by Casey Lea
A solid door swung open when the couple approached and Zak swallowed. He released Magreth and stood back to let her pass through the entry first, but she reached to take his hand. Her palm was smooth and dry, a definite contrast to his. She smiled up at him and suddenly everything was alright again.
They stepped into a small atrium and Nikareon's voice called, “Come in.”
They moved further, to find a room filled with comfortable seats and pools of warm light, while the smiles that greeted Zak were just as warm. Haze had the biggest grin of his siblings, but it was all welcome and the kid kept any hint of triumph from his mind and face. Zak’s shoulders sagged as he felt unexpected relief. He knew he didn’t deserve it, but perhaps coming home wasn’t so bad after all.
42
Judgement
Amber sat on the window seat of the Arck’s bedroom. She was safe within the strictest security in the Empire, but trying hard not to be terrified. It took all of her control to stay still. As still as Falkyn who stood watching her.
She cleared her throat. “Harry should make a complete-”
“Yes.”
“I had to use one of my crystal shards to draw the venom out. I’m not hunting gratitude, just telling you so you know how careful we need to be with Pierce’s creatures. They’re deadly.”
“Gratitude?” the Arck barked and began to pace across the room. Silence returned.
Amber bit her lip, which at least stopped her pleading and watched Falkyn stalk. Perhaps she shouldn’t have told him everything, but he’d insisted on honesty and when Falkyn insisted it was hard to resist.
So now he knew. That the Devourer was her husband Pierce, and that she’d initiated the first feeding in an effort to save his life.
He finally spun to face her and this time he let his horror show. “All those civilizations. Everyone lost... everyone dead. It was you. Your fault.”
Amber had no words to answer that accusation. Her fronds simply sent agreement wrapped in shame/contrition/despair.
However, Falkyn kept pacing, up and down the foot of his bed. Up and down. His frown deepened, his face creasing as he considered the enormity of her omission. He stopped and turned away from her, to grip the engraved tailboard tightly. Amber stood to face him, locked her knees against trembling legs, smoothed her gown down over her thighs and wished she could see his face.
“Fal?”
“You told me you were hunting an ancient evil that fed on sentient life. You claimed to confide in me but you never-” He broke off, before continuing more softly. “You never told me any of this. None. I’m planning a campaign against the Harvesters and you never warned me we might have other concerns.”
“What was I to say? That my crazy, spider-loving husband kept sending me presents? That he was spying on us and that his creatures might be venomous?” Amber heard her words and her arms flew up to wrap around her torso. Oh no. That was exactly what she should have said. And made him believe it.
Falkyn kept his grip on the foot of the bed and stared at the ground. Amber hugged herself tighter. Why didn't he say something?
He slowly turned to face her, still leaning on the bed and his top lip curled back. “Little wonder you feel guilt. And less wonder you failed to share it with me, despite the danger to Harrier. What other secrets do you still hold?”
Amber opened her mouth, but where could she start?
“At the beginning,” Falkyn snarled.
“You,” she blurted and cursed herself. Where were the smooth, persuasive words that came so readily in her last life? Gone, along with that confident old lady. “I wanted Wing and Goldown to mate, because I needed you. We all need you.”
Falkyn’s face softened and a single frown formed between his eyebrows. “I don’t understand.”
“It was a combination of genes that I’d spent generations on. The Princess had a strength of purpose that was unrivaled and Wing’s telepathic projection was exceptional. I thought they could have a child capable of exerting a measure of control over others.”
“Mind control?” Falkyn’s frown deepened. “You wanted a puppet-master?”
“Of course not. Such a complete override of free thought would be impossible. But a child who could claim brief control, inserting his will momentarily between the mind and body of another? That was possible. That was you.”
“Why? Why would you do that to me?”
Amber hugged herself so tight it was hard to breathe, but it felt as if her arms were the only things holding her together.
“My mission. I’ve got to pull Darsey off the altar and get myself under the knife instead. I can’t do that in a second and the Devourer will be desperate to stop me. I need you to prevent any interference. Whoever comes at me, you have to warn them off.”
Falkyn’s face looked like it had been carved from bedrock. “Have you considered killing Darsey instead? Before she reaches the altar.”
“Of course, but the risk is too great. I’m on my last life. If Darsey was…gone, I could die of old age before Pierce bred another conduit. I’m the only person he shares genes with and the only one who can drain his life force. Once I’m dead that chance is lost. He’ll be free to murder everyone. This is our only hope. Darsey has to be the bait, but I’ve got to spring the trap and lie on the altar.”
Falkyn gave her another cold look. “Then why are you still here? You needs must guard Darsey.”
“I know,” Amber snapped, with an impatience she vaguely remembered from her last life. “He gave me a year and I wanted to spend the time helping. I need to fix what I can of the plague and I can’t do that if I’m chick-sitting Darsey. Also, there’s you.”
“Yes?” Falkyn asked so softly Amber hardly heard him.
“I need you to agree. To get me to the altar.”
Falkyn’s mind was as blank as his face. “Are you asking for my help?”
“Will you give it?”
The Arck shook his head as if trying to clear it. “There’s too much to process already. Let me think.”
Silence fell between them and the light seemed to fade around Amber, although it was still midday. Falkyn started to stride once more, pacing back and forth with a steady tread. His frown faded as his face grew tighter and angrier, until he finally stopped in front of her.
“Are you mad?” he demanded in a voice so hoarse that Amber started shaking. “Freeze your fancy disclaimers! You wanted a child with the power of mind control. Did you even think how dangerous that might be for others? Or the temptation I’d have to live with? You’re still fiddling and plotting, trying to predict the future, instead of dealing with what’s happening now.”
“Breeding you was a risk I had to take. I need your help to defeat the Devourer.”
“I am not your toy.” Falkyn’s voice was so low Amber felt it in her bones.
It set her teeth on edge and made her want to blurt an apology. “I’m-”
“No, you’re not. You’re as arrogant as ever. The Maker, the Devourer… you belong with them. The Meddler, that’s you. Get out.”
Amber could hardly shape words. “O-out?”
“Out of my room, out of my palace and off my world. Out of my life. GO.”
She staggered back, falling hard to sit on the stone floor and Falkyn's face twisted. “Did you hear? I never wish to see you again. Don't try to contact me. Don't try to spy on me. Just GO.”
Amber scooted away on her palms and heels, scuttling for the door as he began to advance. He drove his hands up through his hair, while his fronds reeked of disgust. “GO!”
It was impossible to see past her tears, but something kept her moving. The lip of the doorway cut into her hands and then she was out. Exiled. Gone. Forever.
43
Banished
Amber stumbled through the city's main market without any idea where she was. It began to rain. The mellow plop of drops hitting the square's protective screen slowed the bustling crowd. Everyone looked up, smiling and exclaiming at the
first spring rain. It seemed the snow was over. She looked up too, automatically. Great pools were forming on the energy field above before rolling across it and down the edges of the market, to create a silver curtain. The whole world was weeping.
The world would do more than weep if Falkyn kept behaving like a brat. Who did he think he was? Admittedly he was the ruler of twenty-one worlds, but he only had a single life behind him and not much of that yet. Amber had thousands of lives to inform her decisions. Admittedly she couldn’t remember most of them – that would have driven her mad – but she still had a wealth of experience and she was drakked if she’d just abandon Falkyn. She’d bred him for a purpose.
The rain dropped harder, to become a waterfall above the market, and Amber turned back, returning to the palace. She knew the Arck’s security better than anyone, even Raptor. She could take Falkyn and get off world with him before he was missed. It would have to be at night and she’d need an anaesthetic so he couldn’t fight back.
She stumbled and caught herself on the edge of a stall. Was she truly planning to abduct her best friend? Drag him away from his daughter? Was she capable of such a thing? Was she even capable of making a competent decision with her mind feeling so tangled? Every time she’d acted in the past she’d failed.
Was she reacting without thought again? It seemed likely, since she needed Falkyn’s co-operation to stop Pierce, which meant his help had to be voluntary. Assaulting him wasn’t going to work.
Amber walked blankly on, but her body had turned again without conscious thought, to cross the Great Square and move away from the palace. The rain was a comfortable thrum overhead, until a breeze began to rise behind her that had nothing to do with the weather. It rustled through the crowd, the faint whisper of her name. She wound deeper into the market and that breath of conversation followed her, growing until she could hear the words.
“...Amber Grace?”
“Yeah, that's her alright. Lady Amber, the great pretender.”
“The great liar. Look, it's Doctor Grace. The killer. Walking around as if she’d never hurt anyone.”
“What a cheek.”
“An insult.”
Amber looked back and someone going the other way shoulder barged her. She staggered and anonymous hands shoved her hard. She fell to her knees and the crowd swirled into her, circling and bumping, then starting to tear - at her cloak, her dress, her hair.
“Is it true?” a voice called.
“Did you kill them all?” another spat.
“Why?” a third demanded and Amber snatched at her sash, but it was gone, lost to the people circling her.
She twisted on her knees, trying to watch them all and reached out with her fronds, to send calm to the minds surrounding her. Her fronds recoiled, snapping up to tuck behind her ears. The thoughts she could touch were wild and disjointed, while most of the crowd was beyond thinking. They shared an anger as hot and delirious as any fever.
Amber tapped her com to send a distress call, but there was no answering vibration. She’d been silenced. She could hear her heart thudding in her ears, but nothing else. She was alone out here. Cut off as effectively as when Lamidia attacked.
She could see the faces around her yelling, their mouths stretched wide as if to spew words at her, but her pulse covered every sound. It ran so fast she could feel it under her skin.
A stall owner who sold juice stepped out from the wall of people and slapped Amber. Her com muffled the pain, but not the shock of such an attack.
She crouched lower, expecting more blows, but the mob was very still. Everyone had frozen when she was struck. Was she safe now?
No, she could sense that this was the last breath before violence. The slap had just removed the final social inhibition protecting her.
Amber stared at the male who had hit her. His open hand bunched into a fist. He was sweating and beads of moisture ran down his forehead like rain. Except for a single drop. Something blocked it and then moved sideways just under his hair line. She used her com to amplify the hint of movement and froze too.
A spider scuttled along her attacker’s brow. It was so translucent that she nearly missed it. Only the shadow of tiny internal organs gave it any shape.
The creature paused as she watched and bit down on a wrinkle in the male’s skin. His sweat ran faster than ever, almost washing the little arachnid away. It must have been sent by her crazed rival Lamidia, because it couldn’t be following Pierce’s orders. Could it? He still cared for her, didn’t he? Amber snapped her thoughts back to the present. She was drakked if she was going to let some eight-legged beauty-queen-freak kill her.
The stall-keeper lifted his fist.
Amber gave a shout that stopped him and raised her own arm. Her com hummed in her ear and she drove more power to it, until it shrieked like a banshee bird. The crowd ducked just before Amber fired.
A blast of energy struck the weak shield protecting the market from bad weather and ripped right through it. The deluge that had pooled on it was dumped on everyone below. Including Amber.
The shock drove her to all fours and her nearly depleted com couldn’t keep her dry. It was like being under a waterfall. An avalanche of cold covered her and she heard spluttering cries. She began to crawl, pushing past confused people sitting in puddles. Her hands sloshed through the chill water and she looked down so no one could see her face.
Amber wasn’t alone in the flood. Floating all around her and lifting on the ripples caused by her movement, were dozens of almost invisible spiders. She shivered and crawled faster, leaving a wake behind her as she headed for the nearest side street. She reached dry ground and pulled herself upright on the stone edge of a building.
Her body protested and she gritted her teeth then made herself stand straight. Her face ached, but she ignored it to pull a cloak from her com and throw it round her shoulders. The warmth was instant and she pulled the hood up over her head. It was time to find a way to the spaceport. Kresynt wasn’t her home anymore.
Arckadia was a magnificent city, but for the first time Amber cursed its wide streets. It was impossible to hide. She tried to skulk along the edge of the boulevards, but realized she looked ridiculous and started striding out, although she kept her hood firmly in place. The conveyor to the spaceport was in the next plaza. She could make it before the mob reformed.
The rain passed on and Amber risked a glance at the sky. The sun was a hazy ball, still lost behind clouds, but it was high in the sky and the spaceport would be full. It might be safer to hide somewhere and wait for the night.
Something glittered in the brightening light and she saw a pattern stretched across the sky above – light grey against the darker grey clouds. It was a cobweb, stretched across the street and clinging to the buildings on either side. Amber’s pace lifted and before she knew it she was running.
A new rain fell and landed on the people around her. Spiders came dangling down, then dropped to the crowded street. Amber pulled her hood tight, but could feel soft impacts all over it. Cries and curses rose around her. Someone staggered into her and she had a glimpse of wide eyes. The woman shook herself and sweat spattered Amber’s face.
She kept her head down and ran. Legs and arms pumping, she powered through the crowd, dodging where she could, but bouncing off people when she had to.
Frenzy followed her.
Amber had no idea how the spiders’ venom worked, but she was definitely the target of anyone who got bitten. Which seemed to be everyone. Hands clutched at her and arms spread wide to catch her. A mermaridian tourist stuck out a long leg to trip her, but she hurdled it. Transport to the spaceport was close. She looked up and saw an energy bubble launch along the conveyor belt ahead. Very close.
A hand closed around Amber’s ankle. She was moving so fast she dragged her attacker with her for a stride, but then came down on her face. For a moment she was stunned, which muffled the mob around her, but then they were back.
It was like being in a sta
mpede that was focused on Amber. Everyone wanted to trample her. She was kicked so hard she spun up and off the ground, but slammed into more bodies and fists before she could somersault far. She was pummeled back down under a hard rain of blows. Dozens of com fields slammed into hers, draining it faster than it could reclaim power. The concussion from the punches and kicks was joined by pain. Unbelievable pain.
It was impossible to fight back. Amber tried to escape, but she couldn’t even crawl. She pulled herself along with her fingers instead, dragging her body through the blows, but feet stamped down on her hands. Something cracked and she shrieked. She was going to die here.
A hand grabbed Amber’s hair and hauled her backward through the stamping screaming crowd. A fresh pair of boots straddled her aching body and the blows finally stopped. She curled up between the feet of the person standing over her and the riot paused.
“Hold,” a familiar voice yelled and Amber looked up to see Raptor guarding her.
He cradled an outsized blaster in both arms and his square face looked darker than the clouds. She’d never been happier to see anyone in her life. The whine of his weapon covered the panting that had been coming from all around and she realized the mob was still packed close.
“Disperse,” Raptor ordered and dozens of glazed eyes studied him warily. He hefted the blaster, but obviously couldn’t start shooting people. Would they realize that in their drugged state?
No one moved, so Raptor’s threat seemed to be working. He reached down and helped Amber to her feet. It had been impossible to rise in the middle of the mob, but with no one to beat her back down she managed. She clawed her way up Raptor’s armored form, smearing blood over the bright metal. Her reflection was distorted by the feather-shaped plates of mail, which was a relief. Her face looked like rotten pulp-fruit and she didn’t want to see herself more clearly.
“Can you walk?” Raptor asked and Amber gripped his shoulder to stay up.