Crickle-crackle.
Erin stood in a sea of books, surrounded by leather-bound tomes with blank spines. Embers burned low in the hearth across the room from her as she gazed between them, looking for someplace to begin. None of the books gave a hint of their contents.
On the floor behind her, Mari stared at Firril as the machine went about chores in the room. Aside from Runa, who was going back and forth between fitful sleep and snorting awake as she rested against a pillow on her bed, they were all alone. Even Gary had parted to practice in the park below the window.
"I might as well start somewhere." Erin pulled one book down by its spine to examine it.
She flipped it open and noticed it was primarily drawings. Across the page were hundreds of plant sketches, with detailed notes in tiny script for each one. Erin's breath caught in her chest as she realized it was a botany journal. She flipped to the front to see if there was a name, but nothing was there.
She flipped back to the center of the book. The plants were diagrammed, but she didn't recognize any of them. That was to be expected since the nightsea was vast and islands could not all be investigated outside the Twelve Kingdoms. However, the problem was that each one had locations listed. Instead of island names, they were listed with numbers.
She sat it to the side, knowing she would want to examine it more closely later.
She tried the next book on the shelf, a series of maps and charts. Erin tilted her head as she examined it. The chart comprised dots, each set interconnected in lines that made small pictures. The dots were labeled with numbers, but the connected pictures were given names: The Warrior, The Dragon, The Messenger, The Beast, Little Bear, and The Scales.
Erin closed the book and looked over at Runa. The old woman snorted in her sleep. It might be worth trying.
"Runa." Erin approached her bed with the book, holding it open so the old woman could see it. "What do you know about these books?"
"Snrrk." Runa gave another snort before cracking open one eye. "Huh. Oh, hi, dearie. What's that book you have there? Ah, Constellations."
Erin raised an eyebrow as the old woman reached out and touched the page with one wrinkled hand.
"The Dark Meridian," she said. "This is a map of the Dark Meridian."
"What's that?"
"What's what, dearie?" Runa blinked. "Oh, look at these Constellations."
Erin bit back the curse that came to mind. She knew it wasn't Runa's fault, but that didn't make the situation any less frustrating. Erin pulled the book away, and the old woman wandered back into her haze. She wasn't sure what to do.
"Firril." She turned on the machine, and it looked up from where it had been sweeping the floor with an old broom. "Can you tell me anything about this?"
The machine still held the broom with its thumb but pressed its fingers together as it looked at the ground. Erin wasn't sure how a machine could look apologetic, but Firril managed it. After a moment, the machine looked up and looked into Erin's eyes with its own yellow glowing orbs.
"There are limitations," Firril said. "But the Dark Meridian is the passage to the New World. Roald discovered it on his journey. Runa used to talk about it to us all the time."
"And these Constellations?"
"Each one is a series of islands in the Dark Meridian," Firril said. "They're connected by trails of light that make travel between them almost instantaneous."
Erin furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the page. Trails of aether often surround islands in the nightsea, but they aren't interconnected. Instead, they were ambient aether blown off the island into the nearby area. She imagined lines extending out from Fringe islands and connecting them so they could travel between each other. This would completely invalidate the need for slipships.
"Where is the Dark Meridian?"
"I cannot answer."
Erin clicked her tongue and sighed, and only then did she notice that Mari was standing beside her and watching the book. Her eyes flickered with static as she scanned the page. Erin turned the page to see the next one, and her eyes flickered again. They continued for a few minutes until Mari completely saw the entire book.
"Scan complete," Mari said before romping off onto the top of the bed to look out the window.
A pressure was building behind Erin's eyes. It was a migraine. She had no idea what was happening, and the entire thing was getting stranger and stranger. She set the book of Constellations with her book on plants and looked along the lengths of the shelves. How many more secrets were hidden in this small library?
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
She started to reach for the next book when Mari gasped.
"What's that?" Mari asked from the window.
Erin sighed as she turned from the books and made her way over to the window. She appreciated Mari, but sometimes, she was too much like a little sister. Constant distractions did not help her get something done. She leaned onto the bed so that she could see out the window.
Seven figures stepped off the elevator on the park's far side, all dressed in heavy coats except for a man in golden armor. Erin blinked a few times, but they were still there. No one was supposed to be on the island; it was supposed to be under quarantine. However, seven figures approached the park's center, where Gary was practicing his sword swings.
"We might have a problem," Erin said, turning to Firril. "There are people down there."
"Man the battle stations!" Runa yelled, throwing off her blankets and hitting Erin in the process.
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Wen looked out at the park and couldn't help the surprise that tickled across her heart. She never would have imagined such a place could exist inside the keep at the top of the mountain. Sure, it was overgrown, but beyond the too-tall grass, it was a little different than any park she might have seen in England.
That was except for the robot, covered in a heavy coat, swinging a massive sword in the garden's center.
"What is this?" Bibi asked as he strode forward. "An active automaton that survived the aetherstorm?"
He led the group forward with no sign of fear in him. Wen followed along, keeping her hand on the butt of her revolvers as she scanned the walls. Several windows would be good vantage points for a sniper shot.
"You there, automaton," Bibi said as they approached the machine.
Click.
Kali snapped a photo of it as she stood beside Wen before quickly putting her camera back down. She needn't have worried. Bibi seemed far too preoccupied to notice.
Whoosh.
The greatsword in the automaton's hands cut a wide arc around it before it let it rest on its shoulder. The automaton's shoulders sagged under the weight of the blade but looked otherwise unbothered by its mass.
"Hail, travelers," the automaton said as it eyed each one of them. "Why are you here? This island is long abandoned and not suited for humans like you."
"This island is my family's land," Bibi said, puffing out his chest. "I am the great King Bibi, and I returned to claim my birthright in this land so I can lead my people back here to regain our former glory."
The automaton looked between all of them before replying. "I'm Gary. That doesn't sound like a good idea."
"Why would that be, automaton?"
"I am a man and not an automaton," Gary said, raising one gloved finger. "And it isn't suitable to live in because of that aetherstorm outside. By Fury and Stone, surely a king would recognize that."
Bibi's ears began to burn a bright red, and Wen thought she could see steam popping off. The automaton didn't know it, but it had pinched a nerve. There was no telling what he would do. Granted, it wasn't Wen's problem; she just kept her eyes on the windows.
"Tell him to go away, Gary!" an old woman stuck her head out from a window in the wall, yelling down at them all. "I'll sick my fighters on him if he doesn't get off my land."
Someone pulled the old woman back, though Wen couldn't see who it was. The automaton wasn't alone on the island. She immediately started searching the other windows, expecting to see the long barrels of rifles already pointing at them all.
"Trespassers," Bibi whispered. "Just how many people are desecrating my family's sacred land?"
"Right now?" Gary asked, cocking the metal bucket that was his head to the side. "I think there are four of them beyond the normal. We sent them to the three towers to accomplish a mission."
"The three sacred treasures," Bibi whispered. "They are the keepsakes of my family's power, our wealth, and our promise to our people. These people are going to take them?"
"Maybe." Gary shrugged. "They did seem like a rough sort, so I don't think those things would be safe with them around."
"Hopkins!" Bibi snapped, turning on them all. "Go to the southwest and find the way to the tower. Antonio, go southeast and do the same. Foley, you go north and to that tower. Bring me back the heads of these men who would rob my family, and you will be rewarded with ten times your current price."
There was a moment of confusion among the three men that quickly passed. They wouldn't need to be told more than once for that kind of money. The three of them rushed toward the nearest door that might lead out of the keep. They might not have known the directions, but they wouldn't be hard to figure out once outside.
"Li Wen." Bibi turned on her. "I know you will not go after these people for me, but you will find the bearcats in the north forest, near the tower. Track them for me and try your luck with them. Take Kali with you so that she can take appropriate pictures for my article."
Wen raised an eyebrow, but she wasn't about to argue. Getting Kali away from Bibi when he was angry would help keep her safe. He had already proven himself to be too volatile when he had shot the captain of their ship. There might also be other solutions once they were both away.
"What about you?"
Clank.
"I'm going to clear these current trespassers off of my land," Bibi said, slamming his gauntlets together as he turned back to the automaton. "I don't need four bounty hunters to take down a simple automaton and an old woman. Once I finish with them, I will catch up with you in the north, and we will complete the hunt for the bearcat matriarch."
If he hadn't been talking about beating up an old woman, it might have sounded heroic. However, considering his personality, he was confident because his opponents were weak. It left a sick feeling in Wen's stomach, but she pushed it down as she patted Kali's shoulder and headed toward the door.
"You're talking a big game," Gary said behind her as he began to spin his sword. "But I'll happily show you that your golden armor isn't anything against this sword."
Click.
Kali turned to take one parting picture of the two fighters before they exited through the door and out into the keep. Wen didn't look back. All she was worried about was whether Bibi would lose. If the automaton killed him, she would definitely need an alternate plan. It wasn't enough for her to defy going after the bearcats, but it was a problem that scurried at the back of her mind as she left the keep and walked out onto the icy land outside.