It was nearly light, as dawn spread a long shadow from the tower and the northern cliffs down on the city.
The shadow of the tower stretched all the way down past hook’s hole, and for a moment First Sentinel thought he could see the veranda of his old apartment, where he’d stood each morning, looking up to the tower and waiting for this day to come.
The fifty-year winter has ended. Spring is here. And Audec-Hal will know summer once again.
“Take me back up. And put on some tea. We have work to do.”
Aegis lifted First Sentinel, and then spoke. “They’re preparing for another healing, Father. You’ve been badly hurt.” another priestess approached, carrying a basin of water, towels piled over her arm.
“I’ll be fine, now. I don’t plan on dying until our job is done.”
The seasons would not change on their own, nor quickly. It would take a great many storms to bring on the summer. Thunder, lightning, storms and floods, the path wouldn’t be easy.
First Sentinel looked around to the Shields, battered and bloodied. Ghost Hands, my oldest friend. Sabreslate, both supporter and critic. Sapphire with her great strength and boundless heart. And Aegis, my son, greatest of us all.
He remembered the ones who had passed, Blurred Fists and aria and all of the rest. They all had brought the Shields to this moment. With the City Mother supporting us, Her tower our sanctuary and headquarters, we will finish this war.
Then the city would be free again. Selweh could have a real life, and First Sentinel could retire. I’ll hang up my raiment and belt and spend my days telling stories to children, all the children of the city, not just a handful of Freithin in Rova’s living room. I’ll drink endless cups of tea and bask in their smiles.
He couldn’t dream of anything better.
GLOSSARY
Acci, Dr.: a Shield-bearer. A Jalvai doctor who mends the wounds of the Shields.
Aegis: a Shield of Audec-Hal. There have been five bearers of the Aegis. The first was the founder of the Shields of Audec-Hal, though his true name remains a mystery. Other bearers include Zenari, Aria Enyahi Gara, Aernah, and Selweh aria Pacsa.
Aegis, the: an enchanted heater shield, the emblem of the Shields of Audec-Hal. Grants its bearer a connection to the power of the City Mother, including incredible strength, agility, and stamina. Cannot be wielded by any but its chosen. When an Aegis dies, the shield finds its way to a new bearer.
Aernah: also known as Aegis. The fourth bearer of the Aegis, a former school teacher. Deceased.
Aria Enyahi Gara: also called Valence. Shield of Audec-Hal, and the fourth Aegis. Married to and then estranged from Wonlar Pacsa. Mother of Selweh aria Pacsa. Deceased.
Audec: one of the titans, who fell to the earth in the first age, and died upon impact, creating a crevasse in the shape of his body. Today, only his bones remain, serving as the building blocks of the city of Audec-Hal.
Audec-Hal: a city built in the crevasse formed by the fall of the titan Audec. Formerly ruled by a Senate, Audec-Hal is currently controlled by a loose alliance of five leaders: Nevri, COBALT-3, Magister Yema, Medai Omez, and the Smiling King.
Bira Qano: also known as Ghost Hands. One of the original Shields of Audec-Hal. A Qava of considerable telekinetic talent. Married to Sarii Gebb.
Blue Heart, the: an alchemical artifact used by Medai Omez to control his Freithin slaves. Destroyed by the Shields of Audec-Hal.
Bluetown: The self-imposed ghetto of the Freithin. Located in Medai Omez’s domain.
Blurred Fists: one of the Shields of Audec-Hal. There have been four Blurred Fists, the mantle handed down within one family. The mantle of Blurred Fists is currently held by the Pronai messenger Wenlizerachi, the great-grandson of the original Blurred Fists.
City Mother, the: Patron goddess of the city of Audechal. The City Mother once protected the city, binding its people together with her compassion and strength. Controlled by Magister Yema, She currently uses her power to keep the people of the city submissive and afraid.
COBALT: one of the original rulers to seize territory in Audec-Hal after the fall of the Senate. COBALT was an android obsessed with understanding biological life.
COBALT-2: created by COBALT, and creator of COBALT-3.
COBALT-3: one of the rulers of Audec-Hal. COBALT-3 shares her grand-creator’s obsession with biological life. COBALT-3’s domain is the city’s right leg, and part of the trunk.
District: name for a neighborhood of the city of Audec-Hal.
Dom watches-and-Remembers: Son of Nai watches and Zong Remembers.
Domain: The area controlled by one of the five rulers of Audec-Hal.
Dlella: a Full-blood serpentine Millrej lieutenant of Nevri’s.
Douk Tager: an Ikanollo Shield-bearer. Owner of Douk’s daily, a pro-Shield coffeeshop. Well-connected to in the circles of the Audec elite. Married to Xera Tager.
Dounmo: a blend of highly caffeinated tea. Known to have pain-relieving properties.
First Sentinel: one of the first Shields of Audec-Hal. Also known as Wonlar Gonyu Pacsa. Ikanollo alchemist and gadgeteer of the Shields. Adoptive father of Selweh aria Pacsa, the fifth Aegis.
Forked Lightning: Former Shield of Audec-Hal. A Spark-touched Ikanollo with the ability to create lightning bolts. Deceased.
Freithin: one of the races of Audec-Hal. Originally created by alchemical processes for the slave pens of Medai Omez. Blue-skinned, they are large in stature, and never stop growing. Due to their size, they are incredibly strong and tough.
Ghost Hands: one of the first Shields of Audec-Hal. Also known as Bira Qano. A powerful Qava telepath and telekinetic.
Ikanollo: one of the races of Audec-Hal. By far most common race in the city. Ikanollo are yellow-skinned and brown-haired, to a one. Once they reach majority, all Ikanollo men are identical, and all women are identical. Ikanollo differentiate one another through their ability to see the threads of emotional connection between people.
Jalvai: one of the races of Audec-Hal. They have grey skin the color of stone. All Jalvai are born with the ability to control and shape stone, making them champion artisans, architects, and builders.
Kesh: a Freithin song of mourning, sung over the deceased by their family.
Medai Omez: one of the rulers of Audec-Hal. Also called The Slaver, Medai was the one to bring Freithin to the city. His domain is composed of part of the trunk of the city, as well as the left arm.
Millrej: one of the races of Audec-Hal. Each family of Millrej takes after their animal patron, with physical characteristics such as fur, scales, or horns. In puberty, some Millrej are revealed as Full-bloods, growing into full anthropomorphic hybrids.
Nai watches: Married to Zong Remembers. Mother of Dom watches-and-Remembers.
Nevri: also called Nevri the Lash, Executor Nevri, or The Gangster. A former member of the Viscera city Slicers and former member of the Senate of Audec-Hal. Now one of the five rulers of the city, controlling the territory of Audec’s head and the right arm.
Qazzi Fau: a Spark-touched Ikanollo lieutenant of Nevri. Formerly a contract killer, Qazzi maintains a group of assassins who help execute Nevri’s will.
Qojimata: Former Shield of Audec-Hal. Deceased.
Oligarchs, the: another name for the current rulers of Audec-Hal. One of the acceptable terms for public discourse.
Onyx: a Spark-touched Freithin lieutenant of the Smiling King. Incredibly strong and seemingly inexhaustible.
Pronai: one of the races of Audec-Hal. Red-skinned, everything about Pronai is fast. They mature, think, move, and age far faster than the other races. Most die of old age by thirty.
Qava: one of the races of Audec-Hal. Born without sensory organs, their faces flat, Qava perceive the world through telepathy and telekinesis, subsisting on the thoughts of other races.
Raiment: The clothing and equipment of a Shield of Audec-Hal. Used both to conceal their identities and to make themselves symbols of freedom and resistance.
&
nbsp; Red vixen: a former Shield of Audec-Hal. A Full-blood fox-kin Millrej. Deceased.
Rova Remembers: also known as Sapphire. A Shield of Audec-Hal. A Freithin, born in Medai Omez’s slave pens, Rova joined the Shields when her people were freed.
Sabreslate: one of the Shields of Audec-Hal. Also known as Sarii Gebb. A Jalvai mistress of stone. Able to shape her stone raiment into weapons, shields, and more.
Sapphire: one of the Shields of Audec-Hal. Also known as Rova Remembers. A freed Freithin who joined the Shields shortly after the Unchaining. One of the largest and strongest Freithin in Audec-Hal.
Sarii gebb: also known as Sabreslate. One of the Shields of Audec-Hal. An older Javlai. A former sculptor. Married to Bira Qano.
Selweh Aria pacsa: also known as Aegis. Born Selweh aria Gara. Formerly Second Sentinel. One of the Shields of Audec-Hal. The fifth bearer of the Aegis, and son of Aria Enyahi Gara. Adopted son of Wonlar Gonyu Pacsa.
Shields of Audec-Hal, the: a group of rebels fighting to overthrow the rule of the tyrants. Founded by the first Aegis shortly after the Senate fire.
Shield-bearer: one of the civilian supporters of the Shields of Audec-Hal. They provide shelter, supplies, information, and more.
Smiling King: one of the rulers of Audec-Hal. Also called The Madman. Suspected of being connected to the Spark-storms, the Smiling King’s forces are mostly composed of Spark-touched who have been brainwashed whom the King regards as his family.
Spark-storms: Supernatural storms that plague the city of Audec-Hal. Spark-storms permanently and inexplicably transform animate and inanimate matter, change the laws of physics within an area, or create other inexplicable changes.
Spark-touched: Those changed by Spark-storms. Some are physically transformed, others are granted strange abilities. No two people change in the same way.
Threads: colored bands of emotional connection that tie people together. All Ikanollo can see the threads, tied between the people they connect.
Tyrants, the: another name for the current rulers of Audec-Hal. Officially forbidden in public discourse.
Unchaining, the: The raid conducted by the Shields of Audec-Hal that destroyed the Blue heart and freed thousands of Freithin slaves controlled by Medai Omez.
Valence: one of the first Shields of Audec-Hal. Also known as Aria Enyahi Gara. Her Spark-touched ability allowed her to change her physical form to match something she touched (water, air, steel).
Veins, the: Slang for the streets of Audec-Hal, as if they were the titan’s veins.
warlock guard, the: a group of Yema’s servants whose hearts have been removed in a magical ritual, allowing Yema to control their actions.
Wenlizerachi: also known as Blurred Fists. One of the Shields of Audec-Hal. The fourth Pronai to bear the mantle of Blurred Fists. A part-time courier.
Wonlar Gonyu Pacsa: also known as First Sentinel. One of the founding Shields of Audec-Hal. Has the Spark-touched ability to control the emotional threads that connect people. Estranged husband of Aria Genyahi Gara. Adoptive father of Selweh aria Pacsa.
Xera Tager: a Shield-bearer. Co-owner of Douk’s daily. Married to Douk Tager.
Yema: one of the rulers of Audec-Hal. Also called Magister Yema, or The Sorcerer, Yema’s domain is composed of the city’s left leg and part of the trunk. Yema controls the warlock Guard, as well as the City Mother.
Zenari: Former Shield of Audec-Hal. An office worker chosen as the second bearer of the Aegis. Deceased.
Zeraneyachi: Former Shield of Audec-Hal. The third to bear the mantle of Blurred Fists. Mother of Wenlizerachi. Deceased.
Zong Remembers: Brother to Rova Remembers. Married to Nai Watches. Father of Dom watches-and-Remembers.
APPENDIX
Thread Color Key
Beige – curiosity
Black – guilt
Brass – devotion
Burgundy – tyranny/control
Coppery Red – malice
Dull Green – casual partnership
Emerald – familial love
Evergreen – romantic love
Flushed Pink – lust
Gold – comradeship
Grey – frustration
Jade – unrequited love
Light Pink – embarrassment
Navy Blue – sorrow
Orange – greed
Purple – authority/command
Red – hatred
Silver – adoration
Turquoise – empathy
Yellow – fear
White – hope
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Shield and Crocus can be traced back directly to a conversation with my classmate Jon Christian Allison in the dining room at the Clarion West Writers workshop in 2007. That day, I’d read an awesomely gut-wrenching story of Jon’s, and I was inspired by his story to try my hand at a new weird short for the following week. That story (which fit into a short story about as well as an olympic-sized swimming pool fits into a shot glass) would go to become the first version of Shield and Crocus.
This novel has come a long way from that original short fiction piece, and it would not have been possible without the assistance and support of a metric ton of wonderful people. A shorter version of these acknowledgements would just to be to thank every person I talked with for any length of time between mid-2007 and today. Shield was the work that took me from aspirant to neo-pro, as I learned revision, submission protocol, and how to take rejection.
Lots of rejection.
But like the Shields, I took those setbacks and got back up to try again.
I wanted to start by thanking Jon Christian Allison for his story and that conversation, which set me on the path. I also want to thank the teachers, students, and staff members of the 2007 Clarion West Workshop, especially Graham Joyce, the resident instructor the week we workshopped “Shield & crocus.” at the end of the round of critiques for my story, Graham charged me with expanding the short piece into a novel.
This novel wouldn’t exist without the inspiration of the works of China Mieville, Jeff VanderMeer, KJ Bishop, and others who contributed to the new weird movement. To those who came before, I tip my hat, honored to be able to carry on the genre conversation that you all started.
Huge thanks are also due to Scat Hardcore, my first writing group, some of whom have probably read this novel five or more times across its different incarnations. Massive llamas of thanks to Marie Brennan, Siobhan Carroll, Alyc Helms, and Darja Malcolm-Clarke.
Big thanks to my Muse Brother Bryan Roberts, for help in banging out the plot for this and nearly all of my other novels.
Massive high-fives to the many, many friends who helped as beta- and proof-readers, helping me get earlier versions of the novel ready for submission. Daniel McDeavitt, Nicole Kaplan, Melissa Kocias, Élan Matlovsky, Rick Novy, Mary Rodgers, Tina Wallace, Kate Walton, and Adam Zabell.
Kari Stevenson and Meredith Levine, for their crucial support in the down times.
Gina Wachtel, the publishing fairy godmother who made it all possible.
A father-son high-five to my father, David Underwood, who opened the door.
Thanks again and again to Meg, for every single day.
A hearty w00t of thanks to my agent of awesomeness, Sara Megibow, for agreeing to take up the banner and give the novel one more shot at the Big Show.
The team at 47north have been amazing—passionate, professional, and responsive. David Pomerico, Alex Carr, Fleetwood Robbins, Justin Golenbock, Britt Rogers, and the others: you are awesome, and I’m honored to be on the list.
Lastly, and perhaps mostly, my boundless thanks to David Pomerico, my editor—who always believed in First Sentinel and the Shields—for providing the comments that would put me on the right path, and for coming back with the vision and passion to bring this book to readers everywhere.
Thanks to each one of you, the Shield-bearers who made this book happen.
Michael R. Underwood
Baltimore, Maryland
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February 2014
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael R. Underwood is the author of the Ree Reyes series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek [novella]), as well as the forthcoming Younger Gods series. By day, he’s the north american Sales & Marketing Manager for angry Robot Books. Mike grew up devouring stories in all forms, from comics to video games, tabletop RPGs, movies, and books. Always books.
Mike lives in Baltimore with his fiancé, an ever-growing library, and a super-team of dinosaur figurines and stuffed animals. In his rapidly-vanishing free time, he studies historical martial arts and makes pizzas from scratch.
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