by David Finn
A thin, nasal voice spoke from nearby. ‘Are these crocodile tears, Demorn, or are you genuinely upset?’
Demorn turned around, sneering. Jason emerged from the shadows of the burnt out Banker Ship. He looked nervous. His voice was high. She could hear Wolf’s jagged breathing behind her, a soft, suspicious growl.
Her magic eyes blazed. She could see the bruising on his throat from where she had almost choked the life out of him. Jason was carrying an oversized pistol, pointing it at her. She heard a crack of lightning. Glancing up, the sky was wide open, a garish vicious red-purple.
‘Jason,’ she snarled. ‘Is this you? Did you do this?’
He gave her a thin, insincere smile, one hand rubbing his sore throat. ‘There are winners and losers, you know that. I only ask because I thought you preferred the company of young ladies, not sexy, errant war gods. Make a decision, girl!’
‘Jesus. Try not to be the most tacky person in the room for once, Jason.’
‘How about you show a little courtesy?’ Jason raised his gun at her.
She didn’t like the look in his eyes, a hollow desperation. Demorn leapt sideways, dodging. She heard a gunshot as she hit hard ground, rolling, discharging two shots from the hip. Wolf was laid out on the ground, gasping. Her holy bullets hung in the air, inches from Jason’s horrified face.
She shouted, ‘What have you done, Jason! What have you done!’
Lady Josephine came out from behind him, resplendent in a sheer dress. Her reptilian features looked imperial. A beautiful white gem shone on her forehead. A strange nervousness crossed Demorn’s heart. Josie flicked her hand and the bullets deflected away harmlessly into the ship.
‘Put your guns away, both of you. We aren’t cowboys at the OK Corral.’
Demorn flicked her pistol back to the leg holster.
Jason snarled, grinning, clumsy with his too big gun. ‘I used silver bullets on Big, Black and Manly over there. Let’s see him get up from that.’
Wolf groaned something abusive. Demorn leapt across the space to the ship, feet barely touching the ground. She smashed her fist into Jason’s face, almost snapping his neck with a strong left, sending him flying into the broken hull of the ship. She sank a kick into his ribs, making sure it hurt. Then another.
‘Enough.’
Josie put a hand on her. Demorn turned, eyes wild, looking to hurt. The hand became ice, a spectral menace from beyond. Demorn’s eyes saw through and past Josie’s reptile skin. She saw into the shimmering universes, the empty Parallels which continued without end, beyond Armageddons, the empty hissing void at the heart of everything, awaiting them all . . .
Demorn fell to her knees, haunted by visions of an undying afterworld, too vast for her to truly understand.
‘Let it go,’ Josie said.
The chill reached out, a horrifying blankness of ice and corruption before Josie withdrew her icy hand. The white gem on her forehead glittered. Blood flowed back into Demorn’s body. Both her hands had turned to steel. Now they turned flesh again.
‘Nobody can control these hands but me. What are you, Josie? A witch? A demon?’
‘I’m neither,’ Josie said, ‘I’m a woman whose race the demons killed. They took my world, and they took the world I fled to. And the next. And the one after. They spread lies about me. They say it’s me pressing the trigger on World Bombs, they label me a terrorist. Like a virus that must take all, they come, dimension after dimension, soul after soul, Ultimate Fate comes, inexorable, a cosmic virus of destruction. You’re insane if you think Wrecking Ball is the only god to have sacrificed himself, Demorn. We’ve lost so many times, we’ve lost so much . . .’
Josephine’s voice trailed off with what seemed like true despair.
Demorn shook her head. ‘I’ve heard the sales pitch before. Ultimate Fate is the future. He wins no matter what. If you’re talking about giving up, if curl up and die is what you’re selling, fuck that. I’d rather go out with my sword against their throats.’
Josephine sighed. ‘We aren’t giving up. Everything I’ve done is to beat them. Can’t you see that? Don’t you trust me?’
Demorn was curt. ‘I think you’re batshit crazy, Josie, and frankly, no, I’m not even close to one hundred percent sold on trusting you. But you might have a point about Fate and the demon gods.’
She pointed to Jason, gasping in pain. ‘What about this piece of crap? Do you even know what he’s done? He creates twisted worlds and plays with people like puppets, running them through VR programs they make games out of! He killed Wrecking Ball! Someone who could help, who has helped. Why are you saving him? What’s the point of that? Please tell me, because I don’t understand a damn thing!’
Josie turned to Jason, whimpering on the floor. Wolf had staggered up. The bullet popped out of his chest. Demorn saw electronic lights flashing within the blood. So Wolf wasn’t all flesh, he had cybernetics in there, too. It explained how he could take a slug from Jason’s silver elephant gun and pick himself up. Wolf was grinning.
‘It looks like this werewolf can take a bullet,’ Demorn said. ‘Shall I just let Wolf have him? Or is there some master plan I couldn’t possibly understand? Because now’s the time to let me know, Josie! I’ve never been known for my patience.’
Josie stood there for a moment, with pursed lips. ‘Jason is a spineless coward, that’s true. But he was vital, not just to my plan, but to any shot we have of avoiding extermination as a reality.’
Jason whimpered from the ground about how it was all true. He was terrified of Wolf growling over him. Probably even more terrified of Demorn’s trigger finger.
She said, ‘How could this piece of shit be so important?’
‘Jason’s a very clever coward, but don’t forget the clever part. He was the brain behind Aloquin Designs for a decade, operating at a level we can scarcely guess, opening shops on world after virtual world, infiltrating micro-gaming systems with intelligent design and self-aware characters. And when he wasn’t creating worlds to fill with traps and tricks and mini-apocalypses, Jason was obsessed with Wrecking Ball, views him as his other half. His favourite creation. Sold him as a god, built him that way, his most powerful creation to deliver unto us.’
Unto. What a dramatic word. Josephine really was full of herself, she bought her own hyped up drama. Demorn liked to stay more grounded, be pushed in the direction of something to kill or stop.
Demorn said, ‘Wrecking Ball is a god, or close enough to what we call them. I’ve witnessed that firsthand.’
‘And that’s why Jason melded Wrecking Ball into some bizarre outer skin, as things got tighter and tighter for him as a designer, and the Plague God began to make inroads on his virtual worlds, the first hint of something far greater and more powerful. Call it an extinction event, call it Ultimate Fate. The games began to become real. The virus infected his systems and he sought the most terrible of countermeasures.’
Demorn felt a shudder go through her at the thought of something far more terrible and filled with power. The Void. The reality virus of Ultimate Fate. The sky above was an angry purple. The ship twisted and groaned in the cold winds, phasing between a wild ocean and the cavern where the wreck lay, surrounded by the dead bones. On each side of her, she could see the flickering shadows of Bankers, a last remnant of their spirits attached to the ship which had sunk down to this limbo, this nothingness. She could hear the splintering of timber and the sky above which was the same angry purple, lightning flashing over the horizon. It was all so confusing and too much. The Bankers collecting their souls were not the ultimate enemy, that lay deeper, so much deeper . . .
Josie dragged her back to now. Josie’s hand was glowing as she tightly clutched the ship’s rigging.
‘He studied the time-line and the histories. Jason found the point at which Wrecking, against all odds, breached the dimensional barrier and escaped the Grave, riding the surface of the Void itself, outside of time and conventional meanings of space. Jason charted it, h
e pinpointed this moment of the shipwreck—and he emailed me the data in Ceron City.’
Demorn was puzzled. ‘Why would he do that?’
Jason went to speak and Wolf sent him back down with a kick. Demorn was glad to see Wolf taking charge. The white gem upon Josie’s head glowed brightly.
‘Why? Because the Gem of the Necromancer of Malisk does more than drag reluctant Wandering Sword Princesses across the desert. He’s a weak spineless boy without friends. The gem of Malisk ate his soul and delivered his secrets unto me.’
Unto again. It was like a Bible studies group. Demorn felt claustrophobic and over it all.
She bristled. ‘You used that gem on me. I’m not weak.’
Josephine started walking slowly through the wrecked Banker ship.
‘You were a handful. I needed to be plugged into the Necromancer’s Gem one hundred percent to get you off the cat and into my death carriage. Even then, your spirit animal stalked us nearby.’
A smile caressed Demorn’s face. ‘Are you talking about Maze? He’s not a spirit animal! He’s my Devil Cat and he’s adorable.’
Josie shrugged. ‘Jason was easy to control. It was almost impossible to seperate you from Maze.’
Demorn shrugged. ‘He’s mine, I’m his. Been that way a long time. Before Bay City it was a long cold set of war winters on the Front for Maze and me. Everything turns cold, believe me. Bay City started sounding like Heaven.’
‘Heaven?’
Demorn counted it off on her hand. ‘Surf and sun, beach volleyball, pina coladas, bikinis, Margaritas, etcetera.’
Josie gave her a stare that mixed with shock and derision. She sure took this shit seriously.
‘Are you saying the reason you came to Bay City was the weather and bikinis?’
Demorn popped a stick of peppermint gum, shrugging. Lighten up, sweetheart.
She said, ‘Maybe that’s a couple of reasons. Truth is, I’ve got a friend who called me. Santos had a paying mission or two, of course. You like to play all secret agent, but he knew you were tucked down there in the Bay, Josie. Even without your gem, I had my orders.’
Lightning cracked. Demorn glanced upward. The clouds looked fit to burst with red rain.
Josie said, ‘Coincidences lining up like mathematical equations. That’s foreseen.’
Demorn rolled her eyes. ‘You’re a wanted woman, hun. With a big bounty on your head. I don’t need a prophecy to tell me that’s something I’m interested in.’
‘All these reasons. But a friend called you and you came. You care a lot about your friends, don’t you?’ Josie asked.
Demorn said, ‘I care enough. I know you have this whole mystical sorceress vibe going, and the ghostly glowing hand is creepy as hell, but have you looked up at the sky recently? There’s a comet burning right above the Bay and it’s about to hit, if it hasn’t already. That comet doesn’t care if you’re bad or good, naughty or nice, grey, black or white. It’s coming to finish off the Bay, it’s going to burn the lot, and most people in the know are pointing their finger at you, Josie.’
Josie said, ‘Are you pointing at me, too?’
‘You damn well know I am, hun. Baron Santos, too. I want to believe you have some kind of plan, but I’ve never had much blind faith. I prefer facts and money.’
The gem on Josie’s forehead glowed with wild fire, beautiful and lonely as the North Star. The ship rocked hard, back in the stormy deep ocean. Demorn knew that somehow the sea was just a psychic projection, impossible though that seemed. They were living out their own projected reality.
‘Can you see the land from here, Demorn?’
Demorn looked out, hands gripping the rail in the pitching ocean. The rolling sensation was unpleasant. She didn’t like ships. Far better to ride upon Maze across the hunter’s fields. She was not born to ride the seas. In the distance she caught glimpses of a shadowed blur on the horizon, a promise of something else, the haunting whisper of what tomorrow would bring. She started to get lost in the vision. She wanted to jump from the ship. She wanted to return to somewhere safe, but nowhere was safe, not anymore. It was push on and look death square in the eye.
Josie’s spectral ghostly hand touched her neck, so cold, but she kept looking. Kate had once taken one of these Banker ships, when she had left the shores of Firethorn. Demorn hadn’t been able to let her go. She had clung to the shreds that were left, offered her soul for sanctuary, battered and small and bruised as it was. She had seen that relationship die on the vine, no romantic happy ending, more like cheap romantic tragedy. And the whole way she had kept the jokes and one-liners coming, she had been scared of her pain, so vast did it feel.
‘I see something. What is it?’
Josie whispered in her ear. ‘Some people call it a dream. Some call it true death, the end of all things.’
Demorn jerked away from the spectral hand. She brushed her steel hand across the cold patch on her neck. Her heart was beating fast. She looked around for secure things. Wolf stood over the prone Jason. Josie wore a human face again. The reptilian face was gone. Her green dress resplendent.
‘I’m sick of talking about death.’
Josie smiled. ‘Good. Because we still have hope. Do you know what these ships carry?’
Demorn thought for a moment. ‘In my experience? The Bankers take the souls of the lost. They box them up, put them on the ship . . .’
She stopped talking, realising the simple fact. Ruined though it was, this was a Banker ship. Josie looked excited. She walked over and inserted a glowing Bankers Key into the lock in the hold.
The latch opened to a small room packed with papers, and glowing soul skulls piled on top of each other, swollen with energy long suppressed. Demorn had to control her breathing, such was her excitement. She almost pushed past Josie in her eagerness, barely able to control herself.
‘Soul skulls!’
Josie patted the door as she closed it. ‘Yes, this ship carried a host of souls from Wrecking Ball’s world.’
Demorn looked at her in stunned silence, forcing herself to speak, a tremor in her voice. She hadn’t expected this, not in the least.
‘The world that became the Grave.’
‘Yes. All these shining souls. The wreckage of what happened on Dead Day, the ultimate disaster, the vicious result of Wrecking Ball’s war with the Plague God.’
‘I was there. Is Kate here?’
‘She died there, too, didn’t she, Demorn?’
Demorn felt a haunting sense of grief. Kate had been torn apart on the mad escape from Chicago. Kate, or at least of version of her. Torn apart by the skeletons.
Only it wasn’t the same Kate. This Kate, the one who had been killed, her animated skeleton in the Grave, her soul stolen, wasn’t the same Kate Demorn had kissed so long ago in the winter sun. She wasn’t the same Kate that Demorn had sworn eternal love to, and made love with. And loved and loved and loved. This was the Kate who had turned Dead on Dead Day. Another Kate. It wasn’t her but it was close enough for the broken hearted. Close enough.
‘You know she did. Enough with the guessing games and obscure bullshit. What do you want from me?’
Josie patted the closed door. ‘So you accept that it’s true. This ship carries a host of souls from Wrecking Ball’s world.’
Demorn said, ‘And that world became the Grave. Wrecking Ball doesn’t have a home-world. I saw it die out.’
Jason spoke from the ground as he got up, Wolf growling at his every move. ‘Wrong, Demorn, you saw it dying. The ship in question never made it to the Bankers homebase. It almost did, but not quite. It was lost in transport, crashed alongside Wrecking, ten thousand souls stuck in limbo, outside of the universe, a myth reflected that I found on a deep data dive.’
Demorn said, ‘Let me guess, was it written in the stars, creepoid?’
Jason sounded whiney. ‘I backtracked through internet games Wrecking Ball participated in. I found key events PAST Dead Day AND the Grave showing he was still activ
e, even after we abandoned him. Whatever pulled Wrecking Ball down, he went down with the ship. This was probably the safest refuge. After all, he’s been down here long enough for his bones to fossilise.’
Demorn looked at the giant bone remains. She didn’t like to listen to what Jason had to say, but the kid knew his stuff.
‘This doesn’t feel like something Wrecking Ball would do unless he was desperate. He’d already fought and defeated the Plague God in his holy war. He had been pushing a desperate situation for years as his world went Dead Day. He’d found ways out, he was still coherent when I last saw him. This wasn’t a guy about to go with the nuclear option.’
Josie said, ‘I concur. Wrecking didn’t crash the ship. He was trying to protect it.’
Demorn’s breath felt unsteady. She gestured at Jason. ‘So you got here and he helped. He’s still a snake. Why would you use him?’
Josie brushed the gem on her forehead. ‘The energy needed to access the Source Core is massive. I have been exiled for too long, visited too many courtrooms and bargained too many favours. I could never achieve it alone.’
The ship was no longer dead, they were aboard in choppy seas. Salt spray hissed over Demorn’s face.
Demorn was wary. ‘Not even if you sold a dimension down the drain? There’s a comet about to crash into Bay City and I swear to god I’m not convinced you’re not the one to blame.’
The ship rocked hard in the wild ocean. A soul circle burnt around Josie and Demorn. Demorn saw it without realising at first. The flames rolled around them. There was no noise from anybody else. Jason and Wolf had vanished.
Josie said, ‘The ship is mine, Princess, under my control. Jason has the means to teleport us out. All of those souls are mine, ten thousand. How many souls do you carry?’
‘Seventeen,’ Demorn said, smiling. ‘My lucky number.’
‘Seventeen against ten thousand? Can you beat me that many times?’
Demorn played the numbers around in her mind. ‘Maybe. But I’m not in the mood for maybes. What do you want me to do to regain Kate’s soul?’
That spectral hand on her wrist. Demorn looked at her. She saw the lizard beneath the flesh. A crooked tongue. Demorn went to struggle but the ice only cut through her harder. She hissed with pain.