"They killed those miners!" Balis objected.
"And weren't you ready to do exactly the same to them just a few minutes ago?" I replied, staring at him provokingly.
"I suppose," he mumbled, a little shamefacedly. "It does seem to change behaviour."
"So, what's the plan?" Trix asked, patting Zen.
"Yes, what's in that devious mind of yours?" Nix wanted to know. "Is it something we’d rather not know about? Something that’s going to put us into mortal danger, yet again? Why can't any of your schemes ever involve us having a peaceful, danger-free morning tea, or something, eh? "
"Why are you always so suspicious?" I complained. "Isn't your life far more interesting these days? I'll bet your days were full of boredom before we met."
"Boring, but safer," Nix grumbled.
"Don't listen to that waffling wombat," Thorn advised. "What do you think we should do, beloved?"
"We need to destroy that machine," I proclaimed. "Once its influence has been neutralised, the Night Things may lose a lot of their aggressiveness. It's worth a try, anyhow."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Nix asked. "We can hardly fight our way through the crowd to get at it."
"That's not what you were saying before," I caustically reminded him. "I believe you were all eager to jump down into the middle of them and start a minor war."
"Okay, okay," he admitted. "So I was a little crazy at the time."
"Why weren't you affected?" Balis enquired.
"Stephen's a human," Trix explained, "and the machine doesn't seem to do anything much to him. Lucky for us, really."
"You're a human?" Balis exclaimed in amazement. "How is that possible? You're a One!"
"It's a long story," I said, "but the gist of it is that I was downloaded into a clone."
"But that's amazing!" Balis stated. "Where's your human body? Why didn't you tell me before?"
"The subject never came up," I shrugged, "and it's not something I want everyone to know about. My body is back on the surface world and I visit it every eight hours or so to keep it alive. I prefer to keep all of this a secret, if you know what I mean."
"As you wish," Balis said, eyeing me in wonder.
"Meanwhile, back to your plan ….?" Thorn interrupted, impatiently.
"Very well," I continued. "I propose we smash that infernal contraption and to do that we need a distraction. Something to pull away the hordes and leave us free to perform the demolition." I turned to Thorn. "Although I hate to put you into danger, sweetheart, I'm afraid that you'll have to provide the distraction and lead them away. You're our best flyer and the Night Things don't have wings, so you’ll be relatively safe. Quina can go with you. I didn’t see any bows and arrows down there so, as long as you stay out of their reach, you should have no problems. After you've led them away, double back and find us. Hopefully, they’ll be too confused once we’ve trashed their machine to do anything much about it."
Then I looked at Balis. "We’re going to need your axe, my friend, to put the machine out of action. Trix, Zen and Nix will go with you to dispose of any remaining guards. What do you all think?"
* See ‘Pitfall (5)
Chapter 14
No objections arose, although there were a few doubtful looks cast my way. I explained my plan to Liz and she appeared to accept it as well. Thorn took me aside and murmured, "Be careful, my love. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you."
"Likewise," I assured her, gripping her hands. "Fly over their heads, but get away from that machine as fast as you can. I don't want you deciding to land and fight it out with them. And look after Quina, okay? She's a bit of an innocent."
"Not as innocent as you think," Thorn muttered darkly.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked her, curiously.
"Never mind," I was assured. "Let's just do this if we can. Good luck, my darling."
"You too," I affirmed, giving her a farewell kiss. "Don't do anything foolish."
"You're the one to talk," she said, giving me a tentative smile and a final hug.
"Me?" I exclaimed, querulously. "I'm never foolish. You must be talking about Nix."
"I heard that!" Nix retaliated. "If anybody’s foolish around here it’s Arugohumna. After all, she took up with you instead of me. Can you believe that? The poor girl must be feverish. It's so obvious that I'd be a much better mate for her. Anyone can see it. The comparison is ludicrous. On the one hand, we have a beguilingly handsome specimen of a male Adonis, and on the other hand is a weedy, pathetic, miserable excuse for a fairy. I'm talking about Arugohumna here, by the way. Stephen is okay, I suppose. For a weird hybrid, that is."
Trix convulsed with laughter and Quina hid a grin behind her hand. Balis stared at Nix in astonishment. "I can't believe they let you say those sorts of things without getting into a fight," he declared, shaking his head.
"I can say it because I'm so lovable," Nix proclaimed.
"Lovable?" Thorn spluttered. "You're the least lovable thing on the planet! I've never seen anything uglier! In fact, ugly things run away from you in horror. Your only redeemable quality is ……. wait! You don't have one!"
I clapped my hands to interrupt the repartee. "Playtime is over, children," I announced firmly. "It's time to get to work. Just be careful everyone. Don't take any risks."
"Just being around you is a risk," Nix griped as he moved away. "If I wasn't positive that one day that sexy sexpot you hang out with will come to her senses and beg me to move in with her, I’d leave this group in a heartbeat."
"Dream on," Thorn snorted scornfully as she took to the air. "The only possible way that could happen would be in an alternate universe where everything was back to front and I felt attracted to hideous objects. And even then it would never happen. "
"Ah, you say that now," Nix called after her, "but I can see the truth in your eyes. Your passion and longing betray you. I know you pine for me in your secret heart of hearts." Thorn’s laugh drifted back as she and Quina disappeared around a bend in the tunnel.
"I still can't believe the way you talk to each other," Balis announced, scratching his head. "If anybody said those things to me I demanded a duel."
"You become accustomed to it," Trix said, sympathetically. "It makes me laugh. When Arugohumna and Nix get together, it's always fun. They spend a lot of time devising their insults. They're quite proud of them."
"So weird," pronounced Balis, staring at Nix who winked knowingly at him. "You're all very strange people."
"Tell me about it," I sighed, theatrically. "I have to live with them."
"Hey," Trix asserted, "you started it all, you know."
"It wasn't me," I denied. "It was Zen! It's all his fault!"
"You're blaming the wolf?" Balis averred in a puzzled voice.
"Why not?" I shrugged. "Thorn isn't here."
"Don't take any notice of him," Nix advised Balis. "The human sense of humor is rather …. unique. For ‘unique’ substitute ‘bizarre and totally unfunny’. We indulge him and laugh in the appropriate places, otherwise he tends to sulk. Just ignore him. Everybody else does."
"Ignore him, Balis " I amended. "Nix wouldn’t know funny if he slipped on a banana peel and fell down a hole. He has no concept of comedy at all. It's sad, really."
"Are we going to smash this machine, or not?" Trix demanded. "Or do Zen and I have to do it all by ourselves?"
"You're right, young Smurf," I agreed. "Enough fooling around. The next part of the plan is going to be extremely dangerous. So be careful, okay? I don't want to have to bury anyone."
Chapter 15
We followed the tunnel back to where we had been before and saw Thorn and Quina skimming over the heads of the assembled Night Things who shrieked and waved weapons at the pair, but thankfully didn't appear to be capable of anything much else. Suddenly, our flying friends darted away down a side tunnel and the Night Things streamed after them, screaming in fury.
"Okay, Part One seems to be workin
g," I murmured. "Let's see if Part Two works as well."
"There's a bunch of them still down there," Trix observed.
"But nowhere near as many as there were," I pronounced. "Between the five of us, we should be able to deal with them. Liz can stay up here and spread her baleful influence among the baddies. Just remember that we’ll be near the machine, so try and keep yourselves under control. This is strictly a sabotage mission, not a killfest. Balis, the smashing is up to you."
"My pleasure," Balis grunted, hefting his axe.
"Let's go then," I commanded. "Best of luck, my friends."
We slithered down the rock face and landed on the floor of the open area. The remaining Night Things heard the noise and ran towards us, brandishing their weapons – mainly swords and spears. Balis and Nix stepped to the front of our group and Zen sprinted around the side and circled to the back of the attackers. As previously stated, I thought the Night Things to be vaguely monkey-like, and their agility reinforced that belief. As soon as they reached us they sprang into attack mode, chattering and growling and gnashing their teeth. I noticed that Liz didn’t appear to be having much effect. The machine must have been overriding her efforts. Balis roared in fury and his axe created a bloody swathe through the attacking ranks while Nix simply punched any head that came within reach. Trix slipped in and out of the mass of Night Things like an invisible knifing ghost, her small size and amazing dexterity ensuring that nothing could touch her. Meanwhile, Zen was making inroads at the rear, bowling over victim after victim and savaging limbs as he went. And me? I contented myself with tripping the occasional enemy and kicking those I couldn't trip. I consoled myself with the thought that I was a lover, not a fighter, although even the former gave me doubts.
We battered our way to the machine, suffering minor cuts and injuries and, being so close to the synthetic malevolence, even I began to feel its effects. A hidden rage began to boil up inside of me and I almost succumbed to the temptation to turn on the Night Things and slice them into pieces. I slapped my face to regain my sanity and looked around at the scene. It wasn't pretty. Bodies were strewn everywhere and blood flowed freely onto the rocky ground. My companions had glazed eyes and were glaring around, eagerly looking for further enemies to kill. I grabbed Balis by the arm and dragged him over to the machine.
"Smash it!" I yelled at him, trying to jolt him out of his trance. He looked at me dazedly and I roughly shook his arm. "Smash-the-machine!" I said slowly, emphasising each word with a further shake. Almost unwillingly, he raised his axe and chopped into the metal front. Sparks erupted from where he'd cut and he swung again, creating more sparks and a fizzing sound. Encouraged, he went berserk, and soon reduced the machine to a mangled hulk. Whatever happened afterwards, I felt sure that this particular piece of equipment would never work again. And that wasn't all that wasn't working. The feeling of anger and ferocity I'd been harboring disappeared. We all looked at each other in amazement.
"It's gone!" Nix announced, feeling his chest. "All that rage has gone!"
"I couldn't believe I'd ever feel such ….. such vehemence," Trix muttered. "I didn't like it at all. It felt horrible!"
"Mission accomplished," I announced. "Now let's get out of here before the Night Things decide to come back. They might not be too happy with us for destroying their god."
"Good point," Balis agreed, giving the twisted heap of metal one last satisfied scrutiny. "We’d best make tracks."
"Suits me," Nix agreed, starting to walk away. "I don't want to have to fight any more of them."
"Me either," Trix announced, her face pasty as she fastidiously avoided the blood pools. "This is going to haunt me for ages."
"It wasn't anybody's fault," I tried to reason. "The machine did it, not you."
"But the initial urge came from us," Trix argued. "That bit was just amplified."
"Yes, but it still wasn't your fault," I comforted. "You can't be held responsible. I hope you can see that." Trix came over to me and took my hand.
"I know you're trying to absolve us from blame, Stephen," she told me, "but we all share a little bit of guilt about this. We’ll need time to work our way through it, that's all."
"I understand," I murmured, "and I respect your feelings. It's always difficult to be confronted with an inner self you didn't even know existed."
Chapter 16
We climbed up the cliff face to our original starting point and met up with Liz, then made our way back along the tunnel, hoping to find Thorn and Quina.
"I hope nothing's happened to them," Trix said worriedly after about a half hour’s walk. "I would have thought they’d have found us by now."
"I'm becoming a little concerned myself," I replied. "And we still have all those Night Things that chased them roaming around as well. They could be a problem if we ran into them unexpectedly." I shouldn't have said that. Saying those sorts of things out loud is always tempting Fate. It really is because, around the very next corner, we ran into remnants of the Night Things that had pursued our missing companions.
"Bloody hell!" Nix swore. "Where the blazes did they come from?" We hugged the tunnel wall in desperation as the Night Things stumbled past, apparently oblivious to our presence.
"They don't even notice us!" Trix exclaimed in wonder.
"I think they’re in shock," I surmised, staring at procession of blank faces as they passed. "The removal of the machine’s influence must have had some effect after all."
"A fairly major effect, I'd say," Balis remarked. "They don't look capable of attacking anyone."
"However, just to be on the safe side, I think we’d better move along," Nix proposed. "We still have to find Thorn and Quina, remember?"
"Yes, we'd better keep going," I agreed. "They can't be too far ahead."
Once again, my words proved to be prophetic, because we found our friends after a few more minutes of walking. They were sitting on the ground, with Thorn cradling an injured Quina.
"What happened?" I asked, rushing over to them. "How badly is she hurt?"
"They were throwing rocks," Thorn explained, as I sank down beside her, "and Quina wasn't quick enough. One of them hit her on the head. She lost consciousness for awhile there but she's okay now. She’s awake and everything but I didn't want her to move, just in case."
"How are you, sweetie?" I asked Quina, observing a noticeable lump on her temple.
"I'm fine," she answered, grimacing as she moved her head. "Just a massive headache, is all. My vision is normal, so my eyes aren't affected. How was your end of the operation?"
"A complete success!" Trix announced proudly, bouncing up and down in glee. "Balis smashed it good!"
"We met the Night Things that were chasing you," Nix stated, "and they were stumbling around like sleepwalkers. I can't see them being the same aggressive race they used to be. Maybe we have fixed the whole thing."
"Thank heavens for that," Thorn murmured. "Let's go home. I'm tired, and I want a bath."
"I can help you with that," Nix leered. "Do you want me to scrub your back or something?"
"Ugh! I should think not!" Thorn protested. "Not on a full stomach anyway. Or an empty one, for that matter. In fact, not on any stomach at all. When I want to be nauseated, I'll let you know."
"Don't be like that!" Nix protested. "I'm famous for my romantic hands. Ask any female. They line up to have their backs scrubbed, you know. Sometimes there are so many of them that I barely have time for my own bath."
"Are you listening to this gibberish?" Thorn exclaimed, looking around at us. "How can one person be so delusional? Give me one good reason why we shouldn't have him committed as hopelessly insane."
"You’d never do that, my darling dumpling," Nix's stated, taking her hand and kissing it floridly. "You adore me too much. You'd fade away to nothing if I wasn't around. I'm your reason for being. I create the ecstasy of your internal existential existence. Without me, you'd have no possible excuse to live."
"You're such a
raving ratbag!" Thorn exclaimed, snatching her hand away, trying not to laugh, but not succeeding very well. "I don't know why we put up with you."
"That question has crossed my mind as well," Nix said thoughtfully. "The only possible explanation is that you're trying to better yourselves by including me in your group. Quite understandable, of course. Naturally, I'm lowering my status, but sacrificing oneself for the good of others is what friendship is all about."
"All I know is that you're an incurable nightmare," Thorn declared with finality, "but I suppose that, as in natural disasters like earthquakes, you have to be tolerated, so let's be on our way. I really do want that bath."
Chapter 17
Quina pronounced herself fit to travel, and so we set out. Thorn took my hand and slowed her pace, letting the others forge ahead.
"I know, you know," she told me in a soft voice.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked, totally at sea about her remark.
"I know about Quina," she explained, not very satisfactorily.
"Keep going," I urged, still not fully comprehending.
"When she was hit with that rock, she drifted in and out of consciousness and began babbling."
"Oh, and exactly what did she say?"
"Bits and pieces of things."
"Thorn, don't be cryptic. What bits and pieces?"
"She announced that she’d told you that she loved you. Did she? Or was that sheer delusion on her part?"
Ah, time to be careful here. Do I tell the truth or lie my head off at this stage? Either path seemed fraught with danger. It's true that Thorn had lost much of her initial youthful anger, but that fire still smouldered. How much would it take to fan it back into a raging inferno? I risked a quick peek at her profile. She didn't appear to be distraught. I couldn’t see any grinding of teeth or clenched fists or distorted features. Did she want just a simple confirmation, or was this going to be an in-depth psychoanalysis of my feelings? Which way should I jump? Maybe I should take that jump literally and put myself out of the reach of her sword. Wait a minute, I hadn't done anything wrong, so why should I act as if I had? Stupid personal relationships! They make life so complicated! Was Thorn jealous? Did I want her to be or not? Another person's jealousy inflates the ego, but you also had to be prepared to duck because some people became irrational under its influence. Was Thorn that type? She used to be, but now? Who could tell? I'd better decide something soon. I could see her becoming impatient for an answer. Keeping a wary eye on her sword hand, I took a steadying breath, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
Night Things (10) (The Underground Kingdom) Page 5
