Tengu Monastery, Noctis Labyrinthus
Zealand Prefecture
ANNOS MARTIS 238. 7. 29. 22:22
The aerofoil soars low over the arch outside the Tengu Monastery. It lands on the road to the west of the gate, and I climb out of the cargo bay.
“Thanks for the ride,” I tell Tychon.
“Anytime.” He lifts Vienne from the bay and passes her down to me.
She has been asleep since Tychon hoisted us into the bay, and I wrapped her in a thermal blanket from his first-aid kit, then held her the whole way home.
“Good luck,” he says and tips his cap.
When we are clear, he cranks up the engines and begins to taxi down the road.
Vienne doesn’t stir when I carry her down the path to the gate. Her head rests in the crook of my neck, her shallow breath warm against my skin.
She’s home. It’s what she wanted. I must give her to the monks because they are the only ones who can help her heal. But what if doing that means I never see her again? “I can’t leave her here, Mimi.”
“A promise is a promise, cowboy.”
The rains have swelled the moat to twice the depth it was when Vienne and I first crawled off our motorbike, saddle sore and crusted in road dust. In the grimy water, the lotus have blossomed. They are, as always, unstained by the mud.
Ghannouj is sitting cross-legged on a mat outside the gate. He is chanting a prayer, surrounded by dozens of empty teacups.
I stop in front of him. His eyes open. He nods, then rises.
A second later Shoei and Yadokai burst through the gate. The mistress slips past the master, and she is the first to lay hands on Vienne. For a moment, she caresses the scarred line on her neck. Her hands move to her own cheeks, and her ancient face twists with grief.
Yadokai puts an arm around her, and she buries her head in his chest. I start to say something, but Yadokai puts a finger to his lips. He closes his eyes and rests his cheek on Shoei’s head. Less than two weeks ago, all they wanted was to teach me how to dance for the Night of Joy during Spirit Festival. In return, I’ve given them nothing but ghosts.
I turn then to Ghannouj. I don’t know whether to speak or not. The monks deserve an explanation. No, it doesn’t matter to them how Vienne got hurt. They just need to know that she’s alive. The rest they can figure out for themselves.
Hands together, Ghannouj bows so low that his nose is touching his knees. Then he extends his arms, and I place Vienne in his care.
The pendant, I think, and remove it from my neck. I press it into her hand. Her eyes flutter as I brush my lips against her forehead and whisper, “I love you.”
“Farewell,” Ghannouj says.
He carries Vienne inside the monastery. Shoei follows on his heels. Without a glance back, Yadokai closes the door, and with a scrape of wood on wood, bolts it.
Then I turn my back on the abbot, the master, and mistress, and even though it kills me, Vienne. She is safe here. It’s where she wants to be. It’s where she needs to be. But not me. I don’t belong anywhere.
I pinch the bridge of my nose to stem the flood of tears that is threatening to rise.
Near the banyan tree, I hear a rustling sound. “Hello?”
There’s no answer, but the noise continues for a few more seconds, until I dismiss it as the wind and turn away. Then behind me, there’s a bark. I turn around in time to see the dog trot out from under the tree, carrying something in its mouth. It curls up happily against the gate.
“Same dog?” I ask Mimi.
“Same dog,” she says, and I smile.
The last ebbs of energy fade from me as I walk the path back to the road, my boots crunching on the gravel. When I get to the road, I stand there for a moment.
“I do have one question,” Mimi says in the silence.
“What’s that?”
“Where are we going? And are you planning to walk all the way there?”
“That’s two questions.”
“Who is counting?”
“We both are.”
On the horizon, the clouds have cleared completely, and I look up at the sky, wondering what I’m going to do now. Without Vienne. Without a davos. Without my father.
I turn left and walk, wondering what it would be like to live on a world where you can take things like food, shelter, and even air for granted.
My feet feel heavy, and it’s hard to keep going.
My breathing. Labored. Light gets brighter, then dims.
A sudden tingling in my hands.
“Mimi?”
And the thought burns. My whole body feels like it’s burning as an EMP charge sweeps through me. Then I realize—I’ve felt this before, as the last glimmer of consciousness twinkles, then fades.
When I wake up, there’s a bright light in my face. I raise a hand to block it and realize that my wrists are bound.
“Hold still. Almost done here.” The silhouette of Rebecca’s face appears in the light. “I felt lousy deceiving you, but I would have felt even more lousy if Lyme had carried through with his threat to destroy my collective. I’m sorry, cowboy. I guess its true—everybody on Mars does have dirt on them. Mr. Lyme. He’s all yours.”
“Did she say Lyme?” I ask Mimi.
“Did that hussy call you cowboy?” she replies.
Rebecca steps aside.
Another silhouette takes her place. A man holds my crappy prosthetic eye pinched between his fingers. “Thank you for being so willing to carry this recording device. It has gathered invaluable data about your artificial intelligence, data that I will use to deliver the coup de grace in my plan to wrest power from the CorpCom governments.”
Lyme leans down over me, pushing the hair out of my face, an almost tender gesture. “And yet, despite your part in my grand schemes, I remain so disappointed in you.” His face is drawn but healthy. He has gained weight since the last time I saw him, and his skin is no longer full of deep lines and wrinkles. “A great destiny was within your grasp, and by becoming less than you are, you let it slip away. You have forced my hand, and now I have no choice but to compel you to become the man you were born to be.”
His head turns to the light, revealing a square jaw and a set of classic Roman features, but I knew him from almost the first words he spoke.
A whisper escapes my lips. “Father.”