House Immortal (20 page)

“My boots?”

“You call those boots? My darling, those are a
travesty.
But no matter. This is your first time, after all. And not a bad effort at that. Although your hair . . .” She stopped moving and talking. I found her intense silence even more worrisome than her constant chatter. “Something must be done.”

“I like it how it is,” I said. “Is that orange juice?” I hoped shifting the subject would keep her out of my hair—literally.

“Yes, yes. Orange juice and a light lunch. Hurry, but don't rush. We'll meet with Oscar Gray in”—she tapped her finger twice in the air in front of her and a half-dozen time readouts flickered there—“seven minutes. Can I help you with that, my sweet?”

I had been trying to unfold the napkin out of the shape of what I could only assume was a Gordian knot, and wasn't having much luck.

“No, I can—”

“Shh. Nonsense,” Elwa's tone took on a much softer edge. “Eat, Matilda. I am here to help.” She took the napkin gently from me, pulled it easily apart, and placed it in my lap.

All right. If she was here to help, I'd ask some questions. “Do you know what the training is? Abraham mentioned I'd be trained for the gathering.” I took a drink of the orange juice, savoring the rich sweetness. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had it fresh.

“Every year, the galvanized gather. What they do is a matter the galvanized do not share.” She poured hot tea and honey. “First, you will see Oscar; then you will leave with Abraham Seventh to the training compound. When you return here, I will have everything you need prepared for you to represent House Gray at the gathering.

“I must say I am so pleased you have chosen House
Gray to represent. You will be quite the talk, darling. An
exhilarating
wonder
.
”

I assumed that by
representing
she meant
fighting for
.

Great. I could wrestle a feral beast to the ground, but hand-to-hand with another galvanized wasn't going to be easy. My only advantage was that I could make them hurt.

Of course, they could make me hurt too.

“Are there any things you could tell me about the gathering, since this will be my first time?”

“Don't worry. I will collect all the information you need. When you return you will have time to study. So. Now. Enjoy lunch. I will be back soon.” She exited the room and shut the door behind her.

I helped myself to the squash soup, salad, croissants, and cheeses, the flavors both familiar and exotic. I wondered if I could get some of the spices used in the meal for the farm. Grandma would love them.

“Tilly?” Neds voice said through the door.

“It's open,” I called out.

He stepped in, wearing, I noted with just a tinge of jealousy, his own clothes.

“Help yourself.” I waved at the table. “There's too much for me anyway.”

“I ate,” Right Ned said, but he came over and Left Ned popped a square of cheese in his mouth.

“So, what happened?”

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “I signed House Gray.”

“Tilly . . .”

“I didn't want to, but it was that or be auctioned off. All the Houses were watching.”

“All of them?”

“I guess not all. I didn't see House Orange or House Gold. The rest, though.”

“Nothing good comes out of drawing the attention of the Houses,” Right Ned said.

“Only worse comes of signing with one,” Left Ned said. “Stupid choice, Tilly.”

“It was the only option I had that outlined anything in my favor.”

“What's in the contract? What did House Gray promise you?” Right Ned asked.

“The same as what I told you this morning. Ten years of my life for help in finding and freeing my brother and the farm staying in the family name with Grandma living there.”

“What about House Brown?”

“I don't know, but I now have ten years to work on it.”

He was silent a moment or two. So was I. I still couldn't believe how quickly my life had changed.

“Come into town with me,” Right Ned said. “You can break someone else's arm. That will cheer you up.”

I made a face at him. “I can't. There's a training thing the galvanized attend in preparation of the gathering. I'm going to that today. How about you? Did you decide to sign on with House Gray?”

“Have until this evening to decide,” Left Ned said. “Thought a walk would do me good.”

“You and I could leave now.” Right Ned's smile was just a little too tight. “Take some time to clear our heads. We don't have to be under the lock and key of House Gray to still be aligned with them.”

“Why, Neds Harris,” I said, “it's almost as if you don't like it here.”

“Almost is, isn't it? But I'm serious, Tilly. We could leave. I could take us somewhere safe. I know people. People who would take you in. Take us all in.”

There was a hint of desperation beneath his words. And I wondered if this was my chance. If I should run with him, hide with him.

But running wouldn't change my problems. I still had a lost brother and a vulnerable grandmother. If I reneged on my deal with House Gray, I'd just be making things worse for all of us.

“I can't,” I said. “Too many people I love would get hurt.”

“There's always another way,” Right Ned said.

“Not this time.”

Elwa appeared at the door. “Ah, Mr. Harris. Here you are. Is there something I can do for you?”

“No, thank you, ma'am,” Right Ned said.

“Was lunch satisfactory, Matilda, darling?”

“It was delicious.”

“Good. Oscar waits for you. Both. Go now. I'll pack your bag.”

Elwa marched toward the bedroom. I got up and packed my gun belt into the duffel, then shrugged the bag over my shoulder.

“What about the rifle?” Left Ned asked.

“It's mine, so it goes with me.” The rifle was resting near the small couch. I plucked it up on the way out the door.

We strolled out into the main sitting area, where Oscar Gray stood, once again, by the vast windows.

“You wanted to see us?” I asked.

He turned. His gaze took in Neds, me, and my rifle, and his mouth curved in a slight smile.”Yes,” he said. “Before you go, I wanted to be sure that you were satisfied with the outcome of the test this morning.”

“About that,” I said. “I'd like to apologize.”

“For what?”

“It was wrong of me not to tell you I had signed the contract before I announced it to all the Houses. I don't think I handled that as well as I could have.”

“Apology accepted. The fallout from that particular event is already being dealt with,” he said. “The matter with House Red and the Fessler outpost continues to be . . . costly. However, I have already opened an investigation into where your brother Quinten Case may be. By our records, he was last working for House Silver. I'll be speaking with Reeves Silver on the matter this evening.”

“Thank you,” I said, a rush of hope taking flight in me. “Is there any way I can help?”

“No. As soon as I have news, I will tell you. In the meantime, there is something I would like you to do for me.”

I nodded.

“I want you to remain unannounced to the general public. I don't want anyone else to know that you are galvanized or that you are claimed by House Gray until the gathering.”

“What does it matter, Your Excellency?” Right Ned asked. “The Houses all know about her now.”

“House business is only part of what goes into this position, Mr. Harris,” Oscar said. “There is power to be found in bringing honor or unexpected assets into a House.”

I frowned, not following his logic.

He must have seen my confusion. He smiled. “I want to reveal you to the public in a very grand manner.”

“At the gathering?”

“Yes. It will be a moral boost for all those who claim House Gray. Since we are the caretakers of humanity, you can only imagine how many people will be excited that their House not only found a modern galvanized, but also brought her into House Gray.”

I could see how a swell in popularity among the masses would do a lot to argue against his brother's desire to have him removed as head of the House.

“Did I ruin that already? With everything that's happened this morning?”

“Not at all,” he said. “The Houses know each other's secrets to an extent. Still, there are certain rules of engagement that are to our mutual benefit.”

“I promise I'll keep the lowest of low profiles.”

“A talent you certainly have perfected over the years,” he said kindly. “Ah, Abraham. I was just explaining to Matilda that I wish her to remain unseen during your time away.”

Abraham strolled into the room from the other hall. “Did she agree?”

“Of course I did,” I said.

Abraham wore a plain cotton shirt, open in a V at the neck, but tight enough across his chest to show the muscle beneath. His sleeves were rucked up to his elbows, adding to the casual look, and along with denim jeans, boots, and a belt, he looked like a man ready for some time off. Everything about him was easy, loose, relaxed.

And that looked all kinds of good on the man.

I tried not to think of how good naked would look on him.

“Of course you did,” he said with a straight face. “Is there anything else?”

“Neds?” I asked. “Will you be staying?”

“I thought I'd do some sightseeing around town,” Left Ned said.

“Have you considered our offer, Mr. Harris?” Oscar asked.

“Yes, sir,” Right Ned said. “I'll let you know by the end of the day.”

“Good. Well, then?” Oscar raised his brows at Abraham. “Haven't you had enough of me for a while, Bram?”

Abraham gave him a small, almost fatherly smile. That familiarity surprised me a little. But, then, if Abraham was as old as he said he was, and if he had been serving House Gray for much of that time, he would have known Oscar from a young age.

“If anything comes up . . .” Abraham started.

“I know where you are,” Oscar said. “Go on now. Enjoy.”

“Not yet,” Elwa powered into the room, her stride
short and punctuated. She was carrying two bags. “Clothing and sundries for Matilda,” she said, handing the bags to Abraham. “Are you sure I can't pack for you, Abraham Seventh?”

“No, thank you, Elwa. I already packed.”

Elwa frowned, looking disappointed. “Well, I've had the car brought around.”

“Thank you.” He turned toward me. “Shall we, Matilda Case?”

“Lead the way.” I kept one hand on my duffel and the other on my rifle, as we entered the elevator and left House Gray behind us.

Millions of people joined their fight. And for fifty bloody years the galvanized tirelessly led that war, that uprising of House Brown.—2160

—from the journals of L.U.C.

W
e drove through the city to another speed tube. Once Abraham had finished inputting our destination and other information, the pod shot us off at ridiculous speeds while projecting fake pastoral views around us.

“Is it an animal?” I asked.

“What?” Abraham turned so he could better see me. We were both sitting in the front of the luxurious car, our bags in the trunk, my rifle in the backseat, my duffel at my feet.

“I haven't gotten any solid clues out of anyone about the training we are apparently required to attend today. I thought I'd narrow it down a bit. Animal, vegetable, or mineral?”

He grinned and scratched the stubble at his jaw. “You must be a delight at birthday parties.”

“So, it's a secret I can't know? That's dumb.”

“I didn't say you couldn't know it.”

“So? Tell.”

“After facing you on the sparring mat? I'm comfortable on this side of caution.”

“Are you saying I'm unpredictable?”

“I'm saying you find solutions. You find answers. You don't follow the path that seems the most logical choice. You question . . .
everything
, as near as I can tell. You decide and you act. Rather quickly.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” he said.

He didn't look like he was going to change his mind about the training, so I changed the subject to something else that was bothering me.

“Before we left, Oscar mentioned something about House Red,” I said.

He looked out the window, suddenly interested in the scenery that was filled with quaint cottages and bubbling fountains and moss-covered statuary. I didn't think that idyllic little town existed anywhere in the world.

“He said that calling off the bombing of the Fessler compound continues to be costly.”

“Mmm.”

“How costly?”

Abraham squinted as if he could see beyond the fake sheep and fake hills and fake world around us. “You do understand what happened there.”

“You asked Oscar to call off the people who were trying to level the Fessler compound?”

“Mostly right. I asked Oscar for a personal favor. I asked him to call off the people who were working unregulated, uncontracted night hours on the project for House Red. To do so, Oscar had to halt all workforces for House Red in North America.”

“Everyone?” I asked, startled. “That must be hundreds—”

“Thousands.”

“—of people. Why?”

He turned back to me. “It was the only fair way to deal with the situation while calling attention to the problem in a manner House Red would respond to.”

“Couldn't he have called off that one workforce?”

“Yes. But it would have painted a target on the Fessler compound, on the families who were running for their lives, and on the people who took them in. House Gray oversees people, but every House has ways to make life miserable for those who cross them. People who remain
unclaimed, the rebels—House Brown—are uncounted, unnoticed, and, therefore, very easy to eliminate.”

“House Red would have been angry enough over stopping one work site that they would have eliminated people?
Killed
people?” I pictured Aranda Red's stern image in the training room, everything about her hard and perfect and edged.

Holy crap, I thought she might be angry enough to do just that.

“Hell,” I exhaled. “I made you call off all the workers in North America to cover for one small group of people who should have had the sense to run when they had the chance.” I scrubbed my fingers back through my hair.

How many other people had that one small action affected? Would any of them come to harm, or be seen as suspicious enough that Aranda Red would order them eliminated?

“Let's be clear on this, Matilda,” he said. “I asked Oscar to call them off. I knew the consequences.”

And he'd gone forward with it.

“Because you were that desperate to get me off my property and signed up to your House?”

Something dangerous kindled deep in his eyes. “Because there were children in that compound. Families.” His gaze challenged me and my judgment of him.

I finally looked away.

“There is a reason I claimed House Gray,” he said. “Reasons I drafted the peace treaty that ended the Uprising between galvanized and the Houses.”

“So you could destroy the only chance House Brown had at making the world a different place for people? A better place?”

“So House Brown had a chance to survive. At all. As long as galvanized fought alongside House deserters, they would remain a target.”

“And how did leaving them help? House Brown scratches by on luck and pure stubbornness. If the galvanized had continued to fight for House Brown to stand
equal to the other Houses, the world would be a better place.”

“One,” he said, “House Brown will never be equal to the other Houses, because it is made of people who think for themselves, fight for themselves, and care for their neighbors. It is not a power-hungry monarchy. The day it turns into that is the day it is truly dead. Two, galvanized can't die. Cannot. The Houses knew that. The soldiers knew that.

“If the fight had continued, it wouldn't have been galvanized blood that was spilled, wouldn't have been the galvanized hearts that were stilled. Men, women, and children fell. By the thousand. Too many dead. Far too many.”

I knew what he'd bargained away for that peace between House Brown and the other Houses. The right to be recognized as human. The right for the galvanized to be free.

For the first time, I wondered how he'd talked the other eleven galvanized into signing away their freedom for House Brown. I wondered how he'd convinced them to bow to the shackles of the Houses.

“I never looked at it quite like that,” I admitted.

“This training is important,” he said, changing the subject, for which I was grateful. “We will go over the basics of what's expected of you at the gathering.”

“When Oscar announces I'm a part of House Gray?”

“Yes. And when the other Houses verify and give their approval.”

“We're still waiting on their approval? I thought we just did that this morning. I proved I was strong in front of everyone. I let them scan me to see that I'm galvanized.”

“Yes, but that doesn't mean the Houses will stand by and allow Gray to claim you. The gathering will be their last chance to negate your contract.”

“They can do that? How?”

“If you step out of line, if you offend another head of
House, if you offend another galvanized or in any other way break the code of conduct expected of you at the gathering, the contract will be voided, your loyalties put into question, and your service will go to the highest bidder.”

Hell.

“How long do I have to be perfect in their eyes?”

“Just to be safe?” he said. “I'd start now.”

Great. I pressed my lips together and wondered how long it would be before I messed this up.

It took us three hours to reach the west coast. After that, a very short drive took us to a sprawling building lit up with pulsing lights and colors.

“Someone's having a party,” I remarked.

“Several someones,” he said.

He wasn't kidding. The expanse of parking area around the building was filled with vehicles, and a steady stream of people flowed into the building from streets and skywalks.

“What is this all about?” I asked.

“Let's find out.”

He drove the car around to the back, where a door in the side of the building opened up for us. He drove into the very nice garage, parked, then got out of the car and started off toward an elevator.

I got out too, pulled my duffel over my shoulder, and after a moment's hesitation, left the rifle in the car. I had my revolver and a scarf full of time. I figured I could handle just about anything that came at me.

Abraham was waiting in the elevator, so I picked up the pace and joined him there.

He punched the button for the main floor.

“You'll want to hang back a bit, blend in, but don't get out of my eyesight, understand?”

“Sure. Of course,” I said.

He didn't buy it.

“Just . . .” He turned and set his shoulders, taking up
all the room in front of the doors. “Try not to draw attention to yourself, okay?”

“Like anyone would notice me.”

“I don't know how anyone could miss you,” he murmured.

The elevator came to a soft stop, a light chimed on, and then the doors opened wide.

Before Abraham had even taken a step, a rise of excited voices got louder. The crowd out in the huge lobby area milled between rows of three-story columns that were lit a vibrant green, washing the ceiling, the reflective floor, and everyone else in that light.

But when Abraham stepped out of the elevator, the columns were washed in a soft gray light, making it feel like early dawn in the room. Hundreds of people oohed; more than a few shrieked. A rising chant of “Seventh, Seventh, Seventh,” spread across the room in a rising wave of sound.

Abraham strode out into the crowd, his arms stretched to either side like a beloved warrior returned from battle.

The room erupted in cheers.

Don't draw attention to yourself,
he said. Ha! No one was looking at anything
but
him.

I strolled out of the elevator and threaded through the crowd until I was leaning against one of the columns, out of the way of the main flow of people.

“First time?” a woman asked me.

She was about my height and general coloring, maybe a little younger than me, and had dimples and a generous mouth. She wore a white shirt, blue overshirt, green pants, and bright orange shoes. Strips of yellow, violet, and every other House color ringed her arms.

“My name's Listra.” She held out her hand.

What was the correct thing to do here? What was the thing that wouldn't get me kicked out of House Gray? For all I knew, she was a House spy come to check on my behavior.

“Matilda.” I took her hand, and when we shook, she tapped two fingers against the inside of my wrist. The House Brown signal. Thank goodness. I tapped the inside of her wrist too, and she grinned.

“I thought so,” she said.

“So, what is all this?” I gestured toward the people taking pictures and shouting questions at Abraham.

“The jumble. You know, all the galvanized get together before the big gathering, talk to fans, answer questions, pose for photos.”

“Right. I've heard about it, I just didn't think it would be so . . .”

“Noisy?” she asked as a huge cheer went up and all the columns washed with violet.

“Happy,” I said.

The cheer went louder and the crowd clapped as a tall, rawboned woman wearing a purple plaid shirt and loose plum slacks walked across the room toward Abraham. Her hair was lavender and cut like a boy's, short and combed to one side.

Abraham smiled, and when she was close enough, they hugged.

The crowd went wild.

“Friends?” I asked.

“You don't know? I heard you went into a House to deal with something.” At my look, she added, “Word got out about the Fesslers' place. You know how House Brown is. One person says something to another person, and pretty soon the whole world knows.”

I nodded.

“So when you showed up here with Abraham Seventh, I figured it was House Gray you had business with.”

“You're right. I'm dealing with House Gray. But I'm still a little behind on all this galvanized stuff.”

“Not much to get, really,” she said. “That's Clara Third. Works for House Violet, Faith. Kind of shy, doesn't say much, but Abraham's always been kind toward her. Other galvs already in the building are House Green's
Dolores Second, House Red's Loy Ninth, and the threesome from House Blue: Wila Fifth, Vance Fourth, and Obedience Tenth.”

“Do all the galvanized show up here and do—this?”

“Every year, for one evening before the gathering. It was their idea, and no matter what's going on between the Houses, they go out and meet their fans. It's nice of them, don't you think?”

I still thought it was weird that the galvanized had fans.

“Yes,” I said. “It's nice.”

Abraham gave Clara one last pat on the shoulder, then walked away, scanning the crowd for me. He quickly spotted me—so points for the man—and I held up my fingers in a short wave. He nodded toward a door that opened behind him.

“Apparently, I am being summoned,” I said.

“Are you all right?” she asked in that House Brown tone that said both
I will help you escape
and
I want info so we can keep an eye on you.

It was sweet.

“No worse for the wear,” I said, because I was not going to screw this up now.

“All right. I just thought the message from your brother sounded like he was in over his head. If you need anything, you know how to find us.”

“What message from my brother?” I asked.

Abraham had noticed I wasn't following him and threw me a hard glance. Several people around him looked my way, but I half turned with a smile on my face, pretending it wasn't me he was looking at.

“What message?” I asked Listra again.

“It came through yesterday. Didn't you get pinged? I thought Boston Sue would have sent it to you.”

“Maybe she did and I missed it,” I said. “Basics?”

“
House Orange
,
hidden enemy,
and coordinates.”

“Do you remember the coordinates?”

“No.”

“Was his message coded to me?”