The City of Monsters

by Matthew McCollum

  Eventually, there was nothing else for her to do except wait for the water to boil, so Yasu reluctantly sat down across from Akane.

  Yasu was quiet for a long time, and the silence stretched on. Before it could become unbearable, Akane broke it.

  “I didn't hear from you on Saturday,” she said, trying not to sound confrontational. It was hard when dealing with her, though.

  “I was at your father's grave,” she replied without inflection. “I noticed you didn't show up.”

  Of course. Akane's father had died on her seventh birthday. Her mother never tired of reminding her.

  “I was busy.”

  “Doing what? You don't have friends.”

  Akane frowned. Don't get angry. “I have friends. They threw me a surprise party. Gave me presents. You know, normal things that happen on normal birthdays.”

  Yasu rolled her eyes. “Normal people don't have fathers who liked threatening people with swords.”

  “Mother, he saved three people that day. He considered it a worthy sacrifice, I'm sure.”

  “He died in the process.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Besides, he killed five more people to do it. How does that make sense?”

  “Sometimes you have to kill in order to save, mother.”

  She glared hatred at Akane. “How would you know?”

  “I...” She couldn't tell her. Yasu wasn't Domina-born, and had spent most of her time in the city nestled in the safe embrace of Necessarius. She didn't understand how the dark parts of the world worked. If Akane told her that she did, from personal, bloody experience, Yasu would disown her.

  She had to keep calm.

  Yasu shook her head again. “It's that Derek character.”

  She had to remain strong.

  “He's a bad influence on you. It's just like what happened with your sisters.”

  All Akane had to do was keep her mouth shut. It wasn't hard. She did it all the time.

  “I hear he runs around playing cowboy, just like your father did.”

  Treat Yasu like a stranger. She practically was, so that was easy. Akane didn't talk around strangers, so the problem was solved.

  “He's going to get himself killed, and you with him.”

  All Akane had to do was stay quiet until she got bored and shifted topics.

  “At least the city will be better off without him.”

  Suddenly, Yasu jumped out of her chair and backed away as fast as she could, her eyes big as dinner plates. She was breathing hard, and the only reason she hadn't fled the room was because Akane was between her and the only exit.

  Akane had half-drawn her sword without even noticing.

  She almost did it. She almost unsheathed it entirely. She wouldn't have killed her, of course. Just scared her. A couple scars, and not even deep ones. Just a reminder.

  The tea kettle whistled.

  Akane sheathed her sword.

  “Your tea is done, Miss Nakano.” Then she turned on her heel and left.

  Chapter 43: LACRIMIS

  SEENA

  Seena blinked. “Akane?”

  Akane stepped through the 'sarian checkpoint, waving a badge to the guard. She had a surprised look on her face. “Seena?” The beads in her hair clicked as she put the badge back in her pocket. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same! What were you doing in NHQ?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Had to visit my mother.” She guided Seena by the arm a little bit farther away from the checkpoint. “Your turn. You don't know anyone in there except me and Derek.”

  “Actually, I was just walking over to...” Seena frowned. “Wait, have you been crying?”

  Akane's beads clicked as she wiped her face hurriedly. “What? No, of course not.”

  “Yes you have! What's wrong?”

  She sniffled a little. “Nothing. Nothing. Just...” She shook her head. “My mother's being...”

  Ah. Right. Akane had been forced to take a lot of crap for her commitment to her father's ideals. Seena had to admit she wasn't always as supportive as she could be, but then again she wasn't her mother. It wasn't her job to be supportive.

  But still, she was here. She grabbed Akane's arm. “How about we get ice cream? My treat. As an apology for missing your party.”

  Akane adjusted her backpack. “You already got me that anime, you don't have to—”

  Seena waved her concerns away. “Don't be silly. That was just your present. You were gonna get it anyway. This is something else.”

  Akane frowned. “I... I have a bit of homework...”

  Seena rolled her eyes and started tugging her away from NHQ, towards a place she knew a few blocks away. “Nine hells, girl, it's just ice cream. It will make you feel better, and it will only take an hour, tops.”

  Akane sighed. “Fine, fine.”

  Seena smiled. “You'll enjoy it, I promise.”

  They walked in silence until they reached the ice cream parlor, sat down, and ordered.

  “This is a really nice place,” Akane said a little uncomfortably once the waiter left. She was right, of course. The entire 'scraper was a high-class restaurant, with the first five floors dedicated to seating, and the rest catering to that. But at this hour, they weren't dealing with the dinner crowds that normally filled the place, so it was just the two of them and a few other groups scattered around. The downside was that service was slow, since there was only one waiter.

  “It's fine, really,” Seena said. “It's not that expensive, especially the dessert. Besides, I have the cash to spare.”

  Akane dropped her backpack to the floor and then carefully laid down her sword-bag, open-end within easy reach. “Your job with the Mals has been going well?”

  Seena grinned. “Yeah, really well.”

  “But you're not killing for them,” she said.

  Seena nodded. “I'm a glorified babysitter.”

  “Good for you. But it seems strange.”

  “How so?”

  “The Mals are all about the violent kind of assassination. Climbing up the side of a building, slipping through the window, and killing everyone between them and their target is more their style than sending a seductress with murder on her mind.”

  “Guess which one killed Baal?”

  “The former,” Akane said instantly. “Derek's been researching this since the second you mentioned you joined up. I probably know more about the Mals than you do. But that's beside the point. The Mals have always been a small culture. Why do they suddenly need a babysitter, and a well-paid one at that?”

  Seena rubbed her forehead. Well, at least I got her mind off her mother, she thought. “It's... complicated, Akane.”

  “I have eight hours until my next class.”

  Seena sighed deeply. “Okay... okay. I'm not actually being trained as an assassin.”

  “Yes, you said that already.”

  She frowned. “Akane, don't interrupt. This is important.”

  Her expression became serious again, and she nodded.

  “After Baal was killed, the Generals realized something needed to be done,” Seena said. “Like you said, the Mals have never been that big, and without him around...” She shrugged. “Well, you know how it is. Experts predicted a year, two at the most, before the subculture imploded.”

  “But... babysitting?”

  “See, that's just it,” she said, getting into it. “They're planning for the future. The current Mals are bringing in their children to Maladomini, where me and a few others take care of them, teach them, and so on.”

  For a few minutes, Akane didn't say anything. She just stared at Seena in silence, forcing her to wonder whether telling her had been a good idea after all.

  “Seena Amethyst Lancaster,” she said slowly. “I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. I want to assume you know better than to...” She closed her eyes, steeling herself, before continuing. “...than to aid in some sort of brainwashing scheme.” Her eyes snapped open again. “But I
have to ask: Do you know exactly what you've gotten yourself into?”

  Seena thought it was the most she had ever heard her say at once. She twiddled with her hair a little to have an excuse for not responding.

  The fact was, she didn't know. She was being literal when she said she was the babysitter. She had always been good with babies, and there weren't that many to take care of, so she did a good job. Besides, it wasn't like she was completely alone.

  But if there was any brainwashing going on, it was with the older kids, who Seena didn't have access to. Well, that made it sound more nefarious than it really was. She wasn't in charge of teaching them and didn't have the spare time to sit in on one of their classes, but it wasn't like she was barred from seeing them.

  “I don't know everything I should,” Seena said. “But I'll look into a little, all right?” She reached over and squeezed Akane's hand. She flinched a little, but only a little. “The Generals are just trying to keep it from falling apart. I'm sure there's nothing... you know. Nefarious. Going on.”

  “What's nefarious?” Lizzy asked. She slid into the seat next to Seena, holding a bowl of ice cream.

  Seena blinked. “What are you doing here?” She glanced at Akane, but she was just as surprised. She clearly hadn't invited her.

  Lizzy ate a bite. “Using my vast array of spies and informants I was able to track you from your secret lair, where I have cornered you here, for the perfect ambush.” They stared. Lizzy grinned. “My manager saw you two leaving NHQ,” she said. “I was in the area, and I knew you like this place, so...”

  “Speaking of nefarious purposes...” Seena muttered. “I know you mean well, sweetie, but I really don't like thinking about that dirty old demon following me around.”

  “Graz'zt isn't following anyone,” she said with a frown. “And he's not dirty!”

  “Really,” Akane deadpanned. “What about the hentai he had you voice?”

  Lizzy dug into her ice cream angrily. “Sore wa hijō—”

  “English, Lizzy,” Seena said. “Please.”

  She sighed. “Fine. That was one very small role in one very tasteful romance that just so happened to follow people into the bedroom. I'm proud of my part in it.”

  “Uh-huh,” Seena said. “Well, you'll understand if I don't invite him to my birthday.”

  Lizzy gave her a bewildered look. “Why would you invite him to your birthday?”

  “I wouldn't—I mean...” Seena sighed. “Nevermind. Don't worry about it.”

  The waiter came back with their ice cream. Lizzy tapped the side of her bowl with her spoon in contemplation. “The next birthday is... Derek's, right? On the twenty-ninth?”

  Akane nodded. “Three weeks, three days.”

  “And then the Highlander is October twenty-seventh.”

  Seena stared at her. “Highlander?”

  Lizzy grinned. “Yeah, Laura! You see, her family is from Cantabria, a mountainous part of Spain—”

  Seena waved her spoon to stop her. “No, no, that's all right. I don't need an explanation for every silly nickname you give out.”

  At least Akane wasn't crying.

  Chapter 44: SOSPITAS

  ARTEMIS

  “Mister Butler, are you all right?”

  Artemis sighed and waved the lab tech off as he climbed out of the toy box. The machine had cut down the amount of time required for his treatments dramatically, but it was still tedious. He gestured for his cane, and someone placed it in his hand without delay. He stood slowly, finding his balance, and enjoying the feel of the smooth wood under his palm.

  He always enjoyed getting his cane back after his treatments. It represented stability to him, although that didn't really make much sense. He knew most men in his position hated the tools that reminded them of their illnesses. But he liked his cane, and that was that.

  He walked back to his car slower than necessary, enjoying the simple feeling of walking for as long as he could. For all his contributions, he thought he deserved two minutes of selfishness. When he climbed inside the car, it sped off quickly, his destination already established. His driver was a professional, and knew better than to interrupt when Artemis was thinking.

  “What's on the agenda today, Mary Christina?” he asked the empty air. Normally his secretary would handle this, but he was busy at the moment. Besides, this briefing was more relevant to her work than his.

  “Besides the fact that we have a bunch of vampires yelling at us about that apartment building that burned down during the fight with the bats?”

  Artemis sighed. “Yes, besides that. Though I was meaning to ask... how many is that? Buildings that Miss Akiyama has destroyed, I mean.”

  “That makes sixteen. Though, in fairness, only two of those were really her fault.”

  “Yes, well... that's something for another time. What else?”

  “Grain is trying to hook up to our 'net.”

  Brian Grain was a New York senator, and one of the biggest threats to Domina City, largely because he kept to his issues like a dog with a bone. He also had a large amount of popular support, not least because he was actually a good man. That was part of the problem, really. You couldn't bribe good men.

  “Tell Jamie to divert their attention to that alleged child porn case in California.”

  “Good call. Send them on a wild goose chase.”

  “Precisely.”

  One of Domina's first lines of defense against outside interference was the simple fact that no one outside the city could view their internet. The city could receive, but only corporations specializing in data had any ability to send anything out.

  If Grain managed to secure funding to build their own link to the city, there wasn't much Necessarius could do to stop him. And once outsiders could view the Domina internet, all of Artemis' carefully-maintained propaganda would go to waste. No one would believe his lies any more, not with Domina's extremely active bloggers and vloggers and so on contradicting him. The military wouldn't believe that the illegal use of the toy maker was minor, and limited to cosmos only, not worth sending in armies to arrest people en masse. The president wouldn't believe that the cultures were just a few minor gangs of kids, not worth paying any attention to.

  This misdirection would help, and a few careful bribes to less honest men would also make Necessarian lives easier. Sooner or later though, that wouldn't be enough. The day was fast approaching. Artemis could hide it, but not for long.

  The gangs were gone. Mostly, anyway. The Rahabs were proving difficult to flush out, and the cultures were still annoyingly violent at times, but overall the city was infinitely safer to live in than it was fifteen years ago. Most of Artemis' propaganda exported to the outside world was focused on maintaining the illusion that it wasn't.

  But unless he turned Domina into a police state, the outside world would find out. People could visit, and see that the city was safe. Residents sent e-mails to their friends and families outside the city, talking about how much better it was to live here now. People even left the city for greener pastures every once in a while, as people were wont to do.

  Sooner or later, governments would feel safe enough to send spies that Necessarius wouldn't be able to bribe or kill.

  And very soon after that, armies.

  Could Domina survive that? Perhaps. The city was hardly defenseless. Besides, they didn't have to win, they just had to weather the first couple waves, long enough to erode popular support for a war. It would require more bribes, more blackmail, and even a few assassinations. Ghosts would be called in. Artemis would have to play almost completely under the table, simply to keep the city alive.

  Because it was necessary.

  Chapter 45: COMPRIMO

  The COMPOSER

  The Composer killed the newly-created conductor very quickly, reaching under his rib cage and ripping out his heart. It wasn't anywhere near as much fun as torturing him to death, but the Composer had limited time here.

  The problem was that
when they were granted their songs, there was no way to know which song and instrument they'd manifest until they actually had it, and it couldn't be taken back. Well, not without killing them, so it wasn't all bad.

  Take the corpse on the floor. His song was Immunity, and his instrument immunity to hypnotism. That was bad. Very bad. Of course, he didn't start immune, just resistant, but that was beside the point. He would throw off the Composer's hypnotism too quickly, maybe even start to remember things. And it wouldn't take long for his instrument to evolve to the point where it would be impossible to control him at all. Hence the killing.

  Oh well. There were plenty more where he came from. That was the great thing about this city. So many people, all stuffed together on one big island.

  It was the perfect target.

  Unfortunately, the Composer's plans were stifled a bit now that they knew that killing the conductors would cure the chorus. Everything had been reset, so now the chorus were connected to their creator directly, meaning that they'd have to kill the Composer in order to cure anyone. It did limit the usefulness of the conductors, but it was a small price to pay.

  It was about time to activate a new conductor, but that meant deciding which one. They had to be used sparingly, so it was best to choose one with an instrument that would help spread the Score as quickly as possible.

  There were too many variables. The biters had no ranged capabilities, so they were easily dispatched. The bats did pretty well, but the angels incapacitated them too quickly. Fliers would be less than useless. They'd just be sitting ducks, waiting to be netted and captured.

  And that reminded the Composer of another annoyance: Those stupid Paladins still hadn't recruited the fifth member. They had to know who she was. If nothing else, she had to know who they were. That was the entire reason any of them in the first place. They were close together, would find each other quickly.

  But the Composer didn't have to keep this up for much longer. Just a few more, large attacks, and then...

  Something.