“That doesn’t help.” Praise from Beacon was the last thing I wanted. I touched the knife hilt through my pocket again to remind me why I was there. “Nudging people. Controlling people. It’s all the same in the end. You’re stripping people of their ability to chose. That they don’t know it’s happening only makes it worse.”
“Once in power, I’m going to make things better for everyone; you’ll see.”
“It doesn’t matter. Since you claim to understand humans, you’ll know that we are not willing to sacrifice freedom for prosperity. Our stories are the way our culture and values are explained to the next generation, and Star Wars is one of many where the rebels promising freedom overcome the autocrat promising order and stability.”
“Your stories proclaim one thing, but your democracies proclaim another.” Beacon gave a thin smile. “When the ballot box offers the choice between noble ideas and a few more bucks in their pocket, people vote for the cold hard cash nearly every time. Once I have established that my ways make things better, I won’t need to even nudge anymore.”
“All I know is—”
Suddenly Beacon staggered to his feet, a hand on his chest. “Something strange is happening.” His face drained of color. “What’s going on? What have you done?”
Chapter 34
Friday 11:35
Alex waited until he was sure Rune wouldn’t be returning. “Luckily, he bought that horseshit.”
“Huh?” Jeroah looked confused.
“Jo doesn’t have a plan to strip Beacon of his power,” Alex explained. “It’s down to us two. You ready to make a difference?” Tiredness weighed down Alex’s limbs. He had managed to gather enough strength to energetically lie to Rune, but that effort had taken a toll.
“I don’t understand.” The words seemed to come out of Jeroah’s mouth in slow motion.
Alex’s head sunk deep into the pillow. The worse part of being sick for Alex wasn’t the weakness in his once-reliable muscles, nor was it the constant sickness in his stomach, nor even the requirement that almost every action—including many embarrassing ones—required help from his sister, though each of those were awful; no, the worse part was that he was stuck inside his head twenty-four/seven.
Everyone was stuck inside their head—in a way—of course, but other people got to do things. They got to make choices, go places, life their life. Alex had to merely watch others have lives. He got to watch Duffy attempt to take over the city, followed by Beacon. He watched his sister and Rune and others struggle against insurmountable odds, win great victories, suffer losses.
Television and books had never held much appeal for Alex—he had always been much more interested in his own story rather than other people’s stories, be they fictional or real, and being sick hadn’t changed that. But being sick meant that he no longer had his own story, not in any real sense. All Alex got to do was lie down and watch other people.
A slap across the face brought Alex’s eyes open. “What?”
“You were unresponsive,” Jeroah said. “And you said we had to do something. That you lied about Jo’s plan.”
“Yes.” Tendrils of fog gripped Alex’s mind. He hadn’t realized he drifted off; that was happening more and more lately. No matter. He summoned his meager energy reserves—it was time for Alex to do something once more. Something important. “Jo did escape as I said, but she has no plan to stop Beacon. She guessed that Rune would try to gain control of the broadcasting center so she went there to help.”
“If Beacon will remain invulnerable, why did you send Rune against him? Why lie?”
“Remember that cooperative board game you guys played? Pandemic. You kept losing, and do you know why? Jo misread one of the rules, meaning that the disease spread faster than it was supposed to, making the game impossible to win. I should have told you, but it was so funny watching you lose again and again.”
“Why are you telling me this? I always thought that game was stupid.”
“Sometimes the only way to win is to change the rules,” Alex said. “It’s perfect that it’s you. The others probably wouldn’t do it. They are too kind-hearted.”
“What are you saying? I’m kind-hearted in my own way.”
“You might not, I know that. You still might not. It’s asking a lot. You’re not a bad person.”
“Enough with the riddles. What do you want me to do?”
“The connection between with Brimstone is severed with one exception.” Alex put his hand to his chest. “And it’s inside me.”
“The crystal?”
Alex nodded. “That’s how Beacon is getting his power. He draws it through this summoning crystal.”
“That’s why he went after you and Jo in the motel as soon as he discovered your location,” Jeroah said.
“I need you to remove it from me,” Alex said.
“I’m not a surgeon.”
“I don’t need a surgeon.” A surgeon wouldn’t operate until he was sure he could remove it safely. The crystal had, over time, wormed its way into Alex’s heart, and Alex knew that only magical means could safely remove it. Jo had promised to find that means of removal, and though Alex trusted Jo and believed in her with all his being, time had run out for both of them. “I just need someone who can wield something sharp.” Alex nodded toward the duffel bag.
“The sword. You’re kidding me.”
“A knife would be better but the sword works. If you are willing.”
“I’m certainly not.” Jeroah backed away. “I don’t know why you thought I’d be the one willing to stab you in the chest, but I’m not.”
Alex shifted in the bed. A wave of weakness passed over him, but he didn’t let it take him. He’d been a fighter before the crystal took his health, and he intended to go out as a fighter. “I’ve always been a selfish person,” Alex said.
Jeroah’s didn’t reply; his gaze drifted toward the sword then jerked away.
“I’ve always been a selfish person, but I haven’t always realized it. Due to long hours with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling, I’ve been forced into the torture of self-reflection. When reliving memories, one hundred good things are usually outweighed by one bad mistake—just one of the many ways life can really suck.”
“I’m not going to help you commit suicide,” Jeroah said.
“And I don’t want to die,” Alex said. “I’m not much interested in sacrifice either—not to save the world at least. Too selfish, you see.”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“But even a selfish person can love. Jo has been by my side my whole life, and lately she has been dedicated to keeping me alive and defeating Beacon. Both aren’t possible. So I must make this happen. For her, I am willing to do what needs to be done.”
“I’ll give you the sword.” Jeroah took the sword and placed it on the bed beside Alex. “If it has to be done, it has to be done. I won’t try to stop you.”
Alex gave a slight shake of his head. “My body doesn’t have the strength.” He touched his hand to the blade, cutting his palm.
“What are you doing?” Jeroah snatched the
Alex turned his palm upward. Despite the deep cut, blood only welled at the edges of the wound. “Blood barely pumps through my body anymore. I have nothing more to give to this world. Allow me one heroic action before the end.” Alex pulled open his shirt to expose his pale hairless body. Shriveled skin pulled tight against each rib. Alex pointed at a point on his chest just to the left of his sternum. “Here is the place. Remember, taking it out isn’t enough. Once the crystal is out, destroy it. Crush it into a million pieces.”
Jeroah was shaking his head, and in his hand, the sword also shook.
“I’ve found my strength, now it’s time for you to find yours. Think with your head, not with your heart. The moment is now. Rune is ready to challenge Beacon, and we all have our part to play if he is going to succeed. Only when the crystal is destroyed will Beacon become vulnerable. You’d rather be g
iven a more heroic task—as would I, believe me, as would I—but this is the task that has fallen to you. To us.” Alex’s finger probed at the lump in the chest. “Now. Please.”
Jeroah needed both hands on the hilt of the sword to stop it from shaking. He guided the sword tip against Alex’s chest. His eyes glittered.
“Yes.” Alex watched blood spurt from his chest, felt the crystal shift within him. He gave a growl of triumph—paradoxically, he had never felt stronger. “Remember, once I’m gone, dig it out, then destroy it.”
Jeroah screamed out a cry of anguish, pushing the sword tip in deeper.
Alex smiled encouragement. No longer was he merely watching helplessly while the stream of life flowed by him. He wasn’t directly taking action, but it was his will that Jeroah was enacting.
A sharp pain knifed through Alex’s mind, then—
Chapter 35
Friday 11:50
You beaut, Jo, I thought, watching Beacon thrash on the floor. She’d done it; she’d figured out how to take Beacon’s power. I approached him slowly, hoping that Jo had taken his life along with his power.
However, instead of simply dying, he stopped thrashing and sat up. How many times did we have to stop the bastard? He looked groggy, and, belatedly, I remembered my knife. I stuffed my hand into the side of my trousers, grabbed hold of the hilt and pulled. It came out smoothly, but left a line of stinging pain behind. Ignoring that, I charged Beacon, and plunged the blade at his chest.
The knife hit the floor, the tip of it cutting into the carpet. I looked up to see Beacon getting to his feet. He’d managed to roll out the way of my knife thrust. For a moment, I thought, he’d used Brimstone’s powers with the speed with which he had moved, but, no—it had just been that I hadn’t expected him to be able to move.
He blinked several times in succession, clearly still not fully himself but recovering rapidly. Not wanting to give him any time, I charged again. He swung his forearm against my wrist, deflecting the knife strike, and he swiveled away.
Stop attacking him like a butcher gutting a pig, I told myself. You mastered fighting with two short swords; you can certainly wield a knife. I adopted a fighting stance, held my knife like I would a sword. Beacon matched my stance. Despite his recovery from the damage Jo had afflicted on him, I liked my chances—he was weaponless after all.
Beacon clearly made the same calculation, because before I had a chance to attack again, he turned and sprinted away. The change of tactics caught me on my heels, and I lost a step in his pursuit. He slammed the door shut behind him, knocking me back, and I lost a few precious seconds opening it.
By the time I got out into the corridor, Beacon was already turning the corner. I reached that point just in time to see Beacon crash into Alex’s room. “Jeroah, watch out!” I roared desperately, even knowing the warning was too late.
Reaching Alex’s room, I threw my shoulder against the door; it gave an inch but didn’t open. It wasn’t locked, but something had been jammed against it to keep it closed. Frantically, I shoulder-charged the door again and again, gaining a fraction each time, before it finally burst open, sending me hurtling against the floor. I immediately jumped back to my feet.
Beacon was gone, a broken gash in a wall, showing how he’d escaped. Jeroah lay in a heap in the corner, injured but breathing. And Alex—
“No!” All breath left my body. My knife clattered to the floor.
Alex’s chest lay torn open; he and his bed was soaked through—skin, sheets, mattress, bedclothes everything bright red. Even Alex’s face and hair was splattered with blood. I fell to my knees and threw one arm across his body and leaned my cheek against the side of his chest, my tears mixing with Alex’s blood.
“Ru… Rune,” Jeroah managed through a spluttering cough.
I looked up.
“Go. Don’t let Beacon get away,” Jeroah said. “Don’t let Alex’s sacrifice mean nothing.”
“He’ll pay!” As I stood, though, staring down at Alex’s lifeless and bloody body, something occurred to me. Beacon had only been in the room moments before me. If he’d killed Alex, how could Alex have bled so much in such a small amount of time?
At the foot of the bed lay shards of broken crystal. The summoning crystal, destroyed—it had to be. Ripping it from Alex’s body had been what had killed him. Even if Beacon had had time to do that, why would he destroy the crystal?
My gaze fell on Jeroah. Splatters of blood, not his own, painted his clothes. “What did you do?”
“Only what Alex asked me to do.”
“What did you do?” Before I realized what was happening, I had my hands around Jeroah’s neck.
“Stop!” Jeroah made choking noises, struggling to answer while I strangled him. “Rune, please. It was Alex’s idea.”
Jeroah’s face was turning red when I regained control of myself. I released him. “Jo’s plan to cut off Beacon’s power?” I asked.
Jeroah gasped in several long breaths before replying. “Jo’s plan didn’t exist. Beacon’s power came from the crystal in Alex’s chest.”
It was Alex, not me, who had made the ultimate sacrifice, I realized. “I see.” I used a sleeve to wipe blood from my face.
“It was horrible,” Jeroah said. “I didn’t want to hurt Alex. He convinced me that it had to be done.”
“You did the right thing. You did your part,” I said. “Alex did his.” Still, it wasn’t over. I’d had a chance to kill Beacon and I’d failed. I straightened. “It’s time for me to do my part.”
“Be careful,” Jeroah said. “Beacon took the sword.”
I picked up the knife off the floor, then I left the room. Out in the corridor, I spotted a smear of blood on the floor. I ran in that direction. Drops of blood on the floor and walls gave me an easy trail to follow. It was most likely Alex’s blood—even in death, he continued to guide me.
The trail led me to an emergency exit door. I slowed and cautiously pushed it open. As I was doing so, I heard a series of bangs, which I only understood when I was fully through. Beacon was at the top of a small series of steps, attempting to force his way through an exit that led to the roof.
“You were once the most powerful elemental in Brimstone,” I said. “Now you can’t get past a simple door.”
Chapter 36
Friday 12:00
Beacon turned, aiming his sword tip at my chest. “Leave. I don’t want to have to kill you.”
“I don’t intend to leave you much choice.”
“You want me to kill you?”
“I’m soaked in Alex’s blood. I care more about stopping you than I do about my own life.”
“I know you’re angry, but I’m not the cause. I wasn’t the one who killed Alex. I could have, knowing what was inside him, but I decided to protect him instead.”
As soon as Beacon had discovered Alex’s location, he had kidnapped him, even though Beacon had been able to access the fire summoning crystal’s power without needing Alex to be close. However, he hadn’t harmed Alex. Was the crystal more powerful while inside Alex? Was it that Beacon thought that Alex’s body was the best protection against anyone stealing the crystal? Perhaps Beacon hadn’t fully considered the dangers of leaving the crystal inside Alex, overestimating his invulnerability. In considering an escape route, after all, he hadn’t even thought to make sure that the door to the roof was unlocked.
I dismissed those considerations from my mind. It no longer mattered how we had gotten to this point. “I’m not angry,” I told him. Rather, it was a cold furious purpose that filled me. “Alex died willingly to stop you. I’m prepared to do no less.”
“If you insist.” Beacon stepped forward, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent the point of his sword slicing at my neck. I stepped back just fast enough that although the blade whistled past the underside of my chin, it didn’t draw blood.
We fought. We were in a dark narrow stairwell with a dozen or so steps leading from the emergency exit to the rooftop d
oor. It was maybe four paces diagonally from door to door, and only a pace and a half wide, with metal railings on either side that sent up sparks every time Beacon’s sword glanced off it.
The small space left little room for maneuvering, which was good in that it nullified some of the reach advantages of Beacon’s sword, and it gave Beacon no chance of getting past me and escaping. However, the lack of space meant I had to block rather than dodge most of his blows, and it’s no easy thing to deflect a sword with a knife. My left hand was picking up cuts, and the blood was making the grip on the knife slick.
Richard Sulle, whose body Beacon inhabited, had spent many hours training to use swords like the one he held, and it showed. He was higher up on the stairs and able to strike downward at my head and neck. My fighting skills meant I was able to hold my own defensively—just about—but I had little chance to counterattack. Because I was holding my knife hand above my forehead, I was tiring fast. Also, several deflected blows had sunk home, and though my wounds weren’t painful or debilitating, they, too, were draining my strength.
A smile appeared on Beacon’s face, and he noticeably relaxed. His blows didn’t diminish in strength or accuracy, but they gained in fluidity. Like a cat playing with a mouse, his actions took on an unhurried air.
The fight was heading in only one direction; I needed to change course. “You thanked me before for cutting the connection with Brimstone,” I said. “Are you still glad now that the crystal is destroyed?”
“Yes, certainly. I’ll still win the Lusteer election. From now on, I’ll need to be more cautious about my safety. Perhaps that was a lesson I needed to learn.”
He’d already assumed he was going to defeat me; losing his power hadn’t diminished his overconfidence. Clearly, he hadn’t learned any lessons. “If you are glad the connection is no more, it’s because your opponents have been made weaker by that, and because Brimstone can no longer challenge you. Your spiel about wanting to help Earth is nothing but a pack of lies. All you care about is survival and power. You tried to take over Brimstone by force and failed. You then tried to gain power in Brimstone by manipulating others, encouraging cooperation; once again you failed. Earth was your backup plan.”
Fire Sacrifice Page 17
