Twenty minutes later, Tarek hammered on the solid steel doors of the Inner Sanctum of the main Jelka-base Fort, hearing the echoes fade as they bounced away into the corners of the vast audience chambers within. He had the traitorous priest by the scruff with one hand, the pathetic man curled up on himself and no threat to anyone. Although those other priests had been von-men with glowing eyes, this fellow was as common as they came. Probably a normal human in the pay of hell.
"They're not in there," Ratt said, squinting through the crack in the doors. "Come on. Top 'Board's office." He ran for the stair, Tarek and the rest of the patrol right behind.
Dave took the priest from Tarek and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"You know the Top 'Board, right? He gave you that jacket?" Ratt whispered to Tarek as they ran up three levels into the heights of the Fort, and dodged through the halls, trying to avoid any honor guard who might stop them and demand to know their business. Things were strange these days in the Jelka, and one never knew which faction any member of the pack was working for.
Tarek and Ratt, they worked for the Packleader, Old Man Noswego, and no one else.
"He gave me his jacket," Tarek agreed, fingering the lapel of the worn garment possessively. "I was just a kid. I doubt he'd remember me."
"Let's hope he does," Ratt breathed, inching around a corner to stare down a long hallway on the top floor of the Jelka Citadel, the main reinforced building of the base. "Ooo, man, Tarek we have the ki. We got all the way here and we ain't got caught yet. Go! Hurry! You four, guard the stairs."
Dave, Ratt, one of their own called Dropper, and Tarek ran for the Top 'Board's office and rapped urgently on the door.
"Sir, sir?" Ratt called, praying the officer was still lurking about even this late at night. He was known to stay up all night working sometimes.
"It's the middle of the night, and there's no light on in the office!" Dropper hissed. "The man's in his rack asleep, we'll have to crash Rat Pack bunker?"
Suddenly the door opened, and the Top 'Board of the Jelka stood looking at them all with a strange expression. His hair was damp and tousled and he was breathing heavily, though he tried to hide it. When his eyes focused on the prisoner they lit with a fierce passion - perhaps frustration - just for a second.
"Sir! We found this sladd meeting with Eagles priests at Jelka's Tomb," Ratt reported instantly.
Thorn, the Top 'Board, gestured him to silence with a sharp motion. "Inside. All of you."
The four patrollers tumbled into Thorn's office with the priest and one of the Rat Pack shut the door. It was dark within, and smelled of fine leather and books, and other things to high and noble for grubby Raiders to own. Behind Thorn in the darkness were three other members of the Ratpack, dressed in fine black tailored jackets with high shiny 'boardboots, all staring at him by the light of one tiny lamp.
For a second Tarek stood humbled, gazing around him at the one place he'd dreamed of standing his entire life. The office was just as tasteful and elegant at Thorn himself. Reddish polished wood covered all the walls and floor, tall bookshelves framing huge hand-painted wall-maps and beautiful weapon's displays.
This was the reality that Griffin was always trying to mimic.
The Top 'Board was tall and dominant with a keen expression under dark brown jaw-length hair in abundant disarray, now streaked with white. He looked younger than his forty-nine years and still 'boarded with strength. But it was his charisma and honor as a leader that made him popular; aside from Old Man Noswego himself, Thorn was the most beloved member of High Command. There were few in the large Pack who spoke Thorn's duelsign with anything less than the highest respect.
He narrowed his violet eyes at Tarek, looking at the jacket as a slow smile crept onto his lightly tanned face. He had been Tarek's hero since Tarek could remember. "You are that kid, aren't you? The one I rescued?"
Tarek fingered the ancient Top 'Board patch on his jacket nervously. "Yes, sir." He introduced himself, "Tarek, commander of Raider Patrol five."
"Just Tarek?"
"I d-don't have a last name."
"Jupe kid?"
Tarek shrugged, feeling strangely awkward and clumsy before his hero. "I guess so."
Thorn nodded at Tarek, looking at the old jacket thoughtfully. Then he glanced at the priest captive, sagging on the floor in exhaustion. "You found this where?"
"Jelka's Tomb," Ratt helpfully repeated, just as awed to stand face to face with the Top 'Board as Tarek was.
Dave attempted to suck in his somewhat large paunch and stand at proper attention, giving the four Rat Pack members a nod of false confidence.
"Eagles priests, hm? Did you hear what he said to the Eagles?"
"Something about? they were talking about one of the Jelka priests, sir," Ratt spoke up again. He was the shortest member of the group, but had the biggest mouth. "Something about how he'd never seen the sky, I don't know what in von they were talking about honestly. Never seen the sky, and would piss himself if he saw the toilets or something."
Thorn shot a quick peculiar look to one of his unit, a keen-eyed woman with the freckled tan skin of one who had seldom spent a day away from the sky. She had a Jelka knife tattooed down one side of her neck and the sides of her head buzzed short, and the expression she returned to him was significant and seething.
All of the other Rat Pack members exchanged looks.
"Then he said something about some contact of theirs meeting 'grandfather' on the fourth."
"That's all?"
Tarek broke in, taking over from Ratt hastily. "The Eagles priest called the leader of the Jelka priests 'Endler' and they were talking about this red-haired Jelka priest and called him 'Nixon,' the one that had never seen the sky. We didn't catch any other names. He said Nixon would do well on the surface."
Tarek narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what that means but I don't like the sound of it considering?" but he stopped. He couldn't tell his Pack's top officer that he suspected they'd seen demons. But it would make sense. Demons came from Von, which was hell, a subterranean world of darkness where one would never see the sky again.
"They kept talking about 'above-grounders' and saying that something they were doing was going to show their hand to them, and they said the Overlord was their enemy. They're planning something. Maybe you can get more out of this guy," Tarek prodded the sagging priest-captive with a boot.
"I certainly will," Thorn promised darkly. "Overlord, hm? Was that all?"
"Well, sir, you won't believe this?" Ratt glanced up at Dave.
Dave continued quietly. "Sir, we saw the Night Valya."
Tarek grimaced. Well, now that the secret was out? "Saw? They almost tore our unit up!" He rubbed his arm where the Valya with the titanium staff had scored a good hit. That angel had been good.
"Night Valya, huh?" the shadow of a smile touched Thorn's face. "So they're not just a myth the Litz jupes made up?"
"No, sir," Ratt said with feeling. "Scary. No faces! Just these helmets, smooth as a rock. Oldage armor, with no cracks and no way to get it off, like they were made out of armor, and their 'boards were unlike anything I've ever seen, air intakes and shaped like they had muscles?"
"And they was alive," Dave swore. "On my honor before James Jelka, their skyboards could think and could fly by themselves, and they could too, sir. The Valya could fly without a skyboard, but they didn't have any wings. It's real, we ain't drunk, we really saw it!" His eyes were huge.
"Good work, men." Thorn interrupted, looking thoughtfully at Tarek again. "I hear you've been doing well as Raid Leader, Raid Five. I might come by someday and see how your unit is doing. I've been meaning to for a while."
Tarek felt a hot flush all over. "Thank you, sir. I would like nothing better."
Thorn jerked his head toward the prisoner, glancing at his Rat Pack. "Let's get this sladd somewhere we can deal with him quietly. You? what's your name?"
"Dave,
sir. Night Patrol Nine, second patroller."
"You don't have a last name either?"
"Uh?"
"Forget it. You've done a great job of lugging him around so far. Keep it up and follow me."
Thorn brushed past the Night Patrol men for his door and opened it, looking both ways down the hall. The base was silent. Quickly the four Rat Pack and the Night Patrollers formed up and left the office, following the Top 'Board for his preferred location.
"Sir," Tarek ran to catch up with the Top 'Board, and with a nod the Rat Pack members fell back and allowed it. He whispered when he spoke to his mentor. "Sir, um, there's something going on with the Pack, isn't there? Weird things are happening. I hear a lot of things in the Raider's bunkers. Von, even my rella is acting weird. I just? I just want to know; is the Old Man safe?"
Thorn gave Tarek a peculiar glance. "Why would you ask something like that?"
Tarek frowned at his torn, wrapped, falling apart boots as they walked across the smooth wood floors of the top level, feeling out of place. Although he was young and thin, Tarek was almost the same height as the Top 'Board which was why the jacket fit so well. Now they made a matched set: Thorn had replaced the old jacket he'd given Tarek with a new one of almost the same length, with no tatters. Thorn's boots beside him were so polished and elegant, while Tarek's had seen the bad end of a sandstorm more than once. "Just a feeling, sir," the young Raider muttered. "Like everything is falling off the edge of the cliffwall, and I don't know if the Jelka will fly or fall. I don't know if they have the skill."
"Noswego is safe," Thorn told him quietly, "as long as I'm alive. This Rat Pack is the best we've ever had, we can handle anything that might come after him. But I appreciate your concern. And yes, there are things changing and moving in the Jelka right now. Keep your ears and eyes open and if you find or hear anything that alarms you, don't hesitate to come to me with it. Do you understand?"
Tarek nodded, then all of the men slowed to a stop as they saw another group turn the corner headed straight for them. In the lead was the scowling, plump, officious Second 'Board of the Jelka, Devon Bice, with his hair in disarray as if he'd just been dragged out of bed. From the expression on his face, he had been.
"Oh slam," Thorn cursed under his breath, all of the Rat Pack members at his side tensing.
"Lord Helon," the Second 'Board greeted from fifty feet as he quickly closed with the Top 'Board's group. "May I ask what is going on here?"
"Lord Bice. I was just taking a prisoner to detainment, this is none of your concern."
"I may argue that it is," the displeased heavyset man glared, fixing every member of Thorn's group with the same suspicious look. In the back of the Second 'Board's group, Tarek noticed a familiar face smiling smugly to himself. Griffin.
"What the von is he doing here?" Tarek whispered so quietly that only the female Rat Pack member heard him.
"The prisoner was caught outside Jelka territory involved in a meeting with Eagles operatives. That leaves him firmly in my charge, Lord Bice. Now if you would please excuse me?"
"I beg to differ, Lord Helon." Devon Bice planted himself in the middle of the hallway like a boulder with big bushy black eyebrows that stuck out further than his nose, and crossed his arms. He had over twenty guards and a few in the back, watching. All of them wanted to make trouble. "IF you'd brought back an Eagles priest, it would be an external matter. But since you brought back a Jelka priest, a member of the pack, it is an internal disciplinary matter as you very well know and it belongs to the Second, not the Top 'Board. I would be pleased if you would hand over the prisoner now, Lord Helon, so that he might be properly processed."
"This is my business, Devon," Thorn said quietly, stepping forward to look the shorter, fat man right in the eye. "Don't infringe on my arrest or I'll bring this before Noswego."
"Very well, although I doubt he will be pleased to be roused from bed at this hour, and you know the letter of the law is on my side. We could convene Pack Court about this," Devon sourly smiled and lowered his voice to a threat, "or we can have it out right now."
Thorn looked at Bice's men, seething in silence. The four Rat Pack glanced at one another, messages exchanged through the eyes alone. Subtle shades of politics passed back and forth along the hallway that Tarek could not interpret, but it seemed that Bice had the upper hand. He fingered the well-worn handle of his bat, wishing he could just take on all of the Second 'Board's bully group?
Finally Thorn backed down, grinding his teeth. He looked hard and long at the priestly prisoner, telling him in a thousand unvoiced ways how very much he'd like to personally take him apart. Then he grudgingly stepped to the side and let Devon's men take him.
All of the Rat Pack and their leader watched the priest go with mutual regret, dragged down the hallway by four large patrollers until he was gone from sight.
"Thank you, Lord Helon. I appreciate this kind of cooperation." Devon Bice bowed slightly, more of a jerk toward mockery than anything. He turned and left, Griffin glancing once at Tarek as he followed.
When they were gone, Thorn let out a deep breath and cursed. The Rats of the pack turned, shaking their heads, and started back for his office despondently.
"Sir, is there any way??" Tarek began, feeling a strange anger in his helplessness.
"Yah, give the signal sir?" Ratt added on top of Tarek. He knew a lot of people in the Jelka, and strange things could happen in the middle of the night.
"It's not worth it," Thorn told them quietly. "There are things happening you don't know about." Thorn looked once more into Tarek's eyes, nodded, and smiled just slightly. "Keep yourself in one piece, kid. I may be seeing you soon."
He looked at the deflated Night Patrollers. "Good work, men. I'll remember this. But next time?" another glance at Tarek, "?go easy with the bat."
Tarek watched him go, befuddled. Thorn and his Rat Pack returned to his office, shut the door, and Jelka base settled back into the uneasy silence it usually maintained.
"Well von-curse it all," Ratt said. "Night Valya, priests with swords inside their arms and Thorn acting weird? what the von is going on around here?"
"The pack is going to von, Ratt," Dave answered quietly. "And we're right in the middle of it."
"And so is Griffin," Tarek murmured with a scowl.
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