The Archangel Chronicles Part Six: A Hymn to the Devourer

"Then explain it to me. I can see the display. The Archangel has collided with a Snark. That must be what knocked out communication with Captain Rhodes. But there’s something else, isn’t there? Something that has you babbling like a child savant about the ship being confused. Which ship? The Stone? The Archangel?"

"Both," Marin snapped back. "And the Stone is terrified. I don’t know how much help it will be in a fight unless I can get it under control. It does not know me well, I’m not its father."

"Marin. I need your help. I can’t fix this unless you can tell me what is happening."

"There’s nothing you can do, Daniel. Unless you know how to slay the Devourer."

"The Devourer . . ." Marin was lost, he’d snapped and was living in a child’s nightmare, that was the only explanation. Something in the ship had unhinged him. That water was Daniel’s guess. It would be up to him to determine how the Stone operated and get everyone home; he’d probably have to bring Margrace, Ully, and Orin to the Stone, if they even still lived, because the Archangel was so badly damaged it would probably not survive re-entry. Marin was going to be no help at all, and Siouean even less.

But then Marin fell silent, and sat suddenly, clutching his head as he muttered, "I’m sorry, Daniel. I know this makes no sense. I have so many voices in my head-the voice of the ship-the silent voice of the Archangel-and I can hear through them the scream of the Drorsa and nothing can be done to silence it."

Daniel knelt beside Marin, leaned in to grab him by the shoulder as he shuddered. "Tell me."

"An old Ghiril word. It means Devourer. They eat souls. They eat minds, then flesh."

Daniel shook his head. "The Ghiril? I’m not being dense, Marin, I just-"

"I know. I did not have that name until I entered this ship. The Ghiril built this-they built Patmos too. They built the knot of the Deepshadow drive that Orin and I built the Archangel around."

"So, we do know . . . ?"

"We know. I know. I think. The water. They stored memories there, codes that allow me to communicate with the Stone. But it’s not made for humans, our minds are different. The Ghiril, they were made of stone, clay, and flesh. They had channels running through their brains that took in the water, ours don’t. It’s overwhelming. I hoped I could absorb it with time, that it would get easier. But it’s not happening."

"All right, then. I’ll help you. We need to get to the Archangel, extricate our crew members, and bring them here. It’s a simple mission, really. If I can do it, do you think you can pilot the Stone down to Patmos?"

"I can . . . I think."

"Good. We’ll leave the Drorsa-Devourer-whatever it is, we’ll leave it on the Archangel, let it burn up with the ship when its orbit decays."

"I don’t know if it can be destroyed that easily."

"Then we’ll hunt it down upon landing, we’ll kill it there. There must be a way. It’s what I was trained to do, remember?"

"Before you can bring the others back, you’ll have to fight it off of them. It may already have them."

"Then I’ll do it."

"If you go over there, you’ll just give it another victim. Your weapons won’t kill it. It’s not a creature in the same way we are."

"Then what, Marin? What do we do?"

Marin stood up again, replaced his hands on the glass. "Let me see what we can do."