“That’s the understatement of the century.” Malcolm wiped a hand across his cheek, frowning at the blood that came off. Bennett’s blood - not his.
“Come with me,” said Shield Maiden. “You look as though you could use a day to… clean yourself up.”
“We should start immediately if Rose is close by,” said Malcolm.
Shield Maiden shook her head.
“You need to compose yourself, first,” said Shield Maiden. “The role you’ll be playing isn’t one you can rush into.”
“The role I’ll be playing?”
Shield Maiden nodded. “It’s up to you to remind Rose of what she has to come back to. She has to make the choice to return to her old life.”
Her old life. I wonder if she even remembers it…
CHAPTER 8
Malcolm followed Shield Maiden on foot for a time. She spoke little, but it wasn’t because of him, as far as he could tell. She had a quiet way about her, and managed to be companionable without saying anything.
They stopped outside a set of stairs leading down into an old cellar in a part of Vanderbrook that had been abandoned long before the collapse. Shield Maiden smiled at him and gestured with her hand.
“I’ll have to put you in a bubble, beyond this point,” she said.
“Still don’t trust me?” asked Malcolm.
She shook her head. “This is our safe place. Trust has nothing to do with it. I couldn’t allow anyone to see the exact route down to Underworld unless we all agreed upon it.”
“Fair enough.”
He took a step away from her, and an instant later, a multicolored translucent shell burst into existence around him. It was an odd sensation, reminiscent of the buoyant upward tug of a hammock, mixed with a kaleidoscope of colors from the sun’s light interacting with the clouded surface.
Malcolm could still see enough to tell when they’d moved underground, but beyond that, he was in the dark. And he didn’t mind. Shield Maiden was taking a risk by taking him into her confidence. He was a former champion, a former enemy, someone who she’d fought against on more than one occasion.
Rose must be a true friend, for her to take such a risk.
Time went by, close to an hour. Malcolm was surprised when he saw a literal light at the end of the tunnel. Shield Maiden brought him through one last door, and then the two of them stopped moving.
“Are your feet underneath you?” asked Shield Maiden.
“Yeah.”
She popped the bubble, and Malcolm collapsed into an uncoordinated heap, despite being ready for it. Shield Maiden smiled at him.
He slowly stood up and followed her down one of the long, cement hallways that spider-webbed out from Underworld’s core. Malcolm was shocked to see that there was still electricity, evidenced by the LED lights lining the ceiling and air circulation.
“How do you still have the power turned on down here?” he asked.
He regretted the question as soon as it had left his mouth. Underworld had never been drawing electricity from the grid. Back when Rain Dancer had been alive, he’d used his electrical powers to charge batteries and keep the system running smoothly.
Malcolm had killed Rain Dancer. Rain Dancer had been Shield Maiden’s lover. A pit of guilt formed in his stomach as the silence dragged on for several seconds. She stopped walking and turned around, but her face was neutral, rather than angry.
“We got our hands on some solar cells,” said Shield Maiden. “Quite a few. It was no trouble to refit our electrical system to run off them. We still have to be careful about how much we use, but for the most part, we make do.”
No mention of Rain Dancer. Probably better if I don’t bring him up unless she does.
They continued walking and spilled out into Underworld’s main chamber. Malcolm was surprised to find it almost empty. The large dining table that had been the centerpiece of the room looked to be doing little more than collecting dust. He wanted to be polite, so he tried to keep the question to himself. Shield Maiden read the expression on his face anyway.
“There weren’t many Awakened Children here when the collapse happened,” said Shield Maiden. “Those that were here left slowly, often in search of their families, or other members who’d gone missing.”
“And… Leah?” Malcolm had to know. Leah had been Rose’s sister.
“We… haven’t heard from her,” said Shield Maiden. She didn’t elaborate beyond that. Malcolm’s heart sank at the idea that he might have even more bad news to deliver to Rose once they found her.
Footsteps came from another hallway across the chamber. Malcolm glanced over to see another spryte that he recognized. Fantasy, dressed in a loose pink gown, her blonde hair flowing almost down to her waist, looked very surprised to see him.
“Wind Runner!” she shouted. “Shield, you didn’t tell me we were going to be having guests!”
Fantasy’s gown showed off her assets quite spectacularly, the curves of her generous breasts, along with her trim waist and firm butt. Despite that, Malcolm glared at her. The last time he’d seen her, she’d used her power to disguise herself as Rose. It had been a ploy for her to discover the true identity of the Gifted Vigilante. It seemed so pointless now, but Malcolm still felt anger and frustration burning inside of him over it.
“Is that really you, Fantasy?” he asked, spitefully. “Or just another mask?”
“Oh please,” said Fantasy. “That doesn’t even make sense. Why would I disguise myself as myself?”
Malcolm shrugged. He was angry and didn’t need things like “sense” and “logic”. Shield Maiden shot him a disapproving frown.
“Malcolm, if you’re upset over what Fantasy did when Rose disappeared, you should know that it was my idea,” said Shield Maiden. “We knew the two of you were close, and we knew that you had something to do with her disappearance. And we didn’t know if you’d be willing to tell us if we just showed up and asked.”
Malcolm sighed.
“I still wish you’d approached it differently,” he said. “It hurts to have a trick like that played on you with the face of someone you love.”
Someone I love. I do love her. And I never got a chance to tell her.
“What’s done is done,” said Shield Maiden. “We will set out to find Rose tomorrow. That’s as much as I can do to make amends. Until then… you should make yourself comfortable.”
“Are you going somewhere?” asked Malcolm.
Shield Maiden nodded.
“I need to check in with my contacts on the surface to get a better idea of where to start looking for Rose,” she said. “Take the day to rest, eat, and clean yourself up. Fantasy will help you.”
Malcolm was about to raise an objection, but Shield Maiden had already turned to head down another tunnel. The sound of her footsteps echoed back into the large, central room. It underscored just how empty their base had become. Malcolm wondered how the two women kept from feeling lonely living there, and began to better understand their reason behind wanting Rose back so badly.
He felt a little awkward as he looked over at Fantasy, who was watching him with her arms crossed, with a tiny, mischievous smile on her face.
“Relax,” she said. “I’m not going to do anything weird. Have a seat at the table. I’ll get you some food. Are leftovers okay? I don’t really feel like cooking.”
“Anything is okay,” said Malcolm. He felt himself relaxing a bit, or perhaps just warming to the idea of having food to eat that he didn’t have to forage.
Fantasy brought him a plate with cooked venison, green peas, and instant mashed potatoes. Malcolm let out an audible sigh when he saw it, and started chuckling uncontrollably when the smell met with his nostrils.