by Frank Morin
“We may need them.”
“Who?” Sarah asks.
“A security force we control,” Gregorios said. “If we call them up, it’ll take too long, and it’ll escalate the situation into full-blown war.”
“We might not have a choice.”
“We’ll start positioning them just in case,” Gregorios agreed. “But hold that option in reserve. If possible, we should deal with Mai Luan ourselves.”
“I’m not sure we’re positioned to do so,” Tomas said.
“How do you even kill a Cui Dashi?” Sarah asked. “I’ve seen her shot, stabbed, blown up, and all it does it distract her a little.”
“She is unusually powerful, even for a Cui Dashi,” Gregorios agreed. “She has to have been around longer than most. That makes her dangerous, but not immortal.”
“She’ll regenerate from even normally-fatal wounds,” Eirene added. “But only to a point. The strength of her nevron is mighty, but it’s not infinite.”
“So what does that mean?” Sarah asked.
“It means we hurt her a lot, and keep doing it,” Tomas said. “Eventually we overwhelm her resistance, wear down her soul strength.”
“That’s the trick,” Quentin added. “We can ambush her, but she’s faster than we are, stronger, and she’s bound to regenerate from any initial damage we inflict. We need to hold her long enough to deal more damage than she can heal from.”
“What can do that?” Sarah asked, thinking of her grenade launcher.
“High explosives help,” Quentin said, as if reading her mind.
“Fire,” Tomas added. “Fire’s difficult to heal, even for Cui Dashi. If we could trap her in a hole and drop a couple tons of napalm on her head, we’d be off to a good start.”
Sarah paled. Tomas didn’t look like he was joking, but she couldn’t imagine anything surviving that kind of bombardment, let alone healing from it.
“Not a bad idea,” Quentin said thoughtfully.
“You have napalm?” Sarah asked.
“Well ... not officially, and not that exact recipe.”
“Napalm makes too much of a mess,” Gregorios said. “It might draw authorities before we could finish her off.”
“We could mix up some Greek fire,” Eirene suggested.
“I thought the recipe for that was lost back in the Middle Ages,” Sarah said.
Eirene tapped her head. “I might be old, but my memory’s still fine.”
“Might not be a bad idea,” Gregorios agreed. “We haven’t used it in centuries. She wouldn’t expect it, and that stuff is awesome.”
“I’ll whip up a batch,” Eirene said.
Quentin rubbed his hands together. “I’ll help.”
“This is a secret recipe,” Eirene chided. “No sharing with anyone else.”
“You don’t trust me?” he asked with mock offense.
“We need to lure her out of the city,” Gregorios said. “It’d be easier to trap her, and the noise from explosions, fire-bombing, and heavy machine guns wouldn’t attract a response as quickly.”
None of them seemed worried about where or how they’d acquire all those weapons. Sarah started to wonder what else Quentin might have offered to let her shoot if Eirene hadn’t interrupted their practice session.
“I don’t see how we’ll lure her anywhere,” Tomas said. “She’s too focused on tying up the council.”
“Sarah could do it,” Eirene said.
They all turned to her, and Sarah managed a weak smile under all the attention. “Uh, I object.”
“Me too,” Tomas said. “Sarah’s not an enforcer or a hunter.”
“But she’s managed to capture Mai Luan’s ire,” Quentin replied. “Did she not stab you only to torture Sarah?”
“She did,” he admitted. “And in the headquarters she promised the next time she’ll hurt us both a lot more.”
“All the more reason to use Sarah to draw her out,” Eirene said.
“Hold on,” Sarah said. “Can’t we think of a better idea?” She wanted to see Mai Luan destroyed as much as any of them, but getting Mai Luan to chase her couldn’t be a good idea.
“It might just work,” Gregorios said. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but you might be our best bet to getting a crack at her.”
“How am I supposed to get her to chase me without having her just run me down in the street?” Sarah demanded.
“Motorcycle,” Quentin offered.
“Unless she hits a traffic delay,” Tomas retorted. “There are too many variables.”
“We could work through those,” Eirene said. “I hate to place you at risk, Sarah, but it’s an option we can’t ignore.”
“I can,” Sarah objected.
“What would you have us do?” Gregorios asked. “We don’t know where she’s staying, so we can’t attack her in her lair. We can’t launch a frontal assault on Suntara.”
“That would be a suicide mission,” Tomas agreed. “And even if we could overwhelm their defenses, Mai Luan might just bolt before we locked down the building.”
“Or use it as an excuse to take over ahead of schedule,” Gregorios suggested.
“Worse, it would mean shedding enforcer blood when they’re not the enemy,” Quentin said. “Something I am loathe to do.”
“Me too,” Tomas said. “Those are my men. Killing them can’t be on the table.”
“It can if there are no other options,” Eirene said.
Sarah paced away from the table, all too aware of the building pressure. Many lives hung in the balance beside her own, and she was starting to accept the fact that risking hers might be the best way to prevent many more from dying.
She stopped beside the machine where Alter had removed one of the steel panels on the chassis and was crouched beside it, head shoved completely inside. “We have her machine. I wish there was some way this could help.”
“I don’t see how we can,” Gregorios said.
Alter popped out of the machine and jumped to his feet. “Actually, it might be the key to destroying her.”
“Really?” Sarah asked.
“I’ll need to do some more work on this, but from what I’m seeing here, I think this machine might be the one way to get to Mai Luan that no one will expect.”
“How could it possibly do that?” Eirene asked, approaching the machine with the rest of the group.
“She wants a master rune, most likely from the fall of Berlin,” Alter said. “Gregorios and Asoka both share those memories, right?”
“The important parts,” Gregorios said. “That’s when he tried to kill me and first labeled me rogue.”
Alter nodded enthusiastically. “From what I’m reading in these runes, and from what I know of memory walking, this machine offers a unique possibility. We know what memory she’s going to, and it’s a shared memory. If you return to it at the same time via this machine, I believe you’ll both be drawn to that same shared memory.”
“Like we could face each other in there?” Gregorios asked.
“Yes.”
“How’s that possible?” Sarah asked. “I mean, they’re both just going back into their own heads, right?”
“Yes and no,” Alter said, turning to a blank sheet of paper in his pad. He drew a couple of overlapping circles. “Imagine these are the pooled memories of Gregorios and Asoka.”
“Imagine, the accumulated experience of all my lives enclosed in that circle,” Gregorios said with a rueful smile.
Eirene kissed his cheek. “I always said you were too shallow, dear.”
Alter drew another circle that intersected the other two. “This is where it becomes guesswork. This circle represents true history. Think of it as a lingering shadow of time, linking to all the souls that touched upon that moment.”
Eirene started to nod. “Brilliant.”
To Sarah the three circles didn’t mean anything yet.
Alter pointed to the intersection of the three circles. “Powered through this machine and the
runes it brings to bear, we won’t just visit an isolated memory in there. Drawing upon your nevron and that of the one working the machine, your memory walks will brush against the true fabric of history.”
“And since they’re both visiting the same moment, that’ll link them,” Eirene said with a nod of approval. “What an amazing possibility.”
“Are you saying we can time travel through this thing?” Sarah asked. She loved science fiction stories, but this was real life.
“In a manner of speaking,” Alter said. “History, particularly those pivotal moments that might spawn master runes, is infused with unrivaled amounts of soul power. That’s a real power source, the only true spiritual one in the world. Master runes are a manifestation of that power, focused into a single point. The resulting force remains potent even though the world has rolled beyond its moment. Through these machines, I believe we’ll be able to reach back and touch those moments, to reconnect with the actual fabric of history.”
“If there’s any chance you could be right, that makes it even more imperative to stop this,” Eirene said. “Messing with history is fine in dusty archives, but we could unleash all sorts of unanticipated consequences if what you’re saying is true.”
“I believe I’m right,” Alter said. “But this is unique. In the past, individuals walking memories usually only found personal enlightenment runes. Only twice were recorded possible moments of accessing master runes. In both cases, one a hunter and one an enchanter, the memory walkers involved possessed exceptionally powerful rounon gifts.”
“What happened to them?” Sarah asked.
“The enchanter was killed the next day in the battle for Constantinople.”
Gregorios grunted. “I remember that. Always wondered how they breached the wall there.”
Sarah yearned to ask more about that, but Alter continued. “The hunter was my second great grandfather.”
“Ronen’s father,” Eirene said. “He was an unusually powerful man.”
“He never spoke in detail of what he learned from his dreams,” Alter said. “But he never visited them again. He hinted that he knew of a rune so powerful he didn’t dare record it in our rune lore for fear someone might try to use it.”
“So we don’t really know,” Tomas said.
“No. Actually obtaining a master rune is really uncharted territory. I can guess some of what might happen, but there’s no way to know for sure.”
“Simply amazing,” Tomas said, pacing around the machine. To Sarah, the jagged faceplate looked more ominous than ever when she thought of Mai Luan using it to gain access to so much power.
“Let’s try to nail down whether or not you’re right about this,” Gregorios said. “We’ll have to test the theory soon.”
“Not too soon,” Eirene warned. “If we tip off Mai Luan, we’ll lose the element of surprise.”
“Good point. We’ll wait until we’re ready, then we’ll test it prior to the assault. That’ll give us time to prepare for the memory hunt.”
“With contingency for a real-life assault if this doesn’t work,” Tomas said.
“Absolutely,” Gregorios said. “But let’s hope Alter’s right.”
“I am,” Alter assured them. “This battle will be fought in 1945 Berlin.”
The danger of living too long is in failing to live each life as if it matters. Too many facetakers grow complacent or arrogant. One road leads to boredom and soul fragmentation. The other impels them to see mortals as sheep that need ruling. Both end in destruction.
~Eirene
Chapter Forty-Seven
The next two days passed in a blur of activity. Gregorios was often off doing mysterious things he never explained. When Sarah did see him, he moved with intense purpose. Eirene shared his dedication, but those moments they spent together softened their expressions. Witnessing the depth of their obvious love helped ease some of Sarah’s own worries.
Quentin spent a lot of time at the Suntara headquarters, filling his role as the arms master there, and listening for clues about when Mai Luan and her machines would arrive. Sarah wanted to train with him some more, to shoot some of the bigger guns he hinted he had available. He promised to spend time with her again soon, but couldn’t dedicate the proper time yet.
Tomas tried to conceal how much being labeled a rogue and stripped of command affected him, but Sarah could tell. The only good thing that came of his need to keep a low profile was that she spent a lot of time with him. She grew accustomed to his new form very quickly and wondered how she’d never realized he didn’t belong in Carl’s mediocre body.
The two of them spent a great deal of time sparring in the training room. Sarah trained hard, driven by the knowledge that the confrontation with Mai Luan was fast approaching. She needed every scrap of knowledge and skill she could acquire.
So she also trained with Alter twice a day. Tomas tried to object, but she overruled his concerns. Alter approached training differently. While Tomas tried to impart to her a solid foundation of self-defense that she could build upon, Alter pushed her to learn to hurt, to disable as fast and brutally as possible. He praised her for how fast she took to fighting. She was already in top shape, but she fell into bed exhausted at night, muscles aching from the long workouts.
On the second day, Tomas took her to an intimate lunch near the Spanish Steps. She enjoyed the quiet hour with him, but kept worrying that someone would spot them. She scanned the crowds, looking for heka or enforcers. Tomas looked outwardly calm, but she noted that his eyes rarely rested. When he wasn’t looking at her, his eyes moved constantly.
Sarah tried to draw him out about the Tenth, but he dodged the questions. The time passed all too quickly while they chatted about places they wanted to see after the mission was over. It helped Sarah to talk about their ultimate victory as a foregone conclusion. Although everyone kept a positive attitude, she was no fool. If Gregorios and Eirene worried, she knew she should be terrified.
In his new form, Tomas turned heads nearly as often as she did. The spike of jealousy she felt when unknown women flirted with him or openly drooled over his fantastic physique nearly made her laugh. She had been falling for his honest soul when he still looked plain, so she found herself wanting more of his time than ever. The best part was that he acted more relaxed, more confident. He seemed far more willing to explore a romantic relationship now that the lie no longer kept them apart.
As soon as they finished the mission, they needed a real vacation.
All that stood in the way was Mai Luan.
Only Alter seemed unaffected by the gravity of their endeavor. He actually grew more and more energized the closer they approached the upcoming conflict. He really looked forward to fighting Mai Luan. He had never faced her in person. That experience would have tempered his enthusiasm.
The evening after their wonderful lunch date, Tomas entered the sparring room just as she and Alter were wrapping up a session with some grappling moves. Alter had taught her several new techniques, but he tended to get distracted by the close proximity the moves demanded.
Tomas look displeased to see her locked in a wrestling hold with Alter. She pretended not to notice as she disengaged and ran over to give him a kiss.
“How is the training going?” he asked.
“Great. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve learned.” She punched his rock-hard abs lightly. “I’ll take you down to the floor for sure.”
Alter interrupted before the conversation could take the turn she hoped it would. “Sarah has great aptitude. I think you should accelerate her training.”
“You’ve mentioned that,” Tomas said, his voice holding too much challenge for Alter not to notice. They’d argued this point twice already. Alter claimed Tomas was wasting too much time focusing on the basics, while Tomas countered that Alter was moving too fast, forcing her into training positions she couldn’t fully apply yet.
“I know what she can do better than you,” Alter retorted.
&
nbsp; Before the argument took off again, Sarah said, “You’re both teaching me a lot. I think we should spar, just to prove it’s working.”
“Great idea,” Tomas said, eyes locked onto Alter.
Alter grinned. “Yes. Let’s go a round.”
“No, I meant I should spar with each of you,” Sarah said. She didn’t want them fighting. They were too eager to start hitting each other. She worried they’d lose control and really start fighting. She knew enough about their capabilities to know they’d both probably end up badly hurt.
“This’ll be good for your training,” Tomas said. “Show you what you’ll be able to do eventually.”
Alter nodded, “All for education.”
The two men faced off, despite her attempts to dissuade them. Alter made a minute bow, which Tomas mirrored.
Then they attacked.
Both men flew at each other and they met with a flurry of kicks and punches too fast for Sarah to follow. They flowed around each other in a stunning display of speed, skill, and acrobatics. She had never seen anything like it. Their enhancements increased their speed, agility, and strength to astonishing levels.
She had been studying runes in the evenings with Alter and Eirene, but still had too much to learn.
Sarah worried her fears would prove all too true as they both landed solid blows, any of which would have sent her flying across the room. The men shrugged off the hits and kept fighting, their faces locked into expressions of utmost concentration.
Tomas stood a little taller and had the advantage of extra muscle power, but Alter moved with the grace of a mongoose. His limbs blurred with speed, an advantage he leveraged to the fullest as he rained blows across Tomas’ face and torso.
Tomas might lack the speed that Alter brought to bear, but he still moved faster than any non-enhanced fighter ever could. He maintained his balance despite several blows that slipped past his blocks, but still retreated steadily from Alter’s blazing fast attack.
Then he made his move.
With an abrupt reversal, he stepped right through a heavy kick and landed a mighty blow in the center of Alter’s chest. The force of the impact threw the lighter man right off his feet. Alter slid halfway across the room before he flipped back upright in an impressive acrobatic move.
