Red Sun Also Rises, A (24 page)

Once we’d travelled beyond sight of land, I lost all sense of time and distance. Ptallaya was reduced to three elements: a bright red sky overhead, a dark red sea below, and a blood-red orb above and to the rear of us. None of the moons was visible.

I was still weak from my wounds, and even in the best of health had never been a strong swimmer, but if there was any possibility that Clarissa still lived, then I had no option. I had to find her, even if it meant losing my own life in the attempt.

After an immeasurable period, Gallokomas shouted, “Look down to the left, Thing.”

I did so and saw, about a mile away, a ball of orange light slipping along underwater—the same phenomenon Clarissa and I had observed off the shore of New Yatsillat.

“Fly over it!” I yelled.

The Zull altered course and moments later we were above the illumination. I could now see that it shone from the centre of a long ovoid object travelling at great speed just beneath the surface. I felt certain it was some sort of machine.

“There’s another ahead of us,” Gallokomas observed.

We flew on, seeing more and more of the lights, and soon realised they were coming and going from a point directly ahead of us. Then a bright twinkling light, like a rising star, burst over the horizon.

“Phenadoor,” Gallokomas exclaimed. “I will take you as near to it as I dare, but already I feel it pushing me away.”

As we drew closer to the dazzling radiance and my eyes adjusted, it was revealed to be a vast cone-shaped mountain of pink crystal—probably white under the yellow suns—which reared up from the ocean and towered into the sky.

“I’m struggling,” my escort groaned. We began to lose altitude.

“What is it, Gallokomas? What prevents you from approaching? Is there a physical resistance?”

“No, Thing. I feel a sense of . . . of transgression in coming here. I will have to drop you very soon.”

“Please, get as close as you can manage. I can’t swim this distance.”

Plunging downward, the Zull sped along just a few feet above the surface of the water. At such proximity, our velocity felt tremendous, but still Phenadoor grew only slowly before us, gradually rising over the horizon and expanding until it appeared impossibly massive and completely blocked the western skyline from view.

Gallokomas reduced speed, came to a stop, and gasped, “It hurts! I cannot take you any farther!”

I tried to gauge the distance to the shore of the mountain. It was too far for me, I was positive, but I had no option other than to make the attempt.

“Drop me here, Gallokomas, and go to your people, taking with you my sincere gratitude and friendship.”

“I hope you find your companion, Thing. Phenadoor will offer you peace and fulfilment, but if you ever suffer the misfortune of being expelled from it, as I was, seek out the Zull. I will ensure that you are well received.”

I thanked him and, without further ceremony, he loosed his grip on me and I plunged into the ocean. The moment I splashed into the surprisingly warm water, the weight of my sword dragged me under. Fool that I was, I’d forgotten I was wearing it! Panicking, I wasted precious moments grappling with the leather harness to which the scabbard was attached, until, realising my idiocy, I gave up on the buckle, pulled the blade free, and discarded it. I kicked for the surface and reached it just as my lungs were about to burst.

I trod water for a few moments. Gallokomas was already a distant dot in the sky. I was alone.

After pulling away the harness and what remained of my shirt, I started to swim, adopting a slow and relaxed stroke I hoped I’d be able to maintain for some considerable distance. I very much doubted I’d reach the crystal mountain without having to rest but, fortunately, the sea was extremely salty, which made me buoyant, and a gentle current was assisting me. When I grew weary, I’d be able to float and recoup my strength while still drifting in the right direction.

No thoughts passed through my head during that long test of endurance. I concentrated only on my rhythmic respiration and the movement of my limbs.

If I reached my destination, what would I find there? The Yatsill had been unaware it was an island. To them, the whole sea was Phenadoor, a heavenly realm they aspired to. And for the Zull, it was a lost Paradise. But what of the Blood Gods? Were they really attacking it, or did Phenadoor extend to them the same state of beatitude the other races claimed?

I stopped. Perhaps an hour had passed and I was noticeably closer to the island, but something had just flashed beneath me. I trod water, turned, searching for the source of the fleeting light. Suddenly the current switched direction and hit my side with considerable force, carrying me spinning along. I tried to swim against it but it became more powerful by the second and sent me helplessly reeling in a wide arc. To my horror, I realised I was caught in a whirlpool. Bright orange light flared at its centre. Before I could fill my lungs, I was dragged under. My pulse thundered in my ears. I struggled, became disoriented, and lost track of up and down. Darkness closed in.

I opened my eyes and looked up into the appalling features of a Blood God.

“I am Koozan-Phay,” it said, speaking Koluwaian. “You are not damaged.”

I sat up. I was in a medium-sized chamber. Its walls were of metal upon which hung frames containing intricate shapes carved from crystal.

“Where am I?”

“In
Underconveyance Two-Zero-Two
.”

“And what is that?”

“A merchant vessel. It travels under the water. We were collecting food from the farms on the seabed when we detected you and took you from the surface. We are entering Phenadoor. Your injuries have been attended to. Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

The creature shuffled to one of the frames and raised a tentacle, the end of which split into a myriad of thin fingerlike appendages. They brushed over a pattern of crystals.

“He is ready for sustenance.”

It turned back to me. “You are Aiden Fleischer. There is no other on Ptallaya with your exact physical structure and colouring. The Quintessence instructed us to keep watch for you.”

“What is the Quintessence?”

“It is the One whose design the Mi’aata follow.”

In response to my puzzled expression, the Blood God tapped itself with a tentacle. “We are the Mi’aata.”

Movement drew my attention to one of the walls. A floor-to-ceiling panel of a shimmering pearl-like substance had suddenly dissolved into the air. A Blood God—or Mi’aata—entered through the revealed doorway. It was carrying a platter of fruit and vegetables, which it handed to me.

“Eat,” the newcomer directed, before addressing Koozan-Phay. “We have arrived and the underconveyance is secured.”

Koozan-Phay replied, “Order the cargo unloaded, Zantar-Pteen. The crew may then go to their prayers.”

Zantar-Pteen made a gesture—perhaps the equivalent of a bow—and departed. The door rematerialised. I laid into my meal, too famished to consider anything else. Koozan-Phay watched me patiently and said nothing until I’d finished.

“I will now take you to a holding cell where you’ll remain until you are summoned. Do not be concerned, Aiden Fleischer—you are not a prisoner and will not have to wait for long.”

“And then?”

“Then the Quintessence will decide whether your knowledge and skills can benefit Phenadoor.”

“And if I’m found lacking, will I be eaten?”

“I do not understand your question.”

I couldn’t help but growl my response. “Your people decimated the Yatsill and drained blood from the Koluwaians.”

“Yatsill? Koluwaians? I do not know these things. The Mi’aata are peaceful. We have little contact with the other species of Ptallaya. Certainly, we do not attack or consume them.”

“I witnessed it with my own eyes, Koozan-Phay.”

The Mi’aata stood silently for a moment, then said, “This is very disturbing. As a simple merchant I cannot perceive where the truth of the matter might be situated. It must be placed before the Quintessence. Come.”

I stood and followed him to the pearl panel, watched it dissolve before my eyes, then stepped after him through the portal and into an arched passageway. We moved along it, passing other Mi’aata, all intent on their various tasks, until we came to a junction. Here we turned left and exited the vessel through a round door. As we descended a ramp, I looked back at
Underconveyance 202
, then at the chamber in which it had docked.

The ship, settled on the surface of an inlet, was smooth, silvery, and shaped somewhat like a long, narrow fish. On top of its midsection, a crystal dome bulged outward, and from it a bright orange light glowed.

I realised that I was going to have to completely revise my impression of the Blood Gods, for the vessel was obviously far more advanced than anything my own race had created.

The inlet lapped at the edges of a spectacular grotto, an irregularly formed cavern of bluish rock veined with white crystals that flashed and glinted, illuminating everything within. When Koozan-Phay heard my exclamation of wonder, he said, “Our scholars tell us that when Ptallaya was young, Phenadoor fell to it from Tremakaat Yul.”

We crossed the dock and entered a jewel-encrusted tunnel.

“What is Tremakaat Yul?”

“The purple eye that circles this world.”

The moon with the dark blotch. There was no astronomical terminology in the Koluwaian lingo, but the concept that something could “fall” from Tremakaat Yul suggested to me that the Mi’aata might possess some knowledge of celestial matters. Perhaps, then, they would better understand the explanation of my and Clarissa’s origins than the Yatsill had done.

The tunnel sloped upward. We frequently passed openings to the right and left, and encountered many other Mi’aata, to whose fearsome appearance I was now becoming more accustomed. They weren’t the octopus-like cephalopods I’d initially taken them for. Upon closer inspection, I saw the same hints of a skeletal structure I’d spotted in the creature that burst out of Mademoiselle Crockery Clattersmash, and their six tentacles—which appeared to be interchangeable as arms or legs—were multi-jointed rather than boneless. Their “faces” were similar to those of the Yatsill in that they were four-eyed with a vertical mouth. The eyes, though, were far more expressive, each being possessed of an iris and sideways-blinking lids. The mouth was merely a slit, which made a horrible trembling motion when the things spoke.

That the Mi’aata were more intelligent than the Yatsill was suggested by the various instruments and contraptions—all constructed from crystal—which lined the tunnel and various chambers we passed through. Where the Yatsill were mimics, the Mi’aata were obviously innovators, and had created a mechanical science based—I later learned—on “resonating frequencies.” It was certainly more sophisticated, quieter, and less odorous than the engineering of my own world. Whether it was any more reliable, though, remained open to question, for I saw that many of the devices were under repair—either being dismantled by Mi’aata or put back together. This was true of the rooms and corridors we passed through, too—their walls, floors, and ceilings appeared to be in a constant state of renovation, so much so that I was prompted to ask Koozan-Phay whether Phenadoor was suffering some sort of structural decay.

“Not at all,” he replied. “We renew because the Quintessence says it is necessary.”

He led me into a small room. A pearl panel materialised in the doorway behind us, then, moments later, vanished again to reveal a different corridor beyond. Presumably the room was a passenger lift, like the ones used in New York, but I’d felt no sensation of movement and had no idea whether we’d gone up or down.

We traversed more corridors and chambers until we entered a long and narrow space with many doors set in its sides. A Mi’aata stepped forward and greeted us. “Is this Aiden Fleischer?”

“It is,” Koozan-Phay confirmed.

“He will wait in Cell Nineteen.”

“Very well.”

I was escorted into a square compartment.

“I will come for you when the Quintessence wills it,” Koozan-Phay said. “Eat if you become hungry, bathe, and sleep.” He backed out of the doorway and a panel faded into view between us. I placed a hand on it. It was solid. I was confined.