Jill met her glimmering eyes and took a deep breath. ‘OK, let’s do it.’
‘I’m glad.’ Belinda smiled and motioned to the motorised bed in the middle. ‘You know the drill.’
Jill started unzipping her uniform as Belinda went to unpack the Re-Stem machine. Once she got down to her underwear, Belinda stepped up to her. Jill felt her eyes all over her body and froze.
‘I do have an ulterior motive,’ Belinda said, holding the device in her hands, seemingly hesitant. ‘You look great, and it would be a shame to let time carve away at your perfect figure.’
‘Thanks.’ Jill found herself blushing again.
‘Just lie down on the bed and relax,’ Belinda said with a soft smile as Jill sat on the bed and eased onto her back.
Jill stared at the ceiling, as Belinda picked up the Re-Stem machine. Just like before, after undressing, the room became chilly.
‘Put your hands on the side like before,’ Belinda said. ‘I’ll have the temperature raised.’
Jill did as Belinda asked.
‘Remember to keep still and relax.’ Belinda set the metallic unit over Jill’s stomach, and soon the device contoured all over Jill’s body, quickly encasing her completely.
Just like the last time, a low thumping hum filled her ears. Jill closed her eyes and embraced the relaxation the machine offered.
Jill came to, feeling groggy. She remembered getting into the Re-Stem treatment. Unlike the last time when she woke up all rested, around her it was dark, and she was unable to move her arms and legs. The hum continued around her, along with a throng of people speaking.
‘She will be an asset… going on to the next phase…’
It was Belinda.
‘My goddess, the Dawn is in our hands. We are ready for the next phase. No, no. I am sure she will understand.’
Jill had woken up in the middle of the treatment. Belinda was speaking about her with somebody else. She tried to listen to the discussion, but the thumping sounds and the sweet touch of the machine took her back down.
Jill woke up with a jolt. She had dreamt that someone had caught her in bed with Belinda and pulled the small blanket away. The blanket that had been on her, just like the previous time, had now fallen on the floor. She got up fast and surveyed her surroundings: she was alone, and the door was locked in privacy mode.
She would have wanted Belinda to be there when she woke up. She had no particular business with her, but she felt she could use her company.
Looking in the mirror while she dressed, she found herself appearing flushed and fresh, as if she were in her early twenties. What Belinda had done for her was beyond what she had ever imagined possible. Belinda was super-smart for having created such a treatment, and perhaps because of that she, too, was a beautiful sight, just like someone Jill would fall for—if she were into women.
The first time she underwent a treatment with Re-Stem, she had no dreams, but now she recalled the one with she and Belinda in bed together—and while just a dream, it made her feel warm inside.
There was also another dream. Belinda was there with her in that one, too. But she was distant and spoke about plans to take over the navy while Jill slept. It was weird what her subconscious ended up feeding her in slumber.
She was curious, and tried to remember, but dreams were slippery, and slid out of reach when she was awake.
Jill zipped up her uniform and checked herself once more in the mirror. She glanced at the time. It was already morning. She’d spent the whole night there.
She opened the door and strolled towards a cafe in that sector of the Spire, to get some breakfast.
While strolling through the main walkway, she pulled out her terminal, and brought Belinda up. On dialling, she hesitated. What would she say? She just wanted to hear her voice.
She pressed the button anyway.
Belinda answered.
‘Hi,’ Jill said, and paused.
‘Yes?’
‘Would you like to have breakfast with me at the Time Cafe?’
A moment of silence. ‘I’m sorry, I’m just about to enter a meeting with Render and his team, but catch you later at the command centre.’
Jill sighed. She just wanted to see her. As she walked along towards the cafe, she listened to their short call again.
‘I’m sorry, I’m just about to enter a meeting with Render and his team.’ Her voice was music to Jill’s ears. ‘But catch you later at the command centre.’
She replayed the call at least five times as she walked. With every repeat, she missed her more. She stopped and zoomed in on a picture of her perfect portrait.
‘Excuse me,’ someone said.
She realised she was already at the cafe, standing in front of the automated ordering system, staring at the smooth face of Belinda on her screen, while people queued behind her.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, blushing, and pushed the terminal into her pocket.
What was I doing? she thought, as she selected an oat porridge breakfast with black cooga-coffee and paid with her credit.
A passer-by said, ‘…she will be an asset…’
Jill’s mind completed the sentence as if on autopilot: going on to the next phase… Who said that?
A wave of realisation passed over her. She remembered that something had woken her up in the middle of the Re-Stem treatment. Belinda had been talking with someone, and unless she was mistaken, that someone was Nenetl.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
All around Berossus, what had been green mist now showed the surroundings of the alien ship they flew. Efia was controlling the ship with her mind. She stood focused, mostly with her eyes closed, trying to find a way to get them back to their own universe, which wasn’t as easy as they had hoped.
By smashing down the alien crew, Berossus had freed his father, and taken control of the ship. He remembered nothing from when he was a raging monster, but he recalled the moment of change: someone whispering into his ear—a demonic voice with wicked words. It was as if someone, the monster, was in his mind. He wanted to understand what it was, but the whispers were so horrendous, and he was afraid of losing his mind, that he pushed it back and kept it to himself.
Berossus had never been to Remola, but he had heard how Eddie had described it through his visits with Warrigal. The massive dark stretch of land seemed to extend infinitely under a dark red sky. It was one thing to be told about it, but seeing it for himself, the infinite horizon seemed unreal.
This gave him a thought. ‘The black disks that appeared everywhere, they’re portals between universes, right?’
‘And if they are?’ Oberen asked.
‘If they’re of Remolan origin, we could find a way back through one of them.’
Oberen grunted. ‘She’s already looking for a way out.’
He was right; even if they were portals between the worlds, it was impossible to find one. Down on the surface were black buildings, super-tall skyscrapers, like an endless city. But it wasn’t endless. In the distance the city faded, and there seemed to be a massive orb.
‘See that orb there?’ Berossus said.
His father nodded. ‘Judging by the speed we’re travelling, it’s massive.’
Efia’s eyes blinked open. ‘It’s Grangar.’
Berossus gasped. ‘Could it be related to the sudden appearance of the black disks?’
‘Unlikely,’ Efia said, ‘Even so, it’s our best lead so far. I’ll take us closer and we can investigate.’
Their ship took on more altitude and their speed increased tenfold. They were so far above the cityscape that it looked like a smooth flat surface. Even though they were travelling at fast, sub-light speed, the orb seemed to grow slowly. ‘It’s massive—what exactly is it?’
‘It is an ancient creature,’ Oberen said. ‘Some believe it was once small, but with an ability to absorb other life and material into its own existence, it slowly grew bigger, and in the billion years it has existed, it has absorbed a lot to be
come the size of a planet.’
‘I never knew that kind of thing existed.’
Oberen sniggered. ‘The universe abounds with creatures most folks are better off not knowing about. Stories tell of Shades containing Grangar by drawing out the energy from its core.’
‘It’s true,’ Efia said. ‘It was long ago, when humanity was but a nascent child, and the stories of Shades first began.’
Efia seemed to suddenly tense, and she closed her eyes, but her face remained rigid.
‘We have company,’ Oberen said, and pointed at the view on the right side of the room. ‘See that?’
Another object seemed to be flying beside them, catching up and getting closer at the same speed and direction.
‘What is it up to?’
‘My guess is that the aliens have picked us up.’
Berossus glanced behind him, opposite where the alien ship was trailing them. Three more ships neared.
Berossus gasped. ‘Why are we slowing down?’
‘I’m communicating with them,’ Efia said, opening her eyes, ‘They believe the ship has a normal crew. But they’re confused about where we’re headed.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘Talk with them. It’s fascinating, the way they communicate—I’ve seen thousands of cultures, and these creatures are quite unique.’
‘How’s that?’ Oberen asked. ‘Last time you said Yuujia were unique when they had no concept of time.’
‘The Remolans don’t use audible words with each other.’
‘Wasn’t that the same with the Piiren?’
‘They had words as concepts and communicated them visually. The Remolans use the flow of E to communicate with each other.’
‘What about the alien who threatened us on the Abyss?’ Berossus said. ‘They spoke plain common.’
‘They’ve learned to use spoken language and the common tongue, but these ones think they’re communicating with their own kin. It took me some time to understand the meanings they conveyed. I still miss any subtleties, but I’m sure they exist. Wait—’
She closed her eyes. The four ships flew closer to them. On screen it seemed as if they were just a few dozen metres away.
‘What’s going on?’
‘They’re doubtful—no, they scanned us—they’re asking questions. They can’t believe how I can talk to them—’ Efia gasped. ‘Nenetl knows of us. We need to move.’
Multiple missiles left the sides of their ship, and almost instantly the three Remolan ships around them went up in flames, making their ship shake in the pressure wave.
‘Whoa,’ Berossus said, and was thrown back as their ship accelerated.
‘There will be more on our tail soon.’
‘You said we can go back to our world,’ Oberen said.
‘We can,’ said Efia, ‘but there’s something in the direction of Grangar I want to see.’
‘What is it?’ Berossus asked.
‘I feel a high concentration of E, but Nenetl will be after us—it’s only a matter of time.’
Closing in on Grangar, Efia took the ship closer to the plane on which the planet-sized creature rested, and slowed down. As they descended closer to the surface, it revealed small spots in perfect alignment, with more and more spots emerging the closer they came. They were all Remolan ships. Big ones.
‘That one,’ Efia said, marking one of the spots with red on the screen, ‘is a ship over a hundred kilometres long, and it seems to be holding a lot of E.’
On a normal ship, Berossus would’ve had access to the data about the surroundings, including the ship Efia had marked on the view, but now the only thing he had was the view outside and the sinks of green mist. ‘What’s in there?’
‘We have to go down and investigate,’ she said, with that mysterious expression Berossus couldn’t read. ‘Might just be that you were right about the portals.’
Berossus stepped out of the alien spaceship’s hatch, which, unlike an actual hatch, was more like an opening between two boughs. There was a soft smell in the air, something he couldn’t place, and somehow the air felt different with no wind at all. Beside their ship rose the massive black construction of an alien ship which, resting on the ground instead of floating in space, looked heavier, as if it were part of the rock from deep beneath. Behind them loomed Grangar, the surface of which seemed flush with lightning storms. The opening between the boughs closed behind him.
Oberen was already off the ship with Efia and was scratching the surface with his boot. Black dust came off. ‘This is interesting. Wonder if we dug a hole in here, how far it would go?’
‘Looking at this plane, I’d guess forever,’ Berossus said.
Oberen squinted at the ground as he stepped around. ‘I think it’s just a metre, if that.’
‘What’s below? Nothing?’
‘There is probably something.’
Efia stepped between them. ‘You’re both right. What I got from the readings on the ship, and what I feel standing here, is there’s nothing but a flat layer of black rock beneath us—’
‘What did I say?’ Oberen said.
‘But if you were to dig anywhere, it would stretch down kilometres, or infinitely.’
‘How?’ Berossus and Oberen asked, as one.
‘This place seems infinite, but I feel it’s an illusion. It comes to be only when it’s needed, saving resources, or directing them to what is important.’
‘Heathen place,’ Oberen muttered.
The massive spaceship beside them had no discernible access points for humans, at least not that Berossus found, neither was he able to see any windows. ‘How do we get in?’
‘Follow me,’ Efia said, and began walking towards the massive ship before them.
Now, in the strange Remolan atmosphere, Efia looked even more out of place than she had in Tabou. But Berossus and Oberen followed.
Berossus wondered if it was because of what Efia had done to him, or whether he had always heard the voice inside his brain when he went berserk, and just forgotten all about it. The voice scared him. It was as if someone else took control, and without question, someone or something did. When he came to his senses, everyone around him was splattered, and he recalled nothing after the fact. If something like that had happened with Evie—
He should have thought of Mianea. Why did he think of Evie? Was it the message she had sent?
While most of the ship’s bottom was rounded, Efia led them to a spot where the ship’s wall rose ninety degrees from the ground. She raised her arms and suddenly the boughs moved, and a door appeared.
Oberen checked the makeshift weapon in his hands. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Tread carefully,’ Efia said.
They had entered an upward-sloping corridor of similar design as the ship they had captured. Black boughs curled around each other with dim green lights shining from in between.
The corridor stretched surprisingly far into the ship like a pipe and ended with a doorway similar to the one through which they had entered.
Behind the doorway was another corridor, level and bigger, and stretching in both directions, into darkness. But as they stepped through, the corridor became lit with green, and two Remolan creatures, bigger than the ones on the ship, appeared in front of them.
Efia quickly stepped behind Berossus and Oberen. The monsters darted forward. As Berossus reached for the gun he had grabbed from the aliens, his father was already shooting big shots with his plasma rifle. Berossus had no silver bullets this time, so he clicked his pistol to max damage and fired a series of shots into the supposed head of the alien in front.
The aliens’ skins absorbed every shot as if they were water. The monsters didn’t slow at all.
‘We have to turn back,’ Oberen said.
Now Berossus knew what to do. The demon would come.
‘No…’
He threw down his weapon and stretched his arms open wide before the monster.
As the aliens steppe
d forth, a fiery burn rose from within Berossus, as if on command, and the aliens in his view faded to black.
I am the destroyer, the soul of war incarnate… and I heed the call to kill the heretic…
Someone touched Berossus’s face. He opened his eyes.
‘Son, are you there?’
He nodded.
‘I don’t know how you do it, but that was… I don’t have the words. You’d be a monster hunter par excellence.’
The thick muscular arms of the monsters lay scattered around the floor, twisted and broken. He picked his prosthetic arm up from the heap. He had done it again: something had taken control of him.
‘What is this thing?’ he asked, as he wiped the grime off his prosthetic arm. ‘Why does it happen?’
‘Your mother told me of your condition,’ Oberen said, ‘but it’s not something you’ve inherited from me.’
‘There is a concentration of E around you when it happens,’ Efia said.
‘Someone, or something, is talking to me when I turn.’
‘We could test it,’ Efia said. ‘Next time you hear those words, I will listen to the flow of E around you.’
‘Let’s move forward,’ Oberen said.
Berossus nodded as he attached his prosthetic arm, but he couldn’t shake the feeling there was something they weren’t telling him. He followed Efia and Oberen through another doorway and down a number of winding corridors.
They entered a large round room. The door they had come through was in the middle, and around the round wall of the room were black spots bigger than Berossus. He recognised them immediately, and a smile crept over his face. ‘I knew it!’
‘I’ll be,’ Oberen said, as he walked around, looking at the spots. ‘A few dozen portals?’
‘Let me feel them,’ Efia said, and went to one, holding her hands out.
‘What’s she doing?’ Berossus asked.
‘Some Shade stuff with E—call it magic,’ Oberen grunted.
Efia moved on to another portal, and another. ‘You were right: they are portals to our world.’
Oberen stepped past the portals and frowned. ‘Can we destroy them so they can’t be used?
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