Face Of The Void

By R.S. Penney

A shadow hangs over the world. Desa Kincaid and her friends must embark on one last, desperate journey to stop a threat from the edge of reality itself. A creature of the void.

Tommy's revolution makes a brave last stand against the forces of imperialism, and armies clash with the power of Field Binding. Meanwhile, hidden within the Eradian capital, Adele - the Weaver - spins the final threads of her plan.

To stop her, Desa will have a crucial choice to make: the Path of Vengeance, or the Path of Mercy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Next Chapter
• Release date: Feb 16, 2022
• ISBN: 4867476056

Book preview

PROLOGUE

The noonday sun beat down on a clearing surrounded by trees that Desa couldn’t name. Skinny trees with trunks that rose fifty feet before sprouting a single branch, fat trees as large as a house with roots slithering into the earth like grasping tentacles: all of them growing green and strong. They were well south of the Borathorin, far beyond the borders of the Al a Nari. It was summer on this side of the world.

The clearing was about half a mile across, dominated by a rock-strewn hill that rose about fifteen feet into the air, and at its crest, the ruins of something that might once have been a temple stood solemn and forgotten.

Crouching at the base of the hill in brown trousers and a white blouse with the top buttons left open, her eyes shaded by the brim of a hat, Desa wiped the sweat from her brow. This is it.

Kalia stood a few feet away, dressed in similar clothing, seemingly unbothered by the heat. The woman had grown up in a desert. A little scorching sunlight was nothing to her. You’re sure?

If I’m wrong, we’ll know soon enough.

Rojan Von Aldono emerged from the forest with the strap of his knapsack slung over one shoulder, his face glistening with sweat. My people have formed a perimeter, he said. Are you certain you wish to enter that structure? If this is a place of the gods, there may be devices that we do not understand. Some may be dangerous.

Desa stood up, knuckling her back. Mercy brought us here for a reason, she said. There’s something here that we need to see.

The ride south had taken the better part of two months. It would soon be mid-winter back in Aladar. Months in which Desa had left her people to fend for themselves against Adele. Against Hanak Tuvar. Mercy would appear now and then to point them in the right direction, but the goddess – or whatever she was – could only remain with them for a few moments before she was yanked back to the abandoned city in the desert. As such, they had been forced to make several course corrections.

Desa reached for Kalia and felt a moment of reassurance when the other woman took her hand. Together, they ascended the hillside until they reached the top. The temple was just a collection of stone slabs that had once formed the base of a building and pillars that no longer supported a roof, all with moss growing on them.

She saw nothing of note until her eyes fell upon a set of stairs that led down into a cavern of some kind. Or more likely the temple’s basement. Desa wasn’t sure, but the structure was definitely man-made. How old was this place? How could her primitive ancestors have managed such construction?

Drawing her pistol, Desa lifted it up in front of her face, its barrel pointed skyward, and cocked the hammer. I’ll go first.

Leaning one shoulder against a pillar, Kalia folded her arms and sighed. Really? she asked, eyebrows rising. Are you expecting to find trouble down there?

I always expect trouble, Desa muttered. And I am seldom disappointed.

She raised a hand, triggering the Light-Source in her ring to hold back the darkness. The walls of the tunnel were composed of a thick, gray stone that sparkled. Down she went, step by step, until she reached a large dome-shaped chamber.

Waving her hand back and forth, she searched for something, anything, that might make this long journey worthwhile. But there was nothing. Only mud and lumpy rocks that protruded from the floor. Maybe they had taken a wrong turn somewhere. Maybe this was not the place Mercy wanted them to find. What could-

Her light fell upon a stone arch in the middle of the chamber, a smooth doorway growing out of the floor with unmistakable glyphs on its surface. They weren’t in any language that Desa recognized, but it was clearly a form of writing. What she wouldn’t give to have Dalen with her on this expedition. She was willing to bet good money that there was a reference to this device – or something like it – in the Vadir Scrolls.

Pistol in hand, Desa crept forward and narrowed her eyes. I think I’ve found it, she said. This must be what Mercy wanted us to see.

As if the sound of her name summoned her, the goddess materialized right in front of Desa, blocking her path. Once upon a time, the sudden appearance of a hooded figure in black robes would have been terrifying, but now, it was almost blasé.

Mercy had her hands up in a forestalling gesture as if trying to warn Desa not to get too close to the arch. She kept shaking her head for emphasis.

What is it?

The air stirred when the goddess vanished and then reappeared next to the wall, pointing insistently at the ground under her feet.

You want us to dig something up?

Mercy was gone before she could answer, pulled back to her desert prison. That was always the way. Sometimes, she could stay for a few minutes, and sometimes for only a few seconds, but she always vanished when Desa was about to ask something pertinent.

Exhaling, Desa focused her thoughts and let the exasperation drain out of her. She cleared her mind, going through exercises that were so familiar they had become rote, and reached out to the Ether.

The cavern became a tempest of dancing particles. Even the light emanating from her ring had changed, now visible to her as tiny packets of energy expanding in all directions.

Kalia was a galaxy of molecules at the foot of the stairs, and yet, somehow, Desa could still sense the contours of her face. The other woman was frowning as she stared at the spot where Mercy had been standing. What was that about?

Unable to reply, Desa probed the ground with her mind. She found something she had not expected: a metal box buried about three feet deep. Now, wasn’t that interesting?

The world snapped back to normal as Desa released the Ether. Something’s down there, she said. Help me dig it up.

---

The crackling campfire sent motes of flame into the night sky along with a plume of smoke. Its flickering light reflected off the trunks of nearby trees. They had settled in for the night about a mile north of the ruined temple. Rojan’s people were all curled up in their bedrolls or enjoying a second helping of a stew made from goat meat, carrots and celery.

Desa sat with her back against a log, the metal box resting in her lap. She traced the glyphs along its lid with one finger. What a strange device. It had a locking mechanism, but no keyhole. Who would design such a thing?

Standing just a few feet away, Kalia put one hand on her hip, cocked her head and flashed a smile. Any luck?

A grimace betrayed Desa’s frustration. No, she muttered, shaking her head. I can’t get it open. I’ve probed the device inside through the Ether, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

What do you think it does?

Falling back against the log, Desa covered her eyes with both hands. I haven’t the faintest idea, she said through a yawn. A weapon, perhaps. Something that we can use against Adele.

Kalia turned her head to stare thoughtfully into the fire. She really was quite lovely. There were days when Desa wished that she could have met the other woman years ago, but then, things might have gone wrong if she had encountered Kalia Troval as a young woman. Or rather, they might have gone wrong sooner. Love always went wrong. It was the way of things.

Hmm, Kalia murmured. Maybe you should ask Mercy about it the next time she makes an appearance.

I intend to.

Still can’t believe the ghost in the dead city was a goddess.

Desa crossed her arms, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I don’t think Mercy is a goddess, she said. Not really. She’s powerful but fallible."

Kalia sank to her knees about five feet away, folding hands in her lap and breathing deeply. Then what do you think she is? she mumbled. What else besides a god could survive for so many centuries.

Perhaps she’s a creature from beyond the stars.

What?

Turning her face up to the heavens, Desa squinted. Is it really so unbelievable? she asked. We saw Vengeance fly off into the sky when she left us. My people believe that our world is only one of many in the cosmos.

Inspiration fell upon her like a tidal wave. She had the Ether in an instant, the world transforming before her eyes. Particles. Particles everywhere she looked. She could trace the contours of every object with her mind, every blade of grass, every rock, every tendril of smoke. It was all there for her: a world just begging to be explored.

The locking mechanism was a pair of switches inside the box. Switches with small, metal prongs directly across from them. At first, Desa had thought that an oddity. Why include such a useless feature that only took up valuable storage space? But now, she saw the solution.

She began a pair of Infusions, feeding strands of the Ether into the space between the molecules that made up those two prongs. It only took a few seconds to complete the work. She would only need a tiny amount of kinetic energy. Releasing the Ether, Desa triggered the Force-Sources she had created.

The lid popped open.

Kalia’s jaw dropped, a soft gasp passing through her lips. Almighty, she hissed, scooching closer. You did it.

Ingenious, Desa said. Whoever created this wanted to make sure that only a Field Binder could open it.

Inside the box, she found a blue crystal with a brass cage around it. The whole thing was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. But she still had no idea what it did.

Mercy appeared a moment later, standing before her in black robes that seemed to drink in the firelight. The darkness in that hood threatened to swallow her whole. Desa did not know how the goddess had been trapped in such a menacing form, but she was confident that Vengeance had a hand in it. A cruel joke. The goddess of benevolence cursed with a form that made everyone too afraid to accept her help.

What is it? Desa asked, communing with the Ether the instant the words left her mouth. Once again, the world changed, and so did Mercy. No longer a shadowy wraith, she now appeared to Desa as a matronly woman in a blue dress. Black curls framed a face of dark-brown skin. Her eyes shone with the warmth of the sun. The Ether revealed the truth. Always.

Technology, Mercy said. You must power it with the Ether. The Infusions will have faded after ten thousand years, but they can be renewed. Take it back to the clearing where you found the temple, and activate it there.

What will I see?

The truth.

And what was that archway in the cavern?

The answers you seek are in the device. Do not go near the archway until you understand its purpose. Some dangers are best avoided.

Mercy bent over, placing one hand on Desa’s head and the other on Kalia’s A pleasant warmth passed through Desa. So that you may understand the words of a tongue long dead, the goddess explained. I cannot remain. Use the device. Learn the truth. And when you have your answers, seek me out. We have much work to do.

---

It took nearly two hours to Infuse the cage around the crystal with a suitable connection to the Ether. When Desa scanned it with her mind, she found something she had not expected: circuity encased within the metal. Circuity far more advanced than anything she had seen in Aladar. Whoever had created this device was at least a century ahead of the Aladri. Probably more. All she could say was that this thing would draw a considerable amount of power.

The silver light of a full moon illuminated a narrow path that cut through the forest, providing just enough illumination for her to see clearly. A good thing too. She was tired after Infusing the device; she didn’t want to have to replenish her ring as well.

What I don’t understand, Desa said, lifting a vine so she could duck underneath it, is why Vengeance would want to curse her sister with the form of a wraith.

Kalia was right behind her, grumbling as she made her way over the uneven terrain. Everyone who encounters the ghost sees something different, the other woman replied. But it’s never anything pleasant.

Pausing with one hand on a tree, Desa looked back over her shoulder. Still, the question remains, she said. What purpose could it serve other than cruelty?

Are you sure it was Vengeance?

Desa felt wrinkles lining her brow. As sure as I can be of anything, she muttered, starting forward again. The forest seemed to close in around her, and she was forced to wiggle through a gap so narrow bark brushed her arms.

Well, Kalia said, grunting as she stepped through. "Her name is Vengeance. So, maybe it was just cruelty for cruelty’s sake."

Closing her eyes, Desa shook her head forcefully. No, I don’t think so, she said, hopping over a large root. Vengeance is harsh, and she might even take some pleasure in seeing people suffer. But there seems to be a lesson in her cruelty. She let us go when we demonstrated compassion.

Well, you’ve got me, Kalia said. I wouldn’t presume to know the mind of a creature from beyond the stars.

The path opened into a clearing, and a cool breeze brought some relief from the night’s muggy heat. Moonlight reflected off the rocks that jutted out of the hillside. At night, the ruined temple was an ominous shadow against the darkness, a setting right out of every ghost story Desa had ever heard.

She set the crystal down on a patch of dried mud.

Rising, Desa dusted her hands and strode deeper into the clearing. That should do it. She spun around to face her partner. Mercy gave us no specific instructions about where to use this thing. Here seems as good a place as any.

Kalia was standing at the tree line, her face barely visible in the moonlight. Are you sure? she asked. "Based on what you told me, I got the impression that Mercy wants us to use the device inside the temple."

I think she would have told us if that were the case.

Kalia shrugged, stepping forward to glower at the small device at her feet. I guess we won’t know until we try, she mumbled. We’d best get on with it then.

Desa triggered the Electric-Source she had created.

The crystal began to glow with a soft, blue light that expanded until it filled the entire clearing. Teal beams scanned back and forth, painting images that stood hundreds of feet tall, sketching the outlines of buildings. Desa felt her heart pounding, felt sweat on her palms. She had never dreamed that such a thing could be possible. Though her rational mind knew better, some small part of her believed that this could only be the technology of the gods.

Other colours filled the image, and soon she was surrounded by transparent spires of glass. They came in all shapes and sizes. One was a perfect cylinder that stood at least thirty stories high with a ring of windows on every floor. Another was shaped almost like a set of stairs but with grass and trees growing on the top of each step. More and more appeared all around her. Some of those structures seemed to be rising out of the forest, causing birds to squawk and animals to flee.

Kalia stared up at the ghostly city in wide-eyed wonder.

People appeared as well, men and women in fashions that Desa did not recognize, each one of them as transparent as the towers that surrounded them. And automobiles. Automobiles unlike any she had ever seen before.

One man walked right through Kalia, and she screamed, covering her mouth with one hand. Ghosts! she moaned. This is a city of the dead!

Yes, it is, Desa agreed. But they aren’t ghosts. She waved her hand through the spectral image of an old woman who seemed to be hobbling across the street. It’s only sculpted light. No different from a painting, just much more advanced.

The front steps of a grand building appeared over the hill that led up to the temple. A fitting place, in Desa’s estimation. The building itself was magnificent, round with a domed roof.

A man in this world’s equivalent of a suit stood behind a podium at the foot of those stairs. Thank you all for being with us on this momentous day, he said to an audience that had gathered around Desa and Kalia. For many years now, our physicists have suspected that the Unifying Field expands beyond the confines of our world. Beyond the confines of our solar system.

Desa exchanged a glance with her partner.

Now, at last, we have confirmation, the man went on. Not only does the Unifying Field permeate every inch of space within this universe, it also connects to many others. Worlds so very much like our own but where history unfolded differently.

Desa strode forward, passing through ghostly figure after ghostly figure as she approached the stairs. Other universes, she murmured. I think I understand.

That makes one of us, Kalia said.

The man at the podium smiled for the crowd. The Unifying Field can bridge one universe with another, he said. Our people will step into a new frontier, explore new worlds, create new possibilities.

He turned, gesturing to something on the stairs behind him.

Desa looked up to find two men in white coats on the top step. Scientists, she suspected. And standing between them was a metal doorway with glyphs on its surface. Metal. So, not the same device that she had discovered in the cavern. But a companion to it, perhaps.

The image faded away, buildings, people and cars all vanishing, but the crystal continued to emit soft, blue light. Enough to illuminate the entire clearing.

Kalia stepped forward with her mouth agape, shuddering as she drew in a breath. The poor woman was trying to make sense of what she had seen. They were travelers from another universe? And they came here?

And settled.

What?

They’re our ancestors, my love, Desa said. I’m sure of it.

Kalia grimaced, shaking her head. How can that be? she demanded. "Surely, we would know about it. There would be some legend or…something!"

Dirt scuffed under Desa’s boots as she approached the other woman. There are legends, she said. My people’s earliest myths are of Mercy and Vengeance leading us away from danger, to a new home.

Away from danger?

Turning her back on the other woman, Desa gazed up at the ruined temple, at the spot where the metal doorway had stood. "Away from Hanak Tuvar," she said. Or at least, that is my guess.

She was about to say more, but the crystal began constructing another image, teal beams drawing the outline of a room. Colour bled into the walls and the furniture. Desa was surrounded by metal tables and some kind of equipment she didn’t recognize, all sterile and white. And transparent.

A woman appeared from out of nowhere, marching across the room. She was about average height, slightly plump with a round face of dark-brown skin. Her curly hair was left to hang loose to her shoulders. A pair of spectacles sat on her nose.

Desa recognized her instantly.

Mercy.

Daily log, the woman said. Well, the chancellor made quite an impression today with his speech. Grand dreams of exploring other universes. A noble goal, I suppose, if pursued as a matter of scientific inquiry, though I suspect the Council of Twelve will insist upon colonization. Since any suitable world will likely have lifeforms comparable to our own, I shudder to think about what might happen if our expeditions should encounter any less advanced societies.

The woman paused at a counter that ran along one wall, hanging her head and letting out a sigh. Still, we here at the Transcendentalist Project will continue our work, she went on. Expanding outward to other universes is a remarkable achievement, but there are those among us who see greater value in looking inward. To become one with the Unifying Field itself…

Are you still recording?

Another woman came through a door that must have led out to a hallway, this one tall and slim with pale skin and red hair tied up in a ponytail. Vengeance. She wore a uniform of some kind, most likely that of a military officer. The general is growing impatient with the delays, Nari.

The general’s impatience does not concern me.

He says that we’re making very little progress.

Nari’s high heels clicked on the floor tiles as she paced across the room. That is because he asks the impossible! she protested. Direct Infusions into living tissue? It cannot be done, and we have told him as much.

Listen-

The Field can be bound to inanimate objects, Nari pressed on. Never to living tissue. Not even to something that had once been alive!

Vengeance – or whatever her name was – put her fists on her hips, thrust out her chin and sniffed. We have poured an enormous amount of funding into this project, Nari, she said. Funding that could be diverted to more practical applications.

Baring her teeth, Nari hissed. She looked very much like a cat that wanted to claw something. So that you can create a living weapon! she spat. You think I don’t know your true purpose? I began this project to expand the limits of human consciousness, not to create yet another instrument of destruction. I will not-

The image vanished, and the crystal went dark, its energy source depleted. Thick darkness settled over the clearing. It took a moment for Desa’s eyes to adjust.

Kalia dropped to one knee, retrieving the small device, cradling it in the palm of her hand. What does it mean? she asked. Everything we saw…

Desa put her hands on the other woman’s shoulders, dropping to her knees before her. She stared into Kalia’s lovely, brown eyes. It means we have work to do, she said. Tomorrow morning, we start going north.

PART I

1

Consciousness crept into Desa’s mind, and she rolled over to find Kalia sound asleep beside her. A light drizzle patterned against the window, and the gray light of an overcast morning streamed into the bedroom.

Two months.

Two more months in the saddle, making their way northward across some very rough terrain. They had crossed through scorching flatlands and dense swamps until they finally reached the Al a Nari city of Te’Alon. That was five days ago.

Desa had planned to set out again the very next morning – they had to get back to Eradia; that was where they would find Adele – but exhaustion had convinced her to remain for one more day. And then another. And then one more after that. Each night, she went to bed, promising herself that tomorrow, she would begin the long journey to her homeland, and each morning, she found another reason to stay.

Here, in the northern hemisphere, the winter rains had come. It was still warm this close to the equator – much warmer than it would be in Eradia, anyway – but the weather was still unpleasant, making the prospect of another journey even more unappealing.

Curled up on her side with the blankets pulled up to her neck, Desa blinked a few times. Sweetie, she whispered. It’s time to wake up.

She kissed Kalia’s nose, and the other woman opened her eyes, a slow smile blossoming on her face. Are you sure? Kalia murmured. Couldn’t we stay just a few more minutes?

We have to get moving, Desa lamented.

Mercy had appeared to her several times over the last week, always to ask when Desa would resume her trek northward. The goddess may have been mortal once, but she seemed to have forgotten the strain that travel put on a human body.

Sitting up with the covers held to her chest, Desa squinted at the wall across from her bed. Come on, she said. No more dawdling.

She was dressed in five minutes, having donned a pair of beige pants, a red blouse and a brown, leather jacket. A wide-brimmed hat completed the ensemble. She hurried out the door and down the stairs before Kalia could protest.

The small hostel where they had taken lodgings was a gray-stone building with a garden in its front yard. None of the plants were in bloom, sadly, leaving nothing but mud on either side of the narrow path that led down to the sidewalk. The paved road was slick with rainfall, and on the other side, several other buildings just like this one stood in neat, little rows.

A man in a brown coat rode past on a bicycle, slowing to offer a friendly wave before he continued down the street. Water sprayed into the air as he splashed through a puddle. Just another winter morning in Te’Alon.

Walking across the street with her hands in her coat pockets, Desa exhaled through her nose. We’ve been here too long already, she mumbled. Hot food and comfortable beds turn good women into layabouts.

Rain fell upon a gray building with black shingles on its gabled roof. Light spilled out from the two, rectangular windows on either side of the front door. When Desa went inside, she found a small café with round, wooden tables. There were a few patrons present, but with the workday starting soon, the place was quiet.

A copper-skinned woman in a red dress stood behind a wooden counter. She looked up when she heard the door open and flashed a smile. Desa Nin Leean.

Kadya Nin Pareem, Desa replied. I see business is going well.

Well enough. What can I get you?

Folding her hands on the counter, Desa frowned as she considered the question. Do you have any of that wonderful tea? she said at last. The one you served me a few days ago?

Kadya turned around, scanning the top shelf with her index finger. Let me check, she said. I think I might-

She was cut off by the sound of the door opening, and Desa whirled around to find Rojan stomping into the café. His hair was drenched, droplets of water trailing over his olive-skinned face. You’re here, he said. Good.

What’s wrong?

He shuffled up to Desa and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. The scouts on the northern perimeter failed to report in. He cast a glance around the room to make sure no one was listening and then pressed on. Something is amiss.

You’ve never had scouts fail to report in?

It’s part of the protocol, Rojan explained. They carry radios. If the squad leader is in some way indisposed, someone else takes on the task. For the entire team to be out of contact for so long…

I understand.

Clearing his throat, Rojan glanced over his shoulder toward the window. Then his eyes fell upon her again. You have proficiency with the more aggressive aspects of Field Binding. Did he have to put it that way? Desa would have felt better if he had simply said that she knew how to kill. The euphemism made it seem dirty somehow. I was hoping you would come with me to see what went wrong.

Another delay. She had been hoping to start northward before noon. But the Al a Nari had shown her incredible kindness. She owed them. This small favour was not too much to ask. Of course, she said. Kalia should come as well. Her talents almost rival my own.

---

Raindrops slid over the lenses of Desa’s binoculars, distorting the image somewhat, but it wasn’t hard to miss the black coats and blue trousers of Eradian soldiers, men who crept through the damp grass with rifles in hand. They moved slowly as if they expected trouble to jump out from the trees on either side of them, which it very well might. The Al a Nari preferred to ambush foreign invaders before they got too close to a city.

Desa hid behind a small outcropping of rocks with Kalia, Rojan and the rest of his team. From her position at the top of a hill, she could see the enemy clearly. Eradians, she muttered under her breath.

Crouching on her left with one of those energy pistols in hand, Rojan snarled as the word passed through her lips. The scouting team was six miles north of here when they last reported in, he spat. Now, we know what happened.

Lowering the binoculars, Desa shook her head. How could they have gotten past you? she asked. I remember the warm welcome you gave me and my friends.

Kalia was on her right, hands gripping the rock ledge as she ventured a peek over it. Could they have slipped past the patrols? she wondered aloud. Your territory is vast. I can’t imagine that you would be able to monitor every inch of the border.

Their technology is at least a century behind ours, Rojan grumbled. And they do not have access to the Ether. We can sense an approaching army before it gets anywhere near one of our settlements.

Then maybe they had help, Desa muttered.

What kind of help?

She didn’t answer him. Adele had demonstrated the ability to transport troops over great distances. Was this another raid? If so, then Desa was the cause of it. The attack on Aladar had been nothing but an elaborate scheme to kill her.

But why now?

Adele had been relentless in her attempts to kill Desa during those first few months after she gained her new powers, but Desa had not seen her since their fight outside the Temple of Vengeance. Four months of silence was, in her estimation, a very good sign. She had even started to entertain the notion that the other woman might have died from her wounds. But Mercy insisted that Hanak Tuvar was still a threat.

Help or no help, Rojan growled. It’s time to put an end to this.

He hopped onto the rocks standing tall so that the Eradians below could see him. Gentlemen! he called out in their language. I think it’s time you turned around and went home.

Desa looked through the binoculars again and found Al a Nari scouts emerging from the trees on either side of the field. Every one of them carried one of those crescent-shaped pistols or a longer, tube-like device that would be the equivalent of a rifle. The latter weren’t any more powerful than their smaller cousins – that size of an object had no bearing on how much energy it could store – but some people found the larger weapons easier to aim.

The Eradians lifted their rifles.

Rojan’s team fired first.

Streaks of lightning converged on the enemy from all directions like spokes on a wheel meeting at a central point. Converged but never quite found their targets. They seemed to run up against an invisible dome that had sprung up around the Eradians. Desa had never seen anything like it.

The glare of all that electricity in one spot made her eyes smart. The dome crackled and hissed, raindrops evaporating the instant they made contact.

Adele was suddenly there, appearing from out of thin air and gathering all of that energy into the palm of her hand. Desa gasped at the sight of her. The other woman had changed considerably since their last encounter.

Her golden hair was now as black as pitch and as coarse as straw. The scales on her left hand had traveled up her forearm almost to the elbow. When she opened her mouth, Desa saw two pointed fangs. And her eyes. Orange with vertical slits where the pupils should be.

Instead of the flowing, white gown, the woman now wore a simple, black dress that left her shoulders bare, its flaring skirt nearly brushing the grass. Whatever human skin remained was now pale and sickly.

When she had collected all of the lightning, Adele screamed and sent it into the sky as a single jagged lance. The peel of thunder that followed made Desa’s ears pop. Silence fell over the field as everyone stood dumbstruck.

Adele extended a scaly hand toward the Al a Nari on her left, closing her fist with a growl. The ground erupted with a spray of dirt, tossing bodies into the air. Before they landed, she stretched a pale hand toward the men and women on her right, and they too were tossed about like toys kicked by an angry child.

Adele! Desa screamed.

Rounding on her, the other woman flashed a smile that displayed her fangs. Her eyes shone with eagerness. "Ah, so here you are!"

Desa was over the rocks and charging down the hillside in an instant, drawing her pistol from its holster. She cocked the hammer, raised the weapon in one hand and fired. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Bullets became wisps of smoke when they got within an inch of Adele. But they were nothing but a distraction. Sound and fury to draw the eye and addle the mind.

Sliding to a stop, Desa thrust her closed fist toward the other woman and triggered the Electric-Source within her ring. A blast of lightning shot across the field. Adele was forced to stagger backward, gathering the electricity between her two palms.

She spun to her right, ignoring Desa, and sent it hurtling toward an Al a Nari man as a single bolt that struck him right in the chest. The poor fellow was thrown backward into a tree, his scorched body falling to the ground.

The Eradians sprang into motion, firing at the men behind the rocks and the ones in the trees. They ignored Desa completely. And why not? If the Aladri witch wanted to challenge their goddess, it was no business of theirs.

Rage spiked within Desa, driving rational thought away. Before she realized it, she had a hand in her pocket. She fished out a small coin, threw it as hard as she could and triggered the Heat-Sink.

The coin came to a stop, hovering about an inch away from Adele’s delicate nose. Mist formed around her body, but the other woman was unaffected by the sudden drop in temperature. Her cruel laughter felt like nails digging into Desa’s brain.

With a quick pivot to her left, Adele concentrated all of the super-chilled air into one spot and released it as a thin stream that hit an Al a Nari woman as she ran through the trees. In seconds, the woman was frozen solid.

That’s two! Adele shouted. How many of your new friends do you intend to kill, Desa? I would have hoped that you might stop with Sebastian!

Desa ignored her, slamming her gun back into its holster. She dashed through the grass in a headlong charge, heedless of any danger. If necessary, she would squeeze the life from her enemy with her own bare hands.

Adele stopped her with a dismissive flick of the wrist.

Some invisible force flung Desa sideways, to her left. Her shoulder hit the trunk of an oak, and she bounced off, pain surging through her body. No time to recover. She had to put an end to this.

When she turned, Adele was gliding toward her, feet barely touching the grass. The woman chuckled, shaking her head. You never do learn, do you? she purred. Let me say it clearly: you cannot kill me.

She stretched a hand toward Desa.

The tree behind her cracked and split, groaning as it began to topple over. Desa leaped out of the way at the last second, thirteen hundred pounds of wood hitting the ground with a rumble.

Wincing as tears slid over her cheeks, Desa gave her head a shake. Her shoulder was dislocated; she could feel it. It took everything she had to stay on her feet, to fight through the pain.

Adele just kept coming.

Spinning to face her, Desa backed up into the thicket. Come on! she panted. If you’re so powerful, why can’t you kill one insignificant woman?

A scream ripped its way out of Adele’s throat.

Triggering her Gravity-Sink, Desa jumped and back-flipped mere moments before the ground exploded with a deafening roar. Dirt fountained into the air. Some of it pelted her, sending new jolts of pain through her body.

She landed with a grunt, then jumped and back-flipped again. Another explosion followed half a second later. At this rate, the entire valley would be a wasteland in a matter of hours.

A burst of kinetic energy hit Desa like a punch to the chest, pinning her against the trunk of a tree. She was trapped, unable to move, barely able to breathe. Maybe her luck had finally run out.

Adele strode across the craters that she had made, her face red, her eyes wild with feral hatred. Impudent, little primate, she seethed. You really think your pitiful powers are a match for mine?

Desa laughed.

Bravado in the face of death, Adele said. Well, at least that’s something. What’s so funny, Desa?

You stepped right into the trap.

The other woman opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off when the blade of a dagger punched through her chest, right between her breasts. Adele looked down at herself in confusion. Perhaps we’re unclear on the concept of immortality, she said. Is this supposed to stop me?

No, Desa replied. "This is."

She found the Ether with no effort, and the world became a sea of dancing particles. The trees, the dirt, the clothes on her body: all clusters of molecules. Except Adele. She was nothing but a black pit of emptiness.

Emptiness that could be filled.

Desa forced the Ether into the gap, temporarily severing Adele from the source of her power. She expected to hear a scream or a whimper, but there was nothing of the sort. Only a soft, gurgling sound. The force holding Desa in place vanished, and she released the Ether as she fell.

Adele was hunched over, blood spilling from her mouth as she choked. Her eyes were blue again. Blue and full of terror. She fell to her knees, revealing Kalia, who stood right behind her.

A snarl twisted the sheriff’s face into a mask of hatred. That, Kalia seethed, was for betraying the woman I love. She yanked the dagger out, producing a squeak from Adele as blood fountained from the wound. Grabbing a fistful of black hair, Kalia tilted the other woman’s head back to expose her neck. This…

Protect the weapon! an Eradian shouted.

He came running into the thicket with a rifle clutched in both hands.

Responding to the noise, Kalia spun to face him and raised a hand to shield herself. The man lifted his rifle and fired with a thunderous roar. His bullet jerked to an abrupt halt, hanging in midair.

Drawing her pistol with her good hand, Desa spun it around her index finger and then cocked the hammer. She fired a single shot, releasing a bullet that landed at the soldier’s feet.

The ground exploded when she triggered the Force-Source, sending the poor man flying. He crashed right through the hanging branch of an ash tree, causing it to snap, and then fell to land some fifty feet away.

Adele looked up, her eyes becoming orange again, round pupils transforming into vertical slits. She hissed, displaying those sharp fangs.

Two seconds later, she vanished.

Desa tossed her head back, squeezing her eyes shut and trembling with impotent rage. No! she groaned. Not again!

The Eradians were fleeing. Without their goddess, they were no match for Rojan and his team. Al a Nari scouts fired blasts of lightning that sent them running.

We had her, Kalia lamented. The plan worked perfectly.

Except she still escaped! Desa kicked a rock, sending it skittering through the dirt until it hit a tree. And good people died.

With the immediate danger gone, the pain in her arm became too much to ignore. Eight hours in the saddle was not something that she looked forward to, but there was no getting around it. They couldn’t afford to delay another day. Not after what they had just seen. They needed a permanent solution to the problem, and Mercy was the only person who had one. Desa would just have to spend some time in the Ether’s embrace.

Come back to the city, Rojan said. Let’s regroup.

---

An electric bulb in the ceiling cast light down on the wooden table in the hostel’s dining room. Raindrops hit the window with a steady drumbeat. Not a good day to begin a journey. Especially if you were recovering from a nasty wound.

Desa sat in a wooden chair, rubbing her upper arm and wincing from the pain. I am sorry, she said. Your people are dead because of me. It’s a debt that I can never repay.

Rojan had reset her shoulder. Now, it was just a matter of time before the Ether healed her. What she wouldn’t give for some time alone. She had had none since the end of the battle.

Pacing around the table with his chin clasped in one hand, Rojan grunted at her apology. I fail to see how any of this is your fault, Desa Nin Leean, he said. You did not kill my people.

I gave Adele the means to kill them.

The man spun to face her, leaning forward with his hands on the table. His brow furrowed. From what I saw, she was perfectly capable of dealing out death without any help from you, he growled. She redirected the energy you used against her because she knew you would blame yourself. I suggest that you don’t play her game.

Kalia sat with one leg crossed over the other, her mouth a thin line as she worked through something in her head. What I want to know, she said, is why that soldier called Adele ‘the weapon.’ Seems an odd name for an entity that you revere.

Desa slumped over, covering her face with one hand, massaging her eyelids. It doesn’t matter, she groaned. The plan failed.

It almost succeeded.

Almost isn’t good enough.

She will be back, Rojan lamented. We’ve received messages by telegraph. The Eradians have attacked four of our outposts, and your Adele was present in every one of those engagements. Each time, our forces managed to repel the invaders until – and I quote – ‘the black-haired demoness arrived and called lightning down from the sky.’

Desa stood up, exhaling slowly, and nodded once. She will be back, she agreed. Which means we can’t stay here.

We could use your assistance, Desa.

And I would gladly offer it. The thought of leaving these people after they had shown her such kindness was like a knife to the chest. Once again, Desa Kincaid failed those who needed her most. But you saw the power that Adele wields. Brute force will not defeat her. We need to know her weaknesses, and Mercy is the only one who can tell us what to do.

Rojan studied her with obvious skepticism in his brown eyes. Can she not impart such knowledge during one of her frequent visits? he inquired. It should be a simple matter for a goddess.

I’ve asked, Desa replied. Mercy can only appear for a few moments at a time. Not the easiest way to teach someone about the abstract concepts of metaphysics. We need to know what she knows.

Rojan sighed.

Moving around the table, Desa put herself right in front of him. She looked up into his eyes. Two more Field Binders won’t save your people, she said. If Adele isn’t stopped, your nation will fall in a matter of months. I can do much more for you if I find a way to end this threat once and for all.

Then go with our blessing, Desa Nin Leean, he said. And come back soon.

---

The Weaver reappeared in her cell, shivering as she dropped to her knees. She could feel her organs healing, changing. With each use of her powers, the humanity drained out of her. Soon, she would be as monstrous as Benny.

Her uncle Timothy stepped into the doorway, scowling at the sight of her. What happened? He strode into the cell,