by Skyler Grant
"So they're equipped with weapons. How advanced?"
"Feds aren't talking, but weapons advanced enough they're worried," Iris said.
Van exchanged a look with Alexa, who was thoughtful.
"These are bigger targets than we were thinking about. We're new ... do you maybe have anything ..." Van said.
"Smaller? I could start you off with something simpler, but these are what the Guild needs. All jobs paying above market rate because we're short-handed. You should take these," Iris said.
"And we will. We accept all three," Alexa said.
"Excellent. We also provide accommodation here at the Guild once you've fulfilled a local bounty. Right now we recommend it, for security's sake," Iris said.
"We'll keep it in mind," Alexa said.
Van and Alexa promised to keep in touch and made their exit.
The city was a busy place too. Carriages zoomed past on paved streets, men walked quickly in fancy suits accompanied by women in classy gowns. Glass store windows were everywhere displaying the wealth of goods inside.
Van had never seen anything so nice. The world he remembered being born on was agricultural, and the world he'd been reborn on was—well, the one they just came from. This was far busier, far fancier.
"Boom worlds. Nothing else has the same sort of energy," Alexa said.
"Does it seem amazing to you, or nothing more than what you grew up with?" Van asked.
"The palace was cold. Literally, obviously, but figuratively as well. It had stood for a very long time unchanging. While it was beautiful and in some ways flawless, I prefer this. This is a place where anything can happen, where new things are born and made."
"You're something of a philosopher, aren't you?" Van asked.
"Everyone in the Dynasty is a philosopher. Everyone is a poet. Everyone is a warrior."
"Who does all the real work?" Van asked.
"Bad philosophers, poets, and warriors, I expect. I never gave it any thought."
Right, she was a noble for sure. Van found that likable at times and infuriating at others.
"So who do we start with? The con man?"
"The person nobody can find? No, we need a quick take-down to get some operating funds. We're going after the enforcer. After a few weeks of soaking in that tub on the freighter I'm back to full strength," Alexa said.
"Is that the reason for all those long baths?"
"And I like them, but right, water essence. There wasn't much of it there, but over two weeks I managed to draw in enough."
"So you're what? Just going to jump this woman? No research? No preparation?" Van asked.
"I'm a good match for a spider. Frozen blood can slow the venom through veins, frozen mist can shatter bonds. You'll need to keep my back clear though. These other Widows could team up," Alexa said.
"Will my bullets hurt them?"
Alexa shrugged. "Their enforcer is second evolution, you won't hurt her. If the badass is a two though, the others are going to be less. You can wound one, might even kill someone if you hit an eye. Any less than that, you'll clean up."
That was comforting, sort of.
20
The tournament of the Fist at the great arena on Pariah is held every ten years and is a contest between the greatest hand-to-hand combat specialists in the Dynasty and beyond. Those who survive to make it into the finals all leave rich in both wealth and opportunity.
The streets had ample vendors selling everything from apples to information. A few coins got them pointed towards the Knotty Skein, a bar owned by the Widows.
The interior was well appointed, it was a fancy place. It wasn't hard to spot the Widows themselves. Van couldn't tell if it was his expanding senses that were to thank, or if even to someone not practicing as he had been the Widows would have felt off—but they did feel off. There were four of them drinking at the table, women who all looked in their early twenties. Black lips and makeup around their eyes, each wearing a red armband on their arm.
Alexa leaned against Van and whispered, "Ones. But she's here."
Apart from the Widows there was only a light crowd this time of day. Two seated at the bar drinking, and a game of dice was going in one corner.
Their badges got them noticed. One of the Widows gestured in their direction and all got up from their table. Their movements reminded Van of Alexa's training routines, although theirs were less fluid or precise. He would swear they all articulated their limbs at exactly the same angle, getting up in precisely the same way.
"You've come for a drink, you're welcome. You've come to work, you should leave this web while you still can," said one of the women.
Now that Van was looking straight at them, he saw their pupils were black.
Alexa said, "Do you want to pick a fight you can't win, little spiders? You know who I am here for. You can send her out to face me in the street, and you and this place will stay standing. No such promises if you make this hard." Alexa's tone was frostier than Van had ever heard it. Laden with threat and the promise of violence.
"You don't scare us," said one of the women, as the four began to flank them.
"You don't know what we're capable of," said another.
"Leave off, Lyris," came a voice from a balcony above. A woman stepped to the railing, balancing perfectly on one foot for a moment before smoothly leaping down to land gracefully.
In one noticeable way she was different from the other Widows. An extra pair of eyes was present in her forehead, giving her four in total. She was also in armor, jet black and close to her skin with a red triangle upon her abdomen.
Perhaps no armor at all Van thought, but a carapace.
"Don't engage her directly. She's a three," Alexa whispered.
A three. That meant as powerful as Alexa. They'd come expecting to find a weaker opponent. Instead this was going to be a fair fight. Less than fair, given they were outnumbered.
"Lei Eris, we are here to take you in. Bounty doesn't call for you to be dead. Whatever this is, you can still crawl away from it," Alexa said.
"One of us is dying here, but it won't be me. I and my sisters will enjoy that partner of yours. He'll have fun too, for awhile," Lei said.
"Are they hitting on me?" Van asked.
"I think they're threatening to eat you," Alexa said with a frown, and a glance towards the Widows.
"Bit of both actually. That's how we roll," Lei said.
"Not into it then," Van said.
"Would you have been into it otherwise?" Alexa asked him.
Van had been trapped in close quarters with a literal ice princess for two weeks. Spider girls were starting to look pretty good.
"We doing this here or in the street?" Alexa asked.
"Clear out," Lei called. The bartender and the few patrons quickly vacated the establishment.
Lei raised her hand and a burst of webbing shot out. Alexa rolled under it and extended both hands forward. A ripple of blue energy blasted Lei backwards.
Two of the other Widows closed on Alexa while the others faced Van.
They were each first evolutions, and that made them stronger than Van. They'd be resistant to bullets, but not entirely immune. Van drew both his pistols and focused on his breathing. Focus was everything. In the battle against Migo and his gang he'd gotten too distracted by the environment. Here it had to be all about his targets and his guns.
Van squeezed off rounds. Fire one shot, adjust for recoil, take the next shot. He was aiming at their heads—that was his only real hope of doing them any damage.
Van landed one shot, the Widow spinning backwards with a howl of rage and clutching her head. The other took one in the shoulder, but still charged. Closing on him and tackling Van to the floor as she tried to tear off his helmet.
Van threw a punch at her face. His gloves were laced with essence-enhanced steel and where his fist landed she snapped back. The victory was short-lived as she forced his arm down against the floor and with a burst of webbing secured it there
.
Out of the corner of his eye Van saw Lei being knocked across the room by the contents of the bar. The liquid in the bottles was like a living thing, taking the glass with them as they pelted her.
A glimpse of Alexa, staggering, revealed a discolored bite mark on her neck.
This fight wasn't going well for either of them.
The Widow atop him worked his helmet loose, exposing his neck as she leaned in. Van didn't know if she meant to kiss him, poison him, or both. It didn't really matter. The gun in his free hand only had two shots left. He put the barrel to her ear and pulled the trigger.
The first shot caused her head to jerk, and he could see the surprise and rage in her eyes. It had wounded, it didn't kill. That was done by the second shot.
21
When stabbing just isn't enough, you need an Explodablade.
Nothing Van was doing seemed to be freeing his wrist from the floor where the webbing bound it, so instead he slipped his hand out of the glove. Unfortunately the webbing had trapped one of his pistols as well. At least now he had both hands free to reload the other.
The Widow he'd just killed was sprawled in front of him. The one he'd shot in the face was in a corner, her hands clutching at the wound.
Another was slumped against the wall dead. It looked as if she'd been impaled by an icicle.
Alexa was in full-on frost mode. Her skin had turned bluish-white, coated with a thin layer of ice as mist swirled around her.
Lei's armor was cracked in places, blood seeping out from beneath, but she was on her feet.
The last of the other Widows still standing was creeping up behind Alexa. Van put three rounds in her back, which while it didn't stop her caused her to stumble forward and Alexa to spin, grabbing the Widow by the throat. Frost began to spread along the spider's flesh.
"Stop!" Lei called.
Alexa paused, the flow of frost stopping.
"Let her go and I'll go with you. On my honor," Lei said.
Alexa dropped the Widow. Van recognized her as the one who had spoken earlier, Lyris.
Lyris was gasping and straining for air, clutching at her throat as she tried to draw in breaths.
"Got a cure for your venom?" Alexa asked.
"Did. It was behind the bar. I'm pretty sure you shattered it over my head," Lei said.
"Probably," Alexa said, before glancing over to Van. "You okay?"
"I'd like my glove and gun back," Van said.
Lei nodded, making her way over to where both were still suck to the floor. A spray of mist from one of her hands and the webbing melted.
Van reclaimed his weapon and holstered it before tugging his glove back on.
"Don't do this," Lyris finally managed with a gasp. "You can take them."
"Might be I could, but she was going to kill you. We lost enough. Tell the Matron what happened," Lei said. "You can restrain me if you want, but no need."
Alexa nodded and motioned for the door, and they stepped out on the street.
"She your sister?" Van asked.
"Not my blood. All of us Widows were girls abandoned on the streets by pretty much everybody. Instead of being afraid, we get stronger. Make others fear us," Lei said wearily.
"Worked. Someone was afraid of you enough to send us to take you down," Alexa said.
"Guess so. Don't suppose you know who? They've got a lot of pain coming their way," Lei said.
"Afraid not. Take it up with the Guild," Alexa said.
"Just doing a job? You bounty hunters make me sick. Least I know who I was fighting for. Who I was killing for. You put them girls in the ground and you don't even know why," Lei said.
Van was pretty comfortable in the why. They'd been trying to kill him.
"I gave them the opportunity for it to go different. I gave you the opportunity for it to go different," Alexa said.
Lei nodded. "So you did. Even if I live through this I won't seek vengeance against you. Those that sent you, on the other hand ..."
There wasn't much else to say. Alexa's body remained covered with frost as they made their way back to Guild. Once Lei was tucked away comfortably in a holding chamber they were given a pouch of coins. In exchange for a small portion back, they got a room upstairs.
The room wasn't fancy, with a tub in the corner and, unlike the freighter, it at least had two beds. As Hank had told them, teams were popular with bounty hunters.
Alexa let out a low breath as soon as they were alone. "Van, could you draw me a bath? Water hot as you can get it. I'm going to need it soon. I slowed the poison, but I couldn't stop it."
Van had a lot of questions but helping came first. He turned the hot water on full and started the tub filling.
Alexa was already undressed. The black discoloration around her neck had grown considerably and it now extended up almost to her mouth and down to her shoulder.
"What are you going to do?" Van asked.
"Something dangerous. I didn't expect her to be that good. I sure didn't expect her to get close enough to poison me. My body is strong—if it weren't, I'd already be dead. But this risks me," Alexa said.
Van helped Alexa into the tub. She was shaking violently. Given who and what she was, it couldn't be from the cold, the poison had to be impacting her.
Alexa's body slipped beneath the water and the frost began to fade from her skin. As it did so the water started to turn red.
"You're bleeding," Van said.
"By choice. I need to replace my blood. Otherwise it 's going to carry the poison everywhere," Alexa said.
The red in the water was deepening, flecks of black beginning to show. Alexa slumped her head back, a violent cough wracked her body, and when it was over she said, "Just keep an eye on me. If I pass out, slap me."
"Have you any family?" Van asked by way of keeping her awake. "I mean apart from the Prime who wants to eat you. If ... that even counts as family."
"It does. In a way she is a mother to us. I had sisters. Hundreds of us. Only the chosen few survive long enough to be meals," Alexa said, then told him, "Drain the water, I need fresh." Over the next few hours Van refilled the tub at least a dozen times. Each time it turned red, and each time he emptied it. The gruesome black marks upon Alexa's flesh looked a little faded by the time he was done, washed out but still there. The venom was no longer spreading.
Van tucked her into one of the beds and got some sleep himself.
22
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Van was up early the next morning. Alexa was recovering, but still wasn't up to seeing the town. The Guild should be a safe place, so Van set out on the town alone.
There was shopping to do. He wanted to pick up some bullets that would hurt an essence-user with a few evolutions behind them. He also hoped that he might get a lead on the con man that they were hunting.
The streets of New Diablos were filled with merchants even at the early hour, hawkers vending fruits and vegetables, others promising to guide people to mining country and the loot to be found there.
The bounty hunter badge he wore kept some of the merchants away—the ones likely peddling scams.
Spotting a shop with a gun emblazoned on the front glass Van headed inside.
The showroom was large. Cases near the entrance held a variety of pistols and rifles—the sort of thing that anyone might want to protect themselves or their mining claim. Further in were cases containing more exotic wares. One held sleek-looking rifles with battery packs and full tactical software. Another held bows with a display of essence-infused arrows nearby.
"Can I help you find something? Better helmet? Didn't they discontinue the T-71 because a good solid hit disabled the trackers?" asked a young woman stepping up to him. Bright green eyes, a sunny smile and a nametag that said "Doxy"
>
"The trackers are bad in it. Don't suppose you have someone that can fix them?" Van asked.
Doxy made a face. "Not here. We service firearms but not armor. Honestly mister, I'd get it replaced. It doesn't go with the rest of what you're wearing."
Van looked around the showroom and didn't even see any armor displays.
Doxy caught the look and grinned. "We don't carry it. Well, not here. Next door, same owner. I work both places."
"I was hoping for some essence-infused ammunition," Van said.
Doxy glanced at his guns. "Yeah, good luck. We have almost everything, but we don't have that. I mean, we could special order if you were going to be in town, but there isn't a lot of demand, you know? I got piercers and seekers that might work. Forty-fives?"
"Right," Van said.
Doxy motioned for him to follow and led him towards a back counter. There was a case filled with ammunition and she pulled out a few boxes, setting them on the counter.
Tapping the first Doxy said, "Your standard piercers and our cheapest option if you're fighting the evolved or someone in tactical armor. Great penetration power, it won't get through everything, but it's a big step up over your standard ammunition."
"What else have you got?"
Doxy tapped the second box. "Seekers. Now, these aren't possessing of any special penetration, but if you've got a target painted they'll hit it every time. Full interface with tactical gear, including that helmet of yours if you get it fixed or, better yet, upgraded."
"You've got more than two boxes there. What are the others?" Van asked.
Doxy said, "Explosive rounds. They don't have the penetration power, but they'll knock someone around. Great for tearing apart the environment."
"I can see where that would be useful. These may be out of my price range though," Van said.
Doxy looked sad. "And here I was hoping you were independently wealthy. The last are stunner shots. When you want to take someone alive, but still ... feeling well, shoot them. Totally useless against armor."
