Tales from the Triverse

The creature: part 11

Night shift
On duty: All officers

London.
1973. February.

The cold night air whipped through Lola's hair, involuntary tears forming in the corners of her eyes as the life boat dropped in pursuit of the kengto. She gripped the rails, knuckles white, fighting the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. There was no scenario in which she was going to vomit in the presence of the Six Blades.

"Whatever happens," Ellenbrin said, "stay back and stay behind us. Don't do anything stupid."

"Hey, I'm the one that pushed you out of the way of the thing back at the museum," Lola said. "Just before it munched you." She was still replaying that moment in her mind.

Ellenbrin stared at her disapprovingly. "Yes, you stopped me from firing my last shot, which is why we're in this situation now. Don't interfere."

Lola felt her confidence drip away, her shoulder slumping.

Probably noticing her reaction, Ellenbrin grinned and slapped her on the shoulder. "It was still brave, greenhorn. Don't take it personally. But we're professionals."

"So am I," Lola said, pointlessly, feeling and sounding pathetic. She regretted saying it immediately.

"Not at this, Lola," Ellenbrin said.

"Coming up on target!" Halbad shouted. He grabbed the pilot. "Can you bring us in fast? Circle around the towers?"

The officer nodded and Lola felt the boat shift under her feet subtly. The twin towers of Westminster were becoming rapidly larger in her vision as they approached, the kengto clearly visible clinging to the side of one. The HMS George V was out of sight, either hidden in the cloud and smog layers or obscured by their own balloon.

"Alright, fellas," Halbad said, apparently unconcerned about there being three women on board, "Ngarkh and Ellenbrin, you do your tandem flying thing. Stay airborne as long as you can, especially if the kengto is grounded. Erik, enchant her arrows as best you can."

Erik shook his head. "Can't enchant on this stupid planet."

"Fuck it," Halbad said, "I still can't get my head around that, even though it's affecting me, too. OK, do what you can with your poisons. Throw everything you've got at it, don't hold anything back for later." He looked at his sister. "Same goes for you and me. All in. It's wounded, it can't fly, it's half blind. Trophy's ours."

Seline grunted. "Thing's still bigger than all of us put together."

Ngarkh beat his chest. "Ain't as pretty, though, right?"

Lola looked at each of them, five of the most remarkable people she'd ever met. They were grander than anyone on Mid-Earth. Palinor brought out a grandeur and epic scale in its people, represented in each of the Six Blades. She still didn't know what had happened to the sixth member. Perhaps she'd need to go to Palinor to find out. Hell, Clarke had managed to wangle his way to Max-Earth without even wanting to. There had to be a way.

"I'm here," she said, "so I may as well do something to help."

Halbad raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in her direction. "What are you good at, then, detective?"

Her brain scrabbled for something, anything. "I've been to the Westminster towers before," she said. "I know the layout, the interior."

"That does sound useful," Halbad said, smiling. "What do we need to know?"

"They're both bell towers. Huge arrays of bells just behind the clock faces. Inside the towers the floors are mostly walkways running around the inner walls, with stairs going all the way down to the ground. The top halves of the towers are essentially hollow, other than the machinery driving the clocks."