Chapter 8 – Settling In

Aeva paced across the room. She hadn’t touched her food.

The place wasn’t bad. It had a bed, a rug on the floor, a desk, and lights she could control with a switch. Windows overlooked a bustling market street. The meal beckoned her on the nightstand, roasted potatoes with thin cuts of beef, along with a side of stewed vegetables and some sort of creamy sauce.

She hadn’t had a proper meal in days. Truth be told, she hadn’t seen a meal like that in years. Her stomach rumbled at the sublime, savory scent.

Plan first, Aeva chastised herself. Focus.

Her priority was the Crown. She had to make another attempt at getting it back, no matter how impossible the odds—and soon. She would need to find a way to avenge her tribesmen along the way. There could be no forgiveness for what had been done to her mother.

Aeva shivered.

She still remembered the look on Storm’s eyes when he had killed Soeva.

It was the same as the one he’d had when he shot Aeva.

Pure, shameless bloodthirst. Not the kind of lust for battle the wildkin had, to test your skill against a worthy foe. It was simply pleasure at watching something die by his hand.

Soeva wasn’t really Aeva’s mother. Not by blood. Another wildkin in the tribe—Aeva didn’t know her name—had lain with a human and sired a child. Rather than take care of her, the woman had surrendered Aeva to the tribe. A runt, even among half-bloods, Aeva likely would have been left to die or made an outcast—last to eat, lower-ranked even than some animals.

Soeva had prevented it. She alone had stepped forward to care for Aeva, despite the shame it brought over her name. Fed her, clothed her, ensured her place in the tribe. Raised her to be strong. All this, even though Soeva could have turned the other way and let the runt waste away.

For that kind of life debt, there was no repayment. Soeva may not have been everything a mother ought, but she was more than Aeva would ever deserve. To let her murder go unpunished would be… unthinkable. The very thought set Aeva’s insides boiling with rage, and for a moment she questioned her priorities. What was really more important? A trinket that would not obey, or justice for her mother?

She caught herself before she could blaspheme further. The Crown, of course. It had to come first. She was Chosen. It was her destiny to retake it.

Aeva sighed, steeled herself. There was no time to waste.

Doc had provided her with some new clothes, folded on the bed in a neat stack. Her tattered rags wouldn’t do, so she went over to inspect them.

He had given her a few different options. She settled on a tight T-shirt under a forest-green pullover hoodie and a pair of sleek denim pants. The fit was a little strange, given that she was both taller and bulkier than almost most human females, but it would do.

She remained barefoot. Her tough, calloused soles were as good as any shoes.

I should leave, Aeva thought. Get the lay of the city. Find some weapons. Then I can decide how to approach the Arcanex.

It sounded absurd.

She had never done anything like this. She didn’t know how to fight humans. Her whole life, she’d had her elders and the tribe to rely on.

Now she had no one.

One thing was clear. She wouldn’t stay to find out what Linton and these Bluebirds had planned for her. Considering what they had gone through to free her, they were clearly expecting something big.

If they expect me to perform some divine sorcery on their behest, they will be left as disappointed as I.

She scarfed down a few handfuls of the food on offer. It was tasty, but there was no time to savor it. Aeva opened one of the windows facing the street, took several steps back, and dug her clawed toes into the wooden floor.

It was a three-meter jump to the building across the way.

She took a deep breath through her nostrils to steady her nerves.

Okay. You can do this.

Before doubt could take hold, she took off in a sprint at the window, leaping through. She tucked into a ball as she hurtled high over the bustle of the street below, air hissing in her ears and pulling on her clothing. She met solid ground and bounced to her feet on the roof of the second building.

She spared a brief glance back at the Bluebirds’ bar before continuing on her way.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she made headway through the city. Winding streets and interchangeable buildings made quick work of her sense of direction. Northmark seemed to reach out forever in all directions.

The sight of it all was enough to constrict her chest. The pure weight of civilization made her want to curl up and scream.

And the noise. Rumblers, conversations, yelling, crying, five or more languages spoken in quick flurries. The scents were even more overwhelming, dozens of them mixing into an overpowering stench that was uniquely human, so pungent she could taste it on her tongue.

Aeva halted briefly to pull her shirt over her nose. She closed her eyes to block out some of the light.

How can they live like this? It is maddening.

Looking down into the street, she saw one of those mechanical eyes attached to a wall, carefully swiveling to observe the passersby as they passed underneath, seemingly oblivious to its presence. She waited until the auto-eye looked away, then jumped to the next rooftop before it could fix its attention on her.

A hardlight screen the size of a building caught her attention. It was projected from a metal backboard—raised above the rooftops on metal struts so it could be seen by all.

A picture of her own face took up most of the screen. Below read the words: ‘WANTED, ALIVE. A DANGEROUS WILDKIN FUGITIVE WITH SUSPECTED TERRORIST TIES. GUILTY OF: EVADING ARREST, GRIEVOUS WOUNDING OF TWO GOVERNMENT AGENTS. SUSPECTED OF: THE COLD-BLOODED MURDERS OF TEN MOW OFFICERS. ANY INFORMATION LEADING TO AN ARREST WILL BE REWARDED. ANY CITIZEN CAUGHT HARBORING THE FUGITIVE WILL FACE SUMMARY EXECUTION.’

Aeva stopped in her tracks. She found herself re-reading the text several times.

The screen shifted like a wave at sea, now displaying an image of a supposed victim of hers. The corpse of a human male burnt almost beyond recognition, flesh and clothing blackened apart from his torso. A brand had been seared into his chest—a bird in profile, wings spread.

Wait. That is…

“Persistent, aren’t they?”

Aeva whipped around.

Linton leaned against a brick chimney, arms crossed. He regarded Aeva with dark, glittering eyes.

Her hands curled into fists as she dropped into a low stance, ready for a fight. “You followed me?” she asked.

Linton held up his hands, palms first. “Not to worry—I’m only here to give you some advice.”

“Then speak, human,” Aeva spat.

He grinned.

She wanted so badly to punch him.

“If you plan to stay in the city, you’ll need someplace to crash,” he said. “As you can tell, there won’t be many places like that for you in Northmark. However, I know a group that might just take you.”

“You will not try to make me come back with you?”

Linton shrugged. “I won’t lie, I could use you for what’s to come. You’re clearly not interested, though. For now, it’s good enough that you’re out of the MOW’s hands.”

He slipped a folded-up note out of his pocket and held it up, slowly coming closer. Aeva decided to let him approach. She took the note when he offered it.

“That details the location of the group I mentioned,” Linton said. He spun and began to walk away, hands in the pockets of his long coat. “Reckon you don’t need me anymore. See you around, Aeva ag Krethnich.”

He made to jump off the roof, one foot dangling over the edge.

“Wait!” Aeva called.

Linton glanced back. He smirked as he teetered on the edge of the rooftop. “Yes, my dear?”

“You killed them, didn’t you? All those deaths they pinned on me. It was you.”

“Yes. I’m sorry you got caught up in all that. If it makes you feel better, you’ll be cleared of any suspicion in that regard shortly.”

“Why? Why kill your own kind—the very people you work for? Are you truly that deranged?”

Linton stepped back onto the roof and faced her, backlit by a thousand lights. “Not deranged. Just a man with a plan.”

“Which is?”

Linton extended his arms to the sides. “What else? To save the world, starting with the Concord. What about yours?”

Aeva hesitated. How was she supposed to know that?

“I’m an enemy of the Ministry of Welfare, just like you,” Linton said. “Say the word and I’ll take you back to the bar. There’s a place for you with us.”

“No,” Aeva hissed, backing up a step. “I do not require your assistance, human.”

He extended his hand towards her. “I can help you get the Crown back. That’s what you want, isn’t it? I can help you realize your destiny if you do the same for me. I should think you’re fairly up to date on my qualifications, having seen me work.”

“I…”

“Make your choice, but make it quick. If you want to leave, I won’t blame you. But this is the one chance I’ll give you to be my ally. If you walk away now, that’s it. You may call it arrogance, but I’d take the offer if I were you. If you’re going to stand a ghost of a chance of getting that Crown back, you’ll need help. I’m the guy you want in your corner.”

“You are right,” Aeva said. “That is arrogance.”

Linton chuckled and cricked his neck. “I’ll take that as a no. Disappointing, but not entirely shocking.” He stepped backward over the edge of the roof and fell, feet first.

Aeva looked down at the note in her hand.

Now, what to do?

Nothing came to mind.

She couldn’t think of any possible way to get back inside the tower she had just escaped from, short of mustering an army.

Ugh.

Damn it all.

“Wait!” Aeva called, rushing to the other end of the roof. “I am willing to parlay!”

***

Aeva sat down on the very edge of the bed in the room that the Bluebirds had previously provided her. The springy surface was soft—unnaturally so. She thought she might sink right to the floor.

“Nice outfit, by the way,” Linton said. He closed the door behind him. “It suits you.”

“Spare me your saccharine lies,” Aeva said. “Let us focus on matters of importance. I have agreed to hear you out, nothing more. Tell me why I should consider joining your group even for a second.”

“They might just seem like a bunch of lowly criminals to you, but they’re actually a hand-picked team, each with their own skill set, and I know exactly how to use them.”

Aeva crossed her arms. “Enlighten me.”

“The Concord is rotting from within. Democracy turned tyranny. Freedom turned conformity. I’m going to end all that, and the first step is dismantling the MOW.”

“You intend to kill their leader?”

“Couldess?” Linton shook his head. “He’s the driving force behind the Ministry, sure, but if he gets taken out, the People’s Council will just elect someone to replace him. No, it goes deeper than that. Couldess dies last. I’m going to ensure that when he does, there’s nothing left to build the organization back up again. Salt the earth, so to speak.”

“Then… the officers you killed…”

“Are just the start. I will remove key personnel, quickly and systematically so that there’s no time to recover. Officers are already fearing for their lives after the recent string of murders, but once I set my true scheme into motion?” he shook his head. “There’ll be terror. Desertions by the hundreds in Northmark alone.”

Linton’s face remained perfectly neutral while speaking about this. If anything, she detected a vague longing behind his eyes.

He really is a killer, Aeva thought. If he was not trapped in that weak human shell, he might have made a decent wildkin.

“Once you achieve your goal, what happens then?” Aeva asked. “Does your plan end with you on a throne? King of all humans? Or do your ambitions reach even further?”

Linton smirked. “His Majesty Linton Granhorn. Has a ring to it, right? No—I have no intention of ruling. Consider this… an act of benevolence for the sake of my fellow man. I do it because no one else can. Because no one else will. Once it’s all over, I’ll happily sit in a rocking chair outside a cottage somewhere and watch the sunset.

“On an unrelated note, the Concord hasn’t had a king since its formation. That’s the whole point of the Concord—six nations cast aside their kings, came together to become a single democracy. Even if I wanted to be king, it wouldn’t be possible. Not in the Concord.”

Aeva searched Linton’s face for any hint of deceit. She found none. However, as she had become keenly aware after her interactions with him, that didn’t mean he wasn’t planning something.

“So, then, if your plan is truly so splendid,” Aeva said. “What do you believe I could do for you? Precisely, not in vague terms.”

“Once we get your Crown back, I want you to do just one thing for me. Use it to blow the Arcanex to smithereens.”

“A feat not easily managed,” Aeva remarked, eyebrow cocked. “Impossible, one might say.”

“One might.” Linton’s stare cut right through her, seemingly examining every strand of her being. “But we both know better, don’t we? I’ve felt the power trapped inside that thing. It could probably level half the city if unleashed all at once.”

“What makes you think I would not do just that, if given the chance? Kill you, for a start.”

“If there’s one thing I know for certain about you wildkin, it’s that you value your honor above all else. Give me your word that you’ll cooperate, see this fight through, and leave peacefully once it’s all over. Do that, and I’ll let you come aboard the Bluebirds. You’ll have food, a safe house, allies, weapons. Everything you might need to take your revenge and claim your destiny. Sound fair to you?”

Aeva let the question hang in the air.

Am I making a deal with a demon? she asked herself.

She didn’t know the answer.

But she did need a way forward, and there didn’t seem to be many of those around that wouldn’t end with her untimely death.

“I give you my word that I will aid you against the MOW until the Crown is recovered. At that point, I will destroy the Arcanex if it is within my power. That is all I can promise.”

The half-truth weighed on her. Regardless of being made out to a liar, a human, such an oath could not be easily broken. If it was within her power, she would be forced to uphold what she had promised.

The only problem being, it was not within her power. Despite what sweet words her visions had whispered, she was not worthy.

“Now I want your oath,” she said. “That you will tell me only the truth, and that you will honor our bargain.”

Linton nodded, grinning. “Excellent. And yes, certainly—you have my word.”

Aeva stood. “Good. Then, if it suits you, leave me be. I have much to consider and would prefer solitude.”

Linton gave a mock bow. “Of course, Miss Krethnich.” He turned to leave, but looked over his shoulder. “Oh. One last thing.”

“Hmm?” she asked.

“I have some good news for you. We boobytrapped the last hideout on our way out. Looks like the MOW walked right into the trap.” He plucked a folded-up newspaper from inside his coat, held it up. “Storm died in the explosion. Consider your comrades avenged.”

Aeva padded closer to the human. “What?”

“A simple ‘thank you’ will do.”

She came closer until they were face to face. “Say that again.” Linton was half a head shorter than her, forced to look up.

“I killed Storm for you,” he said.

Aeva punched the human in the jaw, sending him reeling out of the room and falling on his behind in the hallway. He stared up at her, uncomprehending, lower lip leaking blood onto his chin.

“He was mine to kill,” Aeva hissed. “Mine!”

She slammed the door shut in his face and let out a roar. She put multiple holes in the wall as a red haze blotted out her vision. She wrecked the room until exhaustion took her, until her hands were bloody, and she fell on her behind in the center of the room, panting and clutching her aching chest.

I have been robbed even of my revenge.

She wept. Slow minutes crept by. Eventually, her tears dried, and she found comfort in embracing herself.

If I cannot take Storm’s life, I will hunt down those who commanded him. Your death will not go unavenged, Mother. I swear.