Cultwick: The Science of Faith

by J. Stone

  “Monster!” Pearl shouted at Alice, tears in her eyes. “What have ya done?”

  “Ms. Hicks,” the operative said with a big smile. “It’s been too long.”

  Her tentacles lashed out, grabbing the young woman by her arms and legs, suspending her in air. Struggling against the strength of the limbs seemed futile, but nonetheless, she fought for her freedom.

  “I can see why she likes you,” Alice said stroking her hand across Pearl’s cheek. “You are indeed quite pretty.”

  Pearl’s skin crawled at her touch. Her fingers felt more like a leather hide than human flesh. The tentacles, on the other hand, were fibrous and seemed like whatever lie beneath the pink skin was constantly pulsating and moving.

  “Now then,” Alice continued. “Where is that little chromesmith of yours?”

  “Not here,” Pearl lied. “She’s gone.”

  The operative didn’t seem to believe her. “Erynn Clover!” Alice shouted at the top of her lungs. “Show yourself or this pretty little thing of yours dies!”

  Toward the kitchen, Erynn appeared with Tern at her back. She walked toward Alice and Pearl with purpose. She saw Rowland on the floor. She knew what had happened to her adoptive father. “Let her go!” she shouted, shakily aiming her pistol at the intruder, her eyes red and full of tears.

  Alice reactively picked up and moved Pearl with the tentacles, placing her between the operative and Erynn. “You came armed. Good.” A wicked smile crossed her face. “That construct of yours… rebuilt I see. I think we should put an end to that. Shoot it.”

  Erynn shifted in place, weighing her options.

  “Just run!” Pearl shouted. “Get ou--”

  Alice was not a patient woman though. Wrapping another tentacle around Pearl’s neck, it tightened, resulting in her squirming in pain and struggling to breathe. “Don’t make me remind you of the consequences of your non-compliance, Ms. Clover.”

  “Fine,” Erynn replied. “Just don’t hurt Pearl.”

  The tendrils loosened from around Pearl’s neck, and Erynn reluctantly turned to her automaton.

  “Debugger?” Tern asked. “Input command.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, raising the powerful pistol toward her beloved automaton.

  “Do it!” Alice demanded.

  The bullet passed through the fusion chamber, enchanting it with the magic that Pearl had imbued it with. Tern’s frame was utterly destroyed. Nothing above his waist remained after the glowing, blue explosion had dissipated. The legs and what bit remained of his hips fell limply to the ground as wires sputtered and oils leaked to the floor. Erynn stood over the body of her friend and creation, shoulders slumped. She looked broken.

  “Good. Now, toss the gun here, Ms. Clover,” Alice insisted.

  Only delaying for a moment, she soon complied, throwing the gun, so that it slid and landed at Alice’s feet. The operative picked it up with one of the dexterous tentacles and aimed it at Erynn.

  “Good girl,” Alice said. “Come join us. We have so much to discuss, the three of us.”

  Erynn slowly slumped forward, her eyes meeting with Pearl’s. They were both filled with so much sadness. They had already lost Rowland as if the act had meant nothing to Alice. Tern, who might have been able to fend off the operative, had been destroyed. Pearl was already captured with no real hope of escape. Now Erynn submitted herself to the same fate. Pearl wished that her companion had run, fled to survive, but all the same, she was glad that she was with her. They wouldn’t have to die alone.

  When Erynn came close enough, a pair of Alice’s limbs grabbed the chromesmith, yanking her closer. She held her mere inches from her face, disgust and resentment in the operative’s eyes.

  “Heretic,” she spat.

  “Just do it,” Erynn said, disdainfully. “I have no desire to hear you blather on.”

  “We’re not there just yet, I’m sorry to say,” Alice replied. “God demands answers first.”

  “Aren’t you touched?” Erynn said.

  “You would dare mock god?” the operative asked.

  “Just ask your damn question,” she replied.

  “Very well,” Alice said. “You were--”

  Before she could finish the question, there was a creak from overhead. Pearl realized it must have been either Germ or the other man that had been brought back, Brodie. There was no reason that more had to die.

  “Who’s upstairs?” Alice asked.

  “No one,” Erynn answered. “The house is old. Sometimes it creaks.”

  “You two,” the operative replied. “Such awful little liars. Have you no shame? Let’s go have a look, shall we? I don’t suppose it’s the overgrown lab rat of yours? I always did want to see it up close. Shame he has to die because of the two of you.”

  “No! Just let him--” Pearl was cut off by the squeezing tentacle.

  “That’s enough out of you,” Alice commented, beginning towards the stairs to the second floor.

  “He hasn’t done anything,” Erynn entreated. “Please, just do with us as you’re going to and leave him alone. He doesn’t deserve this.”

  “He has associated with a heretic,” she replied. “Death is what he deserves. Now, be silent.”

  The tentacle around her neck tightened too, and both Erynn and Pearl struggled to get free with no success. Alice ascended the stairs and began searching for Germ. She prowled the hallway leading to Germ’s room, using her tentacles to push open each door along the path. There wasn’t much time left before she arrived there, and the operative moved as though she knew where she was headed. Everything was going too fast, with Pearl unable to help in any way. Before she knew what had happened, they had arrived at Germ’s room.

  Alice tried the knob, but it was locked. This clearly was not going to stop her though. Before she busted it open, however, Brodie appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. No one had noticed as he crept up behind the operative, and he was now holding a small kitchen knife that was sticking several inches into Alice’s back. He released it and backed up, as Alice turned to face him, seemingly not phased by the blade. One of her tentacles pulled the blade from her back and tossed it aside. Where Pearl was held, she could see the wound mend itself almost immediately. There truly was no hope against this mutated woman.

  “What are you?” Brodie asked with a horrified expression.

  “A child of god,” she answered.

  With Erynn’s gun still in her grip, Alice aimed the weapon at the man in front of her and fired. The same blue light that had been used to extinguish Tern’s life ended Brodie’s. There was nothing left but scattered pulp and blood lining the walls. Though she had just met him, Pearl was dismayed by his death. After all he had suffered inside the Pocket, to lose his life here, made his struggles seem so pointless.

  Despite the horror she had just witnessed, she also noticed that the blast that had killed Brodie was less powerful than the one fired at Tern. Was the hekta in the rod getting weaker? Did the nexomancy spell she had cast only have so many charges before the magic faded? It didn’t matter, she realized. Everything she knew was ending before her eyes.

  Alice returned her focus to the door of Germ’s room. Mutating her arm into the mass of flesh and bone that Pearl had once witnessed on the train from Willow Switch, the operative bashed the limb against Germ’s door, smashing the wood to splinters. A second hit and the door was off its hinges, falling to the floor. There was the timid rat, his hands clasped together at his stomach, shaking fiercely. Alice just stood there for a moment, examining Germ, but the expression on her face indicated that she was not impressed with the rat man. Without saying anything, she aimed the gun at the innocent rat.

  He looked from Erynn to Pearl with a pair of sad eyes, but he had a soft smile underneath. “Goodbye Madam Clover, Madam--”

  The gun exploded once more. Germ was gone. Pearl couldn’t bear to look at what was left of him in that room. She closed her eyes as tightly as she could. The losses were too many
. Everything seemed so unreal. The possibility of her death seemed like a kindness at that point. Everyone she loved was gone except for Erynn, and she knew that too was only a matter of time. Alice walked back down to the first level, away from the horrors upstairs only to allow them to rediscover those she had left in the entryway.

  “With all of that unpleasantness out of the way, I think we can get down to it,” Alice said. “I have but one question for you both. Empress Viola Arkmast. You met with her. What did you discuss?”

  Both Pearl and Erynn were silent despite the tentacles loosening their grips around the women’s necks. They had seen too much. Lost too much.

  Alice sighed. “We’ve been through this once before Ms. Clover. Our first night together. Do you remember? The cutting. The injections. You even died a few times. I recall it as being magnificent, though your memory may not match up perfectly. Surely you don’t want to go through that again? Don’t forget that I can do all of those things to your little strumpet here and make you watch every agonizing second until the life is squeezed from her.”

  At that threat, Erynn looked up with such rage at the operative. “Hekta,” she simply told her.

  “Hekta?” Alice scoffed. “Do you truly take me for a superstitious fool?”

  “Pearl can cast magic,” Erynn continued. “Viola said we could come to her for help.”

  “You’re serious?” Alice asked.

  Erynn nodded.

  “And you?” she asked of Pearl. “You confirm this?”

  “Yes,” Pearl said despondently. “It’s true.”

  “I’ve heard whisperings of our empress,” the operative said. “The Pale Witch, they’ve called her. So you say there is truth to this?”

  “Yes,” Pearl repeated.

  “Then you gave her nothing?” Alice asked. “Aided her in no way?”

  “No,” Erynn answered. “She helped us. Nothing else.”

  “Hmm,” Alice murmured. “I think I believe you. Thank you both. It seems that puts an end to my questions.”

  Alice smiled, as her tentacles wrapped once again around their necks. Pearl reached out, trying to find Erynn’s hand with her own. The tentacle tightened even more around her throat. The light of the room dimmed, and all strength seemed to be sapped from her body. Her fingertips were within inches of Erynn’s, but her body went limp and everything was dark. They had died.

  Chapter 33. Viola’s Portal

  Doubt plagued her mind now that everything was in place. The portal had been completed, and all that awaited its activation was the bracelet she had collected from Pearl. Were her actions those of a selfish little girl clinging to life, or were they more noble? Was she the savior she thought of herself, or was she destined to merely follow in her mother’s footsteps of destruction and deceit?

  When she inherited the throne, Viola had the young clairvoyant boy, Simon Clover moved into the Sovereign Tower rather than have him released or remain in the center. This was yet another slight against Erynn that weighed on her mind. She wished to give the boy his freedom, but he was simply too powerful. If she had her complete energy available to her, Viola might have attempted to cleanse the boy of the drugs Crowley had injected him with, but the wound in her palm made that too risky. The boy had full sight into everything past, present, and future. If someone were to get their hands on him, and he to actually cooperate with them, there was no telling the kind of damage he might cause. No, she decided to err on the side of caution and keep him close.

  Since the move, Viola had not gone to visit him. Primarily it was out of guilt, but with such an important decision weighing on her, it seemed the time had come for her to ask for a vision from the boy. As Kyra had so often reminded her, even with the handmaiden’s power of visions, she couldn’t possibly know everything. This boy, however, could. Getting that information was just a matter of convincing him to reveal the details and trusting that he had told the truth.

  Viola entered the room to find Simon playing with a yo-yo. Trying to keep him happy, she had given him a great deal of things that a child at his age would’ve enjoyed. She had found it difficult to tell if he actually was still that same age, but she figured she had to start somewhere. He did seem happier than she had found him in Crowley’s secret cells in the center.

  “Hello Simon,” Viola began. “How are you today?”

  “Bit busy guiding a rat through a maze right now,” he replied.

  Confused by his response, she asked, “A maze?”

  “Never mind,” he said. He looked back down to the toy in his hand. “Why doesn't everyone spend all day playing with these things? They’re amazing.”

  Ignoring the boy’s question, she pressed forward. “I came to ask you a question.”

  With a sigh, he tossed the toy aside and said, “I know, but I’ll only answer it when I get to ask you one as well.”

  “Very well,” she agreed. “What is your question, Simon?”

  “What do you expect to find?” the boy asked.

  “Where do you mean?” Viola replied.

  “The place you’re going,” he answered. “Hell, limbo, purgatory, the underworld, an inferno, alternate dimension. Whatever you prefer to call it.”

  “A second chance,” she said.

  “You think you’re worthy of such a thing?” he asked. “Let’s face it. You are keeping a little boy who’s capable of seeing all of history within a blink of his eye as your captive. I’m the boy in that story, just so we don’t get off point.”

  “I’d like to let you go. I just… can’t,” Viola replied.

  “I know you would,” Simon said. “You’re a better person than your mother. At least that’s what you want to hear, right?”

  “I am better than her,” she stated.

  “For now,” the boy said, squinting his eyes and furrowing his brow. “I suppose you just clinch it, but I don’t see that lasting much longer.”

  “Because of the portal?” Viola asked.

  “I mean what’s inside the portal,” he said, holding his hands up like they were claws.

  “What will it do to make me worse than my mother?” Viola inquired.

  “Nothing you don’t willingly agree to,” he answered cryptically.

  “I need help,” she said.

  “That help will be quite dangerous,” Simon suggested. “But you already know that, and there’s little I can do to change your mind. So, go. I suppose I will be here when you return.”

  “I suppose you will,” Viola said. “Goodbye, Simon.”

  The clairvoyant boy nodded, as the empress took her leave of his room. Though he had certainly not erased her doubt, Viola knew he was right when he said this trip would be dangerous. Taking her private elevator down to the ground floor, Viola was met by two of her royal guard, Lexi and Dante.

  Without words, the pair of her guard guided her out the back passageway of the Sovereign Tower. Viola raised the hood underneath her coat, shielding her face from the moonlight of the evening. She didn’t want to be noticed by anyone. She just focused on getting to the portal and getting it over with.

  Arriving at their destination, Dante waited outside, while Viola and Lexi went into the old factory building. Kyra was already inside, preparing things for the ritual. Viola took off her coat in the first room, handing it to Lexi. She slipped off her shoes as well, and took off all her clothes until all she wore was a simple robe. Finally, she unclasped the necklace from around her neck and laid it in her friend’s open palm.

  “Stay here,” Viola ordered Lexi.

  Her friend nodded in compliance but then asked, “You are certain… about all of this?”

  “No,” the empress answered. “But I’m still going to do it.”

  Viola continued into the main area of the factory, where the portal had been constructed. Reaching into the pocket of her robe, she pulled out the empowered bracelet that was still tinged with an unearthly yellow color. Kyra, who had been standing near the finished portal, approached Viol
a and placed her hand gently on her cheek.

  “You can do this, my child,” Kyra said.

  “I know,” Viola replied, handing Kyra the bracelet. “Open it.”

  Her handmaiden took the imbued piece of jewelry and followed Viola’s order. She walked to the center point between the two rings, placing the gleaming metal in the exact location it was needed. Energy spilled out from it in both directions, filling the portals with the power to split worlds in twain. Viola walked further into the factory to face her fate.

  She stood in front of the ramp leading up to the portal of swirling abyss staring back at her. Taking in the sight of that final form with her own eyes was horrifying to behold. Kyra had warned her of the dangers that this method might present, but it had all seemed so unreal until this moment. Crackles of luminescent green lightning ripped through the smoky black void between the hard metal ring holding the two separated portals in place. The burning flesh smell and the sounds of drums returned. The awful shadows were cast against the walls, floors, and ceilings of the factory. Wisps of the smoke seemed to reach out into her world with purpose and intent but were denied any true form. Viola felt to her very core that whatever was beyond the void was sitting on the opposite side staring back at her. She didn’t like the way it felt, but she had come too far to stop now. If she didn’t do this, she would perish from her own arrogance, and the empire would fall back into the hands of the zealots. That wasn’t an option; she had to do this.

  Kyra returned to her side giving Viola a mournful glance. Her attendant seemed to know that Viola’s mind would not be swayed, but she looked quite worried regardless. “It’s ready,” she said.

  The empress nodded to her faithful servant and teacher before beginning to undo the clasps of her robe. She let the silky fabric slide off her naked shoulders and fall to the floor behind her. Kyra picked up the robe and walked to the other side of the portal awaiting Viola to complete the walk through it.

  All she had left to protect her bare skin were the sorcerous bandages that attempted to hold back the escaping energy from within her. Kyra had informed her that anything that wasn’t living that passed through that gateway would be purged into oblivion, but she feared taking the bandage off would result in further weakening her. Besides, she thought, if all goes according to plan, she wouldn’t need them once she got to the other side.