Broken Quill [2] (13 page)

“Arbiter?”

“There’s a hierarchy of five levels
to being a Knight Infernal. Apprentice, Guardian, Sentinel, Lord, Arbiter.” I
held up my hand and checked them off, one by one. “At nineteen, I was young for
an Arbiter. Times were, no one under fifty would even be considered for
anything higher than a Sentinel... but you can’t expect children to fight a war
and not grow old in the soul, Annie.”

“Arbiter...” she said, rolling the
word around her mouth.

“There are other ranks, of course,
elements and factions within the Knights that hold varying levels of power and
respect against the core five levels. Take the Healers, for instance, those
with the knack for learning and using healing enchantments, charms, and spells.
A healer might be only a Guardian in the normal hierarchy, fresh out of the
Academy, but their skill could make them a Wiser within that particular
faction—which is roughly the equivalent of a Sentinel in the main structure.
You follow?”

Annie shrugged. “Somewhat. You don’t
look much like a healer, Declan. Did you have a specialty?”

“I was good at being a soldier.
Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Okay.” Annie folded her hands in
her lap. “And the Renegades? Who are they?”

A weak smile came and went across my
face. “You met their Queen just last night. Graceful Emily, at Paddy’s. Yeah, I
know, she seems too kind and too pregnant to be the leader of a rebellious
faction of the Knights Infernal, responsible for a century of bloodshed and war,
doesn’t she?”

“Tell me more about the Renegades.
Are they like an outlaw gang?”

I sighed. “The Renegades splintered
off from the rest of us in Ascension City and set up their own city on one of
the empty worlds in the Uncharted Realms—Voraskel, named for their first king.
The lunatic who started it all. They followed different laws, different
beliefs. They set themselves above the Knights and our key precepts.”

“This all happened a hundred years
ago?”

“About that, yeah. The backlash of
the Knights and Renegades falling out spilled over onto Earth, at the time.”

Annie’s lips moved as she did some
quick math. “About a hundred years ago... are you talking about the First World
War?”

“Yes.” I smiled grimly. “The Renegades
wanted to use Forget—and our power to navigate worlds—to pillage and plunder.
That’s a very broad look at what became a complex society, but the general gist
of their insurrection was that no world should be off limits, and if they
couldn’t find something they wanted, they’d just write it into existence. A
complete and utter abuse of Will, and we’re lucky the war here on Earth only
lasted four years.”

“And killed millions!”

“Millions more than you know.” I let
that hang in the air a moment. “Now, we may be seeing something similar again.
This being the key world, the Knights have members in every level of government
across the planet. And have had for centuries. The fact that they’ve seemingly
abandoned their posts could, conceivably, have the same effect that the
Renegade desertion did a century ago.”

“You’re talking about another World
War.”

I shrugged. “Worst case scenario,
but it certainly puts things into perspective, yeah? With no teams here on Earth
searching for the unfound—kids who can control Will—we could see a lot of
unexplained accidents and power grabs. We have to stop that from happening, or
a lot of innocent lads and lasses will suffer.”

Annie nodded. “And Emissary has to
answer for the deaths he caused last night. For Grey.” She clenched her fists.
“That’s why I’m coming with you. Why I let you out of that cell.”

“Yes, I know. And fear not, we’ll
make him sorry he ever set foot on this world.”

“Good.” Annie leaned forward and
swiped the glass of scotch from my hand. She finished the drink in one harsh
gulp. “Righto, then. So tell me how we’re getting to this Ascension City of
yours?”

“If that bastard hadn’t branded me,
we could be there in seconds using one of these fine books.”

“How so?”

“Books written by authors who have
some command over Will, however small, can become part of the Story Thread. A
Knight can use those books to travel to that world. Some of the greatest
stories ever written actually exist, Annie, among the plethora of worlds out
there in Forget. I’ve read them. I’ve been there. It’s why we call this world
True
Earth, because so many stories are set here that they’ve spawned countless
copies of Earth.”

Annie licked her lips and her eyes
glinted. She had the taste for adventure now, seeing the possibilities,
surrounded by a hundred thousand worlds in this shop alone—all just a heartbeat
away, if I hadn’t been branded by Emissary. “Like what? Where’ve you been?”

I rubbed my hands together and
grinned. “I’ve strolled along the riverbanks on the grounds of Grahame’s Toad
Hall. I watched a giant squid glide across the lake at Rowling’s Hogwarts. Oh,
Annie, you haven’t lived until you’ve almost been devoured by
Dune
’s
sandworms or watched icebergs of pure diamond crash together on a foamy, purple
sea in Auron’s Folly.”

“You’ve done all that?”

“All before my eighteenth birthday,
and visited a thousand other worlds out there. What’s your favorite book?”

“
The Hobbit
,” she said.

“Ah...” My smile faded.

“What? Tolkien didn’t have the power
to make his world real?”

I shook my head slowly. “No, no, he
did... But Middle Earth is a banned realm, sealed away by the Knights using
some very complex and soul-consuming runes and enchantments.”

“So you can’t visit it?”

“No. That story is part of what we
call the Dream Worlds. Worlds of the Story Thread cut off from the rest of
Forget, for protection.”

“What do you mean?”

“Worlds too hazardous to visit,
Annie. Littered with artifacts or creatures too dangerous to unleash on the
rest of Forget.” I suppressed a shudder. “One Renegade set a nest of Tolkien’s
Orcs loose on some of the more peaceful worlds out there fifty years ago,
before Middle Earth was sealed away in the Dream Worlds. They spread like a
plague, burrowing and infesting—some even attacked Ascension City back in the
eighties, burning the outlying districts. Last I heard, they’re still not under
control. And don’t get me started on what the Rings of Power could do in the
wrong hands.”

Annie nodded along, but she looked
afraid now. “This is a lot to take in, all at once. I’m not sure if you’re just
pulling my leg, but after what happened last night... the officers we lost...
Declan, are you being straight with me?”

“As an arrow, Annie Brie. How does
it feel to tumble through the looking glass?”

“God, is that one real, too?” She
rubbed at her eyes, fighting fatigue.

“No, that one’s just a story.”

Annie sighed what may have been
relief.

“It’s the Wizard of Oz you’ve got to
watch out for.”

All conversationed out, I left Annie
with her thoughts and set about brewing a fresh pot of tea in my seldom-used
small kitchen in the back of the shop. Surprised to find teabags, I spent a
good two minutes searching for the kettle and found it atop a stack of
paperback horror novels—
Odd Thomas
, by Dean Koontz, as good as it
gets—leaning precariously over the stovetop. Fire hazards and kind-hearted fry
cooks aside, I set the kettle to boil and dozed leaning against the sink for a
few stolen minutes.

In no time at all, I was jolted
awake by the kettle’s shrill whistle, and when I returned to my writing alcove,
two cups in hand, I found Ethan and Sophie sitting with Annie and chatting
about the weather.

“Ah, you shouldn’t have,” Ethan
said, reaching for one of the cups.

“I didn’t. One for Sophie and one
for Annie. Kettle’s in the back, Reilly.”

Once my apprentice returned with two
more cups, I filled Ethan and Sophie in on all that had transpired since I’d
seen them yesterday evening. Their faces grew grim as my story progressed
through Paddy’s to Hillarys, to the night I’d spent in the cells, and finally
back to my shop earlier that morning.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Sophie
said to Annie. “Actually, you too, Declan.”

“Don’t I know it. But Emissary... he
didn’t want me dead, ’Phie. He
invited
me to the ‘ascension’ of Blessed
Scion, as he put it.”

“What do you suppose that means?”
Ethan asked, sipping his tea, as Annie’s phone chimed.

“Hard to say. We need to speak to
the Knights at the Fae Palace. My brother. Rally some support.”

“How wise is that, though? Going
back?” Sophie asked. “Last time they clapped you in star iron. And let’s not
forget you were attacked and stabbed
in
the palace itself.”

Annie cleared her throat. “Sorry to
interrupt, but I think I have a lead on whatever Scion’s ascension might be.”

I blinked. “How could you
possibly...?” She handed me her phone and a few more pieces of the puzzle fell
into place. The screen displayed an image of a whitewashed wall in some
alleyway, probably in the city. Written on the wall in a familiar, crimson
script was yet another message for me.

Blessed Scion on His pale throne

The Younger God sits all alone

Ten thousand years awaiting rebirth

The Everlasting will cleanse the
earth

:)

NO RAIN OR HALE

CAN STOP THE NIGHT TO COME!

“How many did he kill?” I asked
softly.

“Three,” Annie said. “Another
three.”

I’ve already lost count... Two the
day before, the six policemen, Grey... And let’s not forget to add the man who
tried to shoot me at the uni tav to the red tally. People were dead and getting
deader.

“No rain or hale,” Sophie said,
reading over my shoulder. “Well, that’s a not-so-subtle shot at you.”

I handed Annie her phone back and
cracked my knuckles. “Well, this doesn’t change the plan. Ascension City. Are
you two in?”

“Never miss a chance to tango,
boss,” Ethan said.

“I guess so, Declan, but you’re
courting disaster.” Sophie gave me a tight smile. “As usual.”

“Actually, I think I’m trying to
prevent a disaster, for once.”

Ethan put his mug down on the counter
and slapped a stack of paperbacks. “Well, what are we waiting for? Emissary
could come gunning for you any minute. Let’s grab a book and slip across to
Ascension City while we can.”

I shook my head before he finished
and rolled up my sleeve, exposing the ugly, black rune scorched into my flesh.
Ethan recoiled at the sight of it, and Sophie grimaced. “I’ve no Will. It’s
been locked away from me, and it would take more than the power you two have to
undo this mark.”

Sophie bit her lip. “I could do it,
I think. I’ve never really tried before, but if you talked me through it,
Declan.”

“No, you don’t understand. This mark
locks me to this world. I can’t travel using Will even if someone else is doing
the invocation. At best, it just won’t work. At worst, trying to dive will tear
the flesh from my bones.”

“Then what?” Ethan asked. “How do we
get to Forget?”

“We can’t cross the Void,” Sophie
said. “Not like you. Ethan and I can’t, and Detective Brie certainly can’t.”

I wondered about that and just what
Annie could do. “There’s another way,” I said. “McSorley’s.”

Sophie scoffed. “He’ll shoot you on
sight. No, actually, he’ll make you pay your tab first, and then he’ll shoot
you.”

“It’s the closest door, and it leads
straight to the Atlas Lexicon.”

“What about the Knights guarding it?
They won’t let you pass, on Faraday’s order.”

That much was true. “All the Knights
Earth-side have been recalled to Ascension City, and we can blend into the
crowds at the Atlas Lexicon.”

“Sorry,” Annie said. “What’s the
Atlas Lexicon?”

“I’d like to know that as well,”
Ethan chimed in.

“A nexus of gateways and portals
between worlds,” I said. “Natural waygates, of a kind, amalgamated in one place
and
not
constructed of Will. A train station of inter-dimensional tracks
to thousands of worlds throughout Forget. And, of course, Ascension City.”

“Think of Grand Central in New
York,” Sophie said. “Only grander. Much grander. I’ve only been there once.
Back when it was first conceived, no one thought it could be done—all those
doorways so close together. Enough cracks to cause a Voidflood.”

“The Lexicon was the work of a...
mad genius, Thomas Lucien Atkinson, and its creation sparked the Tome Wars a
century ago
.
Well, one of the sparks.” I stood and stuffed a novel into
my holster. “Travel between worlds was suddenly cheap and affordable to
anyone,
to the masses in Ascension City without a drop of Will. Before the Atlas
Lexicon, you needed a Knight to cross worlds. After, just a few gems for a train
ticket. It... Heh, I suppose it ruined the majesty somewhat.”