Twin Suns of Arterra

11

A hand grabbed my arm, pulling me forward, and I stumbled over what felt like a threshold suspended in midair. My feet found solid purchase, and then my body collided with another and we fell to the floor in a tangle.

I looked down at my reflection.

Two hands came up to pull off the visored helmet, and Blade grinned at me, tempestuous green eyes shining.

"Welcome to Rillingate."

Somewhere behind me something rustled. "I see you made it through."

I rolled over onto my back to see Aaliyah standing in front of a dark opening, and looked back at Blade.

"A conveyor?"

Her grin widened. "We have a number of them scattered throughout the city in various locations."

I nodded. "For emergencies, I'm sure."

"Of course."

"So our jaunt to the market was just to..."

"Get rid of your beacon, yes." Blade pushed herself up off the floor, extending a hand to me. "We had to throw off Janis' guard dogs before we brought you here."

I took her hand, pulling myself up. "Why?"

Her turbulent eyes searched my face, scrutinizing me for a moment. "To get you out, of course. That's what you were trying to do, yes? You weren't just going for a thrill ride in the canals?"

It wasn't just that they had rescued me that convinced me. It was recalling the look on Blade's face during the council session, and the way she had spoken to Rellic and Janis.

"Yes."

She nodded, her face softening a bit, as if I'd passed some critical test. "Good. Then we're on the same side, it would seem."

"Good thing," I half joked. I wouldn't want this girl as an adversary, that was for sure.

Her eyes flashed appreciatively. "Yes, it is."

Aaliyah brushed past us. "If you two are done, we should keep moving. The others will be wondering where we are."

Others?

I quirked an eyebrow at Blade, but she said nothing more as she motioned for me to follow Aaliyah.

If we were 'on the same side,' I could only assume I wasn't the only one trying to get outside of Selecon before Janis raised the shielding. I knew why I needed to get out. So the question was why did others want to? Did they know something about what was happening, or were there additional motives playing into things?

It was impossible to know.

All I could do for now was follow along and hope that whatever plan of escape Blade had it was better than mine, and that whoever else was in on it had reasons that wouldn't conflict with my own.

At least there was safety in numbers. If more than one councilor were arrested, it would be much harder for Janis to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why. It would also be more difficult to remove us. Already we were three.

Would there be more?

And if so, who?

On the other side of the room a door slid open, revealing a lift.

"All of our conveyors come to this room," Blade explained as we stepped into the small space, doors whooshing closed behind us.

She pressed the wall and a small panel opened with a soft click. Blade pressed one of the buttons and the lift began to move.