Prince Francisque swished his long white tail about thoughtfully. “They don’t have to keep us blind forever. Even a few days delay gives them an advantage.”
The Kahn balled his fists, his talons drawing blood from his own palms. “Those cowards! They mean to end us before we can attack.”
Queen Forsythia gripped her staff tightly. “We should evacuate the coastal cities immediately. Move people as far inland as we can, to mountains and high ground as much as possible. We must avert another catastrophe before it happens.”
She looked to the other leaders for affirmation, and they nodded. “Signal every island to do so immediately,” she commanded in her mother’s voice, snapping out her hand. The navy officers frantically went to work, sending the signals.
Precept Nolocauss was concerned. “But, if my people abandon their farms…”
“I will dispatch some of my most loyal Treesingers. Our powers diminish the farther away from our trees we are, but Timmeron is still close enough to be serviceable. So long as there is usable ground, they can keep your people fed indefinitely.”
His old eyes looked out beneath bushy eyebrows thankfully. “All right.”
“We should also send out couriers to the League islands. They deserve to know what is happening as well.”
Kahn Alakaneezer forced his claws to uncurl. “Why? They are against us! What do we owe them?”
“Their leaders may have sided against us, but their people are just normal families living out their lives. We owe it to them to save as many as we can.”
Chief Maaturro kept his cool as he sat peeling an orange. “I agree with the Queen. Heck, it might even persuade more of them to join us.”
The Queen leaned against her staff. “I appreciate the thought, but my heart tells me that if they meant to join us, they would have done so by now. All we can do is try to minimize the slaughter.”
King Orens’shaw took off his crown and wiped his dark brow. “What about places like Lahiti? We have no mountains. No high places to seek refuge. What will become of us?”
The Queen turned to him and placed a gentle hand on his furry shoulder. “We’ll do everything we can for you. Perhaps the Sutorians could send some people to help construct dykes of hard-light and earth to slow the seas’ progress?”
President Kaln adjusted his spectacles and looked towards his staff. “Yes, we’ll contact my people immediately and get on it.”
“Thank you.”
Regent Kowless clicked angrily, his antennae flicking about. “We’re still reacting to their moves. We must take the initiative. We should attack those rock-lickers right now.”
Princess Turion flicked out her gloved hand. “With what? We are not ready.”
Kahn Alakaneezer scraped his claws along the floor, digging deep gouges in the living wood. “How much longer must we wait? My claws are thirsty for Stonemaster blood.”
Nikki looked over her slate and double checked her calculations. “Everything should be ready in three months.”
“Bah! That long?”
“This is the largest military operation in recorded history. Millions of people, ships, equipment, food water, it can’t just all be done in one day.”
Rachael’s face went white as she read a message ticking out before her. “Queen Forsythia…”
She could sense it was bad news before she even heard it. “What is it?”
“We just received a report from Paxillus. Hatronesia has declared open war against the Alliance.”
Several of the delegates gasped openly. Even Queen Forsythia stared in disbelief.
“No!”
Rachael nodded. “Their forces have already attacked three outposts along the Alliance border.”
Duke Relivan looked around in disbelief. “But, they were the crux of our entire invasion plan. They were going to hold the seawater over Boeth and blackmail the Stonemasters…”
Proconsul Neriise was overcome, and had to sit down with the help of his attendants. “How can we possibly win without their magic? Boeth’s defenses are practically unbreachable!”
King Issha’s scales went dark. “Is it over?”
Kaiser Duncan slammed his mechanical fist into a cabinet, cracking it open. “How did this happen? All they had to do was sign the blasted treaty. We were so close!”
“It doesn’t matter how it happened,” Precept Noloclass argued. “We just lost our greatest asset. The war might as well be over already.”
Panic set in amongst the gathered leaders.
“What are we going to do?” King Dolan wondered aloud.
“Attacking without them would be suicide,” King Orens’shaw reasoned.
Defeat hung heavy in the air. The despair was already settling in like a fog on their hearts.
Hopelessly, almost reflexively, all eyes turned to the young Queen.
Queen Forsythia dropped her head in thought, running out hundreds of different scenarios in her mind, searching for the one branch that would avoid disaster. It was like a maze, full of dead ends and false corridors, yet she sprinted through, quick as thought, searching for that one thread that still held hope. Without hesitation, she lifted up her head and made her decision.
“Signal every Alliance island to begin final preparations. Have their troops readied to attack. We launch the full invasion against the monolith in three weeks.”
The room reacted with shock. Some made noises as if they had been kicked in the belly.
“You can’t be serious,” Seer Alifan whispered, his spots glowing faintly.
Nikki was concerned most of all. “But, your highness, the Beastmasters have not yet returned, and without Hatroniesia…”
“I am aware of that. But, we have run out of time. If we wait, entire islands will be lost. Entire peoples will cease to exist. The loss of life will be catastrophic.”
All the navy officers looked at each other in concern. “I’m not sure we can be ready to leave by then, your Highness.”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed. “If we wait until we are ready, there may not be anything left to save.”
Chapter Twelve
At one time, the room had been used for surgical experimentation, a practice frowned upon even in a land as lawless as Advan was. Rotting gurneys slumped against the wall, their leather straps crumbling with decomposition. The magical tiles used to ward off infection had long since dimmed, leaving a sickly brown and green color behind. Old dusty needles and shattered vials littered the floor, and a mournful wind drew in just enough breath through the cracked windows to create a faint whistle.
It freaked out Marc something awful.
“Let’s get those barrels loaded and get outta here,” he ordered to the men and women in black, turning up his collar as if to shield himself from the stench of this place. He hated field work, but ever since Mandi had left the Kabal, Dev’in had been using him more and more as an errand boy, a fact not lost on Blair, who used it to needle him at every opportunity.
The swirling passageway of water provided just the wrong amount of illumination. It actually managed to make the place creepier. Ghastly shadows danced over the walls and ceiling like demons. Shapes of rising hands, and whipping tails.
Marc clacked his brightly-colored beak and looked at the stormy portal. “Kurt, this place gives me the jibblies, I’m gonna let you finish up here,” he said, adjusting his coat over his feathers.
Kurt looked up over the heavy barrel he was walking away from the wall, toxic warning labels covering it in a dozen languages. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the new guy.”
Kurt appealed to the others. “Come on, really?”
Jerri shrugged. “New guy.”
“Yep, new guy,” Freds agreed.
“Fine, then you two are staying with me.”
Marc and most of the others left thr
ough the portal, leaving only the trio behind.
Jerri covered her finger in blue fire and melted through the mounting that affixed her barrel to the wall.
“Be careful, that stuff is highly explosive.”
Jerri looked up and adjusted the cigar in her mouth. “So?”
“You trying to blow us all up?”
“You wish.”
Kurt managed to get his barrel before the passage, but when he turned around to help Freds, something stopped him.
There, standing in the dark corridor of this terrifying abandoned hospital, was a young child wearing overalls, holding a cat in her arms.
Kurt nearly fell backwards in fright. He looked to the others, wondering if he had suddenly gone mad, but they were looking at the girl as well.
“Hi,” Molly said sweetly.
The three Kabalists gawked at each other, at a complete loss at what to do.
“Can you help me find my big sister? I’m lost.”
Kurt’s brain refused to process what he was seeing and hearing. “Um, this is an abandoned facility. How did you get in here?”
Molly shrugged. “Through the skylight.”
Jerri stood up to her full height, towering over the others, cracking her knuckles with her massive palms. “The boss said no witnesses,” she concluded.
The cat in Molly’s arms jumped down, startling everyone as it ran beneath the operating table.
“Hey!”
“Careful, don’t hurt her,” Molly yelled.
Jerri took a swipe at it, but the animal ran between her legs, and she only managed to knock over a tray of rusted surgical tools.
“Stop that thing!” Kurt yelled.
Freds stomped at the cat as it ran beneath a cabinet, trying to catch it in the tail, but his aim was off, and he crushed a vial, releasing a putrid order into the room.
“Be gentle, she’s really nice,” Molly hollered.
“Calm down kid, we’re not going to hurt the stupid critter,” Kurt huffed as he kicked the cabinet over, revealing the animal where it was hiding.
“No, but it might hurt you,” the cat said.
Kurt furrowed his brow. “Wha?”
The cat exploded, its fur and flesh reforming into a new shape, larger than half the room.
Before he knew what was happening, Kurt was held fast by a giant, grey tentacle that wrapped around his body. Jerri’s fists burst into flame, but another tentacle caught her by the ankle, pulling her feet out from under her, and she came crashing heavily to the floor. The huge squid picked her up as if she weighed nothing, and slammed her powerfully into Freds, knocking them both out cold.
Kurt struggled, but the strength of the creature was overwhelming as it rifled through his pockets, removing his wallet, his communication crystals, his maps, and even his concert tickets.
As it looked through his articles, it changed into a tall blonde woman. Only her arm remained a tentacle as Molly ran over and gave her a coat to cover herself.
“It’s you.”
Mandi chuckled darkly. “I never get tired of hearing that.”
“You’re the changeling.”
“True.”
“You’re the one who has been attacking us.”
“Also true.”
“What do you want?”
Mandi held out the map and tapped Dev’in’s signature in the corner. “I want to know how my father is gathering enough black shakes to power the Night of Rebirth. He’s not using the older bases, so he’s hatched a new scheme, and I want to know what it is.”
Kurt glanced over at the swirling portal, and then to his unconscious comrades. “Okay, I’ll tell you.”
“What, really?”
“Yes. You think I wanna be tortured for days? You’ll eventually get it out of me anyway, so I’d rather just skip the unpleasant parts, if it’s all the same to you.”
Mandi set him down but did not loosen her grip. “Oh...okay.”
He tilted his head. “You sound disappointed.”
“Well, it just feels odd to skip over that step. Boy, the quality of secret Kabal members has really gone down since I left.”
“You’re one to talk. You betrayed us.”
Mandi slid her hand across the filthy operating table, making room for Molly to sit down and kick her feet. “There’s no ‘us.’ There is only Lord Valpurgeiss. Everyone else is just food, an expendable resource for him to consume at his whim.”
“You’re wrong. He’ll spare those that serve him.”
Mandi threw her head back and laughed. “Geeze, they’ll let anyone join nowadays, won’t they?”
Her fingernails grew black and long, dripping with venom as she held them up to his throat.
“Your father is having what’s left of the navy round up citizens from the islands still loyal to the League,” he said without hesitation. “He’s liquidating them in a special facility on Boeth. Thousands a day. The black ships bring them in day and night.”
Mandi tapped one of the barrels with her toe. “And what are these for? Attuned tryanide is nasty stuff. Just a drop could lay out a full-grown ossen.”
“We ran out so we came here to get more. The Stonemasters have been complaining about the screams keeping them up at night.”
“Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”
Something occurred to him and he looked at her oddly. “How did you find us?”
Mandi held up the concert tickets and bopped him on the nose with them. “Never make reservations using your real name.” With her teeth, she tore the stub in half, revealing a glowing tracking thread hidden within. “I’m the one who handed you your tickets at will-call, while you had that Erritian tart on your arm. I’ve been following you ever since. A real Kabalist wouldn’t have fallen for such a simple trick.”
Mandi readjusted her tentacle arm, wrapping it around his mouth to silence him as he struggled.
“This is a problem,” she whispered to herself.
“Whaddya mean, sis?” Molly asked, sucking on a lollipop.
“It means this might be a little too big for just the two of us to handle.”
Mandi’s sharp features softened as she looked at the girl. “Hey, Molly, look, I need you to pay close attention to something.”
Molly looked around innocently. “Okay.”
Mandi wrapped her tentacle around Kurt’s eyes and ears as well, then scooted in close to Molly.
“Listen, if anything ever happens to me, I want you to go and find Athel Forsythia. Do you know who that is?”
Molly shook her head.
Mandi’s flesh shifted. Her skin took on a hint of ivory fairness and a full mane of red hair grew down her back. Her cheekbones became high and proud, with just a light dusting of freckles, and her ears grew out into elegant points, until she was the mirror image of Athel.
Molly pointed excitedly. “Oh, that lady from the wanted posters.”
“Yes,” Mandi affirmed as she shifted back. If anything bad happens, go and find her. She’s also fighting against my father. She’ll keep you safe.”
Molly became concerned. “Is something bad going to happen to you?”
This jostled Mandi out of her thoughts. “Hm? Oh…No, oh no. I’m just being careful.”
Mandi drew Molly in and gave her a warm hug. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
Mandi unwrapped Kurt’s head and turned her attention back to him. He gagged and coughed at the slime her suckers had left behind.
“Now, just how do you enter this facility on Boeth?
“I don’t know. I’m just an initiate.”
She placed the tips of her claws against his throat.
“Hey, I swear, I’ve never even been there!”
He squirmed and kicked, but it did him no good. She just looked at
him, her black eyes scanning over him, as if she could see right through him.
Her gaze made him sickeningly uncomfortable. “I’m telling you I don’t know. You’ve gotta’ believe me…”Without taking her eyes off of him, Mandi turned her head and talked to Molly. “Hey kid, why don’t you go back into the break room there and have yourself a snack from our packs.”
Molly hopped down. “Sure, why?”
Mandi sensuously traced the tip of her talon along his flesh, causing it to sizzle. “Because it looks like I won’t have to skip any steps this time after all.”
As Molly skipped out of the room, Kurt whimpered in fear.
* * *
Ryin and Hanner had barely spoken two words to each other since they left Hatronesia. They went about their jobs, numbly jibing sails and checking wind currents. They kept their eyes averted, pretending to be interested in some wisp of cloud or crack in the deck.
It was unbearably tense.
“There, up ahead,” Ryin sighted.
The crumbling islet floating before them was a way station, a holdover from the unification wars, when airship range was still limited. These little stations were setup in a grid about a day’s journey from each other, allowing ships to recharge their keystones. Now, only a few dozen remained, torpidly clinging to the air as squatters and smugglers used them as miniature free ports to sell ruper spice and fence stolen goods.
Hanner ran up to the prow and kept his rifle trained keenly as Ryin brought them in closer. Despite the worn tents and tapped water tower, the islet looked as barren as they felt. Only a pair of docked longboats betrayed someone’s presence.
“You sure this is where the note said to meet you?” Ryin whispered. The whole place was eerily quiet, save for the moaning of the dry air.
“Yes, I’m squattin’ sure,” Hanner snapped, his eyes red and dreary from lack of sleep.
As they pulled up into an empty dock, Hanner heard a baby coo.
Recognizing who it was, he jumped off before the ship was even tied down, and ran frantically amidst the flapping tents.
“Strenner,” he shouted, his voice hoarse and strained. “Strenner!”
Hanner rounded the water tower and found Ellie standing there, hooded and cloaked, Strenner carefully bundled and held close to her.
Isle of Wysteria: The Monolith Crumbles Page 37