The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

"Twenty-Nine" (Draft 2)

"Madison." Mused Morpheus as they turned again, "Angel's mother was named Madison."

Opium stopped in front of one of the houses and looked up and down. "This is the house Daniel used to live in, the ground floor apartment."

Morpheus looked up. There was a young man leaning over the rail of a small balcony. He was looking to one side. Morpheus called up to him, "Hey!"

The boy looked down. He looked vaguely Asian, Morpheus thought, but he was probably like a lot of young Americans were then: a mix of two or more races. "Hello there," he sang.

"Do you live in this house?"

"La, Sure I do," he said, but didn't shout. His voice was very smooth.

"Do you know who lives down here?"

"A man lives there. We dono know him. He keeps to hisself."

"Who owns the house then?"

"Fiona Shade," the boy drawled. Morpheus knew this was one of Angel's aliases.

"The man who lives down here...what does he look like?"

"Hesa blonde, I think, pretty skinny...actually. I tell thee he keeps to hisself."

"Have you seen him today?"

"Have no seen him all week. I dono think hes home...actually."

Morpheus nodded. "Thanks!"

The boy blew a kiss and disappeared into his flat.

"It was Daniel," Opium said, "I took it from him while you were talking. "That was Bastian, the Faerie Angel calls Sugar. They've seen Anne."

"Yeah, I recognized that fay slang...Anne, Daniel's friend from LA?"

Opium appeared to nod. "She slept with Sugar."

"I didn't think Anne was like that."

"She was quite vivid in his mind. Very seductive. But the point is he and Trenti have had contact with the house through her. The anomalies are spreading from this place. We better go."

"Maybe Daniel's here and Sugar just can't see him."

"We'd see him, at least you would, you've always been able to see over time, and I haven't. Daniel must have some limited idea of what's going on."

"At least he knows to run...Opium, he's programmed to just run if things get intense. He could be anywhere!"

"Well, let's see if we can find Daniel Pearl, or Anne, they might know something."

They got on a bus and rode to the garden district where Angel's house was. It looked as creepy as ever, muted green and purple paint and lots of black iron work and wood scrolling. Opium looked to the house beside it, the innocent looking slate blue house behind a wooden fence. "See anything?"

"Sometimes there is a light coming from Andrew's house," Morpheus said.

"We'll go there. You're going to have to use you sight. I can see the light now, but if you see anything else, we may have to try short flights."

"All right, I'll certainly try," Morpheus said. He went first through the gate and up the concrete walk to Andrew's house. The door was locked but even Morpheus' small telekinetic talent could open locked doors. They went inside. Morpheus had seen bits of the house while watching Julien through mirrors, while moaning over him. It was dim inside, it smelt vaguely of something spicy. Morpheus took in a deeper breath. "I think it smells like cloves," he whispered.