by Chris Fox
Not a single one of us slept in, and even Briff was packed and ready to go well ahead of schedule. We moved out without a word, the lot of us still shaken over Siwit’s death. He’d deserved better, and had been guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Aren’t you going with us?” I yelled to Saho as she watched us gather at the edge of the village. The ursine warriors had also gathered, and eyed us balefully. I’d pieced together that they weren’t generally allowed to make the trek we were about to, and their resentment bordered on lethal retaliation. I could feel it simmering within them.
“I will be there when you arrive.” Saho walked to the magical conveyance, and touched the water. There was a flash, and then she was gone.
“Guess we might as well get started,” I muttered into the comm as I trudged out into the snow. Now that our protector was gone we needed to be away from this place before Ursus decided he wanted to get in a few final pot shots.
They let us go, though we kept glancing over our shoulders for the first few hours. Exhaustion washed through me, and I wished I could lay down. I’d gotten stronger, and tougher, but the constant exertion…I just hadn’t trained for it. Two hours? Sure? Four, okay. Eight? Ten? My body cried out in pain, and because my armor wasn’t fully functional I’d had to work overtime to compensate.
Briff was the opposite. He still appeared gaunt, but today he was full of energy, and helping everyone on the trail as we threaded through the storm. Both Rava and Miri were holding their own, but Seket, to my surprise, required aid as his armor kept sinking in the snow.
All day we climbed, a steady march up a twenty-degree grade as we followed the headdress up to the neck. My entire body numbed, and my universe condensed into a single process. Lift foot, step, lift foot, step. On and on and on. Eternally.
My chronometer said it was only six and a half hours, but it was a gas-lighting off brand piece of crap, and I hope whoever made it contracts a very uncomfortable rash. On their butt. It was at least nineteen hours.
I finally collapsed into a pile at the base where the headdress met the neck. We’d finished something like half the trip. Tomorrow wouldn’t be hiking though. It would be climbing. Joy. I forced myself back to my feet, and withdrew my tent. It took time to assemble with my frozen hands, but I went after the task mechanically.
At some point I glanced over at Seket, and did a double take. He withdrew a small packet from his pack and pressed a button. It assembled itself into a tent about the size of mine, a comfortable two-person capacity, but when he opened the flap an entire pavilion lay inside.
With a holoscreen. And a wet bar. And a coffee maker.
“Seket,” I croaked into the comm. “Why does your tent come with amenities?”
“Ah.” Seket slipped inside the tent, then poked his head back out. “It’s a Channer’s, one of the more impressive inventions from your time. I bought it back at the station. It’s effectively a void pocket inside an ultralight tent. I’m surprised you didn’t pick one up.”
I glanced at my tent, which flapped in the gale. Would I even survive the night? “So, uh, can I stay with you?”
“Of course.” He smiled at Rava and Miri. “You’re welcome as well. The larder is well-stocked. Help yourself to whatever you wish. What’s mine is yours.”
We headed inside, and into opulence. It was like someone had created the perfect getaway cave, and stocked it with everything you could ever want. How had I missed that these were a thing? If we survived I was absolutely buying one.
I didn’t even bother with dinner before passing out. Sleep was the most valuable commodity, and I took full advantage. My dreams were plagued with visions of Siwit, and a boy with lightning eyes. They were one and the same somehow, but I didn’t understand why the boy was screaming.
Morning came before I was ready, and I groaned awake with Briff’s concerned face over me. “You were moaning in your sleep. Sounded bad. Seket made breakfast, and everyone else is gearing up.”
I rolled from my sleeping bag, and began hastily packing my belongings. It didn’t take long as I hadn’t taken the time to unpack anything last night. I’d been glad the sleeping bag was tied to the outside of the pack, as I hadn’t had to dig for it. I retied it, and headed over to the makeshift table where eggs and bacon had been laid out.
“Help yourself.” Seket nodded at the food, though he himself wasn’t eating. Most of the eggs and bacon had already been eaten.
I spooned some onto a plate, and vacuumed them up in record time, then set the dishes down, and braced myself to head out into the cold.
The difference between Seket’s warm tent and the frigid wasteland that is Hotep defies description. Wait, no it doesn’t. It sucked.
For the first time I noticed something I hadn’t seen the night before. A knotted cable disappeared into the angry clouds above us. “Oh, my gods, we’re supposed to climb that.”
Two kilometers of cable would take us to the jaw, apparently, which was where I expected we’d find Saho waiting. The night’s sleep had taken away the worst of the fatigue, and after an infuse strength spell I was ready to try my luck.
Climbing sucked. My arms burned, then my chest, and then everything else. At least I quickly found a rhythm, and slowly crept up the line. Miri came next, and then Rava, with Seket after, and Briff bringing up the rear. If anyone fell we were counting on him to save them.
I didn’t know what to expect as I climbed. I hoped there’d be some sort of waystation where you could rest, but we didn’t encounter any. Instead it was an unbroken endurance test, and if not for my magically infused strength I would have died. My arms would have given out, and I’d have fallen.
As it was I wanted to let go about halfway up, and by the time I could see the lip where safety lay I was convinced that I’d done enough, and they could find someone else to get into the city. I just wanted to sleep.
It was the people behind me that kept me moving. If I stopped they stopped. If I died…they likely died. So I kept climbing. I ignored fatigue, and pain, and chill, and fear, and despair and every other thing between me and the top of that lip.
Several million years later my hand encountered something that wasn’t the cable. I glanced up and realized it was the lip. We’d made it. We’d reached the mouth of Hotep, and supposed safety.
I heaved myself over the lip and collapsed.
16
We left the storm for an idyllic world, and in that single step I understood the intense resentment Ursus had exhibited toward Saho. The bears lived on the tundra, and fought for every scrap of life. Every structure had been built from their surroundings. Every day was purchased with the life of something else.
Yet here was paradise. A winding path led up to a well lit inn with many windows and the sounds of laughter coming from within. I could smell the meat sizzling, and did not care what it came from.
Beyond the inn lay a wide beach with a half dozen artfully carved ferries docked. They sailed out onto a broad lake, which had steam rolling off the top—Hotep’s mouth, which dumped over a waterfall, down the deity’s throat.
Above us lay the roof of the mouth, and presumably some way to reach the mind of the god itself, which I prayed would contain some sort of answer that might help me move forward. Right about now I had no bearings, and no idea how to get from here to home and safe with my father’s shade laid to rest, and Necrotis not having conquered the sector. A problem for tomorrow.
There wasn’t a single bear in sight. There were plenty of Marid of various sizes. They seemed to get larger as they aged. From what I could see, every last one had a good-natured smile, and they were joyous and content.
I spotted someone waving from the steps, and moved to join Saho, who smiled down at us from under a parasol that kept off the warm glow that originated from the top of Hotep’s mouth. “I am so pleased to see you survived the climb. There is one step more before you take your rest. In order to pursue Hotep’s mind you must
make sacrifice. Something symbolic that you are attached to must be left behind. Something whose loss you will feel keenly.”
I hesitated at that. I mean, wouldn’t you? Choosing something you cared about, but not too much, was pretty difficult. I glanced up at Saho. “Hotep was a god of peace, right? He valued tranquility and knowledge?”
“Indeed.” Saho gave a delighted clap. “It is so rare for someone from the outside to know anything of Hotep. Those who do often claim he sought to murder Inura, and that is why Virkonna struck first. You will see the truth in his mind. He was murdered for no purpose through the manipulation of Nefarius. I believe the end goal was to deny anyone use of the city. Sanctuary was a beacon of learning, tolerance, and discourse. Gods came from all over the universe, from other timelines. Through it all Hotep kept the peace.”
As she spoke I considered possible sacrifices. What could I give up that mattered? A piece of gear? A promise to do something, or not do something?
I had it.
“I give up my ignorance,” I decided aloud. “I will learn about Hotep. Learn the truth, both of his life and his death. I will carry the light of that knowledge into the world, though that knowledge might make me enemies on some worlds.”
I thought specifically of Virkon. They were going to just love hearing that their venerated goddess was a brutal murderer who’d been duped by Nefarius into slaughtering an innocent god of peace, and creating the storm where the very unliving now threatening the sector had been afforded a place to hide. I was going to have to take my social media private.
Saho cocked her head, and gave an approving nod. “You’ve surprised me, in a pleasant way. I sense that this choice will cost you, and is a true sacrifice. We appreciate you being willing to share the truth. Who is next? If any other wishes to go with Jerek, then they must make a similar sacrifice. It can be material in nature. A beloved tool. A cherished weapon.”
“I’ll give up my chocobricks.” Briff’s wings sagged as if the gravity had doubled. He reached into his pack and produced a large package filled with smaller packages. Each contained a fudge brick. A very expensive fudge brick that I knew Briff had never been able to afford back on Kemet. “I’ve been saving these the whole trip. We can’t print them, and even if we could…we don’t have the ship. I was going to eat these when we got to the city, but…you can have them.” Briff handed them across, and his tail drooped as well.
“A noble sacrifice.” She graciously accepted the package, and set it on the step behind her. “Who else wishes to know the mind of Hotep?”
Miri stepped up next. She eyed me sidelong, and when she caught me looking back dropped her gaze. What was going on there? “I’ll give up my portable heater. This thing has kept me warm for years. I’ve been repairing it since I was sixteen, and it’s the last thing I have from…back then.”
She reached into her pack and offered a small black box, which I’d seen her set up in camp, and once or twice in her quarters. Saho accepted it with both hands, and gave Miri a half bow. “A truly worthy sacrifice. Hotep will honor it, I am certain. Is there another?”
Both Rava and Seket had yet to go, and each looked less eager than the other to be picked. I knew the feeling. Neither knew what to give up.
“Oh!” Seket’s face lit up. Not literally. “I have just the thing.” He reached into his pack and produced his tent. “My Channer’s has made our stay here palatable. I value it incredibly highly. I will give it up, and until I emerge from the storm I will not attempt to secure comfortable lodging.”
“NOOOO!” Everyone else cried in unison. It was too late.
“A good choice.” Saho nodded gravely, then speared Rava with her gaze. “Are you staying behind, human?”
“Can that be my sacrifice too? I mean have you slept in that thing? No? I mean…I want to go.” Rava shrugged helplessly. “I just spent like nine hours climbing. I don’t know what I can give up. I don’t want to lose survival gear, or clothing. I’m not creative like these others. I just want to get this done, and get home.” She gave a disgusted sigh, and shrugged out of her jacket. “Fine, take my stupid jacket. I still have environmental armor, and will survive the way back. Probably.” She flung the garment at Saho, who didn’t seem to take offense.
“A true sacrifice, and freely offered.” Saho half smiled, but it vanished quickly. “Very well…you have done all I asked. The inn above is yours for the night. Your rooms are purchased, and food and drink, and companionship, are yours if you wish them. In the morning, at a late hour, I will return to gather you and we will head to the mind. Enjoy yourselves, and do not worry about what comes on the morrow.”
I nodded gratefully, but the bone-weary exhaustion robbed me of words. I trudged up the steps, unable to summon enthusiasm as I made for the tavern above. A warm drink, something hot to eat, and then bed were what I needed. No companionship. No delays or obstacles. Just food and sleep.
We made it to the door, and I pushed it gently open…into a wall of laughter and the aroma of cooked meat. Mugs slammed on tables, and chairs scraped…it was straight out of a fantasy holodrama, and I loved it.
I dropped down at the nearest empty table, and my companions joined me one after another. Only Seket seemed alert. The rest of us had that thousand-yard stare. I don’t know what a yard is, or how a thousand of them fit into your stare, but these people definitely had all one thousand.
A pretty blue waitress in gossamer clothing that left little to the imagination sauntered over to our table with a welcoming smile. “Humans! We see so few of you, and even fewer Shayans. Welcome. Are you hungry? Thirsty, and not just for drinks? Or should I guide you to your rooms? I’ve been instructed to serve you in any way that you require.” Her inviting smile made it pretty clear what services were on the table, but it disappeared when no one took her up on it.
“I’d like something hot. Meat.” Briff spoke first, of course. “Lots of it. All the meat you’ll bring me. And beer. Or appletinis. Or something else good. Something with the word nectar in it.”
“I’ll have the same, but less of it,” I muttered as I lay my cheek on the wood table. Where had they found wood in this place? Maybe it wasn’t wood at all. It could be the god’s pubic hair for all I knew. I picked my cheek up, and decided to rest on my elbows instead.
They brought food, and I vaguely remember wolfing it down. There was a greenish liquid as well, though it wasn’t the appletinis Briff had requested. This was sweeter, and with one depths of a kick. We were going to feel it in the morning, I was certain.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the drinks, as no one spoke for a while.
“If this god doesn’t have the answers,” Rava ventured suddenly, her voice already thick with whatever we were drinking, “then how do we get off this floating corpse? The bears can’t fix the Remora, and these people have never met work.” She didn’t say it, but the sharp edge to her words came from a lot more than fixing a ship.
“The Djinn had fighters.” Focusing her on a job was the best salve, and I’d thought about this on the climb. Planning distracted me from the pain. “They may have larger ships. Either way we might be able to hit the air Catalyst, steal a ship, and get off. It’s not much, but it’s the best I’ve got if we don’t get answers from Hotep.”
I tried not to let my despair carry into my voice, but I could see from Miri’s concerned expression that it had. “It isn’t your fault, Jer. That we’re here. You’ll find us a way out. I know it.”
And there it was. The pressure to solve this all lay on me. I had to find a way out for all of us, and I could see their faith. See their certainty. They thought I could do it, and that was that. They didn’t worry about it past that.
Hadn’t it been the same for me for most of my life? Accepting whatever came. Doing what I was told. The time had come to lead, and I knew it, even if I didn’t like it.
I rose shakily to my feet. “I’m going to get some sleep. I fear tomorrow morning.”
“Don’t!” Seket
gave us a broad grin. He clapped me on the back, and gestured at my empty seat. “Hotep’s brews are legendary across the galaxy, or were in my time. There is no hangover. It’s made from primal water.”
“Still.” I weaved back and forth, which wasn’t good, as I’d aimed at standing. “I’m going to get some sleep.”
I stumbled up the hallway, and the helpful blue server guided me to one of the doors. She opened it, and I slipped inside. There was a bed. That was all that mattered. My pack hit the floor. Then I hit the bed. So soft. Boots? Nah. My eyes were already closed when the door opened again.
“Jer?” Miri’s hesitant voice called, softly, as she entered and sat on the bed. “Can I stay with you tonight?”
I clawed through the haze. Alarm bells were going off. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“No sex. I just…will you hold me, Jer? What we saw, I just…just for tonight?” I felt her tense on the bed as she awaited my answer.
Oh. That didn’t seem so bad. It was a harmless request, and if I said yes then I could sleep. “Sure.”
She snuggled up next to my back, and it felt rather nice. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
The nightmares were waiting.
Interlude VIII
Necrotis enjoyed a moment of pre-battle enjoyment as she considered what was about to happen. For days she’d seeded rumors and insults. For days she’d ensured that the shipmother knew that she did not fear her, and that she would take this place from her.
Finally, the shipmother had made her move. One hundred and eleven capital ships had deployed and prepared for assault against the Maker’s Wrath. They came from all eras, from her own youth, all the way through the present.
There was one of the Earthmother’s carriers. Her ships had been nearly indestructible, and considered odd in that they possessed no external cannon. They relied on ramming opponents. Smaller opponents were destroyed on impact. Larger were boarded.
