Arkship Obsidian
Page 21
‘So much art to ponder,’ Gofal said as he gestured to one of the carved statues that lined the edge of the chamber.
‘Never mind art,’ Bara replied, her eyes widening, ‘have you seen the dock? It’s big enough to take an arkship.’
‘Yes, I saw it,’ Wynn replied, glad to have his friends close to him again.
The door to the chamber opened again, and Wynn felt a tremble of anticipation, knowing who would be coming: Tanis was bringing the Scribe to meet them. Wynn straightened, surprised to see the shadow of three figures enter. Tanis led the group, smiling with the flair of a diplomat. He had led the negotiations with the Church which had allowed the Caerleon to be towed to The Infinite and find a berth at Icarus. He had arranged rations for the survivors, medical attention for the wounded, and services for the dead. All this in the twelve hours since the battle. Had he slept? And what had Tanis agreed with the Church in return for their assistance?
The Lord Chamberlain greeted them warmly and turned to introduce the Scribe.
She was taller than Wynn expected, and beautiful too, a natural grace in the way she approached them. She held out her hand to Wynn and he kissed it, as Tanis had told him to. She greeted Bara and Gofal, keeping her features set, then she stepped aside to reveal the third person who had entered the room.
‘I believe you already know Derward Tarkkail,’ the Scribe said.
Wynn and Bara exchanged a look of surprise as they greeted their missing friend.
‘I thought you had been lost in the battle,’ Wynn said.
‘He left before it began,’ the Lord Chamberlain admitted, ‘at my request.’
Tanis did not elaborate further, but the Scribe said, ‘You can thank Derward – and your Lord Chamberlain – for bringing your plight to our attention.’
Wynn stared at Derward. ‘I didn’t know you held such sway within the Church.’
‘Neither did I,’ he replied, his cheeks flushed slightly. ‘I really didn’t do anything. It’s the Scribe you should thank.’
‘And I do,’ Wynn said, trying his best to be statesmanlike as he spoke to her. ‘The entire House of Kenric is in your debt.’
‘A debt I am sure you will repay in kind one day,’ she said coolly. Glancing to the windows, she added, ‘The Infinite Gods will guide you to that destiny.’
The Scribe led them down to a lower level of the chamber, a smaller space with a long table stretched in front of the windows. As Wynn approached he saw the tendrils of The Infinite reflected in the dark mirror-like surface of the table, their slow movements hypnotizing him.
‘What do you know of The Infinite?’ the Scribe asked as they sat down.
Wynn hesitated, uncertain of the right answer.
‘You over-think things, Prince Halstead,’ she said with a coy smile. ‘Do I make you nervous?’
‘A little,’ he confessed.
‘That is as it should be,’ the Scribe replied. She nodded to an aid who had remained unseen at the edge of the room, and dark, red-colored drinks were placed in front of Wynn, Bara and Tanis.
‘The Infinite is all that remains of a great star,’ the Scribe explained. ‘Our sun, the giver of life to humanity. Long ago The Sun was torn apart in the Fracture. The shockwave pulled every planet apart as well. This you all know. You live in the aftermath of that terrible day. The Church exists to try to decipher that catastrophe, and to make contact with the Gods that reside inside The Infinite. This you also know. Everyone knows of the Church and its sacred work.’ She paused, taking a drink from her glass. When she spoke again her voice was hushed, reverential.
‘What most do not know is that the Church works towards the day of Restoration, when the Cluster shall be reformed and the solar system as it was shall be made whole once more. There will be planets again. The Sun will shine on us all. This is the will of the Infinite Gods. We built this station for the single goal of furthering that plan. Thousands of minds, billions of pieces of data, have come together to generate a mathematically accurate model of the future of the Cluster. We test new theories, run simulations of every hypothesis, hoping to find the single combination of events that will unlock the future and restore the past. We are close to a perfect equation. And in every new simulation that we follow your name appears, Prince Halstead. Your influence – in time – will bring us closer to the Restoration.’ She smiled, her eyes piecing him. ‘Questions?’
‘I’m not sure I understand,’ Wynn confessed.
‘You are important, Prince Halstead. The House of Kenric’s destiny is entangled with the Restoration.’
‘What does this mean for Wynn?’ Bara asked, her hand touching his arm. ‘Are you saying you want him to work for the Church?’
The Scribe laughed. ‘We all work for the Church, one way or another.’ She glanced at Derward. ‘But I’m not asking you to do anything for me, not yet. All I’m saying is that you have the support of the Church. We will – discreetly – help you and your people. You will stay here under our protection while you rebuild your fleet. Then, when the time is right, you will return out there and go about your business. Your destiny is still your own.’ The Scribe smiled knowingly.
‘I want revenge,’ Wynn whispered, his thoughts consumed with Orcades Draig. ‘I want him to pay for the Obsidian, for Melchior, for the Caerleon. He has to answer for the lives he’s taken.’
Tanis and Bara nodded their agreement, but the Scribe rolled her eyes, disappointment written across her face.
‘That’s up to you,’ she replied. ‘You’re free to go back out there, blow him up, kill a few thousand more people, I won’t stop you.’
The Lord Chamberlain leaned across the table. ‘You’re offering an alternative?’
‘Enlightenment, nothing more, nothing less. Stay here, learn, heal your wounds, grow, then decide on your course of action.’ The Scribe emptied her glass and stood to leave. ‘There’s no rush. I’m sure we’ll talk more.’
As the room became still Wynn eyed his companions: Derward, Tanis, Gofal and, finally, Bara.
‘I swear to you,’ Wynn said, taking Bara’s hand. ‘I swear to you all, I will repay my debt to you.’
‘There is no debt,’ Bara replied.
Wynn shook his head. ‘You’ve all sacrificed so much for Kenric . . . for me. I won’t forget that, I promise. We’ll stay here, we’ll take what the Church is willing to give, but when the day comes I swear to you I will make things right once more. Draig will . . .’ He felt Bara squeeze his hand, and his words faded from his lips.
‘Whatever the future holds, we’ll face it together,’ she said.
He looked into her comforting eyes and it was as if Wynn had finally found himself again. He raised his glass and smiled. ‘Together.’
AUTHOR’S NOTES
Thank you for buying and reading Arkship Obsidian, I really hope you enjoyed it.
I have to mention a few people who have helped to make this book a reality: Barry Hutchison, Nick Cook, Jonathan Mayhew, Mark Robertson, Tommy Donbavand and Chris Chatterton. A huge thank you to my ARC team and other early readers for their insightful feedback, especially B Allen Thobois. Finally, a big hug to my family who support me every day through the ups and downs of the writing rollercoaster ride!
I had so much fun writing Arkship Obsidian, and I’m looking forward to finishing the next book in the series. There’s lots more to tell about Prince Halstead, and I hope you’ll join me for the next installment. In the meantime, you can help me by spreading the word about the Arkship Saga. If you’ve enjoyed this book it’d be really helpful if you left a review on Amazon. Or maybe you could tell your friends about it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Goodreads, or even in real life! (Do people still do real life?)
Book two is called Arkship Vengeance and is due out in December 2017. If you want to know more about it, and get to read the first few chapters then sign up to my mailing list newsletter! You’ll get regular updates on my writing, sneak peeks of cover art, free stories plu
s lots more.
Thanks again, I hope you’ll stick with me as we explore more of the Cluster.
Best wishes,
Niel
September 2017
Pre-Order the next book in the Arkship Saga now!
Arkship Vengeance