The Fifth City (17 page)

Ember rolled her eyes at the thought of it all again, then shook her head, telling herself to stop focusing on the negatives.  It was only getting better from here: she was taking matters into her own hands now.

Luna reached the top of the stairs first and whined, but she sat and waited obediently for Ember.

Before Sylvia’s mission was born, she and Ember had spent hours training the wild wolf, first teaching Luna obedience, and then honing the wolf’s natural skills.

It had been hard in the beginning to teach the wolf manners; Ember and Sylvia both suffered many bites and scratches from the cub’s teeth and nails, but once they had progressed—and Luna seemed to genuinely enjoy the company of her two trainers—it had become like a game.

Sylvia had wanted to copy one of the Scout’s tricks, and they tried to teach Luna to recognize weapons, and learn a command to disarm an opponent.  Both girls had been wary to let the growing wolf practice on them, so they used an effigy, stuffed with straw, for their aggressor.  Ember had cunningly fashioned a leather vest to mimic those the Scouts wore, but Sylvia hadn’t let her use it.  The Rider had said she didn’t want Luna to learn to attack a person just because of the clothes they wore.  Ember had grumbled about it, but agreed—even though she didn’t think the Scouts would become friends of the Four Cities any time soon.

Ember suspected the wolf had grown just as antsy as she over the winter—stuck inside the city with nothing to do—so she decided to take the wolf with her on her journey.  She knew Sylvia had wanted to bring Luna along on
her
trip, but it hadn’t seemed practical.  Besides, Ember needed company on the trail, and perhaps a little backup.

She recalled
how
to get to Riftcity, but she didn’t quite feel comfortable crossing the wilds alone.

Ember finally reached the last stair, her thigh muscles tired from the climb.  She peered around Luna to look out the tunnel opening.  Damp, twilit woods met her eyes, and the smell of rain permeated the air.

She wasn’t surprised it had rained while she was underground, it just felt strange that she had missed it entirely.  Earlier, when she had ducked into the Citizen’s Hall, the clouds had grown dark and a breeze was barreling through the city, making the budding branches of the treewall sway.

It had taken her a while to get through the Citizen’s Hall before finding the secret tunnel.  Having Luna with her had slowed her down.  The Secretary of the City, Ell, had been at his desk in the front foyer, and he had already forbidden Sylvia and Ember from bringing the wolf inside the building.  So she had waited until he was distracted by a Healer coming to request an escort outside the wall, and she darted by the desk with Luna at her heels.  Ember could hear Ell arguing with the Healer as she rounded the corner and turned down another hallway.  No one was allowed outside the city, but the Healer needed supplies that grew in the wilds.

Ember and Luna ventured further down the hallway until the Healer’s argument faded into nothing.

Then it became a game of avoiding people who she didn’t know—those who might tell Ell about Luna—and getting to the place where she knew the tunnel was hidden.  A lot of her time had been wasted waiting for a pair of city workers to vacate a hallway she had needed to go down.  They had been deeply entrenched in a conversation about the war.

When Ven and Flint had left, she had followed them to spy on their departure, wondering how they had planned on getting out of the city without being noticed by the patrolling Scouts.  Truly, they should have let her come to Lightcity—she would make an excellent spy.  But that wasn’t where she really wanted to go.

Lightcity didn’t need their help.  They were in league with Greyling, and were supplying the Scouts with weapons.  Whereas Riftcity had been torn apart and forced into labor to fuel the war.  The war that had taken her father, taken her home.  Vivid memories of the attack on Riftcity would live with her forever, along with the last sight of her father, thrown into the rift by an explosion.  She could almost smell the acrid scent the explosives left behind, as the awful memory drudged itself up again.

She still couldn’t believe Flint thought going to Lightcity was more important than his home.  Sure, Meadowcity had taken in the Riftcity refugees who had come to their rescue, and she could tell he was having a hard time fitting in, so he wanted to impress people.  But Riftcity was still in trouble.  Why hadn’t the expedition gone there?  Had they given up on them?

Sylvia had gone north over a month ago and not come back.  But Ember knew Sylvia.  She had spent an unreasonable amount of time with the Rider over the past few months—living in the girl’s house, training Luna with her—not to mention that first eye-opening experience in the wilds with the girl.  The Rider was like her sister now.  Sylvia was strong, independent—and smart.  She was probably doing something really important that she couldn’t come back and tell them about.

Ember was
sure
that Riftcity needed their help more.  But her attempts to convince Gero had gone unheard.

Thunder rumbled in the distant woods, and Ember peeked out of the tunnel opening once more.  A premature darkness had descended, with storm clouds weighing heavily upon the sky, thick with rain, ready to open up again any minute.  She had picked a fine day to go traveling, she thought to herself.  But she couldn’t spend another minute staring at the insides of the treewall, wondering what was going on in Riftcity.

Crack
.  An arc of lighting rent the air above, with an accompanying burst of thunder—followed by a yelp.

Ember looked down at Luna, who cocked her head at her.  Had it been some animal in the woods?

She shrugged and took her bearings.  Without the sun, she would have to base her direction off of Meadowcity.  But she didn’t know which side of the walled city the tunnel had brought her out on.  She would have to locate the gate to figure out which direction to take.

She headed for the treewall, crouching low to avoid the notice of the guards up on the parapet.  Once she got in the lee of the wall, there would be no chance they could see her from above.

It wasn’t that she thought they would try and stop her, exactly; but she really didn’t want to have to explain herself.  Riftcity needed their help, and it seemed like she was the only one who wanted to give it.  She huffed in annoyance.

Another flick of lighting lit up the darkening woods in eerie detail.  Ember froze.  Up ahead, by the treewall,  she spotted two figures creeping along, a man and a woman.

Scouts
, she swore under her breath.

She signaled Luna to fall in directly behind her.  The two intruders seemed to be doing the same thing she was doing—sneaking down the wall, trying to avoid discovery by the Defenders on the parapet.  But they were completely oblivious to the girl creeping up behind them.

Their whispers carried back to her, and she readied her long knife, a Mid-Winter gift from Sylvia.

“Don’t you think we should figure out what to say first?” said the girl.

“I think getting in is more important right now—we could run into Scouts out here,” the man replied.

“You don’t want to see any of your
friends
?” the girl’s voice dripped in sarcasm.  Ember furrowed her eyebrows.  Who were these people?

“Look, Neve, I’m
sorry
, how many times do I have to say it?”

Ember was glad for the rain that began to fall, drip-dropping onto the leaves; it made creeping up on them quite easy.  The damp leaves on the ground made no sound as she slowly gained on them.  Luna followed several paces back, waiting for Ember’s command.

As she neared, she realized that the man was injured; his cloak was stained in blood, and he walked unevenly, clutching his ribs.  The girl walked a few feet behind him, both nearly hugging the trunks of the treewall for cover.

Ember was close.  She made a quick decision and charged at the girl.  She flung her arm around the girl’s neck and raised her knife in one fluid motion.

“Falcon—” the girl cried; but Ember was already backing away with her captive.  She gave a whistled command and Luna came bounding up by her side, baring her teeth at the man.

He held up his hands, surprisingly weaponless.  He opened his mouth, but Ember spoke first.

“Who are you?” she barked.

“Let her go,” he pleaded, and his eyes widened in panic.

“What are you doing here?” Ember demanded.  She had to hide her grin.  She was actually having fun with this.

The girl squirmed, then said, “I’m here for Sylvia—”

“Sylvia?” Ember echoed in surprise.  “Sylvia’s gone,” she spat.

“No—I know.  I’m here to tell you what happened.”

The sky lit up in frightening clarity as several bolts of lightening leapt through the air above.  Ember cringed, waiting for the boom of thunder to follow.

“Well, what happened?” she said over the rumbling.

“Can’t you let me go first?”

“No.”

“Please?”

Ember watched Falcon’s eyes flick between Luna and the girl, perhaps waiting for an opportunity to jump her.  He would be stupid to try.  Luna would be on him before he moved.

“She’s in Seascape.  Lady Blackwater—”

“Seascape?”  Ember actually loosened her grip.  “What are you talking about?”

“The fifth city!  The island Governor Greyling’s been after!  We found it.”

Ember reluctantly let go of the girl, but didn’t lower her blade.  It had the ring of truth.  Or insanity.

“Go on,” Ember insisted.

“Okay.  Okay.  Well she—Sylvia I mean, entered into these Trials,” the words tumbled out of the girl’s mouth.

“Wait, wait, wait.  Start over.  How did you even get there?  Sylvia was going up to Lightcity.”

The girl’s eyes widened, and she said, “Look, I’ll tell you everything.  But first take us inside.  Take us to Gero.”

Twenty Six

As soon as Harry left the storehouse, the Defenders began talking excitedly about how they could get rid of the orbs.  They all agreed it wouldn’t be enough just to steal them, they had to dispose of them, too, so that they couldn’t ever be used against another city again.

They talked long into the night, in low whispers that sounded like a constant wind blowing through a forest.  The dim orb lamp eventually burned out, but they kept talking.  The moonlight that filtered in through the second story windows threw the group into shadowy outline.

The fire to get back at Governor Greyling burned fiercely in each of them, fanned by yet even more reminders of his treachery to the Four Cities; with his exploitation of Harry and his niece, and deception of the citizens of Lightcity.

Quite suddenly in the conversation, Ven realized he was actually excited about something, for the first time in a while.  The constant sourness of the knot in his stomach, twisting tighter each moment until now, had finally dissipated.  He drummed his fingers on his knee as he listened to a theory Dahlia had about the Scouts’ movements.

At last Ven cleared his throat and told them all to get to bed.  Flint went to relieve Jet from his watch, and the rest of the Defenders curled up on the floor in the spots they had claimed, and slept.

Ven woke very early the next morning, despite having stayed up so late plotting.  Dim dawn light filtered in through the windows at the top of the storehouse.

He spotted Dahlia pacing around the catwalk above, outfitted in her Rider gear: dark brown leather from toe to top, with her long hair pulled back with a tie, the curve of a bow at her side, and a full quiver of arrows on her back.

Without a sound, Ven flung back his blanket and meticulously packed it away.  He truly felt like a fire had been lit inside his chest.  It had burned out all of his anguish and replaced it with a frenzied excitement: he finally felt like he had a purpose again.

He went to go keep Dahlia company on the early morning watch, and grabbed two apples from the bag in the corner before climbing up to the catwalk.

They chatted quietly between bites of their apples as they waited for the others to wake, circling the catwalk and keeping watch over their makeshift fortress.  Dahlia was as wide-eyed as he, excited at their plans to begin to payback Greyling.

The older Rider had plenty to say about the Governor’s visit to Meadowcity last summer, when the Scouts had taken over the city.

She told Ven about the Scout who beat her bloody for trying to run and grab her son from his room during the invasion.  They had already dragged their neighbors from the surrounding villas, and Dahlia’s wife had been over at the Healer’s Hall when it happened. 

With a grim smile she told Ven how she somehow managed to find the same Scout during the battle afterward, and was able to exact a fitting punishment on him for the beating she received.  She was more than happy to help get rid of their advantage here in Lightcity.

One by one the others awoke, and they quickly got down to business as the sunlight grew stronger.  They hunkered down over the stack of stones where Flint laid out a hand-drawn map of the city, and debated their theories for destabilizing the Scouts once more.

They agreed that they needed to move quickly—if Sylvia had followed a contingent of Scouts to the fifth city a month ago, they figured something important must be going on.  Ven had been right in thinking that Greyling would act once the winter lifted.

Not long after they had begun the discussion, Dahlia, Thom, and Jet left to search out their fellow Riders, and together sweep the city.  Unanimously the Defenders agreed that first they needed to know exactly where the orbs were being stored, and how many there were.  That was something they could do right away, so the three Riders had left the storehouse with their weapons hidden and their resolve hardened.

Arden and Ash left soon after to go study the area surrounding the back gate, which pointed east towards the quarry.

Ven, Flint and Rolfe remained and debated the logistics of how they would move the stockpile out of the city.  Last night Rolfe had offered a simple solution for disposing the orbs.  They were going to set them off in the quarry.

It was far enough out of the city that it wouldn’t hurt anyone or damage the city; and of course, the orbs would be rendered useless—Greyling would lose his biggest advantage.  Ven grinned at the prospect of it.

Just after mid-day, Jet returned with Dahlia and one of the Lightcity Riders.  They had found it, and it hadn’t been hard at all.  It turned out the glassworkers continuously frequented the storage location, when they delivered their quota of orbs to fulfill the contract Governor Estella signed.

Jet had counted only one lone Scout hanging about the entrance, making it fairly easy to access.  Dahlia theorized that they probably didn’t want it to look like they were guarding it too heavily, so as not to tip off the Lightcitizens as to the truth of their ruthlessness.  She had gotten a quick glance inside and saw the orbs neatly packed in crates, ready for transport.  There was only one problem.

The cache of orbs was by the main gate, on the opposite side of the city.

They had also learned of another, smaller stash of orbs at the Scouts’ barracks, which had been erected closer to the city center, over a grassy park.  But the bulk of the explosives were by the gate.  They were going to have to cart them straight across the city.

Thom returned just as Ven came to that ugly conclusion, and the Rider confirmed the same location of the storehouse.  Ven thought the Scouts must want to keep them ready to transport when the time came to advance on the fifth city.

They all sat down to discuss this latest development and scarf down a hasty mid-day meal.  It was going to take a lot of effort to move that many crates across the city, especially without drawing notice.  Ven volunteered to take watch while everyone else ate, so he climbed the stairs up to the catwalk while gnawing on some jerky.

Below, the voices of Flint, Rolfe, and the Riders filtered up as he made a slow revolution around the storehouse, slowly chewing on the meat.  Flint and Rolfe were telling the others their idea for moving the orbs.  They would need to gather supplies for it to work, but luckily the storehouses around them were full of what they needed, since heavy stones were constantly being moved in and out of these buildings.

Ven hadn’t ventured out into Lightcity much, not wanting to draw attention as a foreigner, but he couldn’t stop imagining the distance they were going to have to cart the orbs.

Out of nowhere, Ven heard heavy footfalls outside—someone running fast, towards their building.

He darted to the nearest window and looked out in time to see two figures running into the storehouse.

His bow already nocked with an arrow, he spun around to aim, until he realized it was just Ash and Arden, now catching their breath amidst the surprised group.

Ven’s heart fluttered in his chest with adrenaline as he waited for one of them to say something.

Ash spoke first.  “They’re taking them,” he panted.

“Taking the orbs to Riftcity.”