Penult (Book Four of The Liminality)

  The blackout curtain parted. Olivier burst into the room, bearing a crooked staff, his hair all mussed, his clothes disheveled.

  “What the fuck is going on here? Did you two get a cracker going? Turn the damned thing off before—“

  Victoria flung her hand towards him and sent a ripple of power blasting straight for his head. Olivier dove to the floor of the grotto, stretching and reaching his staff towards her. A bolt of energy sizzled forth and scorched the ceiling above Victoria. The sorceress took aim with her palm and summoned another burst. Her aim was true. The plasma struck Olivier’s staff and splintered its business end.

  You know that feeling I get? That loosening in my stomach when I’m about to project that weird force that is an extension of my will? Well, it came on super strong and fast this time. And I knew this time that I would need no sword to help me focus and direct it. My target was obvious. My intention, righteous. All I needed to send it on its way were my eyes.

  The bolus of power separated from me without the slightest bit of strain or effort. It blasted out of my core as a diffuse glob of plasma. Victoria, astonished, had only a moment react. She thrust her palms out. A misty shield materialized before her.

  The plasma I had conjured came together on the fly, consolidating into a dull and opaque mass the size of a cannon ball. Victoria’s shield was still cross-linking and acquiring density when my will struck and tore it to a million wisps and bits. My plasma flashed bright blue when it hit. It spread and clung to her skin, enveloping her entire body.

  I had no conscious premonition of what I intended that blob to do to her. I just wanted to stop her. My emanation was fury and panic made physical.

  And stop her it did. Every pore and appendage of her exploded with roots. Fine tendrils swarmed from every hair follicle. Thick corms sprouted from her toes. Wiry roots stretched from her fingers, her ears, her nostrils, from every bump and crevice in her body. Her scream was stifled by a root that transformed her tongue into a thick and gnarled trunk that stretched to the floor of the grotto and anchored her firmly to the stone. When the sprouting ceased, the only sign of life she displayed was a pair of anguished and flickering eyes staring from behind a brow of rumpled bark.

  But the cracker column continued to thrum and shake the grotto. Stones and bits of gravel started to rain down from the ceiling. I tried to go to it, but my feet wouldn’t budge. I teetered and fell backward. I was still anchored up to my ankles in the re-congealed stone.

  “Olivier! I can’t move. You have to do it. You have to turn it off.”

  He looked down at me helplessly, still holding his splintered staff.

  “How?”

  Chapter 43: Expedition

  Olivier rushed over and tried to help me. He whacked and pried at the stone binding my feet with his shattered staff. But he only managed to jam a splinter into my toes.

  The shaking intensified. The waves emanating from the base of the column grew in amplitude. Cracks appeared in the grotto wall. Several of the cracker’s segments had not yet been activated. If they had, the mountain would already be coming down.

  Olivier stared at the vibrating column and the thing that Victoria had become.

  “What the fuck were you guys trying to do?”

  “It wasn’t me, it was her! She was trying to take down the mountain.”

  I kept wrenching and twisting and flexing my ankles, struggling to free myself, but the stone held me firm.

  “Step back!” I said.

  I relaxed, took a deep breath and let my will build inside until I got it churning. I focused hard and cast it down as forcibly as I could at my feet. The blast struck the stone and dissipated, scattering like mercury across the cracked floor. My feet remained trapped.

  It was no wonder Victoria’s spell craft held firm. Her weaving skills were way out of my league. Unlike me, she could manipulate objects and substances that had long differentiated from root and her rearrangements were permanent.

  “Listen, you’re gonna have to turn it off. See those spikes? Grab ‘em and spin each segment until they’re out of alignment. Then you fold them up into their slots. Start at the bottom and work your way up.”

  Olivier just stared at me. He looked befuddled.

  “Go! Turn the damned thing off! I told you how. Now do it!”

  The floor was heaving. The bedrock below had shattered. Random blocks of stone rose and fell. Olivier picked his way through the chaos block by block, barely able to keep his feet. When he reached the cracker, he latched on to the lowest ring of spikes and pulled.

  It yielded slightly, but the column continued to vibrate.

  He grunted. “It … won’t … budge … any more!”

  “Fuck!” I said, straining with frustration at my trapped feet.

  Olivier leaned back and threw all his weight against the spikes. The segment gave way. He kept pulling until it rotated to a place where the knobs were no longer aligned and the spikes could fold up flush. He did the same with the next segment and the next until the vibrations eased and the column grew still.

  The air in the grotto was filled with stone dust. Bits of grit rained down from the shattered ceiling. The floor shifted. The block of bedrock holding my feet cracked, freeing one of my feet.

  A band of Duster warriors surged into the grotto ready to blast us to bits with their gnarled and knobby scepters.

  “Easy, easy!” said Olivier, holding up his palms. “Everything’s cool here.”

  ***

  The Dusters helped me free my other foot from the grotto floor with a hammer and chisel. A contingent of Frelsians hovered at the grotto entrance until they were comfortable that the cave would not collapse on their heads.

  When they learned that Victoria was now more or less a tree, they sent off a runner to inform Zhang. Meanwhile, the others strapped the warty, mangrove-like monstrosity that she had become onto a litter and draped her with a tattered, old curtain.

  Once I was freed, I borrowed the tools and went to work extracting my now fossilized sword from the grotto wall. I was relieved to see that although it was now entirely black, it remained metallic. Victoria had not transformed it into stone.

  I managed to chip it out more or less intact, though it was encrusted with bits of stone that remained fused to the surface of the metal, now warped with waves and ripples. I didn’t care. All I cared was that it remained sharp and pointy.

  Olivier went and stood over Victoria as the Frelsians secured her to the litter with long and wiry strands of root.

  Olivier stroked the burl that encrusted her forehead. “Will you look at this gal? So full of hate. Not one shred of remorse.”

  I joined him and saw her eyes all inflamed with horror and rage and pain. She would be screaming if she had a mouth.

  A Frelsian soldier of middling rank came up to us. He looked a little nervous.

  “Excuse me. Would you mind if we ask you two a few questions? Comrade Zhang expects a full accounting.”

  ***

  Olivier and I sat on a bench near the entrance and did our best to satisfy the Frelsian officer’s endless inquiries. He asked us to describe step by step everything that had gone on down here from Urszula telling me to get myself a saddle to finding the dead guards on the stairs to Olivier turning off the cracker.

  Several of the Dusters gathered around to listen in on us. The Frelsian found it difficult to believe that Victoria would have unleashed a cracker on their doorstep. The Dusters seemed to have an easier time believing.

  When the questioning was done, Olivier and I were left sitting on the bench. Now that morning had come, the blackout curtain had been pulled back. A mist hung over the cloud forest. Mantids hunted in the treetops. The clearing below swarmed with soldiers gathering for patrols.

  Olivier looked up at the cracked ceiling. “This place isn’t going to collapse on our heads, is it?”

  “Nah,” I said. “What was gonna fall already fell. Everything else is wedged in tight.”
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  “Well, I’m glad you think so,” he said, as he picked splinters of the end of his shattered staff.

  Six Frelsians passed us with the litter bearing Victoria. I had to look away. The weird mix of anguish and disgust in her eyes still haunted me and I had no desire to see that again. It was almost as if I feared her gaze might taint my soul.

  “She’s not right in the head, that one,” said Olivier. “The Lords must have messed with her. Tampered with her soul.”

  “Yup,” I said, averting my eyes until the litter bearers had turned the corner onto the stairs.

  “That stuff you did to her. Is that something you can undo?”

  “I’m not sure. The stuff I do, I can’t always control.”

  He smirked and patted my arm. “Remind me never to get on your bad side. He looked up at me? “Hey, did you ever get your saddle?”

  “Nah. I guess I’d better go grab me one.”

  I got up and sauntered over to the wall of the grotto where all the Dusters stored their gear. Everything piled against it was covered with a thick layer of grit and dust. The dragonfly saddles were all humped and vertical like motorcycle seats, designed to prop the riders high so as not to interfere with the wings. Mantid saddles were flatter, and looked more like something you could use on a horse.

  I chose the saddle that had the least blood smeared on it. It looked a little too small for me, but maybe a lighter saddle would be good for getting Tigger used to it. I could always upgrade later.

  As I slapped off the dust, a large gaggle of people appeared at the entrance, led by Zhang and Yaqob and a pair of Old Ones, both women, the latest in the rotation of their leadership. In their communal system, any Old One was empowered to speak for all.

  “Is it safe here?” said Zhang.

  “Oh yes sir, of course,” said one of the officers who always seemed to be near him. “The lower terrace is firmly under our control.”

  “No. I mean the armory. It looked a bit damaged.”

  “Oh, it is quite stable. I can guarantee.”

  “Good. We’re meeting here, then,” said Zhang, striding into the grotto.

  “You. Come here. Now,” said Yaqob, looking at me.

  ***

  I was glad to see Kitt and Tyler in the entourage, back from whatever fade or scouting mission had taken them away. Kitt had her wings with her, all mended and redecorated over my bleaching. Urszula had come as well. She smiled when saw me with the saddle and gave me a thumbs up.

  We convened in a circle on whatever benches and stools Zhang’s people could throw together. The cracker column had been removed from its socket on the floor and replaced onto the saw horses beside us. Yaqob scrutinized its knobby surface closely studying the fresh grooves Victoria had added. He glanced over at me.

  “This is not the same device we captured.”

  “Yeah it is,” I said. “She modified it. Made it stronger. She wanted to take down the whole mountain.”

  Yaqob’s eyes twinkled.

  “Can you make another just like this?”

  “Uh. I doubt it. Not one that works.”

  “Why not?” he said.

  “Because … they’re complicated.”

  “Have you tried?” said Zhang.

  “Not really. But I … I don’t even know where to start. I mean, give me some roots and I can make a pole that looks like one of these. But it won’t be functional.”

  “Can this one be reactivated?” said Yaqob.

  “Probably,” I said. “I’d rather not try. Not here, anyway. Any more shaking and this cave is coming down.”

  “But you could start it if we brought it to Penult? Give the Pennies a taste of their own medicine?”

  “Yeah. I think so.”

  Excited murmurs swept through the grotto.

  “We must form an expedition as soon as possible,” said Yaqob. “The Cherubim in the basin are preparing another assault. This column will not be safe here.”

  “And yet more Cherubim come to reinforce their brethren,” said one of Yaqob’s scouts. “A new flotilla has arrived on the shore.

  “Will they bring more columns?” said Zhang.

  “Undoubtedly,” said the scout. “Their vessels bear cargo. But we couldn’t get close enough to see for certain. Their falcons drove us off.”

  “I volunteer!” said Kitt.

  “Me too,” said Tyler.

  “Hold on,” said Zhang. “I have been having second thoughts. I am wondering, is this really wise? After all, Penult is a place we all should aspire to … someday. No? There are some among us who believe it might be … actually Heaven. Do we really want to bring harm to such a place?”

  “None of you are meant for Penult,” said Yaqob. “The Lords would never allow you. They see all who pass from the underground as unworthy. They would never accept us. Any of us.”

  “Unless … we take it for ourselves,” said Olivier.

  “Steal Heaven?” said Zhang, raising an eyebrow.

  “Bah! Why you think we need Penult?” said Urszula, sputtering. “This land is good enough. Yes, they ruin much, but there is still plenty they don’t damage.”

  “And what is destroyed can be restored,” said Yaqob. “The Old Ones shape and mend stone. They are creators, too. Not only Penult. You think the surface has always looked like this? They made this land what you see. They can raise mountains.”

  Faint smiles appeared on the women representing the Old Ones.

  “We hit the hard,” said Olivier. “They might think twice about what they’re doing here?”

  “Is a single cracker gonna be enough?” said Kitt.

  “Maybe,” said Olivier. “If we find the right place to deploy one, and if it was powerful enough.”

  Olivier looked at me as if I could do something about the situation.

  “Comrade Zhang, do you concur with this plan?” said Yaqob.

  Zhang was looking troubled. He said nothing.

  “We need to act quickly,” said the Duster scout. “There is another wave of vessels coming in off shore.”

  “Zhang?” said Olivier. “Are you cool with this? You onboard with us?”

  The Frelsian leader hesitated. His eyes met Olivier’s directly. “I … suppose. If it’s only to be a limited raid. A single column. It would show them we are serious.”

  Olivier turned to the Old Ones. “What about you ladies?”

  Both women nodded almost imperceptibly.

  “Good! It’s a go then,” said Olivier.

  “How many fighters do we send?” said Yaqob.

  “Only Freesouls,” shouted a Frelsian on the periphery. “We can’t afford to lose any faders.”

  Urszula pushed her way to the table.

  “Fuck that sheet,” she said. “I am a Hemisoul. I go and so will James.”

  “Oh, I don’t see the value in sending James,” said Zhang. “It’s a simple task. And we need him here. Penult will be well defended. He can show someone how to initiate the column.”

  “No. James will come too. We will need him.”

  Urszula sought me with her eyes. I wouldn’t have minded staying behind, but the fire in her gaze made me assent.

  “Yeah. I’ll go.”

  “I’m there too, fella,” said Olivier.

  “We keep the raiding party small,” said Urszula. “A small party we can sneak. But we will make sure they feel us.”

  “I too will go,” said Yaqob.

  “No, Yaqob!” said Zhang. “Your people need you. We need you here.”

  “I shall go!” roared Yaqob. “I am sick of watching and waiting while the Pennies peck away at us. No worries, Zhang. I will designate a capable steward. Our warriors will continue defend New Axum.”

  Zhang looked a little unsettled, but I could tell he had crossed a threshold. “Whatever weapons or provisions you need from us, they are yours. I am afraid we can’t support you with fliers. Our winged Reapers are too few and they do not have the range. But we can provide an escor
t to the shore.”

  Yaqob huddled with his lieutenants. A pair of them peeled off and bustled out of the grotto.

  “This meeting is done,” said Yaqob. “All who wish to participate in the raid must convene in the main plaza at noon.”

  I was about to walk away when Zhang waved me over. I made my way over to his side.

  “Before you leave, I am going to need your help.”

  “What kind of help?” I said, startled.

  “Victoria. Can you undo whatever it is that you did to her?

  “Are you sure you want that? I mean … she’s dangerous.”

  “She is my dearest companion. We were Hemisouls together in Root. We were among the first parties of refugees that broke through to the surface. We helped settle Frelsi. She tamed the first Reaper. She was even one of the first Freesouls.”

  “Mr. Zhang, the person they sent back to us. She may look like Victoria … but she’s not. The real Victoria is gone.”

  “Nonsense. I know my friend. I’ve spoken with her. Yesterday, she was fine. A little under the weather, maybe.

  “You need to keep her confined,” I said. “She’s too strong. Too dangerous to be set free.”

  “Not to mention, pissed,” said Olivier, inspecting the socket the cracker had made in the floor of the grotto. “If looks could vaporize, we’d be mist.”

  The glare his comment induced from Zhang glare was almost as potent.

  “I will have my best flesh weavers look after her. All weaving can be unwoven.”

  Chapter 44: Lessons

  Olivier helped me lug the dusty saddle up the stairs to the upper terrace. We found the rim promenade bustling with a contingent of Frelsian defenders fresh from the side valley they had abandoned to the Cherubim. A heavily-scarred Reaper, its wounds still weeping, lumbered along beside them, guided by handlers wielding multiple tethers.

  “I’m almost afraid to ask … what do they plan to feed that thing up here?”

  “No shortage of Cherubs down below,” said Olivier.

  I shuddered at the thought. We were standing at the base of the steep, cobbled lane that separated the warren from the more heavily damaged eastern sector of New Axum.

  “How about we meet up on the main plaza after your lesson?” said Olivier. “Got some shit I need to do. Get a new staff for one thing. He held up the shattered stub he was still hanging onto.