The Darkness at the Edge of Noon: a Thalassia novel
Page 30
Logan saw Bel’s hand emerge from a distant bush, and make the quick jerky sign for ‘quiet and stay low.’. He crouched, and motioned for the rest of the squad to follow suit. Moving silently from shadow to shadow, he closed on the hidden scout. Bel was lying half burrowed into soft pine needles, her face peering down the low slope of a long shallow hill.
Logan touched her back. “What do you have?”
“Single Zzzkntti down there.” She made an abrupt motion with her head, pointing with her chin. “He’s hiding behind those three big trees. You can just see his feet, if you look hard.”
Logan stared. “Yeah, I see.”
Logan let a mean grin slide over his face.
Logan touched Bel’s shoulder and her head turned. Using hand signs, he told her what his plans were. Her eyes narrowed, and she gave him a glare, but reluctantly nodded.
Logan moved out soundlessly from his concealment, concentrating on becoming a part of the forest around him. He flowed from tree to tree, seeming to blend into the very trunk and branches. Even the birds found his movement unremarkable. Soon he stood behind the big Zzzkntti. The creature, he noted idly, smelled vaguely reptilian.
“Hello, Tk’ Lat.” He saw the creature’s whipcord muscles tense briefly and relax.
The green head turned. “Hello, Logan. You move well in the forest. You would almost think you were a forest creature yourself.” The head swiveled. “The rest?”
“Oh, they’re about.”
“Bring them quickly.” He pointed down the gentle embankment to the glittering lake beyond. “We must get out into the lake as soon as possible. I’m afraid that I was followed.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed. “So, they were following you, and not us.”
“Yes, yes. The boat is there.” A green arm pointed, and Logan just made out a small hump on the beach.
“That?”
“Yees. Good boat.”
Logan raised his hand and made a sign. Soon all the members of the squad were gathered round. “That’s the boat.” He grimaced as he pointed.
“You call that a boat?” Tanden almost gasped, his eyes widening.
“You might want to thank our benefactor, Mister Barr. It’s the only boat we have.”
Tanden’s face went through a wide range of emotions. “Why, thankee, sir.” He said to the bemused Zzzkntti. “Is a wonderful boat it is.” He turned slightly to Logan. “Will it even fit the lot o us?”
“I have no idea.” Logan replied honestly.
The boat was, obviously, a small flat bottomed fishing dingy. Fourteen feet long, it had once been painted a bright yellow, with white trim, but now most of the paint had chipped away, and water sloshed disconsolately in the bottom. There were at least two oars. Logan wasn’t sure that it would hold two people to row, much less ten.
“It’s very nice.” He lied to the big creature.
Tk’ Lat’s face screwed up into what Logan assumed was a smile. It is very...”
“Zzzkntti patrol!” He shouted, no longer worried about remaining undiscovered. “Crossbows back against the lake. You can swim if you need to get away. Megan and Maeve, guard them.” He drew his sword as he unbuckled his pack. The rest of you try to defend the boat.” Logan heard a low growl and turned to see Tk’ Lat pick up a five foot spear with a sharpened stone tip, and turned with them to face the woods. Long white teeth showed in a rictus grin.
Logan raised his sword high as the Zzzkntti burst running, out of the woods. In a ringing voice he shouted.
“Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome tae your gory bed,
Or tae Victorie!”
The Zzzkntti were on them.
Logan slashed the running leader across the belly, spilling entrails, blue/green and steaming over the frozen ground. Next to him Tk’ Lat casually ripped the throat from one warrior as two of his four arms drove his spear smoothly into the chest of another. The thudding of the crossbows was almost constant, as were the grunts, growls and screams of pain, from both human and Zzzkntti lips. He slashed, dodged, slashed again, to accompanying yowls of pain. Ducking, a crossbow bolt hissed angrily past his ear. There was only time for one brief breath before a clawed hand raked him across the ribs, and Logan fell, stabbing upward. The Zzzkntti crumbled on top of him, dark bitter blood spewing from its mouth. Logan retched, pushed the monster off of him and stood on wobbling legs. It was over.
“Logan!” It was Aileen’s voice, and she sounded scared. “You’d better get here, fast!”
“What?” He turned and stopped dead, his sword dropping unnoticed from his hand. Ryanne lay, head cradled in Megan’s lap, the shaft of a spear driven through her chest, just below the heart. Dark red blood bubbled from her lips.
“Logan...” Her voice was strained and her face contorted in agony. He took her hand. Dimly in the back of his mind he could almost make out a rush of conversation. Ryanne jerked her hand out of his and turned to look Megan full in the face. She reached out her bloody hand, grabbing the other woman’s bare arm. “Help me - sister.” Ryanne convulsed, and the blood flowing from her mouth became a torrent, but still she held. Breath gurgled in her lungs, quieted, stopped. The light went out of her eyes and her hand went limp. She was gone.
Logan looked down at the still-warm blood on his hand.
“Help me—brother!” A bolt of lightning ran up his spine, and he turned slowly. Megan’s face was filled with terror, her eyes wide. “Brother.” The voice began again. “Help me, I can’t see, I can’t feel. I’m so afraid...” It was Ryanne’s voice, coming out of Megan’s mouth.
Logan crouched and took Megan’s hand. “Ryanne, can you hear me?”
Megan’s mouth moved, and Ryanne’s voice replied. “Yes, barely. Is that you, Logan?”
“Yes, Ryanne, it is.”
Her voice was uncertain.
Logan replied, sounding stunned.
Jade laughed. Jade continued more gently.
Logan snapped. Her laughter was light.
Logan was suddenly standing in a small comfortable sitting room, set with heavy, well-padded chairs covered with a quaint Victorian print. A cheery fire burned in an ornately decorated fireplace, and a steaming pot of tea with two cups sat on a low side table. The room had Rhiannon’s name written all over it, with large bold letters. A door that he hadn’t noticed before opened slowly, and Ryanne ste
pped in, looking lost and confused. Relief washed across her fine face when she saw him.
“Logan!” She ran to him and he took her hands. “What the hells is going on?”
Her hands were warm in his. “Do you remember the battle we were in?” She nodded slowly, a frown forming on her face. “Do you remember getting hit by a Zzzkntti spear?” Another small, tenuous nod. He gripped her hands - hard. “That spear killed you, or killed your body, at least.”
“What!” She went to jerk her hands away but he held her firmly. “How am I talking to you then? How come I couldn’t see before? Why...”
“One question at a time, please.” Logan laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “You were dying, Piuthar Grádhaichte, Beloved Sister. Aedan had the choice of transferring his soul to Megan, or yours. He chose yours.”
“Aedan is...” She paused, unable to continue.
“Yes, I’m so sorry, Ryanne. Look at this way, if you will. You have Megan now, and you always will. You couldn’t see because Megan didn’t know what was happening. She was scared because suddenly she couldn’t speak, and a strange voice was talking out of her mouth.”
Logan felt himself floundering badly. “Rhiannon.” He said to the air. “I need your help.”
A hand touched his shoulder. “You only had to ask, dear one.”
He turned and she was standing in front of him. Her beauty took his breath away. “Jade and I were able to create a form for Ryanne, but we really need Megan here too. Do you think that you...” Another door that Logan hadn’t noticed swung open, and Megan walked in, looking bemused.
“Ryanne? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be dead.” Logan grimaced. Megan was always a little blunt.
“Aedan transferred her to you as she was dying.” Logan’s grin was lopsided. “Ryanne is now your K’Dreex. There might be a little learning curve there.”
“You think?” Megan’s voice was dry. “And Aedan?”
Logan shook his head, turning a sad look to Ryanne, and he spoke softly. “She needs your help your understanding and love, Megan. You are sisters now. Very special, very close sisters. You’ll have to learn how to work together.” He met Megan’s eyes and held them fast. “Can you do it?”
“I’ll have to, I guess.” Her smile flickered, faded, returned. “What do I have to worry about, when we have a brother like you to watch over us?” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and turned toward Ryanne. Logan stepped back as the two women moved together.
Rhiannon was at his side. “I’m so proud of you I could burst, Logan MacKennit.”
He chuckled as he took her slim, beautifully rounded arm. “Don’t say that too much, your goddessness. I might just start asking for what I’m really worth.” He gave her a mock frown. “Seeing as how I’m not getting paid anything.”
Her smile was like a sunrise. “I’m working on it.”
His heart fell when he returned to the bloody battlefield.
Aileen tore her eyes from the dead husk that had been Ryanne Keegan, and turned her gaze back to the living—what was left of them. Tk’ Lat lay in two pieces, so he was out of consideration. Tanden Barr was alive and complaining, but the bone protruding from his shattered leg foretold a long recovery, even if he got a K’Dreex of his very own. Grady had a long ugly cut down one cheek, but his K’Dreex assured them that it was a minor inconvenience at most.
Somewhat later, wounds bandaged and bones splinted, the squad met on the lakeshore, in front of the smashed boat. With Grady and Padraig standing behind him, Logan regarded the others.
“Tanden, ladies. I have some bad... or maybe good news for you.” He slipped his hand inside his shirt to touch the medallion on his chest. “You’re going home. Your part of the mission is over.” He smiled bleakly. “Medin. Please send Tanden, all the women, and the bodies of Ryanne and Tk’ Lat back home, if you please.”
Megan’s eyes widened, and Aileen got out a short. “Logan, you can’t...” They were gone.
“Well then.” Logan tore his eyes from the spot where the rest had stood. “What’s for lunch?”
“Welll...” Grady’s voice was dubious. “We have...”
“I have lunch taken care of, gentlemen.” Selene stepped out of thin air, all dressed in flowing blue, arms crossed, and looking smug. “If you will please follow me?” She turned and passed through a black doorway Logan hadn’t seen before. He looked at the others and shrugged.
The scene was familiar, and the grass leading down to the lake lush and inviting, with swallows and sparrows chattering in the air. “You brought us back to Medin?” Logan let the surprise sound in his voice.
“I thought that it would be easier this way.” She smiled as she spread a red and white check cloth on the verdant grass. “You all need a good meal in relaxing conditions before you start the last leg of your journey.” She set a picnic hamper in front of each of the men, along with a tall foaming mug of dark ale. She frowned as she set down Logan’s. “Open up your shirt, Logan.” She said in an abruptly demanding voice. Logan winced as the bandages pulled his wounds. Even Jade’s healing wasn’t instantaneous. “That’s what I thought; my sister hasn’t been feeding you enough.”
He put his shirt back on. “I haven’t seen Rhiannon in some time, and you know it, Selene.”
The goddess gave him a slightly mocking look. “Oh?” Then she laughed as Logan tore into the basket she had provided. Grady was stuffing food into his mouth as fast as he could, and Padraig was slowly chewing a bite of red apple, a look of bliss on his face. “I have some other goodies for you. Since you’ve lost your boat, you will have to swim the twenty or so miles to the Festival Island. These might help.” She tossed three sets of dark fins designed to slip over their feet, three clear lensed masks and three short curved pipes, set with a mouthpiece in one end. “The fins will help you move faster, the masks will let you see and the snorkel will let you breathe while your head is down. Your K’Dreex can keep you going long enough to reach the shore. I’ll have another meal and warm clothing waiting when you arrive. Then you can start positioning the speakers.”
“Speakers?” Grady mumbled, mouth full of the leg of some roasted bird, juice running down his stubbled chin.
“The rocks the sound comes from.” Selene looked exasperated. “You don’t have much time. Eat up, gentlemen. You need to store fuel.”
Logan belched contentedly, and wanted nothing more than to stretch out on the soft grass for the rest of his natural life. Grady was already snoring, and Padraig nodding, when Selene came over and sat beside him. Her face was serious.
“You must be careful in the days to come. If anything were to happen to you, it would crush Rhiannon. She loves you very much.”
Logan put his hands behind his head. “She sure picks a funny to show it.” He sighed. “Well, she knows that I love her, and that will have to do.” He groaned as he stood. The taste of the dark beer lingered on his tongue, mellow and hoppy. “It’s too bad we can never marry. I’d ask her in a second.”
Selene’s face was a study in changing emotions. “Why would you say that?”
Logan laughed. “She an extraterrestrial goddess and I’m human. It’s a small difference, but significant.” He booted Grady. “Get up, sleeping beauty. We have a job to do.” He turned to rouse Padraig, and missed Selene’s quiet murmur.
“Not as significant as you think, dear one.”
Logan stared at the flat featureless horizon, before he lowered himself into the chill water. He knew just where and how far their destination was. Twenty miles, give or take. They had twelve hours to get there, before it got light enough to become dangerous. He sensed Jade compensate for the chill water, and soon it felt like he was swimming in a comfortable bathtub. He slipped the mask on, and adjusted the snorkel. They were under way.
The men developed a rhythm; swim for an hour, rest for ten minutes. They had problems once, when Padraig had a cramp, and began to thrash in the cold water. Fiona, his K’Dreex took care of the pro
blem almost immediately, adjusting his body temperature slightly, and giving his system a slight boost in energy from stored fat. The men swam on.
They reached the shore of the island as dawn’s first gray light began to turn the cloudy sky the color of steel. Logan and the others resisted the urge to fall panting to the beach; instead, they brushed away the tracks that led from the water to the nearby forest. Then they collapsed.
The medallion was almost warm under his touch.
He chuckled.
They could see fires further down the island, maybe five miles, but the beach where they hid remained silent and dark. The slap of the gentle waves on the shore was soft and rhythmic, the staccato trill of crickets filling the air. Logan set his speaker down with a puff, wiping sweat out of his eyes.
“We’ll put this last rock just past where the Zzzkntti are landing their crude rafts. These three should catch most of the stragglers. The rest we will put around the central meeting area. Tk’ Lat told me that the area is a bowl about a mile in diameter at the center of the island, with a sharp peak rising near the right side. He said that the peak is climbable, barely, and that should be the place we watch the show from. It’s also the most easily defended, just in case we need it.”