Frostburn (Ultrahumans Book 4)

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘Oh, well, that’s really something to look forward to.’

  Andrea grinned: he was starting to look more like Jacob, aside from the glowing, blue eyes. ‘It’s turkey soup.’

  ‘Better and better.’

  New Millennium City, MD.

  ‘Is not exactly traditional Thanksgiving dinner,’ Svetilo said, ‘but it fills empty space in belly, da?’

  ‘None of us are exactly great cooks,’ June said. ‘And I’ve never liked squash or pumpkin pie.’

  ‘And you call yourself American…’

  ‘Apple pie is fine. Where did you get this from anyway?’

  ‘I know someone in the restaurant business. I promise him night of unendurable pleasure if he sort something out.’

  ‘Right…’

  ‘It tastes great,’ Penny said. ‘What is this?’

  ‘That is pheasant,’ Svetilo said. ‘There is some turkey in here too. I do not think he went with whole medieval feast thing, but combination is nice. And a change.’

  ‘Uh-huh. So, what are we thankful for this year?’

  ‘Still pretty. Still alive. Still free.’

  June giggled. ‘Okay. Still pretty. Still alive. And now I’ve got the most awesome girlfriend on the planet.’

  ‘And I thought I was the only one,’ Penny said.

  ‘Only two,’ June corrected.

  ‘Only two then. Um… Still alive, for sure. Still pretty when I want to be. Awesome girlfriend. Great friends, including a new electronic one.’

  ‘Thank you, Cygnus,’ Denny said. ‘I am thankful to be off the bottom of an ocean and once again serving my true mistress.’

  ‘Oh,’ Svetilo said, grinning up at the wall screen, ‘so is mistress now. This is something I can get behind.’

  ‘I believe I may be missing your inference, Dominika,’ Denny said in her pleasantly bland tone. ‘June, could you explain what Dominika means by that statement?’

  June sagged. ‘Next time we get an artificially intelligent supercomputer put in, remind me not to name it.’

  Antarctica.

  ‘Face it, if we brought you in a Thanksgiving dinner, it’d be cold before you could eat it.’ Heather was grinning when she said it, even if the grin looked a little forced. That might have been to do with the heavy coat and the three layers of insulation under it…

  ‘And you’d never get a forkful past that parka,’ Jacob responded.

  ‘True. Getting this glass in here is hard enough. At least the wine’s chilled.’ Manoeuvring her glass into her hood, Heather sipped and ignored the giggling fit Andrea was having. ‘It’s all right for you. And these mitts are not helping matters!’

  ‘Well, get yourself some cold powers,’ Andrea suggested. ‘It’s the new black, apparently.’

  Heather gave a grunt of displeasure. ‘Night Shift was in the office this morning, talking to Brent. They’re determined to pin this on you.’

  ‘Yeah, well…’ Jacob muttered.

  ‘It’s not you.’

  ‘Listen to your partner and soon-to-be business associate,’ Andrea said.

  ‘Yeah, well…’ Jacob repeated. ‘I’m willing to be convinced.’

  ‘Good, because I’ve organised an office for you.’

  ‘You have?’

  ‘Said I’d help. There’s a law firm in Uptown, Roman and Hill. I’ve an… association through some obscure channels. They have space in their building and an occasional need for investigative work.’

  ‘You’ve “an association” with them?’

  ‘Yeah. And when you’re both officially not UID agents, I might be able to tell you about it.’ Andrea held up a hand. ‘Nothing they need your help with is anything other than legitimate legal business… and they don’t do divorces.’

  ‘We’ll take it,’ Heather said quickly before Jacob could object.

  Belvedere, CA.

  As the new guy in the division, Damian had pulled the Thanksgiving duty along with a few other unlucky, unmarried detectives. It had worked out well enough, however. ‘It was pretty quiet,’ he explained to Bianca and Elaine. ‘I got caught up on the paperwork for the Kopf trial.’

  ‘Next week,’ Bianca said. ‘Cygnus and Twilight are staying over again.’

  ‘No June this time?’ Elaine asked.

  ‘Apparently she’s going to England. Something to do with a costume design project.’

  ‘Girl gets around.’

  ‘Sure does. So, you think Kopf will be convicted, Damian?’

  Damian shrugged. ‘It all seems pretty open and shut to me, but juries can be weird. He’s an old man… They’re not going to let his wartime history into evidence, but it’s come up in the media a few times. He’ll probably go down for what he’s done.’

  Bianca grinned. ‘Do I detect some cynical cop edging out into the light?’

  ‘Huh. Never anything but cynical cop here. Anyway, how was dinner with the family?’

  ‘Oh, thanks for reminding me of two hours of my life I’ll never get back. Libby brought up her allowance this morning, so she was in a huff the entire time. Marie was embarrassed that her mother was being… Libby. Mark spent almost the entire time staring at my chest. Seriously, that boy is going to grow up with a boob fixation.’

  ‘You have great boobs,’ Elaine said, shrugging.

  ‘I was wearing a sweater!’

  ‘Doesn’t help,’ Damian pointed out. ‘I’ve seen most of your sweaters.’

  ‘And there’s nothing wrong with liking breasts,’ Elaine added. ‘I like breasts.’

  ‘I’m quite fond of them,’ Damian agreed. ‘Preferably they should be attached to a woman, obviously. In Vice, you come across far too many that are attached to men. And that is not a transgender thing. Drugs can really make you let yourself go.’

  Bianca giggled. ‘That guy they hauled in as the head of the tong… What was he called? Jade Flame?’

  ‘Zhu Lei, aka Yu Huoyan or Jade Flame, yeah.’

  ‘He looked like he had a fine pair on him.’

  ‘Not bad ones, though the assassin we brought in for Snapshot’s murder has better ones.’

  ‘But she is a woman.’

  ‘True, and Zhu’s might be bigger…’

  There was more giggling and then Elaine asked, ‘Is she going to go down for Snapshot’s murder?’

  ‘That one really is open and shut. She isn’t even denying it.’

  ‘She’s not?’

  Damian shook his head. ‘Confessed to the whole thing. The only thing she wouldn’t do was give up who contracted her, but we’ve got the evidence to prove it was Zhu. There has to be a sentencing hearing, but she’s going to prison.’ He frowned and added, ‘I’m not honestly sure how long she’ll stay there. I got the feeling she was pretty capable, but she’s being tried as a normal.’

  Bianca shrugged. ‘If she escapes, you’ll know where she’ll be.’

  ‘We will? I mean, China, probably.’

  ‘Nuh-huh. Twilight got a lot of information on her organisation and they don’t like anyone else using their style of martial arts. She killed Snapshot to get to Mink, but killing Mink was not just a contract. I’d almost be willing to bet she can’t go home until she’s completed the mission. If she escapes, she’ll do it to come back here and finish what she started.’

  Antarctica.

  ‘Part of the problem is mental,’ Doctor Ultimate said as he cut turkey. ‘You know, I still really associate turkey with Christmas. England really did make an impression when I was there.’

  ‘I’m glad you think so, dear,’ Alice said, ‘but you were talking about Jacob, not turkey.’

  ‘Ah! Yes. Mental. He doesn’t want to accept his powers so they are operating on automatic, if you will.’

  ‘That… sounds like Jacob,’ Heather agreed.

  ‘There may be some organic component we can never get around. As I believe I indicated, his genetics are not excessively prone to activation events. The Excelsior doses essentially forced his body into reacti
ng where most humans with any latent capacity would have remained normal. However, I believe that he can learn far greater control than he currently has.’

  ‘Well, that’s good,’ Andrea said, nodding. The Thanksgiving meal was a buffet, which made life easier on everyone since they could grab what they wanted. Andrea had not grabbed much: she was not feeling especially hungry.

  ‘Indeed. The biggest problem is that his metabolism appears to have stabilised at a temperature significantly lower than normal. He will be uncomfortable, at best, in the natural environment of Maryland. I may, however, have a solution for that. I’ll work on the idea and let you know.’

  ‘But for the mental aspect,’ Alice said, ‘he’s going to need help. From both of you.’

  ‘Both of us?’ Heather said, blinking. ‘I’m not much help with powers and stuff. I mean, I’m a tiny bit Ultra, but that isn’t anything I have any control over.’

  ‘Have you tried?’ Ultimate asked.

  ‘Uh… Well, no.’

  Ultimate gave a little shrug and Alice went on. ‘Your job, Heather, is to give him a normal anchor. You’ve made a good start. He’s still your friend and colleague, keep treating him as such. Encourage him to consider himself… well, not a freak.’

  ‘He’s not… but he thinks he is… Okay.’

  ‘And Andrea will do the same, with some added encouragement to learn to use his abilities. Do you remember learning to use yours?’

  Andrea frowned. ‘I remember being scared the first time I stepped through a shadow. I’m not much of a teacher.’

  ‘He doesn’t need a teacher. He needs a fellow traveller. Someone who has been through what he has. I think, under the circumstances, that your experiences after you got your full shadow powers might be more relevant. They came from the same event as Jacob’s and you were very much not ready for them, I think.’

  ‘Yeah… Twilight was, but I was… not. Okay. I’ll do it. Somehow. Hell, he’s still alive which is better than a lot of people affected by Excelsior.’ She picked up her glass of wine and raised it. ‘To being alive. That’s something to be thankful for, right?’

  28th November.

  ‘I wish I was dead,’ June moaned.

  Penny and Svetilo peered at her: neither of them had hangovers. ‘I prefer you alive,’ Penny said. ‘I’m not into necrophilia.’

  ‘How come you don’t even have a headache?’

  ‘Still basically Cygnus. Immune to most forms of biological ickyness.’

  ‘Russian,’ Svetilo said. ‘We are weaned onto vodka straight from breast.’

  ‘That explains a lot about you, Dom,’ Penny said.

  ‘Da.’

  ‘We should be out shopping,’ June grumbled. ‘We should be out with everyone else, spending too much money. Why did I let you talk me into shots after the meal?’

  ‘Wasn’t my idea,’ Penny replied.

  ‘I admit it,’ Svetilo said. ‘My evil plan was to get you drunk and pliant.’

  ‘You didn’t even try to get either of us into bed!’ June exclaimed. She sounded almost outraged.

  ‘Plans change. You really want to be out there with the unwashed mass in crowded shops?’

  ‘Well… No, but that’s not the point. We should be out. Doing… out things. My head hurts.’

  ‘We’ll fly out to the beach later,’ Penny suggested. ‘The air will do you good. Have some more coffee and let the painkillers work.’

  ‘It’s not fair. I want super-alcohol-resistance powers.’

  ‘Bozhe moi! Be careful what you wish for, kisa. Someone might hear and grant your wish.’

  ‘What’s “kisa?”’ Penny asked.

  ‘Um… diminutive form of “cat.” Pussycat.’

  ‘I like that. I’ve been looking for a pet name for her.’

  June gave a grunt. ‘Pussycats don’t get hangovers. What’s “swan” in Russian?’

  ‘Lebed. Not so cute.’ Svetilo grinned. ‘Russian is not that cute a language. You have to try French or something.’

  ‘I’ll think of something.’

  ‘I’m good,’ Penny said, smiling. ‘Kisa. That’ll do nicely.’

  ‘It’s not fair,’ June grumbled. ‘I can’t even think straight.’

  ‘Have you had more coffee?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Ah well, there you go then.’

  29th November.

  ‘You are expecting delivery?’ Svetilo asked as she watched a courier van on the TV screen.

  ‘I have not been informed of any such event,’ Denny commented. Was there just a little hint of annoyance in her tone.

  ‘Because we’re not expecting anything,’ Penny said, undoing the belt on her robe. It was early, and Saturday, and no one had felt like getting out of bed. ‘Unless…’

  ‘No, I didn’t order anything online on principle,’ June said.

  ‘Right then, Cygnus will go answer the door.’

  ‘Delivery boy will think boat has come in if you do it like that,’ Svetilo commented.

  Penny rolled her eyes, dropped her robe behind her, and shifted on the way to the bedroom door. ‘I’ve got a rapid-deployment sweater dress for emergencies,’ Cygnus said.

  As she was returning, pulling the grey dress into place, Denny suddenly chimed in again. ‘Warning. The package being carried to the door contains an unknown and suspicious device.’

  Cygnus flashed a look at Svetilo and then took off, flying through the house to the front door. She opened it to find the delivery guy in his brown uniform, about five feet away. ‘Stop! Put that down on the ground, get back in your van, and leave.’ The man looked at her, eyes wide, jaw hanging open. ‘Hello… Earth to delivery guy… You’re probably carrying a bomb…’

  Of course, it was exactly the wrong thing to say. He dropped it. Cygnus surged forward, just managing to catch the cubic box before it hit the ground, and only because she could fly. She looked up as she set the potentially deadly box on the ground. ‘Do you have a sender address for this thing?’

  ‘Uh… should be on the label.’

  ‘I suppose you need me to sign for it?’

  ‘Uh… yeah, but… If it’s a bomb… I mean…’

  Lifting to her feet, Cygnus reached for his little PDA device to sign. She had shifted over to her search and rescue configuration, and her radar was busy picking out details through the box. ‘Yeah, well, maybe it’s not and we don’t want you getting in trouble, do we?’ Except that she could ‘see’ a metal canister, some form of liner, wires… ‘Off you go. Have a nice day.’

  ‘I-isn’t that supposed to be my line?’

  ‘Yeah, but if this is a bomb, having a nice day seems unlikely.’

  ~~~

  ‘You’re taking this very calmly,’ Fire Bug said as he stood outside the house with Cygnus watching bomb disposal people carrying things into trucks.

  ‘I’m saving my wig-out for when I have my hands around this asshole’s throat,’ Cygnus replied in a rather sweet tone which immediately had the fireman revising his estimates.

  ‘Um… It’s a similar device to the one he set in the stairwell for you. Rigged to go off when the package was opened.’

  ‘That’s more or less what I figured.’

  ‘Yeah… Would have made a big mess of your house.’

  ‘Would have killed June,’ Cygnus said, and the sweetness was gone. ‘Probably very painfully. Dom and I… Not sure, but June would have died, in agony, as her flesh burned off her bones.’

  ‘Uh… yeah.’

  ‘Find him, Andy.’

  Fire Bug nodded. ‘We will.’

  ‘Find him, and make sure there’s someone around to hold me back when you do.’

  1st December.

  ‘If you’ll just sign in the indicated places, Mister Sweet, it’ll all be yours.’

  Jason Sweet smiled and produced his own pen, expensive and Swiss, to do as the agent was asking. It had taken a few weeks to find just the perfect location, but he was quite sure that this was it.
The floor area was right, there was space above for a VIP area and his private office, and it was four blocks from the Huntress’s Den. That was far enough away to not appear to be poaching, and close enough to strip business from his competitor.

  ‘I still can’t believe you persuaded the previous owner to sell at such a low price,’ the agent went on.

  Sweet’s eyes flicked over her: five seven, slim, attractive… Yes… ‘I have a way with people,’ Sweet said. ‘I think it’s my name. They just seem to trust me.’ He watched her expression shifting, her eyes dulling a little. ‘I’m just a likeable person.’

  ‘Why yes, you are…’

  Sweet pushed the document across to her. ‘All done. Now, would you care to join me in celebrating my new property?’

  ‘Yes… Yes, I would.’

  Sweet smiled. ‘That’s good. I have a bottle of champagne in my limo. I’ll give you a lift back to your office so you can file the paperwork.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I’m sure we’ll find a suitable way for you to thank me on the way there.’ He started off toward the door of the large, open room where his new club was about to take form. ‘The long way around, I think. You look like you’re quite flexible.’

  ‘I am,’ the agent said, her tone suggesting she was surprised to hear herself say it. ‘Very.’

  Morrigan Manor, England.

  June blinked the light out of her eyes and watched as the room resolved around her. A lobby of some sort, open and airy, but that was one thing she did know about Viviane: the sorceress hated confined spaces.

  ‘And here we are,’ Viviane said, sounding just a little unsure. ‘Welcome to England, and Morrigan Manor, my home.’

  ‘It’s lovely,’ June responded. ‘It’s… kind of you.’ The hall had a classical look about it, possibly coming from the twin caryatid pillars which stretched from floor to ceiling on either side of a broad staircase which rose up from the middle of the room, but the doors were panelled wood, and the walls were white marble as well.

  ‘Old-fashioned?’ Viviane suggested, smiling to show there was no rancour in the question.

  ‘Classical,’ June countered, peering up at one of the statues holding up the ceiling. It was female, a nude with a swirl of moulded cloth just hiding its crotch. Its face and arms were raised as though in supplication to some higher being. ‘Are those you?’