The Regenerates (17 page)

Ven sighed. Suddenly, Coralie joined him, her hands laden with a bag of fruit. Kayn followed closely behind her.

“Who’s this?” said Coralie.

“I think we might have a lead,” said Ven. “But it’s going to cost us. I hope you didn’t spend all your money.”

Kayn and Coralie looked at him, confused.

“So,” said the boy, “we goin’, or not?”

T
he haggard boy led them to a tall metal building on the outskirts of town. There were fewer people here, aside from small groups of drunken miners collapsed on the side of the road, or the occasional townsperson sweeping his doorstep.

Like all the other buildings in Lamparth, this one bent forward slightly and was rusting. The canals in front of it fanned out like a spider’s web. Black smoke rose from the thin chimney of the metal structure. The smoke, mixed in with the slight odor of tobacco, was making Ven’s throat itch. The boy banged the door with his fist.

“I’m not so sure about this, Ven,” Coralie whispered in his ear. “Didn’t you say he was selling opiates? Besides, just look that this place.”

“No one said we have to buy them,” said Ven. “Besides, this is the closest thing we’ve had to a lead in days. We can’t be too picky.”

The door creaked open. A girl with pale skin and short brown hair appeared. Her face was caked with makeup and she wore a long, loose sleeveless top, dark red tights and brown boots.

“You’re back earlier than usual, Conner,” she said. Her gaze fell on Ven, Kayn and Coralie and she raised her eyebrows. “Wow, you go a whole ten days without a single customer and now you’ve got three. Impressive. Although…” Her eyes traveled up and down Ven and Coralie, her mouth twisting into an amused smile. “Not really what I expected.”

Ven glanced at Coralie, who flushed.

“They’re here for Tanner. Is he busy, Riga?”

“Nah, he’s upstairs. The usual spot.”

Conner motioned for them to follow him up a rickety winding staircase. Ven could hear music and voices from above. As they climbed higher and higher, past each level, groups of people were laughing loudly, brass pipes in their mouths and large mugs in their hands. On another floor, two men were engaged in a heated fistfight while onlookers cheered.

When they finally reached the top, the staircase opened out onto a dimly lit sitting room. Several sets of chairs and tables were scattered messily around the space, which was mostly empty. The boy scanned the room.

“Damn that Tanner,” he said. “Where does he keep running off to?”

“What are you whining about? He’s right there.” Riga appeared beside them suddenly, lifted up Conner’s hand and stretched out his finger, pointing it toward a green leather couch in a corner. A man was seated on it, a long brass pipe in one hand and an apple in the other. His head was rolled back.

“Bet you fifty Koins he’s out cold,” said Riga, pulling out her own pipe and lighting it.

“We’ll see.” Conner motioned for Ven, Kayn and Coralie to follow him towards the couch.

“Up you get, Tanner,” he said, kicking the man’s leg. “You’ve got a guest. C’mon, already.”

Tanner lifted up his foot and stomped hard on Conner’s toes. Conner yelped and jumped back.

“Kick me again and I’ll cave your face in,” he said gruffly, straightening out. He stretched out his legs and took a large bite of the apple. Tanner’s striking blue eyes were surrounded by dark circles and shadows. Clearly, he didn’t get much sleep, if any at all. He looked about thirty, and his short hair was dyed maroon. He wore a navy blue business suit and several gold rings on his fingers.

Tanner surveyed the scene before him, raising his eyebrows at Ven, Kayn and Coralie.

“Uh…Conner? Don’t tell me they’re here for Vigor? What lie did you tell to get them here?”

Kayn stepped forward. “We’re not here to buy opiates,” he said. “We heard you could tell us the way to Hygon Pass.”

Tanner frowned and stared at them in disbelief for a moment, before turning to Conner and Riga. “Not your best lie, I’m gonna admit,” he said. “I understand you’re desperate for a customer and that it’s been more than a week, but if you trick them it’s only gonna make them angry.”

“
What?
” Ven turned his head sharply in Conner’s direction.

Conner backed away. “Well, I didn’t lie about your map! That was the truth!”

“Then what the hell–” Ven advanced on him.

“I had to make something up to get you inside, or you would have left when we got to the front door. Look, I just need some money, alright?”

“Do we look like business tycoons to you?” Coralie snapped. Conner edged away from her. She turned to Ven. “Let’s get out of here.”

Tanner rolled his eyes and munched on his apple again, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

“Another failure, huh, Conner? Big surprise.” He took a massive puff from his pipe and laid his head back against the couch.

Furious, and with half a mind to punch Conner in the mouth, Ven pulled Coralie away towards the staircase. Kayn pushed past them.

“Hold on!” said Conner. “We’ve got a general store. Would you…would you want to look at our merchandise? We sell weapons, medicine, tools, airship repair parts, the works. You won’t find any of our stuff in the market. What do you say?”

Ven stopped.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” said Coralie, as Kayn also turned around. “We need to go. We’ve already wasted enough time as it is.”

“We
do
need supplies though, don’t we?” said Ven. “Let’s check it out. If all of it is crap we’ll leave, I promise.”

Coralie groaned and Conner’s face lit up. Kayn shot Ven a glare as Conner led them down the rickety staircase once more to a level two floors down. He heaved open a large metal door covered in scratches and graffiti. Inside the store, a strong copper smell filled Ven’s nostrils.

He raised his eyebrows. The general store was a traveler’s paradise. Unlike the market outside, the merchandise here was neat and orderly, albeit peculiar. Ven had never seen such strange things. There were compasses that lit up when you touched them, a bizarre assortment of knives and revolvers, oculars, woolen gloves and cloaks, various belts and shoes. Judging by the condition of some of the items, Ven was almost positive they were all stolen. He had just picked up a set of gloves when Conner poked his head beside Ven’s.

“Hey,” he whispered.

Ven jumped as he felt Conner’s breath by his head. “Would you stop sneaking up on me? You’re creeping me out. What do you want?”

“You are more than welcome to say no,” Conner began. “But just let me tell about Vigor. Seriously, a few whiffs of this stuff and you’ll have enough strength to lift a motorized transport pod with your bare hands.” He pulled out a clear packet of neon blue powder and a small pipe and held them out. “Sure you don’t want any?”

Ven’s eyes narrowed. This stuff would make him strong? He instantly remembered his brush with death not too long ago. A fiery feeling rose in his stomach. What if it really was this simple?
What if I never have to worry again? The next time Kayn tries something, I could…

Hardly daring to believe what he was about to say, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Look,” he whispered. “I can’t exactly carry around a pipe with me in public, nor can I let my girlfriend” – his heart leaped as he said it – “over there know about this.” He gestured at Coralie. “So unless you’ve got another option, it looks like I’ll have to pass.”

Conner slapped a hand on Ven’s shoulder, grinning. “Not a problem, friend! I’ve got a version here that you can mix into water and it works the same! The water will still be blue, though, so you’re gonna have to deal with that.”

Ven’s heart was racing. He tried not to think of what his mother would say if she was here. He reached into his pocket. “I really do need supplies,” he said, so quietly that Conner had to bend his head closer to hear him. “So if you charge me too much, you can forget it. You’re already getting business from us, so don’t push it.”

Conner sighed. He pulled out another packet from his jacket pocket. This one was much smaller, and contained a teaspoon of the strange neon powder.

“This is a sample,” he said. “Should last you a couple days. It’ll be five Koins for this amount. Sound like a deal?”

Ven’s heart was now thumping painfully fast. Hands quivering, he pulled the money out of his pocket and snuck it into Conner’s open palm. Then he took a quick glance around him to make sure neither Kayn nor Coralie was in sight and hurriedly stuffed the packet in his pocket. Conner was beaming.

“This stuff had better not be illegal, got it?” Ven said. “If I get in trouble for this, I’m going to track you down and make you pay.”

“Relax, it isn’t. Haven’t you heard of those brawling competitions that take place in Muran and Crion? They take Vigor all the time before their matches. It helps makes things more interesting. I’ve heard there are politicians who bet money on the brawlers based on how much of the Vigor they can consume before they–” He paused.

“What?” said Ven.

“N-nothing,” Conner mumbled. “I’ll also give you this.” He handed Ven a card with the word “VIGOR” written in bright blue. Ven turned it over. On the back was a list of names and beside them, an address. “It’s a list of sellers from the surrounding cities in case you run out and want more.”

Ven glared at Conner, then looked behind him again to check for Coralie. “Tell me, an opiate like this has to have side effects. Care to share? Or should I call this whole thing off and take my money back?”

Ven could see beads of sweat rolling down Conner’s temple. He had never seen anyone so wimpy. Conner rumpled his already messy hair.

“Alright, alright,” he said. “A few hours after you take a bit of it, your vision gets a bit…blurry, and you start feeling, uh, tired. That’s all. Oh, and the Vigor takes effect ten minutes after you’ve taken it and lasts about an hour.”

“What happens if you keep taking it regularly? Do you get insomnia?”

Conner’s eyes widened. “Who told you that?”

“One look at the black rings under your friend Tanner’s eyes was more than enough evidence of that.” Ven thought for a moment. What on earth was he doing? Was he really so desperate? He couldn’t afford to let this stupid thing hinder him later on. Should he call the whole thing off?

As though he had read Ven’s mind, Conner tightened his grip around the Koins Ven had given him. “So…are we all good, then?”

Suddenly overcome with a desire to do something brash, Ven nodded, forcing himself to shut out the nagging voice in his head that was telling him to pour the powder into the dark canal the second they left.

Conner winked at him. “You won’t regret it, friend.”

Coralie’s voice rang out. “Hey, Ven, come check this out!”

Ven jumped and on instinct, slapped his hand to his pocket. She gave him a funny look before grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the end of the store.

“Take a look at this revolver,” she said, walking over to a shelf and picking up the sterling silver weapon and running her hands over it.

“It costs a fortune,” she said, “but the bullets are made of chrome and are supposed to be really powerful. It’s a shame it’s so expensive. I could totally use one of these.”

“I’ll bet you’re an expert at telling the quality of weaponry,” said Ven. “Since you’ve probably seen a lot of prototypes back in Co–” Ven froze, suddenly remembering what a stupid idea it was to bring up Coralie’s father’s business. Ven looked at her, silently praying she wouldn’t start to cry again. Her face was blank. Ven couldn’t tell if she ignored the statement on purpose or not. There was a quick pause before Coralie moved to another shelf and picked up a copper compass.

“Say, we could probably use one of these,” she said, clicking the buttons on it.

Ven sighed in relief. “Y-yeah, how much are they?”

“Five Koins,” she said, looking at the small red sticker on it. “You got any Koins left, Ven?”

He winced and Coralie raised her eyebrows. “Don’t
you
have any?” Ven asked, his stomach twisting.

“I do. I was just asking. In case you wanted one for yourself.” She smiled wryly.

She knows. Damn, she knows…

Kayn tapped Ven on the shoulder. He flinched again. “If you’re done, let’s go. I’ve got everything.”

Ven forced himself not to look Coralie in the eye as they made their way to the cash counter and handed the female clerk their items. It felt like he was carrying an explosive in his pocket. Had he made a terrible mistake? Ven tried to let his hands hang loosely at his sides. If he put them in his pockets, he was only going to make Coralie more suspicious.

Perhaps she didn’t know, and he was just being paranoid.

As they were about to leave, they passed Tanner at the top of the stairs. He eyed the purchases in their hands. “Looks like you did get us some business after all, Conner,” he said, slapping Conner on the back. Then he turned to Ven, Kayn and Coralie again. “You three said you were looking for the quickest route to Hygon Pass, right?”

Ven’s ears perked up. “Yeah. Do you know something after all?”

“Can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll give it a shot since you’ve been loyal customers. We’re gonna get a proper dinner thanks to you three, so I should try and do something to repay you. Do you guys have a map or anything?” He took another long whiff of his pipe. Ven noticed for the first time that the smoke rings were bright, neon blue. He stared at them and tilted his head, watching them grow and then disappear.

“Ven.” Coralie slapped his arm. “Hurry up and give him the map.”

“Oh, right. Here.” Ven pulled it out of his satchel and handed it to Tanner.

Tanner examined it, and just like Conner, he wore a confused expression. “Um…where did you say you were from, again? Because your map is…off.”

“See, I told you I wasn’t lying!” said Conner.

“We get it,” said Ven. “The map is all wrong. What do we do?” He decided it was probably best to leave out where they were from.

“You get a new one,” said Tanner, scratching his chin and handing them back the map. “Have you heard of Doon? That crazy cartographer in Crion? He owns a map store. It’s really famous. Apparently his whole family have been cartographers for generations. He’s a nice fella, and I can guarantee you he will not only give you a new map, but will lay out a route down to what blades of grass you should walk on to get there.”