The Way of the Brother Gods (10 page)

"She's a person who I once cared for a lot. I know she's done some terrible things, but she did them with the hope of helping people. She just got lost along the way. And she's tried to make up for it."

Malja gestured to the building around them. "This is making up?"

"She deserves a little compassion. When Korstra broke the great chalice and brought upon the world a year of unending rain, did Kryssta forsake him? No. He offered open arms to his brother and forgiveness.
The Book of Kryssta
is filled with examples where Kryssta shows compassion to Korstra, and there are even times when Korstra does the same for Kryssta. If the brother gods can do so toward each other, then surely we can, too."

Malja sighed. "You just don't give up on any of us. I suppose we don't deserve you."

"I'm sure of that," Fawbry said.

Cole Watts entered the room, and Malja thought she saw a slight limp. Maybe she had imagined it, though. Knowing that Cole was dying, Malja wondered if she might be seeing things in Cole's health that weren't there.

Cole looked over Tommy and read the data her machines provided. Then with a huff, she turned around and said, "I apologize for the things I said outside. I was upset at the loss of a good person, and I admit it, I was also a little frightened by the appearance of the Bluesmen. Though nothing can permit me to behave so rudely. So, I'm sorry."

Malja hated hearing an apology. She never knew what to say or how to react. It was easy to give an apology when she was wrong, but hearing one — especially one which she thought might not be required — left her feeling uncomfortable. She did nod, so Cole would know the apology had been heard and accepted, but beyond that, Malja said nothing.

After a lingering moment, Cole finally said, "I noticed you've spent a little extra time with Harskill. It makes sense, of course, that you would seek him for answers. I just want to warn you to be careful around him. I wouldn't trust him too much. He thinks he's subtle and powerful, but I see through him. He's been against me from the day I met him. I suspect that if he had never come along, I may have already succeeded in opening a portal."

Fawbry put out his arm for Cole to balance on. "Why keep him around then?" he asked.

"Once he arrived, I couldn't get rid of him safely."

"Just tell him you don't want him here. You have a whole bunch of people here. He's just one."

Cole raised an eyebrow toward Malja. "She's just one."

"Besides," Malja said, "if Cole openly got rid of Harskill, he'd come back in force. She hoped to keep him close by in an effort to control and minimize his obstruction."

"Exactly," Cole said. "And with the Bluesmen around, I only want to have to manage one enemy at a time. So, be careful around Harskill. Don't believe everything his says. But also, please, don't anger him. Keep him coddled as long as we can manage."

Malja pictured his reddening face as she turned away from his proposal. "We might be a little late on that one," she said. Before Cole could inquire further, alarms broke out.

With his finger shaking, Fawbry pointed at the approaching figures on the monitors. "Looks like the Bluesmen are back."

Chapter 12

Malja watched the monitors closely, counting each Bluesman she saw. Twenty. Twenty-five. Thirty-two. They covered each exit, armed with guns, swords, and even an ax.

"I thought they were all dead," Cole said. "A few stragglers but there weren't that many off the compound when Jarik and Callib destroyed them all."

"That was almost two years ago. More than long enough to do some recruiting," Fawbry said.

The screeching alarms cut out, leaving them surrounded by the sounds of the Bluesmen preparing to strike. Malja continued to observe them on the monitors. It appeared that they had organized into four man units with two units at each exit. Those with guns trained their weapons on the doors while the others crouched in the back, waiting for either an order or a set time to attack.

But they didn't attack. Every flick of the monitor to a different camera view showed Malja the same thing — Bluesmen ready to move but waiting.

"Why aren't they attacking?" she said.

Fawbry tapped the monitor, pointing out a Bluesman missing his arm. "I think they're worried about the great Malja."

"Maybe. But I don't see a lot of fear. I see patience."

In answer, the monitor switched to a view of the main gate where she had fought the Bluesmen earlier. There she saw them escort an elderly man forward. A magician.

"There," Malja said.

"I see him," Fawbry said. To Cole, he asked, "You know that one?"

She nodded. "Walker. Don't be fooled by his age. He's one of the Bluesmen I had purposely sent off on assignment as much as possible. I never wanted him around. Never struck me as a stable sort of mind. He's got power and he's always wanted to rule over us all."

Walker pointed to the ground and two Bluesmen squatted to pick at something there. They looked to be collecting something small — dirt or pebbles maybe. Then the monitor moved on to show an empty corridor.

"Get it back," Malja said. "We've got to see that."

Cole repeatedly pressed a button on the side of the monitor, cycling through all the cameras. She moved slow and deliberate like an old woman.

Fawbry crossed his arms and shivered. "I know this isn't the usual way for us, but considering that we're out-numbered and that they're bringing out a magician, maybe we should think about escaping before it's too late."

"It's already too late," Malja said.

"Are you sure? I can move really fast when you're trying to save my life."

"Here it is," Cole said and pressed another button locking the image.

Malja tried not to show any reaction. Fawbry, on the other hand, cursed and turned away to hide his fear. The Bluesmen had been collecting insects. Walker had already turned two of them into beasts the size of large dogs — six-legged, hard-shelled creatures with sharp pincers and constant clicking noises.

Concentrating on his tattooed forearm, Walker worked at another insect. As it grew, its thin legs buckled under the new weight of its carapace. Walker raised his other arm and conjured another bit of magic. New muscles bulged around the legs, and in seconds, the giant insect lifted its body off the ground.

"We can't just stand here and watch," Fawbry said, his voice raising in pitch. "Come on. Go fight them or let us run away or something."

Malja's steady gaze did little to calm Fawbry. "You're right," she said.

"I-I am?"

"I just don't see a good way to fight them until they attack. And unless you know of another way out, they've got us surrounded."

Cole smiled. "Why dear, you just have to ask. I can get us out, if you can give me a little time."

"Um, Malja," Fawbry said, his attention glued to the monitors. "I think they're attacking."

Malja checked the monitor for a second — Fawbry was right. "Fawbry, help me block this door. Cole, I'm asking — do whatever you're going to do."

Pursing her lips, Cole said, "Sounds more like ordering, but I'll take care of it."

Malja ignored the taunt as she tipped over a nearby bed and slid the furniture in front of the door. Fawbry grabbed anything he could manage — chairs, equipment, even a blanket — and tossed it in front of the door. He snatched glances at the monitor. With his hand shaking and his movements hurried, Malja worried he might start screaming in fear, alerting the enemy to their exact location.

"T-Those bugs are coming," he said.

On the monitor, Malja saw Walker had grown at least eight insects and his fellow Bluesmen were turning the things loose in the Dish building. "Anytime now, Cole," she said.

Cole ran her hands along the far wall, mumbling to herself the whole time.

A heavy thud hit the door. Malja rushed over and pressed her shoulder into the pile of furniture. Another thud. Strong enough to push Malja back an inch.

"Fawbry!"

Letting out a whimper, Fawbry joined Malja. Together, they shoved the door back. The awful sound of insect legs tapping and scratching and trying to break in filled their ears.

"How'd they find us so fast?" Fawbry asked.

Malja's stomach chilled. "They knew where we'd be. One of Cole's people must have told them." To Cole, she added, "You've been betrayed."

Fawbry grunted as he pushed harder against the door. "We'll be dead, if she doesn't hurry up."

Malja looked at Cole — no closer to getting them free. She checked out Tommy — still floating, still catatonic. When her eyes turned to Fawbry, the insects pounded the door hard enough to knock him over.

Two spiny legs poked in around the open edges. They were sharp and fast-moving. Malja pushed back, but she kept slipping on the smooth floor.

To his credit, Fawbry jumped to his feet, and with a high-pitched cry, rammed the door. The insect shrieked like rusted metal torn in a storm. It snatched back one of its magic-enhanced legs, but the shutting door pinned down the other.

"Cole?" Malja said.

"Just be patient," Cole said as if calming a pestering child.

The insect leg flailed about, smacking into the wall and the loose chairs near the top of the furniture pile. Fawbry laughed, wide-eyed and shaking, and straightened in his triumph. Before Malja could say a word, the leg whipped downward and smacked into Fawbry's shoulder. He shouted, surprise and pain blending, and he fell to the ground clutching his bleeding shoulder. Without Fawbry's help, the door opened a crack more and the insect pulled its leg free.

Slapping her hand against the wall, Cole said, "Here we are." She pushed against the wall, and a large square panel slid open. "Access to the air ducts that'll then lead us into the sewers." Cole took Tommy's hand, careful to avoid the tentacles, and pulled his floating body into the duct.

Malja looked down at Fawbry. "Go, already," she said.

Though tears covered his face, he looked more confident and determined than at any point since the Bluesmen had arrived. Even as the insect continued to slam into the door, widening the opening with each strike, Fawbry took the time to look back at Malja. "Don't be a hero," he said. "You follow me in there, okay? We're going to need you."

Malja jutted her chin toward the open wall panel and watched Fawbry scurry in. Just as she could no longer see Fawbry, the insect smashed the door even wider, sending Malja to the floor. She rolled back up to her feet and whipped out Viper.

The insect barreled into the room. Around its mouth were numerous little appendages like fingers that never stopped tapping out rhythms. In an awkward motion, it turned its two-part torso in Malja's direction, placing it between her and the air duct. Without hesitation, the insect shot forward.

Malja leaped to the side as she swung Viper. The outer-crescent smacked the top of the carapace and slid off. No damage. But the insect now faced the wrong direction. It tried to turn around but its new, bigger body was too cumbersome for its old, smaller brain. Malja swiped underneath the torso, slicing through two of the creature's legs. Though strong, they lacked the same hardness of the carapace.

The insect scrabbled forward to the nearest wall as if it could slip into a crack at the bottom. Walker may have made the thing a giant, but it still operated on little bug instincts. While it attempted to escape, Malja crouched into the air duct, closed the panel behind her, and hurried off to join her companions.

Chapter 13

Malja followed the group, all the time listening for the tell-tale clicking sounds of the giant insects. Cole led them through a maze of ducts, turning at one interchange, going straight at another. There seemed no discernible pattern to their path, yet Malja saw little choice but to push on.

"Here," Cole said, stopping in the middle of a long passage. She pointed down. "Cut through here and we'll enter the waterways."

Malja scrunched her forehead. "Waterways?"

"Sewers. But don't worry. There's little water running through them anymore."

With a roll of her eyes, Malja wriggled by Fawbry and placed the tip of Viper at the spot Cole indicated. The sharp blade cut in without trouble. Malja made a long incision and then another one crossing the first. After putting Viper away, she put her arms around Fawbry's shoulder and said, "Help me balance." Then she kicked the duct flooring hard. It bent outward, wafting a horrible odor their way.

Cole leaned her head in. "I never promised it would smell good. Drop in here and this will take us where we're going."

"Where's that?" Malja asked, but Cole had already slipped through the hole.

Working together, Fawbry and Malja slid Tommy down the hole. He never showed any sign of understanding what was going on around him. He just continued staring off with empty eyes. Cole took hold and pulled him the rest of the way. Once everybody made it through, they set off.

The sewer was a long brick tunnel thick with noxious odors. Though no water washed through anymore, the ground was still a muddy sludge. Malja tried not to think about the reasons for that.