The Mad Voyage of Prince Malock (32 page)

The halls were not wide and open, either, but
cramped and confining. Complicated systems of gears, belts, and
pipes, all clinking and clanking and steaming, covered the walls,
ceiling, and even the floor, which made walking difficult. It was
like walking through a large machine, the parts intertwined so
exactly that it was impossible to tell where one part began and the
other ended. Small, bright lights flickered on the ceiling and
walls, barely illuminating the floor.

Malock and his party stuck close together, not sure
what parts of the palace were friendly and what weren't, while Hana
made her way through the complicated mess of machinery like she was
taking a stroll through the park. It was clear that she knew her
way around this place, probably because she had served the
Mechanical Goddess for so long, but Malock had a feeling that even
if he were to live here for years, he wouldn't be able to make his
way through without tripping a few times.

The constant sound and motion of the gears, belts,
and pipes made conversation impossible. The gears creaked and
cranked, the belts whoomped and whomped, and the pipes hissed and
shook. The hallways smelled strongly of oil, causing Malock to
cover his mouth and nose with a handkerchief he had brought along,
but that did little to make the air more breathable for him.

While walking through the palace, they passed a
group of automatons building something on a conveyor belt. What
they were building, Malock wasn't sure, as the group walked by too
quickly for him to stay and watch, but he thought they must have
been building more automatons because he saw bits and pieces of
other automatons lying on the belt.

Finally, after walking for what felt like hours,
they arrived in front of a surprisingly normal-looking wooden door.
Hana walked over to a control panel next to it and input a
complicated code that Malock couldn't follow; the next moment, the
door swung open inwards and Hana bowed.

“After you,” said Hana, gesturing at the open
door.

Malock exchanged a look with the other hunters
before he stepped through the door. The others followed and soon
they were all standing inside a plain dining room. It was less
claustrophobic than the rest of the palace, but the terrible scent
of oil was still present.

A long dining table, covered with a variety of
exotic dishes that Malock couldn't identify, was in the center of
the room, with about six chairs on either side and one at each end.
A white table cloth lay on top of it, which caught and reflected
the light from the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A single
window stood open near the ceiling, well above their heads, and
there was no other entrance or exit aside from the door behind
them.

The door closed behind them as Hana entered last,
spreading her arms wide as she did so. “Welcome to the dining room
of the Mechanical Goddess. Please feel free to sit down and enjoy
some delicious food, courtesy of yours truly.”

Malock whirled around and pointed a finger at Hana.
“All right. What's the catch?”

“Catch?” said Hana, folding her arms behind her
back. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Malock walked straight up to her and poked her in
the chest. “You know what I mean. The Mechanical Goddess has
gathered us all here for a reason. Is she going to eat us? I know
the southern gods love to eat mortals.”

Hana pushed Malock's finger away, looking disgusted
as she did so. “Eat you? Hardly. Unlike the rest of her siblings,
my mistress has lost her taste for mortal flesh. Nowadays, it's oil
and steam for her. She says it tastes better than flesh and
blood.”

“Still confused here,” said Jenur. “Why would she
ever want to eat us? Gods don't eat mortals. That much I know.”

Malock ignored Jenur's confusion, still looking at
Hana. “So ... you're saying that she really does just want to have
us over for dinner?”

Hana nodded. “Yes. As I said, my mistress is a
gracious host. She knows how hungry you are, and can't stand to see
you all looking so thin and sick.”

“That food does smell awfully good,” said Aseth,
rubbing his stomach as he looked over at it, “even though I don't
even know what most of it is.”

“It's the finest food you will ever find on the
entire southern seas,” Hana assured him, looking over Malock's
shoulder as she did so. “Please feel free to eat. I can assure you
that it is all mortal-friendly.”

“Don't change the subject,” said Malock. “I don't
get what's going on here and neither I nor any of my crew are going
to touch even one chicken leg until we find out what is.”

Hana pouted. “What do you want to know? You know the
Mechanical Goddess rules this island, know she is friendly to
mortals, and know that she's offering you the best meal you've
probably had in a few months. There's really nothing else to
say.”

“Nothing else to say?” said Malock. “I doubt it. The
ice walls, the mechanical palace, the automatons ... everything is
fishy. Forgive me for not trusting a southern deity, especially one
that acts inexplicably friendly to mortals.”

Hana folded her arms across her chest. “What makes
you think that knowledge will help you, if I choose to share
it?”

“I don't know if it will,” said Malock. “But I do
know enough about the southern gods not to blindly trust them.”

Hana brushed her hair out of her eyes, sighed, and
said, “All right. I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Besides, your food
needs time to set. The fried octopus limbs in particular should be
eaten at least an hour after being taken out of the oven.”

Malock glanced over his shoulder at the table and
said, “
That's
what those things are? I thought they were
digger wings.”

Hana walked around Malock, tossing him an annoyed
glared as she did so. Then she stopped near the table and said,
“Let's begin with the ice walls, then.”

“Yeah,” said Malock. “Tell us about them. We've been
dying to know.”

Hana leaned against the table, scratching her chin
as she did so. “Those were constructed years and years ago by
Xocion, the God of Ice. He originally ruled this island, mostly
because it's little more than an icy wasteland. I wasn't there when
he ruled it—wasn't even born yet—but I've heard stories about how
Xocion created the ice walls as a way to shut out the rest of the
world so he could rest.”

“Ah,” said Malock. “I wonder why Bifor never
mentioned that.”

Hana glanced at the window, so quickly that Malock
dismissed the movement as being his imagination. “Probably because
that was before the time of humans or at least before humans
started worshiping the gods like you do now. Not everything that
happens on this world is related to you humans, you know. Plenty
goes on that you don't even know about and that you never will know
about simply because it does not concern you.”

“Nice dig at us humans,” said Jenur, rolling her
eyes. “Real subtle.”

“Thank you, human,” said Hana, her voice positively
dripping with sarcasm now. “You have once again proven to me why I
prefer to work with southern gods over northern gods—less humans
and the few humans that do come down this far usually become
dinner.”

“Still not sure what the difference between northern
and southern gods is, by the way,” Jenur said.

“No time to explain,” said Malock, waving off
Jenur's question. “Now, Hana, you said Xocion designed this to keep
others away? If so, then how did the Mechanical Goddess end up
becoming its ruler?”

Hana yawned, like she was bored, but he saw her eyes
flicker to the window again, almost as if she was waiting for
something to happen. “The Godly War happened, as you very well
know. The War ended with the Powers dividing Martir between the
northern and southern gods. Since Stalf is in the southern seas,
Xocion had to relocate. Wasn't very happy about it, from what I
heard, but the Treaty is immutable and so he had to move out. The
Mechanical Goddess took it very quickly, seeing it as the ideal
spot for her domain.”

Malock quirked an eyebrow. “I would think a
mechanical deity would like an industrialized island, filled with
factories, better than a mostly undisturbed natural island.”

Hana scratched the back of her neck. “Sure, she
would, but really, the Mechanical Goddess prefers her solitude.
She's not a big fan of living beings, to be honest, and the only
living beings on Stalf are the various wild animals you guys were
hunting, animals that can't talk and aren't interested in bothering
a goddess.”

“So ... is the Mechanical Goddess an actual
machine?” said Jenur.

“Hardly,” said Hana. “She's a living being, like the
rest of the gods, even though she sometimes doesn't act like it.
She simply looks mechanical, although I admit that she's also a lot
less prone to injury than the other gods are, due to her
tougher-than-nails skin.”

“What about the automatons?” said Malock. “Where did
those come from?”

“They're the Mechanical Goddess's children, of
course,” said Hana. “Born from her womb, like any infant. They live
here, under her protection, doing whatever she asks, living life.
They're rather strange, but rarely get into trouble and are
generally helpful so I never complain about them.”

“That conveyor belt back there,” said Malock,
jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “Were those automatons
building more of their siblings?”

“What they were building is not any of your
business, prince,” said Hana in her sweetest voice, tinged with
just a hint of danger. “All I can tell you is that the Mechanical
Goddess considers them her children and is very protective of them,
like any good mother would be. It's a good thing you didn't harm
any of them, otherwise you would have found yourself being shredded
to pieces inside the Maw.”

“The what?”

“Not important,” said Hana. She clapped her hands
together and said, “But what is important is that I have answered
your questions, I believe. So why don't you sit down and have some
dinner? You all look very hungry, starving even. Eat as much as you
like. Hell, take some back to your ship with you, for your crew,
when you leave.”

Aseth and Kocas took a few steps forward, their
expressions hungry, but Malock held up a hand.

“Hold on,” said Malock, eying Hana suspiciously.
“Something is still off.”

“And what might that be?” said Hana.

“Everything,” said Malock. “If we're just guests,
then why is the door locked? Why are we not allowed to leave? And
why do you keep glancing at the window like you're expecting it to
rain?”

Hana pushed herself off the table and said, “Well, I
guess you were going to find out eventually. They should be here
any minute now.”

“Who should be here?” Malock said. “More
guests?”

“The true guests, of course,” said Hana. “You
probably haven't met them before, but rest assured that they will
not treat you badly.”

“Oh,” said Malock, sighing with relief. “For a
moment there I thought the other guests were going to kill us.”

Hana smiled. “Oh, they will most definitely kill
you. Just not in a painful way, you get me?”

Malock wanted to say that no, he didn't 'get' her,
but he was interrupted by the sound of a lightning bolt striking
somewhere nearby, causing him and his hunters to jump. The clap of
thunder was followed by a lightning bolt flashing through the
window, going over the table, and slamming against the wall on the
other end of the room, leaving a burnt mark where it had struck.
The lightning bolt immediately stopped, floating and flashing in
the air as it turned toward them.

Not a second after that, a whirlwind of leaves,
thick and sharp at the edges, also flew in through the window. The
leaves floated above the table, taking the shape of a skull, the
eyeholes focused firmly and dangerously on Malock and the
others.

Before Malock could completely register that thing's
appearance, a thick white cloud squeezed through the open window.
Its shape constantly shifted, at times resembling a human, other
times a goat, but generally retaining a shapeless form like most
clouds.

Hana spread her arms again, gesturing at the guests.
“Meet the Cloud God, God of Clouds; the Leaf Goddess, Goddess of
Leaves; and the Lightning Goddess, Goddess of Lightning and
Electricity. They all had a very long, very tiring journey to get
here, so as you can imagine, they're quite hungry ... hungry, that
is, for human flesh, which I see you have plenty of.”

Malock took a step back, his heart failing him at
the sight of the three deities. Jenur was visibly trembling, her
hand automatically reaching for the knife that was no longer there.
Aseth had actually fainted, while Kocas looked like she would
rather be anywhere else than here.

Hana brought her hands together, her eyes glinting
with glee. She turned to the deities and said, “Now, honored guests
of the Mechanical Goddess, dinner is served.”

-

“Kinker?”

The old man looked up and saw Deddio standing before
him. The younger man was a mess, with a bloody gash running down
his left arm and his hair ripped off completely in several places.
Nonetheless, he was still alive, which Kinker silently thanked Kano
for.

“Deddio?” said Kinker, pushing himself just high
enough off the floor so he could get a good look at his fellow
fisherman. “What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be top deck
fighting the baba raga?”

Deddio shook his head. “Was about to ask you the
same question. The battle is getting worse. Another dozen baba raga
showed up. Don't know how many people we've lost, but I figure the
number is grim. I came down here to look for any weapons I could
use.”

“Is the Tusked God still there?” Kinker said.

“He is,” said Deddio. “He's just watching us fight
his followers like it's a play. He hasn't done much yet, but I'm
thinking he's getting restless because he's taken to picking off
random sailors whenever he feels like it.”