Collision: The Alliance Series Book Three (10 page)

Of course not.
But the Alliance had the technology to temporarily create doorways from the Passages to different parts of any world. Ada had used one of those when she’d come to Aglaia, and the Conner family must have used a version of the same to move between Valeria and Aglaia. In fact, maybe the Alliance could even temporarily create a doorway on Earth…

“We may be able to find a way around that,” I said. “I don’t know for definite.” Because the doorways might well work at random. Except the Conners had been pretty precise in building theirs to lead right into centaur territory on Aglaia. I never did find out how they learned to do that. They weren’t
that
deep in the Alliance. Still, I supposed certain knowledge was open to magic-wielders. Like us. But Vey-Xanetha was a different world, with different rules. And no source listed in the files. They must use magic only in pure form, through these deities… but where did that leave the reverse reaction?

To ask him to demonstrate magic might violate some rule or other. I debated voicing the question anyway, but he moved towards the door, after glancing out the window.

“For now, our only option is to remain here. You shouldn’t stay much longer. Our day-cycles are shorter than what you will be used to, and the hostile creatures come out at night. We are safe in this building as it was constructed at Aktha’s blessing.”

“You mean, your god directed you to build it?” asked Raj.

“The building was shaped by Aktha himself,” said Mathran. “The world and everything on it shapes itself according to the deities’ will.”

So that’s why it looks like it was cut into the mountain. Unless someone was following directions.
The summoners, he’d called them. Who were they–priests? Priests and magic-wielders, I’d guess. This was far from the only world where magic and religion were tied together, but I’d never heard of actual gods having a physical presence.

“It’s true,” added Avar, sensing the general scepticism in the room. “I have seen it with my own eyes, as have the others here at the base.”

“This… Aktha keeps machinery running, too?” I asked.

“In a way,” said Mathran. “I suppose it’s comparable to what you Earth people call electricity –the machinery runs indefinitely as Aktha does. It’s quite remarkable.”

“But it’s stopped?”

Mathran nodded, and Avar shot him a glance that wasn’t lost on me. “We have computers here, but the one that still works uses Klathican technology, not Vey-Xanethan. There are communication devices like this one–” He placed a round, metal object on the table, covered in shining blue plates. I reached and picked it up, turning it over in my hands.

“It’s like this?” I asked, pulling out my communicator–I figured they weren’t familiar with the word ‘telephone’, but ‘communicator’ spoke for itself on most of the allied worlds. “You could use it to talk to people?”

“Yes, and send written messages,” said Avar. “The last one we received, from a researcher who used to work here at the base, said, ‘The city has stopped’. That was the last we heard.”

I examined the device, like it had some answers. “If this runs on the power of Aktha, is that your energy source here, too?”

“That, and energy from the sun,” said Avar. “And the rivers. The deities were more than enough–until now.”

“If this… Aktha controls the machinery,” said Iriel, “what about the other two?”

“Veyak is the deity of the heavens, who brings storms and night and stars. One of the first differences we noticed after the continents stopped was that the birds no longer flew. And Xanet is the deity of life, of healing and renewal. He brings the dawn of day, and can even heal those who are close to death–though I suspect summoners of Xanet are experiencing a similar problem to those who follow the others.”

Living deities or not, one word came to mind to describe this world: alien.

“There have been no storms, as there would be if Veyak were active. The lightning normally strikes over that way.” He pointed over the trees. “I have not heard a word from the other people of the cloud forest, though ordinarily, their activities are visible from here, if we look down on the trees. No movement has been seen in six days now. And the same can be said of the other people of the forest, the followers of Xanet who live in the city of Sekth. We always get at least one visitor from there, but nobody has come. That was where the message came from.”

“How many people on this world interact with the base?” I asked, curious.

“Few do,” he said. “Most simply do not have the interest. Our daily concerns are enough without adding in worlds unknown, especially after losing our old world. The Vey-Xanethans do not forget their history. But there is one other base, in the city of Sekth, run by a good friend of mine. They have a machine like ours, but like everything else, it has stopped. All we can do is wait for a sign.”

Avar glanced out the window at the sky. “Less than thirty minutes. You should leave before the sun goes down.”

“Your councils will be willing to discuss options, I am sure,” said Mathran.

Hopefully, the council would have a plan. Though it bugged the hell out of me that I couldn’t even begin to think of a solution. A whole continent grinding to a standstill. Magic acting out… This was bigger than us.

The sky had darkened in the time we’d been inside the building, though it hadn’t been more than an hour. Time zones always worked in an odd way in the Passages, where you could get from one end of Earth to another and only skip a few hours, or alternatively, lose a whole day in here. It wasn’t raining, though as we emerged from the building, another flash of lightning lit up the sky.

We made our way downwards in silence. I couldn’t begin to think of a solution to this one. Now I could definitely feel a hint of the magic beneath the surface, though—a shiver under my skin, like the Passages but not quite the same. Not what I’d expect of a high-level world, but by the time we reached ground level, the air around us seemed red-tinted. I caught Ada’s gaze, and I could tell from the tension in her stance that she’d felt the magic stirring too. But there was no sign of anything resembling a living god.

A
screech
echoed, and a dark shape dropped from the red clouds overhead. I instantly drew my weapon, dropping into a defensive stance, and the others followed suit. Whatever approached us was winged, and I’d guess around the size of an eagle–no, bigger, and growing by the second.

Mathran moved quicker than I’d ever have expected, pulling an object like a sharpened metal stick, and hurled it at the bird-like creature. It dropped with another screech, flipping over in the air and falling like a stone. Another bird-thing dropped from the cliff above. Three pairs of claws extended, three beaks snapped, three pairs of eyes glared murder at us.
They weren’t kidding when they said the wildlife was unfriendly,
I thought, preparing to strike. Luckily I’d been up against weirder monsters from Cethrax.

The three-headed, three-clawed monstrosity plunged towards us. I slashed out with my dagger and caught its claw before it connected. Raj’s dagger sliced the edge off one beak, and it withdrew, screeching, blood spattering the ground. Mathran threw another metal stick and this one pierced an eye on the left head. The beast screamed, dropping in the air, wings flapping frantically.

A second rose up to join it and dived for Ada, claws outstretched. Ada was ready with a strike of her own, sending a spray of blood into the air.

“There will be more of them,” Mathran said, grimly. “You should leave now.”

He hurled another stick-like spear, getting the bird through the neck. It soared up out of range, one head dangling limply.

“Leave!” said Mathran, throwing another stick and piercing one beating wing. The bird dropped over the cliff’s edge, towards the jungle.

Raj didn’t need any encouragement. He pelted through the doorway and almost ran full-tilt into the wall, then collapsed against it. Iriel, close behind, shook her head at him, while Ada waited for me. I hung back to make sure Mathran and Avar had the situation in hand, but they’d disappeared.

“Kay, come on.” Ada hovered at my side. “They’ve got it.”

“Yeah.” I pushed the door closed.

“Damn,” said Raj. “I guess that’s what they meant by ‘hostile’.”

“And we haven’t even seen the gods yet,” I added.

CHAPTER FIVE

ADA

“Hope the old guy’s okay,” I said, as the door closed on Vey-Xanetha. I rubbed my arms, not quite daring to put my weapon away. “And I thought Cethrax was unfriendly.”

“He’ll be all right,” said Kay, making sure the door was fully closed before turning to me.

Raj leaned breathlessly on the wall. “That was a close call.”

“Tell me about it,” I said. “I didn’t feel anything off with the magic level.”

“Yeah, that’s what bothers me.” Now Kay had his communicator out. “Do any of you have a signal?”

I checked mine. “Out of range. Why can’t doors lead from one end of the Passages to another? It’d save time.”

“Yeah.” Raj rummaged in the pocket of his jacket and got out his own communicator. “You’d think so. But the senior Alliance members are the only people who get to access any behind-the-scenes information about how the Passages works. I’m surprised no seniors were sent to supervise us. Aside from Avar. But he’s not from Earth.”

“But then, Carl’s the only senior staff member at Central who’s also a magic-wielder,” said Kay. “Someone has to check the Passages, especially after yesterday.”

But the magic level felt normal in here as we began the walk back. Nothing out of place. When it became clear there weren’t any monsters around the corner, I checked my communicator again and found its inbuilt clock had stuck on UK time.

“Does the clock not adjust if you go offworld?” I asked the others, to fill the silence.

“If you set it to,” said Kay. “But most worlds measure time differently anyway.”

“Zanthar does,” said Iriel, and I was pleased I’d managed to guess her homeworld right on the first go. Her blue-tinted skin and hair and the hints of webbing between her long fingers suggested she came from one of the semi-aquatic worlds. Her eyes gleamed dark blue, her pupils white instead of black. But her north London accent suggested she’d been living on Earth at least a few years. Raj, the tall skinny British-Indian guy, was definitely Earth through and through.

“Yeah. Does it not get confusing?”

“All the time,” said Raj. “And I’ve been doing this for two years. You accept you’re always going to be out of your depth. Nobody can be an expert in every world in the Multiverse. You’d never know as much as a native even if you lived there.”

“Absolutely,” said Iriel. “I’d never claim to know as much as an Earth native. But you, Ada… sorry, I’m curious. You’ve always lived in London?”

“Since I was a year old. I don’t remember my homeworld at all.” It was probably for the best that I didn’t.

“You were adopted?”

“I was, but my foster mother’s from Enzar, too.” The Ambassadors, I assumed, knew more than most Alliance members about my bizarre circumstances. “She brought me here.”

“And learned English?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she learned before she moved here, and there were tutors at the first shelter we lived at.”

It didn’t escape my attention that Kay watched me out of the corner of his eye as we walked. Curious? He’d never asked me about my life before Central had taken me in.

“These shelters…”

“Yeah, they were illegal,” I admitted. I’d figured everyone would know by now. “Technically. They’re registered under the Alliance now.”

“And there’s another one opening,” said Raj. “In offworld district, right?” He directed this at Kay, who must know who’d been responsible for setting all this up.

“Yeah,” said Kay. “If the Law Division files the paperwork. Might check on it when we get back.”

“Once we’ve reported to the dragon.” Raj put his communicator away.

“One of these days, she’s going to hear someone calling her that,” said Iriel. “She’s a terror, isn’t she? I’m glad she’s not my usual supervisor. I’ve never spoken to her before today, and she told me I’m forbidden to activate my eye-scanner in the building.”

“Activate what?” I said, and then jumped a foot in the air when Iriel turned to face me and her eye spun in its socket, revealing a web of wires behind.

“What in the Multiverse is that?”

Her eye spun around again, revealing an ordinary blue iris again. “Cyber-eye. Every Klathican tech has one, but she acted like I’d brought a live fish into the office and skewered it to the desk.”

“I wonder why.” I shuddered, and Kay shot me an amused look.

“Weston’s not keen on offworld technology,” said Iriel. “So why was she was assigned to this mission?”

I hadn’t thought about that, actually. She was officially in charge of admin, but seemed to be involved in everything else at Central, too.

“Probably to keep an eye on us.” Kay smirked at Iriel’s eye as it twisted around again. “Seeing as we cause all the trouble.”