by Conner, Jack
Janx flicked his gaze to Avery, then back to her. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you,” he snarled to Sheridan.
“I can give you two,” Avery said. “First of all, she can get us access to the Device, just as I’d hoped.” He had known that if anyone that was not either a Collossum or a scientist could get access to the machine, it would be Sheridan, heroine of the realm. It’s why he had told Janx to gather the others and follow him. He would spring the trap, and they would lift it off his neck and in turn entrap the trappers.
“Is this true?” Layanna said.
“Yes,” Sheridan gasped. “Now let me down.”
Swearing, Janx lowered her to the floor and loosened his hold on her neck further, but he did not release her.
“There will shortly be an activation ceremony,” Sheridan said. “The Over-City will lower toward the sea—it’s already started—mine its energies, and we—a few arriving Collossum and various VIPs like myself—will gather to witness Lord Uthua fire the Device.”
“Can you get us into the ceremony?” Hildra said, but Sheridan didn’t answer. “Well?”
Sheridan stared around at the bodies and blood. “They were not your enemies, you know,” she said quietly.
“How do you mean?”
“They were mine. Not the Collossum’s. Remember, I work for the Red Hand, a secret faction that opposes the Collossum.”
“Yes,” Avery said slowly, “I remember you ... saying so. You’re telling me that these troops were loyal to the Red Hand?” When she nodded, he said, “So what did they want with Layanna?”
“You can’t believe this shit,” Janx said. “Not one word out of her mouth.”
“What did they want with Layanna?” Avery repeated.
As if it was obvious, Sheridan said, “I and a few others in the faction will be invited to the activation ceremony. As soon as Uthua fires the Device, our weapons will increase tenfold in power, and we’ll be able to move against him. We’ll destroy him and the few other Collossum present in the Over-City. Meanwhile our colleagues in Lusterqal, a much larger force, will move against the Temple. We will destroy the godhead overnight. Once it’s thrown down, however, the people will still need the government to maintain order, and unfortunately the government is tied inextricably with the Collossum religion. In other words, things would function much better, my colleagues and I agree, if we had our own pet Collossum as a symbol to hold the government intact.”
“A pet Collossum,” Layanna said.
“Yes. And with our newly energized weapons, we need not fear you. Let the people worship you if they want, that’s their concern. But it will be humans who rule, not you.”
Avery shook his head. “You’re mad, Jess. You can’t keep a conspiracy like this secret from the Collossum.”
“You give them too much credit. They will be defeated.” She nodded toward Layanna. “With your help.”
“If I consent, can you get us access to the Device?” Layanna said.
Sheridan smiled. “So that you can restore its original functions and activate it on your own behalf? I don’t think so.”
“We must have access to the Temple and the Device or there’s no deal,” Layanna maintained. “Your coup can fail without my involvement.”
“The Device isn’t in the Temple,” Sheridan said. “I knew that’s where you would look for it, but it’s actually in the Central Laboratory.”
“Laboratory?” Janx said.
“Where scientists develop and perfect the processors that keep this place afloat, as well as conduct various human testing. It’s well you didn’t do this without me. And don’t think of infiltrating the lab on your own. It’s even more tightly guarded than the Temple. It’s placed on the very underside of the city—the better to channel the lightning, supposedly.”
“We must have access to the Device or there’s no deal,” Layanna repeated.
“Don’t make any deals with this bitch,” Janx said. “Every word out of her mouth is poison. You can’t think of joining her, of letting Octung win. That’s what’ll happen if this Red Hand wins, same as the other. The Collossum may fall, but Octung still comes out on top.”
Layanna met his gaze. In measured tones, she said, “That can’t be helped, Janx. Perhaps ... perhaps our side has lost. Perhaps we do need to join with Sheridan.”
“You’re mad!”
To Sheridan, Layanna said, “I will agree to help you, but only if we are granted access to the Device.”
Janx started to protest, then grunted and nodded. Perhaps he understood. Avery thought he did.
“Fine,” Sheridan replied, almost wryly, as if Layanna’s attempt at deception amused her. “One of you may join me at the activation ceremony as my guest. It’s the only time I’ll have access to your Device. We will need to contact my colleagues in the Red Hand and have them manufacture false identification for whoever will join me.” Her gaze swept them. “Of the lot of you, I know who I would choose. Only one of you will pass without comment.”
All eyes swung to Avery.
He swallowed. “Fine, I’ll go, but what about Ani? I want you to cure her first.”
“Cure her?” Janx said. “What’s this?”
“Not until afterward,” Sheridan said. “That’s how I will keep you from ... behaving poorly ... during the ceremony.” Her gaze flicked to Layanna’s, and she sort of smirked.
Layanna frowned.
Avery clenched his jaw. “You don’t have to tell me where the antidote is. I’ll tear this place apart until I find it.”
“It’s in the bathroom,” Sheridan said. “In the medicine cabinet. But finding it will not help you. It’s contained in three separate vials. Only the right amount of each, in the proper order, will cure her. If you do it wrong, she’ll die.”
“You’ve poisoned the little girl?” Janx said, unable to believe it. His hand tightened again on Sheridan’s throat.
“Blackmail,” Layanna said, understanding. “But I don’t understand. You wouldn’t have poisoned Ani unless you knew Francis would come here.”
“Where else would he go?” Sheridan said. “Where would any of you go, assuming you survived, which I had to? After the Device, of course. I made it my business to await your arrival. I had Ani paraded up and down the temple district several times a day. You didn’t think you saw her by accident, did you?”
“Tell us how to cure the girl or I start cutting off fingers,” Janx said.
“Torture me all you want. I can resist any pain. And you don’t have time to do much anyway. We’re already descending. That means the ceremony will begin soon. I’d best call my friends in the Hand quickly or it will be too late to manufacture the false ID to get Francis in.”
Janx looked to Avery, who nodded, then swore and released her. She gasped gratefully and grinned at Avery. “I’ll have a dress uniform prepared for you,” she said. “I do like a man in dress uniform.”
“I’m not sure about this, Doc,” Janx said. He gave Avery a look that very clearly said he wished he could talk openly about what they needed to do. “You’re the only one that can get to the Device, but with Sheridan usin’ Ani against you ...” He didn’t have to say that he feared Avery would not be able to do what must be done. He needn’t have bothered to hide his thoughts, though, Avery was sure; Sheridan had them all figured out, and was so confident in her own designs that it didn’t bother her.
Janx is right, Avery thought. I can’t do this. Everything would depend on his actions at the ceremony, and if Sheridan wielded Ani’s fate against him, he didn’t know what he would do. He didn’t think he had the strength to deny his daughter again.
“Trust me,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have to see someone.”
* * *
Avery found her in the second bedroom. It was furnished with delicate trimmings, a small bed with whimsical posts and pink-and-white bedcovers. It was all very girlish. Sheridan had made Ani a true home, a retreat from the world. Ani had wed
ged herself in a corner, knees drawn up to her chest and arms around her legs.
“It’s all right,” Avery said as he approached. “Everything’s all right.”
“Was that ... was that a Collossum?” Ani said.
For a moment Avery was surprised, but then he remembered Ani had lived on the island of the Great Temple for weeks, perhaps months, and had come to the Cathedral of Lors often. She was likely very familiar with the beings—but not one bursting through a door and charging at her.
“Yes,” Avery said, hunkering down next to her. “It was. Her name is Layanna, and she’s on our side.”
She gazed at him over the tops of her knees. “Whose side, Papa?”
“What do you mean?”
She lowered her knees, just a bit, reached out and touched his face. “You’re one of them now.”
Ah. He had been afraid the mutations would frighten her, but he hadn’t guessed they would make her question his loyalty. “I was forced to take the Sacrament,” he said, “but I’m fighting Octung and the Collossum, all except Layanna. She’s helping us defeat them.”
Ani lowered her knees, and Avery saw that they hadn’t been drawn all the way up to her chest, after all; there had been room for something cradled in the hollow between. A furry head popped up, chittered at him, and Avery flinched. Ani laughed
“It’s only Salty,” she said, scratching the monkey’s head affectionately.
Avery smiled. “Hildebrand.”
The monkey chittered, and Avery stared at him in wonder. He hadn’t had time to think on it before, but it truly was remarkable; Sheridan had let him live. Avery had been convinced she’d killed the creature long ago; she would have encountered him upon returning from the riot and Avery’s departure, furious and enraged, and she would surely have seen Hildebrand as an extension of Avery, something to take her wrath out on. But she hadn’t. Amazingly, she hadn’t. She had cared for him and gifted him to someone who would love him. Maybe there is hope for her after all. And yet ... the nerve toxin.
“I know someone who will be very happy to see you again,” Avery told the furry fellow.
“He’s someone else’s?” Ani asked. The idea did not please her.
Avery patted the monkey’s head. “Yes, her name is Hildra, and she’s outside right now. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind sharing, though.”
“Really?”
“You’ll have to ask her.”
Ani thought about that, then nodded. Avery couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride. He expected to wake up any second to find himself in some dungeon or Octunggen torture cell, Sheridan tantalizing him with a dream only to wake up to horror.
Instead, Ani leaned forward and hugged him, light and firm and smelling of soap. She drew back. Tears were in her eyes, but also concern.
“Are you real?” she asked.
It’s as if they had been thinking the same thing. “I’m real,” he said, feeling tears burn his own eyes. “Did they tell you I was coming?”
“Yes, but I didn’t believe them. A week ago they said that I was going to you, but I didn’t. We went over a big swamp, and a strange city. There was a lot of shooting. Then we came back. Oh, Papa, they’re bad men.”
“Did they ... did they hurt you?” It had been his private fear.
She shook her head. “No. Only she did. Aunt Jess. With the needle.” Somewhat tremulously, she added, “I was so scared.”
“Of Aunt Jess?”
“No, those people, the bad ones, studying and prodding me.”
“The scientists. But they didn’t hurt you?”
“Not really. Aunt Jess stopped them. But they were mean and kept me locked up. There was nothing to do but read, and most of their books were in a different language. I just looked at the pictures.”
He frowned, unsure how to ask his next question. “What was it like ... before they woke you up?”
She studied him carefully with her big, sad eyes. A troubled expression overcame her, and she looked away. In a small voice, she said, “I was ... really dead, wasn’t I?”
He pulled in a breath. “I’m afraid so, honey. Do you remember anything?”
“No. One minute I was with you and Mamma, and we were both so sick, and she was holding me, and then ... I guess I must have gone to sleep.”
Avery, remembering the time all too well, tried not to relive the old pain of Ani’s and her mother’s deaths, but he couldn’t help himself. He blinked rapidly.
“I’m a freak, aren’t I, Papa?”
He squeezed her shoulder. “No. Why would you think that?”
“I was dead.”
He sighed. “You didn’t do this, honey. They did. But you’re fine.”
She seemed on the verge of breaking down.
“Then what?” he said hurriedly, to get her mind moving. “After you went to sleep?”
She took in a long, shuddering breath. “Then I just ... woke up. I was in a lab, at Fort Brunt I think. That’s what they said it was. A funny man was there, his name was Dr. Wasnair. I could see through his skin. I asked where you were, and Mamma, and they told me you were far away and Mamma ...” She dropped her gaze. “Is it true, she’s really gone?”
He realized she had only learned the truth of Mari’s death a few months ago. She was still in mourning for her mother.
“Yes,” he said his heart breaking. “I’m afraid so. But she lives on in us.” He let a moment go by. “What then?”
She gathered herself. “They did experiments on me, but they were nice and gave me toys and books, and even ice cream sometimes. Pistachio. But then that bad man took me. I thought he was a good man but he was a bad man. He told me we were going to breathe some fresh air, get out of that stuffy lab, and he took me to a another place. It was nicer because it wasn’t underground and I thought everything would be all right, but then other bad people came. They took me on a long trip. I saw soldiers. Thousands of them, Papa! All marching down the streets. Everyone spoke a different language. People were being shot. I was so scared. And crazy things, weird animals. And finally we were in Lusterqal. And I stayed with ... her. She said to call her Aunt Jess, and she was nice to me. I thought I might like her. I thought she was my friend, but ...”
“Yes. She’s like that.”
Suddenly, a strange expression came over her. “I’ve been having these dreams.”
“Dreams?” The new subject caught him off guard.
Tensely, she nodded, but only once. “I have them every night.” Her gaze drifted far away. “There’s this great door, and I’m moving toward it, drifting … there’s fog all around, and great walls, all of crystal … and bells. Bells are everywhere, shaking me. And the door … it’s coming closer. Closer.” Fear entered her face. “Something’s on the other side, Papa! Something’s on the other side, and I’m getting closer.”
Icy fingers traced Avery’s spine. “Just bad dreams,” he said, but he wondered. A door, and bells … Would could it mean?
He rose and offered her his hand. “Are you ready to go back out there? My friends and I, we’re going to get you out of here.”
“Really?”
“Really. But first we have to do something very important. If we can pull it off, we can stop the war. We can stop Octung.”
Hope filled her face, displacing the terror. She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up.
* * *
Hildra laughed as Hildebrand ran along her shoulders and arm. They stood on the terrace jutting out from Sheridan’s suite, the abyss below them. Wind howled and whistled, and Avery had to shout to be heard above it. Only he, Janx, Hildra, Layanna and Ani occupied the terrace. Frederick and vun Cuvastaq had gone off to scout the Over-City for structural weak points. Sheridan’s Red Hand colleagues had come and gone, and Avery boasted a nice new identification badge.
“His name’s really Hildebrand?” Ani asked, arms crossed defensively.
Hildra chuckled and ruffled Ani’s hair, which Ani frowned at. “You can call him anything y
ou like, sport.”
“And you’ll let me feed him and pet him?”
“Hey, if you clean his shit, too, that would be—oh, right.” At a look from Avery, Hildra corrected herself: “Poop.”
Ani sort of smiled. She seemed to like Hildra.
“Anyway,” Janx said, turning to Avery, “I’m not so sure about this whole plan of yours, Doc.”
“It’ll work,” Avery assured him.
“It almost didn’t earlier, and that was just the first step.”
“You mean finding me?”
“That bitch Sheridan had placed snipers,” Hildra said, nodding. “I guess she wanted to be ready in case we were too much for her trappers. It was Coov that pointed them out.” Coov, of course, was vun Cuvastaq. “Took so long to take the snipers down that we just about lost the troops taking you and Ani to Sheridan.”
“Well, I am most glad that you located them,” Avery said.
Janx snorted. “So if that didn’t go like it should, what chance is there that the rest of it will? Like, and this is just supposing, what if Sartrand doesn’t go along with it?”
“He will. It’s his only hope of his side winning, and he is a zealot that will do anything for his cause. Trust me.”
Janx gave him a skeptical look.
“Francis might be right,” Layanna said. “Sartrand did try to get me to come over to his side in the insect city. He might believe …” She looked off. “I suppose, if all else fails, I will have to—”
“You won’t,” Avery said. “It will work.”
“And Sheridan?” Hildra said. “You’re really goin’ with her to the ceremony, bones? I mean, you can’t trust that bitch for—oh, right—uh—whore for nothin’.”
“I should’ve cut off her fingers,” Janx growled. “With her danglin’ Ani’s cure over your head, Doc—”
“She would never be able to get us into the activation ceremony with fresh mutilations, would she?” Avery said.
Wind hissed over the terrace.
“I hate waitin’,” Janx said.
“It won’t be long now,” Layanna told them. “We’re low over the sea.”