Sequel: Phosgene ›
Status: ***This is fiction. All characters, including the narrator, are fictional characters. Any resemblance between any characters, mountains, or demons, and any real people, living or deceased, is entirely COINCIDENTAL (thank you, Alanis). ***
Katie and the Ice Cream
Don't forget the Evening Star!
The Tarvern was full of hooded figures. They all wore black. As Phosgene entered, a spell of silence broke over the room. For a moment, everyone stopped drinking and watched as she entered. She could feel thirty pairs of eyes on her.
“Oi, Luc!” One of the figures cried. “We got ourselves another wench! This one’s a looker! Lemme buy her a drink!”
Phosgene looked at the bartender. Lucifer stood, behind a wooden bar, polishing glasses. He raised one eyebrow.
“What can I get you?”
“Food!” Phosgene cried. She was hungry.
The shadowy figures began chuckling quietly.
“You may have already noticed,” Lucifer explained rather patiently, “but there isn’t much food in this country. Nothing really grows here. There’s not much I can offer you in the way of food. But if its calories you are after, ethanol is probably your best bet. What can I get you? Shot of vodka to warm you up?”
“I’ll have a cider,” she decided.
The hooded figures began laughing again.
“Thur,” said Lucifer sarcastically, “do me a favour. Cross Mount Katie, find an apple tree, pick a crate of apples and bring them back here so we can crush them up and ferment the juice. Phosgene wants cider.”
The shadowy figures whooped and cheered. Phosgene felt a blush creep over her face.
“We have vodka, gin and whiskey,” Lucifer explained. “Like I said, nothing grows here. We don’t have grapes to make wine. We don’t have fields of barley. We make ethanol from ethylene.”
With that, he filled a large glass with ice and began pouring vodka into it. He placed the glass on the bar, adding tiny squeeze of lemon juice to the top.
Not wanting to appear rude, Phosgene approached the bar and accepted the glass from Lucifer. She sat down on the stall in front of her drink, next to a very fat figure in a black cloak. The figure turned away so that Phosgene could not see its face, and continued to sip its gin and tonic.
“What is this place?”
Lucifer smiled. “Just another stop along the way, I guess. A place to rest for the night. There’s room at the Inn upstairs. I could get you a nice room with a fireplace. There’s plenty of booze. And coz I like you, I’ll add some lemon juice and thiamine supplements to each drink. I don’t want you to get scurvy or beriberi.”
“How much will I have to pay?” She asked. She couldn’t see any EFPOS terminals at the bar. “I don’t have any gold.”
“Oh,” he said, “we don’t take gold here. Everything is free. You pay in other ways.”
“Lucy-fir!” Slurred the figure to her left. Phosgene was shocked to hear a woman’s voice erupt from inside the heavy cloak. “Nuther drink formeee please!”
Lucifer shook his head. “Oh come on Faith, you’ve had enough for the night. Go to bed”
Phosgene glanced at the figure again. Her breasts were heavy, her tummy large and round. With a shock, she realised that the woman was not fat but pregnant.
“I wanna ‘nuther drink Lucy! Spring ain’t coming any time soon and we all know I killed it already!”
Lucifer sighed and poured Faith another shot of gin.
“You have no one to blame but yourself for what happened to you Faith. Go ahead. Knock yourself out.”
Faith sculled the shot and burst into tears.
“Sorry about her,” Lucifer said. “She’s been like this for seven years. She just sits here, every night, crying and drinking and waiting for spring to come.”
“We’re all waiting for Spring to come!” Cried another voice from behind her. And suddenly, the bar erupted into song:
“The People are waiting for Spring to come;
The frosts to cease, the rivers to run.
We’re all waiting for Dawn to break;
The grass to grow, the wine to make.
We wait for the rise of the Morning Star:
How bright she shines from Heaven afar!
We wait for the rise of the rising sun:
The Glorious Morning, the battle is won!
But don’t forget the Evening Star;
The one who died to make you who you are.
She rose up and was killed by the Night;
Don’t let the darkness consume all her light.
Reborn in the Morning from kingdom afar,
Don’t forget the Evening Star!”
The figures whooped and cheered again. Lucifer grinned.
“Who is the Evening Star?” Phosgene asked.
“Have you forgotten already? Jesus Christ. For someone with a photographic memory, you sure do forget things easily.”
“I never claimed to have a photographic memory!” Phosgene could feel her cheeks burning again.
Faith raised her shot glass at Lucifer. “Gin!”
Lucifer shook his head. “Sorry Faith. I’m cutting you off. I’m cutting you both off. You’re going to leave with Phosgene, first thing tomorrow. She’s going East, across the Ice Cream and Katie. You’re going with her.”
Faith dropped her glass in horror. “I can’t leave this place!”
Faith stared blankly at Phosgene. For the first time, Phosgene looked at her properly. Faith was about thirty years old and heavy-set. Her cloak did little to disguise her curves. Her belly swelled out in front of her. Phosgene estimated she must be at least seven months pregnant. She couldn’t work out what it was about this woman that scared her, but there was something about her face that left her unable to look her in the eye.
“I can’t take a pregnant woman with me across the mountains,” Phosgene tried best to keep her voice calm and even. “She’ll slow me down. And who is going to deliver her baby?”
Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry Phos. But you’re gonna need her. You’re just a little bit too convincible. Faith has got a photographic memory, and you’re going to need it in order to stay on track. Otherwise, you will forget who you are and what you are doing the moment you meet the Ice Monster.”
“Oi, Luc!” One of the figures cried. “We got ourselves another wench! This one’s a looker! Lemme buy her a drink!”
Phosgene looked at the bartender. Lucifer stood, behind a wooden bar, polishing glasses. He raised one eyebrow.
“What can I get you?”
“Food!” Phosgene cried. She was hungry.
The shadowy figures began chuckling quietly.
“You may have already noticed,” Lucifer explained rather patiently, “but there isn’t much food in this country. Nothing really grows here. There’s not much I can offer you in the way of food. But if its calories you are after, ethanol is probably your best bet. What can I get you? Shot of vodka to warm you up?”
“I’ll have a cider,” she decided.
The hooded figures began laughing again.
“Thur,” said Lucifer sarcastically, “do me a favour. Cross Mount Katie, find an apple tree, pick a crate of apples and bring them back here so we can crush them up and ferment the juice. Phosgene wants cider.”
The shadowy figures whooped and cheered. Phosgene felt a blush creep over her face.
“We have vodka, gin and whiskey,” Lucifer explained. “Like I said, nothing grows here. We don’t have grapes to make wine. We don’t have fields of barley. We make ethanol from ethylene.”
With that, he filled a large glass with ice and began pouring vodka into it. He placed the glass on the bar, adding tiny squeeze of lemon juice to the top.
Not wanting to appear rude, Phosgene approached the bar and accepted the glass from Lucifer. She sat down on the stall in front of her drink, next to a very fat figure in a black cloak. The figure turned away so that Phosgene could not see its face, and continued to sip its gin and tonic.
“What is this place?”
Lucifer smiled. “Just another stop along the way, I guess. A place to rest for the night. There’s room at the Inn upstairs. I could get you a nice room with a fireplace. There’s plenty of booze. And coz I like you, I’ll add some lemon juice and thiamine supplements to each drink. I don’t want you to get scurvy or beriberi.”
“How much will I have to pay?” She asked. She couldn’t see any EFPOS terminals at the bar. “I don’t have any gold.”
“Oh,” he said, “we don’t take gold here. Everything is free. You pay in other ways.”
“Lucy-fir!” Slurred the figure to her left. Phosgene was shocked to hear a woman’s voice erupt from inside the heavy cloak. “Nuther drink formeee please!”
Lucifer shook his head. “Oh come on Faith, you’ve had enough for the night. Go to bed”
Phosgene glanced at the figure again. Her breasts were heavy, her tummy large and round. With a shock, she realised that the woman was not fat but pregnant.
“I wanna ‘nuther drink Lucy! Spring ain’t coming any time soon and we all know I killed it already!”
Lucifer sighed and poured Faith another shot of gin.
“You have no one to blame but yourself for what happened to you Faith. Go ahead. Knock yourself out.”
Faith sculled the shot and burst into tears.
“Sorry about her,” Lucifer said. “She’s been like this for seven years. She just sits here, every night, crying and drinking and waiting for spring to come.”
“We’re all waiting for Spring to come!” Cried another voice from behind her. And suddenly, the bar erupted into song:
“The People are waiting for Spring to come;
The frosts to cease, the rivers to run.
We’re all waiting for Dawn to break;
The grass to grow, the wine to make.
We wait for the rise of the Morning Star:
How bright she shines from Heaven afar!
We wait for the rise of the rising sun:
The Glorious Morning, the battle is won!
But don’t forget the Evening Star;
The one who died to make you who you are.
She rose up and was killed by the Night;
Don’t let the darkness consume all her light.
Reborn in the Morning from kingdom afar,
Don’t forget the Evening Star!”
The figures whooped and cheered again. Lucifer grinned.
“Who is the Evening Star?” Phosgene asked.
“Have you forgotten already? Jesus Christ. For someone with a photographic memory, you sure do forget things easily.”
“I never claimed to have a photographic memory!” Phosgene could feel her cheeks burning again.
Faith raised her shot glass at Lucifer. “Gin!”
Lucifer shook his head. “Sorry Faith. I’m cutting you off. I’m cutting you both off. You’re going to leave with Phosgene, first thing tomorrow. She’s going East, across the Ice Cream and Katie. You’re going with her.”
Faith dropped her glass in horror. “I can’t leave this place!”
Faith stared blankly at Phosgene. For the first time, Phosgene looked at her properly. Faith was about thirty years old and heavy-set. Her cloak did little to disguise her curves. Her belly swelled out in front of her. Phosgene estimated she must be at least seven months pregnant. She couldn’t work out what it was about this woman that scared her, but there was something about her face that left her unable to look her in the eye.
“I can’t take a pregnant woman with me across the mountains,” Phosgene tried best to keep her voice calm and even. “She’ll slow me down. And who is going to deliver her baby?”
Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry Phos. But you’re gonna need her. You’re just a little bit too convincible. Faith has got a photographic memory, and you’re going to need it in order to stay on track. Otherwise, you will forget who you are and what you are doing the moment you meet the Ice Monster.”