by Ren Garcia
At about four thousand feet, the shaft of Shadow tech flattened out and began forming an ugly black cloud of soot that was rapidly descending.
Two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, still she was awash in Shadow tech. Davage could only glimpse her occasionally, her head and torso mostly cloaked in black material. He Sighted her just to make sure she wasn't up to anything. She just stood there, swaying slightly, a look of infinite relief etched on her face. Davage couldn't help but admire her power, the forces she commanded.
Soot from the black cloud came down and settled in dark sheets.
Finally, after ten minutes she stopped and put her arms down. Davage and Kilos were filthy from the soot. Davage noted with some humor that the distant Sisters were also filthy—he guessed, since they weren't killing her, that it was nothing but soot. Sygillis, however, was as clean and pale as ever.
She turned to Davage and picked up her shawl. "Thank you, sir. I am finished. It is all right now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I am clear."
"Feel better?"
"I do. Thank you."
He picked her up and carried her back to the ripcar.
"I am sorry about the soot. Since the Sisters will not let me control it, it will fall where it falls." She gently brushed it off of his face and made a little spit-curl with the bangs of his dark blue hair.
"It's quite all right."
The ripcar was filthy. Davage set Sygillis down, and he and Kilos cleaned the interior as best they could. Finally, they got in and Davage hauled it into the sky.
Sygillis appeared to be enjoying the ride. With abandon, she looked around and peered over the side.
"Show me," she said finally.
"Pardon?"
"You are the famous Captain Davage, yes?"
He looked at her.
"Your friend, Princess Marilith, goes on and on about your skills as a pilot. It seems to both enrage and fascinate her. Show me; make this vehicle do something interesting."
Davage smiled and reached for the throttle.
"Captain Davage," Kilos said in a tart voice. "May I remind you that we are due back aboard Seeker immediately so that we may plot solution for our next destination?"
Sygillis stared at Davage.
"Lieutenant," Davage said to Kilos, "you are far too young to be so damn old."
He cranked the throttle and sent the ripcar in a massive series of rolls, slides, and loops. Sygillis leaned back and shrieked with delight, laughing and clapping the whole time.
How different, he mused, from some of the other guests he'd had in it. Demona of Ryel hated the ripcar, was convinced she was going to fall out and white knuckled even in slow, straight flight. Black Hats are truly fearless.
When they got back aboard the ship, Kilos grabbed Davage by his shirt. "Every damn chance you get to play in that damn car, you …" she said before turning green and getting sick in the corner.
On their way back to her quarters, Sygillis was chattering with excitement. "That was exhilarating, Davage, truly remarkable. When can we do it again?"
"I am not certain, I suppose the next time you are in need to discharge your Shadow tech we could have another go. How long do you think that will be?"
"Oh, about a week or so,"
"Fine."
They reached her quarters and went in.
The room was completely cleaned and repaired. The bed was made, and a bowl of food, cheeses, and fruits sat on the table. "I ordered your quarters repaired whilst we were on the surface."
She sat down at the table and grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl.
"Sygillis," Davage said. "I must say that I am very pleased by your performance on the surface. You kept your word, you complied with our wishes, and that was a very spectacular display. Most impressive."
She smiled at him and took a bite from her piece of fruit.
"Did you like that? I was hoping to impress you."
"The change in you since just yesterday is, well, remarkable. I cannot tell, at this point, whether you are attempting to lull me into a contented state so that you may more easily kill me or …"
She laughed. "Davage—Dav, if I may please call you that, on the planet surface I could have killed you and your lieutenant in so many different ways. The thought really didn't cross my mind. Like I said, you make me laugh, you engage me in interesting conversation, I find I enjoy your company, and I think you have pretty eyes. And best of all, we have unfinished business together."
"Back to that again. You are incorrect. We have un-begun business. Business that never was and never will be."
"Tell me honestly that you have not thought about it … that the prospect does not intrigue you?"
"This is pointless."
"Please answer the question."
"I have not thought about it. The prospect does not intrigue me."
She looked at him with a skeptical eye. "I find it interesting that you are choosing to lie to me right now, Captain. I can tell when you are lying. Debating a Black Hat who has learned to use her tongue has its disadvantages."
"Are you seeking to annoy me with a pointless topic, or does the prospect of becoming my lover actually intrigue you?"
"Yes and very much yes. I enjoy talking you in circles, I enjoy making you blush, and I look greatly forward to becoming your lover. Remember, I have seen the future, so it's just a matter of time. The sooner the better."
"Really … some bizarre alternative future, no doubt."
"There is no such thing. The future is the future."
"That's not what we say in League society."
"Then you know nothing in League society."
She took her blue shawl off. "Make your eyes glow again for me."
He headed for the door. "Sygillis, really," he said, indignant.
She smiled, feeling victorious. "She was right," she said.
"Who was?"
"Marilith. You are a wonderful pilot. I was very impressed with your skill. I am very impressed with you in general. I am glad I didn't kill you earlier."
"Of course you are. I am Captain Davage."
She held her apple and laughed. She put her feet up and took another bite from it. "May I come with you … wherever you are going? I wish to come with you."
"You may not."
"Then stay for a bit. Let us make a pot of coffee and share it together."
"Time is short and I must to the bridge."
Sygillis wasn't giving up. "Then, when will I see you again?"
"I do not know. When a moment allows."
"I want you to take dinner with me, as I wish to continue arguing with you regarding the pending and inevitable status of our relationship. I promise, this evening I will not try to kill you, and as you have seen, I can be taken at my word."
"What if I cannot make time for dinner?"
"Then, all previous notions are off. See you tonight." She smiled.
"Perhaps then you will see fit to make your eyes glow for me again. Your prisoner requests it of you."
With that, Davage left the room. Of all the threats she had made so far, this one was the most disturbing by far.
* * * * *
She finished her apple and threw it aside. The great heaviness within her was gone. He had taken her to the surface and allowed her to be rid of it.
He had promised to help her and he did. This man, this Davage—an enemy—had saved her life.
He was a Fleet captain; he was her enemy. Why had she not killed him? That was her duty …
No, not an enemy. What was he? Could he be … a friend? Was that possible?
Why could she not stop thinking about him?
His eyes, in the dark, glowing with golden light, just like in her dream … the old dream. Was it he? Was he the Light? Had she been waiting for him all this time?
To kill him, such a waste. His light … so beautiful.
She was excited. She wished she could leave her room and go with him. He had been rig
ht, though. She was still a prisoner.
For now, for now …
She closed her eyes and thought about the future, about the things she had seen.
Metatron.
Just the two of them standing there alone.
Something whispered … something said that had meant everything to her.
She and Davage … making love. He, showing her things she had never thought possible. Her body, small, trembling, lost in his touch …
And something more, something that she was only now coming to understand.
She had seen herself, the subject of a large, gothic portrait. She stood in an ornate chapel wearing a blue gown. Her hair was arranged in some strange configuration. Her face was painted, her Shadowmark highlighted, not hidden.
Her portrait hung on the stony wall, surrounded by other portraits.
There was an inscription on the frame.
It said: SYGILLIS, COUNTESS OF BLANCHEFORT.
The future … it couldn't come soon enough.
13
THE BLACK ABBESS
"If you ask me, Dav, now—now is when this thing gets really dangerous," Kilos said. She took a drink of coff ee, winced, and set her cup down. She hated coff ee. "I wouldn't go back in there with her under any circumstance."
Davage, sitting in his office, shrugged. "Come now. All she asked was if I would join her for dinner."
"That's what she asked, but that's not what she meant. What she meant was if you don't show up, then she was going to try and kill you again. That's a pretty serious threat. I think she's taking a liking to you. I think that's very clear."
Davage put his cup down. "You really think so? I got the impression she was trying to annoy me with a pointless topic."
"Yes, Dav, I do. I'm not much of a debater, but she wouldn't keep bringing the subject up if it wasn't on her mind. Also, why wouldn't she fall for you? Why did Demona of Ryel, Princess Marilith, Marshall Henbane, and Captain Hathaline all lose it for you and not her?"
"You never did, Ki."
"Oh please, Dav. I like you too much to love you."
"And Demona of Ryel, too?"
"Yes, Dav—open your eyes and look around sometime! All that Sight and you can't see what's right in front of your face. It was pretty obvious. I liked Demona. I thought you two struck a fine couple, if you really want my opinion. Anyway, women just seem to like you— why I don't know."
Davage took a drink and looked at Kilos. "That tiny little man you married, he's a bookworm—I mean a librarian, right?"
"Yes."
"Does he realize what a hostile Marine he married?"
"Yes, he does. It works in my favor."
Davage laughed and took another sip.
"And, Dav, what if, as time goes by, she starts demanding more and more? What if she starts wanting something from you that you're not willing to give?"
"Why would she do that?"
"Listen, Black Hat or not, she is still a female, and is fully capable of acting irrationally. I know, if I had her power, there are probably a few men walking around out there who might be dead right now—you included."
Davage sat down and thought a moment. "I am … noncommittal, as usual."
"You can't be shook up about the Marilith thing for the rest of your life. What is … is what must be, I suppose if I were to wax philosophical. Maybe, when Hath did that thing to her at the ball … what was it?"
"The Cloud …" Davage said with a hint of bitterness.
"Yes—the Cloud. Maybe that's what Marilith was going to become on her own anyway. I think Hath did you a favor. In any event, tread carefully, and do what needs to be done in order to ensure your survival, even if that includes lying down with that Black Hat."
"Ki, don't be crude."
"And by the way, Dav, I also enjoy having dinner with you from time to time. Remember me? Kilos, your first officer, your best friend! We never get to sit in the mess anymore. You're always down there on Deck 13 with the prisoner. I miss my buddy."
"Just doing my part to heighten League-Xaphan relations."
Kilos looked hard at Davage. "Why have you done this, Dav?"
Davage put his coffee cup down and thought a moment.
"Tell me, Dav. I'd really like to know."
"I don't know, Ki. It must be because she looks like Hath—that must be it. It is almost as if I have been granted a reprieve. When I speak to her, it's as if I am speaking to Hath again. I hear her voice, her beautiful voice, back from the grave."
"She's not Captain Hathaline, Dav."
"I understand that, and the more I get to know Sygillis, that point becomes more and more obvious—and I don't mean that as a bad thing, Ki. Hath … I loved her, but she was so damn Blue. She loved parties and invitations and social circles and gossip. I never wanted any of that."
"Dav, you're the Lord of one of the Bluest Great Houses out there."
"Correct, are you saying that I act like a typical Blue Lord?"
"You know you don't. Why ask me such a silly question?"
"Just to emphasize a point. Hath acted every bit the Blue Lady, and that often gave me considerable pause. I always knew Hath liked me, but I could never truly determine if she liked me for me or if it was just my family name, my standing she coveted."
"Dav, you know my relationship with Captain Hathaline was never great, and some of the things that passed between us I keep private— that was between she and I, and she's not here to offer her side of the story—but I could always tell that she deeply loved you."
Davage thought a moment, remembering his friend.
"Ki, if I am to be completely frank right now, I believe I find Sygillis of Metatron … charming."
"You find her what? Charming?"
"She's full of surprises, she has a wonderful wit …"
"When she's not threatening to kill you, you mean."
"… and she's not Blue in the least. I believe I find her perspective on things refreshing. She'll ask me questions about certain topics and take a counter position—she likes to engage in debate as much as I do. We could spend hours bickering back and forth. And I tell you and I'll tell Hath's shade if I ever see her—if she had comported herself as Sygillis does, we'd have married a hundred years ago. I'm glad that I've had the occasion to make her acquaintance."
Kilos sat down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "So, when's the wedding?"
Davage smiled. "Undetermined. I'll make sure that you're there as the best man."
She laughed and mussed his blue hair. "Just, be careful, agreed?"
Kilos looked up suddenly. Her large brown eyes grew distant.
"Ki," Davage asked. "Are you all right?"
She didn't answer.
"Ki?"
After a moment she shook her head. "Dav, you're being summoned."
"I am? Who is summoning me?"
"The Grand Abbess. She wants you to come to the Priory, right away."
Davage finished his coffee. "This is a first. Did they say why?"
"No, they didn't. They sound really serious, though."
* * * * *
All League starships carry with them a small contingent of Sisters and a squadron of Stellar Marines, whose primary role is to protect them. The Sisterhood, a secretive and somewhat aloof sect, operate in a Priory, a small cluster of isolated rooms and passages designated for their exclusive use in, usually, a remote part of the ship. The Seeker's Priory was located in lonely, seldom-visited Deck 7—the bottom of the ship's frontal hull.
The Priory was the one place that no starship captain commanded. It was the domain of the Sisterhood. Davage had never even set foot in it.
Kilos, a Marine and more closely associated with the Sisters, had to guide Davage through the maze of corridors on Deck 7. He felt uneasy. Here he couldn't hear the ship, he couldn't feel its movements. It was like he was no longer on board the Seeker. It was like he was somewhere else, locked in place, incense-laced and rooted in stone.