Steph Bennion - Hollow Moon

“Glad to hear it,” she snapped back. “Don’t drag me out of bed again.”

The wristpad call ended. Kartikeya was momentarily distracted by the sound of movement in the room behind and was about to turn to look when his gaze was drawn to the console before him. The screen now showed a face that no matter how many times Kartikeya saw it still sent an uncontrollable shiver down his spine. The man’s grey skin hung in folds; the metal plates upon his skull seemingly ready to squash his head down into his chest at a moment’s notice. Only his head and black-robed upper torso could be seen but that was enough to see the glistening pipes running out of the skullcap and down his back.

The years had certainly left their mark. The caller was barely recognisable as the man Kartikeya had known personally in the early days of the rebellion. Even before his mysterious disappearance the priest had used a spider walker mobility chair to get around, but looking at him now his return from the dead seemed more than a mere figure of speech.

Kartikeya nodded curtly at the screen. “Good evening, Taranis. I trust all is well?”

On the screen, the priest’s face twisted with displeasure, not that it made much difference to his gnarled features.

“Kartikeya, all is not well!” he snapped. “Has the Raja arrived?”

“Safe and sound,” Kartikeya confirmed. “He is resting upstairs.”

“I have a report from Fenris,” Taranis informed him. “The ship your idiots used to board the Dandridge Cole has already been found. Instead of losing it in the jungle, those numbskulls landed too close to the research station.”

“Navigation was never Namtar’s strong point. Are the authorities on the case?”

“If not, they soon will be,” retorted Taranis. “The Maharani sent Fenris to Newbrum to ask for help in tracing the Raja’s kidnappers. He tells me that he must do her bidding if he is to avoid suspicion, but aims to join you on Yuanshi as soon as he can. There is still much that can go wrong, Kartikeya. Did you find out why Namtar moved ahead of schedule?”

“He swears he picked up the signal from the Raja’s implant and acted as ordered,” Kartikeya replied. “They were lucky Fenris managed to think on his feet and keep the palace guard occupied, for it could have gone a lot worse.”

“By the mighty greys, why do I get saddled with fools?” exclaimed Taranis, shaking his head in exasperation. “It matters not, for we have another problem. There was a witness, a girl named Ravana, who saw your men with the Raja. Fenris spoke to her afterwards and I watched on a holovid link. She saw too much.”

“Ravana?” mused Kartikeya. “Who on Yuanshi would be so daft to name their daughter after some mythical demon king? I bet she was bullied rotten at school. I’ve heard it’s almost impossible to change your name once it’s lodged on the network.”

“The point is your careful planning has come to nothing! Not only is our timetable compromised, but those fools have left a trail any idiot could follow.”

“The plan will work,” Kartikeya reassured him. “We are to spread the word that Que Qiao abducted and murdered the Raja, then once the conference has collapsed and the people are at arms, Surya will miraculously reappear, ready to lead Lanka to victory. All Fenris has to do is get here in time to make sure the Raja’s appearance goes as planned.”

“Fenris is concerned that the mind probe he was secretly running prior to Surya’s liberation may not work, as the hypnosis was incomplete. I trust the Raja remains unaware of how we have shaped his thoughts while he slept. Will he cooperate when the time is right?”

“I think so,” replied Kartikeya. “I have told him a little of our plans and he appears keen to claim his father’s inheritance. He seems very at ease here at Kubera.”

“That is good to hear. The Maharani herself cares little for our cause and craves only the life of luxury she once enjoyed at Sumitra,” mused Taranis, referring to the grand palatial complex in Ayodhya that had once been home to the Maharaja and his family. “Fenris tells me she is trying to make a deal with Que Qiao to return as Governor of Yuanshi! This has put Fenris in a somewhat delicate position, but he assures me he will not let her plans interfere with our own and will do his utmost to sabotage any investigation.”

“She’ll soon have to rethink her plans, if all goes well,” noted Kartikeya.

“Indeed. My disciples are but days from their awakening. Soon we will be ready to spread the faith with both words and fire!” Taranis declared with grim satisfaction. “The true godly spirit of Yuanshi will rise again, Kartikeya. The time of the new dawn is near!”

A sound in the darkened room behind drew a glance from Kartikeya and he cursed as he saw a figure steal away into the shadows. Yaksha had long made a habit of eavesdropping. This latest exchange between himself and Taranis had revealed more than most.

“Damn that woman!” he muttered.

Her own murmurs, though faint, caught him surprise.

“Ravana,” he heard her say. “A name I’ve not heard in a long time.”

Inari and Namtar stood in the doorway of the church and looked out across the road at the brightly-lit entrance of Ayodhya railway station. They had left Kubera over three hours ago, but due to the time difference between Ayodhya and Lanka the sun had only just set. The rain had been with them all the way and in the gloom the deserted street shimmered as it reflected the city lights in its damp slickness. Above, a gap in the clouds revealed a glimpse of the blue moon of Daode low in the darkening sky. Inari squirmed uncomfortably as the straps of the heavy rucksack dug into his shoulders, took a hesitant step forwards, then paused.

“Do I have to do this?” he asked. “You know I don’t like the rain.”

“It will be nice and dry inside the station,” Namtar told him. “The spaceport express departs in half an hour and it is imperative that both you and the package are aboard when it leaves. All you need to do is hide it, activate the timing device and then keep watch to make sure our plot is not discovered before time. What could be simpler?”

“Staying at home?” replied Inari. “Speaking of which, if I blow up the station, how do we get back to Lanka? I bought a return ticket.”

“Our target is the spaceport, not the station,” Namtar reassured him. Inari saw he relished the taste of the lie upon his lips; he knew it was so, for earlier he had overheard his colleague mutter something about getting a refund on Inari’s return fare. Namtar raised his hand to push him out into the rain, glanced warily at Inari’s rucksack, then gingerly edged away. “Fear not, comrade. When all is said and done, we shall meet again. The embrace of the Dhusarian Church is here not just to keep us from the rain.”

Inari grumbled under his breath, recalling that as a homeless ex-convict he had been lured to church purely because it had been the only place willing to offer food and shelter. Seeing Namtar was not about to volunteer to take his place, he stepped into the rain.

Keeping low, Inari crossed to the other side of the road and entered the station. The concourse was almost deserted and the only eyes watching as he crept furtively towards the dormant trains were those of an elderly couple sitting on a bench, unless he counted the electronic stares of the omnipresent security scanners, not to mention that of a solitary maintenance robot sweeping the floor. Inari did not fear the cameras, for all they did was allow the replaying of his movements after the event, by which time he hoped to be safely back in Lanka and out of reach of Que Qiao police. The robot he regarded more cautiously, for some were armed and could be operated remotely by security staff. However, the eight-limbed metal box on wheels shuffling back and forth with a broom looked harmless enough.