by Clayton Wood
“That’s enough,” she declared. “At this rate you’ll starve to death.”
“That might be preferable,” he grumbled, shaking his hand out.
“Grow some callouses,” she ordered. “And a pair of these,” she added, reaching down and grabbing him between the legs. He jumped back, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks.
“Hey, that’s not cool,” he protested.
“Thought you liked girls grabbing you there,” she countered.
“Just whores,” he shot back. “Maybe I should’ve liked it,” he quipped. Vi rolled her eyes.
“Come on,” she prompted, grabbing the bow and quiver from him and walking toward the path spiraling up the canyon. “I’ll get us breakfast.”
* * *
Hunter sat cross-legged on the ground before the small campfire Vi had helped prepare, tearing the meat from the roasted wing of a large bird Vi had shot down earlier. It’d taken a single shot, of course…and she’d knocked it clean out of the air in mid-flight. She’d asked him to make the fire, and he’d started to try. It hadn’t taken her long to realize he had no idea what he was doing. To her credit, she’d shown him how to do it, but made him do the work. Eventually he’d gotten the fire going. It’d felt surprisingly good for such a small accomplishment. He wanted to try again, to see if he could do it by himself.
“Thanks for breakfast,” he offered. Vi was sitting across from him, biting into her own wing. “And for saving me yesterday.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“I guess I’d better get going back soon,” he ventured, taking another bite. The meat was a little gamey, like chicken but more fatty, but he ate it greedily. He was famished after all, not having had a real meal since lunch the day before. “How do I get back to the Deadlands?”
“You don’t,” Vi replied.
“What?”
She looked up from her meal, staring at him with those big green eyes. Again, he got the sense that there was something off about her, something exotic that he just couldn’t place.
“You shouldn’t go back now,” she explained.
“Why not?”
“You’re too new,” she answered. “Too easy to manipulate. You soak up emotions like a sponge.” She tore off another piece of meat, chewing vigorously. “If you go back now, they’ll either trap you with that whore or get you killed.”
“I’m done with her,” he countered. Vi snorted.
“Yeah right,” she shot back. “Five minutes near her and you’ll do anything she wants.” She made a ring out of her thumb and forefinger, then inserted her other index finger through it. “Over and over and…”
“Okay, okay,” Hunter interjected. “I get it.”
“You won’t stand a chance kid,” Vi declared. “You talk a good game, but you’re weak.”
“Weak?”
“Well let’s see,” she began. “You’re a teenager…young, dumb, and full of cum.”
“Wow.”
“And you’re a sponge for emotions, unfortunately,” she added. “That’s not your fault, of course…it’s just bad luck.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s right,” she remembered. “You have no idea.” She sighed then, staring into the fire. Then she looked back up at him. “This world is different than yours.”
“No shit.”
“According to the histories, when people first came here through the Gate, they didn’t understand how the world worked either,” she explained. “They started absorbing each other’s traits without realizing it, and even started absorbing the traits of plants and animals around them.”
She bit off another piece of meat, chewing it slowly.
“When people started changing – visibly changing their appearance to look like the world around them – at first they thought it was a disease. Thought the people who were changing were infected somehow.”
“Makes sense.”
“After a few generations, they started figuring out how things worked,” Vi continued. “We still don’t know the mechanism, but we do know that traits – your appearance, personality, skills, and so forth – are transmissible and absorbable. Supposedly a few people in the past could even absorb memories.”
“That’s what Thorius said,” Hunter agreed. Vi snorted.
“Don’t listen to Thorius,” she replied. “Listen to me.” She leaned forward. “Some people absorb certain traits really well, and others poorly,” she continued. “You absorb emotions easily, but you have a strong personality. You don’t absorb appearances very well though.”
“How can you tell?”
“Because you’ve spent a day with me,” she replied. Hunter frowned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m…strong-willed,” she explained. “I’m strong everything. When you walked near me on the path down the canyon, you stopped freaking out…you absorbed my emotional state. My calm. But you look as ugly now as you did yesterday.”
“You’re a real sweet-talker,” he grumbled.
“You still suck at archery,” she continued, “…so you don’t absorb skills very quickly,” she continued. “Get it?”
“Yeah.”
“I still can’t tell how well you absorb other traits,” she continued. “But we’ll figure that out soon enough.”
“Wait,” he said. “So you’re taking me in?”
“Afraid so,” she confirmed. “You’re either dead or an addict if I don’t. Not that spending a lifetime of having mind-blowing sex is that bad a fate.”
“Gotta agree with you there,” he admitted. As much as he’d hated not being in control, being with Trixie had been the most incredible experience of his life.
“See, I just can’t stand the thought of you having that much fun,” Vi continued with a grin. “Besides, Thorius was right about one thing…you’ve got potential.”
“Aw, thanks.”
“But the last thing you need is to get sucked in to being a Seeker,” she added darkly.
“Why’s that?” he asked. “Weren’t you a Seeker?”
“I was,” she confirmed. “I was the best goddamn Seeker they ever had, too,” she added. But she said it matter-of-factly, without a trace of pride.
“What happened?”
“I didn’t have testicles,” she answered with a smirk. “And I was too…non-traditional, even for them. Couldn’t wrap their little brains around me.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Well, first of all, I didn’t give a rat’s ass about the guild,” she explained. “Or their ‘sacred mission.’ And I was too strong for them to try and brainwash me with their medallions.”
“Wait, what?”
“Those medallions they gave you,” Vi explained. “Sure, you’ll learn some skills wearing them, but they’re mostly to brainwash you into being good little boys and girls.”
“Shit,” Hunter muttered.
“Didn’t work, did it?” Vi asked. Hunter shrugged.
“I don’t give a crap about the guild, if that’s what you mean.”
“Then it didn’t,” she confirmed. “Anyway, if that wasn’t bad enough, I didn’t fall into their narrow-minded concept of what people should be like either.”
“What do you mean?” he pressed. Vi smirked, glancing down at his crotch. He frowned, closing his knees together.
“You think I’m into guys?” she inquired. He hesitated, studying her.
“Not really, now that you mention it.”
“That really blew their little minds,” she stated. “Should’ve seen my parents. They tried to hook me up with a male prostitute too, hoping I’d be like you and absorb all that sexual energy and jump his bones. Turn me right around, they thought. Didn’t work, of course…I was too strong. Ended up converting him.”
“Huh,” Hunter mumbled, trying to figure out what that meant.
“They had me hang out with all the girly girls,” she continued, “…hoping I’d act more like them. Girls all turned in
to tomboys,” she added. Then she smirked. “Converted them too. That was fun.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway, they threw me to the Seekers, desperate to get me the hell out of the city before I ‘corrupted’ everyone around me. The Seekers took me in, of course, but I was too strong for them too. They sent me on a few suicide missions, hoping to off me. Sound familiar?”
“Little bit.”
“But I didn’t die,” she continued. “I passed the Trials, and they sent me out on all the missions they thought no one could accomplish. I kept accomplishing them. I did better than any of them, but did I ever get promoted?”
“Gonna guess no,” Hunter ventured. She nodded.
“That’s right. Can’t have a free-thinking lesbian Seeker outshining the clean-cut boys’ club,” she added. “So eventually I got out and made my own way. Came here, started freelancing. Best thing I ever did.”
“So you’re still working?” he asked. She nodded.
“Still hunting down artifacts,” she confirmed. “Got plenty of clients too,” she added. “Not that any of them would ever admit to hiring me. It’s against the law to hire non-guilded Seekers.”
“So what were you doing out there yesterday?” Hunter pressed. “Another job?” She nodded.
“I was,” she replied. “Lucky for you.”
“Still can’t believe that artifact wasn’t in the carriage,” Hunter said.
“Why am I not surprised,” Vi grumbled. Hunter frowned.
“Why do you say that?”
“Think about it,” she pressed. “Thorius sent all of you out into the Fringe without any training whatsoever, knowing damn well the Ironclad patrol this route.”
“That was the Trial,” Hunter protested. Vi gave him a withering look.
“That was a suicide mission,” she corrected. “Thorius wanted you dead, kiddo…and trust me, the Seekers don’t give a shit about the color of your skin. Which means someone in the Acropolis wanted you dead, and told Thorius to make that happen. And Thorius was willing to sacrifice three of his initiates to do it.”
Hunter stared at her silently, swallowing in a suddenly dry throat.
“You can’t go back to the city,” Vi stated, her tone final. “And you can’t go back to the Seekers. If you do, at best you’ll go back to being that whore’s boy-toy.”
“And at worst?” he asked.
“At worst,” she replied, “…you’ll be dead.”
Chapter 18
Sukri grimaced as the carriage they’d taken from the military base to Tykus reached the end of the King’s Road, rolling across the uneven terrain of the Deadlands. Somehow Gammon had carried her all the way to the military base the night before, and the doctors there had tended to her and Gammon’s injuries. Amazingly, the big guy had suffered only bruises and a concussion. Sukri hadn’t been so lucky, of course. Despite the cast that a nice doctor in the base had placed on her right leg the night before, any significant movement still hurt her.
The carriage continued onward toward the great wall surrounding Tykus, stopping before the gate.
“You okay?” Gammon asked. He was sitting beside her, a concerned look on his face.
“Just sore,” she replied. She smiled then, patting him on the leg. “Thanks for everything, Gammon.”
“You’re welcome.”
The two guards at the gate checked them over, and the portcullis rose, allowing the carriage into the tunnel beyond. They underwent a second screening, this time from a representative from the Guild of Seekers scanning them for foreign wills. Apparently they passed, because they were allowed through the inner gate. The carriage took them forward into Lowtown, moving slowly through the streets.
“I can’t believe they’re gone,” Sukri muttered, staring out of the window. She closed her eyes, picturing the Ironclad breaking Kris’s arm. Tearing it off.
“I know,” Gammon replied, his tone hushed. She opened her eyes, glancing at him again; his eyes were downcast, his expression somber.
“What are we going to tell Thorius?” she asked. Gammon shrugged.
“The truth.”
“They might not let us stay in the guild,” she warned.
“It’s not up to us.”
“You’re right, it isn’t,” she agreed, sighing heavily. “I hate this,” she muttered. “Not being in control.”
“I know.”
“Kris was right, wasn’t he,” she continued, staring out of the window, watching the buildings go by. “About me.”
“About some things,” Gammon replied.
Sukri sighed again, spotting the courtyard of the Guild of Seekers ahead. Her stomach twisted into a knot, and she shifted her weight on her seat, wincing at a twinge in her injured leg.
“Let’s get this over with,” she muttered.
The carriage stopped before the short wooden bridge going over the moat surrounding the guild, and Gammon got out first, pulling out a wheelchair from the trunk, then coming around to Sukri’s side and helping her down from the carriage. She sat in the wheelchair, and Gammon got behind it to push her.
“No,” she blurted out. “No thanks,” she added more gently. “I can do it.” Gammon let go, and Sukri wheeled herself across the bridge and up to the double-doors. Gammon knocked, and moments later the doors opened, a Seeker they didn’t recognize standing beyond.
“Come,” the Seeker prompted, turning about and leading them in. Sukri glanced up at Gammon, then wheeled through, turning down the usual hallway to the room they always met in. As it was nearly noon, the other five initiates were already there. Udeln and Donahue smiled at them, the other initiates just staring at them, saying nothing.
This is going well, she thought.
Moments later, Master Thorius himself strode into the room, followed by two other Seekers.
“Good afternoon,” he greeted.
“Good afternoon Master Thorius,” everyone droned.
“I see that two of our initiates have returned,” Thorius stated, glancing at Gammon and Sukri. “Where are the others?”
“Dead,” Gammon answered. Thorius frowned, glancing at Sukri, who just nodded, then lowered her gaze.
“I see,” Thorius murmured. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“We didn’t retrieve the artifact,” Gammon continued. “We made it to the carriage, but it wasn’t there, and it wasn’t anywhere near it.”
“And how did your teammates die?” Thorius pressed.
“An Ironclad ambushed us,” Gammon answered. “He killed Kris, and broke Sukri’s leg,” he added, gesturing at Sukri. “We fought the Ironclad, but it was too strong. We fled, but Hunter didn’t make it.”
“He was killed?” Thorius asked.
“I didn’t see it,” Gammon stated. “The last thing I saw was the Ironclad picking Hunter up.” He shook his head. “There’s no way Hunter could’ve survived.”
“Agreed,” Thorius replied, sighing heavily. “That is unfortunate.” He glanced at the other five initiates, then turned back to Gammon and Sukri. “Seeing as your team failed to retrieve the artifact, I have no choice but to disqualify two of its members from becoming Seekers.”
Sukri and Gammon lowered their gazes to the floor.
“However, as two of your members have already disqualified themselves,” Thorius continued, “…you two will remain as initiates of the guild.”
Sukri glanced up at Thorius, and Gammon bowed at the man.
“Thank you Master Thorius,” Gammon stated.
“Wait,” Sukri protested, gesturing at the other five initiates. “What about them?” Thorius raised an eyebrow at her.
“What about them?” he inquired.
“Did they retrieve the artifact?” she pressed. “It wasn’t even there…and we never saw them anywhere near the Fringe.”
“They did not retrieve it,” Thorius replied. Sukri stared at him incredulously.
“Then how come we’re the losers?” she demanded. “At least we got to the Fringe, an
d to the carriage!”
“They never left the city,” Thorius answered.
“What?”
“This was your Trial,” Thorius explained. “Yours, Hunter’s, and Kris’s. I added the incentive of competition to give a sense of urgency to your task. Your team was the only one that left the city.”
“You lied to us?” Sukri exclaimed, her voice rising in anger. “How could you…”
“Because I dictate the Trials,” Thorius replied calmly. He arched an eyebrow at her. “Do you question my methods?”
Sukri glared at him, and was about to answer to the affirmative when she felt Gammon’s hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him, feeling his calmness seep into her. He was always doing that for her, saving her from herself.
“We’re concerned that we were undertrained for the mission,” Gammon replied evenly. Thorius turned to him.
“Yet here you are,” he countered. “You survived the Ironclad and have passed your first Trial.”
“Only because we ran,” Gammon pointed out.
“When faced with a much more powerful opponent,” Thorius stated, “…running is often the wisest strategy.”
“You could have taught us how to defend ourselves first,” Sukri pressed.
“I have been,” Thorius retorted. “Through your medallions.”
Gammon nodded, saying nothing more. Sukri knew that if his hand hadn’t been on her shoulder, she would’ve had much more to say. But with the temporary gift of Gammon’s preternatural calmness, she was able to hold her tongue.
“Any other concerns?” Thorius inquired. He waited a moment, then smiled. “Good. Now, seeing as I no longer have an initiate to train, I will be taking you,” he stated, nodding at Sukri, “…as my pupil. Gammon, you will remain with your previous trainer.”
“Yes Master Thorius,” Gammon and Sukri replied.
“Very well then,” Thorius declared. “Let’s get to work.”
* * *
The sun was at its zenith in the sky when Vi lead Hunter away from the dying fire they’d eaten their breakfast at, trudging through the woods until they’d reached the carriage – and the path – that Hunter had traveled to yesterday. She hadn’t mentioned that this was where she was leading him, nor given a reason why. And Hunter hadn’t asked more than once, having reluctantly accepted her silence. If she was going to tell him something, she’d tell it in her own time. Still, it was one thing to know that, and quite another to accept it. He couldn’t help but be frustrated by her…although seeing as how they were at the Fringe again, his frustration could be due to the effect of the forest.
