The Finger of God: a Thalassia novel
Page 15
Lexi was glaring, not at the captain, but at Hedric.
“All right.” Hedric muttered in a resigned voice. “There’s something you need to know… but not right now. Tonight, on the Fleece. I’ll meet you at the bow after dinner.”
Alexandra gave him a long look. “I’ll hold you to that, Hedric.”
“I’m sure you will.” The boy returned her long look. “And I don’t think that we should mention anything about being dead and then revived, except maybe to your mom. She deserves that much. The rest just aren’t ready for that. Hells, I wasn’t ready for that.”
She touched his arm, and her eyes softened. “You did well, Hedric—we did well.”
“Yeah.” He replied sourly. “So well, that if it hadn’t been for Medin’s magic we’d still be dead.”
She placed a finger across his lips. “Hush. I won’t hear that. We both risked everything to save our people and this land. We’re both still alive and we have our whole lives ahead of us.”
The mental voice of the K’Dreex hesitated, and that worried him.
Hedric laughed.
The captain of the Dolphin approached the other boats warily, especially since two of those boats were pirates. The traditional skull and crossbones hung limp in the light, fitful wind. As the gunwales of the two boats brushed, Hedric jumped aboard the Fleece, with Lexi right behind him. Hedric turned and gave a wave to the captain of the smaller steamship, and tossed the man another golden coin across the rapidly widening stretch of water. The shocked smile on the man’s face was thanks enough.
“What did you do that for?” Lexi whispered in his ear as they turned to greet the crew and friends.
“Why not? The man was scared to death to make this trip, and we had a smooth crossing. The money doesn’t mean much to me. It will to him.”
Captain Isenhart was standing with her arms crossed, a flat unreadable look on her face. “It took you long enough to catch up.”
Hedric returned the look. “There were some…problems.”
Dolores frowned, studying the two standing before her. “You’re taller, both of you. What have they been feeding you up there?”
“Good food, and lots of it.” Actually, with their bodies regenerating, they both had been surviving on four vile tasting protein drinks a day and they couldn’t wait to get back to the better tasting but less nutritious dinners aboard the Fleece.
“Who are your new friends?” Lexi asked, casting a wary glance at the pirate vessels.
The Captain chuckled. “Even the pirates have heard of what we’re doing. For enough serum for their own sailors they’re willing to grant us safe passage. ANYWHERE. The doctor was just loading the last of the serum when you showed up. Now, why don’t the two of you come to my cabin and fill me in on all the details. Like those problems you encountered.”
Hedric glanced at Lexi and shrugged.
Dolores poured them all a hot cup of tea, and sat back in her desk chair, turning to her daughter. “Begin when we returned to the ship.”
“Well, you and the doctor left, and Hedric and I walked around for a while. It’s an amazing place. They have a lake twenty miles long. Anyway, when it was time to go Hedric went. Medin brought me to the recovery room, at my insistence. I wish I hadn’t insisted. It was horrible.” The girl was looking at the floor, reliving the experience. “He didn’t have any fingers left, half his face was gone and there was a great loop of blue gut hanging out of his stomach. Medin was able to make the serum for the humans and the felines, but the virus that infected Hedric was too strong.” She was biting her lip when she looked up. “He died.”
Dolores glanced at Hedric and then back to her pale daughter. “What do you mean died? He’s sitting right…”
“Please, Mom. Just suspend your disbelief for a minute longer and listen to what I have to say. Hedric died before Medin could make the D’Tril serum. I had Medin clean off the medallion and I went next. I’m told that the results were about the same. Medin was able to make the last of the serum from my blood, but I too died from the virus.”
“But…” Captain Isenhart looked stunned.
“Medin rebuilt us both from copies he had made of us as he sent us on our respective missions. It took a while for our new bodies to grow.” She held out a hand and studied it, before glancing up with a smile. “So, here we are. You might not want to tell Mister Gralt. He would probably want to make our deaths permanent, if I know him.”
The Captain reached out and touched her daughter’s face with a gentle hand. “You were dead?”
Alexandra nodded slowly. “That’s what they tell me. I woke up on a white table in a white room next to Hedric. We were so weak at first we could barely walk, but we swam and hiked. Medin says that it will be six months before we are completely healed, but I’m feeling better every day.” Her grin was wide. “I can’t imagine what I’ll be like in another six months.”
Hedric’s own smile was a little wan. He could imagine it, all right. That was the problem.
Dinner was a festive occasion, and the two dug in with a gusto that left the rest of the crew in awe. The cook alternated between elation that they had enjoyed his food so well, and shock that they ate so much.
No matter how much he procrastinated, the dinner was finally over and Lexi took him firmly by the hand, almost dragging him to the bow. “Talk! I have NEVER been able to eat as much as I did tonight. You and I ate enough for six grown men, Hedric. That isn’t normal.”
The boy sighed and finally managed to get his hand free, turning to stare over the railing at the dark water beyond. Medin had disappeared, Hades and Lethe were but bright slivers, and Elysium in all its full glory lit the night sky. The Thalassian rings, tinged blue from the moon, swept a graceful arch over his head before plunging back into the cold waters. “It’s pretty simple, really.” He murmured to the night air. “Medin copied our patterns. He used our basic physical pattern to set our bodies—so that you would look like you and I would look like me. The shell, if you will. He used something slightly better to fill that shell. He used the basic physiology of Selene and Rhiannon’s species. Then he replaced our memories and feelings, our souls if you will. We look human, Alexandra, but we’re not. Not even close. That’s why your vision is so much better now.” He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the worst part. “Selene is over a million years old. Rhiannon a little less, the other two who abandoned Lethe and Hades, a little more. Their species measure lifespans in the millions of years. Their species—and now our species.”
Lexi was silent and unmoving. “What if I don’t want to be immortal?” Her voice was small and afraid, with a tinge of panic creeping in along the edges.
“We don’t have much of a choice, you and me. I overheard Medin and Rhiannon talking. He dismissed her as easily as your mother would dismiss you. He is the real brain of the outfit. He as much as told Rhiannon that he would prefer to have humans take over the caretaker job on this world. He said that we would do a better job—and she agreed. THAT may be what he has in mind for us.”
She grabbed his hand with a desperate strength. “I’m not god, Hedric. I’m a fourteen-year-old girl. I don’t want to be a caretaker of a planet. I just want to meet a nice boy.” She blushed at that admission. “Get married eventually, have children and a
rewarding life.”
“You can still have all of that, Lexi. Selene’s species must reproduce—somehow. We can ask Medin or Thallia about that. You can have your children. We can still marry, if it was me you were talking about. How much more rewarding is it to be the caretaker of a world?
“So that’s why you don’t wear your medallion anymore. It isn’t that you don’t want to, it’s that you don’t need to.” Her eyes widened. “And neither do I. So, who’s listening to us right now, I wonder?” She glared at the inoffensive moon hanging in the sky.
Hedric blinked at the abrupt change of subject. “Probably Thallia and Medin. We have direct links to both of them, so I assume it works both ways.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?” An angry edge crept into her voice.
“Not really. How much of a thrill would it be for a zillion year old intelligent moon to eavesdrop on a couple of teenage human kids? If Medin didn’t find it out when he had us stripped down to our bare parts, it wasn’t worth finding.” He shrugged. He took her hand and turned her toward the dark water. “Right now we have a continent to save.”
Chapter 9
The engine room telegraph rang FINISHED WITH ENGINES and Hedric shut the engine down with a sense of regret. It had been good, he was surprised to find, to get back to the tedium of his normal job, where he had no more to worry about than maintenance schedules and piston bearing changes. He wiped his hands on a greasy rag, and smiled at the cooling engine.
“Chief?” A voice called from the engine room door. Some few of the crew had started to call him “Chief” now. Apparently, in their eyes, he was growing into the job of chief engineer.
“Right here.” He stepped around a large tank, and saw the speaker was David Saxe, a sailor he’d met when he first came aboard, a lifetime ago. Usually sullen and taciturn, the man was actually smiling at him.
“Capin, she’s askin ye to lead a wooding party.”
Hedric wiped his hands again. “I’ll see her directly.” He turned to the other two men in the room. “It shouldn’t take too long to get wood, since we’ll be buying it from the people at James City. Just flush and refill the tanks and restart the boiler. I don’t like to be left without a means to get away. Remember Treebeard?” He saw Doander shudder and Simms paled. He too, obviously, had heard the stories.
There were still people in James City, uninfected people. Four hundred and thirty one uninfected souls. A week ago there had been just over a thousand. As Hedric and his wooding crew met the delegation from the city, the doctor and several healthy looking sailors loaded with cases of serum went in search of the town doctor.
Two hours later, as they were just lashing down the last load of wood for the ship, a shout came floating up from a side street. “Attack!”
“Drop the wood!” Hedric shouted above the rising tumult. “It won’t get infected. Back to the boat, lads.”
The Captain was waiting on the quay when they returned. “Have you seen the doctor?” She sounded anxious. All the crew of the Fleece were inoculated against the plague, but teeth and fingers could still do terrible damage all by themselves.
“No. Isn’t he with you?”
“He went to the east side of town to deliver supplies and serum. I’ll send a runner.”
Hedric gave her an impudent grin. “I’m closer—and faster.” He turned and headed for the other side of town. Lexi caught him in a scant hundred feet. “You’re not going without me.” Her jaw was set, her dark blue eyes cold and determined.
Hedric glanced back at the quay, where Captain Isenhart seemed to be shouting something unintelligible at him, her face red, and he shrugged. “Don’t slow me down,” was all he said.
The doctor, Zebediah Gralt, John Tilbet and three other sailors were being pursued by three dozen shambling zombies. Hedric frowned as he ran. Unless he was mistaken, either the sailors were slowing down, or the zombies were getting faster. THAT was all they needed.
Doctor Welter was the last man in the sorry procession, staggering along under the weight of a case of serum.
“Drop the case, Doctor!” Hedric shouted, putting on a burst of speed and leaving Lexi far behind.
“It’s too valuable!” The doctor gasped, his black skin shining with his sweat.
“We’ll get more. Drop it.” Hedric looked at the rest of the sailors carrying cases of supplies. “Drop those too, you men. Your lives are more important. Get back to the ship. RUN!” Hedric saw the three men he didn’t know, bolt for the ship. A shriek made him turn just in time to see Welter swarmed under by a half dozen clutching zombies. “Back to the boat!” He called over his shoulder, as he dove into the fray.
Hands tore and teeth bit. Hedric jerked the fallen, bleeding doctor to his feet. “Doctor!” One brown eye opened. The other was hanging on his cheek. “I’ll get us out…” A staggering blow hit the back of his head, pain driving him to his knees, and he could feel the warm wetness of blood running down his neck. His thoughts were getting muzzy. “LEXI!” Did he hear a voice call for Medin?
“I worked many hours rebuilding you, and although fully functional, you are still only operating at ten percent of your capability. You are not fit for combat yet. Do you understand me?” For some reason the disembodied voice sounded more annoyed then really angry.
Hedric opened an eye…and then the other. He was back in the white room on Medin. So, Lexi had heard him. “The doctor and Alexandra?”
“The doctor and Miss Smith are both well, and awaiting your recovery. You have been unconscious for twenty-four hours, and the situation at the Golden Fleece is becoming—difficult. If you can get to your feet I would recommend that you leave, almost immediately.”
He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and sat up. The room swam dangerously, and his stomach did a sickening lurch. Hedric grasped the edge of the bed and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Hedric. This was something of a rush-job.”
The boy pushed himself to his feet, his face paling. “That’s all right, Medin. Just don’t let it become a habit, or I may choose another doctor.”
The deep voice chuckled. “Moderate brain injury, and then forced back to his feet after only twenty four hours of recovery and still he jokes. You are an amazing species, sir.”
“Thank you Medin, and thank you for the new shirt.” He fingered the soft, silk-like fabric of the navy blue shirt he now wore.
“Your old shirt was covered with blood and brain matter, so I thought it appropriate.”
Hedric took a wobbling step. “You might be right, my friend. Now, if you will, take me to the others.”
“They are already here, Hedric.” The door slid open and the two entered, blue and brown eyes wide and full of concern.
“You look like shit, Hedric Schwendau.” Lexi was glaring, and missed the doctor’s surprised reaction to her friend’s name. She slipped an arm under one of his, while the doctor did the same with the other.
“I feel moderately unwell.” He bit his tongue as a wave of nausea swept over him, leaving him pale and shaken. “Medin says there’s a problem on the Fleece, and we have to go back right now, so we go.”
“But…”
“Now, Lexi.”
“Oh, all right.”
“Medin?”
A crowd of a hundred men and women, sailors and civilians had gathered up on the quay in front of where the Golden Fleece lay tied off. Zebediah Gralt, standing resplendent under a blazing sun, was leading them and their faces shown with religious fervor.
“We demand that you turn the boy over to us, Captain Isenhart. We know that you’re in league with those devils. Do you want us to burn your ship down around you?”
“The boy isn’t on the ship, Gralt. He never returned after the fight, and even if he did I still wouldn’t turn him over to you. He saved you. He saved these people. What is
your complaint?”
“We all saw him disappear. It was the work of the devil I say. Our own righteousness defended us.”
“That, or the fact that as soon as your party got aboard, we shoved off, then all the zombies chasing you fell off the quay and drowned. By the way, Tad made sure that the boilers were all stoked in case we needed to make a fast getaway. He saved you again, I believe.”
“Watch your tongue woman, lest…”
Hedric stepped from around the street corner, onto the main quay. When he looked at her again, Lexi was talking quickly into the empty air. “I’m right here, Mister Gralt.” He had almost thought the religious zealot a friend, and to see him raving like this was…disappointing.
A murmur flew through the crowd. “Where ye been, boy? Seekin’ succor with the devil?”
Isiah Welter stepped forward, so angry that fire seemed about to leap from his eyes. His two good eyes. “The boy almost died to save me, Zebediah. I heard him tell the rest of the party to drop their supplies and run, that we were more important. Is that the work of the devil, I ask?”
“You are under his spell, Doctor!” Spittle flew from the first mate’s lips as he drew a long needle sharp dirk. Shoving the doctor roughly aside, he raised the knife high over his head. “Feel the sharp point of retribution, devil!”
As the blade came up, Lexi twisted to insert herself between the fanatic and Hedric. The boy, expecting the motion, just continued the movement, spinning Alexandra around until she was on the opposite side from Gralt. The first mate saw the movement, and compensated, bringing his dirk up in a low, thrusting strike, catching Hedric in the back, between pelvis and ribs. The boy felt the tearing pain, and dropped to his knees.
“Now die!” The screaming Gralt continued. “I am the hand of…” There was a whistling crack, and the voice cut off.
Although kneeling, Hedric saw the first mate’s body bounce off the hard stone quay. A face came into view, and Hedric blinked in surprise. It was John Tilbet, still leaning on his cane.