The Lotus Effect (Rise Of The Ardent) (11 page)

I ignored their boastful stares as they turned to gauge my reaction. This really wasn’t going to be easy. Judging from last night, Xander was a brilliant fighter, but he wouldn’t always be there to protect me. I was not naive enough to hold stock in that notion. I didn’t expect him to be my hero or lackey. I needed to learn how to protect myself and I needed to learn quickly.

I was once told by Grandmother Everette—on a day that I had no desire to attend my dance tutoring—that ‘
the more you sweat in practice Lily, the less you bleed in battle.
’

I never fully understood what she had meant. Until now.

For both my life and Xander’s, I could only hope she was right.

Chapter 10

A New Home

I was the first to leave the stage after being dismissed by the small attendant who waited below the platform. Pulling my hood over my head in a rush, I hastened away from the crowd in an attempt to leave behind the cloud of whispers that now weighed heavily upon my shoulders. I relaxed only after stepping into the cool alleyway beyond the market square.

The day had warmed significantly as evidenced by the sweat that now beaded down the back of my neck to rest uncomfortably between my shoulder blades. I should’ve waited for Xander, but I had to get away from the people, the smells, the looks—all of it was becoming too much after the events of the past few days.

Decisions that I could no longer run away from.

“You know, you shouldn’t worry. Some of the best fighters do not feel entirely comfortable being in crowds. It overloads the senses.”

I looked up and was surprised to see my newly acquired partner, leaning with arms and legs crossed against the brick building to my right. Still not used to the ease in which Xander snuck up on me, I swallowed in my shock and overwhelming emotions at the sight of him.

“Is that so?” I asked dispiritedly. I slouched down against the cool brick with my right leg extended and my other arched. I held the satchel, with my only possessions inside, close by my hip.

Xander surveyed me without so much as a word between us. The silence lingered so long, I had to break it.

“Why’d you do it? Why did you volunteer your name at the last possible moment?” I finally asked.

“The same reason as you,” he replied.

I looked at him unconvinced until he felt the need to elaborate.

“We seem to share a similar . . . disdain with regards to the activities of the Council.” He shifted his weight. “You’d make a good partner.”

I rolled my eyes to the sky, shaking my head with a mad laugh. “I’m not a fighter. Not like you, Bubbles McGee, or even Scottie—who have been trained to kill since birth! You joined because you saw me as a charity case and you know it,” I shot out spitefully. “I should be fighting alone, dying alone if it comes to that,” I said more quietly as I fixed my attention upon the moss covered stones that tickled beneath my fingers.

Feeling ashamed, I returned to acknowledge him and found his outstretched hand waiting for me.

“Let me show you something.”

Sighing, I tentatively placed my hand in his, allowing him to help me stand. I followed him further down the shadowy coolness of the alleyway, taking comfort in the silence. I turned, watching over my shoulder as the citizens filed out of the market and into the narrow alleys and for an instant I thought of the Warehouse. Of the animals not knowing whether they were being led to the feeding troughs or to slaughter.

I looked away, facing forward. With the decisions I’d made and the paths I was now destined to travel, following Xander, my partner, was the only choice I had.

~

Xander slowed after turning down another side street, one that lay on the outskirts of Sector 8, away from the noises and smells associated with the market square. He stopped and stood silently in front of a dilapidated, broken door, placing his hand flat against it. Two seconds later the door parted into halves and receded into the walls surrounding it. Another vault-like barrier stood behind it.

“How . . . ?” I began to ask, but stopped, watching mesmerized as he began turning dials on the inner door. Gears rotated and clanked on top of one another as two large pulleys whined momentarily before the door
whooshed
open with an exhalation of air. Xander opened it further for me, and I noticed with surprise—and some concern—that it had to be at least six inches thick.

“Welcome to my home and forge,” he said with a sweeping gesture that seemed somewhat forced. “I suppose it’s to be your new home too.” He looked at me and added, “If you’d like.”

I raised a skeptical eyebrow, but was at a loss for words once I stepped through the entrance. Inside was a hanger with ceilings tall enough to house a small airship.

In fact, there happened to be one lying in pieces across the table and floor in front of us.

Xander noticed where I stared. “Found it broken up pretty badly beside the Wall.”

“Beside the Wall?” I asked confused. “Airship parts are illegal to own. How did you get it back here without the Council knowing?”

Xander shrugged. “I had Eu’jinx help me. Gave him something to do. Besides, I found this.” Holding out his hand, I gasped at what lay across his fingers.

“Metallic
Microlattice
!” I nearly shouted. “You—you found this in my grandmother’s airship didn’t you?”

Xander nodded, carefully placing the lightweight and intricately interwoven bronzed cube of metal on the gray surface of the table behind him. “I figured it would come in handy. I didn’t find much, but enough to put to use for energy absorption in our suits.”

Our suits. Right.
Another pang of worry stabbed at me.

Though I nodded, impressed. Metallic Microlattice was utilized by my grandmother on . . . multiple occasions. A metal so lightweight it was comprised of nighty-nine percent air. So lightweight that my grandmother could rest it atop a dandelion’s stem without crushing it, so lightweight and strong she could create airships with it.

I didn’t press him further. I was grateful for all his help and did not want to push his generosity by interrogating him on matters he probably shouldn’t be meddling with.

“So . . . this is your smithy?” I asked. “And you
live
here?”

Unsure of my tone, he nodded hesitantly.

“It’s
magnificent
,” I said quickly, wanting him to know I approved.

He didn’t quite meet my eyes when I looked at him. I couldn’t tell if he was pleased or whether he cared at all if I liked it here or not.

Swallowing, I looked above me. There were large rectangular glass windows in the ceiling that let in streams of natural light. It did remind me of where my grandmother had built and designed the giant airships. A twinge of sadness hit me then when thinking of my grandmother. Of all her wonderful creations. All of which had been destroyed.

“You . . . all right?” Xander asked, noting the sudden change in my mood. He looked at me casually from over his shoulder, as if he didn’t really need to see me to know what I was feeling.

Absently, I ran my finger across the jagged surface of a damaged propeller that lay across the table in front of me. “Yes, I’m fine. This place just reminds me of my grandmother and her work.”

To my surprise, Xander stepped away from the table and faced me. “Mistress Everette was the best thing that ever happened to the Council. It’s unfortunate that good things are usually perceived as a threat.” There was a look in his eye that made me think he was not only referring to my grandmother.

I smiled sadly. It was odd how many knew of my grandmother’s disappearance. Everyone had loved her. Everyone, excluding Mother, and the Council of course.

“
Well
, like I said, this is where we’ll be working . . .” Xander continued, obviously trying to change the subject and lighten the mood.

I huffed out a small chuckle. “I got that much, thanks.”

He grinned at me, but then his smile faded, returning to business. “I’ve already gathered the necessary materials for your suit and weapons. Now all we have is the simple task of putting them together.” He gestured for me to approach a table which I noticed was layered with sheets of Titanium metal.

“Wait, what do you mean you
already
have the materials for my armor? How is it you joined late into the Barrage and yet you have all of this at the ready?”

He eyed me curiously. “
Blacksmith
remember?” He shrugged. “Besides, I like to be prepared,” he replied, and offered no further explanation.

Remembering how he had shown up to the Drawing, looking as though he had just sprinted over from being arms deep in a vat of coal dust—I was finding this preparedness of his hard to believe.

I sighed and shrugged it off, returning my gaze to the table and ran my fingers across the smooth metal. “Titanium: the lightest and the strongest of the transition metals, being both ductile and malleable. A good choice for armor,” I said, listing off the facts I remembered from my tutoring. I looked up, a concern coming to mind. “Have you fracture tested it? I’m not sure I wholeheartedly believe what my books claim about its ductile transition temperature.”

Xander inclined his head my way. “There’s no need to worry. I’ve tested it thoroughly. If it can survive a blaster cannon, it’ll hold up against anything we might encounter.” He smiled a little and crossed his arms. “I’m impressed, Lily. You know your metals.”

“Yes, well.” I paused, not wanting to sound arrogant. “I was to become the next
Mistress
. I was practically force-fed the Periodic Elements from the day I was born,” I responded as if I had tasted something unpleasant, before scanning the shop. “Wait, how did you get a
blaster cannon
in here?”

Xander looked at me pointedly, but before he could answer—not that he looked like he would answer—I threw my hands up. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

Tools lay carefully in their predetermined places, contrasting against the coal dust that littered the area black around the furnace. It would take me days to get a good look at all that went on in here. The hanger was vast
.

“Where will you be building your suit?” I asked, suddenly curious.

Xander looked at me and inclined me to follow him with his finger. I narrowed my eyes at the gesture, but complied, stepping in behind him. He led me to a very bright corner of the workshop where I found myself having to shield my eyes from the blinding sun.

“Wait here.” I heard him fumbling with a panel across the way just before something above me clanked and clattered into action. I opened my eyes and saw that while it was still light enough in the room to see and work, it had also dimmed drastically.

“Sorry,” he said. “I should’ve engaged the blinds beforehand.”

“It’s no bother,” I assured awkwardly—sounding too formal. With the adrenaline gone, it was as if we were only just meeting for the first time. That Xander wasn’t someone who had just saved my life and carried me across his neck like a rag doll the night previously. I waited for my pupils to dilate back to normal. When they adjusted, I gasped at what I saw.

Angled just behind him was his
armor—a full bodied bronzed suit that looked as though it was made to hug every curve. Precise, sharp, deadly.

My jaw dropped in disbelief as I circled around the magnificent build like a child giddy over sweet cake. “Is this . . . ? Is it . . . ?” I was astonished by his craftsmanship and the unique yet agile style of his armor’s design. I looked between the two, armor and man, and wondered how I hadn’t noticed how tall or
fit
Xander was before. But after I thought about it, I remembered.
He did carry me like I was nothing more than a sack of grain.

“—Is it finished?” he said for me. “Yes. It’s completed. It has been for some time now.”

My brows creased. “I’m getting the suspicion you knew all along you would be joining the Barrage. And you knew this for a long time at that.”

“Yes and . . . well
no
.” His head teetered as he considered a thought before continuing, “It’s nice to have around. You know, just in case.”

Just in case?

I frowned.
No
, I didn’t know what he meant.

“Wait. Are you allowed to start on designs for the Barrage before the prearranged build time?”

He shrugged. “No, not technically. Though, nowhere does it say you cannot. Let’s face it, Lily. You’re probably the only one who has yet to start on your suit.”

I blanched hotly at his admittance. “That’s
reassurin
g,” I muttered, my confidence beginning to leak from my every pore.

His suit was unlike any other I had seen in the Barrage before. It was both streamlined and angled with hard edges—and looked as though it contoured to his body completely, giving him ultimate maneuverability. In the past, a large majority of the other fighter’s suits were oversized and bulky—which provided the necessary protection from assault—but in turn, hindered any swift dexterity because of it.