by M. R. Forbes
“Witchy,” Gant said. “I still need you to finalize the connection.”
“No, you don’t,” Hayley said. “Thanks, Gant, but I’ve got this.”
The Collective found itself standing in the Font, across from Hayley.
“It was a good try,” Hayley said. “Really. But Gant had it right. You need me a hell of a lot more than I need you. You thought I couldn’t resist you? It was a trick. A trap. Just like you tricked me. And now your power is mine. You are mine. Your Collective is mine.”
The Collective looked down. It was melting into the Font, the dark red blood turning to a shimmering light purple. That purple was flowing up and into Hayley Cage, onto her tattoos, where it shined so brightly it was blinding.
“Thank you for this,” Hayley said. “I’m going to need it.”
She snapped her fingers, and the Collective ceased to be.
40
Hayley lifted the visor from her face. She blinked a few times. She could see the world around her, clearly and perfectly. She looked up, finding the dragon in the sky above. A halo of qi was visible around it, like the filter in the visor Less had made for her.
The visor she no longer needed. Not because her eyes were functional again. Because the Collective was in her and all around her. She didn’t completely understand it herself. Her immunity to the naniates, their fear, their rejection, it was all related to what had happened to her when she was eleven years old.
It was all related to this.
The Collective had gotten into her body all those years ago. It had copied her DNA to make the clone, but more than that. It had hidden inside her, disconnected from the rest of itself, placed in cold-storage to wait for the rest of itself to return.
It was the reason the other naniates were afraid, the reason they refused to enter her bloodstream, and the reason they died when they did. It was the reason she had been blinded, a casualty of the initial battle between the Collective and the Gift. Both symbiotic machines wanted a piece of her, but they couldn’t live in the same body together.
The Collective had won, but not in numbers great enough to do much of anything, at least not until it was reunited with itself. That was when it had come out of hibernation. That was when it had started multiplying. Some of it had escaped from her on Rage Station without her knowing. She had become so accustomed to its presence she didn’t recognize it. She never saw it. Even as she was supposed to be able to see the truth no one else could see, she had been blinded to it.
It had seized control of her. It had taken her mind. But it had also underestimated her. She had allowed it to enter. Invited it in. That was an important distinction, one that had given her power over it because like Gant said, it was the symbiote. The parasite. It needed her to survive, and when she was able to recognize what it had done, she was able to take back the reins.
Now, the Collective was hers. That wasn't accurate. The Collective was her, and she was the Collective. She could sense them wherever they were. She knew what they were doing. From the naniates controlling Mazrael to the naniates that had taken control of the platforms in orbit around the planet.
She tossed the visor to the ground. She didn’t need it anymore. Then she turned her attention to Mazrael. The Nephilim was bathed in purple, still under her control. It took less than a thought to call them back from him. To release him from her hold.
He stood there, staring at her. He had no Gift. No power.
“Hayley?” he said.
“I should kill you for what you did,” she said. She could feel the energy tingling across her entire body. The power. She could destroy him with little more than a thought. Or she could seize him again and make him do it.
“I’m sorry,” Mazrael said. “I didn’t betray you. I wasn’t lying when I said I was trying to stop Thetan. Yes, she’s my wife. But you never would have trusted me if I told you that. I’m trying to save her. To protect her from herself.”
“It may be too late for that.”
“You have power,” he said. “Power I’ve never seen before. Maybe you can stop her?”
“Oh, I’m going to stop her,” Hayley replied.
“Without killing her?”
“That isn’t my decision to make.”
“Please, have pity on her.”
“Pity? She’s a Nephilim who has been plotting to build a new army and bring war to the galaxy. Not to mention, she killed my family.”
“Killing her won’t make it right. It won’t change that.”
She stared at him, but she didn’t answer.
“Witchy, where the frag are you?” Bastion said, his voice loud and clear in her head. She didn’t need the visor. Her naniates were receiving the transmission. “We just lost wizard number two. Fragging Thetan, she-”
His voice stopped, cut off abruptly.
“I have to go,” she said to Mazrael.
“Let me help you,” he said.
“I don’t trust you.”
“What can I do to you now?” he asked. “I have no Gift.”
She walked over to him, grabbing him by the throat.
“Don’t even think of fragging me over again,” she said.
Then she sent a thought to the rest of her, to the trillions and trillions of naniates surrounding the two of them.
They reappeared in the reactor chamber, right in the middle of the action. The Riders were all down, on the ground and out of the fight. Dead? Hayley didn’t know. There was no time to check on them.
Thetan was walking toward Zeus, her hands bright with the Gift. Less was hiding beside the ancient Asura, crouched behind its legs.
“Thetan,” Mazrael said.
Thetan stopped walking. She hesitated a moment before slowly turning around. Her Gift was strong. Stronger than it had been when she had entered the room.
Hayley looked over to her left. Tibor was on the ground. His qi was a deep, dark, deadly purple. The Kythera was next to him, still dripping what little blood remained in it.
“Mazrael?” she said. Her eyes shifted to Hayley. “What did you do to him?”
“She saved me,” Mazrael said. “I wasn’t myself, Thea. I was a captive to-”
“I didn’t ask you,” Thetan said. “I asked her.”
“Thea, you need to stop this,” Mazrael said. “Thraven is dead. The war is over.”
“Who are you?” Thetan asked. “Not my husband, who returned to me with such power and desire and hunger for conquest. Your power is gone. I can tell. So is your hunger.” She kept her eyes locked on Hayley. “You did this to him.”
“I didn’t,” Hayley said. “He’s trying to help you. To save you.”
“From what?” Thetan asked, laughing.
“From yourself,” Mazrael said.
“Stand down,” Hayley said. “Or I will kill you.”
Thetan stopped laughing, but she remained amused. “You? Are you going to kill me? You’re a child. Not much older than that one.” She pointed to Less. “I am a Prophet of the Lord Lucifer. A Gloritant of the Nephilim. I was Thraven’s Champion in his quest to subvert the Extant. I would have basked in his glory and been his Champion still, had I not listened to my heart.” She shook her head. “It was the worst mistake I’ve ever made.”
“Thea?” Mazrael said, hurt by the statement.
“There you are with your feelings again. You think so small, Mazrael. You could have been a giant among the Nephilim, but you fell in love with a Seraphim instead. Then you made me fall in love with you. Don’t you see how our hearts destroy our prosperity?”
“I don’t see it that way,” Mazrael said.
“That’s because you’re an idiot,” she said. “The Oracle is coming with me. You aren’t going to stop me.”
“But I am,” Hayley said.
Thetan pulled her two Uin, flicking them open. Her Gift flared around her, flames spreading from her body. “I’d like to see you try.”
41
Hayley held out her hand, whipping open her
Uin. She didn’t want to fight Thetan. Not really. Thetan wasn’t going to give her a choice.
She stood in one place, the part of her that was here on the planet waiting for Thetan to attack. There was another part of her, up in orbit around the planet. She had total access to it. She could see through it and think with it as though it was still one part of her, like a second brain, or maybe trillions of extra brains. It was a weird sensation, and at the same time felt easy and natural.
Thetan took a step toward her, measuring her.
“Thea,” Mazrael said again. “Don’t.”
“Shut up,” she said. “You’re a pathetic excuse for a Nephilim. The Father would be so ashamed of you.”
“The Father is dead,” Mazrael said. “Because he wouldn’t listen to reason. The same thing is going to happen to you.”
Hayley heard the argument, but she was only vaguely paying attention to it. Her mind had split off, focusing on space. The platforms were active again, their weapon systems adjusting aim and putting Thetan’s ships in their sights.
“I have access to the Seraphim platforms,” Hayley said, looking at Thetan. “I can destroy your entire fleet.”
“Impossible,” she replied.
“Do you have a comm link with them?”
Hayley could tell by the way Thetan’s qi shifted that she did. Hayley sent a thought to the part of her on the platforms, and they started firing on the ships. Warning shots that would slag some armor but otherwise do no harm.
Thetan waited a few seconds. Then her qi grew even redder than it already was. Where Hayley had hoped the proof of her control would make the woman fearful, or at the very least calm her desire to wage war, the opposite was true.
“You bitch,” Thetan hissed.
Then she attacked.
She shot forward like a lightning bolt, the strength of the Gift giving her enhanced strength and speed. Hayley braced herself to meet the storm.
Mazrael cut in front of her. He had no Gift. He had no extra strength. He had his remaining Uin, and he used it to block Thetan’s first attack.
She screamed in anger, undeterred by his intervention. Her first Uin got caught on his, but her second sliced cleanly through his neck, removing his head in one clean stroke.
Mazrael’s eyes were wide in surprise as his head fell away from his body, both collapsing to the ground.
Thetan still didn’t slow. She jumped up, lashing out with her feet, Hayley’s surprise at the woman’s violence nearly allowing her to connect. Hayley recovered, reaching out with her power and pulling Mazrael’s second Uin to her, spinning away from Thetan’s foot and catching the blade.
They squared off again. Hayley had never seen qi so red before. Even White had been more contained. There was no remorse from the woman over killing Mazrael. Over murdering her husband. There was nothing but fire and fury.
Hayley wanted to be angry back, for all the damage Thetan had done. Nibia was dead because of her. So was Quark. Tibor was on the ground, wounded and dying. But she couldn’t imagine what would ever create so much anger in someone. It had to be something painful. Something terrible. Even for a Nephilim.
She wasn’t angry as she clashed with Thetan again, their blades nearly invisible as they met one another blow for blow, naniates flaring around them in red-gold and copper-purple. She didn’t feel hate while they danced across the floor of the reactor chamber, locked in fierce combat. When Thetan brought her hands together and cast the Gift out in a thick stream of energy, she raised her own hands to block, her Collective forming a simple shield that deflected the assault.
The longer the fight continued, the more angry Thetan became, the calmer Hayley grew. She couldn’t meet anger with anger. The two of them together had the power to destroy the planet if they let it run out of control.
Thetan didn’t care. She kept pressing the attack, her strikes becoming wilder, her movements more chaotic. She hissed and growled like an animal, sweat gleaming across her forehead, the Gift wrapping her in flames.
Hayley blocked every attack. It was getting easier, not harder. She kept hoping the anger would fade, that Thetan couldn’t hold it forever. That didn’t seem to be true. She didn’t want to kill the woman, but she had no choice. If she let Thetan’s anger grow any further, the Nephilim might forget about her and go after Zeus or Less or the others.
“I’m sorry,” Hayley said, catching the first of Thetan’s Uin with hers, turning her wrist and pulling the blade from the other woman’s hand.
She caught Thetan’s other wrist with her hand, the Uin only centimeters from the side of her neck. Thetan tried to use the Gift to push it further and into Hayley’s flesh, but her hand went numb before she could, the Uin falling to the ground.
Thetan still didn’t give up. She howled and clawed, throwing more of her power at Hayley. It was ineffective, swallowed by the Collective.
Hayley pushed Thetan back, knocking her to the ground. The Nephilim fell to her knees, looking up at Hayley, her eyes burning with anger and disbelief.
“What kind of warrior are you?” Thetan asked. “Kill me.”
Hayley looked at her. “I’m not a warrior,” she replied. “I’m a healer. Maybe I can help you.”
Thetan laughed. “I don’t want your help.”
Her eyes darted around the room, landing on Mazrael. Seeing his body again seemed to knock all of the strength from her. She paused, staring at him. Then she looked back at Hayley. Then she closed her eyes, her Gift flaring around her and within her.
Her entire body burst into flame, a bright bonfire of the Gift that lasted only a few seconds before reducing her to ash.
42
Hayley ran to Tibor, kneeling beside him. He was conscious, and he looked up at her, his mouth open in his best attempt at a grin.
“I knew you could do it,” he said. “Wow. Your eyes are like sparkly purple. So beautiful.”
She reached out, putting her hands on his chest, where is qi was the deepest purple. Her Collective flowed into him, repairing the damage, putting him back together.
“That’s nice,” he said.
She kissed his cheek and then went to Bastion. He had a concussion, and she put her hands on his head, healing it too. She did the same for Narrl and Jil, fixing their wounds before paying the Asura around them any mind.
She looked back at Mazrael, and then at what little remained of Thetan. There was nothing she could do for them.
“That had to hurt,” Bastion said, eyeing the scorched ground where Thetan had died.
“I think her anger had to hurt more,” Hayley said.
“Sure. Whatever you say. Thanks for the fix.”
“You’re welcome.”
She turned back to Zeus. The ancient Asura had watched the whole thing silently, and even now it simply stared at her while she approached.
“Hayley!” Less said, rushing out from behind Zeus and throwing her arms around Hayley’s leg. “You did it!”
“I did have a thirty-two percent chance,” Hayley replied, causing Less to giggle wildly.
We have kept our end of the bargain. Now you will keep yours.
Hayley nodded. She looked back to the Kythera. Thetan had taken the Gift from it, and all of it had burned when she did. The only power that remained was hers.
“Hold on one second,” she said.
She closed her eyes, bringing the part of her in from the platforms around the planet. It rested on her tattoos, causing her to glow brightly.
“Now that is impressive,” Bastion said.
“Now what?” Hayley asked, looking at Zeus.
It moved slowly, reaching up and pulling the cables from its flesh. It looked painful, but it didn’t make any complaint.
Once it was free of the reactor, it stood, walking past them. They followed; Hayley, Less, the Riders, and the remaining Asura, over a hundred in all. They walked with Zeus, from the reactor chamber until they were back outside.
Hayley heard the dragon above them, and she
looked up to follow it as it dropped from the sky, landing in front of them and dipping its head to Zeus. The Asura leader patted its snout. Then it turned to face her again.
You must allow me to direct your power through the ebocite. From that, I can open the subroute.
Hayley hesitated. She wasn’t sure about giving the Asura access to herself. What if this whole thing was a trick? She glanced at Less, and then at Tibor. She could tell he was ready to react to whatever decision she made.
We had a bargain.
Hayley nodded. She couldn’t live her life not trusting anyone to keep their word. Besides, even if the Asura took her power, it wouldn’t get them off the planet.
She eased her Collective toward Zeus. It held out its hand, and she could feel its touch against her, bringing in her Collective and capturing its energy. It held out its other hand, directing it to the ground and whispering something her translator couldn’t decipher.
At first, nothing happened. Slowly, the area where he was motioning began to change, the air around it flickering and fading. A dark crack began to appear in the universe, empty and black. Hayley could hardly believe it was real.
The Asura started to move through it, hurrying into the crack even as it continued to expand. All of the soldiers were through before it was large enough for the dragon to follow, and even then the creature had to duck low and belly-crawl through until it too disappeared.
Zeus released its grip on her. She felt a wave of coldness and dizziness, and she became unsteady on her feet. Then Tibor was there, and he caught her and held her. The crack in spacetime was already beginning to close, and Zeus only gave them a cursory glance before vanishing through it.
Then the crack vanished, and they were alone.
“Hal, you okay?” Tibor asked.
Hayley closed her eyes again, reaching out to her Collective. So much of the power was gone. It felt like a part of her had been torn away.
“I will be,” she replied. “I hope.”
“So, we beat the bad guys and saved the other bad guys from being trapped here,” Bastion said. “What about us? Now we’re trapped here.”
