Viky was surprised Marwaan greeted her at the head of the stairs.
“I said I wanted your mother and the Body Chains.” Viky tried to make her voice sound threatening, a high squeak at the end of the sentence lacked credibility.
“I was to make sure you came alone, and to take you to where she's hidden them.” Marwaan sniffed, unimpressed.
“If she wants to return them, why doesn't she just bring them?”
“Mum doesn’t want to be seen. You left a great bruise on her face, it’s larger now, but initially it was the shape of your double ring. A bit conspicuous. We go this way.” Marwaan turned her back and started walking.
Okay, that news was oddly satisfying.
“I didn’t believe her when she told us she had fallen. Wish I’d been there when you attacked her. Pity you didn’t kill her there and then. But I guess then you wouldn’t be getting the Chains back.” Marwaan spoke dispassionately.
Controlling her features Viky swallowed, forcing her heart back down her throat. Marwaan wanted her mother dead. That was disturbing on so many levels Viky wasn’t sure how respond.
After an uncomfortable silence she latched on to the obvious lie.
“I didn’t attack your mother, she crept up on me while Invisible. Tried to garrotte me.”
Marwaan nodded dispiritedly. “You’re lucky, she usually gets what she wants, one way or another.”
“You’re not going to defend her?”
Marwaan snorted. “Defend her? You’re not the first person she’s attacked. I doubt she even bothers to think about the truth anymore. For what it’s worth Viky, I am sorry. I never wanted to be a thief, but when you're a kid, you do what your mother tells you. It was exciting sometimes, there's a thrill to taking something and getting away with it, but I don’t kill people.”
“Play with fire and you will get burnt and scorch the people around you.”
Marwaan picked up her pace; against her better judgment Viky followed. The woman’s longer legs kept her a step ahead, so Viky slipped another Great Tree fruit from her pocket and squashed more juice over the soft fabric of her slippers.
“When did you start stealing?” Viky asked.
“Three, no four rotations ago. Children are not the first suspects in a crime. I got caught a couple of rotations ago. Mum denied any knowledge or accountability. An older team of Deputized Operative Commanders handled the case, let me off with a warning because of my age. It was harder after that, mum did most of the jobs, I was look-out. Mum thought I was going to inherit her Invisibility, but I haven't.” Marwaan continued in a flat voice.
“You got away with it for a long time. Was that because you always stole things just before the sisterhoods were leaving?”
“Yes, we had bad luck with your sisterhood. Nobody expected Kyung-sook to die in childbirth. It doesn't happen very often, but of course that meant everybody had to stay for Jieleen to find another life partner and produce an heir. Tushii let it slip that you were with child, she gave me the impression that you would all leave soon. We hadn't planned to take anything more from your sisterhood. But Isobeel wasn't in, and I was just rummaging through her gear, it was too good an opportunity to miss. Like an idiot I thought Mum would be proud of me, she’s always whining that I don’t take enough initiative. Didn't understand how valuable they were, and Mum was furious when she saw I’d stolen Body Chains.” Marwaan touched her bruised cheek, wiping away a tear.
“And your parent works at the Armoury, doesn't he? That's how you were getting valuable things out of the capital.”
“Yes, he had a special symbol he used on the packages with stolen goods in them. His second-son brother works in the Nisayaan roost at a waystation. He watches out for them, sets them aside, and when he goes to Jiuliing himself sells them on. But someone at my parent’s work has become suspicious. We haven't been able to ship anything out for the last few nine-days. We almost got them away you know. My parent had the body chains at the Armoury, mum and he had a massive argument when he brought them back home.”
They walked along the thoroughfare, passing emporiums closed for the afternoon. Viky had not spent a lot of time on the first floor above the residential section of the city.
Working out a way for her sisters to follow had not been difficult. They continued along a central route without deviation. Viky became slightly worried that her sisters, crowding at the head of the stairwell, would be too obvious. Few people were about, a large group would be conspicuous, even if they were all keeping quiet. Which Viky was sure they wouldn't be able to do. Marwaan and she turned into another tunnel, narrower than the one they had just left. Another turn and short walk saw them arrive at an imposing building with a facade of glittering iridescent crystals.
“This is it, mum's in there. This is the last thing I'm ever doing for her. My parents has already left. Taken my brothers and fled the city, didn’t even think of me. Pretended he needed a few days to attend the funeral pyre for a relative. I'm leaving now, going to the Nisayaan roost and stealing an animal. I don't care where it's going, I'm just getting away and never coming back. Don't try and stop me.”
Viky had no intention of stopping her. Escaping sounded like a good plan, if she stayed and was caught, execution was the expected outcome. Viky didn't agree with what she'd done but didn't want Marwaan’s death on her conscience either.
“Well, good luck, Quellion be with you.” Viky gave her a nod and wave. Approached the buildings imposing arched entrance with caution. It was boarded up, but a smaller doorway to the side was ajar.
***
Dereniik dropped centres and shimmered back into sight.
“Gabreel, which way did Viky go?” Jieleen asked, speaking so rapidly the words blurred together.
The woman startled, gave Dereniik a critical stare and gestured right. “I didn't see Viky, but Amethyst took off that way. The others asked me to stay and give you directions.”
“Thanks, Gabreel.” Jieleen was already adjusting the grip rope, ready to start again.
“My Lady thank you for your assistance. May I suggest you return to your enclave and assist your sister with the children.” Dereniik said.
Gabreel’s relief was evident and Dereniik was happy to have one less inexperienced woman at a potential crime scene and in close association with a woman capable of attempting murder. She would also find it difficult to keep up with the fast pace the young man maintained.
Jieleen would have overshot the next turn off, failing to notice the tall woman waiting in the shadows.
“This is Lady Tushii,” Jieleen introduced a serene Lady.
“They turned down this way. Where is Gabreel? What do you need me to do now?” Tushii asked.
“My Lady, thank you for your assistance. Lady Gabreel has returned to the enclave; it is better if you do the same.”
Dereniik thought she may have argued with him, she smoothed the front of her sleek dress. No, she was with child, not far along, but the instinct to be protective of her unborn baby warred with the desired to help her sister.
“We will be able to supply the help that your sister needs. Be at peace.” Dereniik reassured her.
Jieleen was already moving off, Dereniik towed in his wake, gave the hand signals for respect, and shimmered out of sight.
Lady Isobeel was waiting at the next turn and offered no objections when Dereniik suggested she returned to the enclave.
“I thought since we are getting your Body Chains back you would want to be in the thick of the search until the end.” Jieleen muttered.
“Oh, no. The others will be of much more use than I will be. Maddie has inherited Strength, Shelli and Shaar have some sort of talent that makes them awesome at hitting things with slings. I don't know if River has inherited anything, but Amethyst is proving very useful.” Isobeel patted Jieleen on the arm. “Anyway, Viky went to all this trouble leaving a trail for you to follow. She doesn't want me. You can be the hero in her eyes, just as you are the hero in her heart.”
Dereniik remained visible and hoped he had never displayed the goofy look Jieleen wore on his face as they turned the corner and made rapid progress down the throughway.
***
Viky stood in the gloom, back against the side door, impatient for her eyes to adjust.
With only a smattering of luminescent bryophyte the air would be thin, making extended physical activity difficult. But not impossible. Her parent had trained her in situations like this, she knew what it was like to fight when you were short of breath. The lightheaded feeling was unpleasant and limiting for someone relying solely on physical fractal enhancements. Her opponent had chosen the battlefield well.
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She had to presume Lady Briziit knew she was Strength and Speed enhanced and Marwaan would have told her about the Bolt Phasing. They also thought she had Truth and Lies, with any luck that would discourage her from telling untruths but as Viky didn’t have the skill, she had no way of knowing for sure how Lady Briziit would choose to try and fool her.
Viky caught movement in her peripheral vision, Lady Briziit emerged from the shadows.
“My dear child, so good of you to come.” She purred; words laced with sulphur.
“Give me the Body Chains and I'll give you nine days to leave with my word that I won't turn you in until then.”
It took considerable self-control not to stare. Lady Briziit had exchanged the traditional nine-piece dress for trousers and tunic made from slightly glossy lilac fabric. But the unusual clothing was not her most distinguishing feature. She had a puffy black eye and significant raised bruise decorating her jaw. Shaped like Viky double ring. No wonder she hadn't wanted to visit Isobeel, or anyone else. Marwaan may have been telling the truth about her mother not wanting to be seen, but the woman had Invisibility, so it was a flimsy pathetic excuse.
No, there was another reason for her wanting Viky here, and it wasn’t based on respect or appreciation.
“Admiring your handy work? If you attack me now, I guarantee you will never find the Body Chains.”
“Hand them over and I'll leave, pretend I never saw you.” Viky was itching to reach for the aether.
“There's a bit of a problem with that, can't get to them by myself. My recently departed life partner and I hid them together. I need someone Strength enhanced to help me retrieve them.” She raised an eyebrow.
Viky frowned. Lady Briziit’s body language gave nothing away. She could be telling the truth, but Viky doubted it her motives were innocent. It was possible to word a misleading sentence that was not a lie. There was no way the woman was trustworthy.
Viky understood who she was dealing with now, but was confident in her own intelligence, skills, and abilities.
Mostly.
“Let's get on with it, after you?” Viky gestured, once Lady Briziit’s back was turned she dropped another piece of Great Tree fruit at her feet and made sure the juice drenched the fabric of her slippers.
***
Dereniik found himself back in the tunnel that headed past the wing of the Healing Hall he attended each month. Ample empty buildings lined the deserted walkway. Abundant hiding places for goods to be stashed, secreted away with little chance of random discovery. A small group of women clustered in front of a large ornate building. His heart sank, recognizing the structure before they arrived. The building was timeworn.
Deserted for at least the last couple of ninety-nines.
The perfect place to conceal something.
Because only a fool would venture inside a Xianees bank. One ornate side door was ajar, a slither of darkness beyond.
“Stop, don’t go in.” Dereniik yelled.
A young woman with a cloud of magenta hair hesitated, fingers on the doorjamb.
Jeileen loped up to them, only slightly winded.
Dereniik unattached himself and rearranging his crutches as he talked.
“My Ladies, this is a Xianees bank. The Xianees mined gemstones and banks were set up to exchange gems into sequin. To keep the contents secure, most banks have vaults and various mechanisms set up to discourage thieves. When Xian wouldn't join the Coalition, the people fled, and the banks were left to fall into ruin. Many of the safeguards may still be active.”
“So, you're saying they have booby traps inside this building?” The pink haired Lady asked.
“Yes, I am Deputized Operative Commander Dereniik, to whom do I owe the pleasure of addressing.”
“Forgetting introductions, Viky could be in danger.” Jieleen attempted to barge past the speaker. She shoved him back with a casual push. Folding her arms she stood in front of the door, effectively blocking his entry.
“Viky’s smart, she won't walk into a trap. She said we should listen to this Commander Dereniik. I'm Maddie, that’s Sheeli. Shaar is the one with her sling out, and River is holding the Vorral. What do we do?”
“Thank you, Maddie, stay behind me, we go in, but with extreme caution, and don't touch anything.”
Women being involved was unfortunate. Dereniik noted Sheeli unwind a sling from her hair, and ready it with a bead from a necklace. He nodded his approval and shuffled into the dim interior, keeping a respectful distance between himself and the Vorraal. They were not dangerous, domesticated throughout a few of the larger cities of the coalition. Dereniik just didn’t like them. They were not worth the effort it took to cleaning up after them. If you had to have a pet a why not keep a Flitter? Leathery wings didn’t shed feathers, they didn’t scatter seeds everywhere when they ate, and they could be taught to only defecate in a single location.
“There's more crushed fruit on the ground, Amethyst will be able to easily follow the scent. Do you want me to put her down?” River asked.
Dereniik hesitated. Still, quiet, and with a deceptive beauty the foyer gave no indication of hidden dangers. Could he convince the women to stay here, while Jieleen and he explored deeper into the structure?
“Yes, once our eyes adjust, but keep the lead short. Traps in the public parts of the banks are most often deactivated now, but you can never be sure. A regular feature of Xianees architecture outside their homeland are pressure plates under flagstones. Stepping on the wrong one activates a snare. The first person coming into the bank in the morning would know exactly where to step and which ones to miss. There would be a switch behind the bank counter to deactivate them. We don't know if the floor is activated, but Lady Briziit and Viky must have crossed it.”
“What happens if you step on the wrong part of the floor?” Maddie whispered.
“It varied between the different banks, just like each safe passage was unique.” Dereniik felt saddened that people of a civilized world had needed to take such defensive measures. Although the record of mankind's dealings with minority races between the Great War and the Power Wars left a lot to be desired.
“Slimy mould.” Jieleen growled.
“People have a right to protect their possessions from those who would try steal from them.” Sheeli said.
“Yeah, I might have to implement something similar to protect our goods.” Her sister added.
Dereniik sincerely hoped Shaar was joking. Young children loved to explore and ignoring adults’ warnings was a staple of youth and inexperience. One of his team’s first investigations had involved the mysterious disappearance of several young children. Discovering what remained of them, in a deserted Xianees bank, had been devastating.
“Can I lead your animal and have her follow Viky’s trail?” Dereniik asked River.
“I don’t know if she will be very happy with that. Do you have any food?” River asked.
Dereniik didn’t, and the Vorreel refused to be cajoled or intimidated into doing anything with him.
After enduring Jieleen’s agitated pleadings for action, and against Dereniik’s better judgment, he followed River, who followed Amethyst, onto the flagstones.
It was not a stealthy approach. Amethyst’s claws clacked against the flagstones, crutches clicked, and one of the twins, Dereniik didn't want to risk a turning to see which, was jiggling metallic sounding sling stones in her hand. Maddie punctuated the time with exclamations of delight as she observed various parts of the impressive architecture and crystal set stained glass windows. She was very taken with the magenta designs.
They skirted the right outside edge of the large foyer. Reaching the corner Amethyst turned to lead them down the next side.
Dereniik heard the click.
“Stop.” He yelled, grabbing the back of River’s shawl and jerking her backwards.
A pressure plate activated two blades. The wicked gleaming double-sided curves slid out from between flawless brickwork.
Slicing through where rivers leg had been a heartbeat before.
Staggering back into Dereniik, she had ended up in a tangle of limbs and crutches on the floor.
A heartbeat later the blades retracted back into the stonework.
The only sound was Dereniik’s thumping heart. River whimpered.
“We are fine. Everybody, keep calm, stay exactly where you are.” Dereniik instructed, extricating himself with care.
River shivered. Eyes fixated on where the knives had slid back into the brickwork. She worked her mouth, silent unformed words, gulping the air.
“Lady River, can you stand, you are uninjured, aren’t you? Dereniik asked.
She nodded and Dereniik noted the change in her resolve. Determination replacing some of the horror.
Maddie had squealed, but Sheeli and Shaar had both readied weapons. Jieleen reaching for the aether, looking for something to attack, had taken a step forward. The Vorraal, under the reach of the offending blades plodded onwards, leash now severed. She reached the counter, discovered River wasn’t attached, turned, and ambled back unconcerned.
“Why didn’t Amethyst trip the trigger?” Shaar asked.
“She must not weigh enough.” Dereniik suggested, River composing herself and assisted him to his feet.
“We will be facing more of this sort of thing. No one will think any less of you if you need to head back?”
Dereniik thought River might take him up on the offer, or he hoped she would. Sheeli and Shaar appeared to be made of tough stuff. Maddie frowned and looked affronted. Each person shook their head.
The thought made his stomach turn.
This was just the beginning.
“We will change our approach. River, please stay exactly where you are. Jieleen, do you think you can Manipulate Phase me to the counter?” Dereniik asked.
“Maybe, if you make yourself lighter?”
“I can do that, see if you can get me behind the counter. I’ll have to stand on flagstones while I look for the release button. But if I apply pressure with my crutch to one and increase the weight slowly, I’ll only lose a crutch, not my leg if it’s rigged. There is a soft metallic click before the mechanism is activated. We need to keep quiet and listen out for that.”
Jeileen raised his hand, God’s Fire Illuminated the room. Dereniik experienced the sensation being pushed by an intangible force. He relinquished the little control he had over his life and made it halfway before the next interruption.
“Hello there, Jeileen, Ladies, Commander Dereniik.” Flagsteen blushed as he and a D’char entered the room.
“The floor is rigged.”
“We can’t go in yet”
“Thank you for coming.” Several voices clamoured.
Dereniik felt himself waver as Jieleen lost focus. He dipped, one crutch grazing the floor. Wood grated against stone.
In a heartbeat the sound was replaced by that of metal crunching timber. Splinters flew, spitting in all directions. The bottom hand breadth of his crutch violently sliced of. Torn from his grasp the crutch was flung across the flagstones. Jieleen groaned, doubled down in his efforts, Dereniik was catapulted onto the counter.
Dereniik found himself shaking.
This was not the time to have a panic attack. He wasn't even anywhere close to the forest and the stained-glass windows were geometric patterns, not forest animals.
The Vorraal didn't count, she was domesticated. He drew in another long sustaining breath.
“Oh, Er,” Flagsteen stammered. Jieleen leaned against a convenient wall.
Dereniik pulled himself together. “I'm very happy to see you Flagsteen, but why are you here?”
“I don’t really know. This servant insisted I come; said you needed me.”
The youth was distracted, running his hand over Jieleen’s forehead.
“Viky left us instructions to send Ly to fetch Commander Flagsteen once we were fairly sure where she was.” Maddie cut in. “We knew you’d agree.”
Dereniik sighed, and she had only thought to inform him of this now?
“Lady Maddie, did Viky leave any other instructions that I should know about?”
“Well, she left other instructions. But I don’t know if we should tell you about them.” Was her cryptic reply.
He didn’t have time for this.
“Flagsteen, this is potentially dangerous. Viky is somewhere in here, in the company of the lady that recently tried to murder her. This is a Xianees bank, rigged with booby traps.”
“Well, it's a good job I'm here then.” Flagsteen said.
Great another inexperienced person to worry about.
Dereniik tested a flagstone behind the counter with his remaining crutch.
Another set of blades whipped into action.
The momentum sent Dereniik spinning.
Clutching the counter, he only just avoided being flung from the surface. Needed to work smarter. He took a deep breath, and recognized what should have been apparent from the start. The countertop was an enamelled illustration. The decorative scrolling pattern around the edge was beautiful Xianees script.
It didn't take long to appreciate the story was a familiar epic poem. Dereniik knew enough about Xianees literature to identify the central figure. The release button, integrated into the decoration, was the boss on his shield, the place the hero had concealed the ransom used to release his family.
When pressed it gave a satisfying click.
“Wait until I test it, but I think it’s safe now.” Dereniik prodded several flagstones, including the one that had recently sent him spinning. No blades materialized. Emboldened, he shuffled over and retrieved the remnants of his other crutch.
“I'm going to need a new set of these.” Dereniik sighed. It took ages for the leather strapping and handle covering to soften and stop chafing.
Jieleen, hurried over, and the rest of the party followed. River did not join them, Amethyst was secured once again, she had scent feelers to the ground and was moseying in the direction of a large arched open doorway.
“Please, wait lady River. There will be more traps.” Dereniik called.