Echoes From Dust
by L. S. Popovich
| Table of Contents | Glossary |
Chapter 54: Two Paths
Catching up to Remera in the corridors of the Fjord was a challenge. Finally, Remera glanced down from a bridge and watched Riku stagger up the steep stairs to meet her.
“You know, there’s a crisis breaking out in Mitchlum,” Remera said, her voice strained from overuse. “The metropolis might be overrun. But you must have something important to tell me.”
“We need to talk,” Riku said, breathless. She had been in the Fjord during the outbreak, and had resisted the urge to follow the rest of the priests and soldiers out into the fray. If Virgil had his way, the deadly swarms of cynths would be the least of their worries.
Remera shrugged and continued around the corner. The bodies of two priests lay in a pile at the end of the hallway. The sight gave them pause.
“Virgil’s scheme has been there all along, in the background, while we squabbled,” Remera said. “If you had told me about him earlier, I might have avoided this mess.”
Riku wondered what the High Priestess meant exactly, when she noticed Izzie’s cell at the end of the row. What was left of the stone wall was crumbling steadily.
“Where did she go?” Riku asked, surveying the damaged cell. Judging by the state of the hallway beyond, Izzie had successfully transformed into the beast again.
Izzie’s previous rampage suddenly made sense, like pieces of stained glass composing a picture. Their journey to Dust, her surrender. Had Virgil used them simply to get through Remera’s defenses?
“Clearly, she escaped into the central waterfall of the Fjord,” Remera said. “She did not leap from the window, because she had something to do in here first.” Remera gestured upward with her finger. “I need you to go after her.”
“I thought you had her under control,” Riku said.
Remera regarded her with furious impatience. “The priests and nurses responsible for her injections were caught up in the battle for Mitchlum.”
Riku knew from the start that the relic providing the city’s protection had failed.
“Once you subdue Izzie you must join the rest of the priests.”
“I can’t stop her alone, beast-form or not.”
“You must. I would go myself to reason with her, but I have more pressing matters to see to.”
“More pressing?”
Sighing, Remera reached into her slim coat and produced an unusual object, turning it in her palm. Riku saw images trapped in the quicksilver surface. “This mirror,” Remera said, “came from the realm of the gods. It belongs to Omi. It allows me to watch over my family.”
Riku stared at the mirror. It looked incredibly old, like the jewelry under Mitchlum. But she realized that the surface was clouded from the other side, and reflections from the room mingled with images within it, and a severe crack ran up the center, dividing it evenly. Alternating figures scrambled inside the blurry pane of glass, burning like flames. Are those images of our souls? she wondered.
“Izzie is headed toward the top,” Remera said. “But I must confront Virgil in the catacombs. Before we part, what is it you felt the need to tell me?”
Riku should have known Remera would have already figured out Virgil’s intentions. She was shocked to see a complete lack of surprise on the High Priestess’ face.
“Izzie won’t be able to reactivate the Fjord without Virgil’s help,” Remera said simply.
“But they’re working together—”
“The Fjord is a delicate instrument,” Remera interrupted. “Virgil and I are the only ones who can use it. Even if Virgil explained it to her, Izzie’s technical skill is too poor. Security has always been my first priority.”
“Where is Izzie going, then?”
“At the top of the Fjord, there is a failsafe. She knows enough to disable that first.”
Riku was silent.
“Virgil’s been trying to get past me for a long time. Until now, I’ve been able to prevent him.”
“Why don’t you destroy the Fjord, so Virgil can’t reactivate it?” Riku asked. It seemed like a logical plan.
“That’s not an option,” Remera replied. “It must remain permanently fixed in its current mode to maintain Mitchlum’s organic structure. If it were to stop, the whole city and most of the voyin in it would slowly break down. Possibly, some would survive, but this oasis is far too important to risk. And after that, many vital systems keeping the planet habitable would collapse. It would be an entirely different place. Just another dead rock in the heavens.”
Riku’s hands trembled, and her heart pounded. Perhaps Yumi spoke from within her when she said, “That’s why it never should have been built in the first place!”
“The past is beyond our control. Regardless, the Fjord is necessary to ensure our future.”
Riku’s mind raced.
“The more you find out about the world, Riku, the more you’ll have to accept the sacrifices we make to keep it alive. Without the Fjord, the planet couldn’t sustain us. Human beings changed too rapidly, they shaped the old world from the start. They took what the gods gave them and used it irresponsibly. The Fjord was just one of many drastic attempts to save ourselves. The way it was going, we’re lucky to be where we are. Nonetheless the gods still fight us. The grotto-le and Virgil’s forest god are the consequences.”
Riku’s god pushed her to speak. “And you consider this a solution? It was okay to destroy countless lives because you thought the gods did something wrong?”
Remera surveyed Riku in a scientific way. “Riku, I fear your god is talking for you. I must warn you, letting them in too far, giving too much of yourself to their sway is never a good thing. To your observation, I would ask, if you could see the death of the ones you loved, wouldn’t you do everything you could to stop it?”
Riku cringed.
“I don’t expect you to answer that, Riku, but since the beginning, evil and death have always existed; they’ve only changed form. The Fjord was a step in the right direction. It was a successful cure, but it came with a price. I made the choice, Riku, to fight for the kind of world I knew was best, because it was worth the risk.
“And I wasn’t the only one. I couldn’t have built the Fjord myself. I was one of many. What the world had become... It was our only hope.” She trailed off, looking out the window. “It’s not perfect, but nothing in science or life, ever is. There’s always a reaction and an aftermath. I could reactivate the Fjord, but I’ll never do it. The current balance is worth preserving, even if it’s flawed.”
Before Riku could answer, a loud, mechanical drone resounded throughout the Fjord. She looked at Remera with concern.
“The secure floors have been breached. Time is short,” Remera said.
Before rushing past, Riku said, “I can’t imagine all the possible futures like you can. But I can imagine what Izzie is thinking and feeling. I can see enough to know she’s going to reactivate it, and you and I are the only ones who have a hope of stopping her. I’m going to fight for that, because I believe in this world, too, since it’s all we have left.”
Remera couldn’t fault the girl’s passion and reasoning. The High Priestess looked down at the ancient mirror. In its dull surface Izzie’s human soul raged.
Copyright © 2019 by L. S. Popovich
