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First things first. It’s early afternoon when I emerge from the room of panels. I’m barely able to keep my eyes open, so I head for bed and sleep for ages, dead to the world until the following morning.
I grab something to eat when I wake, and tell Havel when he comes to check on me that they don’t need to do that any longer. Then I go looking for Inez. I could nip through the borehole by myself, but I have no idea what lies on the other side, so it would be foolish to cross without saying anything to anyone. And there’s another reason why I want to tell her about it.
Inez is with Hugo, in his grop-playing Logu guise. He hasn’t reported for training yet. They’re in the room that he’s sharing with three other gropsters. His teammates aren’t present, so Hugo’s running through some of the kidnapping plans with Inez.
They pause when the door opens, but when they see it’s me, they carry on talking. I take a seat on the bed and wait for them to finish. I still find it weird to think that this Indian-looking gentleman is Hugo. He doesn’t even sound like the biker.
When they wrap up their plotting, Inez turns to me with a smile. “Everything OK, Archie? You left the restaurant the other night as if your tail was on fire.”
“What’s that?” Hugo asks, and she tells him how I rushed off.
“Sounds like he was in a hurry to meet a girl,” Hugo grins.
“Maybe it was Ghita,” Inez smirks. “Archie’s sweet on her.”
“No I’m not,” I bleat, cheeks reddening. “Besides, she was with you.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Inez says. “So what was so important that you couldn’t stay for dessert? Did you have to practise tying bandages for Baba Jen?”
“No,” I growl. “I haven’t been to lessons for a while. I’ve been hard at work on something else.”
I tell them about the room of panels, and the face that looked the same as the one in Seven Dials. I don’t cover everything that was involved in opening the lock, just say it was extremely difficult. They listen politely but without too much interest.
“Where do you think it leads?” Inez asks when I stop.
“I don’t know,” I sigh.
“Why didn’t you check?” Hugo asks.
“There’s something different about this lock,” I mutter. “I became obsessed with it the moment I saw it. Winston helped me work on it, taught me things that would allow me to maybe tease it open.”
“Why didn’t he just show you?” Hugo asks.
I shrug. “He didn’t know how to open it.”
“Nonsense,” Inez snorts.
I shrug again. “I’m only telling you what he said.”
Inez and Hugo share a look. I’ve finally tweaked their curiosity.
“You’re telling us you opened a lock that Winston couldn’t?” Hugo asks. When I nod, he turns to Inez. “Winston’s one of the best locksmiths, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” she says. “Other Loxes talk about him with awe.”
“I remember when the royals of Sapphire hired him to help block the vines,” Hugo says. “I never met him – I’d only recently come to the Merge, and all I wanted was to play grop – but I recall them saying he was a genius.”
“He is,” I say proudly.
“But not as skilled as you, if what you’re saying is true,” Hugo says softly.
I shake my head. “It’s just that some locks only open for certain people.”
“Winston never said anything about where the borehole leads?” Hugo asks.
“No.” I think back. “I’m not even sure he knew. He was familiar with that type of lock, but he never said anything else about it.”
“Have you come to us because you’re scared?” Inez asks.
“No,” I snort. “I just didn’t want to run any risks so close to the Tourney, in case I stepped through and couldn’t get back. Also...” I pause.
“What?” Inez presses.
“This could be something special,” I whisper. “After everything you showed me the first time I came to the Merge, I wanted to share it with you.”
Inez blinks. “Archie,” she murmurs. “You’re full of surprises.”
“No I’m not,” I grin, “but the borehole might be. Want to come check it out?”
“How could I refuse?” she laughs.
“What about me?” Hugo asks. “Can I come too, or is this a date thing?”
“Don’t be crass,” Inez growls, punching his arm.
“Why would I be going on a date with Inez?” I ask.
She turns and punches my arm too.
“Ow!” I cry. “What was that for?”
“Being rude,” she says. “Are you suggesting I’m undateable?”
“Of course not,” I say, flustered. “I just meant... we’re friends. Friends don’t go on dates with each other, right?”
“In that case, I take back the punch.” She winks and gets to her feet. “Come on, let’s go explore this borehole. But if there’s nothing special about it, I’ll punch you again, but harder.”
“And if it is special, can I punch you?” I smile.
“Only if you’re prepared to deal with the consequences,” Inez says, making a low growling noise. Then she taps a foot and arches an eyebrow. With a gulp, I lead them off, rubbing my arm where Inez punched me, and hoping I don’t give her cause to thump me a second time today.