"No, not me." Drake held up a hand, reacting to the boy's evident agitation. "But — and I don't want to get your hopes up — I spoke to a trapper recently…" Drake seemed to hesitate.
"And?" Will said eagerly.
"He heard through the grapevine that there's an outsider hanging around one of the settlements. Apparently this man is neither Colonist nor Styx… He wears glasses…"
"Yes?" Will leaned forward expectantly.
"…and makes notes in a book."
"That's Dad! It's got to be!" Will exploded, laughing with relief. "You have to take me to him."
"I can't," Drake replied bluntly.
Will's elation was immediately replaced by sheer exasperation.
"What do you mean, you can't? You must!" Will implored him, then his frustration boiled over and he jumped to his feet. "He's my dad! You have to show me where he is!"
"Sit down," Drake ordered in no uncertain terms.
Will didn't move.
"I said sit down… and calm down, so I can finish what I was saying."
Will slowly lowered himself back onto the trunk, his chest heaving with emotion.
"I said I didn't want to get your hopes up. The trapper didn't give me any details about where this man is, and the Deeps go on for miles. In any case, with all the activity from the White Necks, the Coprolites are moving their settlements. So it's likely he's upped and moved with them, too."
Will was silent for a while.
"But if it is Dad, he's OK, then?" he asked eventually, searching Drake's eyes for confirmation. "You think he's going to be all right?"
Drake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "As long as he doesn't get jumped by a Limiter execution squad."
"Oh, thank goodness," Will said, closing his eyes for a moment.
Even if Drake couldn't tell him where his father was, Will was so comforted by the information he was alive that it gave him a second wind.
He launched into his own story; how, after Dr. Burrows had gone missing, he'd enlisted Chester's help, and how they had gotten into the Colony. He told of their subsequent capture and the grueling interrogations by the Styx. Then he spoke about the first meeting with his biological brother and father, and the revelation that he had been adopted. As he mentioned his real mother, and hat she was the only person ever to escape from the clutches of the Colony and survive, Drake interrupted him abruptly.
"Her name? What's her name?"
"Um… Jerome. Sarah Jerome."
"There was the smallest intake of breath from Drake and, in the silence that followed, Will was sure he noticed a change in the man's penetrating eyes. It was as though they were looking at him afresh.
"So you're telling me you're her son," Drake said, straightening his back. "Sarah Jerome's son?"
"Yes," Will confirmed, surprised by his reaction. "Cal is, too," he added in a mumble.
"And your mother, she has a brother."
Will couldn't tell whether this was a question or a statement of fact. "Yes, she did," he replied. "My uncle Tam."
"Tam Macaulay."
Will nodded, impressed that Drake knew the name. "You've heard of him?"
"Only by reputation. He wasn't a favorite with the powers that be in the Colony… they had him down as a trouble maker," Drake replied. "But you said did? What happened to him?"
"He died getting Cal and me away from the Styx," Will answered sadly. As Drake frowned, Will went on to tell him everything he knew about Rebecca, and how Tam had fought and killed her father, the Crawfly.
Drake whistled. "You certainly saved the juiciest part till last," he said, then gazed at Will for a few moments. "So," he pronounced softly, "you've pissed off someone right at the top of the Styx pecking order and," — he was silent for a heartbeat — "and they want to put your head on a plate."
This knocked Will for a loop and he didn't know how to respond. "But—" he started with a splutter.
Drake spoke over him. "There's no way they'll let you remain at large. Just as your mother, Sarah, is a sort of figurehead, a hero for the insurgents in the Colony, you'll be viewed in the same light."
"Me?" Will swallowed.
"Yeah," Drake said. "You should wear a warning label."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you, my friend, are an extremely dangerous person to be around," Drake spelled out for the staggered boy. "It might be another reason why the plain is crawling with Limiters." Then, lapsing into thought, Drake rested his elbows on his long legs and leaned forward to study the floor. "This puts a different spin on everything."
"Why? No, it's not all because of me, it can't be!" Will protested vehemently. "You know how messed up it is in the Colony…"
"No, I don't," Drake rebutted fiercely, jerking his head up. "Haven't been there for a while."
"Well, anyway, why would they still be after me? What can I do to them?"
"That's not the point. You just don't mess with them and walk away." Drake gave a snort. "The Styx don't truck with live and let live."
"But you said all the important Styx have been arriving in the Deeps. They wouldn't come here just because of me, would they?"
"No… that's true." Drake narrowed his eyes, nodding in vague agreement. "They might want to eliminate you, but with all the top brass and scientists turning up, there's no question they're working on something big. And whatever it is, it's obviously important to them."
"What do you think it is?" Will asked.
The man just shook his head and offered no explanation.
"Can I ask you something?" Will ventured, his mind still reeling.
Drake gave a nod.
"Um… Chester thinks you're a freedom fighter. Are you?"
"No, not even close. I'm a Topsoiler, just like you."
"You're kidding," Will exclaimed. "How did you—?"
"It's a long story. Maybe another time," Drake replied. "Anything else you want to know?"
Will had been building himself up to ask the question that had been in the back of his mind for some time.
"Why…?" he began, his voice wavering as he wondered if he was pushing his luck.
"Go on," Drake said, flexing his arm.
"Why… why did you save Cal? What are you helping us for?"
"That stone you're wearing," Drake said obliquely, as if he was avoiding giving an answer.
"This?" Will asked, touching the green jade pendant around his neck.
"Yes, where'd you get it?"
"From Tam." Probing with his fingertips the three slightly converging lines carved into its polished surface, Will contemplated the pendant. "Is it something important?"
"Legends speak of a fabled race far below, at the bottom of the Pore. It's said they're nearly as old as the earth itself. I've seen that same symbol many times… It's on their ruined temples." Drake stared at the pendant, lapsing into another silence, during which Will felt more and more awkward.
If he hadn't been so utterly exhausted, Will would have launched into a thousand questions about this Pore and the ancient race Drake had mentioned. As it was, his mind was on more immediate matters. He shifted uneasily on the metal trunk, and then spoke up. "You… um… haven't really answered me… about why you're helping us."
Drake looked at him and, for the first time, gave a genuine smile. It seemed a little incongruous with his steely gaze.
"You're a stubborn little sod, aren't you? Can't see your chum Chester being so pushy." He leaned back, a contemplative expression on his face. "Where some lead, others follow," he said under his breath.
"Huh?" Will said, not catching what he was saying.