The Fadian Escape Read online

  “And now the real work begins.”

  Felder killed the bright moment by stepping closer to the group

  Egoly’s face fell.

  “Come now, “Jim stepped into the cubicle, retrieved the child’s body and retreated to the door.

  Egoly turned to the boy who was still fascinated by his new form.

  “Are you ready?” He asked, playing for time. He got on his knees and knelt before the child.

  “Into the ether,” Corbin put an encouraging hand on Egoly’s shoulder. “It will be easy.”

  Egoly reached out and closed his eyes.

  The moments ticked past.

  “Egoly,” Jim called.

  Egoly did not respond. He reached out to the one place the child would be safe.

  What a cop-out! Ilma sneered, but did not object.

  “Come on,” Corbin hissed, “they’re getting angry.”

  “Think of the woods,” Egoly whispered, “Of the lady who haunts the ghost line.”

  “What?” Corbin shook his head. “No, I’m supposed…”

  The child vanished.

  “I knew you had it in you!” Jim clapped.

  “Is that all?” Felder stepped into the cubicle, frowning. “No dissolving form? No flood of lights?”

  “Uh, I’ve never annihilated a child before,” Egoly stood up, “Maybe that’s only for adults.”

  “You lie,” Felder pinned him with a furious gaze, “to me? In this room? After that abysmal ruse?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Egoly shrank down with his hands in the air. His submission did little to stem Felder’s rage.

  “Get up!” Felder stormed over and grabbed the front of Egoly’s shirt. “Get up!” Felder dragged Egoly to his feet and pulled him over to the crystal casket where Kaleigha rested. Her face twitched rapidly and her brow furrowed with worry.

  Egoly wanted to scream that they were distressing her, but he couldn’t muster the courage.

  “Take a good look at her,” Felder regained control of his voice. “This is your fate. You will sip from the same cup of poison you offered my daughter if you continue to fuck up.”

  Egoly felt his eyebrows shoot up.

  What a convenient rewrite of recent history, he thought. No mention of Felder’s nefarious plan to entrap the daughter he’d ignored for years until she proved useful to him.

  “I am doing the best I can,” Egoly offered.

  “Don’t,” Felder gritted out. “Don’t you dare tell me another lie. I know that Ilma taught you to use your powers. Apparently, she taught you how to tell shitty lies as well.”

  Felder lowered his eyes

  “The child won’t be a problem,” Egoly was certain of that. No Fadian ever met a good fate in the world alone.

  “You’d better hope not,” Felder released him and turned away. The man paced over to the area where the child once stood and glared at the ceiling. Egoly wasn’t sure if his temper was cooling down or flaring up. Felder was unpredictable on his best days, but when he was denied anything, he was twice as deadly.

  “Get him out of my sight,” Felder said in something close to a whisper. “Confine him to his chambers until he understands how kind I’m being.”

  “Felder please,” Egoly begged, not daring to step an inch closer.

  “Let’s go,” Jim reached out and grasped Egoly’s elbow. The enforcer’s voice was hushed, but his grip sent spikes of pain up Egoly’s arm.

  Egoly gave Felder one last glance before allowing himself to be led out of the room, down the narrow hall, and into the elevator.

  “You’re a deadman,” Jim said after the doors closed.

  “I did as he asked.”

  “He doesn’t seem to think so,” Jim looked at Egoly. “And neither do I.”

  Egoly ignored Jim, deciding instead to watch the numbers change as the elevator descended to his floor.

  Jim followed him to the door of the room, waiting until it was almost closed to declare. “I will take great pleasure in removing you from the system.”

  Egoly closed the door in his face and retreated directly to the shower.

  The perfect temperature and ideal pressure of the water would have soothed most souls, but Egoly’s body remained tense and unyielding. The vision of Kaleiah’s troubled face dominated his thoughts.

  She knows it was you. Ilma taunted.

  “I know,” he raised his face to the stream of water allowing it to wash his tears away. “I know.”

  He reached out for Kaleigha, but there was nothing. Not even the usual fear and confusion.

  It was enough to break him.

  The sobs echoed off the glamorous walls and bounced back to dance around his head until the automation cut the stream of water and dimmed the lights. Egoly emerged from the shower feeling heavier than before. He swiped the deck of cards from the desk then plopped on the bed with little care for the water dripping off his body.

  There was nothing to quiet in his mind. The silence was already there.

  He shuffled and asked,

  Is Kaleigha alright? His stomach dropped when the ace of spades card popped out of the deck. That was a definite no.

  Egoly picked up the card and placed it on the bed.

  He continued to shuffle, asking for guidance on what to do next. He split the deck and selected a card from the right stack. It was the ten of clubs. His face creased into a frown. He wasn’t certain, but he knew clubs meant work.

  Finally, Egoly asked if Jim’s assessment of his time left was correct. He shuffled the two stacks together and flipped the stack over. The bottom card was the red joker.

  A resounding yes. Ilma seemed satisfied with his demise.

  Egoly sighed and curled up on the bed, clutching the deck. He closed his eyes and waited for the automation to shut off the lights.

  Chapter Three

  Egoly awoke to Jim tossing clothes over him.

  “Let’s go, sleeping beauty,” Jim walked over to the window, allowing Egoly very little privacy.

  “What’s our mission today,” Egoly made conversation as he stumbled to the bathroom with the clothes in his hand.

  “You’ve been summoned for a meeting with Felder,” Jim paced to the door and back, “Dress nice, this might be what you’re buried in.”

  “If that’s your idea of a joke,” Egoly said around his toothbrush. “I’m not laughing.”

  “Neither am I.”

  Egoly’s stomach tightened and he rushed to throw on the suit Jim chose. The man stood once Egoly left the bathroom.

  As Jim wandered to the door, Egoly rifled around the bed looking for the deck.

  “Here,” Jim held up the cards.

  “Thanks,” Egoly accepted the deck with a polite nod when he really wanted to punch the man in the face. Egoly shuffled the deck once more and got the same red joker. “Let’s go.”

  The journey to Felder’s inner sanctum was swift and silent. Jim deposited Egoly at the door and left without ensuring that he went inside. It was unnecessary. Felder, like any good despot, shrouded himself in a surveillance net that included two visible cameras trained on his office door.

  Egoly squared his shoulders and looked into the camera mounted beside the door before knocking.

  A faint buzzing indicated the door was unlocked. Egoly entered the office and frowned. The massive desk, with its stunning view of the entire city, was empty.

  “Egoly, my friend,’ Felder called from the bar area. A set of cut crystal glasses glimmered in the golden light. Their contents were dark and opaque.

  Egoly’s skin crawled as he walked over and accepted a glass from Felder. This man was not the same person who forced him to his knees less than twenty-four hours ago.

  “Come,” Felder indicated the bar stools. “Let’s renegotiate your contract.”

  Egoly struggled to keep the incredulity off of his face. He raised the glass and took a sip of the thick liquid. It was a delicious coffee liqueur with heavy undertones of cinnamon a
nd vanilla. He sat down and waited for Felder to take advantage of the nonexistent contract.

  “I want to start by apologizing,” Felder raised his glass and took a sip. Egoly joined him, certain he was about to be screwed. “It was wrong of me to put so much pressure on you. Despite your wandering to infinity and beyond, you’re still naïve to this world.”

  “I appreciate your understanding,” Egoly gave a smile and braced for Jim and his squad to swarm him.

  “I think,” Felder drained the glass and began making another drink. “That until you’re accustomed to your place in this system, you’re better suited to running my errands. What do you think?”

  It was a trap.

  Egoly focused on finishing his drink before he stepped into his crystal casket.

  “I’m happy to help where I can, Felder,” he said at last.

  “Excellent!” Felder lifted the glass from his hand and put it behind the counter. “Let’s have you deliver this message.”

  Egoly followed him over to the wide desk where a small envelope bearing the Union’s insignia sat in the middle of the tidy desk.

  “Take this to the village,” Felder said simply, holding up the envelope between two fingers. “Hand it to the elders and wait for an answer.”

  Egoly hesitated. The envelope gave off the same energy as a poisonous snake.

  “They are expecting you,” Felder said, his voice warm and encouraging.

  “Of course,” Egoly took the envelope and slid it in the same pocket as the deck of cards.

  There was a moment of awkward silence before Egoly nodded at Felder and took his leave.

  “Egoly,” Felder called before he crossed the threshold, “Don’t stay past sunset.”

  “What if they don’t have an answer by then?” Egoly asked without thinking.

  “No answer is an answer,” Fleder smirked and turned to the window.

  Egoly took the opportunity to leave.

  The closest entrance to the park was only a few blocks away. Egoly took his time on the short trip, enjoying the early morning sights. He looked up at the morning sky, grateful for Kaleigha’s restoration of the sun.

  Don’t get sidetracked, Ilma taunted. Daddy wants you home before the streetlights come on.

  Egoly passed through the entrance into the park. Although he was there for the second and third iterations Kaleigha created, he was still shocked to see the tents and pavilions that replaced the original buildings he remembered.

  A wave of apprehension washed over him as he entered the main area of the village. Somewhere beneath his feet, ran the tunnels where his physical body remained imprisoned until Kaleigha released him. A wild thought screamed across his mind and made him doubt his current reality. What if this freedom was just a vision implanted by Ilma?

  “Egoly! Egoly!”

  He looked around the village, searching vaguely familiar faces for the person calling him. He was disturbed to see more ghosts than humans. He frowned when something slammed into his leg.

  “Egoly!”

  “Corbin?”

  “Hi, Egoly!” the boy smiled. “Did you get in trouble for sending me away?”

  “Yes,” Egoly returned Corbin’s smile, but kept his eyes on the crowd gathering near them. “But you know that, don’t you?”

  “I could feel your fear all night,’ the boy took his hand, ‘but you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

  “We are Fadian,” Egoly said, “Anytime we lose fear, we tend to lose our lives.”

  “But we don’t die unles-”

  “Take me to the elders,” Egoly cut him off. “Where are they?”

  Corbin frowned, then nodded. “They are this way.”

  The boy skirted the crowd and took him to the site where the old mansion used to stand. There, under a common public works pavilion, the elders sat in a semi-circle attended by their usual court of servants and advisors.

  A fine sweat broke out all over Egoly’s body as they approached the Elders. He intended to call out to them, but the words stuck in his throat. Egoly slowed his walk, trying to adjust for the sudden sway of the ground. He squinted at the group trying to focus on a face, but black shadows crept into the edge of his vision. Egoly Whipped his head left, then right, thinking Felder’s formless minions were closing in on the village again.

  “Egoly?” Corbin, who sensed the distress and sent a wave of bright, childlike energy through their physical connection.

  “I’m ok,” Egoly assured the boy.

  “You are,” Corbin agreed. “You’re very powerful and they’re really scared of you.”

  “You’re right,” Egoly stood up straight and blinked until his vision cleared. He knew that he was more powerful than the Elders and had always been, but somehow they’d kept him entombed for ages. “I’ll never go back there.”

  Corbin smiled and pulled him along until they were before the Elders. They looked as they always had, dignified and regal.

  “Good morning,” Egoly gave them a slight bow then pulled the letter from his breast pocket. “I am here on official Union business.”

  Egoly waited politely as one of the attendants fetched the envelope from his hand and brought it to Hailmon. The man studied the insignia before opening the envelope and reading the letter. Hailmon looked from the letter to Egoly then back at the letter.

  Several moments passed before everyone began to shift uncomfortably. Hailmon’s face was stoic, but the slight tremble in his weathered hands betrayed his true feelings.

  “Well, what does it say?” Karen asked in a hushed tone.

  Hailmon glared at Egoly as he responded.

  “You chose this.”

  Egoly frowned.

  When Hailmon did not continue, Karen asked again. “What does the letter say?”

  Hailmon looked at Karen then flipped the paper toward her. An attendant scrambled to catch the fluttering letter before it hit the ground. They handed the letter to Karen who read it and passed it to Danesha.

  Danesha huffed and bolted to her feet. She left the letter in her seat and strode over to Egoly and Corbin.

  “Walk with me” Danesha commanded, not stopping to see if they would obey.

  Of course, they did.

  Anything to get away from Hailmon’s rage. She led them across the park toward the treeline where she shooed Corbin away and turned on Egoly.

  “Why have you come,” she asked, looking him dead in the eye. Egoly had not expected such a frank question. He paused, uncertain of how to answer this.

  “I am just a messenger,” He decided this was the best means of deflecting her question. “I have no intention I’m causing you any distress.”

  “Me?” she laughed. “What about yourself? Are you that fool’s errand-boy now?”

  “It’s not like that, not exactly like that,” Egoly looked back across the park and shuddered at the number of ghosts in their midst.

  “Then I’ll ask again,” Danesha hissed, “Why have you come?”

  “I came to deliver a message to you and the other elders,” Egoly kept his features neutral, but he remembered Felder’s warning. “I don’t know what it says, but I was probably the best choice to send. Would you really want Felder or one of the enforcers here in the village?”

  Danesha’s face softened for a moment.

  “It won’t make a difference,” she sighed. “You’ll only report back what you see.”

  Egoly remained silent.

  “Why don’t you stay?” Danesha took his hand and cradled it. Egoly looked away. There was a time during the long years in the tunnels beneath his feet that he’d have killed to have some type of parental affection from any of the elders. The temptation to lean into her touch was overwhelming, but so were the waves of nausea that threatened to sweep him away each time he thought of the old mansion.

  “I don’t belong here,” Egoly took his hand back. “I never did.”

  “That can change,” Danesha moved to put an arm around him, but he sidestepped he
r. “You can come here, with Kaleigha and live in peace.”

  Egoly looked away. He wanted to rage at Danesha and threaten her for saying Kaleigha’s name, but he knew that’s how the Elders operated. They weakened you through your own emotions. “We’d better get back to the group.”

  Egoly offered his arm to a stunned Danesha, who, after a moment of silence, hooked her arm in his and allowed him to lead her back to the pavilion.

  Karen smiled at him and Egoly fought the urge to run. He looked at Corbin who seemed unhappy, but before Egoly could ask if the child was ok, Delaine spoke.

  “Do you have a counter to the offer?”

  “You can’t be serious,” Egoly grasped his lapels to stop his hands from shaking. “I’d never- I can’t- I don’t even feel safe here now. How could I live here?”

  “You could be an elder,” Karen threw him a warm smile and the child in him wanted to bask in its light forever. “You’re the first of your generation and nearly as old as we are. You have the experience to rule.”

  Egoly felt a whimper rise from the depth of his soul to the top of his throat. There was nothing he wanted less than to sit in fellowship with the very people who enslaved him. He marveled at their placid faces as they waited for his decision.

  As he’d done so many times while confined beneath the mansion, Egoly reached out for Ilma. To his surprise, she remained silent, offering no comfort to him as she had in the past. The darkness crept in from the edges of his vision and the nausea returned.

  “You look unwell,” Delaine motioned to an attendant who stepped forward, offering a glass of water.

  Egoly shook his head ‘no,’ but the attendant didn’t step back. Instead of reaching for the glass, he crossed his arms over his chest. The action brought the deck of cards in his jacket to his awareness. He slid a hand into the pocket and gripped them until the box creaked. Kaleigha’s face, beautiful and smiling, grew in his mind’s eye until the terror of returning to the village no longer pressed his brain to mush. It was the unexpected anchor that allowed him to save himself.

  “No,” The word came out weak and wounded. He cleared his throat and tried again. “No, thank you.” He fought the urge to explain why and to launch into a litany of accusations against the elders.