Spires of Infinity (21 page)

Removing the crystal from her pocket, she dangled it in front of him. “I’ll be keeping this for now. You may earn it back, in time.”

“Oh,” Jonathan looked down at his crotch and back at her with a sleazy grin.

“And how am I gonna do that, gorgeous? You wouldn’t happen to be held captive by your accursed virginity would you?”

“From this point on you are my apprentice,” the Apostle thought it wiser to

simply ignore his antics. “Once you have proven yourself, you may have it back.”

“Apprentice? No thanks. That sounds like something that requires effort, and effort and I have a mutual agreement to keep away from each other.”

“We shall see,” the Apostle wondered if his wits were just addled by the shock he’d received, or if he was actually as insane as he appeared to be. “Follow me, and remember, you might not survive sudden movements.”

*****

“Sit down and keep quiet,” the Apostle pointed to a chair at one of the consoles in the Citadel’s control room.

“That could pose problematic,” Jonathan looked like he thought he was guilty of something and hoped she wouldn’t notice.

“Explain.”

“I can’t sit in that chair wearing my sword, and I can’t take it off without moving my hands more than seven inches apart.”

It was almost as though he was in possession of an instruction booklet titled
How
to annoy the Apostle of Cain
.

With one swift motion she drew her black blade and sliced the back off the chair.

The clatter it made on the metal floor was louder than she’d expected as she sheathed the sword in a fluid movement and swept her cloak back into place over it.

Looking at the chair, Jonathan shrugged, flashing his odd grin. “Problem solved.”

Bushy black tail wagging, he sat, looking at her as though expecting a treat for performing a trick like a common pet.

Ignoring him, the Apostle turned toward the row of consoles and waved a hand to activate the holographic display. There were several views of the base of the Citadel, a few from the city around it, as well as some choice camera feeds from inside. A large mob of resistance people was gathering outside in the streets. They would soon learn that they could not stand against the Apostle of Cain.

“Resistance fighters have infiltrated my tower and they think I am oblivious to it.

Tonight they try and take me captive, but I’ve known of their plans for a very long time.

They think they have me, but they’re walking right into my trap.”

“Brains
and
a pretty face,” Jonathan said worshipfully.

“I told you to keep quiet!”

Jonathan mimed zipping his lips closed and gave her an exaggerated wink.

Rolling her eyes, she continued.

“What they do not know is that every time I make a broadcast to the city, there’s a subliminal message that has been burrowing itself into the subconscious of every person that sees or hears it.”

Mumbling something, Jonathan kept his lips together as though they had, indeed, been zipped closed.

“Every broadcast I make tightens my control over them. With the right signal this pathetic little rebellion is finished. If I command it, they’ll kill each other, or even die on the spot. They don’t even realize that they’re my willing slaves. They cannot depose me now. It’s far too late. So long as the equipment in this room still functions I have total power over them. It’s called the Controller.”

“No one should have that much power over people,” Jonathan gasped in horror.

“I have every right to this power! I am the Apostle of Cain. These people’s lives are
mine
to do with as
I
wish!”

“Do you even know one single thing about the
monster
that you’re serving?”

“I suppose you’re going to tell me my god is evil. I know that already, however, I have no choice but to serve. If I do not, I will never attain my deepest desire!”

“And what is that,” Jonathan seemed to have transformed into a completely

different person. His face was cool and considering, without a shred of his earlier foolishness.

“I have no reason to tell you.”

“Is that so,” Jonathan leaned toward her. “Let me tell you what I know about

Cain. He’s immortal, and insane. He’ll do
anything
to end his own life. It doesn’t matter how many innocent people have to die for him to get his wish, so long as he
does
.

He’s using you, and the second you’re of no more use, he’ll discard you and find another tool. His freedom means the end of time itself.”

“Then I will be hailed as a savior.”

Cain howled with laughter so suddenly in her head that it startled her.

Rolling up the sleeve on her left arm, the Apostle whipped out her sword and

slashed her forearm down to the bone. Blood poured from the wound, but Cain

immediately fled from her mind completely. He feared pain, and cutting herself was the only way that she could get a few moments alone in her own skull.

“What are you doing,” Jonathan cried.

“He’s in my head,” the Apostle snarled, resheathing her sword. “He sees

everything I see, feels everything I feel, hears everything I hear. I can only scare him away briefly with pain. Now that he cannot hear, I’ll tell you my plans. I’ll serve the Dark Lord Cain as diligently as I must to set him free, and when I finally do, I will take his head for what he has done to me!”

“Well, let me tell you, beautiful. That ain’t gonna happen. However powerful you are, you’re not powerful enough. And you might’ve forgotten, but I think most of your power comes from Cain himself. Do you really expect he’ll let you use it against him? Come with me. I can help. My father has the power to set you free. Wouldn’t you rather be free to live your own life?”

“I told you to be silent!”

Was what this fool said true? Was it impossible for Cain to die? Could his father really set her free? At what price? Would she trade one master for another? Better to remain with the evil she knew, than to blindly seek another. All she needed to do was find a world capable of time travel. Then she would show
everyone
. Even Cain would not be able to stop her then.

“The saddest thing is that you don’t even realize how deeply you’re being used,”

Jonathan said mournfully. “Stop this stupidity. My father will explain everything to you in detail.”

“Who is your father that he has so much power,” the Apostle asked with sudden

interest. If he could set her free of Cain, could he provide her with time travel as well?

“You might have heard of him,” Jonathan said. “He’s called the Northern Sage.”

She had, indeed, heard of the great Northern Sage, and she was glad that she’d momentarily chased Cain from her mind. Just hearing that name would send him into fits of anger that could last months. And when Cain was angry, the Apostle was angry. It was hard not to be angry when the voice in your head constantly radiated anger.

“He sees everything from the beginning to the end all at once. And he has the power to grant you any desire, if you’re willing to pay the price for it. Go to him and he can set you straight. Stop what you’re doing here and come with me. I’ll show you the way.”

“What do we have here,” the Apostle turned her attention from Jonathan to the far more interesting feeds coming in from the outside cameras. Several screens showed two giant beasts rampaging through the streets, destroying vehicles, causing massive damage to buildings, and chasing people every which way. One was a female, two-tailed fox with fur the color of straw, and white at the tips of her ears and tails. The other was a jet-black, male wolf that was half the size of the fox.

“Oh hey! That’s my brother and sister. That is
so
unfair! Why do they get to have all the fun while I’m trapped at the top of Tower Evil with Madam Crazypants?”

Eyeing him, the Apostle began to wonder about his sanity again.

“The female is impressive,” the Apostle observed the two-tailed fox as she caused chaos the likes of which these people had likely never witnessed. “Look at her
size
. She must be
very
powerful. She is weaker than I, but still quite impressive.”

“Ooh, I’d
love
to see your beast form, baby. I bet it’s breathtaking, and huge, definitely huge. What are you? Dog? Wolf? Cat? Fox? Something with pointy ears like mine. I bet you’re a wolf just like me. See? We were made for each other.”

Without looking at him the Apostle drew her sword and pointed it at his throat.

“You will find it quite hard to babble nonsense without a tongue.”

“I imagine that I would,” Jonathan agreed. He seemed to think about the situation for a few seconds. “
Oh
! You’re threatening me. Gotcha.”

“I had not counted on this,” the Apostle sheathed her sword. “Order will be much harder to restore without the Controller. I’m afraid my Enforcers are going to have a busy night. I’ll have to give them all a pay bonus.”

Watching the damage pile up from the rampaging giant beasts, the Apostle

wondered if they might actually scare off the gathering riot around the Citadel. Many of the resistance looked just as terrified as everyone else. It was quite fascinating. She had only transformed twice in training exercises, as doing so at any other time was forbidden to Subjects. She’d never had cause since leaving. It really was amazing how much damage a beast that size could do to a city, especially with the minimum of casualties that these two seemed to be leaving in their wake.

After about twenty minutes the two beasts transformed back to human form.

They had to have burnt through quite a bit of energy with that stunt. Without a steady supply of meat, it was impossible to maintain transformation for very long, and required weeks of recovery afterward. They’d used up their trump card without even setting foot within the Citadel. What foolish creatures. Did they know nothing of proper tactics?

Their damage and the panic it caused had accomplished nothing of value.

Hurling firebombs into the ground floor of the tower, the mob began their attack.

Flames exploded through mirrored glass as black smoke began flowing up the side of the tower, leaving dark stains behind. The Apostle certainly couldn’t have that. It was time to put an end to their rebellion before they did any more damage.

Stepping onto a raised circular pad at the center of the room, the Apostle flipped back the plate on the back of one of her gauntlets to reveal the remote controls for the Controller. Activating it with the push of a button, she pressed another to start the city wide broadcasting system.

“People of the resistance,” she said. “You’ve done well to come this far, but unfortunately your silly little rebellion is at an end. Feel the wrath of the one true god.”

Dialing the intensity of the Controller up to maximum, the Apostle laughed in the closest thing to glee that she’d ever felt. She loved controlling humans. On the camera feeds from below, everyone froze in place. One man was engulfed in flames as the firebomb he held frozen midway through the act of throwing went off. Even though his entire arm was blown to bits and his body began to burn, he remained completely still as the fire spread to others, who stood like statues.

“Resistance members, one and all, your divine punishment begins. I wish anyone that took any part in this rebellion to feel pain greater than any you’ve ever felt before.

This is a command from your god. Suffer.”

“What are you doing,” Jonathan cried. “Stop it!”

As the Apostle watched, people began writhing around on the ground in pain. It was only in their heads, but they had been so indoctrinated that their minds physically could not disobey her commands and so they manufactured the pain to fit her orders.

“Stop! You’re killing them!”

“Not yet,” the Apostle said, enjoying the sight. She realized that Cain had

returned, and his elation at the sight was bleeding into her, mixing with her own and strengthening it. She felt like a vengeful goddess pronouncing judgement, and it was pure ecstasy.

“Stop it,” Jonathan screamed, standing up. Taking a step forward, he froze when she drew her sword and pointed it at his heart.

“These people have blasphemed against the one true god! Believers, look upon

them. Behold the power of Cain’s punishment. Behold their suffering.”

“I’m gonna feel this in the morning,” Jonathan groaned reluctantly, examining the cuffs around his wrists.

“Wait,” the Apostle said warily. “What are you doing?”

“Stopping you,” Jonathan said with a dark glint in his eyes. Holding up his hands, he very deliberately whipped them apart. Jerking and convulsing, his body was shocked with ten thousand volts of electricity. Dropping to his knees, he reached for the nearest computer console.

“No,” the Apostle shrieked. “Stop!”

Dashing forward, she pulled up short at the last second. If she touched him the shock would hit her as well, and she might not survive it.

Twitching with uncontrolled muscle spasms, Jonathan’s hand touched the

computer and he collapsed against it. The holographic display flickered to static and then went out as the console exploded in sparks and arcing electricity that looked like miniature bolts of lightning.

Jumping back to avoid being shocked by electrical discharges, the Apostle stared in horror at what it was doing to her precious Controller. Console after console exploded, filling the air with acrid smoke.

At last the charge in the stun cuffs depleted and Jonathan fell to the floor, still twitching and seizing. As smoke filled the room, a fire alarm began blaring. The Controller was completely destroyed.

Gaping at Jonathan, the Apostle slowly looked around at the devastation he’d

caused. Unable to fathom why he would cause such harm to himself just to save the same people responsible for his capture in the first place, the Apostle had never considered that he might use his restraints as a weapon. He’d likely killed himself to protect the resistance fighters from her influence. Why? What were they to him? It didn’t make any sense at all.