Evie crouched high on a roof near the city limits of Shlordal, gazing down at the large city. It looked shockingly similar to Shlordal Sha, just bigger. From her current vantage, she could tell that this city spread over about three times the area of the other city. It was still raining, but the downpour from the day before had eased to a light shower. Evie could have taken shelter beneath Amelia’s canopy, but the umbrella would have made her more noticeable. She was currently more concerned with being spotted than about getting a little wet, much to Hat’s annoyance, so for now she kept the umbrella out of sight.
Evie had spent the morning exploring the outskirts of Shlordal, probing for a suitable location to enter unnoticed. The city’s edge sat flush with the forest, a wall of buildings that appeared with no transition, broken only by frequent rail lines. The tracks were everywhere, and the trains heading into and out of the city were the only sign of life that Evie saw until well after the thick clouds glowed with the rising sun.
Making her way around the city’s perimeter, she came across something interesting. Several tracks came out of the forest and converged. These rails were larger, bordered by thick retaining walls which provided some limited shelter from the surrounding wilderness. Evie followed the tracks with her eyes as they ran together into the city and through a large covered structure. A train station?
“This looks like as good a place as any,” she whispered to Hat, perched on her shoulder. The building next to the tracks had a sturdy-looking drainage pipe running from the roof down to the ground. They might as well have put out a ladder.
“Mmm,” grunted her producer, still half asleep. He eyed the building she gestured to. “Let me go up there and scope it out. Could be a good intro shot.”
Evie nodded, and Hat launched himself into the air, heading towards the rooftop.
She waited, crouching in the shadowed roots of a tree as a train whistled past them. For the first time that morning, she made out figures inside the train. Honrad. The morning commute had begun.
When you get on the roof, walk straight to the other side of the building and take a moment to look out at the city. Try to look intense.
Evie snorted as the message scrolled through the bottom of her field of vision, wondering how you were supposed to emote while wearing a mask. She waited until the coast was clear, then darted to the building and made her way up the pipe, tucking Amelia awkwardly under one arm.
A large flock of pigeons scattered into the sky as Evie pulled herself onto the roof of the building, making her jump. She quickly regained her composure, hoping the slip hadn’t been visible on camera. Above her, pockets of midmorning sunshine broke through the clouds, spotlighting sections of the city in warm golden light. On an impulse, Evie swung Amelia above her head and opened the umbrella with a flourish. She sauntered forward across the roof, twirling the umbrella above her. Water spiraled off it, catching the light and surrounding her in a glittering vortex.
“If you did that to the real Amelia, do you think she’d get dizzy?” Hat asked sarcastically as she stopped well back from the building’s edge, careful to stay out of sight.
“Technically this is the real Amelia. The original one at least,” responded Evie, gazing stoically out at the city. “But no. She wouldn’t get dizzy, but I don’t think she’d like it much.”
She waited for a moment, letting Hat get his shot, then furled the decoy umbrella and tucked it back under her arm. Ignoring Hat’s complaint about getting moldy from lack of shelter, she crept to the building’s edge and looked down at the train station. The entire structure was open to the elements, but covered by a large transparent panel, placed at a slight angle so that the water ran off. Moisture distorted Evie’s view through the panel, but she could see well enough. Dozens of trains wound in and out, some heading into the forest, but most looping back into the city. The trains were quieter and smaller than the ones Evie was used to on Earth, but otherwise looked surprisingly normal. Short, rectangular cars with small windows, chained together at varying lengths. Getting on and off the trains were Honrad.
The Honrad were about fifty feet away. Their languid way of moving was chillingly familiar, but overall, the scene was domestic. They filed in and out of trains in polite, orderly lines, playing with tablets as they waited. None wore clothing, but many had backpacks and shoulder bags. A few carried what Evie could have sworn were briefcases. As she squinted down at the nearest of the creatures, her vision suddenly zoomed in to about twice the magnification, making her jump. She hadn’t known the mask could do that.
“I wasn’t expecting them to look so… normal.” She commented to Hat as she examined the nearest creatures. They chatted as they waited for a train, and as she watched, one of their enormous mouths stretched into an unmistakable yawn. The familiar gesture made it momentarily possible for her to overlook the thing’s grotesque appearance, and see it for what it was: An intelligent being commuting to work on a Friday morning. “I guess I should have expected this. They’re a member of The Understanding after all. But the Skonarians talk about them like they’re beasts, and I know what they’re like when they get aggravated. It’s strange to see them like this.”
“Ahhhgg!” Hat responded, gagging as he peaked over the wall next to her. He jerked back and frantically fanned at his nose with a wing. Evie looked at the bird in confusion, then a soft breeze blew over them from the direction of the station and her own nose wrinkled.
“I guess they haven’t gotten around to inventing showers,” coughed the pigeon, backing further away from the wall. “For once, Azur wasn’t exaggerating!”
The smell coming from the train station was a more concentrated version of the one that proliferated through the forest. It was intense, but as Evie forced herself to inhale and grow used to it, she realized she didn’t entirely hate it. It reminded her of an earthy cologne, applied with too heavy a hand.
“We’ll get used to it. I didn’t realize birds had such a good sense of smell.” Evie replied, smiling at the disgusted expression on Hat’s face.
“How do you think the fuckers can zero in on food so fast? They’re like sharks with blood in the water. I swear, some of those assholes can smell a tortilla chip from 2 miles out. Speaking of tortilla chips,” Hat jumped up on Evie’s shoulder, ducked his head and widened his eyes at her. “I assume you remembered breakfast?”
Evie rolled her eyes beneath the mask, but a poorly timed stomach gurgle betrayed her own hunger. She sat down on the roof, cross-legged, and fished out two meal replacement bars from a pocket. She opened them and crumpled half of one on the ground next to her. Hat jumped down and, like always, began shoveling the food into his face like he hadn’t eaten in days. Evie had her eyes on the city in front of them, taking it in as she ate, until the sudden pounding of many wings drew her attention. She looked behind them and laughed out loud. The roof, which had been abandoned a second before, was now full of hundreds of birds. Mostly pigeons, with a few other varieties mixed in for spice. They bobbled around, nervously darting back and forth but slowly pressing in on them. Hat squawked indignantly, positioning himself between his food and his associates, but one pigeon darted forward and stole a morsel before he could shovel the rest down.
Smiling, Evie broke a chunk off her own breakfast and threw it into the center of the flock. They dog piled it, scuffling and fighting one another for the morsel.
“Don ‘courage them, it’ll only make ‘em more ‘gressive!” Hat scolded, his words muffled by food and devoid of any self-awareness. He chewed frantically, then swallowed. “And we should probably move. Someone might notice this big flock of freeloaders.”
Evie sobered. Hat was right. She wasn’t here to feed the pigeons. She was here to hunt down and kill the creatures below.
“I want to work our way further into the city,” she said, focusing her mind back on the task at hand. “If possible, scope out the local Resurrection Center. I’m hoping the one here in Shlordal will be at least similar to the one in Shlordal Sha. Maybe we can learn something.”
“You sure that’s a good idea? It’s risky without Amelia,” said Hat.
“I’m sure. We’ll be careful, and if I mess up and get myself spotted, better here than in Shlordal Sha.” Assuming I can then get out of the city alive, she didn’t add.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Every other assassin had to manage without an Amelia. She had trained for this, but there was a big difference between the Stealth Room and where she now stood. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she stood to a crouch and crept towards the adjacent edge of the roof, skirting around the crowd of pigeons, trying not to startle them.
“We’ll take it slow. Which way is the Resurrection Center?” She could have pulled up the information on her tablet, but Hat had it all in his head. Hat shouldered his way through the crowd of pigeons, trailing a wake of indignant squawks and ruffled feathers, and pointed with a wing off the roof.
“This way, only about a mile. It’ll be good to get some introductory footage of you in the city, anyway. Just do something interesting with fake Amelia from time to time.”
Evie nodded and peaked over the edge, plotting her way down. The building would shelter her descent from the train station, and the coast was otherwise clear. Hat jumped from the roof, flying gracefully down to a perch across from them and preparing his cameras. Evie double checked her surroundings, then followed.
The Resurrection Center was situated at the edge of a large square, built around one of the many trees growing throughout the city. This tree was a monster, almost as wide as it was tall, with thick branches that snaked their way over the tops of the surrounding buildings. The square beneath the tree was paved and decorated with raised beds full of beautifully wild gardens. There was no discernable pattern or order to what grew in them, and the effect was whimsically chaotic.
Crouched in the tree’s canopy, Evie had a perfect view of the Resurrection Center. The center’s main entrance faced the square, and she watched a small but steady flow of individuals entering and exiting the building. A security guard stopped everyone who passed through the door. The guard wore a belt from which hung a baton and a small holster. He or she scanned everyone’s eyes with a small, portable device before letting them pass.
Like all Honrad buildings, the Resurrection Center had a row of windows on each of its three stories, through which Evie could see some of what was going on inside. The bottom floor looked like a lobby. Honrad stood in polite lines leading to various partitions, and there were open spaces where many sat on the floor, waiting. Through the second story row of windows, she could make out only a single hallway frequented by Honrad bustling in both directions.
The top floor was the most interesting. A single open room dominated it. After watching for some time, she concluded it was an office, though it was unlike any she had seen before. There were no cubes or rows of desks. The Honrad milled around randomly, sitting on the floor or standing, diligently working on tablets or larger screens. Everyone looked focused but relaxed, occasionally discussing things with their peers, but mostly working in solitude.
“We should send a note to Amelia. If we assume that the Resurrection Center in Shlordal Sha is similar to this one, Ude’s probably going to be working somewhere on the top floor.” Evie said quietly to Hat as she scanned the office through the magnified eyes of her mask. Hat nodded, and a moment later, his message to Amelia appeared at the bottom of Evie’s vision. It only took a moment for the umbrella to respond.
Yes. I can also make out the obvious. Stop distracting me.
Evie rolled her eyes and chose not to respond.
A vibrant splash of color below caught her attention. A figure draped in a bright red garment was making its way through the square towards the Resurrection Center, standing out starkly against the greens and grays surrounding it. It reminded Evie of the Red Guards in Star Wars, though the body beneath the cloth was distinctly Honrad. The shape of its head and the tufts of hair that ran down its neck and back stood out clearly through the fabric, and a rectangular mesh screen sewn into the fabric covering its face allowed it to see. The edges of the garment flowed down the creature’s body, brushing the ground around it and exposing only the tips of its front fingers as it walked.
This was the second or third individual Evie had seen dressed in that attire this morning. They were called the Skoruum, but she knew little else about them. As the figure below reached the Resurrection Center, the guard nodded his head respectfully and gestured the Skoruum through. He didn’t use the eyeball scanner.
“Those guys give me the creeps,” muttered Hat, staring down at the red-cloaked creature.
“Are they some kind of religious group?” Evie asked, watching the Skoruum walk through the doorway of the Resurrection Center, passing through the lobby and out of sight.
“No fucking idea. Ask Inor tomorrow.”
Evie nodded. She could add it to the ever-growing list of questions.
Hat and Evie spent the rest of the morning, and well into the afternoon camped out in the tree, watching the Honrad go about their lives. Most of the day was uneventful, except for hour fourteen. The second the clock crossed the hour, Honrad began pouring out of many of the surrounding buildings. The flood caught Evie completely off guard, but thankfully, she was well out of sight.
It didn’t take her long to realize that it was the Honrad lunch hour, which they apparently took seriously. Many of the creatures filed into nearby buildings, which Evie determined to be restaurants. Honrad filled every restaurant she could see into, sitting around on the floor and accepting plates of food. Other Honrad found spots in the park below her, lounging in the shelter of the massive tree. Some gathered in groups, others sat alone, but all of them had brought an impressive amount to eat.
Through the potent scent of the Honrad, Evie recognized the smells of food she had eaten aboard the Skonarian ship. Her mouth watered as she resignedly pulled out two more meal replacement bars, looking at them without enthusiasm.
As the food appeared, so did the pigeons. They circled in from every direction, joined by many other varieties of birds, until the square beneath Evie teamed with them. Some of the Honrad threw morsels from their own plates, but others had brought sacks of seeds or grain specifically for the birds. They tossed handfuls out into the writhing mass of feathers, watching the birds squabble over the food with amused expressions.
Hat took one look at the meal replacement bar, shot Evie an apologetic glance, then launched himself into the chaos below, vanishing into the crowd. She ate slowly as she watched the tableau beneath her, finding it charming despite herself. She tried to remain cold and impartial, but it was difficult.
By the time they made it back out to the forest, the sun had almost set and the rain was falling in earnest again. Evie’s mask made visibility easy, and the decoy umbrella kept the worst of the rain off them as they walked back through the forest. As the light faded, the insects began to glow, lighting their way back to the pod.
“You’re late,” Amelia greeted them as they entered. Evie shook the worst of the water off the decoy umbrella and left it by the doorway to dry. “You said to meet back here at hour twenty-one.”
Evie glanced at the clock as she pulled off her mask and hung her wet overcoat up to dry. It was 21:06.
“How’d it go?” she asked, ignoring Amelia’s comment and walking forward to take a seat on her bed.
“Fine.” Amelia replied. “I located Ude’s residence and managed to tail him the entire day. No one saw me. It’s amazing how much more I can get done when I don’t have to babysit you and the feather duster.”
Amelia’s size and mobility gave her a significant advantage. When she was alone, she could fly furled and conceal herself in places Evie would never have been able to. The umbrella couldn’t do much by herself, having no hands, but as an observer, her skill was rivaled only by Lubanzi. There was risk in splitting up, and they didn’t intend to do so all the time. But sparingly, it was worth it.
“Give us details before I go over there and dust you, flappy!” Hat jumped to his spot on the bedside table and began preening his damp feathers, fluffing them out to help them dry.
“I almost want to see you try,” Amelia responded. At a glance from Evie, she sighed and continued. “I located Ude’s house at hour five and a half. The house was dark until hour seven. There are three occupants, I assume one female and two males, though I honestly can’t tell. They left the house together around hour eight and walked to a nearby train station. Getting out of the neighborhood was the worst part of the day. There were children everywhere. It was awful, but I managed.
“Ude and his partners got on different trains, and I followed Ude’s downtown. He got off and walked a short distance to the Resurrection Center, arriving at hour nine. Through the windows, I could tell that the top floor was an office space. I managed to pinpoint Ude and kept an eye on him as he worked. My only interruption was an annoying message telling me obvious things I already knew.”
Evie glared at the umbrella, but didn’t interrupt her.
“At hour fourteen, Ude went to a restaurant for lunch, ate some disgusting looking food, then returned to work. At hour nineteen, he left and went home. His partners were already there. Ude was only home for about a half an hour before the three of them left again. I followed them to another restaurant and watched for an hour as they sat. And ate. And talked. It was excruciating. Then I returned here by hour twenty-one, because I’m courteous and punctual, which makes one of us. I marked everything on the map. I even took notes.”
“Amazing job Amelia,” Evie said. The schedule the umbrella laid out lined up perfectly with what they had seen in Shlordal. “Tomorrow is their weekend day, and we’re meeting Inor at hour fifteen. I assume we’re sticking together?”
“Yes,” said the umbrella, “but I want to shadow Ude every day next week. See if his schedule is consistent. Other Honrad were around him the entire day, which will make getting him alone difficult. Though I suppose we could just murder his entire family.”
Evie winced at the thought. It might end up being their only option, but taking out three of the creatures without alerting any other Honrad would be tricky.
“I need you two together in Shlordal at least a few times a week to get footage,” said Hat. “Otherwise someone is going to catch on that we’re using a decoy. Ude just sits on his ass and works from hour nine to hour nineteen, right? Any reason you can’t pop over to Shlordal during that time, Amelia?”
“I can probably manage that. Also, Evie should spend a day or two a week with me in Shlordal Sha getting the lay of the land.”
Evie nodded and got up, heading towards the shower. “Let’s put together a list of questions for Inor. We’ll have half a day tomorrow to poke around. Who knows what the Honrad get up to on the weekend.”