by Mur Lafferty
Before they were on their way, they met in the captain’s quarters to discuss their plans.
“They’ve got her in the Dark now,” Barris said, peering at a pretty, closed wooden box stained blue. “But they haven’t landed yet.”
“Did you even check to see what kind of idea that was before you bought it?” Kate asked.
“No. But it’s so pretty.”
Daniel stared at him for a moment. “Well. At least you can find people. And it’s good the Messenger is still in the air, right? We can catch up?”
Alicia shrugged. “This is a family ship. Not a lot of power or speed.”
Fabrique rummaged around in her bag. “No, no, won’t need that for another couple of days; oh, THAT would come in handy, but not now—ahhhh.” She thumped a small device on the desk. Alicia put her face up close to it to see the tiny brass workmanship.
She gasped. “The detail is incredible. It’s like an accelerator, only one fifth the size of a weak one. How strong is it?”
Fabrique shrugged. “Not sure if you can measure it. I had a finite space in which to work for many years. I had to perfect the small machines. Hook that to your propeller engine and make sure everyone is strapped in. We’ll get there in no time.”
“Can you do this with a skeleton crew, Alicia?” Kate asked.
“Well, I don’t really have much of a skeleton crew anymore, do I?” she replied. “Sarah and Fabrique both know the ship. I have Barris, such as he is, as navigation, Daniel to give cloaking, and you, well, you’re the admiral.” She grinned at Kate, who felt her cheeks grow hot.
“We’re at your service, Alicia. You don’t know what it means to have you help us out,” Daniel said.
“Well, so far two of my five kids have their futures set,” Alicia said. "I think I'm making out just fine."
After his meeting with Fabrique, James had shown considerable interest in tinkering, and the goddess said he could study in the House of Mysteries when he came of age. And Alicia nearly wept when Kate had told her about the deal with Professor Burns.
“Oh, we’ll take care of the other three, just give us time,” Kate said. “Is there anything else, or should we set about hooking that little device up?”
******
The terrain changed as they headed north, from rocky tundra to sandy tundra to just sand. But this wasn’t the sand Kate remembered from the Wasteland; this sand was black and the world around them seemed less like a blank slate and more like a slate that had been rolled in grit and painted black. Not really the pristine canvas she was familiar with. A fetid mist began to obscure the ground from their sight, and Kate wrinkled her nose.
As promised, they reached the ship they were pursuing in very little time, with all of the kids but Sarah strapped into their bunks and everyone at their stations. Barris - and the five ideas he’d insisted on bringing with him - stood at the helm with Alicia. Kate stood behind them both, waiting to be needed. Daniel had positioned himself at the stern to get a clear look at the entire battle. Sarah was at the gauges looking for fluctuations, and Fabrique had gone below decks to acquaint herself with the engine.
Still, it was an unpleasant surprise when they were attacked unexpectedly from above.
The airship - thin, fast and lethal - came at them from an angle high above them, and Daniel screamed out a warning. Kate managed to throw up a shield before the ship’s bow - a sharpened rod of metal— tore through the zeppelin’s balloon. The ship - the Fera, from the name they could see as it passed too closely - bounced off and dove under them.
“Goddammit, Barris, I thought you were supposed to see them coming!” Kate yelled, picking herself off the deck.
“I told you I can’t see everything, especially when it’s affected by the Dark!” he cried petulantly. He pulled the cover off his blue idea box and held the open box to his ear. He smiled.
“What did it say?” Kate asked.
“It gave excellent investment advice if I want to open a business in Meridian,” he said.
Kate actually felt like hitting him, but Daniel had approached her and pulled her back. “Kate, did you see the crew of that ship?”
“No, I was too busy shielding us,” she replied tersely.
“They had some crazy tattoos. Like most of their skin. Black, heavy black ink.”
“So, they’re pirates, they’re supposed to be scary.”
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure I saw these tattoos move.”
“Oh, that’s the Dark influence,” Barris said, “That’s what makes them stronger than anyone else.”
Kate felt her insides grow very cold. She looked at Daniel. He was pale.
“It’s that thing, isn’t it?” he whispered.
“It’s wrapped itself around the other Earth, and it’s trying to get at this one through the Wasteland.”
“So…”
“So what do you think is at the other end of this Wasteland? I think it’s a connection between the two. And the pirates-”
“‘Ware starboard!” Alicia cried, and Kate swore when she saw the ship barreling down on them.
The Fera had circled back around and came at them again, perpendicular to them, dead on target to impale their balloon.
Kate plunged her hand into her pocket and pulled out her idea, tightly closed in a gray box made of paper. She opened it and heard the soft voice of Professor Burns whispering to her. “Have faith in yourself, have faith in your crew, and use all tools at hand.”
She swore and threw the box overboard. “I paid a blessing for THAT? It’s a fortune cookie without the cookie!” She focused on Sarah. “Release pressure on the balloon! Fast!”
The girl didn’t question her, but twisted a knob hard to the left, and the escaping gas whooshed and the ship dropped faster than it should have, letting the Fera pass over them.
Sarah tightened the knob again, her eyes wide. “How did we do that?” she asked.
“I have a couple of tricks still left,” kate said grimly. “How long till we can fill the bag again?”
“Two minutes.”
“You know, I don’t think the Gamma is on that ship,” Barris said thoughtfully.
Kate nodded. Alicia screamed then, and Kate whirled her head around to look behind them.
A second airship, the Ferus, moved with an inevitability that terrified her. Gargantuan, with two full balloons, it gave the impression of taking a damn long time to get up to speed, but when it did, all of the gods help whatever was in its way. But what if what was in the way was all the gods?
“Oh!” Barris said. “There she is!”
Alicia screamed for Fabrique to finish filling the balloon because she needed altitude.
“I think I can avoid this one, don’t worry,” called Daniel from the stern.
“It’s not the ship I’m worried about. Look beyond it,” Alicia said, sweat beading her brow.
Kate squinted at the swirling mass that pursued both airships. “What is that?”
“An improbability storm. Once you can see it, you’re in it, even if it looks far away. It’s unpredictable.”
The Ferus was gaining on them, and Daniel swore as the Fera angled for another attack. He dashed below deck and came back with the chicken gun. The pirates aboard jeered and screamed at them, and Daniel staggered back as the gun went off.
His aim was true, with the high velocity chicken parts ripping into the Fera’s balloon. The ship faltered and the pirates screamed at them as they lost altitude.
“That was the last of the chicken,” Sarah said, as Daniel looked at her for more ammo. He swore. Kate wanted to laugh - why hadn’t they stocked up on chicken parts?
The Sheridan turned faster than the Ferus and Kate shuddered as it passed over them.
Barris uncapped another box and listened. “Skim the ground, they’re weaker there!”
Alicia looked to Kate for confirmation and she shrugged. He was a sun god, if a feeble one. “Do it.”
They broke the cloud cover and dove
straight into the improbability storm.
******
Unlike in Meridian, people could build directly on the sand here, and they had. Black bunkers rose from the ground like malevolent mushrooms, and they were decorated with spikes, weapons, and skeletons. Gun turrets swiveled to follow them, and Kate swore again and closed her eyes, willing the zeppelin to teleport higher. It didn’t budge. She pounded on the deck.
“Fabrique, we need speed again!”
“It’s malfunctioning!” came the muffled reply.
“Improbability,” muttered Alicia.
“So we’re on our own. Just our normal boring selves,” said Daniel.
“If you’re so dim to think you haven’t changed in the past months, then get out of my way and let me do my job,” Kate snarled at him, and he actually took a step back. It killed her to say it, but she knew he’d either step up or crumble. She didn’t have time for him to dither.
He grinned, then, and said, “Man. I love you.”
She kissed him, quick and powerful, and said, “Go see what you can do. Anything you can summon is useful. Power is volatile here. I’m hoping that we haven't lost everything.”
He nodded and ran to the back of the ship again. Kate rounded on Barris as the first shot - a blue laser beam that sheared off a corner of the deck railing - came from below as Alicia forced the zeppelin to climb. They had almost reached the cloud cover.
“What the hell was that idea? Was that in the “help the enemy” idea case?” Kate yelled.
“It was on sale in a basket on the floor!” Barris cried. “Two for one!”
Kate smacked herself on the forehead to avoid strangling him. She’d seen that basket. “You absolute fool! Didn’t you see that was the Bad Idea Basket? Why do you think they were on sale?”
“Why would he sell bad ideas?”
“I don’t know, maybe they’re jokes, or…” Kate stumbled as the Sheridan lurched in its upward climb right under the cloud cover.
“Lady, the big one is above us,” Alicia said, and Kate was impressed with her level voice. “It’s latched onto the balloon.”
“Has it cut it?”
“No, I believe they want to board.”
“Right.” Kate nodded. She grabbed another blue lacquer box from Barris. “Daniel. Can you shape-change at all? Anything that can fly. Anything.”
Daniel concentrated and became a pterodactyl chick. She handed the box to him and told him what to do with it. He left with a flapping of wings.
“Now, Alicia, do you have weapons aboard?”
She shook her head. “Just the chicken gun for the whales. We had bigger, tougher ships for trips like this. This is a leisure ship.”
“When we’re done, we have got to rebuild your fleet,” Kate said absently.
She reached behind her back and willed her sword into being - the YIN sword, the volatile, untrustworthy sword. If there was a time for it not to come, now would be it, but her hand closed around a hilt, and she drew it. But gods, it was heavy. It was supposed to be a tai chi sword, light and perfect for a woman’s hand. It felt like a longsword. Or a claymore. When she brought it over her head, the blade clunked to the deck and Kate found it impossible to lift.
“Lady, they’ll be here soon,” Alicia said, still struggling with the controls.
“I can’t lift my sword, it, oh my god…” Kate dropped the hilt and backed up as the sword began to change even as Daniel returned, landing lightly on the deck.
“Package delivered. Who’s that?” he asked.
“It’s Gamma, can we go now?” asked Barris.
At that moment, The Sheridan shot forward, and Alicia cried, “We’re free!”
“Outrun them, get into the clouds and haul ass,” Kate said.
At that moment, they heard a groan, and Fabrique came up from the trapdoor on the deck. She carried a shoulder-mounted weapon and was scowling.
“I couldn’t make the ship move, but I could damn well build a weapon.” She focused on the pursuing ship, The Ferus. There was a sound much lower than Kate expected to hear, a low FOOM, and the Ferus’s left balloon disintegrated. The ship listed to the right and began to sink.
“Where to?” Alicia asked.
“Climb and keep going north,” Kate said.
******
Gamma, the Warrior Messenger to the Gods, looked very familiar to Daniel. Dark brown skin, high cheekbones, wiry build. She opened her eyes and smiled at them.
“My Lord, I knew I’d see you again. I have a message for you.”
“Oh! You’re THE Gamma! The first woman!” he said. “You got made a god? Uh, congratulations.”
She laughed. “I learned my skills heading through the battlefield to get to heaven,” she said. “Once I got through and let them know you were here, I had enough skill to be a goddess. They gave me one message to give you and then sent me back, but the Dark locked us all away. After you freed Barris, you broke the lock on the entire building, and the Dark got its pirates to manipulate the priest of Ishmael to kidnap me.”
“And how did you get in Kate’s sword?” he asked.
“I’m connected to all weapons. Kate’s is special, though, and here in the Wasteland, my connection was very strong. The pirates were distracted by the idea you dropped off, and I took my chance.” She paused. “The captain was dumber than my fifth husband to fall for whatever that box told him.”
“Improbable,” Fabrique said, and grinned.
Daniel sat back on his heels, adrenaline making his limbs feel sour. They had made it.
“Daniel,” Kate said.
He got up and joined her at the bow.
“Look. Can you see it?”
He squinted. The Wasteland had gotten darker as they’d gotten further in, and ahead they could see a writhing mass obscenely covering a globe. “The Earth. You were right. Fuck, Kate.”
“Turn around,” Kate told Alicia. “Take us back to Meridian.”
“What about the storm?” she asked.
“I don’t think it’s there anymore. It nearly got us, if not for Barris’s bad idea. I don’t think it was a natural storm.”
Alicia snorted. “Improbability never is.”
Gamma joined them, stretching her limbs. “Don’t you want to know what your message is?”
“Oh, shit, I forgot,” Daniel said. “Yes, please.”
“Just one word. ‘Help.’”
Daniel and Kate exchanged glances. She sought his hand, and he squeezed it.
“We’re going to need those other gods,” said Daniel.
She nodded. “We’re going to need more than that, Daniel. We’re going to war.”
WAR
By Mur Lafferty
***
The Afterlife Series V
War, The Afterlife Series V
Version 1.2
Published by Restless Brain Media on Smashwords
Copyright © 2011 Mur Lafferty
Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
This is a work of fiction. Resemblances to persons living or dead is coincidental.
To Fiona- The best mad scientist I know.
CONTENTS
WAR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SNEAK PEEK AT STONES
THE AFTERLIFE SERIES VI
CHAPTER ONE
Barris lay on the temple’s roof, watching the sun go down with half-lidded eyes. His shirtless, bony chest rose and fell slowly as he contemplated the center of the sun. Such light would burn out a mortal’s eyes, but Barris didn’t fear the sun; it was the pure manifestation of his energy.
He turned his head and held a small ornate box to his ear. Thin fingers pried the lid off and he sucked in breath as pleasure overtook him. A small voice whispered in his ear. Overtaking the rudimentary government of Lathe would be a simple coup. What a fantastic idea. Lathe was the city of the mad, the city of the cast-offs, the city that lay literally under the floating city of Meridian. When you failed in Meridian, you ended up in Lathe. The scientis
ts, the mad, and the ambitious — they still created in the shantytown.
The idea wasn’t one of his favorites that he’d experienced, but it was a good one. He loved good ideas.
“You are pathetic,” came a voice from behind him.
He grimaced. The voice belonged to Gamma. They’d both been imprisoned for thousands of years with his floor between them. He had discovered in the past few weeks that he preferred greatly the primitive communications of knocking on the floor to actually speaking with her.
“The battle with the pirates took a lot out of me,” he said, hating the peevish sound of his own voice.
Her footsteps came closer until her leather boots ended up by his head. He kept staring at the sun.
“You didn’t do anything during the battle but give Kate a bad idea, Barris. You —”
“I kept the sun in the sky! Imagine what would happen if I failed to do that for even one minute!” he said. He shifted his focus to her, the warrior messenger. She towered over him, strong and dark and imposing next to his pale, weak body. Revulsion for himself replaced his dislike of her and he sat up with difficulty, sighing. “What do you want, anyway?”
“Kate wants to see us in the morning. There are plans to make about rescuing the other gods.”
He rubbed his hands over his face and through his limp blond hair. “Then I’ll see you in the morning. Leave me alone for now.”
She blew air out her nose and pursed her lips. “As you wish, sun god.” It sounded like an insult coming from her. She disappeared then, traveling, he assumed, by being attuned to weapons around the city and manifesting through them.
The gods had many ways to travel by magic. Barris had no powers. He walked and ate and shat. He may as well have been a human. Nearly all his energy was spent keeping the sun in the sky.
