by Josh Vogt
The hybrid groaned and then opened his mouth wide and yowled. They stepped back from the wretched noise which shook the air, like a hundred alley cats coming into heat at once. Dani felt as if the cries reached into her chest and snatched for any scrap of pity she contained.
“What’s it doing?” she asked with her hands over her ears.
Something tugged her pants leg. She jerked before realizing Ben had crawled over and snatched at her clothes to get her attention. His lips worked a bit before a couple words creaked out, barely heard over the hybrid’s cries.
“Check … the pulse.”
He fell back, exhausted by the effort of speaking. At the same time, the hybrid’s howls cut off. The teen’s head turned to stare at Ben, his gaze so intense the eyes seemed to glow.
Sydney edged over to him. When no further howls erupted, he knelt and quickly pressed fingers to the throat. He rose moments later, looking disturbed. “Weak, but present.”
“So?” Dani asked.
Sydney frowned down at the boy. “Pantheon members don’t have pulses. They project human appearances for the sake of interacting with us, but there’s no need for them to imitate things like blood flow or other internal fluids and organs.”
“What’s that mean?”
“This … it … he’s partly human.”
Dani glanced at Ben, but the janitor remained conked out. “I thought it was the offspring of two Petties,” she said. “Wouldn’t that make it all Petty?”
“Apparently he was mistaken.”
She planted hands on hips. “What do we do?”
The teen kept his eyes locked on Ben. His lips pursed as if trying to suck the janitor to him through a straw. Grunts and groans escaped with each heave of his chest.
“Hello?” Dani asked, crouching. “Do you understand us?”
His gaze snapped to her. She wavered as images and feelings shoved into her mind.
Emptiness. Loneliness. The teen had wandered the void, flitting from world to world in search of … something. Anything. Anyone. He wavered between panic and fury, alternately wanting to lash out at the agony the universe inflicted on him and find someone to just hold him. To whisper in his ear that everything would be okay.
A hand shook her and broke the spell. She blinked up at Sydney, who returned her gaze with concern.
“He’s in pain,” she whispered. “Terrible pain.”
“As Ben guessed, he’s likely sustained himself entirely on his Petty nature,” Sydney said. “Without food or water, his human elements must be suffering.”
“I know him,” she said.
He frowned. “Know him?”
“He tried to help me earlier, when the Cleansers had me locked up. We communicated somehow.”
Sydney stroked his chin. “Are you sure that was not some drug-induced hallucination?” He waved her glare away. “Even if that’s true, how do you know he was trying to help? He could’ve been toying with you. This is a being unlike anything ever encountered before.”
“All the more reason to try and learn who he is. Figure out how we can help.”
His smile turned pitying. “You barely know enough to keep yourself from getting killed in this world. What makes you so sure you can perceive his needs?”
“I know enough! I may not be able to tell the difference between a blot-dog and dirt demon—” She leveled a finger as he opened his mouth. “Do. Not. Correct. Me. I may not know everything, but I know when someone needs help. All this time, everyone’s been chasing him down and treating him the same way I was when I first got recruited. Like he’s an object. A weapon to be controlled or a threat to be wiped out. But he’s a person.”
“Only partially.”
“More than I’d give you credit for. Even partially, it’s enough. He’s like us. Ben was right; he deserves a chance, and we’re the only ones able to help him.”
Dani braced herself and met the hybrid’s eyes again. No mental barrage hit her. He just stared back, silently pleading. She locked onto her decision, determined nothing could shake her from it.
“Stewart.” The mage looked up from where he studied his glyphs. “Can you release the trap?”
“Wot?” cried the trash mage. “After all we’s done to snag ’im?”
“Belay that,” Sydney shouted. “Dani, you’re being reckless.”
“We only needed to restrain him until we could figure out what we were dealing with. Now we do, and I’m certain he won’t hurt us.”
Sydney cocked a brow. “Why is it our responsibility?”
“Uh, besides the fact we lured him down here? It’s what Ben would do if he had the strength.”
“Ben’s no longer in charge. He’s given up much for a creature that deserved nothing. A worthless sacrifice.”
“So you’re in charge? Now that you have your power back, you’re Mr. Know-it-all-do-it-all?”
Sydney flushed. “I’m trying to be rational. A simple glance into this boy’s eyes and you’re convinced he deserves warm milk and a bedtime story. What if this is nothing more than a front? He is still half Corrupt Petty.”
“But he’s human, too.”
“Which makes it easier to know what we should do. This kind of union was never meant to be. Humanity is not made to mingle with the Pantheon. The conflicting natures will tear him apart sooner or later. It will be a mercy to stop his suffering now.”
Dani stepped between Sydney and the hybrid, who moaned and thrashed behind her.
“Mercy? Just like the mercy you’ve shown all the recruits you’ve murdered?”
He winced. “Such a vicious word flung from your tongue.”
“What would you call it, then? Huh?”
He looked away for a moment, eyes closed as if seeing his victims parading before him.
“Inevitable,” he said at last.
“Uh-uh. You might believe that, but I refuse to. We all have choices, and mine is to help this boy.”
“At best, he’ll be a simpleton. At worst, a wild animal.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Look me in the eyes and tell me you can predict exactly how he’ll turn out.”
He held her gaze for a few moments, and then dropped it. “I can’t. Not when you demand the truth from me. But I do know if you take responsibility for him, it will be a terrible burden on you, and that is something I will not allow.”
Sydney moved to go around her and she planted herself in his way again. His long-suffering look sharpened with impatience and black auras pulsed around his hands.
“You can’t block me forever, Dani. I only need a single touch. This is best for both of you.”
She shifted to block him once more. “Think of what you’re doing. It shows a lot of what you really believe about me.”
The energy faded from his hands. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re not really concerned about the hybrid and what he might or might not do. To you, he’s an inconvenience. A tool to keep out of your brother’s hands. And when it comes down to it, you don’t think I can protect him. You think I’m too weak. That I’ll break under the pressure.”
Sydney rubbed over his face, and she sensed his defense crumble slightly.
“Do you know what I was studying to be before my power showed up? A doctor. That meant a life dedicated to helping others. Healing them and giving them another chance. I’ve probably lost any chance of ever going back to that, but I can at least bring some of it with me.”
He looked torn but the slightest bit of resolve still hardened his eyes. His pride demanded a compromise of sorts, she realized. What could she offer to break down his last resistance?
“Look, Sydney, if you spare him, I’ll … I’ll …” She swallowed hard and tried not to choke on the words. “I’ll let you take me on a date.”
His eyes bugged slightly. “Pardon?”
“A date. I’ll do the whole makeup and dress thing. You can get flowers, a violin player, carriage ride, whatever you want. Once this is over,
you name the place and time, and I swear to you I’ll be there for the whole night. Just let the kid live.”
A gleam entered his eyes, a mix of suspicion and desire that made her instantly want to retract the offer. But what could a single date hurt?
He hung his head and the tension seeped out of him. “Very well. But only so you might know the depth of my affection and desire for you.”
“Sure,” she said. “Let’s talk about that later, okay? We’ve got to figure out a way to get somewhere safe so he and Ben can recover.”
He threw an angry look at the hybrid. “It would help if he spoke. Communication abets cooperation.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know how. Like one of those children raised by wolves.”
“Not the most comforting comparison.”
Motion over Sydney’s shoulder caught her eye. A shadow moved across the portal they’d opened. Dani sucked in a breath.
Sydney turned to see what startled her. A blurry figure slid into place, about to enter from the other side. Sydney must’ve realized the danger at the same time she did, for he ran to the nearest border of the circle even as she shouted.
“Destroy the bubble!”
Sydney pressed his hands against the film and closed his eyes in concentration. He fell back as if kicked in the stomach. After a few gasps, he looked to her, shocked.
“I can’t! Something’s keeping it open.”
Dani looked to the trash mage, who sat outside the circle, cross-legged, eyes closed. His head tilted upward, as if in communion with something.
“Stewart, can you collapse the spell?”
He didn’t answer. Not so much as a twitch to indicate he heard.
“Stewart!”
She turned back to the portal as the first Ascendant stepped through.
***
Chapter Thirty-eight
They filed into the bubble, ten in total. As Sydney and Dani took up stances by Ben and the hybrid, the Ascendants formed a shoulder-to-shoulder wall before the portal. Their auras glowed far brighter than the ones they’d faced in the Recycling Center, and they all moved with confidence and authority that would’ve made a Secret Service detail look like the Three Stooges.
Francis followed the last of them and frowned on seeing the escaped prisoners. He stood a pace ahead of the rest, hands clasped behind his back, fedora tilted at a roguish angle.
Any lingering shadows fled the circle as Destin arrived, and even the Ascendants’ auras paled in comparison. A feeling of immense unworthiness slapped over Dani’s thoughts, and she found herself cowering, hands raised against the Chairman’s glory. How could she even dare to think she might gaze upon him? She was vile. Insignificant.
Flames flickered in her mind and burned away the insidious feelings.
You’re not going to let it be that easy for him, are you?
She forced herself to stand tall and glare at Destin. His aura still stung her eyes, but her anger provided enough of a buffer for her to resist surrender.
Sydney moved in front of her and faced off with his older brother. His threadbare jacket, black jeans, and harried look struck a sharp contrast against Destin’s immaculate attire and unfazed expression.
The Chairman nodded across the distance. “Sydney.”
Sydney returned the gesture. “Destin.”
Francis moved toward the entropy mage, but Destin snagged his coat and pulled him back.
“Blood unto blood,” he said.
“Is that the Chairman quote-of-the-day?” Sydney asked. “It’d make a great motivational poster.”
The brothers lunged at each other. They met halfway, hands smacking into the other’s waiting grasp. Locked in mirror stances, they strained in both body and power to overwhelm the other. Perspiration beaded their reddening faces as energy crackled between them.
Destin grinned fiercely. “Always the weaker. Relying so much on your power to protect you.” With a judo twist, he threw Sydney up and over one shoulder and slammed him to the earth.
Sydney jumped to his feet and ran in, launching a punch. Destin caught the blow as if Sydney moved in slow motion, his Pure aura repelling his brother’s entropic touch. Once more, Sydney flipped and landed, this time with an audible snap. He screamed and clutched a shoulder that flopped loose in its joint.
Destin stood back. With pained huffs, Sydney levered up to his knees. As he lurched to stand, Destin snapped a kick into the side of his head. The mage dropped, arms and legs splayed. Before he could recover, Destin stomped on and shattered his brother’s arm. Sydney screamed anew. He rolled onto his back and clutched his ruined arm to his chest.
Blood streamed out of Sydney’s nose and ears, and he alternated between hysterical laughter and sobs. The Chairman stepped aside as a pair of Ascendants rushed in and zip-tied Sydney’s wrists and ankles.
“Are you going to behave yourself,” Destin asked, “or must I lecture you as I did last time? Mother and Father are not pleased with your behavior of late.”
Sydney curled his lips into a snarl. “Leave them out of this.”
“You guys have parents?” Dani shrugged when the two looked at her. “I just figured you both came pre-packaged.”
“Quaint. As for you, Ms. Hashelheim, you’ve disappointed me.”
Another wave of shame slapped over her. She struggled to maintain her poise beneath its weight. So easy to let it drag her down and bury her will. Destin was much wiser, far more confident than she. He knew how to handle this situation, and obviously her past actions showed no reason for her to be trusted any longer.
With a snarl and shake of her head, Dani shed the worst of the attack. She faced the Ascendants and Chairman, despite being thoroughly outnumbered and outmatched.
“Beggin’ pardons.” Stewart appeared within the bubble. Dani looked at him in silent thanks for not letting her go down alone.
He raised a hand. “Can I be leavin’ now? Afore there’s any hittin’ o’ women? I don’t got the stomach for it.”
Francis inclined his head. “Of course, Mr. Connolly. Your assistance will be rewarded as promised.”
Dani’s eyes widened as Stewart shuffled through the line of Ascendants unopposed. He only stopped when she cried out, “Stewart, what’ve you done?”
The trash mage paused on the threshold of the portal, head bowed, back to her.
“Mr. Connolly here has been immensely helpful in keeping track of your location and activities for us,” Destin said. “While we could have expended much of our own effort in tracking down this abomination,” he gestured to the hybrid, “and would have succeeded in time, this was a much more efficient route. In exchange for opening the way to you, he has been promised that his abode will be considered a safe haven so long as he never oversteps its boundaries again.”
“I’s your word?” Stewart asked.
“Of course,” Destin said. “The contract has already been authorized and filed by the Board.”
Dani growled. “Traitor.”
“I’m protectin’ me home,” Stewart said, chin lifting. “You’d be doin’ the same if’n your folks was threatened.”
“It’s trash, Stewart. Not your family.”
With a final sad look, Stewart vanished through the portal. The Ascendants closed ranks again.
“Now then, Ms. Hashelheim,” Destin said, “if you would stand aside, we’ll—”
A hacking noise interrupted them. Their gazes settled on the withered body by Dani’s feet.
Ben was laughing. “I … I … got it all wrong.” He wheezed and blood bubbled out a nostril. “All … wrong …”
Destin sneered at him. “I wondered where you’d acquired a corpse from. It’s as we feared. Corruption has consumed you fully.”
“Dani …” Ben’s rheumy eyes met hers. “You gotta … let ...”
His head dropped back. Breaths rasped out. Dani shifted in place, torn between keeping them from Ben and shielding the hybrid.
“I won’t let you subjugate him,” she
said, leaning toward the teen.
“Subjugation?” Destin pressed a hand to his chest. “As if I would ever sully myself by even touching such a creature. No. We are here to eliminate it before it can do further harm.”
“But he’s human too,” Dani cried. “Can’t you see?”
Destin’s look combined pity and disgust. “Corruption can take many deceiving forms meant to lure you into complacency.” His gaze turned to the cairn in the distance. “Have you not learned this lesson already?”
Her anger rose, and the wind with it. “I’ve learned a lot of things.”
She’d been letting her power trickle out ever since the first Ascendant arrived. It had wormed its way through the air and earth, locking the elements to her will.
Wind roared into life around the bubble. It picked up the rubble piles and whipped the obsidian fragments into a black tornado. Its tip encircled them while its dark crown reared into the sky.
As Dani poured herself into the spell, two Ascendants sprinted for her.
Her power responded half through her focus, half out of instinct. Obsidian blocks peeled out of the storm, sliced through the bubble and smacked into her attackers’ foreheads. They slumped to the ground and stirred no more.
The tornado widened, spinning ever-faster with the bubble at the eye of the storm. It ripped out more chunks of the nearby mountain, adding shards and boulders to its deadly winds.
“Who else?” she shouted. “I’m dicing anyone who comes an inch nearer.”
Destin strode forward. A flock of obsidian needles soared his way, but shattered into powder against his aura.
“Ms. Hashelheim,” he called. “Impressive as it is, you cannot keep up this effort indefinitely. Already I see you wavering. You’ve not the training to resist us.”
“I’m trained enough.”
“Should you collapse this storm, it will kill everyone here,” Destin said. “Is that the murderous legacy you wish to leave?” Smiling at her furious silence, he waved to the others. “Take her.”
As the Ascendant’s marched forward, Dani let her awareness flow out further. It followed the lines of powers she’d threaded through the ground until the earth became part of her body.