The End. Of it all.
Yup- here it is. All of the rest of WAR, 1 hour and 25 minutes of it. The Heaven series is done. I’m rather numb.
I thank you profusely within the audio file, and will have a more well-thought-out blog post in the future. For now, take this and enjoy, and know your support means the world to me.
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(republished today as it didn’t end up in the feed.)
Visible for subscribers on Oct. 10; visible to Inside Story members now.
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Daniel and Kate meet Morrigan at last, and one other unexpected person.
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(republishing this today as it didn’t end up in the feeds)
Going live for everyone on October 3. Inside Story members get it now!
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So why was Gamma called back to The Sheridan, anyway?
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Here’s the text for Episodes 10, 11 and 12. If you want to read this you have to be a member of the Inside Story.
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Episode 10
Barris was unsure of where he was. He just knew he was far, far away from where he should be. He last remembered the ideas and the rubbish bin. Now he was feeling nauseated and claustrophobic, sweat beading on his forehead, tossing from side to side in a small room with no furniture and no adornments except for a puddle of watery vomit in the corner, one he felt the need to add to every once in a while.
He thought he should get up and demand his freedom. Demand to know where he was. See if there was someone he could talk to. Either bargain his way out or flex his divine power and force his way out.
But he couldn’t even sit up. And the general “gotta get out” feeling was the only coherent thought in his head.
There had to be some sort of mistake. Perhaps he was in a hospital. But didn’t hospitals have beds? And people?
Barris lay on his back and stared at the green glass ceiling. The room was fairly large. Why did he feel so confined? Beyond the green glss seemed to be another ceiling, much higher up, Beyond that, so far away, a tiny disk that shimmered, nearly imperceptible. The sun.
Gods, beyond Kate and Daniel, who were older than time, had no oaths. No god would swear upon the genitals of other gods. And since they didn’t excrete, they didn’t have the same feelings of shame, disgust, and secret childhood delight regarding excrement, so they didn’t even consider, “Shit.” So when Barris realized he was trapped with millions of cubic feet of water between him and the open air, he blurted out, “turtle tits,” and passed out again.
He awoke in a puddle of spittle and bile. Something buzzed in his ears and he shook his head, strings of ropy mucous sticking to the side of his face. He was going do something. What was it? He struggled to sit up and scoot himself over to prop himself up against the wall. The effort was monumental; He panted hard by the time he got upright.
His limbs shook. H wondered if the sensation was pain. He remembered water, then, slicing into his body through his pores like needles. It invaded everywhere, and he still felt its presence, unwanted, in his body. Had he drowned? How in the hell had he gotten to the ocean?
But more importantly, how was he going to get out? He could barely sit up straight. Moving beyond the room, finding his way out of the city, passing through that deadly water, it was all too much to consider.
Barris slumped to the side until he was wedged into the corner of the room. They wouldn’t come looking for him. No one liked him. They just wanted him to keep the sun in the sky. They didn’t care about him, his likes, his dislikes.
An idea he once had, involving innovation and independence, tickled his memory, and was gone. Barris leaned his head against the wall on his left and let the hot tears stream down his cheeks.
The door creaked open and two guards armed with spears walked in first. They were followed by a tall man who grinned down at Barris.
He stood tall and well muscled, his blue-green skin blemish-free. His black hair hung to his shoulders, and he was naked except for a small loincloth, orange coral armbands, and a necklace made of woven seaweed and blue stones.
He spread his arms wide, orange coral armbands contrasting with his skin. “Barris, I didn’t know you wanted to visit me so much that you’d kill yourself trying! Welcome to Leviathan City!”
Barris’s eyes narrowed and he swallowed back tears. “Hello Ishmael.”
#
Professor Burns removed his top hat and mopped his forehead in cool afternoon air. Daniel cocked his eyebrow.
“You doing OK, professor?”
“Certainly, my boy,” the man stammered, not looking at him. “While where I’m going isn’t the safest place ever, the company that I keep is unparalleled, so my safety is nigh insured, correct?”
Daniel thought of the various ways he and Kate had been kept from their power that had once had the ability to cause worlds to grow from nothing but blood and emotion.
“Obsolutely,” he said, clapping Professor Burns’ shoulder.
Kate, Daniel, Professor Burns, Gamma, and Fabrique waved at Alicia and the sulking Prosper to go belowdeck to a small doorway. It opened to the hanging sub, and Daniel reached out and unscrewed the hatch. He climbed from the door through the hatch, calling behind him, “Don’t look down!”
Kate snorted at him and followed, then helped PRofessor Burns in. They settled into small seats bolted to the floor, Fabrique taking the controls.
“Strap yourselves in,” she said, flipping switches and squinting a gauges.
“All of us?” Daniel asked.
“Even you, trickster god,” she said. “You should know by now that you don’t really know what is going to happen around here, even if you are a god. And seatbelts are just a wise idea. What if you smash into poor Professor Burns here?”
The professor’s dark face had paled to an unsettling gray color and he gripped the edge of his seat as the sub lurched. They started to descend toward the water.
They bumped gently as they hit the water, and Fabrique lifted a lever that disengaged the sub from the airship. “And we’re away. I figure maybe ten minutes till we reach Leviathan City.”
The interior of the hatch grew dark as the only lights came from the console and the reflection of the headlamps of the sub as they submerged.
“Fabrique, you know the most about this energy that people use to trap gods. What can you tell me about it?” Kate asked.
“It’s the only kind of energy I can’t actively manipulate,” the goddess said, staring out the porthole in front of her. “I have to treat it as if I was an ordinary tinker. I always thought it kept me honest, making me work harder to make things.”
“And you never thought about why you, the goddess of devices, couldn’t master it?”
Fabrique glared over her shoulder momentarily. “Of course I did. But as I said, being trapped inside a house didn’t give me much ability to go out and research. And since my freedom I’ve been a little busy with other people’s projects to work on my own.”
Kate flushed and looked away from the irritated goddess. “I’m sorry. You’re just the most likely person to understand it. It’s dangerous and I want to know what it is.”
Fabrique shrugged. “It’s chaos energy, its origination is The Dark, what you call the Wasteland. It’s what makes the area around Meridian and Lathe so volatile.”
Daniel frowned as something teased his memory, something so large it was hard to fathom. He couldn’t grasp it.
“But why does it counter divine power so well?” Kate asked, leaning forward.
“That much is easy,” Fabrique said. “Gods are creatures of order. Even Daniel here has to rely on others’ order so his own chaos will work. The thing that combats this order is chaos. Why do you think so many gods were imprisoned here? Here is where we are the least potent.”
“Wonderful,” Daniel said. “As much as I’d like to keep talking about how we’re not all-powerful as we’re heading into a hostile underwater city, shouldn’t we come up with a plan? They don’t like outsiders, and according to Sam, that includes outside gods. They have two of our own imprisoned there. What are we going to do?”
Gamma smiled, the green light shining off her teeth. Daniel shook his head. “No, we’re not going to turn to slaughtering them right away. You can protect us, but you’re not going to just blow the place up.”
Gamma lost her smile and glared at him. “I was not there when Dauphin fell. Now that I’m with you, you’re beyond city razing.”
“Good lord, Gamma,” Kate said. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of violence before we’re done. Do you remember that we need you all to help us fight a war when we’re done with all this rescuing?”
Gamma nodded stiffly. Daniel suppressed a grin. It was tempting to just set her free, but he knew they had to enter the city with their wits. A plan tickled his mind, and he looked around at his companions, the dark-faced Fabrique, Gamma, and Burns, the lighter shades of his and Kate’s skin. He grinned.
“I think I have an idea,” he said. “Fabrique, can you make us some shackles from what you have in your bag? It would be best if they can look like they’re powered by chaos energy, but aren’t.”
Kate gasped as a large glowing dome appeared several hundred meters in front of them.
“And preferably fast, too,” Daniel added.
Fabrique kept her eyes on the portal as she rummaged around in her bag and tossed three pair of handcuffs to Daniel. Glowing blue wire ran through the hinges and he admired the craftsmanship.
He scratched his chin. “Oh, I’ll need some goggles to hide my eye, too.”
“What are you planning, Daniel?” asked Kate.
“If the Leviathan City people want to hunt gods, that’s what we’ll bring them. You and I are pale enough to pass for Leviathan City citizens, this can work.”
“How in the world can we pass for citizens when we don’t know much about these people, even their sub design?”
“Leave it to me, I have a plan,” he said.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she muttered, but accepted the shackles and began sliding them around the wrists of their companions, leaving Fabrique one hand free so she could continue piloting the sub.
“How big is it?” Kate asked in a hushed voice as the city loomed closer.
“No one knows exact size or population, but I can say with some confidence that there are seventeen thousand tinkers or craftsmen,” Fabrique said.
“And an army of thirty thousand,” Gamma said, her fists balled on her lap.
“Relax, Gamma,” Daniel said. “You can break out of those at any time.”
Her hands fell open on her lap and she took a deep breath.
Kate closed her eyes. “There are seventy thousand people there. Give or take.”
Professor Burns snapped out of his stupor. “That’s impossible! Meridian is the largest city in the world at fifty-five thousand!”
Kate shrugged. “That’s what I can sense. Sensing souls is kinda what I do.”
“Man. What are they going to do with all those people? Surely overcrowding is an issue. And they can’t exactly leave from what Sam said.”
“Doesn’t seem like we’re heading into a very happy city,” Kate said.
Daniel snorted. “And understatement of the year goes to…”
Gamma smiled at him again. “Have you reconsidered your previous comment about razing the city?”
“No, I haven’t,” Daniel said, watching the subs drift around the city like parasitic fish around a whale. “But I might.”
Ishamel laughed, the sound assaulting Barris’ ears. “A prisoner? What in the world gave you that idea?”
Barris managed to lift his eyes to the greenish god. Ishmael had ordered a table and chairs brought into them, along with tea and sandwiches. It was almost civilized, despite the vomit that still pooled on the floor.
“We were all imprisoned. Me, Gamma, Fabrique, Prosper. We assumed you were too.”
“The god of the sea, living underneath the waves in a glorious city, surrounded by worshippers? And you thought I was eager to leave?” Ishmael laughed again, the sound bouncing off the wall like waves. “Where in the world would I go that is better than here?”
Barris shuddered, still feeling horrible. It must have been the effects of the water in his system. “I don’t know.”
“Exactly. Now, they treat gods right here. They will take good care of you.”
Barris stared at the table miserably. “But what do they want with me? How did they catch me? And why?”
Ishmael toyed with the blue stone on his necklace. “The report is a submersible surfaced by accident, they aren’t sure why. They found you floating in the sea, about to drown. They saved you.”
He leaned forward and looked appraisingly at Barris. “The crew are confused, though. We think it’s a case of madness due to exposure to the air, or perhaps your proximity caused them to hallucinate, but the crew claims you were a winged creature of heat and flame. Not what you truly are. When they came home this morning, they seemed terribly confused to see you in their infirmary. But they knew they had someone special, and sent me to check you out.”
“But what do they want with me?” Barris asked again.
Ishmael frowned briefly, looking far into the ocean. He returned shortly and smiled again. “You are a god, my friend! What city doesn’t want you as a figurehead?”
#
The sun, still quite warm and strong in the sky, slid closer to the horizon. Alicia was relaxing at the helm, keeping an eye on the wind, correcting from time to time. Connie approached her mother, the chicken gun ready on her shoulder. Air whales were less of a threat at sundown than sunup, but she never took chances.
“Mother,” she asked, her eyes surveying the sea under them. “What happens if they don’t come back?”
Alicia frowned. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine they wouldn’t. They’re gods, after all.”
“Sometimes they seem nothing more than humans,” Connie muttered.
“Hush your blasphemy, Connie,” her mother said. “It is an honor to serve them. THey’ve done so much for us.”
Connie nodded. “Like burn down our home and stowaway on our airship and demand we take them wherever they like?”
Alicia adjusted the helium valves. “That, and gives us notoriety, business prospects, and lodging in Meridian.”
“You said you’d never go back there, not since Daddy died.”
Alicia’s brown eyes fixed on the horizon. Connie bit her lip, afraid she’d said too much. Alicia finally sighed and said, “It’s not a good idea to vow things you can’t control.”
“I just hope we get a chance to return to our lives at some point,” Connie said.
“HOnestly, I do too,” Alicia said. “But they’re gods, Connie. What are we going to do? Deny them?”
Connie shrugged. She glanced back at Prosper, still hunkered at the back of the ship beside his pot of moss. “I wish they hadn’t left him.”
“You and me both, honey. I wish James had some more caution.”
#
Fabrique, Gamma, and Professor Burns stood at the submersible hatch, waiting for Daniel to exit before they did. Kate would bring up the rear. Daniel blinked through his goggles. Whatever Fabrique had done to them was amazing. If focused correctly, he could see through walls. Another turn of a lens and he could easily view electrical currents. Best of all, a third flip of a lens gave him the illusion of having both eyes functioning. Fabrique said it was just fooling his good eye that he had his perspective back, but Daniel didn’t care. His brain reveled in the feeling of two visual inputs.
Currently he had it so he could see through the walls, and noted that the Leviathan City guards had gathered inside the airlock to intercept the strange submersible. He cursed himself for not thinking to disguise the obviously non-Leviathan=City created submersible. But it was too late to fret about that now.
“This is totally not going to work,” he muttered to himself as the airlock opened and eight muscular white warriors- five women and three men stormed in with spears.
“Good idea,” Kate said.
“It’s all I could come up with,” he said, then, louder, “We have returned with heretics! I think these might be of use to us! Our leaders will be so proud!”
Fabrique, Burns, and Gamma walked forward dutifully, showing their shackled hands.
The woman in front, wearing a padded tunic and green pants, raised her spear. “Who are you? Entry into Leviathan City is forbidden for all heretics from above.”
“We’re not heretics!” Daniel said. He thought the obvious comparing of skin color wouldn’t outweigh clothing, accent, and submarine differences. “We just had some individuals we thought you would be interested in seeing. We are sure at least two of these are not human.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “The only one who can determine power is the queen. She can decide.”
The warriors behind her shuddered, two of them exchanging sidelong glances.
This can’t be good, Daniel thought.
With a word from the woman, the warriors surrounded the gods, who allowed themselves to be herded into the underwater city.
#
“We see the coolest places in the weirdest situations,” Kate whispered, craning her head back.
“Tell me about it. How many heavens and hells would have been cool to explore if we hadn’t been running from gods or looking for souls or, uh, running from other gods?” Daniel said, following her gaze.
The green dome glistened dully over them showing black water beyond. The streets within the dome ran in circles, with smaller houses on the perimeter and larger buildings in the smaller concentric bands. Straight roads went toward the center like spokes in a wheel. Near the center were tall skyscrapers, which nearly touched the top of the dome. Most were created from glass of various opacities, the more private areas were made from black glass, shining slightly from interior lights.
In the center of the city the tallest building actually seemed to be made out of the same glass as the dome, melding into the ceiling seamlessly. As they took a direct route toward the center, Kate realized they were heading toward the biggest building.
“Is that a temple to Ishmael?” she asked, pointing. She received a grunt from the man at her side, and he said nothing more.
“You should know that, shouldn’t you, if you were native?” asked the woman, sneering.
“Oh come on, if you saw through our clever trick, then why keep acting like you just figured us out?” Daniel said. Kate hid a smile. The fact that the guards had no idea who they were was still their strongest weapon. She could see Gamma’s ropy dark arms flexing in the shackles eager to get out. She could probably destroy each guard simply by turning their weapons on them.
As they passed houses, pale, frightened faces peeked from windows, lighter glass set into opaque walls. When they met Kate’s eyes, they slid behind curtains. She smiled and openly waved at them.
“Leviathan City citizens are not permitted contact with heretics,” the woman said.
“What makes us heretics?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah, that’s a good question,” Kate said. “We never said Ishmael wasn’t a god, or Cotton wasn’t a goddess. Why hate us?”
“You worship the other gods,” the woman said, looking straight forward. “Kate the false. Daniel the weak.”
Kate couldn’t read Daniel’s eye behind the goggles, but she knew he was looking at her. He gave a small, suppressed smile.
Unfortunately, the woman kept talking. “The minor gods are recognized here, but not worshipped on a high level as they are wrongly done on the outside. My people retain a brand of Gamma the Warrior, but she is not reverd by anyone else. The tinkers honor Fabrique on holidays, and the farmers Prosper. Barris gives his power to our goddess, Cotton, so we acknowledge him, but no one is higher than Ishmael the sea and Cotton the moon.”
Gamma and Fabrique stiffened at the insults, but said nothing. Daniel made a big deal of counting on his fingers. “Wait, you only named eight gods. What about Persi, the goddess of dinosaurs?”
The guards did not answer. The buildings got taller and taller, and they finally approached the one in the center, a round building with no windows. Two guards stood at the door, but opened them when they saw the group approach.
“Five to see the queen,” their head guard said.
The door guards’ eyebrows shot up. “Five? But the king has already taken someone to visit.” One of them said.
“These are heretics, they cannot be trusted elsewhere,” she said. “It’s possible the eight of us could already be tainted.”
One of the other guards swore softly and a ripple of panic went through them.
“You have less courage than Daniel’s testicles!” the leader said. Daniel coughed, trying to hide an outburst of laughter. “
The leader shoved them all through. They stumbled into the room, and she followed them, snarling, “I’ll take them through myself!”
The interior showed the building was like a doughnut, with a small circular wall in the center of the room and holy symbols depicting a naked man, an erect phallus, and waves decorating the exterior wall. One more guard stood in front of double doors that looked like an elevator hatch.
The guard marched up to the startled looking woman. “Five to see the queen. Do you have objection?
The man was clearly a lower rank than the woman, as he trembled but did not look away from her angry eyes. “No ma’am. Five to see the queen!”
He pushed a button in the wall and clockwork snapped into motion, whirring and clicking. Fabrique cocked her head to the side and listened, then nodded. The elevator opened and the guard pushed five of them inside.
“Aren’t you coming with us?” asked Daniel.
The guard laughed. “One faces the queen alone, heretic. Now’s the time you pray your meaningless gods are with you.”
Daniel shrugged as the doors closed. “Done.”
Kate stumbled as the elevator went into motion, but not up. It went down, into the rock.
Gamma flexed once more and her shackles fell from her wrists. “Great idea, oh Lord,” she said.
Daniel shrugged. “They don’t know who we are, and they’re intrigued enough to take us to the top. Or, uh, the bottom, as the case may be. I say we’re still doing OK.”
“This is an excellent elevator design,” Fabruique said. She listened briefly again and smiled. “Innovative use of springs. I approve.” The creaking outside the elevator ceased and their descent increased speed.
“Did yo ujust bless them?” Daniel asked. “These people who don’t give a shit about us?”
Fabrique frowned at him. “They may not honor me with prayer, but they honor me with their inventions. I also wonder what keeps the dome’s air breathable.”
“Must be a kind of recycler,” Kate said.
They kept descending, Professor Burns looking more and more ill as they went below the ocean floor. “D-does anyone know how far under the city we are?” he asked in a papery voice.
Fabrique looked thoughtful. “At the rate we’re descending, and for how long we’ve been descending, I’d say about two hundred fifty feet so far.”
They lapsed into silence, Fabrique updating them from time to time with, “Three hundred… three fifty… four hundred…”
When she reached five hundred, Kate asked her to please stop. It turns out she didn’t need to, as the elevator stopped instead.
It opened into a cave dimly lit with torches. The air was surprisingly fresh; the cause of which became obvious when Fabrique zeroed in on a small generator the pumped fresh air into the cave and through vents in the cave wall and up the elevator shaft.
“It’s so small,” Fabrique said. “This is master-level work. There have to be others in the city, but this one can provide at least half of what they need.”
“Yeah, impressive, but why keep it in a cave below the sea floor?” Kate said.
“Dude, why keep their queen in a cave below the sea floor? Isn’t that who we’re here to see?”
“And the king,” Gamma said.
The cave looked simply like a cave, an odd pocket of air with a pool at the end opposite the elevator shaft. Kate figured it had to be like an S bend in a pipe, allowing one end to be dry and the other to hold water. While here the other end was the ocean and this end was a small pocket of fresh air.
The cave was dank and inhospitable, with no human luxuries.
Kate frowned. “I’m starting to think that “going to see the queen” means “tossing into a jail that’s impossible to escape from.”
“I’m sure you could escape from it, my lady. Myself, however…” Burns trailed off.
“We’re not leaving you were, Professor,” Daniel said.
A voice at the edge of the pool called to them, calling from a shadowy alcove they hadn’t noticed. “More visitors to my queen! How wonderful! Come and meet her!”
Daniel and Kate exchanged glances and moved tentatively forward. “Think it’s a trick?” she asked.
“I’m supposed to know those things. And I’m not sure,” he said.
As they approached the pool, a green man stepped out in front of them, welcoming them with open arms. “My friends! Welcome to Leviathan City! I did not expect so many divine visitors today! I am Ishmael, king of the city, god of the sea. I welcome you, Fabrique, Gamma, Kate, Daniel, and…” he looked at Burns for a moment, frowning, “and human. We are awaiting the arrival of the queen.”
Kate blinked stupidly. “We?” was the only thing she could think to say.
Ishmael gestured to the wall where Barris sat curled in a fetal position, back against the wall. Sweat dripped from him despite the dank air, and he shuddered. “Barris the sun god. He is feeling poorly from almost drowning. He’ll feel better soon. Everyone feels better once they meet the queen.”
Daniel took a step back, his lip curling, doglike. “What’s up?” Kate whispered.
“HIs necklace. It’s got that energy on it. I can smell it now. Barris has one too.”
“That’s not good,” Kate said.
“And that’s not drowning he’s experiencing,” said Professor Burns, brightening now that he had a role. “He’s suffering withdrawal.”
“Hold up,” Daniel said. “Let’s see if we can get him out of here without nuking him first. How long does he have before he gets the DTs bad?”
Burns watched the sun god shudder and moan. “Not long.”
Kate laced her fingers together, thinking. She inored the eager sea god, bouncing from foot to foot. “Well. We have everything we need. Gamma? Can you escort Ishmael and Barris out of here? We’ll figure out how to get everyone out of here safely.”
Gamma stepped forward and put her hand on Ishmael’s arm. “Are you going to resist?”
“We have to wait. She’s almost here,” Ishmael said, and focused on the pool.
Daniel put Professor Burns behind him. “I Have a bad feeling about this,” he said. “Why do I think the queen is not human?”
A gray tentacle, dotted with pink suckers, rose lazily out of the water and probed the air. Ishmael took it in his hand and rubbed it on his cheek. It wrapped gently around his neck, and then again around his torso.
“Oh she’s so much more than that,” Ishmael said, his eyes misty with adoration. “Why do you think we call this place Leviathan City?”
Kate backed up, bumping into Daniel, who bumped into Burns. “Oh shit,” she said.
Burns, finally, was looking as together as he always did. He was rummaging in his waistcoat.
“Is it really time to look for a smoke right now?” Kate asked.
“Fuck, is she Cthulhu or something?” Daniel said.
“No no, I finally have an idea.” Burns held up one of the ideas he’d gotten from his shop.
“Oh really? What’s it say?” Daniel said. “Don’t go see the tentacle queen?”
“No.” Burns paused. “It says to respect and listen to royalty. Our leaders know more than we give them credit for.”
Daniel stopped. “You’re kidding. Professor, that’s not a queen. It’s a tentacle.”
“It could be the queen is on the other end. You don’t know.”
“So you really think we should just stand here and wait for… the rest of her to arrive?” Kate asked, staring at the tentacle that caressed Ishmael in a most distressing way.
“You’re gods. You can escape any time if things get troublesome, can you not? I’m the one in true danger, and I can wait to see what she has to tell us. Can’t you?”
Daniel bristled at the challenge, but Kate nodded. “YOu have a point. Although I really don’t think that thing can talk. We can wait it out.”
Daniel continued to back up, thought, and Kate raised an eyebrow. “Tentacled things freak me out,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Oh!” Kate said. “I had no idea.”
Daniel nodded, his face green in the torch light.
“Okay. I’ll see what she has to say. Or, uh, squish.”
“That’s not funny,” Daniel said.
Kate hid a smile behind the guise of rubbing her cheeks to steel herself. The water in the pool was churning now, and more tentacles had emerged, probing and tasting the air.
“Here she comes,” Ishmael said, his voice quiet and reverent. Gamma stood at the edge of the pool, defiant, and Barris huddled, oblivious to them all.
Kate swallowed and took a step back involuntarily as the green mass filled the room. The Queen looked like a cross between an octopus and a seahorse, with the long tentacles encircling her torso. Only part of her surfaced; she filled the cave, at least twenty feet tall with her longest two tentacles looking to be around forty feet. She grunted low in her throat and eyed them all with pearly, cloudy eyes.
Gamma looked back at Kate, her eyes wide, just as Kate realized it too. Fabrique had been rummaging in her bag for something, crouched beside Barris, but she looked up at the leviathan. Even Barris raised his head, sensing it.
Daniel was the one who said it. “Holy shit, Kate. That’s a goddess.”
The greenish gray monster burned with a divine light that all of the gods recognized. She reached a tentacle out to each of them, touching them lightly, recognizing them, too. Even Daniel allowed it, making only a small disgusted noise as she touched his shoulder.
“It’s not only a goddess,” Kate said, nodding. “It’s Persi.
Daniel looked at Barris. “I thought you said she was in the south, trapped in a dinosaur’s body.”
Barris looked at Daniel through lidded, tired eyes. “She was in the south at the time. She swam north.”
“But you said a dino’s body!” Daniel said, gesturing at the bulk that was Persi. “We were thinking a stegosaurus or something! Not a hug leviathan!”
“A leviathan is a dinosaur,” Barris said, dropping his head to his knees again. He shuddered again.
Kate was reminded that he didn’t have a lot of time left, but the new wrinkle of Persi made things more complicated. All of the gods they needed were right here; if she could figure out how to get them all out of there, their total quest would be over and she and Daniel could finally focus on the siege on Heaven.
Of course, a detoxing sun god, a zealous sea god who was in love with a tentacled monster, who happened to be a trapped goddess, didn’t seem like easy sheep to herd.
“She’s so beautiful, no?” Ishmael said.
“Oh, yes,” Kate said, thinking fast. “Do you swim with her?”
Ishmael looked sad. “No, they don’t permit me to. I can’t get into the water this deep.”
“Hey, wait,” daniel said. “You can’t swim this deep? Aren’t you the god of the sea?”
Ishmael stuck his chin out, defiant. “I am. You have no right to challenge me. We all have our limitations, even as gods.”
“Not really when it concerns our area of expertise. Is there clockwork too deep for Fabrique to swim in?” Daniel asked.
The goddess looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “I’d never considered swimming in clockwork. I expect it would be too pointy.”
Daniel waved his hand at her impatiently. “You know what I mean. When it comes to clockwork, you’re the master. I have a hard time believing that there’s water that a fish can conquer but the god of the sea can’t. What’s going on here?”
Ignoring Persi’s groans and growls momentarily, Daniel walked up to get a closer look at the green man, who glared at him. Daniel reached out with his left hand and nearly touched Ishmael’s necklace. He pulled his hand back quickly and growled deep in his throat. Kate took his arm and tugged on it.
“What’s up, Daniel?” she asked.
“He can’t swim because he’s wearing one of those necklaces. They’re controlling him.”
Ishmael snorted. “Preposterous. I have worn this my whole existence.”
“Uh huh,” Kate said. “And how many times have you gone swimming?”
Daniel hesitated to reach out again,and Kate realized he was remembering his time in the cage as a coyote. She reached past him and grabbed the necklace, whipping it over Ishmael’s head.
In the chaos that followed, Kate had trouble following the events. The first think that happened was Ishmael seemed to explode in a torrent of water. Kate was blown backward into Daniel and they both hit the cave wall. She scrambled to her feet, wiping her sopping hair out of her face to see Ishmael disappear into the pool, diving deep.
Barris screamed as he frantically batted at his arms to sluice off the water that hit him. If he’d drowned, he’d automatically be afraid of the water, but the movements were crazed, his eyes wide.
Persi bellowed and lashed out a tentacle grabbing wildly. Kate ducked, not realizing that put Daniel in her reach. The tentacle wrapped around him and he shrieked, lifted high into the air.
“Gamma!” yelled Kate, running forward. Sadly, it turned out that the warrior goddess was gone. Kate blinked in confusion, realizing that something had to have called her. And the only thing that could have called her would have been Alicia needing her back on the Sheridan.
“Shit.” Kate said.
Burns was scrabbling with an idea and as he opened it, Barris let out a howl. This one was not of panic or fear, but of insane longing. Oh, right, great idea to bring cocaine to a narcotics anonymous meeting, Kate thought as he lunged for Burns.
“Chain the queen, chain the quee-” Burns managed to get out before the puny sun god tackled him, taking him down hard. Barris sat on the taller man, rifling through his clothes, grabbing at the ideas.
Fabrique ignored all of this and continued rummaging through her bag.
Kate figure the first thing to do would be to stop the rampaging leviathan. Burns seemed to have the right idea, but she had no chain. She looked around and then realized she still held the necklace she’d torn from Ishmael’s neck. She could feel it sapping her energy and would have liked to drop it, but instead she threw it at Persi, who was hammering Daniel against the roof of the cave as he swore loudly.
The necklace settled around one of Persi’s flailing tentacles, and the power-dampening effects were instantaneous. Instead of holding the shapeshifted form, she fell to the edge of the pool, a young girl swathed in seaweed, lying unconscious.
Daniel fell into an undignified heap and Kate rushed to his side. “‘M fine,” he mumbled, the blood streaming from a cut on his brow already slowing. “What the hell happened?”
“I think we’ll have to figure that out later. There’s still a lot of shit going on. You handle Persi, I’ll take care of Barris.”
Daniel looked at the unconscious girl, her wet dreadlocks covering her face. He sighed. “I think I can take her.”
Kate ran over to Barris and Burns. Barris had ripped Burns’ coat off and the discarded ideas lay around him like used crack vials. He was giggling as he took his final prize, the blue vial, and uncorked it.
“Don’t let him,” Burns croaked, doubled up in pain. Barris was smaller, but junkies could apparently pack quite a punch when jonesing. “We can still-”
He stopped when Barris upended the idea addiction antidote to his mouth. The sun god sucked greedily at the contents of the bottle and then his eyes went vacant. His pupils dilated and he toppled over, still staring at the cave ceiling.
“Kate’s wrinkled nipples,” Burns said, sitting up and holding his head. Kate cocked an eyebrow at him. He looked down. “Sorry. Habit.”
She shruged. “No problem.” She helped the old man to his feet, her touch healing his injuries as he stood.
Daniel picked up Persi-she didn’t look older than fifteen-and placed her beside Barris. “I don’t think we should call this one a win, Kate,” he said. “Two gods lost, two out of commission.”
Kate shook her head. “I don’t understand what happened.”
“It’s obvious,” Fabrique said, assembling her brass doorway. “He had never experienced power before. He was a sea god feeling his true power for the first time. He became rather drunk on it.”
“And the kid?” Daniel asked, pointing at Persi.
“Her power was keeping her trapped in the leviathan form. The necklace stopped that.”
“Huh.”
“And Gamma was clearly called back to the Sheridan,” Fabrique added, snapping the final corner onto the doorway.
“Right, I figured that.” Kate went to the edge of the pool and looked in. She was splashed with water again as Ishmael leaped out, exultant.
“The power! The thrill!” he said, grinning broadly at them. “Have you felt such glory?”
“Yeah. Every day,” Daniel said flatly. “I’m guessing this is your first time?”
“I always knew what I was but I never knew what it felt like! This is glorious! It’s amazing! Its-”
“Divine?” Daniel asked.
“Exactly!” Ishmael finally looked around the cave. “What happened here?”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Fabrique, can that door thingy take us back to the sheridan?”
The goddess fixed goggles over her eyes and grinned. “Anywhere.”
“Then we’d better see what’s going on up there.”
Daniel picked up Persi and Kate lifted Barris’s slight form over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Fabrique turned on the doorway and it shimmered. Kate saw the form of the Sheridan wavering in front of them, and Fabrique walked through confidently.
Kate gave a glance at Daniel, who shrugged. “Can’t be any weirder than anything else we’ve done today.”
She looked at the grinning sea god and Professor Burns, who was picking up his tattered coat and tutting at it.
“Come on, Ishmael. We’re going to take you somewhere where you can learn all about your divinity. You hold onto Daniel, And Burns, you hold onto me. We’re not sure how this thing works,” she said.
With that the six of them entered the portal. There was a worrisome twanging sound.
And then they emerged far from the deck of the Sheridan.
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161
APOLOGIES- DragonCon internet was expensive and I didn’t get a chance to make this live for everyone before my one-day-splurge ran out!
Kate, Daniel and crew enter Leviathan city, find Barris and Ishmael, and prepare to meet the queen.
141
The gods take a trip to Leviathan City, and Morrigan finds an unlikely ally. Professor Burns has a neat sign for his shop.
Now we have the very first Inside Story only podcast! Hear what’s up with War, Heaven, and me. And I hope to see you at Worldcon next week!
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Inside Story 01 – State of the Mur
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I’m back with lots more words! Enjoy! Remember, to be able to read ahead, you need to belong to the Inside Story!
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Kate had briefly visited each of the temples during her stay there, but it always surprised her how different they all were for beingig in the same building.
Prosper’s temple was in the first floor of the stacked temple, and therefore the largest. Unlike Kate’s, which was spacious, white and church-like (which frankly irritated her), Prosper’s was more like a greenhouse mixed with a children’s nature museum. The sun shone in through glass walls to create a greenhouse effect, and a wooden roof honored their god.
Within the temple, priests tended holy plants honoring their god. Vegetables, vines, flowers, grasses, trees (Kate was amused to see a grand bonsai collection), and even carnivorous plants grew from elaborately painted plots.
Kate choked as the humidity of the temple assailed her and took a moment to compose herself. One of the priests saw her standing in the doorway and approached her.
“Goddess, it is a sad day you grace us with your presence,” he said, leaning his hoe against the glass wall.”
“Is he really no better?” Kate asked, frowning.
The priest shrugged and wiped his hands on a dirty rag sticking from his back pocket. “We managed to get enough wine into him to calm him last night. But he has been in captivity too long; he doesn’t know what to do now that he’s free.”
“Is his physical form any better? What was he supposed to be like before he was caught?”
The priest winced. “I admit we do not know. He’s always been depicted as a god with barklike skin and vines for hair. We do not know if that is his corrupted form or his natural.”
“Take me to him.”
Prosper’s temple had no rooms, just areas separated by trellises and vines. The priests slept in a back area with an honest wooden floor. Prosper had been placed directly onto the dirt of a somewhat private area near a breathtaking orchid display.
Kate looked at the orchid roots and swore she could see them visibly growing, inspired by the proximity of the divine. Smart of the priests to put him near plants with roots that got moisture and nutrients from the air, and not the soil. Or the body of a god.
The plants all faced the god, sitting cross-legged on the dirt floor and glaring at Kate. He didn’t look much better. His skin still looked to be made of bark, and vines grew from his head where hair should be. His chest had healed where the vines had sprouted from him, at least, and kate silently thanked the priests who had put a loin cloth on him. She hadn’t even realized he’d been naked when she’d rescued him.
All in all, he was much less craggy and chaotic than he’d been when she’d found them. Sadly, he didn’t look much happier.
“Take me back.”
She blinked, then knelt in front of him to look into his golden eyes. “You… want to go back.”
“Take me back. This is not my home, that was my home. You took me from my home.”
Kate glanced up at the priest. “Prosper, these are your priests. They worship you. They are your people – if you’re not home, then at least you’re as close as you can be in your current state. They’ll take care of you here.”
He opened his mouth again, showing her his yellowed, fibrous teeth, and screamed again. She winced, but waited patiently until he stopped.
“Are you done?” she asked. He glared at her. The orchids began to shudder and strain as they grew, then, bursting from their pots. Thick, white roots sought Kate and began to wrap around her again.
“No,” she said, willing her skin temperature to searing temperatures. The priest swore and fell backward as the orchid roots burst into flame. “Not this time, Prosper. I’m not as powerless here as I was there.”
She stood, still white-hot, and put her hands on her hips. “This isn’t going to be easy.” She turned to the priest, who hovered at a safe distance, gripping a shovel. “Give him a robe, a large pot full of soil, and some seeds. He can choose which ones. Have him ready in ten minutes, or we’re coming in to get him, ready or not?”
“Where are you taking me?” Prosper demanded.
Kate glanced back at him. “Does it matter? You seem to be happiest as a slave, so you’re going to do what we say.”
He pursed his lips, then blurted out, “And what if I don’t?”
Kate incinerated another orchid, this time with a glance. “I don’t want to hurt you, Prosper. But the things we’re trying to achieve are so much bigger than a petty god’s tantrums. You’ll help us. You have no choice.”
She strode out of the temple, not looking back. “Fucking gods,” she muttered.
#
Daniel whistled as he and Professor Burns entered the Idea Emporium. “I see you’ve made some changes.”
“The blessings of the sun god do much to help my business, I will admit,” he said, locking the door behind them.
He went over to a case and pulled out several small boxes and slipped them into the pockets of his purple waistcoat. “I take it where we’re going is dangerous?”
Daniel squatted in front of a display case, fascinated by the intricate origami. “Oh, did we not tell you? We’re going to Leviathan City to save Barris and Ishmael. We’ve not had the best of luck with people from there.” He straightened. “Well. We’ve only met one person from there, but it didn’t go very well.” He rubbed his wrist absently.
“Leviathan City?” Professor Burns turned white, but did not protest. “We’ll be needing diplomatic ideas, then.”
“Hey, I’ve wanted to ask you. Why do you sell the bad ideas. Why not just toss them?”
“You can’t destroy an idea,” Burns said, handing Daniel several small scrolls tied with red ribbon. “Someone will find it. This way I can tell people they’re bad, and sell them as novelties. If I throw them out, then they’re released into the world and you don’t know who’s going to get them and follow through.”
“Huh. I see your point. So what are we going to do about Barris? Are these for him?”
Burns looked surprised. “Goodness no, sir. These are for us. Battle ideas, diplomacy ideas, and culinary suggestions- in case the food in Leviathan City is unpalatable.”
Daniel laughed. “You think of everything.”
The tall man bowed. “It is my job. Now, for Barris, we need to get him to drink this.” He held up a crystal vial of blue liquid. It shone the same blue as the energy that had trapped Daniel, who involuntarily took a step backward.
“What is it?” Daniel asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
“It’s a distillation of the energy that comes from the Dark. Since the ideas are formed from a chaos battery, then so does the antidote come from the same stuff.”
Daniel managed to laugh, a short barking sound. “Like how snake bite serum is made from snake venom?”
Burns pocketed the vial and smiled. “Something liek that, yes. It’s rather strong, though, and could… damage him.”
Daniel grabbed his arm. “Whoa, wait. What do you mean? This is the sun we’re talking about. We lose him, we are pretty much screwed. The whole planet.”
Burns nodded. “I understand that, but the damage will come mentally. He won’t be able to ever hold another idea. He won’t get the high from the ideas, but he won’t think for himself very well.”
Daniel frowned. “Is there no other way? Weaning gradually?”
“Normally, yes. But we would have to hope he’s getting his fix in Leviathan City of ideas. And I don’t like to brag, bu I invented the Chaositron Idea Generator. It’s one-of-a-kind. If they have one in Leviathan City, I’ll frankly be shocked.” Burns closed the blinds down, darkening the interior of the shop. He pulled out a “CLOSED TO SAVE THE WORLD” sign from beneath the counter and replaced the sign on the door.
Daniel read the sign. “Is, uh, that a sign you have to use often?”
They exited the store. “Only once before,” Burns said as he locked the door. “I like to be prepared.”
“Good idea,” Daniel muttered, wondering how they were going to prepare thmselves for the tasks ahead. Allies were good. Allies not hopped up on weird drugs would be better, but they’d take what they could get.
#
Kate felt absurdly like a CEO being addressed by her nervous vice presidents.
Fabrique was first. She put her carpet bag on the conference table and opened it. “What I wanted was access to my house. I could make tools out of just about anything, but really I am more efficient with my tools. However, even though I’ve expanded the interior of this bag, I still don’t have enough room for everything I want. So I created a doorway.”
She pulled a flimsy series of linked brass tubes that reminded Kate of a weapon she’d seen in martial arts movies. When Fabrique removed it, it looked like a chain with large links, but when she got it out she shook it once, like airing out a towel, and it snapped into place to form a brass rectangle about three feet wide and five feet high, with a small square battery on the top right hand corner.
Fabrique flipped a switch on the battery and the brass rectangle began to hum, and the interior of the rectangle shimmered. The space beyond faded, and Kate saw what was clearly a workshop, littered with tools and wires.
“It’s still untested, but I think it will be useful if I need something my tools. Just pop over to my workshop for whatever we need.”
“Wow,” Kate said. “But, uh, untested?”
The sword across her back trembled, interrupting her, and she drew it. The divine energy that was Gamma poured out of the tip, and the warrior goddess faced her. “The Sheridan is prepped and ready to go. I took the liberty of loading the traitor into a locked room as Daniel requested. Captain Alicia has procured a submersible for the trip to Leviathan City.”
Kate blanched. How could she have forgotten that? She would have to remember to thank Alicia, captain of The Sheridan, for realizing that they’d need a way into Leviathan City. Kate was pretty sure she and Daniel could divinely worm their way in, but she didn’t like to assume, especially here.
“Good,” she said. Now can we test that doorway thing before we-”
“No time,” Daniel said, appearing in the doorway. Professor Burns followed him, combing his mustache with his hand. “We need to get there as soon as possible. Barris needs us. When withdrawal sets in, that guy is going to be hurting. And the antidote isn’t pretty.
Kate stood. She took a deep breath. “OK, then I guess we’re going. Let’s go downstairs and get Prosper and then head out. Anyone need to pee or anything?”
#
The one true goddess spoke to Sam, deep within the urn in which the broken false god had trapped him.
His back had been on fire, giving him a constant agony. The urn was stuffy. He trembled with the thought of the loss of Prosper, his vineyards, his casks of wine, and the second god he’d captured. He had no idea what the god wnated him for.
But now, deep within the urn, unable to move, barely able to breathe, he felt her presence.
“Goddess? Cotton?” He blinked and thought he saw a glowing orb in the complete blackness within the urn.
An amused, muffled voice answered him. “Not anymore. But no one has visited me before. Either they come to stay or don’t come at all. Why are you on the border of life and death?”
“Am I dying? Or dreaming?”
“You would have to tell me, my child. Who are you?”
“My name is Sam, Goddess. I’ve been most horribly wronged by the false broken god Daniel.”
She was silent. He whimpered. “Goddess? Are you there? Please don’t leave me alone!”
“Daniel is not false. He’s quite powerful. But you must have a great grudge against you if you hate him with such force.”
“Yes Goddess!” He began to weep. “He took everything from me, and then imprisoned me. I can’t escape.”
“Shh, if you can pledge yourself to me, become my first priest, I can free you come nightfall.”
His heart leaped. Was she serious? Would she give him such an honor? “Yes Goddess.”
“Good. When you get free, I will have a mission for you. Fulfill it and I will reward you. Fail or change your mind, and you will wish you’d stayed in the urn.”
“I would never turn from you, Goddess.”
“Wonderful. Now, my priest, listen…”
#
Kate and Daniel’s favor, along with Fabrique’s upgrades, had clearly benefitted Alicia and The Sheridan just as Barris’ favor had benefitted Professor Burns. Alicia and her children wore new clothing, tight fitting brown leather, helmets, goggles, and warm jackets. On their backs, their jackets each held an intricate etched image of The Sheridan.
The ship itself glowed in the dim setting sun, humming with its upgraded engine, touched by the goddess of clockwork and ingenuity herself. From the hull hung a small circular metal orb with portholes and propellers, tubes and mechanims.
“What is this, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?” Daniel whispered to Kate.
She shrugged. “It’s for everyone else. I think you, me and Gamma would be fine without.”
“How fast do you think she can get us there?”
Kate glanced at the emerging face of Fabrique, her copper curls tamed somewhat by her goggles, only to explode from under her ears. She came up from down below and proudly reported to Alicia that the ship was ready to go.
“That’s her call,” Kate said, pointing. “I imagine we’ll probably be the fastest ship around. What’s the rush again?”
“We need to help Barris out. He’s in big trouble. Burns said he could wean him with ideas to get him off the junk, but if he goes into serious withdrawal, the only thing we can do is essentially wipe his mind of the ability to hold any thought in his head.”
KAte’s jaw hung open. “Are you seirous> Won’t that kill him?”
Daniel shook his head. “No, he’ll still be a sun god, and supposedly still be able to keep the sun in the sky, but not much of a conversationalist. Ever.”
“Well that’s just great. I guess we shoudl get the hell out of here.”
They watched Alicia’s kids bustle about the ship, checking things. Connie waved to the controller at the tower dock and he waved back, allowing them to cast off. The ship lurched once as the souped-up engines started, and then they were off.
The airship gradually gained speed, but Kate soon realized that was for safety. If it needed to, this zeppelin could turn faster than any ship of its kind, possibly defying the laws of physics. Good to know.
Alicia had the wheel and piloted according to Gamma’s coordinates, sending commands to her children, namely James, who manned the engine controls and Connie, who held the chicken gun, a bazooka-like weapon that shot frozen chickens at air whales to distract them from damaging the ship. The younger kids were below deck.
Fabrique came to stand beside them. “I upgraded it as much as I dare. The pilot being mortal, and mortals aboard, I couldn’t make it any faster without putting them at risk.”
Kate pulled a windswept strand of hair out of her face and grinned. “I’m guessing your own airship is going to be something legendary.”
“Without a doubt,” the goddess said. Fabrique stuffed her hair into a helmet and fixed her goggles on again. She fixed her eyes on the horizon, the shimmering sea that approached quickly.
“I checked the submersible too,” she said. “It will easily take six. Seven if we have to.”
Kate counted on her fingers. “So that’s me, you two, Gamma, need to leave room for Ishmael and Barris, and Burns. Alicia and crew will stay on the airship.”
“What about Prosper?” Daniel said, pointing at the miserable harvest god who sat against the back railing of the ship beside a heavy pot full of soil and a foul-smelling moss.
“Shit. I forgot about him. Well, we’ll need someone divine to protect the ship, I guess. We need Gamma with us.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “You really think he will do that?”
Kate frowned. “You’re right.” She gestured to Gamma, who stood with her arms clasped behind her back, facing the wind. “Gamma will need to think of something.”
The caught the warrior goddess’ attention and told her the problem. She nodded somberly. “I will tune myself to Alicia’s boot knife. If they have any problems, she can tell me and I will know and be here immediately.”
“I guess that will work. Good idea,” Kate said.
“Anyone else feel like we’re walking into a snake pit?” Daniel asked.
“Asps. Very dangerous,” Kate said, and snickered. “Yeah, but what can we do?”
Daniel looked back at the pouting harvest god. “You know Kate, only we would make a world where all the gods were imprisoned. We have to save this world before we can save our first one.”
She nodded. “We don’t have a choice though. We need them.” She and Gamma then went to talk to Alicia to inform her of the plans as The Sheridan entered the airspace over the ocean, heading toward Leviathan City.[/private]
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Morrigan sets her heart on a goal, and Barris wakes up from a terrible idea hangover.
Episode 6 will go live tomorrow. Sorry I’ve been out of touch, but with deadlines and travel and sick family, I’ve not written much. But here is the text for episode 9 for Inside Story members!
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Kate opened her eyes, awake immediately at the sound of screaming.
Daniel grunted under her. “What is that?”
“Prosper,” she said, sliding out of the huge bed the priestesses had provided them in her temple and pulling on her robe.
“He sounds like a bear,” Daniel said, sitting up.
“More like a very angry tree,” she said, cinching her belt. She tossed him a fresh robe and filled him in on the more gruesome details of Prosper’s existence.
“Dude. That’s harsh,” he said, shuddering.
“I know. And I don’t know if he is naturally like that or just has been like that because of what these people have done to him over the years. He wasn’t really up for a discussion on the subject.”
“What are his people like? Pious like yours? Rebellious like mine?”
Kate thought about the people who ran Prosper’s temple. “They’re farmers. They didn’t say much, and they’re not surprised by much. They just kinda took him in and nodded to me. They said they knew how to take care of him.”
“Well it was farmers who caught him to begin with, right?”
Kate groaned. “Farmers and tinkers, yeah. Shit. Let’s go.”
The scream resonated through the temple again, causing the walls to shudder. Kate and Daniel burst from the room to find her priestesses gathered together, whispering, their eyes wide.
“Anyone know what Prosper’s going on about?” Kate asked. They shook their heads quickly. She sighed. Her backpack lay on a chair next to her bedroom; she rummaged through till she found a dagger with a white hilt. “Gamma, I need you.”
The thin muscled warrior goddess appeared in front of her, bowing.
“Gamma, Daniel and I are going to go to see Prosper now. I need you to find Barris and Fabrique. Get one of the priestesses to make sure that the Sheridan, the airship we arrived in, is ready to go today. Alicia is the captain. And, uh,” she looked at the slightly rocking urn in the corner, then at Daniel. “Have I forgotten anything?”
He sighed. “Have that loaded on the ship. If the guy inside manages to break out, kill him.”
Gamma smiled, her teeth glittering. “My pleasure, Daniel.”
Kate and Daniel headed for the door and to the stairs that wound around the temple exterior. “You sure that’s the best plan?”
“I’d rather have him nearby than out of sight. And if we’re going to put all the gods on one airship, wouldn’t we want him near the people who can handle him or not?”
“Point,” Kate said, squinting at the sunrise. She’d been to LA once and saw the sun rise through smog, beautiful and smudged, and decided this morning was reminiscent of that. “Does the sunrise look weird to you today?”
“Huh. Do we have smog here now?”
“That’s what I thought,” she said. “I hope this doesn’t mean-” Kate’s thought was interrupted by a tall, top-hatted man on the stairs below them.
“My Lord, my Lady!” he bowed in front of them, mustache twitching. “I have a matter to discuss with you, of some great importance.”
“Well, it’s not the best time,” Kate began.
“Oh but it is very important,” he repeated.
“Hey, you’re that Professor Burns guy, aren’t you?” Daniel asked. “The Idea Emporium.”
Professor Burns smiled and bowed again. “I am honored to be remembered, sir.”
“Oh, right!” Kate said. “What’s wrong, professor?”
Burns grimaced. “It’s about the sun god, Barris. I fear he is in real trouble.”
#
Kate paced around the high priestess’ office, arms crossed. Daniel still stood behind the desk, his eye wide.
“Wait, wait. Barris is a junkie?”
Professor Burns sat in a chair facing the desk, his top hat in his lap. “Ideas can be addictive, especially if you don’t use them.”
“And Barris doesn’t do a goddamn thing,” Daniel said, rubbing his chin.
“I have only a few clients who have problems with this, and I do not usually interfere, but I realized this client’s addiction could harm others.”
“Yeah, like everyone else in the world. And the world,” Kate said. “Goddamn, Barris, can you fuck up any more? Really?”
Gamma stepped through the open door. “Apparently he can,” she said through clenched teeth.
#
“I looked in all the usual places I see him. On the temple roof, in Lathe, on the airship deck. I couldn’t find him anywhere. I attuned myself to every weapon I could touch, then, and found a place I’ve never visited. Leviathan City.”
Kate stopped her pacing. “How in the hell did he get there?”
“I don’t know. I saw him imprisoned by seven guards. He looks, well, weaker than usual.”
Kate felt her grip on reality slipping. “So he’s a junkie and he’s imprisoned under the ocean by a race of people who pretty much hate any god who’s not Ishmael or the moon. Anything else? Did he knock up a nobleman’s daughter while he was at it?”
“Not that I know of,” Gamma replied.
“There’s one more thing,” Professor Burns said.
Kate groaned.
“At his level of addiction, there’s going to be a nasty withdrawal coming soon,” Professor Burns said.
Prosper howled again, and the walls shook. Kate held her head in her hands. Wasn’t there something else to worry about? Like all of Heaven and Hell under seige? A big scary entity that killed her?
But she needed these gods on her side.
“Gamma. Get Fabrique and get The Sheridan ready. Daniel, go with Professor Burns back to his Emporium and try to figure out how to deal with this addiction and withdrawal and stuff. See if they have a clean needle program or something. And everyone-” she included Burns with a look, “Meet on The Sheridan by noon.”
Daniel smiled slightly. “What will you be doing?”
She sighed and stood up, smoothing her robes. “I have to deal with Prosper. He’s coming too.”
<<<<>>>>
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