“It’s an honor,” his father declared by rote, but his voice trembled.
“An honor? They’ll take our son and bond him to a soulless thing that will dominate his mind and body. They even admit it’s soulless.” His mother shook her head. “Everything he is will die, and the symbiont will rule him. If this is strength, I think I prefer weakness.” She put a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “It’s easy for us to look at those creatures and think they are the best of us, but they’re a mockery. They are impure. What purity can come from a thing that constantly changes you and controls your thoughts? The truly strong would sacrifice themselves rather than foist that duty on children. It doesn’t matter how many races the bonded slaughter; if this is the way of things, the Vax are spiraling into weakness. We can’t save our people, but we can save our son.”
His father’s breath caught. “What are you saying?”
“There are people who will help. We can give our son a chance to be something more. To be free. To be more than a tool.”
“People?” He shook his head. “You mean heretics and traitors?”
“My highest loyalty is to my family,” the boy’s mother declared. “If that means it costs my life, so be it. That is a mother’s strength.”
“What can we even do?” His father closed his eyes and sighed. “He’s to be bonded tomorrow. Where could we go? They’d find us.”
His mother gave a soft smile. “There’s a way, but we have to be willing to pay the price.” She held up a small yellow crystal. “They tell us the symbiont is the expression of the will of the divine, but it’s nothing but a living machine in the end, isn’t it? This can give him the freedom to control the symbiont and weaken its ability to control his mind.”
His father shrugged. “To what end? He’ll be judged impure, and they’ll cull him anyway. He’ll still be taken from us.”
“Those heretics and traitors you dismiss are willing to help us. We can send him somewhere the Temple will never find him, and if he controls the symbiont, it’ll never send the Call and summon the Vanguard. He’ll be free, and even if they find him, he’ll control the symbiont and be able to defend himself. He’ll be truly strong, so the Temple’s own dogma would say he’s superior.” She took her husband’s face in her hands. “I can’t do with this without you. Will you help save our son?”
The memory blurred into another.
A swirling portal brightened the room. The boy stared at it, confused. He still didn’t understand everything his parents had talked about the night before, and when they’d found him eavesdropping, they’d told him to tell no one or they would all be in trouble.
But then they’d gone into the city, and the blood and the shooting and the screams started. His father had killed a man, but another had killed him.
The boy swallowed, his face’s death stare etched in his mind. Why was this happening? What did it all mean?
His mother slipped the heavy amulet around the boy’s neck and whispered into his ear, “I’m sorry I can’t come with you but don’t worry, I will always be watching over you. Be strong, for you are Vax. This will hurt much more than the tests they’ve done on you before.” She slipped the amulet underneath his shirt and the cold metal pressed against his chest.
The boy screamed as tendrils shot from the amulet and spread through his skin and muscles. The amulet sank into his chest, a fiery agony accompanying its fusion with his flesh.
Tears streamed down his mother’s face. “Find true strength, my son. Be strong, but most of all, choose your own path.”
A cold, harsh whisper spoke in the back of his brain. Pain filled his head.
Primary initiation, the amulet shouted in his mind.
His mother shoved him through the portal.
It winked out of existence behind him.
The boy stood in a strange jungle with plants and trees he didn’t recognize. Tears clouded his vision, and his head throbbed as if it were going to explode at any moment.
He kept asking himself the same question: why?
Particles of light danced through the air around him, and the amulet whispered something new to him.
Link error. Adapt. Kill. Adapt. Kill. Link error.
The boy stumbled forward.
“Father! Mother!” he cried.
The particles of light rushed together to form the rough outline of a winged person.
“You shouldn’t be here,” called a grating voice all around him. Somehow he understood what it was saying even though it wasn’t his language. “That portal wasn’t from Oriceran. Don’t try to deny it. It tastes wrong. This is the problem with you Earth types. It’s why your planet is so wracked with discord. There are rules because we want to keep the peace. Who are you that you’d violate the rules and bring your Earth chaos here? Are the Silver Griffins even doing their jobs? I don’t know your peoples well. I believe you are…a Texan?”
Earth? What was Earth? Was that a different city? What was a Texan?
No. That wasn’t right. Not a city.
The boy took a deep breath. He didn’t know much, but he knew what portals meant. Portals meant not just different cities, but different worlds. Was Earth a planet? Oriceran?
“Where am I?” the boy called in his own language of clicks and hisses.
“Oriceran, obviously, but don’t worry. You’re leaving right now.”
A pinpoint of light appeared in front of him and expanded to an opaque blue circle.
An invisible force seized the boy and tossed him through the portal. The pain in his head worsened, and he passed out.
The boy awoke in a dirt field, a strange city of gray rectangular buildings off in the distance. It was like nothing he’d ever seen. At least his headache was gone.
A strange pale-skinned man with brown eyes stood over him. Was he another non-Vax like the strange man made of light? The Temple said all such creatures were impure.
But were all impure so ragged-looking and dirty?
The boy sat up, sobbing. The pale-skinned man reached over and wiped his tears away and said something in a language the boy didn’t understand.
“Where am I?” the boy asked.
The man frowned and shook his head. He said something loudly and slowly, but the boy couldn’t understand the words. He had so many questions. Why had the winged man of light been able to talk to him but this pale man unable to?
Link error, the amulet whispered. Analyzing sample. Primary adaptation in progress.
Fire poured through the boy’s veins, and he fell to the ground screaming and thrashing. Pale spots spread on his skin, replacing his natural crimson color.
The impure man’s eyes widened. He turned and sprinted off, shouting in his bizarre language.
The excruciating pain continued.
The memory faded.
Link reestablished, Whispy announced. Initiating thought filter.
James took several deep, ragged breaths. He’d always remembered the jungle and the field, but none of the other things. Certainly not his real parents or some asshole Oriceran throwing him to Earth.
Huh. The Eyes kicked loose some interesting shit.
That meant that decades ago, some poor bum had found an obviously alien being and tried to extend it a moment of kindness even before the truth of Oriceran had come out.
Human kindness. LA managed to have a few surprises left.
Did you keep that shit from me on purpose, Whispy? Shay guessed you’d changed me to be more human, but why?
Local sampling and adaptation necessary for survival in unknown hostile environment, Whispy responded. Unexpected neurological disruption during process. Memory pruning necessary to maintain host stability and repair bonding link. Most memories lost irrelevant to tactical effectiveness and primary directive. Other memories disruptive to primary directive.
James growled.
Fuck your directive. I’m in charge. I don’t give a shit what some assholes on another planet wanted you to do or what they wanted me
to do. You are my symbiont, and you do what I fucking say.
Link error acknowledged.
Am I a Forerunner now? Is that what advanced transformation means?
No. Achieve primary directive for Forerunner transformation.
James grunted.
And kill the enemy and adapt more to do that? James asked.
Yes.
His parents had obviously hacked the amulet somehow with the crystal in his memory, but it was obvious that the basic nature of the symbiont remained unchanged. Whatever the primary directive was, he suspected it was more in line with needing him to attack other planets.
“James!” Shay shouted. “You okay?”
He shook his head and stood. “How long has it been?”
“I…I don’t know. Half a minute?” Shay blinked. “You just stared straight ahead and wouldn’t respond to anything.”
James grunted. “I’m okay. Just got a little dose of truth. First, we have to do something about our friend the Eyes. I’m grateful to him for a reason I’ll explain later, but that doesn’t change the fact that I need to kick his ass.”
He waited for more images to appear but none came.
“Fucking magic tricks,” James bellowed. “Is that all you got?” He rushed toward the wall and raised his sword, anger over everything blasted into his consciousness. Someone had to pay. Why not the Eyes? He was already mad at the bastard anyway.
Shay blinked. “What are you doing?”
He swung at the wall, and it disappeared in a shadowy mist like the apparitions.
A metal door with a handle stood in front of them and swung open on its own.
James and Shay raised their weapons and took combat stances.
A small barefoot gnome with bright yellow eyes shuffled out of the room wearing only a worn hole-filled tunic. Sores covered his skin, and a few scraggly strands of hair remained on his head. Black blood ran through several of his surface veins. A series of jeweled rings stood out against his overall disheveled appearance.
James stared at the gnome, his mind refusing to accept what he was seeing. Shay shook her head but kept her blades ready.
The gnome took several deep, wheezing breaths and lifted his hand. A black metal dagger appeared. “You’re strong in mind and body, Brownstone,” he rasped. “Not surprising, but frustrating all the same. I was in your mind before you closed it, and now I see…why you are what you are. Interesting. Secrets beyond secrets, Mr. Vax Forerunner. Who would have thought such a strange creature lived in LA?”
James grunted. “Fuck you.”
Shay frowned and looked at the gnome and James.
“But that said, how dare you, Brownstone?” the gnome rasped. “How dare you interfere with my work and defile my home? You had no right!”
“Just to be clear because I don’t want to kill the wrong guy, you’re the Eyes?” James asked. “Because I want to be very fucking clear. I’m pissed at the Eyes, and I’m gonna fuck him up.”
“I have many names. That one has its uses.” The gnome waved the dagger. “I am ancient. Your pathetic little country and life are nothing to me. Don’t think I fear you because you’re not human. I’ve killed many throughout the centuries.”
Shay watched James, concern and confusion on her face.
James shook his head. “Listen, fucker, a minute ago, I would have cut you down like nothing, but I’m gonna give you one little chance because you helped me understand something important. You pay for my truck and turn yourself in, you get to live. Otherwise, you die here and now for all the shit you’ve pulled, for whatever the fuck you did to Kathy, and for my truck.”
The Eyes tilted his head and blinked. “The girl? How could she beat my curse? She couldn’t tell anyone.”
“She didn’t tell anyone. She showed us.”
“Of course. Of course!” The gnome threw his head back and laughed. “So many variables lead to mistakes. It’s my own fault. This planet and city have corrupted me. I think too much like you pathetic humans now. So many experiments wasted.”
James marched toward him, eyes narrowed. “You give up, asshole? If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll let you out of the ultramax in a couple of centuries. Or maybe they’ll extradite your ass to Trevilsom.”
“Enough of your arrogance, Brownstone. You’re no longer amusing.”
The Eyes threw the dagger at James. It bounced off his head, leaving only a small cut.
Irritation washed across the gnome’s face.
“That’s your answer, fucker?” James glared at him. “I guess I’ll add you to the confession pile for this week.”
“You’re not human, Brownstone,” the gnome rasped. “We both saw the truth in your mind. You’re just a cuckoo. A changeling.” He let out a wheezing laugh. “A fake human playing at being a man.”
“Depends on who you ask, but you can just consider me the best and worst of two worlds.” James shook his head. “But most of all, I’m someone who gets to choose my own actions.” He thrust the tachi through the gnome’s chest. “Just like you chose yours. Now face the consequences, fucker.”
A euphoric look spread over the gnome’s face as he coughed up blood. “I…finally…understand…what…they…felt.”
James yanked the sword out and the Eyes fell to the floor, a smile on his face as he stopped breathing.
“Okay, I didn’t see that coming.” Shay shrugged. “What a weird little gnome. He had all that magic, and he pretended to be something else.”
James turned toward Shay. “You could say the same about me.”
“Maybe. What the fuck happened there, some sort of psychic attack? And why did you say you were grateful?”
James wiped the blade off on his pants. “I finally understand what the fuck I am, but I don’t want to talk about it now. I need some time to let it settle. First, let’s get this Kathy shit handled.”
22
Kathy, Shay, and James sat on Dannec’s couch as the elf examined the golden orb, a frown on his face. He’d been all but silent for several minutes, his hand moving and the occasional glyph appearing in the air.
James had no idea what was involved in examining a mysterious magical artifact, so he kept his mouth shut. It gave him more time to think about the memories the Eyes had knocked loose. Now he knew the truth.
Somehow it didn’t surprise him. It was like he’d always known. Whispy might have tried to bury the memories, but he couldn’t quite bury their imprint on James’ soul.
“And your tattoo is gone?” Dannec asked, breaking his silence. “Completely?”
Kathy nodded. “Disappeared when James and Shay were in the club. I’m assuming it was about the time James killed the Eyes, but it wasn’t like I paid attention to the exact time. I’m just glad it’s gone and all the people inside woke up. That means I’m free, right?”
Dannec nodded. “Yes. The tattoo marks the curse link for that kind of magic, and it fading after the death of the person responsible makes sense. Still, you're very lucky, Kathy.”
“I don’t know if being cursed by some insane gnome counts as lucky.” She sighed. “It really would have killed me if I had tried to explain, wouldn’t it? I wondered if it was just the Eyes playing me, especially after finding out his whole existence was a lie.”
“Oh, I’m glad you didn’t test it. That was powerful, and true dark magic. It would have killed you, probably in a very painful and messy way.” Dannec shrugged. “But you survived, which isn’t something many people can say when dealing with those kinds of curses.”
James was still processing the memories. Shay hadn’t asked him to explain further, only said she’d be willing to listen when he was ready. So many things had slid into place, from why his parents had sent him away to why a random alien wanted him dead.
A Vax Forerunner. A killer. He’d remembered and experienced enough to understand he was supposed to be a super-soldier controlled by his symbiont.
I wonder if those Temple assholes would be pissed if they kne
w I was using this symbiont to take down bounties and protect people. Is that pure and strong enough for them?
Dannec clucked his tongue and held up the orb. “But this is the real beauty in this situation. Oh, my, my, my. If you’d not killed the Eyes, he would have ended up in Trevilsom for this, if not the World in Between. I’d never thought I’d actually see one of these with my own eyes.”
James looked at the elf, ignoring his concerns about his true identity for the moment.
“What the hell is it?” Shay asked. “Some sort of artifact that fucks with your mind?”
“Oh, no. Whatever else our theatrical gnome might have used in terms of magic, this is nothing like that.” Dannec narrowed his eyes and stared at the orb. “It’s something that most Oricerans would have believed ceased to exist a long time ago. It’s a powerful and forbidden type of bomb that feeds off both background magic and souls for its effect. Hard to survive a bomb that shreds your soul. Nasty way to die, and none have been used since the Great War.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Of course, I’m more than willing to take it off your hands and dispose of it for a small fee.”
James leaned over and grabbed the orb. “Is this shit on a timer or something?”
Dannec shook his head. “There’s residual magic on it, but from what I can tell, it was linked to the Eyes. He was probably going to detonate it remotely using a spell.”
“Fine. I’m got someone who can handle shit like this.” James stood.
“You mean Smite-Williams?” Dannec snorted.
James nodded. “I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust you.”
The elf laughed. “Fair enough. I’ve earned a nice fee for identifying the curse and this bomb, so I can’t complain. It’s been a profitable few days for not much effort.” The elf shrugged and gave James a merry smile. “If it means something, I’m glad you got rid of the Eyes. Even I’m surprised to find out he was a gnome.”
The Unbelievable Mr Brownstone Omnibus 3 Page 37
