Mike Wild - Engines of the Apocalypse

Gabriella DeZantez crossed herself once more, praying under her breath.

Soul-stripped, thousands of them, standing shoulder to shoulder in the border of the forest, absolutely motionless and as grey as the shadows in which they stood. Distinguishable as individuals mainly by the whites of their lifeless, staring eyes, they were crowded together in an almost crushing mass but none reacted to the others, none complained, none jostled. Kali had no idea how far back into the forest these witless creatures lurked but, as she watched, more, presumably recent victims, shambled to join them and take up positions by their sides. As if those already assembled weren't enough.

This was a gathering of the Pale Lord's servants on a massive and hitherto unprecedented scale. The necromancer was, it seemed, building an army.

"Their eyes," Fitch said. "It's said that the First Enemy can, if he wishes, see through them all at once, and that when he does his gaze is powerful enough to see people's thoughts."

"What the hells is going on?" Kali asked.

Freel placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's more."

Kali glanced at Gabriella, who looked as confused as she did, and turned back to the projection. The Eye of the Lord was heading beyond the edge of the forest, now, and the vista it displayed was an unending, rolling landscape of ancient and massive trees, a thick canopy that hid the presence of the multifarious creatures and horrors that lived beneath. As the sphere progressed, Kali mentally traced her own journey through the forest almost a year before, the only way that she could map the progression of the Eye of the Lord over the otherwise unchanging topography. She guessed it was nearing Bellagon's Rip, now, which was generally accepted to be the stomping ground — or hiding place, depending on which way you looked at it — of the Pale Lord. Her guess turned out to be accurate as, after a minor alteration of its flight path, the view of the Eye of the Lord changed slightly and somethin g hove into view.

"Oh, my gods," Kali said.

The Eye of the Lord had turned to look over the Sardenne's canopy, Kerberos's azure curve clearly visible above the forest. It was neither the canopy nor the gas giant that drew the eye, though, but the space between the two, where a massive pillar of energy, the width of a small village, punched up from the forest towards Kerberos. The pillar pulsed regularly and, each time it did, seemed to rise a little higher.

"What are those things you can see in it?" Gabriella DeZantez asked.

"I wish we knew," Freel responded. "Miss Hooper, have you ever come across anything like this in your travels?"

Kali shook her head. She was gaining a better view of the pillar now as the Eye of the Lord moved closer. The 'clouds' were revealed to be an agitation of the entire insides of the pillar, the shapes thick within it, slapping and battering against each other like leaves in a storm. Kali squinted, peering at them to make out more of their exact form when a thought struck her. She nudged DeZantez, indicated the shard and then raised it to her eye to view the projection.

Kali swallowed before speaking.

"They're souls," she announced.

Freel, Fitch and the others snapped their gazes towards her but, before Kali could elaborate, the projection suddenly juddered and flickered and, with the sphere perhaps thirty feet from the surface of the pillar, blackened and disappeared.

"The Eye of the Lord closed at this point," Fitch pointed out. "And returned to me."

"Did you say souls ?" DeZantez asked Kali, clearly disturbed by what she had seen.

"But the ascension is meant to be a personal calling," Cardinal Kratos said, seemingly of the same mind, though Kali wasn't sure she believed him. "An individual journey. Not this… this — "

Kali offered him the shard. "Watch again and see for yourself. I'm sorry but they're souls. One for each of those soul-stripped."

Freel blew out a breath, looked at Kali. "I have to ask again — have you ever come across anything like this?"

She shook her head. "Believe me, it's only recently that I've got aboard this whole 'soul' thing."

Kratos sighed. "I think the enforcer had hoped to benefit more from your experience."

"Hey," Kali protested, "do I look like a farking encyclopedia?"

"No," Fitch joined in. "What you look like is the owner of a disreputable tavern in the middle of nowhere."

"That's it, I'm off…"

Gabriella DeZantez blocked Kali's way.

"I thought we'd gotten past that," Kali snarled.

"Gentlemen, ladies, please," Jakub Freel said. "The pressure of this current situation has obviously affected us all. May I just ask you all for your conclusions on what you've seen?"

"What other conclusion can there be?" General McIntee answered. "You saw the number of those things. The First Enemy is planning a full-scale invasion of the peninsula."

Beside him, Cardinal Kratos accepted and read a scroll handed to him by a messenger. His expression turned grim. "Faith riders report that more of the Pale Lord's forces have launched assaults on most of the settlements within twenty leagues of the Sardenne, and are moving farther afield. We believe we are looking at the total loss of Verity, Rasoon, Prayer's End, and countless communities, including Gargas."

"What about the rest of it?" Kali interrupted. There was something very wrong going on here. "That… phantasm that came for Makennon and the other twelve? This… pillar of souls? Where do they fit in? It doesn't make sense."

Freel sighed. "Are you suggesting an alternative theory?"

"No, but you asked for my help, so give me time and I'll have one."

"How much time?"

Kali faltered. "I think it has something to do with the speed at which the pillar of souls is rising. I think its meant to touch Kerberos. And I think whatever is going to happen will happen then." She paused, calculating. "Three days. Give me three days and I'll shut down your machines and find out what you need to know."

Freel was silent for a few moments, considering. "Agreed. But in the meantime, I have no choice but to convene a council of war."

"You do that," Kali said. "But there's one other thing."

"Oh?"

"I want Killiam Slowhand to be in on this too. Fitch has him and I want him released."

Freel's expression was unreadable. But he nodded briskly.

"Under no circumstances!" Querilous Fitch objected. "The man is insane, a killer!"

Kali smiled. "That he is. And a very good one. But he only kills those who deserve it."

"No," Fitch insisted. "I refuse."

Cardinal Kratos and General McIntee regarded the psychic manipulator with distaste. McIntee was the one who voiced their thoughts. "The decision is not yours to make, manipulator. In the absence of the Anointed Lord we are responsible for decisions for the good of the Faith." He turned to Kali. "Very well. I'll have him brought up from the cells."

A few minutes later, Slowhand appeared in the doorway, and immediately tried to lunge for Fitch, but Kali, standing unnoticed beside the door, grabbed his arm and pulled him back. The archer turned on her, ready to lash out, but froze as he saw who he was facing.

"Hooper?"

"Slowhand."

"How you doing?"

"Just for a change, working for the Final Faith. And so are you."

"Nice company," Slowhand said. He paused, then his eyes narrowed. "This is something to do with what happened to Makennon, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh. The Faith think their First Enemy is planning some kind of invasion."

"Him again? Who is this First Enemy guy?"

"The Pale Lord."

"Ah," Slowhand said. "Oooooh." He looked in Kali's eyes, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Is he?"

"He's planning something," Kali whispered back, "but nothing about this feels right to me. Keep smiling, anyway."