[This is a chapter from my latest novel, a sequel to The Fall of Doc Future and Skybreaker’s Call. The start is here, and links to my other work here. It can be read on its own, but contains spoilers for those two books. I usually post a new chapter about every two weeks, and the next one is planned for around April 19th.]

Previous: Chapter 21



There was a demon on the other side of the door.

Yiskah could see it with her telepathy, its form clear and vivid. It was humanoid, thin and angular, with huge, glowing eyes, and clawed hands that could rip through steel like tissue paper.

What would be even more unsettling to most people was the several-inch-long metallic centipede-like creature embedded in its forehead. The demon’s body was just a puppet, controlled by the centipede. Its antenna perceived the world through senses stranger than the usual five.

Yiskah knew how to handle this. She studied the demon closely. It wasn’t emaciated, and the centipede’s antennae were waving gently, with no telltale signs of agitation. So it was healthy.

Good.

Yiskah opened the door.

“Are you okay?” asked Flicker. "I didn’t want to bother you, but you’ve been in there for a long time, and I was getting worried after everything that happened today, and I didn’t know what you were doing, and DASI said telling me would be a privacy violation, so I should just ask you.“

Flicker’s self-image had been quite consistent since the first time Yiskah had seen it, and she no longer found it disturbing–just a useful clue to the mental well-being of her friend.

Yiskah smiled. "That’s fine. I’ve been sitting in the dark, drinking beer and listening to music to unwind. But I wouldn’t mind your company at all–it’ll help me get the bad taste of the Box out of my mind. And we haven’t had a proper meeting of the ‘It’s Complicated’ club in too long. Come on in.”

“…knew it was arrogant,” said Flicker, some time later. "But I so wanted everyone at my party to be happy, and you weren’t. And everyone was telling me not to worry about the social stuff. And Eirik was right there, and wanted to try.“

"And it was your birthday,” said Yiskah.

“And it was my birthday.” Flicker looked down at her soft drink bottle. "But worries come back.“

Yiskah smiled wryly. "I know. And it’s okay. I’m getting along quite well with Eirik. I’m certainly happier, and I’ve been able to achieve a better sense of perspective on a few things. I’ve been known to be arrogant myself.”

Flicker was quiet for a moment. "I could have told Golden Valkyrie no. I don’t know if–“

"Flicker, what prevented my relationship with Doc from working is independent of anything you did or didn’t do. Or anything she did. It’s that he still has serious, fixable problems that he won’t take the time to deal with properly. And his justification is very close to the attitude that nearly got him killed before. After everything I did to help bring him back, that’s difficult for me to ignore.”

“But–”

“Look. We’re talking about a man so committed to his work that he won’t exercise more than ten minutes a day for eternal youth. Before he dived into the Maker’s Pool, I could still convince myself he might change if he did. Now I know better.”

“He’s always done high-intensity interval training, because it’s the most time-efficient. I thought it was helping.”

“It’s the most efficient use of time when you don’t have enough. He’s functional, and he’s very slowly improving. But he could have so much more, for such little effort, relatively.”

Yiskah took a sip of her beer and shook her head. "A month of exercising two hours a day, a half-decent diet, and eight hours of sleep a night, and he could knock twenty years off his physical age, thanks to the power he soaked up from the pool. Two months, and he could have a body like Nighthaunt at his peak, or Breakpoint. Or like his mental self-image used to look. But he won’t.“

"How can you be sure? His pool might not work that way.”

“It can. Margie told me, in excruciating medical detail, in the notes she sent back with Doc after standing guard over him while he fixed his radiation sickness. She recommended mind control.”

Flicker frowned. "What does Doc’s mental image look like now?“

"Thinner, and greying. Wise-looking, but the aura of invincibility is gone. It’s a consequence of losing his top level augments–he’s slower without them, and he subconsciously processes that as being older. And he doesn’t care about a young body if he doesn’t have his young mind. Ignoring that the former would make it easier to get the latter back. I’d be more than willing to help, with both.

"But neither is going to happen if he won’t take the time. And whatever brief occasions he could spend with me would keep getting poisoned by the time he isn’t spending on himself. So it wouldn’t be healthy for me to try to stay in a close relationship with him. It’s bad enough for Prime, and she’s working in the same room with him for twelve to fourteen hours a day.”

Yiskah waved a hand. "But enough about Doc. How are you doing? How did your time with Journeyman go, yesterday? The gestalt Prime sent worried me a little, and we didn’t have a chance to talk before going to the Box.“

Flicker smiled. "Oh, it went really well. He explained what he did, and why, and I apologized, and we laid down some ground rules. Then he talked about how he grew up, and someone who was pretty important to him. Who might still be alive–one of the things he’s talking to Lif about right now is whether there’s a privacy preserving way to find out, if she doesn’t want to be found.”

“That’s good, at least. Prime promised you a longer explanation, but she’s dumped that on me, along with the gestalt, because she’s not going to have time for a while. How mad are you at her?”

“Still a little frustrated, but I understand the security hole part. DASI explained after Stella patched it and I agreed to the new privacy restrictions. She was right about the security problems I was causing, too. I finally got smart last night and set up a multi-agent limited information decision model, so I could look at the options from Journeyman’s viewpoint. It wasn’t the greatest, but I’m going to have to get used to that, because the restrictions hose all my good behavioural analytics.”

Yiskah took another drink of her beer. "Yeah, but those were always creepy. I sympathize with your social uncertainty, but an unlimited scope Database search set with your access level isn’t justifiable for anything personal. It’s worse than a mind scan, or cyberstalking. And the digging you did on Donner was almost as intrusive as a full mind probe by me.

“And not just for him. How do you suppose the women in the group you analyzed would react if they found out you were studying their sexual habits and mental health without their consent?”

“I was very careful to anonymize everything,” said Flicker.

“Because who they were didn’t matter to you. And so what? You still didn’t have permission–and it was all just for your own use. The real problem was that you never distinguished between crisis analysis, scientific study, and personal curiosity. Doc gave up on getting you to do that, but Prime tried several times. You kept backsliding.”

Flicker looked over at her unhappily. "I know. And I agreed to the new stuff. DASI can block my overrides now, even for my local Database node, if she doesn’t think they’re justified. But the trap Stella set for me with the security vid still felt… unnecessarily personal.“

"It was personal. So was your voyerism in Milan, stealing her augment papers, and denying her identity inside the captured Xelian ships when her human body was dead. You don’t respect her boundaries unless she pushes back hard.”

Flicker pressed her lips together, then nodded. "That’s fair.“

Yiskah half-smiled. "There’s hope yet. Prime can be a real bastard–I know, I was her–but not without purpose. And I can help you out with parameter tweaks for your models later, if you want.”

Flicker brightened again. "That would really help. If–“

"Hang on,” said Yiskah. She was picking up a wordless empathic projection. The Choosers weren’t telepathic, but they could get her attention if she was reasonably alert and they wanted to talk.

“Eyetaker?” sent Lif.

“Yes?”

“When we first came to Flicker’s service, you forbade us full use of our power on humans without your permission, for safety. I ask leave to give a Chooser’s Invitation.”

That was a Chooser’s way of projecting unambiguous sexual interest and desire for an einherjar to initiate, while still allowing him to politely refuse if he wasn’t inclined. Yiskah had banned using it on humans–along with most other active emotional projection–because of the great potential for misinterpretation and unintended side effects.

“To whom?”

“Journeyman.”

“Um. Just a moment.”

“Flicker?” said Yiskah aloud. "I’m not sure what you said to them earlier, but if you object to Lif and Journeyman getting together, you’d better tell at least one of them. Quickly. It may already be a bit late.“

"Huh? Oh, I don’t mind, and I told them both. They like each other, and I’d already talked to Lif about it, and I tried to tell Journeyman during our fight and it came out really wrong, and tonight was the first chance I had to correct that properly.”

Flicker smiled. "Lif and I think alike, in a lot of ways, and the idea of her with Journeyman, both of them happy and safe, gives me a little warm feeling. Osk told me one way to guard against toxic possessiveness was to concentrate on what didn’t make me feel jealous, rather than what did.“

Yiskah raised both her eyebrows. Just when she thought she had a good read on everything… "Oh. All right, then.” “Go ahead,” she sent to Lif.

Flicker paused, and bit her lip. "Wanting to know if they are happy and safe isn’t a privacy violation, is it?“

"No, it’s not. I’ll check.” It was only prudent to make sure the first known human experience with a Chooser’s Invitation wasn’t…

Well. From Yiskah’s mind scan, they were happy enough. But it seemed this wasn’t Journeyman’s first encounter with an Invitation after all.

“…more than just a pretty face,” said Journeyman.

“Of course,” said Lif. "You are beautiful, but I desire you because you bring me laughter, and make me feel beautiful. So few can do that.“

Okay, definitely time to stop scanning. "They’re fine,” she said to Flicker, with a smile. Journeyman could volunteer his prior history, or not, at his own pace.

“Oh good,” said Flicker. "I was so unhappy for so long, it’s still easy for me to want to hang on to each little bit of happiness I find like a miser. But that’s not really a very good way to keep it. I have to be willing to take some risks, try some new things, if I want to stay happy.“

"Yeah,” said Yiskah. "That’s part of growing.“

*****

"So, um, this is my apartment,” said Sam, as she closed and locked the door. Like that wasn’t completely obvious. She was getting off to a great start.

And it was so messy. She hadn’t had time to clean for a while, but she hadn’t remembered it was this bad.

“A proper wizard’s abode,” said Aki with a grin, as he set down his duffel by the wall.

“Yeah, well, sorry it’s such a wreck, I’ve been busy, and…” Oh god, the pizza box. She’d leaned it against the side of the kitchen garbage basket, because it wouldn’t quite fit, then forgot to take it out with the last bag of garbage. So it was older than Black Swan and the entire UPP. She looked up at Aki in despair.

He looked back at her quizzically. "You worry that I will take offense that it is not orderly? I have never known an abode of power that was. You are a wizard and a Chooser, with more tasks than time, and even if you had servants, they would no doubt fear to tidy, lest they incur your wrath by misplacing something important.“ He smiled at her.

"But who is this?” he asked, turning to look at the old aquarium with the screen top. Nothing was visible inside except the food dish, a water bottle, an exercise wheel, and a large nest composed of shredded paper towels.

“Oh, that’s my gerbil, Ritchie,” she said, glad for the change of subject. "They’re kind of like mice, except they live in deserts. I used to have two, but Kernighan died last year. I named them after wizards whose work I respect.“ She smiled at her battered old copy of K&R, which she had leaned against the outside part of the water bottle holder to keep it from banging against the side of the tank.

She opened the top and reached into the tank with her hand. "Hey, Ritchie. Want to come out?”

The nest quivered, but nothing emerged.

“Sorry,” she said. "He’s getting to be a pretty old gerbil, so he’s shy around strangers, and he can probably smell you.“

Aki looked thoughtful, then rummaged in his duffel and came up with a small bag that turned out to contain dried apple slices. He nipped a corner off one slice, then put the rest of the bag back. He put the tiny piece in the middle of his hand, then stopped to look at her.

"May I?” he asked.

“Sure. Just don’t be too surprised if he won’t come out.”

Aki carefully lowered his hand into the tank. "Hello, little one. You are frightened by the strange hand, no doubt, but look! I have a morsel.“

A nose emerged from the nest, sniffed the air… and disappeared again.

"Ah,” said Aki. "You are old and wise, and know the world is large, and you are small. So here, I will leave the morsel for you.“ He placed the bit of apple on the floor of the cage and withdrew his hand. Sam replaced the cover and they both watched.

After about twenty seconds, Ritchie took two quick hops out of the nest, grabbed the treat, and dived back in again. He was out of cover for less than two seconds. He turned around inside the nest to eat, and they could see his nose quivering as he chewed. Aki dusted off his hands, pleased, then turned back to her.

"So, um, I thought we might… do some stuff first,” said Sam. "Watch a movie, and have some popcorn.“

Aki looked at her seriously. "A customary ritual, before the first time?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Whatever you wish, for protection.”

She put a hand on his chest and looked up at his face. "Not that kind. I’ve already taken care of safety. Or at least, as much as I’m going to get. This is a ritual of affection.“ She breathed a laugh. ”Not a kind of wizardry I’m very good at, I’m afraid.“

Sam had seen the looks from other women, when she was out in public with Aki. Sometimes envy, but often just slighty widened eyes and a smile at her assumed good fortune. But they hadn’t done what everyone assumed. Not yet.

Aki was…

Aki was ridiculous. He was just over six feet tall. He had curly dark hair, blue eyes, and a handsome, chiseled face with a hint of stubble. Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a physique that looked like he bent steel bars with his bare hands. And he could.

Strong hands. So gentle and careful, the two times he’d touched her face.

Aki was thoughtful, kind, generous, funny, smart, perceptive, responsible, diligent, and patient. And so hot he made her scalp tingle just thinking about him.

He was also not human.

Sam didn’t stay in close touch with her family, for good reasons. But she imagined how the conversation with her mother would go, the conversation that was surely coming, now that Sam was getting lots of media attention, the one that would start with an expectant 'So who is that man standing next to you in the pictures?’

Sam didn’t think it would go over very well if she truthfully answered 'He’s a demon from another dimension. He used to kill people for an evil god, but he works for me now, as a bodyguard and assistant. He’s really nice.’

Or maybe it would, and her mother would breeze on to 'Is he good with children?’ Which would be worse.

And she kept remembering the short workplace safety video Doc had made almost twenty years ago, that he still used. All his new employees were required to watch it, and Sam had seen it on her first day. It was hilariously funny, in a blackly humorous way–a much younger Doc had narrated it completely deadpan.

It was called 'How Not to Get Killed by the Monster.’

It was full of simple, deeply practical advice like 'Run first. Then call for help. Then worry about what the hell it was,’ and 'The correct response to something odd-looking or out of place is never to poke at it.’ According to DASI, Doc had never lost an employee who followed all the rules.

The vid included two three-second clips, one of an incubus, one of a succubus, followed by Rule 7: 'If it looks like you’d want to have sex with it, you don’t.’

Not the sort of thing to incline her to make a hasty decision. Nor was her memory of the Database upgrade where she’d found an ancient inventory backup, listing destroyed equipment from Doc’s old HQ, with the 'cause of loss’ filled in as 'Forgot Rule 7’.

She’d asked Journeyman flat out if Aki was an incubus, and gotten exactly the answer she’d dreaded–he sucked in air between his teeth, looked worried, and said 'Technically, no.’ Sam was a programmer. She knew what that kind of answer meant.

She’d gotten advice from Yiskah. From Flicker and Journeyman. From Greta and Osk and two of the Builders. From Stella and DASI and Margie. Even from Black Swan. And made preparations, and taken precautions. Not least because she knew that if things went at all well, there was no way she’d want to give him up.

All while Aki–wonderful, patient, monster-she-didn’t-want-to-get-hurt-by Aki–waited.

She’d been ready, the day of Flicker’s birthday party. Until one of Golden Valkyrie’s Choosers decided to contest her right to be with Aki at all, to his face. And Greta had challenged the Chooser to a duel, and…

No one had ended up getting hurt. But Sam’s confidence had been shattered. Aki had just held her that night, and whispered that it was okay. Then she’d been pulled into the center of the whirlwind DASI was creating with the UPP. It was rewarding, confidence-boosting work. And in the meantime, she’d gotten a welcome update from Yiskah–Sam wouldn’t be the first test case after all. And tonight she was ready, again.

But, lack of tidyness aside, Sam was a perfectionist. So she still agonized over the movie.

They sat on the couch together, laughing as the credits rolled. Sam had finally decided on a low-budget fantasy epic, so Aki could have fun pointing out everything wrong with the weapons, armor, and combat. It hadn’t disappointed.

Sam grinned. "The worst enemy each side had was their own armorer.”

“Whoever trained the archers for the evil wizard’s side came close,” said Aki. "Though I still wonder why…“ he trailed off, and looked thoughtful.

"Aki?” she asked, after he’d been silent for a while.

“Can you make the pictures go back?” he said, looking intent.

“Sure. Which part do you want to see again?”

“The part near the start where the hero’s friend dies.”

Sam used the remote to locate the histrionically overacted death scene, and they watched it again.

“Now the first battle,” said Aki. He studied it intently, saying 'aha!’ a few times.

Finally he turned to her triumphantly, a light in his eyes. "Now I understand! It is not a perfect drama, but not a terrible one either–just sneaky. It tells a different story than you see at first.“

"Oh?”

“Right at the start, when the evil wizard kills the friend with magic? Why does he do that, when magic is hard, and he has guards with swords who could do it easier? Because he is evil, and has a plan–so he doesn’t just kill the friend, he traps his spirit in the hero’s shield.”

“In the shield? Why?”

“Because now he will suffer each time the shield gets hit–and it is a wooden shield, so it would get chopped up quickly. A few good axe blows would do it. The hero knows this–the wizard must have told him while he was still gloating, when they switch to show the woman sneaking into the stables.

"That’s why he carries the shield into the first battle–he doesn’t want to leave his friend–but he never blocks a blow with it. He only uses it as a counterweight when he swings his sword. That is still a foolish way to fight, so he likely only won because the wizard told his soldiers to swing for the shield, which is even more foolish.”

Aki lifted a finger as he continued. "Then before the second battle, the evil wizard realizes he is going to lose unless he does something magical. Because his armorer is terrible, his archers are worse, and his spearmen have never heard of formation fighting. So he puts a spell on the big sword the evil commander is carrying, to kill the spirit in the shield to power something terrible. We never get to see what, because it doesn’t work. Can you go to that part?“

More remote work, and Sam started the scene–and burst out laughing. "So that’s why the hero throws his shield away.”

“Yes! As soon as he sees the evil commander’s sword. I think he may have a touch of the Sight–it would explain why he always knows to duck when people swing at him from behind. He fights a little better when he doesn’t have the shield to worry about–still badly, but better than his foes, which is what matters. And look–he threw the shield into the river, where it was safe, but they could still get it later.”

“Because it floats.”

“Yes, and then he breaks the commander’s sword–it is still a bad sword, it just has a spell on it that is useless now. And the hero’s side wins the battle, for all the reasons the wizard worried about. While the woman rides downstream and recovers the shield–they have it at the end.”

He frowned slightly. "I think they plan to go to a good wizard to try to get the friend a new body. Because the woman seemed to like the friend in the shield better. She was the smart one, and he listened to her warning, when the hero didn’t. But I am unsure of that part.“

Sam laughed again, then turned to look at him. "I don’t think that was what the movie maker was actually trying to show–but I like your version better. Much better. Thank you.”

He looked pleased. "You are most welcome. I…“ He stopped as she put her hand on his leg and moved her face close to his.

"Aki?” said Sam. "Kiss me.“

He did. And there were no words for a long time after.

She kept waking, during the night, and she would feel Aki’s arms around her, and his skin against hers, and her eyes would fill with tears. Once Aki woke too, and asked why.

"Because you’re real,” said Sam, wiping her eyes. "That’s all.“



Next: Chapter 23

