“It sure does,” said Maeve, smiling beside me. “Ready?”
Looking around, I saw White Buffalo hovering nearby, deeply focused with arms outstretched. Georgia sat on a pedestal of ice she’d raised from a stream and frozen with her power, working her fingers in intricate gestures as she kept the vapor clouds in balance under their cargos.
On another pedestal, this one formed from earth, Ebon stood tall and waved his arms overhead, drawing in flocks of birds and swarms of bugs to surround and protect the floating bodies.
The situation was as under control as it would ever be…but I didn’t think it would stay that way for long. The amount of effort it took to keep all those bodies aloft and keep them safe just couldn’t be sustained forever.
Time, I knew, was truly of the essence.
“Good luck.” I reached for Maeve’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Good luck to us all,” she said.
“Let’s go.”
With that, I leaped out of my body, propelling my spirit self toward the ground below. It was something I’d been afraid to do at half-power, just in case something went wrong…but at full charge, I took the leap without hesitation.
The ground raced toward me, and then I was under it, diving through loamy darkness. For a moment, I became disoriented, uncertain which way was up and which was down. A flicker of panic darted through me as I wondered if I’d somehow gotten turned around and lost.
Then, a constellation of lights appeared in the distance below me, winking like stars in a night sky. There were hundreds of them, twinkling in the darkness.
As I got closer, I heard their voices in my mind, and I knew who they were: the souls of the Ancestrum, waiting for me to join them.
I plunged through their midst and kept going, descending. Their starlight pinpricks swirled in my wake and dove after me in their hundreds, keeping up.
Further down, I spotted what looked like a cord of glowing golden light that marched into the distance as far as I could see. I knew it well, as I’d traveled its kind all over the world, riding from one to the other like a hobo riding the rails.
It was a conduit in the ley line network and as good a starting point as any. Beckoning for the others to follow, I touched it with the spark of my spirit self, and it seized me. The next thing I knew, I was rocketing along its length at a furious speed, blazing into the darkness.
Looking back, I saw the multitude of sparks of the Ancestrum holding tight to the conduit behind me, speeding along after me. They followed every time I switched to a new line in the network, smoothly jumping from one rail to another.
Every move took us deeper, closer to the core. Guided by the increasing pressure and heat in the bowels of the Earth, I kept us on track, homing in on our destination.
The closer we got, the stronger the pull of that target became. The massive mind and power of Mother herself drew us in like iron filings toward a magnet, like comets toward the sun.
Even from a distance, I felt dwarfed and had my doubts. How could we succeed against someone like her? Could even the assembled souls of hundreds of earthly avatars from throughout history hope to make the slightest dent?
Within seconds, those questions were moot.
I shot through a wall of incredibly dense matter and into a vast sphere seething with red light. The Ancestrum stayed behind to await my signal, as we’d agreed before leaving the surface.
At the heart of the sphere, an enormous ball of orange fire churned and flared, throwing off bolts of energy and roaring like the biggest never-ending explosion of all time.
Instantly, I knew where I was. Though I had never been there before, I’d been aware of it all my life—at least until I’d had my powers taken away. It had always waited at the edge of my awareness, its influence felt in a multitude of ways, its power fueling my own.
Of course I recognized it—recognized her. That ball of fire and fury spinning in the sphere, ringed with blistering hot magma and blazing with red light, could only be the singular force at the core of my existence…the existence of all people and creatures in the world.
Daughter.
Her voice in my head was as familiar to me as her presence.
Traitorous bitch daughter. You have failed me for the last time.
There had been a time when I’d known and loved that voice as well as any voice in my life. Hearing it now, saying such terrible things, made me feel sick. Made me want to run.
But for the sake of every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth, that was the one thing I couldn’t do.
It was time to face up to her and end the battle between us.
Hello, Mother. Good to see you, too.
Chapter 37
Though I was born into the world as a full-grown adult, there were still times when I longed for a traditional family. Maybe I’d see a child out to dinner with her mother and father, or walking down the street, and I’d feel a sharp pang—a hunger for the love and companionship a family can bring to your life.
But all I’d ever known was the distant presence of Mother Earth, my maker. As much as I’d wished otherwise, I’d only ever experienced that intimate yet impersonal connection—nothing at all like a human mother I could touch and hold and laugh with and love.
Yet I’d still tried convincing myself there was some kind of loving bond between us. I’d still imagined our link was not only as good as that between human mother and daughter, but better, in ways other people could never understand.
So, yes, you could say it was a letdown to finally come face to face with her and have her treat me the way she did.
You sick little bitch. Her fiery globe spun faster as she blasted my mind with her nastiness. I should never have made you.
Maybe that’s true, I said. But here I am anyway.
Fucking bitch! The hits just kept on coming. You can’t even defend me, can you? You’d rather side with those miserable human pieces of shit.
Of course I want to defend you, I said. I just don’t think you need to wipe out the entire human race to do it.
Mother flared bright, and her magma rings spun into a frenzy. It is not for you to question my will, little bitch!
As she flared and spun, she expanded, swelling to occupy more of the space in the sphere. Even in my spirit form without a physical body, I could feel the heat and pressure increase around me.
Could she kill me like this? Crush my light out like a firefly underfoot? I had to assume, as my creator, that she could do pretty much anything she wanted to me.
Mother, I’ve come to talk. It took some effort to push down my fear and stay where I was, but I had to assume time was running out back in Yellowstone and all around the Ring of Fire. Will you consider sparing humankind?
Her angry laugh came through loud and clear. Not a chance. It’s them or me.
She wasn’t entirely wrong about that…but I had to say my piece. What if we could keep them in check? Get them—force them—to stop abusing you?
Again with the anger-soaked laugh. How many times have I said the same thing?
But I could be your enforcer, I said. I swear, I’ll do whatever it takes.
You’ve already failed at that job! snapped Mother. You’ve already proven you can’t do it, you worthless piece of shit!
She kept expanding, and I backed away. Soon enough, she would engulf me, which I guessed was the whole idea.
This time will be different, Mother, I told her. I know I’ve been lax in the past, but this time I’ll bring the hammer down. Every time they hurt you, I’ll tear them a new one.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I know you’ll never have the balls to do what it takes to stop those people.
Give me one more chance, I said. What do you have to lose?
Do you know how many chances I’ve given humanity? Too many to count! And they’ve blown it every time. Polluting and destroying is the only way they know how to live.
But what if they know you’re a living, thinki
ng being? I asked. What if we teach them your true nature, and that of Landkind and Waterkind? What if we speak to all of them, not just a few?
You already know the answer, she said, darkly. You already know it will only make things worse and speed things up. If those people discover a power in someone else’s possession, they won’t leave it there for long.
But, Mother…
Shut up! There’s only one way to handle these humans. And there’s only one way to handle anyone who opposes it.
Her orange light flared brighter and expanded, pressing toward me. Even in my spirit form, I could feel the heat of her coming closer.
Then, her body roiled and convulsed, changing color. The massive orb of orange fire became a black orb with white highlights, like a negative exposure of the sun. It slid straight toward me, rotating slowly.
The core of Mother Earth was no longer recognizable to me.
I should have done this long ago, said Mother. Mistakes like you don’t deserve to live.
Suddenly, the black orb shot out an ebon beam that flashed toward me. I moved, but the beam still buzzed my disembodied form—and when it did, a terrible bolt of pain stabbed through me, sending me reeling.
It took a moment to regain my senses, just in time for another blast from the orb. This time, it barely nicked me, but that was enough for more of the same agony as before. It left me feeling utterly drained and scattered, as if another hit or two might blow me apart for good.
I should’ve expected it, I realized. Of course she had ways of putting down her own creation. She had to.
Didn’t like that, did you? Her hot magma rings spun faster as she laughed. Well, tough shit, little bitch.
Enough, I said. Please, we can work together and stop humanity without inflicting wholesale slaughter on them all.
Would you just please shut the hell up? Can’t you see I’m busy trying to save my own life, since my good-for-nothing daughter isn’t willing to do it?
As I ducked the next two bolts from the black orb, I reached out mentally beyond the core sphere and called for the Ancestrum to join me—but I got no answer, and none of them passed through the wall.
The next beam struck me dead on, hurting like hell as it cooked its way through my mind. When the effect dispersed, I called the Ancestrum again, with the same result as before.
Something had happened to the army of avatars I’d brought along. It was starting to look like I was alone in my fight against the essence of the planet that had made me.
And as yet another blast poured toward me from the black orb, I realized that fight might not last long at all.
Chapter 38
Die! howled Mother, her black mass billowing closer still.
Her next blast came close, but I dodged at the last second, pulling my wounded spirit form out of the way. Again, I called for the Ancestrum, and again, there was no response.
Mother, please! I cried, but that didn’t stop her from slinging out another bolt. It only nicked me, but the pain was fierce.
I thought of running, but what good would it do me? She was the world; she’d catch up to me sooner or later.
And then who would stop her campaign against humankind? Who could stop her from finishing the apocalypse she’d started?
Clearly, it was all down to me.
But how the hell could I stop that out-of-control world-core? Especially now that she’d somehow been corrupted, her very soul blackened with rot.
Bitch! She flung another bolt, which missed. Worthless bitch!
My earth-manipulation powers wouldn’t do any good against the soul of the Earth herself. I couldn’t talk her out of it, either; she wouldn’t listen to reason.
There was nothing I had that she couldn’t counter or ignore. I was an insect compared to her.
Some war-self you turned out to be! Her voice was shrill with rage in my mind. You’re nothing but a chickenshit do-gooder! She threw another bolt, and it barely missed me.
Just then, I froze. Something she’d said had gotten through to me.
In her cruel ranting, she’d given me an idea.
There was one thing I had that she didn’t have, after all. And that one thing could be just the weapon that a bug like me could put to use.
Chapter 39
The dark star of Mother puffed up even more, occupying almost all of the chamber. Luckily, there was still just enough room for me to get a running start.
You’re dead! she shouted, hurling more bolts. There’s nowhere left in the world for you to run!
I faced her with my back against the wall. Two of the bolts grazed me, but I steeled myself against the pain. No matter what, I had to get through that one last gauntlet.
You’re wrong, I told her, gathering my strength. There is one place left for me to go.
With that, I pushed off from the wall, focusing my spirit self into a long, pointed projectile like an arrow. I sent myself flashing straight toward her, point-first, racing at her seething black center as if a bullseye were painted there.
Stop! she roared, but it was too late. I was already piercing her outer layers, punching deep into her blistering black form.
If I was a bug compared to her, so be it—but this bug had a sting.
Nooo! Her voice was louder than ever in my mind. Get out!
I ignored her as I penetrated her deeper layers, leaping closer to her core. It was hard to focus on anything other than my journey, as the forces within her kept trying to slow me down and tear me apart.
The gravity within her grabbed me like phantom fingers, straining to hold me in the darkness until I lost all forward thrust. My momentum pulled me through, but I didn’t know how long it would keep me flying.
Though maybe it wouldn’t matter in the end. Her contaminated substance was so foul, even to my intangible spirit self, I thought it might kill me before I got where I was going.
I’d hoped my own nature, so opposite her own (a do-gooder, she’d called me) might overcome the poison within her. Not only wasn’t it working, but her darkness was eating away at me. Whatever Mother was made of now, it was as rancid and corrosive as a lake so polluted, it can no longer sustain life.
I felt terribly sick and tired, like I wasn’t going to make it. Slowing to a crawl, I wobbled off course, nearly frozen in my tracks—and then I saw it.
A tiny red light blinking in the distance.
With every bit of will I had left, I managed to push myself onward, ever deeper. The red light grew larger as I approached it, a blinking beacon in the black.
I said get out! Her voice echoed in my mind. Get out now!
As I got closer to the red light, I could see it was a giant gem, a ruby diadem flashing in the night. Shivering from the waves of poisonous corruption through which I passed, I reached for it.
Though I didn’t truly know what it was, I longed to touch it. I felt it calling me, drawing me on through the mire.
And then I heard a voice from it, so much kinder and more familiar than the voice that had been blaring out of Mother lately.
Free me. It was a woman’s voice, warm and weak. Free me, lovely daughter.
It was the true voice of Mother, the one I’d always known.
Chapter 40
Mother?
Almost out of momentum, I drifted toward the red gemstone, my reaching spirit-self hands a very short distance away from it. I didn’t know what it was, couldn’t judge its true purpose, but the true voice of Mother was coming from it, drawing me onward.
My darling, darling girl, she said. I’m so sorry for everything she’s put you through.
She? I asked.
The new me, said the voice. My own terrible war-self.
I stretched toward the gem, nearly making contact. But Gaia Grenoble and I are your war-selves, aren’t we?
You are my war-selves in human form, said True Mother. The Dark Star is the war-self of the actual planet. The face I wear when the end is near and I must bring out the worst in myself to survive.
A ripple of shadow-stuff nudged me back a little further from the gem. I stretched out my spirit-form as far as I could and almost covered the distance.
But what good is survival if it means the end of all the people you’ve raised and nurtured? I asked. Surely, you can’t think it’s a good idea to wipe out humanity.
Of course not, said True Mother. That’s why Dark Star had to take over. Because it seemed the only way to save myself was to end mankind, but I could never bring myself to do it.
And now you regret it?
It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made, said True Mother. And it’s too late to undo it.
The sadness in her voice was palpable. I wished I could comfort her somehow, to help her feel better—but I had to stay focused on my mission. If humanity hadn’t already been wiped out, it would be soon, unless I could do something about it.
What about shutting off Dark Star and taking control again? I asked. Isn’t that something you could do?
Not anymore, said True Mother. She’s too strong. She had to be. And I’m…I’m too weak now. The humans have done so much damage over the years. I couldn’t take back control if I wanted to.
I nodded, processing what she’d told me. What about somebody else? Could someone other than you take control?
True Mother fell silent, as if considering my words. The darkness shifted around me like the waters of a black sea, nudging me closer, then further away, from the ruby gemstone.
Who? she asked. Were you thinking of someone in particular?
Maybe. I did the closest thing to a shrug that I could in my spirit form without physical shoulders. If it’s possible, is it something you would support?
God, yes. I’d give this up in a heartbeat. I’ve had enough, and the end is in sight. Her heavy sigh echoed in my mind. Your sister war-self got that much right. Humankind is racing to ruin me, and the clock is ticking.
As she spoke, I got an idea. If it worked, it would give her freedom, solve my problem, and grant humanity a new lease on life. It would change the world in a fundamental way, and maybe it would save it, too.
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