by Ramy Vance
Abby sensed something in her arms moving and adjusting. It felt like her bones were withdrawing into her chest, then the holes in her palms closed and opened again. Fire burst out over her hands. “Oh, integration was a good idea,” she murmured as she looped back around and flew toward the vrosks.
The vultures split apart from each other. One held its staff above its head, chanting loudly, a terrible squawking noise. Abby sped up and plowed into the vrosks, grabbing a head in her hands, squeezing as hard as she could until it melted between her fingers.
A blast of plasma hit Abby in the side and she went flying, spinning as she tried to stabilize herself. Another shot came whizzing at her, but she managed to move out of the way. She raised her hand and fired a stream of fire.
Vrosks screeches filled the air as the creatures either burned alive or swerved out of the way to avoid instant death.
Abby directed her thoughts toward Martin. “What else can I do?”
Martin answered, “Your body is filled with nanobots. Pretty sure imagination is the limit.”
Abby opened and closed her hand, imaging a sphere. When she opened her palms again, she could see the nanobots pouring out of her skin, stitching together her concept as if she were a 3D printer. She held the small object in her hand, then she chucked it at three remaining vrosks.
The sphere split into three pieces, each sending a jet of flame out. The three pieces were connected together by a thin rope, spinning around each other, using momentum to keep going. The bolo snagged all three of the vrosks, then there was a bright light and an explosion.
Once the flash ended, the vrosks were no more.
Martin’s voice interrupted Abby from celebrating. “Okay, this just in. Let’s not make a habit of that. Device construction lowers the overall number of nanobots in your body. Maybe like worst-case scenario kind of party trick.”
Abby appreciated Martin telling her as soon as he found out. He was getting better at the whole communicating thing. “Gotcha. All right, let’s find that Dark Gate.”
“Performing a scan for the energy signature.”
Abby’s vision shifted. She could see through all of the buildings in the area, picking up on the heat signatures of everything and everyone in the area—blue for humans and red for orcs. There were a few places where green energy hung in the air—three of them.
“Green the Dark Gate?” Abby asked.
“Looks to be.”
Abby patched to Blackwell. “We picked up the Dark Gate signatures. Moving to disable now.”
Blackwell replied, “Dealt with most of the orcs down here, and civilians have been moved out. We’ll make our way to the coordinates.”
“Blackwell, help whoever you find on the way. Your priority is keeping the ground safe. Keeping people alive.”
“Gotcha. See you at the gates.”
Abby studied the soldiers below her who were fighting off the remaining orcs. They were all moving much faster in their power suits. The upgrades must have helped. There’d be time to congratulate herself and Creon later. She took off toward the first Dark Gate.
Fire everywhere, accompanied by the overpowering weight of smoke. That was what Sarah woke up to. She leapt to her feet and shook Kravis. The gnome took no time snapping awake.
Their tent was on fire. Sarah and Kravis grabbed what they could, but the fire was quickly overtaking the simple canvas structure. They rushed outside.
All around, flames licked the air. The entire camp was on fire. Gnomes were running about, trying to find one another, their frightened screams ringing through the night, only covered by the whooping and shouting of the orcs who rode through the camp on their wargs.
Sarah drew her guns and fired, spinning around, trying to line up as many orcs as she could. She dumped round after round into the orcs terrorizing the camp, but there were too many. That was obvious. “We need to get out of here!” Sarah shouted.
Kravis didn’t move. His eyes were filled with tears as he watched what could have been the last arm of the gnomish resistance shattering.
There wasn’t any time to be sentimental. Sarah grabbed him and yanked him away from the chaotic scene. They fled into the forest, along with other gnomes. Among the trees, it was hard to see how many had made it out of their tents. Luckily it was dark. The gnomes could make use of their innate ability to blend into the shadows.
Sarah and the gnomes ran. She could hear the wargs and orcs coming after them. They weren’t going to be able to run forever, and Sarah hated the feeling of being hunted. “Babe, execute plan B.”
Kravis merely grunted in response. Sarah knew it was hard for him to see. But she also knew he was a fighter, the kind of person who wouldn’t let his home be pulled from his hands without a fight.
Sarah tossed Kravis the pack she had made sure to take from their tent. Kravis grabbed the pack and tore it open. He slipped the jetpack of his own creation onto his back and drew the two daggers attached to the side. Then he stopped, pivoted to face the orcs, and launched forward.
The jetpack only operated in short bursts. That was how it was designed. Since the bursts were so brief, there was a tremendous amount of precision required. Kravis capitalized on that. He flew toward the closest orc, sinking his dagger into its throat before leaping off. Propelled by the jetpack, he landed on the next orc and slit its throat.
Sarah sprang into the trees surrounding her. She waited until an orc rode beneath her, and then dropped, grabbing it by the throat, snapping its neck and tossing it off the warg. She grabbed the warg’s mane and pulled up hard enough to stop the creature in its tracks. She turned the beast around and raced toward the main group of orcs.
As Sarah rode into the orcs, she fired at anything that moved, making sure to keep an eye out for the blurry ball of fury Kravis had become. The gnome was slicing through enemies faster than Sarah could count. She made sure to keep up with his body count.
Up ahead, the other gnomes were still fleeing. To where, no one could say. There seemed to be no more places to take refuge within the gnomish world. All of these gnomes were fighters, yet they ran. Perhaps they now understood that there was nothing to do but run.
Sarah and Kravis did not run. They continued to cut through the orcs and wargs that came after them. Eventually, the orcs stopped chasing the gnomes. All attention was called to the two demons in the midst of the black forest, hacking through orcs as if they were pieces of moving meat. All of the orcs’ forces descended on the section of the forest Sarah and Kravis occupied.
When Sarah saw the increase, she and Kravis slipped into the canopy of leaves. They watched as the orcs patrolled the area. “That should give everyone else enough time to get away,” he whispered.
Sarah monitored the path the gnomes might have taken. “Where do you think they’re going?” she asked. “Was there a plan if anything like this happened?”
Kravis nodded and leaned over his branch, watching the orcs, who had now lit torches for better visibility. “There’s a network of safehouses that only the higher-ups know just in case something like this happens. And how the fuck did it happen? Were you followed?”
Sarah shook her head. “No, I’m certain. And I only came back with one… Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me!”
Sarah pointed at the group of orcs stomping about. Bim-bop was riding atop one of their shoulders. “Looks like we figured out who the traitor is,” Sarah muttered. “What do you want to do?”
Kravis hadn’t taken his eyes off Bim-bop. There was a deep hatred in them. “We take him. Pump him for information. Then we kill him. We take our time. And we kill him.”
Sarah watched Kravis carefully. She always had a hard time admitting how much she admired Kravis’ inner psychopath. “Would you like to do the honors?”
Kravis didn’t answer. He leaned forward and jetted out, swooping from the darkness. His blades cut through the orcs surrounding Bim-bop, and he managed to snatch the gnome from the orc’s back. Barely wasting a second, he gu
ided his jetpack back into the trees.
Kravis and Sarah moved in silence after stuffing Bim-bop’s mouth with a bandana. They aimed to get as far away from the forest as possible. Or at least from their camp. Outside the woods was a series of caves they could use for their purpose. It was far enough that they wouldn’t care if Bim-bop screamed. Nobody would be coming to investigate.
Anabelle was perched up on top of the Washington Monument. She’d switched her spot a little while ago, feeling she needed to have a better view. Truthfully, it was just because she’d always wanted to sit at the highest point in Washington.
The Dark Gate still hadn’t opened. She was beginning to get bored. She commed Roy. “Hey, yours open yet?”
After a few seconds, Roy came through on her comm. “No, not yet. We haven’t got anything. Starting to wonder whether this was meant to throw us off of something else.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Nine gates across the country in only three spots? Just enough for each of our squad leaders. HQ is empty as hell. Would be the perfect time to launch an attack.”
Anabelle shook her head as she watched the traffic beneath her. “No way. The Dark One wouldn’t be dumb enough to take Myrddin head-on. I don’t think anyone is that stupid.”
“You know, I’ve never seen the old man fight. By the time I joined, he was over all that shit.”
“He’s been over that shit for a long time. I’ve only seen him fight once. It was terrifying.”
Roy laughed. “I doubt that. He’s only done parlor tricks in front of me.”
“Even that’s impressive. You know the entire HQ is supported by his magic. The defense system. The cloaking. Every magical occurrence in the entire building. And that’s not the only one he’s supporting. There are, like, six others. Every day, twenty-four-seven. The man has more manna than all of the realms combined.”
“Damn! Why doesn’t he just take on the Dark One by himself? One on one. Could save a lot of lives.”
Below Anabelle, two cars collided. The drivers were getting out to argue with each other. “Says the Dark One is something beyond that. Still doesn’t know how to kill him, I guess.”
As the two drivers got in each other’s faces, a bolt of lightning struck the ground between them, sending one flying, and melting the other. The earth began to tremble, and the sky shifted from clear to cloudy and purplish. “Shit. Looks like one of my gates is opening,” Anabelle said. “Guess it’s for real. Catch you later. Have fun!”
Anabelle switched over to Naota and her squad. “Hey, you guys see that Gate opening?” she asked.
“Yes, I do indeed,” Naota answered. “One on Vermont Boulevard and another is opening up by the Lincoln Memorial. The last one is on…whoa, I don’t know how to pronounce that one.”
“I don’t care if you know how to say it. You take half the squad to it. The rest, take care of the portal on Vermont. I’m heading to Lincoln.”
Anabelle turned off her comm, then glanced at the Lincoln Memorial. This was the sort of fight she’d been hankering after for some time. Even though many of her memories of her teachers were lost, she was fairly confident she was taking the right path. The past Travelers would have been proud.
Eyes closed. Breathing. Concentration. The world faded to blues and soft mist. Inside was the strength, the well of energy, the manna. Anabelle felt it travel down to her feet. Then she leapt off the Monument, pulling the water from the reflecting pool beneath her to dampen her fall. She sprinted toward the Lincoln Memorial.
Abby raced through the streets as fast as she could, pushing her body to its limits. She soared between buildings and above the humans who casually glanced up at her as she passed by without much notice. The farther Abby went, the more she began to recognize the area from TV shows and movies.
The Dark Gate was set to open in the middle of Times Square. Abby looked around, overwhelmed by the number of TV screens and people in such a crowded place. The Gate couldn’t open here. Hundreds of people would die. “Martin, can you patch me into the video feed? That big one?”
“Not a problem, boss.”
Abby let the nanobots roll back from her face, emphasizing she was still a human. She watched the largest television screen as her face showed up on it. “Uh, hey, y’all. My name’s Abby,” she said. “I’m the one whose been, uh, helping everyone watch Terra.”
At first, nobody stopped to listen, but slowly, the humans gave their attention to the giant screen. At the mention of Terra’s name, almost everyone stopped what they were doing to listen.
When Abby saw how many folks had begun to listen to her, her confidence was bolstered. “Yeah, so, we’re having something like an emergency. There is an attack coming into this spot. I need you all to evacuate. Like, right now.”
A man in the crowd started laughing. “Oh, shit, this is real good,” he shouted. “Talk about sick-ass marketing.”
Another man turned to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Marketing? Are you joking? You know this whole orc invasion thing is real life, right? Haven’t you been watching the news?”
Just like that, all semblance of reason broke away. As quickly as the humans had turned their attention to Abby, they descended into mindless chaos and nonsense. She sighed as she hung her head. There wasn’t much time for her to bemoan the situation, though.
A loud sizzle and pop announced the opening of the Dark Gate. The portal tore open the television screen Abby had just been talking through. Vrosks poured through the Gate, some ridden by orcs.
The vrosks descended upon the humans below. Abby flew forward, ready to defend those beneath her. That was when Martin’s voice cut in. “Abby, I know you want to help them, but you need to close that Gate.”
Abby didn’t pull up. She continued flying toward the humans who were about to die. “I’m not just going to leave them!”
“You can’t save everyone. And if you leave that Gate open, more of those things are going to come through.”
Abby didn’t care what Martin was saying. She could do both. There was no way she was going to sit by and watch innocent people die. Her father wouldn’t have let that happen. She remembered why she’d been brought to Middang3ard HQ, and it hadn’t just been for revenge. “Martin, have the collider send me the last three things I prepped for teleportation.”
Martin was quiet for a second before responding, “Oh, shit, didn’t know you were thinking that far ahead.”
A small portal opened behind Abby. Gertrude and the other drones phased into Times Square.
Abby landed next to the drones, turned toward the impending onslaught of vrosks, and slammed her wrists together. Her hands fused together into a large plasma cannon, and she fired. The vrosks attacking the humans were decimated. “Martin, take over the drones and save as many lives as you can. I’m going to close that Dark Gate.”
“Gotcha. Just give me the boring, morally responsible part.”
Abby burst off the ground toward the Dark Gate. The sky was still full of vrosks and orcs. She fired at them as she zoomed between the monsters, her reaction time far faster than that of a human. The vrosks tried to hurl magic at her, but she was too quick, racing past their spells and turning on a dime to blast them with plasma.
It barely took any time for Abby to get to the Dark Gate. She scanned it, looking for weak points. Once located, she blasted all of them, and the Gate went dead. While the portal faded, Abby went to the back, tearing out as much tech as she could. She marked the tech for pickup later before turning to the remaining vrosk invasion squad. “Time to clip some wings,” she shouted before speeding into the flurry of swords and magic.
Chapter Seven
The cave Sarah and Kravis had found was about five miles from the resistance camp. It wasn’t too far from the first defense ring of the Dark One’s command center. There was enough distance that they were certain that no patrols would be coming through. That, and it seemed there wouldn’t be many soldiers to spare with the c
urrent raiding party on their former camp.
Sarah took care of binding Bim-bop. She wanted to let Kravis take his time. It had been some time since Sarah had seen what Kravis was capable of when he had the motivation. She’d always liked watching him work. There weren’t many gnomes who flourished under torture. Kravis was one of those rarities who took something horrifying and turned into a thing of beauty.
Bim-bop was tied to a boulder, his hands pulled behind his head so that he dangled from the boulder, his feet barely touching the ground. It was just enough to give him the hope he’d be able to support himself and take some of the strain off of his arms.
Kravis sat across from Bim-bop and lit a match that cast an odd glow over his face as he stared at the other gnome. “First things first. We’re going to start with questions. Either way, I’m going to kill you. The only control you have over the situation is how much pain you experience before you die. Do you understand?”
Bim-bop spat in Kravis’ face and sneered. “Nothing you do will make me give up my Lord,” he taunted. “Nothing. Do you think you can do anything worse than the orcs? Anything worse than the Dark One?”
Kravis shrugged. “I’m not sure I can, but I’m more than willing to try.” He pulled out one of his daggers and twirled it before throwing it into Bim-bop’s shoulder.
The gnome screamed in pain as Kravis surged forward and punched him in the face. Kravis held his hand to Bim-bop’s mouth. “No, you don’t get to scream yet,” he growled. “The only thing I want out of you is information.”
Sarah watched Kravis work for the better part of an hour. She saw her love descend to a level of savageness only seen in the cruelest and most insane of torturers. It was like watching a sculptor working with the most stubborn of clays. Kravis worked and worked the other gnome, slowly and methodically, taking care which parts of the body he attacked, how he phrased his questions.
