Chapter I
They say this world was beautiful, once: beautiful and green and peaceful, just like the planet we left long ago. It amazes me how far we’ve fallen.
I begin the day that changed everything as I always do. My sister Rose is curled against me, her dark hair falling into her eyes, which are a bright blue when open. I slip gently out of the bed we stayed in last night. This home has almost a dozen bedrooms like this one, plus a library and a music room. The man who owns the place lets us stay here for practically nothing. He says the expression on Rose’s face every time she sees the library is enough. He lets her read to her heart’s content, which wins her over completely. We’ve been here for two weeks, longer than we’ve stayed anywhere else, but I trust him, even though he’s loyal to Shade.
It’s been millennia since we occupied Earth. We were warned for a hundred years that we would either destroy the Earth or out population would kill us, whichever came first. No one really knows which one did, but the richest of the rich fled to Mars. They repopulated, learned to live there, while the rest of us lived and died on Earth. The same pattern occurred for eons: Arrive. Disperse. Destroy the climate and make it unlivable. Repeat. Now we’re on Varvada: a planet thousands of lightyears from the clump of matter that was Earth.
We’re in that sliver of time, right now. That time where the richest have fled and the rest struggle along for a few centuries. Since we’ve consumed this planet’s resources and completely devastated the climate, only a few specks of land dot an endless sea. You’d think there’d be more land since we’ve mined most of the planet into nonexistence looking for vadium.
Vadium is the most precious resource any world has ever known. It is almost unbreakable when refined, able to power entire cities, and immensely dangerous when unrefined. Unrefined vadium is highly unstable and will explode upon any contact with flame. Refined vadium is a beautiful thing to see, really, with its silvery glow and the way it seems to shine in the darkness. To wear vadium jewelry is to be the object of envy, beauty, and wealth. Those who wear it can afford to double their security. One ounce of vadium can buy you a nice house. A hundred ounces?
You’re dead if you can’t protect it.
We’ve mined almost all we can, so we must trade what little vadium remains, though we still mine in hope of striking a new vein. Those who control the refineries control the world itself. Here, in this city called Vara, the only city left on Varvada, two families have been warring over that control since before anyone can remember: The Dawns and the Shades. Ironic names, but less ironic when you see the brutal killing machines both sides have bred over the years. Currently, the Dawns control the main refinery. There are ways to refine vadium at home, but that tends to make it impure and lowers its value. Still expensive, but a fraction of the real thing.
No matter how wealthy you are, you’re either loyal to Dawn or Shade, and whoever leads each family above all else. Usually, it depends on where you live. If you live east of the Nark river, you live in Dawn territory. West, Shade territory. Or, if you don’t have a home, like me, consider yourself on two separate kill lists.
I’ve been on the move since I was ten. My mother told me to run, take my sister Rose, four years my junior, and never look back. She told me that right before she was killed. I wonder if she spoke from experience.
Whatever the case, I learned fast. I started with pickpocketing people on the street with Rose begging nearby. Then I moved on to more risky ventures. Now, at the age of sixteen, I’m the most famous thief in the city not pledged to Dawn or Shade. They call me Lurker. Mysterious, with just the right amount of terror. It suits me.
Thieving is a line of profession here. It may have been considered shameful at one point, but now, with tensions between Dawn and Shade higher than ever and vadium running low, it’s one of the most well-paying jobs in the city. With most people working in the mines and the well-to-do staying mostly at home, to walk through the street without dirt and mud on your coat from the mines is a sign of power and wealth. You have escaped the noose of the relentless mines through some means. Well done.
It’s also a way to get targeted for abuse if you’re loud and cocky, but I’ve learned to walk in the shadows, unseen. Being independent has its risks, but neither family would dare kill me at this point. I know the best places to get vadium, who is weak, where security always forgets to look. I have people who would spill to the entire underworld community should I meet an untimely death, and they know it. Their hands are tied. Given the opportunity, one free of strings, they would slit my throat without hesitation.
Sometimes I wonder what the point is. Remaining free is a luxury few can afford, but joining Dawn or Shade would give me protection from one and the promise of retaliation from the other, in addition to guaranteed food, shelter, safety. Then I remember Rose.
Rose is my twelve-year-old sister and twice as sweet as her name suggests. She’s a tiny thing, but she has an ironclad will, with an insatiable desire for knowledge. It’s all I can do to bring her books from people I rob. Her latest obsession is something called calculus. I can’t make out the heads or tails of it, but seeing her pouring over one of those books with a smile on her face is all that keeps me going. I’ve seen girls as young as her and older through warehouse windows, chained and waiting to be purchased. It’s a thriving market among the well-to-do. I free them when I can, but I know Dawn owns several of those warehouses, and to save them from those violates our deal. So, I grit my teeth and move on, for Rose.
I hurry out of the house, past the grand staircases and ornate chandeliers. I don’t bother to wake Rose. She won’t be up for an hour yet. Today is a day for gathering information, for regrouping, for reassessing. I know where to get everything I need: Black Market.
Black Market is on a neutral piece of land that’s in the middle of the wide Nark River. As the name suggests, most of its occupants and merchants deal in the black market that thrives here in Vara. If you pay enough, you can get everything you need.
Light snow begins to fall as I hurry silently through narrow alleys and muddy streets. I pull my jacket closer to me. I stole this several weeks ago from a man on the east side of town who owned fifteen others just like it. I only steal from people who won’t really want for it if it’s gone, and this jacket is a prime example.
I finally make it to the river. Chunks of ice float flow south and a single massive bridge connects the two sides. The west side of town is larger than the east, but far poorer, with the wealthy confined to a single small neighborhood. Shade could beat Dawn in an instant if all came down to numbers, but life here isn’t so simple.
Instead of crossing the bridge into Dawn’s territory, I take a small and muddy - but well worn - path down to the riverbank. A wooden bridge connects Black Island to the shore. As I step onto the island, I take a deep breath. Now I must be vigilant. I must always be present with what I’m doing.
Now I must be Lurker.
Despite the time, the Market is already beginning to buzz with activity. Instead of stalls filled with food or fabrics, there are only simple desks and people under coverings. A rather unimpressive sight. But the wealth here is more than even I can imagine.
“How’s it going, Lurker?” asks one man who goes by Reaper from his stall. Everyone knows everyone here. There’s no fear. This place is a stronghold of people free from Dawn and Shade, and that makes us closer than family.
“Fine enough,” I reply. There’s an unspoken message in our words: How have your gains been? And, in reply, Very good.
I continue on my way, dodging stares and prolonged glances. It’s to be expected, with my level of celebrity among the Vara underworld, but uncomfortable all the same. A thief’s goal is to be unnoticed, after all.
As I walk around, I notice a large group of people, maybe two dozen, that seems to be clustered around a single person. Not a mugging. Petty thieves are unwelcome at the Black Market. The person in the middle, a man, seems to be rattling off some kind of tale. I join the group but keep to the back, listening closely.
“-ramping up attacks,” he’s saying, stumbling over his words. “Shade got a new leader a few months ago, and it looks like they’re finally making a statement. Dawn’s patrols are doubled- “
“Shade doesn’t have a new leader,” interrupts another man, a large one with tattoos on his arms. “They’ve still got that girl, Anya. She’s a wisp of a thing. No wonder Dawn owns the Jewel.” The Jewel is the street name for the refinery.
Gasps fill the crowd. Even here, among free people, to speak ill of a Family like that is shocking. If word gets out, he’ll be dead in a week.
“Regardless of leadership, Shade’s got good managers,” says someone else. A woman this time. “They’ll keep things in order.”
“That still doesn’t explain Shade’s new level of ruthlessness,” protests the man in the middle of the group.
“If their previous work wasn’t ruthlessness at its prime,” says the woman again, “what was it?”
“Murder.”
“Revenge.”
“Devastation.”
“Their way of life,” I call out, unable to wait another moment. The whole crowd goes silent. “One that we’re lucky to not be a part of.” I walk away, leaving the group stunned. This will spread far and wide in the Market. Let it. A reason to respect me instead of fearing me. I need that right now.
I know I won’t be able to get any more information today, not with the ruckus I’ve just caused. Instead, I head back to Rose. It’s what I’ve always done, and what I intend to do for a long time.
The streets are quiet, though the sun has fully risen now, and mostly deserted. It doesn’t take long to make it back to where we’re staying.
I freeze.
The door’s slightly ajar.
Mr. Ester, the man who owns this house, can’t tolerate cold, and it’s the middle of winter.
I draw my knife. Slowly, carefully, I push the door open and step inside. The kitchen is empty of people, save a gagged maid in the middle of the floor. Her eyes bulge and she stares at something behind me.
I’m hit with something heavy and the world goes black.
