Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2 (49 page)

No matter how he tried,
he couldn't get back up again. Both his legs were cut open, his left shoulder
broken, and his right arm nothing but deadweight. There were three deep wounds
in his chest. On top of all that, he was just tired from all the fighting and
mana recoils. No doubt the reason he was still conscious was the Fog he took in
with every breath. Only when he realized that he was irredeemably
stuck,
did he notice the Fog crackling.

Everywhere he looked,
lines of power sparked in the cloud of pure energy. It reminded him of a mana
storm he saw in a desert. His eyes grew wide as his jaw dropped in horror.

“...Abyss...”

The Fog exploded.

Energy! Life!
LIFE!!!! Change! In 1546 A.A., Pacsi Qualis wrote
River through Aeneas
!
Limitless potential! HUUNNNGRRY! An electrical current can split a molecule of
water into two hydrogen and one oxygen! Pain! Gravity pulls all things toward
its center with a force of 9.4 lbs. per square inch, unless that thing is The
Trickster! Carrots! Baoteee…sgheuheui...eegsdsssse…

Hovering above the
world, Tasio watched his bestest friend mana mutate. Eric Watley was gone
forever and in his place was a Grendel.

“It had to be done,” he
told himself. “It had to be done.”

Hundreds of miles away and on the border of
a higher place of existence, Kallen and Emily conducted a tea ceremony. They
sat in the
seiza
position upon a layer of atoms and electromagnetism.

Both of them were attired in elegant
kimono, styled hair with jewel pins, and artistic makeup, but the difference
between them was nonetheless clear. Kallen sat solidly in the position and
performed each aspect with grace. Emily fidgeted and showed her clumsiness in
both word and action. There were several scorch marks around her and a lack of
poise showed in her stress sweat.

Then, all of a sudden, Tasio appeared over
the table. His teleport into this area disturbed the delicate air, knocking
over teacups and scattering
dango
skewers. He paid no attention to
anything, and most certainly not the proper introduction rituals. All he could
see was his current chosen.

“Kallen! You know that thing we were
talking that one time? It’s happened. I need you to go to the place and do the
stuff so the other thing can happen and you can get what you want. It’s all
going according to plan, but you need to move
quickly
.”

The host for the tea ceremony scowled.
Tasio waved.

“Hi, Ligol, been a while. We should do
something sometime. Bye.”

He disappeared, taking a cup of green tea
and plate of
dango
with him.

Panic seized Kallen. In any other
situation, she would have rushed away. Instead, she took a subtle breath to
compose herself and focused on the immediate task. She placed her teacup on its
tray in the requisite fashion and then inclined her head forward in a
traditional bow to her host.

“I thank you very much for your
hospitality, Lady Ligol,” she said, barely able to keep her voice even. “I
appreciate you blessing this mere mortal with your time. Unfortunately, I must
take my leave and attend to an urgent matter. I mean no offense with my sudden
departure and I beg your forgiveness for my rudeness.”

Ligol, the Avatar of Lightning and Goddess
of Electricity, nodded her approval. Extending her hand toward her guest, she
unfolded it to reveal a miniature lightning bolt. Kallen was delighted at the
sight of it, but kept her expression carefully neutral and spoke the proper
words of thanks and humility. Shooting from the deity’s hand, it landed in the
mortal’s crystal and formed a yellow sphere that orbited the white-grey central
sphere.

Kallen arose gracefully and moved quickly
despite her formal kimono. Emily said “Ditto,” struggled to rise, and stumbled
repeatedly in her attempts to catch up with her boss. The electric bat hovering
next to the goddess hissed in laughter and was discretely smacked by her
paper-folding fan.

“What's going on?” Emily asked
breathlessly.

“Something awful and awesome; something
dangerous and delicate,” Kallen replied. “It's much like the tea ceremony.”

Emily gave up and pulled up her skirt above
her knee. A lightning bolt struck near her sandaled feet and she dropped the
skirt, chastened.

“Are you still talking in poetry?”

“No, the meter would be off.”

She stepped into
Albatross
IX
, started the engine, and then inserted her staff's crystal into a custom
slot in the dashboard. As the ship came to life, she told Emily to plot a
course for Ceiha and overruled her protests that they would fall out of the sky
as soon as they arrived. Emily sighed and said, “Yes, Boss.”

Kallen herself
retreated to the bedroom to find something more suitable for trekking through a
forbidden zone. Tasio was waiting for her there, and in the guise of a
handmaiden. In “her” hands was the mana-protection suit that Kallen used when
investigating mana storms.

“Help me out of this
and tell me what happened.”

“As you wish, milardy.”

Tasio untied the knot
of her
obi
with both hands and then created a viewing screen made from
two more that “she” morphed into a single mass. It showed Eric’s final moments
with the monstrous Mr.15 and the aftermath of the explosion. Two streams of
tears ran down her face as she watched the Grendel-Eric prowl like one more
monster. She wiped them away along with her make-up as Tasio helped her into
the protective suit.

Then the portal showed
someone else: a girl wearing a black and red gown. She walked through a misty
cavern with difficulty. A surge of energy implied she was mutating as well.

“Who’s that?”

“A pawn of the seventh
rank. She’s almost a princess. Watch.”

A boom shook the
complex and Zettai toppled over. Standing up again was a challenge, and not
because of the layered skirts. She was feverish and sweating profusely. Just
moving her legs underneath herself and pushing upwards exhausted her and she
languidly walked to her destination.

When Mr.15 offered her
power, she had no idea he meant injection with his magical blood. She'd never
been in so much pain. Half of her body burned and the other half felt the ache
and nausea of disease. She felt like crap, but when she arrived at her
destination, she forced herself not to show it. She stood straight, held her
skirts just so, and projected as much noble dignity as she could.

“Halt!” Kazuma
challenged. “Identify yourself.”

She stepped forward and
repeated in her head over and over again.
Mr.15 is blood and I am blood,
thus, I am Mr.15 and Mr.15 is me. Obey me.

“Identify yourself or we
will kill you,” Kazuma warned.

Mr.15 is blood and I
am blood! I am Mr.15 and Mr.15 is me! Obey me!

Kazuma nodded to Sosuke
and the girl raised her ax for an overhead chop.

Mr.15 is blood and I
am blood! I am Mr.15 and Mr.15 is me! Obey me!

Her left eye’s iris
made the shift to one hundred percent red. It shined with Bladi light and this
light was reflected in the eyes of the three clones. At once, they fell to one
knee and bowed their heads.

“Mistress, we hear and
obey. Please give us your orders.”

She extended her index
finger and drew it across each of their necks.

“As you command,
Mistress.”

Sosuke beheaded herself
with her ax. Haru and Kazuma bashed their heads in with their staves. Zettai
let out a sigh of relief and slouched, nearly falling to one knee herself. She
pushed forward and unlocked the door with the same chant she used to control
the clones. Inside, Vaya was face down on her cot and lamenting her latest
failed escape attempt.

Zettai knocked on a
wall.

The older girl looked
up and asked, “Who are you?”

Zettai walked in and
grabbed her arm, pointing at the exit.

 “I cannot leave until
I find Eric Watley. I gave my word and a lady must keep her word.”

Zettai yanked and
tugged, but to no avail. The other girl was older and hale, thus stronger.
After a moment’s brainstorm, she held up two fingers on each hand and mimed
them walking towards each other and then pointed again to the exit.

“Eric is on his way to
the exit and we’ll meet him there?”

Zettai nodded. Then a
surge ran from her feet to her head. She winced and lost the strength to stand.
Vaya rushed to her side and propped her up. With Zettai’s arm around her
shoulder and her own at her waist, the two of them walked the hallways
together. Zettai guided her to the exit, never erring. She avoided every trap
and bypassed every security measure be it a locked door or a force field.

“How can you do these
things?” Vaya asked. “I’ve lived here for years and I still get lost. I had to
steal blood and coat my hands in it to get by.”

Zettai smiled wryly.
She pointed at the blood leaking from her arms, pointed at her beating heart,
and then to her brain.

“The Conversion
Experiment!...You poor thing…”

Zettai shrugged.

Soon, her legs quit
working, making her deadweight. Vaya had to carry her, and considering her own
delicate frame, they made little progress. When the elder girl stopped, panting
and sweating, Zettai pointed to a dazed addict.

Vaya nodded and did her
level best to pull her across the corridor. Once her body lay over his, Zettai
lay her left hand against his chest. The bloody hand created a crimson circle
and her fingers sank into it until they closed around a pulsing organ. Mentally,
she apologized and thanked him, then she pulled out his heart. Immediately, she
took a bite and then another until it was gone.

This was a Bladi
Restoration Technique: Source of Life Steal. A Bladi member exists in blood and
their favorite meal is blood. Eating the source of another’s blood empowers
them further. The heart of a creature pumping mana-saturated blood was better
than Mana Juice to the young Bladi. By the time she finished, the light of life
had left her victim’s eyes and he lay limp on the floor.

“How could you do such
a thing?” Vaya asked, hands over her mouth in horror.

Zettai stood up easily
and under her own power. Her eyes were bright and her body stable. She placed
one hand on her chest and then held up a single finger with the other.

Vaya sniffed. “How
rude. You may look like a lady, but you don't act like one.”

Zettai threw her
shoulders back, raised her nose, held up her skirts just so with one hand, and
walked away in that pose. Vaya groaned in an unlady-like fashion.

“When we get out of
here, I’m giving you a lesson in basic etiquette.”

When they encountered
clones, Zettai commanded them to die. When they encountered addicts, she
commanded them to die as well. They too were experiments in overcoming his
curse and pledged in his service, thus her service. Each instance horrified
Vaya. She was about to puke after the second heart snack. Zettai offered her
the third and she lost it.

The exit was not
marked. It looked just like any other part of the wall. If Vaya did not have
Zettai with her, she would not have believed it was here. The girl’s bloody
right hand triggered the many runes locking it, warding it, and keeping it
hidden. Thirteen spell diagrams appeared, turned, and then faded as the door
opened.

“Most impressive. It is
little wonder I never found it on my own.”

Zettai shrugged and
walked outside.

Outside, visibility was
poor. They could see a yard or so in any direction, but the Fog was too thick
to see further. The ground was so saturated with it that it appeared to be
alive. Zettai walked that treacherous ground in her stocking feet. The Fog
shifted the landscape from smooth rock to sharp stone to frigid snow. When she
crossed a patch of grass, it slashed open her stockings and ripped her skirt
hem. She ran away with bleeding feet.

“Are you okay?”

Zettai scowled, then
nodded. Now barefoot, she continued her journey.

A surge of Bladi magic
rushed through her and radiated out. It constricted her chest more than the
corset Mr.15 forced her to wear. She winced and clenched until it passed.

The Fog was everywhere.
It swirled around her, through her, and inside her. From it walked three
figures: one adult male, one adult female, and one young girl whom they
followed.

“Don't walk away from
us, young lady!”

“I've heard all that
garbage before! Open your abyss-cursed ears and listen to –”

“Watch your language!”

“Don't interrupt me,
you abyss-cursed hypocrite! I thought ladies weren't supposed to interrupt
people!” Her father stepped up and slapped her across the face. “And that too!
I thought ladies were delicate and had to be protected by the men in their
life!” He slapped her again. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she looked up in
defiance. “Do you have a twin brother or is this really the same man who
grovels at the feet of the mayor's wife!?”

Her father threw her to
the ground and kicked her. Her mother looked down on her in disappointment. The
Fog blew away, the images faded, and Zettai moved on, but Vaya grabbed her
shoulder.

“Is that true?”

Zettai jerked away and
continued walking. She was so busy trying to forget the scene and ignore Vaya
that she didn’t notice a monster.

It looked like a piece
of rock with arms on every surface area except for its mouth. Four were used
for walking and the rest for grabbing. It quickly spotted her eye-catching red
gown and snatched her about her waist. More grabbed her limbs and neck to hold
her still as it raised her to its mouth. She took a deep breath of Fog to
trigger another power surge and through force of will channeled the excess
through the arms and into the monster. It shrieked in horrendous pain as it
blew up.

Zettai landed hard on
her side. She bit her already bloody lip as she felt something break and then
harder as the cursed Bladi magic tried to mend it. She panted in a daze,
wondering why she had agreed to this in the first place.

A phantom of Mr.15
stood in front of a phantom of herself. She had just changed into the formal
dress she wore now. The image of herself beamed and twirled in the finery. The
sight made her shiver. She had been too weak to twirl, so Mr.15 used Bladi
Puppetry to make her. That one act was worse than anything her parents did. No
matter how they shouted, threatened, or struck her, they couldn’t control her
body.

Suddenly, Vaya grabbed
her arm and dragged her behind a rock. Zettai asked a silent question and Vaya
pointed over their cover.

A rat turtle known as a
Shrephael
walked past. It was tremendous in size due to Fog mutation;
the fleas on its back were half as big as Vaya was tall. The shell was smeared
with entrails, scratched, and dented. Its eyes, teeth, and claws were all red,
stained with blood. A ten-foot tail dragged behind it, thrashing like a thing
in agony. The girls waited for it to pass, then Zettai had another surge.