The Baba Yaga (33 page)

K
INSELLA LAID HIS
hands, palm down, flat upon his knees, so that Larsen could see that he wasn’t going to try anything. If she was a traitor, and if she was responsible at all for Andrei’s death, then she was more calculating and more dangerous than he had ever guessed. Or perhaps it wasn’t her. Perhaps Delia had been the instigator, and Larsen was now caught in a bind...Softly, he said, “I can see you’ve been spending time in Walker’s company.”

From beyond the trees there was a blood-curdling scream.

“You’re the one that’s brought crimopaths after us,” hissed Larsen. “That’s what they are, isn’t it? Crimopaths?”

“I’m not going to deny it,” said Kinsella.

“I thought you’d seen enough of what they could do. I know I did. Cleaned up afterwards. That’s what doctors have to do, you know. Clean up after the mess left by other people—”

“I didn’t bring them!” Kinsella shot back, and had to wonder why it mattered to him that Larsen did not have a bad opinion of him.

“We never wanted to see anything like that ever again.”

“It wasn’t me! What do you think I am? It was Conway!”

“Who the hell is Conway?”

“She’s Grant’s person. Or she was. Your people killed her. She was the only thing keeping those damned animals on their leash, and now you’ve let them loose.”

The cries from the crimopaths’ victim came again. Cries for mercy, and for pity.

“You didn’t have to come with them, Mark. You didn’t have to bring them after us!”

“Do you think I had a
choice
?” He could feel her, tense and angry behind him, her knuckles white around the shaft of the knife. “Jesus, Kay, will you put that damn thing down? I’m not your enemy! You and Delia—you were the ones that ran! And then Andrei’s fucking corpse turned up!”

“If you think we were responsible for that, you’re more of an idiot than I ever gave you credit for.”

“I’m flattered—”

“You need to listen to me, Mark. There’s much more at stake here than you know about. Listen to me. The portal on Braun’s World was faked. It was an excuse for Grant and her people to depose Andrei and Delia. They murdered millions to cover up their secret, and they’re still murdering to cover it up. That’s why they’ve come after me. And you’ve swallowed everything they’ve told you, haven’t you? You were ready to believe that Delia and I were capable of murdering Andrei rather than thinking that we might have reason to leave. Christ, Mark, she’s having your baby!”

Kinsella sat for a while. Snippets of poetry and bits of songs. Witty responses in arguments long lost. “Do you have any proof?” he said, at last.

“Do I have
proof?
They’ve sent crimopaths after us! But, yes, I do have proof. I did have proof. One of the people who travelled with us has it all on datapin.”

“And where is she now? She’s not up ahead, is she?” Cold washed through him. “They’re going to catch up with them, you know. Whoever you sent off up that pass. It’s only a matter of time.”

“No, she’s not up there. She’s heading back towards the settlement. She’s going to try to get the message out.”

“Back to the
settlement?
” Kinsella frowned “There’s another pair of crimopaths heading that way.”

“We know. We’ve sent her to warn them—”

“And does she know that they’ve been instructed to wipe out the settlement? They’ll blast her and her proof to oblivion.”

Larsen didn’t reply at once. Then she said, “Are you on our side now, Mark?”

“What? I’ve always been on your side! Or you’ve been on mine—”

“Be careful what you say next.”

“Look, I’m not on the side of mass-murdering crimopaths and the mass-murdering bastards that send them. Will that do?”

She sighed. “I guess it’s going to have to. You’re still a shit, though. The things you said to Delia—”

“I know,” he said. “But she said some pretty foul things too, you know—”

“Stop now,” Larsen advised.

“All right, I’ll stop. So will you put the knife down now, Kay?”

He watched as her death-grip on the handle relaxed slightly, and then she pulled her hand back. “Don’t move,” she said. “I’ve still got this thing ready.”

“I won’t move until you tell me.” And he didn’t, but stayed sitting on the ground while she scooted round to sit down facing him. She looked older; tired and worried. He was conscious, suddenly, of the sacrifice she had made, throwing away her old life to run from danger into danger. He felt he owed her an apology, but he wasn’t sure how to offer it, and he wasn’t sure how well it would go down.

“All right,” she said. “What do we do next?”

“We came here by ground vehicle,” said Kinsella. “It’s back on the other side of the river.” They could hear low moaning coming from beyond the trees. “I think we should take it while those bastards are busy.”

“I think I agree with you,” said Larsen. “Then what?”

“Who’s with Delia?”

“Someone else from the settlement. A priest called Heyes.”

“I’ve heard of Heyes.” He shivered to think of the ruin of the church and the tortured old woman that the crimopaths had left behind. That he had stood by and allowed... “Where are they going?”

“There’s a Weird portal up in them there mountains, Mark. Helping everyone here live in peace and harmony.”

He laughed to himself, softly. “So she was right along.”

“Of course she was.”

“And are they armed? Delia and her party?”

“They’ve got a couple of weapons between them.”

He thought for a while. “No point going after her,” he said, eventually.

“I’ll make sure I mention that if we see her again.”

“I hope she’ll take it as the compliment it’s meant to be. Delia has to take her own chances now. But we have to make sure that the information about Braun’s World gets through. Which means getting back to our ship as quickly as we can. We’ve one point in our favour, there.”

“Which is?”

He gave a grim smile. “They like to take their time about things.”

Larsen nodded, and then, suddenly, she gave a dreadful gasp of pain and rolled onto the ground, clutching her leg.

“Kay? What is it?” He reached out for her, tenderly. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay!” she snapped back. “But I’m bloody glad you changed your mind when you did. I’ve got horrible cramp.”

L
ONG BEFORE DAWN,
Maria left the settlement. Failt had insisted on coming with her, and it was this, more than any appeal that Maria could have made on her own account, that meant that she was loaned the old lorry. The great old bulk of the
Baba Yaga
loomed large in the desert, and Maria was glad to see it. She helped Failt down, and up through the hatch, and then they scooted through the deserted ship to the cockpit.

Failt hopped up into the pilot’s sling, as if he was born to it. “Watched him close,” he said. “You keep an eye on someone wants to space you. Soon get this message sent, Mama Maria.”

Maria sighed. “I almost wonder if it matters, Failt.”

“What?” His big eyes stared back at her. “Course it matters! What are you saying now?”

“I mean... I don’t know what people will do when they hear our story. Perhaps they’ll ignore it.”

Failt was shocked. “They can’t ignore it!”

“Some evils are too big,” Maria said. “People can’t admit to them. They stare them in the face and deny they exist.”

Failt thought about this for a while. “Still,” he said, “we have to try.”

I
T WAS NEAR
dawn when Walker, Heyes, and Feuerstein reached the mouth of the cave that contained the portal. Feuerstein put out her hand. “I’ll take the weapon now, please,” she said.

“I don’t think so,” said Walker.

“I think it will be best,” insisted Feuerstein, quietly. “People are still following us and they are gaining on us. I intend to remain here, to slow their progress.”

With a sigh, Walker handed over her weapon. “You aren’t a match for them.”

“That’s my business,” said Feuerstein. “Your business is in there.”

“I’m grateful,” said Walker.

Feuerstein nodded. “Let’s hope it’s worth everything we’ve given.”

Bending their heads, Walker and Heyes went through the narrow entrance to the cave. Inside, the roof opened up a little so that they were able stand up again. They were in a passageway into the mountainside.

“Guess we go that way,” Walker whispered.

“Guess so,” Heyes whispered back. “Funny that we’re whispering.”

“Funny?” whispered Walker.

“Like we’re in a cathedral.”

Walker grunted, and started to move on. Heyes followed. The passage was too narrow for them to walk side-by-side, and Walker was grateful she had never been troubled by claustrophobia. After about five minutes’ slow progress, the passage opened out into a huge cavern. Walker took a few steps inside and halted. There, falling away in front of her feet, was the portal.

It lay inside a great chasm plunging deep into the earth. Through it could be seen what looked like a huge sea, a great grey ocean swirling and twisting around. Little bulges of purple, like blood clots, rose up and down, coagulating and dissipating and then reforming. Walker stuffed her hand into her mouth and steadied her stomach. Left to grow, she guessed, they would become Sleer, the human-shaped bodies that the Weird had used, on other worlds, to murder humans and Vetch alike.

Heyes, coming out of the passageway, saw the portal and staggered forwards. Walker, grabbing her arm, pulled her back. “Christ, Heyes, now’s not the time to start genuflecting!”

“Oh, Jesus,” whispered the priest. Her hands were pressed against her forehead. “Oh, sweet Mother of Mercy, I can
hear
them!” She turned to look at Walker. Her eyes were wet with tears. “Yes,” she whispered, “Yes, I can hear you! I can see you! The whole of creation!” And then she spoke no more.

D
AWN WAS APPROACHING
as Kinsella and Larsen reached the
White Horseman
. Kinsella drove the ground vehicle back into the hold and soon the ship was in flight, heading towards the settlement.

He and Larsen had not spoken much on the way back. So much still hung between them. But as the settlement came into view, Larsen said, “She really is pregnant, you know.”

“What?”

“Delia. She didn’t lie.”

Kinsella felt sick to his stomach. “I regretted that almost as soon as I said it.”

“I’m glad,” said Larsen. “I didn’t make the same choice as Delia, and I would make the same choice again, but she didn’t deserve excoriation.”

Kinsella turned to her. “I didn’t know,” he said. “Kay, I had no idea.”

She gave him a wry smile. “Well, it was my business, really, wasn’t it? Like I said, I wouldn’t change anything. Not even this.”

The crimopaths had seen the ship. They watched as they turned the ground weapons their way.

“Still,” she said, “I would have liked to have been there for Delia, when the time came.”

And then everyone opened fire.

H
EYES REACHED OUT
to grasp Walker’s hand.
Listen
, she said. But her mouth wasn’t moving.

“Heyes?” Walker took a step back. “What the hell’s going on?”

What do you think?
The priest’s voice was as tetchy as ever.
For pity’s sake, Walker, use that brain of yours!

“You couldn’t speak to me directly before, could you?”

Of course not! The Weird are amplifying my powers... Dear God. It’s like having a whole candlelight procession march through your brain... Yes, all right, I’ll let you speak to her!

“That wasn’t to me, was it?” said Walker.

No. Listen, Walker. They’re going to speak to you now...

Walker felt the priest’s hand began to shiver within hers. Her eyes went glassy.

Walker
.

“I’m here,” she said. “I want to talk.”

Don’t talk. Listen. We have been we are we will be watching. We see you and we hear you. We are part of the whole we are separate.

Walker thought quickly. Was this what Feuerstein had meant when she talked about a split in the Weird? In the Bureau, they believed that the Weird had a mother-mind, a controlling central intelligence. But this Weird was different. Part of the whole, but separate.

We are part of the whole we are separate we see this in you too you two.

Well, what the hell did that mean? Did they know about the factions within the Bureau? Did they know that she and Larsen were on the run? Walker’s spook-mind began running through the ramifications of that: where their influence must be; who their people must be within the Bureau...

“Walker,” said Heyes sharply. “Stop that. None of that matters now. Listen.”

She is part of you she is different she is part of the whole she is separate.

“Oh,” breathed Walker. “You mean the baby.”

“Yes,” said Heyes. “They mean the baby.”

She grew she is growing she will grow she is part of you she will be separate she will be part of the whole but separate. Be part of the whole be separate be part of the whole be separate...

“Yes, all right, I’m pregnant—but that’s not what I’m here to talk about—”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Walker, stop being so bloody obtuse!”

Be part of the whole be separate be part of the whole be separate be part—

The voice in her head stopped, suddenly. Heyes had withdrawn her hand. “Sorry,” she said. “Too much. Couldn’t go on any longer.”

“Heyes!” Walker grabbed her hand. “You can’t stop now! We’ve barely started! They wanted something from me. I need to know what they want!”

“Oh, Delia,” said the priest sorrowfully. “Do you really not know?”

“‘Be part of the whole be separate.’ But what does that
mean?
”

“They’re a shared mind, Walker. They see you and the baby, symbiotic but growing apart. Separating. They want to find out more.”

“So give me your hand and I’ll tell them.”

Heyes shook her head. “They want more than that.” She looked into the swirl of the portal. “They want you to go to them.”