Crossroads

by Stephen Kenson

  I scrambled forward and grabbed Talonclaw, heedless of the gore spattering the hilt. The moment I touched it, I sent the power of my magic flowing into the blade, awakening its enchantment and feeling its power thrum in my hand. I focused my perceptions to take in the swirling magical forces that played about the chamber, centered on the darkly glowing form of Garnoff, shimmering with unrestrained power.

  “Now.” I said to Garnoff, “let’s finish this.”

  “You arrogant pup, do you think you can match the power I possess? Have you any idea how powerful I am now?” The mage gestured tightly with one hand and hurled a blast of green flame at me. Holding Talonclaw in front of me like a shield, I focused on directing the energy of the magefire away from me. The inferno flowed and hissed all around me, but I remained untouched.

  “I don’t think I’m the one doing the underestimating here.” I said. I took a step closer and Garnoff started to back away.

  He gestured again and flung a powerbolt. It also spattered against my shields. I staggered slightly under the force of it, but continued to move closer and closer as Garnoff backed against the glowing energy shield. I back-handed him, sending him crumpling against the barrier.

  “It’s different with someone who can fight back, isn’t it?” I said. “It’s harder when you have to do your own dirty work, isn’t it?” I punched him in the jaw, drawing blood from a split lip. Garnoff’s form seemed to boil away like mist, transforming into a hideous black serpent, with a body nearly as thick as my waist. I narrowed my eyes and brought my knee up hard under the serpent’s jaw and was rewarded with a dull cracking sound. The image of the serpent vanished as suddenly as it appeared, leaving Garnoff kneeling on the floor, trying to crawl away from me.

  “No more tricks.” I said. “No more games. You’re finished playing with people’s lives, you sick fragger. You're not killing anyone else to feed your need to feel powerful.” Tears flowed freely down my face as all of the emotions I’d kept tightly controlled while in Garnoff’s presence poured out of me. Gunfire echoed and rattled outside the dome, along with muffled screams—from which side, I didn't know. At that moment, I didn’t care. “You can’t break my defenses, and you learn how to light when you’re ‘street trash’ like me.”

  “Please.” Garnoff moaned. “I’ll give you anything, anything. We could be partners, allies.” The roar of gunfire dwindled.

  “Anything?” I said. A momentary hope lit in Garnoff’s black eyes.

  “Anything.” he said.

  I grabbed the front of his robe and pulled his face close to mine. “Money?”

  “Yes, as much as you want.”

  “Power?”

  “Power like you’ve never dreamed of.”

  “Influence?”

  “Yes, yes, whatever you want, just tell me.” Garnoff babbled.

  “I’ll tell you what I want.” I hissed, mere centimeters from his face. “I want Jase’s life back.” And I buried Talonclaw in his heart.

  YES! cried a voice in my mind. FREEEEE! FREE AT LAST! I stumbled back as Garnoff’s body burst into flames. The magical dome dissolved like ice on a hot skillet as the dry corpse hanging from the ceiling ignited as well, burning with a white-hot fire. I coughed and took a few more steps back from the searing heat.

  “What the hell. . .?” I heard Boom shout before there was a thunderous clap of noise, and the flames cleared.

  Garnoff stood on the edge of the magical circle, taller and more forceful than I’d ever seen him before. A ragged hole stained with blood was torn in the front of his black robe, but the skin underneath it was unscarred, with no sign of the wound I’d just inflicted, and flushed with a pink blush of health. He drew himself up to his full height, threw back his head and laughed, a deep, booming laughter that echoed off the walls of the chamber. When he opened his eyes to look at me, the dull and lifeless blackness of Garnoff’s gaze was replaced with a burning red-orange color, like an inferno raged inside the magician’s skull just behind his eyes.

  There was a sound from near where the mage stood as Trouble started to push herself away from the wall where she fell.

  “Trouble!” I yelled. “Look ...” but I was too late. With the speed of a leaping flame, Garnoff seized Trouble and dragged her to her feet, holding her in front of him like a living shield, one arm cocked around her neck. The other hand ignited, turning into a twisted black claw wreathed in flames, which he held close to Trouble’s face as he glared at me.

  “Well done, father.” Gallow spoke through Garnoff’s lips. “You’re as capable as ever. I knew I could count on you if I needed a killing done.”

  21

  “One false move, and she dies.” Gallow said, holding a burning hand perilously close to Trouble’s face. “You know me well, father. You know I would kill her gladly.” I gestured to Boom and the others. “He’s right. Lower your weapons.”

  “Good.” Gallow said. “Very good. Now I must leave.”

  “Let Trouble go.” I said.

  “Do you take me for a fool? No, she will come with me, and I will release her once we are a safe distance away.”

  “Talon!” Trouble said. “Don’t listen to him! Don’t. . .” Gallow tightened an arm around her throat. “Don’t be foolish.” he hissed, “and you can continue to live.” Then he began to drag her to the door, moving toward us.

  “You will all move out of our way, if you want her to live.” he said.

  “Do what he says.” I told the others. I got hard looks from Hammer and Sloane, but they were professionals and I was in charge, so they did as they were told.

  “This is far from over.” Gallow said to me as he passed, his smile twisting Garnoff’s features.

  “You’re right about that.” I said.

  “Until the next time.” the spirit said, dragging Trouble to the illusory wall covering the exit from the chamber.

  He backed out through the wall, taking her with him, both of them passing through the illusion like shadows.

  Immediately I turned to the others. “Where’s Isogi?” I asked.

  “Over here.” a voice said from a corner of the room. Isogi’s immaculate suit was spattered with blood and there was a gun in his hand, although it was lowered at the moment. He looked dazed as he realized events had spiraled out of his control long ago. “I don’t understand . . .” he began.

  “Garnoff's dead.” I said. “And he played you for suckers. He wanted to free that fire spirit and now he’s done it, but the spirit has taken control of his body. You’ve made a serious mistake, Isogi-jan.”

  The sound of his name seemed to snap Isogi out of his confusion. He turned his eyes directly toward me for a moment, before lowering them toward the floor in shame. “You are right. I must make amends.”

  “What can we do?” Boom asked.

  “I’m going after them.” I said. “Clear out of here and get back to the safe house. With luck, Trouble and I will see you there soon.”

  I started for the door when Boom put a large hand on my shoulder. “Wait.” he said. “We can go with you.”

  I shook my head. “No, I have to do this alone. Gallow is a spirit. He can’t really be hurt by physical weapons, but Trouble can. Starting a firefight just means more ways she could get caught in the crossfire. The only real way to handle him is with magic. I learned his true name on the metaplanes. It should allow me to banish him.”

  “If he gives you the chance.” Boom said.

  “I can’t let him go.” I said. “He’ll kill Trouble as soon as he thinks he’s safe. Now get going!”

  I turned and stepped through the illusory wall into the tunnel beyond, Talonclaw clutched in my hand. I didn’t bother getting a gun. Like I told Boom, mundane weapons weren’t much use against a spirit, even one possessing a living body. Only magic and magical weapons like my mageblade could harm him. Gallow was like no other spirit I’d encountered, though, so there were no guarantees.

  I kept my senses focused on the astral plane, looking f
or signs of Gallow’s passing. He was a powerful spirit, and his presence left faint traces in the astral. They wouldn’t last for long, but long enough for me to follow him, I hoped. I went down the tunnel and out into the main subway tunnel, deep beneath the streets of Boston. Gallow seemed to know the tunnels fairly well. He’s spent a great deal of time down here, I thought, visions of the murders Gallow had carried out down in the underground more than a decade ago playing in my mind. If he wasn’t stopped, those killings would start all over again, and Trouble would be the first.

  Gallow will head for the Catacombs, I thought. He would seek familiar ground where he felt safe. I was fairly sure he would keep Trouble alive until then. She could still prove useful as a hostage. Only when he reached his home turf would he take the time to kill her. From what I knew about Gallow already, he didn’t like to kill randomly or quickly. He was a sadist, drawing pleasure and power from the fear and pain of his victims, prolonging their deaths as long as possible.

  I enjoyed killing them so much, Gallow had said. Like you did. I thought about the Asphalt Rats on fire and the spirit’s words and shook my head. There was no time for that now. Gallow’s astral traces beckoned me further down the tunnel.

  It was well after midnight according to the chronometer on my visual display. That meant the trains were no longer running. The tunnel was dark and silent, lit only by the scattered emergency and maintenance lights along its length. The faint impressions left in astral space allowed me to follow Gallow’s movements, although it wasn’t difficult to figure which way he went.

  For a moment, I contemplated using astral projection, sending out my spirit to track them and leaving my physical body behind. It would be a lot faster than trying to follow them physically. As a spirit, I could reach Gallow from the astral plane and Trouble would be safe from any conflict, being a mundane. I just as quickly dismissed the idea. Gallow was still a physical threat to Trouble and knowing the spirit’s true name wouldn’t help me fight it on its home turf of the astral plane. If Gallow did hurt Trouble, I wouldn't be able to help her as an immaterial wraith. Dragging Trouble along, Gallow wouldn’t be able to move very quickly, so I should be able to catch up.

  A short distance down the main tunnel, I found a maintenance hatch. The lock was melted into slag, still steaming in the cool air, the hatch slightly ajar. I opened it carefully, my mageblade in hand. There was a narrow corridor beyond it, faintly lit by green fluorescent strips placed along the walls near the ceiling. I stepped in and closed the hatch behind me. The astral traces and the physical evidence showed that Gallow had passed this way.

  The corridor ended at the top of a ladder leading downward into darkness. Reluctantly, I sheathed Talonclaw and started climbing down the ladder. The maintenance shaft was old, the rungs of the metal ladder spotted with rust and corrosion. It wasn’t visited or used often, from what I could tell. At the bottom of the ladder was a heavy steel door with “CLOSED: KEEP OUT” stenciled on it in white paint. The lock was melted through like the one on the hatch above, and I could make out the faint marks of fingertips in the softened metal.

  Beyond the door lay part of the Catacombs, the abandoned portions of the underground sealed off after the 2005 quake because they were unsafe or simply too extensively damaged to make repairs cost-effective or worthwhile. The closed-off tunnels and stations in areas like the Rox and South Boston were havens for outcast metahumans, ghouls, and other creatures that preferred to hide from the light of day. The door opened onto an old platform, closed off for more than fifty years. Strange tracks crisscrossed through the dust that lay thick over everything, and the empty train tunnel yawned like a gaping black maw.

  I drew Talonclaw and silently wished I had gone the whole route and gotten cybereyes, or at least some retinal modification like the Assets’ cyberdoc had suggested. The catacombs were dark and silent. It would be difficult to see much of anything down here. Fortunately, I still had my astral sight. The glow of the living earth was dampened here, suffocated by thick layers of concrete and metal, but I could still see the faint impressions left by Gallow’s presence, and the living auras of Gallow and Trouble should stand out, clearly visible in the gloom. I moved out onto the platform and looked out down one of the tunnels.

  There! I spotted a telltale glimmer of light, the light of a living aura, shining in the darkness.

  Unfortunately, there was no way to conceal the glow of my own aura from Gallow’s astral senses, either. He must have spotted me at the very same moment, because the tunnel was suddenly lit up with a hellish light as a stream of fire shot toward me.

  I spun to the side and flattened myself behind a heavy concrete pillar as the flames shot past, feeling the wave of heat on my skin.

  “Give up, Gallow!” I shouted, the words echoing strangely in the vast, empty tunnels. “You can’t escape me! There’s nowhere for you to go!”

  “No!” the spirit shouted in Garnoff’s voice. “You are no longer my master! I am free, and I will never become part of you again! You cannot stop me and if you do not leave, I will kill her!” I heard a gasp of pain from Trouble and a muffled cry as she tried to say something.

  I didn’t really expect Gallow to surrender, knowing that I couldn’t allow it to go free. I gathered my power around me like a shining mantle and spun around the side of the pillar. Another blast of fire roared down the tunnel. This time, I rushed forward and jumped from the platform to the old train tracks below, the flames missing me by centimeters. When I landed, I raised my hands and called out an invocation, the words echoing down the tunnel.

  “Avant, ye elemental! Avant, ye nature unbound! Begone from this place and trouble it no more!” The words echoed those Dr. Gordon had spoken to banish the fire elemental Garnoff sent against me. It seemed fitting somehow to use his formula. “By the power of the elements, I command you! By the power of your Name, I compel you! You are Talon’s Hate and I, your maker, bid you begone!”

  Gallow screamed in fury as streamers of light stretched out from my aura to touch his. His grip on Trouble weakened, and she was able to break free. The spirit, in Garnoff’s body, could do nothing to stop her. We were both locked in magical combat until the struggle of wills was decided. Bright, fiery energies surged back toward me, and I could feel Gallow struggling against the banishment.

  “You . . . cannot. . . destroy . . . me.” the spirit cried. “I am your dark reflection, all that you longed to do, but feared!”

  I ignored his protests and focused my will even stronger. “I am responsible for making you.” I said. “Now I will unmake you. You will do no further harm.” I felt Gallow’s power begin to weaken as I fought with all my strength.

  As the battle raged between us, I saw Trouble move out of the corner of my eye. She picked herself up along the tunnel wall and went for the weapon Gallow had dropped when she broke free. As she scooped up my Ares Viper, I tried to call out to her.

  “Trouble! Don’t! You can’t. . .”

  Gallow saw his opening and seized it, sending a massive surge of power against me. I gasped and staggered, nearly driven to my knees by it. I could feel my own strength buckling under the savage assault.

  Trouble hesitated only a second before leveling the gun at Gallow and firing. A burst of high-velocity flechettes hummed through the air at close range, shredding parts of Garnoff’s stylish corporate suit and the black overrobe. The needles tore exposed flesh and inflicted enough damage to bring down a man twice Garnoff’s size, but Gallow did not flinch in his assault. The wounds immediately began to close, healing even as I watched. Gallow sent a final surge of power that dropped me to my knees before breaking off the contest. He turned toward Trouble, flames igniting in a blazing aura around his body.

  “Have you learned nothing?” he said with a smug grin.

  “Weapons of the physical world cannot harm me, woman. I am immortal, invincible!”

  He lashed out with a hand, sending a jet of flames rushing toward Trouble. She screamed, a terrible
sound in the tunnel, and fell back, her clothes burning. She dropped to the rough and rocky ground, rolling around madly, trying to put out the flames. I got to my feet and rushed toward her as Gallow gave a hideous grin and started off down the tunnel.

  “If you want me destroyed, you can come after me now.” he called over his shoulder. “Or you can try to save her useless life.”

  I cursed Gallow as his laughter echoed down the tunnel, but I stopped short at Trouble’s side. The flames were mostly out, and I threw my long coat over her to snuff out the rest. Her clothes and skin were terribly burnt, most of the hair on one side of her hair shorn away by the flames. Raw, red burns stretched across her skin, already beginning to ooze a clear, shiny liquid. She moaned and writhed in pain, barely conscious. I was momentarily grateful for the banishing contest. If our battle hadn’t depleted Callow’s strength, his attack probably would have killed her outright.

  I knelt down beside her and placed my hands over her heart, calling the mana to me. I channeled energy into her weakening life force, pouring mana through my body and spirit like cooling water to soothe the angry burns. A bright glow surrounded her body in my astral sight, growing stronger as the power flowed. The mana burned like fire along my veins and my nerves. The struggle with Gallow had weakened me as well. I was drawing too much power, more than my weakened system could handle at the moment, but I had no choice. No one else was going to die because of my mistakes. Not so long as there was anything I could do about it. I ignored the pain and kept the energy flowing.

  Before my eyes, Trouble’s burns began to heal, angry red giving way to pink and then to pale new skin that grew in the damaged places. Blood and plasma stopped flowing and her skin firmed and strengthened beneath my touch. Her breathing became more regular and calm as the pain was washed away by the flow of life-giving mana.