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Weak as the body must be, the Ridden swiped my arm with its nails before I drew my knife out and sliced off its head. I hated that the woman was dead. I hated that a Ridden had taken control over her before I could end her life peacefully, but I channeled that anger into strength for my next task.
Burying her in the dark took time, and afterwards, I searched for food. Unfortunately, I found nothing. Going back to the farmhouse, I set myself up on the floor and laid down. I didn’t mind not finding food. I probably wouldn’t enjoy it anyway with how miserable I felt, so I simply stared at the ceiling and hoped for sleep to come.
I missed Dmitri, his laughter, and our mornings spent playing games together. The knowledge of children lost here made me take the time to document everything I saw here, hoping that maybe some lives would be saved if I got this information to the right people.
My rations ran out a day from Durgion, as I recorded the empty farms further down the trail. It had been days of traveling while cold and hungry, all of which wore away at my patience and goodwill. Anger was officially my central emotion. Anger at all the loss of life out here, and angry at the people who let it happen.
When I got back, heads would roll. Well, as much as I could make them roll. And until then, I’d be finding Administer Greene in Durgion… and we’d be having a nice littlechat. Not just about what exactly was going on with the flooding, like he expected, but about what the hell he thought he was doing with his people.Yeah, that would be a fun talk.
ChapterSix
ALYS
Spires of steel and glass reared into the sky, visible now that the forest had broken. Spread out in front of me were careful farms surrounding the outside of the city. These closer farms were inhabited, unlike the ones further out. Everywhere I looked I saw people working under the shadow of the city.
This was Greene’s city. He ruled over the lands surrounding it like a lord of old. Apparently, just like the lords from the past, he was corrupt. Taking the wealth and resources from his people but not giving back to them. The fact that he’d allowed so many farmers to get sick due to not getting the vaccines, then left them to fend for themselves after, made me pissed as hell.
He needed to answer for what he had done, so I’d be taking a slight detour from my mission to find the angry water spirit, or whatever the hell it was, to check in with Greene. To let him know that I knew what he’d been doing.
Even if it was hard to focus on that with my stomach rumbling. I’d eaten the last of my rations yesterday, all I wanted to do was eat and rest. Unfortunately for me, the geas spurred me forward, uncaring that I was hungry and tired. Not that I was likely to be able to get food from the farmers even if the geas allowed me to stop and ask. Not this early in the year, when people wouldn’t have food to spare.
The thought didn’t help with the hunger as I stepped my pace up to a jog, heading for the wall that protected the city. Evidence of water flooding these lands was everywhere. The lean-tos and tents had been pulled back and jumbled together, broken wood and ripped fabric dotted the landscape as I slowed again. The expected wall leaned at a drunken angle, mostly because it had half sunk into an incredibly foul-smelling bog. The waters slithered inward a good fifty feet and rose nearly as far as the top of the hill where they’d sited the high-tech settlement.
A hasty new tar paper guard shack staffed with a few harassed-looking Wardens already tilted on softened ground, the left side a good foot lower than the right. Mud oozed under my boots as I approached.
A smile broke free on its own. I could almost hear the howling of complaints from within the city as the wealthy people inside had to deal with the flooding. It was even funnier that Durgion, like most cities, had a hundred-yard killing ground surrounding it, so the sodden ground was barely moist in the areas near the temporary homes that had sprung up on its outskirts. This disaster only affected the high-rent areas.
The elder of the guards frowned at my approach. After days of traveling, I was dirty and smelled terrible, so I didn’t blame him for not wanting to deal with me.
“Here to report to the Administrator,” I said.
“ID?”
I tapped the onyx on my forehead and smiled. Despite my best effort, irritation leaked into the expression.
“You’re required to check the weapons before you enter.” He extended a hand expectantly.
I tapped the stone again. “I don’t.”
His frown deepened. He lifted his wrist, which had a small electronic device on it called a wristcomm. He could use it to search my name through a database to figure out my ranking and position, since most visitors weren’t allowed to go to the high-tech areas inside. The tone was more trustworthy than me; I could be lying, the stone wasn’t.
“You seconded to Hazardous Wastes?” he asked.
“Nope.” My stomach rumbled. After I’d eaten the last of my rations, all the rabbits and squirrels along the way got a memo and hid from me. I was starving. Cranky thoughts nibbled at the edges of my politeness.
His eyes narrowed. “Which office?”
“Special Investigations. To see Administrator Greene.” I leaned forward, daring him to object.
“I’ve got a ride ready,” his partner said. “I’ll take her in.”
He flew me to the Administrative complex, a rosy marble structure larger than the mansions that surrounded it. Luckily for me. The elves don’t allow real flights anywhere, but they do allow low-flying travel so long as it didn’t go much above thirty feet in the air. Flying would save me a lot of time. The apartments further out still contained coveted luxuries; those who worked service positions within a city lived better than the richest settler Outside. Except, of course, for the fact that their every action was classified, monitored and restricted. There was no privacy at all.
To me, this kind of safety wasn’t worth the price. But to each their own, I guess.
The Warden handed me off to the staff member who answered the door. After he re-scanned my stone, which, given my appearance I couldn’t entirely blame him for, he let me in. Despite wiping my boots, smears of mud marked my path on the polished green and gold-flecked marble flooring.
The servant lifted an eyebrow, but only said, “follow me,” then led me through the massive mansion.
