Zinc 01 - Altors, page 21
part #1 of Zinc Series
I'd never seen a pure Blue Blood in my life and I couldn't say I was particularly happy about meeting one right now. As Datura and I walked closer to him, having no choice but to follow the Tracker's instructions, I had a moment to scan him over. He had to be my height, but where I was broad in the shoulders, he was very lanky. He had a bang of azure hair hanging in front of his right eye and he wore the Tracker uniform of the Regius; a black body suit with a wrap tied across his left shoulder. If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed him to be part of the Royals. Clearly the Blue Bloods cared more about fashion than the Altors.
"I won't let you take him to Sage." Datura ground out. "You won't be turning him into a tool."
Rhamnus raised an eyebrow at that. "I believe you've gotten the wrong impression. Sage wants him dead." He smiled. "Tell me. How did you find him when not even I could?" Was he talking about the Altors in general, or Datura specifically?
"We never lost him to begin with. We hid him." Datura answered.
Rhamnus shrugged. "Ballsy to place him with Acacia, don't you think?"
"Yet it worked."
"Enough chit chatting. This is what is going to happen. You, Keeper," He waved his left gun at Datura. "Are going to hand him over without a fight." I felt Datura's hand pushing me back and to the side, leaving me exposed to Rhamnus' right gun. I didn't understand, but before I could make sense of it, I was slammed in the gut with a sense of so much wrong, I could easily understand that it told me something really bad was about to happen.
Datura unhooked his daggers from his belt. "What if I don't?" The Tracker rolled his eyes and then released a shot. My eyes widened in fear, and for a split second I thought he'd shot me as he'd made clear he'd wanted me dead. But reaching for my chest, I realized I didn't feel worse than I did before.
There was a motion from the corner of my eye. "No!" I screamed and quickly moved, kneeling down when Datura's body hit the ground, blood seeping from the bullet hole close to his heart. "Datura!" My vision was blurry and I knew I was crying. Pressing my hands to the wound, I tried to stop the bleeding, but there was just so much of it. My actions were frantic and I avoided looking at his face, too afraid I might see him die.
"Get up." I froze when I could feel Rhamnus' gun press against my temple. "Before I kill you, I need to make sure you can't see." Tears rolled silently down my cheeks as I lifted my hands covered in Datura's blood. I squeezed my eyes shut all the while getting up the way Rhamnus expected me to.
The moment I stood, he moved the gun and came to stand behind me, pressing a short knife against my throat instead. My Adam's apple grazed the blade when I gulped.
"I'm going to cut your throat now." He explained in a whisper, pressing the ending tip of the knife to the left side of my throat and slowly starting to drag it across. I screamed in pain as my skin cut open and just when I thought I would die, Rhamnus released me.
I blinked in surprise as the color of everything around me was snapping on and off, turning grey. My head felt faint and I couldn't seem to focus my eyes. Looking behind me, I fixed my attention onto- Who was that? Red.
I squinted my eyes to take in the red glow outlining the male’s figure and then I snarled in fury as his heart produced a blue light. Wound forgotten, I crouched down to grasp the weapon laying in the hand of the near dead person at my feet.
"Blue Blood!" I told the man pointing a gun at my face.
"You're not Seer!" This seemed to surprise him, and I could hear him release the safety on his weapon. He was going to shoot me.
Before I could attack, a group of newly red ringed figures burst into the room, confusing me as there were so many.
"He's been triggered!" One of the males shouted in surprise, coming straight for me. "Iris!"
"You better start running." A female voice said, sprinting after the Tracker who was now trying to escape.
"Cali." I blinked in confusion at the man trying to approach me. "It's Ilex. You know who I am. Try to remember." I shook my head. He wasn't familiar to me at all. He turned his gaze over my shoulder, nodding his head, but not at me.
"Caltha." He murmured. I inhaled sharply in fear, turning around as he'd been talking to someone behind. Before I could see and block, this other man knocked the weapon out of my hands and I screamed in anger when the man named Ilex wrapped his arms tightly around me. I struggled against his hold, wanting to break free and fight, but he was too strong. The other man jabbed something sharp into my arm making me wince in pain. My senses slowed then, my vision blinking on and off and I wanted to be angry and ask them what they'd done to me, but I suddenly felt terribly exhausted.
"Sleep, Cali." Ilex said gently, laying me down onto the ground. I reached up weakly, grabbing his wrist as firmly as I could. What had Caltha drugged me with? "How is Datura?"
"Alive." Caltha announced, making me loll my head to the side so I could see what he was doing. "But barely."
* * * *
Narrator
“Can of worms”
* * * *
The eyes of a seer were a curse, truly. I knew this; I'd seen it when I'd been looking for my sister. To use the gift of foresight you must give a part of yourself. Let the eyes show you what they must, and they shall remain connected to your mind until it has consumed you in its entirety. It uses all that you are to try and find what it is looking for by using the seer’s mind as a harbor.
In order to stay yourself, you must shun the gift away, remove everything that could trigger a vision. If you ignore the warning, seer eyes will show you moments that have taken place already: things someone should never be privy to, things that were for their owner only, things that could be pushed away and forgotten. It could be described as opening a can of worms. Or so it was said.
I had seen things from before, that had been long forgotten, that should have never been forgotten.
Had the rebellion leader not challenged the cowardly Blue Blood ruler and been refused, and had that rebellion leader not killed the king's wife in retaliation to the refusal, the cruelty within the first blue blood ruler would have never been unleashed upon the Civilians. That Altor had tampered with a 'system' ruling the very core of the Regius. Screw up its functions and a monster feeding on evil, hell bent on revenge, is what you’d be faced with.
* * * *
Chapter 19: Solenum Everhart
“Blue Bloods don't love.”
* * * *
Cobalt City was a city of sand. It felt like I'd gone back in time. It looked so old, yet the cars driving through the sandy streets reminded me that time machines weren't real. Looking through the window shops I could see vehicles on display for sale, clothing stores, music shops, libraries, schools, bakeries, grocery malls. Everything was there, just placed in a setting that made it seem like the architect had disagreed with the timeline of modern technology.
I’d never seen so many people in one place before; it awed me. Everything was in earth tones, the walls of all the buildings were a soft yellow, the window frames a dark brown, the roofs made out of straw. A lot of wooden beams randomly popped out of the sides of the buildings, linking one to another. There were many alleys and many were narrow enough to allow fish type nets to hang rather loosely at the top in place of a ceiling. It offered a way to beautify the place as flowers were woven through them, leaves twining into the net and twirling down. Many small lamps were hooked to them as well, but more importantly, it offered a shade so people could cool down from the hot burning temperature Cobalt City suffered from.
We’d had one fountain in LV where Cali and I would go to. Regularly disobeying Acacia’s strict instructions by rolling up our pants and letting out feet touch the water. Here there were hundreds of them. Galaxi called them wishing wells. People would toss gold in and then be granted one wish. She said this was a thing the Civilians did and that she was surprised I’d never heard of it before as a Civilian's lifestyle was about the only thing that hadn’t been kept secret from me. But I’d reminded her that LV didn’t have gold, that everything worked through trade.
Galaxi had taken me here so we could go to the black market and get more parts for the car I was working on. It was time to start adding the finishing touches within the vehicle and for that we needed certain elements that the Palliums bought from the Rangers. The Rangers had a reserved alley in Cobalt City where they could set up their merchant stalls and sell whatever they had snagged through their travels. Our purpose was to get in, take the goods and get out. She didn't want to stick around due to their untrustworthy nature. The only exception was Juglan and that was because he was old friends with Flux.
"We're almost there." Galaxi said cheerfully, quickening her stride. We'd taken a car to drive from the sand mountains into the city center, but she'd parked it on the outskirts since the city was so crowded at our eventual destination, driving was impossible. We walked into a smaller street and then took a right into an even more narrow spaced alley. It was a dead end though.
"Where-" I began but cut myself off when Galaxi walked up to the center of the wall, crouching before it to pull a barred, square shaped entrance, to what I assumed to be the sewers, down. The opening was roughly the size of a window, large enough for a person to climb through. And she did climb through it, or more like, stuck her legs in and then let herself drop down.
I was curious, but knew better than to ask and decided to just go and see. My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets after I’d stuck my head through to see where Galaxi had taken me. We'd finally arrived at the Rangers Alley. It was said this place had a barrier around it that blocked out the Civilians. I think I needed to see that happen to believe it, although, it was easier to believe in the unimaginable now that I'd been triggered into an Altor and was dating a Blue Blood.
"Come on down." Galaxi said. I looked through the alley, hesitating in following her.
The place was really colorful. The market stands that they displayed their products on were made out of simple wood, but there were a lot of fabric stalls, brightening up the Alley in a very cozy manner. The low ceiling the back of my head was practically touching had a row of candle holders nailed into them, and there were lanterns with fire glowing inside at uneven heights.
There was so much sound. People talking, bargaining and music. This was an overcrowded treasure chest. There were so many goods; stones, jewelry, gold, flowers, wires, screens, tires, bags. Everything was precious and from what I understood, only the Rangers could get their hands on these products in such large numbers. The weapons that were sold were extraordinary. Their designs were art, so many details and decorations. But there was also food. Things I saw or ate every day, and then there were those I'd never seen before in my life.
It was all tossed together in a very chaotic manner, as if they didn’t have a floor plan to follow and just took whatever wooden table was available to place their products on. And then there were the many Rangers with their unusual fashion walking around. I almost wanted to turn on my Altor vision so the burst of color in this place wouldn’t blind me.
"Solenum!" Galaxi pressed, shaking her head in amusement at the clear 'wow' expression on my face. Nodding down at her, I pulled my head back so I could stick my feet into the opening instead, letting myself drop down to the ground as Galaxi had. I landed beside her with ease and blinked in surprise when she took my hand in hers.
"Stay close." As she began to walk through the swarm of people, stands, and fabrics, I tried to keep up with her pace, but there was just so much to see. These pirates dressed really particularly, much like the Palliums. I knew they were all former Altor soldiers who'd bailed on the job, or Altor decedents who's parents had bailed on the job. Although their skins were tanned or caramel colored and their hair was pitch black and most of them had grey eyes, they just weren't Altors anymore. Their clothing, way of speaking and moving was altogether different. They’d become their own kind, their own community.
"Don't utter the P word in this place, otherwise-"
"Yes, I know, it'll be a gun against my head." I finished for her somewhat absently when I smelled incense floating through the air from the stand that sold what looked to be spices. Or powders.
I tugged onto Galaxi's hand, wanting to read the labels on those plastic little bags containing all the colorful dusts. Galaxi sighed, but didn't resist, letting me take a look. Sleep Powder, Desert Sand, Memory Dust, Hallucinogenic Pill.
“Where do they find all this stuff?” I asked, offering the vender a quick smile as I kept reading the labels. Get-rid-of-acne Balm. Cali would have loved that back in his pimple days.
“I wish I knew half the things the Rangers knew.” Galaxi admitted. “Where and how they get their resources is a secret.”
“Maybe they mix and match.” I offered. "Blinding Sand?" I asked the vendor.
He grinned. "Regular sand. It works if you aim for the eyes." I rolled my eyes in amusement. I read more labels and pulled a face. Smells Bad, Smells Good. "You don't want to know where either came from." He laughed at my expression and then moved on to another customer. I allowed Galaxi to pull me along with her again, suddenly grateful for my tall height because it allowed me to look over most peoples head's here. Everything in this place reminded me of my encounter with Isa Ryder not long ago.
~~~~~~~~
About to bite into a chicken sandwich, I was interrupted when someone bumped into me, making it so my food landed on the floor. Glaring at the person who’d ruined my lunch, I had a split moment of surprise when I realized it wasn’t a Pallium, but a Ranger. They didn’t come into the garage often, they usually went straight for the castle to meet with Flux. This guy had to be part of Apnea’s crew since they were the only ones allowed inside Pallium territory. All other Rangers were strictly to be kept outdoors.
"I'll get you a new one." He walked past me, cutting the line and ordering me another sandwich, receiving a few shouts of protest from the people who'd been waiting. I looked him over. I’d never really seen a pirate up close. You could spot them from a distance though as they wore really flashy colors, and of course like the Palliums, they had their own type of fashion. He was relatively tall, but not insanely so, and while I doubted he sucked in battle, he was not that built. His lack in muscle didn’t stop him from sporting a very confident, bordering on arrogant, demeanor. Funnily enough, his cockiness and smug smirk allowed him to pull that behavior off rather gracefully.
“My name is Isa Ryder." He announced. I grabbed the sandwich out of his hand, unwrapping it and taking a bite. I was so hungry. Cali would say I was exaggerating.
"Solenum Everhart." I muttered out, nodding my thanks at him before I turned on my heel and continued on my way. He followed me though.
"People are looking for you." He said nonchalantly. That had me pausing in my stride and taking another bite.
"Who? What?" He turned to face me, leaning in so I was forced to bend back to protect my personal space.
"You're a pretty one." Realizing he had the intention of flirting, I snorted and went back to walking away from him.
He still followed me. "You've got a price on your head. Saw it in the Rangers tavern."
"Try to put your hands on me and I will spill your blood." Lupinus was looking for me. I picked up my screwdriver, purposely turning my back on him, hoping he'd get the hint and leave.
He sighed heavily. "Datura was right, girls are complicated."
Not able to help myself, curiosity won over. "Datura?"
"An old friend of mine." He lifted his right hand, pointing with his left at the nasty looking scar in the center of his palm. It had healed only recently as it was still slightly pink. "Obviously not anymore."
"A friend did that to you?" Now, I felt sorta bad for him.
"I didn't realize the dude I was pointing a gun at was important to Lovelace." He offered as an explanation. “Datura Lovelace.” He smiled slowly, reaching out with his fingers to flick the bangs of hair out of my face. "So..." He murmured, making me shuffle away from him. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Yes." I said. "Not that it's any of your business." I was about to tell him to leave me alone, when Galax made his way over, sandwich in hand. Just the sight of him had me smiling widely.
"Thought you might be hungry." I didn't bother telling him I'd already eaten. Another sandwich wasn't going to kill me. Galax smiled and placed a kiss against my temple, his fingers finding their way into my hair.
"You poor thing." Isa butted in. "You do realize Blue Bloods don't do love, right?"
~~~~~~~~
"We're almost at the right place." I nodded at Galaxi, but then frowned when I could feel a sense of threat, like something bad was about to happen. I had these moments a lot, but generally I forgot about them shortly afterward. This time though, it was accompanied with the trigger of my Altor vision. I faltered in my step, blinking as all the colors the Rangers Alley offered suddenly turned grey with the exception of the many glowing hearts. Since Altors shined grey, the Rangers didn't pop out. I could detect the occasional Pallium though, their golden hearts glowing brightly.
"Galaxi." I warned. She stopped in her tracks. "I'm seeing grey." I explained, never looking at her, keeping focus on our surroundings instead.
"This is Ranger territory, Solenum, the Blue Bloods may enter this alley just as we can. So long as none of us bring the war within this area, the Rangers are willing to sell their products to any of us." She guided us to a large stand where numerous digital items were displayed. Radios, GPS, screens, computers, keyboards, hundreds of different kinds of cables, headphones and a bunch of other stuff I couldn't put a name on. It's a good thing they'd put that barrier around the Alley. If a Civilian entered this area, they'd instantly know they are being lied too.
I missed my sword, Icendia. I'd have felt less frightened about this place had I been armed. But now that Galaxi had told me the Rangers wanted to keep this place a war free zone, I suppose I'd just have to deal.
