Aquifer

  I’ve found the water source. My father descends to this same place …

  I slowly rise. “Wait. If you mine the water, you’re a … you’re a Rat.”

  “As I said, call me what you will, though I do admit that, though necessary, Rat is not my favorite name.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, we should …” I yank off my pack and fumble for the light rod still trapped inside. I turn my head, extract the contained energy, and hand him the rod. “I know it isn’t as many as my father usually brings, but please, I came down here under different circumstances. Please don’t turn off the water. Nobody knows I’m here.”

  “Oh,” Etria says, removing the rod from my hand. “I doubt that.”

  I slowly turn to face him. The rod is gone. I glance around our feet. The rock on which we stand shimmers like a rainbow prism.

  “What did you do with the light?” I ask, bending down and stroking the warmth of the glow.

  “All in time. Now come,” he says. “My people wait.”

  I follow him onto the first stone, and then the second. Slowly, we journey across the freshwater sea. So much water. A treasure without cost. What my father once said is true: “Whoever controls the source controls the world.”

  Lendi could never contain his wrinkle at the sight.

  CHAPTER

  17

  Clouds?”

  I’m so taken with the sea and the two swirling columns that we’re nearly across before I focus on what drifts above.

  “Massa tells me that they are not as beautiful as yours.” Etria witnesses my wonder. “I believe him. We can try, but no copy rivals the original. Yet you can do marvelous things with mist and airflow and light. Yes, we call them clouds.”

  “Best fake clouds I ever seen,” Jasper pipes up. He’s been quiet since Wren was taken, and I long to discover the streams of thought that flow through his mind. I wonder a lot of things about Jasper. Of all my companions, I know him the least, yet here I am, seeing the most astounding things with him.

  Jasper strains forward. “That noise. Have we arrived on Holiday?”

  I jerk out of my thoughts. It’s a playful noise, a rollicking noise, coming from the mass rising before us. Dusk has fallen over the world of the Rats, and though I can’t see clearly, the sounds hold nothing to fear.

  “These are the Dwellings, the Dwellings on the Rock.” Etria points at the mountain of stone. “They’re anticipating. Surely by now many can see us approach.”

  “Many what?”

  “Many people, Luca.”

  The music, for that is what Jasper heard, gets louder and more beautiful. I stare at the mountain, and as I look, it shifts, clarifies. Specks of light dot its slopes like a thousand fireflies in the heat of evening. The mass does not rise gradually, but rather in an intentional symmetry, in plateaus. Both sides of the mountain resemble giant sets of stairs, and the flats are covered with movement. The mountain is alive.

  It’s not a mountain at all. It’s a crystal city.

  “Most people’s dwellings are toward the base. You, however, are headed to the summit. I think you will find our community quite beautiful,” Etria says. “If you walk the shore where city meets sea, you will eventually reach the artisan market. Perhaps in the morning you will find time to explore, but tonight, Luca, there is a gathering … and you are the guest of honor. No disrespect meant to you, Jasper.”

  “None taken.”

  We step off the path. Directly ahead, a broad road continues, winding gently up the mountain. Clearly a main thoroughfare like Swan Boulevard, the street weaves through rock-hewn dwellings of all sizes, its edges lit by thousands of dots of light, and randomly placed patch-prisms of glowing stone. There, similar to the spot I encountered earlier, light refracts like a rainbow, bathing all who stand nearby in shifting color. In that glow, thousands of faces stare down at me. Jasper is here, but I feel naked, a one-person parade.

  Surely it’s a mistake. Nobody knows why I came, why I came so soon on the heels of Father. I only need a place to hide. For me, for Father Massa, until I can figure out what to do; how to keep us both alive. I bury my face in my hands.

  So much for hiding. Wren, I need to talk to you about this.

  An ovation begins.

  “Well.” Etria turns to me and bows. “This welcome is not for me, so I will take my leave of you. Follow the lights. I’ll see you shortly.”

  I gaze around. “I never wanted to be the center of this attention.” I turn back to Etria.

  Gone.

  “Sure,” I mutter. “I mean, go ahead and fade into the backdrop. Leave me surrounded by ten thousand extremely excitable Rats, with no clue where I’m going. Might as well.”

  I wind through the dwellings to the cadence of my name. “Luca! Luca!” I smile and wave and wonder. Do they do this for Father when he comes?

  Jasper swaggers, pausing every so often to offer an awkward bow. I’m glad he’s here, but he’s not my uncle. Seward should be walking in Jasper’s place. My face feels hot, and I turn from my posing companion. Little girls run out and throw flowers over my neck. It doesn’t help. Seward is the reason I live. His dreadful choice is the reason he does not.

  I close my eyes. I don’t understand any of this. I just want him back.

  “Oh!”

  I collide and my eyes pop open.

  Beautiful.

  I’m off the road. It veered sharply; I didn’t, and standing before me is a Her.

  I’ve seen plenty of Hers before. I’ve gone to school with them. Purchased from them at the wharf. Noticed them and stared at them. More than once, I’ve gazed and pondered, Is that Her my match? Will we someday be together? But that’s as far as I let my mind travel.

  Because I’m short and agemate Hers are always tall, and I’m not like Lendi, big and strong with Hers fighting back wrinkling smiles as he struts.

  Maybe I’ll be the first New Pertian in centuries not to be matched.

  I once told Father my concern and he said nothing, but later that night he laughed. A big laugh, clear and free.

  “What, Father Massa? What brings you such joy?”

  “Your words,” he had said. “You would not be the first. Now, perhaps you will be the second New Pertian not to be matched. That is a distinct possibility.”

  His statement was not comforting.

  But now I stand in front of a Her and I can’t move … Can’t because my eyes won’t stop roaming, pausing in places they should not pause. Inside, I warm, tingling in places I should not tingle.

  Help.

  No, I take that back. Please, don’t help.

  “Luca.”

  She speaks, and I flatten down my shirt, clear my throat. How do I return the greeting? My lips refuse to move and I stare at her skin, light and perfect, and her hair, raven black, cascading down in waves to her shoulders.

  “My name is Luca.”

  “Yeah,” she answers with laughter in her voice. “I know.”

  “I walked off the road.”

  She glances behind me. “I noticed that too.”

  Around us, a new sound. A giggling. A laughing. Her mates all look and smile and laugh.

  “Do you plan on staying here? Off the road?” she asks, and her voice is music. “With your hand on my hip? Generally, that spot is reserved for my own hand.”

  I look down. It is there! My fingers, on her. I gently move my pointer and jerk my hand back to my side.

  Hah! There! I officially caressed her right there! Oh, Luca, you should be undone!

  “I’m so sorry. I’m going to start walking. Because that’s what I do. I walk. I mean, right now, I walk … I don’t always walk.”

  She nods big and slow, and I back onto the road.

  “Do you walk? I mean, of course you can walk. You know what? That sounded dumb. Forget that. I’m going to vanish, gone. I mean, walk gone … er, walk.”

  I turn and stumble away to a chorus of laughter. My name echoes from all around me, but I tune it
out and replay my words to this Her in my mind.

  Stupid. Perhaps the most stupid words I’ve ever spoken. And to her! That Her.

  Jasper waits, and I catch up.

  He seems confused. “How do you know someone from here?”

  “I don’t,” I say. “Do me a favor. Look over my shoulder. What is she doing now?”

  “The one you bowled into? Let’s see. She’s watching us, like everyone is watching us.”

  “Watching, or watching watching?”

  “Wait!” His eyes grow big. “She’s left her friends and burst onto the road. Well now, she’s racing toward you.”

  “She is?” I grab his arm.

  “No.” Jasper pries loose my fingers. “Luca, you need some rest. You’ve been through a day. Let’s get to the end of this parade and find sleep.”

  Sleep and a pleasant dream.

  Father. Seward. Wren. I’m trapped in a nightmare where everyone leaves.

  Well, except that Her; and she can stay as long as she wants.

  CHAPTER

  18

  I reach the end of the road and stand before a great stone building, knowing a few things for certain. Nothing I have heard about this place is true. The Rats are beautiful and brilliant — how else could they have created all this? It’s also clear the PM and his Amongus do not control this place, not with this much excitement wrinkling up the dwellings.

  Actually, I know a third thing, and my heart thumps with the thought of the girl I just met. Tall Topper girls never jumble my thoughts, twist my tongue. They certainly never cause a wrinkle. I fear that a life joined with one of them, though the safe, expected choice, will now be a real letdown.

  “Luca, I think we’re supposed to go in. At least that’s what Etria wants.”

  I follow Jasper’s finger. Ahead, Etria and his sons stand at the doorway, beckoning us on. They hold open the door, and we step inside a grand ballroom filled with light and marble and statues. Only the ground is clear rock.

  It’s the museum, minus the beautiful painting.

  In the center of the floor, yet another circular prism-patch fills the hall with light. We approach it and stare down. Shadows pass deep beneath the floor, and the prism within the hall bends.

  I stare at Jasper and shake my head. What is this place we’ve reached?

  Jasper exhales and faces Etria. “Wren. How is she?”

  “Have no worries, Jasper. She is beyond fine.” Etria rounds my shoulder with his arm. “Now, let me show you to your place.”

  On the far end of the room is a chair, wooden and simple.

  A chair in a hall filled with light. My second mother’s dream!

  “That’s for you, Luca.” Etria stretches out his hand.

  “Can you find another for Jasper? We’ve been traveling a long way, first down and then up, and —”

  “I will find a comfortable resting place for Jasper, but this chair has waited for you. We’ve waited for you.” Etria gestures to one of his sons, who marches toward my only remaining friend.

  “No,” I say. “I want — no, I need him to stay.”

  The son removes his right glove and light explodes from his hand. Grabbing Jasper’s forearm with the other, he bends down and presses his palm against the prism. Both of them vanish.

  “Jasper!” I break free from Etria and race toward the light. “Where is he? Etria! Where are they?”

  “They are shadow, passing beneath,” he says quietly. “Luca, you have so many concerns. They aren’t needed.” Etria straightens. “All will be explained. Return to the front.”

  What choice do I have? I’ve fallen into a crazy world. “Can I know where you’re taking everyone?”

  “Yes.” Etria’s voice firms, and he glances over his shoulder. His vanished son reappears on the prism and regloves his hand. Jasper is not with him.

  “Please,” Etria says. “Sit in the chair.”

  Sit in the chair. Sure, I’ll sit. I’ll sit before I sink into a hole of light in the floor. Father never told me this, any of this. It was just a down and up proposition.

  I walk the length of the hall, listening to the sound of scraping beneath my boots. The mood reminds me of my entrance to the amphitheater, except there is no Birthing tunnel, and no Father to anticipate. I test the chair with my hands, turn, and take a seat. This I can do. I glance up and rub my eyes.

  People step quickly out of the prism. With hands upstretched and ablaze with light, they explode from the rainbow on the floor, move to their places, and glove their hands. Ten. Fifty. Hundreds appear, until the entire hall is filled with people — pointing, murmuring people.

  “That is a little disconcerting.”

  Etria appears at my side. “I imagine our normal mode of travel will take getting used to.” He clears his throat and addresses the crowd. “I now wish to formally welcome Luca to our home. As we had hoped to honor Massa, we will now most certainly honor his son.”

  I lean over and draw him close. “Honestly, the fewer people who know I’m here, the better.” I point around the room. “I didn’t come to be celebrated. I came to hide.”

  “I know. This may take some explaining, but first, let me place your mind at ease.” A nod to a son, and the young man disappears into the prism. A minute later he reemerges, but not alone. Seward and Wren, damp but sound, step out of the floor and release the Rat’s shirt.

  I jump off the chair and run into my uncle’s arms.

  “Hey, mate, you mess up me clothes.” Seward’s voice is strong. “Not bad for a pirate, though if they be thinkin’ of giving me a ridiculous hair job, well, this is where I draw lines in the sand.”

  I squeeze him with all I have, not wanting to let go. Ever. But soon he pries me loose, and I look him over. “You fell …”

  “And what transpired between that act of foolishness and now makes no sense. As I fall, I think, ‘I be undone. Nothin’ remains but the splat.’ And then I come to. I only know the Amongus who shared my tumble be here as well.”

  “No, that can’t be.” I shoot Wren a panicked glance.

  “It’s okay.” Etria steps between Seward and me, eager, I think, to regain control of these proceedings. “The other gentleman is … presently miserable. All things can now be spoken of.”

  Wren approaches me. “Do you remember this hall?”

  “Sure. It’s like your museum.”

  “Go farther back. Do you remember this hall?”

  I stare around, and my gaze falls on the chair. “I remember the chair, and a man in it.”

  “Welcome home, Luca,” Wren says. “You’re finally home.”

  I stumble backward. “Home? I watched my home burn. Wait …” I shake my finger. “You lied to me about the Rats. Probably everything.”

  “Allow me to help.” Etria raises his hands, pleading for calm. “All, please sit down, and Luca, please sit in the chair.”

  The hall obeys, and I look to Seward. “Listen to him, mate. If he meant us harm, we’d be undone long ago.”

  I leave his side and take my place in front of a peaceful crowd. In the corner, I see her. The Her.

  I guess it would be rude not to stay a little while.

  CHAPTER

  19

  Etria strides around the hall, thinking, it seems, how to begin.

  I’m so tired. So tired of waiting.

  “Maybe you could simply tell me why I’m sitting in this chair and why you gave me a parade?”

  Etria raises his eyebrows. “Massa told you nothing.”

  I glance at Seward, tongue the inside of my cheek. “Yes, that seems to be a nasty little habit of Father Massa’s.”

  “Would you allow me to share a bit of history?” Etria whips toward me with a flourish. A female groans from the back of the crowd.

  I yawn. “Sorry, go ahead. It’s been a long day.”

  Etria sits down at my feet, his legs crossed. “Have you heard of Rabal?”

  “Of course. Rabal and the Nine. The miners who found the
Aquifer,” I say. “Probably this Aquifer. Nine stayed below, only Rabal surfaced.”

  “We in this hall, and everyone you see in our world below, are descendants of those ten men.”

  “Okay, well …” I point at Seward and Wren and pat my chest. “Almost everyone.” I smile at my companions. They don’t smile back, and I bite my lip. Hard.

  Etria continues. “Everyone. But that explanation will come in time. What you have just spoken about Rabal is true. If you were taught anything more, I think those words will not be as accurate.”

  He snaps his fingers, and his son brings him a large book. “For completeness, I will read the rest.” He peeks at my Her, who steps behind a column. “I’m told I get long-winded when I tell the story from memory.”

  Etria flips through the pages.

  “The story of Rabal, and his place in the world. And so it was decided among us that Rabal should surface, for we have need of materials and machines if we are to create an underground home. Rabal will also inform our families of the path to the Aquifer. This we, nine in number, set our hand to on August 14, 2058.”

  “Who wrote that?” I crane forward to see.

  “Robert Blythe, one of the nine.” Etria flips forward in the book and continues. “Lane’s family has just arrived, bringing with them news. The diverters we constructed are working. It is entirely possible that this aquifer will indeed meet the world’s future need for drinkable water. Rabal has provided us with every piece of drilling and pumping equipment needed, as well as airshafts, pressure equalizers, and everyday essentials such as food. Our one need is light. If we are to be self-sufficient, this need must be met, and soon.”

  “The light rods,” I whisper.

  Etria flips forward.

  “It is now understood that Rabal will continue to live above. It is the only way to secure scarce items for us below. Furthermore, he sends word that rumors of the water source have spread, that there are those on top who would control it for ill gain. Indeed, there are those staking our claims, claiming our identities. They declare their authority over the Aquifer. This group of nine men deceives the world. They must not be allowed to find us. In the evil and panic above, all the secluded beauty of this place would be destroyed.”