The Ask and the Answer (Page 89)

“We can’t hear yer Noise,” Todd says. “You can’t have burnt it all.”

“Ah, but Todd, my son,” the Mayor says, shaking his head. “I have never taken the cure.”

Another silence. I hear suspicions rising in the Noise of the men. I even see a few of them step back, thoughts of the Mayor’s power, thoughts of what he can do. Maybe he can control his Noise. And if he can do that–

“He’s lying,” I say, remembering Mistress Coyle’s words. “He’s the President of Lies.”

“Well, at least you finally called me President,” the Mayor says.

Todd gives the Mayor a shove. “Tell us where it is.”

The Mayor stumbles back a step, then regains his balance. He looks around at us all again. I can hear everyone’s Noise rising, Todd’s most of all, red and loud.

“I tell no lies, gentlemen,” says the Mayor. “If you only have the right discipline, Noise can be controlled. It can be silenced.” He looks around at each of us again, his smile reappearing. “It can be used.”

I AM THE CIRCLE AND THE CIRCLE IS ME, I hear.

But I can’t tell if it’s from his Noise–

Or Todd’s.

“I’ve had just about enough of this!” Ivan shouts.

“You know, Private Farrow,” says the Mayor, “so have I.”

And that’s when he attacks.

[TODD]

I feel the first strike of Noise fly by me, a whooshing of concentrated words and sound and pictures rushing over my shoulder, straight for the men with rifles. I flinch away and dive for the ground–

Cuz the men start firing their guns–

And I’m right in the way–

“Todd!” I hear Viola shout but the rifles are firing and the men are screaming and I roll on the rubble, jarring my elbow, and whip round to see Corporal Pot Belly on his knees in front of Angharrad, his back turned, both hands on the sides of his head, screaming wordlessly down into the ground, Viola watching him, wondering what the hell is going on. Another guard has fallen on his back, fingers in his eyes, as if he’s trying to dig them out, and a third lies unconshus on his stomach. Two others are already running back into the city.

The Noise flies from the Mayor, louder and stronger than anything I’ve seen before.

Way louder than at the Office of the Ask.

Loud enough to take out five men at once.

Only Ivan still stands, one hand up to his ear and the other trying to aim his rifle at the Mayor but weaving it dangerously around–

BANG

A bullet smacks the ground in front of my eyes, sending dust and dirt up into them–

BANG

Another bounces off stones deep in the cathedral–

“IVAN!” I shout.

BANG

“Stop firing! Yer gonna get us killed!”

BANG

His rifle goes off right by Angharrad’s head. She rears up and I see Viola grab the reins, surprised, holding on for dear life–

And then I see the Mayor is walking forward and forward and forward–

His eyes on the men he’s attacking–

Coming past me–

And I don’t even think–

I leap from the ground to stop him–

And he turns and sends his Noise straight at me–

The world goes all bright, terribly, painfully bright, like every-one can see how much you hurt, everyone watching and laughing and nowhere to hide and YER NOTHING YER NOTHING YER NOTHING all bound up tight like a bullet right thru you, telling you everything that’s wrong with you, everything you ever done bad in yer life, telling you yer worthless, yer dirt, YER NOTHING, yer life ain’t got no point nor reason nor purpose and you should just tear down the walls of yerself, ripping apart who you are and either die or give it up as a gift, as a gift to the one who can save you, as a gift to the man who can control you, who can take it all away, who can make everything fine fine fine–

But not even Noise can stop a body when it’s moving.

I feel all these things and I’m still flying at him and I still hit him and I still knock him over on the steps of the cathedral.

He grunts as the air is crushed out of him and the Noise attack stops for a second. Corporal Pot Belly calls out and falls over and Ivan’s gasping for breath and Viola’s calling out “Todd!” and then a hand is around my neck and it’s pushing my head up and the Mayor is looking right into my eyes–

And this time it hits me full blast.

“Give me the rifle!” the Mayor is shouting, standing over Ivan, who’s crouched on the ground below him, hand over his ear again but the rifle still pointed up at the Mayor. “Give it to me!”

I blink, grit and dust in my eyes, wondering for a second where I am–

YER NOTHING YER NOTHING YER NOTHING YER NOTHING

“Give me the rifle, Private!”

The Mayor’s screaming at Ivan, hitting him over and over again with Noise blasts and Ivan is sinking to the ground–

But his rifle’s still aimed–

“Todd!”

I see horse legs beside my head. Viola’s still up on Angharrad. “Todd, wake up!” she’s yelling. I look up at her. “Thank God!” she yells and her face is a picture of frustrayshun. “My stupid feet! I can’t get off the goddam horse!”

“I’m okay,” I say, tho I don’t know if I am, and I lean myself up, my head spinning.

YER NOTHING YER NOTHING YER NOTHING YER NOTHING

“Todd, what’s going on?” Viola says as I grab a rein to help me stand. “I hear Noise but–”

“The rifle!” shouts the Mayor, stepping closer to Ivan. “Now!”

“We have to help him,” I say–

But I flinch back at the strongest attack yet–

A flare of Noise so white you can almost see the air bending twixt the Mayor and Ivan–

And Ivan grunts sharply and bites his tongue–

Blood spilling from his mouth–

Before he screams like a child and falls back–

Dropping the rifle–

Dropping it right into the Mayor’s hands.

He lifts it, cocks it and aims it at us in one fluid move. Ivan lies twitching on the ground.

“What just happened?” Viola says, too angry it seems to care much about the rifle.

I put my hands in the air, still holding the reins.

“He can use Noise,” I say, keeping my eyes on him. “He can use it like a weapon.”

“Just so,” says the Mayor, smiling again.

“All I heard was shouting,” she says, looking at the men lying on the ground, still breathing but out cold. “What do you mean, a weapon?”