There was movement to her left as another Baka came onto the wall with them.
Addix cursed when she picked out the features of Fi’Aren. There was no way she could get him to safety and get back before the Ooken made it out of the jungle.
She looked around frantically, half-expecting to see the rest of the workers they’d rescued risking their necks in some foolhardy show of bravery.
Addix spotted the group watching from a nearby rooftop. They were safe. She turned on Fi’Aren. “Get out of here!” she ordered roughly.
Fi’Aren laughed. “I’ll fight!” He waved the guns he’d gotten from who-knew-where, then turned to face the jungle as the Ooken broke the tree line, both figuratively and literally.
Scores of them emerged, slithering and crawling around and over broken trees and flattened shrubbery. They churned up the ground, intent on getting to the Citadel wall.
Addix winced at the unexpected kickback when she started shooting. Fi’Aren would have to take care of himself for the moment.
The Ooken closed the distance despite the continuous losses they were taking.
Addix leaned over the edge to dislodge an Ooken scaling the wall. She increased the grip she had on the wall, wedging her feet tighter into the spaces between the stones to hold her while she pivoted her upper body to take the shot.
The Ooken dropped to the ground, knocking the one beneath it off the wall.
More Ooken swarmed the base of the wall to replace the ones Addix and Mahi’ had just gone to the effort of removing. They crawled over the corpses of the fallen, disregarding the death awaiting them at the top of the wall.
Mahi’ tossed the empty backup weapon to the side as she ran to Addix’s position. “There are too many! We have to move to better ground.”
Addix righted herself and looked around for Fi’Aren. “One of your people was here.”
Mahi’ snarled in annoyance. “I saw. We’ll find him on the way.”
Addix glanced at the Ooken and nodded. “I can stall them while we get clear. Find Fi’Aren and run. I’ll find you.”
Mahi’ darted in the direction they’d last seen Fi’Aren.
Addix turned back to the Ooken and steadied herself for a huge drain on her energy. The snow clouds above were her only weapon, and whatever practice she’d had in the Vid-docs was all she had to pull off this crazy idea.
“Well, if Michael can do it…” she muttered as she reached for the Etheric. “Here goes something.” She sent the stream of Etheric energy up and forced it to agitate the electrical energy within the clouds.
Another chunk of the roof collapsed in the near distance but Addix paid no attention, too caught up in massaging the lightning into being.
The first strike hit just inches from her position.
“I am…not in control of thiiis!”
All she could do was hope it didn’t get out of hand.
Addix
She called the lightning down, finding that it wanted to be used once it had been created, even though she had no say in where it struck—which wasn’t an issue because the Ooken were everywhere.
The air became thick with the stench of melted flesh as Addix drove them back, praying silently that Mahi’ was safe inside the Citadel.
There was an almighty crash when another section of the roof caved in above the wall, crushing it on impact.
Addix dropped the lightning and darted for the stairs when the Ooken turned like the tide toward the breach. “Izanami, where’s our extraction?” she yelled between breaths.
Five minutes, the reply came.
Addix looked left and right, searching for any sign of Mahi’ in the blizzard. “We might not have five minutes.”
The Etheric, Inside the Rift
Bethany Anne watched it all.
Her hair whipped around her metaphysical body, which was suspended in the center of the rift. She was stretched out flat, her arms and legs held stiff by the energy thundering through her.
There was no sound. The song of the Etheric had deafened her until TOM had sealed her ears to give them a chance to heal.
Bethany Anne watched swirling images form and dissolve as the repaired energy sought its function within her mind. High Tortuga, safe and at peace. Devon, her children inside their Vid-docs, and the people living in blissful ignorance of what they were being sheltered from.
All of this went by in silence.
There was a flash, too brief for Bethany Anne to see more than a glimpse of many pairs of red eyes.
She realized she was seeing the possibility of the energy when her perception panned out and the vision shifted. Had she just seen the past, or a future not yet lived? Before the thought had formed in her mind, the image was gone, replaced by two fleets on a collision course.
Bethany Anne knew with certainty at that moment that she could be present in any of those places if she willed it.
Don’t! TOM’s voice was distant. You’ll be separated from your body!
Bethany Anne barely heard him. She was dancing on the edge of control, tempted for the first time to take what was offered.
Power.
Not for herself. For the purpose of ending conflict everywhere. It would be simple to achieve with dominion over life and death.
From here, Bethany Anne could weigh the heart of every living being in the universe.
Justice for everyone, whatever that meant for the individual. She could deal it out once and for all and go home to live out her days in peace with her family.
Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes, the jarring idea enough to bring her back to the threshold of pain. Sweet, clarifying pain.
This wasn’t her thinking. She had never wanted that kind of power, the kind that corrupted people one good intention at a time. She had never fucking once taken a shortcut that didn’t provide a better result than the traditional way.
She didn’t intend to start now.
“Quit jerking me around.”
Bethany Anne cursed herself for almost listening. She clenched her teeth and let the pain burn away the temptation to take what wasn’t hers.
However, the energy fought back, refusing to dissipate, and one image remained stamped across her vision.
Bethany Anne heard a voice in the back of her mind as the moving image stole her away once again.
It’s working.
Michael. She could not forget him. Although, where was he? Who had just spoken? What was working?
All Bethany Anne could see was Addix in the snow.
Qu’Baka, Citadel
Addix released a burst of Etheric energy, knocking the Ooken back long enough for Mahi’ to get away with the injured worker slung over her shoulders.
They struggled through the snow, Addix guarding their backs while she followed the twin tracks Mahi’ left in the drifts.
They plowed toward the flat-roofed building where the workers were waiting.
The Ooken were right behind them.
Addix could hear the repeated wet slaps of their pursuers’ tentacles on the smooth stone as they raced through the streets in search of a defensible position. “There, that house.”
Mahi’ looked back, almost losing her grip on Fi’Aren. She hoisted the worker through the lower window of the property and jumped onto the ledge. “Dumbass. This wasn’t your fight. Addix, get up here!”
Addix barely heard the warning. Her energy expenditure had drained her to her limits and beyond. She fought on because that was all her body knew to do.
Protect Mahi’. Protect the Bakas. Wait for their backup to get there and pull them out of the shit.
Her wrists ached from firing her Jean Dukes Specials above her recommended level for so long. Nevertheless, their survival depended on her forcing her cramped hands to continue firing her weapons.
“Addix, come on!” Mahi’ leaned out the window, calling into the wind as the Ixtali streaked from one target to the next, unleashing her rage in a deadly display the Ooken had no chance of keeping up with
, much less defending against.
Addix almost shot Mahi’ when her two large hands gripped Addix around the shoulders and pulled.
“Easy, spider-warrior,” Mahi’ cautioned. “Save it for the enemy.”
Addix got to her feet wearily. “Get to the roof. We’re out of time.”
There was an explosion out of sight over by the wall.
Another hit closer, followed by another. Addix leaned on Mahi’ and pointed at the Pod coming in from the jungle. “We still need to get up to the roof. I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”
Mahi’ hesitated.
“Go!” Addix yelled.
The people on the roof cheered when a speaker blared and a pair of fighter Pods zoomed into view overhead. “Somebody order a ride?”
“About time! Are we glad to see you!” Addix replied as the transport Pod came in behind them. “Passengers are all on the roof, ready for evac. I’ll be there shortly.”
“We’re not leaving without you,” the pilot assured her. “Stay alive.”
Addix fought on to cover Mahi’ and the others while they transferred from the roof to the Pod. “I’m okay down here. Get the Bakas aboard first.”
Addix wanted Mahi’ safe. There would be no treaty without her. She should have known the Ooken wouldn’t give in so easily.
The people on the rooftop continued their celebration while they were hauled up to the Pod two at a time. Their relief was premature.
Somehow, the Ooken understood the Pods signaled the end of their hunt. Their ear-splitting shrieks switched in tone as they spread out and began climbing the other buildings nearby to gain height.
Addix found herself getting farther away from the building in her quest to keep the rooftop clear. She had no time for getting lost to the heat of battle, and the fighter Pods were doing plenty to keep the Ooken at bay.
Her left JD clicked on empty. How had she used up all her ammunition? She had a little remaining in her right. What else? The half-sword.
Addix had no strength for energy balls after her efforts with the lightning earlier. She was drained, and so far beyond exhausted, she could only move forward on autopilot.
Her world was reduced once again to stab, shoot, duck, don’t die, repeat.
“Addix! Leave them. Come on!”
Mahi’ was calling her from the edge of the roof. It was time to leave.
Addix skidded and slipped as she ran into the building, an Ooken hot on her heels. Inside the building, it was worse. They were everywhere, throwing themselves at her through the windows and out of the doors as she passed them.
Like the Ooken, Addix had the advantage of being able to use all the space around her. She used the walls, the ceiling, even the Ooken as she fought her way up the stairs.
Her armor was in tatters and the flesh beneath it torn by Ooken teeth. The pain of getting bitten each time a tentacle connected meant nothing to her. All she had to do was reach the rooftop and she would be on her way to a Pod-doc.
She made it just in time to shoot an Ooken that had launched itself from the roof of a nearby building. It fell into nothing as she fell to her knees, faint from blood loss.
Mahi’ dashed over to help Addix to her feet. “You are tougher than this. Hold on.”
Addix felt Mahi’ take the sword from her hand.
An Ooken made the roof and charged them with its tentacles splayed. The Guardian in the transport Pod shot it through the brain without hesitation.
The rescue team sent the rope down again, taking on the final two workers.
The Ooken took exception to the loss of their prey. Three more leaped for the roof, and two made it. Addix fired at them until her right-hand JD ran dry.
More Ooken threw themselves across the gaps between buildings to get at the Pod.
The Guardian leaned out and called as he released the rope. “Jump on!”
Addix looked up blearily as the rope descended for her and Mahi’ to make their escape. She felt Mahi’ press the rope into her hand where the sword had been a moment before.
Why was everything so bright?
Mahi’ took the rope and stepped onto the rung beside Addix. “Just hold on a little longer,” she called.
The Ooken lunged at the Pod as it lifted off without waiting for the Guardians to winch Addix and Mahi’ aboard.
Addix clung to the rope while the Pod gained altitude. She closed her eyes and held on gratefully, feeling the comforting weight of Mahi’ beside her.
The Guardian in the Pod yelled to them to climb in the same instant Mahi’ screamed in pain and outrage.
Addix opened her eyes and saw Mahi’ stamping furiously at an Ooken that had made it onto the rope.
It had Mahi’ around the lower leg, and there would be no escape for her.
Mahi’ fought to free herself from the teeth tearing into her calf. Another tentacle just missed her face. It whipped by and curled around the rope above her and Addix, solidifying the Ooken’s position and giving it the leverage it needed to peel her leg like a piece of fruit.
Addix assessed the situation and its only outcome. Trey’s face flashed through her mind. Mahi’ could still survive this, but only if she acted quickly. She knew there was no chance for Mahi’ without her intervention and no chance that her death wouldn’t be met by uproar from every Baka from here to Devon.
There was only one possible course of action.
Addix snatched her half-sword back from Mahi’ and released the rope. The Ooken screeched when she landed ass-first on its head and gripped it with the sharp sides of her legs.
Her next move was to de-tentacle it with a slice of the blade. She hacked at the Ooken mercilessly and ripped them both from the rope.
The Ooken turned on Addix in midair, but she was Ixtali. She reared up and stabbed her two front legs into the Ooken’s eyes, her final act to free Mahi’ from the Ooken’s bite.
Mahi’ screamed in burning agony as the Ooken tore itself away from her without warning. She saw Addix falling toward the jungle floor, her front feet piercing the Ooken’s face. “Addix!”
Addix let out a victory cry as she gripped the Ooken with everything she had left and plunged the sword into its heart. “Tell Bethany Anne I’m sorry for dying!”
Mahi’ screamed her denial of what she saw in Addix’s eyes.
Addix hit the mass of Ooken like a ton of bricks, smiling as she activated the self-destruct on her Jean Dukes Specials.
22
Bethany Anne saw Addix’s ashes scatter, lost in the wind and snow. The reality brought her senses crashing back.
Addix couldn’t be dead!
Grief tore through Bethany Anne, putting an abrupt end to the fantasies of future bliss she’d been hiding inside while the energy poured through her.
The pain wracking her metaphysical body was almost enough to drive Bethany Anne back into the cosseting arms of the visions the Etheric offered.
Her peace was shattered, replaced by Addix’s death playing on a loop while the needling voice at the back of her mind told her it wasn’t too late. She could reach back in time and pull Addix out before she died—if she just accepted the power.
Bethany Anne wavered between what was right and what the energy wanted her to do, her voice so small in the deluge it was almost impossible to remember she had a will of her own.
The part of her that wasn’t whining at the unfairness recognized the sacrifice her old friend had made. She didn’t have the right to play God.
She heard TOM faintly and focused on tuning in to his voice. I can hear you.
At last! I thought you were lost. TOM’s words were filled with fear. Don’t let the rift take you away again.
It’s not a small amount of pain, Bethany Anne told him. The pain faded as another wave of grief crashed into her. Addix—she’s dead.
TOM wept inside for the bravery of their lost friend. I know, but there is too much happening outside the Etheric. Michael is going to pace a rut in the cargo bay floor if you don�
��t finish soon.
He’ll have to keep pacing, Bethany Anne responded distractedly, feeling the pull of the energy grow strong again. The rift is still open, and it’s all I can do to keep pushing away the repaired energy before it latches on and turns my thoughts to reality.
Those are not your thoughts, TOM told her quickly, hoping he could prevent her from being drawn back into the rift. I can see them too. They look to be possible futures.
Bethany Anne was shaken to the core by TOM’s words. Everything I’ve seen is going to happen?
I would guess the events closest to us are all but set.
The two fleets Bethany Anne had seen rushed to the forefront of her mind, the details making sense to her on reflection. Then there’s a fuck-ton of Ooken heading for the far end of the Interdiction, some Leath up to their tusks in shit—and who the fuck thought it was a good idea to put Rickie Escobar in charge of a QBBS?
I can see why that would make you think you were dreaming, TOM supplied glibly. What are you going to do?
Bethany Anne slowed the flow of energy running through her to a trickle and prepared to step back to her body. I’m going to war.
Qu’Baka, QBS Cambridge
Michael sensed Bethany Anne’s return the moment before her body moved.
She opened her eyes and started to get to her feet. “We’re leaving.” Her knees gave way before she’d taken two steps. “Fuck this drain!”
Michael caught her as she went down and steered her to a crate to sit. “You’re still transforming the rift?”
Bethany Anne nodded, closing her eyes to fend off the dizziness. “Yeah. I dialed it down, but I can’t stop until it’s done.”
Gabrielle came over and knelt by Bethany Anne to look into her eyes for any sign of brain injury. “I can’t see any damage. You need to stay as still as you can.”
“Fuck that,” Bethany Anne shot back. She attempted to stand again but dropped back onto the crate with a growl when she was hit by another wave of dizziness.
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