by Ky Tyrand
A loud ringing in her ears blocked Ki’ara from realizing Sylor was clambering back to his feet. She could feel the orange bands still wrapped firmly around her, pinning her in place. The ringing subsided, giving way to Sylor’s slimy voice – cursing and muttering something about Witches and what horrific things he wanted to do to them.
She was suddenly back up in the air, hanging over the ledge where Sylor dangled her on display. A warning for Je’nna: shoot me and I drop her.
It seemed to work. When Ki’ara looked down again, Sylor was stepping off the bridge and onto the rocky plateau.
So much for not letting him off the bridge.
Expecting the creep to carry Ki’ara off – perhaps into the tunnel, or behind one of the many boulders, Je’nna prepared to move. But for some reason, Sylor stopped the moment his feet touched solid ground.
Je’nna wondered why he didn’t feel the need to hide. He seemed satisfied to remain out in the open…
And then it occurred to her: Sylor wanted her to see him hurt Ki’ara.
Je’nna’s heart raced as her scope zoomed in. The Princess was in a bad way, tangled up in Sylor’s orange tentacles. Though her hand still clung to her sharp little rock, there was nothing the girl could do with it to protect herself from the dreadful things this psychopath intended to do.
As if it couldn’t get any worse, Je’nna spotted motion off to the side.
“Please, don’t be an idiot,” she muttered, watching Petch moving out from his hiding place.
Things were about to get ugly. And Je’nna knew that she needed to do something about it before her friends got hurt.
…Too late.
The orange bands that twined around Ki’ara began to brighten.
She could see the Princess wriggling about, starting to squirm. Whatever was happening clearly wasn’t comfortable. And the tendrils hadn’t stopped gaining power. The plasma continued to intensify, getting brighter and brighter with every moment that passed.
Je’nna heard something in her ear, crackling between static. It was Ki’ara’s voice. A low groan at first, but it got louder and higher with the increase in light, until all Je’nna heard was her friend’s scream.
Smoke began to rise from where the brilliant tendrils seared into the girl’s armor.
To make matters worse, the plates shielding Ki’ara’s body began to retract, exposing her hands and feet.
Fighting the urge to throw-up, Je’nna searched for anything she could do to help.
I just need a freaking target!
She glanced over at Petch, who was jumping at the chance to run out from the shadows and get himself killed.
For a moment, Je’nna had to close her eyes – squeezing them shut in hopes that when she opened them, everything would be okay. But the screaming in her ears blocked out any visions of candy and rainbows.
Je’nna prided herself on remaining calm at times like these. But now she found herself frantically trying to come up with a solution that didn’t end with her watching her friends being tortured to death. For a moment she wondered if the real problem was that she’d grown too attached to these people. Je’nna didn’t normally let that happen. It hurt too much when things went wrong. And something always went wrong.
The girl felt an overpowering urge to shoot something.
I need a target...
Je’nna opened her eyes. And there it was.
38
She saw it plain as day, and now wondered how she hadn’t spotted it earlier.
A small sphere, that could easily fit in the palm of a hand, was attached to the side of Sylor’s belt. And, every time one of his tendrils of orange energy passed near it, the strand would be drawn to the orb like a magnet. The plasma would touch and short out – ever so slightly.
That was what had been causing the flicker.
Whatever was inside that little sphere was causing a glitch in his gear.
And, though Je’nna had no idea how the technology worked, she could only think of one thing that would cause such an effect.
The screaming in her ear suddenly stopped. Je’nna could still hear her friend’s agonizing wails in the distance, but Ki’ara’s helmet had popped open, separating her from what little reception was left in the communicator.
Without another thought, Je’nna put her eye to the scope, let out a breath, and pulled the trigger.
P’tink!
It was such an unusual sound – one that could barely be heard over the high-pitched cry that was coming from her own throat.
The intensity of her glowing bonds eased enough for Ki’ara to catch her breath and ignore the agony long enough to see what had caused the noise.
To spot it, all she had to do was look in the same direction as Sylor.
A little black sphere was dangling loose from the side of his belt. It did a full spin before swinging like a pendulum from a strand of black, sinewy cord.
Ki’ara had never noticed it before. Certainly not loose like this.
She looked back to Sylor. Even through his mask, she could tell this was important. Enough that he seemed to lose interest in harming her – something she didn’t think he would ever do.
The man’s free hand reached for it…
The fact that it was so significant to Sylor was reason enough to take it from him.
About the only part of herself Ki’ara could move was a foot – and that was what lashed out. Her quick kick was fast enough to beat Sylor’s hand to the strange object. And though she didn’t knock it loose, the ball of her foot hooked over and slid down, dragging the mysterious item until it broke free of his belt with an audible pop.
Sylor cursed and lunged for it.
For a moment Ki’ara wondered if he was about to let her go just to prevent the little orb from escaping.
What could possibly be that important to him…? Before she even finished the thought, Ki’ara realized exactly what it was.
P’tink!
Sylor couldn’t get his hands on the round object before it suddenly jumped and rolled a short distance to the side.
Ki’ara didn’t know which was harder to believe: the fact that Je’nna was able to hit the tiny item from so far away; or that the one thing blocking them from using their tech around Sylor had been right in front of her the whole time.
And now it was loose on the ground, rolling into a groove beside a large rock.
A million thoughts raced through Ki’ara’s mind as she tried to come up with a way to take it from him – or get him from it. But, bound as she was by Sylor’s orange energy bands, Ki’ara’s only hope was for Je’nna to keep shooting the little round ball, knocking it farther and farther away. Or perhaps it could be destroyed by enough direct hits.
But Ki’ara could tell by the sphere’s trajectory that it was about to roll behind a rock that was large enough to block Je’nna’s line of fire. Ki’ara tried kicking at the man as he scrambled for the device, but she was certain that he couldn’t even feel her strikes under the protection of his armor.
“And here I thought you were a bad, bad man,” she taunted him. “But you’re clearly not strong enough to face a couple of girls without your precious tech.”
“Well, I can tell you that I’m not an idiot, Little Princess,” the man muttered over his shoulder. He kept Ki’ara at bay by extending the length of the glowing tendrils as he reached down for the sphere.
Once again, Ki’ara’s heart sank. There was no way she could stop him from picking up the round device…
But the same couldn’t be said for the powerful kick of her friend’s prosthetic leg.
The boy appeared out of nowhere, moving like a blur as he charged across the rocky plateau. His balance wasn’t perfect over the uneven terrain, but he managed to keep his prosthetic feet springing beneath him, propelling him along at a rapid clip.
Up until seeing the little orb, he wasn’t sure exactly how he could help the situation. But Petch knew that he couldn’t just sit back and hide while
the Princess was being tortured. He had to find a way to help her.
The desperation the small sphere caused made things crystal clear.
Sylor wanted it, and Ki’ara didn’t want him to have it.
That settled things.
The boy’s leg snapped like a whip, connecting with the little globe at full force, sending it flying into the air.
Violence was replaced by gasps as the struggle came to a halt.
All eyes followed the black orb, watching as it lobbed high up over the ledge and across the deep crevasse. The sinister device bounced against the far cliff-face with only a gentle noise before dropping into the radiant abyss.
As everyone wondered what this meant, and what would happen, the brilliant light that had been shining up from the depths of the fissure began to dim.
It started directly below where the sphere had bounced and fallen. From there, darkness spread along the canyon floor like a rapid plague of shadowy gloom.
One-by-one the brilliant crystals lining the bottom of the chasm went black, cursed by the energy-sucking properties of Dark Matter.
The entire cavern went dim, lit only by the crystals on ceiling, and by the orange glow of Sylor’s energy bands.
An instant later, the light from the canyon floor returned with a blinding flash and an explosion that made the stone floor beneath them tremble, followed by a gust of wind that swept through the underground valley, lifting sand and rubble while knocking the occupants to the ground.
Apart from a cloud of dust that had lifted into the air, illuminated by the bright crystals from within the deep fissure, the underground valley was just as they had found it.
But to Ki’ara things could not have changed more.
The pain under her skin and throughout her body was gone. She could feel her Mu’turi, and its connection to her Battle Harness and Grav-Regulator. And she could sense the powerful link to her Niksuru.
The Dark Matter was no more.
39
Unlike any other occasion that Ki’ara had escaped from Sylor, the return of her abilities was not a slow reacquisition. This time, it was instantaneous.
And it was powerful.
She knew that the Dark Matter was gone – destroyed once and for all.
Just like Sylor will be.
Ki’ara was still bound by plasma cords. While Sylor was down on the ground, she tried to fight free. But the glowing tendrils were as tight as ever, and her lone free leg was not enough to kick herself loose.
She spotted Petch beside her, picking himself up and moving toward Sylor.
The boy had a rock in his hand, and he meant to do harm.
But Sylor was far from out of the fight. He sprang right to his feet, using the five luminous bands to lift Ki’ara back into the air. A sixth – the only plasma tentacle on his other hand that hadn’t been destroyed – shot out from above his left thumb.
The cable struck unexpectedly, catching Petch by the neck. It quickly cinched around him and squeezed until the boy dropped his rock.
“Do you really think I need Dark Matter to pull you all limb-from-limb?” Sylor’s voice sounded as evil as ever, but there was something different about the tone.
Ki’ara noticed it immediately. For her, there was no mistaking the change: His words lacked confidence.
“Maybe,” said the Princess. “Maybe not.” With a pair of hard claps Ki’ara suddenly had two small gray cylinders in her grasp, one in each hand. Blue Energy poured out from the handles, far brighter than the orange glow of Sylor’s bands. “But I know you needed it to keep me from these.”
Ki’ara could only imagine Sylor’s eyes going wide beneath the sharply angled mask that hid his evil face. But he still had a death grip on Petch, and he could kill him with a squeeze, a twist, or a pulse of energy.
The man tried to take advantage of that. “Drop them, or I’ll kill your little friend.”
Ki’ara had no idea if Sylor was bluffing. And, even with these powerful weapons in her hands, there was nothing she could do that would be fast enough to stop him. She didn’t even know what her Blue Energy would do to Sylor’s plasma bands; or his hi-tech armor, for that matter. But she also knew that the horrid man didn’t want to just kill Petch, he wanted to hurt the boy.
When she didn’t move, or drop her weapons, Sylor lifted Petch into the air. The boy kicked his prosthetic feet when the orange band suddenly cinched.
The sight made Ki’ara want to toss her weapons to the ground and beg the man to drop her friend. But she knew that wasn’t an option. And she could tell by the position of Sylor’s hand that she wouldn’t need to.
He had his arms crossed over one another as he lifted Petch, who was on his other side. As the orange light blasted out of the small cylinder behind his thumb, it was clear that the man had forgotten how the angle of his hands played into this little skirmish.
Ki’ara’s eyebrows tightened as Sylor continued lifting her friend higher. Without looking back, she could tell that there were no obstructions between his glove and the barrel of Je’nna’s rifle.
Sylor wasn’t expecting the Princess give him a knowing grin – not while he threatened her friend.
He didn’t realize his mistake until it was too late.
The energy cannister exploded on his thumb with a burst of sparks and smoke, forcing him to curse and shake his hand while Petch dropped to the ground, gasping for air.
Unlike Sylor, Ki’ara didn’t flinch.
Her expression remained unchanged when the man’s helmet looked up at her. Ki’ara was certain that his eyes were staring straight into hers. And that he could see the fear she had of him was gone.
Though her arms were both bound by Sylor’s energy bands, the girl could still angle her wrists enough to tap her short blades against two of them. It was just a gentle rap – a test of sorts – but it was enough to send an explosion of orange sparks into the air the instant they touched. Though their weapons weren’t harmed, Ki’ara learned what she needed.
Sylor responded by pouring more energy into the five bands, increasing the power and intensity of light.
A moment ago, this would have been excruciating. Although her flesh was still tender underneath, now that her armor and Mu’turi returned to full strength, Ki’ara could barely feel the heat and electrical charge.
My turn.
The shower of sparks was blinding as Ki’ara’s Niksuru clashed with the bonds that tried to fry her. She actually had to shut her helmet to protect her face from the fireworks display.
And though her blades didn’t slice right through like Ki’ara thought they might, her Blue Energy seemed to stun the whips in a way that took the strength from their tips. The plasma ends beyond where they impacted with her Niksuru seemed to flicker and weaken. Although it only lasted a moment, it was long enough for Ki’ara to fight her way free from the five strands coiled around her.
Sylor did his best to lash out at her with the snapping cords. But Ki’ara blocked them one-by-one while working her way in – ever closer to her target.
The man did his best to keep his distance, matching her steps with a backward movement. It was something her uncle told her never to do in a fight, leading her to wonder if Sylor knew he was nearing the edge of the cliff.
“This is not over,” hissed the man, as he glanced around, searching for a way out.
“Yes,” argued Ki’ara. “It is.”
Though the Princess didn’t like the idea of killing, she knew that if she missed this opportunity she would never sleep again. Not knowing what Sylor wanted to do her friends; what he wanted to do to her.
There was no other choice.
Ki’ara plunged her Niksuru straight into his chest.
“Unghh,” Sylor’s voice caught in his chest, somewhere next to Ki’ara’s blade. His three-piece mask slid back, revealing his burned face and a pair of cold eyes that were far from clear.
Sylor croaked, forcing the words out with a spittle of blood. “Not until you�
��ve paid for what you’ve done.” As weak as he was, Sylor found the strength the reach his hand toward Petch, shooting all five orange tentacles at him.
The man took a step back toward the ledge as the energy bands caught hold of the boy, cinching around him in five places.
A snide grin returned to Sylor’s face as another backward step brought him right to the edge.
Her friend’s eyes went wide as he felt the tension in the cords, pulling him toward Sylor and the cliff.
Ki’ara could see what the man was trying to do – if he fell back and dragged Petch along with him…
The Princess was having no part of it.
She let go of the Niksuru in his chest, leaving it to sizzle inside him while she stepped to the side, just far enough for her other blade to reach his outstretched wrist.
With a single hard swipe, all five tentacles, along with the device that controlled them, were detached from most – but not all – of Sylor. Though she didn’t want to look at the wound she’d put through him, Ki’ara couldn’t help but notice that there appeared to be more machine than man where he separated.
Since his wrist held no hand at all this morning, she supposed it only made sense that the New Gods had replaced it with something mechanical.
Sylor didn’t even seem to notice what she’d done, as he still prattled on through gasping breaths about taking the boy to Hell with him, where he’d torture him for eternity.
A crackle in her ear stole Ki’ara’s attention from the moment.
“Just a sec’…” Ki’ara held up her finger to put the man on hold while Je’nna spoke in her ear. The Princess nodded before repeating what she was told, “My friend says to tell you that ‘a little girl with BIG guns says hi’.”