Interphase (55 page)

Thal's body began to soften and shimmer. Shalaron sensed the compression of his essence, as everything that he was distilled and flowed into his new host. The guards gasped as Thal's body wavered into mist and vanished.

"Release him and step back," Shalaron commanded. The guards quickly obeyed. The human slumped to the ground and shuddered. A moment passed and he lifted his head, an expression of wonder lighting his face as he gazed up at Shalaron.

"M-my lord! This is…"

Shalaron removed the bonds. "Well done, Thal. Stand up."

Thal stood and inspected his new form. The guards gazed at him with expressions torn halfway between wonder and fear.

A watchman entered the clearing and hurried to Shalaron's side. "My lord, someone is here, just outside the…" He blinked, suddenly seeming disoriented. "Wait, how did I get here?"

Shalaron narrowed his eyes in suspicion, then rose to his feet and stalked in the direction the watchman had come from. A short distance from camp, he spied a hidden figure in the twilight. He approached warily.

Rupu was sitting on a fallen log, concealed beneath the deepening shadows. As Shalaron approached, Rupu stood up and nodded.

"I take it that you were responsible for my guard's distraction?" Shalaron asked.

With a weary sigh, Rupu resumed his seat. "Apologies, grandfather. I wished to speak with you discreetly, and an old mind trick was the best I could muster."

Shalaron's eyes narrowed briefly. "The ability to influence another's thoughts is both a rare and powerful trait. I would be cautious in the application of such a talent."

Rupu opened his mouth as if to argue, but decided against it. "You chose your camp well. Varlath will likely be put out that I'm tromping about the woods after dark."

Shalaron studied Rupu carefully. It had been a little over two weeks since he had left his pupil in command of the city, and already the maturity he had glimpsed during their imprisonment was beginning to show itself openly. "Why are you here, Rupu? I left Ilinar in your care, and your responsibility is to its guidance and defense."

"Don't scold, grandfather. Ilinar's well-being is the reason I am here."

Shalaron frowned and took a seat upon the log, noting his adept's posture and the deep fatigue in his face. "You look ill," he commented, his tone softening a little.

Rupu shook his head. "I'm tired. There was a hard bit of trouble this morning, and I hadn't fully recovered when I set out to find you." The young Sage drew a deep breath and straightened, then looked at Shalaron. "A creature of fire attacked the city walls today."

Shalaron's eyes widened, and his thoughts raced. The summoned elemental. It had broken free from his control during the confrontation with David and his companions. When he had awoken he could no longer sense it… he'd assumed that it had dispersed without his focus. He leaned forward. "Was anyone injured?"

"No. We fought it off and destroyed it before it could do much damage. I…" Rupu cleared his throat. "When I linked to it, trying to sever it at the source, I somehow connected to your mind."

That explained things. After the confrontation, when Shalaron had given the order to find Analara, he had felt a strange presence in the back of his mind. He studied Rupu again. There was no accusation in his voice, only confusion, concern. He waited for the young Sage to continue.

"I heard your voice. You spoke about trying to find Analara. Shalaron… what is happening?"

So that was it. Shalaron felt a weight descend upon his shoulders, and he carefully gauged how much Rupu was ready to hear. "Analara possessed knowledge that I required to prepare our people's future. Given the state of affairs between us, she was unwilling to share that knowledge freely. However, I can tell you that she is unharmed."

Rupu turned and stared out at the darkening forest. For several seconds all was silent. "I will not question you about your conflict or your plans, grandfather, for I trust that you act in the best interests of us all. May I ask a favor, however?"

Shalaron motioned for him to continue.

"When this is over, allow Analara to return home. If it is your will, I can ensure that she will not leave the city again. Out of love for her brother, I believe she will listen to me." Rupu turned and looked Shalaron in the eye. "But please, allow her to come home safely."

Shalaron considered the request, then gave a small nod. "Very well. I will have her kept in a safe place, apart from the conflict, so that no harm can come to her."

"Thank you." With a soft grunt, Rupu stood up.

"You mean to return to the city tonight?"

"It is my duty. But I shall be careful."

"Allow me a parting gift for my former student." Shalaron focused his thoughts on the Core, reaching into the systems of the world, and opened a shimmering gateway next to them. "This will lead you back to Ilinar without the long evening walk. Perhaps it will even spare you some of Varlath's admonitions."

"Your powers have grown, grandfather. You'll have to teach me that one, someday."

No further words were spoken. Rupu nodded to Shalaron, turned, and walked through the gateway. Shalaron watched him leave, then released the portal.

An awareness tugged at Shalaron's mind, and he opened his thoughts to the Core. The monitor link that he'd attached to Halathas indicated that his friend was injured. Shalaron widened the connection, and he gasped as pain bloomed in his chest. The transmissions from the other side of the link began to fade, but one final image appeared clearly in Shalaron's mind. The face of David.

The connection went silent. Halathas was dead.

Shalaron clenched his hands into trembling fists. A black wave of anger flooded through him, and he let himself be swept away in the torrent. Casting out his awareness, he searched for something to destroy, something on which to release his rage. At the edge of his thoughts he detected something familiar.

"You…" It came out as a snarl. Shalaron broke into a run and fixed himself on the presence, like a predator drawn to the scent of blood. Quickly he overtook his prey. A strand of energy lashed at him, but it was nothing compared to the power of his fury.

Shalaron grasped the strand, vaguely aware of the pain coursing up his arm as his skin burnt. He drew in all of his power and channeled it down the stream in a single burst. A sound like a tiny scream buzzed at the edge of his hearing, and a shadowy figure collapsed to the ground. It knew pain, and now it would know terror.

"I know
you
. I sensed your identity when you attacked me. You were protecting
him
," Shalaron growled.

The shade twisted and groaned as the stream of power writhed around it, but Shalaron mercilessly sent another charge of energy down the chain.

"I sense your memory. I feel your thoughts. You were the first of the invaders to enter our world. Though the crossing left you like this, you retained enough of your mind to recognize him. To try and save him."

Shalaron's power flared, and in his rage he nearly tore apart the quivering figure. He released the sparking stream and bent down to face the cowering shadow. "For his crimes, David will die. And for your interference, it shall be by your hand."

In the twilight, the figure screamed.

***

Clyde materialized in the hover-bike module and took his bearings. After the rescue of Analara two days ago, VERA had decided that they needed surveillance on the gateway to Analath. She still couldn't fully detect an Anrathian within the network, so she had asked Clyde and his friends to assist her in preventing any further breaches. He had set up an observation platform near the gateway, and the group had taken shifts playing sentry. He sighed. It was his turn now, and it was bound to be boring.

Lucas stopped watching the gateway long enough to wave at him. "My time up already?"

"Yup. Unless you'd like to take over for me?" Clyde walked over and stood beside him, gazing down at the still portal.

"Uh, no thanks. I've had enough boredom to last me."

"Anything to report?" Clyde asked.

"Nothing. I think I might even have dozed off for a bit."

Lucas didn't show any sign of getting ready to leave, however, and Clyde didn't mind the company. He had plenty on his mind, and idle chatter would be a welcome distraction. It was strange. He'd never found enjoyment in being around other people before. He let his arms hang over the side of the railing and stared lazily at the gateway. "So what class would you say you are?"

"Hacking? Well, to be honest, probably somewhere between a two and three."

"Probably?"

"I never really got into hacking modules. I prefer to build 'em from scratch."

"Guess that runs in the family."

"Yeah, I've always wanted to be as good as my bro. And ya know, it's a great way to meet girls."

Clyde took a sharp breath and choked. He took his eyes off the gateway long enough to give Lucas a wide eyed stare. "Um, you mean the whole 'running around V-Net as a woman' thing doesn't do enough for you?"

Lucas grinned wickedly. "Well, that works… on certain types of girls."

Clyde's gaze flew back to the gateway, and he pointedly avoided looking at Lucas.

Lucas gave a loud laugh. "Seriously, though, I've never really had much luck with the ladies. Any chance you'd be willing to share some tips?"

Clyde blushed. "Um, why don't you go check on Dave and Analara. Maybe you can see how they're doing?"

"All right. See ya at the next shift change."

Clyde didn't watch Lucas exit the module, but he gave a relieved sigh when he felt his presence disappear. While interesting to be around, people could ask the damnedest questions sometimes. Looking back at the conversation, he admitted to himself that he didn't know much about women either.

A sense of amusement tickled his thoughts. "Lucas is certainly an interesting young man."

"You know, Mierva, it's considered impolite to eavesdrop."

Mierva giggled. "This is something new. Clyde, scourge of the network, concerned about politeness."

Clyde scowled to keep from laughing at the absurdity of the idea.

"It can be difficult to shut out your mind, especially when your emotional shifts are so strong," she murmured.

That came as a surprise. All his life, Clyde had striven to suppress his emotions as much as possible, and he had become quite good at it. Ever since Mierva had entered his life though, his control had been slipping.

Whatever the state of his mind, he could certainly feel
her
emotions, even though he often didn't understand them.

Like now.

"I know you've just begun your watch, Clyde, but there is something I've been hoping to discuss with you."

A feeling of… something traveled across the link, so tentative and foreign that Clyde's curiosity immediately awoke.

"Well, I've got plenty of time. What did you want to talk about?"

A sense of embarrassment flowed through him. "I would prefer it, if we had this discussion some place more private. Would you come with me?"

Clyde frowned. "You know I'm stuck on guard duty."

He felt a sense of mirth and anticipation before her reply came. "That's why I spent the last two days designing a sentry program to monitor the gateway for Anrathian intrusion. It will not be unprotected."

A new doorway opened on the platform, and Clyde suddenly found himself torn. He didn't fully trust that Mierva had overcome the interference from Analath, but at the same time, the woman he had become entangled with had asked for his presence. The two responsibilities weighed in and the unknown won out. He stepped through the portal.

He had expected to appear in her antechamber, but was surprised to see the glowing pillars of the mainframe. Mierva stood with her back to him as she gazed at the core. Her hair fanned out across her back like an ebon crescent. "Clyde, do you remember the first time you matched your will against mine?"

Clyde ran through his memories, trying to pin down a single event. "I'm not entirely sure."

"You were nine years old. Your father had just taught you the basic commands to disrupt NW sequences, and you were so excited that you bypassed the security lockout and tried to test it after your parents went to bed."

"Ah. That night." Clyde blushed. "I thought Dad was going to skin me alive for tripping that security wire and nearly setting the bots on us."

Mierva laughed, the sound filling the chamber. "You were the cleverest child I had ever seen. Your parents taught you well, but you had an inherent understanding of the system that astonished me. I watched your skill grow every day. But after the uprising…" She sighed and turned toward Clyde. "You declared me your enemy. At first, I worried about your skill, and the damage you could do to the system, but in time I came to enjoy your company, even from a distance."

"You were watching me?" Clyde felt curious and a little bit flattered.

A mischievous smile tugged at the corner of Mierva's mouth. "You weren't
quite
as good as you believed at first." She laughed again. "Oh, I've had so much fun with you."

A knot of nervousness rolled up in Clyde's stomach. "Umm, what do you mean 'fun'?"

She peeked at him over her shoulder. "Sometimes, when you were knocking down security fields and planting spy bots, did you ever notice that the system might suddenly change? One minute a particular command would work, and then the next, it would be invalid?"

"Yeah, I remember running into some adaptive security systems like—"

"No system is
that
adaptive, Clyde."

He stared at her blankly. She returned a wink. His eyes widened as understanding came rushing in. "That was you! Just, just… playing with me."

He felt a new emotional tingle surging through the link. Or was it coming from him? It was becoming hard to tell the difference.

Clyde took her hand and turned her around to face him. It was funny; he'd never expected to see eye-to-eye with VERA, either figuratively or literally, but somehow she was a perfect match to him. Instinctively, he reached up and touched her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, startling him. How could a program, even one as complex as VERA, behave like this?