by L. K. Rigel
As the woman and boy hurried away, the Ptery cackled. It was a cruel sound. It didn’t look like Kim was here; Mal wanted to get away too.
“Don’t mind the girl.” The Ptery picked up the other end of the cloth and worked it between her fingers. “A good choice for milady.”
No, it wasn’t. Not unless you knew what it was. Otherwise, it was ugly, quite a bad choice. But forget all that. She had to take this cloth with her, if only to keep it in safe hands. Nin would want it for her research.
There was a problem. “I’m afraid I don’t have any money with me.”
“Take it,” the crone cooed. “It was made for you. You can send payment from the citadel tomorrow.”
The girl pouted. Her face was so dirty and her hair so matted, Mal had a notion to offer her a bath in the regent’s chamber.
Into the Woods
Mal draped the cloth over the back of her neck. She blended into the throng in the street then hopped onto the first street car headed away from the citadel.
A thousand questions played through her mind. Why did the Ptery have Empani cloth, and why let it go so easily? The old woman had to know it wasn’t merely an ugly scarf. And the girl had called it the shiny, like Kim. Empani cloth was the dully.
Near the wall, she stepped off the street car. At last she had a chance to look for the colored lights east of the city. The citadellers called it the mad bog, but she knew from Nin that it was Allel’s Empani nest. She’d have a look at the waterfall and be back in the citadel by in time for the afternoon meal. Those streetcars were wonderful.
The guard looked straight through her as she crossed over the gate and took the road to the eastern woods.
The trees grew thicker here, but enough sunlight slipped through so flowers could grow, accenting the forest greens and browns. Everything – leaves, grass, earth – reflected a subtle, pastel metallic light. A clear path, well-trod, led toward the sound of flowing water.
In a cozy little clearing, a waterfall fed a clear pool. A cup carved from wood sat on a rock at the water’s edge. Mal put the Empani cloth in her pocket. Her reflection shattered as she dipped the cup into the water.
She drank the cool liquid, and a sense of well-being spread through her from the inside out. The flowers around the pond were lovely, Dutch irises and snowflakes – and peonies, her favorite flowers. Actually, this place was a bit too lovely, too perfect.
And it felt like someone was watching her.
“It’s so good to see you again.”
She swung around to the sound of Edmund’s voice. She felt like she’d been caught in a bad act. He couldn’t possibly be happy to see her here. Was there no end to her doing it wrong? The entire second phase of the contract was becoming a fiasco.
“I wanted to see the waterfall, and you and Counselor were gone. Not that that’s any excuse.”
“You’re right. You shouldn’t be out on your own.”
He put a finger to her lips and smiled. “It’s all right. Everything is all right. Your happiness is my aim. Everything is all for you.” He gently pulled her down to the grass. “Anything you desire.”
She was so relieved. This was what she had longed for, the Edmund of the picnic who loved her, not the one who had abandoned her.
He massaged her shoulders, and she relaxed into his embrace, her back against his chest. He kissed her neck and reached into her mantle through the arm openings. She shifted to let the fabric fall open and watched his hands knead her breasts.
He leaned over and kissed her roses. “I wonder where you’ll choose to put Allel’s mark. My mark.” He slipped the mantle off and spread it on the ground, then kissed her again. “This is what you deserve. Attention, heat, worship.” He loosened her pants and maneuvered out of his own and pulled her down to the ground. She wrapped herself around him as he entered her.
Something felt strange. And wrong. His thrusts were impersonal and harsh. It felt like he was trying to dig something out of her. She tried to pull away, but he had her pinned on the ground. A sudden terror of Garrick possessed her.
Edmund’s weight made it hard to breathe, and she shifted under him. His skin tone altered. It was lighter, pinker, and there was a talon tattoo on his shoulder. She looked into Garrick’s face.
“Shibbing beesboom!” A rush of adrenaline made her strong, and she scrambled away, pulling her clothes together.
How? Garrick was as handsome and overconfident as ever.
“You still want me, don’t you Mal?”
Asherah help me! She lurched to her feet, grabbed her mantle, and ran. She had no idea where she was or how to get out of here. She headed away from the sound of the water. Mad bog, indeed.
The metallic quality to the light dissipated; she must be getting closer to the edge of the nest. She headed between two eucalyptus trees and nearly ran into Edmund again. “Mallory, it’s so good to see you again. Thank the gods, I found you!”
Her heart compressed, and it was hard to breathe. It sounded like Edmund, and he wore the blue amber bee in his hair. Such detail! Out of habit, she jammed her hand into the mantle’s pocket for the stone Asherah. But this wasn’t her mantle, and instead her hand grabbed the Horus Empani cloth. Touching the cloth cleared her mind, and she knew the being in front of her was not Edmund.
Another Edmund came through the trees, joy and relief on his face – then fear when he saw the Empani. The real Edmund grasped Mal’s left forearm. “I’ve got her!”
The Empani Edmund lunged for her right wrist. Something like long and bony fingers slithered inside her cloak and skittered over her breasts and waist.
“It’s too strong!” The real Edmund’s grip slipped, but Jannes joined him and they both pulled on Mal’s left arm while she writhed against the Empani Edmund’s grip.
It let out a preternatural howl. The bone fingers scrambled, grasping, grasping. She had felt this before, on Corcovado. This time she knew what it was. It wanted the cloth, but she wasn’t giving it up.
“Ah!” She twisted again, but Edmund and Jannes were losing her.
She visualized the wall that had kept Father Jesse out of her mind and felt the Empani’s hold weaken. Mal blocked everything but the wall from her mind. The Empani let go.
“There!” Edmund and Jannes pulled her from the mad bog.
The light was fading. She’d been gone the whole day.
Edmund swept her off the ground and ran with her to a small airship, the one she’d seen at the picnic. He had used fuel to find her. The bees! What else would she ruin before she finished this contract?
Jannes climbed into the pilot’s seat, and Edmund held her on his lap in the copilot’s chair. “Go!” Edmund secured the door, and they lifted off the ground. The airship was indeed silent. It must be powered by Tesla cells.
It ascended awkwardly, and Jannes muttered beesboom. He straightened out the machine and headed east toward the foothills. He circled south and out over the ocean in order to approach the citadel from the west.
“You’re shaking.” Edmund put his arms around her. She leaned against his shoulder, and if felt like he kissed the top of her head. All the stress of the last month came down on her, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Edmund rocked her gently and said, “You’re safe now.”
The sun was low on the horizon, and the citadel was a black silhouette rising from the ground. Jannes headed the airship toward the turret deck. “How can you be sure we’ll come in unseen?”
“Invisibility paint,” Jannes said without changing his expression.
Edmund smiled. “It’s a coat of metamaterials that absorb light. The process makes an object hard to see at certain angles, but not impossible.”
They landed on the roof on a level below the turret deck where five more airships lined up on the tarmac.
“Does Red City know about this aspect of Tesla?”
“They don’t.” Edmund raised an eyebrow. “I’d like to keep it that way.”
“You risked exposure to find m
e. Do you imagine I’d repay chivalry with betrayal?”
His expression softened. “I don’t think that of you.” She was sure he wanted to kiss her. If so, he found the strength to contain himself. “Jannes will see you get safely to your rooms.”
Jannes surely had more important things to do than escort a wayward brood queen. He nodded toward the citadel. A door across the tarmac must go to the stairwell where she’d heard him that morning, talking about the classified flight. That conversation made more sense now.
“I almost forgot, my lady.” Edmund said. My lady, not Mallory. “The new physician arrived today. She’ll need to see you before the assembly.”
Shib. Mal had hoped to get out of Allel without having her dates documented, but the king’s physicians were supposedly incorruptible. No chalice in history could have screwed up a contract so badly.
A Not-So-Glorious Announcement Ceremony
Day Two braided Mal’s hair into a winding configuration that gave the impression of a white and gold ouroboros, one of those snakes who eat their own tails. The design was stunning, befitting the announcement ceremony.
“Thank you.” Mal realized how selfish she’d been going out alone. “It’s amazing you can get it to stay like this without pins or clips.”
The compliment wasn’t nearly enough to make amends. The Days had actually apologized to her when Jannes brought her back to the suite. They’d stayed past the shift change, refusing to leave until they knew she was safe.
“I’ll wear the Allel mantle tonight,” she said. “Don’t you think?”
Day Two brought out the silk cloak. As the fabric settled around Mal’s ankles, she felt better. No harm was done. The contract was still good. If she could somehow convince the new KP to go along with her dates, Allel would have unblemished heirs and Mal’s career would be rehabilitated. All was well.
She would be more considerate of the LOTHs from now on.
“My lady.” Day One’s face was pale. “The new KP is here to see you.”
“Oh, no. Tell me she’s not awful.”
“She’s … she’s scary-looking.”
“Fine.” Would this hellish day ever end? “We might as well get this over with.” Mal wished she knew what Kairo had done about her dating with Hibernia’s prince.
“Good evening, my lady.” The KP nodded curtly, certainly ironically, and regarded the Days with a raised black eyebrow and a cool neon-blue stare. “The king wants to assure the people that you are well. I’m here to certify that in fact you are.”
Mal flew to Saskia and gave her a hug.
“Yes. Well.” Saskia didn’t smile or return the hug, but she didn’t bite Mal’s head off either so that was something. “You’re too important to have gone out alone.”
A statement, not an argument.
“Of course you’re right, Madam Physician.” It was wonderful to see a friendly face, using the term loosely. Saskia’s shocking white hair was as spiky as ever, and the black kohl around her eyes thicker. She did look pretty scary. “But where are my manners? Ladies, call for tea – and hot chocolate, enough for us all.”
Mal waited until the Days were gone then grabbed Saskia’s hands. “Thank you, thank you for coming.”
“The king of Allel is persuasive.”
“How did he get you to take the job? I never thought I’d see you again.”
“He said Garrick is trying to kill you and the girl, and wouldn’t I like to see that asshole stopped once and for all?”
“Oh.”
“He might not have used the word asshole. One of your LOTHs caught your KP trying to slip an abortifacient into your drink.”
“I didn’t like that physician.”
“Good call.”
“But how could a KP break her vows like that?” Great Asherah. A miscarriage would have ruined her and devastated Allel.
“It’s Garrick. His hatred for you has to be personal now. He won’t stop until he puts an end to you. So you might consider it stupid in the future to go out without an escort.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Exactly. Your LOTH wanted to tell you, but King Edmund said no. Some kind of enhanced well-being overprotective crap. I say your well-being will be greater enhanced by staying alive, and you have a greater chance of staying alive if you know there are plots afoot.”
“As to my well-being, do you have a test-kit in your bag? You’ll make the whole of Allel happy with your report. They’re enthusiastic here.”
“So I’ve noticed.” Saskia went about her work with blank efficiency, setting out vials and liquids and powders. She dipped the stick in the sample Mal gave her and set it aside, standing quietly and looking at the floor.
“How have you been?”
“Living outside Red City’s grid. I’ve been excellent.” The timer beeped, and Saskia held up the vial. “It’s pink.” She poured a neutralizing solution into the vial, but instead of dumping the liquid down the sink, she capped it and locked it away in her satchel. “The details don’t need to be broadcast through the sewers of Allel.”
“There’s as much intrigue in the world as at Red City.”
“But in the world the intrigue can kill you.”
“Speaking of intrigue, it would be better for everyone if this gestation was only one week along.”
“Great.” Saskia rolled her eyes.
“Edmund and I broke quarantine.”
“You and Kairo should form a club.” Saskia put away the rest of her testing materials. “All right. I’m not the gestation police. Well, I am, but you know what I mean. I never was a stickler for the rules.”
What a relief. Everything really was going to be all right. Fantastic, in fact.
“There is one thing, Mallory. The rumor is flying that you were found in the Empani nest. It must be quite a place. They call it the mad bog.”
“I was in the nest.”
“People would prefer to believe otherwise.”
“Nin’s been there. In that very nest. Nothing happened to her.”
“So something did happen to you?”
What could she say? Oh, I ran away from Edmund’s protection and met an Empani that I thought was him, and then I made mad passionate love with it. Or maybe it was Garrick. Your thoughts?
The Days returned with the tea, saving Mal from having to give an answer. On the way to the antechamber, she touched Saskia’s arm. “There’s another thing. The gestation is ensouled.”
Saskia raised an eyebrow. “We’ll talk later.”
Mal was never so glad to listen to twenty minutes of their mindless prattle. Saskia couldn’t take it. She begged off to make her report to Edmund.
At the assembly, word of Mal’s arrival bubbled through the theater. As she entered the king’s box, someone yelled to the brood queen! Then followed the compact booming rah! She raised a hand in acknowledgment.
Her heart caught in her throat. How could she have been so cavalier about this contract? She hadn’t done it right at all. She shouldn’t have traveled about the city so much. She shouldn’t have visited the beehives or the ashram, learned about wine-making, or rode horses or gone on picnics. Not for fear of Garrick, but for fear of Allel. She could fall in love with this place.
Her allegiance was to her sisters, her duty to the human race. Red City must remain her city. Her only city.
Saskia crossed the stage and disappeared again into the wings. On the floor in front of the stage, Jannes stood with a section of the guard. The further back one looked toward the door, the lower the rank of citizens. Mal gave Jannes a grateful wave which inspired a testosterone-filled rah! from his men.
City masters of varying importance occupied other boxes. The Beekeeper and the Vintner shared the box directly across the theater. They had several children with them, a display of their influence and success. How good of Counselor to make sure they were seated as far away as possible
Mal knew Counselor ached to show off the hospital, but the facility had rema
ined conspicuously absent from the schedule of things the brood queen must see in Allel, thank the gods. Even for Counselor, Mal couldn’t overcome her aversion to infants.
The theater vibrated with good feeling. The musicians filling the pit in front of the stage sent out an occasional note from their instruments. The Days and Nights forgot their rivalry and slipped into pleasant chit-chat: Had anyone been on the grid? The hospital had now gone four hundred days without a failure; surely the birth quota would be increased. Who had qualified? Who had recently made it through the liminal gauntlet? Did you hear: the Golden Wasp brought back mandarins this time!
“Oh.” Day One’s cheeks turned pink as she looked to the back of the box.
“Counselor.” Night Two said.
They all moved away from Mal, curtsying as Counselor passed through the curtain. The LOTHs had become adept at knowing when Mal would want privacy, but in this case it seemed they actually wanted to avoid Counselor.
“Mallory, I’ve longed to see you all these last weeks, but Céilidh has been with me every day.” Counselor raised her voice to ensure the LOTHs would hear. “It didn’t occur to me that you’d be left unguarded.”
Ouch. Chastisement from Counselor. Mal felt sorry for them. Nights and Days, they were all purple with embarrassment.
Counselor leaned in and lowered her voice. “Edmund asked me to stay with Céilidh.”
Mal felt secretly chastised, herself. She’d been childish to pout over imagined slights. And Counselor was right. Mal had no desire to see Allel’s future counselor up close and personal. Quite the opposite.
The first violinist in the pit stood up and bowed a strong A, and the other musicians tuned their instruments.
“This is from Celia.” Counselor handed Mal a piece of folded ganpishi paper sealed with wax. “You know these older chalices. They never come out in public.”
That was certainly true of Durga, but Sister Jordana didn’t seem to mind.
“I have to go.” Counselor kissed Mal’s cheek and left the box without speaking to the LOTHs. Mal felt sorry for them all over again.
