The Fifth City (27 page)

Forty Three

Sylvia’s heart was thudding against her ribs, and she gripped the edge of the table, hard.  She nearly choked.  “Wh-what’s—” she stammered.

Viktoria reached out a hand in assurance.

“Everything’s okay, Sylvia.  You can relax,” she said slowly.  “You’re okay now.”

Sylvia’s eyes darted around the room as her breathing quickened.  She couldn’t smell any smoke.  She lifted a hand to her hair—it was intact.  Her shoulder wasn’t burned.

“What just happened,”
she demanded in a cold whisper.  This was too much.  What had they done to her?  Had she been hallucinating?  Was Atlan okay?

Viktoria’s fingers skated across her long sleeve as she spoke.  “Everything’s fine,” she repeated.  “You just passed your final Trial,” she said, and gave Sylvia a grin.

“What?” Sylvia said incredulously.

“The earlink I gave you—”

Sylvia ripped the thing out of her ear.

“—connects with your mind in a different way than the traditional earlink.  This one lets you experience sights, sounds, smells, and it runs a program that we’ve coded to present you with a plausible scenario to test you on your courage.  Your final Trial was a simulation.”

Sylvia’s mouth hung open as she listened to the girl.  The words Viktoria said echoed around in her head several times before she thought she understood them.

“And I…passed?” was all she could think to ask.

Viktoria nodded.

“The judges watched by looking-glass.  The earlink allowed them to see what you saw.  And I have to say,” she dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, “I think they were really impressed.”

Sylvia cocked her head to the side, eyebrows furrowed.  She had nearly died—or thought she was about to die—and the judges watched from another room, evaluating her courage?

A shaky sigh emitted from her chest as she tried to get her heartbeat back down, now that she knew what was going on.

“Do you want a minute?” Viktoria asked.

“No,” Sylvia blurted.  She didn’t really want to be alone in this room again, somehow afraid of what might happen if that door closed again.

Viktoria gave her a small smile and stood, then led the way out of the testing room.

The hallway still smelled like old wood and stone, with not a hint of smoke, assuring Sylvia that indeed the vision was still false.

She had beaten the Trials.  She had gained Seascape’s acceptance.

But now she didn’t want to leave.

Forty Four

Ven sat in Gero’s office with the others, begrudgingly helping Flint explain what had happened.  After Neve left, Ember jumped down their throats trying to figure out how they could have done such a thing.  Only a brief explanation of who Neve was, and where Sylvia ended up was given by Ember before she went back to questioning them.

Gero just sat there listening, and Ven noted the new shadows under the man’s eyes, making him look exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in months.

When they finally finished, Gero remained quiet.  Ven and Flint shared a pained look.

Ember bobbed in her chair, “Gero—”

“Wait,” the Governor said, holding up a hand.  He took a deep breath.

“First, we must mourn the loss of our brother City.  We will gather all of Meadowcity with the refugees and light a fire of remembrance in the Great Hall.  It’s the least we can do.”

The three solemnly nodded their heads in agreement.  Ven’s stomach squirmed at the thought of it, but he would force himself to go, to honor their memories.

“I can’t pretend this isn’t a dreadful tragedy.  At great cost, Greyling’s been deprived of several weapons now: his closest ally, his main store of weapons, the
creators
of those weapons, and a large force of his Scouts.

“But the best thing we can do to honor those who died in Lightcity is to exonerate the Four Cities from his rule.  And that means Riftcity.”  He looked to Ember, who was on the edge of her seat.

“Riftcity needs our help,” she said.  “I’m ready to go.”

“I know you are,” he growled.  “You would have disappeared if it hadn’t been for Neve and that Scout.”

Ember shrugged.

“I’d like to go, too,” Ven volunteered.  There was nothing he wanted less than to stay in Meadowcity.  He couldn’t take the looks from the Lightcity survivors, their empty thank-yous for rescuing them; or worse, the look on Sylvia’s face when she returned and found out what he did.  He wanted no part of that.

“And me, obviously,” Flint added.

Gero nodded and closed his eyes briefly.  After rubbing his temples, he began, “This won’t be like last time,” he looked between Flint and Ven.  “And it won’t be like Lightcity,” he intoned.

“We will take caution, but the days of spying and inaction are over.  We might not be as cruel as Greyling and the Scouts, and we may not have his weapons.  But we will fight, with the resources we
do
have: the Defenders, our courage, and our heart.  The Four Cities have suffered terribly because of one man.”

“We need to stop him. 
You
need to stop him.”

Terrified though Ven was to go to Riftcity again; and to start another rebellion, he couldn’t stand idly by while others fought to help Arcera.

But he would not be the one to lead.  Not anymore.

Forty Five

When Sylvia met up with Oliver, she tried not to act strangely, but it was hard to fight the instinct to run.  The last time she had “seen” him had been in the simulation, when he was trying to force her to abandon Atlan to the flames.

She shook off the memory as she wearily stepped into the train.  She was too exhausted to care—and part of her brain knew that the simulation hadn’t been real, so she focused on that as they flew over the tracks through the countryside. 
It hadn’t been real.

Oliver had been grinning when he came to collect her at the top of the stairs.  Sylvia had demanded to see Atlan before they left, but Viktoria had said he was still in his simulation; and the girl reminded Sylvia that initiates couldn’t leave their testing rooms until it was complete.  The girl had assured her that he was okay, but Sylvia couldn’t help the irrational fear that rose up, knowing that she had been tricked before.

So she let Oliver taker her back to Castle Tenny.  Oliver had received word from Lady Naomi—she wanted to meet with Sylvia right away.  No doubt the Lady had heard about her Trial results already. 

After they got off the train, they walked slowly through the streets, and an overwhelming sense of sadness washed over Sylvia.  She was going to be leaving this strange and wonderful place, and soon.

There was no doubt that she would miss it.  That had probably been her last train ride.

They passed a food stand and she convinced Oliver to buy her a pasty, like the ones she and Atlan had gotten that sunny afternoon only the other week.  She savored every bite as they walked through the streets.  Oliver got one too, and Sylvia reluctantly told him about her simulation, and he cringed, knowing she might have hard feelings toward him.  He jokingly told her there was no way he would leave either Atlan or her behind.  She smiled.

Her brain was a cloud of nostalgia at leaving Seascape, relief at the Trials being over, and a constantly thickening dread of returning to the war that waged between the Four Cities.  And then there was Atlan.  Her heart constricted at the thought of him.

She had never felt so enamored—nor such a deep connection shared.  Even with Ven, she had always questioned each action—she had never been sure of herself, or sure of how he felt.  They had grown up with each other, but now they had grown apart.  She couldn’t see herself ever growing apart from Atlan.

Oliver led her through the castle, and Sylvia pulled up the map to watch their progress through the halls, out of curiosity.

She had reconnected to her earlink on the train, and was glad it was her own and not the other, sinister earlink that could control your thoughts.  She shuddered as she thought of it again.

Every day, every minute, she discovered something even more strange, even more wonderful about Seascape.

They passed her suite, still marked on the map as hers.  Sylvia had a brief moment of panic at going to meet Lady Naomi in these plain clothes; but the Lady had requested she come right away, so she must not expect Sylvia to be dressed formally.

She left Oliver at the end of the corridor and strode across the stone steps that led to the patio.  The looking-glass walls showed a bright sunny afternoon, giving an uncannily perfect light to the outdoor scene.

Lady Naomi sat at the empty table, grinning as Sylvia approached.  The Lady was dressed in her usual finery, a black gown covered in a spidery lace pattern.  For once, Sylvia felt comfortable sitting at the table, her own clothes giving her a feeling of holding her own ground.

The Lady bowed her long neck to her in greeting.  “Well done,” she purred.  Her smile reached her eyes, bright grey and sparkling with mischief.

“I’m afraid we don’t have time for tea today, and I do apologize for meeting with you at such short notice.”  The Lady idly traced a command on her black and white sleeve.

“Today is quite a busy day for Seascape, with the end of the Trials, and our final ceremony for the native initiates tonight, among other things.”

Sylvia waited, hands clasped in her lap.  A small twinge of jealousy zinged through her—she was clearly not invited to the ceremony.

But Sylvia was to get a different reward.  She had fulfilled her part of the bargain; now the Lady was to fulfill hers.  She hoped.

“I’m tempted to petition the city to award you citizenship,” the Lady beamed.  “Your performance today was astonishing.  Completing the simulation the quickest, and with the most courageous act—well, my offer still stands.  If you wish to remain in Seascape, I can arrange for you to learn to manipulate the datastrands.  Our technologies are always growing and changing as we make new discoveries.  I think you would find it quite a rewarding adventure.”

Sylvia’s heart leapt, but she kept her face blank.  She had finished the simulation the quickest?  And to stay in Seascape…

But she had responsibilities.  Meadowcity needed her.  They needed the help the Lady promised.

“Of course, you’re concerned about our bargain,” the Lady said.  “I have a gift for you to take, if you do choose to leave.  I know you have enjoyed these past weeks on our beautiful isle; but I understand your desire to return home.”

Sylvia flinched as someone came up from behind her and handed Lady Naomi a box.  The man—one of the Lady’s guards—turned and left without a word.

Naomi put the box in the center of the table.  It was silver, like the boxes the earlinks came in, but much bigger, about the size of a large teapot.  Sylvia’s hands curled around the edge of her seat.

“When you came here seeking our help, I agreed to offer you aid in your country’s war.  I will allow you to keep your earlink, your pilfered datawoven wristlet, and this—”

She slid the top off the box.

Sylvia’s stomach had sunk.  Her earlink and wristlet?  What good would those be against Greyling?  She leaned forward and looked inside, her hope rising.

Nestled between wooden shavings sat a black bird.

It wasn’t a real bird, it had an odd matte sheen to it, and it sat perfectly still.

It was a drone.

Sylvia’s mouth opened with a little pop.  Her mind began to soar with the possibilities of Meadowcity having their own drone that they could use to watch over Arcera.

“You will also find,” the Lady indicated the box, “an independent looking-glass, on which you can watch the vids from your drone.  They are both self-sufficient, able to power themselves.  You just need to expose them to sunlight once in a while so they can charge, like your earlink.  I trust with your aptitude for our technology, you can figure out how to operate them.”

Lady Naomi looked down fondly at the drone.  “Marvelous creations.  If you return, you could even help write programs to develop the technology.  You have it in you, you know.”

The Lady pierced her with an expectant glare.  Sylvia’s stomach squirmed, and she quickly looked back down at the unmoving bird.

“I won’t require you to give me an answer now,” the Lady said, and slid the box across the table.  “But I’m sure we will be seeing each other again.”

For once, Sylvia couldn’t think of a thing to say.

She didn’t know what she had been expecting from the Lady—a weapon of sorts, or a way to protect Meadowcity like the electric shock defense—but the earlink, the drone?  It was a start.

And she hadn’t even thought about having to give up her earlink before now.  It had become a part of her, using it had turned into second nature.

Sylvia grasped the box and pulled it closer.

“I’m afraid if you’re to leave today, we’re on quite a tight schedule,” Lady Naomi began.  “You’ll have to notify Oliver when you’re done packing, and he can arrange a boat to the mainland this afternoon.”

This afternoon?
   Sylvia’s heart began to race.  She thought she would have
some
time to get ready to leave, say goodbye…

Everything was moving so quickly now.  First she was swept away from the western shore and directly to Lady Naomi, right after having to endure that horrifyingly vivid simulation, and now she had to pack and go this afternoon?  She barely had any time to say goodbye to Atlan.

“Well, Sylvia, this is it,” Naomi announced.

Sylvia was struck mute.  It was all happening too fast.

“We will meet again; soon, I am sure,” the Lady said, and craned her long neck towards the Rider in farewell.

Sylvia gripped the silver box, found her voice, and replied, “Soon.”