A Clash of Demons

by Aleks Canard

  She kissed Valentine’s lolling forehead as she ran down the Red Queen’s halls. Her pain became secondary.

  For nothing dulled physical agony like mental anguish.

  Pain for a purpose makes suffering bearable, and, mayhap, welcomed. For pain, no matter how awful, is always preferable to death. Pain, by its very nature, reminds us that we are alive.

  Cuthbert Theroux

  Compromise

  1

  Days passed on Dark’s Hide.

  The artificial lighting created the illusion of dawn and dusk. Trix shuddered at the thought. All that stopped her from losing her sanity was that Valentine had survived. He wouldn’t be fighting for a while. His body was too shot. Serena had sustained a few injuries. Namely severe bruising from the last assault. Naturally, Valentine fussed over her while in his hospital bed, insisting that he only had flesh wounds.

  Trix had been stitched up too. Altayr had stumbled into her arms when the Fox had arrived thirty minutes after the battle. They embraced for what seemed like an age, then he insisted on tending to her wounds, even though she’d smothered them in nano-gel and the bleeding had all but stopped.

  Then Trix reunited with Sif, putting the AI back into her comms gauntlet where she belonged. She had sent a quick message to Dai of Thyria, letting him know that the ones responsible for harming Sia were no more. Dai thanked Trix for her help, and hoped that they could see each other soon.

  Four days after the battle, Trix was standing in front of her bedroom’s mirror, wearing nothing but her choker, medallion, and ring. She was perturbed by markings she found on her body. Scars from bite marks dotted her neck. An acid burn created flowing scar tissue across her abdominals. Her left hand had bite marks around four knuckles. Two faint pink lines ran from her bottom eyelid to her jaw down her right cheek.

  All the scars were from her time in Gauthier’s Riddling Arena. Each of them corresponded with a wound she’d received while combating his hellish illusions.

  Thankfully Gauthier hadn’t spoken to her, not even in her dreams, since the battle had ended. Trix regarded the scars that marked her toned body one last time before dressing. Nadira had footed the bill for a new combat vest in the same digital camo print Trix liked. She’d bought Trix a new helmet as well. It was the exact same neural model as her previous one. Nadira had ordered it from the Bastion especially for Trix.

  ‘So, Valentine’s being released today,’ Sif said as Trix holstered her weapons.

  ‘Yes he is. Probably because Nadira’s staff are sick of tending to him. I expect that’s why her mechanics worked so hard repairing the Red Queen.’

  ‘Do you know what’s happening with the mirrors?’

  ‘I’m guessing that’s what we’ll find out,’ Trix said, locking her quarters then exiting the Fox.

  When the battle had finished, Altayr had taken Faedra’s ship seeing as she had no use for it anymore. He used it to fly to the Bastion post-haste to schedule an emergency Conclave meeting. Trix had insisted she could come along and testify. Altayr didn’t relent on his stance. The Conclave would not allow outsiders into their meetings, only their formal gatherings which were really just an excuse to get pissed. In a dignified way, of course.

  Trix hadn’t seen Altayr since then. Neither had she seen Nadira. That was about to change. Dark’s Hide’s Duchess had invited Trix of Zilvia to a private audience. Presumably to discuss business about the mirrors, and the Guild.

  One question that played on her mind as she left the docks was why the Guild’s soldiers had been interested in her. Trix hadn’t been able to ask the vanguard she’d incapacitated and left by the bar. The vanguard had slit her wrists with broken glass.

  If anyone had the answers as to why the Guild had apparently gone crazy, it was Nadira Vega.

  Trix had Sif send the Fox on an autopilot run to Nadira’s private hangar as a safety precaution. She could have ridden inside but she wanted to walk. She’d been cooped up for days by her own volition. Resting. Reading over Garth Roche’s notes.

  And she wasn’t going to let herself become paranoid of shadows or of every passing thug strapped with a shooting iron.

  Nadira instructed Trix to meet her at the emporium. Trix rode the elevator to the fourth floor. Helmet activated. Travelling cloak on. Hood up. She craved anonymity after what had happened. Trix stepped inside when she reached Nadira’s unmarked red door.

  Nadira’s Corrachian security guard waved Trix through without a second thought. Normally he took everyone’s weapons. Maybe Nadira had lost her mind too.

  Trix was greeted by expensive goods underneath bulletproof glass and metal cages inside the emporium. The lighting dimmed to create a more intimate atmosphere.

  Dahos Mardulen emerged from the back room. His face turned into a smile as Trix retracted her helmet and pulled her hood down.

  ‘Trix of Zilvia, come. Nadira is expecting you upstairs.’

  The machina followed wordlessly, her eyes flitting to all the bizarre wonders Nadira Vega had collected.

  ‘This is where I leave you,’ Dahos said, outside Nadira’s office door. ‘She is in a peculiar mood today, if I may be so bold. Please do not upset her.’

  ‘Is Altayr here?’

  ‘He has been summoned too, though he cites business matters as the reason for his tardiness.’

  Dahos descended the stairs, leaving Trix alone on the landing. She knocked. Entered. Nadira was sitting behind her desk in a floor length off-the-shoulder dress. Trix switched to x-ray vision. Her pupils became slits. The Duchess of Dark’s Hide had two mithril blades strapped to her legs and shield generators flush against her lower back.

  ‘Checking to make sure I’m not wearing a wire, machina?’

  Trix sat. Took out a cigar. Gestured to Nadira. The Duchess waved a hand. Trix lit up.

  ‘I want to know why the Guild’s soldiers were interested in me and not the mirrors as you said they would be.’

  ‘After all we’ve been through together, you go straight to business while blowing smoke in my face. Have you dreamed of the corridors?’

  ‘A little.’

  ‘The more I try to remember them, the more dreamlike they become. It’s astounding.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘Oh come now, machina, don’t be like that. I only wanted to have a conversation. Kill some time before Van Eldric arrives.’

  ‘He doesn’t need to be here for you to say what the soldiers wanted with me.’

  There was a knock on the door. Altayr stepped into Nadira’s office.

  ‘Ah, what a pity, Trix. It looks like your curiosity will have to wait. Please, sorcerer, sit down.’

  Altayr nodded to Nadira. He took Trix by the hand. Kissed her between her gloves’ titanium studs. Then he sat.

  ‘It’s done, Nadira.’

  ‘Splendid. That almost makes this entire fuckup worthwhile.’

  Trix: ‘I still thought you’d be madder about what happened. You didn’t get your wish, or your money.’

  ‘No I didn’t. But Altayr and I have discussed several other solutions in great detail. Be a dear, sorcerer, and tell the machina what agreement we’ve reached.’

  Altayr wasn’t impressed by Nadira’s tone but he obeyed. He was getting a good deal too. No sense it dirtying the water over a little pride. In a lot of ways, Altayr supposed pride was a caged beast. You had to be careful how much you fed it, lest it become superbia. Though recent experience showed him there was much he didn’t know, even after three centuries.

  ‘I’m going to magic proof all of Dark’s Hide for Nadira, for free. The protection here will be nearly as good as the Bastion’s, effectively eliminating any chance the Guild, or any other mage group, has of attacking this station and using it as their own hub.

  ‘In return, Nadira is selling the Uldarian mirror to the Conclave. They weren’t interested in armed conflict, and after they heard my report, they were eager to keep it out of Guild hands. However, they’re allowing me to study its properties i
n my tower on Yephus. They’re interested in seeing if any leaps forward can be made in teleportation so they can patent the galaxy’s first interplanetary, personal teleportation system.’

  ‘Ship manufacturers are going to love that,’ Trix said, blowing a smoke ring into the room’s corner.

  ‘All of those discoveries are still far off. It’ll be years of testing before I discover a workable teleportation method in collaboration with the galaxy’s best scientists.’

  Trix took a long drag. The heat didn’t bother her. She extinguished her cigar. It looked like Altayr Van Eldric had gotten everything he wanted. The mirror and retaining his Conclave membership. Though he had lost Faedra de Morland. Trix suspected he was more upset by that than he was letting on.

  ‘It’s interesting that you’re only now deciding to magic proof Dark’s Hide. You must have had threats before this.’

  ‘Not in my brief tenure, no. I believe Farosi never bothered simply because he didn’t trust anything he didn’t understand. And though he understood many things better than you or I, as much as I hate to admit it, he didn’t grasp magic. Ironic, considering that magic may have been able to prolong his life. Though I expect any precautions would’ve had no effect on you, or that Thyrian spectre.

  ‘All Farosi did understand was that magic was typically insignificant aboard a space station, because next to everything is artificial, and mages need pure elements from which to draw their power. Yes they have staffs and jewellery which they can imbue with power, but the few times a mage ever caused an upset, there wasn’t a great deal they could do against a shotgun to the gut, or a bullet to the head from some lucky scoundrel.

  ‘For that reason, he never bothered. Need I remind you that Dark’s Hide is prospering like never before. I wish I could attribute it to myself, and indeed, in wider circles, I do, but it’s the times. They’re uncertain, and uncertainty fucks everyone. Leaves them pregnant with anxiety, then out pops fear.

  ‘The anghenfil becoming refugees has everyone worried that they’ll invade smaller, less populated worlds, whereas Anrok Iclon’s rising power has governments galaxy wide wondering where he’ll try to take over once Noccril is within his grasp and his forces are consolidated.

  ‘Once you consider racial tensions, well, I’m surprised anyone gets out of bed. Then there’s that princess you put on the throne, Trix. You, Yvach, and Dai. She’s upsetting all the wrong zireans on Xardiassant with her laissez faire views of trade and interplanetary relations. Personally, and before you interrupt, I know you don’t care, but in my house you play by my rules, I think what she’s doing is worthwhile. After all, it will only take Anrok to attack one Consortium settlement before all the allied races are involved. But in terms of business, that wouldn’t be the worst thing. In fact, it would be rather spectacular.

  ‘You might think that Anrok would be quashed instantly since he has no allies. But he could potentially call on Thyrian gangs, and anghenfil refugees by offering some sort of truce. Life is so dismal for them that I doubt they would turn him down. Then there’re djurel sects that are practically small armies themselves. The loose form of central government they possess will have no part of it, but they can’t speak for radicals like Aziasi Ra’ahra. They have no interest. Maybe the Ice Exiles will join in. Possibly the zirean purists who disdain any notion which hints at them not being the dominant race.

  ‘Mark my words, civil war is coming to Raursioc and Xardiassant. The galaxy has been soaked in whiskey. Its denizens drunk with fear, hatred, and greed. All that remains is for someone to light a match.’

  ‘And it’s no surprise that you’ll side with the highest bidder.’

  ‘Under normal circumstances, absolutely. But war is a different matter to anxious peacetime. You see with my upgrades, Dark’s Hide has become a nigh on impregnable fortress when in lockdown. But our location is so desirable, what with being only minutes from Noccril, that I feel a hostile takeover to be inevitable. I’ll have to play my cards right.

  ‘But neither of you need to concern yourselves with such things. When I contacted the Guild, they told me that their soldiers were under no instructions to engage in hostility. Only be to ready for it. Nevertheless, I informed them that I no longer have the mirror in my possession, that it was lost during a squabble on Orix. Whether or not they believed me, I don’t know. What I do know is that I will not cower. Sorcerer, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to wait outside. I have something that I wish to speak with Trix about in private.’

  Altayr nodded. Left. In a manner of speaking, Nadira was his boss now. He’d rather not antagonise her.

  When he left, Nadira rose from her chair. Walked to the lounge. Trix followed her.

  ‘This is no longer business, Trix. This is one friend, helping another. I know why the Guild soldiers attacked you. There’s a bounty on your head. Specifically, there’re three.’

  ‘How have I not heard about this?’ Trix said. She was hardly surprised. She’d made a lot of enemies over the years. In a way, she was shocked it’d taken this long.

  ‘It’s been kept quiet. When I caught wind of it I prevented all bounties on your head from being advertised anywhere on Dark’s Hide and instructed my Hidden that if any were to go rogue and hunt you, they would suffer dearly, more likely at your hands than mine.’

  ‘I’m curious as to why you haven’t killed me and claimed the reward yourself.’

  ‘First of all, the reward for you is greater alive than dead. But should I kill you, and take parts of your body to each respective party, I’d stand to make slightly more. Anrok Iclon, Aziasi Ra’ahra and the Ithli family, who I looked into by the way, they have connections with the Guild, all want your head, Trix. I’d lay low for a while if I were you.’

  ‘You really think they stand a chance?’

  ‘Each of them holds a lot of sway over dangerous people. Should you need a safe haven, my personal hangar is always open to you.’

  ‘What drink has warmed your calculating heart, Nadira?’

  Nadira Vega smiled. She looked to her left. A simulated window showed the stars which lay beyond Dark’s Hide’s orbital defences.

  ‘I’ve made many enemies too, Trix. I think it’s about time I made a friend. In the times ahead, friends will be invaluable. And you were my dearest, once.’

  ‘I told Valentine and Altayr you’re a necessary evil. That I’d rather have you running this place than anyone else.’

  ‘Evil’s a strong word, machina. I prefer opportunistic.’

  ‘Well you’re certainly not altruistic.’

  ‘As with many other things, machina, I am when the situation demands it. Rigidity has no use save for the bedroom.’

  ‘I had no idea you were so conventional.’

  ‘You understand what I mean. Don’t play stupid.’

  ‘Only when the situation demands it.’

  The Valkyrie and the Duchess regarded each other for a while. Mentally saying things they dared not speak aloud. Their gratitude was conveyed in silence. Trix stood when none was said yet all was done.

  ‘Farewell, Nadira.’

  ‘And you, Trix. Dahos will show you out. I received word before you entered that Valentine has been released from hospital, much to my staff’s glee.’

  Trix smiled. Walked to the door. She nearly left when she turned to ask Nadira a final question.

  ‘Your brand, the one Gauthier Nadim gave you. Is it gone?’

  ‘As if it were never there in the first place. Why do you ask?’

  Trix thought of her scars from the Riddling Arena.

  ‘Just wanted to make sure trouble wouldn’t come calling for you too soon.’

  ‘Take care, machina. I’ll let you know if I receive word about assassins hunting you.’

  Trix nodded with a faint grin. Left Nadira’s office.

  Renewing Nadira’s friendship was worth more than any paycheck.

  2

  Three ships were present in Nadira’s private dock.

&nbs
p; The Guild’s stealth liner was the largest. Nadira would undoubtedly be using it as her personal transport on the rare occasions she left Dark’s Hide. Then there was Faedra’s — now Altayr’s — zirean ship with autopilot so advanced even he could use it. It was fast. Made for sleeping two people. No weapons.

  Lastly there was the Fox, a nice middle ground. Dahos left Trix and Altayr by themselves. They stood together by the Fox’s loading ramp.

  ‘I’m sorry about using the mirror against Faedra.’

  ‘It had to be done. It would’ve never worked. Though that logic cannot make the pain disappear.’

  ‘How long will it take you to place magic dampeners around Dark’s Hide?’

  ‘A month or so, working by myself. It’ll be exhausting work, but I should manage. It’s much smaller than the Bastion. And Nadira has promised that I’ll want for nothing during my time here.’

  ‘I’ve seen the way she looks at you. When she says nothing, she means it.’

  ‘I don’t plan on sleeping with anyone Valentine has… tainted.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with Valentine.’

  ‘I can think of several things that are, but a gentleman doesn’t discuss such topics.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘What will you do now? What did Nadira want to tell you?’

  ‘Nadira just wanted to pay me for my help. And I’ll go back to hunting, but there’s something I want to do first.’

  ‘Care to tell me about it?’

  ‘Sorcerers aren’t the only ones who can keep secrets.’

  ‘Evidently not. What did you see when you went through the portal? I still haven’t had the time to ask what with all the Conclave’s red-tape.’

  ‘I don’t understand why you’re still associated with them.’

  ‘Resources, Trix.’

  ‘That’s just you being too lazy to go out on your own.’

  ‘It would take time away from my research, and that’s something I can’t afford. Besides, what Nadira said was right. Tumultuous times are ahead. Maybe even the times which were spoken of thousands of years ago by Siella, and the Vikings. The very same times that your Uldarian prism shows.’