Crow - The Awakening (79 page)

"Yeah, I can see the connection better now," Laurence said. "You're sweet on the furry girl." He grinned. "I don't blame you. She's a fine specimen." He walked back over toward the other side of the cave. "Now, this is how it's going to go down. You are going to do the voodoo that you do and get us all home. You, me, that thing behind you and this." He pointed to Penipe. "It's going to happen, Steven. It could either be good for you, or not so good. It's your choice."

Steven eyed him warily. He knew better than to deal with him and knew it would always be 'not so good.' He gripped the knife harder while the burning in his chest spread to his arms and legs.

"I kinda figured as much." Laurence stood there appraising Steven. "You know, I'm pooped. You're pooped. We could always say we did and not, and get out of here." He held out empty hands. "See. Not armed."

Steven still refused to say anything. The man was a walking analyzer and no matter what you said he was sizing you up and every word you speak was just another piece of information he could use.

Asherah stirred behind him. "The trees, Steven. See the trees," she thought to him. Steven didn't understand her but didn't want to turn around to ask why.

"Okay. I had to offer. I'm really not a monster, Steven." Laurence walked toward Steven quickly and lashed out at him. But rather than the arm, Steven saw a branch coming toward his face at high speed and ducked out of the way, grabbing another branch. He saw Laurence jump back, surprised. His shirt was cut and he was bleeding. Steven didn't stop as he moved forward. The trees. He saw Laurence as he saw the trees he traveled through and went on automatic. Laurence parried and tried to strike him but Steven was faster, cutting Laurence over and over as Steven saw himself swinging through the trees, exploiting what his reflexes were best at in order to overcome this man.

Laurence changed tactics and leg swept Steven. Steven jumped over it and while he was still in the air Laurence moved in and knocked the knife out of his hand. Steven was fast but he had never learned to apply energy in an offensive strike so without the knife he would be much less of a threat. Steven responded by climbing up him and kneeing him in the side of the head, knocking him back.

"You know, Steven. This is nothing but fun for me. I get my butt kicked routinely." He walked forward, delivering more blows against Steven, "But, I still usually win." An elbow strike made it past Steven's defenses and impacted his temple.

Stunned, Steven shook his head but continued his attack against Laurence's assault. Without the knife he felt a lot less effective though. His blows were a lot less damaging than the knife and Laurence seemed to be absorbing his attack effortlessly. As he pushed his attack forward, it occurred to him that Laurence could be holding back on purpose, trying to get Steven to wear himself out. But Steven was accustomed to spending hours traveling through the forest. Stamina was not a problem for him.

Laurence was starting to feel winded. Steven wasn't tiring out so he took things up a notch and started concentrating on causing damage. His strikes became more focused, releasing their energy on the instant of impact. The results were dramatic as Steven found himself backpedaling under the barrage of devastating blows. Steven was able to divert the energy of most of them, thanks to his extensive experience with crashing through the canopy of the trees at high speed, but his experience didn't involve combat and the blows that made it through weakened Steven significantly.

Steven grabbed the bowl of mushrooms and parried one of Laurence's blows then hit him upside the head, shattering the pottery. Laurence didn't appear fazed as he persisted his attack, striking Steven over and over again. Steven dodged and climbed up him again, but Laurence anticipated that and, grabbing his leg, he slammed Steven to the ground. Steven rolled and grabbed a bench, pulling it into Laurence's way just as Laurence delivered a show-ending blow that shattered the wood. Steven grabbed a plank of the broken wood and swung it at Laurence, forcing him to parry and block it. But it was a decoy. Laurence did not see the other large splinter of wood that Steven jabbed into his midsection. It stuck in his gut and Laurence jumped back, pulling it out and tossing it to the side before coming back at Steven.

Steven was up on his feet again, and in the trees as he dodged and weaved through the blows that Laurence was delivering. Being impaled by the wood slowed Laurence down and made him mad, which affected his accuracy. It made it easier for Steven to avoid his blows. He was still unable to deliver any decisive blows to Laurence, though. He would hit Laurence and Laurence would melt under his strike, leaving his blow completely unfulfilled in delivering any damaging energy. Everything he did Laurence absorbed and diverted.

Yet Steven persisted. He felt a hint of doubt coming from Laurence and capitalized on it, pushing harder against the man than he thought he ever could, mirroring Laurence's blows and techniques and finally starting to cause some damage. The agent was slowing down and Steven was speeding up, pummeling him faster and faster as he felt the fire burning in his fingertips and toes. Screaming, Steven mimicked Laurence's palm strike to the man's chest, crunching the bone as he sent Laurence staggering back to the ground. Steven's fury was growing stronger, and he saw the pallor of death hanging over Laurence as smoke began to fill the room. Steven went after him before the man could get back up.

Laurence fell back painfully, his chest hurting with every breath. He reached back and pulled his pistol and put it to Steven's forehead just as Steven got to him. "You might be fast and mad but you ain't bulletproof, chuckles," Laurence said, gasping for air. Something was burning but he couldn't tell what.

Steven stood over him, frozen. Laurence wagged the gun and Steven took a step back. If he died, Asherah would be unprotected. Steven heard her in his head, "I would die, too." His heart broke hearing that and he backed up closer to where she lay as she tried to regain her strength.

"Wow." Laurence bent over, keeping the gun on Steven but shaking his head. "That..." he gasped and wheezed, "...that was awesome!" He laughed, then grimaced. "Stop making me laugh, you're killing me," he said, then laughed again. "You know, it's been a long time since I got to fight like that. You are a piece of work, my friend." Steven stood defensively between Laurence and Asherah as Laurence stood up, wincing again in pain. "Okay. I think we've had enough fun. Since you broke my ribs, I can only cover two of you so one of you has to go." He looked at Steven. "Well, it can't be you. You happen to be my ticket home. I think one of these girls." Steven crouched lower, trying to cover as much of Asherah as he could.

"I think it's only fair, since you gave me so much trouble these past few days, that I give you an attitude adjustment, don't you think?" Without hesitation, Laurence pointed his pistol at Asherah. Steven's eyes grew big as he saw the muscles on Laurence arm twitch, pulling the trigger. Time seemed to slow down. Steven dropped to the ground over Asherah as fast as he could, instinctively knowing just where the bullet would strike. Something hit his back and started burning as he heard the loud report of the gunfire reverberating through the cave. Asherah screamed, and he heard Penipe screaming behind him.

Fury took over, and the burning sensation erupted within him. Steven rose to his feet and lunged at Laurence who had a surprised look on his face. Time caught up with him in a rush of wind as Steven grabbed Laurence by his outstretched arm and neck, and screamed into his face with all of his might. The walls of the cave started to tremble and dust came down as Steven poured pure hatred into Laurence. The dart on his back melted and dribbled down his back and Steven felt the metal studs in his shock collar melt and stream down his shoulders. Laurence screamed in pain and he saw smoke coming up from his arm and neck where Steven had grabbed him. The gun glowed and fell to the floor as a puddle of molten metal. Steven felt like he was barreling down a slippery slope and picking up speed as he gritted his teeth, glaring at the man who had killed so many and tried to kill Asherah. Suddenly part of Steven was terrified and pulling back. What was he doing? Growling in frustration, he pulled Laurence in close so that his mouth was just inches away from Laurence's ear. He only needed two words. "Go away!"

Laurence opened his mouth but no sound came out. He suddenly melted into a cloud of mist that dissipated almost instantly. Laurence was gone.

Steven closed his eyes, bringing his anger under control. The little streams of molten metal on his skin cooled and fell off, leaving scorched streaks on his clothing. He returned his attention to Asherah. Picking the knife up off the floor, he cut the rest of her bonds. Penipe was lying on the floor half up on her arms, her eyes wide open as she stared at Steven. Steven saw others out of the corner of his eyes, but his only interest was Asherah. His aggression melted away in an instant as he looked into her eyes and put his hand on her face, wiping her tears away. Tenderness flooded over him and he cried with her as the guilt of the missed years rose in him. Asherah shook her head, crying. Her tears were streaming freely now as she sat up and put her hands on his face. There was something else. She was still terrified as she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him close. "Oh, Steven. What have you done?"

Steven didn't understand as she cried and kissed him. A tingle ran up his spine at her touch, then suddenly his heart raced faster, hurting. He winced as Asherah pulled back gasping, then looked at him with love in her eyes. "I can only slow the poison down, but it's too strong for me." Asherah whispered to him. Steven opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't catch his breath. "I love you, Steven." She wept as she held his face to hers, cheek to cheek. He could feel the wetness of her fur on his cheek. "We'll die together," she whispered in his ear.

Steven was completely at a loss. What was wrong with him? A bout of agony washed over them both as Asherah screamed in pain. He suddenly lost his strength and they both fell to the floor on their sides, still embracing each other. His left arm had gone completely numb and he looked at it and tried to wiggle his fingers. He vaguely saw Penipe scrambling over, screaming in terror. But he didn't understand. She put her hands on both of them and the pain lessened briefly. He felt her tears and her terrified trembling as she embraced both of them and he heard her say over and over again, "Don't die." He knew she was focusing on Asherah. Steven shared her sentiments and looked at Asherah who stared into his eyes. It was getting dark and he heard Penipe wailing and grabbing at them in desperation. A flash of blinding light overwhelmed him and suddenly he didn't see or hear her anymore.

"Aradia, I simply don't know what else to do. Asherah has completely ignored me," Tor'eng said, sitting in the tent as he was going over logistical coordination with the Primary Commander of the Cooperative Defense Forces. He looked out into the clearing. More jumpers were landing and offloading additional Keratian troops, continuing the buildup. He looked back at Aradia as she gave him a calculating gaze. "Why is it taking so long for your father to get the job done?" He knew she didn't have the answer, but he was getting frustrated with the danger that now threatened his daughter.

Aradia looked out at her troops as they sequestered themselves under the trees, making room for the transports to land. She played with her long, translucent, white hair absentmindedly as she gave further consideration to the circumstances at hand. The troops were the best of the best. They were the same troops that participated in the last golem extermination and she remembered fighting side by side with them under the command of her father. Now she was in command and he was off on another world and out of contact. The gatekeepers had so far been unsuccessful in opening a gate to the Forbidden World and until recently no one knew if they even survived. But Lohet's transmission came through, and it was disturbing, as disturbing as the report from Tor'eng that his daughter had been in contact with a deviant.

"Your daughter was raised here in isolation, Tor'eng. A casualty of this conflict, sadly. She needs to be sent to your own world and monitored," Aradia stated bluntly, returning her attention to him. Asherah was his only emotional connection to his life-mate, however, and Aradia doubted that Tor'eng would be willing to send her away. As a child it was easier, but she was becoming more troublesome now that she was coming into her own. But trying to raise a child on deployment was madness at best.

"But she may be the only way Penipe could contact us." Tor'eng was clearly divided. He had tried to make sure they visited their home as often as possible, especially after he discovered she had contact with a deviant on the Forbidden World. But that wasn't good enough. Visits don't create the societal bond necessary to instill certain customs in her, such as respecting the authority of her parents. And raising her there by himself alone had been extremely hard. None of the species of the Cooperative were intended to raise their children alone. It was always a partnership. Now it was just him since he had been completely cut off from Penipe.

Aradia could not argue with that logic. Elvin mothers have a strong familial connection with their daughters from the time of birth, second only in strength and ability to the bond of life-mates. "But you have lost your connection with Penipe. How can she connect with Asherah?" Aradia countered.

"The deviant has been able to break through, Aradia. They don't depend on existing fractures. The Sadari are not strong enough to stop them. That means Asherah can hear him. Penipe simply has to see that and exploit it." Their own bond was to be their primary method of communication while the surveillance team was on Terra collecting intelligence data, but then the Sadari somehow clamped down on the fracture, jamming it, and that broke their bond completely. It was devastating to Tor'eng, rendering him useless for several weeks, and he shuddered to imagine what Penipe had to suffer through.