The Curse of the Winged Scorpion
The secret life of Automata

Twilightin Aramantine was a hot and sticky affair. The air was damp and cloying andsteam rose from the piles of rubbish in the gutters. They had spent the daynapping and the early evening washing and re-dressing their various woundsbefore Aeneas had returned, firmly in his Andras guise, and passed over twopasses to the fourth circle under cover of wishing them the blessings ofDalmund. He also handed over a large, floppy brimmed hat and heavy pair ofgloves to Fantel. The disguise, such as it was, did little to actually help herblend in and only really added to her sense of discomfort. The amused sidewaysglances Rashari kept throwing her way every now and then did not help either.

“Iam not inconspicuous.” She pointed out as they approached the fourth wall, thestone veined thickly with bright green.

“Noyou are not,” Rashari agreed easily. “But you don’t look like a Chimeraeither.” His lips twitched. “You look like a scarecrow.” Fantel shot him adecidedly less than amused look under the brim of her hat.

TwoAramantine city guards, dressed in tan coloured uniforms, manned the gate. Moreguards patrolled the top of the wall, marching up and down the battlements withrifles shouldered. Beyond the wall lay the fourth circle, the first of theexclusively human districts. Over the top of the crenulated battlements Fantelcould just make out the bright lights of blocky towers. Dozens of brightly litwindows, winking rainbow phantom lights, glittered in the gloom. Power cablesran like a network of tightropes between buildings. The highest buildings wereadored with leering faces, fang-toothed grimaces warning unwelcome visitorsaway.

“Wouldyou prefer to stay here and avoid the checkpoint altogether,” Rashari asked.

“No.”Fantel ducked her head, tucking her chin into the upturned collar of her coat.She hung back a step as Rashari showed their papers to one of the guards. Shekept her eyes on the ground but felt the guard’s interested gaze on her. Theguard murmured something to Rashari, who said a few brief words back. Fantelhalf expected him to reach into the satchel for another bribe, but he didn’tand after an interminable few minutes the guard handed back their papers andsent the order through his radio to let them through. Fantel held her breath asthey passed under the gate. There was a space between the first gate and thesecond, which remained closed. Fantel rolled her shoulders and tried not toappear unduly nervous. A trio of automatons swooped down from a hole in thewall. Their green sensor beams bright as phosphor torches in the gloom.

“Whiiiiirrrrrrr.”The first of the automatons veered to the far right, bright green eyebeamtwisting in a figure of eight pattern as it tracked over them head to foot.

“Bleeeee.” The second automaton swept to the left andslightly behind them, scanning them as well.

“Bloooop.”Smith did not look anything like the security drones but evidently no one elseseemed to have noticed.

Whhhhiiiiiii– irrrrrrrr.” The first automaton zoomed in on Fantel. She tensed. “Whir, whir,whirrrr.” Its eyebeam swirled up and down her whole body, spinning angrily. Thesecond automaton lost interest in Rashari and zipped over to join the first.

“Bloop.”Smith buzzed over to the two security automatons, drifting into place betweenFantel and the scanning beams. “Blooop.” Smith’s eyebeam flashed deep purple,so bright Fantel turned her face away. Purple light washed over the smallspace, painting the walls and the carapaces of the two drones. “Bloop. Bloop.Bloop.” Smith intoned very firmly, almost as if he was arguing a point with thedrones. The sensor beams on both security automatons seemed to blink on andoff, almost too quickly to catch.

“Whiiiirrrrr?”The first automaton wobbled in the air, canting to the right before correctingits orbit.

“Bleeeee?”The second automaton rotated a full turn while hovering on the spot. Fantelcould swear both seemed drunk.

“Bloop.”The drones juddered in the air for a second and then zoomed up to each cornerof the ceiling and the control panels mounted there. There were twosimultaneous flashes of green light and the gate started to lift. Rashari and Fantel walked through. Smithstayed behind. Fantel shot Rashari a questioning look under her hat.

Heshrugged infinitesimally. “It would look suspicious if he followed us. He’llslip away when the coast is clear.”

“Whatdid he do to those drones?”

Rasharismiled slightly. “Smith can be very persuasive.”

“Thatis not an explanation.”

Rasharishot her an aggrieved look. “Smith is not a normal automaton, as you know. Hecan exert a form of temporary control on another automaton’s basic controlfunctions.”

“Controlfunctions?”

“Automatonsare built to serve a purpose. Security drones like the ones at the gate aredesigned to guard the gate and make sure no non-humans gain entry to the innercircles. However their purpose is also to openthe gate. The more sophisticated the automaton the more autonomy they can exertupon how they fulfil their primary function. Smith simply persuaded the twosecurity drones that opening the gate was a higher priority than completing thescan on you.”

Fantelstopped in the middle of the gas-lit street. “How?”

Rasharishrugged, glancing incuriously up and down the dark street. “Humans believethat keeping non-humans out should be a security drone’s first priority. Thatdoesn’t mean the drones agree. It just so happens that those two we met at thegate are friendly chaps. They like opening the gate and letting people through,and today has apparently been a slow day. It didn’t take much to persuade themto let you go, especially if it meant they could open the gate.”

“Theylike opening the gate?” Fantel was, to the say the least, highly sceptical.

“It’snot that strange, y’know.” Rashari protested. “There is nothing wrong withenjoying one’s vocation in life.” He studied her curiously. “Surely there issomething you enjoy doing Madame Chimera; something to give life meaning?”

Fantelfelt her face fall into flat lines. “No.” She started off down the street. Shedreaded any questions, and was certain Rashari would seize upon her awkwardnessto pry. Yet to her surprise he said nothing. They walked through dark cobbledstreets under dancing gas lamps, in silence.

“We’relooking for an old building with red painted boards over the windows.” Rasharitold her after they wound their way through a serpentine knot of tangledalleyways. The houses here were squat two storey buildings with slanted roofsand black-green shingles. The stubby chimney stacks and rickety gutteringcombined with the homely quality of the houses might have given the fourthcircle a quaint and almost picturesque quality in any other city. The shadow ofthe looming tower blocks rising like a thicket of knives close to the thirdcircle wall, and the grime blackening the surrounding buildings, spoiled theillusion. Many of the houses had barred grates over windows and heavy darkshutters; every property looked as if it had been boarded up against aninvasion. The streets were empty and silent except for the occasionalskitter-squeak of a scurrying rat. Fantel scanned the street up and down for the building Rashari haddescribed.

“Overthere, at the end of that alley,” she pointed out a ramshackle building thatlooked close to collapse. The roof sagged alarmingly in the middle. The chimneystack had fallen in and a thick carpet of moss covered the shingle. The windowswere boarded over with red wooden boards and more boards had been hammered overthe front door. The building looked derelict.

“Typical,”Rashari scoffed. “He’d be less bloody obvious if he bought himself a pent houseon top of one of the First Circle towers.” He strode down the dead end alley tothe red-boarded house. Fantel drifted after him, curious to see what happenednext. The old house had a small patch of what once had been a garden out thefront, suggesting that the house predated the alley and had once been a rathernice little cottage. The dilapidated remnant of a chicken coop caught her eyeas she and Rashari picked their way through a forest of briar and nettle bushesuntil they reached the front of the house. Rashari ignored the front door andstarted pacing around the side of the house until he came to the swing doors ofa root cellar. He stamped on the doors with his booted foot, scowling.

Afterseveral minutes of irate stamping, during which time Fantel thought he mightput his foot through the doors they bucked open and the muzzle of a gun pokedout “Oi, quit it. You want to wake the whole street?” An annoyed female voiceissued from behind the cracked open doors and the handgun swivelled arounduntil it was pointed upward straight at Rashari. Ignoring the gun completelyRashari dropped into a squat in front of the cellar doors and wrenched themopen, absently swatting the gun out of the girl’s hand.

“Hey!”The girl yelped. In the gloom the girl’s face was almost invisible, the wetgleam of the whites of her eyes just visible in the moon glow. Fantel camecloser as Rashari reached down into the hole and started to pull the girl out.

“Yvette.What a surprise.” He said sounding anything but surprised.

Thegirl, now perched on the edge of the hole with her legs dangling into thedarkness, reached out to brush back her fat plaited pig-tails as she scowled atRashari. Her skin was very dark, making the whites of her wide eyes very whitein contrast. She was all of fifteen years old. “That was rude.” She saidjerking her skinny arm out of Rashari’s grasp. She had a soft messonyan accentwhich granted the Imperial tongue she spoke a pleasant lyrical twang.

“Sowas pointing a gun at a visitor.” Rashari pointed out, unrepentant, but he didhand the gun back.

“Hmph,”Yvette tucked the gun into a custom holster under her left arm with every signof long practice. “You’re not avisitor. You’re trouble.” She flashed white teeth in a big, pleased grin. “TheOld Man said I could shoot you in the knees if you tried any funny business.”

“I’llbear that in mind,” Rashari murmured drily. “But somehow I think what he reallywants is for you to bring my partner and I to the meeting place – which will beconsiderably easier if my knees stay intact.”

Thegirl flashed another broad grin. “You know I can do it.” She said proudly. “Iknew it was you earlier so I wasn’t really trying – but I could shoot you deadbefore you could get the gun off me, if I was really trying. You know I could.”

“Believeme, Yvette, I’m very well aware of how good a shot you are. I was there inGalivese. What was your final tally in the end? Three dead Dushku Salakands anda crate full of monkeys?”

“Four,”Yvette tilted her chin proudly. “The fourth one got crushed under the monkeycrate when I shot out the support struts.”

“Hmm,”Rashari nodded, while Fantel eyed the human girl warily. “So you came here withAeneas then; interesting.”

“Noit’s not. It’s boring.” Yvette retorted. “I miss our ship. I miss when we usedto go on raids. Now it’s just waiting; waiting; waiting.”

“Thisgirl is a raider?” Fantel demanded. She wasn’t sure why she was shockedexactly. All the raiders she’d met so far were decidedly odd. This bloodythirsty child was, not, in an objective sense anymore peculiar than Rasharihimself.

Rashariturned back to her and inclined his head. “Ahh, forgive my rudeness. MadameChimera, allow me to introduce you to Yvette, Aeneas’ first mate, right handgirl, and partner in crime. Yvette this is Madame Chimera. She has kindlyagreed to complete an errand with me.” Rashari paused, a slanted smile curvinghis lips as he glanced back at Yvette. “I saw her slice open a man’s throatwith her claws and bite a hole in the neck of a Dha-hali.”

“Cor,”Yvette’s eyes widened excitedly and she looked at Fantel with every indicationthat she was impressed. “You have claws? Can I see?”

Fantelarched an eyebrow at Rashari, who grinned, bright and sudden. “Go on show her.”

“Yeah,go on. Show me.” Yvette bounced a little where she sat, her legs swinging andhitting something metal down in the gloom of the cellar.

Castingan askance look Rashari’s way Fantel tugged off her left glove, held up herhand and let her claws extend. “Cor-blimey,” Yvette scrambled up and over toFantel. “I bet you can cut through anything with them.” She breathed dreamily.

“Theyserve me well enough.” Fantel stared down at the girl in bemusement.

“Ahem,”Rashari cleared his throat politely. “Shouldn’t you be leading us to themeeting place?” He asked Yvette, who still seemed mesmerised by Fantel’s claws.

“Is’pose so,” she scurried back to the hatch. “We’ve got to go through thecellar. We built a tunnel from this dump right through to the real hideout; nifty,huh?” She swung her body down into the hole and started down the rung ladder.

“Niftyis not the word I’d use,” Rashari muttered waiting until Yvette had disappearedfrom view before he started down the ladder after her. Fantel, wondering whatshe had gotten herself into, started to clamber down after him.

Theroot cellar was as Fantel expected, a roughly square cavity carved out of theground with a packed dirt floor. Boxes had been stacked against the walls and asingle phantasma lantern hung from a loop of rope attached to the ceiling atjust the right height for Yvette to reach up with a hooked pole and detach it.Rashari drifted over to investigate the boxes. “Dushku pressed parchment?Tabrian gilt edged velum?” He turned to Yvette with a knowing look. “The OldMan planning to do some printing, is he?”

Yvettescowled, her bottom lip sticking out in pout. “It’s this way.” She pulled apiece of ply wood away from a four foot hole burrowed out of the wall andslipped into the tunnel beyond. “Hurry up. If you’re slow I’ll leave you behindand the rats will eat your face.”

Rasharisighed and eyed the tunnel in distaste. “This is going to be hell on myshoulder.” He crawled into the tunnel. After a moment Fantel followed; thethick heavy scent of loam and soil filling her senses like a pleasant memory.

Thetunnel was narrow and her shoulders brushed the sides for the first severalfeet, but after about fifty feet the burrow spilled out into a properlyexcavated tunnel with support struts and reinforced walls. The tunnel opened upinto a wide network of separate shafts all going in different directions.Fantel hadn’t known there were any mines in Aramantine. She looked around hercuriously and noticed that Rashari was doing the same.

“Thisis part of the Aramantine emergency tunnel network.” He frowned at Yvette. “Theunderground is supposed to be Aramantine’s last line of defence during aninvasion. It should be crawling with Aramite guardsmen. How did the Old Manmanage to hack into the network without anyone knowing?”

“Dunno,”Yvette shrugged, clearly uninterested in the answer. She started off toward theright hand shaft. “We’ve been using these tunnels for ages. No one else comesdown here.” The light from her lantern bounced over the carved walls; rainbowshadows raced ahead of her around a bend in the tunnel. Fantel glanced atRashari. He was frowning as he looked around at the various shafts. “This isbig.” He murmured to her. “The amount of money in bribes needed to arrange allthis boggles the mind. The Old Man must be planning something huge.” He shookhis head, a fleeting look of concern crossing his face.

“Whatis it?” Fantel demanded. What more could go wrong?

Hemet her eyes. “You remember I told you LePortail dealt in information;secrets?” Fantel nodded. “Well, he doesn’t just trade in secrets. He keeps themas well. This – bringing us through here to meet him – is him revealing asecret I can’t imagine he reveals to just anyone. So either LePortail expectsme to pay him back in kind or…” Rashari stopped, lips pursing into a thin line.

“Or?”Fantel prompted when he said nothing more.

“Or” Rashari dragged out the singlesyllable, “he’s not worried we’ll reveal his secret because he’s not planningon letting either of us leave alive.”