Archibald Lox and the Empress of Suanpan Read online

  This pod is larger than the other two, with walled-off sections. We climb down a ladder, past a series of doors, into a corridor.

  “Are those people’s homes?” I ask, nodding at more doors as we pass.

  “Possibly,” Inez says, “but more likely they’re storage areas or resting rooms for the guards. Not many people live on the outskirts of the city.”

  We come to another sliding door at the end of the corridor and Inez opens it. I’m expecting a pole to the pod in the neighbouring row, but there’s nothing connecting them, and the pod opposite is a few metres lower down than ours.

  “How do we get across?” I ask.

  “Jump,” Inez says.

  “You’re joking,” I gasp — the gap must be eight or ten metres.

  “Yes,” she says, and laughs when I glare at her. She presses a button in the floor with her foot. There’s a short wait, then a rope drops from high overhead. Inez catches it as it swings towards her. At the same time, the pod in the next row rises until it’s level with ours, and the door in its hull slides open.

  “We’re going to swing across?” I moan.

  “That’s how it’s usually done,” Inez says. “There are slings for those who need them, but most of us do it this way.”

  “What if your grip slips or you swing short of the pod?” I ask.

  “The rope automatically rises after a minute,” Inez says, “so if you come up short, hold on and get off at the top, then make your way down through the pods. If you fall…” She looks down and purses her lips.

  Inez swings across the gap and lands neatly in the neighbouring pod. She sends the rope back to me. I catch it, shake my head moodily, then wrap my arms around it and jump.

  I swing across the gap with a howl, kicking wildly for the ledge. Inez waits for me to complete my arc, then grabs my legs and hauls me in. My heart is hammering.

  “Not bad for your first time,” she says, unclasping my fingers to release the rope.

  “This place is crazy!” I wheeze.

  “Life is crazy,” she winks, and we move on.

  There are more rooms in this pod, and in the two beneath that we descend through. We pass six female guards heading upwards, but otherwise don’t see anyone else.

  “Are all the guards women?” I ask.

  “Yes,” Inez says. “Urszula only employs women.”

  “Who’s Urszula?”

  “The empress of Suanpan. She’s a deviser, which means she can directly control the pods. If people annoy her, she can reduce a pod to the size of a pea, killing them quickly if she’s feeling merciful, or tormenting them for as long as she pleases if she’s in a playful mood.”

  “Charming,” I mutter.

  “Don’t worry,” Inez says. “We won’t be crossing paths with her. Once we hook up with the thesps, we’re out of here.”

  We press on and hit a gaming pod packed with loud, cheerful gamblers, and from that point on it’s a steady string of them. It quickly becomes clear to me that Suanpan is a giant casino, the Merge’s version of Las Vegas.

  “I thought you said you didn’t have money in the Merge,” I say as we pass a table where a delighted winner is cheering and gathering up chips.

  “We don’t,” Inez says.

  “So what are they playing for?”

  “It varies,” she says. “A lot are playing purely for the thrill of winning, but the more committed gamblers only enjoy it when something of value is at stake.”

  We enter a small pod and pause by a table where two men and a woman are playing a card game. It’s obvious this is a high stakes affair, because thirty or so people are watching, eyes bright, murmuring with excitement or edginess as the players lay down a series of cards.

  “The real gamblers bet valuable objects or services,” Inez whispers.

  “Services?” I echo in a whisper as low as her own.

  “For instance, I might stake a year of servitude on a game. If I lost, I’d have to spend that year transporting whatever the winner told me to transport, or doing anything else that they told me to do.”

  I whistle softly. “People really risk a year of their life?”

  “Some bet a lot more than that,” Inez says. “It’s not uncommon for gamblers to bet decades or even centuries on a game.”

  “Why would they risk becoming slaves for centuries?” I mutter.

  Inez pulls me away from the table, but continues to whisper as we make our way to the next pod. “Because if they win, they stand to gain the services of those that they beat, and sometimes that’s worth more than all the money in the Born.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Some gamblers are nobles,” Inez says. “We have dukes, earls and the like in the Merge, people who strive to gain power and control over others, the same way they did in the Born. Most of us leave those kinds of ambitions behind us when we die, but some cling to the old desires. If you win the service of a noble, you also win the service of the people they govern. You even come up against the occasional deviser, and if you beat one of those in a high-stakes game, you can gain control of entire zones, even kingdoms.”

  Inez swings across the gap to a large pod and I follow. Soon after that we come to a door and she knocks softly. The door is opened by a wary looking Asian woman. Her expression brightens when she spots Inez and she drags her inside, calling over her shoulder, “It’s Inez.”

  I step in after them and close the door. There are two men in the room, sitting on a couch, heads close together. They smile when they see Inez and get to their feet, then look at me curiously.

  “This can’t be Winston — he’s far too young,” one of the men says. He has dark brown hair and brown, bloodshot eyes. “Based on his age and attire, I assume this is your travelling companion, Archibald?”

  “Archie,” I correct him, making the greet.

  “Cal refers to you as Archibald,” the man says as he returns the greet. “I’m Dermot.”

  “And I’m Maiko,” the woman says, then looks questioningly at Inez.

  “Winston wouldn’t come,” Inez says. “Archie agreed to take his place.”

  “Archie can fill Winston’s shoes?” Maiko asks with surprise.

  “Winston thinks he can,” Inez says, then points at Dermot. “Dermot’s the leader of the thesps, Maiko’s his wife, and this other gentleman is –”

  “Oleg,” the man says with a bow. He has thin grey hair and a hawkish but kindly face. “A humble treader of the boards, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “Treader of…?” I repeat uncertainly.

  “An actor,” Inez explains as Maiko leads us to the couch, where she sits with us, the men pulling up chairs. “Dermot and his troupe travel round Sapphire, putting on shows. I knew they’d be heading for the city where I’m bound, so I met with them months back, explained about my mission and asked for help.”

  “I wish you’d explain it to me,” I grumble softly.

  “We haven’t told the rest of the thesps who Inez is or why she’s joining us,” Dermot says, “bar a select few.”

  “Such as my good self,” Oleg beams, “but I was only let in on the secret because of what happened to my co-star.”

  “What are you talking about?” Inez asks, and the faces of the thesps drop.

  “Inez…” Maiko says hesitantly. “There’s been an unfortunate incident involving Urszula and Baba Jen…”

  And as she continues, Inez’s face darkens with a mix of fury and fear.

  9

  “I can’t believe she’d do that! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”

  Inez is raging, her face so crimson that it looks like a child has coloured her in with a big red crayon. She’s on her feet and kicking the back of the couch as she rants, absolutely livid.

  From what I was able to gather before she went ballistic, Baba Jen is one of the thesps. Inez had been counting on her help, and the actress was the main reason she hooked up with the group
, but Baba Jen gambled with the empress of Suanpan and lost, and is now her prisoner.

  “How long does your friend have to serve the empress?” I ask Dermot as Inez shouts and curses.

  Dermot sighs. “The foolish girl went all in.”

  Maiko sees that I don’t understand. “Baba Jen bet everything,” she explains. “She has to serve Urszula for the rest of her life here in the Merge.”

  Inez stops kicking the couch and stares at Maiko and Dermot. “She went all in?” She’s so astonished that the rage drains from her in an instant.

  Oleg clears his throat. “Permit me to shed some light on the subject, which might also explain why she gambled in the first place.” He crosses his legs and adopts a faraway look, actorly instincts kicking in, unable to avoid dramatising the moment. “I was with Jen. Urszula had come to see her a couple of days earlier. They know each other from way back, and the empress asked if she had any interest in working for her. Jen sneered and said Urszula was the last person she’d ever work for — you know what Jen is like, not a diplomatic bone in her body.

  “We thought no more of it. Then, on the day in question, we were in a bar. I was enjoying a fine glass of port, while Jen was on the milk as usual. A few of Urszula’s guards accosted us and accused Jen of being disrespectful to their empress. There was some shoving and pushing, nothing serious. We laughed it off when they left, and finished our drinks. Then, as I was ordering another round, Jen hopped down and stormed off to the Spin Zone to challenge Urszula.”

  The colour is fading from Inez’s cheeks and she sits on the couch again. “They spiked her drink,” she croaks.

  “We have no proof,” Oleg says, “but it looks that way to me. Urszula acquired a famed herbalist last year, and I guess he was able to concoct a potion that could turn a person’s thoughts.”

  Inez groans. “Poor Jen. I shouldn’t have said such horrible things about her.”

  “Don’t feel guilty,” Maiko says. “We should have explained it more clearly.”

  “Damn Urszula,” Inez growls. “This would have been an outrage any time, but to happen now, when I need Jen so badly…”

  Dermot and Maiko glance at one another.

  “About that...” Maiko says.

  “We never lightly abandon any of our people,” Dermot says, “but since our hands are tied, under normal circumstances we’d just leave Jen behind.”

  “But we know how important she is to your mission,” Maiko says.

  “Which is why they approached me,” Oleg says, and although he’s smiling, it’s a strained smile.

  “We discussed our options,” Dermot says to Inez. “We couldn’t think of a way to break her out, plus it’s too risky — if Urszula got wind of it before we escaped the city, she’d crush us.”

  “So we decided to try and win her freedom instead,” Maiko says.

  Inez frowns. “What do you mean?”

  “Urszula never rejects a challenge in the Spin Zone,” Dermot says, “and she always honours the terms if she loses.”

  “Not that she often does,” Maiko adds gloomily.

  “So I’m going to play her,” Oleg says, maintaining his shaky smile. “If I win, we both walk free. If I lose, she’ll add me to her team of entertainers and I’ll perform here for the rest of my days.”

  Inez stares at the actor, momentarily lost for words.

  “You can’t,” she finally whispers.

  “I shouldn’t,” Oleg chuckles, “but I can.”

  Inez shakes her head. “The odds against you…”

  “High, I’ll admit,” Oleg shrugs, “but Dermot and Maiko told me what’s at stake. I don’t understand why Jen is so pivotal – and it’s best that I don’t know – but since she is, I’ll do whatever I can to free her.”

  A humbled Inez leans across and touches his hand with gratitude, then looks at Dermot. “Why Oleg?”

  “He’s an experienced gambler,” Dermot says.

  “I gambled to excess in the Born,” Oleg laughs. “That’s why I was murdered — I won a sizeable sum from a sour loser.”

  “Oleg has played Urszula a couple of times and won,” Maiko says.

  “Minor bets,” Oleg says dismissively. “Urszula often loses when the stakes are small, either because she isn’t focused or because she deliberately throws games, to let the rest of us believe she can be beaten.”

  “You think she cheats?” Dermot asks.

  Oleg makes a humming noise.

  “Do you think you have a chance?” Inez asks.

  Again, he hums.

  “I should be the one to face her,” Inez growls.

  “Don’t be foolish,” Dermot snaps. “If you lost and wound up her prisoner, what use would you be to the Sapphirites then?”

  “You mustn’t even show your face,” Maiko says. “You’d be recognised. Word of your mission has spread, so you’ll have to disguise yourself.”

  “You should have really done that before you entered Suanpan,” Dermot says, admonishing Inez gently.

  “I meant to,” Inez grimaces, “but I forgot. I’ll wrap a scarf around my face when we present ourselves to Urszula.”

  “It would be better if you didn’t come at all,” Maiko says, but Inez immediately shakes her head.

  “I’m coming,” she says firmly. “Oleg’s risking his freedom to help me, so I want to be there to provide support.”

  “I’d prefer if you could provide me with insider tips,” Oleg laughs wryly.

  “I wish I could,” Inez says glumly. “I’ve watched Urszula in action lots of times, but I’ve no idea how she wins so often.”

  “We’re all in the dark,” Oleg says, then stands and rotates his head left then right, working out the creaks. “Well, I’m ready if you are.”

  “You’re absolutely sure?” Inez checks one last time, and although he hesitates and gulps, Oleg nods bravely. “Then let’s go.”

  And off we set for our showdown with the foreboding ruler of the city.

  10

  We don’t get far before Dermot stops at a door and knocks. “We can’t leave this guy out,” he says.

  The door opens and Cal is standing there, stooping to see who it is, because he’s taller than the door frame.

  “Inez,” he beams. “You weren’t long.” Cal starts to ease himself through the doorway – he has to turn sideways – then spots me and blinks. “Archibald? What are you doing here?”

  “I missed your moustache, so I came back,” I quip.

  Cal laughs, squeezes through and engulfs me in a bear hug. “I was worried about you,” he says. “We shouldn’t have abandoned you in New York.”

  “Don’t be silly,” I smile. “I abandoned you.”

  Cal laughs again and hugs me even tighter.

  “My ribs,” I wheeze, feeling my face turn purple.

  Cal releases me with a chuckle. Then he frowns. “But why are you here?”

  “Winston couldn’t come,” Inez says diplomatically. “Archie agreed to travel with us in his place.”

  “But you said you needed Winston,” Cal reminds her.

  Inez shrugs. “Winston thinks Archie’s up to the job.”

  Cal nods approvingly. “Then I’m sure he is.”

  “I wish I had your confidence,” I sigh.

  “So do I,” Inez says with a wink.

  “What’s the plan?” Cal asks. “Are we going to find Baba Jen, bash a few skulls together and whisk her out of here?”

  “We told you we couldn’t do that,” Dermot groans. “Urszula’s a deviser. This is her zone. She’d destroy us.”

  “She’d have to catch us first,” Cal sniffs. “What about it, Inez?”

  “I agree with Dermot and Maiko,” Inez says.

  Cal rolls his eyes. “So what’s our plan B?”

  “I’m going to gamble with Urszula,” Oleg says. “If I win, we all get to walk away and live happily ever after.”

  “And if
you lose?” Cal asks. “Can I dent a few heads then?”

  Inez snorts with laughter. “We’ll see,” she says, and we resume our march.

  We make our way through the city to a pod packed with guards clad in yellow. Half a dozen are sitting behind a table, processing a line of people. We join the line and say nothing as we shuffle forward.

  “Reason for coming?” one of the guards asks when we get to the front.

  “I’m here to gamble,” Oleg says breezily. “These are my cheerleaders.”

  The guards study us carefully, paying special attention to Inez, who’s covered her face with a scarf, so only her eyes are showing.

  “Names?” the guard who spoke before asks.

  “I’m Oleg,” the thesp says, “and these are my colleagues, Dermot and Maiko.”

  “The other three?” the guard enquires when Oleg doesn’t elaborate.

  “Friends,” he says.

  The guard doesn’t comment on that. It seems that names aren’t mandatory.

  “We’ll check for weapons,” one of the others says.

  “Mais oui,” Oleg murmurs, “but my shy friend would like to keep her scarf on.”

  “She can be checked behind a screen by a blind sentinel,” the guard says.

  We move past the table and hand over any weapons that we’re carrying, to be stored for retrieval when we leave. Then we’re patted down by guards, who run fine combs through our hair and examine every last patch of our clothes.

  The guards let Inez go behind a screen with a blind woman who’s been summoned to examine her. Inez emerges a minute later, scarf back in place, and the blind woman lets the guards at the table know that she found nothing amiss.

  “Have you been here before?” a guard asks as we’re shepherded to a door.

  “All of us except the boy and the big guy,” Oleg says.

  “Are you happy to explain the rules to them?” the guard asks.

  “We’ll do our best,” Oleg smiles.

  “Then welcome to the Spin Zone,” she says. “If you believe in gods, this would be a good time to start praying.”