“I didn’t think you guys could be killed by anything besides another Incarnate,” I remarked. “That being the case, I have to ask: how many of those things” — I nodded toward the crystal — “do you folks have lying around?”
“Technically, the doubles it creates are Incarnates,” Endow clarified, “so your supposition is right.”
“As to how many of these there are,” Rune added, “I’m hoping there’s just the one. To be honest, I’ve never seen anything quite like this.”
He stared at the crystal as he spoke, obviously intrigued.
“So where did it come from?” I inquired.
“According to Cerek, Gamma created it,” Rune said. “From all indications, it was infused with her power, and that’s actually what fueled this thing. In fact, her sivrrut is the only thing that can activate it. When she died, her power was supposed to disappear, thereby making this crystal inert.”
“Only her power didn’t disappear,” Endow interjected. “And as a result, this stayed active and fully functional.”
“And under the control of Static,” I surmised, “who had her power and could therefore control it.”
“Next thing you know, he’s using it to kill Incarnates,” Rune said, “in hopes that it would force me to bring forth the Kroten Yoso Va.”
“Well, he didn’t actually kill Reverb,” I corrected. “And on that topic, how did Reverb actually survive?”
“As you can guess, Static made a double of him,” Rune explained. “Initially he fought back, but that only seemed to strengthen his look-alike. Moreover, Reverb realized that the stronger he made his attacks, the more likely he was to kill someone innocent — even after he transported to the field outside the castle.”
“And rather than kill someone, he just shut down,” I guessed. “Stopped fighting back.”
“Yes,” Endow said. “And you can tell from his appearance that he suffered for it.”
I nodded, shuddering internally at the thought of Reverb’s limbless torso. “Will he be all right?”
“Believe it or not, he’ll be fine,” Rune assured me. “Although his effigy crumbled, Cerek somehow smuggled Reverb into the relic with him. He was near death, but Cerek used the sivrrut housed there to keep him alive.”
“And it was during that time,” I said, “while he was in the amulet with Cerek, that Reverb got a good chunk of the story.”
“Correct,” Rune confirmed.
“Any particular reason he never tried to let you guys know he wasn’t dead?” I asked.
“He didn’t even have the power to keep himself alive,” Rune countered. “He had nothing to spare for reaching us.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “So how’s he alive now?”
“Shortly after you and Static disappeared, our doubles vanished,” Endow explained. “We know now that occurred when you defeated Static, but immediately afterward we were able to get to Reverb and sustain him.”
“He’s strong enough now that he’s taken over the healing process himself,” Rune commented. “He’s even regrown his limbs. Needless to say, his laamuffal Konstantin is overjoyed that he’s still alive.”
I nodded as Rune’s statement brought to mind another thought. “That reminds me — what happened to Pinion’s laamuffal?”
“He shut down after Pinion died,” Endow informed me. “Apparently Pinion’s sivrrut was the life force that animated him.”
“And Cerek?” I asked. “How’s he?”
Rune and Endow both went silent, which was an answer in and of itself.
“He didn’t make it,” Endow finally muttered solemnly. “That blow from Static killed him — probably intentionally.” She looked frustrated for a moment and then added, “He should have just come to us.”
I gave her a sympathetic look. “Like I said earlier, he was still trying to protect Gamma’s son. Regardless, what would you guys have done if you’d found out about Static?”
“Probably attempt to strip him of Gamma’s power,” Rune admitted.
“And perhaps kill him in the process,” I added. “Maybe that’s why Cerek didn’t come to any of you even after Reverb was attacked. If you ended up killing Static, it would have meant that Gamma died for nothing, which was probably the worst thing Cerek could have imagined.”
There was silence for a moment as the two Incarnates seem to let my words sink in.
“Anyway, I think all of us pretty much know the rest of the story,” Rune said. “Static comes after Jim in our suite, Jim outs him in front of us, and ultimately Jim takes him down mano a mano.”
“Sounds simple when you put it like that,” I observed. “It was a little more touch-and-go at the time. For instance, I wasn’t sure Endow would back my play when I said I switched the evidence.”
Endow smiled. “Neither did I, but I thought you deserved a chance. How’d you know Static was lying?”
“His emotions,” I replied. “He was practically on the verge of panic. I can’t read the rest of you, but it just struck me that a near-omnipotent being doesn’t have much to panic about. In addition, it all seemed centered on my response — what I was going to say when he kept goading me to confess.”
“For a moment there, I thought you were actually going to break down and admit it,” Rune shared.
“Oddly enough, so did I,” I admitted. “It was like there was a tiny voice in my head saying over and over that I should confess.”
Unexpectedly, Endow and Rune exchanged another knowing glance.
“What?” I asked. “What are you two not saying?”
Rune cleared his throat before speaking. “Ahem. It’s possible — likely, in fact — that when Static and you had your tete-a-tete in your brain, he planted that little compulsion to confess. Basically, if you had confessed, no one would have ever thought to question his analysis of the cog, which he never actually did.”
I looked at him in bewilderment. “But if he wanted me to confess to something I didn’t do, why send Ursula to kill me?”
“I should probably clarify,” uttered Rune. “A compulsion along the lines we’re talking about could actually have been used to make you do anything. In this instance, Static just attempted to utilize it to get a convenient confession. In truth, he could have originally intended to use it at some other time, for some other reason, but changed his mind.”
“As for him trying to kill you,” Endow chimed in, “that was really to make Rune bring out the Kroten Yoso Va.”
“He knew that I’d brought you here and felt responsible for you,” Rune admitted. “If you died, he thought the guilt would break down my resolve.”
“Geez,” I droned. “He really wanted that thing badly, didn’t he?”
“Oh, yes,” Endow concurred with a nod. “According to Ursula, it’s why he started coming to the Cosmos Corridor regularly.”
“Huh?” I muttered, baffled.
“Static had started entering the Cosmos Corridor more often lately,” she explained. “He never stated what he wanted, but now we know: he was looking for some indication of where the Kroten Yoso Va was.”
I dwelt on that for a moment. It would certainly explain why he was present the last time I went there (although I hadn’t really given much thought to what he was doing when I showed up). If I hadn’t been so focused on my own agenda, maybe I would have been more curious about what he was up to, although it probably didn’t matter at this point.
“Getting back to him trying to kill me, did he just not consider that Ursula might fail?” I asked. “He just assumed she’d put me six feet under?’
“Actually, he just thought that she’d be able to catch you with your guard down,” Endow responded. “Not to mention that he had a back-up plan.”
I frowned. “What kind of back-up plan?”
Rune glared at Endow for a moment, then said, “You remember how the killer typically didn’t leave any evidence at his crime scenes? Well–”
“Are you kidding me?!” I interjected as the
truth became clear. “He was going to blast our suite to rubble? When were you planning to tell me — after I sat down on a stick of dynamite?”
“First of all, there wasn’t any dynamite,” Rune began. “And second, I found and disarmed the object he was planning to use, so you were never really in danger of getting blown up. So the only chance of something happening to you was if you got sloppy or distracted and let Ursula knife you.”
“Speaking of whom,” Endow muttered before I could respond.
At that moment, the door to the room opened and Ursula stepped in.
“Why didn’t anybody tell me my boyfriend had dropped by?” she asked of no one in particular while giving me a wink.
Chapter 61
“What are you doing up?” Endow admonished, coming to her feet, as did Rune and I. “You should be resting.”
“I’m fine,” Ursula insisted. “Static just messed around in my head, and that’s a bit of a mess anyway.”
Everyone snickered at that, at which point Ursula turned to me.
“You, sir, are a terrible first date,” she declared. “Your response to my actions were over the top. A little knife in the heart never hurt anybody.”
I chuckled heartily, saying, “I admit it’s possible I overreacted.”
“Well, lucky for you I like you,” she droned, “so you’ll get a second bite at the apple. Plus, it’s slim pickings around here.”
“Okay, that’s enough out of you,” Endow stated, marching over to Ursula and taking her by the elbow. “Come on, let’s get you back into bed.”
“Wait,” she uttered, spinning toward me. “You’ll come see me before you go?”
“Oh, uh, of course,” I muttered. Her question had taken me a little by surprise, but with everything resolved, I supposed I would be leaving soon.
“I wouldn’t take off without saying good-bye to you and Endow,” I added.
“Who said anything about Endow?” Ursula demanded saucily. “You’re aiming too high. Rune’s not going to let you within a mile of this one.” As she finished speaking, she hooked a thumb toward Endow.
She then gave me a playful wink as Endow said, “Okay, now I know you need some rest…”
She continued talking as she guided Ursula from the room, but I couldn’t hear any more of what was said.
As Rune and I sat back down, I pulled the badge — which I happened to be wearing — from under my shirt and up over my head. (Oddly enough, after my battle with Static, I discovered that the chain had repaired itself.)
“I suppose you’ll be wanting this back,” I said, holding it out to him.
“The badge?” he asked.
“The Kroten Yoso Va,” I corrected. He didn’t move to take it, so I simply rested it on my thigh.
Rune merely stared at me for a moment. “When did you figure it out?”
“Right before Static tried to take it,” I answered. “He mentioned something about the items he was taking from me being in good hands. It triggered some things in my memory that you had said — like how Ursula was in good hands with me. How you and the other Incarnates were in good hands with me. You seemed to be equating me with ‘good hands.’ And that’s where you also said the Kroten Yoso Va was: in good hands.”
“That’s really impressive,” he said solemnly.
“Well, you dropped enough hints. I just didn’t catch on until Static was about to get it, and suddenly it all became clear.”
“No, what’s really impressive is that I wasn’t trying to drop any hints, but you figured it out anyway.”
I blinked in surprise. “So it was just sheer luck that I happened to realize what that badge really was?”
“Even if you hadn’t realized what it was, I’m not sure that the outcome would have been different.”
“Other than me goading Static into taking it,” I said. “Once he did that, it stripped him of his powers. Or rather, stripped him of Gamma’s power.”
“And in a way that didn’t kill him,” Rune noted. “Regardless, after his powers were gone, the doubles he’d manufactured vanished, along with anything else he’d created — including the compulsion in your mind.”
“That’s nice to know,” I blurted out in relief as a new question popped up in my brain. “Hmmm. Why do you think he never made a double of me?”
“Ursula might be able to confirm it with what she got from his brain,” Rune began, “but I’m guessing Static was worried about overtaxing the crystal.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’d already used it to make doubles of three Incarnates,” Rune explained. “That was seemingly more than he’d ever done at one time.”
“Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. “Before that, he was picking you guys off one at a time.”
“Right,” Rune conceded. “He only made three doubles out of desperation — at the point when he’d been unmasked as the killer. If he’d known the crystal could manage that earlier, there would probably be more of us dead. That said, I think he was still concerned about overworking it — not to mention the fact that, on the surface, you shouldn’t have presented much of a challenge.”
“In other words, he thought he could handle me without using up a bunch of sivrrut.”
“You said it yourself earlier,” Rune stated with a laugh. “Our arrogance would be our undoing. Guess you were right.”
“Normally I’d be overjoyed about taking you pompous showboats down a notch,” I deadpanned, causing Rune to chuckle. “At the moment, though, I’m trying to figure out if I’m angry with you or not.”
His eyebrows went up in surprise. “About what?”
“About sticking me with the Kroten Yoso Va without telling me. About making me its Keeper without saying a word about it. In fact, you told me that you didn’t even bring it here.”
“Of course I brought it here!” he shot back. “Do I look stupid? We had an Incarnate killer on our hands. Why would I leave behind the one thing that could definitely stop him?”
“So all that talk about not wanting to use it on your friends was just that — talk?”
“No, all that was true. The only area where I fibbed a little was in saying that I hadn’t brought it to Permovren.”
“Well, it would have been nice if you had told me the truth. Letting me walk around with it was like putting a target on my back.”
“It only made you a target if people knew you had it, and no one did,” Rune stated. “Do you remember when you first encountered the Kroten Yoso Va and touched it?”
“How could I forget? It barbecued my hands — punishment for grabbing it.”
Rune shook his head. “It wasn’t punishing you. It was forging you.”
I looked at him in confusion. “Forging me into what?”
“Keeper, of course,” Rune said matter-of-factly.
“Wait a minute,” I muttered, frowning. “Are you saying you selected me as Keeper back when I first touched the Kroten Yoso Va?”
Rune stared at me for a moment, then sighed. “I really haven’t done a great job of explaining this to you.”
“To be honest,” I countered, “you haven’t done any kind of job of explaining anything. In fact, if this were an actual job, you would have bombed the interview.”
“Well, let me provide some clarity,” he offered. “Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, Incarnates select the person to be Keeper — usually an individual with an advanced degree of mystical or magical knowledge.”
“And that hundredth time?” I asked.
“On that occasion, the Kroten Yoso Va makes the selection.”
“Hold on,” I said, blinking in bewilderment. “Are you trying to say that artifact somehow picked me to be Keeper?”
“I think it did more than that,” Rune stated.
“Like what?”
Rune appeared to reflect for a few seconds, then said, “As you can imagine, there are times when the Kroten Yoso Va is without a Keeper. For instance, if the Keeper dies and no successor is found.
There are also occasions when it’s simply been lost or misplaced. During those times, when it’s essentially homeless, the artifact can often be used by anyone who is well-versed in the mystic arts. But when you first came across it, the Kroten Yoso Va was in the hands of Diabolist Mage, who was — at best — a second-rate magician.”
“Yeah, but the Kroten Yoso Va helped him elevate his game,” I added, recalling how the artifact had allowed the Diabolist to cause destruction on an epic scale.
“That’s my point,” Rune stated. “The Diabolist wasn’t enough of an adept to be able to use the Kroten Yoso Va. It never should have worked for him.”
“So why did it?”
“Honestly, I think it was to get to you.”
My eyes bulged in surprise. “What?”
“Think about it. You came across the Kroten Yoso Va because you were trying to find out who was behind all of the wanton destruction taking place. If it hadn’t worked for the Diabolist, you wouldn’t even know it existed.”
“So it manipulated people and events in order to get what it wanted — a new Keeper.”
I felt myself growing angry. This was very similar to an experience I’d had with the other Triumvirate Relic I’d encountered — the Beobona — which had also seemingly influenced events in order to obtain a desired outcome. Needless to say, I didn’t like being maneuvered like a piece on a chessboard, feeling like my life wasn’t my own.
“You say ‘Keeper’ like it’s a bad word,” Rune noted, interrupting my thoughts. “Don’t you realize this is a rare and exceptional honor?”
“Ha!” I snorted derisively. “You’d feel differently if it was your life getting controlled, and your hands getting burned off.”
“I can assure you that your life is still your own,” Rune declared. “The Kroten Yoso Va won’t keep you from drinking and driving, picking up hitchhikers, or making a host of other poor decisions. In short, your life is still yours, and — just like everybody else — you still have the ability to screw it up in a million different ways.”
Not sure what to say, I merely grunted response.
“As to your hands getting burned,” he continued, “do you remember how they were restored to their normal condition?”
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