He couldn’t wait.
Chapter 9
Evelyn arrived late but with a basket of “Delight of Heaven” buns. Scorio had been pacing, convinced that the Dread Blaze had changed her mind, so when her light knock sounded he nearly ran to the door.
“Good morning!” Evelyn wore sturdy traveling robes of a pale pink hue, the elbows and knees reinforced, with a massive pack slung over one shoulder. She shoved the basket into Scorio’s arms. “Have you all eaten yet?”
After bidding their goodbyes they emerged into the street. Scorio snagged a bun and passed the basket. “Thank you, Dread Blaze. You didn’t need to buy this for us.”
“Oh, I didn’t buy it.” She beamed brightly up at him. “The stall was unattended, so.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Ready? We’ll swing by the market and see what traveling gear we can scrounge up for you all. Though with all the unrest, that might be tricky.”
They set off along the canal.
“Unrest?” prompted Scorio. “Are people still fighting?”
“Sure. Up there, Ward 4.” And she pointed overhead. Smoke descended from the ward to form a haze around the sun-wire. He thought he could see a heavy crowd choking one of the avenues, its ragged front facing a thin line of House guards. At this distance, he couldn’t be sure.
“But not as much as I’d anticipated. Looks like the rebels really are trying to give you those ten days. Just a few groups here and there who refuse to settle down. Some people just can’t say no to a chance at violence.” Evelyn hitched her pack and picked up her pace. “But we need to hurry. It normally takes twelve or more days to reach the Shoals. Every second we waste here is one we’ll need to make up on the Plains.”
Scorio glanced up at the distant ward. Smoke descended from several burning buildings, and the tiny crowd surged back and forth. How much control had Dola and Abentha managed to exert? Would today’s violence be met by more atrocities at the hands of the Enforcers, which would in turn provoke another outrage?
It took an hour to acquire backpacks, blankets, supplies, waterskins, and other basic necessities, all of which Evelyn either paid for or graciously accepted as gifts from the vendors. “It’s a great custom. Though one that’s being largely neglected in these final days. Dread Blazes and up are afforded all manner of perks. Makes coming back to Bastion a nice vacation. Oh, don’t scowl at me, Naomi. What’s wrong with allowing folks to express their appreciation for what we do?”
A key purchase for each of them was a large, hooded cloak. They wrapped these about themselves, hiding their Great Soul robes, and followed behind Evelyn, looking like a line of penitent monks.
Life was trying to continue with its routines in Ward 11. Guards were everywhere, alert and nervous, while people hurried to their destinations, casting worried glances overhead. Evelyn cut through these sparse crowds with sublime indifference and led them ever closer to the city’s terminus. Wedges of blue sky shone through the gaps between the ivory anchor bridges that rose from around the city’s rim to hold the central hub in place, the anchor point to one end of the sun-wire.
Blue skies.
The buildings grew grander, the avenue broader, and even now caravans laden with goods made their way toward House warehouses. This close to the end of Bastion the unrest seemed a distant dream; Scorio had to turn and look back to catch signs of the revolt.
Evelyn took a left only a few blocks from the very end of Bastion, away from the promise of the blue skies.
“Aren’t we going to one of the sky crane yards?” Scorio asked.
“Hmm?” She looked at him in confusion. “Are you expecting a package?”
“I—no.”
“Then why would we go there? The actual rim is only for commerce. We’re taking a pedestrian tunnel out. Come on, you’ll love it.”
The sun-wire was brightening toward First Rust, its ruddy light bathing everything in a maroon ambiance. They turned onto a broad avenue that was oddly dominated by a small building whose front façade was an impressive archway. A queue had formed in front of the arch, with guards meticulously checking each person's credentials before allowing them to pass into the structure one at a time.
Others emerged from the arch’s far side, adjusting their packs or hitching their bags, pausing to glance around the interior of Bastion before striding off down the avenue.
Scorio eyed the guards nervously. Would they recognize him and the others? Had someone identified them as the killers of the Enforcer? What would they do if they tried to arrest them?
“It’s simple,” Evelyn was saying, turning to walk backwards as they walked down the length of the line to the front. “Bastion is actually a large hole in the center of the Rascor Plains. So what we consider ‘down’ in here is actually ‘sideways’ out there. That’s why our exit tunnel leads out of Bastion at a steep angle. Once it leaves Bastion’s sphere of influence our ‘down’ will become the Plain’s horizontal. Once you cross that point you’ll simply climb the steps till you emerge outside. You’ll see. It’s fun!”
They’d all studied this at the Academy, but even with diagrams Scorio had had trouble internalizing this truth. No matter. He’d soon experience it firsthand.
“What happens if the guards recognize us?” asked Lianshi quietly.
“Hmm?” Evelyn glanced back at her. “You’re just Emberlings and Tomb Sparks. Your faces aren’t well known. And oh, I had official Manticore passes issued for each of you under false names. Trust me. We’ll get through without a problem.”
“Oh,” said Lianshi. “That’s… that, then.”
“Relax. You’re new Manticore recruits. Also, I’m a Dread Blaze. I’ve yet to meet a commoner who’ll accuse me of lying to my face.”
They cut to the very front of the line, but nobody protested. Those who’d been about to show their passes to the guards simply waited, their expressions carefully neutral. Evelyn stepped up to the guards, her smile cheerful, and held out a golden oct with a black center. “Dread Blaze Evelyn. These seven are with me.” She poured another seven gold octs with jade centers into her palm.
The gruff lady in House Kraken garb took the chit, gave it a cursory glance, then studied the seven of them. Evelyn kept smiling until the guard returned the chit and stepped aside, upon which Evelyn led them through the archway.
“That was it?” whispered Scorio to Naomi.
“I’m surprised they even bothered to look at her chit. Why?”
“It’s just that we had to plot and scheme for so long that I thought… I don’t know, that there’d be more to leaving the city.”
“You get a Dread Blaze on your side and all doors open.”
The compact structure contained wide steps that descended into a well-lit stairwell. The steps were broad enough for ten people to walk down side by side, but there was a rope dividing it into two lanes which went through stanchions all the way down. Weary travelers climbed the steps in the far lane, eager and travel-worn, faces raised to the ruddy light of Bastion.
“Look,” whispered Lianshi excitedly. She was examining the badly worn mosaic set in the tunnel wall. “I think that’s the Viridian Heart!”
Scorio turned his gaze to behold the artwork once more, but alas, it had already receded from view and all that remained was a fleeting glimpse of a radiant diamond with a dark, fiery heart.
The descent into the stairwell seemed endless. Far below, a small crowd had formed.
“There a problem?” Scorio asked Evelyn, nodding toward the traffic below.
“No. People like to take the transition slowly.”
A few minutes later they reached the rear of the crowd which slowly shuffled forward. Finally, Scorio saw the man ahead of them walk down the steps, one hand gripping the rope, and then…