Summer in the City: An Urban Fantasy (Reed Lavender Book 3) Read online

  Summer in the City

  Reed Lavender:3

  Ashley Capes

  Contents

  Chapter 1.

  Chapter 2.

  Chapter 3.

  Chapter 4.

  Chapter 5.

  Chapter 6.

  Chapter 7.

  Chapter 8.

  Chapter 9.

  Chapter 10.

  Chapter 11.

  Chapter 12.

  Chapter 13.

  Chapter 14.

  Chapter 15.

  Chapter 16.

  Chapter 17.

  Chapter 18.

  Chapter 19.

  Chapter 20.

  Chapter 21.

  Chapter 22.

  Chapter 23.

  Chapter 24.

  A Note from Ashley

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Chapter 1.

  The Radiant King had not attacked, seemingly content to let them approach the city, unobstructed by any more servants.

  And so far, Reed had not been able to broach the subject of Emma staying ‘out of it’ as Lina suggested. Don’t know how I feel about the idea either.

  Instead, he frowned over the steering wheel as the engine hummed along the black highway. All around, the green fields were turning into empty developments with gentle roads and streetlights void of globe or light. Further ahead, walls and steel columns rose up, wavering beneath the glare of heat haze.

  But the sun above did not seem so strong.

  Not that the word ‘above’ really means much in this place.

  More important questions had to be dealt with. Like, what will we find in the city? The Radiant King was hardly defeated, despite the death of the shell. And Enki still has to pay for using Dad’s body.

  “I don’t think we’re getting closer, you know,” Max said from the back seat.

  Reed glanced in the mirror. His cousin was swirling a finger behind Emma’s head, and a single strand of her hair followed his movements. Behind him in turn, sitting in the tray with all their supplies – including water from Dionysus’ fountain – Diego and Lina spoke to one another.

  “Maybe.” Reed tapped his fingers on the wheel. It had been a little while already. “What do we do about it?”

  “No idea.”

  “Well, thank the gods you’ve come along, then,” he replied, his tone snappy.

  “Steady there, old stick. We’ll figure it out.”

  Emma glanced at him. “Are you all right, Reed?”

  “Maybe.” Apparently he had plenty of left-over anger and frustration, and all of it directed at the Radiant King. Well, most of it. Have to save some for that prick Dunstall. But Elise would have to wait a little longer still... a promise he grew weary of making. And immediately breaking.

  That would change soon enough.

  First, the city.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe, huh?”

  “Just thinking.”

  “About your father?”

  “And Elise, and what’s ahead. And how we’re going to get out of this shit-hole, once we know what’s going on.”

  “Leave that to me,” Max replied. “I think I can get us out via the Fringe if need be; Mother left me a little something for that.”

  “And reaching the city?” Emma asked.

  Max stared ahead for a moment longer, rubbing his temples. “Ah, got it.” He clapped his hands together. “Just turn around and then start reversing, head for the city that way.”

  “Really?”

  “Let’s try it; I think that’s the trick.”

  Reed shrugged as he slowed, then performed a fairly smooth U-turn, before doing as instructed. He kept a straight line but didn’t drive too fast. The passage of air against his forearm and face had changed, and a scent of vine-tomatoes had joined it.

  More of Feronia’s influence? Yet he saw no gardens.

  “What are you doing?” Lina called from the tray.

  “Trying something,” Max replied.

  Reed straightened in his seat. Between glances in the rear-view mirror and the back windscreen, he saw two shimmering cities.

  Only, the one beyond the windscreen was looming larger, even as he eased his foot from the pedal. The walls revealed themselves to be tightly-packed buildings of stone and steel, all with banks of darkened windows, like apartment building blocks lacking even a hint of reflective glass.

  “How did that...?”

  Farther within, skyscrapers towered above, some shaped vaguely like driven swords or spears – and these did catch the light, flashing as if set between massive beams. But the sky was clear and blue overhead.

  The road came to a halt in some sort of terminal... an empty taxi rank, complete with yellow and silver shelters and painted numbers for bays. Reed pulled into one and cut the engine.

  Twin pedestrian lanes ran through a blooming garden. At a glance, it was immaculately maintained, with hedge boxes of blue and white flowers, rounded plots for elms and a lawn so consistently green, it might as well have been coloured with a paint bucket. Bench seats and picnic tables were empty, along with the footpaths, where open shops gleamed electric. There was even the scent of fried chicken from somewhere!

  “This is better than the towns, so far,” Lina said as she appeared beside Reed, standing outside the car. She pulled open his door. “Look, he’s remembered to put in those bins with cigarette trays.”

  “And what is the name of the city council there?” Max asked, pointing.

  “Ah...”

  The description of ‘City Council Waste Management’ was clear in English, but the name of that council was in no recognisable language. Reed glanced to Emma, who was frowning at it. “I think this is a language of the Splinter Gods.”

  “So it seems,” Max agreed.

  Diego folded his arms where he stood in his hulking minotaur form, golden horns gleaming from a dark mane. “I do not recall Enki listed among them.”

  “Neither do I...” Emma trailed off, then pointed. “Look.”

  At the end of the block, a man in a dark blue suit was crossing the street, briefcase in hand. He wore a wide-brimmed hat that could have been an Akubra, and seemed to be whistling.

  “Let’s see what he has to say,” Reed said.

  Chapter 2.

  But the fellow and his blue suit seemed to be in quite the hurry – already a block away when they turned into the street, and nor did he stop when Reed called out. It left the mostly empty shopfronts and the still-present scent of roasting chicken from up ahead.

  “He was real, right?” Reed asked as he leant against a streetlamp a moment.

  “Indeed,” Max said. He stared after the fellow, though his eyes were not focused on anything in particular. “In fact, there are nineteen other people here – they all have life spans too – but no true sense of Enki.”

  “Isn’t there something unusual about them though?” Lina asked. “It’s like I’m being blocked... I can’t get a clear view of what exactly is strange.”

  “Sounds like Enki’s work,” he replied.

  “Should I go back to collect one of the barrels?” Diego asked.

  Reed spread his hands. “I imagine we’ll have to drive around sooner or later – it’s a big city. Maybe it depends on how deep we go now? Or maybe we should anyway, Enki might be in retreat, but he could have other servants.”

  “Let’s just visit the chicken place,” Lina suggested. “It’s right around the corner, and whoever’s working probably won’t ignore us like Mr Briefcase.”

  “Why not?” Max said. “We’ve already strolled in this far and I could almost
convince myself to eat some more human grub.”

  “No-one really says that, Max,” Emma said with a smile.

  “Really? That’s disappointing, I’ve always like it.”

  “Let’s make a move then,” Reed said as he started forward.

  He led them past several souvenir shops in a row, windows crammed with opal-themed everything; cushions, hats, bracelets and even fluffy koala bears with opal eyes – the animals appearing somehow zombie-like. And the goods really had been stuffed in there too, beside books and DVDs, featuring pearlescent rainbows fighting for space. Like a more unhinged Swanston Street. Most items were pressed up against the glass too, as though the shopkeeper had simply continued shoving items into the display.

  Other shops were empty, the electrical wires hanging from half-finished ceilings and even featuring empty packs of cigarettes and bottle caps in dusty corners.

  Lina directed him to turn at an intersection, traffic lights dark, where they came face to face with a bronze statue upon a podium. A sporting figure... sort of. Though the athlete was a specimen of perfect proportions, the man wore studded boots, volleyball shorts and shoulder pads, and the oddity was topped off by a swimming cap. In one hand, he held a twisted mix between a hockey stick and a tennis racquet.

  The other hand was raised in a triumphant fist, and every detail had been sculpted with great care.

  “Admiring old Fox Robington, eh?”

  Reed turned.

  A woman stood in the doorway of the chicken take-away joint, the nearby sparkling glass revealing a golden array of meat. She wore a pleasant smile, her cheeks rosing as she waved them over. “Come in, you all look hungry, am I right?”

  “A little,” Reed said, but he didn’t move at first. “It seems a bit quiet today, doesn’t it?”

  She shrugged. “Been like this since I was a kid. You’d have to go back to the glory days of Robington to see this place busy, but we get by.”

  Reed opened his mouth to ask exactly who she meant by ‘we’ but Max spoke first.

  “Robington is an interesting name, isn’t it?” He said as he waved everyone after, allowing the woman to seat them inside a spacious place set with red chairs and white tables, sparkling tinsel Christmas decorations hanging from the ceiling.

  “Some might say,” she said with a chuckle. “You might be able to ask him about it yourself, if you’re lucky.”

  “He drops in sometimes?”

  The owner sighed. “Well, not so often lately. I understand he’s in recovery. Old injury flaring up, you see. In any case, let me welcome you to Raelene’s. How about I get you some menus?”

  “Ah, perhaps just a drink?” Reed asked.

  Max held up a finger. “Now now, cousin, you should at least order something for yourself, and Emma. You skipped lunch, remember?” His smile was friendly but his gaze seemed more insistent.

  “How about a couple of chicken burgers then?” he asked Raelene. He glanced at Emma, who did not object.

  “Coming right up.” The woman headed behind the glass counter with its neat register, then into the back where she spoke to someone. The hiss of meat striking something hot followed.

  “Why are you suddenly so desperate to feed us?” Reed asked.

  “Just trying to learn a little something,” Max replied. “For one, why hasn’t the delightful Raelene reacted to Diego?”

  Reed glanced at the minotaur, then hung his head a moment. Idiot. So focused on having her talk that you forgot what was right in front of you. Another of his rules – reactions were worth a thousand words. “Right.”

  Lina nodded. “We can also take this chance to ask her about other visitors.”

  “And if we stay here, we might meet one of her other customers without having to go looking for them,” Emma added. “We’re also still reasonably close to the ute, this way.”

  “So I see,” Reed said, raising his hands as he slouched into the hard plastic of his chair. “Looks like you’re all paying better attention that I am.”

  “Something on your mind?” Max asked.

  “Plenty... but let’s save it for later,” he said, straightening a little. “Looks like Emma was on the money.”

  A tall figure approached the shop’s door, dressed in a long overcoat of yellow, tanned skin and dark curls spilling across her shoulders. Her face seemed a little too angular, though she was certainly human.

  She paused upon seeing them, eyes widening. “Wow! It’s certainly been a while since we’ve seen visitors in Parginos, welcome to you all.”

  “Thank you,” Reed replied. “It’s a fascinating city.” He waited a moment but the woman didn’t respond to Diego, either. Instead, she asked to join them.

  Diego stood and pulled a chair free from a nearby table, moving it to their own. “Please do.”

  “Thank you,” she replied as she sat with a grin. “I’m Kiri and I’m the Watch here.”

  “The Watch?” Max asked.

  “It’s like a mix between police and military. Ideally, there’d be more than just me but it’s not like when I was younger,” she explained, though did not offer any more. Still, the phrase about her youth was not unlike what Raelene had claimed.

  Lina smiled at the woman. “Have you lived here a long time?”

  “All my life.”

  “And it’s a nice place?”

  Kiri pursed her lips. “Almost always... but, every now and then one of us goes back to the First Day and right before, sometimes it’s dangerous.”

  “The First Day?”

  “Oh, that’s right, you probably haven’t heard of it. I don’t think the other visitors had anything like it, either. You must be from pretty far away?”

  “We are,” Lina said. “Is there a First Day coming soon? Are we in danger, if it is?”

  “Oh, no.” Kiri shook her head, curls bouncing. “No tourists have ever been hurt, so you don’t have to worry. Mind if I place an order before we talk more? I’d love to hear more about where you’re from.”

  “We’d love to chat, of course,” Lina replied.

  Kiri set off for the counter with a smile and Reed leant across the table, lowering his voice. “Let’s find out about this First Day.”

  “And what happened to the other visitors,” Emma added.

  The others were already nodding. Reed glanced back to Kiri where the unusual woman waited at the counter, her coat revealing no hint of weapons that he could see. A little shiver ran across his shoulders, despite the warmth of the shop and the two people they’d met so far.

  Because just like the rest of the Radiant King’s domain, the city of Parginos was not quite as it should be – and the oddities far outweighed whatever refinements Enki had made this time around.

  So what’s the purpose of this place, then?

  Chapter 3.

  Raelene’s voice echoed from the kitchen. “That you, Kiri?”

  “Sure is.”

  “Won’t be long – the usual okay?”

  “Yes, please,” Kiri said, then returned to her chair. As she settled, a strange sound echoed softly in the room. Reed frowned as he tried to figure it out. There was a rhythm, choppy but not made by an instrument he recognised. Something that could have been a guitar chimed fluttering notes, the tempo double time to the ‘beat’. There was even a voice, but the words were simply promises. Literal promises, as a woman listed things she could guarantee – from furniture to undying love.

  Her voice seemed familiar... It’s supposed to be a song?

  Lina and Max were already explaining Melbourne to Kiri – and getting most of it right too, when Reed stood to cross the floor. He stopped near a speaker, eyes widening as he looked up at the steely mesh.

  The voice was familiar because... because he recognised it?

  From a long time ago.

  “Mum?”

  Reed clenched a fist. It was her! There was something about the soothing tone, the memory like a slap. Reed spun. “Kiri, who am I hearing right now?”

>   The young woman turned, a little taken aback, but she still smiled. “You like it, huh? It’s by Capri, she’s the Singer. I love her voice.”

  He hurried back to his seat, trying not to run. “She lives here in the city?”

  “Well, I don’t know. You can’t meet her; she’s just always been the one to make the Songs.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Ah, maybe old Robington would know.”

  Then that’s who we need to speak to next. “Do you know how to reach him?”

  “Here you go,” Raelene said as she approached the table, and set down two plates. Two large chicken burgers with cheese and aioli, nestled within a ring of large-cut chips. It looked and smelled quite good.

  “Eat up, Reed,” Max said. “And give Kiri a break, will you? She’s probably got better things to do than answer your silly questions.”

  “Oh, it’s no trouble.”

  Reed shook his head even as he picked up his fork and took a bite of a chip – crispy and salty. Perfect. But Max is right, no good scaring off the locals. Breathe. “No, he’s right. It can wait.”

  Dad’s words rang in his mind. If you can find your mother, the two of you might just be able to get me out of here.

  “You were going to tell us a little about the First Day,” Lina was saying.

  “Right. Well, it’s hard to explain. When it’s near, you visit the Fountain of Leaves. That’s where the ritual happens. You don’t remember much afterwards, but you get a chance to do a better job or sometimes a different one.”

  Well, there’s a lot going on there. But Reed let Lina continue.

  “Wow, that sounds pretty different to what we have. Can visitors see the ritual?”

  Kiri shook her head. “It’s always private.”

  “But when you get there, do you just automatically know what to do?” Max asked.

  “Oh sorry, no. Feronia helps us.” A muted sound, like a phone vibrating, buzzed from her coat. She pulled out a sleek mobile and answered with a frown. “Is something wrong?”

  A muffled voice answered, a man, perhaps.

  “I’ll head over there now,” she said, then hung up before standing. “Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I have to check up on someone.”