The Machine (Blood and Destiny Book 1)

by E. C. Jarvis

  “It’s not as well equipped or comfortable as you’re used to, but I’m afraid it’s all I have to offer,” she said with a weak smile.

  “Believe me, this is extraordinarily luxurious after my recent travels.”

  “Good. You should rest. You look like you need it.”

  “You won’t stay with me? You look tired as well, though you’re still incredibly beautiful.”

  He reached up to touch her cheek, and her heart fluttered, knees feeling weak. It seemed, after everything, he could still make her feel like a foolish, needy collection of hormones, and she suddenly didn’t mind being so easily overcome. It felt familiar and comfortable to let someone else take control.

  As his thumb brushed her lip she opened her eyes. Her vision drifted to the Captain’s desk. She recoiled as the memory of her moment with Holt flashed through her mind. She couldn’t help but picture Holt brooding, counting the minutes she spent down here with the Professor. The whole thing made her feel terribly dirty and ashamed.

  “It seems you have become a very different person from the girl I met merely weeks ago,” the Professor said, a warm smile on his lips.

  “Growth by necessity, I suppose.”

  “My greatest loss.” The Professor kissed her forehead lightly.

  “I’m not saying never. It’s just that so much has happened, I think we need to get to know each other—properly, truthfully.”

  “I understand. We certainly went about things back-to-front, didn’t we?”

  “I can agree with you there, for sure.”

  The Professor sunk down into the large chair and yawned. Imago appeared from the shadows and jumped into the Professor’s lap, immediately curling into a ball, letting out a similarly lethargic yawn.

  “You two look after each other. You’ve both been to hell and back.”

  “Indeed,” he said, mindlessly stroking Imago. “And what shall you do now?”

  “I don’t know yet. What about you, Professor?”

  “Max,” he replied with a wry grin.

  “What about you, Max? What would you like to do now?”

  “Besides making love to a beautiful female pirate Captain?”

  Larissa laughed. “Yes, besides that.”

  “Well I’d like to build another machine, but it’d be pointless without any more Anthonium. Unless, of course, your cat returns the stone to us.”

  “Well, you’re welcome to search through his deposits if you wish.”

  “Ha, I see. The new recruit gets the best assignments. Even so, if I’m to build a proper-sized machine, I really need a much larger sample.”

  “And for that you need the location of the deposit?”

  “Yes, I need the source.” He looked up at her through slightly narrowed eyes, and she let out a long, laboured sigh.

  “I have no idea where my father found that stone, Max.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, once again.”

  “You should rest now.”

  “Goodnight, Captain ‘Rissa.” She watched as he sunk into the chair, his eyes fluttering closed, and she headed towards the door.

  With a final sigh she turned and softly whispered, “Goodnight Professor.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  Larissa looked to the horizon, awaiting the appearance of the sun in the sky. She’d remained awake all night, leaving the Professor to sleep in her cabin; he needed the rest more than any of them. The mountain range had long since disappeared and the tundra below turned to low, rolling hills, the covering of snow thinning away as the temperature warmed. To the east a railway line could be seen stretching out to the distance. Larissa stared at it, thinking about her home, the place she could never return to and pondering where in the world she should go next.

  “I’m leaving.”

  Holt’s voice made her jump. She turned to find him behind her, looking towards the rail tracks. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing the bandage on his arm where he’d taken a bullet wound. Aside from that he appeared impeccably well-presented considering everything they had been through. He had even taken the time to shave.

  “You have someplace to go?” she asked, her voice cracking mid-sentence. She swallowed, trying to hide the utter panic arising at the prospect of losing him.

  “You don’t need me anymore,” he said, turning to meet her gaze, “and I don’t need you.”

  Larissa’s heart froze, her breath caught in her throat. The small voice inside her head screamed, begging him to stay. Yet she knew that if she broke down in front of him, she’d turn to a sobbing wreck, and that kind of breakdown would only make him run off even faster.

  “I can’t stop you,” she said.

  “No.”

  She refrained from pointing out that she had made a statement, rather than asking a question.

  “Where will you go?”

  “East.”

  “Descriptive as ever, Holt.”

  “I don’t want you to follow me.”

  “What makes you think I would do that?”

  Holt raised a single eyebrow in response and Larissa blushed.

  “Larissa...” Holt began.

  “Captain,” Larissa blurted.

  “My apologies, Captain.”

  “No, I don’t mean that. I mean, that’s what Orother called you. He called you Captain Holt.” Her sudden change of topic surprised them both.

  “Hmm.”

  “So, you were in the military?”

  “I thought you had already established that.”

  “Oh, for goodness sake, would you stop being so evasive?” Larissa yelled.

  “You should try being concise with your questions,” Holt said, turning to look at the train track disappearing on the horizon.

  “Cid, head east,” Larissa called, and Cid obliged, tugging on the wheel to adjust their course. “I can at least save you a bit of a walk,” she said to Holt, not mentioning the fact that she was trying to buy time. “Orother knew you, as if he expected you to be there.”

  Holt sighed and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, passing it to Larissa. At the top of the list, the name Doctor Orother appeared to be recently crossed out. Her eyes trailed the remaining names on the list. She paused on one name in particular—Solomon Covelle. Something about it seemed familiar.

  “This is a long list of names, Holt.”

  “They all need to be held accountable for their actions.”

  “President Hague is on here.” She tapped her finger against the last name on the list.

  “Hmm.”

  “What did they all do?”

  Holt sighed and shifted his weight, his jaw flexing back and forth. “Murder, torture, all manner of things.”

  “I don’t doubt it, but what did they all do to you?”

  “Not me. My brother Daniel.”

  “I...hadn’t imagined you with a brother.”

  “He’s dead,” Holt replied, his gaze fixed on a singular spot dead ahead.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. What happened?”

  “He was just a kid. He always followed me around, wanted to do everything I did. So, as soon as he was old enough he joined the military. When he went for his medical examination he was unlucky enough to be looked at by Doctor Orother.”

  “Oh.” Larissa felt her heart sink, already knowing where the story was headed, yet she felt compelled to let him carry on, to hear the rest. She wondered if perhaps he’d ever told anyone out loud, or if he’d just spent all this time bottling it up inside. She was about to press him to continue, as she usually had to do, but was surprised when Holt spoke voluntarily, offering the rest of his thoughts without prompting.

  “Danny was assigned to some specialist division. He was so proud to have been selected. It seems the Doctor wanted him for some experiments.”

  “Experiments?”

  “I have no idea what they did to him. The last time I saw him he was like a ghost. Always looking over his shoulder, could barely string a sentence together, and he had these..
.holes...cut into his head.”

  “Gods.”

  “The next thing I knew I had a letter saying he’d died in the line of duty. No one could tell me how or where. Not that it would have mattered what they said. I wouldn’t have believed them. I only had one name to go on.”

  “Orother.”

  “I researched him. He was a very difficult individual to pin down. When Command found out I’d been poking around for classified information, they stripped me of my rank. When that didn’t stop me, they kicked me out. By the time I left I had compiled that list, and that was all I had left on which to focus my time.”

  “So, you were at the bar in Sherwater...”

  “To look for Serenia, same as you.”

  “It seems we were sadly fated to go through this together.”

  “No longer.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I will continue to pursue those who remain on my list. You can go back to your life.”

  “You know I can’t do that. You’ve overheard enough of my conversations with people when I thought you were well out of earshot. I know you were listening to me speak with the Professor.”

  “Hmm. Well, whatever you chose to do with your life, I wish you well.” He stood up and walked towards the ship’s edge.

  “Wait!” she yelled.

  “You have a ship, a crew, and a hoard of gold. You can go anywhere you like.”

  “What if I chose to come with you? I can help. You need me.”

  “I do not need you. I work better alone.”

  “Oh really? You think you would have managed to come all this way and get into Meridina to kill Orother and escape with your life all by yourself?”

  “It is impossible to know the answer to that.”

  “Gods, you are an irritating man. Why won’t you let me help you? Maybe your quest is just the kind of thing I want to do?” She moved to stand in front of him, trying to block his escape.

  “You want to travel the world assassinating people?” Holt asked.

  “Isn’t it more like putting an end to a despicable plot to torture innocent people in the name of national security?”

  “Giving it a fancy name will not detract from the reality of the task,” Holt said, a small glimmer of humor in his tone.

  “Either way, it seems like a noble cause, and if you intend to get to the top of your list, you’re likely to need help.”

  A long pause followed. Holt looked at her, his gaze settling deep into her eyes. She held the stare, refusing to feel discomforted by it. She wasn’t sure why she acted so desperately to get him to stay. Pursuing his goals would indeed be an adventure; she couldn’t swear that she wasn’t motivated by selfish needs. A need to keep him close? Did she want to repeat their brief moment of passion? Had she read far more into their joining than there was between them? What of the Professor?

  “You have your Professor,” Holt said, as if he’d read her mind. He spoke slowly and seemed to choose his words with care.

  Larissa visibly hunched over, unable to choose between them. She couldn’t abandon the Professor now. He was too weak and she wanted to help build him back up into the man she’d so admired. Yet Holt was so much more, and she wanted more from him, from both of them.

  Holt leaned toward her, and cupped her face in his hand. In the distance, the familiar sound of a chugging steam engine floated on the wind.

  “Goodbye, Captain Markus,” Holt whispered, his lips brushing briefly against hers.

  Her eyes fluttered closed and her lungs filled with hot air. After a brief moment, the heat dissipated. As she opened her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Holt’s black-clothed body dipping over the side of the ship. She ran to the edge and looked over to see him shimmying off the end of a rope and breaking into a run towards the train line.

  “Goodbye, Captain Holt,” she whispered as her eyes glistened with tears.

  She rested her forehead on the cool wood rail and stared down at her feet, which poked out from the bottom of her dress. Her boots were scuffed and broken, a hole at one side showing the pink flesh of her little toe. She tutted aloud at the sight. It seemed funny to feel so irked by such a small detail, considering everything that she’d just been through. She supposed it was a rather apt metaphor—beautiful, simple things were bound to be destroyed if you treated them harshly.

  It wasn’t the ending she’d hoped for, though her hopes for the mission at the outset seemed incredibly naive to her now. She mused that luck, rather than judgement, had prevented her from dying on the first day—or any day since.

  Yet there she stood, broken, bruised, and changed beyond all recognition. Even if she could go back to her old life in the city, her apartment would feel very small and her job at Greyfort’s would be insufferably dull. Larissa Markus, Pirate Captain, seemed a much more exciting—if a little absurd—prospect, though she had no idea where to head next.

  “The source.” A strange voice echoed inside her mind. It was not her own inner voice and quite unlike a memory. She looked around, wondering if perhaps one of the men had approached, but there was no one nearby save for a flash of dark red material that disappeared behind one of the propeller masts.

  She watched the mast carefully, not sure if her exhausted mind was playing tricks. Another movement caught her eye; Imago emerged from belowdeck and padded over to Larissa, flopping down at her feet.

  “What’s wrong with the cat?” Cid asked as he approached them, setting down the gold casket he’d taken from Orother’s room.

  “I think he swallowed the Anthonium,” Larissa muttered.

  “Gods. Stupid bloody animal. Why did you do that?” Cid bent down beside Imago.

  “He did it to distract Orother. At least, I think that was his intention...it worked.” Cid prodded at Imago’s belly; the cat did not respond.

  “Cid, if I didn’t know better I’d say you were concerned about him,” Larissa said with a weak smile.

  “I don’t imagine he’ll last another day,” Cid said. His prodding turned to a gentle stroke and Imago laid his head on the floor and closed his eyes. Larissa knelt down to join Cid.

  “Another sacrifice I had not intended to make.” She gently pulled at Imago’s ear. Usually he’d respond and rub his face into her hand, but instead he just lay there almost comatose.

  “Thought of a heading yet?” Cid muttered. He was trying to be tactful, she knew.

  “No idea, Cid. What’s in the box?” She pointed to the golden casket.

  “Ah, it’s bloody interesting.” Cid popped the lid open, revealing a spherical, metallic object with a series of holes punched around the surface. At the top of the device was a small receptacle, a sort of dish.

  “What does it do?” Larissa asked as Cid lifted the device from the box.

  “I have no idea. I’ve tried to take the thing to pieces but I can’t figure out how.”

  “Why would you want to take it to pieces?”

  “To see how it works, of course.”

  “Ever the engineer. What are those?” Larissa pointed to a crumpled up piece of paper and a pile of fat brass bullets that had been hidden beneath the sphere in the box.

  “These are bullets, of course, but they’re quite unlike any I’ve seen before and I don’t know of any weapon in which they’d fit. This other thing, I have no idea what this is...”

  Cid picked up the paper with care and as it hung from his fingers Larissa noticed that it wasn’t paper at all; it was a very thin cloth with symbols printed across it and a red, wriggly line drawn through the middle.

  “I’m afraid we may never know, Cid, seeing as the man they belonged to is rather dead.”

  “True.” Cid sighed, visibly disappointed.

  “Although it may make sense if you manage to pop that sphere open.” Larissa smiled at him.

  “Yes, I guess it might. Have you checked on the Professor lately?”

  “I didn’t want to disturb him, but I it is morning. I’ll go now.”

  Larissa
descended into the hull, rubbing the exhaustion from her eyelids. As she approached her cabin, an odd fluttering awoke inside her stomach. The air smelled stale and the noise from the propellers seemed to fall flat in the wooden corridor. She instinctively reached for her knife and pushed the cabin door open with the tips of her fingers.

  Inside, the cabin was free of shadows and held no hidden danger as she had expected. What she did find was the Professor slumped in the chair, his golden blonde hair hanging like a waterfall, cascading down to the ground. Larissa’s knees buckled, their strength failing as she fell, her chest shuddering with shaky breaths. For a long while she knelt there, staring at him with silent tears rolling down her cheeks, until eventually she found her voice.

  “Professor?”

  It was inane, and some part of her knew it, but they had come so far and suffered so much that she was incapable of giving in to the truth so quickly. She planted her hands on the ground and dragged her body forwards, her fingertips digging into the wooden slats on the floor. She gripped his knee, hauling herself up, tears falling hot and heavy down her face. His head lolled to one side, his body limp and lifeless, and when she touched his face she found the skin cold.

  “No...please.”

  She heard herself muttering, nonsensical words that flowed through her trembling lips as she pulled him onto the ground and into her lap. She cradled his head in her arms and finally let her lungs fill with air for a long, blood-curdling scream, made of the suffering, anguish, and despair of their journey—a journey that had ended in the worst possible way. Her scream was so long it made her head hurt, so powerful it echoed throughout the airship.

  Time passed slowly. Eventually, as her sobbing eased, Larissa became aware that Cid and Narry had entered the room.

  “Can’t you heal him?” Cid whispered to Narry.

  “This is beyond my skills to heal. Even if I’d have known he was dying, I could not have helped him. His injuries were too severe.”

  “Bloody hell.” Cid dropped his head into his hands.

  As time passed, Larissa’s tears dried, her body shuddered with every heavy breath, and her hands shook uncontrollably. It was all she could do to look down at the lifeless body in her arms, her mind a blank.