The Tree

  The thing screeched and shook, ripping the branch from its side, causing more damage. Its face swung toward her and Kima and Assan began to fire their guns. One of them caught it in the right eye and the orb shattered and leaked milky white down the thing’s face. The other bullets ricocheted off its armor and she heard Arel yelp as one caught him in the leg. Lil turned and gestured for Kima and Assan to stop. They lowered their weapons and she gestured them outside.

  That left herself and Hlani and Uchel along with Jagi, and Arel, who was stumbling back to his feet ignoring the blood slicking down his calf. One of the things’ legs came within range and Hlani slammed one of her hammers down on it. The crack resonated through the building. Lil looked at the metal of the hammers and their odd blue shimmer. She wondered at their origins.

  Lil could see other dents in its skin from where Hlani had struck. Lil continued to use the holes Jagi and Arel burned into it as bullseyes. The creature was bleeding and roaring and twirling, injured but not slowing down. They needed to hurt it worse in order to kill it.

  Lil thought of the magic at her fingertips and the things she could summon with will alone, but none seemed strong enough. Babel had always been her strongest weapon. She felt in her pocket under the purple robe. The root had allowed the tree to grow and for her to find her sibs. What would it do if she placed it in her own mouth against the stump of her tongue? The thing roared again and Lil did not hesitate any longer. She placed one of the roots in her mouth.

  Her tongue did not grow back and she ignored the surge of disappoitment. But it felt as if the root had attached itself to the stump. As if a phantom tongue now occupied her mouth. Lil tried to form a word of Babel and before she finished thinking the word she felt it grow to life in her mouth. It passed from her stump to the root itself, she felt it as it rattled in her mouth. She spat the word out along with the bone. It struck the creature and the word flared to life in the air.

  Written Babel.

  Lil memorized the curve of it, the way that the word rotated around itself. The word faded and the world exploded with noise. The thing screamed as its back half was blown apart. Hlani ducked behind a wall and Arel and Jagi were facing the thing head on but a large splash of its innards fell onto Lil. She wished she could speak if only so she could curse. Lil noticed the branch now floating next to her again spelling out the foulest words she knew. She did not stop it.

  Arel and Jagi came forward.

  “Lil.”

  They stopped a foot away and held their hands out, waiting for her to make the move that would put them in contact. She took the step forward and they folded her into her embrace. She felt their fingers on her face. They both found the scars around her mouth at the same time and seemed to understand what they meant.

  Their faces went dark with anger, their pale white skin shading further into gray, their normally light gray markings turning black.

  Arel and Jagi cautiously allowed one tentacle each to emerge from themselves and placed the tips gently on each of her temples. Lil was flooded with the warmth of caring and the relief of having located each other. Their voices were twined around each other into one and sounded in her mind.

  We are glad you are safe.

  Lil tried to communicate back at them the same way. She heard a voice but was unsure if it was her own. It sounded familiar but she worried it was wrong somehow.

  None of us are safe. Corpiliu falls apart.

  She waited for the shock to reverberate through them but it never came and she realized.

  You knew? The voice is incredulous and sounds sharper and she shudders again, not liking it.

  We suspected. There is a prophecy passed down in our House. It speaks of a world before. That we were led here but it was always meant to be a temporary haven, not a new home. It speaks of someone who will lead us back.

  Lil shivered at the insinuation in their voice; the blind faith and belief. She did not like it but had she not already accepted as much from the being whose bones made this world?

  Come, we should go before any more of these creatures—

  Maasu.

  Lil stopped to ask them what they knew and they flooded her mind with all the information they had. Created creatures, horrible, tortured mish-mashes of former beings. As soon as Lil saw the rumor in their minds that both alchemy and mechaniques were used in its construction she knew who had sent it after her. Now that she knew, she doubted it was over. Her Holder had always been a planner.

  We have to go. Now.

  Lil pulled away from them and reached for their wrists, dragging them out the door. Hlani and Uchel were already reacting to her panicked movement and were disappearing through the door. The street was still deserted when they emerged but Lil could see the flicker of movement in other buildings’ windows. The screams had stopped and so curiosity had taken hold. They had moments before others showed up to investigate.

  Min and Davi ran to her as soon as Lil was free of the building and she could not resist leaning down to hold them tightly. The branch floated behind her and twisted on her mental command.

  WeNeedToGoNow.

  MayerIsBehindThis.

  ThereWillBeMoreComing.

  That was when Lil heard the rumbling and turned to see three other Maasu come careening around the corner. One looked like the thing that had attacked them at the open market, but with even more appendages sprouting from its body. Another flew through the air on numerous fast wings that sliced through the air and gave the impression they could cut through flesh just as easily. Its body was long and divided into segments that spun independent of one another. The final one bringing up the rear was huge, the size of a small building, and its body was low to the ground with a curved back. The back unfolded, only instead of wings emerging, what came out were dozens of tiny black monsters, flying and zeroing in on them.

  ZAHA

  Zaha screamed as a yawning pit of blackness opened in front of her. The others in the lobby hurried over, drawing weapons from coats, powering up. She saw people’s clothes shred as their arms melted into their torsos or shifted into claws. Before anyone reached her a body came hurtling out of the darkness and slammed into her. Zaha fell to the ground and looked up in time to see the portal disappear as quickly as it had appeared.

  “Ma’am, please disentangle yourself from the unknown entity.”

  Zaha rolled her eyes. She was about to snap back at the man when the body on top of hers groaned and she recognized the voice.

  “Tae?”

  Zaha turned and slowly slid out from underneath him, trying to move him as little as possible. Hands grasped her own and helped her free. As soon as she could, Zaha scrambled around to see the face of the body. It was Tae. Bruises littered his jaw and cheeks and from the way they disappeared into his collar she assumed he was completely covered in them. His eyes fluttered opened and his mouth opened but nothing came out.

  She looked up at one of the Agents around, all trying to convince her to step away from Tae.

  “Where is Acting Agent-in-Charge Jayl? Get her here immediately. It’s Tae. One of the people who accompanied Agent-in-Charge Allan to Zebub.”

  Someone ran off and Zaha looked down, wary of touching Tae, scared she would injure him more. In minutes Jayl and her mother came into view.

  “Here, let me see to him.” The older Jayl came forward, her hands already reaching for the bruises on his face. When her fingers touched them, they started to fade from vivid blue-black, to purple, to yellow-green. And then she pulled her hands away and gently tapped his face.

  “Why can’t you heal him fully?” Zaha had not meant to ask the question. She had spent most of her time at the Agency doing her best to keep her head down and listen. To learn. She didn’t want to draw any more attention than what she already had, as the woman who had survived contact with the darkness.

  “I could, but a sudden healing can be as shocking as a sudden injury. I don’t know if his system can take that shock.”

 
; Zaha nodded and said nothing else.

  Tae’s eyes fluttered opened and then shot open as he tried to scramble to his feet.

  “Tae. Tae. Calm down.” The older Jayl kept a soothing hand on him until awareness flooded back into his gaze.

  “I’m back but . . . how?” Tae stuttered.

  “We were hoping you could tell us?” The younger Jayl asked.

  Tae shook his head at them and put one of his hands to his forehead. “No. I wish I could. The last thing I remember—” Suddenly he went quiet and stiff. “Daniel.”

  “Daniel?” The younger Jayl asked, stiffening and standing up.

  “Yes, we were—”

  Tae stopped as the younger Jayl put her hand on his shoulder. “Not here. Let’s go to my office.”

  Zaha watched them stand, and then, to her surprise Tae reached out and took her hand. Zaha felt his hand shake. He was not taking liberties. He was terrified. She squeezed his palm and followed him across the room to the odd elevators she hated so much.

  One uncomfortable ride later, the four of them were piling into Dayida’s office; not the large one of the top that Zaha knew Erik had used, but a larger, more mundane one a floor below.

  Neither Jayl protested Zaha’s coming along, so she slowly relaxed as they sat across from each other on the two sofas tucked into a nook by the window.

  “What were you going to say about Daniel?” Dayida asked, the anxiety in her voice easy to read. Zaha felt her own hand tremble at the thought of the horrible specter that only she could see.

  “He’s a traitor.”

  “What?” The older Jayl asked.

  “I don’t know a lot of details yet. I got shunted here before I could see a lot, and I’m still sorting through what I did see . . . but I’m absolutely sure he’s working against us. Although . . .” Tae trailed off.

  “What, Tae?” The younger Jayl prompted.

  Tae continued. “I don’t understand how I’m still alive. How I got here. I should be dead. The darkness and the building collapsing had me dead.” He tilted his head back and closed his eyes but they popped open a second later. “Erik!”

  “What about Erik?” The younger Jayl asked, leaning forward.

  “He must have done something. I saw his eyes flash red right before I fell,” Tae said.

  “Red?” The younger Jayl questioned.

  Tae looked at her. “Yes. Our powers were different there. Abilities enhanced; changed. Erik was in constant pain when he used his powers. I think he might have done something.”

  “How are things going over there?” The older Jayl asked.

  Tae winced. “Not good. This isn’t the little thing that we had here, it’s a full-blown invasion and the darkness is straight up swallowing buildings and people. I don’t know if there is a thing any small group of people could do about it, no matter how powerful.”

  Zaha saw Mrs. Jayl and Ms. Jayl share a look and then nod. They both went silent and finally Tae asked them a question.

  “How are things going here?”

  The continued silence was answer enough but Tae waited and looked at each of them waiting for one of them to answer him.

  Finally, the younger Jayl sighed and leaned forward.

  “Everything is going to come out. No one can keep it secret for much longer, even the government.”

  Tae’s looked at all of them in shock. The older Jayl nodded in confirmation.

  “I’ve been watching the news and reading the blogs and there are more and more reports of disappearances. More reports of weird monsters on the prowl, and not just from the magazines that no one really believes anymore. There are too many eyewitnesses for people to ignore it much longer.” Zaha said.

  “Eventually something too big is going to happen and the rest of the world is going to sit up and take notice. The governments of most countries have to have done so already,” the younger Jayl said.

  “It’s a good thing you’re back, actually. Your sight might come in handy as we try to figure out how to deal with coming out to the world.” The older Jayl looked at him speculatively.

  “Still, they probably could use my help more in Zebub. I should go back,” Tae said slowly.

  “No, you shouldn’t,” Zaha said before anyone else could.

  They all looked at her and she shrunk in on herself before straightening her spine.

  “I’ve been studying files on dealing with the—the Angelics. I don’t think it would be a good idea,” she revealed.

  They all looked at her curiously but none of them looked angry and so she continued.

  “They can be very strict to agreements when it suits them. It would be very easy for them to hurt you and claim you had only been granted safe passage for your first visit and had no such protection this time,” Zaha explained.

  The young Jayl nodded. “We’ll try to find a way to send Erik a message, at least, and let him know that you aren’t dead. Zaha, why don’t you show him to one of the rooms here to rest.”

  “Actually, I just want to get home,” Tae spoke up.

  The younger Jayl hesitated but nodded and Zaha helped Tae out of the room. She looked at him, the purple under his eyes, the way his cheek looked sharp enough to cut glass.

  “Come, I will drive you home,” she offered.

  “You don’t have to. I can call a cab,” Tae demurred.

  “Don’t be silly. I’m off in a few minutes anyway. Think of it as a first date,” Zaha said, linking her arm in his and smiling at his shocked expression.

  DAYIDA

  They saw Tae off, promising to look into some way to contact Erik and others, as if she had not been looking for one all along. Dayida closed her eyes. She ignored the presence of her mother. She rubbed at her eyes and the bridge of her nose, wishing the constant ache would go away. She twisted her upper body back and forth trying to loosen the tension in her back.

  Dayida had already gone through the files the Agency had on Zebub, and it was depressingly sparse. From population numbers to points of possible entry—all of it conjecture at best, but mostly blank. Dayida had also been re-reading the files as an excuse to avoid her mother. Hettie cleared her throat and Dayida opened her eyes and looked up.

  Hettie Jayl stood over her, framed in the light. Hettie was what some people would call an Amazon: tall, thick, and muscled—she stood 6’5” in her bare feet, with dark brown skin that looked smooth as silk. Her hair was down, dreadlocks that started black and then got lighter and lighter until the tips that brushed the backs of her knees were a golden brown.

  “Dayida, you’ve been avoiding me,” she said.

  Dayida sighed and met her mother’s eyes. They had once been the same hazel-flecked brown as her own all the time but nowadays they were more likely to be a mix of the black and dark blue of the deepest oceans.

  “Yes.”

  Hettie’s head tilted to the side. It reminded Dayida of a scientist studying a suddenly interesting specimen. “At least you admit it. Yet we must work together. More than ever. The Angelics mean war.”

  “I know.” Dayida went back to rubbing her face where it ached.

  Hettie sighed. “Perhaps it’s my fault. You were always shy and fearful as a child—”

  “Cautious! Not fearful. I was cautious,” Dayida snapped. “And how would you know in any case?”

  Hettie paused and nodded, just once, acknowledging the point.

  “Still, we don’t have time for caution. We agreed to work together and that is what we must do. Do you believe that the Angelics only intend to attack New York? They will hit us before long.”

  “I know, Hettie. I want to understand why they are attacking.”

  Hettie sighed and lowered herself back into one of the chairs that faced Dayida’s desk.

  “The why is important but not nearly as important as making sure that we live until we get the answers. My guess is that they have no faith in their ability to defeat the darkness and intend to take our world, to buy themselves time. We need
to start preparing for that.”

  “Matthias gave us the list of independents in the area for a reason. We will contact them tomorrow.”

  Dayida took a breath to interrupt but Hettie hurried on.

  “We will ask those who are willing to patrol in groups, to pay special attention to any areas people have recently gone missing. I think at this point we can both agree that the Agency and perhaps the government itself is proving less than useful. They must be aware that New York is only the beachhead of a much larger invasion. Yet they have not chosen to contact us. So, either they are telling none of the other offices or they are simply not telling us. Which means we are effectively cut off.”

  Dayida rested her head in her hands and watched Hettie with a bitter twist to her lips. She could feel the tightening in her shoulders that came along with accessing her powers and she took a deep breath to sooth it away. Hettie trailed off and Dayida did not know if it was because she had finally cataloged the look on her daughter’s face or if she had sensed the brief flare of her power.

  “I wish you would not assume I was stupid,” Dayida said slowly.

  Hettie’s eyes widened.

  “I have, in fact, already called the independents. I am also about to call the Organization and see what resources they would be willing to share. I also thought that this could be a land grab, but the way they are going about it makes no sense. They have the power to attack in multiple places, with powers and appearances that would cause immediate panic. I’m assuming they had a better plan, and were pushed to do this early. Which I’m guessing is thanks to the darkness. But all of this is conjecture and until we know their plans and reasons, we are fighting blind. I do not like being uninformed,” Dayida said. She longed for the solitude of her studio and the ability to shut out the world but those days seemed like they would be a long time in returning.

  Hettie said nothing, simply sitting back and staring for a moment. When she finally spoke her voice was soft.

  “I do not think you’re stupid. I never thought that about you, my child.”

  Dayida stiffened at the term of endearment.