Chapter Three

 

Removing the rock that had blocked the passage into the city proved easier than Pandora had expected—and nowhere near the challenge that clearing the fountain had been. Between the five waku, their stones gave them a decided advantage in physical labor, and Vasy proved to be quite inventive in helping them design chutes to remove the rock while they worked. The hardest part had been stabilizing the looser sections, and more than once, minor collapses had caused injuries. Nothing they couldn't handle.

Three days later, they ascended through the basement of a fancy restaurant, coming out in the morning during kitchen prep time. The staff froze, a few grabbing butcher knives. Pandora surged forward, letting her otherworldly appearance put doubt in their actions. Except for the encounter with the Ruby Queen's henchman, she hadn't a chance to step into her new persona. She reached into her past, dredging up memories of all the arrogant maetrie she'd had to deal with as a child.

"I would suggest that you not mention our passage," she said in the silk-and-gravel voice that the maetrie were well known for. "If I'm forced to return I will be displeased."

A few blank nods later, they were striding into the city street. The warm daylight was a shock to their systems. Between the years in the Undercity and then the Eternal City—a place of endless gloom—she hadn't seen the sun in what felt like most of her adult life. The group of them, despite the oddness of the city of sorcery, looked like a troupe of performers waiting for the bus.

"Does everyone know their part of the plan? If you need something, now's the time to bring it up," said Pandora.

Even though her friends knew who she really was beneath the Lady Saha disguise, they still reacted as if she truly were the maetrie noble, catching themselves averting their eyes and deferring to her decisions.

"Then we'll see you in the first ward this evening."

The two groups split up.

"I hate leaving them so soon," said Kuma, checking over his shoulder.

"This is the most critical part of the plan. If anyone sees us together, then our ruse later will be undone."

"I know, I know. I just worry is all." He squinted. "I thought you said a long time ago that you don't have a maetrie aura."

"I don't. Why?"

He frowned. "Sure seems like it, the way the kitchen staff looked like they were going to throw themselves to their knees when you gave them a command. Even the others seem weird around you."

Part of her hated to hear it, even if it would be useful to their plan. She'd spent half her life fighting against that part of her heritage, but now she had to embrace it completely for the sake of her disguise.

"Let's find the pawnshop."

The owner of Trinket Trades and Pawn was mystified by their appearance, and even more so when they placed the golden bracelets on the glass case. With no plan to return to the Eternal City, they'd decided the enchanted protection was no longer necessary and their best way to acquire funds in a short time. The stack of bills they received was much taller than she'd expected, and as they left the shop, Kuma gave her an eyebrow raise as if to say, "See."

Flush with cash, they made a few other stops, picking up a prepaid cell phone and debit card. This gave them access to the taxi system, which brought them into the center of town. The Grand Arcane was two blocks from where her grandfather and mother lived in the first ward. The hotel staff collapsed around them like drones around the queen bee, ignoring their weapons and traveler's belongings.

"Your best suite, facing the Spire, and I'll need your concierge in two hours."

Feeling like royalty by the bowing and scraping, Pandora couldn't help but smirk at the blank-eyed stares the other guests gave them. After years of scrambling to survive, it was a shock to her system to suddenly have everything she asked for.

The hot shower nearly made her sob with relief. There were many days, weeks even, in the Eternal City when she thought they'd never see the next morning. To be in the suite of the Grand Arcane, letting the dust wash off her gray-skinned body, was something of a revelation. The bottom of the enormous shower swirled with old dust. She let the water from the multiple showerheads run off her body, examining the scars and imperfections she'd endured in the Eternal City. A thousand what-ifs kept her beneath the steaming impact as she wondered if she was making the right choice. Why not leave the city entirely? Use the gifts she'd been given by Hylakane to forge her own life without the influence of her family? It was tempting. Who didn't want to escape the reach of their abusive relatives? While the journey through the Eternal City had been brutal, the time she'd spent with Kuma traveling had been revelatory. And now she had everything she needed to become wealthy on her own without ever having to return to the shadows.

But she knew she'd never be able to rest knowing her grandfather and mother were lurking in the city, sending their tendrils into the halls of power. It wasn't that she felt a responsibility towards the city, or the people. But she hated the idea that they ruined everything they touched, twisting it into a pale version of the Eternal City. Look what had happened to that place. It was a ruin. A bombed-out city in which a single explosive had never been dropped. They built, and warred, and schemed, and then moved on, leaving the wreckage and bodies behind. Unchecked ambition was a virus, a curse meant to destroy everything it touched like a swarm of hungry locusts.

But even those concerns weren't enough to get her moving back onto the path of confrontation. If she never went back into the Undercity, never saw her grandfather or mother again, never fought in the shadows—there would be a hole in her life that would slowly suck in the rest. Like a black hole silently destroying a star system. She could ignore them, but it wouldn't mean she would avoid the consequences of her decisions. Pandora couldn't know herself until she'd confronted her family. A blade can never be sharp until it's been hammered, folded, and reheated—over and over—and then finally burnished with a whetstone. She'd be a dull piece of metal, a weak alloy, until that conflict was resolved.

The concierge and her assistant arrived at the appointed time. Pandora slipped right back into her Lady Saha persona, barking out orders so fast they could barely keep up. She gave them lists for clothes, makeup, and other personal items. Another was sent out for a broker to sell the faez crystals Choo-Choo had given them, and a third for a trinket dealer.

The ease at which they fell under her influence, either from the aura she was sure she did not have, or the appearance of wealth and nobility that she exuded, shocked Pandora even as she exploited it. A few times she caught Kuma smirking behind the attendants as they scrambled to make sense of her verbal onslaught. When they finally left, Kuma started laughing, bending over and holding his stomach in a loss of control.

"What's so funny?" she asked, anger rising in her throat.

"Never in a million, trillion years would I have known it was you under that disguise. I thought the one guy was going to have a heart attack when you told him he had three hours to get that massive list completed. I never knew you had it in you."

The irritation receded quickly, leaving her with a touch of embarrassment.

"I guess those years in my grandfather's presence rubbed off on me. It felt frighteningly natural. I hope it doesn't stick."

The others showed up a short time later. They were ushered up by the concierge, who'd been warned they would be arriving later. No explanation was given, only that they shouldn't be bothered and brought up right away.

"What the fuck was that?" asked Choo-Choo, flipping back his hood, checking back to the door after the concierge left. "If I'd asked him to strip and dance like a bag of worms, I think he would have given it his best attempt. What did you do to him?"

Kuma started laughing again. She glared in his direction until he got himself under control.

"I may have overdone it," said Pandora.

"Not at all," said Yara, throwing herself onto a purple divan. "These lighters don't know how good they have it. Nice to remind them that the world is a cruel and unforgiving place."

The description bothered Pandora, but she was too energized to disagree.

"What now?" asked Tick, letting his flying snake out of his backpack. The winged serpent lifted into the air, exploring the suite like a dog unleashed.

"You four can take the back rooms. They'll be back soon, so you can spend the time getting cleaned up. Everything you're wearing will have to be thrown away." She paused. "Did you find Phillip or Dane?"

"Phillip's dead, but Dane was living in one of the old Drops apartments and working at a laundromat. He was surprised to see us, as you can imagine." Choo-Choo sunk onto the couch. "He's putting out feelers about my mami. Had no idea they'd gotten out, but he was sure he could find her given a little time."

"What happened to Phillip?" The four of them went silent. "Was it my mother?"

Yara was pulling a beer out of the refrigerator. "They found the hideout a few days after we left them. Dane happened to be out picking up supplies when they burst in, killing Phillip and rescuing your mother."

She cracked the beer and placed it to her lips as a phone Choo-Choo had set on the table vibrated. Everyone stared at it like it was a bomb.

"Well?" asked Pandora.

Choo-Choo grabbed it before Vasilisa could snatch it off the table. His forehead hunched with tension. He didn't speak, nodding occasionally and making grunts under his breath. When he hung up, he said simply, "Dane found her."

"That was fast."

"Too fast," said Yara.

"Dane would never," said Choo-Choo, shaking his head.

Yara took another swig before lifting her shoulders. "I'll trust your judgement."

"We should go," said Choo-Choo.

"What about our disguises?" asked Tick.

"Better we talk to her as ourselves," said Choo-Choo. "Don't want to give away the game if someone's watching her."

"Just make sure you don't have a tail. After you get back, you can work on your disguises. The clothes should be here by then."

"What about your part?" asked Choo-Choo.

"We have reservations at five of the top restaurants in the area. She's got to be at one of them," said Pandora.

"And if she's not?" asked Choo-Choo.

"Then we'll go with the backup plan, but I know my mother. For all her bluster about the maetrie being a superior race, she spends far too much time pursuing the trappings of power without putting in the hard work it takes to get it. And if you're right that she hasn't been sighted in the Alliance, then she's definitely up here spending her father's money and influence."

"There's a back elevator and a garage into the lower streets. Best go that way now that you have a key," said Kuma.

The four disappeared into the hallway, leaving her alone with Kuma again, but before she could consider other activities, the phone rang. After he took the call, he said, "The broker is on his way up. Better get your game face on."

"It never left."

"Do we really need this money if we're headed back into the Undercity?"

"One thing I learned from my grandfather is that money makes a lot of problems much easier. We don't need it, but it means we have to worry a little less about some of the other challenges. And besides, the cash we got for the bracers won't cover this suite. Unless we want Lady Saha to be a deadbeat, we're gonna need them to pay our bills."