Thirteen Forgotten Worlds (Seam Wardens Book 1)

by Brant Williams

  “Good to know. But what I really need clarified is how we kill it.”

  "Don't attack the shell; it's too hard to damage. Attack the legs and joints where it meets with the shell. The flesh underneath is vulnerable. Make sure to keep away from the tentacles. They're strong and can cause some serious damage."

  “Tentacles? What tentacles?” As if on cue, eight black tentacles sprouted out of holes in the shell on the creature’s back. Each tentacle was over ten feet long and whipped back and forth.

  “See them now?” asked Alexa.

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Good. Don’t let them grab you and get you up in the air.”

  Alexa and I split apart to force the creature to face one of us and turn its back to the other. As luck would have it, the Daimun chose to follow me. It crouched low to the ground as it stalked me, like a giant cat – but with six legs, a shell, and tentacles. You know, the usual.

  I held the tow bar in front of me, ready to strike if the Daimun came near, but I had zero confidence that the tow bar would do much good against the armored monstrosity.

  While the Daimun was focused on me, Alexa attacked from behind and hit one of the legs with her tow bar.

  The Daimun let out a loud howl and spun to face Alexa, teeth bared and claws out, ready to strike.

  I jumped in at that moment and attacked a different leg, swinging the tow bar as hard as I could. I connected with its knee joint and heard a crack of impact.

  I was hoping for a crippling blow that would disable it, but all I managed was to make it angry. Well, angrier.

  The Daimun tried to spin around again, but this time it only got half way around before letting out a roar of pain and frustration as Alexa attacked again.

  While Alexa went after a leg, I hit it on the shell several times. I wasn't causing any damage, but I was certainly distracting it from disemboweling Alexa.

  And then, the tentacles got me.

  Three tentacles wrapped around my chest and lifted me off my feet. Exactly what Alexa had warned me not to let happen. It swung me about and turned me upside down. I was afraid it was going to bash my head on the ground – which, without my enhancers would probably kill me – but instead the tentacles constricted, trying to squeeze the life out of me.

  I supposed that was fortunate. It gave me a few extra minutes before I died. It didn’t appear to have higher level thinking that would allow it to strategize or look for weaknesses. It was fighting out of instinct – constrict or slash.

  The pain increased as the tentacles squeezed tighter and tighter. I could feel my ribs start to crack. I grunted and pulled futilely at the tentacles, my unenhanced strength no match for the massive beast.

  Slowly, my vision started to fade and blackness crept up on my peripheral vision as my consciousness faded. It was only a matter of seconds before I passed out. Once that happened, I was pretty unlikely to ever wake up again.

  And then, I saw the most glorious sight I had ever seen. Alexa, her beautiful, red hair flowing out behind her, leaped onto the Daimun’s shell and raised the heavy, iron tow bar high above her head, dodging the other tentacles as they tried to ensnare her.

  Had any woman ever looked so beautiful? I hadn’t realized it until then, but watching your girlfriend save you from certain death is pretty hot.

  With a primal scream, Alexa brought the thick, iron bar crashing down on the Daimun’s head, right between the eyes.

  In an instant, the Daimun crumpled into a ball, completely unconscious. Its tentacles released me and snapped back into their holes. Without the support of the tentacles, I dropped to the ground in a heap and rolled out of the way as the massive shell of the Daimun crashed to the ground with a tremendous impact that shook the arena.

  Alexa jumped from the shell and landed in a crouch, the bar held at the ready, and a look of exultant triumph in her eyes. I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting stance, still in too much pain to stand. Honestly, I was just happy to be breathing right now.

  Slow applause from Marcus Booking echoed throughout the room. “Bravo!” he said. “Impressive. Most impressive.”

  I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from asking him if that was intended to be a Darth Vader impression or if he was really just that pompous.

  “You’re welcome to come down and try your skills with us,” Alexa said, clearly still feeling the adrenaline of victory. I, however, was just trying to breathe without moaning in pain and felt somewhat differently about that idea. Fighting anyone, or anything else while I felt like this was not high on my wish list.

  “Perhaps, another time,” Marcus said. “I would, however, like to make you an employment offer.”

  18

  Flexible Beliefs

  It took me a moment to process what he had said. Was he making us an employment offer? We had come to California looking to stop whoever had been giving enhancers to normals, no matter the cost. There was no way I would ever help this man do what I had seen done to Amy.

  "No way," I said. "Not interested. We've seen firsthand what your ‘business’ does to people’s lives.”

  “Oh, don’t reject my offer out of hand,” Marcus said. His voice was perfectly calm and under control. In fact, he sounded like a kind uncle offering to pay off our student loans, and we were just too proud to accept his help.

  So not the case.

  “We’re Seam Wardens,” Alexa said. “Our job is to stop people like you.”

  “Oh I have plenty of Seam Wardens working for me,” Marcus said. “There are always those who are willing to be flexible about their beliefs.”

  “Well, it does take a lot of flexibility to stick your head up your own butt,” I said. Alexa let out a snort of laughter, but Marcus narrowed his eyes dangerously.

  "Reject my offer at your peril," he said.

  "At our peril?" I said. "Seriously? You sound like a villain straight out of an old melodrama. You should think about growing a mustache so you can twirl it menacingly."

  I may have crossed a line with that last comment. Pompousness always brings out the snark in me.

  Marcus raised his hand, and at his signal, the gates opened. A dozen armed guards poured into the arena. Brylings and Stokis surrounded us and leveled their guns right at our heads. Alexa and I stepped back, but once our backs hit the wall, there was nowhere left to go. One of the Brylings came forward and slammed me in the head with the butt of his rifle.

  I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

  When I awoke, I was back in the cage with a pounding headache. Between the time I had been knocked out and when I woke up, they had put me back in my cage and dragged me back into the big room we were originally in.

  I slowly sat up, resisting the urge to vomit as the movement sent a wave of pain crashing into my head.

  "Alexa?" I croaked. My mouth was dry, and the words were hard to get out. How long had I been unconscious?

  "Pierce? Are you ok?" Alexa sounded worried.

  "Yeah." With a tremendous effort, I scooted over so I could sit with my back resting against the bars of the cage and see Alexa. It would be a while before I had the energy to stay up on my own. “How long have I been out?”

  Alexa gave me a weary smile. Despite everything we had gone through, she still looked pristine like she had just walked out of a shampoo ad. I didn’t have a mirror, but I’m pretty sure I looked like I had been camping for a week and then run over by a truck.

  “It’s been a few hours,” she said. “Maybe, more. How’s your head? That Stoki hit you really hard with the rifle.”

  “It kind of feels like monsters have been pounding on my head with rifles.”

  Alexa let out a small chuckle. “I can’t imagine why.”

  At that moment, the door to the room opened, and Marcus Booking walked in with several of his guards. He came up to my cage, but kept a respectful five-foot distance, anticipating the possibility that I might lunge at him through the bars.

  Given the difficulty I had just s
itting up, I was not much of a threat to anyone. But Marcus didn’t know that.

  “And how are my latest recruits?” he asked.

  “We’re not your recruits,” I said. “To be honest, I find your cause less than compelling. You might want to work on your PR campaign.”

  This time, Marcus didn’t get angry at my jibe. “Oh, I think I will eventually discover what it is that compels you,” he said. There was a maniacal, almost psychotic look in his eyes that made me very wary. “I’ve broken much older and tougher Seam Wardens than you. It sometimes takes a while, but I always get there in the end.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” Alexa said. She paused to think for a moment. “On second thought, I wouldn’t have any issues if you stopped breathing.”

  “Such bravado from someone so young. That’s fine. I haven’t gotten to where I am by making rash decisions. Powerful, raw emotion is fleeting. It burns brightly for a moment and then quickly burns out. Patience, discipline, and ruthlessness always win out in the end.”

  Before either of us could reply to that singularly disturbing monologue, another man walked through the door. This one wore a black hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head. I figured it was a man by the size of him. He was quite large, even bigger than I was.

  “Why did you call me here?” the man in the hoodie asked. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?”

  The voice sounded familiar to me. I knew the voice, but the context was off, so I couldn't quite place it.

  “You owe me a shipment of goods,” said Marcus. “I’m losing patience.”

  “Security has tightened,” said the man. “The Seam Wardens noticed what’s gone missing. You’ve been much too free with who you’ve given the weapons and enhancers to.”

  Seam Wardens? This was the person who had been stealing from the Seam Wardens and selling to Marcus. I peered closer at the man, trying to get a better look.

  “Your challenges are not my concern,” said Marcus. “You and I have a deal. You owe me quite a bit of money, Mr. Harris, and I expect payment.”

  Mr. Harris? A sudden, sick feeling of dread flowed through me. I recognized the voice now – Spencer. The man I had idolized as a child. The one who made me want to become a Seam Warden in the first place.

  Was Spencer selling off Seam Warden technology?

  I wanted to throw up. It couldn’t be him. There had to be a mistake. The Spencer I knew would never do that.

  Spencer hesitated. "Fine. But this is the last shipment. After this, our deal is over."

  Marcus let out a laugh, but it had no actual amusement in it. His lips were smiling, but his eyes and body language told an entirely different story. "Oh, no, our deal is over when I say it's over and not a second before then."

  “I’m serious, Marcus,” Spencer said. “I’m done. I’ve more than paid you back.”

  Marcus stopped for a moment and examined Spencer, who still had his hood pulled over his head and clearly didn’t realize that Alexa and I were here and could hear every word he said.

  “It would be a pity if something happened to your sister,” Marcus said. “It would be such a shame if she had… an accident. Or, if her health took a turn for the worse. Wouldn’t that be sad?”

  “You wouldn’t—” Spencer began, but Marcus held up a hand and interrupted him.

  “Never presume to tell me what I would or wouldn’t do, Mr. Harris.” He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “You have no idea of the lengths to which I will go, to make sure I get what I want.”

  Spencer dropped his head and said nothing.

  “Yes,” said Marcus. He started walking around Spencer and put a hand on his shoulder. “You feel the truth of what I say, don’t you? You are wise, unlike these children here.” He motioned to our cages.

  Spencer looked up, startled. I could just make out his face hidden in the shadows of his hood. I saw the look of shock as he recognized that both Alexa and I were prisoners and that we had just overheard him confess to being the thief.

  The moment was not lost on Marcus. He looked from Spencer to Alexa and I. “Ah! You know them?” he asked. “How delightful!”

  “Let them go,” said Spencer. “They’re just kids.”

  Under other circumstances, I might have objected to being called a kid – I was eighteen after all – but when it was accompanied by the possibility of being freed from the captivity of a psychotic criminal, I wasn’t about to protest.

  Marcus gave a dramatic sigh. “Ah, see, that is something I can’t do. At least, not until they’ve sworn loyalty to me. Like you did.”

  I was still reeling from the revelation that Spencer was the traitor. It just didn’t fit with what I knew of him. He couldn’t possibly do that.

  “Is it true?” I asked. “Are you the one selling Seam Warden tech?”

  Spencer didn’t say anything. He simply hung his head, too ashamed to even answer me.

  “Well, I wouldn’t be too hard on him,” said Marcus. “He did it for a noble cause." His emphasis on the word noble had a derisive tone to it. Apparently, Marcus didn't care much for nobility.

  “What?” I asked. “What could be so important that you would betray your oath of service? That you would put thousands if not hundreds of thousands of innocent people at risk by giving Seam Warden tech to this monster to sell?”

  Spencer still didn’t look up, but he did answer me. “My sister.”

  “Monster?” said Marcus, full of mock indignation. “I’m no monster. I’m simply an expression of the free market. I’ve found a very exclusive niche, and I am serving my customers very nicely.” He paused for a moment looking thoughtful. “And my suppliers,” he said. “Take poor Spencer, here. He found out that his sister – who no longer remembers him I might add – was diagnosed with a very expensive sickness. A new treatment that is very effective came out, but it was far too expensive for her to afford. Spencer came to me looking for some money, and I simply let him know the value of certain items and what I would be willing to pay for them. He got the money, his sister got the treatment, and I got my merchandise. It was a win-win all around."

  “What about the normals being driven mad by taking an enhancer?” I asked. “Is it a win for them?”

  Marcus shrugged. “I don’t keep track of who uses the technology or what they do with it. I’m just the supplier.”

  “So, you have no responsibility?”

  “Is the gun store responsible for who gets shot with a gun they sold?”

  Alexa chimed in. “They would if they knowingly sold a gun to someone completely unqualified to use it, who didn’t pass the legal requirements, know what it was, or how to work it. The enhancers are good and serve a purpose when used correctly. You of all people should understand what happens when you take them improperly.”

  Fierce, dark, anger clouded Marcus' features. He turned to Spencer. "Kill them," he said. "I will forgive your debt, and you will be free from me."

  Spencer kept his head lowered and said nothing.

  “Kill them to prove your loyalty to me, Spencer. They know your secret. You will be exposed, and a lifetime sentence in Rund surely awaits you."

  Rund.

  The worst punishment a Seam Warden could get. There were all sorts of monsters, demons, and the vilest of all sentient species locked up there. As cadets, we weren't even allowed to know where the entrance was.

  Spencer shook his head. “No. I won’t kill them.”

  "Then, I demand my payment now, Seam Warden," Marcus said. He raised his hand, and a dozen armed guards ran into the room. I wondered how many times a day this guy had to summon his guards. Being on the Spider's security detail had to be a thankless, soul-sucking job.

  But when you get paid to murder innocent people, having a soul is probably nothing but a liability.

  I watched as Spencer tensed and saw the internal struggle he was having. His hands were poised and ready to grab his Boom Sticks. I knew he had the ability to take out all the guards in a ma
tter of seconds if he wanted to.

  But he hesitated too long.

  One of the guards hit him on the back of the head from behind, and he dropped to his knees, clearly dazed. Marcus pulled out the small aerosol can from its holster and sprayed a cloud of something into Spencer’s face.

  Spencer began to convulse on the floor.

  “Spencer!” I yelled, but there was nothing I could do except watch.

  Marcus and the guards took a step back and waited for Spencer's shaking to subside. It only lasted maybe thirty seconds altogether, but as I watched Spencer, the man I had idolized as a kid, convulse on the floor, it felt like an eternity.

  When Spencer finally stopped convulsing, Marcus ordered the guards to shove him into an empty cage. The guards were clearly hesitant and didn’t want to do it. They knew what a fully trained Seam Warden was capable of.

  “That spray contains a neutralizer that temporarily cuts off access to enhancers,” Marcus said. “He’s just an ordinary man right now. Throw him in the cage!”

  The guards dragged him into an empty cage nearby and locked him in. He still seemed woozy, but after a minute or so was able to stand up again.

  “Where is my merchandise?” Marcus demanded. He stood just out of Spencer’s reach, surrounded by his guards. How brave of him to face Spencer under such perilous circumstances.

  "I have it in the Seam Warden's Headquarters," said Spencer. "Let me go, and I can come back with it in under an hour."

  “Hmmm. That plan doesn’t seem in my best interests," Marcus said. "I've clearly lost your loyalty, and all I have left to control you is intimidation and fear. Useful motivators, but not ones I'm prepared to risk my empire on."

  He turned his gaze to Alexa and me.

  “I think perhaps one of these,” he said. “They can get into headquarters just as well as you can, and I believe they pose considerably less danger with sufficient threats keeping them from doing anything stupid.”

  Marcus paced up and down looking between Alexa and me. “Hmmm. Who to choose? The boy is certainly big and strong, but the girl has fight in her. She was the one who took out the Daimun.” He looked at me with a penetrating gaze. Whatever else he was, I could tell Marcus Booking was a smart and keenly observant man.