by Corey Tate
He stopped midsentence.
Claire stared at him.
“Of course!” He playfully slapped himself on the head. “The Coliseum! I can see which one of you survives the longest. Hopefully you’ll last longer than the animal.” He smiled at Sam’s dead body. “I think I’ll not make it teams this time. I believe that I will make you face each other individually. I still have a day until my master colonizes Earth and I get control of this planet, so why not have a little fun?”
She started shaking. Usually, Kane would just let people attack each other in the Coliseum, because he generally didn’t care. However, Claire had heard of a couple instances where he would bring out opponents—hybrids, unnatural animals, some of Terminus’s failed experiments—to battle people if he took a special interest in them.
—You think right, Claire, Kane thought to her. I have a special surprise for you.
* * *
Scott ran until his feet hurt, but it didn’t feel to him like he was getting anywhere. Before, they had just been in what looked like one cave. Now he realized that the Infinite Cave consisted of perhaps hundreds of smaller caves that were all interconnected. All he could see was, well, nothing. The darkness of the cave enveloped everything. Light was not an option.
“Nick!” he bellowed for perhaps the billionth-and-a-half time. “Nick!”
No answer. Great.
“Where are you?” he asked, half to himself.
Scott rubbed his heel on the cave floor, feeling miserable, thinking of Nick. His foot jerked itself to the left on its own accord.
He jogged in that direction, following his instincts. He continued to think of Nick, and as he did, his feet seemed to read the earth like a compass.
Nick controls metal, he thought. I wonder if that has anything to do with this!
He ran faster.
He couldn’t Accelerate. The cave was doing something to him. Something bad. He no longer had his sonar vision, and he couldn’t really see where he was going. His feet seemed to know exactly where they were going, though. He ran through tunnels, and in no time at all he heard sounds of screaming.
It was Nick. It sounded like he was being tortured.
His feet followed the sound to a door that was made entirely out of bones.
Scott backed away from the door, covering his mouth to keep from throwing up. The stench was unbearable! It made his head swim and his eyes blink uncontrollably. The smell was so disgusting that his nose started to bleed.
He took off his shirt and tied it to the back of his neck, spreading it over his mouth like a handkerchief. Then he put his hand on the knob made entirely of jumbled human teeth and pulled at the door. It opened easily. All Scott had to do was barely move the door from its current position, and it swung the rest of the way with a creak.
He was now staring down a narrow, dimly lit hallway that was also made entirely out of human bones. He started walking.
He looked down at his hands and realized that he could see them now. As he approached the end of the hall, the light grew until he could make out another door at the end, made of more human bones. There was a very disturbing theme here.
He realized that the light was coming from behind the door. He put his hand on the knob and stopped.
He had seen too many movies where people would open a door out of curiosity and end up dead. Still, the pressure in his legs pulled him toward the door. Nick was in there. He was sure of it.
“Oh, hell.” Scott sighed as he pulled at the door.
It didn’t open. He tried again. Nothing.
He hit the door in frustration with his hand still on the knob. The door opened inwards.
Oh. It’s a push.
Scott scratched his head. This was one of those times where he was happy no one had been around to see that.
He laughed to himself despite the seriousness of his situation and took a step into the room just as someone slammed the door back into his face.
His nose took the brunt of the attack. It cracked and flattened against his face. He fell down to the ground with blood splattering beneath the shirt covering his face.
The last thing he saw before he passed out was Nick standing over him, holding the door handle.
* * *
Scott awoke to the smell of smoke. He coughed and opened his eyes.
He moved a bit and cried out in pain. Ropes tied his feet together, and another cord bound his hands behind his back. He was hanging upside down about two feet off the ground. His bloody shirt was now tied snugly around his neck.
“Have a look around, boy.”
He looked around to see who had spoken, but no one was there. He saw that he was hanging in the middle of a circle of fire. Thirteen candles with blue flames, placed around the circle, lit up most of the room. The only part that wasn’t lit up was a dark corner on the far side of the room.
A chill went up Scott’s back. He stared harder at that corner until something came into focus.
“Yes, good. You see me. But do you really see me?” the voice in the corner asked.
Someone stepped out of the corner. It was Nick.
“Nick? What is this? What’s going on?” Scott asked, confused. The blood was rushing to his face, making it hard for him to keep his eyes open and to speak normally.
“Nick? Oh, is that what this body is?” Nick asked, but not in his voice. “No, I am not Nick. I am more. Much more. Or at least I was. I am Plegaborne, the Higher Being of Sacrifice.”
“What?” Scott asked, bewildered.
“Did you not hear me, cretin?” Nick’s face turned into an ugly sneer. “You mean to tell me that you have not heard the Armadronian tales of the old gods?”
“No. I’m not exactly from around here,” Scott answered.
“Interesting. Well then, since we have quite some time, and you are my first willing visitor, I will have to tell you, won’t I?” Nick’s body paced around Scott. “Where shall I start? Oh, yes!
“I had lived in a Higher Plane of existence, on a planet known as Earth for many millennia. However, some years ago I went to bring death to a man, as I normally did when an offering was presented to me. He was floating endlessly in the bottom of the ocean. I knew something was wrong with the man. He had something different inside him. When I touched him, something strange happened. He awoke from death and saw me even though I was on a different plane! The man grabbed hold of me and somehow—I don’t know how—extracted part of my soul. In fact, half of my essence was stolen from me in that moment.”
Nick/Plegaborne sighed.
“He injected that part of my essence into himself, which empowered him to travel to the Chaos Dimension where no lesser being in the Six Worlds Complex has ever gone before. That part of my essence acted as a shield against the forces there, and I have never been able to access it since.
“The next thing I knew there was a flash, and we were both transported to this wretched planet. But I was weakened and had a physical body for the first time in millenia, and so the man threw me into this cave and used my own abilities against me. He had a Conjurer lay a powerful spell on me that prevents me from leaving this cave. However, what the man did not find out until many decades later was that his curse backfired. Since he had stolen part of my essence, his body was not in perfect sync with the power. Now, my ability will not allow him to venture into this cave, and anyone to whom he grants power will suffer the same fate.”
“Then what happened?” Scott asked, silently stretching his fingers behind his back, attempting to break the cord.
“Then the rest of my essence slowly began to wither away.” Plegaborne sighed. “I no longer even have a body, so I have to possess the unfortunate bodies that dare to enter this cave. Each body lasts forever to me, because the man did not take away my invulnerability. However, I eventually grow tired of one body and move to the next. Sacrifice is needed to keep balance,” Plegaborne added. “I will never forget that man, and I still wonder how he somehow possessed the power
to see the Higher Planes. Still, it is better than being enslaved on that stench-ridden planet Irri again.”
“Okay, listen, Plegaborne,” Scott said nervously, thoroughly confused. “Do—do you think you could let us go? Just this once? I mean, you could find another body, right? You said that you don’t really need us.”
—Scott! Nick! It’s Claire! Get outta there and help us! Sam and I are about to die! I’m being forced to get my mind read by—
Scott strained to hear more, but there was only silence. He fought back feelings of panic and tried to refocus on solving the one problem keeping him from helping Sam and Claire: Plegaborne.
“Hmmm,” Plegaborne answered. “No. I see that you are partly from Earth, just like the man was. That means that you can hold my essence and maybe, just maybe, you can disrupt the stability of the curse long enough for me to get out. However, seeing as how I don’t need him, I will let this one die. The one you call Nick.”
“What?!” Scott gasped.
He was almost ready to pass out from being upside down for so long.
“Plegaborne,” Scott pleaded, “listen to me! You can’t—”
“Yes, yes. That’s a good idea,” Plegaborne mused, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
Nick’s body crumpled to the floor, and a deformed, black holographic ball was sucked out of his chest. The ball moved lazily toward Scott in midair. If Plegaborne’s spirit had eyes, Scott would have sworn that he was watching him squirm.
“Plegaborne, no! Please!” Scott whimpered.
The ball was almost at his chest.
Scott played his last card, even though he really didn’t know what it meant.
“I can make you a deal!” he cried. “I’m a Mediator!”
Plegaborne stopped just before entering Scott’s chest.
Scott blew out a breath of relief.
The black ball shot at Scott and disappeared within him.
Scott’s body felt a familiar tingling feeling.
—What could you possibly have to offer, halfling? Plegaborne asked Scott from inside the depths of his consciousness.
—I promise that I can find the man who cursed you and bring him back to you.
—You do not possess the power, Plegaborne said, mocking him. You will be no match.
—I may not be, but my friends and I will have a plan. If you try to take my body now, then my friends will find you and kill you once they realize that you are not me. There are a lot more teams out there, just like mine.
—Ha! Plegaborne laughed into Scott’s thoughts. I am invulnerable to your petty curses.
—Not in my body, Scott interjected, going with a gut feeling. In my half-Armadronian body, like you said about the curse, your powers will be shifted and corrupted. You won’t be nearly as powerful.
Plegaborne remained silent for a while, lost in thought. He then spoke.
—All right, halfling, Plegaborne sighed. I have thought about your proposal.
Scott waited inside his own consciousness.
—I have read your mind, Plegaborne said into Scott’s thoughts, and I see now that you are the key to stopping the one known as Terminus. I damn Lezkav for the day that he assumed the role.
—Lezkav? Scott asked.
—Yes, boy, Lezkav! The Higher Being of Chance! He is the one, after all, who created the Mediators. His infernal meddling in human affairs has caused this imbalance.
—He created me? Scott asked.
—No, you idiot. The Highest Being created you. Lezkav simply rolled the cosmic dice. Long ago, he randomly selected an inhabitant of each of the planets in the Six Worlds Complex and created a bridge for that person to the Chaos Dimension. Forever.
—But why would he do that? And what does being a Mediator actually mean?”
—He was bold and foolish, wishing to empower humans so they would no longer be simply pawns on our chessboard. Now shut up and let me think, human.
Scott waited, letting the silence speak for itself.
—All right then, Plegaborne thought irritably. I will now merge my essence with yours and take control of your body. I will take my chances and use your memories and knowledge to have my revenge, and then I shall return to the Chaos Dimension and be free again.
—No! Scott thought.
Plegaborne chuckled darkly and attacked Scott’s mind. Scott tried mentally to push him out, but Plegaborne was too strong.
—Give up, Plegaborne spoke inside Scott’s mind, I have infinite endurance, and you do not.
—I have something else, Scott thought.
When Plegaborne had entered his body, Scott realized that the familiar tingling feeling was the same one he’d experienced after physical contact with people who had curses and abilities other than his own.
I was able to talk to Claire in her mind, even though she has that power and I don’t, Scott thought to himself.
—Are you attempting to solve a mathematics problem? How human. Plegaborne continued his mental onslaught relentlessly.
I have lightning-fast reflexes, Scott continued thinking to himself, knowing he could be overheard by Plegaborne. I never had those before, and Sam’s neutralizing ability doesn’t affect me.
—You will die, halfling.
I found Nick by using magnetism, not by the earth curse that I have. I shouldn’t be able to do that. Those abilities are theirs, not mine.
—I will crush your consciousness forever. Plegaborne laughed.
I copied what made them special! Scott realized, the pieces finally coming together. He addressed his next thought to Plegaborne directly.
—So that means I can copy you!
Plegaborne quickly redoubled his efforts to attack Scott’s mind.
Scott merely smiled. He knew what being a Mediator really meant now, and what he had to do.
He focused on Plegaborne and neutralized him by using Sam’s ability, making him completely harmless.
—Noooooooo! Plegaborne howled.
Scott then copied Plegaborne’s own immense powers and merged them into his body. He felt a rush of power that made his limbs tingle.
Plegaborne became silent.
He felt Plegaborne in his mind, but he was harmless to him now. He was now just a consciousness possessing the same power that Scott had just copied. If Plegaborne was inside his consciousness, Scott knew that he himself would remain in control.
After a minute, Plegaborne sent a thought through Scott.
—What have you done to me, human?!
—I’m not a human. I’m a Mediator. And I copied your power from you, Scott answered. So we’re equals now.
—Then let me go or kill me, Plegaborne said angrily. You have no further need of me. Do not prolong my suffering in this prison. I am not on Irri. You cannot hold me in this prison.
—I made a promise to you that I would find the man who cursed you and bring him back to you. This is the easiest way, and plus, you’re a lot smarter than me. I might need your help.
—I will kill you the second that you let your guard down, Plegaborne responded calmly.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Scott muttered.
He suddenly realized that he had just spoken aloud. He opened his eyes but couldn’t register what he was seeing.
Nick was alive. He was crawling over to Scott, who was now standing up.
Scott looked behind him. There was no longer any evidence that he had just been hanging from the ceiling. There was no rope, no blood, nothing.
“You okay, Scott?” Nick asked him, slowly crawling closer.
“Yeah,” he answered a little shakily. “I can’t say the same for you, though.”
Nick’s right leg was turned at a grotesque angle below the knee. Scott could see bone poking out of the skin.
—F**k you, Plegaborne, Scott thought.
—Such primitive language. Plegaborne laughed in his mind. The beast deserved it.
“I’ll live,” Nick grimaced.
He kept trying to cra
wl, but Scott stooped down and hoisted him up. After a couple muffled curses, Nick was back on his feet.
“Let’s go find our friends,” Scott said.
“Let’s go find a fricken healer,” Nick added.
There was a low growl from somewhere in the tunnels behind them. They moved faster, and soon they were out of Plegaborne’s bone lair and back into the darkness of the Infinite Cave.
—There are other things besides me in this cave, boy, Plegaborne said inside his mind. Scott chose to ignore the ancient being, but Plegaborne kept laughing anyway.
* * *
After about an hour of hobbling supported by Scott, Nick stopped to rest.
“Water,” he croaked.
“I don’t have any—” Scott started to say then stopped. He literally had the curse of controlling water.
—You are an imbecile, Plegaborne commented dryly inside Scott’s mind.
“Open your mouth,” Scott directed Nick.
Nick opened his mouth.
Scott concentrated, thinking of water. Nothing happened.
“Adrenaline,” Nick told him.
“Right. Adrenaline.”
He thought of running during soccer tryouts back on Earth. That made him think of Molly Clenton too.
God, I miss that woman, Scott thought.
Ugh, Plegaborne mentally threw up.
Scott’s heart sped up. He quickly thought of water, and a trickle leaked out of every one of his fingers. Scott held his fingers over Nick’s mouth and let the water fall. After a couple greedy gulps, Nick tried to stand up again.
Earlier, Nick had reset his own bone below his knee. It still wasn’t perfect, and it had been the grossest, most painful thing Scott had ever watched—but it enabled Nick to walk. Sort of.
Scott helped Nick to his feet, and they stumbled on.
Thud!
Something hit Scott so hard that he flew back twenty feet. Nick spun in place and fell on his butt, since Scott had been supporting most of his weight.
A heavy glowing mass the size of an SUV had landed on Scott, trapping him.
