“Take my hand. Please,” Nolan said, extending an arm, palm up.
Balant looked to his queen, shrugged, and took Nolan’s hand in his own. Both men had huge hands with thick fingers.
Nolan squeezed.
Balant bellowed and dropped to his knees, then Nolan released him and pulled him up in a flash. It was over in a second.
Balant’s eyes were bright with tears, and he shook his arm, fingers extended as he hissed in pain. “What in the hell—I—”
“Heavy gravity world. I was born there, worked there, and survived there. And Cherry is—not human, as you’ve seen. We can go up and come back down with minimal risk, and I can assure you, we want the same thing. Can we ascend now? Majesty?”
Corra didn’t hesitate. “We will.”
“Apologies, Balant. I had to get the point across in a hurry. Rukisa won’t wait, and it’s a long climb,” Nolan said by way of apology. “We have some assistance, though. Pair of drones that can map out a route, and show us where to put our toes, so to speak. Jack, Diane, head on up and give us a visual.”
In answer, two small shapes zipped away, earning stares from everyone other than Avina and Cherry.
“They’ve been watching us?” Balant asked.
“For some time. Fine tools to have,” Nolan answered, unconcerned with issues of privacy—at least not at the moment.
“Huh. Forgiven. Just—use them and that damned strength for the agents, won’t you?” Balant said with a rueful grin.
“And no one else. Let’s go,” Nolan said, turning to begin the climb.
* * *
Nolan waved down to Avina, who stood next to Corra and the others. They looked small, and the first flakes of snow speckled the bullying wind. It had taken four hard hours of climbing to get to the last safe area before the steepest rise; now only Nolan and Cherry continued, their feet churning grit and gravel as they strode upward. The sun was still high, but it wouldn’t be for long, and there were hints of an oncoming front off to the west. If Jack and Diane hadn’t been chirping updates, Nolan had doubts that they would have made it at all.
Cherry, unfazed by weather, stepped up to scout ahead. “This is . . . not easy. It’s steeper than our landing, but with one major difference. There’s a path here, but it’s barely visible, even in my machine sight. Glad the drones are up there.”
“Me too. Based on what Jack says, I like the fact that it’s so dangerous up here,” Nolan said, following up the way.
“Why?”
“Less chance this—cache, or whatever—has been disturbed. I don’t think this system, if you can even call it that, has a rhyme or reason. It’s just random, and Rukisa and the agents are more like scavengers than planners,” Nolan said.
“That would explain some things. Like why the Calabrians haven’t sent a permanent force to mine or collect. No need. They play the long game—”
“And let these people fight it out like warring primitives. Fucking parasites,” Nolan spat.
“I take it you have plans for any agents we come across?”
Nolan snorted, then grunted as he pulled himself over another boulder. Cherry was two meters ahead but watching him intently.
“Yeah, I’ve got plans. Gonna put them in that bottomless river with a rock tied to their feet, the bastards. Although I’ll ask the—what did Corra call them? The ones who sort of run the show underwater?”
“River Children. Bland, but gets the job done. Avoid that spot—that’s the one, step around it. Loose shale there. Okay, come on up,” Cherry said, pulling Nolan ahead with her hand. She was stronger than he was, by far, her body capable of amazing things.
“Thanks. Hey—only five hundred meters or s-so,” Nolan said, teeth chattering once. “Sorry. Colder than I imagined. Damned thin up here, too. The air.” His face was a mottled red, and Cherry stared in alarm as she watched his chest heaving, but he never stopped. He didn’t even slow down, right up until he did.
Nolan stopped and retched, a thin line of drool freezing almost instantly as it hung from his lip. “Sorry. Feel a bit fucked up.”
“Nolan, can you see me?” Cherry asked. She was holding him by the shoulders, but his eyes were—soft. Unfocused.
“Atmosphere sickness. Gotta make it up there, n-now.”
“Bullshit to this.” Cherry looked up, saw they were less than a hundred meters from the cave, and made her decision. She lifted Nolan on her shoulders with a grunt—he was a big man, and dense—and began climbing, her long legs working like pistons.
Which was, in a sense, exactly what they were, albeit composite materials in a ceramo-organic matrix with piezoelectric qualities.
Nolan retched again, missing her back as Cherry lifted him the last two meters, then slipped inside the cave without stopping.
The wind died. Instantly. And it was warmer, and the air seemed—thicker.
“Nolan?” he asked.
He lay prone on the gravel floor, light from outside spilling over his wan features. After a long moment, his eyes cracked open to reveal a bloodshot crescent. “Let’s keep this between us, okay?”
“The puking part, or the carrying part, or the part where you called me mommy?”
“What the hell? I didn’t—”
“Annnnd he’s alive,” Cherry said, dropping to kneel beside him with a grateful smile. She put a hand on his face, then nodded in approval. “Your temp’s rising. Must be the air in here. Feels . . . moist, even.”
Nolan rolled onto an elbow and surveyed the cave. It was shallow, a few meters high, and bent out of sight at the five-meter mark.
It was also dripping with water.
“That seem weird to you?” he asked, flicking a thumb over a rivulet that coursed down the wall within reach.
“Yeah. Should be hard ice. But—ambient temp in here is wayyyy too warm. I’m thinking this cave isn’t closed on both sides, or—”
“We got here just after a delivery, so to speak. Didn’t Balant say there were scorched areas? In these transfer points?” Nolan asked.
“He did. Can you stand?”
“I’m good. Needed to breathe, and now I can.” Nolan stood, wobbled, gained his balance, and then drew his sidearm, all weakness gone in an instant. He was tough.
“Let’s see what the universe brought us?” Cherry asked.
“Let’s.”
They moved deeper into the cave, cautious but not slow. There was no noise, but the scent of heated stone did assail Nolan’s senses as they rounded the corner to find another chamber, this one twice as high and three times as long.
There, on the floor, was a shattered cargo container, but of no design that any human had ever made.
Cherry stalked forward, eyeing the items spilled over the floor. “Holy shit.”
Nolan knelt, then picked up a rifle of alien design. It was one of fifteen, along with two blades like Thirst, a pistol, sort of, tools of shapes that made no sense at all, and the seared badge from a spacer’s uniform in a script that was spidery, elegant, and unreadable.
The patch was attached to a sleeve, and inside that sleeve was a charred human arm.
“Bad way to go,” Cherry said.
“The worst, I think. Ship fire,” Nolan said.
“That’s why it smells . . . like this.”
Nolan scuffed at the floor, then flipped one of the container sides over to reveal a webbed pack, still half full of medical supplies. “I’d say we have our way to haul this shit down. My only question is, will it be enough to take the fight to Rukisa.”
Cherry didn’t waste time but began packing the intergalactic loot away while studiously avoiding the charred arm. “I don’t think that’s the question.”
Nolan held a rifle to his shoulder, brows lifted at the nice balance. “It’s not?”
She shook her head, then tucked a lethal blade into its flexible, odd scabbard. It snicked home, and she handed it to Nolan without a word, then crossed her legs and sat, eyes closed. It was a gesture of such pure
humanity. Nolan sat next to her, then put a hand on her shoulder. “What?”
Cherry waved vaguely at the world beyond. “They fight standup battles like—like ancient armies. And the Calabrians cull the herd, keep these people weak, and steal this shit without a second thought. Rukisa wants you to rally the troops. She expects a royal behavior because Corra is a queen, and she has advisors who weren’t agents. They’re mostly locals, I think.”
“You said weren’t.”
“We’re not. Avina isn’t,” Cherry said.
Nolan chewed on that, then let a breath trickle out before speaking. “We’re not going to mount an expedition.”
“We’re not?”
He shook his head again, and slowly. “This Desert Witch is like us—an off-world thief, but with a corporate mindset. She’s used to being anonymous.”
“How? She was an actual queen, according to—”
“Not like that. Anonymous in who she actually is, not her outward position. I’ve always said that the truth is our best weapon.”
Cherry bawled with laughter. “You’ve never said that.”
“Well, I thought it. Maybe.” He grinned and gave her an airy wave. “Regardless, it can be our friend now. Rukisa will have her soldiers with her, right?”
“Many, according to what Corra said on our way up to this little treasure chest.”
“Then we tell her soldiers who she is, and—”
“When they turn on her, she’s undefended.” Cherry laughed again, head back with wicked delight. “Fucking diabolical. We pick her off without any fuss.”
Nolan waggled a finger. “Actually, no. I’ll pick her off. You’re going to do something else.” He climbed to his feet and held out a hand, which Cherry took.
“What, ah, action will I be in charge of, if not murdering a criminal pretender to the throne?”
Nolan smiled, and it lit his face from within. “Corra is the true queen, and she’s going to need an army for whatever comes next. Seems like a shame to kill them all when you can simply convince them to see the light.”
“See the light. What a perfect phrase. How many examples do you think I’ll have to make?” Cherry asked, her voice eager with anticipation.
Nolan’s smile grew wicked. “If you do it right? Only one.”
Chapter Fifteen
The River
“I’d rather walk,” Cherry said, rocking back and forth on the broad rump of a Turgat—this one a hairless variety with knobby brown skin—a desert version, irascible but steady. The party worked east at a steady pace, overnighting once under the bowl of heaven before starting again at dawn’s first blush. Jack and Diane whirred overhead, though their cameras were limited due to the savage heat. Lens flare and mild warping made them shadows of what they were a few days earlier, and they had to stay close to Nolan for security reasons. Few people on Janusia knew what a drone was, and using them to deliver messages or other critical tasks simply wasn’t an option. So for the time being, they hovered close, rose to gather intel, or simply landed on the back of a Turgat, and rode along in Nolan or Cherry’s pack like coddled pets.
Nolan paid for the Turgat with Corra’s coin, handed over by a grumbling Balant who declared the desert herdsmen to be nothing short of criminals. Nolan found the shepherds to his liking; they were opportunistic but fair and kept silent during the quick ride over broken, sandy country that finally began to turn greener at the end of day two.
It was Cherry who spied the river valley first, a haze clouding the air over the tops of trees that were wide and low, their deep green leaves a shocking contrast to the sparse land they’d been riding through.
“Water,” Cherry said.
“Water,” agreed a herdsman from under his wide hat, the flopping brim stained with years of salt and sweat. “Three hours. We leave you a thousand paces away from the damp soil. It’s too dangerous to get much closer. The witch will have . . . friends.”
“That’s close enough for us. I could use a stretch after two days on this beast,” Nolan said, giving his mount an affectionate cuff on the shoulder. The creature looked back with mild reproof, then forgot about Nolan once again, its huge hooves churning forward with robotic efficiency. “What kind of friends?”
“And how many?” Avina added.
The driver took his hat off, wiped his creased face, and made a show of thinking. “Not many, but enough that we won’t take our team within weapons range. The witch has guns, but mostly bolts.”
“Bolts?” Nolan asked.
“Crossbows,” Corra said. “Long range and dangerous. They crank with metal gears and fire a bolt that kills on contact. Two hundred paces is their maximum range, but—”
“Then we will walk in, and do so silently, Majesty. Is there access to the river itself, or are there cliffs? I don’t like that mist,” Nolan said, peering ahead into the uncertain air.
Radwill spoke up. “The mist is a gas from the trees. Pungent, like—like medicine, but not harmful, and yes, we can walk directly to the shore. See that yellow dot on top of the long pole? Like a banner, but rounded?”
Cherry and Nolan did; everyone else had to look hard.
“I do,” Nolan agreed.
“Marker for a Tow Station,” Radwill said. “The River Children set them up as a friendly place to do business away from the main ports. We go, stomp the bell—”
“Stomp—on a bell?” Avina asked. “I’ve heard of ringing them, but not stomping.”
Radwill laughed, as did Corra and her people. “You’ll see. It’s a flat panel tied to the bell, underwater. You step hard, the knocker swings, and you summon a ride. That is, if there’s a pod nearby and they aren’t hunting.”
“Like calling a shuttle,” Avina said. “Why not use the Cable?”
Radwill spat, and both of the herdsmen grumbled, clearly displeased with the mere mention of the guild.
“Because the Cable is slow, compared to what we need, and those bastards aren’t on our side. We avoid the Cablers, and we secure a fat, silent ride right into Rukisa’s lap. If we go at night—which we will—we have the advantage. She knows we’re out here, but she doesn’t know details,” Balant said.
“Problem with that, Master Balant,” Nolan said, his tone respectful and deliberate.
“Do tell?”
“We can’t engage them in a mass fight, like discussed, and my plan—excuse me, our plan—requires an element beyond surprise, even with our drones,” Nolan said.
Balant rubbed his scalp in a comical gesture, then waved a thick hand at Nolan, inviting explanation.
“I’d like to know why as well, especially as this is for my people’s security,” Corra added.
Nolan and Avina shared a look. Corra avoided saying anything about her realm—only her people.
I like this girl, Cherry said.
Same. “Because our victory is predicated on fear, and while fear takes root in the dark, it becomes real in the light of day. I need Rukisa’s hired guns to see us—ah, handle one of the fighters. In the open. No rumor, no myth. Just a hard truth, seen with their own eyes,” Nolan said.
“An example,” Corra said.
“Yes, Majesty. That very thing.”
Corra shifted on her mount, then gave a small nod. “Very well—no, Balant, don’t argue. I know what he means to do, and I’ll be there. Not in the midst of it, not at first, but, yes, I agree that a—what word will we use? Brutal, perhaps—yes, brutal victory over one of the fighters, or perhaps three at most, will change the dynamic and spawn cowardice like blooms after a rain.” Corra fixed Nolan and Cherry with a look, then let her eyes slide to Avina, who returned the gaze with quiet dignity. “Balant will be there, and Radwill will be in overwatch. I’ll be visible but out of weapons range, and if it looks like you can’t deliver a shocking, swift blow, then we’ll leave you to be swept under the tide of sycophants the false queen brings. Understood?”
Nolan bowed from the waist. “I expect nothing else, but it won’t be necessary
, Your Majesty.”
“Because you’ll win?” Corra asked.
“No. Because Rukisa’s mercs have never seen anything like me, and they’ve never imagined anyone like Cherry. Plus, Avina is a sniper as well, and one with a grudge.”
Avina smiled. “True. I am pissed.”
“See? We can’t lose,” Nolan said, cheery as a new day. “Send Jack and Diane up. I know the sun and heat are hard on them, but whatever they can gather, we’ll use.”
At that, the two drones fluttered upward, earning stares of wonder from the shepherds.
“I’ll be damned, Ah, end of the ride, sir. We’re here,” the shepherd said. Balant shook hands with one of the men, and coins tinkled again—a bonus, it seemed, and everyone slid from their fragrant mounts with various groans. “We’ll be around, should you need us again, Majesty. You are—more than we expected.”
Corra placed a second purse in the man’s hand because she believed him, and the message she’d sent was nothing less than the command to start a war. “I’m pleased to hear that. You’re men of honor.”
“You are a person of honor as well, Majesty. I hope to see you again, and by now, your other message has been delivered. The runner we sent was far faster than these sturdy old clods.”
Corra took the man’s hand, and he blushed. “You will.” She slapped his mount on a beefy cheek, and the pack of lumbering animals turned and began what was, for them, a sprint back toward the deep desert.
Nolan. Target, Cherry said.
Avina had her rifle to shoulder, eye locked downrange. Cherry did the same, and it only took Nolan a second to find their concern. A flash of metal in the greenery revealed someone—or something, and the party hit the dirt, Corra included.
A shot whistled overhead, making people flinch.
But not Nolan, or Cherry, or Avina. They had combat experience, and drones reporting back with information specific enough to help.
“Stay down,” Nolan said.
“Do you—” Balant began, but Nolan silenced him with a wave.
“Flank,” Nolan said in low tones, after listening to a report from Jack. Avina eeled away without a word. Cherry began walking in an odd, erratic pattern, speeding up and slowing down even as Nolan veered north, away from Corra and her people.
Lost Kingdom: Book 1 in the Lost Kingdom Series Page 27
