by D. N. Leo
“I won’t accept that. If the medical center can’t fix you, I will.”
“No, Caedmon, just let it go. You hardly know me.”
“If you survive this, I’ll take you to Mid-land London. You can work for me there. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
“You’re very kind. It was my honor to work for you, even if only for a short period of time. Go back to Mid-land London. This place isn’t for you.”
“Leanne, I’m not entirely human. I have a special sort of energy that could help heal you. Will you agree to take my energy?”
“Why, Caedmon? Death isn’t bad at all. I’ll be free of this world. I’m not sad to be leaving it.”
“Please accept my energy. You can make the decision where to live later.”
She smiled weakly. “I am ready to leave this world behind, Caedmon.”
“Please don’t say that. Let me do this for you. Please.”
“You’re crying.” She reached her hand up to touch his face. “No one’s ever cried for me before. I would never have thought someone would cry when I die. Just that small gesture is worth dying for… Do you know how beautiful you are? Do you know how strong a man is when he allows himself to cry? I’m grateful for that… Remember, Caedmon… I am dying a very happy woman… I’m so cold… Would you hold me?”
He pulled her into his arms and held her. In a few moments, she stopped breathing.
A man approached Caedmon. “Private or public waste, sir?”
“What?”
“If she’s private waste, please take her inside. Or I can take her now if not. My truck is just over there.” He pointed at a truck that was picking up trash cans along the street.
“Don’t you dare call her waste!” he shouted. There must have been something in his eyes that scared the man. In only two steps, the man had scooted across the street, cursing as he rushed away.
Caedmon picked up Leanne’s body and started walking along the street. He had no idea where he was going.
ALYNA TURNED around the corner and saw Caedmon standing in the middle of the street, holding Leanne’s body in his arms and looking totally confused and upset. She had used all her resources to trace him. And here he was, free from the hub of Ethesus. Leanne was an unfortunate casualty. But there was nothing she could do to change that.
She approached him. “Let them take her body, Caedmon.”
“They called her waste,” he growled.
She had never seen such grief from a man for a stranger. She didn’t know what kind of creature he was, but she certainly hadn’t seen anything like this from humans. “It’s just terminology, Caedmon. What would you like to do with the body?”
“I’d like to help her family arrange a proper burial.”
“No one here has access to free land for burials. Maybe where you come from, but not here. Free land is so limited that it’s not allowed to be used for burying anything or anyone. The men who handle this process know best what to do with the body. It’s their business. She will be treated best by them.”
He looked back at the waste truck suspiciously.
“Or you can leave her out here to rot…”
He nodded. She walked toward the truck, and the driver took a step back in defense. She raised her hands so he could see she had no weapons and meant him no harm. She then pulled out a few credit tokens.
“I’m so sorry. My friend is really upset about her death. They were close. If he scared you, I apologize. Here, please take this money and take care of the body. It’s going to be public w—“ She stopped herself. “It will be a public matter.”
The man looked her up and down and then reluctantly accepted the money. He called out to another man, and they approached Caedmon with a stretcher.
As they wheeled the stretcher back to their truck, they passed Alyna. She overheard one of the men say, “This is the last one for today. I’m not taking any more random jobs.”
“It’s only early afternoon.”
“Well, picking up twelve at the Amaraq fight club was tough. I’d call it a month’s worth of work.”
She rushed over. “Excuse me, which club are you talking about?”
“North Side.”
“Who are the casualties?”
“I think it’s the guards,” one of the men said.
The other shook his head. “It can’t be. They’re the best fighters. Plus they looked pretty young. I think they must have been trainees.”
“Do you know the cause of death?”
“Accident. A fighting room’s roof collapsed.”
She pulled out her communication unit and called Pukak. There was no answer. The line was totally dead.
24
P ukak looked at what remained of the North Side fight club. He sighed. The building would be out of action for a long time and certainly couldn’t be used to host the trial for the summoning next week. They had no other facility that could do the job. He might end up having to use their temple. Not only was that not ideal, but it was also dangerous, especially now that he had lost Alyna and Ben.
He glanced at the manager of the club, Tomkin, and watched as he fished around in the rubble, pulled up bits and pieces of shrapnel, and stumbled over things. He wasn’t sure Tomkin could actually fight these days. As a human, he was quite old for his job. Pukak made a mental note to revamp the entire training program and put mage staff in place for anything related to martial arts. Humans were good, but their life span was limited, and their skills and strength depreciated exponentially with age.
Tomkin rushed over. “I’ve cleaned up the stadium and the fighting platform, Pukak. We can use it now. What do you think?” He gestured and grinned.
Pukak turned and saw a patched-up area. Temporary panels and sheets of plastic had been used to patch holes in the walls. Sticks of wood were nailed to the platforms where the audience sat to bolster the legs of the benches that accommodated twenty people each. But Pukak was sure if he set foot on the platform as it was now, it would collapse.
“Tomkin, how many people do you think this venue can hold, and how many do you think will come to the event?”
“You mean the trial?”
“Yes, the trial.”
“A handful.” He looked at the expression on Pukak’s face. “Twenty? No?”
“We will host one hundred and two senior members from all the clubs across Old and New Sydney, Central Americana, Underground Asiana, and the African Transition. Even if we can fit them in here, do you think what you have done there will represent us in a good light in front of our allies?”
Tomkin shook his head. “How about we book a venue in the city? Just for show, you know.”
“And of course, you would pay for that?”
Tomkin shook his head. “I told you this is Ethesus’s doing. We don’t have haters. I mean we do, but they wouldn’t throw explosives at us right when we need the venue most. They wouldn’t kill our trainees. They’re in competition with us, and they’ve fought for years for the right to host the summoning.”
“Well, that’s a very smart and thoughtful comment, Tomkin. But even if it’s true, and if—and this is a very big if–we could find evidence that Ethesus stabbed us in the back, that’s not the solution to our problem right now.”
“Yes, it is. We can demand compensation. We can find evidence and make them pay. And then we can use that money to get new accommodations.”
“All in a week? And who do you think would enforce the compensation demand? I’m too old for a fight.” He thought of Alyna again and sighed.
Then there was a loud bang. The building shook, and dirt gushed out as the pressure of an explosion was forced out from the back of the building. Pukak and Tomkin were thrown onto the front wall like rag dolls.
I must have passed out for a second, Pukak thought as he scrambled to his feet and rushed over to Tomkin, who was sitting up on the floor, coughing and heaving from the dust.
“Are you okay? Can you get up by yourself?” Pu
kak asked.
Tomkin nodded and grabbed a piece of the remaining wall at waist height to help him stand. The wall collapsed under his weight into a pile of loose bricks.
Pukak shook his head as he looked around. More casualties. As he turned, a dozen premier Ethesus fighters stepped out from the smoke and dirt. He recognized their leather outfits and the symbols on their arm shields and masks.
They approached him, slowly and stealthily. When he was younger, he would have been excited about the opportunity to fight them. But not now. Not in this situation. They weren’t here to have a fight with the glorious leader of one of the oldest mage tribes in history. They had been sent here to finish him after the explosion.
Pukak flexed his muscles. He would fight until his last breath. And that would come soon.
Tomkin rushed over to stand by him. “Hey! All of you against two of us, and after planting a bomb? You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
The fighters said nothing. They charged at the two Amaraq men. But only three of them came at a time. Pukak knew it wasn’t because they were trying to play fair. It was just that there wasn’t enough room for them all to come at once.
He wanted to tell Tomkin to stay inside to retain their advantage. But he didn’t have time to talk and didn’t think Tomkin was smart enough to understand.
After the first round, both sides withdrew. They had drawn some blood from the Ethesus fighters. Pukak was pleased by that. He glanced across and saw that Tomkin had suffered some minor injuries but was still standing. Ethesus fighters prepared to charge for a second round. Pukak knew he couldn’t sustain this level of fighting for long.
This round, they squeezed in eight fighters. Withdrawing wasn’t an option because then they would attack them from behind. Pukak pressed on and stepped forward.
As the fighters came closer, Pukak felt a rush of fresh air coming from behind. He didn’t need to look—he felt instant relief. Alyna landed in front of him, coming down from the rooftop.
“Welcome to Amaraq North Side fight club,” she said and charged at them. They probably wouldn’t be able to see much as she moved like a leopard.
“There have been enough casualties for one day,” said Alyna. “I’ll take four of you as payback for our trainees, and I’ll let the rest live to crawl back to your boss and let him know your humiliation.”
An Ethesus fighter at the far left pulled out a small device, but before he could do anything with it, Alyna put a bullet in his head. “One.”
A fighter on the right went for his gun, but Alyna fired before the gun left his holster. “Two. Any more volunteers?”
“Get down!” she shouted at Pukak and Tomkin, anticipating that the remaining Ethesus would draw their guns. Alayna moved to the side. The bullets missed her and hit the walls. At the same time, Pukak heard other gunshots, and the Ethesus fighters fell one by one like tree trunks.
From behind them, Ben and Caedmon walked out, guns in hand.
Alyna helped Pukak up from the ground. “Three of us against twelve of them. We were still outnumbered, Pukak, so don’t whine that they didn’t have a fair fight because we hit them in their backs.”
“Since when do I whine?”
25
C aedmon strode into LeBlanc headquarters, making a beeline for his office. This time, Leanne wouldn’t be giving him her usual greeting, checking on what he was going to eat and where he needed to go, or telling him about the places and things he should avoid. She had taken good care of him, and because she did such a good job, she had gotten herself killed.
He turned on the computer, and it flashed a message asking for verification. He frowned. It hadn’t asked for that before. The credentials he’d created for this trip were impeccable. He a LeBlanc, and in that regard, he hadn’t needed to fake any data.
He typed in his credentials.
A dialog box popped up. “Access denied.”
He re-entered the information
The computer repeated, “Access denied.”
The door slid open. Mr. Tann stood in the doorway, hands in pockets.
“People in Old Australia don't knock?” Caedmon asked.
“I would knock if it was your office I was entering.” He walked in.
Caedmon sank back into his chair, watching as Mr. Tann sauntered in and sat in a chair in front of his desk.
“What can I do for you, Caedmon?”
“We purchased Amaraq, and I'd like to transfer funds to them.”
“I’ve checked with central London. They confirmed that no such purchase plan exists.”
“I don't believe you have access to our records. But I have to hand it to you, for a moment I thought you might have a spy in the London office. But that’s not possible because you don't have connections of that caliber. The only plausible explanation is that some members of your shady board have connections. And they poked their nose into my business.”
“You poked yours into our business first. Yes, my board members have checked the records, and Caedmon LeBlanc doesn’t exist at this point in time. Your DNA is confirmed, but your existence is not.”
“Well, that depends on how far backward—or forward—the system can trace.”
Mr. Tann stood up. “You’re a vampire?”
“I can walk in sunlight, so I can’t be a vampire.” Caedmon chuckled. “But why would you assume I come from the past?”
“We’re heading toward the millennium. There’s nothing the system can see in the future.”
“Are you talking about the end of the world? I think I’ve heard about that a few times.”
“No, I’m talking about changes. There are going to be radical changes, and I don’t know which way it will go. Like the Great War. Nobody saw it coming. When it happened, it wiped out the entire societal structure of human civilization. And technology went with it. Thus, I see no point in looking forward.”
Caedmon leaned forward. “Between you and me, my records existed long before the Great War.”
“Are you saying your records were conveniently destroyed?”
Caedmon leaned back in his chair and locked eyes with Mr. Tann. “Do you think knowing too much could potentially cause you harm?”
“Is that a threat?”
“Why would I bother making a threat? I’m a LeBlanc. You said so yourself. But yes, there are things I do that I wouldn’t care for my extended family to know about. It’s my business,” he said. “I’ll stick to the promise I made to you when we first met. Amaraq is my only business here. When I'm finished, I'll be out of here in a heartbeat. The sooner you let me get on with my business, the quicker you’ll be rid of me.”
“I’ll check with my board and get back to you.” Mr. Tann said and stood to leave the office.
Caedmon surged up from his chair, jumped over the desk, and grabbed Mr. Tann by the neck. He pulled him back into the room and slammed his face on the desk. “By sooner, I mean now! There are many ways to do this. Why would you choose the hard way?”
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with, Caedmon. The LeBlancs may have money, but you are very much out of touch here. As I said, you don’t own people’s morality.”
Caedmon slammed his head on the desk again. “Exactly! So you don’t have to hold your moral standards to your faceless board!”
“Regarding the board, I’m not talking about morality. I only want to survive. And trust me, they are not faceless.”
“Then show me their faces.”
Silence.
Caedmon was about to slam his head again.
“All right, all right! I take it you’re a man of your word. I’ll help you get on with your business—but please leave after that. I don’t care about Amaraq or whatever it is they’re doing.”
Caedmon released him. “All right, I need the funds. Right now.”
“I’m sorry, Caedmon. I can help with your locked computer. I can issue a special pass. But that’s about it. I can’t let you transfer funds the board is aware of. And I can
’t tell you who they are. I don’t want to end up like Leanne.”
Caedmon grabbed him by the collar. “You knew they sent people after me and got Leanne killed? What’s their connection with Ethesus?”
“I’m a dead man walking, Caedmon!” He pushed him away. “I’ll get you a passcode for the computer. Then—”
Blood splattered all over Caedmon. He looked up to see that Mr. Tann’s face exploded. He had been hit from behind.
Caedmon dropped to the floor and pulled his gun. He switched his eudqi on and heard the stealthy footsteps of mercenaries. He turned on his microchip to scan the exterior of the office. A small army of more than twenty fighters was rushing into a corridor, heading toward him. The bodies of the office staff littered the floor.
He glanced up at the open window. Judging from the angle of the shot to Mr. Tann’s head, the kill shot had come from an assailant located outside the building. A hit man.
A gunfight between himself and twenty others with machine guns wouldn’t be wise, and singlehandedly fighting this small army wasn’t exactly the ideal combat situation, either. He didn’t want to garner the attention of the wrong people, but this was the perfect time to make good use of his talent.
He concentrated, trying to use his most lethal skill set—he willed a mind blade, and he sliced the building in two from the outside. The blade separated the building into halves, stopping the mercenaries short before they could get to his temporary office.
The gap between the two halves of the building was widening quickly, however. The building would soon separate and then collapse. He couldn’t remember which floor he was on… He could feel his half of the building shaking.
He opened the office window and looked down. He was ten stories from the ground. He had many talents—the mind blade was his strongest and most important, and the heatwave was a new one for him.
But there was one talent he knew he would never have…flying.
26
A lyna came back to the center of what used to be the fighting platform of Amaraq’s North Side fight club. Around her were loose bricks, broken furniture, and bits and pieces of walls and the roof. Tomkin grabbed a shovel and started digging, making an attempt to clean things up and hoping there was still a chance he could repair the building with his bare hands in time to use it for the summoning trial next week.