by Drew Wagar
‘Something’s not right,’ Fitch grunted, when they stopped for a rest halfway up. He gestured up at the sky, where dozens and dozens of the small flying creatures could be seen circling in the sky. There was a faint buzzing noise coming from above them too.
Coran nodded, getting to his feet.
‘Let’s keep moving.’
They continued the climb, the sea now hundreds of hands below them. The vegetation thinned out and they came to the summit. Coran heard Zoella and Mel gasp from behind him. He came up short, staring around in horror.
The reason for the arrival of the wild dachs became obvious. Strewn across the bare flattened peak of the island were carcasses. The dachs were feasting on them, ragged strips of flesh being ripped from decomposing bodies in their needle-sharp teeth. The buzzing noise was revealed too, countless nargs swarmed in great clouds, fighting the dachs for a meal.
The carcasses were of dachs and people.
The crew stared for long moment, horrified. The stench of rotting meat wafted across them, causing them to stumble backwards, gagging. Ira was sick, vomiting on the greenery to the side of the path they had walked up. Mel and Zoella went to comfort her.
Coran looked at Fitch. Both hoisted their rifles and walked forward.
It was difficult to see much. The bodies were in an advanced state of decay, having been out in the heat of Lacaille for stretches. The clothing and harnesses gave them away though. The bodies of dozens of dachs and priestesses littered the area.
‘They must have known of this place from before they attacked us,’ Fitch said, grimacing with the smell. ‘And retreated here afterwards.’
‘All dead,’ Coran whispered. ‘So, none of them escaped in the end. Flare got them.’
‘No,’ Fitch said, shaking his head. ‘Not all of them.’
Coran watched as the older man stepped forward amongst the bodies, peering at them with a keen eye.
‘Look,’ he said. ‘No weapons. No staffs, swords, bows. Nothing. Dachs and nargs don’t eat weapons, somebody took them.’
‘Some survived?’ Coran asked.
‘Looks that way,’ Fitch said with a nod.
They backed away, wafting fresh air towards them with their hands, their eyes watering.
‘The priestesses?’ Mel asked.
‘Definitely,’ Coran said. ‘Nothing but bodies though. No one’s alive. Fitch reckons they must have landed here after the flare. Seems like they left behind their dead.’
‘And their wounded too I would say,’ Fitch said. ‘They took everything else with them. Callous snuts.’
‘Where do you think they went?’ Mel asked.
‘Back to the mainland,’ Fitch said. ‘The maps show these islands are a handy little waypoint in the ocean and there’s a peninsula of land to the shaderight. They must have known that.’
Zoella was nodding. ‘Meru flew us that way so we were over land as much as possible when we came from Taloon. They aren’t here.’ Her voice took on a more distant tone. ‘They’re far away …’
‘Well, that’s something,’ Coran said. ‘With the Taloon fleet destroyed and a good portion of the priestesses lost … that buys us some time. It’ll take them a while to regroup before they can come back at us again.’
‘So we go after Meru?’ Mel asked.
Coran nodded. ‘We’ll radio back to Amar about what we’ve found and then head sunwards.’ He spared a final look at the scene before them. ‘Let’s go.’
* * *
Meru and Kiri had returned to the flying machine and washed themselves down before changing into fresh clothes.
‘We need to be more careful,’ Meru said. ‘We could have been killed, people are depending on us, we can’t afford to be distracted …’
Kiri nodded, but Meru could see she was trying to suppress a grin.
‘Stop it,’ Meru said.
Kiri laughed.
‘I don’t suppose you’ll be mentioning any of that when you next use the radio,’ she said.
‘No.’
‘Come on then,’ she said, clambering into the cockpit. ‘Let’s go save everyone. I’ll try to be less distracting for you …’
Meru looked at her, feeling his heart lurch as he did so.
Not much hope of that!
It was the little things, he decided. The way her hair fell forward across her face, the way she pushed it behind her ear. How she was small and neat, each movement carefully controlled.
And those eyes …
He climbed in beside her, fastening the harnesses and flipping the switches in preparation for take-off. He pulled on the controls and the machine lifted off, the vegetation dropping away below them. Meru spun the machine around and pointed it sunward.
Ahead the heavy line of clouds could still be seen, blocking the horizon. The enormous shadeforest was rolling away beneath them as the machine picked up speed. As they watched, they saw lightning flicker within the clouds, lighting them up from within.
‘We have to go through there?’ Kiri asked.
Meru nodded. ‘No other way. This storm surrounds the Obelisk.’
Lacaille’s light was already fading into the gloom. Meru angled the flying machine above the lowest cloud. Lightning flashed again, flickering around the interior of the flying machine and causing him to shield his eyes.
‘Altitude ceiling reached,’ Sandra intoned.
‘I guess that’s it,’ Meru said. ‘We can’t go any higher.’
‘We’re not above the highest clouds,’ Kiri said, looking forward. ‘If we go in there, we’ll be flying blind.’
‘We have some advantages over a dach,’ Meru said. ‘The instruments will allow us to tell where we’re going even if we can’t see.’
The cloud was thickening fast. Below them the tops of the shades disappeared into a grey murk. Lacaille’s disk faded away above them. Cloud was all about them, thick and heavy. Rain spots began to splatter the front windows.
‘Here we go.’
Visibility dropped to zero. The flying machine lurched, the controls juddering in Meru’s hands. He felt the machine drop and yaw before he could correct it. Rain was lashing the windows, he couldn’t see anything. The wind howled outside.
The whole airframe was vibrating and groaning about them in an alarming way. A fork of light flickered nearby, thunder crashed again.
‘I don’t like this,’ Kiri muttered. ‘How long will it take?’
‘Long enough,’ Meru said. ‘It’s hundreds of marks to where the Obelisk is. Several spells.’
‘Several spells?’
Kiri swallowed, bracing herself as the machine jolted again and again. Everything inside was rattling and vibrating as the machine was tossed this way and that.
‘We’re heading the right way,’ Meru said. ‘We’ve just got to ride it …’
The machine dropped beneath them, the engines whirring hard. Kiri gave a short screech of surprise.
‘… out,’ Meru gasped as the plunge finished and the machine steadied out.
He looked over to her. Kiri’s grip on the arms of her chair was knuckle white.
‘External wind shear is approaching tolerance,’ Sandra intoned, her voice only just audible above the noise from outside.
‘What does that mean?’ Kiri asked.
‘Structural integrity will be compromised if external conditions grow more severe,’ Sandra replied.
‘I don’t think I want to know …’ she muttered.
‘Caesar said the flying machines should be able to fly through this storm safely,’ Meru said.
‘Should?’ Kiri looked aghast.
‘He didn’t say it wasn’t dangerous,’ Meru said, wrestling with the controls.
The cloud flickered past the cockpit’s windows and then the light around them brightened. The flying machine burst out into clear air. Above, Lacaille could be seen shining in a bright azure sky. The flying machine cruised onwards, through clean smooth air.
‘Are we through?’ Kiri
said in wonder, looking about her.
Meru shook his head.
‘The storm is like a spiral,’ Meru said. ‘Imagine a huge whirlpool spiralling inwards made of cloud. We’ve just flown through the outermost arm.’
They looked out of the windows. They could make out the structure of the storm. A vast arcing wall of cloud hung behind them. They could see it extended sunright and shaderight around them, curving inwards at the extremities of vision. Below, the ground could be seen once more, covered in shades for the most part, but with vast cliffs of rock jutting up, the terrain mountainous.
‘Look … a waterfall!’ Kiri pointed.
The waterfall was enormous, perhaps five marks wide and falling at least a mark downwards, its base shrouded in mist. Behind it stretched a lake disappearing over the shaderight horizon.
‘It’s always raining under these clouds,’ Meru said. ‘All that water has to go somewhere …’
Lacaille’s light flickered. Wisps of cloud were thickening overhead. The interlude was coming to an end.
‘Hang on,’ Meru said, bracing himself.
Lightning flashed.
* * *
The crew of the Mobilis had retreated down the side of the island and returned to the cavern below, boarding the ship. Daf and Creg were waiting for them and helped them aboard.
‘Make ready to depart,’ Coran instructed.
Everyone turned to their tasks. Mel started the engines. Daf and Creg cast off the lines and reeled them in. The Mobilis backed away from the quay and then turned around in the cavern, before heading out through the bright entrance.
The Strathian Sea widened before them. Coran spun the ship’s wheel and the ship turned to starboard, heading sunward.
‘At least the course is easy enough,’ Mel said, clambering up beside him.
Coran nodded. ‘Yes, just keep Lacaille ahead. Simple enough!’
They watched Ira and Zoella climb into the ship via the forward hatch. Zoella looked about her before dropping below. Fitch followed her.
‘Something not right with her,’ Mel said.
Coran nodded. ‘You noticed that too?’
‘I mean, she’s going to be uncertain and nervous,’ Mel said. ‘But, it’s something else, something is preying on her mind.’
‘We’ll have plenty of time to get to the bottom of it,’ Coran said. ‘Long traipse across the sea for us now.’
He pushed the throttles up to their three quarter mark and the Mobilis leapt forward, driving away from the Scattered Isles.
‘Take the helm,’ he said. ‘I’ll see if I can raise Amar on the radio.’
Mel nodded and stepped up. Coran moved to the radio station and switched it on.
‘Amar, this is the Mobilis, are you receiving me?’
The answer was immediate. Coran recognised the tones of Senator Janaid across the link. He had been waiting for the call.
‘Yes, Mobilis, we can hear you. Is that you, Coran?’
‘It’s me,’ Coran replied. ‘We’ve just left the Scattered Isles. The priestesses have definitely been there, but no longer. It seems they’ve returned to the main land. We found bodies, but no one alive.’
‘So they have retreated,’ Janaid answered. ‘Good news indeed.’
‘We don’t know how many survived,’ Coran replied. ‘Nor do we have a way of finding out. We can’t afford to be complacent. We don’t know how long it will take them to reassemble a fleet but it will take some time after the losses they suffered.’
‘Agreed,’ Janaid replied. ‘The voice aboard the flying machines reports that repairs are proceeding nominally. I take that to mean it’s a work in progress.’
‘It all takes a bit of getting used to,’ Coran said, with a chuckle.
‘At least we can send the fishermen back out,’ Janaid said. ‘Otherwise we’ll have other problems on our hands.’
‘I think that’s safe enough if you stay within sight of the smokes.’
‘I doubt we could persuade them to go any further,’ Janaid answered. ‘How about you?’
‘We are heading sunwards,’ Coran said. ‘We’ll work shifts so we can keep travelling through the sleeping. Based on the map that should take us five stretches to reach the edge of the vortex. Then we have to find a way through to reach the Obelisk. We’ll keep trying with the radio, but we’ll probably lose contact soon.’
‘Any word from Meru?’
‘I’ll be trying to reach him next,’ Coran said.
‘I’ll let you go then,’ Janaid said. ‘All our thoughts are with you.’
‘Thanks,’ Coran said. ‘We will be back as soon as we can.’
He flipped the switches off.
‘So far so good,’ Mel said.
Coran nodded. ‘This is the easy bit. I don’t like the thought of travelling into this vortex much. An everlasting storm? Sounds wonderful.’
‘The Mobilis will be more than up to the task,’ Mel said, giving him a smile.
‘I have no doubt of that,’ Coran said. ‘Let’s see if we can get hold of Meru.’
He flipped the radio switches on and adjusted the frequency dial to the settings they’d agreed.
‘Meru, this is Coran …’
A screech of static greeted them, loud enough to make them flinch and for Coran to adjust the volume dial.
‘Meru? Can you hear us?’
The static remained thick and heavy, punctuated by repeated crashes of noise every few moments.
‘Meru?’ Coran said again, annunciating each word. ‘Can you hear us?’
A faint voice crackled, interrupted by the static.
‘… can hear … us? Storm is … shaken badly …’
Coran saw Mel looking at him.
‘That wasn’t Meru …’
Coran turned the volume up.
‘Repeat what you said.’
The static buzzed and hissed. Coran adjusted the tuning and then the signal grew stronger.
‘Can you hear us?’ A woman’s voice said, loudly, her accent sharp and distinct.
‘Yes,’ Coran’s voice was almost a shout. ‘Who is this?’
‘It’s Kiri,’ came the response. ‘Meru is flying. Storm is very danger–The flying machine is … badly. We are still heading for the Obelisk … we should be through the vortex in …’
Static crashed again, forcing Coran and Mel to back away from the burst of noise.
‘We are coming,’ Coran said. ‘The Mobilis is heading sunwards. We will reach the vortex in about five stretches.’
‘Can’t hear … too much … we are heading for the Obelisk … can you hear …?’
‘We can hear you,’ Coran repeated. ‘We are coming, five stretches. Can you …?’
Kiri’s voice became clear for a moment. ‘I don’t think it’s working, it’s just noise …’
‘We can hear you,’ Coran roared.
‘They’re back!’ Kiri’s voice was high with excitement. ‘We’re in the storm …’
‘We heard,’ Coran said. ‘Five stretches. We’ll be at the vortex. Tell Meru!’
‘Five stretches … they’re coming,’ Kiri was relaying the message. ‘Meru says the vortex is much worse than he thought. When you bring the ship through you must …’
Static crashed again, drowning out Kiri’s words.
The signal came back, but now it was overlaid with a siren, blaring out over and over again.
Coran and Mel heard a short yell before another voice sounded over the radio link. It was the onboard system, Sandra.
‘Ship integrity … control surface … detected …’
They could just make out the sound of the engines roaring amidst the static.
‘What is …?’ Kiri’s voice was sharp and scared. ‘Meru? Meru! We’re …’
More static.
‘Kiri, what’s happening?’ Coran demanded.
All they could hear was the blare of the siren, crunches and bangs from the radio transmission.
Kiri’s voice was h
eard for a moment.
‘Oh no … no …’
Then there was a scream, high pitched and terrified. It carried on for brief moments before being cut off. There was a crackle and then then signal was gone, only the background static remained.
‘Kiri? Kiri! Meru! Answer me!’
Coran turned the frequency dial, but there was nothing but the mocking hiss of static to be heard.
Coran looked at Mel.
‘I want full speed from the engines.’
She nodded. ‘You’ve got it.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
Strathian Sea, heading sunward
Round 2307, Eighth pass
The Mobilis was leaping the waves of the Strathian Sea, its course still sunwards. Lacaille was clear in the sky above them, its huge disk rising higher as the ship forged its way across the ocean. There was not a cloud above, but the temperature was rising with every passing spell.
Behind the ship a long silver wake spread out in the undulating waters. There was no land in sight, no reference markers, just the endless blue.
Zoella was sitting cross-legged on the forward deck, her hands out to steady her from the rocking and thrumming of the ship as it surged onwards. Fitch was watching her from the wheelhouse, his rifle conspicuously on display. Her eyes were closed, her expression one of intense concentration.
Kiri! You must answer me. What has happened? Are you hurt? Please answer.
Zoella had been trying to reach her sister for almost a stretch, ever since the radio communication had been cut off. There had been no answer, no sense of acknowledgement or even awareness from the other end. There was no sign of Kiri … and no sign of Meru.
Her stomach clenched inside her.
I should have been with Meru. It should have been me alongside him, going to fix the Obelisk, and now …
She shuddered, remembering the way Nerina had forced her way into her mind. Panic sent her heart thumping wildly in her chest, her breathing short and forced.
And she knows! She knows where we are, where we’re going. It’s all my fault. I should tell the crew … I’m endangering them! But if I tell them Nerina can break into my mind and read my thoughts … what will they do?