Cloak (YA Fantasy) (19 page)

“Very puzzling,” Dr. Noctua said, clicking his beak. “Builders have been on Council-imposed restrictions for years. They are strictly forbidden to appear in public or have contact with enchant culture in any way. What could have provoked these six to violate the law? The repercussions could be staggering.”

“But I don’t get it.” Will stuffed a fork full of pasta into his cheek. “What’s the big deal about just being seen? It’s not like they hurt anybody or anything. I mean, they’re scary looking, but why do they have all these restrictions against them in the first place?”

Everyone at the table fidgeted slightly and looked at Dr. Noctua and then at Rizz.

Rizz set his jaw and stared over the stone railing at the distant mountains. “It’s a
big deal
because eleven years ago Builders tried to take over.”

“Take over what?”

“Everything. New Wik, the Council, St. Grimm’s. It was a full-blown uprising, an invasion. A lot of enchants were murdered. But Immunes were their special targets. Some were taken and never heard from again, most killed on the spot. Nobody could stop them, not even Special Branch. There were just too many Builders.”

Will’s mouth went dry. Builders had killed the Immunes?

“Nobody’s sure why they did it. Power? Greed?” Rizz spoke with a quiet pain. “We’ll probably never understand. It’s nearly impossible to communicate with their kind. They were about to seize power then, one day, the Builders just stopped attacking.”

“Stopped? Why?” Will looked around the table. Everyone lowered their eyes.

“That was the day they killed Josef W. Grimm, the last Immune.”

Will felt like the air had been punched out of him.

“He was the last descendant of the Grimm brothers, a doctor working right here in St. Grimm’s—head of Research and Development—the best in the world. Builders attacked his lab. There was an explosion.” Rizz clenched his fists for a moment, then took a deep breath and continued. “Afterward, the Builders all went underground again, no reasons, no apologies, just a message from their queen saying they would abide by any punishment or restriction the Council of Wik demanded. They were exiled from enchant society and haven’t been seen since. Until today.”

The only sound at the table was the moan of wind through the archways. Builders hadn’t been seen for eleven years and now they show up on Will’s first day in St. Grimm’s? Cold fear spread through his chest when he thought about how close he’d been to them. They had singled him out. Did they know he was an Immune?

Rizz smacked his hand on the table. “Well, sitting around like this isn’t gonna solve anything.” The far-off look had left his eyes, replaced by determination. “A few Builders broke the rules today. We can’t be sure it was because of the kid. But just to be safe, I say we skip this whole acclamation nonsense and start naturalizing Will now.”

“Rizz!” snapped Kaya.

“Neutralize me?”

“No, kid, not
neutralize, naturalize.
We want to train you to be an enchant, so you can protect yourself, just in case.”

“Agent Rizzuto.” Kaya was on her feet, her irises closing. “We already talked about this.”

Rizz stood too. “That was before six Builders came after him. I think we should talk about it again.”

“He is too inexperienced to be naturalized right now,” Kaya growled.

“His inexperience didn’t stop him from protecting himself against the wolfchant while you were unconscious.”

Kaya’s hands shook, her claws digging into the tabletop. “He is not ready,” she snarled. “It’s too dangerous.”

“More dangerous than facing Builders deaf and blind?” Rizz grabbed Will by the arm and pulled him to his feet. “Right now he’s walking around helpless as a newborn mousechant. Let’s at least give him a chance.”

“Hey!” Will pulled his arm from Rizz. “I am not helpless. And I’m not deaf or blind either. I can defend myself. And I’m not afraid of Builders, even if they did do all that stuff you said.”

Rizz folded his arms. “I think he’s more ready than you give him credit for, Agent Das. Why don’t we vote?”

Kaya eyed Will for a long time, then turned to the others, who had been listening to the argument.

Agent Manning spoke first. “Tuttle has spunk. I think I could pull some fighting instinct out of him. It would take work, but I say we should try.”

Kaya faced Flores, who said, “I agree with Agent Das. We are here to protect the boy. I do not see why it is necessary for him to protect himself. Enhancers are too risky. You know what happened in the Nep trials. I say no.”

Everyone looked to Dr. Noctua, who sat with one wing folded, picking at his chin feathers with the other.

“You have the deciding vote, Doctor. He is your patient,” said Kaya.

Noctua’s huge yellow eyes searched Will’s face. “I choose not to vote.”

The protection team started to complain, but the doctor held up his wings. “I give my vote to Wilhelm. It is, after all, his life that will be affected.” He wrapped his feathered fingers around his cane and peered through his spectacles. “Wilhelm, the naturalization we’re speaking of is a training regimen that is like nothing you could imagine. Young enchants are naturalized only after they are able to pass rigorous tests to insure they can defend themselves in enchant society and be undetectable in the presence of Neps. Not only is it mentally and physically grueling, but there is an additional risk for you. Since naturalization requires basic enchant abilities like heightened hearing, vision, and smell, we need your senses to be equal to that of the most basic enchant.”

Will swallowed hard. “You have to make me an enchant.”

The doctor lifted the corner of his mouth. “No, never. But we would have to enhance your senses with prosthetics.”

“Prosthetics? Like artificial limbs and stuff?”

“Precisely, but far more advanced than anything in Nep medicine. These prosthetics are designed to enhance the animal senses in enchants. A few years ago we tried to ascertain if the technology could be beneficial to Neps with disabilities as well. The results were disappointing.”

“What do you mean disappointing?”

“Several Nep test subjects became…damaged. Loss of hearing, taste, smell, touch. I think you get the picture. About the only enhancement that did not cause irreparable damage were the night vision glasses you received last night. Although, I would suggest you not wear them for extended periods until the final test results come back. The point is that there are theories that enhancers will work fine with Immunes, but for obvious reasons, those theories remain untested.”

“Wait, so you’re saying that these enhancer things could let me smell and hear with super-animal senses?” asked Will with enthusiasm.

“Or leave you deaf and senseless,” stated Kaya flatly.

“Or give you the ability to live a normal, less odiferous life,” added Rizz with a wink.

Super senses or loss of senses. No more stink would be great. But being deaf or blind? It was a lot to think about. Will wasn’t sure. He sat back in his chair and mulled it over as he stared at the wind painting patterns on the prairie below.

“Do I have to decide right now?” he asked.

Doctor Noctua’s eyes twinkled. “Taking some time on a decision this important is a very wise course indeed. In the meantime, I prescribe we all carry on with our schedules, with a bit of added precaution, of course.”

The strain of the moment eased.

“Fine,” said Kaya, calming the after-tremor in her voice. “But from this point on I want to double Will’s protection—two agents at all times. No exceptions.” She and Rizz nodded to each other respectfully.

“You’re the boss.” Rizz placed his palms on the table. “So who wants to come with me and the kid on his first St. Grimm’s chore shift?”

“That depends,” said Manning. “What is it?”

“Maternity Ward, nursery duty.”

Kaya fidgeted. “Oh, I don’t do well with babies.” Her tail flicked uneasily. She faced Agent Manning. “You’d better go, Val. Flores is banned from the nursery after that incident with those parrotchants last month.”

Flores crossed his arms and began turning a molted shade of blue. “All I did was tell them their baby looked like my uncle Hector. It was a compliment. He is a very striking enchant.”

“Yeah, but he’s also a 60-year-old lizard, and that newborn was a girl,” Rizz snorted.

“A compliment is a compliment.
Que sensitivos son los pájaros,”
muttered Flores.

As they stood to leave, Dr. Noctua caught Will’s eye. “Remember,” he said quietly. “The decision is yours. Take as much time as you need.”

Will’s feet felt like lead as he took his place between Rizz and Manning. A week ago he had been locked in a bubble, forgotten. Now he might be the target of murderous ant creatures that had wiped out all Immunes.

As they passed Dr. Noctua’s collections, Will caught his reflection in a mirror. Next to Rizz, he looked pale and thin. Next to Manning, his movements were slow and sloppy. He did look
helpless.
The word was like a splinter in his mind.

Stuffing his latex-covered hands into his pockets, Will paused and weighed his options. Super senses or loss of sight or hearing? Fear and doubt burrowed deep into his chest. Either choice was a risk.

“Hey kid, the clock is ticking.” Rizz held the door.

Manning tapped her foot and checked her tiny watch.

Will forced his feet to move. Rizz was right. The clock was ticking. And as he spiraled down the stairs toward the heart of St. Grimm’s, Will was only sure of one thing. His life was about to change completely. Again.

19

Helpless

T
he beaming parents interlaced wing tips and held each other close as they watched a small crack appear in one of the large speckled eggs inside the incubator.

“Oh, isn’t it wonderful?” said Patty, the plump Irish midwife with the pointed nose and whiskers of a vole. “Quadruplets as a first time mother, Mrs. Knightly. You and Mr. Knightly must be bursting with pride. It won’t be long now,” she announced, twitching her whiskers.

The husband stared at the football-sized eggs and swallowed. He looked as nervous as Will felt standing next to Patty, holding a stack of pink and blue towels. Rizz was against the wall checking that the hatchling carts were set at precisely the right temperature. Manning sat on a stool next to a biowaste bin—she’d been put on egg shell duty.

A hole appeared in the first egg. The mother let out a little squeak of delight and kissed her hubby on the beak.

Will felt like he was intruding on a private moment. He tried to slip backward, but Patty grabbed him by the sleeve of the medical gown and pulled him back. “Now you stand right here and hand me those towels as soon as I say so. Got it?”

Will nodded and was surprised by a series of cracks. Two more eggs began to split. A second later, the first shell broke open and out flopped what looked like a normal pink baby with a tiny beak and little talons on his feet. The newborn cried softly and chirped, rolling over in the soft nest that supported the eggs. Will held out a blue towel.

“Oh, not yet. Just wait,” whispered Patty, the midwife. “Ah, there we go.”

The tiny baby leaned against the shell and pushed himself to his wobbly feet. After a moment of balancing, he took one step, then another. Mrs. Knightly stepped forward and Patty handed her one of Will’s blue towels just before the baby bird enchant climbed into her arms.

“Here come the rest,” motioned Patty. The scene was repeated three more times as the mother and father took turns catching the toddling newborns. Pictures were taken and the hatchlings were all placed in separate incubator carts to be examined by the medical staff.

When they were pronounced healthy, Manning cleaned up the shells and the two agents started to lead Will out of the hatching room.

“Just a minute, would you like to hold one?” Mrs. Knightly, who didn’t seem bothered by Will’s stink, held out a pink bundle of baby. Will carefully took her in his arms. The newborn peered into Will’s eyes and clipped her beak, then cooed and smiled. Will smiled back. “She’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Mrs. Knightly beamed, rocking two of the other babies in her feathered arms.

Will looked down. “Hi there, baby. Goochy, goochy, goo.”

The baby reached up and grabbed his glove with her tiny fingers. She scrunched up her face and shrieked, causing one of the light bulbs above the incubator to shatter. Like a chain reaction, the other three joined in. Will thought his ears would burst, but the Knightlys and Patty just smiled.

“Looks like they’re hungry,” shouted Patty. She began moving the screeching infants to a little room with a comfortable chair surrounded by privacy curtains. Mrs. Knightly sat down and was given the baby Will had been holding.

“Okay, kid, time to go.” Rizz pulled Will away by the collar and whispered, “Trust me, you
do not
want to witness a regurgitated feeding. Talk about an image you will never get out of your mind.”

Will followed Rizz and Manning into the nursery, where they spent the next two hours trying to pacify twenty different kinds of enchant babies.