by Adam Thielen
“I know,” interrupted Somer. “But you’ve done so well.”
“What?” Tsenka puzzled. “I’ve done nothing!”
“You don’t see what I do,” replied the seer. “I know it’s hard from your perspective, but I need you to trust me.”
“I came here to rescue you,” said Cho. “Not be led around by a leash.”
Desre’s lower lip shook. She rubbed her mouth, massaging the twitch away. “I—I know. But that will have to wait. The man you fought in Mumbai is—”
“How do you know—”
“—headed inside this lab right now. The guard who left just received confirmation to detain you. But you can’t let them take you. They want you out of the way. You have to run… now.”
“Where are you, Desre?”
“Pakistan. A city named Thatta,” revealed Desre. “I can guide Taq here, but you need to leave. I’ve looked at the plans for the building. I will guide you to the emergency exit and out of harm, but I cannot waste any more time. Are you ready?”
Tsenka’s head swirled with notions and suspicions that evaporated under the heat of imminent danger. She made the only decision she could.
“Ready.”
Episode 9: Anne’s Spell
“Follow the guard, then turn left down the corridor and open the maintenance door,” instructed Desre, now a floating head augmenting Cho’s reality as she moved. She did as told, but when she turned the opposite direction of the two men, she heard a voice call out to her.
“Hold up, ma’am,” ordered the guard. Cho ignored him and opened the door.
The guard raised his rifle, and Ajay pushed the barrel to the ground.
“Ey now, no need for that,” he said. “She’s just inspecting. That’s what we are here to do.”
“That way is off-limits,” protested the guard. “Now get your hand off my gun.”
Ajay looked to Cho then back to the man, who was clearly losing patience. “Let’s go get her and escort her back. Come on.” Pisha jogged after Tsenka, hoping the guard would not fire on him. His luck held, and the guard followed after.
“Both of you stop and get back here now!” he yelled.
Past the door was a dimly lit machine shop with three tables, tools strewn about, clamps, and grease covering most of it. The guard pushed past Ajay and grabbed Tsenka’s arm.
“I cannot allow you in here,” he said. “Please return with me. I will not warn you again.”
“We don’t have time for this,” said Desre.
“I’m actually leaving,” said Cho.
“This isn’t the way,” said the guard. “I will take you to the entrance.”
“What are you doing, Ms. Cho?” asked Ajay. “Let’s not make this guy’s job hard, alright?”
“There’s an exit this way,” said Tsenka. “It’s closer.”
The guard took a step back from Cho and placed his hand around the barrel cover of his gun. He looked at Ajay then back at Tsenka. “Get on your knees,” he commanded. “Both of you, now.”
The door again opened and slid shut, and the captain entered the shop with another guard. Tsenka turned to Ajay.
“They were always going to detain us,” said Cho. “We have to leave.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Cho,” said the captain. “I have orders.”
“This is outrageous,” balked Ajay. “She is a guest of Ms. Courtemanche.”
“Mr. Pisha, you may go.”
Tsenka nodded. Ajay shook his head.
“Reconsider, captain,” he said, turning from Tsenka to face him.
“It’s orders.”
Ajay’s mouth drooped into an exaggerated frown and his head tilted to the side. “Yes, orders. Always orders. But you and me, we know sometimes you have to fudge orders, just a little.” He pinched his thumb and forefinger together in front of his face.
“The man that attacked me in Mumbai is coming,” said Tsenka.
“How do you know these things?” demanded Pisha, his head rotating to her then back to the guards.
“Exit the area, Mr. Pisha,” the captain repeated.
Ajay put his fingertips to his eyes and rubbed toward the corners. He brought his hand down across his body and nestled the handle of his pistol, reverse-holstered, in the crook of his thumb.
The captain raised his rifle from pointing at the ground to pointing at the driver’s feet. “Get your fucking hand off your weapon.”
“Wait,” said Tsenka. “You don’t want to kill us. Let’s talk and figure this out.”
“These men aren’t paid to talk,” said Ajay. “And neither am I.”
Cho’s body slumped as she sighed. “Fudge.”
The captain raised his gun, but Ajay slipped his pistol from the holster and swung his arm up by the shoulder much faster.
BANG!
His bullet traveled through the bridge of the captain’s nose. Its exit was halted by the back of his helmet, snapping his head back.
Cho jumped in front of the guard that had escorted them through the labs as he took aim at Pisha while Ajay turned his gun on the second guard. That guard ducked as he aimed, and Pisha fired three shots at him before he could return the favor. The first bullet hit the top of his helmet with the remainder digging into his chest armor, knocking him off balance, but failing to penetrate.
The first guard shot Tsenka in the chest with his gun. She braced herself, and her combat suit held together. Cho grunted the pain away and darted forward, grabbing the man’s rifle by the barrel and pointing it at the ceiling. He tried to kick her shin, but Tsenka lifted it out of the way, then brought it down on his kneecap. He howled and pulled the trigger reflexively.
With her free hand, she grabbed the front of his helmet and pulled it forward until the chinstrap gave and his head slipped out. The guard let go of his gun with one hand to swing at her, but when his fist hit her cheek, she reacted only with slight head movement and a look of annoyance, then punched him with a quick jab that knocked his head back and caused him to let go with his other hand.
She followed up with several more punches, moving faster than he could anticipate or hope to block. She spun and hit him in the ear with her forearm. The man fell backward, hitting his head against a workbench.
The remaining guard dashed for cover, and when he saw his comrades had fallen, ran for the door back to the lab. But it slid open before he reached it, revealing the tall man Cho had faced before. The man of stone grabbed the guard by the top of his chest armor and yanked him close, then pushed him to the side.
“This way,” yelled Desre, waving her over with a ghostly hand.
“We aren’t fighting that thing,” Tsenka told Ajay. “Follow me.”
Cho ran through the apparition of Desre and spotted another door.
“Through there,” said Desre.
Tsenka pulled it open and ran down a service hallway with dim red LEDs affixed to the ceiling with metal cages around them. The jarring sound of a klaxon blared, informing her that the entire security detail would now be hunting for them.
“Here!” said Desre next to a door on the right. It had a crank latch that took all of Cho’s strength to twist open. She placed her legs against the opposite wall of the narrow corridor and pushed the heavy metal hatch open.
“Close it,” instructed Desre. At this, Tsenka puzzled but had decided to trust her friend. Ajay slipped inside as she closed their escape route. As she turned the crank, Desre pointed at a metal rod loose on the ground. Tsenka jammed it into the crank, securing it.
“Hurry,” urged the seer. “There is a drainage grate on the floor next to the boiler.”
Cho almost regretted her choice to escape when the smell of sewage and filthy water hit her nose. She pulled the grate up and hopped down.
“I don’t know about this,” said Ajay.
“I’ll catch you,” said Cho.
“No, I mean, that’s really gross.”
“Oh, come on,” said Tsenka. “It will wash, probably.”
> Ajay could hear the screeching of metal grinding and warping as the man of stone slowly bent the metal rod while forcing the hatch crank. He decided it couldn’t be all that bad and hopped down, landing on his ass.
“Thought you said you’d catch me.”
“I offered, you didn’t accept,” said Cho, helping him up. “We gotta keep moving.”
That they did, running full speed through the muck. The darkness enveloped them, and Tsenka activated a spotlight from her synthetic eye to light their way.
“Almost there,” said Desre, appearing in front of Tsenka. “Just up the ladder. Call your cab.”
As she climbed, Tsenka could hear a rapid sloshing growing in intensity. The warlock was sprinting toward them. She pushed the manhole cover out of the way and reached her hand down. As soon as Ajay was in reach, she grabbed his arm and pulled him up out of the sewer. They emerged just outside the fence, next to a ditch and adjacent cropland.
“The cab is this way,” she yelled while pointing in one direction and tugging on Pisha’s sleeve.
They ran alongside the metal slats toward the nearest road as the cab raced to rendezvous. Cho fought against the urge to look behind her as they ran, but could not help it. Sure enough, the warlock chased after, and he was moving fast.
“Keep moving,” ordered Desre.
Tsenka pulled her handgun and used the camera mounted under the barrel to aim while running forward. She fired at an even interval of twice per second. The man seemed unhurt, but he also seemed to slow his pace.
Even then, Cho realized that Ajay was too slow to make it before the warlock would catch up to him. “He’s too fast,” she said. “Get the car. I’ll keep him busy.”
Tsenka slowed and tossed her gun to her left hand. She gripped it by the barrel with the butt sticking out like a hammer. She drew her blade and turned around to face her pursuer.
“Dammit, Tsenka, don’t,” pleaded Somer. “He’s not worth it.”
“He stuck by me, I’m not leaving him,” said Cho.
“Okay, if I can’t convince you, then listen to what I tell you,” said Somer. “He’s going to try to ram into you once he’s in range. Be ready to roll out of the way.”
“Let’s do this,” said Cho as the man continued his sprint with seemingly endless endurance.
“Now!” signaled Somer.
Despite feeling Desre had called it early, Tsenka rolled to the right and the warlock flew by with a knee and elbow jutting out. He landed in a crouch two meters past where she had been standing. He rose, unzipped his jacket and threw it to the ground, exposing a compression top with pec and ab muscles rippling underneath. The ordinary-looking skin of his arms belied its strength.
“When I say to move, don’t think, just move,” communicated Desre.
The man of stone pushed off his back foot, jumping close to Tsenka. He threw swift punches, two high then one low. Tsenka bobbed her head then stepped back, dodging all three.
“Move!”
Tsenka stepped to the side as the man again shot forward like a bolt of lightning, his right knee forward. Cho slashed with her blade. The metal tore through the back of his shirt, then glided against the skin, leaving only a scratch.
The man turned and smiled smugly. “We’re going to kill you all, know that.”
Cho puzzled at the meaning, then stabbed her sword into the ground and swapped her gun hand again. “Me first,” she taunted, noticing heavy beads of sweat flowing down his face.
Stone man stepped forward and threw a wide left hook. Cho ducked under while moving to her right. As the man followed up with his own right, she was already out of the way and swinging with her handgun. The butt collided with his cheek and continued into his upper teeth. He grunted and stumbled back with one hand clamping against his face and the other outstretched. Blood flowed between his fingers and down his hand. He pulled it away and looked at it with surprise.
“Got a little somethin’ on your face,” mocked Tsenka.
The gash on the man’s face quickly sealed and Tsenka’s look of triumph disappeared. He stalked toward her but was interrupted by the whining sound of a cheap cab. He looked toward it as the angular hood scooped him up then threw him several meters after Ajay hit the brakes. His body rolled to a stop, but he quickly sat up and shook the fog out of his head.
“Time to go!” said Desre.
Cho rushed the car and hopped up, lifting her legs and guiding them through the open passenger window. Her hands caught the top of the door, and her butt slid through the opening and landed on the seat. Ajay hit the reverse gear and pegged the throttle to the floor. The man of stone rose and gave chase.
Tsenka flicked the magazine release and slipped a new clip into place. She leaned out of the window and fired. She could see him wince from the impact. He is tiring, she thought.
Ajay cranked the wheel and hit the brakes, spinning the car around. He floored it again, quickly outpacing the stone man. He jumped the curb and continued down the road. The warlock slowed, then stopped. He doubled over with his hands on his knees.
“Gods, I want to kill that guy,” Tsenka declared.
“I hit him with a car!” yelled Ajay, pumped full of adrenaline.
“Yes… I saw. Think they will send goons after us?” asked Cho.
“I’m on the line with Anne. She assures me she’s taking care of it,” Ajay answered.
“Right,” said Cho. “Her assurances seem to be temporary.”
“Honestly,” said Pisha. “I don’t know what the blaze that was all about. Surely a mage isn’t doing Cepheid’s dirty work.”
“Nice driving, by the way.”
“Least I could do,” he said with a wide smile. “You saved my life. Must really like me.”
“Not particularly.”
“It’s okay, I have that effect.”
* * *
“How do you feel?” asked Anne.
“Same as always,” replied Jones. He lay flat on his back as was usual for his projection preparations. “Should I feel different?”
“You might not notice,” said Courtemanche. She sat next to the bed on a small plastic stool with metal legs. “And I don’t want to taint our results. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I will be,” he said. “But this will be the third projection in about twenty-four hours. I don’t expect much.”
The world again melted into shadow and Taq’s aura freed itself from his body. He stood and surveyed the area. This time he didn’t feel the rush of vampire blood in his system, but somehow his senses were sharper. He placed his arms out like antennas, feeling the flow of dark energies and Ethereal disturbances. I had forgotten what it felt like in here.
A pinpoint of pink appeared at the tip of Taq’s finger. He pinched it with his thumb. Desre. A single strand extended from the point, like spider silk in a breeze. He flew forward, following it through a sea of mundane auras. As he left them behind, he realized he was in the wastes. The mage stopped. The strand continued to tease him and a dark suspicion crowded Taq’s thoughts.
This isn’t right. The phrase continued to echo inside his mind as doubts about what he really understood of the nature of the Ethereal plane continued to grow. It was clear the trail of energy led far outside of town, and by his own judgement northwest rather than south where Cho had gone to investigate. Possibly it would curve at some point and lead to Mumbai, but Taq’s own inner sense of the phenomenon told him it would continue straight. So where was it going?
If there was one thing the elder mage was sure of, it was that this strand was left on purpose. Somehow it had been attached to his aura for him to find. Perhaps it was by Desre, or perhaps it was a trick. It feels like her, thought Taq. He warily continued to follow the red line. He passed several clusters of bodies as he traveled. Distant auras became points of light and he felt his connection to his body strain, but he had already come much further than the first time he tried projecting.
Jones focused on the strand, and only t
he strand, pushing himself further. A horizon of gray on black merged together into darkness with a flickering star its only resident. There, thought Taq. It’s too far, but that’s where this leads.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He turned to look at Anne, who stared back expectantly. He forgot his suspicions and smiled at her. “It worked. It fucking worked.”
Anne grabbed his hand and smiled. “I knew it would.”
Taq rested for a few minutes, then sat up. “It felt strange, too. I had forgotten, taken it for granted somehow,” he said. “I felt a connection to something that I don’t understand.”
“Other mages I’ve tested with this treatment have said something similar,” said Anne. “Any idea what it might be?”
“It’s not like any other feeling,” explained Taq. “I can’t sense it through sight or sound or touch, either. Maybe that’s all it is, a feeling.”
“This is so exciting,” said Anne. She stood and paced. “So did you spot any trace of your friend around here?”
Taq rubbed his forehead. “There was… something. I’m not sure what exactly.” And he wasn’t sure exactly how much to tell Anne. “I need to pull a map up.”
He stood and moved to the wall, then turned on an old-model wall-screen and activated a geography app. Taq dragged the map into position over the subcontinent. He traced the line in his mind.
“Did you say there was a suspected site in Pakistan?”
“Mhm,” replied Anne. “We haven’t surveilled the place in months, though. Our telecom partners moved the satellites, claiming they need to fill in coverage gaps for the legacy broadcasts.”
“Interesting.”
“But hardly conclusive,” added Courtemanche. “And I’ll have no authority there. I can talk to the regional managers, but I am not sure they can be trusted.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to risk it,” said Taq. “But if that’s where the trail leads, then I know eventually Tsenka will go, and so must I.”
“I have a stealth chopper that can drop us fairly close to Thatta,” said Anne. “I’d like to see this through, so just let me know when you are ready to go.”