Beyond The Vale

by Brian D. Anderson

  He went over the protection spells he might need. It was too soon to cast them now; by morning they would have faded and be utterly useless.

  A few more cars rumbled by, along with a handful of pedestrians. From his position in the shadows, they passed by completely unaware of him. No one would look down a dark alley. They were afraid of what they might see.

  “You’re not as clever as you think.”

  The voice from behind startled Bane to his feet.

  He could barely make out a lithe figure standing about ten feet away. “Linx?”

  “Don’t move. There are three P37’s aimed at your back.” She took a step forward, so Bane could make out that she was holding a gun. And not just any gun: another P37. “And one at your head.”

  With no protection, he was done. Though even with it, so many P37’s could have easily shattered any spell he could have cast. “I would like to say it’s nice to meet you.”

  “You really should learn to change your tactics,” said Linx. The girlish quality Drake had told him about was gone, apparently. Her voice was cold…like a real Troian. “But hawkers are predictable. You think if it works once, it will work every time.”

  “So you read up on me?”

  “Enough to know you’d show up early. Now, if you don’t mind backing onto the sidewalk?”

  He was sure that wherever the royal guard was positioned, they would have a clear shot.

  And it would be stupid to think they might miss. Not that it mattered; Linx certainly wouldn’t.

  Bane stepped out of the alley, hands raised. “So are you going to kill me here?”

  “We’re going to have a little talk.” Stepping into the dim light of the street, she pointed to the building where they were to meet.

  Bane turned and, being sure not to move suddenly lest the royal guards get anxious, did as instructed. Inside was completely gutted, scavengers having taken whatever had been left behind. There was only a large open room, with two chairs placed in the center.

  “How long ago did you get here?” asked Bane. Only Linx had followed him in. Her companions obviously thought she had the situation in hand. A grin formed. Mistake.

  “Have a seat,” she ordered, ignoring the question.

  Bane took one of the chairs and placed his hands on his knees. Linx, he now saw, was wearing the black shirt and pants often used by the royal guard on raids in the provinces, along with a black cap, a few strands of mouse-brown hair poking out the side. The material was specially designed to absorb the light. No wonder he hadn’t spotted her in the alley. She looked every bit the young girl he had heard about, but there was something in her eyes that denoted someone far older.

  The grave expression she wore and the way her hand unshakingly gripped her weapon were disquieting.

  “Well?” said Bane. “Now what?”

  “That depends on what happens in the next two minutes,” she replied. Bane furrowed his brow. “What do you think will happen?”

  “I don’t think anything will happen. But we’ll see if I’m right.”

  The way she was able to stay perfectly focused and calm was impressive. Drake had mentioned that he deeply regretted leaving Linx behind to fall under the control of Salazar. Not that Drake ever said that he held it against her. He understood completely how desperate Vale could make you. The desire to get out of the provinces and stay out would be too much for most people, particularly if they’d been given a taste of what life could be like in Troi.

  As the seconds ticked by, Bane worked out what he should do. He was not going to just sit there and be executed. But if Linx had done her research well enough to anticipate that he would show up early, she would likely know that too.

  Then, as if a switch had been flipped, her expression changed and a smile formed. “Two minutes.” Linx lowered her weapon and placed it in the holster on her belt.

  Bane’s normal reaction would have been to use this perceived advantage to make his escape. But he was momentarily stunned.

  “Calm down,” said Linx, taking a seat in the other chair. She removed her hat and ran her fingers through her hair. “Damn, that itches.”

  “What’s this all about?” asked Bane, his eyes darting over to the door then back to Linx. “I had to make sure I wasn’t followed,” she explained. “Can you imagine what the king

  would do to me if I were caught? Two minutes. That’s how long they would have waited before bursting in. If I had a gun on you, I could just say I’d caught you and was about to hand you over.”

  “And the three royal guards you said were ready to shoot me?”

  Linx shrugged. “What can I say? I thought you might get cute if it was only little old me. And since I can’t really use one of these things…” She took the P37 and tossed it over to Bane. “You can give it to Drake when you see him.”

  Bane felt a surge of anger, but it only lasted a moment. Duped by his own tricks! He had done something similar to Drake once, when they’d met. He placed the weapon on the floor, chuckling softly. “I have to admit, you’re as clever as Drake said. You’d have made one hell of a hawker.”

  Linx smiled. “I was already one hell of a runner. Are you really Lenora’s cousin?” Bane stiffened. “Who told you that?”

  “It was in your file. Just speculation, of course. But that’s what the royal guard thinks.”

  She would have access to royal guard files, that much Bane knew. But that his relationship to the princess was not known for certain was good. “I barely know her.”

  “Really? Too bad. I’ve only met her a couple of times. Well, not met, really. But I saw her.

  I hear she’s a sweet person.”

  “She is. But like I said, I barely know her.” A car passed outside, causing him to jump. “What did you want to see me about?”

  Linx laughed. “Why so nervous?”

  “Let’s just say experience keeps me alert.” “I understand. I’m scared too.”

  She didn’t look it. “Of what?’

  “After all the people you’ve killed? Are you kidding? You.” She flicked a dismissive hand. “Anyway. You’re right. We should get down to it. That fact is, King Salazar is out of his mind. I can’t let him go through with his plan.”

  “And what is his plan?”

  She cocked her head. “I think you know that already.” “No. You tell me.”

  There was a long silence before Linx spoke. “If this is going to work, one of us needs to start trusting the other. Don’t you think?”

  “Of the two of us, you are the one working for the king. So why don’t you start?”

  Linx shrugged. “Fine. King Salazar is going to let loose hundreds of hellspawn and basically wipe out the provinces. Satisfied?”

  “That depends. How can you help us stop him?”

  “I’m not sure I can. I have no idea where he keeps them. Maybe if I did, I could shut them

  down.”

  “How would you do that?”

  “Salazar is careful. Crazy, but careful. No one knows where they all are except him. If I knew the locations, I could shut them down from the power station.”

  “I suppose that’s where Exodus comes in.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping. I figure you must at least have some idea where they are.” “So it’s as simple as that? We find them and you shut them down?”

  “Not exactly, no. A place that important is sure to have plenty of security. I can shut down the power, but your people will need to take it out.”

  “And how do we do that?’ asked Bane.

  “How should I know? Blow it up, I suppose. But you’ll need to destroy the hellspawn first. If the tanks are breached, they’ll just get loose. You’ll need to know how to poison the mana flowing into the tanks. That will kill them. Well, it should, anyway.”

  Bane leaned back. “And I guess you’ll need me to take you to Exodus to show them how to do it?”

  Linx frowned. “Look. I’ve already risked my neck by coming here. I’m s
upposed to be out looking for the princess. It will be months before I can get away like this again. Xavier is looking for a reason to get rid of me. That’s why I had to be so careful. I’m watched constantly. It took three days to lose the guards he sent to keep an eye on me. So it’s now or never. Your choice.”

  Bane regarded her for a long moment. He didn’t trust her. But then, who did he trust? And if what she said was true, they could cripple the king and save countless lives.

  “I’ll take you to see Exodus,” he said. “But I’m afraid you’ll need to be unconscious along the way.”

  Linx folded her hands and pressed her index fingers to her bottom lip. After a lengthy pause, she said, “Fine. But only if you do it without drugs.”

  “Of course.”

  Linx popped from her chair, her girlish smile returning. “Then let’s get going.”

  Drake reached down, picked up the P37, and tucked it into his belt. “One thing first.” Mana course through his veins like fire, and his hands glowed a faint red.

  Linx stepped away. “Wait just a minute. What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Just making sure we’re not followed. So if you have a tracking device, you might want to tell me now, considering it will explode the second I touch you.”

  Linx scowled. “You really need to learn to trust people.” She extended her arm.

  Bane grinned impishly. “Fooled you.” He let the mana recede. “I tried working out a spell that could do that. Never could get it right, though.”

  Linx rolled her eyes. “If you’re finished…”

  They made their way back to Cal, careful to remain in the shadows – not that hard to do, as only a few street lamps remained unbroken.

  “So Drake let you take her?” asked Linx, settling down into the passenger’s seat.

  Bane fired the engine. “I’m just borrowing her for a bit.” He shifted to face her. “Are you ready?”

  Linx took a deep breath, then nodded sharply.

  Bane drew in just enough mana to cast the spell. He didn’t want to hurt her. As he pressed his finger to her forehead, she went rigid for a moment, then slumped down in the seat. He would need to do this three more times at least. It was possible with a single spell, but there was a greater risk of causing irreparable damage.

  As he pulled back into the street, a sinking feeling came over him. There was every chance he was making a big mistake.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time,” he muttered.

  Chapter Six

  “Have you lost your mind?” shouted Zara, red-faced and fuming. “Why did you bring her

  here?”

  “I already explained,” said Bane. “If she can help us destroy the hellspawn, it’s worth the

  risk.”

  “That’s not for you to decide.”

  Linx was lying in the corner of the tiny shack where he had arranged for her to meet with Exodus. She would wake up soon, so Bane needed to smooth things over quickly.

  “It’s not like I brought her anywhere important.”

  “What kind of idiot are you? Every place they don’t know about is important. And if you’re wrong, they’ll know about one more.”

  They were a few miles from the barrier; that alone ensured privacy. And the shack was nothing more than a rally point. But she was right. Still, it was the best he could come up with.

  “You want me to take her back?”

  “What I want is for you to think from time to time.” She glanced over to Linx. “But no.

  Now that she’s here, I guess we should listen to what she has to say.”

  Bane bent down and touched Linx’s arm, and a moment later she began to stir, smacking her tongue and looking as if she had tasted something foul. She looked up at Bane, one eye shut.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “That doesn’t matter,” Zara interjected. “Who are you?”

  “That doesn’t matter either. What matters is the reason you’re here.”

  Linx pushed herself up to lean against the wall. “You don’t have anything to drink, do you?

  My mouth feels like it’s been stuffed with dirt.”

  “Bane tells me you have a way to destroy the hellspawn facilities,” said Zara. “And I said I’m thirsty.”

  The two women locked eyes.

  Finally, Zara turned and poked her head outside. “Bring me some water.”

  A few moments later, Zara was handed a bottle, which she tossed beside Linx.

  Linx drained the entire contents at once, then let out a relieved sigh. “Much better. Now we can talk.”

  “Talk fast,” said Zara. “I’m not here to waste time.”

  Linx stretched and pushed herself to her feet. “If you’re trying to scare me…well…I admit you’re pretty good at it. Taking me all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, not knowing who’s outside or what you’ll do to me…” She took a quick look around. “I was hoping Drake would be here.”

  “You’re trying my patience.” Zara reached behind her back and produced a handgun, though she did not point it.

  “Take it easy,” said Linx, seemingly unafraid. “I’ve been out for two days. Give me a minute.”

  Zara now pointed the weapon. “You don’t have a minute.”

  Bane felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Something wasn’t right. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

  “All right, all right. Like I told Bane, I can disrupt the mana to the hellspawn facilities. But I need to know where they all are.”

  “Yes. I understand that. And he said we’d need to poison the mana flowing into the tanks.” “Exactly.” She paused as if Zara was meant to reply. “So?”

  “So what?” asked Zara.

  “Do you know where they are or not?”

  Zara opened her mouth to answer, but Bane threw out his hand.

  “Wait.” He scrutinized Linx for a moment, his body flooding with mana. “How did you know you were out for two days?”

  Linx shrugged. “I don’t know. I just guessed.”

  Zara pulled back the hammer and aimed at Linx’s head. There were three soft pops from outside, followed by a grunt.

  “Damn,” muttered Linx.

  Bane’s hands glowed red, mana begging to burst forth.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” said Linx. “Your friend outside is dead. And unless you want to join him, you’ll be good.”

  Zara rushed at Linx and wrapped her arm around her neck, pressing the gun to her temple. Linx did nothing to resist. Zara flashed a furious look over to Bane, who was backing away from the door, arms spread.

  “It’s useless,” said Linx. “Ten royal guards are surrounding the place. Kill me and they’ll kill you. And while you might not mind dying, I do. So I have a proposition. I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to let Lord Xavier know about the Exodus base twenty miles east of here, would you? Of course, there is another way out of this.”

  Bane wanted nothing more than to roast her alive. But they were trapped. And she had been accurate regarding the location of the base. “Talk.”

  “As of now, I’m the only one who knows. My assignment was to find Drake and the Princess. Well, the princess really. But King Salazar assumes they’re together. Exodus isn’t my job. But I can’t go back empty-handed.”

  “What’s to stop you from telling the guard once you’re free?” asked Bane.

  “Nothing,” she replied. “But I could have told them a week ago, when I found it. I’m sure by now you’ve reached in your pocket and sent a warning signal. It won’t reach them. Not unless I allow it. And I’m sure you’re thinking you can try to escape through the tunnel over there.” She jerked her head toward the far corner of the shack. “And one of you can. I imagine you – I didn’t get your name – anyway, I’m sure you have one of those clever suicide devices implanted somewhere. But you, Bane – I doubt you would let them do it to you.”

  “She’s lying,” said Zara. “Soon as she’s able, she’ll send the g
uard.”

  “Maybe,” said Linx. “But the signal blocking your warning has a limited range. Once you’re back outside, it should be fine. Imagine all the lives you’ll save. Isn’t it worth the risk?”

  Zara jerked Linx’s neck roughly, pressing the barrel hard against her flesh. “I could just kill you and do it anyway.”

  “True. But the shot will call the guards.” She looked to Bane. “Magic isn’t quiet either.

  And don’t bother thinking you can knock me out. I’ll scream.”

  Bane and Zara looked at one another searchingly, hoping that one of them would come up with a plan. But Bane knew…it was over.

  “Let her go,” he said. “I’ll let them take me.”

  Zara hesitated, then shoved Linx to the ground. “This isn’t over.” Linx rolled to face her. “I agree.”