The blade in his hand slices so quickly the High Ruler doesn’t have time to utter a cry. Blood pours down his chest, spattering Kedua. She rises from the chair, holds her owner’s face in her hands, and begins to kiss him passionately as the spot-light cascades onto them.
I bolt upright from the chair and am instantly struck in the face, feeling my jawbone crack, blood trickling down my lips. I grab the woman’s hands before she can cast a second blow and close my hands tightly, her brittle bones crunching in my grasp. She lets out a shriek from the pain. I know Kedua and the man are coming, but I don’t move.
Trea wants to play.
“Midge, are you…?” The words trail off as he sees her down on her knees, with me holding her there.
“Hello, Artemis, nice to see you again.” I smile wickedly.
“Trea.”
I hear my name but it’s not spoken by Artemis, but by Kedua, standing to his left.
“Hello, Kedua. Long time no see.”
Tension begins to build between us. I feel electricity flowing through the air, though nowhere more so than in my right arm. The Quantum Stream is boiling under the surface of my skin, looking for a weapon to hold. I remember the Levin gun in the sack around my shoulder and begin to reach for it, but am stopped by Artemis.
“Why don’t we find a better place to talk,” he says, as he holds my hand against the strap of the bag. “Somewhere a little more private,” he whispers into my ear, practically biting it in affection. “Midge,” he turns to the woman who cowers at my feet, “please make sure the mess out there gets cleaned up, and then reopen in a half hour so the gentlemen can have some entertainment.”
Midge nods and steps through the curtain onto the stage, walking with her arms in front of her. The High Ruler’s bodyguards have already begun to remove the man’s body and wrap it in black tar paper.
“I take it the guards knew you planned this?” I probe, as we head towards the back exit.
“Of course, why do you think it was so easy? Money can buy you anything, including a position of power. After all, they report directly to the High Ruler, which is now me.” He smirks, winking at me.
I swing wide, nailing him in the temple. Kedua is on top of me in an instant, banging my head on the wooden floorboards. Artemis pulls her off and helps me up.
“Now, now, ladies, there is plenty to go around.” He leans over, wraps his arm around my waist to pull me closer. “Try that again and I will have Kedua here make sure you don’t self-heal,” he says through clenched teeth, snatching the sack from my shoulder after kissing me on the cheek.
Kedua grabs a long fur coat that hangs from a hook by the door before we step out. She’s covered in blood and manages to wipe most of it from her face, but she’ll still need to bathe in order to remove the rest of it. She wraps herself tightly in her coat.
Jagger is still standing guard when we exit. He looks at Kedua, who is walking in front of me, and Artemis, who is holding onto my hand, caressing my palm with his fingers. I make brief eye contact with him, but not enough to draw attention to him.
“So, High Ruler,” I say, a little louder than I should. “Where are we going?”
He simply smiles at me, tightens his grip, and pulls me along the alleyway to the other end. As we turn the corner, I catch Jagger hastening to catch up to us, joining the rest of our entourage.
We stop in front of a set of large steel doors, which open as we approach. The interior is decorated in plush gold walls and flooring; ornate wall sconces encapsulate soft glowing light bulbs as violin music fills the air from well-hidden speakers. Jagger tries to step on board, but is immediately reprimanded.
“Did you forget your place, Regulator?” Kedua hisses at him. “Use the service elevators.”
The doors close, we quietly but rapidly rise, then the doors open onto a sun filled sky. The temperature difference between the Underground and the surface is a good twenty degrees. Tall buildings shimmer in the sunlight, reflecting the heat from the sun’s rays.
A small transport car sits waiting for us a few yards from the lift. It is ornately decorated, with gold seat coverings, and the city’s emblem is inscribed on the ceiling. I see Jagger step off of a service elevator fifty feet away and jog over to a waiting transport, which falls in line behind us. We skirt along the outer rim of the city on a rail embedded into the surface of the base of the floating metropolis. The car winds around to the opposite side, stopping only momentarily at a guard post sitting at the entrance to one of the extended platforms. We quickly pass through security and slow down.
A hawk with gold wings is embroidered in tile on the surface of the center of the platform, with large fountains of water erupting from its talons. The building on our right is only two stories high, columns extending the height of the building on all sides. An identical structure sits on the opposite side of the fountain. I notice men in blue robes exiting and entering these buildings, and figure this must be where the Superiors meet.
The car turns and stops in front of a four-story structure in the same design as the other two buildings. Artemis exits the vehicle, followed by Kedua, then myself. Jagger and several bodyguards exit their transports and follow us. We walk up a small flight of steps and into a grand foyer with blue marble flooring, a gold encased chandelier hanging from the ceiling four stories high, and an oak table in the center of the floor with several granite
