“So, uh,” Lawrence panted. He skidded to a halt. Lily pulled him behind a cage of moaning souls.
“Are you all right?” she patted him down.
“I’m fine.” He brushed her hands off. He looked over her shoulder. Kyri the succubus stood behind her. Copper skin, viridian eyes, black hair like a river of ink. She still wore her sarong and tube top. She carried a dagger. Lawrence hesitated. He nodded. “Um. Kyri.”
“Hey kid.”
“Lily? Uh. What was? Um.”
“The message for?” Lily beamed. “You know what I think?”
“No.” Lawrence shook his head.
“I think this place is a waste of our talents.”
“Well, I agree. But I don’t know what to do.”
“I know.” Lily smiled at him. “First we’ll let the invaders—”
“Wait—” Lawrence waved his hands, trying not to panic. “Don’t—don’t tell me. Last time you told me your plans, they didn’t work. Don’t you read books? Plans never work if you explain them. The only time you explain a plan is if you expect something to happen to derail said plan.”
“Okay. I won’t tell you.” Lily cleaned her dagger. “Are you ready to run?”
“Why?” Lawrence bent his knees.
“Because they’re here for you. You and Kyri.” Lily’s smile faded. “Who do you think sent them? A large party of high-level mercenaries? Thug Swarm wants the one responsible for wiping out an entire camp.”
“You didn’t tell them it was me, did you?” Lawrence took a step back.
“Of course not.” Lily looked him up and down. She shifted her weight to one foot. She lowered her chin. “And what would you do if I did? Where would you go?”
“Um.” Lawrence had no answer. He supposed he could run. He didn’t think she’d try to stop him. He’d have to leave without hitting the larder first. He did not want to try exploring a mountain range full of hungry, soul-devouring demons alone. Oh. Wait. Contracts. “Uhm. We… uh… never signed a Contract.”
“You are right,” Lily’s expression did not change. “And we’re not signing one now. Mercenaries do; it’s part of their code. But we don’t. We’re friends. Aren’t we?”
“Are we?” Lawrence looked from one to the other. Kyri looked indifferent. Lily looked wounded.
“Ouch.” Lily’s eyes flashed a brighter shade of blue, glowing as if with magic. “We are leaving. Let’s go.”
Kyri started walking. Lily turned and gestured. Lawrence gulped. He followed suit. Lily walked next to him. After a few steps the two demons quickened to a run.
They left the torture chamber behind. They ran into a spiral staircase. They took the stairs two at a time. Kyri tired of running and spread her apparently-not-decorative little bat wings. She lifted free of the ground, somehow flying. Meanwhile, the Square-Cube Law and Physics went to cry in a corner.
Lily and Lawrence ran down another hallway while Kyri glided overhead. This passage had no traps. Lawrence held his lantern high. It began sputtering.
“I’m running out of oil.”
“Put it out,” Lily advised.
“Without it, I can’t see,” Lawrence said. He dimmed the lantern to its lowest setting. The torch flickered twice and died. The entire hallway plunged into eternal darkness. Lawrence stopped running. “I can’t see.”
“We can.” Kyri said.
“Follow me.” Lily’s fingers interlaced with Lawrence’s. She tugged him forward. Lawrence stumbled along through the darkness. He kept one hand in front, desperate to keep from crashing into something.
“Where are we going?” Lawrence mumbled. It came out at normal volume in the stone tunnel.
“Hush,” Lily said.
“Whuh?” Lawrence tripped. Disembodied light appeared. The world became transparent. Lawrence had a sensation of being pulled against a tiny pipe by suction. Lily and Kyri looked back in shock.
“What’s happening?” Kyri asked.
“He’s being summoned,” Lily said. “Lawrence. Be careful.”
“Right, yeah. Thanks.” Lawrence replied in horror. He tried to remember who he’d given his name to. He needn’t have bothered. In the next few moments, the fort disappeared as Lawrence teleported across time and space. He experienced it as being sucked feet-first up a tube with no room to breathe, reeled in as if fishing line was attached to his feet. He reappeared in a dark room filled with shelves. He took a moment to orient himself.
“Sup, dude?” a wizened, muscle-bound man with graying hair, a lantern jaw, and elfin ears waved. The old man lowered the baton he held.
“Mr. Frost?” Lawrence asked.
“Yup. This is my hot-guy bod. Middle-aged, muscular, wealthy, hot, and because I have pointy ears—wise. All the girls come running. Even some of the boys.”
“What d’you want? I was in the middle of—”
“Whatever it is, it can wait. I’m revising the story you gave me and I came to a conundrum.”
Lawrence shut his mouth. All he ever wanted was Access. It was central to his identity. Hiding its nonexistence from those closest to him, trying to qualify for a level one in anything. He wondered—
“Basically, you began life as a half-demon, specifically a beast. I’ve always been in love with the idea of you having a Beast Trance where you can Rage but lose all magic. The problem is that during the writing, I’ve come to think you’re a benandanti. They have better stats. Soul devouring abilities.”
“What changed?”
“I just really like the concept of you being a soul-devouring celestial werewolf.”
“My mom was a half-beast and my bio-dad was something else.”
“So?”
“So why should my autobiography be changed to something that conflicts with facts? I’m a half-demon not a werewolf. I might become a demon wolf later on, but I plan on changing that through my Skill selections. Why can’t I be a beast?”
“Well…” Frost fidgeted. “Beast demons and benandanti are mechanically different. Two different species. They gain different Skills. Like, all benandanti gain Natural Armor, Natural Weapons, Devour Soul, et cetera. All in addition to their empowered stats. They gain extra stat points to compensate for not having true Skill selections. They gain Skills in a track or chain.
“Beast demons get their Physiology Skill and then their Mutation Skills change the way they look. Fewer stat increases, but a wider variety of powerful Skills to choose. Much more powerful. Far more powerful than many mortal Skills.”
Frost thought for a moment. “I just think your book would do better if you were a great crusader leading the charge against demons and freeing the souls of the damned instead of some rando half-demon punk. Yanno? Like, demons are hot right now. Supernatural stuff is hot. But religious stuff is pretty much untouched. Christian-based stuff is even less touched. No one wants to associate with God-fearers.”
Lawrence thought hard. “I’ve got it.”
“What is the answer?”
“The answer is you stick it. I’m not a benandanti. I’m a half-demon. I don’t even have a…” he looked around. The stockroom was empty, but sound traveled. “Look. I can’t be a benandanti because mom isn’t one. She’s a half-beast witch who ascended to full demon. What I am is what I am. I’m not changing the facts to suit your editor’s whims.”
Frost’s brow knitted together. e
“Send me back, Frost.” Lawrence glared. “I was in the middle of something.”
“Fine,” Frost huffed. He began chanting.
Lawrence waited for the stockroom to disappear. The dark fort reappeared. The smell of sulfur-tinged air entered his nose and landed on his throat. He smelled unwashed bodies nearby.
“Lily?”
“Finally.” Lily grabbed his hand. “Who summoned you?”
“A bonehead. Let’s keep moving.”
Lawrence let Lily guide him out of the fort. The group came to a kind of garage on the ground floor. A single torch illuminated a pair of gigantic riding spawn.
They had the heads and necks of horses, with dog-ears, glowing yellow eyes, and mouths full of sharp teeth. An odd number of knobby, multi-jointed legs supported them. The legs were stretched to obscene lengths with iron pins, then riveted together in groups. The base of each leg-trunk had clawed feet splayed in all directions. The animal’s overall look was of a tortured creature, but it did not seem to mind.
There was no intelligence in its eyes. Lawrence knew their minds were somewhere between a robot and a zombie. Both spawn bore heavy packs and saddlebags laden with supplies.
“You guys are prepared,” Lawrence commented.
“The writing was on the wall,” Kyri said.
“Lawrence, you’re with me.” Lily put one foot into the stirrup and hoisted herself up. She reached down.
Lawrence grabbed her hand. He clambered aboard behind her on the saddle. It was made for two individuals, which Lawrence thought was nice. He put his feet into the stirrups. He wasn’t certain where to put his hands. Therefore, he leaned back a little.
“Take my waist, Lawrence,” Lily said.
“I’d prefer not to.” Lawrence clasped his hands.
Kyri watched from the other spawn. She took down the torch, doused it, and put it away. She glanced once at Lawrence and shook her head. She clucked her tongue. The spawn lumbered toward the door.
“How did I miss it?” Lawrence murmured. The garage had no door. The portal to the outside consisted of a white square set into the wall. Light and heat from the Morningstar filled the archway. Kyri’s spawn stumbled toward it.
“Lawrence.” Lily looked over her shoulder. She quirked a smile. She had the reins in her hands. “Take my waist.”
Lawrence looked down at her waist. He looked back at her. He pressed his lips into a thin, tight line.
“I give you permission,” Lily said, rolling her eyes.
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“All right.” Lawrence unwound. He scooted closer. He carefully leaned into her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He was extra careful where he put his hands.
Lily flicked the reins. The spawn started walking. Its motion jerked them every which way. Lawrence realized he was clinging to Lily, but he couldn’t force himself to relax. Relaxing meant he might be thrown off.
“Move your hips,” Lily told him. “Stand in the saddle when you feel the spawn rise. Take a seat when it lowers. Loosen up.”
“It hurts my balls something fierce,” Lawrence grunted. He tried to mimic her easy motions.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to ride?” Lily teased. “Close your eyes. The glare is something else.”
“Horse training wasn’t required where I grew up. We had cars. Or walked everywhere. Horses are for rich people and aliens. Too much maintenance.”
“Well, here we use spawn. Close your eyes,” she told him.
Lawrence obeyed. They passed through the white square to the outside. Lawrence felt heat radiate from above like an oven. Light burned through his eyelids. He felt the spawn lurch under him as the terrain changed.
“What do you think?” Lily asked. She leaned back. The spawn came to a halt.
Lawrence slowly opened his eyes. He squinted against the glare. The spawn stood at the top of a towering cliff. Below them sat a valley of ice and snow.
“Hold on tight,” Lily said.
In response, Lawrence adjusted his grip. Lily leaned forward. She urged the spawn. The creature’s many clawed feet spiked into the ground. It walked off and over the cliff’s edge with the agility of a goat. Its center of gravity was too high, and it was too far off balance. But whatever madness allowed a goat to walk up and down a near-vertical wall did the same for the spawn.
Lawrence saw how far below the ground was. He got vertigo. He closed his eyes. He focused on the feel of Lily under his hands. Her skin was soft, but firm. She had muscles under the curves. On any other day, Lawrence would relish this moment. But right now, all he could think about was how close he was from dying.
The spawn reached the base of the cliff. It threw itself forward as its legs reached down, almost unseating its riders. After planting its legs, it threw itself backwards, almost knocking them off. Then all four legs stood on the ground. Lawrence adjusted his glasses. He opened his eyes.
“Still with me?” Lily teased.
“Uh huh.” Lawrence took a deep breath. His stomach threatened him, but keeping his eyes open helped.
Lily flicked the reins. The spawn strode across the valley. Snow and ice filled the expanse. Lily directed her spawn to follow Kyri’s. The went ‘south’ in the general direction of ‘down.’ If Lawrence raised his eyes to the horizon, he saw the remaining rings of Maelstrom.
The mountain wall ended. Lawrence saw a little settlement on a rocky outcropping right on the edge of the plain. It consisted of a cluster of buildings cobbled together from wrecked airships. Kyri urged her spawn faster. Lily did not.
Lawrence heard the ground rumble. He felt a minor earthquake in his gut. The spawn sensed it too. It broke into a dead sprint. The earthquake got louder.
Lily swore. “Faster,” she ordered, kicking the spawn. The creature pushed itself to its limit. The rumbling seemed to chase them across the ice. Kyri’s spawn leaped for the rocks. Lily’s spawn was a little slower. She leaned forward, pressing herself into the saddle. “Come on. A little more,” she whispered.
Lawrence heard a crash from behind. Something big roared. The spawn pushed itself faster. It jumped off a piece of ice. It landed on the rocks with all four groups of legs. It scrambled up the side without stopping, not daring to slow until it had crossed the barricades.
Lawrence looked over his shoulder. He saw a thick layer of mist cloaking the ground. The Morningstar melted part of the ice, but not for long. Already the burning ball had passed and would be scorching the First Circle soon.
“We’re here,” Lily said. “Whatever this dung heap is.”
“There’s supposed to be a refueling outpost here,” Kyri called. She pulled her spawn alongside. She swept her arm, indicating the destroyed buildings. They may have been made of tin or aluminum, and walled with other metal or something cheap. Demons did not require good lodging like humans. “Everything is dead.”
Charred skeletons littered the ground. The building had been smashed. Many lay skinned, with their walls strewn over the ground. Their frames were on display, with the supports blackened and twisted, jutting out like the ribs of great beasts.
“There isn’t even a soul to interrogate,” Kyri complained.
“Lily? What is this place?” Lawrence asked.
“It’s a refueling outpost,” Lily said.
“No, I got that.” Lawrence stopped holding her so tight. He scooted away in the saddle to stretch his back. “Refueling for what?”
“They use levitating skiffs out here,” Kyri explained. “Faster, safer, more reliable than spawn. Flying ships for armies. Skiffs for everyone else. Not all of them make it because of the worms.”
“Worms,” Lawrence repeated. “I think I know where this is goin’.”
“Look.” Lily pointed. “A carrying spawn. It must have gotten loose from somewhere.”
It was humanoid from the waist up. It had dark, bumpy skin with an ape’s bulging lips. Shaggy hair covered parts of it. Its clawed hands ended in thirteen digits. From the waist down it had an odd number of legs bunched into two great trunks around a pair of iron bars, stretched to ridiculous lengths, and finally riveted in place with metal bands. The flesh around the rivets oozed pus, indicating the spawn was a young specimen.
The creature moved by bending and moving its legs in a rough humanoid shape. Its clawed feet spiked into the ground. It looked much like a riding spawn, and indeed, it looked to have been crafted from the same base model. But this was a dumb thing made for carrying heavy loads, not one or two riders.
It moved across the ice plain without intention. A thick iron ring hung from its nose. Connected to the ring dangled an iron chain. At the end of the chain, a severed hand, stiff from rigor mortis, still clutched.
The ground rumbled. Lily and Kyri stirred, but the riding spawn remained passive. Lawrence heard something move under the ice. He could tell because a sound like thunder rolled over the plain. It was the ice cracking and shifting as something big forced its way through.
Lawrence debated discussing the physics of a subterranean lifeform speedily burrowing through a glacier. Without warning the ice erupted. A hole appeared under the spawn. The animal sailed into the air as a pallid beast rammed into it from below. The spawn slammed into the ground thirty feet away.
The worm opened its flower-mouth. Lawrence saw pink flesh with rows of inward-facing teeth lining the maw. Atop the mouth sat an enormous horn. The horn sloped down from armored plates to a point. It glowed with the same brightness as hot coals. Steam rose off the burning tip. The worm bent at the ‘waist’ while lunging.
It impaled the spawn with its horn. The spawn cried out, but it was too stupid to fight back. The worm whipped its body, tossing the spawn up into the air. It spread the petals of its mouth wide. It caught the spawn in its mouth. It chomped. Part of the spawn’s torso and one of its arms ended up in the creature’s gullet.
“Now’s our chance,” Kyri yelled. “Go.”
“Hyah,” Lily shouted.
Lawrence wrapped an arm around Lily just in time to avoid being thrown off. Both riding spawn raced across the plain, away from the worm.
“Lily, what is that thing?” Lawrence looked over his shoulder.
“An ice worm,” Lily said.
Lawrence examined it. Thick, dark plates covered the top of its body. Two lines of sharp spikes ran down the sides of the beast, which it must use to push itself along. The creature’s horn melted the ice. Grooves in its carapace allowed water to flow over and around the beast. And the spikes kept it moving forward. It ate the rest of the spawn in several big bites. Then dove into the ice like a giant sea snake and disappeared.
Lily and Kyri urged their spawn faster. Lawrence heard rumbling under the ice. The ground shook as the worm approached. Some distance away, the ice cracked. The worm shot out of the ground. It opened its mouth in their direction and screamed.
The spawn fled. Lawrence debated lobbing a ball of hellfire down its throat. He did not because he knew he would miss. The worm reared back, tensed its muscles, and shot forward. It aimed to spear the spawn, but they were too far away. The worm dove back into the ice. The ground quaked from its passage. It got close to the spawn again before breaching the ice like a whale.
And again, the spawn were too far away. Lawrence watched the worm for a while. It was a beautiful creature, in a terrible, apex predator kind of way. On foot, a traveler would be dead. But mounted or in a vehicle? It took too long for the worm to burrow through ice. As long as the spawn continued their breakneck pace, they were somewhat safe.
The Morningstar continued rising to Emptiness. The ice worm gave up the chase. It went back to its territory. Or, perhaps it went below to rest. The hours dragged. The Morningstar passed overhead a second time. Mist rose from the ice as the heat melted the ground. The Morningstar sank toward Tears.
Through it all, Lawrence saw little but majestic scenery. Towering mountains, narrow, plunging valleys, vast swaths of empty glacier. Frigid wind blew across the ring. Once in a while he saw a mine or fort at the base of a mountain. Aside from those, there was little life. Lawrence did not want to be stranded.
Eventually, they came upon a rocky outcrop. It was the perfect place for a Weathertop watchtower, but it had no civilization. Kyri and Lily made their spawn climb it anyway. Lawrence tapped Lily’s shoulder.
“What?” Lily asked.
“Are we letting the spawn rest?” Lawrence said.
“No, why?” Lily frowned. The spawn moved over the hill to descend the other side. The ground rumbled as an ice worm approached.
“Well, the things aren’t automatons. They need to rest too, just like us.”
“It’s seventy-five miles to the next town,” Lily explained. “The spawn can cover twenty-five miles in a day at a good pace. If we push them, they can do forty.”
“Don’t they need water? Or food? Or, yanno, sleep?”
“Not really.” Lily shrugged. “Do you see any water? Or grass? Or anything else? We’ll reach the end of the ring before they drop dead of exhaustion. Getting to civilization is more important. Kyri needs to feed, remember, and you or I aren’t going to let her kill and torture us.”
“Didn’t you pack some iliaster?”
“We took several crates, but it tastes nasty. It’ll take a few days to get where we’re going, Lawrence. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Practice not hitting your balls when the spawn moves,” she suggested.
It took more than five days to cross the ice sheets. Five days of near-constant freezing. Endless, hopeless navigation of a labyrinth made from snow-filled valleys, endless backtracking to avoid patrols.
“Why can’t we ride on one of those?” Lawrence complained.
“The skiffs are controlled by the corporations. A new invention of Thug Swarm,” Lily explained. A levitating barge sped over the snow. The ice worms were more agitated by the skiff’s passage than the spawn. Lawrence saw several, multicolored variants with different abilities attacking.
An unarmored, purplish worm spat globs of stomach acid. A crimson variant had a disproportionately large horn. A green variant was smaller, like a grub. All variants attacked the skiffs. Lily and Kyri made their spawn scale the cliffs to go around. Lawrence still was not used to the near-vertical way the animals climbed.
His stomach somersaulted like the deck of a ship in a storm, but he modulated it with peppermint oil and keeping his eyes open and focused straight ahead.
“Why do I smell peppermint?” Lily asked.
“It’s oil. Extract from the peppermint plant. It helps with motion sickness. Want some?”
“Sure. You get motion sick?”
“Yeah. All the time in cars. If I’m driving or sitting up front it helps. If I’m in the back I need either AC blowing on me or peppermint oil.” Lawrence put a drop of oil on the tip of his finger. He pulled Lily’s hair behind her ear with his thumb. She jerked her head.
“What are you doing?”
Lawrence snatched his hand away. “The best place to put it is the back of your ear because the skin is thinner and the blood vessels are bigger. You’ll also smell it a lot easier, too. The other place is the underside of your wrist, where people cut themselves to die. You’ll have to smell it manually. Where d’you want it?”
“Don’t joke about that, Lawrence. My wrist is fine.” Lily pulled off her glove with her teeth. She raised her fist and shook back her sleeve.
Nervous and somewhat embarrassed, Lawrence grabbed her wrist. He rubbed his finger over the underside. He took his hand away. Lily shook out her sleeve. She sniffed the oil once and put her glove back on. Lawrence thought it was more of a gauntlet than a glove; it protected her wrist.
“Those ice worms seem to like the skiffs,” Lawrence said.
“They’re attracted to the mana crystals,” Lily said. “The engines run on mana. Worms eat the crystals as a substitute for food.”
“Does their poop have hallucinogenic properties?”
“No. It’s just poop.”
The spawn reached the top of the cliff. Lawrence saw a plateau of ice stretching to the horizon. Gorges marred it like cracks in a riverbed. Some of them were narrow enough one could wall-run along them, jumping from side to side to avoid falling. Alas, Lawrence did not have the Skill, the jump jet equipment, or formal training.
Wall-running was something the Special Forces learned. Regular enlisted and potential officers, like Lawrence, did not learn. Lawrence tapped Lily’s shoulder.
“You don’t have to get my attention, Lawrence. Just talk.”
Lawrence pointed.
“I don’t like gestures, Lawrence.” Lily’s voice took on an edge. “Speak.”
“There’s a balloon over there. High above the ground. There’s a cable anchoring it.”
“So?”
“It means civilization. Look.” Lawrence pointed over Lily’s shoulder. She raised her head. A line of airships rose from the balloon’s base. They all had two enormous, oblong sacks for lift and multiple propellers. They scattered across the wasteland seeming without aim. As they left, another airship returned.
The returning ship was slow. Its altitude low. Hanging below were many cables and harpoons holding up an ice worm.
“Hunters going out to hunt,” Lily observed. “They use the skiffs to stir up worms, then harpoon them with airships. Clever. Kyri,” Lily called.
“What is it?” Kyri pulled her spawn alongside.
“Lawrence found a way to get down to the Third.” Lily gestured.
Kyri looked up. She squinted at the balloon. The Morningstar descended past Third down to the Fourth. It would be many hours before the false star rose again for morning. Red lights dotted the balloon’s surface, the way Earth structures had some for low-flying airplanes.
“Good job, kid,” Kyri said.
A skiff sped over the plateau, followed by an airship. It headed straight for them. Both vehicles had Thug Swarm’s stick-figure logo.
“Uh, Lily?”
“What?”
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
“You mean, what if they find out about you destroying that fort?”
“How did you know?” Lawrence hunched lower in the saddle.
“I’m an [Opener], Lawrence. It’s my job to know.”
“If they find out—”
“They won’t.”
Lawrence realized he was trembling. Worse, he was certain Lily could feel it. Lawrence felt her hard muscles under his arms, a stark contrast to his plastic, skinny frame.
“Thug Swarm isn’t organized, unlike Blood Well.” Lily’s voice was neutral. She looked at the approaching ship. Worms erupted from the ground around the skiff. The skiff peeled away and shot past them. The airship descended to within a stone’s throw before turning. Lawrence saw individual fiends and drones manning the guns. A bug-like imp with a ladybug carapace and insect legs leaped off the ship, over-sized wings fluttering.
“Identify yourselves,” the imp screeched.
“Succubus, half-demon, and [Faustian],” Kyri called. She cupped a hand around her mouth. “Expatriates from Blood Well, seeking safe harbor.”
“Follow the balloon,” the imp shrieked. “All are welcome. Password is Take It Easy.”