Alexa Drey- the Gates of Striker Bay

by Ember Lane

  The Nexus Rod helped me focus. It was like a missing piece slotted home. I’d always been erratic with my meditations even after Zenith had made it all clear to me, had stressed its importance. I still found it so passive that anything in front of me would take priority. The Nexus Rod changed all that. It was solid, there, and I could measure the results of my efforts. It was the tool I’d needed all along.

  Nexus Rod

  Charging in progress

  Shadowmana 67.6% charged

  Light mana 33.5% charged

  Rod Harmony – Level 4

  Magnification equates to 4 times current charge.

  If only I could get a bit of peace.

  Mezzerain tossed and turned, his snores like rumbles of thunder. Sutech was on his back, looking up at the iridescent canopy, his pupils darting around as if powered by his intense thoughts. Faulk muttered and mumbled, his own sleep disturbed, his helmet in place muffling out our restlessness. Pog curled up like a baby—he had no difficulty sleeping—he could snatch twenty winks anywhere, anytime.

  The endless night ticked away, except now we were bathed in eternal light of the iridescent fungus. Ruse was a paradox; there was no denying that.

  One of Faulk’s little bells let off the smallest of rings, but it sounded like the loudest church chime. I was up like a shot as was everyone else. It appeared we were all dwelling in the shallows of our rest. Mezzerain darted to the center of the main wall, Sutech and Faulk seamlessly spread evenly each side of him. Pog and I took the center ground, ready to react to any breach. Billy and Charlotte each patrolled a shield wall.

  We were ready.

  The lizards attacked as one.

  They were so close to see through that I could hardly make them out, just ripples in color as they jumped. I fired a fast bullet to a shimmering head to see what affect it would have. It shot in, shot through, exploding on a trunk behind, and cracked it in half. More of the beasts spilled over. Mezzerain was already fighting hard, his sword easily decapitating their reptilian bodies. I sent a fan of magic to scythe along the wall’s top, to see if I could at least decapitate them. The magic passed right through them, severing them at first but then not as if they were made of some rejoining slime. Remembering Pog’s words, I knew they’d developed magical resistance, that this was their trick.

  I equipped my axes, joining the fray, confronting the first beast to make it past the ever-battling Sutech and Mezzerain. I ran at it, flying through the air, my ax slashing toward its neck. It struck flesh, the lizard immediately pulsing and turning a visible dirty-brown color. The blow jarred my arm. It sent us both tumbling into a heap. Before I’d recovered, Pog was on it, slitting its throat and near decapitating it in the process.

  I freed my blade just in time to engage the next. A wayward swipe only opened its cheek, so I set my feet to gain purchase, bringing my other ax up to split its guts wide, but as I did, a long, sticky tongue flicked around my wrist, wrenching my hand away. I spun around to face a new aggressor, but as I did, the other bit into my shoulder. Blood bloomed over my armor as it was finally pierced. The bite lasted a second. Pog flew at it, his knives stabbing up. He screamed to me that it was dead. Pog was in a fury. Pog the berserker had his battle head on.

  The tongue jerked again, pulling me with a lurch. Like a wraith, like a swift spirit, Pog’s knife severed its hold, then his cape swirled as he somersaulted over the beast and took its head for good measure. I scrambled around, retrieving my axes, following Pog as he joined the battle with Mezzerain and Sutech.

  I took the closest lizard, soon gaining a rhythm, quickly understanding how to kill them. Their necks were most vulnerable, Pog had shown me that, so I used my huge agility to dodge and weave like him, catching them as they, in turn, tried to avoid Mezzerain and Sutech’s blows. Pog left me to it and was flitting between Faulk, Billy, and Charlotte, helping any who became overwhelmed. His speed was incredible. He’d come of age in Ruse.

  We were winning—turning the tide—but then the cats must have smelled an advantage, and they joined the fight, no longer, it seemed, content to feast on lizard meat. The first leaped in from the side, hurdling the shield wall and sending Billy tumbling back under its force. It grabbed him in its colossal paws, ready to swipe a killing blow, then hesitated, clearly confused, before discarding him and springing off. Being half-dead appeared to pay off.

  Pog used those moments' hesitation to flash past the beast and open a long and bloody rent down the cat’s back. “Try your magic,” he screamed as another cat jumped over the shields, sending him flying. He twisted around, knives in hand, as they ground to a halt, and set about his grisly business.

  I sent a blast at the first cat, relieved when it hit home, and exploded a great welt in its side. The cat staggered back, clearly dazed. I had hope I could finish them all off and set myself, but a lizard had other ideas for me. It grabbed hold of my hand, pulling me backward as I was about to loose a bolt to help Pog. It fled skyward, exploding a mushroom crown and blasting it to pieces. The fungus cascaded down, leaving a vast hole in the forest’s canopy.

  My anger took hold—the rage of battle. The sight of Pog fighting the big cat was enough to ignite it to fury. I whirled around, the lizard’s strength no match for mine, and brought my axes to bear, severing its head, a satisfied scream issuing from deep in my belly. I immediately pelted toward Pog and the cat who were still writhing on the ground. Picking my spot, matching my jump, I flew over the top of it, trailing one ax down, carving a rent across the top of its neck. Flying toward a trunk, I placed my feet to spring back off then hurtling toward the fight, this time striking right into the beast’s back with such a force I heard its spine snap.

  The block in my momentum sent me spinning over its top, a lingering glance from Pog catching my eye as I went. I landed on my feet, facing my next victim. The cat reared back, looking unsure. I surged forward, a bluster of blades and fury. My attack was swift, ruthless, but hardly clinical, plunging the blades in any meaty flesh I could find, slaughtering the beast like it was an ant—like it wasn’t worthy of my attention.

  It fell limp before me, its resistance over before it started. A lizard shied back but then sprang forward, claws extended and tongue darting toward me. I barely registered my actions as I ended its miserable existence. Vaulting up onto our defensive wall, I ran along its edge and set about another cat. Its flank was exposed as it rained deadly swipes down on Sutech. I dispatched a bolt of magic into it and followed up with my devastating axes, nearly cutting its torso in half before moving on, looking for my next victim:

  That came in a new shape, a new form for me to end.

  A scream rang out. It froze me in my tracks. The circling bird darted through the hole I’d inadvertently made in the canopy. It swooped down on Pog, who was struggling with the last of the lizards. I stowed my axes, leaping down from the wall and grabbing a leaning spear. I launched it straight at the bird, not even waiting to see if it had hit home before equipping the Nexus Rod and sending a huge blast at it. My magic matched my fury, a great gout of it crackling toward the falling bird.

  It crashed into the ground, the spear protruding from its bony wing, rearing up as swift as lightning and spreading its wings. It accepted the power of my blast like it welcomed it. My magic smashed into its open torso, sending it spinning away from Pog and thumping into a mushroom trunk. I walked after it: strode, stalked. It was mine, and I meant to end it there and then.

  The ball of tumbled bird ignited with a flash, glowing hot silver and then ruddy gold. The spear instantly turned to ash as the bird burst into flames. I checked my steps, doubting myself for the first time. The flames grew and spread as the bird unfurled its wings. It rose and was twice the size I imagined it had been. It pushed its flaming wings farther up, like some dread vampire and pulled back its hooked beak, and then it squawked, a scream of the dead that shook my core. It was a shriek of victory, and it crashed through my fury and struck at my waning confidence.

 
I stashed my Nexus Rod, knowing this thing was about to use my magic against me. Its head darted forward, gray magic erupting in a lightning bolt from its hooked beak. I equipped my axes, running toward it knowing I had no defense and ready to accept the pain of its strike.

  Its returned power thumped me square in the gut, stopping me in my tracks before sending me flying backward, head over heels. The pain of its shock riddled every inch of me, sending my nerves into overdrive as I crashed into our defensive wall. I sat for a second, unsure if I could just shake the ferocity of the assault off. The fiery bird had no such intent. It stalked forward, lumbering like some prehistoric hybrid. Its flaming eyes were set on me. My complete destruction was its intent. The tables had turned.

  I pushed myself up, aware that the battle around me had paused, and ready to accept my fate. All eyes focused on the magnitude of this encounter. The bird reared its head back, and I knew another strike was on its way. I scrambled for my axes, but they lay scattered and out of my reach, probably useless anyway. I shook off the residual pain of the last strike, wondering if I could endure another. Out of options, calmness descended on me. My manas began cycling furiously, like their speed could dissipate anything the bird could throw at me. A teasing grin forced its way onto my lips. I had no idea how, but I suddenly knew that this was not my end.

  The bird struck, its beak thrusting forward like an accusing finger, and the gray magic spewed out, now tinted with golden fire. It sped straight toward my exposed gut. On instinct, I called for my Nexus Rod, angling it across my belly, placing it between the blast and me.

  The magic hit its shaft, the force blasting me back into the mushroom-trunk wall, crushing my spine. My lungs emptied. My bones cracked. My smile held. Pain, unbelievable agony, erupted in my hands. The rod superheated, burning my flesh to the bone, fusing my palms to its red-hot metal. I screamed, more whimpered, more bellowed as my whole body was consumed by the torture now coming from within me.

  I felt the Nexus Rod pulse, like it was about to explode, and in the stasis of that moment, I briefly wondered how the magic had been magnified so. But then the rod called to me, asking for direction. I hesitated, not wanting to send it back to the bird, knowing it would merely be returned to me, with interest, but when I opened my eyes, I saw the evil thing staring at me, triumph scrawled on its bony face. My fury returned. I instructed the rod to send the magic back, suddenly understanding that all this had taken place in an instant, a flash of time.

  The magic sped back out. Doubt painted a sorry picture on the bird as the gray lightning cracked into its bony breast. The bird exploded in a blast of flaming shards, scattering all in its tumultuous wake. I sagged, knowing it was done but that my body was broken, for now, but finally understanding the true power of infinite magnification. It was a brutal, primeval way to battle. No skill, no finesse, merely who could take the most and last the longest.

  Not the bird.

  How long I sat there, I had no clue, but I woke in the exact same spot. My hands were still on the staff. I was too scared to try and move them. Sutech crouched by me, a soaking cloth on my brow.

  “Alive, then?”

  I took a moment, mostly to decide on my answer. “Barely. Can you have a look at my hands, I…”

  He nodded, understanding, bending to inspect. “I’ll see if Pog has anything. Pog!”

  Pog came ambling over. His hair ranged around, scruffy, out of place. Tears in his armor told of a close fought battle. He looked like he’d been through hell and back, and that made me wonder how bad I looked. They both inspected my hands. Pog brought out a vial, soaking me with it, working it into the seam between the rod and the skin, but all the while he was shaking his head.

  “We need Grandma Lumin, Melinka, even Marista at a push.”

  “Just names. Do what you can,” Sutech reassured.

  “It’s unnatural. You saw the power. A tool, a weapon shouldn’t do that,” Pog whispered to Sutech.

  The liquid soothed me, creeping into my flesh, repairing my broken body and calming my frazzled nerves, streaming through my body and bringing clarity to me. My thoughts began to slot into order, instead of meander around like they had been.

  “More,” I told Pog, pushing my head forward, opening my mouth.

  Pog twigged right away, tipping the rest of the vial’s contents down my throat. I felt order continue to return. Pog worked my hands, but they were stuck fast, fused to the Nexus Rod. I discounted them while I searched for more clarity.

  “Everyone okay?” I asked, retreating to the normal to aid my recovery.

  “Mezzerain got beat up pretty bad,” Sutech told me. “Faulk’s indestructible in that suit. We could do with one each. If it wasn’t for the climb, I’d go back and hunt for some more.” He looked down at my hands. “You can’t go around stuck like that.”

  He was right. I couldn’t. I had a choice to make, and it wasn’t the best one in the world. Something had to give. I took a breath, knowing the cold pain that was going to come my way, accepting it, but not at the same time.

  “Cut them away,” I said, while my courage held. I immediately closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.

  Nexus Rod

  Charging in progress

  Shadowmana 21.1% charged

  Light mana 5.4% charged

  Rod Harmony – Level 5

  Magnification equates to 5 times current charge.

  Defensive mode engaged.

  The bite of Pog’s knife teased around the edges of my finger. The sharpness of the pain almost pleasurable after the ravaging my body had endured. That soon changed. Its exactness soon sent pure agony up my arms, coursing across my shoulders and into my heart as he sawed, prodded, tried to tease a gap between the metal and my skin.

  The pain was like a soprano’s crowning chorus, its purity setting every nerve I had afire. It endured as a strung-out note. But during its crescendo, a thought knocked, out of place, trying to destroy its song. It was important, dressed as such, like an envoy, an ambassador that could end this suffering. I tried to climb down from the lofty heights of my torture, eventually succeeding and eventually engaging my messenger, who pointed to a single line of a code of text that I’d overlooked.

  Defensive mode engaged?

  I tensed.

  My eyes snapped open.

  Pog stopped, unable to continue, and I realized the voice of my pain had been my own screams.

  “Here,” Sutech said, through gritted teeth. “Let me.”

  “No,” Pog snapped. “We can’t.”

  My resolve fled as I understood my release.

  “Disengage,” I whimpered, pain clouds gathering. “Disengage!” I screamed, sending both Pog and Sutech scrambling back.

  The Nexus Rod fell away.

  Pog crawled back, pulling at my hand, inspecting it, then binding the cut flesh in a rag.

  “That easy?” he asked, and I saw the sweat on his brow and understood the measure of what he’d just tried to do.

  “Yes,” I replied, that one word enough to exhaust me.

  Pog and Sutech helped me to the center of our compound, setting me down next to Mezzerain. They started a fire, the mushroom logs turning out to be a gentle, near smokeless burn. Faulk resumed the mundane, setting up his cooking gear and bringing normality back to our camp. It was like the little things kept him sane, and at the same time they grounded the rest of us.

  “Get beat up?” Mezzerain asked me, his head turning toward mine, an evil grin adorning his lips.

  I was sure he was a little pleased about the fact.

  “A bit,” I told him. “You?”

  “A cat too many. I’ll be okay in a bit. It’s been…”

  “Yeah.” I pushed myself up, wincing with expected pain. “Pog!”

  He came right over. “Rest up. You’ve been through hell.”

  Trouble was, I felt okay—not great, but okay—and a little guilty that I could take the punishment without suffering too many consequences after. “I can’
t rest up. This thing—” I grabbed the Nexus Rod. “We need to understand it. It’s more than it seems.”

  “Disengage,” he repeated. “When did you know?”

  “I checked its menu, or rather it flashed up in my head just as you began cutting. The last line said Defensive Mode Engaged, but I didn’t notice it. It came to me through the pain. I thought it was me remembering, but I’m not so sure now. It could have been the rod reaching out to me, instructing me.”

  “You’re saying the rod intervened?”

  “It could have,” I admitted.

  “So you disengaged.” He reached out, running his finger along the rod. White static sparks followed in its wake. “It’s teaching you. When you grabbed it, did it bind to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So it’s stuck with you.”

  “Stuck, that’s nice!” I said, finally getting some gumption back in my voice.

  His shoulders slumped, like he was frustrated to be tutoring an idiot again. “Soulbound items are stuck with their owners. So think about it. It’s in their best interest to either help or hinder depending on whether they want their owner to stick around or not.”

  I understood what he was saying, but it made no sense. “But that would mean it’s sentient.”

  Pog rolled his eyes, accepting a bowl of stew from Faulk, but passing it straight to me. I didn’t argue. He pressed on. “Why not? Look, think about this like a game. I keep telling you.”

  Mezzerain huffed. “Doesn’t feel like a game at the moment. If it is, get me some new bones.”

  Pog ignored him. “What’s the easiest way to affect a quest line and manipulate the player but do it subtly, without them knowing?”

  When he put it like that, it was quite simple. “Give them the tools to succeed.”

  “Exactly. Answer yourself this. Is the Nexus Rod more than it seems?”

  “In what way?” My head was clear again, but Pog was rapidly fogging it.

  “The mageborn mantis—in your opinion—should it have been carrying a soulbound item with the power this rod appears to have?”