The Way of the Brother Gods (17 page)

Malja took one quick look down the hole — she couldn't see the bottom. She jumped over this new grave and hurried on her way. She had a boy to save.

Another Bluesman melted, his fine clothing sliding down the Dish's side along with what little remained of his body. Though Malja couldn't command Tommy's eyes to look in any particular direction, she still seemed to be able to watch Tommy's vision with her own eyes — picking out details that she wanted to see. And she saw no sign of Harskill. Either he was outside of Tommy's focus, or he had run off as the Bluesmen perished.

The string of lights guiding her way in the sewer flickered. She pushed on, but she could feel Barris behind her eyes, watching her progress. Waiting to harness enough energy for another attack.

It came sooner than she expected. The railings on both sides of the tunnel pulled off the ground with a rusted whine. They stretched across the waterway like metal ribbons and twisted so their jagged, torn ends pointed in all directions.

A rumbling began — quiet at first but building in intensity. Malja dug in her feet again, wondering what type of creature Barris would throw at her this time. Except for getting louder, though, the sounds didn't change. In fact, no animal sounds came. Just the growing rumble.

Malja looked over her shoulder. From ground to ceiling, all she saw was a massive wall of water rushing toward her.

She sprinted ahead, but her foot slipped in the mud. Though she kept upright, precious seconds whisked by. The rumble grew into a roar. When she reached the twisted railing, she climbed up. It took too long, though. There was no point in looking back one more time. The raging waters fell upon her.

She expected the water to be cold and hit into her back like a solid wall. To her disgust, the water was warm, foul smelling, and oily — but it did smash her hard. It slammed her into the railing, her cheek cut open by the rough cut metal, and pressed her in as if trying to pass her through the object.

She reached up until she found a grip and pulled herself toward the top. Three strained reaches. Three strained pulls. And the waters took over. Thrust over the railing, shot forward and deeper, tumbled and tossed, she fought to find the way to air.

As she paddled her arms about, she struck unknown objects washing by in the dark waters. She hoped never to know what they were. Her lungs burned. She kicked and stroked, working against the rough current. Her fingers touched something solid. The floor. She had been going the wrong direction.

Ignoring the increasing pain in her lungs, she shoved off, now heading in the right direction. In seconds, her head burst above the polluted waters. She gulped in air as the current whisked her along, the tunnel's ceiling inches from her head.

Below she saw the string of lights that had been her guide. Barris thought to drown her, but he had actually helped speed her along — unless she had passed by the schuco.

Bringing Viper up, she slammed it into the ceiling. Sparks flew out and a horrible shriek came from metal grinding into brick. The strong waters pulled Malja along, dragging Viper across the ceiling, but slower than before. As Viper dug deeper in, the waters could not fight. Soon, Malja stopped moving and held tight to Viper.

As she waited out the waters, she saw bits of wood and trash drift by. And corpses. Rats and small animals and even a human hand.

Only half the Bluesmen remained but they still managed to hold back Tommy from draining all the power. He could kill the rest with a strong blast, end this right now — except to do so meant dropping all other spells, including his control on the power source. It might dissipate or even go off wildly and destroy something or someone innocent. And something else pulled on his resources. Another part of him cast spells far below.

Malja concentrated on Tommy, tried hard to not only see through him but let him know what Barris was doing. He had to know, though. With the kind of immense magic he had displayed, he had to be fighting Barris, holding that monster at bay. If not, Barris already would have folded her into oblivion and taken over all of Corlin.

Wolf played faster and harder now, trying to compensate for the lost Bluesmen. He was good, too. Not as talented as his brother had been, but strong enough — his bloodthirst driving him harder. Malja saw it clearly. The Bluesmen's magic was gaining power. Barris saw it, too.

The water surrounding Malja slowed and began to die out. Not wanting to get stuck hanging from the ceiling, Malja dislodged Viper and swam toward the side. Once the waters lowered enough, she latched on to the railing and waited out until the water was no more.

When her feet finally touched the ground, she took a few deep breaths, ignoring the reek, and went on her way. The lights she followed ducked into an alcove that ended in a metal door with large rivets around its edge. It creaked opened.

Inside, she found the thick conduit wire poking through the ceiling and running down a corridor. This was her guide now. Even without it, though, she knew where to go. She could feel the energy pulsing in the corridor.

At the far end, she opened another door and found the schuco. It was a large white box, at least eight feet tall, with conduit wires entering it from the top. Off to the left, Malja saw a desk with another box on it and a flat object covered with letters and numbers. Strange technical instruments surrounded the schuco, and Malja imagined that Cole Watts was in heaven whenever she stepped foot in here.

A small staircase had been set up next to the schuco to offer access to the top. Malja climbed these stairs and inspected the conduit connections. The base where the connections occurred would be the most effective location to strike. Cutting through once would sever all the conduits, and since she couldn't be sure which ones supplied the Dish, that seemed the best solution.

As she raised Viper, however, she saw movement from the corner of her eye. She looked back at the entrance. Harskill watched her with an arrogant shake of his head.

"That may not be such a good idea," he said.

Chapter 20

"Try to stop me," Malja said, heaving all her power behind Viper.

Harskill moved faster than any creature Malja had ever known. Viper cut through the air with an audible swish, but the blade never landed on its target. Harskill had crossed the room and climbed the stairs in time to block with his do-kha.

Fire raged within Malja. She lifted Viper and whirled back, striking as she completed her turn. The move was flashy and usually surprised an enemy. Harskill looked amused while he leaned away from the attack. As Viper passed by him, his face turned grim. He shot forward again and jammed his knee into Malja's gut. She doubled-over. Grabbing her shoulders, Harskill tossed her over the stairwell and watched as she crashed to the floor.

"It's sweet that you want to save this world," he said, descending the stairs like a king. "But this isn't the way to do it. You can't save a people from themselves. Certainly you've figured that much out by now. Look at Cole Watts. This Dish marks how many times she has attempted to control a portal? Three? Four? Despite her failures that have taken so many lives, despite the obvious risk of causing another Devastation, she still pursues this foolishness."

Malja wanted to get to her feet, to fight back, but her muscles resisted. Her mouth dried as she struggled for air.
The do-kha.
She tried to picture herself standing firm and strong, tried to will her do-kha into helping her. Though she sensed warmth soak through the suit, nothing else happened. Someday, if she survived this, she would practice and learn how to use this thing she wore, but it was no help now.

Harskill went on, "You want to save this world, you have to take control of it. And it's not just this puny world, or even the multitude like it. We can do so much more."

Leaning her back against the schuco, Malja got her feet underneath her and scooted up until she could stand. She picked up Viper and waited. Like her breathing, her other pains slowly eased.

"I know," Harskill said, "you don't want me. And though I think you'll change your mind some day, for now, I accept the situation. What I cannot allow, though, is for you to stand in the way of the Gate. We were once the greatest beings in all the worlds. I refuse to continue being punished for the failures of our ancestors. I refuse. It's time for the Gate to reunite — not just for a mating ritual, but to rebuild our lives as a single civilized society that rules over all."

When Harskill reached the floor, he placed his hand on the schuco. "When you are ready, when you understand the true nature of the worlds, you'll help me unite the Gate. I have no doubt. Until then, I'll have to go alone. I'll have to prove myself to you. So, when I take the power from this world, banish the ideas of Kryssta and Korstra, and have all creatures bow before me, perhaps then you'll begin to believe me."

"Doesn't look like you'll get that chance," Malja said, though the effort hurt. "Or didn't you notice that my boy is up there destroying your Bluesmen?"

The area where Harskill's hand contacted the schuco glowed as if heating up. Smirking, he said, "Really? I think you might want to look again through your boy."

Ignoring the fact that Harskill knew she was now connected to Tommy, Malja reached out with her mind to see through Tommy's eyes.

The fury of music had gained in power. It appeared to be layering upon the magic created before. But Tommy did not show any signs of weakness or stress as he pushed back against the Bluesmen. In fact, he had the strength to fight hard against the Bluesmen and fight still harder against Barris. Except — Wolf had stopped playing. He actually removed his guitar from his shoulder and held it like a club. He stepped from the edge onto the actual Dish, walked about twenty feet in, and battered the tiling with his guitar. Two powerful strikes and the tile broke away. Wolf paused to lock eyes with Tommy. Malja willed her warrior's gaze into Tommy's eyes, hoping she could use it to intimidate Wolf, but Wolf licked his lips instead. He thrust his hand into the hole he had opened, felt around, grabbed something, and yanked back. The conduit wire. Not the whole thing, it was far too big, but he had managed to rip free some of the cables.

"Did you tell him to do this?" Malja asked.

Harskill focused on the schuco and said, "I may have explained to him what great power was being held within these wires, tubes, and dead tissue."

Wolf raised the cable in the air like a tribal priest offering an enormous snake to the gods. While the Bluesmen continued to play, they bowed to Wolf one at a time. Music and magic swirled around him, and Wolf pointed at Tommy. With wild passion, he shouted something, but Malja couldn't hear it. He smiled — a crazed, bright smile — and he plunged the wire into his side.

"You told him to kill himself?" Malja said.

"That wouldn't help me very much, would it?" The glowing area on the schuco expanded, radiating heat in pulsing waves.

Wolf let out a triumphant cheer even as his body shook from the magic pouring into him. He grew. Muscles thickened and limbs elongated. Bones became stronger.

Malja had seen magic do this before, knew the kind of enhanced strength it could produce. "Stop this," she said. "If that bastard hurts Tommy."

"He can't. Not yet. He's just keeping Tommy busy, so I can finish this."

"What are you doing?"

Harskill held up one finger, concentrated on the schuco, and then stepped away. He sighed and touched the wrist of his do-kha. A portal opened behind him. Malja glimpsed a sandy beach with a purple and orange sunset.

"You have choices to make," Harskill said. "You can join me now. Chase me and try your best to stop me — though, you will fail. Or you can attempt to save your friends from the explosion that's coming. I've overloaded the schuco. It'll send a massive jolt of power through the conduit that will be the end of the Dish. You may fail at that as well, but your chances are far better." Moving like light, he snatched Malja's hand and kissed it. "Goodbye, Malja." With an earnest bow, he stepped backward through the portal, leaving it open for her to follow. "For now."

Though she would loathe admitting it, Malja hesitated. Just a fraction of a second — a tiny thought of how she longed to step through to that beach, to be rid of Corlin and magicians and the constant threats to her life, to begin a search for her home. But the schuco emitted a low, unhealthy hum, and Malja's thoughts shifted to Tommy.

She darted up the corridor into the tunnel, slipping Viper back into its sheath as she moved. Though tired and sore, her legs found the energy to run. The do-kha must have finally responded. Maybe she could make use of it after all. She filled her mind with images of greater strength in her legs and arms — not outright healing but readiness.

Barris Mont's flood had churned up the ground, releasing long forgotten odors of decay and rot far worse than any she had encountered yet. The sickening smell made breathing difficult as her lungs revolted against the poisoned air, but still she pressed on — slower, slogging through the muck, but making progress.

From behind, she could hear the schuco. Its hum raised in pitched like a singer building to an impressive final note. She heard the snap and static of electrical discharge, too.

As she rushed through the tunnel, she tried to will a message to Tommy warning him of the overload. Each time she started to make the connection, however, her ability to keep balanced while running left her. She tumbled into the sludge twice before abandoning the idea. Instead, she just ran.