02. Empires of Flux and Anchor (28 page)

Matson entered, looked at Spirit, and grinned. "Welcome back to the almost-living," he said good-naturedly. "I'm your dad."

That took a lot of explaining as well, with Suzl acting as intermediary as best she could. No family reunion on World had ever had such confusion and hostility mixed together. Matson, sensing this the most, got down to business. "Suzl has explained to you what's going on?"

Spirit nodded. "I think so. The same evil that got me now has all of Anchor Logh."

He nodded. "I know we're asking a lot, but we need you. The odds are it'll be very dangerous, and the odds are against us ever really doing what needs to be done, but we have to try. No matter what you think of me or your mother, it's got to be tried."

Spirit looked down at little Jeffron, sound asleep in her lap. "I understand. I have to be honest, too. I want to stay here and look after our son. I don't want to go, and I hate the idea of all the death and destruction, but of course I'll go with you. Suzl tells me that if I leave Anchor, I'll go back to being like I was—probably for good. I can't raise him in a fortress. And out there are all the other people I really care about, all at the mercy of that madman. I have no choice. I can walk back out and become what I was, or I can go with you and try and end it all. Of course we'll go."

They found shirts, pants, and shoes for the two women, but while the clothing was all right, if itchy and somewhat abrasive, the shoes proved impossible. Both had been barefoot too long, and it was decided that they didn't have the time to get used to shoes again. Nurses and provisions, should they not return, for little Jeffron were found or fixed, and Suzl, Spirit, and even Kasdi had their hair cut very short so it would not get in the way. Spirit refused all weapons, but did take on a pack as large as the one Matson was going to wear. Matson, too, clipped on his old stringer's bullwhip and sawed-off shotgun to his belt, while Kasdi and Suzl, whose builds were unsuited for packs, still managed two ammunition belts, strapped X-shaped across their chests, and small, effective semiautomatic rifles. They managed to find Kasdi a black stringer-like uniform to replace her tattered robe, and her spell, which compensated for necessity in the interest of others, accepted it.

Matson looked her over. "You know, if you'd put on a little weight and exercised a little, you'd look almost like you did eighteen years ago," he noted.

She smiled, thrilled at the compliment, although she knew she looked old and tired. Matson didn't know, and could never know, the sheer torture she had been undergoing the past month. She was as insanely, passionately in love with him now as she had ever been, and she wanted him desperately. Just to be near him was agony, all the more so because she knew that he
would
give her at least physical release if she asked him—but she couldn't ask him, nor accept his offer if he were to make one. She had always had an extremely low voice for a woman and somewhat mannish features and mannerisms, so much so that those who knew her in the old days would not have been surprised if
she
had taken up with a Suzl, but those were surface items only. She was very much a heterosexual woman in love with a strong, handsome man, and yet her mannishness intensified and her voice, if anything, seemed even deeper, with all traces of femininity in her vanishing as things had gone on.

It was the binding spell, of course, forcing her to do and be just the opposite of what she so desperately wanted to do and be. The trouble was, while she could turn off Matson, she could hardly turn off herself.

Finally, they were ready, and with very little time to spare. The forces outside would be stationed in two equal groups outside the shield. Normally, a shield was supported from a single center point which represented the wizard. This shield, however, was enormous, and supported at least partially by machines, and so there were a number of power points identifiable from outside. Assuming these had to be machine locations, they picked two about fifty kilometers apart along the northern border. This would allow them the luxury of a choice of targets, while still keeping the empire's forces close enough to support one another and shift positions as necessary. Suzl and Matson knew the city and countryside the least—it had been a long time since they'd been in Anchor Logh, and things had changed, even there—but Suzl was a tough veteran of Flux, and Matson was an expert at military affairs. It was agreed that it would be Matson's game until they reached the Flux. Wizards tended to forget what it was like not to have or depend on the magic.

"You've been briefed on what it's likely to be like out there?" Matson asked Spirit.

She nodded. "I have met our Mr. Coydt before. I'm sure I can't imagine the surprises his mind has come up with."

Matson returned the nod. "What's he like these days? He was always the real nervy man's man, anything for a thrill, the riskier the better. And he always got away with it."

"Still that way the last I saw him," she replied. "I just can't imagine how someone so handsome and so brilliant can become so evil."

"Word always was that something happened back in his childhood. Something that warped him sexually, although he has quite a reputation with some of the ladies and he's certainly no man-lover. He's always been a cold-blooded killer and a sadistic wizard, but he has the odd reputation, too, for always keeping his word. If he promises something, he'll always deliver, whether good or bad. We never knew how he got into some of the Anchors, but he always liked Anchors better than Flux. Flux was too easy for him. No thrill, no risk. He liked to gamble on cards and was pretty good in the joints, but he was as good a loser as he was a winner. I doubt if anybody's ever figured Coydt out, but if anybody ever did, he'd probably kill 'em." He looked at his chronograph. "Whoops! Ready, everybody! One minute!"

Kasdi had been standing there, going slowly mad. It wasn't from what they were going to attempt so much as it was her emotions, and not just for Matson. For the first time she was with her daughter as herself, with no blinders and no spells and no other funny stuff, and she hadn't been able to find any kind of break or opening at all. She felt as sealed off from Spirit as she did from Matson.

All that was pushed into the background now, though, as the timers ticked down. They were going out the front street-level entrance, to avoid having to run down those interminable steps, and they were going right into the face of a machine gun battery and light artillery aimed straight at them.

Matson went to the door. "At minus two I'm going to throw it open. If it doesn't take, be prepared to duck and scatter fast. If it's go, then you, soldier, better slam this door behind us, and fast."

He looked again at his watch. "Minus ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . .
two! . . .
"
The door came open, and almost immediately the machine guns began to open up.

And stopped.

Outside, very suddenly, was nothing but a gray fog. It wasn't even the void—it was
nothing.
"Go!" Matson shouted, and they all took off on the run into the blankness, running as fast as they could straight ahead. The surface under their feet seemed hard, almost like rock or cement, but there were no signs of anything at all around them.

The total distance they had to traverse in the minute was a little short of eighty-four meters, a considerable run. Spirit kept hold of Suzl's hand and literally yanked her along. Kasdi and Matson lagged behind, she feeling the strain the worst, although she'd done a spell in Flux to strengthen her legs. Matson was in good shape, but he was quickly being reminded by his lungs and his muscles that he was not a young man.

The square re-exploded into life around them, with machine guns rattling in back of them, but even though Kasdi and Matson hadn't quite reached cover, it was a dark night, and there were no lights in the buildings and no electric lights in the square, which was still without power. There were no observers in the rear part of the square either—all attention was focused on the temple.

They went down a street that led to the main shopping district and ducked into an alley, where they found Spirit and Suzl waiting. Matson began coughing and braced himself against the wall for a moment, while Kasdi joined a collapsed Suzl in gasping for breath. Spirit was hardly breathing heavily, and she'd run with a full pack.

Before the rest felt themselves ready, they prepared to move, knowing that the curfew was on, that it was shoot on sight, and that their only chance was to clear the capital and make it to open country as quickly as possible. From this point, they were in Matson's hands, and they followed his lead, moving down darkened streets pressed against buildings, crossing from deep shadow to deep shadow.

At one point they stopped next to a large poster, and Kasdi took the opportunity to read it.

"PROCLAMATION #10562, MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF THE FREE KINGDOM OF ANCHOR LOGH," it read. "1. All girls between the age of puberty and the age of 45 shall henceforth be considered indecent unless they appear in public wearing proper makeup, including but not limited to lipstick, rouge, eye shadow, nail polish, body scent, etc.

"2. Proper attire in public shall include jewelry, such as necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pendants, etc., and shoes with heels of at least 7.5 cm.

"3. Proper attire outside of home, farm, commune, etc. for all girls shall consist only of clothing secured from and approved by the Kingdom.

"4. As no handbags or other carryables are permitted, nor the possession or use of cash or commodities for trade (see Proclamations #3126 and 4164), all employers and public places shall have available such items as might be needed for girls to continue to comply with this proclamation on a request basis.

"This regulation will take effect at the end of the curfew on 08-22-02 and will be strictly enforced. Physical punishment is authorized on the spot for all violators."

Suzl, who'd snuck in and read it as well, gave a low whistle. "Well, I guess we're all immoral now. Aren't we,
girls
?"

"That is the most incredible thing I have ever read," Kasdi added disgustedly. "That date was three days ago."

"Well, that's Coydt all right," Matson told them. "Still, there's even a method in this shit. There must be a lot of ex-priestesses and the like around who know all the facts and where to cause the most trouble. This keeps 'em all bottled up."

They kept snaking their way through the city, often dodging mounted patrols and occasional foot patrolman and having several close calls. The city was well patrolled, but it was not absolute. All of the police/soldiers carried small automatic weapons, though. They would take no chances, that was for sure, and an occasional distant or even nearby burst of gunfire punctuated that point.

There were also some fixed positions on the rooftops, but these were less of a problem once the quartet discovered they were there. It was harder and more nerve-wracking to move through the shadows with the knowledge that any sound might trigger a blast from above, but it was easy to avoid being seen. Cutting the electricity to the city had been the best idea they'd had.

Finally they made it to the edge, only to find that a tall wire fence, with what looked like cowbells all along the top, had been erected around the whole town. It was simple and clever. Suzl looked at it glumly and asked, "What'll we do now? It'll be light in an hour or so."

"We dig," Matson replied, getting a small shovel out of Spirit's pack. "We dig fast."

After the top layer was gingerly removed, it proved relatively easy in the moist earth. Matson was largest, so he tried it first, barely slipping under. Suzl was next, and actually jiggled the fence slightly, but no one came running. Next came Kasdi, and then Spirit found she had to deepen the hole a bit to push the packs through. Finally, she, too, was under, just as the sky was starting to lighten.

They decided against the roads and took a crosscountry route through pastureland designed more to keep cows and horses in than people out. The area just southeast of the city was heavily wooded, and they headed there as fast as possible. Once in the relative safety of the trees, they relaxed as day broke gray and gloomy.

"Unless you women want to put on high heels and sexy panties, I'd say we rest all day," Matson said. "I don't much like stopping this close to town, since somebody's gonna find that hole, but I don't see any choice. At least right now there's nothing to trace that hole to us."

Spirit thought for a moment. "We could go down towards the farm. I think I can get us there without taking us out of the woods, and it'll give us a clear view of the road."

"Let's do it, then," he decided. "But slow and easy."

This country just south of the capital was where all three women had grown up. It was not quite as easy as they'd expected, for they ran into countless nasty little booby traps and trip alarms planted in the woods, and Spirit got caught in a snare net and was left hanging there until the others climbed up and freed her. Matson was adamant that they not cut her free, and after she was out he reset the trap very professionally.

"These traps mean they run regular patrols through these woods," he warned them. "We'll have to be on guard every moment."

Finally, though, before midday, they made it to the thick grove overlooking the road which had been the start of both Kasdi's and Spirit's lives, as well as providing a view out to the main road about a kilometer away.

Matson unclipped his binoculars and studied the scene. "Well, we know that some of the men aren't getting off too well either," he said softly. "See those poles set up along the edge of the farm road and the main one? They've got bodies stuck on 'em. Men's bodies."

"Oh, Goddess! My father!" Kasdi gasped, and reached for the glasses.

"You won't tell anything from this distance about 'em," Matson assured her. "Even up close they'd be pretty tough to identify now. They've been there for some time, I think."

"Those vermin!" she hissed. "When we get through with them and I have the survivors in Flux, the living will envy the dead! Those men will find out what us 'girls' can do when
we
have all the power!"