The Lesser One Arc 2 Chapter 15: The Office

The Office

Sebastian leads me to a corner room with a conference table in its center. Two walls are filled by windows.

“Hell is a lot more, um, filled with concrete than I imagined.”

“This is a piece of Lawhell.” Sebastian walks up to a projector and turns it on. “If you want a traditional fire and brimstone locale, go to Firehell. I trust you won’t ever do such a stupid thing, however.”

The projector even comes with that “clean filter” sign when it is booting up. Yeah, this is hell all right.

Sebastian checks his watch—which I can see is a very nice Rolex. “We’re early.”

“For what?” I sit down in one of the swivel seats.

Sebastian shakes his head.

“What, did I do something wrong?”

He points to the seat at the top, where the CEO would sit. Or so I presume.

“Um, okay.” I stand up and sit where Sebastian is pointing. The chair is of markedly better quality. “What’s up? Why am I here?”

“You have been here in your dreams.” Sebastian walks to a podium with a computer. He types a few things in and the projector displays a shared screen.

“Hellsoft Brimstone?” I raise an eyebrow. “You guys have your own OS?”

“It runs on Linux.” Sebastian clicks a few more things and a chart appears on the screen. “I may as well fill you in as to your finances before we commence the meeting. It will do you well to know what we, your employees, can and cannot do.”

“You’re my employees?”

“Did you think we were working for you for free?”

“Then … How am I paying you?”

“You may ask our accountant that when you get the chance. In essence about fifty percent of money earned by our organization goes to payroll.”

“Um …” I look around the room. “I really don’t feel like I deserve this.”

Sebastian clicks around on the computer display. “It is thanks to that Dr. Barrimore that we are here. Please, don’t denigrate yourself. Sure, we are contracted to work with you, but we wouldn’t have signed on if we thought you were a weak person.”

The door to the conference room opens and Jirgrar enters the room. He is wearing a nice suit, and takes his jacket off before sitting.

“What did I miss?”

“We were merely talking finances.” Sebastian bows.

“Ah, yes. When Kinley gets here he can fill Markus in with more detail.” He looks at me. “You do know why you’re here, right?”

“Antimatter? Dealing with the Silverbones?”

Jirgrar shakes his head. “No. Human resources.”

“Wait, what?” I frown.

“You do realize that we recently signed on a large number of new workers.”

“Uh, right. I kind of thought you guys were handling it.”

“These are S-class beings, Markus. We are having a lot of difficulty.”

There is a knock at the door.

Jirgrar turns to it. “Come in.”

Two individuals walk in. One is a female devil wearing a nice black suit. The other is a walking tree. I know from Monster Taxonomy that it is a dryad.

The devil bows. “Angic. Director of HR.”

The dryad folds her leafy arms. “HR, this, accountants that. When will you people actually do something worthwhile?” She sits at the end of the table.

Sebastian purses his lips. “We are devils from Lawhell. This is simply how we operate.”

I look at the dryad. “Um, what alignment are you guys?”

The dryad scoffs. “Chaotic good.”

“Oh.” I look at Jirgrar.

He sighs. “And now you know why we called you here. We need to decide on policy regarding the merging of two portals of opposing alignment.” He pauses. “And we can deal with the Silverbones and your antimatter thing afterwards.”

I look at the dryad. “What’s your name?”

“Marphet.” She clearly does not want to be here.

“Do not underestimate her.” Sebastian plugs something into the wall. “She is an S-class being. She could probably kill us all in an instant if she so desired.”

“I’m starting to think about it.” Marphet grimaces. “You devils are too damn stuffy.”

“We’re evil, ma’am.” Sebastian looks a bit plussed.

“That’s not it.” Marphet kicks up her leafy feet.

Sebastian is clearly trying not to chew her out. He rubs his temples. “Feet, ma’am.”

Marphet doesn’t move. “Try me.”

Sebastian sighs, looking at me as if to say please help.

I look at Marphet. “First off. How many of you are there? And are you contracted to me like my devils?”

Angie clears her throat. “You see, I’ve been trying to figure that out. But they have no documentation! No paperwork at all! I tried manually counting them but so many of them are amorphous that my counts were all out of whack!”

Marphet has a smug look on her face. She then winks at me. “Look, Markus. We’re here because of the Bone of Wisdom.”

“That’s the bone sword I used, right?”

“Exactly. You are our prophesied leader. One who will bring great good to the world.”

“I was wondering.” I folded my hands on the table. “Why were you guys attacking Earth? Why do all the portals kill people even if the beings inside are chaotic good in alignment?”

“Eh?” Marphet’s leafy appendages rustle. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you before, but we’re not responsible for anything we do while under the influence of the Fourth Law.”

“Fourth Law?”

Marphet shrugs, and then looks at Sebastian. “Hey, lackey. You look like you’re ready to explode. Why don’t we get started with this meeting so I can explain why I’m here.” She looks at me. “The Fourth Law is a magical mandate that forces all summoned beings to destroy the planes they teleport to. We’re not in control of ourselves when we’re under the influence.” She looks back at Sebastian. “Is that enough?”

Sebastian sighs, and then clicks on a PowerPoint. “We’re here today to brief Mr. Red about the operations of our business and the integration efforts between the two groups of portal beings under his command.” He clicks a slide. It’s full of text and a few infographics.

Marphet leans back in her chair, clearly not paying attention.

Sebastian reads off the slides. “First. The new portal beings who have recently come under Mr. Red’s control are of a totally opposite alignment than us devils. This has caused a lot of trouble within our operations. We are searching for a solution that will suit both camps, as we are united under the command of Mr. Red. Our financial operations are going as expected, but it is getting more and more expensive to host the Wales Portal beings.”

I sit up straight. “I have an idea.”

Sebastian looks at me. “Yes?”

“How about we just let all the Wales Portal beings into the wild and let them do their thing? Like, be superheroes or something. Join adventuring teams. Work in jobs where they get paid for what they do so that they can support themselves?”

Sebastian looks visibly concerned. “You would let your employees work without management?”

Marphet chuckles. “Sounds good to me!”

“I think, instead of trying to clash two opposite alignments, we just let them do their thing. Chaotic good creatures will work best without direct supervision.”

Sebastian rubs his temples again. “Master, I understand the reasoning, but …”

“Look.” I shrug. “The two portals are incompatible. The best thing to do would just be to live and let live.”

Sebastian sighs. “I suppose this is why we follow you. All right. Angic?”

“I’ll get the paperwork filed.” Angic is clearly nonplussed. “I also think that we should assign a being from the Wales Portal to Markus, in the same capacity as Aahlia.”

I pause for a second. Right. Aahlia is Sebastian’s real name.

Marphet raises her hand. “Oh! I have the perfect person for the job!”

Angic looks like she’s trying very hard to look professional. “And they would be?”

“An elf named Chris. She’s a young and feisty one but she’ll be able to protect Markus anywhere he goes.”

I clap my hands. “Now that that’s settled.” I look at Marphet. “Tell me more. I want to know why portal beings attack Earth and kill people.”

Marphet frowns. “Eh? I have no idea. The Fourth Law is as mysterious as the portals themselves.”

I sigh.

Sebastian clicks the slide. “Next on the agenda. The negotiations with the Dark Silverbones.”

I clap my hands together. “Finally!”

“We have agents who have been surveilling the Dark Silverbones. They are indeed a powerful organization.”

Jirgrar takes out a stack of papers and straightens them on the table. “I believe that your plan is flawed in several ways.” He takes out a sheet. “First off. There is no guarantee that all the Dark Silverbones will be in the same place at the same time.” He passes copies of another sheet around the table. “Second. Some of the Dark Silverbones have teleportation powers. Thus, if they were to be faced with an antimatter explosion, there is a possibility that they could teleport away. Third. It will be difficult to maintain a proxy of you for the trade with enough distance to avoid being caught in the explosion. Any questions?”

I bite my lip. “Then is the plan canceled?”

“Unless you can find a better way to implement it.”

Marphet raises an eyebrow. “I believe I can fix one of those problems. I can call up a few other beings who can get the Silverbones in the same place. As long as you time the explosion right, you’ll be in the clear.”

I sit back in my chair. “Still. It’s a long shot, isn’t it?”

The room is silent.

“We can only try.” Sebastian turns off the projector. “In the end, we may have to declare all out war with them.”

Marphet sits up and leaves her seat. “Well then. If that’s everything, I’ll go and tell my compatriots the news.” She exits the room.

I look at Jirgrar, who is picking his nails with a pen. He looks up at me with a raised eyebrow. “You could just swallow your pride and join them.”

“Out of the question.”

“We may be able to get them all in the same place if you pretend to join them and figure out a way to get them there.”

“Marphet said—”

Jirgrar cuts me off. “She may not be able to. We don’t know. It will be better to have several ways to pull this off.”

I frown and think for a moment. “Okay. I’ll talk to Mandrake about this and if he gives his OK then I’ll go forward with the plan.”

There is a knock at the door.

Jirgrar turns to it. “Come in.”

A strikingly beautiful elf woman walks into the room. Her hair is pure white, and her eyes are purple. Her nose is upturned slightly in an elfish way and her ears poke out from her head. She is wearing traditional clothing made of light cloth, as well as several pieces of leather armor.

Sebastian looks at her and frowns. “Chris, I presume?”

Chris flips her hair. “Of course.”

Sebastian sighs. “Please, choose a more appropriate outfit before you begin your assignment. You will stand out like a sore thumb with that garb.”

Chris’s gaze is icy. Her face is almost expressionless, showing only a bit of intelligent observation. Her eyes dig deep into my soul. “If you say so.”

Sebastian grimaces. “I would not go so far as to dictate a woman’s fashion, but please, choose something inconspicuous.”

Chris snaps her fingers and her outfit changes instantly. She is now wearing normal clothing—I can’t really tell you exactly what, but it’s pretty and it doesn’t stand out. I’m a fashion-less boy, after all. She surveys me with her cold eyes. “You are the one who holds the Bone of Wisdom. Thus, I must obey your commands.”

I extend my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Chris stares at my hand. Seeming to realize something, she shakes it after an awkward ten seconds. Her hand is cold.

 

The Lesser One Arc 2 Chapter 14: Antimatter

 

Antimatter?

The mission to create antimatter is still on, but for a totally different reason. It takes me two days to be sure that this is the path I want to take. I’m still working in the meantime, but I’m only putting in what is necessary.

Occasionally I think about Alice, but her situation is number two in my priorities. Keeping my family from being killed is a more important mission than helping a girl recover from a magic-induced coma.

It’s going to be difficult, but the plan involves creating a double of me and anyone else who would be part of the deal. I have been doubled before, when infiltrating the mafia base, but this time the distance between me and the apparition will be hundreds of miles. I need to figure out how that will work.

First off, the place where I will develop the antimatter. Rezolan and Jirgrar’s boat plan should work for the development process. However, the detonation is another thing. I need to get the Darks to a place where they’ll be together but also where I can create a huge explosion without harming anyone else. The ocean boat plan may work, but there’s no way that I can think of to gather all thirteen Darks in the same place that way.

I am sitting in my Esmex apartment with Rezolan and Elnor. Elnor is describing the science behind a gravity vacuum.

“I think I get it,” I say. “Do you think we’ll be able to combine my anima fluid with the vacuum in the way Rezolan proposes?”

Elnor seems to think for a minute. “I don’t know,” she says. “Honestly, nothing like this has ever been done before.”

“I know that,” I say. “What I’m asking is: can we do it?”

“I told you before,” says Rezolan. “With my current knowledge, I think we have a ten percent chance of dying in an antifireball.”

“You said it was five percent before,” I say.

Rezolan scratches the back of his head. “Well, er, I’ve reevaluated.”

I sigh. “We have no choice in the matter either way. I’ll take a week off from work so that we can head to the middle of the Atlantic to do our experiment.”

“I think it would be best if it were just us three,” says Rezolan. “In the off chance that it does go bad, the fewer casualties, the better.”

“I understand. Can we depart tomorrow?”

Rezolan stands up. “Even better. The boat is ready for us now.”

“Let me explain to my boss,” I say. I call up Crayton and wait a moment before be answers.

“Yes?” he says.

“I’m going to have to take a week off,” I say.

“Go ahead,” says Crayton. “You’ve been logging great progress. You deserve some time off.” He hangs up.

Well, that was easy. I turn to Rezolan. “Let’s get started, then.”

We leave the apartment and take the elevator to the first floor.

Esla is leaning against the wall again, her arms crossed. “I heard you’re going out to sea to perform your experiment,” she says.

I shake my head. “You don’t want to come. There’s a very real chance that you’ll go up in a ball of high energy physics.”

Esla frowns. “I’m coming. I don’t care if I die. I have to be there.”

I sigh. “Okay. You can come. Just, don’t blame me when you’re reduced to radioactive goo.”

Esla steps away. “You said there’s only a small percent of a chance, right?”

“About twenty percent,” says Rezolan.

“Wait—” I say.

Rezolan shakes his head. “I’ve reevaluated,” he says.

I bite my lip. “Okay. I trust you.” I turn to Esla. “You heard him.”

“I’m coming,” says Esla. “And that’s final.”

I sigh. “You can come.”

“Great,” says Esla. “Where are we boarding the ship?”

“There’s a port along the Thames where our ship is anchored,” says Rezolan.

We leave the Esmex building as a group. Sebastian is waiting for us with the limo.

“Sir,” he says. “I won’t be able to come with you along this voyage, but I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thanks,” I say, getting into the vehicle.

We drive to a riverfront port, where a medium-sized scientific vessel is tied up. After getting out of the limo, I survey the ship.

“It’s in worse condition that I thought it would be,” I say.

“It may not look great,” says Rezolan, “But it comes equipped with a laboratory and is, in fact, very sturdy.”

Rezolan, Elnor, Esla, and I climb aboard the ship. We cast off and float down the Thames towards the ocean.

When we are in open waters, we fire up the engines and start heading for the Atlantic. We need to be in a location that is far from any shipping lanes in order to try our experiment.

It takes two days for us to get to a lonely spot in the North Atlantic. We’ve made sure there are no ships within fifty miles, and though there is a possibility of government stealth subs, that possibility is low due to the fact that these waters are not strategically important.

Elnor shows me the gravity vacuum box. It’s about the size of a deep sea probe, and fits in the same space that was designed for it. We drag it out and place it on the deck.

Elnor kneels beside the box. “Mr. Red,” she says. “When I tell you to go, begin filling the container with your anima fluid.”

I kneel beside Elnor. My blood is pumping and I am shivering.

A bright light comes out of Elnor’s hand. The waters around the ship bowl as if we’re at the bottom of a sink. I can feel my hairs stand on end. At least two dozen fish—albacore—float out of the water, their fins flapping.

“Now!” says Elnor.

I fill the container with my anima fluid. Then, I switch gears and produce antimatter. It’s too easy. Just like that, it’s over. The box contains a small sphere of rotating, pulsing black energy. Elnor carefully messes with a couple of dials and then the machine stabilizes.

I look at the product of my spirit. If this stuff were to be released into the world, it would make the Tsar Bomba look like a sparkler.

And that’s what I’m hoping will happen to the members of the Darks.

Esla sighs, sliding down the wall of the lab room. “Seriously,” she says. “That was nerve wracking.”

I can see that even Elnor and Rezolan are sweating.

Elnor wipes her forehead with a fancy handkerchief. “Sir, I believe we have made a major scientific breakthrough.”

“And we’re going to use this to destroy the dark Silverbones.” I shake my head.

Rezolan appears to be deep in thought.

“Is there something wrong?” I place my hand on his shoulder.

Rezolan frowns. “I believe there may be a hole in our plan.”

“You’re telling me now?”

“Yes. I have been thinking. How are we going to kill all of the Dark Silverbones in one shot? If even one of them survives, their wrath would be terrible.”

I feel a bit like an idiot. “Well, um …”

Rezolan sits down on a bench next to the anchor. “This may be our best shot, but it’s not a very good one.”

Esla turns to look over the ocean. “Maybe we should go with what Markus was originally going to do.”

“Wait.” I have struck something. “Instead of doing the trade in a remote real location, how about we do it in a dungeon?”

Rezolan snaps his fingers. “Yes. If we can get them all into the same dungeon at the same time, even if they’re not close to each other, they will all disappear with the dungeon when it collapses.”

“So all we need to do is lure all thirteen of them into the same dungeon at the same time.” I cross my arms. “That, in and of itself, is going to be difficult.”

Rezolan shrugs. “No one ever said it would be easy.”

“I think if we discuss this with Mandrake and the other Brights we can figure out a way to do this.” I look off into the distance at the ocean’s horizon. “Now that we have the antimatter we can get started.”

We pilot the boat back to the shores of England and ditch the craft on a closed-off beach. Two devils are waiting for us and climb aboard to take it who knows where—after all, we may need it again.

We walk to the nearest road where Sebastian picks us up in the limo.

When I get in, I give Sebastian his directions. “Take us to the manor where the Brights are.”

“Of course.” Sebastian starts the limo and begins taking us there. He is following a smartphone’s GPS—a fact that I just now notice. I suppose even devils with supernatural powers still find modern technology convenient. We arrive there in an hour.

I get out of the limo and see no one in the garden. The house looks silent, ghostly almost. I walk up to the door and use the shaped door knocker. It clangs, emptily.

The door opens. Az, the Bright with the power of lanthanum, opens the door. He appears sleep-deprived, with large bags underneath his eyes. “Yes?”

“I’d like to speak with Mandrake.”

Az looks behind himself, into the foyer. “I, ah, I don’t think this is a good time.”

“When will be a good time?”

Az shies away from me. “I don’t know. Here, I’ll contact you when we are, ah, finished with what we’re doing.” He stares at me for a moment.

“Right, my phone number.”

Sebastian bows. “If you will.” He hands Az a business card.

Nice one, my butler! I give him a thumbs-up.

Sebastian bows again.

Az retreats into the manor and closes the door behind himself. I stand there for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

“I mean, I have the antimatter …” I look to Rezolan, who has come with us.

He shakes his head. “We may have to continue with the plan without their involvement.”

“That would be horrible!” I put my fist in my palm. “I mean, ah, I don’t even know where to start.”

Rezolan’s lips curl up. “We have plenty of strategic support on our end. Would you like to see?” He turns from the manor’s door and begins to walk down the manicured garden.

I follow, and Sebastian follows me. A portal opens right in front of Rezolan. He steps into it without hesitation.

Whoa. I stop walking. Sebastian stops beside me.

“Um …”

Sebastian nods once. “It is safe.”

I take a hesitant step towards the portal, and it seems to be made of the same stuff dungeon portals are made of.

“So, is this how you guys are always able to pop into existence whenever I want you to?”

Sebastian looks at me, head tilted. “Yes.”

“Then why couldn’t I see it before?”

“We have allowed this one to stay open for much longer than usual. The portal generally exists for less time than it takes for you to blink.”

“Oh. Is it safe?”

“You have been there before. In your dreams.”

“Ah, yeah.” I remember seeing something like this shimmering portal underneath the mammoth and the golem when I summoned them. I wish I had paid more attention. “Welp.” I stride forward and into the portal.

I stand in the middle of an office building. Cubicles are stacked against each other, filling most of the room. A couple of people, who I can tell are devils, are standing around the water cooler. Others are sitting at their desks, typing. There is a slight drone of conversation. I feel many eyes on me, though I can tell the devils are trying not to let me notice the staring.

“Whoa.” I look around. “This is a lot more …” I pause. “Well, it’s not what I was expecting.”

“No better lawhell has ever been created.” Sebastian’s eyes glint. “In any case, it is time for you to meet the team.”

Web of Power Chapter 1

 

Chapter 1

Look here. I never meant for that to happen. I never meant for my powers to get the better of me. It’s just that, well, it was so strange that I couldn’t.

I was sitting in class one day. It was a Friday, which meant that I was going to be free in a couple of hours. Senior year, last semester. A superhuman was giving a guest lecture in my criminal justice class about apprehension of other superhumans. Bog standard stuff.

The superhuman in question was a local hero who worked with the Antimony, Nebraska hero station. He was wearing his bulletproof vest and had his riot helmet beside him, underneath his arm.

What, did you think superheroes wore stupid costumes that did more to blind the eye than protect their important bits? Of course not. Any sane superperson would put on that bullet proof vest and riot helmet. There’s a reason why public servants have uniforms. I don’t know where you got that idea.

So Hero Jake—Hero being the same as “officer” in this context—pointed his laser pointer towards the PowerPoint slide.

“In case you were wondering, a violation of the Superhuman Code amendment seven does not directly equate to a felony under normal citizen law. If a superperson decides to use their superpower in a non-lethal manner that causes less than two thousand dollars damage, they are prosecuted as a petty criminal under classical law instead of the Superhuman code. Article two states that, if the destruction to property or minor injury was not intended as a part of the superperson’s actions, they will be given a minor fine of approximate value to the property they destroyed and the medical bills of those harmed.” Hero Jake shifted his helmet under his arm. His professional blue vest and blue pants shined a bit as if he was sweaty underneath them. His gun on his hip caught my attention. It was a standard police issue. Not that I knew much about guns, but I always felt uncomfortable knowing that there was one right there and that Hero Jake was trained to use it. He also had a taser on his other hip. In fact, the only way to tell that he was a superperson and not a cop was the fact that he had the emblem.

Hero Jake paused. “Any questions?”

My classmate, Aron, raised his hand.

Hero Jake pointed. “You.”

“How can we join the Hero association?”

“It’s a bit off topic, but I will answer.” Hero Jake crossed his arms. “There is a selection process, just like the ordinary police force. However, with superhumans, there are just too many power variations for there to be a standard protocol. If you want to become a professional hero, your power needs to fit a certain standard. And as only one in thirty people manifest powers before the age of eighteen, not counting irregulars, there is only a small chance you will ever be considered.” He paused, putting his hand to his ear. “No. I hear you. Thanks.” He looked at the classroom. “Looks like I’m needed.” He walked out of the classroom.

My teacher, Mr. Ryan, sighed. “All right, class. Today we’re doing a reading on page …”

I was walking through the hallway when he showed up. Big Bryant. Named so because he was six feet tall and three hundred pounds of Asian muscle. Leader of the local Asian gang. He cornered me.

“Look here, kiddo.” He slammed his palm against the lockers, pinning me. “I know you’ve been skipping your dues.”

“Hey, Bryant. I left the Scars a year ago. We had a deal, remember?”

Yeah, I was once this guy’s second-hand man. We were a team, you know? Before the Scars went sour.

“Yeah, and I’ve decided to change the terms. You’re either with us for tonight’s fun, or we’re going to beat the snot out of you.”

I shrunk away. “Look, I just want to be civil …”

Bryant snorted. “You? Civil?” He laughed. “After what you’ve done, Chen. Really? You expect me to believe that?”

“I went straight.”

“Sure you did. I see it in your eyes. You’re still one of us deep down inside. You either pay us the money you owe us or you earn it with us tonight.”

I looked at Bryant’s new right hand man, Asahi. “Come on man. Reason with him.”

Asahi shook his head. His eyes told me everything.

Bryant grinned. “Tonight, my friend, we have a special person lined up.”

“For what?” I turned away. “To rob a bank or something?”

“No.” Bryant’s grin grew. “We’re going to do something crazy. Defeat the Red Devils.”

“A scrap?” I looked him in the eye. “You know you guys can’t win against them. They have two superhumans.”

“And we have one.” Bryant stepped aside, revealing a thin, emaciated sophomore with large glasses. He might have been Korean. “Meet Rar.”

Rar pushed up his glasses. “I calculate a thirty-five percent chance that Chen will join us.”

I sighed. “I’ll join you. One last time.”

Bryant pulled away. “Great. Be at Bill Park tonight at nine. If you skip on us this time, we’re not going to forgive you.”

When I got home that day I put on my Taekwondo uniform and looked at myself in the mirror. A black belt, yeah, but I really didn’t feel like I deserved it. With what I’d gotten up to before I left the Scars.

I ate dinner with my mom that night and, when it was time, slipped out the window to my room. I landed on the lawn in darkness, with only the street lamps guiding me.

Bill Park was a small grass park with a playground that was less than a mile from where I lived. I had played there as a kid and I knew it really well. When I got there the two sides had already formed up.

Bryant planted his fist in his palm. “Let’s do this. You showed up.”

“I was expecting him not to.” Rar’s glasses glinted in the light from the street lamps. The neighborhood was silent. The distant freeway was the only thing I could hear.

The Red Devils were a Hispanic gang that claimed the turf near ours—or rather, the Scars’. I wasn’t a part of that anymore.

“I forgot to tell you.” Bryant’s eyes gleamed. “Rar here is a speed type. He clocks in as much as a professional when he really gets going. Can throw ten punches in second.”

I knew about the two superhumans across from us. Beard, the guy with the rope arms. And Thomas, a guy who could explode bits of metal. As well as their two superhumans the Red Devils were armed with baseball bats, knives, and lead pipes.

We were armed similarly.

Bryant pointed his classic hockey stick at the Red Devils’ leader, Red Hernandez. “We’ve come prepared.”

“You better have.”

We stared off for a second.

Rar moved first, fast, He zipped into the enemy lines and laid flat a Red Devil with a single punch. The brawl started.

Bryant charged in, full force. He swung his hocket stick in huge arcs, taking down several Red Devils in the space of a few seconds.

We lost two boys when Thomas exploded a coin in between them. They fell to the ground, blood coming out of their ears.

“Go after him.” Bryant stood next to me. He pointed at Thomas.

I approached him, dodging a hit from another Red Devil. I punched that guy in the face, breaking a few of his teeth. Shaking out my hand, I continued to approach Thomas.

Thomas flicked a coin up into the air. The coin zipped towards me.

I deflected it with a swat.

“Nice one.” Thomas flicked two coins into the air. “Now catch.”

I charged him, dodging both coins and tackling him to the ground. I was on top of him. I began to whale on him with my fists, throwing up blood with each hit.

And then the cops illuminated the battleground. The light blinded me for a second.

Thomas took the chance and ran away. Before he got out of range, he tossed another explosive coin towards me. I had no time to dodge. It hit me in the head, causing everything to flash before my eyes. I yelled, screamed, and then my eyes went black.

When I woke up I was strapped to a cot in a hospital. Well, not a hospital. It was too drab for that.

I craned my neck up to see a man in a black suit sitting across from me. He looked up from the newspaper he was reading. “Ah, you’re awake.”

“Ahhh …” I closed my eyes. I opened them again. “What happened?”

“I was told you caused a level two event.”

I had to think to remember what that meant. When it hit me I sat up in shock. “Me? Level two?”

“Indeed.” The man in black folded his newspaper and stood up. He approached me. “You turned two patrol cars into pools of metal and glass. You melted the clothes off of three police officers.”

“Did I—Did I kill anyone?”

“No. You gave them quite a scare, but your powers only seem to affect inorganic material. Shame that the only actual cotton the police officers had was on their badges.” The man in black stood at the edge of my bed. “You have been detained under the Superhuman Convention. Please, do not offer any resistance.”

I let my head fall back down to my pillow. “I won’t.”

“Now I heard you had involvement with a petty gang.”

I turned my head, looking at the wall. “I didn’t. This was the last time I was going to associate with them.”

“Well then. You have two choices. Since you owe the government about twenty thousand dollars in damages under said superhuman convention, you’re going to have to find a way to get those funds.” The man in black walked over to the side of my bed and looked me in the eye. “And I have just the thing for you.” He turned around. “I’ll be leaving now. In a minute, he’ll arrive.”

“Who’s he?”

The man in black left the room, leaving the door to swing shut behind him.

Ten minutes later the door opened and an old man walked through. His hair was totally white and he had a wrinkled complexion. He sat down on a stool next to my bed.

“Chen, I presume?” He chuckled. “Of course. Of course you’re wondering who I am.” He folded his arms. “A little story from an old man. Do you know what I was doing this morning? Watching my favorite TV show. Do you know why I had to leave? Because of you. Because you’re the first atomizer to appear in this country in ten years.”

“Atomizer?” I coughed. “Never heard of it before.”

The old man chuckled. “The name’s Samson. I work for the international hero committee. Small town you live in, eh?”

I shook my head, looking past him. “What’s an atomizer?”

“Someone who can rearrange atoms. Looks like you’re unable to affect organic molecules, but you can affect synthetic things perfectly well.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’ll have a lot of work to do before we settle things here.”

“So I have powers.”

“It amazes me that it is not obvious to you.”

“I know, I understand, but …” I sighed. “Look. I was happy going on my own. Doing things on my own. I don’t want to be involved with this kind of thing.”

“You got no choice, Chen. You either work with me or you serve your time.”

I swallowed. “I’ll work with you.”

“Good choice.” Samson extended his hand. “We start work tomorrow, as soon as you’re recovered.”

“What about school?”

Samson withdrew his hand. “You’ve already got enough credits to graduate.” He got up and walked out of the room.

Tales of Alterra Chapter 6

 

Chapter 6

The hammer smashed into a bedframe and threw splinters everywhere. August ducked underneath a flying piece of shrapnel.

“Ahhhh.” Elyse held her hands to her cheeks. “Who’s going to pay for that?”

“Stop resisting!” Ruby swung her hammer at Penny again.

Penny deflected it with her red sword. “I don’t want to fight you!”

“I worked for two hundred years to be the chosen one!” Ruby slammed her hammer into the floor, creating a massive hole. She ripped her hammer out and swiped at Penny again. “And you just had to come and break it all!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Penny deflected another hit. “I didn’t choose to be the chosen one!”

“So you admit that you are!” Ruby smashed a lantern, sending glass everywhere.

Penny finally made an offensive strike. “No!” She aimed a flurry of blows at Ruby. “I don’t know who I am! I just talked to a fairy and they gave me powers!”

“Powers greater than any other majoshin in history!” Ruby pulled an underhanded strike and tripped Penny.

Penny rolled with great skill and stood up against the wall. “Please.”

Ruby brandished her weapon. At that moment, Denyse slapped her.

Ruby looked stunned, as if she couldn’t process what had just happened. “You …”

Denyse grabbed Ruby by the shirt. “You’re making a fool out of yourself.”

Ruby collapsed. “I … I didn’t want to! I’ve been busting my skirt for centuries! Why does she, a newcomer, get to have the chance to be the chosen one?”

Penny approached Ruby. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I want to help. I don’t want to fight anyone.”

Ruby gritted her teeth. “I don’t want to accept you. Tell me why you should be the chosen one and not me.”

“I don’t want to be the chosen one, whatever that means.”

“And that’s how it should be.” Denyse put her hands on Ruby’s shoulder. “You, of all people, should know the prophecy. Only one who does not want to become the chosen one can hold the mantle.”

“I read it, I know it, but …” Ruby covered her face with her hands. “But I can’t accept it.”

“Can someone tell me what is happening?” Elyse flicked her hand and the shadow of her fire whip retreated from her palm—she had been ready to pull it out at any moment.

Denyse stood up and turned to face her. “Do you know of the ancient prophecy?”

“There are a lot of those.” Elyse crossed her arms. “Which one are we talking about?”

“The prophecy that has been passed down through the majoshin ever since its foundation. That one day a great evil will approach and it will be the job of the chosen one to stop it.”

“You’re kidding me.” Elyse chuckled. “Chosen one? In this day and age? And what great evil are we talking about? I mean, the vampires’ guild is pretty evil.”

“Something far worse than vampire politicians is coming.” Ruby stood up. “The Centrix. I will say no more, but I request your presence tomorrow at dawn at our headquarters.” She narrowed her eyes at August. “Normally men are not allowed there. But since you are the consort of the chosen one, you shall come as well.”

Justle, the dark haired girl, took a gold watch out of her pocket. “This is your signature as a majoshin. Do not lose it.” She handed it to Penny, who took it reverently.

Penny turned it in her hand. “What does it do?”

A small light popped out of the golden watch. It was a fairy, about the size of a butterfly. “Hello! I’m Reya!” It fluttered its golden wings. Even though it was small, it had a solid presence.

August had seen fairies, but never one so full of magical power.

Elyse’s eyes opened wide. “A domestic Afuretus!”

August shot Elyse a glance.

What? Elyse’s mind was full of energy.

Nothing. August turned to Ruby. “Where is this headquarters you speak of?”

“Ask the watch.”

Reya flitted around August’s head. “Ah, a greenblood!” She did a little twirl. “You’re not going to hunt me, are you?”

“Are you a threat?” August raised an eyebrow.

“Only if you want me to be!” Reya flew over to Elyse. “Oh, I know you! You’re that girl who blew up the grand hall with her experiment!”

Elyse gritted her teeth. “Please, don’t bring that up.”

Ruby turned around with a quick motion. “Denyse. Justle. We’re off.”

“You’re just going to leave like that?” Elyse pointed to the destroyed door and then the multiple holes in the wall.

“Just bill it to the majoshin when they ask for payment.” Ruby left the room, followed by Denyse and Justle.

“Well that was exiting.” August examined the damage to the room. “They came, she tried to kill you, and then they left.”

“I think they were nice though.” Elyse picked up a piece of wood that had splintered off the door. She flicked it away. “They obviously knew what they were doing.”

Reya flew circles around Penny. “You’re so young!” She alit on Penny’s head. “Like, ridiculously young!”

“I’m fifteen. I’m not a baby.” Penny stuck her tongue out.

“To the rest of the majoshin you are.” Reya fluttered her wings. “Dear old Ruby is two hundred and fifty two years old.”

“Hundred and …” Elyse’s eyes widened. “Yikes. She a vampire or something?”

August shook his head. “Don’t be impressed by age. Age does not equate to wisdom.”

“How old are you?” Elyse crossed her arms.

“I’d, ah, rather not …” August sighed. “Over a hundred. I do not know exactly how old I am.”

“Darn immortals.” Elyse patted Penny on the head. “You and I are the only ones here who really understand how mortality makes a person feel.”

“Um, since I became a witch, I think I’m immortal too …” Penny made an awkward face. “Sorry.”

Elyse sighed. “Ah. Maybe I should invent an immortality potion and drink it …” She shrugged. “In any case I have a long way to go. I think I’m actually a quarter elf.”

“What in the bahoozes is going on here?” The innkeeper stood in the doorway with a frown on his face.

“Bill it to the majoshin.” Elyse appeared nonchalant. She waved her hand. “They did this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the people who rented this room, so it’s your responsibility.”

Elyse raised both eyebrows. “The majoshin are banked. They have plenty to cover this.”

“How, exactly, do you suppose I submit an invoice to an organization that may or may not exist?”

“Um …” Elyse sighed. “We’re going to their headquarters soon. If you, eh, place your invoice with us …”

The innkeeper grimaced. “Fine. But if I don’t see the money in two days I’ll make sure you pay for all this destruction.” He did an about face and left the hallway.

Elyse smiled, though her eyes didn’t show it. “I think, all things considered, we came out pretty good.”

Koko, the flying rabbit, alit on the window frame. “Ah, Penny. You have done as I asked.”

“I barely did anything.” Penny shook her head.

Reya flew up to face Penny’s eyes. “You did! You fought with grace just like the chosen one should!”

Koko winked and then flew away from the window. “I’ll be betting on you!” His voice disappeared into the night. 

Penny yawned. “I think the bed is still good. I’m going to sleep.”

Elyse sat down on a wooden chair facing a desk. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”

August sat on the floor in a meditative position.

“Greenbloods don’t sleep much, do they?” Elyse leaned on the chair’s back.

August felt a lot of emotion in Elyse’s thoughts, through their soul bond. He pursed his lips as he closed his eyes.

“Meditating is so boring.” Elyse shifted her weight. “I … I don’t …” Her eyes drooped and then she fell asleep.

August was left sitting in a quiet, albeit destroyed, room, where he meditated for the rest of the night.

When dawn came, Reya popped out of the golden watch and swirled around the room. “Come on! It’s time to go!”

Penny woke up with a start. “Ah!” She yelled loudly for a couple of seconds before calming down. “I’m sorry. I saw my parents. They were in great pain.”

“More reason to go ask the majoshin what’s going on.” August stood up. “Let’s go.”

The three of them left the room and passed through the common dining area, where the innkeeper stared at them as they passed. However, they left the inn without incident.

Once on the streets, Reya led them through a series of alleyways until they reached a manhole cover in an uninhabited little bay area. Reya flew down and alit on the manhole cover. The cover shimmered, and then a door rose out of the ground. It was ornate, made of beautiful wood and intricate carvings.

Penny pushed the door open and walked through. “Wha!” Her form disappeared.

Reya flew down after her. “Come on in!” her voice echoed and then disappeared.

August took a deep breath and dove into the doorway.

A slide was underneath him. He slid down into the bowels of the earth, twisting and turning as he descended. The slide was illuminated by magic lighting that strobed past as he slid. He finally landed on a cushion in the middle of a fully inhabited arcade.

The arcade resembled that of a major city. It was three stories tall, with walkways on either side that crisscrossed above. Hundreds of young-looking girls in dresses were walking along the pathways. Almost all of them carried deadly weapons. Bows, swords, staffs, crossbows, guns, and everything else under the sun.

A single girl stood in front of the landing spot, arms crossed. It was Ruby.

“You came.” She turned around. “Follow me.”

August was much taller than most of the girls in the arcade. When he passed, they looked up, some of them pointing, or laughing.

“You are the first male to see this hallway in decades.” Ruby waved, and Denyse and Justle came out of a doorway, flanking her as she walked.

They came to a normal-looking door on the second floor of the arcade walkway. Ruby knocked.

A ghostly image was projected from a crystal on the side of the door. “This is the office of Emeralda Stysh, supreme commander of the majoshin. I am not available at the moment. Please come back at another time.”

The image was of a wise-looking young woman with deep purple eyes. It flicked off after a few seconds, leaving only silence.

Ruby pounded on the door. “Emeralda! Commander! Our guest is here!”

The door opened, and the girl whom August assumed was Emeralda peered out.

“Oh, yes. I was expecting you but not at this exact moment.” She opened the door all the way. “Come in.”

She was wearing a rainbow dress that, despite its garish colors, did not appear tacky. In fact, it suited her very well. Her hair was short, well trimmed, and completely shock white. She went into the office and sat in an oak chair. “Sit, sit.” She tapped at the table.

Penny, August, and Elyse sat down on the three chairs in front of Emeralda’s desk. Ruby, Justle, and Denyse stood at attention against the back wall.

“You’re probably wondering why I called you here.” Emeralda flicked her fingers and Koko, the flying rabbit, rose from underneath the desk. Koko stretched, yawning. “Is it time?”

Elyse made a motion with her fingers. “You have something to pay for that you broke.”

Emeralda sighed. “Yes, I know. Ruby will be disciplined. We tried our best to keep her sane but it appears that her drive got the best of her.” She tapped her fingers against the desk. “In any case, we have a lot to talk about. A whole lot. So please, get comfortable.”

Tales of Alterra Chapter 5

 

Chapter 5

“We need you to figure out what happened.” Elyse pointed at August. “Somehow, our souls got melded when we fought an Anfalus Hypnogogus.”

Dex pursed his lips. “English please.”

“Dangermuff.” August crossed his arms. “We fought a dangermuff and our minds melded.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Mind meld. Quite common.”

“Are you pulling my leg?” Elyse gabbed Dex by the collar. “I’ve never heard of such a thing as this!”

Dex was sweating profusely. “Then you’ve been in the wrong circles for your entire life. On the street, there’s this drug called Miraplax that does this all the time.”

“Drugs? Drugs, I know everything about drugs!”

“You obviously don’t.”

Dex and Elyse stared at each other. Then Elyse let go of Dex’s collar. “Fine. Tell us how to treat it.”

“It will go away in about a decade.”

Elyse slammed her fist onto the table. “You’re kidding.”

“No, no, it’s the truth.”

“And you’re telling me this is common.”

“Yes.” Dex now looked smug. “Though I’ve never seen it happen naturally.”

“Ahhg!” Elyse rubbed her hair with frenetic energy. “I can’t live like this!”

“Get used to it.”

Elyse grabbed August by the collar. “You. What did you do to make our minds meld?”

“I’m not sure myself.” August removed Elyse’s hand with a gentle touch.

Elyse sighed. “Okay. Whatever. It’s not intolerable.”

August brushed his shirt off. “I will do everything I can to help you through this.”

Elyse frowned, looking over at Penny. “I think it’s time for you to explain yourself as well.”

Dex appeared confused. “Wait, she’s not your chaperone?”

Elyse and August both looked at Dex in surprise. Elyse tiled her head. “Chaperone? What do you mean?”

“What, you’re with a majoshin and somehow don’t know it?”

Elyse looked as confused as Dex. “Majoshin? The majoshin? The legendary witches who run the third most powerful guild in the city?”

“The very same.”

“And Penny here is one of them.”

“It’s obvious. Have you never seen a witch of the majoshin before?”

Elyse rubbed her chin. “No, I haven’t.”

Dex sighed. “Well then. I suppose I can’t really do anything to help you if you’re traveling with a witch.”

Elyse rubbed her hair violently again. “Ah!” She turned around. “Let’s get out of here before my head melts off.”

Penny followed Elyse without saying anything. August was left standing near Dex’s desk. “Sorry about her. She has a tendency to make a big deal out of things.”

Dex chuckled. “Take care of her, will you?”

“I will.” August followed Elyse and Penny out of the building. His last sight of Dex was of the man leaning back in his chair, a slight smile on his face.

When they were outside, August stopped Penny. They were in a shadowed alleyway, separated from the noise of the main street. “Penny. What happened in Dunhollow?”

Penny looked away. “I can’t tell you. I promised.”

Elyse knelt, putting her hands on Penny’s shoulders. “We’re not going to hurt you. We promised to stick with you.”

A voice called out from the shadows. “Penny Sharp.” A figure stepped out from between two crates. It was about the size of a cat, had four legs, white fur, and long ears like a rabbit. It floated up on a cushion of light and darted around Penny’s head. Its eyes were deep, deep red. “You have arrived. I have your first mission for you.”

Penny, all of a sudden, appeared much more mature than she should have given her age. Her eyes were deep, filled with wisdom and magic. “Tell me.”

Elyse was about to say something, but August put his hand over her mouth.

“You and your partners must repair the chain of command.” The flying rabbit landed on an exposed pipe. “Tonight you will be visited. Be prepared.” Then the figure shot into the air and disappeared into the sky, leaving behind a trail of stars.

August took his hand off of Elyse’s mouth. Elyse rubbed her chin. “Who was that?”

“Koko.” Penny turned around. “The one who gave me my new powers.”

“A magic rabbit? I have an extensive knowledge of zoology and I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Koko is not a rabbit.”

“Rabbit, big eared rat, whatever. It doesn’t match anything I’ve seen.”

“Koko is not a rat either. He’s a star child.”

Elyse chuckled. “Well, whatever it was, it was special.” She picked up a small amount of glitter that Koko had dropped when he flew away. “I’ll analyze this. Maybe I can even be the discoverer of a new species?”

The artificial sun, which was at around four in the evening, suddenly swept across the dome and disappeared in the space of ten seconds. Stars were now cast upon the underside of the dome and a moon, at about half waxed, appeared.

“Damn clockmaker’s guild.” Elyse took off her sunglasses. “What are they thinking?”

August shrugged.

“Whoa!” Penny’s eyes opened wide. “What just happened?”

Elyse also shrugged. “Politics. The night guilds probably bribed a major seat in the clockmaker’s guild. Oh well. Night suits me better anyways.” She removed her hood, stretching her arms out. “Anyways, I’m tired. Let’s find a place to sleep.”

“But it’s nowhere near night outside!”

Elyse chuckled. “You don’t want to be outside after midnight clockwork time.”

August put his hand on Penny’s shoulder. “Elyse is right. Unless you want to end up a vampire thrull, you need to be inside.”

Penny made a face. “I don’t like that.” She paused. “But it makes sense? I guess.” She sighed. “Let’s go.”

Elyse turned towards the main street. “Great. I know a place that’s cheap and has good service.”

The three of them walked along the main street until they came to a different part of town, one that appeared a bit rougher. Several cats flitted in between pipes and crates. Elyse walked up to a small door and knocked.

The door opened. A man wearing leather clothes leaned out. “Twelve for the night.” He looked between August and Penny. “Make that fourteen.”

“Oh come on.” Elyse made a face. “You’re killing me here.”

The man narrowed his eyes. “Fourteen. Unless you want to spend the night out there?”

Elyse sighed, pulling a purse out from a wormhole. The purse popped into existence with a “floop” sound. Elyse made a frustrated noise and fished out a silver coin and four copper coins, handing them to the man.

The man waved his hand. “Come in. Dinner will cost you extra.”

Elyse grimaced, but followed the man inside.

August and Penny hesitated a moment.

Elyse turned around. “What?”

“This place.” August crossed his arms. “It doesn’t strike me as a reputable establishment.”

“It’s better than being out there.”

August shrugged and followed Elyse in. After a moment’s pause, Penny stepped in as well. The doorman closed the door behind them after looking both ways suspiciously. He locked it twice after closing it.

“What exactly happens out there after midnight?” Penny put her hands on her hips.

“The night guilds do their recruiting.” Elyse sat down at a table.

The room was high-ceilinged and lit with magical lanterns. A pig was roasting on a spit inside of an open fireplace. About a dozen other people, mostly ruffians, sat at tables as they smoked, drank, and gambled.

“She means they suck the blood of innocents and turn them into zombies.” The doorman grinned, showing broken teeth. He bowed a bit. “Always a pleasure to serve a majoshin. It appears you must be relatively new.”

Penny frowned, tilting her head. “I don’t understand. If you know who I am, why did you charge us more?”

“Precisely because of that, missy.” The doorman ran his hand through his greasy hair. “You witches always cause trouble.” He made a pointing motion with his thumb. “You’re in room three.”

Elyse kicked back at the table. “What about food? Is your menu still just roast pig and vegetables?”

“Plus beer, missy.” The doorman went behind the bar and began filling up mugs with beer.

“I don’t drink.” Penny shook her head.

“Miss, you’re not fooling me.” The doorman slid a beer towards her. “It’s the only liquid you’re getting around here.” He made a gesture with his fist. “Unless you want to drink water.” He made a disgusted face.

Elyse crossed her legs. “This is the Capitol. It’s beer or cholera.”

Penny sighed, grabbing the mug as best she could. It wobbled in her hand. She sniffed it, and then made a face. “How do you drink this?”

“Hm.” Elyse tapped her finger on the table. “Your body weight is low, but as a witch I think you should be fine.”

August crossed his arms. “Aren’t you a witch too?”

“There’s a difference between witch and witch.” Elyse shrugged. “I’m just a girl who works with potions. A majoshin is a whole ‘nother category.”

Penny sipped her beer. “It’s not bad. Like liquid bread.”

August took his tankard and drank from it. It wasn’t bad beer. Not good, but palatable enough.

August stood up after finishing his drink. “Penny looks tired. I’ll take her to her room.”

Elyse stood up as well. “And I’m tired too. Let’s go.”

The three of them walked up the stairs and entered room three. There were two beds and a window that overlooked an alleyway.

“Not the best accommodations.” Elyse did a twirl. “But it works.”

Penny held her palms to her ears. “Something. Something is coming.”

An explosion happened on the first floor. People started yelling. A distinctly female voice yelled out: “Where’s the chosen one?”

Elyse put her palm to her face. “Oh no. They’re here. The majoshin.”

“What’s so bad about that?”

The door to the room blasted off of its hinges and collided with the opposite wall. A girl stood in the doorway with her foot held high.

She had bright red hair. She appeared to be about Penny’s age, but her eyes were wizened and did not look like those of a teen. She wore a colorful red and blue dress. Her right hand held a hammer made of pure ice. She pointed it at Penny. “Chosen one. I challenge you to a duel.”

Penny shied away. “I, um …”

A second girl, this one with long black hair, leaned against the doorframe behind the red-haired girl. “Sweetie, just go with it. You can handle her if you trust your instincts.”

“Whose side are you on, Justle?” The red haired girl stamped her foot on the floor. “How can she be the real chosen one?”

“You just called her that.” A blonde girl with short hair walked past the red-haired girl. She wore a plain blue dress and had a huge sword strapped to her back. She extended her hand. “Denyse. Nice to meet you, Penny.”

The red-haired girl muscled Denyse aside and pointed her hammer again at Penny. “Now. Duel me. My name is Ruby Grandsham. Majoshin captain. If you are the chosen one, you will fight me.”

Penny waved her arms. “I don’t know anything about being a chosen one.”

“Are you playing with me?” Ruby’s hair floated up in a halo of energy.

Elyse groaned. “This is going to be so expensive …”

Ruby struck at Penny. The instant before the hammer hit, a red sword manifested in Penny’s hand. With a single strike, Penny deflected the hammer, sending sparks flying.

Denyse whistled, stepping back. August drew his sword.

Justle held out her hand and shook her head at August. August sheathed his sword.

“So you have power, like the prophecy says.” Ruby spun her hammer in her hand. “Let’s see how long that lasts.” She struck again.

Penny deflected it with seeming ease. “I don’t want to fight!”

“But I do.” Ruby swung her hammer in a huge arc, with Penny’s head as the target.

Penny ducked underneath it with surprising agility. She rolled on the floor and popped up again.

“I don’t want trouble!”

“Well, you’ve got it.” Ruby spun her entire body, swinging the hammer at near invisible speeds. “And I’m going to deliver it.”

Tales of Alterra Chapter 4!

 

Chapter 4

“So what about that power you showed us?” August knelt down beside Penny.

Penny shook her head. “I can’t say. I promised that I wouldn’t until … Until I was told it was okay.”

Elyse tugged at August’s sleeve. “Come here.”

August turned to look at Elyse. “I was talking to Penny.”

“Doesn’t matter. You won’t get anything out of her anyways. Come here!”

August sighed and stood up. Elyse led August to the forecastle, where the ship’s captain was standing, watching the horizon with his hands behind his back. His cloak flowed to his knees and rippled with the wind. His hair was white with old age and he had a short, well-trimmed beard.

“That was the third village.” The captain tapped his can against the deck. “I don’t know what’s going on, but something is happening.”

“Were the other two empty? No bodies?” Elyse played with her coat.

“Yes.” The captain turned to look at August and Elyse. “Your names. I did not get them.”

“That’s August,” Elyse pointed at him, “And I’m Elyse. The girl sitting over there is, um, Penny.”

Penny coughed.

The captain rubbed his beard. “Well then. My name is Captain Jacob Yuseph. We’re on the Firebird. Fastest ship in the disk.” He squinted. “Hey, lass. I may have seen you before. Is that just me?”

Elyse tilted her head. “I believe you may be mistaken.”

He’s not. Elyse spoke in August’s head. I’ll tell you everything after we figure out what’s going on with Penny.

Sure thing.

Elyse pushed up her sunglasses. “You’re taking us to the Capital, right?”

“Indeed I am.” Captain Yuseph put his hands behind his back and stood up straight. “We need to report what we’ve seen to the guild council.”

Elyse grimaced. “You do that. In the meantime, do you mind just dropping us off at the dock?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Thank you. I’ll figure out some way to repay you.”

Captain Yuseph shook his head. “No need.” He looked at one of the sailors working on the rigging. “Hey, you lout! You’re going to burn out the supercables like that!” He turned to Elyse. “Sorry. I have things to take care of.” He walked to the lower deck. “Get going! We don’t have all day!”

Elyse looked at August and shrugged. “I guess we should figure out what’s going on with Penny.”

They walked over to where Penny was sitting against the railing. August sat down next to her. “Tell me. What was that power you used in the village?”

Penny looked away. “I was told not to say anything. So I won’t.”

August shook his head. “We won’t pry. All I want to know is what you intend to do from here.”

Elyse tilted her head. “I sense an enormous amount of magicules coming from her. She’s no ordinary teenager.”

Penny grimaced. “What do you know?”

“I know that those were twelve-seventy reflux muskets.”

Penny raised an eyebrow, appearing to take interest. “Really? You know your guns?”

Elyse chuckled. “It seems like you do as well.”

“Penny? Guns?” August frowned in confusion.

Elyse patted Penny on the head. “Good girl. Can you show me a Patterson nine-nine?”

Penny held out her palm. A small yellow portal opened in front of her hand. First came a gun barrel, after which an entire gun flowed smoothly out of the spatial distortion.

“Ah, wow.” Elyse picked up the gun and examined it. Ten seconds later the gun shimmered, twinkled, and disappeared into a wormhole. Elyse had a pensive look on her face. “Interesting. A manifestation of psionic formulation.”

Penny looked far into the distance. “I wonder where my mother is.”

“We’ll find her, for sure.” Elyse scooted over to sit next to Penny. “In any case, I want to know how you know so much about guns.”

“My father was a gunsmith.”

“Ooh, was he famous?”

“Do you know Arling Soother?”

Elyse’s eyes lit up. “Of course I know him! Everyone in the gun world knows him!”

“Well, he’s my uncle.”

“Not your dad?”

Penny shook her head. “My uncle. He was also a gunsmith.”

“So your whole family was involved in that.”

Penny’s eyes appeared sad. “After my father died my mother didn’t want anything to do with guns.” She stood up, brushing off her skirt. “But anyways, I think I have something to do in the Capitol.”

“Tell me.” Elyse remained sitting against the ship’s railing.

Penny kept her hands folded behind her back. “I don’t know. I just know that someone is calling me there.”

August thought for a moment. “We’ll go with you.”

Penny turned around. “Really?”

August nodded. “Yes. Really.”

Elyse frowned. “But first we need to figure out what’s going on between me and him.” She waved her hand at August.

Penny tilted her head. “I’ll go with you. I want to meet whoever it is who knows a lot about this stuff. Maybe he can help me.”

Elyse reached out her hand. “It’s a deal then.”

Penny shook her hand, and then she looked at August. “Thank you, Uncle August.”

August stood up. “No problem. We’ll get you where you need to go.”

The three of them watched the horizon as the Firebird continued on its journey.

“I think you’re probably wondering who I am.” Elyse stared off into the distance.

“Not really.” August didn’t meet her gaze. “All I care about is that we’re on our way to figure out what happened.”

“You really don’t want to know?”

August felt a sudden blast of information transferred between himself and Elyse. “I get it.” He turned to look at her. “But I don’t care about your past. I don’t care about anyone’s past. All that matters to me is how you conduct yourself now.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s a matter of principle.”

Elyse twirled around. “Let me show you something.” She grabbed August and Penny by the arm, dragging them over to where the skysteel engine poked out of the deck. “Look at that. That’s a dispensiary condenser.”

“You invented that?” August touched the machine’s surface.

“I did.” Elyse tapped it with her palm. “And it works like a charm.”

“So, why is it that you don’t want to return to the Capitol?”

Elyse sighed, her eyes showing a bit of sadness. “Look, it wasn’t my fault.”

“No one is saying anything.”

Penny tapped her foot. “Yeah. I don’t think you’re a bad person.”

“It has nothing to do if I’m a bad person or not. It was an accident.”

“And?” August tilted his head.

“And I ended up killing someone.”

August whistled through his teeth. “Manslaughter, then?”

“No. I was never charged in court. But I was exiled from the scientists’ guild.”

“Ah.” August frowned. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Penny nodded in agreement.

“Well, it started when I was doing a demonstration concerning a breakthrough I had made regarding the explication of mana potions … Well, it was a complicated subject that I won’t get into. But Drek, he and his cronies sabotaged the experiment, only they weren’t fully aware of everything my theory was about. So when they sabotage it, they unwittingly, well, they set their fate. When I did the demonstration he kind of disappeared into a wormhole that led to the maze realm. We still don’t know if he’s alive in there or not, but it was enough of a big deal that they exiled me.” Elyse gritted her teeth. “It wasn’t my fault. I proved that over and over again.”

“It sounds like they weren’t being fair.”

“Drek had a lot of connections among the higher-ups in the guild. They did not like me being part of his disappearance.”

Penny crossed her arms. “So it wasn’t fair.”

“Um, no, I guess not.” Elyse turned away. “I guess not.”

“But going back there is painful.” August touched Elyse on the shoulder. “In any case, it wasn’t your faut. And he may even still be alive in the maze realm.”

“Not likely. It’s been two years.” Elyse put her hand on August’s, and then released. She stepped away. Her mood brightened. “I think I may have enough courage to go back. Maybe if I ask nicely they’ll forgive me.”

“First we have to meet that guy you were talking about.”

“Oh, yeah, him.” Elyse’s mood soured again. “Him.”

“You don’t like this guy?”

“Not that I don’t like him, it’s just that, well, he’s strange. That’s all.” Elyse shrugged.

“But you’re still taking us to him.”

“Yeah.”

Penny cupped her hand to her ear. “I hear something.”

Elyse raised an eyebrow. “What do you hear?”

“Pain. Suffering. Someone is yelling.”

Elyse reached into her cloak and brought out a small wand. She waved it in a complicated pattern and a row of glowing signals appeared in front of her, and then slid the wand back into her cloak. Her arms crossed, she examined the read out. “Nothing that I can detect.”

“I can hear it.” Penny gripped her ears. “They’re screaming. In pain. As if their souls are being ripped from their bodies.”

Elyse bit her lip in concentration. “I still don’t know what kind of power you possess. If we figure out more about that, then we can figure out what you’re hearing.”

“It’s gone.”

“Gone?”

Penny shook her head. “I can’t hear them anymore.”

Elyse looked up at the setting sun. “Tell me when the voices return. In any case, it’s going to be a while before we reach the Capitol.”

August, Elyse, and Penny spent the next two days on the Firebird, traveling to the Capitol. When the first signs of it could be seen on the horizon, it appeared as a tall, large dome with spires on every side relative to the cardinal directions. The dome grew taller and taller until it towered over the sky like a mountain. Docks dotted the shell and hundreds of skyships could be seen coming and going. The Firebird got into a lane and headed towards one of the upper docks.

When the ship docked, the trio said their farewells to Captain Yuseph and entered the city proper.

The city was contained entirely underneath the dome. A single tower at the center of the city contained an artificial sun that cast its light onto the ceiling of the dome, tracing a line across it. At the moment of their entry, the “sun” was at about three in the afternoon, even though it had been early morning outside when they arrived.

The streets were filled with mechanical beasts that pulled carriages and cargo. Hundreds of people of all different magical races mingled on the causeway. The buildings on either side of the roads towered over them and cast long shadows. The smell was of harsh smoke and metal.

“This way.” Elyse led August and Penny through the streets, taking them down a little-traveled alleyway. They stopped at the door to a dilapidated building that was embedded into a drooping wall. Elyse knocked on the door.

The door’s viewport opened and a face looked through. “Oh, it’s you.” The viewport closed and August heard the distinct sound of several chains unlocking. Then the door swung open. “Come in.”

“Dex. I need your help.” Elyse stepped into the building.

“Fine, fine.” Dex waved his hand. “Come on. Everyone in.” He was a portly man, wearing an off-white apron. He took a seat behind a desk that was nestled amongst variety of strange, dusty artifacts. Folding his hands, he tilted his hand. “What is it that you need of me?”

Tales of Alterra Chapter 3

 

Chapter 3

August saw black. Everything smelled like dank weed and putrid meat. His side throbbed with pain. The wurm’s gut pulsated around him.

A single bright piece of red fire poked through the wall of flesh. Elyse’s mind merged with August’s and he saw her tear through the wurm’s body. He slopped out onto the ground in a pool of acid and blood. Coughing, he stood up.

“We good?” Elyse flicked her fire lash. “Nomostros Unkin are notoriously quick eaters.”

“Can you stop it with the terminology?” August stood back to back with Elyse.

“What?” Elyse winked. “It’s my thing.” She whipped her lash around and severed the head of a gangler. “Do you know of anyone else who can name monsters off the top of their head?”

A wurm jumped out of the ground. August slashed it clean through with his blade. The skysteel shimmered with glee. “A couple of the higher ups in my guild can.”

“You mean the greenbloods’ guild?” said Elyse. She surveyed the battlefield.

All the monsters were dead, their blood coating the dirt.

“We need to get into the village.” August held his sword in front of his chest, creeping towards the village gate. “And yes. The greenbloods.”

“You’re a rare breed.” Elyse followed close behind August. “Immortal, too, if I recall correctly.”

“At the very least I’m much older than you, missy.”

“What, how old do you think I am?”

August eyed Elyse. “Not more than twenty.”

“Nineteen, actually!” Elyse did a curtsy.

August reached the village gate. It had been battered down by some large monster. The footprints told August it was a troll.

“Nimbus Marlicans.” Elyse knelt down to the prints.

“You can read the footprints?” August leaned around the corner of the palisade and took in what he could see of the village.

“Troll, right?” Elyse stood up, brushing off her skirt. She walked straight into the village.

August held her back. “Wait.” He pulled her back out. “Do you know the first rule of dungeon crawling?”

Elyse tilted her head. “What, there are rules for that?”

“Look, you don’t live for as long as I do without caution. The first rule states that if it’s too quiet, something’s wrong.”

“Quite the specific first rule, then.” Elyse snapped her whip idly.

“You understand its importance quickly when dungeon crawling.” August knelt down and untied his boot.

“What are you doing?” Elyse frowned.

August cranked back his arm and threw the boot into the middle of the town square.

Five arrows flew out of buildings and impaled the boot.

Elyse raised an eyebrow. “Waste of a good boot.”

“Better than us dying.” August took his bow off his back and knocked it. Creeping forward, he entered the village.

Elyse strolled past him with confidence. “What are you waiting for?”

“Stop!” August held out his hand.

It was too late. A troll’s club appeared out of thin air and swept towards Elyse. She ducked, dodging the club by half an inch. The club made a shrieking sound as it whipped through the air.

“Oh, I was wrong! This isn’t a Nimbus Malicans! It’s a Nimbus Invisialis!” Elyse did a cartwheel backwards.

“Hold on!” August sprinted towards the troll. He stabbed it in the stomach.

The troll laughed, grabbing the sword by the blade. Its blue blood seeped out from between its fingers.

“I got you!” Elyse’s whip flew over August’s head and wrapped around the troll’s neck. The troll gripped the lash with its free hand and then disappeared into thin air. August twisted his blade, but it was stuck fast.

The ground a foot from August cratered, sending dust flying up.

August managed to free his blade. “Camouflage.”

“No kidding.” Elyse stationed herself behind August. “The beast could be anywhere.”

August reached into his green sense and expanded his monster vision. He caught the troll’s signature down the street. Apparently whatever damage they had dealt was enough to send it packing.

“Oh no.” August sensed at least thirty ganglers and ten alzoths coming their way. “Quick, into a building.” He pushed Elyse into he nearest doorway, which happened to be the Village Elder’s home. He closed the door and locked it.

Elyse slid down the wall and sighed. “This is not what I was expecting.”

August shook his head. He crept to the nearest window and looked out.

The thirty ganglers were dragging ten or so villagers towards the town square. A portal opened in its center, sending rays of colorful light through the atmosphere.

A chilling exercise in the uncanny valley effect walked out of the portal. The figure was almost human, but enough different to send alarm bells through August’s head.

“False person.” Elyse had crept up near August.

“Not going to call it by its technical name?” August whispered.

“Not now.” Elyse pulled away from the window. “That’s not something to take lightly.” She peeked again through the window. “What are they doing with the villagers?”

The villagers were pressed onto a cart that was pulled through the portal. The false person walked alongside the cart as it disappeared into the portal.

“What are they doing with those people?” Elyse pulled away from the window. “We have to save them.”

August held her back. “And die doing so. False people are not to be trifled with.” August caught sight of a small figure hiding in an alleyway. Penny? He thought.

“Who’s Penny?” Elyse frowned. “Oh, uh, sorry. Not used to this whole mind meld thing.”

“Neither am I.” August stood up. “It should be safe now.”

They both left the house and stepped out onto the street.

“August!” Penny darted out from the alleyway. “You came for me!”

Something about Penny was different, though. She had a certain glow to her that August could not place. It was subtle, but definite.

“We need to get—” August twisted around.

Twenty ganglers walked out of an adjacent house and caught sight of the trio.

Elyse readied her whip.

“Twenty is too many.” August backed away.

“We can take them!” Elyse flicked her lash.

Penny flicked her finger and a bolt of energy flew out of her palm, striking two ganglers and disintegrating them.

“Woah,” said Elyse.

Penny stared at her finger as if transfixed. “It was true.”

“What was true?” August continued backing away from the ganglers.

Penny shook her head.

“Is that power of yours capable of getting us out of here?”

Penny frowned, and then nodded. She flicked her palm and a blinding light appeared.

“Run!”

The three of them ran. They found the town garrison and entered, barricading themselves.

The number of ganglers had increased to forty. Plus, the invisible troll had recovered.

They began beating on the door.

“Do you know what happened to your mom?” August braced the door with his back.

Penny shook her head. “That terrifying man took her.”

“What about your powers?” Elyse crept closer to Penny. “Where did those come from? That was a lot of energy you just casually threw around.”

Penny shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I promised.”

Elyse grabbed Penny by the shoulder. “We need a way out of here.”

The door reverberated as the troll beat it with its club.

“Onto the roof.” August stood up. “If we make it there we may be saved.”

“I sense it too.” Elyse stood up and grabbed Penny, picking her up. “Let’s go!”

August’s green sense had picked up a savior, in the form of a skyship. It was heading straight for the village.

August reached the second floor and pulled open the path to the attic. Just as he did, the door burst open and ganglers flooded into the building.

August hoisted Elyse and Penny upwards, following them a second later. When they were all in the attic he pulled up the stairs and closed the hatch.

“We need a way to get onto the roof.” August looked around the room. It was dusty and filled with old weapons and armor.

Elyse kicked out the only window. She squeezed through the hole and onto the wall, where she had just enough room to reach the roof.

August leaned out and tossed Penny up to Elyse. Elyse caught Penny and pulled her onto the roof. The August followed.

Three flying alzoths targeted the trio on the roof.

Elyse tried bringing one down with her whip, but failed. They moved too fast.

August took his bow and aimed. The arrow flew straight and true, but the alzoth’s thick skin reflected the arrow. It bounced and clattered to the ground.

August and Elyse went back to back.

Penny clapped her hands together and drew a flintlock gun from out of a portal. The gun floated up towards her head and sat above her shoulder. She pulled out five more guns, which formed a circle around her torso. The guns were ornate, formed with gold filigree and ivory-white stocks.

The guns fired all at once and knocked two alzoths out of the sky. The third twirled, dodging.

A single shot from a crossbow went through its head. The skyship had arrived. Its shadow floated over the burning town. It was moving at a tremendous speed, until it tacked and sidled up to the roof of the guard house, stopping right in position.  

A ladder rolled down to the roof from the skyship’s side.

Penny grabbed the ladder first, followed by August and then Elyse. The three of them scaled the ladder until they made it onto the deck of the skyship.

Elyse collapsed against the railing. “Close. Too close.”

“Let’s get out of here!” yelled August.

“No need to tell me,” said the captain. He cupped his hand around his mouth. “Get to! Full power to the engines!”

“Heh.” Elyse looked dead tired. “Never thought my own invention would save my life quite like this.”

“Your invention—” August’s mind was interrupted by thoughts from Elyse. Prototypes. Explosions. Magic and engineering. He cradled his head and knelt onto the deck.

Sorry about that, Elyse said, in his head. A little too quick.

The skyship was now fully on its way.

August gripped the side of his head as a splitting headache ran through it. He understood that Elyse had invented a way to power up the skysteel engines of a skyship, and that this vessel was equipped with such a modification, which was the only reason why they were able to save them.

The headache faded.

Elyse sighed. “Look. I don’t know what happened, but I think I know a guy who can help us.” She did not look happy about it. Her eyes were filled with conflict.

August sat down beside Elyse. “Sure. I’ve never experienced anything like this either.”

“My guy knows everything there is to know about spirits and minds. I think he can help us. “

Penny walked up to August and Elyse. “Thank you. It’s because of you that I’m still alive.”

“What happened to your parents?” asked August.

“They were taken into the portal.” Penny turned away. “And they’re gone.”

“We don’t know that yet.” Elyse stood up. “In the meantime, I can promise you that I’ll get to the bottom of whatever is happening here.”

August remained sitting. “What about your lab, and your research?”

Elyse slapped her forehead with her palm. “No, oh no. Six months of work wasted. That lab will probably never be found.”

“I don’t think we can go back.”

“And I don’t expect to. It’s just, I thought that I was going to make a difference with my invention.”

August, through their soul bond, understood a lot of what Elyse was feeling at that moment. Sadness, frustration, and disappointment. A lot of mixed feelings.

August looked across the horizon. “So where is this guy you know?”

“In the Capitol.”

“Ah, well. That’s not too bad.”

“For me it isn’t.” Elyse frowned. “And I suppose I can tell you why, since we have the time.”