by Ian Somers
I could go north after Bentley and gain the revenge I desperately desired. I could go south to the Williams house, kill the girl who had disfigured me, then time-scan Williams who would know the addresses of all the leading members of the Guild. I would even find out the location of the notorious Palatium where the Council gathered. The same Council who had sent the assassins to kill me.
I drove out onto the narrow road and soon I reached a t-junction. Left would lead me to a motorway to the north. Right would take me to the south road. I spent five minutes pondering the dilemma before turning the bike and accelerating fast.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Knowledge
The clock on the centre of the dashboard read 4.30am and I was still wide awake. I should have been fighting to keep my eyes open, but my mind was too active with all that had happened to find sleep. Hunter’s speeding didn’t help either. We were travelling at over 120kmph on a narrow road in driving rain.
I watched the glistening road ahead clear every time the wipers squeaked across the windscreen only to be drowned by streams of rainwater again. It kept reminding me of what Zalech had done in Portsmouth. A clear road being destroyed by a wall of water. Dozens of people dead. I definitely would not have peace of mind until we got word from the Guild confirming his death. A part of me, though, doubted that word would come.
‘I have a real bad feeling about everything the Guild has planned, Hunter.’
‘Give it a rest, Bentley. I’ve told you four times since we left the house, I understand that you wanted to be the one to kill him, but it’s best to leave all this to the Guild! Sakamoto knows what he’s doing. He will not fail.’
‘I’m worried for Cathy. Really worried.’
‘She’ll be out of the country tomorrow so she’s the last person you need worry about.’
‘What if Golding was lying? What if Zalech wasn’t at that house? You know, the more I think about it the more I fear that Golding was tracing the call Mr Williams made and sent Zalech there.’
‘Shut up.’
‘No.’
‘You’re making me paranoid.’
‘Let’s go back, Hunter. Just to be certain. We can stay the rest of the night and leave for Scotland again tomorrow evening when we’re sure the others are completely safe.’
I knew Hunter hadn’t trusted Mr Williams’s plan right from the start, and he certainly hadn’t trusted what Golding had to say. It was written all over his face that he shared my fears for the others.
‘Come on, Hunter,’ I pleaded. ‘For the sake of a few hours. This could be something we’ll both regret for the rest of our lives. It’s too much to leave to chance.’
He lifted his foot off the accelerator and the car gradually slowed. He steered onto the side of the lane then brought the car to a stop.
‘Williams will think I’m a right tool.’ Hunter banged his head off the head-rest in frustration. ‘He’ll think I’m going soft in my old age!’
‘You know it’s the right thing to do.’
‘You’re starting to sound like an ol’ granny!’
‘You know it’s the most sensible thing to do.’
He turned the steering wheel and the car spun on the slick tarmac when he pressed his foot on the accelerator.
‘You better not be doing this just so you can cosy up to your sweetheart for one more night before the winter!’
We drove the quiet stretch of road for almost twenty minutes before I got a pang of anxiety in the pit of my stomach that instantly shot through my chest. It was my precognitive gift telling me danger was approaching.
‘Something’s not right,’ I breathed. ‘I’m sensing an attack.’
Before Hunter responded we both saw a single headlight in the distance. It was nothing more than a speck of light passing under the glow of the street lamps at first – it was travelling incredibly fast and within two seconds it was right on us. I caught just a glimpse of it as it approached and realised it was someone on a motorbike. That was all I registered before our car was struck by an invisible force.
The front of the car rose up then banked right and skidded across into the opposite lane. There was no way to alter its course and I watched helplessly as we left the road, careered into a lamp post then spun into a deep ditch on the edge of the road. There was a heavy thump as the car impacted the bottom of the ditch and then it rolled a number of times before finally coming to a rest.
I saw that the vehicle was an absolute wreck when I gathered my senses. Most of the windows were smashed or shattered and the doors were battered and had pushed in on me. I was relatively unharmed, probably because I released a lot of energy on the initial impact. It had protected me from the force, but my head was spinning and my ears ringing. I looked across at Hunter and saw that he hadn’t quite been so lucky. He was still fixed into the chair by the safety belt, there was blood on his face and his legs were crushed by the dashboard of the car that had been bent backwards when the front of the car hit the ditch. His head was slumped forward and his body was limp.
‘Hunter,’ I shouted as I shifted over to him. ‘Hunter, don’t you die on me!’
I grabbed his head and lifted it up, my hand searching under his jaw for a pulse. ‘Hunter, please!’
‘Bentley, get your damned paws off me!’ he said in a low and very angry voice. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘I thought you were dead.’
‘Well, I’m not.’ He tried to move – then let out a cry in agony. ‘Damn it! My legs are broken.’
‘I’ll get you out of here.’ I released the safety belt and used my powers to push the dashboard back off his legs. ‘You’ll be all right.’
‘Forget about me, you fool. That was Zalech on the motorbike. He’s going to kill both of us unless you get back on that road and fight him!’
‘Hunter, I can’t fight him. I can’t match his power.’
‘Bentley, get up there and fight him with everything you’ve got. It pains me more than my legs to say it, but I believe in you … just like Romand did.’
‘You hang on in there, Hunter.’
I turned and forced a pulse of energy out of my hands that bent the frame of the car out of my way. I stepped out onto the wet ground and took a deep breath before I clambered up the slope on all fours until I reached the roadside. Zalech was standing at the centre of the road, about ten metres away. He had his hands stuffed into his coat pockets and looked very calm. He watched me carefully as I paced into the road and faced him.
‘Like Lazarus of old he rises. I must hand it to you, Bentley,’ he said in that spine-chilling voice of his, ‘you are most difficult to kill.’
‘I intend to stay alive long enough to see you in the ground.’
‘The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,’ he tittered. ‘Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. How did you feel when you learned of your father’s death?’
‘The opposite of what I felt when I crushed the life out of your little sister.’
Zalech’s grin began to twitch and his face became taut with hatred.
‘And the opposite of what I felt when Sarah Fisher prophesised your death.’
‘You are a terrible liar, young man. I told you that the last time we met.’
‘See if I am lying now. Golding sold you out to us and when he did, he told us that there’s a drug in your body that’s nothing more than poison. You only have weeks to live. Even if you beat me – even if you beat the entire Guild – you’re a dead man walking. You can do nothing to prevent it.’
‘I am ahead of yet again, Bentley. I know all about the substance that flows in my veins and I know exactly how long I have left on this earth. I must take maximum pleasure from my final days.’ His hands came from his pockets and he took a couple of confident strides forward. ‘And nothing gives me more pleasure than killing.’
‘You don’t scare me.’
‘That is why you fail. Bentley, you should fear me. Instead you desired reve
nge and that is how I lured you out of hiding. It was easy enough. All I had to do was find something you cared for. You see, that which you love can always be used to destroy you. In your case, your love for your father.’
‘And you’ll pay for what you did to him.’
‘You are going to make me pay?’
‘Too right I am!’
‘I have my doubts,’ he said with a twisted smile. ‘I do not think you are powerful enough to represent a real challenge for me. Perhaps I am wrong.’ Zalech walked to the roadside and gazed down at the wrecked car. ‘Let us test your strength. To see if you are worthy of fighting me.’
He raised his hand above his head, turned to me and winked, then lowered his arm very slowly. As he did, the roof of the car drooped and the entire upper frame bent inward and threatened to crush the life out of Hunter.
I quickly summoned as much power as I could and concentrated on pushing the metal outward. There was a loud bang as the roof popped back out, then snapped back down as Zalech exerted more pressure through his psychokinesis. I pushed as hard as I could and so did he, but neither of us could gain a clear advantage over the other. I was under immense strain and Zalech had hardly flinched. He was so powerful – almost impossibly powerful – but I could not allow another mentor to die before my eyes. I refused to let him claim Hunter’s life and pressed every vestige of strength into keeping the roof from collapsing.
‘Getting tired?’ Zalech laughed. His crazed stare was fixed on me. It seemed so easy for him and I was practically exhausted. ‘You look like you are about to snap, Bentley.’
‘You’re just good at hiding the strain, Zalech. If you were able to overpower me you would have done it by now.’
He lowered his arm further and the car began to crumple like a paper cup. Panic flooded my senses and I was able to tap into a reserve of power that I did not know I had. The car was shaking and the bending metal cracked noisily, but still it did not fold. Hunter remained safe inside for the moment.
Zalech frowned and his nose wrinkled with the effort he was putting into the crush layer. It was the first time I’d seen him under pressure and it filled me with confidence.
‘Getting tired?’ I shouted to him and I managed a wink. ‘You look like you’re ready to snap, Zalech.’
‘Enough!’ He roared as he spun towards me. The car shook as the two opposing forces were released from it. Hunter was no longer in peril. It was now my turn to face Zalech’s wrath.
How would he attack? Which gift would he use? Should I go on the offensive? So many questions. No time for answers.
The raindrops above the road froze in mid-air. Then they moved lazily – some were lifted, others fell slowly – until they formed one thin level of water as far as I could see in all directions. A ceiling of water was above us and the man before me had total control over it. I would face his mageletonia first.
‘Oh, how I love the rain,’ he said.
I wasn’t waiting for him to make the first move and shot a psychokinetic bolt right at his face. Zalech raised his hands and created some form of shield that took the brunt of my attack, but he still slid a few metres backwards on his heels. I didn’t get disheartened and fired two slices at him. One at his upper body and another at his knees.
Zalech swung both his arms through the air and the road was torn to pieces in front of him as my attacks were deflected downward. I was relentless and shot a flurry of energy spears at him. The first few were deflected, but one clipped his arm and spun him fast through the air and the last hit him in the stomach and sent him skidding along the road.
I launched an outward wave as he picked himself off the ground and he was knocked onto his back once more. I sprinted forward and prepared for the kill … Then I was out-manoeuvred. The ceiling of water condensed into an enormous cube that completely surrounded Zalech. When I fired another bolt at him it simply rippled the surface of his liquid shield.
I could see Zalech within the cube, nothing more than a rippling shadow, and he was uninjured as he nimbly got to his feet. I backed away, not really understanding this gift that he had. I had no clue as to what he would do next, and very little idea on how to counter the mageleton gift. I remembered Hunter telling me that kinetic energy did not travel effectively through water which meant there was little chance of killing him while he was surrounded by so much of it. I would have to choose my moment carefully.
The cube rotated then broke down into a star shape that opened up like an accordion to reveal my enemy to the open air again. There was blood dripping from his mouth, but his grin remained and he appeared more confident than ever.
The water broke up into square sheets that revolved at different speeds and floated off the ground at varying levels. I was dazzled by the control he had over his gift, but tried my best to stay focused on him, knowing he was trying to distract me.
‘Beautiful, is it not?’
‘It would be if you didn’t use it to kill innocent people.’
‘Innocent people?’ he laughed. ‘Which of my victims was truly innocent?’
‘My father was.’
‘Your father allowed his only son to travel to a foreign land in search of riches. He thought more of wealth than of your wellbeing. He would still be alive if he had been more innocent.’
‘The reporters in the north-east!’
‘Vultures who used a disturbed child to gain profit. They deserved what they got.’
‘And the people who died just so you could prove that you could create tidal waves, did they deserve what they got?’
‘Some of them probably did. The others are simply victims of chance and of the aggressive nature of all men. I too am a victim of it, as are you. Neither of us should have become what we are now.’
‘You like what you are now, Zalech?’
‘Indeed I do.’
Suddenly the sheets of water combined above his head and formed a fast-spinning sphere that came hurtling at me. I tried to break it apart using my powers. I managed merely to dent it before it smashed into me. I was hit hard and rolled across the road. Before I could get my bearings I was consumed by the sphere of water and couldn’t catch a breath. My lungs began to burn and I released a wave, but the orb of liquid refused to release me. I shot out more energy in all directions – every time I created a hole in the sphere it was instantly flooded over and there was no way to find air. Panic set in as water crept into my nostrils and I drew as much energy from my surroundings as possible. I sent the energy out of my body in all directions and the sphere was blasted apart. Within seconds it began to reform around me; I was smart enough not to fight the weapon, but the person who wielded it. I focused on the panic and built up one immense shot at Zalech.
This time his armour didn’t help him much. His leg gave way under him and he howled in agony. I moved forward while he was down, determined to bring the battle to a conclusion. I was outsmarted yet again. The water that covered the road thickened beneath my feet and rose at a sharp angle and I slid to the side and came crashing down hard on my shoulder.
We both took some time to get to our feet. Zalech seemed worse off. He took longer to stand up and I noticed his left leg couldn’t bear much weight. I knew from experience that his physical injury would not impair his ability to control his gifts. Often, it seemed, the gifted were more dangerous when in physical pain.
‘Where’s that stupid grin of yours now, Zalech?’
‘Right here,’ he smiled. ‘This is more like the fight I expected in Portsmouth. To think, if you had been less of a coward that day you might have saved all those people. Does that bother you, Bentley? Or are you just like the rest of us messed up freaks who cannot feel for the normal folk?’
‘I won’t take the blame for what you did, Zalech. You did that all by yourself.’
‘You were afraid then like you are afraid now. You should have shown your anger and you might have saved them. And you might have saved your friends who died tonight. Anger will not be enough to
save you. You see, it is knowledge that you lack.’ He raised his arms above his head. ‘Knowledge is king, Bentley, and you do not know enough!’
Waves rose on either side of the road and came crashing down on me. I was thrown up into the air then hit the road with a heavy thump. Another wave smashed me in the face and flew backward only to be hit from the side and I skidded across the road. I lashed out with my psychokinesis wildly, in the hope that it would stop the constant attacks, but I was lashed from above and almost lost consciousness. I could not take another blow to the head and fired one desperate bolt at my enemy.
I saw Zalech collapse to the ground and I staggered forward and hit him with a direct, though weak, attack. He fell back, then countered and knocked me in the ribs with a psychokinetic blast.
He had an answer for my every move. Maybe he was right. Maybe I simply did not have the knowledge to contend with him. What did I know that someone like him did not …?
Then it came to me. There was one thing that I could do. Something that Zalech had never heard of before, because I was the only one who could do it. I was the one who invented it.
I created a large reverse-dual-shield. It was dome-shaped and spanned a twenty-metre diameter. It would allow any object to pass inside it, but nothing would escape it. Zalech hadn’t noticed what I’d done and taunted me from the opposite side of the road. He was totally unaware that I was shrinking the shield around us both. Rain was pounding down and entering the dome and as it became smaller, the water level began to rise. I intended to drown Zalech.
The dome got smaller and smaller and the water was up to our knees. Zalech used his power to chase it away from himself – that would not be enough to save him. The shield just got smaller and the water rose higher.
‘You said you always loved the rain, Zalech. Be careful about what you love because it can be used to destroy you – your own words.’
I released the shield for an instant – no more than a fraction of a second. It was just long enough for me to escape. Once outside I hastened the shrinking of the dome. Within seconds Zalech was up to his chest in rain water. Panic was etched into his ghostly countenance as the true horror of his situation dawned on him. He was about to meet the fate that he had inflicted on so many others. I shrank the invisible sphere quickly and the water passed over his face and he began to thrash wildly. His arms pounded at the shield and his legs kicked in a futile attempt to free himself. Not even Zalech, with all his powers, with all his anger and hate could break this new and obscure form of psychokinesis that I had stumbled on by accident while training alone.