Snowlands

by H. O. Charles

  Neri showered and dressed quickly, making sure that all evidence of her condition was quite invisible, and then set about fastening on her weapons. As she tied on one of her holsters, a lurchcaw tooth fell out. She took it to the bin in disgust, but just as she was about to drop it, someone knocked at the door. It was Dan. He looked panicked.

  “An imperial army is here. No one can explain how… It’s vast.”

  She sprinted with him to a window on the gallery, and there they saw it. A swarm of black uniforms poured over the hill, large enough to fill The Facility and most of its environs. “There’s only the seven of us and a few off-duty mercenaries. We have nothing to defend ourselves with.”

  Dan nodded. “They came out of nowhere. I don’t understand it. We’ve failed everyone… Carlo said he saw nothing on that border…” He turned to face her. “You should get out of here now.”

  Neri shook her head. “I never run from them.”

  He looked as if he was about to breathe fire, but instead he ground his teeth. “Stubborn ass.”

  “Lumphead.” Their childhood names for one another. She smiled.

  His hand came forward to hold hers, and they embraced. “It’s been more than an honour, Neri.”

  “Likewise.” A sad sort of hope took over her heart. At least if the imperial army finished her off today, no one would have to deal with the horrible aftermath of her mistake.

  Together they jogged to The Facility’s main entrance, where four of the rangers had already lined up. Each of them had their swords sheathed and their hands clasped before them. It was a stance of defiance, even if it was not one of aggression. Neri and Dan joined them, but Tomarr made no comment.

  “Where’s Carlo?” she asked.

  “Hanged himself,” Tomarr grunted, and returned to his silence.

  The army rolled forwards in its strict, prescribed set of lines and marching time. It felt like an entire age passed before their leaders presented themselves in front of Tomarr’s men.

  “Seize the rangers and tie them up,” shouted their captain. Neri had learned enough from her tutors that he was Jurinta Bollhinera: a man who lived entirely by rules and honour. To him the world is black and white, Ihurade had told her, never shades of grey. She was promptly, if rather roughly, bound and dragged into the building by the men in black. The soldiers then dropped them against the far wall of The Facility’s main chamber. The position was bearable, if rather uncomfortable. She watched as more imperial soldiers swaggered in, and then stared open-mouthed at the tall, hairless man who followed them.

  He wore the same imperial black as his soldiers, but his arrogant walk and broad shoulders said that he was very different from them. He was old, but still appeared quick, sturdy and strong. His green eyes flashed over her briefly, and then he stopped.

  Neri’s breath caught in her throat.

  Sighter Turoth took four steps toward her. He tilted his head. “Women as rangers now? Fascinating.” Then he turned away, and made for the centre of the vast hall.

  One by one, the muscles in her body released their tension. Her baby was kicking wildly inside her, no doubt able to sense her panic and hear her thumping heart.

  “I want every single person in this prison of a building to assemble here!” the emperor announced.

  Most of the soldiers who had been set to mind Tomarr’s men moved off to the various exits and tunnels of the building, leaving one rather preoccupied and young fellow behind. To her left, she could see that Fionar had immediately set about testing his bonds. Neri did the same but rapidly discovered hers were too tight.

  Ten minutes passed before the hall had finished filling with people. An entire town, packed into that one room.

  “People of The Snowlands!” Turoth called, “Do forgive me for this intrusion, but I am here on business of vital importance to the empire. As many of you will have heard, I recently lost my only son and heir. My heartache and pain is deep indeed. You see, Sighters are a very special breed of people. We can switch between here,” He vanished, and then reappeared fifty feet away amongst a gasping crowd of townspeople. “And here, in a heartbeat. And that little magic trick is what earned my illustrious ancestors their place of power so many centuries ago.” He switched again. “After all, try controlling a man who can sight his way into your bank vaults, your deepest secrets and steal any of your allies from under your nose. But, as with all things, there is a price to pay for such a skill. Oh yes there is! Sighters only get to have one child in their lifetime. We get one chance to get it right; one chance to ensure that our line survives.” He cast his eyes to the ground. “I did not do well with my son, I’ll admit. He grew up soft, indecisive and delusional. And it was my fault. But he was not stupid. No, I’ll give him that. I set him a task! The boy had lots of women to work through, and he only needed to choose one to host his offspring. But he knew I’d see him sent to a distant corner of the galaxy once he’d done his duty. So he sired nothing. Hundreds of women, and not a single, blasted child out of any of them!

  “And he was careful for years while he went about his scheming and plotting. Oh, I knew all about that. Yes, I did. But do you know what he did just before he died, people of Snowlands? He made a mistake. He did not choose to sire an heir, no, no. A clever man, who has spent years trying to avoid his dismissal, does not do that. My son fell in love and made one by accident!”

  Neri started to feel very uncomfortable indeed.

  Turoth’s eyes flashed about the room excitedly. “So. Why am I here, you ask? Well, it turns out that Sighters are blessed with another gift. We can sense each other’s presence in the world and, while my son’s is now gone, I can damn well sense that of his child! I know it’s here.” Turoth sniffed the air. “Where, I cannot say… but there are more clues. When Valyar’s mother carried him, I could sense him across the fortress at three months, across the city at four, and across the planet at five months. One month ago I picked up the scent of this child, and five months before that I know my son was in The Snowlands. Therefore, captains, lieutenants and sergeants, please find me a woman here who is six months gone with child.”

  Slowly, Neri lifted her shame-filled eyes to meet those of her ranger brothers. Only Tomarr and Dan looked at her; the others had decided not to. “I didn’t know,” she mouthed at them. She returned her gaze to the floor, and waited for the soldiers to drag her out before the emperor in all her dishonour. But they did not. None of them even bothered to check.

  She watched on as over thirty child-laden women, and some who were simply plump, were drawn from the crowds. Fal Harfin was among them.

  The emperor walked past each. “Too ugly, too early, too late, just fat, too inbred…” He stopped before Fal. “Unlikely, but possible.” He grabbed her shirt and thrust his hand underneath it. “No. Let’s move onto the next.”

  A man’s voice whispered in Neri’s ear. It was Tomarr’s. “That child can change everything. Get out of here.” She felt him cutting at her bonds.

  “I do not run away.”

  “Neri!” he hissed as loud as he was able. “You are in control now. Do something good with this.” Snap. Her hands were free. The commander returned to his position while she untied her feet, and then she gave her closest friends one final glance. She was not sure what she saw in their eyes as she slunk out of the room, but she desperately hoped that it was not hate. The corridors outside were sparsely guarded, and the majority of Turoth’s army appeared to be at the southern end of the building. She worked her way around to the west as she thought about what to do.

  If the emperor could not find what he was looking for here, then he would undoubtedly have the entire town destroyed. After all, these people now knew his secret, and that was not something he would want more rebels getting wind of. Everyone here would be killed. No. She had to do something. But what? She thought back to General Lyan’s teachings. He had been a rather boring man, always reducing things down to lists and commodity. But he did have a useful way of thinking.
Neri had something the emperor wanted, and the emperor had the power to do something she didn’t want. But he was too distrustful for bargaining. She needed an imp who kept his word. A plan started to form in her mind.

  There was still a dagger hidden in her boots that the imperial soldiers had not removed. She took it out, and set about removing her coat. Then she took off her jumper and her shirt. There was just the vest, and she cut the bottom from it. As ridiculous as she looked, there would be no questioning her condition. Neri closed her eyes and counted to ten. “You and I have to do this together, kid.” She was ready.

  Taking long, smooth strides, she walked back towards the great hall and in through one of the side entrances. A soldier immediately bolted for her, but Neri’s movement was fast. She held her dagger at her abdomen, point pressing at the skin, and gave him the coldest look she could muster. He stopped and backed away. He granted her a pathway directly to the row of women, though another soldier tried to wrestle the blade from her. A quick kick and stab in the shoulder was all that was required to dispatch him. She halted before Turoth.

  “What is this?” he said with some amusement. “Am I to believe that is six months of child in there?”

  “Believe it,” she said firmly.

  He tilted his head. “A ranger of the snows? Toughest fighters alive, or so they say. And how am I to know that swelling wasn’t put there by another ranger?”

  “Harlot!” A woman screamed. It was Tomarr’s wife, and she appeared to be causing some trouble with the guards around her.

  “Stay back!” Neri barked at Turoth, who had stepped closer amidst the noise. She pressed the blade harder into her stomach. “Believe me, I don’t want this bastard thing inside me! And if you move even a hair nearer I will kill it.” But she was more sure than ever that her child did not deserve such a fate.

  He examined her with his chin raised and cheek turned. “Pretty, pretty girl. Hmm. Well, we have a problem then. I cannot know if you have what I came for if you won’t let me check, and you cannot have… wait, what is it that you want?”

  “I will give myself up if you swear to leave the people here unharmed.”

  A thin smile spread across his lips. “But of course. That is an easy bargain for me to make.”

  She turned her eyes to the captain. “Jurinta Bollhinera, I understand you are a man of your word.”

  “What is this?” Turoth thundered.

  Neri drew the knife down her skin so that it bled just a little. “He will listen to me!”

  “For starshine’s sake, girl!” The emperor was panicked. That was good.

  Jurinta nodded. “I always keep my word and serve the empire. That is my bond.”

  “Captain Bollhinera, you must also swear that, if I allow myself to be captured, you will not permit any of your men to harm the people of this town, and that you will bond each of your officers to this promise also. Do you agree to this?”

  He looked nervously between her and a now-seething Turoth. “I…”

  “The life of your future ruler is at stake, Bollhinera.”

  He clenched his jaw firmly. “I agree to your terms.”

  Neri dropped the dagger, and turned her face away as the emperor rushed forward to inspect her. His leathery hands felt cold against her skin, revolting.

  “This is her,” he said in amazement. “The child is very strong. Perhaps my son did one good thing in his life, after all. Well, well.” He brushed a finger down her cheek. “Sighters have never mixed their blood with Šona before. This ought to produce something very interesting, indeed.”

  He hauled Neri back outside and into the snows with him, but she was too ashamed to meet the eyes of anyone she knew on the way. Perhaps she had given herself up too easily, but it had to be worth it for the lives of the small town that had given her so much in the past.

  “You were dead.”

  Valyar turned to face her in the fading light. “So were you.”

  “But your father said he couldn’t sense you.”

  “He couldn’t. But then, he did try to kill me.”

  Neri thought carefully. “Because he knew that Mia existed?”

  “Exactly. He sent a storm of lightning ships after me as soon as he sensed two of us in Pangaea. Left me for dead.”

  She thought back to her arrival at The Fortress, and the numerous investigations she had been subjected to. For the first time she had been thankful for her pregnancy, since no one dared fight with her, and even Turoth had given up on his attempt at rape for fear of hurting his grandchild. He had been a bastard of the first order, and woefully difficult to kill.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  Valyar sighed. “Everything. I brought you into this. I caused you so much pain.”

  She very nearly laughed. She had been angry and disgusted with him since discovering her condition, but when she’d met his father her opinions had changed utterly. She had actually begun to mourn his loss. “And now Turoth is gone and the empire is a peaceful, contented place for it. And I seem to have gained a daughter.” That still hadn’t quite settled in her mind.

  “Whom we can start making a move towards. Come on, beautiful.” He gathered the photos with his things while Neri refilled the canteens with water, and then the house was put to sleep once more. She hoped she would see it again before another nineteen years passed. Mia should know it. The world darkened, and they stepped back into the forests.

  “How is it you can do that and no one else can?” She curled up beside him at the foot of the ancient tree.

  His eyes searched her face for a moment, and then his fingers began to do the same as he spoke, “All my family have had the skill. Mia will be able to sight when she’s older.”

  “Yes, but… where did it come from?”

  “You might as well ask where your people got their hair from. A mutation, perhaps. There is a legend, but it’s so ridiculous it’s barely worth mentioning.”

  Neri nuzzled closer to his warmth. “Well?”

  He sighed briefly. “You’ve heard of the space compressors in scout ships?”

  “Of course.”

  “This is so idiotic…” Valyar pulled her a little closer. “It was said that... that one of my ancestors was attempting to travel from the old world to the Equine Nebula. Only, she mis-programmed the coordinates and when she woke up from cryo-sleep she was in a solar storm in another galaxy. She didn’t realise the mistake was hers initially, and so she went to the engine bay to check that the compressors were working properly. While she was there, a wave of gas and debris hit the ship. They didn’t have grav plates in those days, and so, when the force of the impact set loose one of the compressor rods that she had unscrewed, it was left floating around the ship and eventually landed in her sleeping pod. She didn’t notice, or so the legend goes, and later slept beside it for the best part of a year.”

  Neri laughed. “She doesn’t sound terribly observant.”

  “In her defence, cryo-sleep makes you insensitive to most things, both while you’re in it and for some days afterwards.”

  “And sleeping next to this thing gave her the ability to squeeze space like a ship?”

  He shifted slightly. “The medical scans detected something was wrong in the pod before she woke up. Perhaps it decided that the compressor rod was a spare arm she ought to be attached to. I’m not sure. Either way, it saw to making sure that the compressor became a part of her.”

  “And the way sighters can detect each other, is that related?” But Neri had already thought up her own explanation. Her knowledge of compressor rods was limited, but she knew that they were anomalies in space time rather than being composed of any specific material. They weren’t things so much as moments in time, and one moment in time could not exist without referencing another. All time was linked.

  “All sighters can sense one another, but it’s not very accurate. I can feel distance, but not direction.”

  “Did you know about Mia be
fore you died?”

  Valyar frowned. “I sensed something, but I didn’t understand it. Let’s see if I can’t prompt a few more memories.”

  She was locked in her room again. There was no way she was turning that blasted censer thing on to cheer her mood. Neri was bored and restless and, clearly, so was her child. She tried to calm it by jogging circles round the bed, but there was so little space she could hardly stretch her legs. The baby gave her a solid kick.

  “Believe me, you’re not the only one that wants to escape.” She went to gaze out of the window for the hundredth time that day. All she could see was black masonry and rain. Grey, grey rain. Neri slumped onto the floor amongst her silks and sighed. She had no illusions that she existed as anything other than a well-dressed incubator now. Turoth had made it very clear that she would be dead the minute his precious grandson was born. And it was to be a boy. There was no question of that, apparently. But increasingly she had grown to like the little piece of imperial oppression she was growing, and she wanted to see just how it turned out. Her child was part Snowlands Ranger, after all.

  Something fell into her hair, and Neri reached up to check what it was. Glass? A small hole had been made in the window above, and she followed its trajectory to the opposite wall. A tiny crossbow bolt was lodged in it. Staying clear of the window, she pulled the shaft out of the cork tiling and examined it. There was something inside.

  A rolled up note and a tiny lurchcaw tooth dropped into her palm. The note read, “Here to help. Follow instructions.”

  A strange grunt sounded from outside her door, and three seconds later another note landed on her wall. “Someone is coming to check on you. Knock him out.” Knock him out? She was really quite pregnant and unarmed. This person seemed to have very high expectations of her.