Suture (The Bleeding Worlds) (23 page)

Another five minutes passed before Katsuro stopped, standing in front of a blank space. Fuyuko leaned closer to the screen. She could just make out the shimmering edge of the tear.

On the video, Katsuro reached out his right arm. Even beneath the layers of body armour, she thought she could make out the soft glow cast by his runes as they shifted along his skin, searching for the combination for this particular lock.

A breath caught in Fuyuko's throat as she waited for the moment the tear took her brother. Instead, a few moments passed, and Katsuro dropped his hand. He leaned forward and passed his hand through the space where the tear had been.

"It's closed," Katsuro called over his shoulder.

There came a sound—wet, metallic, and awful. Katsuro groaned and fell forward, the sound of his body crashing against the ground amplified in grim stereo by the recording equipment. Fuyuko felt each painful movement Katsuro made to face whatever had attacked him.

Paltar stood over him, bloody sword in hand.

Fuyuko's body shook as she restrained from throwing a series of punches against the screen. She tasted the tangy iron of her blood as she bit down on her lip. She couldn't do anything to alert people as to her purpose. But the effort was killing her.

Katsuro never spoke again. His only sounds were his last, rattling breaths.

Fuyuko couldn't move. As much as she wanted to turn away and deny what she'd seen, her body refused.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hodur screamed. He moved to help Katsuro, but Paltar held him back.

"This had to be done, brother," Paltar said. "His sword, did he ever tell you its name?"

Tears were streaming down Hodur's face. "What does it matter? What have you done?"

Paltar twisted and gripped Hodur's shoulders. "I have done our father's bidding—I have saved all of us. The boy's sword is named Sutr. Do you know the significance of that, brother? Can you recall the prophesy of Ragnarok, or have you become so comfortable you've forgotten our demise has been foretold?"

Hodur stopped struggling and sank to his knees.

"Sutr? That was supposed to be a giant. It was just a sword."

"Nevertheless, when our father learned of it, he ordered Katsuro's destruction. What is the cost of one life if it means that our entire race can endure? Every day millions of lives continue because of us. Sometimes we must do horrible things to serve the greater good."

Hodur stared at Katsuro's lifeless form. "It seems too high a price to pay."

"Well, for today, it is paid. I'll give you a few moments to collect yourself. We will need to present a unified story when we return to the others."

Paltar took several steps away so that he was now outside camera range. Hodur came closer, his hands reaching out, toward Katsuro's face.

"I'm sorry," Hodur whispered. He looked over his shoulder to check on Paltar's location and smashed the camera, leaving the screen full of static. Fuyuko stared at the grey lines dancing across the black background for a while before she could make herself move. When she finally did, she switched the camera to Hodur's. He had disabled his own camera at the same moment, ensuring whatever he said to Katsuro remained between them only.

A
ding
sound out in the hallway signalled the arrival of the elevator. Fuyuko shoved her father's keycard into her pocket and logged out from the terminal. She wiped away the tears streaming down her face and stood just as the door slid open.

A pair of men, dressed in black suits, regarded her with a cool disdain.

"Fuyuko Takeda," one of them said. "Director Woten would like to have a word with you."

The men in black escorted Fuyuko to the elevator. Once inside, one of them passed his hand over a seemingly blank panel which slid open revealing a series of buttons. He pressed the bottom one.

The elevator lurched to life and proceeded down, further than Fuyuko had ever been, or ever guessed was possible.

After several minutes of silent travel, the elevator's descent slowed, ceased, and the doors slid open on a long tunnel leading to a single door. The door frightened her. Unlike every other door in Suture, which were plain, unadorned metal, this door was black with intricate carvings. As the men escorted her closer, she saw the carvings depicted a variety of scenes she thought might relate to the deeds of the Norse gods. What was this place?

The door swung open without anyone touching it. Beyond, a single pillar of light illuminated a chair, while the edges of the room remained in darkness.

"Have a seat, Ms. Takeda," one of the men said.

She tried to slow her breathing and ignore the aching pound of her heart. The chair loomed before her like a beast preparing to devour her.

She sat.

The two men flanked her on either side. Neither looked at her, instead looking forward expectantly.

Woten stepped out of the darkness. Was there another door? Had he been standing there the whole time?

"Hello, Fuyuko," he said. "I'm glad we can have some time for a chat. Gentlemen, you can leave us."

The two men turned with robotic efficiency and left the room.

Woten circled the chair, staying at the furthest edge of the light.

"So, you watched the video," Woten said.

Fuyuko's throat pulsed with the hammering of her heart.

"I don't know what you mean."

Woten laughed. "Please, Fuyuko, this will go so much easier if we are just honest with each other. I know you watched the video of your brother dying. I sat here watching you do it on a security monitor."

"But…there's no cameras in the archive room."

Woten raised an eyebrow. "None that you can see. People enjoy the idea of privacy. I see no sense in depriving them of that illusion."

"Illusion? Then…"

Woten spread his arms open to encompass the entirety of the room. "Yes, an illusion. There are cameras and microphones everywhere in this facility. We don't always watch them, of course. That would require far too much time and manpower. But it's all recorded and if we ever feel the need, we're able to watch any person's actions within the facility. For instance, I found your meeting with Angie quite interesting. Your father is brilliant, and it's easy to see that you were gifted with much of his intelligence. After all, how many of your peers would think to sneak into their parent's dreams to steal information. A bold decision. I applaud your ingenuity."

There was a time, not long ago, hearing those words, 'I applaud your ingenuity,' from Woten would've filled her with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Now, it sent a chill down her spine and made her feel like she suffocated.

Woten stepped into the darkness and returned with a metal chair that he placed immediately in front of Fuyuko. He twisted it around so he could sit and rest his arms on the back of the chair.

"So again, why don't we drop the lies and games and talk—two intelligent individuals discussing important matters."

"Why did Paltar kill my brother?" If Woten wanted to talk, she might as well ask the questions she wanted answered.

Woten gave a weary sigh.

"That was an incredibly difficult decision to make. It was especially hard on Paltar. After all, he'd been instrumental in training your brother for over a decade. Have you ever heard of the prophecy of Ragnarok?"

Fuyuko nodded slowly. Yes, she'd heard of it. The Twilight of the Gods—specifically the Norse Anunnaki. You couldn't live in the age of information without eventually researching the people you idolized. But discussion of the prophecy was highly discouraged.

"Part of that prophecy," Woten said, "was that in the time of Ragnarok, a fire giant named Sutr would come. We've seen all manner of creatures come through the Veil, and so we always assumed if such a thing existed, it would be a literal giant. Instead, I discovered your brother's sword was summoned with the name Sutr. All I can assure you is I spent a great deal of time trying to decide what I should do. Considering other events, I decided I needed to act and eliminate the threat I felt your brother posed."

"After everything he did for you, you thought he was a threat because his sword answered to a name you didn't like?"

"I assure you there was more to it than that."

Fuyuko's hands balled into fists so tight they ached. At this moment she was glad she lacked her powers. She wasn't sure she'd still be in this seat if she could call her spear.

Woten stood, moving the chair away from Fuyuko.

"Now let me ask you a question," Woten said. "Do you think I would have allowed that footage to exist somewhere where your father could view it?"

"What?"

Woten chuckled. "I suppose what I'm asking is, do you think I'm stupid?"

"I don't understand."

"Your father is a brilliant man. In fact, across a number of worlds, I've yet to find anyone to match his particular brand of expertise—a brand that is instrumental to Suture's plans. Do you think I would've risked alienating him by putting that footage where all he had to do was use his terminal card and password to access it?"

"I wouldn't think so."

"So how do you suppose you were able to view that footage in that manner? You see, the reason I ask is I want you to understand my watching your father isn't just because I'm cruel. That footage was hacked into. And funny enough, after I watched you view the footage, I went in and tried to access it using my card and password. Even though my pass is meant to override all others, I couldn't access it. You see, your father watched that footage and left it there for you to find. The question I'm left with is, why? And there's the issue of you and your loss of ability."

"You know what happened," Fuyuko whispered. "Elaios broke a part of my soul."

Woten lunged forward, his hands slamming on the arms of Fuyuko's chair. She jumped, hammering her head against the chair back.

"That is where the biggest lie and mystery resides. Do you think you're the first person to have that happen? No one…
No one,
has ever had their powers lost for as long, and as completely, as you have. Did you know your father came to see you while you were still unconscious? See, the footage is hard to make out, because your father purposely moved to where the camera couldn't see him, but I think he injected you with something robbing you of your power. And I think he did it because he saw the footage of your brother dying and wanted to keep you safe."

"So what's wrong with that?" Fuyuko's voice rose, becoming rough. "What's wrong with a father protecting his daughter?"

There was nothing wrong with it at all. Despite her anger at losing her powers, she hoped it was true. After years of feeling like she lived in Katsuro's shadow and had to compete with him for her father's affections, she was starting to realize her father had loved her all along. Only her own insecurities had hidden it from her.

Woten's eyes looked dangerous.

"Do you think it's a good idea for a brilliant man, a man who has a reason to want to take revenge, to hold the power to rob me, or any of us, of our powers? We are standing at a pivotal moment, and I will not have something as base as revenge threaten it."

Fuyuko was breathless.

"What are you going to do to him?" she whispered.

Woten stepped back. He snapped his fingers and the room lit fully. The room extended another twenty feet outward from the circle of light she'd been sitting in. Besides the door she'd entered from, the rest of the walls were covered with cylindrical glass tubes filled with a pale green fluid. Inside, small, oddly shaped globs floated freely about.

"Do to him? Nothing. Behold, Fuyuko, the past, present, and future of our race. This is your father's masterwork."

Woten walked over to one of the cylinders and ran his fingers lightly over the glass surface.

"Inside these tubes are genetic material we can use to create armies of Anunnaki. Your father was instrumental in unlocking the genetic secrets of our powers. I suppose it was inevitable he would also discover a way to seal those powers as well. The truth is, I'm hoping he has found a way to control our abilities. There are dangerous Anunnaki who seek to destroy whatever peace they can. If we could rob them of their powers, there'd be no need for killing them. How much blood could we keep off our hands?"

He turned away from the tubes and fell into the chair he'd sat in earlier.

"My concern is your father is hiding it from us. I've tried to figure out why he would hide it and yet still work with such fervour on his usual projects. I can only come up with two answers; first, he intends to use it for revenge, or second, he doesn't want us to know he used it on you. If it's number two, that means there's a reason he's hiding your powers. Tell me Fuyuko, what name does your beautiful ice spear answer to?"

Fuyuko stiffened and a dampness broke along her brow.

"I don't know," she said. "I just think of holding my spear and it comes."

She'd rehearsed the answer for years, the way her father had taught her. She'd practiced it even more since he'd warned her in his dream.

Woten regarded her thoughtfully. After a minute, he nodded his head, as though agreeing with some unspoken pact between them.

He tapped a button on the earpiece he wore.

"Gentlemen, I'd like you to return, please."

A minute later, the robotic men returned.

"Take Miss Takeda to the holding area. Let Morpheus know he has a new playground to explore."

Woten looked Fuyuko in the eye.

"Perhaps a few nights of terror might make you decide to be a little more honest."

A knocking on Gwynn's door awakened him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and immediately became aware of the aches and bruising from the previous day. If not for the Veil, he knew it would be much worse.

While the grime on the windows prevented someone from seeing details inside, it did little to block the blazing light from outside.

Holy crap, did I sleep in?

It took another quick knock on his door to awaken him enough to his surroundings. Pridament said the light was either on or off. It could still be early.