The cool night wind on my face was a great relief as I heaved the Sacrament down the steps of the Widow’s townhouse into the cobblestone promenade of Saska Torn. I peered over the edge of the high railing toward the rising red moon which lit the waves of shimmering grasses to the south, and was there enchanted by nostalgia. Where had things gone so utterly wrong?
As I waded through the mire of my failures, heavy boots clacked louder and louder on the cobblestone behind me.
“Human, dark hair, Chaplain robes, Liar’s arm, that’s the one. We got ‘er.” The human Intercession and Salvation officer was barely older than a pup, still greasy and pocked, and he was flanked by two more similarly greasy men.
“Isn’t it a little late for you to be romping around the promenade, InSal?” I tried to sound casual but the sight of these predators made my chest tight. One of the InSals carried a familiar case. “Is that my luggage from home?”
“We got orders to be out here,” the pup tried to hide his annoyance at the name, “says right here ‘Intercession and Salvation to retrieve shipment of Sacrament and loser Chaplains who cost us all a lot of betting saents last year for no reason ‘cept they a big loser.’”
“Sounds like you lost a lot more than I did. Couldn’t afford your milk at the prison cafeteria?”
The pup lurched forward and smashed me in the stomach with his club. I doubled over, but he held me up. His teeth were as rotten as his breath. “Maybe I got a new bet. Maybe I bet you take the longfall out the Rapture on the way up. Maybe I bet none of us ever seent no Chaplain, just the Sacrament and then the ferals drag you off the mound when ya limbs stop twitching.” I heard one of the InSal officers take the chalice of Sacrament and complain to the others about the weight.
“Sure you wanna bet on me again, InSal?” I smiled and watched his lips peel back to show those rotten teeth. He chuckled, and barked over his shoulder.
“Make the Chaplain carry it.”
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The three InSals loped at a clip too fast for my burden of Sacrament, and they indulged in barking commands over their shoulder to encourage my haste. When we arrived at the closed promenade Gantry, there were no witnesses which further emboldened the InSals. They hopped over the ropes, laughing with each other and shouting for me to hurry.
At the edge of the Platform, I could see a thick filament line stretched from somewhere far above to oblivion below. The InSal Pup fumbled a small metal whistle to his lips and I saw his mess of a face inflate but the whistle made a sound not meant for human ears. Something on the filament line bleated low and from the darkness rose a glorious opaque glass chamber beneath a filigree balloon – the Rapture. It was shaped like an enormous flower, and it drew to a stop at the Gantry.
Once the heavy doors of the Rapture swung open, the InSals busied themselves launching my belongings into the storage compartment while I stared in awe at the marvelous construction of a vessel usually reserved for my superiors. I felt a hard shove and at once I was inside the cabin fumbling in the dark for a seat until at last I found a railing and clung to it. When the last InSal had made it inside and shut the cabin door, a bell sounded and we shot skyward faster than I had ever flown in my life. My stomach fell through my body and I began to fight my legs to stay upright as my face grew hot and wet. The machinery produced an interminable noise, and I tried to pop the pressure in my ears but each time I did the noise got louder and I couldn’t decide which was more unpleasant.
The sound of a sliding screen cut through the wind and whining of the spool. I looked but only saw a pair of bright yellow eyes catch a flash of moonlight, and return to yellow pins in the dark. A sniffing sound. “The Chaplain from the Salensa Beacon.” I nodded affirmative, and the InSal Pup chuckled in the darkness. Came the void from the black, “I had lots of saents riding on in that race, Chaplain.” The voice was low and grating and vitriolic, and those yellow pinlights flickered and burned in the void. “What is the Chaplain doing in Saska Torn?” I was beginning to feel faint from the momentum, and mustered what little charm I could.
“I am but a humble servant of the Church, lord Tisk. I could never challenge their direct orders.” I met those fierce yellow drops in the dark. “Could you?” The eyes flickered, and from the chamber came a scoffing bark and the screen slammed closed. The speed of the balloon and the smell of the InSals nauseated me and at the slightest turbulent shake of the carriage I lost my fight to stay upright.
“Thought she was some kinda expert on balloons,” muttered one of the InSals. Nobody helped me up.