The Darkness at the Edge of Noon: a Thalassia novel Read online

  “But...”

  “I said no.” She dropped her eyes, her face red and angry.

  “How about the rest of you. Anyone want to sit this one out?”

  “Ahhh.” Logan looked down the table at the speaker, and Tanden Barr cleared his throat with the sound of a saw cutting through hard wood. “Seein as how yer little girl there got hurt an all, I’d like ter volunteer.”

  Logan stared. “Do you have any idea what we’re getting into?”

  The big man laughed. “No. Do you?”

  Logan stared for a moment longer, before he too burst out laughing. “Oh, hells no. Welcome to the unit.” He stared up at the ceiling for a moment. “Let’s see—transfer from the navy to the Marines at the rank of First Mate.” He looked down at Tanden. “I’ll start you as a sergeant, the same grade as our medic, Aileen Cronin, except that she will have time in grade and therefore outrank you. Does that suit you?”

  The ex-First Mate grinned. “Suits me jes fine, sir.”

  “Good.” He looked around the table. “The rest of you?” There was dead silence, and Logan gave them a sheepish smile. “I had to ask.” He took a breath. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning. Selene and Rhiannon will have armor, weapons and musical instruments waiting for us when we get up.” Logan nailed Tanden with a quick look. “You do play an instrument, don’t you?”

  The brand new sergeant actually blushed. “Don’t ye dare tell anyone, er we’ll have words. I play the arp.” He glared around the table. “I also plays a fiddle.”

  Logan stifled a smile. “A harp might be a bit large to cart through the jungle, but I think we should be able to manage a fiddle.” His gaze shifted again. “Tam, while we were on the road I had a thought. There are a lot of folks here, now. Some of them MUST be able to play some instruments. Why don’t you maneuver them into setting up a band or orchestra or something like that? Music can do wonders to relieve problems.”

  The Assistant Governor just nodded thoughtfully. “I know just the person I can get to volunteer. It’s a good idea, Logan. Why didn’t I think of it?”

  “That’s why I get the big bucks.” Logan chuckled.

  “And how much are those big bucks, actually?” Kirby asked curiously.

  Logan shrugged. “All I get is promissory notes.”

  “Ahhh.” Kirby responded knowingly. “You get paid in another sort of currency.”

  Logan flushed, his face turning angry. “If you’re talking about Rhiannon, I haven’t seen her since we arrived three days ago. I don’t think she likes me anymore, for some reason.”

  “I’ll believe THAT when I hear it from her own mouth.” Tam was frowning. Aileen, sitting further down the table was frowning too.

  Logan took a deep breath and marshaled his scattered thoughts. “Maeve, are you with us this time, or would you like to sit it out?”

  The brown haired woman’s eyes were troubled. “I’ll come, if you’ll have me.”

  He stared into the dark blue eyes. “I’d like that.” He cleared his throat and flushed. “Tiana and Grady. How about the two of you. Sit this out?”

  The two soldiers, sitting side by side blushed to the roots of their hair. It was Grady that spoke first. “Ahh, no, sir. We’ll go, however...” He paused, growing even redder. “Could we wait just one more day, sir? For our honeymoon?”

  There were gasps around the table, and everyone was up pounding on Grady and Tiana’s back in congratulations. “I think that we can stretch it for one more day.” Logan intoned seriously, biting his tongue to keep from laughing.

  “Thank you, sir!” The pair chorused.

  Logan had to shout over the milling heads. “Padraig. Take the new sergeant aside and brief him on the current situation, and show him our hand signals. He can pick up the rest when this is all over.” If any of us survive, Logan finished to himself.

  “Yes, sir.” The lean second in command drawled, unwinding himself from his chair. “I’d be glad to.” He turned. “Tell me, Tanden. What do you drink?” The two left shoulder to shoulder, heading for the tavern.

  Rhiannon was waiting for him when he arrived home, a serious look on her perfect face. The children were still at school. “We have to talk.” Her words were ominous.

  Logan went to the small kitchen, opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses, setting one in front of Rhiannon when he returned to the living room. “What’s the problem, Rhiannon? I thought that we were close, but now...” He sipped his wine and it tasted of dust.

  She smoothed her white robe and sat, not touching her own wine. “I need to know what your intentions are, Logan.” Her violet eyes were wide and very vulnerable. “Are you more interested in Selene or me? Or is it someone else? I’ll gladly get out of your way if...”

  She got no further. Logan was out of his chair and beside her in two quick steps. “Rhiannon.” His hands were on either side of her face. “I’ve loved you since the moment I first touched you, back there in the cave. I’ve never wanted anyone else, although your sister makes it hard sometimes.”

  “What!” He could feel her muscles clench.

  “Makes it difficult, I meant. Poor choice of words. I’ve never wanted anyone else but you. How would I even consider a liaison with a mere human? You’re so much better.”

  Her eyes had softened considerably. “My sister won’t bother you any longer.” Nan had a secret, mysterious little smile playing with the corner of her red lips. “I just wanted to know...”

  “Shut up, Rhiannon.” He kissed her. Then he kissed her again. When he picked her up, her rounded perfect arms about his neck, and headed for the spacious bedroom, Medin, being an intelligent moon, set the door of the apartment to privacy, where it remained for the rest of the day.

  Logan moved through the next day in a sort of sated, happy fog. Rhiannon, when their paths crossed in their busy schedules, looked much the same way; her cheeks slightly flushed, violet eyes wide with a slightly surprised look etched on them and a mysterious smile plucking at the corners of her perfect lips. In many ways the expressions on the faces of the Goddess Rhiannon and Tiana McMullan were very much the same thing. Women they passed picked up on this almost immediately, with smiles and knowing looks. The men, for the most part, were oblivious.

  Finally they couldn’t put it off any more, and early one morning, the ten members of the squad stood in what had come to be known as the Ready Room; the room that missions left from. Marines stood in two lines, swords out, crossbows ready.

  “Ready?”

  “Ooh-rah!” The squad sounded off. Logan opened the door into shadow, and they stepped through.

  ~~~

  It felt like it had been a month, but the bloated, partly chewed body of a dead seaman from the Lainie Mairi washing up on the shore brought the stark reality back to him. It had only been a handful of days since they’d been here last. Logan shuddered, and made a quick hand signal: scouts out. Bel and Tiana disappeared into the woods. The rest of the squad squatted at the high tide line, waiting. The two women ghosted out of the woods a few minutes later. Fingers flashed: all clear.

  “How is the terrain?” It was the first answer he had to have.

  Bel squatted. “Forest, some brush, but nothing much to worry about. Plenty of game about, and that means no Zzzkntti. THEY eat everything for three miles, whether it crawls, flies or swims. Except adult humans. They just kill those for fun.”

  He gave her a sour look. “Thanks for the info.”

  “No charge.”

  “Let’s move out and keep it quiet. I’d like to get as many miles away from this place as we can before sunset.” There were nods all around. “Bel and Tiana, scout. Max, take rear guard.” He looked hard at the boy. “We’re counting on you.”

  “Yes, sir.” The youth’s voice was dead.

  The rest of the squad hitched their gear onto their shoulders and headed inland.

  “We may have a problem with that one.” Padraig said quietly, striding alongside Logan.

  �
�I know. He was close to his brother, and he misses him. I don’t know what to do.”

  “You could have left him behind, you know.”

  Logan ducked under a moss covered limb, sending a yellow, six legged lizard scurrying. “If I’d left him behind he would have dug himself a hole so deep he’d never have a chance of getting out. At least this way he has a chance of snapping out of it.”

  Padraig chuckled dryly. “He has a chance of getting killed, too.”

  “Would you have him sit back on Medin and starve to death, pining for his lost brother, or die for the same cause his brother died? We all die at some time, my friend. Better to go as a marine, on your feet, sword in your hand.”

  The tall man slapped a mosquito. “That’s archaic thinking, Logan.”

  “Sounds good, though. Personally, I’d rather die in the arms of a beautiful woman.”

  “I’d rather live in the arms of a beautiful woman, thank you very much.” They walked along in silence for a few minutes before Padraig continued. “Talking about beautiful women.”

  “Hmmm?”

  “What do you know about this Goddess Selene? I’ve never been very religious so I know virtually nothing about her.”

  “Well, her moon is Elysium, and that’s where she gets her power. She is old. Older than Rhiannon.”

  “What?” Padraig asked, finger poised at his lips. “Twenty five years old, maybe thirty?”

  “Thousands of years, Padraig. Maybe tens of thousands.”

  The tall man stumbled. “Sorry. I thought you said tens of thousands.”

  “I did.”

  “Oh.”

  “And she’s not human, and neither is her sister Rhiannon.” Logan grinned. “I haven’t let that stop me, though.” He glanced over at his second in command curiously. “Why do you ask?”

  “Ahhh, she offered me a job, when all this is behind us.”

  “And you said?”

  “I’m still thinking it over.”

 

 

 

  Jade sounded dubious.

  Logan reached out and brushed his fingertips across Padraig’s bare arm, and the man started in surprise. “Sorry.” Logan pulled his hand back. “You had a bug on your arm.”

  “Oh, ah, thanks.” Padraig was frowning.

  Logan dropped back a few feet to watch his second in command. The man walked along for a few more feet, and then stopped dead in his tracks—one foot still raised.

  “What!” His face turned white, and his head swiveled to face Logan. His eyes were blazing. “You...you...”

  Logan held up a finger to his lips, and Padraig shut his mouth with a snap, his face going red.

  “You goddamned sneaky son of a...” His curses trailed away as he paused for a breath.

 

 

  He could feel Jade floundering in the moral dilemma.

  The whispered tirade was finally winding down, and the whole squad had stopped to stare at the two men.

  “It’s nothing.” Logan pointed down the crude game trail they had been following. “Just a small disagreement. Move along.” The men and women frowned, but they moved.

  “Am I really going to live that long?” Padraig whispered once they had all started walking again.

  “Jade told me several thousand years, if you don’t get killed first.”

  “Well now.” The tall man murmured thoughtfully. “Life is just full of little surprises.”

  “Isn’t it though.”

  Bel and Tiana chose that moment to pop out of the jungle, just in front of the column. “Cave ahead, Logan. Big enough for all of us and then some. Easily defensible, with a sand floor and a small fresh water stream at the back. I know it’s a little early, but this really is an ideal spot.”

  “If it’s so ideal, where is the former owner?”

  “There were some old bones, probably from a bear. Nothing recent. No signs of fire.”

  Logan thought about it for a moment. “It sounds good. Bel, you lead. Tiana, you go collect Max at the rear.”

  He thought to himself.

 

 

 

  He looked up to see the blond scout pop out of the brush behind them, Max at her heels. Logan grinned.

  The cave was better than Bel had described. Thirty feet wide with a narrow entrance, it smelled fresh and dry, rather than like an old graveyard, despite the bones. The fire crackled merrily, casting dancing shadows on the walls, and the squad had an early dinner of dried peas and vegetables in a thick, well-seasoned soup. They tore up loaves of heavy dark bread and passed them around. The bread wouldn’t keep long, anyway. Afterward Padraig and Megan lit their pipes, and filled the air with the oddly sweet scent of burning tobacco.

  “Well, folks.” Logan stretched and patted his full stomach. Let’s try a little impromptu music.” He reached for his battered mandolin and plucked a string, wincing at the sour note. “We are supposed to be troubadours, you know; traveling minstrels spreading happiness throughout the land.” Bel pitched a stone at him and he ducked, laughing. “Sticks and stones, my dear. Sticks and stones.” He plucked the string again, adjusting it slightly to bring it in tune with Barr’s fiddle.

  “Ye lead off, Mister Logan.” The big man grinned, picking up his bow.

  Logan began the simple roundelay, an old peasant tune, the origins of which were lost in antiquity.

  Megan let out a laugh. “My mother used to sing this to me when I was young.” She shut her eyes and, smiling, began to hum the melody while Tanden joined in with the fiddle. “She said the name of the song was ‘Horizons, by Louise Bushnell,’ and that it was very very old.”

  Her voice was a soft coloratura contralto, and contrasted sharply with the rough tough exterior she presented to the world.

  MY heart gives thanks for yonder hill,

  That makes this valley safe and still;

  That shuts from sight my onward way

  And sets a limit to my day;

  That keeps my thoughts, so tired and weak,

  From seeking what they should not seek.

  On that fair bound across the west

  My eyes find pasturage and rest,

  And of its dewy stillness drink,

  As do the stars upon its brink;

  It shields me from the days to come,

  And makes the present hour my home.

  Deeper will be my rest to-night

  For this near calmness of the height;

  Its steadfast boundary will keep

  My harbored spirit while I sleep.

  Yet somewhere on its wooded sides

  To-morrow’s onward pathway hides,

  And I shall wake at early morn,

  To find a world beyond, new-born.

  That’s all I can remember.” Megan gave a little laugh, her cheeks turning red.

  “That was wonderful, Megan. Thank you.” Logan gave her a big smile. “Let’s liven things up a bit, now.” He strummed a chord, then went right into a bright jig. Bel gave a surprised exclamation and picked up her flute and joined in, along with Maeve’
s bodhrán. Soon all the instruments were pouring out the song, feet stomping the rhythm in the sandy floor.

  “Logan!” Tiana touched his sleeve to get his attention. “Come quietly. We have a problem.”

  Chapter 15

  Logan made a gesture for the rest to continue playing their music, and then slowly followed the scout out of the cave. The stars were shining brightly, and the Thalassian rings had a blue tint from Elysium’s reflected light. In the semi-darkness he could see her point. “Over there. Low. Under the trees.”

  Logan squinted as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, finally making out the hulking shape of a large Zzzkntti, crouching in the shadows. It almost appeared to be dreaming, its head weaving back and forth in time to the music. Something wasn’t right, and Logan frowned, putting his head down next to Tiana’s ear. “Do you have your crossbow?” She nodded silently, holding up the shadowy weapon. “Good. Keep it handy, but don’t do anything right now. Do you want me to send Bel out?” Her head shook, indicating the negative. He touched her shoulder. “Don’t take any chances, do you hear me? Grady would kill me if I were to let anything happen to you.” White teeth flashed in the moonlight, reflecting her smile, and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Maeve gave him a long look as he entered, squatting down by the fire. “Is there a problem?”

  He made a conscious effort to erase the frown from his face. “I don’t know. I hope not.” The jig the others were playing was finally winding down. “That was good. Let’s try a reel next. Crowds always like reels. We’ll start with ‘Maid Behind the Bar,’ and continue with ‘Miss Monaghan’ before we quit for the evening.” He picked up the mandolin and waited for Tanden Barr to begin the piece. Soon they were flying to the foot stomping reel, and sweat was dripping down Logan’s face. “That’s enough!” He set the mandolin aside with a laugh. “I think we’ll try something a bit mellower tomorrow night, if we can. Slow dancing music, for the ladies, perhaps.”