Clockwork Goddess (The Lesbia Chronicles) (21 page)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Vix stood in the distance and watched Ayla scream. Ayla had been screaming for a very long time, all sorts of curses and words Vix did not recognize as being in the common tongue. She and Ayla had not returned to the village of the elves, instead they stood on the endless plains somewhere between the village of the elves and Erwydden's tree while Ayla raged and foamed and screeched to the winds and the earth and the sea and the sky.

Day turned to night, and eventually Vix fell asleep, Ayla's thin cries of rage and sorrow echoing in her dreams. When she awoke on the soft green grass, it was quiet and Ayla was by her side.

“I apologize for my outburst,” Ayla said, quite composed once more. “My mother... has a way of getting under my skin.”

“Your mother has a way of eating goddesses and sucking the magic out of the world,” Vix replied.

“Yes,” Ayla agreed.

“What now?”

“Now we return to the mortal realm and do what we can. There will be much suffering. I can only hope that Erwydden's appetite is sated and that she will amuse herself elsewhere.”

“Ah,” Vix said, restrained.

“You do not approve of my plan, Vixling?” Ayla raised a brow, looking uncommonly beautiful in the elven light.

“I think Erwydden needs to be dealt with,” Vix said. “We cannot leave her to do as she will.”

“How is one to do that? She has been imprisoned in obsidian and escaped to wreak vengeance. She has swallowed a goddess, taken the power of Ariadne inside her. Any action taken against her only fuels her rage and her evil. With Ariadne's essence, she is much more powerful than she has ever been. I tremble to think what is now within her grasp.”

“How does magic work?” Vix asked the question suddenly. A simple question, one which she'd never thought to actually ask before.

Ayla smiled. “That is a question deeper than time.”

“And that is an answer less useful than a cow's dung,” Vix replied. “Tell me how it works. How could Erwydden cut off magic to the world of Lesbia by consuming Ariadne?”

“Magic is a force which exists everywhere,” Ayla began to explain. “Most mortals cannot wield it because they simply do not have the inner workings to do so. Elves can, because they are made differently. Goddesses are capable of producing and channeling the force of magic. Ariadne was a conduit through which magic flowed into Lesbia.”

“Okay, so she was just a pipe, and Erwydden closed the pipe.”

“That's a very simple way of putting it, but in a way, yes, I suppose,” Ayla said, clearly amused by Vix's mechanistic attempts to understand the unspeakable.

“If one pipe can be closed, surely another can be opened.”

“If one has another goddess spare, certainly.”

“What if we didn't need a goddess,” Vix said, a sudden gleam in her eye. She reached into her satchel and spread out many cogs and wheels and little springs carved from various materials. “What if we just needed a hen?”

Ayla looked at her askance. “What are you saying?”

“When we met, I told you Kira wanted me to make something bigger than a hen,” Vix said. “I didn't mean physically bigger. I meant bigger in scope. My hens can scratch and peck and perform basic little tasks, but Kira was interested in the power that made them work, making them.... it's hard to explain,” Vix said hurriedly. “But I think what she wanted, is what I am talking about now. I could never get it to work, because I was on the wrong side.”

“The wrong side?”

“This. Here. Where we are. It is a place of power,” Vix said. “If I place my construction here, and allow it to draw the magic, then place others like it back in the world... we cannot undo what Erwydden has done. I cannot bring Ariadne back. But I can create multiple channels of magic, so Lesbia will still have some sources of it. And if Erwydden destroys one, I can make another out of simple parts...”

Her fingers were moving as she was talking, creating a hen sculpture out of cogs and little springs. She seemed to know precisely where each and every tiny part went. When it was assembled, it was a perfect little creature, all cogs and wheels ticking away. Unlike the ones Vix had put together in Lesbia, this one glowed.

“It's drawing power,” Vix said, her eyes gleaming almost as much as the hen. “Now what I need to do is create another just like it from the same materials, connect them... yes... this can work. Ayla, this will work! I will make another one of these, and we will go back through the trees and you will find that the magic flows. And then I can create a flock of such hens, each sharing this energy... er, magic in a great network which could span... why, it could span the world if necessary. Beyond Lesbia even.”

“Are you certain?”

“Absolutely,” Vix said. “Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Take me back to the world of men and I will show you. Take me back to the tree.”

“We need not return to the tree,” Ayla said. “There are as many doors as there are breaths of air. Take my hand and we will return to the world. It should be easy enough to return now that Soren is not holding us in her spell.”

“Wait,” Vix said. “Let me make one or two of these first.”

She sat and she worked, her fingers as busy as they had ever been. For a time there was silence broken only by the small sounds of human industry. Vix produced three more hens in addition to the first, placing them carefully in her satchel.

“Now,” she said. “Let us go.”

Ayla took her by the hand, murmured a few words and within seconds the air became freezing cold and the light dimmed and suddenly Vix and Ayla stood in a snow drift.

“Brrr!”Vix shivered. “How long were we in the world of the elves? The seasons have changed.”

“They have changed,” Ayla said. “But not in the way you might think.”

“Anyway,” Vix said through chattering teeth, “let us see what this hen might do.”

She pulled one of her creations from the bag, and before Ayla's amazed eyes, the little mechanical hen glowed.

“It works,” Vix breathed. “It... it works just as I knew it would.” She could not take her gaze from the little creation, which glowed with not just light, but heat too, warming the air around them much like a fire might.

“Ayla...”

“I feel the magic flow,” Ayla said, extending her hand toward the hen. “This is a pure source. It could be dangerous...”

“It could be,” Vix nodded. “I see the source of the sun here in this hen, I see that which makes the mother's heart beat. This is the core of life, I think, contained here in this little clockwork hen, flowing from her sister in the realm beyond. I cannot believe... such a thing exists.”

Ayla smiled at Vix. “I doubt you understand what you have done here today.”

“I have made a new kind of hen,” Vix said, very much sure that she did understand very well what she had done. “One which will channel magic.”

“Yes, you have done that, practically speaking,” Ayla nodded. “But more than that, you have mitigated evil. Erwydden's cruelty has not triumphed. Do you see? A little scrap of a human with a talent for tools has undermined the greatest evil I have ever known.” Ayla's eyes grew wet with emotion and her voice shook as she spoke. “I have lived in fear of Erwydden for as long as I can remember. Her darkness stalks the world. There are other such entities given to foul deeds, but none of them so powerful as she. A goddess cannot help being somewhat cruel, because she does not know what it is to be mortal. Erwydden has tasted of it and uses it to her advantage.”

“She is a right rectum,” Vix agreed in a significant understatement.

“She is the shadow I will never be able to purge,” Ayla said. “But you have shed new light and chased some of the darkness away. Vix... I do not think you will ever truly understand how important you are, but believe me when I tell you that you have saved Lesbia. And you have saved me.”

“Saved you?”

“You have given me hope. I have never known any mortal to stand in Erwydden's presence and survive. Even less have I known one who was able to counteract her evil with human ingenuity. Your little manipulations of the world, those are a magic more powerful than hers.”

“It's not actually magic,” Vix tried to explain. “It's these different types of metals and woods, when they interact in certain ways in a field...”

“Hush,” Ayla said, pressing her finger to Vix's lips. “This is not a magic for my ears.”

“But...”

“Shh.” Ayla took her finger away and replaced it with her own lips. She kissed Vix with a deep tenderness and love before speaking once more. “This is your magic,” she said. “It is yours to share with the world. I will not understand it, as you will not understand mine, but I can tell you that this power which you have brought forth will change the course of history. You have plucked magic from the realm of the goddess and bought it to the hands of mortals. This changes everything, Vix. Everything.”

Chapter Twenty Nine

In the middle of Clitera City, sitting on a throne of ice, Queen Cadentis shivered and drew her furs closer about her.

“Where is the warrior? Bring me the warrior!” She shouted the orders at chattering teethed soldiers who could barely move due to the way the cold locked up their joints and made even the slightest motion painful.

A great fire burned in the middle of the hall, but its heat was absorbed instantly by the freezing gusts of winter air which forced their way through every crack and crevice in the walls.

Snow had fallen every day since the capture of Kira and her crew, blanketing Lesbia in ice. Never in the history of the land had such inclement weather been recorded. Crops were dying, animals were suffering and people were struggling to survive. It was a disaster, there was no doubt about that, but there was little anyone could do besides hope for the swift return of the sun.

Cadentis cut a slight, almost pathetic sight in her furs, like a field mouse curled up in a sock. In fairly short order, Kira was bought before her. The warrior was not clad in furs, but she did not shiver. She seemed immune to the crippling cold, even though she was only clad in a simple linen shift. Her leather armor had been taken from her, along with her weapons.

“Warrior, I say for the last time,” Cadentis said. “I know this... weather is some trickery on your part. This is some dark elemental magic. I demand you lift this curse from the land.”

“This is not my curse,” Kira said as she had many times before. “This is not a curse at all. This is the absence of magic. Lesbia thrives on magic, always has.”

“Very well,” Cadentis snapped. “We need Ayla. Where is the witch?”

“I do not know where Ayla has gone,” Kira replied. “This is what happens, your majesty, when you persecute all that is good. This is what happens when generations systematically hunt out that which they do not understand and destroy it. Make no mistake, little queen. The death of this land is the royal legacy. You have destroyed Lesbia.”

Cadentis stared at Kira as if she had been slapped. The blood drained from her face and a particularly cold fury came into her eyes as she visibly reached what must have been the end of her tether.

“Minerva,” she said without taking her eyes from Kira for a second. “Fetch the executioner.”

“How typical,” Kira sighed. “A whelp on the throne making decisions based entirely on momentarily hurt feelings. If only you were capable of opening your eyes to truth, majesty. You may have my head removed now, it makes no difference to me at all. We will all be dead within the month. Already people are beginning to starve. The next time an Iskendari ship makes port at one of our docks they will discover a frozen wasteland.”

Cadentis opened her mouth to make some angered reply, but it was cut short by a sound like a thunderclap and a sudden bolt of light which emanated before the throne. All were momentarily blinded. As their sight returned, two figures appeared. One tall half-elf instantly recognizable as Ayla, the other a short peasant holding a glowing hen.

Soldiers scurried to defend the queen, but it was unnecessary, for neither Ayla nor Vix made any motion. As they stood there, a warmth began to creep through the chamber, and the frost which had clung to every wall and tapestry and cold nose in the place began to recede.

“You are Ayla,” Cadentis declared with ill-veiled excitement. “Have you come to save us? You have driven back the infernal cold, so I know it must be in your power to do so.”

“I have done little,” Ayla said. “Your salvation is the product of Vix's inventive mind,” Ayla replied. “She should be the one to tell of it.”

“Speak of it, speak of it quickly,” Cadentis urged, throwing off her furs.

“I am a humble hengineer,” Vix said, cradling the hen in her hands. “And this is a new type of hengineering. It provides magi... er... energy which can be channeled in all sorts of ways, heat, light, motion. Summon your court hengineers and you will soon discover a myriad of technologies.”

Cadentis stared, stunned. “You have come from the ether to save us all,” she declared. “If I did now know better, I should say that this were some form of witchcraft. What do you call this thing?”

Vix cast a glance across at Ayla before responding to the queen. “I call it the clockwork goddess, your highness.”

“Clockwork goddess,” Cadentis clapped her hands. “Perfect. You will be richly rewarded for this,” she declared. You will live in the largest house and you will never want for anything. I declare you a peer of the realm.”

“Thank you,” Vix replied. “But, if I may, I wish you to grant each of my friends a pardon, and their wishes.”

Cadentis nodded eagerly, far too pleased with the turn of events to quibble over rewards. “I am a queen, not a genie, but I will do as you say. I have already released the lesser prisoners, but if they come to me each shall have their wishes granted. Ayla, I of course pardon you. That leaves just you, Kira. What would you have of me, warrior?”

“I have but one desire,” Kira replied. “And that is to take you over my thighs, Cadentis, and spank your bottom red as many times as I see fit.”

Cadentis blushed and shook her head emphatically. “You could have any of the riches of my hold! You could have a mansion in the countryside. You could have...”

“I want your hide,” Kira said firmly. “I will be merciful and use only my hand, but I will do it as often as I please, until I am satisfied that you have learned your lesson.”

“But... this... I did not destroy Ariadne.”

“You tried to. You tried to destroy all of us. Imagine if you had. Imagine if you had been successful in wiping the last traces of magic from Lesbia.” Kira's expression was grim. “You have caused great suffering, Cadentis, and I will ensure that neither you nor your hide ever forget this lesson.”

Cadentis nodded slowly, with a little gulp. “I did say I would grant you your wish,” she said. “Are you truly certain you would not prefer emeralds or rubies or...”

“The only glowing jewel I want is the two hot orbs of your buttocks,” Kira insisted. “To be conducted in your bedchamber, with Minerva present for your peace of mind in case you should become panicked.”

Cadentis squirmed in a most un-regal fashion. “If I must grant this wish, then I will, as I am a woman of my word.”

She rose from her throne and delivered herself to Kira. Before entirely submitting, she addressed both Ayla and Kira. “Warrior and witch... I apologize for all I and my family have done to you over the generations. I shudder to think of what the consequences would have been had we succeeded in our persecution.”

Ayla bowed from the waist. “You will have your reckoning soon enough, my young queen. Before you find your rear turning molten in the crucible of Kira's judgment, know that I bear you no ill will. You were born into a regime of prejudice from which you have partially extricated yourself. That is more than many will do in their lifetimes.”

“Thank you, witch,” Cadentis replied. “Your mercy is laudable.” She looked at Kira. “Might you also find some measure of forgiveness in your heart?”

“You are already forgiven,” Kira agreed. “But your hide is still mine, your majesty.”

Cadentis let out a little whimper, but allowed herself to be drawn away by the warrior back into the recesses of her bedchamber where she found herself no longer a queen, but a chastened young woman.

And so our tale ends, with a queen over warrior's thighs, a new magic come to the world, old wrongs not quite righted, new wrongs somewhat ameliorated and a world on the edge of chaos once more guided by the hands of the brave and the good.

You might perhaps wonder what became of our many heroines*. I can tell you that Vix lived for many years in Clitera City and found affection in the arms of the witch Ayla who remained her companion throughout her life. The woman who had once toiled in obscurity and slept in bushes found herself at the center of a golden age. Her henventions changed the lives of all those in Lesbia and she was given a great many riches. The source of the clockwork goddess remained a secret known only by she and Ayla, and when Vix passed away as all humans must, the documents containing the knowledge of the clockwork goddess were passed on to an apprentice who studied under Ayla's watchful eye and guiding palm.

As for the others in our tale, Moon and Trebuchet enjoyed many adventures and Liz, well, the less said of Liz the better for Liz involved herself in a great many questionable activities and was called to answer for them many times.

Kira thoroughly expected to die and yet somehow, did not. She watched over Cadentis even as the once young and impetuous queen grew old and gray, and maintained order in the royal household over Cadentis' daughters and their daughters too. Though Ariadne seemed to remain absent from the world, some lingering effect kept Kira strong through time.

Witch and warrior remained friends, two immutable forces guiding Lesbia into a future neither of them fully understood or approved of, but suffered due to their great love for Lesbia and all those who lived their lives in that green and fertile land.

Thus our tale is suspended yet again, not ended, for there are no such things as ends. Where one adventure concludes, another is born. Keep then, an eye and an ear out for future tales of Lesbia, gentle reader, but for now all must bid you good night.