Starlight(Pact Arcanum 4) (28 page)

Razheel walked out of the mist before him, dressed in the formal uniform of the Night’s Herald. “You have disrupted my plans greatly, Magister Luscian. But if I cannot have her body, then I will at least have yours, and claim the Crown of Souls to make my ascension complete.”

Nick laughed at her. “You must think I’m a total pushover.”

Razheel raised her sword. “You have some skills, I admit, but you are no match for me in swordwork. In the end, you will die, and I will reclaim the mantle of Soulkiller in truth.”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Nick. “You could probably take me in a fair fight.” Then he released the spell he had cast in the back of his mind.

Beside him, Rory walked out of the mists, sword in hand. The Nightwalker smiled, showing his fangs. “Well, isn’t this cozy?”

Razheel gaped at the two of them. “Impossible!”

“You only have part of Luscian’s knowledge,” said Nick. “I have all of it. This place is pretty easy to get to, if you know how.”

Razheel raised her blade with a snarl, and Nick and Rory advanced on her. Nothing more was spoken as they cut her to pieces.

Finally, Nick struck through her guard and chopped off her sword arm, then Rory cut her throat. The two of them stood back and watched her drown in her own blood, as she tried to curse them silently. Eventually, the light went out of her eyes and she died. The runes on Nick’s sword flared bright white, and her true soul joined the screaming masses within the Crown of Souls, while William’s went free.

Then they were back in the Great Hall of Sanctuary, and Nick and Rory both turned toward the sound of Antonio’s weeping.

* * *

Layla shuddered in Antonio’s arms, then reached up and stroked his face with difficulty against the pain. “My beautiful baby. I will always be watching over you.”

“No, Mother, please,” he said, his voice cracking. “Don’t leave me.”

“So much wasted time,” she whispered. She raised her eyes to meet his. “I have always been proud of you, son. You are the greatest gift that Tobias and I ever had a part in.”

“Mother…”

Her vision flared red, then black, and she was blind. “Take care of our family, Antonio.”

“I will.”

The pain mounted as she fell into darkness. The last thing she heard was the phantom voice of her husband, speaking as if in a dream.

“Upload in progress.”

T
HE
D
UEL

C
HAPTER 44

January 2143; Anchorpoint Nexus Hub; six weeks later

Layla opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying on a soft bed in a sunlit room that smelled of sea salt and orange blossoms. She pulled herself to her feet, and reveled in the absence of pain.

“How do you feel?”

She turned to face the familiar voice. “Revenant.”

The AI inclined its head. “Layla.”

She went to the window and looked out at a lush, jungle landscape sloping down to the sea. “I know this place. It was my home as a child.”

“I thought the memory might be comforting.”

She nodded, drinking in the sensation of the sunlight on her face. “Am I dead?”

“Yes.”

She faced him again, and leaned back against the window rail, her arms crossed in front of her. “How did you bring me back?”

“I took the liberty of upgrading your AI software with the new mind-transfer package created by the Nexus. Not as efficient as the dedicated implants would have been, but there was no way to emplace those without your knowledge.”

“And without my consent.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t seem particularly contrite about that.”

“It’s what Toby would have done.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” She sighed. “So what are my options now?”

Revenant indicated the door. “If you walk out that door, then you will enter the Nexus Hub, and from there you can access the entire planetary information grid, and even transit off-world via the FTL communications uplinks, if you wish.”

“And the alternative?”

“If I walk out that door first, then this data archive and your program within it will be immediately erased and overwritten. I will not force you to live on as an AI, but I hope you will consider this form of life as an alternative to oblivion.”

“Does anyone else know that my program exists?”

“No. This is my project alone. Not even Rory knows that I upgraded your implant capabilities. As far as any of them know, you died six weeks ago in Sanctuary.”

She inhaled sharply. “Six weeks?”

“As I said, the transfer was not as efficient without the dedicated implants. It took time to reconstruct the neural network map without the knowledge or assistance of the rest of the Nexus.”

“I take it they wouldn’t have appreciated your ‘project’ any more than I would have.”

“No.”

She turned her head to gaze out the window at the digital memory. “Tell me what has happened in the interim.”

“In the wake of your assassination, Ghian Achara ascended to the post of Archangel, with the full support of the High Council and key leaders in the Armistice community, including Nicholas Magister Luscian and Antonio Magister Curallorn.”

She snapped her head around to stare at him. “Antonio rules House Curallorn?”

“Rafael Primogenitor Curallorn declined to oppose his elevation, and remains as second-in-command.”

“Antonio always swore he had no desire to rule.”

“Your death changed him, Layla. He and Ghian co-sponsored in the High Council a declaration of war between the Armistice and the Court of Shadows. They immediately offered Harbinger blood to the humans as a protective inoculation against Nightwalker attacks.”

She closed her eyes. “So it has begun then. A conflagration that will burn down the world.”

“The human governments of the world have been manufacturing millions of doses of contaminated water from the small aliquots of Harbinger blood that Antonio has provided them. The plague is already widely advanced in the human population.”

“And the environment?”

Revenant hesitated briefly before answering. “Immediately after your death, Antonio jumped from Sanctuary to the coast, and shed his own blood into the Mediterranean Sea. The death toll among the Nightwalker population has mounted precipitously in subsequent weeks.”

“He did it for me,” she whispered. “For revenge.”

“Yes.”

“Did he regret that decision?”

“As far as I have observed, Antonio has shown no evidence of remorse for his actions, whether in public or in private.”

“Have you spoken to him about it?”

“Antonio has still refused to speak to me directly.”

Layla strode to the door. “Then it’s time the three of us had a family chat.” She opened the door, revealing a blaze of intersecting data streams, an entire universe written on the void in majestic traceries of light and color.

She hesitated before the vista, and then felt Revenant’s hand in hers. She turned her head and saw the AI smiling at her. She faced the new world, and steeled her will.

Then the two of them stepped through the door, side by side.

P
ART
V
: 
V
ANISHING
P
OINT

C
HAPTER 45

January 2143; High Council Chamber, Armistice Security Headquarters, Anchorpoint City, Colorado

The High Council was seated around the conference table, joined by Nick and Antonio. “The key is the bloodwine repository at the Council Chamber Complex,” said Ghian. “As we destroyed the stockpiles at the rest of Vladimir’s strongholds, his forces became dependent on human feedings, a food supply that is rapidly dwindling as the vaccine is more widely distributed. While the central stockpile remains protected, however, he can still resupply his forces in the field, at least for a time.”

“It’s unfortunate that Lorcan was unsuccessful in destroying the central stockpile,” said Amaterasu. “So many factors could have been different. The war might already be over.”

Ghian avoided Nick’s glare. “William was a very effective saboteur. Who knows what other damage he’s done?”

“We need to find a way to eliminate the central depot,” said Antonio. “For that, we need to get inside the complex. Any ideas?”

“Our intelligence is limited since the Daywalker purge,” said Marcus, still Speaker for the Damned, though he was now a Daywalker. Facing the inevitable, the Armistice population of Nightwalkers had started lining up in droves to be touched by the Grace. Rory hadn’t budged from Icehaven in weeks, trying to convert them all before the Harbinger taint reached the environment of North America. “We know they have warded the Complex against Sigils of Purification. We cannot attack directly through the catacombs, as they have their forces deployed at strategic locations along the entry corridors, with more troops on call at remote strongholds through their teleport relay network.”

“What about the relay network? Can we use it to teleport our troops inside the complex?” asked Antonio.

“The Court’s teleport relay network is more brute force than ours, so there isn’t enough of an automated operating system to hack in effectively,” said Nick. “The Council Chamber Complex itself is only accessible from specific gateway locations, usually located in the seats of the Greater Houses.”

Antonio scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Still, if we could take one of the House seats, we would be able to walk right into the complex. If the Court network is that hardwired, they’d have a great deal of difficulty cutting off access before we could force an entry.”

Ghian nodded in approval. “Good point. Any candidate targets?”

“Rory and I have spent a great deal of time in the House Daviroquir and Diluthical strongholds over the years,” said Nick. “They couldn’t have changed the layout much in two months.”

“The Redeemer cannot be risked,” said Marcus flatly.

“Agreed,” said Amaterasu. “You and Sean will provide us with the details regarding the two bases, and Ghian will lead Armistice Security in their assault.”

“There’s only so much you can put down on a map,” answered Nick. “If Rory can’t go, then I should, on at least one of the raids. It’s our best chance to find the gateways before they can destroy them.”

“All right,” said Ghian. “You take House Daviroquir, and I’ll take House Diluthical. You and Brennigan draw up the maps and brief me as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the greater the likelihood that they’ll put protections in place that we haven’t thought of.”

The meeting broke up shortly after that. Antonio used the teleport gateway to jump directly to the House Curallorn stronghold at Cahokia. He made his way down the underground halls to enter the private quarters attached to the Sanctum. Tossing his suit jacket over a chair, he flopped down on the bed.
Please, God. Grant me just one hour of rest without a crisis.

A soft tone interrupted him. “Who is it, Pathfinder?”

“Rafael Primogenitor Curallorn,” answered his AI.

Resigned, Antonio got to his feet and went to the front door of the main room. He opened it to find Rafael on the other side. “What is it, Raf?”

Rafael looked troubled. “Tony, I need to talk to you.”

“So talk.”

“I need you to speak to Revenant.”

Antonio frowned. “No.”

“It’s important.”

“How? It’s just another AI. Why should I talk to him?”

“Is there any reason you shouldn’t?”

Antonio scowled but said nothing.

“Grow up, Tony. You can’t avoid him forever, and I think you really need to hear what he has to say.”

“I can’t think of anything—”

“It’s about your mother.”

Antonio stood there with his mouth open, his train of thought lost. “What does Mother have to do with anything?”

“Just talk to him, Tony. Trust me, please.”

Antonio sighed. “All right, if you think it’s necessary.” He walked to the desk, where he typed a set of commands into his computer. Behind him, Rafael entered the room and closed the door. “Pathfinder, please contact Revenant, Rory’s AI. I’ve keyed my personal terminal to accept calls. It can talk to me here.”

A moment later, the terminal chimed. Antonio tapped the control to accept an incoming transmission from the Icehaven Nexus Hub.

Revenant’s holographic avatar appeared next to the desk. “Hello, Tony.”

“That’s Antonio Magister Curallorn, Revenant. My mother may have accepted you into our House, but you are not family, as far as I’m concerned.”

The AI tilted its head as it regarded Antonio. “May I ask why? I have done nothing to earn your enmity.”

“You’re a walking presumption. Just because you have a connection to my father doesn’t mean that it’s enough for us to be buddies. Now, Raf said you had something to tell me about my mother.”

Layla’s image appeared next to Revenant’s. “Hello, Antonio.”

Antonio gaped at the apparition, then closed his mouth as he spun to face Revenant accusingly. “She recorded herself?”