Let ’em be, Woody. They’ll get us outta here. Focus on what you have to do now.
Appetite led Drifter and Jo into his cabin, braving the cold winds and earning a warm embrace of the fireplace on the other side. They took the time to shake off the cold, take off their weak and dingy jackets, and enjoy the comforts of home.
After they got their act together they made their way to the back bedrooms. To his surprise, Tiger sat with Appetite’s mother, Mary Lu, chatting in chairs outside of Kindle’s room. In his mother’s lap was a bundle of fresh clothes for Drifter, who took them with a welcoming and loving smile. Appetite lowered his father from his arms, allowing him to change while they waited outside of his daughter’s door.
“How is she?” Appetite found himself asking, knowing all too well the answer.
Tiger shook his head.
“That bad, huh?” A piece of wood snapped in the fire in the living room. “Has she said anything? Done anything?”
Another head shake. The dread in Appetite’s chest tightened. He rapped on the door with his knuckles.
“Hey, can I come in?” No response. He tapped the door again. “I’m coming in.”
He hadn’t expected to see what he saw.
The smell of smoke choked the air from the room. Blackened charcoals littered the floor. Small fires burned softly in the corners, eating away at the already blackened remains of her knick knacks and her vid-tapes. Clothes lay scattered on the floor from the smashed drawers and nightstand. Every picture was torn from the walls, leaving paper scraps and empty frames. Appetite tip-toed over the glass from a shattered lamp, braving through minor cuts here and there to make it to the other side of the room to the bed.
“Cassie, are you - ” he touched the lump in the bed and felt nothing. He tossed the sheets aside. Nothing. A cold wind hit him on the side of the face. The window’s open.
A fear like no other lanced through him. He looked over the edge of the window and found nothing. He looked through the mess on the floor.
Coal was nowhere to be found, as was she.
Confusion dove to anger, anger to panic, panic to distress. There was no way he would catch her; with her craftiness and skills, she could be anywhere by now. Appetite felt his mind fall deeper and deeper into an animalistic panic. Was it destiny for everyone he brought into the family to leave him without a word? He fell to his knees, nails scratching against the floor of the wood. He remembered making this house for them, all of them. Tears rolled down his face, blood oozing from his bitten lips.
Kindle was gone. She was gone and she didn’t even say goodbye. He wept. He screamed. He shouted. He roared. Everything felt as black as the charcoals in this room. People flooded into the room, but he didn’t hear them, not even when they spoke to him. The sick feeling in his stomach didn’t go away. He thought he was gonna vomit.
“Woody,” he heard his father say. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll find her.” Drifter put his head on his. “We’ll find her.”
Epilogue
Freedom of the Stars
Ina
“You don’t know what you want until you have it. You don’t know what you got until it's gone.” -- Ina Breaux
Ina never thought that she would consider killing her brother in the same way she’d thought about it with her father. The temptation ran through her as she watched the smile slithering on the man’s face. How could he be so satisfied?
The darker side of her knew that answer. It didn’t matter who was in his way; Ignace wanted a complete and dominant win. She should’ve known better. Today happened to be the day that she was on the other end of that pain.
No, not only me. Her daughter felt the brunt of it. Not for the first time today, her fingers danced on the hostler of her gun.
“How does it feel,” Ignace asked her, kicking back the chair where he murdered their father, “to be free from it all? From the Caldwells, from your responsibilities, from this backwater dump of a planet? I did that. I did that for you. I did that for our people. Tell me that it doesn’t feel a little bit good. That you aren’t just a teensy bit relieved. C’mon.”
Times like this, it was better to stay quiet around Ignace. He had this way of twisting words that even a sibling couldn’t work their way out of. Instead, she sat there, boring a hole into his eyes with an unflinching stare. I’m not gonna play this game with you, she thought, keeping a straight face. “I came back ’cause you said that you fixed it. I should’ve asked how.”
“You’ve never been good at fixing things on your own, sis.”
“And you’ve never been a good person, Ig, but everyone has their faults.”
“Like running away?”
“Don’t you dare - ”
“Y’know Kindle came to me right, not even an hour before you came here asking for a ship. As her uncle, I couldn’t turn her down; even gave her a few of my men to at least get her started. She said she wanted to get away from it all, start anew.” Ignace paused, tapping his chin. “That sounds very familiar. Running away from her problems and asking me for help, I wonder where she got that move from.” He laughed. “I don’t mean to poke fun at you, Ina, I really don’t. But there’s a bit of comedy in all this. Up until now you didn’t want to involved in anything, but the moment Pops is six-feet under, you came running. No one wants to lie in the grave they dug, but sometimes you gotta. That’s how it goes.”
Ina didn’t have anything to say. At the core and through the muck of his mocking, he was right. She hadn’t been there for Woody or Cassie. They’d lived their lives and she’d lived hers. She’d told herself that they’d move on. She had almost hoped that Woody had found another by now and raised Kindle with that woman instead.
Coming here and saving their lives was a selfish attempt to make things right, or at least start to. But that wasn’t gonna happen. What was left was a fire she had no clue how to put out. It was all hopes and fanciful thinking by an impulsive woman that didn’t learn her lesson.
I wonder where she got that move from. Those words dug deep within her.
“I can’t forgive this, Ignace. You knew what was gonna happen. I hope you’re happy.” She spat the words at him. “I’m gonna check on the ships.” It was the least she could do, and it kept her busy.
She tried her best not to storm out of the study or show any sign of weakness; her knuckles twitched, her fists shook, and she forced her mouth into a hard line. Don’t give him the satisfaction. Rising from her seat, she made a beeline to the door and closed it behind her.
A sorta familiar feeling swept over her, nights leaving her father’s presence with heated words on her tongue. Amazing she’d never noticed how similar her brother was to her father, picking at her with immeasurably harsh words.
Ina cursed under her breath and bit her lip. That would’ve hurt him. That would’ve hurt him bad. She thought for a moment to turn around and say it. The only way she convinced herself not to was to focus on the task at hand. There were more important things. She quickened her pace.
They had some time to get out of here. Ina hadn’t told them, but the weather was gonna be the least of their worries.
Kindle had triggered a protocol known as the Starfall. In short, it was a doomsday clock triggered by the current Shaman, the heir to the the bloodline of the C’dar’s natives and the survivors of the Civilization civil war. Ina was taught that the pact was struck to save both societies, which ultimately melded into one. Starfall was an extreme failsafe in case anything got into the wrong hands. The satellite would fall into the atmosphere, nearly destroying everything on the surface of the planet, scrubbing everything clean.
A year was the timer. A year before C’dar was nothing more than ash. Pushing Kindle to the point where she accidentally tripped it was a terrible move, one Kindle herself would have to live with.
If you’d kept in contact with them, you could have warned them. Instead, you were gallivanting across the galaxy. Regret did nothing. She had to look
forward.
Ina continued down the twisting paths of the manor that was once her home, down to the cellar, further down into the catacombs. She nodded toward the heavily cloaked servant Exocurios, who buzzed their greetings back.
One stood at the gulf of the black abyss of the cellar, its six arms tucked within the folds of his oversized robes. Zech had worked here longer than she could remember. His short body hopped at the sight of her, and she earned a song from his vibrating throat. Immediately, he began turning on the lights; Exocurios preferred to work in the dark but suffered the light for her sake. White light bathed the catacombs from the creaking wooden stairs she’d come from to the endless winding stone caves.
Zech bowed and led her through the caves. The smell of dank water, grassy moss, and eventually a sharp tang of meta filled her nostrils as the natural caves gave way to metal corridors, each wall buffed to a chrome-like shine. She knew the way like the back of her hand but she enjoyed the little creature’s company. He was the only thing she missed in this swamp.
Zech bowed once they reached the massive steel hangar doors. “Thanks, buddy,” Ina said, patting him on the head.
He sung a brief song of odd and beautiful chords. “You’re welcome” was the best translation, but it went deeper than that; the song of gratitude wasn’t given to just anyone. Zech reserved it for her and her alone. For that, she’d taken the time - even away from the swamp - to learn more and more about them.
She added a whistling sound, the best a person could do to imitate their language. Zech hopped in excitement and went to go. “No, please stay,” she added quickly. The Exocurio nodded. She needed the company.
Ina opened the small hatch on the side of the door and punched in a keycode. The green numbers flashed for a second and then turned red. Incorrect. She frowned. She tried it again. Again, incorrect. Her heart sank. Did Ignace or the Elders lock her out? A terrible burning wrath coursed through her. She pulled the gun from her side and went to shoot, but stopped at Zech’s insistent poking at her leg.
He sang another song, the chords of determination hard in his voice, and hopped from the ground to the keypad, pressing a button with every fluttering winged leap. With the last button, he corkscrewed in midair and landed on his feet with an impressive ease. He gave a small bow with his three right arms, the numbers a stable green. The door clicked open.
“You clever bastard,” she told him. He chortled. Exocurios weren’t supposed to know the password to the hangars, but that didn’t stop them from figuring it out, apparently.
She flung the hangar door open. This time she stormed in. Zech hopped behind her.
On the other side of the door, she was met with the Elders and the once-dormant fleet. Ships of all sizes filled the halls, a collection of the Old World ships that once carried people from Earth to here.
Some were in better shape than others. The retrofitted ones - the cruisers and the warships - were in top shape and claimed by the Elders of the villages. The masked and robed Elders stood around the largest of the warships, known formerly as the White Falcon. They muttered and whispered under their voices, all turning at once when they saw her storming in. The leader nodded towards her, a lazy half gesture of respect.
“My, what a surprise. The former Shaman graces us with her presence. I could have sworn that we changed the locks.” The man’s voice was one she didn’t recognize, no doubt one of Ignace’s groupies. “Any particular reason you’ve come?”
“I’ve come to make sure you all honor your promises to the Caldwells.”
“We’ve given them some of the ships and already carted them to the mountain.”
“Working ones?”
“You didn’t specify.” The leader of the Elders laughed; of course the rest followed suit. “Perhaps if they can’t figure out how to get one working, they deserve to die on this planet. Just a thought. You’ve always had this weak spot for those...hill folks, Ina. We’ve never truly understood your attachment to them. They are greedy, selfish, and a downright plague to anyone on this planet. But you would go head over heels for him, especially that big one.” The rest of the Elders nodded in approval. “Remy’s death was a shock to us, yes, but Ignace ultimately is right in this matter. Why should we have to sit here and guard knowledge of things that even this current Civilization cannot recreate? Why do we have to sit by and waste away, hoarding these unspeakable secrets, when we could be living a better life among the stars? Isn’t that why you left, to be free?”
Ina balled her fists and clenched her teeth. She’d left Ignace to get away from the mocking, not to find it coming from a different mouth.
“The truth is, we’re in a different time. The Bluecoats and the Civilization are going to want their revenge on us now that we’ve betrayed them. It’s better that we’re prepared when that time comes, don’t you agree?”
“I don’t care.”
“Of course you don’t,” the Elder said, tilting his head. “You never have cared about your people. So how about this? You go help those savages get on their feet and leave us alone. That’s what you want, right? Maybe you can find that daughter of yours somewhere in the stars. Last time I heard, she was headed to the Dawn Orbit planets, directly into the heart of the Civilization. Maybe trying to find Major Debenham. To kill him, maybe? I don’t know. Honestly, we don’t care.”
“Why are y’all being like this?”
“You. Left. Us. Ina.” The Elder’s back straightened, stepping a bit too close for Ina’s liking. “Who would have thought that it would be your brother that would take us into this new age? So, go. We’ve honored our end of the bargain. Ten red falcon freighters are more than enough for your once-lover and his--”
Bang. She didn’t stop herself this time. In the blink of an eye, she drew her pistol and fired. The man howled in pain, falling over and clutching the blood pooling through the black fabric of his robe at his knee. The other members of the council exchanged panicked looks back and forth, taking cautious steps backwards.
“I’m done,” she shouted. “I’m done with y’all. If you want to go out into the galaxy so bad, then do it. You don’t have the Flame or the Shadow binding you here anymore. The pact is done, but I guarantee that wide galaxy is gonna eat y’all alive. When that happens, I’m gonna laugh. I’m gonna laugh so hard ’cause you didn’t know what you had here. You never know what you have until you miss it.” She spat out the words, forced them through her lips. “I’m taking one more ship for them. A good one too.” She peered around and pointed to the assault carrier. “I’m taking that one for them and if anyone has something to say about it, I won’t aim for knees next time. C’mon, Zech. Get your friends and family, we’re leaving.”
Zech sang the sharp sound of surprise but followed her all the same.
Ina was done with these politics, done with the whole tip-toeing on eggshells. They wanted her to leave? Fine. She stormed down through the docks, the sounds of the metal mesh clunking underfoot. She stood in front of the ship she claimed. It was a massive beast, not as big as a destroyer or a warship, but well-equipped with blasters and missiles for a ship of its size. Rusted, battered, and dented here and there, it wasn’t gonna win any beauty contests; more importantly, it was a manageable size for a new crew and a new pilot.
Would this gift fix all the trouble she and her brother caused? No.
But it was a good start.
About the Author
Deston “D.J” Munden is a fantasy and science fiction author with a Bachelor’s in Game Art and Design. Deston loves video games, anime, comic books, old samurai films and fantasy/scifi novels. He lives in the woods of North Carolina near the Outer Banks. Also the author of the fantasy series Dargath Chronicles novels under the same name.
Also by the author
Tavern (Book 1 of the Dargath Chronicles)
Duke's Brand (Book 2 of the Dargath Chronicles) (Winter 2020)
Dusk Ocean Blues (Book 2 of the Dusk O
rbit Blues) (Early 2021)
Dusk Mountain Blues Page 26