As fascinating as the entire process sounded, I was downright horrified. Ta’Zan was mass-producing weapons of mass destruction.
“They’re also highly intelligent,” Amane said. “They may be bold and arrogant, but there is a basis to that. They’re fast learners. They’re still figuring some things out, but, trust me, once they do, it’s over. Their minds are young, days old, and can be easily shaped, which is why Ta’Zan puts them through an intensive learning process as soon as they come out of the artificial wombs. They’re connected to screens and headphones and taught everything through flashing images. On the surface, they learn everything there is to know in just hours. But there are subliminal messages transmitted with the usual stuff. The Perfects are thus conditioned to obey and worship Ta’Zan, their creator and supreme leader, and to admire themselves for what marvelous creatures they are. He could make thousands or millions, it doesn’t matter. With the advanced type of subliminal indoctrination that they get from him, as soon as they’re born, they’re blindly loyal to Ta’Zan.”
“What about the Perfects’ abilities?” Ridan asked.
Amane put the tablet back in the trunk, then settled again in front of Ben and me. “There are core abilities that all the Perfects have, based on the central formula: the supersonic speed, the strength and heightened senses, the retractable wings, claws, and fangs, and extreme regeneration abilities. Then, there are individual abilities, based on what secondary genes they received. Given that Ta’Zan was able to give them fae, warlock, and witch genes, on top of the modified vampire base, the possibilities are quite varied. Now that he’s captured so many from the fleet disaster… it gets even more complicated.”
Ridan grunted, his jaw tight, still reeling from the grim news he’d gotten during our trek through the woods.
“He’s got dragons now,” Ridan said. “Maras. Werewolves.”
“Incubi, succubi, Manticores, Dhaxanians, Bajangs, Druids even. Maybe,” Vesta replied. “There were plenty in those shuttles for him to pick from.”
Amane exhaled deeply, pressing her lips into a thin line.
“How do we kill them?” I asked the single most burning question. “Ta’Zan must’ve thought of a failsafe in case the Perfects thought they might be able to overthrow him.”
“You’re quite brilliant,” Amane replied, giving me an appreciative smile. “Araquiel could learn a thing or two from you. Though, between you and me, he’s very powerful, but not one of the smarter ones. The Perfects retain individual personalities. Some are softer by nature; others are more abrasive. Some prefer strength; others focus on learning and intellectual activities.”
“You’re avoiding the subject. How do we kill them?” Elonora cut in.
“I don’t know.” Amane’s response left us all feeling empty on the inside. “Only Ta’Zan knows. Amal and I were never privy to that information. During my first night in the wild, one of the Perfects followed me. I managed to capture him and tried everything on him. I burned him to a crisp. In six hours, he was back, fully regenerated. I cut his head off, but he grew a new one in four, maybe five hours. It varies from one specimen to another, though. I was stunned. Nothing worked. Ta’Zan must’ve added something to the blueprint, after Amal and I were done with it… but I never found out what, exactly.”
We looked at each other, visibly dismayed. Ridan pinched the bridge of his nose, taking deep breaths as he struggled to control his temper. By the waterfall, both Elonora and Nevis looked dismayed, gazing outside.
“What’s the longest we can keep them down, then?” Kailani asked, opening her eyes. She hadn’t fallen asleep yet. I figured the conversation was too interesting for her—we were all hooked, for that matter.
I wanted to hug her, for still keeping her spirits high, despite everything.
“The more damage to the body, the longer they stay down,” Amane replied. “But there’s a substance present in their nervous system that stops the flames from reaching it. Basically, they can burn until they die, but they never turn to ashes. Their bodies won’t allow it. However, it usually takes longer to recover from a burn than from decapitation. The one thing I didn’t have time to try was shredding them to little pieces. Others came looking for me, and, until I figured out that running water disrupted their connection to me, all I did was try to keep my newly acquired freedom. The Perfect I had managed to capture escaped.”
“So, burning or cutting them to pieces,” Kailani concluded, nodding slowly as she internalized the information.
“It sounds like the most practical thing to do,” I said, “given their numbers.”
“Wait, I’m confused,” Ridan interjected. “Some of the Perfects—actually, most of the Perfects we’ve come across—had fire abilities. Doesn’t that render them immune to fire, in general?”
“That’s how it works with fae and dragons,” Vesta agreed.
Amane smirked. “Think of this as Amal’s greatest contribution,” she replied. “She was the first to smell something fishy about the Perfects being so… perfect, back when we were still developing the blueprint. She modified one tiny sequence without Ta’Zan’s knowledge and left it in there, making the Perfects immune to their fire, but for a limited period of time. If you expose a Perfect’s skin to a flame for more than five minutes, it starts to burn.”
“That explains why I couldn’t take Araquiel down with my fire,” Ridan said. “He never stood still long enough for me to properly douse him.”
“Accelerants work,” Amane explained. “We have several types of oil we use here for lamps and to keep fires burning for longer. I suppose you have those, too?”
Kailani groaned, rubbing her face in frustration. “Well, yeah, but not here. I don’t even know where I could find what’s needed to process gasoline, for example. I would need oil… you know, the black one that comes out of the ground? Strava’s biosphere is much like Earth’s, so I’m inclined to believe we could find some. But we’d probably have to drill for it. Jeez, this is getting overly complicated.”
“It’s fine, Kale.” I tried to comfort her from afar. “We’ll figure something out. You heard Amane: they’ve got oils they’re already using. How hard could it be to get our hands on some?”
Amane chuckled. “Pretty much impossible, at the moment. The diamond colosseums are virtually impenetrable, and you won’t find Perfects settling anywhere out in the wild. They keep tight ranks while they grow their numbers.”
“Which brings me to my next question,” I replied, changing the subject. “Where is Ta’Zan, and where is he keeping our people?”
Amane’s smile faded, and she looked down. “I’m not sure. I overheard a squadron of Perfects saying he’d moved his home base again, because he needed more space, but I don’t know where that could be.”
I took out my tablet, where I’d copied an updated satellite map of the planet, and showed it to Amane. “Can you guess, maybe, by looking at the structures we managed to capture through our telescopes? This one’s the latest scan, from maybe six or seven hours ago.”
Amane swiped across the tablet screen, narrowing her eyes as she studied the aerial images. “Possibly, but I need some time to look at this properly.”
“By all means,” I replied, letting her hold the tablet by herself.
“Speaking of which, how the hell do they bring those diamond colosseums up so fast?” Zeriel asked, still sitting by Kallisto’s side. The Faulty was healing well, though we had yet to remove the device in her neck. The Tritone king noticed me staring at it and shrugged. “Waiting for her to recover from the other injuries, first,” he murmured.
“Remember, the Perfects are faster and stronger than any of us. A hundred of them can build a colosseum in less than two hours,” Amane explained. “The more of them there are, the faster the colosseums go up.”
“Personally, I find it ironic they choose to build their homes from the same material that can cause them so much physical pain,” Dmitri replied, pointing at Douma’s healing wris
t and ankle injuries.
Amane let out a long and heavy sigh. She seemed just as tired as the rest of us. “Ironic or not, diamond is the sturdiest material on Strava. Concessions had to be made. They wanted their bases to withstand pretty much anything, and the diamond is the only material that can do that. It’s practically impossible to break with one’s bare hands—unless, of course, you’re a Perfect.”
I found myself gazing at Douma, filled with both awe and fear. Like her siblings, she wasn’t just beautiful. She was powerful and was a true force to be reckoned with. It had taken more than two of us to take her down, in separate turns. She looked so peaceful while asleep—it made it difficult for me to see her as what she really was: the perfect killing machine.
Her eyes popped open, and my blood instantly froze.
Kailani
I was ready to try and put myself to sleep again, when I saw Rose’s eyes widen. I followed her gaze and saw Douma was awake. By the time I sprang to my feet, she’d already broken free from her restraints. I needed to stun her before she moved—too late.
She dashed to the opposite side of the small cave, panting as she took in her new environment. Dmitri, Hunter, and the others immediately got up and drew their swords. My mind stopped functioning. I couldn’t remember the stunning spell again.
“Dammit,” I blurted, racking my brains for the next best thing.
Elonora and Nevis were by the waterfall, blocking Douma’s escape. Her gaze darted across our group, as if she was calculating her chances of getting out of here.
“You don’t want to do something stupid, Douma,” Rose said to her. “You’re outnumbered here.”
“If you think you can hold me down, you’re dumber than I thought,” Douma said. She grimaced from some kind of pain, then reached around her back and found the device still mounted there. She couldn’t take it off, though, and it made her angry.
“Yeah, no flying, sweetie,” Dmitri replied.
Douma scowled at him.
Ben and Vesta were the first to move in, flicking their lighters and throwing jets of hot, orange fire straight at her. They were following Amane’s advice. Burning Douma was going to keep her down for longer, but the Perfect didn’t stand for it. Despite the flames’ intensity, she managed to stomp her foot on the ground with enough strength to release an energy pulse—eerily similar to Elonora’s sentry barrier.
It smacked us at full force, knocking us backward. She moved with lightning speed and punched Vesta and Ben so hard, it knocked them out. They collapsed, unconscious, and Douma made a break for the cave exit.
Elonora pushed a barrier out, but Douma jumped and ran along the wall, dodging the pulse. Nevis tried to trap her in ice but missed her by inches. Douma shot past them and pierced through the water.
My heart stopped. Dread swallowed me whole, as the obvious came to focus.
“She knows our location,” Amane managed, then got up and ran after her.
We all stumbled back to our feet, except Ben and Vesta. Their lights were out, but we couldn’t deal with them, just yet. We had a Perfect to contain. We rushed toward the cave entrance, and I put my hand out and beckoned the waterfall to split to the sides, like a curtain. It was one of the few tricks up my sleeve regarding water manipulation. I was nowhere near as capable as a fae, but this was relatively easy and in tune with my natural witch abilities.
We all came to a screeching halt on the cave opening’s lip, staring down at a most extraordinary sight.
Douma was stuck in the pond. The water rushed around her, bubbling and foaming, as it swallowed her whole and kept her head under. She struggled to get back to the surface, but the pond kept pulling her back down.
We stood there, staring for a few moments. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My brain instantly switched to a search for possible rational explanations.
“Amane, does the pond usually do this?” I croaked.
“Um… no…” Amane replied, equally baffled.
Douma’s head pierced through the water. She managed to take a deep breath before she was pulled back down.
“Is there a current down there?” Rose asked.
“Nope,” Amane said, exhaling slowly. “No whirlwind, and no strange natural or artificial phenomenon. It’s just a pond. Just a body of water.”
A minute passed as we continued to watch Douma fight to get out of the water.
“No underwater traps?” Dmitri offered, raising an eyebrow. Amane shook her head. He then looked at me. “You’re not doing anything, are you?”
“No. This isn’t me,” I replied. “Ben and Vesta are unconscious, so that rules the fae out, too.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Elonora mumbled.
No matter how strong and resourceful Douma was, she was no match for this unexpected force of nature. Nature. It hit me then, so hard and fast that the realization nearly knocked me out. In fact, I was somewhat lightheaded, to the point where I felt the need to grip Hunter’s forearm as I tried to formulate a coherent sentence.
“Hermessi,” I whispered. “This could be the Hermessi.”
“Whoa.” Hunter gasped, gawking at me, then back down at Douma.
Rose was equally surprised. “The elements of nature? Really?”
“Nothing else explains this,” I replied. “This has to be a manifestation of the Hermessi.”
“Oh, this is so weird,” Elonora said.
Nevis raised a hand, politely demanding our attention. “How about we try to get her out of there?”
Amane nodded energetically. “Hold on,” she said, then rushed to her wooden trunk and came back with a small black device. “This will help.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I made it myself. It runs on a small chunk of serium stuck inside. It releases electric shocks with enough intensity to cause her pain and stiffen her muscles. It’ll make her more compliant,” she explained.
“Okay, let’s get down there and immobilize her before we electrocute her,” Rose suggested, while Dmitri stared at the black device in Amane’s hand.
“You guys have tasers. That is just so cool,” he breathed.
Hunter and Ridan went down first, stopping at the edge of the pond. The water continued to bubble and keep Douma under. She wasn’t going to last much longer. It was only a matter of time before she drowned.
“How long does drowning keep them under?” I asked.
“Twenty minutes, tops,” Amane replied.
I nodded slowly, watching as Ridan and Hunter got into the water. It stayed calm around them, on a ten-inch radius, as they moved through. The pond wasn’t too deep, as it spilled into the river, allowing Hunter and Ridan to reach Douma just as she stilled underwater. They stopped, too, keeping their eyes on Douma for a few seconds.
Once they ascertained that she was definitely unconscious, they reached out and grabbed her by the arms. The water stopped bubbling and rushing around. The pond was once again clear and tranquil as they pulled Douma out. They dragged her back up inside the cave and let her fall to the ground.
She was pale, almost paper white. Douma was temporarily dead, and I couldn’t help but think about the Hermessi again. Maybe they were powerful here on Strava. Maybe their will was stronger. But why would they help us?
Ta’Zan thinks he’s better than nature.
I remembered Amane’s words, and it made sense.
The Hermessi were nature, after all.
Vesta
I was having some kind of dream.
It had to be a dream, because I couldn’t hear anything. I was submerged in water, and I could see the sun beyond the surface. I kept swimming, trying to reach it. For some reason, I was afraid I would drown.
I’m a fae. Water can’t hurt me.
I moved my arms and legs. I beckoned the endless waters to pull me back to the surface. My chest constricted, as panic took hold of my instincts. I was terrified of breathing, knowing my lungs would immediately fill with water.
A voice echoed somewhere in the back of my head. With all my frantic attempts to swim upward, I didn’t even pay attention to what it was saying until I froze, resigned to my fate. I was going to drown.
You must wake up.
That wasn’t my thought. That was someone else. It was a male voice, slipping through my subconscious and telling me to wake up. This was definitely a dream.
Zara, you must wake up.
He called me by the name my parents gave me, long before they lost me during a daemon invasion on Neraka. I’d spent the last five or so years as Vesta, the name I got from my Imen saviors. Zara felt foreign, even after I was reunited with my parents. But this entity, or whatever it was, used my given name.
Zara, your people need you. Wake up.
But how could I force myself to wake up? I was seconds away from drowning. My brain was in panic mode. My life was flashing before my eyes. My arms and legs were flailing. The water didn’t heed my call.
Take a deep breath, Zara. I am Water. I would never hurt you.
I stilled. My synapses instantly made the connection. I am Water.
“Hermessi,” I heard myself say, despite being underwater.
I took a deep breath.
Everything warped around me.
My eyes popped open, and I wheezed as I shot up into a sitting position, gasping for air. It took me a while to figure out my surroundings and remember where I was. I’d been knocked out by Douma, during her attempt to escape.
Looking around, I spotted her—dead, on the cave floor. The waterfall rushed a couple of yards behind her. Dmitri, Nevis, Elonora, and Kailani were busy restraining her. This time, they used a combination of metal-threaded rope and swamp witch charms to keep her in place.