Interphase (52 page)

We can't injure it. There's no way to beat it.

With a roar, the blazing giant broke away and bore down on Rupu. David called out a warning, but it was too late. The elemental breathed a stream of flame directly at Rupu, enveloping him in fiery death. David was forced to shield his eyes from the intense heat.

When the flames died down, David was shocked and relieved to see that the Rethkor had entwined itself around the Sage, protecting him at the cost of its own substance.

Tendrils wrapped around the elemental from behind, surging and growing across the whole of its burning body. As quickly as they were scorched away, more swept in, until the elemental became trapped in a frigid cage. Rupu released his hands from the plant and pointed an arm directly at his blazing foe. His face was a mask of total concentration. The elemental flared briefly, then began to flicker.

"I think he's trying to take control of it," David shouted to Clyde.

The elemental shifted and twisted, fighting against the commands of its attacker. Rupu's face twisted in pain, and he began to speak in a strange voice. "Halathas, prepare the men to leave!"

David shook his head, unsure of what he was hearing.

"I have strength enough to see this task through. We must acquire Analara. She holds the key to all of our plans," Rupu intoned.

With a cry, Rupu fell to his knees. Opening his eyes, he looked far up into the sky. "There. I see the source… if I can just…" He stretched his hand up and made a gesture like severing a thread.

The elemental exploded in a massive fireball, showering them with pieces of burnt vines. Rupu collapsed to the ground.

David dashed to his side and propped him up against the wall. Rupu's eyes fluttered, and he groaned. "Shalaron…"

"Rupu, wake up! What about Shalaron?"

"I touched… his mind. Heard his voice. 'Nala… he is looking for her…" Rupu's eyes blinked open long enough to focus briefly on David. "Why?"

Biting back a cry of terror, David could barely choke out the words. "Where is he? Where is Shalaron?"

Rupu didn't answer. His eyes rolled back, and he sagged against the wall. David heard footsteps and looked up to see Clyde, Nathalion and Varlath standing over them. The Artisan knelt beside Rupu and pressed a hand over his forehead. "He will be all right. He is just exhausted."

David stepped aside to let Varlath pick Rupu up. "When he wakes up, tell him thank you." He turned to Clyde. "Get Thomas and Lucas. We have to go,
now
."

***

"Come on, boy, get it," Analara said. She laughed and twitched the string across the floor in front of the kitten's nose. He needed no further encouragement; he pounced on it, swiping and gnawing. His antics were so enthusiastic that it was impossible not to smile. When at last he grew bored with the game, Analara picked him up. "I think I'll call you Fanlii."

The kitten purred in what she hoped was approval and Analara petted him gently. "At least
you
seem to want me around," she sighed.

Despite David's assurances that she was the same as always, the discovery of her true nature still seared Analara's heart. She wasn't real. Until Jessica gave up her life, Analara had been just another fragment of the story places David had described. Jessica, a real person, had died, so that Analara could make a mockery of existence. The overwhelming sense of guilt returned with full force.

Was that why David wanted her to stay behind? If she had returned to Analath, would she have disappeared back into the story world forever? Or had he just… not wanted her near?

The communicator on the table chimed. Analara tucked Fanlii against her shoulder and picked it up. She hoped it would be Jen asking for help at the care center.

"Hello?"

"Analara." The deep voice was garbled, and a harsh hissing filled the background. Very slowly she set Fanlii on the floor. "Trouble… need help!"

"Who is this?" she demanded.

"Under attack… come now!" The hissing cut off; the line went silent.

Analara set the device down with trembling hands. She sank into a chair and forced herself to take several deep breaths. All thoughts of guilt were put aside, and a seed of fear grew within her.

Fanlii rubbed against her ankle. Analara picked him back up and cradled him. "I have to leave now. Promise me you won't get into mischief?" The kitten purred at her, and she set him down and ran to the link alcove.

Leaning back in the chair, she prayed silently that it would work. After David had kicked her out, she had tried in vain to reconnect. If the locks hadn't been released…

Analara's awareness reformed inside the cottage. She immediately sent a tell to David, but there was no response. They must have passed into Analath already. She would have no way to contact them directly. Pacing across the floor, she tried to settle her emotions and think. She didn't know where the new gateway was; it would need to be found before she could come to David's aid. Perhaps VERA would be able to help her?

Something is wrong here.

Analara stopped. The thought had echoed in her mind like a memory, yet she couldn't recall thinking it. Looking back, she did remember a similar echo in times of stress.

They are coming.

The thought was stronger this time. It seemed almost angry.

Who was coming?

The trees. They are coming.

Analara tiptoed to a corner and slid along the wall toward the window. Holding her breath, she peered through the clear panes.

A shadow passed beneath the trees and disturbed a clump of ferns, then another. Gray tunics flared briefly as the figures passed through narrow beams of sunlight. A group formed at the edge of the clearing and Analara recognized their uniforms and spears. Seven of Ilinar's guardsmen began a cautious march toward the cottage.

They found this place quickly. They were waiting.

Had they sent the message? Analara concentrated and felt the reassuring heft of her bow as it materialized in her hand.

The guardsmen continued their advance, pausing with alarm at every new sound from the forest. A figure at the back of the group whispered something. The guards gripped their spears tighter and quickened their pace.

The castle. Summon the portal to the castle.

Analara backed away from the window. Grappling with her fear, she struggled to recall how to open the gateway. It was something simple, a mental command… Analara blinked. She could suddenly remember what to do, but it felt as if the thought had been pushed into her mind.

Go. Now.

She cast her thoughts outward, and the gateway flickered into existence outside. She took a deep breath, threw the door open, and dashed into the glowing doorway.

They will follow. Be ready.

Analara set her jaw. She was tired of running, tired of being hunted, tired of having nowhere to call her own. Was it not enough that she had been torn away from her first home? Was she now to be taken away from this place as well? Not this time. Those that expected her to be easy prey were about to receive a dire education.

She emerged from the portal in the castle courtyard. The twinkling candle lights seemed to mock her with their cheerfulness. She looked around and settled on a course of action, sprinting toward the entryway.

The doors opened eerily before her. Analara paused then crept inside.

"Good evening to you, mistress."

Analara gasped in fright and spun around. A ghostly figure stood before her with a bemused expression. She had forgotten about the castle's caretaker. She pressed her hand against her chest to help calm her nerves, and an idea presented itself.

"I have need of your assistance, Winston," she said.

"You have but to ask. How may I be of service?" he replied.

"I have… friends coming to visit, and I would like to surprise them. When they enter the castle, would you turn out all of the lights?"

"As you wish. Will there be anything else?"

"No, that will be fine. You had better hide as well, if we are going to give them a proper greeting."

Analara narrowed her eyes. It was time for the hunters to become the hunted.

The staircase landing above would be an easily defensible location. She ran up the stairs and crouched behind a carved statue. In the silence of the hall, the pounding of her heart beat against her ears. She loosened her quiver and readied an arrow. Several minutes passed, and she began to wonder if the Anrathians had lost her trail.

The front door creaked open, and the lights in the castle went dark. Analara heard whispers of confusion as several figures crept into the hallway, silhouetted by the fading light from outside.

They are determined. Who are they?

Analara knew the answer, but she tried to block it from her mind. It had been one thing to kill the Siathrak zealots who threatened to destroy everything she loved, but these were men of Ilinar. Even if the city of her birth thought her a traitor, her conscience rebelled at the thought of harming them.

They are foes. Subdue them.

Quieting her thoughts, Analara drew in her power and focused on the arrowhead. Edging forward, she loosed the glowing arrow into the center of the pack. It struck the floor and flared with a blinding flash.

There were six guardsmen below. She took advantage of their distraction and loosed one arrow after another, striking legs and shoulders, while taking great care not to inflict vital injury. Chaos and confusion erupted within the ranks of the shaken Anrathians.

"Siath save me," a man screamed.

"What is happening?"

"I've been hit!"

"Stay back, my lord!"

Analara launched another flash arrow, followed by another round of shots. When she stopped firing, all of the Anrathians were down, clutching wounded limbs.

Put a shield up now!

Startled, Analara dropped her bow and threw a barrier around herself. The entry doors were blasted from their hinges, and a massive wave of force struck her, battering the shield with raw fury. She blinked and tried to raise her head, but another blast of energy struck, pushing her back against the wall. Through the swirling energy she saw a dark figure stride up the stairs. The shadow raised its hands, and a stream of fire streaked toward her. The impact shattered the shield and hurled her into the corner. Weakly, she tried to snatch up her bow, but the tip of a staff pressed against her throat, and she lifted her hands in surrender.

This is not good…

She heard halting footsteps coming up the stairs. Several hands grabbed her and hauled her upright. A cord was pulled tight around her wrists.

"Hello, Analara."

She lifted her head, and her breath caught as she locked eyes with Shalaron.

Chapter 43

"Bro, wait, slow down," Lucas breathed heavily as he drew alongside David. "What's going on?"

"Shalaron's after Analara." David didn't pause or slow his pace. He stepped cautiously around burnt and broken branches with the others trailing behind him. "We've got to get to her before he does."

"You said something to that effect before. How do you know?" Thomas asked.

"Rupu made some sort of connection with Shalaron's mind while he was trying to control the elemental. Shalaron was giving orders to capture Analara at the time." David clambered over a pile of smoldering stones and stared into the distance. Grassy plains stretched to the horizon, scarred by the trail left from the burning elemental. He set off at a run, Nathalion's draught still sustaining his system. Lucas groaned, but no one else complained.

Clyde ran up beside him. "You sent Analara back home. How could Shalaron hope to reach her outside of V-Net?"

David shrugged. He didn't know what Shalaron was planning, or even if Rupu had been right. But he couldn't leave any doubts. "I have to know that she's safe," he answered. Clyde nodded and said nothing further.

They followed the charred pathway until they reached the battlefield. David dashed into the trees on the other side and rushed through the portal. Once he was clear, he opened a tell channel. =Analara, are you here?=

There was no response. David activated his wrist computer and tried to call her apartment, but he was met by further silence. A dagger of worry twisted inside him. He tried to log out, but the system returned an error. "Um, Clyde? The system isn't responding to me. Any clue what's going on?"

"You suck at programming, maybe?" Clyde jibbed. "Let me take a look." He narrowed his eyes in concentration before frowning. "I can't call up my interface."

David loaded a schematic for the module and studied it. "The infusion of code from the Analath side of the gate seems to have blocked off the usual transfer points." He gestured to the platform at the end of the track. "I'm detecting an exit point there. We'll need to ride the track to its conclusion if we're going to get out of here."

Clyde stared around the module as if it had offended him. "As soon as we're clear, I'm going to talk with VERA about corralling this loose alien code. This stuff doesn't get to mess with me in my house."