by GX Knight
“Well, I figured all you Elves had some kind of elemental shtick you rocked. It wasn’t hard to tell which end of the thermometer each of you land.”
She shook her head. “I suppose in other parts of the world there are those Elves who might. They are few and far between. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of us still able to trace our Elvish roots are born Fire-Wielders. Kata is a genetic anomaly that happens once every couple of generations. She’s an outcast from our people. If our parents hadn’t been so high up on the Fire Elf food chain, she would have been abandoned, or killed, when it was discovered that she was an Iceling. Because our parents are big-shots in the Amalgam technological world, she was allowed to remain, in solitude.
“It was hard for her. She was constantly picked on and made fun of. She was never allowed to be a part of anything outside basic studies. People treated her like a plague carrier. Despite her aptitude that helps make things like you possible, she was constantly ridiculed.”
My head dropped, heavy with sickening realization, “And I acted just like her tormentors back in the training studio the other night.” My hand covered my mouth as I thought about what a jerk I had been, “I didn’t know.”
Sway thought it was funny, “Oh, don’t worry. She’s tough. She’ll likely be over it by the time we get back, but you hit a little too close to home. I think she was just surprised. She sees you as someone safe to be around. I guess she’s getting attached to the idea of having you with us… especially after Maeve ditched out. She’s got this crazy idea that we’re kind of becoming like a big family, and you just gave her a small reason to doubt that.
“If I were you, I would pick out a damn good apology gift. She’s a sucker for presents. You probably won’t have to worry about reprisal, but then again, you may want to check your underwear drawer for rhino-crabs… And those aren’t found on the beach, by the way.”
I shuttered, and made a huge mental note to do laundry… with fire… when we got back. “And so that’s how you two became joined at the hip. I had wondered.”
She nodded, “That’s a long story by itself. We both helped each other make it through some rough times. But yeah, we were all the other had. Our parents were way too busy running the Marauder-Isota Tech Empire to be worth a damn to us. Plus, her parents were completely ashamed of her, and after I started spending time with her, mine began feeling the same way about me. They still loved us, but when we decided to leave, both sets were more than happy to let us go. Now, they just send us whatever we want so that we’ll stay away, and trust me when I say, we take full advantage of their shame.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“Don’t worry, it works for us.”
That explained a lot about the girls. I had envied them since we first met. They had anything and everything they wanted, and to excess. Now, I wasn’t so sure all the money, clothes, toys, and gadgets would be worth the price. It was no surprise to me either that Largo had taken on something of a parenting role for us all. Their parents were ashamed of them, Maeve’s dad was a complete douchenozzle, and mine was dead. I tried to imagine what it would be like for us now, in light of the growing knowledge of our jacked-up backgrounds, without Largo. Things would now have turned out so well. I guess even the supernatural still can’t magic-up a good home life. The more I learned of the Amalgam world, the more I realized it was eerily just like the Slate.
I said, “I’m sorry,” but the response felt too small.
Sway put her drink down, stood, and straightened the short skirt that still landed about a thousand yards from her knee. She looked at me with her Elven Fire-Wielding gaze, “This will be the last we speak of this, ever. Neither, will you will bring it up to Kata when we get back, or the next time you sleep, I will play Repo-Sway with those shiny metal parts I gave you, and you’ll wake up with termite-infested wicker for appendages. And I mean all appendages.”
I gave her a salute. “You’re the boss.” She was scary.
Thankfully, before she could threaten any more of my appendages, my phone on the table started blaring Sweet Home Alabama. Amalgam phones were cool, they got reception almost anywhere.
I tapped the answer button and put it on speaker. Largo’s voice crackled through, “Hey kiddos, having fun?”
“The help is rude, the facilities are substandard, and judging by the weather our Captain’s taking us through, we’re lucky to still be alive with such ineption at the helm.”
“So everything’s great?” Largo said ignoring Sway’s complaints.
“It’s perfect, though if you could find out what ineption means I’d be grateful.” I reassured him, and tossed Sway an eye roll. She returned the finger. “What’s up?”
“Well, we’ve got a problem, kids. It seems last night the prisons of Frostwick got an unexpected hostile visitor. None of the guards survived, so there are no descriptions of the intruder. This mystery person escaped before they got a chance to make off with who, or what, they were after, so it’s possible they might come back. It’s not the greatest intel to start you off, but I need you to get there. I’ve already talked to the Jordan’s captain. You’re about half a day away from Frostwick. That’s not going to be good enough, so a speedboat is coming from the island to pick you up and take you there now.”
“Why the rush?” Sway asked wearing her business face I had seen so many nights back when she was fixing me. It was hard to imagine her taking anything seriously, but as I was learning, there was much more to Sway than being some bad-attitude-quasi-goth-party-Elf. I definitely was interested in learning more about her. “Those vile Veil Rippers have always had good enough protection for themselves. They don’t need us. What else is happening?”
There was a pause before Largo answered, “Last night during the fight, they damaged the Magma Pressure Inhibitors. The machinery has been fixed, but they can’t get the protocols operational. It’s got something to do with buffer alignment.”
Sway’s face paled, all but her cheeks, those reddened. “And I’m learning about this, now?”
“They have a technician,” Largo explained, “but he hasn’t been able to get them back on line.”
“It’s close to critical?” Sway asked.
“Yes, and Sway, you’re the closest person who would have advanced M-I Tech know-how.”
Sway ran to her room in a flight born of wings feathered in purpose and intent. She disappeared but called back out to us, “Have them here to pick us up in an hour, Largo.”
“They should be there in less than thirty minutes.” He wished us well, and promised to be in touch if anything new developed.
I threw on some torn jeans, which probably cost extra because they came with holes, and my standard black and green jacket, gloves, and sunglasses disguise. I met Sway who had morphed from school girl into a superhero. Had I been in a naming mood, I would have called her… The Repair Kit.
She wore thick, black knee-high boots that had about ten buckles on each side of the shoe. Tucked into them were various handles of different gadgets. Her legs were hugged with black leather tights that were surrounded by a metal holster rig which held various silver tools around her waist and legs. She also wore a simple black long sleeved top, but each sleeve was covered by leather, fingerless forearm computer-gloves that housed a couple of touch diagnostic screens. She snapped on a voice radio band around her neck, and her hair was pulled back in a black and purple ponytail, complete with her signature silver chopsticks. She finished dressing by strapping on a set of purple shaded goggles that rest on her forehead.
I was doing that jaw-drop thing I did earlier back at the pool. I bet you’ve never met a Cyborg with tech-envy? Well you have now. She had more – and cooler I might add – gear than I did. I wanted some touchscreen computer gloves. Instead all I got was some glowing rocks and an irradiated varicose condition. What’s up with that?
I shook my head in disbelief, “Do you make all this yourself?”
Sway winked at me, “Hell no. Bane-Tech-d
ot-com, baby. It’s where all the hot Elf chicks go to find their swag. Little known fact, half of you came from their clearance area. Never say I’m not thrifty.”
This was one of those times I couldn’t tell if she was being serious.
We were getting ready to leave, but we both were stopped in our tracks when there was a sudden and emphatic banging on our door. The odd part was what followed. We heard our concierge bark an order to stop. That was proceeded by the sound of a scuffle, our concierge gasping for air, and then him tumbling to the floor with a thud. A second later there was more vigorous knocking.
“I don’t think that’s our boatman,” I observed.
Sway gave me a sarcastic “You think?” head tilt.
Wench.
The person at the door knocked again. I made a curious glance to Sway, but she just shooed me toward the door like I was supposed to handle it. I balled up a fist and opened the door ready to strike. Standing there was a heavy-breathed tattooed Islander. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to hit him, or offer him something to drink.
That tattoo ink he wore was something I had never seen before. It caught what little light there was in our darkened cabin and flecked waves of minuscule reflections like a microscopic army of roiling prisms. Countless beads of the oil-like liquid were free to roll inside the boundaries of the tattooed patterns. There definitely was some major Amalgam mojo going on there.
Sway shrieked and backed away, “Get back, Scion. He’s a Veil Ripper!”
The guy with the old torn clothes and braided dreads had a deep gruff voice, “Fire Elf. I should have known. Your ash can be smelled from a mile away.”
He stepped in past me as if I wasn’t even there and looked around the room. “Where’s Maeve Valera?” He demanded.
My mind doesn’t always do what I want it to. What I had just processed was the following: This dude was uber-buff. He had tattoos. He had that sexy beach-bum thing working for him, and he had just fought his way into our cabin so he could find Maeve. All of that translated, in my world, to one thing… ex-boyfriend. Sure it was a jump, but my clarity of thought left back when Maeve did.
I didn’t think. I did what I always do. I swung a Cyborg-powered punch as hard as I could at him.
RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH
The Islander was fast. He ducked under one swing and blocked the second without even flinching under the force of my Cyborg strength. I spun to get some distance so I could try again. I felt his hand strike, and then press hard against my chest. My entire body shook and threatened to pull itself apart in a million different directions. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t exhale. I couldn’t do anything but stand there and let him keep me right where I was.
“I don’t want trouble,” he said looking at me through a growing scowl of confusion.
Sway’s hands moved with the skill and precision one typically expects from an Elf. From somewhere on her belt she pulled a blade of black diamond marked with Elven script. The markings glowed into bright orange and the knife began to sizzle and smoke. “Well, you’ve got trouble unless you let him go, now, Ripper.”
“He attacked me,” the guy with the grumbly low voice protested.
“You used the wrong password, buddy.” Sway flicked her wrist so that the knife sang through one of the braids that hung down over his shoulder. Here’s another new memory for me, burnt hair smells nasty.
He took his hand off my chest, and I felt instantly fine. His confusion toward me was apparent, but between that and the disdain he and Sway shared toward each other, the room still felt supercharged and primed to explode. I tried some of the breathing Largo taught me so I could calm myself. I thought about the crumpled robot parts that had signified my failure to remain calm back at the training studio. I had failed all over again.
Everyone took a few steps back. Sway sheathed the knife, and our new guest’s tattoos fizzled from a bright shimmer back to how they were before he charged up his powers. I had read a little about the Veil Rippers between Sway’s provocative fashion shows. I wondered just how close I had come to being de-souled.
“Speak, starting with your name.” Sway ordered.
“Everyone calls me X… X Siin. And as you’ve noticed, I’m from Frostwick Island. I’m here to find Maeve Valera. I was hoping to contact the Celts. It’s literally a matter of life and death.”
“Disgusting soul stealers.” Sway mumbled. “You are the most self-important exaggerators in all of the Amalgam realms.”
X’s eyes narrowed, “Spiritual sellouts. Just because it has nothing to do with hocking our ancient beliefs to Slates for their war-dollars, doesn’t mean it’s not important.”
I separated the two, and somehow became the calm one in the room. It is a dark day indeed when I’m the prevailing cooler head. X explained about his dad, mom, and the plot to do something to the Jordan. X had been aboard for almost three days before the launch, and despite his searching, he had so far found nothing out of the ordinary. He admitted being apprehensive about contacting Maeve and the Celts out of concern for what would happen to his dad. After he got word about the attack on Frostwick, he felt like he had no choice. He wasn’t sure how the two incidents were related, only that they were. I was clueless. X seemed seriously dejected after we explained that Maeve was not here, nor could we contact her.
He did perk a little after Sway explained that she was on the way to Frostwick to fix their magma-regulator-thing. I had no idea why Sway was so hostile toward the Veil Rippers, but I was thankful that prejudice didn’t register when it came to her intensity for saving their island home.
He apologized for bothering us. I apologized for taking a swing at him. Sway said nothing. She just glared at him. Then I had an idea. “Maybe I could help you take a look around the ship. It’s not like Sway needs me to tag along with her anyway.” I think it’s what an Infinite would do.
“Isn’t that the truth? You would just get in the way.” She was always so encouraging.
That’s when the actual boatman came to the door. Sway eyed X one last time before turning to me. She smiled with a burst of the occasional sincerity she tried to keep rationed, “Be careful.”
“You too,” I said as I hugged her. She still smelled like cinnamon. I was enjoying the scent as she tightened her arms around me.
“No kiss?” She asked with a wicked grin.
“Maybe when you get back,” I teased. Her brow perked with anticipation. I probably shouldn’t have flirted back.
After she left I tried to comfort X. “Sorry about your parents. The whole mass murdering father thing notwithstanding, I understand what it’s like. My dad and I didn’t really get along before he died, but I still would have done anything to protect him.”
X nodded. “Thanks. So tell me, who, or what for that matter, are you? You’ve got something weird going on under the hood. I can’t put my finger on what’s different about you.”
It was nice meeting someone who didn’t get all weak in the knees when I mentioned the Thantosa name. After a few very intense seconds of internal deliberation, I decided to show him my Cyborg pieces-parts. He looked me over, but he continued to stare curiously as if I hadn’t answered the question.
“There’s something else.” He said as his brown eyes peered from intense slits of a pondering face, “You look damn familiar.
“Also,” he continued, “I’ve never met anyone with such a pronounced Cast.”
“I just have one of those faces.” I said, “But what do you mean by Cast?”
X perched on the corner of a nearby end-table as he explained, “Every Ripper learns how to read a person’s Cast. It helps us determine the best course for Ripping. Think of it as a physical, multi-dimensional representation of a person’s essence. Most people will never develop a Cast that ever looks like anything more than simple shapes or canvases of color, and that’s if they’re lucky. Many tend to be colorless, shapeless blobs. The more truth a person is capable of embracing, the more likely th
eir Cast tends to take on its own form. Yours is… inspiring.”
“So what is mine?” I asked.
X thought about it. “I’m really not supposed to tell you, but then I’m not one for following all the rules. It’s going to sound strange to someone who is uninitiated, but yours is the most intricate tiger I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to pull off an animal Cast, especially a powerful one. I felt just a fraction of your strength when we connected. I’m glad you didn’t press me because, honestly, I don’t have the skills to Rip your soul. I’m still learning, but I don’t know of any Ripper who has even faced such a beast. You’ve got some serious juice working in your favor.”
I was curious, was he playing me right now? “Could you see Sway’s Cast even though you never connected?”