Interlude – The Flower Seller/Luke
Luke screamed and howled and thumped his hands on the desk as though it would make any difference to what had just happened. What was she thinking? He’d done it so beautifully and made it so easy for her. It had even been poetic, the doors opening and closing again, tempting her, then throwing her back.
But instead of walking free, she was dead in the tube tunnel and he was three-four down with the Father arriving tonight. It couldn’t have been engineered better if the entire thing had been planned. He shoved his desk hard enough to slam it against the dry stone wall of his chamber and rose.
It had been planned. It had to have been. He was the best, not just at this, but at anything he put his mind to. He’d been hitting eighty or ninety percent for the last few centuries and now this happened. Even the subjects he’d got right had ended badly. This was planned from beginning to end, so who’d planned it?
The Father? Could be, but why bother? He could do what he wanted without following some pointless charade. Who else could it be? He bore a wry smile as he turned and gazed out over the stars. Who couldn’t it have been? He liked to think it was unlikely to be Az or Seph, but there were no guarantees. He needed to know, though.
He threw himself from the edge and flew out into space. He fell from his chamber, leaving behind the rough stone edge and diving down through the darkness. There were thousands of them, stone huts and wooden houses and shells the size of trucks and all manner of living quarters, floating in space with open backs, and in every one someone like him, or someone like Az, was hard at work.
He caught the thermals and rose, huge wings flapping slowly as they carried him up to a chamber near the top of the Flights. He landed on the edge and held himself there with long wing beats. Seph leaned on the desk, staring fixedly through his window at something only he could see.
Luke knelt down and steadied himself, waiting. He peered over Seph’s shoulder and narrowed his eyes. Sometimes he could see another’s subject, if he tuned in properly. It should be easier with someone he knew.
A picture formed in the space of a desert and a man taking long, lurching steps through the sand. In the seconds that he watched, the man stopped and toppled forward. He raised his head once and dropped it again. Seph leaned back into his chair, hissing through his teeth and thumping the desk.
‘That didn’t look successful.’
Seph jumped and spun round, then raised his hands. ‘Luke, come on in, don’t hang around on the edge. How are you feeling?’
Seph rubbed his head as he asked and Luke smiled. ‘Better. And worse. You?’
‘The same. I felt shocking this morning, utterly shocking. Then I lost the headache but now I’ve lost my bloody subject. By the way, how come you saw it?’
Luke shrugged. ‘You just have to concentrate. Where does that leave you?’
‘Five-two. Not my best but thoroughly satisfactory.’ Luke nodded, trying and failing to look enthusiastic. Seph’s face fell and Luke sighed in relief. He hadn’t planned it. His look of dismay as he realised why Luke was here said it all.
‘You didn’t make it.’
It wasn’t a question but Luke answered anyway. ‘I lost her. I did it all right and she didn’t get on the train, then she ran into the sodding tunnel to rescue someone. She was bloody disabled, what was she thinking?’
Seph’s face dropped even further. ‘Shit, sorry. That’s bad timing.’
‘You think?’ Luke put his wings away and slumped into the other chair, leaning back until the front two legs came off the floor. ‘I’ve been set up. This is all deliberate.’
Seph looked shocked for all of two seconds before he nodded. ‘That’s entirely possible, but who did it?’
‘Take your pick.’ Luke waved a hand toward the thousands of chambers hanging below them. ‘Most of them have a reason, if they want one.’
Seph nodded. ‘I hate to say this, but I’m not sure it matters overmuch. And I’m not sure we’ll have time to find out who. The Father will be here in…’ he checked his watch, ‘a couple of hours. You might do better putting your affairs in order.’
‘Affairs? What affairs? I don’t have any affairs. He’s allowed me precisely nothing in the entire time I’ve been here.’
‘Maybe you should say goodbye to Sara then.’ The smile on his face meant he knew what had happened last night.
‘How the hell did you find out about that?’
Seph grinned and tapped the side of his nose. ‘A gentleman never gives away his sources.’
‘Yeah, well, thanks for the pep talk. If I’m gone by tomorrow, I want you to find out who was behind this.’
‘Haven’t you considered that it might just be the Father? He would be quite happy to have an excuse to be rid of you.’
‘Why would he go through all this though? Why not just banish me?’
‘You have supporters. Not many, I’ll admit, but there are a few rather powerful beings who think you’ve more than paid your dues. Screwing you over now without just cause would not sit well with them.’
Luke wrinkled his nose. ‘The Father does what he wants and bollocks to anyone who argues.’
‘Maybe, maybe. I’m not so sure.’
Luke shifted in his chair. ‘Gotta go.’
‘Hey, make sure you say goodbye.’
‘I’m so glad you’re already that sure I’m being sent away.’
Seph shrugged and smiled sympathetically. It was the last thing Luke saw as he threw himself out into space. From up here the Dome looked tiny, a spot surrounded by the specks of the chambers. Perhaps if he went straight down there, he’d have time to visit Sara before the Father arrived.
He shook his head and leaned into the updraft, heading across the vast space toward another of the chambers. This was considerably lower than his own and took a few minutes to get to. He landed on the edge and wandered in. The demon chambers were quite different from theirs and he felt his usual pang of jealousy as he wandered into Az’s home.
Where his chamber was wide open, Az’s ended in a small opening. He paced down the narrow tunnel that lay beyond it, running his fingers along the cold stones. It felt like home. Beyond it lay a room, similar in size to his own. A fire burned at one end, huddled within a sunken pit. The window was on one wall and was dark.
Az lounged on his bed, book open before him.
‘Didn’t know you could read.’
‘Don’t remember inviting you in. How’d it go?’
Luke shook his head and sat in the big swivel chair before the window. It was black plastic and leather and completely out of place. And very comfortable. Az shook his head, pursing his lips. ‘Sorry man, that sucks. What now?’
‘Well, that’s what I’m trying to decide. Someone set me up—’
‘You sure?’
‘It wouldn’t have happened otherwise. And look when it’s happened. What are the chances?’
‘Fair enough. So who was it?’
‘That’s what I want to know. Seph thinks I haven’t got time, thinks I should spend my few remaining hours with Sara.’
‘That’s an excellent idea. Good work there, by the way, very smooth.’ Az raised an eyebrow, broad grin splitting his blood-red features. ‘Gotta say, it would seriously bum me out not knowing who stitched me up.’
‘Right, exactly. So where do I start?’
Az smiled again. ‘With your friends.’
Their eyes met and Luke folded his arms, keeping his face impassive. Finally Az looked at the floor then back up at him. ‘Fine, it was me. I’ve been jealous of your gorgeous hair for so long, my anger got the better of me. Can you forgive me?’
Luke watched him for a moment longer before letting out a long breath. ‘Hey, can you blame me?’
‘Not at all. I’m a demon, it’s what I’m supposed to do. But seriously, me and Seph… well actually, I wouldn’t trust Seph one little bit, dodgy bastard.’
He grinned and Luke let his arms drop to the chair where his fingers drummed on the plastic rests. Az raised his chin. ‘Who’ve you pissed off recently?’
‘The question is, who have I pissed off who knew the Father was coming to visit?’
Az sat forward, eyes widening. ‘Yeah, bloody hell, that’s right. That narrows it down a bit.’ He sat back, frowning. ‘Unfortunately, it narrows it down to big players, people I don’t wanna be anywhere near.’
‘And I do?’
‘C’mon Luke, don’t go all coy on me. You’ve got the moves for anyone in the Dome.’
Luke shrugged, examining his nails. ‘I can’t get anyone riled up though, not now. If there’s any chance he’s gonna let me off—’
He was stopped by Az snorting loudly and bursting out laughing. ‘He’s got your number, Luke, don’t even hope otherwise. This is the perfect opportunity.’
Luke ran through the list in his head. There were the Three, but they rarely got involved in anything and the one time he met them, he’d got the feeling they were more on his side than the Father’s. There were a couple of high level demons who still hated him for taking over back home. Bast wouldn’t be averse to taking a swipe, but she’d want him to know it was her.
The truth was, there were too many, even with the knowledge of the Father’s movements thrown in the mix. And the big man wasn’t particularly secret about what he was doing either. Luke stood, kissing his teeth as he stumped to the fire and held his hands out. He didn’t have a bloody clue where to start.
The silence deepened and they both jumped when the bell sounded. ‘Shit, dammit.’
‘Time’s up, man, let’s get down there and get good seats.’
Az bounded past him, scooping up his axe as he went and throwing it over his shoulder. The strap slapped against his skin as it snapped taut.
‘Do you need that?’
Az smiled. ‘You never know. But it’s a ceremonial thing. It’s more for the other demons than you lot.’
Luke followed him out and they jumped one by one into the darkness. Luke’s wings split apart and he slowed his descent. By contrast, Az plummeted, hurtling toward the Dome. His voice drifted up.
‘Hurry up, you’re gonna miss the best seats.’
Luke looked around and realised what he was talking about. The darkness was filled with beings, winged and not, some with skin as pale as snow and others darker than the night sky. The giants were floating down in their shells, disks larger than his entire chamber, while the faeries floated like fireflies, tiny spots of light that flickered and spun.
Luke’s own kind filled the space above, smooth skin and white feathers blocking out the darkness that hung above the Flights. Down here, the demons were responding with as much alacrity, red and mottled brown skin making a carpet into which he flew.
The chambers were emptying and it was a sight he’d not seen since before the Father’s previous visit. It felt different now though. This time it felt like the first time, when he’d been cast down. Back then, the Flights had been emptying for a very different reason. Now all bowed before the Father, all just as fearful as he was. Well, perhaps not quite as fearful.
He pulled in his wings and put his head down and soared until his face was pulled this way and that by the wind. He cut through the shield of falling demons and reached one of the entrances to the Dome before the rush. Az waited, leaning nonchalantly against the door frame. Luke raised an eyebrow at him and they dashed through to the grand hall.
Good seats meant those near the back and they joined the rapidly-filling back row. His hands were thumping on his legs, feet tapping on the floor and Az put his hand on his shoulder.
‘Relax man, you gotta relax. What will be, will be, you’re driving me crazy.’
‘Easy for you to say.’
‘Well, actually, it is. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.’
Luke sniffed and rested his elbows on his legs, cupping his chin between his hands. The room filled up. Seph came in halfway through and waded through the crowds to take the seat Az had saved beside him. The chatter that had filled the bar the previous night was ten times louder in here.
It was remarkable really. They spent their days among men, the mere mortals of whom they spoke with such longing and contempt. They were hyper-aware, every one of them, of the foibles and failings of their subjects. Yet put a bunch of them in a room and give them something to gossip about and still they acted just like humans.
Luke sat back, breath getting short. This was ridiculous. He couldn’t just sit here and wait to get shafted. Then another bell sounded and he knew it was too late.
The hall hushed, people scurrying to their seats as the lights dimmed. The lectern at the front was illuminated in a spotlight and the Father walked out. He wore, as he always did, a loincloth that barely covered his privates. His sunburned skin was covered in whirling tattoos and bore the marks of many bites. He carried his staff, a piece of wood that made a sharp retort with every step he made.
He stood behind the lectern and cast his gaze out. Luke knew he was looking for him and wasn’t surprised in the least when their eyes met. Then the Father nodded and smiled and rocked back on his heels.
‘My people. It is with great pleasure that I come here today not with warnings or checks. I don’t come to deal with those among you who have failed in your work. My trip here is one of joy. I come today with the news that one among you has been chosen to do something quite remarkable.’
Luke exchanged a glance with Az, who raised an eyebrow and looked doubtful.
‘He is known to many of you as the great betrayer. That was true, many years ago. But for many the last millenia and beyond, he has served us faithfully and well. It is this change in him, this remarkable willingness to change and become a better person, that has led me to this momentous decision.’
Luke put his head in his hands. The question was, what ‘honour’ was it? If it was really an honour, he’d eat everything he wore, pants and all.
‘Luke, please, come down here.’
Every face turned to stare as he stood and took the walk of death to the gallows. Half way down he glanced to the side and saw Sara. She gave him a smile, but it was weak and carried none of the warmth of last night. His mind started up. Was she involved in this?
He reached the lectern and the Father opened his arms, welcoming him up to stand beside him. He spoke in muttered tones. ‘Hey Luci, long time. Are you ready for this?’
‘What are you going to do to me, you bastard?’
‘Nothing you don’t deserve. Remember, it’s a great honour.’
‘Why did you go through all the bullshit last week if you were gonna make it a big honour?’
The Father cleared his throat and spoke to the hall. ‘Luke’s efforts in his work have been, of late, a little underwhelming. This week in particular he failed to meet his target. This was the final piece in the puzzle for me in deciding who should be given the most important task that now lies before him.’
So it was a task now. Not an honour anymore, oh no. Now he had to do stuff. The Father’s face turned serious.
‘The world is in trouble. Not long from now, a man called Jason will infect it with a disease so virulent and so terrible that ninety percent of the population will be wiped out in a matter of days. I am forbidden to become involved directly in the matters of men and you can only work in certain ways, those prescribed by the ancients. Only one who is human himself can change the world.’
The Father turned to Luke and slapped him on the arm. ‘Luke will become human.’
All the eyes that stared at him ceased to matter as those four words carved their way into his soul.
End of Part One. Part Two will begin on Thursday 7th August
