Alchemist (35 page)

“You cannot kill
him, he will just escape again.” Rufus blurted, risking life and
limb to state the obvious.

Fallo’s head
snapped round, his narrow eyes falling on him.

But Terry spoke
before he could vent his rage on the alien. “That’s why you are
coming with us. We need a plan to end this once and for all.” She
approached Rufus. “And if there is anyone on the face of this
planet who can come up with a cunning plan, it’s you.” She looked
at Connor and smiled. “Also, Connor’s pretty good in a fight.”

His grim
expression brightened. “Just don’t tread on me. Reanimated
creatures trying to eat me and people throwing projectiles does not
frighten me.” His smile broadened. “But you stepping on me as your
primeval self does.”

Terry’s smile
widened. “If you’re stupid enough to stand in the way, you deserve
it.”

Connor laughed,
for a few moments forgetting the heavy anxiety and worries that
troubled him.

Rufus delved into
his satchel, withdrawing a device, akin to a small gun. “I still
have this, it wasn’t damaged during our first encounter with Edward
but unfortunately I could not get close enough to use it.”

Lyle frowned at
the device. It looked familiar. “Is that the same one we used the
first time we caught him?”

“Yes.”

He was
disappointed. “I thought you said you were going to come up with a
new idea?
This
doesn’t work.
If it had, Edward wouldn’t be here.”

Terry raised a
hand to him for silence. “But it can hold him, which is all we need
so we can deliver the final blow.”

Curiosity piqued,
Fallo approached. “You speak like you know how to defeat him
daughter.”

She gazed at him,
her expression confident. “I do father. But I do not want to do it
without your approval.”

Connor and Rufus
exchanged a surprised glance. They had never seen her speak so
properly to the King before.

“Then tell
me.”

Terry looked at
the others and said, “Could you give us a moment?”

They all looked
surprised. But instead of questioning her, they all quietly moved
away.

Turning to her
father, Terry asked, “Shall we take a walk?”

Fallo inclined his
head and they headed off.

They only walked a
few hundred yards but it was far enough for them to be out of
earshot and enough time for Terry to explain her plan to the King.
Once she had finished, he remained silent for the longest time,
standing and regarding her; his expression betraying no hint of
what he thought of the idea.

Finally he asked;
“Who told you this?”

Her eyes widened.
“You knew this all along?”

“Yes. But it never
crossed my mind as a way in which we could kill him. The Phantoms
are like a cancer, like a thought or an idea spoken by one person
to a crowd, once implanted they are hard to eradicate. It had never
been done before and I have never heard tell of the method you’re
suggesting being successful or even if it has ever been tried.”

Terry gave a
slight nod, seeing his point.

“You did not
answer me though.” He said. “Who told you about this? I do not know
anyone else who knows this theory.”

Terry shrugged, a
very human emotion coming to the fore. “No one, I worked it out
myself.”

A smile touched
his lips. “Or did you glean it from me when I was repairing your
mind?”

Terry shook her
head. “No. I worked it out.” She smiled, “Or more the broken part
of my mind did.”

His eyes narrowed.
“Your uncle is right, you’re not the same. There’s a presence about
you...”

Terry met his
gaze. “I am whole again.” She said proudly.

A smile split his
face and he flung his arms around her, an embrace that nearly took
the wind from her; but she loved it. There was no conflict in her
mind, no voices, no warring emotions, just her.

When they
returned, Connor, Rufus and Lyle looked at them with questioning
expressions. But no one dared ask what they had discussed less they
provoke the King’s wrath.

Fallo looked at
the three men, Terry standing quietly by his side. “Gentlemen.
Let’s go capture this Phantom.” And he smiled; the most terrifying
thing they had ever seen.

Edward

A football sized
block of ice smacked Edward across the head. His skull exploded in
pain as red spots danced across his field of vision. A line of
blood trickled from his temple, causing his skin to suddenly feel
very hot.

He smirked at his
attacker. “Is that all you’ve got?”

Faye circled him
from a distance, her eyes fixed on the murderer. Even in her desire
to kill him, she remained wary of getting too close. Phantoms could
not jump to another host if they were more than a few of feet away
and then, many of them could only do a transfer by direct contact
between the two hosts.

She had bought him
to the sub-basement of a deserted apartment block. The building had
not been damaged in the attack by the reanimated Alchemists, but
they were still rampaging about above their heads. All it would
take would be one to grow too close and Edward could work his will
into getting it to attack the building. Then regardless of if his
body died or not, he could simply vanish into the air like a
spectre. But his influence was diminished when did, like it was
dulled by distance. Phantoms could possess another being into doing
anything they desired, but once separated, they became mere puppets
to the single drive slotted inside their head. They could never
perform complicated tasks not without their controller close
by.

“I can do worse.”
Faye said, as she disappeared behind him. He followed her as far as
she gaze would allow without straining. She had wrapped two chains
around his arms and weighted them with barrels she had found in the
cellar. Then she had frozen the chains and barrels, encasing his
wrists in ice.

“But I want to
take my time and enjoy it. A quick death is unfit for someone like
you.”

His lip curled in
the corner. “Faye, Faye, Faye.” He said his eyes filled with dark
amusement. “I experience death all the time when my hosts die. For
a while it always feels like I’m being dragged with them before
they go. I have been tortured, I have been mutilated, but it is all
just the pain of the flesh. You can’t really hurt me.”

She paused,
holding his gaze. “We’ll see.” She slowly turned her back and
walked away from him. Reaching the far wall, she turned back to
face him. “There is one thing I would like to know before you die.
That night you attacked us at Cresswell. Why did you accuse Terry
of killing your wife?”

Edward stared
darkly at her for a minute. Then he relaxed, a thin, evil smirk
forming across his lips. “Don’t try to play mind games with
me.”

“I’m not. You said
you wanted to get back at her for killing your wife.” She moved
closer. “Terry never killed your wife; she died at the hands of the
Kamari.”

He strained
against his icy shackles, but they did not give. “You’re
lying.”

“No, I’m not and
neither was Terry.” She observed his obvious discomfort at the
subject. “It’s ironic. I thought it was one of your mind games,
another trick, like the one where you tried to turn the nations
against each other. But it isn’t, you really believe that, don’t
you?”

Edward strained
again, but the ice refused to give. Then he turned on her, a feral
look in his eye. For a moment Faye thought he would break free.
“Liar!” he spat. “You were there! You saw her die!”

She stepped back,
horrified. “What are you talking about?”

“You killed her!
You killed her!” he screamed. The ice around his hands broke, the
icy chain on his left wrist snapping. He stormed toward her.

Faye
retreated, only having enough time to throw a small block of ice at
him, which he blocked with his arm – his frostbitten hand swinging
limply as he raised it. He swung his other arm, whipping the end of
the broken chain toward her. She tried to turn and run but it
struck her across the face and back with an air-slicing
snap
. She stumbled to the ground,
head reeling.

He swept the chain
back to strike again. Then the roof caved in. Edward fell to the
ground, covering his head with his frostbitten hands. Shafts of
light danced across the crumbling ceiling as it was ripped away,
sending flurries of dust swirling into the basement. The dusty air
caused him to choke and his eyes to stream. Covering his face, he
coughed into his tattered, damp sleeve.

He trembled as an
almighty, deafening shriek filled his ears. He wanted nothing more
than to cover them with his hands, but their wrecked state and a
lack of air and itching eyes gave him no hope of doing so.
Something struck him across his side and chest, sending him sailing
through the air. Air exploded from his lungs as his back struck the
floor. Bright lights and dark blots swam across his eyes. Three
large, clawed toes spread out across his chest, pinning him.

Fallo crouched,
the spikes and plates on his back rippling. A slow, threatening
hiss emanated from between his maw as he craned his head closer;
saliva dripping from his serrated fangs. His iris’s were little
more than harsh slits against his amber, fiery eyes.

Lyle crawled down
into the sub basement, using his large hands and feet to quickly
pick his way down. He too hissed, baying for blood. But he did not
draw near. Rufus scrambled down from his back, nearly falling.
Connor also dismounted, running to Faye who lay unconscious under a
pile of fallen wood. A sense of relief washed through him once he
felt her pulse.

Rufus picked his
way through the rubble, carefully holding the gun-like device he
was about to use toward Edward.

Terry leapt down
from her father’s back in single bound, rubble crunching beneath
the metal of her heavy, armoured feet.

Edward, senses
regained, began to struggle against Fallo’s foot. But his efforts
were in vain. He was like a tiny insect wriggling between the
fingers of a giant.

“Turn it on.”
Terry instructed, as she and Rufus grew near. Rufus slid a switch
and the device began to hum as it powered up. He then directed the
end of it at the trapped Phantom.

Edward stopped
struggling, his eyes widening with terror. “No! No! No! Don’t you
fucking dare!” he screamed, beginning to thrash again.

Rufus pulled the
trigger and two prongs ejected from the device. Each one hooked
itself to Edward’s temples and buzzed, before releasing a dazzling,
electrical charge. Edward screamed and convulsed as a wave of
electricity ran through him.

Terry joined Rufus
as he kept a careful eye on the screen on the back of the gun. The
bars fluxed randomly, through green and yellow to crimson,
sometimes poking off the chart. “Is it working?” she asked, over
the din of Edward’s inhuman scream.

“I don’t
know...any longer and the electromagnetic pulse will kill his
body!”

“Keep going!”

Rufus held his
nerve, despite the spiking readouts. Suddenly the readings seemed
to stabilise. The device began to bleep, its pitch growing louder
and louder. Rufus waited longer than he dared; his heart in his
mouth. When the device began to whine, he flipped the switch
off.

The
crackle
of electricity vanished and
Edward’s pained cries were cut off as he passed out, plunging the
basement into a deep, unsettling silence.

Terry glanced over
Rufus’s shoulder again at the readings. She noticed the sweat on
his brow. He sighed nervously. “It’s done...it’s done...” he said,
giving her a quivering nod. “He’s alive but he’s trapped in there
now.”

Connor looked away
as Faye stirred in his arms. She opened her eyes for a second. Then
her gaze grew distant and they rolled up into her skull once more.
She fell limp. “Terry, whatever you’re going to do, please get on
with it. We need to get Faye out of here.”

Lyle growled,
getting his attention. “He’ll take you to get help.” Terry
said.

Connor hesitated.
“What about you? Will you be ok?” he nodded to where Edward
lay.

“We’ll be
fine.”

Connor nodded.
Standing, he carried Faye to where Lyle waited. The Alchemist
crouched low, allowing Connor to mount with little difficulty. He
lifted Faye on with his tentacles. Safely onboard, Lyle turned and
crawled out of the basement, vanishing above the lip of the
earth.

Fallo growled,
drawing closer to his quarry. He flexed his mandibles and fangs.
Terry knew he was growing itchy to strike and kill and she knew he
was struggling to resist his innermost instinct to do so.

She growled,
saying something to him. His eyes darted to her and his antennae
twitched. He hissed in return, flashing his fangs. She reached out
her hand and he dipped his head, so she could touch him. She said
something in a series of clicks, which seemed to settle him.

Rufus watched in
amazement as the King withdrew his large foot, before settling into
a crouch. Despite being somewhat calmer, he kept a wary eye on the
fallen Phantom.

“What did you
say?” Rufus quietly asked.

Terry waved the
question away, turning her attention back to Edward. Crouching, the
plates on her right arm slid forward to form a sword over her
hand.

“What are you...”
Rufus began to ask, only to be cut off by a blood-curdling scream
as Terry drove the blade into Edward’s shoulder. He thrashed and
howled for several minutes. Finally with a cold, feverish sweat he
settled. His shoulder burned at the flesh but deeper down it felt
bitterly chilly, the cold kiss of the metal sending incontrollable
tremors through his body every now and then.