The open area held yet more guards. In the center, a thin man with silver-streaked blond hair stood proudly. His hair was clipped short on the sides and longer on top. He wore a dark tailored suit and polished leather shoes.
Cita gaped. 'He looks like he belongs in my world. Is he one of Bilal's travelers?'
"Lord Baron Dorf, your son's guests are here as requested."
The man sniffed and eyed Cita.
"Is this the one he wants?"
A guard in a dusty, traveled uniform answered, "Yes. That one in particular. But the rest as well."
'He was on the trolley. He was listening to us on the trolley.' Cita waited for the familiar burn of rage. It did not come.
"He's pretty enough, but he won't last a week. My son is too rough with his toys." The suited man frowned at Rashida. "You haven't been taking very good care of your pyro kinetic. They're high maintenance pets."
'Pyro-kinetic?' Cita glanced at the Peacefallows. Kody shifted his weight from foot to foot. Ash glared at Baron Dorf as if he wanted to set the man on fire.
"Lord Baron Dorf, I presume?" Rashida asked with an arrogant tilt to her head. "May I ask why you insisted your guards take a blind woman's walking staff? It's not at all hospitable."
The man threw his head back and laughed.
"So direct. I've always liked the Silver Tear Tribe, despite your habit of collecting men."
Rashida's jaw dropped, and she struggled to conceal her shock.
"Come," Dorf said. "I'll lend my staff in place of yours." He snapped his fingers and the same servant that greeted them stepped forward and offered a crooked elbow.
"I-I've met few this far from my homeland that know of my people's traditions."
"We are not all that far from your homeland. Cairo is less than 600 miles from here. In the old days, that was an easy day's journey."
'Are they flirting?' Cita ground his teeth.
"Baron Dorf," he cut in with a snarl. "I have a message for you."
Rashida groaned and covered her eyes.
"Hmm? You're not very well trained, are you?" Baron Dorf sighed. "Very well. What is your message?"
"The demon of the forest says she's hungry. She wants more than 'petty bits'."
"Demon?" Baron Dorf's brows leapt. "There are no such things as demons, boy. What did you see in the forest that has taken so much of my son's attention?"
Cita jerked free of Ash and Kody's supporting hands.
"How can you say that? I saw …" Cita trailed off.
'What did I see? What does it matter? I need to get out of here, go back for Bilal.'
"Yes? You saw … what exactly?"
"Hey! You weren't there!" Ash stepped forward. "You can't tell him what he saw."
"Precisely. That's why I'm asking. But I'm asking him. Not you." Baron Dorf twitched a finger and the guards seized Ash. "I hadn't realized my farm was raising such a noisy cock."
'His farm?' A sick foreboding welled in Cita's stomach.
"Hey!" Kody pried at the hands that held his brother. "Let him go!"
Two more guards seized Kody. At another gesture, both Peacefallows were roughly gagged.
Cita tested his wobbly limbs and tried to summon even a flicker of flames. 'No dice.' He scowled at Baron Dorf.
"If I tell you what I saw, will you let them go? Will you let us all go?"
Baron Dorf shrugged.
"When we're done talking, they will be freed. There won't be any need to keep them from interrupting then, will there?"
'That's not exactly reassuring. But...' He glanced at the Peacefallows. Whatever message their chocolate eyes held, he couldn't read. Rashida was equally unhelpful, covering her mouth and avoiding his eyes.
"It was just … empty air that spat lightning," Cita admitted. "It pinned Zara and caged Ryka. It disabled Bilal. It struck Rashida, too. But it talked!"
"Zara, Ryka, and Bilal were your companions? That is strange. Lightning is not normally vocal, nor so … precise in its target. How did it miss you?"
"It … it didn't." Cita shook his head. "I've felt that before. I knew what it would do and … refused to fall," he finished lamely.
Baron Dorf arched a brow.
"All right. And what did it say, while it was talking?"
Cita racked his brain for the exact wording.
"'Tell the fleshy being that calls itself Baron Dorf to send more snacks. I'm tired of the petty bits he throws my way.' That's exactly what she said."
"Oh," Baron Dorf's head tipped to the side. "I begin to see. And you thought she meant me?"
"Who else could she mean? You're the baron, right?"
Baron Dorf's laughter echoed from the marble finishings.
Cita huffed and glared.
Baron Dorf's humor died with a lingering chuckle. He turned to the dust-covered guard.
"Triple the watch on the walls tonight. None are to enter before dawn. Have my commanders meet me in the lab. And fire up the elevators."
"But sir!" the guard protested.
"Fitzdorf." Baron Dorf paused for Fitzdorf to still. "You still wish to take my heir's place?"
Fitzdorf nodded sharply.
"Then you must prove to be more obedient than he. Triple the guard. Send my commanders. Start the elevators."
Fitzdorf scowled.
"Fitzdorf," Baron Dorf sighed. "The pyro-kinetic already knows about the elevators. We'll discuss how later. But he's sure to have told his mistress." He waved a languid hand at Rashida.
Cita jerked and stared at the healer. 'Mistress?'
"Besides," Baron Dorf continued, "there's no way the kinetic will be able to take the stairs. He's much too weak." He frowned at Rashida again. "What have you been doing with him?"
She tossed her hair over her shoulder and sniffed.
"That's none of your concern."
Baron Dorf laughed again.
"I can see why my son is so taken with you." He shooed Fitzdorf toward the stairs. "I think I'll clear up one bit of confusion, however. The proper way to address me is Lord Baron Dorf or my lord. I'll overlook your use of my name until now, but do not test my patience further."
"I don't understand," Cita shook his head. "How can you be a lord and a baron?"
"'Baron' is my name. Baron Dorf XIIV. It's a family name. My son, whom you met at the monastery, is Baron Dorf XIV. And you would know all about family names, right Akicita?"
Cita clamped his mouth shut against a fresh wave of nausea.
"How do you know that name?" Rashida asked.
"Lineage is very important here," Baron Dorf said.
Cita shook his head again. 'What does that have to do with him knowing my name?'
"You see, we trace our lineage back to the people who created pyro-kinetics — what the superstitious call flame summoners — and the so-called Dracaenaekin, and even the mighty Staryu." Baron Dorf snorted as he spoke the name of Rashida's goddess.
Rashida's eyes narrowed.
"We've collected all the records from before the Cataclysm and have studied them, striving to replicate the wonders of that world. And one of them …" Baron Dorf was interrupted by a tinny ding. One of the elevator doors stuttered open. "Ah. Well. Let me show you."
He gestured to some of the guards, including the ones holding Ash and Kody. The small contingent filed into the elevator, sweeping Rashida and Cita with them. They pressed, shoulder to shoulder inside the confining space.
Cita clenched his teeth against the urge to scream. His breath came faster as his eyes darted to all the bodies touching him. He fumbled for his dagger, but it wasn't there.
"Hey, Cita," Ash hissed. The damp cloth used to gag him dangled around his neck. "Breathe. Slowly."
Cita glanced over and saw the guards had relaxed their grip on the Peacefallows.
The doors ground shut as Baron Dorf pushed a worn button; the surface was scratched to opacity. Creaking and groaning, the box rose.
Cita looked around, searching for a familiar certificate. He found it, high above the bank of buttons and switches.
'Certificate of Inspection … capacity … 2100 pounds ... blah blah … June 15, 2035.'
"Hey, what year is it?" Cita whispered.
"What?" Ash asked. "You want to know that now?"
"Yeah! What year is it?" 'Because if I don't find out how long it's been since this thing was safety-tested, I'm going to completely lose it all over these jerks.'
"It's 93 years post-Cataclysm. Why do you ask?" Baron Dorf's pale blue eyes watched Cita.
"No — that's not right. None of this is right." His breath came faster, whistling in and out.
"Cita, breathe!" Rashida ordered. She grabbed his chin and yanked his head around to meet her eyes.
"Don't touch me!" Cita gave in to the rising scream. He flailed at the flesh surrounding him, pressing in on him, drowning him. Darkness edged his vision. He longed for the soothing red or blue.
"Watch out!"
"Stop him!"
"Cita! Calm down!"
Hands grabbed him and held his arms to his sides.
Cita sobbed and fought harder.
The elevator lurched to a halt with another tinny ding. The doors stuttered open and bodies spilled out of the confined space.
Cita slipped free of the hands and fell to the floor. He curled in on himself tightly. He shook and searched for the tide of flames that had sheltered him for so long.
'It's gone. Where has it gone? Or was it never truly there?' Cita moaned and thrashed at the grasping hands.
"Everyone, step back. Leave him alone," Rashida's tart voice commanded.
The hands fell aside.
Cita's trembling increased as his body sought to shake him to bits. 'Nononononono.'
"I am disappointed. I thought the Silver Tear Tribe took pride in maintaining your collections. But this …" Baron Dorf tsked.
"Do not lay this at my doorstep," Rashida countered. Her voice grew louder as she knelt.
Cita flinched away, spinning on the cold marble.
"He was broken before I met him," she continued. "There's little enough I can do to mend him."
"And you have not taken him to one of your vaunted healers?" Baron Dorf's tone was clinical and detached.
Nothing touched him now save his clothes and the slowly warming stone tiles. Cita coerced his breath into coming slower, counting out the cadence Rashida had shown him when he fell from his horse. Over his pounding heart, he heard Rashida's teeth grinding.
"I have not found a bonded healer since I met him, Lord Baron Dorf. They are not exactly thick upon the ground here."
He forced his eyes open and uncurled slightly. Ash and Kody had been seized again, and Ash's gag was back in place. His expression boded ill for the guards when he got loose. Kody watched Cita with a furrowed brow.
"So you haven't known him for long? Interesting."
Cita glared at Baron Dorf.
"I'm right here, you know." His voice was harsh in his ears.
"Are you?" Baron Dorf asked with a small smile. He brushed his right hand through his short hair, smoothing it back. "Would you mind getting off the floor then? It was just polished. And I don't have all evening."
Pride drove Cita to his feet. He stood wobbling like a newborn foal.
Rashida held out a steadying arm.
Cita flinched. He closed his eyes and made his breath slow again. He accepted the assistance.
Mr. Smith lurked behind Baron Dorf's shoulder, smirking.
*Can you feel it coming apart yet?*
Cita scowled but didn't rise to the bait.
Mr. Smith laughed and faded into the cold marble tiles.
Baron Dorf watched Rashida and Cita before turning to a closed door. He flung it open and strode into the dimness beyond.
They followed, escorted and shadowed by guards.
The room had tables and chairs lined up facing a screen that took up an entire wall. Cabinets of blinking lights filled the back of the room and a nest of cables connected everything. Smaller towers and screens were evenly spaced at the tables. Most were dark and powered down. Three were not and figures hunched over the controls.
'It's a computer lab. But one that's been cobbled together. None of this stuff matches.' Cita inspected the nearest setup and laughed.
"Dude, you're getting a—"
The large screen lit up abruptly. It displayed a sickly-looking picture on the right and demographics on the left. The youth in the picture had shaggy, black hair that hung unkempt around the dead-looking eyes. The oversize-hoodie obscured the youth's build.
Cita met the red-orange eyes in horror.
"Akicita Helleyes." Baron Dorf announced smugly. "Class 6B. Student number 78513576423. Date of birth December 1, 2020." He turned to Cita. "What's it like to see your grandfather? Or is it great-grandfather? Did your family retain the surname, or did you change it after … well. The end?"
Cita shook his head.
"This doesn't make any sense."
"Did your parents not tell you? It can be a lot to live up to, I suppose. We've managed to restore many pre-Cataclysm records, but this is my personal favorite. There's something they called 'video' included." He pointed at the console he stood next to.
The figure tapped a few buttons and the screen changed.
A leather-skinned woman sat in a metal chair. One of her silvered-black braids had unraveled, but the other still clung to a pretense of tidiness. Her hands were bound behind her back. A thin trail of crimson descended from her temple and smeared messily across her cheek. She glared at the uniformed man before her.
The angle changed, zooming in over the uniformed shoulder to focus on the prisoner. She bared strong white teeth in a snarl.
The image scattered, broken, before coming back into focus.
Cita muffled a whimper.
Aki stepped up to Cita's shoulder. He ignored the guards and focused on the screen.
**Gran.**
"Is the dialog not working today?" Baron Dorf asked.
The figure shook its head and tapped a few more buttons.
"You've been hiding for a long time. Sixteen years, isn't it? What did you hope to accomplish?"
"I accomplished plenty," the woman rasped. "Saved him from you, didn't I?" She glared defiantly at the camera before returning her ire to the man.
"At the cost of ten confirmed deaths. Half faculty and half students." The uniformed shoulder shifted. A tablet, clasped in a coarse-knuckled hand, was visible now. Across the top in bold letters, DORF was engraved on the black case. "And twenty others pulled in for questioning. Quite a prostitution ring, as it turns out. And no trace of your grandson. Well. Except for the damage he did." The tablet sank out of sight.
"Tell me again how you saved him?"
The woman growled and yanked at her bonds. A fresh trickle of blood leaked down her face.
"We've been able to track some of it, you know. Your daughter was a prodigy in our pilot program. Responded beautifully to the serums. Mastered calling fire easily. Then she was paired with Jack." The buzzed head shook. "Such potential there, but he wouldn't control himself. Witashnah tried to help him.
"Witashnah," the man snickered. "Chaste. Too bad she wasn't. Got herself knocked up by that hydro-kinetic." He walked toward the old woman.
"And that's where you came in. You helped her birth the babe at your cabin. Off the grid and everything. Then she came back. Swore the child died. Presented a death certificate. And you ran."
The woman's face twisted as if she tasted something sour. The video scrambled again. When it picked back up, the woman's eye was swollen shut and her mouth gaped, showing bloody, broken stubs.
"He's not dead: all the bodies are accounted for. All you have to do is tell us where to find him. Then we ease up on you. Take you down to the infirmary to get patched up."
The uniformed shoulder shrugged.
"Hell, we'll even let you keep taking care of him. You must have been doing something right to keep him stable for this many years. We just want access to a wild-bred pyro-kinetic. We won't hurt him."
"May your prick grow spines and your woman refuse you," the woman choked out. She spat a gobbet of blood. "May you die without legacy in a mire of filth."
"Now that's not nice at all. You know we are the right hand of God. He will uphold us. Your curses mean—"
The video clip died in a static-y flourish.
Aki rested on his knees, one hand outstretched to the black screen.
**What did they do to Gran? Was that all because of what we did?**
Cita's hollow flesh was refilling from his toes upward.
Mr. Smith watched them. His expression was clear of shadows for the first time; he was afraid.
Baron Dorf's smirking visage caught the lights from the monitors and electronics as he turned back to Cita.
Before he could say anything, Fitzdorf burst into the room.
"Sir! At the gate—" he gasped.
"Hmm," Baron Dorf frowned. "That's unacceptable. When I was your age, I could run up and down all forty flights twice without getting winded. Do better."
"Yessir. But your son—"
"Is at the gates with the guard he summoned back to his side. Of course he is. He's being disrespectful, which is why he will wait until morning to enter." Baron Dorf turned back to Cita.
"No!" Fitzdorf cut in again. "He's there, but he has a whole army!"