by CW Tickner
‘She’s lovely,’ Sonora said as they wound their way back to the cave entrance.
‘Aye,’ Damen agreed, ‘she is. I know she’s invited you to come again, and I would like it if you did, but tomorrow is the day you go before the Enlightened council, so it must wait a while. You can find your way from here?’ he asked as they reached the entrance.
‘We can,’ Harl said, wondering if the man was giving them a subtle chance to leave before the meeting.
Too late now, he thought. Their fate hung in the balance and they were committed to seeing it through to whatever end these Enlightened deemed appropriate.
Chapter 38
The dependant creatures I found with them seem to be unlike anything else I have discovered. They share similarities with other species across the planet but they are so small they would have required an independent ecosystem to evolve at such a scale.
When they woke, it was to the harsh sound of a buzzer. Harl rolled out of bed and stumbled across the room to press the answer button on the wall-mounted speaker box. There was a burst of static and then Damen’s firm voice filled the room.
‘You must be up and at the council chambers soon. I’ll be there to guide you shortly.’
When he arrived, Damen looked grim. They followed him through the narrow tunnels, passing curious onlookers and men performing maintenance to the pipes and wire that ran through the metal-lined passages.
‘Do you think they’ll believe us?’ Harl asked.
Damen continued walking as he spoke. ‘I cannot say for sure. The council are set in their ways. The balance of power in Delta is entirely in their hands. I can’t see them wanting to give that up by admitting they’d overlooked thousands of people for years who were only a few days march away. I can tell you that no matter what their decision, many of the people in Delta are on your side. News spreads fast and the story you’ve told is now well known and has caused many people to hope for a better life.’
‘What do you mean?’ Sonora asked.
‘Well,’ Damen said, running a cupped hand down around his plaited beard, ‘for a long time Delta’s people, Passives, Enlightened and even some of the hunters, have known that we’re on the decline. With less people to work and gather food, we are dwindling. Most of the Passives want to learn the ways of power that the Enlightened have partially shared with us. Even some of the Enlightened council, like Kane, believe that sharing is essential to our survival. But that knowledge is useless if we are a dying people.’
‘What about the tribes?’ Harl asked.
‘Hunters are not troubled by such things, at least those outside of the city. It’s only the will of the council that keeps us from true unity. If we were united, they might lose their hold over the power of electricity and thus their strict control of the people.’
The way Damen spoke at times confused Harl. When they had met he’d been a rough diamond, talking in harsh tones about killing. Then, as if the gem had secretly been polished, he would talk in an eloquent manner to Kane. Did he speak and act differently around the hunters?
He fell silent as they rounded a corner and found two guards either side of a large double door. Damen spoke into a speaker box on the wall and the doors creaked open. The guards stepped aside as the doors parted.
The room Harl entered was round and cavernous, with bricked walls instead of the usual metal plates. Half of the outer wall was lined with two tiers of curved benches that faced a raised wooden dais at one end of the chamber. The platform supported a semi-circlular table that seated eight wizened old men and two imperious looking ladies. Free standing electric lights were set at intervals on the table, illuminating a spread of papers and scrolls.
One of their guards stepped behind them and used the pole of his metal spear to shunt them both forwards to the centre of the room.
Harl shot the man a dark look, but Sonora gave Harl a warning frown and he turned his attention back to the room.
The scene reminded Harl of his trial back home. The old men presiding around the table cast imperious and hostile looks down at them as if they were unwanted bugs ready for extermination.
Damen entered behind them and took a seat on one of the benches. No one else was present. Harl noticed an empty chair at the far left of the high table. Kane was absent.
The central figure spoke into a small square device in front of him. Cables trailed away from it to a pair of speaker boxes set high in the room’s bricked-lined walls on either side of the dais, making the sound amplify across the chamber. His long white beard muffled the sound and he tucked it under the table as he leaned over the device.
‘You are accused of desecrating a tomb and have been brought here to explain your actions. We have been informed that in your attempt to explain your sudden appearance, you told a wild story about thousands of people living inside the Aylen’s lair. Do you deny this?’
To Harl the words seemed instantly hostile. Perhaps Damen was right and Kane was the only decent one among them?
‘No,’ Harl said, and just as he was about to continue, another man at the table stood and spoke.
‘These claims have falsity written all over them. You claim that people-’ He said the final word as though he knew Harl was delusional. ‘-are living in enslavement and without knowledge of even basic steam power.’
A woman at the end of the table stood and spread her hands with a shrug. ‘Lies! How are we to believe even a word from this man?’
Straight after, a fat blubbery man rose from his seat to speak. ‘I’ve checked with our quartermasters and over the course of the last four hundred days we have had equipment go missing from our stores, including items similar to those you possessed.’
Still standing, the bearded man at the centre of the table spoke again.
‘Bring in their possessions,’ he said, pressing a second button on the speaker box.
The doors swung open and an orderly strode in carrying their satchels and weapons. Harl frowned at the thought of him going to the room and taking their bags. The man took the dais steps quickly and upended the items unceremoniously onto the high table.
The fat man grabbed the sword.
‘This could be one of the weapons taken,’ he said to the others.
Harl couldn’t believe that the council were treating them in such a way. He had not even been allowed to defend himself or Sonora. It was as if they had already been condemned.
One scrawny man, who had remained seated until now, jumped up, plucked a pair of spectacles from his breast pocket and stuffed them over his beady eyes. He snatched Gorman’s book off the table and had a look of awe in his eyes as he unwrapped it. Gorman had told Harl that it was their most valuable possession.
It was a whisper when the man spoke, but it was picked up on the amplifier and they heard the shock in his voice.
‘Can it be?’ he asked. The others turned to look at him as he opened the book, his eyes wide behind his wire-framed spectacles. ‘It is,’ he said to himself, flipping through the pages.
‘It’s the Third?’ the blubbery one asked. ‘Truly?’
‘Was this what Kane was searching for?’ the bearded one murmured, turning the book over in his hands.
‘It would explain his actions,’ the councilwoman said, nodding.
The one holding the book scowled down at Harl and Sonora. ‘Where did you come by this book?’
‘It was given to us by my grandfather, Sonora said. ‘He was a native of Delta. He also gave us the weapons. We did not steal them.’
The bearded councilman addressed the man holding the book. ‘It does not matter. It’s unimportant where it came from, only that we have it now.’
The others nodded.
‘What do we do with them?’ the spectacled man asked quietly.
‘We don’t need them,’ the fat one said. ‘They must not be able to spread word of this.’
What was so special about that one book? Harl looked around for Damen to see how he was taking it, but the h
unter was nowhere to be seen.
‘The council have decided,’ the bearded man said, rushing the words, ‘that you have defiled our sacred cave tombs.’ His eyes flicked to the book, his fingers twitching as though eager to flip its pages. He scowled down at them. ‘You are sentenced to death. You will be taken beyond the gate and your crimes read to the people before you are executed. Guards.’ He shouted the last word and the speaker box amplified his voice until it was deafening. ‘Take them!’
Chapter 39
Sales are down but consistent. So now I need to work on a breeding program which means it’s about time I made them feel at home.
Not again, Harl thought as four armed guards stormed through the door into the council chamber. They split into pairs and grabbed Harl and Sonora by the arms.
‘You’ll regret this!’ Harl called as he was dragged out of the room and the doors were shut behind them.
The guards held their arms firmly and marched them through the metal tunnels and out of the caves to the main strip of Delta.
‘You don’t understand.’ Harl said, tugging at the men. They tightened their grip, half dragging him down the central road as people poured from homes to watch the spectacle. He could hear some of them whispering and shaking their heads at the guards.
‘Wait!’ a polite voice called. It was that of an Enlightened, clearly marked by the white coat most of them seemed to wear. He’d dashed from between two buildings, his arms up in protest. ‘You cannot do this,’ he pleaded to the man who Harl assumed was the captain of the guards.
‘And why not?’ the captain asked, barely looking at him.
‘You know as well as I that some of the council members are hasty in their decisions,’ the Enlightened man said.
‘So, you’ve been overruled,’ the captain said. ‘Tough luck.’
‘They have found the Third!’ the newcomer said, causing the captain’s eyes to widen. ‘You know of what I speak man – you have the training.’
The captain looked unsure, as though struggling with the decision.
He shrugged. ‘I’ve got orders and if I don’t carry them out, I’m as dead as them. Now out of my way.’ He put a hand on his sword hilt.
The Enlightened shook his head in despair as he stepped aside and watched the guards pull Harl and Sonora further on through the main street.
More soldiers joined them as they passed the gate. Sonora looked from them to Harl, hung her head and wept. Harl didn’t have the words to stop her tears, but he tried nonetheless.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I love you.’
It was all he could manage and it sounded pathetic. How could he have been so stupid and not taken the chance to escape when Damen offered it?
The captain stopped just beyond the gate as a small crowd drew close. He pulled a short roll of paper from under his leather breastplate. He unrolled the scroll and began to read.
‘This man and woman,’ he said, ‘have been tried and convicted of tomb desecration by the Enlightened council. They are also guilty of threatening the lives of the Enlightened. The punishment for these crimes is death.’
‘Lies,’ Harl said, sickened that they had twisted his words, but the captain nodded at the guards and they were hauled further out beyond the gate.
The guards tugged them to a stop in an open area facing the forest of grass stalks on the horizon. The sky was a myriad precious colours as the yellow of sunset blended into the deeper red and purple of night.
Harl thought of the things they had seen since leaving their home and a single tear coursed down his cheek. This was how it was all going to end?
‘You sure boss?’ one of the guards asked.
‘Kneel,’ the captain said, ignoring the man.
Sonora sunk to her knees but Harl stayed standing.
‘I said kneel, boy!’ the voice came again, louder and impatient.
Harl roared in anger as the captain drew his sword and attempted to kick the back of Harl’s legs out to make him kneel down. Harl turned around to stare at the face of his would be killer. His gaze travelled over the captain’s shoulder to the entrance of Delta. It was crowded with people as they watched the horror and sheer brutality of the scene. Harl knelt where he was, daring the man to perform his so-called duty, while those from the city looked on. The captain shrugged as though it was inevitable and a humming sound pulsed from the sword as he raised the melting-blade.
Time seemed to slow as Harl waited. Everything came into sharp focus, the wrinkles in the captain’s hands, the dust blowing softly over the ground, and the sound of his own breathing. The fact that the man chose Gorman’s sword added an ironic twist to the surreal moment.
Just do it, he thought as he looked to his side so that his final vision would be of the woman he loved.
He had hoped to find Sonora looking back at him, but she was staring out away from the city. He looked up at the captain again, wondering why he was drawing it out, and saw that he too was looking behind Harl, the sword still held ready to strike.
Taking his chance, Harl twisted around to see two distant figures walking out of the stalks and across the bare ground. His eyes blurred from the tears as he tried to focus on the pair strolling towards them.
One of them was Uman from the gathering party, while the other shuffled along under a hood and cloak. Uman’s nervous words carried on the breeze, attempting to urge the other on, describing how Harl and Sonora were on their knees in front of the captain. Harl tried to see who the cloaked figure was, but the face was covered by the cowl.
The pair stopped ten paces away and the hooded man whipped out a bow from under his cloak. A calm voice came from beneath the veil as he smoothly notched an arrow and aimed it straight at them.
‘You have one chance to let them go, my lad,’ the man said.
Sonora looked up from her kneeling position and let out a cry of wonder.
‘This isn’t your business, stranger,’ the captain said, ‘or yours, Uman son of Udal.’
The arrow loosed from the stranger’s bow, puncturing deep into the captain’s chest plate, forcing him backwards. The sword slipped from his grip and clattered to the ground as blood dribbled from the hole. He grasped the arrow shaft in both hands. A second arrow thumped into the back of one hand, pinning it to his chest. His screams turned to a bloody gurgle. Uman held his spear high, ready to impale the other guards as the hooded man spoke.
‘Anyone else?’ the familiar voice asked.
The rest of the guards, shaken by the sudden death of their leader and uncommitted from the start, turned to run, but only kicked up dust as they stopped mid turn.
Harl risked a glance back at the city and saw a large group of armed people standing in the gateway with Damen at their head.
‘Grandpa!’ Sonora shouted, standing up and running towards the hooded man.
She must have recognised Gorman’s voice straight away, but Harl could not believe it himself. How could he be here? He knew he had not heard or seen Gorman die, but surely he could not have survived the destruction of the world.
The guards raised their hands in surrender as Damen led the mob from the gates to surround them. He then strode up to Harl and Sonora, sword in hand and the look of an exhilarated child on his face.
‘They’ve locked Kane away in the cells,’ he said, helping Harl to his feet.
Harl nodded his thanks to Damen, unable to find his voice after the turmoil of the last few moments. He turned to face Gorman and Sonora as they embraced
‘I thought you were gone,’ she cried into the old man’s shoulder.
‘Well, I’m here now,’ Gorman said, stretching a mud splattered arm around her. ‘It was hard going after you left, and there’s much to explain, but from what I hear there are more pressing issues at hand.’ He turned in Uman’s direction. ‘If it was not for this man, I’d have wandered until I could stand no longer.’
Sonora tore away from Gorman and flung herself at Uman. ‘Thank you,’ she said kissing h
im on his reddening cheeks. She let him go and moved beside Gorman again, linking an arm through his, as if they had never parted.
Uman looked around in stunned silence at the crowd and Harl smiled, thinking of Uman’s description of his wife’s terrible anger.
Gorman slumped against Sonora and rubbed his milky eyes.
‘Thank you,’ Harl said, placing a hand on Gorman’s shoulder, grateful to have the old man to help guide them once more. ‘You must rest, at least for a while.’ He turned to face Damen. ‘Is there time?’
‘Some,’ Damen said. ‘Kane was taken to one of the cells just outside the caves. My men tell me that he found out about the book and attempted to take it before the meeting. ’
‘Damen?’ a soldier called, breaking from the crowd as they headed back to the gateway.
‘What is it, Forn?’
‘The Enlightened councilmen have ordered their brethren to the caves and blocked themselves inside. They have the book.’
‘We should help Kane first,’ Sonora said, looking from Damen to Harl. ‘He’s been kind to us.’
Harl nodded. ‘You’re right. He risked his life for us, but there’s more to it than that. He holds sway over the Enlightened, and he is one of the few who seem to care about the Passives. With him at our side we stand a real chance of uniting the people.’
‘Then we’ll help him first,’ Damen said, ‘and deal with the councilmen after.’
‘So all we face is a group of heavily armed men with superior weapons?’ Harl said, ‘What could possibly go wrong?’
A nasty grin crossed Damen’s lips and Harl didn’t like it one bit.
Chapter 40
Many have paired up. It seems they are a monogamous species. Maybe soon there will be eggs…
Harl, Sonora, Damen and Uman gathered outside Damen’s house just as night was falling, while Gorman rested inside, fast asleep.
‘There will be at least four men guarding the cells,’ Damen said, testing the string of his hunting bow. ‘If we can surprise them then we’ll have the advantage.’
