Juno twisted her fingers together nervously. She was on the bridge of a ship Kaidan called the Go-Rheeyo, a big battle cruiser with tiered gun turrets fore and aft, wide, missile-laden wings, and a sleek conning tower.
“Don’t you think a battle cruiser’s a little excessive?” she said under her breath. The crew largely ignored her, watching monitors and fiddling with control panels instead of eavesdropping.
“You mean like bringing a bazooka to a boxing match?” Keiko’s lips curled ironically. “Yeah I guess you could say that. It’s not exactly discreet either, is it? Still, I guess I can understand it, given what they’re up against.”
“Self-defense is the oldest excuse in the book. But I know what you mean.” Juno had seen what Higo’s weaponry could do, and it both scared and disgusted her. Knowing an alien world possessed the same fascination with military power as hers did was depressing.
She’d changed into more comfortable clothes, choosing a soft light green shirt and black pants while Keiko was content with a simple white shirt and black capris. Both stood out starkly on a bridge whose entire crew wore Haven’s light brown robes. Keiko didn’t seem to mind either way, but Juno wished she’d chosen something less conspicuous.
She was still thinking about her limited wardrobe, when the door to the bridge opened, and Bishop Isshi entered. Baiyren’s half-brother followed. Juno knew he was coming, but seeing him made her uneasy. He said he wanted to secure the peace and prevent future bloodshed, and at the time – late into their dinner and after several glasses of fine wine – Juno believed him. She understood what he hoped to achieve, and she agreed with it. Now, in the bright morning light, on the bridge of a massive battle cruiser, foreboding settled over her like an old, coarse blanket.
The disappointment leaching from Keiko’s dark expression added to the feeling. Everything around her looked dimmer. The bridge became a tomb, and not even Bishop Isshi’s encouraging smile dispelled the shadows. As if sensing her discomfort, he strode across the floor to stand beside her.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked. “It feels wrong.” A shiver threatened her poise; she fought it down.
“I don’t see how.” Isshi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “The high priestess and Lord Kaidan speak for God. They gave the order because they believe it’s important for the church.”
“But why a warship?” Keiko asked. “Archeologists don’t need military support.”
“They do when a mah-zhin is trying to stop them.”
Keiko scowled but didn’t argue. Juno didn’t either. She’d seen what Baiyren’s armor could do. Her gaze drifted upward. The bridge’s giant viewing screen loomed over her, and she watched Higo dwindle into a distant ball of browns with splashes of green and blue. The Pathways were ahead, Earth just beyond.
Would Baiyren really try to stop them? Juno wondered. If he did, her presence complicated things. She didn’t want to believe she was here as a hostage, but she couldn’t ignore the possibility. Kaidan’s determination to avoid bloodshed seemed sincere, and yet… She glanced at the command chair. Kaidan was so like Baiyren, yet so different. Both had experienced tragedy, and each wore it differently. Baiyren’s sadness festered like a never healing wound. She’d noticed it when she first met him in Providence, and then again as she got to know him. Kaidan was different; an icy fog surrounded him, and layer by layer the moisture thickened and hardened and became impenetrable.
Could she trust him? He was as much soldier as acolyte. Baiyren was too, and she trusted him with her heart. A slow blush burned her cheeks. Had she really thought that? Despite what she’d seen him do, despite the carnage, the deaths. The image of him kneeling on the ground and not wanting to fight haunted her. He cursed the armor that took him, begged it to leave him alone. No one faked anguish like that – not successfully. She closed her eyes and held onto the thought. Her hand found the Heartstone, and she closed her fist around it. It still felt cold, almost empty. The tiny spark at its center still flickered, though, if barely.
A baby-faced monk to Juno’s right touched a finger to the command console, and the full-length panel at the front of the bridge came to life. “Displaying the Pathways,” he said.
The view shifted to reveal a tunnel stretching toward infinity. Darkness covered the top like an obsidian roof. A matching slash below made up the floor while colored light swirled between. The sight made Juno dizzy, but she stared into the depths all the same. The more she looked, the more she was sure she saw a speck, a pinprick, at the very heart of the light and darkness. She imagined the spark had come to swallow her, and she backed away. Seconds later, the ship burst from the Pathways and flew into a pristine sky. Blue rippled below, white feathering the space between.
Waves! Juno thought. Those are waves. Something was wrong. She spun and pointed. “We shouldn’t be here. The dig wasn’t anywhere near the coast. We’re way off course.”
Keiko stayed quiet, but a knowing look crossed her face. Juno glanced at her, hoping not to call attention to the other woman. Then again what would she say? What could she?
Kaidan shifted in his seat. “Do you recognize this place, Isshi?”
The bishop shook his head nervously. “No, my lord. We should be over a range of broken mountains.”
A short, thickset monk at the navigation station moved his hands over the controls, and the view shifted then drew back. A blinking dot appeared in the middle of the screen to show their location. A crescent of land arched above them to the north like an upside-down horseshoe. Islands dotted the space between, hundreds of them.
“Navigational scans put us twelve hundred miles to the southwest of our target,” he said. Sweat coated his face, his movements as skittish as a frightened rabbit.
Kaidan’s eyes returned to the map. “Are you sure you plotted the course correctly?”
“We reloaded the coordinates from Bishop Isshi’s ship. Unless the file’s corrupted, I don’t see how we could’ve made a mistake.”
“An issue with the Pathways then. We don’t know enough about them.” Kaidan inhaled and stood. “Reset course and increase speed. I need all eyes open. We’re flying over an unknown world. Be alert to any incoming threats.”
“I’d value your opinion, Ms Montressen,” Isshi said. “These are your people. Do you think they’ll attack us?”
I don’t suppose you feel like answering him? Juno said to Keiko.
Nope. Keiko examined a fingernail. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.
Keiko’s faith, even if glibly given, should have made Juno feel more confident. It didn’t.
Grimacing, she faced Kaidan. “It’s hard to say. International law requires governments to contact unidentified craft in their airspace and at least try to warn them off. They need to visually confirm you’re not just a commercial jet that’s gone off course before they take action.” Juno shook her head. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Things might have changed. That little battle you started the last time you were here probably has governments on edge.”
“I’m not worried about the Earth’s forces,” Kaidan said. A troubled expression tightened his face. He drummed his fingers nervously against his command chair before meeting her gaze. “Do you remember what the high priestess told you about God?”
Juno frowned. “She said something about his past – about him coming to Higo through the Pathways–”
“From a world of gods,” Kaidan finished. “The fossil you found is far more important than you realize. The church believes, as I do, that they are the remains of God’s wife. What if the remaining gods still guard it?”
A deafening silence punctuated Kaidan’s words. Only the whirring of the instruments, the thrum of engines, and the rasp of nervous feet on metal broke the stillness.
Keiko stopped playing with her nails. He’s smarter than he looks, she said, impressed. A kami really is watching over the planet. For now, she’s just watching. For now. We better hope that prince of yours shows up soon. Yui promised to stay out of this fight, but if it spreads, I’m sure she’ll step in.
And we don’t want that?
No, Juno. We don’t.
Juno gulped down air. She licked her lips and looked at Kaidan. “We’ve never seen any gods. They’re nothing but myths.” Juno kept her voice calm despite her throbbing pulse. She tried not to think of the reports coming out of Japan a few years earlier. Tokyo on fire, news of a cataclysmic event. She tried even harder to put Keiko’s visions of gods at war out of her head, of the land burning, flooded, and destroyed. She couldn’t. That was when Baiyren first showed up on the university circuit. Coincidence? Juno didn’t think so.
A feverish light filled Kaidan’s eyes. “So you say.”
I take back what I said, Keiko warned. He’s careful, not smart. Add in fervor and confidence and you’ve got something dangerous sloshing around in his head. You need to work him carefully.
Why me? Juno asked. She pretended to watch the large screen above to hide her expression.
Keiko sighed in disappointment. And there it is, the first question everyone asks. I asked it too, by the way. Why? Because you know more about the fossils Baiyren found than anyone else. Just be careful with what you say and never let them know you’re manipulating them.
Keiko’s answer tilted Juno’s world as everything became clear. You did this, Juno thought. You opened the Pathway here instead of in China.
Keiko looked like she wanted to bow but was careful to keep her face from Kaidan. I’ve done a little more; I’ve also put us in a time pocket to help Baiyren reach us. She dropped her chin to hide a smug smile. Here he is now.
On cue, energy waves slammed into the Go-Rheeyo, hammering the ship from inside and out. Sparks flew from command stations throughout the bridge, arcing from one crystal to the next. The ship’s hull vibrated ominously, and alarms blared in warning.
Bishop Isshi staggered to a station as the Go-Rheeyo listed. “Our energy crystals overloaded and knocked the main engines offline. We won’t get them back until they cool. That leaves us on auxiliary thrusters only. Those are enough to take us to Ms Montressen’s dig, but it’ll lengthen the flight time.”
A second alarm sounded, and a thin monk with a wide nose swiveled in the seat beside Isshi. Sweat beaded his forehead, and fear shone in his dark eyes. “A Portal just opened eighteen hundred miles to the northeast. I checked the coordinates – it’s where we were supposed to leave the Pathways.”
“Mah-kai?” Kaidan asked, his voice steady.
The monk swallowed nervously. “Sixteen members of the Royal Guard, including Lady Regan. The mah-zhin leads them.”
“Right on time,” Keiko murmured. “Let’s hope they hold up their end of the bargain and win the battle before Yui decides she’s had enough.”
“What does that mean?” Juno said, the bridge noise muffling her words. “If this is her world, why would she wait?”
“Because Roarke is her friend. Here, let me share what he’s going through.”
Emotional torment seared Juno’s body with enough force to immobilize her – the endless sorrow, the limitless heartache. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. She trembled, teetering like a boulder on the edge of a deep chasm. Briefly, her vision shifted to the northeast. Juno heard the rustle of trees, smelled a thousand flowers. She drew in their floral scents and the pain returned, lasting for both seconds and for eons. When it fled, she was on her knees sobbing uncontrollably.