by Jak Koke
"I've always been a fast healer," Ryan replied to the unspoken question.
Now, as he rubbed at the quickly forming scar tissue, he wondered about that. He knew that magic had something to do with it, something to do with his speed, his strength, but that didn't seem to explain it anymore.
Ryan knew plenty of others like himself. Physical adepts who mastered their bodies magically and pushed past limits no norm could hope to match. He'd even known one other person who followed the Invisible Way, which was similar to the Silent Way that Dunkelzahn had taught him. She was extremely advanced in her technique, and he had learned some valuable things from her.
Still, she couldn't compete with him in combat. Not even close. He would always fall back on his lessons in the arboretum, the battles with Dunkelzahn in the darkness and stillness of the spectral shadows. Those lessons and his innate magic gave him the edge in every fight.
It had taken every effort of machine and magic to make a viable opponent for him.
How can that be possible?
Ryan shook his head, sending a spray of water against the wall. Dunkelzahn had always told him that even among his own kind, he was special. It was for that reason that the dragon had rescued him the day his parents died, because of his special gift.
Ryan felt a wave of self-disgust. And like a good little soldier, I didn't ask questions. Now it's too late to ask them, and I don't seem to have any answers.
He was about to shut off the shower, when his wrist-phone beeped. Ryan looked at the screen to see Jane's code.
He didn't care if Jane saw him in the shower. After all, she'd seen him in worse places.
Ryan thumbed the receiver, "Hello, Jane, I was—"
He stopped short. The face that filled the screen wasn't Jane's. For just a moment, his breath caught in his throat. It was the face of a woman he never expected to hear from again.
Deep in his heart, the part of him that was Roxborough felt a shiver of fear.
Ryan quelled the feeling and gave a warm smile. "Alice, so good to see you. Sorry about the shower, but you should be more honest when you call."
Alice's small mouth grew from a smile to a lascivious grin. "You don't know how long it's been since I've surprised a man in the shower. My, my, aren't we a big boy? And in all the right places too."
Ryan laughed, and it felt good even though it hurt. "What's biz?"
"I thought you should know that I've gone into Rox's host in Panama and wiped all the files pertaining to his spirit-transfer procedure. Everything about memory encoding and personality remapping. It's all been wiped."
"I'm grateful, Alice. Thank you."
Alice grew somber. "You're welcome," she said. "Though I didn't really do it for you. Now I have a question."
"Yes?"
"How's your Rox?"
Ryan grunted. "Still there, but with each day, he seems a bit dimmer in my head, and lately, I can tell my thoughts from his."
"That's good." Alice took a drag of her cigarette. "But you still have his memories?"
"I think so."
"Ryan, I've come into possession of some very disturbing information lately, and I'd like you to confirm or deny it, based on Rox's memories."
"What is it?"
"Remember that Roxborough is the source of this info so it's highly suspect. But so far it scans true with what I've been able to pull from the Matrix. Be forewarned, it's very disturbing."
Suddenly, Ryan was tired again. He didn't want any more disturbing information, he didn't want any more responsibility. His load was too heavy already. "Consider me forewarned," he said.
Alice smiled. "I like a man with guts," she said, and before Ryan could respond, she continued. "The information concerns Dunkelzahn's assassination. It may even be enough to get you to the person responsible."
Ryan's attention snapped into full awareness, his whole body tensed, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. "Spill it, and you better not be fragging with me."
Alice gave him a cool look. "I assume that threat was made in jest. Either that, or you're an idiot and I've severely overestimated you."
Ryan forced himself to take a deep breath, forced his muscles to unwind. "My apologies, Alice. Things have been a bit haywire lately."
She smiled. "Forgiven. Believe me, I've been keeping tabs on you, and I know the stress you're under. If this information was any less important, I would simply let you continue on your way and tell you later."
"I understand. Now, please, tell me what Rox told you. If I remember anything that either confirms or denies what he said, I'll let you know."
Alice nodded. "During the Crash of '29, a man named Major David Gavilan discovered information that led him to believe that a corporation called Gossamer Threads was responsible for the programming that led to the creation of the Crash virus."
Ryan was stunned. "What? Are you saying Dunkelzahn was behind the Crash?"
Alice shook her head. "No, I'm not saying anything of the sort. I'm simply saying that David discovered information that led him to believe that Gossamer Threads was working on the virus, just prior to the breakdown."
"David?"
"An old friend," Alice said, and there was note of sadness in her voice. "You might know him as Damien Knight."
Ryan sucked air. "Damien Knight was head of Echo Mirage?"
"His name was David Gavilan back then."
"None of this rings any bells in my Roxborough memories," Ryan said. "And I don't see how Dunkelzahn factors into the whole Crash scenario. He lost billions. Even Gossamer Threads went belly up."
Alice sighed. "I know, and frankly I'd like to believe that Dunkelzahn wouldn't have indulged in such an evil venture." She paused, forcing her voice to sound impartial, but Ryan could tell that it was difficult for her to discuss the Crash without anger. "Still," she went on, "you're missing the point, again. It doesn't matter who was actually responsible as long as you understand that David thought it was Dunkelzahn."
Ryan nodded. "I'm following."
"Good, now for a bit of history. Damien Knight rose to the head of Ares Macrotechnology in something called the Nanosecond Buyout. You've heard of it?"
Ryan nodded. "You can stop treating me like I'm mentally challenged, Alice. Everyone who's anyone knows about the instant takeover."
Alice arched her eyebrows. "Well, what everyone doesn't know is that in all likelihood it was Dunkelzahn's help that made the buyout a success."
"I believe it," Ryan said. "Knight had to have help from someone with a healthy cred-line."
"Perhaps Dunkelzahn helped him out to make up for the damage caused by the Crash."
"He felt responsible?" Ryan asked.
"Why not?"
Ryan shook his head. "Not Dunkelzahn's MO. He might've helped Knight accomplish the Nanosecond Buyout, but I doubt it was out of guilt. In my experience, guilt is not an emotion that dragons feel strongly."
"Maybe Knight knew about Dunkelzahn's connection to the Crash and was blackmailing him."
"More likely, but very dangerous for Knight."
Alice's ocean-blue eyes sparkled. "Remember that the two of them had on ongoing chess match, and Knight did not always lose. He had the dragon's respect."
Ryan nodded, and suddenly a nagging itch got him. It was the memory of Quentin Strapp standing in Nadja's office.
He was so smooth, hitting Ryan with hard questions, then abruptly changing tactics, suddenly asking him about Damien Knight.
"You still with me, Ryan?"
Ryan shook off the memory, but couldn't quite stifle the rage that was beginning to fill him. "Yeah, still here. I'll tell you as soon as you're finished. Go on."
"Let me take this step by step. One: David Gavilan, head of Echo Mirage, defeats the Crash entity, but loses close friends and comes under the scrutiny of the media. His personal life is ruined, and he is forced to disappear and change identities just to keep living. This I know because I was there.
"Two: He becomes Da
mien Knight and uses some of the cutting-edge technology created to defeat the Crash, plus his knowledge of corporate raiding, to concoct the scheme behind the Nanosecond Buyout. He knows of Dunkelzahn's involvement with the crash, whatever it was, and he threatens to expose it unless the dragon funds his plan.
"The Nanosecond Buyout works brilliantly and David is now the major shareholder in Ares Macrotechnology, one of the top megacorporations. Only he didn't count on the fact that Dunkelzahn was better at corporate maneuvering."
"You're talking about Gavilan Ventures," Ryan said, and the story was becoming clear to him, sending chills down his spine despite the hot water.
"Yes, when the dust settled from the buyout, David owned twenty-two percent of Ares, almost the exact amount owned by the previous CEO, Leonard Aurelius. But Dunkelzahn owned Gavilan Ventures and its twelve percent of Ares. With Aurelius and Knight constantly voting their shares against one another, Dunkelzahn's twelve percent became the determining voting block. The dragon controlled a lot of the corp. In effect, the dragon held a measure of leverage over Knight."
Ryan smiled. "Someone like Knight would hate that."
"I think he did. I think he harbored a secret hatred of the wyrm for years. Damien Knight is the perhaps the only person who might have been able to hide his feelings from the dragon. After all, their chess matches went on for days, even weeks at a time."
Ryan nodded. She's making sense.
"So, over the years, Knight waits, plots, and comes up with the perfect plan."
Ryan snorted. "And just what plan might that be? Do you have details? Out-plotting a dragon is a little like trying to move a mountain one rock at a time. No matter how many stones you take away, there always seems to be one more."
She smiled. "Granted, but you're talking about Damien Knight here. No, I don't have details on how he did it. Not yet anyway. But I know him in a way you don't, and I can attest to just how brilliant and twisted he is. Think about how much he's gained by Dunkelzahn's death. He chose the perfect moment."
"How's that?"
"When Dunkelzahn died, Kyle Haeffner became President of the UCAS."
"And . . . "
"Kyle was my husband before I flatlined. He and David were great friends. Thick as thieves for years."
The water chilled on Ryan's skin, and he had to remember to breathe.
"After the Crash entity hit me, Kyle was devastated. David did everything in his power to keep my meat body alive.
David felt responsible for my condition, and he bent over backward to make it up to Kyle."
Alice's voice grew sharp. "As a result, Kyle became David's lackey and faithful lap dog. Stayed in contact when David changed names, picked up a tidy sum in the Nanosecond Buyout, and went on to become quite the entrepreneur. Even remarried." Alice said that last with acid in her voice.
Ryan's jaw muscles clenched. "And now, Knight's lap dog is president of UCAS. In a position to pull any strings that might be helpful to Knight."
Alice shrugged. "It looks that way."
"Frag."
Alice held up a hand. "Ryan, I haven't spoken to David about this, but I'm certain he would deny any involvement with the assassination. I was hoping your recollection of what Rox knew of the events might provide some clue."
Ryan closed his eyes and tried to remember, but all that came back were some fragments. Acquisition Technologies. The name popped into his head. It was one of Roxborough's corporations at the time of the Crash. "I'm still having a hard time putting his past into context," Ryan said. "And frankly, I've been concerned with other things recently."
"I'm sorry about Miranda," Alice said.
Frag, is there anything you don't know about, Alice?
Ryan felt the anger rising inside, and his hands balled into fists. "Thanks for the info, Alice. I'll let you know if I remember anything."
"And if I learn any more about how he might have pulled it off, I'll get in touch."
Ryan nodded. "Please do."
Then she was gone. Like a ghost in the machine.
Ryan shut off the water, suddenly drained. His mind filled with blood, and rage ran through his veins. He could picture himself ripping Knight limb from limb. Revenge for destroying the creature who had shown Ryan love.
But what about Burnout?
Ryan knew he couldn't give up on finding the Dragon Heart, but he knew he had to act on this information quickly.
If Knight was half as smart as Alice believed him to be, every moment lost was another moment for Knight to rewrite history so that his role in the assassination was erased.
I don't know what to do.
Even as that thought thundered through his head, he realized that it was wrong. He did know what to do. This was the break he'd been waiting for, his chance to avenge Dunkelzahn. He wasn't about to let it slide by.
He quickly punched up Jane's code.
"Quicksilver, naked again?"
"At least you still notice. Any news?"
"The satellite images showed the tower on Pony Mountain go up in flames an hour ago. Looks like our boy's on the move again."
"Jane, I need you to assemble a team."
Jane looked startled. "Who? You don't have a mage, Axler's out for a day or two, Grind is still recovering, and Dhin is dog-tired. I'd say Assets is pretty bad off. They need some down time."
Ryan shook his head violently. "I'm not talking about Assets. It can be anyone. They just have to be mage-heavy."
Jane frowned. "What for?"
Ryan smiled. "I need them to track Burnout for a while. Dhin and Grind are going to Washington with me."
26
Burnout descended the Pony Mountain path in silence, thinking about what Lethe had just said. He was making his way in the ever-darkening night toward the Ford Bison truck he'd left halfway down the mountain. Lethe's words came back over and over.
I'd like to help you kill Ryan Mercury.
Burnout could feel the tension roll through him. A tiny shiver of anticipation hit him then, and he laughed.
"Do you find my decision to seek someone's death as humorous?"
"In a sick way," Burnout said. "It's ironic."
"Ironic or not, my offer should not be taken lightly. And it does not come without a price."
"What price? I don't have anything left to give but my life, and that would kind of defeat the purpose, don't you think?"
"You are not entirely devoid of possessions."
For the first time since discovering the spirit, something in its voice brought a chill to Burnout's circuitry. "Keep talking."
"Let me tell you a story."
Burnout climbed down a sharp incline, sliding in the wet soil. "Just get to the point, Lethe. I'm not in the most patient mood."
"Indulge me, Burnout. You are lacking information that could make the difference between life and death for the entire world, and I think it's time you knew the whole truth."
Burnout stopped in his tracks. "I thought you were always honest with me. That I could trust you. Now you're telling me you've been holding out on me?"
Lethe's voice was stern. "Since the time our association began, I have come to respect you as a warrior and to value you in many other ways. Even as a friend. However, the information I'm about to impart to you is of such magnitude that I could not have shared it until now. Even as close as we've become, I only tell you this because the situation is desperate."
Burnout grunted, and continued his journey back down the mountain side. He hoped Ryan hadn't discovered the Ford Bison. Without the truck, traveling would be much slower and far more exhausting. "All right," he said. "You've got my attention."
"You are familiar with the Great Ghost Dance?"
Burnout snorted. "I used to be a mage, remember." From what Burnout could recall, the Great Ghost Dance was a massive sacrifice led by Daniel Howling Coyote in the early years of magic. Many shamans had sacrificed themselves in order to power the ritual magic that had wakened the Earth and caused many v
olcanoes to erupt.
Lethe's voice dropped through Burnout's IMS. "When magic of such magnitude is performed, it has an effect on the other planes of existence. It raises the level of mana into a spike that travels across the metaplanes."
"You're losing me, spirit."
"Let me try to show you."
Lethe was silent for a minute. An image welled into Burnout's memory. He stood on a gigantic outcropping of rock.
The outcropping stretched for an unimaginable distance, spanning a bottomless abyss.
Across the abyss at the farthest reaches of his sight, he noticed the other side. And he felt revulsion as he looked.
A revulsion that grew into terror. Into horror, until he knew that the distant, tiny figures that writhed around on the opposite cliff were utterly evil.
Then came a glorious sound. The beautiful song of a goddess who stood on the very tip of the outcropping. Just over the Chasm. She sang and a bright white light spread out from her, immobilizing him. In the glory of her song, he forgot who he was, he did not care. He merely was. Blissful. Content.
Basking in the perfection.
The vision faded.
"I see now," Burnout said after a minute. He ducked his head to avoid low branches, and scrambled down a grassy hill. "But what does it have to do with me?"
"Let me finish. The occurrence of the Great Ghost Dance has upset a very delicate balance in the meta-planes. As the level of magic rises, our plane and the plane of these creatures grows slowly closer. In time, the distance will be close enough that the evil will be able to cross unaided."
"How long?"
Lethe sighed. "A few thousand years, at the least."
Burnout grunted again. "So we go back to my original question. What's this got to do with me?"
"The Dance has created a bridge of sorts. It spans some of the distance to the other side. Even now, the creatures are building a bridge of their own. If they are allowed to complete the narrow gap that remains, they will invade this world in force, thousands of years too soon. Well before mankind is prepared for the upcoming war."
Burnout whistled. "Frag. How long until that happens?"
