Shadows of Glass (25 page)

“I think he would be pleased with how you look,” Zan says. I know she is being genuine,
but I also know that for her fixing me up is a project, just like Levi showing the
men how to make bows and arrows. Still, her generosity is genuine and I will not hurt
her feelings. My grandfather might have smiled and said something, but more than likely
he would have thought the yellow dress very impractical for our way of life.

“All you need now is this,” Zan says and places a gold chain around my neck with a
heart-shaped locket on it. “And put some of this on your lips.” She hands me a tiny
crock with a thick pink substance inside. “It makes them soft and shiny,” she adds
as she sticks her pinky in the crock and rubs some on her lips. I do as she instructs
and she smiles at my reflection in the mirror. “Absolutely perfect.” She pronounces
me done and turns to her wardrobe. “Now it’s my turn.” She pulls a blue dress from
her wardrobe. “Do you think James will like this color on me?”

“Zan…” I begin and then I do not know what else to say.

“What?” Zan practically giggles. “He is very handsome, don’t you think?”

I shrug. “He is.” I move from the stool to the bed. Pip pecks at a shiny piece of
jewelry on the dressing table, and Jonah stretches out a paw to me as I sit beside
him.

“What? Is there something wrong with him? I know Adam is sad because he lost his wife.
It’s strange to me to think of all of you marrying so young, but I guess it does make
sense since you said you died in your forties. And Alcide is younger than me, along
with Jon, but James…” Her chatter is rapid and nearly nonstop and I let her go on
because I do not want to say anything bad about James. Just because we did not work
out does not mean that things would be the same with him and Zan. Still …

“What?” Zan asks again.

I shrug. “I guess I think of him more like a brother,” I explain. “Because he is Peggy’s
brother.”

“The same way I think about Levi,” Zan says. I can understand that. “By the way, just
how serious are you and Pace? Because you know Levi really likes you.”

“He does?” Heat rises up from my chest to my face and I know I am blushing. I concentrate
on Jonah until I feel the heat go away. Fortunately Zan is preoccupied with her reflection
in the mirror so she does not notice my reaction.

“He hasn’t admitted it, but I can tell.” Zan picks up the brush and works on her hair
as she talks. “He’s always watching you and when you’re not around he’s talking about
you, or asking about you. Are you and Pace really serious?” Zan turns from the mirror
and looks at me. “As in are you going to marry him?”

“Marry Pace?” I had not considered it. I had not considered much beyond escaping the
dome. “We have not discussed it,” I say. Pace and I declared our love for each other
at a moment when we were certain we were going to die. But since we have been out,
things have seemed different. Perhaps it is because the desperation of our situation
from before we escaped is gone and we are not depending on each other as we were before.
“Marriage…” I repeat. “I do not think I am ready for that. There is so much world
out here. More than I ever imagined. I just…”

“Of course you’re not.” Zan kneels before me and grabs my hands. “You are only sixteen
years old. Why wouldn’t you want to see the world? And meet other people. After all,
you have your entire life in front of you.” As quickly as she knelt before me, Zan
is gone again, once more to her wardrobe to decide on a dress.

I have my entire life in front of me … It does not seem fair, especially since so
many people that I know do not. And might not, if Lucy’s desperate plea for help is
any indication. I shake my head at my situation and myself. I am continually looking
for answers, but it seems all I can find is more questions. I suddenly feel very foolish,
sitting in Zan’s room in her pretty dress. And there is not a thing that I know to
do about it.

18

I
find myself
strangely nervous as I follow Zan outside to dinner with Pip sitting on my shoulder
and Jonah trailing along beside me. And, even though she won’t admit it, I know Zan
is nervous also. Her father has not returned and there has been no word from him at
all. I saw the concern written on Jane’s face also when she came into Zan’s room.
Even though she was very complimentary to me about my dress and hair, I could tell
something was bothering her. She didn’t say anything because she does not want me
to worry about Pace. She might as well tell me to stop breathing. Until Pace is back
I will worry about him. I know they’ve been gone far too long.

The long dining table sits beneath a canopy and candles gleam along its length. Lanterns
are strung along the length of the canvas and cast a soft glow in the twilight air.
The boys all stand around and I notice most of them pulling at their collars or grimacing
in pain as they lift a glass to their mouths to drink. It’s because they had too much
sun today and the skin beneath their freshly washed clothes is raw. But their hair
gleams in the candlelight and those that needed to shave have. I know that without
the influence of the Hatfields none of this would have happened. Their arrival has
helped us to keep our civility instead of falling into the most primitive ways to
survive. A washed body and clean clothes will fall by the wayside when the basic needs
of food and shelter are an everyday challenge.

I notice that Sally and Rosalyn, who stand with Jane, are wearing new clothes also,
and George must be wearing something of Dr. Stewart’s. Of all of them gathered together
beneath the canopy, only Levi seems at ease in his bright white shirt and tan pants.
But why shouldn’t he be? He is a child of the sky and the sun.

I pause on the catwalk and take a deep breath as Zan steps off. If only Pace were
here. I let Zan fix me up for him and he’s not here to see it. But Levi is. Levi catches
sight of me and his eyes capture me as he stares at me over Adam’s shoulder.

A wide smile lights up Levi’s face, and I suddenly feel shy and awkward. I don’t know
how to act in such a pretty dress, and I certainly don’t know how to walk in the simple
satin slippers that Zan gave me to wear. I’m afraid that if I step off the catwalk
I’ll slip in the grass and land flat on my face. I’m used to my sturdy boots and practical
pants and shirts. I like hiding beneath my jacket and bandana and goggles. I feel
exposed. I
am
exposed, and I fight the urge to place my hands over my breasts as Levi starts toward
me.

Zan goes to her mother and Jonah trails after her, his mind set upon dinner. I see
James turn and watch Zan as she walks by him without a word. Meanwhile Alcide sees
me and jabs his elbow into Jon who jabs his into Peter who in turn jabs his into Adam,
who punches James in the arm. James scowls as he turns and then his jaw drops when
he sees them all looking at me, and I go from feeling exposed to feeling very powerful,
but that turns quickly into confusion as Levi is still walking my way.

“Levi?” Jane suddenly calls out and Levi stops and turns at the sound of her voice.
A large white bird lands on the railing of the airship and Levi, Zan, and Jane all
dash by me in their haste to get to it. There is a small tube attached to its leg
and Levi quickly takes the message from it. My heart is in my throat as I wait for
Levi to finish reading.

He hands the note to Jane and comes to me. He picks up my hands and squeezes them.
I can tell by the look on his face that the news is not good.

“They are under attack by the rovers. One of the guards is dead and another one wounded.
They don’t know how much longer they can hold out. We must go to help them.”

“Of course,” I say. “Pace?”

“He didn’t say. Wren. We need your eyes. Are you willing to come too?”

“Yes.” I am surprised that I am able to speak. “Just give me a moment to change.”

“I’ll find you some clothes,” Zan says.

“Levi, there is only one steam cycle. Surely you don’t mean to go by yourself,” Jane
says. “You and Wren cannot possibly hope to fight off this attack.”

“Speed is of the essence,” Levi says. “The rest will have to follow on foot. We will
ask for volunteers. Two guards and two of our new friends. The rest should stay here
and be prepared in case of an attack.” By now the rest of our group has noticed the
concern and come to the catwalk.

“I will inform the captain and tell the guards so they may prepare,” Zan says. “Wren,
give me two minutes,” she says and dashes into the cabin.

“Do you think we are in danger?” Rosalyn asks.

“No. But Lyon, Dr. Stewart, and Pace are,” Levi says. “We need two to go on foot and
the rest to stay and defend our position.”

“I’ll go,” Adam, James, and Alcide all say at once.

“Adam and Alcide then,” Levi says. “Be ready in five minutes.” Levi turns and the
look on his face is intense and frightening. Gone is the friendly charm and in its
place is a deadly warrior. And I am about to go off with him.

In all the excitement I forgot about Pip, but worse, I forgot about the message he
carried from our friends on the inside. “Wait,” I say as Adam and Alcide turn to prepare.
“I have word from the inside and it isn’t good.”

“What do you mean word from inside?” James asks.

I had stuck the note inside my dress and I take it out and hand it to Adam. He turns
so the light shines over his shoulder and reads the message out loud.

“How did you come by this?” Rosalyn asks.

“By Pip,” I say and explain what happened. Their faces are incredulous, yet there
is no denying the existence of the note or the message.

“What should we do?” Alcide asks.

“We need to know what’s going on inside,” I say.

“We should go to the entrance,” Jon offers. “See if we can find something out.”

“He’s right,” James said.

“You go,” Adam says to Jon. “Take Peter. James takes care of things here. Agreed?”

We all nod our agreement. I am surprised that James is so content to stay, and then
I recall the looks he and Zan have been exchanging.

“Rosalyn, will you put Pip in his cage?” I ask. He’s stayed on my shoulder since I
put him there, and I realize the poor canary is exhausted from his flight into the
dome.

“I will take care of him,” she says and takes him into her hands. I have taken up
enough time. I dash inside to change.

*   *   *

“How will we find them?” I ask Levi. The engine of the steam cycle is remarkably quiet
as we ride deeper into the forest. The treetops close over us as if we are in a tunnel,
but the darkness is not as deep and the outlines of the tree trunks are vivid to my
eyes. Occasionally I see tiny glowing dots of eyes from the animals whose tranquility
we have disturbed with our foreign noise.

I am dressed in Zan’s clothes since mine are still damp from the laundry: a pair of
hide pants that have been dyed black, a dark blue shirt, and a dark jacket of a soft
and pliable fabric that clings to me like a second skin. Zan also gave me a pair of
leather boots that come to my knees. They are a size too big, but the thick socks
I wear help make up the difference. Levi is dressed much the same. I sit astride behind
him. He gave me a new pair of goggles to wear that are not tinted so I can see things
clearly. The steam cycle has a light on the front that casts a beacon onto the road.
The wind comes right at our face. My hair is still pinned up, but I tie my kerchief
around it to keep it from blowing in my face.

“Lyon sent his coordinates,” Levi explains. “He said they were five miles due east.
After that I will use the sextant to find his position.”

“Sextant?”

“It’s a way of finding your position using the stars. It’s what sailors used when
they sailed the seas.”

“And the skies?”

“Yes.” I feel his smile and more when he puts his hand over mine. “Don’t worry, we
will find him,” he says and I know he is talking about Pace. “I’m sorry you’re so
cold.”

I am cold. Colder than I’ve ever been in my life. But it’s not the temperature of
the air or the feel of the wind making me so. It is fear and apprehension that has
me shivering so hard that I am afraid I will fall off the cycle. I am glad there was
no time to eat before we left. I am certain I would have emptied my stomach long ago.

We are a long way from the dome. I have seen nothing in our hasty ride that suggests
there are other people out there, or that there was once a civilization, yet, from
what Levi told me, this land used to be covered with farms and beneath the earth there
were mines, just like the one I came from. I wonder if we would have eventually tunneled
into another mine, generations from now, simply knocked down a wall and discovered
another network of tunnels that eventually would lead to above.

Please God, let Pace and Lyon and Dr. Stewart be safe.
I would pray for the guards too, if I knew their names. I haven’t had the time or
opportunity to learn them, they are just men with hair cut short who carry weapons
and all dress the same. And yet one of them is dead now.

We have weapons. Levi has a pistol on each hip and two large and deadly looking knives
strapped to his back. There are two rifles behind me, along with Levi’s crossbow and
my own primitive bow and arrows. I hope he’s not counting on me to use them. I’m not
sure how effective I will be in the heat of battle. Yet I have killed before and that
isn’t something I like to think about. Or the possibility that I might have to kill
again.

The trees begin to thin out and the moon finds us once more. Levi turns off the light
on the front of the cycle. The land is rolling now, like a blanket spread over a sleeper
that creates dips and valleys along with rounded peaks. To my right the land gives
way to the sky and I know the ocean is still there, ever present since the beginning
of time.

“I see something.” I point in the direction of the tower that rises up against the
night sky. The remnants of some sort of structure surrounded by tumbled stone. A
castle
and I think that only because Pace’s descriptions in the stories he told me while
we were hiding in the tunnels were so vivid. The trees are sparse and scattered now,
and Levi stops the cycle beneath the spreading branches of one that sits alone atop
a rise. He takes out the message from Lyon and hands it to me. Then he pulls a brass
tube from his bag. There are several lenses attached to it, along with a brass triangle
with notches and numbers.