He didn’t. The man went from tree to tree, staying in cover, clearly suspecting my cry was some sort of trap. He crossed the red Mist without hesitation and paused by another tree, his attention focused on the device in his hand. In my lens vision, the red Mist clung to him, painting him like a target.
The ghost lion sprang down from the canopy in a shivering wave of motion that swirled the Mist like a stone thrown into a still pool. It landed on the poacher with a sickening crunch, its huge jaws catching the man’s head and tearing it free. I couldn’t look away. My body was screaming at me to run, to flee, but sick fascination held me there, my whole being warring between fight and flight.
The ghost lion turned its wedge-shaped head and seemed to look right at me, its huge pointed ears perked in my direction. Scales gleamed along its long body, its spine ridge of fur standing on end. The poacher’s blood dripped black from its jaws as it roared. In that long moment as the eerie sound reverberated through my bones, I accepted I was next. I watched my future death in that lion’s roar.
Then the ghost lion picked up the poacher’s body as though it were a toy and sprang away, disappearing into the Mist leaving only swirling red pheromones in its wake.
I knew then what Ajax had meant, knew that I, too, would never be able to see the world the same.
I don’t know how long it took my limbs to turn back to flesh from the rubber they seemed to have become, but when I could move again, I stumbled through the Mist, following the map in my tracker lenses, avoiding the red swirls that faded even as I left them behind.
* * *
Leon didn’t try to argue the charges once he saw my recording. Oscar had sent it to the Director before Leon made it back to the station. I guess they were waiting for him, though I missed it since in the ensuing chaos it took hours before anyone could come bring me in. He was arrested and taken off planet for trial.
They offered me his job. I told them I’d think about it.
“What was the ghost lion like?” Oscar asked me. We were sitting in the com room late the night after I’d returned. Clearly Oscar, in his omnipotent control of the station’s communications, had read my report even though it was supposed to be confidential. I didn’t really mind.
I sipped my tea to buy time before I tried to answer, cupping the warm mug. My leg still hurt, but the first aid program had been right; I didn’t need stitches.
“Huge,” I said, knowing that was a crap response. I thought of Ajax’s words. “Like looking at death, at natural power all distilled into one creature. For a moment when it looked at me, I knew I was going to die, like I’d fallen off a cliff and was watching the ground approach.”
“But you didn’t die.”
I shook my head. “No. I flew instead of fell.”
And I finally understood why Ajax had refused to leave the Chalice, why he’d gone back into the Mist instead of off-planet to fade away. I knew he was still there, somehow, flying deep inside that iridescent world. A ghost in the Mist, a part of the Chalice forever.
A Word from Annie Bellet
USA Today bestselling and Hugo Award nominated author Annie Bellet holds a BA in English and a BA in Medieval Studies and thus can speak a smattering of useful languages such as Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Welsh.
Her other interests include rock climbing, reading, horse-back riding, video games, comic books, table-top RPGs and many other nerdy pursuits.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a very demanding Bengal cat.
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http://tinyurl.com/anniebellet
A Note to Readers
Thank you so much for reading The Cyborg Chronicles.
Through the work of a number of talented authors, editors, artists and other contributors—and the amazing support of readers like you—the Future Chronicles series has become one of the most acclaimed short story anthology series of the digital era, hitting the top ranks of not just the science fiction, fantasy and horror anthology lists, but the overall Amazon Top 10 Bestsellers list itself.
The Future Chronicles has also inspired several other quality anthology series in speculative fiction and in other genres, and inspired scores of spin-off stories, novels, and series. It’s been amazing.
If you enjoyed the stories in this book, please keep an eye out for other titles in the Future Chronicles collection. A full listing of titles, which can be read in any order, can be found at
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