Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) (8 page)

Whatever she was projecting it worked. The lead goon dropped the knife into the mud. He began to whimper, and something wet that wasn’t rain blossomed in his pants. The others looked at him in confusion, unsure of how to act.

‘Leave. Now. Do not return.’ Anna’s voice was low in volume but high in menace. The goon managed a single, jerky nod before turning and falling into the mud. He scrambled to his hands and knees before breaking off into a run back into the shadows. The others needed no second invitation and followed suit. Their auras vanished into the darkness.

‘Come on,’ Anna said, the strange tone gone now as she trudged forwards.

‘What was that?’

‘A subtle application of Novo. I use Sentio to read his fears, which was much easier considering how drunk he was. I then placed an image in his mind, one that only he could see.’

‘So you appeared to him as whatever it is he feared?’

‘It would’ve been more of an overlay, alternating between seeing me, and seeing the thing he feared the most.’

‘It worked well.’

They stopped at the second building on the left. A path of paving stones, cracked all the way, led up to an automated door. Except this one no longer worked. A sign stuck on the front proclaimed, “
It’s fucked. Push.
”

So they did.

‘Each scenario is different, Seb,’ Anna said, stopping in a lobby that stunk of sweat and urine. He felt it as her
sense
blazed out, scanning upwards into the building.

‘How so?’

She stopped
sensing
and nodded to a fire door that led to a flight of stairs.

‘Subtlety is the key to Novo. The Consensus won’t allow anything overt, nothing that couldn’t happen in the eyes of the Unaware. So you have to use it in ways that are less obvious. See a car coming to run you over? Do you stop it with a wall of force or jerk the steering wheel to one side? The reality of one Unaware is much easier to override than several.’

‘That’s why you just did the leader? Take him out, the rest will follow.’

Anna stopped mid-step. She turned to him, a curious smile on her face.

‘How did you know that?’

‘Something I learned, you know,
before.
’

Anna nodded, not questioning further.

***

Ten floors later, by which time Seb’s Avatari was working flat out to stop him wheezing in fatigue, they emerged onto a wide hallway. The carpet was torn and covered with a vast array of stains. The walls were painted a sickly pea-green. The smell was even worse, if that was possible, than the lobby they’d entered by. Several people resided here, most of them asleep, but at the far end, pulsing erratic
senses
, was the person they sought.

‘Down there,’ Anna said.

The end door, number 211, was already ajar as they reached it. The light from the hall peeked inside, illuminating a small patch of hallway where piles of unopened mail pressed against the door. Beyond that, the flat lay in total darkness.

Anna pushed open the door. Seb followed. He
sensed
out now, keeping the beam narrow, local to the flat. He found their target instantly, cowering in a room that joined the main lounge. Their aura fluctuated between a dull and bright blue, the difference between the Unaware and Aware. As he channelled Avatari, he heard quiet whimpers that drifted across the darkness.

‘She’s round here,’ Anna whispered.

They followed the hallway, entering the lounge. It stank of rotten food. At the far side, the door to what Seb presumed was the bathroom was closed. He
sensed
a young woman sat behind it.

‘We mustn’t alarm her. The Weave is strong in her, but her mind is fragile.’

‘I’m guessing breaking into her flat in the middle of the night isn’t going to endear us too much, is it?’

Anna shot a glance his way and he flinched back. He still needed to gauge the humour threshold on this one.

‘Stephanie,’ Anna called, her voice gentle, soothing. ‘Can you hear me, love?’

Movement from inside the bathroom.

‘Who’s that?’ Stephanie said, her voice high, almost a squeak.

‘My name is Anna. I’m with a friend - Seb. We’re here to help.’

‘You from social services?’

‘Not quite, but we are here to help.’

‘Get lost. You can’t help me.’

Seb felt it again, another tugging on the Weave like that he’d felt down below, but this was gentler, almost a caress. He
sensed
Stephanie’s aura flare for a second before dying down, the fluctuations not as severe as previously.

‘Does that feel better?’ Anna asked.

‘What did you do?’ Stephanie said, her voice not quite as agitated as before.

‘Soothed your pain, love. If you let me in, I can help you, help you get rid of this pain in your mind forever.’

‘You know my pain? How can you? I’ve told no one.’

Anna moved closer. She sat against the couch, facing the closed door. Seb took a position to one side, out of the way, watching this exchange with fascination.

‘I know, child. I know your pain. I know you see things that aren’t there, hear things that no one else can. I know you sense that something isn’t right with the world, and that you don’t fit into it. You feel disconnected…’

The door opened.

‘…alone.’

Stephanie was young, maybe not even Seb’s age. Yet for her youth, she looked years older. Her hair was long and unkempt. Her clothes were spotted in grime and torn in various places. Dark rings surrounded her bloodshot eyes.

‘You promise?’ Stephanie said.

‘I would not lie to you, love.’ Anna opened her arms out wide. ‘Come to me, let me take the pain away.’

Stephanie drifted over to her. Normal behaviour would be to be cautious, afraid even. When two people you don’t know break into your apartment it normally would generate some kind of reaction. This girl was beyond all that. It was a surprise she’d survived as long as she had done. With an open door in an area like this it didn’t bode well for one’s survival chances.

Stephanie stopped right before Anna. A semblance of awareness came back. Stephanie looked at the giant woman before her.

‘You will save me?’

‘I will promise I will do what I can.’

Stephanie collapsed into Anna’s arms. The mage lowered the younger woman gently to the floor. She passed a hand over Stephanie’s face and at once a blank expression fell upon her. Anna straddled the woman and placed an open palm over eyes that stared into nothing.

‘Seb, you need to be ready now. For a brief moment during this process her mind will be open, totally open, to the Weave. Think of it as opening a wound to remove a cancer. People’s reaction to the process can vary, but she is quite far gone, so it might not be painless for her.’

‘But you’ll save her right? You don’t have to…you know?’

Anna’s face was solemn. ‘I will do what I can.’

The giant mage began to mumble. Seb looked down as her aura flared, a conduit for the Weave. Stephanie’s body bucked once. Her aura exploded to life with a vivid azure flame. Anna continued to mumble, but whatever Runic Script she was calling was beyond his level of understanding. He tilted his head, trying to listen.

Stephanie screamed. She arched her back and her hands shot up to her face. Anna grabbed them at the wrist and forced them back down.

‘Not much longer,’ Anna whispered, not looking up.

‘It burns! It fucking burns!’ Stephanie cried out, her nails digging into her palms and drawing blood.

‘Anna?’

‘Not now, Seb.’

Stephanie thrashed. Her erratic connection to the Weave exploded out. The light bulb in the lounge popped. The TV screen exploded outward. Seb tried to look away but he was compelled. The woman’s agony poured into his
sense
, he felt the fire that burned in her veins, the pounding that boomed in her mind.

It was horrific.

‘How much longer?’

‘Almost done. Her connection is deeper than I thought.’

The screams began to tail off. Stephanie no longer resisted, her mad flailing now reduced to weak, random jerks of her arms and legs. Eventually those too faded to nothing. Stephanie lay there, whimpering, shaking. Anna stood up.

‘It is done.’

Seb looked down at his fists that were white with tension. He blinked away the sweat that had pooled on his eyelashes. His brain still ached from the process.

‘Are you okay, Seb?’

‘I could feel it. I felt her pain. It was like a fire burning her up from the inside.’

‘I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you. Over time you learn to shield yourself from that.’

Seb looked down at Stephanie. The young woman slept now. The lines on her forehead had vanished, and her eyes no longer held the hard narrowness he’d seen before.

‘How is she?’

‘She will live, and she is free from the Weave.’

‘You don’t seem too pleased by that.’

Anna looked around the room. ‘She lives, but to what life.’

‘Why couldn’t we take her in?’

Anna gave him a look like he’d asked if the moon was made of cheese.

‘Let’s go,’ the mage said. ‘We’ve made enough of a racket as it is.’

Seb carried Stephanie into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed. A large teddy lay on the floor. He picked it up and placed it next to her head. As if on some instinct, Stephanie reached out and pulled the teddy close to her. At once she looked small, almost like a child. Seb felt something in his chest. This woman had a connection to the Weave, to a world that could amaze and shock, but could’ve potentially brought her out of the life she found herself in. Now though she was alone. Again.

It could’ve so easily been him.

‘Seb.’

Seb stroked the teddy once before leaving Stephanie to sleep off her
cleansing
.

In the corridor Anna pulled the door to. She waved her hand and the door locked from inside.

‘She’ll wake in a few hours. She’ll have a headache, but she won’t remember what happened. What
was
happening.’

‘Lucky her.’

***

Grim and the others were already by the exit by the time Anna and Seb got there. Seb hadn’t spoken once since they’d left the flats. He couldn’t shake his mind off Stephanie, off another lost soul that would never know the joy of the Weave. The magi acted like the only option was purging, or cleansing, as they called it. But was it? Was it truly the only option left for those who’d suddenly become Aware?

He wasn’t convinced.

‘You okay, Seb?’ Grim said.

‘He felt the subject’s pain,’ Anna said.

‘Ah,’ Grim said. ‘Not good that, not a pleasant experience at all.’

‘It seemed worse for her than for me.’

Anna frowned in his direction before turning attention back to the others.  ‘How did it go with you?’

‘We cleansed one,’ Alex said. ‘She was only young, five years old. She was only lightly touched by the Weave. She’s sleeping now. As are her parents.’

Anna nodded. ‘Good work. And the other?’

Seb didn’t miss the quick glance Alex gave in his direction. She paused, her mouth open, searching for the words.

‘What is it, Alex?’

The younger mage looked at Seb again. ‘Are you sure?’

Anna sighed. ‘Come on, Seb needs to hear this too.’

‘Hear what?’ he said.

‘The other. They didn’t make it.’

Seb glanced between the two magi.

‘What do you mean?’

Alex looked at Anna for support. Anna pushed her head forwards.
Spit it out
.

‘I mean that he died. His mind couldn’t take the cleansing.’

‘He died,’ Seb heard himself say.

‘Sometimes, if their mind is weak, or their body, then the cleansing can sever the mind completely from this reality. The man – Keith - was old. He didn’t suffer.’

Seb looked between the magi. None of them seemed particularly cut up about this development. They glanced at each other sheepishly. None of them dared to speak.

Then it dawned on him.

‘This happens a lot, doesn’t it?’

‘Not a lot, no,’ Anna said. ‘But it happens. And not infrequently.’

He suddenly felt sick.

‘Can we go?’

Anna nodded. ‘I think we’ve seen enough for today.’

The mage known to her friends as Sonika woke up with a head that felt like it had been ripped and then reattached at an odd angle. Her temple pounded, and as she stood from her bed the room spun about her, wardrobes, beds and chairs merging into a swirling blur of colours. She took a shaky step, the sensation strange, as if there was some kind of lag between her mind giving the instruction and the limb obeying.

Of course, to everyone else they knew her as Sonika. Even the entity that now controlled her body knew that. Sonika, or what was left of her, still lurked in the vessel’s mind somewhere. The entity had debated erasing the woman’s soul entirely, but when the other mage came running over to her, concerned at her apparent collapse, the entity had been able to draw upon the host’s memories and put the stronger mage at ease.

‘I am fine, Barach,’ she had said, and the mage had gone away, not convinced entirely, but he had accepted the statement without challenge.

The entity had struggled to make it back to the waiting vehicle without drawing attention to its host’s strange behaviour. Others had come over, asking questions, probing it with their feeble
sense
. Thankfully the entity had been able to bring with it a sliver of the energy it could channel within its home shard. It was still far, far, less than its full potential, but yet still dwarfed those of this realm who claimed to channel the Weave. It wasn’t ideal, but it was sufficient.

Sonika had tried and failed several times to regain control, but a couple of mental blasts had sent her scurrying into the shadows, groaning in agony. She would live, for now, but when the time came she would be discarded.

The entity walked down the corridor that led away from the magi lodgings. It drew upon old memories to guide its path. The building was foreign to it, as was all the things in this realm, but having access to Sonika’s soul meant that nothing surprised it, not entirely.

As it walked, it
sensed
, only casually, it didn’t want to draw attention to itself. Not yet. Echoes came back; many of those detected were at least Aware, with some Latents present too. There was one it sought above all else though, the one known as Sedaris. He was powerful, for this realm, and his vessel would make a much better host than the underling it currently used.

‘Sedaris, where is he?’ The words sounded slow, almost slurred as they emerged. The soldier that the entity had addressed regarded Sonika for a second, his brow furrowing.

‘Are you okay, Sonika?’ he said.

‘I. Am. Fine,’ the entity replied. ‘Just a sore head. Understand?’

‘Sure, I heard about what happened. It was some freaky stuff that Marek was into.’

The entity was getting tired of this. It thought of killing the man right there. His host had the ability, definitely, but it would mean a short end to its mission.

‘Where is Sedaris?’ it said again, adding some menace to Sonika’s voice, the action coming slightly easier this time.

The guard snapped to attention. Obviously the mage was of superior rank.

‘In his office.’

The entity moved on, leaving the guard staring at it from behind. It called upon more of its host’s memories and made its way to the elevator. Stepping inside, the entity pressed the button it knew led to the fifty-fifth floor, where its next vessel awaited.

***

Archmage Sedaris stood, gazing absently out of the window down at the city below. The vast majority couldn’t see it, but reality was morphing, changing under their very eyes. They were Unaware, blind to the beauty of creation. Now though, as the Consensus fell down around them, more of these
cattle
were waking up to the truth that their minds had convinced them did not exist. Most, like a tortoise retreating back into its shell, closed off the very possibility of something different being out there, finding sanctuary in the mundane. Some though, became curious, they knew something was different, and their minds would not let it go. These were the Aware, newly awoken to the illusion of reality. Even then, many of those simply went mad, their minds unable to cope with the new world they perceived. These were problems that took care of themselves.

It was those who did not go mad, who did not hide back under their stones, which were the real challenges. They actively sought knowledge, to learn more. With this curiosity came risk. They did not understand what they were dealing with, what the Consensus was designed to protect them from. From
whom
it protected them from.

Could the magi take them in? Could the Families deal with this in a similar way to the refugees that poured across the continent? Perhaps. Some, like Archmage Dovin, would no doubt welcome the needy like the fool he was. Sedaris though, he knew different. The newly Aware were a danger, perhaps not straight away, but in time, they would become able to affect reality themselves. Novo or not, the mass joining of minds could achieve things previously impossible. It had worked for others, those who’d come two thousand years before, but it could not be allowed to happen now.

And that was the question, he asked himself as he stared down at the millions who went about their daily routine. Did he, Sedaris, have the right to intervene? To silence the newly Aware before they became a problem?

Did he have the right to take the souls of countless innocents?

He never heard the door open, which didn’t concern him. He didn’t
sense
Sonika either, when the mage entered. This did concern him. Sedaris pivoted, subtly drawing upon the Weave.

‘Sonika. I was not expecting you.’

‘No, Archmage, I suspect you were not.’

Sonika lumbered forwards, the action jerky, uncoordinated, as if she were suffering from some kind of muscle condition. The actions were clumsy, but her eyes were something different. They remained locked on Sedaris, an almost malevolent glint in them as she moved ever closer.

‘Elite Sonika, I suggest you stop right there.’

Sonika did not stop. She edged around the leather sofa. She was crossing the carpet now, only a few yards away from Sedaris.

‘Sonika,’ Sedaris said. He raised a hand. The staff hanging over the fire flew out of its casing and landed with a dull slap in Sedaris’ palm. The Archmage raised the weapon, point facing towards Sonika. A purple crackle of energy rippled up and down the shaft.

‘This is your final warning. I do not know what has happened to you, but you are clearly not yourself. I will not tell you again. Stand down.’

‘I was right, you are a worthy vessel,’ Sonika said.

‘You are no mage,’ Sedaris said, clarity hitting him out of the blue. ‘Begone, sheol!’

Sedaris’ staff flashed. Sonika rose off the ground and slammed into the far wall. Paintings fell to the floor.

‘Is she alive in there, fiend?’ Sedaris approached Sonika, the possessed mage now resting on one knee, head bowed. Sedaris took another step forward. Sonika’s head rose. Black eyes stared back.

‘A worthy vessel indeed!’ Sonika said.

She lunged forward, Avatari propelling her at speed. Sedaris shimmered and vanished, Sonika flying right past, crashing into the bar, sending bottles crashing to the floor. Sedaris reappeared behind her.

‘You soil my domain with your presence! How dare you enter here?’

Sedaris threw his staff to one side and lifted the stunned Sonika off the ground with one hand, his grip tightening around the mage’s neck. Sonika opened her eyes in that moment, and Sedaris froze.

The black eyes had gone.

‘So easy, so very easy,’ came the whisper, like stone on stone.

From behind him.

Sedaris dropped Sonika and spun, bringing his hands up, the Weave channelling through him. Alarm bells were ringing in his mind. He’d been foolish, overconfident. As his eyes locked upon the shadow, on the thing that pulsed a Weave energy utterly alien to him, Sedaris felt fear for the first time in decades.

‘No!’

Sedaris’ shield rose, but not before the shadow leapt forward. His hands were immaterial to the entity, the thing a construct devoid of physical dimensions. Sedaris drew a breath, and the thing vanished inside him, inhaled like a gas of darkness. For a brief fleeting moment Sedaris’ mind flailed in panic, drowning in the shadow that surrounded it. His hands scratched at his face, drawing red lines of blood. He screamed, the noise guttural, like a feral beast. At the periphery of his sense he heard shouts. Someone banging. His last conscious act was to try and leave his body, to Weave-walk to safety, but the shadow had too firm a hold, and the soul that had once been Sedaris was banished into oblivion.

***

Barach had teleported to the corridor outside of Sedaris’ private chamber as soon as he’d
sensed
the concern from the guards outside. No one could read inside the chamber, the wards protecting it were too powerful, but the guards’ concern for the screams and shouts coming from within were palpable. They were banging at the door when he materialised behind them.

‘What the hell is going on?’

‘It’s the Archmage, sir! The door’s locked. We heard shouts. Something breaking. Sonika’s in there!’

‘Sonika?’ Barach slowed for a moment. The last time he’d seen her was when he’d left her in the hospital, recovering from the episode at Haven. What was she doing up here? The thought vanished in a second. Those questions could come later.

‘Stand aside!’ he shouted.

The guards drifted apart, pistols drawn, aimed at the door. Barach strode forwards,
channelled
, and then blasted the door of its hinges. The guards were in without pause, training kicking in. Barach followed. His
sense
found Sedaris instantly, the Archmage was kneeling by the bar, holding his head. Sonika lay at his feet, the mage’s neck twisted at an impossible angle.

‘Sir! What happened?’ Barach rushed over and took Sedaris by the arm. The Archmage stood slowly, grunting with the effort.

‘Sonika…’ Sedaris said, resting his arms against the bar. ‘She…is…was…a sheol.’

Barach looked at the dead woman then back again. ‘What, how?’

‘You tell me, Battlemaster!’ Sedaris whirled on him, his bloodied face scrunched in anger. ‘How did these vermin make it here? Undetected?’

‘I don’t know, sir,’ Barach stammered. ‘She passed out at Haven. She was resting. I don’t know how -’

‘Then
know
, dammit!’ Sedaris screamed. ‘Take this,
thing,
out of my sight this instant. And get this place fixed up!’

‘Sir, I am truly sorry, I don’t know -’

Sedaris was in his face in an instant. Barach flinched, his head tilted back slightly. ‘I don’t want
don’t knows
! I want answers. Now, take this out now, and you with it!’

Barach was no fool. This conversation was over. Professional calm overlaid the confusion that bubbled underneath. He stood to attention and then nodded the guards towards Sonika’s body.

‘Clean this up.’

***

Floors below, Seb woke from a troubled sleep. His heart rattled, and an irrational anger bubbled in his gut. He rolled onto his side and tried to put the sound that had disturbed his slumber to the back of his mind.

The sound of a soul screaming.