by Kate Sander
The wasps buzzed louder, seemingly angered by the death of two of their swarm.
Can giant wasps get angry? Senka thought as she dove, rising to slash the wing off the closest wasp. It careened into the wasp next to it and they crashed to the ground in a mess of legs, stingers and pincers. Ujarak finished them both off with a massive swing of his hammer.
Or is this just a natural defensive reaction that they aren't in control of? She swung upwards with her swords and cut open the abdomen of a low flying insect, causing it to spill green goo all over her arm and shoulder.
"Yuck!" she yelled.
Ujarak roared again. He was standing in the middle of a circle, wasp bodies rising around him.
Senka couldn't let him kill more wasps than she did. She was a Zoya, after all. Smiling with the excitement of competition, she dove, cut, swung, twirled and slashed her way through the swarm.
Kai let out a moan behind her, distracting Senka for a split second. That's all one of the wasps needed to gain an edge. It swooped down, pincers first. Senka turned and tried to get a sword up to block it, but missed. Its pincer scraped over her face, leaving a burning, bleeding gash. Senka gasped and fell backwards, holding her face. Blisters formed around the edges of the cut running from brow to chin across her face.
The wasp reared back, ready to sting her in the stomach. Senka pulled her hands off her face and rolled, barely getting out of the way in time. The stinger missed her by an inch. Scrambling on her hands and knees, trying to ignore the searing pain in her face, she tried to put some distance between her and the wasp. Other wasps sensed her weakness and swarmed.
Senka heard them swoop and, turning quickly onto her butt, got a sword up to block the first of the pincers, but the sheer weight of the wasps were going to be too much.
"Aaaaargh."
Ujarak to the rescue. With an earth-shattering roar, he leapt into the descending horde. Hammer swinging, he caught two in the head, making them explode in a splash of green brains. The rest of the wasps retreated upwards, giving Ujarak a moment to heave Senka to her feet.
"You'll live," he grunted, giving her face a quick check.
The buzzing grew louder. The final wasps were on the attack. Ujarak and Senka stood back to back. Senka flipped her swords and cracked her neck, trying to ignore the burning in her face and attempting to see through the blisters forming around her eye.
She'd had this injury before. Ujarak was right. She would live.
The wasps attacked, a coordinated and timed assault. Senka dove forward, a stinger barely missing her. Ujarak nailed the wasp in the head with the end of his hammer. The wasp fell to the ground and Senka finished it off by slicing off its head.
Ujarak was being pulled backwards by another wasp, a shocked look on his face. Senka ran and jumped, slicing the wasp from head to abdomen. Landing in the middle of the eviscerated carcass, she gagged a little as the green goo splashed into her mouth.
There were maybe five wasps left. Ujarak rolled his shoulder.
"Pincer got me. Fucker burns."
"You'll live," she said slyly back to him.
Laughing, he charged the rest of the wasps. Senka joined him. They killed the rest of them in a dance of weapons and green guts.
Only after the last of the wasps lay dead on the ground did she turn back to Ujarak, who had so many dead wasps around him he had to climb his way out.
"Twenty-eight," she yelled at him, gasping.
"Twenty-nine," he grunted back once he was over the line of wasps.
"Fuck."
"You've gotten slow in your time away," Ujarak said. "You're awkward with those swords."
"Used to guns," she muttered, spinning a sword in her hands. The truth stung.
"What is a gun?"
"Never mind, not important. You're right, I'm slow." She felt her face. It burned to the touch. "Ow."
A low growl reached her, completely distracting her from her injury.
"Kai," she said, turning away from Ujarak and running to her panther. He had gotten worse. Blood was pooling from his wounds in a steady stream on the ground.
"We have to get him back to the village," she said. "Do they have a shaman or a healer? It's the only way."
"They fear these creatures. Call them the "black death", they will not help him."
Senka turned quickly, fire in her eyes and grabbed Ujarak by the front of his shirt, making him wince. "You're a god to them, command them to help him."
Ujarak patted her hand, "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. A friend of yours is a friend of mine. I'm surprised you'd think less of me."
Senka let go and turned back to Kai. "We're gonna get you help buddy, don't worry," she whispered to him, giving him a scratch behind the ears.
Ujarak went to his hind quarters. "We work together and take our time," he said, bending down to pick up Kai.
Senka's anger softened. Of course Ujarak would help without request or hesitation. He was a good man. Senka didn't know how she'd forgotten that.
"One," she said.
"Two."
"Three."
They both heaved up at the same time. Senka was stronger than any human but Kai was still heavy in her arms. They worked together, grunting and groaning as they managed Kai down the steep cut backs of the path on the cliff face. Senka's face felt terrible, the pain intensifying as the adrenaline wore off. Doubting that Ujarak was faring any better, she toughed it out. The sun was setting, and with the low light and rocky footing, their progress was slow. It was well after dark by the time they made the village, puffing and sweating.
Screams and gasps greeted them as the villagers poured out of their houses.
"Stop staring and help us," Senka snapped at the nearest group of men. They didn't move, making a symbol with their hands and pointing at Kai.
"You heard her," Ujarak said. "Help us." The men obeyed and, hesitantly, grabbed at Kai to try and help. Kai moaned softly in pain at the new pressure on his wounds.
"Hang in there," Senka said to him softly. "We're almost there."
"Tell Shiloh we're coming," Ujarak barked to no one in particular. "I want this creature treated with the utmost respect. These two saved you from a swarm of Lampex wasps." The villagers gasped again and whispered to each other, wide-eyed.
They brought Kai to a hut and were ushered in by a large woman with particularly big earrings and braided white hair adorned with flowers. Senka figured this was the village’s healer, Shiloh.
"Put him there," she said in heavily accented English, gesturing at a bed of woven leaves on the floor. They obliged, and Kai let out a high-pitched whine.
Shiloh worked her way up and down Kai's body, muttering to herself in a language Senka didn't understand. Exhausted and worried, she watched, not even noticing that Ujarak had sent some villagers for something.
"This is not the work of a Lampex," Shiloh said, pointing to the festering wound on Kai's shoulder.
"No, it's not," Senka said. "They called it Azreal. Some people in the woods captured me, we killed it to escape."
"You killed Azreal?" Shiloh said, stunned. "Those people have been feeding us to that foul beast since the beginning of time. You are certainly a god as well. As is this black beast. What is his name?"
"Kai," Senka said.
"Kai. Kai is now a God. I will do everything in my power to save him."
She looked at Senka and wincing, she looked up and down at Ujarak. "Your wounds are bad as well, but you will both live. My daughter will come and give you herbs while I work on Kai. I will sew your face and shoulder up after."
Ujarak and Senka nodded their agreement.
The villagers came back with water and food for Senka and Ujarak. Shiloh barked orders at them and talked quickly, all while putting some water in a kettle in the corner of the hut.
The villagers rushed out again, this time with wide-eyed bows to Senka and Kai.
"I have sent them for the herbs that I need. He is on the edge of survival,
but if he is as strong as you say, I think we can help." She smiled at Senka and patted her arm. "Give me distance and time."
Ujarak nodded and pulled Senka away from the hut. Shiloh's daughter soon joined them, smothering the large cut on Senka’s face with a mint smelling herb mixture.
"It's always the same," Senka mumbled to Ujarak through terse lips after the girl was done.
"Hmm?"
"I always get the same injury," she gestured to her face. "You'd think I'd have learned by now it was coming."
Ujarak laid a hand heavily on her shoulder. "I'll go check on him." He left her to her thoughts.
Dazed, confused, and lonely, Senka sat by a bonfire and drank from a pitcher of fermented wine. She wasn't sure how long she sat there alone, but the wine was doing its job and the pain in her face was subsiding. Ujarak sat heavily beside her.
"He is sleeping," he said. "Shiloh has given him his medicine and stitched him up as best as she can. Now we must wait."
Senka stared at the fire. "That ship off the coast. Where is it from?"
"A country named Anzen that is far away across the sea. They trade with these villagers for that wine you're drinking. There is a whole giant world out there that we didn't know about when we were living in Langundo. I feel foolish, only ever thinking it was us and Carabesh in the world."
"Anzen?" Senka said, surprised. "You're sure that's what it was called?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"We need to get on that ship when Kai is better. I know a woman, a Zoya, who was once the empress of Anzen. I came back to this world to look for her. I think that's a good place to start."
Ujarak stayed silent.
"Get your sea legs back, big man. We're going on a ship."
7
Black Eyes
"Tell me again, and go slowly," Carter said to Ramjeet. "Why do you think that a natural disaster will occur again? How can you possibly know?"
"It's in the math," Ramjeet replied urgently.
Black Eyes was tucked in the corner of the glass office, watching the exchange. Carter looked tired. He had bags under his eyes and was rubbing his temples, staring at the screen Ramjeet was showing him (Carter had informed her that this was called a tablet).
"Look, this is the background radiation of the universe."
"Yes, that has been in existence since the Big Bang. What about it?"
"It's changed."
"I'm looking at it. No, it hasn't."
"I'm telling you it’s infinitesimal but the change is there."
Carter sighed and leaned back in his chair behind his desk. "Okay, so even if it had changed, which I'm not saying it has, then why do you think that has anything to do with natural disasters?"
"The sun," Ramjeet said excitedly.
Carter stared at him.
"You went to MIT," Ramjeet said. "I don't know why I have to explain this."
"Let’s just say particle physics and meteorology weren't my forté," Carter said.
"The sun is being affected by the small change of background microwave radiation. This has slightly altered the oscillation of the magnetic field of the sun. That has a huge effect on our weather system."
"The tsunami in Brazil was caused by the Scotia Plate hitting the South American plate. It has nothing to do with the magnetic field of the sun."
"But-"
Carter held up his hand, effectively silencing the young handler. "Your job, Ram, is to make sure that Laura is safe on missions and to help her complete them. Now, I have asked you all to find me Freudman, by any means necessary. Where are we with that?"
Ramjeet hung his head. "I've found his grandfather, of the same name, a Doctor Wolfgang Freudman, born in 1876 in Germany. That's where the lineage ends. I cannot find any birth certificate in any nation for the younger Freudman. He wasn't officially born anywhere."
"He most likely has stolen that name from someone else," Carter said. "Took the name of a dead man, easiest way to change an identity. Start at the beginning. Find me someone with the same face as him. He sounded German, start there. Access their street cameras and look for him. Find him."
Ramjeet nodded and sulked as he walked to the door.
"Present the theory, with the math to back it up, when you're ready," Carter called to him. "Change my mind, but do it on your own time."
Ram perked up and walked through the door.
Carter sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"I have no idea what you guys were talking about," Black Eyes said.
"You're still here," Carter said without opening his eyes. "The hallucination hasn't left yet."
"I'm not a hallucination," Black Eyes said, sauntering over to the desk. "I'm dead. Big difference, we've been over this."
"Then why can't Ram see you? Why haven't all my handlers asked me who you are?"
"I don't want them to see me."
"Oh good, so I just look crazy because I'm talking to nothing. I've only been in charge here for what, six weeks? This is exactly what I need, a hallucination talking to me. Certainly makes for a strong leader."
Black Eyes hopped on to the desk, pushing a pen aside.
Carter snapped upright, "What did you do?"
Black Eyes shrugged, "I moved a pen. I didn't want it to stick in my ass."
"Yes but I heard it move. It actually moved."
Black Eyes rolled her eyes. "See? Not a hallucination. Can we be done with this conversation yet?"
"Why don't you show yourself to the rest of these people? Then I won't look crazy."
"Not my problem if you look crazy," Black Eyes said. "Plus, I can't believe I have to tell you this, but you're basically a spy, are you not? And you can't tell me any reason why you would need someone invisible that no one knows about?"
Carter sat up slowly, a glint in his eye.
"See? You may want me to stay invisible."
"Fair point. And you're here to stay?"
Black Eyes shrugged, "I like it here. It's nice, honestly, having some choices back. Not like Tory knew I had no choice when she told me to do something but the distance is nice. I spent a lot of time with only one other person, it's good to have some change."
"So tell me your story. Who is this Tory?"
"Tory is a Melanthios woman. They look like us, the Melanthios. You'd be one of them in our world. Anyway, she was a General in the army. We went to war, following Senka in her campaign to kill a traitor to the throne. Messy stuff, hundreds died. Tory... accidentally shot me during the war."
"Wait, you're telling me that you're attached, so to speak, with the woman that killed you?"
"Not as if I have a choice. Ghosts aren't really a thing to the Melanthios. You go to the spirit world of the ancestors after you die. I'm not really sure why I'm different."
"You said that Tory used to be a General..."
"We left Ismat after the war, that's the biggest Melanthios village. Traveled north over the tundra to find Tory's father. The Shaman sent her on the quest. I thought it was stupid but we found him." Black Eyes' eyes grew dark. "I told her it was a bad idea."
"What happened?"
"He tried to kill her. Her own father. He was acting as if he was possessed, like he couldn't stop himself. Then, suddenly, Tory transported us to a ship. We fought the leaders of the Ampulex. They are terribly powerful Zoya and we barely got away. Tory used a stone the Shaman gave to her in a vision..."
Carter was staring at her, pure confusion on his face. "What you're saying defies physics."
Black Eyes shrugged. "Not really sure what this physics is but it certainly sounds like magic. Anyway, we fought this man and woman and we barely got away. The weirdest part was I could do damage to them. I hadn't made contact with anything... physical for a long time." Black Eyes brandished her dagger, spinning it in her hand. "I cut the woman's face. Tory managed to bring us back along with the stone. Then her father ran out into a snow storm and died. Last I heard Tory was heading north over an ice bridge. I was sent to find Senka
and a couple of others. Once here I decided to stick around."
"How did you find me?"
Black Eyes shrugged. "Waited with Senka's body. Look, I have a question for you. What is that small thing that everyone has? It has a screen on it and lights up?"
Carter had to laugh. It was all so absurd. Worse was that he actually believed this hallucination's story. "What, a phone?" He reached into his pocket and brought his out, showing her.
Black Eyes beamed. "Yeah! That. Why does everyone have them? What does it do?"
Carter shrugged, "I really don't know where to start. It's a communication device and helps us access information."
"But all I see are people avoiding communication by looking at them."
Carter laughed. "You have a point. I'm exhausted and Ram has given me a lot to think about. Time to go home, shall we?"
Black Eyes jumped up from her perch on the desk. "You inviting me or do I have to follow you?"
"I'm inviting you. Might as well as I don't think you're going anywhere."
Black Eyes flashed him a rare smile.
Carter grabbed his coat and led her to the door of his glass-walled office. Thankfully the blinds had been closed during their conversation. He didn't need his staff thinking he was crazier than he was. Not thinking, he opened the door of the office and held it open for her. He didn't realize his mistake until he followed her through and saw Ramjeet's averted eyes fixed pointedly at his desk.
"Shit," he muttered to himself.
He walked toward the door, completely ignoring Black Eyes.
"Wait!" she called. She'd stopped at a picture on the wall beside the door. "Who is this?"
Carter paused and waited until Ramjeet returned his earphones to his ears and ignored him. The picture depicted a man with a fur hood, staring daggers at the camera. "That is Sir Roald Ammondson. He was the founder of the Zoya Task Force over a hundred years ago. Why?" Black Eyes was staring, wide eyed. "Black Eyes, why? Why does it matter?"
"That's him..." she muttered. ”That's the guy who attacked us on the ship in my world. Him and a woman. He's a Zoya?"