Adept Story, Chapter Three B

I decided to extend Chapter 3, and so it is here as two separate parts:


Clearing her thoughts, Siona hurried after them. As she walked into the street, she was unprepared for the scene before her. She stood in a wide street on a slight incline, the midday light shining brightly on the cobbled road. Buildings, most at least two stories tall, lined the street. This appeared to be a mercantile district. She glanced down the street; Lynx and Raven were already heading down the hill, joining the throngs of other citizens going about their daily ritual. She jogged to them.

“Where are we going?” Siona asked.

“A meeting,” Raven answered. She obviously had a specific location in mind.

Siona wanted to follow Raven, but her instincts told her to run and hide. She had no business being in the streets of Alandon. She would be caught again, and then sent back to work at another plantation—or worse.

“It’s all right,” Lynx said, leaning toward Siona. “There’s no need to be frightened.”

Siona fidgeted despite herself. She could not help looking around her at all times. “The city is just so big,” she said, “and there are so many people.”

“Exactly,” Lynx replied. “We blend in perfectly with the crowd.”

The road curved to the right ahead, intersecting with another street. Raven continued to stride purposefully ahead. “But what if someone attacks us?” Siona insisted. “Or what if someone sees me?”

Lynx chuckled, disregarding Siona’s obvious discomfort. “Siona, you are safe with us. Besides, who is going to recognize you? You were twelve when you were kidnapped, and even though you don’t seem to have noticed, you are a woman now. You don’t even look like an orphan child anymore.”

Siona looked down at herself. The clothes she wore did fit better than the outfit she owned at the plantation, but they still hung loosely on her. She still was rather diminutive, and having Leon towering over her made her feel even smaller. He did have a point, though.

“I suppose your right,” Siona said, mostly to mollify Lynx. She did understand what he said, though. None of the other people walking in the street with them bothered to look at them, let alone attack them.

“What did Raven mean when she told Karissa she was the Watcher?” Siona inquired, changing the subject.

“Karissa is watching over us as we speak,” Lynx said, gesturing upward. “Whenever a group of us travels in the city, one of us is assigned to be the Watcher for the group.”

“Why?”

“So that we don’t have to expose ourselves,” Lynx explained. “It’s much simpler for a thief to distract someone, even attack them, than ordinary citizens.”

Siona nodded, glancing up toward the rooftops. Karissa was nowhere in sight. How could she be watching their group? Lynx must have been exaggerating; she most likely was behind them somewhere in the street.

As they walked, she studied the people passing by them in the street. The city had not changed much in the past five years, although she expected that the slums had grown larger. More people packed the city streets daily, coming from all parts of the world to live in Alandon. Over thirty different noble families called the city home as well. With so many people, crime was everywhere, causing soldiers to police the streets where they wanted and ignore the places they were needed.

Despite everything, the residents did not appear to be an oppressed people. They went about their business as usual, just as Siona remembered. Only she had watched these people from shadowed alleyways, trying her hardest to stay hidden. Most did not even understand that not everyone in the city lived well. The poorest parts of Alandon were riddled with whorehouses and beggars. Siona recalled hiding herself behind some minor nobleman’s manor, waiting for any food scraps that were to be thrown away that day. On occasion, she could find a family who would feed her for a day, but no one dared to take her in. The Emperor’s enforcers, chiefly his own Adepts and the Royal Knights, periodically hunted down and killed part of the beggar population, and then sent off the children to the plantations.

Siona had been captured in a similar raid. She had no memories of her parents, but her older brother, Kam, had done his best to raise her. Unfortunately, he had beaten her dozens of times, especially when she had failed to bring back food for him. Life with Kam had not been ideal, but he had protected her from those who tried to harm her.

Until, of course, the Royal Knights had discovered their usual hideout. They had killed Kam and captured her, sending her off on the next prisoner carriage. Lord Irawen had paid for the next delivery, and so she had found herself at his plantation.

The Emperor’s laws had made it possible for her to be sold into a life of slavery. However, she could not turn a blind eye toward the rest of the city’s inhabitants. The excuse of ignorance did not make up refusing to see what was happening in the city.

“Lynx,” Siona began, “how is it that all these people can live so well, while others suffer?”

“Appearances can be deceiving, Siona,” he answered. “Most of the people you see here are not living in luxury. For the most part, these ordinary citizens work all day to support their families at home. Some can’t handle it and are crushed. In a city of this magnitude, there are just too many people and not enough money.”

He gazed into the distance, toward the citadel. The enormous, squarish building rose from the center of the city, a dark, ominous reminder of the Emperor’s omnipresence. “That’s where all the money is,” Lynx resumed. “The people are taxed so heavily that they barely have enough to sustain themselves.”

“And the lucky few who do manage to rise to noble status apparently forget what it was like to be a peasant,” Siona spat. She hated even the mention of noblemen.

“Now don’t be too hasty in your judgment,” Lynx retorted. “Some of the houses would like to change the way things are. Unfortunately, the Emperor does not allow that sort of talk.”

They turned into a small alleyway that passed through a break in the buildings. Siona continued to dwell on the topic of noblemen. To her, they were all the same. If some of them actually did care about the wellbeing of the lower class, why did they not act more charitable? The one act of kindness she had observed had come from House Velariel, a house of moderate importance. Lord Velariel had tried to establish an orphanage. The Emperor had allowed the project to be completed, only to send his soldiers to burn the shelter hours later.

“We have arrived,” Raven proclaimed, bringing Siona back to the present. They stood in front of a small, rather unimposing house. Raven tapped lightly on the door. A slit opened and a pair of eyes looked out.

“Ah, Lady Raven,” a man said from the other side, his voice muffled. He pulled the door toward him. “Do come in.”

“Thank you,” Raven answered, marching into the front room. Lynx waved Siona forward, then followed her inside. Both of her companions had adopted subtle threatening postures: Raven, stiff and formal, still managing to look like a queen, and Lynx, slouching yet somehow watching every corner of the room.

A group of men was seated in a semicircle in the room, which was much more spacious than the outside of the building had suggested. Seven pairs of eyes turned to regard the newcomers. Siona felt uncomfortable beneath the passing scrutiny of these strangers.

One man stood alone in corner in the back of the room. Like Raven and Lynx, he put off a dangerous air while remaining nonchalant. The only other man in the room, who had been addressing the seated men, stepped forward to greet Raven. He was a rather short, squat man, with flecks of gray in his hair. He pushed his glasses up his nose as he approached the group.

“I apologize for our tardiness, Jasner,” Raven said. “I had some business to take care of this morning.”

“No apology is necessary, Lady Raven,” the man, Jasner, replied. “Please, join us.”

Jasner led Raven toward the front of the room. Lynx maneuvered Siona toward a pair of empty chairs behind the main group. He nodded respectfully to the man in the corner before taking his seat.

“Gentlemen,” Jasner began, “this is Lady Raven, the woman to whom I referred earlier. She has been of great assistance to us in these past months, and last night, she rid the world of one of the Emperor’s plantation lords.”

The men grumbled something, but Siona was not listening. “What is this?” she whispered, leaning toward Lynx.

“This is a meeting,” Lynx replied, grinning. Siona almost smiled back at him; his constant humor was intoxicating.

“I mean, what are we doing here?” she said.

“We are here to lend our support to the rebellion,” he answered. “I’m sure Jasner will explain himself shortly.”

Indeed, the short man had begun gesturing toward Raven. Siona returned her attention to the leader of the gathering.

“Yes, gentlemen,” Jasner continued, “we now have a man of great worth and valor to lead us: Raynar Karban. He will undoubtedly free us of the oppression of the Empire after so many years.” He gestured toward Raven. “And now, with the help of the Brotherhood, our victory is assured. We only ask that you join us, my friends, in our noble cause.”

For a moment, the seated men were silent. Whatever Siona had drowned out must have been important. Finally, the men clapped quietly, respectfully. Raven nodded to them.

“We will assist the rebellion in any way we can,” she said. “We only ask that we receive our payment on time.”

“You will, my lady,” Jasner said soothingly.

Siona turned back to Lynx, intending to ask him another question, when Raven announced that they were leaving. She seems to have a knack for interrupting me before I even speak, Siona thought. She stood with Lynx and followed Raven to the door.

They returned to the street. Before Siona could speak, Raven held up a hand, silencing her.

“You may ask questions once we have returned to the safe house,” Raven said. “It is time we put you to the test.”

She turned and headed back the way they had come. With a sigh, Siona followed, Lynx close behind her.