The new front of the shop could not look any better. After Donna’s insistence, Wang had finally got rid of the piles of scrap that occupied the entrance. Instead, the front had been turned into two large windows flanking the central entrance, offering a view of the delicate watches and state-of-the-art prosthetics they could offer. A lettering emblazoned in gold crowned the whole facade, painted in pleasant shades of silver. Fredom had brought them prosperity, and with the wealth, Donna had managed to free every single person who once sailed to slavery with her. Everything was perfect, and yet, Donna could not pull her lips to a simple smile. She freed everyone except Lim.
All of her attempts had failed, and after a long period where she had lost track of her, she now knew where to find her. And even more, the opportunity to rescue her was easier than ever. Marie, who after hundreds of letters sent to every corner of the world had found her, had promised her that Ced, her husband would bring a good group of men to help the next trip to the north, but visits to the north delayed each time, and with Ced’s arrival, the opportunities banished.
Sniffing around and trying to sneak out slaves from the claws of their owners had earned her a reputation. aggrieved slavers and disgruntled gangs put stares at her neck every time she went out. To her, danger, even on the good side of the city, was common. That morning, triggers of peril came from a couple of strangers poorly pretending to buy some trinkets from a far corner.
“Those two… are they from the Rusty blades?” She said to an approaching AhShui.
“Nay,” he answered, clapping powerfully to clean his hands of sawdust. “Those are squids looking for bounties. Don’t worry about them. The shop looks amazing, master Donna. I’m really proud of you and Wang.”
“Thank you.” Donna gulped to ease the tightness of her stomach. A feeling not arising from the fear of Krakens, but from the knowledge Shui’s news would not be any different from other times. “Did you get any letter from Ced?”
Shui fidgeted. “Yes. He said two more months. They are pretty busy down there. And he sends his most daring apolo-”
“Two more months? She may be gone!” Donna said. “She always tries to escape and doesn’t last long in each place. Then they’ll sell her and I’ll lose track again! Damn it!”
Shui lowered his sight to the ground and kicked a pebble. “You want me to take some of my boys and-”
“No, no!” Donna cut as she shuffled inside. “You already lost your partnership because of me! I’ll find another way.”
At the end of the shop, Wang was leaning forward on his counter, right behind the broad shoulders of a man covered with a ragged poncho. At the newcomers’ feet and sitting on the floor, a little girl entertained herself with one of Wang’s wooden horses he used to give to buyers for their kids. As Donna approached, the little girl rushed to pull on the poncho, and the man lifted her up so she could sit on the counter. “No good news?” AhWang asked.
Strangely, Wang lightened up when seeing Donna’s gloom. When she reached the counter, Wang moved nervously and, as usual, no words came out until she had already put on her apron. “I have good news for you, this is-”
Wang halted at the sound of the doorbell. With the entrance of the Kraken men, both tensed, but not more than their mysterious client. With his eyes, he gave orders to Wang to put the little girl behind the desk, and then he shifted to move aside, pretending to inspect some old merchandise.
“Good morning, people!” said one of the mercs with a forced friendliness. After pretentiously reaching, he put a couple of papers on the table. The wanted sketches were of a man with a patched eye, and one of a young, beautiful woman. “Without the intention of causing any trouble, we would like your cooperation and look at these pictures. Wanted traitors of the empire: War criminals and metal freaks, both of them. Any bells ringing?”
Donna pretended to scrutinise both pictures. “No bell ringing but the door’s.”
The Kraken, a handsome and fit boy, stared at her, unleashing a charismatic and equally malicious grin. “Are you sure, sweety? You looked little.”
Donna wiped her hands and shook her head side to side. “I know each of my clients well, sir. These people have not been here. Want to buy a watch? Best ones in the North.”
The mercenary did not take his eyes off her, but his smile dissipated after his companion’s mouth reached close to the ear. Whatever the whisper, it triggered a quick and nervous glance over the man in the poncho. Equally quick and nervous, the squid retreated and, without turning their back on him and speaking any more words, they left.
The little girl returned to her seat over the counter and the man to the front. This time, he pulled aside the poncho to rest his elbows on the counter so he could rest his chin over his hands. Both limbs, corroded and battered prostheses, still had an elegant and sturdy design Donna immediately recognized. The fact this stranger was one of Father’s many works did not impress her as much as seeing the remains of an old painting over his forearm. It had been scratched, but the shape of tentacles and the reminiscences of red could still be faintly glimpsed. In an instant, all the nuances the three mercenaries had done moments before made complete sense. “Didn’t see you enter, mister?”
The man rubbed his face with the left while wiggling the fingers of the right. “Sand has gotten inside and I can’t move it well. Can you fix it?”
Donna’s nose wrinkled as she turned to check on the appointments list. “We are pretty full these days, maybe in a couple of months-”
“Nonsense!” Wang said. “Mister Em, this is Donna. I told you about her. She can fix you as well as new. “
Donna bit her tongue to avoid a curse, though she couldn’t help turning around to let out a hiss. Wang already knew her well enough to know when to calm her tantrums, and his partner was quick to move his hands up and down, something he often did to ease her spirits and also his nerves. “Mister Em is a war veteran and a really experienced mercenary. He is a friend of a friend and I trust him very much!”
When Donna crossed her arms, Wang hesitated to continue. “Ah..so, well... yesterday he came when you were at the top loft, and we updated each other very well. And we have made a deal.”
A chill ran down Donna’s back. “What deal?”
“We give him maintenance for free and a place on Ced’s ship and he will help free Lim. Is that correct, Mister Em?”
“Correct.” Em reached for a candy the little girl rushed to devour. “If Wang can take care of the Pumpkin, we can do it right now. I have done my homework.”
Wang nodded enthusiastically before jumping back as Donna moved to face the mercenary with assertive determination. “How many men do you have?” She asked.
“Only me,” He answered.
Donna huffed and waved a disdainful hand. “With all respect, Mister… I prefer to wait for Ced and his men. I’ll find you a gap on my waiting list and give you a discount for ‘friends of friends’.”
“Too late, girl. Wang already told me where the Droolers are holding Lim.” Em stroked the girl’s hair and lifted her up so Wang could hold her in his arms. After grooming his poncho, he followed Wang to the back room. “I’ll bring her back and you’ll fix my junk.”
Without knowing how, Donna found herself scampering after the mercenary through the shit of the back alley. Em strode rapidly, and having much longer legs, put Donna in a constant chase to keep up with him. Without being able to calm the heaviness of her nerves, Donna steamed out her thoughts between gasps. “You’re going to get us both killed, and then they’ll move Lim and I’ll lose her again!”
“Didn’t ask you to come,” Em said. “You turn around and wait in the shop. It’s safer there.”
“Not gonna happen!” Donna speeded up to cut him off. Her eyes watered. “She was sold to the horse lords of the Red sands. I know how savage those people are. And the chief of the Droolers, one of those barbarians, is worse than all the rest! She must have been through a lot and I’m going to be there when she finds freedom. I owe her that at least… and… and it’s been my goal all this time, and… and…”
“All right, kid. I promise you’ll be there to release her.” Em’s hand rested on her shoulder. “But if it gets really dirty, you do as I say, no questions asked, deal?”
After crossing the corner of Jouh’s butcher shop, the two entered the old neighbourhood. Respectable merchants and shopkeepers gave way to low-born prostitutes and whoremongers. If in the Lower quarters Donna always felt watched, here the glances from every corner twisted her insides out. Nothing was safe, no one was kind. And about all the hostility, Em didn’t care a single bit. Right before reaching the Alley of gamblers, he stepped aside to lighten up a rolled cigar. Donna stood firm in the middle of the street, and when a big bulky guard came out of the alley, she rushed to hide behind the merc. “It’s a dead end, one guard and a few people inside during the day, more at night. When gambling, the gang gathers. When it is close they are around the city.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Wang told me some details and I sniffed around,” Em said from within a cloud of smoke. “But if it calms you down to do some talking, tell me: What’s an anthropoid? Wang said she was of no use at the brothels for being an anthropoid.”
“Lim was a leper of Mestra my father took pity on after the war. Her body was all rotten so… little was left of her human flesh. I suppose that’s what it means. An almost human machine.”
“Remarkable man, your dad,” Em said. “I thought he died in Linee during the war. I am happy he had to live a longer life and make a family.”
“Lim made the most of herself. She is the remarkable one, not him.” Donna said, without hiding a bit of resentment. “And Father, well… he kinda died in the war, you know?”
“We all did, kid,” Em muttered. “We all did.”
Curled into a ball between smoke and sacks, Donna tried to catch a clean breath. “What’s your daughter’s name?”
“I thought I said it already,” Em said. “Her name is Pumpkin.”
Donna looked over to shoot a frown towards the merc. “That’s the name? Are you serious?”
“Why not? It sounds cute.”
Donna stood and dusted off her pants. “Unless you want her to hate you when she grows up, give the poor soul a proper name, idiot. Come on, we are wasting time! You get my friend out and I will give you free maintenance for life!”
Spurred by a sudden burst of energy, Em squished the cigar on the wall and rushed down the street.
“Hey, hey. Can’t enter yet. Come later!” said the bulky guard. As he noticed Donna, his silly smile banished. “Damn girl, not you again. Get out! You and your too skinny, too old, and not too scary bodyguard.”
Em raised a finger to point at the alley’s darkness. “What is that?”
The guard smirked and tilted his head. “You think I’m an idiot, or what?”
Maybe he was not, Donna thought. But he wasn’t faster either. Em’s punch came unexpectedly and hit the guard’s jaw with thunderous might. The big man held and only took a small step backwards. Still, he didn’t have time to raise his defences when the other two punches reached. He crumbled, and as more punches reached, he kneeled. Only after Em had him laying on the ground receiving few more fists, his consciousness surrendered. “Tough fella, this one,” Em said.
“This is your plan?” Donna said. “To use cheap tricks and punch your way through? Does it work with groups, because inside there may be more than only one tough fella!”
Midway down the narrow alley, Em took out his poncho and tossed it to Donna. She made a ball of it and squeezed it over her chest. “I have this to ease the odds,” he said. After patting a holster filled with bullets, Em took out a revolver and spun it with his finger. After loading it and checking its mechanisms, he sheathed it back with a slow, delicate move.
The reinforced door only squeaked with Em’s push. He insisted, but not even a determined shoulder moved it a bit. “Now what? Do we knock?” Donna said.
Em growled and raised a barrel over a box. Then, a smaller box over the barrel. As he climbed, Donna scouted around with trepidation burning from within. Em reached a gap of fallen lime plaster and pulled himself through the boulders toward a small window. With his finger, he poked the glass to a snap. His hand reached the inside, broken glass scratching on his metal skin. When the window opened, he entered.
Donna whispered his name repeatedly, each time louder, and not until she was clearly using a yell, he returned. As his head popped out, he shushed. “I can’t climb that!” she said.
“You wait in the main street. If you see anyone rushing in, you run to your shop, understand?”
“You promised!” Donna Rasped. She squeezed the bulk of the poncho and kicked a bottle, which shattered upon hitting the wall. From the end of the alley, the guard moaned. She squirmed for an instant before reaching to put an ear on the door. The entrance, reinforced and thick, did not let pass any sound, but all lucks for her, the struggle of battle she wished to hear reached from the window ahead. Bullets fired like popping cracks and yells and screams, followed, all muttered by the heavy, stoned walls. More shots. Breakage. Struggle. Screams. The fight was endless. And every sound, even if it didn’t reach the main street, put more worry on Donna, who’d barely contain herself anymore.
When the metals of the door’s knots tingled, she stepped back, afraid it could be someone else than Em. As the door squeaked, she ran. “Eh, kid!” Em said. “Come back!”
With shaky legs and trembling hands, Donna entered the dim of the premises. She tripped over a body and then slipped over a pool of blood. In between broken tables and shared debris, Em stood alone. Corpses lay everywhere else. The reek, a mixture of alcohol and sweat, stung too deeply no other filth could be noticed. Nausea took over, and as Donna saw a lone survivor with his hand pinned to the table by a knife, she puked.
Em pulled the blade out, and the man yelled in agony. Then, the merc grabbed him by the hair and laid him on the plank. “Now, punk. You know what an AhClan tie is?” he said, waving the knife in front of the bloodied face of his prey. He nodded slightly, tears turning red as they dripped down his face. “Where is the woman?”
“What woman?” the thug cried. “There’s many, in many places.. I …I don’t know.”
“The metal woman. The anthropoid,” Em said, using the knife to cut the thug’s shirt.
“Stop! Stop!” the man begged. “You mean the toy! Aukar’s hound toy! When he realised she was of no use he took her to Giggles.”
“Where is this Giggles?”
“That room over there, the red door! Chief Aukar has the key! It’s too late for her, man. She’s just a piece of junk now!”
“I’ll decide that.” Em trusted an elbow straight to the face and the thug finally found a sort of relief. “Girl, help me find a guy with metal teeth and a face covered in tattoos.”
Donna didn’t realise how badly beaten Em was until he began to limp around. A deep cut ran from ear to brow and his nose was torn aside, covering his facial hair red. The back of his shirt was also soaked, as it was half of his pants. “Are you hurt?” she mumbled.
Em grunted, kicked a corpse to a spin and then bent to pull a key tied to the dead man’s neck. “I’ll survive,” he said.
When the red door opened, Donna’s breath froze. The room, a sort of dungeon floored with faeces and straw, was the lair of a sand hyena. In the corner and tied to the wall by a a huge metal chain and a sturdy collar, the beast rested. In the centre, Lim hanged from her arms. Its handles, locked to a hook, raised her from the ground to a height where the animal, which had vilely delighted itself with her legs, could not reach higher than the waist. Wires, plates and other remains had fallen under Lim’s body to form a pile of disgusting dough and, although Lim did not appear to have suffered massive breakage on her upper side, nothing seemed to have been left without a scratch. Blood and oil stained all her little remains of dressing, resembling nothing more than tattered rags. Her face, contorted by brushes and covered in crust, was barely recognizable, and her hair, once a silky, long mane, had been turned into a scrubby sponge.
As Donna screamed her name, Em stopped her from entering. Lim managed a metallic, non-human whine even with her lips sealed by dried blood. The scream awoke the beast. It roared and drooled while stepping closer. The hyena’s limbs tensed and with a powerful leap, it rushed towards them, only stopped by the pull of a chain which released sparks with the strident whip. The hyena pulled forward, fighting a chain dragging its body up instead. Drool fell to the floor and jaws chewed towards Em, both faces staring at each other from the same height.
“Damn, that’s an ugly dog,” Em said.
“That’s not.. Not a dog,” Donna mumbled.
Em raised his gun and shot to the head. The beast crumbled, legs shaking. The monster made a feint of falling, but fighting death with stubbornness instead, it reprised a charge with even more desire to kill than ever.
Em stared at his piece, then at the dripping blood from an unsuccessful shot to kill. Then at his weapon again. “What the hells?” He said. “Damn, that was the last bullet.”
“Why… why’s still moving?” Donna asked. Chain clunked, and the hyena barked. “Why is not dying? Did you miss?”
“We have no time to find out. Soon the other gang men will come.” Em took the knife and checked his right hand. “Kid, you said maintenance for life, aye?”
Donna nodded, and with no further delay, Em strode forward.
Em roared as the beast's jaws locked over his forearm. The bite smashed as if metal was bread. Em’s knife hit skin as if it was iron. The beast twisted and Em fell. Its paw stepped over his chest and its head shook the merc’s entire body from side to side. Then the blade flew towards one of the animal’s eyes. The beast screaked and backed off. Em returned to his feet, a metal hand hanging from a last remaining string of a smashed limb. The beast, still with a blade popping from the eye socket, the animal stumbled. Rage and aggression diminished with each spurt of blood dropping to the ground. Without delay, Em charged and pushed the blade deep into the skull, and the monster let out a horrifying screech. Between gasps and fighting to not fall next to its victim, Em ordered Donna to look for the poncho she’d dropped without noticing.
Lim was down when Donna returned. Immeasurable joy mixed with the dismay of seeing the state she was in. Her eyes were closed by a crust of blood, as it was a mouth filled with cuts. No part of her body was left unhurt, and her legs were nothing but a mess of cables and scrap. Her voice, guttural and metallic, released a high-pitched lament right from her throat. Sobbing uncontrollably, Donna covered her with the poncho and put a gentle hand on one side of her face.
“Lim, it’s me, it’s Donna.” Lim reacted with a spasmodic shake. “You are safe now. We will go home and I will repair you. I swear you have no more to fear. This is my friend, Em. He will take care of us.”
“You have my word.” Holding Lim in his arms, Em rose and strode to the exit. ”And I swear, I’ll take care of you with all my heart.”