“She will come with us! You must believe me, Anukis. It has all been an act! I love you dearly; more than life itself. I have been working to secure our freedom, to sneak us from under the vachine net.”
Anukis turned, and looked into his eyes, and chewed her lip.
“You mean this?”
“Yes,” he said. “Kiss me.”
“What?”
“Kiss me. Show me what I am missing.”
Anukis frowned, and it felt wrong, Vashell’s words felt wrong and they came crashing down inside her brain. Why would a High Born Royal, an Engineer Priest with all the makings of earning a future rank of Watchmaker give up everything for her? Her own lack of self-esteem bit her, and bit her hard.
“I don’t know whether to trust you,” she said, her voice low, trembling. “You did terrible things to me, Vashell. You tore out my heart, you humiliated me; you took away what vestiges of pride still remained!”
“No.” He shook his head. “Your pride was already gone. I saved your life. It’s that simple. You know I speak the truth. You know how we are watched. And now, I can save both you, and your sister, if you only trust me. You took that physical beating from me; and I was observed. It was an evil necessity. Now I have only love for you.” He moved close, shushing her, lips tickling her ear, and slowly his mouth moved around and he kissed her and his kiss was gentle, loving, his hands running through her hair, gently, over her body and she squirmed under his grip, a mixture of lust, and love, and confusion, and hatred, all running and combining with her fear and uncertainty and he kissed her, and she kissed him back, and she fell into him, fell into his world and he hugged her, his face over her shoulder, and his fangs eased free of brass jaw sheaths and Vashell closed his eyes, face a rapture of love and contentment.
He came to her that night, and in the darkness and the glow of molten lanterns she loosened her cotton robe which slipped from perfect, bruised shoulders. Vashell stood, his eyes wide, basking in her beauty, basking in her slender vachine warmth, and he stepped forward and his hands moved out, rested lightly on her lips and she smiled up at him, and he smiled back, and love was in his eyes as he gave a low growl of lust and pushed her back to the bed. He kissed her, his hands on her flesh, his claws tracing grooves down her curves, and Anukis moaned as she gave herself to him, fucked him, partially from want, partially to save her life, and to save her sister, and confusion raged through her and only later did she wonder about the love in his eyes. Was it his, or simply the reflection of her own?
Anukis had a dream. She dreamt of Kradek-ka. He was tall, and powerful, a noble Watchmaker in full vachine battledress. He stood over her, then sat down, cross-legged before her, his swords scraping the floor. A fire burned, an old wood fire, traditional, smoke trailing embers into the air. Flames glittered in his swirling gold eyes.
“Anukis?” he said gently.
“Father!” She fell into his arms and he held her, his powerful arms encircled her and she cried, cried tears of gold and blood, and she knew then that everything would be fine, the world would be good, and Anukis would not have to face the horrors of the world alone. “I’ve missed you so much, Daddy. I’ve been so alone and so terrified without you.”
“You need to listen to me, girl.” His voice was gentle, despite his size. “I am in…a curious place. I think I may be dead.”
“How did you come to my dreams?”
“I do not know, girl. What I do know is your position. They have found out, yes?”
“It was horrible,” she wept.
He wiped away her tears. Firelight glinted on his silver fangs. Out of all the vachine, every single one of the eighty thousand strong population in Silva Valley, Kradek-ka was the only creature who could take pure silver. Normally, silver would disrupt every other element of clockwork, twist every ounce of silver-quartz, dislocate every heartbeat rhythm; but not with Kradek-ka. He was a mystery to the Engineers. A conundrum to other Watchmakers, and even to the Patriarch Himself.
“I have advice for you.”
“Tell me what to do.”
“Marry Vashell.”
“What?”
“It is your greatest chance of survival. And I want to see you live, Anukis. I want to see you live so very, very much.”
She awoke, and the room was warm; it smelt of oil. It smelt of the narcotic, blood-oil.
Vashell was there, naked beside the bed. His erection was magnificent to behold, his balls inset with tiny gears, the smallest of spinning toothed cogs which ground and whirred, and all reflecting the light from a hundred burning candles.
Anukis lay back, panting, her golden curls highlighting her pale frame.
“I wanted you so much,” he said.
“I love you, Vashell,” she said, remembering the fear in her father’s eyes. The lie tripped easily from her tongue. It was a lie of existence. A lie of endurance. A lie of survival; for if she survived, she could find her father, and save her sister.
“And I you.” He touched her, his hands on her breasts, her hips, sliding smooth into her slick cunt, and she closed her eyes and allowed him to take her, again, and again, and again, the only sound his panting, and the tiny tick tick tick of his clockwork inside her.
“Shabis!”
Shabis ran across the room, bare feet curling in thick carpets, and fell into Anu’s arms. “Nuky,” she said, nuzzling her older sister, and they held each other, breathing one another’s natural scent, feeling the flow of sisterly love, of a bond greater than all else.
Shabis pulled back, tears coursing her cheeks. “How are you?”
Anu glanced to Vashell over her shoulder. “I am well. I am in love! How are you? Have the Engineers harmed you? Are you well?”
“I am fine,” laughed Shabis. “I have been treated like royalty. Spoilt, really. You look happy, Anukis; although battered a little.” She glanced over her shoulder at Vashell. “He told me about you, kept me informed about your health. I am so glad you two are in love! It will be a marriage made perfect, and your children will be beautiful!” She giggled, pulling Anukis to the bed. She turned, and waved Vashell away. He departed.
“Truly, have they looked after you?”
“They have,” said Shabis, and kissed Anu’s cheek. “And you?”
Anu’s face went hard. “I have been condemned, Shabis. I have been treated worse than any dog, worse than any canker.” She pulled away, stood, walked to the splendid view. It had begun to snow in Silva Valley, and a thick fall muffled the world.
“What do you mean?”
Shabis was behind her. Holding her. Concern shone in her eyes.
“Vashell beat me. He hurt me, Shabis. He hurt me bad. He paraded me like a slave before the Engineers. Then he…he took my blood.” She heard a hiss of in-taken breath. “He drank from me, Shabis. He drank from my veins, made my impurity whole, for all to see. Then he…he took me. Physically. Carnally. I had little choice if I wanted to save both of us.”
She fell silent, brooding, watching the snow. Somehow, Silva Valley had again lost its beauty, its charm. It was a perfect pastel painting, framed by silver-quartz and yet to Anukis, now, after everything that had happened, it was a vision of hell. Worse. Of a canker-riddled cancer hell.
“What will you do?” Shabis’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“I have a plan!” Anu took Shabis, and shook her with passion. “I will kill Vashell. And we will flee. We will leave Silva Valley, we will leave this world for good. Cross the Black Pike Mountains; make a new life.”
“But what of the vachine?” said Shabis, softly. “What if the clockwork becomes faulty? Who will fix us?”
“I have some skill,” said Anu, eyeing her sister, sensing the fear, the lode of cowardice that ran through her like an earthquake fault in the world mantle. “Don’t you understand, Shabis, they killed our father! We are alone now. Alone in the world.”
“Killed…no! They did not! He still lives! He is on a journey under Black Pike, he will be back in a few months.”
