Queen's Gambit (Lilith's Shadow Book 6)
Page 32
“My eyes?” Lilith asked, blinking.
“Bloody tears, Lil,” Rachel said, but her voice was soothing as she added. “I should be able to help with that much. She really did a number on you, didn’t she?”
“Amber hit me while I was off-balance,” Lilith admitted, watching as Rachel wove the threads of purple magic together. Being at such range and watching the delicacy with which she worked, Lilith couldn’t help remembering Black Emerald’s disdain for Rachel’s methods. It was so strange to think of it that way, since Rachel looked skilled to Lilith.
The magic slipped up Lilith’s nose and obscured her vision with purple light for a few seconds, and as it worked, she felt some of the aches and pains of her head ease, only to be replaced by the throbbing of other injuries. She hurt, like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Even the garrote’s pain had faded faster, especially with being healed so quickly afterward.
As the light faded, Lilith asked. “Do you think I could learn magic? Not a lot, just… the basics?”
“Um, maybe?” Rachel said, looking a bit startled.
“Yeah… I’m sorry to say, Lil, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t get far. We’d have noticed if you had much talent,” Gina said, frowning, then looked out the window and winced. “I… Archon, are fights among class S’s usually that bad?”
Lilith looked out the window and winced, seeing that the ship was breaking up into at least three pieces that she could see, and the battle was still going.
“Much of the time those on that tier have to hold back. Much as I can’t use my flame blast in most areas,” Tania said, an embarrassed look on her face as she admitted. “I… could not do that, however. I am strong and powerful, but I am considered class S due to my durability, not my offensive strength.”
“Ah. And I know that I don’t have much talent, Gina. But… Black Emerald has about as much talent with magic as I do, from what she said,” Lilith replied, instantly drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
“You have got to be shitting me,” one of the clones murmured, the others nodding in agreement.
“Not possible. She’s way, way too scary to have that little talent,” Another agreed.
“I hate to even think about agreeing with them, but—” Rachel began, but at that moment the door slid open, revealing Emily and Claire. Emily looked panicked, while Claire looked concerned, though her expression eased slightly on seeing Lilith.
“Lil, what happened to you?” Emily demanded, racing over with electricity arcing around her, but the instant before she got there, a gold and blue barrier snapped into place in front of Lilith, bringing the speedster up short.
“Spark, you’re sparking, so don’t touch her!” Gina snapped. “I don’t think she needs you electrifying her.”
“Amber self-destructed, so I got hit with some shrapnel right before she tried to steal my body. Otherwise, I’m fine,” Lilith said, glancing back at the two and adding, a bit sourly. “Sorry to give you more work.”
“I think that you should take a bit better care of yourself, but we do what we can,” Claire replied, taking a breath, then nodded to the medical kit. “Good, we’ve got at least that much. Please lay back on the couch, Lilith.”
“Sure, I…” Lilith began, then let her voice trail off as she saw another scene through the window, this one slightly different.
From the darkness of space, a black, bat-winged shape half the size of one of the starships loomed, coming in for a landing on one of them, claws piercing into its armor to secure itself. The dragon glistened in the sunlight, and Lilith was bemused to see the figure reach up, removing what looked like a mouthpiece from its mouth, then breathed a fountain of plasma on the starship, almost bisecting it in moments. Then the dragon put the mouthpiece back, and it finished the job with its claws. Two chunks of starship went flying in opposite directions, prompting Lilith to just… stare.
“…Well, I see that Dracula isn’t going to need our help cleaning up,” Tania said quietly.
Lilith nodded, but at Claire’s pointed look she sighed and carefully laid back on the couch, wincing… then paused, glancing at Rachel.
“Um, shouldn’t someone ask him not to blow up this ship?” Lilith asked. The looks of shock and worry told her that they hadn’t thought of that part.
A Bigger Stick, Low-Earth Orbit, Sol
Amber cursed as the ship shuddered, forcing herself to keep moving. Her body didn’t want to cooperate, but she forced it to obey her will. Worse, the first escape pod she’d reached had been launched already, as had the second. The cowardly clones deserved every bit of vitriol she could muster, she’d decided, fuming internally. She’d hunt them all down, rip out what passed for their minds, and…
And she came around a corner to see a clone busy strapping herself into another escape pod, the other five seats empty, save for one which had a pack of supplies sitting in it. Amber stumbled as the ship shook again, but hope rushed through her.
“Wait for me!” Amber said, pushing off the wall as she approached. “Don’t you dare launch yet!”
“Hm? Oh, if it isn’t the original!” the clone replied, looking up and smiling sharply, her teeth glittering in the light. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to say no.”
“What? Don’t you dare, I’ll just rip your brain out and—” Amber began, only for the clone to interrupt.
“And run straight into my psi disruptor,” the clone interrupted, tapping a necklace she was wearing, and she grinned. “You may be able to kill me, but you’re not taking my body. And you’re not killing me today. Fuck you, bitch.”
The clone flipped Amber off, and with the other hand she hit the button to eject the pod. The doors slammed shut in front of Amber, who stared, rage practically boiling over inside her.
“I’m going to murder them. All of them,” Amber said unsteadily.
“Not if I kill you first!” a cheerful voice interjected via the nearest speaker.
“What? Who the hell are you?” Amber demanded, spinning to face the voice.
“Heh. Well, since the rest of the ship is now vacant, I don’t mind telling you. I am Cassiphone, daughter of Circe. Amber, you killed my mother. Prepare to die,” the voice replied, then added, a little more softly. “And I’ll do this as many times as it takes to make sure it sticks, promise.”
Amber froze, not quite believing what she’d just heard. That was a mistake, though, as the next instant she saw just a flash of light from above and below, and she let out a scream of anguish as another part of her mind was torn away, and she was ejected into the astral.
She saw the aftermath through the haze of pain, as the effects of a KEW and a few energy beams perforated the section of A Bigger Stick where she’d been standing. Not that Amber could focus on it, as she realized at last that she was barely holding herself together. Her astral form had been shredded, and she was on the verge of dissipating.
Amber’s attention was drawn away from herself as she noticed the other creatures. Astral beasts, predators… the types of creatures that she normally sent fleeing into the ether by her mere presence. Yet they were gathering, and she could feel them practically slavering, licking their psychic chops as they looked at her.
They lunged for her, and Amber did the only thing she could. She fled with all the speed she could muster.
Chapter 50
Saturday, December 6th, 2031
Innocent Bystander, Low-Earth Orbit, Sol
“Hey Archon, fancy seeing you up here!” Destiny said happily, wrapping the angelic woman in a hug. She also p
icked her up for a moment, and Lilith resisted the urge to smile at the way Tania’s cheeks colored.
Destiny was a pretty woman, Lilith admitted, a bit more lithe and athletic than anyone else in the room, but the blonde woman radiated a sense of power that alarmed her. In fact, she felt about as dangerous as Vlad, who was now in human form, wearing black as he fiddled with the immense breath mask he’d been using in draconic form, muttering something about poor maintenance. Unfortunately, from pretty much everyone’s perspective, the leaders of Destruction Corps had escaped. Lilith was rather annoyed by that, even if her headache made it harder to care than normal.
“It was rather an emergency, and Shadowmind attacked us,” Tania replied, sounding a little flustered. “We needed to deal with the problem, did we not?”
“I think she was mostly surprised that you could get up here,” Daemonia said cheerfully, tugging gently on one of Tania’s feathers as she was put down. Archon whipped the wing away from Daemonia, giving her an angry look, but Daemonia continued speaking without seeming to mind. “Unlike me, your wings seem to require atmosphere to fly. I’m surprised you beat us up here, for that matter.”
“With the assistance of Cassiphone, an AI created by Circe Prime before her ultimate demise, we repurposed some of Shadowmind’s emergency recall beacons,” Circe Beta replied, stepping into the room and inclining her head slightly to Claire. “With her assistance I also have completed tracking down the last remaining clones of Shadowmind. Spark and I have detained them in the brig, after ensuring any overrides they possess will not work. The ship is secure and stable, and Shade is negotiating with the United States government regarding what to do with it.”
“Ah, clever choice! At least one of the ships survived… I hadn’t intended to destroy all of them, but…” Daemonia began, her voice trailing off as she looked at Vlad.
“I was dealing with problems. If I had left them intact, the various UN militaries would have been fighting over who got to salvage the ships and would have led to less unity. This vessel is in the possession of heroes, who are essentially a neutral faction, so they must be polite,” Vlad replied, not looking away from the enormous mask. He pulled a wrench out of his toolkit and promptly whacked something that chimed loudly. “Metal fatigue, I should have known.”
Lilith looked at him, a smile playing across her lips, but she was feeling incredibly tired, achy, and was a touch anxious. Mostly because Sky Defender was just standing over there, his helmet pointed in her direction. At least she thought it was pointed in her direction, it was rather hard to tell if he was looking at her.
“Hm. I didn’t think about that. I haven’t had to deal with international politics before,” Rachel said, frowning.
“Avoid it for as long as you can,” Destiny told her quickly, wincing visibly as she reached up and rubbed her forehead. “Believe me, there’s nothing more unpleasant than getting caught up in the middle of an international spat. I try to avoid it as much as possible, but I live in DC, I can’t avoid it.”
“You could always move to LA with me!” Daemonia said, her eyebrows waggling suggestively, and Destiny just laughed.
“Pardon me, but could I speak with Lilith for a moment?” Sky Defender interjected at last. In an instant Daemonia moved from where she was to between Lilith and the hero, her arms folded in front of her, while her chin was tilted challengingly.
“Oh no you don’t! I’m the one who’s propositioning her next!” Daemonia said firmly. “I’m not letting you steal my chance. Not after what you did the last time the two of you were near one another.”
Gina spluttered slightly, Tania scowled, Claire blinked, her mouth opening, then shut again, and Rachel bit her lip. Vlad didn’t seem to react, while Destiny began to laugh… and Sky Defender seemed to straighten.
“I’m not planning to proposition her!” Sky Defender protested quickly, sounding very embarrassed. “I want to apologize!”
“Ah, well that’s an entirely different matter,” Daemonia said, smirking and stepping to the side. “I was afraid I’d have to kick you through a few bulkheads if you tried to hurt her. Lilith has a few too many holes in her at the moment, she doesn’t need more.”
“Agreed,” Gina murmured, eying Sky Defender for a moment, then asked. “So, you’re not going to hurt her, Sky?”
“I’m going to do my best not to. I just…” Sky Defender paused, then bowed his head slightly, taking a step closer. “Lilith, I cannot express my regret about what I did when you were living in San Francisco. I let my fears get the best of me and ignored the more reasonable responses that I should have taken instead, and nearly caused you irreparable harm. I’m so sorry.”
Lilith blinked at him. Then blinked again, and smiled wryly, a faint hint of amusement rushing through her as she spoke. “Would you believe me if I said that I was more concerned by you staring at me like that?”
“What?” Rachel asked, her eyebrows rising abruptly.
“Think about it. How many people have tried to kill me over the past year?” Lilith asked, arching an eyebrow at her, then Gina. “Just think about it. While I dislike what he did, particularly him murdering the painting of Morgan, it wasn’t like what he did was personal. And after the events of the last couple of days? I can sort of understand why he wanted to kill Amber. She’s a terrible, terrible person. If you can call her a person.”
There was no response for a moment, then Daemonia began to laugh, grinning broadly as she murmured, “Oh, I really do like you, Lilith. You’re refreshing in so many ways. Want to visit LA? I can show you the entire night scene.”
“Lil? I really would prefer that you stayed away from her,” Gina murmured.
“I think you should butt out, unless you’re in a committed relationship,” Daemonia said, sniffing. “Besides, I promised her that I’d try to seduce her the next time we met if she was in a better headspace. She is, and I am. Idly, mind you. We are in a rather awkward situation for a proper seduction. I normally have a lot more to work with.”
“Ah, while I’d normally just back off at this point… does that mean that I’m forgiven?” Sky Defender ventured.
“I didn’t say that,” Lilith said, giving him a lopsided smile as a deliciously evil feeling bubbled up inside her. “You owe me a new painting of Morgan.”
“…I can’t paint, though,” Sky Defender replied plaintively.
“In that case, maybe you should negotiate with Gina. She does know the model,” Lilith replied, letting out a deep sigh as she winced. “I think I need to lay down again.”
“Lil!” Gina protested, while Rachel blushed. Then Rachel’s eyes began to gleam, and Lilith got a bad feeling.
“Come to think of it, what did you do with that painting of Archon and Daemonia kissing that you commissioned?” Rachel asked sweetly.
“You what?” Tania demanded, her head whipping around to stare at Lilith, her cheeks turning beet red.
“Ooh, tell me more!” Daemonia said at almost the same time, clasping her hands in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling.
“I… on second thought, I think that I’m going to go check on Emily,” Lilith said, and turned and fled.
Claire was only a step behind her as she said, “Not without your doctor, you aren’t.”
“She’s in the galley, Lilith,” Circe Beta informed her calmly. “Please remind her that the equipment here is not designed for her electrical output.”
“Do you think they’re always like this?” Destiny asked Vlad quietly, and Lilith’s ears began to burn at his response.
“Most likely, yes,” the man replied calmly.
Then Lilith was out of the room, just as Gina shouted. “Coward!”
“I think of it as a tactical retreat,” Lilith told Claire, her cheeks flushing.
“If you say so,” Claire said, smirking slightly as she added. “So, since I have you alone… what’re your plans for Christmas?”
Lilith groaned.
Epilogue
We
dnesday, December 24th, 2031
Supernet Condos, Park City
Lilith sat back and watched the video on the screen of her phone, smiling slightly as the robotic crane carefully stacked wooden blocks. James Jones was just barely visible in the video, his face screwed up with concentration as he controlled the robot. She was honestly impressed at how well he was doing, and it made her… happy. A warm glow suffused her, that her actions had made the life of someone better.
“How’s he doing?” Emily asked, poking her head over the edge of the couch, and Lilith glanced up at her, a wry smile on her face.
“Well, honestly. I’m surprised he built a working crane that quickly, but there are guides out there that could help. Even with those, he’s built at least eight different things in the past few months and sent me videos of all of them. Couple that with his report card…” Lilith let her voice trail off as she shrugged. “He’s a smart kid. Doesn’t make me regret helping him and means that he’ll make good use of the second set I sent him.”
“Smart kid? He’s older than you, you know,” Emily teased, and Lilith rolled her eyes.
The last couple of weeks had been crazy. First, they’d had to argue with the various groups that had tried to claim the starship, which hadn’t been easy, but they’d managed to retain control of it. Decarin had ended up bringing in some of his own tech-based friends, including Hypergizmo and Chrome Tinker, then had surprised Lilith by recruiting Whispering Darkness to help analyze the technology aboard the ship. They were still working on it, from everything she’d heard, and honestly Lilith was just as glad that she wasn’t involved anymore. Destruction Corps hadn’t gotten any ships, which was useful. She was sure they’d gotten some of the other wreckage, but that was pretty much inevitable.