Chapter XXXVIII – Blood of Many Colours

  Kal stormed up the steps of the guard quarters, Nova in tow. He pounded the door.

  “Who’s there?” came a voice from inside.

  “Where’s the Commandant?” demanded Kal.

  “Not here.”

  “Where?”

  He had no patience for such ambiguity right now.

  There was a pause, the voice within replied: “He was meeting Mr Arthur and the leadership committee.”

  Kal grunted and turned around.

  “The hall?” suggested Nova.

  “Let’s go.”

  Moments later Kal was charging through the door of the main hall. Inside were sitting the Commandant, Michael, Shulin, and three people Kal didn’t recognise: an elderly woman, a younger woman in a guard uniform, and a young man with glasses, presumably a convict.

  “Who’s with the sick?” he demanded.

  “Excuse me?” said the Commandant, turning Kal’s way.

  “You heard me,” he said. “Who is looking after the sick? Is anyone with them?”

  “Doctor Cui just went to check on them. I was with them earlier,” said the woman in guard uniform.

  “And who are you?”

  “Lieutenant Liao Yuxi,” said the woman, “I’m the medical officer here.”

  “Well, no one was there when I went,” said Kal.

  “No one should be going,” said Lieutenant Liao. “We are trying to contain the spread. Especially since we don’t yet understand what are dealing with or the vector of transmission.”

  Kal was about to retort that they were being left to die, but Michael Arthur spoke.

  “Mr Nyx, we can appreciate your concern for your friend, but I can assure you, we are taking every measure to both contain the spread and assist those who have already fallen sick.”

  “She’s dying,” snarled Kal. “She’s dying and no one’s there with her. She was fine this morning. You saw her, didn’t you? And now she’s unconscious. Barely breathing. It took her hours to get to that point. How many d’you reckon she’s got left? Huh? What about you, Lieutenant? Want to hazard a guess?”

  “It’s true, symptoms are progressing very quickly—” Liao began.

  “Not very fucking many,” said Kal. “So, we gotta be doing something now. I don’t care about your fucking committee.”

  “Mr Nyx, please calm down,” said Michael.

  “It is not in my nature to stand by while my friends and companions die,” said Kal, feeling the frustration welling up inside him. Unfortunately, a virus wasn’t something you could punch or shoot. A rather frustrating quality.

  He felt Nova’s hand on his arm. “Hey, Kal, maybe we should just leave them to—”

  “No,” he said, shaking her hand off.

  The elderly woman Kal didn’t recognise spoke up. She had a knowing smile on her face. “Mr Nyx, you are welcome to join me in praying for the sick. I intend to go to them now, as I agree the efforts of some leave much to be desired.”

  Kal stared at her with a mix of irritation and incomprehension.

  “Pray for them?” he said, incredulous.

  “Kal…” warned Nova, behind him.

  “I can see by your appearance that you likely did not grow up under the light of the Nine Suns,” said the woman, “But I believe their power shines across the Cosmos through the Starflow. You need only let in that light.”

  “Kal!” said Nova more urgently, tugging at his arm once more.

  “Lady, I don’t know what the fuck you’re on about, but what they need is medical treatment. So, let’s get that to them.”

  “Kal. Be Nice,” said Nova in a frantic stage whisper.

  Kal gave a grumble. “And I guess you can say your prayers if you want.”

  The woman simply smiled back. “I see you’re a sceptic, Mr Nyx. That’s alright. Sometimes it can take us time to see the light. But if your heart is true, I have faith it will shine on you eventually.”

  “I’ve seen many sick and dying in my time,” said Kal, “And in my experience, the Stars don’t give a shit about their suffering. Never once saw any of them miraculously get better.”

  “I like this one,” said the young man with glasses.

  “You need to place your faith in the correct Stars, Mr Nyx,” said the woman.

  Kal resisted the urge to respond. It took all of his severely depleted reserves of restraint.

  When Lieutenant Liao spoke again, it was in an exasperated tone. “We are running tests to determine what we’re dealing with. We – unfortunately – have limited technological resources here. The diagnostics will take a while. When we have those answers, I assure everyone we will move with the utmost speed to deliver the most effective treatment possible.”

  Kal took a deep breath. He knew that there was little to be achieved through yelling, but also knew that yelling sure as shit felt better than sitting around passively, waiting for Mu to die. Tavian had asked him to look after Mu, and even if it was hopeless, he was going to do something.

  “And Mrs Fu,” said Lieutenant Liao, “While I’m sure everyone appreciates the gesture of your prayers. We have been very clear: no one is to enter that dormitory without proper PPE. We now have seventeen infected – we do not need this thing spreading any further.”

  Mrs Fu – the elder woman – looked at the Lieutenant. “My dear, I assure you – the light of the Nine Suns is all the protection I need. Those who have fallen ill must witness firsthand the power of the armour of faith.”

  They’ll witness a mad old coot get herself killed, thought Kal.

  “Mrs Fu, we are not saying you cannot enter the dormitory, we only ask you follow proper precautions,” said Shulin.

  “Well, I’m not asking,” said the Commandant, finally speaking up, “This is an order. No one is to enter without PPE. And if people can’t follow that order, I’ll make it simpler: no one can enter.”

  Mrs Fu didn’t say anything more, she merely gazed at the Commandant with an enigmatic smile.

  Michael spoke up. “Mr Nyx, if you would like to participate in this discussion, you are welcome to do so. I previously extended an invitation to Madam Ostara, and we are more than happy to include yourself in that invitation, especially as one of your crew is among those who have fallen ill.”

  Kal didn’t respond immediately.

  “We would of course ask that you remain civil during these discussions,” added Michael.

  “Fine,” said Kal. He turned to Nova and quietly said, “Never thought a bunch of convicts would be such delicate snowflakes.”

  “You did kinda give ‘em hell,” said Nova with a grin.

  Kal gave a small laugh. “Guess I did.”

  Kal walked towards the table and slumped into a chair, his arms folding across his immense chest. Nova followed him, but before she sat, she asked, “D’you need me here? Maybe I should go back to helping with getting the filtration system working.”

  “Alright,” he said. “Go do that.”

  She headed out. The door had not yet shut behind her, when someone burst in. It was another of the guards. “Commandant!” he yelled.

  The conversation in the room ceased, and the Commandant turned to the man. “What is it, Qin?”

  “There’s been a break-in. At the stores. Someone has stolen several crates of food.”

  A storm of questions and exclamations erupted simultaneously from those gathered, not a few of which were accusations of would-be suspects.

  The Commandant leapt to his feet. “Lieutenant, handle this situation. I’m going to go find out what the fuck’s going on with this.”

  It never stopped around here, thought Kal.

  Mei Xuelan moved as quickly as she could through the undergrowth. Which wasn’t very fast, but she figured it would be even harder for people significantly larger than herself.

  As she moved, she wiped away Xixi’s blood from her chin. She had felt bad drinking it – surely Xixi needed it. But she had been hungry and tired and weak. Xixi had said it would save her. Thus, with trembling hands she had stooped to the pool and lifted it up to her mouth.

  It had been sweet, unexpectedly so. And cool.

  And after she drunk it, she felt whole again. Better even. Empowered. It was nothing like taking her medicine. No, Xixi’s blood made her feel… wonderful.

  Yet still she was worried about these newcomers. They didn’t seem like Players of the Orchestra. She didn’t know how she knew that, but the feeling was strong. So, she decided to run. To hide.

  But would Xixi be alright?

  They were all alone. What would these new people do? Would they harm them?

  She didn’t know. And that was worrying, but with Xixi’s blood now inside her, she felt more able than ever to deal with that worry.

  “You won’t be scared anymore,” Xixi had told her. “And soon, you will never be alone again. Not long now.”

  As she ducked and weaved, tunnelling through the vines and bushes, she thought about those people. The lady with the strange purple eyes – she intrigued Xuelan. There was something about her, almost like she knew Xixi. Was she maybe a Player? The others were not, but there was definitely something special about that lady, Xuelan was sure.

  As Xuelan moved, she was so focused on these thoughts and on the simple act of pushing forward through the forest, she missed the sounds. Not the sounds of the strange vines that moved like animals. No, these were definitely the sounds of a person.

  But she missed them.

  Until it was too late.

  She barrelled right into a man.

  He was not one of the men that had been pursuing her. He had messy black hair – hair that almost looked like the head of a mop. He had a similarly messy beard and moustache, but she noticed immediately that he also had the most intensely blue eyes she had ever seen.

  For his part, the man seemed near as startled as she was by the collision out here in the middle of the jungle. He took a moment to recognise what had happened, by which point Xuelan had leapt back and was just about ready to start running again. In her mind she was considering which direction to go. She wanted to go back to the spaceship or maybe to Xixi, but she knew the newcomers would be waiting for her there. They’d find her. She couldn’t go to either of those places, not yet.

  But before she could dart off again, the man spoke.

  “Hello,” he said.

  Still wary, she assessed him. She did not think he was part of the Orchestra. And his clothes looked like those worn by some of the newcomers she’d encountered before. Yet, he was in a bad state. His clothes were ripped and torn in many places, and he was covered in mud. When he moved, it was with a pronounced limp.

  And he was covered in blood.

  Or was he?

  Blood wasn’t red, remember? Blood was a rainbow.

  She remembered something she had seen on the ship.

  She dismissed it.

  Blood wasn’t red.

  “Hello,” she said cautiously, even as she backed away a little farther.

  “Are you from Port Arthur?” he asked. “Surely, you’re too young. Maybe not though. They have no decency.”

  “I’m sixteen,” declared Xuelan.

  “Truly?” said the man.

  “Yes,” she declared.

  The man glanced about; she thought maybe to see if there was anyone else with her. Then he looked back at her.

  “My name’s Toghrul,” he said. “What’s yours?”

  “Mei Xuelan.”

  “That’s a nice name.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How did you get out here? It isn’t safe…”

  “I came from our ship. It crashed.”

  “You came from the crash site?” he exclaimed. “We never managed to reach it… the vines, they forced us back.”

  She looked around him. “What other people?”

  He looked down a moment. “The others didn’t make it… it’s just me now.”

  “There were people wearing clothes like you,” said Xuelan. “At the ship. And they came and looked at Xixi.”

  “Xixi?”

  “Xixi’s my friend,” said Xuelan. “There was a pretty lady with them. With fancy eyes… like yours.”

  “Like mine? Blue?”

  Xuelan shook her head. “No, not blue. Hers were… purple.”

  “Purple…” he said, then he seemed to realise something. He then shook his head: “Madam Ostara? Surely not…”

  “I don’t know her name,” said Xuelan.

  “Can you take me to them?” asked Toghrul.

  She shook her head vigorously. “If I do, they’ll take me away – from Mother and Father and Xixi.”

  “It isn’t safe out here,” he said. “What if all of you come back to our… town?”

  She shook her head again. “Mother and Father are very tired. They can’t go anywhere. And Xixi, they won’t move.”

  Toghrul seemed to consider this for a moment. “I will make the others promise not to take you away, if you really don’t want to go.”

  She was about to shake her head again, but she stopped to think about his words.

  “Alright,” she said. “As long as you promise. They were near Xixi. We can go there.”

  “Thank you, Xuelan,” he said.

  She led the way.

  Mu’s mind was full of strange images and thoughts, each melding into the next, obeying an indecipherable logic. She had little sense of the passing of time, or of her own self, existing instead in a realm where concepts and objects were un-delineated from the Cosmos as a whole. It was a fitful and unpleasant existence, her being gnawed by an indefinable anxiety without obvious origin.

  In just a few moments clear images would cohere form this protean chaos before dissolving again. An orchestral conductor, himself moved by strings manipulated by the colossal hand of an unseen puppeteer. All of it dissolved into a swarm of bees. From the swarm of bees leapt Apollo, before he dissipated into whisps of cloud. A beautiful woman stepped forward, dressed in Aixin court robes, her smile beatific, her arms spread wide in a messianic gesture. She walked forward slowly and with each footfall abundant flowers bloomed. Finally, her form unravelled into vines and everything returned to its formless state.

  The fever surged and all sense left her mind. Her perception slid into madness.

  Tavian’s eyes lingered on the being; he struggled to look away. It was only when Ostara gently grabbed his arm that he was disturbed from a reverie that was taking him down strange rabbit holes of the mind.

  “Come this way,” she said.

  He glanced around, uncomprehending for a moment. Sergeant Bo was nowhere to be seen. He must have chased after the girl. Jiwen was standing a short distance away.

  “Are you okay?” asked Ostara.

  Tavian nodded, shaking his head as if to drive out the strange thoughts that filled it. In some sense they didn’t feel like his thoughts. They were far away, distant. They had different ‘voices’.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Come this way,” Ostara repeated.

  She led him to where Jiwen was standing, slightly downhill. He was not careful this time where he placed his feet, and the blood of the being splashed up across his boots, multicoloured flecks making their way up his legs, some landing on Ostara.

  Jiwen stood just before the point where the streams plunged down into a great pit.

  Heavenly pit, thought Tavian. That was why we originally came.

  He gazed down into it. Its bottom was covered in shadows for the most part, but a single ray of sunlight penetrated the canopy above and fell upon another canopy at the pit’s bottom, which Tavian guessed must have been over a hundred metres below. He realised that down there was an entirely separate jungle. And from what he saw, the plants of that jungle were entirely different from those at the surface. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, they began to detect the subtle signs of movement. Indeed, everything at the base of the pit seemed alive in a way plants should not be.

  “These pits,” he said, “They’re where the carnivorous vines come from?”

  “I believe so,” said Jiwen, not looking at Tavian, but continuing to stare into the pit himself. “This is a small one. The largest ones we’ve found have hundreds of times the volume of this one. And given the small size of the area we’ve explored, there are probably even larger ones yet to be discovered.”

  “What happens with all the water that flows into it?” asked Ostara.

  “I believe the pits start their life as caves,” said Jiwen. “The caves themselves are formed by underground rivers. However, water from above gradually wears through the fragile limestone and in places it collapses, creating these pits. It’s likely many of them are connected by a singular subterranean water course, or at least a network of watercourses.”

  “Why do you think they are such nexuses of mutation?” asked Ostara.

  Jiwen shook his head. “I’m no biologist or botanist, or anything like that, but I did do a unit on basic terraforming procedures at university. If a planet’s atmosphere is hostile for one reason or another to the plant-life used to transform it, micro-atmospheres are easier to establish in confined spaces. From there, terraforming plants can slowly spread as they adapt.”

  “These pits would serve that purpose,” said Ostara. “Although I assume they would take time to form?”

  “Typically, at least in the order of hundreds of thousands of years,” said Jiwen. “Which either means there was a water-cycle on this planet long before terraforming, or something acted to accelerate these geological processes. Without any pre-terraforming records, it’s impossible to tell which is the case.”

  Tavian looked at his feet. He only now realised that he had been standing mid-stream this whole time. Rainbow ooze parted around his feet before plunging down into the pit below.

  “Reckon this stuff will have any effect on what’s going on down there?” he asked, his eyes returning to the pit. Unsettlingly, it looked like the plants were trying to reach up from the darkness towards them.

  “No idea,” said Jiwen. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  Tavian turned Ostara’s way. “But you have, haven’t you?”

  Ostara responded with a look of surprise, a rare thing for her to display. “I…” she began, the uncertainty in her voice equally unusual, “I feel like I have… but I cannot think where it might have been.”

  “You’ve seen much of the Cosmos, haven’t you?” said Jiwen.

  “Yes,” said Ostara. “Yet there’s always something new.”

  “I once travelled,” said Jiwen, “Mostly for work, but I saw many worlds. I fear that part of my life is over now. I don’t expect I’ll see another world apart from Luanyuan ever again.”

  The conversation was interrupted at that point by a beeping. Jiwen pulled a device from his belt.

  “Shit,” he exclaimed, “Yesugei’s group…. I… after we saw that creature, I… but the beacon, it’s coming closer.”

  Tavian heard movement nearby and turned to see two figures emerging from the undergrowth. It took him a moment more to make out the nature of those figures. The first was a young girl – the same girl they had seen before. The second was a grown man.

  The man looked to be in bad shape. Every part of his ripped and torn skin and clothes were covered in mud and blood. He walked with a limp, and though he attempted to conceal it, it was plain to Tavian from his expression that he was in a great deal of pain.

  Tavian didn’t recognise the man.

  But he recognised Ostara, and she him.

  “Toghrul?” she said.

  “Madam Ostara,” he said, “Xuelan… she said she had seen a woman with purple eyes… I didn’t… what brings you here… I don’t understand?”

  “You,” said Ostara.

  “Me… I… I am nobody now. My part is done… Sayan! Erkegul… you must know what happened!” he exclaimed, the realisation dawning on him.

  “They are safe,” said Ostara. “We can tell you everything afterwards. But you are injured.”

  “The others…. Where are they?” asked Jiwen. “Yesugei? Fan? Xu?”

  Toghrul shook his head.

  Jiwen let out a shuddering breath. “The vines?” he said.

  Toghrul nodded.

  “You know these people?” asked the girl of Toghrul.

  “Yes,” said Toghrul.

  “Are they good people?”

  “They won’t harm you.”

  Ostara walked over to the girl and cupped her cheek in her hand. “Truly, we do not wish to hurt you. But please let us help you.”

  Tavian could see the moment calm filled the girl, flowing outwards from Ostara’s touch. Slowly she nodded.

  “Alright,” she said, “You do not seem Discordant.”

  Ostara’s expression subtly changed when the girl said ‘Discordant’, but it was only a momentary flicker. Then she was smiling once more.

  “My name is Ostara. What’s yours?”

  “I’m Mei Xuelan,” the girl replied.

  “A pleasure to meet you,” said Ostara. “These are our friends, Jiwen and Tavian.”

  “Hello,” said Xuelan.

  Then she turned back towards Toghrul.

  “Mr Toghrul… if you are hurt, you should drink some of Xixi’s blood. They don’t mind, and it will make you feel stronger.”

  “Xixi’s… blood?” he said, looking at her with confusion.

  In response, Xuelan knelt, cupping her hands and lifted up the rainbow blood, strands of it dripping down between her fingers. She raised her cupped hands towards Toghrul.

  “Please drink, Mr Toghrul.”

  Toghrul paused, but then he lowered his mouth and sipped of the liquid. He straightened up again, wiping the residue away from his chin.

  Then his eyes widened. The pain Tavian had observed before was gone in a moment.

  “I…” he began. “I feel… healed.”

  “It is Xixi’s gift,” said Xuelan, beaming.

  “That’s incredible,” said Toghrul. “It was… instantaneous.”

  “What is that thing…” said Tavian, looking back up the streams towards the entity, now just out of sight.

  “It is my friend, Xixi,” said Xuelan. “Though they are much bigger now. And they have wings.”

  “Where did Xixi come from, Xuelan?” asked Ostara.

  “Xixi’s always been with me,” said Xuelan. “They’re my best friend.”

  “But Xixi changed when you got to Luanyuan?” asked Ostara.

  Xuelan nodded. “Xixi used to be small. They used to sit on my pillow. Now… they’re big. After the crash, Xixi left the ship to sit where they’re sitting now. They don’t want to move.”

  Xuelan paused a moment, seemingly considering the sequence of events.

  “A monster attacked our ship,” she said. “I think Xixi changed so they could protect us from the monster.”

  “What sort of monster?” asked Ostara.

  “It was long and it sort of fluttered, like a ribbon,” said Xuelan. “But it was shiny and the light that came off it was all different colours. Like Xixi’s blood. And it had wings, and feathers on its head.”

  Ostara looked at Tavian.

  “Sounds kind of like that thing back there,” said Tavian.

  Xuelan obviously heard him. “No!” she said. “It wasn’t like Xixi. It was mean. It attacked us. That’s why the ship crashed. That’s why Mother and Father were hurt. Xixi is protecting us. Ask Mr Toghrul – you’re feeling better aren’t you, Mr Toghrul? That’s all because of Xixi.”

  Everyone looked Toghrul’s way.

  “I am,” he said. “Far better than before.”

  “See?” insisted Xuelan. “Xixi isn’t a monster.”

  Ostara placed a hand on each of Xuelan’s shoulders. “We believe you, Xuelan, but there is still much that is unexplained. I think it is important for us to understand all of this. You should come with us. We can give you food, water, and shelter.”

  At these words, Xuelan recoiled. “No!” she shouted. “I’m not leaving Mother and Father, or Xixi.”

  “Your mother and father are…” began Tavian, but Ostara shot him a warning look.

  “Where are your Mother and Father?” asked Ostara, instead.

  “They’re still on the ship,” said Xuelan. “They’re resting.”

  Ostara’s face betrayed a moment of sorrow, but once again she quickly composed her expression. “Perhaps your Mother and Father could come and rest with us?”

  “No,” repeated Xuelan firmly. “They will stay here. I will stay here.”

  “It isn’t safe,” said Jiwen.

  “It is safer with Mother and Father and Xixi,” said Xuelan, a cold note entering her voice. Tavian could see the rising signs of distress in the girl.

  “Please, Xuelan, think about what we are saying,” said Ostara.

  “No, no, no, no,” said Xuelan, and she began rocking slightly back and forward. “No, no, no, no,” she said again, then began murmuring something else: “They’re being Discordant. Don’t be Discordant. Bad people are Discordant. Maybe they’re bad people.”

  “Truly, we only want to help you,” said Ostara.

  “NO!” screamed Xuelan, her shrill cry piercing Tavian’s ears.

  With that she turned and ran away, her feet splashing through the pools of many-coloured blood. Jiwen immediately went to give chase.

  But he didn’t get far.

  For in a swift movement Toghrul struck him, sending him sprawling to the ground. He would have hit his head on the rocks, had Tavian not managed to catch him.

  “She said no,” said Toghrul in a strangely cold voice.

  “Toghrul!” exclaimed Ostara.

  For a moment Toghrul said nothing further, but Tavian saw his expression change. It softened, then changed to horror.

  “I-I’m sorry,” he said, “I don’t know what came over me.”

  Jiwen wiped blood away from his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s okay,” he said, “It was all just the heat of the moment.”

  Toghrul didn’t seem convinced by that, looking down at his own hands.

  “What should we do about that one?” asked Tavian, indicating the way Xuelan had run off.

  “I did promise her we would not force her to come with us,” said Toghrul.

  “Then we will honour that promise,” said Ostara. “She should only come by her choosing.”

  “She will die out here,” said Jiwen.

  “She’s survived this long already,” replied Tavian. “Presumably on her own, since I’m guessing those corpses back there were Ma and Pa. Maybe that thing – Xixi, she called it – is protecting her somehow.”

  “Its blood certainly made me feel better,” said Toghrul.

  “You were injured quite badly, right?” said Tavian.

  “I was. I think my leg was broken,” said Toghrul. “I could barely walk.”

  “And you’re fine now?”

  “Better than fine.”

  Tavian turned Ostara’s way. “What do you think it might do for Mu and the sick back at Port Arthur?”

  “It could help,” said Ostara, picking her words carefully, “But we are dealing with the unknown here. I don’t wish to alarm you, Toghrul – and certainly it is not showing any harmful signs at present… but I do think we should be cautious before administering it to many people.”

  “Sick?” asked Toghrul.

  “A bunch of people have fallen ill back at Port Arthur,” said Tavian. “Including our colleague.”

  “I see,” said Toghrul, nodding gravely.

  Jiwen had been listening in silence. “Let’s collect a sample and take it back to Port Arthur. We don’t need to make a decision here and now about whether we use it.”

  “I agree,” said Tavian. “We may as well keep our options open.”

  “I will let you know if I feel any side effects,” said Toghrul.

  “Let us hope that there are not,” said Ostara.

  “As for the girl,” said Tavian, “I don’t think there’s much we can do for her if she doesn’t want to come.”

  “I don’t feel good about leaving a child out here,” said Jiwen.

  “She’s older than you’d think,” said Toghrul. “She’s sixteen. Girls are often married by that age on Yarkan.”

  “I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out here,” said Jiwen.

  “I promised her we wouldn’t force her to come with us,” Toghrul repeated.

  “Alright then,” said Jiwen, disapproval evident, “Let’s collect a sample and return to Port Arthur.”

  The filtration system was proving a more difficult project than Nova had ever anticipated. The machinery was significantly corroded and there was little in the way of replacement parts, or even any scrap that could be rigged into even a temporary solution. There was also a serious dearth of tools, which forced her to get very creative in her approach. The convicts working with her had few suggestions to offer.

  It was not a situation she was used to. Usually, no solution eluded her for long. But she was used to the Amrita, and there she always had her trusty tools with her and a solid collection of spare parts and materials.

  Not to worry, she simply had to reconnect with the scavenging spirit of Ferris. Aboard the Amrita she was always well-supplied, but back on her homeworld some of the machines she was working on were six hundred years old, left unattended for all those centuries. And yet she had managed to restore many of these artifacts to working order. There was a solution to be found for this filter – and she would find it. It was simply a matter of time.

  Stars, it was hot though. She wiped the sweat from her brow, but in doing so managed to leave behind a thick smear of grime from the filtration system. Not that it made much difference. From crawling around in the system’s housing, she was now utterly filthy. What she wouldn’t do for a shower.

  But that meant fixing the filtration system.

  Just some extra incentive.

  She was returning to the hall to report to the leadership committee on her progress when she happened on a commotion. As Ma Jinhai, accompanied as always by his lackeys, was crossing the village, two young men approached him. One was wearing glasses – Nova recognised him as Gao Yunjing, from the committee.

  “What are you playing at, Ma?” demanded Gao, stepping forward to directly impede Ma’s route.

  Nova stopped in her tracks, watching from a distance.

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Gao?” asked Ma.

  “I know it was you who raided the stores,” said Gao. “No one else around here is a big enough piece of shit to steal food out of the mouths of his comrades like that.”

  One of Ma’s lackeys growled a threat, “Watch who you’re speaking to.”

  Gao rounded on him. “Shut up, dog. I’m speaking to your master.”

  “Got any evidence for these accusations?” asked Ma, stepping closer to Gao, so as to emphasise his considerably greater height and bulk.

  Gao was unperturbed. “Let us inspect your dorm then,” he said. “Prove you’re innocent.”

  Ma laughed at this. “You really think that’s going to happen? How about you let us inspect yours. How do we know you’re not the thief?”

  “Everyone knows about your criminal background,” said Gao.

  “We’re all criminals here, friend,” said Ma with a laugh.

  “But not all of us were contract killers,” replied Gao.

  “No, but I was,” said Ma, his grin widening. “How about you? How many men have you killed, Gao?”

  “None.”

  “Really? Big tough guy like you? The great revolutionary? Never meted out any revolutionary justice? Huh, who’d have thought?” said Ma. Then his voice became quieter, “But I guess that’s the difference between you and me, isn’t it? You yap, yap, yap… but me? I do. I kill when I have to. So, you know what that means?”

  Gao continued to glare back at Ma, but Nova could see he was slightly shaken.

  “I think it means you should get the fuck out of my way. Come talk to me when you’ve got some evidence.”

  Gao looked like he wanted to say more, but Ma and his men pushed passed him roughly and continued on their way.

  The man accompanying Gao spoke only now. “What should we do?”

  Nova could see Gao shaking slightly, but when he spoke his voice was cold and calm. “Gather the others. We need to be ready if Ma tries anything more.”

  “What can we do?”

  “Arm ourselves.”

  “But only the guards have firearms.”

  “There’s plenty of wood. Let’s make some spears. Bullet or spear, Ma will go down just the same.”

  He then turned around, looking Nova’s way.

  “Wanna come out and say hi?” he yelled.

  Nova stepped out, giving an awkward wave. “I, um, I heard what you said,” she muttered, “But, um, that’s your business. I ain’t tattling.”

  “Best you don’t,” said Gao. “Got the filtration system working?”

  Nova was caught off guard by the abrupt change in topic.

  “Ah, no… not yet. I was heading to the hall to let the committee know what’s happening.”

  “Tell me. I’ll let them know,” said Gao.

  “Sure,” said Nova, and proceeded to explain the predicament.

  Tavian and the others returned to Port Arthur via a slightly altered route, having made an effort to avoid the site at which they were attacked on their outbound journey. The sun was lowering as they returned. A gentle rain fell.

  They entered the hall and Michael Arthur and Li Shulin were waiting.

  “Toghrul, welcome back,” said Michael.

  “Where’s Yesugei?” asked Shulin.

  “He didn’t make it,” said Toghrul, matter-of-factly.

  Both Michael and Shulin looked like they had taken a heavy blow.

  “And the others?” asked Shulin.

  Toghrul shook his head. “It’s only me. The vines are becoming more active. In many places they don’t just threaten us when we sleep, but move in real time, like animals. Patches of the jungle have become death traps, near impossible to escape from. I only escaped through sheer luck.”

  “Did you discover anything?” asked Michael.

  “We found a grove of fruit trees, but when we opened the fruit, they were filled with scraps of bone. It was near the grove that we were attacked. Yesugei died fighting. All of them were brave to the end.”

  Li Shulin sighed deeply. “Our situation grows more dire. The vines are becoming more active, we’ve failed to locate any alternative food supplies, and our water supply is severely constrained. And the fever is spreading.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t bring happier news,” said Toghrul.

  “Do not be sorry,” said Michael. “You risked your life for all of us.”

  “We may have some positive news,” said Ostara. “Though it is strange.”

  “Strange? How?” asked Shulin.

  “Quite by chance, we stumbled upon the crash site,” said Jiwen. “Nearby… we found something.”

  “We do not know what it is,” said Ostara, “A lifeform of some description, but unlike any other. It was bleeding… or so it seemed. Yet its blood appears to have healing properties.”

  “I can attest to that,” said Toghrul. “My leg, I believe, was broken. Yet when I drunk the blood of this… creature, I was healed instantly.”

  “You drank it?” exclaimed Shulin.

  “It was offered to me,” said Toghrul.

  “There was a survivor of the crash,” Tavian explained, seeing the confusion on Michael and Shulin’s faces. “A young girl. She had some sort of affinity with whatever this thing was. She gave the blood to Toghrul and I saw it myself. He improved instantly.”

  “We brought back a sample,” said Ostara.

  “We should try it,” said Shulin. “Just before you arrived… we received word: the first of those who fell ill – Wan Mingzhu… she died.”

  “When did she fall sick?” asked Tavian.

  “The night before last,” said Shulin.

  “Then we don’t have long for the others,” said Tavian. “We should give them the blood.”

  “We don’t know what else it might do,” pointed out Ostara.

  “How are you feeling?” Tavian asked Toghrul.

  “Excellent,” replied Toghrul.

  “See? Let’s do it. If we do nothing Mu and the others will die. No side effect could be as bad as that.”

  “You’d be surprised,” said Ostara. She appeared to consider the question for a moment her eyes turned down, gazing at her own hands. Then she straightened up with an almost imperceivable nod. “Very well. Time is not in our favour. We will administer some to Mu. I shall leave it up to yourselves—” here she indicated Michael Arthur and Li Shulin “—as to whether you give it to the other infected.”

  “How much do we have?” asked Michael.

  Tavian lifted up the flask he had been carrying. “Perhaps a litre?”

  “A single sip was sufficient to instantaneously heal me,” said Toghrul.

  “I fear we have no choice,” said Michael. “There may be risks involved in resorting to such an unknown remedy, but we now know the grim alternative. Unless we arrive to discover Dr Cui and Lieutenant Liao have discovered a cure, we should give the blood to the sick.”

  The dormitory that had been seconded as a ward for the sick had a grim air to it, Tavian thought. It smelt of disease.

  It was quiet however. Few of the infected were conscious, and those who were conscious, were far too weak to offer much by way of protest at their ill-fated condition.

  Dr Cui and Lieutenant Liao had met the small group at the entrance, and neither woman had been overly keen to admit them. Nor were they very convinced at the prospect of a miracle cure. Yet they did not protest overmuch at Michael Arthur’s insistence and so bowed aside and admitted them, insisting only they wear masks upon entering.

  Tavian found Mu about half-way along. She looked much as she had done when he left her. Once more he was struck by the frailty of her appearance.

  Poor thing, he thought.

  Her face bore a grim countenance, almost frowning even in her unconscious state. Her breathing was shallow and shuddering, her body now clearly struggling.

  Unbidden, he found himself wondering how long she would have left if this didn’t work. Surely not long. The failing of her body was evident, even to his untrained eye.

  What a sad thing – to flee the Imperial Court and marriage to the Prince-Imperial, to possess the gifts of Nara Enduri, only to die in meaningless suffering on this benighted world. What was wrought by the conspiracies of fate? Truly it could be a thing of magnificent cruelty.

  But Mu wasn’t going to die.

  Not if Tavian could help it.

  He lifted the flask. Lieutenant Liao passed him a deep spoon, which he dipped into the flask. Putting it aside he knelt by Mu’s bed, propping her limp form up, supported by his free arm. Carefully he lifted the spoon and gently brought it to her lips, nudging them apart.

  There was no response from her.

  “Mu,” he said, gently shaking her with the arm behind her back.

  No response.

  “Mu!” he said more loudly. “You have to drink this.”

  Still no response.

  “Oral medications are contraindicated in unconscious patients,” said the Lieutenant. “We have no way of getting her to swallow it, if we can’t wake her. And there have been no signs of consciousness from her in hours.”

  “Can we inject it?” asked Jiwen.

  “We have no idea what the active components are or what the substance’s mode of action is. We have no way of knowing what a safe dose is… injecting it could be extremely dangerous.”

  “Doing nothing is going to be extremely dangerous for her,” said Tavian.

  He turned back to Mu, and shook her slightly more vigorously.

  “C’mon, Mu,” he said. “You can’t give up here.”

  Still nothing.

  He let out a growl of frustration, shaking her again.

  “C’mon!” he shouted at her. “Wake. Up.”

  But despite his best actions, she remained stubbornly unconscious. He slipped his arm out from behind her, rising to his feet, scrunching his free hand in frustration.

  “You just need to drink this!” he yelled. “Why is that so hard?”

  Without his arm there, her body slumped down onto the bed. Tavian turned to the Lieutenant.

  “There’s gotta be something else we can do,” he said.

  But before the Lieutenant could reply, he heard something behind him.

  “You dropped me, Mr Locke,” came a small, weak voice. “You should be more careful.”

  He spun around. Mu’s eyes were open barely more than a slit, but they were open.

  “Oh, thank the Stars! Alright, drink up!” he said, lowering the spoon to her mouth.

  “I don’t wanna,” she protested petulantly.

  “Well, too bad, princess,” he said, and shoved the spoon unceremoniously into her mouth.

  Her eyes actually widened, in a startled expression, before she swallowed. A moment later she closed her eyes again and slid back down the pillows.

  “That was kind of nice…” she murmured, her voice trailing off. “But I think I’m going to sleep some more.”

  Tavian turned to the onlookers.

  “Did it work?” he asked.

  “Her breathing already looks like it is returning to normal,” said Lieutenant Liao, continuing to look Mu’s way, her tone suggesting she didn’t quite believe the evidence of her eyes.

  “Well, that’s a good sign, right?” said Tavian.

  “Frankly, remarkable,” said the Lieutenant, “For us to see a change this soon after administration.”

  “In that case, let’s start dosing the other patients,” said Michael Arthur. “Perhaps we can have a win for once.”

  “Go on ahead,” said Ostara. “I’ll stay with her.”

  Tavian looked her way. “I’ll stay too.”

  Ostara shook her head. “You go on. Let’s not crowd her.”

  There was something Ostara wasn’t saying, but her tone had a firmness to it. Tavian nodded slowly, looking into those violet eyes. They revealed nothing of what thought processes might be occurring behind them.

  Mysterious as always, thought Tavian.

  With that he followed the others.

  Mu herself felt the change, even as she slept.

  The mad tempest of meaningless unreality that had dominated her fever dreams abated. Familiar things started entering her mind.

  Soon she found herself strolling along a path through the rainforest. The day was bright and sunny, the air pleasantly cool. The plants looked lush, verdant, and resplendent, not at all threatening.

  She rounded a corner on the path and a young girl came into view, walking the opposite direction. Behind her was an unfathomably strange creature, towering over the girl. Yet somehow, the girl seemed unconcerned by the presence of his strange being. Indeed, she smiled warmly at Mu.

  “Hello, Princess Mukushen,” said the girl. Her voice had an otherworldly quality to it. It did not sound like the voice of a young girl. Every word she spoke, was accompanied by an echo a tiny fraction of a second later.

  Yet none of this perturbed Mu. She was watching the girl, then it seemed she was watching herself from the girl’s eyes. From Mei Xuelan’s eyes. She both spoke and listened to the words that followed.

  “Now that we have both partaken of the Eutric Blood, we never have to be lonely again. When you awaken, Princess Mukushen, let others know of this gift. Let them adopt your desire for the Blood. In this way, our shared desire will unite us all.”

  Mu watched as she nodded. She watched as Mei Xuelan spoke the words. Both sets of eyes belonged to her. Both sets of eyes belonged to Mei Xuelan.

  “I wish to partake again,” she said.

  She watched herself from other pairs of eyes too – the eyes of all those who approached them through the forest. All those who had partaken of the Blood.

  “The seed of Mimesis has been planted,” declared Mu/Xuelan/the Hive.

  The Eutria opened its mouth wide and let out a soaring, alien note; bells and choirs all at once.

  From above, the Blood of Many Colours rained down and the Hive rejoiced.