Science and Sorcery Box Set

by Ryan Tang

  "2,000 Sinsworn in exchange for your promise to fight by my side. Let me know."

  Two thousand Sinsworn was nothing to sneeze at. That was almost half of Pure Force's army.

  Lonely set the card aside. That one was interesting, but there had to be reason why she wanted to ally with him. Perhaps she would be attacking a powerful ally soon. If Pure Force wanted to challenge someone like the Singer, her five thousand Sinsworn would pale before Lonely's force of fifteen thousand. Come to think of it, transferring Sinsworn in exchange for promising an alliance seemed like a bit of a shell game. In an alliance, the Sinsworn you gave away would fight by your side anyways.

  He flipped to the next application, but it was worthless, so he tossed it aside. Lonely rose from his desk and stretched on his bed.

  Why did these people think there was even a chance he'd sign these useless contracts? Did they think he'd sign with anyone just because he didn't have any allies? It was insulting. Pure Force was the only one worth considering, and even she was probably playing some sort of game.

  His functioning alliance wasn't any better. Bringer was a complete madman. The plain-faced man still constantly messaged him, providing further instructions on how Lonely could meet the Namers and produce a shard for his precious orb.

  Perhaps Lonely could bait someone into committing a crime.

  Maybe Lonely should befriend a pregnant woman and be present for the birth.

  Better yet, Lonely could make his own pregnant woman.

  It was just sheer stupidity. Even if Lonely got near a Namer, how was he supposed to get a piece of their armor? Lonely said he was fighting so many House battles because he wanted to bait his opponents into a desperate crime, but it couldn't be further from the truth. He was trying to build up a buffer of Sinsworn so he'd finally be free of his false mentor.

  He was grateful of the role Bringer had played to save him from The Tooth Man, but now all Lonely wanted was for the unassuming madman to leave his life.

  He sighed and turned over again. He'd have to start another House battle soon.

  "Big Bro! Big Bro!"

  Gallant stampeded down the hall of their Castlecraft.

  "An alliance! I have an alliance!"

  She shoved the golden card into his hand. Lonely read the message and grinned.

  The Surgeon was throwing a grand party. At the end, she planned on announcing a new united union. Lonely had heard the rumors. Apparently, All Range was already involved.

  He read through the card and mused.

  This was a worthy offer. Unlike Pure Force's proposition, an alliance with several powerful Nobles would be far more difficult to cheat. Even better, the alliance would solely be for defensive purposes. The Surgeon promised that if anyone attacked a member of her consortium, everyone would rally to defend them. But if someone went on the offensive, they'd be on their own.

  It was perfect. Between himself, the Surgeon, and All Range, that made over forty thousand Sinsworn. He wouldn't have to fight in other people's battles. He'd effectively be immune to House wars. Nobody would dare attack everyone in the group. The alliance might even help deter an attack from Bringer.

  He reached out to hug her, but she shook her head.

  "Don't feel like a hug. Let's do a handshake."

  He let out a bemused chuckle. He hadn't thought much of hugging her, but apparently, she wasn't in the mood. When he stretched out his hand, she kept hers in her pocket.

  "Left handshake. I'm in a left handshake mood."

  Lonely shook with his left and didn't think more of it. Gallant could be pretty weird at times.

  ____

  The Surgeon was incredibly beautiful.

  She greeted them personally as they arrived outside her Sinsworn. Her hair was parted all on one side, trailing down past her right thigh. She wore a black suit accompanied by a blue shirt with white dots. Rather than a tie, she wore her little fish Familiar, which swam back and forth in its vial. Lonely could have sworn he saw the tiny creature wink at the two of them.

  She immediately shoved past him to reach Gallant.

  "Gallant! What a pleasure it is to see you!"

  The tall woman beamed as she hugged his sister. Gallant awkwardly pawed at her with her left hand. It was hard to tell if Gallant was hugging the Surgeon back or shoving her away. Lonely shot his little sister a look. The Surgeon was a Noble of incredible repute, and she'd been very generous to invite them here. It wouldn't do to pointlessly offend her.

  When she finished greeting Gallant, she turned and gave Lonely a perfunctory smile that told the young Noble everything he needed to know.

  He was just here because Gallant had insisted on it. She brushed past him again, pulling his little sister to the main hall.

  Gallant and her jellyfish squirmed uncomfortably as Lonely followed them. The Surgeon's Castlecraft seemed incredibly boring. In the inside, it looked like an Old Earth castle. Portraits of the elegant woman hung from every wall. The Surgeon posed in luxurious dresses and suits. She wielded every manner of weapon, from clubs to blades.

  Gallant continued struggling as the Surgeon dragged her inside. Lonely gave her a sharp kick in the back of the leg, and thankfully, she finally got the message. It seemed like no matter how many Sinsworn he won, he could never be one of the elite, but he could guide his little sister there.

  The elegant woman clapped her hands together, and all the guests turned with well-practiced obedience.

  "Hello! Hello! I'm here to introduce our guest of honor, and the latest addition to my collection of extraordinary women. Gallant! The girl who won nine thousand Paragons before she even became a woman."

  Lonely kicked her again as soon as she opened her mouth. He knew what she would have said, and loved her for it, but now wasn't the time. He was just the No Familiar Freak, and she was a rising star.

  The jellyfish Familiar turned and shot Lonely a disbelieving look even though she didn't have any eyes. He laughed in spite of himself. Gallant claimed that Adrienne could talk, yet Lonely had never truly believed it. But it seemed like she could express herself well enough without using words. The crowd cheered and cheered for Gallant, and then the Surgeon took her aside to her private quarters.

  Lonely caught his little sister's eye and saluted, then lost himself in the crowd. He felt so strange, but he was happier than he was disappointed. In a way, it was a relief. This was the final confirmation that he'd never belong in the Constellation. They'd never accept him no matter how many battles he won or how many pretty speeches Bringer made. All he had to worry about now was freeing himself from Bringer.

  No sooner had that thought crossed his mind when he saw his plain-faced mentor. Bringer sprinted forward, pushing past complaining Lords. His eyes were wide with horror.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "The Surgeon invited my sister. You saw that, right?"

  "No. No. No. That was a rhetorical question. No."

  Bringer grabbed Lonely's hands. The young Noble had never seen him so frightened before.

  "What happened to Pure Force's alliance? Why didn't you ally with her? That was perfect! That should have been perfect!"

  Bringer shook his head again.

  "I should have just told you directly. It's too late now. Way too late. She won't believe it, not after the Surgeon announced you."

  He let out a long breath.

  "It can't end like this. You need to get out of here. Now."

  "What about Gallant?"

  "No. No. No."

  Bringer pushed Lonely back toward the door as he wove into the crowd.

  "They're arriving at any moment. There's no time. Get out of here if you want to survive."

  CHAPTER 13: THE UNWILLING GUEST

  This sucked.

  Gallant would have complained if it hadn't been for Lonely kicking her. The second kick had hurt too. She'd pay him back for it when they got back to Brightwalls, but she knew he was right. Adrienne and her Intuition had been trying to shut h
er up too.

  If she threw a fit in front of all the Surgeon's guests, it would have caused enormous problems for her and Lonely. The Surgeon wasn't someone to be trifled with. Even though her big brother had gained thousands of Sinsworn since his battle with The Tooth Man, he was still ranked behind the Surgeon. And she was an incredible warrior.

  Adrienne giggled brashly.

  "We can beat her, though."

  Her Intuition was hesitant. They might beat her, but nobody knew what would happen.

  "Hey, why didn't you ask Lonely about what I did to your hand?"

  Gallant shook her head.

  "I didn't want to worry him. I wanted him to be excited about the Surgeon's alliance without worrying about anything else. But that was a waste."

  She flopped her dead hand back and forth and sighed.

  The Surgeon turned and glanced at her.

  "Hm?"

  Gallant stashed the hand back in her pocket. She definitely wouldn't ask the Surgeon for advice. The Surgeon had cheated her. She'd said that Lonely was invited too, and then she'd gotten rid of him at the first opportunity.

  They passed by a curtain and entered the Surgeon's private quarters.

  In stark contrast to the prim exterior, the Surgeon's personal rooms were comfy and homey. It made Gallant feel like she was walking into her own bedroom. There were large sofas on either end of the room with big blue cushions that were the precise shade of The Surgeon's tiny little fish. There was an enormous tank of water on the other end for her Familiar, but it was completely empty. Like Gallant, the Surgeon always kept her Familiar by her side.

  A pair of sisters lounged on the couch at the far end. Gallant didn't need an introduction to know that they were related. They looked extremely similar, and their close age - much more typical among the Lords than the massive gap between herself and Lonely - only made their similarity more apparent. It was only after a close inspection did Gallant realize they weren't identical. The one on the left had a somewhat wider forehead, and her eyes were spaced further out. The one on the right had higher cheekbones, and her eyes were narrowed, giving her a permanent look that made it seem like she was concentrating very hard. Gallant found it hard to meet her gaze. The most obvious difference didn't require careful inspection. Even an Ignorant would have seen that the one on the left was very pregnant.

  The two women were much older than her – they must have been in their early twenties.

  "Gallant – please meet my friends, Reader and The Tall Tale."

  Gallant smiled, and she hoped it looked polite. Adrienne waved jauntily.

  "Yes! The one with the brother!"

  "Where is he right now?"

  The Surgeon shrugged.

  "He seemed like he wanted to be elsewhere."

  Gallant seethed internally. The Surgeon had just gotten rid of him.

  The tall and elegant hostess laughed.

  "Hey, I mean, it's like Gale, right? He never comes to our private meetings either."

  The pregnant one nodded.

  "Yes, it seems like he always get lost on the way too. He can be a pretty hopeless guy."

  The woman with the narrower eyes smiled kindly as she explained to Gallant that Gale was her pregnant sister's husband.

  "I'm The Tall Tale, by the way. My sister is Reader. People always get us mixed up unless we're in our machines."

  Gallant smiled. The Tall Tale seemed nice.

  Lonely always made fun of her for not doing her research, but she knew who The Tall Tale and Reader were. She liked studying, so long as it was about cool fighters. The two sisters couldn't have had more different fighting styles, but they made an incredible team.

  The Tall Tale was known for her piloting abilities and sheer strength, and her Aspect manifested itself in direct assaults on the mind. Every time she struck an enemy machine, she could make the pilot inside the cockpit feel like they'd been mortally wounded injured. Like with most Aspects, the ability also extended to hand-to-hand combat. The Tall Tale was a formidable boxer.

  Reader's abilities were very different. Her machine was small and nearly as oddly shaped as Gallant's own Paragon. It was nothing more than a gigantic head with a bulging brain. The arms and legs were thin and tiny. The Paragon could barely move under its own strength - it'd been designed to dock on top of her sister's machine. From that perch, Reader could trap her foes inside a world of illusions.

  The Surgeon glanced around the room and then frowned.

  "Well, it seems like Miss Always Late is late again. I was hoping to spar."

  Adrienne giggled excitedly.

  "Rematch! Rematch!"

  Gallant smiled.

  She didn't like the Surgeon very much, not after she'd gotten rid of Lonely. At this point, Gallant was having a hard time seeing the point of the veteran pilot. What did The Surgeon want?

  But she was fun to fight.

  Gallant was just about to volunteer when the Surgeon shook her head.

  "No, not you, Gallant. This is your first time here, and there's a tradition I make all my extraordinary women undergo. I'd prefer to fight The Tall Tale instead!"

  The sister who wasn't pregnant pushed herself up from the chair and made herself smile.

  "I can't think of anything more exciting!"

  She didn't look excited at all. She looked and sounded like Gallant did when Lonely made her go down the hall with the Surgeon. Maybe Reader had secretly kicked her sister when Gallant wasn't looking.

  Her Intuition cut into her thoughts.

  "That doesn't make sense. They're friends. If they're friends, she should feel alright saying no."

  It was a good point.

  "She doesn't look like she wants to fight though. She looks like she thinks it'll be boring."

  "Maybe they're fake friends. It's hard to find friends in the Constellation."

  Her only friends were Lonely, Adrienne, and her Intuition, and they were all her family members.

  "What about the Namer? The one who said we couldn't get in trouble? He could be a friend."

  Adrienne told her Intuition to shut up.

  "He's a fake friend too. Or at least he is until he proves it. We thought the Surgeon was a friend, but then she got rid of Lonely!"

  The Surgeon taped the wall with her thin fingers and removed a set of long Eternium rods from the wall. She swaggered over to Gallant and deposited them to the floor with a musical clang.

  "Not only did I invite you to my party, I even brought you to meet my closest friends. It seems to me like you owe me a favor in return."

  Gallant wanted to be home with Lonely, not hanging out with the Surgeon, but The Tall Tale and Reader seemed cool. And besides, it was good to be compliant. She didn't want to make the Surgeon fight against Lonely. It was only because she'd asked Lonely to take her to one of the Surgeon's fights that The Tooth Man had gotten mad at them. If she messed up with the Surgeon, she'd be repeating the same mistake.

  The Surgeon smiled impishly and pointed at the rods.

  "I'll return after my fight. When I do, please show me a weapon I've never seen before. Show that you can entertain me!"

  ____

  "Come now, Tall Tale. Let us enjoy a real fight. No stakes, nothing like these horrid House battles."

  The Tall Tale was clearly forcing herself to sound enthusiastic.

  "Yes, of course!"

  Adrienne stared at the rods, utterly baffled.

  "How are we supposed to do that? There's no way we know about a weapon that she doesn't. Isn't she way older than us?"

  Her Intuition grumbled, but Gallant laughed. Whether or not she failed at the task, at least she hadn't shouted out Adrienne's stupid question.

  She stared at the rods, unsure of what to create.

  After a few more moments, Reader's voice cut in from across the room.

  "You're going to want to do it. Even if you're not sure, you should try. She'll get annoyed if you don't."

  Gallant frowned.

 
She knew she shouldn't ask the question, but The Tall Tale had seemed very nice. And now Reader was giving her free advice. Since they were sisters, Reader should probably be nice too. After all, Gallant and Lonely were both nice.

  "Why did your sister agree to fight her even though she didn't want to?"

  To Gallant's surprise, Reader laughed.

  "Oh man. It's funny that you noticed that. Well, the simple answer is that it's just the blessing and curse of allying with the Surgeon. You need to entertain her, but she's good to you if you manage to keep your interest."

  Intuition didn't like the sound of that.

  "It sounds like you're just working for her."

  Gallant didn't want to say that out loud. The Lords were supposed to be the freest and greatest. They didn't work for anybody but their own interests. Star Above had repeated that lesson more times than all three of them could count. Gallant knew that lesson wasn't true, but it might be rude to say it to Reader's face.

  "I was willing to fight. It was fun when we fought outside the Nursery."

  Reader nodded.

  "Yeah! It can be fun! We've had some fun fights against her. It's nice to fight with nothing at stake."

  The pregnant woman frowned uneasily and drifted off. Gallant peered up at her in confusion. Reader's stomach was enormous. The Namers would be coming for her child very soon.

  Gallant shook her head. Giving up your child to the Namers was one of the most painful things she could think of. She thought that if she were in that position, she might try to cheat the Namers and keep her kid with her, but as they found out in the courtroom, nobody cheated the Namers.

  Intuition shook its head.

  "No. Maybe you could. The Namers said you can't get in trouble, remember?"

  "That's dumb. I might get in trouble if I went against them. It's like if I skipped school, but worse. I still have to do what they say. They're the ones letting me not get in trouble."

  Reader's voice cut off their discussion. Gallant wondered if she wanted to cheat the Namers too. She probably did.

  "But the thing is, if you don't want to fight her, she makes jokes about challenging you to a real battle. And you don't really know if that's a joke, you know?"