by SJB Gilmour
She slowly opened her mouth and bared her teeth. Two were missing completely. Several more felt loose when she poked them with her tongue. In fact three actually fell out while she was doing that. There wasn’t any blood — just little white teeth in the sink.
Shaking, she sat down on the tiles, wrapped her towel around herself, and began to cry.
‘What… What’s happening to me?’ she wailed to herself.
‘Fear not, my child,’ Apollo told her gently within her mind.
Mel blinked in surprise but was very relieved to hear her god’s comforting words and even more comforting presence within her mind. She relaxed as Apollo’s strong warmth filled her. Her fear and misery washed away with His words.
‘It is a change you must go through. Your hair, teeth and nails will return.’
‘I can’t go about like this!’ she wailed aloud.
Apollo sounded amused. ‘It will not take long. Already your skin has stopped itching.’
He was right, Mel noticed. Her skin did feel much better.
‘Attend your reflection in the mirror, child. Witness your transformation for yourself.’
Mel let go of the towel and stood up, stark naked. She swallowed nervously then went and stood in front of the huge dressing mirror in the bedroom.
Every single one of her hairs was gone. Her head, her arms and underarms were all devoid of hair. She glanced down to where she’d only recently grown hair and noticed with dismay that she was bald there too once more. Despite Apollo’s comforting presence, she ran her tongue around her remaining teeth in a kind of panic while she gazed at her naked reflection. Her scalp, which had not seen daylight since she was an infant, was almost blue it was so pale.
As her tongue ran over her remaining teeth, they were becoming looser and looser. She leaned out to one side and spat. Four more teeth came out. Now only her back teeth were still there. With shaking fingers, she reached inside her mouth and pulled at them. Every one came away easily.
Next something even stranger happened. Her fingers tingled, as did her gums. Her head began to itch horribly for a moment. Then she forgot all about how weird she was suddenly feeling as she watched new hair grow back on her head and other places. She gaped down at her hands, turning them this way and that. New nails grew out, only they weren’t pink and fine the way they had been. Now they were thick and dark brown, almost black. She reached up at her growing hair, which was now several centimetres long. It too felt thicker and harder than before, and it wasn’t black the way it had been. It was very dark brown and not shiny at all.
She felt as if her mouth was filling up. She stepped forward to the mirror to get a closer look at her mouth. She opened her mouth wide as if to bare her teeth. Before her very eyes, new teeth sprouted, gleaming and oddly metallic-white in her mouth. It wasn’t just the colour of her teeth that shocked Mel. Before they’d fallen out, she’d had incisors, canines, bicuspids and molars. The molars and bicuspids at the back and sides of her mouth respectively seemed normal, but instead of incisors and canines, Mel now had fangs.
‘Bugger me,’ she murmured, feeling her new teeth with her tongue. They were smooth at the sides, and very, very sharp at the edges. By now her hair had grown out to shoulder length, and its growth seemed to be slowing down. It was thicker and wilder somehow… Bigger. Always before it had been dead straight and shiny, which was fine for mortals, but now it looked somehow monstrous. She liked it. The same went for her nails. They had grown out and now, she realised she could not really call them nails any more. They were claws.
‘It is done,’ Apollo told her within her mind. His voice was full of pride and warmth. There was none of the regret she’d detected when He’d spoken to her the day before in the hospital. ‘And you are beautiful, my daughter!’
Mel had been called a lot of things by her parents and others. She’d been called pretty, skinny, boyish, dark, and even funny-looking. She’d almost never been called beautiful. To hear a god say so within her mind was almost overwhelming. It seemed to wash away all her insecurities and worries about her body and appearance. Her god thought she was beautiful. That meant more to her than anything anyone else had ever had to say on the subject. She stared at her reflection with her new hair, claws and fangs.
How long she stood in front of that mirror, she had no idea. Eventually, spurred on by her grumbling tummy, she dressed and stormed out the door of her suite to confront two very startled Imperial guardslins.
‘I’m hungry,’ she told them, her words not coming out as clearly as she’d have liked. Her new teeth were going to take a bit of getting used to.
One of the goblin soldiers saluted her smartly. ‘I’ll have food brought to you immediately, Mistress.’ He turned on his heel marched off.
‘I want a hamburger!’ Mel yelled after him. ‘Hope he heard me,’ she muttered. She went to follow him, but his companion held one claw out with an apologetic smile.
‘I’m sorry Mistress. We’ve been ordered to see you remain safe here. No doubt His Majesty will be glad to hear you’re awake and see that we’re given new directives—’
‘But until then, I gotta stay here, right?’
The goblin grinned and nodded at her gratefully. ‘Thank-you, Mistress.’ He nodded down the hall in the direction his partner had gone. ‘My companion will return soon, and I’m sure His Majesty won’t be far behind.’
True to the goblin’s prediction, Jerrit, Supreme Chancellor of The Mingus Consortium (the merchant group that had taken control of Jilde), and Emperor of Jilde arrived only about ten minutes later. With him came a very nervous goblin chef, wheeling a trolley very much like the ones Gnumphlatia Manor used for their room service.
‘Mistress—’ Jerrit began. Mel waved him off as she pushed past the surprised chef to get at the food. The burger looked and smelled delicious.
‘Lemme eat first,’ she told Jerrit through bites. Mel had always enjoyed the simple act of chewing a really good burger. Her new teeth and fangs made that experience even more pleasurable, only faster. As big as it was, that burger didn’t last long. She wiped her mouth with the napkin and glared at the chef.
‘I’ll be needing two more of those,’ she told him, pointing one newly-clawed finger at him. ‘And this time, use more mustard, more cheese and more pickles.’
The goblin nodded and bolted for the door.
‘And I want fries and a thickshake!’ Mel yelled. ‘Chocolate!’ She turned to Jerrit. ‘Now what the hell do you really want and why the hell am I here?’ “Hell” wasn’t exactly the word she used.
Jerrit smiled. ‘As I said, Mistress. You’re here to return our moon. Before we get to that, or until it happens that is, I am at your disposal.’
‘Huh?’
‘You might be here a while. I’m taking it upon myself to make sure you have everything you need and know everything you need to know.’
‘Do you know how I’m supposed to return this moon of yours? It’s not like I’ve got the bloody thing in my pocket.’
Jerrit sighed. ‘The one thing I don’t know, and she asks me straight away—’
‘But you’re sure I’m the one to do it?’
‘Yes, Mistress.’
‘And you’re not going to let me leave until I do.’
Jerrit’s smile didn’t change. ‘No Mistress.’
And so began Mel’s stay on Jilde. Aside from her more noticeable changes, which were shocking at first but soon became quite easy to get used to, Mel soon discovered that some things on Jilde weren’t so easy become accustomed to. The strange moonless planet had a different gravitational pull than Earth. She felt quite a bit heavier than she did on Earth. Worse than that, during the long days, she felt increasingly exhausted, especially if she was out of doors.
During the nights, which were only a little shorter than the days, she felt wide-awake. It was as if her whole system had changed to that of a nocturnal creature, and she didn’t much like what that could mean, even if it did seem quit
e fitting with her new appearance. She slept as best as she could during the day, and was awake at night. Jerrit faithfully kept his promise and made sure he maintained the same hours she did. This caused quite a deal of angst for Jerrit’s staff who were used to their ruler keeping more regular hours, but since Jerrit was Emperor and Mel his personal “guest”, they had little choice but to keep the same hours as the odd pair.
Mel’s vision continued to change. During the days, she was almost blinded by the light around her, and so she sought to spend as much time as she could indoors, when she wasn’t sleeping, that is. All around her was very bright, unless she was very deep underground. Even then, without any light at all, she could still see everything. The trace elements of silver in every object on Jilde glowed brightly to her, and she could see that glow right through all kinds of solid matter. Finding a room that could be completely dark was nearly impossible.
Even stranger, was the feel of the planets and sun had on Jilde. Mel had always been able to sense just where planets were, much the same way Ronny could tell which way a tunnel went without actually being in it. Every now and then, she felt a lack of gravity above her that was almost like a push. It took her a while but she finally realised she knew exactly where Jilde’s missing moon should be. She could feel it as clear as day.
The harsh gravity and her strange new eyesight made being outside on Jilde almost unbearable. There was so much silver on the planet that she was very nearly blinded. When she had first left the hospital, her eyes had only begun to change. Over the passing weeks, the silver sheen she saw on everything grew brighter and brighter. When she looked at silver itself, it shone as though she was looking at a light bulb. The entire planet of Jilde was quite literally choking with silver, and so to her, everything glowed.
Her only real joy was that she got to ride in the great, nuclear-powered airships and ornithopters whenever she wanted. The Palace guardslins escorted her of course, but it was still an exhilarating experience. Some of the older machines still used silver and enchanted engines for power, but most of the newer and larger models used uranium. Apart from the fantastic freedom of flying above Jilde, Mel was able to see the actual process these clever goblins used to harness the radioactive material to power the machines.
Some days later, she was lounging in an enormous armchair, gazing out the window at a passing ornithopter.
‘It is often difficult for humans to adapt to life on Jilde,’ Jerrit commented sagely. The Emperor was a strange goblin. He was several thousand years old and very well-mannered and polite. His speech was cultured and betrayed an extensive education. There was also a hint of power in his voice. After all, a goblin doesn’t rise to power the way Jerrit had by being meek. Just how ruthless Jerrit was prepared to be, Melanie wasn’t sure. So far, he had been nothing but gentle and kind to her. He had provided her with an entire wing of his palace and several house staff to cater to the teenager’s every need.
From the moment she discovered them, Mel had decided to keep the extent of her new powers to herself. Being able to see through walls was certainly a handy secret weapon, and she was not about to let anyone know of it just yet. Still, despite the obvious benefits, it was quite distracting at times. There was so much more to see!
She tore her attention away from the flying machine outside the window. ‘Staying awake isn’t so hard,’ she told Jerrit, ‘but I can’t sleep longer than I usually do.’ She blinked — something she was doing almost constantly now. ‘And I can see every bit of silver in the place! It’s everywhere!’
‘I know,’ Jerrit replied sadly. ‘Our rivers and oceans have long since died from the poisonous stuff. Our valleys and mines are full of it. That’s one of the reasons we goblins are such skilled silversmiths. We have a vast supply of the cursed metal. To rid ourselves of as much of it as we can, we have learned to fashion it into desirable objects to sell to other worlds.’
The two were in Jerrit’s huge tome-lined study. It was late at night, which was the time that Mel found herself to be most alert, and the catering staff were bringing in her fourth breakfast for the day. One more change her body seemed to be going through was that she was almost constantly hungry.
Jerrit had spent every spare minute with Melanie since she had arrived at the palace. He had filled in the surprisingly few gaps in her education of Jildish history and culture. As she ate, a thought occurred to her.
‘Don’t you have a planet to run?’ she asked him curiously. ‘You’re spending all your time with me. Isn’t that keeping you from your other jobs?’
Jerrit grinned an ugly goblin grin. ‘Ahh, Mistress Hazelwood, that’s what administrators are for. Besides,’ he added intently, ‘you’re quite an important young lady. You may not realise it, but you’re just about the single most important person on Jilde right now. Trust me, spending time with you is my job.’
‘I don’t get it,’ Mel told him bluntly. ‘I’m just a kid. How am I supposed to find this moon of yours? I’ve got—’ She broke off, not wanting to tell Jerrit about how she and Sarah were the ones destined to destroy Conundrum Gate.
‘I am unsure as to how, Mistress, but I am certain of what. As I told you when we first met, you are the one who will return our moon to us.’ He waved a claw at the window. ‘When you do, our days will be shorter again and our seas will return to life. There will be seasons once more!’ He gave her a mysterious smile. His black eyes gleamed with mirth. He picked up the ancient tome that Melanie had never seen him without. ‘Do you know what this is?’
Mel shook her head. She had seen thousands of old tomes before. This one did not look any different from any of the others she had seen. Then she thought about it a bit more. It did look familiar… In fact, it looked just like the decoy Babylonian Heresies she and Sarah had got into so much trouble trying to find! Determined not to show any excitement, Mel calmly kept eating her sandwich.
‘It’s one of the last copies known to exist,’ Jerrit told her proudly. ‘Selfish of me, I suppose, but since I found it, I have not let it out of my sight — not even to have it copied.’
‘What is it?’ Mel asked as she chewed a mouthful of sandwich.
‘Your people know it as The Babylonian Heresies.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘I’m afraid its author is just a shadow of his former self now. He used to be quite formidable.’
Melanie swallowed before she had finished chewing and nearly choked. When she got her breath back, she stared at Jerrit. Several emotions ran through her at once. Her resolution not to show any emotion failed dismally.
‘Do you know how much trouble we got into trying to find that thing?’ she demanded.
Jerrit nodded. ‘I’m sorry about that. I had to set those decoys. The temple you entered and subsequently blew up was there for the sole purpose of alerting me as to your imminent arrival. We goblins have seers too, you know.’ He opened the tome and flicked through the ancient pages until he found what he was looking for. ‘Listen carefully, Mistress,’ he said and the tome began to quote:
In the Time of Learning, when two stars lack the third, one will come who will forge that missing heavenly orb from her own flesh and blood. The Last Daughter of a line born by gods and which will ultimately bear more, will come forth already well-versed in the arts of sorcery, however The Smith of Ages shall steer her to her true path. She will be gifted with powers of craft and silver by the hand of He who was once her God. Though He will guide her, that God shall never be her Master, for she will become her own Master and be worshipped by others instead of choosing to be a worshipper herself. In time, she shall rise to great power.
Just as The Smith of Ages killed the gods of Jilde by creating The Star of Planes, to The Last Daughter, he shall reveal the key to commanding that most powerful device. From that moment onwards and forever, The Last Daughter will go by a new name. She shall be The Nightsmith. Liquid death will run in her veins and all the powers of night shall be hers. From her own body shall The Nightsmith give birth to the new moo
n and from her own will, shall new Gods arise who will cherish All The Men of Jilde. The moon she shall return to Jilde will be the missing third in the convergence that shall herald The Time of War. She shall lead the Nine Forces of Hope against he who would bring destruction and despair to the universe.
Melanie gaped at Jerrit. She blinked several times. ‘That thing’s talking about me, right?’
Jerrit nodded, shutting the tome.
The Smith of Ages made The Star! she thought to herself excitedly. And, he’s going to slip up and tell me how to use it! ‘What’s that stuff about death being in my veins?’ she asked to cover her excitement.
Jerrit smiled apologetically. ‘I think you know the answer to that already.’ He nodded at her hands and then at her mouth. ‘Your fingernails have turned to silver. That’s why they’re brown. Your teeth are not made of calcium any more. Your new fangs, quite nice by the way, and the rest of your teeth are exactly the colour of pure, untarnished silver.’
Mel was stunned.
Jerrit raised an eye-ridge. ‘You seem surprised? Did you think I hadn’t noticed?’
Mel swallowed then glared at the goblin. ‘Anything else you think I might’ve thought you hadn’t noticed?’ she demanded.
Jerrit shrugged. ‘Well, you managed to recover quite quickly from a wound that I was advised is almost universally fatal. Only the influence of a deity could have aided your recovery. Also, you can feel where our moon is supposed to be. I guess I’m just waiting to see what you do about it.’ He held his claws out innocently. ‘I’m not really much of a religious type, despite the rumours. When our moon disappeared, so did our gods. Little point praying to an absent deity. But,’ and he tapped the tome with one claw, ‘if this thing is right, and I think it is, when you return our moon, our gods will return also.’
Mel swore silently to herself. This Jerrit was very smart, she conceded to herself. She nodded. ‘Apollo came to me,’ she admitted.
Jerrit nodded approvingly. ‘I thought as much. The Archer God’s powers are limited on this world. Tell me, young Mistress, what did He do to you?’