The Conquering Dark: Crown (19 page)

“Gaios.” Malcolm stiffened, squeezing her hands hard. “So you do know him as Gaios? I beg you to tell me you are not a willing member of his circle.”

“I am indeed, sir.” Jane pulled from his grip and turned away briskly out of insult. “Who are you to come here and speak to me so? You know nothing of Gaios and his dreams. He has done miracles.” She spun back, full of fire. “Miracles with the land. Miracles with my father. Miracles with me. And he will bring those miracles to everyone soon.”

“I don't doubt that.” Malcolm knew Jane didn't truly grasp what Gaios represented. He couldn't conceive that the timid and righteous women he had met last year while she served meals to the London poor could have been twisted into a conscious tool by Gaios. Clearly she was deluded. “What miracles has he wrought?”

“If you must know, Mr. MacFarlane, we're doing God's work here. He has encouraged me to use my …” Again she glanced at the altar and continued quietly, “… my abilities. He believes I have the power to enrich the land, to make it more fertile. You perhaps saw the cropland outside? That is the results of our work. At his direction, I seed the land with my … abilities. And the bountiful results are self-evident. God's hand is in this. We will feed the hungry, here in Britain and beyond. God will see that no one need go hungry. And I am blessed that Gaios found me and has allowed me to play a small part in that great event.” Her gaze cast out toward the fields as if she could see them through the stone walls of the chapel.

“I'll admit, those crops are impressive, but this island is volcanic. The earth is very rich. And I suspect Gaios can enhance the fertility of the soil with his own abilities.”

Jane straightened in surprise. “Gaios has no abilities, if I take your meaning, aside from being a man of great vision and godliness.”

Malcolm laughed, as did Penny from behind the altar. The Scotsman exhaled. “Jane, you've been hoodwinked. Gaios is a fiend of the highest order.”

“How dare you, sir. You don't know—”

“I know, Jane! Trust me, I know. Gaios is an elemental, such as you are, but he is of the earth. He is likely the least godly man you could meet on this planet. He intends to use his magic to destroy Britain and kill everyone who lives here. Do you understand me? He will kill everyone. And he will use you to do it.”

Jane stared silently at him as if he had just tried to convince her they were on the Moon.

Penny rose into view with a spanner in her hand. “Oh, just grab her and let's go.”

Malcolm held up a cautionary hand. “No. I don't intend to just grab her. I've seen what she can do.”

“Well”—Penny tapped the altar with her tool—“maybe if Miss Somerset saw this, she might wonder about her benefactor.”

Malcolm moved past Jane around the altar to Penny's side. “What is it?”

“This altar is a machine. The Baroness's work.”

“What does it do?”

“Not exactly sure. Look here.” Penny gestured to where she had removed a panel. Inside was a complex array of pipes, valves, gears, and a glowing crystal the size of a cat's head.

“What happens here, Jane?” Malcolm asked.

Jane peered almost unwillingly into the open panel. She seemed confused by the internal workings of the altar. “What do you mean? I come here to pray. This is the first place of worship that has made me feel like I'm worthy of my gift. I feel better when I'm here. What is all that?” She pointed at the machinery.

Penny shook her head as she crawled over the altar, tapping and peering closely at every facet. She eyed Jane. “All you do here is pray?”

“Yes, Miss Carter.” Jane tilted her head in confusion at the engineer.

“Spectacular,” the engineer murmured, dropping back behind the altar again. “Everything that multiple-armed freak does is spectacular. It would take a year to understand and replicate this.” Penny growled with effort for a moment. Her arms were buried deep inside the altar. She clanged tools and swore. With a great tug, she pulled a piece of metal and the crystal from the guts of the holy machine. She held it up like a treasure hunter, eyes wide in disbelief. “I think this is an aether siphon of some sort.”

“Aether?” Jane scoffed. “What foolishness are you talking?”

Malcolm leaned on the altar and said to Penny with alarm, “Gaios is siphoning aether from her?”

“Other way around, I think.” Penny sat back and rubbed her chin with the spanner. “I'd bet he's drawing aether. And putting it in her.”

Malcolm and Penny slowly turned to look at Jane. She stared back defiantly though it was clear she had no clue what they were talking about.

Malcolm towered over her, seeking to overawe her with his size and presence. “Jane, you must come with us now.” He took hold of her arm. They were wasting valuable time. Someone was bound to discover them. Every passing moment he left Charlotte and Imogen alone made his gut twist more.

Jane pulled away. “My father is here.”

“Yes, I know. We'll get him.”

“Gaios is helping him.”

“No, he is not.”

“This is a spa. Gaios has a treatment that will improve my father's condition.”

“There are no other patients here,” Penny told Jane as she secured the heart of the altar in her bag. “Don't you find that odd?”

“His treatments are experimental. It requires solitude. However, if it works, we can use it to help many afflicted. It is one of his many areas of research. As I said, he intends to transform the world in all ways.”

The light in the chapel dimmed as someone entered. Malcolm spun about, yanking his Lancasters. The tall broad frame of Gaios was silhouetted in the doorway. Malcolm's stomach fell.

“Gaios!” Jane called out with relief. “These are my friends. They came to see me because they are worried about me.”

“I see.” The fiery gaze of Gaios instantly took the measure of the situation. “There is no need for them to fear … for you.”

Malcolm thought he felt the ground quiver under his feet. He had never been this close to Gaios before. There was something inhuman in the elemental's eyes. He could understand why Jane had mistaken it for zealotry. Gaios seemed to fill the chapel and diminish the others by his mere presence. The white hair and beard gave him the patina of an Old Testament prophet.

Gaios spoke with a voice that resonated throughout the building. “Did they interrupt your prayer?”

“No,” Jane replied quickly. “I was finished for today.”

“And you feel well?”

“I feel marvelous, as I always do after prayer.”

Malcolm eyed the layout of the chapel, making overly hopeful contingency plans. He wondered if he could pull a gun and fire before Gaios could react. “Why don't you tell Jane what you're truly doing to her?”

The elemental scowled angrily. The chapel shivered. Jane looked alarmed. His eyes flicked to her and the tremors ceased. He made an effort to relax his features.

Jane showed no fear of the great magician, which was both disconcerting and comforting. However, she acted embarrassed as if from harsh words spoken at a polite dinner. “Please don't be angry, Gaios. Mr. MacFarlane is a friend of mine from London. He was concerned for me and my father, not knowing where we had gone.”

Gaios nodded and came across the floor. Malcolm purposefully refused to move as he approached, forcing the white-haired demigod to step around him.

Gaios took Jane's hand. “You do understand that our work must remain secret for now? No one should know until we are ready to share it with the world.”

“Yes, I know.” Jane sighed with self-reproach. “I'm sorry. I'm sure Mr. MacFarlane won't say anything.”

Malcolm glanced at Penny, who clutched her rucksack. She seemed on the verge of doing something rash, so Malcolm smiled and winked as if this was a chat with the vicar after services.

Gaios continued to stare at Malcolm, but said to Jane, “They disturbed your father in his room. I managed to calm him, but he was quite unsettled by the incident.”

Jane spun to Malcolm with hurt surprise.

Malcolm retorted, “He told us where you were. He was calm when we left. He still thinks I'm Captain Perry.”

Jane softened and smiled. “Bless his heart. Father liked you very much despite his misapprehension.”

Malcolm noted the growing rage in Gaios's eyes, which the elemental struggled to contain in front of the sensitive Miss Somerset. The ancient magician had constructed a complex ruse and needed for her to continue to believe in it. So Malcolm pushed a bit more. “Jane, I'd like you and your father to come with me.”

Jane gasped with pain as Gaios inadvertently crushed her hand. He bowed his head apologetically and patted her fingers. “She will, of course, go nowhere with you.”

Jane looked as if she was about to upbraid Gaios for speaking for her, but she bit back the impolite words. “Mr. MacFarlane, I cannot leave. Our work is not yet done. You can clearly see I am in no danger. Whatever ideas you had are obviously incorrect.”

“Obviously.” Gaios smiled. “I will have one of my boats take you back to London.”

Malcolm could see that Jane had no intention of leaving. There seemed no way to break her faith short of goading Gaios into killing. That seemed a senseless ploy although Malcolm could see from the old elemental's annoyed features, barely frozen to cover his burning rage, that it wouldn't take much effort. The Scotsman signaled to Penny and they started slowly toward the door. Gaios followed a few steps behind.

Jane called out quietly, “I do thank you, Mr. MacFarlane. I am grateful for your concern.”

Malcolm paused in the doorway to look at the winsome figure standing in front of the altar. Then the fierce countenance of Gaios blocked his view. The Scotsman said, loudly enough for Jane to hear, “If you harm her, I will kill you.”

“Threats in a house of God. Shame.” Gaios shook his head to show how sorry he was that Jane's friends had revealed themselves as faithless boors. Jane came up behind Gaios, following them to the door. Gaios leaned toward Malcolm, eyes narrowing into blast furnaces, and he whispered, “Archer has killed you both.”

Malcolm looked into the demigod's gaze with a quiet calm before turning away. He walked past a field of corn toward the forest's edge. The spot between his shoulders twitched as he felt Gaios's powerful stare following him. He knew Jane was watching them too. Penny's steps beside him were frantic and quick. His mind raced to work out their next move as he tried to slow Penny's pace. Just beyond the tree line only fifty yards away, he could see a hunched shape angling toward the spot where their path would enter the jungle.

Malcolm eyed the dark thing. “I'm betting that beast won't come out of the forest where Jane might see.”

“But we have to go through the forest to get back to the boat.”

“True.”

“What are we going to do?” Penny saw signs of the skulking monster and slowed.

“No idea.”

“That's not very comforting.”

“It wasn't meant to be.”

“Word of advice. Try to be more comforting in dire situations. Simon makes jokes.”

“Simon thinks the world is funny but he's wrong.” Malcolm noted a white smoke plume drifting onto the green lawn ahead and off to the right.

“I'd feel better if you did. A little gesture would go a long way.”

Malcolm suddenly grabbed Penny's hand. Her head lifted in surprise until he pulled her abruptly toward the smoke.

“What is that?” she asked.

“Another lava pit hopefully.”

“How is that a good idea?”

“There's something that separates us from the apes. We have an edge. Brain over brawn.”

“I know there's a joke in there somewhere but I'm too terrified to think of it.”

As always, Malcolm took comfort in Penny's spunk. “Your brains and my brawn can overcome most anything. I couldn't ask for a better cohort strolling into hell.”

Immediately he regretted saying the truth out loud. The expression on Penny's face told him that she remembered his statement on that winter night outside the Mansfield estate. He had meant it then and he meant it now.

The air thickened in their throats and a wash of heat made their skin prickle. They saw a vast crevice that stretched from the edge of the lawn toward the coast, burning a raw scar through the jungle. The ravine spread quickly to fifty yards or more. Both sides of its jagged rim were covered with smoking black pumice. They passed the end of the crevice and darted into the trees, putting the steaming canyon between them and the gorilla.

They could glimpse the huge silverback through the trees. It made its way quickly toward them, but never moved closer to the open tree line. It was likely under conditioning to stay hidden at all times so Jane wouldn't glimpse the monsters that protected the spa.

Malcolm and Penny ran down the far side of the glowing canyon. To their relief, the gorilla rumbled to a halt at the opposite edge. It slammed a metal fist against the earth in anger. Rocks cascaded down fifty feet into the river of bubbling magma.

Penny pulled the collar of her leather jacket across her mouth. Malcolm drew out the grey scarf and wrapped it around his mouth and nose to keep the acrid air from his lungs. Neither was adequate protection. The hot sand and rocks seared the soles of their shoes. Malcolm had his bearings and moved along the side of the ravine toward the sea, which was nearly a mile away. Penny stumbled and Malcolm caught her quickly before her hand touched the burning ground. She nodded gratefully, but he could see that the heat and fumes were taking their toll. She handed him a vial of Kate's fire-retardant gel and they coated any bare skin.

A thunderous roar shook the air. The trees on the far side of the ravine crashed together. The mechanical gorilla burst from the jungle and galloped with startling speed across the black soil straight toward the ravine. Malcolm saw that it was angling toward a spot where the gap narrowed. It pounded to the edge of the canyon and launched itself into the smoky air. The beast sailed over the lava and crashed barely ten yards ahead of Malcolm and Penny. The earth started to crumble under it, but the gorilla sank its massive hands into the soil and fought onto firm ground.

The mass of furious muscle turned immediately and charged them. Long metal canines bared as the ape bellowed. Malcolm raised a pistol and let loose a barrage. Four shots slammed into the chest of the gorilla, drawing blood. The thing was so enraged it scarcely felt them. Stumbling under a swing of its massive arm, Malcolm lost his grip on one of his pistols. It skittered out of his reach.

Malcolm dove aside as the huge shape roared onto them. Penny tried to do the same, but she lost her balance and her foot slipped off the edge of the ravine. With a shout, she tumbled over. Her hands, wet from the protective gel, slapped out. She desperately hooked her elbow, which was protected by the sleeve of her leather jacket, around a rock and hung with her feet dangling over the distant lava.

“Malcolm!” she shouted. The rest was drowned out by her coughing against the fumes leeching from below.

Malcolm jumped up to run to Penny's aid. He heard the ape snorting and wheeling for another attack. He drew his second pistol and fired three shots as it rampaged forward. A steel-plated arm swung at him, but Malcolm ducked. He swayed back over the soft, uneven ground. Furious, the gorilla beat the earth with its metal fists, sending shards of stones in all directions in its desperation to hit Malcolm. Every blow drove the hunter closer to the edge of the ravine. Malcolm sidestepped a powerful swipe and rolled forward as the great beast roared its frustration, throwing its arms up. Malcolm came up right in front of the ape just as the great forearms descended. He slammed his pistol barrel into the bottom of its chin and pulled the trigger. The ball punched up through the jaw and ricocheted a few times inside the metal skullplate until it came back out through the gorilla's eye.

The behemoth stood perplexed a moment before it finally toppled toward Malcolm. He tried to get out from under it, but failed and as the ape collapsed halfway off the side of the ravine, the massive weight of the creature drove him to the searing ground. His legs were trapped under the hairy pile. He struggled to get up. The beast began to slide over the cliff. Malcolm felt himself going with it. He saw that his leather gun belt was caught on a broken metal rod protruding from the gorilla's chest. He fought to unfasten the holster, but it was pulled too tight against the buckle. Dropping his pistol, he reached out to stop his slide but there was nothing to grab onto. Malcolm drew his dagger and started sawing through the leather strap. He was still cutting even as the giant ape dragged him over the edge.

The Scotsman slipped free of the broken harness, but it was too late. He plummeted behind the dead brute. Suddenly he felt himself jerk to a stop as the scarf around his throat tightened. He swung out over the magma, twisting in the scorching air enough to see Penny clutching the end of his wool scarf. She cried out in pain as she took his full weight and fought to keep the scarf from slipping through her grip.

He slammed against the ravine wall. Ignoring the searing pain, he fought for a handhold, a foothold, anything before he pulled Penny off her perch or strangled to death.

“Hold on!” he croaked.

“Hurry!” She slipped down with a jolt, but refused to let go of the scarf.

Malcolm dug in and found a solid ledge for his foot. His dragging weight eased off her. He dared to use one hand to loosen the wool noose from around his neck. A knot had somehow formed which prevented it from tightening fully. He wound the end of the scarf around his hand.

“I'm all right!” Malcolm called. It wasn't the truth. The heat and the fumes were overwhelming. A cough crawled its way up out of his throat. They had to get out or they would die. He started climbing, using her as his anchor until he was next to her. Penny's face was flushed and her eyes tearing.

Malcolm took her around the waist and pushed her back up top. She rolled over the edge onto solid ground. The scarf still connected them and she hauled on it until he crawled up and collapsed next to her on the steaming black dirt. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.

“Oh God,” she whispered.

He stiffened at her sudden embrace, but he could feel her trembling. His arms awkwardly enveloped her, his hand rubbing her back. Her forehead rested in his shoulder. It fit perfectly. He shoved himself to his feet with unexpected reluctance. “We have to keep moving.”

Penny nodded and let herself be hoisted up, standing on shaking legs. She pulled some vials from her satchel and handed him one. Kate's
elixir vitae.
He took a deep swig and threw away the empty vial. Penny did the same. Then he looked around and gathered up his wayward pistols, gingerly holding them in his burnt hands. The pain was already receding, but it wouldn't stay away for long.

Penny grabbed her rucksack. “That's a good scarf. Lucky it didn't snap your neck.”

Malcolm grunted in agreement and touched the grey length of wool with gratitude. Then he had an irrational thought. “I'm glad the Lancasters didn't fall in or you would have been furious with me.”

She gave a hiccuping laugh. “Damn right.”

They leaned on each other as they staggered away from the boiling ravine and found a new trail toward the coast. Soon, a clean sea breeze hit their faces and they breathed the wonderful air so deeply, they both started coughing again. They emerged from the forest onto the rocky beach. Malcolm took his bearings. He started down the beach toward the dock where they had left Charlotte and Imogen. It couldn't have been more than a half a mile away.

They had gone five hundred feet when they felt it. A tremor. Penny's face fell with dismay as the ground shook. The rocky terrain was precarious, but only when the ground beneath them actually shifted did they stumble. Gaios surely realized his pet had failed to kill them and was taking the matter into his own hands. The earth beneath them shuddered again. Everything started to quake and rumble. Trees cracked and fell at the jungle's edge. The ocean water flinched with a frothy slap against the shore. Malcolm pulled Penny upright.