Claire stared, shocked.
Creatures crouched around her, a pale blue bull with six horns; a gazelle with golden hooves and wide antlers; a fox with three tails, her bright orange fur rippling with flashes of yellow; a flightless bird on two sturdy legs with blue and green plumage; a slick lupine beast with black fur and six legs; and a bearded ape, fast and agile, his chocolate fur stained by rings of beige.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," the ape whispered and she recognized Kosta's voice.
Behind her the sound of falling water marked the hub: what was once a three-foot-tall metal sculpture turned into a ten-foot-tall stone fountain. Water spilled from the top in clear sheets and fell into a mirrored basin at the feet of the three women.
Claire looked into the basin and saw herself in its depths. A giant panther stared at her. Her fur was blood-red, striped with slashes of silver. Her eyes glowed with brilliant gold. A mane of pale red streamed from the back of her head, flaring around two pairs of her long black horns that thrust up and to the sides behind the bright tuffs of her ears. Her wide paws bore black claws the size of swords. She flicked her tail and saw it was tipped with long tuft of pale red fur, hiding a wicked black spike. Claire smiled and saw the sabers of silver fangs in her powerful mouth.
Sensory overload. She had suffered a culture shock after the planetfall. The province of Dahlia bloomed in her mind with all its colors, scents, and flavors and it reshaped the bionet. What once was a grim forest evolved into a lush jungle.
Claire bowed her head. "Is everyone with me?"
Voices chorused back in agreement.
"We go," she said.
They began their run through the jungle, leaping over the fallen trees and dashing past exotic flowers. She kept the pace brisk, but not tiring. They'd have to save their strength for later.
The path curled and they shot out onto a cliff. Far to the right an enormous tree rose, its branches glowing with bright purple lanterns.
"A castle," Saim-Wolf whispered.
Mittali-Bird laughed. "A spaceport!"
"That's where we're going," Claire said. "Follow closely, and remember the way. You will be retracing your steps on your way back."
They followed the path down the side of the mountain.
Half-way down a low rumble under her paws told Claire a trap had been set off. She felt the terrestrial shock rush upward, above them.
"Run!"
They dashed left and down, angling away from the slope. Above them enormous rocks shot out, spinning, and chased them down the slope. The boulders slammed into the side of the mountain with loud thuds.
"Faster!"
They galloped ahead off her.
A boulder landed inches from her tail.
Zinaida-Fox stumbled and fell. A rock tumbled from above, threatening to crush her. There was no way to avoid it. Claire lunged, shielding the Fox with her shoulder and snarled. The jungle shook. The blast of sound slammed into the boulder, knocking it aside, but not far enough. It slammed into her. The impact resonated through her powerful frame. Claire turned, scooped Zinaida into her mouth, and ran.
Five seconds later the animals collapsed on the grass on the side of the mountain, while the rocks continued to roll behind them. Claire carefully set Zinaida-Fox onto the ground.
"Thank you," the older woman whispered.
Kosta-Ape rolled on his back and laughed in labored heavy gasps. "Let's do that again!"
"Why are we so tired?" Charles-Bull breathed. "All this, it doesn't exist. We didn't really run..."
"You've forced your brain to make connections at maximum speed," Claire said. "The mind can't do this indefinitely. It becomes fatigued just as your bodies do. Come, we have to keep moving."
They continued through the jungle. Carnivorous plants snapped at their feet. Nooses disguised as vines reached for their necks. Leaves hid pits with spikes. Saim had fallen into a fissure filled with angry bees and Claire had to jump in after him and fry the insects with a focused mental blast.
Finally, scratched, bruised, and tired, they emerged from the jungle to the edge of another cliff, this time much lower. They lay down, hiding in the twilight behind the twisted network of roots clenching the mountain.
Directly in front of them the ground dropped down. Far, far below silvery waters of an ocean lay placid, tinted light pink and the yellow to the left, where a golden globe of the sun set, cushioned in soft clouds. Above the clouds, the cosmos spread, vast and glorious, with bright stars melting into the glow of nebulas and distant galaxies.
To the right, past the gulf of the ocean, another cliff rose, naked rock wall topped by a lush jungle. Twin rivers spilled from the cliff, wrapped in feathery mist. Between them the massive tree waited. The purple lanterns glowed, beckoning her.
Claire squinted. A narrow rock spire, like a finger of basalt about a hundred yards wide at the top, thrust from the water between them and the other cliff. A little to the left of their hiding place, a wide stone bridge led to the spire. On the other side of the spire, a thick rope woven of lianas, sturdy, woody vines, stretched to the other cliff. Thick enough for her to cross, if she used her claws and paid attention.
Kosta-Ape climbed the tree to her left and leaned to her ear. "There are mutants on the small mountain," he said.
She saw them too: lean, muscled beasts with the body of a fast hound and the jaws of a crocodile. One, two, three... seven. On Uley, the warning call to a psycher would occur if three or more were killed. Sometimes it only took two.
They could've used Nonna.
Well, no use regretting what she couldn't fix. She would have to take the chance.
"We should go now," Charles-Bull said. "Remember, we're here to save the children. We do this so they can have a life."
The beasts murmured.
"Thank you," she told them. "Stay safe. Don't fall into the water."
Charles bowed his head to her.
Claire bowed back.
One by one they disappeared into the jungle. She lay by the roots of the tree and waited.
A shrill screech announced Mittali. The bird ran onto the bridge, feathers fluffed out, and shook her butt at the dog beasts. The hounds snarled, showing sharp fangs. Yellow frothy spit bubbled up on their lips. They looked rabid.
The bird shook her feathers. "Come on! Come on!"
A single dog peeled off from the pack and charged after her. Mittali lingered on the bridge for a long moment and dashed away. The creature gave chase.
She watched the three others grab their AI beasts one by one. Kosta was last. He scooted midway up the bridge and bounced up and down, hooting. The three remaining creatures snarled in unison.
Kosta jumped, flipping in mid-air.
Showoff.
A dog padded forward.
Kosta jumped again, oblivious.
The AI hound stalked closer. Closer.
The wicked jaws opened.
Kosta jerked back and the dog's teeth snapped together. Kosta's hand snaked out, quick, and slapped the furry muzzle. He hooted and took off, the enraged AI dog at his heels.
Young fool. Claire smiled into her whiskers and slunk into the jungle.
A narrow path led to the bridge. Claire stepped onto it and padded forward on silent paws. A moment and she emerged onto the bridge. The grey stone seemed ancient, cracked and weathered. It was only a mind trick, indicating old frayed code. She pictured the stone fracturing under her weight and wished she hadn't.
The twin dogs raised their ears.
Falling into the water wasn't an option. She would survive the fall, but it would take her a while to climb back up. Every moment she delayed her team ran the risk of being bitten. Time was short.
Two hounds. The question was, could they swim?
The AI creatures charged together, furry bodies flexing with coiled muscle.
She waited.
The dogs leaped together, ruby eyes burning with bloodlust.
Claire jumped. She sailed above th
em, landed, and whipped her tail. It slammed into the hound on the right like a battering ram. The furry body flew into the air with a startled yelp and plummeted down into the water of the ocean below. If she was lucky, it wouldn't die.
The last dog attacked. She sent it over the side with a swipe of her paw and sprinted across the rocky spire. The liana bridge waited. Claire put one foot on it, sinking the claws into the woody vine.
So narrow.
Phantom wind pressed at her, pushing at her, trying to knock her off into the water below. Claire crouched, digging her claws into the knotted lianas. She needed to redistribute her mass to reduce angular acceleration. Her body flowed, obeying her mental command. Two sets of whiskers, wide like four stiff ribbons sprouted from her shoulders, stabilizing her the way a pole stabilized the tightrope walker. She could've sprouted wings, but they would do her no good. Bionet didn't support flying. Even the birds did little more than leap and glide.
Claire ran along the liana bridge, one paw after another, claws over claws. The vines trembled under her weight. The other end of the bridge was affixed to a point slightly higher than the spire. She was crawling across and up. Coming back would be hell.
Just keep moving.
Keep moving.
The cliff was almost there. She stretched her left front paw and touched it. Solid ground. One leap... and she'd plummet down into the ocean.
Claire forced herself to slow down, carefully sliding her weight onto the damp soil of the cliff. One paw, two paws, three... and she landed. The enormous tree rose before her. She sat, studying the lanterns, her ribbons-whiskers snaking out to lick one.
"Search: Alacasto Middle Academy."
The lanterns spun, sliding along the branches, as if riding an invisible carousel. A brightly shaped lantern stopped before her, the lavender flame inside glowing brightly. Claire's whiskers touched it, forging a link.
"Laboratory traces analysis: Romulus Rekanta, 99.9959% match; Edu Nagi, 99.97890% match; Lada Miller, 98.87682% match; Karim Jahar, 96.48991% match."
She reshaped the data. New set of figures flowed into the lantern: Edu Nagi, 29.97890% match; Lada Miller, 28.87682% match; Karim Jahar, 16.48991% match."
Wiping the molecular analysis to zero would have set off the red flags, but all people swam in the same genetic pool. Anything below 70% would be marked as inconclusive.
The lantern looked exactly the same. She'd altered the data with a psycher's precision.
Claire spun the lanterns, pulling up searches at random, confusing the access protocol until the children's lantern was safely mixed with the others. Her job was done.
Claire spun and dashed back to the vine bridge. Once again the lianas shuddered under her weight, only this time she was crawling head down. She wished there was another way back.
She was ten meters from the rock spire when she heard the bushes rustle near the base of the stone bridge.
Claire conquered the last few meters and moved onto the solid ground of the spire.
A beast shot out of the jungle and landed midway on the stone bridge. Huge paws hit the ancient stones, each as big as her head and tipped with thick triangular claws, razor sharp and glowing like backlit amber. A bronze beast rose, towering over her by at least a meter. Thick muscle slabbed his monstrous forelegs and colossal chest. His hind quarters dipped lower than his shoulders, his back legs bent slightly and bulging with steel-hard muscle. His fur was bronze, painted with faint rosettes of russet, same as the mane that trailed his spine and slid over his shoulder and down each leg almost to the paws.
The beast opened his giant mouth, snarling, showing her brilliant white fangs. His torso resembled an enormous dog, but his head was almost feline. The jaws looked powerful enough to bite through her bones like they were soft candy.
A psycher. A Grade A psycher.
Damn it all.
The beast roared, whipping his triple tail. The blast of sound hit her and Claire snarled back. Her roar rolled, promising pain and blood.
The beast dipped his head to stare at her. She looked into his eyes and saw the familiar intellect glaring back.
Venturo.
No. No, this couldn't be.
The beast leaped.
Claire ducked left, her instincts taking over. A clawed paw came down a hair from her shoulder and she struck with her talons , slicing the bronze fur. The triple tail whipped around, catching her flank. Pain stung her, followed by sharp spike of heat. Poison. Nice.
Claire shot to the side, rolling out of the claws' way, and strained. Bloody spray shot out of wounds on her side, expelling the poison with it. She sealed the wound.
The beast turned his head and stalked after her, the huge paws raising tiny puffs of dust from the rocky surface of the spire.
They leaped at once, flying at each other. His claws raked her side in a searing rush of pain. She bit his neck, ripping through the coils of tight muscle, but his flesh was too thick to reach bone and she withdrew.
Venturo's blood burned on her tongue.
She had to make it to the bridge. It was her only chance. She couldn't bring herself to kill him.
Dark blood poured from the wound on Venturo's neck, wetting the bronze fur. He took a precious second to seal the gash.
Claire concentrated. She shuddered and split herself, throwing four copies of herself three to the right and one to the left. Five identical scarlet cats snarled in unison.
Venturo took a step back.
Her copies rushed him and Claire jumped over him, throwing all her speed into a desperate leap.
The triple tail whipped around her, squeezing her like a noose. He'd seen through the phantoms.
She shot her back whiskers into his ribcage, turning them into hard spears in mid-strike. He snarled in pain and she slapped her own tail to slice at his face, trying to skewer him with the spike. He hurled her back. She flew through the air and smashed into the jutting rock wall. Her ribs cracked. The impact shook her vision into a haze.
Claire jumped to her feet and leaped right, left, jumping like a lunatic rabbit to avoid being hit. Her vision cleared and she saw his gaping maw diving down. Claire slapped his face with her paw, her claws raking four deep gouges on his cheek. The blow knocked him aside. He jerked back and they snarled at each other, face to face.
Fire shot from Venturo's eyes, dashed down his fur, and he stood before her engulfed in flames.
The Element Weaponry. The pinnacle of the psycher bionet training. If she had time, she would have bowed in appreciation.
He advanced toward her, menacing, flames swirling around him. She feigned fear and backed away.
A step.
Another.
She would not get another chance. This was her very last one.
Her hind paw found air. She was to the edge of the spire.
Venturo leaned forward, the fire roaring around him.
If he was fire, she would be ice.
Glacial mist shot from her. Claire charged into the depth of the inferno. His fire licked her ice barrier.
They collided.
Claire let go, emptying every last reserve. Spears of ice shot from her, locking him into blocks of ice. She saw his enraged eyes before the ice swallowed him whole.
Claire ran. She ran like she had never before ran in her life, swallowing distance in hungry gulps. She tore through jungle, ignoring branches and thorns tearing at her hide. Her mind fired brisk, calm commands, sending the signals down the established links to her team.
"Disconnect. Mission complete. Disconnect now."
A roar of pure rage shook the jungle. Ven had broken through the ice. Mere five seconds, maybe less. It had to be some sort of a record.
She had no way of knowing if her team made the hub, so she just kept broadcasting. "Mission complete. Incoming threat. Disconnect."
Her mind shuddered under the strain. Her legs began to cramp. Every breath was a fire exploding in her lungs. Up the mountain, up, up, up.
She whirled
at the mountain top and dared a single look back. A fiery glow was making its way through the canopy below. He was close. Claire ran.
The world began to fade. Darkness encroached. She was running too fast.
Venturo's furious growl shook the leaves behind her.
Claire burst into the hub clearing. Charles-Bull ran in a circle around the hub fountain, chased by an AI dog.
"I'm the last!" he cried out.
"Disconnect," she commanded.
The AI beast leaped at her, and she crushed its spine with one impatient snap of her teeth.
The bull vanished, exploding into dark ribbons.
Venturo shot into the clearing.
She let go of the bionet, hurling up the tunnel into the hotel room. A long shuddering moan ripped from her lips, and Claire took her first breath.
The reality of the hotel room slammed into her. She sat up and pulled the unit off her head.
Mittali lay on her back next to her, wincing as Tonya rubbed her feet. Charles was breathing hard, as if he'd carried a sack of rocks up a mountain. Zinaida smiled at her. Saim waved. In the corner Kosta sat in a clump, dark head hung down.
Everyone got out alive.
The medic stood by the hub, a glass vial in his hand. Acid, she guessed. "Dump it."
The medic poured the acid into the liquid interface. The liquid hissed as synthetic neurons boiled into nothing.
"Are you alright, Kosta?" she asked him.
"He got careless," Saim said. "He was bitten."
"May I?"
Kosta nodded.
Claire swept over his mind. The lesion was small, but his mind glowed with the imprint of the AI's teeth.
"It will be alright," she said. "Just stay off the bionet for about a month."
He nodded.
"I saw him," Charles said, his voice filled with wonder. "I saw him. Was that a psycher?"
"Yes," she told him.
"It's a miracle we're alive," he said. "You are that miracle."
She shook her head. "You've had no experience and no weapons. You've made it possible."
"We should drink," Saim said.
"Yes. Yes, that's a great idea," Mittali rolled to her feet. "Ow. As soon as I can walk."
Silver Shark Page 8