The Black Rose Part 17

He halted, and the other two continued on their way. He was left facing the girl with whom he hadn't spoken since his failed attempt just after arriving here. Now didn't seem like the best time.

"Jack, we need to talk..."

Jack leaned against the tree and exhaled slowly. They had found a secluded place away from the main shelter, and Lucy had been talking solidly for almost half an hour-it was as if all the time she normally would have spoken to him in the last few weeks came out in one go. She started from the beginning, recounting their arrival at the goblin camp in the Sveta Mountains, meeting Maht and her daughter, their journey to the Cave of Lights, and their capture by the Cult. She had broken down at several points, her eyes shimmering with tears in the distant firelight. And she had finished with a quiet declaration that had left him reeling: she wanted to go home.

"I don't expect you to come with me at all. You're happy here. You've got..." She sounded as though she were about to say Ruth but quickly corrected herself. "People here who really care about you."

"They care about you just as much as me!"

"Maybe, but still... my mum and dad... and everyone else..."

Jack didn't reply. He couldn't fault Lucy for wanting to go back to her family, not that he knew what that was like.

"And, Jack," she continued, "I don't want to end up like Alex."

The last word was a knife to the stomach, a mingling of pain and guilt. He hadn't forgotten about his friend, but with everything else that had gone on, Alex had been pushed to the recesses of his mind. In the chaotic jumble of their time on Nexus, his original reason for being there had momentarily slipped away. Moreover, where was he now? Had he suffered the same fate as all the others who'd been dragged into the void?

"Alex will have got away," Lucy said. "We managed it, so I'm sure he could. He was the one who always looked after us, remember?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He didn't feel as confident as he tried to sound. Like Bal back on Albion, he realized, there was literally no way of knowing what had become of Alex.

"Do you understand now?"

Jack nodded vaguely. He supposed, on reflection, that Lucy's wanting to return to Earth wasn't odd at all. The two of them, after all, had first been pulled into the world of the Apollonians and the Cult by accident. Being taken to Thorin Salr had been for their own safety, not of their own volition. With the Cult gone, it was logical that now was the time she'd choose to go back. From what had become of Bal, of Alex, of Sardar, he suddenly realized how incredibly fortunate he and Lucy had been to come out with only a few minor injuries. He hadn't even considered the possibility of going back to Birchford to take up his old life-but then, Lucy had always had a better time of it than he had. It just seemed shocking that, after so long together, they were going to part ways for an indefinite amount of time.

Lucy didn't seem to know how to proceed. After a moment, she added, very quietly, "Please don't try and stop me."

Jack allowed his eyes to shut; in this darkness, it made little difference either way. "I won't."

Lucy placed her hand on his. "Thank you."

She didn't waste any time about it. They went back to the shelter, where she took Charles aside and explained the situation to him. She said she didn't want to cause a scene, especially considering the cremation, so she would leave overnight and allow others to pa.s.s the message around. Vince agreed to take her home.

Before long, she had collected her spa.r.s.e belongings. As Vince readied one of the dimension ships, the very same turquoise one that had taken them from Earth in the first place, Lucy stowed her sack of clothes in the cargo area.

Jack was the only other one there. "Have you thought how you're going to explain this back home? We must've been gone a good two months now."

"The Apollonians said when we'd left they'd explain to my parents. I guess I'll just have to work with whatever they told them."

When Vince finished the preparations, Lucy turned back to Jack. She was caught between the glow of the fire from the shelter and the whirring lights of the ship's control board. She and Jack stood motionless. Then Lucy ducked into a fleeting hug and retreated to the pa.s.senger bench of the ship.

The wings began to vibrate.

Jack's last glimpse was of the grubby, auburn-framed face of his friend, before she was hurtled off in a blaze of lights and darkness.

Chapter XIII.

last rites Hakim had called a private meeting aboard the command deck of The Golden Turtle. None of the normal crew members were present, and those who were spoke quietly in a closed circle around the map table: Jack, Dannie, Ruth, Hakim, Ada, Vince, Gaby, Malik, Charles, and the set of others previously unknown to Jack.

In comparison to the bubbling of the zoputan dinner, the atmosphere had quelled considerably. It was less than twenty-four hours since the cremation, and everyone was understandably reserved. Hakim and Ada had come in wearing black. Ada, he noticed, had also cut her hair: streaming dark locks had been sheared, exposing her frail neck. She looked as if she hadn't slept.

When everyone was a.s.sembled, Hakim cleared his throat, and the mumbling quieted. His voice was cracked but steady. "I'm not going to attempt to elegize Sardar now. I couldn't do him justice in so few words. Suffice it to say, Ada and I want to escort his ashes back to Tabesh. He has no remaining family, but many friends and colleagues are there who will want to honor him. By the laws of our country every citizen, even if they are exiled, has the right to return in death."

There was general nodding around the circle. No one was going to prevent such a reasonable request. Hakim half-turned to Ada, as if to see if she had anything to add, but she stared absently ahead.

No one said anything for a few moments. The morning sun blazed through the gla.s.s dome, catching swirling jets of dust in its beams. No one seemed to want to continue talking.

"I'm presuming, then," Hakim continued, "that the rest of you will remain here until we return?"

"I think so," Charles confirmed, once several people had given their a.s.sent. "The zoputa still have a considerable way to go with their new community, and we can all lend a hand."

Hakim smiled faintly. Jack could tell he was glad that he and Ada wouldn't be missed too much. "In that case, has anyone got anything more to add?"

Again no one spoke. Jack's heart quickened. He was in a moment of indecision. He knew it was right that the others should know what Sardar had told him, but this didn't seem like a particularly respectful time. He didn't want to hijack the situation. And yet, they would be angry later if he hadn't told them when they were all here...

"Well, in that case-"

"I've got something to say." Jack stepped forward slightly. Everyone was now looking at him. He gathered a deep breath, taking in all their waiting expressions, and then took the plunge. "I'm the ubermensch."

He had expected something radical to change. It didn't. Everyone looked at him as if he'd just announced what he'd be having for lunch.

Conscious that he only had a limited time before his credibility completely deserted him, he pressed on. "I can speak all your languages. Literally all of them. Isaac thought that was meant to be a sign, didn't he?"

"Jack," Hakim began, with the tone of one dealing with a delusional child, "as impressive as that is, I'm not sure-"

"No, you don't understand. This is new." He pulled the defunct language ring out of his pocket and held it up to the light. It reminded him of having to stand up and speak in front of a cla.s.s at school, and the painful memories of that occasion spurred him on. "When I first met you, when this first started, I couldn't speak anything other than English. Now, though, the ring doesn't have any effect."

"He's right." Ada's voice drew everyone's attention. "He couldn't speak any other languages when we first picked him up."

There was a pause. Jack saw Hakim and Charles exchange skeptical looks. He was losing his audience. Impulsively, he yanked the cord of the Seventh Shard from around his neck and held it at arm's length. "Look, if you don't believe me, watch this. Come on out, Inari."

There was a flash of incandescent light, and a couple of people cried out. It faded, and on the ground beneath the dangling Shard, the double-tailed white fox sat on his hind legs, regarding the room.

"Everyone, this is Inari. Say h.e.l.lo, Inari."

"h.e.l.lo, everyone,"the fox drawled.

Everyone else looked stunned. There was definitely no skepticism now.

"Inari's the one who gave me the Seventh Shard, back on Earth. He's pulled me out of quite a few sc.r.a.pes so far."

"But," Ruth ventured, "it's a fox..."

Inari bristled. "I'd rather you didn't pander such essentialisms around, my dear. I have two tails, I'm glowing, and I can speak. I am demonstrably not a fox."

Ruth didn't seem too happy with the rebuke.

"But, more to the point, Jack is the ubermensch, although your terms of reference are hardly fitting. It's more a state of becoming than a state of being."

Dannie seemed to be on a different wavelength. "Does it live in the Shard, then?"

"In a manner of speaking. There's no proper mortal equivalent. I suppose I'm tied to the Shard but free to come and go as I please. You'll find that the other Shards are similarly inhabited, although because of some special conditions you won't find any of their denizens as vocal as I. And, madam, I'd also rather you addressed me directly, rather than through Jack. Really, you lot call yourselves civilized."

Jack thought it was time to intervene. "Okay, Inari, that's enough."

The fox did its equivalent of rolling its eyes, and a moment later it had vanished.

There was a stunned silence.

"Sardar worked it out originally," Jack said, wanting to acknowledge the real source. "He said he'd had his suspicions for a while, but..."

"So if he's the ubermensch," Dannie began slowly, "then that's good, isn't it?"

"Very much so," Hakim replied weakly. "All we need to do is find the remaining Shards, and..." He let the remainder of his sentence hang.

Jack continued. "Well, I was thinking about that. We're fairly sure there's a Shard in this world, aren't we? And now that the Cult's gone, it's not going to be at all as risky to find it. There aren't any people besides us: the worst we'll come across are a few wild animals. I could take a dimension ship with a few others and bring it back here, whilst Hakim and Ada are away. Then we can sort out what to do about the others after that."

He hoped he sounded sincere. Of course, he was planning to go and get the Shard, but Lucy's departure had given him a jolting reminder of the real reason he'd become involved with the Apollonians in the first place: to find Alex. And if Alex had been on Nexus, there was a good chance he would have ended up somewhere on this planet-if he'd managed to get out at all.

"That seems reasonable." Charles nodded along with several others. "We haven't thought about the implications of the Cult being gone yet, but it would seem that the pursuit of the Shard will now be considerably easier. Who would you take with you? If it's to be one of our ordinary dimension ships, then it can't be a big group."

Jack looked around the a.s.sembled faces. He knew who he wanted but was tentative about announcing it to the group. He was saved the embarra.s.sment when Ruth stepped forward.

"I'm in."

"Me too," Dannie added, rolling the Third Shard between finger and thumb. "Sounds like you could use someone with another one of these. Mine's got a shiny animal as well, then?"

"Three's fine," Jack said quickly. He didn't want the entire group volunteering, or it would turn into something like a school trip.

Preparations didn't take long. Their trio was allocated one of the other dimension ships: very like the one Lucy had been taken home in but violet instead of turquoise. Their belongings and some provisions were loaded in the cargo section beneath, including an egg from The Golden Turtle for contact purposes.

As they were stocking up the ship, Ada approached. Jack panicked slightly: he had avoided speaking to her since Sardar's death, not knowing how to possibly begin consoling her.

However, she didn't seem to expect him to say anything. She was holding an object that he initially took to be a slab of stone, but he realized it was the Cultist mirror they'd taken from Thorin Salr. The surface was now dulled completely. It had lost its obsidian quality and now seemed as if it could have slid out of any cliff face.

She pressed it into the crook of one of his arms. "It might come in useful."

He scrabbled for something to say. "I know you'll make sure he's sent off properly." The words sounded painfully blase.

Ada didn't seem to mind. Instead, she pulled him into a brief hug. "Look after yourselves. He cared about you."

The zoputa brought gifts for them as well. Along with drying foods, they had been experimenting with art. They presented Jack, Ruth, and Dannie wallet-sized woven sculptures in the likeness of lion heads. Jack clipped his onto the thread around his neck to hang with the Seventh Shard, whilst Ruth planted hers in her hair. Dannie, after a failed attempt to eat hers, sheepishly deposited it in one of the pouches on her belt.

They were ready within half an hour. Ruth was in the pilot's position, adjusting controls, whilst Dannie looked on with interest. The remaining Apollonians had collected by the side of the ship, along with an a.s.sortment of zoputa.

Charles wheeled over, and Jack crouched on the edge of the ship to hear him speak. "I know this should be straightforward, but don't get complacent. We've survived the wreckage of Nexus, so others may have too."

Jack nodded and was about to stand.

Charles halted him, speaking more discreetly. "And watch out for that fox."

"Inari's always been-"

"I know you trust him," Charles pressed on, "and perhaps with good reason. But I'm sure you remember as well as I do what Isaac's last letter said about a white fox."

"Okay, we're ready," Ruth called.

Jack backed away and strapped himself in with the odd jellied belts as Charles cleared the vicinity. The vibrations from below and the suddenly blurring air around them told him that the wings had begun to beat. He saw that Dannie hadn't bothered to put hers on. "Trust me," he told her. "Use that. You didn't see what happened to Vince..."

The two pa.s.sengers had just begun to wave as Ruth slammed her palm down on the control panel. The ship lurched forwards, and they caught a last glimpse of waving figures, the shelters, and the metallic sheen of The Golden Turtle before they were hurtling across the savannah under the beating sun.

Chapter XIV.

chthonia.

The first hints of spring brushed the orchard. The bare-branched trees, marked against the pale morning sky like candelabras, glimmered with their first few leaves. The air was cold, colder than in Nduino, though certainly nowhere near that of the Sveta Mountains. A few birds called out-not condors or vultures or any recognizable equivalent, but normal, British birds.

They were on top of Sirona Beacon. Metal railings, screened off by flapping canvas, had been erected all around the hilltop, blocking the view beyond. The gondola-style dimension ship was tilted slightly, having hewn a line in the ground upon landing. It had come to rest next to a large circle of earth that looked as if it had been newly turned or something had been buried beneath.

Vince stood aboard, Lucy on the gra.s.s. It was, she remembered, almost exactly the same place on the hill she had been held captive by the Cult that night when everything had changed.

Her appearance was incongruous at best. The Golden Turtle's stock of clothing had been diminished significantly by the refugees, so the options hadn't been good. What she had come out with was hardly adequate: a dragon-woven dressing gown that trailed at her feet, pantaloons which swelled her upper thighs to the size of watermelons, a ruffled silk shirt, and a hat that may once have been fashionable but, inexplicably, had a stuffed koala-type creature attached to its brim. On top of that, she was trying to balance a bundle of furs that had come from the goblin camp, making her look like she'd grown a gigantic beard. She hadn't even begun to think how she was going to explain this.

"So this is it?" Vince said. He seemed intent on containing his laughter.

"I guess so." Lucy's reply was m.u.f.fled by the furs. Now here, she was unsure of what to say. Being escorted home on a flying gondola after a trip around the universe didn't exactly have a precedent.

"Take care of yourself. And take this." He tossed her something.

She caught it, dropping several furs in the process. Turning it over, she saw that it was one of the clasped eggs from The Golden Turtle.

"This thing can't change clothes, can it?"

Vince finally broke into chuckles. "Unfortunately not. Keep it, just in case."