by Frank Morin
Connor grimaced. “Improvise.”
56
Higher Forms of Cheating
Hamish reached Nicklaus one terrible second too late.
The boy’s eyes rolled back, and he would have collapsed if Hamish hadn’t caught him. As he lowered Nicklaus to the ground, with the slate super mechanical clutched in the boy’s hands, Aifric dropped to her knees beside him and extended a hand to the boy. “What happened?”
“He can’t do this. Ascending that threshold will kill him,” Hamish said, concentrating on the slate mechanical. He sucked in an awed breath at the sheer magnitude of power flooding out of that piece of slate. It eclipsed even what he’d felt in Kirstin’s Defense, although he hadn’t felt that one when it was activated.
He sensed something through that enormous wave of energy pouring into the earth, like a distant light in the distance, and sensed even greater currents of power available there.
The threshold.
Even though he wasn’t the one who activated the mechanical, just touching its power threatened to sweep him into the current and cast him upon that threshold. Hamish got a wild idea, crazy even for him. If he embraced the current, could he reach the threshold first? Maybe if he ascended instead of Nicklaus, he could spare the boy.
He bent his will to the current of power and tried to reach the crack that controlled it, but his Builder senses slid off, unable to gain purchase. Frowning, he tried again. It had to be there, and he sensed it just out of reach, like a cake concealed under a glass dome.
“We do not need you, Builder. The boy is our vessel. You are not welcome here.”
The deep voice that spoke into his mind was easily as powerful as Kilian or Evander. Hamish’s blood chilled as he realized he was hearing Earth speak to him, just as the element spoke to Connor, and how Water had spoken to Verena.
“Please, don’t,” he cast back at it. “He’s just a boy.”
“Yes, he is flexible and resilient, the perfect vessel of sacrifice. Now begone.”
Somehow Earth broke Hamish’s connection with the mechanical, casting his Builder senses back out of it. He stared down at it, horrified by the truth. He could not save Nicklaus.
He wanted to scream with rage, but Aifric gasped and looked south. “Aonghus!”
The angry general was rushing up the main street of Lossit, fracked, sword raised, rushing straight toward them.
Toward Nicklaus.
Hamish realized in a flash what Aonghus was after. Nicklaus had severed his contact from earth, so Aonghus would kill the boy to get it back.
He activated quartzite shielding just in time. Aonghus was moving too fast for any other response, but the shield of air formed around Hamish, Aifric, and Nicklaus fast enough to save them. Aonghus struck the shield and ricocheted high into the air, his speed sending him flying a hundred feet.
“He must have spotted the shield. Curse his reflexes,” Aifric growled. “We’ll take care of him.”
“No.” Hamish jumped to his feet and placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. Aifric and her mind sisters could no doubt defeat Aonghus, especially when he lacked slate, but Hamish had a score to settle. “He’s mine. See if you can reach Nicklaus with chert. Get him to stop before he ascends.”
She hesitated for a second, then nodded gravely. “Be careful.”
Then she turned back to the silent boy. Hamish activated thrusters and lifted into the air. Aonghus was already turning for another attack, but slowed when he saw Hamish. He raised his sword and laughed, gesturing Hamish closer.
“Hamish, what are you doing?” Jean cried through their private speakstone link. That was fast. She must have a sightstone already focused on him. The idea made him smile, and at any other time, he would have glanced up and blown a kiss. At the moment, he wished she wasn’t so organized.
“Not a good time, love. Please do me a favor. Don’t watch this.”
He clearly read the terrible fear in her voice, but refused to acknowledge it. She feared Aonghus, and for good reason, but Hamish did not. Aonghus had always been wild, but the queen had turned him into a killer, a monster who took delight in causing pain to others. Today justice would be served. No matter what.
“But you don’t have your missiles,” she protested.
“I can stop him,” Hamish promised. Missiles would be easier, but Aonghus did not deserve an easy death, and for once, Hamish was eager for the chance to kill.
Jean hesitated before saying, “I love you. Be safe.”
Hamish appreciated the fact that she did not try to dissuade him from what had to be done. He swooped toward Aonghus, who dodged to the left, no doubt expecting a missile strike. Hamish banked along with his enemy and shot low over him. He might be out of missiles, but he did have a couple small diorite darts left. He threw one as he flew past, but Aonghus accelerated away. The dart exploded harmlessly behind him.
Tallan curse his socks with mildew.
Hamish pivoted in midair and swept back around. All of the nearby soldiers from both armies turned to watch. They were still intimidated by the rough, giant earthen creatures and Nicklaus’ command to stop fighting and seemed eager for a chance to watch him fight Aonghus.
Some of the Merkland army raised a cheer. “Hamish!”
So of course the Crann army started chanting Aonghus’ name. He might be their general, but it was disappointing to see them cheer such a vile being as their champion.
Aonghus’ voice boomed, so loud it had to be enhanced by a Pathfinder. “Come here, Builder. You seem angry. I can give you peace.”
Hamish snarled and accelerated, aiming straight at the hated man. Aonghus laughed and swept a hand out, and a wall of earth exploded out of the ground between them.
Hamish was so shocked by the unexpected elemental attack, he almost forgot to tap blind coal. He only had a tiny bit left, but it would be enough. He blasted through the wall of earth and punched at Aonghus as he flew past, powering his blow with tiny quartzite thrusters at the elbow to make it strong enough to rip the man’s face off. But again Aonghus dodged, tapping just enough basalt to leverage his incredible reflexes.
Before Hamish could spin around for another attack, and even as he tried to process the unbelievable fact that Aonghus was somehow using slate, despite Nicklaus’ Time Out, earth erupted in a grasping hand that snatched him right out of the air. It slammed him into the ground with brutal force, so hard his armor creaked from the strain, and he smashed his face into his visor. A flash of pain in his nose suggested it might be broken, and his eyes watered. He felt nauseous, but not in the fun way, and he cried out with anger and pain. Getting slammed down like that definitely gave his neck whip-snap.
He wanted to lie there and groan for a moment, but didn’t have time. He didn’t dare tap the last piece of blind coal, even though the earth was squeezing him. Aonghus was too deadly to waste it until he absolutely needed it, so Hamish triggered a pumice cloud. It floated around him, distorting and defusing Petralist tertiary powers. The earth loosened, and Hamish burst free and launched himself at Aonghus again, both hands extended like spears.
A wall of earth erupted behind Aonghus, and Hamish didn’t realize the danger until it was too late. As he swept in to crush his enemy’s chest, Aonghus simply dropped straight down into the earth. Hamish smashed into the earthen wall with terrific force, instinctively tapping blind coal to avoid getting crushed. He burst through and pivoted around, breathing heavy from the near-death experiences.
He had to calm himself. He couldn’t beat Aonghus in a rage. He was low on mechanicals and protective shields, but he would not let Aonghus escape again.
He paused in a hover twenty feet into the air to regard his enemy. Aonghus was grinning, looking totally confident. His forces were cheering his name, motivated by his earth mastery. Hamish glanced toward Aifric and Nicklaus, but they hadn’t moved. He didn’t see anyone else using slate. It appeared Aonghus was the only one who could. Was it because he was ascended? That was so unfair.
&nbs
p; Aonghus laughed, his voice still enhanced. “Behold my greatness! The elements have spoken to me and Earth has granted me sole access to his power. No other Petralist can walk with earth now except for me. I am their champion, and I will conquer!”
Hamish muttered a couple Varvakin curses he’d learned from Fyodor. He didn’t understand what they meant, but the big man had promised they were truly vile. Earth had taught Nicklaus how to build Time Out, but if he could choose who it affected and who it didn’t, that suggested the elementals were indeed gaining greater freedom. Not good. He needed to defeat Aonghus fast and figure out how to save Nicklaus before it was too late.
He leaned into another dive. He lacked distance weapons, so had to take the fight to Aonghus. He swept in, planning to try shoving a vial of mega stench up Aonghus’ nose. That would distract him.
Aonghus waved him on, sword raised, looking like he planned to try cutting him out of the air. Fine with Hamish. He dove lower, but earth shot up all around him in a spray so extensive he couldn’t avoid it. He tried accelerating through it, but the earth condensed around him, forming a cocoon that blocked his thrusters and yanked him back down to the ground.
Tallan slap him for a fool. He couldn’t do stupid things like that.
Fingers of earth seized Hamish’s helmet and ripped it violently from his head. He gasped as his neck was nearly broken before the straps snapped. The earthen fingers crushed his helmet before he could activate any mechanicals, and the earth on the inside edge of that cocoon started ripping down his torso, yanking away the tiny bits of stone attached to the many pockets along the outside of his suit. He tried activating pumice, but the little bursts were consumed by the earth, and the pumice too ripped free a second later. The last of his blind coal went with it, along with nearly all of the other mechanicals built into the exterior of the suit.
Hamish struggled mightily, but the earth held him securely, and with a growing sense of dread he realized he would not escape this time. He saw again Ilse’s broken body. Would Aonghus rip him apart inside his earthen coffin like he had her? The thought horrified and enraged him. He couldn’t let Aonghus destroy him, had to think of something.
He couldn’t let Jean watch him die.
That terrible thought drove him to redouble his efforts, but without his mechanicals, he wasn’t strong enough.
The earth flowed away from his face, and General Aonghus stood beside him, grinning. “You escaped justice one time too many, boy. Today you die.” He gestured with one hand, taking in the ranks of troops watching all around. “But we’re going to give everyone a show.”
Hamish glared at the general, who looked so smug Hamish wanted to scream. He forced calm on himself and said, “I’m surprised you haven’t started running yet. That seems to be your greatest talent.”
Aonghus slapped Hamish across the side of the face so fast and so hard he didn’t even see the blow coming. He groaned as his head snapped to the side. It felt like he’d gotten a second whip-snap. He instinctively reached for sandstone and found a piece in an inside pocket that hadn’t gotten ripped off yet, and gratefully activated it. Builder healing was not nearly as fast as Petralist healing, but it would help.
Or would it just prolong the torture until Aonghus finally killed him?
Jean had planned to not look, had told herself she couldn’t bear to watch Hamish face Aonghus, but she simply couldn’t keep from watching.
Her heart felt frozen with terror, and her hands started to tremble as she watched the viewscreen zoomed in on Hamish. All of the dark nightmares from her months of suffering crept back into her mind. She’d thought those fears gone forever, but now her breath felt short, her heart raced, and tears threatened to blur her gaze.
How could Aonghus wield earth when no one else could? She didn’t understand what Nicklaus was doing, but feared he was in grave danger. She couldn’t think about that, though, not with Hamish somehow captured and helpless in Aonghus’ hands. Why hadn’t he activated blind coal or pumice or a shieldstone? Her fear threatened to send her crashing to the deck, weeping uncontrollably, but Jean fought it down with all her strength.
She cried, “Captain Leppin, we need that barrage now!”
“All mechanicals are online and targeted. Ready to fire,” came the immediate reply.
“Fire!”
He was already shouting orders, but Jean was no longer listening. She stared at Hamish struggling in vain far below, held prisoner by earth as Aonghus struck him again and again with his fists, raining blows over Hamish’s face. He was already bloody, his nose broken, and his pain tore at Jean like physical daggers. Aonghus seemed to take immense pleasure in hurting him before he killed him. An unbroken ring of soldiers watched in silence, leaving an open space a hundred feet all around the execution. No one dared draw closer for fear of getting slaughtered.
The entire ship shuddered as the barrage was unleashed, but Jean couldn’t fool herself into thinking that the few seconds it would take for those munitions to reach the ground would be at least one second too late.
So she turned and bolted for the door, shouting over her shoulder, “Gisela, order every flight to rally point Sweetbread Seven! I will assume personal command.”
57
A Disobedient Child
Nicklaus walked with earth.
He loved it! When he activated Time Out, he’d unleashed so much more power than he’d expected. It swept his mind down into the ground, and he could see everything. It was like he was hovering ten thousand feet in the air, looking down over the valley, but upside down. Deep in the earth, he could see it all, feel it all. He sensed the earth coming to life all through the valley. Monstrous shapes formed and grew, ready to squash any soldiers who refused the command to stand down.
“Hey, that’s not what I want,” Nicklaus shouted, somehow poking the giant earthen monsters with mental fingers.
“They will do your bidding, but you must be specific,” a deep voice said, surprising him. Nicklaus spun and found a big man with black hair and a huge, black beard standing beside him. The man reminded him of Uncle Evander and resonated the same sense of permanence.
“I don’t want anyone hurt. I just want them to stop,” Nicklaus said. That was pretty clear to him.
“And if they refuse to stop?” the big man asked.
That was a good point. Nicklaus considered that and glanced across the valley. From below, he could see every soldier. He sensed many Sentries and Sappers touching earth, but they couldn’t access its power because he was using all of it. Most of the soldiers had hesitated, and he bet they’d stop if he encouraged them. He didn’t need to hurt them.
“If they don’t stop, those earth monsters should growl at them. That should work,” Nicklaus said.
“We will proceed thus.” The big man bowed his head in a sign of respect. That was fun. Most adults didn’t bother bowing unless he was attending a formal event and they had to. He liked the big man, and his voice was familiar.
“You’re Earth!” Nicklaus cried. He should have recognized him sooner.
Earth smiled. “And you are the most clever child I have ever met. Only two other Builders have ever reached this point, and neither of them possessed the strength and determination to ascend through the gateway to the Sylfaen.”
He gestured upward, and the view shifted. It was if Nicklaus could see through the earth. It parted, and suddenly he stood in his affinityscape on the fields north of New Schwinkendorf, dotted with wells of his Builder powers linking him to the various power stones. Except now glowing columns were growing out of every well, arcing inward to a point in the center, directly above his well to slate. Where the arches touched, cascades of multicolored sparks exploded into the air, and a faint sound of silver trumpets stirred his heart. The air above the slate well started to shimmer, and a tendril of liquid silver flowed up from the well to touch the center of that multi-columned archway.
As soon as it connected, the air shook with a thunderclap, and that
slender line of liquid expanded, forming a glistening doorway. Nicklaus grinned with a growing sense of awe. The silvery doorway rippled, and he caught glimpses of the other side. It looked like a vast rainbow of every color of light. It was beautiful, and he sensed that it was saturated with more power than all the stones ever harvested.
A beautiful lady in a flowing, white gown appeared in the air nearby, her dark tresses floating about her lovely face. She gestured toward the silvery doorway and shouted, “Behold the gateway to the Sylfaen and your destiny!”
Nicklaus started walking toward it, drawn by an intense curiosity. Wind gusted, pushing him from behind, sweeping through the gateway. Earth walked beside him, smiling as happily as Nicklaus did when he got to fly with Hamish.
The beautiful lady descended to meet them as they strode beneath the first of the columns and walked past the well to granite. The closer they drew to the silvery doorway, the more powerfully Nicklaus felt drawn to it. He wanted to run and dive through, and he sensed the two adults would only encourage him to.
So he stopped and frowned.
“Why do you stop?” Earth asked gently, extending a hand to encourage him to keep walking.
“You’re Air, aren’t you?” Nicklaus asked the lady.
She smiled, and a gentle breeze gusted around him like a caress from her finger. “You’re a clever boy.”
They were very nice, nicer than almost any adult that wasn’t forced to be nice because he was related to the king.
Too nice.
Nicklaus knew all about too-nice adults. His governess, Christin, had learned the hard way that pretending to be too nice in order to trick him into doing something unpleasant like studying or eating his vegetables wouldn’t work. He’d outsmarted the most subtle too-nice adults all his life, so his too-nice-manipulator senses were as honed as a sword.
“What’s that door?” he asked.
