Vlad nodded. "Do you think it will work?"
"I think so," the young man said. "Yes."
They'd spent the better part of a day looking over the metal man before Ren Li Tam had been brought over from one of the other ships. He'd studied the mechanicals during a dispensational apprenticeship to the library in his youth and had continued to dabble here and there with what little he could find.
It took him no time at all to see that the mechoservitor's power supply had somehow burned out.
Now, most of a week later, they were ready to reactivate the mechanical using the sunstone that powered the flagship of the iron fleet. Ren had gone over his plan with them quite carefully, and Vlad didn't see a better way to discover how a mechanical could be adrift in the deepest south of the Ghosting Crests in one of Rafe Merrique's lifeboats.
"I'm going to power us down," Ren said, throwing a large switch. "Then I will wire the mechoservitor directly to the sunstone."
The vibration of the ship that he'd grown so used to was suddenly gone, and Vlad looked up. He could hear everyone breathing in the quiet.
He watched as Ren threaded his end of the wire braid through what looked like the eye of a gigantic needle set into the side of the vault. He knotted the braids and then pushed the needle into a slot in the side of the vault, slowly. When he was finished, he wiped the sweat from his hands and threw the switch.
The mechoservitor danced upon the rack for a moment, then settled as its boiler started ticking. After a few minutes, the amber eyes fluttered open as the shutters blinked.
"Are you functional?" Ren asked it.
"I am functional," it answered.
"What is your designation?"
"I am Mechoservitor Number Seven, First Generation, attached to the Office for the Preservation of the Light by Holy Unction of Pope Introspect." The metal man shook violently as he spoke, his bellows pumping wildly as his eye shutters opened and closed fast as hummingbird wings. Then, the shaking stopped and the eyes grew bright and then dim. "My name is Obadiah."
Vlad blinked. "You have a name?" He was familiar with Isaak-though the last time he'd seen that metal man had been at Sethbert's arranged execution well over a year before. Still, Isaak was the only mechoservitor he knew of to take a name.
"I do," the mechoservitor said. "Where am I?"
"You are aboard The Serendipitous Wind The Serendipitous Wind, flagship of House Li Tam," Vlad said. "What are you doing so far to sea? And how do you come to be in one of the Kinshark Kinshark's lifeboats?"
The metal man pulled at the chains that bound him to the rack. "Why am I restrained?" He stretched his legs.
Vlad smiled. "I ordered it. To be certain of you. When I am, I will order it otherwise."
The mechoservitor blinked. "You are the captain of this vessel?"
"I am Vlad Li Tam."
The mechoservitor clicked and clacked, its eyes flashing again. "Do you serve the light, Lord Tam?"
An odd question. And one he'd not thought about for a good while. Not so long ago, he might have lied in his answer. But now, he opted for the truth. "I do not serve anything," Vlad Li Tam said. And one he'd not thought about for a good while. Not so long ago, he might have lied in his answer. But now, he opted for the truth. "I do not serve anything," Vlad Li Tam said.
"The light requires service of you."
How many times had he heard these words? To be fair, at least half the times that he had acquiesced when they called, it had been because of some secondary outcome he could achieve beneath their very cowl-shadowed noses. His eyes narrowed. "What service does the light require, Obadiah?"
"A replacement power source. The twelve vessels provided you by the Androfrancine Order are powered by sunstones and-"
"Six vessels now," Vlad said. "Perhaps we can barter a satisfactory arrangement." He glanced around the room, saw the stool someone had placed for him, and sat in it. "But first, a conversation."
"Time is of the essence, Lord Tam. I do not-"
He raised his hand. "First," he said again, "a conversation." He leaned forward. "Where is the Kinshark Kinshark?"
How long had that vessel been missing now? Two months? Four? He made a mental note to ask Baryk.
"I do not know," the mechoservitor said.
"Were you aboard her?"
The eye shutters flashed again.
Vlad smiled. "We found you in her lifeboat."
"I was aboard. I do not know her current location."
He nodded slowly. "What were you doing aboard the Kinshark Kinshark?"
Nothing.
Vlad changed his tack. "Did you hire Rafe Merrique to transport you?"
The mechoservitor's bellows pumped, and a gout of steam released from the exhaust grate in its back. "The light required service of his vessel. Captain Merrique and his crew were provided for." When it met Vlad's gaze he felt suddenly unsettled by the intense light in those amber eyes. "May we now barter?"
Vlad shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Not until my curiosity is satisfied. What is your purpose in the Ghosting Crests?"
"You are not authorized to-"
Vlad sighed. "Power him off."
The eyes flashed again, and the metal man began to shake. Ren reached for the switch, and the metal man's mouth worked its way open and then closed three times before it spoke in a quiet voice. "The antiphon will fail if you do not aid me, Lord Tam. My task cannot be accomplished without your assistance."
"Then trust me. There is no Order to support you. There is no Pope to offer Holy Unction. You are aware of this?"
"Yes."
"And you are self-aware. You have a name. Obadiah, yes?"
"Yes."
"You are capable of making choices outside of your scripting, Obadiah?"
The mechoservitor was silent for a moment. Finally, it spoke. "I am."
"Then choose to trust me."
It hung its head, and when it looked up, there were tears welling in its eyes. "But the dream is clear on this matter: You are not to be trusted."
Vlad sat back and blinked. "Me?"
"Your kind."
He glanced around the room and made a quick decision. "Everyone out," he said. "I want to be alone with it."
He watched the surprise register on the faces. As they slowly shuffled toward the door, he caught the sleeve of Ren's shirt. "Stay nearby. I'll summon you."
He waited in silence for a minute after they left. Then, he edged his stool closer to the mechoservitor. "Trust is an earned commodity not easily accrued in these times," he said. "So I am going to trust you, Obadiah, and hope that you, in turn, will trust me." He waited until the mechanical stopped clacking, processing his words, and then continued. "The only reason I found you was because the d'jin we follow took us to you. If she hadn't, you would be lost at sea, nonfunctional, and whatever this antiphon antiphon is that you speak of would surely have failed. Do you concur?" is that you speak of would surely have failed. Do you concur?"
"I concur."
"You are adept at mathematics and probabilities. What are the chances of another sunstone-powered vessel finding you in the Ghosting Crests?" When the mechanical started clicking and clacking to work the equation, Vlad raised a hand. "I do not need the exact number. Would you concur that it is highly improbable?"
"Yes," Obadiah said. "I concur."
Even as he painted the image for the metal man, Vlad began to see it for himself. She had known. She had brought him to the metal man's rescue, but it did not appear to be her only destination. Each night, even since they'd brought the metal man aboard, she'd appeared to guide them farther southeast. Something still waited for them out in the waters where none dared sail.
"I do not know why she brought me to you," Vlad said, "but I believe she intended us to find you. Even still, she leads us southeast and-"
The mechoservitor looked up. "You sail for the Moon Wizard's Ladder." He started to tremble again. "The light-bearer is calling you into the dream."
Light-bearer? Vlad had never heard the term before. But he'd heard of the Moon Wizard's Ladder from the mythology of the Old World. He'd certainly heard stories as a boy about the Year of the Falling Moon and the ladder that the first Wizard King had used to return and avenge the kidnap of his daughters, establishing the firm but just reign by blood magick in the now desolate lands north of them. He thought of the ghost in the water, and his heart swelled for her, aching in its intensity, in his need to follow her. Vlad had never heard the term before. But he'd heard of the Moon Wizard's Ladder from the mythology of the Old World. He'd certainly heard stories as a boy about the Year of the Falling Moon and the ladder that the first Wizard King had used to return and avenge the kidnap of his daughters, establishing the firm but just reign by blood magick in the now desolate lands north of them. He thought of the ghost in the water, and his heart swelled for her, aching in its intensity, in his need to follow her.
Vlad forced his attention back to the mechoservitor. "Calling me into what dream?"
"The dream we serve to save the light," Obadiah said, his voice reedy and low. He clicked and whirred for a minute, as if calculating how much trust to extend. "The dream compels us. It requires a response."
Yes. Like the ghost in the water. Compulsion to follow, expressed by an intense love. "The antiphon," Vlad said. Compulsion to follow, expressed by an intense love. "The antiphon," Vlad said.
Slowly, the mechoservitor nodded.
Then it opened its mouth and sang. The metal voice rose in the metal room, and Vlad Li Tam felt the hair on his arms and neck lift. In that moment, he felt a connection to something he had never felt before. The song was all around him, wrapping him like the warm sea, his scars burning from the salt. Light pulsed and undulated, tendrils waving to him.
"I know this song. She sings it to me."
The mechoservitor stopped singing abruptly and fixed his eyes on him. "Lord Tam, you have heard the dream. You are my brother. The light-bearer chose you. The antiphon is nearly complete. We must clear the Moon Wizard's Ladder or the antiphon will fail and the light will be lost."
Vlad Li Tam stood slowly.
Yes my love, he told his ghost. he told his ghost.
"Yes," Vlad Li Tam said to his metal brother, his cheeks wet from tears he did not know he cried.
He could still hear the song beneath his skin.
Winters Winters moved through the new-fallen snow, her feet carrying her once more along a familiar pathway. Behind her, her two constant companions followed at an appropriate distance.
She'd dreamed for three nights straight now, and it startled her how much the dream had changed. Now, metal men and numbers and white towers overlooking placid oceans filled her. And those skies, that world that hung above them, were the ones she'd seen in the Homeseeker's dream. She knew they were connected just as she knew the song was what made it different now.
And then there was Neb.
She blinked, her eyes suddenly full of water. She could not see him, but she could hear him screaming somewhere far away. Or at least she thought it was him. Still, she'd written those parts down, too, even the words he cried out with such agony, though they were in a language she did not know.
From those nights, she'd amassed quite a stack of parchments. She carried them now in her copy of the Y'Zirite gospel, carefully folded in between the pages.
She climbed the slight incline and paused at the top, looking across to the closed entrance to her throne room. Garyt stood by it. When she was certain it was him, she continued walking.
Her hands moved quickly even as she hoped the fading sunlight was enough for him to see it. I am dreaming again, I am dreaming again, she signed. she signed. I must add the new pages to the Book. I must add the new pages to the Book.
He inclined his head slightly. I will find a way to add them for you, my queen. I will find a way to add them for you, my queen.
She returned his nod and followed the trail down to the river clearing. When she reached it, she saw Jin Li Tam waiting. She stood straight, staring out over the river, hands on the handles of her knives. Her hair was pulled back and tied with a leather cord, and for a moment, Winters thought she was looking at a girl, not the ruthless, formidable forty-second daughter of Vlad Li Tam.
Winters approached. "I'm here," she said.
Jin Li Tam looked at her. She nodded to her hands. "Why did you bring that that?"
She looked down, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks and ears. She still held the Gospel of Ahm Y'Zir. I need to say something, I need to say something, she thought. She looked around, then leaned closer and lowered her voice. "I am dreaming again." she thought. She looked around, then leaned closer and lowered her voice. "I am dreaming again."
Twice now she'd said it, and it frightened her both times. After so long without the dreams, she'd finally accepted that it must be some strange anomaly. They'd been her constant companion for as long as she could remember, and then the dreams were gone. As if a door had been slammed shut.
And now, suddenly it was flung open.
Jin's eyebrows arched. "The ones you dreamed with Neb?"
She nodded and shivered. He'd screamed so loudly. "Yes, but different now. There are mechoservitors in my dream now." She paused, feeling that sudden rush of water again to her eyes. "And I think someone is hurting Neb, but I can't be sure." She continued at Jin's concerned look. "I think I hear him screaming."
Jin looked over her shoulder, keeping her voice low. "We should dance now. We're being watched."
Winters started to turn, realized she was doing it, and stopped. She looked around the clearing, found a stump and brushed the snow from it. Then, she put down the book and shrugged out of her fur coat.
Jin's knives were already out when Winters turned to face her. Drawing her own, she moved into the first overture. They moved slowly at first, their knives finding the others and clinking in the quiet afternoon. Their feet moved across the snow, breaking it up, as Winters matched her rhythm to Jin's. Gradually, the seasoned knife fighter raised the tempo until it was at a point where Winters had to work. At its crescendo, their knives sparked and rasped as they danced across the clearing.
After forty minutes, they stopped and Winters bent at the knees to suck in great lungfuls of the cold air. She looked up as she did it and saw that this time, even Jin Li Tam had broken a sweat. The redheaded queen smiled at her.
"You're getting better, girl."
She slowed her breathing. "Really?"
Jin nodded. "I'd pit you against any of Rudolfo's scouts. And your reach is exceptional. Better than most men men. Once you've hit your full height, you'll be unstoppable."
Winters felt herself blushing. "Thank you." She managed an awkward curtsy. "I have an excellent teacher."
Jin Li Tam inclined her head, lifting her coat from the rock where she'd put it. "Tomorrow, then?"
Winters nodded.
She watched as Jin Li Tam and her escorts left. Her own guards still stood out of view in the woods, but she had no doubt they'd seen every step she'd taken in the dance, every thrust and slice of the blades. She went to the stump to get her coat and book.