Through a Mirror, Darkly Read online

  There was a buzzing in Edwin’s ear.

  “Nelson needs me.” He stood up from the table. “If you’ll excuse me. Thank you for the meal, Mrs. Parker.”

  He put his bowl in the sink before nodding farewell. “See you both at the meeting this evening.”

  Ben’s expression was pained as he nodded dejectedly.

  As Edwin walked away, he swore he could feel Sylvia glaring at him for leaving her to deal with Ben’s fragile emotional state.

  ***

  Nelson was pacing the office when Edwin reappeared in the doorway. Edwin couldn’t decide if his friend was excited, frustrated or both.

  He didn’t have to wait long to find out. Nelson looked up as he entered, a broad grin stretching across his face, his eyes triumphant.

  “You’ll never guess!” Nelson exclaimed. He grabbed Edwin by the arm, dragging him out of the office. “You’ll never guess what’s happened!”

  “Are you going to tell me, or are you actually expecting me to guess?”

  Nelson gave a dismissive shake of his head. “Come on, come on. I’ll show you.”

  Edwin followed dutifully as Nelson led him out of Core Operations and into the hall. They passed the commissary, then proceeded through the lobby toward the North wing.

  “I don’t understand why you didn’t just tell me where you wanted me to meet you,” Edwin said, not bothering to hide his exasperation. “I still have to contact all the department heads about the meeting tonight. I don’t have time to wander the halls of Sigil with you.”

  “Relax. We’re almost there. I just wanted it to be a surprise.”

  Edwin rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”

  They came to the Observatory, which was marked only by a nondescript door panel that slid open to reveal a small room full of old, dejected looking monitors. One wall was lined with new equipment, which sparkled in comparison. A plump woman with a pleasant face had been studying some of the new machines, but she turned to offer a warm smile as they entered.

  “Hello again, Nelson,” she greeted them. “And Edwin! So glad you could make it down. Quite exciting, isn’t it?”

  “Good afternoon, Meagan. What’s this that we’re all so excited about?”

  Meagan looked at Nelson in surprise. “You didn’t tell him?”

  “I was getting to it!” Nelson’s brow furrowed in agitation.

  “Well, I think you’re going to be really pleased” said Meagan. “After the Elves left, we became aware of their ability to communicate via radio through the Gate. You know that already, of course. Anyway, although we suspected that there would be no further attempts now that they’re gone, we still wanted to be able to monitor, just in case. The only problem was, the equipment was under Pod Manufacturing, which made it quite inconvenient, considering all the personnel down there working on different projects.”

  Edwin was nodding. “Is this where you guys tell me something I don’t know?” Meagan cringed apologetically and Edwin almost felt bad for snapping at her. Nelson always brought out the worst in him.

  “Meagan’s been heading up the effort to move all of that monitoring equipment up here. It seemed only fitting to restore the Observatory to its original intent—to monitor the outside for potential threats.”

  “But the Therans aren’t going to announce their arrival if they decide to come back through,” Edwin pointed out. “That’s why we’re working on defenses. We don’t know when, if at all, to expect them.”

  Nelson was nodding. “Here’s the thing though. I just came down to check on the status of the project, not expecting much. Well, I came in just as they were testing the frequency scanners. And this is where things get...a little crazy.”

  Reaching out, Nelson flicked a little silver toggle on one of the new panels, twisted a knob, and pressed a button. The sound of static filled the room, but there was something else there...voices. They were low, and grainy, but unmistakably voices.

  “Therans?” Edwin felt his stomach tighten at the thought.

  “No.” Nelson’s wide grin returned. “Humans. Humans outside of Sanctuary. I didn’t believe it, you know? But it’s true. They’re out there. We aren’t alone.”

  Edwin’s insides remained in knots. “You’re sure?”

  Nelson looked indignant. “Of course we’re sure. I wouldn’t have dragged you all the way down here if we weren’t sure!”

  Meagan nodded. “We haven’t been able to make out very much yet, but we’re working on it. And if we can strengthen the signal, it might be possible to transmit as well! We could communicate with them! Can you even imagine?”

  Edwin moved to the machine, switching it off.

  “How many people know about this?”

  Nelson looked distraught. He’d obviously been expecting Edwin to be elated and was instead confused by this sudden turn of events.

  “Just Meagan and her team.”

  “Listen to me, both of you.” Edwin leaned in closer and spoke in an undertone. “You need to make it clear to your people, immediately, that this is to be kept confidential. I don’t want this becoming public knowledge. Do you understand?”

  Nelson shook his head. “Not really.”

  “We don’t know anything about these people. Sanctuary has been here for over a century, and in all that time, we thought we were alone. Why didn’t anyone come to our aid?”

  “Maybe they don’t know we’re here, like we didn’t know they were out there?”

  “Maybe not before,” said Edwin, still frowning. “Listen, there are things...things you don’t know. But maybe it’s time you did. Just keep this under wraps for now. We can’t be certain of who they are or what their intentions are. And I don’t want you or your team causing a panic among the population before we know more. People are on the brink of starving in here. If they knew, if they knew there are survivors outside...”

  Nelson was nodding, looking perturbed. “Yeah, okay. I get it. We don’t want to add to the chaos before we know if we’re dealing with friend or foe. But what is it you’re not telling me?”

  “Later. And thanks for understanding.”

  “What about the other department heads? Can they know?”

  Edwin thought about this for a while before answering. “I trust them. We’ll discuss everything at the meeting. Until then, don’t tell anyone else. And I want one of your team monitoring this thing at all times. Got it?”

  Nelson and Meagan both nodded.

  “Good.”

  Edwin turned, mind racing. He had always intended to tell Nelson about the crash site in D6. He’d intended to tell a lot of people about it. But as time went on, it just never felt like the right time. Now the truth had found its own way to get around Edwin’s hesitancy. He needed to keep this situation under control.

  Things had just gotten more complicated.

  Three

  A Shot in the Dark

  DESPITE the grief the Ministry had caused him, Felix had to give them credit for one thing—the capital city of Atmos was an amazing example of ingenuity.

  At Wilks’ insistence, Felix and Willow had joined him in his ship for the short journey. Though still loud, it was quieter than Pluto, and the ride was smooth and surprisingly pleasant.

  There were four seats, including the captain’s chair, all lined with rich green velvet. It sported a retractable glass windshield, and a large, comfortable hold, complete with four small bunks in a separate cabin at the back. It was much more refined than Ambrose’s homemade amalgamation of nuts and bolts. It actually seemed rather excessive, but then again, excessive was the type of thing Felix would expect a Minister to have.

  Willow held Felix’s hand as they disembarked. He was glad they had chosen to come with Wilks, since his position afforded him a dock very close to the Ministry building itself. Less walking meant less opportunity for people to stare and whisper. He tried to ignore them as he took in the sights.

  There was a strange beauty in the Pravacordians’ no-frills approach to
architecture. Sleek, towering skyscrapers that had once been home to giant corporations had become docking stations for aircraft in endless sizes and configurations. Though the remnants of their elegant, gravity-defying design paid homage to a forgotten time, that was where the aesthetics ended and utility took over.

  Some of the docked ships, like Ambrose’s Pluto, were jet-propelled with steam engines, resembling rockets. Some had propellers, more like old-fashioned airplanes or helicopters. Some had open cockpits made for one or two people, and some were massive—giant dirigibles dotting the azure sky like so many ships in a harbor.

  A couple of them stood out from the rest, if it were possible to stand out against such an odd assortment. Felix vaguely remembered Ambrose commenting on one or two of these types with a tone of bitterness. These magnificent creatures were left over from before the plague hit, super advanced but impossible to repair when they inevitably broke down. Felix couldn’t be certain if Ambrose had scoffed about these ships because he didn’t approve of them, or because he was a bit jealous that he did not have one himself.

  Factories lined the well-maintained streets of the city, huge smokestacks puffing black clouds into the air, pipes coming up out of the ground and disappearing through walls in thick, intertwined clusters reminiscent of ivy.

  Holdouts from the era before the Sequencing were scattered across the landscape in stark contrast to the surroundings. Holographic advertisements flickered, the people they portrayed smiling as their sightless eyes followed Felix’s movements when he passed. In an empty lot between two squat buildings a burly man in a worn jacket handed out tickets to squealing children who were waiting to ride an antique hovercraft beside their harried-looking parents. Faded and scuffed, the hovercraft looked like a tired pack animal as it made slow rounds along a marked path, its apathetic-looking driver oblivious to the delighted sounds of the children as it jolted alarmingly from side to side, bucking like a stubborn donkey at a carnival.

  Everywhere he looked, Felix saw posters plastered to the sides of the brick buildings. Some advertised products and stores, others entertainment and announcements. He caught the words The Ministry and Public Safety Declaration a few times but had no interest in reading further. He might not have been around very long, but he certainly didn’t have a high regard for what the Ministry considered safe.

  Vendors shouted to passersby about their wares, and young boys in khaki breeches and suspenders stood on street corners, broadcasting headlines and waving newspapers. The city was alive and thriving; a metropolis built on dreams of life among the clouds.

  Thoris Wilks excused himself as they arrived at their destination. The Ministry building always struck Felix as rather foreboding. Not enough windows meant that the interior was dim and somewhat depressing. Dark wood paneling covered the walls, unwelcoming, and the mosaic tile floors were cold and uneven. The structure was no doubt very old, as many tiles were missing, drawing the eye away from the original intent of the artist and instead to the flaws that now dotted the scene.

  Felix and Willow were ushered into a large audience chamber where they both stood as the committee members filed in. Thoris trailed in last, still fiddling with the buttons on his formal robes. The committee sat at a long table on the raised dais at the head of the room.

  As far as Felix had been able to tell from Ambrose’s commentary on the Pravacordian government, the Ministry consisted of forty or fifty members divided into subcommittees. These committees worked together toward common goals and changed as necessary to meet the needs of the moment. The seven people assigned to Willow and Felix had been pulled from various other tasks, and no one seemed to have any type of actual authority on the matter.

  The appointed committee head, a sour-looking woman with pursed lips and long bright red fingernails named Margo Benton, motioned for them to be seated as well. Two unadorned wooden chairs sat behind a low railing, which seemed to serve no other purpose than to separate the rabble from the royalty. The luster had gone from the armrests, where Felix imagined countless people in the past had gripped them with white-knuckled anticipation while awaiting the Ministry’s pronouncement of their fate.

  “Thank you for joining us here today,” she said, somehow managing to not sound at all thankful. “Although the purpose of this meeting was to discuss your future here in Pravacordia, urgent intelligence has been brought to our attention that requires immediate action.”

  Several of the committee members were nodding somberly, but Thoris looked taken aback by the pronouncement.

  “I was not made aware of any change in today’s proceedings,” he pointed out with a huff.

  Benton’s reply was thick with annoyance as she addressed him without so much as glancing in his direction. “We called an emergency meeting this morning, Minister Wilks, but were unable to reach you. Perhaps if you had bothered to keep us informed of your whereabouts, we may have availed ourselves of your vast insight.”

  Thoris sputtered with indignation at the obvious jab, but Benton did not even pause. She had begun speaking to Felix and Willow once more.

  “As you are aware,” she said, eyeing the two reproachfully, “the intelligence collected from the CP radio network which triggered Ambrose’s unauthorized venture indicated that the Therans were leaving Earth via Antiquity’s Gate.”

  Her tone was both condescending and accusatory, as if to suggest that they personally had been responsible for Ambrose’s misdeeds.

  Felix nodded, trying to appear as respectful and non-threatening as possible. “Painfully aware, your honor.”

  “I am not a judge, Mr. Felix.”

  “It’s just Felix, your Eminence.”

  She sighed and went on. “Although we had hoped that, after such a long time, the Elves were no longer a threat, those transmissions did suggest that we may be dealing with them again. Whatever progress they have made on Thera would seem to warrant further investigation. However, the Culeians have assured us that communications from the Gate have since gone dark, and so we have had few options to gather intelligence. Together with Culei and Nequiem, we have been working, without success, on a way to disable the Gate once and for all.”

  “Can’t you just bury it?” Felix blurted out, then added, “uh, your ladyship?”

  She raised a disdainful eyebrow. “Although that may be possible in theory, we do not have the means. It was sheer luck that Ambrose’s mission was a success. Prior attempts to reach that region have failed, and until we have larger vessels capable of withstanding the harsh environment, we have no way to bring the equipment necessary to adequately cover the Gate in its entirety. It is, as I would hope you are aware, quite large.”

  “But maybe the people of Sanctuary—”

  She raised her hand to stop him. “As much as I would value your input on this matter,” she cut in, not sounding as if she would find very much value in his input at all, “we have the situation well in hand. Our best people are working on a solution as we speak. However, that is not what is troubling the Ministry. As such, we must get to the point of today’s meeting.”

  Felix and Willow exchanged curious glances.

  “The Culeians control the radio towers at sea, so we have been relying on them to relay any information they have to us. However, our sources within Culei—”

  “Like spies?” Felix perked up a bit at the idea.

  “Our sources,” Benton repeated with emphasis, “have informed us that the Culeians have been misleading us. Instead of relaying any new information, they have been attempting to make contact with the Elves and that, just this week, they received a response.”

  Wilks gawked. Felix felt rage bubbling up inside of him, but he forced it back down. He had to keep it together. He was trying to show these people that he wasn’t a threat.

  “Why,” he asked, careful to keep his tone calm and even, “would they want to contact the Elves?”

  “Culei has long been resentful of Pravacordia.” Margo Benton’s voice seemed almost pityin
g, which was the closest to an emotion as she’d come since Felix had had the displeasure of meeting her. “Our command of the sky is far superior to their playful escapades, splashing around in the sea, and thus they view us as a very real threat. Despite our long-standing treaty, we have never once believed that our two nations were friends. Tentative allies, perhaps, but never more than that. And yet, it’s been said that one should keep their friends close, and their enemies closer. Culei is attempting to form an alliance with the Therans, so that if the interlopers should come through again, the Culeians will have nothing to fear from that particular enemy. Instead, they view this as their opportunity to become the dominant Human power on the planet at last.”

  Felix rocked back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the railing before him. “Wow,” he said at last.

  Ms. Benton’s brow furrowed in disapproval. “An astute observation, to be sure.”

  “Well, what I mean is, just—wow. Haven’t the Humans learned from what happened the last time they tried to play nice with Thera?” He paused, then hastily added, “Present company excluded, of course.”

  She nodded. “It would seem that the Culeians have a very short memory. Their monarchy thirsts after power, and cares nothing for the lessons of history. Either that, or their hunger for said power is simply stronger than their fear of potential destruction. While this Ministry believes that the Culeians’ plans will ultimately bring about their doom, we feel it is in the best interest to nip this matter in the bud before they unleash the next invasion of the Therans down on all of us. We do not wish for our people to suffer just so that we may have the opportunity to say ‘I told you so,’ to Culei. We must stop them from aiding Thera by whatever means necessary. We cannot allow them to help the Therans breach the natural barrier that Antarctica has so far proven to be.”

  “Just how do they plan to assist the Elves with that, anyway?”

  “That is unclear at this time.”

  “They must know that the Elves will never agree to an alliance.”