Facets of the Nether

by William C. Tracy

  Nakan flowed into the two maji, and Rey fell into the chords of Potential, listening to the changes Majus Kheena made, Nakan was moving so fast there was a great store of potential energy around him. Rey’s mentor bled it off, attaching those notes to his own melody instead. Not fast enough. Rey followed his example, bleeding their attacker’s energy in a different manner so the Symphony wouldn’t stop his change. Instead of adding to his potential, Rey sped his melody up and the world slowed down around him.

  There was a flash of blue and Majus Ayama spun, stumbling. She hit the railing of the bridge and nearly fell over, grabbing on to the cold slippery steel. Nakan was already moving past her, to where Majus Cyrysi stood in front of the Effature, hands outstretched, the air rippling in front of him. He’d made some sort of shield, and Nakan scrabbled at it.

  “Get him while he is stopped!” hissed Majus Kheena. “Him, he is after the Effature. This Sathssn, he is very dangerous!” His voice sounded lower, drawn out and slurred.

  So the Life Coalition had stopped even attempts at negotiation? Along with their abduction of Enos, it seemed they had no intention of talking. Maybe Majus Ayama had the right of it after all.

  Rey moved faster than he thought possible, running down the length of metal, assisted by the stolen energy from Nakan. He chanced a look back to see Majus Caroom holding firm at the other end of the bridge, a cloud of green and tan around him. The Benish was doing something with the House of Strength, but it was impossible to say what.

  Majus Ayama had not yet recovered. She was a skilled fighter, Rey knew, which meant Nakan had to be even better, though right now he appeared stymied by Majus Cyrysi’s shield. Rey pushed his legs. He was the only other one close enough. He left his mentor halfway down the bridge.

  But still too far away. Nakan, rather than being knocked back by the shield of air, somehow found his balance. He slid back and drew the strange knife at his belt. It caught light from the walls and Rey winced. It was as if some light was not reflected, and other bits were reflected from a different source.

  Only a few strides away. Rey reached out a hand to catch the Sathssn’s cloak, as Nakan’s hand lifted, a blue aura passing between his gloved fingers and the rippling shield. A ring of frost spread out from his fingers, and behind the barrier, Majus Cyrysi’s eyes went wide, his crest spiking out in surprise. The Effature seemed frozen behind him due to Rey’s excess speed, his face almost comically surprised. Rey followed his gaze to Nakan’s knife. The Effature looked like he recognized it.

  The frost spread across the shield even as Rey clutched dark, rough material between his fingers. The air wobbled and slid. Excess water combined with the drop in temperature changed the air pressure too much for Majus Cyrysi’s barrier to hold. It burst, flinging cold droplets at Rey’s face, and between blinks, Nakan surged forward out of his grip.

  “No!” Rey called, but a shape brushed by him—Majus Ayama, recovered. Her legs churned, a white glow around them, and she grappled the Sathssn, but Nakan slipped around her, the knife flashing between them. Majus Ayama grunted and avoided the blow, but the slash continued as Nakan spun, slicing across the Effature’s belly.

  Nakan finished his spin and ran at Rey, who gaped at the slash, opening in slow motion across the old man’s torso, flesh peeling back like the skin of a fruit. Rey made another grab for Nakan’s cloak. A ripple went through the Effature, as if he were a soap bubble on the edge of popping. Flesh shouldn’t move like that.

  Just like last time, the material of the attacker’s cloak slipped through Rey’s fingers, though it was rough, and should have been easy to catch. It was done with the House of Grace.

  Rey turned to see Nakan make another complete spin, neatly avoiding Majus Kheena’s hands, his robe flowing out in a spiral around his legs.

  Behind him was Majus I’Fon. Though the Lobath was also of the House of Grace, Rey didn’t think zie had been trained in any martial arts like Nakan or Majus Ayama. The short majus put hir hands out to either side as if zie would catch Nakan. Hir own aura of blue and off-white sprang up, reaching out to meet Nakan’s. The two auras warred with each other as Nakan shifted left, then right. Majus I’Fon was always there just before him.

  The auras mixed, and Rey heard Majus Ayama grunt behind him as Rey took a step. If Majus I’Fon could hold Nakan for just a few instants—

  In one fluid motion, Nakan drew another of his knives—not the one that reflected light strangely—and plunged it toward Majus I’Fon’s center. The Lobath’s eyes couldn’t open any farther, but zie twisted out of the path of the blade. Nakan followed his thrust like a fish on a line, zipping past Majus I’Fon even as the Lobath spun back to catch at empty air.

  Nakan’s last opponent was Majus Caroom, who had set themself at the other end of the bridge like a rock wall, taking up nearly the entire width. They’d had the length of Nakan’s attack to prepare, and preparing was what the House of Strength was best at.

  Rey looked back to where the portal Nakan arrived through had stood. Portals were all one-way, and the Symphony resisted if new ones were opened too close to each other. If Nakan was trying to escape, so shortly after closing his last portal, he’d need to be far enough away. Everything depended on where Caroom had positioned themself. Were they close enough to stop the Sathssn?

  Rey couldn’t hope to catch Nakan. He could only look on in frustration as the Sathssn skidded along the steel of the bridge, his blue aura glowing like a fire, trying to sneak past Majus Caroom. Instead, his movement stuttered and slowed, his knees bending beneath his robe. Majus Caroom had used the Symphony to affect the Sathssn’s connection to the bridge—strengthening it beyond his ability to jump. Rey ran, now there might be enough time to catch up. Out of the corner of his eye, Majus Ayama was a blur, headed in the same direction.

  Nakan’s hand finished its motion, though it seemed weighted by chains to the bridge. A swirl of blue and purple developed right behind Majus Caroom’s head, angled upward, turning into a portal. Nakan’s other hand rose and the blue of the House of Grace snaked around and between the green of the House of Strength. Rey could hear Majus Caroom’s grunt of surprise from across the bridge. There was a snapping as if a tree fell and the green fractured, splitting into several fading auras as Majus Caroom staggered.

  Nakan leapt, his connection to the bridge broken, and his hands landed on the Benish’s shoulder’s, turning the upward motion into a somersault around the majus’ bald head so Nakan’s boots angled at his portal. He slid through like a desert scuttler slipping into its hole, and the portal closed behind him. Majus Caroom groaned forward like a stump bending to the last water source.

  Rey took his notes back, letting the extra energy he’d stolen escape. Time sped up to normal. The others recovered, then rushed to the fallen Effature, so tightly packed Rey couldn’t even see the man, though he was creating a puddle on the metal of the bridge—dark, viscous blood. Rey counted silently. All the Houses of the maji were covered. He pursed his lips, looking between the ends of the bridge. More than anything, he wanted to go to the lovable old man, but if the maji couldn’t fix up the Effature without him, he wouldn’t add much. And he had an idea that might help just as much.

  Rey made an educated guess that both portals linked to wherever the Life Coalition was hiding. They’d been barely far enough apart, especially for the short time between Nakan opening them. Something like that set up a resonance in the Symphony. It was the reason maji couldn’t make the same change twice.

  He had a bit of a talent for Portals. It was difficult to catch where a portal linked to once it closed, but he could still faintly hear the two Nakan opened. Rey closed his eyes, blocking out Majus Ayama’s frantic attempts to stanch the old man’s bleeding. He couldn’t help—he had almost no medical knowledge.

  There. That was the resonance—faint, but reflecting the rhythm of the other end of the portal. The House of Potential had an advantage in this area, and Rey had an affinity for it. He went where the bridge c
onnected to the tower of the House of Communication.

  The music of that other place was still here. It wasn’t enough to craft a portal, but fortunately Rey had a second source of music. Nakan had made a mistake in creating both portals so close together.

  He ran to the other end of the bridge, passing the others on the way there, in a tight circle around the leader of the Great Assembly. Patches of the old man’s face were rippling, wavering between his normal skin color and iridescent black. Had the knife done that to him? If Rey thought about it too long, he’d lose his one chance to track down the Snakey who’d done this to the Effature.

  Near the wall towering overhead, were traces from the other portal. Rey puffed. The bridge was long, and he’d run it twice now.

  The music here was even fainter, though Nakan’s attack had taken maybe a couple minutes from entrance to exit. Rey raised his hands to the spot where the portal had closed, drinking in the melody.

  The Symphony of Potential was low and tranquil, with only the soaring arpeggios detailing the bridge’s height from the ground. That was a big source of energy he could tap if needed, though he’d probably have to jump off the bridge to do it.

  Behind those notes were complex rhythms, speaking of another place, far away, cold and more devoid of energy. There was height and speed in the chords, which he compared to the impressions from the other portal. Together, they painted a larger picture, though still not enough to create a portal.

  Rey spun. Majus Ayama had spoken of the Life Coalition’s home base, on a satellite of Sath Home. Height, speed, and the low energy of the firmament were all consistent. Nakan was a member of the Life Coalition. He had gone back to his hidey-hole.

  “I need the rest of yer information on the Life Coalition’s base!” He shouted to the group kneeling around the Effature.

  Majus Kheena looked up to him, his red eyes bleary. “The Effature, he needs immediate aid. We must move him to the House of Healing. There will be many there who can help. No time for other distractions.”

  Rey ignored his mentor and turned to Majus Cyrysi. The arrogant old bird had his head screwed on right. “Yer have the markers Majus Ayama’s bodged together on the Life Coalition, do yer? Well, there are more here, and we have exactly one chance.” He spread his arms to the two ends of the bridge.

  At that, Majus Cyrysi pushed to his feet, his crest spiking up in surprise. “You are having enough markers to be creating a portal to the Life Coalition?” Rey saw Majus Ayama on the edge of his vision, her eyes fixed on Rey even as her hands worked to compress the Effature’s bleeding.

  “I do—give me the rest,” Rey said. He waggled his hands. “Come on! Do yer want revenge for what that Snakey did to the old man or not?”

  “We do,” Majus Ayama said, then pulled Majus Cyrysi back down to her with surprising strength for her small form.

  She set to bossing the others around like only a former Council member could. “Ori, make a binding of air and heat. Replace the compression I have here—no, right here. Good. I’m taking my fingers away. Panen, can you keep the wound from slipping around Ori’s flows of air? Yes, like that. Caroom, a little stren—I see, already on it. Perfect. Kheena, work with me to make this a System. We need to it to last until the Effature reaches the medical ward at the House of Healing, but so any member of that house can unravel it. On three. Do you feel where I’m changing the Symphony? There should be a chord transformation around this area—I know you can’t hear it, but feel. Yes. There. Now make it permanent. All—you will lose a few notes because of this, but I think we can agree it’s worth it.”

  There were nods from the other maji, and Rey heard Majus Kheena moving phrases in the energy surrounding the Effature. The air practically buzzed with extra energy, festooning the Symphony of Potential with grace notes, tremolos, and trills.

  When Majus Kheena made one final change, the embellishments solidified with a rushing squeal into the structure of the music.

  Majus Ayama sat back. “Well, he’s not dead yet, but I have no idea what that rippling phenomenon is in his face. Palmoran—can you hear me?” The majus gently patted the Effature’s cheek. “Nothing. We have to get him stable. Ori, go help the boy.”

  Majus Cyrysi pushed to his feet and stumped to Rey, while Majus Ayama bossed the others around, planning to transport the Effature.

  “Give me the other markers,” Rey demanded. “I’ve got the rest all muddled up in me head, and I can’t lose ‘em.”

  “Hm. This is to be highly irregular,” Majus Cyrysi grumped. “Usually it is the majus of the House of Communication who is to be opening the portal.”

  “Well if yer want to lose this location, go right ahead,” Rey told the Kirian, whose crest fluttered like a wounded bat. Rey stared defiantly up at the arrogant old bird.

  “If that is what you are wishing, then so be it.” Majus Cyrysi lifted one long, clawed finger and pressed it to Rey’s forehead. Information cascaded to him in a jumble of sights, smells, and sounds, sounding as if the music had been collected from multiple instruments of an orchestra. Rey backed away as the flow of information finished, blinking and trying to parse it all.

  “Yer could’o gone a bit slower,” Rey said, then waved a hand as the majus opened his mouth. “I think I’ve got a handle on the mess, though.” His musical theory classes finally came in handy. Old teacher Srat would be proud.

  Rey closed his eyes, arranging twenty different instruments on the fly. He smoothed the transitions, then threw the whole mess into the Symphony. He used his notes to connect his construct with the air above the bridge, then opened his eyes to see the hole spiral into being, surrounded by an aura of brown. Majus Ayama and the others straightened up, hearing the change.

  “This leads to the Life Coalition’s main base on this space object yer were talkin’ about,” Rey said.

  “It does?” Majus Ayama asked. Her face was stony enough to scare off a whole pride of sand chasers. “Of course it does, don’t answer that.” She turned back to the others. “The Effature must get to the medical ward or he’ll die.”

  “I canna hold it open forever,” Rey said. “And without soakin’ up the music on the other side o’ this portal, I donna think I can open it again. You want Nakan? You want yer apprentice back? Now is the time.”

  “Anyone staying behind?” Majus Ayama asked. She glanced around at the collected maji, every face as hard and determined as hers. “I didn’t think so.” She looked back to Rey. “Can you hold it for a few minutes while we get help?”

  Rey considered, then nodded. “A few minutes, yes.” He wasn’t staying behind either. The Life Coalition had answers to everything going wrong the past several days, from Inas to this attack.

  “I will find the nearest majus,” Majus I’Fon yelled over hir shoulder as zie took off down the bridge. There’d be plenty in the House of Communication, though it would impossible to keep gossip of the Effature’s injuries hidden.

  “Good. Kheena, see if you can find any of the Effature’s guard while Panen is gone. I need to monitor the Effature,” Majus Ayama said. Rey’s mentor ran after the Lobath, his robe flapping. “Finally, we can take this to the Life Coalition’s own turf.”

  “And make ‘em tell us why they’re so obsessed with this power source of theirs they’re willin’ to tear up our own Effature,” Rey said. He squared his shoulders against the strain of keeping the portal open. “No one does that.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  New Realities

  - The Nostelrahns are fighting again with the Lufvurn. The proposal the Lufvurn Multitudinous Fractal Theocrate put forward to divide labor in the city has problems, yes, but the Nostelrahn Head Guardian is making an overcautious response in ree’s answer. Ree’s concerns do not take into account the other four genders of the Nostelrahns adequately, and hardly address the problems with the upcoming Caraakn breeding cycle. I will have to make the weight of my will known to keep the leaders of the species in line.

  From notes
of Crominu Vaevicta, Effature

  Sam eyed the broad wall of the compound. It was only a few stories tall, but took up many city blocks. A massive Caraakn lumbered by, the front head turned to argue with the spindly-limbed symbiote in the back. Above them, a flock of Lufvurn, like a child’s crayon drawing of butterflies, disappeared over the top of the Effature’s compound.

  The aliens in this section of the Nether bumped, twisted, and flew past, and Sam twitched whenever one did. They grated on him worse than the ones in his section of the Nether. He wasn’t used to them yet.

  “How are you doing?” he whispered to Inas. The hurt when Inas spoke of being trapped in a little box was an ache in Sam’s belly. He wanted to remove everything that happened and make him whole again. But the hand Sam held was no longer waxy and stiff, like it had been when Inas was captured. He had gained control of it while in captivity, though things still moved under his skin. How much pain had they put him through?

  Inas was silent, staring up and around, and at first Sam thought he hadn’t heard the question. He was about to repeat it when Inas swung his head to Sam.

  “I’m thankful to be with you, Sam,” he said, but there was heat beneath his words. “But it will take time to trust again. I know you won’t hurt me, but I don’t know if I can promise the reverse. I’m different. What I see and hear has more effect on me—I have to control how I react, what I try to do. Be cautious around me.”

  He started to pull his hand from Sam’s, but Sam held it tight. It stayed the same shape.

  “You won’t hurt me,” he insisted. “I know you. I didn’t rescue you, and I hate myself for that, but I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you. I hope you can tell me what happened, in time.”