“We are born with our eyes open. The world teaches us to close them.”
Terrance turned around and saw a figure in a white cloak was behind him at another table, facing the opposite direction. “Hey, what—”
“Don’t look toward me,” Talia said, still facing away. “Act like you’re sunk in your own business. That is, act like yourself.”
Terrance turned back to his empty table. “You can’t ask for my help and be mean to me.”
“Quit whining. This is serious. One of the Hollow Ones has been after me. I think it’s time to show it we’re not afraid.”
Terrance wasn’t quite certain he was not afraid. “A person is after you?”
“Don’t think of it as a person. The Hollow Ones are much more cunning and much more dangerous than those with an outward demonic appearance. I’ll need you to charge it from the front as a distraction, and I will sneak-attack from behind while it’s engaged with you.”
“We’re just going to cut a person down in the middle of a crowded mall?” Terrance asked. “Are we going to fight off the police next?”
“It’s not a police matter. They are unlikely to interfere. Do you understand?”
Terrance sighed. “I don’t understand anything. Couldn’t you have asked one of the other Infinite with more experience to help?”
“I’m trying to teach you to be a useful human being. So quit your caterwauling and just do this.”
Terrance grimaced to no one. “Caterwauling?”
“The Hollow One is trying to be sneaky and isn’t in its armor yet. It’s wearing bedazzled jeans and a purple T-shirt with ponies on it.”
“Sounds like a really dangerous person.”
“Not a person. And I think it’s wearing the T-shirt ironically. Anyway, get to it. When you see it, draw your sword and cut it down. If you’re lucky, you may get a blow in before it gets its defenses up. If not, I’ll finish it off. I’ve done this before; don’t worry.”
It was hard to catalogue all the different worries Terrance currently had. He finally turned around toward Talia. “I’m not really sure—” She was gone.
Terrance stood up and considered just leaving the mall. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting when he came to meet Talia, but it seemed like this was going to be a dangerous, awkward situation. The awkwardness was soon confirmed when a woman called out, “Is that you, Terrance?”
It was Shannon’s friend from work, Amber, in a purple T-shirt with ponies on it. Terrance quickly turned sideways and stood near a pillar to hide his sword. “Hey, Amber.”
“Hope you didn’t mind us teasing you the other day,” she said. “We really are nice people.”
“I know.” Panic began to take hold of Terrance’s body. Sure, he was considering helping the Infinite, but there was no question in his mind about attacking one of his girlfriend’s friends. He tried to subtly wave his hands outward to signal Talia to stop.
“Shannon’s pretty smitten with you, so I hope you know any teasing is just because she likes you.”
“Yeah, we tease each other constantly.” He waved his hands more vigorously, not sure they were visible.
Amber took a confused glance at his hand motions. “Well, I probably should get going. I know it doesn’t look like it, but I’m actually on duty right now. There’s a dangerous person near here that I have to…take care of.”
Terrance smiled and nodded as he tried to spot Talia’s location. He had no indication that she had seen his signal, and as panic consumed him, he started saying, “Abort!” louder and louder until he was yelling it.
Amber stared at him wide-eyed. “Well, Shannon did say you have a wacky sense of humor. Hey, I have a question about your friend, Lance. Is he—”
A blade point shot out through Amber’s chest, the look of shock frozen on her face. Talia was behind her, her hood now down revealing her dark hair in a ponytail and the grim determination in her eyes as she held the blade. Terrance was in complete horror and couldn’t move or speak.
Surprisingly, someone who could move and speak was Amber, who grabbed the blade point fiercely with one hand and said, “You missed.” She elbowed Talia with tremendous force, knocking her backward into a table.
Terrance stared at Amber, who stood with Talia’s sword through her torso, as he backed away. Amber then spied the sword at his hip. “What is this?!” she demanded. With a scream, she yanked the sword out of herself and tossed it away. Fire then consumed her clothes, leaving her in black, form-fitting armor, and more fire arose in her hand. When it died down, she held a black sword.
Terrance finally gained enough composure to speak. “Why don’t we take a moment and talk about this before there’s any more violence?”
Amber smiled, a thin, wicked smile that sent a chill down Terrance’s spine. “All I want to hear is your screams.”
Talia charged her, now armed with only one sword. Amber quickly parried and kicked Talia, knocking her back again. Amber then leaped twelve feet into the air and all Terrance could do was stand there dumbly and watch, until he realized she was coming at him, sword blade swinging. He drew his own sword and held it defensively in front of himself, blocking her blow, though the force of it sent him staggering backward. Amber giggled. “I guess you’re about to have a nasty breakup—your head and body, that is.”
Terrance looked around. Some people had moved out of the way of the battle, but most weren’t even paying attention to it. He saw a few kids watching, though.
Talia had retrieved her second sword and moved close to Terrance while Amber stayed back, waiting for them to make a move. “It’s not a good idea to fight these things head-on,” Talia said, “but we can do this if we work together.”
Terrance very much did not want to fight Amber, but he could see from her expression that she was not of the same mind. “Come on, guys!” she said, laughing. “The power of teamwork! You can do this!” She touched her blade with a fingertip and it ignited in a blue flame.
“What the hell!” Terrance exclaimed, his sword shaking in his hand.
“We’ll come at it from different angles.” Talia moved away from Terrance. “Ready…charge!”
Talia rushed at Amber, but Terrance simply moved a little closer, not really sure what he was planning on doing. Talia unleashed a quick flurry of blows, but Amber, despite her armor, seemed to move even quicker, parrying each strike and pressing into Talia. It was all so quick, Terrance couldn’t follow the fight, but finally Talia shrieked and staggered backward as Amber pressed in for the kill.
Before Terrance was fully aware what he was doing, he charged into the fray. He swung his sword at Amber, but she quickly turned and deflected the blow. She swung back at him, but he ducked under the attack and swung his sword upward. Amber blocked, and now they were pressing their swords against each other. Terrance pushed with all his might, but Amber was obviously stronger and he could see her flaming, black sword coming toward his face.
“Do you see the situation you’re putting me in?” Amber said as she pushed against Terrance, her sword so close to him that a blue flame leaped from it and stung his cheek. “How do I break it to my friend I had to hack apart her boyfriend? It’s going to break her heart—when I hand her yours.”
With a quick shove, Terrance was knocked backward, and Amber turned to deflect a blow from Talia. Terrance lost his balance only a little and swung at Amber’s unguarded side. She didn’t block quickly enough, and the blow connected…with a loud, useless clang against her armor. Terrance didn’t know what he’d expected it to do; why in the world would metal cut metal?
In a single motion, Amber kicked Talia back into a table while swinging her sword so forcefully it knocked the weapon out of Terrance’s hand and caused him to stumble to the ground. Then Amber was standing over him, pointing her sword at his face. He was about to die, and the realization caused a strangely empty feeling in him. He forced his eyes away from the sword tip to look at Amber, who stared down at him with a wicked
smile. “You fight like a little bitch.” She reared back for the stab but was distracted by the sight of Terrance’s pants. “Did you wet yourself?”
Talia was back, charging her, and as Amber turned to her opponent, Terrance wrapped his leg around hers, tripping her. As Amber stumbled, Talia’s sword cut through her armor with ease. Amber cried out and fell to the ground. She tried to get her sword up, but Talia cut through her arm and the sword fell. Talia stabbed straight through Amber’s chest, then yanked the sword upward, bisecting her head.
Terrance was back to being horrified, but quickly realized there was no blood. Instead, more blue flames erupted from the wounds until they consumed Amber’s entire body. Within a few moments, it all disappeared as if she had never existed in the first place.
“They’re not human?”
Talia sheathed her swords. There was a red stain on the shoulder of her white cloak. “No. I thought we explained that.”
Terrance got to his feet and retrieved his sword from the floor. He thought of Shannon and wondered if she was an empty thing like her friend, but he couldn’t believe it. “They feel real.”
Talia looked at him with confusion. “You felt her up while we were fighting her?”
Terrance quickly got hold himself. “No.”
Talia looked him over carefully. “Did you soil your pants?”
“No!” He sheathed his sword and stared despondently at the empty spot where Amber had been. Terrance had been playing two sides, but now it looked like that was coming to an end.
Chapter 20
I should be back this evening, read the email from Shannon. I’ll come straight to your place and we’ll pick a romantic comedy to watch. And you’ll watch it politely and pretend to like it. I’ve decided we’re at the phase of our relationship where I start training you. Is that okay? (HINT: The correct answer to that question should be something like, ‘Yes, my love; anything for you.’)
Terrance couldn’t help but smile while thinking of Shannon…even though he had just helped kill her friend and he knew that was going to be a really awkward conversation. He just hoped it didn’t come up tonight. Still, in his heart, he knew everything was about to come crashing down. He typed a response on his smartphone. I would die a thousand deaths for you, but telling me not to make fun of a romcom is asking far too much.
He was standing in the alleyway next to the Hobby Lobby. He had told work he was taking a personal day and wasn’t coming back after lunch, then spent the afternoon in the Infinite’s castle hideaway, waiting for them to show up. There was no cell service there, though, so he had to venture out every so often to check on things. Terrance was getting the impression that certain areas, such as the castle and the clearing where the faeries had given him his sword, existed outside of normal time and space, because, really, why would any place not have cell service these days?
He headed back to the castle. The sunlight spilled through the windows, and it was quiet and peaceful inside, the only sound the waves crashing against the rocks down below the cliff. He looked out a window across the ocean, staring at the island in the distance. It looked like a beautiful place of grass-covered mountains and quiet forests. He wished he were there, resting under the shade of a tree and forgetting everything.
He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Talia, the first of the Infinite to arrive. After the mall, she had left for other business, though she wouldn’t tell him what. She had apparently changed white cloaks, as the bloodstain was gone. “How’s the arm?” he asked.
“It was just a scratch.”
“You often get wounded in fights like those?”
She walked over to stand beside him, and glanced at him briefly. She then pulled her hood more around her face as she stared out the window. “You worry about the wrong things, Denby.”
“I’m just trying to understand. I have a sword but no actual training for using one, and I’m supposed to be fighting skilled warriors who apparently have magical powers. I don’t really get how I’m going to be able to do that.”
Talia nodded. “Have you tried whining about it?” She looked at him, her eyes cold and fierce. “Oh, you did, and it didn’t help.”
Terrance walked away from her and leaned against a wall. “You’re a real pleasure to talk to, you know that?”
Talia turned back to the window. “I’m just trying to snap you out of your sniveling little worldview. You have a small mind. You focus on small things. You took on one of the Hollow Ones today. It had strength and speed beyond that of mortal men, but after that fight you are standing and it is not.”
Terrance thought about the fight, and how clueless and befuddled he had felt in it, his sword just something to put between himself and someone who wished to do him harm. He thought about how Talia had cut through Amber and there really was nothing inside. “All I did was fall down a lot. You were the one who tore Amb—”
He didn’t catch himself quite quickly enough, as Talia was now glaring at him with accusing eyes. “You knew her name. I saw you talking before the battle; you two knew each other.” She took a couple of steps toward him, her eyes locked on his. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She was a small woman, but she scared the hell out of him. “I’m working some things out; don’t rush me,” he stammered. Without thinking, his hand went to the hilt of his sword.
She looked at the hand on his sword and stepped back. “What are you doing?”
“You’re scaring me!” Terrance didn’t take his hand off the sword.
Talia looked confused. “What do you think I’m going to do to you?”
“I don’t know! Maybe hack me apart like you have others!”
Now Talia looked mad. “You think I’m a murderous psychopath or something?”
“I don’t know what I think about anything anymore!”
“Well, you two make a cute couple.” Terrance turned around to see Curtis entering the room along with his wife, Vivian, and their two kids, Grace and Daniel. Curtis was in mechanic overalls, while Vivian wore a modest green dress. They carried a couple of foil-covered trays—presumably the evening’s snacks.
“He’s hiding something!” Talia jabbed a finger in Terrance’s direction. “He knew the Hollow One we fought!”
Curtis shrugged. “If he wants to tell us about it, he’ll tell us about it.”
Terrance released the hilt of his sword. “It’s complicated.”
Talia scowled at him. “It’s only complicated when you know what you must do and don’t want to do it.”
Curtis set the trays down on a table. “Now that might be oversimplifying things.”
“If you have something you need to get off your chest,” Vivian said, “we’re all here to support each other.”
“What happened to your pants, mister?” asked Grace.
“Coffee spill.” Terrance realized he really should have at least gone home and changed his pants before the meeting.
The girl seemed satisfied by the answer, and the two kids scampered off.
“So are you okay?” Vivian asked, her voice filled with genuine concern. “A Hollow One may have been a bit much for you to take on at this stage.”
Talia rolled her eyes. “He did fine. He just needs to commit himself more, but something is holding him back.”
Joyce walked in, wearing blue scrubs once again. “What’s happening? We interrogating the new guy? Should I get a rubber hose?”
“Hey, he came back!” Randolph exclaimed at Terrance with a big smile as he followed Joyce in. The old man immediately took a seat. “I thought maybe Talia had scared you off for good.”
“I don’t scare people off,” Talia said. “And if you’d checked your email, you’d have seen that he and I battled a Hollow One today. He seems to want to fight, but I can also tell he has other priorities.”
“Let’s just leave Terrance alone,” Vivian said. “He’ll talk about things when he is ready.”
That’s what Terrance was debating with h
imself: how much he was ready to tell them. He wanted to tell them about his situation with Shannon, but he was afraid their solution would be to immediately hunt her down and destroy her the way Talia had destroyed Amber. But thinking of the emptiness of Amber and the blue flames that had engulfed her, he wondered if there was any of Shannon left to save. You know there is, he told himself. That’s why you’re in love with her.
The rest of the group arrived—Felicia, once again with a backpack like this was an afterschool activity, the young couple Travis and Erica, and the mostly quiet man in a suit whose name Terrance had forgotten (Donald, and he vowed to remember it this time).
“So, I heard you fought a Hollow One,” Travis said to Terrance. “You’re really jumping right into this, bro.”
“I think he knew her, though,” Talia said.
Erica looked concerned. “Well, that has to be scary—someone you know being like that. Are you okay?”
“I didn’t really know her,” Terrance said. He wasn’t a very good liar, but it was pretty much true; he’d met her only once.
“You have to be careful of the Hollow Ones,” Curtis told him. “They can seem normal, but they are ruthless when provoked.”
“So, any other associations you want to tell us about?” Joyce asked Terrance.
Terrance was just thinking of how to dodge that one when a voice boomed from outside, “Terrance Denby!”
Everyone reached down for their swords except for the children, who just looked confused, and Terrance, who sat frozen with a chill going down his spine.
“What have your secrets brought upon us?” Talia asked, her fierce eyes once again boring into Terrance.
“I don’t…” Terrance stood up, looking at the faces of these people who perhaps he had put in danger by not being honest with them. “Maybe I should go check this out.”
“We’ll be right behind you, bro,” Travis said as he and the others prepared to embark.
“I know you and your friends are in there, little man!” boomed the voice as Terrance marched outside, followed by the others.
There, near the rocky outcropping, was a large figure standing alone, which Terrance immediately recognized as Chet. “You know this guy?” Curtis asked.
Sidequest: In Realms Ungoogled Page 16