by Drew Wagar
‘Senators, Hannah,’ he said with a bow.
‘Almost ready to depart once more,’ Janaid said, looking up and down the ship.
Coran nodded. ‘Almost. Our plan is to head for the Scattered Isles first, see if we can figure out what happened to the priestesses. We’ll advise on the radio via the flying machines.’
Janaid nodded. ‘There’s been no sign of them since the attack.’
‘Licking their wounds or worse I hope,’ Coran said. ‘In the meantime we should prepare for them to return.’
‘The Senate concurs,’ Janaid said. ‘I will make sure it happens. And then?’
Coran looked at Henoch and Hannah.
‘We chase after Meru. We want him back safe.’
Henoch nodded and Hannah smiled.
‘When you find him …’ Henoch began. Coran saw Hannah look at him. The couple exchanged a look. ‘Tell him we love him.’
‘I will,’ Coran said, with a grin. ‘He’s a good lad, you should be proud of him. Other than the … er … running away, disobeying his captain, accomplice to a criminal and all that.’
‘He’s lucky to have friends like you,’ Hannah said. Coran could see tears on her face.
‘I’ll find him, I’ll bend his ear a little and I’ll bring him back,’ Coran said. ‘I promise. Looks like you have your hands full in the meantime.’
Both of Meru’s parents looked around at the young children clustered nearby, their pale features, bright white hair and curious pink eyes reminded Coran so much of Ren.
‘I think so,’ Hannah said.
Ira, standing beside Coran, knelt down on the edge of the ship and waved to the children. They waved back. Ira signed something to them. There were few smiles, even tears from some of them.
With a faint rumble the engines of the Mobilis began to turn.
‘All set!’ Mel called out from the bridge.
‘Turn your face to the sun,’ Janaid said, stepping back.
Coran nodded. ‘And your shadows will fall behind you. Farewell!’
Daf and Creg ran fore and aft as folks from the quay unlashed the ropes and flung them aboard. The two big men coiled them up and stored them. Coran vaulted up to the bridge and took the helm.
As the Mobilis moved off, the people along the quayside cheered and waved. The crew could see people far up in the city standing on the walls and doing the same thing. It seemed as if everyone had turned out to see them off.
The Mobilis cruised out of the harbour entrance and entered the wide expanse of the Strathian Sea. Coran turned the ship to the sunward, squinting up at the huge sphere of Lacaille hanging in the sky above. It was calm and tranquil once again.
But for how long is it going to stay like that?
‘Full ahead,’ he called.
Mel pushed the throttles up to full and the Mobilis reared up, its bow leaping across the undulating sea, a furious wake churning behind it. Amar receded behind them.
Off once more …
‘She sounds good,’ Coran said, hearing the whirring drone of the engines echoing through the ship.
‘Both engines are sound now,’ Mel said. ‘Would have liked more work on the hull though. Please don’t ram anything on this trip.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Coran said, scanning the horizon. ‘You’ve done a grand job with those …’
‘Batteries,’ Mel said. ‘Clever folks our ancestors. Wish they’d left some instructions though.’
‘Yeah, a bit short-sighted of them,’ Coran agreed with a smile.
‘Good to be back at sea again,’ Mel said.
Coran nodded, patting the bridge rail.
‘Always,’ he said. ‘Same as before. Not knowing what’s ahead, trying to find Meru again, we’ve been here before.’
‘You’re worried about him.’
It was a statement, not a question. Coran looked at her.
‘This business with the witch-girl, Kiri,’ Coran said. ‘I hope Meru’s right in trusting her. A lot riding on that decision.’
‘We don’t know much about her,’ Mel said. ‘Other than what we’ve been told by Meru and Zoella.’
‘And when Fitch encountered her in the battle … and Ren.’
‘We already knew she could fight,’ Mel said. ‘It’s whether she has really changed her view …’
Coran rubbed his chin. ‘I guess folks can change,’ he said. ‘But that’s a big one, I’m not convinced. Maybe she sees the Obelisk as a threat to her people and it’s just the priority for now.’
‘You think she might turn on Meru when it’s done?’
‘She swore to exterminate us all didn’t she, all those vows of theirs?’ Coran said. ‘That sort of religious thinking is deep-seated. I don’t believe she could have just waved it away. We know she’s smart and clever and that Meru is besotted with her. I reckon she’s using him.’
Mel nodded, thinking it through.
‘You’re probably right,’ she said. ‘In that case we need to get to Meru as soon as we can.’
‘My thoughts exactly.’
* * *
Zoella sat on her bunk, her legs curled up, her arms wrapped about her knees. The Mobilis was underway once more, she had felt the ship depart and welcomed the rocking motion. It had been strange to be on land for a spell, it felt better to be back at sea. She’d grown accustomed to the strange metal ship and its crew.
I just wish things could go back to the way they were.
She’d seen the furtive glances, the averted eyes the rest of the crew treated her to as Coran had led her below decks. They were all smiles and pleasantries, all except Fitch, pretending to be busier than they were.
Avoiding me, but who can blame them? What can I do to earn back their trust?
She couldn’t think of an answer.
I must ensure that these feelings never get the better of me again. I will not succumb to the hatred and rage.
The moment the thoughts flashed across her mind an image came to her.
Fierce blue eyes, dark hair waving in some imaginary wind. She felt the hate wash across her. She clenched her fists, trying to stop it.
No … I won’t.
The image faded away. She remembered to breathe, sucking in lungfuls of air to calm herself down; she could feel her heart racing.
I can do this.
She focused on her breathing for long moments, the feelings subsided.
Yes, it’s …
Then, like a silent but deafening clash of noise, another presence wrapped itself around her.
So, little maid, I have found you.
Zoella struggled, but the grip on her mind was firm and unshakeable.
Where are you …?
The command was inexorable. Zoella twisted within herself, trying to escape the grasp, but there was no way to break free.
Unwittingly, images of the Mobilis, the decks, the sea and the receding coastline of Amar flickered in her mind.
So you depart from Amar. Where are you headed?
Zoella clenched her thoughts back under her control.
You will learn nothing from me!
A sense of amusement crept across the link.
I have already learnt much, maid. Or should I call you Zoella? Your thoughts have given away your name. You’re from Scallia, you fought alongside Lady Liana of Viresia!
Images of the battle flickered across her mind. She couldn’t stop the recall.
And faced down little Kiri too. How did you manage that?
The rage came back, burning through her, caustic hot. This woman invading her thoughts, her very privacy!
No!
More images crashed through her mind. Zoella struggled to hold them back, but Nerina’s forceful push was relentless. In horror Zoella’s memory replayed in her mind, how she had killed the ice traders in the frozen wastes of Drem, the death of Turgan at Kiri’s hand and how Kiri had stopped the priestesses from capturing herself and Meru in the harbour.
What is this? She lied! Why would
Kiri do such a thing? Protect you? Why? What is she to you?
Zoella screeched, pushing the thoughts away and shutting down the images.
For a moment she thought she had succeeded, but then Nerina’s powers came crashing back at her, their strength doubled.
Zoella almost passed out with the pain. The smell of hot metal burnt in her nostrils, swamping her, stinging the back of her throat. Hatred and rage swirled about her, Nerina’s wrath was incendiary.
More images crashed through her mind, the Obelisk, Caesar’s maps, the Mobilis travelling across the sea, the great orb of Lacaille hanging before it.
Stop it!
I will find you Zoella of Scallia. And when I do I will tear your powers from you …
You will not have me!
The link crackled and broke, leaving just a faint echo of laughter drifting in Zoella’s mind.
* * *
Kiri pulled her hand back, running her fingers up Meru’s arm, seeing a green frond touching him. She batted it away. It swayed back and forth and then drifted back. She could see tiny little buds, almost like fingers themselves, touching her. She watched it, mesmerised for a moment by its movement. She felt another touch on her back, slipping down towards her buttocks. She gasped in delight before realising she still held Meru’s hands in hers. Her vision focussed on a swath of green that was arching in all around them.
Letting go of Meru she grabbed one of the fronds, pulling it close to her face.
She sensed something, the hot metal smell of the nexion rising in her nostrils. For a moment she could feel the plant, hear its thoughts.
Trapped, Caught, Take, Feast!
She gasped.
‘Kiri? What is …?’
The greenery of the floor around the flower was curling in on itself, fronds, leaves and branches rising up and contracting in. They felt the ground underneath them move. The glow around them turned red once more and a wave of heat blasted across them, stifling and burning hot.
Kiri tumbled off Meru, slipping on the vegetation, scrambling for grip. She felt something wrap around her ankle, tightening quickly. Meru crawled alongside her pulling at the green frond that had trapped her. It came free, but not before more of the fronds flailed, seeking to grab them.
‘Run!’ Kiri yelled, staggering up and pulling Meru behind her. She batted at the greenery around her, her fingers coated in the fronds as they tried to entangle her. The whole copse was rising up.
In horror they realised that what they had both taken for a flower was only the central bud of the plant. The copse itself was the flower, they’d been enticed in like a pair of stung-drunk marsips. Now the real petals, huge thick fans of greenery, were wrapping up around them. Fronds curled from their surfaces seeking to trap, grasp and hold them.
‘There’s no way out!’ Meru gasped, as the petals curled above them, trapping them inside a huge shrinking sphere of green, it was almost dark now, oppressive and claustrophobic. The plant beneath them gave a shudder and a dark liquid began to spill up from the central bud.
‘It’s going to eat us!’ Kiri shrieked. She ran forward, clawing at the greenery, ripping into it with her fingers, tearing at it. Meru joined her, trying to wrestle open the thick petals. The fluid oozed up behind them, they felt it touch their bare heels. It stung.
Kiri had managed to get her fingers between two of the petals, they were thick and rubbery. Desperate, she sank her teeth into one, biting down and ripping it, spitting away the foul taste. Her arm pushed through, flailing to get a purchase on the other side, Meru pushed at her, forcing her body through the gap. Slick as she was and covered in the sticky syrup, her body slithered through the gap and she fell outside on to the rough dirt.
Shaking her head she staggered up. The plant was still contracting. She heard a muffled scream. She turned to the plant, punching her fist through the small gap that remained.
‘Grab my hand!’
She felt his fingers grab her outstretched hand. She yanked, pulling him towards her. Her feet slipped on the ground. She couldn’t get any purchase. Adjusting her grip she braced both her feet against the outside of the plant and pulled as hard as she could.
She strained her arms and legs, screeching out as she did so.
‘Let him go!’
Meru emerged with shocking speed, ejected from the plant in a spray of hissing fluid which splattered all about them. Kiri landed on her back, the impact knocking the breath from her. Both of them scrambled away, gasping and panting hard.
They reached the shades’ trunks once more, collapsing against them.
‘You hurt?’ Kiri asked after a moment.
‘Just … stings …’ Meru said, miserably. ‘My feet …’
Kiri sat up and looked at them. She could see the skin was red raw.
‘Wait here,’ she said, climbing to her feet. She ran through the shades, making her way towards the light, fighting her way through to the flying machine. There she grabbed a knife and a pair of blankets before running back, hunting for Meru in the gloom.
He was where she had left him, watching the plant. It had curled into a tight green bud that shuddered and jolted every so often.
Kiri made an angled cut on the nearest shade with the knife, cupping her hands to catch the liquid that dribbled out.
‘This will smart a bit,’ she said and poured the liquid on Meru’s feet. He flinched, but then relaxed as the painkilling effects of the shadewater took effect. Kiri placed her hands on his feet, closing her eyes and bringing to mind the healer training she had received rounds before.
Meru relaxed.
‘Better?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I told you it was poisonous.’
‘It wasn’t poisonous …’ Kiri began. ‘It was … You were right, I was wrong. Let’s get back to the ship, shall we?’
Kiri helped him sit up, placing the blankets around both of them and pulling him to his feet. Before them the plant seemed to have sensed its prey had escaped. The vast petals were lowering themselves, the fluid oozing away. Cheated of its prey, it was resetting its trap for the next unwary visitor.
‘I’ve decided I don’t like plants much,’ Meru said as they limped away.
Kiri laughed, pawing at the mud and grime that now coated her.
‘Shall we just stick to a bed next time?’ she asked. ‘Maybe with a lock on the door …?’
* * *
Fitch was watching the Scattered Isles rise out of the sea before them. He’d been scanning the horizon for a couple of spells as they approached, looking for any signs of the priestesses’ dachs through the ’scope. The Mobilis continued on its way, unimpeded.
Fitch jumped up to the bridge. Coran had throttled down the engines and was gazing at the Isles before them. They were pretty inhospitable for the most part, jagged rocks sticking out of the sea. The original crew had been stuck on the island after a shipwreck many rounds before. It was here they had found the Mobilis, languishing in a deserted dockyard, rotting away, abandoned by her original makers.
‘All looks quiet,’ he said. ‘All I can see are a few small dachs circling above. They’re just the native ones, nothing big.’
‘So the priestesses aren’t here,’ Mel said.
‘Looks that way,’ Coran said. ‘But let’s be sure.’
Coran guided the Mobilis into the islands. He knew his way, this had been their base of operations prior to returning to Amar.
‘Port Melanie,’ Coran said. ‘Haven’t been back here for a while.’
‘Everything looks undisturbed,’ Mel said, looking around her as the cliffs rose. A gaping cave mouth was opening before them, its edges covered in thick green vegetation hanging down from the mountainous terrain above. Everything was swathed in mist.
‘Dead slow,’ Coran said, pulling the throttles back further.
The Mobilis lost way, drifting forwards in the still water. As they entered the cave, Mel flicked on the ’tricity lights, bathing the area ahead in the bright glo
w of the Mobilis’ lights.
As they watched, bright globes of light illuminated the darkness in turn, revealing a vast interior space carved within the mountains. There were a series of quays which could have accommodated many ships far bigger than the Mobilis.
‘No sign of anything,’ Fitch said.
Coran nodded and gestured to Mel. ‘Might be worth a check from our girls with the magic powers. Can you go get them?’
Mel nodded and jumped down to the deck hatchways, promptly disappearing inside.
A few moments later, Coran watched as Zoella and Ira emerged on to the forward deck led by Mel; looking around them in wonder. Zoella looked pale, her face blotchy as if she’d been crying. Ira smiled at him, but Zoella gave only a slight nod.
You alright?’ Coran asked, looking at Zoella.
She looked away. Coran saw her shudder.
This one isn’t going to be resolved any time soon.
Mel was looking at Zoella too, she gave a little wave of her hand to Coran, a ‘leave it with me’ gesture.
Coran sighed and turned his attention to guiding the Mobilis against the quayside. Daf and Creg tied her up, and Mel shutdown the engines.
‘Let’s be cautious,’ Coran said. ‘Keep your ears and eyes open. Zoella, Ira, can you sense anything?’
Zoella explained the request to Ira. They conversed in sign language before both closing their eyes in concentration. After a moment Zoella shook her head.
‘No, nothing,’ she reported, though she looked around herself nervously, her voice faint. ‘If they are still here they’re hiding from us somehow.’
‘Then let’s go see,’ Coran muttered.
As usual, Daf and Creg were left to mind the ship. Coran led the way, with Mel, Ira, Zoella and Fitch following behind them. He led them to the cave entrance and then up a winding craggy pathway which cut through the steep sides of the island, winding its way back and forth upwards through the thick foliage. Fitch and Coran were carrying rifles, ready and loaded.
Long before they reached the summit they could hear the sharp cries of the wild dachs. They were far smaller than those the priestesses had ridden, only a few hands in length. Coran, Mel and Fitch had seen them before, they seemed to use the islands as eyries, but there were a lot more present than they had seen before.