The Other Side of Life (Book #1, Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy) (13 page)

Nin swung himself up into the carriage, and
then held a hand out to lead her in. Anya could see him, standing
over the control panel. “Our side project—it’s nice what a little
bit of magic can do.” His voice was more muffled, though Anya could
still make out what he said. “It’s our underground train
network.”

Nin scanned a hand over a flat black screen,
as a demure, programmed voice greeted him, “Hello, Nin.”

Anya stepped in, as the interior lights
began to come on, giving the carriage a luminous glow. The carriage
could hold about ten individuals, maybe a few more, if they were
all Anya’s size.

“
I could probably live
here, if I had no other choice,” Nin remarked, standing before the
flat black screen. “You can change the mood setting
too.”

Anya looked up at him, removing her goggles
when some lights in the carriage came on.

Nin moved one of the controls on the
panel—and some classical music came on via the speakers located in
the corners of the train carriage.

“
The Blue Danube,” Nin
said, taking Anya’s hand.

She froze, grinning back at him. “I can’t
dance.” Not with the grace and elegance this type of dance
required.

“
Worry not—the waltz is a
dance performed in triple time.” Nin’s arm rested on Anya’s lower
back, while his left hand lifted up Anya’s right hand, in a poised,
but relaxed position. “Just flow...”

As it were, the music had reached a slower
segment. Anya followed Nin’s lead, as he gently dipped and raised
their bodies with each step, enhancing the flow of their
movements.

They glided together to the enchanting waltz
music, till the music started to pick up in pace and intensity, and
Nin stopped abruptly. Their bodies were still in a frame, and his
head was held high. Anya turned her head to the side for a moment,
and Nin tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. Anya
edged back a little, when he seemed to lean in, as she leaned
further back, resting on his arm that was supporting her back.

“
Is…this your secret
hideout?”

Nin held her gaze for a second, before
bringing their bodies up again. He let her go. “Oh no…this does way
more than that.”

Of all the moronic
questions to ask…
Anya thought to
herself.
But he wouldn’t have kissed me—it
was just part of the dance.
She placed a
hand on the cool metal interior of the carriage. “How did this
begin?”

Nin was more than happy to share the story.
“Dresan and I were standing on a street one night,” he narrated,
with a theatrical, dramatic flair. “The road glistened before us…it
was empty…it was ours. We cast a bet…to see who could travel the
fastest on two bikes we hijacked. We tried to cheat, using
magic.”

“
What kind of magic? Did it
work?”

Nin shook his head. “We
knew of an old spell for speed. We chanted it—nothing happened. But
later that night, I found an old discarded train carriage”—Nin put
a hand out—“this train carriage, underground. This time, the spell
worked!” Nin’s energy and zest for innovation reminded Anya of
Willy Wonka from
Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory,
a book by one of her favorite
authors. “Dresan and I added a few more functions along the way.
Tavia worked on the portals, which work a little bit like movable
train stations. One thing led to another. We have a nice way to
travel now.”

Nin was glowing with excitement. The train
was a perfect example of art and science—of magic, and logic—coming
together in harmony. It was proof that the two disciplines could
not only exist side-by-side, but could be combined, to create
inventions that had never been accomplished before.

Anya looked at him, in quiet admiration.
“Where does this go? Why does the magic only work underground?”

“
Anywhere—as long as
there’s one of our passageways, to exit. We travel station to
station underground, then walk a bit to the specific openings above
ground. Which usually come in the form of doors hidden in
trees…”

Anya thought back to the tree, which led to
the narrow staircase, down to where the elves lived. The band of
Elven thieves she knew, that is. She could have passed hundreds, or
even thousands of trees, which led to passages she had never
known.

“
It travels at an
exponential rate—basically,” Nin continued, “it keeps going faster
and faster…so you can get to faraway destinations quickly,
too.”

Nin didn’t answer Anya’s second question
about the magic’s selective properties. He liked saving the better
things for later. Before Anya could re-ask him, he took a seat next
to her. “Hold on.”

Anya sat still, her senses engaged in wild
anticipation. She took a deep breath, as the train approached the
blue portal.

In a second, the surrounding scenes were
shadows flitting amidst a brilliant burst of cosmic light that
spread out like an ocean’s infinity. The train sped ahead. Anya
stayed close to Nin, holding onto his hand as tightly as she could,
exhilaration burning through her.

Nin hit the wrong button,
and a song with a strong bass and drum beat came on. Anya
recognized the electronica tune:
Chemical
Beats,
by The Chemical Brothers. Nin
shrugged—the song was energetic fuel to complement the train
system. A faint high whistle started to ring in Anya’s ears, as the
super sophisticated bullet train whizzed ahead. Their surroundings
had turned into a champagne supernova, reminding Anya of all the
fantabulous colors of the Milky Way. She looked over at Nin.
Delight was written all over his face, like it was the first time
he was riding on the train. He had possibly traveled this way more
than she could count.

Several minutes in human time passed, before
the train suddenly swerved, and Anya saw a bright blue light. When
the train stopped, Anya turned back—the blue portal had transported
them to their new destination. The ride was more comfortable than
Anya expected—riding her first motorbike was a lot scarier.

She had to regain her balance, when she
stood up. Nin was already busy looking for something in the
carriage.

“
You’ll need this.” Nin
grabbed a garment—a dark heather gray cloak—from an overhead
compartment in the train, and passed it over to Anya.

Anya put on the full-length cloak. It was
smoother than cashmere.

Nin hopped out of the carriage. Anya
quickened her pace to follow closely behind him. He entered a
narrow passageway, and up the stairs they went. A door swung
open—crisp air filled Anya’s lungs, as she stepped out. She found
herself overlooking a vast landscape of pure white.

She squinted against the sunlight, putting a
hand up to shield her eyes. She hoped she wouldn’t experience snow
blindness, a dreadful memory from her first skiing experience.
“Nin…where are you?”

She heard nothing. Nothing but a bone
chilling breeze, blowing. She thought she could hear a faint shiver
of bells, though she couldn’t see anything, when she slowly opened
her eyes, and looked around.

“
Can…you…see…me?”

She could hear Nin’s voice—he was moving in
a semi-circle, in front of her, but she couldn’t see him. Or any
footprints in the snow, aside from her own.

“
I can’t see you…what is
this place? Where are we?”

She heard Nin laugh, a warm, hearty laugh.
“I forget our differences, sometimes.”

Anya put an arm out in front of her,
wondering if she had some kind of invisibility cloak on. She shut
her eyes for a moment, thinking it might sharpen her sense of
hearing. Maybe that way, she’d be able to pick out Nin’s
movements…

“
Do you want…”

Anya stiffened; Nin was speaking into her
ear, and standing very close. She could feel his warm breath on her
neck—she reached out to see if she could touch him—but he leapt
back. He enjoyed playing games, and the participant was willing,
too. A thrill ran through Anya—she didn’t know what to expect.

“
Do you want to
see?”

Anya looked straight in front, even though
she didn’t know for sure if Nin was standing there. “See what?”

Anya turned to the right when she heard
Nin’s voice coming from that direction. “Some people get hysterical
when they see things…” Nin said, in a voice that reminded Anya of
kids who claimed they could see ghosts. “So…you might want to…think
about it.”

Anya thought of Leticia for a moment. She
had in fact, seen Leticia in a frenzied state, once. They had been
camping outdoors—Leticia had woken Anya up in a panic, beads of
perspiration across her forehead, swearing she had seen two ghosts
dressed in lacy Victorian outfits, sitting on the park bench by the
side of their tent. It wasn’t a very pretty sight. Anya decided she
would have to keep whatever Nin was going to reveal to her a
secret, at least for now.

“
Yeah, okay,” Anya murmured
out loud. “I’m…”

Nin didn’t wait for her to finish. “Close
your eyes,” he whispered, as his fingertips lightly brushed against
the sides of her face.

She did so, holding on to the clasp at her
neck, which held the cloak around her. She felt something cool go
across her eyelids, as Nin blew something over her shut eyes,
something which felt like a handful of tiny snowflakes.

“
Aa’lle naman ona
ela,
” he whispered gently. When Nin spoke
in his native language, it made the blood in Anya’s veins electric.
“May you have the gift of Sight.”

Anya peeked out from a half-open eye first,
shifting her eye to the left, where she traced the outline of Nin’s
figure standing beside her. Even though she wasn’t facing him, Anya
could feel a certain sense of pride emanating from him. She knew
she could consider it a privilege, that Nin accepted her presence
here.

“
Welcome to
Helli’sandur.”

Nin, the prince turned wayward deviant, had
come home.

Chapter 8:

Anya felt as if a veil had been lifted off
her eyes—she felt like she had been set free from the dull routines
of everyday life. She recognized what she saw in the faraway
distance. It was the ice kingdom she had seen in Nin’s eyes, a
short while ago, when he was telling her about how he missed the
snow.

The time of day had changed too—the sky had
become a midnight shade of purple. Little diamonds of bright stars
filled the evening sky, something Anya hadn’t seen in a while. The
neon lights and polluted air in cities prevented anyone from having
a clear view of the stars. A full moon hung overhead as well. The
moon was huge, magnified—full moons in Zouk City never got to be
this size. Being here was like standing on the edge of the
world.

Anya looked behind. She could now see that
they were at the end of a thick forest, the sort you could wander
off into for days on end, lost in your own thoughts while walking
away from the rest of the world. The leaves on the tree boughs
shivered and shook in the breeze, with the sound of little silver
bells.

A faint sigh escaped from her parted lips.
“Just beautiful,” she said to Nin, taking in the heavenly
landscape.

Nin smiled, with a slightly reminiscent look
on his face. He turned quietly, taking a few steps forward into the
woodland. He had spent much of his youth and growing up years out
here.

“
Why is it so…different
now?” Anya walked alongside him, feeling like a little girl lost in
a stunning reverie. It was no different from when she used to
wander in fiction. As a young girl, she’d spend hours diving into
books. Stories were always the best escape from a world of
harshness, cruelty, injustice, and mundane realities.

“
Magic still reigns supreme
here.” Nin took a breath, enjoying the fresh scent of the untainted
forest. Anya saw with her own eyes that what he said was true—he
seemed to be playing with the elements. He had his palm
outstretched in front of him, and Anya saw little wisps of the icy
air take on blue-and-violet swirls and different forms, as he moved
his hand. Anya noticed that his eyes were a brighter shade of
violet here, in Helli’sandur, than before. His eyes were
enlivened—clear windows into the depths of his soul.

“
Not in Zouk City…I
suppose?” Anya wrapped the cloak tighter around her—she was still
cold. Winter wasn’t her favorite season.

Nin gave a short laugh. “Zouk is no place
for magic—magic is suffocated by technology, machines, and humans
that…have no soul.”

Anya thought about herself—she hoped she had
a soul.

“
The train works with
magic,” she pointed out. Nin had said so himself.

Nin leaned against one of the trees, tilting
his chin down towards his chest. “Underground’s a different story.
We found that out by chance.”

Anya saw a few shadows moving, quick yet
silent, under the light of the moon. “Humans can’t get here, hmm.”
She said it more like a statement than question.

“
These are…isolated
regions. Hidden pockets in the corners of the world.”

Nin seated himself on a rocky surface,
looking out at the ice palace in the distance. He seemed lost in
thought.

Anya could see that this
place meant a lot to Nin. “You must like it here,” she finally
said, trying to find the right words.
Of
course he likes it,
she immediately thought
to herself.
He’s Prince Ithilnin of
Helli’sandur! This place will always be home.

Then again, Le Marr, on the other side of
town, was technically Anya’s ‘home,’ where she’d spent most of her
childhood. She felt more attached to Zouk City. If only because
there was a plethora more of prominent places to raid from. She
thought of Leticia and herself combining forces with the elves.
They’d be able to wreak quite a bit of havoc.