Courageous

by Nicholas Olivo

  “Treggen’s set up shop in the university?” The Undercity university was something akin to Boston’s Hogwarts. The paranormal children who grew up here got taught all manner of magic and mundane subjects. I’d personally never attended, but I found myself wondering if maybe we should get Katrina Grady enrolled in a few classes to get her more acclimated to the paranormal side of the city. I made a note to follow up with Leslie about that later.

  Wheatson moved for the door. “I’ll check down the hall for—” As Wheatson’s hand touched the doorknob, Webb pulled his chronopistol and shot his partner in the back. Wheatson’s body shimmered through several different colors, and then exploded in a burst of prismatic light. When the after images faded from my eyes, he was gone.

  This had barely registered in my mind before I realized that Webb was now aiming his chronopistol at me. I flared tachyon around me, and time slowed down, the chronobullet now inching its way from the barrel of Webb’s gun. What the hell was he doing? Why had he killed Wheatson? I snapped Open two portals. One delivered the bullet to the waters of the Quabbin reservoir, and the other I affixed to the end of his gun. Time returned to its normal speed, and Webb pulled the trigger three times before he realized that I wasn’t being erased from the timestream.

  I charged forward, my fist connecting with his nose, a satisfying crunch telling me I’d broken it. Again. Okay, well, technically, while it was the first time I personally had done this, it was just the latest in a long string of Corinthos-induced nose breakages for Webb. Webb cried out and staggered back, giving Petra time to spin behind him and grab him by the wrists. She held him, his arms outstretched, and he thrashed and swore. The bones of his wrists ground together, and the chronopistol dropped harmlessly to the floor. Snarling, Webb tried to slam the back of his head against Petra’s face, and I couldn’t help but grin as he cried out in pain. That would’ve been like trying to headbutt a concrete wall.

  I walked up to him. “What the fuck, Webb? Are you working with Treggen?” He spat at me. “I’ll take that as a yes,” I said, wiping the spit from my face.

  Petra squeezed his wrists a little harder, and I heard Webb’s bones crack. “That was not polite,” Petra said. “Try again.”

  “Yes, I’m working with him,” Webb tried to snarl, but his newly broken wrists made it an angry whimper. “The Tempus is a pansy. Treggen at least has the balls to keep the timestream safe. Once he’s in charge, things’ll get better, you’ll see. All the evil, all the suffering, Treggen will have those wiped out, replaced by clean, crisp order.”

  “You sure you’re talking about Treggen and not Sakave?” I asked. “The Treggen I know only cares about himself and furthering his own agenda.”

  “You don’t know him very well then, do you, Corinthos?” Webb growled. “He’s going to fix the timestream. He’s going to give the Chroniclers purpose again. Do you think we like being sent on errands to keep time along its predefined path? What sort of universe is that? Humans adjust the Earth’s landscape to suit their needs, changing the flow of rivers, draining swamps, leveling mountains. Why can’t we do the same thing with time? Why shouldn’t we make it so that some people, the ones who only cause misery and suffering, never come into power, or are never born in the first place? The universe would be a much more orderly place if we did.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I said, rubbing my face. “You really buy that? If Treggen’s in charge of who gets to exist and who doesn’t… Jesus Christ, I don’t even have words for how insanely stupid that is.”

  Webb grinned. “That’s only because you know he’d remove you first.”

  “He can’t remove me, shithead, because I’m a half-deity with ties to time. Now is Treggen here?”

  Webb shook his head. “I knew this place would be empty and figured it was time to remove you from the equation once and for all.”

  “And Wheatson? You thought he needed to be removed, too?”

  “Bastard was always sticking up for you. I didn’t think his loyalties were properly placed.”

  “I think you’re the one with loyalty problems, Webb.” I ran my hands through my hair.

  “So what will we do with him?” Petra asked.

  “Courage Point has a holding cell,” I said. “We can dump him there.” I portaled us to one of the lower levels of Courage Point, one with no windows to the outside world. A door made of infragillium opened onto an otherwise featureless cell, empty save for a cot and toilet. I gestured into the room, and Petra tossed Webb in, sending the rogue Chronicler tumbling ass over teakettle into the wall.

  Webb immediately got to his feet and started slapping at his chronometer.

  “Yeah, that’s not going to work here,” I said. “See, this building behaves according to my thoughts and desires. And I do not want you leaving this cell.” Webb roared and charged me, but chains burst from the wall and wrapped around his ankles and forearms.

  “Let me introduce you to some creatures I met in the Pit, Webb. They’re called cordlings. They’re sentient restraints whose bite causes some absolutely horrific hallucinations.” Red eyes opened on the manacles binding Webb, and he screamed as the cordlings sank their teeth into his flesh. “Sleep well,” I said, with a wave.

  “How long will you keep him like that?” Petra asked.

  “No idea,” I said. “But now that we’ve lost Wheatson, I don’t know how to reach the Tempus.” I rubbed my temples. I wouldn’t say that Wheatson and I had been friends, but we’d been friendly. He deserved better than that. I wondered what sort of ceremony the Chroniclers held when one of their own fell. I’d make it a point to have the Tempus send Wheatson off with full honors.

  I was a bit surprised by my lack of reaction; I wasn’t overly sad, I wasn’t ragingly angry, I just felt tired. Wheatson was another corpse at Treggen’s feet. Another name on a list that was far, far too long. I couldn’t allow this to keep happening.

  Of course, there was still the problem of finding Treggen. To Petra, I said, “Who knows how many other Chroniclers Treggen got to? For all I know, they’re lying in wait, and once the Tempus gets back from his vacation or whatever the hell it is, they’ll jump him.”

  “So, if we can’t find the Tempus, let’s focus on Treggen,” Petra said. “How else can we find him?”

  I ran my hands through my hair. “We know he was using Caulborn HQ, but now that I’m back, he… Wait. Gears said that he’d been using Xavier as a mouthpiece to speak to the Care Taker and the rest of Dublin. If that’s the case, then Treggen must have some sort of a connection, a tether, to Xavier. Maybe Herb and Albert can track that. Let’s go.”

  Chapter 13

  We left the prison level and headed back to the main chamber, where I found Gearstripper sitting atop Alexis’s massive keyboard. The gremlin’s eyes were filled with static, and data was flashing across Alexis’s screen faster than I could read it. It wasn’t until I saw that Gears had grown a USB jack from his finger that I realized he was downloading something.

  “Um, Gears?”

  “One sec,” he said distractedly. The information onscreen surged, scrolling past three or four times faster than what I’d seen just seconds before. Gears shuddered, then let out a breath. “All right,” he said, unplugging his finger from the USB jack. The silvery metal absorbed back into his skin, returning his digit to normal. “Sorry about that, I was trying to hack into the communications Xavier’s been sending to the Care Taker.”

  “Any luck?”

  “They’re using a new cipher, one that’s even more sophisticated than Code forty-one,” Gears replied. “Alexis and I are working on it, but it’s going to take some time. The fact that the cyberium can’t just break it makes me a little nervous.”

  “I’m sure you’ll break it,” I said.

  “Since when can you do that?” Petra asked, gesturing to Gears
’s finger.

  “Since yesterday,” he said with a grin. “The cyberium lets me interface with data anyway I want. And it’s so much faster to download data with a physical connection. The Wi-Fi here is good”—he held up his finger—“but this is better.”

  “All right, Gears, keep me posted.” Petra and I went to Professor Brymstone’s lab and found Herb and Albert reading over some of the books. Herb gave a sheepish grin when he looked up. “You know, when I watched that old Commander Courageous TV show with Dad, I used to laugh at the books in Brymstone’s lab. They had ludicrous titles like The Practical Vampire Hunter and A Thousand and One Hexes for All Occasions. I used to think just how silly that was, how real tomes of magic would always have the unpronounceable Latin titles. And yet now, reading these, I realize that this Brymstone fella really knew what he was doing.”

  I gave a grin in spite of myself. “He was Commander Courageous’s go-to guy for dealing with the supernatural. Kind of like how you’ve been helping me.” My smile faded. “Herb, I know you were helping me just until we got Megan back, but I’m in a bind and could still use your help. Any chance you’d be willing to keep going with this for a little while longer?”

  “That depends,” Herb said. “To what end?”

  “The defeat of the asshole who killed Megan.”

  “Are you kidding? Heck, yes I’m with you.”

  My grin returned. “Fantastic. I’m hoping you can answer a question for me. Would it be possible for you to locate a particular undead, and then trace where the person who’s compelling him currently is?”

  Herb frowned in thought, but it was Albert who replied. “You know, Vincent, I’m starting to see that you never ask for anything simple or easy.” He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Part one, locating an undead, yes, so long as you have something we can use as a focus. Hair, skin, that sort of thing. Tracking a compulsion, though, that’s tricky.”

  “Would it get any easier if I told you that the spirit that’s compelling said undead currently resides in a celestial phylactery?”

  “Jumpin’ jehosephat,” Albert said. “Are you pulling my leg?” I shook my head. “Well then, yes, actually, this does get easier. Celestial phylacteries are made of celestial metal, and that stuff acts as a lightning rod for arcane energy. With the right tools, we’d be able to zero right in on it.”

  “I don’t understand,” Petra said. “If Xavier’s been making calls from Caulborn Headquarters, then why not just pop over there, grab him, and bring him back?”

  “The problem you’d run into there,” Herb said, “is that whoever’s pulling the strings could just sever the connection. Then you’re out of luck. You might be able to trace the energy signature, but the thing about celestial metal is how cleanly it conducts supernatural energy. There would be so little energy residue left behind, that tracking it after the connection was broken would be impossible.”

  “Okay,” I said. “So, hair, skin, or bone, right? How much do you need and what condition does it have to be in?”

  Albert shrugged. “Not much, really. A few hairs, a couple of nail clippings, that sort of thing. As for condition, since it’s an undead, it doesn’t need to be pristine.”

  “So, something that’s been rotting for a few weeks would be okay?”

  “Given that the undead is likely decaying as well, that won’t be a problem.”

  “All right,” I said. “You guys get to work building whatever you need to track the energy signature. I’m going to grab your specimen.” I glanced to Petra. “Up for a field trip?”

  “You know it,” Petra said.

  I snapped Open a portal to Hockomock Swamp, and Petra stepped through behind me. Due to the amount of supernatural energy in the area, snow and frost don’t stick here. Instead of a foot and a half of white powder, there was just a layer of brown slush about an inch deep. I’d brought us out in a clearing surrounded by dead trees and scraggly bushes. I gave a quick glance around for any nirrin-alligators, and was relieved to not find any.

  “So why are we here?” Petra asked.

  “Back when I fought Sakave, Xavier lost a hand. So far as I know, we never recovered it.”

  Petra gave me a slightly skeptical look. “Vincent, there are bugs and animals and who knows what else in this swamp. Do you really expect that a dismembered hunk of meat will be where you left it a few weeks ago?”

  “Well, when you put it like that, no. But all we need is a piece of bone or something. It shouldn’t be too hard for me to track one of those down. Especially since now that reality is stabilized in the swamp, I can just portal us around until I find what we’re looking for. This clearing is where we fought the thunderbirds. They swooped down and snagged the briefcase Xavier had been carrying Croatoan in, and tore his hand off in the process.”

  Petra grimaced. “So, you’re going to Glimpse back to that moment and then follow where the hand went?”

  “You got it.”

  “Okay,” Petra said. “Let me know when you have something.”

  I nodded and focused my Glimpse, watching time move backward at high speed, until I saw Jake, Cynthia, Xavier, and me enter the clearing. Dropping the Glimpse back to normal, I watched the thunderbirds swoop down and grab Xavier’s briefcase, hearing the sickening wet ripping sound as his hand was torn free. I watched myself heal Xavier—damn, I miss having healing powers—and then we were running off after the thunderbirds. Xavier’s hand lay forgotten on the marshy ground, stringy tendons dangling from where it had connected to his wrist. Blood seeped from the dismembered appendage, crimson mingling with the brown mud.

  The hand was just lying there, clear as day. I could have just reached out and grabbed it, had I actually been back at that moment. An impulse seized me then, and tachyon flared around me. I stretched out my arm toward the hand, and my fingers closed around it. I yanked it back, tachyon spiraling around me in shimmering blue rings.

  I had reached through time.

  Any excitement I might have felt at that vanished when I realized I was holding a dismembered appendage that was still bleeding. “Gah,” I said as I dropped the hand on the ground.

  “What just happened?” Petra asked, taking a step back from the hand.

  “I think I just time traveled,” I said and quickly filled Petra in on what it had felt like. “The Tempus told me that other versions of me that he’d dealt with had all developed the ability to time travel at one point or another, and he seemed confident that I’d do it, too, though he wasn’t sure when the power would manifest.”

  “Vincent,” Petra said, her tone urgent. “Whatever you’re thinking, make sure you’ve thought it all the way through.”

  “I love you,” I said. “You could tell I was thinking of something crazy, huh?”

  “I’ve known you long enough,” she said with a smile.

  “It occurred to me that I could just go back and undo everything. I mean, I’ve thought about this before, but back then, it was a hypothetical situation. Now, though, I could actually change my past. I could keep myself from making that promise to Megan. I could still help her, still get her to Medical after she’d been attacked by that rose, but without actually saying the words. But then everything would be different. I wouldn’t have gone with Herb to Hammond Castle, which means I wouldn’t have rescued the kobolds from the redcaps, and they never would’ve become my followers. Which means I wouldn’t have been able to turn into a dragon when I fought Harliss, so he probably would’ve killed me.” I shook my head. “Fourth-dimensional thinking is going to give me a lot of headaches.”

  “Okay, so you can’t change your own past,” Petra said. “Can you change anything in Treggen’s?”

  “Now that’s an interesting idea,” I said. “But no. Same problem. Let’s say I figured out how he was tethered to Megan in the
first place, and somehow undid it. That would mean he’d likely be tethered to someone else, and I’d have no way of knowing who, or being able to stop him.” I created a portal to the cabinet under the kitchen sink in our apartment, grabbed a plastic bag, and portaled Xavier’s severed hand into the bag. “We’ve got what we came for, let’s get this back to Herb and his dad.”

  Chapter 14

  Another portal brought us back to Brymstone’s lab, where Herb and Albert had their heads together over a small device that looked like a tuning fork. “What do you have, guys?” I asked.

  “This should enable us to get a rough idea of Treggen’s location,” Herb said. “By following the necromantic energies compelling Xavier to wherever Treggen’s holed up.”

  “How long until it’s ready?” I asked.

  “We’ll need another hour or so to ensure it’s calibrated properly,” Albert said. “Were you able to find the sample?” I gave him the bag, and he grimaced when he looked inside. “How is it so… fresh?”

  “Long story,” I said. To Herb, I asked, “How’s Megan?”

  “She seems all right,” Herb said. “I wanted to stay with her, but Mrs. Rita had a bunch of tests she needed to run and asked me to come back later.”

  I nodded. “Cool. Let me know when the device is ready.”

  I went back to the kitchen where I downed a Pepsi.

  Petra drummed her fingers on the countertop. “You know, this kitchen is nice, but could you make it a bit bigger?”

  “You thinking Julia Child, Emeril, or Rachel Ray?” I asked.

  “More like Ro Pansino,” she said with a grin.

  “Nerdy Nummies. Can’t go wrong there.” I waved my hand, and the counters extended, an island rose in the middle of the kitchen, and the entire layout shifted to white marble and steel appliances. A moment later, a plastic brontosaurus materialized on the counter next to the stove.