Beyond the Pale

by Jak Koke

  Ryan caught movement ahead. A group of five metahumans wearing gray robes crossed in front of the tunnel’s open end, moving from right to left. They didn’t even glance toward Ryan and the others.

  “Quicksilver?” came Jane’s voice.

  “Go ahead.”

  “I’ve lost contact with Cluster and his team.”

  “Explain.” Ryan reached the end of the tunnel and moved into the corridor. This one was more brightly lit, though the theme of ancient Aztec religion pervaded. One wall was covered with a long sinuous painting of a feathered serpent. Quetzalcoatl.

  “After they blew the dam,” she said. “Cluster made positive contact, but said he was under heavy pursuit. He was confident he and the team would make it to the stashed T-bird, but I can’t raise him now.”

  Moving rapidly and without pause, Ryan led the others into the stairwell on the right. The rust-colored tile steps descended into a flickering darkness.

  “Last contact was ten minutes ago,” Jane said. “Either they never made it, or communications are out on the Thunderbird.”

  “Did they have time to plant the Nightgliders for our escape?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Drek!” Ryan whispered, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

  Before Jane could respond, alarms started to sound. Loud klaxons in the small space.

  “They know you’re in there,” Jane said, her voice small and tinny in the overwhelming din of the sirens. “Guards are on their way.”

  30

  Lethe watched as the ritual circle was finished, and the spell took shape around him. His telekinetic disruptions had been no more than an annoyance to the elf, Meyer, and the two other mages working with him.

  If they succeed, he thought, both Billy and I will be disrupted, our souls shredded and scattered upon the astral winds.

  Meyer had inscribed an equilateral triangle inside the ritual circle. He and each of his fellow magic-slingers sat at an apex of the triangle. The ritual had caused a barrier to form along the periphery of the circle, a cylinder of mana around him. Lethe could barely make out the dwarf cybertechnician standing against the wall, staring coldly at the proceedings.

  Lethe tried one last time to move Billy’s arms and legs, bringing his full willpower to the task. To no avail. He managed to budge the body, but it was strapped to the floor with titanium bands. They weren’t going anywhere.

  “Wha—?” came Billy’s thoughts. “What’s going on?”

  Lethe watched the mana build in the circle as the mages gathered their combined strength. Glowing coldly in astral space, each mage became a swirl of stars. The center of a tiny galaxy, a cluster of comets.

  “I’m being destroyed,” Lethe said.

  The cyberzombie’s voice came back dull and hazy. “How?”

  “Ritual banishment.”

  “I can’t allow that,” Billy said, and he tried to move his arms and legs. Nothing; his cybernetics had been completely deactivated.

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Lethe said, “but I think you’ll be killed as well.”

  Billy chuckled in a jaded way that reminded Lethe of the old Burnout. “Without you, I’d go back to the mindless killing machine I was—Burnout. I'd rather be dead.”

  Lethe found no response. Billy’s admission touched him deeply.

  The ritual spell escalated, growing and growing. The mages shone coldly white like stars now. The swirling galaxies of mana grew brighter and brighter as the power built. They reminded Lethe of something, a rainbow shimmer that meant a gateway was opening between planes.

  I’ve seen that dance of colors before.

  Lethe tried to reach out with his mind and use the Locus to help him withstand the force of the attack. But the warding force formed by the ritual circle blocked him. He couldn’t feel even the faintest evidence of the powerful stone. As if its very existence had been erased.

  Lethe became desperate in the last few moments before the attack slammed into him, searching for anything to draw upon, any bit of extra leverage. Perhaps he could use their own power against them.

  No chance. Meyer was an excellent mage, and he’d woven the spell cleverly.

  There was nothing for Lethe to draw upon. He was alone with Billy, defenseless against the impending onslaught.

  “Well,” he said, “this is the end, my friend. I just wanted to let you know how much you’ve meant to me.”

  “The end?” Billy said, his voice still hazy. “Then I suppose it’s time to say goodbye, my friend. Would you do me a last favor?”

  “I will try.”

  “Show me Thayla again.”

  Lethe thought of the goddess of light, alone against the powerful ritual blood magic. The exquisite beauty of her song battling the chill silence of those who controlled the Locus. He tried to remember Thayla as she was before, pure white light. Unadulterated and wondrous.

  He failed.

  The spell filled Lethe’s mind with nightmare images of consuming fire as he braced for impact. Memories of terrifying rage.

  Lethe couldn’t show Thayla to Billy. It was all he could do to say, “Goodbye.”

  31

  “Jane, shut off those fragging alarms.”

  Ryan tried to ignore the incessant klaxons, tried to use his magic to filter out the loud wail so he could hear any voices or the bootsteps of approaching guards. He failed, the loud sirens rang in his head; he could hear nothing else.

  Jane’s voice came back tinny and weak against the volume of the alarms. “They’re on a local system, isolated from the Matrix. I’m working on cutting the power.”

  “Hurry,” Ryan said. He crouched at the bottom of the stairwell, using his stealth magic to its fullest, and glanced out into the adjacent hallway. He made a quick visual scan for threats, and he sniffed the air. His other senses would have to compensate for his hearing until Jane could cut the alarms.

  The corridor smelled richly of incense, but the smoky aroma could not completely mask the odor of oil and sweat, of metahumans and—faintly—of blood. “Which way, Jane?”

  “Left, then around the corner. You’ll see the door five meters away, two guards standing ready.”

  The hall was clear of guards, so Ryan dashed out, sliding at his top speed. As he neared a turn in the corridor, he caught sight of several security cameras, and pointed them out to Axler and the others.

  When Ryan reached the corner, he used his pocket mirror to take inventory of the opposition. Two guards, wearing tan uniforms with Leopard flash patches, stood at full alert, flanking a closed wooden door five meters away.

  Both were human with dark skin and black hair; they carried swords and machine guns.

  Looks too easy, Ryan thought.

  Talon’s voice grated. “They have a blood spirit waiting in astral space. A strong one. I don’t think it noticed me, but if it did, they’ll be ready for us.”

  “Acknowledged,” Ryan said. “You and I will take it out. Axler, you and Grind eliminate the guards.”

  “Copy that.”

  “Douse them,” Ryan said. “We’re right behind you.”

  No hesitation. Axler immediately dove into the corridor, firing her Supersquirt in a wide spray.

  Grind followed, his Ares Alpha Combatgun targeted to unleash death. Ryan had a dart ready in one hand and his silenced Ingram in the other. Talon came around the corner last, his hands open as power gathered around him.

  The liquid from Axler’s weapon caught the nearest guard full-on. Somehow, the other managed to dive clear.

  The blood spirit manifested as Grind sprayed the corridor with bullets. The spirit appeared in the shape of a troll with patches of skin removed. Huge open sores all over its body oozed clear pus, tinged with rivulets of blood. Bone showed through in places where the muscle had been pinned back with dissection tools.

  The spirit grinned as it absorbed the bulk of Grind’s onslaught. It came on fast, blocking the dwarf’s line of sight. Grind was an experienced
merc. He dodged sideways instantly, moving to get a better angle.

  The other guard’s head disintegrated in a spray of blood and bone. Bits of red-laced pink brain matter splattering the mural-covered wall.

  “Both guards down!” Axler reported.

  The blood spirit was insanely fast, flying toward them, its massive arms swinging with scalpel-bladed fingers.

  Ryan drew himself up and prepared himself for the attack. He focused his power, drawing strength from the Dragon Heart. He knew he could banish spirits now, and he was sure as frag going to try with this one. He felt Talon’s energy growing next to him as the mage worked on his own banishment.

  Ryan unleashed his power at the same time as Talon. “Be gone!” he said.

  “I banish you,” Talon said. “So mote it be!”

  As the spirit rushed them, Axler dodged one of the scalpel fists. The blow slammed into the wall just over her head, dislodging chunks of the masonry.

  The spirit quavered before them, weakening under the banishment, but it did not dissipate. It merely reared back and lunged for Axler again. She was the closest target.

  We failed.

  Ryan focused his power again. He knew the teocalli was giving strength to the blood spirit. Helping to keep it alive. “I said, be gone!" Ryan thrust all his power as though he was making a telekinetic strike, but channeled into a disruptive force against the spirit.

  The force hit like a shredding blade, chopping the spirit into morsels of dried flesh, bone, and blood. It crumbled to the ground and turned to dust.

  I did it, Ryan thought, then he felt the energy drain out of him, and he lost his balance.

  Talon stepped up and gave Ryan a hand to steady him. “You’re experiencing drain,” he said. “The effects should pass in a moment.”

  “Thanks.”

  “The door’s unlocked,” Axler said.

  Ryan heard soft, wailing cries coming from inside the room as Axler threw open the door. She leveled her machine gun into the room, scanning for guards.

  Ryan pulled his Ingram automatic, and stepped into the room, Talon and Grind close behind him.

  “It’s a ritual banishment,” Talon cried.

  Ryan looked into astral space and saw it—the swirling galaxy of mana inverting inside the hermetic circle that contained the spirits of the three mages. “They’re trying to destroy Lethe.”

  The vortex of stars pivoted back toward the prone form of Burnout, his cyberzombie body completely repaired. Brand-new, his innocent expression making him look more human, more like a little boy than the deranged killer he had been, the ripped-up monster Ryan had fought in Dunkelzahn’s arboretum a few days earlier.

  Talon cried out, “It’s about to discharge.”

  Without hesitation, Ryan hurled himself into the circle. He flew through the air like a winged beast. And as his body crashed through the mana barrier, an electric charge sliced through him like a thousand razors into his guts.

  The magic reached a crescendo as Ryan landed over the body of Burnout, focusing on the Dragon Heart, willing it to channel the ritual banishment energy into himself instead of Lethe. Ryan had no idea if it would work, but he had to try.

  The magic force of the banishment slammed into Ryan like a battering ram, trying to force his spirit clear of his body. Trying to shred his soul.

  He grasped for the Dragon Heart, drawing on its perfection, the unity of its pattern. And he felt Lethe touch the Heart as well, focusing to keep the essence of his spirit tied into Burnout’s body.

  Agony burned through Ryan, reaming through his body with immense force. The scene around him was lost in an instant of brilliant red, of screams of pain and long suffering.

  Then it was gone. Leaving only the tingling of electricity prickling over Ryan’s skin.

  He looked up to see Axler and Grind plowing the guards and mages with a barrage of bullets. A dwarf in a white technician’s coat tried to run for it, but a burst from Axler’s Ingram took out his knees. He crumbled to the floor, dropping a small electronic device. The two mages came apart in a spray from Grind’s Ares Alpha, their bodies riddled with holes, flopping to the stone floor, leaking blood over the fine lines of the hermetic circle.

  The third was an elf who Ryan had seen before—Meyer. The same one who had worked for Roxborough. The man who had nearly erased Ryan Mercury from existence and replaced his empty brain with the personality and spirit of Thomas Roxborough.

  Ryan jumped to his feet; he wanted this one dead.

  Meyer had a look of dismay on his face as bullets ricocheted off an invisible magic barrier in front of him. He said some words in the elven language of Sperethiel, and thick smoke filled the room.

  “He’s gone,” Talon said. “Fled out the door and down the hall.”

  “Frag!” Ryan said, almost running after him. He stopped himself. Can’t let a personal vendetta interfere with my mission. “Let him go,” he said. “We have to get Burnout loose and haul hoop out of here.”

  Ryan concentrated and used his magic to center himself. He noticed the alarms had silenced and the emergency lights had kicked in because of the power loss. “Axler,” he said. “Can you cut through these bands?”

  Axler waved smoke out of her way as she stepped up next to him, reaching into her backpack. “This’ll take a few minutes.”

  “Better hurry,” came Jane’s voice. “I’ve just got vid of a whole cadre of Jaguar Guards closing in on your location.”

  “We’ll be ready for them,” Grind said, replacing a spent clip.

  Ryan heard Lethe’s voice in his head. Ryan Mercury, what are you doing here?

  “I’m saving you.”

  You still have the Heart, Lethe said. You should have taken it to Thayla.

  Ryan remembered the woman’s beautiful song, remembered watching her hold off the zombies until the last possible moment, then plummet into the Chasm. “Just shut the frag up,” he told Lethe, his anger showing. “Thayla’s gone.”

  The stillness of the room was broken only by the sound of Axler working to cut away Burnout’s restraints with her monowire shears.

  Gone? Lethe said.

  “The darkness forced her into the Chasm,” Ryan said. “I got there too late.”

  Jane’s voice cut in. “Guards have reached the bottom of the stairs.”

  “She said to get you, Lethe.” Ryan said. “She said you would know how to wield the Dragon Heart.”

  Me?

  “You.”

  I hope she’s right, Lethe said.

  “So do I.”

  Axler cut through the last of the restraints, but Burnout did not move. The cyberzombie simply lay there in a prone position.

  “Lethe,” Ryan said. “Get up.”

  Billy's cybernetics have been deactivated.

  Grind stepped up holding the electronic device the dwarf technician had dropped. “I think this is some sort of remote deck for Burnout.”

  The technician used it to turn off access to our cybernetics.

  “Grind,” Ryan said. “Turn everything on.”

  “Copy.”

  Grind tapped some buttons, and abruptly Burnout stood.

  The huge man shot up with amazing speed and grace, hulking over them all. He snatched the remote from Grind with a blinding move. “Thank you,” he said. Then he gave Ryan a feral grin. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Ryan nodded, but when he looked out through the door and peered down the hall through the smoke, he saw what Jane meant—fifteen or twenty guards were coming around the corner. Weapons brought violently to bear.

  Frag, thought Ryan, we’re trapped.

  32

  In her bedroom at Chateau d'If, Nadja Daviar sat at a huge wooden desk and looked at Gordon Wu’s image on the small telecom screen. While Ryan was trying to stop Aztechnology from destroying the world, she was doing what she could to keep her affairs going.

  The business of running the Draco Foundation and the politics of the upcoming vice presidential elect
ion seemed trivial now, though she knew they weren’t. In the long run, her role was crucial. Perhaps it was more mundane than Ryan’s, but just as vital.

  On the screen, Gordon’s lips formed a flat line, which was as much of a smile as he could give. Trying unsuccessfully to hide his fatigue. It was very early in the morning in Washington FDC.

  “Also, Gordon, I want you to set up a meeting with each of the prospective members of the Draco Foundation board.”

  Gordon nodded, and Nadja stifled the overwhelming urge to yawn. She leaned back in the leather chair and took a deep breath.

  The room around her was large and elegantly appointed. Beautiful, ancient tapestries hung over walls of hewn gray stone. A massive four-poster bed made of polished maple dominated the chamber, complete with a soft feather mattress. She and Ryan had tested it out earlier.

  She remembered Ryan’s face, the depth of his silvery blue eyes as they adored her. The hard muscles of his chest and abdomen as she ran her fingers across them.

  “Miss Daviar?”

  Nadja focused on the telecom. I'm drifting, she thought. She forced a smile, “Sorry, Gordon. I’m a little tired.”

  “What about your appointment with Lucien Cross?”

  “I’ll need to reschedule.”

  “I’ll handle it,” Gordon said. “When will you return to Washington?”

  “When things are finished here,” Nadja said. “One or two days, I think. I can’t be more specific than that.”

  A knock sounded on the door.

  “I must go now,” Nadja said. “I’ll contact you for an update.” She disconnected.

  She blinked against the sunlight streaming through the open window. Dawn had arrived here, even though she knew it would be several hours before it reached North America. Before Ryan’s run would be finished, before she would know whether he had been successful. Many hours at the very least before she could see him again.

  She stood and walked to the carved teak door. “Come in,” she said.

  A secret service guard opened the door, then stepped out of the way to reveal Jane Foster. Exhaustion made the young elven woman’s eyes droop. Her blonde hair hung in a tangled mat, and her blue eyes had lost their gleam. “Aina has brought Harlequin back,” she said.