The Veil by Stuart Meczes Page B

asked Alex, speeding up until he was walking parallel with me.
    “I don’t know,” I replied, shaking my head. “That Lightwarden said she was being held in the White Keep, so let’s ask around.”
    We reached the end of the long street, which was fairly empty, save for a sizeable cluster of citizens standing at the far end, all staring up at a large screen fixed to one of the tall buildings. It was showing the events from inside the Aquadome in real-time. The body of the Blazer had been hauled out of the water, and several of the black robed people I’d seen were loading the carcass onto a stretcher, ready to be carried away. The faces of the crowd looked more irritated about the disruption to the games than any concern for the dead contender.
    “Excuse me,” I said to an Imp standing with his daughter at the back of the group. “Do you know where we might find the White Keep?”
    The man flinched, as if I had physically attacked him, and turned away from me without speaking. I placed a hand gently on his shoulder and asked again, but he just took his daughter’s hand and forced his way deeper into the crowd.
    “Does anyone know where the White Keep is?” I said louder, irritation flecking my words. There were murmurs from the crowd and a few of them turned to look at me, but none of them answered my question. Anger flared in my stomach and I went to ask again – impolitely – but Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
    “Ella, Stop. Clearly you’re not going to get any answers from them.”
    “Clearly. But why the hell not?” I hissed, glaring past him at the large number of people who trying to act as if we didn’t even exist. I secretly cursed the fact that they weren’t human – if they were, I would have used my Charm to squeeze the answers out of them.
    He glanced over at them. “I don’t know.”
    “So what, we just give up then? Go back and I pretend I’m not worried about my teammate?”
    Alex placed his hands on my shoulders and I felt the warmth of our souls’ connection rush through my body like morphine, soothing my frayed nerves and making me relax. “I’m not saying that for a moment. But Fenodara has survived the Ageless War for a long time. It goes without saying that this place is like the city equivalent of Fort Knox. Everything is locked up tight…I’m guessing including the people. If we were going to get an answer out of someone, we would have already. So…we just have to find it for ourselves.”
    What Frey had said to me suddenly returned. “Freya said find the doors. Do you think that has something to do with where the White Keep is?”
    “I’m not sure. But there’s no harm in looking.”
    I nodded in agreement. “Let’s go.”
    We turned and walked past the citizens, me giving one final disgusted glance back at the screen. I could feel the inquisitive eyes of the crowd on my back as we turned the corner. Alex and I followed the path of the central canal for over a mile – each of the many connecting waterways now illuminated by glowing white orbs deep below the surface, like otherworldly versions of motorway cat’s eyes. There was a low rumble, and Alex and both glanced up to see a streamlined train carve through the sky in the distance like a silver knife, its many carriages hanging from a sleek rail system.
    We passed by groups of Fenodarians using their currency cards to purchase flamboyant masquerade masks and outfits from pop-up stalls. Dotted around the area were street singers playing instruments I had never seen and producing beautiful melodies I had never heard, in a variety of tongues. The blend of melancholy lyrics and instruments continued to bounce around my head as we continued to move down the street. We turned another corner and into another street that was buzzing with life. Hundreds of gaming stalls were packed on either side, their owners shouting at the top of their voices and inviting people to play. Excited citizens were bunched into