Cursed

  “I know it’s dangerous.” Mei-Li reached across the narrow isle to squeeze his hand. “But if it was me, I’d want to go after you, no matter what.” She looked up at Charlie. “He’s more than just a co-worker and partner to you, isn’t he?”

  “I don’t know what he is!” Charlie had begun crying by now—she couldn’t help it. “All I know is that we just let him go to his death and I can’t let that happen—I can’t let him die!”

  “All right.” Six started manipulating the controls and suddenly the Dark Kindred cruiser, which had shrunk to a speck in their viewscreen, began to grow larger.

  “Will we make it? Can we catch them?” Charlie asked doubtfully, swiping at her eyes.

  “We will try,” Six said grimly. “I can make no other promise than that. We will try.”

  The three of them leaned forward, all eyes on the viewscreen and the Dark Kindred ship ahead.

  None of them saw the fourth set of eyes, small and red, concealed under the last passenger chair.

  * * * * *

  “I will have him now. I want a new host—one which I can control fully.”

  “I have told you, Ur, the Collective wishes to interview him first. They cannot get accurate information if you are already infesting him like a swarm of tzzgs in a rotten log.”

  Stavros sat back in his chair—which he was manacled to with plasti-steel chains that made the Kindred handcuffs Charlotte had put on him when she first captured him look like child’s play—and watched his captor (or was it captors?) fight about his eventual fate. Their fighting didn’t bother him, though. He didn’t really care what they did to him as long as he got to complete his mission first.

  Beneath the heavy black uniform shirt he had borrowed from Six, he could feel his mark glowing. It didn’t hurt but it didn’t feel exactly comfortable either. It was like having pure starlight trapped under his skin, trying to get out. He was glad the shirt was of such thick material that the light didn’t show through.

  Despite his discomfort, he felt calm. He had always known he would die young and at least this way, he would be dying for a good cause—to save the planet of the woman he loved.

  Oh, Charlotte…falinda…

  He could not repress a sigh when he thought of her. He wondered where she was right now—hopefully on her way back to the Mother Ship and safety. He just prayed he was in time to stop the Dark Kindred from making another attack on her home planet. She had looked so devastated when Mei-Li told her how some of its major cities had already been destroyed. He wanted to keep that from happening again.

  Charlotte was his only regret in all this, he had to admit to himself. But even if he hadn’t been destined to die in order to destroy the Dark Kindred, he never could have claimed her as a bride. Even if she would have had him—and he knew she wouldn’t, not with her past pain in the way—he couldn’t have allowed himself to bond with her. It would be wrong to tie her to him knowing he was Cursed…wrong to form a permanent soul bond knowing he was destined to die young and possibly drag her down with him…

  “I tell you, I will have him—I must!”

  “I don’t think so, my demonic friend. Just try to get lose and go to him. Go on—try.”

  Stav looked up to see a very strange sight. Two, the Dark Kindred Commander, was pacing jerkily in front of him up and down the long isle between the seats filled with Dark Kindred warriors. They all stared stoically ahead, obviously not interested in what was happening to their commander. But Stavros couldn’t take his eyes from the scene.

  The Dark Kindred Commander was jerking this way and that, twitching as though he was having spasms or seizures. When Ur spoke from his mouth, the left side of his face and body jerked wildly but when Two spoke, the right side was clearly dominant.

  Two seemed to be winning this internal war. At least, Stav didn’t feel any demonic presence trying to invade him. He wondered what would happen if it did. Could a purely evil being like Ur stand to be in contact with all the positive emotions of love and understanding and kindness which his Mark had soaked up like a sponge? He seemed destined never to find out because clearly Two was keeping the errant demon hostage inside his body.

  “Let…me…go!” Ur bellowed. “How dare you hold me against my will?”

  “Maybe because I like you.” Two seemed to be smirking. “You’re such good company.”

  “I have never had a host hold me against my will—never!” the demon seethed.

  “Maybe because you’ve never had a willing host before,” Two mused. “But I would be very sorry to lose you—I was so lonely before you came. No…I don’t think you’d better leave to inhabit our new friend after all. I like having you in me.”

  “Sooner or later you will have to let me go or lose your free will completely,” Ur snarled. “I already have control of the left side of your body—how long do you think it will be until I also gain control of the right side?”

  “Oh, I would say…probably forever,” Two remarked. “You see, my enhancements and all my neural links are on the right side—they form an impassible barrier you will never be able to penetrate.”

  His only answer was an inarticulate howl of rage—clearly the demon was venting his wrath about being trapped within his host.

  “Now, now,” Two said, when he had complete control of his mouth again. “I think you should be glad that I still want you, after all the trouble you’ve caused. You haven’t exactly been the easiest guest, you know—tipping our hand too early to get the Heart of Love or to find out why the Kindred want it. Unsettling the Hossans so that they would only release one of the prisoners to us.” He nodded at Stavros who stared blandly back.

  “Not to mention destroying all those lovely cities on Earth before I got a chance to properly play with the inhabitants first.” Two made a tsking sound with his long, thin tongue against his metal teeth. “Really, if you weren’t so much fun to have around, I would have taken you back to the Black Planet by now. You’re lucky I like you, Ur.”

  Stavros frowned as he watched the bizarre exchange. It occurred to him that Two was not in the strictest sense of the word sane. For why would any sane person want a demon living inside them? And why would he wish to keep Ur from leaving? Not that Stav was complaining—he preferred not to be possessed. If he was going to die doing his duty, he wanted to be in his right mind when he did it.

  “Now do try to relax,” Two said, still apparently talking to his demonic passenger. “We’re about to go through the fold in space and I don’t want you getting all excited when we do. It’s…unsettling.”

  “I will show you ‘unsettling’,” Ur growled. “I will be free of you, Two. And with the next host I take I will wreak such vengeance on you as will make you fucking beg for mercy and pray for death.”

  Two tsked again. “Now, now—such language! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh wait, you don’t because it is my mouth and I never had a mother!” He broke into peals of strange, jagged laugher that set the short hairs at the back of Stav’s neck standing on end.

  Insane—he’s definitely gone insane. Holding the demon within him for so long has broken his mind.

  As though he could feel Stavros thinking about him, Two turned to stare at him with an amused expression on his face.

  “And you, my dear Kindred—still nothing to say?”

  Stav just stared at him.

  “I suppose you’re thinking of your little paramour—the one the Joined One refused to release to us,” Two mused. “I expect you’re sitting there, consoling yourself that at least she got away, hmmm?”

  Still Stav said nothing.

  “Well, it might interest you to know that she didn’t get away.” Two smirked at him. “In fact, she and my old colleague, Six and his lovely little bride are hot on our tail right this minute.”

  Stav surged forward to the limit of his manacles.

  “You lie,” he growled.

  “Oh but it’s true.” Two’s one visible eye glittered with glee. ??
?They think because they are using stealth mode that I don’t know they’re there. But I have eyes everywhere and they are following. No doubt they are coming to your rescue.”

  “They wouldn’t!” Stavros protested. But he was dying inside. Though he hated to admit it, Two must be telling the truth. How else could he know about Six and Mei-Li?

  “They would and they are.” Two grinned at him nastily, exposing all his metal teeth. “And so we’re going to have a little surprise all set up for them the minute we all reach the Tower of the Collective.”

  He turned away, still grinning nastily, and left Stav to fight with his manacles. He had to get free—had to get away and warn them—warn Charlotte!

  But though he twisted and fought until his wrists were raw and bleeding, he couldn’t get loose. The Dark Kindred ship carried him on into the red, jagged rift in space towards a destiny he couldn’t control or avoid.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  “I don’t like this. It’s too easy.” Six frowned as they stepped into the metal vestibule that connected to the outside docking platform. It had been left conveniently unguarded after the Dark Kindred had exited their craft. Two had been among them, leading Stavros who was bound with thick, unbreakable chains.

  The Tower of the Collective was easily the tallest building in a city filled with monstrous sky-scrapers. Charlie, who had been to New York, thought it was at least twice as tall as the Empire State building. Inside, it was a featureless series of wide, windowless, dull silver hallways which branched out into several smaller corridors as they went along.

  Six had informed them they were headed to the Hall of the Collective—the main room where all the sentient machines were housed. Charlie just hoped they could get there before it was too late but now he was saying it was “too easy.” And while it was true they hadn’t run into any guards, couldn’t they all just be busy doing other things?

  “Do you think we should go back?” Mei-Li asked in a low voice. She and Charlie were both dressed in long black robes with hoods which at least hid the fact that they were female. Charlie would have been glad to have something to go over the mostly see-through white novice gown she’d been wearing for days but she was too worried about Stav to care.

  “No, we can’t go back!” she hissed. “They have him—they took him inside. We have to get to him before they do something horrible!”

  “Or before he fulfills his mission,” Six said, frowning. “Has it occurred to you, Charlotte, that Stavros may hold the only key to defeating our enemies? If he doesn’t act now, your entire world may die.”

  Charlie shook her head stubbornly. “No, I don’t accept that. We’ll find a way—we have to. But in the mean time, I don’t think Stavros should have to die for a world that isn’t even his own.”

  “You do have a point there,” Mei-Li said. “Although I can’t help worrying about what’s going to happen to Earth if Stavros doesn’t do what he came to. And we—”

  They were rounding a corner as she spoke, and her words came to an abrupt halt as they nearly ran into Two and a whole battalion of Dark Kindred warriors.

  “What’s going to happen to Earth my dear?” Two smirked at them, showing his gleaming metal teeth. “Why, it’s going to get eaten up, every…last…crumb.” He smacked his thin, liver colored lips together in apparent delight.

  “Two!” Six surged forward but four guards every bit as big and imposing as he was had suddenly appeared on all sides of him, holding him fast.

  “You never should have returned, old friend,” Two said, smiling at him nastily. “Though I am glad you’re here. It will be good for you to witness the complete and utter failure of your plan and the eventual destruction of your paramour’s planet.” He motioned at the guards which were holding all of them now. “Bring them all to the Hall of the Collective.” Then he swept off down the long metal corridor, his black leather coat flapping behind him.

  Without emotion, the huge warriors began to march after him, dragging their prisoners as they went. Charlie struggled and cursed but the two Dark Kindred warriors on either side of her were much too strong to fight. They each wore some kind of bulky battle armor and had an iron grip on her arms. Beside her, she could see Mei-Li struggling as well. After a while, though, she gave up and let herself be dragged along. Looking to the side, she caught Charlie’s eye and shrugged.

  “It’ll be all right,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the tramp and clank of the many booted feet against the metal floor. “Save your strength—we’ll think of something.”

  What the hell they were going to think of, Charlie had no idea. She only knew she was scared to death and not for herself—for Stavros. What had Two meant when he said he wanted them to witness the failure of their plans? How did he know they had any plan at all? Then again, how had he known they had followed him?

  Before she could even begin to guess at the answers, the whole company turned a wide corner and found themselves in front of a vast set of black iron double doors. To Charlie, they looked completely out of place in the plain blank metal halls. They were huge—twenty feet tall at least and half again as wide—with some elaborate scrolling scrip carved all over them. They looked more like the gateway to an ancient medieval stronghold than the entrance to a high tech computer room.

  They stopped in front of the doors and Two turned to see her staring at them.

  “Ah, I see you are admiring our entryway,” he said, smiling. “Yes, it is a leftover from those who came before—before the Collective took over as the rulers of Zeaga Four, that is. It amused the ancient ones to build this most sacred room as a kind of shrine to the beings housed within.” He looked back at the elaborately carved doors admiringly. “They did it ironically, I believe but as it so often does, the truth swallowed their lie whole. The Collective took over and now they guard and rule this planet as sternly as any deity that ever was—nor do they tolerate unbelievers.”

  At a motion from him, the heavy doors were heaved open by four guards on each side, revealing a room bigger than a football stadium. Two’s voice rang out shrilly, echoing in the vast space.

  “Behold…the sanctuary of the only Gods I have ever known or shall ever know. Behold, the Hall of the Collective!”

  Charlie caught her breath at the enormity of the vast space. It didn’t seem like such a huge area could be captured indoors and yet it was there, right in front of her.

  The room seemed to spread out forever, an illusion doubtless helped along by the dim bluish lighting which didn’t seem to illuminate much. Charlie had been picturing the rows and rows of old-fashioned computer banks for some reason, though she knew beings as advanced as the Collective probably wouldn’t look like an image from an old Earth film. So she wasn’t very surprised when she didn’t see anything that matched the metal image in her head. What did surprise her, though, was that she didn’t see anything at all—at least, not at first.

  When she did, she took in a deep breath. Suspended from the high ceiling were clusters of dark globe-like lights winking and twinkling with quiet malevolence in the dim room. They hung in clusters like poisoned grapes, connected with slender black cables that seemed to be shooting sparks of light back and forth between them. Once she saw them, she noticed that the entire room was full of them, cluster upon cluster of dark lights, like black globes lit from within, crowding the vast space like some kind of malevolent growth that was taking over the entire huge room.

  Below the clusters was another network, this one harder to see because it had no lights in it. It was a net of fine white gossamer-like threads that stretched up to every globule of light and down to the metal floor thousands of feet below.

  For Charlie now saw that they were standing on the metal lip of a vast chasm. The huge room wasn’t only wide, it was deep as well. Indeed, when she dared to peer over the edge she saw that the space was so much more immense than she had first supposed, the sight made her dizzy. You could probably empty the Great Lakes in here and still h
ave room for a river or two, she thought, drawing back hastily.

  There was a thin tongue of metal—a kind of walkway that led out into the middle of the enormous room. It extended out like a narrow bridge over a chasm and ended at the very center where all the thin white gossamer threads which glimmered in the light of the dark globes seemed to converge in a single point before branching out again towards the floor.

  Those white threads must be the net Six as talking about, Charlie thought, staring at its many glimmering strands. The one that powers this whole place. And that’s the Apex Point in the center—if what Six said is right, the power’s all gathered there.

  There was something else—someone crouching in the center of the round platform at the very end of the metal tongue. Charlie couldn’t tell who or what it was in the dim light but then it raised its head and she saw a faint glimmer of reddish auburn gold.

  “Stav?” she breathed uncertainly. “But if he’s out there, shouldn’t the Collective—”

  “Shouldn’t the Collective be overloaded by all the emotion he somehow managed to bring with him?” Two finished her half whispered question for her. “Why yes, you would think so, wouldn’t you? But you see, you made the mistake of bringing the only one kind of emotion—positive emotion. The Collective’s power net is well grounded against such gentle feelings. To excite the kind of explosion you were no doubt hoping for, it would take a much more volatile mixture. Something with hate and loathing and spite—all the really intense emotions as well as the sweet, mild, gentle ones your Stavros was able to carry in his Mark.”

  “How do you know all this?” Charlotte blurted. “How could you possible know about our plans or that we were at the J’lorgan’s Mind resort looking for the Heart of Love in the first place?”

  “How do I know? I have eyes everywhere—observe.”

  Suddenly a small creature about the size of a large rat came scuttling between the booted feet of the Dark Kindred up to Two’s side. It moved in a jerky fashion that made her think of a remote controlled toy but it had black and purple fur and glowing red eyes.