Eight 5.33: The Plan in Action

I’d gotten quite good at reconnecting my spirit to my body, with my family’s help of course.

The process went smoothly this time, and Yuki was present and ready to have their consciousness merge with mine. For a moment, we united in our amazement at the eventfulness of the previous evening, then we separated so that each of us could come to terms with the others’ share of those events.

Carefully, I lifted myself out of a tub. Bits of tree bark and flower petals floated on the water’s surface. A design of the human body in quartz had been inlaid into the bottom, a contrast to the granite of the rest of the tub. The Diaksh word for “wholeness” repeated along the outside walls. Under the words, the runes for Nature’s Spring had been engraved.

The Deer God’s spiritless body sat in the corner. He was out spying on the Maltrans. They’d apparently been victorious over the night crows, and their soldiers had escorted the coffin with the body intended for Baxta the rest of the way to the fortress where it was hauled up to the research floor.

After Kolwei’s thorough examination, the body had been pronounced sound and the coffin then set into a place of honor that they’d built for it. The silvered guards had been instructed that the body was not to be disturbed until the ritual was ready to begin.

Which had inspired Fala to commit to a backup plan—

“She what?” I yelled, arriving at that moment in Yuki’s memories.

The hidden mind didn’t respond, though, caught in a daze of my memories of the time spent staring at Sister Moon’s face.

I cast my awareness outward and sensed my beloved presence inside the fortress. If her plan was successful then she was—

‘Wow,’ Yuki said. ‘No wonder people follow her around. Words fail at describing her beauty. Her facial symmetry is perfect.’

“Yes, yes,” I said. “What about Fala? Is she really—”

‘Oh, yes, it’s quite clever actually. Let us show you.’

We merged again, and then shot our awareness out to the extension inside my beloved. Except she was one with water at the time, and there was nothing to see. We were simply qi floating inside her presence. Vaguely we sensed her will moving, the sharpness of her intent, but that was all.

We pulled back to Ollie/Eight’s body and split our consciousness.

‘That wasn’t satisfying at all,’ Yuki said. ‘We were hoping to see the deed done.’

“Is she really cutting off the body’s penis?” I asked, still incredulous.

Yuki’s qi bobbed. ‘There’s no way Baxta would tolerate imperfections, and he might balk at inhabiting the body when he notices that it’s missing some—’ they snickered, ‘—vital equipment.’

“But what if the Maltrans give it another examination before the ritual?”

Yuki’s qi shrugged. ‘They might check his major organs or search for hidden poisons, but looking down his pants? It’s a risk we all thought was worth taking.’

I shook my head, my mind racing to slot this new development into the bramble of branching scenarios we’d built for dealing with Project Birthright.

‘Fala is on her way back now,’ Yuki said. ‘She’s slipped past the soldiers and is heading toward an arrowslit.’

The Deer God was returning too, I noted. He’d realized I was back in my body.

“Okay, what’s done is done,” I said. “The important thing is figure out how to respond to the change in schedule. Sister Moon and her retinue can reach the fortress in as little as half a day. We might see action as early as noon.”

I felt myself kicking into gear and did my best ignore the newest addition to the Hoarder’s Pocket, the proof that Fala had been successful in her mission.

###

Sister Moon’s retinue arrived earlier than expected. My Status clock read 10:02 AM when Yuki alerted us to a panic among the lower-level soldiers. One of the fortress’s patrols had encountered the imperial carriage and outriders along the road, spurring the fortress into a frenzy; they were still in the process of cleaning up the aftermath of the battle the previous evening.

Everyone was seemingly mobilized in preparation—everyone—and the four of us knew the time for planning was done.

I stripped and got into the tub. The water embraced me, and I let my influence seep out, my authority infusing it with the intent to heal at all levels, including spiritual.

Fala leaned down to stare into my eyes, searching them for any hesitancy but finding only my resolve. We were well past words at that point, so she simply kissed me deeply and let me fall back until I was completely submerged.

‘Ready check in five,’ Yuki said.

The others sent their acknowledgements, while I focused on the thin-but-supple connection between body and spirit, between life and death.

Those five beats were long, perhaps the longest I’d ever experienced, and at the end of them I thought, Ready.

Yuki stopped my heart. The feeling was unpleasant, and my authority rebelled—wanting to steady my presence in the world. My heart almost restarted beating despite Yuki’s best efforts. I had to actively disengage that portion of my influence.

The water also wanted to heal me, but I wouldn’t let it. That was one of the reasons why I stayed in my body the entire time I spent dying, to keep control of the process. Believe me, it would’ve been much easier to split my spirit from my body early and watch from the outside.

To feel your blood stopped, every inch you screaming for oxygen—it was the stuff of nightmares. And it went on and on, because silvered bodies were ridiculously resilient.

Eventually, though, my body stopped struggling and my spirit slipped free on its own. Floating above the tub, I turned to see myself. My face looked stern, as if still deeply concentrating. A moment later, the Deer God trapped me with his antlers, his will enclosing my spirit. It was like being stuck inside a bramble full of sharp thorns. I fought against the pressure as I was supposed to, but it was harder than it should’ve been. The energy of my resistance was being sapped

Things moved quickly then. The Deer God joined the herd and brought my spirit with him, while Fala stored tub and body together in the Hoarder’s Pocket, and dove straight into the stone.

My beloved flew under the earth, weaving past tree roots and burrowing creatures, toward the Eagle Fortress, then up we went. We climbed the mountain until we reached a flat section of the roof above the topmost cube.

Fala spilled water onto the roof and merged with it, adeptly moving from one element to the other. She then flowed over the side and down the wall and paused.

The soldiers inside were at the arrowslits, looking down at the frantic preparations below. At any moment now, Sister Moon would be arriving, and they gawked like children waiting for a parade.

Minutes passed, and I felt myself weakening. Either my authority was being drawn away, or I was drawing away from my authority. I fought that loss, just as I fought the Deer God’s will, and the sapping force on me grew even stronger.

The soldiers at the arrowslits simply wouldn’t move, so the Deer God slipped past them and emerged briefly from the herd. His hooves touched down on the stone floor. The soldiers spun at the sound, but he was gone again before they could see him.

And so was Fala, she slipped through the arrowslit and flowed down into the crease between wall and floor. Carefully, she moved until she was behind a bundle of crossbow bolts, then waited for them to finish investigating the noise and become distracted by the preparations below.

She flowed, and the rest of us went with her, entering the empty corridor, finding the staircase up, and coming to rest in one of the twisting passages near the commander’s office.

Time was ticking, so Fala emerged from the water and immediately withdrew the tub from the pocket. The granite and water were both fully under her control, so when the tub touched ground, it was with the gentlest of taps. None of the water inside sloshed.

“Ready,” she signed.

The Deer God materialized next to her and let me go. His antlers withdrew, and I felt like a breeze would blow me away. Carefully now, he caught me again—not to trap me this time but bring me closer to my body.

His antlers glowed the color of sunlight streaming through leaves, and a silver cord became visible. It connected to my spirit at one end and appeared to be frayed at the other, dissolving and shortening, even as I watched.

The Deer God left his body, his spirit still carrying me closer to my body. The light from his antlers intensified and moats floated free like fireflies. They gathered at the frayed end of the silver cord.

I found a nugget of will remaining within me—there was work left undone, and my beloved waited for me, as were my family and friends.

I reached for my body, and it was the water that responded, reaching up toward my hand. We touched, and it was like an electric shock went through me. Suddenly I was gasping and struggling to claw my way out of the tub. My breath heaved. My head throbbed with the worst headache of my life.

My authority surged—out of my control now—as the water turned silver and I felt myself sealed, my body and spirit firmly merged together. Then it flashed ocean blue as it healed me, warming every bit of me as I was brought back to complete wholeness.

Fala threw her arms around me, while Yuki’s qi danced a jig inside my heart dantian. The only one who kept his cool was the Deer God.

‘Well done,’ he sent, ‘but there is more to do. We’ve only just begun.’

‘A truth,’ Fala sent, letting go and helping me up.

Yuki sighed, their qi becoming sober. ‘Time is forever the enemy.’

The water didn’t want to release me. I had to gently disengage it from my body before I stepped out of the tub. Fala waited for me with my clothes and gear. After I was dressed, we put away the tub and checked each other to make sure we ready.

The Dear God disappeared into the herd, while Fala merged with the stone otter necklace around my neck, and Yuki cast the full suite of sensory spells on me.

I quietly padded out into the corridor, moving between the twisting rune-engraved walls until I reached the stairway. A quick peek, a moment to listen, a sniff of the air—and I knew the landing below was clear. It was my first time taking the stairs down with my physical body.

I heard the mutterings from the silvered soldiers guarding Baxta’s body, as well as the ones at the exterior defenses, but the rest of the research floor had been emptied of people. They were all outside.

‘The commander is having the researchers line up for Sister Moon’s arrival,’ Yuki said.

Sotwansein is going against orders? I asked.

‘Just the researchers are gathered; he’s calling them the pride of Maltra,’ Yuki said. ‘The soldier our extension is inhabiting is part of the honor guard flanking them. His heart feels like it’s going to burst from excitement.’

‘Will the fortress’s soldiers and the empress’s carriage both be inside the mining camp?’ Fala asked.

That was Plan #1, the best-case scenario. As we waited for Yuki to suss out the likelihood of that happening, I reached the landing for the stairway down and confirmed that the offices surrounding it were currently empty.

Fala began pulling granite from the Hoarder’s Pocket and easing it into place to seal the opening. When it looked like we’d have more time for the task than expected, she dove from her necklace into the granite so that she would have a better sense for how to thicken the blockage without causing stone to grind against stone.

These spiral staircases were great for impeding attackers moving up the floors, but they cut off the view of the top from the bottom and vice versa. As a result, Fala was able to plug the hole with about five feet’s worth of stone without the defenders down below noticing.

Even if there was an Earth-Touched among the soldiers, they’d have a hard time breaking through. Fala had been studying the techniques of both the fortress’s commander and the now-dead hierophant of Albei. The stone was hers in a way it’d never been before, and it was magically reinforced.

Once she was back in her necklace, I moved us back toward the observation deck, and she repeated the process with the corridor, blocking it off so that we were isolated with only one team of silvered soldiers.

‘A rider galloped through the gate,’ Yuki said. ‘He’s hopped off his horse, and… oh, that’s interesting… Sotwansein just bowed to him.’

I made the turn into the corridor leading to the workshops and meeting rooms. Someone was breathing not far away—from the sound just one person. A guard outside at the door?

The team protecting the body was Hall’s Glory. A couple of the members had been at odds lately—one accusing the other of cheating at dice. Which he had, by the way; I’d been there to see it happen. The man had dexterous hands; he’d palmed a new set of dice into the game with one while tossing pickled garlic into his mouth with the other.

The whole thing was ridiculous and stupid and fueled by boredom more than anything else. The cheater was filthy rich; all the silvered soldiers were as near as I could tell. The Maltrans didn’t skimp on the payroll.

I quietly sniffed the air and smelled the faint scent of garlic. It’s the cheater. Landis, mace wielder, two knives at the belt, one in the boot, probably some kind of nimble and strong, as well as something else. None of the people on this team are simple.

‘Sotwansein went to one knee, and then everyone else followed,’ Yuki said. ‘The rider has raised a scroll case above his; it’s an order from Sister Moon. The soldiers are being directed to the edges of the compound’s walls, facing away from the center. They are to kneel there with their eyes closed until the empress passes through. It is…’ Yuki snorted. ‘It’s apparently an honor that they could stay inside the walls instead of being kicked out of their own fortress.’

I froze. Does that order include the silvered currently outside?

‘Hold on. Sotwansein just asked the same question.’

‘Yes, the researchers and the silvered are allowed to stay. They’ve been given permission to gaze upon the face of Sister Moon.’

My heart beat steadily like the tides upon the shore. my authority refusing to relinquish its influence over my body. That influence extended into my thoughts, so that they moved with the power of the deep ocean.

This soldier was about to die. The hinge of his life and death would be the words spoken by the hidden mind.

Timeless. The ocean was timeless and patient, giving to the world and taking from it in equal measures. Small currents flowed through me to double-check my status—lnives in hand, allies hidden, spells in mind and ready to cast.

“The carriage is here!’ Yuki said. ‘The empress is stepping down from the carriage.’

A thought arose from the depths: Scenario one. Trigger the landslide.

From within her necklace, my beloved reached out to the magics she’d placed across the mountain’s stress points. In the distance, even through the fortress’s reinforced walls, I felt the earth tremble.

A half-beat later, I turned the corner. The guard at the door had looked up as if to peer through the ceiling at the mountain above.

He didn’t see me coming.