Spiderwork (17 page)

They let the horses graze where the hives used to be. "Let's try to find where the flower was," Char said to Alice. "Let's find
Tesla
."

They looked for two hours. Every time Alice thought she was close to the tunnel opening, she lost her bearings.

"I know it's here somewhere," Char said. "She stayed in the tunnel during Samael's fire. There was a door that said
Tesla
."

They searched another hour. Char knew she'd retraced her steps four or five or ten times. She should call it off, admit defeat. Jake wouldn't. He'd stay up here until she was satisfied.

She'd never be satisfied.

"
Tesla,
" Alice said. "I know it's here somewhere."

"Now that's a sentence," Jake said. "Very good, Alice."

Char stared at the same leafless manzanita she'd come across fifteen times today. "It's not going to happen." Jake put his arms around her. She laid her head against his chest and let the tears flow. "We're never going to find Sky." As she sobbed, Jake stroked her hair, and Alice patted her shoulder.

"It's so good to see you again."

The voice from the past sent a chill through Char's bones. Mike Augustine was no more than five yards away from them, standing beside a birch tree. His hair was brushed up with white-blond tips. His eyes were emerald green, and his enhanced muscles bulged against his shirt. Char's heart pounded and butterflies had a riot in her stomach.

"Jake, do you see that?"

"I do."

Char stepped away from Jake and approached the Empani. "Why are you here?"

He smiled. Mike's smile. "By Asherah's command. She takes pity on you. You will be allowed to see your sister. We will take you to her."

"Sky! Yes, take me. But …
we
? Why do you say
we
and not
I?"

"We are under Asherah's command in this. Your will is superseded."

"Show me where Sky is."

"We will not show you where she is, but we will take you to her. If you speak or let her see you, you will not be allowed to leave. If you wish to return here to these others, you must remain silent."

"Don't go, Char," Jake said. "It's too dangerous. What if he teleports you inside a rock -- or to hell, for that matter?"

"I have to go, Jake. Just as you had to go through the liminal gauntlet. You know I have to. I have to know what happened to Sky."

She walked over to the Empani. Mike. Mike, who had tried to kill her before she shoved him out an
airlock
.
Cripes, just say it, Meadowlark. You killed him.

He put his arms around her.

She was warm and standing in a dark hallway. Music drifted out from the lighted room ahead. Vivaldi. It looked like a science lab in there. So much plastic and steel.

The Mike Empani put his finger to his lips. His eyes had changed to Mike's natural hazel, and his hair was light brown with no bleached tips. His muscles were no longer enhanced. He motioned for Char to stay in place.

He entered the lighted room and said, "It's so good to see you again."

"Mike. You always say that, silly." Sky jumped up from a desk and put her arms around the Empani. They kissed passionately.

It was a long kiss. Mike or Empani, they were equally repulsive. One was a monster, and who knew what the other one was. But it wasn't the monster. It wasn't Mike. And her sister was happy, Char could see that.

"I've finished another section of the poem," Sky said. "Do you want to hear it?"

A voice in Char's head screamed,
Go! Go to her now!
But she believed the Empani. She knew Asherah would leave her down here without a thought. She fingered the half-heart pendant. She couldn't see if Sky was wearing hers.

The Empani Mike lifted the half heart on Sky's necklace. "You always wear this," he said. He had read Char's mind.

"And I always will," Sky said. "I'll never forget the memory of my sister."

Oh, Sky! All these years, Char had thought about her sister every day, almost every hour. She loved Sky. But she loved Jake, and life, too.

It hurt -- it hurt so much -- to see Sky and to not be able to talk to her. But it was also a relief. She could stop wondering. And Sky was alive.

The Empani looked up, and Char nodded.

"I will hear it in a minute. I forgot something," the Empani said to Sky. "I'll be right back."

Char felt a quick tug, and she was back on the surface. "Wait!" She needed to ask something.

The Empani waited.

"Why?" Char said. "Why are you keeping her down there? You could bring her up to me."

"Asherah has chosen Sky Meadowlark to transcribe her story. The human is happy. We will never leave her."

"I'll find her and bring her out."

"You will not."

"I'll never stop looking."

"You will fail."

The Empani was gone. Jake and Alice were waiting with the horses.

Durga had borrowed something to wear from the ashram. The cloth felt strange on her left shoulder and arm, but the hemp was soft and the tunic was comfortable. She tucked up her legs on her seat in the
Blackbird
.

The pug dog on her lap grumbled at being disturbed in her sleep. Khai had thought to ask for another one to take to Jordana.

"This champagne is excellent." Magda held her glass out to the
Blackbird
steward for a refill. "Prince Garrick has always had wonderful taste."

Once the deal had been struck for the runner, Prince Garrick had metamorphosed into the perfect host, though Durga couldn't forget his basic creepiness. He'd ordered the
Blackbird
completely restocked.

"Char isn't happy about us accepting the
Blackbird
." They were coming up on the south's western shore. In the Monster they'd still be in the northern hemisphere. "She thinks we betrayed Jake, handing over the runner."

"Char isn't happy, period. She can't decide if she's Sanguibahd's hydroponics consultant or the king of Allel's lover. Besides, she doesn't like Prince Garrick the way you don't like Geraldo."

"I don't like Prince Garrick either."

"I've tried to explain to you girls. In politics, if you want a friend, you should get a dog."

"It's an old saying, Matriarch." Khai returned from the galley and sat down beside Durga. "And a good one." At the sound of Khai's voice, the puppy woke instantly and moved over to his lap.

"Dogs don't like me," Durga said. "And I'm not a girl anymore."

Khai kissed her hand. His raised eyebrow indicated that he agreed. A stab of longing tore through her. She'd absorbed more from Jake in the liminal gauntlet than how to fly the orbital runner. Specific memories had disappeared, but some awareness remained -- like Jake's longing for Char, and his happiness with their lovemaking.

Durga was acutely aware of how much she wanted to be with Khai. The liminal gauntlet had given Jake a soul, but it had changed her too. It had shown her Jake's love for another human being -- and made her aware of the capacity in her own heart.

This was terrible.
Love is not part of the mission.

"What about you, Prince Khai?" Magda said. "Isn't your guest-host journey experiment about over with? Your people must be anxious to see you again."

Khai took Magda's needling with good grace. "You are correct, Matriarch. My airship is docked in Sanguibahd, waiting even now to take me back to Luxor."

Durga made her face into a mask. She didn't want to show how painful it was for her to hear this.

"But as Durga's birthday is tomorrow, and the soul ceremony is the day after that, I will delay my departure."

"Soul ceremony?" Durga said.

"
Hieros gamos.
Soul ceremony. Whatever you want to call it," Khai said. "I would offer myself as witness to a successful ritual, but I'm unable to see souls."

"Successful ritual." Magda refilled her glass. "
Soul ceremony.
I like that. In the sixth or seventh month of gestation, the scion will return to Sanguibahd for the
hieros gamos
. Make it a special event."

"Come to paradise for a sexual encounter beyond your wildest imagination," Durga said. "I don't think we'll have to work too hard to make it special."

"That's good." Khai squeezed Durga's hand. "And the cities won't want to rely on rogue priests to confirm the ceremony's success. The
hieros gamos
should take place in Corcovado."

"But?" Durga had heard
a
but
hidden in there somewhere.

"But another thing must change. There is a flaw in your system. The cities need assurance that the heir delivered to them is the heir they contracted for."

Magda opened her mouth to protest, but Durga stopped her with a look. Khai was right. The Versailles complaint had been justified. And a political animal thrived in Khai. He wouldn't have mentioned the problem if he didn't have a solution -- his solution -- ready. "You have something in mind."

"The Concord Cities have decided. Conception and delivery of the heirs must occur within city borders. The chalices must take residence in the contract city twice during a gestation. The conception residency will be from at least one month prior to conception until confirmation of gestation. The lying-in residency will be the last month of gestation until delivery."

"How dare you?" Magda said.

"I dare nothing, Matriarch, except to solve this problem. It's not Sanguibahd's problem alone, you will agree."

"But you did dare." Durga's heart sank. She pulled her hand away. "The Concord Cities? You've already formed your council when you let me think it was just an idea."
 

"It
was
only an idea. But at the meeting in Allel, in light of the Versailles complaint and the soul issue, we acted." The puppy barked, reacting to the tension. She scrambled up Khai's chest to lick his face.

"
You
acted." Durga was a mass of conflict. She hated Khai. Magda was right. How dare he presume to change the way they ran Sanguibahd? "I am the bridge to the goddess."
Shibadeh.
That sounded so weak.

"And that's what you remain, Emissary."

Emissary.
What had happened to
Durga
, to
my lady?

"You said it yourself. The world is becoming more complicated. Sanguibahd's province is the sacred. Let the Concord Cities take care of the mundane."

"The gods have forbidden democratic rule."

"A council of princes –"

"
–
 
isn't
a democracy." Where had she heard that? Khai was right.

Khai was right, and Magda was right. She agreed with everything he said, every change he wanted to implement. But he had gone behind her back.

"This was necessary, my lady." Khai took her hand again. His eyes pleaded for understanding, for acceptance.

She was used to being the absolute last word on any subject, and oftentimes the first word too. It
would
be a relief not to be the first word so much, to let a council of princes and kings deal with things like Garrick while she made changes in Sanguibahd.

"Did they make you president of the council?"

"They did."

"Well, I'm glad to see that they aren't stupid."

He raised her hand to his lips, and she allowed it.

The
Blackbird
landed on the tarmac it had always used in Sanguibahd. Durga appreciated Garrick's offer of the crew, but she'd have to interview each member to determine if they'd be fit citizens of Corcovado. She hoped the pilot would be.

As they entered the admin building, she realized she had no appointments. No demands. No obligations. At this moment, she was scheduled to be in Allel for the ongoing coronation activities.