Matriarch’s Journal: 3rd Beachday of the Month of Foundation, 3617, pt. 2
Lorcan did nothing – didn’t even try to resist the beast. Then I noticed the figure of a tiny crustaceform spacesuit. One of the Hreck had flown to Lorcan’s assistance with a sonic emitter. Despite the fact that the Denolin Turym seemed completely preoccupied with Lorcan, it was still a suicide mission. The instant the Hreck attached the emitter to the Denolin’s body, the laser was fired.
As the creature incinerated, Lorcan unfolded into the mothman. Almost instantly, the Hreck was surrounded by a force-bubble, and they were retreating rapidly away from the disintegrating Denolin. Moments later, you appeared on the deck, and Neliit teleported the Hreck to safety.
You folded into yourself, emanating as Davy. “I wasn’t expecting you,” I said. “That means you’ve got an idea.”
The Hreck scurried behind the command chair, clicking its pincers as it removed its helmet. I could see its fur trembling in patches of pink and green. The poor thing had probably nerved itself up to die, and was now in shock over its sudden deliverance.
Davy bent down, patting it on its furry head between its antennae. “Take it easy, Roy, everything is cool. I’m going to call you Roy because I’m not down with Lorcan’s morbid-ironic naming conventions, okay? We’re going back to the station in a few minutes.” Davy looked at me. “Here’s the new plan.” He handed me something.
The object was woody, gnarled and ovoid. “A nau’gsh pit?”
“Remember what Matek Lopen said about Lucius? That it must be convenient for you to have a source of food without continually having to search for a new mate? So I thought maybe I should create a new kind of nau’gsh that actually liked the Denolin Turym. It could keep producing new emanations, and the Denolin would eat them, and both parties would rejoice in the ecstasy of their union.”
“You mean they’d create emanations for the purpose of allowing them to be destroyed?”
“Not destroyed, absorbed. There’s an aspect to that which some Cu’enashti might really get off on. Not us, of course.”
“I don’t think that the Cantor will approve.”
“The Cantor can stuff her apples into a sucksow’s mouth. Look, no one has a problem with eating our fruit. How far off is eating emanations?”
“I don’t even want to dignify that with a response.”
“There’s only one problem, though. We had enough trouble getting Yggdrasil’s taproot established. This is a really bad spot to reach nul-energy. This galaxy is just too stable.”
“That was part of the plan,” said Neliit. “The Denolin Turym are clever. We didn’t want to give them any interesting material to work with.”
“The SongLuminants did it before. I would guess that they could set up some kind of nau’gsh orchard.”
“They won’t accept it,” said Neliit. “They’ll want to see the Denolin Turym erased.”
“We could ask,” I pressed. “There’s no harm in asking.”
Neliit reluctantly agreed. “If we’re going to do this, we have to hurry,” she said. “It’s likely that more Denolin will arrive. They’ll figure out there’s a hidden station around here and start looking. It could mean trouble for the Hreck.”
We left the station in the hands of the Quicknodes, and took the two Hreck Lorcan had named Newberg and Étouffée with us. Neliit seemed rather fond of them, and I suppose I can understand why. They are serious, patient, industrious, and all sorts of other things which seem of little value to Advanced Sentients. There was something endearing about their little furry carapaces.
Johannon took the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Eer-gaaani. Clive, who had never ingratiated himself in his life, took the opportunity to collapse into a human-sized bed. For once, I didn’t blame him. His condition was getting worse by the hour. When we retired to our quarters, I mentioned it to Davy.
“He’s not dying. We won’t let him die, Tara. We’ll keep Driscoll’s promise. Honestly, our bigger worry is Lorcan.”
“Did he get hurt in the battle with the Denolin Turym?” What a stupid question. He died in the battle with the Denolin Turym. But sometimes a physical death isn’t that much of a problem. Davy seemed to emanate without difficulty.
Davy understood. “Yggdrasil is really hooked up. A new body is no big issue. It’s just that Lorcan is messed up in the head. Well, he was always messed up, but different now. I dunno if it’s better or worse. It looks worse, but maybe it’s really better because he used to hide his reactions.”
“There must be something I can do to help.”
“You could fuck me.” He must’ve read the look on my face, because he added, “No, really…”
“I know, Davy. I know that being intimate with me helps to restore your focus. It’s just the way you said it. It sounded like you were taking advantage of Lorcan’s misfortune.”
“I probably was,” he said, grinning. “It will help everybody, though. Growing a new tree is always such a strain.”
“I think you have enough trees, Ash,” I said, stripping my blouse. “I need some time to get to know this one.”
“As soon as it’s safe for you to come back here. Then you can bring the Staff of the Matriarch and we’ll emanate the Archon.”
He put his hands on my shoulders. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says. “I just wanna smell you like a flower.” He nuzzles my hair.
Ah, when he’s at his best, Davy is a charming child; his boyish good looks haven’t changed since the day he emanated, some two dozen years ago. Of course they wouldn’t – he’s immortal. But when he’s at his worst…Neliit asked me if you had ever frightened me. Davy does. Davy, so powerful, and so unconscious of his strength, is far more terrifying than the full manifestation of Lorcan’s malice.
“Ash,” I said, stroking his face. His eyes are on mine, your eyes in Davy’s face, your unspeakably kind eyes. The same eyes that were in Suibhne’s face that time in the bath when he urged me not to be afraid.
I’ll trust him. I have to trust him. Lorcan, the personification of your cruelty, died to save the Denolin Turym. And you came back with Roy in a force bubble. I’ll bet that the SongLuminants wouldn’t have given a thought to saving a Hreck. No, if somebody has to play God, I’ll put my faith in you, Ashtara.