Curls of fog peeled off the glacier, descending and alighting on the tarn, twirling across the surface like spectral figure skaters. I lay on the path with Bern and Karla, my cheek pressed into the grit. A soldier came by and touched a rod to the strips of living, elastic goo binding my limbs, tightening them until my fingers and toes fell numb.
Candidates and their guests collected in twos and threes to witness the spectacle of our arrest. Lille was apoplectic with disbelief. We had spoiled what was to have been her coming out party. Her face had gone all puffy, revealing the seams its engineers had worked so hard to conceal. Alec stroked her arm, consoling, while Bern peppered him with caustic glares.
Something scratched at my ankles. I tried kicking it away, but it persisted. My restraints prevented me from dealing with it properly, but I managed to contort myself sufficiently to spot a flap of what looked like my own skin, annealing itself to my shin. It was Urszula’s shroud, shrunken down and thinned out, disguised as me, down to the pores and leg hair. It contracted, snug as a stocking, edges blending.
“This is all a travesty,” said Lille, regaining her voice. “None of my friends have done anything criminal, here. James was just acting out of kindness, trying to be nice to that girl-creature-thing. He is new to Frelsi. He doesn’t understand the ramifications.”
“Who am I to judge?” said Alec. “But I am obligated to respond to the appearance of what I see. How about we let the tribunal decide their fate?”
“Tribunal? Surely, it shouldn’t come to that. I can see how James might have a little explaining to do, but what on earth did Bern and Karla do that was so wrong?”
“No worries, love,” said Bern. “Let them do their thing. I’m prepared to take my lumps.”
One of the smaller, bipedal Reapers came bounding up the path, riderless. This one had a beak and scaly three-toed feet that make it look like some kind of dodo bird.
The soldiers strapped me and Bern to either side of a harness and made Karla sit in the saddle with her arms lashed behind her back. Once we were loaded up, a soldier slapped the beast’s hindquarters. It hissed and snapped at him before trotting off towards the encampment.
The camp was arranged in concentric circles of small, white tents, its structure mirroring the layout of Frelsi itself, with candidates in the inner circle, their guests surrounding. People came out to gawk at us as if we were freaks in a circus parade.
At the far end, a soldier jogged ahead to open a gate of woven saplings. From there, an expertly cobbled road descended through a series of swales and knobs to Frelsi, whose taller spires protruded above the swell of mountainside.
“Sorry Lille, but this is as far as you can go,” said Alec. “I’ll take them down for processing. The other Mentors will attend to your needs.”
“Nonsense. This is my man. These people are my family. I’m coming along.”
“I’m afraid not. You need to stay up here, outside the zone of influence. Your facilitation is imminent.”
“I don’t care. I’m going with Bern. Wherever he goes, I go,” she said, setting her chin defiantly. She went alongside the Reaper and took hold of Bern’s arm.
“No,” said Alec. “I cannot allow you to waste your soul. There is too much invested in you.” He turned to the soldiers. “Detain her!” Two men seized her and wrestled her back towards the camp.
“Bern! I’ll look in on you, I promise. As soon as I get free, I’ll speak to someone with some influence.”
***
