Every scream cathartically released a bit of the pent-up grief and anger. Between Aida's strings and Ghillie's needles, anyone trying to stop them faced a fate on a spectrum between crippling paralysis and instant annihilation. After Aida had completely wrecked the mini-castle they'd built around the Thorn hurled a few squads of versal troops down the street, the survivors spread word quickly. They soon walked the blue-hued stone streets of whatever they called this pillar-top city in Stacks alone.

They now stood just above what a terrified old man they'd nabbed had called "the linehouse". They stared out at the seemingly-endless tarnished copper wire stretching out to the next haze-misted column of stone rising straight up from the bright blue of this verses' endless oceans. A long rope affixed to and supported by... nothing. Some magic or technology or who-know-what held it up, but whatever it was Aida didn't trust it in the slightest.

There's one there, going that way, Ghillie signed, then pointed to a dangling trolley car slowly making its way down the line away from them. It looked to be pulled by a group of men grabbing the rope then walking across the top of the trolley; a slow, endless trudge. She couldn't imagine the grip strength and thigh sizes of the dudes who probably did it for a living. If she ran this place, she'd have some Ink machine or Sect creature doing the job ASAP, but she supposed they probably had a union or something that would rise up against her to avoid getting fired.

"I don't care if the trolley things work, I'm not going on one. What if one of those versal troopers who survived the Thorn castle leveling we did back there decides that they want revenge and cut the line while we're half-way across? Best case we fall to our death, worst we're stranded out there until we... well, until you starve to death and I die of boredom and decide I'd rather be fish food. No, let's go find a boat."

Ghillie, as usual, didn't protest.

When they got to the docks, they lucked out to find a small something-powered paddle wheel boat. As they arrived, a pair of sullen-looking, gray-skinned Inkies paused their unloading of a tied-down pile of weather-worn boxes and leather sacks. While they proved not even slightly inclined towards helping Aida and Ghillie in any way, the pair turned out not to be stupid or suicidal; when Aida blasted a box full of what turned out to be receipts or transcripts or something into tiny, drifting smithereens with a bark, they suddenly got helpful. Within a few minutes, they found themselves perched uncomfortably on the tiny boat and chugging off presumably towards the "Jaxestack" they'd pried out of the same old guy who had told them about the linehouse as the most likely place Jaxe would have fled.

Even with the "super-advanced" Ink paddle-wheel technology propelling them, it took from just after dawn until almost dark for them to reach Jaxestack. Aida used the time to try to make some sort of plan for the future, but to little avail. Her brain never really liked the whole future-thinking or the planning things, seeming to always slip off into some sort of distraction whenever and however hard she tried to do it. Grief over Ryk's death, the Professor's death, and even Viviana's death threatened to rise up to smother her, but she channeled it all into a cold rage she could use to fuel her confrontation with Jaxe.

Imagining the various ways she might try to kill him fulfilled the barest definitions of "future planning", but that proved all she could muster. It took them several minutes to float around the immense, bloating, floating corpse of what looked like the cross between a whale, a squid, and a blimp. Thousands of sea-birds, flying lizards, sharks, and other fish thrashed the water and air about it, feasting on the carcass in a cacophonous frenzy.

"My god," Aida said as they steered past, the two silent, sullen Inkies giving the thing wide berth.

Yes, Ghillie signed back. Aida thought she read sadness or sorrow in Ghillie's expression. Only one thing known that could possibly kill a god. The Aj.

"Aj? Isn't that that think from the Kiss time? The demon or angel or whatever-the-hell that was killing stuff back then?"

Ghillie nodded.

"I thought it was sleeping or something?"

Apparently not.

The information was troubling and had Aida irrationally searching every horizon looking for some monster or titan or whatever else might be badass enough to slay a beast the size of a football stadium. When the beast fell out of sight on the horizon behind them and no horrible Aj demon appeared, her thoughts drifted.

When they finally spotted the Jaxestack, Aida stared up at it and guffawed. Seeing Ghillie's curious look, she pointed towards the gleaming ivory dome dominating the thing's peak. "Looks like a giant cock thrusting up from the water. Totally fitting since this place is run by a huge dick."

Apparently, they'd been spotted on approach as a squad of versal troops with bows and crossbows greeted their arrival with sporadic volleys of arrows and bolts. At their present extreme range for the weapons, Aida had long enough to time their flight and greet the projectiles with deflecting or shattering bursts of sonic energy. As they chugged in towards closer range, the troopers seemed to decide they didn't want to find out how far her range was and so high-tailed it back into the tunnels or up the exposed, sketchy-looking switchback stairs they'd come down from.

Aida smirked in spite of herself as they scuttled off.

When the shuddering contraption they rode finally neared the docks, Aida leapt onto the rocky shore and raced for the exposed stairs the guards had fled.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

You know where to go? Ghillie signed as they paused for breath at the top of a particularly steep flight. Aida tried not to look down; she'd never had much of a fear of heights, but something about the wind, the narrowness of the stairs, and the lack of any sort of guard rail still made her a bit woozy just thinking about it.

"Higher is probably... better," Aida said, between breaths.

When the stairs ended at a tunnel entrance where they'd seen a few of the guards flee, they rushed into the darkness with reckless abandon. Where a skylight or chute or something leaked some light down, they stopped to look around at the empty hallway sprouted with regular doors like some sort of ancient, stone-carved apartment building. "No one's tried to stop us. I'm surprised."

Not necessarily a good sign.

"I'll take what I can get. Save up to blast Jaxe into next week." She gently brushed her fingers along the Strings. After Alerestro's tampering with her last set, a niggling worry constantly tickled the back of her brain that they might fail right when she needed them most.

Seemed intact anyway.

The place was strangely echoey and maybe abandoned; not a single sign of life after their reception party at the docks. When they found a balcony and looked out, she thought she saw a blond lady and some dude with a spear docking a little sailboat down below not far from their Ink paddler. A hint of some memory tugged at her, but she was too distracted with thoughts of creative new ways to avenge Ryk's death to dwell on it.

Having regathered their breath at the balcony, she and Ghillie pushed on. Eventually, they found their way to a tunnel leading them inside the giant white dome. Aside from the odd pair seen from the balcony, they still hadn't seen another soul. Every tunnel, corridor, and courtyard lay silent and still.

The dome turned out to be build from some sort of white quartz or the like; thick enough to prevent seeing out but thin enough to allow a milky white light to shine through it. Everything within lit up with a heaven-like, diffuse white glow. Within, a garden of sculpted crystal trees ringed the smaller dome planted at the heart of the open space. Bubbly streams that hissed and popped like the ocean traced artfully through it to offer the space a hint of life. She wondered about it idly for a moment: a world where all the water was tonic?

"And me without my gin," Aida mumbled. She and Ghillie walked through the beautiful yet stark, exotic garden. They approached the smaller central dome with every sense on high alert. When they drew close, they faced a series of arched doorways leading into the circular structure. Pausing in hopes of spying any hint of life, they finally found more than they wanted.

Aida's heart lurched as Jaxe marched out amid a retinue of Ferals and Versal guards all trimmed in purple. Each walked a Wretch on a leash or walked with their hand on the neck of an albino child to teenager.

"Why, hello again," Jaxe said warmly, waving at her like a long-lost relative. His grin turned feral. "You like my friends? Searched all across the whole Book to find more of my kind and bring them all here to enjoy my home. They're so excited to meet you, aren't you my children?"

"Yes, Uncle Jaxe," they all said in unison. Their expressions held no fear, but not curiosity or emotions of any kind. By their blank looks and stiff movements, Aida wondered if he'd drugged the poor things. The Wretches crawled along with looks containing more than enough terror to make up for its lack among the kids. The Wretches barely looked at their handlers, mostly shooting glances at Jaxe as if anticipating his next word would be an order to have them whipped. Knowing him, he just might be.

"Let them go, Jaxe," she growled. "They have no part of this."

"Why sure, Mother," he replied amiably. "Just as soon as you toss me back those strings."

"No way in hell."

He shrugged. "Well, 'no way in hell's all around then. I guess we're at an impasse. You try to use the strings, you kill them in the process. You sic that little Sliver of yours on us, we cut their throats. Only way all these Wretches and sad, Pale little boys and girls don't die here is if you surrender looks like."

She ground her teeth and glared at him. He continued to smile back.

"I'm feeling especially generous, so I'll give you a couple minutes to come to terms with the fact that you came all this way after me only to have to give up when you finally get here. Don't take too long though or I'll start to have to start killing them. We'll start with this one." He tilted a little girl's head up to look at him. The five or six year-old girl looking up at him dreamily. "Avani, wasn't that your name sweet one? Why don't you tell Dynast Aida here what you told me on the walk over?"

The girl looked vaguely in Aida's direction, her eyes unfocused. "Imma see my amma soon," the girl said, her voice slightly slurred. "And my adda. He got lost and she left, but Jaske p'omised we'd all be t'gether 'gain."

"That's right, dear. Why, many people call this woman 'amma', maybe she'll take care of you," Jaxe said, squatting down and turning her back to face him with his hands on her shoulders. "Why don't you help me tell the Mother lady here to give me her strings so we can all live happily ever after together."

She glanced back at Aida, the look of hope on her face like a slap in the face.

"Goddam you, Jaxe," Aida hissed.

"Isn't this fun?" Jaxe said, standing back up. "I'm touched that you come all the way to my home to play with us."

They stared at each other for a minute. His smile slowly grew. As did her scowl. Ghillie stood alert and ready at Aida's side, hand inside her suit. Jaxe's guards and Ferals looked wound tightly enough to snap. Aida thought she might herself. Finally, Jaxe pulled out a knife and tapped the flat against his cheek. "I'm so bad with time. Was that a few minutes already?"

"Stop, Jaxe!" she called, raising a hand as his knife drifted slowly down towards the little girl. She debated running away to find some way get back at him later, but she was half-certain he'd start slitting their throats the moment she turned to leave. Grinding her teeth so hard it hurt, she reached slowly towards the clasps for her strings on the back of her neck.

"I thought I might come and play too," a smooth, silky voice said, resonating in the space. "Hope you don't mind."