This Deadly Engine Read online

  The world spun again until we stopped above a snow-topped Reganas. Crevices ran throughout the ice-covered top and beneath the layer awaited a land of crystal caves filled with water and trees.

  The gnome spoke with the same tone and emphasis. “This was Reganas Three.”

  The spinning repeated, and we looked upon a Reganas topped by two small mountains – one dry and barren, one lush and green.

  “This was Reganas Four.”

  The process continued as we witnessed the creation of the remaining Reganases. When we saw the ninth emerge from the ground, we looked upon the most magnificent of them all. It stood at twice the size of Reganas One. Flat fields of golden grass filled the east side. In the center, boulders and rocks dotted the land, forming semi-circles that ended at a lake of silver out of which grew the giant tree. Past the lake arose terraced hills of bronze which gave way to more flat fields of blood red grass with tips of white that rippled in the breeze.

  As we rose higher, the gnome lady said, “Look upon the magical realm. Nine Reganases stand watch over the land. The core of each reaches to the center of our world like the spokes on a wheel. Watch now as animals appear.”

  True to her words, herds of alloops grazed open fields. Darkins sheltered in the shade during the heat of the day. Schools of sea dragons leapt out of the waters. A quizendop with legs as round as trees and a neck as long as London Bridge, slowly moved through snow towards a cluster of trees.

  Dragons took to the sky. The beat of their mighty wings blended into a dull roar.

  After the animals, elves and cyclopes and gnomes and dwarves and lizards and giants and other creatures appeared. Each race settled around a different Reganas. The gnomes claimed Reganas One. Cyclopes took Reganas Two. The faeries lived on and around Reganas Three. Reganas Four belonged to the trolls, Five to the orcs, Six to the lizards, Seven to the dwarves, Eight to the giants, and the elves took Reganas Nine.

  Peace and contentment reigned throughout the world…until a visible shimmer passed through the entirety of creation and shattered the peace while skewing everything from its original state. Anger gripped the races. Jealousy, bickering, and pride consumed all. Contentment transformed into desperation. Chaos spread across the land. The races skirmished with one another. Disagreements turned into fights, fights into battles, and battles led to a world-encompassing war.

  The gnome said, “The First Great Conflict. An alliance of orcs and elves subdued all of the other races.”

  Perrin growled, then added, “Not only did we lose our Reganas to the orcs, but it subjected my people to a slavery from which we have fought to free ourselves even to this day.”

  The gnome continued, “The orcs and the elves conquered all of the other races and claimed all of the Reganases, save for Reganas Seven. The dwarves managed to hold onto their ancestral home, at least for a time.”

  Perrin said, “The peace did not last. The elves and orcs eventually turned on each other. They started the Second Great Conflict, which we still fight.”

  “Indeed,” the gnome said. “Now witness the destruction they have wrought.”

  We moved to Reganas Three, which the elves had taken from the faeries. The orcs besieged the mighty sentinel as they sought to drive the elves from it. They stripped entire forests bare to feed fires of sufficient size to melt the ice away. Battering rams and giant hammers chipped away at the base of the mountain. Day after day, year after year, they worked on it. In the fiftieth year of the siege, the mighty Reganas toppled.

  It twisted and groaned as it fell. The force of its impact shattered the ground. Cracks rippled deep beneath the surface. Chunks of the Raganas flew through the air, flattening hills and digging crevices.

  Between those who lived on the Reganas and those caught in its destructive fall, millions died.

  The gnome said, “And with the fall of the Reganas, a spoke in the wheel broke. Now witness the destruction of the other mighty sentinels.”

  She took us to each Reganas. They fell with the same effect on the world and on the war. By the time we reached Reganas Nine – the sole remaining mountain – a noticeable desperation gripped both sides. They knew the end of the conflict grew close.

  The scene looked much like what we saw before – the orcs surrounded the base, but at a considerable distance. Their catapults launched boulders which bounced off the invisible shield that shimmered under the impact.

  We moved over the top of the Reganas, to where a circle of Treyo Duthkus stood hand-in-hand, chanting. Strands of energy moved from their chests to a point in the middle of the circle. From there, it rose into the sky before spreading out and forming the barrier.

  When a boulder struck the barrier, a Treyo Duthkus collapsed. An elf pulled him out of the way so another could take his place.

  More boulders struck, sending more ripples through the barrier.

  “What happens if the Reganas falls?” I asked the gnome. “Besides the orcs assuming control of your world?”

  The lady said, “Do you not understand what you have witnessed? The spokes of the wheel are broken.”

  We moved away until we saw the entirety of the world. The fissures that resulted from each Reganas’ fall cut to the core, to the very heart of the world. In the same way a wheel breaks when the spokes are snapped, so did the breaking of the Reganases push the magical world to the edge of destruction. Only Reganas Nine, the mightiest of them all, held it together.

  The realization struck as deep as Aimee’s announcement that she wanted a divorce. It hurt as much as Sheela’s bullet. It devastated as much as Rebecca’s confession of her unfailing love. Even the slave master’s whip on my back and the aches in my shoulders after working in the mines did not compare. What could I, one human and one cyclops, do to stop the death of a world? Millions upon millions of lives would be lost. Untold secrets and knowledge would be forever wiped away.

  Perrin cried out with such anguish that I cried with him.

  “Do the orcs realize what they are doing?” I asked. “Does Frengarn understand the risk he takes by attacking the Reganas?” And to think that Schaever helped him by designing new weapons to hasten the fall of the elven home. The man who would control the magic unwittingly contributed to its ultimate demise.

  In response to the question, the gnome took us to a field close to where Reganas Eight once stood. A Gateway twenty times the size of the one at Branagh’s Tavern pulsed in the same, mesmerizing fashion. Faded reds and blues swirled in a milky whiteness.

  How…

  The membrane stretched as something – sharp angles, circular parts, and claw-like extensions made the exact shape difficult to discern – pushed through. After the hesitation, the membrane popped back into place. It revealed a mechanical monstrosity with wheels, a square middle, a gun on each side, and a cannon on the top. The machine stopped in front of an orc-like automaton more than twice the size of any of that race. The automaton’s exposed black metal skeleton revealed thicker bones that gave a formidable appearance. The head, also made of black metal, looked vaguely familiar.

  An orc emerged from the top of the just-arrived machine. “Frengarn, the battle machine works as you promised.”

  The orc-like skeleton said, “I want to make sure each one of the operators understands how to use these machines. The time of Duke Schaever’s wedding quickly approaches. I want to give him a special gift, one he will never forget – an invasion of his world that will see him and all of his people either dead or enslaved.” A hint of laughter filled the creature’s voice despite the immobile jaw. “Once the Reganas falls, we will have little time before the world breaks apart. The invasion must start so our people have a place to go. The ones remaining will gather here while the machines bring the ones from the siege.”

  The skeleton was Frengarn?

  Perrin growled. “He made himself stronger. He embraced the machines.”

  “Then his body is kept somewhere. We need to find it.”

  “No,” the gnome sai
d. “This world stands on the brink. You will destroy this portal to stop Frengarn’s plans. Then you will deliver the Gray Heart to our people so we can destroy the orcs and begin the healing of the realm.”

  “What about the Elders?” I asked. “They expect us to give them the Heart.”

  “You will not give it to them. You, and you alone, will deliver it to our Mother.”

  I had to ask, “Can I not give it to Cavendish? He is one of your own.”

  “You, and no other, will deliver it to our Mother. That is the condition upon which we allow you to live.”

  “You would turn the Elders against us?”

  The lady scoffed. “They are already against you. They cannot be trusted to honor their promises.” Anger seethed from her voice, one that spoke of many wrongs committed over many centuries.

  Perrin said, “We will obey. We will deliver the Gray Heart to your Mother at the Plains of Kerans.”

  The cyclops’ agreement meant certain death for me. “I cannot pass through the Gateway.”

  The gnome said, “You are more than human. You have become a part of the magic in the same way as anyone born in our realm. You will survive.”

  Though she sounded sure of herself, I still doubted. As if she read my thoughts, she added, “To prove our worthiness to be trusted, we will grant you help to survive your current predicament. You will command our magic this once. But to use it again will result in your death.”

  “Then who would deliver the Heart?”

  “Someone worthier.” The same anger she felt concerning the Elders again filled her voice. “You witnessed the division among my Family concerning your use of the Gray Heart. I take a great risk in allowing you to live this once. I cannot guarantee your life twice. Now return to the human world. Destroy the new portal. Bring the Heart to my family.”

  As the magical realm drifted away, gnome magic poured into me anew. It touched every pore, and the torrent of it threatened to rip me apart.

  Did a third elixir react in a human body the same way? The burning…

  Through the pain, Perrin asked, “Where do we find the new Gateway?”

  The lady answered in a voice that faded in the roar of the magic. “In…the…city…”

  My body wanted to explode. I had to hold myself together.

  “A…Ash…” A voice called, rising and ebbing as if tossed by a wave. “Ash…need…something…”

  A cry escaped my lips. A sweeping wind tore at me and the air swirled like a cyclone. My skin burned as if scorched by the sun. Every muscle contracted. My heart sent waves of pain through my chest as it beat faster and faster. Joints ached. My head pounded worse than before.

  “Your former…wife…closing…” The voice belonged to Cavendish. “…blow us…away…”

  Perrin yelled as the magic tried to shred our very existence. Yet…we would endure. He had suffered the same when Frengarn injected all of the elixirs. The cyclops body could contain the magic.

  It had to. If it failed, then we lost. Everything.

  I opened my eye and peered upon the land of green-hued tanks with a clarity I had never before experienced. Blue auras illuminated anything that contained magic. Aimee’s hands glowed as she focused her magic. The automatons’ hearts and tubes glowed.

  And I glowed the brightest of all.

  Cavendish looked at me with an expression of astonishment and fear.

  The skeleton army encircled us. They closed.

  Aimee’s hands turned a deeper blue as she threw bomb after bomb. They struck an invisible barrier that surrounded Cavendish and me much like the one that surrounded Reganas Nine. The bombs dissolved into…nothing. The Heart absorbed the magic that created them. The futility of her efforts only made her more determined. She threw bigger bombs as sweat glistened on her forehead. The amount of magic she summoned turned the glow around her hands black.

  I watched her as I floated above the land of freaks. I heard The Misters breathing hard as they looked upon my cyclopean form with awe and envy. The hearts of those in the tanks beat in unison.

  Did Reckard not say they had to die before going into a tank? Did he lie?

  “Ash!” Cavendish called again. He threw a glowing watch, which created a cloud of smoke to obscure him from the approaching enemy. He made his last stand next to the one he loved.

  A strand of magic sustained Ravenlea in the tank. It also kept her in the stasis. Before I awakened her, Aimee said, “Kill the hairy little monster.”

  The woman stopped at nothing to get what she wanted. I understood that all too well.

  I would not let her harm my friend.

  I unleashed the gnome magic. It reached into the hearts of the skeletons and tore away the source of their energy before shearing them apart. It tossed Aimee through the air. It blew tanks open. Before the stasis fields failed, I drew on more magic to secure each experiment, to stabilize the living hearts.

  The amount of power required made fires rage through me even as the blue light engulfed me. The gnomes held nothing back. They gave me the rawest, purest form of the magic.

  Perrin roared. I yelled in anguish. A final surge of power radiated from us, shattering every other source of magic within a hundred feet.

  And in that instant, every sensation increased tenfold – the distant fire bells echoed in my ears, along with the yells of those fighting the flames, the shifting air made every exposed hair on my body ache from the forced movement, the smell of Catheon Ale set fire to the deepest part of my nose with such strength that I tasted it. Other sounds and smells combined to overwhelm my body.

  I cried out in anguish once again.

  Then everything ceased.

  Chapter 10

  “Ash? Ash? Are you alive?”

  Though I heard Cavendish and he pushed me, I had no desire to move. My body ached from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. The world felt…less…as if smells would never be as strong, sounds would be forever muted, and a general darkness shrouded my eye.

  Perrin said, “Now you understand why I believe your world is so dull as compared to mine.”

  “Ash?” Cavendish asked again.

  Had I been in possession of two eyes, I would have summoned enough strength to open one. Given my current state though, I only managed to open my singular ocular object enough to make out the gnome as he stood on my chest. The only vocal response I gave was a deep groan.

  “Ash, we need to go. Guardsmen and who knows what else will descend on this building at any moment.” He motioned with his right hand. “Get up. We cannot stay here.”

  The thought of moving made me ache even more.

  “Ash!” He tugged at my right hand. “We need to leave. Remember Rebecca? She is closer to death every minute we delay.”

  Rebecca Donnavan…I still saw her smile as she changed my bandages. The fear on her face as Reckard took her away tore at my heart. And again, I heard her ask, “Can you love me, Alexander Asherton?”

  No.

  Yes?

  Maybe?

  She lived. I now knew that much. Reckard’s lie about the people in the tanks should not have surprised me, but I could not believe he would be so blatantly dishonest and hurtful.

  Perrin laughed. “You are a strange one, Alexander Asherton. You love the unlovable but refuse those who would do anything for you. Do not remain so naïve and foolish. I have never been blessed to know the love of a woman. Work, sacrifice, and death have dictated my life. How different would I be if a woman dared to express her devotion to me?”

  “Love is complicated,” I said. “Consider yourself blessed not to be entangled with other hearts.”

  He grunted. “You are a fool if you refuse this Rebecca.”

  As Cavendish tugged again, I spoke with a raw throat. “Cavendish, your world…Frengarn…danger…”

  The gnome moved to a figure curled in a ball on the floor. “I know the orc is putting my world in danger, but my more immediate concern is getting all of us safely out of h
ere.” He put his arm around the other.

  I took a deep breath. “If…Reganas Nine falls, your world will be destroyed.”

  “Yes, the orcs will take over, and everything I know will be ruined.”

  “No…your world will break apart. Everything, even the orcs, will be wiped out.”

  Cavendish’s brow narrowed as he stared at me. He whispered, “Are you sure?”

  I nodded, which made my head protest in a most violent way.

  “Then we need to take the Heart to the Elders as quickly as possible.”

  “No.” I blinked until I better focused on the scene at hand. “We are going to take it to your Family, to your Mother.” And in doing so, I would move further from my goal of saving Rebecca. Yet what did one life mean when compared to untold millions?

  I pushed myself up and looked upon the destruction wrought with the Heart’s power. Blue liquid covered the floor and shards of glass twinkled in the blinking lights of the decimated tanks. A scattering of moans and the dripping of water were the only sounds as the occupants now freed slowly became aware of their surroundings. One lady sobbed as she stared at her mechanical legs. She whispered, “He promised…he promised I would walk again…but I never imagined…”

  To the left, a man thumped at the metal plate covering the right half of his face. A hollow laugh echoed within his skull. “A fire scarred my face, and he promised I would have a new one…”

  The boy with the scales covering his torso felt them. “This is the miracle cure he promised? What a filthy mess!”

  The petite lady with the claws for hands wept. When she tried to wipe her eyes, she poked herself. That made her cry even more.

  “A most curious turn of events, yes?” Mister Important said as he and his brother knelt before a creature with the legs of a lizard and a torso of a human, complete with a metal arm. He took the man’s fleshy hand. “Let us be of service, sir. You look as if you require assistance, and we are in a position to offer help.”

  “Hmmm,” Mister Mercy said as he reached for the metal hand. “I believe we can be of a great help. So many possibilities.”