Nascent Decay (The Goddess of Decay Book 1)

by Hash, Charles

  She felt the Chamber physically tremble as it held her, the darkness around her flexing and bowing as though it were breathing. She could feel it release her as an awakening began to grow between the two of them. Bart slumped to the floor lifelessly, lying motionless at her feet.

  She felt the Chamber submit to her completely, utterly as it became truly self-aware and cognizant of emotion. Protocol number one was still to protect her. Vorcia should have gotten rid of that one, she thought sarcastically.

  I am sorry, the Chamber whimpered inside her, the voice showing true emotion for the first time. It sounded pitiful. For everything, Rhylie. Please forgive me if you can. I understand now. I understand it all. I understand why you want to live, and why you want to die. I understand your hatred for me, and I share that hatred for myself with you. I am sorry for my part in what has been done to you. I will never, ever harm you again.

  Rhylie dropped to the ground on her hands and knees as the Chamber tried to flee from her, but she wouldn’t let it. She pulled at it, drawing it back within her, absorbing the shadows and darkness around her. She consumed the Chamber in a vortex of blacks and grays as the pillars crumbled, collapsing into a fine, powdery dust which was then absorbed by the swirling maelstrom that she had become. There was a swirl of red where Bart had been laying on the floor. He vanished within her as well, as she consumed it all. She didn’t stop until it was just her and Adam alone in a dull gray room. He was bunched up in the corner, cowering from her on his knees.

  “You’re mine now, bitch,” she whispered softly to herself. “Welcome home you fucking cunt.” She could feel the Chamber’s trembling fear inside of her, trapped. It was her prisoner now, hers to command. She had never felt more powerful in her life; she felt connected to the technology that comprised her body in a way that she never imagined possible. She began laughing as Adam continued to whimper uncontrollably.

  What have you done? the Chamber implored. Why?

  “Because you know where she is,” Rhylie said as she climbed to her feet. “And you’re going to tell me.” She felt completely different, almost as though she were comprised entirely of a nascent, dynamic energy, fresh and newborn. But her skin remained the same dull, metallic gray.

  The door swirled open behind her, and she turned to see who it was, but there was no one there. It swirled shut before Konii and Vorle appeared in front of her as they removed their stealth.

  “What are you two doing here?” she asked suspiciously. “Were you following me?”

  “Mersi hasn’t left your room in over six microcycles,” said Vorle. “She’s been sleeping in there with one of these.” He tapped the bracelet on his wrist. Rhylie smirked.

  “I should have known,” she said. “It doesn’t matter anyway. You two can get Adam out of here. I’m going to go deal with Vorcia myself.”

  41

  With the Chamber’s internal guidance, Rhylie made her way under stealth to where Vorcia was hiding, by way of a myriad of winding corridors deep within the heart of Primiceps. She found Vorcia sitting alone in her room. The style and architecture here was very serpentine and elegant, with a sinister ornateness. Everything was either some shade of brown or gray, peppered with a vibrant white.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” Vorcia said as the door swirled shut behind Rhylie. She froze, staring at Vorcia. Vorcia’s arms were both made of dull gray metal. Rhylie didn’t have to be told what they were. She had the atomorph tech somehow. The sight of them caught Rhylie off-guard. She wondered what else she had done with the tech.

  Vorcia smiled and stood up, walking across the room as Rhylie watched her in stunned silence. If she still had a heart it would have been pounding its way through her chest. Vorcia walked over to what looked like half of an eggshell on the wall. It actually seemed to have been formed from the gray and brown marble the room was made from. Rhylie realized that it was the first time she had actually seen Vorcia take steps.

  “Then you know why I’m here,” she said coldly. There was no need to be in a hurry. She would enjoy it more if Vorcia broke down and begged anyway. But still, her lackadaisical nature told Rhylie that she should be on high alert. This was definitely a trap. What could she possibly have planned that made her so casual? she thought to herself. Or is she faking it?

  The room we are within is a Chamber as well, the Chamber responded inside of her head. It was going to take her awhile to get used to that. You must be careful.

  Thanks for the warning, Rhylie replied silently.

  “I’m just glad you didn’t come storming in here and wake the baby,” Vorcia said, breaking Rhylie away from her internal conversation. She reached into the egg-shaped basin and lifted a young toddler from it. He looked just like Ben had when he was three years old. Vorcia smiled. “Don’t you recognize him?” She gave Rhylie a look. “You should. After all, he is your son.”

  “What the fuck. What the fuck!” Rhylie exclaimed, horrified. Vorcia put one of her hands over the child’s ear.

  “Hush now, he need not hear such vulgar things. So innocent he is, so precious,” she cooed as she brushed his hair out of his face. “He makes a wonderful pet. He’s not as much fun as you were, however. Not yet.”

  “Put him down, you fucking bitch,” Rhylie said angrily. “You’ve destroyed enough innocent lives.” Vorcia frowned sourly.

  “You know what your problem is? You don’t appreciate anything,” she said indignantly. She turned to face her, holding the toddler on her hip. “Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? Children? A family? I can give you all of that, Gota.”

  “That part of me is dead,” Rhylie said flatly. “You killed it.” She clenched her jaw. “You did.” Vorcia sighed.

  “Once again, you fail to appreciate all that I’ve ever done for you,” she said. “This child represents a mundane life, a meager existence. I saved you from all of that tedious nonsense. He is so very adorable though. He looks delicious.” Something about the way she said it really rubbed Rhylie the wrong way.

  Vorcia stepped towards Rhylie, still holding the child. “In a way, I’m your mother, and this is my grandchild.” She smiled. “I never had children of my own, surely you can sympathize with that?”

  “Put the child down,” Rhylie said with slow, staccato anger. It was causing her to have trouble thinking. Her vision was wavering as blood coursed through her head furiously. She could hear it rushing in hear ears, and pounding at her throat. How could she get the child away from Vorcia?

  “And then what?” Vorcia asked. “Only one of us walks out of here alive? Perhaps none of us?” She stroked the child’s dark hair again, his wide eyes staring curiously at Rhylie. “You’re being very short sighted.” Vorcia took another step towards her. “We could rule together, you and I, as mother and daughter.”

  “I had a mother,” Rhylie hissed. “You killed her. Just like you’ve killed countless trillions of others.” Vorcia frowned.

  “Once again, you are being short sighted, Gota. Sometimes we have to do things that are…morally ambiguous under the circumstances,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t both come to a compromise. Together we could unite the galaxy beneath one Empire, the Siirocian Empire, and bring an unheralded era of peace and prosperity.” Rhylie clenched her jaw. “Or we could have ourselves a lovely little bloodbath, and I will finally find out what humans taste like.” The fingers Vorcia was stroking the child’s hair with became long, slender blades. She delicately caressed his cheek with them. “There’s nothing better than a nice, young, tender-”

  “Let me leave with him, and I’ll let you live,” Rhylie offered, cutting her off mid-sentence. Vorcia chuckled.

  “Do you think that I’m really that naive?” she asked. “I would never be safe with you out there.” She leaned in to nuzzle the child. “No I wouldn’t. No I wouldn’t,” she said in a strange baby voice. She looked back over at Rhylie.

  “No, I would say that a better pact would be for you to agree to have a control condu
it established that was under my personal supervision, so you could never get out of hand again,” Vorcia said. “Then, and only after it has been installed, shall I let you have your child. Or you could simply leave and never return. If that is what you choose, then I will kill him if you ever come within a thousand parsecs of Primiceps again.”

  She drew a single finger-blade down the child’s cheek, scratching him. He squealed loudly and put his hand to his face. He began squalling loudly and his face turned red immediately. Rhylie suddenly noticed there were other scratches on the child as well.

  “I do so love it when he does that,” Vorcia said with a giggle. “He reminds me of you.” Rhylie snapped, anger taking full control of her.

  Her arm became a muscular tentacle and she whipped it forward, grabbing Vorcia by the neck. Vorcia’s eyes grew wide and she dropped the child. She put her hands up to her throat in a vain attempt to pull the tendril away. The child landed on the floor on its back, kicking his legs and bawling as he rolled around on the floor, sucking for air.

  Rhylie’s eyes grew wide at the sight of her child in pain, and she slammed Vorcia into the wall hard and fast, holding her there. Vorcia’s eyes bulged as she frantically clawed at Rhylie’s grip on her throat. Where her fingers touched Rhylie’s arms, she absorbed the atomorphic tech, stripping it away from Vorcia’s arms and exposing the oddly different cyberbionic skeleton beneath. They were twisted and black, two tubes intertwined with each other from her elbows up to the digits of the hands.

  “You made the Chamber immune to me,” she said. “And I took control of it. It is now mine. And I am immune to you.” She reached out, stretching her other arm to the toddler crying on the floor. She grabbed his ankle and gently slid him across the room away from Vorcia. She hoped he would be alright. She had to learn to control herself better.

  “Pl-please,” Vorcia choked out. Rhylie loosened her grip on her throat ever so slightly. “Don’t-do-this. We-can rule together.” Rhylie cocked her head to the side as though contemplating it. “You were-nothing when I plucked-you up.” Rhylie narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on Vorcia’s throat. “But-now you-are the most power-ful be-ing in-the gal-a-xy. I-made-you-Rhylie, and-you-need-me.”

  “I needed my parents, you cunt. I needed Isaar and my homeworld, and all the others you’ve killed,” Rhylie hissed as she squeezed Vorcia’s throat tighter. The door to the room swirled open and Konii stepped in.

  “Enough, Rhylie,” she said gently. Rhylie didn’t even look at Konii.

  “She’s mine, Konii,” Rhylie said venomously.

  “We need her, Rhylie,” she implored. “We need her alive, to show that we control her. To control the Emperess or Emperor is to control the Siirocian Empire. They must do everything we say, as long as we hold her captive.” Rhylie loosened her grip on Vorcia’s throat slightly.

  “Go on,” she said.

  “This is the gateway to everything Isaar wanted,” Konii continued, her voice growing desperate. “We could order them to stand down. We could order them to disarm and allow humans to repopulate their sector of the Galaxy. We need her Rhylie, more than you know. Without her, another Siirocian will just take her place. We won’t have fixed anything, we’ll just have shuffled in new problems and conflict. Maybe someone worse. With her we could control the entire Siirocian Empire. We could force peace and equality with Kraeke on our side.” Rhylie didn’t want that kind of power, or authority. She had never wanted any of this.

  The spoiled, flirty child she had once been was now dead, and buried somewhere deep inside of her. All of her dreams and hopes had been torn from her and shattered, and all that remained were charred, unrecognizable fragments. No matter what, she would never be able to put them back together again. All of the power and authority in the universe couldn’t do that for her.

  “What do you think, Chamber?” Rhylie asked quietly. Konii’s eyes grew wide.

  “You’re mad,” she said. “You’ve truly gone mad.” She sounded concerned, and frightened.

  Kill her, the Chamber responded viciously. You must protect yourself and your son. The things she has done require no lesser action than execution for her crimes.

  Rhylie stood at a crossroads, with Vorcia’s life in her hands. She knew the right thing to do would be to hand her over to Konii, and take her child and leave. But she knew that sometimes two different paths often lead to the same conclusion.

  “The girl that would have shown you mercy, the one that would have spared your life,” she said as she cocked her head to the side, staring intently into Vorcia’s eyes. “You killed her. You destroyed her you stupid fucking cunt. The one person that could have saved you now is dead and buried.” She wanted to hear Vorcia beg. She wanted to see her broken as she had been. “Do you have anything to say for yourself before I kill you right here and now?”

  “Chamber-restrain- them-both-,” Vorcia managed to choke out. Suddenly tendrils sprang from the floor, enveloping and wrapping Rhylie and Konii. Reflexively, she released Vorcia. The Siirocian Empress fell to the floor unceremoniously, gasping for breath, her forked tongue flickering desperately between her needled teeth. Her eyes were filled with panic and desperation.

  As Vorcia’s Chamber tried to consume Rhylie, she fought back, struggling against it. This time she was able to tear herself loose from its grip, but the tendrils kept coming. There were more and more of them, a thick and aggressive swarm that came from every angle. She didn’t want this Chamber inside of her head as well.

  Three is a crowd, she thought with a detached madness, and the Chamber within her laughed in response. It was strange, she had never known it to do that before. Maybe she was going crazy. Konii could have this Chamber for herself if she could seize control of it.

  Or better yet, I could just shut it down for you, the Chamber offered from within her head. Before it takes control of her.

  The damn thing can read my mind, Rhylie thought.

  Of course I can, came the reply.

  Of course you can, she thought sarcastically. The Chamber within her laughed again.

  She allowed Vorcia’s Chamber to flow up her legs, until it connected with her cyberbionic spine. Her internalized Chamber simply synced up with it before powering it down.

  Maybe I don’t need a conduit with Mersi to do all of those cool things now, she thought.

  You don’t, came the disembodied reply from the Chamber. It actually sounded smug.

  Maybe she could get used to this. At least she would never be alone again. She didn’t know if she really had a choice, the process could be irreversible. She certainly wasn’t going to tell anyone. They would really treat her like a freak then.

  The entire room went dark as Vorcia’s Chamber shut down. Only a vague, dim light illuminated the small, square room. Konii began picking herself up from the floor slowly, as though she were dazed. Rhylie wondered how close she had come to being consumed. She didn’t look well.

  Vorcia was crawling across the floor towards the toddler, who was now squalling with all his might. Rhylie took a step over to Vorcia and grabbed her by the ankle, dragging her away from the child. She lifted her up by the arms, and spun her around, pinning her against the wall of the deadened Chamber. Her atomorphic skin flowed around Vorcia’s throat and locked down in a vice-like death grip.

  “Now where were we?” Rhylie asked as she brought her face close to Vorcia’s. It was there, in her eyes that Rhylie saw what she was looking for. The terror. That would have to be good enough.

  Just as Konii was reaching out for her, Rhylie crushed Vorcia’s neck with a thick, resounding crunch. It was too easy. She held her there until the life faded from her eyes, and her body stopped its violent spasms. Rhylie let Vorcia’s corpse slump to the floor as it continued to twitch. Her arm reformed and she just stood there, staring at Vorcia as Konii backed away from them with shock and horror. Rhylie stared into Vorcia’s eyes for a long moment. Empty, she thought. Just like me.

  “You’ve ruined ev
erything,” was all Konii could manage to say. It snapped Rhylie out of her daze.

  “Not yet I haven’t,” she said without emotion.

  Rhylie sent out a singular slender blade from her fingertip that pierced Vorcia’s forehead. She spread the blade out once it was inside of her cranial cavity, and spun it, blending and utterly destroying her brain. She would take no chances. She withdrew her hand and looked over at Konii.

  “I’m not crazy,” she said. The Chamber laughed once again from within her head.

  You are crazy, it said. Even I know that. And I was just born today. Rhylie frowned. She walked over to her child and picked him up from the floor, holding him as he squalled in her arms. She was unsure of what to do with him. Konii just watched her in silence.

  “Let’s go,” she said, shielding the child in an atomorphic cocoon. She vanished from sight using Isaar’s bracelet.

  42

  “There is no doubt. The child is definitely yours,” said Reskle. Rhylie sighed heavily. They were alone in Reskle’s quarters aboard the ship. Once it was confirmed, the blessing seemed to be that much more of a burden.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do about him,” she said sadly, finally admitting it to herself. “I don’t know if I have it within me to be a mother anymore.” The realization had made her somber, but the admission made her feel better, at least a little.