"I mean it interacts with nothing. A drop of his body material on your skin or in your bloodstream wouldn't harm you any more than a drop of oil. The gel is extremely durable, however. The sharpest sword or dagger might pierce his hide, but the blade will snap before it goes any deeper. "I think you're missing the advantages of his body, Ambassador. He has no bones to break, no organs to rupture. He doesn't breathe, so he cannot be strangled. He has no eyes, so he cannot be blinded. No pores means no way for his skin to absorb irritants. No circulatory system means no way for diseases or poisons to spread inside his body. Virtually every attack he faces in the pits is going to fail, simply because his doesn't function like a normal living body. Burke's body is just a vessel for his mind, and his mind is a vessel for your commands." "Doesn't function normally," Laquatus echoed. "It doesn't seem to function at all! All you've given me is a defensive creature, a bodyguard. And I will repeat myself. I need a jack, a fighting champion." They came upon the closed door that led to a private pit, and Burke sprang forward to hold the door for them as they passed. "Thank you," Chainer said, and Laquatus grumbled.
"I sincerely hope, Master Chainer, that you don't expect me to be polite to this servant every time he attends me."
"No, Ambassador. The Cabal teaches us to be polite to all our guests, including their servants. And Burke is now very much yours."
"A greater treasure I have yet to receive," Laquatus said nastily. "And you haven't answered my question. How does he fight? And more to the point, how does he win?"
"Now that we're here," Chainer said, "I can answer your question. And believe me, you're going to love this."
"We shall see."
"Order him into the center of the room, please." As Laquatus repeated the order and Burke moved, Chainer continued. "He will only respond to you from now on. After a few weeks, you won't even need to talk. It'll be as if he hears your thoughts." Chainer watched Laquatus carefully, but the merman kept his expression neutral. "Won't that be an interesting sensation? To speak without moving your lips?"
"Imperial jesters have been doing that trick for a thousand years," Laquatus said. Chainer thought he saw the barest flicker of recognition, however.
"Of course. My apologies. I'm sure that the Mer learned to speak silently generations ago. Makes it easier to issue commands at the bottom of the sea." Laquatus was staring sharply at Chainer, as if he had just realized there was a deeper meaning to Chainer's casual banter. "You mentioned a demonstration, Master. I am waiting."
"By all means. For the purposes of the demonstration, I'm going to put Burke up against a mixed group of sea creatures and land crawlers."
"An excellent idea. But that is an offensive term to some mer-folk tribes."
"I meant no offense," Chainer said. "There are so many types of sea creatures in the sea that I sometimes have trouble keeping all their customs straight. It would be better for everyone if Mer could unite behind a single leader, don't you think?"
Laquatus looked intrigued, but his voice was suspicious. "I would welcome the chance to discuss the current situation in Mer with you. Later on. But right now… my demonstration?"
Chainer nodded, and with a wave cast four hostile monsters across the room at Burke. A twenty- foot sea serpent thrashed wildly, forcing a long-horned tiger to spring aside and stalk Burke from his left. A four-foot bat with eight spider's legs flapped and chittered madly around the ceiling, and a huge bipedal killer whale slowly moved closer to the gel man. Burke stood impassive with his feet planted firmly on the floor as the creatures all oriented on him and began their attack.
"Order him to kill them all," Chainer said. Laquatus shrugged.
"Burke," he intoned. "This is your master. Destroy your attackers."
The tiger pounced first, seven hundred pounds of snarling fangs, gleaming horns, and sharp claws. Burke stood frozen as the big cat descended on him, and then, in a motion so fast that not even Chainer could follow it, he ducked under the tiger's extended paws and sunk his arm up to the shoulder in the brute's belly. Burke wrapped his other arm around the top of the tiger's torso and slammed it head-first into the stone floor with a brutal combination of power and balance. The tiger's skull cracked, and it faded from the room.
Burke then turned his eyeless face up to the ceiling and extended his arm out toward the spider bat. The gel in his arm softened and stretched as he reached, doubling then tripling the length of the appendage until the bat was trapped in the upper comer of the room. Burke's hand dipped and weaved as the bat tried to avoid it, but he quickly caught the rabid creature by the throat. His arm snapped back to its normal size and shape in a heartbeat, leaving the bat to fall dead to the floor. Its head remained clenched in Burke's hand until both parts of the bat's body disappeared.
The whale creature was better suited to fighting on dry land than the serpent, and it reached Burke first. It grabbed the ambassador's jack like a doll in both hands and rammed him deep into its mouth. The creature ground its huge jaws together once, twice, and then threw its head back like a shark to swallow the chunks of its meal without further chewing. It turned to
Chainer and Laquatus, spread its arms, and bellowed defiantly.
"Well, that was entertaining," Laquatus said. "Perhaps we should just forget this ever happened and you can-"
"Three, two, one," Chainer said. "Go."
A bruise-black fist erupted out of the monster's sternum. The whale-thing roared and tried to tear Burke's arm off, but the gel man held on, and the creature only succeeded in ripping Burke completely out of its gullet. Burke's expressionless face showed no reaction to the layer of blood and bile that coated him. The mortally wounded whale-monstrosity fell onto its back and soon vanished.
"One more to go," Chainer said.
The sea serpent had at last found some traction and was undulating at Burke with its jaws wide. Burke regarded those jaws, and then he leaped forward. His spread-eagled body met the oncoming serpent's head, and Burke splashed across the serpent's face like an overripe piece of fruit. To Laquatus's visible amazement, the shapeless splotch of gel adjusted itself and willfully expanded across the serpent's mouth and nose until both airways were blocked. The serpent shook its head violently in an attempt to dislodge its tormentor, but the gel clung tight and would not be thrown off. The serpent's struggles grew slower, then feeble, then stopped altogether. Only when it disappeared out from under him did Burke reform himself into his humanoid shape.
"He's even better underwater," Chainer said happily. "He can smother gills as easily as lungs. The principle's exactly the same, keep air from entering the body."
Burke stood tall and silent, awaiting his next command. Laquatus woodenly began to clap, slow, measured applause that gave him time to think.
"Absolutely marvelous," Laquatus said. "Forgive me, Master. I did not fully appreciate the value of your gift."
Chainer smiled graciously. "Not at all Ambassador. There are many tasks a man in your position needs a reliable jack to perform. The Cabal is always willing to assist you."
Laquatus was still staring at Burke, his mind furiously churning.
"I'm sure," Chainer went on, "that you'll find something useful for Burke to do almost immediately."
That caught Laquatus's attention. "There are many ways I could employ such a champion. Some are more urgent than others."
"I also have urgent matters to attend to. Matters far less enjoyable than meeting with you, Ambassador. I wonder if we were to discuss these matters together, would we find a way to help each other, as we have done today?"
"I would be most interested in finding out the answer to that question, Master Chainer. I would welcome the Cabal's help and the chance to help the Cabal in return."
"Perhaps we should meet again before you head back below the sea. Tonight, for example. Over dinner?"
"I would be honored. Come to my embassy this evening, and we'll discuss the future."
"I am looking forward to it. Ambassador?"
&
nbsp; "Yes?"
"I've heard wondrous tales of the great libraries of Mer. Is it true that they go back thousands of years?"
"Absolutely true."
"And if you had access to certain other… special documents… a man of your talents could uncover a secret that has been hidden for generations?"
"It would be my pleasure to try. More, it would be my duty. You have done me a great service here today, Master Chainer."
Chainer offered the ambassador his hand, and after a conspiratorial smile, he took it.
"The Empire and the Cabal," Chainer said. "May their interests always coincide."
PART FOUR: MASTER
CHAPTER 23
"Master Chainer?"
Chainer started and looked for the speaker. He was in his private chambers with his hands in casting position, facing the corner of the room. Deidre stood in his doorway, all eyes and sharp edges. She appeared more nervous and timid than Chainer had ever seen her before. She seemed shorter and slighter, but she still had the eyes, the hair, the teeth and the nails..
"I thought you were dead," he said. He lowered his arms and bowed.
"Oh. Uh, the First requires your presence, Master." Deidre's face began to soften and melt, running like candle wax.
"Don't go," Chainer said urgently. His vision fogged, and in Deidre's place stood Fulla. She was smiling savagely. Slowly, she snapped her fingers in front of Chainer's face.
Chainer shook his head to clear it. Fulla had vanished. Skellum stood before him, his hat tucked under his arm, his eyes shining and confident.
Chainer's stomach froze when he saw Skellum. The fresh pain of his mentor's death told Chainer that the apparition before him was a lie. Rage churned up the pain and soon overwhelmed Chainer's grief.
"Remember me," Skellum said.
Chainer angrily waved the phantom away. He closed his eyes tight, then opened them again. The only other person in the room was the frightened little blond messenger. Hadn't she been bit by a rattler? Chainer reached for the wall, but his depth perception failed him, and he almost fell to the floor.
"Big brother?"
Chainer found himself propped up between the wall and the messenger's birdlike hands.
"Haven't slept. What day is it?" he said. He stood and dusted off an imaginary cape. The First wanted to see him about the ambassador's new jack. Or had he already seen the First about the ambassador's new jack? It was something about the ambassador's jack, but a new something.
The messenger was staring at him with an absolutely hilarious mixture of pity and fear. Chainer laughed and stood up off the wall.
"Always make that face," Chainer said. "It suits you."
"Yes, big brother." She gave him a gentle shove and guided him out the door.
He remembered now. The First wanted to ask him exactly how much control they would have over Burke now that he had bonded to the ambassador. It was a simple matter and wouldn't take more than an hour. He would lie down on his cot when he returned, force himself to rest. Not that he was tired, of course. He just wanted to stop thinking for a while. His thoughts were starting to intrude on his fun, just as the crusat intruded on his time in the pits.
He watched the back of the messenger's head as they walked, and he felt more and more clear with each echoing step they took.
*****
"The ambassador has expressed his satisfaction with your efforts, Master Chainer. Another job well done."
"Thank you, Pater."
"I understand that the demonstration was quite impressive."
"It was glorious, Pater. Burke performed even better than we'd hoped."
"And he is still under your influence?"
"Yes. He is bonded to Laquatus and will obey the ambassador's every command. But his essence is Cabal. Cabal magic, Cabal methods. He is Laquatus's slave, but he is the Cabal's asset."
"And if you wanted to, you could make another?"
This caught Chainer off-guard. "I suppose I could, Pater. Yes. If I had the Mirari to power the casting, a second Burke would be as powerful and as real as the original."
"Outstanding. Let us retrieve the Mirari from the vault. I would like you to create a duplicate of the ambassador's familiar for me."
Chainer felt an idea forming, and the first tingles of anticipation before a major challenge. "Such an attendant would be more durable than your human ones."
"Precisely. And in these troubled times, I need to move about quickly. My retinue of guards and attendants is too large and unwieldy. If I could replace half of them, even a third, with a single body, it would be a great boon to my work."
"It would be my pleasure, Pater."
"Of course, you would be rewarded for this service. Is there anything you desire? If it is within my power, it shall be yours."
"I can think of nothing right now, Pater." "Well, keep thinking. But now, let us go to the vault." As they returned, the First peppered Chainer with questions about Burke's capabilities, and Chainer dutifully reported the answers. The First was more excited than Chainer had ever seen him, gesturing emphatically and waving his arms wide. His attendants were hard- pressed to stay close by without being accidentally brushed. Chainer carried the Mirari reverently between both hands.
Back in the First's chamber, Chainer called for space, and the First had his guards and attendants all huddle against the far comer of the room. The First waited eagerly opposite his servants, and Chainer stood between them. He held the edge of his left hand against his stomach with the Mirari floating above his palm. He held his metal hand palm-down over the Mirari, and closed his eyes. He held this position and concentrated for a long time, until some of the braver guards began to grumble and jostle the people around them. The time was now, he told himself. This was what he had been preparing for. It was time to truly impress the First.
"Pater."
"Yes, my child?"
"There are two things preventing me from doing what you have asked."
The First frowned. "What are these things? Can they be removed?"
Chainer's eyes snapped open, the void in his sockets endless and impenetrable. "I thought you'd never ask. The first impediment is that it's far too crowded in here." He unfolded his left arm and left the Mirari hanging below his right. A yellow glow shot out of the sphere, up Chainer's arm, and traveled across his body to his outstretched left hand. A massive bolt of black light exploded out of Chainer's hand and slammed into the throng of guards and attendants in the corner. The room shook as the death bolt impacted, and some of the servants screamed before the entire group fell dead where they stood.
"Chainer! What are you doing?"
"The second impediment," Chainer said evenly, "is that you sent Skellum into the pits to die."
"Mazeura," the First was regaining his composure, "attend me." Chainer felt the dominating power of his secret name take hold, and his muscles froze where they were.
"I am the Cabal First," he snarled, "and I do not explain my actions. Look at what we have gained, what you have gained, from the death of a single man. Skellum's time had passed, and he knew it. I think you know it, too. These are dangerous times, my child, and not everyone is going to survive. You are the future of dementia, you are the future of Cabal. That future needs to be fast, focused, versatile, brutal. We need you more than we needed Skellum."
"Do not say 'we,' Pater. You do not speak for me in this."
"I speak for the Cabal in all things. And you are Cabal. The oath you took is not some clubhouse initiation ritual, it is a powerful magical bond. You don't just quit the Cabal because your best friend is gone. You are mine, body and soul, for as long as I want you." "I've been thinking about my oath lately. In Mer they say an oath is nothing more than a contract, and all contracts have loopholes."
The First crossed his arms behind his back. "There are no loopholes in your sacred oath, Mazeura."
"My name is Chainer," he said. "And of course there are. You only have power over me because I gave it to you whe
n I accepted my secret name."
"You accepted much more than that."
"True. But if I could discover your secret name, Pater, wouldn't the roles be reversed? Wouldn't you be as docile before me as I am before you now?"
"No one has known my secret name for a hundred years." Chainer heard the initial strains of uncertainty in the First's voice, and he breathed it in like delicious incense.
"I'm sorry, but that's no longer true… Calchexas." Chainer jutted both palms forward, leaving the Mirari to float freely at his chest. An even larger bolt of energy burst from Chainer's hands and totally engulfed the First. His panicked white eyes were the last thing Chainer saw before the First vanished behind a cloud of black light.
Chainer continued to pour energy into the spell, keeping the First's body surrounded by the roiling field. The First had lived a very long time, he reasoned, and would take a lot of effort to kill. He hadn't dropped yet, and Chainer had never seen anyone withstand the death bloom for so long. In fact, the First was still standing upright as Chainer continued to hurl killing magic at him. "Die," Chainer whispered. With the Mirari he could keep this up for a week. He increased his efforts, and the First was physically driven back into the stone wall. He still stood, however, straight and tall, against an attack that would have overwhelmed an army.
After a full minute of pressing the First against the wall, Chainer broke off. The First's body had been crushed into the stone behind him, and his fine robes were in tatters. He was panting and shaking, but he was very much alive."
"You cannot kill me Mazeura. There is no way you can kill me."
Chainer blasted him again, a brief slap. "Chainer. My name is Chainer."
"You can never kill me, Chainer. I am not merely called the First, I am the first. The first to worship Kuberr. The first to receive his gifts. The first Cabalist. I have lived for centuries. I have fed on bloodlust, greed, and brutality since Otaria was wild and the Mer empire was just another school of intelligent fish. I have been Kuberr's servant since the very beginning, and nothing you do, not even with the Mirari, can prevent me from serving him."
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