by Matt Larkin
He knelt beside her to bring his face level with hers. “I need you.” His voice was a whisper. “Just a little while longer, Landi. A little more, and this will be done.”
She smiled, brushing her wet hair from her face. “When you first courted me all those years ago, did you ever think we’d have this conversation?”
He shook his head. He’d never thought any of this would happen. Not the brief peace with the Lunar Empire, not falling for Chandi, and not the insatiable wrath of Kahyangan. “Landi? You knew my mother, right?”
“What? Of course I knew her, Naresh!”
Naresh wished he could say the same. There was just this hole in his mind. He burned away years of his life, but not before he’d lost some things he could never replace. “What’s her name?” His voice broke, and his throat felt dry. What kind of son had to ask such a question?
Landi took his hand and looked deep into his eyes. “What have you done to yourself?”
He shut his eyes. Getting the words out was like trying to chew crystal. “There’s a price for the power. Humans weren’t meant for this.”
“Surya, Naresh. It’s killing you, isn’t it?”
All he could do was nod.
With one hand she held his, with the other she stroked his face. “Her name was Aji Bidara.”
“And where is she? Is she safe?”
“Naresh … She’s dead. For years now.”
Somehow, he’d known that. He couldn’t remember it, but he’d known. He rose. “Get some food. I’ve called everyone for a meeting after that.”
“She’d be proud of you,” Landi said.
And that was something. Maybe it was all that mattered. Even if he couldn’t remember the details, if he’d lived his life well enough to make her proud, maybe that was enough.
Naresh left then, joining Chandi for the evening meal. She had gathered a couple bowls of Tianxian fried rice, and they sat back-to-back, in the shadow of a temple, out of the rain. They talked of everything and nothing, and if Naresh tried to remember what had been said, most of it was a blur. But all of his worries melted away like dirt washed clean in the rain. It was probably the most restful meal he’d had in a long, long time.
“I could make it like this,” she said.
“I look forward to it.”
“Will we go back to the house in Daha? When it’s done?”
Naresh smiled. “I was thinking maybe we would travel. Visit Mait, even Tianxia. I suspect Tua Pek Kong could arrange fine accommodations for us.”
She leaned against his back. “When will it be done?”
“Soon.” It had to be. The world could not take much more of this.
Well before he was ready, he saw the others gathering in the temple. He sent Chandi on, as well, and went to invite Tua Pek Kong himself. The Tianxian had as much a part to play here as any of them. This was no longer a fight just for the Skyfall Isles. If Rangda took the Astral Temple, she could threaten all life on Earth.
Inside the temple someone had lit a brazier, and everyone huddled around it. Landi lounged in Ben’s arms, while Dewi Kadita sat across the fire, clearly trying not to stare at them. Pohaci lay on her side close to the brazier, watching everything without moving, Chandi sitting beside her, her legs folded beneath her. Naresh sat beside his wife, and Tua Pek Kong took up a seat across the brazier.
“We all know why we’re here,” Naresh said after a moment. “The Witch-Queen has fallen. But her mistress Rangda remains. From what we can tell, Rahu is in league with her, or at least pursuing a common agenda for the moment. We must find a way to stop them, at any cost. We know they want this place, and we know it can do terrible things. We don’t know how or why it can do them, or even really where it came from.”
“I thought it was built by the gods,” Pohaci said.
“I’m not so sure,” Chandi said. “Semar seemed to know something. He admitted to having been to whatever land Rahu came from, and seemed to be saying Rahu’s people built, or at least understood, this place.”
Naresh frowned. “It always comes back to Rahu. He came to these Isles and started us down this path. Why?”
“He was fleeing Kala, I think,” Chandi said. “And this place was some kind of gateway to their land.”
Yes. That was the thing. “A gateway allows passage in both directions,” he said. “If we want to know the truth, the answers are through the gateway.”
“Truth is not enough, in-and-of itself,” Dewi Kadita said. Or more likely Loro Kidul, given the deep timbre of her voice. “Even were you to learn the origins of this place, it may not help us. This Temple is more ancient than your empires, without doubt. The Glyphs below us speak of the Nine Spheres of Creation—the forces of Kahyangan. Each spirit in my world is an elemental of one of these forces, and this place harnesses that power. It rips the fabric of the universe apart, changing the fundamental laws of creation.”
“That sounds bad,” Ben said. “I vote for not changing the fabric of the universe.”
“Do you know where the gateway goes?” Naresh asked Dewi.
“No. Somewhere beyond the bounds of my domain.”
That must mean beyond the entire South Sea. Beyond even far Tianxia, probably.
“It must have to do with that astrolabe and orrery at the bottom of the temple,” Chandi said. “Right? I mean we have an idea what everything else here does.”
“You’re not seriously thinking of doing this?” Pohaci said. “You want to go through a gateway to some unknown land, Chandra-knows-where, where you think Rahu may have come from?”
Chandi shrugged. “It may be the only way to stop him. Naresh is right. We have to understand what’s going on if we’re to have any chance of standing against him. Or Rangda. Whatever country they were from, he must have had a plan coming here. And more, if his people, his ancestors built this place, they must have known how to use it. Rahu knew so much about it—maybe his people can tell us how to use it against Rangda.”
Naresh took a deep breath. “Then I will go. We still need to defend this place, so the rest of you need to hold it.”
Chandi laughed. “How did I know you were going to say that?” Then she slapped his arm. Hard. “Don’t even dream of leaving me behind this time, husband.”
“Ah, Naresh, I think you’d best listen to the woman,” Ben said.
Landi sat up from his arms, then. “Go, Naresh. We’ll hold this place until you return.”
Naresh stood, pulling Chandi up with him. “So be it. Get some sleep. In the morning, Chandi and I will try to activate this gateway.”
Surya help them.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR
The orrery Chandi had spoken of was in the lowest level of the Astral Temple, beyond the large crystal at the complex’s heart. Naresh opened the metal door leading into the room, but found himself standing and gaping like a boy seeing his first Arun Guard. The chamber was a large dome, with a ceiling forty feet high. The orrery itself took up most of the dome, sunk into a water-filled basin in the floor, with a three-foot wide walkway surrounding the basin.
“Are you sure about this?” Landi asked.
Naresh looked to Chandi, and she nodded. He turned back to Landi and patted her on the shoulder. “Take care of things here.” He slid the metal door closed behind them, then embraced his wife. “What now?”
She pointed up at an enormous astrolabe in the center of the orrery. The entire solar system seemed to orbit that device, which had a small platform in front of it. It also had a number of gears and dials on it, though Naresh could make very little of them.
Now that they were closed in the room, Naresh could see the orrery spun, albeit very slowly. Massive metal arms stretched out, attaching to planets and moons, all rotating about each other. The waters below churned, too, like something was pumping them, far below.
“How deep do you think it is?” Chandi said, following his gaze.
“Hard to say. Deep. Maybe the movement of the water powers the de
vice.” He placed an arm around her waist and Sun Strode them onto the platform. Up close, it was clear many of the gears could be adjusted. Naresh shook his head. “So where’s the gateway?”
Chandi bit her lip and ran her fingers over a lever. It was etched with a spiral that folded back on itself, creating an endless loop. She shrugged. Then she pulled the lever.
The entire orrery jolted, and the arms began to accelerate, moving in reverse from the direction it had been before. “Was that a good idea?” Naresh asked.
“My ideas are always good. Sometimes.”
Naresh drew Chandi closer to him. The orrery arms were spinning faster and faster, and they stood in the center of this thing. The waters had become like a maelstrom beneath them. Chandi folded her arms around his back. She was shaking, so he squeezed her. Maybe this had been a mistake—but at least they faced it together.
The orrery spun so fast the arms were a blur. The waters began to rise up along the sides of the dome, creating a hollow sphere of liquid surrounding them. And it was closing in.
“Naresh!”
He squeezed her tighter. There was nowhere for him to Stride to. Whatever was happening, they had to ride it out. Sparks began to rise from the device, then leap along the arms. Lightning struck the water, and the entire room was suddenly engulfed in crackling energy.
The thrum of the machine filled his ears. He couldn’t hear his wife’s voice anymore, so he pulled her away, just enough to look into her face. She set her jaw and nodded.
A wave of air exploded down from the top of the dome and Chandi’s form broke apart. A heartbeat later he realized his own had begun to disintegrate, as well. Everything turned to dust and scattered, and yet he saw, still, even as it reformed around him.
Then the wall of the water collapsed, and the machine began to slow down, eventually returning to its slow steady advancement.
Naresh ran his fingers over his wife’s face. She was whole again. “Don’t touch anything else,” he said, then grabbed her and Strode back to the doorway.
“Do you think it sent us to Rahu’s homeland?”
The room rumbled, vibrating is if in an earthquake. “It did something.”
He opened the door, but the room beyond had changed. Landi and the others were gone, replaced by a half dozen bodies of men and women he’d never seen, wearing strange clothes. They all wore trousers, made at least in part from leather, and button shirts. Many had long overcoats, as well, and the men had twisted cloths wrapping their heads. The people had somewhat fairer skin than Skyfall natives, although still wheat-colored.
The crystal in the center of the room was glowing, and the pillars were missing. An explosion from somewhere above rocked the room so deeply Naresh could feel it through the ground.
“We’re still in the Astral Temple,” he said, hurrying for the ladder up. They had to be … Or perhaps this was a near replica of it.
A hatch now covered the top of ladder, so he pushed it open. It led into the open air, rather than the second level as he had expected.
“No pillars …” Chandi said, looking around at the underground.
Naresh had other questions as he climbed out into the open. Clouds drifted by, almost level with his face. He stood in the midst of a city made of iron, their island connected to the others by a bridge at least a hundred feet long and twenty feet wide. That bridge was covered with bodies, some moaning in pain, others clearly alive, fighting one another.
And looking down off the bridge, he saw clouds. Through the clouds, far, far below, he saw a hint of blue ocean.
He couldn’t swallow. Never could he have imagined such a place in his dreams—or his nightmares. Giant pointed domes topped many of the city’s buildings, though the entire skyline was wreathed in smoke. Columns of it rose from countless points throughout the city.
At the far end of the bridge, a metal creature that resembled a bear made of interlocking gears was ripping men to pieces. One of the men pointed a club at another man and the club released an explosion like a Fire-Lance. The victim jerked and fell from the bridge, spurting blood as he tumbled down through the clouds.
Watching the poor man, Naresh saw a ship sailing through the air beneath the city. It looked like a giant balloon somehow carried the base of the ship. And it was sailing. In the sky.
Chandi’s hand slipped into his. She said nothing. He tried to speak, but no words came.
Explosions rocked the city.
PART FOUR
The Unknown
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE
Chandi grabbed Naresh’s arm and pulled him aside as one of the soldiers lunged for them, then kicked the man in the face. The attacker crumpled onto the bridge. “We have to get out of here!”
Naresh jerked out of his stupor and nodded, wrapping his arm around her. The world shifted, then, and she stood at the end of the bridge—only to be faced with more bridges. The entire city seemed composed of bridge-like roads, and now they stood in a four-way intersection. Beneath the metal, great slabs of rock supported the city.
Sweet Chandra, it was like a whole flying island! As she peered down into the clouds below, her knees wobbled in a wave of dizziness.
The left bridge led to what almost looked like a harbor, except it was filled with those flying ships. Down to the right, an army of those mechanical soldiers advanced on their location. And straight ahead, another army stood, or rather fell back under an assault. Chandi could never forget the sun-colored hair of the man making that assault.
Kala.
How was he here? Had he returned to this country? Was it his homeland, too? She squeezed Naresh’s hand, pointing, unable to make her voice work. What nightmare had they stumbled into?
“I see him,” Naresh said, his jaw set. His other hand had clenched into a fist.
Kala moved down the bridge at a steady pace, not quite running. A pair of soldiers tried to interpose themselves between him and whatever he was after. With a hand on both their chests, he shoved them, sending both flying so far they tumbled off opposite sides of the bridge.
“The bastard brought this ruin here, too,” Naresh said. “He took Revati … It’s time he answers for it.”
“Wait, Naresh!”
He tried to pull his hand free, but she clapped onto it with both of hers. No way was he getting away from her.
A mechanical soldier advanced on Kala. He ducked its blow and came back swinging with an uppercut that actually crunched its metal skull. Even from fifty feet away Chandi heard that clang. Kala ripped a bladed arm off another metal soldier and used it to impale the creature.
Dozens of soldiers, living and metal, rushed him, but they barely seemed to slow him down. He advanced on what had to be a palace in the distance, beyond the soldiers. The building was iron like the rest of the city, but painted in brilliant red, and topped with domes fifty feet in diameter, at least.
And atop one of the balconies, a man stood, his long hair blowing in the wind, shouting orders at his soldiers.
Her husband pulled his hand free and Strode behind Kala.
“Naresh!” Chandi drew her Potency and ran for them.
The air seemed to ripple around Kala, like a bubble underwater, seeking escape to the surface. A tremble in the bridge they stood on rapidly turned into a full quake. Kala clutched his head with one hand, holding up the other and shouting something unintelligible at Naresh. He tried to back away from her husband, but Naresh rushed in swinging.
Kala was still shouting, but not in the Skyfall tongue. He ducked Naresh’s blows and sidestepped, impossibly so, given how fast Naresh moved. It was like Kala knew every move Naresh would make, and twisted just enough to avoid each. The trembling increased, as did the distortions in the air. Naresh fell back a step, swaying and looking like he would retch. Then he Strode behind Kala even as Chandi reached the pair.
Before Naresh had even vanished Kala had started jerking his elbow back. It connected with the exact spot Naresh appeared. Her husband shot th
rough the advancing soldiers like he’d been kicked by a Warak Ngendog.
And then the air—the world itself—seemed to rupture. A hole of … nothingness … opened just off the bridge, crackling with lightning and sucking in the metal like it was made of sand. It pulled at her like a maelstrom, drawing her closer, even as everything around her seemed to slow down. Or rather, things in the distance seemed to be moving at super speed, like Naresh when he used his new powers.
Chandi drew her Blessings harder, but the force kept pulling her in. Kala grabbed her arm and yanked her away while kicking a soldier into the vortex. The man fell in slow motion, growing smaller and smaller until he just ceased.
Kala spun her around to face him, then his emerald eyes glazed over for a moment. As soon as they returned to normal he gasped, releasing her and clutching his head. “Who are you?” he said in the Skyfall tongue.
“Forgotten me already, Kala?” What in Rangda’s underworld was even going on here? She glanced back at the distortion, which had begun to shrink.
Kala stared at her for a moment, mouthing something, then turned to meet the advance of more soldiers. He killed almost without thought, it seemed. Men attacked him and they died. Machines crumbled before him. Anything that stood in his way fell as though he were emong, the wave of tides. What was this man? Or was Kala a god? Maybe this place was some fearful underworld of Kahyangan.
Chandi ran from him, seeking out Naresh. Her husband was rising, clutching his chest. A soldier tried to attack him, and Naresh disarmed and tripped the man. He turned toward her, but stumbled as he walked forward. The man he’d felled jerked his head wrap free, then pulled out a long, thick pin that had bound his hair.
“Naresh!” Chandi shouted.
Too late. The soldier slammed the pin inches into Naresh’s side. Blood trickled from her husband’s mouth as he collapsed to the bridge.
