by Conner, Jack
“A fan, eh?” said Janx.
“She transformed the country.”
“Yeah, but you could get away with a lot more before she did.”
The aide led up a wide and winding staircase, then another, and Avery gaped at the wide open space of the Parliament Building’s dome, visible every time the spiral stairs wound around. Part of him wondered that no one objected to his presence; after all, he was infected, a mutant. How dare he tread upon the marble floors of the Parliament Building—that was the old way of thinking. But no one stopped him, no one lifted an eyebrow; they must be anxious indeed. Or perhaps the war had changed things, readjusted people’s priorities. If so, that was at least one positive thing the conflict had brought about.
Finally they reached the highest floor of the main structure and the aide led the way into the tower, then to a well-appointed conference room with an amazing view over the city. Through the thick, antique windows the red sun rose over the sea in a haze of firelight.
Standing at the windows with her back to the visitors was a thin woman with a familiar profile.
She turned, still just a silhouette against the sun, and said, “Come in. Sit down, I know you must be tired. Your things will be brought to your rooms. Mark, see to it. Arrange for breakfast and tea. Our guests must be starving.”
“I could eat a corpse,” Janx said, and swung into a chair.
With perhaps too much relish, Hildra let Hildebrand scamper onto the table, and Denaris eyed the monkey, doing somersaults down the width of the aged wood, without expression. Hildra seemed disappointed.
Avery, holding Ani’s hand, moved forward to introduce himself to Denaris, unsure whether he should offer to shake her hand or not. He did, and her grip was cool and firm. She was a handsome woman in her late fifties, with a proud chin and clear, purposeful gray eyes, just as the banners advertised. Her hair, mostly white but with shoots of brown still in it, was tied back from her forehead and hung down her back in a tail. She was very much the woman he had grown accustomed to seeing in newsreels, banners and pictures in newspapers, but it shocked him how old she looked. She normally seemed so vigorous, so dominating. Now he could see the lines flowering from her eyes and mouth, see the bags under her eyes and the stoop in her posture. Age alone hadn’t done this to her, he knew. The war had laid a heavy toll upon her.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” he said. “I’ve looked up to you for many years, and voted for you every chance I got.”
“A voter!” She smiled. “Then it is an honor to meet you, as well. And who is this?” She bent and shook Ani’s hand.
In a small voice, Ani said, “Anissa May Avery, ma’am.” Her eyes were huge.
The Prime Minister ducked forward and kissed Ani on her forehead. Ani yelped and jumped, then stepped back in awe, a hand over the spot the Prime Minister had kissed.
“I’m Gwendolyn Sarela Denaris, at your service,” said the Prime Minister. “Call me Gwen.”
Layanna, who had remained by the door throughout all this, as if ready to bolt should the Prime Minister show the least aggression, finally stepped forward. She didn’t shake hands or offer her name, but said, “My experience with your country hasn’t been the warmest, I’m afraid. I’ve been treated as a lab rat, experimented on, shot at and hounded since I’ve entered it. Forgive me if I seem reticent. Please, tell us what all this is about.”
Denaris nodded and gestured to the oaken conference table. “Let us get comfortable.”
As they sat, Avery saw that Denaris had chosen the table and the room well. The table was round so that the visiting group wouldn’t all be on one side with Denaris on the other but grouped around it like equals and comrades.
Janx had stuck a cigar in his mouth and was bringing a lighter to its tip. “Mind if I ... ?”
“Normally I would,” Denaris said. “But why not? In fact, if you’ve got another, I’ll take one.”
Looking surprised, Janx shrugged and pulled one out.
“My last one,” he said.
“I’ll treasure it.” Denaris leaned forward, and he grudgingly lit it for her.
She coughed. “Not a brand I’m used to.”
“Got it in ... the Azads.”
A dark look crossed her face. “We’ll get to the Azads. First let me apologize for the way you all arrived. I know who you are and what you’ve done, some of it, and I want to give you my most sincere gratitude. From what I understand, you are the ones responsible for Octung’s weakness and sudden forced retreat.”
“How is Octung these days?” Hildra said.
“Not well,” Denaris said. “But not as bad as could be hoped. After their extradimensional weapons stopped working, many of the countries they’d conquered were able to rise up and push them back. All the countries they acquired in their last manic push to the sea were able to free themselves, and they—and we—united to drive them back, as far as we could. Finally we hit the wall of vassal states that surrounds Octung, and they were too much for us. We were weakened by war and they pushed us back. As things stand there’s an uneasy peace. Both sides have withdrawn to nurse their wounds, and there is sort of a siege around Octung and its vassals, so it’s cut off from the world. Its access down the Haag has been curtailed, and its navies in Vursul have been seized, as has Vursul itself. Even now the various countries that took possession of the ships are trying to divvy the spoils among themselves. Ourselves. We’ve all had our fleets whittled away and need the vessels badly. Both continents hit hardest by the war are in chaos. Most of the countries that had united to fight Octung are trying to keep their heads down and rebuild, but some are taking advantage of the others’ weakness, trying to grab as much as they can while they can.”
“Typical,” said Janx.
“Myrkai has already invaded Burr, and Solong is trying to annex Kivel. Don’t get me started on the colonies in the Crothegra.” She waved her hands, and Avery could sense her tiredness at even discussing such matters. “That will keep. Ghenisa is, at the moment, safe from outside interference, unless—but we’ll get to that. What concerns me more is the current state of affairs between myself and Admiral Haggarty. Listen, you’ve been away for some time. How current is your knowledge?”
“Things were bad when we left,” Avery said. “Haggarty was trying to have the Navy assume land duties, displacing the Army, and wanted to declare neutrality in the war. I understand he was jockeying for some sort of indirect military coup.”
Denaris steepled her fingers under her chin. “Things have gone far beyond that now. He’s actively trying to assassinate me and take over. He’s already killed three of my cabinet members and several patrons that contributed to my last campaign, and he’s moved against various ministers that support me and has bought off others. I haven’t allowed the Navy to usurp the Army’s duties, as the Army has remained loyal—for the most part. But I’m starting to lose them, too. General Mycroft defected with the Ninth Brigade just last week, joining Haggarty and swearing an oath to the Navy in public. His whole brigade followed suit. If I lose the Army, I lose the fight. They’re all that’s holding off Haggarty and his wolves. My government is crumbling, hanging on by its fingernails, and with it the New Dawn and everything I’ve worked for for so long.”
Denaris was under siege, Avery realized.
“Whattaya want us to do about it, Gwen ol’ girl?” Janx said. “I mean, I’d like to stick my fist down Haggarty’s throat, no mistake, but I don’t think I could get that close. I’m a fair shot, but if it’s assassins you’re lookin’ for, you could find better. Hildra here’s a good shot. A marksman.”
“I’d pop that bastard,” Hildra said.
“Oh, I’ve looked into assassination, rest assured,” Denaris said. “A year ago the notion would have appalled me, but today it seems a viable alternative. Three months ago I had some agents of mine ask around in the underground, trying to find a competent man for the job. We found one in Muscud—a sewer settlement, believe it or not—and arrange
d a meeting. The next day the papers had a photo of my agent meeting with the man. The caption ran DENARIS OUT FOR BLOOD and the sub-caption said AIDE OF DENARIS HIRES SEWER THUG TO MURDER ADMIR. HAGGARTY. The whole city rose in uproar against me, and I was forced to cease my inquiries.
“Haggarty’s having my every move watched, paralyzing my responses, even my desperate ones—especially my desperate ones. My options have become limited, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to win this battle. I’ve appealed to Cumnal, Ungraessot, even the Ysstrals for help, and though they promise it none arrives. They have their own problems.” She slumped back. “That isn’t why I’ve called you here. I’ll have to deal with Haggarty, or succumb to him, on my own. I’m merely acquainting you with the lay of the land so that you know what you’ve returned to.”
“A shitstorm, by the sounds of it,” Hildra said.
“May I ask how we arrived here?” Layanna said. “How did you know what was going to happen on the docks?”
“That.” Denaris nodded. “Apparently the captain of the ship you were on alerted the police as to your arrival. Haggarty and I both have our loyalists and spies among the police force. His people called him. Mine called me. He had been anticipating your arrival, though, almost to the moment, and beat my people there.”
“He had help,” Avery said. “Someone told him to prepare for us, and gave him suggestions on how. Her name is Admiral Jessryl Sheridan, an Octunggen spy.”
“Yes, I’m aware of her. There had been rumors before her disappearance that she was the true power behind Haggarty.”
“Believe them. We need to locate her if possible; she brought something with her that we need to prevent her from delivering, if she hasn’t already.”
“I’ll help you if I can, but there’s only so much I can do.”
“How do you know who we are?” Layanna pressed. “Why did you bring us here?”
Denaris flicked ash onto the table; there were no ashtrays. “May I have your name? I’m sorry to be so direct, but I know much about you, so much it astounds me I don’t know that basic thing.”
Layanna regarded the Prime Minister for some seconds, then said, “I am called Layanna.”
Denaris nodded, gratified. “Not everyone in the Navy is for Haggarty, Layanna. I have many questions for you, more than I probably have time for or ability to understand. As for as how I get my information, suffice it to say that there are Denaris loyalists among the Navy. Many joined the Navy because I inspired them to serve their country, convinced them that it was worth fighting and dying for. Those may sound like the words of a braggart, but that is what they have told me, and I believe it. I’ve many faults and am far from the idealized figurehead you see on the banners, but among my defects you will not find false modesty. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve brought a once-great country out of darkness and set it on the path to greatness again. It’s my fondest desire and my life’s dream to see it get there before I die.” She pursed her lips. “Now. As to why I brought you here, that is more complicated.”
She paused, as if unsure how to go on. “First of all, Layanna—what are you? Again, that may seem like an indelicate question, but none of my agents have ever been able to give me an answer.”
“I don’t feel comfortable going into that with you.”
“You probably don’t think I’ll believe you. You might be surprised.”
Layanna maintained her silence.
“Fine,” the Prime Minister said. “Well, I have a theory. It sounds fantastic, but I’ll tell it to you, and you can tell me if I’m close or not. In their last great push, the Octunggen loosed some new creature of theirs, some monstrous thing that could not be killed. It was an otherworldly horror that wreaked massive destruction and sowed terror wherever it went. And there were scores of them. Soldiers said at night, looking through binoculars, they could see into the Octunggen camps. See the Octunggen bowing and seeming to worship the beings around their campfires. To make sacrifice to them using forcibly-infected prisoners of war. Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? I thought so. But more and more soldiers reported the same thing, and front-line reporters even managed to snap a few pictures. I confiscated them, of course. I didn’t want to spark a panic.
“Captured Octunggen laughed at us. They claimed those things were their gods. That the Collossum themselves had come to the war to ensure the victory of Octung. The descriptions of those beings match very closely, perhaps exactly, with the descriptions of you, Layanna, when you ... well, I don’t know the word for it. Transform? However you phrase it. When you become a ... I don’t know if monster is the word. Inhuman, then. When you become inhuman.”
“I am not human,” Layanna said. “I am a Collossum. I would demonstrate, but I’m already weakened from exerting myself on the docks and then against the ray, and would not weaken myself further. I need unprocessed seafood. Or, if you have a condemned prisoner that’s infected ...” She let the thought hang. When Denaris only stared at her, paling, she added, “Seafood will do.”
Denaris, almost imperceptibly, eased away from Layanna. She took a deep breath. When she spoke again, her voice had lowered, and some of her commanding air had evaporated:
“So it’s true.”
Avery stepped in. “She’s not from our world, or dimension, Prime Minister. Gwen. None of the Collossum are. And there are others, in the sea. Down deep. They don’t look human like Layanna does. Octung worships them, and it meant to conquer the world for them, but now that Octung has been stymied, the R’loth—that’s what they’re called, Layanna’s people—have decided to act on their own behalf.”
Denaris’s eyes had been fixed in dread fascination on Layanna, but now they stared at Avery. “The Azad Islands vanishing,” she said. “Is that part of it?”
“All of them?” said Janx.
Denaris closed her eyes. “Yes, and the force of destruction has claimed several other islands between the Azads and the Ghenisan coast, as well.”
“That’s their handiwork, alright. The R’loth.”
“What, precisely, is causing the devastation? What instruments are these beings using against us? Reports are vague and conflicting. And strange.”
“The one that leveled Ethali, and presumably the others, took the shape of a starfish,” Avery said. “Huge. As big as a city. And otherworldly.”
“A starfish. It’s really true …”
“We believe there are dozens of them, all coming toward the coast.”
“They’ll level Urslin and Consur,” Layanna said.
Denaris looked like she was about to be sick. “Can ... these things be stopped?”
“That’s why we’re here,” Avery said. “We obtained samples of Starfish tissue, and we need to analyze them, discover if the beings have some weakness. We’ll need a first-rate laboratory and access to a broad range of materials.”
“Anything else?”
“That will do for starters.”
Denaris breathed out in obvious relief. “I’d hoped you might have some notion of what to do—that’s why I brought you here. Well, the most pertinent reason. There is another. And beyond that there is the fact that I knew Haggarty wanted you badly, and I couldn’t let him have you if you really were that important.” She paused, and to Avery’s surprise she sort of smiled. “I hope it goes without saying that all charges against you—all of you—have been dropped. The public doesn’t know of your good deeds, but I do—enough, anyway. I hope to get your full reports in time. But not today. I have a busy schedule, and I’m sure you want to rest and settle in.”
“Settle where?” said Janx.
“Why, here, of course.”
“You want us to live here?”
“It’s where cabinet members, Parliament members and their aides live. As well as myself. Oh, most have residences in the city, and naturally their home provinces, but they all have an official wartime apartment here, however plain. Some use them, some don’t. I live here permanently. These days, I’m a
fraid to leave, although I make myself. Haggarty has tried to have me killed several times.”
“Cabinet members,” Avery said. “You want us on the cabinet?”
She smiled. “Just on paper. I won’t shackle you with any duties you do not wish for.”
“What about Ani?”
“School will be too dangerous for her, at least for the time being, but I will have her instructed here by the finest tutors. Will that be acceptable?”
Avery allowed that it was.
Mark entered. “Breakfast is ready, Prime Minster.”
As the meal was wheeled in and the savory scents of bacon and eggs and croissants filled the room, Avery returned his attention to the Prime Minister. “You said there was something else,” he said. “Some other reason you wanted to meet Layanna.”
Denaris nodded grimly. “Yes, but it can wait. I have a busy schedule, as I said, and this interview has made enough of a dent in it. Eat. Settle into your new homes and set up your lab. When I have time some day this week, I will show you.”
Chapter 8
“Well, what do you think?” Avery said, showing Ani around the apartment she would share with Layanna. The rooms were spacious, clean, and boasted a fine view of the city.
Ani just nodded.
“What’s wrong? This looks comfortable. You’ll have good food, great tutors, and I’ll get to see you every day when I’m done in the lab. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
She nodded again, just as silently.
“Ani?”
She started to say something, then frowned, a troubled look on her face. “Papa ...” She spoke in a strange, subdued voice, all the fight gone out of her.
“Yes?”
“When is my birthday?”
The ground moved beneath his feet. “That’s a silly question. It’s when it always is. The fourteenth of Aeric.”
“Is it? I mean, I was ... brought back ... on a different day than the day I, you know, died or whatever. So the years don’t really match up. I’m actually older than I would be if we went by the calendar. It says I don’t turn nine for another month, but—”