Currents of Thunder Read online

from Them. He was just too damn obstinate to know when to quit. Now I may have to hurt him even more, so that if he doesn’t quit, I can at least evade him without much effort. I don’t want to do that, but I will if I have to.

  Annais has left himself within sight of my senses. Why? So I would go a different direction or intentionally follow him? He did this once before, but he tried to make me think he was unaware of my presence. This time he’s left no doubt. Does he believe my curiosity will get the better of me or I’ll run? It’s like he’s inviting me. Or warning me.

  A warning. Again, that’s not like him.

  I make my decision. I leave the safety of my chair and stroll down the street Annais walked, glancing in the windows of the cafés and shops along the way. A man follows me at a distance; one of mine. I stop and nod to him. He will follow further behind. I want no one in sight of what happens.

  I don’t hesitate when I reach the alley. There are lots of people on the street, but none visible down that narrow walkway between the buildings. As I enter, I prepare. I’m aware of every living thing here, all the way down to the microbes. And those are everywhere. Except…

  …right here. Why is that spot devoid of life? Before I can examine the dark, lifeless place, something thuds into the archway outlining the door frame beside me. A solid wooden arrow is lodged in the wood – and I sense another on the way. Instinctively I take a step to avoid it, and realize my mistake a bit too late.

  Just inside the archway, a field activates. It latches onto me and pulls me in. My energy dampening field doesn’t prevent it because it is non-threatening. It’s not going to damage me. It’s going to – teleport me.

  My first thought is, Why?

  My dampening device would detect a hostile environment on the other side and shut down the teleport. Annais had actually pulled that off once. Put me right in the middle of a star. It destroyed my incarnation instantly, but my true self had ridden the solar wind right out of there. The surprise Annais had planned after that would have damaged my true self had I not slipped away before that could happen. Barely – but I had managed it. That’s why I wanted this device.

  Wherever I’m going will not hurt me, but I know there will be something waiting on the other side. I decide I don’t want to go. I’ve learned a thing or two about teleports. I grab the energy and I stop it.

  Oh, but my Annais anticipated that! I can’t pull myself back out of it. I’m stuck. I either go through or I stay right where I am. Smart. But not smart enough. I can still get out of this thing. It’ll just take some time.

  What if he intends to hold me in this thing and transport the whole device with me in it? In that case, I can blow the teleport. That will shred my incarnation to pieces and it will hurt. Yeah, really hurt. It might even damage me a bit.

  Annais appears on the other side of the arch, outlined in glittering sparks of energy, standing in the alley, watching me.

  “I’m sorry, Melienda,” he says quietly, sincerely, “but this is necessary. You’ll understand.”

  Then he jumps in with me.

  His incarnation hits mine, knocking me through the teleport. Just as it begins to fade from my senses, Annais blows the circuit. I don’t see him ripped into a billion pieces, but I know it happens. Like I said, he’s determined.

  I stumble onto the planet where Annais sends me, but I keep my balance. It looks like some barren wasteland, but this can’t be all there is. Escaping from here would be nothing. As I glance around, catching movement in my peripheral vision saves me.

  I face the beast, unsure of what it is at first. I do know it’s not friendly so I stop it from advancing. Or I try. This thing has little intelligence, but it’s a mental monster. It takes everything I have to keep it off me. I can’t move or have a stray thought without letting it creep closer.

  It’s hungry. No, it’s starving. And meat is not on its menu. I can see the thing eats energy. Oh shit, it does more than that. It devours life-force. Where did Annais get this thing?

  I can’t study it in great detail. It takes too much concentration to keep the creature immobilized. I have to let my brain analyze what my eyes see without consciously thinking about at it. It has a bulbous head and bulging eyes. Thick, red skin. Skinny arms with barbs at the end of long slender fingers. That’s how it feeds, through the barbs. It has no mouth.

  Panic flickers in my mind briefly, allowing the beast to advance another inch. I think I know what it is, but it shouldn’t be here. They’ve been extinct for eons. I remember seeing it in the archives. It’s a fosseritti.

  This abomination is actually capable of digesting my life-force. And I’ll be dead. Really dead. All that’ll be left of me is fosseritti crap.

  Okay, hold the thing there so it can’t reach me. Can’t think too much or I lose my grip. Great, stuck here motionless until Annais comes to collect me whenever he wants. Or maybe he doesn’t want to collect me. Maybe he wants me to be fosseritti crap.

  Maybe he thinks this is preferable to being executed by Them. I can’t accept that. That isn’t like Annais. Second, my previous question comes back to mind. Where would he get this thing?

  That’s just it. He couldn’t. And Annais didn’t want to do this. Like I’ve said, this isn’t like him. That’s why he was acting so strangely. This wasn’t his idea!

  Oops, can’t get too excited. The fosseritti’s arm comes toward me just a little.

  The only beings capable of finding this beastie are Them. They made Annais do this. And he didn’t like it. He couldn’t say no, but he could warn me, let me know it wasn’t his idea. Oh, my love!

  Got to keep a grip on the beastie or it’s going to get me.

  That’s a thought. I can sense how this thing works. I wonder if I can take advantage of that. Can’t explore too deeply or I take a chance of letting it loose. Interesting. It could work. The beast’s mental prowess is formidable, but its actual life-force is far weaker than mine. Can I actually pull it off? Oh, it will hurt. And it would be so disgusting ending up inside this thing’s gullet if I make a mistake. I don’t want to think about it, but it’s definitely a possibility. However, I can’t see any alternatives.

  Look this thing over as carefully as I can. Yuck, it’s nasty. Okay, big boy. If this doesn’t work, I promise I’ll give you a hell of a case of indigestion. I hope you choke.

  I let it go.

  It hurts even worse than I thought. Not the barbs stabbing into my skin but the life-force being sucked away. I can’t even describe it. This body’s high-pitched scream echoes across the landscape and I…

  I hunger. I feed. It is good. So much food. Don’t stop. I gorge. All eaten. Stomach over full. I drop husk. I rest. No need more food. I sigh.

  I hurt. Arm jerks. Eyes blink. Can’t see. Body shudders. Something wrong.

  Nothing’s wrong big fella. Come to momma. Oh, this hurts!

  Body hurts. Arms moving up. Moving down. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt!

  Take it easy. Just grab your disgusting little life-force and…

  That’s better. I look down at my new incarnation. It’s not great, but I guess it could be worse. I could be a Congillion slug.

  I flex my long fingers and examine the barbs on their tips. These are amazing, able to suck the life-force out of any creature, corporeal or not. I put my arms down and sit in the dirt. I don’t feel so well.

  This thing digested a little of me before I could gain control. My true self has been damaged, but I survived. I have to rest and regenerate. I sucked down the fosseritti’s life-force so I’m not hungry right now, but it won’t last forever. What a disgusting thought. I just devoured myself. Sort of. I don’t want to think about what I just swallowed.

  Annais believed I could do this. Sure, it was a risk. A huge one. But he said I’d understand. He warned me as best he could. Then he blew the teleport to make it look good
. He had to be convincing, and he paid dearly for it.

  It was Them. I’m positive of that. Annais spoiled Their plan. He did it for me. Oh, Annais, I do love you!

  I retrieve the Krugean device off my previous body. These long fingers are difficult to maneuver, but I’ll get used to them. Now all I have to do is get off this rock and track down Annais. Not to hurt him, oh no! To join him. He defied Them. Just like I did. Now he’ll be hunted too.

  Little did They know I would not only survive this trap but come out of it with a weapon. A weapon that can devour Them.

  Don’t worry, love. I’ll find you. Then They will become the hunted.

  ** THE END **