Lily harper complete s.., p.256
lily harper - complete series, page 256
The screen started filming the ground. The way the mist-wisps were zipping past, I figured Mantis must be doing a dive-bomb. Then I worried he was planning something stupid like landing on Blondie’s perfectly quaffed hair. But Mantis yanked back the throttle when it reached the Lemurs. Blondie was flailing his arms around so I assuminated he was addressorizing his underwearlings. I wished as hard as I did on my birthday that the mics on our phones could pick up his voice even from that far away.
“Tilt yourself downward a trifle more,” Poly said into the phone. Even though my part-time bow did just that, I wondered why Poly was bothering when the view remained the same. Then she hit a button on the phone and the pic zoomed in.
“You know, there’s a video of this chick on OnlyFans where that would have come in pretty handy,” I whispered.
Poly made a disgusted noise in her throat and pointed at another spot on the screen. I had to squint but I could see some guys in white coats carrying a couple of buckets.
“Our sisters’ blood,” Sally breathed. “Stay on the buckets, Mantis.”
While my little pal did as he was told, I asked, “How’d you know that was the same stuff?”
“The viscosity of it,” she told me. “Poly believed it had something to do with the nectar and ambrosia we consumed on the regular.” Poly must have looked gobsmacked because Sally added, “What? Just because Urania bored the hell out of me with her lectures doesn’t mean I failed to pay attention.”
“You never cease to surprise me, sister,” Poly said with a real appreciation.
“Speaking of surprises…” I said, pointing my appendix finger at the screen.
The white coats were hastily uncapping a spot on what looked like a wall where they emptied their buckets. From Mantis’s location, I could hear the liquid falling into a tank inside the wall.
Then we heard a big groan. I was wondering why it sounded so loud through the phone until I realized it was directly above our heads. Following it came a sound similar to fingernails scraping a chalkboard but much worser. Poly gasped and pointed right up to where the noise was coming from… Big Bronze’s head!
Then Bronze Man managed to shift a few inches closer to the portal that Poly IDed before everything calmed down and got quiet again. At least, on our end it did. On the other end of the phone line, Blondie was pee-issed.
“This is unacceptable!” Blondie roared loud enough to make our ears ring. “I was assured that Talos would be operational by this juncture!”
White Coat #1 said something that the mic couldn’t pick up. Then Blondie yanked him off the ground and brought him close to his face, indicating he didn’t like what White Coat #1 said.
“Either you make this automaton fully functional or I will find someone who can.” He all but threw White Coat #1 back on the ground before motioning to his beetle-guards to follow him.
“Even for Blondie, that was clearly off the chain, yo,” I said.
“Frightened people can be so cruel,” Poly said. “The success of Talos’s revival goes well beyond mere ambition, I fear.”
“Makes me glad they haven’t quite figured it out yet,” Sally said while Mantis tracked Blondie’s posse of guards away from the white coats.
“That makes three of us,” I said. “Doesn’t look like he’s coming back this way.”
“It may behoove us to follow him further,” Poly said.
“Or maybe we should try ta get a better look at that portal,” I suggested. “Don’tcha want to know what could be so big and bad that they’d decide to brush the mothballs off Bronze Man?”
Poly looked a little reluctant as she asked Sal, “The effective transmission range of the phone is 1.5 kilometers, is that correct?”
“1.65, sis,” Sally answered. “And I’m pretty sure our mystery door is a lot closer than that.”
Poly put a hand on me and nodded for me to give my pal an order. So, I leaned into the phone and said, “Head towards the Big Zero there, Mantis. We need to see what’s inside it.”
When the screen flipped up to the big, metal hole, I felt a little crummy. My pal, Mantis was taking all the risk just so we could see a little more. But it was pretty important, or I wouldn’t have asked the favor. I just hoped nobody noticed the little guy.
I shivered when the flappicating of wings sounded closer. But the shivers settled down when the wings flew past Mantis. The whole time, the oversized washer onscreen kept getting bigger and bigger. The scale of this sucker made me wonder if Big Bronze was s’posed to step through it after he got fueled up. But what really got my attention was the clouds inside the circle. They looked a lot different than the clouds in the Kingdom, all dark and murky like a heavy metal album cover.
When Mantis got closer, I could make out some lights. Like the kind you see from an airplane before it lands in a good-sized city.
“That can’t be the mortal world,” Sally sighed over my shoulder.
“Unless Alaire has remodeled it in our absence,” Poly said.
“Nuh-uh, ladies,” I muttered. “I’d know that skyline anywhere! We’re looking at Dis.”
Poly took in a deep breath. “Great Gaia, protect us if that is so.”
“He’s right, sis,” Sally said. “See that row of lights on the right? It’s Alaire’s home tower.”
I felt like kicking my own ass for not seeing it first. “Good eye there, Sal.”
“Not as good as yours, Billy. Once you said it was Dis, it was easy to identify it.”
The whole time, Mantis kept floating closer and closer. Poly all but leaned on my shoulder. “Do some of the lights of the city seem absent to either of you?”
I squinted at the screen. “Y’know, I think you’re right, Poly. There oughtta be some over—”
That’s when I saw it. Even with the shitty phone cam, there was no way anyone could miss that big, black tendricle snaking its way across the lights and snuffling them out. It hadn’t punched its way past Blondie’s tower yet but it was just a matter of time.
Then loud squeaking came through the mic. Bronze Age kept twisting his head, which was annoying. But the new sound was terrifying. I could only imaginate a series of blades slicing their way through metal and flesh. No wonder Blondie was so scared-ified out of his mind. He needed Tall, Bronze and Heavy and FAST! Looked like it wouldn’t be long before the Forsaken swept over his little tower.
EIGHT
Tallis
That slimy manager o’ Besom’s must have thought he was being slick, trying to inch his hand closer to the shiny red button on the underside of the table.
But he stopped short when me blade grazed his wrist. “If ye’d like ta keep yer hand,” I growled, “ye’d best be backin’ away from the table now, aye?”
Walter Hunt’s eyes hadn’t stopped darting around since we revealed ourselves. “Who are you people?” he asked in outrage. “What are you doing here?” I respected him when he spoke without fear in his voice.
“Why don’t you do the honors, Streethorn?” me woman growled, bringing her own blade dangerously close to the man’s throat. “We both know how much you love to talk.”
Hunt scoffed and twisted his lips upward to scowl. What me dear Lily knew about this man, he’d had plenty of occasions to learn himself.
“I… is this still about those Soul Retriever assignments I sent you on?” Streethorn asked, trying hard not to lick his lips, thus revealing his fright. “I—I can a—assure you that—”
“Still the miserable, little lackey, aren’t you, Jason?” Annice said with a derisive laugh. “I’d feel sorry for you if I could ignore my contempt.”
The creak of a bowstring told me that Mehta was drawing a bead on Streethorn. “Well, I could use some target practice right now. I still have to decide whether I prefer that target standing still or on the move.”
“How long have you been Alaire’s man?” Besom snarled, poking the point of her blade a little deeper. A trickle of blood dribbled down his neck.
“I w—work for the company!” Streethorn protested. “I’m nobody’s man!”
Besom pushed him back against the wall with her blade. “Then why did you shove me headfirst into Persephone’s little soul prison? Because I proved myself a good host for Alaire to play with?”
I’d seen this lovely woman angry a number of times but never like this. Nor could I blame her. That assignment forced us into the depths of the Underground City, pushing us all to our absolute limits. While the Harpies helped her out of Alaire’s fortress, Bill bailed me Scottish arse out of the Asylum. The scars on her soul from all that confinement and abuse demanded a reckoning.
“Please! Please, Lily!” the toady begged. “Please listen to reason!”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t send you to Shade or, worse, the Underground City, itself,” Besom replied, only inches from his face. Then she turned to me. “Can you think of any?”
“Nary a one,” I admitted. “When it coomes ta traitors, Ah’d say Ah’ve made me feelin’s clear enough.”
When her eyes fell on her aunt, Annice said, “You’re not the first he led down the wrong path, Lily.”
Mehta’s smile reminded me of a skull I once pulled from the ashes of a burnt building. “Just say the word, and I’ll take the shot.”
To me surprise, she looked over at Hunt, who crossed his arms and fixed her with a stern look. “It’s no concern of mine, young lady. Do as you will.”
Something about his answer made her expression change. At first, her eyes were ablaze with righteous fury. Now they seemed less clear, confused even. Streethorn appeared relieved as the blade came off his neck. Then she whipped it back around, and his mouth dropped open in a vain cry. It was cut short when the blade’s broad side whacked into the side of his fool skull. With a momentary squeak and a low groan, he fell to the floor unconscious. His heavy snoring made him even more irritating than before, which I did not think possible.
Hunt uncrossed his arms and looked between me love and her old boss in surprise. “Why didn’t you do it? The rest of your friends wanted you to deliver the final blow.”
“When you said it was no concern to you,” Lily replied, “I realized that nothing I could inflict upon him could ever undo the harm he caused me. So, what’s the point?”
Mehta hummed thoughtfully as she lowered her bow and lessened the grip on its string. “I would have still liked to shoot him.”
“That, madame, I do not doubt,” Hunt replied, pulling himself up to his full height. “Would I be correct in saying you are not associated with the people that Mr. Streethorn works for?”
“There was a time when he mighta been workin’ fer me,” I replied. “Are ye the man responsible fer turnin’ all them souls outside inta rock?”
“To my everlasting shame, sir, yes,” Hunt confirmed. “Ever since my master, Hephaestus, was sent below as a tribute and gift to unscrupulous parties, I have been a puppet of these monsters.”
Besom’s eyes lit up once again but this time, with warmth. “You studied under Hephaestus?”
“You speak as though you’re acquainted with the God of Blacksmiths,” Hunt said with more than a little surprise.
“We set him free in New Botany Bay. And derailed another of Alaire’s schemes in the process.”
“It’s extremely rare for Olympus’s greatest artisan to take on a new apprentice,” Besom’s aunt said, her eyes examining this unassuming man with skepticism. “He reserves such honors for only the most talented mortal souls.”
“Such were his words upon taking me under his wing,” Hunt affirmed. “He saw the things I crafted upon Earth and wished to refine my skills for my next incarnation.”
“What sort o’ things?” I asked.
“A sewing machine, a wheat thresher… both, mind you, were years before other men stepped into the breach I did not cross. The safety pin was my sole lasting contribution to the human race.”
“You must have been quite a successful man,” Annice said.
“No,” Hunt answered, shaking his head. “I lived in poverty and died in it, working on a diving apparatus while sitting at my table. My entire life was nothing but a waste.” He looked at us with pleading eyes. “Do any of you know what it is to be irrelevant and not to matter?”
The force of the man’s anguish was enough to keep us all quiet for a moment. Then Besom said, “Yes.” And the force of that word was enough that I could see her past still haunted her.
Hunt looked at her with new appreciation. “It seems one of you does know something of my predicament, then.”
“And yet, you’re creating weapons for a tyrant who wants to command the whole afterlife,” Lily noted.
“You speak as though I had a choice in the matter,” he said with anger. “When Master Hephaestus refused to make a certain kind of fuel, he was exiled to the foot of Mount Purgatory. I had no choice but to follow orders. And now, if I refuse…” He stopped short and cleared his throat to staunch the tears that filled his eyes. “I always suffered great shame because I failed miserably to provide for my family while we all still breathed. They deserve so much better than suffering an eternity in Shade.”
“In life or death,” Annice observed, “family never stops being important.”
As Hunt lowered his head, I followed his gaze on the table. That’s when I realized that the parts were far more worn than they seemed at first glance. While me grasp of machinery was a match for the stookie angel’s, I could see they were made from bronze. “These pieces,” I said, gesturing towards the bits in front of Hunt, “did they coome from another machine first?”
“Talos,” Lily suddenly announced. I didn’t understand why she said that until I saw her looking down at her phone. She held it up for the rest of us to see. A picture of a great bronze giant, his head topped with a Grecian helmet, was visible through thick patches of clouds.
“Master Hephaestus was charged with Talos’s restoration to full working order,” Hunt confirmed. “But although he was willing to replace the giant’s insides, he adamantly refused to provide the fuel.”
“That’s when you stepped in,” Mehta said with inaccuracy.
“Actually, that’s when Herr Doctor Von Braun did,” Hunt said contemptively. “As if he knew anything beyond his precious rockets! Giving him this problem was as sensible as telling a carpenter to do a stone mason’s work.”
Lily put her phone back in her pocket and asked, “So… were you the one who came up with Muse blood as the solution?”
“Absolutely not!” Hunt said with indignance and outrage. “All I knew was the mixture of nectar, ambrosia and blood could potentially give Talos new life. The sheer barbarity of violating those graceful ladies as the source was that damned Kraut’s inspiration.” And I thought he was angry before!
“Look,” Lily said, “I know you want to protect your family but using a weapon on the Kingdom is just—”
“It was never designed for the Kingdom!” Hunt thundered and then sighed as he added, “At least, that’s what I was told. It was intended to fight the Forsaken.”
“How’s tha’?” I asked.
Hunt took a deep breath before further explaining, “The plan was to freeze the Forsaken in its tracks with the Medusa blast so that Von Braun’s favorite toys could reduce it to rubble.”
“Except Alaire triggered it early because he saw a chance ta wipe out all o’ his enemies here,” I said.
Hunt looked at me. “Sounds as though you are well-acquainted with the gentleman,” he observed.
“Well enough ta say he’s nae gentleman.”
“Talos has to be part of this defense strategy,” Lily said. “He’ll keep the Forsaken busy and give the Medusa machine enough time to charge up.”
“Such was my reasoning as well,” Hunt agreed on another sigh. “Whatever the Forsaken truly is, it can move faster than that petrification engine can respond.”
As the previous events became clearer, I couldn’t help but marvel at Alaire’s stupidity. Whatever rivals he had didn’t hold a candle to the Forsaken. Yet, like a fool, he’d made the grand mistake of wiping them all out, rendering the Kingdom less prepared and even weaker for the horror that was inevitably coming. I used to think only Besom could inspire him to lose his head so completely. What could have made him take such a reckless leave of his senses here?
“What about this?” Lily asked, holding up her phone again. “Is that also yours?”
When Hunt nodded, she turned her phone once more to show us a new picture. This one featured a great metal wheel roughly the size of Talos. The darker clouds within appeared to be a place far from the Kingdom itself.
“Please,” Hunt said. “You all need to leave before Streethorn’s new boss comes back.”
“You could accompany us,” Besom said. “In fact, after all that’s happened, it might be best if…”
“Unless you can guarantee my family’s safety, I shall do no such thing,” Hunt replied.
“Don’t be daft, man,” I rumbled. “Any promises Alaire made ta ye, save fer his punishments, he’s nae intention o’ keepin’.”
“Don’t you want your afterlife to matter?” Besom added. “If you can’t leave, at least try to help us.”
Hunt pursed his lips in deep thought but finally nodded. “Are you thinking of some way to reverse the petrification effect?”
“Yes! Specifically for an angel,” Besom added. “There’s one out in the courtyard who really needs it.”
The mention of an angel brought new life to the man. “That does change things.” He quickly grabbed some paper and did a fast sketch of the machinery we’d passed. “The key to undoing its effect is by pulling back the energy inside Medusa’s head. However, doing so might reactivate the machine and petrify anyone caught within the blast radius.”
“Is there any way we can prevent that?” Annice asked.
“Simply move this gear here…” Hunt marked the part, “and detach this one…” He outlined the junction between the gears. “That should buy you enough time,” he finished as he handed me beloved the schematics of the plan.
