Empath Reborn

by J. A. Culican

  Ida chirps up, "Cool. Four of these doors and four of us. Each one, take one."

  I pick a door at random and open it, as the others do the same. Inside mine, all I see is a typical office, and not even a big one. The furnishings look lavish for an office this size, but then again, we are in Mortals Landing. "Nothing here," I call out.

  "Same here," Talon replies, and Glen echoes him.

  Ida says, "Well, shoot. That leaves just one more door. But I should go in first, just in case Frankenstein is in there."

  "You mean, Frankenstein's monster?" Glenn replies. "Frankenstein was the scientist who made the monster."

  "Who cares?"

  “Everyone but you.”

  I hold up one hand. "Stop. Argue about books later."

  Glenn smirks. "There was a book? I hate it when they turn movies into books."

  Ida rolls her eyes. "Come on, stupid. I'm opening the door."

  We follow her to the last door. She tries it, but it's locked. "Hey, they used a plain old key lock. Hang on." She makes a dramatic gestures with her hands and says, "Abra cadabra, oogie boogie."

  The door creeps open silently. At least Ida is useful, unlike Glenn. That guy just flirts and ogles women, as far as I can tell.

  Suddenly, he says, "Stop! Don't go in there."

  "Why not?" I ask, frustrated.

  He shakes his head. "I don't know. Just a glimmer. But trust me, we don't want to go in there."

  That does it. Obviously, that's the room I do want to go into. "Unless you know why, we keep going. Ida, come on. Go in."

  She purses her lips, looking back and forth between me and him. Then, she looks to Talon and raises one eyebrow.

  Talon shrugs. "We'll handle whatever we find. This is why we're here."

  She nods once, curtly, and shrugs at Glenn before turning back around and opening the door the rest of the way. But then she gasps, freezing in place.

  I crane my neck to see over her shoulder, and almost have the same reaction. The room is huge, taking up all the rest of the top floor. It's crammed full of machines, and unlike every other lab room, all the lights are on.

  I push past her. I have to see what's inside. As I step out from the short bit of hallway on our side of the door, the whole room comes into view.

  From the room’s center to one wall, a big machine takes up all the available space. It’s a mess of pipes and tubes, with wires coming out from everywhere. Thinner tubes push a gray liquid into a container. The fluid pulses with light, like a heartbeat. Ba-boom, ba-boom.

  And there in the center, surrounded by all those pipes and tubes and wires stands a tall, clear cylinder full of what looks like water, only thicker. It’s some kind of goo. But that’s not what stuns me silent. No, I freeze in place because there in the center, a test subject floats in the goo.

  It’s Luka.

  I scream and try to run to the cylinder, but Talon and Glenn grab me and hold me back.

  Talon says into my ear, "Wait. Look closer. You can't just open this thing up. Look at it, dammit."

  I stop struggling. What is he talking about? I take a deep breath with my eyes closed. Then, I open them and look more carefully. The cylinder isn't glass. Maybe plastic? I tap on it, and it rings like some kind of metal.

  There are also bubbles suspended in it, as the clear goo is too thick for them to rise. An inch below the goo’s surface, I notice a thin, crystalline crust of ice. That means they're keeping him at near-frozen temperatures.

  I almost let out a low moan as my breaking heart skips a beat. The body inside is definitely Luka’s, but his eyes are closed. His belly is swollen and distended. His entire back half is purple and blue, yet his front half is pale as milk. The “bruise” covering his back side must be where his blood pooled after he died.

  The body in there isn't Luka, it's just his meat-suit. He's not alive. There was no resurrection. All the turmoil I felt, the doubts, the confusion—it was all for some fantasy of resurrecting the dead. Short of some divine miracle, dead is dead, and he's not coming back. Ever.

  My knees go weak, and I sink to the floor with my face in my hands. I'm hiding the hideous view of the corpse that was once Luka. Tears begin streaming down my cheeks, and suddenly, I hear myself cry out a horrid, anguished sound. Some dam inside me has burst, and all the strength I thought I had flees, leaving behind only the real me, weak, desperate, and sobbing.

  Maybe I'd only been faking my newfound resolve and grit all along, merely pretending to be someone else. Someone better. Right now, I feel like I’m anything but strong.

  Talon kneels beside me and wraps his arms around me, resting his chin on my head.

  I lunge to embrace him and bury my face in his chest. The sobs just come, and I can't stop them, don't want them. They just show the real me escaping at last.

  Part of me wonders how any man could embrace a woman he cares for while she's sobbing over another man, especially one who was his friend. That part of me wonders what on Earth is wrong with him.

  No. What’s wrong with me? I don't seem to have any problem taking advantage of the comfort he's offering, even as I’m thinking that something must be wrong with him for offering it.

  I shove those thoughts aside, though. My heart is being ripped in two, and I can almost feel the pain physically. I let myself sob on him. For how long, I don’t know, because the only thing in my world is this pain that appeared so suddenly, and the weak hope of comfort from Talon.

  Eventually, I can't sob anymore. I sniffle, wiping my cheek with one palm. Now, instead of that horrible cocktail of emotions, all I feel is nothing—like I've drained myself of them and there is nothing to take their place. I'm as much an emotional shell as Luka is a physical one.

  The door slams shut, startling me, and feeling Talon jump in surprise only adds to the adrenaline surge. I look up in time to see steel shielding dropping down to cover all the windows and the lights flicker off. No, all the windows are being covered but one, where the shielding only drops halfway down.

  Ida shrieks from somewhere behind me. Talon helps me to my feet with a painful jerk and then we feel our way in the dark to find Ida and Glenn.

  Talon whispers, "Stay close, stay silent."

  I hear a whirring sound. A crack of light appears on the far wall along the floor, and it grows wider as a hidden door slides up. Behind the doorway, I can see only a bright light that hurts my eyes.

  A woman's voice comes through. "Staying silent won't help you at all, Talon."

  I squint against the light and as my eyes adjust, I know exactly who it is. There, waiting for us, is Luna herself, and standing beside her is none other than Secretary Dawson. Behind them stands a group of Shades.

  This has all been a trap. Glenn was right. I wouldn’t listen, and I led us right into it.

  This is my fault.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Dawson enters first. I don't know if he's stupidly brave or just stupid. I reach for my knives, but he holds a palm up to us. "Hold on, please. I know this looks bad, but since you're here... can we talk, first? Then, if you still want to, you can kill each other."

  Luna has her arms crossed, leaning against the door frame. Her Shades make no move toward us. I realize then that they have no weapons drawn, either. Not that Luna needs a weapon to be deadly, but she looks relaxed.

  Talon must have noticed it at the same time I did, because he comes out of his crouch.

  Ida and Glenn follow his lead.

  Talon says, "Sure, Dawson. Let's talk, and then I'll kill you for bringing her here. Are you mad?"

  Dawson turns a slightly paler shade, but doesn't flinch. "Fair enough. I agree to your terms, if it'll get you to talk instead of killing everyone. Hasn't there been enough killing for a lifetime by both sides? No, several lifetimes."

  My shock wears off, and in its place, a hot ember grows. I say through clenched teeth, "Enough killing? No, Dawson, there hasn't been enough. There'll never be enough, not while Luna lives. She'll s
ee to it the killing goes on and on, no matter what ridiculous ideas of peace you have."

  He blinks a few times, like he didn't expect that. "You're wrong, Ela. She's here to talk with no weapons drawn, isn't she? Whatever you think of her, whatever she did in the past, we have a chance—one chance—to change the world we live in for the better."

  Talon steps back, putting him right at the best distance to draw his sword and skewer Dawson all in one swift move.

  I keep my hands by my knives, waiting to see what he does, but he doesn't draw. Not yet.

  Instead, he says, "And how would you change the world? If she's involved, it can't be for the better."

  Luna coughs once into her hand, but keeps leaning on the doorframe as she says, "If I may?"

  Dawson bows to her, holding his hand out.

  Luna smiles at him, then turns to us again. "The simple truth is that I'm tired of the fighting and the dying. I know you are too, Talon, because you're a decent person somewhere down deep inside. Shades and Wraiths, we each have our strengths, right? You Wraiths control all the mortals who matter and use them against us, and no matter how much stronger than you we are, we always lose in that shadow war."

  Talon sounds cautious replying, "Maybe true. You all try to control things too much. Mortals respond to that fear you inflict, but they do their best work when they want to do it."

  Luna grins. "That's the main reason Kasik changed our tactics. Our leaders had tried for centuries, but the best we ever did was Russia, and it took you only a few decades to break our hold on it. So instead, we just started hunting you down directly and killing as many of you as we could find. That, we did rather well at."

  "We got our hits in, too."

  "Yeah, that's war for you." Luna rolls her head to crack her neck, moving languidly. "But you people just aren't as disciplined as my Shades, and we have most of the magic—including ancient artifacts. If we could find you, we could kill you."

  "Like you killed Ela in that alley? Well, tried to. And failed." Talon's eyes are narrowed, his neck so tense that I can see the muscles bunching even from where I stand.

  I watch Luna. I want to hear her answer.

  "No, that was a mistake. She got lucky, we got unlucky, and we weren't prepared for how far along she'd come. I never make the same mistakes twice, though. Just ask Luka."

  I step toward her before even thinking about it, but Dawson puts himself between us with his back to her. That's another stupid move on his part, even if it is rather cool that he's more worried about me than her.

  "Get out of the way, Dawson. She's spitting out fighting words, and I'll give her what she wants."

  "No, please, just listen," he pleads.

  His tone of voice gives me a moment’s pause, which is enough for me to struggle back into some kind of self-control.

  "Oh, there's more? Say it, then get out of my way." It strikes me as odd that I'm the one itching for a fight.

  Dawson takes a deep breath. "Look, what Luna is proposing has merit. I hope she doesn't mind me speaking for her when I tell you that what we want—Luna and me both—is an end to the war. But more than that, we want to bring our people and hers together."

  Talon coils, rising onto the balls of his feet, though I'm not sure it's intentional. "You lost the right to call us your people when you brought her here."

  Dawson closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh. "I will accept your refusal, if it's still what you want when this is all over. The goal is worth the price of suffering your animosity."

  "And what goal is that? Enough beating around the bush. Tell it to me straight." Talon looks about ready to skewer the secretary and let whatever happens after that happen.

  Dawson's expression transforms. Gone is his pensive look, replaced by a beaming smile that lights his eyes. His expression seems so genuine that I think he might actually believe what he's saying. But he's no fool, not a man in his position.

  Fine, I'll hear him out. "We're listening. Tell us what you hope this achieves, and why they're here with you."

  He nods, still smiling. "I can hardly say it without dancing. The truth is, the Shades want to reunite with the Wraiths."

  "What the hell are you thinking?" Talon's shout bursts from deep inside, echoing off the walls and startling me.

  Dawson's smile fades but doesn't disappear. "You said you'd hear me out. Can I explain?"

  "You'd better, and fast."

  Luna shoves off the door frame and puts her hand on Dawson's shoulder. "Let me."

  He pauses, then nods. "If you think it will help end this."

  "I do." She looks at Talon, then at me. Though I expect to see the sneer she always wears, I see no sign of it as she says, "Look, this war hurts us both. I recently realized... No, I finally accepted the fact that you Wraiths have real power through your control of the mortals' institutions and governments. Power different than the raw magic we control, but power nonetheless."

  "Brilliant deduction," Glenn says, just loud enough for us to hear him.

  Luna ignores him. "We can beat you in a stand-up fight and always could, but you know it. You aren't stupid, so you fight from shadows, using your mortals and their institutions to squash our goals and crush our missions, remove our support, and root out our mortal followers."

  Talon's no longer on the balls of his feet, but I still can see his eyes scanning every person, watching every move they make. "Go on."

  "In short, we can't beat you directly since you won't fight, and you can't beat us indirectly because, as they say, 'eventually you need boots on the ground to win a war.' The futility of it all is striking, if you think about it. I've had a lot of time to think, lately."

  I see where this is going, though I can hardly believe it. There's no way she's going to say what I think she's about to say.

  She continues, "So instead of continuing this pointless war, I propose we unite. Dawson was right. I want Shades in positions of power, and he can give that to me if we end this war. Meanwhile, my Shades can give you something you want. Something you need, actually."

  "Oh yeah? What's that?" Talon stands tense, ready to pounce.

  I hope he does pounce. I’m getting tired of waiting for it, and I know it’s coming.

  She replies, "We can give you all the magical power you could want. I mean artifacts and tokens, sure, but I also mean you personally, Talon. You can have your power back, and so much more. We all can have more, if we work together."

  My jaw drops. That's so much more tempting than what I'd expected. A wave of anxiety rises up inside, making my heart race, and I look to Talon. Seeing his expression reassures me he isn’t going to do something stupid.

  But then his expression softens, and my anxiety returns stronger than ever. He can't actually believe her, can he?

  Luna smiles, big and bright. It’s an expression I've never seen on her. "So how about it? I'll deliver my Shades and all our power and property into Dawson's control, if you will do the same. The future is in your hands, as is every life you'll save."

  Talon staggers back a step. "What are you—I mean... Are you serious?"

  His tone is hopeful, not at all what I expected. This insanity isn't going to end well if he's stupid enough to believe her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I won't sit idly by and let Talon fall into Luna's scheming, conniving trap. "Don't do it. You can't trust her, and you know it. What would Birka say? What would Luka say?"

  From within the cluster of Shades, a woman steps out. It's Meredith. What on Earth is she doing with these two?

  "I'll answer that." She smiles at Talon and me, waving her fingers at us. "Hello again. Big things are afoot, right? The plan doesn't involve Birka. Luna doesn't think she'd ever give up her power. I know Birka well enough to agree, and you do, too.”

  “She won't give up her throne.”

  “Right. It’s not for love of power, but because she'd think she was saving the Wraiths from a trap. She simply
can’t imagine a world where Wraiths and Shades, especially Luna, can set aside their differences. But Dawson does envision it, and sometimes all it takes to change the world is one person with a vision and the conviction to make it happen."

  As she says it, she looks down, not at us. I might have imagined it, but to me, she sounds unconvinced. I think she so badly wants to believe it that she's going along with it, despite her own reservations. I wish I knew her better so I could know for sure.

  Dawson clears his throat and adjusts the knot in his tie, craning his neck. "Ah... Thank you, Meredith. I appreciate your confidence."

  He looks at Talon directly. "Luna, too, has confidence in this plan. Unfortunately, peace requires both leaders to want peace more than they want to 'win,' as if anyone could come out a winner in this war after all the blood it has spilled, all the broken lives it has left in its wake.”

  “The war didn’t spill that blood. The Shades did.” I say. “Talon, remember what Luna did to all those Roma. Don’t let their deaths be meaningless. They were innocents, and she murdered them in cold blood.”

  Dawson interrupts before Talon can reply. “The war is a monster, devouring everything, and if you choose war over peace, you'll only be feeding that monster, Talon. Both sides did horrible things, but you can end the cycle."

  "Really." Talon takes a half-step back, still tense, but his hand falls away from his sword hilt a couple of inches. "And what makes you think the people who do the fighting can get over their broken lives enough to give peace a chance? This sounds grand, but it's impossible. It’s a pipe dream that could never happen. People won't accept it."

  Dawson smiles, his eyes lighting up. His voice even lifts as he says, "No, you're wrong. I have a plan to deal with that. Everyone has lost a loved one in the war between us and the Shades, but what would people do if you offered them the chance to get back everyone they lost if they'll just join me?"

  I blurt out, "But they can't, can they?"

  Everyone turns to stare at me, startled.

  I continue, "This is why you're trying to figure out how to raise the dead, right? But it doesn't work. Luka's floating in a big glass bucket right over there. He's still dead, Dawson, no matter how many wires and tubes you desecrate his body with."