Page 29 of Scion

“Well that was fun.” Conversation’s been at a minimum, mainly because I’ve been holding my breath on and off in a probably vain attempt to avoid catching any number of diseases. I cough. It feels like there’s excrement coating the inside of my lungs. “You do that often?”

“First time.” De Alwes’s face is even more wrinkled than usual as she takes in her caked legs. “Last time, I think.”

“Agreed.” I don’t know how much the technicians get paid over Basic to fix things down there, but it’s not enough.

There are a couple of pulse showers in the corner, thankfully; two minutes later we’re both clean, even if I feel like the stench faintly lingers. De Alwes taps the exit keypad, and the steel door slides aside, allowing us out onto the street.

“How’d you get the codes for all this?” There were three separate gates we had to pass through on the way here, each one requiring different access.

“Tokens.”

I snort. Of course. “Is there anything you can’t buy?”

“Nothing I’ve come across so far. Except the Keres, I suppose.”

I chuckle, then frown. “You tried to buy them?”

“I went for a managing share a couple of years after they let me live. Almost got it, too. Best-protected ledger I’ve ever seen.”

“So you were a minority owner in the company now trying to kill you?”

“Still am, dear. It’s been a good investment, aside from the trying to kill me part.”

“Do they know?” I hold up my hands as she scoffs. “Had to ask.” Probably doesn’t make a difference either way, at this point, but if people found out—if it became public that Jasa de Alwes was not only alive, but actively profiting from the crowdfunding of the company that was paid to kill her—well. Well.

I do, reluctantly, have to admire her damned nerve, though.

It’s night, and there aren’t too many people on the street. Themis is a nightmare of neon and metal and concrete around us, sleek, twisted-petal and curved triangle structures stabbing upward, each one supporting the Plate. Most buildings are pure steel and stone, no windows. The insides tend to use digiglass to mimic them, anyway, like at de Alwes’s place. Even with the outer walls and Plate as protection, the winds in autumn are too high for glass to be practical.

“You do know how to get to this place, right?” The old woman shifts impatiently, uncomfortable being out in the open. Knowing who she is now, I can’t say I blame her.

“Hang on. I haven’t been here for a minute.” This was one of the first megacities, more consolidated than planned, and it’s always showed in the non-design of how its various almost-century-old pieces fit together.

“It’s not like anything’s changed. DeGov has the ‘everything to spec’ mandate, remember?”

“I know. Just… alright.” I think I know where we are. Only a few blocks away. “This way.”

The few people out and about don’t give us a second glance, though they do step a touch quicker whenever we pass close by. Younger men and women, mostly, probably on the way back from one of the self-run Basic bars that are permanently open in this district. Always seemed like a risky pastime to me—the Core is where Reapers tend to operate, after all—but to each their own.

When de Alwes sees we’re heading toward a main street, she balks. “We should take the back way.”

“Too dangerous. And drones will be scanning those alleys, anyway. Out there, you just keep your head down and they don’t bother trying to make a positive ID.”

“You’re sure?”

For Jasa de Alwes? Hell no. “Of course.”

“Alright.” She doesn’t sound like it’s alright at all, but she does as I suggest and goes one better, pulling up her hood. I do the same. It’s a cold night. And while I’m not on any DeGov watchlists, that’s not to say that the Keres don’t have eyes here as well.

“So, I have to ask.” I really do. “Why the hell aren’t you taking Ichor?”

“What are you implying, Azure?” I see a wry smile on her shadowed face. “I don’t take Ichor because while I very much like being alive, the idea of it lasting indefinitely isn’t terribly appealing.”

“Really?”

She pats me on the shoulder. “Make it to my age, Azure, dear, and you’ll understand.”

“I thought the point was that I shouldn’t take Ichor.”