Theo and I have been making up for a lifetime’s worth of affection. Although it hurts for me to admit it, Wenn spoke the truth in many ways. Theo and I were meant for each other at the start. I drown each time I see those blue eyes giving themselves to me. This is a strangely happy time and I know it will end too soon. He feels similarly. When he’s not training, he spends much of his time sitting on the city wall puffing on his pipe or doting on me back in our little house.
Our planned attack on Thresh’s camp nears. We are eating breakfast when Bets appears. “Wenn’s gone.”
Theo’s sausage drops off his fork. “Bets, what exactly do you mean by that?”
Bets rolls her eyes and snatches Theo’s meat off his plate. “Exactly that. He’s nowhere to be seen. The best I can tell from talking with people, he’s left the village.”
Minns walks in at the tail end of the conversation. “It gets worse. One of our scouts reported seeing him walking toward Thresh’s camp.”
Etch growls. “Traitorous, horrid human. How much does he know of our battle plans?”
“Luckily, very little.” Bets sips some coffee. “Ricard left him in the dark and actually fed him some misinformation. I really like that little man.”
“Are you sure that he’s going over to betray us?” I hope Wenn hasn’t lost every bit of the man he once was.
“Why else would he go Marksman?” Bets shakes her head. “I mean, look what he did to you.”
“Bets, we’ve completely shut him out. Maybe this is his way to try to regain some honor, even if it’s suicidal.” Now, of all times, I’m trying to save the poor man’s honor.
“Nope, don’t buy it,” Minns exclaims.
Chapter 61 – Confrontation
Today, I may get my daughter back. Or I may die. Almost every able man and woman in the town will descend upon Thresh’s camp in a full assault. Our goal is simple — isolate Thresh and kill her. Supposedly, this will send the monsters and living dead into chaos, allowing me to do whatever it is that Fromer wants me to do. I’m vexed that Fromer has not yet revealed how I am to stop these things from entering our world.
Etch raises the Fuerst and fires volleys of light at the camp. We see from the distance that the camp is in flame, all the makeshift buildings burning like matchsticks. I can only hope that Eliza is not in one of them. Somewhere deep inside, I know that she’s fine. Unfortunately, I can feel that Thresh also is well.
Our forces connect with Thresh’s menagerie at mid-morning. At the front is our riflemen picking off living and dead soldiers. Some of Thresh’s forces are archers, lobbing arrows at us. We treat the razor-sharp projectiles as annoying flies because they cannot penetrate the hybrid leather-Institute armor we’re wearing. Grubs and much larger monsters lumber toward us. Oxen pull the catapults forward. Brawny men load large, yellow metallic balls containing the magic alloy and fire them at the creatures. With each impact, even the largest beasts collapse into piles of sludge. Fromer’s technology is amazing and welcome.
By lunchtime, we are milling through the burning husk of Thresh’s camp. There’s no sign of the evil woman, her husband, or my daughter. Wenn’s absent as well. I run from building to building calling Eliza’s name. I’m greeted by the groans of the dying or already dead.
Theo finds me in the rubble. “Amy, where’s the witch?”
I’m distraught. “I’ve no idea. I can still feel her. She’s not far away, but I don’t know where she’s hiding.”
Theo looks at the lake. “What about in there?”
“But how?”
We spend the afternoon cleaning up the stragglers and the poor conscious corpses. We’ve done everything but accomplish our goal.
As I consider the setting sun, it occurs to me that the answer may rest in the Raven. The ship allows me to expand my reach and see deep within the lake and the surrounding mountains. If Thresh and Jonah are hiding, I may be able to find them. Etch agrees to join me.
We step into the Raven just as the sun goes dark and the moon rises in full brilliance. “Hello Amy and Etch, what a nice surprise.”
“Hello my sweet ship.” I pat the hull and settle in my chair. “We’ve got some searching to do.”
Etch closes the hatch and straps himself into a passenger seat. The Raven lifts and glides over the center of the lake. I look down, searching the swirling portals for any sign of my nemesis and my daughter. I can see thousands of worlds out there, beckoning to me. How can I find them in this infinite expanse? I can feel them, though. They’re not far away.
We continue searching through the night. Etch brings me a cup of hot tea and pats my hand. “Amy Marksman, you will find them. Be patient.” I sip the hot liquid and let my mind rest for a moment. Then I see it. A large pocket of air is trapped on the bottom of the lake, engulfed by something strange and impermeable. I shift the image to the screen. “Etch, look at this.”
“Well I will be. I have never seen anything like this. I gather that Thresh, her nefarious friends, and Eliza are sitting there? There is an old story from earth’s history about a man named Moses.”
I look at him blankly.
“This human, Moses, possessed great abilities. He was a pilot, like us, I think. The fable goes that he was able to part a large lake, allowing his followers to escape their persecutors. In this case, I suggest we part the water to extract our enemies.” He chuckles.
“Tractor field?” I ask.
He nods. “The Fuerst and Raven, working together, can easily part the waves. We send our troops in and extract our adversaries.”
I land the Raven gently by the ruined camp. Theo and Bets greet us. Theo hugs me. “What’ve you found Sprouter?”
“Hope.”
Pillars of fire belch black smoke into the dawn light. The flames are beautiful, cleansing. I walk to the shore and see hundreds of tracks — both human and animal — leading into the water. Thresh has an entire army submerged beneath the choppy surface.
Bets leads our troops to the water’s edge. Many of the villagers are skeptical. Ricard, standing next to Theo, addresses the assembled column. “My brothers and sisters. This is finally our chance to purge the threat that has terrified us for a generation. I know some of you doubt that an entire army of death lies beneath these waves. But how is this any different than the foul breath of demons that is exhaled by this lake every day? For us to taste victory, we must look into the mouth of evil. Be brave, be strong. Follow us to victory.”
The crowd yells in agreement. Theo nods at me and I send the Raven into the sky. Within a few moments, the Fuerst joins me. “Amy, are you ready to unleash hell?”
“Etch, I thought this was hell. It’s time for us to make it stop.”
We position our beloved ships at either side of the submerged bubble and concentrate our tractor fields. The yellow water froths and boils as a trough appears, leading up to the troops at the shoreline. The men and women stand there watching in awe as the sandy lake bottom is exposed. Bets is perched in front of the column with one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead, a strange smile smeared across her face. Minns and Theo ride back and forth on horseback, making sure that the awestruck soldiers are ready to fight.
Etch and I continue pulling at the water, the Fuerst and Raven showing no signs of strain or struggle. The trough is now a deep crevasse. The edge of the bubble appears as a fibrous, skin-like mass adhered to the sand and cobble on the lake bottom. The bodies of thousands of fish and worms wriggle in the unearthly mesh.