by John Sharp
Chapter 14 – It’s A Trap!
I never thought my world could collapse with three little words. I foolishly believed I was impervious to such. The idea that three little words could destroy me was unthinkable…impossible even, until it happens. I am playing chess with Whisper and getting beaten rather soundly when Brick appears, uttering those three horrible words, his face a reflection of his misery. I blink at him, praying that I somehow misunderstood. It must be wrong. It has to be.
“Solarkar has Sarah.” Brick says again, knowing full well I have to hear it more than once. His face lacks his usual good humor.
“What happened?” Whisper asks in a low, threatening growl.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there myself,” Brick says. “It came through several intermediates before the message reached me.”
“So it could be wrong,” I state more than ask, my world feeling unreal.
“No,” Brick says sadly. “The message was quite clear along with the slaughter of a dozen of my kind to help speed it along.” Brick takes a deep, painful breath and recites the message. “This message is for Jerry of house Price. Come alone to the hive and present yourself before my throne or Sarah of house bullshit will become food for the Vorscha. You have until midnight in your world to comply. So says Solarkar, disciple of Melephos.” As Brick had said the message is very clear. A single glance at the clock tells me I have just under eight hours. It’s 4:35pm.
“What shall we do, Shifter?” Whisper asks, the light of battle making his eyes shine. “We could charge in, slaughtering all who resist and rescue her.”
“It’s a trap, you foolish mole-spawn rat,” my shadow says, leaning against the far wall. “Leave her to her fate.”
“You cowardly gas cloud,” Whisper hisses. “Return to the anus from which you were expelled.”
“Enough!” I yell. I need time to process this. It has to be some kind of mistake. This can’t be happening to me now. Not after all I’ve been through. Pulling on my hair I desperately try to think. There had to be a way. My skin feels clammy and my mind fuzzy; I can’t reason at all. Only visions of Sarah with her blonde hair as she leans close, kissing me swim around my head.
“I have an idea,” Brick says rather hesitantly. Desperate, I look at him. Right now I would leap on anything. Brick doesn’t fail to notice that I have just pinned all my hopes on him. Face reddening, which was tricky considering he is sticking out of a pale lavender wall, he licks his lips before continuing.
“I was thinking about it on the way here. It would be tricky but it just might work.”
“Get on with it, you African wall ornament,” my shadow says impatiently. For a change I agree with him but remain, silent for if I start yelling I might not stop.
“As you know, I’ve had regular look outs keeping an eye on the warehouse where vision was so we saw the whole thing before Solarkar sent his message. We saw Sarah dragged to the central area. She was beaten badly but alive, with a sigil stone on her chest.” Rage blossoms in me, clearing my head. It’s a deep, burning hate that I haven’t felt since that day in the hive. How dare they lay a single hand on her. No one does that to my friends. I’ll rip them into shreds scattering their bloody remains across all the worlds! My shadow gives me a wide smile, no doubt feeling my anger. That only pisses me off more. “The men who took her weren’t hivetung, Jerry. They were more beings like Solarkar. All of them shifters.”
More shifters like Solarkar and myself? Just great. Where are they coming from? “Solarkar suddenly appeared. I knew it must be him since he only had one arm like you said he would. Rapid instructions were given out and they disappeared with Solarkar and Sarah. Two stayed behind, watching this world.”
“What can we do?” I ask, my mind an odd mixture of hate and concern.
“Not much,” Brick admits. “After Solarkar shifted, heavily armed men arrived. Going there in the human world would be certain death. The same with Whisper’s world and surely the nearby worlds are also being watched also.”
“The Bartendor clan won’t tolerate this!” Whisper declares in a ferret roar. “They shall feast on these lesser shifters and free Sarah.”
“It won’t work,” I say, shaking my head. “We don’t have the time to fetch them. Midnight will be well past before we could.” Crestfallen Whisper lays down, losing all trace of his battle lust from a moment before.
“Is there no hope then?” Whisper asks sadly.
“Well, I can’t be certain but I think one level of reality might not be watched. The very lowest level,” Brick says. The bottom… the stuff of nightmares. The closest place you can get to hell without dying.
“The bottom,” Whisper says, the fear in his voice really emphasizing the true danger of this venture.
“Yes,” Brick says. “I doubt they will guard it or be able to guard it long without dying. Jerry, you and Whisper could rush in and shift Sarah out, right from under Solarkar’s nose.”
“What about the sigil stone? They surely would activate it to prevent her from shifting.” I say.
Again hesitant Brick looks at the dark silhouette still leaning against the wall. “Someone unseen could cross over and break the stone just before you arrived.”
My shadow gives a scowl. “Are you suggesting that I do this?” My shadow says, crossing his insubstantial arms.
“Yes,” Brick says simply.
“You could do it,” I add, a faint flicker of hope blooming in me.
“No,” my shadow says firmly.
“Why?” Whisper demands angrily.
“Because I don’t feel like it,” my shadow says as if stating the obvious.
“Very well,” I say standing up. I know what I have to do. “Whisper, you stay here. I’ll exchange myself for Sarah. Solarkar should accept that. She isn’t a threat to him.”
“You cannot!” Whisper shouts his very blue eyes wide in horror.
“He’ll kill you, fool,” my shadow says with a small trace of concern. Not for me but for his own continued existence, exactly as I was counting on.
Facing my shadow I say, “Yes, and perhaps you along with me. Unless you decide to do something about it.” We face off, neither of us backing down.
“I could just kill her instead.” My shadow counters. He’s serious. He would do it.
“If you do then I’ll kill myself just to take you with me.” I reply coldly. A minute passes as we just look at each other. Whisper’s head swings back and forth between us. In the end my shadow has only one option.
“You owe me,” my shadow says darkly. Nodding at him I ignore the fact that I feel more concerned about his dark promise than Solarkar’s intentions toward me. But it doesn’t matter. Solarkar has Sarah, that’s all that is important. Strolling over to the closet I retrieve the hivetung sword all wrapped up from storage.
“Let’s go,” I say. There’s nothing left to discuss. Putting on my black trench coat and pink moccasins I go out to face Solarkar once more, with Whisper riding on my shoulder. I hope I can get the better of him one more time.