The Void of Mist and Thunder (The 13th Reality #4) (41 page)

“Mistress Jane,” Tick said, but not too loudly. Working with Chu was the worst idea possible. And yet he had no doubt the threat that the man had made was real. And something—some feeling deep within him—told him what to do.

He lurched forward and grabbed Jane by the arm, pulling her along as he walked toward Chu. Tick grabbed him by the arm with his other hand, letting Sofia’s bag dangle from his wrist. Then he broke into a run, dragging the other two along with him, fighting the monstrous winds.

A few seconds later, they slipped through the outer wall of the Void, swallowed by the gray, angry mist.

Chapter 65

Enlisted in the Army

The noise was unreal. A level that Tick had never experienced before. Loud, pounding, relentless. Gray darkness surrounded the three of them as they walked through the outskirts of the Void. Each flash of lightning was followed immediately by a brutal crack of thunder. Tick figured he’d be deaf within a half hour, if not dead.

At least the wind had stopped. Jane had used her Chi’karda to put a bubble of protection around them, more to prevent being struck by lightning than anything else. It was invisible, but had an orange sheen to it that mixed oddly with the gray, boiling mist that seethed along its edges. It was all so strange, so surreal. But Tick knew they probably hadn’t seen anything yet; it was about to get a lot weirder and a lot scarier.

Chu walked alongside him, hefting that large silver cube. Tick wanted to ask him more questions but didn’t have the heart to attempt it. He’d have to scream at the top of his lungs, and who knew if even that would work.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Chu balance the cube in one arm and reach his other hand into his pocket. He opened his mouth to say something—exactly what he’d done earlier when he’d communicated with someone in his own Reality—but an odd expression came over his face, and he seemed to reconsider his decision. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and gripped the cube firmly once again. Was it because of the noise? Or had he changed his mind on something? Decided not to do what he’d planned after all? Maybe the device didn’t work in the middle of the storm.

The three of them kept moving, protected by a bubble of clear orange, going deeper into the depths of the gray storm.

The heart of the Void waited.

Master George had emptied the last of the Realitants’ arsenal to arm Sato’s army for one last battle.

Paul held his Shurric steady, its butt end pressed against his chest, handle gripped firmly, his finger ready at the trigger. He had Ragers and Slicers in both of his pockets and another Shurric strapped across his back in case the first one ran out of juice. He was ready for battle as they marched toward the wall of the Void. Streams of mist jumped out and swirled back, and plumes erupted from the surface then were sucked in again; the entire storm boiled and fumed. All while lightning danced and crackled within and without.

Somehow he and Sofia had been jostled and pushed about by the much taller members of the Fifth until they found themselves along the back line. It seemed like chance, but Paul had a sneaking suspicion that the Fifths were trying to protect them, since they were young and small compared to the rest of the army. That made Paul mad—even though he couldn’t help the small part of him that was relieved. His scared side. His terrified side. He was ashamed of the feeling and swore that when they got into the heat of battle, he’d do whatever it took to prove he wasn’t a scaredy-cat chicken.

Sofia was next to him, stepping stride for stride, gripping her own weapon, staring straight ahead. She seemed too focused, or maybe even too lost in thought. Paul had the sudden urge to grab her hand and run away from the danger. Shame filled him again. What was wrong with him? He was a
Realitant,
for crying out loud.

“Hey!”

The sharp bark of a man’s voice came from behind him, loud enough to be heard clearly over the rumbling sounds of thunder. Paul stumbled to a stop and turned around, even though the rest of the army kept marching. Even Sofia. A man stood about twenty feet away, dressed in shiny clothes and black boots. He was stocky and had a balding head and a red, angry face. He looked like the kind of guy you’d see in a parking lot and turn around to walk in the opposite direction. Had no one else heard him shout?

“Sofia!” Paul yelled, turning back to look at her. She stopped and saw him, then the stranger who’d appeared, her eyes widening at the sight.
At least I’m not crazy,
Paul thought. “Make sure someone tells Sato!”

As she grabbed at the soldier closest to her, Paul faced the visitor again, who still stood in the same spot. “Who are you?”

The man walked up to him, an arrogant smirk on his face. “I’m from the Fourth Reality. Name’s Benson. Who are you?”

“Uh . . . Paul. What . . . why are you here?” Something weird was going on, and Paul hoped Sato would send some people back quickly to help him out.

The stranger smiled, though it was full of anything but kindness. “I work for a very important man, kid. His name is Reginald Chu. Ever heard of him?”

Paul swallowed, the weirdness of the situation turning to fear. He took a step back and pointed his Shurric at the man. “Don’t move.”

Benson laughed. “No need to shoot, son. Just letting you know that my boss—he doesn’t like me to call him that, which is a shame, don’t ya think?—well, my boss said that if I don’t hear from him, I’m supposed to come in here and start attacking anything and everything I see. You understand?”

“You?” Paul asked, his finger itching at the trigger. “By yourself?”

“Yeah, me and what army, right?” Benson laughed again, but then his face suddenly creased into an angry, angry look. “Guess what, little man? I
haven’t
heard from the boss. Which is very bad for you.”

The man snapped his fingers like a magician, and machines started appearing behind him, dozens and dozens of machines and other contraptions, filling the fields.

Paul took a step backward in shock, then another as he scanned the area with his eyes, dazed. But he stopped when he recognized some of the objects lining up behind Benson. A nightmare from what seemed like another lifetime.

Metaspides.

Chapter 66

Two Different Enemies

Sato’s thoughts churned as he marched toward the Void, wind ripping at his clothes and hair.

It had taken all of his willpower not to charge after Mistress Jane when he saw her standing near Tick earlier. His anger toward her had been building for many years, and this time, something inside of him snapped as if he suddenly knew this was his last chance to seek revenge for the death of his parents. When all this was over, surely one of them—either him or Jane—would be dead. And if it was
her,
he wanted it to be at his hands. He had dreamed of it for years.

But something had stayed his hand. Calmed him. Brought a peace that almost didn’t make sense. Almost on a subconscious level, he made a decision. And, just like that, all the anger and the hate and the thirst for vengeance went away. Gone. He didn’t understand it, but he felt it all the same. He had a calling in the world now. And he swore to never think of Jane again after he watched her disappear into the gray mist with Chu and Tick.

A murmuring behind him interrupted his thoughts. A rumbling of whispers and movement as people talked to each other, leaning close to speak ear to ear. He looked back at his soldiers, wondering what they could be excited about. He didn’t see anything on the other side of the tall soldiers who made up his army, when he heard a different sound coming from the Void. A series of thumps and roars, like drums and wind. He quickly whipped around to take a look.

The giant wall of churning fog was only a couple hundred feet away now, and forms of mist were separating from the main cyclone. Pockets of swirling gray air popped out all over the place and coalesced into more human-shaped bodies than any Void creatures they’d encountered before. They formed in the air then dropped to the ground, landing on two feet that were suddenly solid. The ones closest started walking toward the Fifth Army.

On some level, Sato knew that these creatures were people who’d been stolen by the Void, sucked in from who knew where by the pulsing blue substance that was somehow related to the Fourth Dimension. It didn’t make sense to him, probably never would. But the Void had turned them into monsters, and now more than fifty had already been created. They were coming toward him, as if they’d zeroed in on him specifically.

He remembered all too well what those things could do.

His army would need to attack hard and fast before the beams of pure flame came shooting out of the creatures’ mouths.

He was just turning to face his army and shout commands when Tollaseat interrupted him, something he’d never done before.

“Got major trouble, we do,” the giant man said.

“Yeah, I’m pretty aware—”

“No, sir! I ’spect you don’t! Not talkin’ about the fog things! There’s an army of machines revvin’ up on the other side of us. Looks a might nasty, too.”

Sato lifted up on his toes and saw a few traces of silver and what looked like mechanical arms. He didn’t understand it at first, didn’t know what was going on. But he knew three things.

His army was small. And surrounded. By two different enemies.

Tick guessed they were about two miles into the massive storm of the Void when everything fell apart. It started with the wind, a visible, monstrous thing mixed with the gray mist. It grew to an unnatural level, so fierce and mighty that the sound of it drowned out the booming thunder. And the bubble of protection created by Mistress Jane finally became worthless.

It stayed intact, but suddenly became a victim of the wind, whipping up into the abyss of the Void with Tick and the other two still inside of it. They smacked into each other, rolled around, tossed back and forth like pebbles inside a bouncing beach ball. Chu’s cube flew out of his hands, and its corner hit Tick just above the eye, sending a sharp lance of pain through his skull. An inch lower and he might have been blinded for life. Chu called out, frantically trying to maneuver his way through the chaos to grab his precious device once again.