Valley of Fires: A Conquered Earth Novel (The Conquered Earth Series) by J. Barton Mitchell
Authors: J. Barton Mitchell
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off disembarked.
Holt landed on the dock, his stare blank, his face unreadable. Avril wasn’t sure why he had run from this place, but he knew there was a death mark on his head because of it. Coming back took a lot of guts, and yet it didn’t seem to even register with him.
Avril remembered watching those ships explode, including the one with the Freebooter on it. A part of him had died with her, she figured. That’s what losing everything did to you. As he moved forward, his eyes met hers for one second, then he looked away again, but in that moment there was a glimmer of acknowledgment. Avril realized then that she and Holt had a lot in common now.
The eight Pinnacles of Faust were clearly in view, at varying distances, the lines of the Skydash zigzagging through the air between them, and she watched as figures flew down them at dizzying speeds, one after the other, platform to platform. She noticed something else too, something different from what she remembered.
Two of the Pinnacles stood out. Unlike all the others, they flew flags, and the flags were not what she expected. Where the normal Menagerie banners were red with a white, eight-pointed star, these were the opposite
White. With a red star.
Along one of those Pinnacles, among the platforms and structures of wood and metal built there, stood hundreds of other figures. But they weren’t yelling and cheering, they just stared down at her. At the top of one, out in front, stood a tall boy. Even from this distance, Avril could see long blond hair whisking out in the wind. His eyes, she could tell, were locked on hers.
The Strange Lands had honed Avril’s instincts to sense danger, no matter how far, and right now, she felt menace from that boy. Whoever he was, whoever the group that flew that flag, they meant her harm.
Avril just looked away. Before, she would have sought the kid out, found and killed him in his sleep, and whoever else might be with him. It would have been a simple task, he was only Menagerie, but, now … what did it really matter? Her life was over either way.
From somewhere came three harsh bursts of sound. Electronic and staticky, they echoed through the Pinnacles of Faust. Whatever it was, the pirates seemed to recognize it. Their yells ceased, the stomping of feet went still, celebratory gunfire silenced. The crowd parted, making way for several figures. Avril’s heart began to beat heavily. She knew who was coming.
Six Menagerie guards, burly ones with scars and malice in their posture, surrounded a man. Like Avril’s eyes, his were clear of the Tone, but that was to be expected, given his age. He was close to fifty, a rarity now, and it meant he was Heedless.
The guards around him flanked out protectively while he stepped forward. He looked older than Avril remembered, the lines around his eyes were more pronounced, the gray in his short, cropped hair more visible. Like his followers, he wore only black military gear, but he donned his more professionally, his shirt tucked into his cargo pants, the legs falling around the tops of his boots. He wore the necessities of the new world in the style of the old.
His black skin had the rough, leathery look of someone who had spent most his life in the sun. A trait of a worker, but Tiberius Marseilles had never been a laborer, even in the World Before, so it had always seemed a contradiction. He wasn’t particularly tall or athletic, there was nothing imposing or even threatening in the way he carried himself. It was only in his eyes where you saw the cunning and intellect that allowed him to create from nothing one of the world’s most powerful cities, a city of thieves and liars and brigands, and yet keep them all satisfied and convinced of his dominance.
As he moved, she could feel his crystal-clear eyes lock onto her, and she fought the urge to try and hide, to put something between her and that man, but there was nothing to hide behind. He stopped in front of their group, and
Holt landed on the dock, his stare blank, his face unreadable. Avril wasn’t sure why he had run from this place, but he knew there was a death mark on his head because of it. Coming back took a lot of guts, and yet it didn’t seem to even register with him.
Avril remembered watching those ships explode, including the one with the Freebooter on it. A part of him had died with her, she figured. That’s what losing everything did to you. As he moved forward, his eyes met hers for one second, then he looked away again, but in that moment there was a glimmer of acknowledgment. Avril realized then that she and Holt had a lot in common now.
The eight Pinnacles of Faust were clearly in view, at varying distances, the lines of the Skydash zigzagging through the air between them, and she watched as figures flew down them at dizzying speeds, one after the other, platform to platform. She noticed something else too, something different from what she remembered.
Two of the Pinnacles stood out. Unlike all the others, they flew flags, and the flags were not what she expected. Where the normal Menagerie banners were red with a white, eight-pointed star, these were the opposite
White. With a red star.
Along one of those Pinnacles, among the platforms and structures of wood and metal built there, stood hundreds of other figures. But they weren’t yelling and cheering, they just stared down at her. At the top of one, out in front, stood a tall boy. Even from this distance, Avril could see long blond hair whisking out in the wind. His eyes, she could tell, were locked on hers.
The Strange Lands had honed Avril’s instincts to sense danger, no matter how far, and right now, she felt menace from that boy. Whoever he was, whoever the group that flew that flag, they meant her harm.
Avril just looked away. Before, she would have sought the kid out, found and killed him in his sleep, and whoever else might be with him. It would have been a simple task, he was only Menagerie, but, now … what did it really matter? Her life was over either way.
From somewhere came three harsh bursts of sound. Electronic and staticky, they echoed through the Pinnacles of Faust. Whatever it was, the pirates seemed to recognize it. Their yells ceased, the stomping of feet went still, celebratory gunfire silenced. The crowd parted, making way for several figures. Avril’s heart began to beat heavily. She knew who was coming.
Six Menagerie guards, burly ones with scars and malice in their posture, surrounded a man. Like Avril’s eyes, his were clear of the Tone, but that was to be expected, given his age. He was close to fifty, a rarity now, and it meant he was Heedless.
The guards around him flanked out protectively while he stepped forward. He looked older than Avril remembered, the lines around his eyes were more pronounced, the gray in his short, cropped hair more visible. Like his followers, he wore only black military gear, but he donned his more professionally, his shirt tucked into his cargo pants, the legs falling around the tops of his boots. He wore the necessities of the new world in the style of the old.
His black skin had the rough, leathery look of someone who had spent most his life in the sun. A trait of a worker, but Tiberius Marseilles had never been a laborer, even in the World Before, so it had always seemed a contradiction. He wasn’t particularly tall or athletic, there was nothing imposing or even threatening in the way he carried himself. It was only in his eyes where you saw the cunning and intellect that allowed him to create from nothing one of the world’s most powerful cities, a city of thieves and liars and brigands, and yet keep them all satisfied and convinced of his dominance.
As he moved, she could feel his crystal-clear eyes lock onto her, and she fought the urge to try and hide, to put something between her and that man, but there was nothing to hide behind. He stopped in front of their group, and
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