Chapter 13

‘To the bridge!’ Seroin ran alongside Tomga, her eyes fixed ahead. Through the large column tower and at the end of the bridge that followed, she saw the white, fluttering shirt of the little girl from the Silver Kitchen.

‘I see her! In that tower, right? Is there a way down?’ Tomga grunted briefly, then suddenly spun around and raised his shield.

Another arrow bounced off the thick steel and one of their pursuers let out a shrill curse. ’You won't escape the Harvest, no one does!’

‘There are ways down everywhere. But the platforms take too long, she'll take the stairs!’ Seroin whipped around and fired. Her bolt whizzed through the air and found the eye of one of their pursuers. Seroin didn't even look at her hit, she just kept running. ’Out of the way!’

At her determined tone, the first merchants and people of the night scurried aside, leaving her view of the bridge completely unobstructed. And among all the strange colours and smells, strange offerings and lights, they could still see the woman in the white shirt.

Seroin rushed on. ‘Across the bridge! She's stopped!’ A quick glance to the side confirmed that Tomga had overcome his fear of heights for the moment. A smile crept across her face, but then she pricked up her ears.

It started as a crackling sound behind them, at first faint and tuneless, then steady and deafening. One of their pursuers pointed at Seroin with one hand. A breath later, a bolt of lightning shot out of his fingers, not straight, not precise, but unpredictable. The blue light licked over a handful of unfortunate spectators, who all screamed and clutched their burnt flesh.

In one fluid motion, as if practised since childhood, Tomga turned, tucked away the shield and grabbed the bolt with his free hand just before it could reach Seroin's face. The knight groaned in pain, but grabbed the light like a wild snake. With a jerk of his tense arm, he pulled the energy into his body and shook his glowing fingers.

Tomga shouted at their pursuers. ‘Is this how you use the gift of the Ideas, the Diersa? And burn the people of your own city?’ His gaze wandered to a dwarf child holding its burnt hand, two fingers completely charred.

Then the pursuer started again. This time, his sparks sought Tomga, but his strength was slowly waning.

The knight effortlessly swept the attack out of the air. ‘You bastards, you deserve yourselves and this city. Keep going, Seroin, or I'll kill her...’

Another bolt of lightning shot out, but this time behind them. The Young Harvest had surrounded them on the bridge.

Tomga's eyes widened in surprise, but Seroin acted quickly. She threw a small, hollow metal ball at the incoming lightning bolt, whose energy was immediately absorbed by the iron. With a bang, the ball shattered into a thousand pieces.

Tomga looked at Seroin gratefully. ‘That would have hit me. Thank you! What...’

‘Umflektor. Magic magnet. Single use and not entirely reliable, but it's all I have to counter foreign spells.’

‘You are truly...’

The knight didn't get any further, as Seroin had already grabbed him and pulled him behind one of the wooden stands at the edge of the bridge.

Their pursuer, who had just thrown the sparks at them from the front, held three small glass cylinders in his hand. And faster than drawing a bow, he rammed all the needles into his own arm.

‘By Diersa herself!’ Tomga's eyes widened in disbelief.

The pursuer's flesh began to pulsate, the freshly administered blood shimmering in every known colour beneath his skin. He examined his hands with a newfound thirst for blood, immediately searching for the two.

A lightning net of unseen size shot out of his hands and licked across the entire bridge. Wood burned and splintered away, passers-by were burned or turned directly into ash, even the bridge began to crumble.

The remaining pursuers seemed pleased at first, but then the lightning bolts swept over them as well. Only the glowing steel of their weapons remained, their ashes carried high above the roofs of Badazan by the wind.

‘What madness have you unleashed within these walls?!’ Tomga instinctively grabbed Seroin's shoulders and pulled himself in front of her, offering his body as protection.

The woman didn't like such close contact, but another shield was very welcome at that moment. ’Damn reinforcements! Three? Three A.M.I.s? He'll die in a few breaths. If not before...’

A roar as deep as a whale's song and as metallic as the strike of an anvil shook all their bones. It was constant, dominating, omnipresent.

Seroin immediately looked towards the city centre and Tomga followed her gaze.

High above the complex of the One True, the structure made up of countless towers, a deep red light flashed in rhythm with the powerful roar. Just as they could make out the distant light, a white beam shone out from the tower, stretched across the night sky towards them, and found its place in the middle of the bridge.

Seroin grabbed Tomga by the back of his head and pulled him flat to the ground. ‘Close your eyes! Hold your breath! Get down!’

Like the revival of a pulse, something shot out of the distant red light along the white beam and thundered like a catapult stone onto the bridge. The impact echoed in all their ears and scattered a glaring light of an incompatible kind.

The walls shook, and all three pillar towers swayed.

The light flashed again and something hit the bridge, right next to the first spot. The blinding light took over the bridge, then slowly faded.

Tomga's expression instantly turned to sheer panic, and Seroin heard him whimper.

The two tall figures rose calmly, their bodies clad in the familiar dark blue, tight-fitting robes, their heads covered by all-encompassing hoods and their faces concealed by unnaturally smooth, reflective masks. Two G.M.E.s stared down at everyone present, and with them, an unnatural fear entered the bridge.

‘Excessive consumption of A.M.I.s detected. Multiple violations of the security regulations of the free and beautiful city of Badazan. Prognosis indicates a recovery of the perpetrators bodies rather than their arrest.’ The figures immediately whirred towards the spell-casting pursuer. ‘Neutralise the perpetrators immediately.’

The targeted man screamed and tried to throw his lightning bolts at the two new arrivals. With a manic look, he realised that parts of his hands had already turned to ash. But this did not stop him from injecting two more A.M.I.s and once again spreading a sea of sparks.

Seroin pulled Tomga away, wanting to get him away from the spectacle. ‘They're busy. They won't need long for this one. But who knows who's next?! Let's get out of here!’ She looked for the end of the bridge, only to curse again.

The girl in the white shirt had disappeared. Instead, two more G.M.E.s stepped onto the bridge, heading straight for her and the commotion. The two units were already inspecting the cowering spectators, some of whom appeared to be on the city's wanted list.

Seroin looked around in panic. Behind them was the fight between the G.M.E.s and the Young Harvest, in front of them more G.M.E.s. She was trying to think clearly when she pushed Tomga to the ground.

A moment later, a bolt of lightning flashed across their heads; one of the G.M.E.s behind them had opened fire on its target. The constant hissing in the air robbed everyone on the spot of their wits.

‘Jump!’ Seroin peered down at the bridge. “Ten floors below, there's another bridge. Escape down there, we'll intercept them.’

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The knight instinctively clung to the stone of the bridge. ”Are you out of your mind? I wouldn't do that even with a rope! And we don't even have...’

Seroin didn't listen, instead rummaging around for two A.M.I.s and adjusting her armour. She quickly placed a cylinder in a device designed for this purpose on her wrists. Immediately, the armour whirred and small white lights flashed in various wires. ‘Jump, now!’

But instead, the knight stared in amazement at her equipment, his eyes filled with wonder and fear.

Seroin pointed down with one hand, and when he followed her movement, she pushed him off the edge of the bridge.

The elf screamed as if his life was being whipped out of him.

Seroin let herself fall right after him and for just a moment she enjoyed the wind and its sound in her ears. Then she grabbed Tomga's arm with one hand and pointed the other upwards. Her fingers reached out, grabbed nothing, and yet her arm tensed, shaking her body once. She quickly caught herself in the air and instead of falling, she now slid down slowly.

The elf screamed briefly, then realised he was slowing down and immediately clung to one of her legs. ‘By all...’

‘Hold still and hold on tight!’ Seroin felt him clinging securely to her leg, so she let go of him and reached up with her other hand. Instantly, her fall slowed even more.

‘How... what...’

‘Calm down, just calm down!’ Seroin concentrated all her strength on her muscles, her arms slowly growing tired and her fingers beginning to cramp. With a sweat-blurred gaze, she looked down. Five more floors to go before they reached another bridge. The entire time, she bit her lip convulsively. Finally, she reached out with one hand towards the bridge and the two of them slowly but surely drifted towards the solid stone.

‘Magician, you are a magician!’ Tomga stared at her, pale but excited.

‘I'm rich.’ Seroin removed the A.M.I.s from her armour; the small effort had cost her hardly any magical blood. ’Pull fingers. Nice invention, and not exactly cheap.’

‘What? How... I served alongside demigods, and only a few of them could fly.’

Seroin gently ran a finger over the expensive equipment. ‘Ha, only really experienced users can fly with these. For some, it remains a gentle glide. It's a way of playing with reality.’ Her gaze fell upwards and she drew her crossbow. ’You point it in a direction, just into the air. The harder you grip and the harder you pull, the more powerfully it pulls you in that direction. All you need are your muscles.’

The knight stared at her, his face a blank canvas of incomprehension, almost as if he were searching her back for wings.

‘It's not that difficult, Tomga. You point in a direction and pull. And it pulls you there. You learn quickly. Just be careful, you're pretty exposed up there.’ She raised her crossbow and fired.

One of their pursuers had done the same. The man hung in the air, clawing desperately upwards, an arm guard like the one Seroin wore on his wrist. His slow descent turned into a scream-filled fall as Seroin's bolt pierced the arm guard. His front body hit the edge of the bridge like overripe fruit, his screams immediately fell silent and he fell further towards the ground.

Seroin and Tomga rushed back down the bridge, straight towards the targeted pillar tower. ‘Stop staring, stop looking up. The G.M.E.s are dismantling the Harvest and if we're unlucky, they'll search the towers. And we don't want that, do we? Concentrate! The metal men are scary, yes, but we're so close, so close to so many A.M.I.s, so concentrate! You take the stairs down, search every floor, white shirt. Don't take too long. I'll rush up and do the same. If you don't find them, turn around and run back up the tower. Keep going until you reach the top. If you don't find them, come back here, understood? If there are metal men, just run away, understood?’

The knight swallowed once, but straightened up. ‘Yes, sir!’ With clear zeal, he hurried down one of the staircases.

Seroin had to look after him. ‘I forgot he was a soldier.’

‘You're here? Did you find her...’ Tomga fought his way up the last few steps and immediately the harsh night wind blew through his blond locks.

Seroin shushed him quietly, keeping her worried gaze ahead, her posture hunched.

They were standing nowhere else but on the roof of the column tower, countless steps in the air. The lights of the city shimmered up at them like false promises, and the wind bit into their flesh like the cold teeth of a vampire. The noise of the red-light district merged here into a single sound of lust and excitement, but it could not be called peace.

In front of them, right at the edge of the column tower, crouched the girl in white, holding a backpack in her thin hands. Her forearms bore a series of evenly spaced scars, some old, some fresh. Her eyes darted wildly, as if evil spirits were taking possession of her. ‘Why... why do I remember everything... why... why are you doing this to me? I don't want to see what I... I don't want to remember... I...‘ The girl staggered and you could almost see her fall over the edge.

‘Breathe and look at me, take the H.M.H.s, take them!’ Seroin desperately sought her gaze.

‘Anything, I'll take anything, I just don't want to remember!’ Now the girl actually took a step away from the edge and looked at Seroin. ’But they taste... I can't afford it... H.M.H... I can't... Numbing powder, do you have numbing powder...’

Seroin immediately pulled out her bag and waved it in front of the girl like a bone in front of a starving dog. ‘Enough for dozens of nights. Come here. You need a fork or two first, right? Come here.’

‘But I prayed. How... why do they allow this to happen? I don't want to... I thought this was... I hoped... I want to go home... but...’ Now she began to cry. ’Where is home... I've forgotten... where... what's my name? I don't want to see these lights anymore, I don't want to hear anything anymore. I want...’

Seroin took another step forward. ‘I know all that, don't worry, I know, we'll take you home. Come on. Take a fork, give me the rucksack and sit down. Come on.’

‘Will I... forget again... Oh, by the Ideas, I've forgotten too much... Mother... what's her name? ... What's the name of the one, the real one?’ The girl bit her lip, a trickle of red running down her mouth. ‘I've forgotten my goddess, I've...’

Just as Seroin was about to take another step forward, a bright light flickered in the air behind the girl.

The figure hung hundreds of feet in the air, slender and delicate, dressed in simple but fine clothing. Her straight, blonde, almost green hair fell down only on one side of her head, the other side was shaved bald. Her one recognisable eye looked down coolly at the city of Badazan, at the little girl. Her pointed ears looked like lightning bolts, ready to be hurled at the people below her.

And as the figure began to recite her familiar text, the girl turned to her and stared at her, lost and happy. Her rough lips repeated every word, as if she had just learned the first sentences.

"My name is Bema Sandevi, and on behalf of the Sandevi family, I welcome every new soul to the free and beautiful city of Badazan. Each of you can share in the masterpiece before you, and with the strength and efforts of all, we will lead Badazan and the mortal peoples of the continent of Auervam into a new era. Sign up today at one of the Sandevi houses and you will receive fair pay and the pride of becoming part of this great city. We need each and every one of you, for only together can we grow to new heights. And never forget."

Now the figure raised her hand to her face, placing her index and middle fingers above and her ring and little fingers below her eye on her skin.

The girl in white also gathered herself and did the same, a pride she had never really felt before seeming to overcome her. And the two women spoke in unison.

‘We... are the new gods.’

With her eyes closed and a warm smile on her face, the girl fell over the edge of the tower, her white dress lost forever.

‘Nooooo!’ Tomga jumped forward and slid to his knees, looking down at the tower, his fear of heights completely forgotten. He watched her fall for a moment, then abruptly turned his gaze away and covered his mouth with his hand.

‘Oh shit.’ Seroin stamped her foot once and looked down at the tower in annoyance. ’Inspectors. And G.M.E.s, no less. Of course, they were on site. Damn it. The diary is now behind locked doors. I would have bet she took H.M.H.s, damn it!’

The knight crouched on the floor, sitting there like a forgotten child, his heavy eyes looking up at Seroin. ‘You... we should have... why...’

She bent down to him, her mask indifferent. As she did so, she rummaged for her fork and powder bag. ’I'm not supposed to lie to you anymore. You healed her. Detoxified, one might say. Whatever powder was in her, it was gone. And she seems to have taken quite a lot of it.’ Seroin stabbed herself and her breathing calmed down a little. ’Maybe she even took H.M.H.s. And you flushed them out of her.’

The knight tried to stand up slowly, but couldn't because his legs were shaking. ‘I wanted to help... What are... H.M.H.s?’

Seroin tilted her head to one side. ’Numbing powder, a very specific powder, in fact. The powders always carry an emotion, a basic idea. Most of the city's inhabitants buy joy, ecstasy or something like that. And those who work in a shop like this need something else.’

She sighed. ‘H.M.H. Hold me here. The powder prevents the user from...’ She waved towards the edge of the tower. ‘Doing something like that to themselves. It keeps you, forces you here, alive. Protects you from yourself. With everything the flesh is going through down there, it's a necessity.’

Tomga scratched his knees. ‘It takes away... suicide... and it's necessary here...’ Now a stream of tears began to run down his cheek, his belief visibly leaving his face. ‘Necessary... but why, you say you have joy as a powder... love as a powder... why do you need something like that?’

Seroin put away her forks and bags and looked at him indifferently. ‘It exists. But joy powder is far too expensive for the people here.’

The knight fell forward and vomited onto the cold floor of the column tower, his trembling hands drenched in his own vomit.

In front of them, it started all over again.

‘My name is Bema Sandevi, and on behalf of the Sandevi family, I welcome every new soul to the free and beautiful city of Badazan.’