The Kinsmen Universe

by Ilona Andrews

  She waited for everyone to nod.

  "The third type of traps are the chasers. The chasers are the defense entities produced by the AI. They are usually perceived as something alive: dogs, insects, sharks. The chasers will actively pursue you. If a large number of the chasers are destroyed, the AI will sound the perimeter alarm, which will bring a living psycher responsible for the security of the sector on our heads. This is something we want to avoid at all costs."

  "Why?" Saim asked. "I mean, can't you just fight him or her off?"

  "Right now all of us are guilty of conspiring to alter data. It is a non-violent offense," Claire said. "If we confront a psycher, I may have to kill her. Terminating a human mind of a Rada citizen is a death sentence for everyone in this room."

  Sudden silence claimed the room.

  Claire was the first to break it. "This is why I need you. Your purpose is to follow me until we encounter chasers. As soon as chasers find us, each of you must engage one of them and lead them away. You must scatter and take them with you to keep the AI from sounding the alarm. You don't have to fight. You just have to run and keep them occupied to let me accomplish my task without having to destroy them. Even if all you do is make circles around the hub, as long as they are following you, I will be able to do everything I need to do."

  "How will we know when you're done and it's safe to log off?" Charles asked.

  "You will hear a signal. If you don't hear anything or if you become lost, don't worry, I will come and get you. One more thing: don't get bitten. We'll be facing Security Force chasers. Their bite will leave a mark on your mind. Eventually it will dissipate - usually in a few weeks - but until then if you log into the bionet, anyone there with you will instantly know that you've tried to break the law. If you are unsure, now is the time to take a step back."

  Nonna swallowed and got up. "I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't."

  "It's alright," Claire told her. "Nobody here will judge you. It's fine."

  The young woman backed out of the circle and went into the other room.

  "Anyone else?"

  Nobody moved.

  "We're ready," Charles said.

  Claire took a deep breath and began to dismantle the shell over her mind.

  Five minutes later the last vestiges of the shell crumbled in her mind. It felt unbelievable. It felt as if she had been carrying a heavy burden, and chained to it for so long, she had forgotten it was there. Now it was gone. Claire felt light, so indescribably light.... Her mind soared like a bird, stretching, touching her team's minds, establishing a link.

  The five stared at her.

  "Wow," Kosta whispered.

  Claire sent a focused thought. "Lay down and try to relax."

  "I've heard that before," Mittali murmured.

  Saim laughed nervously.

  They lay on their backs, their heads toward the hub. Tonya approached, carrying bionet cognizance units, half-bands of ornate, inert plastic, each sealed in its own transparent wrapper. Claire rose and approached Charles. "Are you ready?"

  He swallowed. "Yes."

  Claire took the first unit, tore the plastic sleeve, and pulled it out. The steel-colored half-band had three holes: a large oval space on the left and two oblong narrow openings on the right. A thin sheet of disposable plastic sheathed the inner side of the unit. Claire peeled it off, revealing adhesive underneath, carefully positioned the unit over the right half of Charles's forehead, just above the eye, and pressed it down. The plastic adhered to the skin. Charles clenched his teeth.

  "Relax." Claire dipped her fingers into the basin of liquid interface in the hub. The mix of metal and synthetic neurons nipped at her skin with sharp electric teeth.

  "Once you are in, don't move. Wait for me."

  She pulled the interface away from the hub. It stretched in spider-thin strands from her hand. Claire touched Charles's skin, letting the interface drip into the first opening of the unit. The dark-grey liquid filled the hole in the plastic, forging connections through the skin. Claire touched the left opening, letting it fill, then the right. Charles blinked. The band ensured that connections were made to the right areas of the brain. The filaments of the interface thickened as more liquid flowed from the hub, reinforcing the connection.

  Charles closed his eyes. His body straightened, aligning, and relaxed. He was in.

  Claire moved on to Zinaida.

  "Am I doing it right?" Tonya murmured.

  "You're fine," Claire said, feeling the prickling of the liquid interface as it filled the last opening in the cognizance unit. "Thank you."

  She closed her eyes. Darkness flowed over her as the synthetic neurons made connections with her mind. She lunged down a dark circular tunnel, faster and faster. She had done this thousands of times over the years and she knew what awaited her on the other end - sometimes it was a bleak cliff or severe steppe, but in the past two years it had been a dark forest, uniform tree trunks and pale green leaves.

  She welcomed it. She yearned for it. She missed the chase, the thrill of the battle, the infinite possibilities the bionet offered. It probably said volumes about the hypocrisy of her morals, but in that moment Claire didn't care.

  Light exploded and she landed, falling into a practiced crouch.

  The ground under her was intense, shocking green. Bright yellow flowers, their petals thin and long, all but glowed in the silky grass. Claire raised her head.

  Jungle breathed at her. Tall grasses with blade-shaped silvery leaves surrounded dark bushes, their foliage splaying out in wide rosettes. A patch of hair-thin stalks tipped by lavender crests of petals thrust through the spaces between wide oyster-shell plants, the inside of their leaves a blinding turquoise. Massive trees, a dozen meters wide, thrust to the sky, spreading their crown so high above, looking at them made her dizzy. Vines dripped from their branches in thick ropes, bearing large blossoms with triangular petals of deepest crimson. Ferns coiled by the thick roots. Emerald green moss cushioned the bark, interrupted by bubbles of some orange-red plants and ridges of lemon-yellow mushrooms.

  Claire stared, shocked.

  Creatures crouched around her, a pale blue bull with six horns; a gazelle with golden hooves and wide antlers; a fox with three tails, her bright orange fur rippling with flashes of yellow; a flightless bird on two sturdy legs with blue and green plumage; a slick lupine beast with black fur and six legs; and a bearded ape, fast and agile, his chocolate fur stained by rings of beige.

  "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," the ape whispered and she recognized Kosta's voice.

  Behind her the sound of falling water marked the hub: what was once a three-foot-tall metal sculpture turned into a ten-foot-tall stone fountain. Water spilled from the top in clear sheets and fell into a mirrored basin at the feet of the three women.

  Claire looked into the basin and saw herself in its depths. A giant panther stared at her. Her fur was blood-red, striped with slashes of silver. Her eyes glowed with brilliant gold. A mane of pale red streamed from the back of her head, flaring around two pairs of long black horns that thrust up and to the sides behind the bright tufts of her ears. Her wide paws bore black claws the size of swords. She flicked her tail and saw it was tipped with a long tuft of pale red fur, hiding a wicked black spike. Claire smiled and saw the sabers of silver fangs in her powerful mouth.

  Sensory overload. She had suffered a culture shock after the planetfall. The province of Dahlia bloomed in her mind with all its colors, scents, and flavors and it reshaped the bionet. What once was a grim forest had evolved into a lush jungle.

  Claire bowed her head. "Is everyone with me?"

  Voices chorused back in agreement.

  "We go," she said.

  They began their run through the jungle, leaping over the fallen trees and dashing past exotic flowers. She kept the pace brisk, but not tiring. They'd have to save their strength for later.

  The path curled and they shot out onto a cliff. Far to the right an enormous tree rose, its b
ranches glowing with bright purple lanterns.

  "A castle," Saim-Wolf whispered.

  Mittali-Bird laughed. "A spaceport!"

  "That's where we're going," Claire said. "Follow closely, and remember the way. You will be retracing your steps on your way back."

  They followed the path down the side of the mountain.

  Half-way down, a low rumble under her paws told Claire a trap had been set off. She felt the terrestrial shock rush upward, above them.

  "Run!"

  They dashed left and down, angling away from the slope. Above them enormous rocks shot out, spinning, and chased them down the slope. The boulders slammed into the side of the mountain with loud thuds.

  "Faster!"

  They galloped ahead of her.

  A boulder landed inches from her tail.

  Zinaida-Fox stumbled and fell. A rock tumbled from above, threatening to crush her. There was no way to avoid it. Claire lunged, shielding the Fox with her shoulder and snarled. The jungle shook. The blast of sound slammed into the boulder, knocking it aside, but not far enough. It slammed into her. The impact resonated through her powerful frame. Claire turned, scooped Zinaida into her mouth, and ran.

  Five seconds later the animals collapsed on the grass on the side of the mountain, while the rocks continued to roll behind them. Claire carefully set Zinaida-Fox onto the ground.

  "Thank you," the older woman whispered.

  Kosta-Ape rolled on his back and laughed in labored heavy gasps. "Let's do that again!"

  "Why are we so tired?" Charles-Bull breathed. "All this, it doesn't exist. We didn't really run..."

  "You've forced your brain to make connections at maximum speed," Claire said. "The mind can't do this indefinitely. It becomes fatigued just as your bodies do. Come, we have to keep moving."

  They continued through the jungle. Carnivorous plants snapped at their feet. Nooses disguised as vines reached for their necks. Leaves hid pits with spikes. Saim had fallen into a fissure filled with angry bees and Claire had to jump in after him and fry the insects with a focused mental blast.

  Finally, scratched, bruised, and tired, they emerged from the jungle to the edge of another cliff, this time much lower. They lay down, hiding in the twilight behind the twisted network of roots clenching the mountain.

  Directly in front of them the ground dropped down. Far, far below, silvery waters of an ocean lay placid, tinted light pink and yellow to the left, where a golden globe of the sun set, cushioned in soft clouds. Above the clouds, the cosmos spread, vast and glorious, with bright stars melting into the glow of nebulas and distant galaxies.

  To the right, past the gulf of the ocean, another cliff rose, naked rock wall topped by a lush jungle. Twin rivers spilled from the cliff, wrapped in feathery mist. Between them the massive tree waited. The purple lanterns glowed, beckoning her.

  Claire squinted. A narrow rock spire, like a finger of basalt about a hundred yards wide at the top, thrust from the water between them and the other cliff. A little to the left of their hiding place, a wide stone bridge led to the spire. On the other side of the spire, a thick rope woven of lianas, sturdy, woody vines, stretched to the other cliff. Thick enough for her to cross, if she used her claws and paid attention.

  Kosta-Ape climbed the tree to her left and leaned to her ear. "There are mutants on the small mountain," he said.

  She saw them too: lean, muscled beasts with the body of a fast hound and the jaws of a crocodile. One, two, three... seven. On Uley, the warning call to a psycher would occur if three or more were killed. Sometimes it only took two.

  They could've used Nonna.

  Well, no use regretting what she couldn't fix. She would have to take the chance.

  "We should go now," Charles-Bull said. "Remember, we're here to save the children. We do this so they can have a life."

  The beasts murmured.

  "Thank you," she told them. "Stay safe. Don't fall into the water."

  Charles bowed his head to her.

  Claire bowed back.

  One by one they disappeared into the jungle. She lay by the roots of the tree and waited.

  A shrill screech announced Mittali. The bird ran onto the bridge, feathers fluffed out, and shook her butt at the dog beasts. The hounds snarled, showing sharp fangs. Yellow frothy spit bubbled up on their lips. They looked rabid.

  The bird shook her feathers. "Come on! Come on!"

  A single dog peeled off from the pack and charged after her. Mittali lingered on the bridge for a long moment and dashed away. The creature gave chase.

  She watched the three others grab their AI beasts one by one. Kosta was last. He scooted midway up the bridge and bounced up and down, hooting. The three remaining creatures snarled in unison.

  Kosta jumped, flipping in mid-air.

  Showoff.

  A dog padded forward.

  Kosta jumped again, oblivious.

  The AI hound stalked closer. Closer.

  The wicked jaws opened.

  Kosta jerked back and the dog's teeth snapped together. Kosta's hand snaked out, quick, and slapped the furry muzzle. He hooted and took off, the enraged AI dog at his heels.

  Young fool. Claire smiled into her whiskers and slunk into the jungle.

  A narrow path led to the bridge. Claire stepped onto it and padded forward on silent paws. A moment and she emerged onto the bridge. The grey stone seemed ancient, cracked and weathered. It was only a mind trick, indicating old frayed code. She pictured the stone fracturing under her weight and wished she hadn't.

  The twin dogs raised their ears.

  Falling into the water wasn't an option. She would survive the fall, but it would take her a while to climb back up. Every moment she delayed, her team ran the risk of being bitten. Time was short.

  Two hounds. The question was, could they swim?

  The AI creatures charged together, furry bodies flexing with coiled muscle.

  She waited.

  The dogs leaped together, ruby eyes burning with bloodlust.

  Claire jumped. She sailed above them, landed, and whipped her tail. It slammed into the hound on the right like a battering ram. The furry body flew into the air with a startled yelp and plummeted down into the water of the ocean below. If she was lucky, it wouldn't die.

  The last dog attacked. She sent it over the side with a swipe of her paw and sprinted across the rocky spire. The liana bridge waited. Claire put one foot on it, sinking the claws into the woody vine.

  So narrow.

  Phantom wind pressed at her, pushing at her, trying to knock her off into the water below. Claire crouched, digging her claws into the knotted lianas. She needed to redistribute her mass to reduce angular acceleration. Her body flowed, obeying her mental command. Two sets of whiskers, wide like four stiff ribbons sprouted from her shoulders, stabilizing her the way a pole stabilized a tightrope walker. She could've sprouted wings, but they would do her no good. Bionet didn't support flying. Even the birds did little more than leap and glide.

  Claire ran along the liana bridge, one paw after another, claws over claws. The vines trembled under her weight. The other end of the bridge was affixed to a point slightly higher than the spire. She was crawling across and up. Coming back would be hell.

  Just keep moving.

  Keep moving.

  The cliff was almost there. She stretched her left front paw and touched it. Solid ground. One leap... and she'd plummet down into the ocean.

  Claire forced herself to slow down, carefully sliding her weight onto the damp soil of the cliff. One paw, two paws, three... and she landed. The enormous tree rose before her. She sat, studying the lanterns, her ribbons-whiskers snaking out to lick one.

  "Search: Alacasto Middle Academy."

  The lanterns spun, sliding along the branches, as if riding an invisible carousel. A brightly shaped lantern stopped before her, the lavender flame inside glowing brightly. Claire's whiskers touched it, forging a link.

  "Laboratory traces analys
is: Romulus Rekanta, 99.9959% match; Edu Nagi, 99.97890% match; Lada Miller, 98.87682% match; Karim Jahar, 96.48991% match."

  She reshaped the data. A new set of figures flowed into the lantern: "Edu Nagi, 29.97890% match; Lada Miller, 28.87682% match; Karim Jahar, 16.48991% match."

  Wiping the molecular analysis to zero would have set off the red flags, but all people swam in the same genetic pool. Anything below 70% would be marked as inconclusive.

  The lantern looked exactly the same. She'd altered the data with a psycher's precision.

  Claire spun the lanterns, pulling up searches at random, confusing the access protocol until the children's lantern was safely mixed with the others. Her job was done.

  Claire spun and dashed back to the vine bridge. Once again the lianas shuddered under her weight, only this time she was crawling head down. She wished there was another way back.

  She was ten meters from the rock spire when she heard the bushes rustle near the base of the stone bridge.

  Claire conquered the last few meters and moved onto the solid ground of the spire.

  A beast shot out of the jungle and landed midway on the stone bridge. Huge paws hit the ancient stones, each as big as her head and tipped with thick triangular claws, razor sharp and glowing like backlit amber. A bronze beast rose, towering over her by at least a meter. Thick muscle slabbed his monstrous forelegs and colossal chest. His hind quarters dipped lower than his shoulders, his back legs bent slightly and bulging with steel-hard muscle. His fur was bronze, painted with faint rosettes of russet, same as the mane that trailed his spine and slid over his shoulder and down each leg almost to the paws.

  The beast opened his giant mouth, snarling, showing her brilliant white fangs. His torso resembled an enormous dog, but his head was almost feline. The jaws looked powerful enough to bite through her bones like they were soft candy.

  A psycher. A Grade A psycher.

  Damn it all.

  The beast roared, whipping his triple tail. The blast of sound hit her and Claire snarled back. Her roar rolled, promising pain and blood.