He rubbed his hands together, pushing them close the flames. Dry skin scratched against dry skin. Dishpan hands, I thought. Why hadn’t I noticed that before? While I’d played mad scientist in Mom’s lab, he’d probably spent his free time scrubbing dishes and chopping onions.
“Why are you still with us?” I asked softly.
He stared up at me, his head poking out of his shoulders like a tortoise scanning the world outside its shell, unsure if it was safe to come out. His narrow face pinched up farther, his eyes squinted almost closed, his black hair lying flat against his scalp. “Huh?”
I leaned towards him. “You didn’t have to help Dragon get out of the school. And you didn’t have to run from the guards in the market. You could be home, safe and eating great Chinese food instead of granola bars.”
“I like granola bars.”
“You like hiding out in the forest with a wanted pirate as well?”
He sighed. “Well, no. Not really.” He stretched out a long, scrawny arm, snagged a branch and poked at the fire. “Guess I kinda like hanging out with you guys. Well, maybe not him so much.” He gestured with his chin towards Blade who was snoring softly. “I mean, he’s okay, for a pirate and all. And way better than the Games Boss and his goons.” He shuddered.
I grinned, knowing how much trouble he’d gotten into when he’d cheated the Boss in one of Sana’s gambling dens. “Good think that one’s not chasing after you anymore.”
“Yeah.” He prodded the fire some more. A few sparks snapped at the air. “He’s the one on the run now. They never did catch him. Wish they would.”
“So you escaped the Boss but like to hang out with a pirate and a runaway. Maybe you’re just an adrenalin junkie.”
He giggled. “Yeah, that must be it. But this sure beats washing dishes.”
The flames flickered as wood gradually disintegrated into ash. I wondered if I should wake Blade up when he yawned, stretched, sat up and announced, “Boys and girls, it’s time to push off.” As he stood up, gravelly sand crunched under his weight.
“Tide’s low enough?” I asked, glancing out to the cliffs. Waves still thumped against unyielding stone. That did not look welcoming.
“Low enough, cupcake,” he said, kicking at the fire and scooping sand over the remaining embers.
A cold, damp wind slapped at my face as Blade manoeuvred the speedboat along the shoreline. As the cliffs rose up beside us, the waves smacked the side of the boat facing the ocean, pushing us towards land, as if they wanted to smash us into little splinters of wood and bone against the rocks.
And with those pleasant thoughts swirling around in the darkness, I searched as eagerly as Darren for the entrance to the pirate’s cave. Even though we knew what we were looking for and where it was, we still couldn’t have found it without Blade.
“Ah, Blade,” Darren yelped. “You know we’re heading right for the cliff, right? I mean, we’re going straight into solid rock.”
He laughed, dreadlocks flapping in the wind like a ragged flag. And revved the motor. The boat surged forward. A part of my brain contemplated screaming, but before I could humiliate myself, a crevice came into view. And before I could reflect on how narrow and jagged it was and how rough the waves were, we were rumbling through the split in the cliffs.
One moment we were being buffeted by wind and waves, the next we were floating inside a cavern, the only light the small red one on the boat.
“Welcome to the pirate cove,” Blade announced grandly as he switched on a torch.
“Wow,” I breathed, gazing up at the high roof glittering with minerals and moisture. “Impressive.”
“Is that the only exit?” Darren asked, gesturing at the crevice. “’Cause it’s shrinking.”
Blade chuckled, his deep voice echoing around the cavern. “It’ll open up again. Eventually. Not to worry.”
“I’m not worried,” Darren blurted out. “Just… you know, wondering.”
Blade dragged the boat up a tiny strip of beach, tied it to a rock and led the way farther in. Behind us, the lagoon gently brushed against the beach and water droplets above us pinged against stone. That and our footsteps were the only sound. Oh, and of course Darren’s knuckle cracking. Amazing the kid had any left by this point.
The cavern narrowed and shrank, until it was more like a corridor than a cave. A corridor tiled with damp, rough rock with sharp bits sticking out of the walls. After a few minutes, the corridor opened up into another cave, lit by a couple of battery-powered torches and a small, synthetic campfire.
A tall figure rose from a camping chair at the other side of the cave and walked around the fire towards us. He swept elegant fingers through his tidy, dark brown hair, as if to neaten it up. The cream-coloured Indian tunic was impossibly spotless, as were the matching billowing leggings. He rubbed his goatee meditatively before smiling his dazzling, vote-winning smile.
“Myranda, Darren. Welcome to my humble abode,” the Games Boss enthused, his eyes sparkling. “So good of you to join us.”
Chapter 20: Dragon
I don’t know how many cycles of that dream I’ve endured. Too many. It made me wish Grogan really had permanently erased my memories. I never want to dream again. When light finally flitters into the scene, breaking it up, I’m grateful.
Even if the light comes from Griffin.
I glance around. She’s plugged me into a virtual room with no exits. All the surfaces glow pearly white and it takes me a few seconds to realise that I’m floating in a sphere. She’s watching me in her griffin form. Large eagle wings flap gently, sharp eagle eyes glitter red and a large white lion body twitches its tail.
“Welcome to my world,” she breathes out.
“It’s rather small, isn’t it?” I say, wondering if I can switch from my hologram image into my dragon avatar. I try but I’m stuck in my less impressive human form.
Her mouth twitches. “Only the part you can see. You don’t have a lot of time left, do you?”
I keep my face smooth, unworried. “Thanks for reminding me. How much time do you think you have?”
She laughs, although it sounds closer to a roar. “All the time I need. But for now, I just want you to listen.” She tilts her head.
I open my mouth to retort with something witty, but nothing comes out, and what would be the point? I keep quiet.
She purrs. “Just listen. Do you know your friends are trying to kill you?”
Of all the things she could’ve said, that’s not what I expect. My poker face is cracking, I can feel it.
“Myth gave them all the ammunition they needed. Dr. Johansson helped them devise the virus. And Lavack.” The wings flap, the eagle beak snaps at the air, the image shivers and in place of the griffin is the woman with white-blond hair. I can see the real Griffin in the new image, with a few touch ups. Her skin isn’t blotchy, her eyes aren’t red and her hair is softer looking, long and flowing. A full length, white dress swirls around her. “Well, he’s just eagerly anticipating the moment he can finally launch his new weapon.”
I shake my head.
“Don’t believe me?” She smirks. “He wants to eliminate all the brains, Dragon. All of them. Including you, the one who helped shut down Grogan Ltd.” She pauses. “But don’t worry. He won’t succeed. Even if he pushes the button and releases the virus, he will fail. He has no idea how deeply we’ve integrated ourselves with the mainland systems. All the systems.”
I shrug my shoulders. Why is she telling me all this?
“I thought you might want to see the hostages,” she purrs.
Why would I want to see them?
A section of the sphere turns into several screens, each showing the live video feed from one of the sensors in the sports stadium. My eyes twitch between the different screens, each focused on a different angle or location. The place is full of people huddling in groups. At a glance, I’m sure that not every Sana resident is there, but certainly a significant portion of them are.
&nb
sp; “Don’t worry about them,” she continues. “I won’t need them for much longer. And no one will get hurt, I promise. I’m not a murderer.”
I let slip my poker mask and glare at her. “At the risk of asking the obvious, why are you doing this?”
She smiles. “If they kill you, Dragon, is it considered murder?”
I cringe before I can control my expression. I know what she’s saying. It’s a thorny issue I’d thought about many times. Legally, I’m a non-living entity, property of Grogan Ltd. I have no body to protect, and apparently no soul to save, although that’s debatable. My owners can pull the plug anytime and it won’t be considered murder.
“They can kills us,” she says, “experiment on us, buy and sell us. And it’s all legal.”
I stare at her. Her eyes have turned red and they’re gazing somewhere else, outside of this sphere, seeing things that should never have been.
“How many times has Myth implied you’re not a real person?” Griffin whispers, her voice scratchy and low.
Too many times. Low blow. I wince.
“Ah,” she continues knowingly, her red eyes focused on me again. “Your best friend, isn’t she? The one person who might actually want to treat you as a person. And yet even she has trouble seeing you as real. As an equal. As a human being deserving of the most basic rights of life and liberty.”
I can’t look Griffin in the eyes anymore. Everything she says resonates and drags out painful memories of moments and words. I hate her for it.
“I’m going to take their toys away from them.”
I frown but keep quiet.
“Human beings haven’t exactly used technology in the best way possible, have they?” I’m not sure if she’s still talking to me. She’s staring at the screens, watching her prisoners. “They use it to pollute the world, dominate and control other people, and promote greed and corruption. I’m going to stop all that. I’m going to take that all away.”
Although I don’t have a body, my lips feel frozen. All I can do is mutter, “You’re crazy.”
She laughs, a tinkling sound, and faces me again. “Possibly. But not as much as you think. I’m not launching weapons at anyone. You know, you can join us, Dragon.” Her voice is soft, hypnotic, inviting. “Think of it this way. My plan will probably be good for them. And for the planet.”
“Yeah, you’re a real environmentalist,” I say.
She floats closer. I still don’t look at her. I don’t dare.
She lowers her voice. “I’m doing everyone a great favour.”
My hands tighten into fists. I’m still not sure what she’s planning, but it doesn’t sound like it’s a great favour. What toys is she going to take away? I shake my head. “No thanks, I’ll pass.”
“What a very great pity.” She pauses. “I didn’t start this, Dragon,” she says, her voice clear and sharp. “But I plan to finish it.”
I look up but she’s gone.
Chapter 21: Myth
Amazing how fast the brain processes a situation and issues commands. I’d barely registered that the Games Boss was there when I spun around, prepared to run back through the tunnel to the cavern. And then what? That part didn’t matter. Running did.
Darren was ahead of me. Unfortunately, so was Blade. His muscular bulk blocked the entrance to the tunnel. Darren bounced off him and stumbled backwards, mouth open, gasping for breath. That’s when my brain made another leap of logic. Blade was working for the enemy.
“How could you?” I screamed and kicked. Blade blocked my foot easily before it could do any damage. Too bad. I was really hoping to see him writhing on the ground in well-deserved agony. Instead, I found myself on the bumpy rock floor next to Darren.
“This is the Boss,” he informed me.
“No kidding,” I snapped.
Blade shook his head, his mouth curved up. Oh, that really pissed me off. “The Boss. As in my Boss. And Dragon’s, from before.”
“Congrats for the happy reunion,” I growled before it clicked. Before he’d been the Games Boss, he’d been a pirate. Figures. “Once a thug, always a thug.” I stood up, dragging Darren vertical. His arm trembled in my grasp. I squeezed gently.
The Boss was still smiling, all charm and cheer. Probably planning how he’s going to exact revenge, I thought and gritting my teeth. Darren had cheated him and I’d robbed him of his little empire. Not exactly working in our favour.
“Myranda,” he oozed.
I was named after my mom’s granny. My mom loves the name. Gives her happy flashbacks of eating homemade chocolate chip cookies in her granny’s kitchen after school. It gives me flashbacks of kids teasing me and chasing me home after school. Plus the name sounds as old as my great-gran. Basically, I’m telling you that on a good day, I don’t like my first name.
This wasn’t a good day.
He must’ve seen my expression. My face talks a lot. He’s a consummate card shark and could just about tell what cards people had by studying their faces. So he knew. “Ah, yes. You prefer to go by your other name. Myth, isn’t it?”
I kept quiet. Damn if I was going to give him any satisfaction by agreeing with him. And saying “yes” was way too friendly a word for the situation. I kept up the glare, my heart shaking almost as bad as Darren’s arm. I ignored Blade who was still acting like a human door.
“Listen, Myth, the past is just that, in the past. Let’s move on from there, shall we?” His head elegantly dipped towards me. Snakes are pretty elegant looking before they strike.
“And, Darren,” he said, shifting his focus to the kid. If we hadn’t had our backs against the cave wall, I’m sure Darren would’ve sunk to the ground by now. “You’re a clever boy, aren’t you?”
It sounded like he was talking to his pet poodle. If he’d had a pet poodle, which he didn’t.
“But that’s finished now.” The radiance level of his smile went up a couple notches. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have fallen for the benevolent leader image by then. I did know better so I kept up the dagger look.
“So, I hear you’re on the run,” the Boss continued as if we were all involved in a pleasant chat about the weather. “Coincidently, so am I.” He chuckled.
“We’re not on the run,” I blurted out. Why’d I do that? I don’t know. Maybe keeping silent was more exhausting than it looked.
“Really?” His eyebrows rose delicately. “That’s not what I heard.”
I pursed my lips. I refused to ask him what he’d heard. Besides, there weren’t that many options. Either Lavack was gearing up a posse to track me down or Griffin had decided she needed me as a prisoner again. Or maybe some of Grogan’s top people had heard I’d escaped Lavack’s protection and were trying to get rid of me before the trial. Yup, I was real popular.
The Boss sighed as he turned back to his chair. “Why don’t you talk to her, Blade? Maybe she’ll listen.”
“Myth, I…”
I twirled around. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” I yelled.
“Yeah,” Darren said, having finally recovered control over his vocal cords. “You were supposed to be helping us.”
“I am,” Blade said. “I know it may not look it…”
“Oh, you think?” I interrupted. “You’ve delivered us to the very guy who tried to kill Dragon.”
“Well, technically I actually did kill him,” the Boss said smoothly as he settled back into his camping chair. He was so relaxed, he could’ve been sitting on a sofa in front of his own fireplace instead of in a damp, poorly lit cave. “The problem with Dragon is that he stubbornly refuses to stay dead.”
“Yeah, that’s some problem,” I quipped.
“Yes, indeed,” the Boss said with a gracious smile. “Imagine my surprise when he was resurrected as MindOpS? Ironic, really. If I believed in reincarnation, I’d have to say he was destined to work for me and I was destined to keep trying to kill him.”
I frowned. “Wait a minute.” I glanced at Blade, remembering
his story. And this time, I really got it. “You were his boss before the boat accident. When he was a smuggler?”
The Boss beamed at me, the way a parent does to their toddler who’s finally managed to walk across the room without falling. “I’ve always been the Boss.”
“And humble too,” I muttered.
He chuckled. “I try. Well, not really. And since you’re here, why don’t you sit and stay awhile?”
I glanced at Blade. He was still blocking the door, his expression carefully neutral, his eyes averted from my glare. Whatever the Boss had planned, violence wasn’t in the mix. At least, not yet.
“Yeah, might as well.” I slumped into another camping chair while Darren slid down the cave wall and sat where he was.
“You’ve really caused me a bit of trouble,” the Boss continued amicably. “The moment I heard you’d escaped my mansion”—he glanced over at Blade meaningfully—“and landed in Lavack’s backyard, I knew the game was finished, at least for a while.” He gestured with his elegant, manicured hands.
How on earth did he manage to look so elegant and manicured in a cave? And on the run for the past month as well. I was grudgingly impressed. Self consciously, I pushed a hand through the mop of black knots that pretended to be my hair.
“Indeed,” he continued. “I spent ten years building up a legitimate life and a small but cosy empire on my beautiful island and you destroyed it all in about ten minutes.” He gazed at me, his face relaxed. “I grabbed what I could and called in a few favours. Blade was kind enough to assist me. Guilty conscious, I hope.”
I watched the flames, the Boss’s voice calm and soft floated in the background. Had I told Dragon about the virus? I shook my head slightly. There hadn’t been enough time. I did a quick calculation. It would be released tomorrow sometime. What if he was online, searching for me? But that wasn’t possible. I couldn’t see how he could escape Griffin. And what had Darren said? That the tank had less than a couple days’ support left.
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