Phantasmical Contraptions & Other Errors

by Jessica Augustsson

  Vibrations came through to her along the catwalk, and the side of the ship in which the small portholes were set. The Kraken maneuvered, and Beata could feel the change in angle, hear the creak and shift in the very walls and beams. The thudding rumble of the engines grew louder, along with the deeper vibration of the steam engine.

  The ship’s horn sounded again, and she knew what Captain Nyx was angling The Kraken for. Beata went down the row, slamming the levers all the way down now, wincing at the sudden loudness of the hissing steam—it was more like shrieking—and the gauges all showed maximum. The tentacles would be spraying blasts of boiling hot steam out of their tips, and the angle of The Kraken would ensure the steam would hit anyone on the deck of The Lamprey.

  Face practically smashed against the nearest porthole, Beata watched The Lamprey banking sharply. Small figures plummeted down, down toward the water—they were close enough to shore that some might even hit the sand instead. Further below, she could only just make out where the pale shallows went dark with the sudden drop into deeper water, and some of the crewmen fallen from The Lamprey splashed into the water there. Oddly, the water was roiling, bubbling like a pot of broth on a hot stove, and Beata could make out the sleek shapes she’d seen in the waters before, circling and diving around the area of disturbed water.

  That feeling she’d had earlier, as though some part of her knew something dreadful and wasn’t sharing any explanations, had returned. But now she decided the feeling wasn’t quite dread, it was just that something was just...coming... NOW! Something deep inside rang with a belling tone that echoed in the same place she felt the phantom singing. As if, wherever those musical notes came from, the biggest of the singers was suddenly bellowing one long, deep note at full volume in her head.

  Within the huge area of disturbed water, darker shapes moved toward the surface, writhing, squirming shapes far larger than the other swimming creatures she’d seen. Huge, many of them, curling upward, twining with each other, dark blue-gray fading to deep greenish-blue, and each one resolving into the delicately pointed tip of a tentacle. One after another, and they were enormous, rising upward, water streaming off them and spraying into the air like enormous fountains. Beata gasped in shocked awe, but no real fear.

  The horn sounded again, twice, and Beata made a strangled sound of frustration before tearing herself from the porthole to hurriedly close all the valves, making the steam-powered tentacles along the hull and the gas bag deflate into harmless tubes of specially treated heavy canvas and leather. The instant she’d closed the last valve, she was at the nearest porthole again, trying to see what was happening.

  The Lamprey was wrapped in the other gigantic tentacles, the ones reaching up from the water, and the airship was being dragged down. The hull was breaking inward, being inexorably crushed. More of The Lamprey’s crew fell or jumped overboard into the water as the airship went down, the sounds of shattering timbers and groaning metal being bent was loud enough that it penetrated The Kraken’s hull to reach Beata’s ears.

  In the water, those smaller shapes, the creatures Beata now suspected were grown-up larvae, went for the people floating or thrashing about in the choppy swells, snatching them up with slender tentacles and towing them abruptly under. A small noise escaped Beata’s throat, startling her a little, and she turned away, putting one grimy steam-damp glove over her mouth, uncaring whether it smudged her face.

  Unable to resist, she swallowed a few times, pushing the lump in her throat down, breathing through the trembling in her whole body, and then slowly put her face to the porthole again. The waters were still roiling, but not as strongly, and a widening area of water was littered with the wreckage of what had once been The Lamprey and its crew.

  Beata eventually made her way back to maintenance, finding Oskar and his two assistants shutting down the steam engine. She stood there in the open doorway, setting her borrowed gloves on the nearest surface, not knowing what to say or to ask. Not yet.

  Turning after a few minutes, Oskar spotted her there and his grin was huge as he went to her and gripped her shoulders firmly, shaking her a little as he said, “Well done, little bee! Well done! Did you see what happened?”

  She nodded, questions slowly rising to the surface of her stunned mind, and managed a low, “The Old One?”

  Looking a bit more closely at her, Oskar’s grip on her shoulders gentled. “Aye, that was our Old One, indeed.” He tucked one gloved hand under his left arm and pulled it off without letting go of her right shoulder, then grasped her chin with his big, rough fingers, lifting her face. “Are you all right, Beata?”

  “I...” she hesitated. Was she? She wasn’t afraid, she was safe and sound, but her world had been kind of tipped on its ear and shaken a bit. And yet... “I think so,” she finished at last.

  “Good girl,” Oskar said kindly. “You go along up and find Doc Roban or Copper, aye?”

  “Aye, Chief,” Beata replied almost automatically. Oskar nodded and turned her about before giving her a little push toward the door.

  She went on up, feeling more and more herself as she proceeded.

  Before she could reach either Doc Roban or Copper, Beata heard her name shouted and squealed in tandem by familiar voices. A moment later she was unceremoniously wrapped in a rib-creaking embrace. The usually quiet Saramay began babbling excitedly while still squeezing Beata with all her might. Temmin rushed to hug her as well, laughing a little against Beata’s head.

  “Beata! I was so worried!” Saramay gushed. “Did you know about the tentacles? I couldn’t believe it! Did you see? Where were you? We were afraid you’d fallen overboard or perhaps their sharpshooter had got you in all the confusion. Did you see that creature?”

  “Let the poor girl breathe, Saramay,” said Temmin, one arm still about Beata’s shoulders, the other around his sister’s back. “Are you all right, Beata?”

  “I’m fine,” Beata assured them, prying herself a little further back, so they could all see one another. “I was helping Oskar make The Kraken’s tentacles move,” she said proudly.

  “That was you?” Dara squeezed Beata’s fingers. Her eyes were a bit red, hair disheveled, and her voice a bit hoarse. “You disappeared and we were supposed to be sent below-decks for safety, but everything started happening all at once, so we hunkered down where we were with Bosun Huus and Doc Raban. It was so frightening!” She tightened her grip on Beata’s hand before letting her go. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

  “Thanks, Dara,” Beata replied, smiling. “I’m glad you’re all right, too. Where’s Azri?”

  “He was helping Huus last I saw,” Temmin said. “Only a few of the crew were hurt. Though, as far as I know, no one was killed. The Lamprey’s crew started shooting when the tentacles began to move, but I think they were too spooked to aim better.” He grinned. “You have to tell us more about them!”

  “They were incredible,” Saramay chimed in. “I didn’t know they were anything more than painted on.”

  “I only found out—” Beata began, but broke off at the sight of the captain coming up behind Saramay, Copper at her shoulder.

  “There you are,” Captain Nyx said, coming to a stop, hands clasped behind her, the corners of her mouth pulled upward enough that Beata knew she was pleased.

  “I was helping Chief Oskar and Mikal work the tentacles, Ma’am.”

  “Of course you were,” Copper murmured with a shake of her head, her small smile turning a bit wry.

  “Well done, then, Beata,” the captain said with an inclination of her head. “Excellent timing.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” Beata said a little breathlessly. She opened her mouth to speak further, then hesitated, uncertain how to put what she wanted to say.

  “You’ve a question?” prompted the captain, looking curious.

  “No, Ma’am, it’s...” She took a deep breath and clasped her hands before her as she spoke. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry to be the cause of so much...trouble.” She sprea
d her hands helplessly at the end, the single word seemingly too small for all that had happened, but she couldn’t think of anything better.

  Captain Nyx’s brows furrowed and she moved closer to put a gentle hand to Beata’s cheek. “Beata, you were not the cause of this trouble,” she told Beata with calm certainty. “We’ve had trouble with Vittori and his lot on The Lamprey for a long time. You were just an excuse. Navien has ever been a loathsome beast and deserved everything he got—stabbing, drowning, all of it.” She shook her head regretfully, her thumb sweeping softly across Beata’s cheekbone before patting her cheek and lowering her hand. “We all regret the lives lost, but they made the choice to pursue us. I’m sure they’d have killed most, if not all of us, had they been able.” She glanced around at the others, turning her head to catch Copper’s eye, and then refocused on Beata. “I want you to go clean yourselves up and rest for a little while. Azri will be found and sent down to join you. Once we’re moored securely and have the lift working, we’ll go down and introduce you to the Old One more properly. If they’re ready, we’ll be removing the larvae, as well.”

  8 – In the Cavern of the Old One

  It was late afternoon when Beata and her four fellow hosts were told to muster on deck to prepare for going down to the island. Beata had gratefully spent some of the time napping, having tired herself out in all the excitement and activity. She had first lain a little while, curled up on her bed with her left arm cradled against her.

  Since she’d had to unwrap her arm to wash, the bandage having become dirty during her eventful morning, Beata waited to rewrap it. Running just her fingertips lightly over the three bulges under her skin and feeling their tiny movements in response, she remembered when the whole concept had disturbed her, when feeling the larvae move had been unpleasant, and she wasn’t exactly sure when that changed. Though she still didn’t really like having them under her skin, she had come to look forward to the strangely beautiful dreams that she knew occurred because of those three little “passengers” in her flesh.

  Whilst lying there, the soft singing had drifted into the back of her mind before she’d even fallen asleep, and as she touched those small presences under her skin, she was certain they were the sources of those smaller voices which had been growing gradually stronger in the background of her dream music. Melancholy had risen up inside her, and the music grew gentler in answer, more soothing. She had drifted into a doze while humming along softly, feeling comforted.

  A small number of the villagers, came out to greet the group from The Kraken, gathering at their periphery and following along when they continued out along the pier to one of the larger boats. Beata thought they must have learned what happened with the two airships and what was planned for the five hosts, because no one was asking questions or looking concerned. In fact, Beata and the others received welcoming smiles, though none of the islanders tried to have a conversation with any of those from the airship.

  Sitting together on a bench along the side of the boat, Beata at one end and Azri at the other, they all clasped anxious hands. Across from them, Captain Nyx, Nan, and Copper sat with several other crewmembers, each of them appearing easy and even pleased to be there, indicating all was well. The boat carried them smoothly along the curve of the island’s shore, its steam engine chugging away in good order despite its apparent age, and then into an inlet that led to a large cave.

  It wasn’t until they passed under the arch of the cavemouth that Beata saw the flicker of shapes in the water beneath the boat. Sleek, now-familiar forms paced the boat, some diving and circling it, all easily avoiding the propellers driven by the steam engine.

  The water was so clear and the creatures so close to the surface that Beata finally got a very good look at them. Though their bodies ended in tentacles reminiscent of an octopus or squid, the graceful creatures didn’t have mantles, rounded or narrow-tipped. Instead, their mostly gray-blue bodies tapered inward near the front before widening into heads shaped like sea-horses, yet smoothly formed, not bumpy or spiny, and tapered to almost dainty muzzle-like mouths. Each of the sea creatures had three eyes, round and black as drops of ink.

  Deep into the cave the boat took them, their escorts playfully keeping pace. Once the light faded to a kind of twilight, the entrance of the cave a bright spot in the distance, peizo-lanterns were switched on inside the boat, the blue-white light glittering on the high ceiling of the cave like moonlight. Everyone seemed to mutually feel the need for hush, because any speech between the crew was held in whispers or murmurs, the sibilants echoing oddly.

  After narrowing down to something more like a tunnel, only few yards away from the boat on either side, the cavern opened out again into a large chamber over deep, dark water. A rocky beach curved around the far end of the chamber, with tall posts set into the stone next to a small pier, each with two large hooks holding piezo-lanterns. Lampposts stood at the end of the pier, as well, and the first crewmember off the boat took a few moments to wind them before switching them on. Beata couldn’t remember his name, but one of the crew jogged up the pier and proceeded to wind the other lanterns, gradually revealing more details as he switched them on and returned.

  Captain Nyx alighted. “You all saw the Old One earlier today and, though it may seem frightening, not one of you is in any danger. Remember that.” She gestured for them to follow her.

  The water out in the middle of the cavernous chamber began to ripple, then churn, and then large waves began lapping at the shore, rocking the boat at the end of the pier. Captain Nyx didn’t stop until she had led them to about the midpoint of the crescent of sandless beach, still far enough back from the edge that they didn’t get their feet wet. About the time she came to a stop, the enormous shape of the Old One emerged from the roiling water.

  It had seemed quite huge from the porthole of the airship, but it was unimaginably bigger in the cavern, right there before them. Beata’s jaw fell open as she looked up at it, filling the cavernous central space in moments. Three huge black eyes appeared over a tapering muzzle-like face, broader and covered in tiny marks and scars, but definitely the same as the smaller ones that had played escort for them.

  In fact, many of those same creatures circled the Old One as it moved closer to the humans on the shore, some of them so bold as to weave in and out of its tentacles as they waved in grand undulations through the water.

  Captain Nyx stepped forward and inclined her head and upper body before straightening and speaking in a clear, ringing voice, “Old One, we’ve come to deliver some more of your young to you. These five have kept them safe and healthy for three moons, and will be rewarded accordingly. Are your little ones ready to join you?”

  An echoingly deep sound rolled up from the depths, much like the gong sound that had tolled out from the airship earlier, only this was definitely organic and coming from the Old One. Beata felt an echo of it move through her, partly physical, partly in her mind, much as she’d felt just before the Old One had appeared and dragged The Lamprey out of the air. It made her think of happiness, of gratitude, and welcome. It was an affirmative, she thought, and the larvae in her arm wriggled slightly, a tickling, stretching feeling that wasn’t entirely pleasant, but wasn’t painful, either.

  “I think that’s a ‘yes’,” murmured Copper with a hint of a smile.

  Nan snorted softly behind her hand, but said nothing.

  Captain Nyx nodded, not quite letting herself smile in answer, and turned back to Beata and the others. “Come now, one at a time, to the very edge of the water.” She gestured to Azri, flickering her fingers to urge him forward. “Remember, lad, you won’t be hurt. Nan?”

  First Mate Nan pulled a familiar little pot of salve from her pocket. “Here, give me your arm,” she said, voice mellow and calming.

  Azri extended his arm, lifting his chin and breathing a little rapidly as he did so, but he did it nonetheless. Nan opened the pot and smeared the salve over the little bumps in the skin of his forearm. Th
en she put her hand under his elbow and walked with him just short of the lapping wavelets.

  “Hold out your arm all the way and hold still,” Nan said, cupping his arm just forward of the elbow.

  The Old One moved a little closer, the tip of one of its tentacles appearing just at the water’s edge and rising sinuously before Azri. Though his body shifted, almost backing away, but holding himself from actually taking a step, Azri turned his head away and closed his eyes as the tip of the tentacle approached.

  With slow, delicate movements, the dark bluish-gray tentacle’s very tip touched Azri’s forearm with a stroking motion. The bumps on his forearm bulged, the larvae inside obviously moving, wriggling, and Nan reached over to lightly break Azri’s skin with the same tool the captain had used to make the incisions the first time.

  “Crouch down,” Nan urged Azri quietly. “Hold your arm out over the water.”

  Azri did as he was told and, a moment later, the three larvae emerged from his skin, larger than they had been at first, but not by very much. Wriggling along his forearm, only a little blood trickling out with them, they plopped into the water, one by one, and immediately swam toward the Old One’s tentacle. After bumping along its surface for a few moments, they dove down until Beata couldn’t see them any longer.

  When she looked back over to Azri, Nan was already wrapping a bandage around his arm, smiling encouragingly at him as she led him away. “See? Easier than you thought, yes?”

  Looking a little dazed, but relieved, Azri nodded and followed her back toward the boat.

  Each of them took their turn and not one of them showed any sign of pain, though each of them were understandably intimidated by the enormous Old One’s presence. Between the captain, Nan, and Copper, they tag-teamed assisting each of the hosts and taking them back to the boat while the next one took their turn. Finally, it was Beata’s turn, the last one.