by Terry Reid
He swept the chain back to strike again. Then the roof caved in. Edward fell to the ground, covering his head with his frostbitten hands. Shafts of light danced across the crumbling ceiling as it was ripped away, sending flurries of dust swirling into the basement. The dusty air caused him to choke and his eyes to stream. Covering his face, he coughed into his tattered, damp sleeve.
He trembled as an almighty, deafening shriek filled his ears. He wanted nothing more than to cover them with his hands, but their wrecked state and a lack of air and itching eyes gave him no hope of doing so. Something struck him across his side and chest, sending him sailing through the air. Air exploded from his lungs as his back struck the floor. Bright lights and dark blots swam across his eyes. Three large, clawed toes spread out across his chest, pinning him.
Fallo crouched, the spikes and plates on his back rippling. A slow, threatening hiss emanated from between his maw as he craned his head closer; saliva dripping from his serrated fangs. His iris’s were little more than harsh slits against his amber, fiery eyes.
Lyle crawled down into the sub basement, using his large hands and feet to quickly pick his way down. He too hissed, baying for blood. But he did not draw near. Rufus scrambled down from his back, nearly falling. Connor also dismounted, running to Faye who lay unconscious under a pile of fallen wood. A sense of relief washed through him once he felt her pulse.
Rufus picked his way through the rubble, carefully holding the gun-like device he was about to use toward Edward.
Terry leapt down from her father’s back in single bound, rubble crunching beneath the metal of her heavy, armoured feet.
Edward, senses regained, began to struggle against Fallo’s foot. But his efforts were in vain. He was like a tiny insect wriggling between the fingers of a giant.
“Turn it on.” Terry instructed, as she and Rufus grew near. Rufus slid a switch and the device began to hum as it powered up. He then directed the end of it at the trapped Phantom.
Edward stopped struggling, his eyes widening with terror. “No! No! No! Don’t you fucking dare!” he screamed, beginning to thrash again.
Rufus pulled the trigger and two prongs ejected from the device. Each one hooked itself to Edward’s temples and buzzed, before releasing a dazzling, electrical charge. Edward screamed and convulsed as a wave of electricity ran through him.
Terry joined Rufus as he kept a careful eye on the screen on the back of the gun. The bars fluxed randomly, through green and yellow to crimson, sometimes poking off the chart. “Is it working?” she asked, over the din of Edward’s inhuman scream.
“I don’t know...any longer and the electromagnetic pulse will kill his body!”
“Keep going!”
Rufus held his nerve, despite the spiking readouts. Suddenly the readings seemed to stabilise. The device began to bleep, its pitch growing louder and louder. Rufus waited longer than he dared; his heart in his mouth. When the device began to whine, he flipped the switch off.
The crackle of electricity vanished and Edward’s pained cries were cut off as he passed out, plunging the basement into a deep, unsettling silence.
Terry glanced over Rufus’s shoulder again at the readings. She noticed the sweat on his brow. He sighed nervously. “It’s done...it’s done...” he said, giving her a quivering nod. “He’s alive but he’s trapped in there now.”
Connor looked away as Faye stirred in his arms. She opened her eyes for a second. Then her gaze grew distant and they rolled up into her skull once more. She fell limp. “Terry, whatever you’re going to do, please get on with it. We need to get Faye out of here.”
Lyle growled, getting his attention. “He’ll take you to get help.” Terry said.
Connor hesitated. “What about you? Will you be ok?” he nodded to where Edward lay.
“We’ll be fine.”
Connor nodded. Standing, he carried Faye to where Lyle waited. The Alchemist crouched low, allowing Connor to mount with little difficulty. He lifted Faye on with his tentacles. Safely onboard, Lyle turned and crawled out of the basement, vanishing above the lip of the earth.
Fallo growled, drawing closer to his quarry. He flexed his mandibles and fangs. Terry knew he was growing itchy to strike and kill and she knew he was struggling to resist his innermost instinct to do so.
She growled, saying something to him. His eyes darted to her and his antennae twitched. He hissed in return, flashing his fangs. She reached out her hand and he dipped his head, so she could touch him. She said something in a series of clicks, which seemed to settle him.
Rufus watched in amazement as the King withdrew his large foot, before settling into a crouch. Despite being somewhat calmer, he kept a wary eye on the fallen Phantom.
“What did you say?” Rufus quietly asked.
Terry waved the question away, turning her attention back to Edward. Crouching, the plates on her right arm slid forward to form a sword over her hand.
“What are you...” Rufus began to ask, only to be cut off by a blood-curdling scream as Terry drove the blade into Edward’s shoulder. He thrashed and howled for several minutes. Finally with a cold, feverish sweat he settled. His shoulder burned at the flesh but deeper down it felt bitterly chilly, the cold kiss of the metal sending incontrollable tremors through his body every now and then.
Edward stared at her with hollow eyes, as he gasped desperately for breath. “Bitch!” he cursed, grinding his teeth. “I’m not the monster here, you are!” he attempted to lunge for her, but the press of the metal blade caused him to wince and give-up. Leaning his head back, he shut his eyes, suddenly feeling tired. Taking a few ragged breaths he opened them again, but this time it struck Terry how empty they appeared.
“Will it kill me this time?” he asked, looking both directions. He could not see the prongs, but he could feel them.
Terry shook her head. “No. And I’m sorry that they didn’t last time. But it doesn’t mean you will not die.”
He smirked. The smile quickly vanished as he broke into a fit of coughing. Once it had subsided, he wheezed, “How?”
“What was your wife’s name Edward?” She asked, changing the subject.
His eyes narrowed and he shook his head slightly, confused. “What does it matter?” he demanded hoarsely.
“It matters because you can’t remember it, can you?”
His eyes blazed. “Of course I do!”
“Then tell me.”
He glared at her with renewed anger. But a few moments later his conviction began to falter and his eyes widened. He swallowed hard, his face turning even paler. “I don’t remember...” his eyes darted to hers, searching desperately for answers. “How can I not remember?”
But there were no answers, only more questions. “What did she look like?”
Edward’s gaze drifted away. He slumped beneath her blade. Silent tears began to stream down she cheeks as he shut his eyes. “She’s gone...” he mumbled.
Terry shifted her position to a more comfortable one. “Edward.” She said and his eyes opened, focusing on her. She sighed, “Edward, the reason why you can’t remember is because you’re not really here. You died nine years ago."
Confusion etched his features.
“That’s why you can’t remember your wife, or how she died.”
He slowly shook his head. “Lies...” he mumbled, his voice brittle.
“Where have you been all these years Edward? You’ve been gone a very, very, long time. Surely you must remember where you’ve been.”
The tears fell from his eyes, cutting trails through his dust covered cheeks. “I don’t know...”
She nodded slightly, her expression sombre. “That’s because you’re not alive Edward. You’re only a memory, a ghost, nothing more.” She shook her head again. “And I’m sorry for that, I really am. But it’s time to let go.”
He stared up at her through his bleary eyes and for the first time she had known him he looked truly afraid. “I’m scared...” he whimpered.
“Don’t be. It’ll be fine, I promise.”
The light from his eyes began to fade and his gaze grew distant. “The others...I tried to wake the others...” And slowly, ever so slowly he lay his head down and shut his eyes. Then he was still.
The device in Rufus’s hand bleeped and he glanced at the screen. The readings were flat. He looked at Terry, questioningly.
She slowly stood, withdrawing her blade. Then she turned to look at him, her expression sad.
Trepidation filled Rufus. He did not want to believe what he had witnessed for fear it was another trick by the Phantom, but finally he gave in and asked, “Is he really gone?”
She looked at the body that lay before her. “Yeah, he’s gone.” She said quietly.
“How?”
“I’ll explain later, if that’s ok with you. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Despite his desperation to know, he resisted pushing the issue. She was right. The city was a mess, thousands had died and there was no government. The first thing they needed to do was restore order to the crippled capital.
Fallo squeaked and rubbed his head against Terry’s back. She stumbled forward. Turning, she smiled. He dipped his head again and closed his eyes as she hugged him, pressing the side of her face against his. They stood like that for a long minute then parted. With silent consent, Fallo leant forward and dropped onto all eight. Extending his right arm, Terry clambered up.
“Rufus.” She said, leaning forward and extending her hand. Fallo remained still, his gaze drifting silently to the Acara.
Rufus hesitated, unsure whether it was safe to approach. Terry smiled. “Come on, you just helped kill one of the most dangerous men in the world, he’s not going to bite you.”
His eyes widened but he did not speak. Rufus was more than certain one bite from Fallo would kill him if he took the notion, so her comment came as little assurance. Deciding he trusted the heir to the Alchemist Empire, he took her hand and she helped him up onto the King’s back. Standing, Fallo took one last look at Edward’s prone form. He sniffed at it, snorted and stomped off.
*****
Lyle held a cup up to Faye’s mouth. She drank slowly, grateful for the water. “Thank you.” She said quietly, managing a faint smile. Setting it on the wooden stool next to her pallet he offered her the painkillers one of the medics had handed to him. She shook her head.
“You must be feeling better if you don’t want any more of these. They’re not even strong enough to soothe a cut to the thumb.” He said, discarding them on the table.
She smiled again, Lyle’s humour distracting her for a moment from the trauma of having nearly died a few short hours before. “My back still hurts quite a bit. No amount of painkillers or water will make it better any faster.”
“We’re the same. Some parts of us our probes and nanos can’t fix because they’re too complicated. Terry was very lucky today.” He had told her about how he, Connor and Rufus had found the princess and how her father had saved her knot.
A sharp knot formed in Faye’s stomach but she said nothing. She looked away for a second, unable to gaze him in the eye. Lyle did not notice; he was looking the other way as four medics sprinted past their tent, carrying a stretched between them.
Lyle did not know how many casualties there were, but he guessed thousands by the uncountable number of tents he encountered when he and Connor arrived with Faye. They were almost attacked when they first arrived. It wasn’t until Connor had shouted to the Kamari that they stood down. Little word had reached the medical pavilion about the attack; it was no doubt one of many scattered throughout the city. Even fewer words had reached the citizens; most believed the Alchemists had invaded. Only a handful of officials and doctors knew what had really transpired. Once he had returned to his human form, Lyle had spent the best part of an hour under armed guard explaining to two of the handful of military leaders who he was and what was going on. The two men seemed dubious of his tale throughout; it was only by chance when one of the minister’s apprentices was passing that he was handed a reprieve. The young man, who had escaped the attack on the parliament, recognised him. It was his insistence that quelled the doubts of the two colonels and they had let the old general on his way; but with a guard in tow.
They remained outside the tent even now, wary that his presence may still be some sort of trick.
“They have been away a long time, what if something has happened?” Faye asked.
Lyle looked back at her. “Nothing has happened. There fine, I’m sure. I saw Edward; there was no way he was getting back up, not with Fallo about anyway.”
“Then where are they?”
That he could not answer. He shook his head slightly. “I don’t know, but they’ll be back, don’t worry about it.”
As if she had heard him, Terry pushed back the flaps of the tent and walked in, flanked by Connor and Rufus.
“Look who I found.” Connor said wearing a big grin from ear to ear.
“Terry.” Lyle threw his arms around the princess, lifting her off the ground for a moment. “Where’s your father?” he asked.
“Speaking to the Prime Minister and what’s left of the cabinet.”
Lyle’s brow rose. “About what?”
She sighed. “What do you think? We just killed Edward and saved Marrich from our own dead. I agree with him that they owe us, but I don’t agree with his timing to demand my exile be rescinded.”
His eyes widened. “Edward’s dead?”
She nodded.
He suddenly appeared sceptical. “For good this time?”
“For good.”
A smile slowly crept across his lips.
“What?”
“Sorry, I know this isn’t the best timing either but something just occurred to me...”
“What?”
“For someone who has been exiled you do seem to spend a lot of time here these days.”
Terry stared at him, her face an unreadable mask. He thought she would scold him. Then a smile flicked across her lips and her eyes brightened. “That is true.” She looked to Faye. A shadow of terror ran across the water elemental’s face. Then it was gone. None of the others seemed to notice.
She made to sit up but Terry raised a hand and said, “Hey, careful. Where do you think you’re going?”
Faye peered at her warily, but sat back. Her gaze softened again as she looked about her friends, who were all watching back. “Sorry, I was just trying to get comfy.” She lied, her gaze fixing Terry again.
The princess deliberately kept her distance. She wasn’t sure how Faye would react if she drew too close. It was not like she could run anywhere, anyway, not in her condition.
“How are you feeling?” Terry asked.
If the question surprised Faye, she did not show it. “Better, thank you. But I was saying to your uncle, it will be a while before my back is better though, I’ve got quite a few bruises.” She brushed her cheek delicately; a deep swollen gash now ran from ear to nose where it had been struck by the cold lash of the chain.
“You’re lucky you weren’t paralysed.” Lyle added.
“Can you walk?” Rufus asked, taking her hand in his. “If I have too, but it’s quite painful standing and moving.”
“I’m relieved to hear that, I feared the worst when I saw you among the rubble.”
She smiled. “It would have been far worse if Lyle had not got me here so fast.”
Connor folded his arms. “Not to be rude or anything but I just want to be put out of my misery...”
“You want to know how we killed Edward?” Terry asked, turning to him.
He nodded. Feeling guilty for asking, he looked to the others for their approval. “Sorry guys, is that ok?”
Faye smiled. “Its fine, I want to know too.” She turned her attention to the young Alchemist.
Terry hesitated, not sure where to begin. She looked around all their faces. They watched her attentively. Finally she said, “Edward died
because I told him what he was.” The comment only drew confused looks.
“What?” Connor asked.
She sighed. “I’m sorry Connor, I’ll start again. It’s just not easy to explain.”
“Then I will.” Rufus offered. “Terry worked out what the Phantoms were.” He looked around the faces of his friends. “For generations every race that has walked this world has lived in fear of them. No one knew where they came from.” His gaze returned to Terry. “But Terry worked it out.”
“Then what are they?” Faye asked, desperate to know.
“They’re ghosts, or rather, a combination of lost and troubled spirits. Yet what gives them strength is our fear. They draw off it and that is what sustains them.”
