The Anathema (50 page)

Alex put his arm out in front of him to use as a visual reference. But he didn’t open a pinhole. Instead, he let his anger decide for him, and it went for the walls of reality like a scorpion’s stinger, white-hot at its sharpest point, clawing free of him like a living thing and then tearing through to the Ether like it was frictionless. There was no resistance whatsoever. The hole he opened to the Ether was about the size of a basketball, and expanding rapidly, fueled by his irrational anger.

It was crueler than he expected. The air temperature dropped first, shards of frozen water shattering against the stone with a sound like gentle music. Then the men fell, and that was ugly, as they choked on the frigid air that burned their lungs. Their skin blackened and crackled, frostbite expanding manically across their bodies; but they lived on somehow, not exactly screaming, crawling around and moving spasmodically. Eventually, he supposed, their blood froze or their hearts stopped from the trauma. He didn’t actually see that part, because he kept his eyes firmly closed until he was sure they were dead, and then he closed the rent to the Ether.

Grigori, sheathed in a telekinetic field, and Katya, needles dangling from slack fingers, had both stopped to stare at Alex.

“Alex,” Katya said softly. “You’re going to fall asleep again. You can’t do that sort of thing.”

“I’m past caring,” Alex said curtly. “I have places that I need to be, and no more time for this bullshit. Grigori, who sent you here?”

Grigori rubbed his stubbly chin and looked at Alex with obvious curiosity.

“Maybe I have misjudged you, Alex Warner,” Grigori rumbled thoughtfully. “I did not realize that you were so capable.”

“Whatever,” Alex said irritably. “I want to be done with this. I have other things to worry about, and I couldn’t care less about your opinion. Now, who are you here for, and what do we have to do next?”

“I see,” Grigori said, slowly, shrugging his broad shoulders. “Very well. I’m working for Gaul. He had Choi port me over here when he said the time was right. Vivik had you two tagged a half-mile away.”

“What’s it like inside there?” Alex asked, inclining his head in the direction of the Academy. “How bad is it going to be, getting to the infirmary?”

“Its hit and miss,” Grigori said, nudging one of the dead Anathema with his shoe. “There are some places that are pretty safe, like around the Admin building where Gaul’s got the kids all bunkered up. Some others aren’t. But you don’t need to worry. Gaul sent you a guide.”

“Oh, then you aren’t coming?” Katya said brightly. “Pity.”

“Please, Katya,” Grigori said, walking off. “Do try not to get yourself killed. It would be such a shame.”

Alex shrugged and then he and Katya walked through the gate. Things on the other side looked a little bit better. Then their guide stepped from the shadows, an uneasy smile on his face, and his hands in the pockets of his brown tweed jacket.

“Katya, Alex,” Mr. Windsor said cheerfully. “Either of you two fine young people up for an evening stroll?”

* * *

“Therese,” Anastasia called out, stepping carefully through the burning wreckage of the western wing of the house, holding her skirt bunched in front of her, trying vainly to protect the embroidery on the hem. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…”

She peered around the burning remains of one wall, the one destroyed by a telekinetic attack shortly before reinforcements had arrived from the organized combat forces of the Black Sun and driven back their attackers, at a cost that was currently being tallied. She didn’t see anything but darkness and trees moving in the wind behind the wall, so she stepped gingerly around it and continued.

“Oh, come on, Therese,” Anastasia said impatiently. “I have other things that I need to be doing. And your sister doesn’t have the kind of contacts to beg favors from the Anathema. However, you do, Miss Foreign Affairs Liaison. I would have helped her, you know. She would have been a Lady of repute in the Black Sun, and you would have done well for yourself, too. Instead, you let them drown her in a hole in the ground, and now she’s a monster. What did you get for that, Therese? And what have they made of you?”

Anastasia crossed her arms and planted her feet, not worrying for the moment about the velvet in her skirt, no doubt damaged beyond repair by the soot.

“You flooded my island. You destroyed my house and you ruined my dinner. You made my sisters cry, and you failed your own sister, you pitiable thing. You had better show yourself and get it over with. I know you are out there. Renton is telling me so.”

“I am not hiding,” Therese said calmly, walking out into the open, dressed for a day in the office in grey slacks and a white blouse, her hair back in a neat bun. “I was simply waiting to see which of your servants you planned to hide behind.”

“None of them. Not for you, dear,” Anastasia, said, walking toward her. “For you, I’m making an exception. Back when you used to work for the Hegemony, you would have dreamed of having this opportunity. Congratulations are in order. You are about to find out what my protocol can do.”

Therese’s smile was sickly, even in the dark.

“Your mistake, Anastasia. The Outer Dark has been kind to me,” she gloated. “I have heard the rumors of you, the anomaly in the Martynova clan, and your mysterious deviant protocol. Whatever your secret, you are no match for what I have become.”

“Therese,” Anastasia said, her voice suddenly soft. “Tell me you didn’t plan it this way. Tell me this all went horrible awry, that you did not deliberately let them do that to your sister.”

Therese froze, and her expression became muddied, uncertain.

“Why? What does it matter? Because you were ‘friends’ with her? Please. You were trying to play Emily.”

“Of course,” Anastasia acknowledged. “Honestly, I was getting tired of acting the lonely and secretly self-conscious heiress. But that isn’t that point. She is your sister,” Anastasia added, glaring. “That is a responsibility that I take seriously.”

“You have no idea,” Therese barked. “Don’t give me that crap, rich girl. You’ve never had to do anything for your sisters. You have no idea what it was like with Emily. I did everything I could to protect her.”

“You gave her to the Outer Dark, and they made her a walking corpse, a Drown. Don’t bother with the good sister act. We are way past that now. Tell me,” Anastasia said softly, taking one deliberate step toward her, then another, “did they put you in that pool, first? Or did you let them do that to her? She was a really good cook, too. I won’t forgive you for it, whatever your reasons or rationale.”

“I am not a Drown,” Therese hissed, the air around both of her hands smoking and steaming. “They have made me so much more than that. You cannot imagine, Martynova, the scale and the sheer power of the Outer Dark.”

“Then give me a demonstration,” Anastasia invited. “I have a a bit of a surprise planned for you, too. Shall we see whose is better?”

“Mr. Windsor?”

“No need to be so formal, Katya. Please call me Gerald, both of you. We aren’t in class, and you’ve earned the right.”

“Alright, whatever,” Katya said, tossing her hair. “Are we safe with you?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Katya said, sighing. “Your protocol, teach. Can you do anything notable? It’s my job to keep this kid,” she said, jerking her thumb at Alex, “safe. So I’d like to know if you are going to be any help. Because, you know, I could have found the infirmary on my own.”

Mr. Windsor laughed pleasantly, ignoring Katya’s contemptuous expression.

“Not to worry, Katya, I’m not going to be entirely useless to you. I do have abilities of my own, you realize. However, I don’t think you need to exercise such vigilance, not while we are on campus, anyway. It may not look like it, but we have things well in hand, here.”

“Really?” Alex cut in. “Because, no offense, but it doesn’t really look that way.”

“Of course not, Alex,” Mr. Windsor said cheerfully, glancing back at him. “The Director plays his cards close to his vest. Since the attack started, we haven’t lost anyone on the campus. Things in Central proper may have gone poorly,” he said, a shadow briefly crossing his face, “but, for the moment, here, we are still in control.”

They walked along silently, across a sidewalk that was mercifully free of the bodies that had littered the road to the Academy. Alex could see now that Mr. Windsor was right – there was superficial damage to a number of buildings, and there were scattered signs of battle, but he saw no evidence of the chaos and savagery that seemed to be consuming much of the surrounding area. As they walked along the path, the streetlights in front of them flickered to life, and then shut off again after they passed underneath them, a mobile island of yellow light that led them across the silent campus. It had been such a long day that Alex barely even noticed, and even when he did, he didn’t have the energy to question it. Then, abruptly, he came up with another, much more urgent query.

“Mr. Windsor?” Alex asked. “Did you know where Eerie is? If she is okay?”

“I know where she was, which was on campus,” he said carefully, obviously considering his words. “She came back yesterday. I haven’t personally seen her since the attacks started, but if she’s still here, she’s fine.”

“Why was she here?” Alex asked, stepping across a section of chaotic sidewalk, buckled by some sort of upheaval. “I thought she was supposed to be coding down in Central.”

“She was,” Mr. Windsor said curtly. “Circumstances changed. If you want to know more about it, you’ll have to ask her. She’s entitled to her privacy.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Alex demanded, balling his fists at his sides. “Don’t fuck around with me. Is she okay?”

“In all seriousness, it’s none of your business. And watch your language, Alex.”

“He’s been like that all day,” Katya said sympathetically. “He lost Girl A so now he’s going to mad dog everybody to try and prove that he’s really serious about Girl B. It’s really tiresome.”

He thought about arguing, and then told himself he didn’t have the energy. He told himself that he was too worried about Eerie, and maybe part of that was even true. But he wasn’t completely sure she was wrong. Katya didn’t blame him for what had happened to Emily, but she might be the only one who felt that way right now. He dreaded the larger, public reaction once the events of the break became common knowledge. He might even doubt it himself. Was that really why it was so important to him that he find Eerie? Because of the way it would look to other people? He hoped not. Nevertheless, he couldn’t say that he was certain.

“Is that so? Well, I’m certain that everything will eventually be resolved to his satisfaction,” Mr. Windsor said, as they rounded the main lecture hall and their goal came into view. “Fortunately, the Director didn’t send me to answer questions. My job is to make sure that you find your way into the infirmary.”

Alex didn’t wonder why they would need the help. There was a person standing in front of the infirmary, amongst the wreckage, and everything about his body language said he planned on trying to stop them. Alex couldn’t begin to imagine what had happened in front of the infirmary, but gouges were torn in the concrete and the facade of the building had collapsed. A water main had been breached, and the area was scattered with puddles and sinkholes. In the distance, a downed electrical line sparkled and danced, and a fire alarm wailed on endlessly.

There was no need for Alex to ask for an introduction. After all, Alex knew him by name, and he remembered that same man preventing him from visiting Rebecca in the hospital. Suddenly, he had a very good idea why.

“That sounds like a hard job,” Alistair said cheerfully, walking casually amidst the water and wreckage. “Your boss is shafting you. You should complain.”

“I’m afraid not,” Mr. Windsor said politely, clearing his throat as he moved to stand between Alistair and Alex and Katya. “The Director isn’t the type to listen to that sort of nonsense.”