Queen's Gambit (Lilith's Shadow Book 6)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Ah. I didn’t realize any of that,” Lilith said, looking a little chagrined.

  “Of course you didn’t. However, you didn’t come to me to hear me rant about the inadequacies of other magic users. What else did you want to speak to me about?” Black Emerald asked, leaning forward to lean on her desk. It seemed to surprise Lilith a little, but the woman regained her poise after a moment.

  “That’s the thing. I don’t want to stay here for that long, and I…” Lilith paused, reaching up to toy with the ankh again as she hesitated, then admitted. “I was wondering if you knew much about second, and possibly third, awakenings?”

  Black Emerald paused for a few seconds, examining Lilith more closely as suspicion washed over her. That was a startlingly pointed question as far as she was concerned… and poked at one of her secrets. Not a deep secret, but one of them nonetheless. That made her curious if Lilith had known that she’d had experience with awakenings. After a couple of seconds her concern eased, and she shook her head slightly. No, Lilith hadn’t known, Black Emerald decided.

  “That’s a surprising question. Why do you want to know?” Black Emerald asked, steepling her fingers in front of her.

  “This… is a gift from Ra,” Lilith said, her voice slightly hesitant as she rubbed the ankh. “He said that it was a gift without obligation, and that it would allow me the opportunity to go through a third awakening. I’m just wondering… well, I’ve heard that’s a dangerous thing.”

  “Fascinating,” Black Emerald said, excitement surging through her, and she practically sprang to her feet, then circled the desk until she was only a few inches from Lilith. Fortunately, the height difference between them meant she was almost at the perfect level to examine the ankh closely. “I knew it was powerful, but that it could do that… hm. Not something I would risk personally, but if done in a carefully controlled environment…”

  Lilith opened her mouth to speak but stopped before she said anything. Black Emerald appreciated that, as she was busy examining the ankh as closely as she could without touching it. The problem was that she couldn’t tell almost anything about it just from looking. The gold was flawless, without the slightest of scratches on its surface, but otherwise it looked like any other piece of fine jewelry. And looking at it magically would be a good way for her to go blind, so after a moment Black Emerald let out a soft sigh, stepping away from Lilith.

  “I have witnessed one second awakening, three awakenings, and two attempted third awakenings,” Black Emerald said at last, picking up her mug of tea as she dug into her memories wistfully, pausing for a few seconds, then added. “The second awakening was my own. It took me from perhaps a class E superhuman to D. Not exactly impressive, as it didn’t help me escape the prison I was trapped in.”

  Lilith’s eyebrows rose, and she opened her mouth again. Black Emerald shook her head, glancing around the room and at the various men and women watching them, then gestured for her to follow. “Please, follow me. This isn’t the right place for this discussion.”

  “Alright,” Lilith agreed, and followed Black Emerald out of the room. As they moved, Black Emerald considered exactly what she wanted to tell her guest.

  The issue was figuring out how not to make the woman sympathetic, really.

  Chapter 30

  Friday, December 5th, 2031

  Black Emerald Lair, Utah

  The room Black Emerald led Lilith to was small and comfortable, with a plush armchair, a small table, and a comfortable-looking couch on one side, while on the other was a television and gaming console. The last surprised Lilith a little, but she didn’t ask, not as the villain settled into the chair with a sigh.

  If nothing else, Black Emerald had proven surprisingly calm and reasonable so far. Oh, Lilith had seen the flashes of anger that briefly overcame the villain. She hadn’t even tried to hide them, which was strange. No, Lilith didn’t know what to make of Black Emerald at all… but if she could give Lilith the information she needed to make a decision, that’s what mattered.

  “Awakenings are often messy. You’ve seen one yourself, when Russel Jones gained his powers,” Black Emerald said, sipping from her mug as Lilith sat on the couch. Another jolt of surprise rushed through Lilith, though after a moment she chided herself. Of course Black Emerald knew about that, it’d been public enough. “I’ve seen a few of them, as I said, and only one was under circumstances I’d consider normal. When a young man gets frustrated with his project not coming together the way he wants and reshapes the clay with his mind… well, it isn’t as complex as when someone is gaining super-strength in the middle of a villain attack. Of course, that didn’t help when half a building fell on her. As I said, messy.”

  “That… does sound unpleasant, yes,” Lilith replied, wincing at the description. It also struck a little close to home, considering what she’d heard about what Black Harbinger had done in downtown Paragon City, nearly dropping a building on the heroes. Black Emerald flashed her a smile of amusement, looking over the edge of her mug with twinkling eyes.

  “It would’ve been if I’d been under the rubble. As it happens, I was fortunate. Now, as I said, I’ve seen two attempted third awakenings. Both failed… and if they’d succeeded, I would have died. I nearly died anyway, when one of them put a hole in my side,” Black Emerald mused, a hand absently pulling away from the mug and reaching down to stroke her right side, then she shook her head. “In both cases, I was in the midst of battle with the supers. One was an old, old enemy of mine. A psychic, not unlike Shadowmind, but more arrogant and less powerful. He started gaining regenerative properties, allowing him to stand up to many of my creatures… so I melted his head off. That put a stop to him, and I’m still unsure of how his powers would have ended up.

  “The other was a heroine who was known for her illusions. She was problematic enough as it was, but then her powers surged when I’d almost taken her down, and she started firing energy bolts as well. I nearly died there, but I wasn’t the one to kill her. She burnt out in a few seconds, her powers growing more and more powerful… then she just stopped. It was like a candle that had burnt so bright and hot that it completely consumed its wick,” Black Emerald paused, looking at Lilith curiously. “In both cases they were in a battle to the death. Neither had the time to grow used to their powers, to control them. In the heroine’s case, and no, I won’t name her, I took her body and performed an autopsy. She died when energy destroyed her nervous system, the same energy she was attacking me with. As far as I can tell, she channeled too much. If she hadn’t been fighting me, I wonder if she might not have been able to control it, but she couldn’t. Instead, she died, snuffed out like the candle I compared her to.”

  Lilith’s hesitation roused its head fully as the description progressed, horrified to hear how calm Black Emerald was when she spoke of melting a man’s head. Yet at the same time, she grew more hesitant of using the ankh, since if things had gone that poorly, it didn’t bode well for her chances. Yet if she didn’t, what was she supposed to do to fight Amber?

  “That sounds particularly unpleasant. Do you think that would happen to me?” Lilith asked, frowning.

  “I have no idea,” Black Emerald replied bluntly. “I have exactly two data points regarding third awakenings, and I have no idea if the first one would have survived the process if I hadn’t killed him first. I was fighting for survival as well and wasn’t going to give him the chance to turn the tables again. Second awakenings are rare enough, but I have more data on them. Of those which have been recorded, I’ve heard that approximately twenty percent of those who undergo them perish. That number would likely be lower if they didn’t have a tendency to awaken in the middle of a crisis. That makes the percentage that result in death climb immensely.”

  Lilith nodded slowly, trying to process everything she’d learned, and part of her… oh, how she wished that Circe was here, to give her opinion. Of course, that very thought caused her grief and anger to surge again, as she thought about the
ankh, breathing in slowly, then out again.

  “I’m… not sure what to do,” Lilith admitted after a few seconds. “I want to fight Amber. To make her pay for what she’s done… but I don’t know how. I don’t have power armor, I don’t have powers that can hurt her… I’m stuck here. I don’t suppose that I could get power armor from you, could I?”

  Black Emerald smirked, her voice surprisingly bright. “Sure you could! If you’re not opposed to waiting six to eight months as I grow a suit, and aren’t squicked out by having a living, symbiotic suit of armor wrapped around you. You wouldn’t believe how many villains have decided against paying me for a suit once they saw how it looks when it’s off me.”

  Lilith blinked, then blinked again, trying to imagine what a living suit of armor would look like, and she couldn’t quite picture it. She knew what Black Emerald looked like in her armor, of course. She’d seen pictures, and the iridescent green armor looked good on her, but if other people declined after seeing it… well, it was something for another day. Instead, she inhaled slowly and nodded, firming her thoughts bit by bit.

  “I… will have to think about that. I don’t know that I have that much time,” Lilith said, and smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, Amber knows me too well. To force a meeting she threatened to destroy multiple cities with kinetic strikes. I’m guessing that she’ll be willing to attack my friends to draw me out.”

  “Entirely possible,” Black Emerald agreed immediately, smiling a little. “It would fit her usual tactics, at least. I fully expect to get an angry communication from her at some point soon. Just because I cloned her body for her doesn’t mean I’m going to hand you over, though. Now, as to your concern? I do have a room where I test various creations under controlled conditions and would appreciate it if you chose there for any third awakening. I don’t want my base being damaged and you setting off my wards. Furthermore, before you say anything about the risk… you were given a gift by Ra. Not Eris, Loki, Zeus, or any of the gods I would consider particularly untrustworthy. Ra, a god of the Egyptian pantheon. While his legends have him cursing a fellow goddess, Nut, I haven’t heard of any others… so personally I would trust that if he gave you a gift, it is earnest and not intended to harm you.”

  Lilith paused for a moment as she looked at Black Emerald in confusion. She didn’t understand why the villain was acting this way, given her reputation. So, after a moment she decided to ask.

  “Why are you being so helpful? I don’t think this is something that Circe paid for,” Lilith said, shifting on the couch a little. It was comfortable, but she couldn’t quite settle down.

  “I’m inactive and have no intention of attacking anyone at this point, so helping a hero doesn’t really harm me in any appreciable regard,” Black Emerald replied, raising a finger, then paused to set her mug on the table so she could tick off her points properly. “I’m curious what a third awakening might look like under controlled circumstances. Even if I don’t expect to be able to use the knowledge, it’s a fascinating subject to study. I also am hoping to do a proper physical and magitech scan of your body to determine more details about your creation. As that isn’t part of the deal, it will require your cooperation, so I would rather ingratiate myself now. And, of course, you’re a created individual. That leaves me inclined to help you, since you didn’t ask for it.”

  Lilith’s eyebrows rose, a little surprised at how blunt the woman was, but at the same time… it was somewhat relieving. Though the last part concerned her, and she quirked an eyebrow. “What does me being a created individual have to do with anything?”

  “It’s similar to what I do,” Black Emerald said, picking up the mug again to take a drink. “I modify other creatures to get the creatures I create, but other than that it’s similar. I try to treat them with respect because they didn’t ask to be created. You aren’t much different in that regard, so I feel you should be given a bit more leeway. Either way, I’m getting quite a bit of useful information just speaking to you. Learning how your mind works, seeing how you move… though you really should clean up a little. Wren would happily get you new clothing if you asked. She loves her inventions, and the clothing fabricator is a recent one.”

  Lilith blinked, looking down at herself… and she felt her cheeks heating a little. She hadn’t realized that her clothing was as rumpled as it was, but she had slept in it. She didn’t want to think about how she looked if her clothing was as rumpled as it looked to her.

  “I… hadn’t realized,” Lilith said, clearing her throat.

  “Not surprising,” Black Emerald said, standing up again as she gave a casual shrug. “Regardless, if you need something, I suggest you ask Wren. She handles most of the day-to-day management here. Do think about the scans as well. I’d be happy to share what I determine with you.”

  “I’ll think about it… and everything else, for that matter. Thank you,” Lilith said, and she stood up, feeling a little better than she had earlier.

  She just wished that she could turn back time and save Circe. Instead, she was going to focus on dealing with what she could control.

  Chapter 31

  Friday, December 5th, 2031

  Innocent Bystander, Saturn Orbit, Sol

  “Finally!” Amber spat as the communications network stabilized.

  Getting the quantum communications back online had been difficult, and she was still trying to network to any surviving lairs… which she wasn’t sure would happen, since Amber had a sneaking suspicion that Circe had destroyed all of them. Damn the traitorous pile of circuits to hell, anyway.

  At least she was finally able to communicate properly, and her mood grew still fouler as she’d realized where Lilith’s psychic signature was located. In the heart of Black Emerald’s lair, which frustrated her. That made Amber’s life extremely difficult, since trying to break into Black Emerald’s territory wasn’t something for the faint of heart. Or even the brave, with as dangerous as the woman could be when threatened.

  So, Amber initiated a call, which took a minute. Normally she just had Circe make contact, but now she had to look up the communication keys and activate them manually. It was aggravating.

  The screen shifted to the calling icon, and it sat there for a minute. As it did so, Amber heard a pair of clones arguing softly near the navigation console, where they had half of its electronics spread across the floor.

  “Where’s the navigation chip? I know it was supposed to be here!” one muttered.

  “You mean the melted charcoal in the middle of that mass of wires? That navigation chip? Maybe if you hadn’t broken your nose you could’ve smelled it,” the other retorted in annoyance.

  “Shut up. I’m not the overgrown bloodhound,” the first clone said, reaching up and almost touching her bandaged nose, then lowered her hand. “Do we even have any nav chips in storage?”

  “We should. Assuming Circe didn’t sabotage those as well,” the second one grumbled. “We’ll probably have to reinitialize them, just to be safe. Damn her, anyway.”

  “If she was going to betray us, the least she could’ve done is to have done a proper job of getting rid of the original,” the first said, and Amber scowled, considering whether she should murder one of them as an example. She suppressed the impulse, as it wasn’t like she could replace the clones at the moment, and repairing the ship required more than she could do personally. At least, not in a reasonable amount of time.

  The screen in front of Amber flickered but didn’t show an image as Black Emerald spoke, distracting her from her thoughts.

  “Hello, Shadowmind. I was wondering when you’d be calling. I must assume that you had some setbacks, considering how long it’s been,” Black Emerald said cheerfully. “Would you prefer pleasantries, or shall we get down to business?”

  “Business, of course,” Amber said, her temper flaring, and she inhaled slowly before adding. “I want Lilith.”

  “Of course you do. Unfortunately, you can’t have her. As long as she chooses
to stay here, I’ve agreed to protect her from anyone who comes after her. You, Destiny, the Sentinels, or even Storyteller,” Black Emerald replied, her voice remaining surprisingly upbeat. “I’ll admit that I didn’t expect things to turn out quite like this when I accepted the job, but I’m not that concerned.”

  Amber growled under her breath, hesitating as she considered what she wanted to say. As angry as she was, she didn’t dare attack Black Emerald. The woman’s wards were incredibly nasty and designed to cut apart creatures that attempted to intrude astrally, which meant that one of Amber’s favorite tactics wouldn’t work. A frontal assault wouldn’t be any better, which frustrated her. Even if there was nothing she wanted more than to strangle the other villain with her own hands.

  “How much for her?” Amber asked at last, drumming her fingers on the armrest. “Circe may have hired you, that’s the only explanation I can come up with, but I’ll beat her offer.

  Black Emerald clicked her tongue chidingly in response, and Amber could practically see the redhead shaking her head.

  “Ah, ah! You know better than that, Shadowmind. When I agree to a bargain, I don’t break it. I wouldn’t have let someone else have your cloned body or genetic material, and I certainly won’t just sell Lilith off to you. What the two of you do after she leaves is an entirely separate matter, and if you require a new body again in the future… well, I’m certain we can come to an arrangement,” Black Emerald told her in a disapproving tone, causing Amber’s jaw to clench hard. “All of that will change if you make the mistake of attacking me to take her, I’m afraid. This is just business, as long as you don’t make it personal.”

  Amber breathed in slowly, her anger almost overwhelming her, but only for a few seconds. She controlled her rage as best she could, resisting the urge to speak. Only when she was certain she wouldn’t alienate a woman who made even her nervous did Amber finally reply.