Part Two
Kai's first birthday had gone well. It was well into evening time. Ayari and Turin were busy cleaning up plates and bits of paper.
"I think that everyone enjoyed themselves, anyway," Ayari was saying.
"Well, it would have been nicer if Kai was old enough to appreciate it," replied Turin. Ayari laughed.
"Oh, it's just an excuse to invite all our friends round, have some fun. Gets us into practise for all his other birthdays."
"I know some fun we could be having right now," said Turin cheekily into her ear. Ayari swatted him with a cloth as he dodged by, plates wobbling dangerously in his hands.
"Is that all you ever think about?" she asked. Turin came back into the room and hugged her affectionately.
"I live with a beautiful woman. How can I not think about it?" Ayari rolled her eyes and shook him off.
"You can clean the dishes. Maybe that'll keep your mind off it," she smiled. Turin groaned in an exaggerated disappointed manner.
"You're mean," he sulked. Ayari shook her head in mock disbelief, handed him her cloth, and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Turin asked.
"Bed," replied Ayari. Turin's face lit up. "And straight to sleep," she added, a wicked gleam in her eye. Turin's face fell again as she vanished into the bedroom. He simply tidied up the remaining plates, and decided to leave them until the morning. He hated washing up.
It was a few hours later and Ayari and Turin were fast asleep. Even their breathing did not do much to break the silence. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door. Both Ayari and Turin stirred sleepily. Ayari nudged Turin.
"You go and answer it," she mumbled, huddling back under the covers. Turin rubbed his eyes and staggered over to the door.
"Yes?" he said. Leorie and someone else were at the door. "Hello Reyden," he said, surprised to see him. Reyden nodded in acknowledgement.
"Turin, you and Ayari must leave immediately. The High Council's security force is coming to search this area for Mortalists," said Leorie. Turin stood back to allow Leorie and Reyden to come in. Turin seemed shorter to Leorie now that his hair was not up in his bun, but cascading in a tangled mass of locks about his shoulders.
"I'm sorry this has to happen after such a lovely afternoon," said Leorie. Turin simply shrugged.
"I'll go and get Ayari," he said, now more awake. He went back into the bedroom to find that Ayari was sitting up in bed.
"What's going on?" she asked. "Is that Leorie outside?"
"And Reyden. They said that the High Council's security force is going to be searching the area any time now. We have to leave immediately." Turin stooped down and pulled out a large bag from under the bed. Obviously they had been prepared for this moment. Ayari got out of bed, and slipped on a pair of shoes. They hadn't time to change into day clothes now.
"I'll go and fetch Kai," she said. Turin went out into the living room where Leorie and Reyden were waiting.
"How did you know?" asked Turin, pulling on a coat.
"We got a warning from someone who is in the Council, and who doesn't agree with their policy on this matter," said Reyden. "There are some secret locations set up as hiding places for all of us. We'll take you to one of them."
"How far away are they?"
"Quite far, on the edge of the city where nobody lives now."
"So long as there's somewhere to go...where's Ayari got to?" Turin turned round impatiently.
"Ayari?" he called. She appeared carrying Kai, who was wrapped in blankets, from which came a muffled sobbing. Leorie held him as Ayari put on her coat, a long, deep blue garment with a hood. She suddenly turned round, and went and picked up her telescope, carefully packing it away in its case.
"Hurry up," said Leorie, tired of holding a crying baby.
"I'm coming," said Ayari. They hurried out into the street, barely looking back. Ayari pulled up her hood to keep the rain off her head, and took Kai off Leorie.
"We have some transport not far from here," said Reyden. "We didn't come too close so as not to draw attention."
"Not too far I hope," said Turin, rain trickling down his face.
"No, it's just round..." began Leorie. A bright light behind them and several pairs of footsteps made her stop.
"Just keep walking," said Reyden. Ayari felt Turin take her free hand firmly. The footsteps behind them speeded up, and the little group felt compelled to walk faster, too.
"Stop there," a voice behind them shouted.
"Follow me," said Reyden, and the four of them ran for their lives. The people behind them also broke into a run. Reyden ran down the hill and round a corner into a narrow side street. He then led them into a dark alley that took them well off the main road. They heard the footsteps of their pursuers die down as they ran past. Ayari sighed, relieved.
"That was too close," she said. Reyden checked to see if there was anybody coming then led them out onto the narrow street. There, a little further along was a vehicle to take them to where they would be staying. They clambered in, cold and damp. Ayari, Kai and Turin took up the back seat, while Reyden slid into the driver's seat. Leorie sat next to him. They started off on their journey. Ayari began to warm up a little as they sat there. She checked on Kai, who had stopped crying by now, but was still awake. Turin looked at him too, and then took him off Ayari, murmuring something to their son that she couldn't quite catch. She put her arm through Turin's, and found herself dozing.
She didn't know how long the journey took them, for the next thing she knew was Turin nudging her awake.
"Ayari, wake up. We're here," he said. Ayari stirred, confused for a second by the early morning light, and saw that they were outside a large building. They were somewhere towards the edge of the city, for she could tell that there were fields not too far away. Stiffly, she got out of the vehicle. Reyden showed them in.
"You'll have to occupy the basement for the moment I'm afraid. But it's not too bad," he said.
They made their way down some stairs to the basement. There were two other groups of people there; one of which also had two small children. Leorie led Ayari and Turin over to a corner where there was a mattress and some blankets.
"It's not brilliant," she said, somewhat apologetically.
"At least it's warm and dry," said Ayari.
"I'll go and fetch you some towels," offered Leorie. Ayari nodded, gratefully. Leorie dashed off over to Reyden first, and was talking to him about something. To Ayari's amazement, the two of them exchanged a quick kiss, then Reyden disappeared back upstairs, presumably to go and collect more people, while Leorie went to fetch some towels. Turin had placed Kai on the mattress, and was sorting out his blankets. Ayari knelt besides him. He turned and smiled at her, more to reassure her than because there was anything worth smiling about. His hair tangled from sleep and from the weather hung about his face. For a moment, he reminded Ayari of when she had first met him, at a friend's house. It had been a cold winter's day with horrendous weather, and while Ayari was there, Turin had stopped by for a visit to get out of the weather. His hair had come undone from his bun, and he looked completely bedraggled. Ayari had thought at that moment that he was the most attractive man she had ever seen, despite his messy appearance. Fortunately, the attraction had been mutual, and here they were today. She looked into his deep blue eyes - the colour of the sky just after a clear sunset she always thought - and could see that he was quite anxious, despite appearing calm.
"Kai will be tired tomorrow," he said, covering up the baby again.
"Well, we're not about to go anywhere," replied Ayari, sitting down properly. Turin sat besides her, and put and arm round her.
"I don't think we'll be here for long...we managed to stay out of trouble for ages."
"But what if all that luck has run out?" replied Ayari, tired and irritated.
"We'll just have to take each day as it comes," said Turin, patiently. "I know you don't give up easily, you're very stubborn, and you don't like doing things you don't agree with, and I'm not expecting you to change, either." Ayari had to smile at the last part, which pleased Turin. He touched her cheek with his hand.
"See, it's not all bad if you can smile," he said, and kissed her gently.
"Don't get too carried away in this place," a voice said, teasingly. Turin and Ayari sat apart, both a little embarrassed. Leorie was bending over them, towels in her arms. She smiled at them.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it. You did look rather cute, though."
"You didn't tell me you and Reyden were together," said Ayari, trying to get her own back.
"Oh, only for about a fortnight, it's not even serious yet," said Leorie, sheepishly.
"Still...you're one of my closest friends," said Ayari. "I didn't even know you had your eye on him."
"I didn't, not really until I began working with him to set up the refuges," replied Leorie. "Anyway, he approached me." Ayari smiled at her friend.
"It's nice you have someone," she said. "But I wouldn't have thought that Reyden was your type."
"He's not at all how he seems to be," replied Leorie, somewhat dreamily. "You know, he's not deadly serious, not when you really get to know him."
"I'm sure he isn't," said Ayari, obviously still trying to work out what Leorie could see in Reyden. Leorie looked over at the sleeping Kai.
"He's grown a lot recently, hasn't he?" she said.
"Yes, he's going through his clothes as fast as we get new ones," said Turin.
"Won't be long until he begins to walk," said Leorie. Ayari looked doubtful.
"I don't know, he hasn't shown any inclination yet, he's quite happy crawling around."
"Oh well, when he's good and ready, I suppose."
"I think his curiosity will make him walk," said Turin, wryly. "When he's got bored of exploring the floor, he'll want to walk to see more things." Leorie smiled.
"Anyway, it's really late, I'll leave you to get some rest." She walked off to somewhere upstairs, leaving the young family alone. Turin looked around at their mostly sleeping companions, then at Ayari.
"Hope we can eventually get some privacy," he said. Ayari had settled down under the blankets already, and had closed her eyes.
"We'll just have to get used to it," she mumbled. Turin sighed, and lay down so that Kai was in the middle of them. In the morning - or was it morning already? - they would be able to deal with their situation better. Turin would like to know where they were, for a start. He lay on his back, wishing that he was in his own bed. Despite his assurances to Ayari, he was extremely anxious for their safety, especially after some of the stories he had heard from time to time since the High Council had enforced the ruling. People had disappeared overnight, and there was definite evidence to show that some people had been killed. They were safe again for the moment, but for how long?
The sound of children's laughter filled the air. It was a sunny day, and everyone was outside. Turin and Ayari had been at the hideout for nearly a fortnight and they were settling in better than either of them had expected to. Now there were about five families and several individuals with them, making about twenty people in all. Ayari had been glad to see some of her friends there. Also, she loved talking to the parents of the other children. She had become particularly friendly with Mythia, the woman that shared the basement with them who had two children, of whom the youngest was slightly older than Kai. It was fun watching the two play together. Right now, they were sitting on a grassy slope, near to the house where they had been staying. The house was not quite in the city, and looked out over miles of countryside.
"I could quite easily live here," said Mythia.
"It is nice," said Ayari. "But I like to be near people. This is a bit isolated for me."
"After living in the city with all the fuss, this is like a holiday," replied Mythia. Ayari nodded in agreement. It had been refreshing, in a strange sort of way. Of course, she would still rather be in her own home, but this was not as bad as they had first feared it would be. There had been some partitions put up in the basement, so there was a little bit more privacy for them, which made things better.
"But anywhere is better than living underground. That's no kind of life. How can anybody suggest such an idea?" she said. Mythia laughed.
"They're probably more likely to become ill living down there," she said. "Dark, damp, that's no good for anyone."
"At least most of the Olds are now too preoccupied with keeping out of the sun, rather than looking for us," said Ayari.
"Yes, it does take the pressure off a little, but it is only a matter of time before the High Council's squad finds us," replied Mythia. Ayari shrugged, resignedly.
"Perhaps it is, but I do not want to spend my life on the run, which is the other option. Maybe if it was just Turin and I, but it's harder with a baby in tow."
"Where is Turin, anyway?"
"I think he's gone somewhere with Reyden," said Ayari. "Visiting another house."
Turin and Reyden sat in silence as they made their way over to another of the houses. The majority of the roads were empty as they drove past, many people having gone to live in the vast city underground, or tightly shut up in their homes. Turin glanced at Reyden. Although he knew him well, he always felt a little uneasy in his presence. Reyden was a very businesslike person, who stood no nonsense. A lot of people found him cold and distant, but Turin knew that he had a fiery temper. The younger man was more than a little flattered that Reyden wanted him to accompany him, but at the same time, he couldn't help wondering why.
"It's quiet, isn't it?" said Reyden, breaking the silence.
"Yes," replied Turin.
"I hope we don't run into any patrols, they'd spot us a mile off."
"Yes, quite easily," Turin said. There followed a rather awkward silence, which Reyden broke again.
"You must be quite worried about the patrols finding you," he said.
"Of course I am, I think any sane person would be," answered Turin.
"I meant, what with you having Ayari and a baby to look after as well, it must be hard."
"It's an extra worry, but Ayari and I just take each day as it comes. We haven't had any problems since being at the house, although it's not an ideal situation," Turin admitted. Reyden nodded in agreement.
"What would be your ideal situation, Turin?" Turin looked at him, puzzled. Reyden repeated the question.
"Tell me, if you could change everything to how you wanted, what would it be like?"
"Well, I..." began Turin, and stopped. Reyden looked at him, eyebrows raised. Turin started again.
"I'd like to be back in my own home again." he said. "Not the one we lived in, although it was nice. One of the large ones where the richer people used to live. We went for a walk past there once, I promised Ayari that's where we would live one day. I remember it was just before she became pregnant...it seems such a long time ago now. She had said jokingly that maybe we'd have one or two children of our own, but neither of us actually expected one at that point in time."
"It sounds like it was quite a shock for you," said Reyden.
"It was a shock for both of us, what with it being still something of a rarity, even amongst Mortalists," replied Turin. Reyden actually smiled at him, a small one, but it was still a smile.
"You seem to have adapted to being a father well," he said. Turin looked bashful.
"I got into it better than I thought I would." There was another pause.
"What about you and Leorie?" asked Turin. Reyden took a deep breath.
"Leorie and I haven't been together that long, so we haven't really thought about our future much. I'd like to be with her, but I can't really say I've got any plans."
"Even so, there must be something."
"If this situation didn't exist, Leorie and I probably wouldn't have got together," said Reyden.
"But still, if it disappeared, you must have some ideas of what you would like to do," argued Turin. Reyden seemed to shrug. Turin thought that it was odd. Why, only a few weeks into his relationship with Ayari, he was always thinking about what to do tomorrow or next week. He thought for a moment that perhaps it was because they were younger and more idealistic when they got together, but dismissed it. They had to grow up quickly when Kai was born, and were a lot maturer than they used to be...but Turin had never stopped thinking about their future. He knew Reyden loved Leorie, perhaps it was something Reyden wasn't used to. Turin wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. He decided to let the matter drop.
"How far have we got to go?" he asked.
"Not much further," replied Reyden. Turin sat back in his seat, and watched the scenery. Reyden suddenly pulled in. The two of them got out, and walked over to one of the buildings. Reyden knocked at the door. To his surprise, it opened. Turin looked at him, suddenly feeling a lot uneasier than he had before. Cautiously, Reyden pushed the door open further, and stepped inside, Turin following.
"Hello?" called Reyden, but he went unanswered. He went further inside the house, while Turin peered carefully into one of the rooms. It was a mess, full of broken furniture. He drew in a sharp breath, and moved onto the next one. It too was in a similar state.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"Looks like the High Council paid them a visit," said Reyden, grimly.
"I'll look upstairs," said Turin, and began to climb the stairs. Fortunately, the sun was bright outside, and brought in a welcome source of light. He prodded open the first door, and saw that the room was in a similar state to the others he had seen. He moved onto the next one, and stood there, frozen. Finding his voice, he managed to call Reyden's name, then went into the room. Slumped against the wall at the far end were two men, both about his age. One was dead, the other was unconscious. Turin knelt beside him and tried to determine his injuries. Reyden burst through the door, and marched over to them.
"He's dead," said Turin, nodding at the first one behind him. "This one isn't, but he doesn't look too good." Reyden sighed.
"Stay with him, I'll see if there are others." He disappeared before Turin could say anything more. About five minutes later he came back, looking grim.
"I found three other bodies, everyone else has been taken for trial or whatever is done to them."
"How many were here?"
"Fifteen, including four children," Reyden said. Turin closed his eyes, but opened them again when the stranger stirred slightly, and mumbled something. His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked at them, still not quite with it.
"Who are you?" he whispered.
"I'm Reyden, this is Turin," said Reyden. "Who are you? What happened here?"
"I'm Mirel. The High Council found us...they took whoever they could, and left the rest of us for dead. I don't know what happened, just they burst in, I tried to fight them, and this is the next thing I know."
"It's okay, Mirel. We'll take you back with us to our house. It's not been discovered, so far. We can sort your injuries better there," said Reyden. Mirel looked at him.
"What about the others?" Reyden swallowed.
"I'm afraid they're all gone...or dead." Mirel's head dropped. Turin looked at Reyden, not knowing what they should do.
"Let's get you to our transporter," said Reyden. "Do you think you can walk?" He and Turin tried to help Mirel up, but he dropped back onto the floor again.
"Let him rest," said Turin. "He's only just come round."
"It's dangerous," replied Reyden.
"They won't be back if they think everyone else is dead," said Turin. Reyden shrugged. Mirel closed his eyes again. Turin shook him gently, but he didn't respond. Reyden checked his pulse, and shook his head. Turin sighed.
"Let's go," he said. "There's nothing more to do here." He stood up, and went towards the door. Reyden took a last glance round, and followed. Once out in the fresh air again, the two of them felt better. Turin looked agitated.
"So, what do we do now?" he asked.
"Nothing," said Reyden.
"We should at least bury them," said Turin. "It's the least we can do." Reyden sighed, and decided to agree with him, the younger man was clearly upset by what he had seen. It would go someway to helping him deal with it. The two of them turned back towards the house, to carry out their task.
A couple of hours later back at their own house, Ayari and Mythia were beginning to feel the coolness of late afternoon. The children were getting tired, and they were thinking about going back indoors.
"I wonder where they've got to?" wondered Ayari. Mythia saw some movement by the house.
"I think I just saw Reyden a moment ago. They should be back," Mythia told her. Ayari shaded her eyes, and looked towards the house. She could make out a figure coming towards them, smiled, and waved at them.
"Looks like you were right," said Ayari, as Turin waved back. He came and sat down besides them, catching his breath.
"Well, they're definitely starting to move underground," said Turin. "Parts of the city are becoming empty."
"That's good," said Mythia. Turin shook his head.
"Not in the long term. As they move everyone, they'll discover the hideouts. They've already found one. That's where Reyden and I have been. Nobody left."
"Nobody at all?" asked Ayari.
"No," said Turin, shortly. Ayari thought that he was hiding something, but knew that now wasn't the time to ask. Mythia's son came over, wobbling dangerously on his small legs. Kai, a couple of feet from the others looked a little disconsolate at being left alone. Ayari couldn't help feeling sorry for him.
"Kai," she called, softly, holding out her arms. Kai smiled when he heard her, and came crawling over. Ayari cuddled him.
"I think he felt we'd abandoned him," she said, Kai chuckling in her arms. She stood up, and the others followed. Together they walked down the hill and into the house. Mythia and her two children disappeared into the kitchen, while Ayari and Turin made their way back down into the basement. They went into the part where they lived. Ayari sat Kai down with a couple of his toys, then turned to face Turin.
"So, what did you and Reyden really find, then?" she asked.
"I told you, nothing. The place was deserted," replied Turin. Ayari folded her arms.
"No it wasn't," she said. "What really happened?" Turin didn't say anything, and Ayari lost patience.
"Well, are you going to tell me, or do I have to go and find Reyden and ask him? Which is something I'd rather not have to do, because just getting the time of day from him can be like getting blood from a stone," she snapped. Turin's shoulders sagged a little, and he lowered his eyes.
"We were just going to pay them a visit to see how things were, but when we got there, we found that most of them had been taken away by the Council. The place was a complete mess. The ones left were dead, except for one, and he died before we could get him out of there," he told her. Ayari's expression changed from that of anger to one of horror.
"That's awful," she said. "And what about the other houses?"
"I've no idea, we're going to look tomorrow." They just looked at each other. Life had become that little bit more dangerous. Kai continued to play with his toys, quite oblivious to his parents' worries.
"I'm going to find Leorie. I don't suppose you know where she is?" Ayari said to Turin, breaking the silence.
"I think she's in the kitchen," he replied. Ayari hugged him, then went up the staircase that led to the kitchen. She could hear muffled voices from behind the closed door, and recognised Leorie's voice. Opening the door, she almost bumped into Reyden.
"Is Turin down there?" he asked.
"Yes," began Ayari, but Reyden had disappeared down the stairs before she could say anything else. Leorie saw Ayari, and smiled.
"Hello Ayari," said Leorie. Ayari returned the smile, and sat down by Mythia.
"Did Reyden tell you about the hideout?" Leorie nodded.
"Yes, he's going to inform the others."
"What, now? But Turin said that they weren't going till tomorrow," said Ayari.
"Reyden decided that it was too important to put off. Would you like a drink? I was about to make myself and Mythia one."
"Yes, please. What's next for us?" Leorie fussed around with some cups and bent over to look in a cupboard.
"I'm not sure," she said. "We could move, but how do you move twenty two people without anyone noticing? No, I think we'll let those who want to move on go." She poured some liquid into the three cups, and they both sat at the table. Reyden came back into the kitchen, followed by Turin, who was carrying Kai.
"Okay, we're off," said Reyden. Ayari sat Kai on her knee, as Turin kissed them both goodbye.
"How long are you going to be?" asked Leorie, taking Reyden's hand.
"I'm not sure. It depends on what we find. If everyone else is fine, about four hours. If they're not, it'll be longer." Leorie nodded resignedly as the two men left.
"It seems so hopeless," said Ayari. "Everyone's just resigned to their fate."
"There isn't a lot we can do, other than join the Olds. There may seem to be a lot of us, but we're greatly outnumbered by them. And nobody would like to see some kind of war," said Leorie gently.
"But still, we're just like scared animals. I wish I could do something."
"Like what? Group everyone together and start singing 'Yo-A-Oh' and hope that scares them off? It just isn't going to happen," said Mythia.
"Now that's being silly," scolded Ayari. "Turin sings 'Yo-A-Oh' to Kai sometimes, when he's being put to bed," she added, softly. Leorie and Mythia both threw her a surprised look.
"Turin sings?" Mythia said. Ayari smiled.
"Oh, yes, although he'd never admit to it, or do it in public."
"He just doesn't seem the type," said Leorie. "I've never thought of him as a performer."
"He isn't," insisted Ayari, stung. Leorie smiled in a way that Ayari felt was a little patronising.
"We'll just have to make do with what time we have," said Mythia. Ayari looked at the darkening sky outside, and saw that some clouds were beginning to roll in. She cursed them under her breath, she had hoped for a clear night so she could make some more observations with her telescope. She thought about her father finding the book on it in the Archives, and had an idea.
"I wonder if the Archives have any useful information on aircraft," she thought aloud.
"Aircraft?" repeated Mythia, astonished.
"How are we supposed to build one of those?" said Leorie. "No one has used anything like that for hundreds of years. Anything in the Archives is going to be ancient!"
"You're wrong, I've seen aircraft flying up near the breaks in the shield," Ayari reminded her. "If whoever that is can build one, so can we." Leorie shook her head, and said, gently,
"Ayari, you don't know for sure if that's what they are...and we just don't have the time."
"You don't know that," retorted Ayari. Mythia and Leorie looked at each other, and suddenly Ayari was aware for the first time of the few years between herself and her friends. She felt very much the little girl. She decided then to make her excuses, although it was only early evening. She stood up, and smiled faintly.
"It was just an idea...I should go and put Kai to bed, he's tired." She turned and left before either of them could reply.
Part Three