“He’s used his back-doors too much already. And he’s needed here, in Purgatory. You know, if the plan goes wrong.” And we end up dead.
“I may have an option there. You once mentioned an old inactivated Pulpitum in Purgatory. Since Acca has control over all the transfer stations, we could enter Antrum that way. My parents don’t monitor it, but they do keep tabs on it at Transfer Central. And since the Pulpitum are under Acca’s control, Adair should find out about our request right away. It could give us a way to contact her as well. Let her know we want to talk.” His mouth rounds into winning smile. “When do we leave?”
“Right now. Adair could figure out how to use my powers at any time.”
“Works for me. We’re off.”
Chapter Twenty
Lincoln and I step towards Pulpitum X, ready for anything. He wears black body armor; I’m in my Scala robes. We both carry our baculum.
Pulpitum X is a decommissioned transfer station in Lower Purgatory. No one was using the place, so we shut it down a century ago. I doubt anyone’s entered it in fifty years. Even so, Lincoln says it can be reactivated for emergency traffic. I suppose the situation with Adair more than counts as an emergency.
Once inside the Pulpitum, it looks like all the other transfer stations, a dark and empty cylinder. Only here, there are no guards, and a light coating of dead leaves and garbage covers the floor. If I didn’t know for a fact this place could work, I’d think it was busted.
Lincoln speaks in a whisper. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
I link my fingers with Lincoln’s. Both our hands tremble slightly, which I find oddly comforting. We both know this plan is a series of educated-but-risky guesses.
Our first big guess is coming up, right now.
Lincoln’s father admitted that Acca had taken over Transfer Central, the headquarters of all platform requests and routing. With any luck, Acca and Adair will intercept our message before anyone reports our request to Lincoln’s parents. If Connor and Octavia realize that Lincoln is in Antrum, they’ll bundle him off to the Earl of Acca in a heartbeat. Maybe less. We need to sneak in without them knowing.
“Activating emergency station. Lincoln Vidar Osric Aquilus.” A grid of white lasers shoot across the room, doing a quick body scan.
The same smooth female voice echoes through the station. “Identity confirmed.” Angelfire lights up the bowl-like sconces that encircle the room. Brightness reflects off metal disc in the center of the floor.
A long pause follows. Lincoln and I share a nervous glance. Will our plan get stopped before it even begins?
The woman’s voice speaks again. “What’s your destination?”
“The Great Scala and I wish to talk to Lady Adair, wherever she is. Alone. There must be no records of our visit. No alerts to anyone but Adair. We want this done quietly.”
“One moment, please.” Another pause follows as someone goes to check with Lady Adair. “Prince Lincoln is approved for transfer.”
A familiar voice crackles on the line. “Tell him that I’m glad that he’s come to his senses, at last.”
No question who that is. Adair.
The Transfer Agent speaks again. “I’m instructed to congratulate you on coming to your senses.”
I exhale a breath I didn’t know I was holding. The Transfer Station has Adair on the line, alone. That means she’s in Antrum. Whew. Even better, she’s running her own show, separately from her father. I straighten my shoulders and get ready for the next phase of our operation.
Here it comes. Guess number two. The crux of my plan. My tail taps nervously on my thigh.
I stroll around the Pulpitum, careful to keep my voice casual and confident. “King Connor told me that Lady Adair can move souls. And sure, igni will appear pretty easily. You can even get them to visit Heaven and Hell on their own.” So far, all of this is true. “But you can’t move a soul unless you have every last one of them.”
Bombs away. That was a nasty, mega lie. Adair has plenty of igni, only I’m gambling she doesn’t know how to use them.
Another long pause follows. The wind moans through the entry slit of the Pulpitum. My heart beats so hard, I can hear the whoosh of my pulse. Lincoln and I stand motionless.
Some garbled chatter sounds on the line. Adair’s talking again, but I can’t understand her words.
The female Transfer Agent speaks once more. “What would be the purpose of your visit?”