by N E Riggs
“Yes, but not for your com pad,” Saikee laughed. She leaned back, giving him an excellent view of her naked breasts. David grinned at the sight. He could get used to this whole friends with benefits thing. He almost hoped Saikee didn’t find someone she actually liked. “It’s for the gateway manipulator.”
“Oh.” He studied the remote more closely. “You found a manipulator then?”
Saikee nodded. “Just yesterday. We have to test the remote, of course, but Intu and I think it will work.”
David handed her back the remote. “Is it okay that it only has one button?” He remembered the gateway manipulators he’d seen before, and they’d been covered in buttons.
“The remote doesn’t have to be complicated,” Saikee said, getting up again to put the remote with her clothes. “We’ll pre-program the gateway manipulator to the right world, and the right location here on Bantong. All the remote has to do is turn the manipulator on and off.”
He shrugged. “If you say so. So are we going to attack soon?”
“We’re still looking for a good place,” Saikee said, wrinkling her nose. “Everywhere in Pardis has been crazy, what with the return of Aeons and the investment of the new Law Cardinal.”
David sat up quickly. “Aeons came back?”
Saikee rolled her eyes. “You bought a com pad, but you never watch TV with it?” She shook her head. “It’s only been everywhere on news, and on the radio, and in the newspapers, and—”
“Right, fine, I get it,” David said. “I’d heard about the new Cardinal.” He hadn’t watched television for days, but Pludes always kept abreast of recent news. David had long since mastered the art of not hearing things when he worked for Pludes, so he had no idea if his boss had talked about that. “I just hadn’t heard about Aeons. I thought he didn’t care about things anymore.”
“He was only back here for maybe a day,” Saikee said, playing with the blanket. “Only he can make someone a Cardinal – they get extra gifts, I think, or maybe just stronger gifts. Anyway, he showed up for the ceremony and left right away. He didn’t stay long enough to hear about all the problems we’re having.” She lowered her head, her loose hair falling into her face. “I don’t think he cares about us anymore.”
“Bantong would be better if it had never depended on him,” David said bitterly. Having a god was all well and good while the god liked you and cared about you. But now the god had gotten all depressed and deserted his people, leaving them floundering. David scowled. The desolation would have never happened if Aeons had stuck around, and the Lost Priests wouldn’t drag people back when they tried to get home, and the Law Priests wouldn’t punish people for ignorance. So really, everything that had happened was ultimately Aeons’s fault. Of course, if he hadn’t left, David probably would have never been made a Sword Priest, but David was plenty happy to blame him regardless. “Bastard.”
Saikee glared at him. “You can’t really blame Aeons! Losing his Beloved like that…” She shook her head. “It destroyed him.”
Great. Another believer, David thought darkly. Part of him was surprised that Saikee believed in Aeons and would defend him. Maybe she just had issues with the priesthood. Well, it wasn’t like he actually cared. “Whatever,” he said, looking away. “So how much longer before Pardis goes back to normal?”
“I don’t know,” Saikee said, calming down. “A few days, at least. There’s lots of extra civilians around too, hoping to see the new Cardinal, so we have to wait for them to get over the novelty. At least the crowds make for good cover for us to look around. Anyway, Intu and I want more time to test the remote, and Volk is still making his list, so it works out. We’re in no rush.”
“Yeah,” David said. He’d live long enough to get his revenge.
Saikee stood suddenly. She picked up his com pad and entered something in. David leaned over to see her add a number. “I have two com pads,” she said, seeing his confused look. “In case something goes wrong, and I have to run away. You have that number too now.” She put his com pad down and returned to the bed, climbing on top of him. “Enough of such talk. I’m tired of being depressed.”
David grinned and pulled her closer to him. “I think I can find a nice way to distract you.”
5
A Forced Prophecy
“How much do you want revenge?” Seth asked, running a finger along the lip of his cup.
David gave him an odd look. “You have to ask? You’re just as angry as I am.”
“I am,” Seth said, looking away. “And I do want revenge. It’s just… We’ve never actually killed anyone before.”
“Met killed a Sword Priest.”
Seth scowled. “A Sword Priest died because you sold gateway information. It isn’t the same thing. He didn’t intend for that to happen.” He took a long drink. David frowned at the sight of a teenager drinking beer, but didn’t say anything. “And now we’re planning to release a horde of monsters that might kill any number of people…”
“The monsters will be released in the center of Jod,” David reminded him. Seth should know – he’d been the first to hear when Odi found the location. “It won’t take long for Sword Priests to show up and stop them. I doubt many Law Priests will actually die.” His tone turned dark at that. Sword Priests would be the ones to actually fight the monsters, and they’d let themselves die before allowing a Law Priest to be injured. David wished it was the other way around.
Seth grunted. “Don’t be so sure. Odi found a really good spot. He said we’d kill the very future of Jod.” He finished off his drink in one long chug. “A lot of people will die, and the Law Priests might never recover.”
“Good,” David said, making a toast with his beer. “And may they rot in hell.”
“You’ll be the one to actually kill them, you know,” Seth said, starting into another can of beer. “I mean, yeah, the monsters will kill them, but you’ll be the one to release the monsters.” He glanced at David. “That doesn’t bother you?”
Images flashed through his mind of all the people who he’d lost. Alosh and Conal, his dear friends, cut down by chance and conspiracy. Cethon, exchanging her life for his. And his parents, who would never forgive him for even thinking about something like this. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”
“You’re a bastard,” Seth growled.
David put his drink down. “You think you’re innocent? You’re as much a part of this as I am. I’m just the only one willing to push the button.” He stood up. “Might as well go to Shamla now. I’m not working tonight.”
Seth turned pale. “Tonight? But… but we want a few more days to observe. And, um, test the remote and—”
“Someone might think you’re just stalling for time,” David said. “That you want to wait and wait until maybe this whole thing never really happens. Well, I’m going tonight. Anyway, Volk will need a day or two to look over the records so I might as well go now.” He stared at Seth, barely blinking. “Unless you know some reason I shouldn’t?”
Seth held up his hands and shook his head. At that moment, he looked very young. Something inside David quailed at the sight, but he refused to back down. He refused to be the only one responsible for the attack. “No, no, I was just surprised. Here, let me call Odi. He has some plan to help you.”
Minutes later, David and Seth waited a block from their apartment building. A white, unmarked van pulled up and settled on the ground, silent and odorless as every vehicle on Bantong. Intu let them in the back, and David whistled softly as Intu closed the door behind them. Com pads covered one side the van’s interior. “How long have you had this?” he asked.
Intu sat down in front of one of the monitors, crossing his arms over his chest. “What, you thought we were just wandering blindly around Jod?”
From the driver’s seat, Odi chuckled. “We like to be prepared. If you look, you’ll see we’re ready for Shamla too.” David sat beside Intu, who had the com pads change views. Shamla appeared from various differe
nt angles. “Volk knows how to hack the surveillance system. He can only stay inside for a few hours, but that’s all we need.”
“This should make it easier to find a janitor,” David said. He and Seth sat down to keep watch. Soon, the van had reached Shamla, and Odi flew aimlessly around while they waited for someone to appear on the com pads. “Don’t suppose you have anything to help me for when I get inside?”
“Got this,” Intu said and handed him a piece of paper. “Volk spent a day in Shamla playing tourist. It’s amazing the questions they’ll answer.”
David looked down at the hand-drawn map of the sorting office. Volk must have asked some interesting questions, because the map had labeled where each stack of gateway records was placed, including the ones for worlds with dangerous monsters. He wouldn’t have to go hunting for them, unless someone had misplaced them. “What if the monsters don’t come through?” he asked. “Even if we find a good gateway, sometimes there’s nothing on the other side.” He’d spent hours waiting for monsters with the rest of the sixth division. At least half the time, nothing came through the gateway.
Seth and Intu shared a worried look. “We’ll just have to hope that doesn’t happen,” Intu said. “I guess if the first one doesn’t work, we can always open a second gateway.”
“Unless we can find something to lure the monsters to us,” Odi said, tapping the steering wheel. “Perhaps some raw meat…”
“That’ll probably work,” David muttered. The more vicious monsters (which were the ones they were interested in) would come running if they smelled meat. “Maybe we can set up a fan and blow the scent through the gateway.”
They sat in silence for perhaps another thirty minutes, when Seth sat up suddenly. “Look!” He pointed.
David and Intu leaned over to look at a com pad near the far end. A man unloaded boxes from the back of a truck near one of the back entrances of the Delpi Administration Building. The back door stood open, and no one else was in sight. Intu nodded and called out directions to Odi. Soon David saw their van appear on the monitor, parking between the man and any cameras on the building. Odi leaned out the window. “Excuse me,” he called.
The man put down his box and stepped over. “You lost?” he asked.
Odi smiled, “No,” and stunned him with his agitator. The man collapsed on the ground. Seth and Intu hopped out the back and dragged him back inside. Intu pulled off his coat, and Seth found his keycard. David dressed quickly, wearing a backpack on his chest beneath the borrowed coat, ignoring the way his nerves twinged. “We’ll drive past every five minutes,” Odi said.
David nodded and jumped out. He smoothed down the creases on the jacket and strolled inside the administration building, walking slowly and casually. He found himself near a row of supply closets.
It took him a minute to find a staircase, and he wasn’t sure if it was the same one he’d used last time. He touched his agitator through the jacket, hidden out of sight. Like last time he’d been here, it was the middle of the night. David didn’t see anyone else on the staircase; even during the day, he doubted many people wanted to climb 29 stories. The 29th floor was also deserted, and David’s keycard opened the door effortlessly. He shook his head over the lack of security as he stepped inside.
Remembering the diagram Volk had drawn, David found the right stack. He checked the top few pages, to make sure, and grinned when he saw the types of monsters listed. This was almost too easy. He made photocopies and shoved the stack of papers in the backpack underneath his jacket. He left the sorting office feeling nearly relaxed.
He made it down the staircase and halfway to the door when he heard footsteps, coming from nearby. He stiffened, knowing he had nowhere to hide in the empty hallway. It’s fine, he told himself. They’ll assume I work here. Then the person turned the corner just ahead of him. “Oh, hello. It’s a lovely evening, isn’t— What are you doing here?”
David whirled around, wide-eyed. He’d only met one Passion Priest – what were the odds of meeting Tresas here and now? But it was definitely Tresas who stared at him, her mouth open, wisps of strawberry-blond hair trailing out of her bun and carrying a stack of papers.
He didn’t give her a chance to cry out. He dove at her, whipping out his agitator. He caught her with his shoulder, slamming her into the wall. He clamped a hand over her mouth. Tresas struggled against him, biting his hand and dropping her papers to hammer her fists against his chest. A scream came, and David looked up to see another Passion Priest further down the hallway, staring at them in horror. He raised his agitator, but the man ducked around a corner, yelling for help.
“Shit,” David hissed, his heart beating frantically. He must have loosened his grip on Tresas because she kneed him in the stomach. He dropped his agitator trying to get a better grip on her. Tresas kicked his agitator away and fought harder. “Shit, shit, shit.” He gave up his agitator for lost and dragged Tresas towards the door with him, moving as quickly as he could. It didn’t matter now how much noise they made. Tresas kicked and punched and yelled out.
David dove through the door just as the van pulled up. He threw Tresas in the back and jumped in after her. Seth closed the back door behind him, and Odi flew off. Only when David was inside did he stop and stare. Tresas lay sprawled on the floor of the van, looking stunned, and David realized he’d just kidnapped a Passion Steward.
The van lurched as Odi turned a corner quickly. Intu glared at David. “What did you do?”
“I couldn’t leave her behind,” David said quickly. “She knows who I am!” He noticed that the man they’d found earlier wasn’t inside the van – he’d probably been dropped off somewhere in Shamla. He pulled his com pad out of his back pocket and turned it off. Back home on Earth, people could be tracked with their cell phones, and David couldn’t risk that here.
Tresas sat up slowly, pressing her back against the side of the van and wrapping her arms around herself. “Who are you?” she asked, her gaze flickering between Seth, Intu, and Odi. “What do you want with me?”
Seth grunted. “We don’t want anything with you. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He turned to David. “She might have known you as a Sword Priest, but so what? That doesn’t mean she’d be able to find you now.”
“She can see visions,” David said. “Who knows what she might be able to discover.” That Tresas had already seen a vision around him he didn’t say. Besides, all she’d need was his name. If priests really wanted to track him down, they’d be able to. Brigid had already found his new number.
“We might as well keep her,” Odi said, slowing down after driving through the gateway back to Jigok. “A Passion Priest could be useful. We can get her to see visions that will help us.”
Tresas sat up straight, folding her hands in her lap. “Visions are sacred things. They cannot be forced,” she said with greater aplomb than David would have been able to manage in her position.
Odi glanced at her from the rear view mirror. “Can’t they? Are you so sure about that?” Tresas shivered, looking away.
After another few minutes, they reached the building where the Core held meetings, parking in the dark alley beside the building. Intu and Odi got out of the van, leaving David and Seth to watch over Tresas. They returned a few minutes later with a long black coat and a burlap sack. Tresas didn’t fight as they pulled the coat over her rather obvious Passion Priest uniform, but she bit her lip before they pulled the bag over her head. David wondered if she feared for her safety. He wondered too if she ought to fear for her safety. Together, he and Seth led her slowly into the building and to the room David had seen only once before. Musha, Saikee, and Volk waited for them there. They pushed Tresas into a chair, and Intu bound her to it before taking the bag off her head.
Ignoring Tresas, Volk turned to David, holding out his hands. “Did you get the records?” David pulled the stack of paper from the backpack. “Excellent,” Volk grinned, flipping through the stack and consulting his com pad.
“Why did you steal records?” Tresas asked, studying each member of the group closely.
Odi smiled and pulled up a chair in front of Tresas. “Oh, nothing much. We’re planning to send monsters into Jod, and you’re going to help us.”
Tresas raised her chin. “As I said, visions cannot be forced. I cannot help you. Even if I could, I would not.”
Odi pulled a folding knife out of his pocket. He drew out the blade and let it catch the light. “Back in my home world, I was a scholar,” he said in a friendly tone. “Gateways between there and Bantong were common when I was young. I studied Eternist priests, trying to discover exactly how their power worked. Did you know that when a Law Priests looks into someone’s past, they see everything the person saw, but no more? They cannot hear or smell or feel. They claim to know the person’s thoughts and emotions too, but they can’t. So you see, they know if a crime has been committed, but not always why. That’s why they’re supposed to consult with Lost or Beloved Priests. Did you know that while a Sword Priest may get gray hair and wrinkles, their strength never fails them? Not even if they are stripped of their rank or retire?” He glanced over. “Not even David has noticed that, I think.”
David stiffened. He’d noticed that he was still as fast as ever, but he was young and got into fights daily. He’d assumed his strength had more to do with conditioning and that he had lost his gift. Had Odi been watching him?
“And did you know,” Odi continued lazily, “that a Passion Priest will have visions if they believe their life to be in danger?” He tapped the flat of the knife against his palm.
“I will not help you,” Tresas said, but her voice shook, and she stared at the knife.
Odi smiled. “We shall see.”
“Ha!” Volk clapped his hands together, grinning broadly. “We may not need her. In two days, a gateway will open to world 235, the home of the jiang shi.”
Tresas gasped softly, and Odi’s smile grew, but the others looked blank. “What manner of creature are the jiang shi?” Musha asked.