Wenn nods in approval.
Yellow Stone is a city built for battle. An inner wooden wall protects the tiny houses. Strange weapons that Wenn calls catapults face the outer cobbled walls. The smell of grilling meat permeates the sulfuric stench wafting off the lake. I wrinkle my nose. “You get used to the smell,” Wenn laughs.
We settle into our modest dwelling near the central city square. A life-sized, bronzed statue of Fromer stands among newly blossomed daisies and black-eyed wildflowers. I groan in disbelief. Etch chuckles.
Wenn has arranged a feast for us. Etch eats heartily, while the rest of us pick at our meal. Theo sets down a mug of grape wine and wipes purple froth from his mouth. “Wenn, you must tell us how you arrived here.”
“I expected you to ask. I thought I’d better get a few pints in me before telling my story. The day after leaving camp, I knew I’d made a mistake. I’m man enough to admit it. I slipped down the hill and picked up Thresh’s trail. Not such a hard task given how sloppy she and her beasts be. The weather got worse and I thought I’d surely perish from exposure. However, I managed to find a small empty town, where I hunkered down and waited out the storm.”
I rise and pour him another glass from a cask. He touches my rear — not so subtly. This time, Theo notices.
“Thanks Amy, my dear. Once the snow cleared, I started tracking again. Figured the weather would slow the woman as much as me. Sure enough, I picked up a fresh trail fairly quickly. Then, I found the village. Twas awful, it was.” His eyes grow vacant.
“This village was not like the one I’d just been in, which appeared to be abandoned on the peoples’ own accord. Instead, this village experienced the wrath of that demon. She killed everyone in the town and impaled them on sticks.” He grows quiet.
Bets is enthralled and appalled. “Why’d she do something so — unthinkable?”
Wenn gulps his ale. “To scare us, I suppose. Or maybe just because she could. It gets worse. She revived them with that damned fog. They were dead but conscious on the spikes. They pleaded for help from me. There were hundreds of them. Children too. They wanted me to help them down and let them go.”
I realize that Eliza probably witnessed this horror, making me want to gouge me eardrums out. Anything would be better than hearing this story. If I ever do rescue my girl, will I be able to save her soul? I find it strange that Wenn betrays no concern for our daughter in his story. It’s all about Thresh.
Bets squints. “So, what’d you do, Wenn?”
“I spent the day being merciful. That’s all I’ll say. I was too shaken to rest so I continued tracking Thresh. I found them the next day as the snow started turning to rain and mud — again. Excuse me.” He leaves to relieve himself.
Minns holds Bets hand. “Holy shit. Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
I wipe away a tear. “Yes, I do.”
Theo gently puts his hand on my arm. “So, he didn’t find Eliza. What do you think happened?”
“Let’s find out.” I’m shaking.
Wenn steps back into the hall and slumps into his chair, which creaks in protest with his drunken weight. “So, here I am on the outskirts of Thresh’s camp. The mud was doing a number on them. The grubs were nowhere to be seen — I reckon the water washes them away and they can’t reform until the weather dries up. Thresh had a small army of dead men — likely villagers from back there — setting up a couple of canvas tents. She had about ten horses, several cattle, and a few living men with her. The one called Jonah was slogging in the mud barking orders and Thresh was cursing up a storm. She was concerned about making dry space for Eliza.” His voice cracks at our daughter’s name.
“So you saw her?” I ask desperately.
“No, I didn’t.” He takes another large draught from his tankard. “I was discovered. Barely escaped with my life.” And his story ends abruptly.
“How’d you escape?” Bets is disappointed.
“Three of Thresh’s soldiers saw me and pursued. The mud was pretty thick and deep. They fell into a swollen stream and were washed downhill. I managed to shimmy to an outcropping and wait the weather out. Once the rain stopped, I started climbing back up the mountain. I found a path and eventually made it back here.”
“That’s it?” I plead. “You could’ve come back to us at the lodge and told us where Thresh was. We may have been able to track and pursue her once the Fuerst arrived.
“Amy, we know where she is. She arrived here a couple of weeks after me. Since then, she’s been camped out on the west side of the lake and her numbers are growing. Each day, more of that infernal fog seeps out and makes all kinds of beasts. If it weren’t for our weapons and the fence, Yellow Stone would be wiped from the map.”
My latent anger at Wenn solidifies. “You mean to tell me that our daughter is merely on the other side of the lake and you haven’t rescued her? You have Fromer’s weapons here, seasoned troops, even an Institute starship and you haven’t tried to get Eliza? What’s the matter with you?”
Wenn’s incensed. “Amy, who do you think you are? Are you willing to risk the safety of all the people in this town, the last defense against those things in the bottom of lake, for your selfish needs?”
“My needs, Wenn? She’s our daughter. And from what everyone seems to think, she may be the future gatekeeper for this place, whatever that means. The girl’s got my abilities. If Thresh harnesses them, it could be disastrous for all of us, including this precious town and most importantly, you.”
Wenn stands unsteadily, his face fiery red. He throws his chair to the floor and storms out. Theo sighs. “Well, Sprouter, you’ve certainly made him pissy.”
I turn to Theo coldly. “And you Theo. You are Eliza’s godfather. There’s responsibility in that. Why are you standing up for that coward? We need to go now. Thresh must be stopped before it’s too late.”
Etch’s throat rumbles. “Amy Marksman. Do not lose your perspective here. I agree that the man Wenn should have worked with us to rescue your daughter. However, we must not attack Thresh in haste. We have to make preparations to destroy her and to rescue your daughter.”
I’m not happy with Etch either. I leave them at the table, stumbling into the dark town square. Fromer’s cold, lifeless statue stares at me blankly, mocking me. Wenn was right about one thing — the smell of the lake has lessened. I throw a stone at the fake Fromer and walk down one of the shadowy streets. I pass warmly lit windows seeing families do what they’ve been unable to do in so many other places — gather, eat, and laugh. It’s odd that this village is intact so close to danger, while those hundreds of miles away have succumbed to the disease oozing from this forsaken lake water.
I find steps along the wall and climb, discovering that I’ve approached a turret. The night watchman there looks at me curiously. “What’re you doing here stranger?”
“Just getting some fresh air.”
He tells me to walk to the west wall, saying that a constant breeze from a nearby mountain pass is delicious. He swears it picks up all the scents of the spring wildflowers and concentrates them in a sustained blast of fragrance. I walk to the spot and am transported to another place and time. I close my eyes and see the gardens of home. They’re overgrown with weeds and wildflowers and more beautiful than ever. Birds flit through the trees and my trees are full of blossoms.
“The green ones you played with in the garden are an alien species called the xyn.” Fromer’s voice startles me back to reality.
“Fromer. Where the hell did you come from?”
“This lake is my portal, too. Did you think I can just wink in and out of earth at will? Doesn’t work that way. I need a pathway. Portals like these are littered throughout the universe, if you know where to look. People like humans, naurons, and zenatans trampled the natural portals with pollution and wanton destruction. Technology helped them but it doesn’t have to. Earth’s recovered from humanity for now.”