Harbinger (The Bleeding Worlds)

by Justus R. Stone

  “That’s just a legend.” Fuyuko said. “A silly myth made up to entertain children.”

  Pridament shook his head. “Don’t they teach you anything? Almost every myth, monster or deity has some root in truth. In most cases, it’s because of Taints, Curses, or Anunnakis. In the case of the Gorgon, it’s a Veil beast.”

  “And that is?” People kept talking like he should understand what they meant. It pissed him off.

  “A Veil beast,” Fuyuko piped in, “is a creature that lives within the Veil itself. What we see is a small portion of the actual creature. Often the portion visible in our realm is a minor component of the beast and so they are often considered immortal.”

  “Damn near textbook.” Pridament said. “The Gorgon is just such a creature. Like the myth, looking at its face causes paralysis. A lesser–known fact is that it could steal the power of gods. I guess that’s what is happening here. Elaios must be using the Gorgon to drain the energy of the Suture teams to feed the tear and keep the vortex growing.”

  “But those things need to be summoned.” Fuyuko tried to argue. “Not to mention trying to control it.”

  “How do we kill it?” Gwynn was tired of feeling left out.

  Fuyuko and Pridament looked at him as if he had just spouted Pig Latin.

  “Weren’t you listening?” Fuyuko’s tone was incredulous. “You can’t kill this thing.”

  “Fine, how do we beat it?”

  Fuyuko just stared at Gwynn. She had no idea.

  “There’s one way.” Pridament said. “We need to force it back into the Veil.”

  “Impossible.”

  “Really Fuyuko? You think so? You’ve never faced yourself, have you?”

  Fuyuko looked stricken. “It’s forbidden.”

  “Maybe to you. Thankfully, I’ve never been one for rules.”

  “Stop.” Gwynn roared. “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t care. If Pridament has a plan then that’s what we should do.” He asked Fuyuko, “Do you have a plan?”

  She shook her head.

  “Right. Tell us what you need.”

  “Okay. Gwynn, Fuyuko, get tight against the wall beside the door.”

  When they were in place, Pridament joined them. With a shove, he moved the desk. The door flew open and the tendrils moved in. Pridament restrained Fuyuko from interfering as they wrapped themselves around the two Suture members.

  “They’ll be free when we finish this.” Pridament whispered.

  He then stepped out into the hall. Gwynn and Fuyuko edged out after.

  “The plan?” Gwynn asked.

  “We find the Gorgon and then hope that I have a stronger will than it does.”

  “I’m starting to hate this plan.”

  Pridament ducked across the hall into a washroom. They heard a muffled crash and he emerged with several pieces of mirror. “Here. Like I said, some parts of myths are true.”

  The trio made their way down the hall. Each room they passed contained ensnared members of the Suture teams. When they reached the end of the hall, Pridament held his piece of mirror to peer around the corner.

  “All clear.”

  They rounded the corner. This stretch of hall was divided in two by another hallway branching off in the middle. Thinking of the floor plan below, Gwynn assumed this central hall led to the elevators. The coils all seemed to originate from that central hall. Closer, the sound of breathing; heavy, like a combination of the braying of a horse and the crushing of bones. Pridament held up his mirror.

  “It’s there. I’m going to go in front of it and bring up a shield. Once I do, you two need to severe the coils. Hopefully I’ll keep it occupied and that’ll give the Suture teams a chance to recover.”

  “How will we know you’ve succeeded?” Gwynn asked.

  Pridament gave him a weary smile and gripped his shoulder. “If I walk away.”

  “I really hate this plan.”

  Pridament gave a wink. Then he walked straight out into the center of the hall. He struck the floor with his staff and a pulse of energy waved out as his shield formed. The Gorgon hissed. Tendrils flew at Pridament, but the shield turned them aside.

  Through gritted teeth, Pridament yelled. “Cut them, now.”

  Gwynn dashed across the hall, dragging Xanthe along the ground and severed the tendrils. It took every ounce of control to avoid looking at the Gorgon. The creature shrieked a fearsome sound that stabbed right to Gwynn’s core.

  An invisible weight fell on his shoulders and forced him to his knees. Fuyuko struggled as well.

  Is the Gorgon doing this?

  But Pridament still stood. He lifted his staff and struck it on the ground. Wind spun in a visible mass around Pridament’s shield. With a roar, he flung his arms forward and the wind slashed toward the Gorgon. A form had appeared behind Pridament, anchored to him by several tendrils. Was this Pridament’s true self; that part of him that lived within the Veil?

  Gwynn inched forward and held his mirror at an angle to see around the corner. The Gorgon stood eight feet tall. Unlike Hollywood versions, the monster bore little resemblance to having been a beautiful woman. Huge tusks protruded from its cheeks curling in a deadly arc that ended just below fierce gold eyes. Ripples in the space behind it reminded Gwynn of air above pavement on a sweltering day.

  The rippling air behind the Gorgon and the form attached to Pridament rushed forward and slammed into each other in a percussive explosion that sent Gwynn flying backward.

  When he regained his footing, he inched back to the battle. Whatever war waged between the hidden forms of the Gorgon and Pridament, its effects on the combatants were visible. At times, the Gorgon would wince and parts of it would fade from view. Likewise, Pridament fell to his knees, sweat pouring from his brow. Gwynn’s heart hammered as Pridament became a ghostlike version of transparency, and then solidified again. He leaned on his staff. Without it, he’d be face flat on the floor.

  It dawned on Gwynn that he was not just watching a battle of wills; he was watching a literal battle between two souls. How could one calculate the strength of one soul against another?

  Then Pridament blinked out of existence.

  Gwynn screamed. Longer than a blink went by. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, time itself lost meaning to Gwynn. Eternity seemed to pass and still Pridament was gone.

  Hot tears burned Gwynn’s cheeks and coursed down his throat on his heaving chest. He had lost his parents, Sophia and now Pridament. When would the universe be satisfied with his losses? How much blood had to spill to allow his continued existence? Breathing was getting difficult.

  “Do you remember what she told you?” Gwynn found Adrastia leaning against the wall behind him.

  “What? Who do you mean?”

  Adrastia shook her head. She appeared one part disappointed and another part sympathetic. “For having been in love with her, you paid little attention to what she told you.”

  “Sophia? What did she tell me that could help here?”

  She cleared her throat. “Blood taken through betrayal will summon the monster. Blood given shall drive it back.”

  “What?”

  The girl knelt down in front of him. Her gem green eyes bore down into his soul. “What did you see in the stairwell?”

  “Blood.”

  “And is there a monster standing in front of you?”

  Gwynn nodded.

  “So if blood was taken to summon it…” She rolled her hand to prompt him to finish her sentence.

  “Blood given…” He said. “Will banish it.”

  Gwynn dragged his hand across the tip of Xanthe. Red crimson stained the obsidian colored blade. His flesh stung. It didn’t matter.

  He charged around the corner, keeping his eyes low and focusing on the core of the beast.

  Tendrils struck to intercept him. A number wrapped around his ankles, forcing him forward, crashing toward the floor. He willed the sword to fly, the same as he had in the warehouse. Li
ke a lightning strike, Xanthe extended, snaking a path through the tendrils until it struck the breast of the Gorgon.

  The tendrils fell limp, but Gwynn kept his iron grip on Xanthe. He regained his feet and pushed harder against the sword.

  “Back to where you belong.” Gwynn hissed.

  Like a blanket, the Veil wrapped itself around the Gorgon and pulled it back. A moment later, Xanthe returned to its normal size and the hallway was empty.

  “How’d you do that?” Fuyuko asked.

  Gwynn ignored her.

  Instead, he walked to where Pridament had stood—the floor marred where his staff had struck its surface.

  He released Xanthe, which disappeared back to the Veil. Gwynn took a few ragged breaths. The Veil is everywhere. Pridament had told him that. It sits right in front of you and hides entire universes under your nose. He imagined Pridament drawn into the Veil, still in this very spot, just hidden by the curtain of creation. Gwynn ran his right arm down the space where his mentor had stood. He imagined it as fabric, long and heavy, blacking out the light on the other side. All he had to do was open the point where the curtains met each other. Pull open the curtain, and Pridament would be there on the other side.

  He plunged his arm into the Veil.

  It wasn’t like the other times. Before, he had asked for a bit of energy, or to contact something that he belonged to. Now, he was forcibly trying to take back something the Veil had claimed. It did not take to his intrusion kindly.

  His arm burned. As he tried to draw Pridament back, the Veil tried to draw both he and Pridament into it. Convulsions ran up his spine. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since his last breath.

  I’m part of something larger. Somewhere in the Veil, there’s a part of me that could help. Please, I know you can hear me. I don’t know what cosmic laws apply, but I need him. I can’t finish this without him. I won’t give up. I’ll keep pulling. I just need you to push.

  The tear he had created was the size of a grown man. Inside, nothing but formless light.

  A shadow rushed by within the light. Something huge, powerful in a way he could never hope to comprehend. Then the tugging on the other side of the Veil ceased. Gwynn seized the moment and pulled with all his might.

  “Pridament… Father, come back to me.”

  Gwynn stumbled backward and Pridament fell from the tear into his arms.

  Both of them crumbled to the floor. Gwynn sealed the tear and attended to Pridament.

  The older man lay unconscious. Gwynn leaned his ear next to Pridament’s mouth and looked at his chest. It was faint, but he heard the sound of inhalations and saw a slight rise in Pridament’s chest.

  “Is he okay?” Fuyuko asked. A single question, but the tone in her voice contained a million more.

  “He’s breathing.”

  He gripped Pridament with both hands.

  “C’mon Pridament. Wake up.”

  Several yells and shakes later, Pridament’s eyelids crawled open. “Quit yelling kid. My head is pounding.” His eyes opened wide and he sat up too fast, inducing fits of coughing and wincing. “Did I win?”

  “Gwynn did.” Fuyuko said. “Though I’m not sure how.”

  Gwynn turned to where Adrastia had stood. He wasn’t surprised to find her gone.

  “Sophia told me. It made no sense at the time, but I remembered now. She said blood that was taken would summon the beast, but that blood given would banish it.” He held out his lacerated hand.

  “I think you were right, Gwynn. She was helping us.”

  The hall filled with Suture members.

  “What happened?” The most common question.

  “Fuyuko?” One of them said.

  “Jason.” Fuyuko threw her arms around him. The boy seemed embarrassed, but he did nothing to break her embrace. “Do you remember what happened?” She asked him.

  Jason’s eyes said he did.

  “We were betrayed. Hodur. He…killed Paltar.”

  Fuyuko’s eyes went wide. Pridament shook.

  “The stairwell.” Gwynn said.

  “Considering what Sophia told you, we can guess how they summoned the Gorgon.”

  “Gorgon?” Jason asked. “Is that what it was? I was near the front, just behind Brandt and Caelum. I heard a scream. When we came around the corner, there was something there. That’s all I remember.”

  A ‘ding’ sound filled the hall.

  “Was that the elevator?”

  The doors on each elevator opened and the hall flooded with Curses.

  25/ Facing Betrayal

  The air crackled with the summoning of weapons from the Veil.

  Despite their incapacitation minutes before, the Suture teams surged forth against the Curses. Gwynn sensed no fear, hesitation or questioning. This was their job and purpose. To suggest they shouldn’t fight was like saying they should give up breathing.

  A firm grip on his shoulder dragged him around the corner away from the fray.

  “We need to keep going.” Pridament said.

  “Shouldn’t we help? Won’t we need their help?”

  “No time. We move. They’ll catch up.”

  They headed for the stairwell. Fuyuko blocked the door.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Up.” Pridament said. “We can’t waste any more time. That tear has to be closed. Go help your friends, then join up with us.”

  Fuyuko shook her head. “No. I threw my lot in with you when I broke you out. I’m seeing this through with the two of you. They can take care of themselves from here.”

  “Fine.” A noticeable air of relief in Pridament’s voice. “Let’s get going.”

  They burst into the stairwell and ascended to the sixth floor two steps at a time.

  “Where are we going?” Gwynn asked.

  Pridament stopped mid–stride. “Probably the top floor. Now that the Gorgon’s gone, I hoped you’d get a better fix and we could skip searching every floor.”

  “Maybe. Give me a minute.”

  Gwynn closed his eyes. Sounds of battle raged a floor away. He concentrated on his abdomen. Five, ten heartbeats passed. There, the familiar tugging sensation. Pridament was right; it was like a thread attached to his midsection pulling upward.

  “Okay.” Gwynn said. “We go up. Slower though. I might miss the change if we go too fast.”

  Pridament and Fuyuko nodded.

  At the ninth floor, Pridament held up his hand, halting their progress.

  “You two keep going. There’s something I need to do here.”

  “What?” Gwynn’s insides trembled. “We need you.”

  Pridament turned to face Gwynn, his expression pained. “Gwynn, I want to stay with you, to see this through and keep you safe. But if I don’t do this, there’s a good chance none of us are going to survive. Trust me. Trust Fuyuko. Just remember what you’ve accomplished. No matter what comes, you’ll be fine. I believe in you.”

  Pridament said nothing else. He spun and went through the door.

  Gwynn was one step from following him when Fuyuko grasped his shoulder.

  “Don’t. He said it was something he had to do.”

  “I… I don’t think I can do it without him. The one time he left me alone, Elaios almost killed me.”

  Fuyuko’s face crumpled into a mask of disdain. “Really? I seem to remember another time you were without him that you saved my life.”

  “Luck. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  “Then that’s your answer. Don’t think so much about it. Just act. Your connection is to something old and strong. Trust your true self to see you through.”

  “Maybe.”

  She punched him hard in the shoulder.

  “Keep talking like that and Fallen will be the least of your problems. Now call that crazy sword of yours.”

  Gwynn looked at his empty hand. He’d almost forgotten letting Xanthe return to the Veil. He called and Xanthe returned. In his mind’s eye, he had a br
ief notion that the sword always rested in his hand, whether visible or not—the weight and balance felt too natural to be coincidence. What else might surround him that the Veil kept shielded from his vision? Would it be there for him when he needed it?

  Fuyuko pushed past him and moved toward the tenth floor.

  Gwynn skipped a couple steps to catch up. When they came to the door, the tugging at his core increased. Instead of tugging in an upward direction, it now urged him forward.

  “It’s here.” He said.

  Gwynn reached for the doorknob, but Fuyuko swatted his hand away.

  “Do you think we should just charge in there?”

  Gwynn shrugged.

  Fuyuko flattened herself against the wall. “On three, pull it open, but stay behind the door. Clear?”

  She counted, one, two, and three. Gwynn opened the door.

  Nothing happened.

  Fuyuko took a hesitant peek inside. With catlike grace, she slid through the door.

  Gwynn rounded the door to follow, just to have an explosion of movement shove him back.

  Fuyuko fell out the door, her spear a flurry of blocks and strikes. The Anunnaki she fended off carried curved blades in each hand.

  She twisted and shoved the man away. “Gwynn, go.”

  “But…”

  The Anunnaki lunged at Gwynn, but Fuyuko turned him away with her spear. “Close the tear. Everything gets easier once that’s done. Go.”

  Spurred by the ferocity in her last word, Gwynn flung himself past their sparring and through the door.

  §

  The ninth floor hadn’t been finished; an open space with girders and wiring in the ceiling exposed. Just the outer walls and where the elevators pushed through had drywall.

  “Hodur.” Pridament called. “I know you’re here. I think you and I have things to discuss.”

  He waited. How long had he known Hodur? His whole life that he remembered. Such a long time. He tried to convince himself that this wasn’t his Hodur. This was a different world. Perhaps something had happened in the almost–ten years since their worlds divided that had turned Hodur away.

  But ten years meant nothing in a god’s long lifetime. No, deceit of this magnitude would’ve taken decades, centuries perhaps, to germinate. The frightening reality was his world’s Hodur might’ve already made a similar move.