by T. J. Berry
“Follow us,” said one of them. It was the tall Sister from the desert with her former companions. It was surprisingly easy to tell them apart, even with their veils on. Each Sister was quite different in body shape and personality.
The two Sisters in the lead stepped over the prone bodies of the grunts who had been knocked down. Their wide, blinking eyes were conscious, but they did not move. Two other Sisters took up the rear, forming a protective barrier between Gary and the crowd. They stopped. The tall Sister motioned for Subedar Singh to come along.
“You have a part in this as well,” said the lead Sister. Singh looked surprised, but took a spot in the formation next to Gary.
“Thank you,” said Gary, stepping out into the street proper and noticing that no one was giving the Sisters a second glance. They were heady with magic. It surrounded them like a protective halo. There was at least one necromancer in the group and they were able to walk through the street without anyone taking notice.
“Kaila told us where to find you,” said the small Sister who had spoken to him on the Jaggery. “Without intervention, there was a ninety-seven per cent chance that you were going to be recaptured and miss the Summit.”
“Technically, it was ninety-seven point four nine per cent which rounds to ninety-seven per cent,” said another Sister from the rear.
“There is no need for two decimal places in casual conversation,” said the tall Sister, and the others nodded in agreement.
“If we helped, we brought the chance down to nine per cent,” she said, turning her veiled face to the Sister behind her to see if she was going to offer a correction. She was silent.
“I am so fired,” muttered Subedar Singh.
“Actually,” said the small Sister, “we’re counting on you not only keeping your job, but getting a promotion. It’s extremely important to the future.”
The tall Sister cleared her throat and the smaller one dropped her voice to a whisper.
“It’s going to get bad for a while, but it will be all right in the end. Trust me.”
They turned a corner, emerging from between two buildings. Suddenly the Jaggery loomed above them, filling the sky. Jenny had hovered it above the stadium like a giant poached egg balanced in a tiny cup. The Sisters led them toward the tunnel that opened onto the playing field.
“My gods,” said Subedar Singh, looking up.
“Not just yet,” chirped the small Sister, cheerfully. “They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Seven Sisters
Typical of Reason grunts, Fort Jaisalmer Traffic Control hadn’t bothered to clear the stadium before granting landing clearance to the Jaggery. As Jenny swung the stoneship over the rugby field, a lone groundskeeper making stripes in the grass looked up and abandoned her lawn tractor at a run.
“Sorry, love,” called Jenny softly, easing the behemoth ship into the oval stadium on the halfway line with the cargo door facing the ground. She hovered it about five meters from the grass and hoped that would be close enough for unloading.
An explosion rocked the streets of Fort J. Jenny could see a three-story building billowing smoke a few blocks away. That was the harvesting center. If that was his exit, she might not have to go searching for Gary after all.
Boges popped into the cockpit.
“I’ll have my kin unload your personal belongings, Captain,” she said to Jenny, then turned to Jim. “Would you like me to have them pack your things, Cowboy?”
“Don’t touch my stuff,” he said.
“No one wants to touch your stuff,” said Ricky.
“We’ll leave it for you to collect,” said Boges. “You’re going to find him, right?” she asked Jenny.
A second, larger explosion shook the ship.
“I get the feeling he’s on his way,” said Jenny, rubbing her jaw. The bone had gone back into its proper shape, but the ache went all the way up to her ears. Add it to the list of things that hurt; she was a veritable medical diagnosis textbook of painful conditions.
A redworm screeched and Boges ducked back into the dwarf door. On the viewscreen, a contingent of people marched in formation toward the ship.
“Soldiers incoming,” said Jim, getting out of his chair with a pained sigh. “You better lose yourself until I get rid of them.”
Jenny looked at the viewscreen more closely. Each person was dressed alike, but not in Reason uniforms. They wore crimson flight suits and matching opaque veils that obscured their faces.
“Those aren’t soldiers,” she said. “It’s the Sisters.”
“Yes!” cried Ricky, rocketing out of the cockpit.
“Even worse,” said Jim, following her toward the cargo hold. Jenny brought up the rear in her chair. Sweat beaded up on her forehead as she shoved herself through the dirt in the hallways. She couldn’t tell if Jim didn’t hear her struggling, or just didn’t care.
The Sisters marched up into the open belly of the Jaggery without waiting for an invitation. A woman at the head of the formation lifted her veil and threw it back so it hung around her neck. She was compact and completely bald, like one of those smiling monks who begged for cash in exchange for flowers on space stations.
Ricky threw herself at the Sister, showering her head with kisses. “Auntie Nash!”
The woman embraced her, then held Ricky out at arm’s length.
“My dear niece Ricky Tang. You look so good. Maybe gained a little weight. You’re doing well for yourself.”
“Ugh,” Ricky sighed. “Stop with the weight, Auntie.”
“My invitation still stands,” said Lady Nashita, tugging on Ricky’s collar playfully. Ricky waved away the suggestion.
“I’d be terrible as one of your girls. I never follow instructions,” she said.
Lady Nashita gave a withering look to one of her acolytes.
“Not all of them are as disciplined as you think.” The offending Sister shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “But we have ways of working around that.”
Ricky made a face. “Sounds terrible. I’d rather take my chances on the streets of Jaisalmer.”
Jim stood stupefied, but Jenny offered a bow.
“Lady Nashita,” she said, “We have your cargo.” She gestured to the boxes tethered behind her.
Lady Nashita came close to Jenny, smelling of cigars and whiskey.
“Jenny Perata, you have fulfilled the contract,” she said, much to Jenny’s relief. “But at great personal cost.” Lady Nashita reached up and ran a gentle hand down Jenny’s jawline. Her hands were soft, but freezing cold. “I did not understate the risks of this task, did I?”
“You did not,” said Jenny.
Lady Nashita moved over to Jim, scrutinizing his face and wrinkling her nose.
“James Bryant, my sincere condolences. You have lost your dearest love and your life’s purpose. Be assured that you will find one of those again soon.” Jim coughed and cleared his throat.
A pair of Reason soldiers approached the loading ramp. Lady Nashita whirled on them.
“This ship is under my protection. You have no need to search it.”
The soldiers walked up the ramp. One of them nudged the reverend mother out of the way with the end of her weapon.
“Your protection is not worth as much as it used to be,” she said, stepping up into the cargo hold. “Not after you what you Sisters pulled with that escaped political prisoner.”
The Sisters’ heads swiveled to wait for Lady Nashita’s orders. She held up a hand as the Reason soldiers checked the cargo.
“Should I take them out?” asked the tall Sister.
“You should wait like I asked,” replied Lady Nashita. “Your willingness to fight is going to come back to bite you.”
The Sister stepped back into line as the Reason soldiers came down the ramp.
“It all appears in order, but there’s a note here from Colonel Wenck –”
Lady Nashita flicked her head toward her acolytes a
nd the tall Sister’s leg shot out so fast that it was barely visible. The soldier hit the ground, out cold. Before the second one could react, another Sister swept his legs out from under him and landed her fist on his temple.
“You were saying, Reverend Mother?” asked the tall Sister archly.
“Hush,” replied Lady Nashita, nudging the unconscious soldiers down the ramp with the edge of her boot. They rolled into the grass, limp. “Make sure they stay down while we’re waiting for these boxes to open.”
The cargo hold’s interior door opened and Ricky walked out, rolling two suitcases behind her.
“As for the matter of payment, we will pay extra to compensate for your past and future losses, Geneva,” said Lady Nashita.
“Future losses?” asked Jenny. “That sounds alarming–” Her tablet pinged. “Bloody hell, that’s a lot of money.”
Jim looked at his own tablet as it chimed, then slid it nonchalantly into his pocket. He pulled out a bag of tobacco and a set of papers and started rolling himself a cigarette.
Lady Nashita walked to the cargo and checked the timer as it counted down the final minutes.
“Shall we move these outside, Sisters?”
The Sisters sprang into action, unstrapping the boxes and sliding them down the ramp onto the grass. They looked odd and out of place – two giant plastic crates on the center line.
“Where is Boges?” said Lady Nashita. Boges poked her head out of one of the maintenance doors. She approached timidly.
“Reverend Mother,” she said. Lady Nashita rested a hand on her head.
“Is everything ready?”
“Yes, Reverend Mother. I am regrowing most of the flora and repopulating the fauna.”
“Good. A shipment of supplies will arrive shortly. You’ll need those for the next destination. I don’t need to tell you how important they are.”
“No, Reverend Mother.”
“And where is little Gary?” asked Lady Nashita.
“The Reason took him at Borstal Checkpoint. He’s in the harvesting center,” said Jenny.
“Oh, that’s very close. Just a few blocks from here. I’ll have my girls go pick him up,” she said, as if they were grabbing him from a shuttle terminal and not breaking into a high security Reason facility. Four Sisters turned and ran toward the stadium exit. Their long veils streamed behind them like contrails.
“Wait,” said Boges. “Jenny’s wife is there as well.”
“No, I don’t think so,” said Lady Nashita.
Jenny’s heart pounded in her ears. The Sisters knew things that others didn’t. They saw the future and knew how things would play out in the long run. If Kaila was dead, Lady Nashita would know.
“What do you mean?” she asked, dreading the answer.
“I mean we walked past her on the way here. She’s on her way to the stadium,” said Lady Nashita, with a grin.
Jenny rolled down the ramp onto the grass, ignoring Jim’s questions about where she was going. In the tunnel where the Sisters had entered the field, a tree shuffled slowly toward her. She spun her wheels so fast her hands slipped off the grips.
“Kaila!”
Jenny careened headfirst into branches and bark, nearly knocking her wife over. Kaila leaned down and kissed her, over and over, until the bark started to chafe her lips and her jaw ached from ear to ear again.
“Oh my Sap, I thought I’d never see you again.” She hung onto Kaila as if she was never going to let her go.
“I knew you would come,” said Kaila, winding her flexible branches round Jenny’s waist and settling herself into Jenny’s lap.
“I’m sorry it took so long,” said Jenny, resting her head in Kaila’s flowers. “I’m going to take you home.”
“You have a ship?” asked Kaila.
“I’m giving the Jaggery back to Gary, well… I’m making Jim give it back, but we have enough cash to buy our own ship now. One of those new ones that practically flies itself. Maybe Gary will give us a bit of horn so we can get there fast, or maybe not and we’ll just enjoy the ride.” She ran a finger along the edge of Kaila’s ear. The dryad shivered with an autumnal rustle of leaves.
“Sounds perfect,” said Kaila, and they kissed again.
Someone at the far end of the hallway cleared their throat.
“You’re going to end up with a mouthful of splinters like that,” said Gary. He looked nearly as happy to see them together as she was.
“You don’t know the half of it,” said Jenny, grinning so wide that her new teeth throbbed. “Get over here.” He walked over flanked by two Sisters. There was a Reason officer with him as well, but no one else seemed concerned by her presence.
Jenny pulled him down by the front of his sweater and whispered into his ear. She was so giddy with the smell of Kaila’s flowers that she’d kissed him on the cheek before realizing it.
“Thank you for bringing her back to me.” He nodded and moved away, but she held him there. She had something else to say. “I’m truly sorry for everything I did to you.”
As soon as she said it, she knew it was completely inadequate, but she’d gotten caught up in the moment. He gave her a sad smile and squeezed her hand before walking with the Sisters onto the field. She was left feeling empty that she hadn’t said or done more.
Kaila flicked her ear. “What is it, Jen? You look sad.”
“The usual,” said Jenny, in the shorthand of their marriage.
“You can only try to do better next time,” said Kaila, extricating herself from Jenny’s lap. They followed Gary and the Sisters into the stadium to collect their things. Jenny was too ashamed to ask Gary for a piece of horn to power a new ship, so she started calculating the amount of supplies they’d need for the years-long journey to Gymnoverium. One thing they would not be taking on this trip was dehydrated cheddar cheese.
As she approached the group, Boges was holding out a tablet to Jim, who looked like he had no intention of taking it from her.
“It’s my ship,” he said, mouth set and smoke wafting out of his nose. “Says so right in the deed.”
“You are such a jackass, James Bryant. You sign that ship over to Gary right now or I will break your nose again,” said Jenny, rolling up on the mercifully short grass.
They were going their separate ways and she had nothing to lose in not telling him off any longer. “I don’t even know why you’re still here. It’s Gary’s ship. Sign it and get out.”
Lady Nashita looked at her patiently.
“We need James here for the moment, Geneva. And you don’t need to fight my battles for me, unless you’re interested in becoming a Sister.”
It sounded suspiciously like an invitation.
“No, thank you,” said Jenny.
“We have a lot of experience with people of your… abilities,” continued Lady Nashita.
“What does that mean?” asked Kaila.
“Jenny might be a necromancer,” said Ricky gleefully. Kaila looked down at Jenny with shock and dread.
“No,” she breathed.
“No,” agreed Jenny. “I just did a party trick in the null. People do that all the time.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” said Kaila, relaxing. “Even I can do things in the null.”
Jenny shot a warning look to both Lady Nashita and Ricky. They both looked amused and she could absolutely see the relation.
“I’ll sign over the ship, but I want more money,” announced Jim.
“And you shall have it,” replied Lady Nashita. Jim’s tablet pinged. He looked down.
“More than that.”
It pinged again.
“Is that enough?” asked Lady Nashita.
“That’ll do,” he said.
“Are we passing out cash?” asked Ricky. “Because though my spirit is strong, my body is weak. I have corporeal needs.” Lady Nashita laughed and Ricky’s tablet pinged. She pulled it out.
“Oh āiyā, Auntie. Too much!”
“You’re going to need it. I�
��d tell you to be safe, but it’s the Reason that has to watch out for you. Go have fun and I’ll see you again soon.”
Ricky kissed her aunt’s head again.
She leaned down and pecked Jenny’s cheek.
“You should come find me in my new bar, Jenny fucking Perata,” she whispered. She dragged her suitcases out into the city, where three distinct plumes of smoke rose on the horizon. Jenny figured she would be turning a profit within a day.
Jenny turned and glared at Jim. It sickened her that they’d paid Jim to do what was right. She was about to tell him so when Lady Nashita put a hand on her shoulder.
“Geneva, you should trust that everything will come right in the end.”
Jenny’s face got hot. It was easy to say things like that when you could see the future. The rest of them never knew if all their effort would be worth it.
“Sure. Fine,” said Jenny, shrugging off her reassuring touch. She found Lady Nashita’s nonchalance infuriating. “Kaila, can you get our bags?”
Kaila ambled up the ramp and picked up the two bags that contained everything they owned in the universe. It was pitifully little to show for decades of work. But they’d start again with the Sisters’ money. She lifted her hand in a wave. There didn’t seem to be a way to make a goodbye large enough for what they’d been through together, so she didn’t even try.
“We’re on our way. Good luck to everyone,” Jenny called, pushing away from them.
Lady Nashita put a hand on the back of her chair and the wheels spun. Jenny whirled it around, curious.
“Don’t touch my chair.”
“You cannot leave yet, Geneva.”
“Why not?”
“You have been invited to attend the Summit as a guest of the Pymmie.”
Gary looked disconcerted and Jim spat into the grass.
Jenny didn’t believe the Pymmie existed, let alone knew who she was.
“Why would they invite me?” was all she could come up with.
“They have invited all of you,” said Lady Nashita, making an expansive gesture with her hands. “It’s a great honor.”
“Well, I’m not going,” said Jim, rolling another cigarette. Jenny wanted to slap it out of his hand. Of course he was going to refuse to go, so she decided to be the best damn Summit guest the Pymmie had ever seen.