No Darker Fate

by John Corwin

  "Where is he?" Kate asked, her voice quavering.

  Phillip scoured the small area. His eyes darkened and focused on Lucas. "He's in the Blight!"

  "Impossible."

  Lucas ran. Phillip was on him in a second and grabbed him from behind, dragged him back down the stairs. Lucas spun, grabbed Phillip, and flung him across the room against the cage. His body clanged against the bars. Lucas looked at Kate. He couldn't let her hook into his mind again. He grabbed her glowing form off the floor, and smashed her against the bars until she was a bloody mess. Suddenly she vanished from his grip and reappeared on the floor without a mark on her.

  Phillip pushed himself off the floor and smiled with bloodstained teeth. "She's not in the Blight. You can't harm her."

  Lucas looked for the white scar to take him back to Normal. Instead, he found a black scar in the air, slipped through it. Kate stared up at him, her eyes wide with fear. Pain spiked into Lucas's head. He staggered back.

  "Get him," Kate said.

  Phillip charged out of thin air as he exited the Blight and rammed his shoulder into Lucas's stomach. Lucas's feet slid against the floor until they found purchase. He stopped Phillip's push, upended him, and dropped him head-first on the floor. Lucas darted at Kate. Another mental jolt from her seemed to split his skull. He staggered. Fell against the wall. Phillip rolled to his knees, groaning. Lucas kicked him out of the way and charged up the stairs.

  The two men who'd put Lucas in his cell earlier burst through the door at the top of the stairs and raced toward him. Lucas tried to bull past but they plowed into him and the three of them tumbled down the stairs. At the bottom, Phillip helped the two men pin Lucas. They jerked him up and braced him against the wall. One of the men produced an ender and tried to wedge it under Lucas's arm. Lucas squeezed his arms to his body. The other men pried at it. They slowly forced his arm away from his ribs.

  Another Blight scar hung in the air before Lucas's nose. He couldn't reach for it. He roared. Pushed out with all his might. The men stumbled back just a hair, but it was enough. Lucas dove into the open scar. He shoved past his abductors' glowing bodies and ran up the stairs. Phillip shouted something. Lucas looked back. The three men were after him again, and none were glowing. Now he understood the significance of the glow. No glow meant they were in the Blight with him.

  Lucas barged through the door. Several glowing Scions were standing in the cabin, milling around and talking. Phillip started to glow again. He shouted at the other Scions. Their glows melted away as they entered the Blight. Their eyes locked on him. Lucas raced outside. Pounding footsteps sounded behind him. One of the seekers, a chubby man, appeared in his path. They were hopping past him. Lucas lowered his shoulder and slammed the man. The chubby seeker flew back into a tree. Bones crunched. The man screamed. More seekers hopped in front of Lucas. He dodged left through the thick woods and exited the Blight.

  Fixing his eyes on a mound of dirt next to a large tree fifty yards away, Lucas hopped. He landed atop the dirt, stumbled, and nearly fell. After recovering, he transferred back to Normal and hopped again.

  Shouts came from ahead and either side. Static buzzed in his ears, his head. The edge of the forest appeared in the distance. Lucas tried to open a scar to the Blight, but the buzzing in his head ratcheted up. He couldn't concentrate. His shoulder clipped a sapling with a cracking sound. He rebounded against another tree and fell, plowing into the leafy forest floor.

  Gathering every ounce of concentration, he blocked the buzzing in his skull. A white dot formed in the air and raced to the ground like a zipper. Lucas crawled inside. The buzzing vanished. Amber rays of sunlight laced the Blight's dusty air. Withered, decaying trees rattled like skeletons in a light breeze that swirled the dust and raked the leaves. The edge of the forest was lost in the haze. Footsteps echoed from all directions. Voices shouted, coming closer.

  The Blight protected him from the arbiter, apparently. She'd been responsible for the buzzing in his head. Could she follow him inside and attack him again? At this point, Lucas didn't know what to do. He couldn't hope to outdistance so many Scions, all with far more experience than he had. Executors, seekers, and arbiters in combination were too much. He needed help.

  An eerie laugh sounded behind him. Lucas flinched and turned. A black bird sat atop a scraggly tree branch, its head cocked to one side.

  "Lucas," it said, drawing out the vowels.

  "Help."

  The bird laughed again and took wing.

  "Over here," someone shouted.

  Dry leaves crunched. Black seams opened the air around Lucas. Scions emerged, forming a loose circle. No hope. No escape. Lucas roared and charged the nearest Scions. Three of them, two men and a woman, grouped together. A burst of energy flowed into Lucas and he met them with a flurry of blows. He knocked one man to the ground. Punched the next in the chest. The man smacked into a tree and went limp. The woman dived away in a blur of speed.

  Lucas found a black seam and entered Normal. Almost immediately he felt the charged mental probe from Kate settle into him. His strength waned. His mind scrambled. One last hop, anywhere away from here. He had to do it. Laughter floated over his head. The bird glided a few feet above.

  "Lucas," it said.

  Lucas scrambled from the forest. He was at the edge of a plateau on a mountain. Looking as far into the distance as he could, he focused. Pain lanced through his head and he lost the image.

  "Lucas, come," the bird said, circling above. "Come forever."

  An unforgettable scene appeared in Lucas's mind. A scene permanently etched by agony and sorrow. It superimposed itself over the image of the distant horizon as Lucas reached for the Blight scar and Kate's mind scream obliterated his concentration. The world lurched. Guts twisted. Mind scattered. A deep boom echoed through the Blight. The sonic wave formed a temporary sphere of dust-free air.

  Lucas fell to his knees and dry-heaved. The second heave produced a trickle of saliva. His hands gripped the damp brown grass. Something familiar perked his senses. He looked ahead. His nose nearly brushed a cracked marble headstone. Gray moss and grime coated the chiseled letters. He pulled himself into Normal. The marble headstone glistened in the clear air.

  He'd only been here twice and could never bring himself to return. The sight of his parents' headstones, however, was burned into his mind like the afterimage of the sun.

  Lucas touched the headstones and cried out.

  Chapter 26

  The room in the Transcendists' underground dorm Andre had given Alexia was spartan but functional. A new laptop, Internet connection, and a well-stocked fridge came included. The other Scions that lived there shared a community kitchen and bath. Andre felt it best she stay a while to become accustomed to her newfound abilities and acquaintances.

  In the meantime, Alexia had discovered a lot about Lucas Fowler. Using her FBI clearance she'd downloaded a small file on him and discovered other vital data from various government agencies. With her extra sense as a guide, she gave Andre a series of locations to stake out.

  Lucas's story was depressing to say the least. His family had been slaughtered by a home invader almost exactly a year ago. In many cases, the term "slaughtered" might be an overstatement. Not true, here. The intruder had mangled his parents' bodies in horrific ways. He'd slammed Lucas into the wall and floor so hard, that it'd killed him. The paramedics didn't know how they'd revived him. They'd given him CPR, tried defibrillators, and been just about ready to declare him dead when he started breathing again on his own. Even more troubling was Lucas's sister. They'd found minute quantities of her blood at the scene, but no body. The final report concluded she'd been killed but the culprit had taken her body with him. He'd vanished and the crime was unsolved.

  Alexia looked again at the crime scene photos. After the brutal murders of the past few days, these gruesome pictures hardly fazed her. She stopped at the pictures of his parents again and felt her mouth drop open. This was familiar. Too familia
r. She pulled up the photos from the morgue and compared them. The level of strength required to maim the bodies so thoroughly could only be done by a Scion. Or a ghoul. Was there a connection?

  At this point it didn't matter. Finding Lucas was the top priority. The details of his family's destruction could be parsed out later.

  After the murders, Lucas had dropped completely off the radar, leaving his job, his parents' house that he'd inherited, and all other friends behind. Two of Lucas's former friends that Alexia had interviewed both indicated that he'd developed an irrational fear of death. A fear so deep that he'd become a hermit. Grocery store and credit card records indicated that he'd had everything delivered to his apartment. The number of locks on his apartment doors highlighted how rarely he'd left his self-imposed prison.

  The irony of the situation stung even Alexia. To have such a fear of dying only to become a tool of death seemed cruel. Andre and Marissa insisted that execution was a necessary punishment even if Lucas was an unwilling participant in the murders and creation of the ghouls. They considered him corrupted beyond redemption.

  As she thought about him, needles pricked up her spine. Images flashed through her mind. A man kneeling before headstones. A black bird laughing. Ghouls appearing from thin air. A battle. The headstones reeled closer in nauseating jerks. She saw the engraved names. Clouds swept into view.

  Alexia's vision blurred and her head ached. A trickle of liquid dribbled over her lip. She touched her fingers to it and saw blood. She stood and almost toppled over. Hand against the wall, she steadied herself. The nosebleed stopped. Ever since Andre had attuned her, her extra sense seemed out of whack. Whenever she felt the tingle, hallucinations followed. This had been the clearest of them all.

  The names on the headstones remained sharp in her mind. James Fowler. Libby Fowler. Lucas's parents.

  "My God," Alexia said. Scanning the data, she found the cemetery in which they were interred. She rushed from her room, down the hall to the conference room.

  "Slow down," someone said from ahead.

  Alexia stopped as Marissa appeared around the corner.

  "You were about to run into me."

  "How?" Alexia shook her head. The arbiter had sensed her coming. "I have important information."

  Marissa took her by the hand and led her to the conference room. Andre, Thomas, and a group of people she didn't recognize looked up at them.

  "Tell us," Marissa said, walking to stand behind Andre's chair.

  "Andre, did you station people in all the places I suggested?" Alexia asked.

  "Yes."

  "I need everyone to go to Silent Acres cemetery." Andre's laptop was hooked into the room's projector. She located the coordinates on Google maps.

  Andre raised an eyebrow. "What new information do you have?"

  "I know he's there or will be soon."

  "How?"

  She wasn't sure anyone would believe her. Then again, being what they were, how could they not? "I saw things happen in my mind."

  Marissa put a hand to her heart. "You what?"

  Andre stood and took Alexia's hands in his. "Are you certain? Tell me exactly what you saw."

  She described it the best she could, leaving out her own physical aftermath, the bleeding nose and headache.

  A petite blonde at the other end of the table stood. "I told you it was happening again."

  A man next to her groaned. "Don't bring up that superstitious Cross crap again."

  Marissa came to Alexia's side. "Nobody jump to conclusions. Let's see if this pans out."

  A nervous jab bit into Alexia's stomach. Maybe she'd hallucinated. Maybe Andre would put all his people on it only to discover it was her imagination.

  Andre turned to Marissa. "Notify the task force. We'd better keep Mikhail in the loop."

  Marissa nodded. Her eyes lost focus for a few seconds. "They're on the way. We going?"

  "Yes." Andre motioned Thomas over. "How's her hopping?"

  "A little rough, but she's a fast learner."

  Andre turned to Alexia. "Do you want to hop or have Thomas take you?"

  "I can do it," she said.

  The others at the table were already filing out. Alexia followed Thomas up the stairs and to the roof of the small theatre. Dusk had settled in but the day's heat hadn't lifted. The black tar on the roof stuck to her shoes. She was roasting, even in shorts and a sleeveless top. Thomas joined hands with Marissa and Andre then hopped. Alexia fixed on their spot and followed.

  By the time they arrived, the task force along with Mikhail and several of his people had gathered at the edge of the cemetery. He looked at her with his cool blue eyes and gave a slight nod. Alexia shivered. Power and assurance seemed to flow from the man. Andre gave off the opposite vibe. He was loud and bombastic whereas Mikhail's cool demeanor exuded confidence. She felt a twinge of fear when he looked her way. Then again, he could be screwing with her mind.

  Nearly everyone had their eyes focused on the graveyard, namely a tall oak in the center. A solitary figure knelt before two headstones. Alexia used one of her new abilities. She magnified her view of the lone person, zooming her sight like a camera lens. It was Lucas. His face was wet and flushed. He clutched his hands to his stomach like he was about to sick up.

  "Surround him, but don't go in until I send the signal," Andre said, keeping his voice lower than usual.

  A whisper of static brushed Alexia's hair and an image of the desired pattern formed in her mind. She realized with a start that Andre had connected to everyone on his team and transmitted the image.

  Mikhail apparently instructed his people to do the same without speaking, for they vanished as they hopped to their positions shortly before the Transcendists followed suit. Alexia noted there were very few arbiters present besides Andre, Marissa, and Mikhail. There were about half as many executors as seekers. Thomas had told her the vast majority of Scions were seekers. He'd shown her how to tell the classes apart from their auras in the Blight although it really hadn't been necessary. She could feel the auras as much as see them, though Thomas hadn't understood what she meant by that when she tried to explain. As of late, she'd also experienced odd sensations when talking with some Scions who were being particularly emotional. One young female seeker had furiously described what had to be done about Lucas, and Alexia could have sworn she felt waves of heat radiating from her.

  Something black fluttered down from the oak tree towering over Lucas and landed on the headstone before Lucas. The same petite blonde seeker who'd been so outspoken in the conference room gasped.

  "It's happening again. Freaking Cross. You guys didn't believe me but the pieces fit."

  Andre shushed her. "Concentrate on the here and now, Lucinda."

  "Are we going to mind-lock him?" she asked.

  Andre's focus had shifted back to Lucas and he let her question lapse without response. Marissa took Lucinda by the arm and led her away. Alexia found herself alone with Andre.

  "Who's Cross?"

  Andre's cheek twitched, but he didn't answer.

  Another black bird landed on the headstone. Then another. And another. Alexia looked at the oak tree. She didn't see any birds perched on it. But more drifted down from the tree, like it was giving birth to them. The birds took up residence on the headstones surrounding Lucas. He seemed oblivious.

  "Where the hell are all those birds coming from?"

  Now, Andre said in Alexia's mind.

  Two dozen Scions burst from the air around Lucas. Voices shouted in the distance. The birds rose in a black cloud and circled. Alexia heard a loud commotion as hundreds of voices began to speak at once in a chant. She wondered why the Scions would start chanting. Was it a part of some bizarre ceremony they hadn't told her about? The tight noose of Scions drew even tighter around their prey. Eerie laughter rose and fell. The strange chant echoed through the graveyard. Alexia realized with a start that the birds were the ones speaking.

  Lucas jerked from his reverie. H
e leapt to his feet as the bedlam shocked him back to reality. He seemed disoriented, dizzy. He ran toward a group of encroaching Scions and leapt, sailing several feet over them. His leg hit a headstone on the way down. The headstone toppled and Lucas tumbled, crashing into another tall marble headstone which cracked in half. The birds dispersed in all directions. One flew overhead calling Andre's name.

  The pursuers recovered and hopped into positions around Lucas. Lucas vanished. The chase abruptly stopped, as seekers blurred into his last location and milled about in confusion.

  "What the hell?" Andre said.

  Alexia shifted her view into the Blight. Glowing Scions dotted the cemetery. A few yards away, a dark figure scurried down a row of graves toward the stone wall that bordered the place. "He's in the Blight," she said.

  Andre relayed her message to the others. Seekers joined hands with executors and shifted into the Blight. Lucas was running for all he was worth. Judging from a slight limp and the strain in the side of his face she could see, he looked nearly done for. He was filthy and his clothes were tattered. What had happened to him?

  "Take me over there," Andre said, pointing to the opposite edge of the cemetery.

  Alexia took his hand and hopped them over. Lucas, still in the Blight, was coming right for them.

  A sonic boom rippled across the cemetery. Headstones toppled. The wind blew Alexia's hair straight back. Three ghouls appeared from a massive scar in the Blight and ran for Lucas. He stumbled, clenching his stomach and gagging but somehow recovered. He looked at Alexia and Andre ahead, the task force behind him, and the ghouls encroaching from his left. The ghouls still wore their original attire, festooned with blood, human remains, and God only knew what else.