by M. R. Forbes
“Talk to me about what?”
“The Asura.”
“What about them?”
Bastion hesitated. “Maybe we can discuss it in private?”
“He doesn’t want to hurt them,” Pik said. “He thinks we’re being mean.”
“I didn’t say mean, asshole,” Bastion snapped. “But I’m not comfortable exterminating them like this. They don’t even fight back when we find them.”
“The Asura are dangerous,” Keeper said.
“They don’t seem very dangerous to me right now.”
“I’ll keep killing them for you, Queenie,” Pik said. “No problem.”
“Hold on, all of you,” Abbey said. “One thing at a time. Let’s figure out what to do with whatever this is, first.”
“Okay,” Pik said.
Abbey looked at the mass of scaly flesh again. It moved slightly, twitching.
“I’m going in,” she said.
“I’ll go with you,” Trinity said.
Abbey nodded. “The rest of you wait here. Be ready to back us up.”
“Roger,” Gant said.
Abbey moved in toward the mass, passing through the open entryway. The room itself was huge, with a high ceiling that probably reached to Deck Thirty-one. It wasn’t immediately clear to her what the space was for, but the mess of twisted metal in the corner suggested whatever this thing was, it had made some room for itself.
She rounded the scales, following them along a curved line to a much larger mass ahead. It rose into the compartment, a solid fixture of mottled bumps that reached twenty meters off the floor.
“It’s huge,” Trinity said, finding her way around to the side of it.
“Be careful,” Abbey replied, trailing behind. “Uriel, this is definitely not a snake.”
“What is it?” Uriel said.
“I don’t know yet.”
She followed Trinity forward. As she did, she noticed a large, curved shape sticking out from beneath the larger mass.
“Is that a claw?” she asked.
Trinity stopped and turned to look at it.
“I think so,” she said.
Abbey took a step toward it, examining it more closely.
“Queenie,” Trinity said.
Motion from the front of the mass interrupted them. The creature was moving.
Something shifted above her, a long arm stretching out, spindly fingers extending with leathery webbing between them. It swept over her before shrinking back, the entire mass adjusting with it. She followed ripples of hide up toward the front of the creature, her breath freezing as her eyes met the eyes of the beast.
It was looking back at her, small orbs on a huge head that ended in a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth.
“What the frag?” she said.
A line of flame burst from the creature, pouring out toward her. She reacted immediately, surrounding herself in the Gift and watched the flames spread harmlessly around her. Trinity was caught in the same attack, but she barely flinched, her armor immune to the fire.
The flames stopped. The creature turned its head again and roared, the sound echoing across the chamber and shaking the walls and floor.
“Queenie?” Bastion said. “What the hell are you doing in there?”
Abbey continued staring at the monster. It quieted down, lowering its head slowly, still facing her.
“It’s a dragon,” she said, not quite believing it.
“A what?” Pik asked.
“A dragon,” Gant replied. “A creature from Terran mythology. Usually serpentine or reptilian in nature. In most legends, dragons breathe fire.”
“Does it breathe fire?” Pik said.
“Yes,” Abbey replied. “I can’t believe I’m standing in front of a fragging dragon.”
“The legends had to come from somewhere,” Gant said.
“That would suggest the Seraphim knew about the Asura a long time ago,” Jequn said.
Abbey hadn’t gotten the chance to tell them what she had learned about the Transversal and the race of phase shifters. They were out there, somewhere, on at least one other planet, no thanks to the One.
“What’s it doing?” Pik asked.
“Nothing, now,” Abbey said, still staring at the creature. Its eyes tracked her, but it seemed too weak to raise its head again. “I think it may be sick.”
“The Generals feed on the resonant energy of the Darkstone and spread it to their servants,” Keeper said. “Without a General to give it strength, it will die.”
“It’s probably just as well,” Trinity said. “It’s too big to get out of this room.”
“How did it even get in here?” Abbey said.
“The General must have brought it through the Veil during the juxtaposition,” Keeper replied.
“It’s been trapped here for eight thousand years?”
“That is most likely.”
“Poor thing,” Abbey said. It didn’t look frightening to her. It looked pathetic.
“There’s nothing we can do for it,” Trinity said.
She continued to stare at it. She was tired of being told they didn’t have control over their own destiny. She was tired of being told what she could and couldn’t do. She was standing in an ancient planet-sized starship on the way to a galaxy beyond her own, surrounded by a hyper-intelligent Gant, a Trover with a metal arm, a five thousand-year-old Seraphim, a brain inside a mechanical body, and an artificial intelligence. She was pretty sure a dragon was close to the most normal thing she had come across recently.
She bounced forward, up onto its side. It lifted its head slightly but otherwise didn’t move. She put her hand down, feeling the smooth scales.
“Queenie, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Trinity said.
“I don’t care,” Abbey replied. The dragon started lifting its head, turning it toward her.
“Even if you feed it, there’s nowhere for it to go,” Keeper said.
“I don’t care,” Abbey said. “We’ll give it a way out. The central shaft is big enough, all we have to do is get it there.”
“And then what? It’ll still be trapped on the ship.”
“Only until we find somewhere to set it loose.”
“It will still die.”
“Then at least it’ll die free,” Abbey shouted.
She began pushing the Gift over the creature’s side, creating an energy field against it that spread across its entire midsection. The head that had been angling for her paused, lowering again as it saw she wasn’t going to hurt it.
“Oh, he’s cute,” Pik said, appearing around the side and standing next to Trinity. “Can I name it? I always wanted a pet.”
“It’s not a pet,” Trinity said.
“Whatever. Do you think it likes ear scratches?”
“I don’t know, why don’t you go over and try.”
Pik laughed but stayed near the dragon’s haunch. “I’ll just wait here until Queenie is done.”
Abbey remained over the creature as the minutes passed. Ten, then twenty, then thirty. She was starting to feel tired by then, the power of the Gift depleted from her. At the same time, the dragon was starting to look much healthier. Its scales had gone from gray-brown to a reflective red and green, and it was holding its head up, watching her. As she pulled her hand away and released the Gift, it lowered it’s snout to her face, rubbing against it.
“I think you made a friend,” Pik said, laughing.
“I guess so,” Abbey replied. She couldn’t keep herself from laughing, too. Wait until Hayley heard this story.
“A pet dragon,” Bastion said again in disbelief. “Frag. I mean. All right, why not? It’s less crazy than a dickless Prophet of Satan trying to enslave the galaxy.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Abbey said. “Do you know what else I was thinking?”
“Do tell.”
“You’re right about the Asura. Maybe we’re being too hasty in killing them.”
“Queenie,
” Keeper said. “I can’t allow you to -”
“Shut it, shitbox,” Bastion said. “The Demon Queen has spoken.”
“But-”
“He’s right,” Uriel said. “Shut it. She just tamed a dragon. You don’t think she can handle a few shifters?”
“I doubt you can understand me, but I’m going to get you out of this room,” Abbey said to the creature. “And I’ll let you loose somewhere when I can.”
It didn’t react to her words, but it did lower its head again, eyes closing.
Abbey jumped off the dragon and onto the floor. She nearly fell over when she landed, her body more tired than she thought.
“Are you okay?” Pik asked, rushing over to help her up.
“I’ll be fine. Keeper, do we have anything to eat on this ball?”
“I can supply the appropriate nutrients,” Keeper replied.
“Good. Can you bring it to my room? I’m going to lie down for a while. Okay, you can name it if you keep an eye on it.”
“Deal,” Pik said.
Abbey made her way back around the creature’s tail to where the others were waiting. Jequn and Bastion were smiling. Uriel looked indifferent. Keeper was clearly unhappy with her decision. Would he turn on her if she proved to be more willful than he had hoped his rescuer would be? Was he even capable?
The corridor started to spin, her eyes blurring. She reached out, her hand landing on Bastion’s chest.
“Queenie?” Bastion said. “You flirting with me?”
“Shut up,” Abbey said. “Help me back to my quarters, will you?”
“Sure,” Bastion said, slipping himself under her arm and holding her up. “You know, it might not have been the best idea to use your energy up on -”
“I don’t care. You put the idea in my head. Now you have to live with the consequences.” She activated her comm, opening a line to the rest of the Rejects. “Uriel, I want you and Void and Cherub to keep searching the ship. Mark the Asura you find, but don’t harm them.”
“Aye, Queenie,” Jequn said.
“I want all hands on the bridge in two hours,” Abbey added.
“Have we even found the bridge yet?” Benhil asked.
“I’m on the bridge,” Erlan replied.
“Check your map,” Abbey said.
“Last one there has to kiss Keeper,” Gant said.
“I am so not going to be last,” Pik said.
12
“Here you are, Queenie,” Bastion said, holding Abbey up as they entered her quarters.
The space had belonged to the Seraphim Captain of the Covenant many, many years ago. It was a simple suite, with sterile furniture made of metal and some oddly comfortable material that cradled the body in all the right places, a dining table for taking meals, and a bathroom that wouldn’t have been out of place on a modern Republic Navy battleship. In fact, it was so ordinary that it hardly seemed possible that it could be the way a race of ancient universe-spanning aliens had lived on the daily.
Bastion moved to let her arm go, but Abbey grabbed on. “Wait,” she said. “Help me to the bed. I’m really dizzy right now.”
“Uh.” Bastion’s face started to flush. “You want me to take you to the bed?”
“Do you have to be an asshole about it?” she said. “Or can you be a gentleman for once in your life?”
“Sorry, Queenie,” Bastion said. He shifted his grip on her, helping her stay up, careful to keep his hands clear of her hair. “I’m used to the relationship where I say something obnoxious, and you bite my head off for it.”
“I wouldn’t have to bite your head off if you’d stop being so obnoxious.”
“Agreed. It’s part of my personality.”
“Bullshit. You use it to cover up your insecurities.”
“Not too weak and dizzy to analyze me, huh?”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I talk a lot to cover my insecurities. I’m obnoxious by nature. I swear.”
“You’re saying you’re incapable of being a gentleman? I’m kind of tired of being let down right now.”
They reached the bedroom. Bastion guided Abbey to the bed, bending to pick up her legs and then cradling her in his arms.
“Who else let you down?” he asked.
“Keeper for one. The One for another.”
“The One? As in the source of all of this bullshit?”
“Yeah.”
“What did he do?”
“He made promises he couldn’t keep, and now we’re paying for it.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, placing her gently on the bed.
No wisecracks. No stupid comments.
“We’ll talk about it later. Can you hang out here until Keeper comes with the food?”
“Sure. You want me to wait out there?”
“No. Just sit with me.”
“Okay.”
Bastion walked to the other side of the bed, taking a seat there. He shook slightly as the foam or gel or whatever it was settled.
“This is nice,” he said, pushing his hand against it.
“Do you think I’m doing the right thing?” Abbey asked.
“Saving the life of a dragon? I don’t know.”
“Not that. Going to the Extant. Leaving Hayley. I feel like a terrible mother.”
“What good would it do to save your kid if the entire universe exploded around her? She’d wind up miserable and then dead.”
“That’s what I tell myself, but still.”
“Don’t look for blame where there isn’t any, Queenie. We captured the Brimstone. We destroyed dozens of Nephilim warships. We knocked the Fire out of commission. We’ve also killed more bad guys than I can keep track of. I think we’re doing great. Besides, she’s with Captain Mann. You couldn’t have left her in better hands.”
“I didn’t leave her there. Thraven killed my ex and kidnapped her. It was just luck that Olus saved her.”
“It wasn’t luck. Mann has your back, end of story. He’ll keep her safe.”
Abbey fell silent. She wanted to feel like they were doing great, but the Keeper’s truth was still weighing on her.
“Hey, I was talking to Uriel a bit while we were hunting,” Bastion offered when she didn’t speak again. “He was telling Pik and me about the Nephilim, and about Thraven. Did you know he has no… that he's a eunuch, and he used to be an Egyptian slave?”
“Is that why you called him dickless?”
Bastion laughed. “Yeah. Apparently, it’s true. Uriel told us a little about Nephilim society. It seems they’ve got this pseudo-feudal thing going.”
“You know about feudal government?”
“I know I’m a dropjock, but I’m not completely uneducated.”
“Sorry. I talk down to you a lot, don’t I?”
“Sometimes. It’s no big deal, Queenie. It’s just part of who you are. You take the good with the bad, right?”
Abbey laughed. “Did you just call me a bitch?”
“Not directly.”
Abbey reached out, putting her hand on his leg. “You know, I like you a lot better when you aren’t putting on a front.”
“I sort of called you a bitch, and you liked it?”
“It’s honest. It’s real. I appreciate that, even more so right now.”
“In that case, I’m being completely honest when I say that at this moment I want to be with you in the worst way.”
She took her hand away, looking up at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Seriously? I can barely see straight, and you want to have sex?”
“Uh. No. I mean. That isn’t what I meant. I mean. I just meant you’re beautiful, and you’re smart, and I’m attracted to you. I have been since we were on Hell, and the monster change you almost went through, I think it made you more exotic. The silver spikey hair and all of that. Ugh. Sorry, Queenie. I talk a big game, but I kind of suck at this.”
“Obviously.”
“I should probably go.�
��
“No. I still need the food, and I don’t trust Keeper well enough to have it in here alone with me when it knows I’m weak.”
“You think it’ll do something to you?”
“I didn’t like the way it looked at me when I told it to shut up.”
“It hates the Asura.”
“It’s a machine; it can’t hate.”
“Then maybe you should listen to it? It must have a reason to be wary of them.”
“It was your idea to spare them. Did you change your mind?”
“I don’t know. They don’t even fight back when we confront them.”
“We’ll deal with them later, then. Just stay. And forget about being with me. At least not until all of this shit is over with and Hayley is safe.”
“So maybe after we kill Thraven and restore order to the galaxy?”
“Your chances are better than they were the last time you asked, as long as you can reign in the asshole a little more.”
“I’ll work on it.”
A tone signaled that Keeper was at the door. Bastion slid off the bed and went to answer it. Keeper entered a moment later, carrying a plate of something that smelled less than appetizing.
“What is that?” Bastion asked, holding his nose.
“It’s a proper assembly of the nutrients required by a human host to the Blood of the Shard,” Keeper said. It held the plate out toward Abbey. “This will help you recover your strength more quickly.”
Abbey looked at the meal. It had an odd, gelatin like consistency, though it was closer to dark brown in color.
“Looks delicious,” she said sarcastically. “Bastion, would you like some?”
“Uh. No thanks, Queenie,” Bastion said.
She took the plate from Keeper. “You’re dismissed,” she said.
Keeper hesitated a moment, as though it wanted to say something. Then it turned and left the suite.
“Do you see what I mean?” she said.
“Yeah. I didn’t get the feeling there was any malice, but it does seem like it's got something on its mind.”
“I’m going to try to eat this, and then I’m going to get some sleep. You’re welcome to stay or go.”
“I’ll be out there,” Bastion said. “I can’t take the smell of that crap.”
“Shut up,” she said, smiling.
He smiled back, exiting the bedroom and closing the hatch behind him. She stared at the door for a second. She rarely needed anyone, but she was glad to have someone looking out for her when she did.