Exciti

Chapter 34 (Adam)

Adam touched the doll house's door and held his breath as the world dissolved into a whirl of colors. He found himself in Mercury's backroom with Lucy standing before him, carrying a tray laden with a steaming kettle, cups, plates, and pastries. The dollhouse was on a small foldable table behind him.

"How was training?"

Adam shrugged, "Not so good"

"Sorry, but you will get the hang of it soon," Lucy said and put down the tray.

Two whooshes of air signaled the arrival of Liam and Monsieur Kerman. Kerman looked around, "Where is Dr. Little?"

"Asleep. The Board meeting went on until dawn, again."

"How much longer do you think they will take to stop freaking out? Because this is ridiculous," Liam mouthed as he rubbed his eyes before marching to the tray and stuffing a small sandwich into his mouth. Adam noticed that his eyes were red, like they looked after every training session. He worried about that, but Monsieur Kerman had said that it was a known side effect of Visus.

Adam was even more worried about The Board. They were still meeting several times a week to discuss what to do with the discovered Eclipser. Each meeting went on for hours on end and ended up with no agreement as to what to do with him. He felt bad for Dr. Little, who got almost no sleep nowadays between keeping the Board from locking him up, searching for Tam, and carrying out his tracking missions.

"It seems the Board is split between those who want an Eclipser in The Society's ranks, like the President and the doctor, and those who want him swallowed by the Cell for life, spearheaded by Dawn," Monsieur Kerman said as he piled food on a plate and filled a cup with coffee. He then saw the look on Lucy's face and amended, "Well, I do hope he joins us!" then mumbled something about finding Lago for a chat and left to the front room.

Lucy shook her head at his back then went to sit. "Dr. Little said that the Board discussion last night descended into a vicious fight between Gafol and Dawn."

Adam picked a Danish. "The usual, then? and by the way, am I going to the Cell?" He tried to mask his anxiety, Kerman had told them that that the Cell was, "so horrible, so old and so foul that the luckier prisoners get forgotten until the Cell discards their grinning skeletons decades later." He really didn't want to know what that meant.

"Do you see Hushers bringing the doors down? Most of the Board members aren't decided about you yet. I really think you can win the Board over once your training reports start showing improvement."

That may be a long time coming, Adam thought then groaned "All of this does nothing but delay the search for Tam."

The other two nodded, but didn't say anything.

He let his gaze slide from the ceiling to Lucy. He had seen her control her doll, and it was amazing. He wondered how long did she have to train to get that good. "How long have you been an apprentice?"

She buttered a piece of toast, "I joined Mercury two years ago, and I have been an apprentice for one."

Liam looked surprised, "You mean you didn't grow up here?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I woke up in my Excitus form for the first time in a cold, dark attic way up in Alaska fourteen years ago."

"They have automatons in Alaska?" Liam signed.

Lucy laughed, "I was a family heirloom."

Adam's curiosity peaked, "What is it like, waking up?"

She thought for a bit, "Like being born, I guess. Except you remember the first time you opened your eyes. We start like human newborns; it takes us years to figure out our bodies and the world around us. It is scary and very lonely. It took me a little over two years of watching the old couple who owned the house just to learn to talk and sign."