The Darkness at the Edge of Noon: a Thalassia novel Page 8

  Chapter 7

  Selene had long since gone home when Logan sat up, but Rhiannon was standing by his side, smiling.

  “I take it that you snapped Jade out of her blue funk?” Nan asked as she massaged the kinks out of his neck and back.

  Logan grimaced as she hit a particularly sore spot. “How long was I sitting there?”

  “Three or four hours.” She kept rubbing, and Logan closed his eyes.

  “We’re talking now, and making plans—as best we can.”

  “Good.” The goddess stopped the massage and sat down next to him. “What have you decided?”

  “We thought that we would go to Stirling next, and do what we could to strengthen their defenses. As a last resort we can pull down the ruins around the main entrance, sort of like what we did at Ballinasloe.” He put his hands flat on the table, and studied the torn cuticles on his fingernails. “I don’t know if this will do any good. If we go to the northern island, the voyage will likely take months. I’m not sure that the cities will be able to hold out that long, even if we do find a miraculous solution. Could you maybe drop us there, like you’ve done before?”

  Nan shook her head in resignation. “When I send you places, it’s like your ability to open doors through shadow. You have to know where you are, and you have to know where you are going to. Have any of you been to Cloch Dabhiolla?”

  Logan shook his head. “But we’ll go anyway.”

  “So, if there is no hope, why do you try?”

  He looked up into those deep violet eyes, sad eyes at the moment. “I try because I must. Jade and I will give this our best shot, Rhiannon. And also because...” He was silent for a moment. “Because I think that there still may be hope. I can’t see it yet, but I believe it.”

  The goddess studied him for a long time, before she reached out and touched his face. “You are a good man, Logan MacKennit. It may have been more than simple fate that brought you into my cave that day.”

  “Tell me, Rhiannon, do you believe in God?”

  She stood and turned for the door. “It has been a long day, Logan. Get some rest and prepare your troops.” Nan was several steps away when she stopped and turned. “Yes, Logan, I do.” Then she was gone.

  It was a strange thing to have a three mile running track circling a small lake for swimming, all somewhere deep within the moon Medin. Logan felt the sweat drip down his back despite the cool air, and the muscles of his legs burned. Smelling the crisp resinous odor of cedar, he inhaled deeply.

  Six miles a day they ran, along with three miles in the lake and assorted pushups and sit ups on the soft green grass. The Marines groaned and complained. Marines ALWAYS groaned and complained. When they didn’t complain, then it was time to worry.

  He touched the shoulder of the woman who was running in front of him as he passed her. “Come on, Caera. You wanted to be a Marine. I’m the oldest person here. If I can do this run so can you.”

  “You’re a man!” The former teacher gasped out.

  “How about Bel and Tiana and Ryanne?”

  “They’re young. They can do anything.”

  “Excuses, excuses.” He couldn’t show her any sympathy, especially here in front of the others. “Get your ass into gear, Nunan. Move it!” She muttered a curse.

  Caera Nunan was a big question mark in his book. A snippy bookish teacher, he had been thoroughly shocked when she came up to him and asked to become a Marine. With the two new brothers training with his squad, he really couldn’t turn her down. He hoped she didn’t live to regret it. His major concern was that she was pushing herself too hard. She trained for eight hours a day with the rest of the squad at physical fitness, tactics and weapons, and then taught the two children for four more hours.

  The children loved Medin. True to his prediction, their laughter filled the empty corridors, and brought a vitality to the cold dead spaces that had been missing. He often found Rhiannon watching the children play, a wistful sort of expression on her perfect face. More often than not, those violet eyes would then shift to him, and the gaze would become speculative. It made him awfully nervous for some reason.

  Two weeks after closing the Ballinasloe gate, the squad set out for the city of Stirling. Logan’s home was a much bigger city than Ballinasloe, with over twice the number of people, and three times the amount of arable land. They even had a pasture for beef and milk cattle, although this was still a huge luxury.

  The squad arrived a few feet back in the jungle, and Logan walked out alone, hands out from his sides, palms open to show peaceful intent. The four guards at the gate still jumped, fingering their ceramic spears nervously.

  “Halt!” A tall grizzled sergeant shouted. “Who goes there?”

  “Logan MacKennit.” Logan stepped forward and removed his black helmet.

  “MacKennit!” The sergeant rumbled, lowering his spear. “I thought you were dead.” Logan could see the rest of the guards relaxing.

  “As you see, Sergeant Kirby, I’m very much alive. I thought that I would come in first before I brought in the rest of the squad. Things are nervous right now. Accidents happen that way.”

  “Truly said.” The sergeant removed his own helmet, running a four fingered hand through his short gray hair. “Bring them on in.” Logan made a short motion, and the others silently drifted out of the jungle. “Damn, that’s a mean looking crew you have there, with that black armor and all.” He glanced back into the jungle. “Where are the rest?”

  Logan shook his head. “The beasts were waiting for us.” He gave a disgusted laugh. “I tried to tell Captain McDermitt that there was something wrong outside, but he just wanted to impress the Councilor. He spread us out to make the Councilor happy. We didn’t have a chance.”

  “So how did you...”

  “Remember that old story we heard, the one about Councilor’s families being able to open doorways in shadow? Well, it’s true. The Councilor was teaching his children how to do it when the creatures attacked. I managed to get this many to safety before his door closed.”

  The sergeant turned toward the gate. “Why didn’t you come back sooner? Damn, it’s been months, and where did ye get this funny...” His talk cut off short as Logan’s sword cleared its sheath with a metallic hiss. The gleaming steel hung in the air in front of the sergeant’s face. The sergeant touched the blade reverently with one finger. “Where did you ever get a metal sword? There was awe in his voice. Grinning, Logan touched Grady’s armor with his sword, and the armor rang like a struck bell. The sergeant’s eyes got bigger. “Bloody friggin metal armor? Oh, gods, who do I have to kill to get a set like that?” His gnarled hand caressed the armor.

  “We have a new employer, Sergeant Kirby. She supplied us with this.”

  “She?” The sergeant seemed surprised, but only for a moment. “She doesn’t command, does she?” He asked with a frown.

  “No. She tells us what has to be done. I figure out how to do it. She provides transportation.”

  “And the pay?”

  “Grady, show the sergeant how our new employer pays us.” Grady and Logan wore matching grins as the lance corporal pulled out a fat gold coin, and showed it to Sergeant Kirby.

  “Is that the real thing?”

  “Yup.”

  Kirby frowned. “I could arrest you for inciting to mutiny, you know that, don’t you?”

  Logan’s smile turned frigid. “You could try, but I wouldn’t advise it.” Grady’s sword came out of its own sheath, and Logan heard the creak of crossbows being cocked.

  Kirby gazed at Bel and Tiana. “Are those the new crossbows I’ve been hearing about? I thought that they were still in the experimental stage—wouldn’t be ready for a year.” He was holding his hands well clear of his own sword. The guards stood frozen at the gate.

  “These are somewhat better.” Logan couldn’t help but brag. “Bel took out an eight foot tall monster with one bolt.”

  Kirby glanced at Logan, startled. “One bolt?”

&
nbsp; “Yup.”

  “Damn.” He turned toward the gate. “You had better not mention this to anyone else once you get inside. I’ll talk around. How many troops are you looking to recruit?” His eyes were sparkling. “Besides me.”

  “A hundred would be nice.”

  “A hundred?” Kirby’s voice rose. “That’s our entire army!”

  Logan shrugged. “I’d settle for a dozen or two veterans, ones who know how to fight.”

  “You’re not planning on taking over, are you?”

  Grady started to laugh, and soon the whole squad was howling with mirth.

  Kirby frowned. “Did I say something funny?”

  “If you saw our new home, you would know why we laugh.” Logan wiped his eyes.

  “There is one problem, however.” The sergeant grew serious. “Several of our soldiers have families, and some of our female soldiers have children.” He shrugged his thick shoulders. “We’ve had to make a few changes since your squad vanished. The loss of eighteen men out of a hundred will do that.”

  “Hmmm.” Logan’s frown turned into a wicked grin. “I’ll be right back.” He walked to the edge of the jungle, and placed a hand on his medallion.

  “So what do you think, Goddess? I can get you a half an army, but it comes with baggage.”

  There was silence for a minute or two. “You must bring out the maternal instinct in me, Logan. We can make arrangements. I believe that Medin is actually enjoying this.”

  “Your moon can think?”

  “Not exactly as you and I think, but yes, it can think.” Her voice became serious. “If I do this thing for you, you will owe me a favor, Logan. Do you understand that?”

  He swallowed hard. “I thought Selene told me that there is no owing this and owing that among family members.”

  “This isn’t between family members.” She replied sweetly. “It’s between a man and a woman.”

  “I understand.” He replied weakly. For some reason it felt like he had just sold his soul.

  “I’ve just made arrangements.” Logan commented dryly, as he returned to the group. “There will be room enough for all.”

  Sergeant Kirby nodded once, and gave Logan a hard look. “You and I are going to have a talk real soon about some strange things I’ve been seeing.” He nodded to Logan’s chest. “That emblem on your chest is one. Talking to voices in thin air is another. I’m not going to get my troops involved in devil worship or anything, am I?”

  “You will be dealing with the Goddess Rhiannon,” he said simply.

  “Rhiannon? Hells, man, Rhiannon disappeared a couple centuries ago. You’re pulling my leg.”

  “Sorry, Kirby. When we went through the gate, we discovered that the same creatures that are attacking the city were holding Rhiannon prisoner. We freed her and she was so grateful that she offered us all a job—sort of.”

  “And what sort of things does she have you do, in this sort of job?” There was a skeptical note in the sergeant’s voice.

  “Well, we beat off an attack and then sealed up the main gate in the city of Ballinasloe, if you really want to know.”

  “Ballinasloe is just a legend.” The gray haired sergeant scoffed.

  “For the moment, why don’t you just suspend your disbelief?” Logan pointed out the two fair haired brothers, and the thin teacher. “Those three are from Ballinasloe, and they look pretty real to me. That city is in sad shape, Kirby. They have half the people that you do, thanks to a cave-in, and it looks to me like their infrastructure is falling apart.” He gave Kirby a long look. If we don’t stop these creatures from attacking the cities, in less than a year the only people left alive will be the families and children of our own soldiers. The rest will be dead.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.” The sergeant made a motion, and the gate guards stood aside. “You might as well come in. We can’t stand out here and talk all day.”

  Logan made his own curt motion, and the squad fell in behind him. “So tell me, Tam, how have things been, since we’ve been gone?”

  “Humphh.” The big sergeant grunted. “Shitty. The loss of that many men hadn’t happened in a hundred years.” He looked at Logan sadly. “McDermit had power and influential friends, as did the Councilor. Friends that assured the Ruling Council that it couldn’t possibly have been their relatives fault. You had no one to watch your back. They wrapped the whole thing up and hung it around your neck.” Logan whispered a curse, but this was to be expected. “The army figured out what happened, pretty much. The scattered bodies pointed out poor tactics and planning. It had Captain McDermit written all over it, but we couldn’t prove a thing.” He touched Logan’s shoulder. “Give me a day or two to get your recruits together, and we can all walk out of here in one piece, I think.” He still looked worried.

  “I don’t want to fight, especially my own people. I’m trying to save their sorry asses.”

  “I know that—but still, watch your back.”

  Logan let a mean grin spread across his face. “Oh, I plan to do just that. I’m going to take my whole squad with me.”

  “They’ll never let you in.” Kirby’s look was incredulous.

  “They won’t have a choice.” He made a quick gesture that signaled; BE WARY—DANGER AHEAD. Behind him came the sounds of shields being freed and swords loosened.

  As they walked Logan noticed the many empty doorways that had once held bustling families. Glowing chemical lamps in the hallways seemed dimmer, the shadows darker and more threatening, or maybe that was just his imagination. The air smelled stale and slightly foul. This had been his home for thirty-seven years, he reminded himself. He felt like a stranger.

  Kirby noticed his look. “The population has been falling for the past several months. Deaths outstrip births, and many of those births are stillborn. Fifty years, the scientists give us.” He looked embarrassed as he walked along the corridor. “That’s not common knowledge, you understand.”

  “You’ll never make it fifty years.” Logan replied quietly. “You’ll be lucky if you see this year out. The Zzzkntti, the creatures that you are fighting, are building up their numbers rapidly, and now they are developing weapons.”

  The sergeant groaned. “That’s all we need. Where do you fit in, in all this mess? Why are you here?”

  Logan gave a wry snort. “Our job is to stop the Zzzkntti, or failing that—destroy them.”

  “Destroy them?”

  “Yup. I know that it’s an impossible job, but we’ve all got to die sometime and that is as good a way as...”

  The silver medallion on his chest flashed into a glaring, actinic light, and a voice roared inside of his head.

 

  He stopped dead still in the middle of the corridor, and put his hand to his medallion. “I hear you, Goddess. Do you think that we could talk about this a little later perhaps? I’m not really free to talk right...”

  He was slammed against the corridor wall, and held there by an irresistible force. “You will do as I say, Logan MacKennit, or I will remove you. Do you understand?” The voice of the goddess boomed in the corridor.

  “I understand perfectly. I will do as you say.” Logan lied. There was a growl in the air, and then he was released.

  “Problems with your employer?” Kirby was grinning. “Is she mad at you for something?”

  “Oh, no.” A laughing voice came from behind them, and Aileen Cronin removed her own black helmet. “Not anger at all, Sergeant Kirby. Something much, much worse.”

  The sergeant thought for a moment, and then his eyebrows crawled up, almost to his short graying hairline. “Is that you, Cronin? Well, well. Already a sergeant. I always knew that you were the smartest of this motley bunch.” He winked at the rest of the squad. “Well, if you think that you’re finished talking with your employer,
maybe we could continue on our way.” The sergeant was trying hard to keep from laughing out loud.

  Logan muttered something under his breath about the duplicity of all women. “I’m ready to go whenever you are, Sergeant.”

  The secretary in the High Councilor’s office could have been the twin sister to the fawning twit they had met in the Councilor’s office in Ballinasloe, right down to the nasally irritating voice and demeaning attitude.

  “I’m afraid that seeing the High Councilor, or any of the council members is totally out of the question.” The High Councilor’s emaciated, pasty skinned secretary said in a sneering voice. “Perhaps if you were to just leave your name and address, and the reason for your visit we could get back to you as soon as possible.” She laughed in Logan’s face as he scratched down a quick note to the council.

  “And just where is the High Councilor, right now?” Logan tossed the note on her empty desk.

  “He’s terribly busy, he’s...” Her eyes took in the name on the note. “Logan MacKennit? You’re wanted for murder! I’m going to summon the guards... I’m...”

  Petite blond Tiana touched Logan’s shoulder. “May I handle this, Logan?”

  He stood back, mesmerized by her enchanting little-girl smile. “By all means, Tiana. I could handle this, but I would probably do it badly.”

  “Oh don’t be so hard on yourself, Logan.” She turned the winsome little smile on the secretary. “Could we please get in to see the High Councilor? It’s really very important. There might even be lives at stake.” Logan was biting his tongue.

  “NO! Absolutely...” Tiana’s chain mailed backhand caught the secretary across the side of the face, lifted her out of her soft seat and bounced her off the stone wall, where she collapsed in a heap.

  The smiling blond turned back to Logan. “I told you that I would handle it.”

  Kirby was laughing from the doorway. “What have you been feeding these people, Logan?” He watched with impressed eyes as the smallest squad member returned to her place next to the other scout.

  “Red meat. I wave it once over a candle to cook it, and serve it with no knives. They have to tear it with their teeth.” Logan saw Kirby shudder. A quick motion sent half the squad guarding the office from unwanted visitors.