by Jack Conner
The battle began to break up, the submarines retreating back toward the pass through the coral canyons, the squid-ships following. Avery knew many of King Marqua-thon’s warriors had branched off from the main party and gone to liberate the slaves of the R’loth while they could, to give them a chance to escape. He hoped they had and that even now those former slaves were joining the allies in leaving this place.
Leaving was an awful, chaotic business, and afterward Avery barely remembered navigating through the fleshy spires of the city or racing over the twisting mazes of the coral; as hoped for, now that the Processor was destroyed, so too was the city’s energy shield, and the attackers could escape from it as they would. All Avery remembered with any clarity was the sound of his own frantic breathing in his environment suit and the sight of Sheridan’s chest rising and falling. At last he was clear of the city and joining the others in first putting some distance between himself and the city and then rising toward the surface. At some point he became aware of a great explosion behind him. It rattled his teeth, and when he turned to look back he saw fantastic colors and experienced sensations like he’d never known before. Later he learned that that of course had been the Processor erupting and taking much of the city with it. Immediately the would-be Atomic World began to fade, and the terrible storm that gripped the surface dissipated. The surface ships of the navies moved in, bombing the city with all the weapons the Ygrithan relics had leant them. The great city of the R’loth was destroyed.
All that mattered to him at that moment, though, was Sheridan.
Reaching the surface, he tore off his helmet, then hers. Auburn hair spilled around her face with her gun-metal eyes and slightly squared jaw. Her chest rose and fell. Lightning flickered up from the sea all around them, and a gas pocket exploded to starboard.
“Jess?” he said, clasping one of her hands. “Jess, can you hear me?”
Her eyes lifted, met his gaze. Her face was very pale, her breath uneven and ragged. Her eyes didn’t seem to have the strength to hold on to him. They slid away, and she shuddered convulsively.
“Jess!” He ripped off a glove and touched her brow. She was burning. “Oh, Jess …”
The water had been too filled with otherworldly energies, too toxic. Gods. Grief tore at him, but he tried not to let her see it. He wiped his eyes and quelled the tide of tears that wanted to spill out.
“Francis …”
“Jess.” He squeezed her hand again.
One side of her mouth curled up in amusement. “So …” She spoke in a whisper, raspsy and wheezing, and he knew it must be costing her, but he didn’t tell her to be quiet. He knew she didn’t have much longer. “ … I die a hero, is that it?”
He couldn’t help it. A sob escaped him. “I’m so sorry,” he said.
“Don’t. I …”
She choked, and her eyes rolled up in her head. He never found out what she would have said. She gave one last shudder, breathed out a long breath, then collapsed to the floor. She was gone.
Shaking, Avery bent down and kissed her forehead, then her lips. As ships bobbed upon the Atomic Sea all around him and many sailors doubtlessly tried to find him, he held her to him and cried.
Epilogue
“Look, Papa! The squids! The squids are returning!”
Avery turned to see. Sure enough, he could see the trailing tentacles of several vast squids drifting through the air over Hissig. The sun was just going down over the spires of the city, and with the coming dark the squids began to glow with bioluminescence. Brilliant green and pink and amethyst reflected off the buildings, some of which were the black and alien Ysstral structures, and below people cheered. There were tens of thousands of them, by the sound, and Avery knew the floats would still be passing by in the grand annual parade. Squid Day had come round at last.
“Can’t believe it’s been so long,” said Janx, and Avery concurred. More than a year had passed since he and the others in their little band had crossed the Borghese Mountains by dirigible and encountered the great aerial squids on their northward migration. Avery wasn’t sure if it seemed like just yesterday or if it seemed like a thousand years ago. I was a different man back then, he thought. That happened to a different Dr. Francis Avery.
That man had not had a daughter. Not a live one, anyway. Avery smiled to see her on the balcony, handmaidens to either side, both throwing flower petals into the wind in honor of the coming of the squids, now drifting back toward the sea once more.
It was also hard to believe that of that original band only he and Janx were left. One by one the rest had fallen away, giving their lives in service to helping Layanna achieve her ends, only for her to betray them all at last.
On his barstool, Avery turned back around, and Janx joined him. Avery could still see Ani in the smoky mirror hung above the bar, but he tried not to watch her. Was she still the same? Had she really changed?
Janx seemed to have noticed his gaze: “She’s back,” said the big man. He had acclimated to his peg leg well, Avery saw. Already the former whaler had adorned it by driving colored nails through it, gluing bottle caps, pins and other oddments to the aged wood. It looked thoroughly a part of him now. “It’s her again.”
Avery let out a breath and downed a sip of his whiskey, but only a sip. He would not allow himself to sink back into the bottle. “I hope so. When she took control of Gallansi and saved me, and tried to save Sheridan, I wanted to believe. But when I returned to Vinithir …”
Ani had been there waiting for him, tears in her eyes. Now here they were, having rented a small, second-story, upscale tavern for the festival day. Few had been invited, though. Avery was done with crowds.
“She was just angry,” Janx said. His broad shoulders rose up and down. “She had a right.”
“I suppose she did at that. Really, I don’t blame her being mad at me, but … what she almost became …”
“Yeah.” Janx finished off his drink. “I’ll take another,” he told the bartender, who nodded and obliged. After taking a sip, Janx said, “This is the finest shit I’ve had in a while.”
“It’s good to be the king.”
Janx’s crooked grin showed the wink of metal. “You gonna stay that way, then? I thought the plan was to step down.”
“Oh, it is. I’m already transferring power back to Gwen, but in stages. The country’s still in upset—hell, there’s still bits of the Starfish heaped up in the factory district—and it seems to be responding well to the figurehead of the Royal Family. I’m trying to make sure that’s all it is, though. We are. A figurehead. But it takes time.”
“You’ve been keeping busy, I know.”
“Things are calming down. I had to do that thing with Octung—”
Janx swore. “Still can’t believe you actually did it. Helped get them their autonomy back.”
“It’s not finalized yet. But they did live up to their end of the bargain, remember, and the head delegate that was in Salanth did send their High Command the message before we departed that city. Their higher-ups knew all about the bargain, and it would have soured our relations and given us bad press if I’d gone back on the deal. Don’t worry, they’ll still have oversight, and they have steep reparations to make. They’re not getting off easy.”
A moment passed, and loud cheers drifted in from the open balcony windows. Avery heard Ani cry “Look at it glow!” He knew the parades had been going on all day in anticipation of the squids’ return and that they would go on for another three days afterward. There would be many people dressed as cephalopods and many squid-oriented drinks and snacks. It was good to see people festive again after everything that had happened.
“How are you doing?” Avery asked. He hadn’t seen the aging criminal much over the last couple of weeks. Avery had had so many things occupying his attention and he had wanted to allow Janx some time to heal, and brood, and readjust.
Janx tapped his peg leg. Thunk. “Fine, Doc. Lost some money on fights, and more on whore
s, but at least I’ve got it to lose. You set me up well.”
“It’s the least I could do. I’m …” Avery wanted to say I’m so sorry, but the words stuck in his throat. Suddenly he was afraid he’d start crying again. He’d been doing that too much lately, when no one else was around, and in the evenings, after the paperwork and press conferences were done, he made sure no one was.
Janx squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t be. You lost as much as me, I reckon.”
Avery’s gaze flicked to Ani. “But I got something back.”
To his surprise, Janx chuckled. “Wish I coulda seen it. That final battle. You and the rest charging into Xicor’ogna and lying waste to all those bastards. Musta been a sight.”
Avery, remembering that day on the docks, knew just how sincere Janx was being. Smiling somewhat, he said, “Now I have a story to tell you.”
They laughed again, somewhat wistfully, and knocked their glasses together.
“To kicking R’loth ass,” Janx said.
“To kicking ass.”
They drank.
More soberly, Janx raised his glass in another toast. “To the fallen,” he said, and Avery echoed the words, trying not to think of Jess at the end. Part of him wished Janx hadn’t made the toast—he didn’t want to think about her final moments any more than he already did—but he knew Janx had only been trying to honor her, and the rest. The big man may not want to mention her directly, but even in his silence he seemed to show her respect, even appreciation.
Then, surprising Avery again, Janx said, “She was a hell of a woman.” Off Avery’s raised eyebrows, he said, “Sheridan, of course.”
“She was,” Avery said. “She really was. I .. I …” I don’t know what I’ll do without her. Again, the words wouldn’t come out, but again Janx seemed to understand.
“That’s why you’ve kept so busy,” the big man said. “Well, you’re right to do so. Remember how I was after Hildy died? Or Mu? Better just to stay busy and push on. Till things settle.”
“Maybe.”
“Or find someone’s balls to cut off. That helps.”
Avery finished his drink, and the bartender refilled his glass. Outside came more cheering, and a band had started playing. Avery had had to give a speech earlier in honor of Squid Day, but he’d had a difficult time summoning the requisite enthusiasm. Just the same, squids had, in a way, helped save the world, and in his dreams sometimes he still smelled the ammonia reek of that cockpit after he’d removed his helm.
A long moment passed. Shadows shifted. Deepened.
Janx leaned forward, and as he did his chair creaked. When he spoke, a different tone had entered his voice. Avery listened closely.
Softly, almost too softly, Janx said, “Where do you think she is?”
Avery let out a breath. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
“Don’t you?”
Avery summoned the image of the photographs he’d seen: of the morgue Sheridan’s body had been taken to. Of the ruptured metal door where her body resided. Of the cracked, empty cocoon within.
“It’s not Sheridan anymore,” Avery said. “She absorbed some of the energies of the Processor. It changed her somehow. Gods only know how.”
“But what if it’s still … her?”
Avery grimaced. “I don’t know. We’ll probably never know. And that’s the way it should be.” Still, he had to admit that part of him rejoiced at the idea of Sheridan still alive somehow, someway, trying to make her way in the changed world. A changed woman for a changed world. It seemed fitting somehow. But did he ever want to see her again? Did he want to know what she’d become?
“I don’t know,” he said again.
Janx nodded, slowly. Another moment passed, and then he changed topics. “What about … him?”
Avery played coy. “Who?”
“The third Muugist, of course! Not Davic, not Thraish, but the other one. Thraish said he’d already gotten what he needed, the third Muugist. Remember? At the Monastery? When we confronted Thraish, he said we were too late, his buddy had already gotten something and left. But he didn’t say what or where.”
Avery gave a nod. “Oh, I remember. I’ve thought a lot about this third Muugist of yours, actually.”
“He’s still out there somewhere, Doc, doing gods know what.”
“And don’t forget about the Ygrith. The Blue Ghost told me that they were returning to our world, and soon. It was the price we paid for waking the Sleeper. For obtaining the weapons to defeat the R’loth.”
“Fuck that all to hell.”
Avery allowed himself a moment. At last he turned back to Janx. Janx regarded him soberly, and there was a measuring, almost hopeful look in his eyes. That look encouraged Avery to say what he did next:
“How would you like to go to Lusterqal?”
“Lusterqal? The Atomic City? What in fuck for?”
“Because there is a Muugist loose, and where there is one there may be more. Others he may try to contact.”
Understanding dawned across Janx’s face. “The Collossum.”
“Exactly. And they’re in Lusterqal, still presiding over many, still with a great deal of power.”
“And over a still-strong Octung, thanks to you.”
“Don’t condemn me too fast. I’ve used that to our advantage.”
“‘Our’?” But there was a note of interest in Janx’s voice. That look of hope in his eyes had been kindled.
Avery leaned forward, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. “I’ve gotten myself appointed Ambassador to Octung. I’m leaving Ani here to play queen while I go into the lair of the enemy.”
“To spy on them. To find the third Muugist and stop him.”
“And the Ygrith, too, if possible. The Collossum could give us some leads.”
A flicker of admiration, even pleasure, shone in Janx’s eyes. “And those aren’t the only things you need to worry about. The Collossum will be up to something, have no doubt. They may not have created their Atomic World, but their little stunt with the Processor changed things.”
That they had. The R’loth’s mad push on the Processor had altered the skin of the world, maybe the universe. Avery and Sheridan had destroyed it before it could break the planet, but the weave was no longer the same. Things that had been impossible before were now all too possible, and there was the chance that doors … may have opened.
“You’re mad, Doc. You really wanna do this? After everything you’ve been through?”
“It’s because of that that I have to go, Janx.” Avery glanced at his whiskey, then away. “If I stay here I’ll only sink back into old patterns, I know I will, especially with …” Jess’s face flashed before him, pale and dying. It was replaced by the image of the cocoon. “Well.” He shook it away, and when he spoke again it was with keenness. “I think this is the right thing to do. I think it’s the only thing to do. And no one else is going to do it for us. No one else can get the kind of access into the affairs of Octung that I can—me, who helped them get on their feet again. Who slept with one of their goddesses, never mind how it ended.”
“And you’ll need a strong right arm while you’re at it, I take it?”
“It would surely help, my friend.” Avery sucked in a breath, then came out with it: “What do you say, Janx? Are you up for one last adventure?”
Janx paused, a thoughtful look on his face, and Avery was shocked to realize that the big man might say no. The whaler wasn't as young as he used to be, after all, and if that weren't enough to make him hesitate, he might be feeling less able now than before he lost half a leg.
At last Janx opened his mouth to answer, and Avery braced himself. He's going to say no, Avery thought. Then, on the heels of that: I can't do this without him.
Before Janx could speak, Ani cried out.
Both men spun to see Ani clutching her head and leaning against the balcony railing for support. Her handmaidens held her shoulders, propping her up, then guided her inside. Avery rush
ed over and helped her into a soft chair. Janx thumped over behind him.
"What is it?" Avery said, kneeling beside his daughter.
Her eyelids fluttered. "I'm okay, Papa. It's the Sleeper."
Avery felt a chill. "What about him?"
"He's ... stirring."
"Stirring." The last Avery had heard of the Sleeper, the creature's severed head had been installed in some sort of place of honor inside the Monastery.
Had it been more than a place of honor? Had it actually been some sort of healing tube or, gods forbid, resurrection chamber?
"Damn it all," Janx said.
Avery squeezed Ani's hand gently. "But you're fine?"
Shakily, she nodded. "I'm okay now. I just felt unsteady for a moment. The Sleeper has ... done something."
Avery didn't like the sound of that. "What, honey? What has he done?"
Ani didn't answer, only closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn't know, then. She only knew that it was serious. But what could it mean?
Avery didn't have to wait long for an answer. Almost immediately, an aide burst into the tavern room, his face pale and his eyes blazing. Breathlessly, he ran to Avery and said, "My lord! My lord! There's been a development."
"Take a breath," Avery said, rising from his kneeling position.
"It's Eberlith," the aide said, getting himself under control. "From Vinithir. We've just received word from our people there."
"What is it? What's going on?"
The man swallowed. "It's the Monastery, sir. It's ..."
"Yes?"
"The Monastery has vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Yes, sir. It just seemed to pop out of existence. The airspace over Vinithir is clear—just blue sky. No one knows where the Tree has gone. It hasn't been reported to have reappeared anywhere else in the world, either, at least so far. It's just ... gone."
Avery looked to Ani. Her eyes were open, and she seemed better now, but her face showed that she understood the gravity of the situation only too well.