The God Hunters

by Gordon D Lanyon

  “What the hell Kat, another Lisa? I know Walker killed the original. How many lives does this girl have?” Uneasily, I wondered if Kailex had the power to bring back the dead.

  Kat hissed at me for the distraction. “Lisa lives. Walker failed to kill her back at the complex. The one you killed was merely a simulation, a copy that had no life of its own. Now quiet! We’re in danger!”

  Bren took a step to his right, opening up space for Lisa who moved accommodatingly to her left. She too had a katar and was swinging it with dexterity, though nothing remotely like Kat's ability. Brenal-Tik on the other hand moved his in a slow sinuous pattern, not unlike Kat's. His stance was relaxed and confident. His expertise with the weapon was not in question.

  “Foolishness!” spat Kat. “Your Beast thinks for you now?” She went to take a step back then seemed to realize it would leave Walker vulnerable and stood her ground.

  “My Beast is hungry and the blood of a true Hunter is rare,” Bren snapped, his eyes blackening, pupils dancing with an inner light.

  I could see Kat's jibe about the Beast thinking for him had hit a nerve and made him hesitate, but I could also see the hesitation wouldn't last. What was in front of him was too enticing.

  Then things changed once again. A gate formed behind us and Belle emerged. She moved up, stretching out to rake her front claws down the alley wall before casually sitting down beside me. Suddenly her mouth opened and she let loose a scream of rage that froze my blood and I imagined the blood of every living creature with ears to hear.

  Belle's sudden appearance changed everything because Brenal-Tik immediately stepped back and planted his katar once again. “Ah, Belle,” he said, his voice slightly strained with the effort of pulling back. “It's good to see your master keeps you close. Even the most civilized world has its predators. She shouldn't let you wander like that. You never know when you might be needed.” He gave a short, amused laugh, as if he’d said something witty.

  I noticed that Kat continued to keep her katar at the ready. There would be no more planting its blade in the earth. She was straining to control her own Beast which was fully awake and prowling about angrily.

  “How goes your hunt?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  Bren seemed troubled for a moment like he’d been caught in a lie, but then his face relaxed. “Things have changed. Like you,” he pointed at Walker lying motionless on the ground, “I‘ve sought new alliances. Though it would seem mine have been more productive.” Abruptly, he inhaled, nose flaring. His teeth showed. “I’ve interrupted your feeding. Will you consider sharing?” He moved towards Walker but Kat was there first, sweeping her blade across his chest, sending thin sparks of lightning from his protective vest sparkling into the darkness. With a cry of surprise and anger he jumped back bringing his own katar up in a defensive stance. Lisa, who'd barely avoided a collision with him snarled angrily.

  “You know I don't share,” growled Kat and for a moment I saw her consider a full attack only to decide against it. She'd pushed them back and Walker was now fully behind us. Protected.

  Bren nodded. “I remember. You trained me hard. Perhaps now is the time to ask the question I’ve always wanted answered.” He stopped, a puzzled expression on his face. “During training I was often vulnerable and you did not feed, yet you taught me time and again to recognize opportunity and take it. Why didn't you take what you so clearly wanted?”

  I felt Kat consider her words. “The answer to that is in the first lesson I ever gave you. I fear you‘ve forgotten the most important of all my lessons.” I had the sense she was genuinely sorry.

  Bren nodded, “The Beast must never rule. I remember. Still, you didn’t struggle so against our master's rule. In fact, for some time you were their voice. A voice that brought fear into even a Hunter's heart,” said Bren softly. “You’ve been theirs for a long time. Are you still theirs?”

  Kat growled deep in her throat. “They watch us now. You should speak more carefully!”

  Bren's face turned savage. “I don’t care what they hear. I’m done with them and their stupid Hunts! Fusto and Kailex are unharmed and will remain that way. My situation‘s changed. My enemies are now my allies and I’m no longer a plaything for lesser beings like the Keeper. I‘ve decided I want a life of my own. One without Masters.”

  “And yet you’re here. Was that your decision or were you ordered to come?”

  Bren sniffed. “I’m here because Kailex asked for my help. He thought there was at least a chance you‘d listen to me and he was right. He wants you to see the ridiculousness of your position. You‘re out numbered. You’ll be destroyed if you challenge him further. He doesn’t want that. He hates the GateKeeper as much as you and is looking for allies. Now here’s the really good part. He‘s invented a way to travel to other Earths untouched and unknown by the Council or the Keeper. He's already found one ripe for Hunters like us and wants you to join him! Trade twelve Masters for a life with one who recognizes your strength and would give you power to feed, to love to do whatever your heart asks you to do. Live without a leash!” His voice filled with passion. “Instead of servitude, others will serve you! Leave your chains and join us!”

  Kat's bitter laughter was jarring in juxtaposition to Bren's heart felt emotion. “You‘re dead,” she said between breaths. “I’m speaking with the dead now. You've sentenced yourself to the Vats with a bunch of empty words. You seem to have forgotten that while you’re here, your body lies in a tank where it‘s fed and watered and cared for every minute of the day. All they have to do is press a button and you’re dead. ’Kill the body and the mind dies’. Don’t you remember?”

  Anger darkened Bren's face. “How can you believe I’d forget that?” Incredulity and pain were written in timeless lines across his face. “All these years I've placed you highest in the ranks. You were my teacher! Now it seems you know less than I. Who made you Katal-Tik? You‘re a Tik after all. Who made any of us? Haven’t you wondered? Or are you like all the rest ... too busy being the Master's dog to think beyond the hunt!” His katar moved in a rhythmic dance betraying his agitation. “But I knew! Even before I was sent to this world I knew! Kailex created us! Think on it. They want us to hunt the one man who can save us! His Beast wasn't fashioned in a vat like ours! Untrained, he rules his Beast. And he’s strong! I've felt what he can do and it’s amazing! He’s not like us. He has the power of the Old Ones!” Bren’s voice quieted, became almost reverential. “He can make spirit transfers permanent. Think hard on this. We could live forever, move from body to body as they wear out.” Bren raised his fist and shook it at the sky. “Hear that Keeper, I‘m free of you! You may kill the body you have, but I‘ll live on! I‘ll be a Master with dominion over thousands of thousands! I‘ll feed until my Beast is full!” He lowered his arm and stared back at Kat, his eyes bright and challenging.

  “One last time Katal-Tik, you can have this as well,” he finished, “you need only agree to join us.”

  A vast eagerness filled me only to be washed away just as quickly by a tidal wave of sadness. “I‘ll give my answer to Kailex and only to Kailex,” was all she said.

  Bren nodded. “I know you‘ve tasted my unfortunate ally,” he dipped his head towards Lisa, “so I also know you could find us, but not swiftly enough. We have to leave quickly now. My recent admission is speeding back to HomeWorld. I mustn't be here when it arrives. That's what all this with Kailex was about by the way. Like us, he's just trying to escape. Unfortunately, that will mean the end of this world. Its technology is inadequate for him to properly power his new SHIP and I‘ve been locked out of mine. My Meeta suspects I‘m not the loyal Hunter I was.” He laughed bitterly. “She‘s correct of course. I would have killed her and handed my SHIP over to Kailex if I’d had the chance. That would have saved an entire world but she’s loyal to the Council. Stupid creature. Now this world will end. And she‘ll end with it, for without me she has no guide back. For that I have some regret. We served together fo
r years and I don’t wish her death. Her choice however. Of course, you could hand your SHIP over and save this world, though I think Kailex wishes to try his little experiment. He's a scientist type, wants to see if his idea will work. If it does, there won't be much left of this world when it's over." He gave an expansive gesture. “I hope to hear from you soon.”

  The air thickened once again and the circle in silver re-appeared. Lisa stepped through first. Bragg scampered down and seemed to pause for a moment before exiting through the gate.

  “Ah, really!” exclaimed Bren, with one foot through he turned back. “Bragg has a message for Belle. It appears that he knew her mother. He says she was tasty.” Then he stepped through laughing hugely as the circle winked close behind him.

  A cry beside me spun me around. It was Belle in the middle of a change. I could hear her bones breaking and lengthening. The change was happening fast, too fast! Normally it took her minutes but this time she was doing it in seconds and screaming in pain. I heard her with my ears and with my mind. She didn't seem to care about the pain. She just wanted to kill! Then she was leaping for the gate. She almost made it, but the circle closed and instead she came up hard against the brick of the alleyway wall. Snarling she whipped around searching for something to kill! She focused on me, then Walker and I felt the anger drain from her replaced by pain and sorrow. An image of her mother racing through the woods came to me. She was beautiful and scary; everything Belle admired and loved. With nothing to kill, she scored the pavement with her paws, panting in agitation.

  “This isn't over,” I promised her. “We'll see them again and Bragg will be there. There’ll be a reckoning.”

  Privately, I wondered if that were true. Kat had gone ominously silent. As soon as Bren left, she'd retreated deep inside me. I could feel her restless movement. What was she thinking? Was she still with us? She'd been offered a chance at freedom which she’d admitted she wanted. Maybe that meant more to her than killing Kailex. She was a predator but she wasn’t stupid. Bren had offered her the chance for a life, something she valued highly.

  A life, that might even trump revenge. Kailex had only been one of the twelve. Getting rid of him wouldn't give her any practical reward. I grimaced. Every way I looked at it, a chance for a new life was her most logical choice and that meant a short life for me, if what Bren said was true. She could kill me and keep my body. She’d told me once that killing the host eventually killed the body. I’d figured that's why she’d let me live. I shook my head. Couldn't think about all that right now. Had to get back to Walker! Too much time had already been wasted.

  She was unconscious when I finally got to her, but I sensed still holding onto life. I knelt beside her wondering what to do? Kat wasn’t going to help. We were out of options, save one. Walker might hate me for this, but I needed her. If Bren were to be believed, the world needed her. What were the lives of a few weighed against that? I shook my head. Of course it mattered! You could rationalize anything but what it came down to was that a life taken mattered. It was the reason Kat was so consumed by self-hatred. I fumed. A choice had to be made and there was only one I could see. I knew Walker would hate it and there’d be repercussions. But that would be later, after I’d saved her.

  The bleeding had slowed to a trickle. There was so much blood on the ground I wondered how much could be left inside her. Enough, I thought. She's strong. I gathered myself. There was no way I could wake her and only one way I could communicate with her. I took a measured breath, then pushed hard on our link which although fragile, still remained, a tenuous ethereal line between our three minds. I'd expected resistance but there was none. She was open to me, to Kat, probably to any Hunter. Defenseless. My heart twisted in sympathy.

  Once again I was in a room with a throne. Was I the only one who didn't have one of these? I had to look up to see her. She was distant and indistinct, bent over and looking down as if she were seeing me with difficulty. Her throne was white marble with ruby stones that sparkled in the darkness. She was dressed in a white leather suit but my eye was caught by the red tresses falling off her shoulders. She sat leaning back, slightly slumped as if she were almost done. Around her, around us both, was a rippling darkness that made me uneasy. It seemed to have a life of its own that wanted to catch me up, use me for the energy it so desperately needed. Intuition told me this was her Beast, reduced to this last version of itself, still alive but struggling for life.

  “Can you hear me? Did you hear Bren?” I asked her, raising my voice self-consciously.

  From a long way she answered. “I heard.”

  “Then you know why I'm here.” It wasn't a question. She'd heard so she would know and understand why she had to live. Maybe I wouldn't have to convince her to become the monster she hated.

  “You have to live, even if others die to save you.” It was a statement, not a question. It was important to be honest. She had to know this was for everything. It was bigger than her. More important that what she wanted for herself.

  Silence.

  I tried again. “This isn’t really your decision anymore. We have to stop him. If we don’t, there’ll be nothing left. Friends, family, children. He doesn’t care. He’s going to destroy this world in order to escape.” I winced. “This isn’t the time to be selfish.”

  Silence.

  Then, slowly and with great effort she replied, “Yes.” Another long pause then, “But it may be too late for me. I haven't much left.” I heard the exhausted desperation in her words. She sounded defeated.

  “I won't let you die,” I assured her. “Whatever it takes. I'm coming!”

  I began to run up the dais only to find it was like running through molasses. Every step was a battle. It took me a long time to get to her, far longer than it should have. When I finally got to her I saw her fall, start to fade until all that was solid was her arm and her hand. I reached for that and grasped it and suddenly she was back! Lightening flashed and I gasped at the sudden draw of energy as the black sea below rose to envelop the both of us to our waist. Her eyes snapped open and slowly focused on my face. It was her Beast that looked back at me! My own fell back, tried to break the connection but I wouldn't let it. My strength was like a river draining into her. Fast! It was happening so fast! My energy was already pouring into her. She laughed and bared her teeth, her eyes, black, locked onto mine and I knew she’d take everything I had if she could. Her Beast was out and it wanted to live! My own Beast screamed and bucked, fighting for release! Somehow I held! She was taking what I had faster than I could give it. I‘d need a lot more power if I wanted to save her! There was no way I could do this alone. There was only one thing I could do. I reached up through the only link remaining, fought my way along until I found her. The only one with the strength we needed.

  “This is friendship!” I shouted at Kat with all my being. “This is what it means to be human and have a life! Sacrifice Kat! Not living for yourself or your Master who doesn't give two shits in the wind about you. You want friends? Real friends? Then you have to trust them! Be there for them! Prove yourself to them! Take my hand! Link with me! Help me save her. Prove you're more than a thing, more than a tool, more than the monster they made you believe you were! Help us Kat! Help me save her and I swear to God you’ll have two friends who’ll fight for you!”

  A moment I stood alone with my hand out and reaching then she was there. She stood in front of that raging black sea, turned slightly away from me. She held no katar, there was no throne, just her. Naked, staring at the sea that surged about her, threatening to engulf us all. She put up both hands and I saw her concentrate, push it back. It rose again and again she pushed it back. The waves rose higher, pounded at her, demanded she listen and give the sea what it wanted until finally she screamed and the power of a Goddess blasted out from her and all went quiet. She turned and her eyes were black coals of fire and I knew she could destroy us with a touch but my hand didn’t waver as I reached for her. My eyes didn’t flinch or look aw
ay. So she came to us and grasped the hand I'd offered and everything changed. Suddenly we were three, naked and clasped in a tight circle, eyes locked.

  “Hold her close,” she commanded.

  “Walker. Open to me. Give me your trust! Let me in, all the way. This will change you girl, but it‘s the only way to save you now. Hear this, three lives are at stake. Three lives are joined. Three lives drain swiftly away, so you mustn’t falter. You must do this quickly. We can‘t draw power for you. Your Beast must feed for itself. We can focus what you bring, help this body heal but that‘s all. Fail and we die beside you. I ask it as a friend. Let your Beast feed. Trust us!”

  I was back in the alleyway holding Walker. Her eyes opened. They'd always been a brilliant green. Now they were black like Kat's. I was looking at her Beast. I tried to find her in there somewhere but she was gone. She stuck out her tongue and did a quick circuit around dry lips, then smiled. It wasn't a ‘happy to see you’ kind of smile. It was a predator's toothy grin, lazy and indulgent but full of hunger. A shudder rolled through me as my own Beast snarled back at her. Kat said this would change her. I'd hoped she was wrong. My Beast rose in me. It wanted to kill her. To feed. This was my territory. I clamped down hard on the impulse to hurt.

  Then Walker spoke, her voice flinty and happy, “It's like Kat said, time to feed so we can save the world!” Then she laughed and it didn't sound a bit like her. “Like I care,” she admitted gleefully. Her eyes suddenly focused on the crowds stepping lightly past us just ahead. “Help me get closer!”

  Together we staggered out into the teeming streets amid shouts of surprise and frightened confusion.

  Chapter Nineteen

  We were back on SHIP. Meeta sat at the controls inputting coordinates for the rendezvous with Kailex. The tension in the room was thick. Everyone was on edge. Walker was mostly healed, pacing back and forth, twirling the katar. I wished she'd put it down, but she was an over-charged battery. She needed some way to focus her energy. The katar was serving that function. Though we weren't merged our link was constant now so the weapon never wavered, precisely cutting the air, producing a thin whistle. A line of perspiration dotted her brow, either from the activity or the tension of waiting. Her red hair tossed back and forth with her movements. She was scary to watch; a restless pent up power. I caught her eye, brilliant green, but the troubling black streaks never left her eyes now. Her Beast was out on a long tether. She laughed as I looked away but I'd caught the surge of hunger, felt the desire in her eyes. There wasn't much we could hide from one another now. The link was positively singing with information. We couldn’t read each other’s thoughts but things like mood, intent, were easy to know. She'd eaten more than was necessary but her Beast still raged, clamoring for more. That was the problem with our monsters– they were never satisfied.