Vrin: Ten Mortal Gods (29 page)

Casually he opened his eyes and looked out the window, only passively involved in our meeting, as if my presence was an irritation for him. I was immediately shaken by his eyes. They were not blue like the rest of the gods', but green, like two smoldering emeralds.

...
eight, nine, ten, eleven...

“You have created for me a conundrum.” His distant, lifeless voice held an eerie quality.

“How is that?” I asked cautiously. O
ne, two, three, four...

“Your reanimation is a paradigm.” He shifted in his chair. “Are you comfortable in your former habitation?”

“I don’t understand.”
One, two, three, four…

“You are Charm once more. How do you feel about this?”

“What do you mean?” ...
five, six, seven, eight...

His eyes darted to his right and his hand rose to a fixed and invisible destination. Quickly his fingers wiggled in the air. A sigh escaped his lips. “Your confidant approaches, but our business has not yet concluded; you have information which I require.” He tipped his head slightly. “Your attendance, of course, is non-negotiable.” His hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist. I felt his power enter my body, and the world exploded in blue fire.

The room spun like a carnival ride as tiny aftershocks erupted randomly across my back. Glowing objects streaked past my eyes, leaving visual trails on my retina. Colors pooled with colors in a blur of pulsating substance.

I needed something solid to fixate on, something I could use to rebuild my visual perception. I felt a groove in the floor and slid my fingers lengthwise across it to let the sensations register. They encountered an intersection. Slowly and methodically I followed the downward path. With effort, I slid my body until I was hovering above the floor tile. As my mind grasped the shape, it began to perceptually construct the floor. Soon the room took shape around me, and the spinning in my head subsided.

Just in front of my eyes were four wheels, and above them, a red seat. I drew the chair toward me. It let out a series of gentle squeaks. Gripping the cushion, I hefted myself onto it and sat up. Hovering on the desk in front of me was an illuminated screen within a glass box. Iridescent numbers rose line upon line. I reached out and touched the cold surface. Slowly my finger slid across the glass cube and my mind deciphered the information with unexpected efficiency. I had seen this text before. It was the very essence of Vrin.

Where was Gaza? I scanned the room. Many more illuminated glass plates balanced on metal stands, filling the room with a ghostly glow. I looked from one panel to the next, and as I studied each image carefully, I began to notice a theme. Gaza was watching. Not only was he tracking me and the other gods, but also Sajin, and several others I did not recognize. Gaza could see and hear everything!

Frantically I searched for Rath. If Rath was here, then Gaza knew! Or did he? Was he watching when his daughter was killed? My eyes darted from one image to the next. Then stopped.

Floating before me, frozen in time, was the horrifying moment I wanted so desperately to forget. The little girl's face filled the screen. Her eyes pleaded through the ghostly glass as the gnarled fingers of Kric' tu gripped her tiny forehead, and the knife pressed deep into her delicate neck. The image was so real I felt I could reach out and touch her tears.

“Looking for something?”

I twisted around in panic and met Gaza face to face. He appeared completely indifferent to my total lack of composure. “I imagined you would be longer recuperating. It appears I miscalculated,” he said in the same cold, impersonal manner he'd displayed in the carriage.

“I was just…”

His hand lifted, and an invisible force squeezed my throat. “You are only alive because I have not grown tired of you. It would be auspicious of you to retain that perspective. Now,” he said, releasing me, “you have information I need, and I do not have a great deal of time.”

He turned and examined the wall of monitors. “You have been quite the busybody, Jason. I have watched your exploits with great interest.” He tossed me a shadowed glance. “In fact, I have watched
you
most intently.”

He gestured, and the screen holding the image of the girl pushed forward and expanded.

“I tried to save her,” I said reflexively.

“This is not my daughter,” he said with distaste. “Her sacrifice was a charade intended to lure you to Kric' tu. He has dark plans for you, plans that would make your blood run cold.” With a twist of his wrist, the monitor returned to its original position.

“Plan? What could Kric' tu possibly need me for?”

“To stop me.” He laughed.

I let these words sink in, then stated cautiously, “With all due respect, sir, that's ridiculous. Even
if
I were able to stop you, why the charade? Why not just
ask
my help? And besides-- I was
already
trying to stop you.”

“His plan is confusing, is it not?”

What plan?
How could I possibly help Kric’ tu accomplish
anything?
The frustration welled up inside me until I could not contain it.
“What plan?”
I snapped. Lucky for me, Gaza was enjoying my agitation.

“Does this information trouble you?” He gave a sinister grin. “Do you have a
problem
with a higher being using you as a plaything? You and I are not all that dissimilar on that particular point.”

He turned and drew another monitor from the wall. On this one, an aerial view of the battle raged. Kric' tu's forces had more than tripled. The only ones holding them back were the gods. The mortal army had been completely destroyed.

“Where are they coming from?” I asked.

“The Circle of Ghosts. And they will keep coming until they have conquered every last city in Vrin. But he is not content to rule only Vrin. That is why he needs you.”

“To go,
beyond
Vrin?”

Gaza smiled. “You are probably of no use to him anymore, but
I
have use for you. It's funny really. I didn't have a use for you as Sam’ Dejal, but as Charm...” he said, lifting his hands into the air for drama, “Charm has
much
to offer.”

He began to circle. I turned warily to face him. “I created your kind and called you
sky searchers
, a nomenclature describing a scholar who studies the cognosphere, which I also created. It is this role that has caused you to develop a familiarity with something of interest to me.” He wiggled his fingers in my direction and a book materialized in the air. It fell to the ground before me. “Do you recognize this item?”

“Yes. It is Davata Notrals.”

“This, I did
not
create.”

I squinted at him. “Then who...?”

He leaned an ear in toward me. “Who created it?
God
did. Tell me, Charm. Do you believe in the prophecies?”

“--Yes.”

“But they
change!
This does not pose a
problem
for you?”

“I haven't put much thought toward it. I've been, kinda busy.”

He rapidly drew in close.
“Your schedule is about to open up!”
He struck me in the chest and energy coiled through my insides.

“AAAAARGG!” I fell to the floor, clutching my chest.

“Put some
thought
toward it!” he shrieked, then began pacing.

I clutched at my gut and rocked back and forth. “It, ah, changes here in Vrin, but does not on the outside.”

“
Why!”

“I don't know. I only know it speaks of things as if they have already happened.”

“I created Vrin from the very essence of the void! Every detail of this world came from
my code.
Nothing exists that I did not make-- except this wretched book!”

“We are play things in an evil child's sandbox! Puppets for his
amusement.
What could God
possibly
gain from taking my family and leaving me imprisoned in the void! Was it not enough to take them?” He shook his fist at the ceiling. “What
crime
did I commit to deserve
emptiness
and
despair!”

He no longer acknowledged my presence, but directed his speech to the stained glass windows above. “What
crime
did I commit to deserve
torture
in the abyss? What did I do to
YOU?
You
sit
on your throne as humanity squirms for your amusement! But you didn't expect me to escape! You didn't expect a
human
could wield power in your realm. But you were
wrong!
And your wretched book is
wrong!”

He stiffened, and his gaze returned to me. In his burning green eyes, I saw confusion. “Stay here!” he said, then turned and walked away.

Metal straps emerged from the floor and clasped my feet firmly. I crouched to pull at them, but there was no give. They were part of the floor, and very tight. My eyes darted frantically in search of something to free myself, but nothing presented itself. The room was barren except for the panels and the glass cube sitting on a simple desk several feet in front of me. As I examined the desk, an image flashed in my mind. I saw a glowing screen, similar to the cube, and a panel with letters and numbers.
A keyboard! That’s it!
That was how information was entered into the system. But
this
cube had no input device. How did he enter information into the system? Was this a terminal or merely a monitor? Maybe it would respond to voice commands.

I directed my voice toward the cube. “Activate!” I said. No response. “Expand!” To my absolute astonishment, it began to grow in size. “Stop!” I said involuntarily. The cube became still. I shot a glance toward the doors, then back to the cube. “Expand!” The cube grew until I could make out the program on the screen. “Stop!”

Now what?

“--Search.” Nothing happened. I tried again. “Find.” A box opened on the screen. “Charm.” The screen went crazy. Entry after entry scrolled by, faster than my eyes could scan.

“Stop!” The screen became still. I glanced at the door. I needed to find myself in the program, in
this
room, with the metal straps holding me. The only method I had employed with any accuracy was the action category. If I could alter the location or state of an object, maybe I could track that object in the program based on it being the only object in Vrin that had changed in that way at that moment.

I fished in my pocket and pulled out a coin. Quickly I placed the coin in my mouth then spit it back into my hand. “Find wet coin,” I said. The screen blinked with three entries.

I searched and scrolled, and searched... Until finally, I found what I needed. “Visual 3d grid3U9Y9K1” The room built itself on the screen in a matter of seconds. Every detail was depicted precisely, including myself.

“Transform metal straps to water.” The straps melted away from my feet.

Off in the distance, something hit the floor with a thud. I dropped to my knees and looked under the desk. There was no movement, so I crawled past the line of illuminated images, then stood. In front of me was a table filled with maps and photographs. And in front of that, a chair with its seat sitting on the floor, in a puddle of water.

In the center of the table was a screen displaying two prominent pieces of information. The first was a woman’s face, which crawled with activity, every detail was being measured and calculated. The second was a number, diminishing by one each time a new face appeared. One by one faces appeared on the screen and were methodically scanned. Was this how he was searching for his wife and daughter? What happened if the computer finished its task and he didn't find them? Would that be it? Would that be the end of Vrin?

Time was running out. It was vital that I be long gone before Gaza returned. But where could I run? Where could I
possibly
hide? If that number reached zero, no hiding place would be sufficient!
I needed to buy time!

Frantically I slid the wet chair aside and dove under the table. Past the mass of wires, two tiny boxes sat on the floor. Storage devices I assumed. Taking away a storage device would stall him in his efforts! I yanked out the wires, slid out from under the table, and lifted a box. The doors to the chamber swung in. Below the panels, Gaza’s feet appeared.

In a panic, I looked about. There was a window at the back of the room. I bolted toward it.

“
JASON!”
Gaza sounded like a parent scolding a naughty child.

Particles of glass exploded all around me as I plummeted from, what I realized now, was a
tower!
The expanse below was dizzying! I twisted around in the air to see Gaza’s face materialize in the window. Mild irritation quickly melted into wide eyed despair, as he realized what I was holding in my grasp.

My mind called out to Kitaya.
“Take me to you!”

“
Hhnnnoooooo!”
was the last thing I heard, before vanishing in a flash of blue fire.

In my sickened state, I could not decipher my surroundings.
“Hide me quickly! He’s watching,
” was all I could get out through The tender strand connecting me to Kitaya. Something soft enveloped me.