by R S Penney
“A special kind of Light-Source,” Mercy explained. “A slight modification of the Infusion you already know how to create. I shall explain more when we have a moment to sit down and talk.”
“Thank you…Ma’am.”
“Call me ‘Nari.’”
“If you say so.”
It took another half hour to reach the outermost buildings, and the dirt road became a cobblestone street well before that. When they arrived, a group of twelve men in blue uniforms stood in a line, blocking their path. Members of the City Watch. Someone must have warned the local precinct captain about a massive caravan coming his way.
Every one of those officers had a hand on the grip of his holstered pistol, ready to draw in an instant. Their leader was a barrel-chested man with pale skin and gray hair poking out from under his cap. A yellow band around his right arm marked him as a sergeant. “That’s far enough,” he said. “State your business here.”
Tommy strode forward, still carrying his bow, and held the man’s gaze. “We’re refugees from New Beloran,” he said. “The city was attacked by a powerful creature.”
The watch sergeant took one look at Tommy and his brow furrowed in confusion. “So, you thought you’d slay it with arrows?”
“You must believe me-”
The sergeant raised a hand to cut him off. “You don’t have to convince me,” he said. “We’ve spoken with postmen who passed by New Beloran. They told us all about the devastation.”
That made sense. A lone rider could cover the distance between the two cities much faster than a caravan of tired, beaten-down refugees. If they were aware of the danger, Tommy’s job would be a little easier.
He turned, gesturing to the line of people behind him. “These folks need shelter,” he said. “And you must rally the Watch. Ofalla will soon be under attack. The creature is coming here.”
“Following your trail, no doubt.”
Tommy grimaced, shaking his head in dismay. “No,” he said. “It would have come anyway. This creature wants nothing less than the utter destruction of humankind. We must stand together and face it.”
Several men chuckled.
A smile broke out on the sergeant’s face. “‘The utter destruction of humankind,’ you say,” he scoffed. “I see you’re prone to exaggeration.”
Nari came forward to stand beside Tommy, projecting a regal serenity that said she expected to be obeyed. One look at her, and Tommy could easily believe that people had worshipped her as a goddess. Even in a rumpled, green riding dress, she was a queen. “It is no laughing matter,” she said. “Hanak Tuvar is a threat to every living being on this planet.”
“I firmly believe that something attacked New Beloran,” the watch sergeant replied. “Two postmen arrived yesterday, practically trembling as they told us of the destruction they had seen. We thought they were just spinning tall tales. But then a family of four showed up and confirmed everything they said.
“The city was attacked by some kind of creature. Most likely something that came out of the Vinrella. A squid that swam upriver and then dragged itself onto dry land. A ghastly beast, I’m sure, but nothing that can’t be handled with a few bullets.”
Nari lifted her hand to reveal a penny pinched between her thumb and forefinger. “For your trouble, sir.” She flicked it toward the sergeant, who caught it and then gasped when the coin burst alight with a fierce, red glow.
“How…”
Nari tossed a second penny to one of the other watchmen. When that fellow caught it, the coin emitted orange light. The next man in line received a yellow coin. And then a green, a blue and a violet.
They were just Light-Sources, of course, but Tommy was still amazed. So far as he knew, Light-Sources only gave off pure, white light. The notion that he would be able to select the colour had never occurred to him.
Placing her hands on her hips, Nari smiled for the sergeant. “There are forces in this world that cannot even begin to comprehend,” she said. “Believe me when I tell you that Hanak Tuvar is one such.”
“But...”
Nari turned around, extending her hand toward the troop of disheveled men, women and children who waited patiently behind Tommy. “Desa, would you please bring me the object that you carry in your saddlebags?”
A moment later, Desa trotted up, proffering the strangest thing that Tommy had ever seen. A blue crystal in some kind of brass cage. It was beautiful, but Tommy could not fathom how it would be of any use in persuading these men to grant them admittance to the city. Was she planning to trade it?
Nari set the crystal down in the middle of the cobblestone street and then backed away. “Do not be alarmed,” she said. “All will be well.”
The Ether stirred when somebody triggered an Electric-Source, and then the crystal began to glow. Blue lines shot out of it, sweeping back and forth. The startled watchmen gasped, several of them pointing their guns at the spectral images that appeared from out of nowhere.
Tommy couldn’t blame them for their fear; in truth, he shared it, and he had some inkling of what was going on. To someone who had never heard of the Ether, this must have looked like magic.
Ghostly buildings sprang up all around him, towering structures that pierced the sky. He chose the tallest one and tried to determine its height by counting the lines of windows on each floor. He had to give up after twelve. Remarkable. How could any man-made structure stand so tall without collapsing under its own weight? And to think, he had been impressed by Ofalla’s five-story buildings!
“This was my home,” Nari said.
She was crouching next to the crystal, manipulating it somehow with a series of gestures. Pictographs appeared before her, symbols made of nothing but light, but they responded to her touch.
The ghostly city vanished as the blue lines drew another image. This time, they seemed to be sketching a bulbous creature with thick, black tentacles, a squid with a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth.
“Hanak Tuvar,” Nari said. “It ravaged my city, destroyed it in a matter of days and blighted the land. It swept across the surface of my planet like a plague, and everywhere it went, the world changed. Plants would not grow, electricity failed.”
The watchmen were ashen-faced, staring at the squid demon with gaping mouths. Tommy wouldn’t be surprised if they soiled themselves. Poor men. Nothing they had ever experienced had prepared them for this.
“Please,” Nari said. “We must speak to your city council.”
Over two hours later, Tommy stood in a room with a long table of polished wood. Three rectangular windows, each segmented with white muntin, looked out on a garden that had not yet come into bloom. The leaves on the tall elm tree were not yet fully formed.
Tommy stood by the window with one hand clasping his chin, idly musing on what he might say when the mayor came in to talk to him. The other members of his inner circle were all here.
Desa, Miri and Kalia stood in the corner, talking quietly with one another. Zoe sat primly in a chair that she had turned away from the table. Like Tommy, she was gazing out on the garden, perhaps wishing that she was out there instead of in here.
Victor was at her side with one hand on her shoulder. That warm smile on his face…Tommy had never seen a man so in love.
And then there was Dalen.
He had taken Nari to the far side of the room so that he could ask her a thousand questions. The former goddess – or whatever she was – didn’t seem to mind. On the contrary, Nari was amused by his thirst for knowledge. Dalen was downright adorable when curiosity got the better of him. Truth be told, Tommy would be over there with them if he wasn’t so busy worrying about what he would do if the city turned the refugees away.
The door swung open, allowing a woman in a green dress to come storming into the room. She was short, almost skeletal, with cold, blue eyes and sliver hair that she kept pinned up. “All right,” she said. “We’ve deliberated.”
Tommy spun to face her, folding hands behind his ba
ck and flashing a smile. “And what have you decided, Madame Mayor?” he asked. “Will you be able to find room for my people?”
“For four thousand people?” she said, wincing and shaking her head. “No, I’m afraid there’s just no way.”
Crossing his arms, Tommy sat down on the windowsill. He nodded slowly, choosing his words with care. “I understand your predicament, Mayor Dobrin,” he began. “But the fact is you’re going to need those extra bodies.”
“Because your monster is coming here?” She sniffed, shooting a dirty look toward Nari, who was still speaking softly with Dalen. It had taken quite a bit of arm-twisting to gain a meeting with the City Council; having several men of the Watch vouch for them certainly helped matters.
Nari had used that strange, blue crystal to show the council images of Hanak Tuvar. By the end of her little demonstration, everyone in that room had looked as if they were about ready to sick up. Except Zerena Dobrin. Ofalla’s new mayor had endured the whole thing with a cold, calculating focus. “Surely you don’t doubt what you’ve seen with your own eyes,” Tommy said.
“Oh, your parlour tricks are quite impressive,” Mayor Dobrin replied. “And I have no doubt that something nasty is coming this way. But you showed up on my doorstep with four thousand tired, hungry people. Do you really think they’ll be able to lend a hand when the time comes?”
“We’re all in this together,” Tommy said.
Zerana Dobrin rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the platitude,” she said. “Anyone who can afford to rent a room is welcome to stay in the city. Otherwise, I’m afraid I must ask you and your followers to leave.”
Miri stood behind the mayor, sneering at the back of her head. “That simple, huh?” she countered. “Just send thousands of people off into the wilderness with no food, water or supplies?”
Rounding on her, Zerena shoved a finger in her face. “I don’t know what you imagined you would find here,” she said. “But this city isn’t exactly overflowing with food. Many of our winter preserves went toward the war effort.”
“A pointless war,” Desa muttered.
The mayor spared her a glance. “You’re entitled to your opinion,” she said. “But the reality is what it is.”
This wasn’t working. Clearly, another demonstration was in order. Unfortunately, Tommy had surrendered his bow, quiver and pistol before coming in here. And it was much the same for the others. So, he would have to find another way. “You have guards out in that hallway, yes?”
“A reasonable precaution,” the mayor said. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Send one in here.”
He had to repeat himself twice before the mayor sighed and poked her head out the door. A man in a brown uniform came shuffling in, eying Tommy suspiciously. This one was young, twenty years old at the absolute most. Which would still make him Tommy’s senior by several months. But it certainly didn’t feel that way.
Tommy stood at the head of the table, tapping his foot as he examined the young man. “All right,” he said. “You’ll do. Guardsman, I want you to shoot me.”
“Sir?”
“You heard me,” Tommy barked. “Take that pistol out of its holster, and put a bullet in my chest.”
The poor lad was flustered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Sir,” he began. “I’m not inclined to commit murder.”
“Trust me. You won’t harm me.”
“This is ridiculous!” Zerena snapped, shoving the young guard out of the way. She stomped up to Tommy with a sniff of derision. “No one is killing anyone in my city. And it’s past time that you were on your way.”
Tommy forced a smile, bowing his head to her. “Begging your pardon, Madame Mayor,” he said. “But you seem to think you can handle what’s coming. Perhaps you should put that assumption to the test.”
“By shooting you?”
“Your man won’t hit me. I promise it.”
He noticed Miri smirking in the corner, and Nari offered a nod of approval when she caught his eye. As usual, Desa was struggling to contain her exasperation. If Tommy had learned one thing about his mentor, it was that she had little patience for politics. People shouldn’t have to be convinced to do the right thing; they should just do it. If only it were that simple.
Zerena Dobrin threw her hands up, turning away from him and marching past the nervous guard. “Fine!” she said. “If it’s the only way to be rid of you! Though I’d hate to see what your blood will do to the carpet.”
The guard reluctantly drew his pistol, lifting it in a shaky hand. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he mouthed several words of protest. “I…I can’t do this,” he said at last. “I won’t kill another human being.”
“Be at ease, young man,” Nari said. “You will not harm Thomas.”
Thunder split the air as the gun went off.
A bullet hung suspended two inches away from Tommy’s chest, stopped by the Force-Sink in his pendant. The poor guard dropped his pistol and stumbled backward, trembling. “How…how…”
His reaction was nowhere near as satisfying as the mayor’s. Zerena Dobrin gave no sign of her shock beyond a slight widening of her eyes, but Tommy knew that he had gotten her attention.
He killed the Sink and let the bullet fall to the floor, stepping over it as he approached the woman. “You’re about to face something a lot worse than what you just saw,” he said. “If we work together, we might just be able to contain Hanak Tuvar. You try to go it alone, and your city will be rubble before the week is out. You need us.”
“What do you need us to do?” the mayor whispered.
Miri stepped forward to answer that. “Gather everyone in the Watch and any troops you have garrisoned here,” she said. “We have work to do.”
Miri watched a tall ship floating at the end of a long, wooden pier. The crew was busy loading it with crates while the captain stood in the marina, signing forms that had been given to him by the head of the dockworkers’ guild. They had been at it for the better part of an hour, the only entertainment she’d had while she waited for her “troops” to assemble.
Off to her left, the Huanemon Bridge stretched over the Vinrella. People hurried across in both directions. Factory workers in rumpled clothing, snooty aristocrats in top hats, and everything in between: you’d find them all on the bridge.
She turned around.
Several dozen men in blue uniforms filled a plaza that overlooked the marina. Some were pale, others dark. Some were skinny, others rotund. She saw boys who were barely old enough to shave alongside grizzled graybeards who must have been working this job for at least thirty years. But they all had one thing in common: they all stared at her in wide-eyed confusion.
Jim, Zoe and Victor were present as well. Miri needed every hand she could get. The Field Binders had devised a plan to save this city; it was her job to implement it.
Standing on a wooden crate with her hands on her hips, Miri flashed a toothy grin. They weren’t much to look at. “All right, you crusty boot leavings.” That sounded like something a drill sergeant would say. “We’re going to get you ready for this fight!”
She hopped off the crate, grunting, and then strode toward them with a swagger in her step. “Is this all of you?” she inquired. “Surely, it takes more than a hundred men to protect a city this large.”
A boy with rosy cheeks stepped forward. “Each precinct sent two men, ma’am,” he said. “The rest are all on duty.”
“Two men from each precinct, huh?” Miri muttered. “I suppose it’ll have to do. Scribe!”
Dalen came stumbling out from behind the crate, carrying a clipboard. He seemed to be fascinated by whatever he read there. “Yes, yes,” he stammered. “I’m here.”
“We’ll need cannons.”
“Yes, well,” Dalen sputtered. “According to the quartermaster’s report, there are twenty-seven in the city, though most have been moved to buildings in the north-west quarter that the army was using as a staging ground.”
“What about ammunition?” an old man in the crowd asked.
“Unnecessary,” Miri replied.
A skinny man with dark skin wrinkled his nose. “You want cannons,” he said. “But not cannonballs?”
Miri leaned back against the crate, folding her hands behind her head and favouring them with a smile. “Glad you should ask, Charlie.”
“My name isn’t-”
“Turns out,” Miri said, cutting him off. “When you shoot metal into the red haze that surrounds Hanak Tuvar, it just melts. Cannonballs are no good. Neither are bullets or arrows.”
“Then what good are we?” one of the men demanded.
Reaching into her coat pocket, Miri retrieved a bag of almonds that she had pilfered from one of the food wagons. There were only a few left. She had been munching on them while the others blew hot air in their oh-so-important meetings.
Miri tossed up an almond, tilted her head back and caught it between her teeth. The men just stood there, gawking at her. A few of them even clapped. Good. A commander should always be a little bit inscrutable to her troops.
“We’ll be using special weapons. If Nari’s plan works, we’re only gonna need about twenty cannons.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder toward the river. “Your job is to get them across those bridges and set them up on the south-east barracks. I want them delivered by sunset.”
“But that’s barely two hours away!”
“Welp, better get crackin’ then.”
She turned, stalking off toward the bridge and motioning for them to follow. “Come on!” she said. “Mayor says she’s got a team of horses and wagons waiting for us. Let’s get to work.”
Dalen fell in beside her, still fussing with his clipboard. He gave her a sidelong glance. “It’s nice to see you this happy,” he muttered under his breath. “You were so dour in New Beloran.”
Miri shrugged, a smile bursting to life on her face. “I don’t know what to say,” she replied. “I guess being back here reminds me of simpler times. When all we had to worry about was an insane Field Binder and his unkillable henchman.”
“When it was just you and Thomas,” Dalen mumbled.