Quillblade (20 page)

Lenis blinked and the engine room disappeared. In its place were the desiccated remains of a garden. Instead of his bunk, Lenis found himself standing on a bed of dead grass. If he had not seen the Wastelands with his own eyes, had not travelled through it, he would have sworn he was in it now. He was surrounded by an undulating plain covered in dying vegetation. There was no sun, nor were there any clouds. The sky was a dull white and gave off a uniform, somehow artificial light by which Lenis was able to see crisscrossing paths of flattened, yellowed grass spreading out around him. Between these pathways, which must once have been green and soft underfoot, were clusters of crooked, groping twigs, thick brambles, and bare earth. The soil was grey, and when Lenis bent down to push his fingers into it he found it hard, like stone.

He spun around and saw something on the horizon. It was a thin column, reaching up into the heavens. The longer he
stared at it, the greater his dread became.
No.
It was familiar, terrible and familiar, and Lenis didn't want to admit that it was not a column at all, but a trunk, wasted and thin and with empty, clawing branches.
Please, no!
This was not the World Tree of his dreams.

Lenis took a step forward and, after a blur of motion, was standing right in front of it. He drew in a shaky breath, not even able to hope that he was mistaken. Surely this near-dead thing could not be the legendary World Tree? Its girth was no wider than the span of his arms, and its bark was cracked and peeling. There were no runes, no secret meanings to discover. The World Tree was supposed to represent the interconnectedness of all life. If that was so, then something was terribly wrong with the world.

Lenis reached out a hesitant hand to touch the tree.

‘I wouldn't.'

The voice came from behind the trunk. Peering around, Lenis saw it belonged to a tall man cloaked in a black robe. He had long, dark hair and though his eyes were human enough, their irises were red. They were his only distinctive feature.

‘It is a brave or ignorant man who touches what he does not understand. I so often find that those two things go well together.'

Lenis took a step towards the World Tree. ‘Who are you?'

‘I am a Warden. The first of them, in fact. This garden is my charge.'

Lenis hesitated, caught by the man's crimson gaze. ‘What happened to it?'

The man swept his arm to indicate the whole of the waste around the tree's upthrust roots. ‘Corruption, my gentlest creature. It is in everything, everyone.' He stepped forward and touched the decaying pillar. It trembled under his touch.

A bolt of fear shot down Lenis's spine. ‘Don't touch her!'

‘So you know what this is?'

‘The World Tree.'

‘Ah, but what is the World Tree?' He didn't wait for Lenis to answer. ‘Scientifically speaking, each species on this planet had its origins in her. She is the progenitor of each and every living thing in this world. She is our mother, Lenis. We sprouted from her branches, every one of us. Her roots run through us all. They bind us together. Her boughs protect us, shield and cocoon us. And this,' he placed his other hand on the trunk and the quivering intensified, ‘this is her heart.'

‘Leave her alone!' Lenis grabbed the man's arms and thrust them aside.

The man stepped quickly away and raised his hands in supplication. ‘Forgive me, gentle one, but I do her no harm. The life in her grows weak, it is true, but
I
do not threaten her.'

Lenis placed himself between the man and the tree. Long Liu had said he would find answers at the World Tree to help his sister. Was this man the one he had to ask? ‘Look, I don't care about the World Tree just now. Do you know how I can save my sister?'

The man crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Lenis with his red gaze. ‘You cannot save your sister. Misericordia must save herself.'

‘I don't believe you!'

‘You do not have to. Do you not understand, Lenis?' The man unfolded his arms and began pacing in front of him. ‘The life of everything,
everything,
is bound to this tree, and the tree is dying.'

‘Dying?'

The man stopped, pointing at the wasted trunk. ‘She is almost dead. During the Great War, the weapons humanity used to destroy one another were far too powerful. They drew on the strength of the Bestia and the Lilim and of other creatures since forgotten, and
that
power came first from the World Tree. The world's energy is finite. They took too much. At the very end, someone even sought to harness the power of the gods themselves. Not the Totem, nor the Jinn, but an older and more powerful race even than them. His reckless act caused the Wastelands to appear, and now they are spreading.'

Lenis was horrified by the man's words but not willing to trust them. ‘How do you know this?'

‘I know because I am one of the gods.' The man pinned Lenis with his vermilion stare again. ‘One of the Firstborn. One of the True Dragons. What your people would call a Caelestia if they still knew how to name such things. I will reveal to you my true name, Lenis, spoken only amongst my
fellow gods. I am Ishullanu, Warden of the World Tree and King of the Demons.'

‘King of the Demons?'

‘Yes, gentle one, the Demon King, and you and your sister are my hope.'

Lenis backed away from the man until he was almost touching the World Tree. ‘What are you saying?'

‘You and your sister were once a single bud on this tree, gentle one, the first to appear after the birth of humanity, and that was a very long time ago now.'

‘We aren't
human?
'

The man took a step closer to Lenis, frowning. ‘You are human but you weren't
meant
to be. I plucked you from this tree. Such a beautiful shoot you were and with such promise, but the Tree did not have the strength left to see you safely grown. Your body, whatever it was to become, was a wasted thing, but your soul, your mind, these I could save. I placed each in the body of a human child.'

Lenis cringed, convinced the man was mad.

He stepped closer. ‘Perhaps I should have left you to shrivel on the branch. That would have been kinder, I think. But humanity had taken so much of the Tree's strength that there was no other way. You and your sister will restore the Tree, once I have used the Demons to destroy humanity.'

‘What?'

‘Death renews life. Eventually. You just have to be patient. Touch the Tree and you will find your sister.'

Ishullanu turned and moved away from the World Tree, his upper body swaying back and forth in a strangely rhythmic and distinctly non-human kind of motion. Lenis watched the Demon King go, unable to make sense of what he had just heard. Could he trust any of it? Why would the red-eyed man lie? Could Ishullanu
really
be the Demon King?

Lenis turned back to the decaying Tree. He had come here to find a way to help his sister, not to listen to the ravings of a madman. Of course, it had been the ravings of another madman that had brought him here. He shook his head as he reached out to touch the World Tree.

‘Missy. Missy, it's me. Are you there?' The Tree trembled. ‘Missy?'

Lenis? Is that you?

Lenis felt tears well up in his eyes. ‘Missy! I can't believe it's really you!'

Neither can I! When did you start communicating?

Lenis sobbed as he spoke, ‘I'm not. I'm at the World Tree, and I think it's helping and –'

You're at the what?

‘Oh, it'll take too long to explain. How are you?'

I'm okay, sort of. I kind of miss my body. And food. Lord Raikô is keeping me in his temple in the Shinzô Wastelands.

‘We'll come and get you!'

You can't.

Lenis nearly let go of the Tree. ‘Why not?'

There was a pause.
Raikô is turning into a Demon.

Lenis cringed. ‘I know. We
all
know. The Wastelands turn things into Demons. They take away their will –'

How did you find that out?

‘It was Tenjin, and Long Liu, and we have to come and get you right away!'

There's no time. Raikô is almost gone. He'll be a Demon Lord by the time you get back from Heiligland.

‘How did you –?'

I've been following you, or trying to. Raikô won't let me get near you.

Lenis dug his nails into the Tree. ‘What can we do?'

There's nothing you can do. Raikô's will is failing. Soon he'll just be ... hollow.

‘Hollow?' Something suddenly clicked into place. ‘Of course!'

Lenis, what is it?

‘Ishullanu!'

What? Lenis, what's going on?

‘The Demon King. At least, he is now. He didn't used to be. He couldn't have been since there weren't any Demons before the Wastelands appeared.'

What are you talking about?

‘The Wastelands drain creatures of
their
will, right, except those Demons outside of Gesshoku weren't acting all mindless, and I met one in the Wastelands named Akamusaborikû who actually
talked
to me, but he couldn't do that if he was, you know, hollow. Ishullanu must be
imposing
his
will on them. That must be it. He's controlling the Demons!'

Who is Ishullanu?
Missy demanded.

‘Sorry.' Lenis tried to calm himself down. ‘Long Liu told me to speak to the World Tree to find out how to save you, only I didn't know where or what the World Tree was. Namei told me all about it. She can explain it to you later. Anyway, I came to the World Tree and met a man who called himself Ishullanu. He said he was a god and that he was also the Demon King. Then he said he was going to use the Demons to destroy humanity and –'

WHAT?

‘He thinks it's the only way to save the world. He as much as told me he was controlling the Demons.' Lenis went on to tell her everything that Ishullanu had said, as well as all about the crew's quest for Apsilla's egg and their tenuous lead that pointed them to Ost.

Lenis eventually fell silent and waited for Missy's response.

Lenis, you have to go and tell the captain everything you just told me. About Ishullanu and the Demons. Everything.

‘Why?'

Because if it's true then the more creatures the Wastelands corrupt, like Lord Raikô, the more Demons Ishullanu is going to be able to use against us.

Lenis's heart sank. It was true. Ishullanu was amassing an army of mindless Demons and all they had was one airship
and the hopes of finding a Totem's egg. What could one egg do? What could any of them do? Still, there was always Silili ...

Lenis?

‘Sorry, Missy. I don't know what to do.'

Talk to the captain. He'll know. We have to trust him. This egg may ...

‘Missy? What is it?'

The egg, you said it was probably made out of stone?

‘Tenjin seems to think so.'

Interesting. I wonder if the stone is like a
shintai.

‘A
shintai?
Like your Quillblade?'

Yes. If it is then ... I might be able to escape tonight!

‘What! How?'

I'll tell you if it works.

‘But –'

Go, Lenis. We can talk when I'm back in my body. Tell the captain and the others everything.

Missy's voice faded and Lenis felt her move away from him. ‘I love you, sister.'

I love you too, little brother.
Her mental voice was barely a whisper.

Lenis took his hand from the World Tree and blinked. The engine room reappeared around him. He felt strangely rested, as if he had slept for hours, and the pain in his body had quietened. He leapt off his bunk, surprised again by the lack of discomfort, and ran up to the deck.

The rest of the crew were working on the balloons. The repairs seemed to be finished and they were attaching them to either side of the mast-shaft. It was a long, complicated process and they still had a lot of work ahead of them. Namei was perched at the very edge of the portside end of the mastshaft, suspended out over the churning waters of the ocean. She had over her shoulder the guide rope the others would use to pull the balloon out into position.

Lenis considered shouting to her, but imagined her losing her balance and falling into the ocean's depths as she tried to wave back, so he decided against it. He went straight to
the bridge and found the captain and Arthur speaking with Tenjin.

Captain Shishi looked over when Lenis burst onto the bridge. ‘What can we do for you, Master Clemens?'

Lenis launched into an account of what had just happened. He began with his exchange with Namei and finished by recounting the gist of what he and his sister had discussed. Partway through he noticed that Tenjin was copying his words into one of his books, so Lenis slowed down. By the time he was finished he was breathing hard and his body was reminding him that, although he felt rejuvenated, it still needed time to recuperate. Arthur noticed and offered him a chair, which he accepted gratefully.

The captain gazed out of the crystal dome to the northeast. ‘It seems the further we travel the clearer our course becomes.'

‘Clearer?' Kenji scoffed from the entrance to the bridge. Shin was standing next to him. Lenis hadn't noticed either of them approach. ‘The boy has a nightmare and suddenly everything's clearer?'

The captain turned his smile on the navigator. ‘I do not believe it was a nightmare. The Clemens twins possess a strong bond with each other and with the guardians of this world. In all my travels I have never met a pair so attuned to Bestia or Totem. In these matters I trust them both implicitly.'

Lenis's heart soared. He didn't know what was better, the thought that Missy would soon wake up or that the captain
really
did
believe in him. Kenji clearly didn't, but right then Lenis didn't care what the navigator thought.

Tenjin looked up from his book. ‘You will have your confirmation when his sister wakes, Mister Jackson.'

The navigator smirked. ‘Whatever. I still don't see that anything's changed.'

The captain placed a hand on Lenis's shoulder. ‘We now have three definite objectives, Mister Jackson. First, we must find Seisui's egg and protect it until it can hatch. Then we must find a way to defeat Ishullanu so that he cannot use the Demons of the Wastelands to destroy us all. Finally, we must search for a cure for the Wasteland sickness.'

Kenji shook his head. ‘You really want to save the world, don't you, Captain?'

‘But first,' Arthur interjected, ‘we have to get the
Hiryû
back in the air.'

‘And hope that Missy can escape Lord Raikô,' Lenis added.

Captain Shishi nodded. ‘Let us return to work.'

The crew saluted and went back to their posts.

Lenis moved down to the deck and saw that the others had made good progress with the balloons. The starboard one was already in position, hanging limply from its frame. The port one would soon be ready as well. Lenis paused on his way to the engine room to watch Namei dance along the rigging of the mast-shaft as she secured the balloon in place. There was no fear in her.

Lenis stared, half entranced and half jealous of the ease with which she moved her body. A spasm ran through his hands and he was reminded of the damage he had done to himself. Silili might have healed the physical wounds but Lenis could still remember what they had felt like. Would Namei have come through his ordeals unscathed, saved by her training, her instinct or her innate grace? She caught him looking and raised a hand. Lenis waved back and made his way below decks. He had work of his own to do and, though he might move a little more stiffly than the cabin girl, he could still be proud of the skill with which he did it.

He found the Bestia in a state of readiness, as if they were as eager to be gone from the beach as he was. Aeris, who had suffered the most out of all of Lenis's charges, was quivering with excitement as he picked her up. He frowned as he sensed the slightest wave of fear mingled with her anticipation.

Lenis held her close to his chest. ‘Never again, my lady. I'm sorry.'

Aeris turned around in his arms until she could reach his face and then licked him on the cheek. She started purring. He nuzzled her nose and moved towards the engine.

A few moments later Captain Shishi's voice came through the speech tube. ‘We are ready when you are, Master Clemens.'

‘Right away, Captain.' Lenis squeezed Aeris and placed her in the engine block.

His mind cleared as he went through the motions of readying the engines. He adjusted a few valves to allow for the damage that had been done to the hatch and then, when Aeris was ready, pulled the ignition lever. The
Hiryû
started with a surge of motion. Even from the engine room Lenis could hear the canvas of the balloons snap taut as they filled with air. The hull groaned and the dormant metal of the engines hissed and popped as the vessel pulled itself free of the wet sand. With a rush that left Lenis's stomach behind, the
Hiryû
took to the skies. He heard Namei, or perhaps Andrea, cry out in exhilaration, then the ascent stopped abruptly and Lenis almost fell. He looked into the engine block and saw Aeris quivering with power, her head held high.

The captain's voice filled the engine room again. ‘Well done, Master Clemens. Miss Shin, please point us north. Mister Jackson, watch our course.'

‘You should have seen it, Lenis!' Namei came hurtling down the stairs and into the engine room. ‘The balloons were all limp and then the engines started and they filled up so fast! I thought I was going to disgrace myself when we launched. The ground shrank beneath us and the clouds rushed by. See? My hair's damp!'

Lenis laughed along with Namei's enthusiasm. He tried to imagine her as a small girl living in the village of Rôhi with her warrior parents, staring after the airships as they flew into and out of the local airdock. Lenis might not have had the childhood that Namei had, but he had known the feel of
a soaring airship beneath his feet for most of his life. There must have been literally hundreds, if not
thousands,
of people in Rôhi who had wanted her commission. He realised how lucky Namei was to be here and how fortunate he was to be here too, and he wondered at all he had taken for granted while he was wallowing in self-pity.
Not anymore!
he thought as Namei embraced him.

Warmth spread through him that had nothing to do with the heating engines. He felt dizzy, but then she pulled away from him and disappointment rushed through him.

‘S-sorry,' she stammered. ‘I just got a little –'

‘Namei!'

She rolled her eyes at Hiroshi's summons. ‘I'd better go.'

She was gone before Lenis could reply. He checked on Aeris and the other Bestia in a daze, his body still tingling where Namei had touched it. He made his way to the doctor's cabin, aware that he was grinning like a fool.

The sight of Missy's prone body brought him back to his senses. If all went well, she might be awake at any moment.

Missy's spirit-self, still draped in the golden cloak, hovered at the edge of the table that ran down one wall of Raikô's temple. As she waited for the Totem to settle into his fitful attempts at slumber, she considered everything that could go wrong with her plan. In the end, it didn't matter. If she didn't do something she was going to be shackled to a Demon. Anything was better than that.

Mixed with her concern for her own safety, Missy felt dread at the thought of leaving the Totem alone to slip further into his illness. Raikô was pacing in front of the giant hearth, his tattered wings brushing at the dusty hearthstones, readying his nest for the evening. Missy wondered if it was now only habit that made the great bird preen his sleeping area each night. He certainly didn't seem to care if his toil had any effect, as he invariably ended up sleeping in a pile of dirt and old feathers. If Missy had had her physical body she would have cleaned it for him. She would have tried to dress his wounds. She would have done
something.
As she was, she could do nothing.

Missy watched and readied herself. She tried to tell herself she could be of more help to Lord Raikô once she was reunited with the rest of the crew, but in truth she feared the day when he would become a fully fledged Demon. If Lenis was right, and if Ishullanu's words could be trusted, then the Totem would become one more weapon in the Demon King's army.

When Lord Raikô at last settled down to sleep, his thoughts turning inwards as he battled the disease that devoured him, Missy moved slowly, steadily, to the entrance of the temple. Her incorporeal form made no sound as she glided down the hall, but the feathers of the golden cloak that kept her bound swished across the stone. Missy felt Raikô stirring behind her and stopped for what would have been three breaths if she had had a body to breathe with. The Totem settled.

A quick dash was out of the question. Raikô would sense that immediately and drag her back. She could feel the weight of the cloak spread across her incorporeal form, connected to the great bird by the tether clutched in one of his talons. The sickness might be devouring his will and tormenting his body, but it left his strength intact.

Missy had never had occasion to spend much time in temples, and even if she had the Puritans only worshipped one God. There, Bestia were nothing more than useful creatures and Totem were only legends. She also didn't have her brother's ability to sense spirit energy, so she had no way of knowing if Raikô's statues were like
shintai
or not. She knew Totem
could
imbue things with their power, and that the egg of a Totem
might
be made out of stone. What she didn't know was if Totem would imbue their statues with power. They couldn't physically be in every temple at once, so Missy figured they
should
leave something of themselves behind in each one. There was no way for her to know if they ever did, or where they might store their power even if they chose to. The obvious answer was the altar, but it couldn't be the altar in Raikô's temple. That was too far away from the door. Missy needed it to be the statues.

The idea was to slip the spirit tether around something that held spirit energy, thereby fooling Raikô into thinking he was still holding Missy's spirit-self. Assuming spirit tethers worked that way. If she stopped to think about it, Missy would have talked herself out of it, which was exactly why
she hadn't mentioned it to Lenis. He probably would have told her precisely why it wouldn't work. But it had to work. Raikô was getting worse. She was running out of time, and she had no other ideas.

Missy backed up to one of the statues slowly, keeping her awareness on the now fitfully sleeping Raikô. When she was next to it she reached up to the golden cloak and felt for the tether. When she had it she started pulling the cloak from around her shoulders, moving so slowly that she was barely moving at all. Raikô clutched at the tether and it went taut. Missy froze. She waited several moments and then scanned the Totem's mind. He hadn't woken.
He must have twitched in his sleep!

Buoyed by this discovery, and a little giddy from the thrill of it, Missy slipped free of the cloak and looped it around the shoulders of the statue.

She waited.

Raikô didn't stir.

She moved away from the statue.

The Totem remained motionless. Missy almost laughed. It had worked. Her crazy plan had actually worked. Raikô was now tethered to a fraction of his own spirit.
Wait until Lenis hears about this!