The Lostkind (46 page)

Very slowly, Yasi reached out a hand to him and rested it on his shoulder. He didn't move.

"I'm sorry Vincent. I'm so sorry." Yasi said finally. "I was the one that picked you. I could have chosen Gill, or Davidson, or any one of a dozen other people who work in your office. I picked you. I'm so sorry I dragged you both into my world."

For a long time Vincent said nothing. "Yasi, I Don't know what it's like where you come from, but up here, where I come from, most people live their lives in quiet desperation, going from one day to the next, just... waiting for something to happen to them. This has been... I don't know, but there have only ever been three things that make me feel like I mattered. Connie is one of them. You and the Underside are the others."

Yasi glanced over at Connie, who seemed to relax a little. Connie released Vincent's hand, Yasi did not.

Connie sniffed. "Funny isn't it?" She said, her voice a little hoarse. "All these people walking around the park, just having a normal day. Tomorrow will be just the same. To them, it's just another day. Who would have figured there was a war going on beneath their feet?"

A war we just lost.
Vincent added to himself.
And it's all my fault.

THIRTEEN: The First Duty

"How is she?" Yasi asked.

"Exhausted." Vincent said quietly.

"Shock. Her brain got overloaded this afternoon, decided to shut down until she could process what she's been through." Yasi said from experience. "It was a good idea to bring her back to your place; it's better not to leave her alone."

Vincent nodded, his expression haggard. "I just can't stop thinking that if I'd listened to her six months ago…"

"Yeah." Yasi sighed. "There's blame to go around; and very little of it to her." Yasi looked him up and down. "If you don't mind my saying so, you seem to be taking it well."

Vincent shrugged. "Last time I was in mortal danger, they beat me within an inch of my life. Today was more like that scene in all the James Bond movies where you meet the supervillain."

Yasi gave a mirthless chuckle. "Guess so."

Vincent collapsed down on the couch, and she perched on the armrest to join him. "Yasi…" He croaked. "I kept a record. You told me to burn it all, and I kept a copy for myself. I'm so sorry. I gave him everything."

"If you hadn't given it to him, all three of us would be dead right now." Yasi said. "He only let me live because… I don't know."

"Because he wanted to do it himself." Vincent said absently. "If he'd given the order to kill you, it would have been someone else that took you down. You should have heard him. He knows all your names, has his attacks all planned out."

Yasi glanced over at him. "Tell me everything you know."

Vincent rubbed his eyes and told her everything as quickly as he could. Including his ideas on how to take down the three leaders of the Underside, one by one; including her.

Yasi looked incredibly frustrated. "
Who
is telling him all this stuff?"

"He didn't say." Vincent drawled. "It won't be long now, you know?"

Yasi nodded. "The entrance list was the last thing he needed."

"He won't wait too long now. The longer he waits the more ready you'll be."

Yasi jumped up. "I have to go." She said shortly.

Vincent was already reaching for his jacket. "I'm going with you. I don't know what good I can do down there, but I'm going with you."

Yasi paused, halfway to the door, and looked back at him; biting her lip.

Vincent felt something break inside him, just from the soft sad look in her eyes. "You don't want me to come." He realized. "Yasi, I screwed up, no mistake… I have to make it up to you somehow…" The words sounded hollow, even to him, and he deflated.

"Vincent…" Yasi whispered. "You're right. I don't want you to come, but not because I think you'll flake out."

"Really." Vincent deadpanned. "So there's a long list of reasons?"

Yasi winced. "Ah. Should have thought that through."

"If you had any brains; me flaking out would be the smart reason." Vincent admitted. "There's a war coming, and so far I've shown a pretty unbroken trend toward being a coward… even when my own life and Connie's was at stake, to say nothing of the fact that I basically gave the bad guys the front door."

Yasi sighed. "You want to talk about this? Fine. Let's talk about this." Yasi moved back to the couch and sat on the arm-rest, in a cross-legged meditation pose. "Last time we spoke…"

Vincent winced. "I felt bad about that."

"Everything you said was true." Yasi pointed out.

"I called you a killer."

Yasi was silent a moment, still in her position on the couch armrest. "I never told you how I became the Captain of the Shinobi, did I?"

"Rumor is it had something to do with the Riverfolk." Vincent said softly.

"Keeper and Archivist were running the place, and I've spent my entire life fighting the ‘little princess' role that everyone assumed I'd have. The Shinobi seemed the best way to do it." Yasi explained. "Seven years ago, the Riverfolk got organized. They tried to flood part of the lowest levels, take it over. I was still a kid really; but I was driven, and I was good. The Captain led us down to the River to fight them back. The Riverfolk were always a problem, but never really a threat. Mostly they just popped up here and there to try and scavenge. Usually they scared a few people. A guard on the lower markets was all it took to keep them at bay. This time they were ready. They swarmed over us when we came in; flooded out a chamber to cut us off, and then came up from the water like sharks with legs." She had closed her eyes, reliving it. "And they took the Captain first."

"How did you survive?"

Yasi opened her eyes, and met his gaze. "We were in a chamber below the waterline. Air pressure kept the raised water out, the only exit was a ladder leading into the River… we were all feeling it in our eardrums, the air was getting thick, water lapping at the edge of the room, five of us crammed together. Our lanterns went out, and we were in the dark; starting to freak out. I crouched by the edge and stayed there for over half an hour, and the instant I felt the water shift, I dove in, feet first; and I landed on two Riverfolk that were looking to thin us out. I dragged them deep as I could stand it and rolled them over twice until they didn't know which way was up. They were easy pickings, and I stole their lenses."

"So you could see in the dark." Vincent said from experience.

"And Underwater." Yasi agreed. "The water does things to your depth perception. I took one of their spear guns, took a deep breath, and went alone underwater through to the other side. I honestly thought I was going to die trying, but… I made it, and managed to drain the tunnel. My people escaped, and the Riverfolk were suddenly the ones cut off from the River. We hacked and slashed our way through to the Market. Their leader was there picking trophies off our Captain's body when he saw us. He moved first, I moved faster. I took the Captain's sword and sliced the Riverfolk leader
in half
." Yasi held the blade like a trophy. "Keeper and Archivist were stunned when we came back victorious. They thought we were dead. So when they had to pick a new Captain…"

"It fell to you." Vincent agreed.

"I am a killer Vincent." She said simply. "I get to say that because I have taken lives. If you had pulled the trigger six months ago, you would be a killer too. This does not make me evil and you a saint; it means only that I have done something that you have not. A number of police officers, soldiers, and more than a few others can say the same."

Vincent nodded. "I know." He said in a small voice. "Doesn't mean I have to like that about you."

"No, you don't. And frankly, I'm okay with that. It's not like it's a hobby for me." She said seriously. "But what comes next, means I have to fight. Vandark is invading my home, and I'm Chief of the Guard." Yasi said, holding the blade before her like a talisman, close enough to brush her lips across the flat of the steel. "It will be the most vicious scrape I've been in for seven years. It'll be rough. And if you're not watching… you'll still like me when this is over."

Silence.

"Yasi?" Vincent said finally. "Do you remember the other thing I said to you the night Berlin Below went under?"

"You said a lot of things."

"You know what I mean."

Yasi met his eyes evenly. "You said I could always come here if it went bad."

"I meant it." Vincent said. "I love the place too, and I want to see it safe, but when it happens… you don't exactly sound optimistic. So if there's a chance… I want to go sneak into movies, and I want to go back to the Met and I want to walk through walls…"

"Like it used to be?" Yasi guessed. "Like it was three years ago?"

Vincent looked down. "Does it sound as corny to you as it does to me?"

"Yeah. But right now, I'd give anything to have it be three years ago again." She admitted. "Vincent, whatever you do... Don't come back. I don't know if you have a way in after all this, but… Don't come looking. If you don't hear from me, it means I'm dead." Yasi said. "It's gonna be bad."

"How bad?"

"Not as bad as it'll be when I tell Keeper who gave him a list of all the entrances to the Labyrinth." Yasi gave Vincent a pitying look.

Vincent almost chuckled, despite himself. "Maybe she won't be as mad as you think."

~oo00oo~

"Never, EVER trust an Upsider." Keeper raged. "I swear; I am gonna have that tattooed to the inside of my eyelids!"

"Screaming doesn't help." Yasi said, colder and harder than she had ever been. "Finding the Entrances to the Labyrinth was the last piece Vandark needed. He has an army; he knows where to send it. Vincent made it clear that Vandark has been planning this and reviewing his opponents for a long time."

"Are we ready?"

"No." Yasi said simply. "The Elite Guard was our best chance; and they bailed. There is no more help coming."

"There's got to be a way." Keeper hissed.

Yasi met her mother's eyes with fire and steel. "A way to win a straight up fight? No. A way to drag out the fight to the point where we can outlast them? Maybe. But you won't like it."

"That's a given. What's the plan?"

"First, we start telling people." Yasi said.

"Who?"

Yasi's jaw was set. "Everyone."

~oo00oo~

The Triumvirate held court in their Throne Room, with most of the higher ranking Lostkind in attendance. More of them than the room had ever held; packed in tightly. Keeper was the mediator between everyone, her opinion worth gold to them on any matter. She had told them the facts of what was coming, and they were terrified.

"What's the tactical situation now?" A voice called from the back.

Keeper indicated Yasi, who took up the question. "At the moment, we don't know a whole lot about what they've got on their side; but we know they have us outnumbered. On our side we have fortifications, and time to make them stronger. The civilians and the secrecy of the Lostkind are the top priority. The maze will slow them down and bottleneck them, wherever they come in. Closest to the surface are the Borrowers and the Watchers. They have places and caches just inside the Labyrinth. We can seal off that section, slow them down some more. After that is the upper level including the Throne Room and the Whisper Gallery, and after that the Markets and the Evergreen. Then Twelfth Level."

"And below that, the River." Someone shouted. "Does this have something to do with the Riverfolk attacking the Steps six months ago?"

Keeper looked at Yasi, Yasi glanced at Archivist, Archivist glared at Keeper.

"Yes." Keeper said simply

A silent roar went around the room. Incredible electricity filled the air. The Lostkind packed into the room all knew the Riverfolk. Vandark was a name; the Throwbacks were a forgotten minority; The Riverfolk were their bogeymen.

"So what are we doing?"

"I'll field that one." Yasi rose to her feet. Her face was without expression, her voice hard and powerful. "First: I am ordering that all business above the Whisper Gallery level to shut down immediately."

A low rumble went around the room at that.

"For how long?" Yasi couldn't tell who was saying it, but from his clothing, he was a Borrower. She responded with iron. "For as long as it takes."

Another rumble went around the room. This was unprecedented. The Borrowers and Market Rats did their trade above the Twelfth Level; including the food brought in from the surface. The longer they were shut down, the more likely that the Underside would starve.

"Second!" Yasi roared over them, and they quieted. "I am ordering that we collapse the entrances to the second tier. Everything below the Labyrinth; except for one route; which will be under constant Shinobi guard."

This time the reaction was much stronger. Even Keeper and Archivist were staring blankly at the Ninja, not believing a word she said.