'Yes,' he said, eventually. 'The song of history. Yes. That is what we are.'
'And that song has been disrupted,' Valentine said, resuming his role as moderator. 'Which has never happened, in however many centuries the Fehn have drifted through our fine river. These gentlemen have lost contact with the Mother. It didn't happen until well after the cog-dead virus worked its way through their population. Something else plucked the Mother from their minds.'
'Like what?' I prompted.
'It seems that someone, and I assume that it is this Mr. Crane you mentioned, has been screwing around with the Mother Fehn. Tapping it for knowledge. And using that knowledge to get inside the Church. That was the whole point of the attack you participated in. Because of the peculiar way the Fehn communicate, taking control of a large portion of their population gave Crane a kind of back door into the Mother.'
'Why would that matter? Why would the Fehn know the first damn thing about the Church of the Algorithm?'
'We know everything,' Vaunt said. 'We know what this valley looked like when the city was born. What the river tasted like, and why it tastes different now. We know what is upriver, and down. We know why the sky fell, and when it will fall again. All of these things, mortal. And so many more.'
'Okay.' I cocked an eye at Valentine. He shrugged.
'I have learned that whatever the Fehn are now, they were once something very much like a library. And the Mother, as they call it, is the only fragment of that library left. And while it has gone a little mad, it still collects data, and stories, and preserves them as best it can.'
'And Crane? What has he learned from her?'
'Who knows? But you say that Camilla was waiting for him. As if he didn't know she was there? I promise you this. Anyone who has had access to the Mother Fehn would know everything there is to know about Camilla. More even then our little angel knows about herself, I suspect.'
This gave me pause. I wasn't sure which was worse; Camilla tricking Ezekiel Crane into freeing her and giving her his power, or Crane tricking Camilla into thinking she had tricked him. Too much tricking. Too much thinking things through.
'So is Camilla free,' I asked, 'or is Crane manipulating her? And if so, to what end?'
'He was pretty clear about that,' Veronica said. 'The end of Veridon.'
'Which is why I'm not willing to take 'no' for an answer, Mr. Burn.' Valentine put his heavy arm around my shoulders. I nearly buckled under the weight. 'You are going to solve this problem. I'm going to see to it.'
'In case you missed it, she's already kicked me out of the Church once. And she has Wilson. And an entire army of zombified holy men.' I shrugged Valentine's arm off and crossed my arms. 'I'm happy for your help, I really am. But there's no way we're getting into…'
I stopped, because I had been through another door to the Church of the Algorithm. Going out, but I'm sure it went both ways.
'Mr. Valentine, I'm going to need a favor from your underwater friends,' I said. 'And maybe a little guidance.'
'Of course,' he bowed. 'You have a way in.'
'I do. There's a passage that leads into Camilla's chamber under the Church. Last time I was there, one of the Fehn helped me escape. An old friend.' I turned to Mr. Vaunt. 'Wright Morgan. Do you know him?'
'He has passed into the histories,' he said, the words slurred and wet. 'But his story is very old.'
'Fair enough. That was almost an answer.' I addressed Valentine. 'There's an iron suit that sank to the bottom of the river, along with the wreckage of the Bandicoot the other morning. If your friends can get it for me, I think I can get at Camilla.'
'And what do you intend to do then?' he asked. 'I only ask because I need to protect my investment, here. Not because I don't trust you, Jacob.'
'Although you don't,' I said.
'Not at all,' he confirmed.
'Glad you pulled me out of the river, Valentine, but I kind of feel like you could pick it up a little in the support category.'
'Stop screwing around, Jacob. What are you going to do when you get inside?'
'I'm not going to the Church,' I said. 'Too much resistance there. If what your water-logged friend says is true, Ezekiel isn't even there.' I turned to Veronica. 'Every time there was a possession, there were a series of pipes. Kind of like organ pipes, only more spread out. Wilson never could figure out what they were doing, but it was clear enough that Crane was somehow projecting himself through them. It seemed a lot like he was reversing the process that is used to record engram-songs. Like he's broadcasting himself, rather than recording the actions of someone else.'
'If that's the case, and he's possessing Camilla, shouldn't there be these pipes somewhere in the Church?' Veronica asked.
'Remember when I shot that Elder? The two crows, and the brass cages inside?'
'You think he's broadcasting himself through the Wrights of the Algorithm?' She squinted and got that far away look again. 'Rebuilding them somehow. Not a bad idea.'
'Are you suggesting we go in and wipe out the entire population of the Church of the Algorithm?' Valentine asked. 'Because, while I'm not opposed to the idea in theory, the practice of it could be tricky. Morally.'
'Valentine, afraid to carry out a little brutal mass-murder?' I chuckled. 'What has become of you, old man? No, you're right. I wouldn't do that. Even if they are possessed by Crane, I'm pretty sure that these cog-dead maintain something of themselves. Wilson and I managed to disrupt Crane's control, and the cog-dead that were around us seemed to snap out of it. Just long enough to beg for help. Once free of Crane's influence, the Wrights of the Algorithm will go back to judging us and being holy for it.'
'How did you do it?' Veronica asked. 'Disrupt Crane's control?'
'Killed the body he was possessing. Seems to be several levels of control. He seems to maintain a small presence in the minds of the cog-dead. He appeared once, in his house, possessing a dead body, but that was a minor possession. Not a lot of movement, just talking. This last one, though, I could have sworn it was actually him. And the body he was possessing was still alive, unlike the first. So we need to find who he's possessing, right now, before he finishes building those pipes in the bodies of the Algorithm. Because if he manages to project himself in Camilla, we're in a lot more trouble than I can manage.'
'So who is it?' Valentine asked.
I turned to the Fehn, who were standing glumly by.
'This is why I'm going to need two things from you guys. I need you to recover the iron suit that I lost when that boat sank. And I'm going to need your forgiveness.'
They found it in the wreckage, covered in burned timbers and dead bodies. There were a lot of ships on the floor of the harbor. All of them charred, all of them with their crews still on board. It even shook the Fehn. Nothing shakes a corpse, but this did.
I wasn't anxious to get back in it. Some bad memories had started in this thing. It was just yesterday, but it seemed like so long ago. I stepped into the iron man's embrace and let it seal around me. Again, that metal clank as it shut, a creaking that filled my ears, and then the air around me was as hot as a forge. Valentine watched me seal myself in, then gave me a nod.
'Your girlfriend never came back,' he yelled, so I could hear through the thick faceplate.
'Not my girlfriend. And she knows what she needs to do. I trust her.' I checked the gauges that lined the collar under my chin. 'What are you going to do, while we're in there?'
'Stay out of the way,' Valentine said. 'Today seems like a good day for a cruise up the river.'
'So you fish me out of the river, demand that I accept your assistance, then once we have a plan together you're going to drop me back in the water and head up the river to hide.'
''Hide' is a tricky word. I'm staying clear of the potential damage, Jacob.'
'Right,' I said. My checks were done. There was nothing left but to get into the river. 'Well, Valentine, let me be the first to say that I can appreciate a little situational cowardice.'
I stepped into the water and sank, fast and straight. Again, those ghost faces came out of the water. Vaunt, and his smiling, popcorn teeth. Hands gripped the heavily armored shoulders of my suit and pulled me effortlessly
