“And the rest of the crew of the Daedalus?” There was a worried note in his voice. “What of them?”
“All well, Hedric. I had to patch a few hurts, but it was nothing too serious.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad. I behaved badly on the airship, and I was afraid my stupidity had killed some, or all, of the crew.”
“You have changed, my boy.” Selene was smiling.
“Eating beetles in the jungle to stay alive will teach you humility, if nothing else.”
The tall woman shuddered. “Yuk.” She gave the two a wink, and raised her eyes. “Are you busy, Nan?”
“Nothing I can’t put off until later. What’s up, sis?”
Lexi was staring wide-eyed at the goddess. “The son of Jorse Schwendau just showed up on my doorstep, looking for help.”
“He looking for a lift home to Mommy?” There was mockery in the voice.
“Actually, no. There seems to be a problem in Pangea, and he is asking our help to prevent a disaster.”
“Pangea…Pangea? Oh, I remember.” Rhiannon declared out of the air. “That’s the continent that Eos abandoned when she split. What’s happening there?”
“Zombies, sister dearest. They’re looking at the death of every human, intelligent cat and D’Tril in the next two years if we don’t do something. That includes the K’Dreex too.”
“Zombies?” The voice sounded incredulous. “Like Night of the Living Dead zombies? No shit? Well, I guess you had better come here so that we can have a council of war. I want Medin to sit in. He knows more about human anatomy than anyone I know.”
“Medin?” Hedric asked quietly. “I thought Medin was a moon.”
The goddess had good ears. “Medin IS the moon. Medin is also a self-aware entity that manages the place.”
The air flickered and the three were standing in a large conference room, full fifty feet square with a large wooden table and heavy chairs. The air held the spicy resinous scent of pines and the temperature was just on the warm side of goose bumps. Just.
Rhiannon, standing on the other side of the table, was a tall woman, matching her sister’s height.. Her glossy red hair was caught up in a single long braid that hung down her back, and her lips were very red. A constellation of tiny freckles graced her small, slightly upturned nose. Like Selene, she had penetrating violet eyes.
“Compared to them I feel like such a cow.” Lexi whispered into Hedric’s ear.
The boy squeezed her hand. “THEY aren’t the one that interests me, Lexi. You are.”
The two young people looked up to find the two goddesses staring at them.
Hedric flushed, with a stuttering, “Ummm.” Lexi let out a thin squeak and buried her face in the boy’s shoulder.
“She looks just like a younger Llinos, back in my lands.” Selene said, speculatively. “Maybe a bit prettier. I always did like her hair.”
“I’ve met Llinos.” Rhiannon laughed. “This one is smarter. She has to be, to be a navigator and helmsman on all those rivers.” She pulled up a chair and draped her long leg over the arm. “So, tell me about this problem. Medin, are you listening?”
“Yes, miss. I always listen.”
The red-headed goddess sighed. “When will you stop calling me miss? I’m a married woman now.”
“I know, miss. I married you, remember? I will continue to call you miss, even after you have had a dozen children and the passages are alive with your screaming grandkids. I will still call you miss.” There was a note of weary resignation in the mellow masculine voice that came from nowhere and everywhere.
Hedric looked up at Rhiannon and winked. “Good help is so hard to get, don’t you think?”
The goddess burst out laughing. “I thought that you were supposed to be a brat.”
“I decided to change.”
“Whatever. Why don’t you tell us the whole story of the zombies? Medin, you can jump right in if you have a question.”
Hedric took a long sip of water and began.
The water pitcher was empty, and Lexi was asleep, her head resting against his shoulder when he finished. Selene and Rhiannon didn’t look so flippant or carefree anymore. The three looked at each other, worry written large on their faces.
“Is there anything we can do?” Hedric asked into the air as he rubbed his burning eyes.
“If it was just saving the humans and their symbiotic K’Dreex, we could probably make a simple vaccine in an hour or two.” The mellow voice of Medin murmured. “Saving the cats and the D’Tril will make things more difficult. Give me a few days to think about it.”
Hedric thanked Medin and tried to stand, barely catching Lexi as she fell.
“Damn.” Selene swore. “I always forget how limited humans are. They need things like sleep and food.” Hedric gave her a flat look, which she chose to ignore.
“They can spend the night here, have breakfast in the morning and go back to the temple in Dimsdale. No problem.” Rhiannon gave Hedric a warm smile.
“That sounds good.” Selene agreed. “But send them back via Elysium. I have something for Hedric and Alexandra.”
“Sounds good.” The two women stood and embraced. “Night, sis.” Selene was gone. “I’ll show you to your rooms.” Rhiannon’s voice was soft.
“We really should go back to the ship. Lexi’s mom, the Captain, will be looking for us.”
“Sleep.” Rhiannon said firmly. “I’ll talk with Captain Isenhart.” Hedric shuddered at the implications.
There was a soft creak, and the door to the conference room swung open. A tall, wide shouldered man with dark hair, faintly shot with silver and blue eyes, stepped in giving the Rhiannon a quick kiss. “Hello, Nan. What’s cooking?” He glanced at the two young people, and gave Hedric a quick wink. “They’re a little young for your tastes, don’t you think?”
Rhiannon rolled her eyes and smiled warmly at the big man. “Hedric Schwendau, I would like you to meet my husband Logan. Logan, Hedric.”
The man gravely shook the boy’s hand. “Long day?”
“We’ve been questioning him for the last six hours.” Rhiannon shrugged. “Selene and I forgot the time.”
“And I’ll bet they didn’t even offer you any refreshment or food.” Logan sounded disgusted, and Hedric actually saw the goddess blush in embarrassment. Logan bent down and picked up a limp Alexandra as easily as a little girl might pick up her rag doll. “Let’s go, lad. Get a good night’s sleep, a good meal tomorrow and things will look brighter.” Hedric mumbled something, and followed the man carrying Lexi out the door.
Hours later, rested, washed and dressed in new clothes, the two young people followed their noses to breakfast. Rounding a corner, they came to a large hall, fully a hundred feet in length, filled with long tables and benches. Dozens of people were eating, but no one was preparing or serving the food. He stopped and frowned when a slim man with gray hair came to his rescue.
“First time here, eh?” When Hedric nodded he continued. “Well, ye just go to that window there, tell Medin what ye want, and he’ll git it fer ye.” He pointed a thin arm. “When yer done ye bring the tray an dishes back, an Medin does the rest.” He shook his head. “Damndest thing I ever saw.” He slapped Hedric’s shoulder. “Have a good day lad, miss.” Whistling, he strode off down a corridor.
It was the biggest breakfast either he or Lexi had ever eaten. Medin explained it by saying that they needed to replace the burned calories from the night before, but they had their doubts. As they were finishing, a little girl, no more than five or six and wearing a blue jumper came up to the table, her big eyes fixed on Lexi.
“Are you a goddess too?” She asked in a thin piping voice.
Lexi laughed gently. “No, little one. I’m a navigator on a boat. We trade up and down the rivers where I come from.”
“They say.” Someone from a nearby table said, slightly louder than normal. “That traders always carry something marvelous in their pockets.”
&nb
sp; “But I don’t have…” Lexi stuck her hand in her pocket and came out with the glistening D’Tril jewel. The little girl was staring, wide eyed as Lexi held out her hand palm up. “Fly.” She whispered. The jewel shot out of her hand, spinning webs of brilliance in the air. On the fourth pass around the room she held out her hand again. “Return.” She murmured. The jewel shot straight for her and dropped softly into her hand.
“You really are a goddess.” The little girl whispered, before she shot back across the room to her mother. There was a buzz of talk in the air, and a number of people were pointing to their table.
“We should leave.” Hedric muttered quickly. Lexi stuffed the jewel into her pocket and nodded vigorously. Out in the corridor he stopped, unsure what to do. “Medin.” He said into the air. “We need to see Selene in Elysium. How…”
“Very good, sir.” The male voice interrupted. “I will send you there directly.”
“Have you found out anything more about the plague?”
“No, sir. The problem is more difficult than I originally envisioned.”
“All right then. Please send us to Elysium.”
“Very good, sir.” They were gone.
“I really think that I should have told him,” Medin said.
Rhiannon stepped around the corner of the corridor, to the spot where the two young people had been only moments before. “Let him have a few more days of ignorance, Medin. He’s a good lad now. He deserves that much.”
“As you wish, miss.”
Selene was waiting for them when they arrived. “Did you have a good night?”
“Yes, Selene.” They both intoned.
“Before you leave, I have something for you, Hedric.”
“You do?” He asked, curiously.
She held out a small blue medallion. When he looked closer, Hedric could see a tiny gryphon embossed in silver set on the blue moon. “The gryphon is the symbol of your house, Hedric.”
“I know.” His voice was thick as he stepped forward. Selene slipped the medallion over his head carefully.
“Knowing that this will bind you to me, do you accept this freely, Hedric, of House Schwendau?”
She released the medallion, and a bolt of electricity seemed to run through all the veins of his body—for a second. Then it was gone. “Your father made that for you.” Selene said gently.
“He made this before he died?” There was awe in Hedric’s voice.
“No. Actually he made it last week.”
“But he’s dead.” Hedric shook his head in confusion.
Selene gave him a pitying look. “It’s the story we use, but he and his K’Dreex Anya are still very much alive.”
“I don’t understand.” Hedric’s head was spinning. His mother had never told him anything about this.
“There are a certain few people who have K’Dreex advisors that work for me as troubleshooters and administrators to the world below.”
“Troubleshooters?” Lexi asked in a small voice.
“Yes, my dear. Nothing more exotic than that.” She smiled down on Hedric. That medallion will let you talk to me whenever you wish.”
He held the medallion up, and let the light play off its exquisite detail. “Uncle Padraig said that these medallions will do a whole lot more than just let me talk to you.”
Selene’s benevolent face disappeared. “Padraig Hansen talks too much.”
Hedric let the medallion drop to his chest. “It doesn’t matter.” He gave Selene a curious look. “Who is your moon’s custodian, Selene?”
“Thallia. Why do you ask?” The goddess sounded curious, and a little distrustful.
“I just thought that I should introduce myself. I may be talking to her in the future, after all.” Selene was eying him suspiciously. “Hello, Thallia.” He murmured into the air.
“Good morning, Hedric.” There was a heartbeat’s hesitation. “Hello, Alexandra.” Lexi looked confused at being addressed directly. “Just speak, Alexandra. While you’re on the moon I’ll hear you.” There was a subtle shift. “Why didn’t you give Alexandra her own medallion, Selene?”
“She and Hedric aren’t married yet, you ninny.”
“Oh bother.” The voice in the air commented sharply. “If you want to talk to me Alexandra, you just touch Hedric’s medallion. I’ll hear you, dear.” There was a pause and a chuckle. “I have something better. Reach out, Alexandra, and take Hedric’s medallion in your hand.”
The girl complied with obvious hesitation, then gasped and dropped the medallion back onto Hedric’s chest. “It felt like a lightning bolt, running through me.” She was panting in her terror.
“There.” The voice said out of the air, and with some satisfaction.
“Thallia!” Selene sounded flustered now, and angry.
“I think I’d better send the two of you back before she loses her temper. It’s not a pretty sight.”
The fire was out and the room dark, when they arrived back at the Temple of Selene in Dimsdale. Before they had a chance to move the figure of the priestess came out of a side room. “I didn’t know that you had arrived. I’ll start a fire imme…”
“Don’t bother. We’re leaving.” He looked at the stately woman a long minute. “I think that you should go also. Things are going to get dangerous around here. Go to Elysium or Medin and take your family and those you care for with you. When the problem has been resolved, one way or another, Selene will let you know where to go.” He touched the medallion on his chest, and gave her a lopsided grin. “I don’t need a temple to talk to Selene anymore.”
The priestess gave him a steady look, and then bowed deeply. “Take care, Hedric. Take care, both of you. Oh…” There was a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “Your mother was here last night, Alexandra, and Rhiannon was here too. I’m surprised the walls are still standing. Tread lightly. She may be a little on edge.” She raised a hand to her own medallion—and was gone.
Captain Dolores Isenhart was waiting at the top of the gangway when they arrived, her arms crossed under her breasts, her face a thundercloud. She said only three words as their feet hit the deck. “My office…now!”
“Yes, Captain.” The two voices replied in perfect unison. Not surprisingly, there were no crewmen on deck, nor in any of the passageways. The door to the Captain’s office cum cabin slammed shut.
“You.” The woman’s finger pointed at her daughter. “Start talking.”
Hedric interrupted. “I think that I’d be the better one to…”
The finger swung, pointing at the center of Hedric’s chest. “You. Quiet!”
The boy shrank in his chair. “Yes, Captain.”
“Well,” Lexi began hesitantly. “It all started with the fairies. Only they really aren’t fairies; just little green people with wings. Fairies are something else entirely.” Alexandra’s story wandered and twisted. The Captain watched, saying nothing until the story was finally over.
“So, you found out nothing? The great goddesses can’t solve our problem?” There was a simmering anger in her voice.
“They can save the humans.” Hedric injected. When the Captain glared he explained that Lexi was asleep when the results were discussed. “Medin, Rhiannon’s moon, is working on it. He will let us know when he discovers something. It will probably only be a few days.”
“We can’t wait here forever. We sail at first light, south toward the Blight. There’s a small town about half way there. They’re desperate for food. We’ll unload our foodstuffs, and we’re off for New Boston. The profit we should make on our load of toys and what we made on the Dolphin will set us up for life. Now get out of…” She stopped suddenly and reached out with that one finger and gently hooked the medallion out of Hedric’s shirt. “And I was hoping that it was al
l just a story my daughter dreamed up. She hooked you, too, didn’t she?”
“Who, Captain?”
“Selene, of course.”
Hedric sighed. “Yes, ma’am. Although I’m afraid she’s hooked your daughter as well. It’s all my fault.”
Alexandra spoke up, anger in her voice. “It was NOT your fault, Hedric Schwendau. When Thallia told me to pick up your medallion I could have refused. I had an inkling of what was coming, from what happened to you.” She crossed her arms and glared at her mother. “We both chose this path, Mother. Wish us well.”
Dolores Isenhart rolled her eyes. “I’m getting too old for this shit. Get out of here, you two. Get some sleep. We leave at first light.”
Hedric stood mesmerized at the rail, watching the great monolith grow in the distance. A full mile high, The Finger of God was a sight to behold, rising, as the name described, like a finger out of the flat plain that surrounded it. Today it stood against a clear blue sky, almost surreal in its magnificence. A fifth of the way down from the top there was a gouge taken out of the side of the finger, as if a giant knocked it away.
This time he heard the soft steps coming up behind him before the man spoke. “Wondrous are the works of god.” Gralt murmured.
“At least we agree on that.” Hedric agreed amiably. “What happened there?” He pointed to the gouge.
Gralt took a deep breath, and the boy knew he was in trouble. “When the first men arrived on this world the Creator spat out a terrible curse on the idolaters and blasphemers who flew the vessel. A great bolt came out of the blue and smote the vessel, striking it blind, deaf and dumb. The ship struck the Finger and justice was served. It was a strong ship, however, and traveled many hundred leagues before it crashed into the jungle, splitting open all along the side and fouling the lush valley with its hideous fuel. Those who could fled. Those who couldn’t, or who were too slow died. The stricken ship sits to this day in that cursed valley as a testament to the folly of men; always seen but forever beyond reach for the foulness stains the very land even unto this day. To approach it is death. As if that wasn’t enough, the idolaters and blasphemers arose again, and now new monsters come to smite them down too. Look at the corruption we saw in Treebeard. Only the voice of god saved the good and righteous men of the Golden Fleece. The filthy idolaters in Treebeard received their just rewards.
The Finger of God: a Thalassia novel Page 13
