The War of Elevens| Book 1 of the Space Thief Chronicles

Chapter 22 |The City Outside of Elliott Way

Lilly was very aware that she and Max were breaking one of the ground rules of Elliott Way, and she was also very aware of how little she cared. Sneaking around was something she did a lot in Eldnac, so breaking this ground rule did not give her a jarring sense of condemnation but rather a pang of nostalgia and comfort. When they exited the facility through the service door in Treasurer's Place without getting seen by anyone who did not look kindly on sneaking out, Lilly's gut filled with familiar exhilaration. By the determined set of his mouth and the glitter in his eyes, she could tell Max felt the same way. 

There was a path that wound down a slope to the city. The city could not directly be seen from Elliott Way because it was tucked into the folds of a humble little valley and was framed by woods on three sides, but now Lilly could see the lopsided rises of chimneys and roofs down below through a thin layer of fog as she staggered alongside Max with her newly bandaged leg.

What were the Board Members doing now, she wondered? Stevia would find Lydia dead by a fatal dose of solar wind, knowing full-well that Lilly was a magical something in need of taming. Were they on the hunt for her? Were they questioning the Privates about her? She was lucky they didn't run into any instructors or Board Members on her way out of Elliott Way. 

She was so screwed. How would she ever be able to show her face in the facility again? 

"Why the change of mind?" Lilly asked when she and Max were safely around a hilly wooded bend and under the cover of summer-bright leaves weighed down by water. Elliott Way was temporarily out of view. "Yesterday you were all, we can never ever go see the grumpy old hag because we're just kids and it's the adults's job to handle the world." 

Max shrugged. "First of all, my voice is not that deep or obnoxious-sounding. Second of all, if you think about it, we're completely out of options. It's not like you can go to the Board Members now without getting arrested, and Zander, Kaitlynn, Wyx, and I could try talking to them again, but I bet they're too busy to jump on the word of a snack-sized three-legged dragon and a bunch of Privates. I doubt the Board Members would want to try the psychic again anyway, even if we got on our faces and kissed their boots. Kamaria asked like whatever Desidonna wanted from them was something that could cause the end of humanity." 

"Thanks for coming, then. You know, you're not that—" 

"If you say bad I'll slap you and kick your wounded thigh." Max quickened his pace so that he was half-jogging. Lilly threw up her arms, knowing he was just trying to get under her skin because she couldn't walk as fast with her hurt leg. 

Moments later, they wound around another bend in the path and were met with the entrance gate of the city. From the emerald-colored iron of this gate hung at least forty clocks; each timepiece was a different size and color...some were ancient, some were missing hands, one had ten hands spinning around its face. They hung from the open gate like a curtain, and beyond that, Lilly could see a bustling town stirring with early morning happenings. 

They walked through the gate. 

The town itself was very crooked; even though it was situated in a level-grounded valley, the eastern half of the town looked as if it had decided to sit down, for many of the buildings on that side were sunken, their top halves and polychromatic roofs peeking out of the ground. Through the entrance gate, Lilly saw lopsided Christmas-like lights draped from the frame of nearly every buildings. Candles flickered through the windows of small, brightly painted stores. There was a large steeple from deep within the city that cast a triangular shadow across pastel-purple cobblestones. People scattered through the crowded streets, hurrying along back to cottages and stone apartments that were lodged between colorful shops and bakeries. Store names appeared in big, haphazardly placed letters: THE GENIUS JOKE SHOP, OLLIE VOLLEY'S BABY DOLLIES (For every little girl and boy!), THE FAIRY TALE POP SHOP, ALL THE LITTLE KNICK-KNACKS FOR YOUR KNICKERS. Lilly smelled mints and pastries and herbal teas, scents so alive they seemed to send her nose into a dance. Butterflies swirled around chimneys that pumped out blue smoke. On the opposite side of the street stood a grove of trees, their trunks sculpted to look like seven-foot-tall mermaids. There were giant mushrooms the size of shops and houses, and...with a shock and a tug on Max's arm, Lilly realized the mushrooms had faces on them. Deep-set eyes, noses, glowering mouths carved into the fiber of their bell-shaped tops...actual human-like faces!