Surrender to the will of the night

44. Great Sky Fortress: Heris’s Game

Operations in Brothe turned anticlimactic. First came word that Pinkus Ghort, literally outside the gates and getting set to storm them while, at the same time, preparing to tame the Grand Duke, had, suddenly and inexplicably, ordered the levies to go home and his own men to stand down. He did not disarm but said he would not fight unless he was attacked.

Meantime, the Righteous captured Krois. And did not profit after making history. Never in its twelve hundred years had that island fortress been taken.

“They’re gone!” Vircondelet complained. “We went over every inch of the place. They’re just plain not there.”

Some staff remained, people who were, in essence, part of the physical plant. People whose families had been part of Krois for centuries. They reported that Serenity and his associates had slipped away during the night, aboard three boats. They had fled to a ship waiting downriver. The servants did not know where that ship was headed.

Hecht cursed softly. Doneto’s boats would have sailed right past the Castella. Brotherhood sentries would have seen them. Would have ignored them. All night traffic on the Teragi was ignored.

Heris and the Ninth Unknown got into some sort of squabble. They did not explain. Hecht thought the old man wanted to go find ships and sink them while Heris wanted to get on with her own project in the realm of legend, myth, and devil gods.

Heris said, “Piper, I need all those eggs you collected after you killed those Instrumentalities.”

“Why?”

“Instrumentalities have two souls. One they bring into the world with them and one they leave hidden in the Night. The eggs are their middle-world souls. If an egg and a hidden soul got together your success could be undone.”

“How about the thing in the catacombs?” The egg from that had not been collected.

“Double Great is sure it’s still down there, under the rubble.”

“I don’t know how much good I can do, Heris. I never kept those eggs myself. Rhuk and Prosek collected them. They sealed them up in metal boxes but I don’t know what they did with them after that.”

“Find out. I’ll make arrangements to collect and transport them.”

“What’re you going to do with them?”

“Get rid of them.”

But she had to get them to the Great Sky Fortress first. And she could not move them there by translating. The trapped souls might escape while she was cutting the chord.

Hecht was confused. But he did not need to understand so long as Heris and the Ninth Unknown did.

Hecht spent a few hours with Pinkus Ghort, watching his friend get drunk and listening to him complain. “I’m unemployed, Pipe. I’m glad we didn’t have to butt heads, but, shit, man, I’m out of a job.”

“That won’t last. They’ll need an experienced man to run the City Regiment.”

The Grand Duke had entered the city to maintain order. The Righteous were already moving out, headed for Alten Weinberg with Katrin’s casket at the head of the column. Hecht would catch up later.

Hecht visited the Bruglioni estate. He winced at all the damage his troops had done despite their best efforts.

He told Paludan Bruglioni and Gervase Saluda, “The curse of Piper Hecht keeps coming back on the Bruglioni. Gervase, I couldn’t talk Principat? Delari into it so I volunteered you to take over Krois. Somebody has to be in charge there till everything shakes out.”

“You’re making me Patriarch?”

Paludan laughed out loud. Saluda was not religious. He had gone into the Collegium only because the Bruglioni had had no better man.

“Pro tem. So there’s somebody with a hand on the reins. I’m in a rush. We need to get hold of the reins in Alten Weinberg, too.”

“But…”

“You’re it, Gervase.” Hecht did not stay to argue.

Things came together fast when the rich and powerful were frightened. Within thirty hours the Commander of the Righteous and the Grand Duke Hilandle jointly proclaimed Bayard va Still-Patter Imperial viceroy in Brothe. Pinkus Ghort became master of the City Regiment, which was to be reinforced by men from his disbanding Patriarchal force. And Gervase Saluda, numbed, moved into Krois.

After everything that the Princes of the Church had suffered lately, and with all the grim pressures toward honesty now obtaining, Hecht thought Saluda might well win an election. If an election were held. If the temporal Church chose to impeach Serenity, something that never had been done before. Traditionally, bad or unpopular Patriarchs were assisted in making an early transition to the afterlife. But this latest unpopular Patriarch could not be found to help along. And, as soon as the fear began to wear off, his friends would begin to resurface.

“Hopefully in the river,” Hecht said.

“Can you leave now?” Heris barked. “Can you goddamned well leave now, Piper Hecht? You bark at Grandfather because he has to be there for every goddamned little detail, but you’re twice as worse as he is. Come on! Let’s go! Now!”

Hecht’s cheeks reddened. Heris was right. And what she implied probably was, too. As he got older he became less comfortable trusting details to others. That was not good. That was not what had won him his reputation. That was not what had lifted him up to the heights he occupied now.

The Ninth Unknown snickered. “Some big-time kettle calling the pot going on here, Heris.”

Heris started pushing people together. There was a plan. Lila and the Ninth Unknown helped her. Hecht ended up in the middle, with Anna, Pella, and Vali pressed against him. They were surrounded by the other three, arms on each other’s shoulders, facing inward, squeezing everyone tighter.

The Eleventh Unknown observed, smiling benignly.

Smashed up inside all that friendly flesh Hecht suffered only a touch of nightmare during the transition to a strange gray place where his amulet became extremely excited.

He saw very little color, except for a gaudy ship tied up not far away. He did not at first look up.

People came out of a genial building not far away. Some were familiar, most were not. All were armed with huge mugs, and they all seemed friendly.

Hecht recognized Ferris Renfrow and the ascendant. The short, wide, extremely hairy people, all helmets, beards, mail, and cutlery, he knew only from stories heard from his sister.

What madness, this? He had been brought up a devout Praman. This was impossible.

He looked up the mountain now, gawked at the rainbow bridge and the impossibly huge and impossibly tall castle.

Heris edged in beside him. She whispered, “How was that transition? Better?”

“Much. But it wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t put me in the middle. Pella! Freeze. If you even think about wandering off…”

Pella took one good look at the dwarves, then sidled over between Lila and Vali.

Vali indicated Renfrow. “I remember that man. He was at the Knight of Wands.”

Anna had been stricken dumb. Hecht took her hand, entwined fingers, and held on, afraid she would bolt or faint.

Heris made the introductions. Ferris Renfrow, known in myth as the Bastard. Asgrimmur Grimmsson, soultaken, ascendant, and the once upon a time ferocious Andorayan pirate Svavar. Khor-ben Jarneyn Gjoresson, also mythical and better remembered as Korban Iron Eyes, crown prince of the Aelen Kofer. Behind Iron Eyes: his father and his son, Gjore and Copper. Then this dwarf and that, all of whose names she had harvested and quietly memorized, to their consternation. Then, suddenly, in a dark and dangerous temper, with taut throat, because the mer had both surprised her and had arrived in her most toothsome form yet, leaving a wet trail across the quay, “And Philleas Pescadore, who speaks for the people of the sea.”

Anna nearly crushed Hecht’s hand. He was so glad she had hold of the uninjured one.

Pella drooled. His sisters hung on and hated the mer for her naked perfection.

All of which went right past Philleas.

Heris said, “We need to get on with this. Most of us have critical obligations back in the middle world. Iron Eyes, Asgrimmur, talk to my brother while I talk to Renfrow.”

Hecht wanted to deliver a vigorous kick to his sister’s butt. She had said that deliberately.

The Ninth Unknown collected the ascendant and Korban Iron Eyes to one side. It was obvious they were old cronies. Hecht felt left out. And, while he understood that was not deliberate, neither was he accustomed to being an also there, in the margins, not part of what was happening.

Heris just wanted him here to witness. Wanted him to see how clever she was.

Hecht decided he was all right with that. Heris, like Lila, needed validation. Let her be the shining star. She deserved it.

He suspected, though, that several others might consider themselves the star.

He was wrong. Even the ancients deferred to Heris. Heris was the central force. They considered her the real Godslayer, hero nonpareil. Piper Hecht was a passenger.

Heris insisted that they all climb the mountain.

Hecht asked, “But if the Windwalker is already extinct why do anything? Why not just let them rot in Limbo?”

Did she blush? That did look like a bit of color in her cheeks. “I foresee useful results if I take it the rest of the way.”

“And those would be?” Unable to keep a taint of suspicion out of his voice.

“Piper… If this works out I’ll push those soul eggs into Asgrimmur’s pocket universe. I’ll free him of his haunts. And I may be able to enlist some serious Instrumentalities in our cause.”

“Uh… what?”

“We could end up having some of those Old Ones help us in return for their freedom.” She told him about the captive gods, name by name, as she had that information from dwarves who had known the gods personally. The Aelen Kofer bore the Old Gods no love-with two exceptions.

Hecht grunted, scowled, thought this was all just too unlikely to be true. Though it would be marvelous to have an Instrumentality for an enforcer that could gobble a bogon without blinking or burping.

Anna stood around, basically lost. Piper Hecht was a mite less confused only because he had heard so much from Heris. But he still felt like a half-blind spectator. The children took to the Realm of the Gods as though it had been crafted for their entertainment.

One short sleep after a period of planning that Hecht thought went more like a drinking contest and, suddenly, a whole mob headed up the mountain. The Aelen Kofer brought goat carts. Nobody got left behind, though Anna volunteered. Even ancient Gjore trudged along. It had been several millennia since he had poked around inside the Great Sky Fortress.

Anna told Heris, “I wasn’t made for adventures. Not of the outdoor kind. All I’ve ever wanted is a quiet life. And I had that till Piper Hecht turned up at my door one night, calling himself Frain Dorao.”

Heris asked, “And what did he do?”

“Nothing. He was a perfect gentleman. A perfect houseguest. Then he went away. Leaving me addicted. The most daring thing I ever did was go to Brothe, find him, and make him my lover.”

“You’ve been tangled up with us long enough, now, to know how messed up we are. So, enjoy the ride. Oh. I promise I’ll get you back to the boring same old same old before the sun goes down,” she said in a world where it was always high noon.

Hecht listened. And agonized. And kicked himself for letting himself be so affected by the women in his life.

He had not yet shaken the deep impacts Katrin Ege had had, with all her sick needs. Nor could he shed his obsession with Helspeth Ege. Nor could he forgive himself the hurts he had done Anna Mozilla even though Anna had no idea.

Several faces crossed his mind. Recollections from the Vibrant Spring School, Gordimer the Lion at a younger age, Grade Drocker, and Redfearn Bechter. Bottom line, he was becoming a whining, self-involved fool.

Anna seized his good hand. “Piper? Are you all right?”

“No. I’m learning about getting old the hard way.” He shut up. Most everyone here was older. King Gjore might be millennia older.

They arrived at the downhill end of the rainbow bridge. The Aelen Kofer loaded people into goat carts. Mostly they offered no option.

Hecht watched Heris practically strut across, well ahead of the cart in which he, Anna, and the Ninth Unknown rode. He had no real idea what was going on or he would have blown up when Lila and Vali headed over behind Heris, with the ascendant close behind them, unnoticed.

Hecht looked down.

He should have kept his eyes shut, like Anna and the old man. He would not have come close to shrieking and losing his breakfast, peering down at giants’ bones, sharp basalt knives, and bottomless death.

He would not have seen his daughters walking on air.

He would learn that they had crossed over unaware that the rainbow bridge was imaginary and a thousand-foot fall awaited the least misstep.

Pella crossed in a cart he shared with Ferris Renfrow. Pella had paid attention. Pella had a damned good idea what lay beneath the feet of those who walked the rainbow bridge. He crossed with his eyes closed. As did his companion.

Afterward, with feet on solid stone but soul still drawn by the siren fall, Hecht exploded, “You let Lila and Vali walk across that?”

Heris gestured. The girls were already at the gate, talking to a couple of dwarves as curious about human girls as the girls were about dwarves. In a moment they would go look at the only living thing native to the Great Sky Fortress, a sickly, waist-high apple tree.

“Don’t you ever, ever, put my kids at risk like that again. Ever!”

Anna agreed but was so shaken herself she could do nothing but nod.

Heris sneered. “You’re just pissed off because I didn’t trust you to do something that a couple of girls managed with no trouble.”

Not true. But, deftly, she had painted him into a circle where he would look bad if he kept on barking.

“Ever, Heris. Ever.”

For Piper Hecht, then, it seemed like only minutes till he followed his sister into a large room filled with colorful clutter. She snapped, “Everybody stays here, inside the green circle, till I tell you what to do.”

Aelen Kofer who were there already moved carefully amongst the tables, falcons, giant glass bottles, and things less easily identified. Heris spoke to them quietly, in succession. Those dwarves departed.

“Pella!” Heris’s voice was not loud but was compelling. “Stand still. Don’t go anywhere. Don’t touch anything. There’s a stone bench under the windows. Sit on it. Piper, Anna, the rest of you, you, too. Never touch anything unless I tell you to. Otherwise, chances are, you’ll get yourself dead. And take the rest of us with you.”

Aelen Kofer continued to murmur with Heris, then go. The royal three were among the last. Iron Eyes lighted slow matches at each falcon station before he left. “Best of luck, Heris.”

Two teams of two dwarves each brought in a pair of shelved carts that made no sound. They floated. On the shelves were felt-lined trays filled with scores of soul eggs, large, small, and flaked. Most could have passed as bits of amber. There were so many that Hecht could not believe he and his men had created them all.

“Piper. Same thing I told Pella applies to you. Sit down. Anna, hold on to him.” Heris turned back to the eggs, showed the dwarves where she wanted the carts hoisted onto the tables. She beckoned Februaren, Renfrow, and the ascendant, muttered with them in the space between tables. The carts came back down off the tables, out of the lines of fire of the falcons. “It’ll just be more crowded. I didn’t know there’d be so damned many.”

Hecht planted himself, let Anna hold his hand and keep him planted. He took in the colorful marvels and listened to Pella complain. He admired Anna.

Anna Mozilla’s finest feature was her eyes. They were big and brown and full of warmth. Right now, right here, they were bigger than he had ever seen. She was in complete awe. And trembling. Because she was in complete terror as well.

Heris said, “Lila. Vali. Come.” She positioned the girls behind the two falcons farthest out to the flanks. She gave precise instructions about how and when she wanted the falcons fired. “And don’t hesitate. When it’s time, it’s time. You’ll have less than two seconds if there’s a breach.” She approached the bench under the window. “Piper, I want you and Anna to man the two center falcons. Anna? Are you all right?”

“Just a bit overwhelmed.” In a voice like a strangled whisper. “I can do it. Just tell me what to do and when to do it.”

“And you, Piper?”

“I can handle it.” Though he was disgruntled about being one of the foot soldiers.

“Good. That’ll free Asgrimmur to help me up front.”

“What about me?” Pella demanded, surly.

“I’ll let you know what I need you to do. In the meantime, sit. Be quiet. And don’t touch anything.”

To head off any confrontation Hecht asked, “What happens if somebody fires? Assuming you’re loaded with godshot? This is a room where the walls, floor, and ceiling are stone. Might be some ricochets, big sister.”

“Taken into consideration, baby brother. Each weapon is aimed at one of those silver glass bottles. The wall behind is coated with ten inches of soft clay and plaster.”

She moved on to Vali. Pella fumed, “Why is she treating me this way?”

“Because you’re acting that way. No. Listen! What she’s doing here could shape the futures of three worlds. Or we could end up dead. And all she sees from you is self-absorbed discontent, apparently because you don’t get to do whatever you want. Even though you don’t know what that is.”

He was not getting through.

“Look, all she has to go on is what she sees and hears. What have you done that would make her think you’re trustworthy and reliable? And can be counted on to do the right thing when the crunch comes?”

“Oh, shit!”

Hecht almost snapped. But the boy was reacting to something happening across the room.

Heris had just opened a vein in Ferris Renfrow’s left wrist and was taking blood. Cloven Februaren stood by with a bandage. When she had about a scarlet cupful in a silver glass beaker, she nodded to the old man. Februaren slapped the bandage on. Renfrow nodded. “Healing already.”

“Pella,” Heris said. “Now it’s your time. Get up into one of those windows and watch the waterfront. Let me know when the golden barge changes.”

Frowning and sneering, Pella climbed into a window opening, leaned out. And said, “Oh, shit! Oh, Holy Aaron!” He eased back inside, shaking. “Dad. Don’t… I can’t do that.” He was ashamed and terrified at the same time.

Heris said, “You watch, then, Piper. Pella, take the falcon next to Vali. That’s the most important one. You chicken on me there, you kill us all. But don’t be firing for no good reason, either. Piper. The window.”

He did as instructed. And had no trouble understanding Pella’s distress. That was a long, long way down. And it called to him, come, take the plunge!

His gut tried telling him he was falling already.

Heris fiddled. She sent the Ninth Unknown to the falcon beside Lila. She positioned the Bastard and the ascendant precisely. “Nobody moves now, except me. And Piper after he reports. Then he goes to his falcon.” She took Renfrow’s blood to a point she had calculated to a fraction of an inch. Then she stopped moving, too. Stood looking back at Hecht, waiting.

Hecht lay down on his stomach and gripped the stone of the Great Sky Fortress. He stared all that long way down and tried to conquer terror. No human mind ought to have to endure this.

Dwarves still moved down the switchbacks on the mountain, apparently running. They dwindled, became dots moving toward the golden barge. Dots from the waterfront town joined them. They all streamed onto the ship.

Minutes passed. Then, sharp as a hammer strike-bam! — all color went out of the barge and waterfront. The gateway to the Andorayan Sea snapped shut.

Hecht said, “Heris, the color just went away.”

“Good. They’re gone. The Realm is closed.”

Meaning all the Aelen Kofer were gone, with their exits sealed up behind. No matter what happened here, now, none of the Old Ones would be able to follow or escape to the middle world.

Heris asked, “Everybody set? Girls? Piper? Anna? Pella? Double Great? Here we go.” She tilted the beaker of divine blood. Tor Books by Glen Cook