Zotikas: Episode 1: Clash of Heirs by Rob Storey, Tom Bruno Read Free Book Online Page B

subterranean road that
led to the Dragon’s Gate, a portal between the cities of light and dark that
opened to a public square in a rough part of Avertori. As the most well-known
entrance, those who lived in the light often threatened their small children
with it. “You keep up like that, young man, and I’ll send you down the Dragon’s
throat!”
    Kieler didn’t want to use this gate. He would have
preferred to sneak through one of the most hidden access portals, but he knew
he probably wasn’t the only one to know even that entrance. And now, as Zroom
had pointed out, they had sparked the wrath of the Cortatti’s: every gate would
be watched. It would be better if he exited into a public place. At least he’d
have a chance of getting on his way and shaking off sure pursuit.
    The road upward must have been grand thousands of
years ago. The fluted columns, now mere stubs, lined the pebbled path every few
steps. What esteemed property it had announced, Kieler had no idea. Everything
below whispered of something lost long past.
    He passed a splintery wood counter to the right of the
path between two columns. Behind the counter, in the gloom, was a shadowy crack
where the proprietor of this strange general store lived. Al, who Kieler now
knew well, sold necessities to the exiles as they filed down this wrecked
promenade to their new home.
    On that very counter, Al had thunked the first jar of light lugs Kieler had ever seen, frightening them into light.
They were a necessity to be sure, but they were also a rampant pest, easily
caught once you knew what you were doing. Kieler’s father had paid a premium
price for those bugs many years ago.
    But now, the fact that Al wasn’t tending store at the
moment made Kieler’s journey up even lonelier. He took a deep breath and
continued climbing the desolate road toward Avertori and the light of the
fading day.
    The broken columns on either side of him echoed with
greatness and disaster. Beyond the columns lurked dark niches and a shadowed
silence—deep and heavy. As the road climbed toward the surface, Kieler could
feel the Plate pressing down on him.
    His confidence and resolve hardened as he strode up
the path through the rubbish-packed landscape. His first identity was Geren, a
street-wise magal loader. His face was hidden in fake, unkempt facial hair and
he wore rough work clothes. It was a persona he’d used many times in his
dealings for the Coin.
    What little light there was continued to dim. He could
barely see the bottom layer of the Plate as he ascended through it. A vast
truss-work crisscrossed between the top and bottom layer. Unexpectedly, Kieler
heard a rapid flutter close to his head. He spun to look, but saw nothing. Just
jitters, he thought, but quickened his pace nonetheless.
    The last few steps brought him beneath the huge
trapezoidal hatch in the upper Plate; the Dragon’s Gate. A rust-roughened lever
half the length of his body extended from one of the metal trusses. Using both
hands, Kieler slowly heaved back on the lever, the hatch above him groaning
like a wounded beast and tilting downward into the dim space between the upper
and lower Plate.
    When a crack of light appeared along the seam, Kieler
stopped.
    A small brown trennek, a bird common to most of
Zotikas, flew up and landed on a thin piece of metal near the crack. It looked
back at Kieler as if commanding, O pen the door.
    Kieler was surprised. Birds were rare in the
nethercity. It looked at him steadily, and Kieler got the distinct impression
that it was waiting for him to say something. It reminded him of another
animal—a similar look. He thought, and the memory came back to him: the brown
slink.
    One time, when his father was still alive, Kieler had
been exploring. Cave-ins were common; but this time he was squeezing through a
narrow tunnel and dislodged a chunk of concrete. The whole mass to his right
shifted, sliding sideways into him and pinning him against the left wall. He
could go