Queen's Move (Lilith's Shadow Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  Clicking her comm over to the channel with Morgan and Warden, Lilith spoke calmly, turning to head toward the battlefield as she checked her systems. “Reaper disabled and on its way over the lake. Hopefully I can get the rest of the way without being ambushed again.”

  The inertial sump was far more heavily charged than she’d like, almost in the red, but the level was dropping slowly as the suit converted the energy into power for her suit. Her armor wasn’t in the best of shape, some areas only with eighty-seven percent structural integrity, but she’d expected that on slamming bodily into an armored airship. She’d lost a couple of energy mounts as well, but by and large her suit was working.

  “You were wha—gah!” Warden began, cursing into the microphone as she continued. “Morgan, could you please deal with those Legionnaires?”

  “I’m trying!” Morgan snapped in return. “What’s that about an ambush?”

  “A Reaper tried to ambush me. I disabled their controls and sent them flying northwest,” Lilith said simply, checking her sensors, then paused as she frowned. “Are you alright?”

  “Freaking fantastic. I’m sorry, Lil,” Warden replied angrily, pausing, her voice strained. “If I wasn’t having to deal with all these jerks, I’d be fine. What’s wrong with this guy?”

  Lilith’s mouth opened to speak, but as she did, Circe interjected, her tone clinical. “Based on your telemetry, I believe that Russel Jones is in the midst of an extremely violent awakening and is currently drastically overdrafting his reserves. I do not believe he’s entirely conscious, either, and based on Decarin’s message I suspect he was attacked by a psychic. No others on-site possess psychic powers.”

  “Uh-oh,” Lilith whispered, paling a little.

  She’d overdrafted herself once when healing Rachel, and it’d put her flat on her back for a couple of hours, but that hadn’t been a severe case. Lilith had done some research on the subject, and in some cases people could kill themselves during particularly bad awakenings. That made his situation much more perilous.

  “Crap, that’s… Morgan, can you wake him up?” Warden asked, her voice a little panicked. “I can contain him, but that won’t help if he fries himself!”

  “Maybe if no one was shooting at us, but I don’t think—” Morgan began, then cut off as she added, “I’m a little busy!”

  Of course, that was the moment when Lilith’s sensors picked up something, and she mentally cursed as they automatically adjusted and brought a vague outline into focus of a humanoid shape carrying what looked like a briefcase, one hand holding its side. The creature was flying to the southwest, then it tensed, turning toward her despite the distance between them.

  Lilith clicked over to a private channel between her and Circe and asked, “That’s the creature, isn’t it?”

  “I believe so, Mistress Lilith,” Circe said.

  Lilith only hesitated an instant, considering the idea of taking it down or potentially saving a life. Even if Morgan couldn’t help the man, Russel, she thought she might be able to, but that would only matter if she could get there in time. It really wasn’t a choice at all.

  “Can you track it?” Lilith asked, continuing on her path toward the university.

  “I can attempt to do so, Mistress Lilith,” Circe confirmed, sounding just a bit confused. “Do you wish me to?”

  “Please,” Lilith said, then clicked over to another channel as she spoke more clearly. “Decarin, the psychic is off the field, and we have an awakening in-progress, with the victim overdrafting his energy. Care to invite Archon to the party?”

  “On it!” Decarin said, sounding relieved.

  “Now, just to get there myself,” Lilith muttered under her breath, and blushed as she heard Warden giggle, which told her she hadn’t muted the microphone this time.

  Okris let relief wash over itself as the armored figure continued toward the battlefield it had left not long before. It wasn’t certain how the figure had detected it, but the sheer strength of its mental focus had drawn Okris’s attention, which was moderately terrifying in its own right.

  In its time in the Multitude, Okris had encountered a great many minds of power, from the most powerful of psychics to the carefully shielded ambassadors of other species, yet none of those had possessed the sheer resilience of the mind it had just sensed. Most minds were porous, with multiple avenues inside even when they were psychics. This mind, though… it was as though it’d been built by a psychic as a fortress, even if it lacked psychic abilities of its own. Okris was certain it could crack the fortress given time, but under the current circumstances, and with the savage in combat armor, it wouldn’t have had good chances. It wasn’t certain why the savage had left, but it wasn’t going to argue under the circumstances, and instead it continued to flee the area.

  Okris did not like this world. It was desperately in need of the order the Multitude could provide.

  Chapter 23

  Monday, April 29th, 2031

  Paragon State University, Paragon City

  The blast of energy startled Warden, and she ducked, cursing under her breath as it lanced over her head, and she glanced to the side and paled as she saw the eight-foot tall brass figure that had just walked onto the field. It had a gun as one arm, and a wicked claw on the other, along with a narrow slit with a glowing red ‘eye’ atop its gleaming, carefully contoured torso.

  “When did a titan get here?” Warden demanded, throwing up a shield to protect Shade just in time, but it certainly wasn’t easy. She was trying to deal with the young super in front of her as well as protect Morgan and Shade at the same time, and she was straining to stretch her powers far enough.

  “Right about now, I think,” Spark replied, pausing under Warden as she hid behind a bench, thwacking one of her pistols as she scowled, then added, “Crap, it’s dead. Still have one, at least.”

  Half of the Legionnaires were down by this point in the battle, and if it weren’t for the Reaper coming in on the occasional strafing run, Warden was sure that Morgan and Spark would’ve dealt with the others by this point. The soldiers had taken cover and were picking their targets more carefully now, which was making all of their lives more difficult, as was Corporal Punishment. The last thing they needed was a titan joining in, though Warden supposed she should be grateful that the Reaper Lilith had encountered hadn’t shown up. The thought caused worry to surge through Warden, mostly about Lilith, but she quashed it firmly to address later.

  The titan retargeted, and Warden swore, increasing the power of the shield over Shade just in time as it unleashed a massive blast at the hero, who dodged to the side anyway. Of course, the distraction meant that a wisp of plasma curled around Warden’s personal shield as Russel attacked her, and she yelped as part of her armor smoked before she dodged away, sweating profusely.

  “Lil, any chance of a boost?” Warden asked, trying to keep track of the entire battlefield and failing, her eyes widening as the Reaper began making another pass, and the flickering laser flashes of Corporal Punishment’s whip arced in the corner of her eyes, cutting apart the shadow creatures Shade was throwing at the villain. “Now would be good!”

  “Here, assuming it works!” Lilith replied, her voice a little strained, but at the same time, Warden felt a surge of energy rush through her as her shields solidified even more and the strain she was feeling weakened.

  “Thanks!” Morgan said, throwing a bolt of energy at the Reaper, then ducked as a Legionnaire tried to take her head off. Warden was far more concerned by the waves of plasma rippling off her shield, and watched as Spark darted out, running circles around the titan as she fired electrical bolts at it.

  “Still not enough,” Warden muttered, considering for an instant, then she redirected the magic protecting her and Shade, instead focusing on Russel as she tried to trap him in a prison like she had Black Harbinger. A glowing golden sphere appeared around him, streaked with blue magic.

  The man tried to dodge, but his reaction was late and slo
w, showing that Circe was likely right about his mental state. His power wasn’t any weaker, though, and Warden grunted as his plasma surged violently against her shield, seething as it tried to break free, as he pressed against the barrier hard. If she wasn’t having to worry about other threats, this would be simple, but the circumstances were not ideal.

  The crackling roar of fire startled Warden, not enough to make her lose control of the man, but it did make her dodge, then she looked up and her eyes widened.

  “Holy shit,” Warden breathed.

  The Reaper emerged from a massive wave of fire, blackened but mostly intact, though one of its engines was all but missing, and behind it was the source of the flame. Archon looked angry, her sword blazing in one hand as she raised it again, her wings beating hard as she chased after the gunship. Not that she could actually catch it, Warden knew. Very, very few heroes could keep up with jets at full speed. More impressive was how the heroine glowed, illuminating everything around her as her wings emitted flames. In the background, Warden could see Lilith’s armor, but compared to Archon’s spectacle, her lover could almost be overlooked.

  The titan spun around, and Warden heard it chirp, then speak. “Class S threat detected. Engaging, recommend immediate evacuation.”

  “Oh, no you—” Warden began, diverting the shield on Morgan, but it fired just as her magic began to form, the energy bolt breaking through the barrier easily.

  The golden bolt lanced across the sky with a crack like thunder and slammed into Archon, prompting a wince from Warden, then the smoke cleared and her eyes widened still more. The angelic woman wasn’t even scratched, and she was glaring at the titan angrily as she changed course.

  “Right! Fall back, everyone! Our target is gone!” Corporal Punishment barked with a last vicious lash of her whip, one that prompted a grunt of pain from Shade as it managed to get through one of his spells and clipped his leg.

  Warden desperately wanted to interfere, but with Russel inside her shield she couldn’t do much. The bay doors of the Reaper opened, and a shimmering light extended from it to touch all the Legionnaires. Then it yanked them bodily into the air as it raced away from the university.

  Before they could get far, Morgan yelled. “Get back here!”

  Her friend’s magic lashed out, wrapping around the waist of one of the Legionnaires and ripped him out of the grasp of the tractor beam, sending him flying into the ground heavily. Then the magic wrapped around the man, disabling him for the moment.

  Bolts of blue light blasted out from Lilith’s figure as she shot at the Reaper, but it jinked from side to side, dodging most of the blasts even as it trailed smoke, avoiding the majority of the damage. Then the remaining Destruction Corps soldiers were pulled into its bay, and it accelerated, leaving the titan behind as it fired at Archon rapidly.

  A sudden surge of plasma ripped out of Russel, drawing Warden’s attention, and she grunted, pouring more magic into containing him, her voice as even as she could keep it when she spoke. “Morgan, if you can help me with him, that’d be appreciated! There’s a lot of plasma in there!”

  The glowing shield was filled with boiling plasma to the point that Warden couldn’t even see Russel anymore, and the pressure on her shield was rising. She couldn’t spare the time to focus on anything else, not even when Archon slammed into the titan, and a shearing sound echoed through the air as the heroine began taking the war machine apart piece by piece.

  “Give me a second, I’ll see what I can do!” Morgan said, rushing over to the sphere and hovering in place, her fingers dancing through the air as she whispered, purple magic filtering through the barrier as Warden focused all of her power on the shield.

  While they worked, Shade came over, looking a little the worse for wear, though Warden did see that he had armor beneath his robes, which likely had prevented him from being injured too badly.

  Spark also came closer, and as she did she asked, “What’s this about an awakening?”

  “Circe said that the man in my shield is going through a violent awakening, and that he isn’t entirely conscious, so he’s overdrafting his energy a lot,” Warden explained tightly, breathing in and out slowly. “If he doesn’t stop soon, I’m not sure what will happen.”

  “That… isn’t good,” Shade said, his voice betraying a hint of breathlessness even through his voice modulator. “You think Morgan can help him?”

  “I hope so,” Warden said, inhaling a little, then decided to slowly lower to the ground to conserve her magic for the task at hand. She went ahead and did the same with the sphere, though she could occasionally see Russel’s hands press against its interior as he struggled to escape.

  “So do I,” Spark said, hesitating as she paused, then asked, “Archon? Need any help over there?”

  Warden glanced over and paused, pursing her lips at the sight. Archon had cut the titan into dozens of chunks, and as she watched the heroine detached the front cowling of its torso and ripped out the power core. Archon shook her head, holding the object with a thoughtful expression.

  “No, I think I’m done. I don’t think I destroyed everything, either, so maybe Dec will be able to get something out of all this. Assuming it doesn’t self-destruct,” Archon said, then looked at the sphere in concern, before looking at Warden. “If you need me to, I can go in there to try to calm him down. That much plasma will singe me some, but my healing factor can deal with it.”

  “I’d prefer not to have to do that. If Morgan can—” Warden began, but her friend interrupted, swearing loudly.

  “Dammit, I can’t get through to him! He’s just… somehow he has powerful mental shields in that state, or he’s ripping apart my magic before I can touch him!” Morgan said, finally turning to look at them in worry. “He’s just getting more and more frantic, and I can’t help him!”

  “Crap, well…” Warden paused as she saw Lilith come arcing back around from chasing the Reaper, then dropped to the ground heavily. Her armor had seen better days, and Warden’s guilt about not being there when Lilith was ambushed grew stronger.

  “The Reaper’s out of the area, and I couldn’t keep up for much longer,” Lilith said, straightening a little as she looked at the shield, continuing. “Did I hear right, that Morgan can’t get through to him?”

  “That’s right,” Morgan said, nodding unhappily. “He’s just resisting everything I can do. I’m afraid we’re going to have to subdue him via force before he kills himself.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Lilith said, and Warden looked at her, opening her mouth to speak, but stopped as Lilith’s armor hissed, then cracked and opened.

  Lilith looked about how she always did, save that her hair was tangled and drawn back in a ponytail, and the armor opened to reveal the skinsuit she had underneath it. Stepping out, Lilith looked at the sphere, then moved toward it confidently.

  “What are you doing?” Archon asked, her voice slightly wary.

  “Getting his attention,” Lilith replied calmly, her voice precise as she looked into the sphere, stepping still closer as she reached out to touch it. Warden hastily increased the power she was pouring into the shield to keep the heat in rather than burning Lilith’s hand. Lilith continued as if she didn’t realize the danger she was in. “My captivation field ignores virtually all mental barriers an individual might possess, and when I focus it, it can punch through almost anything. It’s how I got Morgan’s attention when she was on the verge of death, and I’m hoping I can do the same thing now.”

  “Well, if you’re going to, do it now, Lil. The plasma in there is increasing in pressure fast, and I’m not sure how long I can contain it for, if he keeps pouring it out at this rate,” Warden said, grunting softly as her strain increased still more. “Assuming he can survive it!”

  “Of course,” Lilith said, glancing back at Warden and smiling gently, before turning back to the sphere as she called out softly, “Russel. Russel Jones, wake up.”

  Everything was a haze of
fear, fire, pain, and Russel couldn’t find his way out of it. Everywhere he turned, he just ran into more things that hurt him, lashing out and making him feel even worse. So he’d hidden, in the deepest, darkest corner he could find. There no one could find him. No one could hurt him more. He was safe from… from everything, and slowly he felt himself drifting off, like when he sometimes dozed off while studying.

  “Russel.”

  The voice was soft and gentle, but beautiful despite that. The only problem was what the speaker was saying. Russel didn’t like being called by his full name, so he hesitated, then winced as the voice spoke again.

  “Russel Jones, wake up.”

  “I don’t want to,” Russel mumbled, a little unhappy at the sound of his full name. It almost was like his mother trying to wake him up, but spoken with less exasperation. No, this was coaxing. Gentler, and not as likely to raise his hackles.

  “Russel, come back to us. You need to calm down, before you hurt yourself,” the voice said, and Russel blinked at that, growing confused as he blinked, then blinked again as his vision began to clear.

  “What?” Russel asked, his voice slurring a little, and as his eyes came into focus, he saw an immense amount of blazing red and white… stuff all around him, but it was almost an afterthought as he focused on the only thing that mattered.

  The pair of emerald eyes looking through the golden-blue haze were beautiful, and he saw their owner smile. A woman he recognized from the news, though he wasn’t in any state to remember her name right that moment. Not when the exhaustion hit him all at once.