Courageous

by Nicholas Olivo

  Jake’s mouth was a perfect ‘o’ of surprise. Egad, yes, it is. Where did you get that?

  “Psyke removed it from Cynthia,” I said. “She said that the Rosario’s enchantments took to Cynthia too easily. You told me before that Cynthia was made of celestial metal, and there’s a limited amount of that in the world. So, I started to wonder if maybe the Rosario had somehow been used in Cynthia’s creation.” I hefted the sword, watching as the light gleamed off its flared edges. “You said the enchantments on the items used to build Cynthia were dispelled. Thing is, this was made by Paracelsus himself. The Loremaster told me that there hasn’t been anyone who could equal him on enchantments, and so I’m thinking that maybe those enchantments weren’t totally removed, just suppressed. Dormant. So, when an active piece of them was re-introduced into Cynthia—”

  The enchantments woke up, Jake finished.

  “Woke up with a vengeance,” I said.

  Jake eased himself off the worktable and moved over to Cynthia’s bedside. Will she be all right?

  “I think so. Psyke says she just needs some time to heal.”

  She has been through much. I will stay with her until she wakes. I clapped Jake lightly on the shoulder and then left him sitting next to Cynthia’s bedside, holding her hand.

  Mrs. Rita came around the corner, saw me, and gestured me into one of the adjacent rooms. “What is it?” I asked when the door shut behind us.

  “Vincent, given Cynthia’s condition, I would ask that you not take her or Jake into combat.”

  “I’d been thinking about it,” I admitted. “The two of them are nearly unstoppable in a fight. But I’d already decided against it. Cynthia’s undergone some huge changes lately, and it’s not fair to throw her into the fray. And she needs Jake, so I won’t risk him, either.” I stretched, twisting my back until it popped. “How about you, Mrs. Rita? Galahad told me that you didn’t get involved in mortal affairs. Yet here you are helping us.”

  Mrs. Rita took a seat at a small table and rubbed her eyes. “I know my path well, Vincent. I know everything I am to do, everything I am to say. I am supposed to be helping you now. Perhaps it is because I am trying to honor Galahad Eleven’s memory. Perhaps it is because I told Leslie that I would watch over you. But the truth is, I am here because I am supposed to be here.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said. “What does that mean?”

  Mrs. Rita didn’t respond right away. I thought maybe she was going to ignore the question or change the subject, but then she said, “I think you have earned an answer to that. It means that I will stand with you, Vincent Corinthos, when the time is right. But that time is not yet.”

  “Well, that’s something,” I said. “Thanks.” Honestly, it was more than I’d hoped for. The Olympians knew Mrs. Rita somehow, treated her as an equal. But that didn’t make any sense, because I wasn’t aware of anyone in any pantheon who lived and worked as she did. I’d seen her fight when Carmilla’s forces had attacked the old HQ, and I knew that she was something bordering on superhuman.

  Still no idea what, though.

  I snapped my fingers as an idea came to me. “Hey, you know those anti-divination runes that Carmilla had? Can you mark us with those? The Care Taker and the other Caulborn think we’re the bad guys right now, and I’d like to stay under their radar when we go back to Earth.”

  “I can,” Mrs. Rita replied. “However, I will need special materials.”

  “I can will just about anything you need into existence,” I said with a grin.

  “Yes, and that makes the effect temporary. Items you create from your own will last what, twelve, twenty-four hours, before evaporating?”

  “Mrs. Rita, if we need more than that, I have a feeling we’ll have already lost,” I said. “As it stands, I’m not sure how we’re going to get out of this. I’ve been putting on a brave face in front of Megan and the others, but the truth is, I’m flying by the seat of my pants here. I know what Treggen’s after, but I have no idea how he’s planning to do it. Honestly, I don’t even know if what he’s planning is possible. Webb said Treggen’s going to remake the timestream, change history so he’s in charge of everything that happens, but that can’t be done, can it? I mean, La Place’s demon was one thing, but the timestream itself is so big, so immense, that no one person could control it like that. I don’t even think the Tempus could do it. So, I’m completely in the dark, and there’s no room for error here.”

  “I have faith in you, Vincent. Do not fear.”

  My eyes widened, wheels suddenly whirring into motion in my mind. “Fear. Treggen took the Mieso Amulet. It works on fear, just like mine does, but instead of channeling the fear power into the wielder, the Mieso Amulet lets you project that fear back into the world.” My mind was going a mile a minute now. “Señor Fear used to torment his captives by uncovering what they were afraid of. Someone who was arachnophobic would suddenly find themselves covered in swarms of spiders. Someone who was claustrophobic would have the walls of a room literally close in on them. Of all the trinkets and artifacts in the vault he visited, Treggen wanted that one piece. Which means he’s trying to tap into someone’s fears, and then use those fears to change the world around him.”

  My heart rate accelerated. “What if he took the amulet intending to use it on the Tempus? I’d have to imagine a guy like that wouldn’t be afraid of much, except for really big, abstract things, like say, the timestream being corrupted or tainted. The Tempus’s fear could literally enable Treggen to make that happen.”

  “If what you say is true, Vincent, then you need to find Treggen before he discovers where the Tempus is vacationing.”

  “On it, Mrs. Rita. I’m going to go check on the necromancers now, and see if they’ve got their trace going.”

  It wasn’t until later, after everything was finished, that I realized I’d never told Mrs. Rita that the Tempus was on holiday.

  Chapter 15

  “All right, Herb,” I said, walking into the lab. “Whaddaya got?”

  “The tracking spell’s doing its thing. Once it starts, it takes a minute or so to get a fix on Xavier, and we can go from there.”

  “So, what will you learn?” Megan asked. “Will you see the room he’s in? Will you get coordinates? How exactly will this work?”

  Herb gestured to the bowl filled with glowing orange liquid. “The hand Vincent brought back let us establish a connection to Xavier. While we’re connected, we’ll be using the hand itself as fuel, so it’ll get burned up as we go. But while we’re connected, I should be able to sense the tether that’s allowing Treggen to see through Xavier’s eyes. By tracking that tether backward, I should be able to see the area around Treggen. I may get lucky, and there might be a spirit nearby in the ether who’s willing to tell me more. Given his propensity for using undead, I doubt Treggen’s making a lot of friends in the spirit world.”

  Miguel, Nathan, Kristin, Galahad, countless Urisk, and more I’m sure I didn’t know about were dead because of this asshole. It was time to finish this.

  The liquid in the bowl turned a brilliant green. “Got him,” Herb said, his eyes glowing orange. “Okay, I can see through Xavier’s eyes. He’s in an office with a big TV on the far wall. He’s talking to a red-haired man with an Irish accent. Sounds like he’s giving an update on a situation.”

  “That’d be the Care Taker,” I said. “Don’t worry about whatever they’re talking about. Gears is monitoring all their conversations, and we’ll hear about it if something gets hot.” Speaking of hot, Xavier’s hand was glowing as if lit from within, orange lines of light spreading through the veins like spider cracks.

  “Working backward,” Herb said. “Their connection seems… sluggish. It’s like when you’ve only got one bar on your phone and you’re trying to stream a video.”

  “Any chance you’re caus
ing that lag?” I asked.

  Herb shook his head. “No, I’m one tiny data packet in an otherwise slow-going stream.”

  “That’s poetry worthy of Gearstripper,” I said.

  “Hang on,” Herb said, raising a hand. “Wow, the connection just slowed down in a big way.” In the bowl, the light around Xavier’s hand glowed brighter, and faint wisps of smoke began to drift up from its fingernails. There was a pause as Herb narrowed his eyes. “Okay, I think we’re past that. I’m getting a rough image, a sort of vault, maybe. It’s dim. The only light is coming from a tank ahead. It’s filled with a weird green liquid. There’s… there’s a person inside the tank. He’s connected to what looks like a scuba mask, and there are a bunch of tubes and wires connecting into his body.”

  “Herbert, we’re burning through the resource quickly,” Albert said. Xavier’s hand was smoldering, shrinking, and giving off the smell of barbecued corpse. “You’ve only got a minute or so left.”

  “Treggen’s phylactery is being carried by someone. I can’t see their face, but it looks like a man’s hands. He’s got a weird sort of signet ring, something like a dragon. Whoever it is, he’s pulling a lever on a panel next to the tank. The tank is starting to drain, and the man inside looks dazed. He— Nuts. Everything just went dark.”

  “Xavier’s hand was consumed by the magic,” Albert said. “That was the only viewing we’ll get.”

  “Not much to go on,” Megan said.

  “I don’t think that’s true, Meg,” I said. “For starters, one of Treggen’s new flunkies, Drago, wears a dragon ring, so we know he’s there. But there’s more. Herb, you said that the connection was sluggish. Would that happen if the connection had to pass through certain metals?”

  Herb nodded. “Yeah. I was thinking about that actually. If Treggen’s been connecting to Xavier but has to penetrate lead or silver to do so, that would impact his reception.”

  “Okay. We know that, historically, Treggen has always operated within a five- to ten-mile radius of a cloning facility. You just saw a room with a tank full of glowing green goo. What’s the likelihood that’s a cloning pod?”

  “Pretty good,” Megan said. “Cloning pods usually have nutrient solutions that glow green, and a cloned body is often monitored and kept alive with wires and hoses like what Herb described.” I thought back to the neo-gremlin cloning facility Megan and I had found when we’d broken into the Hope Clinic. Dozens of glowing cloning pods, their occupants connected to feeding tubes.

  I nodded. “And paranormal cloning facilities often have both lead and silver in their construction to protect the populous and the clones within. Lead to block psychic waves from leaving, and silver to protect against possession of a clone by outside forces.” I turned to the necromancer. “Herb, given the amount of silver and lead you encountered, what’s the maximum range you think Treggen would have for his compulsion?”

  Herb pursed his lips. “Two, three miles, tops.”

  “Alexis,” I called and continued when her acknowledgment came, “connect with Gears and the Caulborn data network. Are there any paranormal cloning facilities within two or three miles of the new Boston Caulborn office?”

  “Affirmative,” came the reply. “There is one such facility.”

  “Pipe it down on the screen in Brymstone’s lab,” I said. A map immediately appeared on a screen just to my left. My face screwed up as I tried to read it. “Anyone know where this is? It looks like it’s in solid rock.”

  “Confirmed,” Alexis chirped. “This facility, Clone Lab 21331, was embedded directly inside the Undercity’s boundary wall. This form of concealment prevented the Undercity denizens from noticing and ensured no mundane individuals would encounter it, either.”

  “Vinnie,” Gears’s voice came over the intercom. “Sorry, couldn’t help but overhear you and Alexis talking. Lab 21331 was mentioned in that Corinthos Contingency Project I read about.”

  “Of course,” I said. “Treggen was breeding the Anti-Corinthos right here, ready to take me out when the time was right.”

  “If we go after Treggen right now,” Megan asked, “can we stop him?”

  “Maybe,” I said, “If we can get there fast enough. But I’ve never seen this cloning facility, so I can’t portal us there.”

  “I can help with that,” Gears said. “Hang on.” Over the intercom, I heard the machine-gun-like typing that the gremlin was famous for. “How’s this?” he asked, as a camera feed popped into view. “It’s the only camera I could find, and it’s on the main door of the place. I think they’re more concerned with making sure nothing leaves.”

  “Gears, any idea on how long it takes a clone to be up and about once it comes out of its tank?”

  “It depends on the clone and what it’s intended for. From what I’ve read, I’m assuming that it’s being pre-programmed with tactics and fighting styles, so I’d say somewhere between one and three hours.”

  “Great. Meet us at the Defenders’ table. We’ve got work to do.”

  Within twenty minutes, a plan formed. Megan, Gears, Petra, Herb, and I would portal into the cloning facility. Albert wasn’t a fighter and opted to stay behind. And as much as I wanted to include Cynthia and Jake among our number, I couldn’t expose Cynthia to more violence, and Jake wouldn’t want to leave her. The plan we’d come up with was not fancy or elegant. It was a straight search and destroy mission.

  “But can you really conjure up the necessary firepower?” Megan asked.

  “Megan, this house obeys my will, and while the things I create here only last for twenty-four hours on Earth, that’s going to be more than enough time.” I waved a hand, and a wall of weapons, some of which I’d seen in the Chroniclers’ arsenal, appeared before us.

  “Can you get me a new mech?” Gears asked. “Billy got destroyed.”

  Another wave of my hand, and a life-sized robot of Zach Galligan appeared before us. Gears’s ears, which had drooped when he’d said his previous mech was destroyed, now stood up like an alert German shepherd’s. “Vinnie, you are the best,” he said, pumping his tiny fist in the air. “The absolute best.” The little gremlin scrambled forward, climbed up into the open cockpit, and grinned as the mech’s chest cavity closed around him.

  “Any chance you can give me a new pocket cannon?” Megan asked. “I can’t seem to access my extradimensional shoebox anymore.” One appeared on the table in front of her. Her grin, now with vampire fangs, was both satisfied and terrifying.

  “Herb, what do you run with?”

  “Granddad used to say that a shotgun was the Lord’s preferred method for dealing with the undead,” he replied. “I don’t think we’ll be fighting any of them, but a shotgun’s what I know best. So, one of those, if you can.”

  “Incendiary rounds?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes, please.”

  “Done,” and they appeared on a small table next to Herb. That done, I grabbed a short-range blaster rifle off the weapons rack I’d created, and looked to Petra.

  “What are you thinking, love?”

  Petra frowned at the guns. “I’m thinking that guns aren’t my thing.” Her mouth quirked up in a half smile. “Any chance you can whip me up some infragillium knuckle dusters?”

  I grinned and waved my hand, the dusters appearing on the table before her. She slid them on, flexed her hands, and beamed at me. “I like these,” she said.

  “Okay, now for the defensive side of things.” It was all well and good that my friends and I could dish it out now, but if we weren’t able to take it, we’d be dead in short order.

  I rubbed my chin as I considered the options. The new Billy had a frame of solid infragillium, so he was nearly indestructible. I could’ve conjured exoskeletons for all of us, but only Gears was used to piloting a mech, and I figured the rest of us would be better
off as we were. So, I conjured up a black leather jacket for each of us, woven with eldritch thread to protect from bullets and malevolent spells. On a whim, I put the Defenders’ Society logo on their backs, a shield with three stars and a stylized eagle. I hefted mine and noticed how shiny the leather was. Wanting something a bit stealthier, I switched the black leather to black suede. Still stylish, still comfy, and significantly less reflective.

  I also had Alexis whip up a handful of smooth blue stones, which I handed out to everyone. “What’s this?” Megan asked as she accepted hers.

  “I call it a homestone,” I said.

  “Don’t you mean hearthstone?” Gears asked.

  “Shh. Do you want Blizzard to sue us? Anyway, it’ll let you teleport back here safely if we get separated.” The security wards on this house only allowed a person carrying the right key to enter, so I modified them so they’d allow someone carrying a homestone as well. I didn’t want to risk not being able to portal one of my friends to safety should they need it. And if I fell, well, I wanted them to have someplace safe to run to.

  Our preparations had only taken about fifteen minutes. I Opened a portal to the location Gears had scoped out, and we stepped through into a dimly lit hallway. A giant Exit sign was over the door behind us, leading out into the Undercity. Ahead was a security checkpoint like Jake’s. The chair was overturned, and there were a bunch of papers scattered on the floor.

  “I expected there’d be more wards against people just popping in here,” Herb said, glancing around.

  “Not so much,” I replied. “A place like this may be hidden from the Undercity populous, but they still need to allow people in; the scientists who work here, any brass that’s coming in to check on a project’s progress, stuff like that. Some of them can teleport, but most can’t, so there are enchantments on the other side of that door”—I gestured over my shoulder—“that prevent outsiders from seeing people come in here.”