The Moons of Mirrodin

CHAPTER 20

Glissa beckoned Bruenna to the door. “Aerophins,” she said. “Lots of them, and my friends are missing. We’re on our own.”

“Why didn’t you sense them?” asked Bruenna.

“I don’t know,” replied Glissa.

Bruenna paced back and forth, her eyebrows furrowed. “You can sense their mana buildup. They have to charge their attack before releasing the lightning. That’s why it takes so long between blasts. Someone’s figured out you can sense that, so the aerophins haven’t charged up yet.”

“Then why are they hovering out there?” asked Glissa. “They have us trapped in here. Why not attack?”

Both women stared at each other.

“Because they have us trapped in here,” said Glissa slowly.

Bruenna nodded. “They’re holding us here until something-or someone-else arrives.”

“We have to get away from here. Any suggestions?”

“Run,” said Bruenna.

“That’s your plan?”

“Look,” said Bruenna, “it will take the aerophins time to charge their attack. That gets us out the door. I’ll slow them down with a gust of wind, and we run.”

Glissa shook her head. “They’ll follow us wherever we run. Where do we go?”

“I don’t know,” the human mage answered. “Away from town. Into the mountains. Anywhere. Staying here is suicide and puts my people at risk.”

“Fine.” Glissa nodded. “You’re right. We’ll run into the mountains. That’s the most likely place to find my friends. Anyway, maybe I can destroy some of these beasts. I’ve done it before.”

“How did you do that?” asked Bruenna.

“I have no idea,” said Glissa as she moved back toward the door. “It just happened. You might have to die first, though. Ready?”

Bruenna walked to the door, crossed her arms in front of her, and nodded. Glissa pulled the door open, and the mage flung her arms wide. Glissa felt a blast of wind whip by her. The doorframe rattled from the force. Bruenna ran out the door, and the elf followed.

The aerophins scattered, tumbling in the sudden wind. Bruenna ran along the shore, Glissa beside her, glancing back to keep an eye on their pursuers. Two of the aerophins crashed into the sea. The quicksilver was thick and buoyant. The aerophins didn’t sink, but they couldn’t pull themselves free, either. Behind one of the aerophins a sleek neck broke the surface of the quicksilver with hardly a ripple. It looked like a giant serpent. Its head snaked five feet into the air and opened its jaws wide, revealing rows of shiny teeth, then slammed back into the sea, snapping its mouth shut around the tail of the silver creature. The predator disappeared under the surface.

As they cleared the dock area, Glissa heard screams from the village. Young children ran screaming through the streets while adults tried to catch and calm them down. A little boy ran right toward Glissa, crying, followed by a gray-haired man. “Riley, come back here! It’s not safe,” shouted the man.

“Get indoors!” shouted Glissa as she ran on. “Hurry.”

She doubled her pace. The man caught Riley at the shore just as the aerophins roared over their heads.

“We have to get away from town!” shouted Bruenna. “Then we’ll head toward the mountains.”

“There’s not much cover in the valley.”

“I’m counting on you to tell me when to dodge.”

“Great,” said Glissa. She felt a familiar tingling sensation. “Now would be a good time. They’re charging.”

Bruenna broke away from the sea’s edge and dived to the ground. Glissa thought about plunging into the quicksilver but remembered the sea serpent.

The aerophins held their charge. Either they had gotten smarter or something was controlling them. Glissa’s foot slipped into the quicksilver and slid out from under her. She landed flat on her face-an easy target.

The aerophins were almost on top of her. She rolled back away from the sea and went for her sword. They came in fast and low, their globes glowing and crackling with lightning. She had nowhere to go. Lightning streaked over Glissa’s head and slammed into the dirt and quicksilver around her.

Glissa glanced around, looking for Bruenna to thank her for blasting the aerophins. Instead she saw a human boat speed through the flock. Slobad stood at the front of the boat, staring intently at a board in front of him, with Bosh right behind him. As the boat sailed through the low-flying aerophins, Bosh swatted at the silver birds, knocking two into the sea with a single swing of his large, iron hand.

The rest of the flock flew up into the sky. Glissa scrambled to her feet and ran after the boat, hoping the goblin could turn it before the aerophins returned.

Bruenna ran over. “What was that?” she asked.

“My friends,” replied Glissa. “Come on.”

The two ran back toward the docks, following the boat. Slobad was not completely in control, and it swerved back and forth next to the shore. The little boy, Riley, screamed as the boat sped toward them. The old man grabbed the boy and dived out the way. Slobad veered away from the shore and skidded sideways into the docks.

Glissa glanced behind her. The remaining aerophins had regrouped. “Get inside!” she shouted at the old man. “It’s not safe out here.” The old man stared at her, shaking. Glissa sprinted for the boat.

She heard Bruenna behind her. “It’s all right, Jerryl. She’s a friend … I think. Get your grandson to safety.”

“Hurry up!” shouted Glissa. The tingling began on her neck. “We’re out of time.”

The elf took two steps into the sea. The quicksilver pulled at her feet. She stretched her arms out to grasp the side of the boat and missed. Her fingertips scraped the iron tube on the side as she saw the quicksilver coming up toward her face. A hand shot out from the boat and grabbed her wrist. Bosh pulled on Glissa’s arm, but her momentum carried her into the side of the boat. Her stomach slammed into the rusty tube and knocked the wind from her.

Bosh pulled Glissa onto the boat and dropped her onto the leather deck. She curled up into a ball and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Glissa fought for breath so she could speak. “Protect … Bruenna,” she gasped.

“I have her,” the golem said calmly.

“Slobad … go!” Glissa wheezed.

She heard the wings of approaching aerophins. She tried to stand but was thrown to the deck as the boat lurched away from the dock. Glissa looked up to see Bruenna wave her arms at the beasts. Her ears popped as the wind rushed from Bruenna’s hands above her.

“Did it work?” asked the elf. She pushed herself back up again. Her gut hurt, and she had trouble balancing in the moving boat.

Bruenna shook her head. “Most of them dived under the gust. It slowed them down, but they’re still coming.”

Glissa saw the aerophins behind them, skating just above the sea. “I have an idea,” she said. “Blast ’em again, but aim at the quicksilver. Do it quick. My neck is tingling.”

Bruenna tossed her hands out and spread her fingers wide. Glissa watched the energy leap from her hands as the mage released a blast of air. The wind hit the sea and sent a wave of quicksilver up into the air behind the boat.

“Pour it on,” called Glissa.

Bruenna fed more mana into the wind. The wave grew and spread away from the boat. The aerophins tried to rise above the incoming wave but couldn’t climb fast enough. The quicksilver wave slammed into the flock, engulfing the lead birds before they could get out of the path. One by one, the aerophins disappeared into the receding wave until only two were left. They rose up away from the sea and sped toward the boat.

“Can this thing go any faster?” called Glissa.

“Don’t ask me, huh?” grumbled Slobad. “I just learn to work it.”

“I can get more speed from it,” said Bruenna. She walked to the front of the boat, hooking her feet under an iron tube that ran the length of the leather deck as she moved. She pushed the goblin from the way. Glissa saw two more iron tubes sticking up from the deck at the front of the boat, bent in toward one another about level with the goblin’s head. Between them sat a large ball of quicksilver. Bruenna summoned mana into her palm and grabbed the ball. The boat lurched forward again, much faster than before.

Glissa hooked one foot under the iron rail and grabbed Bosh to steady herself. Slobad, with nothing to hold onto, slid toward the back of the boat. Glissa stuck out her free foot and caught the goblin as he went past.

“You might want to stay low,” called Bruenna. “I’m going to try to lose them in the crystal islands.”

Glissa reached down and pulled Slobad over to the foot rail. The goblin grabbed the iron tube with both hands. His little body bounced up and down on the leather deck as the boat sped across the quicksilver. Glissa bent down into a crouch and grabbed the iron tube to steady herself. She glanced back to check on the aerophins. Twin gusts of wind sprayed from the end of the iron pontoons that supported the leather deck. Quicksilver sprayed into the air behind them as the boat skipped across the sea. The aerophins dropped back behind the spray but kept pace with the speeding boat. Glissa had no idea how fast they were going, but since Bruenna had taken control of the ship the shoreline had disappeared.

The boat swerved violently to the left, and Glissa snapped her attention forward again. They were coming up fast on the crystal islands, which looked more like towers than islands-giant, silver spires flowing from the sea.

The islands twisted and snaked their way into the sky like the quicksilver serpent Glissa had seen earlier. There was a group of ten ahead, but Glissa saw more dotting the sea in the distance. The towers were mesmerizing. They looked like crystallized quicksilver. The light of the two moons in the sky reflected off the spires as well as the surface of the water, turning the air between the islands into a cascade of color.

They whipped around the first island, skimming between two silver buttresses that curved down from the tower above them. Glissa looked up as they sped underneath. Dozens of rounded terraces jutted from the spire high above. Two silver bridges connected this tower with the two nearest islands in the group. Glissa thought she saw people on the bridges and terraces as they sped toward the next island, but she couldn’t be sure. They were too high, and the boat was moving too fast.

Bruenna swerved sharply around the next island and continued through the chain. Glissa noticed an opening in the base of the island large enough for the boat to enter. She peered inside as they sped past and saw a glittering cave with a number of human boats moored within.

“Can we hide in one of those caves?” shouted Glissa as they raced toward the next island. The aerophins swung wide around the silver spire but were still close behind.

“Maybe, if I can lose them,” snapped Bruenna. “If they follow us in, we’ll be trapped.”

Glissa pushed her hair from her eyes. “Slow down,” she shouted.

“Are you crazy? They’re charged and ready to attack if they get close enough. One bolt of lightning could sink us.”

“Just a little closer,” said Glissa. “Lure them in, then accelerate into the next cave. They can’t turn as tight as you can. Trust me. This will work.”

Bruenna shook her head. “Sounds crazy.”

“Crazy what she do best,” called Slobad from where he clung to Glissa’s leg.

Bruenna moved her hand back on the quicksilver control orb, and the boat slowed. Glissa kept an eye on the aerophins as they sped toward the next island, looming closer and closer. The tingle on the back of Glissa’s neck returned. They would fire any second, but the island was still some distance ahead.

“Full speed!” she shouted. “They’re close enough.”

Bruenna rolled her hand up on the orb, and the boat lurched forward. The aerophins were still gaining slightly but hadn’t attacked yet.

“Cut as close as you can to the side of the cave.”

Bruenna maneuvered the boat around a crystal island, which had a single spire growing straight from the water. As they sped around the other side, Glissa saw a silver arch curving out from the tower into the sea ahead of them. Bruenna twisted the boat to the right, just missing the arch as they skided into the cave.

The first aerophin slammed into the leg of the arch, exploding and sending debris into the sea. The second made the turn, but its momentum propelled it straight for the far side of the cave.

“Everybody down,” cried Glissa. She dropped to the deck right as the aerophin slammed into the cave wall and exploded in a shower of electricity and glass. When the elf looked again, the boat was still speeding through the cave, heading straight for a row of docked boats.

“Bruenna,” she screamed.

The mage stood and slapped her hand back on the quicksilver control. The boat slowed down, but Glissa could tell it wasn’t going to be enough. Bruenna twisted her hand, and the boat slid sideways. They came to a stop, bumping the last two boats in the line.

“She learned that from me, huh?” said Slobad. “I did that first, huh? Remember? I did that at docks.”

Glissa ignored the goblin. “Is everyone okay?”

Slobad and Bosh nodded. Bruenna looked concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” said Bruenna, “but we’re not safe. The vedalken will send someone down here to investigate those explosions.”

“Is there somewhere safe we can go?” asked Glissa. “We need to finish our talk.”

“Yes, we do.” said Bruenna. “Before I agree to do anything else for you, I’d like to know who you are and what trouble you’ve brought to my people.”

“So,” said Glissa, tapping her feet on the leather deck. “Where can we go?”

“I know a place,” said the mage.

* * * * *

Bruenna made her way through the islands in the chain and sailed into the middle of the sea. Glissa watched behind to make sure nobody followed. While the human piloted the boat toward a set of distant spires, Glissa told Bruenna of her adventures, starting with the death of her parents and ending with Kane’s death and the description of the four-armed mage who killed him. She left out references to the goblin cult and the inner world.

After a time, they came upon a lone island jutting from the sea near the intersection of the mountains and the Mephidross haze. The island was a simple spire that corkscrewed up from the sea. Glissa noticed that it did not glitter like the towers in the crystal island chain. In fact, the silver spire looked almost dirty.

“The vedalken abandoned this island long ago,” explained Bruenna as she guided the boat into the cave at its base. “It was too close to the Mephidross and was being infected by the necrogen mists-that green haze hanging over the Dross. We should be safe here.”

The cave seemed to take up the entire base of the spire. A central stairway spiraled up from a landing in the center. They docked at the far side of the landing so the stairs blocked the boat from view, and ascended the spire. The interior of the crystal island was dull and greasy from the necrogen, but still it fascinated Glissa. Light from the moons came through the walls, but the walls bent the light in odd ways, stretching and distorting the world outside. If she stared at it too long, her eyes blurred and her head began to hurt.

“Would we not be more secure near the boat?” asked Bosh.

Bruenna stared at the golem. “It talks?” she asked.

Glissa smiled. “I forgot to mention that,” she said. “Sorry.”

Bruenna grunted. “You have some strange servants.”

“They aren’t servants,” said Glissa. “They are my friends.”

“Thank you, Glissa,” said Bosh.

Bruenna stared at Glissa and shrugged. “We’re going up to one of the terraces,” she said. “We’ll be able to see anyone coming from there.”

They emerged onto a terrace that completely encircled the spire. Bosh and Slobad patrolled it while Bruenna and Glissa continued their talk.

“You were right,” Bruenna said. “The mage who killed your friend was a vedalken. Why do they hunt you? I’ve never seen so many aerophins used against a single person before.”

“I don’t know,” said Glissa. “I was hoping you could help me find out.”

“Why should I help you?” asked the mage. “I brought you this far to get you away from my village. If I help you further, the Synod will order the destruction of my town.”

Glissa sighed. “Look,” she said, “you don’t trust me and I don’t trust you, but I have no choice. The vedalken want met dead, and I need your help. Just give me some information and you can walk away if you want. What is this Synod?”

“The Synod is the ruling council of the vedalken,” replied Bruenna. “If they find you, they will know I helped you. It must be a member of the Synod after you. Only they have access to that many aerophins.”

“Then help me defeat them so they don’t find out,” pleaded Glissa. “Look, they’ve already attacked my people twice. If I don’t stop this, a lot more people will die, including the people of your village. Help me, and I’ll try to stop that.”

“With what?” asked Bruenna. “A rusty construct and a filthy goblin?”

“Fine. Don’t help us. Take us back to land, and we’ll find another way.” Glissa turned and stared out over the vast expanse of the Quicksilver Sea. “You can go back to your forced servitude to the vedalken. Just tell me one thing-why do you work for them? You humans seem to be a fairly intelligent race, and you have magical powers. Why not work for yourselves?”

“That is exactly what my father said,” said Bruenna. “They killed him for it.”

“What happened?” asked Glissa.

Bruenna stared off across the gentle rippling sea. “We used to be like the other human settlements,” she said. “We worked with the vedalken … or at least we thought we did, but our lives never improved, and they kept everything we helped to create. My father had enough. His life’s work was complete, and those bastards in the Synod stole it from him. He led our town in a revolt against the vedalken. We refused to work for them any more. That’s when they sent the aerophins … fifty of them. Those silver assassins ravaged the town and killed everyone who dared fight back. So, yes, we still work for the vedalken, but we have no illusions as to our role anymore. We are their slaves, and nothing can change that.”

“I can,” said Glissa.

“How?”

“I have a power,” said the elf. “I don’t understand it yet, but I can destroy the aerophins. With your help, I can learn to control it. If you help me, I will protect your village.”

“I don’t know,” said Bruenna. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “We’ve lived in peace with the vedalken for almost thirty cycles.”

“You mean you’ve lived in slavery. What would your father do?”

Bruenna stared at Glissa for a long moment. Tears streamed down her face. At last she asked, “What do you need?”