Under the Burning Clouds

by Steve Turnbull

  “But they also trade in slaves here on Earth. I have an adopted daughter who was born of one of their slaves, a black African girl called Riette. She was raped and murdered after being separated from her beloved—” she looked at the two of them, black and white, and married, “—a Boer farmer.”

  Maliha paused. Their stern looks had not changed. “The reason I am here is that I am in pursuit of the man who runs this fleet and, on behalf of Riette and her daughter, and all the other lives he has destroyed, I am going to exact the vengeance that is their right.”

  Sellie turned to her husband and kissed him on the cheek. “Put it away, Joe, you’re scaring the children.” Without another word he drifted off into the rear of the machine.

  viii

  Sellie sat down beside Maliha.

  “The problem with the traditional means of producing gravity nullification is that there is a limit to how fine we can make the copper wires and how closely we can pack them together.

  “It is not that we do not know how to achieve greater efficiency, it is simply that we lack the ability.”

  Maliha nodded—she understood the theory even if she did not have the practical engineering skills of the great Khuwelsa Edgbaston, the first woman to graduate from an English university with a Science degree.

  “However, it turns out there is a naturally occurring crystal that is able, on the atomic scale, to nullify gravity when a current is passed through it. You are familiar with Bohr’s model of the atom?” Maliha nodded. “That is a much finer grain than we can achieve hence the stronger the effect. Harry and I managed to retrieve a quantity of it from that last adventure. I stripped down the Pegasus and rebuilt it with what we had.”

  Maliha nodded. “Where is it mined? How has it remained such a secret?”

  Sellie shook her head. “It is not mined. It is discovered. My understanding is that it is not naturally occurring on Earth but occasionally falls in meteorites. The people you are pursuing, however, do seem to have a limitless supply.”

  “But surely it would burn up or be shattered if it were to fall...? Oh.”

  Sellie smiled. “You are an exceptionally bright woman, Miss Anderson,” she said. “Harry and I wrestled for weeks over the answer to that question.”

  “It is energised by its rapid passage through the Earth’s magnetic field and lands gently,” said Maliha.

  “Well, not exactly gently, judging by some the craters I’ve seen, but they do not consume themselves in a fireball.” She glanced back at the rear of the ship for a moment. “I do apologise for my husband. I love him dearly but, while he has certainly relaxed in his attitudes, he can’t quite lose that Germanic sternness he was born with.”

  “I’m not offended,” said Maliha. There were things one said as small talk among women, she knew, but it was not a skill she practised. “You and Johannes have three children?”

  “That’s right,” Sellie said with a smile. Maliha was pleased she had asked the right question. “Two girls, Mary and Esther, and a boy, Johannes.”

  “Are they in Mombasa?”

  “Yes, with their grandfather.”

  “He’s retired?”

  “He no longer works.” Her answer was abrupt and Maliha decided that might not be a good line to pursue.

  “Can I ask where your sister is? I must admit I was very surprised to find that you are the pilot. It quite upset my preconceptions.”

  Sellie looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Oh, Harry’s off somewhere doing something adventurous.” Then she grinned. “She’ll be back, no doubt, when she’s done with that project.”

  “Is—” Maliha was not entirely sure whether this was an appropriate question; it wasn’t clear whether the camaraderie that had existed between the sisters in the stories still existed.

  “What?”

  “Is your sister married?”

  Inexplicably, Sellie glanced into the back again. Was there some love lost over her marrying Johannes instead of Harriet? Maliha heard Johannes coming through from the back. Sellie turned back to Maliha and smiled again. “Oh yes, Harry’s married.”

  Johannes coughed suddenly.

  “I’d better check up-top,” said Sellie. “Wouldn’t do to head off course.”

  Maliha sat back in the chair. There was something very odd here, but she had no idea what it was. It was not that she did not trust Miss Edgbaston—she could not imagine her with a different surname—it was just something behind the scenes. And when she spoke about Harry there was no malice or ill will, just that underlying strangeness.

  She sighed. It was very difficult to suppress her natural desire to know everything. She glanced out of the porthole; the sky was darkening. That couldn’t be right, she thought, and looked at her watch. No, they had only been in the air for a couple of hours.

  Sellie had said they were making three hundred and fifty miles per hour, so they would already be passing Madagascar. Then she realised: they were travelling so fast into the East the day was being compressed.

  “How are you two?” she asked, turning to Izak and Lilith. She was greeted by a pair of scowls. She sighed. This was difficult. She knew only too well that trips of this nature could be very boring even when you had an entire Sky-Liner to wander about on, but being forced to sit in a chair without a view outside for hours would be intolerable.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

  She unclasped the belt that held her to the seat and stood, keeping a firm hold of the back of the chair. She glanced fore and aft and decided she would try to engage Johannes. She had been quite taken with him in the books—always so thoughtful and kind to both sisters. Was he really so different in real life?

  With the changes to the equipment, the space in the engine room was much larger than she had expected. As she entered, the temperature increased noticeably.

  Johannes was sitting near the back, smoking a pipe. He rose to his feet with the natural care of someone used to this fraction of normal gravity; he did not go flying up to the ceiling. Maliha, on the other hand, had to keep a firm grip on the door frame. The sensation of falling was disconcerting—it reminded her of being thrown from Timmons’ ship.

  “I wondered whether you might have something that could keep the children occupied?” she said without preamble. “They are very bored.”

  “I understand, Miss Anderson. Children are a delight and a trial also. Our five are always getting into trouble if we don’t keep them busy.” He looked around. “I may have some paper and pencils—do they draw?”

  “I have no idea,” she said. “They have only recently come under my responsibility. I seem to collect waifs and strays.”

  “You are engaged?” he said looking at the ring on the third finger of her left hand.

  “Yes, to Valentine Crier.”

  “And he is not with you?”

  “He has gone on ahead.”

  “Ahead?”

  “To Venus.”

  He paused and looked at her, as if trying to understand her. “I see.” He rummaged in a box underneath a worktop; the area was completely clear and all the tools properly stowed. She admired neatness.

  “Five children must be a handful,” Maliha said carefully, in case she had misheard.

  “The boys are the worst,” he said absently as he removed a rug from the box and set it to one side. “But only by a fraction.”

  Maliha’s heart stopped. Boys. It was none of her business. She felt breathless, but it was not as if it changed anything. These were just people she had met who were helping her. It’s none of my business.

  Yet she was desperate to know how such a thing could possibly work. Still, it did satisfy one thing in her mind: she had never imagined how the sisters could possibly be separated. Or how Harry could not have married Johannes.

  But it was none of her business.

  “Here we are,” Johannes said and pulled out a sheaf of paper. He held it up with a grin. Maliha smiled and took it. “One moment,” he added and
located two pencils, which he passed across.

  Feeling as if she had been knocked to the ground, she returned to the main cabin and gave the paper and pencils to Izak and Lilith. Lilith had no idea what to do with them. Izak understood about writing and drawing, but it was not something he had ever done. Maliha spent the next hour showing them how to draw, using a simplified version of what she had been taught in school and getting them to copy her.

  By five o’clock they were in complete night.

  “It’s best to sleep when you can,” said Sellie. “These fast, long-distance trips can be very upsetting if you try to keep to your normal schedules.”

  “What about you and Johannes?” asked Maliha.

  Sellie shrugged. “We’ll be flying back directly so there’s no point in us adjusting to the new time.”

  Maliha had the children lie along the chairs and she settled down to do the same. It would only be a few hours.

  Chapter 3

  i

  It was her sudden increase in weight that brought Maliha awake. She was stiff from lying on the chairs and it took her a moment to remember where she was.

  The hatch had been thrown open and warm, moist air flowed in to replace the used and smelly atmosphere they were in. She knew she was filthy again.

  “It’s three in the morning,” said Sellie. “We’re on the outskirts of Colombo—I guessed that might fit your plans better.”

  Maliha sat up and rubbed her eyes. She felt muzzy and was not thinking straight. The children had not woken.

  “What’s the time back in Africa?”

  “We have shifted about six hours,” said Sellie, “so it’s early evening as far as your body is concerned, but it’s confused.”

  “We were promised a change of clothes,” Maliha muttered with more annoyance than she intended.

  “Can’t help you there,” said Sellie. “Have you got any money?”

  Maliha shook her head. “I was expecting to sort it out in Mombasa.”

  “Joe, give the girl some money, enough for a hotel and a change of clothes for her and the children.”

  “Are you sure, Khuwelsa?”

  Maliha smiled to herself; she had always noticed in the books how he used their full names.

  “Quite sure,” said Sellie without any rancour. “Miss Anderson is not the enemy.”

  Maliha suddenly became serious. “I need to tell you some things. You probably won’t believe them, but you must because your lives may be forfeit if you do not.”

  “Is that a threat, Miss Anderson?” said Johannes.

  “Oh hush, Joe. What is it you need to tell us?”

  Maliha ran through what she knew of the Venusian fungus. Sellie questioned her on a couple of points but did not scoff, though Maliha could feel the animosity from her husband. From their husband. Unless they had others. That was also possible.

  They woke the children and gave them some water to refresh them. Izak was compos mentis, but Lilith was simply grumpy and hung on to Maliha’s skirt with a face like thunder.

  They went outside. The Pegasus had landed behind a copse with the sea on one side and the lights of the city along the coast about a mile away.

  Sellie embraced her warmly.

  Maliha could not stand it any longer. “How does it work?”

  “The gravity-nullifying mineral?”

  “You, Harriet and Johannes.”

  “Oh,” said Sellie. Johannes made some sort of strangled noise. “What gave us away? Joe doesn’t like people knowing.”

  “You need to keep your stories straight about the number of children you have.”

  “That again,” said Sellie. “I have three children, Joe has five. I suppose I’ll have to say five—he’s never going to remember.”

  “Does your father know? And what about the children?”

  “It’s always been this way for the children, they don’t know it’s unusual,” she sighed. “And Dad, well, he hasn’t really known anything for a long time.”

  Maliha went numb. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” said Sellie. “He’s happy enough, though he has no idea who he is or who we are from one day to the next. The doctors say that, while it’s unusual for someone of his age, it’s not unheard of. It’s hardest for Harry really.”

  “And her mother?”

  “Not supportive.”

  It sounded as though she wanted to say a great deal more, but propriety and the presence of Johannes prevented it.

  There was a long silence. Then Sellie sighed and said, “You asked how it works? You were referring to the sleeping arrangements, I take it?” She glanced back at Johannes, who appeared to be in the centre of his own storm.

  Maliha nodded and felt embarrassed. They probably thought it was prurient curiosity, but for her it was just about knowledge and nothing more.

  “It’s not that strange, really. Harry and I always slept in the same room, sometimes the same bed, and we still do. When she’s around, anyway. With her away so much it’s better for her children to be able to call me mother as well.”

  “She wants to know about the copulation,” said Johannes, his voice filled with disapproval. “The sordid details.”

  “Yes, well, people always do, Joe, but those who find out about us are usually too embarrassed to ask,” she said. “I think I prefer honesty over decency. Is that what you want to know, Miss Anderson?”

  “I want to know it all,” Maliha said.

  “We don’t engage in that sort of thing when both of us are there,” said Sellie. “Some things are meant to be private. I know women can take pleasure in each other’s company, but Harry and I don’t feel that way about each other. She may be my wife, so to speak, but she’s my sister first. Even if we’re not related by birth.” She sighed. “And to most of the rest of the world, Joe is married to Harry and the children are all hers, even the dark-skinned ones. I’m just the nanny.”

  “I understand prejudice,” said Maliha. “I’m sorry.”

  “No need to apologise, it’s always been that way,” said Sellie. “I’ve always been seen as Harry’s companion and not a person in my own right. I’ve stopped waiting for the world to change.”

  Johannes moved forward and enfolded her in his arms from behind. He stared at Maliha, daring her to object. Sellie leaned her head against his shoulder.

  Maliha fumbled for more words of comfort and sympathy but she was not very good at them and nothing came. “Thank you for your help, and your honesty,” was all she could think to say.

  Sellie smiled. “If you want someone to feel sorry for, you might be better addressing any condolences to Joe.” There was a hint of playfulness in her voice. “After all, he has to suffer the nagging of two wives.”

  “You never nag me, Khuwelsa,” he said, squeezing her. “Harriet is the one who nags.”

  Maliha suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if she was intruding on their privacy, which was curious since that was all she ever did with people. But on this occasion they were showing her how much they loved one another, without any prompting.

  “I should be going.”

  Sellie shrugged off Johannes’ arms and came forward. She held her hand out before her. Maliha took it. Sellie’s grip was firm and her skin was hardened.

  “Well, that’s another favour Mama Kosi owes me,” said Sellie. “Bon voyage, Miss Anderson. I hope you succeed in your quest.”

  She turned and headed back to the hatch. Johannes placed his hand on the small of her back as they returned to the vessel. The hatch closed and sealed behind them.

  There was a shimmer in the air above the vessel as the Faraday engaged, and Maliha backed away, pulling the children with her. The iron bird flapped its wings once and leapt lightly into the sky.

  ii

  Despite their sleep during the trip, and the fact that their bodies still considered the time to be early evening, Maliha found herself quite tired. Izak said nothing, but Lilith complained about every little thing.
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br />   Colombo was on the west coast of Ceylon, facing out into the Indian Ocean. It took them twenty minutes to reach the outskirts. The city had once been the capital of Ceylon but no longer. It had been replaced by the Fortress, which had no other name except when referred to by its Sinhalese name.

  Sigiriya was a granite outcrop that rose six hundred feet above the plain, in the centre of the island. For thousands of years it had been home to kings, queens and emperors. They had turned it into a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers, with great buildings on its flat summit.

  The British had decided it was the perfect location for their military base in the East and had set about converting it to their use. As time went on it grew, and the residential buildings for the officers required shops and municipal buildings. So the gentry flourished and a great wall was built to keep out the natives. And Colombo became a shadow of its former glory.

  There were lights further into the city, but the buildings they reached first were dark and empty. Maliha considered using one for the night, but she was not convinced they were unoccupied. She pressed on with her charges.

  After traversing more than half the distance into the centre and finding most of the buildings still deserted, they came at last to streets lit by electric lights. From her time in the Fortress, she knew the city was still used for holidaying by the sea, so she steered them towards the seafront.

  The sound of the waves grew filling their ears with its rhythmic thundering and background hiss. The children were in awe as the ocean came into sight—Johannesburg was over a hundred miles from the nearest sea.

  “It’s so big,” said Lilith. The moon’s light glinted from the waves, which stretched into forever.

  Maliha had grown up by the sea, both in Pondicherry and in Britain but its majesty never failed to impress.

  However, there were more important matters. The buildings set back from the seafront were all hotels to cater for the tourists. It was now a matter of choosing one. She considered the options: her skin was almost white, but she was still clearly Indian and accompanied by two black children. She did not want a repeat of the events when they had arrived in Johannesburg with Riette’s daughter. Then again, perhaps she did.