Not now, my darling. Finesia’s voice manifested itself in my head, clearer than ever. I can’t let my most trusted acolyte just pass on. We have a long road to travel together, and this is just the start.
The numbness left me, and the pain of being shot lanced through my stomach and the small of the back. I lifted my head to the sky to scream. But it wasn’t an effeminate scream anymore. This was the roar of another kind of creature. The pain radiated from my stomach, to my chest, to my neck and face and limbs and every nerve in my body. I felt my skin tear and stretch and writhe, as someone had just emptied a vat of boiling acid on me. I gnashed out at the sky and roared once again.
Clarity returned to my vision first, and I looked over at Colas smiling at me. He said nothing, but his eyes were fixated on my arms which I looked down at. The skin there twisted around black scales that had begun to grow out of it. I put my hand to my face and felt at the roughness, and then I looked at the leathery complexion on the palm of my hand. Blackened patterns swirled beneath the skin, like living tattoos.
This is it, my darling. Your transformation will soon be complete, and then your minions will join you soon after.
Pontopa… I heard Sukina’s voice in my head then. You promised me…
Then I remembered Taka. What would happen to him now?
It doesn’t matter now my dear, Finesia’s voice came in my head. I’ve been working on the boy for a long time. Taka is part of this, he’ll join our new race of immortals, and we’ll rule together as one.
I felt my strength returning and I felt more alive than I’d ever been. This wasn’t the first time I’d started to transform like this. It had also happened back in the palace, just after I’d married Francoiso. I’d launched myself on Sukina then and almost strangled the life out of her. I’d wanted the power and she’d wanted to take it away from me.
Pontopa stop, Sukina’s voice was there in my head. But no, it wasn’t Sukina, this was the collective unconscious reaching out to me. But it couldn’t quite make purchase inside my mind. Not while I had the spirit of secicao thrumming through every vein and artery in my body.
This is how it feels to have power, Finesia said in my head, her voice sweet and enticing. And you can have all the power you’ve ever wanted.
I looked down at my arms and willed the scales to return to underneath the skin. I didn’t need to become a dragon just yet. There’d be time for that later. Other scales had also grown on my body, my face, legs and breasts, and I also sent them back to from where they had grown. I walked over to the brass railing so I could examine my reflection, warped by the curve of the metal.
Yes, I was the same old Pontopa Wells, I still had her natural beauty. But now I had something else, an air of confidence and grace that could rival Alsie. Soon I could fight her. I could use the new powers which I could feel trilling through me to take the wench down.
Pontopa, this isn’t you, Sukina said in the collective unconscious again. But I didn’t want to listen to her anymore. No, I was sick of people telling me what to do. I’d been my own person; I’d been free when this had all started. Until Sukina Sako came to the Five Hamlets and snatched my free will away.
I took a deep breath and then raised my hands to my temples. Then, I pushed out with the will of my mind and let out a scream in the collective unconscious. Then I waited, appreciating the silence there.
That would shut it up for a while.
Auntie Pontopa, that hurt… Taka said after a moment.
Taka, I said. I’ll be down for you soon.
You’ve become a dragonwoman… Auntie Pontopa, is this right?
I nodded and smiled. It is. I felt certain of that fact at that moment.
Auntie, can you hear the lady’s voice in your head too? She calls herself an Empress and she scares me. She’s always been there, Auntie.
She’s nothing to be scared of, Taka. Empress Finesia is our friend.
If you say so Auntie… He didn’t sound quite convinced.
But I had nothing more to say to Taka, so I cut off the channel.
Then, I turned to Colas. He’d served Finesia now, but he no longer needed to be a part of this. “You deserve to die,” I said.
Colas smirked. “Yes, I do. Then, I can join you, as Finesia has planned.”
Then there came a roar from the sky and the deck rocked even more, and not from the wind. I heard a scuffle from behind me and turned to see a black dragon landing on the deck.
Charth? I said. And I felt passion trill through me. Francoiso’s brother… I hadn’t completed my union in Cini’s palace. But maybe now I could claim it with Charth.
Pontopa, he said. You’re a dragonwoman. What did my father do to you?
“Oh, let’s have this conversation out here for the benefit of us all. I’m sure your father would want to hear it too. Charth, why don’t you turn to human form so I can see you. I haven’t seen you in years.”
Charth seemed even more different than he had done before. He had something thrumming within him now. A wildness. A passion. And, somehow, I liked it.
My father doesn’t even deserve to hear my voice, Charth said in the collective unconscious. And he let out a huge roar to communicate the same to his father. He lifted himself up and shot towards the old man, grabbing him in his claws. He carried Colas off into the sky. The old man seemed to have accepted his fate, and he simply relaxed into the huge black dragon’s grasp. No struggling. No fighting for his life.
“We will all be reborn,” he shouted out. “Oh Charth, you can’t do anything to stop it now.”
But Charth didn’t seem to care. The dragonman dropped Colas into the volcano, and the old man fell like a ragdoll. He plopped into the lava just like Wiggea had, letting out a faint plume of smoke.
Wiggea. I remembered what happened for a moment and felt a tinge of sorrow. How could I forget him?
But that tinge of sadness was soon settled by Finesia’s soothing voice resonating through my mind.
Oh, there’s no need for sorrow now, my beloved immortal. Together we will rule this world and you shall not have to feel any kind of remorse or anger ever again.
Charth landed back on the deck and then he roared out to me. A plume of black dust rose around him. Soon, this subsided, and Charth appeared fully clothed in his human form. “Pontopa,” he said and approached me fast. He took me by the collar of my jerkin. “Snap out of it.”
“No,” I said. “This is Finesia’s will.”
Charth didn’t hesitate to react. He pulled his hand and back slapped me across the face, stinging at the cheek. At first, I felt angry, and wanted to turn to a dragon and rear out his throat.
But then my connection to the goddess snapped, and I remembered myself. I shook my head, and though Finesia was screaming out at me, I pushed her to the back of my mind.
Charth examined his hand, as if the slap had hurt him more than it had hurt me. “I’m sorry. I really don’t like to hit women. But Gerhaun had to do the same for me at one point. And you can imagine how much that stung.”
I looked into Charth’s grey, beautiful eyes then. Despite the plainness of his attire, he was handsome, just like his brother. And one of the most heroic men I’d ever known.
And yet he was livelier now. His voice less dour, as if he was on the edge of a transformation. But regardless, he’d saved me from stepping over the edge. He’d reminded me what we were fighting.
No, Finesia’s voice came in my head. You can’t leave me. You’ve completed the transformation and I’ll always be there.
Not if I learn to ignore you.
You can’t keep me out of your head.
Yes, but I can choose not to listen. And I remembered Sukina’s lessons about distancing my thoughts. How I’d managed to forget about the spider automaton crawling over me in the darkened room, how I’d transgressed from fear to absolute calm.
You won’t win, Finesia said inside my head. And Charth is already close to losing himself to me… You’re one of t
he same you and him. You will bow to the will of Finesia eventually.
We’ll find a way to defeat you, I said. Inside my mind or not, you are still my enemy.
And even though Finesia nattered at the back of my mind I pushed her away and closed the door… at least for a while.
Charth… You’re back? Are you here to stay? Taka’s voice resonated out in the collective unconscious.
I saw a sliver of regret stretch across the dragonman’s face. I can’t stay forever, I’m afraid Taka.
Has the horrible old man gone? He said nasty things about me and he took my blood and then he made me drink this disgusting liquid. He said that I’d live forever, but I’m not sure I want to live forever.
I shook my head and looked down where the old man had plopped into the lava pit. He seemed to think that he’d return as a new creature, but I saw no sign of it. Hopefully he was dead and gone for good. He won’t bother you again. And Taka, I’m so sorry I forgot your birthday. I didn’t intend to be mean to you.
It’s okay… Taka said. But, Auntie Pontopa, that voice in my head, it won’t go away.
I shook my head. Where are you?
I don’t know, Auntie. The big man put me in a room down here and locked the door. He said it was a punishment for talking too much. I tried screaming, but I don’t think anyone can hear me. I don’t feel right Auntie, and I don’t want to listen to the voice.
I’m coming down to get you, Taka, I said. And I looked around for the panther automaton, half expecting it to leap at me as soon as I took one step. But instead, it cowered in the corner by the deck, seemingly unwilling to move. It looked at me like a housecat would, squinted and then it turned its head away from me and yawned. Without Colas here, it seemed to have lost its fighting spirit, or maybe it had found its own type of free will.
Pontopa, there’s something you should know, Charth said. I wanted to come straight here to finally get my revenge on my father, but I saw boats and airships on the horizon, so I went to investigate. Alsie has this place surrounded. The only escape is inland through Cadigan.
Then we’ll go that way.
She gave me a message as well; told me she wouldn’t tear me to pieces if you delivered it. Cini has a fleet stationed at Oahastin, just south of where your fleet is, cutting off any retreat. He was lying in wait all this time and knew you were coming.
Dragonheats, I said. We haven’t got much time. I kind of hoped that I could turn to a dragonwoman and use my powers to turn the battle in our favour.
That’s it my acolyte. Use the powers I’ve granted you and bring yourself ever closer to your destiny. Something about those words caused me to latch on to them, despite having successfully kept Finesia’s recent babble away. Much as I wanted to, I knew that if I turned into a dragon, I’d shift even further to Finesia’s side. That’s what she wanted me to do.
Was this why Gerhaun refused to let Charth back in, because he turned into a dragon so much and called on Finesia’s other powers? When I thought about it, it made a lot of sense.
I won’t do your bidding, I said to Finesia and I shut her voice again into a corner of my mind.
Charth was staring into my eyes as if he could look through them and see what was going on inside my mind. “You must push her away,” he said out loud this time. “I can’t hold on much longer, but I think you’re stronger Dragonseer Wells. Hold on for as long as you can.”
“If only there was a way to reverse the process. If only you could become human again.”
Charth looked out into the distance, as the volcano roared beneath us. “I’ve wished the same many times.” And below us, came a massive crunching sound. I looked down to see dust rising from the volcano and earth sliding down the inner surface into the pit. The volcano hadn’t erupted yet, but the gondola rocked even more as the rising heat created increasing waves of turbulence.
“We should go down and get Taka,” I said, and I hurried towards the staircase, looking over my shoulder to ensure the panther automaton stayed in place. It no longer had that green light flowing through it now, nor did it have that purple sheen to it. In fact, its skin was black, like a normal panther. It had now fulfilled its purpose, I guessed, and needed power no more.
I waltzed down the staircase and found myself in a corridor with several cabins on either side. Red light filled the crater from the magma lake below. Most of the doors I passed were open, some with bunk beds in them and machinery like radio equipment and piles of automaton parts. But one indeed was closed. It didn’t even have a lock, just a metal bar over the door. I lifted this and opened the door to see Taka over the other side, his eyes wide and reddened, as if he’d been crying. As soon as he saw me, he ran into my arms.
“Oh, Auntie Pontopa. You came. I was so scared. I thought I’d never see daylight again after Colas shut me up for the last time.”
He’d been in a trance then, probably after just being fed Exalmpora, but still he seemed to remember it. “Do you still hear the voice inside your head?” I asked.
“She’s gone for now,” Taka said. “She went away for a while when I left Cini’s palace as well. But Finesia comes back sometimes, Auntie. And she scares me.”
I nodded. “She scares me too, dear. But we have to learn to ignore her.”
“I’m trying Auntie. And I’m sorry I listened to her. I shouldn’t have left Fortress Gerhaun. Finesia told me it would make me happy again, but she was wrong.” He broke off the hug and took hold of my hand.
I went upstairs to see Velos hovering in the air just to the side of the deck. Faso sat on the backseat. The inventor had a pistol pointed at Charth. He must have had a spare one stashed in the backseat, maybe in a secret compartment that he hadn’t told me about.
“Charth,” he said. “I warn you, take one step closer and I will shoot.”
Charth had his hands up in the air. But I doubted Faso was a sure enough shot to take the dragonman down.
“Faso,” I said. “Put the gun down. Charth means us no harm. And say hello to your son here.”
Faso looked over at us. I snorted. He had been so focused on taking down his long-time rival that he hadn’t even noticed us come up on deck. “Taka… A belated happy birthday, I guess.”
“Thank you, Papo. Can we play dragons and automatons when we get home?”
“We certainly can. But, Pontopa, if I’m not going to shoot the dragonman, then we need to get out of here. Did you see the landslide?”
I nodded. “It made a bit of a racket.”
“Just a bit… Look, Colas set off some bombs in the volcano and I can tell from the way it’s behaving, it’s going to blow. We need to get out of here.”
“But we’re in the air,” I said. “And this airship isn’t showing any sign of sinking. Alsie has us surrounded and we need to take some time to work out our escape route. Why don’t you come on deck?”
“No, you don’t understand. If we get caught within the ash cloud, we’re doomed. Not only will it tear at your lungs and cause permanent damage and dragonheats knows what else to Taka. Volcanic ash contains millions of shards of microscopic glass that, not to mention the massive amounts of superheated pumice. It will tear us and the airship balloon to pieces.”
“Dragonheats,” I said. “Then we need to fly west to Cadigan mainland. Alsie is waiting in ambush to the east.”
“The wind’s going west. We’ll be drowned by the ash. Quick, Pontopa, before it’s too late.”
I heard a rumble from below and I rushed to the edge of the deck indeed to see the magma boiling and rising up in the volcano below. Some incredibly dark smoke puffed out of the top. “Dragonheats,” I said. And not just because I could see the black cloud starting to emerge from below. I also felt another presence shimmering in the collective unconscious.
The storm clouds had now shifted away from the volcano. They formed a wall of grey on the horizon, and from it a black dragon emerged — a tiny speck on the horizon, but I knew who it was…
Alsie Fio
reletta had come to greet me at last.
CHAPTER 21
“ALSIE,” I SAID THROUGH CLENCHED teeth. Behind her, a line of airships pushed out of the clouds, accompanied by swarms of green Hummingbird automatons. I didn’t stand a chance… Maybe if I transformed into the form Finesia wanted me to, then I could fight Alsie. I could claim my prize and destroy the dragonwoman in aerial combat. I could avenge Sukina and punish Alsie for every crime she’d committed to this age.
Join me, Dragonseer, Finesia said. It’s time to claim your destiny.
No. I pushed the empress’ voice away again. I wasn’t going to taint my soul by tapping into these new powers. I wasn’t going to risk losing myself in the darkness.
“Taka,” I shouted. “Get on Velos, now.”
Faso looked at me astonished. “What are you planning, Pontopa? We need to surrender. There’s nowhere we can run.”
I looked down at the enveloping cloud rising from the crater. The volcano had begun to erupt, and it would spew out more of this stuff I was sure.
“We need to go through that,” I said. And I followed Taka in a sprint towards Velos. The boy jumped at the seat with unbecoming agility and Faso’s face twisted in alarm as he reached out to catch Taka. But he didn’t have to because Taka grasped the ridge between two of Velos’ armour plates like a monkey and then scrambled up to his place.
I launched myself forward as well, this time catching myself by hugging the seat that Taka had already strapped himself into. I clambered towards the front of the dragon, harnessed myself in and took hold of the spare gasmask I’d left in the compartment beneath. I had a feeling that the bit-and-plug wouldn’t be enough, particularly if we had to fly through volcanic ash.
“Pontopa, we need to turn away from the ash,” Faso said. “If you think shrapnel flak is bad, you haven’t seen anything like this.”
I didn’t listen to him. Instead, I pushed down on Velos’ steering fin and to send him downwards through the cloud that had just started to spew up out of the volcano like a mushroom, flaring out streaks of red lightning. Velos let off a growl — he didn’t want to go through either. But I felt that we had a much better chance of surviving this than Alsie Fioreletta. Up above us, Charth had already launched himself into the sky and I saw the balloon of the airship straining, as if it wanted to burst under the pressure the volcanic ash. Soon, it would get ripped to shreds and the gondola will come plummeting down.
Dragonseers and Bloodlines: The Steampunk Fantasy Adventure Continues (Secicao Blight Book 2) Page 24