Spires of Infinity (17 page)

“Uh-oh,” Jonathan elbowed Michael, “the beast is giving us ‘the look’. I wonder what we did this time.”

Kari scowled at him.

“No, brother dear,” Michael replied. “
Now
she’s giving us ‘the look’.”

Planting her free fist on her hip, Kari readied herself to give them a telling off they would not soon forget. She
hated
it when they accused her of giving them this so-called look! What the hell was that supposed to mean anyway!

“Kari,” someone called from down the street, interrupting her rant before she

could even begin. Running toward them, a vaguely familiar man with short black hair waved to her. She thought she would have remembered meeting anyone as handsome as him, with jade eyes and a strong, stubble darkened jaw.

“Wait,” Kari said to her brothers as they looked at the man running toward them.

“We haven’t been here before, have we? Maybe to somewhere outside of this city?”

“That’s impossible,” they replied in unison, each scratching identically behind one of their illusion-hidden, wolflike ears. “We can’t go to the same world twice.”

“Then how does he know us,” Kari asked.

“Kari,” the man called again, grinning broadly, showing an array of stunningly white teeth. “Jonathan! Michael!”

“He seems familiar,” Michael said.

“Somewhat,” Jonathan agreed.

When he finally reached them, the familiar stranger bent over with hands on

knees, sucking in deep breaths for a second before straightening and throwing his arms around Kari in an embrace.

At a complete loss for what to do, Kari was stunned.

Michael cleared his throat loudly.

“Excuse us, good sir,” Jonathan said. “But that’s our baby sister you’re

molesting.”

“It would be very unfortunate if we had to beat you to a bloody pulp,” Michael added, “seeing as how we’ve just met and all.”

Eyeing them in confusion, the man let Kari go. “Don’t you recognize me? It’s
me
.”

“Uh, who were you again,” the twins replied.

Sniffing at the man, they looked at each other and shrugging.

A spark of realization flared in Kari’s mind. She remembered the last time she’d seen eyes like his.

“It couldn’t be. Keir?”

Grinning broadly, Keir nodded. “That’s right. I guess I’m a lot bigger than I was the last time we met, but
you three
look exactly like I remember!”

“But,” Michael said, unable to complete his thought.

“How,” Jonathan finished for him.

“How long has it been for you since we met in the ruins of Alkazier,” Keir asked.

“Three weeks maybe,” Kari shrugged.

“Amazing! Your father told me time flows differently on different worlds, but I never expected this. It’s been twenty-four years for me.”

Shocked, Kari mouthed the number. How could twenty-four years have passed

for him while only a few weeks had gone by for them?

“Oh, wow,” Keir reached into a pocket. “I thought I was going to miss you. I completely lost track of time.”

Removing a folded piece of paper with a wax seal on it, he handed it to Kari.

“Your father asked me to deliver this to you at this exact time, on this exact day, in this exact place.”

Beaming at her, Keir’s face was so different from the emaciated, grief stricken child they’d sent to their father. Eyeing the purple wax seal, embossed with a raven in flight, Kari broke it and unfolded the letter before reading it aloud.

“I know about the Apostle of Cain. Why do you think I sent you three? I

consider the matter dealt with. Good luck. With love, your father. P.S. Kari, take three steps backward.”

“Take three steps backward,” the twins asked, blinking in unison.

Staring at the last line in confusion, Kari realized he actually meant for her to move. Quickly stepping back three times, she narrowly missed being slammed into by a man riding a two-wheeled contraption. Instead of paying attention to where he was going, he was looking at a small rectangular device in his hand.

“Come,” Keir gestured for them to follow. “We need to get you three off the

street. It’s not safe.”

“What,” Michael asked, “why?”

“I’ll explain when we’re out of sight,” Keir said.

Before they could go more than a few steps a booming voice filled the air, and everyone walking along the sidewalks stopped. “Attention conforming citizens, we bring an important announcement. Attention. Attention.”

“Quick,” Keir gestured to a set of stairs leading underground. “Over here. Before it starts!”

Following him onto the stairs, Kari and the twins shared confused looks as he

stood, blocking them from the view of the sidewalk, pointing up at one of the huge towering buildings. Projected on the mirrored glass of every building over ten stories, was the dark figure of the Apostle of Cain.

“Is that who I think it is,” Jonathan asked.

“Yes,” Keir said in a low growl.

“My people,” the Apostle began in a mechanically distorted voice. “Hear the

words of Cain, the one and true god.”

People all along the streets began to kneel facing one of the projected images of the Apostle. The vehicles in the streets all came to a stop and the passengers in them exited and knelt as well.

“Your god approves of your progress,” the Apostle said. “But there are still

unbelievers who do not conform.”

There was a collective gasp of horror from the entire city.

“Those that do not conform must be removed from society until they have learned to fit into their proper place,” the Apostle said. “This is the most important precept Cain gives unto this world. You must uphold it at all costs.”

Peeking past Keir, Kari saw worried expressions on the faces of most people in sight.

“Everyone wears the same clothes, and cuts their hair the same way,” Keir

explained in a low voice. “It’s the law here.”

“That’s so terribly boring,” Jonathan said.

“Not to mention dull,” Michael agreed.

“The conformist movement has been around for decades,” Keir explained, “but it really took off when the Apostle showed up. No one knows how, but she became the head of our government overnight, and enforced the conformist beliefs onto the people.

Belief in Cain is shown through conformity. Anyone that doesn’t conform is an unbeliever and gets thrown out of the city, separated from their families and livelihoods.”

“How long has the Apostle been here,” Kari asked.

“Around five years.”

“That’s impossible,” Michael said. “We chased him away from another world not two months back!”

“Time flows different here,” Keir said, “remember?”

The image of the Apostle was replaced with an overhead still picture of Kari,

Jonathan and Michael. Their faces were blurred, but their clothing and weapons were all too clear.

“These three nonconformists have been spotted in G block. Bring them to justice immediately! They are armed and should be considered dangerous. Approach with caution. They should be cornered and kept from escaping while word is sent to the authorities. Your God demands these three abominations be brought to justice. May Cain watch over and protect you. Amen.”

“Amen,” the entire city echoed.

“Not good,” Keir said. “My shop is three blocks over. The light may be dimmer in the tunnelway, but the people still have eyes. We’ll have to try. Follow me.”

Herding them down the stairs, Keir pushed them into a wide, dimly lit tunnel full of pedestrian traffic. Gesturing toward the wall, he walked as though trying to shield all three of them from view with his body.

“Move quickly, but do not run,” Keir said. “You’ll trip the motion sensors.”

Doing as she was told, Kari tried to make herself less noticeable. It was not until after she’d been noticed that she thought to use her powers of illusion. Cries of nonconformist echoed through the tunnel as more and more people pressed in, clogging their path with bodies.

“
Run
,” Keir growled, grabbing Kari’s hand and doing just that.

Dragging her forward, Keir’s efforts were soon thwarted as more people gathered to hold them in place. Using her bowstave to keep people at arm’s reach, Kari tried not to hurt anyone. More people pressed in, making escape almost hopeless. Only violence could open a path through, and she was not about to unleash her wrath upon the innocent.

“Get on my back,” Michael said, bending low.

“What,” Keir cried, “why?”

“If we can’t go through them we’ll go over them,” Michael said. “Hurry!”

Keir awkwardly climbed onto Michael’s back piggyback, looking completely

ridiculous. Scanning the area beyond the pressing crowd, Michael dashed forward with a flying leap. Sailing over the heads of the thickest crowding, they landed running further up the tunnel. Duplicating the impressive feat, Kari was only slightly aware of the fact that anyone looking up would be getting a pretty good peep show.

Hitting the ground, she turned back, gesturing to Jonathan, but the crowd was

pressing in on him harder now, and more were beginning to gather around Kari.

Jonathan didn’t have room to gather speed for a jump, and the crowd was pressing him toward the wall.

Jonathan locked eyes with her for a few seconds and mouthed, “go, I’ll be all

right.”

“No,” Kari cried, taking a step toward her brother.

At that moment nearly a hundred men carrying large weapons and wearing blue

uniforms stormed down into the tunnel, surrounding the group crushing Jonathan to the wall. One of them shouldered his way through, knocking many people to the ground, and leveled his weapon at her brother, saying something Kari couldn’t make out before firing.

Lightning jumped between them, sending bright flashes into the dim tunnel. Jonathan convulsed with the electrocution and went limp, dropping to the ground.

“
Jonathan
,” Kari screamed.

Someone grabbed onto her wrist and started pulling her back.

“Come on,” Michael shouted at her.

“No,” Kari screamed. “We have to save him!”

“We will,” Michael growled, “but not right now. There’s too many of them.

Right now we have to run.”

Knocking people aside with sheer brutality, the uniformed men started toward

Kari.

“Come on,” Keir cried. “I promise you I can get him out later, but we’ll be

rescuing no one from prison cells of our own. We have to go!”

Growling bestially, Kari gritted her teeth. Jonathan was
her
responsibility! How could she just run away and leave him to his fate?

“Come on,” Michael cried. “We can’t get to him without hurting and probably

killing a lot of people that don’t deserve it!”

“I’ll come for you,” she yelled to the still twitching form of Jonathan as

uniformed men began fastening restraints to him.

With that she turned and followed Keir, shouldering a big man that was coming

for her with open arms out of the way so hard his feet left the ground.

It had always been her responsibility, almost from the day she was born, to keep the twins out of trouble. It was practically Kari’s reason for living. She’d made an oath to herself when they left home that she would never let anything happen to her brothers.

As much as they could annoy her, she still loved them dearly and wanted nothing to harm them. It was her responsibility to keep them safe, and she’d failed at it. Jonathan was a prisoner.

Not only would the twins never let her live it down, but Kari didn’t think she was ever going to be able to forgive herself if they hurt Jonathan. She was the responsible one! How could she have let this happen?

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Michael smiled. “It’s not your fault. We’ll get him back. You’ll see.”

It did little to raise her spirits. At that moment there was little that could have pierced through the cloud of anger and self-hatred she was choking on. She’d always prided herself on her ability to take care of her older siblings, but her abilities had just been easily thwarted. Without her self-imposed duty to her brothers, she had nothing else. If she failed in that, what was she? She was nothing. She was practically defined by that one trait, and always had been.

“I’m going to rip the Apostle’s spine out through his belly,” Kari snarled as she dashed after Keir and Michael. She was angry with the Apostle, of course, but far angrier with herself.

Chapter 16: Identity Crisis

Sitting in the corner of a secret room beneath Keir’s shop, Kari could not

remember being any more miserable in her entire life. Keir, a silversmith now, seemed to be the leader of some sort of underground resistance, but Kari found it really hard to really about any of that. It was good that he’d found a new life after his world was destroyed, but she’d lost her brother. She’d completely failed. All of her strength and all of her power had been completely useless.

Ignoring the world around her, she sat in the corner, head leaning against a wall.

Though her face was blank, and her eyes stared off into space, her anger was slowly boiling and churning around inside of her, and her thoughts were deep, and rapid.

At a very young age, Kari had begun looking after her brothers because they

didn’t have a single ounce of common sense between them. Covering for them, she’d kept them from doing most of the more stupid ideas that they had. It was her job. It was what she did. It was her purpose in life. No one had ever asked her to, and certainly no one had ever thanked her for it, but she did it nonetheless, because it was her responsibility. Without it, her life was hollow and meaningless.

How could she have let them take Jonathan? There were a thousand different

things she could have done to go back for him, but they’d not come to mind until it was too late. She should have gone back and saved her brother. Now she’d lost him to whatever dark mercies the Apostle of Cain had in store for him.

Without her need to keep her brothers from trouble, Kari didn’t know who or