The Gods Beneath Read online

  Aysa snickered. “I heard you had problems with premature evacuation.”

  The others joined in the laughter as Karl turned red and desperately searched for words to come back at the Baseeki girl.

  She grinned. “What’s the matter…performance anxiety?”

  “I never…” he finally got out.

  Aysa nodded. “We know, Karl. We know.”

  His red face grew brighter and he dropped onto a bench, grumbling curses at the girl.

  “Now, now,” Laurel said through her laughter. “Let’s not focus on Karl and his disabilities. It gives him a keen sense of focus in battle, and thanks to overcompensation, he carries one hell of a hammer.”

  “Ladies,” Hannah stepped in, “please. All I need Karl to finish are the bad guys.” She winked at the rearick. “I’ve got your back.”

  “Scheisse, someone’s gotta.”

  “Now that you’ve had your fun at the Minute Man’s expense, let’s get serious.” She motioned toward the land below. “We’ve made it to the outskirts of Kaskara. According to Lilith, we are going to find exactly what we need to seal the Rift in this region. What you don’t know about this place is that its diverse ecosystem makes it—shall we say ‘interesting?’ At least that was how Lilith put it. The growth beneath us is called a ‘jungle,’ and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”

  “You can say that again,” Parker said, eyes wide and fastened on the ground.

  Hannah continued. “The thick growth stretches for hundreds of miles, and apparently it comes with massive, unpredictable storms. That’ll be fun. Visibility is damn near nothing down there, so we’re going to need to stay sharp. All eyes open, all the time. Gregory is going to move us closer to the mountains, which are some of the largest on Irth. We should be there in a day or two.”

  “Aye, don’t look so big from here,” Karl said, looking at the distant cloud-covered range.

  “No comment,” Aysa said, giving Laurel a high five.

  “Damn, girls,” he grumbled. “A rearick can never catch a break around here, can he?”

  Gregory stood and pointed into the distance. “Those mountains might look a bit like the Heights from here, Karl, but according to the map that’s only the front range. They get bigger and badder as they go.”

  Hadley whistled. “Heights are big enough for me.”

  “All right, enough with the damn mountains,” Hannah said, and told them all to grab a seat on the deck. “While we’re still airborne, we should use the time wisely.”

  Laurel raised her hand. Hannah gave her a sideways glance and waved her to go on. “What do you mean, ‘wisely?’”

  With a grin, Hannah replied, “I mean it’s time for a bunch of you to sharpen your skills, and others to learn new ones.” Her eyes scanned the members of her team, all of them looking back at her with admiration and confidence. “We have two targets: the tech and the crystals. Unfortunately, if Lilith’s intel is correct they’re at least a few days’ walk from each other, so we’re going to divide and conquer on this one.”

  Karl snorted. “Worked well back in Archangelsk.”

  Parker shrugged. “I did all right,” he said, remembering his finishing blow on one of the Skrim. “Not to mention Captain Gadget over there, who blew the hell out of the other one with his homemade cannon.”

  Gregory blushed. “It was nothing.”

  “Gregory did well,” Hannah said, “but that damn thing got close to the Oracle. Too close. And the Matriarch only knows what might have happened if Gregory hadn’t pulled that cannon out of his ass.” She motioned to Karl. “He’s right. We have no idea what is out there or who is waiting for us. Might be the hardest fight we’ve ever faced, or it could be a walk in the park.”

  “I’ll take ‘walk in the park,’ Hannah,” Hadley said with a grin.

  “You always do, pretty boy. That’s why Karl’s going to teach you how to fight.”

  His face twisted at that. “Some of us are made for the more refined life.”

  “The refined life can lead to some pretty grisly deaths,” Parker told him. “It’d be good for you to get your hands dirty and your hair messed up one of these days.”

  Hadley pushed his hands through his dark blond hair, which had grown over his ears. “Not a chance.”

  “Who will be on which team?” Aysa asked, putting the conversation back on course.

  Hannah pursed her lips. “Not sure yet. I need some time to plan. We need to divide according to our gifts and the missions, but I’d fight with any of you. Even the mystic.” She winked at Hadley.

  “It woulda been good ta have the old man with us on this run,” Karl grunted.

  Hannah agreed with him. She’d have done about anything to have Ezekiel here right now, but things were touch and go in New Romanov and safeguarding Lilith was the priority. Olaf and Mika had done well to protect her for years, but with the Rift growing wider and letting more Skrima through than ever before, they needed an advantage—and the world had no magician more powerful than the Founder.

  “I’d love to have Zeke here too, believe me, but there is no doubt in my mind that we can do this without him. I’ve been with all of you through the shit before, and there is more power, courage, and grit on the deck of this ship than in all the rest of Irth.”

  Through gritted teeth, Karl said, “Bloody right, Captain.” The others hooted and hollered their assent.

  “That’s what I like to hear,” Hannah replied. “Now, any more questions?”

  Aysa sat up straight. “Yeah. What exactly are we looking for?”

  “Gregory will take this one.”

  The engineer stood and Hannah took a seat next to Parker. Face turning pink, Gregory cleared his throat and stared at his feet. Taking his time, he walked them through Lilith’s plan.

  “The amphorald core I made for her was only a temporary solution. The crystals we’re looking for in those mountains could power her for decades to come, and they can power the device we’re seeking too.”

  “When you say ‘crystals,’” Parker asked. “Are you talking about amphoralds?”

  Gregory shook his head slightly. “Better. Lilith helped me see that the Arcadians have misunderstood the amphoralds all along. When the magicians push power into them, they alter the gems’ core structure so they can hold it. But according to her geological records, there is a type of crystal found in these mountains that is more susceptible to physical alchemy, and therefore could receive and deliver power more easily. If we can find a large enough supply, it should help me to build a core powerful enough to sustain Lilith for generations.”

  “All right,” Hannah said, standing up again, “Get what rest you can today, and fill your stomachs. You’ve earned it. But tomorrow we’re back to training. Gregory, set course for the drop zone.”

  They all nodded and broke from the meeting in different directions.

  “Hadley,” Hannah called. The mystic turned toward her, one eyebrow raised. “I need you for a bit.”

  “Of course,” he replied, sneaking a nod at Parker. “I serve at the pleasure of the captain.”

  Parker cursed under his breath as Hannah and Hadley walked toward the bow of the ship.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The hum of the magitech core, a sound that had been omnipresent since they left Arcadia, kicked up as Unlawful began to accelerate toward the drop zone. Hadley leaned against the railing on the bow as Hannah walked slowly toward him. She had changed much since their first meeting in the Heights months ago, when Hadley had introduced her to the power of mental magic. She had just been a wet-behind-the-ears kid. Now she was a confident magician.

  “What can I do for the great and powerful Hannah?” Hadley asked, employing his typical snark to mask any perceptible hints that he was impressed by her. “It’s not every day we get to be alone.”

  “You can drop the ‘great and powerful’ bit,” she said with a grin. She leaned against the railing next to him, far enough away to be comfortab
le. “I just wanted to check to see how you’re feeling. You know, after…”

  “Ah, so this is not about romance, but therapy. Pity. But if you want to talk, then OK. An evil alien took over my mind and used me as her puppet.” He shrugged. “No biggie.”

  “Thought you’d say that,” she replied. “Seriously, you went through something no one on Irth has experienced. When we were away chasing the Skrim that attacked Urai, I suggested I get inside the head of a remnant to get some information. Zeke nearly shit at the possibility.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, really bad idea. Getting inside those things will leave its mark. There’ve been mystics who have tried it, and they nearly went mad themselves.”

  “How about you? You weren’t exactly tangoing with a sound mind, nor a human one either. Did it leave any side effects?”

  He stood quietly for a moment—not his usually stance.

  “I’m mostly fine.” He sighed. “The Laughing Queen didn’t implant any ‘take-over-the-world’ impulses or anything, but sometimes at night…” Hadley’s face grew serious. His eyes roamed over the front of the ship.

  “Well?”

  “I have nightmares. Like I am back in Laughter’s kingdom, surrounded by Skrima. Some are whole, and have been lined up, just waiting to go through the rift into New Romanov. Others are... I guess you would say, ‘in production.’ Grotesque blocks of stone, halfway chiseled into the shape they will become.” Hadley shivered at the thought of it. “She isn’t sane, you know. Or perhaps Laughter has a kind of sanity that we can never understand. She has an utter disregard for us and our existence. We are but gnats on the ass of a beef cow—something inconsequential in the way of what she wants. What she needs.”

  Hannah waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. He just kept staring over the bow.

  “Your mind... Could she access it again?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “We’re not exactly talking about temple practice here. I don’t really know how communing with an alien works, but I assume I would need to be near the Rift.”

  She placed her hand on his shoulder. “Well, I’m glad that twisted mind of yours didn’t get bent too far out of shape.”

  Hadley turned back toward her and laughed. “Not my mind, but my spirit.”

  Hannah’s face wrinkled in confusion. He was a smart ass so often that she didn’t know how to take his comments.

  “Listen,” he continued. “When I joined you, I wasn’t really sure why the hell I was even leaving the Heights. Maybe I was bored, or just feeling the itch for some adventure. But what I do know is that I didn’t really give a shit about you and your team. Or about Arcadia, for that matter.”

  “Classy,” Hannah declared flatly.

  “I’m just being honest. But something changed when Laughter took over my mind. I saw the hell that is coming. A real hell. We’re not up against a local revolution, or helping the Baseeki chief with a missing son. I’m not saying those things don’t matter, but this—Laughter and her Skrima—this shit is cosmic.”

  “You saying you had a ‘come to the Matriarch’ moment?” she asked, trying to get a laugh from the smartass mystic.

  She didn’t get one.

  “I’m starting to think that without the Matriarch and the Patriarch coming back to us, we’re all doomed.” He paused and pushed off the rail, coming over to stand toe-to-toe with Hannah. “That conversation you had with Lilith in New Romanov, when she told you about the source of your power?”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Yeah. She said it was love. For a machine, Lilith is kind of a sap.”

  “Be that as it may, she’s probably right,” Hadley said, his face lightening. “Love enhances your power, kicks your nanocytes into overdrive when those who you love are in danger or need help. I think Laughter is… Well, I think she’s the opposite of you.”

  “She’s driven by hatred?”

  Hadley rubbed his hand against the side of his face as he thought about his response. Hate wasn’t quite right. “The opposite of love for others,” he said slowly, “isn’t necessarily hate for others. It’s more like a pure and unadulterated self-love. There is nothing Laughter loves more than she loves herself. Nothing else matters. Laughter’s power comes from the fact that only she matters in her world. That she survive and flourish, and she alone, is what gives her power. That is far more dangerous than hate. She is purely rational in her pursuit of self-interest…and that could be our end.”

  “That’s scary as hell.”

  “Yeah,” Hadley said. “But what I’m telling you is, after seeing that, I’m all-in. This isn’t just some small adventure anymore, not for me. It’s for real now.”

  Hannah nodded. “It’s about bloody time. You just became ten times more valuable to me.”

  “I didn’t know that was possible,” Hadley said with a grin.

  Hannah laughed. “Now you’re just a little more valuable than the magitech shitter Gregory installed in the head.”

  Hadley cocked his head to the side. “The most profound praise you’ve ever given me, Your Highness.”

  “Let’s just say I’m glad you had your conversion experience. Now it’s time to get to work. Time for training.”

  Hadley furrowed his brow. “Mine or yours?”

  “Both. We get started after I fill this empty hole in my stomach.”

  She turned to leave the deck and Hadley followed, wondering exactly what he had just gotten himself into.

  ****

  The midday sun was warm, despite the increasingly cool breeze that always blew through New Romanov. Ezekiel stepped from the caves and took in the now-ruined village—the remains of his childhood home. Despite the many battle scars this place had, he couldn’t help but picture it as it had been when he was young—as heaven on earth.

  The community was buzzing with a work ethic that would rebuild it to stand for generations to come. Ezekiel admired it, and was glad to once again be able to offer his hand to help the village.

  A large group of villagers had congregated near the western wall, and Ezekiel made his way toward them. As he neared, he heard Olaf’s unmistakable voice. That beast of a man was simultaneously holding a log in place along the wall and barking encouragement to the men and women securing it. The dead tree must have weighed half a ton, yet Olaf was grinning as he strained to keep it raised.

  “Need a hand?” Ezekiel asked, just as Olaf was finally able to let go.

  “Leave it to a wizard to show up after the real work is done,” Olaf said with a smile.

  “Surely a great warrior like yourself can handle this kind of work,” Ezekiel said. “I’m very old, after all. I’d probably get in your way.”

  “Horseshit,” a gruff voice said behind him. Ezekiel turned to see Curtis standing there, his shirt dirty and his brow covered in sweat. The city manager looked like he had been at it all morning. “You’re the same age I am, and without me this city would have fallen to pieces years ago.”

  The old man reached out a filthy hand to Ezekiel, who accepted it gladly.

  “You’re saying it hasn’t fallen to pieces?” Ezekiel looked around. “Standards must have changed since I was here last.”

  “Much has changed while you’ve been traipsing around the world,” Curtis said. “While you’ve been on holiday, we’ve been pouring our blood and sweat into this place.”

  Ezekiel nodded, enjoying the back-and-forth. It was a game they played. Although Ezekiel had been largely absent from New Romanov for the past fifty years, whenever he made it back home Curtis and he picked up exactly where they had left off.

  “Well, I can see that you’ve all worked hard, but what I don’t understand is why you haven’t worked smarter. During my ‘holiday,’ as you call it, I have been honing my magical craft, as well as observing the ways in which magic has flourished throughout the land. And yet here, where magic was born, you barely use it at all. I’ve known rearick more adept in the magical arts than you people.”

  “You’re not wr
ong, wizard,” Olaf said. “At the time you set off to save the world and found your new city, the magic I saw here was little more than cheap tricks—nothing that would hold a candle to grit and good sword work. But after watching you and Hannah and the others, I can see that magic is an asset we’ve ignored to our own detriment.”

  “It’s not all our fault.” Curtis jumped in. “Without you here, there’s no one really qualified to teach folks anything beyond the odds and ends of spellcraft that people use for their daily tasks. And with Olaf manning the defenses, it hasn’t really been needed.”

  As Ezekiel opened his mouth to speak, they heard a large crack. A vine that had been holding up the new wall support gave way, and the massive log fell. Before it could crush those beneath it, Ezekiel took action. His eyes flashed red and he pointed his staff toward the log, holding it in midair.

  He concentrated, and everyone stood in awe as he lifted it back into place. He then began to twist his staff, and altered the log’s physical make up so that it fused securely into the wall.

  When his eyes had cleared, he looked around at the crowd of impressed faces and made his decision.

  Speaking loudly, he said, “I take responsibility for the fact that your magical education has suffered, but that ends today. This city is the rock on which the forces of hell will break when they try to enter our world. I mean to make sure it’s strong enough to hold. Spread the word—we start tomorrow at dawn. Anyone who wants to learn what it takes to be a true magician can meet me here.”

  The crowd nodded in approval, then headed off to share the good news with their friends and family.

  “What will you start with?” Olaf asked.

  Ezekiel thought for a moment, then said, “When your father founded this city, it was home to some of the greatest warriors this world had ever known. I say we start by reclaiming that legacy.”

  The big man grunted his approval. “Not everyone here will take to your magical lessons. Those who can’t figure them out will join me. If they can’t form a fireball, at least they’ll learn to hold a sword.”