by Frank Morin
“You’re crazy,” Sarah said. “Other regimes have tried to force populations to do only what they wanted. They’re called dictators or communists, or fanatics, and it never works.”
“But they lacked the power to enforce their wills,” Paul said. “Don’t you see, Sarah? They were trying to impose faulty order upon a faulty world. Of course they failed. I am a higher form of life, and I alone possess the vision and the strength to make it work. I’m offering you a chance to help the entire world achieve peace.”
“Peace in chains is not peace,” Sarah retorted.
“You speak as a child,” Paul said. “You must embrace a better destiny.” He swept his hand back toward the gladiators, who had both lost their swords. Both men had been wounded, but faced each other with spiked knuckles.
Before they could close, the officiator of the match stepped between them at a gesture from the emperor. The men faced his lofty seat, and Sarah caught her breath, momentarily forgetting Paul’s crazy rantings as she awaited the thumbs up or thumbs down signal. The lives of those mighty warriors hung in the balance.
The emperor instead stood and lifted both arms. Everyone cheered louder than ever. The gesture looked positive. Sarah glanced at Paul, who was watching her, his expression unreadable.
Officials entered the arena bearing wooden swords, which they presented to both gladiators. Spectators continued cheering, and many openly wept.
“This is good, right?” Sarah hated to ask Paul anything.
“Indeed. The emperor proclaimed them both winner, and awarded them their freedom.”
“That’s what the swords mean?”
“Yes.”
“Did that happen often?”
“Almost never.”
“Why are you showing me this?” she asked.
“Because those men reached a higher destiny,” Paul said. “As you can do today.” He extended his hand toward her. “Accept my offer and become the greatest mortal the world has ever known.”
“First tell me this,” Sarah said, watching his hand like it was a viper. “If you’re so great, why have you been skulking around the memoryscape trying to steal master runes, and trying to kill me?”
“Your life debt is a different matter,” Paul said. “As I’ve explained. For the world to enjoy global peace, I will dictate the rules that all must obey. I will reign with justice and equity. Anyone found transgressing my law, as you yourself did in killing Mai Luan, must be punished, or the rule of law becomes void.”
“So you make the rules, and you decide when exceptions are allowed?”
He stood, and the table disappeared, allowing him to step across to her. Sarah sprang to her feet, but he did not strike. Instead he gently took her hand and bowed over it. She was tempted to punch him in the throat, but that wouldn’t accomplish anything.
“Together we will rule,” he said when he stood, still holding her hand. “You will bear to my honor a glorious lineage of Cui Dashi rulers that I will set over the world to manage and take care of it.”
Sarah recoiled, and yanked her hand from his grasp, retreating several steps. She’d been afraid he was planning something like that, but hearing him say it still disgusted her.
“No offense, but you’re not my type.”
He laughed. “We can take whatever forms we choose. We can mate every time in a different body. Whatever you want, you will have. I will be whatever type you require, and you will serve me to the end of days, my cherished, most-favored bride.”
“That’s--”
He again crossed the distance in a blink, not even appearing to take a step. Sarah tried to retreat, but he caught her arm and pressed the finger of his other hand to her lips.
“Consider well my offer before deciding. Your life is forfeit to me, but I am offering you an opportunity that no other mortal could ever dream of. Even though my mother does not approve, I will have you and I will raise you to greatness.”
“Hold on,” Sarah said, resisting the urge to spit after he removed his finger. “Your mother doesn’t approve of me?”
“Not yet,” he admitted, his confidence cracking for the first time. “But she will come to see your worth.”
“You’ve been speaking with your mother about me?”
“Indeed. She is the queen mother of the world, and all I do is to honor her name and to support her objectives.”
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you that telling a girl you’ll enslave her soul if she doesn’t agree to your proposal is not the best way to win her heart?”
“Don’t ever disparage her!” Paul hissed, glancing around the memoryscape nervously. “You can never anger her.”
That was freaky on all sorts of levels, and it shook Sarah to see Paul, as powerful as he was, acting terrified of anything. Then again, if his mother was psycho enough to raise a son like Paul, she probably wasn’t an average molly homemaker.
“I can’t--”
Again he interrupted. That was becoming a terrible habit.
“I will find you tomorrow,” Paul said. “Submit to me then and we will launch our conquest of these short-sighted, weak mortals.”
With a final bow, he turned and strode out the Death Gate.
Sarah watched him go, revolted and terrified beyond measure. Had he actually tried to recruit her to be his sex toy partner in crime?
She looked up into the sky and cried, “Will someone please get me out of here?”
Chapter Sixty-Six
Praise to God that Bastien discovered Joan d’Arc. She is an angel incarnate, and what can I do but accept that her mighty power comes from god? She has agreed to keep her ciphers secret, and I cannot ignore such an ally. Upon consolidation of my throne, I will seek vengeance upon the hunters for the madness they inflicted upon my father. They claim purity of purpose, but so much destruction is laid at their feet, I cannot but surmise their cause cannot be just.
~Charles VII, King of France
Sarah returned to Quentin’s mansion with Eirene and Bastien, disgust at Paul’s proposal turning to anger. She used it to dampen her terror. He was strong enough that his threat was all too real, but she couldn’t imagine submitting to such a monster.
“I’d rather die first,” she swore to Eirene again while they drove through the city.
“Better if Paul dies instead,” Eirene said, patting her hand.
Bastien glanced back from the driver’s seat. “He will not settle for ruling from the shadows like we suspected of Mai Luan. He plans to become the Caesar of the entire world, yes?”
“This time we bring on the Ides of March before he takes office,” Eirene said, her expression determined.
“Sounds good to me.” Sarah embraced their determination, giving free reign to her anger. She’d unleash her own new-found power upon him, then they’d see who was smiling.
When they reached the mansion, Sarah excused herself from the others. Eirene promised to update Gregorios and the team, and even had a full dinner sent up to Sarah’s suite. She hadn’t expected to eat anything, but the aromas of braised pork and fresh-baked bread reminded her she hadn’t eaten, and she devoured it all.
Then she got to work.
With Paul’s threat looming in the back of her mind, she wrote down every cipher, symbol, and modifier she’d learned from her recent training. She added to the list the other symbols that had come to mind while she studied the works of Vlad and Joan. That led to even more ideas.
She filled page after page with runes, then spent another hour crafting higher ciphers out of them. She kept the runesmith box open on her desk, hoping for every bit of inspiration she could get.
She got a lot.
It was like a window had opened into a secret part of her soul, and ideas sprang forth faster than she could write. She lost herself in the process, immersed deeper in rune lore than ever before. As she worked, the ciphers called to her, their potential uses clear to her as plain writing.
They took on individual flavors. Ciphers to increase her strength ga
ve the impression of sunbaked stone, while those that included enhanced healing reminded her of the scent of fresh-baked cookies. She crafted one that could be used to form an invisible barrier, and it resonated like glittering steel in her mind.
Finally Sarah sat back and reviewed her work. It felt like she’d known some of those ciphers before, like she’d been searching for forgotten knowledge all her life, and that she’d finally found it. It didn’t make sense, but that was how she felt, and she accepted it. The knowledge thrilled her with a new sense of purpose and confidence.
Sarah rose and lifted a finger. Vlad had marked his runes in the air, and she needed to figure out how to do that. Facing Paul, she wouldn’t have time to summon pen and paper. She decided to start by simply mimicking Vlad’s mark, with the intent of making the room brighter for a minute.
She drew her finger across the air, but nothing happened.
She tried again, with the same result.
Frowning with concentration, she tried again and again, waving her finger through the air with no effect.
A knock at the door broke her concentration and she shouted, “I’m not available!”
The door swung open and Tomas stepped into the room. “Are you sure you can’t use a little company?”
She went to him and threw her arms around him, strange body and all. Tomas was the soul she cared about. He held her, and she let herself sag against him.
After a long moment, she leaned back to meet his gaze. “You heard?”
He nodded. “Are you all right?”
“We’ll see how smug Paul looks when I cut off his balls,” she snarled.
Tomas barked a laugh, then squeezed her again. “I love your attitude.”
She shrugged. “Like Vlad the Impaler said, you’ve got to approach battle with confidence.”
Tomas grimaced. “As much as I agree, let’s draw inspiration from better sources.”
“Joan was sweet, but just as effective.”
She led him to the table, and he whistled when he saw the pages of ciphers strewn across its surface. “You’ve been busy.”
“I have to. There’s so much to absorb.” She tapped her head. “It’s like a light bulb’s on now, and I’m trying to get a handle on everything I see.”
“You’re amazing,” he said with feeling. “I thought you were awesome with a single enhancement. Now you’re a rune warrior, with ciphers coming out your ears.”
She laughed and took his hands. “I’m glad you came.”
He gave her a serious look. “Sarah, about what I said the other day. I’m sorry. I was out of line, and I hope you forgive me.”
She sighed. “And I shouldn’t have let things get to me so much. I shouldn’t have let Alter get so close.”
“Are we okay?” he asked, sounding hesitant.
She stepped closer and leaned against him. “I think we’re going to be.”
“I’ll get my body back,” he assured her, clasping her close. “I promise.”
She only nodded. There were so many things they couldn’t be sure of, but she’d cling to the few things she knew for certain. She and Tomas shared something special, and they’d work through the challenges they faced. Somehow, things would turn out all right. She had to believe that.
“So what are you doing now?” Tomas asked. “Drawing more ciphers?”
“I could draw all night,” Sarah admitted. “But I need to know how to use them. I was starting to practice when you arrived.”
“Show me,” he said, glancing at the papers on the desk.
When she explained her plan to draw the rune in the air, he looked amazed. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Vlad did it, so there has to be a way for me to do it too. For complicated ciphers, I’ll need to write them down, but for simple ones, it would be so much faster just to make a sign in the air and unleash it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“It’s just, I can’t make it work.”
“Show me,” he repeated.
Sarah took a deep breath and concentrated, imagining the effect she wanted, then slashing her hand through the air. Nothing happened.
She threw out her hands. “See?”
Tomas frowned. “I don’t have rounon powers, so I don’t know exactly how it feels, but I’ve been around runes for a long time. It always seems the one activating them needs to connect those runes to their rounon well. Are you doing that?”
“I think so. At least, I’m trying.”
Sarah closed her eyes and concentrated on that well of strength that fueled her rounon powers. It felt vibrant and strong in the center of her being, and with her focused attention, it pulsed with her heartbeat. The rune warrior mark on her back began to grow warm against her skin, and she felt her rounon strength ripple out to infuse her. It eased her mind, wrapping her in a cocoon of calm, and buttressing her strength.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Again she drew her finger through the air, pushing the rounon strength toward the mark, willing it to bond.
Her finger did not leave a trail of glowing cinders in the air. Instead, it left a trail of silvered light that hung motionless for a single heartbeat. Then Sarah felt a fraction of her rounon strength leap out to the mark.
The room brightened steadily until she had to squint against the blinding brilliance.
“I did it!” Sarah laughed.
She threw her arms around Tomas’ neck and kissed him. She didn’t care that his features looked a bit stretched. His lips were still his, and feeling his passionate response set her heart racing.
“What else can you do?” he asked when she released him.
Sarah frowned. “I want to practice with higher-order ciphers, with modifiers to draw strength from nearby people. That’s how I’ll be able to face Paul.” She hesitated. “But I don’t want to do it here. I mean, what if I draw too much? I can’t afford to weaken anyone in the mansion.”
Tomas nodded. “That’s a good point. We could go back to Suntara. There’s not a large night staff, but it’s a controlled environment.”
She shook her head. “That doesn’t feel right, either.”
“I could call up part of the legion,” he suggested. “They’d be happy to loan you some of their strength.”
That made a lot of sense, but Sarah said, “I think we’re going to need all their strength soon. Paul wants an answer tomorrow, and I don’t think he’ll react well when I tell him where to stuff his proposal.”
“Then let’s go into the city,” Tomas suggested. “We could stop by the Colosseum. Even this late at night, there are people in that area.”
When she still hesitated he said. “Or there’s a prison I know about. We could park outside and you could draw a little from the inmates. They’re criminals, and they’re stuck in cells anyway. It’s not like they have anything else to do tonight.”
That sounded like the best plan, so they took a car and headed into town. It was growing late, a couple hours shy of midnight, but there were still a lot of people in the streets.
Tomas crossed the bridge near the Castel Sant’Angelo, with St. Peter’s brightly-lit dome glittering nearby. He followed the west bank of the Tiber south a few blocks, then turned down a narrow street, with a long, brick wall to their left.
“That’s the prison in there,” he said, gesturing at the wall. “Direct your modifiers to draw from souls in that direction.”
“Really? They have a prison right next door to a hotel?” Sarah gestured at a couple of neon signs on the street.
“There are hotels everywhere in Rome,” Tomas pointed out. “There’s a really nice park at the end of this street too. Gianicolo Park. It’s a popular tourist attraction.”
She supposed they had to put prisons somewhere, but it made her a little more nervous to know there were so many innocent civilians nearby. If she made a mistake, she could hurt a lot of people.
“Wait, won’t I affect prison guards too?” she asked.
; He shrugged. “We have to try something, Sarah. If you limit your cipher to one percent, no one will even notice.”
“Maybe we should have gone somewhere outside of town?”
“You think it would be better to test your ciphers on villagers?” Tomas took her hand. “Sarah, we need to test this, and we don’t have a lot of time. Maybe I should call up the legion after all.”
“No, I’ll do it.” She couldn’t bear the thought of one of Tomas’ men dying because she’d drained their strength before a battle.
Sarah decided to start with a cipher to pull a little energy from every soul within one hundred yards in the direction Tomas indicated. She started with a cipher similar to the one she’d tested with Eirene and Bastien, but modified to focus the captured energy into both herself and Tomas. She made it a regional effect, limited to a diameter of five feet around her. The energy would enhance strength, speed, and health. The cipher was an important one, but not as complex as some ideas she’d drawn.
After reviewing the cipher several times to ensure she hadn’t left anything out, she felt convinced she’d gotten it right. She discussed all the marks with Tomas, and he agreed that it looked right. With a flutter of nerves, Sarah focused on the cipher, willing her rounon power to activate it.
Strength flowed out of her to the cipher, which burned blue-white against the paper, without being consumed. A second later, she gasped and rocked backward in her seat as a torrent of energy poured into her. It eclipsed what she’d taken from Eirene and Bastien, and she barely managed to keep from leaping into the air to burn off some of it. Tomas’ eyes widened in surprise, but he made no other outward sign as the effect spread to him.
“This is amazing,” Sarah exclaimed as the flood of energy tapered off. She was happy she’d built the cipher to only draw one percent for five seconds.
“I think you’ve got it,” Tomas grinned. “I could get used to this.”
“Alter would probably threaten to kill us if he knew we were testing on unsuspecting souls,” Sarah said.
“Alter’s wrong,” Tomas replied, his grin fading.
“Still, I understand the hunters’ fear that this could be abused,” Sarah said, suddenly wondering if she’d made the right decision.