Memory Hunter

by Frank Morin

  The two men faced off again, both breathing hard, both looking more than a little battered.

  Clapping from the door interrupted the match. Sarah had been so caught up in watching the fight that she hadn’t noticed Eirene arrive.

  “Excellent performance, gentlemen,” she said. “But I’m afraid I need Alter back at the machine.”

  “Good bout,” Tomas said with grudging respect as he rubbed his jaw.

  Alter didn’t look like he wanted to concede anything but after a glance at Sarah he mumbled, “Not bad.”

  After he left with Eirene, Sarah threw her arms around Tomas’ neck. He was sweaty, but his breathing had already recovered. Some men smelled awful when they sweated, but not Tomas. She kissed him and he held her tight for a long moment.

  “You were amazing,” she said.

  “Thanks. Keep training and you’ll get there.”

  He released her, but she held onto him, gripping his face in her hands. “But Tomas, I don’t want you thinking of Alter as a threat to you in any way.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Tomas said, trying to back away.

  She held him. “I know you don’t like me training with him.”

  “The way he looks at you ...” Tomas began.

  “Is my problem,” Sarah snapped. “Alter’s helping me. I’ll keep him in his place, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

  Tomas sighed and took her hands in his. “I only want to protect you.”

  “Then worry about Mai Luan,” Sarah said. “I can handle Alter.”

  “I trust you, Sarah,” Tomas said.

  “Then it’s settled.” She kissed him again. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

  After showering, she returned to her rune studies. Alter had been working with Eirene to decipher the full meaning of the runes on the machine. They drew on assistance from his father via emailed photos and phone conversations. Melek had confirmed that many of the runes were previously unknown and he dedicated the resources of his runesmiths to help decipher them.

  The project seemed to energize the hunter enclave. With their help, Alter confirmed that the inscribed rune sequence granted the person wearing the second helmet the ability to ride along inside the memories of the person wearing the primary helmet. It also granted them the ability to exercise control over the other person’s memories.

  When Melek learned that Mai Luan might be seeking a master rune, he was at first furious that Alter would share that secret with Gregorios. He soon realized the overriding need however, and reiterated Alter’s offer to send a full contingent of hunters to Rome to assist in tracking down and eliminating Mai Luan.

  Gregorios refused. He admitted the offer tempted him, but he couldn’t risk it. The facetaker enforcers routinely tracked hunter movements and a bunch of hunters coming to Rome would definitely be noticed and make the work all the harder. The plan they were developing depended on surprise.

  Through it all, Sarah absorbed everything she could about runes. The subject called to her like nothing in her life ever had. Runes just made sense. She realized the location on the body where runes were placed played a key role in proper sealing and in unlocking specific attributes. When she mentioned the suspicion to Alter, he again regarded her with astonishment.

  “Help me create one for myself,” she urged.

  He gave her some pointers and Eirene added some comments, but they lacked a lot of time to work with her on it. So she worked on it alone and found she loved the process of exploration and discovery.

  She convinced Alter to get his father to send a listing of basic runes. As the hours of study quickly slipped by, she began to draw sections of various runes in the margins of her notes and an image began to take shape in her mind.

  The team worked through much of the next night as they feverishly teased out the full story of the runes. Sarah couldn’t go to bed while everyone else stayed up to work on the project. That was the excuse anyway. The reality was that she didn’t want to stop. She continued piecing together the bits and pieces of runes that called to her the loudest. Then she found a more complex rune on the last page of the documentation Melek had sent. It combined the central components of the basic runes for health and strength.

  It was exactly what she needed.

  The entire image sharpened into clarity and she pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and began drawing as fast as she could. She started with that combination rune and added the bits and parts of several other runes that she had marked in her notes. The pieces fit together as the new, customized rune took shape. It felt like they were designed with her new rune in mind. She finished the entire greater rune with several connecting lines that intersected and joined the basic runes.

  The completed rune was far more complex than any she had studied. It looked more like the ones tattooed on Alter’s torso and arms.

  It felt right.

  She copied it carefully to a second piece of paper and showed it to Eirene, who was taking a break at the long table.

  Eirene took one look at the rune and said, “Oh, my.”

  “What? Is it that bad?”

  “No, dear. It’s ... unexpected.”

  Alter dropped into a chair nearby and reached for a pastry coated in chocolate. He glanced over at the paper and his eyes bulged with surprise. He snatched the paper out of Eirene’s hand and ripped it into tiny pieces.

  “Hey!” Sarah protested, “that was my rune.”

  “Where did you steal that from?” he demanded.

  “You need to work on your people skills!” Sarah left the room in a fury.

  She was new at runes. She had no idea if she had broken some etiquette rule he hadn’t bothered explaining yet, or if the rune was somehow a bad thing. Only, it still felt so right.

  Ten minutes later while she was beating at a punching bag in the exercise room, Alter entered. She ignored him and punched harder.

  “I am sorry,” he said and actually sounded humbled.

  “You should be.”

  “It’s just ... where did you find that rune?”

  “I didn’t find it,” Sarah snapped. “I designed it, just like you told me to.”

  “I didn’t teach you that.”

  Sarah faced him, hands on hips. “It’s my first rune, all right? Just spit it out. What did I do wrong?”

  “You don’t understand. That was the signature rune of my great grandmother.”

  “This isn’t the time to start teasing,” she growled.

  “I’m not. At first I thought somehow it got included in the list my father sent, but I double-checked the file and couldn’t find it.”

  “Because I built it,” Sarah repeated. “It felt like the pieces should fit together.”

  “Many do. Greater runes are often personal, but sometimes runes are ... rediscovered.” He paced away before continuing. “You really just designed that all by yourself, using only the basic runes?”

  “I did.”

  “Those pieces do fit together,” Alter said. “Exceptionally well. They did so first for my great grandmother,” Alter explained. “She was a special woman, beloved by the entire clan, but murdered by a kashaph assassin shortly after my grandfather was born.”

  “That’s terrible,” Sarah said, her anger draining away.

  “More than you know. Evidence later revealed that she was in league with them. She seduced my great grandfather in order to kill him, but when she didn’t do it, they killed her instead.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they’re monsters!” Alter snarled. “The scandal disgraced my great grandfather and even though the family destroyed several powerful kashaph enclaves in revenge, the toll was terrible.”

  Sarah pulled out her first draft of the rune. “This was her rune?”

  “Yes, it was her signature contribution. She pioneered the idea of combining multiple runes and personalizing them.”

  “Really?” Sarah studied the rune again. The pattern still felt intuitively right.
“It seems so obvious to me.”

  “Then it is yours.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve earned your first rune.”

  I’ve decided to contract with the facetakers, despite the death threats by the hunters should I do so. I will learn all I can in this life, love my family, and prepare for the future. Now that I know how to live again, why wouldn’t I wish to do so?

  ~Grace Kelly

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Sarah stood in the dining room, surrounded by the entire team, filled with nervous excitement. Apparently getting your first rune was a big deal, even at three o’clock in the morning.

  Tomas had been thrilled to learn she was getting a rune, and very impressed by the design she came up with. Even the fact that Alter would be inscribing the rune didn’t dampen his good spirits.

  “I figured you’d start with a basic healing rune,” he’d said. “Not some customized greater rune.”

  “Do you think I should wait?” Sarah asked. It made sense to get a healing rune. She should’ve thought of that.

  “It’s up to you,” he’d said. “The only problem is that most souls can’t handle too many, so you have to choose what you get carefully. The first rune can take a little while to bond, so it’s not recommended you get a second one for a few weeks.”

  “Then I want this one,” Sarah said.

  The part where someone would cut into her skin to create the rune made her nervous, but Sarah tried not to show it. Alter surprised her by holding up a permanent marker.

  “For first time runes, we start with this. The resulting rune won’t seal as deep or produce such powerful results, but it also poses far less risk.”

  He turned a bit so he also faced the gathered group and began speaking of the importance of runes, of the grand history held sacred by runesmiths throughout the ages.

  Sarah couldn’t believe it. He was launching into a prepared monologue.

  Tomas interrupted before he got too far. “We’re kind of pressed for time, you know.”

  Alter shushed him. “This is important. We’ll make the time.”

  He continued his speech as if the interruption never happened. Sarah exchanged an incredulous look with Tomas, but it was clear Alter wouldn’t stop until he finished his message. It was endearing, in an annoying sort of way.

  He discussed the great importance associated with runes, their connection with history, and of the commitment shared by all who took upon themselves that burden. He stressed the responsibility to use them only to help others, and to fuel them only with the strength of her own soul.

  “All others are abomination,” Alter proclaimed. “And they will be hunted down and destroyed.”

  Tomas tried to interrupt again, but Sarah shushed him. Alter was really on a roll, and she was fascinated by the glimpses into the hunter culture that slipped past his normal reticence. He was very earnest and probably didn’t realize how much he was sharing with them from an actual hunter first-rune ceremony.

  Tomas eventually protested, “She’s not a hunter. You don’t need all the pomp and circumstance.”

  “Don’t belittle it,” Alter said. “At least one person here will appreciate their runes as they should.”

  He eventually drew to a close and approached Sarah.

  “Do you accept this responsibility?”

  “I do,” she said, feeling the weight of the moment. This was not just a game, a cool trick to try. It was not just important to Alter. It was very real and very serious.

  “Do you accept the consequences?”

  “I do,” she said with more conviction.

  “Do you accept the risks?”

  “I do.”

  He held up the marker. “You will wear this rune until the mark wears away completely. If you prove to have the strength of spirit to fuel it—”

  “She has plenty of spirit,” Tomas said. He gave her a wink.

  Alter continued, “and unless the design of the rune proves faulty for you—”

  “It’s right,” Sarah insisted.

  “Then and only then will you be ready to wear the permanent mark.”

  He pointed at her side just above her right hip. “With the mark here it will—”

  Sarah stopped him. “Wait. Not there.”

  Alter frowned. “That’s where my great grandmother wore hers.”

  “It doesn’t feel right,” Sarah insisted. She had worn her jacket over just a tank top for a reason. She removed the jacket and gestured at a spot on her left shoulder blade.

  “Place it here.”

  Alter shook his head. “Sarah, you don’t know what you’re asking. The position matters as much as the design. Placing this rune there would be very dangerous.”

  “Why?”

  Alter frowned. “Why do you always push right into the gray areas we don’t discuss outside of the runesmith circle?

  “It’s a gift.”

  “You can’t stop now,” Tomas said. “Not after that beautiful speech.”

  “Fine. But—”

  “We know,” Gregorios interrupted. “Don’t share the secret.”

  “The left shoulder blade is the wrong place. When placed on the right hip, which is what I still recommend, this rune fosters a general improvement of all positive attributes. It will improve your health, help you heal, make you stronger, faster. It is one of the best all-around runes you could have come up with.”

  That sounded pretty good. He made a convincing argument, but the location still didn’t feel right. “So what’s wrong with putting it where I want it?”

  “There is only one rune we mark onto the left shoulder blade. It’s a powerful rune, but risky, and has been successfully sealed by only the most experienced hunters.”

  “What does that rune do?”

  “That’s a discussion for another time,” he said with an obstinate set to his chin that she recognized. He wouldn’t relent on the point, at least not without more persuading than she was willing to do. He kept glancing from Gregorios to Tomas, who both looked intrigued. There was something about that mystery rune he didn’t want them to know.

  Well, if he could be obstinate, so could she.

  “That’s where I want it. It’s my rune and I’ll put it where I feel it should go.”

  “It’s a bad idea,” Alter said.

  “It’s not permanent,” Sarah reminded him. “You said yourself the danger is lessened and it’ll wear off.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Because you won’t explain it to me,” she snapped. “Just do it.”

  Before he could argue further, Eirene interrupted. “Alter, she has the right.”

  “You’re meddling in things beyond your knowledge.”

  “I know more than you imagine,” she said softly. She took Sarah’s hands in hers. “There is danger, my dear. I feel it’s slim in this case, but it does exist. The most common reaction is that the soul lacks the required force to bond a rune and power it. In those cases, nothing happens, but I have no doubt you possess the soul force required.”

  “So what’s the danger?” Sarah asked. She planned to get the rune, regardless of the risk. She hungered for it in a way she couldn’t explain, but also couldn’t deny. She’d designed this rune, so she refused to believe it might harm her.

  “In rare cases, a rune might partially bond,” Eirene said. “The danger is increased the more complex the rune.”

  “And magnified by the fact she’s never bonded a rune before,” Alter added.

  “A partially bonded rune draws upon the strength of the soul, but lacks the full sealing,” Eirene explained. “The effects vary, depending on which symbols activate and which do not.”

  Alter nodded. “Exactly. This rune contains pieces from several basic runes. We call partially activated runes outbreaks because they can trigger any number of dangerous complications, from severe pain to disability, and even death.”

  If they were trying to scare here, they were
succeeding. Sarah looked from Alter to Eirene. “Do you really think this rune will produce an outbreak on my shoulder blade?”

  Alter nodded at the same time Eirene shook her head.

  “That’s not helping,” Sarah complained.

  “It depends on the strength of your soul,” Eirene said. “I am convinced you possess a mighty soul. If you’re really sure, then this rune placed in that spot could prove incredibly powerful.”

  Alter continued grumbling and Sarah faced him. “I understand the dangers now, and I agree with Eirene. This is my rune. So either spit out the secret you’re choking on, or get to work. We have other things to do.”

  “Fine. Maybe when you recover you’ll trust me.”

  His obstinate worry nearly swayed her. He had never knowingly hurt her and he was the expert. Maybe she should listen to him?

  She glanced at Eirene, who had stepped back beside Gregorios and clasped his hand. She looked close to tears. She knew something she wasn’t saying too, but she supported Sarah’s choice.

  “Do it,” Sarah ordered, embracing the decision, no matter the outcome.

  With surprisingly quick, sure strokes, Alter marked the intricate design into her shoulder blade. It had taken her ten minutes to draw it. He completed his work in sixteen seconds.

  Alter stepped back and said, “Your first rune. May it serve you well and enhance all the best in you.”

  Eirene gave her a hug, followed by Tomas.

  “I don’t really feel different,” Sarah said.

  “First runes seal more slowly,” Gregorios explained. “It’ll take a day or so for it to begin linking to your soul.”

  “It won’t take her that long,” Tomas said. “I wager she bonds fast.”

  “Unlikely,” Gregorios said. “Sometimes for the first one it takes even longer, and usually it manifests by degrees over time.”

  “There is one way to test it,” Alter said.

  “No, wait!” Tomas cried, but Alter moved too fast.

  He snapped a punch toward Sarah’s face.

  Her body reacted before she really understood what was going on. Instead of recoiling or screaming, she slipped into one of the forms he had taught her. She shifted a fraction to one side and lifted her left arm to deflect his punch just a little to the right. His fist flashed so close to her face she could smell the marker on his fingers, but it didn’t quite touch her.