28: We Have To Go

“She’s one of us,” said Adam.

“Are you sure?” asked Carton.

“Yes,” said Adam.

“Absolutely,” added Somon.

“How can you...” started Carton. Adam and Somon were just staring at him. Of course they would know, Carton thought, chagrined. Adam had mentioned several times that he could see a glow, or an aura, around people or items that were inherently… he still hesitated to use the word… magical.

The four of them had returned to Prid Poren’s house in the River District through the tunnels, because it as still intact and they knew it to be unoccupied. Somon offered to go and get some food, since the girl Pye looked weak and hungry. While he was away, she had disappeared into what had been Prid’s rooms, and by the time he returned with hard bread, cheese, dried meats and clean water from the fountain – which miraculously was still working – she had bathed, changed into what appeared to be old clothes from Prid’s wardrobe – long russet tunic, dark leggings, old boots – and cut her hair into a ragged bob. After that, she had eaten her fill and then insisted on leaving the house. She had rebuffed both Adam and Carton whey they had offered to accompany her, though she had agreed that she would return before they left the city in the morning.

Carton had internally debated not going with them to the Smelters, but in the end it was curiosity that had convinced him to go. The remnants of the Guard and the Watch, now more or less combined into a single ragged force, would be in good hands under Giro and Golen, who had apparently survived the destruction of the castle.

Carton suddenly realised that he had been sitting, staring into space, for some time, lost in thought, while Adam and Somon continued to stare. He cleared his throat.

“How many of you are there, anyway?” he asked.

“I’ve no idea,” replied Adam.

“Can’t you, like, see them?”

Adam shook his head. “As you know, I’m still learning how to use my powers. I can’t just magically know where other Upraised are.”

“I thought you could just ‘magically’ know. I thought that was the whole point.”

Somon chuckled, but looked away when Adam shot a glare his way.

“The auras I see seem to get dimmer with distance. It’s bright if the person is close, but hard to see if they’re far away.”

“How far before you can’t see it at all?”

“I’m not sure yet. I wanted to do an experiment yesterday, if you recall, but you said no.”

Carton recalled that the proposal was that Adam would fly high above the city and scan for other Upr… others like him. It certainly wasn’t a good idea in broad daylight, but at night…

Later, Adam drew upon the green river and shot vertically into the night sky. If anyone happened to have been looking in his direction at the time, he would have been seen, but at this time of night it seemed unlikely. Pye still hadn’t returned.

He experienced a moment of vertigo as he climbed higher and higher – the city spread out below him. He saw the dark band of the river, cutting the city into North and South districts. Atop the hill north of the river he could dimly see the ruined castle, with its broken walls. Surrounding it were the Terraces, where the nobles’ mansions and villas clung like barnacles to the hillside. Below the Terraces and running the length of the river was the middle-class Merchant’s Quarter. Where the river met the sea was the Ports. There didn’t seem to be very many ships, judging from the number of lamps.

South of the river was the River District, the vast suburban wasteland of slums, tenements and crumbling buildings that had borne the brunt of the dragon’s fire. Some buildings still smouldered, days later, even after the rain. The cathedral still stood, but Adam couldn’t be less interested in religion right at the moment.

He levelled out at what he guessed was about a hundred and fifty feet, though in the dark it was hard to tell. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined that he was still standing on solid ground. That helped with the vertigo a little. He opened his eyes.

The city was still dark, but he focused on the green river that he knew flowed beneath everything. And he saw it. It wasn’t like how he was seeing the city – it was more that the river flowed… behind everything else. Everything he saw had a layer of green. Slowly he expanded his awareness and he started to notice a few tiny blurs of different-coloured light.

Beneath him in the River District there appeared to be three – no, two. No – three. One of them was Somon, burning brightly red directly below him. A second was a pale cream, almost white, and it was in the street, not far from Prid’s house. The third was yellow and weirdly unstable, difficult to focus on. It seemed to be in or near the cathedral.

Wait – was that another? Just for a moment it looked like there was a fourth aura. Adam concentrated, looked harder, but it was gone. Very well then.

He turned his attention north of the river. There were several clear points of light here – in the Merchant Quarter was one of an orange-red hue, and two more of an identical deep blue, very close to one another.

And up the hill, in the grounds of the ruined castle, one of a familiar strange almost-purple colour. What was Pye doing rummaging around in the castle? He figured that this question would probably answer itself in time.

He was returning his attention to the River District – to the pale cream light that he had identified earlier – when he was hit by a sudden impact that knocked him backward off the green platform he had been standing on. Momentarily stunned, it took him a second to realise that he was plummeting earthwards.

Quickly, he summoned another platform from the green, fell hard on his back onto it, and tried to figure out what had just happened.

It hadn’t been a physical impact, that was clear. Apart from being winded from having fallen on his back, he was not experiencing any physical pain. But something felt… wrong. Something had taken hold of the magical field that he perceived as a green river and… twisted it.

He got to his feet, hoping that no-one had seen him fall, and that he hadn’t grunted or cried out as he was struck. He focused his awareness again in the direction the impact had come from.

As he watched, one of the two deep blue glows in the Merchant’s Quarter just… came apart. It broke into several smaller pieces, all of which flew away from each other and faded to nothingness. The other blue glow flared brightly for a moment before it too disintegrated.

Meanwhile, Pye tearfully scoured the ruins of the castle, looking for signs of her father.

The dragon had torn stone from stone in its desire to acquire the royal treasure. After Adam and Somon had driven it away, remnants of the castle guard had gathered the treasure and moved it to a location so far known only to the guard commanders.

Pye didn’t care. There was only one treasure that mattered – her father, the king.

After spending hours searching, hiding from the few guards still attending the ruins, she had been unable to find any sign of him. If he was alive, he had evacuated the ruins. If he was not, he was buried under tons of stone and rubble.

At least she had found her crossbow. Most of her suite she had found intact – well… two and a half walls remained and a small patch of the ceiling. The crossbow was undamaged in its leather case, along with fifteen quarrels. She had no interest in her clothes or her jewellery, though she did take one silver necklace that had belonged to her mother.

She was in the process of trying to haul a stone in an attempt to uncover something from her father’s suite when she heard a voice behind her softly call her name.

Startled, she turned, and saw red-haired Adam slowly descending from the sky.

“We have to go,” he said as his feet touched the stones.

“Wha… what?” was the only thing she could think of to say. She had been careful to keep the shadows around her.

“We have to go. There’s no time for looting. It’s dangerous here.”

“I’m not...” she started to say, but then decided that it was easier to let him think her a common thief. She nodded. Grasping her crossbow by the strap attached to its case, she started looking for a way to get to ground level.

“No,” said Adam. “Climbing down will take too long.” He extended his hand. She just stared at him. “Come on, we have to hurry!”

Reluctantly, she took his hand. He pulled her sharply to his side and held her tightly. She was just about to angrily punch him in the face when the two of them shot into the night sky. She shrieked.

“Shh,” said Adam. “I’d rather not attract attention.”

She found herself desperately clinging to him as they flew back to the River District.