Pillars of light and fir.., p.145
PILLARS OF LIGHT AND FIRE: THE COMPLETE SERIES, page 145
He slammed her against the wall, putting her head through. The KE field helped, but it dazed and disoriented her. She spun around, knocked to the floor.
Two gray-clad augments appeared out of nowhere, standing over her. They were identical but not tall. Women. They were faceless in their flat gray cowls.
A flash of white and Bora was there, attacking the two augments with speed and fury. Gal couldn’t see their faces, but they didn’t seem all that concerned about her.
Gal climbed to her feet to help Bora, but something grabbed her by the neck like a vise.
“Looking for someone?” a filtered voice hissed in her ear.
Red Hilt slashed, but he slammed her into the wall and batted her waveblade away. Gal drew in as much power as she could and fought his grip with her other hand. He was strong! Spots swam in her vision.
“So are you, brother,” she shot back, trying to regain her footing. She planted a foot against the wall and kicked backward…
Her attacker turned with her thrust and threw her out the window.
The sensation of free fall was comforting and familiar. Instinctively she activated her micro-drive, reoriented herself, and landed on the pavement seven floors below in the middle of the street in a shower of glass and window fragments.
KRUMP. Her KE field flared to brilliance as a metro bus plowed into her, its flat front crumpling as her body arrested its motion. More glass and metal showered around her. “Impact detected,” Juno said.
People screamed. Gal pushed herself back from the impact site. The bus driver’s face was bloody and she looked dazed. Gal swiped her helmet away. “Are you all right?”
“Damn it, do I bloody well look all right?” the woman snapped, rubbing her forehead with a gloved hand. “Everybody all right?” she said to her passengers.
There were shouts and moans from inside the bus.
Shadows and shapes flickered, and Gal went on the defensive. Red Hilt was up before he struck, and she danced backward with the blow. She fell into the rhythm her mother had taught her. He could use his strength, but she was slight and nimble. Stay alive.
“You’re too late,” he said, the shape of him flashing into sight around their dancing waveblades.
There was a shout, and Gal’s attacker turned in time to deflect Bora’s waveblade from above. Bora swept his waveblade away with a swing of her shield arm and darted in. Her attacker had to retreat with the viper-fast speed of her attacks. Gal moved away and ducked a wild swing of his waveblade. After a few moments, it was clear Bora had the upper hand.
“It’s not over,” he said, and his waveblade winked out. Bora pressed again, but after a few seconds, it was apparent he was gone.
“Shit,” Bora said, panting. “I left the two bitches in the apartment with Percy and Hector. They tried to hit me with some sort of spray… I don’t know what it was. I just knew you were alone—”
“I had him, but thanks,” Gal said, shaken. She dismissed Red Hilt. Gal’s attention was on the apartment building; she scanned the window with her enhanced vision.
“Be right back.” Gal flew up to the window, gazing around. If the ghosts were there, they couldn’t fly.
Percy stared out the hole and then at Gal. “Are you okay?” His waveblade cast the empty apartment in a cold light. It looked like a war zone.
“Where are they?”
“They vanished. Might be able to find them if we use Juno’s—”
“No.”
Hector’s jaw clenched, but he nodded after a moment.
Gal dropped back down to the street, where people were getting off of the bus. Bora stood in the middle of the street, her silver hair glinting in the dull afternoon sunlight. She had a dangerous gleam in her eye.
The bus driver was out now, surveying the damage. She had a handkerchief pressed to her head. “I hit you,” the woman said when she saw Gal. “You know you ain’t supposed to be out in the street!”
“Sorry, it wasn’t planned,” Gal said.
The bus driver was a big woman, with a broad face and smile to match. “You okay? You’re bloody lucky I was slowing down. My stop was coming up. The Smith kids get off here.”
Smith. Gal scanned the crowd. There they were, standing sullenly in thin school coats. “I found them,” she told the rest of her team. Within seconds, two forms dropped out of the sky among the group of people.
Gal motioned for Hector and Bora to intercept the two kids. Percy checked over the small group of people.
“Hi,” Gal said to the boy, who looked at her surlily. He was a head taller than her and maybe a couple of years older.
“They don’t make kid augments. What are you?”
“A special kind of kid augment. Are you Croix and Marion Smith?”
The boy stiffened at his name, but the girl was excited.
“Oh, are you Kin? You don’t look like Centurions. Are they coming to fight you?”
“Yes, and you’re in danger. We need to get you out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Croix said.
“Did you see the window to your flat?” Hector pointed. “That’s yours, right?”
The children’s eyes locked on to the window, but his sister answered first. “Yes!” the girl said excitedly. “Were you fighting?”
“Yes,” Gal said. “Someone was waiting for you. We’re here to protect you.”
“I’m not—” the boy started.
Percy and Bora stepped in, grabbing the boy and girl respectively.
“I like your hair,” Marion said to Bora, touching the strands of violet among the silver.
“Thanks. How would you like to fly?” Bora said.
“Yes, please!”
“Here we go!” Bora shot up into the air.
“Hey!” the boy shouted, and then Percy shot up after her, the boy in his arms.
“I’ll get them to the steeds.”
“Take them to Camelot,” Gal said. Gal watched them depart, knowing that for now, they were safe. She exhaled. The crowd around her stared at her and some took pictures. “Juno, wipe these phones, please.”
“Countermeasures are already in effect,” Juno said.
Hector moved close. “We should get going.”
Gal shook her head. “I didn’t even see him coming. He’s got some sort of stealth suit and he caught me completely off guard.”
Hector frowned. “Well, they can’t be far away.”
Gal frowned.
Hector put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. We should see if everyone is okay. An augment fight might be noticed.”
“Glowing girl in power suit hits metro bus in residential street? Nah, nobody would think twice,” Hector said. “Let the local responders handle things. We should follow Percy and Bora.”
“No, let’s help these people, if we can,” Gal said, but inwardly she trembled. She’d almost lost that fight. She knew she was still too young and she lacked the training to fight a full augment. That much was clear. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be killed, though that wasn’t likely. How the hell did Leto know I was there? She scanned the street, Pridwen flexing as it changed its parameters from combat back to normal. It had warned her, but only just soon enough. Cold chills ran through her skin, and it was not from the bitter weather. She and Hector helped the driver and checked over the rest of the group, noting with each the injuries they’d likely sustained. Nothing was life threatening. Once things were under control, Hector took her elbow.
“Time to go. I feel uncomfortable out in the open. Hear the sirens?”
Gal tilted her head and the helmet flowed around it. “Yes. Let’s go.” The two of them flew into the darkening sky of evening.
* * *
OFF THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES—
The sun had long set when Hector and Gal dropped down onto the anchored yacht. It had been a long flight across the Atlantic. Percy and Bora stood on the afterdeck, storing the warsteeds and speaking with the children. One problem with the warsteeds was their inability to go supersonic, but they could carry passengers.
Gal’s helmet slid away. “Is everyone all right?”
Marion was crying. She was younger than Gal, but the boy was older, bigger and taller. He looked unsteady, though Gal wasn’t sure if it was because of the rocking of the yacht or his tiredness.
“Why did you take us?” Croix asked, defiant. His voice was American, though some English had crept into his manner. He’d been in England for at least half of his life, Gal surmised.
“Come on, let’s get below. You can have something warm to drink and eat,” Gal said. She didn’t know why she felt so uncomfortable around these kids. She hadn’t felt the same around Apollo or Athena or any of the other Kin children. She’d even been comfortable with the Libyan children in Qabr. But these two threw her off, made her unsure of herself. She knew she was self-conscious, being judged, which was a ridiculous but real feeling.
Percy led the way. “Come on, you guys like chocolate milk? Hot chocolate? Tea?”
Marion nodded, but Croix didn’t budge.
“Are you afraid?” Percy said.
“I’m not afraid,” Croix said, raising his chin. “You’re strangers.”
“That’s true, but you know who I am?” Percy said.
“Percy Jones. One of the guys on the news.” His gaze shifted to Gal, though he hadn’t quite puzzled out her name. He poked her in the chest. “You? Who are you?”
“I’m Gal Brand.”
The boy wanted to be big and threatening, but when his eyes caught Red Hilt, he paused. “That girl on TV? The one on the Internet everyone talks about? In Cabber?”
“Qabr, yes.”
“The one with the crazy mum and dad? The guy who escaped and then blew up over the Thames?”
Gal smiled. This she was used to. This she could handle. “Your parents weren’t home. Do they leave you home alone to watch your sister?”
“I’m old enough to babysit!” the boy said.
“I’m old enough to fly,” Gal replied.
“I wish I could fly,” Croix replied. “But I didn’t like those machines.”
“They are slower than what we can do on our own,” Gal agreed. “You might be able to,” Gal said. “But we’d need to run some tests first. We need to make sure you’re safe from—”
“The bad guys, yeah,” the boy said.
“The bad guys were looking for you, but they didn’t know you weren’t home yet. Lucky us, and we’re far away for now. Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” Croix said, eyeing the steps down into the boat.
“I’m hungry, Croix,” Marion said, and she moved to the steps and went down. That broke the ice for Croix, and he followed Percy down. Gal stood there, feeling the waves slapping against the hull.
“It was Leto, wasn’t it?” Hector said.
Gal nodded, though he wasn’t quite correct. It was Mordred, his alter ego, which was the same from a gestalt point of view.
Hector spit over the side. “I don’t like it, kid.” He put his arm around her.
She trembled slightly. “I thought I could fight, and I know I can, but when they came out of nothing, I froze for a second. Bora and the suit saved me.”
“Yeah, but you won’t die. You’ve foreseen that,” Hector said.
“There’s always a possibility.” Gal wished she had his confidence. All she had now was the Dream Palace, and it wasn’t enough. The yacht swayed under her feet as waves rippled over icy black waters. Hector waited for her to relax. Pridwen chimed softly in her ear, indicating a message from Juno Prime.
“How many of these bolt-holes do you have?” Hector said.
“It was a little game I would play with myself. I knew I’d need them when I was older and I wanted to see if I could choose places that Aunt Nor couldn’t find easily.”
“Girl, would she tear you a new one. I bet she’s chewing up the walls and scouring the world for you,” Hector said, patting the rail. “I thought they’d sunk Camelot.”
“This is Camelot II. She was being built when Dr. di Lago passed away. It was completed but never used after the Citadel fell. I’ve had a Sister tending to her, keeping her seaworthy and stocked. Small perk of being the Prophet.” Gal climbed down the steps. “Come below before you’re spotted. We’re close to the coast and in range of a powersat.” She found Percy making sandwiches.
“Powersat?” Croix said.
“It’s a sort of remote power network the Centurions created,” Gal said.
“Hungry?” Percy asked. Croix and Marion ravenously tore through their meal. Fear and flight will make a person hungry for the basic necessities, Ed used to tell her.
“Just a minute. I want to power down the suit for now.” She ducked into one of the little bedrooms.
“Bestie,” she whispered as she lay down on the bed.
Juno spoke. “I’ve received another secure squirt from Juno Prime. Anora and the Kin are alerted to the attack. Your mother is safe, ship is undergoing repairs in lunar orbit. Sends all her love. Respond?”
“No. Do you have anything else?”
“Nothing, best friend,” Juno said.
“I’ll put you in standby for now. Shift work back to the package, please.” Gal shunted manifest power through the suit focal magnifier, charging its nanomachine systems for the night. She relaxed and the suit melted and opened, leaving her in her under-suit. She pulled on a pair of jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. They smelled of lilac and salt water, and she reveled in the scents for a few moments; they shifted something inside her. Yes, she was still an augment, but without her prescient power, she was just like anyone else. It was an exaggeration, but it put her in the mindset to appreciate what she had, who she was. She could be Gal Brand, just a twelve-year-old kid. Not Prophet Brand. Just Gal. Like Croix and his little sister Marion.
She pulled her silky hair back into a ponytail and returned to the galley. Croix and Marion were still there, looking less shell-shocked than before. Hector handed her a sandwich and apple juice. “Eat.”
“Yes, Dad,” Gal said in that way kids only did with their close family.
“You don’t have a cell signal,” the boy complained, holding his blank phone.
“We’re at sea, a bit too far from land for that—” Hector said.
“Bull. My uncle Sean can make phone calls off the coast.”
Gal took a bite of her sandwich. “I disabled your phone while we were in flight. Nothing in or out.”
“Are you a hacker?”
Gal thought about the question for a beat. “When we’re done, I’ll restore all the functionality to your phone. It’s not broken, just cut off from the real world.”
“I don’t believe it. I mean, my friend Julius is a pretty good hacker. We get around the tablet lockdowns at my school pretty well…”
“I can make your phone do whatever I want, but I’m not sure that will convince you.”
“Maybe it will.”
“If it does, will you answer some questions?”
“Yeah, sure.” Croix looked dubiously at his phone.
Gal tilted her head back, whispering, “Juno.”
“I heard. Done.”
Croix’s phone pinged, and he frowned at the message. It read, “I can do whatever I want with your phone, Croix. Do you want me to tell your mom about your new girlfriend?”
“What do you want to know?” Croix said, his ears red with embarrassment.
Gal sat down on the bench and smiled at Marion. She had big eyes and watched Gal intently. The ship rocked in the wake of a passing vessel. “Can you tell me when was the first time you heard about the Kin? Before they were Kin, maybe?”
“It wasn’t too long ago,” Croix said. “Marion was maybe two or three when it happened. Mum was walking us in the park when the light struck. Mum called it the hammer of God. I don’t remember a lot of it really. I just woke up after feeling all tingly.”
“Were you always able to sense the matrix?”
Croix’s face paled. “I don’t know what you’re—”
“You don’t have the Conditioning, but you can feel the matrix. The grid that permeates all around us from the powersats,” Gal said, making a motion with Red Hilt. She stared at Croix hard, like Anora would.
Croix looked away. “Only when the powersats went up. I thought there was something wrong with me. Mum and Dad took me to the doctor and everything, but they didn’t find anything. What does that mean?”
“It means you can probably channel, to manifest like an augment. You’re sensitive to the grid around you. Like a Kin.”
“Or like a Centurion, maybe,” Croix said.
“We all come from the same place.”
“How old are you?”
“Twelve,” Gal said.
“I’m nine,” Marion said.
“My half siblings are your age,” Gal replied.
“Can I meet them? Are they nice?”
“They are very nice. It might be hard to meet them right now.”
“Why is that?”
“They live up on Avalon.”
“In space?” Marion said with awe in her voice. “No way.”
“It’s true.” Gal smiled. “I’m not kidding. They know every part of that place. What’s it like living in London?”
“Not as cool as living on an asteroid, that’s for sure!” Croix said.
“Space can be boring. There’s always work going on because they are doing stuff to the asteroid.”
Croix’s eyes lit up. “I heard they were shooting stuff at the moon. That’s what the news said, but they didn’t know how it was being done.” He went quiet for a moment. “How come you can manifest? Doesn’t it make you crazy?”
“I was born an augment,” Gal said slowly. “I don’t need the Conditioning. My body and mind were born to it. I think you might be the same.”
“You mean you always had powers?”
“Everyone Conditioned has powers, yes. Both of my parents were Conditioned and I was born with the ability. I’m the first naturally augmented human born of augmented parents. I’ve learned to manipulate the matrix myself. I still need the technology to work things, though. I can’t translate the energy without a magnifier, and I can’t generate a waveblade without a focal device.” She tapped Red Hilt on the tabletop.
