Then she leaned down and planted her lips on Ada’s. Ada froze, for just a second, for just long enough that Isavel pulled back and stared at her again, her face flush with worry. Had she misjudged this?
“What? Don’t you -”
“Yes.” Looking into Isavel’s eyes, Ada felt like a path had suddenly appeared to her, a path she wouldn’t walk alone, possibilities upon possibilities being born in an instant. The warmth and light of that feeling overwhelmed her, and she wrapped a hand around Isavel’s shoulders and another around her waist, pulling her back down, lips parting and arms yanking Isavel’s full weight onto her. Ada felt fingers raking across her shoulders as Isavel leaned into her, running one hand all the way down her side to her knee.
Then Isavel pulled her mouth away and started yanking at the suit. “How the hell do you get this off?”
Ada grinned, and willed the suit away with a thought. The fabric immediately began to recede, melting back into the shiny metallic vertebrae in seconds. She tossed the suit’s core aside and spread her arms. “Like that.”
Isavel’s eyes widened with a smile. “Holy shit. That was fast. And… complete.” The suit was interesting, but Ada lay there looking equal parts flustered and determined, and her earnestness flooded Isavel with a sense of real, personal closeness she had thought nobody might ever afford her again.
Ada sat up and leaned towards her, grabbing a fistful of fabric around Isavel’s chest and pulling it. “Now you’re at an advantage.” She slipped her hand down towards the fabric of Isavel’s pants. “That’s not fair.”
She pulled at the fabric even as Isavel reached back to get the pathfinder’s brace off. Good thing too - Ada wouldn’t have had the slightest clue where to start with that thing. Isavel was just as glad the suit had come off so easily.
Ada’s disadvantage was soon gone, and for all the lost layers the tent felt a great deal warmer. Isavel grabbed Ada by the shoulders and rolled her back onto the ground, firmly keeping a hand under Ada’s head as she did. Ada watched Isavel’s muscles ripple, her shoulders roll, her arms tense, and she shivered, reaching over to gently bite at the arm supporting her head. Only a tiny part of her brain was still thinking of the practical.
“Gods, Isavel - wait - I really do need - oh, no, don’t - wait - I should - first - ah -”
Isavel stopped, and looked her in the eyes. “You were saying?”
“I really do need to code something on you.” She could barely think straight. What was she saying? “I - let’s just get that over with, so we can have the rest of the night to… us. Okay?”
Isavel nodded, mocking cordiality, and spread her arms wide. “I’m all here.” Then she lay down on top of Ada, radiating more heat than she had any right to. “Go for it.”
Ada slowed time and found, to her delight and horror, that she was no less aroused in time dilation. Oh dear. Oh well.
She tried to focus, let the code flow from her fingers, tearing away at the stone she had brought with her. She peeled the code right off it - no need to think about the details, it was already done - and started flattening it out, moving it towards Isavel’s back.
Had she known this would happen? Maybe. Of course. A part of her had hoped it would happen for a while, that much was clear. A part of her that was - oh gods - couldn’t this go any faster? She had better things to do.
It was over incredibly quickly, and not nearly soon enough. A flurry of dark lines crackled through the tent, and Isavel felt a warm, radiating heat along her back, down her spine. She arched her back, pressing her stomach and chest into Ada’s. The sensation pinched, briefly, but the feeling was soon gone, leaving only a pleasant buzz.
“Oh gods - what - was that it?”
A worried expression flickered across Ada’s face. “Did that hurt?”
Isavel smiled, breathing a quiet “No” into Ada’s mouth. Good - she hadn’t wanted it to hurt. Ada wrapped her arms around her again, slipped a thigh between Isavel’s, dug her fingers in deeper into that strong, muscular back.
Isavel looked down into Ada’s eyes, mesmerizing and sharp and dark, whispering. “So you’re done with the code.” Ada felt a finger trailing down her ribs, across her stomach, towards her navel. “I guess this is over?”
Ada pulled her closer. “Fuck no.” Her fingers ran up the back of Isavel’s head, weaving into her hair. “I want you.”
“You want… this?”
Ada arched her back, pushing closer. Isavel kept her lips on Ada’s face, her neck, her shoulders, feeling her writhe and squirm against her, a tense coil of energy that felt gratifying to restrain. They tangled and turned, warmth and friction as Ada pulled her as close as she possibly could, hungry for every precious inch of skin contact, every swelling pulse of pressure and force, every kiss and every ever faster heartbeat.
For once, a long night proved far too short.
Isavel woke up later, some time still too dark to be morning, her arms around Ada and Ada’s head resting in the crook of her neck. She pulled her in closer, intending to sleep, but Ada responded to her, turning to face her. She smiled, saying nothing; she couldn’t even see Isavel clearly, not in this dark.
Isavel rested her forehead against Ada’s. “You bit me.”
Ada giggled, a strange sound coming from someone usually so proud. “You seemed to like it.”
Isavel smiled and kissed her again. For a moment, she thought she smelled a whiff of cherry. “Stay.”
“I will.” Ada ran a hand down her side. Her face looked warmer. “I… hold me?”
She held her, and they slept again. The next time she woke she was not much ahead of the sun; the world outside the tent flap was starting to pale. Isavel watched Ada’s face, quiet and asleep, and something in her chest filled with warmth. She had someone, now. Someone close, someone who wanted her and not the Herald. She felt at once anchored and unburdened, pulled in instead of pushed along.
Then she stroked Ada’s hair, and Ada started to move, slowly blinking and opening her eyes. Isavel pulled her in and squeezed. Ada smiled at her, in the dawning day, and they shared a long moment of silence.
Eventually, Ada spoke. “I have to go. It’s… well.”
“You do what you have to. I know.”
Did she?
Ada leaned into her with a deep kiss, then stepped away, smiling sadly. Isavel watched Ada slip back into the strange suit she wore, dark fabric rippling across her golden-toned skin, sporting a turquoise band on one of her arms. Clever. Ada turned around and knelt down, looking her in the eyes. Isavel reached out to take her hand.
“Find me. Afterwards.” Ada looked scared. “We can do this together, from now on. Find your gods, fix the world, just be together.”
Isavel leaned in to nuzzle her nose against Ada’s. “What the hell did you think I was going to do?”
Ada smiled, and their lips touched again. But then Ada pulled away, stepping out of the tent with a longing glance and walking off into the ailing twilight. Isavel watched her go through a gap in the tent flap, and even as she remembered the close warmth of their skin, she suddenly felt a great deal colder and more alone.
After a moment she started pulling her clothes back on. She took her time, feeling the spot on her back where Ada had coded… something. She felt no marks or scars, but she remembered the searing heat, and how it hadn’t bothered her at all. She still wasn’t sure what it would do for her, but she had mostly just wanted to get business out of the way.
Isavel looked at the locator stone, still tracking Ada, and nestled it snugly back inside her pathfinder brace. She finished getting dressed and sat there for a long moment, breathing deeply. This was not what she had expected. But in some way… in some way, it was.
Why else had she asked Ada to dance with her, in Hive? She should have had no problems telling Hive’s Mayor and his goons to leave her alone, if that was what it took.
Why else had she saved Ada’s life? She had known they were not enemies. They were too close - ha
d always been too close - to be enemies.
Months ago, in Glass Peaks, she had first seen Ada sitting at the docks, and she had immediately known something was different about her. Something special, like they were intertwined. Again and again, the gods had proven that true - until now, literally. It was right. There was nothing more right.
She would find Ada when this was over. Of course she would. Just the thought of continuing on together made her feel a swell of… it wasn’t love, not so soon, but it was lust and hope and delight, and it made her lips smile and her spine tingle and her skin flush. If they were lucky, perhaps it would be for good. Perhaps, together, they could finally figure out her place in this world.
She stepped out of the tent and found Hail standing there. The sight ripped Isavel from daydreams back into the real. Of course Hail was standing there. Isavel stood up and gingerly met her eyes. “Good morning, Hail.”
“I’m no pathfinder, but my ears do work .” Hail sniffed her and smirked. “Among other senses.”
Isavel straightened her back. “So?”
“Sounds like you had fun.”
She blushed. “You heard what you heard”
“Good.” Hail didn’t look completely happy, but she still smiled. “So what happens next? After whatever fighting happens today, and you’ve done all you can to protect the city?”
Isavel looked out to Campus. As the sun rose over the mainland mountains, something was descending from the sky. A huge box-like vessel, carried on four shining points of light like a drone, slowly lowered towards the city and its ghosts and outers. And Ada.
“After this, the gods owe me my answers. Why they did this to me.”
“And then?”
Isavel looked over at Hail. “When I met Ada, I knew she was… special. Then I saw her again, and I hoped I would keep seeing her. And I did. Again and again, the gods sent her to me, in bad times and in good, and me to her as well. Then we sought each other out, alone. I know why, now. I understand. The gods have given me something to hope for, and I’m going to take it. Well, her. Well -”
“I understand.” Hail slapped her on the back of the shoulder, lips pursed. “Let’s get this over with, then. You deserve more than this.”
“More than service to the gods?” Isavel smirked. “Sounds important.”
“Some things are.”
They watched the alien ship slowly land in Campus, its engines silenced.
Hail squinted. “What is that?”
Isavel shrugged. “Ada said the outers are leaving this world. They want to return to their ancestral home, out in the stars.”
“Right.” Hail frowned. “So all that will be left are ghosts? That makes things easier. We have them cornered and outnumbered - we shouldn’t lose too many people.”
Isavel nodded. “I hope so. Come on, let’s find the others. If we can convince them to try and test the tanks out first, we might win some more time.”
Hail raised an eyebrow. “Isavel, they were testing them last night, far from the army. I saw the flickering, and heard a few of the louder shots.”
Isavel’s spine tensed, and her fists clenched. “What? Who decided that?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry, Isavel - I think people are preparing to attack now.”
She glanced over to the army, and where she had at first just assumed people were getting up, she understood now that people were indeed preparing to march, grouping up and sending messengers to and fro. She bit her lip, looking back towards Campus. “Well… Ada will survive, either way. I know she will. We’ll just have to try and do what we can to make sure this is over quickly and painlessly.”
She couldn’t tell what Hail thought of any of this, but right now her concerns lay elsewhere, and she was content for her bodyguard to nod solemnly towards the rest of the army. They left their tents unattended, picking up the pace to go find Dendre Han; in battle, if not in matters of divinity, the Bulwark was the leader the army would turned to. The others, no doubt, would be floating around nearby.
Sure enough, they found them all in a clearing behind one of the six-legged tanks, inspecting it with awe eyes. The Bulwark glanced over and chuckled. “Rough night, Herald?”
Isavel froze. “What?”
“Your hair’s a mess.”
“Well I’m sorry I didn’t think to comb it for you, Dendre.”
He laughed. “Fine by me.” Thumbing towards the tanks. “These things are really impressive, you know. We gave one of them a bit of a run during the night. I don’t think the ghosts stand a chance.”
She squared her shoulders, not sure whether she wanted him to be right. Whatever would kill less people in the long run, and please her increasingly fickle gods. “I’d be careful not to underestimate them, Bulwark. You never know what could happen.”
He nodded. “You’re right. Still - listen. I don’t think this needs to be complicated. Screen with pathfinders, march the tanks out front, follow them with warriors, keep everyone else in the back and spread out so they can fire. Horsemen will wait for their moment. They’ve got walls, but I don’t think that will be an issue with these, not to mention the other heavy guns we’re packing. The only thing I’m worried about is that… thing that came down from the sky.”
She smirked at his casual tone, crossing her arms. “ Just the one inexplicable alien thing descending from the heavens.”
“I admit, it’s a pretty fucking big mystery.” He scratched his beard. “Any ideas?”
Isavel glanced at Hail, and then took a deep breath. “No idea. Maybe weapons? Maybe evacuation? Hard to say.”
Dendre Han looked out past the tanks, towards the circular walls of the city in the distance, barely visible through the trees. “Let’s take it slow and cautious, then, to be safe. I’d hate to think this was easy and overcommit, only to be caught off guard.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” She swallowed hard, thinking of what awaited her on the other side of this one last day of mayhem. “I imagine you’ll need me up front.”
He grinned. “Ride the one of the spiders and show off those fancy wings of yours, as far as I’m concerned. There’s something to be said for morale, after all.”
Moments later, she was hauling herself to the top of the nearest tank, smiling and spreading brilliant white wings. There certainly was.
Chapter 16
Ada reached Campus well after the alien ship touched down on the ziggurat. She had seen its descent, had run for it, but it was too far and she was no great sprinter. She would probably never again get the chance to see the moment two estranged civilizations were reunited.
Sensations and images of Isavel flashed through her mind, and smiled. It was worth it.
All she had to do was survive the day. Isavel would find her, they would leave together, and then all this… all this could fade away, and they would figure out the rest. Ada could survive anything alone, but with Isavel she might even thrive. The nascent futures she could imagine made her giddy.
She jogged up the ziggurat and found the shuttle rising above a dense crowd of outers. It was a huge, blocky-looking thing with bulky wings and cumbersome engines, held together by plates with obvious seams between them. It looked like someone had designed it specifically to fail to meet her expectations, and her mood soured, though only a little.
There was shouting, and her eyes were drawn to Elder Kseresh, who stood waving his arms in an attempt to herd people into order for evacuation. Despite its size, it was painfully clear the shuttle wasn’t nearly big enough to fit every outer in the city. Shit.
“Zhilik? Zhilik!”
She shouted, but after a moment she spotted her friend at the edge of the crowd, looking out. For her? Maybe. She ran up to him and reached for his shoulder.
“What’s going on? What’s the plan?”
Zhilik swung towards her, visibly alarmed. “They need three trips to get everyone to the orbital. It will take hours, Ada. The human army is moving. We will not make it.”
She frowned. “Shit. Okay, we’ll think of something.”
“Ada, how are you?”
She looked back at him. “What do you mean?”
“You look calm. Steady. This is unusual.”
She blushed. “Shut up. You said hours? Okay, well we’ve got golems out there, and I’ve prepped the Chengdu for something pretty fucking dramatic. We can set up along the walls, and, uh… I’m sure I can think of something else. Zhilik, are you leaving -”
He settled a hand on her shoulder. “I will take the last shuttle.”
She nodded, mind racing. She squeezed his furry white arm. “Okay, good. Don’t leave without saying goodbye.”
He nodded, a valiant effort to appear human. “I will not.”
She turned to leave, almost running headlong into Sam and Tanos. “You’re still here? Gods, get out of here!”
Tanos’ eyes widened. “What? Why?”
Ada pointed to the north-west, shoving her gun into his hands. He would need it more than she would. “The army’s on its way, there’s going to be a battle, and no matter what happens by the end of the day I’m gone. You two - just go!”
They turned and looked out towards the approaching army, and she thought she saw them both pale. Sam looked over at Tanos and squeezed his hand, and on some silent agreement the two of them rushed for the edge of the roof. Good for them. Surviving this ridiculous battle was the most important thing at this point.
“Kseresh!”
She reached the elder even as the first notes of battle began to play. She flicked her eyes beyond the walls; heavy shapes stomped into the golem clearing, glittering shots zipping back and forth in a webwork of light. The golems were doing their jobs. On the leftmost of those ancient machines, something glowed white with angel wings.
Second Contact Page 23
