Penult (32 page)

“
Why are you here? Did you
find her? Did you find Karla?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Not
like you’re ever going to see her again.”

“
Wendell told me he was
gonna find her.”

“
He also told you that you
can forget about ever seeing her again in this realm.”

“
So why are you here? And
why am I still on this fucking train? How many days have we been
traveling?”

“
Well, there was a little
interruption in service, you might say. We arranged for a delay so
I could catch up with you all. Sometimes it’s easier schedule
things with a captive audience. And as for why I’m here, Wendell
sent me to make you an offer.”

“
Does it involve
Karla?”

“
I would suppose,
indirectly.”

“
What do you
want?”

“
We would like … very much
… for you to consider becoming a Freesoul.”

“
Fuck! You came to kill me?
That’s the offer?”

“
In a nutshell. But not
now. Not even today. Of course, you need to get back to the
Liminality and get yourself beyond the influence of the core. New
Axum does not suffice. Not enough altitude. I’m assuming you got
there safely?”

“
Yeah. I’m
there.”

“
Good. The reports we get
are kind of sketchy.”

“
You guys have
spies?”

“
Informants. Volunteers,
mostly. All Hemisouls, of course. But listen. Here is our offer.
Let me put it this way. If you want to remain a Hemisoul, there is
nothing we can do for you. Karla will remain out of your existence
forever. But if you do things our way, perhaps we can arrange a
reunion. On the other side.”

“
You guys have her right
now?”

His face was as scrutable as a slab of
granite. “I will not confirm or deny that. Not until you agree to
our conditions.”

“
How the fuck am I supposed
to get beyond the core? Those Penult fuckers took down the fucking
mountain.”

“
The Liminality is a big
place. There are other mountains. You have access to air
transports. And not just bugs anymore. I heard you made yourself a
nice pair of angel wings.”

“
You’re an assassin. You
came to set up a kill.”

“
A facilitation. It’s not
like you don’t benefit. You get to see your girl again.”

“
Can you guarantee that she
actually wants to see me?”

The man’s eyes flitted about. “That’s
between you and her. Was there some trouble between you
two?”

“
Shouldn’t you guys have
figured that out before you came to pitch me a deal?”

“
You want to see her again.
I saw you perk up when I mentioned the reunion thing. So it doesn’t
matter if she doesn’t want to see you. All that matters is that you
want to see her.”

I felt queasy. “She doesn’t want to
see me?”

“
I said no such thing. I’m
just a messenger. Besides, I wouldn’t be privy to anything like
that.”

“
You’re more than a
messenger. You’re an operative. An assassin.”

“
Maybe. But at the moment
I’m just a messenger. I did not come here to harm you, Mr. Moody.
Not today. Though, I would be honored to be the man who eases you
through the transition when the time comes. You’re our future. Our
last, great hope. Since Frelsi fell, business had slowed to a
trickle. Thanks to Penult, there’s very few Freesouls getting made
these days.”

“
F-f-f-fuck this! I’m not
ready to die.”

“
But don’t you ever want to
see your girl again?”

“
Yeah, but….”

“
Priorities, Mr. Moody.
I’ve offered you a means to make that happen.”

He glanced up as the door to the car
opened and the ladies of Brynmawr came bustling through all
giggling over some story Helen was raucously relating.

“
Ah, your friends are back.
Excuse me. You have Wendell’s number. Get in touch with us when
you’re ready.” He returned to his seat across the aisle.

Jessica spotted me first. “James! He’s
awake.”

The ladies rushed over and swarmed the
booth.

“
How are you feeling dear?”
said Helen. “You haven’t taken any nourishment in over a
day.”

“
Where are we? Why are we
still on the train?”

“
We were delayed
overnight,” said Britt. “A train derailed in Oxenholme.”

“
We walked you through the
station like a zombie,” said Fiona. “Did you realize that you’re
able to respond to verbal commands when you’re in one of these
trances?”

“
Good to know, next time we
need someone to scrub the toilet,” said Jessica. Britt and Fiona
giggled.

“
No worries dear, we’ll be
in Glasgow soon,” said Helen. “Why don’t you have a bite of your
bun? It’s fresh. We bought it outside the station.”

With a wink and a nod, Wendell’s
associate gathered his magazine and a brown leather satchel. He
nodded to me, put on a ball cap and passed down the length of the
car, heading for the first class compartment.

“
Who was that nice man
keeping you company?” said Helen, smiling.

Chapter 32:
Visitors

The train finally reached the
outskirts of Glasgow and to Helen’s great relief I polished off
that egg salad sandwich. As we clunked around, switching tracks for
the last leg into the station, the ladies argued over the best
place to stay on a limited budget.

“
Guys. I can pay. Pick
someplace nice. Money doesn’t matter.” I held up my ivory credit
card.

Fiona and Britt looked at each other,
but Helen stared me down.

“
Put that thing away!” she
said, as if I were brandishing a dildo.

“
An old college mate of
mine lives here,” said Fiona. “I’m sure she has a spare room or
two. She inherited an old terraced house from her grand
mum.”

“
No,” said Jessica. “We’re
dealing with Sedevacantists. Violent ones. You really don’t want
them to find out where she lives.”

“
What would they do? Burn
her house down?” said Britt.

“
They just might,” said
Helen. “They just might.”

“
I think some form of
public lodging would be more suitable,” said Jessica.

So Jess went on her iPhone and Googled
up a cheap tourist hotel within walking distance of the train
station, reserving one room with two double beds and a
rollaway.

I was still deep in a funk brought on
by that encounter with Wendell’s associate. I felt as nauseous and
heavy as in my old bouts of depression, the ones I used to get that
brought the firsts roots writhing after me. It had been so long
since I had this feeling.

I was in a no-win situation. Trade
this life for the mere chance of seeing Karla in the afterlife?
What kind of deal was that? We would both end up in the afterlife
sooner or later. If I did nothing I would achieve the same result.
And yet I felt so horrible I knew the roots would come looking for
me soon. I didn’t have to agree on any deal.

Though we walked down pavements strewn
with vomit and on a day with clouds thick enough to halt all
photosynthesis, it was still a day on this precious Earth. The
sparrows didn’t seem to mind. Neither did the weeds. I, as well,
wasn’t anywhere near ready to give up my foothold on this
existence.

Particularly since they could offer no
proof that they had Karla in custody or even knew where she was.
But I knew better than to push for more evidence. Wendell was the
type who might just chop off one of her fingers and deliver it
gift-wrapped.

We passed a chalky-faced man with deep
grit-filled creases and scraggly, unkempt hair, his outer clothing
reduced to shreds of rag. He stopped me in my tracks. I turned and
watched him shamble away, lurching and swaying like a ferry boat in
a swell. The guy could have passed for an Old One. Were there Old
Ones about in this world?

“
What’s wrong?” Jessica
called back. The other ladies walked on, not even noticing that we
had paused.

“
Nothing,” I said, skipping
ahead to catch up.

***

The hotel offered the sort of value
you might expect for thirty-nine pounds. The cramped lobby reeked
of fungus and cigars. The elevator was out of order. The fourth
floor room was dark and oddly shaped, too narrow for two double
beds. The toilet had a hairline crack that seeped.

Helen went to war with a rag and a
borrowed broom, striking down ancient cobwebs, vanquishing dust
bunnies the size of small rats. I retreated to a wobbly chair in
the corner, cradling my chin in my hands. Jess came over and
whispered.

“
James, the girls and I are
thinking of making a sortie to a church. We thought it might be
good to reconnoiter, check some message boards and parish bulletins
and such. St. Aloysius is right here in the city centre. Would you
like to come along?”

I could only stare back at her. A
tingling had begun in my extremities, quickly spreading to my
core.

“
Uh-oh, he‘s got that look
again,” said Fiona, coming up behind Jess.

The roots this time did not
dilly-dally. They ripped my soul right out of this world. My
friends’ faces receded down a long, dark tunnel.

***

I snapped awake in my quarters on my
bed of mats and rushes. A thick and nappy flannel sheet was tucked
around me. It was dark outside my doorway but a faint glow emanated
from an orb on the floor.

Someone, a woman, was sitting in my
wicker chair. I thought at first it might be Urszula. But no. She
was too tall. Too stiff.

Victoria.

She held a joint from a Seraph’s wing.
Over and over, she nudged the business end with her finger and
watched it leap through its full cycle.

“
Where’d you get
that?”

“
Ah, he’s back.”

“
Is that one of
mine?”

“
Yours? It was salvaged
from a wreck.”

“
Detmar? Is
he—?”

“
He did not survive … this
present realm, anyhow.”

“
Shit.”

“
And how are you doing?
“How goes the wunderkind? Feeling better?”

“
Wunderkind? Excuse
me?”

“
You
are
the boy wonder, are you not? The
old soul? The chosen one? That’s what they all say about you. Who
knew? I remember you, from your days with Luther. Never suspected
you might be a master.”

“
Master?”

“
Stop it with the false
humility.”

“
What are you doing in my
room?”

“
I came to see the boy
wonder. And see how receptive he might be to some ... alternative …
pathways.”

“
Huh?”

“
You don’t want to be here.
I see that. And you don’t need to. This is not your
battle.”

“
Wait a minute. You guys
wanted me here.”

“
Zhang wanted you here, but
only because the Old Ones insisted.”

“
I don’t understand. Aren’t
you part of them … the resistance?”

She shrugged. “I adore my friends. My
sympathies remain with Frelsi. But this … impasse … with Penult …
is unsustainable. New Axum will fall. It is inevitable. And I hate
to say … the sooner the better. I have seen what is coming this
way. The sooner New Axum falls the better it is for all concerned.
Many more souls will be saved from the Deeps and worse. Zhang knows
this, but sees no other choice but to fight. But you and I, we have
the power to sway the outcome. If I can make you understand. You
don’t even have to lift a finger. Just … do nothing. Your injuries
are excuse enough. Just stay put and let what happens happen. No
one will blame you. The results will be gentler than …
otherwise.”

“
Holy crap. You’re on their
side. They turned you.”

“
Sides? What sides? There
are no sides. We are all human. We all have souls. We’re in this
together. The Lords simply want to restore the old
order.”

There was something absent from her
eyes now. Part of her seemed not just altered but
missing.

“
My God, what did they do
to you?”

Her brows pinched together in
annoyance. “Do to me? They did nothing! I was treated well and
fair. Better than I deserved after all the havoc I wrecked on them.
I fought hard to defend my city from their shock troops after it
had already crumbled. But now … let’s just say I understand the
bigger picture now. I appreciate the perspective of the Lords. They
don’t attack us out of evil. On the contrary. They want every soul
to succeed. There is a right way and a wrong way. There needs to be
order.”

“
Not evil? Did you hear
what they do to those Cherubs? Olivier says they got rid of their
souls. Just ripped them out. Discarded them. Kept only the
bodies.”