Etherno

by Aaron DeMott

  “Sorry cutie—” Onryu winked at him. “—nobody told me I had to.”

  “Well you can’t just kill them!”

  “Eh,” Onryu waved her hand and sent a burst of flame at another thug. “They’ve got fireproof suits. It’ll take a lot more than this to kill them.”

  She jumped up and over one of the thugs that crashed through the empty space that she had just exited. Onin generated another servitor and launched it at him. The servitor expanded and engulfed the guy, then floated up and out of the way, with the prisoner trapped inside the transparent shell.

  “Well, that works,” Tannin gawked up at the servitor. “I didn’t know they could do that.”

  “Me either.” Onin gawked up at the servitor and its prisoner.

  “Wha—” Tannin almost dropped his makeshift swords. “But you control them!”

  “They’re semi-independent.” Onin shrugged. “Subconscious idea?”

  Tannin shook his head, then ducked as an energy beam passed over him. He rolled away and attacked two of the thugs.

  Onin spun around. More of them had to have been waiting in the shadows. Tannin was fighting one, Onryu had three cornered and backed them toward two servitors, and there was the one he’d captured earlier. Definitely more thugs than there had been at first. He looked up in time to see three more men headed toward Onryu.

  “Let’s see how much voltage those suits can handle.” Onin raised both hands above his head and generated three extra-large servitors. The three rose up in the air. A sustained arc leapt from one servitor to the next, from the second to the third, and back to the first. The trio flew off in a triangle formation to hover over one of the thugs. The thug looked up, thrust one end of his metal stick into the ground, and lifted the other end over his head.

  The servitor cluster started to rotate. A pea-sized white speck formed in the empty space between the three linked servitors. The speck grew to the size of a melon. A blast of lightning arced down from the white spot and impacted with the stick. The bolt swelled to twice its diameter, and a loud crackling hum filled the air. The hum grew louder, and Onin had to shield his eyes from the glare the lightning was throwing off.

  The sky went dark. Onin lowered his hand. The thug was spread-eagle on the ground. The stick was nowhere in sight. Only a blackened crater remained. One of the single servitors flew over and arced a healing beam out to the thug, then engulfed him.

  Onryu had apparently forced two more of the thugs into servitors. Only three more left. Onin popped out another servitor, and then generated two more. The last two took forever to form. His stomach growled. He must be running low on energy. He searched his pockets. Drat, empty. He’d have to remember to keep a candy bar on him or something. Onin snorted. He wouldn’t be able to help Tannin and the others now. He backed away to put some distance between himself and the fight.

  Two of the thugs were using their sticks like swords as they attacked Tannin. One of them aimed a blow at Tannin’s ribs. A loud clang rang out as the thug’s stick bounced off Tannin’s shirt. Onin grinned. It didn’t matter what Tannin wore, he could turn it into armor.

  He jumped when Onryu landed next to him.

  “I like that lightning bolt. It was powerful.” She rubbed her ample chest up against his arm.

  Onin felt light headed as she kept pressing her soft breast against him.

  “I like powerful men.” Onryu cocked her head to the side. “So does Kasai. You should show off for her sometime. She’d like that.” She frowned. “Well, she wouldn’t admit it, or show it, but still...”

  Onin swallowed and took a step backward. This was all too weird. “How do you know Kasai?”

  Onryu grinned. “I’m not going to tell you. Well, not yet anyway. It’s better for her that way. Maybe I will later.”

  “But—”

  “Incoming.” Onryu smiled, raised a hand, and pointed upward. A large metal net fell down at them. Onryu flattened her palm and fire shot out of it. The blast of fire expanded and engulfed the net. It turned from orange, to white, to blue. Onin took a few more steps, sweat still poured off him from the heat that rolled off from the flame blast.

  The flame ceased, and the net was nowhere to be seen. A servitor blinked and rose up to join the others.

  “I, uh, think that’s the last one,” Onin said.

  “What’s that?” Onryu pointed to a shadow next to where the park bench used to be.

  “A shadow?” Onin peered at the ground. It looked like a shadow, but there was nothing around that could cast a shadow.

  “Looks like a shadow to me.” Tannin clapped Onin on the shoulder. “Why? Is it trouble?”

  “Onryu seems to think so.”

  Onryu stepped closer to the shadow and ignited both of her hands.

  A girl about their age stepped out of the shadow, and it disappeared. Onin stared at her. She had black hair that was tied together at the top of her head, then cascaded down below her waist. Her eyes were bright red. And she wasn’t wearing much. At all. A thin blue strip of cloth looped around her neck and down to barely cover her breasts, and her underwear made the mannequins in the lingerie store at the mall look fully covered in comparison.

  “Wow,” Tannin said.

  Onin nudged him. “Shut up. She’s probably here to kill us.”

  “At least she’s hot.”

  Onin reached over and smacked the back of Tannin’s head.

  “Ow! Well she is! What was—”

  “Shut up, she’s talking to Onryu.”

  The new girl looked around and sneered at the fallen thugs. “Well, can’t get good help these days. It’s been a lot of trouble tracking you, half-breed.”

  “Ah, there was a master behind all those minions.” Onryu narrowed her eyes.

  “Well, a few layers, actually. I’m Saija. You won’t learn my master’s name. I was supposed to bring you to him, but he’s recently decided you’re not worth the trouble.”

  “Let’s get this over with, then,” Onryu took a step forward, eyes flashing. “My master has things she wants to do to, and I’ve had enough of you ruining our life.”

  Flames swirled around Onryu’s body. Saija yawned. A jet of blue flame shot toward Saija—and disappeared into a shadow that sprouted from in front of her.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” Saija snorted. “I’m surprised you managed to defeat my minions.”

  Onin looked up the servitors. All of them contained prisoners suspended inside of them, and he didn’t have the energy to make more. Could they fight and hold people at the same time? Safely?

  The servitors started to descend.

  Saija looked up, then back down at Onryu, who continued to shoot flame at her.

  “Found some new lackey’s yourself, Onryu? Or did Kasai dredge them up?” She leaned over to peer around Onryu and studied Onin. “That one’s powerful. Well, I guess I’ll have to kill them too.”

  Onin shivered under Saija’s gaze.

  Saija clenched her left hand into a fist, held it up, and flung open her fingers. The servitors popped and dispersed into pinpricks of light, dropping the prisoners.

  Onin reached up, but nothing happened. His breath caught. This wasn’t good.

  “Looks like it’s my turn.” Tannin twirled his bench slats and stepped forward.

  Onryu jumped backward and kicked out with her foot. Saija caught her by the ankle and grinned.

  “What was that? Did you think you could hit me?”

  Onryu grinned and ignited her foot with blue flame. Saija shrieked and dropped it. Ice formed around her hand, and she swung at Onryu.

  Onryu grinned and a wave of flame washed outward from her, melting the ice around Saija’s hand. “An ice user, huh? This will be fun.”

  “Not quite,” Saija thrust her hands down and launched herself into the air with twin jets of flame from her palms. “You see, I’m cheating.”

  Onryu snarled and flung a whip of fire out at Saija. Saija flicked her fingers, and the flames from her
hands trickled to a stop, and she fell to the ground, dodging the flame whip. Tannin jumped up and aimed his slats at the falling figure. Saija winked and waved to him. Then a shadow formed below her. She fell into it and out of sight.

  “Where’d she go?” Tannin yelled.

  “Don’t know. Keep an eye out for her,” Onryu said.

  A shadow formed behind her.

  “There, behind you!” Onin yelled.

  Onryu whipped around and sent a wall of flame toward the shadow. A crystal of ice the size of a small house shot out of the shadow and impacted with the flame. Steam filled the air and obscured everything.

  The steam turned to snow. Saija stepped out from the shadow, and the snow started to swirl in a vortex around her and Onryu. Onryu roared and burst into flame. The flame expanded outward and shot up into the night sky. A blast of air rushed past Onin and sucked all the snow up and away. The pillar of fire exploded, and a blast of hot air knocked Onin into someone.

  “Ow, watch it!” Cerina snapped.

  Onin shoved himself to his feet and turned around. “Cerina? Where have you been?”

  “Here.” Cerina thrust a candy bar and a bottled energy drink at him. “I went and got these for you when I saw your bubbles pop. I’ve been hiding around the corner and throwing sonics at Miss Bimbo when I had the chance.”

  “Servitors, and thanks.”

  “Whatever.” Cerina looked off to her side. “So, do you have a plan yet?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah. You, uh, might be good at that kind of thing. When the fight first started you were directing everyone. I figured you had a plan or something.”

  Onin turned around. Onryu and Saija were still exchanging ice and fire blasts. Tannin was nowhere to be seen.

  Onin frowned and opened the candy bar. “I don’t know… If Onryu can occupy her enough, the three of us might be able to sneak an attack in. You haven’t seen Kasai anywhere, have you?”

  “Nope. I haven’t seen her since she got knocked into the woods, and I’ve been too busy to look. She probably ran off, the coward.”

  Onin glared at her. “Or, she’s hurt and needs us.”

  “Whatever.” Cerina tossed her hair. “We should defeat that whore first.”

  Onin nodded. Where was Tannin? Onin looked around. Wait, there, crouched behind Saija. Onryu shoved another blast of flame at Saija. When she ducked, Tannin thrust his makeshift knife at her back. The blade disappeared into another of those shadows. Tannin rolled away, but Saija spun around and slammed her foot into him. Tannin skidded across the ground and came to a stop in front of Onin and Cerina.

  “Hey, you two. Enjoying the evening?” Tannin flashed them a weary grin.

  “Idiot.” Cerina shook her head.

  “Are you okay?” Onin asked.

  “Yeah, fine.”

  “Good. I’ve got a plan. Is it just me, or does she seem to favor using her feet?”

  “If you’re asking if she kicks a lot, the answer is yes.” He winced. “Tore a hole in my shirt, even while I had it reinforced.”

  “Cerina, can you focus a sonic wave directly at her, and not at us?” Onin asked

  She nodded. “Easy.”

  “Good. We’ll wait for Onryu to give us an opening, then Tannin and I will attack the same spot on her leg that Onryu is either attacking, or defending against. At the same time, Cerina, I want you to hit her with the resonance frequency of the brain. Let’s see if that can keep her from soaking it up with one of those shadows.”

  The others nodded. Onin turned to watch the battle. He generated a servitor, and kept it low to the ground.

  Onryu and Saija were still sending bursts of flames at each other. It seemed that she tended to use the shadows more than the flames and ice. He shook his head that was a lot of gifts for one persion. She had said she was cheating. Could she be borrowing or have stolen another giftlings powers somehow? If that was the case, the shadow could be her main power, as she tended to use them most often.

  Onryu had backed off and was building the fire around her hands up into a hot blue flame. Saija started to run at her.

  “Here it comes!” Onin pointed at Saija. “I’m guessing she’s going to jump up into a kick attack.”

  “Which leg?” Tannin asked.

  “Don’t know, play it by ear. Go!”

  Tannin broke cover and took off running. Onin thrust out his right hand and the servitor shot forward. Saija jumped up, and her right leg spun around as Onryu threw a punch at her chest. Onryu smiled and shifted her hand. She’d seen the opening in Saija’s defense, too. Her shoulder slammed into Saija, and her flame flared as she made contact with Saija’s ankle. Tannin and the servitor struck at that moment. Tannin buried his makeshift sword into her leg, and the servitor let loose a bolt of lightning.

  Saija’s face contorted in pain, and every muscle in her body spasmed. She slammed into the concrete sidewalk. Onryu rolled and came up with her fist raised. She paused. Black smoke poured out of the wound on Saija’s leg.

  “Nice friends you have.” Saija gasped and clutched at her leg. “When they learn the truth, they’ll leave you, just like all the rest. And you’ll lose to my master.”

  A shadow formed below her, and she sank into the concrete. The shadow flickered, then faded away.

  Chapter 4

  Bandits? In MY City? (It's More Likely Than You Think)

  Onin looked around. It didn’t seem like Saija was coming back. Good. He let out a sigh and spun in a circle—all the thugs had disappeared.

  “Well, looks like they all got away. No prisoners to interrogate. Anyone injured?”

  “No,” Cerina said.

  “Aww, man!” Tannin held the tattered remains of his shirt out in front of him. “This was my best shirt!”

  Cerina smirked at him. “You wore your best shirt when you knew we were out here to be bait? You are an idiot.”

  “Onryu, are you hurt?” Onin asked.

  “Mmm, hot and compassionate!” Onryu gave him an appreciative look. “Too bad I have to leave.

  “Uh...” Onin’s face heated. “But are you—“

  “Yes, I’m fine. See you around.” Onryu winked and took a step backward.

  “No, wait!”

  It was too late. Onryu had already taken to the air. There was a flash of light, and she was gone. Onin frowned at the space where she had been. Could she teleport too? One day, he’d get some answers from her. He sighed and sent a servitor out to search for Kasai. Something fishy was going on between those two girls.

  Onin ignored Tannin and Cerina’s arguing and strode off in the direction he’d last seen Kasai. For an S-class, she seemed to have a knack for getting knocked out of a fight. A second later the servitor came back and blinked at him, indicating that it had found Kasai. The servitor dimmed and popped, dispersing into pinpricks of light as it used the last of it’s energy.

  Kasai sat behind the next tree, her hand to her forehead. Onin squatted in front of her.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just a headache.” Her eyes stayed focused on the ground. “Sorry. I wasn’t much help tonight. Is everyone okay?”

  Onin frowned. If she had been hit hard enough to be unconscious, she should get that checked out instead of brushing him off. He stood an offered her a hand.

  “No one’s hurt, but the bad guys got away.”

  Kasai took his hand long enough to pull herself up, then released it.

  “I’m sorry,” she repeated, her voice soft enough that Onin had to strain to hear the words.

  “Well, maybe if you’d worn something sensible,” Onin heard Cerina say. She stood with her nose inches from Tannin’s face. She stopped and turned to look when Onin and Kasai emerged from the woods. “Found the klutz, huh? You know, if you’d come back here and, you know, helped...”

  Kasai burst into tears and ran off to her dorm.

  “Cerina!” Onin glared at her. “Kasai’s hurt! And you don’t need to criticize ever
ything! The two of you report to Professor Jekao. I’ll get Kasai.”

  Onin ran down the street. He paused at the first intersection, and peered down both streets. He didn’t see footprints, or any other signs that anyone had taken either route. He didn’t hear crying or pounding feet. He sighed and sent out another small servitor. It was back in seconds. It blinked at him and floated of to the right. Onin followed the servitor down the right-hand street. Kasai sat with her back against a building and her legs drawn up against her chest with her arms wrapped around them. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

  “You don’t have to come after me,” she said.

  Onin sat beside her, pulled a tissue from his pocket, and handed it to her. He opened his mouth and then shut it again. He should say something, but the only thing that came to mind was, ‘I wanted to come after you’—nah, that’d sound stupid. Besides, she seemed to take everything he said wrong anyway.

  “I’m sorry,” Kasai said after a few minutes. “You’ve been nice to me, I shouldn’t snipe at you. Actually, I shouldn’t be that way to anyone, but it’s hard when everyone eventually turns against you, you know?”

  “I do. I was the only giftling in the village where I grew up. Small town, only about a hundred people, so everyone knew everyone. My parents were farmers that lived a few miles out from the village, so that already made me an outsider. It got worse when my gift developed early.”

  Kasai looked up. “Yours developed early, too?”

  “Yeah, when I was about ten when I made my first servitor. And all the first one did was glow and follow me around. Suddenly, everyone was afraid of me, and all the other kids made fun of me constantly. Got called freak, weirdo, demon-spawn. You know all the names.”

  Kasai nodded. She’d probably been called all the same things. Maybe worse.

  “My parents weren’t stupid like the rest though. They pulled me out of school, taught me at home, and I got accepted to college a year early.” Onin poked at the ground.

  Kasai didn’t respond. She stared at her shoes and looked lost in thought. Or old memories.