Nemecene: The Epoch of Redress (28 page)

Elize has wasted no time learning to walk, an adventurous little soul from the start, whilst her brother crawls as fast as he can, boring holes in the third set of knee patches in as many months. Pausing at the cusp of the threshold, Nathruyu remembers the trials leading her here, how Vincent struggles to keep them from a fragmented notion of family, and how he fails to mask her oddness and shelter them from her. The favor he seeks carries with it a commanding price; nevertheless, he submits in silent compliance, and retreats to his study.

Casting occasional glances at the mirrored hallway, she monitors him closely and catches his shaking fingers adjusting his headset. His lips tremble and mutter a useless prayer. Blocking out the haunting cries of the infants and the unnerving images that follow contributes nothing to absolving him of guilt, and he is to forever remain an implicit participant in their callous branding incident.

Reality trickles in at the shrill pitch of his pleas, uttered with futility as they were then. Her eternal adversary has left him for dead, and, now, she is distraught, faced with an onerous decision: to let Vincent perish by a slow and caustic demise, or to grant him mercy and indenture him further to her cause. She flows from the drapery and steadies her resolve for the gruesome creature awaiting his salvation. His eyes, appearing to glow inside a charred skull, still manage to express horror as Nathruyu brazenly enters the suite. She chastises his idle attempts to strip the children from her, demands his future allegiance in payment for his life, and warns him that a subsequent indiscretion will meet with her heel etching an impression in his throat instead of the soft soil by the shrubbery. Envisioning his obsessive pursuit slip beyond his grasp, he vows to atone the ill-conceived betrayal and, moreover, promises to relinquish his role at the URA and hide his unexpected recovery from his assailant, till she advises him otherwise.

The temperature grows cooler, as she towers above his brittle and twisted figure, his blistered torso oozing through the steaming silk pasted against his sweltering crust. Riveted by a sinister satisfaction in watching Vincent convulse at the sheer potency of his suffering, she briefly reconsiders her offer to help. However, once the stinging pain intensifies to the degree that he loses control of his muscles and of his conscious awareness, compassion replaces her contempt, and she holds true to the verbal agreement. Hoisting him over her shoulder, Nathruyu springs for the balcony, and plunges into the stagnant waters below, while the stupefied sentries scurry to uncover the source of the splash.

Day 33: Early Morning

L
ook at my eyes. I can't let him see me like this. They're getting worse again. Cover cream. Crap! Must have left it in the sun; the applicator is all funny. Still works though. There.

"Hey lo." Keet? Did Stitch lend him a frequency thrower?

"Hey lo. How did you get past the lobby guard, and the trolling gobbers?"

"No more lockdown. They must have captured the killer."

What a relief! Our conversation at the Snack Shack yesterday had me worried. Another cryptic message and more speculation about a stalker. "Juicy! It's time to focus on what we came here for anyway. I met with Dr. Tenille after the flyer bakes. I start volunteering at the GHU today." Here we go again. "
What
?"

"Are you sure you can hold it together? The memories."

I'm not sure, but I can't tell him. Honestly, I just don't know what the voices will say if I come across Mother's cell. Be decisive. "Of course. We'll find her jewel, and we'll find the answers. That's all we need to think about. No more worrying, eh?" But it's an affliction of his. He doesn't know how not to.

"They're getting worse again, aren't they?" My denial is not convincing. "You missed a spot." He wipes the corner of my eye with his finger.

Crap! Busted! Don't look at me like that. He knows, just tell him.

"They're getting more vivid, and there's a new one. It started the day after we went out with Caroline and it's been replaying every night since. He is just standing there, watching me, tapping his foot like he's waiting." It's more than just a dream. It's a feeling I have during the day as well. Am I hallucinating? Don't be silly. It's just another bad dream. I should be used to this by now.

"Do you think it's them? The three creepy guys?"

"No. There's only one." But still creepy.

"Wasn't the last time you saw Mother's brooch that night? Maybe it was a warning."

Oh please! Don't start with all that paranormal stuff. "Ohhhm gee! You're right! It was a ghost coming back for his treasure, and come to think of it, he had bird droppings on his boots. Eek! A pirate!" Well, I
am
enrolled in Captain Hook's crew now. Hehehe.

"Very funny. There's more to life than facts and figures you know, sometimes you just need to get out of your head and into your heart."

Too philosophical for me. "It's just a dream." Keep telling yourself that. "My subconscious is processing the trauma of the past few days and using archetypes to do so. It will pass." He's still shaking his head. "It
will
pass." Enough already.

"Ok, Ms Carl Jung." He rolls his eyes.

"If it will make you happy, we can ask Stitch. His courses cover psychotics like me."

"No. Not the dreams. We still don't know for sure."

What is it with him and Stitch anyway? "I don't think he had anything to do with the theft. You heard him. He's juicy."

"If you say so. Ewww."

Sigh. Let it ride. "He's coming any minute now. We're going to grab a sweet something."

"You're going on a date?" What? He bent? "Stitch is a dweeb. I swear his social skills are lacking."

"He is
not
a dweeb. Seriously, you're acting like a jealous boyfriend." Oh, that's too wrong to even consider.

"You're not—"

"No, fishy! He's a dweeb." A good chuckle. Besides, I don't have time for that stuff. "Soooooo..."

"So?"

"Soooooo, you wanted to tell me something?" He's here for a reason.

"Actually, show you." He pulls a parchment from his journal.

Another note? It says:
Broken and torn shall she reveal herself to you.

"Then I can join you and Stitch in the commons, eh?"

"Huh? Yeah."
In the darkest hour of her existence. And you shall come to her begging for forgiveness.
"When did you get this?"
And she should say to you there is nothing to forgive being that… .

"Yesterday. I just didn't want to show it to Stitch."

…
.you and she are entangled in a dance for all eternity and shall become that which is right and virtuous through no misdeeds of your own.
"Whoa! Sounds like you have a demonic girlfriend. You two need to work this out in person. It's all about communication, eh?" Wink.

"I knew you would say something like that. It's another riddle. She's talking about you."

That is ridiculous. "Me? I'm not broken and torn. Maybe you two just have a '
deep connection beyond the physical'.
" Giggle.

"You read my journal!"

Oh oh. Recover. "It just reminds me of the exotic woman on the platform, and how you looked at her. You know. The drama." Even I think that is lame..

"But I never said anything…and as far as I am aware, you can't read minds...so you read my journal." Hands on the hips. He's serious.

Crap. Caught with my fingers in the bake again. How does he always know when I'm pulling one over?

"Well, only one section. The one you wrote in my room. On the upside, I got to perfect my sleuthing skills again." He sneers. "Quite frankly, I was disappointed. I was hoping to find something a bit more steamy." Was that a tiny smile? "In any case, she popped into my head for some reason while I was untangling my dreamcatcher. It's not like I really
wanted
to spy on your deepest most private thoughts. I just hoped there would be clues, some more details that could explain why she was on my mind. I mean, I don't remember ever meeting her before."

"Did it work?"

"No. Nothing." But maybe. "When I zone out during the day sometimes, I get these horrible feelings and then afterwards, I just can't remember."

"Is that what happened to you on the transport then? You keep avoiding talking about it. You saw something. I know you did because—"

"She's in my dream. You know the one. There's something very dark about her."

"Is she the one who—"

"No. I don't think so. She's only there watching. Anyway, I'm not broken and I don't have to be right all the time. You're bending the truth."

"I write what I see. It's getting worse and now you're being careless and—"

"You write what you
want
to see."

"Why do you always cut me off like—"

"I don't
always
cut you off."

"Well, mostly you do." He's exaggerating. "I mean, it's like you're always trying to be right and you won't let me…"

Blah blah blah. "Pup, you just talk so much sometimes that I just can't hear myself think." Which isn't all that bad because then I can't hear the other voices either. Like replacing one chatter for another.

"And for the last time,
stop calling me pup
! Honestly..."

Got it! Loud and clear! And on he goes. I'd better just let him blow off some steam for a bit. He's topped up about something. Oh, good! Must be Stitch. Saved.

"Hey lo." He takes one look at Keet and "Shakes! Making some tea up there?" Still not amused. "Steam out the ears, bud." And he can groove and laugh at the same time. Astounding! Ah! He's eyeing the note. Keet grabs it from my hands and slides it into his journal.

"Let him read it." We're both staring at Keet now.

"Here." He turns to me. "Don't say a thing."

Moi? Hehehe. Don't need to. Stitch's eyebrow is lifting. This will be good.

"So when's the ceremony, yeah?" Game on! "Just a rib. Ease, bud." Stitch and I look at each other. He looks back at Keet. "Ready for something pica trip?"

He takes a miniature frequency thrower out of his sort-of-pocket and points it out the window frame. Keet's mood is still foul.

"It's finally working properly." Pay attention Keet. "I call it the O2-Line." Hmmm? "Watch. See Cherry over there? I happen to know she wears VLine exclusively, and I do mean
exclusively.
" Keet's watching now, disinterested, but… Oh honestly!

"Stitch! That is brilliant! I'm peeing myself." That got Keet's attention.

Leave it up to a boy to think of a holocloth jammer.

"Oh oh! Ta, bud."

"Rip. I get it. 'O' 'O'." Stitch is howling. Give Keet the snare face, and then both of them a look of disgust… "Oh, grow up, you two. And flick her clothes back on, please. Thanks."

"Do it again. You're a genius, bud!"

Right. He's not a pup, he's a dog. "So that's why the J-branch guard hangs his slippad front and center." And why Stitch left such an impression on him his first day here no doubt.

"Yeah. Gotta hide the little thingy from you girls."

Keet's beaming. "How'd you break the frequency pass code? It's like
The Emperor's New Clothes
. Juicy!"

"That she is."

Ugh! Boys! Keet's right. No social skills. I'm starving. "Ok, boys. Let's go before they run out."

I must say, getting around is a lot easier without the slobber. Here's the lift. Keet's blabbering back to normal now. I'm done. If he calls Stitch a genius one more time I am going to scream. Good. Out of the box. Now I can get some distance on them. There's the protector. I can't help it. It's too funny. I wonder if the GMU uniforms are VLine as well. A sweep would look pretty special. Mmmmmm. Sweet somethings. My favorite, and no queue.

"Thanks, Patty." They're still talking, or rather Keet is. "One for each of you."

"Thanks, Eli."

"Ta, lass."

I'd better keep hush. "Find anything on the gemstone eyes?"

Stitch frowns for a moment. "No. She's completely off scan, not even a fake nickname. Could be just shadows."

"With eyeballs?"

Keet shrugs, and Stitch starts with his conspiracy theories again. "I think the whole tagging frenzy was a scam, an excuse to clamp the students. Now the Pramam looks good for lifting the lockdown. Flyer Mud! The GMU had a suspect already remember?"

He's right. If they had a suspect, the whole security hike makes no sense. Well, it's over now, so just move on. I find the eyes more haunting, especially since they tried to grab me. She's watching. She's always watching. In the mirror. In the fog. Those deep gemstone eyes. I don't remember ever meeting her before, but... Heart, slow down. Not here. Not in the commons. Breathe. Too many people. Breathe. They're staring. Stop shaking. Shut up! It's not true. It can't be. It is! Those eyes! Calm down. Breathe. "But…"

"Eli? But what? Shhhhhhhhh. Count with me. One. Two."

Who's counting? Where am I?

"…but she apparently knows us." Did I just yell? Why is everyone staring? Keet is mortified. He knows who I am talking about.

Stitch is confused. He leans over and speaks softly. "Remember. You're here on this chair, safe with us. Come back to the room." He grabs Keet's arm. "Don't touch her. You don't want to anchor this."