Bloodback

by Darby Harn

  I get up on my feet. “Siski murdered Lamar. She’s been murdering wolves for years, to feed herself.”

  The cave shakes with Siski’s roar. Lies!

  Teto emerges out of the gathered pack, dried blood clayed on his fur. Star Walker speaks truth.

  Whispers swirl around the cave. They build to growls. Howls. The other wolves bare their teeth and encircle Siski. They’re so trusting, even now, none of them appreciate her threat before she telekinetically flings them against the walls.

  I fire a beam of energy at her. Siski vanishes and the shot blackens stone. For crying out loud.

  Claws rake across my back and the next thing I know I’m sideways against the altar of the Great Deer. The skull of the deer falls from its perch, landing over my head. Through the eyes of the other wolves, all barking their thoughts at me at once, I can see my own magenta light, streaming through the cavities in the skull into blazing crowns of flame.

  Take that off, Siski says.

  I stand. Why? It’s not like you respect the deer, Siski.

  I give to Great Deer.

  And yet you’ve never seen him. I have.

  Fear in a person is a troubling thing to behold. In an animal of such power, it’s terrifying. Lies…

  The telekinetic wolves draw Siski’s attention as the others come at her flank. Rocks hurl through the air at her. They explode to powder. Siski leads many of the wolves astray with a projection and as she does, I pummel the real deal with a blast.

  The wolf staggers back on her hind legs, unwilling to submit despite the insistent, badgering actions of the wolves trying to force her out of the cave. Siski bludgeons wolves with a telekinetic hammer, and howls her fierce refusal.

  “You can’t kill all of us, Siski,” I say.

  Wolves submit. I just kill you.

  Energy flares in my hands. You tried, lady.

  Siski’s eyes narrow. Star Walker weak.

  Don’t make me do it.

  You can’t, Siski says, and charges.

  I snap a whip of energy at Siski. Light flashes in the cave and the shape of Siski writhes inside my own, my body a net the wolf is caught in. Claws scratch for some anchor as Siski sinks into the bottomless void with all the others The Ever acquired. Her thoughts fizz, a tablet in water, clouding mine.

  I get free, Siski says.

  I

  g e t

  f r e e

  Power surges through me. Her power. Confidence crackles off her energy into mine. Her hunger becomes mine. Her lust. This is the first acquisition in over fifty years. Like riding a bike. Our power is free again. Our purpose restored.

  The work must continue.

  Ravenous light casts off me, and the wolves scatter for cover. Shadows writhe on the floor of the cave, as much in desire as in frustration. Calm settles over me. Peace. I find my focus, and rein in the hunger of the Myriad.

  You are us, the voice says.

  And we will do as we must.

  Light fades within me. The hunger. I sink against the altar. The skull. I’ve been wearing it this whole time. I take it off, and set it back where it belongs.

  Teto cautiously approaches. Siski dead?

  Light flickers in my chest. “Yes. No. She lives in me.”

  He blinks. Star Walker pack leader now?

  “Oh, no. Goodness. I’ll let you all sort that out. I’m sorry it came to this… I’m sorry, Teto.”

  Star Walker promise justice. Star Walker keep promise.

  I never wanted to hurt anyone. I never wanted to use my powers, but I know now defending the city will never permit me the luxury of choice. All the citizens of Break Pointe, people and animals alike, will have peace. No matter the cost.

  I brush Teto’s head. “I’ll keep my other promises… I’m going to make the city safe, for everyone. People and wolves can live together. We can have a future. But I need your help.”

  Teto nods. Bloodbacks help.

  “Thank you… now. Would you mind if I passed out?”

  Some of Abi’s color has come back. A little of her definition. Her recovery amazes Vidette, but not me. As long as I’ve known her, Abi has been an endless reservoir of energy. I’m surprised there aren’t jets rocketing out of her. Even so, she spends most days sleeping in the apartment. Teto deploys the Bloodbacks to patrol the city, allowing me some time to spend with Abi, and to heal myself. I’m exhausted. Still, I can’t sleep much more than a few minutes. Wolves chase deer through my dreams. Flaming antlers set fire to stars. Night flees the sky and I wake up in bed beside her. It’s fine. Abi’s rest is mine.

  Her peace.

  Abi stretches out of her sleep. “You’re here…”

  I pull her blanket up a bit. “I’m here.”

  “You seem different.”

  “I got eaten by a wolf.”

  “Oh. Did you get… passed?”

  “I got spit out.”

  “But you’re so tasty.”

  “Some people have limited palates.”

  “I’m glad,” Abi says. “I’m glad you’re ok.”

  I smile. “You saved me.”

  “I did?”

  I’ve spent most of my life trying to carry someone else. A strange anxiety bristles through me now, as I consider the possibility someone else wants to carry me. That we could carry each other, and be strong. Together.

  I show my hand. Bare. Abi peels the blanket back. She opens her palm flat against mine. We touch. Tears wet her lips. Eager light laces our hands together. Arcs of energy snake along her skin, beneath it, illuminating the tissue beneath. Her pulse races, ba-dumm, ba-dumm, ba-dumm, and with all my focus and all my heart, I kiss her. Power bleeds from Abi, into me. Life. I grip Abi’s wrist, afraid of acquiring her but Abi holds her hand to the fire. Energy crackles between us. Hope.

  There’s no distinction.

  The flutter of wings echoes around the cavern of the alien ship. I rise to the deck ringing the core. Spastic light convulses through the core as I set down. My fear of this great and terrible power had lessened, but not my guilt in using it. If anything, that’s worse. I break off a shard of crystal scabbing the deck, and float upwards to the cracked dome above. I scratch out the lines of a great, powerful wolf on the hull. Notch stars in Siski’s eyes. Ghosts in her belly. Not sure what I’m doing, exactly. I need to do it all the same. The light of the core flickers against the curving hull, and it looks as if the wolf is running, free; as if she was living, again.

  “You give life to me,” I say, “as I give life to you.”

  I drift back from the drawing. My hope is there will be no more, even as I consider all the space left to fill.

  Blind Tiger stops before the giant blackboard in my lab. His eyes fix on the floor, but his head turns from left to right, following the arc of the schematics of my engine.

  “This will be a place of wonders,” he says. “I can see it.”

  I continue unpacking the equipment he brought to replace everything Siski destroyed. “Thank you again, Anwar.”

  He wanders through the dense labyrinth of crates stacked in the lab, a hand clasped around the collar of his cape as if to keep it on his shoulders. “Thank you. I appreciate you alerting me to Boshi’s misconduct. So disappointing.”

  “What will you do?”

  “Try and find her. She’s no call-no show.”

  I stop mid-way through opening a crate. “She’s missing?”

  “I can’t see her, anywhere,” he says. “Though a cat like Boshi always lands on her feet. Likely, she’s found a new gig with whatever side hustle she was running. This Umbra.”

  “Do you know anything about them?”

  He shakes his head. “Not a thing.”

  “It’s something we should look into.”

  “See, I need someone with your vision. Perhaps you could take over her role. Think of it – the two of us, together…”

  I smile. “I’m plenty busy here.”

  His frown is as exaggerated as everything else a
bout him. “A shame, really. Good help is hard to find.”

  “I’m lucky in my friends,” I say.

  “Abi is recovering?”

  “She is. She’s going to be ok.”

  “I’m glad,” he says. “I’ll send cookies. Boxes of them. All varieties. What about you?”

  “I don’t need anything else.”

  “I meant, how are you?”

  The salt-sweet of Abi’s lips lingers on mine. Her taste permeates me, as the energy of this city, living and dead. Most people think nothing grows in The Derelicts but weeds. Not true. The ground worms with life no one sees. Ants build elaborate cities beneath buckled sidewalks, unfettered by concerns of money or obligation. Gardens sprout from empty lots, blooming green with celery, carrots and tomatoes that rabbits pilfer. Wolves hunt the rabbits, burying their bones in guilt. Life coalesces out of nothing, as it always does, flooding the wounds scoured in death and all the life of Break Pointe tugs on me. The iron in blood, the nickel in dirt, the salt in skin, the endless life springing, sparking, spurring out of the dust.

  “I’m good,” I say.

  He lifts my jacket off a stack of crates, the leather ragged from my battle with Siski. “Are you sure you don’t need anything else? Say the word. Whatever you want.”

  I pinch a crease in his cape. “Actually… could I get the name of your tailor?”

  Save for the working traffic lights, the neighborhood around Gresham is as desolate as the ones in The Derelicts. I don’t remember it that way, but I’ve been to my grandmother’s house exactly once in my life. Mostly what I remember is my dad talking the whole way over from Break Pointe, and this stilted quiet when we got there. A security door bars the front door. A faded sticker of the Great Power symbol wrinkles in the living room window, warning intruders the home is protected.

  “You sure she still lives here?” Abi says.

  “I should have called.”

  “You didn’t call first?”

  I bite my lip. “I’m not good at this.”

  Abi wrinkles her nose. “Baby steps.”

  My PEAL buzzes. I swipe away the update.

  “Everything ok back home?” Abi says.

  “I’ve got it covered.” I undo my seatbelt, and take a deep breath. “I’m more scared now than I was of Siski.”

  Abi takes my hand. “To grandmother’s house we go.”

  “Don’t even,” I say.

  I knock on the gated screen, and then grip Abi’s hand. A dog barks. Someone peeks out from behind the curtains. Every fear I had of this moment, of rejection, confusion and simple, painful awkwardness all multiply and I’m just about to hurry back to the car when the front door cracks open.

  “Kitsie? Is that you?”

  I strangle Abi’s hand. “Hi, Nana.”

  My grandmother hides behind the gated screen like it’s some kind of shield. She’s older, and smaller than I remember. I don’t know. She seemed so big and imposing, then. All of this did.

  “I been reading about you in the papers,” Nana says. “I suppose what they said is true, then.”

  I zip up my new leather jacket a bit. The zipper on this one is quicker, smoother, than my old one. It’s not any easier. I tug the zipper back down, and show her my heart.

  “Most of it,” I say.

  She looks at Abi. “Who’s this now?”

  “Nana, this is Abi. My girlfriend.”

  Abi waves. “Hi, grandma.”

  Nana lingers behind the door. “It’s been ages.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I should have called first… I should have called. I thought I’d visit. If that’s ok.”

  “Is it ok…”

  Nana unlocks the gate. Before I’m properly inside, I’m gobbled up in a big, warm hug.

  “C’mon, you’re letting all the heat out,” Nana says, and Abi gets a hug next. Relieved laughter competes with the barking of a small pug. Another text pops up on my PEAL.

  Patrol Update: Skies Clear.

  I swipe at the screen, and open the link to the video feed attached to the text. Red light flickers on the fringes on the frame. The perspective of the camera rotates 360 degrees, just off the prow of the Halfway Hotel, hovering above the intersection of Six Corners. My apartment window comes into view and with it, the reflection of the person wearing the body camera. A short, waist-length black cape hangs from the other Kit’s shoulders, the blood red lining illuminated by the Myriad.

  “Everything ok?” Abi says.

  I pinch away the video. I nod, with a smile. Everything’s grand. The door closes behind me and so does my reflection, a ghostly red, broken only by the burning yellow of my eyes.

  Original Siski Sketch

  About the Author

  DARBY HARN is a contributor for CBR.com, Star Wars News Net and Movie News Net. His sci-fi superhero novel EVER THE HERO debuted in January. His short fiction appears in Strange Horizons, Interzone, Shimmer and other venues.

  Stay Up To Date At

  darbyharn.com

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you endlessly for your support and feedback Anita Perez, Shelley Campbell, Leigh M. Morrow, Ben Kral, Polly Brewster, Wayne Santos, Jennifer Lane, Alia Hess, Essa Hansen, Sunyi Dean.

  Thank you all, so much.

  -Darby

  Also by Darby Harn

  COMING FALL 2020

  Excerpt

  It is a cruelty to hear everything, and not be heard.

  I suppose I deserve it. The world sent me a distress signal in Kit. Come back with me. I didn’t answer. Why should they? Still, I send messages to Ground Control, with increasing alarm. My hair floats in octopus legs around my head. Frost coats the windows on the far sides of airlocks I no longer hazard. Runaway systems failures threaten the garden aboard, and my main source of food. The solar panels the Laputa relies on to power her energy cells require maintenance, maintenance I can’t perform and doesn’t seem to be the priority of anyone on the ground.

  “Hello?” I say. “Is anyone there?”

  THE JUDGMENT OF VALENE

  EVER THE HERO

  BOOK II

  Coming Fall 2020!