Barren Sky, page 13
“I’m considering a surrender. I can call a palaver with that wicked bitch and hopefully save some lives, but I can’t guarantee our safety. You all need to know that if we open the gate to Venganza, they could very well kill us anyway.”
“Then we should fight.”
Quinn looked at Dia, as did the other River Rangers at the table. Willie smiled and leaned back in his chair.
“Shut up, girl,” a Ranger said.
“No, you shut up, Rucker. I want to hear from her.” Quinn turned her glare away from the Ranger and smiled upon Dia. “We’re already defeated. Let’s hear what you have to say.”
“We should combine forces. For real. The Rangers have been tolerating Los Muertos so far. That old war is over. We have a new enemy.”
“Agreed. Continue.”
Dia looked back at Quinn, taking a deep breath before she continued.
“But that won’t be enough. If the Rangers have more of the explosions. The gren…”
“Grenades,” Willie said.
“Yes, the things that blow up. Those should be used to blow the bridge to Treasure Island so that Shiva can’t get to the plant.”
“How will that stop her?” Quinn looked only at Dia when she spoke now. “They could boat or swim across the bay.”
“They won’t. The Venganza fear water more than death, and they wouldn’t know the first thing to do with a boat. If the bridge is gone, they won’t be able to get to the plant. But, for insurance, wire the main cisterns in the factory and make sure it floods.”
Another Ranger tsked and spoke without permission. “That would bring Shiva’s entire army upon us at the castle. Are you mad?”
“It would, but we only need to outlast the siege. An army the size she’s amassed won’t last long without fresh water.”
“You want to play chicken with her.” Willie nodded and began to chuckle. “You think we can outlast Shiva because the river runs beneath Albion.”
Quinn leaned forward, holding a hand up to silence Willie even though he’d stopped speaking.
“Old enemies—Los Muertos and the Rangers—deliberately destroy the bridge. Then we cower inside the walls and wait for the thousands surrounding the castle to run out of fresh water. Do I have that right?”
Sneers and snickers moved around the table as the Rangers shook their heads.
“There’s one more thing.”
“Really? Well, say it, girl. Now or never.”
Dia looked at Willie and then faced Quinn. “I’m a water whisperer.”
“And that means?”
“It means I can smell clean water. I can find it in the ruins and the wild. I supplied Erehwon with fresh water while serving Shiva as a member of the Venganza in the Ohio territory.”
Quinn sat back with a smile on her face while the other Rangers fell into a stunned silence. Snowball looked to Willie, whose grin had stretched across his face.
Dia continued. “So, if we can keep Shiva’s forces out of the castle, and they’ll need much more water than we do, they’ll leave. And, when they do, I can help us repair the existing water sources or find new ones. I promise.”
“You promise?” Rucker asked. “You’re a Venganza piece of shit. What value is there in your word?”
Willie sat forward. “The girl didn’t need to stay. From the moment she arrived at our plant, she’s had every opportunity to run. And then Shiva showed up and Dia could have thrown herself at the woman’s feet. Begged for mercy and forgiveness. And now, knowing that Dia is a water whisperer, I know Shiva would have taken her back. But she didn’t do any of that. When Lane died in the ruins, Dia could have run off and lived the rest of her life alone. But she came back. And now she’s telling you all that she has a gift, one that we need and nobody else around here has—unless the Rangers are holding out on us?”
No one spoke.
“Right. So, that means her plan is our only chance. I can convince the few surviving Los Muertos to back this. Our only other option is to walk through the gates and meet Venganza on the battlefield, and Quinn has already explained our odds in that situation.”
“Once we blow the bridge to Treasure Island and secure the castle for a siege, there’s no going back. If we can’t outlast Shiva’s forces, we all die a slow, miserable death.”
Dia looked at Quinn, but didn’t respond.
“And while the girl is right in that the growing army will demand more resources, that army is still growing. We might only outlast the Venganza warriors here now, but if they keep coming, we’re doomed.”
“Seems like we have certain death no matter what we decide.” Rucker looked at Dia, then Willie. “I’d much rather die on our terms, inside of our beloved Albion. I’m with the girl.”
“Aye.”
“Hear, hear.”
Snowball’s mouth gaped, and Willie clasped him on the shoulder. “Los Muertos is in.”
“Then I guess the decision has been made.”
Quinn stood and began to address the table with specific tasks.
“We need to fortify the gates. Get an inventory of food; draw up a ration plan. I need to know exactly how long we’ll be able to stay locked up in the castle before we start chomping on each others’ legs.
“Dia—I want you working on the river. Keep your nose, or your eyes, or whatever the fuck you use to detect clean water on the river. Help the workers with the filtration and make sure we have enough water stored in case that evil bitch finds a way to divert the flow from beneath Albion.
She nodded.
“Snowball—I need you and whatever Los Muertos are healed or capable to follow Rucker into the armory and take whatever explosives you need to take out the bridge to Treasure Island. I’ll send a message to Shiva asking for a meeting, one which I will not attend. But it’ll drop their guard a bit and give you an opportunity to blow the bridge.”
Snowball shook his head. “I drove a bus. I don’t know shit about explosives.”
“I don’t know much more than you,” Willie said. “I’ll make sure you leave with enough to drop that fucker into the bay. And if there isn’t enough to do that, we’ll at least make sure Shiva can’t get across without getting her hair wet.”
Quinn stood back from the table before addressing the group one last time and leaving the room. “Get comfortable. If all goes well, we’ll be sleeping in our own shit for the next few weeks.”
Dia smiled, although she wasn’t sure why.
Chapter 28
“What are they doing?”
Shiva had kept the spyglass to her eye while asking her first lieutenant the question.
“We’re not exactly sure. The scouts are following them.”
Not good enough. She didn’t trust that little bitch any farther than she could throw her. Or Los Muertos and the group in the castle—River Rangers. Things were happening.
“Quinn sent a message.”
Shiva put down the spyglass on the rock and leaned back against the tree. The night hadn’t arrived yet, but the clans around Albion Castle had already lit campfires and there seemed to be gregarious voices floating across the valley and to the other side of the hill where Shiva had been observing their movements.
“Well, what is it?”
A scout handed the first lieutenant a piece of paper and she read it to Shiva.
“It is time for you and I to meet. I’d like to consider diplomacy instead of war, although should it come to that, we will fight. We should talk at dawn.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
Shiva shook her head. Something didn’t feel right. She took a deep breath, walking in a tight circle with the message from Quinn clutched in her right hand.
“What have the scouts seen?”
“The usual movements. We don’t have enough yet to put eyes in every direction, but they seem to be carrying on as usual.”
She looked again at the fires igniting around the castle. Carrying on as usual—that much appeared to be true.
“A mole inside has more information.”
“Stop withholding and tell me what the fuck is going on.”
The lieutenant looked to the ground, her face as red as the Rangers’ fires. “It’s possible that Los Muertos and the River Rangers have officially merged. They’ve joined forces against what they perceive as the common enemy.”
“As they should. That’s why I think this invitation from Quinn is a diversion. She has no intention of meeting with me. This woman is buying time, and that’s all.”
“For what?”
Shiva shrugged and continued walking in a circle. She’d spent months crossing this god-forsaken wasteland of a continent, chasing Hado and that damn girl. It had cost Shiva time and warriors. Hado had been irrevocably lost and her icy death made things easier on Shiva. But Dia was different. She had shown that she could be manipulated—no, molded—into what was best for the Venganza. At first, it had seemed to be a colossal waste of resources to chase the water whisperer across the continent. But the reality was that nobody else in Erehwon could find clean water, and their sources had begun to turn. Shiva hadn’t thought they’d get even halfway to Chicago, but somehow Dia had made it all the way to the West Coast. She’d started hunting the girl with the expectation of a few days on the road before catching her and turning back, but then the expedition had gone beyond that, and Shiva couldn’t ignore the sunken costs. She’d invested too much in the chase, and there was no way she was returning to Erehwon without some way of saving the women and the settlement.
“I don’t know. They’re planning something.”
A cry came up from the next ridge and several Venganza soldiers ran toward Shiva.
“They’ve been spotted beyond Albion’s realm.”
She smiled. Shiva loved being right. “Where?”
“On the bridge.”
A frown split her face. “How long have they been there?”
“An hour or two,” said the soldier, grimacing as she spoke.
“And you’re just telling me now!”
While they’d been able to cross the frozen waters of Lake Erie, it didn’t mean that her entire Venganza clan would be swimming in the Pacific. The cold, green water still gripped their hearts with an icy claw.
“What are they doing on the bridge?”
“We don’t know.”
Shiva brushed aside the warriors, grabbing her mask and then her spear. As she jogged along the path and down toward the water, the soldiers followed. They passed a few new warriors who had arrived from the Denver settlement and they obediently jumped in right behind her.
The sun had set, and the coming night had begun to cloak the wooded path in shadow. The trail wound down to the roadway and to the foot of the bridge connecting the mainland to Treasure Island. A guard spoke the answer before she could ask the question.
“They’re headed for the island.”
“Motherfucker.”
There was only one thing on that piece of shit worth anything—the filtration plant. Shiva had kept a watch on it, but it was almost impossible to tell what, if anything, they’d been doing inside. The Los Muertos had only left a handful of people to operate it, and she couldn’t even know for sure if they were still in there. Those people didn’t seem to fear the water like her Venganza, and could have slinked away beneath the surface days ago.
“Are they going for the plant?”
She shook her head at her lieutenant. “Why would they? They already have it. I haven’t made any advances on the island, so what are they doing?”
Shiva stopped and raised the spyglass, but all she saw was the silhouette of the bridge against the purple-bruised sky of dusk.
“Let’s get to the foot of the bridge. If they cross, they’ll have to come back at some point.”
The lieutenant sprinted ahead, their contingent of Venganza soldiers now two dozen strong. Shiva followed as her warrior avoided holes and debris in the road. They all stopped at the foot of the bridge, about twenty yards from the water’s edge.
“Maybe we should cross?”
A hiss came from the group behind her, which Shiva dismissed. “Could be what they want. They might be luring us here.”
“Into an ambush?”
Before Shiva could respond, the dark sky lit up in three distinct bursts. She brought her hand up to her face because the orange blasts had nearly blinded her. The heat felt like the midday sun. A split second later, the sound of the explosions shattered the silence. A great rumble shook the ground and Shiva looked up just in time to see three pillars turning into dust. The top of the bridge swayed and then toppled into the bay as the heavy hunks of concrete threw great plumes of water into the air when they struck the surface. The sound of metal on metal made her shiver. Shiva watched as the silhouette of the bridge twisted once before it disappeared, leaving nothing but two of the three ragged pillars remaining like broken teeth after a fight.
The warriors with her shrank back, the dust cloud now moving toward them on the cold wind.
“How many do we have guarding the castle?”
“I don’t know. I would guess—”
“I don’t want a fucking guess.” Shiva waved her hand at the island. “Whoever was watching that doesn’t need to anymore.”
“What are they doing? Why would they blow the bridge to their plant?”
Shiva shook her head as she coughed, the bridge’s remains already soiling her lungs. “They’re digging in.”
“What do you mean?”
“Scorched earth. They’re pulling back and defending only what they can while making sure they’re not leaving anything of value for us.”
The lieutenant shook her head. “I guess there’s no hope of diplomacy.”
“That was never the plan.”
“So, what do we do now?”
Shiva looked across the bay at the campfires glimmering on the hill around Albion Castle. She thought about Dia and wondered which one she was sitting around. What if she lost the girl in the violent haze that was to come? It could happen, but what choice did she have?
“We go to war.”
Chapter 29
A shiver snapped her awake. Shiva laid in her bedroll, staring at the black sky beginning to bleed purple. The air felt cool, as if the start of a crisp autumn day was on the horizon, but every day felt like that out in here in Northern California. Near Lake Erie in Ohio, these same mornings usually brought a sense of foreboding, knowing that winter was coming.
She’d fallen asleep rather quickly, but awoken once in the night and then not been able to shut off her mind. Shiva thought more about Katy, Hado, and now Dia. There hadn’t been a direct lineage, but the women had all been connected—and she wasn’t. Shiva had tried. She’d raised Hado and given the woman every opportunity. And then she’d permitted Hado to do the same for Dia. Every one of her sacrifices had been for Erehwon, for the survival of Venganza. That’s why she’d done everything. Shiva had taken the greatest risk, putting herself into battle first, and given her life to and for the clan. She believed that she deserved whatever spoils came with the burden of leadership that she’d accepted and nobody else wanted. And were fresh water and a place to live out her natural life really “spoils” of war? Hardly. At one time, they would have been considered basic human rights.
Those thoughts that had been lost in a restless night reformed this morning. Shiva knew that chasing the girl across the continent had been a waste of resources, but what other options had there been? The water situation in Erehwon had been worsening, as it had everywhere else. Shiva tried not to think about the long-term consequences of that, but it was impossible. Humans had finally fucked up the environment enough that there was no saving it. The few remaining clans clinging to the hard, cold surface of the planet would be the last of us.
“Someone’s coming.”
She sat up to see four of her soldiers standing behind the embers of Shiva’s campfire, each one masked and holding their spear.
“Who?”
“We’re not sure.”
She leapt out of the bedroll and ignored the cool, misty air chilling her skin. Shiva grabbed her mask and spear and followed her warriors off the hilltop where she’d been camped and down an asphalt path to the highway. Shiva had set up Venganza in what had once been an urban park with a clear vantage point of the bay, the bridges, and of course Albion Castle. The morning fog had already thickened, preventing her from catching a visual update on the Rangers through her spyglass.
They ran, several more soldiers joining in behind the group leading Shiva to the ruins. She raised her hand once they reached an intersection and the band of warriors stopped.
“Have you heard them say anything?” she asked.
“No.”
Quinn would not be so foolish, would she? She had to know that her Rangers were outnumbered. But then again, Shiva thought more about the situation. If the Venganza were heavily outnumbered, the only way she could turn that to her favor would be…
“An ambush. They’re coming for me.”
The soldiers surrounding Shiva raised their spears, spinning to scan the ruins for any sign of a threat. She stood amongst them in silence, her eyes moving across the broken windows of forgotten buildings.
They stood in the middle of an intersection. Some of the old traffic lights dangled from the wire above, bobbing and swaying at weird angles. One of the lights had already fallen and lay on its side in the middle of the road. Fire had gutted the buildings on the east and west sides of the intersection. A lot filled with high brush and junk trees bordered the south side while a four-story building looked down at them from the north.
Shiva closed her eyes, smelling the remnants of ash and the salt air slowly moving in from the Pacific on the morning fog. She listened to the building and heard the wood expanding and contracting in the changing weather—or the shifting of people inside of the structure.
“Follow me.”
She stepped over the dried corpses piled on the sidewalk and around the bones that had been gnawed and scattered by wolf packs. In an ancient collision, cars sat along the curb, some bodies still strapped into their seats. Shiva kept her back to the burnt-out shells as she approached the building across the street.
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