by S. M. Welles
Daio slowed to a walk when he smelled the aroma of beer and heard the din of a bustling restaurant. He followed his nose and ears around the next corner, down a wide half-flight of stairs, and then took a right through a varnished wooden doorway. A bar packed full of casually dressed people presented itself, everyone inside smiling, chatting, drinking and getting in a late night dinner. Daio strolled deeper into the bar and scanned the multitude of patrons for a place to sit and have a drink.
He spotted two women leaning against a thick wooden beam as heavily varnished as the entrance. Both held a glass of wine, but Daio’s attention was drawn more to the taller woman on the left, the one with the long wavy red hair, ice-blue eyes and voluptuous figure. She wore a black satin dress that clung to her tantalizing curves. The Aigis passed his fingers through his gelled hair to make sure it was still spiked forward, then fastened half the buttons on his shirt.
Upon fastening the last button, he recalled why Aerigo was headed for Phaedra. It was a laughably simple reason, yet practical and important: the girl needed durable attire best suited for an Aigis’ dangerous life. He smiled, then put on his charm so he could properly celebrate his successful eavesdropping.
* * *
Seated in a booth, Daio was still in the middle of flirting with the red-haired woman when he heard Nexus’ voice sound in his head. He flinched.
“Daio, your Elves have arrived on my realm. Come.”
“Can’t it wait a few minutes?” Knowing his request would be denied anyway, the Aigis reluctantly hoisted himself from the booth.
“Can’t what wait?” the woman asked.
“What for?” Nexus said. “You’re due for another report as it is.”
“I’m—” Daio gazed at the woman, who’d already agreed they could go back to her cabin in a bit. “I just have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
“The bathroom?” Nexus said. “What kind of lousy excuse is that?”
The Aigis scowled as he hurried toward the bathroom sign posted near the ceiling by the entrance. His master was fully aware of what had been transpiring right before he contacted him. Daio zipped inside and hid in the far stall. He spun around and grabbed at the metal walls for support. His vision turned into a blur of black and white right before he felt his physical body sag. A second later he felt like he got caught in a wind tunnel.
A shiny floor bore into focus, lit by an eerie amber glow. Nexus’ palace. Daio shook out his transparent wrists and got to his feet. He stood mere feet from the throne, Nexus standing beside it. A quick mental scan confirmed Kara’s absence. Disappointing.
“What’s with the frown? You should be happy. I’m about to make your task easier.”
“Nothing, Master.”
Nexus looked to his right and waved someone to approach with a cupped hand. Five figures filed into the vaulted hall.
Daio recognized all of them. They were Vancor’s Elves. Acquaintances from a few missions many, many years ago. All five of them were tall, pale skinned, and lean, wore uniform black cloaks that reached down to their calves and had throw-over hoods. Their black hair fell just past their shoulders and got lost in the darkness of their cloaks. The Elves also wore black leather jerkins embroidered with a flame pattern, black cotton pants tucked inside black leather boots. The shins of their boots were guarded by elongated flat skulls with what looked like the jaw of an oversized scarab beetle, it’s white pincers ending just above their ankles.
The five lined up with their arms poised at their sides, revealing polished twin hilts, also black, flanking their hips. They gazed at Daio with an air of recognition.
Nexus positioned himself in front of his throne but remained standing with his arms clasped behind his back. “So tell me, Daio, have you gleaned where your quarry plans to head next?”
Daio dropped his master’s gaze to the Elves’ boots. It would trash his own agenda if he mentioned Phaedra. Nexus would deduce that Aerigo was training the girl. His master didn’t want another threat in the making. Daio concentrated on the truth that he didn’t know where on Phaedra Aerigo planned to travel and held the young god’s gaze again. “I don’t know yet, Master. However, I do know we’ll be spending a few more days on Earth.” Phailon. That’s it… Now I remember.
Nexus contemplated his words, then glanced at the Elves.
“All I’ve discovered is that they’re headed for an extended reality rift so they can world-hop off the planet.”
“Ah, a rift,” the young god murmured.
“At the moment, I have plenty of time to learn what Baku’s plans are for the girl. I can follow them through the rift if I have to.”
Nexus’ eyes narrowed. Had he already figured out he’d been lied to? Gods were near impossible to lie to.
“Have you ever encountered an extended reality rift before?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure.”
“And how would you plan to follow them once they leave Earth via the rift?”
“Their world-hop trail, of course,” Daio said with a shrug.
“You’re awfully confident about that.”
Was that reproach or a tone that hinted at suspicion of hiding something? Daio felt his body tense. He unmade his fists and relaxed his shoulders, even though he just wanted to get as far away from this realm as possible.
“I’m not sure whether you realize it or not,” Nexus began in a tight voice, “but such rifts don’t adhere to the normal rules of extended reality. They’re nothing but chaos and often very unreliable. Your ability to follow Aerigo’s world-hop trail will be almost nonexistent.”
The Elves stirred in alarm at mention of Aerigo’s name but dropped into silence when Nexus shot a glare at them.
“I refuse to rely on your abysmal luck, Daio, so you have only two options. One: find out where exactly they’re headed so there aren’t any costly detours in your travels.” Nexus paused, as if trying to read Daio’s thoughts. “Or two: kill either Aerigo or the girl before they reach the rift. I’d prefer you’d take down Aerigo; it would be more satisfying. However, my father seems to be putting an equal amount of weight on the girl. So kill her if you’re not feeling too confident. It should be enough. No Aigis alone stands a chance against me.
“But let me ask you one question, Daio.”
“Yes?” If it came down to slaying one or the other, he’d lose to Aerigo. Horribly.
“What chance do you think there is that your quarry would conveniently divulge his travels plans for you to overhear?”
The odds were abysmal. Phaedra was great news for his abandoned goal, yet only the beginning of bad news for his master. Roxie would become as powerful as Aerigo, given enough time. That’s exactly what Daio needed to let happen and exactly what Nexus needed to stop from happening.
“I can tell by the look on your face that you already know the answer.”
Daio nodded. The last thing his master wanted was to lose track of his biggest threat.
“I command you to kill one or the other. Kill them both if you can. If you kill the girl first, Aerigo might become too stricken with defeat to defend himself. Don’t return until the deed is done.”
“Yes, Master.” The Aigis lowered his gaze and bowed stiffly. He knew from experience his former friend would grow exponentially more dangerous if he killed the girl.
“You are dismissed.”
Daio felt the propelling motion overcome him as his spirit flew back to his body, and then cold metal chilling his right cheek. His whole body jerked and he accidentally kicked the stall door. Back on the ship. He peeled his face from the stall divider and sat upright. How much time had gone by? Most likely enough to fall out of that babe’s favor. He left the bathroom and found the lady in black waiting outside the entrance with her arms folded and a thoughtful pout on her high cheekbone face. Her eyes widened.
“For a moment I thought you were trying to ditch me,” she said.
“Never.” Daio’s put on his most seductive smile as he put one arm
around her back and the other under her knees. He lifted her into his arms and she interlaced her fingers behind his neck. “Which way, hot stuff?” He’d worry about murder in the morning.
Chapter 11
Choices
Daio stared down the massive turbine connected to the cruise ship’s propeller, the shaft spinning steadily under its oily sheen. The engine room felt like a sauna, and the din of all those pumping gears and combusting fuel made it hard to think. But Daio had to think. Once he acted on his choice, there was no reversing it.
In truth, he had no choice. Nexus was a god, his master. Daio was an Aigis, a slave to his master. Free will no longer existed once the master gave his slave a command. It was the only drawback to being an Aigis. And now slave him had to kill the one person he never wanted to kill: Aerigo. Even though they didn’t get along anymore, it wasn’t reason enough to get murderous over.
There was no loophole in Nexus’ orders. “Kill either Aerigo or the girl.” Or both. Daio punched one of the tanks feeding diesel fuel to the injectors and left his fist inside the dent.
It just wasn’t fair. This wasn’t how things were supposed to unfold. Daio punched the tank with his other first, then heard some voices comment on two bangs they’d heard. Daio repeatedly punched the tank until he made a hole in it the size of his head, and he had to hop out of the way of the spewing fuel. He turned his attention to the cylinders and began ripping them out one by one, each taking as much effort to dislodge as if he were landing a big, big fish.
A siren went off and the lights started fading in and out as they interchanged between shining red and white. Daio climbed the bus-sized engine, poised himself in front of the turbine, then started kicking the shaft with the heel of his boot. The shaft screeched and whined, and sent sparks into the leaking fuel, which ignited. Two more kicks and the shaft snapped. Daio hopped down and pushed the shaft’s free end into the rest of the engine, creating more sparks, along with a series of ear-splitting thumps against the stern’s hull. And then water began pouring in the gash the propeller made. The ship listed.
* * *
Roxie woke as she was bodily flung from the love seat and into the coffee table. The wooden piece of furniture collapsed under her weight, and she rolled into the wall. The tumble didn’t hurt, but that and the ship’s alarm sure were a rude awakening.
Aerigo rushed to her side and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Never been woken up like this before.” She picked up the blanket that had been placed over her sometime during the night, then noticed that the floor was sloping down towards the patio. “Holy crap; we’re listing!” Even with the history of the Titanic, it was still hard to fathom a ship so big losing its balance.
“Towards port,” Luis said, getting off the floor, his hair disheveled. He retrieved his cell phone from the nightstand between beds and picked a speed dial number. “Anna, get Jake and yourself ready to abandon ship if we have to.” His voice was calm, assertive and worried.
“No,” Aerigo said, standing. “Stay aboard. Bring someone who can lead me to the engine room.”
“What do you mean?” Luis lowered the phone as his wife ushered their son into the bathroom.
“Just call someone now!”
Luis pressed a button, chose a different speed dial number, then, over the alarm’s racket, ordered a crewman up to their cabin. A minute later, a disgruntled crewman wearing a PFD entered their suite.
Aerigo bent over his backpack, pulled out his dagger and strapped it to his left biceps. “Rox, stay here. Daio’s somehow managed to get on this ship. He’s trying to slow us down again.”
“Great!” she said sarcastically.
“Stay alert.” Aerigo told the crewman to lead the way and together they hurried out the suite.
Since Roxie had gotten a whopping three hours of sleep last night, staying alert wasn’t much of an option, even with Daio about. How the heck would he find her out of the zillion people on this ship anyway? She stepped out onto the balcony and lay down on one of the beach chairs. The air felt refreshing. The breeze gave it a bite, making it just right for resting, and it gave her a chance to wake up gradually--well, as gradually as the stupid alarm would allow.
Roxie woke again feeling completely groggy. Her eyes felt heavy with sleep and refused to open right away. None of her limbs wanted to respond either. She had to wiggle and flex each one before she was able to flop into a sitting position on the beach chair.
Roxie yawned for what felt like five minutes, stretched and lazily opened her eyes.
Daio sat perched atop the balcony’s railing with his elbows propped on his bent knees, and mischievous eyes staring intently at her. “It’s about time you woke up. I’ve been here a whole five minutes now.”
Roxie felt quite awake. “Get too close and I’ll kick you again,” she warned in a low breath. As much as she wanted to scream for Aerigo, wherever he was by now, she didn’t want to inadvertently pull Luis and his family into whatever danger she’d been pulled into.
“Oh, getting brave are we?” Daio said. “Don’t get too comfortable. I have come to kill you.”
Roxie’s stomach churned. “Then why am I still alive?”
“Three reasons,” Daio said. “One: I believe you deserve a death more noble than strangulation in your sleep. Either that, or I just wanted to prove to you that you’re no match for me. Our first meeting in that city injured my pride.
“Two: I want to get away with my own life. You see, I’ve discovered our inability to bodily leave this planet. This rift we’re headed to will up my chances of escaping a certain someone’s revenge—oh, and I heard about your planned trip to Phaedra. So I know what Aerigo’s planning.” He plucked at metal bands around his thighs identical to the ones Aerigo wore. “These things somehow still work, but now’s probably a good time to replace them.” He propped his elbows upon his knees and looked seriously at her. “But anyway: the third and most important reason you’re still alive is because your death would be inconvenient to me. For the time being.”
“Then why not just let me live?”
“Master’s orders,” the Aigis said, drooping his shoulders. “I would like to wait until we reach the rift, but then Nexus would get suspicious of the delay. So, as I see it right now, if you live, then I definitely die. But if you die, then I might live. I was going to have to kill you eventually for the sake of my master’s grand plans. I’ve worked too hard and long to see them fail. Your existence throws a wrench in things. But, when I discovered you were an Aigis, I knew what would come to pass one day. Your existence has presented me with an opportunity I’ve been waiting a very, very long time for.”
“Opportunity?”
Daio leaned closer and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “No point in telling you since you regrettably won’t live to experience it.”
He hopped off the railing and stood at the foot of Roxie’s beach chair.
Roxie tried to hold a brave face as she cowered lower in her chair, but she could feel the telltale heat in her sockets. She was in no position to defend herself, yet she still couldn’t bring herself to yell for help. Daio held his arms at his sides as he made and unmade fists.
Daio held his hands still. “I really wish I could have waited to kill you. If it had been anything but a rift I had to follow you through...”
“You can pretend to have killed me,” Roxie said wanly.
The Aigis thought for a second. “As clever as that plan is, I’d never be able to successfully lie to Nexus about it. So,” he continued casually, “when my boss says ‘It’s time to kill,’ it’s time to kill. I promise to make this as painless as possible.”
At that moment the patio door slammed open and glass shattered.
Roxie flinched. A furious Aerigo was standing in the doorway with eyes blazing red. He clenched the snapped frame in one powerful hand. In the other: his dagger. His arms were smeared with what looked like oil.
“Morning, princess,” Daio sa
id. “Did you enjoy my distraction? Roxie and I were having such a nice little chat.” He backed to the railing.
“Rox, go inside,” Aerigo said in a dangerous tone, then lunged at Daio.
Before Roxie could leave her chair, Daio yelled a commanding word and a fireball erupted from an outstretched palm. The fireball exploded in Aerigo’s face, causing him to do a full-body flinch. Black smoke engulfed his head, then rose into the air and dissipated. Aerigo wiped soot from his eyes with his free hand.
Roxie had every intention of following Aerigo’s command now that she’d forced herself to get over the shock of having watched someone conjure a fireball out of nothing. Daio lunged for her as she swung her legs over the side of her chair. Aerigo lunged and caught him by the neck, and Daio’s clawing hands fell short of her exposed arm. Something nailed her in the back of her head and her whole body somersaulted onto the glass-covered deck as her vision blotted with fuzzy stars. Her rolling was brought to a halt by the other beach chair and the patio table, which toppled into the railing. She clamped the back of her head with both hands and, using her legs, sat up. Some of the sharp debris stuck to her skin, but nothing cut her. Roxie squinted open her eyes, blood pounding like a drummer’s mallet trying to crack her skull, and watched the two men fight, feeling too dizzy to stand.
Aerigo still held Daio by the throat in one hand. His dagger hand was poised within inches of Daio’s forehead, staved off by his struggling grip, who then swept one of Aerigo’s feet out from under him. They both twisted and fell next to each other with a heavy thud. Daio peeled himself from Aerigo’s grip, surged to his feet and lunged at Roxie.
Rolling to his stomach, Aerigo discarded his dagger and caught Daio by both ankles, causing him to belly flop with a thud. Glass scattered. Aerigo surged to his feet and yelled, “Chac!” as he clapped his hands together. A bolt of lightening erupted from his fingertips and exploded on Daio’s back. The patio vibrated under the power of the detonation and Daio cried out in pain. Aerigo grabbed Daio’s ankles and dragged him away from Roxie.