Relics

by K. T. Tomb

  Grendel’s body and head slowly started to transform. They started to shrink and grow more recognizable. When the transformation had finished, Simon sighed as his suspicions were correct. Hamilton Armette lay in two pieces near Simon’s feet. It was almost a poetic metaphor. Symone knew that somewhere his son cheered him on. Even if he couldn’t see him, he felt it.

  “Grendel’s dead!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. Never had any victory been sweeter or more appropriate.

  Both Phoe and Peter heard Simon.

  Peter realized one important fact as he took a deep breath. It was his turn.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The claws of the green-hued dragon dug into a nearby pile of coins, as the head leaned forward to keep Peter in its sight. Every description he’d ever read of what a dragon looked like stood menacingly in front of him. Smoke plumed from its nostrils and mouth, which told Peter that another blast of fire was soon to come.

  Peter looked around for anything viable to add to his arsenal. Unless the dragon had an aversion to gold coins, he was out of luck. He decided to change his tactics. “Excuse me, umm… Dragon? I do believe that you have me at a considerable disadvantage. You are at least 20 times my size, have an amazing distance weapon, and you have home field advantage.”

  The dragon paused and looked at him as it tilted its head in confusion.

  Peter continued with inspired vigor. “You are obviously someone who has been pushed around most of their lives and see this as a means to gain revenge on all of those who have wronged you. A big, menacing dragon is definitely a way to do just that. However, I have seen worse in my travels.”

  The dragon started to huff in anger.

  Peter stood up straight and smiled. “The most impressive way to accomplish my defeat would be to appear in your real form, while still retaining all of the powers of the dragon.”

  The dragon spoke with a deep, booming voice. “In case you haven’t noticed, there is a theme here.”

  Peter nodded dismissively. “Oh yes. The whole Beowulf scenario. Nice, but it’s a bit overdone. Don’t you think? We all know about Beowulf fighting Grendel, the dragon, and Grendel’s mother. It’s a dull scenario. You seem like you’re more creative than that… Alex.”

  The dragon let out a roar which shook the area, causing the coins to rattle relentlessly. Then the body of the dragon began to change. It started to shrink while the scales receded into the skin and the greenish hue was traded for Alex’s more human shade of dark brown. Alex stood before Peter in human form. His eyes glowed bright red. “How did you know?”

  “Seriously?” Peter replied. “Is that your ego speaking? How could I not know? You and the Armettes weren’t exactly taking care to hide the fact that each of you ingested a mainframe pill. Each of you has the ability to control the scenario. Well had, in the case of Grendel. So, tell me, Alex. Whose decision was it to go with Beowulf?”

  “Symone,” Alex said, as he realized what Peter was getting at. “Just because Hamilton and I allowed her to pick the scenario doesn’t mean any—”

  “You’re in love with Symone,” Peter interrupted.

  Alex was getting angry. “What? So. What difference does it make?”

  “The difference, my friend,” Peter continued, “is that I’m sure you have some impressive degrees and maybe even a doctorate. All she has is her feminine wiles.”

  “Stop it!” Alex screamed. His anger caused red smoke to emit from his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  “I have nothing in my arsenal that is even remotely as sinister as feminine wiles, Alex,” Peter replied with a smile. “And yet, it appears that I am getting to you. Let me ask you something, Alex. With all of your expertise, are you experienced with applied physics?”

  “No. Why?” Alex answered.

  Peter grinned as he pulled the shield up to cover his body. “Because you’re a simple-minded asshole, who can be led by his genitalia. That’s why.”

  Alex let out a dragon-sized roar as his eyes bled fire. The look on his face pleased Peter as he braced himself behind the shield. Dragon fire blasted from the human-sized mouth of Alex. It hit Peter’s shield dead on. The resulting contact pushed Peter back at least 50 feet. He had to relinquish his grip on the shield because it was red hot. Peter was bruised by the impact.

  Alex walked in triumph toward Peter, while not realizing that his skin was glowing red. Peter was sore and lying in a supine position. Alex stopped about 20 feet from Peter and inhaled. “I think one more should do it,” he said confidentially.

  “So do I,” Peter said.

  Alex tried to let out another blast of fire, but something was wrong. Fire spread throughout his veins and pores and snaked through his body. His skin started to crack as he looked shocked.

  “I would have gone with applied physics, if I were you, Alex,” Peter said.

  Alex exploded from the inside as pieces of him rained down over the entire area. Little pieces of burning flesh were everywhere.

  Peter struggled to stand as he looked around. “Poor Alex. Always being manipulated. You should have realized that by keeping the power of a dragon inside the body of a human was not a good idea. Your human body couldn’t contain all of that power. You could have adjusted its use accordingly had you realized what that much power would do to you. And that, my dear boy, is why you should have studied harder.” Peter sighed. He was relieved that it had worked.

  Chapter Eighteen

  With 17 minutes to go, Kadan through his hands up in the air. “Yes! I did it!”

  “You really did it?” Jonathan asked.

  Kadan smiled with confidence. “Hell, yeah! I successfully inserted an additional virus into the game. Anyone with any kind of virus detection system will see that it’s not good to open it and shit-can it! The game’s not going viral! That actually sucks to hear myself say that, but at least the world’s safe.”

  Jonathan looked at the game monitor. “What about the game?”

  Kadan showed some concern. “Dude, I told you. It has to play out.”

  Jonathan smiled. “At least I’m able to help Phoe out.”

  ***

  Symone Armette stopped in front of Phoe. She was dressed in black from the neck down and her hair moved as if a breeze was present.

  “Hello, Thalia,” Symone said, with a hiss in her voice. “I’m so glad that it came down to us.”

  “I know you’re glad,” Phoe responded. “You planned all of this around me.”

  “Bravo,” Symone said, as she clapped her hands. “I had plans for Kadan Alexander’s game, but when I saw you all over the news concerning the Hammer of Thor, it got my attention.”

  Phoe smiled through her physical pain. “You hooked up with Simon when you realized that he was a direct link to me.”

  “Yes,” Symone replied. “I needed a real test for the game and you supplied the perfect subject.”

  “Wow,” Phoe replied. “I had an archenemy and didn’t even know it.”

  Symone tilted her head and smiled. “I would call it more of a fan of your work.”

  Phoe glared at Symone. “You and your brother took the mainframe pill. You disguised yourself as Simon and Jonathan at my award ceremony and you appeared as me to Simon.”

  “And again, I say, yes,” Symone said with a condescending tone. “Appearing as you was a test to see if the pill worked. When I appeared as Simon, it was to get you involved. Burning down your business and shooting your associate were definitive measures to make sure you decided to play. This was definitely worth the price of admission. Your abilities are formidable, to say the least.”

  Phoe coughed up a small amount of blood. “You bad guys always make the same mistakes. Blah, blah, blah-ing about how superior you are, while I bide my time to gain my second wind.”

  “I know,” Symone responded. “I want you at full strength when I kill you. Please, do gain your second wind. Do you need another couple of hours?”

  “The dragon
has been fried!” Peter’s voice echoed through the cavern as Phoe smiled.

  “No,” Phoe returned. “I just needed to hear that. Before all hell broke loose at Alex’s house, Kadan gave me one of the main frame blue pills too.”

  For the first time in the conversation, Symone looked concerned. “You’re lying! If you had taken one, you would have used it already!”

  Phoe shook her head. “You praised me; now you underestimate me. I’m not stupid. I knew that if I used mine, I would have simply been overpowered by the three of you. Now that Alex and Hamilton are no longer factors, it’s just you and me, bitch.”

  Phoe concentrated as her wounds began to heal. The burn marks on her legs slowly started to disappear as well. “That’s better.”

  Symone decided not to give Phoe any more chances to heal. She began another barrage of punches at super speed. Phoe was knocked off balance. She tried to catch her breath, but Symone was just too fast.

  Phoe fell to the ground, but Symone was relentless. The blows landed mostly on Phoe’s upper body and head, which kept her from fighting back. Her mind reeled as she tried to regain control over her own body. She had to be careful because of the pill within her. She didn’t want to think of something so bizarre that she couldn’t change back. She curled into a fetal position as she felt her right hand tingle. She looked up to see something materializing in her hand. A long sword appeared in her hand.

  The sword had ancient Viking markings on the blade. The hilt was made from gold with silver trim. It was a royal sword. Phoe whispered, “The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns had been tempered in blood. It has never failed.”

  Symone stopped her onslaught, as she stared at the sword in disbelief. “What? Is that Hrunting?”

  “I believe it is,” Phoe said. She was as shocked as Symone was. “The sword that was given to Beowulf by the Danish Lord. This looks and feels real. That’s impossible!”

  “Nothing’s impossible where we are,” Symone answered sharply. “It’s a shame, though. Wasn’t that also the sword that was useless against Grendel’s mother? Ha! You might as well discard it as Beowulf did!”

  “Maybe,” Phoe answered as a plan formed in her head. “I think it’s time we stopped playing on your playground.”

  Phoe held onto the sword as she rushed toward Symone. As soon as she made contact with the transportation heiress, the scenery around them changed to a more familiar one. Phoe, Symone, Peter, Simon, and Hamilton’s body reappeared in Alex’s house. The four stopped and looked around to see if they were really where they thought they were.

  Phoe still had possession of Hrunting, which was the only thing that caught her off guard. She pushed the sword under the sofa and expected it to disappear. It didn’t. “Simon! Find your son and Kadan. I have some garbage to take out.”

  Simon took Peter into the hallway and away from the battle. Phoe interlocked her fingers and cracked her knuckles. She then delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of Symone’s head. Symone reeled back a few feet, immediately recovered, and started her speed barrage again. This time, Phoe was ready. Phoe matched her punch for punch as each woman took as good as she gave.

  Symone inhaled slowly, then exhaled. “You’ll have to find my breath gate now, Phoe.”

  “I don’t need instructions on how to kick your ass, Symone,” Phoe replied as she hit Symone with an uppercut. No effect. She repeated her uppercut, followed by a knee to the gut. Same result. Nothing.

  Phoe thought about it for a second, then delivered a punch to Symone’s neck. Symone’s hand went to her throat as she fell to her knees. Phoe grabbed her by the hair and threw her through the first wall she could see that led outside. Symone busted through the wall and landed on the lawn. Phoe followed.

  Once Phoe was outside, Symone was already transforming into someone else. Phoe looked around to make sure that none of the neighbors would get curious and move closer. She saw three children standing across the street with their mouths open. Phoe hoped someone would have the brains to call the police.

  Symone was in the disguise of a male police officer in full uniform. “Nice,” Phoe said. Phoe thought long and hard about what she could do to beat the woman. Phoe also turned into a police officer and started to fight Symone again. The two police officers were identical in every aspect. They started punching each other and one tackled the other as they rolled around on the grass in the front yard.

  Peter, Simon, Kadan, and Jonathan exited the house in time to see the two twin officers beating each other bloody. The real police pulled up with two cruisers. Both the pseudo-cops stopped to look at the officers getting out of their vehicles.

  One of the fighting police officers closed his eyes and disappeared.

  The twin started to hold his gut as he doubled over. He convulsed as he started to groan. Within a matter of moments, he exploded from within, leaving only a bloodied and confused Symone lying on the lawn.

  “Phoe!” Peter yelled as his eyes filled with tears. Peter dropped to the ground and cried uncontrollably. He couldn’t believe that the woman whom he had known for such a big part of his life was gone. Phoe was the only one who had ever challenged him. He considered himself a stronger person for having known her. His heart was crushed. There was nothing that could be done or said to console him at that moment.

  Simon went over to talk to the police officers. He pointed at Kadan. One officer went over to Kadan. “Sir, you’re under arrest for cyber-terrorism.” Kadan lowered his head as he was cuffed and led to the back of one of the cruisers.

  Symone was trembling, but she managed to stand up. She felt her hands shake as she started to wipe the blood off of her with a disgusted look on her face.

  The police continued to talk with Simon as Jonathan walked up to Symone. “What?” she barked, nervously. “Do I get an antidote for this pill before you arrest me? Listen to me, Jonathan. Let me at least do some good before you have the police lock me away.”

  He didn’t know what to think. Jonathan knew that whoever that was, they needed to have the pill removed from their system. Jonathan pulled out a hypodermic needle from behind his back. The needle still had a protective cover on it. Symone grabbed it as soon as she saw it. She then proceeded to walk casually into the house. Jonathan followed her.

  “I need transportation to Armette Industries,” Symone said as she continued to tremble. Jonathan had never seen her so vulnerable. He’d just started feeling the anger over Phoe’s death. He wanted nothing to do with Symone, but she seemed almost sincere. He turned around to go back and get his father, when suddenly, he felt a blow to the back of his head and then succumbed to the darkness.

  When he came to, both Symone and the sword of Beowulf were gone.

  Epilogue

  Weeks passed and there still no sign of Symone. Phoe’s private jet disappeared along with Sanchez, the pilot. It was assumed that Symone hijacked it for her escape. There was a worldwide manhunt for her. She was also being accused of murdering Hamilton and wanted in the questioning of the disappearance of Alex Griswold.

  Jonathan Kessler was given several commendations for his part in stopping the virus. Simon even gave him his own research wing at Kessler Industries.

  Kadan Alexander told authorities everything he knew concerning the Armettes’ plan. The fact that he had saved the world was taken into consideration when the time came for his sentencing. Simon, Jonathan, and Peter all agreed to testify in his defense. Getting the court to actually believe their testimony was another story. It would have been easier if Hrunting was still around. Simon assumed that it probably had some sort of expiration date and vanished into thin air.

  Simon went to Taos and spared no expense for Phoe’s funeral. It was held in the same room where Phoe had received her awards. The entire town was there, along with her mother and brother.

  Simon gave the eulogy.

  “To say that Thalia Phoenix was one-of-a-kind is moot. She epitomized the spirit of adventure. Her ability to analyze any si
tuation and make the right call was unequaled. Her perseverance and desire to do the right thing always put her in a position to make the appropriate sacrifices. She never compromised her values or ethics to get a job done. In the time that I came to know her, she gained my full respect with everything she did. She agreed to jobs that most people would have laughed away as ludicrous. She never stopped believing in what she did and the people that assisted her. Phoe was a great supporter of the museums in Taos and had an amazing following. She has left her mark on us all. We will never forget her.”

  There was silence as Anjelica and Eric approached Simon. “I must say that was almost heartfelt,” Anjelica huffed.

  Simon looked surprised. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  Eric grabbed his smartphone and searched the internet until he found what he wanted. He then showed it to Simon. It was a news report on Symone Armette. Eric turned the volume up so Simon could hear it. “…Symone Armette is wanted by the FBI, but somehow managed to get past everyone to get into her office and sell all of her shares in Armette Transportation. The funds are then said to have been transferred to make several anonymous donations to various museums in Taos, New Mexico. Since all money that funded her illegal activities came from outside sources, law enforcement officials allowed the donation to take place. Ms. Armette disappeared again after video of her office appearance surfaced.”

  “Interesting story,” Simon said, while he showed no emotion. “Maybe some people can change.”

  Eric grinned. “Yeah, right. Tell us the story again about what that main frame pill did.”

  Simon started to laugh as Anjelica and Eric smiled.