On a Forsaken Land Found (Colony of Edge Book 3) by Anthony W. Eichenlaub

Author:Anthony W. Eichenlaub [Eichenlaub, Anthony W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781950542116
Publisher: Oak Leaf Books LLC
Published: 2021-03-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Ash lingered in the shadows of the Archive, low under the slanted roof in the sparkling hours before dawn. She wore her darkest outfit: a black trench coat, fedora, and matching black gloves. The morning’s cold darkness swallowed her, and Simon was late.

“Ash!” he shouted, rounding the building. “Where have you been?”

Ash stepped from her shadow. “I’ve been recruiting people.”

“You were supposed to meet me ten minutes ago.”

“I was right here. In the shadows.”

Simon shook his head. “First of all, this isn’t a heist. You’re allowed to just come in.”

“Excellent. Elaborate con jobs make the best heists.”

“Second, the best place to hide is always in plain sight.”

Ash narrowed her eyes. She removed her fedora and placed it on his head. “Lead the way, partner. I need that tablet to find Hector, and I’m not leaving without it.”

“You won’t find him.” Moira stood in the doorway. “You’ll only cause more trouble.”

Simon held out a hand to stop Ash before she did anything stupid. She pushed it aside and got right up in Moira’s face. Moira didn’t flinch.

“Tell me what you know, Moira,” Ash growled. “Or else.”

Moira narrowed her eyes, and a smug smile crossed her lips. “You don’t have the patience to be an archivist, my dear. I think you’re going to need to be banned again.”

“Ash, please. Stop.” Simon tried to separate the two women, but Ash shoved him away.

Right in Moira’s face, she said, “What do you know?”

Moira searched Ash’s face. “You won’t like it.”

“I already don’t like it.”

The archivist ushered them into the building and started toward the far set of stairs.

“What about the elevator?” Ash asked.

“We’ll walk.”

Ash’s bones ached from exhaustion. “We’re in a hurry.”

“No elevators,” Moira said.

“But—”

“We have no power,” Simon explained. “At least, we don’t have enough extra power to run the elevators.”

The ache in Ash’s brain almost found it funny how the one time she might be allowed to use the elevator it wasn’t working due to the nature of the emergency.

The three started down the long flight of stairs, Ash’s sore muscles protesting her second go at the staircase in as many days. Had that only been yesterday that she’d dropped off the tablet? The walk down into the depths of the Archives felt longer this time. Darker. There were no other archivists so early in the morning. No hushed discussions behind closing doors. Even the databank computers were silent.

“Is everything down?” Ash asked Simon as they passed another door.

“The storm didn’t hit us directly, but it disrupted our power grid. Anything sourced outside the Archive’s solar captures is down. Those that work on battery backup are still in good shape.”

“I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

“It’s worse,” Simon said.

“There’s a reason Archivists are sworn to secrecy,” Moira said. “There are some things colonists do not need to know.”

“I didn’t know you were—”

“Because it’s a secret.”

Ash bristled at this. “Who decides that?”

Moira stopped on the stairs and turned to peer at Ash. “You think our motivations are corrupt, but I assure you our motivation is not the problem.

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