by John Corwin
"We have been looking for answers," Mikhail said. "Many Scion researchers have tried to understand why we are. They try to understand the Blight and our relationship to it."
"Like Martin tried to find the afterlife?"
"Did you find it?" Anne-Marie asked, her eyes intensely curious.
The thought of that place sent a shudder down Alexia's back. "We found Hell. There are people there or what's left of them. Spirits, maybe. They don't see each other. They're all alone and insane."
Hurt dashed into the room. He whispered to the other ghouls and gesticulated toward the hall. His eyes were wide. Agony pointed to the hall left of the one Hurt had emerged from. Hurt loped down it. Strike vanished down one to the right. The fourth ghoul looked at Agony. Agony shook his head and motioned the sick creature to his side. He grabbed the extension cord that powered the halogen work lamps and unplugged it. Pitch black blanketed the room.
Alexia switched sight. The Blight was bathed in perpetual orange light although it didn't penetrate far into the warehouse. The only light came from filthy windows in the ceiling and the glowing Scions. The already decrepit building looked even worse. Haze and dust filled the air. She almost held her breath but remembered she was only looking in the Blight and was not physically inside it.
Agony was moving the halogen lights, directing them down the center hall. The nameless ghoul was helping him.
"We can escape while they're preoccupied," Alexia said. "Blight hop out of the chains."
Anne-Marie shook her head. "It's dark. I have to see my destination in Normal."
For some reason the ghouls hadn't secured Alexia. Perhaps they realized she wouldn't leave without Lucas.
"I'm leaving. I'll take Lucas with me."
Swain's face reddened. His muscles bulged as he strained against the chains. One of the links started to separate. Alexia picked Lucas up and slung him over her shoulder. Her newfound strength as a Scion continued to amaze her. If the situation hadn't been so precarious, she might have enjoyed slinging a man over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The chain link separated enough for Swain to unhook it. Freed, he braced himself to pull on Mikhail's.
Someone snarled. Alexia turned to see Strike blur out of the hallway. The ghoul rushed Alexia and crashed into her. Alexia dropped Lucas. She slammed into the drywall and plowed through it with her back. Lucas flopped to the ground and rolled a few feet from where she'd been standing. Strike and Hurt swarmed Swain. They batted him to the ground and chained him with the undamaged links.
Alexia groaned and wobbled to her feet enough to watch the ghouls through the body-sized hole she'd made in the wall. They knew she wouldn't leave without Lucas. They also knew she wasn't strong enough to fight them. Agony plugged in the lights. The ghouls took up positions in front of the lights. What was coming? What were they doing? She pulled herself back through and into the room. Four people burst from the hallway, running like demons were on their heels. They didn't seem to realize the demons were right in front of them.
The lead person lowered his shoulders and plowed into Agony. A short blonde woman sent a probe burst at Strike. The two ghouls went down. The nameless ghoul tried to engage the man who'd hit Agony. Alexia, still looking in the Blight, realized the lead male was an executor. He grabbed the sickly ghoul and flung him against the wall like a sack of rotten potatoes. The blonde woman was Lucinda, one of the Transcendists, the one that Andre had been so angry with. In addition to the executor, two seekers also accompanied her. One was a young girl that looked very familiar.
Before the ghouls could recover, Lucinda's group ran past them and to Alexia. More shouting came from the hallway. Marissa, Thomas, and several other Scions burst into the room. The ghouls grouped together and faced the newcomers.
Marissa saw Lucas. Saw Mikhail and his group. Her eyes shot wide. A probe whipped from her head at light speed. She was probably informing Andre.
Then Marissa's eyes found the sick unnamed ghoul. She cried out. "Oh, Adam." A tear trickled down her cheek. "What did they do to you?"
The ghoul stared back. Its mouth opened like a drowning fish but no sounds emerged.
"More for us. More for us," Strike said in a sing-song voice, dancing side to side. "Savior-Creator wake up. Wake up." She dropped to her haunches and bared her teeth in a predatory grin. "Come to Strike. Come to die," she sang.
Marissa motioned her people to surround the ghouls. "Now's your chance to redeem yourself, Lucinda. Help us take the ghouls and Lucas in. Andre might go easy on you."
"He'll kill Lucas," Lucinda said. "I can't allow that. Not when he's the key to the Mystery."
"For what it's worth, I agree. That doesn't excuse you from your actions." Marissa ran her eyes over the strange collection of Scions. "Help us now and we can talk to Andre, convince him otherwise."
"How can I trust you after what your people have done? You attacked a peaceful gathering with concussion grenades."
Alexia felt her jaw go slack. What had been going on during her visit to the afterlife and subsequent kidnapping?
"We did what you forced us to do," Marissa said.
"You did what Andre told you to do. No deal. I don't believe you for a second."
Marissa's eyes hardened. "Last chance, Lucinda. Think about what you're doing."
"I'm doing the right thing. One day maybe you'll thank me."
"We need them!" Strike screamed. She lunged for one of Marissa's black-suited executors.
The man was ready. His fist met the ghoul in mid-air. Strike flew backward and skidded across the floor. She sprang back to her feet. Blood poured from her nose. Hurt and Agony joined in the assault. The rest of Marissa's force engaged the ghouls. Agony Blight-hopped. He emerged behind Marissa. She hit him with a mind burst. He staggered back. Roared. Swung his fist. His fist intersected thin air. Thomas had grabbed Marissa and hopped her across the room. Agony staggered as his momentum threw him off balance.
One of Marissa's executors went down under a flurry of blows from Strike. The executors were strong, but each ghoul seemed as strong as two of them together.
"Maybe we should help them," Alexia said, reverting to normal sight.
The teenage girl with Lucinda gasped. "Martin?"
Alexia abruptly realized where she'd seen the girl before. She was the one who'd been at the second crime scene. "I know you."
The girl looked up. Backed away. "Alexia."
Lucinda positioned herself between the two. "This is Tollee. My executor is Vish, and that seeker is Greg. There's a lot going on here that you don't know. We can't help Marissa. If we do, Andre will kill Lucas."
"She is right," Mikhail said.
Anne-Marie Blight hopped from her chains. With her hands free, she hopped Mikhail and Swain from their restraints while the ghouls battled.
"Can we trust you?" Lucinda said, looking pointedly at Mikhail.
He shrugged. "With Andre looking for you in full force, my protection might be helpful."
"He's right," Greg said. "No way can we last alone."
Frustrated screams sounded from the other side of the room. Marissa had mind-locked Hurt but the effort was costing her. The rest of her force was attacking Strike. Agony kicked a concrete support beam, breaking it in half and launching shrapnel at his attackers.
"Let's go," Alexia said. She hefted Lucas off the floor. "Someone grab Martin."
Tollee stared at Martin. After seeming to battle some internal demons, she stooped and grabbed him. Swain led the way down the nearest hall with Vish close behind. The hallway didn't lead to an exit. Instead, it intersected another hallway that ran the perimeter of the building. The closest exit was far down the hall. Swain lowered his shoulder and rammed the wall. The drywall material caved. The brick wall behind it cracked. The thud ricocheted down the hall. Vish followed Swain's example and slammed the wall next to the new crack. Bricks broke loose. A section of the wall caved. Vish flung himself outside to avoid being buried by the thundering avalanche. After
the bricks stopped falling, the rest of the group filed through the hole, coughing in the smoky brick dust.
Alexia emerged last, took a few steps into the clear air. Something pricked her senses. She heard panting and spun. The nameless ghoul sprang from the hole. She dropped Lucas and prepared to grapple with the creature. Instead, it fell to its knees. Its eyes were watering. Was it crying?
"Help. Me." The words scraped like sandpaper. "Savior-Creator." He reached for Lucas with a trembling hand. "Touch me."
Alexia viewed him through the Blight. The ghoul's aura was faint. It flickered. The last few remnants flared from his body and vanished. The empty shell of a body slumped and fell over. Alexia turned and saw the rest of the group staring at the creature on the ground. For some reason, she felt sad at his passing. Now he would return to the dead world. To Hell. He would join the previous owner of that body and millions of others but never see them.
Alexia bent and picked up Lucas. He was still breathing. One of his eyes was open. It stared blankly. She closed it, afraid of what that might mean. Martin may have destroyed his mind. It didn't matter at this point if Andre killed him. Lucas was probably already brain dead.
When she reverted her sight to Normal, she noticed the pink fingers of the sun lighting the eastern horizon. They'd been in that place all night. Swain led the group up the hill in the back of the warehouse complex. It would be easier to Blight hop with the view from there. She was exhausted. Hopping would be a chore if she could muster the energy to do it.
The air pressure dipped. Her skin prickled. An army of Scions burst from the Blight, surrounding the group. Alexia jerked to a stop. Tollee bumped into her.
"What's happening?"
Alexia looked at the stern faces encircling them. A familiar figure stepped between two Scions and into the circle. Andre.
Chapter 38
Tollee stared at the man who'd just entered the circle. She recognized him from somewhere. If memory served, Martin had met with him years ago. Then again, she'd been little. Her memory might be off.
"Andre?" Alexia said.
"Good work, Alexia." Andre whistled. "Quite a gathering we have here."
"They are with me," Mikhail said.
Andre smiled and walked toward him. "Don't worry, friend. We can take over for now."
"No need. We will take them to Statist compound and prepare for tribunal."
"Alexia is a Transcendist. She's carrying our fugitive." He glanced at Tollee, at the load she carried. Something like surprise registered on his face. He looked away. "We should all go to our compound."
"You would kidnap a grand arbiter?"
"Kidnap? Of course not. You look exhausted. I insist that you be my guest."
"Our compound is more secure."
Shouting arose near the warehouse. Tollee turned and saw the remaining three ghouls burst through the hole Swain had made. The female, Strike, as Alexia had called her, raised her fists in the air and screamed. Her face was coated with blood. She saw the dead nameless ghoul on the ground and howled. A chill shuddered down Tollee's back.
"Ghouls," Andre said.
Murmurs arose from the other Scions.
"Should we engage?" one of the male Scions said.
Andre shook his head. "No. We have our top priority."
A sonic boom split the air. The ghouls vanished into the Blight. Tollee continued to stare as a group of battered Scions crawled from the hole. Marissa and her group. They all seemed to be there. As they drew closer, it was evident they'd sustained a beating. One of the executors was missing an ear. A seeker's nose had lost a chunk from the tip. Marissa dropped to the ground next to the dead ghoul and pressed her hands to its face. She glared at Lucas's unconscious form with hatred.
"That won't be necessary, Mikhail," Andre said abruptly.
Tollee looked at the Statist leader. His face was pink and a vein stood out in his neck. She looked in the Blight and saw hundreds of thread-thin probes emanating from Mikhail. Arbiters in Andre's circle were preventing them from escaping. From seeking help.
"This is against Covenant, Grand Arbiter," Mikhail said. His face relaxed. His eyes bored into Andre's. Even thwarted, the man scared the hell out of Tollee.
"There's no need to start an incident, Mikhail. Accompany us to the compound. You can contact your people from there and we'll sort things out."
Mikhail's eyes seemed to take in the odds. Tollee counted five arbiters including Andre poised against them. Six, once Marissa rejoined them. At least ten executors and more seekers than Tollee cared to count stood ready. She didn't understand faction politics. Hell, she didn't even understand the Covenant. Martin had probably taught her some bastardized version. She did know that they faced an overwhelming array of Scions, impossible to beat. At least for now.
Andre's eyes wandered over her. They locked for a split second on her face. Her insides knotted tight. Now she remembered this man. Andre was the one who wanted to kill the rogues. She, Martin, and Lucas were the rogues. Once they convinced Martin to talk, it wouldn't be long before they discovered her role. Before they executed her. She fought back the tears and stiffened her legs at the sudden weakness that threatened to topple her. Someone put a hand on her shoulder. Lucinda.
"It'll be okay."
"No. Things will never be okay again."
Andre motioned some of his people over. They relieved Tollee and Alexia of their loads. Another person put black sacks over each captive's head. This would prevent the seekers from hopping. Since the sack pressed against her eyes, Tollee couldn't even open a Blight scar. Handcuffs of some non-metallic material zipped around her wrists. Claustrophobia crushed her. Her breaths came in quick pants. Dizziness assaulted her. She fell to her knees. Someone jerked her up. She wobbled again. This time, they slung her over their shoulder. The impact knocked the wind from her and made her stomach ache.
She tried to catch a breath. Her guts lurched. They'd just hopped. The sensation repeated itself again. Then several more times. She felt like puking. Being blind was horrible. Hopping blind was terrifying. She cried out. After an unbearably long time, the hopping stopped. She heard a door open. The person carrying her tromped down stairs. Each step rammed his shoulder painfully against her stomach. They stopped. Footsteps echoed down a hallway.
"What the hell is going on?" It sounded like a girl.
"We got Lucas Fowler, Dara," said a man.
"Wow. Him and his army? That's a butt-load of people."
"Conspirators."
A door closed and Tollee sensed they were in another hallway. Her carrier placed her on a cold hard floor and pulled off the bag. She squinted in the harsh white light. Lucinda and her group were with her. A man closed the windowless metal door and locked it from the outside. Vish leapt up and pounded on it.
"Let us out of here you morons." He turned to Lucinda. "Call for reinforcements."
"What reinforcements? You mean the ones that Marissa and her goons concussed earlier? The ones who wouldn't dare attack their own compound anyway?" Her eyes relaxed. After a moment, she shook her head. "I can't penetrate the walls with my probes." She tried again. "That's strange. I don't think I'm being blocked by arbiters."
"What about the door? Can you get through it?"
"Nope."
"You sure it's not a group of arbiters blocking you?" Vish pressed against the door, searching for weak spots.
"I can tell the difference." She ran her finger along the smooth wall. "Andre has figured out a way to block arbiters. How could I not know about this?"
"When was the last time they locked up an arbiter?"
Greg blew out a sigh. "I can see your probes in the Blight. They fizzle out when they hit the wall. I've never seen that before. Probes usually go through anything."
"You're right. The fact Andre has something like this frightens me."
"Just lovely." Vish dropped to the floor. Stared at Greg. "Any ideas?"
"I think we're well and truly screwed," he said.
Lucinda walked over and sat down beside her. "Don't worry. They don't know about you."
"But Martin does. They'll get all the information they need from him."
"He used to be a grand arbiter. Scions that powerful aren't easy to break."
"Break? His mind is already broken. He's insane."
Greg sighed. "I can't believe they're holding Mikhail. Does Andre want to start a war?"
"Andre's motives are a mystery to everyone but him." Lucinda paced the floor. Her eyes looked distant. "Without my probes I feel blind." She bit her lower lip.
"What about Martin?"
"Probably still unconscious. I wonder what happened to him."
"His aura was pretty weak," Tollee said. "Looks like he ran outta gas. If he was fully controlling Lucas, the effort probably drained him."
"Full control is like sprinting up a steep hill. Most Scions aren't susceptible to it if they have training."
"Lucas was a raw recruit," Greg said. "Poor guy didn't even know what was happening."
Tollee's mind wandered as Lucinda and her friends discussed Lucas. Andre's face dominated her thoughts. Had she really seen him and Martin talking before? The memory was old. It seemed she hadn't known Martin for long when the meeting occurred. Since Martin had been the former grand arbiter, it made sense that he and Andre would know each other. Something else nagged her mind about the time frame. Then she remembered something. Jumper, her cat—Martin had given him to her on her eleventh birthday. Jumper had died three years later.
"How long ago was Martin the grand arbiter?" she asked.
Greg shrugged. "Andre's been around, what, twenty or thirty years?"
"At least," Vish said.
"Was Martin still active with your faction even after leaving?" Tollee asked.
"None of us have been active Scions that long. I don't ever remember seeing him."
"Why does it matter?" Lucinda asked.
"I'm pretty sure Andre met with Martin about seven years ago." Tollee described the memory. "He was at Martin's estate. It seems like they were arguing. It's hard to remember."
