The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (34 page)

"She hurts my
head." He rubbed his brow. "Hurts bad unless I do as she says."

Fairen nodded.
"He's a freditch."

"I'm innocent!"
Pryan wailed. "Please, Lord! I've done nothing!"

Ramadaus
emerged from the shadows. "So, two myths on one ship. Whatever
next?"

Tassin frowned
at him, then shook the cowering young man once more to get his
attention. "Pryan. Can you stop Trina from trying to control
Overlord Fairen while he reads her?"

"No!" Pryan
shook his head, his eyes widening even more. "No, he mustn't!
She'll hurt him bad! She can..."

"What? She can
what?"

"Drive him
mad."

"Can you stop
her?"

"How?"

Ramadaus
snorted. "This is pointless, Fairen. He needs years of training
before he can protect someone else from a meerin."

"He's right,"
Pryan agreed, nodding.

Tassin sighed
in exasperation. "Won’t you take my word for it, Lord Fairen? Pryan
can tell you what she did to him, as well. Aren't witnesses enough
for you to judge her?"

Fairen turned
away. "Do you have any idea how rare a control telepath is?"

"No."

"They're
supposed to be a myth. Only one other has been documented, and
those who studied him were not certain of what he was."

"It doesn't
matter whether or not she is what you say,” Tassin said. “She's
evil. She made Kernan kill Pryan's sister."

"That's
hearsay. Perhaps she only asked him to, or perhaps he did it on his
own. Either way, the matter is too petty for me to bother with. But
if she is a control telepath, that's a different story. She must be
studied, and, in order to do that, we need a freditch, another
mental power so rare as to be legendary."

"You're not
going to execute her?"

Fairen shook
his head. "Not if she's meerin."

"But -"

"Rest assured,
we can control her with drugs, and Sabre will be released. But if
she's drugged, I can't read her." He turned to Pryan. "I want you
to do something for me."

"Y-yes, My
Lord, anything."

"I'm going to
try to read you, and I want you to block me. Can you do that?"

Pryan shivered
and rubbed his arms. "No?” He shuffled his feet. “I - I'll
try."

"Good." Fairen
pulled off his right glove, and Pryan watched him, chewing his lip.
Fairen held his hand towards Pryan, several inches from his brow.
Pryan gulped and froze, his thin shoulders hunched. Fairen moved
his hand closer, then closer still, stepping forward finally to
touch Pryan's brow. Several tense moments passed, then he removed
his hand and stepped back.

"Nothing. He's
a strong blocker, but a weak empath, I think." He pulled on his
glove. "Pryan. What you just did to stop me from reading you, do
you think you could do that to this girl? Could you stop her from
reaching into my mind?"

Pryan looked
pensive, then nodded. "I think so."

Fairen swung
away. "Good. Commander, send in the prisoner."

"At once, My
Lord."

Ramadaus said,
"This is risky."

"Life is
risky."

"If the boy
fails..."

"I have
you."

Pryan fidgeted
and mumbled while they waited for Trina, rubbing his head, his eyes
darting. Tassin pitied him, and hoped he could help Fairen.
Evidently the girl was far more dangerous to an empath, judging by
Ramadaus’ concern. Pryan quailed when four guards entered, dragging
a flushed, defiant Trina who struggled and kicked out at them. Her
eyes glittered when she spotted Tassin, and she tossed back her
tangled hair and raised her chin to glower at Fairen.

"Damned
Overlord scum!"

"Charming,"
Ramadaus murmured.

Fury shone in
Trina’s eyes as the guards marched her up to Fairen, and her mouth
twisted in a bitter sneer. "Are you going to read me, Overlord
scum? Are you going to judge me? What gives you the right? Where
were you and your laws when my mother was beaten to death?"

"Well, no need
to ask why she hates Overlords," Ramadaus commented.

Fairen turned
to Pryan. "I'll not waste my breath explaining the role of
Overlords to her. Do what you must, let's get this over with."

"You have no
right!" Trina shrieked. "Touch me, and you'll regret it!"

Fairen raised a
hand to his brow, rubbing it. "Already I can sense her."

Ramadaus
nodded. "I also. She is indeed powerful."

"Yes, I am!"
Trina shouted. "Let me go, or pay the price!"

Pryan rubbed
the side of his head, frowning, then shot Fairen a guilty look and
approached Trina, who glared at him.

"What do you
want, wimp?" she snarled.

Pryan's thin
face twisted. "Revenge."

"Don't touch
me!"

Pryan recoiled
as if she had slapped him, clasped his brow and grimaced. Fairen
pulled off his right glove and held out his hand towards her.
Trina’s mouth twisted, and the young Overlord swayed, then Pryan
stepped forward and clasped her brow, closing his eyes. She
shrieked and struggled, trying to jerk her head free, but Pryan
held onto her.

Fairen stepped
closer, and she spat at him, then turned to Pryan. The youth
groaned, bowing his head. Tassin realised that in this situation,
Trina focussed all her power on one man at a time, probably to
maximise its effectiveness. Pryan held her for several moments, his
face twisted with pain, then collapsed. Fairen lowered his hand and
stepped back as Trina glared at the guard beside her, who turned
and punched his comrade, knocking him senseless. Another guard
gripped his temples and fell to his knees, his lips drawn back in a
snarl of pain.

Tassin glanced
at the guards around the walls, who stood frozen, their faces
blank. Trina had taken control of everyone in the room, except for
the Overlords, Sabre and herself.

Fairen clasped
his hands. "So, you are indeed a meerin, girl."

"Calling me
names won't save you, you Overlord shit!" Trina shouted at him, her
brows knotted.

To Tassin's
surprise, Fairen pulled off his hood. His eyes glowed in the light
of the floating orbs. Ramadaus sauntered closer, and Trina shot him
a calculating, wary look.

Fairen's lips
curled in a faint smile. "No, your gift doesn't work on us, I'm
afraid."

"Are you
neutered as well as depraved?"

"Neither. We
are Overlords."

"Empaths!"
Trina jeered. "Your power is nothing compared to mine! Pryan is
more powerful than you!"

"It's not a
matter of power, but of training. You have a lot of raw talent, but
you're not too bright, are you?"

Trina's scowl
deepened, and Fairen swayed again, then stretched out his hand.
Tassin held her breath. The young Overlord's brows drew together,
and his eyes narrowed.

"You are a
killer. A sociopath. I find no redeeming qualities in you. I judge
you to be guilty, and sentence you to death after you have been
studied."

"I'm not a rat
to be poked and drugged, and none of your henchmen will kill me!"
Trina turned to the nearest guard, who recoiled. His hand crept
towards the weapon in his belt, his expression agonised as he
fought her control. Tassin opened her mouth to shout a warning.
Sabre sprinted past her and punched the guard, sending him rolling
across the floor, unconscious. Trina's eyes widened, and she gave a
yelp of dismay and alarm as the cyber's arm whipped around her
throat.

"No! Sabre,
help me!"

Fairen stepped
closer, his eyes roaming her taut, fearful face. "He can't. He's
not listening. I had such hopes for you." He sighed, shaking his
head. "How galling, to find a control telepath, and have to destroy
them. It was always surmised that a meerin would be too dangerous
to imprison and study. I had hoped it might be possible, but now I
see it's not." He glanced at the guards, some of whom frowned and
rubbed their heads, their movements slow and unco-ordinated. "You
are indeed powerful, Trina. Too powerful. Even with drugs, the risk
is too great."

"Get on with
it," Ramadaus said. "She's strong."

Fairen nodded.
"Such a waste."

"What are you
going to do?" Trina demanded.

"Regrettably,
you must die." Fairen turned away when her eyes widened, and she
opened her mouth to protest. "Sabre, kill her."

Tassin winced
and looked away as the cyber's hands moved in a swift twisting
movement. There was a pop, and Trina's corpse slumped to the floor,
twitching. Tassin raised a hand to her mouth, bile stinging her
throat. The soldiers moved again as if released from a spell, and
many sagged with relief and clasped their brows. Even Fairen, when
he sat on his throne, looked paler than usual, and rubbed the side
of his head.

Sabre turned
his head when Ramadaus stopped beside him. The older Overlord
addressed Fairen. "Lucky for you that you have a cyber."

"It would seem
so."

"You have to
admit, they have their merits."

"That was never
in dispute, but whether or not it's ethical to control men with
machines is."

Ramadaus looked
down at Trina's body. "A waste indeed. I wonder if such as she are
born thus, or made."

"A combination
of the two, I think."

Tassin lowered
her hand and swallowed hard. "She was the daughter of a slave
prostitute on Endroad. Perhaps it was necessity."

"Survival is
the instigation of all evolution," Ramadaus agreed. "Unfortunately,
it often manifests in those who are so traumatised by the
circumstances that led to their unusual development that they are
beyond help, and unable to function in society."

Fairen
signalled to his men, who removed Trina's corpse. Tassin went over
to Pryan and knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder.

"But we still
have one myth who appears to be reasonably normal," Ramadaus said.
"I claim him as my apprentice."

She glanced up.
"You're going to make Pryan an Overlord?"

"If he chooses,
and if he's suitable."

Tassin looked
at the thin youth, who groaned and opened his eyes, raising a hand
to his head, then sat up with a surprised expression. "No pain." He
glanced around. "Where's Trina?"

"Dead," Tassin
supplied.

"Good." He shot
Fairen a guilty look. "I failed. Sorry."

Fairen waved a
hand. "No matter."

Pryan stood up.
"How did you... control her?"

"All empaths
have the ability to draw a person's attention with the power of
their thoughts, if they make an effort. We can be very annoying
like that; very distracting. She was controlling all my guards, and
trying to control me. But Ramadaus was able to distract her
sufficiently to prevent her, coupled with the fact that, as a
fellow psy-power, I was able to partially negate her ability,
simply because I knew what she was doing."

"But why...?"
Tassin shook her head, confused. "It took her four days to
influence Tarl and Sabre, but only a moment to control your
men."

"She was being
subtle, for her own reasons, I suppose. You were lucky she had a
gender bias, or perhaps unlucky. The reason for that is something I
would have liked to know, for it was documented in the other one as
well, but no one has found out why."

Tassin rose to
her feet. "I'd like to know how it was possible for those sand
runners to capture and beat her when she could have controlled
them."

"Sand
runners?"

Tassin
explained, and Fairen looked thoughtful. "The only way that could
have happened is if she was surprised and knocked unconscious, then
drugged."

"That could be
it. She looked dazed when we rescued her. Why couldn't you have
drugged her too?"

"It would have
been pointless. She was so talented that she would have had to be
heavily sedated, and then we couldn't have studied her. I was
hoping it would only require a small amount of a psy-inhibitor, but
that wouldn't have worked."

Ramadaus
approached Pryan, who turned to stare at him with wide eyes. Fairen
laced his fingers and sat back, watching him.

"Pryan,"
Ramadaus said, "I wish to read you."

Pryan licked
his lips. "You're going to judge me? What have I done?"

"Nothing. I
just want to know you better."

"But... if you
don't like what you find, what will you do? Kill me like
Trina?"

"Only if you're
a sociopathic killer."

Pryan shook his
head. "I - I don't know if I'd like that."

Fairen laughed,
revealing perfect white teeth. "You've met your match, Ramadaus.
Someone you can't read without his permission. How frustrating.
Perhaps if you got to know him a little better as a person first,
it might help. The hood and the voice distorter are unnerving, I'm
sure. If he's going to be your apprentice, you'll have to reveal
yourself to him, anyway."

"He might not
be suitable."

"True. Life's
full of these little risks."

"Which you
revel in."

"They make me
feel alive."

Pryan gaped at
Fairen. "An apprentice? To be an Overlord?"

"That's
right."

"I... but I'm
just a -"

"You've got a
talent so rare it's a myth, and so valuable that all our peers will
be envious of Ramadaus having such an apprentice."

"Really? Wow."
Pryan looked excited. "I... all right, but... not you." He shook
his head at Ramadaus. "Fairen may read me. And - and if he likes
me, I'll be his apprentice."

Fairen chuckled
again, but shook his head. "I'm too young to be your mentor. But
you may choose any of the older Overlords."

"I don't know
them."

"Then you'll
have to meet them."

"But can I stay
with you until then?"

Fairen glanced
at Ramadaus and shrugged. "You may."

"Shouldn't
someone explain to him what the life of an Overlord is like?"
Tassin asked.