Book of madness, p.8
Book of Madness, page 8
Flavor to the feast.
Seven
The last thing Gina remembered was Neal asking her how she felt.
Like hammered shit. But I’ll live.
Then there was only darkness and silence, and both seemed to last for a very long time. Maybe forever. But then something about the darkness changed. Everything around her was still black, but there was something different about it. Before, she’d felt neither hot nor cold, but it was chilly here, and a breeze moved across her face and hands, making her shiver. She’d been drifting in nothingness, but now there was something solid beneath her feet. She crouched and pressed her hand to the surface she stood on. The substance was hard and smooth, like highly polished rock, and she could feel it vibrating. She could hear a humming sound as well, as if a huge machine was generating a vast amount of power. She found it disquieting, so she removed her hand and stood.
Panic flared within her. She didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten here. It felt so different, so alien . . . Almost as if she wasn’t on Earth anymore but somewhere else. Her panic continued to grow, and she knew that if she didn’t get control of it soon, it would overwhelm her. She was a Maintenance agent, damn it! Yeah, she’d been on the job less than a year, but in that time, she’d found herself in a number of bizarre and dangerous circumstances. She hadn’t let fear get the best of her then and she wouldn’t allow it to do so now. She closed her eyes—not that it was necessary considering that she was surrounded by darkness—and began taking slow, deep breaths, holding them for a five count, and then releasing them slowly. She did this ten times, and when she was finished, she felt better. The fear remained, but it was no longer so overwhelming.
She’d taken a class called Interdimensional Awareness during her training at the Homestead, and while she’d found it interesting—and more than a little frightening—she didn’t think she’d ever use most of the information. Sure, sometimes Maintenance agents encountered dimensional instability in the performance of their duties, but actually finding themselves slipping between dimensions was rare, so much so that it almost never happened. But, the instructor had pointed out, almost isn’t the same as never. Gina tried to recall some of the tips the instructor had given them in case they ever found themselves in a different dimension.
Are you in a dimension that appears to have a set reality? Some dimensions are stable while others are constantly changing.
It was hard to tell since she couldn’t see anything, but the darkness surrounding her hadn’t changed, nor had the cool breeze, or the surface she stood on. Not yet, anyway.
Is there gravity and breathable air?
She inhaled, exhaled. The air seemed okay. Her chest didn’t hurt and she wasn’t coughing. The air did smell strange, though, kind of like ozone. She jumped a couple times to test the gravity. Both times she went up and came down. It felt like Earth gravity, or close to it.
Can you move normally in three-dimensional space?
She held her hands out before her and wiggled her fingers. Good enough.
Does time seem to be passing in a linear fashion?
That was a tough one since she couldn’t see anything. If it was daylight, she could’ve seen if anyone was walking backward or plant life was growing at an accelerated rate. All she had to judge by was herself, and since it seemed that her thoughts and actions were following a linear progression she would assume for now that time here was normal.
The Interdimensional Awareness instructor had cautioned the students that these basic tests, while helpful, were no guarantee that the conditions of any reality they might find themselves in would remain stable. But they were an effective way to begin acclimating to a new world.
Gina turned in a slow circle, trying to make out any shapes in the blackness. She knew she was in a place that possessed at least a modicum of physical reality, and if the ground beneath her was solid, that meant there was a good chance that there were other physical objects in the vicinity. As she turned, she searched for shapes that stood out against the blackness—large rocks, tall trees, rising hills—but detected none. She did get the impression of vast open space all around her and, combined with the cool breeze that was blowing, it felt like she was outside. If so, then it was nighttime but, if that was the case, where were the stars? She supposed that dark clouds could be covering the sky from horizon to horizon, blotting out the heavens, but that didn’t feel like the right explanation. There was something about these details that nagged at her mind. A starless black void hanging over a smooth, dark surface . . . and then it came to her.
The Nightway.
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
Two pinpoints of light appeared in the distance then, and Gina watched them grow larger and larger . . . Headlights, she thought. But what else would you expect to see on the Nightway?
She debated what to do. Standing in the middle of a road in the dark as a vehicle approached was never a good idea, but the Nightway presented a host of dangers besides traffic. She’d learned about this realm at the Homestead, and she knew it was inhabited by creatures that would make the Witch Lady look like a cuddly kitten by comparison. If she got off the road to avoid getting struck by the fast-approaching vehicle, she risked becoming prey to whatever monsters lurked in the darkness. But the beings that traveled the Nightway could be as much of a threat as any monster, if not more.
The headlights were closer now, and she could hear the rumble of an engine. Although the vehicle was still some way off, its headlights provided enough illumination for her to make out the road beneath her. It was glossy black, surface smooth and unmarred, and it stretched twelve, maybe fifteen feet from side to side. She stood precisely in the middle of the road, and she quickly moved to her left to get out of the way of the oncoming vehicle. She stopped when she reached the road’s edge. The ground beyond was covered with what looked like black sand, and her instincts told her it wouldn’t be a good idea to set foot on it. She was stuck here, with no cover and nowhere to go if the driver of the vehicle decided it would be amusing to run her over.
Having no other options, she watched and waited as the vehicle continued drawing closer.
She really wished Surveyors were permitted to carry weapons. She’d give a hefty chunk of her soul for a Null Rifle or Absorber right then. Hell, she’d settle for a regular gun or even a knife. Anything would be better than what she had right now, which was nothing.
She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the headlights’ glare. She didn’t know if they were brighter than an ordinary car or if they only seemed so because of the absolute dark of this realm, but the light was too painful to look at directly. The engine grew louder, its rumble becoming a roar, sounding more like an angry beast than a piece of machinery. Maybe it was a beast, or at least partly so. In this place, anything was possible.
The vehicle remained in the middle of the road as it came closer, and Gina began to hope that the driver would pass her by, but then it slowed, pulled over to the side of the road where she was standing, and stopped. It was a convertible sports car fashioned from interlocking lengths of bone, a grinning skull for a hood ornament, and tires made from stitched-together swatches of human skin. The engine grew quieter, becoming a soft, irritated growl, as if the vehicle wasn’t happy about having its journey interrupted. Gina could see now that the intense illumination that had made it difficult to look directly at the car wasn’t entirely from the headlights. The driver was wreathed in orange-red flames, and the air was filled with the stink of cooking meat.
The driver was a blackened husk of a thing, its shape human, but specific features impossible to make out. But when it turned its charred head to Gina and spoke, its voice was clear, and she recognized it.
“Get in, loser. I’ve got something to show you.”
It was Rachel Blackburn.
The medics had already gotten Gina into the Medical Bay by the time Neal arrived at headquarters. He wanted to go in and see her, but Arlow, the Security Guard posted outside, refused to let him in. Neal knew the man—they’d started working in Ash Creek around the same time—and he was a strict by-the-book guy. No point in trying to convince him to bend the rules. Neal took a seat on an uncomfortable couch in the small waiting area outside the bay. He glared at Arlow, who steadfastly ignore him.
Eleanor hurried down the hall toward Neal and sat next to him on the couch. He was surprised when she took his hand.
“How are you holding up?” she asked.
Eleanor wore the standard Maintenance uniform, including smart glasses and, like most employees, wore her strawberry-blond hair short, and eschewed both jewelry and makeup. Keeping their appearance simple was one of the ways agents avoided unnecessary depletion of resources. When it came to fighting Entropy, every little bit helped.
Neal understood why Eleanor had asked about his condition rather than Gina’s. Eleanor already knew Gina’s status. She’d been the one to summon the medics and had stayed in close touch with them as they transported Gina to headquarters.
“I’m all right. I’m worried about Gina, of course, but I’m sure the med staff will take good care of her. Getting infected with Corruption is an occupational hazard for field agents. I can’t remember how many times it’s happened to me.”
“Seventeen,” Eleanor said. “The last time was twenty-two months ago, when you got bit by that stray chihuahua in an alley on the Southside.”
“How was I supposed to know the goddamned thing was infested with Shadow-mutated fleas?” These insects hadn’t fed on blood. Instead, they’d injected tiny bits of Shadow into whatever they bit. They’d Corrupted the poor dog, which in turn passed that Corruption on to Neal via a single bite on his hand. The med team had successfully rid him of Corruption, but he’d continued to feel like shit for a week after.
“It was one of the last cases Pam and I worked on.” Neal smiled. “She kept busting my balls about the monster dog that bit me.”
“That’s why I’m worried about you. When Pam died, you went into a deep depression. Now you have a different partner, and she’s been seriously injured on the job, too. It would be only natural if some of those feelings associated with Pam’s loss started surfacing again.”
“You should’ve gone to work in Psych Division,” Neal said.
“When you’re an Analyst, you pick up all kinds of knowledge. But don’t avoid the issue.”
“You mean about Pam.”
She nodded.
He considered. His previous partner Pam had been killed during an investigation, and he’d blamed himself for being unable to save her. He’d driven solo for a while after that, refusing to work with any new partners, until Deanna had insisted that he work with Gina, the daughter of his former mentor, Amador. He hadn’t wanted to do it, felt as if he was somehow betraying Pam’s memory, but he and Gina soon found themselves embroiled in a case and, by the end of it, they’d not only saved the world—maybe even the entire universe—but they’d formed a solid working relationship, with him serving as a mentor for the first time in his career. Things had been good between them ever since. Gina was already a hell of an agent, and in time he expected her to become one of the very best the organization had ever seen. Working with Gina had helped him come to terms with Pam’s loss, and while he was worried about Gina, the guilt he’d once felt about Pam hadn’t resurfaced.
“I appreciate you checking on me,” he said. “Truly. But my only concern right now is for Gina.”
Eleanor looked deep into his eyes as if trying to gauge his sincerity. Evidently, she liked what she found there, for she squeezed his hands and said, “Good.”
Normally, Neal removed his glasses when he wasn’t in the field, but he’d been too worried about Gina and had forgotten about them. Now Deanna’s voice came over his glasses’ comm unit.
“The doctor just informed me that Gina’s going to be fine. They’re in the process of extracting the remainder of the Corruption in her. She’ll sleep an hour or two afterward, but then she’ll be up and around, and—assuming she checks out—the doctor will clear her to return to duty."
Neal turned to Eleanor to tell her the good news, but she tapped the side of her glasses to indicate she’d received Deanna’s message too.
“In the meantime, I want you to come to my office, Neal. There’s someone you need to meet.”
There was a soft click as Deanna disconnected.
Neal took off his glasses and tucked them into his shirt pocket.
“Did you hear that last part?” he asked Eleanor.
“No, she spoke that only to you. But I can guess what she said. She wants you to meet the inspector.”
“Yeah. Could this fucking day get any worse?”
Later, he would think back to this and wish he’d kept his goddamned mouth shut.
Gina sat in the front seat next to Rachel, making sure to keep as close to the passenger door as possible. The flames that covered the woman burned bright and hot, and Gina didn’t want to get burned. As it was, sweat rolled off her, and her skin felt like it was being stabbed with thousands of red-hot needles. Rachel was driving so fast that the flames trailed behind her, and that helped to keep them away from Gina, as well. She kept her face averted, unable to look at Rachel for long. Part of that was due to the light and heat radiating from Rachel, but the sight of her blackened, charred body made Gina feel sick. And the smell! It was like roasting pork, and she had to breathe through her mouth to keep from vomiting.
“So, you’re currently trapped inside the sun,” Gina said, “constantly burning but never being destroyed. And you’re also here on the Nightway with me.”
Rachel sighed and black smoke curled from her charred mouth.
“Don’t they teach you people anything at the Homestead? It’s called biolocation—being in two places simultaneously. It’s the same with you. You’re here in the car with me, but you’re also in the Maintenance Medical Bay back in Ash Creek.”
“The sting from the Witch Lady did this to me.”
“It destabilized your dimensional integrity, yes, but I brought you here.”
“How? You failed your Valuation and Brother Nothing banished you.”
It was impossible for Rachel’s scorched and blackened face to display any expression, but her irritation was clear in her voice.
“Yes, but he didn’t take away all my power. If he had, I wouldn’t be able to survive the juvenile torture he designed for me. I can’t escape, but I can manifest elsewhere for a short time, and when I sensed you’d been dimensionally destabilized, I knew I could bring you here. Before Brother Nothing exiled me from Earth, I created a link between you and me. I did the same with Neal. I thought it would make it easier to take revenge on the two of you for spoiling my attempt to activate the Atrocity Engine when I eventually escape my solar prison. But don’t worry. I have no intention of harming either of you . . . at the present time. Right now, I’m concerned with throwing a very large wrench into Brother Nothing’s latest scheme.”
Gina knew she would be a fool to trust Rachel, but she could easily believe that the woman would want to get back at Brother Nothing. The Multitude shared his goal of bringing about the complete entropic collapse of the Omniverse as soon as possible, but they did not always work well with each other, to put it mildly.
Rachel’s wasn’t the only vehicle on the road. Several passed them going the other direction, each more bizarre than the last. One was a large metal orb with silver spikes jutting from its surface. It rolled down the road with no visible means of propulsion, and Gina feared it might veer off course and pierce them with its spikes. But the craft—if that’s what it was—continued on its way peacefully. Another vehicle resembled a wooden galley ship from ancient times, but without sails. Dozens of large muscular gray-skinned beings worked the oars in unison, with much smaller and scrawnier beings of the same type lashing the rowers with barbed wire whips. The ship hovered four feet above the surface of the road and moved at a surprisingly fast rate of speed. A third vehicle traveled much slower. It looked like a wagon, except that it had only three wheels, and a huge kettle was affixed to the front. Steam rose from the kettle, providing locomotion for the two mustachioed men in old-fashioned suits sitting on the wagon’s wooden seat. Both men tipped their hats as Gina and Rachel went by.
“There are many different realities, but only one Nightway,” Rachel said.
Gina had no sense of how long they’d been traveling—time seemed to pass in its own strange fashion on the Nightway—but eventually she saw an eerie green light in the distance.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“That’s what I want to show you.”
As they drew closer to their destination, Gina saw that the light emanated from a huge structure set back a distance from the edge of the road. It looked like something from ancient Greece—a high series of steps leading to a rectangular building surrounded by tall columns. Except, instead of stone, this structure appeared to have been carved entirely from jade or some similar substance. Gina had no idea what power was causing the glow but, while the effect should’ve been beautiful, there was something not right about the shade of green. Instead of evoking growing things, the color made her think of mold and rot.
Rachel slowed the bonemobile, pulled over, and parked at the side of the road.
“This is the Athenaeum.”
“Okay. And what’s that?
“It’s a place of research and scholarship,” she paused, then added, “for the Multitude.”
Gina’s eyes widened in a combination of surprise and fear.
