by CM Raymond
The kids screamed in delight as they watched Aysa’s projectile disappear in the clouds an impossible distance away. “Again!” the girl screamed.”
“Maybe later,” Aysa said with a wink. “We have some business to attend to. But after, I’ll teach you to throw.”
“Really?”
“Hell, yeah,” she said. The girl’s face lit up as she turned and ran back to join the other children.
Broderick led them to a large structure in the heart of the village. While most of the buildings had been constructed of carefully laid dry-stacked stone, this one was built of lumber—giant hardwood planks carefully planed to perfection. Karl eyed the building and then scanned the mountainside, looking for where the resources might have come from. Finding nothing of the sort at this altitude, he realized that they had hauled it from below. A tedious job for a special place.
Their tour guide stopped on a massive doorstep, which made him nearly as tall as Hadley. Broderick said, “You can all wait here while I see if we can get you a meeting with Aardash. Should only take a minute.” He stepped through the massive oak door, closing it behind him.
Aysa shifted in place for a moment before going over to Gregory. “Why is it that these people look so much like Karl?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Gregory smiled. He had become the go-to person on the team for all things science-y, which, often enough in their world, meant all things. “It’s a little easier to understand now that you have met Lilith. When she used the satellite to reprogram all the nanocytes—”
She held up her hand. “You mean when she used the sky technology to fiddle with those critters inside of us?”
He smiled and decided to change the direction he was going. “Yeah, that’s right. Anyway, Lilith’s people—the Kurtherians—created the nano…uh, the critters. They were designed to make people better. They gave some folks, like Hannah, the magic they needed to survive, and they changed other people in other ways—helping them adapt to their environments. Make sense?”
“It makes no freaking sense whatsoever, but I understand.”
Gregory laughed. “Yeah, it’s difficult. I mean, especially when we’re trying to talk about things we cannot see. Laurel and the druids, they’re built for the woods. Their senses are heightened, which is helped by their pointy ears. The rearick and these people spend all their time underground, so of course they changed their bodies to match their daily work. Here’s what’s wild. You notice anything different about the mountain people here?”
“Yeah. They don’t talk with the grammar of a deranged child.”
“No, not that. The nanocytes don’t change people’s culture. Not directly, at least.” He glanced around the streets behind him and finally pointed to a group of men gathered on the corner. “Look at their eyes.”
Laurel did, and mentioned that they were more deep-set than Karl’s and slightly narrower.
“Exactly,” Gregory responded. “At first I thought it was just Broderick and Hendrix, but once we got into the town I noticed it is a general attribute of the community.”
“OK. Why?”
He nodded and looked toward the peaks. “Not positive, but we’re pretty high up—largely above the cloud line. These folks live among the snowpack throughout their lives. I’m guessing the nanocytes adapted their eyes to protect against greater sun exposure.”
“Clever,” Aysa quipped. “I’ve been squinting ever since I got off the ship.” She paused. “You think there are others in the world who have long arms and big hands like me?”
He cocked his head to the side and shrugged. “Dunno. I imagine there are. It has to do with the environment and their daily work. Baseeki people are adapted really well for swimming and paddling, and for climbing rocks.”
“And throwing them,” Aysa added.
Laughing again, Gregory said, “Yeah, that too, though there are questions about whether that is putting the cart before the horse. My guess is that the Baseeki people throw rocks to attack others because they have long arms. But who knows?”
Aysa quietly milled over her little lesson until she was interrupted by Hadley’s asking, “So what’s the plan?”
Gregory looked up, also interested in how exactly they were going to approach Aardash and the crystals. Suddenly, he realized they were all looking at him, their Hannah-appointed leader.
“Yes, right,” he mumbled, straightening his cloak. “I’m glad you asked. Karl, you’ve already gained some trust with Broderick. Seems right that you should do the talking. Familiarity and all of that. Aysa, you just hang out, and Hadley—”
“You want me to hang out in his head.”
“You got it. Stick to the plan. Our request doesn’t seem so unreasonable. I imagine we’ll be in and out in no time.”
Hadley smiled. “Perfect. We’ll show Parker and his magical girlfriend which team has the chops.”
Karl scoffed. “If things go accordin’ ta plan. Which, I might point out, they never bloody do.”
Broderick stuck his head out a second later. “Aardash is nearly ready for you. His household is preparing the evening meal. After the meeting, if he isn’t displeased, you will join us.”
“If?” Aysa asked. “Jeesh, tough crowd up here.”
Broderick smiled. “Where are you from, girl?”
“Far away. A village called Baseek.”
“And in Baseek, if a group of strangers wandered in who resembled the likes of your party, do you think you might be a little hesitant?”
She looked at the guys and then smiled to him. “I’d probably throw rocks at these guys until they ran away crying to their mums.”
Broderick winked. “Exactly. Now come along, before King Aardash changes his mind.” He turned and walked back into the room, Gregory’s team following closely behind.
As soon as they stepped through the doorway, the room expanded all around them. The space was enormous, with giant oak beams spanning the thirty-foot roof and a ceiling of finely hewn boards. It was a grand hall. Servants were readying the long table that ran down the center, setting places for a party of nearly twenty. Gregory hoped some of the chairs would belong to them.
Following Broderick in silence, Hadley’s eyes changed to white as he scanned the minds in the room. Karl jabbed him with his elbow. “Pickin’ up on treachery?” he grunted.
“Nothing like that. Curiosity, mostly. Some apprehension, of course. Nothing out of line. But these are the servants to the king. I don’t think they’re the ones we need to be concerned with, after all.”
Karl spotted a group of young ladies, likely in their twenties, looking in his and Hadley’s direction. They all giggled, and one turned red in the cheeks. “Aye, wherever ye go, mystic, ye always make ‘em blush. What’s that one thinkin’?” He nodded toward the rosy-cheeked one.
His eyes returned to their normal hue and he dropped a hand on Karl’s shoulder. A sly smile spread over his lips. “Sorry, rearick. I never share the secrets of blushing young ladies. Would make me rather ungentlemanly, after all.” He gave Karl a wink, and they picked up their pace to catch the others.
“If yer a gentleman,” Karl said, “Then I’m a bloody druid.”
When they got to the back of the great hall, Broderick stopped in front of a door. “Shouldn’t be long,” he said, and as if on cue, the door slammed open. The large Heemite named Hendrix came storming out. Whatever foul mood he was in had apparently gotten worse since Karl tackled him into the snow.
Broderick smiled. “That’s our cue. He’s ready for you.”
The team stepped into the room and spread out, taking in Aardash’s grand living quarters. Unlike the hall, this room was built to a modest height, the ceiling a foot higher than Hadley stood. Red-velvet-upholstered furniture was arranged facing a broad fireplace, the impressive fire in it already crackling in anticipation. The biggest chair was occupied by a man who could only be Aardash.
He stood as his visitors arrived, and they tilted their heads, giving a l
ittle bow to the leader. While still shorter than a grown Arcadian, Aardash towered over the other mountain men. He sported a thick white beard, nearly down to his knees, which had been gathered into a perfect spiral and bound with yarn of a dozen colors. His deep-set blue eyes sparkled, but none of the visitors could be sure if he was delighted to see them or if it was only the effects of the intoxicating liquid that swirled in the mug he held in his right hand.
Aardash’s face was stern. Years in the frozen mountains had chiseled deep creases into his face, but the severity of the lines around his eyes was offset by those eyes and the bushy brows that jabbed out in all directions.
“My man Hendrix just finished warning me about the trio of violent thugs who are traipsing over my hillside.” The king’s voice matched his imposing exterior. It was not a great start.
Without warning a smile broke across his face, and Gregory could feel the tension release in the room. “Must have been a hell of a climb for a group such as yours,” he finally said, his eyes wandering over them to fall finally upon Karl.
The rearick stepped forward and dropped to one knee before the ruler of Heema. At first Gregory wondered about this position of humility, but only until Karl lifted his head, his face filled with pride. “I come in the name of the rearick of the Heights, which overlook the Arcadian Valley. And we all come ta ye by commission of the magician we call Hannah, and from the Oracle. I thank ye fer yer kindness.”
Laughing, the old man stretched a hand to Karl’s broad shoulder. “The rearick?” His eyes danced. “Well, you sure look like good people.” He grabbed a fistful of Karl’s shirt and pulled him to his feet. “Now, enough of the ceremonious bullshit. Grab a seat, my brother from the west, and let my men pour you some mead. It’s a good barrel, and it will warm your ass and lighten your heart.”
Aysa was the first to plop herself into an overstuffed chair. She ran her right hand across its arm, reveling in the soft fabric as it tickled her palm. “I want my ass warmed,” she said, with a smile at Broderick.
Soon they were all seated in the circle sipping mead, which the Heemites served warm with a sprinkle of spice on the surface. Karl introduced each member of their party, taking time to tell the king of the places they were from. Aardash listened intently, asking a question or two of each of them. He was particularly interested in Aysa and the Baseeki people.
“They sound much like the Arndai tribe on the northern slopes of our mountain. Long arms and strong hands, but they’re mostly sons of bitches.”
Aysa laughed. “Well, we match them two for three.” She took a long drink from her cup and cooed, “You’re right, though. My ass is getting warm already, but it might take a few more mugs to really fire this rump up.”
With introductions behind them, Aardash cut to the chase. “Hendrix told me that you’re interlopers, but Broderick says that you are here to ask me for something. What is it?”
Gregory cleared his throat and set his mug on a table beside his chair. “Sir, like Karl said, we’ve been sent by Lilith, by the Oracle.”
He nodded in response. “I’d heard of the Oracle from travelers who came from the west, but it was hard to believe that this...this...thing actually existed.”
With a nervous laugh, Gregory said, “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t met her myself. If I hadn’t worked with her.” Taking his time, Gregory told Aardash about the Rift and the Skrima who made their way through the portal from another world. “When I say it out loud to you, it sounds crazy.”
Nodding, Aardash agreed, “Yes, but sometimes the craziest things hold the most truth. Even if I believe you about the Oracle and a doorway to hell, what does this have to do with us?”
“The thing is, Lilith is actually dying. I’ve slowed the progression, but she’s the only thing keeping the Rift from blowing wide open. And if it does, well—”
“Shite goes real sideways,” Karl said, finishing Gregory’s line.
He nodded. “Yes, sir. Real sideways. Like end-of-Irth sideways.” Pausing, Gregory gathered his thoughts. “We need a pure power source to fuel a device to keep Lilith alive, so she can continue her fight against the darkness. She sent us here. You have the crystals we need in your mines.”
Aardash laughed, and Broderick joined in. Gregory looked at Hadley, who was leaning heavily into his cup. Gregory assumed it was a cover for his white eyes. Gregory took a breath and continued, “What is it?”
“Well,” Aardash said, trying to stop his laughter, “hell, we’d love to help, but we aren’t allowed in the mines.”
Aysa cocked her head. “I thought you were the king.”
The stocky man smiled. “Even the king needs to follow the decree of the gods, and it was them that set the mines off limits.”
Hadley cleared his throat. “Sir, we too put great faith in the gods. In fact, we are doing their work. When the Matriarch and Patriarch fled into the stars, they left the Oracle here to look after things.”
Aardash laughed again and took a sip from his mug. “Well, then, one of us is certainly mistaken. The God and Goddess of old are not in the stars. They live in the ground—down in those mines, and only the most worthy are allowed to descend.”
CHAPTER TEN
“Olaf told me that you put on quite the show yesterday,” Lilith said.
“I wish you could have seen it,” Ezekiel replied. He was waving his hands like a kid talking about his adventures. “There’s something about the air here that makes me feel years younger.”
“I have done extensive research on human anatomy and this world’s atmosphere, and I can assure you that there are no regenerative effects to the Archangelsk air. The Etheric-drawing nanocytes in your blood, however…”
He smiled. The debate between the two of them that had been raging for decades. “For all your great knowledge, Lilith, you still don’t understand that not everything comes down to science. Home might not be quantifiable, but there is power in the place nonetheless.”
“And as I have instructed you on precisely forty-two occasions now that if it cannot be explained by science, then it does not exist. Or the science to explain it does not yet exist. The power is in you, not this place.”
He shook his head, knowing that he could never convince a Kurtherian what being a human was really about. “Well, either way, it’s good to be back. In all those years of wandering, I never found a place quite like this. Or maybe it was just you I missed.”
“I am not too proud to admit that I have often been quite jealous of you. Not just you, but all the great men and women who have come through these doors. In my previous life I was an explorer, and despite my long penance here, I have never lost that urge to see new worlds.”
He placed his hand upon her metal exterior. “Well, personally I think you’ve been punished enough. It’s time you had a chance to stretch your legs again.”
“You seem to have forgotten, Zeke, that I no longer have legs.”
He smiled at the nickname. It was the name that Lilith, and only Lilith, had called him—until it was stolen by his student. He assumed it was his reward for choosing to train a pickpocket.
Thinking of Hannah made him smile and filled him with hope once again.
“Maybe that is a problem Hannah could remedy.”
Lilith paused for a moment, then said, “Does she know your plans for her? The odds against her succeeding—”
“No,” he said. “And that is the reason. We’ve put so much pressure on her already. After all, we’re already asking her to save the world—no easy burden for someone so young.”
“You saved the world when you were her age, Zeke.”
He shook his head. “That was nothing compared to what she’s doing. I flipped a switch, nothing more.”
“You humans and your annoying capacity for undervaluing yourselves. What you call ‘humility’ is ninety-nine percent delusion. You did far more than flip a switch.”
“Anyway,” he said, wishing not to dig into that story, “she has
bigger concerns at the moment. I couldn’t ask her to do something so risky just for my sake.”
Lilith seemed to smile back at him. “You forget that I have my share invested in this problem as well. But I agree that the dangers outweigh the benefits. We should keep this to ourselves for now. And speaking of stretching legs, I believe Olaf has come to ask me something.”
As she spoke, the door to her chamber swung open and the large man entered with Mika right behind him.
“Hello, Lilith. Ezekiel, I hope we’re not disturbing anything?”
“Not at all,” Ezekiel said as he waved them in. “Just fighting for the impossible against the inevitable. Are you ready to share your secret plans? You left me quite curious the other day.”
“I am. I’ve thought about this and discussed it at length with Lilith, but I would like to get your blessing, since it will place a lot on your shoulders.”
Ezekiel nodded, a gentle smile on his face. “My skinny shoulders have borne a lot over the years, and you know that I would gladly do anything to make you happy.”
“As you know, my father Boris entrusted Archangelsk to my protection. But ever since the Rift appeared, my watch has kept me here. Your young engineer’s technology has allowed Lilith to keep the Rift relatively sealed, if only for a short while. If he and Hannah fail at their current quest, this could be the last respite from the Skrima New Romanov ever has.”
“I’m confident in my crew,” Ezekiel said, “but I understand that your long life in these cold lands has made you leery of optimism. You’re right that this might be the only reprieve we have for a while. What would you like to do?”
“I want to reacquaint myself with Archangelsk as a whole. This might be my only chance. Even with Gregory’s patch on Lilith, I can’t trust that a Skrim won’t break through. But if you were to temporarily take on the mantle of New Romanov’s protector—”
“Say no more.” Ezekiel held up his hand. “It would be my honor. For as long as you—and Lilith—need me, I’ll remain here.”
