Authors: Matt Stephens
"I've been there Vincent, the Underside is pretty big and nothing but tunnels." Connie looked around a moment and started collecting plates. "Yasi will know which ones to seal up, and which ones to ambush. A Siege could go for days."
Vincent drew the map in his head and found himself nodding. "Yeah. But she won't. The underside is more dependent on the surface than any of them like to admit. They won't survive a siege, so they actually have to fight."
Connie glanced over her shoulder. "I was thinking about what Owen said... about how the Lostkind could own the world if they wanted, and nobody would even know. That's
our
town he was talking about. I never put a lot of stock in those conspiracy nuts, talking about shadow governments and secret cabals that run our lives... And now I'm one of them. I
know
that the city is going to be controlled by a malevolent puppet-master... and he knows my name."
"You thinking of bugging out?" Vincent asked her.
"I think that if Yasi and her merry men lose this one; New York will not be a good place for either of us to be." Connie said practically.
Vincent bit his lip. "You might be right."
Connie hesitated. "I think if I had realized that last year... Things might have gone differently."
Vincent didn't think so, but saw no reason to start an old argument that he was long past feeling any rage over. "Maybe. But you never would have survived Underground. I knew it too. I never should have made you feel guilty for that."
"I didn't feel guilty." Connie said. "I was just frustrated. It felt like I was locking you up, and I hated that feeling, but I knew the alternative was I'd lose you. I stopped being mad about it a long time ago."
Vincent felt himself smiling. "So did I."
There was a comfortable silence for a moment.
She spoke finally. "Whatever comes next... You want to be part of it, don't you?"
"I do." Vincent confirmed. "I just don't have a clue what on earth I can do about any of it."
"There's nothing to do." Owen said simply from behind them.
Connie and Vincent both straightened harshly, stepping away from each other to turn and face Owen, flanking him subconsciously as he came into the kitchen.
"If there was no chance; you wouldn't be here." Vincent said, eyes blazing with frustrated wrath.
Owen didn't seem the least bit concerned. "We're not the Warrior type Vincent. We're the ones the Warriors count on. You're the only connection they have to the surface. You have an hour to do something. But we both know you won't do anything. You're not like Yasi. You're like me. Another hour or two, and the die will be cast. A day or three after that, this will all be over. And frankly... you won't even notice. The wars of the world below have nothing to do with you. Or me. I'm a paper pusher. Just like you."
~oo00oo~
Yasi and Dorcan crept as silently as they could down the hidden tunnel. The walls were so thin they could hear the Wildmen on the other side; still trying to ram their way into the Throne Room.
"How long will they keep bashing their heads against the door?"
"I think the door will outlast them, but best we don't give them too long to think of something." Yasi grinned. "Keep it down."
Dorcan carried the oil lamp as quietly as he could. There were two more oil jars slung across his back in place of his sword. "Ready to start a barbecue?"
"Once I slide this panel open, we'll be right in the middle of them." Yasi whispered. "The door will be open for only a second. You ready?"
Dorcan planted his feet, ready to heave the lantern. In the narrow passage, Yasi had to crouch, with barely enough room to bend her legs. Yasi grasped the hatch, held her breath...
The instant she pulled the hatch open, she knew it was a mistake. Two Wildmen were right there, aiming at her; They had known where the hatch was all along and were lying in wait for her to make exactly this move. She tried to get the hatch shut again quickly; and failed as they both grabbed the hatch and muscled it back open.
Dorcan threw himself forward, the lantern shattering against them; but the Invaders didn't seem to care. The throw had no time, no preparation; just a reaction to the sudden failure of their ambush, and Yasi felt herself and Dorcan get covered in the oil as well.
Dorcan grabbed Yasi and pulled her behind him, as Vandark's forces tried to get into the passage for an attack; grabbing Dorcan instead. His foot flashed out and landed on Yasi's hip, sending her deeper into the hidden passage, out of reach.
For a frozen millisecond, Dorcan looked up at her as a hand closed around his throat from behind.
"Run!"
He hissed. About twenty Wildmen ripped him out of the passage into the corridor; her last glimpse was of him drawing his daggers; and turning to face his opponents with a final defiant roar.
Horrified, beaten; and fast running out of ideas, Yasi dragged her way back to the Throne Room alone, barely getting clear as the flames erupted behind her.
~oo00oo~
Keeper met Yasi as they returned. "It didn't work."
"It was an ambush." Yasi snapped. "The plan was fine, but they knew the play. They were waiting for us. Our trap became their trap." She looked haunted for a moment. "I lost Dorcan."
Keeper's face was twisted with frustration. "Dammit, who the hell is giving them all this information?"
~oo00oo~
Connie raked her chips in.
Gill seemed oblivious to the tension around the table. "Connie, I never would have pegged you for a card shark."
She snorted. "I'm motivated to take money off Owen."
"Oh?" Gill seemed openly amused. "Why's that?"
Connie dealt the next hand. "Ante up and find out."
Gill grinned, a light in his eyes. "Vincent, how'd you ever let this one get away?"
~oo00oo~
With the siege locked in stalemate at the Throne Room, and alternate routes sealed and collapsed; things had come to an awkward pause. The Shinobi milled around, eyes on the barricaded door, waiting for something to do. As the hours passed, the waiting became more and more painful.
The loss of Archivist had sent the Lostkind into shock. He was the eldest of the Triumvirate; one third of their leadership in the Underside. Those that manned the Throne Room were walking on eggshells around the his widow and daughter. Yasi was eerily calm; a calm that the Shinobi recognized. It meant a swift brutal explosion was soon to follow; and they were glad to have her aimed at the door.
Keeper had been everywhere, organizing a few more defenses at the River; helping treat the wounded. The Chapel had been captured; and their Healers, even at the last, had refused to leave. If they were alive, they were healing the Wildmen now. Keeper's eyes were bright red, but her expression was clear.
Yasi looked to Keeper. "You okay?"
Keeper looked exhausted by the weight of emotion. "He knew. They knew. Vandark had the whole plan worked out, knew every angle this place could be worked from."
Yasi nodded. "Yeah."
Keeper sighed. "Connie."
"Vincent's Connie?" Yasi seemed stunned. "Why?"
"Tecca told me that he's been seeing her."
"Little old for him, isn't she?"
Keeper snorted. "We were all so sure he was handling it. He was getting by after Wotcha died... and now we know why. He was confiding in someone else. Telling them all about this place, the people... And in return she was taking care of him; filling in for the parent he lost."
"Lost to the Riverfolk." Yasi pointed out. "Why would Tecca help the same people who killed his grandmother."
"He wouldn't, but Connie is another matter." Keeper started counting on her fingers. "Think about it, Connie came into his life the same time we did, she was Wotcha's friend, and approached Vincent at her suggestion, she was here when Owen was turned loose, Owen was the reason she was brought down here in the first place... Vincent wasn't with her the whole time before the Riverfolk attack, and once we learned Vandark's plan and Owen escaped; she wanted nothing more to do with this place, or with her boyfriend." Keeper finished, and wiped at her eyes furiously. "I know every inch of this place Yasi. I still remember the first time I came here." She almost smiled nostalgically. "I hated it. I hated this place."
Yasi felt her jaw drop. "Really?"
"Really." Keeper chuckled. "God, that was a long time ago."
"What changed your mind?" Yasi asked with interest.
"I fell in love." Keeper said. "Your father was just starting out as the Archivist here, keeping the history. Every night he came home, told me one story after another. Fear started to fade after a while, and eventually I said goodbye to my home and came down here with just the clothes on my back. One day I heard an argument between two of the Borrowers, wandered over and gave them a third opinion. Just like that, people started coming to me to settle things... Next thing I know, I become the Lostkind's Keeper." She met the Shinobi Captain's eyes. "I came to love this place because of the people." She waved at the sealed doors. "We left them there. The Gremlins, the Healers..."
"It was my call Keep." Yasi whispered.
WHAM!
Everyone but Yasi jumped.
WHAM!
The doors flexed inward slightly against the barricade.
WHAM!
Yasi didn't even flinch, didn't look back. "I think that's my cue." She told Keeper lightly. "But just so you know, it's not Connie."
"It's not?" Keeper blinked. "How do you know
that
?"
WHAM!
Keeper's attention returned to the door after a particularly hard blow, but the barricade still hadn't budged. "How long can we hold them out?"
"A few days ago, I might have said a long time." Yasi sighed. "I was planning to keep their focus on the door, send my people around behind them through some of the smaller tunnels, set up a crossfire to box them in. But now... I honestly don't know if that'll work."
Keeper held up a hand. "Do you smell that?"
Yasi sniffed, and paused. "Yes. Yes I do." She moved toward the door, head cocked to the side, and she picked up a low hissing sound. "Gas!" Yasi snapped instantly. "Everyone out! Fall back!"
Keeper snarled as she rose to her feet. "Twelfth Level is our last chance."
"The Dome Chamber is too big for gas, the River still has all those razor nets, and the entrances have barricades ready as strong as here." Yasi listed the reasons. "We can hold them off there longer than we will once this room fills with gas."
The Shinobi were running, getting clear as best they could. Yasi stayed behind, making sure they were all safe before she retreated from the Throne Room herself.
Too late.
There was a sudden eruption of sound and heat, the barricaded door suddenly erupted off the hinges, ripping up their braces and their barricades viciously. The concussion imploded Yasi's eardrums, the shockwave knocking everyone off their feet.
Yasi was seeing six of everything, stone deaf from the ringing in her ears and her muscles aching terribly. She managed to lift her head enough to see the door to the Throne Room was open, and so was the passage behind it. She expected to see a horde of Wildmen come charging in, but the hallway was empty.
Of course. They were expecting the explosion.
In front of her was a gas tank of some kind. Propane, scuba... she couldn't tell from what was left of it. But whatever it was, it had blown the door off it's hinges.
Yasi cast about and saw her people very slowly rising, recovering from the blast. Keeper was up first, looking feral.
And then from the now opened passage, came Vandark's latest attack. Not Wildmen, not Riverfolk...
Children. Four of them.
Yasi felt her heart stop, and her fingers reached out for the hilt of her sword automatically. Her ears were recovering, in time to hear Keeper's howl of shock, and as the approaching children stepped closer to the light cast by flames licking at the ruined furniture, Yasi could see why.
The children were their own; the Gremlins that refused to leave. The ones they had been forced to leave behind... Yasi could see Kamy, looking terrified. They were walking forward slowly, with their hands up, moving like someone was pointing a gun at them; which they probably were.
And strapped to their little bodies, were the big lanterns; filled with oil.
Yasi's head was clearing, and she picked up the scent of the gas again...
Keeper moved first, Yasi moved faster, tackling the older woman to the ground swiftly. "No!"
"We can't leave them like this!" Keeper hissed. "We've got to get those lanterns off them!"
"Keep, look at them, they're the trigger! You can smell the gas!" Yasi looked over her shoulder. "EVERYONE OUT!"
With sick, tortured expressions, the Shinobi fell back, getting clear of the room. Keeper kept trying to claw her way forward, to get closer to the youngest of her terrified charges, and Yasi forced her still. "Think it through Keep!"