Seventy-three

It takes a while to find the right barracks and gear them up to function as Faraday cages. By the time we are done, curious eyes peer at us from behind flimsy curtains, inspecting the men digging up trenches around the barracks to conceal the wires. 

Mason and I have taken it upon ourselves to help Laira and David to secure the electrical circuits, while the other three are the designated diggers. The crew that works at rebuilding the Quarter are on site, but Mason refused to draw any more attention onto us than we already have. 

By the time everything is ready it is well past lunchtime, but the bright side of it is that Ellie is still running the soup kitchen. And food is just a short walk away. 

Mason did manage to get his hands on a telephone and contacted the bunker to check on things. When the time comes, we will need to go back and fetch the cage that Laira made. 

" Good news, " Mason says the moment he steps over the threshold of the barrack wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, " The bunker is secure, for now. Louis said that there has been some movement on the surface but nothing suspicious since it's under a city," He drops onto the bed next to me, and spreads his full length over it, pushing me against the wall.

When I grumble, he laughs and pulls me into his side and begins to rub my back, in small soothing circles. 

" Rest, Canim," He grumbles sleepily and I can't help but sigh. 

" You need it more than I do, "I whisper, feeling the weight of many sleepless nights pressing down on me. 

He hums, and with that hum in my ear, I fall asleep as if someone has knocked me out. 

 We wake up, somewhere around dawn, feeling slightly better. 

According to Laira, we are almost ready to go. The problem is that we don't know where the first drop of Daiō blood has been split. Apple said that that's where we would find Bartholomew. Apple doesn't know either the exact location, just a few landmarks that no longer exist. Being that it has been a few thousand years since then. Lovely. 

Mason yawns and stretches his limbs grimacing, and groaning. Not the most comfortable bed but it was better than the floor, than outside, overall just better. 

" You're up early," Mason yawns, and throws his legs over the edge of the bed.

" No rest for the wicked," I say quietly, and Mason hums. 

" I've got some coffee ready. I've already spoken to Laira. We are ready to go. Only if we'd known where," I sigh as I stare at the map on the floor. It overlaps an old, rundown map that's barely legible. 

" What did Apple say was the name of the landmarks?" Mason treads towards the table, the barrack releases a few metallic creaks as he walks. The hum of electricity, by now, has become background noise. I don't even notice it anymore.

We make sure to steer clear of the walls, just to avoid getting zapped, like flies.

Shuffling the new map, I lift it and look at the circled landmarks. We know it's in Sis District, on the grounds of a former concentration camp that spans endless miles. It reminds me of Yeden District.

But nowadays, there's no longer a division of race, nationalities, or sexual orientation.

We are a strange amalgam of descendants who have lost their heritage, and no longer identify as this or that, but some things, do outlast even the passing of time and tend to survive, even the apocalypse. Snobbery.

" Khalazam," I say as I shuffle the maps to match once again so I can find a spot where my brother would have possibly taken residence.

Sis District is the second biggest District in the New World, after Takkara. It has, over seventy cities, while Takkara has a whooping eighty-five.

My brother could be in any of them, but I'm willing to put all my money on one spot that makes more sense than anywhere else. Admittedly, it's a wild guess, but this is all we have to go on, so I'll take it.

" The location of Khalazam coincides with the location of West Tiloch, that we know today," Mason lowers himself to the floor passes the coffee cup to me, and grabs the map, to have a look at it.

" The Old Ruins, are uninhabited. Nobody has touched them in over two millennia. There are a few myths, and legends surrounding that place. Some say it's haunted by the ghosts of the people who have died a gruesome death, or there is some sort of grotesque creature that guards the ruins," I take a sip of coffee while Mason traces the lines of the East of Tiloch, then follows the line up to West Tiloch, and behind to trace the boundary around the old ruins. 

" Do you think is my brothers doing?" I ask, and Mason raises his head to look at me trying to decide for himself whether it's an option worth exploring. 

" It is. He had time to plant the seed. And if anything people are superstitious. The old ways have a way of influencing people's beliefs. The right words and the right mouth can make a world of difference when building a myth. It is easier to manipulate a hundred people, than one person. All you have to do is convince the dumbest of them all, and he will do the job for you," He passes me the cup of coffee again, so I can take a sip while he studies the map. It is not very detailed but offers enough insight, to start our search.

" We will do a reconnaissance mission to confirm that he is indeed there," I pass the cup with the last drop of coffee to him," We will have to be sly about it and not draw attention to ourselves. We leave tonight, just the two of us. Nobody needs to know where we are going. We need to keep all the information as contained as possible. We still don't know who is listening," I take a pad and begin to draw a rough map of my own before folding it and burning it to ashes. Mason has a point. We still don't know for sure who is on our side and who isn't. For now, it's been quiet but as Mason pointed out, it's only the calm before the storm.

Once I'm done, Mason folds the map and lights it on fire along with the notes and marks we made on it.

I pocket the piece of paper and dispose of the pad as well, just to be sure. 

" Nobody needs to know where we are going," Mason reiterates his earlier thoughts on the matter. And that means nobody other than us.

" Once we have confirmation that he is there, we begin planning meticulously. We have one shot at this and we need to get it right," He grabs my shoulder and stares me down," I need you to leave that place alive, do you understand?" I nod and stare into his fierce eyes, his voice carries a hint of desperation but I try not to think too much about it. Above all else, I need to keep my head screwed on.

" Mum's the word," I clamp my lips shut and he pulls me briskly into his arms and takes a long deep breath.

" We will figure out the rest once this is over," He mumbles into my hair and kisses the crown of my head, before realising from his death grip.

" I know," I say with more apparent calm than I feel," And we will…both of us. Whatever happens, I promise that I will find you," The emotions finally bleed through and my voice cracks a little.

" I promise I will find you, Canim. Wherever you go," He drops his forehead onto mine and grabs my cheeks in his hands, "Remember you still have a wedding to attend to. I'd hate it if my bride wouldn't be there by my side," We both smirk at each other, his shoulders drop a smidgen as his eyes close, and releases the breath that he was holding.

" I'll be there," I whisper," I promise," I say as he slants his lips over mine. I open for him, his tongue slides into my mouth tangling with mine and I relish the feel of his ardour, and I return it tenfold.

His hand slides to the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair, pulling me closer, and keeping me there for him to do as he pleases. I'd be a liar if I'd say, I put up a fight, because I didn't. I melt into him, and into a fireborn kiss, that threatens to incinerate my soul.

Panting we both pull away, red swollen lips, the iron rod in his pants digs into my hip bone," Good to know it still works," I smirk at him and he laughs, shaking his head.

" You have no idea," He pulls me into his arms and tucks my head under his chin.

" I'd like to, though," I mumble into his chest, and he takes a deep breath and squeezes me a little harder.

" Close your eyes," He whispers, and I look up just as he looks down to check to see if I'm doing what I'm told," Close your eyes, you little naughty monkey," He smacks my bottom, and I can help the giggle that bubbles up my throat," Are they closed?" He asks and I nod," Imagine that you are blind," I take a deep breath and try my best to imagine my life without colours, and light, without being able to see the faces of the people I love. It would be a sad life if all of a sudden everything would be taken away from me.

" Now imagine that in all that darkness you can see only one person, and nothing else," He is the first thing that comes into mind, in all his splendour, mousy blond hair, luminous icy blue eyes framed by dark thick eyebrows, contrasting against his pale complexion, and enriched by his perfectly sculpted face. And that smile, a smile that could easily turn ice into a hot spring.

" That's you. I only see you and nothing else. I haven't in years. Not since that day," He pulls away so he can look me in the eyes, those icy blue of his radiate so much warmth that I can feel it in my soul," Remember that, whenever you feel doubt creeping in," He kisses my forehead, his thumb lazily tracing the apple of my cheek. A touch so gentle and soothing, so unlike the man I met in Mr Perry's office all those years ago.

" I will," My eyes flutter close, leaning into his touch, and him like I've never done before.

" Good girl," He hums, folding me into his arms, and spending a good half an hour in each other arms.