Lifting his head, he saw his hands and arms—they were still Valtegan, but the skin, the skin was as black as night, as his fur would have been.
“No, damn you all!” he yelled. “I will not be your puppet!” He sat back on his haunches and glared around him. “I am not your Zsadhi!”
M’yikku was trying to back away, but Cheelar was holding onto him. “Captain! Like it or not, you are the Zsadhi now. You have to stop them!”
“Stop who? I will not fight my wife, I’ve told you that!”
“Shaidan is running over to them! She’s coming toward him, sword drawn!”
Kusac looked. The small figure of his son was running toward the battle-clad Valtegan warrior his wife had become. Hissing his anger, he got to his feet, doubling over as the change took hold of him again, coating his limbs with black fur that, as quickly as it appeared, vanished again. He staggered, trying to get his balance. “I can’t do anything in this state,” he hissed at Cheelar.
“You have to decide who you are,” said a voice he’d come to hate hearing as much as Kaid had. “You need a weapon. This will serve you well.” Vartra thrust a double-handed sword at him, waiting for him to take it.
“No!” he hissed, even as his hand automatically went up to receive it. “Not the Zsadhi’s sword! I swore I wouldn’t be your puppet!”
“Then do it to save your son—and your wife,” Vartra said before vanishing.
* * *
“Mama!” As he ran over to her, Shaidan reached out mentally for his mother, but something hard and angry met him instead. Shocked, he slowed down, walking now. “Mama, it’s me, Shaidan!” he called out.
“Demon! I don’t know you! Call me not mother, I never birthed such as you!” she hissed back, pacing up and down in front of K’hedduk, spinning her sword round in her hand.
Shaidan crept slowly closer, stopping almost within arm’s reach. “You didn’t birth me, but you are my mother,” he said. “He birthed us from containers.” He pointed to K’hedduk, behind her.
She looked round, momentarily confused at what he said, then turned back to him. “It matters not. You are no child of mine. Come no closer, or I will attack you!”
He felt her confusion and pushed harder with his mind, sending her images of them going swimming at the pool and playing in the nursery.
“Stop that!” she said, shaking her head. “Mind stealer!”
Again he edged closer, pushing his mental advantage, making her relive the day she and his father had left on their mission to M’zull.
She let out a wail and clapped her hands to the blue-and-gold wings of the crown, pressing them even more tightly to her head.
This time he barreled into her, flinging his arms around her waist. “Mama! It’s really me, Shaidan! Please come back to me!”
Touching her created an even closer bond, allowing him to see past the harshness of this Tashraka person she had become, to the mother he knew underneath the crown. Next thing he knew, she’d torn his arms free and flung him violently aside. He sailed through the air to land hard some ten feet away. As she dropped into a crouch and began to move toward him, he struggled to his feet and began to back off.
Tears he didn’t mean to shed began to gather. The fall had hurt him, not badly, but enough.
“Mama, please,” he pleaded. “You know it’s me. Look inside and you’ll find the memories. Please, Mama!”
A black figure suddenly ran past him, tackling her, sending her sprawling onto the ground. “Leave our son out of this,” hissed the dark-skinned male, standing over her. “If you need someone to fight, fight me!”
“No! It’s not her, Papa, it’s something evil, something in the crown!” Shaidan ran toward the fallen female as she scrambled to her feet, but with a backhanded blow, she sent him spinning into Kusac and danced back to a safe distance.
“So you’re the Zsadhi,” she said, looking him up and down. “No armor, you’ll be no match for me.” She circled him, swinging her sword in front of her, doing figures of eight to keep him at a distance. “Come on, then, great savior of the people, attack me!”
Ignored now, Shaidan sat up slowly. His mouth felt swollen, and he could taste something metallic. He rubbed at it with his hand, wincing as it hurt, seeing the blood darkening his palm.
She suddenly lashed out at his papa who miraculously had his blade there just in time to block it.
“I won’t fight you, Carrie,” he said, his sword at the ready position as he followed her body movements. “You aren’t Tashraka, or Ishardia—you’re my wife. Stand down, I want K’hedduk, not you.”
She lashed out at him again, a flurry of blows he was hard-pressed to avoid. Several found their mark, leaving shallow, bleeding slashes on his right arm and left thigh.
Shaidan used the opportunity to creep up behind her.
No! It’s too dangerous! sent Kusac.
You can’t fight her, Papa, I have to do this.
Shaidan reached inside himself, looking for ways to combat his mother’s belief that she was this ancient warrior. Finding several, he gathered his mental strength and lashed out at her mind, stunning her and bringing her to her knees almost insensible with pain as simultaneously he launched himself at her back.
He scrabbled to hold on as she fell, but his grip was enough. With one hand, he grasped the rearing head of the raptor at the front of the crown and pulled the whole thing free of her head. Flinging it aside, he let go of her and fell to the ground in a small, exhausted heap.
Ghioass, Isolationist party HQ
“So they fight with the mother,” said Zaimiss. “Keep watching, soon we will get a chance.”
“Surely you don’t want to take him in front of the Hunter?” said Tinzaa.
“You Cabbarans have no stomach for this fight. What can he do? No knowledge he has of who takes son! Unity, be ready to transport him here.”
I cannot do that, Leader Zaimiss. I have no authorization to do this. It needs the order of two people, one being an Elder.
“I give authorization!” said Tinzaa. “Bring the Hunter cub here at once!”
As you wish, Elder Tinzaa.
M’zull, outer grand courtyard
Kusac stood there, hardly able to believe what had happened. One moment Shaidan had been sitting on the ground just behind Carrie, who was now unconscious and had reverted to her normal human form, the next, he had gone—just winked out of existence.
“Shaidan!” Kusac shouted at the top of his voice and his mind, but there was nothing. Not a trace of his son remained.
A movement to his right instantly drew his attention. It was K’hedduk, in the company of the injured Zerdish and several others of his bodyguards.
“You stay there,” said Kusac, pointing his sword at him. “I want you. I have waited a long time to face you one-on-one, and you will not deprive me of it now!” Keeping his eyes on the whole group of six, he began to move to his left to where the crown lay on the pitted surface of the courtyard. Reaching it, he stamped on it hard, smashing the wings together, breaking the inlaid lapis so that never again could it be worn.
“Take him!” ordered K’hedduk, pointing at Kusac. “He’s threatening my person. I want him dead!”
“Cheelar, M’yikku!” called Kusac. “To me!”
“Always, Captain,” came Cheelar’s quiet voice from beside him.
“If they move, shoot them. If they pull a weapon, shoot to kill. Leave K’hedduk for me. Understood?”
“Yes, Captain,” Cheelar said, moving out to cover the bodyguards.
Zerdish moved to step in front of K’hedduk, but as a blaster shot sent chips of concrete up into his face, he pulled back.
“I don’t advise it,” said M’yikku quietly.
Three of the bodyguards began to slowly shuffle backward until Cheelar let off a couple of warning shots.
&
nbsp; “Look, this doesn’t involve us,” said one. “You want the Emperor, you have him, we’re not going to interfere!”
“You can move away,” said Cheelar, “but carefully!”
Kusac, we’re here! sent Kaid. Have you got Carrie?
She’s unconscious. It was that crown that changed her. Come and take her to safety!
K’hedduk?
I have him, but Shaidan was here. He bypassed the transformer for us, managed to knock his mother out, then suddenly vanished!
Silence for a long minute, then: He’s not here, Kusac, sent Kaid quietly. I have no idea how he got here, or how he left. I asked Annuur and he said he isn’t on the Prime world either.
I have to see to K’hedduk now. If anything happens to me . . .
I’ll see to Carrie and Shaidan.
“You traitors,” sneered K’hedduk. “You’d sell yourself to a killer like this?”
“We didn’t agree to fight legends,” said their spokesman, speaking again.
“Give me her sword, Kaid,” Kusac said, holding out his hand for it. Kaid threw it over to him, pommel first. He caught, it then turned to K’hedduk.
“You’re good at getting others to do your dirty work for you,” he said. “This time, take this sword and face me yourself.”
“How can I face you?” asked K’hedduk. “You’re a legend, not a person!”
“Oh, I’m a person, all right. I’m Kusac, the Sholan on whom you implanted a control device on the Kz’adul. You took my wife prisoner, too.” He pointed to where Kaid was carefully lifting Carrie up. “Remember her? The Human female? We were all on the Kz’adul about two years ago.”
“You’re not Sholan! I know a Sholan when I see one. You’re a M’zullian like me. You’ve just stained your skin black!”
Kusac threw Tashraka’s sword at him and, reflexively, the other caught it.
“You’ll fight me, or I’ll execute you. I don’t care which,” said Kusac. “You have to answer for your crimes against me and my clan. This way, you have at least a chance of beating me.”
K’hedduk turned to Zerdish, handing him the sword while he pulled off his jacket. Throwing the garment at him, he took the sword back.
Kusac watched as K’hedduk swung the blade a few times, adjusting his hands on it till his grip felt comfortable. All the while, though, his mind was still searching for any trace of his son.
The villagers, along with Kaid, Rezac, and the others, formed a circle around the two combatants with only Zerdish and one of the other black-clad bodyguards inside it. Weapons raised, some looked outward to the civilians gathering to see the fight, and others faced inward to the combat about to take place.
Keep him busy for about fifteen minutes. Then the nanites should kick in, Annuur says, sent Kaid.
He’ll be dead by then, Kusac replied. Get Annuur onto finding my son!
The pain in his chest hit him again as he paced toward the middle of their impromptu circle.
If you want to survive to find your son, you have to embrace the legend, Vartra’s voice sounded in his mind.
Never! he replied, brought to his knees again as the change took him, turning him into a full Sholan just long enough for K’hedduk to see him and recognize him.
* * *
“I do know you,” said K’hedduk, as he rushed at Kusac. “You were in that stasis pod the Kz’adul found. You had a mental link to a Human female.”
The sword was descending toward his head, but Kusac threw off the pain at the last moment and got his sword up to block it. Pushing hard, he threw the M’zullian back and scrambled to his feet.
K’hedduk recovered his balance and came at him again. “Yes, I learned a lot about you and your mental link,” he said, circling him. “Pain given to one of you was felt by you both. I had fun discovering that. Even the slightest application of it gave me a response from both of you!”
Kusac knew K’hedduk was trying to enrage him to lose his self-control, but knowing didn’t stop it from being effective. He circled, blocking the blows as they came in, conserving his strength. K’hedduk would make his mistake and then he would strike. Till then, let him wear himself out.
“The female, such a low pain threshold she has. Perhaps I can experiment on her some more!”
A flurry of blows rained down on him this time, some of them just nicking him as his anger and the pain in his chest slowed him down. This time, he met them with big sweeping blows, each one knocking Khedduk’s sword aside and driving him back.
“You talk too much,” snarled Kusac, finally remaining in his true Sholan form.
K’hedduk hissed his rage, redoubling his efforts.
Kusac lashed out with his foot when he got close enough to him, and when K’hedduk went flying backward, followed it up with a sword blow at his side that just contacted.
Staggering and hissing in pain, K’hedduk clapped his left hand to his side and backed away from Kusac. He risked a glance at the wound. It was deep, but not life threatening.
“I see you found the brats alive,” said K’hedduk, keeping his distance. “Pity. I intended them to die when I had no further use for them.”
“They aren’t brats. They are children, our children,” snarled Kusac, ignoring the pain in his chest as he rushed forward and ducked under the other’s blade to close with him. Face-to-face, Kusac smiled a human smile, showing his teeth. “And you will never threaten them or us again when I am done with you!”
“Words!” hissed K’hedduk, struggling to push him aside as their blades remained locked above their heads. “You’ll need more than words to beat me!” His knee came up to hit Kusac in the gut, making him double over at the shock of it.
As he staggered back, K’hedduk’s left hand came round for a punch to his face, but Kusac’s hand was there first to catch it. He squeezed hard, eliciting a cry of pain from the other, then he shifted his grip to bend the fingers back. There was an audible snap, followed by a hiss of agony from the M’zullian.
Kusac released him, straightening up as K’hedduk’s other hand brought his sword down hard, trying to pommel punch Kusac on the head. He missed and with a cry of rage, the bodyguard Zerdish charged at them, knife held out to stab Kusac. Three guns blasted him, but he made it far enough to push Kusac away from K’hedduk and stab him in the leg with his last dying lunge.
“Dammit, Kusac! The nanites go live in minutes now! Hang in there!” shouted Kaid.
It might as well have been hours. Kusac limped back, reaching for the knife stuck into his left leg. K’hedduk came barreling in toward him, sword held in one hand, his other useless hand dangling at his side.
With a roar of anger, Kusac pulled the knife free and threw it at him. It struck the M’zullian square in the chest. With his free hand, Kusac reached out physically as well as mentally and raised K’hedduk high into the air.
“You will not live to threaten us another minute!” began Kusac, then suddenly time seemed to slow down and a slight figure materialized in front of him.
“He is mine now,” said a feminine voice as control of K’hedduk’s body was taken from him. “For his crimes against my people and yours, he will burn for all time!”
Kusac blinked as his arm fell to his side and he got a clearer look at the Valtegan female in front of him. Her form blurred slightly, overlaid with the golden fur of Ghyakulla, then it faded to be replaced with the golden-scaled form of La’shol.
Her hand was wreathed in flames, flames that spread toward where K’hedduk dangled in midair. Within moments, he was surrounded by them, flickering in shades of orange and red and yellow.
“Burn, damn you, burn for all time!” snarled Kusac as he watched the flames burn fiercely and leap twenty feet into the air.
A terrible cry of anguish came from the center of the conflagration as clouds of thick smoke began to form. Sickened, Kusac
backed away from the heat even he could feel. As he did so, the burning mass that had once been K’hedduk, Emperor of M’zull, fell to the ground.
“Justice has been done,” said a voice that now sounded male. For a brief moment, the vision of the Nature Entity of the Valtegans became that of the Sholan Lord of justice, L’Shoh. Then the Entities were gone, leaving him alone beside the still smoking corpse.
Kaid was suddenly at his side, as was Shazzuk. The last of K’hedduk’s bodyguards suddenly cried out and fell to the ground.
“Did you see that?” he asked, turning to them. “The Entities?”
“We did. He’s in L’Shoh’s hell now,” growled Kaid.
Kusac nodded. “Finally.”
“The nanites have kicked in,” said Kaid, taking the first aid kit from Shazzuk.
“I need to find my son,” Kusac said.
“We have to wait till the Touibans arrive and we can hand over this world to Shazzuk.”
“You really are all Sholans,” said Shazzuk in disbelief as around him, one by one, the others dropped their camouflage or transformed back into their natural form.
Kaid looked at the M’zullian in amusement. “I told you we were, but some of us are Primes from K’iosh’ik.”
“But these people, they’re all dead,” said Shazzuk, looking round the courtyard at the bodies all lying on the ground. “What have you done to my people?” he demanded.
“No, they’re not dead, just unconscious,” said Kaid, slathering antiseptic over Kusac’s wounds and making him yelp. “Go check them out if you don’t believe me. When the Touibans arrive, they will help you take charge of this world and rewrite the racial memories of your people so they have no memory of their warlike past, or K’hedduk. We need you to be their new Governor.”
“Fastheal,” said Kusac succinctly, reaching for Kaid’s first aid belt pouch and taking out the ampule of the drug.
“No, you need to heal naturally,” objected Kaid, trying and failing to snatch it back. “You expended far too much energy in that fight!”
Circle's End Page 41