The Curse of the Winged Scorpion
Wherein things improve, somewhat

Thesky ship door shuddered closed. The vacuum suction of the airlocks clickinginto place reverberated through the convex walls with comforting finality.Fantel turned and looked around her. She was in a narrow passageway; darkbluish silver walls and metal grated flooring, limned in the dark flickers ofdiscreet power lines, veining the walls like thousands of delicate capillaries.Ahead of her she could hear the other women, shuffling forward and jostling fora place to sit or stand. The ship was not really large enough to accommodatetwenty-two people, forcing many of the women to press their backs against thewalls of the cramped main cabin or fight for the handful of passenger seats.Fantel moved forward cautiously. The metal grating under her feet thrummed as powerbreathed through the ship. She heard the engines whir to life, the sound deepand resonant like a great beast taking a lusty gulp of air.

Themain cabin contained eight passenger seats bolted to the steel floor, arrangedin pairs to the far left and right creating an aisle down the centre from thedoor to the sunken cockpit. The cabin was in two levels; the floor of thepassenger section dropped down into the open cockpit located in the narrow nosesection. Passengers in the front seats could look down onto the flight arrayand the wide curving window. The walls of the cabin thrummed with more purpleglowing power conduits. The cabin continued the same decorative motif ofswirling arabesques and elaborate curlicues as decorated the outer hull, thistime picked out in fanciful relief against smooth, faintly iridescent whitepanels. The contrast of rainbow gleaming white and shimmering purple gave thecabin an oddly festive appearance.

Rashariwas already in the pilot’s chair, the automaton Smith deposited in theco-pilot’s seat beside him. He was muttering over a simply staggering array ofglowing gauges, flip-switches, dials, monitors, levers and buttons. Fantelwatched as the steering lever – a twin handled device that looked like adivining rod – retracted back into the control console responding to some formof command Rashari had inputted into the controls. Another hatch opened up inthe console close to Rashari’s left hand and a peculiar looking device rose upfrom within. The device was conical shaped. Numerous thin bands of metalwrapped around a half dozen straight rods of steel about the length of a man’sforearm to form a hollow tube. Strange crystalline nodules dotted thehorizontal metal bands and a complex lattice of hair fine cables webbed betweenthe vertical and horizontal pieces. The cone extended from the edge of theconsole at a slight diagonal angle. Rashari, wincing in pain as he moved hisshoulder, shoved up his left sleeve and pushed his arm inside the cone, hishand disappearing into the depths of the console. The crystal nodes flashed tolife, glowing white-green, and the mesh of filaments glittered with pulsingenergy. The ship awoke; glittering lights filled the cabin, and the exposed conduitsveining the walls burned bright as stars. The monitors dotting the consolereflected read-outs of darting lines and rising gauges. Rashari flicked over abank of switches with his right hand. He moved his left arm inside the cone,which appeared to have full reticulation. Belatedly Fantel realised the conemust be some sort of technomancy interface allowing Rashari to connect directlyto the ship’s internal core via the glove on his left hand.

“Findsomething to hold onto ladies – we’re off.”

Theeight passenger seats had been taken and the other women had settled onto thefloor, clinging to the back of the chairs or anything else they could replace.Fantel had little choice but to slip into the co-pilot’s chair, placing Smithon her lap. Rashari spared her an oblique glance before returning his attentionto take off procedures. He still looked pale and the left breast of his coatwas dark with blood. The ship shuddered, the engine fully powered and runningat full speed. Fantel looked out of the wide window in front. Blue sky filledher vision, scudded with the occasional cloud. She could see no land aheadconfirming her suspicion that the sky dock was suspended over the edge of asheer cliff. Once again she wondered about the strange geography of theDha-hali enclave. The ship groaned, almost in protest. There seemed to besomething keeping them from taking wing.

“Thedocking clamps?” She couldn’t see the massive hydraulic clamps that bound theship to the docking bay, and she would never claim to be well versed in flightprocesses, but she did know that the clamps needed to be released before theship could take off.

“Workingon it,” Rashari grumbled, an abstracted frown creasing his brow. There was adistant, distracted glaze to his eyes, as if he was concentrating on somethingno one else could see. The glowing nodes studding the interface flashed jewelbright, changing colours in a quick-fire pattern Fantel did not understand butwhich corresponded to various lights on the console. “I know, I know.” Rasharimurmured lips barely moving. “But I’m here now and unless you want to bestripped for scrap you’ll help me out.” Fantel arched an eyebrow, bemused, buthe wasn’t talking to her. A kaleidoscope of rippling lights and dancing lineslit up the console in response to his goading. Fantel’s shoulders twitched.She’d heard about this; skyship’s capable of independent thought. She had alsoheard that the astronomical expense, combined with a lack of suitably qualifiedtechnomancers able to communicate with the sentient craft, meant that thetechnology was rarely seen outside of the Adran Imperial air force. Evidentlytoday was a day full of unexpected developments.

Thecraft rocked suddenly, evoking a few gasps from the other women in the cabin.There were several dull thuds as the docking clamps sprang loose withoutwarning. The ship hung in the air and Fantel braced herself against a short,sharp drop back down to the ground. The thrusters burst into life with acoughing roar and they rocketed forward. Fantel was thrown back into her chairhard enough that the breath was knocked loose of her lungs. Her stomach lurchedinto her mouth. Reflexively she tightened her grip around Smith, her backpressed against the padded upholstery. Their ascent was ferocious. Rasharidrove the ship up and up. Fantel’s ears popped as he levelled off their flightin a series of vicious banks and rolls. Fantel refused to close her eyes. Shehad travelled by commercial airship on occasion but those large, lumbering skyferries did not compare to the breakneck velocity and snake-like turns Rashariexecuted in this craft. Fantel could not decide if this was the single worstexperience of her life or the most exhilarating. This was flying; truly flying.Her teeth rattled, reacting to the subliminal hum of power pulsing through thearteries of the craft.

Despitethe plush padding of the seat against her back, the solidity of the flightconsole in front of her, and the presence of the women at her back she feltsomehow naked, exposed - unfettered. She could almost imagine herself flyingfree like a bird; the wind buffeting her face, catching under her outstretchedwings, driving her up and up. Fantel was a creature of the earth and the soil.She was not meant to fly, nor had she ever wanted to. Yet she could not denythe heady thrill she felt, almost like a sickness in her stomach, as theyrocketed upward and Einar’s palace fell away far, far below them.

“Look!”Tamaki exclaimed from behind her. Fantel whipped her head around to look backonly to discover that she was pointing out of the window. Rashari had broughtthe ship around in a complete arc and now Fantel could see the entire Dha-halienclave. She sucked in a breath. Now she understood why the terrain had seemedso odd before. The strange rock formations she had mistaken for a double backedmountain range was no mountain at all –they were fingers. The entire Dha-halienclave sat in a basin created by the cupped hands of a massive statue.

“Soour fate was indeed in the hands of the gods,” She whispered now able to seethe impossibly huge visage of the serpent goddess Lyst, she of the snake biteand many arms, in all her improbable glory. The goddess had been carved out ofthe dark rock of a cloud wreathed mountain. The statue’s naked upper bodystretched outward from the massive bulk of the mountain as supple as a serpentseeping out from a crack in a rock. The upraised arms of the goddess rose upout of a roiling sea of clouds. The goddess’ hands were cupped as if to catchsomething precious in the cradle of her fingers, and in the centre of hercupped palms Fantel could see a tiny speck of gold surrounded by a smudge ofgreenery – the Dha-hali palace. Beyond Lyst Fantel could see other giantstatues hewn from the mountains –an entire pantheon emerging from solid graniteand swirling cloud as far as the eye could see. They were so high up that themass of cloud rolled below them like a boiling white ocean. Fantel almostbelieved that the statues were true gods, enormous and invincible, existing ina ghost world of endless sky and racing cloud.

“It’sbeautiful.” Tamaki whispered, awed. Rashari snorted.

“It’sarrogant. A man who makes his home in the arms of a goddess is a man who lacksa clear understanding of the dangers of hubris.”

Fantelkept quiet. She was at once appalled and awed by the audacity of the Dagoman tomake his home in the most sacred place known to the Bhuvanti. She wondered howhe had managed it. Surely even the Dha-hali were not so powerful that theycould deface the Aerie of the Gods? None alive today knew what race had createdthis wonder. The Aerie had stood for untold millennia. The Bhuvam faithfulclaimed that the carvings in the mountains were not carvings at all, but thetrue gods of the Bhuvanti turned to stone over thousands upon thousands ofyears. Looking at the reptilian perfection of the goddess Lyst’s face, Fantelcould well understand why the Bhuvanti believed. Rashari circled Lyst, divinglower through the broiling ring of cloud. Fantel was disappointed when theydropped below the cloud line and the faces of the Bhuvam gods were lost toview. The band of cloud formed a barrier that locked away the fantastic realmof the Aerie from the more familiar, everyday blue of the lower sky and thedark green swathe of land below.

“Wellnow, I’d say that was a rather successful escape wouldn’t you?” Rashari’squestion was jarringly loud in the cramped cabin. He glanced over at Fantel,the sly smile playing at his lips somewhat undermined by the sheen of sweat dapplinghis brow and the pain-bright glitter reflected in his dark eyes. He was stillbleeding sluggishly. Fantel could smell the rich, coppery tang of his blood.She gazed back at him impassively. She was not sure quite what to make of hismanner, or his actions. She didn’t know what he expected from her. Absently shetapped her blunted nails against the metal carapace of the damaged automaton.

“Wehave escaped.” She agreed in a neutral tone. “Now explain yourself.”

Rasharifrowned, turning back to face front. “What is there to explain, Madame? Youwished an escape and I was happy to oblige. What else needs to be said?”

“Whereare you taking us?” Tamaki spoke up. Despite her youth she seemed to be theelected spokesperson for the other almost-slaves. She sat, leaning forward inone of the passenger chairs, her nails digging into the plush armrests. Hereyes were very intent on the back of Rashari’s head.

“Ahnow that’s a good question,” Rashari nodded smiling. “Getting shot of Dha-haliterritory is a priority so Anubad is right out.” He frowned a little. “I don’tdare set down anywhere in Bhuvam. The Dha-hali have eyes everywhere. So it’sgoing to have to be somewhere on the mainland.”

“Remenes,”Tamaki said quickly. “Please. I want to go home.”

“Remeneseh?” Rashari thought for a moment. “Well Tabris is close by I suppose, just astone’s throw across the Svalin Strait, and I have contacts at the skyport. Lotof trading routes go through Remenes, I’m sure the rest of you ladies would beable to make your way home from there.” He glanced over to Fantel. “How doesthat suit you, Madame Chimera? The Battlan wilderness is due west past theborder of Aramant; you’ll be back in Aashorum in no time.”

Fantelcould not disguise her surprise that this youth had even heard of Aashorum; theBattlan steppes were well outside of human purview. Most would have no ideathat the Chimeri called the jungle to the south their home. She narrowed hereyes in suspicion. “I have no home. I care not where we land.”

Rashari’seyebrow shot up and he turned his head to look at her. “Is that so?” He studiedher intently causing Fantel to frown. “Well, well. How interesting. It just sohappens I too have no fixed abode.” He turned back to face the sky, his lefthand moving naturally within the interface despite his wounded shoulder, andthe fingers of his right hand danced over the console with consummate ease. “Ofcourse I much prefer it that way. The sky is my home and all Aldlis is mine toroam.”

Fantelnarrowed her eyes further, curiosity getting the better of her naturalinclination to avoid engaging with humans. “Do you not belong to this Nylous Ihave heard talk of? Is that not what the man, Remus, told you before you killedhim?”

Rashariflinched and accidentally hit a switch on the console. A dozen red warninglights blinked to life across the console in an angry jangle of warning bells.Rashari hissed through his teeth. “Sorry Vee.” He flipped the switch off again,taking the time to compose his features into a bland mask that was nowhere nearas impassive as he might have wished it to be before glancing over at her oncemore. The fingers of his right hand were shaking. “Remus and I had manydisagreements,” He said his voice filled with an overly practiced blithenessthat rang palpably false to her ears. He could not fully meet her eyes. “Notleast of which revolved around the exact ownership of my person. I was inclinedto believe myself to be my own master. Remus in contrast, thought I belonged tohim – and by extension the Veridree raider fraternity.” A muscle in his cheekdanced with tension. “I’m sure you can appreciate how such a dispute can sourrelations?” He forced himself to meet her eyes. “I had the distinct impressionyou were engaged in a similar disagreement with the Dagoman. You do not seem tome like the sort to be owned byanyone.”

“Youknow nothing of me, human.” Fantel snapped, obscurely nettled by hisfamiliarity.

“True,”Rashari smiled, more truly this time. “I do not even know your given name.However, birds of a feather flock together Madame Chimera. We may be strangers,but I recognise a fellow exile when I see one.”

Fantelfroze, too startled to react at first. “Exile?” Her throat was hoarse as shespoke the one word that defined her entire existence.

“Mmmhm,”He nodded easily, pushing his left arm forward as the ship banked to the left.They had left the coast of Ananluse – Bhuvam’s largest island - behind already.Now the ship swept over the Svalin Strait and the churning waters of the oceanblurred together with the luminous sky beyond the window creating a panorama ofunending blue. “You and I are both a long way from the place of our birth – youespecially – and yet I do believe that despite all evidence to the contraryneither one of us would have it any other way.” Rashari shot her a quick sharpeyed look. “I know that I have no desire to return to Valkieres so long as Ilive – and in truth there is little waiting for me there except an Imperialfiring squad – and thus I am, I suppose, an exile of sorts, though I personallysee my present state as a blessing not a curse.”

Fantelheld very, very still before taking a slow breath. She could hear her heartbeat ringing in her ears. How dare he? How dare this human compare himself toher. He did not know her. They had met no more than an hour before. They hadbarely spoken. He did not understand her. He could not understand her. She wasChimera. She was…she was alone. She was always alone. This boy might have runfrom his home but he would always be around others of his race. He could notpossibly know her loneliness. He could not understand the pain of beingsundered from everything he had ever known or loved. He could not know the painof being the cause of such isolation, of knowing that it was his own choicesthat had led to his exile. He could not know the burden she had chosen to bearwhen she left Aashorum behind forever. How could this stripling boy knowanything of her life, her pain? How could anyoneknow her pain?

“Idid not ask for your origin human – and I care not for your assumptions.” Shesnapped and met his dark eyes knowing her own were hard and cold. For a momenttheir eyes locked. For a moment she looked into those dark, human eyes, so darkshe could not discern pupil from iris, and thought she saw something there.Coldness; in those dark eyes she thought she caught a glimpse of somethingsolitary and alone, something as distant and lonely as Fantel herself.Something that made silent mockery of her own loneliness, her own sadness andguilt even as it echoed the pain she thought was hers and hers alone to bear.Then he blinked, eyelids shuttering away that secret place inside him, andturned his face away, a strange, edged smile curving his lips once more.

“Myapologies Madame Chimera,” he murmured the epitome of polite contrition.“Perhaps you are right. Perhaps you are not as I imagined you to be.” He shother another challenging smile. “A pity.”

Fantelrebuffed his smile with a cold look of her own, but he deliberately kept hisgaze fixed ahead and pretended not to see. Silence fell over the cabin; Tamakiand the other women were too exhausted and anxious to speak. Fantel was wellversed in silence and rarely felt a need to speak merely to hear the sound ofher own voice, but now she found the quiet uncomfortable. Despite his apologyshe did not think that Rashari was sorry at all. In fact she had the nigglingsuspicion her sharp words had only enforced his opinion of her. She wasunsettled, unable to shake the memory of his dark eyes from her mind. Who wasthis human? Why had he chosen to help them escape? What did he want, and whydid Fantel even care? Stiff backed and tense she sat in the co-pilot’s seatwatching the sky part for them, and refused to acknowledge the sneaking glancesRashari threw her way every few moments. She watched as the red cliffs ofTabris’ eastern coast came into view and could not wait to land in Remenes. Herloneliness was a millstone she wore around her neck, but at least it wasfamiliar. She did not like the questions this strange human raised in her withevery moment she was trapped in his company.