Shadowrun: Fire & Frost

by Kai O'Connal

  She didn’t have to think about where the drones were in relationship to her, didn’t have to stare at their displays to understand how what they were seeing meshed with the landscape she saw with her physical eyes. She just knew.

  She kept the fire up, chasing away humans, sending spirits back in defense of their metahuman companions, keeping her path clear.

  They sent a number of things her way, and she avoided them all. Except when it was a drone—then she tried to hack it and add it to her force, giving her another ARO of input, another data stream added to the river flowing into her. She absorbed it all, used it all. Her path stayed clear, and she kept running.

  It wasn’t until about a half-hour later that she thought it would be good to figure out a destination.

  “Pineapple, are you out there?” she asked.

  The troll replied almost instantly. “Holy hell in a hand grenade, girl, where you been?”

  “Out. You know. Dodging spirits and bullets and stuff.”

  “I’ve been trying to call you for like forty-five minutes!”

  “Really?” Cao checked an ARO and saw that there were indeed several messages from Pineapple, and she guessed he’d tried to raise her by voice, too. “Sorry. I’ve been a little preoccupied.”

  “Roger that. Where are you?”

  She had her drones fire a a trio of grenades into a charging group of troopers.

  “Did you see that explosion?”

  “Be more specific.”

  “The one that was actually three explosions, one after another?”

  “Oh, that one. Yeah.”

  “I’m about forty meters north of there.”

  “Gotcha. Guess you got some firepower.”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, hold in tight and I’ll join you. We’ll blow a few things up and find everybody else.”

  That sounded like the best plan Cao had heard in weeks.

  It would be a stretch to say that things were going according to plan. Hearn was satisfied, though, that the plan hadn’t been shredded to ribbons yet.

  This much was right: Tish had seemingly abandoned the rest of his group to go back into the tower, pulled by whatever was in there. His group was scattered, not able to work together, and offering only fractious defenses.

  The part that was going wrong was that the fractious defenses being offered were better than Hearn had expected. The troll, Pineapple, took a sheer joy in destruction that seemed to make him impervious to injury or fatigue. And the goblin rigger was surprisingly resourceful, commanding a small handful of drones like it was a squadron of elite troopers. They were two particular annoyances in the resistance they had met.

  Annoying as they had been, though, they had done little to stop the main objective of the attack. Generators had been destroyed. Vehicles were blasted beyond repair. The troops sent by Hualpa hadn’t killed everyone, but they weren’t supposed to. They were in perhaps the deadliest place on Earth—the soldiers’ assignment was simply to make sure the landscape had a chance to do its job. And then get to the tower.

  He wished he understood what was going on with the tower. Tempest had become increasingly agitated the more time they had spent waiting on the boat, and even more when they got into the snow rover to head out. For more than one hundred kilometers, he’d been twitchy, looking back and forth with whiplash speed, bouncing in his seat like an impatient child. Then they had crested a ridge, the vehicle pointed down toward a valley with an immense excavation in the middle, and he had abruptly become still. The looking back and forth stopped, and he stared only ahead.

  Hearn wished he knew what Tempest was seeing, if only so he could have some relief from the blank whiteness that was everywhere. There were occasional explosions, true, but they were scattered, flaring quickly and gone in seconds. Tempest was staring at something infinitely more fascinating, it seemed, but it was nothing to Hearn.

  Then the troll lurched and shuddered, and Hearn realized that what he had thought was fascination was instead the look of a body without a soul.

  “Tish is in there,” Tempest said. “Not surprising. He would be hard pressed to abandon something he has never seen before, and might never see again. Tell the elf to get him out of there—messing around with him by that thing is too dangerous, so he needs to leave. I want him gone by the time we get there.”

  Hearn tapped out a message.

  He did not expect a reply.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  While chaos raged far above him, Elijah was busy trying to keep his soul from being sucked out of him.

  It would have been safer, of course, to summon a spirit and have it experiment for him. He’d probably lose one or two in the course of figuring things out, but that wasn’t anything new.

  But he’d hesitated. He didn’t know why, but sending a spirit in to possibly get torn apart didn’t feel right. He decided to talk to Kyrie about it, assuming both of them survived this. Maybe it was a sign of progress.

  So he was left to do it himself, to reach out toward the churning aura enough to feel its pull, but not enough to be carried away by it. And it was strong, viciously strong, a steady tug that felt something like his intestines were being pulled through a button-sized hole in his gut. His legs were trembling after only fifteen minutes of resisting it, but he couldn’t give in. He was pretty sure it would tear his soul out of his body and take him somewhere where a reunion would be impossible.

  Or maybe not. The more he looked at it, the more he saw that energy flowed back and forth here, from one plane to another.

  Because that’s what he was looking at, two planes. There was some kind of alchera in the tower, and through it he saw glimpses of a different plane. He saw a tower there, like the tower he was in, but with windows. Through the windows he could see a valley, mostly green, but with spots of snow. There were mountains in the distance, and they had more snow. He looked at the line of the mountains, and he knew what it was, because he saw the same line outside his tent at the campsite. The other tower was in Antarctica, like his, but an Antarctica that was warmer and not covered with ice.

  Like the Antarctica displayed on the Piri Reis map.

  So now he knew—or at least, was pretty sure—what the Piri Reis map was, and why it didn’t quite match up with known reality. Because it wasn’t this known reality. It was another plane, one that was just a slight left turn from the one Elijah knew. And here, in this tower, the two realities intersected with each other.

  In fact, from Elijah’s observations, they did more than cross. They bled. Mana from one flowed into the other, and vice versa. And pulled. That’s what Elijah was feeling as he stood there, the pull of the current of mana dragging him forward. He experimented by pulling back a bit, and had to abruptly let go of the mana flow when he felt how easily it worked.

  It didn’t take long for the possibilities to run through his mind. If you could study this connection long enough, you could have a do-it-yourself power site right here. Maybe not the most useful location of course, but a controlled mana power site had its uses. Beyond that, though, studying it might help you in making other connections. Especially if you had a map showing where other connections might be.

  Suddenly all the furor over the Piri Reis map made a whole lot more sense.

  Elijah wasn’t sure he’d trust himself with a site like this, and he damn sure didn’t trust Aztechnology—or Amazonia, for that matter—to be playing with this or anything like it. It was pretty clear from what was going on outside that he wasn’t going to be able to keep the spot for his own study. All that was left for him to do was keep anyone else from having it.

  Then his thoughts were interrupted by a piercing tone pitched so high it was almost out of the range of human hearing, but was so sharp and loud he felt his brain starting to melt.

  “What the hell is that?” he yelled, thinking he’d said it aloud, but the ringing in his ears made it har
d to tell. But as quickly as it appeared, the tone silenced.

  “Dammit, Elijah, you don’t blank out on us in the middle of a firefight!” It was Kyrie, and she was not at all pleased. “I would have thought you were dead except your commlink kept telling me you were active. Not that you could reply, you asshole. Where are you? What are you doing?”

  “Research.”

  “Are you out of your goddamned mind?”

  “It’s necessary research.”

  “What’s necessary is that we get the hell out of here! Most of the vehicles are destroyed—if we wait any longer, we’ll have no way out of here!”

  “Did Pineapple get hold of you?”

  “Haven’t heard from him.”

  “Really? He said he’d been trying to call you.”

  “Elijah, communications aren’t exactly good out here. I’m lucky the signal is getting through the damn tower walls. But can we just get out of here and talk about it later? I can be there in ninety seconds.”

  Elijah’s heart stopped, then stuttered back to life. He felt a wave of dizziness, which was not good for where he was. He shook his head.

  “Yeah. Ninety seconds.”

  “Roger. You better be ready.”

  I’ll sure as hell try to be, he thought.

  He pulled himself away from the mana spiral in front of him. He knew what he had to do, but he dreaded doing it. The fact that he only had ninety seconds—eighty-five now—meant he couldn’t wait any longer.

  He opened an ARO, made a few gestures, and pulled up the data Leung had sent him before he died. There was a lot of technical data, showing routes and re-routes and tracking information, and he was sure if he analyzed it, it would back up the contention on the first line, but that contention by itself was enough to send his head spinning since it confirmed what he’d started suspecting seconds ago.

  The first line said, simply: Kyrie has been sending messages to Amazonia.

  He’d work to figure this out more when he had time to think, but there was one thought that struck him immediately, one he should have thought about when he saw how she looked boarding an Aztlán plane.

  I pushed her too far.

  He knew he needed to move, but he felt almost paralyzed, stunned motionless. He didn’t want to believe what the message said, but he knew Leung wouldn’t have made the claim without good evidence. Which he had thoughtfully included. When he combined that with the fact that Kyrie knew where he was before he said anything about it, it was enough to make him worry that what he wished was unthinkable was in fact true.

  He found himself really wishing he could ask Kyrie what to do about this. Then he shook his head and got down to business. He wasn’t the first shadowrunner ever to get crossed by a team member. And if he didn’t pull himself together, he’d join a long line of dead runners who forgot to keep their emotions out of their work. If there was one time Elijah wasn’t going to die, it was while he was staring at one of the most significant magical discoveries of his career.

  He’d wasted all but sixty seconds. He had a really short time to prepare.

  Kyrie dismounted from a stupid snowmobile in a stupidly cold place of the world so she could go inside a stupid tower and talk to a stupid, stupid man.

  He was in the tower, ignoring calls and messages. Of course he was. It was his precious research. It was something that was not people. It was what he had always done, it was what he would always do. Which left Kyrie once again in the position of having to go in and get him to move his ass. This time, so he didn’t blow up everything around them.

  Another message appeared in front of her.

  she fired back.

  The reply was quick and to the point.

  She thought about taking a moment before she went in to make sure she looked cold, tired, and harried, but she was pretty sure she already looked the part. So she just walked inside the tower.

  He looked tired. There was a lot of that going around lately. For a long-abandoned tower in a frozen wasteland, it was oddly warm inside. Elijah’s goggles were slung loosely around his neck, his hood was pushed back, and his hairline looked like it had receded three centimeters in the past week. He did not smile when he saw her, or show any other signs of being pleased at her presence.

  Kyrie had been briefed enough about the tower to have some idea what she’d see if she went astral, and she didn’t need any distractions now, so she kept her focus in the real. She saw Elijah’s eyes darting around, so she knew he was enraptured. She was not surprised.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?” she said. “We have to get moving.”

  His eyes briefly met hers. “No.”

  “What do you mean, no? There are spirits crashing around out there! We’ve barely got any snowmobiles left! If we want to make it out safe, we have to get out now!”

  His eyes then stopped moving and settled, staring right at her. “I’m pretty sure there will be a vehicle for you whenever you want it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know, Kyrie. Leung found out, and he sent me the evidence. I know who has been in contact with Amazonia.”

  Kyrie was not about to get caught up in any undignified denials or ridiculous charades. She had nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of.

  “Fine. You know.”

  “The device Leung found. That was you?”

  “Yes. At least, I planted it for him to find. It was made by others.”

  “You killed Leung.”

  “Not on purpose. Part of the job.”

  “And you’re willing to kill all the rest of us. Cao, Pineapple. Me.”

  “If you leave with me, you could live.”

  He shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I can’t trust you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re working for them!”

  “Ah.” Kyrie had imagined this confrontation, and she had pictured herself getting angry, her face growing red while she screamed at Elijah to make him understand. But now it was here, and she only felt the cold all around settling into her core. No heat at all. “So, the problem’s that you don’t like my bosses? You can’t trust who I’m working for? Good thing your own employer is so fucking noble.”

  Despite the cold, sweat was beading in Elijah’s suddenly red forehead. “It’s not about that. You’re taking money from the other side. You killed one of us.”

  “Part of the job, like I said.” She stepped closer. “Isn’t that what you always said? That the job needs to get done? Whatever it takes. Leave Slycer alone while he’s attacked. Tell Cao and Pineapple to work with the Human Nation, then throw Pineapple to the dogs. Put me on an Aztlán plane, make me do their bidding, even though you know—you know—how I feel about them. And why. But you did it anyway, because you wanted to. You had to find out what was at the end of the map.” She stretched both arms out in a wide, sweeping motion. “Well, here. Here’s what was waiting for you. Enjoy.”

  Sometimes, when mana was flowing through him, Elijah could look imposing and strong, like he was more than two meters tall. Other times, like now, he looked tired, beaten, and extraordinarily small.

  “I had to find out,” he said. “I had to know.”

  “Great. So now you know. Time to go.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t leave. You don’t know what this is, or what it can do.”

  “I don’t care. I never have.”

  “I know. But I’m not leaving.”

  “Suit yourself. But other people are coming. I’m giving you a chance to get out alive before they get here. They didn’t want you dead here. But I imagine they’ll settle for it if they think it’s the best alternative.”

  “They can do whatever they need to.”

  She turned away from him, took three quick angry strides, then stopped, inhaled slowly, and turned around.

  “Elijah. Come out with me. After all we’ve been through. I’m giving you a chance.”

  “I
wish I could take it.”

  She glared at him, then turned and walked out without another word.

  When she returned in three minutes, Tempest and Hearn came back with her.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Tempest had a deceptive stride. He looked like he was moving in slow motion, but his strides were so long he was actually difficult to keep up with. The effect was like watching an avalanche—something that seemed rumbling and slow right up until the moment it reaches you and overwhelms you. He walked into the room before Kyrie and Hearn.

  “Mr. Tish,” he said. “Thank you for staying. In some ways it’s an inconvenience, I’ll admit, but in other ways it’s a pleasure, as this setting provides so many interesting ways for you to die.”

  “Just be careful,” Elijah said. “This thing doesn’t appear stable. Any magic you try in here might not have the intended effect.”

  “That’s the only reason you’re still alive. I suppose that leaves us with the classic simplicity of bullets. Mr. Hearn, you may do the honors.”

  Kyrie was relieved not to be asked. There was a small part of her that wanted to stop Hearn, in recognition of her long partnership with Elijah. But business was business. She wasn’t going to work for Aztechnology, she wasn’t going to help them in any way. In the ledger of her life, the Big A was deep in the red. She had made her choice, and this was no time to get sentimental. She kept her eyes on Elijah as Hearn raised his gun. She felt she owed him that much—but nothing more.

  The floor of the tower lurched, a sudden shake to the left, followed by a settling motion back to the right. Hearn, Kyrie, and Tempest stumbled over the unstable ground, Hearn’s aim was ruined before he could shoot.

  Elijah, though, didn’t waver an inch.

  Hearn raised his gun again as Kyrie stared. She saw it now. His feet were two or three centimeters off the ground. He was levitating now, might have been levitating the whole time.