“Huh, what do you mean you won’t let us in?”

The man behind the reinforced glass spoke without looking up from the open page on his counter.

“No pass, no go. You can only enter the inner city at the explicit appointment of the king.”

“Do you know who you’re speaking to?” Scarlett was getting visible furious. I could practically see the fumes rising from her red face.

The man adjusted his glasses. “Frankly ma’am, I don’t know, and I couldn’t be bothered to ask. My job ain’t asking who you are, it’s asking if you have a pass or not. Now kindly leave as you’re holding up the queue.”

I could hear Scarlett slowly exhale. “Ma’am?” she said, under her breath.

Now she was really pissed. I looked at the sheet of glass which was the only thing between her and the man behind the counter. I doubt that would hold up against a full powered attack of hers.

“Listen,” she said, started soft before suddenly exploding. “I DON’T HAVE THE TIME OR PATIENCE TO STUFF AROUND WITH SOME LOWLY GATEKEEPER!”

As she said this last word, she pounded her fist against the glass, and cracks spread like spiderwebs. The wide-eyed man nearly fell off his chair. He punched something under the counter and a siren began blaring. Red lights flashed on the ceiling above and the queue behind us scattered to make way for several guards carrying automatic rifles.

Scarlett sighed and took a step back, not taking her eyes off the nervously shaking man behind the broken glass, even as she was dragged out of the entryway by the guards. I raised my hands above my head and walked calmly out into the street. No need to manhandle me, lads.

After reeling off several severe cuss words, Scarlett turned to me.

“That didn’t go too well,” I said.

“Oh, to hell with you and that smug attitude.”

I shrugged. “I did ask if –”

“Yeah, yeah you did.” She looked exhausted as she said this. She really put all her energy into being angry. I smiled.

She caught a glimpse of my curled lip and frowned. “Oh, and what’s so funny now?”

“Heh, nothing,” I replied. There was something charming about her pissed off face.

“Hmph.”

“Oi, you!” a child’s voice called.

We turned in unison. Across the street, peaking out of a dark alley that ran around the back of a graffiti covered house was the grimy face of a young boy. His green eyes stood out against the dirt on his cheeks, even under the shadow cast by his flat cap. He motioned for us to come to him. Scarlett and I glanced at each other before making our way across the street, avoiding the passing hover cars.

“You want to get in, huh?” He had the brattiest smile I’d ever seen.

“Sure,” I replied.

“I might know a guy.”

I raised an eyebrow. I figured it would be something like this. But to think that even a pass supposedly given out by the king himself could be forged; I guess the same scummy filth of the outer city lay within, if only masked by a silver sheen.

Scarlett didn’t look convinced. “You know a guy? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The boy coughed and held out an open palm in a not-so-subtle manner. Scarlett looked confused.

“He wants money,” I said.

She pulled a face as she tossed a coin into his outstretched hand.

“Follow me,” he said with a wave.

We followed the boy through the dark twists and narrow walkways that weaved between the cramped houses that lined either side of the city alleys. As we went, I saw other children watching us out of the corner of my eyes, hiding in the windows and doorways.

“There’s so many of them,” I whispered.

“Mhm, this is the reality of the silver city,” Scarlett replied.

We walked on in silence. Beginning to feel anxious under the stares of the street children, I leaned in closer to my companion.

“I really thought you were going to go all ‘Litstrulgerzerender’ on that guy back there.”

“It’s Lichtstrahl Riesiger Zerstörender; and in any case, I can’t use that power in the daytime.”

“Huh?” I was genuinely flabbergasted at her response.

“I draw my powers from the moon’s light, remember? Do you see a moon in the sky right now?”

I looked up at the smog tainted blue expanse which stretched above us before realising that her question had obviously been rhetorical. I turned back to the Lunar Knight to be greeted with the all-too-familiar, ‘What, are you an idiot or something?’ face.

“We’ll be pretty screwed if we get attacked during the day then, won’t we?”

“Hmm, well you aren’t any weaker in the day, are you?” She smiled.

She wasn’t implying that she’d be relying on me in battle, was she? This concerned me. She couldn’t be serious. She was laughing. I frowned at her.

“You’re a right pair of tops aren’t ya?” the boy called back to us.

“I didn’t pay you to make quippy remarks,” Scarlett said. “How much further is this guy of yours?”

“Right up ahead,” the boy replied with a smirk.

We entered a dilapidated building.

“Hey Leo, you here, mate?” the boy called.

“Ay ay, I’m right here,” came a gruff reply.

The man who stepped out from the shadows was middle aged and his face had a tired expression.

“Who’ve you brought to me this time, Avi?”

“These tops want passes.”

The man eyed us. I realised as he stared that one of his eyes was bionic. Thin, curved metal plates shifted and contracted as the blue glow at its centre focussed in on us.

“You from out of town?” he asked.

“That’s right,” Scarlett said. “So, can you do it?”

The man scratched his chin. “You don’t have any shekels then, do you?”

“Shekels? No, my card is in drachmas.”

“Card? Pah, useless, I can’t run this through the banks. You realise forgery isn’t legal, right?”

I, like Scarlett, had no cash either. I’d always gotten by with my card, though, then again, I’d never been involved in any kind of underground dealings.

“What am I supposed to do with this, huh Avi?”

The boy shrugged. “Maybe they can help us. She’s strong.”

He blushed as he said this. I raised an eyebrow.

“Help you?” Scarlett said.

Leo’s face darkened. “Recently there’s been some deaths around this area.”

“Murders?” Scarlett asked, her brow furrowing.

“We’re not sure. All that’s left of them is sand.”

“Sand?” I asked, confused.

“If you can find out what’s happening, and help us stop it, I’ll make you passes free of charge.”

The Lunar Knight frowned. “What are we, detectives? We don’t have time to play around with your ghost stories, old man.”

“You could always beat it out of him,” I said with a smirk. The man looked nervously at me. That eye of his would be able to tell that Scarlett could beat the shit out of him if she wanted to, and she wouldn’t even break a sweat doing it.

She glanced at me after I said that and I looked back at her with a cheeky cock of my head. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks flushed. “That kind of thing; it wouldn’t suit a knight very well.” She turned slowly towards the man. “All right. We’ll take you up on your offer,” she said with an uneasy voice.

“It’s a deal then,” Leo replied.

Scarlett nodded. “We’ll help you find your sandman.”

“Alrighty,” Avi said, half stepping back out into the alleyway. “I guess I’ll take you to where it last happened.”