Heretical Fishing Book 5: Chapter 40: Circulation

Book 5: Chapter 40: Circulation

“Of course we fracking heard that.” Sharon looked at like I’d just asked if water was wet. “That scream sounded like Hades’s own hounds were howling in my… Oh. Sorry, Borks. I didn’t an—”

He cut her off with a loud bark, his entire back half wagging.

The rest of Tropica were arrayed before . All had gathered in the amphitheater at record speed, and they’d nodded along with Sharon’s words. Borks’s joy at being included usually would have brought endless joy. Today, I felt nothing. My core was simring, at the very brink of boiling over. If not for how close it was to being completed, I would have severed my connection to the network the instant that strange wail had afflicted everyone bearing even a drop of essence. That made think of our youngest cultivator.

“Is Fin okay, Ruby?” I asked, gathering my chi in case she wasn’t. “The scream didn’t hurt her?”

“She’s totally fine.” Ruby smiled down at her daughter, who wore an expression of supre concentration as she reached for a wooden-bead necklace that dangled from her mother’s neck. “She had a mont’s fright, but returned to her happy self imdiately after.”

“Her eyes did glow white for a bit, though,” Steven added.

“They what?” I asked.

Ruby just shrugged. “Probably sothing to do with the mark you put on her. Nothing to worry about.”

“Rubes…” I paused to consider my words. “I don’t wanna tell you how to parent, but I feel like you should be at least ten percent less chill. Even I’m freaked out, and I’m the one who put the mark there. Glowing eyes? How glowing are we talking…?”

The corner of Steven’s mouth ford a line, and I thought I might have broken through to them. Ruby just gave a reassuring smile. “We’re connected, Fischer.”

“Yeah, I know. I can feel the tendril of chi between you. It makes nervous.”

“Yeah, well, it shouldn’t. Everything is okay. I’m sure of it. She is happy and healthy and adorable.” Ruby bead as Fin caught the necklace, shoved the beads into her mouth and started gumming them ferociously. Ruby hugged her daughter tight.

“A mother knows best, Fischer,” Sharon said, nodding to herself as if that explained everything.

I could feel scepticism trying to cross my face, but I kept it at bay. So of my roiling core was spilling over, coloring my emotions. I had to trust in Ruby. Besides, there was no way to counter Sharon’s claim without pissing off at least a third of the gathering. If an attack was coming, I needed morale to be high.

I gazed at the crowd lining the amphitheater’s tiered seating. Despite the objectively cute mauling of wooden jewelry happening before their eyes, a trepidatious murmur ca from Tropica’s citizens. Even without those worried conversations, I could see their anxiety reflected in their shuffling feet, creased brows, and hunched backs.

I wanted to assuage their concerns, but I had to assuage mine first. I closed my eyes and sent a tendril of essence out toward the east. It was sothing I had been practicing over the past month, knowing such an event might take place. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists, using everything I had to extend the finger-wide rope farther and farther out to sea. My head started to ache. The muscles in my neck grew tense. When I could go no more, I reached for my fourth paritition—the only one currently unused—and used it to send soft pulses from the end of my tendril.

At least one of the three idiots I was calling for sensed my broadcast, because he latched onto the thick rope of chi and bent it to his will, his power solidifying the foundation I’d laid.

“Hello, Fischer,” Roger said, his voice broadcasting from my chest for all to hear. His speech had steadied. He sounded a little more…

I sighed. He sounded cooler than before. More sure of himself. Damn that island.

“Hi, Roger. Are you okay? Want us to co get you?”

“No. We are fine, but your concern is appreciated. I assu you heard that scream?”

My eyebrow twitched at his eloquence.

“Nahhhh,” I drawled. “I’m just reaching out for shits and giggles. Definitely didn’t hear any screeches sounding like they ca from the ill-fated pairing of a Kaiju and an eldritch horror.”

“That…” A spike of irritation ca along my temporary connection. “Do you understand the threat? Now is not the ti for jokes, you foolish, fish-headed, son of a dehorned goat—” He cut himself off with a grunt then hissed out a breath. “I apologise. I was slightly overwheld by your sarcasm, Fischer, and soone on my side is pestering . One mont. Ellis needs to say sothing.”

“Hello, God-King!” ca the Archivist’s cheery voice. “Just warning you that I’m about to take so of your power, okay?”

“Uhhh, I don’t know what kind of holiday you’ve been having mate, but I’m still powering the network below. It’s almost done, but until it is, I don’t really have power to spa—” I cut off as most of the chi I’d flooded into the tendril was ripped away, suddenly used by Ellis to facilitate gods-knew-what. Everything went fuzzy. It felt like a small crab had materialized in the middle of my brain and was now snipping out in the general direction of my prefrontal cortex. Maria’s healing essence splashed over , fighting back the imaginary crustacean.

“Can you still hear , Fischer?” Roger’s voice sounded quiet now. It slowly grew louder as my senses returned. “Is my voice still being broadcast?”

“Yeah, mate.” I pinched my nose, barely remaining upright. “We can hear you. What’s up?”

“Is Sharon there? Can she hear my wo—”

“I’m here!” His wife leaped from the seats and onto the stage. She grabbed my shoulders, staring at the spot on my chest his voice was coming from. “It’s so good to hear you! How is everything going? I’ve missed you!”

He paused for a mont that was, in my estimate, roughly the ti it took to take a hit from a wooden pipe. His tone was sonorous when he continued. “My dear, my only, I miss you like the grass beneath an eternal night misses the sun. I yearn for you more with each minute we spend apart. And though my training must continue for now, know that I dream of your touch.” He sighed longingly. “There are flowers local to this small island that re words cannot describe. Their beauty and fragrance are stunning, unmatched by any other, yet even their distinctive allure is nothing before the mory of you.” A long pause. “I will return soon, my love. Wait for .”

“And Fischer…” he continued. “Keep my girls safe.”

With that, he let go of my chi, leaving us in silence.

Sharon’s face had gotten redder by the second. She rembered herself suddenly, eyes going wide. “S-sorry!” She withdrew from like I’d burned her, and instead of running out of the eting, she leaped clean over the eastern wall of the amphitheatre, every inch of her skin flushing crimson under the morning sun.

I shared a look with Maria. Her face was similarly colored by embarrassnt. Hushed conversation and pockets of laughter ca from the crowd, who all welcod the distraction from their worried thoughts. I leaned into the absurdity, hoping it would do the sa for .

Any hope of that was smothered when a vessel sailed into view high above the eastern horizon.

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“He didn’t…” I said.

Maria’s forehead furrowed, her gaze drifting up to scan the clouds. When she spotted the vessel rocketing through them, she half cackled, half choked. It was Bob. Bob the Boat. Trapped within a bubble of stolen chi, his sails were completely still. And right behind him, pressed to the wall of that sa shielding, were a bearded thief and his carapaced co-conspirator.

Noises of shock or amusent or both ca from the crowd when they spotted them. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Pelly, Bill, would you and the squad mind intervening? If I use my power to stop him, the strain might knock out.”

They honked their assent, and a loud peep ca from the masses as Cinnamon rocketed up and latched onto her adopted daughter. The pelicans took flight. Barely a minute later—after an excessive expenditure of wind chi and a few well-placed martial strikes—Bob the Boat was lowered to the stage. Despite his ti at sea, his hull was spotless. Unfortunately, so was his thief.

“Hello, everyone.” Ellis leaped down to the stage, shirt unbuttoned, tanned torso glistening in the sun. “So lovely to see you all. How have you been? Actually, don’t answer that. Forgive my brusqueness. I have much to reveal and even more to do. You heard the scream. So did we. It—”

“Ellis,” I interrupted. I’d gathered my chi, and I used it to appear between him and everyone. “I’m glad you’re chill, but I’m not.” I pointed toward the east. “Don’t beat around the bush—is this the threat you were talking about?”

He thought for a mont, his eyes going distant as he rubbed his beard.

“Mate, you gotta give sothing here. If you don’t tell , I’m gonna cut myself off from the network right now, consequences be damned. I can’t have them arriving and laying waste to Tropica in the seconds it takes my chi to obey.”

His eyes snapped back to mine. Was I imagining the slight smile that crossed his face? “Very well,” he said. “No. They are not the impending threat I spoke of before leaving.”

I exhaled as an imnse weight fell from my shoulders. “Okay. That’s good news. Who are they?”

“I cannot say.” His lip tugged up again. I wasn’t imagining it.

Fury roiled through , and I grabbed him by each unbuttoned-half of his shirt. “Now is not the ti. Stop fracking around, Ellis.”

He tried to smooth his features, but whispers of his amusent remained. “And what will you do I do not tell you?”

I clenched my fists.

“Ellis!” Maria said. “Stop being such a dick!”

A black crab covered in red lines scuttled down from Bob’s deck. Rocky took a drag of his cigarette, gave a respectful nod, and leaped to crack Ellis softly on the noggin with a mighty claw. He landed on the stage. “What would our teachers say?” hissed the explosive crab.

Ellis grimaced. “You know my smile was not at their expense!”

Another hiss. “They do not.”

Ellis refocused on , rubbing the back of his head. “My question is sincere, Fischer. What will you do if I cannot tell you?”

“That’s easy. I’ll sever my connection to the network so I can scout our enemies myself.”

Ellis didn’t smile again, but I could tell he wanted to. He gave a asured nod. “I believe it is a foreign kingdom. As I am sure everyone sensed, the leader wields divine chi. It is likely they all do.”

“They co via ship?”

“Yes.”

“How many?” I asked.

“I cannot say.” I tightened my grip on his shirt, and he gave a flat stare. “I do not know, Fischer. At least one.”

“How long until they arrive?”

“At their current speed, I estimate they will arrive in a week.”

“And what if they double their speed? What if they teleport the rest of the way here? Why shouldn’t I stop filling the tunnels now? It’s still gonna take and your squad of goons in the alchemical workshop a few days to finish filling the network.”

His head rocked back. “When did you learn they were helping…?”

“When they started pouring concoctions into it. Don’t change the subject.”

He stroked the ends of his beard. “It is a risk to share, but if you will sever your connection unless I tell you…”

“I will.”

Again, I got the sense he was suppressing a smile. “You need not worry about an early arrival. If it would take a few days for you and your helpers to finish, the enemy might get here before its completion. It will not take a few days. Your estimate is… misguided.”

“Is he telling the truth, Theo?”

“Yuuuup!” he called.

I sighed, the surface of my core finally calming enough for to let go of Ellis. I took a step back. “How long exactly will it take to finish?”

“Now that, I cannot tell you, no matter what you threaten. I apologize, Fische—” A faint wave of abyssal chi pulsed over us. Even to my muted senses, it was unmissable, holding a sense of urgency.

Ellis smoothed his shirt and leaped from the stage. He landed on the stairs and marched for the exit. “I am needed elsewhere.” He glanced back, but his legs kept moving. “We can speak again soon.”

I looked from him to Bob the Boat and back again. My core might have cald, but I still wanted to throw a crab at Ellis’s head. The only nearby crab was Rocky, though, and he’d done nothing to deserve a good yeeting. I felt words swelling in my chest, a combination of syllables and vowels and consonants to inflict maximum emotional turmoil on the annoying Archivist. I bit them back. Now wasn’t the ti for pettiness.

But then Ellis paused on the top step. His beard swayed in the breeze as he turned back, t my eyes, and gave a broad grin. He winked.

My petty words ca flying out. “Do you know what a Maker is, Ellis?”

His entire body went rigid, one leg freezing as he turned to leave. He whirled around with none of the careful control he’d possessed a mont ago. “How do you know that title, Fischer?”

“How do you think?”

“Are—are you claiming to have beco a Maker?”

“Yep. Sha you don’t have more ti to stay and talk about it.”

He gave a shrug that was a little too stiff. “You becoming a Maker changes nothing. I—”

“Lie,” Theo interrupted, beaming at Ellis before shooting a wink.

The Archivist gave Theo a warning glare, then resud his departure, his emotional state sealed off so I couldn’t assess it.

“Let know when you’re free, mate! Claws and I are terribly curious to hear more about it!”

He froze again. “Claws…? You and Claws?”

“That’s right. She beca a Maker too.”

“You lie…” His eyes glittered hungrily in spite of the accusation.

“You think I would tell you porkies? I’m offended, mate. She awakened after turning a natural artifact into a dagger.”

Ellis snorted and crossed his arms. “Now I know you’re lying. That’s impossible, even for you…” He trailed off as Claws stood atop Fergus’s head and channeled her chi. Up it jolted. Through her body, along her fur, and directly into the silvery dagger held between her needle-sharp teeth. Its blade shone with blue-white brilliance as echoes of its nature flew out into the amphitheater.

“Huh,” Theo said, glancing between , Claws, and her weapon. “Truth.”

Ellis fell to his knees. His arms hung motionless at his side as he stared wide-eyed at my wonderfully devious otter. She spat the dagger out, shoved it into her pocket, and gave Ellis a two-digit salute before slinking down from Fergus’s head and retreating into the crowd.

“W-w-wait!” He shot to his feet. “I can delay a short while! Please, Claws! If I could just see that dagger for a second, I can properly advise you!”

“What’s the matter, mate? You don’t like it when people withhold information?”

His eyes were desperate when they t mine. “Fischer… Please. I have good reason for intentionally leaving you in the dark. I—I cannot tell you. You know this.” He took a step forward. “I promise I’ll tell you everything as soon as possible. If you could just make Claws show that dagger for a mont…”

“Make her? Mate, have you t her? You’d have better luck making a kraken yell.” Before anyone could question my nonsensical analogy, I sent a tendril of essence two streets over and used it to open a certain door. Er, table. They still hadn’t replaced it.

“Hurry!” bood Fathom. I’d ant it as a distraction for Claws to slap Ellis or sothing, but the waves of abyssal power that flew out into the world through the now-open doorway were even more intense than expected. Fathom was on the brink of finishing his current task. He and everyone else in the alchemical workshop needed help, lest they fail.

I grinned up at Ellis. “You’d better run along. Say hello for , will ya?”

Ellis’s mouth puckered like I’d made him swallow poison as he turned and fled. Before he made it three steps, Claws exploited his distraction, slapping him across the face with the electrified rump of a trash panda. Claws returned the chittering RPM to her pocket and kicked off Ellis’s back. He rocketed out of the amphitheater, and she sailed down to the stage.

I caught Claws and skidded backwards, coming to a stop against Bob the Boat. All eyes were on us, and I gave Claws a good scritching as I took in the smiling faces of Tropica. Seeing Ellis smacked upside the head with a larcenously inclined raccoon had done wonders for their moods. They must have seen sothing in my expression, because hints of anticipation joined their smile lines.

I nodded. “I have a plan for how to best deal with those sailing towards our shores, while also growing Tropica’s strength.” I swallowed, relying on Claws’s soft fur beneath my fingers to keep present. “The thing is, though, I’ll need your consent…”