Chapter 10
Quinine
It resembled nothing more than an extremely bad flu. Lind sat beside Jago as he lay in bed, sweat dripping down his face. He was shivering but his face was flushed red and he was running a high fever, so hot that it hurt to touch him. Occasionally, he would give a groan as his stomach burned. Only one thing set this apart from any normal flu; his angels. Lamb's usual heavenly glow had grown dull and her skin was grey and lifeless. Her wings, usually larger and more graceful than those of any of the other angels were scabby and in places, were completely bald with specks of white blood leaking from the pores. Worst of all though, huge dark blue crystals grew from her skin like some obscene geometric virus, occasionally shattering on their accord only to grow back within seconds as a series of smaller crystals. Damascus wasn't much better, with wings also bleeding and her skin also lifeless and showing the beginnings of crystal growth. She was in obvious pain but unlike Lamb and Jago, she still had the power of speech and could still stand to have herself touched. Belldandy, Urd and Peorth were clustered around the trio, all performing separate scans to try and discover the cause of the illness. At last, Belldandy stopped.
"It's strange" she said. "I can't detect any actual signs of disease. That is, apart from the obvious symptoms" she said, gesturing towards them.
"But how can that be?" asked Lind, her face a knot of concern. "There must be something!"
"It's true" said Peorth. "If this was any normal human illness then it shouldn't affect his angels which it must either be Heaven or Hell based but it doesn't appear to have a magical signature".
"Well you can fix it, can't you?" asked Damascus through gritted teeth.
"Not unless we can determine what the cause is" said Urd.
"But you must have some potion or spell that can fix this! Some elixir or health booster?" Lind said to her. Urd shook her head sadly.
"If I tried anything without knowing exactly what the problem was then I would probably end up causing more harm than good". Lind turned accusingly to Peorth and Belldandy.
"What about you two then!?" she shouted, thumping a hand down so hard on the bedside table that it shattered. "Are you two first class goddesses or not? How can you not be able to help him?!" The pair hung their heads sadly, indicating their usefulness. It was then that there was a knock at the door. Lind turned furiously to it and saw Saga poking her head around the frame. "WHAT?" shouted Lind.
"Um, there's someone here" she said meekly.
"If it's a visitor then send them away! We don't have time for guests, not now!"
"Well she said that you would want to talk to her. She said she might be able to help". Lind's eye's narrowed.
"Who she?"
"Well, maybe you should come outside. It would make things easier" said Saga and she ducked back out of the room. Lind turned angrily to the remaining goddesses.
"I want you to find out exactly what is wrong with him and I want it found by the time I get back from dealing with this guest!" she said, storming out of the room. Urd sighed.
"Is it just me or is Lind suddenly VERY scary?" Peorth nodded.
"I'm sure that it's just concern for Mister Jago" said Belldandy.
"I'm not so sure" said Peorth. "I think Urd is right, she's been acting a bit off recently. Plus, I still don't think she's realised that she's still in her nightdress". She shrugged. "Anyway, let's do one more scan. At least then, there's a chance that Lind won't skin us alive when she gets back".
"You should be so lucky" said Damascus.
Lind pushed open the front door to Jago's cottage, glancing around at those who had been prevented from entering. She folded her arms her chest.
"Well? Where's this guest?" Keiichi tapped her on the shoulder and pointed upward.
"She's up there" he said and then backed away quickly. Lind looked up and saw the person who was, at least on her list, the second least welcome person at the temple. The least welcome at this point would have been that bastard, Lord Deaderuss. This left just one other person; Hild. Or rather mini-Hild. She waved down at Lind from her position about ten feet in the air.
"Well hello Lin-" she began but before she could finish, Lind had shot upward, catching the ruler of Hell by the throat and catapulting the pair of them high into the sky.
"YOU BITCH!" shrieked Lind as they shot upwards, almost to the edge of the stratosphere. With explosive force, she tossed Hild high into the air and then brought both hands down hard on the demons back, sending her shooting back down towards the Earth. For all her power, Hild wasn't prepared for such a furious assault and she slammed into the ground at speeds that would have shamed the fastest of fighter jets.
"Ow" she said and started to pull herself free of the crater she had created on impact. She had just managed to pull herself to her feet when Lind came crashing down, driving the pair even deeper into the ground. She started pounding on the devil, screaming as she did so.
"YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH!" she screamed, each impact pounding Hild a foot deeper into the ground. "HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HIM? HOW COULD YOU BE SO CRUEL? YOU BITCH!". Her eyes were glowing gold as she released her full power, punishing her opponent with the most powerful series of blows ever seen. At last though, she began to slow, tears streaming down her face. "You bitch" Lind swore, standing and summoning her poleaxe. "You did this to Jago! Now, I will kill you!" She swung. With a sigh, Hild simply reached out and caught Lind's swing between her thumb and index finger.
"Are you quite finished?" she asked. With a shove, she pushed the powerful ex-Valkyrie back and pulled herself from the ground, dusting herself off. "For your information, I didn't make Jago sick. The only reason I'm here is because I promised to check in on the Arch's after a month but it's been so busy with the complete system collapse in both Heaven and Hell that I simply haven't had chance. When I finally got here, I heard that Jago was ill and I decided to offer my services".
"YOU LIE! THIS IS YOUR DOING!" shouted Lind and she swung her axe hard but Hild blocked with her left wrist.
"Are we back to this already?" asked Hild. Before Lind could take another swing, her angels, Spear Mint and Cool Mint were beside her, gripping her arms forcefully.
"Please Mistress!" said Spearmint.
"Perhaps she is telling the truth?" said Cool Mint. "You were there when she made that promise to come and visit and what she says does make sense". Lind turned angrily to Cool Mint.
"How could you side with her? After what she did to Jago?"
"There is no evidence that she did this to Jago" said Spear Mint.
"She says she came to offer her services and if nothing else, she may be able to find the source of Jago's illness". Hild smiled.
"It would seem that your angels are on my side" said Hild, looking snide. Lind sighed.
"Will you promise not to harm Jago, his angels or any of the others here?" Hild nodded and Lind sighed again. "Very well then, but" and she raised her poleaxe, "any funny business and Daimankaichō or not, I will cut you down to size!" Hild smiled.
"That sounds fair. But first" and she pointed upwards, "we had better get out of this hole".
Hild had been uncomfortable with entering Jago's cottage. The horseshoe that was powerful old magic and even the head of all demons was strongly repelled. However, she did finally enter and it wasn't long before she was able to discover the source of Jago's illness.
"It's a bug" she said simply.
"A bug? You mean a system bug?" asked Belldandy.
"Exactly. It appears that it somehow managed to make its way inside of Jago via Astrakhan Lamb and from there it has begun to poison their collective bodies. But it's odd" she said, her childlike brow creased with the worry of a woman many times her apparent age. "It appears that the bug has combined with an existing illness, something that has been there for a while. It was no wonder that you didn't find anything, the illness hides the bug and the bug camouflages the presence of the disease".
"So it was a good thing you turned up after all" said Urd, grudgingly. Hild snorted.
"If I hadn't shown up he would be dead in a week! Whatever this disease is, it is extremely potent for a human infection, even without that bug there. Now though, unless we can find a cure for him, I would give him a one in ten chance of living". Belldandy gasped.
"What can we do?" she asked.
"Can't you simply find the disease and remove it?" asked Lind. "I mean, you are the Daimankaichō. You should be able to do anything!" Hild flicked a finger in annoyance.
"Technically yes but even my powers have their limits. This bug seems to have been specifically manufactured to prevent me from discover what that disease is and therefore from providing effective treatment".
"Well maybe I can help?" came a voice from the door. Bob had entered, followed by Chrono and Heart of Stirling Silver. Hild drifted over to him.
"Oh? And who is this then?" Hild asked, leaning closer to Bob, to get a good look at his face.
"That" Chrono said, stepping in front of Bob and blocking him from Hild's view, "is Jago's little brother, Bob". Hild nodded.
"I see. They have the same eyes". Chrono had impressed her. There weren't many who could stand in front of her for the first time and at least hide their fear. In fact, she could clearly see from Chrono's aura that she was almost wetting her pants, she was so scared but she had to give her credit for hiding it. "I assume that he is under your protection then?" Hild asked. Chrono was a little taken aback. As she wasn't a full Valkyrie yet, she wasn't technically allowed to extend Heaven's protection to anyone but she nodded her head.
"Yes". Hild smiled and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lind give a disapproving look but nod to Chrono.
"Well in that case, let's hear what you have to say then". Bob cleared his throat.
"Well it's simple. You say this disease has been there for a while? Well in that case he has probably been keeping it hidden with medicine right?"
"So?" asked Urd.
"Well, did anyone think to check the medicine cabinet for anything unusual?" Before he had fully finished, Belldandy had already raced into the bathroom and quickly returned with an assortment of pills and vials. Jago cracked an eye to see what was going on.
"Let's see" said Urd, checking each in turn. "Cough syrup. Paracetamol. Aspirin. Viagra?" she asked, holding the unopened packet. Jago gave a weak smile.
"Master says it's in case he ever needs to treat altitude sickness" said Damascus.
"Yeah, suuuure!" said Peorth and then she picked up another bottle. "Hello, what's this?" she asked, holding it close to her face to read it. "What the hell is quinine?" Bob snatched it from her and popped the lid. The bottle was almost empty, just a few tablets remaining. He turned to Damascus.
"Is this what he has been taking?" he asked. Damascus nodded. Bob sighed. "Well, at least now we know what it is he has".
"And what's that?" asked Urd.
"Well, quinine is used to treat malaria".
"Malaria!"
"Yep. I suppose it makes sense" Bob said. "He was in Africa last year as part of his course. I can only assume that he caught it out their". Hild took the vial.
"And so he's been keeping it supressed with this shit?" she asked and whistled through her teeth. "He's tougher than I thought. This isn't the best anti-malarial in the world and even with the good drugs, it never really goes away so if he hasn't shown any symptoms up till now then he must either be phenomenally tough or phenomenally lucky".
"You mean" said Lind, "that he has been suffering from possibly the biggest single killer of humans in this entire world since before I met him and even though we could have fixed it, he's been keeping it hidden with sub-standard medicine?(*1)" She turned to Jago who winked at her. She shook her head. "Jago, I don't know whether to hit you or hug you".
"He says to hug him now and then hit him after he's cured" said Damascus. Lind smiled and then turned back to Hild.
"So, now that we know what the problem is, can you fix him?" Hild scratched her head and thought.
"Let's discus it in the other room" she said. "Everybody except Lind and her angels. They had better stay here and keep an eye on him". Lind nodded and sat back down on her chair beside the bed, gently taking Jago's hand in hers.
"Don't worry" she said. "We'll have you better in no time". She reached out gently with her mind, trying to comfort him but they both knew that the reason that everyone had been taken into the other room was that if there was a cure, it would be so insanely difficult to collect that Jago was pretty much screwed. Still, Lind let her mind meld with his and they sat quietly, sharing their thoughts. This might be their last chance. They sat together and simply let their minds meld. Next to share everything they had ever experienced. An ultimate sharing of affection. Love. Lind felt him smile.
"You know you're still wearing that nightdress? The see-through one?" he sent to hervia his mind. Smiled a little and almost broke down in tears.
"Eye's front soldier" she sent back and he smiled. She stood and gave him a pained smile, withdrawing he mind from his. "I'll be back soon" she said. "Spear Mint will keep watch". He smiled weakly, eyes closed. Lind closed the door behind her and leaned heavily against it. She glanced around, checking that no-one could see her. And then she wept, long and hard. She felt Cool Mint's hand on her shoulder and she turned to her second angel, hugging her tightly.
"Cool Mint" she sent via the mental link between angel and Master, "I'm scared and I have never felt fear like this before. I don't want to lose him! I-I-I love-"but she stopped when she felt her angel's gentle embrace.
"I know Mistress. Spear Mint and I love him too".
"Well?" asked Bob. "Can you fix my brother or not?" Hild shrugged.
"This is a pretty serious illness, even without the bug complication. If I tried to just magic it away, it would kill him for sure".
"That isn't what I asked" said Bob. "I asked, can you fix it?" Hild closed one eye in annoyance.
"As this is our first meeting I will let you off without turning you into something horrible. Just remember that even though this body may look like a ten year old girl, I am actually the ruler of all of Hell and all of the demons thereof. So in other words, show a little respect. But to answer your question, yes I can fix it". Every face brightened until her next statement. "However, there is a problem. In order to do this, I would need to concoct a particularly potent potion to separate the bug from the malaria parasites and to do that, I would need some pretty serious ingredients".
"What kind of ingredients?" asked Urd. "I should have just about anything you could need for potion making". Hild snorted at her daughter.
"This may be true but you are probably missing one thing: quinine bark". Bob cocked his head.
"What? Why don't you just use those pills he's been using?"
"I need a rare kind of magically infused quinine" said Hild. "The problem with that processed stuff is it just wouldn't be strong enough to shift such a stubborn illness".
"So what are you saying?" asked Urd.
"I'm saying, if you want me to save him, you are going to have to go and collect some".
"And where would we find this rare stuff?" asked Eir. Hild snorted.
"The Amazon basin".
"WHAT!" was the collective shout.
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"It is extraordinary" said Bob, swinging Jago's khukuri overhand to slice a path through the thick underbrush. "There is nothing of interest in this jungle! There are no lions, no elephants, no kangaroos, no honey-badgers, nothing! It's all just insects designed to make you have a debilitating, agonising death!"
"Oh, stop moaning!" said Eir.
"Yeah, you're the one who insisted that you come along!" said Saga.
"Leave him alone" said Chrono. "He came along because he cares for his brother! I can think of no better reason for him to be here!" It was true. Bob had insisted that he help find the gold-leaf quinine tree. It had taken some persuasion but they had finally agreed to take him.
The expedition consisted of Bob, Chrono, Eir, Saga, Urd, Peorth, Skuld, their respective angels and to the surprise of the goddesses, Tamiya and Otaki. The reason for this was simple; broomsticks were a goddess's transport of choice to an area that they were unfamiliar with but they were fairly slow and lacked a carrying capacity and this would be a problem because they had to have the quinine bark back within twenty-four hours or it would be useless.
"I would collect it myself" said Hild, "but at the rate it's going, Jago will be too far gone to save in just a few hours. I'm going to have to stay here and try to hold back the progression of the disease while someone else collects the bark". She looked around the room. "Urd, you should go. You can prepare the potion while you're out there and have it ready for when you get back. Peorth, you're good with plants so you should go too. Eir and Saga, you go too. They are going to need you to actually collect the bark plus we may need fighters if the tree is defended".
"I'm going too!" said Bob with some finality. "There's no way I'm not helping here!".
"And if Bob goes, I go too!" said Chrono. Hild nodded.
"That seems fair" she said.
"Wait! I'm going too!" said Skuld, pushing forward.
"I'm sorry but I don't think so" said Hild. "You have no skills whatsoever that would be of any use".
"Oh yeah! What about Bob? He has no skills!"
"Wrong" said Bob. "Believe it or not but I'm a navigator. I can get us there, so long as I have a map". He turned to Hild. "There is a map right?" Hild nodded and conjured one and handed it to him.
"Will that be all?" she asked.
"Well there is one thing" said Belldandy. "You said the bark has to be made into a potion within twenty-four hours. Well, there's no way we can get it back here in time to make a potion and if we make a potion while we're out there, we won't be able to get it back in time before Jago is too far gone to save". Hild nodded.
"You have a point" she said, tapping the side of her head. "Getting there and back will be a problem".
"Maybe not" said Spear Mint. "Jago said he could hear everything you said and he thinks that if you take his plane then you should be able to collect the bark and then brew a potion during the flight back". Bob looked astonished.
"My brother has a plane?"
"Yes, he used it to get here. It said it was a C-130J, whatever that is". Bob nodded.
"That might work" he said. "It's certainly fast enough and it has the range to make the trip". But then he paused. "But we have no pilot". Keiichi then stepped in.
"Well maybe we do". He turned to Belldandy. "Do you think some of the Autoclub guys would be able to fly a plane?" Belldandy smiled and nodded.
"Yes! They can use any machine!"
"Alright then" said Hild. "Keiichi, contact these friends from the Autoclub. Tell them we need a pilot. Belldandy, if you would come with me, I need to begin a strength boosting spell so that we can keep Jago alive until they get back and I could really use you help". Belldandy nodded and followed her back into the bedroom. The rest of the group departed in order to collect the things that they would need for their expedition so they could be loaded into the back of Jago's truck. The exceptions were Bob and Chrono who were ready to go as they were. Chrono gave Bob a smile.
"It'll be ok" she said. "I'm sure we can save your brother". Bob nodded but looked glum.
"I just hope that when I get back, he will be able to forgive me for attacking Noble Scarlet like that".
"He already has" came a voice. The pair turned to see Cool Mint emerge from the bedroom. "He says that made and he blames himself. However, he plans to make sure that you complete your training properly when he's well again so he said to look out!" Bob smiled and then the blue-eyed angel pulled something from her wrap. "He also asked me to give you this" she said and handed it to Bob whose eyes widened.
"But this is-"
"Your brother's khukuri, yes. He says that you may need it more than he does right now". Bob nodded, dumbfounded and grasped the horn hilt of the weapon, pulling it free. Ten inches of heavy, hardened, leaf-shaped steel, perfect for either cutting or stabbing. Bob sheathed it gently.
"Tell my brother thank you" he said. Cool Mint smiled and then she leaned forward and kissed his gently on the cheek, causing Chrono to blush and look away.
"And that was form my Mistress" said Cool Mint with a smile. "She says; don't cock it up this time".
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"Well sure we can fly a plane" said Tamiya as he sat in front of the construction site that they were working at. Otaki nodded from beside him.
"The question is though, why do you need to get to South America so badly? And why do you need us? Why not just pay for tickets and go first-class or something?" Keiichi sighed.
"Look, we don't have time for this. A friend of ours is in trouble and there is something that can fix it but it can only be found in South America".
"Near Manaus to be exact" said Bob, checking his map. Tamiya nodded.
"I see" he said. "We would help but it seems like a lot of effort. What would we get out of this?" Urd strode between Keiichi and Bob, grinding her teeth in frustration.
"Now look you two!" she said. "Either you help us or I'll be forced to kick your fat arses all over this city until you agree to do so!" The two giants cringed back slightly but Belldandy laid a hand on her older sister's shoulder.
"Please Urd" she said and she turned to the two men. "Please help. Please?" she said, pulling an incredibly cute face as she did do. The two looked at one another and sighed.
"Alright" said Tamiya, "but you guys owe us one!"
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The flight in Jago's C-130 Hercules had taken several hours. Tamiya and Otaki piloted the huge aircraft which had been fitted with a fuel bladder and under-wing drop tanks so that it wouldn't have to refuel on the trip back. Those inside each prepared in their own way. Damascus had managed to pull together enough magic to create a camouflage spell and so the angels had been allowed on-board without hassle. Urd and World of Elegance were busy converting the cargo hold into a lab in order to manufacture the potion after the quinine had been collected. Peorth and Gorgeous Rose were busy reading, trying to relax as best they could. Eir, Saga and their angels were sleeping, using earplugs to block out the drone of the big plane's engines. Chrono, Heart of Stirling Silver and Bob were sat together, pouring over the map.
"Looks like the best route is if we land at Manaus, here" he said, jabbing the spot on the map with his finger. "From there, if we head North/North-West following the river for about fifteen miles and then unload here", pointing to another spot on the map, "then with a few hours of walking, we should be at one of the trees. We collect the bark, get back here, brew in flight and be back by tomorrow. Total time; about twenty hours". Chrono cocked her head.
"How long does Jago have?" Bob gave her a grim look.
"That's the problem. He's only got about twenty-two hours before the disease becomes unstoppable. Any real delays and we won't make it back in time". He shook his head. "I don't know if we can do this. I mean, what if we get there and the tree is gone? Or what about if we can't find a boat? There's no way we can make it if we have to walk all the way. Or what if-", but Heart of Stirling Silver held up a hand.
"This is no time for doubt!" she said. "If you don't think you can do this then why did you come along in the first place?" At this Bob snorted.
"Well, partly it's because I was worried that you might be asked to navigate and my brother told me what you're like with maps". At this point though, they heard a sneeze. All available heads turned towards the source of the noise.
"Noble Scarlet!" they heard a voice hiss.
"I can't help it Mistress!" came another whisper.
"Just keep quiet or they'll hear us!" Urd sighed and called out to them.
"Alright, we can hear you, you know. Come on out you two" she said.
"Oops" they heard Skuld say and the two emerged sheepishly from behind the huge fuel bladder that occupied the centre of the cargo hold.
"What are you two doing here?" asked Urd.
"Well…." said Skuld, looking at her feet.
"We wanted to help!" said Noble Scarlet defensively. "Jago is just as much our friend as the rest of you, so why shouldn't we help?"
"Don't you know anything?" said Peorth, looking exasperated. "This isn't some bike ride through the park you know! It's incredibly dangerous!"
"She's right you know" said Bob, holding up the map and pointing to the spot where the tree was. "I mean, have you seen how many skulls there are?" A quick glance at the map revealed that there were LOT of skulls around the tree. Skuld shrugged.
"That may be so but there's still no way that I'm not coming!" she said, looking defiant. Peorth and Urd turned to Bob.
"I guess it's your call" said Urd. "Should they be allowed to come or not?" Bob gave her a look like she had just grown another head.
"Are you mad? Since when am I in charge? I mean, she's your sister!" Urd nodded.
"Yes but this is a mission to save your brother. So what do you say? Can she help?" Bob turned to Skuld, looking uncertain. Skuld raised an eyebrow.
"Come on Bob. You owe me this one". Bob sighed and nodded.
"Alright Skuld, you're in". Skuld and Noble Scarlet smiled and high-fived one another. Peorth sighed, looking doubtful while Urd and Chrono impassive. Pretty soon, they returned to their preparations. Eir and Saga were still asleep and would probably be surprised when they realised that Skuld was here. The girl in question had gotten into an argument with Peorth over the issue if Dobon that the older goddess had stolen, setting everyone's teeth on edge until Urd had told them to both shut it so she could finish her work. Chrono had at this point summoned her halberd and was in the process of sharpening the heavy blade. Bob decided it would be best if he did the same and pulled his brother's khukuri free from its heavy sheath. He gripped the rear of the blade between his knees, then pulled the pair of smaller knives that accompanied it free from the sheath and started running them along the edge of the weapon, keening it to a fine edge. Time passed. Boredom set in. And then a message from the cockpit.
"We're on final approach" said Tamiya over the plane's intercom. "Take your seats and buckle in. We've just been warned that it may be a rough flight in". Bob saw Chrono visibly gulp.
"You alright?"
"Yeah. Just a bit nervous."
"Don't worry; no plane has ever been brought down by turbulence". He scratched his chin. "Although, maybe you should perform the pre-bailout checklist".
"The what?"
"The pre-bailout checklist" Bob said with a grin. "It's very simple; just three steps. Spread legs, bend over…"
"Yes?"
"And kiss your arse goodbye!"
"Not cool" said Chrono but she was grinning when she said it.
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The arrival into Manaus was indeed very bumpy but it was over quickly. It was decided that they would be split into two groups. Urd would stay with the plane to prepare the bulk of the potion, along with Tamiya and Otaki who would need to perform some after-flight checks and minor maintenance before they could fly again. The others, plus World of Elegance wold head into town and attempt to batter passage on a boat that would take them as close to the tree as possible. Finding a boat that would take them wasn't a problem, it was being able to pay for it that was the problem. Peorth and World of Elegance were currently in heated discussion with the owner of a large motor launch, it a language that was a combination of Portuguese and local words. The man shook his head and jabbered something, poking a finger at them. Peorth shook her head and said something back.
"What they saying?" whispered Bob to Saga.
"Not sure" she said.
"We're only trainees" said Eir. "We haven't yet completed our Earth languages course and so we have yet to complete our ribeirinho".
"What they are saying" said Chrono, "is that since the local Real is running at such a high rate of inflation, the money we have isn't going to be enough to carry us both there and back".
"What is the rate of inflation?" asked Bob.
"About four-hundred per cent per hour". Bob whistled through his teeth.
"That is a lot" he said. It was then that they saw the boat-owner jabbed a finger at World of Elegance with a great leer upon his face. She stiffened and swore back at the man, clearly furious. "Well that needed no translation" said Bob. The boat-owner continued to leer and jabbed again but by this point World of Elegance had had enough. She turned away and Peorth reluctantly followed her.
By the third boat, Bob had become frustrated. By the sixth, he was angry. Now, they were on the fourteenth and he felt like he was going to explode. A vain in his eyebrow was twitching. He was grinding his teeth. When he saw the older goddesses turn away, he finally snapped.
"What's taking so long?" he shouted. "We haven't got time for this!" World of Elegance nodded apologetically.
"I'm sorry. I should have considered this difficulty before we set out" she said. Bob sighed.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to blow my top like that. It's just…"
"I understand" she said. "You're worried about your brother". Bob nodded but then Saga stepped forward.
"I'm sorry to interrupt" she said, "but did anyone see where Peorth and "Rosy" went?" They looked around and realised that it was true, the two had gone missing.
"Oh great, now where are they?" Bob asked. "For a first class goddess, she sure is irresponsible. I mean wandering off at a time like this!" He sighed again. "Right, Ella, Skuld, Little Red, Saga and Cuprum, see if you can find her. Chrono, Eir, Argentum and I are going to check the market. We should be able to find a boat there or at least something to eat along the way".
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"Now, there's no way I'm eating that!" Eir's angle Silver Beech as Bob held the strange looking catfish up by two fingers hooked between its rubbery lips. He had to admit, she had a point. The fish was not exactly appetizing to look at. Nearly a foot-and-half long, with long whiskers protruding from the side of its face, it's back was lined with razor sharp, inch long recurved spines; it was a fish that live on algae and other plant matter from the riverbed. In fact, it looked for all the world like one of the monsters that used to be drawn on the corners of old maps, to make the sea look more interesting than a living thing. But was a living thing. In fact it was still alive! The fish gave a massive flick of its tail and it's back sliced down the length of Bob's hand, causing him to drop the fish with a yelp.
"Are you alright?" asked Chrono, looking concerned. Bob nodded, sucking on his palm.
"Aye" he finally said. "I should have
remembered that they tend to sell their catfish while they are still alive".
"But why would they do that?" asked Copper Beech.
"Well Argentum" he said to the angel, calling her by her human name, "I'm not entirely sure but my brother said it was something to do with the humidity. If they kill the fish then it goes off within hours but catfish can survive for days out of water so if they keep it alive and can't sell it today then they may be able to sell it tomorrow".
"That's horrible!"
"That's life in the Amazon" said Bob. He picked up another fish, turning it towards himself. It resembled a proper fish but its mouth was filled with large, razor sharp teeth. "How about some piranha?" he asked. "Supposed to be good if it's fried or cooked whole".
"Alright, piranha it is" said Chrono. Bob nodded and picked out three or four of the fish, paying the fish monger with his meagre handful of Reals. They wrapped the fish in paper and put them in a bag, alongside the red bananas they had bought earlier.
"Well, we have food for the trip but still no boat" said Eir.
"True" said Chrono and she sighed. "I can't help but wonder where Peorth and Rosy went though. It's been nearly an hour and we haven't seen hide nor hair of them".
"Right here" they heard someone call out. They turned and saw Peorth and the others making their way across the market towards them.
"Where the Hell have you been?" Bob asked her. Peorth shrugged.
"That's not important. What matters is that I found us a boat but we had better hurry if we are to make it before it leaves" she turned and led them back towards the docks. Upon arrival, she directed them to a battered looking motor launch that was busy being refuelled by a loudly swearing ribeirinho. Peorth called out to the man and he glanced up, nodded and gestured for them to board the craft. It wobbled alarmingly as they clambered aboard. Bob muttered something incomprehensible and turned to Peorth.
"Where the Hell did you find this FUBAR thing? Even on our budget, we should have been able to find something that could at least float!" Peorth snorted.
"Don't moan" she said. "At least we have a boat and it didn't actually cost us a penny". Chrono cocked her head.
"Then how the did you pay for it?"
"That I can't I won't tell. Let's just say that Jago now owes me big-time".
"Skank!" World of Elegance said, hiding it behind a cough.
"What was that?"
"Nothing". She cleared her throat. "Hadn't you better tell the captain that we can leave now?" Peorth nodded and said something to the man. He nodded and with a drone and a puff of two-stroke smoke, the boat was underway. Just as they left the port of Manaus, Peorth leaned over to Bob.
"I was series you know. Your brother really does owe me one". Bob nodded.
"I think he owes us all now". She smiled.
"I guess you're right. Just out of interest, what exactly does FUBAR mean anyway?"
"Oh that? It means Fucked Up Beyond All Repair". Peorth looked around the almost sinking boat.
"Ok, I'll give you points for that one" she said.
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The boat had been beached roughly fifteen miles from Manaus and they had disembarked, having told the boat-man to wait. He had simply grunted and all they could do was hope he was still there when they got back. So now, there they were, in the middle of the rainforest. Bugs, vines, thorns, the lot. At first, going had been easy but after just a couple of miles, the jungle had become so thick that Bob, Eir and Saga were forced to hack their way through the thick foliage with a combination of Jago's khukuri and Eir and Saga's scimitars. It was while hacking through a vine as thick as his arm that Bob began his rant about killer creepy crawlies. He stepped forward and took another swipe at the low hanging vines, gabbing one to pull himself forward. However, then it hissed.
"AH! A SANKE!" he shouted and tossed the hissing reptile aside. Gorgeous Rose caught the animal before it could hit her in the face.
"Watch it!" she said. "I may be an angel but that doesn't mean you can throw snakes at me!"
"Sorry. You see what I mean though? About this jungle being horrible?" Skuld in the meantime was lagging at the back moaning.
"It's so hot" she said. "It's humid and sticky". She swatted a mosquito that tried to bite her. "Eww! And there are bugs! How much further is it to this tree?" she called forward. Bob pulled out his map and turned to World of Elegance.
"Could you give me a bearing on North?" he asked. She pointed.
"Ok. Looks like…. About another ten miles".
"Ten miles!"
"Yep. Don't worry though; the skulls don't appear for another seven".
"Three miles of skulls!"
"I wouldn't worry" said World of Elegance. "Most likely, if there is anything out there, we can take it".
"That is, if we ever get there!" said Bob. He pulled a red banana from his bag, peeled it and took a bite. "Damn jungle! I would kill for daisy-cutters!" he said around the fruit.
"Look, stop moaning and keep chopping" said Saga.
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"If I were you, I would quit while I was a head!" said Bob, holding up a human skull.
"That's horrid!" said Skuld.
"Suit yourself" said Bob and he tossed the skull aside. They had been coming across bones for a while and rather worryingly, they had almost all been human. Chrono Heart of Stirling Silver gave a little shiver as she looked into the empty sockets of another skull. "You alright?" Bob asked. She nodded.
"It's alright. Skulls just give me the creeps".
"Same here" said Peorth. "I just can't help but wonder what it might be that could do this. There must be something fairly scary if it could kill so many people". They continued on in silence, unaware that they were being followed. The shadow descended headfirst from the tree, snarling quietly to itself. This was its territory! How dare the apes trespass here! But there were lots of them. It would wait before it struck. It would wait until they reached the tree.
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Time passes differently in different realms. What was days for Earth were just a few minutes for Kayrune. With a groan, she pulled herself across the snow, clasping a hand to her stomach in order to stop the bleeding. Grief overcame her as she crawled. Her sisters were dead! She was injured and worst of all, her angel… Her angel had been de-winged! She had been withdrawn into her body since the attack but the blade that had struck them had done its job. Cursed with dark magic's, if it so much as scratched either an angel or her Mistress then the angle's wings would be severed. And without them, an angel loses all of her power. So now, here she was, dying in the snowfields of Jötunnheim. She and her sisters had been betrayed. And now she would die. But first, she had to make it back. Earth was the closest realm but where could she go? Who could she warn? Who? Then she realised it; she would go to Lind. She must warn Lind!
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With an almighty crack, the bamboo shattered and Bob stepped forth into the glaring sun of the clearing. They had made it! They had reached the tree! It stood atop a mound of bones, the roots intertwining with them, passing between ribs and into eye-sockets. The site caused Skuld to gag.
"That's horrible!" she said. "What could have done this?" World of Elegance shook her head.
"I don't know but whatever it is, I don't think that we want to be around when whatever it is that killed them shows up". Bob nodded.
"Ok, let's just get the bark and then leg-it one". He crossed the clearing as quickly as he dared and stood at the base of the tree, the khukuri held loosely in his hand and looked up. The tree was nearly ten feet above him, perched atop the pile of bones. He looked back at the others. "How much do we need?" World of Elegance shrugged.
"Just a little. A few strips". Bob nodded and he looked across at Peorth.
"Hey, could you give me boost?" he asked her. She gave him a blank look.
"Are you kidding me? I think I've done quite enough for you today! Have World of Elegance do it, she hasn't done anything so far!"
"What did you say?" said the monochrome angel, giving her an angry look.
"You heard what I said" said Peorth and the two, plus Gorgeous Rose broke down in an argument. Bob sighed.
"What about you two?" he asked Eir and Saga. "Could you give me a boost?" They both crossed their arms and each raised an eyebrow.
"How exactly do you expect us to do that? You may be thin but you are also considerably heavier than either of us". Bob nodded.
"I not even going to ask Skuld so what about you Chrono? Could you help me?" She nodded.
"No problem". She stepped forward and looked up at the tree. "Hmm. Ok, turn around and stand still" she said. He nodded, confused but agreed. Before he knew what was happening, she had grabbed him and with a yell, she chucked him high into the air.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" he shouted down to her whilst dangling from one of the branches. She smiled up at him.
"Stop worrying and just collect the bark before Peorth and World of Elegance tear each-other a new one". He nodded down at her and swung himself up so that he was now seated upon the branch. He raised his brother's khukuri . And then Chrono leapt up and tackled him from the branch, knocking him flat on his back with her on top of him.
"Ow. Now what?" Then he saw the her blood. "Chrono! What the Hell happened!" She didn't answer, just pulled herself to her feet and summoned her poleaxe.
"Stay down!" she said, looking carefully around the clearing.
"But Chrono, your hurt!" She shrugged.
"It's just a scratch" she said and then turned rapidly. "Rosy! Look out!" Gorgeous Rose turned rapidly and saw what appeared to be a long spear streaking straight towards her from the trees. She gave a shout and was just in time to deflect the object with a Vine Shield spell.
"What the Hell!" she shouted and they all closed ranks, back-to-back, forming three circles.
"What in the world was that?" asked Noble Scarlet, looking petrified. She soon got her answer. A deep, rasping his emanated from the edge of the clearing and something began to descend from one of the trees, making its way into the sun one all fours, its long black claws glittering in the sun. The creature appeared to be made of wood and coated in a kind of green-grey moss. A long, prehensile tail hung between its rear legs and its face was crusted with short horns. I lacked eyes, having instead only two hollows that were sunk deeply into the surface of its face. It then reared up to a high of about three feet and bared its needle like teeth, a long tongue covered in barbs, slithering out of its mouth like a grotesque snake. And then it spoke, dribbling a thick green mucus.
"Apes should not have come! My tree! Mine!" it hissed.
"What is that?" Skuld whispered.
"It's a gnarl, a malignant tree sprit that preys on those that stray too close to its chosen tree" said Peorth.
"Is it dangerous?" Peorth glanced at the bone pile upon which the tree grew.
"You could say that. With luck though, we might be able to pacify it". She took a step forward. "I am Peorth, goddess first class. We do not mean you any harm, tree creature". The gnarl hissed and gnashed its teeth.
"LIES! You are ape! I smell! All apes! And apes must die!" With that the creature leapt forward, covering the twenty yards between it and Peorth in a fraction of a second. Its tongue shot forward, scything through the air with a whistle and Peorth was forced to duck back, dodging the creature. It landed a foot from where she was standing, turned rapidly on all fours and leapt again, aiming for Peorth's chest. She summoned one of her pair of mallets and batted the creature aside. It landed on its back, limps twitching but before Peorth could recover, it was up again. This time it didn't leap, just started slinking forwards, hissing. Peorth backed away, hammer held high. The gnarl seemed to grin. "Ape women strong. None hit me before! Me like challenge!" It rapidly turned its head towards one of the other groups. "But what of small apes? Can they fight? Or are they just food?" It shrieked and then charged, heading for Eir who was still clasping her scimitar in one hand. She sidestepped and kicked hard, catching the beast hard in the chest. At the same time, Saga charged in, catching gnarl with the tip of her blade. The gnarl howled and twisted away, pulling Saga's sword from her hand. It galloped across the clearing and with a single bound, it leapt to the top of the quinine tree. Hanging from the topmost branch by its long tail and one leg, it used its three free limbs to yank the sword free from its back. "BAD APES! YOU DIE NOW!" it shrieked. By now, they had managed to gather into a single group and were all armed and ready to face the creature's next attack.
"Agro little shit isn't it?" asked Bob, using the khukuri to tear a piece of fabric from his shirt, which he then handed to Chrono. She accepted it and tied it around the deep cut on her arm where the gnarl's tongue had caught her.
"Yep, real nasty piece of work isn't it?"
"But we should be ok now" said Gorgeous Rose. "I mean there's only one and it may be tough but it can't attack us all at once". Then they heard the creature laugh.
"One? Apes dumb! I am just one of many! I show!" It began rocking slowly on the branch it was hanging from, loosening its jaw as it did so. Then without warning, it shrieked. If there had been any glass in the area, it would have shattered. As it was though, it was enough to cripple the ears of the group that were facing it. The shriek seemed to go on for hours until it came to an abrupt halt. A few seconds pass and then another shriek. Louder. From all sides. The shriek of thousands of gnarls. "See dumb apes? See what comes now? Brothers and sisters! Mummy and Daddy! Aunties and Uncles and distant relations! And they all hungry! All hungry for ape-flesh!"
"Oh shit" said Peorth. "Bob, do you have a word for a moment like this? Something like FUBAR but meaning everything has gone wrong at once?"
"Aye. I think my brother would call this a clusterfuck!"
"Yep, that sounds about right". She turned to World of Elegance. "Got a plan?"
"Er? Not get eaten?"
"I meant other than that?"
"Well" said Chrono, "if we all attack it at once then we might be able to overwhelm it or at least distract it. While this is going on, one of us sneaks around and steals some bark and then as Bob said, we leg-it one before the rest show up. First though, we need some bait". They all turned to look at Bob.
"Oh man, why me?"
"YOU HO! MISTER EARLY BIRD!" Bob shouted at the gnarl as it hissed down from its seat. "YOU WANT FOOD? WHY DON'T YOU TRY AND EAT ME?" The gnarl snarled as Bob started a silly dance. "COME ON! I'M DELISHOUS! COME ON DOWN AND EAT ME!" The creature gave what could only be described as a grin.
"Stupid ape! Me will eat!" it jabbered and with a gurgling roar, it leapt from the tree, aiming straight for Bob. However, before it reached him, he had already turned on his heal and was hightailing it back towards the jungle. The creature landed and galloped after him, snarling as it came. However, a they reached the treeline, Chrono sprinted forward and swung her poleaxe, aiming for the gnarl's head. The creature dodged aside and leapt for her, only to be met by Peorth's twin hammers. It dodged, hiss and backed away only to be hit full in the face by a stick swung by World of Elegance. It snarled and snapped at her, missing her by inches and then scythed at Gorgeous Rose with its tongue. She backpedalled rapidly, swinging her own stick. Bob sliced at the monster and missed, then reared back and sliced again. This time though, the blade caught and with a massive snarl, the blade severed the creature's left arm. It shrieked and leapt backward, trying to put some distance between itself and its attackers. "STUPID APES!" it shouted and bared its teeth. "YOU HURT ME! HURT BAD! YOU SUFFER! YOU SUFFER BAD!" and to their surprise it rose up on its hind legs again. It began to gurgle and his and then with a horrifying shriek, it pulled on a strand of timber that was appeared to be growing from the severed stump. And then to their horror, it pulled a new arm out from inside its body. And it grew. And grew. And grew. In just a few seconds, it had gone from three foot tall to nearly ten foot.
"Ah" said Bob. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that". The creature turned its massive sinewy body towards them and growled.
"NOW APES WILL PAY!" it rumbled.
"Yah, we'll be leaving now!" said Eir.
"Yep" said Saga, waving the piece of bark they had just managed to retrieve while the gnarl had been fighting the others. The creature gave them a dumb look. It turned to look at the tree and saw the deep gash that they had carved into its tree. Then it turned back.
"You. Touched. Tree".
"Uh-oh" said Skuld.
"You touched my tree. How dare you touch my tree! Stupid apes! NOW YOU ALL DIE!" The creature roared; a blood curdling roar that would drive any normal person insane. And to make matters worse, the call was then taken up from all sides, indicating that they were about to be eaten.
"You know that second part of the plan?" said Noble Scarlet.
"Yeah?" said Bob. "You mean that bit where we run for our lives?"
"Yeah, that one. Shall we do that now?"
"Sounds good to me" said Peorth. "Bob?" She turned when he didn't answer and realised that he was already running for the trees, making swastika shapes with his arms and legs as he went . "Well? Shall we follow him?"
"Sounds good". They ran off screaming.
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They emerged from the trees by the river, breathless, having been running the entire ten miles from the clearing to the boat. It was fairly likely that they had lost the gnarls after they had left their territory but it was safer to be keep going just to be sure. The boat master looked up from picking his nose and gave them a disinterested look. He said something in ribeirinho.
"What he say?" Bob asked between breaths.
"He said; you're late, why you take so long?"
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Lind had fallen asleep sat beside Jago's bed, her head resting gently on his chest. Belldandy and Hild had left them in peace. They had done all they could to supress Jago's illness but Hild didn't have the type of magic to remove it from Lamb and even Belldandy couldn't slow it for long. In fact, the reason had fallen asleep was she had given over most of her power to Bell but it hadn't helped for long. All they could do now is wait. As for Jago himself, he had since slipped into a coma, as had Lamb, with Damascus not much better. The last thing she had said before slipping under was simple:
"Master says to tell Hild that if we die then he'll be back to get her". Lind had given her a smile but since then, they had all gone under. All that Lind could do now was wait. And hope. Keiichi came bustling into living room, carrying a mug of tea each for Belldandy and Hild.
"How's he doing?" he asked.
"Not great" said Hild. "Maybe an hour at best". Keiichi shook his head.
"What are we going to do? I mean, if Jago and the angels do die?"
"Well one of us is going to have to call his next of kin. Plus, if Lamb dies then we are going to have to contact the Almighty and let him know that the Archs are dead".
"So who's going to make the call then?" Keiichi asked.
"I suppose that I had better do that" said Belldandy.
"No. I'll do it". Lind had emerged from the bedroom, her face still stained with tears.
"You mean he's…?" Lind shook her head.
"No, not yet" she said. "But I don't think he has long. Besides, he is my responsibility, so I will be the one to phone the Almighty".
"I suppose you're right" said Belldandy. "If you thin-" but she was interrupted by the sound of a massive, turbocharged diesel engine. A Unimog to be precise. In unison, they raced outside, just as Jago's truck pulled into the yard. Bob leapt down from the cab while the truck was still moving and raced over to meet them.
"Have you got it? The cure?" Lind asked desperately. Bob held out the vial that Urd had brewed on the flight back.
"Here, take it!" he said. She gave him the briefest of smiles, took the vial and ran back towards the cottage. Belldandy smiled at Bob.
"You got it then?"
"Yeah" he said. "Now though, I need a drink. Something at least fourty per cent alcohol".
"Aren't you a bit young to be drinking?"
"Yeah but it has been one Hell of a day".
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Lind uncorked the vial and poured the contents into her mouth. She then leaned forward and then administered it to Jago mouth to mouth. Then all she could do was sit back and wait. She did. Nothing happened. For nearly an hour, she sat but nothing happened. Belldandy entered the room.
"Anything?" she asked. Lind shook her head.
"No".
"I should warn you, I just got some information from Hild".
"What?"
"First, you have to promise that you won't try to kill her".
"Ok. I promise".
"Ok, Hild said that… that the medicine never had a better than fifty per cent chance of working". Lind nodded. She stood. She turned and left the room. They were all waiting in the living room.
"Well?" asked Urd. Lind ignored her and crossed the room to Hild.
"I promised that I wouldn't kill you" she said quietly. She curled her hand into a fist. "I can't keep that promise". She punched Lind. Hard. The demon shot backward through the solid granite wall and slammed into the temple building. "You sent them to collect medicine that only had once chance in two to save my Jago" she said, cracking her knuckles.
"It was better than nothing" said Hild sympathetically.
"True. But I am still going to kill you Hild". She raised her fist again.
"No Lind! Stop!" called Belldandy.
"Sorry. It's too late now" said Lind and she swung. Then she stopped. Or rather, something forced her to stop. She turned, fighting mad and looked straight into the gaunt but smiling face of her lover.
"Oh come now, ye of little faith!"
"Jago!" she said and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. "I thought you were dead!"
"What? Me? NAH! I had me fingers crossed!"
*1 This is not strictly true. Quinine, while not as effective and with more side-effects compared to modern drugs, is still used to treat malaria in severe cases where the parasite is resistant to other drugs or in impoverished areas, due to its low cost. It is the only anti-malarial considered safe to give to pregnant women.