The Tower bells chimed the evening hour. Kemal wrapped his heavy coat closer around him and silently counted along with each deep toll as he walked. The old children's rhyme always came to mind whenever he heard the bells' familiar sound.
One, two, three: The Traveler's gift to you and me
Four, five, six: All the souls the Ghosts do pick
Seven, eight, nine: When you hear the Tower bells chime
Ten, eleven, twelve: The Guardians keep watch; the Tower is well
The last peal reverberated in the cold, clear night. Kemal touched his chest where the Truth pearl hung underneath his coat and murmured a quick prayer of thanks to the Light. It was twenty-hundred hours and time at last to be off of his work shift.
Kemal was not the only one leaving the Tower at this time. A stream of people trickled from the gated entryway at the Tower's base beside the loading docks. Some were visitors who had concluded their business and were on their way home. Most were workers like himself who were seeking entertainment out in the City or were off to visit relatives. They all passed down the long, wide avenue that stretched toward the transit station at the edge of the Foundry district. There were aerial trams from the mid-levels of the Tower that could take him halfway to the station in much less time than a walk. There were taxis at the Tower's base as well, even pedicabs and horse carriages — although those were really only frequented by happy couples who had come to see the Tower up close and make a wish on it as part of a romantic evening. Workers like Kemal wouldn't bite for their services, but their drivers still watched him pass with interest. But despite so many conveniences, Kemal preferred to stroll down the avenue on his own two feet.
There was something about the walking, something about the wide thoroughfare itself, that helped him leave the Tower behind and enter the world of the City. The grand road was not completely choked with automobiles, heavy with the noise and lights of the streets that awaited him. Here at the northern edge of the City, traffic grew sparse and buildings were few and far between. The street was lit in regular intervals by tall, graceful lamps that cast pools of white light. Between those pools, the night was deep and quiet. Around the laughter, chatter, and footsteps of fellow travelers, the wind shushed through the pines on the foothills. Over all of it soared the Tower, a great looming shadow at his back, the mighty Walls curving like protective arms from its proud stand.
Kemal was seeking a drink with friends. There were a couple places he could relax within the Tower's walls, but tonight he wanted to be out in the City. Even such a grand place like it could start to feel a little stale when one worked and lived there for weeks on end. He would never take that for granted, though. It was the Light's grace that he had ever come to live in the Tower at all! And he would never stop feeling that sense of pride and wonder whenever he looked up on the Traveler's Walk and saw the Order banners flapping in the breeze.
Kemal had rubbed elbows with Guardians night and day for a little over a month now. At any moment, whether he was walking to the Frame shop or waiting for an elevator or eating in the cafeteria, he could encounter a Guardian. The idea still sent a thrill up his spine. A Guardian! The Light Blessed themselves, walking around just like him! Growing up in the faith of the Light's Truth, he'd sent prayers to the Traveler and the Light on their behalf every night. He'd sat on his mother's shoulders at the feast day parades to try and get a far-off glimpse of an honorary Guardian attendee. None of that had prepared him to stand shoulder to shoulder with one! Now, heading toward the mag-train to catch a ride to the Inner City, he wasn't sure whether he was relieved or sad to finally step outside the Tower's bounds. Maybe a little of both. At least out here he could relax, let his guard down and not worry about doing something stupid in front of a Guardian. But then it also meant he was incredibly unlikely to see a Guardian at all.
The train was just gliding into the station when he arrived at the covered platform. Kemal's breath steamed in the frigid air while he waited for the cars to come to a stop. He fiddled with trinkets in his coat pockets — old screws and twists of cable and broken keycards that needed repair — little souvenirs from a day of fixing up Frames and supervising their maintenance duties. When the doors slid open, he boarded the bright cabin and flashed his wrist pass to the toll panel. The car was practically deserted. He had his pick of seats tonight. With mining operations shut down at Hakke's east holding, much of the work traffic he could normally expect was absent. It was an eerie thing to see the effects of the disaster in person. He'd been watching the sobering news reports along with his coworkers in the Frame maintenance department for days now, yet his schedule had gone on uninterrupted. Rain or shine, Fallen attacks or not, the Tower stayed the same through calm or crisis. That was what the City loved about it. He hadn't realized how isolating that steadfastness could be until he was standing outside of it again.
Kemal chose a seat close to the window, though he wasn't intent on seeing the scenery. His thoughts were elsewhere, more reluctant than he to leave the Tower behind.
He kept seeing that Guardian in his mind. Particularly, her eyes. Their memory made him shiver. Blessed Light! They hadn't been the soft glow of an Awoken's eyes or the piercing lights of an Exo. They'd been regular human eyes, a nice shade of grey. There had just been something in them, some kind of magnificent wonder, that had made every ordinary thing she looked at seem transformed. And when she had looked at him…
Lei-5 often talked about the Light moving inside of people, and how it was so much more obvious in Guardians. When that Guardian looked at him, he had thought the Light might burst right out of her eyes and burn him away. She had stood before him and breathed the same air. Walked on the same ground. And her eyes had said that she trembled on the edge of the Light's own glory. He didn't pretend to know anything about Guardians or the mysteries of the Light the way a Flame like Lei-5 did. This morning, though, he knew he had seen something profound. She was brand new, her little Ghost had informed him. Not even a full day into her Rebirth. While he had settled down to a dinner of reheated noodles the evening before, she was called into being. Maybe that was why her eyes had looked the way they did. She had just been lifted away from death itself, back to the everyday world where Kemal could change a light bulb in her quarters.
The train pulled away from the station, picking up speed immediately. The magnificent Tower receded behind him and the lights of the Inner City grew closer. It entered the industrial heart of the Foundry district in a matter of minutes. Bright floodlights spilled over barbed-wire fencing and the electric barring around the high security warehouses. Smoke poured from rooftops and brick stacks, mingling with the low clouds moving in from the harbor. The roads here were as likely to be made of mud as they were of glide turf, and those that were paved hardly deserved the term, they were so riddled with potholes and cracks. Giant cranes poised over squat, blocky factories and workyards like curious animals. Tongues of flame lapped at the sky above the power plants, backups for the City's main arc generators. Coal and freight trains trundled in long lines waiting to unload their cargo, their bright headlamps piercing through the dark. The train passed through this labyrinthine district in a rush of air and whining steel. Looking into the shadows, Kemal saw people huddled on street corners or gathered under bridges and trestles. Those on the corners might be workers waiting to catch a bus home. The others were already there.
Kemal stared down the streets, wondering how his brother and mother were doing. Were he to step off the train just about now and walk a sector away from the tracks, he would find the place he used to call home. Before the brilliant Tower and the small apartment he shared with Etienne, there had been his little house on King street in the middle of the Foundry district. It still felt strange not to hail the bus, like he'd had to do when returning home from his first interviews with the Tower, and make the walk from the nearest stop to his mother's front door. He kept expecting that one day he would have to do that again, kept waiting for the Tower to say he was no longer needed. This was a mistake, they would say. You're not supposed to be here. It was a Light-sent miracle that they had ever accepted him at all.
He was terribly homesick, but the honor of his position helped keep that at bay. Besides, the glimmer was more than he could ever have hoped for. Azmi's tuition fund was growing well. Kemal could hardly wait to present his brother with the final sum that would gain him entrance to his first year at the College — not to mention let his mother stop working extra shifts.
Several times the train stopped to let on more riders. Near the innermost sector of the Foundry district, a few factory workers trickled into his car. They looked tired and eager to get home. They held their fare cards and datapads in callused hands and wiped their faces with handkerchiefs that were permanently stained. Like Kemal, they mostly kept to themselves. Some of them noted the keycards and identification tags he wore around his neck bearing the Tower's sigil. Then they looked him up and down with interest. What makes you so special? their looks seemed to say. Why does someone of the Tower want to go into the City? He wasn't embarrassed if people knew that he worked for the Tower. He just wished that they wouldn't stare. I am just like you! he wanted to say to them. Just like them…only the Light saw fit to bless him with a rare appointment to the Tower.
By the time the train reached Lower Downtown, Kemal's car was nearly empty again. Most workers of the Foundry district lived in that same district, where their employment was nearby and rents were much more accommodating to the average pay. Mostly it was the administrators and managers who rode with him to the Inner City. They cat-napped in their seats or had their noses buried in datapads, bringing their work with them. Kemal thought about pulling out his own datapad and reading. Instead he just stared out the window and kept thinking about the Guardian's strange eyes. He could see his own dark brown eyes in the window's reflection, tired and thoughtful. Not at all like the way hers had looked when she'd gazed out the window at the City below.
Her clothing had been torn and bloodstained. She had smelled in need of a good bath too, though of course he hadn't said anything. Instead he had tried to talk about the City —It's beautiful, isn't it? — or something unimportant along those lines. Blessed Light, what an idiot he'd been! Presuming to speak to a Guardian like that…he should have just bit his tongue! But she had looked at him with such an expression! Those fascinating eyes had been asking him to tell her everything he knew about the world stretched out before her. He hadn't known what to say, so in the end he'd just smiled and went about checking the rooms, making sure everything was in working order. Then her Ghost had started talking to her again, so he'd had to remain quiet. It wouldn't have been polite for him to interrupt a Ghost.
Kemal roused himself when the recorded message announced arrival at Lower Downtown, Oak sector. He stepped off the car back into the cold winter night. A scant few riders waited on the platform. Monday evenings were slow in this district, and he rather liked it that way. Tonight he was in the mood for a familiar hideaway and a good chat with close friends. He hadn't seen them since dropping out of the College at the end of the last semester. He would be the last one of them to arrive at the bar, according to Tamara's quick message on his datapad. He hoped that they could excuse the wait. Helping the new Guardian was a request from his boss that he wouldn't have turned down for anything. Even though Chelise was the only other one of his friends who was actively professing the Light's Truth and attending the Flame, any of them would surely jump at the chance to assist the Light Blessed. Chelise especially. He was sure that she would have plenty of excited questions for him about Tower life.
The bar he was looking for was just a block away from the train station. The entrance was tucked away in a small alley that at first glance looked like a dubious dead end. The alley began at a paved cobblestone square where the giant oak the sector was named for grew in its fenced enclosure. The tree was magnificent even after all of its leaves had fallen. It was said to be the child of a seed brought from one of the grand, ancient trees that grew at the top of the Tower. Kemal couldn't be sure about that, but he liked the legend all the same. This tree was festooned with tiny gold lights that twinkled around its thick, twisting branches. A young couple sat on a bench underneath the bare canopy, hardly paying the rest of the world any mind.
Kemal turned into the alley and was greeted by the bar's familiar neon sign. The Acorn, it buzzed in red letters, ringed by the yellow outline of an oak leaf. Under the sign, a short stairway led down to a basement door in a brick foundation. The Acorn was not a large, flashy bar, which was why he liked to frequent it. It was the exact opposite of the blaring nightclubs and raucous pool halls he'd gone to before he went to live at the Tower. Even then, those clubs hadn't really been his first choice of a hangout. He was grateful his friends didn't mind meeting up here tonight. They still craved noise and excitement.
The entire establishment was just one long room with two smaller alcoves branching off of it. One of those alcoves led to a small office. The other housed bathrooms for the patrons. The actual bar counter took up a good third of the room, the dark wood lovingly chiseled into a flowing design of vines and leaves. Red lamps hung over thick, scarred wooden tables, diffusing the light into a warm glow that complemented the cheery atmosphere. Nearly every available inch of the bar's brick walls were taken up with faded pennants and sports jerseys, some from City professional leagues and some from the College. Typical bar decor for the most part, except for a tattered swath of faded cloth that hung over the entryway door. That was a Hunter's cloak, given long ago for reasons forgotten. A few fan-made Crucible pennants were scattered in the mix, though The Acorn was not one of the covert places in the City that a civilian could gamble on unofficial Crucible feeds. Lord Shaxx did not permit televising Crucible matches. Nor did he permit Guardians to boast too loudly of their results, which Kemal had learned upon entering the Tower. And the Crucible Handler had long ago made his displeasure at merchandising known. The Crucible was not to be confused with any old sports match, Shaxx maintained. Ursula, The Acorn's proprietor, was inclined to agree. Enterprising merchants in the City did not care about such ideals. Thus, whatever Shaxx believed, there was a die-hard fanbase who branded everything they could think of with the names of the most famous Cruciblers, and they followed the progress of their favorite Guardians as closely as they could through illegal feeds. Kemal even had a couple of these shirts and such, though he was careful never to wear them anymore.
Patrons sat on padded stools in front of the counter or clustered around tables. They sipped drinks and chatted, played darts in the corner, took advantage of the jukebox loaded up with the latest music. Some watched one of the two large vidscreens that were perpetually tuned to City sports leagues and news. Right now they both blared coverage of the mine incident. A disaster was what they should have been calling it. The mine's major equipment had been devastated, the workers scattered, with some survivors only just now being rescued. Very many were horribly injured. The casualties were still uncertain, though they already tallied at least a dozen. The City had not seen such an attack since Kemal was a little boy. He could only glance at the screens before looking away. It made him sad to think of those whose work was so dangerous when he was so well taken care of now.
Kemal's friends were gathered at one of the small tables opposite the vidscreens. He grinned when he caught sight of them laughing and talking over a pitcher of beer. Inacio, looking tougher than he was in his typical leather jacket and covered in glimmer-press tattoos, was engaged in an animated conversation with Blair, immediately recognizable in his old flannels and the red knit hat he wore for everything but a shower. Inacio sat beside his girlfriend Tamara, who split her attention equally between the two men and her ever-present datapad without losing a beat. Chelise had her chair angled so she sat looking over at the vidscreens. She toyed with her Truth pearl while she watched, sucking on a strand of her long dark bangs, an old childhood habit. He remembered when she had got the haircut she wore now, short and tousled in the back, long in the front. He'd teased her for leaving her bangs just so she could have that security blanket. She had shrugged her shoulders and grinned in helpless defeat. He liked the new look anyways.
Chelise was the first to see him approach. She broke into a smile, though her hazel eyes flicked momentarily back to the screen.
"Sorry I'm late," Kemal apologized. "I got caught up working past my shift." The table became a flurry of activity as chairs were scooted back to accommodate handshakes and hugs. Kemal was grinning ear to ear now. Everyone looked well.
"I got your message," Tamara said, pointing at her datapad. Her long fingernails clicked against the screen. As usual, she was a riot of color and cutting-edge fashion. Her long blonde hair bore new gold and blue highlights coordinated to match her striking makeup. She was sporting very popular Titan-inspired boots that lent a rugged air to her trendy silk scarves and sleek black leather vest. Next to her, Kemal felt very plain in his old hooded shirt and thick weave work pants. The utility sleeves on his legs were about as up-to-the minute as he got in fashion. Chelise was right alongside him in that respect, preferring the classic City styles of long tunics and scarves in her favorite shades of purples and earth tones.
"What took you so long?" Blair asked, making room for Kemal to sit. "Is Tower security as tight on the way out as it is going in?"
"I just got caught up getting some rooms ready for habitation."
"I thought that was what you program the Frames for!" Inacio said.
Kemal shrugged. "Well, it was for a Guardian. I wanted to do it."
"I wish my landlord had your attitude," Tamara grunted.
"Your landlord would hop to it too if there was a Titan breathing down his neck!" Blair chuckled. "Kemal can't reschedule maintenance endlessly. They know where he lives!"
Everyone laughed. Kemal shared their mirth.
"Nah. It's not like that. The rooms hadn't been used in a while and they needed some work." It was mostly the truth. He had also stuck around to change that light bulb and explain things like operating the climate controls. Things that Guardian did not know. Things he took for granted. She had stared at each new concept presented to her like she thought…like she thought sheshould know them. All the while, Kemal averted his eyes from the bloodstains on her clothing and had tried not to think about how she had come by them. She had probably killed whatever had hurt her faster than he could switch on a Frame. Yet she didn't realize how to program hot water in the shower.
"The Tower gets what it wants," Inacio said. "We're just lucky they let Kemal come down here and mingle with the common folk now and again." It was a lighthearted jab, but Kemal was anxious to see that it remained just a joke.
"What are you guys drinking?" Kemal asked. "Let me buy a round."
"Look at the big spender!" Blair crowed. Kemal immediately regretted his words.
"I'll take advantage of it!" Inacio said. "For once, Kemal is actually going to drink something other than tea!" Kemal smiled gratefully. Inacio could sense how uncomfortable the newfound income made him. Kemal was not rich by any means, but on a Tower salary, he was certainly better off than the rest of them. Especially with not having to worry about rent or food costs. Bless the Speaker for declaring free room and board for personnel!
"I'm done for the night," Chelise spoke up, finally looking away from the vidscreen. "You guys get what you want."
"There's a special on pitchers of Tower Bastion," Tamara suggested. Kemal hesitated. Would he look miserly if he just ordered that?
"Kemal's probably sick of Tower anything," Blair quipped.
"Bastion is fine," Kemal said. "I'll be right back." He left the table and went to stand at the bar before anymore jokes could be made. It was all in good fun, he tried to tell himself. He shouldn't worry about it. If they didn't want his company, they wouldn't have stuck around to wait for him.
He was pleased to see that Ursula was the bartender tonight. She was part owner of The Acorn with her husband and had taken it upon herself to act as a surrogate mother to Kemal and his friends whenever they visited, always taking an interest in their studies and lives. She was the one who had encouraged him to apply to the Tower for a position in Frame maintenance. Not only that, she had sent word to friends of friends who already worked there to help him get an edge. He was eternally grateful for her intervention. The waiting list for Tower work stretched into years. It seemed like an Age since he had talked to her last, not merely a month. She greeted him warmly as he approached.
"Look who's here! You're looking well, Kemal. How is life in the Tower treating you?"
"It's good." Kemal shuffled his feet and glanced back at his friends. Chelise was back to watching the vidscreen. "There's lots of work. I'm busy every day." It was hard to talk about the Tower without sounding like he was boasting.
"I'll bet," Ursula said. "I knew you would come in handy up there."
They exchanged more small talk while she poured out a pitcher for the table. He scanned his glimmer card against the terminal. Ursula did a double-take at the total he authorized.
"That's a heck of a tip, Kemal," she frowned.
"It's repayment," he murmured. "For before."
Ursula shook her head. "I told you not to worry about it!"
Kemal tapped the authorization button and put his card away before she could protest further.
"You really helped me out before I got to the Tower," he said. "Making up the difference in rent when mom was sick. And I never would have been able to get the job without your help. Please accept it." Ursula was still frowning. Was she thinking he was just flashing his pay around to brag? Blessed Light, why did things have to be so complicated now that he finally had a good job and could afford to repay kindness shown to him in the past?
"All right," Ursula said. "But I want you to promise me you'll save some of that glimmer for yourself. You're always working so hard! You need some fun in your life!"
"I will," he said. He took the pitcher and extra glasses back to the table.
The friends shared a toast to the long-awaited reunion. They drank and talked. Kemal's smiles came easier and more relaxed. It really was good to get out. The Tower was a wondrous place, but it sure could get lonely. Listening to his friends talk about their classes at the College and the escapades they had been up to was making him feel a bit wisftul. He used to share engineering classes with Blair and Inacio, and Tamara had joined them for study groups. In fact, as top of her class in the phsyics department, Tamara had usually ended up tutoring them all. Chelise had often stopped by those groups too, though her studies in City politics and broadcasting meant her classes didn't much intersect with theirs. Kemal had most often seen her at weekly services in the Flame on campus. Before that, they had practically lived at each other's houses growing up.
"You have to tell us all about the Tower," Tamara demanded. She put down her datapad and fixed Kemal with an eager look. "I've never known anyone who actually went there!"
Everyone leaned forward a bit, waiting to hear what he would say. Like he had guessed, this was the hotly anticipated subject of the evening. Only Chelise continued to sit back. She seemed engrossed by the news reports, only half an ear to the conversation.
"Do you see the Guardians every day?" Tamara prompted. "What are they like?"
Kemal rubbed the back of his neck and tried to think of an adequate way to describe them. He had been preparing for questions like these all night. Of course, now that the time had come, he couldn't find the words. The new Guardian's eyes flashed through his mind again.
"They're just like you've always heard. They're incredible!" He shrugged and grinned an apology for his inadequate explanation.
"Have you seen any of the Vanguard? Or Lord Shaxx?" Inacio asked.
"Yeah. I've caught sight of Shaxx once or twice. He's hard to miss! I actually talked to Ikora Rey last week."
Tamara's mouth dropped open. "You talked to the Warlock Vanguard?"
"Talked isn't really the right word, I guess," Kemal amended quickly. "She just pointed me to a Frame in the Vanguard Hall that needed service." He laughed, remembering that meeting and how much his knees had been shaking when he walked into the room and saw Ikora Rey herself for the first time.
"You ever get to work with a Ghost?" Inacio asked.
"I'd love to get my hands on one of them and take it to the College!" Blair sighed. "I'd pass Advanced Transmat Theory for sure!"
"Yeah, because you'd make it do all your homework while you go and party!" Tamara snorted.
"Hey, whatever it takes," Blair shrugged. "I just want to pass. Man, think of if I showed up to class with a Ghost! Professor Deneve would probably piss himself! You think you could convince one to come over?" He asked Kemal hopefully.
"Sorry," Kemal grinned. "I haven't seen any Ghosts hanging around who aren't with Guardians."
It was a bit of a shock to hear his friends talking about the Ghosts like they were some kind of datapad application. Tamara, Blair, and Inacio were never terribly faithful when it came to the Light's Truth, but it wasn't just that. Practically the very first thing he had been told upon setting foot in the Tower was to treat the little creatures with respect, and not just because their Guardian was likely within earshot. That new Guardian's Ghost was the closest he had been to one of them yet. Truthfully, he was as fascinated by them as his friends. It really would be interesting to be able to get to know one — especially if it let him ask how it worked. He desperately wanted to know how they differed from Frames and Exos. But he would never pry without a Ghost's express permission! A Ghost shouldn't have to submit to study by anyone, let alone a lowly Frame technician. The catechisms maintained their sustenance was by Light, and Kemal did not question that. It was their inorganic matter that he was so keen to understand.
"I just want to know how they do it," Inacio said, draining the dregs of his beer glass. "I want to know how they find Guardians and raise them from the dead."
They all glanced at Kemal. He and Chelise had the answer from the Light's Truth, that the Light Blessed were chosen by the Will of the Light as expressed through the Ghosts. But Inacio was asking for an official Tower explanation, if such a thing existed. Kemal had not heard one.
"You'll have to study the Light's Will for that," Kemal said, gently teasing Inacio. "I've heard nothing counter to it in the Tower."
"No one has told you?" Blair asked, looking disappointed.
Kemal shook his head. The catechisms did not speculate on the process, and no one he worked with had mentioned it. In his heart, he imagined the resurrection to be something beautiful. Warm and comforting, like a ray of sunshine or a call from an old friend.
"Hoping you'll get chosen one day?" Chelise asked Blair. Her tone was decidedly sarcastic.
Blair broke into a grin. "Heck, yeah! I want to kick some Fallen butt!"
"The Ghost will wait until we're all dead and gone," Tamara retorted. "We won't be around for you to brag to." Inacio and Kemal laughed.
"I don't see why the Ghosts have to go on some long search just to find one Guardian," Blair continued. "Why can't they just go to the nearest graveyard and take their pick?"
"If you can figure that out, the philosophy department would like a word with you," Tamara said. She poured another glass of beer for herself and topped off Kemal's glass. "You could just go on up to the Cryptarchy and take over the Master's job."
"Isn't it weird though, how no Guardians ever seem to be from anytime recent?" Blair insisted. "How no one ever looks at one and goes: oh hey, there's my auntie or my brother or whatever?"
"That's how it's always been," Kemal said. "Might as well ask why fish swim." He glanced curiously at Chelise. He expected her to jump in any time now.
"What I think is weird is how the Ghosts are always around," Inacio said. "Do they ever leave their Guardians alone? Are they with them all the time? I mean like all the time? For everything?"
Blair chuckled. Tamara rolled her eyes.
"I'm just saying, that's got to be weird." Inacio put his hands up. "Talk about a lack of privacy! You'd have to let your date know that there's gonna be a party of three no matter what!"
"You're such a perv," Tamara sighed. "I'm sure if a Guardian wants privacy their Ghosts just turn themselves off and don't pay any attention."
"Well, they go into a state of hibernation with their Guardian called Rest," Kemal corrected her. "It's not an off switch. They're still aware of what's happening around them." He was grateful for the quick primers his boss had given him on Ghost and Guardian basics.
"So then they just tell them to buzz off," Blair said.
"Not from what I've seen," Kemal said. "Guardians and Ghosts don't like to be separated."
"I stand corrected, professor!" Blair laughed. Kemal flushed. He hadn't meant to sound like a know-it-all.
"I guess having a Ghost around all the time could be useful," Inacio grinned. "I'd be like: Ghost, fetch me some champagne! Play some smooth music for the lady!" He elbowed Tamara. Everyone except for Chelise laughed again.
"Yeah…good luck with that." Kemal grinned.
"We're just playing with you, Kemal," Blair laughed, slapping Kemal's shoulder. Blair professed the catechism if pressed, even though he did not wear the pearl or attend the Flame. Inacio and Tamara did not, though they tried to be respectful. Their skepticism and irreverence could be alarming sometimes, but Kemal knew they meant well.
"Don't listen to this moron," Chelise poked Blair, tearing herself away from the news program again. "Kemal, you really are in a good position to get answers to questions everyone has always wanted to know."
Kemal turned his glass around on the tabletop, feeling shy again. "I don't know if I could just go around asking questions all day."
"Why? Do they have some kind of rule against it in the Tower?" Chelise asked, unexpectedly serious.
"Well, no. It's just…"
"Don't tell me you're not even allowed to talk to anyone up there!" Chelise said. "I figured the rules were strict, but that's just ridiculous!"
"No! It's not that! It's just…I should probably get to know a Guardian or a Ghost first before I go getting nosy," Kemal finished lamely. As if he could ever do that! Or would! Surely they had nothing to say to someone like him. Of all the people at the table, Chelise should understand where he was coming from.
"What's nosy about it?" Chelise frowned. "I would expect it if I were in their position!"
"Geez, Chels! Give Kemal a break!" Blair nudged Chelise.
"What?" Chelise protested. "I'm just saying that Kemal should take advantage of his position and learn everything he can. There's so much that we don't know. And I'm not just talking about us at this table!" She caught Kemal's puzzled glance. "You can see the catechism firsthand," she explained. "You can see the Light Blessed every day. We don't have to wonder what they're thinking or doing anymore, because you can tell us!"
"They're doing what they always do," Kemal said, still taken off guard by her sudden vehemence. What was it she was hoping he would say? "They are carrying out the Will of the Light and protecting the City."
"Well, I want to know how," Chelise pressed.
"You're starting to sound like that nutjob who came onto campus the other day," Blair snorted. Chelise shut her mouth and glowered.
"What are you talking about?" Kemal asked.
"Some Cultist set himself up in the Commons during lunch yesterday and started raving about the Traveler and the Light," Inacio explained. "Campus security booted his sorry butt pretty quick. Lucky for him, 'cause I know a whole bunch of people were getting ready to jump him. Hell, I was about ready to tell him off myself."
"A Cultist?" Kemal asked. "The Trinary Star got into the College?" The idea was alarming.
"We're not sure he was actually Trinary," Tamara said.
"Oh, come on!" Blair snorted. "It's obvious he was!"
"I'm just saying he never officially identified himself," Tamara sighed. "But yeah, it's totally obvious he was Trinary. He didn't have a wrist ID or anything on him — you know how those weirdos like to stay off the grid. Plus, what he was saying sounded like their brand of crazy. He was unbelievable!" She leaned forward eagerly, happy to relay the gossip to Kemal. "He was yelling stuff about Ghosts carrying viruses meant to infect the dead and raise an army! Can you believe it? He thinks the Guardians are some kind of alien invasion force!" She shook her head and laughed.
"I heard him say that the Traveler is the Darkness!" Blair cried.
"Oh, it gets even better. I heard him say that the Speaker was trying to keep the Traveler crippled because he's actually the Darkness!" Inacio put his hands to his head in sheer disbelief. "Ah man, it was crazy, Kemal. You've never heard anything like what this guy was preaching. I think he must have come up with a new story for every argument students threw at him."
"I better let someone in the Tower know the Trinary has been active again," Kemal said grimly.
Chelise shot him a sharp look. "Why? The Vanguard isn't afraid of them."
"I still think they'd be interested to know," Kemal said. "The Trinary has been dangerous in the past. People have been incited to riots!"
"What is the Tower going to do?" Chelise asked. "Send some Guardians to campus?"
Kemal shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Why was she suddenly so combative? "I don't think they'd go that far," he said. "They'd just…I don't know, keep an eye on them."
"You don't think they should?" Tamara asked.
Chelise saw everyone looking at her and shrugged. "Well, sure they should keep an eye on them," Chelise said. She played with the pearl around her neck. "People like the Trinary Star are crazy."
"Crazy is an understatement," Blair snorted. "People like that just need to be rounded up and shipped outside the Walls. After all the things the Trinary has done in the City, anyone who so much as whispers something bad about the Traveler should be thrown out."
"But not all dissenting opinions are bad and should be silenced." Chelise said.
The table went silent. Everyone stared at Chelise, trying to understand what she had just said. Chelise looked at Kemal, her eyes piercing.
"Do you actually believe what that Cultist was saying?" Blair asked. He gaped at Chelise in disbelief.
"No!" Chelise's voice was as hard as her eyes. "Of course not!"
"Then what are you talking about?" Blair said. "You've been acting weird all night!"
Kemal was relieved to know he wasn't the only one who thought something was out of the ordinary. His relief was immediately replaced with worry. What was wrong? Chelise was always one to debate and argue, but never like this! Chelise pursed her lips and stared at the tabletop. Everyone waited for her answer.
"You guys know I was at the Wall two days ago when rescue crews returned with the mine attack victims," she said. Kemal blinked in surprise. He had not known. "Things were messed up," she went on. "People were hurt really bad. This is a mine that supplies raw material directly to Hakke, a Foundry that everyone knows the Tower contracts with for weaponry. I don't know about you, but I haven't heard the Tower say a single thing about how this could be allowed to happen or what's going to be done about it."
"They couldn't have predicted it," Tamara said.
"Couldn't they?" Chelise asked. "Supposedly they're tracking Fallen movements all the time! The survivors said they had seen signs of Fallen in the area for weeks. If they can notice, why can't the Tower?"
Tamara shrugged uncomfortably and dropped her gaze.
"Likely they did notice," Kemal said.
"So they just let it happen?" Chelise challenged.
"No!" Kemal was aghast. Blessed Light, was she actually questioning the Tower? "I'm sure it's just that the Vanguard couldn't send out Guardians to keep watch day and night on the chance that something might happen."
"Why not?"
"Well…there aren't that many Guardians to go around in the first place. They have their duties and patrols they have to stick to."
"Isn't this important?" Chelise asked. "Couldn't somebody have been spared just to make sure everything was okay?"
"If they did that, they'd be checking out the mines a hundred times a day!" Inacio said. "There's so many people who cry wolf!"
Kemal nodded. The calling of the Light Blessed was so much grander and important than constantly checking in on a mine, even a mine of such importance to the Tower. Chelise knew that!
"Have you asked the Vanguard if that's the truth?" Chelise leaned forward in her chair, her hands on the table's edge.
"Of course not!" Kemal said.
"Don't you think you should?"
"I…" He was at a loss for words. "I didn't think I needed to."
Tamara, Blair, and Inacio looked anxiously between Chelise and Kemal.
"That's what I'm talking about," Chelise said decisively. "We assume that the Vanguard would have done something if they had suspected an attack. That's what we tell ourselves. But how do we really know they would? What if they knew but decided not to investigate? What if…what if, in the Tower's eyes, we're all expendable?"
Silence fell again. Tamara's eyes were bulging, an incredulous smile on her face. Blair shredded his napkin and chewed on his bottom lip. Inacio stared at Chelise like she had just painted the Trinary mark on her forehead and had begun preaching on the tabletop.
"The Vanguard are Guardians, Chelise," Kemal said. "The Guardians carry out the Will of the Light. You know that!"
"I don't live in the Tower!" she muttered darkly.
"Chelise, do you hear yourself?" Blair asked. "You're always telling me to trust the Tower and trust in the Light. And now you're questioning it like this? You gotta stop watching the news. This mine thing has really got you worked up."
Chelise stared back at him defiantly.
"Don't you trust the Guardians?" Kemal asked.
"I do!" Chelise spluttered. "I mean, I want to! I just don't understand how they could let something like this happen!" She looked around the table, fingers twisting the chain that held her pearl. "The Tower isn't talking. Why won't they say anything? With all their glimmer, with all their power — it's enough to make anyone suspicious!"
Kemal was stunned. Chelise had never talked like this before. She had gone to the Flame every week they were in College together. As far as he knew, she still professed the catechism the same as she always had. So when had this doubt started? How had it crept in?He searched her face. Chelise avoided his gaze. Nobody knew what to say. Blair looked off over the bar. Tamara tapped at her datapad. Inacio traced the condensation on his glass and stared at the tabletop.
This was supposed to be a happy reunion. Now it was turning into exactly what Kemal had secretly always feared upon leaving for the Tower, that he'd come back and be a stranger to his own friends. Through all the smiles and laughter tonight, he'd felt the distance between them. In a way, Chelise's outburst was almost expected. This strain of trying to reconnect after a month on rapidly diverging paths…what would another month bring? A year? His heart sank.
"Let's not fight," Tamara said, her voice quavering with a halfhearted laugh. "We've all had a long day. I want to tell Kemal about what happened in the lab. Oh, my gosh! Ryu and Blair totallypranked Doctor Deneve!"
Nobody argued with Tamara. They let her relate her gossip. Slowly the mood of the table lightened, though the somber cast was never completely lifted. Their smiles remained a little tight, their laughs a little forced. Inacio bought the next round and they drank through that pitcher until the conversation lulled. Then they checked wristwatches and datapads and mumbled about the hour. They pulled on coats and warm hats and gloves. Kemal went through a line of hugs from his friends. The last was from Chelise. The others drifted to the side, giving them space.
"Are you okay?" Kemal asked quietly.
"I'm fine," Chelise said, crossing her arms.
"I didn't know you were at the Walls," he tried again. "I heard it was very bad."
"Yeah. It was." She did not elaborate.
"Have you talked with Lei?" He asked.
Chelise shrugged. "No. Why should I?"
"Maybe she can help. You could tell her how you've been feeling."
"And how have I been feeling?"
"I don't mean anything by it," he apologized.
"I know," she said. They stood in awkward silence for a few moments.
"You want a ride to the station, Kemal?" Tamara called.
"No, thanks," he said. "I'll walk. It's not far."
The interruption excused them all. They filed out of The Acorn. Kemal promised his friends that he would visit again as soon as he could. They made suggestions that this would be their usual hangout from now on. It was central to the College and the Tower, so it would be no trouble for any of them to get there. Inacio, Blair, and Tamara all headed for Tamara's car. Chelise hung back a moment.
"The Tower is lucky to have you," she said to Kemal. "Don't let them forget that." He did not know what to say, so he just smiled and thanked her. She hurried to catch up with the others. He watched her go, disappointment gripping his throat.
Chelise's words, that feeling of suddenly being an outsider, haunted Kemal all the way back to the Tower. The world was a dangerous place, especially outside the safety of the Walls. Everyone knew that. But the Guardians knew that most of all. They got a second chance at life — only to give it up in a heartbeat for the safety of the City. Yes, the Light Blessed were powerful, but even they couldn't be everywhere at once. The Darkness was unrelenting. An attack of some kind was inevitable. Wasn't it?
The train came to a stop at the Tower station. The long road stretched before him. Even through his troubles, the sight of the soaring Tower lit from below filled him with strength. This was his home now, his pride. He was making his mark on the Tower as surely as it marked him one of its own. The Tower needed the City — it was the reason the Tower existed! Kemal kept his head bowed against the wind rising off the mountains and repeated these convictions to himself as he climbed the steps to the gondola station.
First thing tomorrow, he would tell his boss what he had heard about the Trinary. Maybe she would know what to do with that information. Surely she had a network of open ears who reached all the way to the Vanguard. Then he would contact Lei-5 and tell her about Chelise, see if there was something the Flame could do to make her feel better. If there was something hecould do to make her feel better.
He flashed his ID badge at the loading bay. The security officer nodded at him.
"The Light keep you," she said.
"The Light keep you," he replied.
He was not alone on the slow ride up the cable. A few of the dock crew were sharing his car, laughing and joking as they anticipated finally getting warm inside the Tower. Kemal nodded and smiled to them but kept to himself, looking out the windows at the Traveler. He picked out the scars on its lamplit belly, reciting their names and significances. The comet's tail, for the brief, brilliant flash of our lives. The Tower, for the Guardians who protect us. The Ship in Darkness, reflecting our times of doubt…
What was happening to Chelise?