by Vega Lizzie
Robbie was quick to add to the drama, “The three of them can almost finish each other sentences these days. If she didn’t tell Ollie, it didn’t surprise her either.”
“Shhh,” Eliza said suddenly, “Get your phone up close, I don’t want to miss this.”
In the uproar of the moment, none of them heard Liam as he walked into the living room. He calmly took his place at the table with a watchful eye on Olivia. Tess quietly filled him in, “Terra ditched them. She’s out looking for him.”
“That won’t be good,” he whispered back but was easily heard by the others, “He’s not going to like that at all.”
“It’s that easy?” Eliza gasped, “I thought you were kidding about intentions.” Olivia’s arm suddenly jerked as the pencil came to a stop on the page then went sideways in a laser straight line. “You need to tell me about that when this is over.” She squinted at the lines that were now coming quickly across the sketchbook, “Is that a room or some sort of hallway?”
Terra crossed the street and stood in the shadows of the dark alley. It seemed she’d walked for a mile or two through the streets and alleys and now found herself in the convention district as her pep talk to herself suddenly became audible, “That’s the plan, yeah. Walk down dark alleys and freak myself out.”
After another turn, she found herself alone at the top of a truck dock behind the city convention center. She bounced up and down in her gym shoes, “Silva,” she said out loud, “there, I said it. Silva, let’s have a little meeting.”
Looking up and finding herself sandwiched between two tall hotels, she kept hopping up and down as her feet began to hum and her energy began to swirl at her feet. “Intentions,” she said sarcastically, “I’ll show you an intention.”
Swinging her arm up, she fired a short burst of plasma only to stop it short before it rose above the skyway above her. “Don’t say his name,” she snickered, “what a load of crap.” Raising her hand again, she paused as the sound of a glass bottle rolling across the concrete caught her ear. She looked back toward the city street when a shadow caught her eye along the ramp.
After a quick pulse of energy to light her way, she darted after the shadow in the darkened entry to the loading dock. Glaring into the dark, the sound of an opening door drew her farther into the lower level of the hotel’s food services core. From the aromas in the hallway, Terra knew the kitchen was close. Knowing there would likely be people nearby, she turned to leave, only to see another shadow go through a door as the exit light above it flickered then went dark. She stopped and took a deep breath, “Silva,” she shouted aggressively, “if that’s you, I want to talk to you. Now.”
There was a sound on the other side of the door and when she leaned on the push bar, her first view of the corridor was darkness. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she revved up her energy and stepped into the hallway.
When the second the access door slammed behind her, Terra knew she was in trouble. Looking down the length of the dimly illuminated hallway, she shook her head, increasing the intensity of her plasma to increase the light level. “Concrete,” she muttered looking at the prefabricated walls, “…it’s always concrete.”
Reaching into her back pocket, she thought to dial Marcus, only to be met with an earsplitting squeal of static from the phone just before it went blank.
There was a scraping sound on the floor behind her, “Shit,” she sighed, “I don’t want any trouble.” She brought up her left hand, then slowly dropped it to her side as a man’s voice pierced the darkness.
“That decision would have proven more helpful had you made it earlier. Stick your nose where you’ve been told it doesn’t belong…there are always going to be consequences.”
The voice wasn’t deep or frightening on its own. It was the calm in his voice that pushed Terra toward panic.
“Really, I don’t,” she said, thinking he was standing directly behind her. A quick slip into the void and she’d be gone. Chalk one up to being overly motivated. She took one step forward as her left hand again swung up to enter the quickly generated abyss. The relieved half grin that began to creep across her face was short lived.
“Unacceptable.”
Terra felt her right arm wrench back and she was flung across the corridor. Landing hard on her back, she came up swinging and fired a narrow pulse of plasma in the voice’s direction.
Not waiting for another attack, the reliable hum of her power began to generate at her feet and her shielding tattoo burst forth in front of her and she found herself alone. “What?”
She stood for a moment in the glow of her defensive weapon, the crackling panels lit up the dark space in front of her. His next assault came from her right. A face loomed into view and Terra called forth her serpent.
In a heartbeat, as the snake unfurled from her calf, the short statured man slowed as if to take in the novelty of what he was seeing. Terra watched his blank expression as the coils spun toward him. In a flash of red light, a whisper of a blade caught her ear as it severed the snake’s body just above her knee.
As the pain radiated up her leg, it mushroomed in Terra’s body. Breathless at first, she hacked out a scream then fell to her knees, “I’ll leave,” she cried out, “I won’t look for you anymore.”
“We’re a little past that aren’t we…Traveler?” He held the head of her snake in his hand, then twisted it sharply and the sickening sound of snapping vertebrae made Terra retch.
“Don’t let it ever be said that I don’t appreciate a good effort,” he said as he walked right up to her and looked down at her, “That said, I have yet to see one. The toys are always fun until you don’t have them.”
Her vision blurred as his hand came to her face. She watched in slow motion as his fingers traced a sigil roughly across her forehead and any residual power she was hoping to generate for plasma, faded with a whimper.
Terra tried to regenerate her power. After a fizzling first try, she took a deep breath. It was if she could hear Liam’s voice in her ear and tried to control her breathing but her eye caught the torn open body of her snake, “Fuck,” she hollered as her legs spasmed, then buckled, “You son of a bitch. I just wanted to talk to you.”
“What is it with young people these days?” he asked, “such posturing and bluster. I don’t find it the least bit entertaining. Stand up.”
Unsteady and writhing in pain, Terra labored to stand. She was instantly aware of how suddenly unbalanced she was. It was if the serpent kept her grounded and steady. She wobbled and then tried to stand still. Her eyes slits, she glared at him directly for the first time only to sigh in an odd moment of dissatisfaction, “You’re the Lion?” she blinked, then looked away from him, “you look more like a plumber.” She said it softly but not softly enough. His palm struck her chest, and she flew back to the floor.”
He seemed comfortable to wait while she gasped continuously for breath.
“Oh…okay,” she wheezed as she walked her hands up her thighs to stand, “I just...wanted to talk to you.”
“Odd way to express a desire to communicate,” he answered suddenly back in her face. Terra wanted to hit back, but this time, she held both her hands and her tongue.
“What’s your motivation?” he asked. They were eye to eye and Terra took the question wrong. She counted her breaths and rolled her shoulder back as her hand rose in a right cross. Grabbed quickly, he held the attempted punch, then countered with an elbow to her nose and Terra dropped to the floor.
“I’m not an actor, for God’s sake,” she sobbed, “why…why would you ask me that?” Maybe adrenaline, maybe the pins and needles numbness of her face kicked in as she rose from the floor flailing and punching.
He fended each of her weakening attempts with ease, then slapped her hard in the face, “Why do you fight? You wanted a fight the moment you walked in here.”
Terra could taste the blood in her mouth as she recoiled from the slap. She spit on the floor and came back at him with a
roundhouse that he quickly avoided. He tapped her fist as it passed by him, countering with a sharp jab to her cheek.
“Stop now?” he offered.
“I fight for Shannon,” she cried out lunging for him again, her arms wind milling at him again with each punch. Terra’s arms burned and her strength was draining, “I fight…I fight for my family.” With her final punch, she missed his mocking face by a good six inches. He’d followed her fist with his hand and as he grabbed it to halt her attack, she spun her body and backhanded him hard across the side of his face.
Her Pyrrhic victory was brief as he picked her up from behind, his hands grasping roughly across her chest and threw her down on the floor. With a twist of her arm, she was face down on the concrete, the rough floor was scraping the skin from her cheek. Other than the disabling of her phone and a brief flash of red light, she’d seen nothing other than incredible speed and some brand of martial arts.
“Had enough? Maybe you should just stay down.”
Terra tried to take a deep breath and her mind went blank in panic, “Fuck you.”
His breath was back in her ear. “Unacceptable.”
She could feel him leaning on her arm, her hand twisted backwards, “Are you willing to die for your family?” She felt his hand gasping her hair and pulled back until one of the bones in her neck cracked.
“Yes,” she sobbed, “yes…I’ll do anything for them.”
“Will you align with either side?”
Held in his grasp, her head swiveled to him, her eyes swollen and her nose bleeding, “I’ll align with the ones I love.” She coughed and tried to spit at him, “Even if it means our family will stand alone. They’re all I have.”
She felt his grip loosen as he slowly turned her wrist back to its correct direction. As he straightened her arm, she groaned as the obvious hollow in her shoulder indicated dislocation. “Reach out,” he instructed, then pulled her arm, firmly guiding it back to its socket with a dull popping sound. Terra screamed through gritted teeth and collapsed on the floor.
“Stay on your side,” he said quietly, “you’ll stabilize in a few minutes. Am I right or left-handed?”
“Left,” she mumbled through swollen lips, “but you led with your left. It threw me.” She sighed and winced as the pain in her chest flared, “Is that was this was about?”
“In a way,” he answered, “I felt it was important to engage you directly.”
“Directly,” Terra tried to repeat then sighed, “I can’t…feel my face. Can’t imagine an apology is...ugh…ribs…what do you get out of this?”
He leaned down to her, “Listen to me. The next time you fight, expect that you will die and, in doing so, you abandon your family to the horrors of what is to come. What you just said to me is close to the reality that is bearing down on you.”
“Your methods…” she panted, “are…never mind. I feel...helpless. Is Shannon going to be alright?”
“I don’t know the answer to that,” he said quietly, “and you are far from helpless.”
He moved toward her as a hiss filled the room. Terra could see a bright blue light through the painfully swollen slit of her left eye. He put something smooth and cold into her hand.
“Hold this tightly. Your shielding and serpent will re-manifest shortly. Your injuries are, er, superficial, and they will heal cleanly as long as you hang on to this talisman.”
Terra grasped the stone tightly, the intense blue light leaking between her fingers, “I feel something…I feel…warmth…oh, God, I wet my pants.”
“No, you didn’t,” he said, back at her ear, “or maybe you did. Either way it’s a powerful tool in spellcasting, one of the originals. Good move.”
“You sexist bastard,” she hissed, “and now you’re gonna mock me for crying.”
“The last thing I will ever do, Traveler, is mock you.” His voice seemed come from everywhere. She stopped to listen and then heard nothing. It seemed he was gone. Then her phone suddenly lit up from down the hallway.
“No…sure,” she gasped, “couldn’t set it down by me or at least kick it in my direction.” She tried to prop herself up on her elbow to start dragging herself to the chirping phone. “Unchivalrous bastard,” she called out through her swollen lips, “I’m gonna tell…gonna tell people that you’re a big pussycat.” She laid her head down on the floor, panting, “ever heard of manscaping?”
Suddenly her phone was set in front her. “Learn to fight with everything you have. The shielding is defensive, the snake can be beaten. Spells can be overwritten. If you have to use your body, or parts of it to defeat an enemy, I strongly suggest you begin to accept that idea.”
“But don’t break the rules,” Terra said raggedly then coughed deeply, spitting, “don’t say your name out loud. What point are rules if they prevent me from protecting my family. You gonna beat the knowledge into me?”
“I helped shape some of those rules,” he said, it was the same voice Terra had heard at the beginning of the confrontation, “they seemed to work for a long time.”
“Meaning they don’t anymore,” Terra sighed, “that’s what this is about.” She strained her neck to look at him, gasping against the pain, “This is all about good guys and bad guys isn’t it? At least I can grasp that concept, right?”
“But what if you’re not the good guys,” he asked softly, “can you grasp onto that?”
Terra was quiet. She shook her head, scoffing, “It’s Third Council against Conclave…seems it always has been.”
“And the monks?” he asked “whose side were they on? Tess played both sides until she got what she wanted. Ask Liam how he got started with magic, why he’s so emotionally distant?”
“They speak highly of you…sort of.” Terra sighed heavily, “and now you’re more questions than answers.”
“Then they still have a lot to learn.”
“You’re wrong,” Terra said firmly as the ringing in her ears began to recede, “and they’ll get stronger because they’re with us.” She laid her head back down on the floor and finally took a deep breath, “because that’s the lesson here isn’t it?”
She heard a scraping sound and struggled to open her right eye and gasped, “Who…oh Jesus…what are you?”
“I’m no one. You will not speak of this.” There was a bright glow behind his head and it briefly outlined his body. Startled, Terra jerked back only to drop the stone he had given her. A wave of pain spiraled back across her body and the hiss in her head started again He rushed towards her one last time.
She could feel a light brush of hair against her arms and neck, her hand held in a crushing grip. “When the time comes for you to demonstrate your commitment to this family of yours…” he paused and Terra could feel the heat of his body against her, “it must be no quarter…no retreat.” In a flash, he was gone. Terra’s heart was racing from the sound he made as he left her side.
Fumbling along the floor to gingerly grasp the amulet, the moment her trembling hands clutched the stone, the relief began. Her phone began to ring. It was Marcus.
“M-Marcus,” she sobbed into the phone, “have you found Shannon? Find me…please find me.”
“Your phone dropped off the grid…I’m only a few blocks away,” he answered quickly, “I’ll alert the others. We’ll come and get you.”
“No,” she pleaded then yelped in pain, “no…just you. Don’t you dare tell anyone you found me, but…I’m not in the best shape. Just get here.”
“Do you need a doctor?”
“No,” she answered firmly, “I might not look so good when you see me, but I’m starting to feel better.” She bore down on the stone in her hand, “I’ve had quite a night.”
A few minutes later Marcus burst through the doors of the convention center and found Terra in the service corridor. Seeing her standing there, bent over against the wall, he rushed to her then skidded to a stop when he saw the blood on the floor. “Tell me that’s not yours.”
“Really wi
sh I could.” She pointed to a set of steel bins along the wall, “Some of those dents are from me. Pretty sure there’s a crater in the wall somewhere that fits my head to a tee.” She held up her hand, the bright blue light was still streaming from the stone, “This is supposed to make me feel better.” She opened her hand to show him and the light from the stone lit up her face to reveal her injuries.
“Jeezuz, Terra, you got the crap beat out of you. Can you even see out of that eye? God, what do I do?”
She shook her head, “No word from anyone?” She touched her fingers gently to her mouth, then squeezed on the stone as she moved her jaw side to side, “How ‘bout now? Better?”
His eyes went wide, “You look um, bloody, but normal-ish. What’s with the tablecloth?”
She shook her head, “Just get me out of here. We need to make a quick stop down the street and pick up something.”
Marcus shook his head, standing his ground, “You need to go home…now.”
Terra surprised Marcus by awkwardly hugging him in the hallway. She held her one armed embrace for an extra moment then pulled back as tears ran down her cheeks, “You’re my hero.” She tried to smile, keeping her hand to his shoulder, “Don’t ever change, okay. Things might get…difficult. We need to go. I’ll explain as we go.”
A few minutes later, Marcus came out of the convenience store with Terra’s requested purchase. Walking up to the car, he saw her grimacing as she continued to fight the pain of the brutal attack. He attempted to climb into the car as gently as possible. Terra again found her soft smile as he landed.
“Thanks, Bud, I appreciate that. I am feeling better. Did you get the good stuff?”
He handed her the package, “There wasn’t a huge selection, so I went for an assortment.” He handed her the box of candy and the blank card, “So getting beat up gives you a craving for chocolate? Not disturbing at all. Bacon, that, I would understand.”
Terra grinned then winced, “Maybe later. Can you back up and pull around to face the street?”
“No problem.”