The Rifts of Psyche

by Kyle West

  “I’m dead either way,” Lucian said. “And if am the Chosen, maybe I have a chance.”

  Shantozar scoffed. “You’re no Chosen until you hold all the Orbs, boy.”

  “This is my path,” Lucian said. “The sooner I accept that, the easier things will go for me. Give me the Orb of Psionics, Shantozar. The Queen is a madwoman who can’t be trusted to do the right thing with it. The only thing that motivates her is revenge. Me? I actually intend to go through with it. To find all Seven Orbs and bring them together. Isn’t that what you want, too?”

  Lucian felt the presence of the Orb of Binding. And the call from the Orb of Psionics. Shantozar frowned, seeming to sense that same resonance. Lucian knew ether was swirling around him, being drawn to him. He felt his reserves replenished, with none of the attendant fire of the toxin.

  “I will have that Orb, Shantozar,” Lucian said. “If you please.”

  Now, Shantozar was scowling. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to gain the Orb, not you.”

  “The Manifold has plans for us all,” Lucian said. The words made him smile; it sounded like something Vera might have said. “Not even an Oracle can stand against the will of the Voice.”

  Shantozar’s expression grew darker, but then he gave a yellow smile. “All right, fine. If you are so confident, then take it. The Orb is yours. But no doubt, not for long.”

  Shantozar spread his arms, and the purple orb floated right into the air toward Lucian. He reached for it, knowing that the moment he did so, not only Shantozar would disappear, but the time ward surrounding the pedestal. As soon as the Orb was his, he would have to turn around and use it, to defend his right to have it.

  He clasped the Orb of Psionics in his hand, and it thrummed with power, brightening like a violet supernova. Its lines bled into his arm, streaming toward his heart, until its essence was bound to his very soul.

  And he felt its presence in his Focus – felt its power drumming with potential. The frozen motes resumed their dance, their light fading with the removal of the Orb.

  Lucian turned, bathed in a violet aura.

  It was time to embrace his destiny – to behave as the Chosen would.

  For the first time, Lucian had no doubt that each of his Orbs would work. And also for the first time, he knew the reason why.

  He had accepted that this was who he was . . . fully. He was an Aspirant for the Orbs, the Chosen of the Manifold, and now held Two of the Seven. As long as he continued on this path, believed in himself, then the Orbs would continue to be useful to him, so long as he had the mental fortitude to stream them.

  And now, it was time to face the Sorceress-Queen and save Serah before it was too late.

  He heard shouts from the staircase. He ran, reaching for the Orb of Psionics. Unadulterated ether infused into his Focus as he streamed a Psionic shield around him, so strong that it was practically unassailable. It wasn’t elegant, but what it lacked in elegance it made up for in raw power.

  And that was the only way he knew he could defeat the Sorceress-Queen: raw power. For she had elegance and skill in spades.

  The time aura that had surrounded the pedestal had disappeared, leaving Queen Ansaldra standing at the top of the steps, about twenty meters away. She stood with her Mage-Knights of varying colors. There looked to be two Thermalists, four Binders, two Gravitists, two Radiants, and one Dynamist, all armed with shockspears. Holding the Orb, Lucian could see their Septagonal Focuses floating in their minds, and noted each of their primaries in fact matched the colors of their robes. Mage-Lord Kiani was not among them. Either he had not survived the crash, or Cleon had gotten his vengeance.

  But most shocking of all, Serah was levitating behind them in a gravity aura streamed by the Gravitists, her blue eyes wide with fear.

  “Put her down,” he said. The ether within him begged to be released, and it was all he could do to hold back the tide.

  “You’re forgetting your prior commitment, Lucian,” the Sorceress-Queen said, her voice filled with gravitas. “The Orbs will not obey you without my help.”

  “You’re wrong,” Lucian said. “I am the Chosen, and if there’s anyone who needs to be following orders here, it’s you.”

  There was a moment of frigid silence, as even the Queen’s Mage-Knights’ eyes widened at the challenge. Likely, they had never seen anyone stand up to the Queen like this.

  “You are clearly not fit for the Orb, Lucian. Stand down, and I may have mercy. Your friend’s life hangs in the balance.”

  Serah screamed something at him, but she was somehow silenced. He opened a Psionic link to her, which he felt instantly blocked by the Queen. Lucian brute-forced the link, drawing more and more magic from the Orb of Psionics. At last, the connection was made.

  Lucian! Don’t worry about me. Kill her!

  Lucian didn’t want to risk Serah’s life, but he also knew that she was right. If he limited himself out of concern for her life, they might both be lost.

  He had to get at the Queen, but that wouldn’t be easy.

  “You artless worm,” she said. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen!”

  “Last chance,” Lucian said. “Let her go.”

  The Queen snarled. “Kill him.”

  Instantly, he streamed the Orb of Psionics with all its power, sending out a kinetic wave aimed precisely at every Mage-Knight that stood before him, along with the Queen. Before they could even let off a single volley of magic, the Mage-Knights flew backward at incredible speed, smashing into the interior wall of the Spire. Only the Queen was able to block the wave’s power with her own shield, but even she was struggling under its force.

  Lucian blinked in surprise, unable to believe the amount of power he had unleashed. With no more Mage-Knight Gravitists streaming, Serah’s gravity aura dissipated and she sunk to the floor, landing with a thud. Her eyes remained closed, but there was nothing Lucian could do to help her for now.

  The Queen, with a scream, streamed her own counter, a kinetic wave of great power that rippled against Lucian’s shield. Lucian’s breath caught, fully expecting it to tear him to shreds. But it didn’t make so much as a dent. The Queen’s eyes widened, and then narrowed in anger as she streamed another wave, this one more powerful. Lucian streamed his shield stronger to match. And there was yet more power to bear from the Orb.

  “You can’t touch me,” he said. “The Orb won’t allow it.”

  “It obeys you!” she said, fear creeping into her voice. “Why does it obey you?”

  Lucian now stood a few meters from her. “You said it yourself. Because I am the Chosen.”

  He reached inside the Queen’s mind, where he saw her in her true state – an old, shriveled woman with yellowed skin and long, greasy hair. That husk of a woman was not here in this spire. Only her mind was. Instantly, Lucian realized why the Sorceress-Queen appeared so young – and he could only see the truth due to the power of the Orb.

  The woman standing before him wasn’t truly the Sorceress-Queen.

  The violet eyes should have been his clue. This young woman, whoever she was, was possessed. A powerful brand surrounded this woman’s Focus, a brand that allowed the Sorceress-Queen to control her from elsewhere, probably the Golden Palace in Dara.

  But for all purposes, the Manifold was treating this woman as if she were the Queen, with all her attendant power.

  In short, killing this woman would kill the Queen, too – her mind and her Focus. But it would also mean killing the woman being controlled by her.

  She gave a cruel smile, a smile that seemed to realize what Lucian knew.

  “You rotting bitch.”

  Lucian sent out another kinetic shockwave, but it was easily countered by the Queen with a shield. She smiled.

  “A one-trick pony, aren’t you?” She chuckled coldly. “It’s over, Lucian.”

  He kept his shield up, a flood of ether keeping it powered. Her various attacks against him were deflected – attacks against min
d and body. She couldn’t touch him, as far as Psionics was concerned. But Lucian had trouble attacking her with the same intensity, knowing the truth.

  There had to be a way to save the woman possessed by the Queen, but how? It would not only take brute force, but delicacy. The mind was a fragile thing and forcing the Queen out in one ruthless blow might destroy the helpless person she was controlling.

  A lance of blue light shot from the Queen’s right palm, latching onto Lucian’s leg. Lucian quickly countered, but the Queen’s Binding stream was only a feint. A gravity disc bloomed below him, and immediately he was forced to his knees. His shockspear felt as if it weighed a hundred kilos, and it dropped to the floor. Lucian knew he couldn’t match her Gravitonic stream. It was only a matter of time until he was crushed like a bug underfoot.

  He had to stop her at the source. He wasn’t even sure the Orb of Psionics could handle blocking her Focus. No mage in their right mind would ever allow access to that most vital aspect of themselves and would defend it to their very deaths.

  But perhaps the Sorceress-Queen would not anticipate a move so bold. But the window of opportunity would soon close. He had to make one final attack. Even now, the force of the gravity pulling him down was relentlessly increasing.

  He drew as much ether from the Orb of Psionics as he could – untold power that kept collecting in him, growing and growing while demanding release. He was halfway tempted to unleash another kinetic wave, one so powerful that it would rip her to shreds. But that would kill Serah, too, not to mention the woman the Queen’s mind was occupying.

  There was only one solution that was acceptable to Lucian. Cut off her magic entirely.

  He let the ether manifest into magic and directed it right at her Focus – her eyes widened at the incursion, the violation, and what Lucian found was that her Focus was a weapon tempered over decades of practice and meditation. Even with the Orb, it wouldn’t be an easy thing to create a brand around. The Queen screamed as she pushed back. Hard. Gravity pressed down on Lucian more intensely, until his vision darkened and his muscles shook. Lucian could hardly draw breath, as if a ten-ton stone were pressing into him from above.

  It was as he feared. Even with the Orb, the magic was still not enough to overcome the Queen’s Focus. She smiled in triumph. He would be crushed long before he could overwhelm her. Hope was draining faster than his own consciousness. Shantozar had been right, in the end. His last image before his death would be of the Queen’s gloating face as she became the owner of two Orbs of Starsea.

  But from nowhere, the gravity pushing him down became less intense. He didn’t understand why at first. Was the Queen weakening?

  But it wasn’t that. He had wits enough to see that Serah was now standing behind the Sorceress-Queen, working to counter the Queen’s Gravitonic amplification disc.

  The Queen shrieked in fury, but she couldn’t afford to switch her attention on Serah. If she did so, it might give Lucian the opening he needed to break through the last of her shield. Lucian gasped for breath as his vision returned. The gravity was still intense, but at least he could concentrate now.

  At that moment, he remembered something Vera had told him – with the Manifold, magic stemmed from belief. He had to believe it was possible, and the Orb would supply the rest.

  The rush of magic increased, until the purple stream emanating from Lucian’s hands was blinding in its brilliance, entering the Queen’s mind. It intensified until that light was everything, until the world itself faded and was replaced with a matrix of purple streams. All those streams were converging on the Queen’s Focus. Lucian knew what those streams were – ether itself. He was so deep in his Focus that the Manifold itself was manifesting before him, the ethereal background that formed the bridge between Manifold and reality.

  Slowly but surely, the Sorceress-Queen’s Focus was shattering. Her shield collapsed, and she screamed as he gained access to the vital core of who she was, her Focus. He controlled it now as if it were his own. He set a brand over it, preventing any magic from entering or leaving – and to secure it, he reached for the Orb of Binding, cohering it with the magic from the Orb of Psionics, creating a brand so powerful that even the Sorceress-Queen of Psyche could never hope to break it.

  With that final stream, the real world returned as the magic from both Orbs petered out. When his usual vision returned, it revealed the Sorceress-Queen of Psyche, stripped of power, her dress in tatters, her dark hair askew, and violet eyes wild.

  Her eyes widened as if she were naked. From her expression, she did not know what to do with that feeling of vulnerability. She had probably never experienced it before. She looked like prey who had just seen the hunter, who was about to take his shot.

  The Queen ran, attempting to brush past Serah.

  “Oh, no you don’t!”

  Serah extended a hand, which emanated a silvery aura. The Queen slowed at the increase of gravity, her knees buckling. Not giving up her hopeless prospect of escape, she crawled on the ground like a worm. Lucian could feel her trying to break the block he’d formed in vain, but an ant might as well try to break a wall of pure graphene. Even so, he held his Focus, with both the Orb of Binding and Psionics near to hand. He didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

  He stumbled forward, picking up his shockspear and using it as a support. Serah waited by the Queen, who could barely even breathe from the force of gravity forcing her down.

  She cut a pathetic figure, but Lucian had to remind himself that this wasn’t truly the Queen. Serah stood above her, the point of her spear at the Queen’s throat. The Queen raised her hands in surrender, her expression one of pure loathing.

  “Don’t kill her,” Lucian said. “This isn’t the Queen.”

  Serah looked at him incredulously. “What?”

  “I mean, the mind is hers, but the body belongs to someone else. Someone the Queen’s possessing. That’s why she looks so young. Everyone else must have known – Lord Kiani, all those people at the party. They all knew, but we never thought to ask.”

  Serah looked at the Queen with wide eyes, as if she didn’t believe him. “Well, rot me. How do you know?”

  “I felt it when I cut her off,” Lucian said. “I . . . saw her as she really was. If we kill her, the person she’s possessing dies, too.”

  “I don’t get it. Would the Queen die if we killed her, or would she live?”

  Lucian shook his head. “I really don’t know. The Manifold is treating this woman as if she is Ansaldra, both her Focus and her mind. So yes. Probably.”

  Serah edged the spearpoint closer to the woman’s throat. “And I don’t suppose you’d share that information with us, your Majesty?”

  The Queen – or rather, the woman she was controlling – spat.

  “She can be exorcised. I can do that with the Orb of Psionics. At least, I think I can. After that, this woman – whoever she is – will be free again.”

  Serah frowned. “Can you really do that?”

  Lucian watched the woman. It would be far simpler to kill her and be done with it. The Queen’s mind was trapped, stuck here due to Lucian’s block. Presumably, her mind would die along with the woman.

  But he didn’t have it in him to kill someone like that. How did this woman come to be possessed by the Queen in the first place? Who was she? Lucian would never learn those answers unless he spared her life.

  He was sure with the Orb of Psionics helping him, he could drive the Queen’s Focus out of the woman for good. That would force the Queen to return to her own body back in the Golden Palace, or wherever she happened to be. Or at least, he could only assume.

  The Queen watched his moral dilemma play out, her violet eyes cunning. “If you kill her, then yes, you kill me, too. But if you want her to live, you must drive my Focus right out of her. I won’t be able to reach her again. Or better yet, release my Focus and let me do it myself. That way you don’t bungle the whole thing.”

  “That’s not happening,” Luci
an said.

  “We should just kill her,” Serah said. “This woman was likely one of her lackeys who willingly gave herself up. Powerful mind control magic doesn’t work unless the target is somewhat complicit.”

  “We don’t know her reasons for being mind-controlled,” Lucian said. “She may be innocent.” He looked at the Queen. “Who did you possess?”

  She gave a small, treacherous smile. “If I told you, would you believe me? You can find that out easily enough by saving her.”

  Lucian sighed. “True enough.”

  “More is at stake than one woman’s life here, innocent or not,” Serah countered. “There’s no court here. No judge, jury, or executioner, save us. We will never get this chance again.”

  Lucian had no idea what to do. Was Serah right? He knew it made a certain logical sense, but his heart railed against it.

  “I can’t kill an innocent woman,” he said. “Even if it means missing the opportunity to kill the Sorceress-Queen.”

  Serah’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Lucian! This is our only chance! Psyche will be free from her terror once and for all. Don’t show her mercy. Never leave an enemy like this alive or they will hunt you down to the ends of the galaxy!”

  Lucian watched the Queen, whose violet eyes peered at him with interest. She was feeling the power shift back to her, like oxygen to a flame. Those mischievous eyes belonged to a complete sociopath – unempathetic and uncaring. She already knew what Lucian was going to do, because a little duplicitous smile was stretching across her lips. A smile that said she had won.

  Lucian roared in frustration, slamming the butt of his spear against the crystal staircase. Letting her go was a terrible mistake, especially if the woman she possessed happened to be some ally of hers. But Lucian just couldn’t take the chance. He wasn’t a killer, and didn’t have it in him to end someone who might be innocent.

  Before he could second-guess himself, or before Serah could take matters into her own hands, he drew ether from the Orb of Psionics. He had never felt so conflicted. Why did doing the honorable thing have to feel so bad? Was there even a right thing to do? Serah had a point too, after all. Her way might even cause the least amount of suffering in the end.