How should an envoy respond to a hostile host? Had Altman already gotten to her? He wished for the Voice’s unfailing advice. “I’m sorry if we have somehow offended you,” he said, deciding that swallowing his pride would be the best course of action. Her face dropped with displeasure and he cursed himself. They respect power, not submission.
“Your very presence offends me,” she sneered, then leaned over the side of her low chair to point at Gella. “Especially her.”
David shot a sideways glance at his companion. Her flushed cheeks revealed the storm raging under her calm exterior. He opened his mouth to defend her, then closed it again.
Lycus returned her attention to him. “You don’t even know who you’re traveling with, do you?” She jumped to her feet to climb down the few steps separating her from the two envoys. Circling around them, she eyed Gella and drew sharp breaths, as if sniffing out her opponent. “The Butcher ran away with our most precious treasures. Themis' candles.”
“Themis’ what?” David blurted out, thinking he must have misheard.
Lycus spun around to face him, her dark eyes lit up. “Candles.”
A vein pulsed on Gella’s forehead, making a bead of sweat dance. David’s brow creased in confusion. “She stole a candle?”
Lycus threw him an amused look, as if talking to an imbecile. “She stole the golden candelabras from the temple of Themis. One of Scorpio’s most precious relics.”
Could Gella have done this? He realised how little he knew of his companion. “Madam Secretary, in our youth—”
Lycus raised a hand to stop him, a look of contempt on her face. “This meeting is over,” she said and rushed up the steps.
“But…” David’s voice trailed off as two gruff guards emerged from behind Lycus to escort them out. “Thank you for your time.” She sank back on her chair and waved dismissively.
He barely exchanged a word with Gella as they returned to their room. As Anthea’s envoys, their accommodation was inside the barracks that served as the Secretaries’ seat of power. They walked down a plain corridor, past Lycus’ private chambers, then their guards shoved them into their room.
David sat on the bed, while Gella stood next to the door. “That went well,” he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice. “First of all…” He stopped as he saw her troubled look. She cocked her head and pursed her mouth, as if playing back the meeting in her mind. “Gella?”
He expected the storm gathering inside her all this time to explode. Instead, she paced the room, nodding to a silent conversation in her head. “That little bitch,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
“Lycus?”
“She said two candelabras, didn’t she?”
He scratched his head, unable to comprehend what was going on. “Yes. So?”
“So, they only found one.”
“Enough. Take it from the beginning.” He caught her wrist and guided her to a chair. She leaned forward.
“What do you know of Scorpio?” She spoke fast, excitedly.
“Great soldiers, they live to fight.”
“We learn to fight from an early age. When a child turns seven, they’re taken to the barracks. When we’re eighteen, we are ready to graduate into the army. All new soldiers participate in a graduation ceremony. However, they choose by voting who will graduate. If someone fails to collect enough votes, they have to leave Scorpio.”
“They caught you stealing and you didn’t get enough votes,” he guessed.
“Not exactly. I was accused of stealing Themis’ candle, and they found one of them in a bag in my locker. I swear to you, I had no idea how it got there. All this time, I suspected my group commander had done it.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I was the best in our group. Perhaps she felt threatened. I don’t know.”
“So did he?”
“She. And no. I now think it was someone else.” Excitement flushed her cheeks. “Lycus.”
The Capital
Angel
“Sun’s falling.” The implicit question was clear in Xhi’s voice. He had been moody all day, avoiding them.
His voice stirred Cyrus from his slumber. He had slept through the morning. So still did he lay, that she had leaned over him a couple of times to make sure he was still breathing. Despite the tension, relief washed over her at seeing him wake up. She stroked his face with tender fingers. “How are you feeling?”
“Sleepy,” he murmured. “Not much help.” Again, his words came out garbled and slow.
Angel studied him. He could not speak properly, let alone hold a weapon.
“Don’t be a fool,” Xhi said, tension thinly disguised in his voice. “You must come with me.”
Angel rubbed her face with both hands. When she dropped her hands back onto her knees with a slap, her hair was sticking up where she had ruffled it. “I can’t. I have to go.”
Cyrus shook his head. “Angel, no.”
“I won’t leave them behind.”
Cyrus closed his eyes for a moment. “What’s the plan?”
Her eyes lit up with joy. “You’re on board with this?”
His tired eyes seemed amused. “Leave all glory to you?”
Xhi’s angry voice interrupted her chuckle. “You two can get yourselves killed, for all I care. I’m outta here.” He hoisted his satchel up his shoulder and started walking away.
“Xhi!” Cyrus cried out after him. “Hear her out.” He leaned towards her. “You have a plan?” he whispered.
She nodded as Xhi slowed down, then spun around and plonked the satchel on the straw mattress that had been serving as Cyrus’s bed. “Fine. Let’s hear it. And keep in mind, everyone’ll be waiting for us to break into the house.”
“Then we won’t,” Angel said. Both Xhi and Cyrus knitted their brows, waiting for her to continue. “We’ll have the twins delivered to us. I can get a message to Sophie with one of the street urchins that hung on our street.” Sophie… Angel wondered for a second how the woman who had taken the place of their mother was holding up. She shook her head; she would see her soon enough if everything went to plan. “Around the corner from our house there is a manhole. We used to joke with Cyrus about it as children, him telling me stories of the crocs that live in the sewers.”
Cyrus’s lips curled upwards at the memory and she jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.
“You’ll have this Sophie woman take the twins for a walk and lead them to the sewers, where we’ll be waiting,” Xhi said.
She nodded enthusiastically. “That way, no one sees us. Xhi, you don’t even have to leave the sewers. But we do need you; you’re the only one who knows your way around here.”
Xhi shifted his weight between feet to rock from side to side, like a boxer keeping their muscles warm before the bell announces the start of a fight. “If everything goes to plan, they won’t even notice they’re gone until we’re safe,” he murmured to himself.
“Will you help?” Cyrus asked.
Xhi stopped rocking. “That’s a big if. Of all the hare-brained plans I’ve heard, this one takes the prize.”
“But it might work,” Angel insisted.
Xhi threw his head back. “Yes, it might. Or we might find ourselves back in a cell before night falls.” He started rocking again from side to side, then hoisted the satchel back on his shoulder and marched off, his boots splashing in the water. “What are you waiting for?” he shouted. “Those kids ain’t gonna rescue themselves. And I want to know everything about your house.”
“The manhole is at a narrow alley, just around the corner from the main gate…” Angel started as she helped her brother up. She continued to offer a detailed description of the area while they caught up with Xhi.
The Marshes
Lehmor
He lifted his foot to kick one of the terraformers, but the little critter scurried away. The others gave him a funny look, and he remembered that they could not see the machines crawling around them.
“Almost there,” he said and picked up the pace. He could no longer feel his arms, the makeshift gurney with Moirah on top taking its toll. If his arms felt leaden, he could only imagine what Rivka’s arms felt like. “Sam, help Rivka.”
Rivka did not protest, dropping gently the gurney to the ground. Sam let go of Tie’s arm and hurried to help them. Valentiner took his place, taking Tie’s hand into hers.
Lehmor took the opportunity to rub some blood back into his arms. Around them, tall shrubs and the occasional pine hid away remnants of ancient buildings, their remains jutting up from the ground like half-buried bare bones. That is all the others could see, anyway. Through the augmented eyesight provided to him by Pratin, Lehmor could see much more. The terraformers, as the Old Woman had called the little critters that scurried around. The barrier that shielded the Old Woman’s hill from prying eyes, also invisible to his companions. And, out of the corner of his eye, he caught orbs of light that disappeared as soon as he fixed his gaze upon them.
They had now almost reached the top. He stole one look at Moirah. She seemed to be sleeping, but he knew better. Her muscles had already started to atrophy, and after only a few days in this condition, she had lost a lot of weight. Giving her water to drink was the worst. Most of it ended up on her, and she vomited the rest, but the fact that she was still alive gave him a glimmer of hope.
He pushed any thoughts of losing Moirah from his head and knelt back down. “Let’s go.”
Sam picked up the other end and they continued their uphill trip, the tattered remnants of Malekshei’s protectors slogging behind them.
Marl picked up his pace to approach Lehmor. “Hey. I just want to say, I know how you feel,” he said in broken First. Lehmor glanced at Valentiner, still holding Tie’s hand. The two of them made for a strange sight, but that was hardly the strangest thing Lehmor had seen these past weeks. “But if there’s anyone who can fix your wife it’s the Old Woman.”
“Yes,” Lehmor said in the Newcomers’ language. “But will she?”
Marl nodded. “I’m sure she will,” he said unconvincingly, then fell back again to grab his daughter’s free hand.
Despair gnawed at Lehmor’s guts. He had done this; he had put everyone’s life at risk with his stubbornness. If only he had listened to the Old Woman, Moirah would not… You mustn’t think that, he scolded himself. She’s going to be fine.
After a short climb, they finally reached the top. The Old Woman emerged from the cave to greet them. He ground his teeth as he placed the gurney on the ground. Their gazes met.
“Will you help her?” he asked instead of a greeting. His stomach tightened in anticipation of her answer.
She knelt down and studied Moirah for a moment. “We will.” She motioned him to carry her inside. Rivka replaced Sam and they brought the gurney into the cave. “They’ll take care of her,” the Old Woman promised and led them outside again. Lehmor hesitated for a moment, glancing around. Who’s they? “Are you coming?” the Old Woman shouted at him.
He followed her outside. The rest of his companions were on the ground, catching their breath. Tie lay against a stump, exhausted from the long trek. Valentiner was snuggled up in her arms, with Marl slouched under a tree next to them. The Old Woman nodded a silent command at Lehmor and returned to the cave.
“Go rest,” he ordered Rivka, and she slumped under a tree, rubbing her arms. He then entered the cave once again.
“So, the traitor returns.”
Lehmor spun around to see a familiar crimson orb hovering beside him. It morphed into the Archon’s shape, the red man of light towering over him.
“Yes,” was all Lehmor could say. “But I killed your enemies.”
Amusement shone in the Archon’s eyes. “Is that so? What have you done?”
“Pratin and the clones are dead. So are the Fallen.”
“I see. And you did it all without harming your Iota friends, is that right?”
“Yes. Only the guilty suffered.”
The Archon chortled. “Shall I tell him, or will you?”
The Old Woman did not seem to share his glee, her eyes dark. “Lehmor, you killed Pratin, but he, too is a clone. Or have you forgotten that all Iotas are clones?”
“No,” Lehmor stammered. “There was only Pratin.”
“Really?” she said. “We don’t know what’s happening in their city. Stripet says that Pratin planned to take over, imprison everyone who did not follow him.”
“Stripet… He’s here?”
“Where else would he be?” the Archon growled. “We couldn’t leave him with you, or you’d have handed him over to Pratin to save your skin.”
Lehmor’s cheeks flushed with rage. “We almost died fighting,” he bellowed. “You did nothing but watch us. We’re not cowards.”
The Archon flashed in furious red. “Enough!” the Old Woman ordered, and Lehmor drew a deep breath. “This is not the time, nor the place.”
“I can’t believe you’re siding with this toddler,” the Archon shouted. “He could have ended the war.”
“Perhaps,” she said quietly.
The Archon morphed back into an orb of blood-red light. “By the time we find out, it will be too late,” he shot at them and vanished.
“Thank you,” Lehmor said.
“He’s right,” she said. “We are not safe yet.”
“Then send me to the Iotas. Do you know how to?”
“Yes.” She hesitated for a moment. “Stripet’s shown us.”
Lehmor’s eyes darkened. “He lives?”
“Yes. Do you want to see him?”
Lehmor bit his lower lip. “No. Just show me how to go there. If you save Moirah, I’ll go.”
“And if we can’t save her?”
The blood left his face and a wave of cold clasped his heart. “Then nothing matters. I’ll kill them all.”
She gave him a compassionate look and placed a hand on his shoulder. “No, you won’t. You’re a man of honour, Lehmor.”
“My honour brought us here.” His voice dripped with bitterness.
She ignored his interruption. “Men of honour take care of their family. You still have a daughter to look after.”
“I can’t. Not alone.”
She spun him around gently, pointing outside the cave. His gaze fell on the ragged group of people. Valentiner had started playing some game with Tie, Marl watching them with a big smile on his face. Behind them, Sam and Rivka were feeding wood to a small fire, while the rest of the First were setting up camp.
“You’re not alone. They followed you through hell and back. What more would you ask of family?”
The cave suffocated him, as if it closed down on him. He jerked himself free of her hands and staggered outside. He needed time to think, time alone. Time to mourn in solitude. He meandered into the forest, ignoring the metallic critters around him, spying him with their glass eyes. He found a clearing; last time he had been there, it had been in another lifetime, when he was recuperating from his injury. He had been longing for a new limb since, unable to imagine he might someday miss those days.
He sat under a leafy tree and slowed down his breathing, trying to remember Oran’s teachings. Hearing the rustling of dried leaves behind him, his gaze darted around. Tie huffed as she approached him.
“I want to be alone, Priestess,” he grunted.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.” She let out a loud groan as she landed next to him.
She had been outside, seemingly playing with Valentiner last time he had seen her. How could she have heard them? “You were spying.” His voice carried no recrimination; he was merely stating a fact.
She pursed her lips and ran her hand over the stubble that had started to grow on her h
ead. He had not noticed it before, but the hair that grew back was white, like Valentiner’s. “You’re a host,” he realized.
“Me and the Old Woman go way back,” she said as way of a reply. “A corrupt Orb attacked me as a baby. My parents left me to die, but Abaddon found me and brought me here. The Orbs raised me until I ran away.” His eyebrow shot up. “I was young,” she said, answering his unspoken question. “I fell in love. I ran away.”
“What happened?”
She ran her hand over her head again, hesitating for a moment. “We live on a dangerous planet,” was all she said in the end.
“He died,” Lehmor guessed. “I’m sorry.”
She looked away, avoiding his gaze. “I was lost, wanted to run back, beg them to take me back. Then I met a priest of Themis. He showed me another path. Later, I realized it was a parallel path, both Themis and the Lady tributaries of the same river.”
“That’s why you look after orphans,” Lehmor said, remembering how Sam and Annoush had called her Mother. He understood this strange woman better now; even how close she had come these past days with Valentiner.
“I guess.” A terraformer crawled from under the trunk to stare at them, and she jumped up, startled.
“You see them?” Lehmor said, stunned.
She threw him a look of guilty amusement. “There’s not much I don’t see. Like, that you were right to refuse their order to wipe out all Iotas.” Her words surprised him; back in Malekshei she had been less than vocal in her support. “But you screwed up now,” she continued. She responded to his knitted brow with a soft sigh. “You’ve basically told them that if they kill Moirah, you’ll give in and do as they wish.”
“No, I…” His voice trailed off. She’s right! But they wouldn’t…
Pearseus Bundle: The Complete Pearseus Sci-fi/Fantasy Series Page 64