by Bryan Davis
“Shut up, fool!” Peter kicked Kwame in the stomach, then hammered him to the ground with his fists.
I took a hard step forward, but the guard grabbed my arm and jerked me back. “Don’t move, or you’re dead,” he growled.
I steeled myself and concentrated on shifting to ghost mode, my only hope to escape the guard and save Kwame. As I tried to generate the desire to transform, Peter jerked Kwame to his feet and wrapped his cloak around him. Within seconds, Peter whipped the cloak away, and a new shimmer rode along the fibers. Kwame was gone.
While Peter went through the process of returning Kwame to the sphere, I altered my desire to our need to escape. With Peter busy, this might be our only chance. Yet, my need to become a ghost seemed canceled by the need to help whoever sat in the chair. I couldn’t do both. Shanghai, too, seemed torn as she shifted her gaze between the sphere and the cloaked victim. We were both powerless to act.
Soon, Peter emerged from the vacuum tube and reverted to his physical state. He sank to his knees and wagged his head slowly, obviously shaking off the effects of being in ghost mode for so long.
“You’ll be fine in a few minutes, Peter.” Alex dropped the tube on the ground and looked at Shanghai and me, a glimmer in her steely eyes. “Prepare to fight to the death.”
Shanghai glared at Alex, shooting poisoned darts with her fiery eyes. “You’ll never… never get me to try to kill Phoenix.” She spat with her words. “And he would never try to kill—”
“Shhh.” I gave her a nudge. “Keep cool. Don’t give anything away.”
Shanghai growled but said no more.
“An emotional eruption is exactly what I expected.” Alex laughed softly. “You will be amazed at how quickly passion can be turned on its head.” She nodded at Peter. “Release their energy.”
Peter rose and walked toward me, staggering at first before steadying his gait. He grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. The guard aimed his rifle at Shanghai and slid his finger around the trigger. Even though I might be able to defeat Peter in his weakened state, I couldn’t risk Shanghai’s life. Whatever they wanted to do to us, we had to let it happen.
Reaching around me, Peter pressed my valve, making the center protrude. Energy leaked out. Pain ripped into my heart. The ravenous beast clawed inside my stomach. I could barely breathe.
“You understand by now,” Alex said, “that the Gatekeeper’s energy is powerful, but the greater power rests in your desire for another dose. Deprivation is often the maximum persuasion.”
After nearly a minute, Peter clicked my valve back in place and gave me a shove. “That should be enough.”
While I doubled over and gasped for breath, Peter held Shanghai and pressed her valve. As energy escaped, her face turned pale. Her body quaked. When another minute passed, he closed off the flow and let her go. Shanghai dropped to her knees and dry heaved. A string of saliva stretched from her lips to the ground.
“They’re ready.” Peter pushed the guard’s rifle down. “We won’t need a gun to their heads anymore.”
I reached for a new desire to shift to ghost mode. The need was there, but the energy well had dried up. We had to stay in the physical realm.
At the chair, the bound figure now sat quietly. Whether it was Cairo or Sing, we would probably find out soon. Alex likely planned to pound us with her ultimate hammer at the most painful moment.
Chapter Twenty-one
Several other guards joined us and formed a semicircle near the Gateway triangle, a partial fighting ring roughly ten paces in diameter. They looked like a line of uniformed vultures waiting for a kill.
I shifted my stare to the ground and imagined Sing straddling the prisoners’ living quarters’ window, ready to pounce on the guards stationed at the door. Now we were the distraction that would enable her attack. We had become the evening’s entertainment. Maybe Alex had planned this all along. Her reason for recruiting Shanghai had finally become clear.
Alex walked into the ring, helped Shanghai to her feet, and began unfastening her weapons belt. “The rules are simple. You will battle with fists and feet until one of you is dead. The winner, or perhaps survivor is a better term, will immediately receive an infusion of energy to counter the effects of deprivation.” She tossed Shanghai’s belt to Peter, then took off mine and draped it over her arm. “My advice is to attack early while you are still able.”
Peter and Alex laid the two belts on the ground and backed into the line of guards. “Everyone will maintain silence,” Alex said, “while I provide the necessary narration at the appropriate times.”
Standing hunched over, I stared at Shanghai. Only three steps away, she stared back at me, her mouth agape. As she pressed both fists into her abdomen, tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Pain continued lashing at my heart and stomach. Ravenous hunger burned, as if I hadn’t eaten anything in weeks.
I gave the prisoners’ living quarters a stealthy glance. No moving shadows appeared, but Sing might have already pounced on the guards and gone back inside to retrieve Colm’s family. I wouldn’t be able to follow her progress.
Kwame’s words pounded my brain with pain-filled blows. Trust Akua! I am her father. Yet, the persistent questions added to the blows. How could Sing not recognize her own father? Someone had to be lying.
I wagged my head. Torture throttled my brain. That’s why I couldn’t think straight. That’s why this flurry of facts didn’t line up. No matter what happened, I had to trust Sing. Forget Kwame. Forget Alex. Forget all the confusing noise in my head. Just carry out the plan.
At the chair, the bound figure wiggled under the cloak’s blanketing shield. Muffled cries sounded from beneath the hood, a gagged victim’s desperate efforts to sound an alarm or tell me who he or she was. And we did need to know. If Sing sat there in bonds, our attempts to distract the guards would turn into a theatre of fools.
“Your hesitation is understandable.” Alex stepped in and spread an arm toward each of us. “Isn’t it fascinating how pain alters determination? How bodily desire makes resolve crumble?”
I fixed my stare on her. Those ghostly gray eyes pierced my mind and pulled at my thoughts, like a hand slowly uprooting a plant while the fibers strained to stay in the soil. The Owl had stretched her talons, and the mouse couldn’t even squeak out a protest.
“A few minutes ago, you two were certain that you could never fight each other, much less to the death.” Alex turned her mesmerizing gaze on Shanghai. “How many times have you sworn the night before not to indulge your body, perhaps with sweets or maybe rest from training, only to find your resolve melting in the morning? Your mind underestimates future hunger. It is blind to the chains of its master.”
She laughed softly. “And now the effect is multiplied. You have been exposed to unfiltered power from on high. You hunger for another taste of exotic energy, a fresh supply of ecstasy that effervesces in a brimming cup. You are only moments away from sating the fury that burns in your body, that makes you ache for relief, and the Gatekeeper will provide it to all who simply submit to the natural order of this world.”
Shanghai panted. Her fists tightened. As her cheeks flushed bright red, she groaned. “Help me.… Help me.… It’s ripping me apart.”
Alex’s tone sharpened. “Shanghai, only one person stands between you and freedom from pain.” She jabbed a finger at me. “As long as Phoenix lives, you will never be rid of that monster within. If you don’t attack and destroy Phoenix, he will destroy you. Look at his eyes. See the hunger? See the torture? He will unleash that fury on you unless you strike first. It’s the only way you can survive!”
Still panting, Shanghai jerked her head to the side, breaking away from the stare.
I tried to see her eyes. She was fighting the influence, but would she win? Maybe she was losing the battle and didn’t trust herself to hold back if she were to launch an assault. Either way, I had to get the game going. Sing needed us.
I reared back, ready to pounce,
but before I could move another muscle, Shanghai leaped at me. With fists and cloak flying, she smacked me across the cheek and jaw. Then she leaped and thumped me in the chest with her heel.
The powerful blow sent me hurtling backwards. I fell to my bottom, turned a somersault, and jumped to my feet. I pushed my cloak out of the way and set my arms and legs in battle stance. The assault’s contact points burned but no worse than the inferno in my stomach.
Gasps and clapping hands sounded all around, but the faces in the crowd blurred. I could see only Shanghai. Her fists again tight, she prowled in an arc, snarling like a wild beast. With gritting teeth and fiery eyes, she seemed possessed, maniacal.
I took in a deep breath. If Shanghai had given in to the torture, she could focus on killing me while I had to battle her and my inner beast at the same time. If she wasn’t simply putting on an amazing acting performance, I was in big trouble.
Forcing a snarl of my own, I ran at her and feigned a right-handed swing. When she raised an arm to block it, I followed with a left into her stomach, a solid blow, but I pulled my punch.
She reeled back and quickly regained her balance. Sneering, she called out, “What kind of punch was that? You hit like a girl!”
“Like a girl?” I unfastened my clasp, whipped off my cloak, and laid it next to our belts. Raw anger boiled into my throat. I swallowed it down. I couldn’t let the beast win. But pulling punches obviously wasn’t going to work. I had to give this fight everything I had. “I was just matching your weak blows,” I said, attempting a mocking tone. “If you want to fight like a man, bring it on.”
A chorus of “oohs” and whistles sailed into the ring. Shanghai heaved rapid breaths, her arms like steel rods. She threw off her cloak and let it sail. Peter caught it and laid it next to mine.
Her fists again tight, she flew at me with a whirlwind of punches and kicks. I blocked each one, then landed a crushing blow to her face.
She backpedaled, cupping her hand over her nose. I charged after her. As she retreated, blood dripped between her fingers. When I focused on the red flow, she dropped to her back, thrust both feet into my gut, and sent me flying.
Two guards caught me and helped me stand. When Shanghai leaped upright, the guards shoved me into the ring. I pedaled my legs, trying to regain balance, but my momentum sent me straight toward her. I lifted a blocking arm, but her bloody fist sneaked past and slammed into my chin, though not with enough force to stop my momentum.
I fell overtop her and swung her downward. As we fell, I drove a fist into her solar plexus. When we crashed to the ground, I hammered my fist deeper.
She let out a loud oomph. I rolled off, jumped up, and planted my foot on her throat, applying enough pressure to immobilize her but not enough to crush her windpipe.
Her limbs stiffened. Gurgles and wheezes spewed from her mouth and nose, mixing with more streaming blood. She stared at me, her eyes wild. She clawed at my pant legs, but in her weakened state, she couldn’t dig into my skin.
Finally, she exhaled. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her head lolled to the side.
Gasping for breath, I glanced around. No flare in sight. But Sing hadn’t had time to get the family to safety and return to help us. At best, she might have herded them outside the compound. I needed to give her more time, but how? I had already beaten Shanghai.
When I lifted my foot from Shanghai’s throat, Alex stepped into the ring again. “An efficient though underwhelming performance, Phoenix. Although your use of body weight as a weapon proved to be a stellar move, I am surprised at Shanghai’s lack of foresight. Given her reputation, I expected a more dazzling display of athletic prowess.”
I took a cleansing breath and glared at her. “You drained us. We can barely move, much less put on any dazzling displays. If you think you can do better, then why don’t you do something more than bark at us from the sidelines like a cowardly Chihuahua?”
“My pleasure.” Alex swung a leg and kicked me across the cheek. I staggered backwards, but Alex lunged and grabbed my wrists to keep me from falling. While her steely eyes trained on me, energy drained from my limbs. The will to fight leaked out with it. Although my feet still touched the ground, they felt like nubs attached to rubber bands.
“Instead of letting you turn her body,” Alex continued, “Shanghai should have done this.” She swept a leg into mine, knocked my feet out from under me, and slammed me to the ground, my face in the dirt.
While the guards laughed, I pushed up with both hands. Now with eye contact broken, the energy leak subsided. My biceps flexed. Maybe I could fight Alex and maybe not, but I couldn’t risk losing more energy. We still had to escape.
Alex helped me to my feet, withdrew a dagger from my belt, and pushed the hilt into my hand. “Shanghai is inferior to you. Finish her off. Drive the blade into her heart, and I will supply what you need. The hunger will vanish. The pain will disappear.”
Sweat dampening my clothes, I laid a hand on my stomach. The monster clawed at my gut. The ring of onlookers spun in a slow orbit, then snapped back into place. At any moment, I might collapse, ending all hope of survival.
Alex motioned for the guards to part. She walked to my pedestal and picked up the vacuum tube. Peter now held the tablet and tapped on the screen. The familiar hum began again. “I have what you need.” Alex’s words reverberated, as if bouncing in an echo chamber. “The energy is here, and it is yours for the taking. Just strike Shanghai in the heart. End her suffering and yours. You will be free to help us take every prisoner to the Gateway where they will never suffer again. You will be a respected Cardinal, and you can even request Singapore as a roommate. All suspicions against her will be forgotten. We will allow you to take her as your friend, your lover, or whatever you wish. You will never be lonely again. In fact, you will have the freedom to see your family. And, of course, I will keep my promise about cutting your Reaper time. In seven years you will be free.”
I licked my parched lips. Everything was turning upside-down. What was Alex doing? Didn’t she consider Sing to be part of the Resistance? Had Alex already found my family? Nothing made sense. I had to keep fighting the piercing effect of those Owl eyes.
Alex extended the tube, crooning in a hypnotic cadence. “All you have to do is remove Shanghai as a combatant, and every comfort will be yours. Remember, she tried to kill you. She is your enemy.”
I let out a loud groan. Gasping again, I pointed at Shanghai with the dagger. “If I kill her…” My voice squeaked, but I couldn’t help it. “Will you give her an honorable funeral?”
Alex smiled. “Of course we will, Phoenix.” Her tone dripped with syrupy sweetness. “In fact, we will expunge her record of all wrongdoing. She will be honored as a fallen heroine, a Reaper divine.”
I gripped the dagger’s hilt so tightly my entire arm shook. Although I hoped to keep everyone distracted with the funeral request, the tremors weren’t part of the act. Every particle of my body ached for the energy infusion, to be set free from this torture. But I couldn’t accept the release. The price was too high. I could never kill a friend. We had to attempt an escape before we ran completely out of energy—flare or no flare.
I threw the dagger, making it stick in the ground. I squared my shoulders and glared again at Alex. “Forget it. I’ll die before I cause Shanghai any more pain.”
Instead of launching into a new tirade, Alex just laughed. “We’ll see about that.” She strode to the chair, stopped behind it, and withdrew her sonic gun. Clutching the top of the captive’s hood, she raised her brow in mock concern. “It seems that you will have to decide which friend of yours will die.”
Alex jerked the hood back. Long red hair flew in disarray, some sticking to the captive’s sweaty pale forehead. A tight gag pushed her cheeks inward, disfiguring her face.
I took a step, nearly falling forward. The captive’s name tumbled from my lips. “Misty?”
Misty’s eyes shot open. She shouted into the gag, but only stifled cries l
eaked out.
Alex began untying the gag. “I apologize. How rude of me.” When it loosened, she tossed it to the ground and pulled the cloak’s left sleeve back. The material slid under the binding rope, bringing Misty’s hand into view.
I stared at Misty’s finger. Her pewter ring was still there. She had kept our promise. She had stayed true. And for some twisted reason, Alex wanted me to see it.
Alex set the sonic gun at the back of Misty’s head. “Feel free to converse, but don’t take another step closer.”
“Misty!” I extended my arms, but they were way too short. “Are you hurt?”
A sob contorted her face. Tears flowed. As she shook, her lips formed the first part of my real name, but she sucked it back and cried out, “Phoenix! Oh, Phoenix, I missed you so much!”
“I missed you, too!” I tightened a fist and shook it at Alex. “Let her go! She’s innocent! She hasn’t done anything to deserve—”
“Oh, shut up, Phoenix. I know that.” Alex pressed the barrel against Misty’s head, bending her neck forward. “This is unveiled, unbridled brute force. If I can get you to kill Shanghai, you’ll be mine forever, but I doubt that you yet know yourself the way I know you. You hand over slavish chains in a way you don’t yet comprehend.”
She nodded at the line of guards. “Four of you hold him. Don’t underestimate his strength.” Peter and three guards stalked toward me. I readied my fists and leaped at Alex. Peter grabbed my arm and jerked me backwards into the foursome’s clutches. As I struggled to get free, he twisted my elbow with incredible strength. Pain rocketed to my brain, sending blinding flashes across my eyes.
“Stop it,” Peter growled, “or I’ll break your arm.”
I swallowed through my dry throat. How could I save Misty when I couldn’t even budge?
“Now, Phoenix…” Alex’s smile thinned out. “Who will live and who will die?”
“No. Don’t. Please.” Tears blurred my vision. “Let’s make another deal. Any deal. We can negotiate. Please, just don’t kill Misty. She’s got nothing to do with this. She’s inno—”
