Guns of the Temple (The Polaris Chronicles Book 1) (27 page)

“You look tired,” Lotte said. Taki looked to her in surprise. Had she been waiting for him to arrive? She cracked a smile and rose from her seat on a decaying wooden pallet. She seemed thinner than she had before, and one side of her jaw bore the telltale signs of a healing bruise. Seeing this filled Taki with guilt and he wiped at moist eyes. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and drew him close.

“Captain, I
—
” He wanted to tell her everything. That he was not only a traitor but a regicide to boot. That he had left her and the others to the stingy mercy of the triada while he had lived in luxury in the royal manse. She stifled him with a fierce hug, and held him like that for a while. They walked back to the kitchens in silence, and Taki found the urge to belt out his crimes to the world fading with every step. How foolish he had been to wish for a transfer. The capital was a lonesome place of callous intrigue, suffused with solitude and fear. The Cloud Temple, on the other hand, was a miserable rock constantly beset by chill and rain, and its denizens little more than prisoners and thugs. But it was home.

“I never thought I’d live to actually see the end of a nation,” Draco said as he inspected the arsenal laid out before him. “But here it is. Living proof that we’re about to go tits up. I mean, why else would they let us put our filthy mitts all over this stuff?”

Around the squad, racks of Temple Guns gleamed in the eerie flicker of prism-reflected torchlight. They were deep within the shrine, far past where even the sextons would go to access milligrad. Earlier, the neokoros on duty had reacted in aggravated disbelief when Lotte presented him with a signed missive from Amilia Gillette to authorize unrestricted access to the consecrated inner sanctuary. Even now the man periodically ducked in unannounced to “check on progress” and make sure the group wasn’t stuffing their pockets with spare parts to sell to other squads.

“Speak for yourself. I don’t grope and fondle every gun in sight like a horny baboon. I only finger the pretty ones,” Hadassah said, marveling at the smooth lines of the new rifle she clutched like a newborn. The Springfield she held was a fabled piece of ordnance even in ancient times and was prized for its accuracy and ruggedness. Without the need to manually cycle a bolt like on her Nagant, it fired as fast as she could pull the trigger. If rumors were to be believed, the special sight attached to the gun was worth even more.

“You know that thing’s worth more than your life, right?” Draco said. “If for some reason we win, you’ll have to return it.”

“I’ll tell ‘em I lost it in a boating accident. I’ll even cry a little too. No one takes my arms.”

“Then they’ll send you to the mines forever, and make your shark-toothed, beady-eyed, knuckle-dragging children work off your debt long after you’re dead.”

Hadassah punched him in the arm. “My hideous children can beat up your hideous children any day of the week, including and especially on Shabbat.”

“You’ll eat your words when the Prince of Maladies and I have our own little squad, strengthened with hybrid vigor.”

“I hate to break it to you, but she’s obviously shagging her brother.”

“I’ll not have you slander my woman again. Pick your seconds and meet me for pistols at dawn,” Draco said, practicing his stance with the glinting single-action revolver he had picked up to replace his old LeMat. He disliked having fewer shots than before, but the cartridge it fired was far superior to any black powder offering.

“Emreis, are you really throwing down the gauntlet over imaginary wives?” Karma asked with a derisive grin.

“She’s a real woman, unlike your hand,” Draco scoffed.

Taki ignored the exchange to focus more intently on the object of his consternation. He held the Behelit gingerly, as if pressing too hard on one of its surfaces would cause it to spontaneously combust. He knew that was impossible, but it did not stop him from worrying. Hecaton had given it to him earlier.
“You’ll know what to do when the time comes,”
she cackled after shoving the device into his hands. He imagined her saying the same thing to a small boy while giving him a can of petrol and a book of matches.

“Can you operate it?” Lotte asked, peering at it over his shoulder as she bent over. With such a monstrous name, they had expected the device to be some sort of squishy, writhing contraption oozing evil from every disgusting pore. The disappointing reality was a metal and plastic box attached to a tube with glass lenses on both ends and two buttons on top.

“It’s simple, actually. Just flip this switch on the side and press these.” From one end of the tube, a concentrated dot of intense red light shone on the floor. “And it does this. The legends say these were used to blow holes in fortresses or sink ships from far away. But mine doesn’t even heat water. The only thing I was told was to point it at the Imperial army, but if this is the extent of its power, it won’t do anything.”

“Maybe it…gets more powerful if there are more people around? Or perhaps you need to have some serious killing intent?” Lotte scratched her head.

“I’ve tried that, actually. But still no change.”

“You did
what?
Who the hell did you want to kill so badly? Do I even want to know?” Draco said, clutching his revolver to his chest. “You know what, never mind,
don’t
tell me…”

“Okay, so if it doesn’t do anything lethal, then it means the Behelit isn’t a weapon itself, but probably a
pointer
for a weapon,” Karma said. An ancient surplus cigarette smoldered weakly and hung from his lips. Again, Taki thought of the Major dispensing flammables to children.

“A pointer for a weapon?” Lotte said. “Like some kind of sentient sword, or a suit of armor that fights for you? Also, Gillette, are you really
smoking
in a place full of
gunpowder?
”

Karma shrugged. “What’s the problem?”

Lotte glowered and made as if to kick him. “If you need something to suck on so badly…”

“Yes, Cap’n,” he said, and stamped it out.

“I know!” Hadassah exclaimed. “It summons Godzirra!”

“I doubt it,” Taki said. “But I’ve been thinking the same thing, Gillette. This is ancient technology. Back then they had access to some pretty horrific things. Robotic skiapods, mechanical colossi with cannons for arms, and even devices that compressed the power of the sun into a bomb that could destroy a city.”

“How do you know about this stuff, anyway?” Draco asked.

“I read about it in the archives.”

“Hey!” Draco snapped. “No taking over my role in this story, eh? I’m the learned goon here.”

“But I don’t know what ancient horror
this
is going to unleash or become,” Taki said. “If it’s powerful enough to repulse an army ten times the size of our own forces, then it stands to reason that we’ll probably get wiped out, too. I don’t want that to happen. In truth, I don’t know if I can push the button when the time comes. Perhaps you should have it, Captain.”

Lotte crossed her arms. “No, you were the one it was given to, not me. There’s got to be a good reason for that. All I can say is that as your commander I expect you to perform. When we get up on that hilltop I don’t want you freezing up.”

“Yeah, we all trust you,” Draco said. “You’ve been peeling potatoes with us without complaint. If that doesn’t make you a member of this squad, then nothing really does. Besides, you still owe us more writing lessons.”

“But I could be responsible for all of your deaths,” Taki said.

“Well, at least we’ll die rich,” Karma said.

Taki shook his head. “You’re not taking this seriously. What do I have to do to convince you?”
Besides tell you about how I killed the basileus? I’m not ready for that. I’m not ready to debase myself that much.

The door to the inner stacks burst open with a sound not unlike a rifle round going off and everyone flinched. Mailed boots clomped on stone, accompanied by the swishing of expensive robes. Taki realized who had just arrived and his stomach turned. He had almost expected the archangel Jibriil to arrive, but not the entire triada at once. Lotte greeted them on bent knee. Taki awkwardly shoved the Behelit into his satchel and genuflected. Draco and Hadassah hesitated, but did the same.

“What is the meaning of this?” Jibriil snapped. “How did you get in here? This is the personal property of the triada!”

“Milord, I have a declaration from the minister of the exchequer written and sealed by her hand,” Lotte said. She produced the scroll for him and Jibriil snatched it away.

“Nonsense. She has no power here!”

“She does,” Michail said, and terminated Jibriil’s rebuttal with a wave of his hand. “These relics are part of the nation’s treasury, and everything within the shrine is the property of the basileus in turn. We merely hold the sacred articles in confidence. Remember that, Archangel Jibriil.”

“Still, these mongrels should not be defiling such holiness with their slimy hands,” Yuriel said. “And they should definitely not be given the honor of taking the Behelit into battle. My Lord Archangel Michail, I beg of you, give it to a
worthy
company. Any other will do, just not these losers.”

“Much as I would like to, Archangel Yuriel, I cannot override such a sacred dictum. Nay, I merely came here to ask Captain Satou a question.”

Lotte bowed her head. Michail stepped forward, and to everyone’s surprise and chagrin, crouched to bring himself to her eye-level.

“Milord, please, you need not abase yourself for me,” Lotte said.

Michail half-smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

“I see that your corporal has the Behelit already. It has already chosen him as its master, and none may take it from him hence. But I must tell you that to bring it to battle means certain death for the wielder, and likely his friends. Life in exchange for power is the rule. Can you bear it? Can he bear it?”

“It’s obvious he can’t!” Yuriel insisted.

“I’ll take it, in that case,” Jibriil said, and started toward Taki. The Archangel’s progress, however, was abruptly stopped by Michail’s ornately-engraved pistol pressed against his forehead. Jibriil backed away, trembling and frothing.

“
I have told thee,
the Behelit chooses its own master,” Michail said. “To interfere with its will invites doom on us all. Take not my words to mean esteem for this blasphemous group, my fellow archangels. It is far better to sacrifice their lives in the service of the Dominion than it is to sacrifice ours. They will perish in flames, and we will lead the Temple to glory. A fair trade.”

“Milord,” Lotte said, “do you wish to know the name of the brave corporal who has been chosen?”

Michail regarded Taki with a pious, wide-eyed stare, and shook his head. The triada filed out, and the door closed behind them. Lotte continued to kneel, and though her face remained stony, she curled her fingers tightly into a fist.

“Did he…” Hadassah sputtered. “Did he just tell us all to die in a fire?”

“You know,” Karma said, “we
could
have Natalis press the big red button
after
we’ve all run away.”

Lotte frowned. “Gillette, that’s…”

“That’s like saving our own lives by stepping on his corpse,” Hadassah said. “Let’s do it!”

“I’ll immortalize you in my histories,” Draco said, clapping Taki on the shoulder.

“And I, uh, really appreciate you taking one for the team,” Karma said, with a grave thumbs-up.

Taki rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“You’re all assholes,” he said.

“Agreed,” Lotte said. “There will be no abandoning each other. We go in united, and perish the same. But for now, steal everything you can.”

A short while later, after they had shoved gleaming ammunition into every available pocket and pilfered as many spare gun parts as they could carry under their clothes, the squad emerged into the dusty chaos that had enveloped their home. The air was clogged with smoke and grit, most of it issuing from the gates one level below. A fresh river of fighters marched out from the grounds and onto the rudely cobbled path leading to the rest of the country. Blue flags of the Cloud Temple and the colorful banners of every company of foot flapped in the wind atop pikes and halberds. Anthems of the Dominion filtered through the air, coupled with the exhortations of priests that for every Imperial killed in battle, a sin would be cleansed. Periodically, a wagon carrying heavy cannon and shot would roll through, accompanied by much cursing as the loads shook and swayed dangerously from side to side.

“Look,” Draco said to Taki. “The main batteries are up and running now. They’re preparing for a siege.” He pointed to the cannon turrets flanking the exarch’s tower and festooned with prayer flags. The guns, ancient howitzers, could rain havoc on anything trying to climb the winding road leading to the Temple, for its entire three-kilometer length. His scanned the crowd, settled on a gaggle of gray-robed begging priests, and spat derisively in their general direction.