Quicksilver Dreams (Dreamwalkers) (24 page)

I was in trouble.

Chapter Eleven

“You need to get dressed.”

Cynthia was holding an armful of clothes as she came back into the bathroom. There was a question on her face as she gazed at me; she looked as though she was contemplating something but had chosen to keep it to herself, which I have to admit was relieving to me. I had no idea what to say about Ryder. My emotions were all over the map, which freaked me out on a personal level. I needed to feel in control of me, at the very least, but since meeting Ryder, the roller coaster had left the gates and there was no end in sight.

“So what do you aliens wear up here?” I smiled.

“Aliens?” She snorted indelicately, which was so out of character for her cool, blond, chic image, I couldn’t help but chuckle. She handed me the clothing.

“I’m a little disappointed that my first encounter with a foreign planet yields no little green men.”

“You’d have to go to Mars for that,” she said authoritatively. Though I knew she was joking, it brought up a question for me.

“Have you been there?”

“To Mars?”

“Yeah.”

“No, but we have found other planets similar to ours in composition. I’ve seen pictures. Not too far off of Te’re or Earth. Oxygen rich. Oceans. Mountains. Very beautiful. Still in the early stages of discovery, though, trying to figure out the flora and fauna. A few small groups have gone to map areas, build temporary shelters.”

“Wow. Modern-day Lewis-and-Clark kind of people? Are you guys going to start a colony?”

“No. Or not just yet.” Quietly she said, “We’re preparing for war. Women and children will be moved to safety if we’re attacked, and it’s looking more and more like that will happen.”

That was a sobering thought.

“Try these on.”

The clothing she’d brought me was from her own apartment in the Catacombs, which I made her promise to take me to. The top was made of the same soft material that Ryder’s blanket was made from. It was semifitted with an Empire-style waist, in a beautiful shade of rich chocolate. It fell to my waist, gently outlining slim lines. A pair of too-long (Cynthia is a few inches taller than me), beige, cottony pants that were loose fitting and had a drawstring went under the blouse. Borrowing underclothes was just weird, so I went commando, which always feels a little strange because I’m out in
public
feeling totally exposed.

“Thanks for the loan.”

She acknowledged my appreciation with a quick smile. “You can roll up the hems.”

“I’ll do that. Maybe I could grab some socks from you, since we don’t wear the same size shoe. The thought of putting my heels on again is causing me actual mental anguish.” I’d worn mine for twenty-four hours straight. I could hear my toes crying out in high, screechy voices.

“We may need to go shopping for a couple of things. Just wear them a little longer, and we’ll see what we can get for you.”

“I need to get back to Earth by Thursday, Cyn. I can’t stay here more than one more night. In spite of all the craziness, I can’t lose my job. It’s all I have to get me by.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re back safe and sound.”

“All right. Shopping on a different planet. I can’t even believe I’m saying that out loud and meaning it. But cool. We’ll take some time to hit the local mall, check out the local fashion center and maybe grab some food. I’m starving.”

Cynthia slowed down my monologue with a shake of her head. “You have to know that things are going to be different here, Tay. In fact, I’m not sure I should even take you to the marketplace, but I suppose, if asked, I could always state you’re a visiting cousin from Reethan, the province where I’m from.”

“People would be that nosy?”

“Oh, absolutely. Now, women are far more conservative here. You aren’t going to find any real variety. Sunan women do not flash skin. As you can see, I’m wearing pretty much a matching outfit to what you’re wearing, just in a different color.”

She was wearing a semifitted, tuniclike top with loose-fitting pants, but her top was in an amber tone that brought out the color of her eyes. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her dressed so conservatively before, not that she dressed like a ho-bag or anything, but she was usually extremely fashionable. In my town, that involved showing off your assets (my brain smirked, because yes, I can be immature).

“Some of the materials are actually really pretty in this style. We have a number of artisans who can make the most delicate materials in beautiful prints. You’ll see. Very feminine.”

I could tell she was excited to show me around, but I had one more issue I needed settled. There had been an irritating gnat of a voice that was keeping me from being completely on board, and I needed to ask a question to make sure Cynthia really was all in the clear for my peace of mind.

“Cynthia, did you know it was Ryder moving into our apartment complex?” I needed to know that she hadn’t set me up to be Ryder’s “in” with Reggie and Frank.

“No. I swear to you I didn’t. We have a large network of people who work on Earth, but we all have different responsibilities. Mine is research and maintenance. I keep tabs on visitors who apply to go to Earth. I spend the days monitoring who’s coming, who’s going and what they’re working on.”

“How can you do that and get your stuff done for the company we work for?”

“The company is a front. Most of the partners are elders of Te’re.”

“But the actors and writers and—”

“Are legit. They make money for the company and have no idea that anything else is going on. It’s a real business, which allows us to be in the middle of it all, so we can monitor our people as they come and go. The president of the company has a transfer unit that can connect here directly.”

“Were you the one who was able to let everyone know Ranik was lurking about?”

“There are a number of agents who’ve caught sight of him here and there over the last dozen or more years, but no one has ever been able to capture him. He always seems one step ahead. He even has his own way of transferring to Earth. One we haven’t found yet. So actually, this is the first time we’ve been this close to capture.”

“How did we become friends? You weren’t friends with anyone else. Why me?”

“I was drawn to you. You’re right. I wasn’t friends with anyone else. I’d been inside the minds of all those silly, desperate, bitchy women who wanted fame and fortune. In my mind, with the very sobering situation our world finds itself in, I didn’t have time for anyone, but your energy was so powerful, it reached out to me. That’s never happened to me before.” She frowned thoughtfully. “As a matter of fact, I only know one other person who has that same powerful kind of energy signature. Ryder’s grandmother.”

Oh, joy. I was going to be able to remind him of his grandmother. Great.

I prompted, “And my energy reached out to you?”

“You came by when I was having a bad day and, okay, this is going to sound totally corny, but I immediately felt your heart, your pure intentions in trying to comfort me. There was nothing fake about you.”

“And we lived happily ever after?”

“Yes, we did.” She smirked and rolled her eyes.

“Okay. I get how things went down.” I smiled brightly. “Let’s go shopping.”

I have to say, the local shopping mall was not quite what I expected. I came to learn that there is no front door to any structure in Milak. There were transport centers within structures, which was how everyone traveled. Due to the large deposits of mylunate beneath the northern surface crust, it wasn’t hard to stand in the center of Ryder’s big rec room, give Cynthia a hug while shutting my eyes tightly and find myself going through a brief, internally tumbling, dizzying few seconds. The transport was less intense, with a shorter travel time than the one from Earth. When I opened my eyes a few seconds later, it was to find myself in a massive indoor marketplace with hundreds of people moving about.

The room was cavernous, the size of an indoor stadium, like the swap meet at the Rose Bowl or something. Semipermanent stalls made with deep, rich wooden frames were set up in rows and rows, selling all manner of goods. Glass lanterns with glowing trinium rocks hung from posts at regular intervals, giving off warm light and making the room feel dark but cozy. It was colorful with movement and textures. People were socializing, creating a din of white noise, and something good was scenting the air and making my stomach growl.

“Not what you expected?”

“No. I figured you guys would be all high-tech with glass domes or something. This almost has a medieval feel to it.”

Women really were all covered up, but even within the culture of conservatism, there were designs that were flattering and feminine, reminding me of the women’s clothing in India. It was just strange not to see any T-shirts and jeans, or miniskirts and flip-flops. The height of fashion for men seemed to be more formal wear, suits for the most part.

“We can’t afford to be.” She looked around. “We learned over time not to draw attention to our social centers. They’ve been targeted in the past.”

“So now...no front doors.”

“No entrances to any structures. We all use mylunate transport.”

“To be safe from the Brausa?”

“Yes. If they’ve never seen it, they can’t find it.”

“But Ryder said it was so dangerous, then he brings me here using that same method—”

“Travelling locally is perfectly safe. The power of the ore is somewhat dissipated through a layer of earth. What can get tricky is having actual mylunate in your possession and then trying to transfer, because its power is not at all diluted. At that point, you really have to control it, because it can take you farther, and it doesn’t absolutely need a deposit on the other end.”

“So, if I had mylunate back on Earth, would I be able to travel from the apartment to the beach?”

“Easily. With the amount on your toe, you’d be able to travel from the apartment to the Rocky Mountains.”

“Unbelievable. This feels so unreal.”

“And the larger the deposit that you’re surrounded by, the farther you can go. As you can imagine, you need a lot of ore on both ends to jump light-years, and that’s what requires a lot of training.”

“So we needed lots of ore on Earth and lots of ore here to make the trip?”

“Yup. Now, explorers are the ones who are most at risk. They never know where they might end up.”

“Ryder’s grandfather died this way? Exploring new land?”

“Yeah. It’s because of him that new regulations were developed. We haven’t lost anyone since.”

“Why don’t you guys just transport yourselves to the Brausiian side of the planet and blast them away?”

“We’ve launched attacks like that in the past, but since they don’t have deposits of mylunate to the south, we’ve only been able to transfer partway. Then our troops have to go by foot, which is highly dangerous for a number of reasons. One being they look for our blue transfer light.”

“So they can easily see you guys coming and are prepared?”

“Exactly. Another reason it’s dangerous is that beyond our borders are the Savage Lands, which are only inhabited by wild animals, and have treacherous terrain. We’ve been more concerned with protecting our provinces from bomb attacks than extending our civilization.”

I thought of the bomb explosion Ryder had been caught in recently and shuddered, feeling anger toward anyone who would seek to damage him. Going over the conversation I’d had with him just before he left, I suddenly understood what he was doing today. The borders were being tested, and he was visiting them to compile some kind of report. Was he in danger? Would anyone try to attack him?

I worried my bottom lip as we walked through the marketplace. Ryder wasn’t a superman. He was flesh and blood, and he could die just like anyone. But he was tough. He knew how to take care of himself. Nothing would happen to him out there. Right?

“Everything okay?” Cynthia glanced over at me.

“Tutti-frutti.” I smiled and tried to find the spirit of our outing again. “Can we grab food first? I can’t even remember the last meal I ate.”

“Sure.”

We walked through the rows of vendors, which let me see many facets of the Sunan culture. There were beautifully and finely designed pieces of furniture, fabrics, rugs, pottery and glasswork. There were vendors that specialized in various knickknacks that would help to organize or decorate rooms in a dwelling. Then there was the whole other side of the market. It had stalls of different foods, most of which looked familiar. Vegetables and fruits, meats, breads, cheeses and some canned goods were all available. It was like an all-purpose market on steroids, but with a Middle Ages feel to it. I liked it.

Cynthia steered us toward one of the stalls, where the smell of something absolutely delicious filled the air.

“You’ll like these. They’re like empanadas. Sort of spicy meat pies.”

“Meat I’d recognize?” I asked, though in all honesty, I was sold on the smell alone.

“A fowl-like critter,” she replied, and then she smirked. “I promise it’ll taste like chicken.”

“Well in that case...”

She purchased us each a meat pie and a cup of what smelled like warm cider, and I practically inhaled it, it tasted so good. Warm, spicy chickenlike substance with melty cheese, potato and peas all wrapped in a handheld piecrust, like a chicken potpie. Heavenly. I could feel life returning.

“I take it you were hungry?” Cynthia grinned, still only halfway through her own food. I flushed and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Luckily no one else saw me snarf up my food like a pig. Sheesh.

“Tell me about this place.”

Cynthia gave a skittish look around before sharing in a hushed voice, “I don’t want to have to explain our conversation to anyone, but we seem to be good.”

“Right.” I looked around. No one was paying us any attention. We were far enough away from others, at a rectangular communal table, that they wouldn’t be able to hear us. I also made sure my mental wall was way up and strengthened.

“Well,” she began, taking a quick sip of her drink, “we’re hugely proud of being a completely democratic society. We’ve got seven provinces, and each province has seven representatives who must be elected every year. Then one is chosen from the seven to be a council representative in high court.”