Buch lesen: «The Vagrant and the City»

The Vagrant and the City

The man wakes before the dawn, his body still, his eyes restless. He has been many things: a squire, a vagrant, the bearer of Gamma’s sword, and now he is none of them. He has surpassed the role of squire, found a home, and his daughter, Vesper, bears the Malice more comfortably than he ever did.

For a while, she and the other senior people of the Shining City debated how best to use him and what he should be called:

The Knight Commander wants to put him back in the field, winning glory for the Empire of the Winged Eye. The Knight Commander does not mention that he finds the man difficult and intimidating, merely noting that such experience of the wider world is best put to use somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away.

Obeisance wishes to make the man into a symbol, an inspiration for the citizens of the Shining City. An icon herself, and voice of The Seven, she accepts that this will take time, a lot of work, and more than a little surgical intervention. But if the man must be broken a little first before reforging, she reasons, it is a small price to pay.

Vesper says he should be given space to find his own role within the Empire. She says that she needs him around, but not exactly where. That she needs his help, but only in general terms.

Vesper has good intentions. The others listen to her and agree, assuming that, in this matter, she knows best.

This is a mistake.

They call him their champion, in honour of his past deeds. But he does not look like one, and little pride manifests in his gait and posture.

Vesper’s time and attention is absorbed in the business of keeping the Empire afloat whilst, fundamentally, trying to change it. Soon, she is submerged in her own tasks, too busy to notice her father drifting about, aimless, useless …

He sees less and less of Vesper. Her visits to the farm are sporadic and all too brief in duration, a mirror for the time he spends in the Shining City. A month becomes two, becomes six, a year. A year becomes five, each morning the same: waking before the dawn, restless.

He gets up with whichever of the suns is first to rise and wanders among the nearby hills, watched by scores of goats, who wearily blink at the man, unconvinced of the need to hurry.

Always, the morning circuit ends at the smaller building next to the main house, and an encounter with the goat. She is old now but makes up for her lack of energy with bile and persistence.

On this morning, it pays off. The man’s amber eyes are preoccupied, and he does not remove his hand fast enough.

Jaws, toothless, clamp around a finger, the bony gums shockingly hard. With a start, the man yanks his hand free, shaking it vigorously before sucking at the wound.

He glares at the goat.

The goat glares back, but only briefly. Satisfied that her work is done, she settles to sleep and happy dreams.

The man returns to the house, his mood set for the day.

Voices from the kitchen make him pause. They belong to the strays he and his daughter once found and brought here and made family; Harm, his companion, and Jem, hers.

Usually, the man would go into the kitchen and prepare some breakfast. Usually it is the lure of food that brings them from their beds. Today he can smell something cooking already, sharp-scented herbs, unfamiliar …

He enters the room, nostrils wrinkling.

Jem stands at the worktop, busy. Since living here, a good diet, a lack of stress, and a tendency to idleness have changed him from skinny youth to stocky man. Whatever he is saying is cut off mid-sentence.

From his usual seat, Harm smiles at him. ‘Morning.’

The man nods and walks over. He sees Harm is wearing a necklace, silver, with interlinked letters spelling out a message of love. It is a gift from Vesper, one that Harm wears only on special occasions.

The man frowns.

Though he has said nothing, Harm tilts his head, reading meaning in the silence. ‘There’s nothing to worry about. Actually, we’ve got good news. Vesper’s coming home.’

Jem turns from his work to smile agreement, but the gesture is too quick, feral teeth darting in and out of view, turning reassurance into challenge.

While Vesper’s return usually provokes joy in the man, his frown remains, a stain, stubborn, marring his scarred face.

Jem’s answering chuckle is almost triumphant.

‘I’ve only just found out about it myself,’ says Harm in a harder voice than usual, and Jem manages to look briefly guilty. ‘Anyway, I’ve made up her bed but I’ll need your help getting some things out of the storeroom. I tried going in myself but it was hopeless, far too much clutter. You know, if you’d organize things in there, like I asked you to, I’d be able to learn my way around.’

The man raises his hands, apologetic.

‘I’d help,’ adds Jem, ‘but she’ll be hungry when she gets here and there’s lots to prepare.’

‘There was a very specific list apparently,’ adds Harm.

The man looks from Jem to Harm and back again, but gets no further explanation. Grudgingly, he allows himself to be put to work.

Surfaces are cleaned, then cleaned again. Tools are returned to their proper homes. Half-finished projects that have languished randomly, like scuffed ornamentation, are cleared away. And Jem presents a list of things that need fixing: from protruding floorboards, to doors grown stiff with age.

Whenever the man’s frown returns, or he stops to think, Jem finds another thing that needs doing, another deficiency of the house.

Soon, the suns swirl directly overhead, and all three men are sweating from their labours.

In the cloudless sky it is easy to see the black dot approaching from the direction of the Shining City. The man puts down his tools and shields his eyes to watch.

The dot becomes a shape of metal, glinting red and gold in the sunslight, two streamers trailing behind. Closer it gets, until it has resolved itself into a sky-ship, gleaming wings rotating to make engines vertical, allowing a swift descent.

Dust plumes and goats clear the area, shouting at each other as they go. As the sky-ship touches the earth, Harm emerges from the house, one hand brushing the doorway, then reaching out across empty air until it finds the reassuring shape of his companion’s arm. Jem follows, smoothing creases from his top, nervous.

The three wait as the sky-ship’s engines quieten and the frame comes to a shuddering stop. There is a pause and then a pop as the hatch yawns open. After another pause a bright red mop of hair appears, attached to a man in a simple black uniform, the symbol of the Winged Eye flashing bright at his collar. His name is Genner and he is one of the Lenses, a network of spies that watch for the Empire, keeping track of allies and enemies alike.

Genner is joined by a group of four squires who, under his direction, assist Vesper out of the hatch.

The man’s face creases in worry as he watches the squires move with unusual delicacy.

‘What is it?’ asks Harm. ‘I can feel the tension in you.’

The man shrugs, leaning forward to try and get a better view.

Despite her protests, the group bring Vesper down the ramp as if she were made of glass.

The man starts down the hill towards them, pulling Harm along for the ride. Jem has already started moving.

As the two groups come together, details can be discerned. She wears Gamma’s winged sword on her back, but is dressed strangely, her clothes loose and flowing. The man checks Vesper’s face. It is fuller, rounder, flushed but not feverish. There are no signs of fresh injuries, no bandages or dressings visible, but she moves slowly, as if tired.

His visual examination comes to an abrupt stop as he takes in the distinctive curve of her belly.

The man’s mouth falls open.

Jem takes a hesitant step, wanting to move closer but staying away, unwilling to approach the squires. Despite the distance, he and Vesper share a conspiratorial moment.

The man clocks it, and takes a deep, shuddering breath.

Harm squeezes his arm, asking for a second time, ‘What is it?’

Vesper raises a hand and gives a smile, sheepish. ‘Hi.’

‘Hello Vesper,’ replies Harm. ‘Why do I have the impression you’ve got some news?’

‘Can we go inside first, Uncle?’ says Vesper. ‘I’d much rather tell you about it when we’re all sat down.’

*

Genner and the squires remain outside, but they do not leave. Every time Vesper’s father goes to the window and glances out he sees the sky-ship, powered down, waiting.

Vesper has been given Harm’s chair, her swollen ankles propped up. Mutigel cushions are squished behind her back, shaping themselves, supportive, to the contours of her body. A warm drink sits waiting for her on the table, along with the sword which, for the moment, sleeps, its eye shut, content. Despite repeated claims that the fuss is unnecessary, she does reward them all with a grateful smile.

‘Can I get you anything?’ asks Jem. He has taken up a post alongside Vesper, forcing Harm and her father to the other side of the kitchen.

‘Something to eat would be great.’

He quickly returns with a steaming bowl.

Vesper sniffs it. ‘Something else?’ she says before noticing Jem’s face. ‘Sorry.’

‘But it’s what you asked for.’

‘I know, I know. But now it’s here I—’

‘It’s fine,’ he says, cutting her off, and goes to collect a second dish.

The man watches Jem from the window with narrowed eyes as he returns to Vesper’s side with a new offering.

‘This is much better,’ says Vesper, taking the plate. ‘Really.’

Harm waits until he judges she has eaten half of it and had time to enjoy her drink before clearing his throat.

‘Yes,’ mumbles Vesper through a mouthful of food. ‘Well. I’m pregnant. Very pregnant, actually. I’m due in about twelve days.’

‘Congratulations,’ says Harm. ‘Is it a live father?’

‘I’m the father!’ exclaims Jem, unaware of amber eyes boring into the back of his skull.

Vesper reaches up and takes his hand. ‘Jem’s the father,’ she confirms.

‘We’re happy for you,’ says Harm, giving Vesper’s father a nudge. ‘Both of us. And we’re shocked. Why all this secrecy?’

Jem looks away. Vesper watches the steam waft from her cup. ‘I was going to tell you. I was. And I asked Jem to wait so I could be there when you found out. It just never seemed like the right time, and then things at the Shining City needed my attention and before I knew it …’ she looks down at her belly. ‘Boom! And here we are.’

Vesper’s father shakes his head.

‘It’s not all my fault,’ she retorts. ‘If you’d been at the Shining City like you were supposed to be instead of hiding here, you’d have known months ago.’ Anger builds in her voice as she continues, ‘You said you were going to help me. You promised. But when I looked for you, you weren’t there.’

Now it is her father’s turn to look away.

‘I’ve managed to persuade Obeisance that I can have the baby here and believe me that was difficult. It was bad enough explaining that I didn’t want it grown in a tube. But that means I’m going to be out of action longer, and there are things that can’t wait. Things that –’ she clenches a fist ‘– I’d happily deal with myself if my body wasn’t doing –’ the fist opens again to wave, vague and frustrated, ‘– what it’s doing. So I’m going to hold you to that promise.’

There is a moment of silence, awkward, broken by Jem.

‘It’s so unfair! I’m trapped here, Harm’s trapped here. But you can go anywhere you like.’ Jem raises a finger. ‘I’d give anything to be with Vesper and you can’t even be bothered—’

Amber eyes snap up, silencing. With another shake of his head, Vesper’s father turns away, striding towards the front door.

Jem glares after him. ‘Oh yes,’ he hisses when he considers the distance safe. ‘Walk away. You’re good at abandoning people, aren’t you?’

From further away the man hears Vesper calling for him to come back, then Harm’s voice, trying to soothe the situation. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. I’ll talk to him …’

All the words reach his ears, stinging in different ways, but he does not stop, his legs having a momentum of their own. Through the hallway to the front door he goes, then out into a hot afternoon.

A young male goat is waiting outside the door, peering in for signs of Vesper, hopeful. When, instead, it finds her father bearing down, it retreats with a scream, bounding quickly out of sight.

The man barely notices, his attention focused inward as he descends the hill.

Though forgotten, the sky-ship and its passengers are still there, and Genner steps out of formation to block the man’s path.

‘Champion,’ he says, saluting. ‘I had a feeling I’d be seeing you before the end of the day.’

The man stops, blinks.

‘I assume the Bearer has told you about our needs.’

The man nods.

‘Good. The sooner we can leave, and I can give you a full briefing, the better.’ Genner is about to turn away when a thought occurs. ‘Apologies. I’ve been waiting to act on this for a while now. There’s time for you to say goodbye, if you want.’

The man looks back up the hill, scowls, then shakes his head.

‘In that case, Champion,’ says Genner, pointing to the open hatch, ‘please follow me.’

*

The journey to the Shining City is brief, a matter of minutes, but during this time the man’s scowl weakens. He moves from looking angry, to looking at his hands. He tuts at himself, then raises a fist, knocking three times, firmly, on his forehead.

Hills become fields flying by beneath the sky-ship, a blur of brilliant green, and then the great platinum pillars come into view. Each one a landing pad decorated with vertical gardens. The sky-ship comes to a stop directly above one, wings turning, engines lowering it gently into place.

The hatch opens and Genner sighs as he unstraps himself. ‘That’s a relief. Between us, Champion, I’ve grown to hate flying. Of course,’ he adds, ‘it’s not quite over yet.’

They climb through the hatch to arrive on top of the pillar, where wind punches at them, playful. Within the circular platform six smaller circles are etched with precision, and within each circle stands a bullet-shaped capsule seven feet tall and three across. Static electricity charges the air, prickling skin and further animating Genner’s windswept hair.

Doors swing open on each of the capsules, revealing a narrow, padded space. There are capsules for the squires, for Genner, and one for the man. ‘The pilot will have to wait for the next wave,’ says Genner. ‘In you go –’ gesturing towards the open door of one of the narrow chambers.

The man climbs inside and doors swing closed at his back, eager, shutting out the light. With a hiss, the padding expands, pressing arms against sides, pressing legs together, hugging tight.

Trapped in the dark, there is nothing for the passenger to do but wait. The charge in the air builds, and then there is a lurching sensation, his stomach detecting movement other senses cannot.

As if by magic, each capsule lifts into the air, sailing on invisible currents, arcing down towards a similar set of circles set into a metal disc at the pillar’s base.

The landing is abrupt, though the capsule’s inner padding removes the sting before shrinking away, allowing doors to open.

Genner is already at the base of the pillar, watching the man limp out into the light. ‘I wish I could say that’s the last time we’ll be using those for a while, but I’d be lying.’

Seen from the air, the Shining City appears nothing more than a vast circle of pillars around the Sanctum of The Seven, a huge cube of silver, rotating and ponderous, suspended in the sky. However, the bulk of the city exists underground. Hollow hills scatter between and around the pillars in neat rows; housing hidden under grass, dirt and plastic. Tunnels thread them all together, and lead deep beneath the earth, to laboratories, training facilities, factories and vast storehouses, dug out by immense machines from a bygone age.

Genner guides the man to an entrance concealed in the side of a hill. The two of them enter, following metal corridors lit by sunslight bouncing from mirrored tubes. Muffled sounds reach them, the singing of children, deferent, and the soft steps of purposeful feet. The very air hums with work being done. Everyone in the Shining City has designated duties, their time measured carefully and portioned out to maximize efficiency.

‘How’s your leg doing?’ Genner asks. ‘I noticed it giving you trouble earlier.’

The man doesn’t reply but makes more of an effort to walk normally.

‘What I’m saying is: we can help.’ He comes to a stop in front of a circular door, emblazoned with a winged eye, and raises one arm. A square of light glows underneath the skin on the back of his hand as he sings his identification.

There is the briefest pause and then the door sighs open.

Inside is an empty room, white walls overlaid with a grid of green plasglass.

A woman awaits them, also in white, save for her gloves and the lens fitted over her right eye, which are black. Genner salutes and she returns the gesture.

The man gives her a curt nod.

‘This,’ says Genner, ‘is Val, our most experienced Purifier. She works with those that have been exposed to the taint, those that survive the purging anyway. Actually, you’ve seen some of her work. She oversaw the reconstruction of Harm’s eye sockets.’

‘Ah yes,’ says Val. ‘I remember that case. In the end we could only provide cosmetic assistance. Too much nerve damage. A shame.’

‘Without doubt, Val is our best, and she’s been authorized to assist you.’

The man frowns.

‘Don’t worry. You’re in good hands.’ He backs out through the door. ‘I’ll be outside when you’re done.’

The man’s body leans in the same direction as if to follow, but he stays where he is.

A moment later, the door closes, sealing the room.

‘Stand here,’ says Val, pointing to the middle of the grid. ‘Let us look at you.’

The man complies and the plasglass lines that run along the floor, ceiling and walls burst to life, covering the man in a net of green light.

Val adjusts the lens over her right eye, closes her left. For a full minute she studies him, making a slow circle. Throughout, her concentration is intense, as if she is staring through, not at him.

‘Interesting,’ she says at last.

The man looks at her, patient.

‘As in: this will be an interesting challenge. Structurally, you’re in reasonable shape. Your leg needs repair, and I have concerns about one of your lungs in the longer term. But these things are easily hidden, provided you don’t need to fight.

‘It’s the rest of you.’ She tuts, and the man folds his arms. ‘The hair will have to go back to an appropriate length and you need to put on some weight. Our champion should project strength, not pity.’ She walks round him a second time, considering. ‘The scars can stay but they need to be reigned in a little. Something that says “battle hardened” rather than “victim”.