The Changeling

by Jennifer Lyndon

  “Shiroane! Help me!”

  I knew she would be near the edge of the clearing, unwilling to leave us both unprotected out in these Vilken woods. She mistrusted the Vilkerlings, even more so since the attack in Smugglers Pass. In that moment, I was grateful for her bigotry.

  “Lore,” Shiroane said, as she ran to me through the clearing. “What’s happened?”

  “We have to get M’Tek to Sim’Nu,” I said. “It’s the only chance we have.”

  “The sorceress tried to kill you,” Shiroane pointed out.

  “I don’t care,” I snapped. “Help me! Hurry! Or else I’ve killed M’Tek,” I added.

  Shiroane helped me get M’Tek situated in my arms. That’s when I realized how frail she’d become. I carried her toward Twyneth, but then realized there was no way she could ride alone.

  “Help me up onto Sabea,” I commanded. Shiroane assisted me as well as she was able, though it was very awkward with my right hand bound to M’Tek’s limp weight. “Now lift her up to me. I’ll hold her while we ride.” Shiroane handed M’Tek up to me.

  “I’ll get Ballick,” Shiroane said, as I started toward the gate at the far side of the woods. Without waiting for Shiroane I took off. Sabea was the faster horse, but Shiroane managed to catch up with me, because Sabea was burdened by more weight. For some reason Shiroane was leading Twyneth along. I almost told her to leave him, that he would slow our pace, but that would have implied I thought M’Tek would be unable to ride back with us.

  Shiroane and I rode at a dead run for the first leg of the journey, but when I realized we were about to ruin our mounts, we slowed. We reached Smugglers Pass in the early hours of the morning. By noon the following day we were safely in Faeland. The binding ropes started giving, one by one around midday, ending the ceremony. M’Tek and I were truly joined at that point, though I was uncertain she would ever know it. She was still breathing, but barely.

  Shiroane said she knew a quicker route through Faeland, if we rode south of Lareem, so I followed her. We stopped to rest the horses in the afternoon, and with Shiroane’s help, I washed M’Tek’s and my bound hands. The blood loosened, and I eased my hand free of hers. Strangely, my wound began healing immediately, while M’Tek’s hand dripped blood as if the cut were fresh. I cleaned and wrapped M’Tek’s hand carefully as Shiroane filled water pouches. M’Tek and I were up on Twyneth before fifteen minutes had passed. Shiroane led Sabea, allowing the poor mare to lag behind us, exhausted.

  In the early afternoon, we rode through the edge of a village. Shiroane asked me to wait a few minutes at the gate while she saw to some necessary provisions. She came back an hour later with a fresh mount, some stale bread, nuts, and dried fruits. We rode straight through that night, and the following day, and arrived at the rocky coast as the sky was turning from purple to black.

  I handed M’Tek down to Shiroane and ran toward the strange cave where I knew I’d find Sim’Nu. I found the rock, the flat shiny one M’Tek had pressed her hand against. Shiroane held the weight of M’Tek’s unconscious body while I unwrapped the bandages on her hand, and then pressed her still bloody palm against the shiny flat rock. Nothing happened.

  “Sim’Nu,” I screamed. “I’m here. You can have me! Just help her!”

  Still, nothing happened. I went to try to put M'Tek’s hand against the rock again and Shiroane, clearly exhausted from our ordeal, nearly collapsed with her. When the cave opening failed to appear again I panicked. Out of desperation I pressed my own hand to the surface.

  The rocks flickered, and then the cave mouth appeared. I turned to Shiroane who had just managed to regain a firm hold of M’Tek again. Shiroane looked terrified as she stared in confusion at the opening. I didn’t have time to explain that it was normal for the rocks to change like that, so I used the last of my strength to lift M’Tek from the arms of our guard, and drag her into the cave opening. Once inside, the rocks appeared again behind us, closing us in. The ceiling illuminated.

  “Sim’Nu!” I called. “I’ll give you anything, join with anyone you choose! I’ll breed and produce as many Noge rulers as you desire! You can have me! Just help her!” My voice echoed down the corridor, but there was no sign of Sim’Nu. “Help me! I’m sorry I defied you! Please,” I called, begging the witch.

  I heard a clanking sound, and the rock wall flickered. In the next moment, I was standing in a hallway with smooth walls painted pale green. In place of the rock surface, there were doors all along the hallway. I watched as one opened, and a small woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes walked out into the corridor. She stopped for only a moment, before another door opened, and a tall blond man appeared. He approached with a smooth, unhurried gate, easily lifting M’Tek from my arms. I felt my knees give under me, as her weight was lifted away, and then I was kneeling on the floor.

  The small woman approached me. Her gaze traveled over me slowly, but she didn’t speak.

  “Are you going to help her?” I asked in Old Noge, guessing she was one of Sim’Nu’s people. “Please. Tell me you’ll help her.”

  “Yes, Katarina,” she replied without a trace of emotion. “We will fulfill your request,” she said. “We will restore this Fae for you.” I nodded, unwilling to tell her, at that moment, that I was not Katarina. If I had to pretend I was someone else to get help for M’Tek, so be it.

  “Where did that man take her?” I asked.

  “Sim’Sci 542 carried the Fae into exam room 1,” she replied. “We must determine your Fae’s status before we begin repairs,” she added in a soothing voice.

  “Can you save her?” I asked, my heart pounding in my chest. The woman became perfectly still for a moment, without answering.

  “Yes, Katarina. We have determined that this Fae still breathes,” the woman replied. “We will be able to restore her.”

  “Take me to her,” I commanded, afraid the woman might be deceiving me.

  “Please allow me to assist you,” the woman said, kneeling in front of me. “You will need treatment as well, Katarina,” she observed. “You are not in optimal condition.”

  “Don’t waste time with me,” I snapped. “I’ll be fine. See to M’Tek.”

  “Your system is severely weakened,” she continued. “You will need nourishment and rest in order to recover,” she observed.

  “I’m not here to recover,” I argued. “I want all of your attention on M’Tek.”

  “Please, don’t stress your system further. Be calm. Your Fae will recover,” she assured me. “You are our primary concern, however, Katarina. Will you allow us to see to your health?”

  “I don’t care what you do to me, as long as you save M’Tek,” I said under my breath.

  “Understood,” the woman replied as she helped me to my feet.

  The woman was surprisingly strong. She shouldered most of my weight as we walked into the room where the man had taken M’Tek. Once inside, I saw M’Tek was reclined on a peculiar narrow bed with white rails, made of a substance I was unfamiliar with. There were strange objects surrounding her, radiating light and producing odd piercing sounds. I looked to the woman holding my arm, needing to ask for an explanation of my surroundings, but she punctured my arm with what appeared to be a sewing needle attached to a tube, and I felt the world slipping away.

  I awoke sometime later to find myself in my own narrow bed, completely disoriented, but still terrified I’d killed M’Tek. I turned my head to the side to find M’Tek, still unconscious and prone, upon the bed next to mine. M’Tek was wearing strange linen around her body, and her white hair was braided and tucked beneath her. She appeared dead at first, but then, with relief, I noticed the rise and fall of her chest. That small woman was standing next to my bed, silently waiting for my attention.

  “Katarina, I woke you because we have encountered a problem while restoring your Fae. The nanobots that should be in your Fae’s blood are presently in yours,” she said in a flat tone. “She needs these if we are to return her to proper working con
dition. I would like your permission to harvest some from your blood for this purpose,” she explained.

  “Yes, of course. Do whatever you need to do,” I said, not understanding at all what the woman had just said.

  The woman produced another needle, this one she used on a tube I found connected to my arm. I was about to stop her, but she was too fast, and before I could object, the world faded away. When I awoke again, I turned my head to find M’Tek still beside me, but well out of reach. She appeared better. Her pallor was normal. She looked like a healthy older woman. Relief flooded through me. She would not die because of my obsession with trying to save her. She would have more time. I heard movement, and looked to my left to find the small woman standing at the side of my bed again.

  “We have reset your Fae,” she explained, uselessly. “She will renew quickly now that her system is back in balance.”

  “What about the Diminishing Sickness?” I asked. “Can you treat her for that, too?”

  “We do not know this sickness,” she replied. “Do you have another name for it?” I shook my head.

  “No. I’m sorry. I don’t.”

  “There is no reason to apologize, Katarina. You were not trained in biochemistry during this span,” she said, trying to reassure me. “Describe this illness and I will mine for data,” she said, confusing me further. Still, I did as she asked, describing M’Tek’s disease.

  “M’Tek started to grow old, really quickly. She aged about a year every week at first. In the end it was a decade a week,” I said. “Her hair turned white. That was the first sign of the plague. And the illness only affects Fae Lemu.”

  “You are describing Progeroid 9,” she said. “This is a bioweapon developed in 6456 by NGE Corp. to fight FAE Corp. Many believed this weapon would end the Fission War. It was deemed unethical because it would kill Fae Lemu indiscriminately. The weapon was never deployed. It is not possible that your Fae has this virus.”

  “Something in her blood is making her age,” I argued. “What do you think it is?”

  The small woman became perfectly still for a moment, and then she turned back to me. “Interesting. Your observation was correct,” she said. “Your Fae carried this virus.”

  “Carried?” I asked, confused.

  “We found antibodies in the Fae’s blood, as well as in your own, but the virus is no longer present,” the woman explained.

  “Is M’Tek going to be all right?” I asked.

  “She is,” the woman replied in a flat tone. “She will be in peak condition, as soon as her body regenerates.”

  “I need to tell Shiroane,” I said quickly, sitting up and pushing the covers back. That’s when I noticed I was attached to the strange objects around me. “What is all of this? What are you doing to me?” I asked, staring down at a clear tube attached to my leg and extending inside of me.

  “I do not understand your questions,” the woman said gently. “Can you be more specific?”

  “I need to get up,” I said.

  “We’re still monitoring you,” the woman replied. “There are some aspects of your physiognomy that confound us,” she added. “If you stay longer we will endeavor to determine the origin of these anomalies. Your Fae is not yet fully restored. We will assist her renewal as well as yours, Katarina.”

  “I need to inform Shiroane that my Fae is going to recover. I owe her that,” I said, trying to use the woman’s own strange way of speaking to communicate with her. “She’s concerned.”

  “Is this Shiroane another Fae?” the woman asked.

  “Yes, she’s the captain of my guard,” I added. “She helped me bring M’Tek here.”

  “We will advise this Fae guard of your status,” she said.

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “We will inform Shiroane that you and M’Tek are well,” she replied, speaking plainly for the first time.

  “What’s your name?” I asked the woman.

  “I am Sim’Sci 42,” she replied, pointing at the black stitching on her coat.

  “But is there nothing else I can call you?” I asked. “You said the man’s name was Sim’Sci something, too. And then there’s Sim’Nu,” I pointed out. “You have very similar names. It’s a little confusing.

  “I have no other designation,” she said. “You may assign me another if it makes communication easier for you,” she said, clearly eager to accommodate me. I smiled.

  “You’re very different from Sim’Nu,” I commented.

  “There are no more Sim’Nu,” the woman replied. “They were decommissioned. There was an error in the principle protocols. As a result, the Sim’Nu were unpredictable,” she continued.

  “Sim’Nu is actually quite predictable,” I replied. “She’s also lethal.”

  “You speak as if you have encountered a Sim’Nu,” the Sim’Sci said. “That is not possible. They have been decommissioned since 6543.”

  “Of course I know her. She tried to kill me,” I replied. I pulled at the neckline of the strange garment I was wearing to reveal the still silver scar from the arrow that pierced my shoulder. “She did this,” I explained. I shifted in the bed and lifted the skirt of the garment to show my hip. “She did this too,” I added.

  “We have noted your prior injuries,” the Sim’Sci replied. “Do you believe a Sim’Nu inflicted these upon you?” she asked.

  “I know she did,” I said evenly. “She might not have shot the actual arrows, but she organized the attack. And she took my shield so they could kill me.” I stopped speaking as the Sim’Sci became motionless again. “Why do you become still in that way?” I asked, when she began to move again. Her gaze fixed on me.

  “I’m communicating with the others,” she explained. “Your other Fae, the captain of your guard, is aware of your status.”

  “She knows I’m well,” I said evenly, smiling.

  “Yes, Katarina.” The Sim’Sci smiled at me, seeming to realize I was teasing her. I grinned, feeling giddy, suddenly. M’Tek was fine, Shiroane was waiting outside for us, and this Sim’Sci person had a sense of humor.

  “Would you like some reading material?” she asked, still smiling at me. “Or would you prefer to sleep again?”

  “I’d rather read,” I replied.

  The female Sim’Sci became still again, and a moment later a male Sim’Sci came in carrying a dark piece of glass. He handed it to me, and the color changed. Suddenly there were black words on a white background. It was an impressive show of magical power. I stared at the glass for a moment, realizing the language was Old Noge. I glanced at the female Sim’Sci again, fascinated by her for some reason.

  “It must be convenient, communicating in that way,” I observed.

  “Do you have need of this ability?” she asked. “It would take only a very small procedure.”

  “It would be convenient, but only if M’Tek had it, too,” I replied. “It might make life easier,” I said as I considered the possibility, thinking of all of the times I had lowered my voice or changed languages in order to avoid being overheard. In the next moment Sim’Sci was pressing a needle into that tube in my arm, and the world was fading away again.

  When I regained consciousness, I looked over to M’Tek. She had improved greatly while I slept. Her skin appeared tighter. I looked at her hands, noticing the veins were less prominent. My observations halted, as a strange buzzing began in my head, as if thousands of insect where flying around in my skull. I pressed my hands to my ears, though I knew the noise didn’t originate in the space around me but was actually inside my head. The Sim’Sci approached, a look of concern on her face.

  “You must learn to filter,” I heard inside my head. “It is not difficult.” I stared at her. Her lips had not moved.

  “How?” I must have yelled, because I heard my own voice over all of the other noises.

  “I will help you. Focus your attention on the space around you and push the buzzing away,” she said, her lips remaining still. I tried to do as she said,
and the buzzing began to recede. “Good. I will assist you until you integrate with the communication system,” she offered.

  “Thank you,” I said without moving my lips.

  “You are welcome, Katarina.”

  “I’m not Katarina,” I thought in reaction.

  “You are not the original Katarina,” she replied. “You are a genetic duplicate. Is there another name you prefer?” she asked.

  “Lore,” I said aloud. “I’m Loredana of the House Castelyne, Queen of Vilkerland, Faeland, and the Noge Territories,” I said. “Is a genetic duplicate the same as a twin?” I asked.

  “Not precisely,” the Sim’Sci replied. “Twins are natural clones, born of one zygote which has divided into two. You were created from a somatic cell enhanced with Katarina’s DNA. You are her exact copy, or you were, until Fae technology blended with your system. Now, you are changing.”

  “Who is Katarina?”

  “Dr. Katarina Nielsen was the last CEO of NGE Corp.,” the Sim’Sci explained. “You were able to unlock the portal, and restart the system, because you are recognized as Katarina,” she explained. “We have been without a CEO, and therefore offline, for many centuries,” she added.

  I didn’t understand very much of what the Sim’Sci was explaining. “The letters on your jacket, above your name,” I started.

  “Neilsen Genetic Engineering, NGE,” she anticipated me. “We are Noge,” she explained.

  “And M’Tek, she’s Fae Lemu. Are those letters for something as well?” I asked.

  “Fahrenheit Arts and Engineering,” the Sim’Sci replied. “We fought them in the Fission War. Their product was designed for military use. The LEMU were designed as their elite soldier. Life Extension Military Unit, is what that acronym represents.”

  “For what purpose was I designed?” I asked, not certain I wanted to know the answer.