing in new waku? He doesn't need that many to run his operations, and all that additional manpower has got to be expensive."

"Tick's right," said Vasilisa, shaking her head. "I've been running parts of the clan's logistics for the last year and a half. I never really thought about it, but there are a ton of new waku coming in every day. More than the clan needs. I supplied some groups with equipment for exploring the far edges of the Undercity. Maybe he's trying to expand the mines? Bring in more cash?"

"Money isn't my grandfather's driving force, but power. While he needs the cash to facilitate his plans, it won't be his main focus," said Pandora.

"The Undercity is filled with old artifacts and arcane projects from the Hall mages who used to come down here to practice their craft in secret. This arch is proof of that," said Tick.

"Or he wants to take over the gangs in the city," said Kuma.

"That's the problem," said Choo-Choo. "We don't know what he wants or what his long-term goals are."

"Then I'll join the tournament," said Pandora. "It'll give me a reason to hang around and find out what my grandfather is really after. Once Kuma and I figure it out, we'll bring you in."

"Any way you can teach us that transformation trick?" asked Tick.

"I wish we could," said Pandora.

"What are you talking about, Tick?" asked Yara with a smirk. "You pulled off a pretty convincing hostess in the Terreno. I'm sure we could come up with disguises for each of us."

"I'm not sure," said Kuma. "Isn't that risky?"

"We lived in the Terreno for nearly half a year without incident. We had more problems when we were in the caverns. I can't say I'm looking forward to living in a camp again," said Yara.

"She's right," said Choo-Choo. "We can't stay here. It's too risky. Once we freed Vasy, we were planning on heading to the city, but if we're gonna stay, I'm not living like a vagabond."

"We don't have the materials for a believable disguise for all of you. I don't see how this works," said Kuma.

"We need them," said Pandora suddenly. "Not only to help figure out what's going on, but Lady Saha needs a retinue now that she's in the city of sorcery. Traveling with her bodyguard across the realm is fine, but she would hire or coerce servants once she arrived at a location. And she wouldn't come in through the Undercity, but from above."

"Can you get us up through the portal?" asked Yara.

"No, I only know this one and the one in my grandfather's complex. Getting to the Eternal City was hard enough and only possible because of my heritage. We'll have to find another way."

"There aren't any others, except the one the Halls control, and that might give us away," said Choo-Choo.

"There is one," said Kuma. "It's partially blocked but I bet the group of us could clear it enough to reach the surface."

"The tournament is in a little over a week. Doesn't give us much time," said Vasilisa.

"Then we'd better get started," said Pandora. "Everyone agree?"

When no one spoke, Pandora rose and everyone followed. After days of sitting around the camp, Choo-Choo found a renewed sense of purpose and saw the same in his sister. She was no longer focused on Andy's death, but on getting revenge for his killing.