Spear of Light (29 page)

He took memory shots of them as he went, saving them for later. He hadn't decided whether or not to delete the shots before he returned to Nexity. Even though the Jhailing had said the Next knew about this, and that it wasn't what they sent him looking for, he felt like it mattered. Everything here seemed full of secrets and puzzles.

He felt dwarfed by vehicles they'd decided to classify as medium sized. Some looked like projectiles, and probably were. The information that the original cave owners left behind with each piece of equipment didn't specify whether they were meant as ground-to-air, or ground-to-space, or even ground-to-ground missiles.

There was probably an obvious answer he, Chrystal, and Jason couldn't see.

Sharp edges defined many of the most evil-looking possible weapons, and three had cones that looked like missile payloads designed to rip through the outer hull of a starship and then detonate.

His footsteps echoed in the chamber, the exact sounds affected by the shape and type of machines he passed. He occupied a part of his stunned brain with working out the mathematics of the echoes in order to guess at the mass of each ship.

Some could be shuttles to ferry cargo from the ground to orbit and back again.

Deeper, other machines loomed larger than the biggest buildings in Manna Springs. They might be big, slow cargo ships or maybe even interstellar ships, although they did look sleeker than the pictures he'd seen of
The Creative Fire.
Mystery on mystery, and while they had bits of information that served as detail, there was no introductory statement or executive summary. He wanted something that said, “This place was created by X in order to do Y,” but they had found nothing so simple.

Near the end of the corridor, past the largest machines, a new set of smaller devices lined the walls. He slowed to a walk.

Chrystal and Jason stepped out from behind a squat machine of uncertain use.
What's that one for?
he asked.

Jason pointed up at the top of the nose, which looked like a shallow spiral with wickedly sharp edges.
The specs suggest it's a drill.

A drill?

For mountains,
Chrystal said.
I suspect its bigger cousin made this corridor.

Probably. Something made it.
The rest of the machine looked silky smooth except for great paddles at the bottom.
Let's take a break from cataloguing. We've been at this for eighteen hours and twenty-seven minutes. There's at least three more days of work just to record what's in this corridor.

Chrystal looked relieved.
Works for me.

There were more doors, which he supposed led to more places.
Explore? Or go outside and take a break?

Jason didn't hesitate.
Outside.

The caves were new to Chrystal.
Explore.

That left him to decide.
Explore.

Periodically, doors punctuated the walls. They went through two. One led to a workshop full of tools, printers, and molds, most of which were unfamiliar in the exact forms they took in that room but could be puzzled out. Fabricators for parts, test benches. The Next would never need this, not with the magic they could do with programmable matter, although the humans might be able to make some use of them.

Another door they'd gone through led to an empty room.

They left the rest of the myriad doors for later. In spite of the eerie silence and the strange half-working state of the materials, the whole setup worried Yi. What if they went through a door and couldn't get back? What if some critical part of the place died because they were disturbing it? What if one of them got hurt? They'd left the little repairbot back in the skimmer so they could run here naked and fast.

Beside him, Chrystal didn't seem to suffer from nearly as many worries. She bounced on her feet.
Pick a door
, he told her.

She smiled widely.
I've had my eye on the big one.

He wasn't surprised. Near the absolute far end of this corridor, two doors led in opposing directions. The caverns crawled through the heart of the mountain, and the large door could lead outside. The biggest machine they had seen could fit through it.
Maybe we'll find the way to get these things out of here
.

I don't want t
o, Jason said.

Of course not.
Yi didn't want to show anyone what was here. It felt too . . . weighty.
But aren't you curious?

I'm frightened.

Chrystal took Jason's hand.
Me too. And curious.

Five minutes later, they stood small in front of the big door. There was no handle, of course. The other doors had been operated by foot clicks, but there weren't any visible latches like that here. They felt around the walls for hidden places.

Nothing.

Jason gave up first.
Maybe we should try the small door.

Chrystal kept searching for ten more minutes before she answered him.
Maybe the secret's inside of the smaller door.

Yi agreed.
A logical conclusion given that's it not out here.

They searched the whole floor. Chrystal ran her fingers around the edge of the door. Jason pounded on the wall next to the door. One spot sounded hollow. Then, without Jason doing anything else, a door that had been entirely invisible sprang open. Jason looked startled, and Chrystal burst out in good-natured laughter.

Jason bowed exaggeratedly and held it open for them.

Yi expected a rocky corridor and another exit, but instead the inside was a smooth, neat hallway wide enough for all of them to walk down side by side. Lights winked on. Around a corner they found another door, and another set of lights that shone on what was essentially a box.

An elevator.

Chrystal.
Can we trust it?

Of course not!
Yi responded.

She suggested,
One at a time?

Jason said,
Maybe we'll learn more about whoever created this place.

Yi hesitated. They both looked at him.

Chrystal stuck her robotic tongue out at him.
Don't be such a supreme worrier.

Even if you have a backup, I value your life.

That's sweet
, Chrystal said.

Jason stepped in front of both of them.
I will go first.

We send it down empty first.

How do you know it will come back?
Chrystal asked.

Jason One and I braided right before I left. I won't really die!

Don't you see this memory is only a pale form of immortality?
No matter how alike they were, he wasn't Yi Two. The Jhailing's weren't all one being either. Yi wanted to live. But he let it go.
All right. We won't throw a funeral for you if you die.

He and Chrystal had to wait a full thirty minutes for Jason to return.
It's eerie down there. You need to see it.

Tell us!
Chrystal begged.

I'll show you.

Jason took Chrystal first. Yi waited a long time for the empty car to come back, and then, since it had taken so long, he expected the elevator to be slow, but it felt smooth and fast. So, deep, then.

The door opened into what he could only describe as a lobby for a larger enterprise. He couldn't see either Chrystal or Jason, although their steps had left a clear trail in a thick layer of reddish dust. The air smelled stale, and he was glad he didn't really have to breathe it.

They walked through three sets of double doors. After the third set, the floors were completely clean. The air smelled of disinfectant and, ever so slightly, of decay. He nearly jumped when he noticed a simple scrubberbot go by on the floor.

Surely no one lived here now?

“In here,” Chrystal called out loud.

He followed her voice to the right. She stood in front of a long window, clearly meant as a viewing chamber. Inside, row upon neat row of metal beds with straps. Identical banks of machines sat near all of the beds. They reminded him very much of a hospital. Or maybe of the place where they had been created. His memories of that were hazy, impeded by the drugs the Next had given them.

They disturbed him at a deep, visceral level.

Chrystal spoke the thing he had been thinking.
This must be the place where they created the first Next. We know it happened on Lym, right?

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHARLIE

By the time he entered Ice Fall Valley, rain fell so hard Charlie had to fly slowly and high just to be sure he wouldn't accidentally go off course. “Left,” Gerry steered him remotely by voice, and then, “Right a degree, now straight.” At one point she even said, “There's lightning, but it's behind you. I'll let you know if it comes closer.”

Gerry guided him to a landing spot near the front of Amfi's cave, taking him through such a thick miasma of water and fog that he could only see three feet in front of the skimmer's drenched window. When he finally landed safely, he let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank you. I would have had to hole up and wait this out.”

“You're welcome. I'm going to the bathroom.” With that, she closed the connection, and he laughed and counted himself lucky for her friendship.

It was only late afternoon, but the thick clouds made it look and feel like dusk. By the time he trudged through the muddy path and made his way behind the wide waterfall, he was soaked head to foot.

Luckily, Amfi knew to expect him, and she stood with the door open, waiting for him. She handed him a thin, hand-woven red wrap and turned her back and made him strip and hand her his wet clothes. So he walked into the common galley dressed oddly, with his hair soaked and his feet bare.

Losianna giggled, but he forgave her after she brought him a pair of warm socks.

Amfi fed him soup before she took a long look at him and said, “I thought I was supposed to be spying for you, and that you'd take care of Manny.”

“They stuck this shield over Nexity after the attack. It had always been there, I guess, but just over the city. Even though air passed through, it just . . . I don't know . . . it made me feel like a trapped animal.”

“I bet.” She brought him tea and some of Davis's old clothes. They were too big for him, but he felt happier dressed in something more substantial.

“So you were spying for me. What did you find?”

She shook her head. “Only that Kyle isn't here. He's running around looking for recruits. I think he's lost a few.”

“Two came back to Wilding Station. They're doing the work they're supposed to be doing.”

“Good.” She grinned, and glanced at Losianna. “I told you what I learned, but Losianna learned more.”

He raised an eyebrow and looked at the pale girl.

She fidgeted, full of whatever secret she held. Her voice came out small and determined. “Gleaners meet sometimes and in some places.” She looked up at him through pale eyelashes. “This isn't for other people to know, though. It wouldn't be safe for us for people to know we get into groups.”

“I'll keep your secret.”

“Thank you. Three bands met. Two big ones and a family band, just three people. The family had come from the sea, from the far north. They have instruments that record the comings and goings of ships. One of the old men, he does this as a hobby. Benton Lindy's his name. He always has watched ships. Doesn't trust them, and thinks if he knows what's coming and going he can keep his family safe. He's the reason I went to this gathering.”

Once again she stopped, watching him expectantly, so he said, “I understand.”

“He said there's ships and ships and ships—tens of ships or more, all landing on Entare, near Palat. A little south of it, at the old ranger station.”

“That must be Desert Bow Station,” Charlie offered, “The Next have permission to build a city at Iron's Reach, which is close by. They've already started, so it could be them.”

“Benton is absolutely convinced they're not using the Port Authority docking stations. He said they're coming and going from ships.
Ships
!”

Charlie sat back and thought about it a little. “Why does that mean they're not Next?”

“Benton saw the insignia on one. It's Gunnar Ellensson's.”

He stiffened, suddenly cold to his marrow. “Are they sure?”

“Yes.”

Gunnar was never good news. What would he be doing on Entare? The huge continent was a restricted destination full of ruins and restored desert hills, most of its vast middle a dry and difficult place. There were minerals there, but surely Gunnar wasn't sneaking in a back door to mine Lym. Even he was not so mercenary. Or so stupid.

“Did you learn anything about what those might be up to? What cargo they have, for example?”

She poked at the fire with a stick. “I told you everything I know.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to share information.”

“Well,” she said. “Everybody's upset. I figured you rangers might be more able than us to make sense of Gunnar being here, if it is him. I believe Benton, but I didn't see anything myself.”

Charlie shook his head and set the information aside for the moment. There was no reason to alarm Amfi, and no way to call Nona from inside the cave. He'd see her in a day or two anyway. He could already feel her in his arms, see her face spangled by spray from a waterfall, hear her laugh in sheer joy at the beauty of being alive.

Maybe she'd know what Gunnar was up to.