Interphase (21 page)

The floor trembled from a fresh lightning barrage outside. The snarls behind the door grew louder.

"You can't trap a Crash Storm, Clyde!"

"Wanna bet?"

"This is insane. You are going to get us both—"

Clyde pinned David with an angry glare. "Listen, y
ou
called for
my
help. You want this thing stopped? Do it my way!" He inclined his head toward the door as the hinges began to buckle. "We don't have time to argue about this, Harris."

David clenched his jaw, sighed, and raised his rifle. "I'm going to get struck by lightning again," he muttered.

Clyde took the lead. They ran, and he heard the security doors burst open behind them, the hallway echoing with shrieks and growls. Rounding a corner he found a flight of stairs winding upwards. He activated a setting on his wrist computer and began to climb. "This way!"

They emerged in the lower rows of the arena, exposed to the blackened sky. Clyde turned to assist David with defending the stairwell, amping his weapon to full strength. A single blast from the launcher obliterated the creatures climbing from below. A second wave of monsters rushed at them from the right. David pivoted and fired a blazing stream of plasma, melting the attackers into piles of goop.

Glancing at his wrist, Clyde grabbed David's shoulder. "We need to go higher."

Pandemonium reigned in the upper wings. Entire seat rows had been vaporized by lightning strikes, and creatures prowled everywhere. Though the cacophony, more bolts continued to fall. As the pair fought their way higher, Clyde heard a loud shout. He turned, and his mouth fell open. "Tell me that's not a guy in a suit of plate armor fighting up there."

"Told you he'd be here." David fired several shots at a pocket of creatures surrounding the knight. Clyde saw the figure turn to look at them. "Thomas," David yelled across the field. "What the hell are you doing? I told you to get everyone out of here."

"I did. But I wasn't about to leave you to face this thing alone."

David clapped his free hand over his mouth. From the muffled sounds, he was holding back several choice curses. After he finished, he shook his fist at the foolhardy warrior. "Hang on. We're coming to you."

Taking point, David cleared their path while Clyde defended their flanks. As they moved, a massive lightning strike tore through the row between them. Clyde leaped out of the bolt's path. A blackened mass inside the burning crater began to shift, sprouting a monstrous head and muscular arms. The abomination spotted Clyde and grabbed at him. He ducked underneath its arm and ran, only to have a bulbous hand smash into his back, sending him sprawling.

An agonized screech rang out. Clyde shook his head to clear his vision and saw a gaping hole in the creature's midsection. David ran over and hauled him to his feet as the slain monster collapsed in on itself. They dodged more arcs of lightning and sprinted the rest of the distance toward the knight. Thomas had finished off the last of his foes. "We have to leave now, David," he shouted. "If we aren't overwhelmed by the monsters, the lightning will finish us for certain."

"We can't. The Crash Storm will keep moving through V-Net unless we stop it
here
."

"You have a plan then?"

In reply, David looked at Clyde, who nodded grimly. "I've already programmed a vortex trap into the module. It should divert the Storm. But I can't spring it until the eye is directly over us. Think you and Lancelot can keep me clear until then?"

David snorted and moved into a defensive position. Thomas raised an eyebrow at the quip, but said nothing, moving next to David. Crouching down behind the arena seats to avoid any stray lightning bolts, Clyde got to work.

The Crash Storm increased in fury as the eye drew closer. Thunder bombarded Clyde's ears with a wild, possessed rhythm, and he moved to it, racing on adrenaline and a twist of pure fear. It was a rush like nothing he had ever experienced. Lightning struck mere feet away, exploding seats and ground into blobs of putty that grew immediately. He ignored them, only dimly aware of David and Thomas's shouts as they fended the twisted monstrosities off. They stemmed the tide, while he battled the flood itself.

Links formed, pathways opened, and at the center of the arena, a cloud of black emptiness billowed and spread. The air became eerily calm, like the pause of a great battle between assaults. Lightning danced at the inner edge of the Storm and leapt for the vortex. The sound of thunder vanished. It was working!

"Harris," Clyde shouted as he stood. "You and Lancelot get out of here."

He felt the air burn a split second before the strike. A wave of blinding agony tore through him, and he was thrown forward. His vision blurred as the darkness rose to embrace him. For an instant the only sound he heard was the frantic hammering of his own heart, before silence engulfed him.

Chapter 18

Horror. Unspeakable horror. Villains. Invaders! They were marching on his home, tearing down his fortresses and sacred places…

Totarakh thrashed upon the forest floor like a man in the grip of fever. He clawed at the air, struggling to keep the approaching armies in his mind at bay, and lurched into full wakefulness. The night sky spread above him like a blanket of soothing blackness. He lifted a hand to his head and wiped his sweat-drenched brow.

The invaders were preparing, even now. In the realm of darkness, a strange glowing panel had opened a mystic window. When Totarakh had drawn near to it, it had shifted and changed as if his presence distorted it somehow. He had touched it, and nearly fainted as his hand slid into another realm.

Totarakh had seen their massing armies, their machines of war and death. Strange devices that defied natural order, powers beyond the reach of the most accomplished sages. They must have stretched forth their vile might to strike down the Holy City from afar. A burning vengeance awoke in his heart, and he pulled himself off the ground, shaking the dirt from his once opulent robes.

"By Siath, this will not be allowed," Totarakh whispered grimly. "I am still the High Priest of the Siathrak, and all of Analath shall rise to my call."

Lifting his gaze to the sky, Totarakh studied the stars. It did not take him long to recover his bearings; he was in a grove near Ilinar.

"Ilinar. Here is where the corruption began. Here is where it shall be stopped!" Totarakh drew his tattered cloak around his shoulders and marched onward.

The gates of the city were closed, and the city patrols appeared vigilant. Apparently the Siathrak presence had inspired some focus in them. Totarakh narrowed his eyes against the glare of their torches and walked toward the entrance. One of the guards stopped him. "State your name, stranger."

Totarakh drew himself up. "You are a lax, unfaithful fool to not recognize the High Priest of the Siathrak," he declared in a voice that echoed throughout the fields. The guard stumbled back a step, his determined expression crumpling into uncertainty. "In Siath's name, I command these gates to be opened!"

"Ah, m-my lord? W-we have orders to—"

"To do what?" Totarakh demanded. "Stand about and gape in the face of the only soul that can save you from imminent damnation?" Drawing a deep breath, the high priest crossed his arms. A cold light burned in his eyes. "Our world can not suffer the delay you cause. Stand aside or be judged by Siath!"

"Open the gates," the guard frantically called to the door-warden on the wall.

"Send for Halathas," Totarakh ordered above the din of the creaking gates. "Gather all of the citizens of Ilinar to the Temple." He strode through the open arch, a pair of worried guards trailing him. He turned to one of them. "There is a young woman imprisoned within the house of Varlath. Have her brought before me, bound and under guard."

The villagers gathered slowly, quiet murmurs spreading through the growing crowd. They stood as far from the temple as possible, casting curious glances at Totarakh, who stood on the temple stairs. Halathas approached him and bowed stiffly. "Holiness, why have you come before us in this fashion? Where are your soldiers?"

In the flickering torchlight, Totarakh surveyed the growing throng. "My soldiers are dead." Though the words were not shouted, they carried to the assemblage. "The Holy City has been destroyed."

"How can that be?" Halathas asked above the crowd's shocked gasps.

"I beheld the destruction with my own eyes. I watched the Holy City burn, consumed by a spirit of death. I watched as our most valiant soldiers gave their lives to defend the heart of our world!" Totarakh stepped higher so that all could behold him. "You ask how this could be? The sorrows you have borne these past weeks are but a taste of the evil that has gripped our world. I alone escaped the flames of destruction, and I alone have seen the terrible truth!"

Totarakh took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hearing nothing but the flicker of torches as the people awaited his words. "Our lands have been invaded! Dark creatures have massed to ravage our cities and destroy our people. They take shapes similar to ours, but their hearts are black and vile. Ilinar suffered the misfortune of being their first target. I have passed into their hidden fortress and seen these things with my own eyes."

The city's fear was palpable. Questions were shouted into the night.

"With the Holy Army destroyed, who will protect us?"

"Has Siath withdrawn his blessing?"

"How could this have come to pass?"

Halathas stepped forward with raised hands. "People, please. Be calm!" He turned to Totarakh, his expression blank, but his eyes blazed in the torchlight. "Holiness, your words are terrifying. The news of the Holy City's destruction is devastating. But how could such armies have amassed here without attracting notice?"

Totarakh narrowed his eyes. "The signs have been present for weeks. The Siathrak saw them, and the Holy Army marched to your defense. Where is
your
Sage? What has he done to stop the advance of the enemy?" Voices could be heard shouting in agreement. Halathas clenched his fists, but said nothing. "Is it not true that you harbored a stranger from the wilderness?" he challenged the citizens. "Was it not then that the troubles began?"

The mutterings grew louder.

"People of Ilinar, that is the source of the corruption. You brought this stranger into your midst, sheltered him, never knowing that he was an agent of darkness, sent to prepare you for the coming slaughter!"

"No," a voice screamed. Totarakh turned and saw the guards struggling to keep a grip on the traitorous girl. "That is not true!"

Totarakh motioned for the guards to bring Analara forward. They forced her to her knees before him, binding her arms roughly behind her back. "This fool of a girl has invited the enemy into your very homes. She has allied herself with the invaders and brought doom upon us all."

"There is no enemy," Analara cried. "David and his people mean no harm to us."

The crowd gasped. "So you admit that you knew he was not one of us!" Totarakh grinned in triumph. "Even now you lie for him. Ilinar, do you doubt the word of Siath? I have been to the other side. I have seen—"

"You do not know what you have seen!"

A shocked silence fell over the courtyard. Trembling with rage, Totarakh seized Analara by the hair and jerked her head back. "You too have been beyond the dark realm."

"Yes," Analara said through clenched teeth. "I have seen David's world, and it is beautiful."

Totarakh released his grip, shaking his head in pity. "Oh, Analara," he said with a cruel smile. "Analara… named 'daughter of the blessed world'. You stain the honor of your home with wanton rebellion. To be taken so completely that you would spit your lies in the face of the chosen of Siath. You are truly lost." Totarakh straightened and looked at the gathered crowd. There was fear in the eyes of many, and several of the youths shouted calls to battle.

With the air of a man delivering an unwanted proclamation, Totarakh raised his voice. "Thus do the young forsake the wisdom of their elders and follow wayward paths. If this child will renounce her alliance with the invaders and assist us in their destruction, all may be forgiven."

The girl lifted her head. Tears flowed from her eyes, but she met Totarakh's gaze steadily. "I refuse your forgiveness, false prophet."

The crowd rumbled with anger, and Totarakh nodded. "As you will. As High Priest of the Siathrak Order, I declare you a traitor to Analath. At the setting of tomorrow's sun, you will face death for your crimes."

The city erupted with noise: wailing, shouts, cheers. Totarakh glanced at Halathas, expecting some protest. The Seneschal's face was a stony mask, but he made no move to oppose the ruling.

Analara sat on the ground with head bowed, crying softly.

***

The analysis was complete. David had run every test he could think of, checked every equation, and stared blankly at the results. He leaned over his keyboard and covered his face. The Crash Storms were coming from Analath.

David knew the energy signature was totally alien to anything that existed in V-Net. It had been random, intermittent, at least until a month ago. But something had learned how to interface with the code structures of V-Net. Instead of just destroying the code, it changed it.