The Argo was beached on the Simud Coast, in a sheltered bay near the mouth of the Shalbatana River. The crew had cut down a tall tree and were busy adzing and planing it into a boom. Doctor Hassan worked stripped to the waist, his magnificent torso gleaming in the sun as he wielded the adze. Brother Mikal thought him a fitting Solar Hero, equally representative of wisdom and strength. Fedorova worked beside him. Mikal still marvelled at the combination of delicate beauty and superhuman strength she represented. She was surely the Venus Companion, whose exquisite beauty was so diffident and elusive as seldom to be seen, but who was always loyal and dependable.
She, too, had removed most of her clothing--only to save it from damage, as she was impervious to both heat and cold--and as Mikal watched her bending over her work in her brief undergarments, he found himself prey to thoughts that a member of the Brotherhood should not have in regard to the Angelic Order. She looked up at him with a strange look in her blue eyes, and Mikal turned away in shame, to concentrate on his work of mending the sail. He was certain that she had read his mind.
Atalanta approached from the beach with the binoculars in her hand. "Doctor, we can’t just sail away and leave them. Couldn’t we search the coastline for a while?"
Doctor Hassan set down his adze and rose to his full height. "I’m sorry, Atalanta," he said gently. "We have to be on the move as soon as the ship is seaworthy. There’s too much at stake. Both Jason and Sanchez would tell you the same."
"They are both strong swimmers," Fedorova said. "Their chances of making it to shore are excellent, but there are hundreds of kilometres of shore-line, and they could be anywhere. This is a wooded coast, and they were both born and raised in the forest. They will survive until we can return and find them."
"I know this," Atalanta said, "but I can’t stand doing nothing."
The Doctor put his long arm around her, and she put her head on his chest. Atalanta was a strapping young woman, but she seemed like a little girl in his great embrace. "Why don’t you climb up there and keep a lookout," he suggested, pointing to the bluff that towered over them. She nodded and walked up the beach. In a moment Mikal saw her at the top of the bluff, peering out to sea.
Atalanta glanced down to see Mikal looking up at her, then he quickly glanced away. She smiled to herself at his shyness, then raised the binoculars to her eyes and swept the horizon, from the northern side of the bay, across the seascape, to the promontory on the south. For an instant, she thought she saw a human figure on a distant beach, looking back at her. Shocked, she lowered her glasses in surprise and when she had raised them again the figure had vanished. It was not Jason--Atalanta knew his handsome, long-haired figure well--and it certainly was not Sanchez, for she could never be mistaken for anyone else, but Atalanta was unable to decide whether the elf-like creature she had seen was a young man, or a young girl, or even a beautiful child. In the end, she began to think it was a figment of her imagination.
She turned and caught sight of Fedorova climbing the hill behind her. Nadia put her arm around Atalanta’s waist; the girl put her head on the woman’s shoulder, and they looked out to sea.
"When we are in control of the satellite-system," Fedorova said quietly, "we will be able to study every millimetre of this coast. If that fails, when the Aries arrives, we will systematically examine the entire planet. We will find them."
Atalanta put up her tear-streaked face and Fedorova kissed her on the lips. Mikal nearly dropped his needle and thread. He turned away in confusion.
***
The Argo ploughed south toward the Hydroates straits. Hassan was once again at the tiller, looking up at the billowing sail, examining the clouds that scudded across the blue sky, feeling the wind on his bald pate. The sun was setting in the west, over the Lunae Planum highlands, and the sky had temporarily returned to the salmon pink fading to butterscotch of Old Mars. Brother Mikal stood nearby, studying his charts.
"At one time," Mikal said, "there was a thriving civilization here. It was centred on the islands that dot the southern coast, that reduce passage between the Chryse Gulf and the Mariner Sea to a handful of relatively narrow straits. There was no trade between the rich Mariner Valley and the rest of the world without the people of the Hydroates. Their influence spread up the Simud Coast on one side, the Hydraspis and Aram Coasts on the other, even across the Margaritifer Lowlands. Now their cities are in ruins and the people are gone. And all thanks to the Morgh Rajah. As the shadow of Phobos spreads across the land, the scriptures say, so does that of the Sorcerer-God of Mars, and as the shadow passes on, so shall he."
"It will, if I have anything to say about it," Hassan said, and the steel tone of his voice gave Mikal hope.
"I may have more detailed charts of the Eastern Mariner Sea," Brother Mikal said. He climbed down the companionway and swung into one of the cabins. In a moment he had found his maps and turned to see Fedorova and Atalanta naked in the bunk. Atalanta was asleep in the woman’s arms, the covers thrown off in the heat to reveal her long legs and tiny breasts, her head on Fedorova’s exquisite breast. The older woman was awake; she put her finger to her lips.
"I’m sorry," Mikal whispered, his face turning as red as the sky outside, and he began to tiptoe away.
He stopped and returned. "Fedorova..." he began, in some confusion.
"No," she said, "androids do not read minds. And there is no need to apologize."
Mikal’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
"We can hear your breathing, and your heart-beat," she went on, "and see subtle changes in skin-colour because of blood-flow, minute changes in facial expression that mirror your thoughts. We can tell from your voice if you are lying. In many cases, we know your state of mind better than you do. There is no need to read thoughts, Mikal."
"This is not exactly reassuring."
"I was made beautiful, Mikal, so that I would be desired. Studies revealed that perfectly balanced facial features had a calming effect on human beings, and beautiful androids were less likely to be abused or damaged than those who looked more like machines. When I am desired, when I am treated like a human being, as the Earthborn Men have always treated me, then I am fulfilling my role, and that is pleasing to me. Even if I were capable of being offended, your lust would not offend me."
"Mikal?" Atalanta said. She opened her brown eyes, and her hand went out to clutch his wrist. Fedorova pulled the sheet up over their bodies, more in deference to Mikal’s sensibilities than any sense of decorum on her part.
"Forgive me," he stammered. "I didn’t mean to..."
"Thank you," she said.
Mikal was confused again. "Thank you for what?"
"For helping us. We would have been lost without your help. Literally."
Mikal blushed again. "It’s no more than my duty," he said. "How could I not have helped the saviours of my world?" He thought for a moment, then knelt on the floor beside them.
"Our scriptures say that this struggle was written in the stars long ago. Phobos represents evil--retrograde, swift in motion, spreading darkness over the landscape--and Deimos represents the Brotherhood. The word Deimos means terror and refers to the alarm we raise when demonic forces attack. Like the Brotherhood, it is slow to move, and often works invisibly, but it follows the sun, which represents the light and the good. Your Doctor Hassan, I am certain, is the Child of the Sun. He is great and strong and wise and good, burned black by the blazing sunlight of Earth, able to cure illness and defeat evil. You, Fedorova, are his Venus Companion--exquisitely beautiful, strong yet gentle, working in silence and obscurity, but always to the benefit of mankind."
Atalanta sat up, delighted with his story. The covers slipped from her breast, and she quickly covered up.
"Terra and Luna," Mikal went on, "are visible to us as a double morning-star or a double evening-star. In literature, they are always depicted as a beautiful young man and a beautiful young woman. Whether they are lovers, or siblings, or both, or simply perfect friends, depends on the writer’s inclination. There is even debate about which one revolves about the other. I am convinced, Atalanta, that this represents you and Jason. When I saw you standing together, bow and arrow in hand, as the pirates came upon us, I knew this. Jason cannot be lost to us, for you and he are linked, and you would have known of it immediately." His voice cracked as emotion overwhelmed him. "I am certain that he lives."
Atalanta threw her arms about him and nearly pulled him into the bunk. "Oh, thank you, Mikal," she said, then realized how uncomfortable she was making him, and let him go. "What about Sanchez and Orpheus?" she asked. "Have you got a story about them?"
"Jupiter and Saturn are travellers from afar, who follow the sun. According to legend, they have a dark side to their character, though fundamentally good. One struggles with greed and gluttony, the other with anger and violence. One cajoles with fine words, the other intimidates with dark threats. One is a thief with a generous heart, the other a brawler with a sensitive soul."
Atalanta laughed out loud. "Thank you, Mikal," she said. "You’ve made me feel much better." She took his head in her hands and kissed him on the lips.
"I live to serve," he blurted out. "I must go back on deck," he said, and stumbled up the companionway.
"Well," Fedorova said quietly, "what do you suppose Sanchez would say about that?"
Atalanta laughed. "She would say: somebody has got to fuck that boy."
On deck, Mikal stumbled aft and stood beside Hassan.
"Couldn’t find your charts?" the Doctor asked.
Mikal looked down at his empty hands. "Sorry, I guess I forgot."
"Time for that tomorrow. Take the helm. I’m sure you know where we’re going better than I do." Doctor Hassan once again performed his ritual of bowing toward the centre of the solar system, as he did several times a day, and then he ducked into the cabin. Brother Mikal had always assumed that Hassan was honouring the planet Earth, home of the Earthborn Men, but it was obvious now that he was honouring the Sun, his father. Mikal took the helm and managed to keep the ship on course, but his mind was whirling.
Some time later, as Andromeda was culminating, he caught sight of a cloaked figure on the foredeck and jumped in surprise, nearly losing control of the wheel.
"Doctor Hassan!" he said, relieved. "You frightened me!"
The figure turned and faced him, and the hair on the back of Brother Mikal’s neck rose as he realized it was not Hassan. It was a middle-aged man, as tall as Hassan because he was larger than life. His eyes burned like coals, and his face was ravaged with the scars of some awful disease. He tossed back the hood of his cloak, and his long white hair billowed in the wind. He spread his arms as if in welcome, and he moved toward Mikal, who was frozen in fear.
The man’s feet did not touch the deck. He passed through the mast and lower rigging as if they were not there; the lower part of his body vanished as he moved through the cabin, but still he came. He paused to peer into Mikal’s face as if to memorize his features, and then he stepped straight through Mikal’s shuddering body and vanished.
The Brother stood trembling, his heart beating as if he had just run a marathon. His breath was ragged and rasping. It was several minutes before he was able to seize his staff and pound furiously upon the deck.
Doctor Hassan flew up the companionway, followed by the rest of the crew. "Mikal! What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
"I’ve seen the Morgh Rajah himself," he gasped. "He was standing right there, on the deck, and he moved toward me, not walking, but flying. And then he passed right through me."
"Holographic projection," Fedorova said.
The Doctor nodded. "He’s telling us that he knows we’re coming. Unless it’s just an automatic..."
"He looked into my face, Doctor," Mikal said. "It’s as if he was searching for someone."
The Doctor turned to Orpheus. "See if you can record the image if it appears again. I want to see this man’s face. I don’t know if he’s looking for me, but I’m sure as hell looking for him."
***
The shadow of Phobos, ninety kilometres long, raced across the surface of the Eastern Mariner Sea, darkening the Argo Navis for only 25 seconds as the black satellite zipped across the disc of the sun. They were crossing the equator now and turning West on the next leg of their journey. All eyes swept the shore, but there was no sign of human life--only ruins overgrown with jungle vegetation. Now and then a figure seemed to appear, only to be revealed as a monkey or some other animal. A numerous and prosperous people had simply vanished from the face of Mars.
The Argo approached an overgrown wharf and Hassan gave the order to drop the sail. Fedorova leaped onto the wharf and tied up the ship, as Hassan lowered a gangplank and stepped ashore. The once-great city stared at them with the hollow eyes of empty windows. Moss and creepers climbed the walls and great trees rose through the collapsed roofs of buildings. Only birds and monkeys possessed the city now, and they screamed their protest as the human invaders peered up at them.
"Nadia and I will see if we can stop that leak," Hassan said. They were already stripping off their clothes. "Orpheus will stand guard while we’re underwater." Orpheus unshouldered his lyre-rifle and stood on the deck with feet wide apart; Atalanta was unable to refrain from smiling at his recently acquired military bearing. "Atalanta and Mikal," the Doctor went on, "will look for water."
"Yes, Doctor," Mikal said. "If this city follows the usual pattern, there should be running water in the city square. We should be able to find it easily." He separated his staff, handed the short sword to Atalanta, who stuck it in her belt, and held the long sword in his hand. They shouldered the water-skins and slipped into the city, pressing through the undergrowth in the shadow of broken walls.
"It’s beautiful," Atalanta said. Brightly coloured birds sailed overhead, and flowering vines draped the tall trees.
"It’s too sad to be beautiful," Mikal said. "Children played here once, and people talked. There were ships and horses everywhere, and the smell of food and drink."
"You’re so serious," Atalanta laughed. "And so sweet. Listen, I hear water flowing." They followed the sound and pushed through the reeds to find a waterfall descending from an aqueduct into a stone-walled pool. Atalanta knelt on the stones, dipped her cupped palm into the water and raised it to her lips. "It’s delicious," she said. "And cool too."
Brother Mikal knelt to fill the waterbags and looked up to see Atalanta stripping off her clothing. He looked away. "I don’t think that’s..."
"Everyone will want a bath," she said, tossing aside her tunic and standing in nothing but a brief panty. "I want mine first." She waded into the water and stood beneath the waterfall, shaking out her long hair. "Well, come on, Mikal," she called.
He hesitated, and she placed her hands on her hips. "Mikal, you stink in that horrible robe. Get rid of it."
Mikal lifted the robe over his head and waded into the water in his undergarment, leaving his robe and their weapons behind. The breeze on his skin and the cool water washing over his thighs did feel wonderful, and somehow, he was not embarrassed. There was something about the freedom and earthy joy of Argonaut and Earthborn alike that he found, somehow, closer to heaven than the stuffy certitude of the Brotherhood.
"My, my, Brother Mikal," Atalanta teased. "None of the priests in my home colony are built like that."
Mikal blushed. "Are there no fighting priests?"
"No, only eating priests. Come here and let me wash the salt spray out of your hair."
Mikal stepped into the waterfall and let Atalanta run her fingers through his hair, stroke his arms and his hard torso. Her nipples brushed his breast. Suddenly his lips were on hers and she was crushing her slim body against him. He looked up and saw a Morgh Demon standing over their clothes and weapons, peering quizzically at them.
"Atalanta," he said.
"Mmm, yes, Mikal?"
"Run."
"What?" She looked up and saw a human corpse in military armour. It bent down with the whir of steel cables and picked up their weapons. It looked at them with the click of camera lenses and stepped forward. Atalanta splashed across the pool, vaulted over the wall, and pelted down the street as fast as her long legs could carry her. Mikal was close behind her, thankful that he had no robe to trip him up.
There came the thud of steel feet and the Morgh was in pursuit. A laser-beam burned into the wall beside them as they rounded a corner. Mikal flew by Atalanta, but she reached out and grabbed him, then thrust him through a doorway. They descended moss-covered stone steps into a dark corridor. The musk of damp earth assaulted their nostrils, smelling like the grave. The Morgh was behind them, searching them out with its infra-red vision.
"This was a mistake," Atalanta panted. "He can see in the dark, like Fedorova. Shit!" She tripped and fell, and Mikal yanked her to her feet. They found a rotting stairway and climbed, hoping with every creaking step that the thing would not give way beneath them. As they reached the top, they saw the Morgh at the bottom. It climbed the stairs cautiously, feeling each step with the sensors on its feet. The stair gave way and collapsed into the pit in a cloud of dust, carrying the creature with it, just as Atalanta and Mikal stepped off the top tread to safety.
The Morgh rose to its feet in the dust and looked up at its quarry; it leaped as lightly as a feather out of the gloom and landed in front of them. They turned and ran, and it pelted in pursuit. Suddenly they found themselves at a dead end. Stone walls rose about them on all sides as they skidded to a halt. They turned to double back and the Morgh appeared in the alley behind them, blocking the way. It stood for a moment, looking at them with its death’s head gaze, and then it slowly approached. The smell of rotting flesh hung about it like a foul haze. Mikal reached down and picked up a brick.
Atalanta looked at the determined expression on his face, and then at the brick. She burst out laughing. He looked at her in puzzlement for a moment, and then burst out laughing as well. They turned to the Morgh as it stood in apparent perplexity.
"If we break its bones," Atalanta said, "will it collapse?"
"I don’t think so. According to the books, the bones don’t support any weight. The steel skeleton does that now. The poor devil inside the thing is just along for the ride, at this point. If we had a sword, we might sever an important connection and render its limbs useless. Or blind it. Perhaps I could break its eye with my pathetic little brick, and you can run."
"Atalanta does not run. No, cancel that. I run all the time, but not from danger. But which do the Earthborn Men need more? You or me?"
The Morgh reached for Atalanta. She grabbed its steel arm and swung onto its back, began ripping at wires and cables. Mikal tackled its stinking torso, hopping to topple it to the ground, but its steel fingers closed on his neck and lifted him off his feet. It hurled him against the wall, pulled Atalanta off its back and did the same with her. They slid to a sitting position on the ground. The Morgh extended an arm toward them, and a laser flipped out of its wrist with a whir and click. Slowly its head toppled off its shoulders and hit the ground with a thud.
Mikal and Atalanta looked up in shock as the Morgh turned slowly away. Its arm detached and fell. Its knees gave way and it fell to the ground with a crash revealing the figure hidden behind its bulk: a handsome young man with long hair, dressed in a voluminous cloak and holding a long sword in his hand.
"An angel!" Mikal said.
"No," Atalanta said. "It’s an android."
The creature stepped forward and bathed them in a beautiful smile. He sheathed his sword and extended his hands to pull them to their feet as lightly as a feather. "My name is Erik," he said. He tilted his head as if listening. "Fedorova will be concerned for your safety. I will take you to her."