ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR: Ripples V

134

*****

Moments after the Artonan rose from his bow, he pushed the entire tray full of mugs into Aldens hands. This is not what I was expecting, thought Alden, staring down at the selection of many teas.

The tray was heavy. Most of the ceramic vessels were giving off fragrant steam, but some of them were iced. He remembered Stuart saying hed had to drink eight cups of wevvi before first meal one morning to be polite to the LeafSong faculty, and he wondered if he was about to have to do the same kind of thing.

Wasnt I just standing on a possibly-broken bridge?

The Span, said Alden, while the Artonan studied him. He had metal iris rings, like Stuarts, though they were a shade of pale brown that almost blended in with his eye color. I was on the bridge, and the water was trying to pull it down. The people there.

Do not worry, the Artonan said in very clear English. Earths Contract is performing to the best of its capabilities, and its capabilities are substantial. I wasnt expecting you to arrive with a companion.

There was nothing at all reproachful in the tone, but Alden wondered if hed done the wrong thing.

How could it have been? I was just trying to get somebody away from trouble and help out the others. I didnt know Id be coming somewhere more exclusive than a shelter.

Maybe he should have suspected something like this, given the swiftness of his exit compared to everyone elses, but hed had a lot on his mind.

Mr. Dandelion was wringing out his Club Dandelion tank top onto the floor.

This man was on the bridge with me, Alden said slowly. It was dangerous there. I thought bringing him with me would be helpful.

Of course, said the Artonan, bowing his head once. You were accomplishing all you could with your skill. I understand.

Im Marks! Dandelion said. The letter s on the end is for luck according to my mother. So were going in some kind of escape plane? Sounds great to me! If theres room for more, Ive got some friends, my girlfriendyouve got ways of calling people from here I bet. You can make the System send messages like normal?

He stepped over and reached for the nearest mug of tea.

My name is Zeridee-undh, said the Artonan. Im sorry to meet you both under such unpleasant circumstances. That is a butterfly pea flower tea, Marks. You may have the cup. Its a short walk to the train. A team has been summoned to keep the line running in the event of flooding, but we are endeavoring to clear this area swiftly so that the Avowed assigned here can head to more populous neighborhoods soon. Please enjoy your drink while you follow local evacuation orders.

Oh shit, thought Alden. No company allowed.

Zeridee-undh sounded polite and professional, but there was not a hint of wiggle room to be found in that voice.

Alden couldnt imagine this going over well. And it was his fault even if hed only been trying to make himself useful. He held his teas and tried to think of some way to smooth it all over.

So there are evac teams helping out nearby! he said. And the neighborhoods almost empty already? Thats great. The Span was chaotic, and I didnt see rescuers other than Plopst

Now wait a minute, said Marks, narrowing his eyes at Zeridee-undh. Why am I supposed to go to a train if you two are taking a plane?

Im sorry, but there is no plane. Only a single flyer. Its course is preset, so even if there were room for your friends aboard it, there would be no way for us to retrieve them.

Zeridee-undh walked over to one of the shuttered floor-to-ceiling windows, and hooked a finger through a latch Alden hadnt noticed. When he pulled it open and pushed aside one of the heavy shutters, the window revealed itself to be a door that opened onto a verandah. Beyond it, a terraced garden led down to a picturesque brick lane that overlooked the tiled roofs of cottages that lined a seaside boardwalk. In daylight, Alden was sure the hill this neighborhood sat on would provide an excellent view of the ocean. Now, it provided an excellent view of a pair of parked police cars that bathed the area in flashing red and blue. A small group of people carrying backpacks and bags were climbing a stairway that led from the boardwalk up to the lane. They were escorted by a lighting drone and a man in a raincoat with reflective striping on the sleeves.

Zeridee-undh paused at the sight of them then muttered in his own language, Still more children. The humans need to practice . Not enough faith in the Contract. No .

This feels uncomfortably familiar without the translation.

But at least there were people around.

Come with me, Marks! Zeridee-undh motioned for him and stepped out into the rain. Dont be afraid for your safety. The evacuation teams are taking everyone to secure locations. There are no shortages, and there will be very minimal danger to those who arrive promptly.

Marks looked over at Alden. Dont you have anything to say about this?

Aldens brain shuffled through options. He wanted to point out that if he was going to beg a person hed just met to give strangers access to what sounded like a limited escape resource, he wouldnt do it for Mr. Dandelion when there were more endearing people in plain sight.

This guy had already been rescued three times tonight from his own stupidity by Aldens count. Once by the guys stopping to free him from the traffic pile-up hed only been in because hed refused to leave his car, once by Dee talking him out of just standing around waiting for someone to carry him to F, and once by Alden giving him a free ride from a bridge under oceanic assault to this place, where there were professionals directing people to safety.

My classmates are still stuck on the Span. Youre here on land. Theres a kid with a ewtwee plushie climbing the stairs with their family. Move your own ass this time.

He took a breath.

Marks is scared. Everyones scared. Dont make it worse. Do the right thing.

He actually wasnt a hundred percent sure what the right thing was. What he wanted was to shove this man off the verandah, run straight to whatever an escape flyer was, and buckle himself in. Having two Peace of Minds was great. But the wordchains didnt make him eager to suffer through a disaster.

Again.

Why is something like this happening again? Less than an hour ago, I was hanging out in the mall with everyone else, and now

The alerts he still hadnt dismissed were shining in his eyes.

Im really sorry my teleport didnt take you to F, Marks, he said, trying to sound as calm as the ambassadors assistant. I can go with you and everyone else to the train station to make sure you get there safely. If that would make you feel more comfortable. Or I could help with

Fuck, said Marks, glowering at him. I shouldve known some Rabbit globie wouldnt follow the rules. Im a D. Youre an A. You think about that! Think about that on your private jet while youre li

Theres not a jet, Alden protested. He just told you. And I dont know what you think I can do for you that I havent already done! Do you want me to carry you to a shelter in my arms? I dont see how it would make any sense. I probably dont have many more physical foundation points than you. I might even have less. And Im a B, and I dont have any powers that make me immune to floods.

What about this house? Marks demanded as he rounded on Zeridee-undh. Youre not letting people in? Just keeping it all to yourself.

The house isnt a safe location, except for the natural safety provided by its position on the hill. This entire neighborhood is being evacuated. There is no magical shielding on this structure, and there are no wizards currently in residence to offer protection to Avowed. Ambassador Bash-nor must refuse you this households hospitality tonight for your own wellbeing.

The way the assistant delivered the news sounded rote, and Alden wondered if it had been delivered to others already tonight.

Marks suddenly threw the mug of tea at the floor hard.

The ceramic bounced instead of shattering, but Alden still jumped enough to make the other mugs rattle on their tray. He felt himself stiffen up. He wondered what his body thought they were going to do if Marks got violent.

Do I hit him with my many teas? Do I swap targets and try to turn this tray into a shield? Or

His auriad shifted against the skin of his wrist.

But instead of making even more of a scene, Marks turned and stalked out the door. By the time he hit the lane, he was waving toward the officer and the family and calling, Wait up! in a voice that was almost cheerful.

Alden stared after him. I guess he tries nice to get what he wants then switches to angry and forceful when it doesnt work.

He now understood why Writher had been looking so unfriendly when hed found Lexi yelling at this guy.

Im sorry, he said. I couldnt just leave him on the bridge.

Dont worry, said Zeridee-undh, looking slightly distracted. He was squinting toward the family climbing the hill. Thats Mrs. Chandola. She is a reasonable person. Why? I must speak with her. Ill be right back!

He took two steps out the door into the rain, then turned around.

By the way, Alden Ryeh-bt, Im female. Hip width and nape hair arent good indicators in my case. I have noticed humans are less embarrassed by such misapprehensions if I clarify as soon as possible after our first meeting. Please enjoy your beverages!

Oh! I

Heshewas already running after Marks, lifting her extremely long braid as she hurried down the verandah steps with the practiced air of someone who was used to keeping it from dragging.

Aldens first thought was, Crap. I did so good at LeafSong. I was bound to get it wrong at some point.

His second was, How many of them have noticed me checking their hips?

He was sure they didnt really care, but hed also prided himself on doing it quickly and unobtrusively. Zeridee-undh was even wearing relatively form-fitting clotheslight brown trousers and a darker brown sweater with a cowl neck. Wizards were sometimes dressed in layers upon layers of fabric. The assistants simpler outfit had given him false confidence in his first guess.

Shed told him to enjoy his beverages, but there was no table in this room for him to set the tray on. And he was nervous about Markss behavior still. He stood at the door, watching the Artonan talk to the group whod just reached the lane. She used very human hand gestures, but she used them a bit too much and a bit too emphatically.

She must be trying hard to communicate human-style. Her English is amazing.

It would make sense if the ambassador himself spoke an Earth language or two although it did seem to be a position with a lot of turnover. In an Anesidoran history lecture Alden had attended for exit credits during intake, hed heard at least three different ambassador so-and-sos mentioned. But even if the ambassadors had to learn local languages, he wouldnt have expected all of the staff to be so fluent.

There were a couple of other surprises, too. For one thing, the ambassadorial residence wasnt in F, with the larger building that was the official embassy. The Artonans must have wanted to be fair to Apex. Either that, or they just preferred this very cute seaside residential area on the western point of the crescent to the urban tangle around their office.

And Alden also wouldve assumed that anywhere an important Artonan official lived would be magically protected.

Its one thing for the arth family living in their knight-governed state-sized rapport, but youd think here on Anesidora

Maybe she was lying just to get rid of Marks. But if the house was completely safe other Artonans would be weathering the catastrophe here, wouldnt they?

The residence was large enough to be home to quite a few people, but it was silent at his back. If there were others here, they were being awfully stealthy.

A man was coming up the lane now with what looked like half the contents of a home piled on his back in a teetering tower that had to be held in place by magic in addition to his strength. A woman was following along behind him with her own arms loaded with bags. It was a ridiculous sight, but

Theyre all worried about their houses flooding.

Such a different tone in the middle of the same crisis. On the bridge, people were ditching shoes so they could run faster. Here, they were trying to save their whole closets.

Alden didnt blame them for it. Theyd been woken up by blaring sirens and flashing lights a very short while ago. They were confused. The neighborhood was evacuating fast, all things considered. He kept catching glimpses of a speedster running from door to door down near the water, checking houses for stragglers.

This was just danger happening at a different pace.

Zeridee-undh smiled widely at the woman she was talking to. Bowed. And a moment later, the little girl holding the ewtwee doll disappeared.

The ambassadors assistant hurried back to Alden.

Ive got too much other stuff to fret about anyway.

This tablet will be kept in storage for you at the embassy and frequently updated by staff. At the start of any future emergency, it will be transported to you directly or it will be waiting for you at your final evacuation site. Its last update was ten days ago.

Alden hadnt realized the thing she was holding was a tablet. It was thick enough to be used as a little step-stool.

Whats on it?

A copy of the internet, said Zeridee.

A copy? Of the whole internet?

Yes. For your entertainment, education, and to remember your people by.

Their eyes met.

Notthat the last one should be taken too seriously the Artonan woman said. Someonea well-meaning personhad the idea that humans might appreciate having their own personal copies during trying times. And giving these out to many trustworthy people ensures the survival of the information.

Are you the well-meaning person? Alden asked.

The tablet is also how you make your official requests known to deciding parties during an emergency. She handed it to him and pulled back the cover on the screen. A stylus rolled down, and he caught it. There was a form glowing there, waiting for him to fill it out. You are allowed to name two people. Their evacuation priorities will be changed to match your own.

Alden looked down at the form then back up at Zeridee-undh.

Thank you.

She nodded.

He wrote in the names, and the form faded.

A moment passed. Zeridee seemed to be looking something up with her eye rings.

Its inappropriate of me toI feel obligated to mention that one of the people you have named is an Avowed of high rank and unique ability.

I know.

His own evacuation priority is significantly lower than yours, but in many planetary loss scenarios, he would still be saved. My people have a responsibility to Avowed. Even those who have rejected the Contract. If that was a factor in your decision, you can change your mind.

Im still sure, said Alden.

Good, she said.

Do most people have to agonize over it a lot? he asked. I dont have much family, so maybe its different.

I have only seen a few people make their choice, said Zeridee, speaking after a pause. They all chose quickly and did not change their minds. If they agonized, they must have done it afterward and gained no insight from it.

He watched her put the tablet in with the other items.

This is a bag of oranges. She picked up the final object on the sofa. They are my favorite Earth fruit, so we had them in the kitchen. I didnt know if you would be hungry or not.

******

The Span remains mostly intact, Zeridee said as she led him through the house again.

Alden was pulling his new suitcase along behind him, and his messenger bag was slung over his shoulder. Zeridee had stared at it a little but made no comment.

A gap at this end of the bridge is preventing people from exiting, but your friends dont seem to be among them. Ive been examining the scene for a while.

Thank you for looking for them. A gap wouldnt be a problem if they were with Maricel.

Thats right. Kons teeth.

Zeridee, do you mind if I target you? I need to preserve my messenger bag.

I dont mind, she said.

A few seconds later, bag safely preserved, he followed her into a closet-sized room full of monitors.

I think the fastest way to obtain information will be for you to send a message to the one with the watch. Infogear is currently suffering from minor delays, but it should go through. Here.

As she said here she reached into a cabinet and produced a small metal safe that opened only after she laid her hand on top of it for a while. Inside the safe was a second safe.

Alden fully expected her to pull out a bomb or a diamond the size of a baseball.

Instead, she handed him a normal infogear cellphone.

Okay. The Artonan Ambassador keeps his infogear in two safes even in the privacy of his house. Im never saying a freaking word aloud in front of a piece of this stuff ever again.

To use it, you need to

Before he could tell her that him blanking out earlier was really no reason to explain what oranges were or how to use phones, she sighed.

Again? she murmured in Artonan. So many people assuming

Whats wrong? he asked in the same language.

Contact your friends, she said, switching back. I will return. There are people in the garden.

She hurried away. He typed Mehdis name into the phone and listed his address as the third floor of the Garden Hall boys dorm. Infogear didnt care if you actually knew somebodys number. You just had to narrow down who they were tightly enough. It was convenient right now.

He tried a voice call first, got a delay notice, and sent a text instead: [Mehdi, this is Alden. Im safe. The guy I brought with me should be too. Is everyone all right?]

While he waited for a reply, he stared at the monitors. There were none that showed rooms in the houses interior. They were all outside. Front Garden. Verandah. A very large back yard by local standards with an enormous greenhouse.

Nothing that looks like a hangar.

Motion on the verandah monitor drew his eye, and he watched Zeridee-undh using her big human hand gestures to explain to a group of four peopletwo middle-aged men and a younger man and womanthat they couldnt come in.

He could practically hear the conversation through the way her arms moved.

A bowshes so very sorry for the unpleasant circumstances. A sweep of her arm toward the water with a shake of her headno, no, the Ambassador isnt here and the house isnt flood proof. Pointing at the place where the police cars had been and then north, toward the train stationplease go that way. Youve only just missed another group.

Alden watched the pantomime.

Theyre not happy with her answer.

One of the men was pointing angrily at Zeridee herself and then up at an angle. Alden wasnt sure if he was gesturing at the second floor of the house or the sky.

She bowed again, more deeply this time, gripping the end of her dark purple braid in both hands so that it didnt trail in a puddle.

Alden suddenly wondered if maybe Ambassador Bash-nor was a piece of shit for leaving the assistant here to handle both Alden and a tense situation on her own.

The house had had a dozen of the escape flyers. Now it had one. Eleven must have left without Zeridee-undh.

He frowned at the monitor. The two older men were arguing with each other now, and Zeridee was back upright. She didnt look flustered at all. Nothing seemed to have fazed her yet except for the mother of the little girl she knew from the neighborhood not having accepted the teleport.

But Alden was suddenly reminded of his first visit to the lab. And the fact that Joes assistants had been a little scared of him.

A human! Probably it is a man human. I wonder if its going to do magic. I hope its going to help us. I hope its not going to hurt us.

That was what Kibby said she had been thinking the first time shed seen him. Such simple, obvious stuff.

He left the monitor room and headed back to the front of the house.

When he made it to the entryway with the all the windows and spiky shadows, the group of people was just leaving. Zeridee was stepping back inside, a bit damper than she had been.

Zeridee, will you be coming on the flyer with me? Alden asked.

She let her braid drop down to swing behind her.

No, she said. You will leave as soon as you have heard from your friends on the bridge. Ill stay here. As you see, people still think this is a safe place to evacuate to, even though they have been told that the area should be abandoned. The house is on a hill, and they believe it is guarded by magic. Like a chaos fortification. If people try to shelter here, they may be swept away when the contaminant shifts toward us again.

Is the house really not protected?

She blinked at him. If it was, I would have let them in.

It just seems strange. I see why they all assume it.

The ambassadors come and go so often, said Zeridee. Its a good way to get experience on Earth and gain a larger voice to influence the committees that make decisions about your species. Many ambassadors have fractious relationships with their predecessors, so they all prefer to install their own personal security measures. Ambassador Bash-nors protective enchantments are contained in a portable form. He took them with him to protect the chambers of the Anesidoran High Council while he met with them.

What about you? Alden asked. Youre just going to stay here, trying to make sure nobody tries to use the house as a shelter? Where will you shelter?

She smiled. You are kind to worry. But I will not stay too long after the last train leaves. Once Im sure that the neighborhood is empty, I will walk to safety. Its not very far.

If safety was the nearest inland skyscraper, as Alden suspected, then it was a very long walk.

Ill stay with you, he said. You said it wouldnt be long until the last train, right? Ill stay, and Ill help you explain to the people who come, and then well both leave on the flyer together.

******