Confrontation

Lily’s heart pounded as she followed the small group of mutants through swaying flowers of the Honeyfields.

From beyond a small hill, the horn continued to roar. Sasha and the others slowed when they reached the top and when they fell into crouches, Lily and Gabriel joined them.

Below, the machine crossed the field – still quite distant.

It was almost shaped like an animal, with four long legs that propelled it forward. And it was large. Not like the mutant that attacked Haven, but still something that would have rivalled Haven’s gate. Light reflected from its long limbs and also from what seemed to be a centre cage… or perhaps it was a pod… for a pilot?

Yet that was impossible, surely?

Whatever the truth, its surface seemed far more reflective than any steel or glass that had survived elsewhere.

And that was about all Lily could tell from such a distance.

That, and the fact that the machine was targeting some trees – as it lifted one of its arms and swung at the nearest. Leaves burst into the sky, birds taking flight as heavy branches crashed to the ground.

“What’s it doing?” she asked.

“The machine attacks trees wherever bees tend to nest,” the taller man explained. “Any who try to stop it are killed.”

“And when it stumbles across our homes, it digs them up,” Sasha added.

“Where are your people now?”

“We camp among the fields and post a constant watch,” she replied.

“But we can’t just let it carry on,” the shorter mutant added. “That’s why we need your kami. If that thing isn’t stopped, it will destroy all the trees, all the hives. We won’t have anything to trade and the survivors will eventually starve.”

[Why is that? Is this the only honey-field? Can you risk travelling elsewhere?] Gabriel asked.

Lily translated his question.

“We shouldn’t have to flee our homes,” Sasha replied with a frown.

[Of course,] Gabriel replied.

“There’s more,” the tall mutant replied. “But no time to tell the full tale. In short, we rely on trade at Darkmoor and if we leave here, well, the world is full of unknowns.”

Trade at Darkmoor? Surely he didn’t mean Virren? It was more likely that others lived there now. But other mutants, or other humans? She had so many questions but the man was not pausing for them.

“Will you wake your kami and help us now?”

Lily hesitated, one hand on Blue’s jar.

There was no way to live up to her end of the bargain. She’d hoped for far more time for the kami to awaken.

And the mutants… the Olana, had been kind and welcoming. Sasha had healed her ribs. The men had shared their honey…

Yet kami in hibernation simply did not respond. No matter the call. No matter the threat. If they were forced to hibernate somewhere out in the open, it put them at risk of being devoured by mutants or captured by tamers, or any number of threats.

Only the jar would keep her kami safe if she could no longer carry them.

And only time could wake them, now.

I can’t let everyone down – but what can I possibly do? she thought.

There was just no way to fight the machine alone.

“Is something wrong?” Sasha asked.

Allow me to assist you.

Lily spun.

The Silver Kami stood behind them. Up close, it was taller than she’d assumed. Its dark body was all lean muscle and silver patterns, some of which seemed to bear eyes and faces, mouths agape.

Its own eyes blazed.

But there was no sense of threat. Something about the kami was still undeniably unnerving, even if it didn’t seem poised to strike. Even if it had offered to help them.

Deeply confusing behaviour from an unpredictable figure. Especially after it had stalked them for so long.

In the stunned silence, Lily was the first to speak. “Will you stop the machine for us?”

Easily. Watch.

The kami vanished.

Lily turned back to the machine, which was still hacking away. It showed no signs of stopping, half the trees already cut down.

But a spray of sparks brought it to a halt.

The Silver Kami wasn’t visible, but what else could be responsible?

More sparks burst at the leg-joints as all four snapped at the same time. The machine crashed to the ground with a thud that reached Lily where she watched.

Silence followed.

The taller mutant broke the hush, a grin on his golden face. “We’re saved!” He caught his fellow harvester by the shoulders. “Go, tell the others. We’ll make sure the machine is done for.”

Both men set off at a run, shouting more thanks over their shoulders.

Sasha, too, was beaming. She added her own grateful words. “You’ve saved us.”

The mutant turned to follow, but a voice stopped her.

A moment, little Sasha.

The Silver Kami had appeared again.

You and your friends are expected elsewhere – allow me to escort you to Darkmoor, where a matter most urgent requires your attendance.