Secrets in the Mist

by Morgan L. Busse

  However . . .

  Theo looked around. Where was the gauge?

  He hurried toward the Mist’s edge. There, at least ten feet within and between two buildings stood the wooden stake. His heart beat faster. The Mist should have only moved a couple inches at most since his last measurement. When did this happen? How did this happen?

  Theo surveyed the surroundings. Had the land moved? He studied the area to the right, then the left, then back at the stake. There was no sign of movement, no crack in the ground, no disruption of grass, plant life, or buildings.

  Theo stepped forward to check the gauge. Grey-green swirled along the bottom edge of his trousers and black boots, rising as he went down the hill and between buildings toward the stake. The Mist moved around him as if were a living thing. In some ways, it was. Moving, spreading, like a living organism, searching for human hosts in order to have nutrients to germinate, which then transformed the body into a Turned.

  The Mist rose above his head as he approached the stake, blotting out the sky. He bent down, his breath moving in and out of the dual filters. The gauge was as it was a month ago, with the same weeds growing around it. No one had moved it, and the hill itself hadn’t moved either.

  Which meant only one thing.

  The Mist was rising again at an exponential rate.

  “Gales,” he said under his breath as he stood. No matter what the other Families said, this was a crisis. The last time this happened was at the end of the Plague Wars, which drove entire populations up the mountainside to escape and Turned tens of thousands. This time it might completely wipe humanity out.

  Theo shook away his thoughts. He needed to remain composed and rational. First, he must record his latest findings and compare them to the other gauges around Belhold, then bring them to the university next week. Surely Professor Hawkins would listen to him then. He now had evidence that the Mist was changing. The Alchemy Society needed to know. For two hundred years the Mist had remained measurably the same since it left the canisters during the Plague Wars. But now it seemed to be morphing, changing. Was it possible its actual composition was transforming as well as spreading?

  He would need to come back tomorrow with his microscope and papers and compare previous drawings to new ones. But if he was right . . .

  Theo stared out over the Mist. How much time did they have?

  Cass stood by the railing of the Daedalus, a cold wind blowing across her face. The clothes Patterson had provided for her were a bit big but nicer than anything she’d ever worn before. The cotton tunic felt soft against her skin, and the leather corset, complete with loops and rings to hold tools and knick-knacks, held her baggy trousers in place. A pair of thick boots and goggles for mechanical work completed her ensemble.

  There was nothing around the ship but blue sky above and the greyish-green Mist along the valley below. Cass leaned forward and placed her elbows on the railing and gazed down. The Mist swirled and swayed with the wind, rolling on itself. The color was soft and inviting, like a warm embrace, with a hint of iridescence along the surface.

  This was the first time she’d ever seen its full expanse. Only the very tip of small mountain peaks poked out, and not a sky island could be seen above. She knew the Mist was massive, but to see it with her own eyes brought it into perspective, and she could understand why so many people were crowded along the little bit of space above it. The Mist literally covered everything.

  Cass sighed. How could something so dangerous—so, so deadly—look so beautiful?

  “Watching the Mist, eh?”

  Cass straightened. “Captain Gresley! I didn’t hear you approach. I-I was taking a quick breather before heading back to work—”

  The large man chuckled. “Take it easy, Cass. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break. If you haven’t already noticed, the crew of the Daedalus works hard but also knows when to play and rest.”

  She’d noticed. The ship ran as smoothly as a well-oiled pocket watch, but the crew also enjoyed laughter, pranks, and the occasional card night.

  “First time viewing it from up here?”

  Cass turned her attention back to the expanse beyond the ship. “Yes.”

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she said with hesitation in her voice.

  “Strange how beauty and death can coexist,” the captain remarked. “In some ways, it’s a broken beauty.”

  “Broken beauty?”

  He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “I’m sure you’ve already come to realize this world is broken, some of it naturally, some of it by our own hand.”

  Broken? That was a good way to put it. How many broken people had she encountered? And the Mist below was definitely created by man. An example of broken nature?

  “It was never supposed to be this way. The world that is. But then it broke, and here we are. However, we are not overcome by it.”

  Cass gripped the railing in front of her. There were many different ideas on the streets. Thoughts of how the world was before the Mist, how the Mist came to be, and why it still existed. Some said Elaeros allowed it as punishment for humankind. Some said He didn’t care. And some even said there was no Elaeros. She wasn’t sure what she believed. But if Elaeros was real . . .

  “In the meantime”—he placed a hand on her shoulder—“don’t stare too long into the Mist. It has a way of worming into your mind and heart. It is indeed beautiful, but never forget it is also deadly.”

  Cass nodded. She watched Captain Gresley cross the deck and stop to talk to Will as the shorter man greased one of the pulleys. Time to get back to work.

  “I’ve never seen someone work so hard in my life.”

  Cass looked up from the deck where she was currently on her hands and knees, washing the boards. Bert stood above her.

  “Thank you, uh, sir.”

  “Sir?” His eyebrows shot up, and he laughed. “That is much too formal. Just Bert, especially if we’ll be working together.”

  “Working together?” Oh, of course, he was the head diver for the Daedalus.

  “So you’re interested in diving, eh?”

  Cass scrambled to her feet. “Yes, sir. I mean, Bert.”

  He eyed her, then nodded. “Yes, you should make a great diver. Right size and weight. As long as you’re not afraid of heights. Or the Mist, of course.”

  “When do we start?”

  “Right away. Today I’ll show you the gliders, how to work the harness, and the mechanics of gliding. Tomorrow we’ll be flying by a small sky island with a low hill. It’s the perfect place for you to learn how to take off, glide, and land. Then, when I feel satisfied that you won’t die on a solo flight, we’ll head down to the surface.”

  The surface. The land within the Mist.

  “So are you ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Then follow me.” Bert turned and started for the stairs that led into the inner part of the ship. Cass followed, heart thumping. It was beginning. Her first step into a whole new world and a whole new life.

  Cass spent the entire day with Bert learning how to place the harness and glider pack on, adjust her straps, use the cords to pull the glider to and from the pack, extend the wooden poles for steering, and anything else she needed before they reached the island for further training.

  Dinner that night was boisterous as the crew downed the soup Patterson had made with beans and smoked pork, along with tankards of beer. Cass sat in the back, massaging one shoulder as she watched the men around her. She still had that shard of glass tucked away in her pack next to her hammock and probably would carry it with her no matter where she went. But with each day that passed, she was becoming more and more comfortable around the crew of the Daedalus.

  A tankard came down on the table next to her, sloshing the sour contents across the wooden surface. “I heard you were with Bert all day learning how to be a diver.”

  Cass looked over to find Jeremiah grinning at her wi
th Will not too far behind. Bert had told her Will was in charge of the ropes and pulleys used to bring any treasure or artifacts found along the surface back up to the Daedalus to be stored, then eventually sold.

  Unlike Jeremiah’s stocky build and ginger hair, Will was almost as short and skinny as she was, with thin brown hair and shy hazel eyes. He took a seat across from her and smiled. “That means we’ll be working together.”

  “I guess it does.”

  “So, tell me, Cass,” Jeremiah asked, “why a diver? Most everyone I know is afraid of entering the Mist.”

  She shrugged and stared down at her half-empty bowl of beans with bits of fatty pork floating around. “Can’t be as dangerous as living on the streets.”

  “True, but you won’t see me or Will taking a glider down.”

  “I want to see what’s down there. I want to see this world, all of it.”

  Jeremiah raised one eyebrow. “The adventurous type, eh?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “Hmmm.” He stared at her. “I like that.”

  Then he stood with his mug in hand and wandered over to the next table, greeting Barnaby, another crewmember, with a slap to the back. Will simply shook his head. “A firecracker, that one.”

  The sky island was a single green hill topped with long grass and budding flowers. No trees, no bushes. No fancy houses or iron gates like so many of the other sky islands. The Daedalus was anchored to a large wooden peg that held the airship in place, and a plank was set out to let the crew move to and from the island.

  Cass took a deep breath of the cold air as she waited by the plank for Bert. The sky was a mixture of grey and blue as wispy clouds floated by. Moisture clung to her skin and made her hair curl even more around her face.

  “Here you go.”

  Cass turned to find Bert holding out her harness and pack from yesterday.

  “I hope you’re ready for a few stains and bruises,” he said with a wink as she took the equipment.

  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “We shall see.”

  Cass pulled her legs through the harness and then up and over her shoulders, feeling the weight settle across her back and waist, cinched the straps around her body until the pack was a part of her, then stepped onto the plank. The Mist rolled ominously down below in clouds of greenish grey.

  For one moment, she imagined jumping from the plank with her glider and soaring down. Was there a city below here? Any Turned? Animals? What lay in the Mist?

  Cass finished crossing the plank and followed Bert across the gently sloping sky island, up toward the pinnacle of the hill. The grass swooshed against her boots, leaving trails of water along the leather and dampening her trousers. The goggles around her head kept back her ever-curling hair, freeing her face to feel the wind.

  After ten minutes, they reached the top. “It’s a great day for practice,” Bert said as he turned toward her. “Here, you will get a feel for the glider, and how it moves with the wind. You will also practice takeoffs and landings. Hopefully, if all goes well, tomorrow we can go for your first dive.”

  “First dive? From here?”

  “Yes. The area below is well-known with very few Turned and multiple thermals, so we can come back up to the ship. This is why this island is used for glide training.”

  “But doesn’t the sky island move?”

  “Not this one. It is one of the few stationary ones.”

  Cass nodded. “I see.”

  “All right, we have a full day ahead of us. Go ahead and prepare your glider.”

  Cass took a deep breath and mentally went through all the steps Bert had showed her previously, then began. After checking her straps twice, she pulled the cord on her right. Like canvas wings, her glider spread out behind her, locking into place once they were fully spread. Then she brought out two poles from either side of the pack and secured them in place, just the right width for her arms so she could grab hold of them and steer the glider.

  Bert grinned. “Are you ready?”

  Cass pulled down her goggles. “I’m ready.”

  “Then start. Go straight down. When you feel the tug of the air, don’t fight it, let it pick you up.”

  Her heart beat faster. “All right.”

  She stared down the hill. Here we go.

  She ran with strides as long as possible, picking up speed as she went down the hill. The wooden frame creaked, and the canvas flapped with each stride. Stay focused, she chanted in her mind as she kept her gaze on the far side of the island.

  The glider grew heavier, pulling on her straps. Was that supposed to happen?

  Then it grew lighter, lighter, until it felt like nothing. The glider tugged up on her harness, bringing her body with it. The wind blew and began to pick her up.

  She breathed faster and tilted to the right—

  The glider swerved, sending her crashing into the grass, knees first. Pain shot through her right knee. Ugh. Her first grass stain, and probably a bruise. Bert roared with laughter behind her.

  Cass hauled the glider back up the hill toward Bert.

  “Try again,” he said when she reached him.

  She didn’t speak a word. Instead, she turned around, checked everything again, and went for a second time. Then a third. Over and over, tumble after tumble. By noon, there was a tear along her trousers, numerous grass stains, and more bruises. But as the sun came out from behind the clouds and began to burn away the moisture in the air, she finally did it.

  The moment the air caught the glider and her feet began to lift from the ground, Cass held onto the poles on either side of her and let the wind take her. No tilting this time, no angling away. Instead, she let herself be carried forward. In that moment, it was as if she was one with the glider and the wind. It all came together.

  There was an exhilaration inside of her that escaped through her lips with a loud whoop.

  After a few seconds, she brought the glider slightly forward, letting it stall, and came down onto her feet. There were more hollers from the ship. Cass looked up to find Jeremiah flailing his arms and yelling, ginger hair glinting in the sunlight. Other crewmembers were yelling and waving at her.

  Cass couldn’t help grinning. Hearing their cheers was like basking in the sunshine.

  Bert came up panting. “That was a great takeoff and landing! And it only took you half a day. Most impressive. I’ve never had someone pick up gliding so fast. I’m going to have you take a short break, then practice the rest of the day. I think you’ll be ready for your first practice dive tomorrow.”

  Cass looked over toward the edge of the island where the land dropped off into the Mist below. First dive. Tomorrow.

  “Here.” Bert handed Cass a strange-looking mask the next day. “This will allow you to breathe while you’re down there.”

  Cass took it and turned it around between her fingers. It was made out of leather and metal, with brass snaps and leather straps. Two short cylinders extended from either side with tiny little holes.

  Bert pointed. “The cylinders hold the filters that strain out the Mist spores from the air. As you know, any spores that cling to your body and clothing expire the moment they reach altitude, so all we have to worry about is not breathing in the spores while we are down on the surface.”

  There was a slight tremor in her fingers as she held the mask. All it took was one breathful of the deadly spores, and the plague would take over her mind and body, changing her into a Turned.

  “Don’t worry, we check the masks and filters before every dive.”

  “All right.” She looked up. “What’s next?” She wasn’t going to allow a trickle of fear stop her now.

  “Well, there is always a chance of running into a Turned, even though the area below has been free of Turned for many years. Because of that, I’ll be carrying this.” Bert reached for the holster at his side and pulled out a revolver. “Incendiary bullets. Burns the body of a Turned and incinerates the spores inside.”r />
  Cass stared at the revolver. She’d heard about guns that fired, well, fire, but had never seen one. She didn’t like the idea of burning a Turned, even though she knew the person had long since died and the body left behind was only a mode of transportation for the spores. It was too similar to the fires used after a Purge.

  “As a diver, you always need to be fully prepared and equipped. But since you haven’t learned how to shoot, I’ll be the one carrying the gun during this dive.” Bert holstered the weapon. “All right, let’s get our gliders and head out.”

  When on deck, he handed her the pack containing her glider. Together they placed their packs on, adjusted the straps, and checked their equipment. Bert placed his gas mask on first. It covered the lower half of his face and muffled his voice. Only the tattoo along his neck stood out. “Need help?” he asked as he glanced at her. By now, a small crowd was forming around the ship, waiting for their takeoff.

  “I don’t think so.” Cass placed the mask over her face and adjusted the straps. It was a little tough to breathe, but not much, and the air smelled a bit like leather and metal. It was hard to believe such a small headpiece could protect her from the plague spores. Then again, she was about to jump from a ship into open air with only a wooden frame and canvas to hold her.

  “Ready?” Bert asked as a slight wind tugged at his blond hair.

  She gave him a thumbs-up.

  “When you reach the edge of the ship, deploy your glider. Do not go any further until you are absolutely ready. Once you’re in the air, slowly make your way down into the Mist. There is an old town square with plenty of open space for landing. I’ll be watching if you run into any trouble. If you do, just follow the air, and I’ll follow you.”

  She gave him another thumbs-up.

  Bert pulled his goggles down over his eyes and walked toward the edge of the ship where the railing had been lifted and moved to the side, creating an exit. He pulled the cord on the right side of his pack. The glider stretched out with each hinge and wooden rod moving until they locked into place.