“A big cat?” said Jan. “A panther?”
“It could have been. I told you I only got a glimpse.”
Jan remembered the day the panther had asked for sanctuary. It had been at this very gate. And Carla had been with her at the time.
Giving the reptile a wide berth Jan went to the gaping hole in the shattered gate and peered out into the darkness beyond. “Careful,” warned a nearby guard. “No telling what’s been attracted into the vicinity by all the noise, not to mention the smell of blood.”
Jan ignored her. She was intently scanning the trees for any sign of movement. And then she saw the eyes. They were staring down at her from a high branch, glowing green in the reflected light from the many lamps, but the panther’s body remained completely invisible.
“Give me that!” snarled Jan, snatching the cross-bow from the hands of the startled guard. She raised the weapon towards the branch where she’d seen the eyes, but they were gone now.
“What’s wrong? What’s out there?” asked the guard.
Jan didn’t answer. She was listening for a sound—any sound that would give her an indication of the panther’s position—but all she heard was the rumbling of distant thunder. Then, on the horizon, she saw lightning flicker.
After a long pause she handed the cross-bow back to the guard and muttered, “There’s a storm coming.”
Chapter Three
The storm had come and gone but the sky was still grey with low cloud. It was cold too, and Jan pulled her cloak tighter around her as she stared anxiously from the rooftop into the town square below. The square was the traditional place where the Sky Lord picked up his tribute and now, an hour before noon, its perimeter was piled high with bales. Except that Jan knew on this occasion that the bales contained not grain but sand and straw.
Melissa and the other Headwomen were gathered in front of the dais where, in the past, they sat to give group obeisance to the representatives of the Sky Lord. This time the dais would provide the signal for the launch of the attack when Melissa sent a red flare into the air.
Jan looked around. People were visible on many rooftops but this was normal. A visit from the Sky Lord customarily brought out many spectators; the Lord Pangloth may have been loathed and feared by the sisters of Minerva but there was no denying that the spectacle he presented was hard to resist.
She looked at her watch. The Sky Lord was due at noon. Less than an hour to go. At her side Martha fidgeted nervously, toying with her tool kit. There was no reason for the chimp to be on the rooftop but she pleaded with Jan to be allowed to stay with her and Jan had relented. Martha, bedraggled from the rain, looked very unhappy indeed and Jan gave her a reassuring rub behind the ears. Martha made a half-hearted sound of appreciation then said, “Martha scared, Mistress. Very scared.”
“Don’t worry,” Jan told her automatically. “There’s no need to be. Everything is going to be all right.”
“The men-chimps say not. The men-chimps say Sky Lord make Minerva no more. Say Sky Warriors come down, kill sisters … rape sisters. …”
“Shush!” cried Jan, shocked. It was the second time she had heard that blasphemous word this morning. “You know it is not permitted to say that word, Martha!”
Martha hung her head. “Sorry, Mistress.”
Jan sighed. “Just don’t do it again.” She still hadn’t recovered from the first occasion she’d heard that blasphemy earlier in the morning, nor from the shattering circumstances surrounding its utterance.
It had been just before dawn when Melissa came home. Jan was in the kitchen toying with her breakfast while at the same time trying to erase the ghastly image of Carla’s remains from her inner eye. What little appetite she’d had vanished completely when she saw the expression on her mother’s face. Melissa looked more exhausted than anyone Jan had ever seen before but at the same time she wore an expression of terrible resolution. It was the sort of look, thought Jan fearfully, that a corpse, brought back to life for some unholy purpose, would wear.
Melissa stared down silently at Jan for several moments then placed a small metal tube on the table in front of her. It was around three inches long and about an inch in diameter. Jan looked at it and then at her mother’s disturbing face. “What’s that?”
“A fire bomb. Helen made it. She made several. She’s very clever,” said Melissa in a dead voice. She picked up the device and showed Jan one end of it. “See this section? You twist it in the direction of the arrow and thirty seconds later it will explode.”
Jan took the cylinder and studied it. She tried to look impressed, as Melissa obviously expected her to be, but couldn’t comprehend what possible use such a small weapon could be against the Sky Lord. She held it out for Melissa to take back but Melissa shook her head.
“That’s yours. You will keep it with you from now on.”
Jan frowned. “But what will I do with it. I mean, do I throw it at the Sky Lord or what?”
Melissa gave a sigh that was more like a shudder. “If things go wrong this day and we lose the battle then that little bomb will be our final chance of achieving vengeance. If you are still alive you will let yourself be captured by the Sky Warriors and taken up to the Sky Lord. Then, at the first opportunity you get, you will place that device in a spot where it will cause the greatest damage to the Sky Lord, preferably next to an area containing the inflammable gas, hydrogen.”
Jan’s mouth dropped open with astonishment as she listened to Melissa’s words. “Mother, you can’t be serious!”
“Of course I’m serious, you little fool!” snapped Melissa, making Jan flinch.
“But I couldn’t do that!” she protested, her mind reeling at the implications of what Melissa had said. “I could never let myself be taken alive by the Sky Warriors! It’s unthinkable! And the idea of going up into the Sky Lord itself. …” She shook her head.
“The choice is not yours,” said Melissa coldly. “I am ordering you to do as I say. If you survive the battle, and I want you to take great pains to ensure that you do, you will surrender. You must, do you understand?”
Jan started to tremble. She looked again at the small cylinder she held in her hand. “It’s ridiculous,” she said in a weak voice. “Even if I were taken up to the Sky Lord how could I hope to destroy it with something as small as this?”
“Hopefully you won’t be alone. I told you, Helen has made several of these bombs. They have been given to selected individuals, of whom you are one.”
“But why me, mother? Why me?” she cried.
“That should be obvious. You are my daughter. If my attempt to destroy the Sky Lord fails today it is crucial that my daughter be involved in our final act of rebellion. You will be avenging not only Minerva but your mother’s honour.”
Jan looked into her mother’s eyes and saw that there was no hope of reasoning with her. But just as despair began to overwhelm her a possible way out occurred to her. “Mother,” she said slowly, “even if I were able to survive the retribution of the Sky Lord if our attack fails today, and even if I were taken up into the Sky Lord as a prisoner, how could I possibly conceal this from the Sky Warriors?” She held up the bomb. “You know how thoroughly the Sky Warriors search our bales of grain before they’re hoisted into the Sky Lord. They would be sure to find this in my clothing.”
A tic had appeared in Melissa’s left cheek. She said, “It won’t be in your clothing, it will be in you.”