Chapter Nineteen
She could hear someone screaming, high pitched and ugly. She pushed herself up on her elbows, moaning as pain shoved its way into her head. The world span but she forced herself to stagger upright. The street was just the same, people rushing past. The car she had hit was stopped behind her, but no one seemed to have got out, or be concerned about her hitting it. Indeed, it seemed that despite his power, the creations within the games room didn't extend to real reactions. Which begged the question, who were the two men?
The screaming started again and she jerked, putting her hands to her head as pain carved deeper in. She had to concentrate and work out what had happened, and where the screaming was coming from. It changed suddenly, from high pitched, to low and bubbling and she realised the voice was Stems'.
"Shit, shit, Stem, hold on, where are you?"
Her head cleared enough for her to remember that he was still in the games room, still physical. She flashed back to her body, leaving the cars and buildings behind. Stem lay on the floor, spit running down his cheek and pooling next to his head. His eyes were open, vacant and staring. As she dropped to her knees, he opened his mouth, a weak moan emerging that grew until he was shrieking and convulsing.
"STEM!"
She looked across to where the Atrile stood, still unmoving. She put her hand on his head and felt an enormous surge of hatred, like an electric current that threw her backwards and onto the floor. She staggered back to her feet, head still aching and put both hands to either side of his head. The surge came again, but this time she was ready and dived through it, inside him.
His brain, or she realised now, the image she had created to indicate it, was once more covered in the slimy wrapping. It was dark and almost opaque, and enmeshed within it were the two Lords, inviting her on. She roared, a wordless, ragged sound and her head throbbed harder. Without thought, she reached in, finding the Atrile with hands that seized like iron and refused to let go. Reason returned, ice cold and she smiled.
"We don't do this here. His brain is not for you. Come where I can see you."
Without knowing exactly how, she dragged them from the slime and back onto the spiritual plane with her. They stood on the pavement again, only in front of her were the two tall men that had assaulted her earlier. She had to work not to slap herself on the head. It was easy to alter your own matter, she had known that, easy to look like something or someone different. She could blame her amazement at being somewhere that felt like Earth, but truth was she was still so naive, so inexperienced.
The two Lords, perhaps expecting something else to happen, had given her the seconds it took to realise that, but had now had enough. The first was swinging at her, clenched fist and snarling face. Despite her inexperience, she was ready, and shrunk, instantly half her height. The swing went wild and the tall man struggled to remain on his feet. She expanded, in all directions until she towered over him and as he drew back for another blow, she wrapped her hand around his throat.
Lifting him from the ground, she let her anger pour out and threw him into the building. He crashed through the glass, huge panes shattering about him as he rolled and fetched up against a reception desk inside. The second looked less sure of himself, but leapt towards her. She moved quicker than he could see, and his leap became a dive as her arm crashed across his face. He hit the sidewalk hard and lay still.
She relaxed, her instincts of earlier proving to be true. These creatures had been doing this for centuries, using the spiritual plane as their playground, yet they hesitated when faced with someone who could change at will, could manipulate it as they could. Or more than they could. She had the feeling the shapes they wore in here were carefully crafted and worked on, not created on the spot.
She could feel the energy around her, the Nexus holding it all together. She stared at the building and it became transparent until she could see across the games room to the rapt crowd. The Master must have designed it to be see-through from the outside, yet real inside. That was something else she had to learn. There was a lot to discover, and hey, no time like the present.
She looked down at her hand, picturing the sword she had seen Bridyant using earlier. It faded into view until she felt the weight of it bearing down and closed her fingers, grasping the hilt. She returned to her ordinary size and strode across the pavement and in through the broken window. The Lord was struggling to rise, and she stood, waiting until he clambered heavily to his feet. He turned, eyes widening as he saw her standing there. She could feel the fear, so different to the rage and hate.
"First blood, right?"
She swung, all her strength behind it and felt it bite deep into his neck. It passed straight through and a wave of blood surged from the wound as he collapsed. Behind her and inside her she both heard and felt the scream of the other Atrile, knelt the other side of the broken windows. She spun to face him, her voice overpowering the small part of her mind that was shouting at her to stop, that enough was enough.
"First blood for my dad. First blood for Stem. First blood for a race you aren't fit to bleed on. This is my first blood, but it isn't the last, not by a long way."
She stepped forward, arm raising. The figure began to fade, the creature fleeing back to its body and she howled, hacking downward. The blade hit him in the face, tearing through his nose and splitting one eye on its journey to his brain. The fading stopped and the figure that crumpled to the ground, sword buried deep, was all-too solid.
She jumped back to her body, her hands still wrapped around Stem's head. His eyes were closed now and his face was relaxed. She looked across at where the bodies of the Atrile lay, surrounded by huge pools of dark, thick liquid, and felt a surge of satisfaction. She bent over, her head resting lightly on his and went inside again. The slime was pale now and she let it dissolve, sweeping it away.
Coming back out, she stood, swaying slightly and faced the Master. He smiled, nodding to her and swept his arms wide. She became suddenly aware of the roar of the crowd, every single one stood and applauding, or shouting, or whatever passed for celebration in their culture. She experienced a rush, a wave of pleasure coursing through her, then it went and she was left with the overwhelming need to vomit.
"Hey, Ally, we won, right?"
His voice was croaky and sounded a hundred years older. She dropped back to her knees and wrapped him up, tears flooding down to wet his chest. He patted her gently on the back with weak, awkward hands.
"Take that as a yes, huh?"
She pulled away, nodding.
"Yeah, we won, we won."
Swallowing hard, she grinned down at him. Sitting back on her haunches, she motioned over to the bodies, then helped him to sit up. He lay back against her knees, staring at them, then shook his head.
"What did you do?"
"Um, I got kinda pissed. They were hurting you."
He laughed, then coughed.
"Cool."
She looked up again at where the Master sat. He was watching them, or at least her, intently. She wondered just how much he knew about what she could do, and braced herself for what he was about to say. He stood and waved both hands, quietening the crowd.
"A good game, I'm sure you'll agree."
The roars went up again and he let them go on, a conductor working his orchestra. She stopped herself from spitting and waited along with him.
"This is normally where I ask the losers to leave."
He paused, a wider smile and an even louder cheer.
"It turns out you can be as vengeful as the rest of us, border race or no. You have won your prize today, and most deserving you are too. It will be interesting to watch what happens now and whether you remain true to the promise you made in the game. Were I the Atrile I might be having second thoughts about my role as slave master."
The cheering began again and showed no signs of abating. The walkway had slid across to the platform and she helped Stem up to his feet. The room had been slowly moving, changing as t
he Master spoke and she wondered whether anyone else had noticed. It may be simply that they were used to it, or that their projection of the Nexus didn't include such things. She had to speak to Bridyant.
They made their slow and shaky way off the platform to the overpass, where they were greeted with back slaps and fierce smiles. It seemed the Atrile weren't particularly popular with lots of races, not just humans.
She awoke, the bed sheets warm and comforting. She sat up, then groaned, her hand clutching the lump that sat above her left eye. The bed was empty aside from her, as was the room and she threw the sheets back and got up. After enjoying the luxury of the bathroom, something she couldn't get used to, or bored with, she stepped out into the corridor.
She let herself drift, entering the state that was becoming gradually more natural and felt the Nexus breathe slowly around her. She let it shift until the corridor in which she stood led onto the market, then stomped down it, the noise already growing.
Stepping out, she drifted again, locating Stem and Bridyant over to one side and headed their way. Nothing had changed here, the crowds were still intense and space was at a premium, but she felt entirely different. She felt at home, or as at home as she'd felt anywhere in her life. She felt like one of the crowd, another gamer, just another strange creature in a galaxy of weird. Even thinking about being a gamer felt differently. Here, she'd played for something bigger than herself, and of her own volition, not that of her master.
Something whispered in her mind as she thought about it, a tiny voice suggesting that perhaps it wasn't as different as she'd like to make out. She silenced it, instead spreading a broad smile across her face as she reached the others. Bridyant stepped forward, fist held out and she banged it with her own.
"Alicia, you did something amazing yesterday. I would like to say how surprised I was, but I was not, not really. I am proud of you."
She felt oddly touched. Despite only knowing the alien for a couple of days, she felt oddly attached. She wondered whether it was the time she spent in her mind, or just that Bridyant had been the only person to actually speak to them. Either way, she was surprised at how much it mattered that this grey-skinned, oddly smiley, whilst being intensely violent, creature was proud of her.
"Thanks Bridyant, I'm kinda proud of me too."
She looked at her feet as she said it.
"I mean, I'm proud of doing it and winning you know. Not so proud of the whole hitting people with swords thing, you know? I'd rather leave that up to you from now on."
Bridyant laughed, clapping her on the shoulder.
"And you used my sword as well. I was so touched. But how did you do it? Where did you find the sword?"
She looked at her feet again, then peered up with one eye half closed.
"Um, I kinda just made it?"
"Made it?"
"You know, I imagined it was there and, uh, there it was."
Bridyant was looking at her as if she'd admitted to flying with her feet, and she grinned weakly. Stem had pushed himself away from the wall and joined in.
"Is that odd Bridyant?"
The alien laughed again, this time slightly less confidently.
"That is impossible Stem. What Alicia did was what the Master does, but no one else can. Within the spiritual plane, to change oneself is a matter of practice, but to create matter, or change what is around you, is simply impossible."
She turned back to Ally, face alight with curiosity.
"What you did when you were in my mind was impressive, but not unheard of. It is much easier to affect things when it is within someone else, but out here..."
She trailed off, shaking her head, then took Ally by the shoulders, staring at her intensely.
"You are special Alicia. I knew there was something about you. I told you didn't I?"
She chuckled, looking out over the market.
"So what do you plan to do next? Stem was saying that you want to get to Earth as quickly as you can."
"He's right."
She reached out and took his hand, sending love flooding into him. Looking up she saw him smile at her, then he reached out and gently stroked the lump. She raised her eyebrows in mock derision, partially to hide her own concerns. His eyes were sunken and lines had appeared around them. The hand she held was shaking slightly. What had the Atrile done to him while she was knocked out?
"We need to get going. Something has happened here, like you said. I got the feeling there were a lot of people glad to see those two die."
The woman nodded.
"We all exist together, that is the magic of the spirit, of what we can do. The Atrile abuse that, and not just with humans. You are border people, you count for less than other races."
She saw the wry self-mocking smile cross her face, so different to the first time they had met.
"But they have used these powers on others as well. This has made them, less than popular."
Ally nodded, glancing at Stem to see him wearing a grim smile.
"I'm hoping that people are gonna hear about my game. Maybe by the time we get to earth we may get offered some help. I dunno, but the sooner we get there, the quicker we start to change things."
"I wish you both luck. I'm not sure that you will need it though. The galaxy is about to change and perhaps the spiritual plane as well. You are something new Alicia, and I am glad to have met you."
She decided it was too early for tears and took her by the arm.
"We aren't leaving yet, my friend. The Master has told us he will give us the counter spell this evening."
She suddenly jumped out of herself, to be joined by Bridyant, hovering just above their stationary bodies. They spoke briefly, Stem none the wiser.
"And I want Stem to have some recovery time. They did a number on him, didn't they?"
"You were not out for long, but yes, torture can have much impact in very little time. He does not look well."
"Yeah. I think it's just time, so we're gonna stay for a couple of days. Maybe you could help me figure out some more about what I can do?"
"You do not need to ask, it would be my privilege."
They dropped back in and began to stroll through the market. Seconds later a mass of bodies shoved past them and they resumed their journey the more normal way, pushing and shouting snippets of conversation back and forth. She glanced up to watch the strange, bright birds flit back and forth beneath the white ceiling, and grinned. It wasn't home, but it was as close as she'd been yet.
Outro
The Vale rumbled reassuringly beneath her, the sticks vibrating lightly in her hands. Stem sat back from the starter and strapped himself in, smiling at her. She smiled back, relaxed, ready.
He'd regained much of his fire and, more importantly, he'd found the spiritual plane. It had only happened yesterday and he was shaky, far from confident, but he was there. Bridyant assured her that most were like him, slow to start and slow to get good. But then, in her race, the children were doing what Stem was, almost before they could walk.
It had been the last thing she needed, although she hadn't realised it until it happened. The Master had given them the spell, a series of strange words and rituals they would have to go through once they reached earth. He had assured them that it would only take one saying for the original spell to be entirely nullified, for the power to break.
They moved slowly through the dock, past rows of ships, the gas of the veil dead ahead. As they flew free of the Nexus, she felt the voices fall silent, the voices that had faded into the back of her mind. She felt suddenly free, light and untroubled. She turned to Stem
"You ready to head home?"
He nodded and she pointed the nose at the tunnel that led to normal space, to Earth, and leaned on the sticks.
Acknowledgements
Lots of people to thank, as always. Books are written alone, but published by an entire team. Without these people, I'd be lost the moment I type 'The End'.
Steve Parolini, my fabulous edi
tor and officially 'the easiest person to work with, ever.' ™
Derek Murphy, cover designer extraordinaire.
Mum, proof reader of some note and enthusiast for pretty much everything.
Elizabeth, my wife, for having more patience, faith and trust than a boat load of nuns on a pilgrimage.
Ed and Ingrid, cheerleaders from the word go.
And, as mentioned at the start, my somewhat quiet and retiring brother, Howard, for getting me into all this in the first place.
Thank You
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A Game of War Season One.
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