The Way of the Black Beast

by Stuart Jaffe

  "You can't hurt me anymore," Malja said, placing her foot on Jarik's shoulder as she gripped Viper. "But I can hurt you."

  She jerked Viper free. Jarik screamed. "That was for Nolan's sister, Audrex," she said. She raised Viper over her head, but before she could strike, a blast of energy tossed her several feet away.

  Callib hurried to Jarik. "It's not possible." He cradled his dying brother and made no attempt to hide his streaming tears. "We're gods."

  As Malja jumped back to her feet, Callib lifted his hand and pointed a warning finger. From the corner of her eye, Malja saw Tommy preparing to defend her, and though she couldn't see Tumus, she knew the Chi-Chun woman also readied her magic. Malja held Viper at her side.

  She stepped forward, and Callib thrust his arm. But nothing happened. Concentrating all his energy, Callib tried again. A few sparks fizzled from his fingers.

  In a somber, respectful tone, Tumus said, "Their magic was tied together. As Jarik dies, so does their power."

  "That's not possible," Callib said. "I was a magician long before Jarik."

  "Once you started linking your power with Jarik's, you entwined your abilities forever."

  Callib's dumbfounded eyes gazed upon Jarik's face. He stroked Jarik's cheek and nodded. "It's okay. Perhaps it's best this way." The floor lurched to the side and dropped three feet. Callib let out a short chuckle that brought a perverse gleam to his eye. He looked from Malja and Tommy to Tumus and Cole and finally, to Fawbry. He let out a barking laugh. "Jarik's dying," he yelled. "Jarik's dying, and he's the one holding our home in the air. We're all going to die together. One big, happy family."

  With each successive laugh erupting from Callib's chest, his face twisted into a grotesque, maniacal mask. Like a sigh, the fight left Malja. There seemed no point now. Jarik and Callib were no longer who they had been.

  "Malja," Cole said, her voice shaking more than the floor.

  The left side of the building tilted for a second before leveling out. Malja sheathed Viper as she ran over to Cole. Tumus, Fawbry, and Tommy followed. Together, they rushed through the door and down the long hall lined with focus booths.

  Several of the booths had been knocked open by the building's sudden drop. The magicians inside were dead. A few bore the serene expression of someone asleep or in deep meditation. But others died in horrible agony, clawing at the booth doors until their fingernails were no more.

  "How could this have happened? We never heard anything," Tumus asked.

  Cole said, "Sweetie, Jarik and Callib linked everyone together to create that stable portal. When the whole contraption blew, well, there are always side effects."

  Malja skidded to a halt. "What? You're saying I killed them?"

  "No, no, dear Malja, no, no. You were inside the portal when this happened. Callib did it, when he struck out at Tommy, when he tried to stop the boy from saving you."

  Malja didn't know whether to believe Cole, but the whining sound of bending metal and a turbulent thumping in the floor reminded her feet to start moving again. They left the corridor and hustled through the enormous foyer. Bits of wall and ceiling dropped like hail crashing into the floor and spitting up debris.

  Tumus reached the other side first. She pushed the large door open and stood in the doorway, blocking everybody's progress. She looked back at Malja and shook her head. "We're too late."

  Malja caught up and peered out the doorway. Although the building sank slowly, the bridge was still at least twenty feet higher up.

  From behind, Fawbry let out a short yelp. Everyone looked at him. He looked back, a bit dazed, a bit unsure. "What's going on?" he asked.

  Cole laughed, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed his reddening cheek. "You went a little crazy, Faw-Faw. Kind of shut down for awhile. But you're back now, and you've helped save Tommy."

  "I did?"

  Malja said, "Yes, yes, you helped. You're a hero. But if we don't get out of here, you'll be a dead hero. So let's go. We have to climb.

  Cole said, "Not at all. You don't think I spent all that time working for Jarik and Callib and I didn't learn any thing, now did you? Those boys would have a backup plan just in case something like this happened."

  "You think they planned for us to come and destroy them?"

  "No, but they would've planned for Jarik being incapacitated, seeing as how he's the one keeping this place in the air."

  "Fine, fine," Tumus said. "So what's this backup plan?"

  Cole leaned her shoulder against the wall and thought. Nobody spoke, though all of them stared at her. Fawbry shivered as he looked around. Tommy slipped his hand into Malja's. She clenched it tightly, but kept her attention on Cole. If she even glanced at Tommy, she knew she would start hugging him and possibly start crying. She wasn't sure she would be able to stop.

  "A crash room," Cole blurted out. "They probably built a crash room — a reinforced section of the building that could withstand most types of impact. If they were in trouble, they could lock up inside it and just wait the whole thing out."

  "Great. Where is it?" Fawbry asked, his voice climbing pitch with each word.

  "If I were designing it, I'd put it at the bottom of a normal building, but this one is floating — so, I guess it would be in the middle since an impact could come from any direction. That way they'd have plenty of cushion on all sides."

  The building reeled to the side, sending everyone scrambling to stay upright. Tumus braced herself in the doorway. Shattering glass and tumbling rocks echoed against the walls. Malja planted her feet in a wide stance. A moment later, the building settled.

  Holding tight to the doorjamb, Tumus leaned out. "I think, maybe, we can—"

  Malja grabbed the back of Tumus's clothes and tugged her back inside. "No time for debates. Cole, lead the way to the crash room. Everyone else follow."

  "Look here, I don't know for sure there is one," Cole said.

  "Do your best," Malja said, "because any minute now, Jarik is going to die, and this whole place comes crashing down."

  "I'm just not sure—"

  "Cole!"

  "Okay, okay. My goodness, you don't have to be so rough."

  Malja gestured to the crumbling building. Cole said nothing as she headed back through the foyer and into the focus booth corridor. She stopped without warning.

  "Damn," she said, staring at the floor.

  "What now?" Fawbry asked.

  A wide blood trail painted a path from the far end of the corridor into one of the unused focus booths. Cole said, "Callib dragged Jarik through there. He's taking him to the crash room. We're too late."

  "We can't be," Fawbry said.

  Malja kicked the booth at her right three times and cursed. She took several deep breaths before speaking. "You're sure we can't find this crash room in time?"

  "By the time I find it, Jarik and Callib will have it sealed up. I'm sorry."

  "Then we climb. Get high enough to cross to that bridge."

  "One of these doors should—"

  Malja kicked down one door, then another. Fawbry had reached the third and tried the handle. The door opened to a stairwell. With a bow, he gestured toward the stairs as if inviting her to a dance. His hands shook, but Malja appreciated his attempt to not panic.

  "Hurry now," Malja said, making sure everyone went ahead before going upstairs herself.

  Climbing stair after stair, adrenaline pumping her legs faster than the muscles wanted to work, Malja listened to the building fall apart around her. She heard Tumus praying in short puffs. She could see the concern and bald fear on Cole's brow. And Tommy — Malja only wanted to think as far as knowing he was with them and alive.

  "This door, I think," Cole said.

  They entered an octagonal library. Books lined the walls and the air smelled musty. Two tables dominated the floor. Pieces of yellowing paper and moldy covers were spread across the surfaces. Some papers had been laid out like puzzle pieces that didn't quite fit. Others were stacked for later use.


  "What a shame," Cole said as she led them through the room. "All this effort to rebuild lost works of knowledge, and now it's going to be lost again."

  With a glimpse at the table, Malja said, "Keep moving."

  Cole did as commanded, though her eye lingered on the half-completed texts. Fawbry rushed ahead, and at the far end of the library, he pushed aside two sliding doors that opened onto a narrow landing. Cole followed, leaned over the railing and by the relieved drop of her shoulders, Malja knew they were high enough.

  Malja took a look for herself. She judged the distance as no more than fifteen feet and dropping. "Get ready," she said.

  Cole swung her feet over the railing. Malja lifted Tommy into a similar position. She held him tight against her chest and felt his right hand pat her arm.

  The building jolted and Cole lost her balance. Rather than tumble, she had the presence to push off. She hit the road and crumpled into a fetal position, clasping her ankle and crying.

  Tommy wriggled in an attempt to dislodge from Malja. "No," she said. "Just a few feet closer first."

  He glowered at her.

  "We're sinking slowly. It'll be fine to just wait."

  He shook his head and pulled up his sleeves to reveal the tattooed skin. Dark, thick-lined tattoos covered his arms like winter clothes.

  Malja stepped back, unsure of what she thought of the sight. It revolted her, but it was also Tommy — she couldn't look upon him and feel that way. She leaned in to view the details, and he leaped off.

  "Tommy!"

  When he hit the surface, he tucked into a ball and rolled to a safe recovery. He glanced up at her, smiled, and went to Cole's side.

  "I-I can't do this," Tumus said. Her dark skin took on a sickly hue. She shook her head over and over. "Korstra help me. I can't do this. I'll never make it."

  "It's okay," Fawbry said. "I don't want to jump either, but you don't have to. When the building sinks some more, we'll be just about even with the bridge. We can just hop right off."

  "No. I can't do this."

  "And I thought Korstra gave you such strength. You going to let a Kryssta-loving fool like me show you up? Come on, now. We're close enough. Watch." Fawbry hopped off, hit the ground with a grunt, popped to his feet, and waved back. "Easy," he said.

  Malja pressed against Tumus's back. "You can do this. It's just a little step to safety."

  The building dropped fast. Malja and Tumus fell to the floor which dipped enough to slide them back into the library. Books tumbled off the shelves. Malja's cheek hit a table leg and the copper taste of blood coated her tongue.

  "Tumus, we have to go now."

  Tumus had wrapped her arms around a chair. "I can't. I'm sorry. I've never been in the air like this before. I can't."

  "You must."

  "Go without me. I'm not afraid to die. Korstra can have me."

  "That's it," Malja said. She got to her feet and crossed to Tumus as the building leveled out once more. "If you aren't afraid to die, then shut up and come with me." She tore the chair away from Tumus, squatted down, and lifted Tumus over her shoulders.

  The floor shivered. Malja lined up with the doorway and kicked the chair against the railing. The shivering grew to a rumble.

  Letting out a primal scream, Malja sprinted forward, her tired legs straining under the added weight of Tumus. She stepped onto the chair, then the railing. The building sank rapidly. As Malja pushed off, she watched the bridge pass before her eyes. She reached out — metal and concrete scraping along her chest, Tumus screaming in her ear — and latched onto the bridge as Jarik and Callib's building tumbled into the darkness below.

  Malja hung from the bridge, her fingers finding the slimmest purchase, while Tumus clung to her back like a baby cholloh. Fawbry stretched out toward them, but they were too far down. Malja let out an aggravated moan. Her fingers slipped.

  That was it. She just slipped for a second, but gravity gave no quarter for such mistakes. They fell backward. Malja watched Fawbry's anguish as he reached uselessly for her. Tumus let go, weeping from the sudden darkness that enfolded them as they lost sight of the bridge.

  Falling to my death twice in one day. If her body hadn't been so tired, she might have laughed.

  A distant, thunderous thump reported the destruction of Jarik and Callib's fortress. A long fall. Too much time alone with her thoughts. Too much time to pay the dead their due.

  Heat suddenly. First a slight warmth. Next came a full-blown hot air thrusting up from below. An explosion. The air lifted her like a doll, effortlessly throwing her into the sky. The bridge came into view and just as fast disappeared below her.

  "Just kill me already," Malja yelled.

  The heat beneath her dissipated, and as her body crested, she felt a familiar sensation along her arms like fingers tapping up and down her skin. Instead of falling back, her body shifted toward the bridge and descended in a peaceful, controlled manner. She looked down to see Tommy guiding her and Tumus to the ground.

  When she reached the bridge, Malja and Tumus went straight for Tommy. He lowered to the ground, breathing hard like he had jogged several miles. His body shivered as the sweat covering him chilled his skin.

  Malja wrapped her arms around him and kissed his forehead. She didn't wipe the tears from her face or muffle the sound of her bawling. All she wanted was for Tommy to know, to feel within his bones and heart and, if such a thing existed, his soul — that she needed him. She loved him.

  "Thank you," she said. Tommy matched her grip. Feeling his small hands pulling her closer sent her into another fit of tears.

  "See?" Fawbry said to Tumus. "Easy."

  Tumus prostrated near Tommy's feet. Her hands shaking like a bowstring just shot. She mumbled to the ground, but Malja distinctly heard the name Korstra.

  When she lifted her head, Tumus smiled and said, "It's over."

  Malja wanted to believe that, but she heard an odd buzzing that sent uneasy pulses through her. As the sound grew louder, she let Tommy go, wiped her face, and stood. Viper itched at her back. She let the weapon free, the sight of it sobering Tumus.

  "What's wrong?" Cole asked.

  "Listen," Malja said. By now they could all hear the horrible buzzing of Dragonflies. "Be ready."

  Fawbry lifted Cole, while Tumus carried Tommy. Despite her exhaustion, Malja led the way with Viper as a warning to any Dragonflies suddenly getting brave. She used all her energy to keep moving and not stumble. If she showed any serious weakness, she expected the Dragonflies would swarm in on them.

  As they progressed across the bridge, Malja kept searching the darkness. They wound through the mounds of trash and rubble, and still Malja remained alert. Several times her head swam. She feared she might pass out, but her will refused such an easy escape.

  As they neared the factory fence, she could feel the eyes watching. Dragonflies buzzed overhead but none came close enough to be seen. Zorum's split body lay in a heap not too far away. That reminder did far better in protecting them then Malja's shaking arms holding Viper.

  Two workers appeared with three horses. Their terrified gazes drifted between Malja and the billowing smoke from the destroyed fortress. That thick cloud would cover the sky for days.

  One worker handed his reins over and dashed back to the factory. The other swallowed hard and held his reins out. He pointed into the distance. The message was clear enough — Take these horses and go far away as fast as you can. Malja had set them free from the factory life and they wanted to throw her out. As she snatched the reins, she growled and the worker sprinted away.

  "Easy," Tumus said. "You just killed their gods."

  Malja climbed atop a brown mare and closed her eyes for just a second of relief. She didn't think she had the strength to endure another fight. She barely had the strength to open her eyes again. Fawbry mounted a horse and sat Cole across, protecting her wounded ankle with care.

  Tumus tapped Malja's knee and handed Tommy to her. Malja slid the
boy in front and wrapped her arms around him. His unconscious body limp and unreactive. Without a word, Tumus walked away and mounted the third horse.

  Before they entered the fenced-off factory, Cole pointed them westward for several blocks. The detour would add another day's travel most likely, but Malja didn't mind. They avoided the factory workers and any other Dragonflies in that area. And they had the time. After all, there was nothing left to do.

  * * * *

  Tommy still didn't speak, but the recent events had left their mark. Each night they made camp, he labored as hard as ever with the others, but when they finished, he curled up next to Malja, insisted she place her arm around him, and moved little until morning. Even while he ate, he did so from this position.

  Malja tried to give the boy what he needed, but it did not come naturally. Besides, part of him was Barris Mont. She'd look in his eyes, searching for a flicker of that creature, and grew angry no matter what she thought she saw. After a week of travel, her conflicted feelings must have become apparent for Tumus chose to approach her one evening after everyone else had fallen asleep.

  "He's all Tommy. You don't have to worry."

  Malja saw no point in pretending ignorance. "Easy for you. You loved them both. This boy is double the prize for you."

  "You know I don't see him as a prize. Korstra, in his infinite wisdom, found a way to save this boy's life. Barris gave himself up to Tommy, and while he lives on in the boy's body, he has no control over anything. Tommy is entirely Tommy. He merely has the essence, the power, of Barris Mont."

  "This is supposed to make me feel better?"

  Tumus grinned. "You need to forget about Barris. Just see Tommy. Nothing else has changed."

  "I don't know. The magic he created to fight with Callib was ... if I hadn't actually seen it ... and you're saying that's all him. No Barris?"

  "I'm saying that the boy is still a boy. And he still needs you."

  "You wish it was you."

  Tumus stroked Tommy's hair. "A little, yes. Yet I was not the one who saved him from slavery. I was not the one who protected him from the wilds."

  "Some protection. He would've died, if left to me. You were the one who took him to real safety."