Chương 81: 2.22 A Healthy Dose

Hector felt a headache behind his eyes—a result, no doubt, of his perpetual scowl. He stood watching Paige treat the commander's injuries, layering adhesive synth-skin patches over her burns, the worst of which were on her right side and so severe that she couldn't bend her knee or use her arm. She'd passed out shortly after accusing Frederick of treachery, but not before making her case to Hector; she'd been shot in the back, right in her lower spine, just before the bomb came in.

She claimed the injury interrupted her aura attack that would have sent the drone off-target. Of course, Freddy denied everything, and he had a compelling argument: he'd been near Kristy when the bomb exploded—not at Mathews's back.

"Well?" he asked Bobby. The scientist looked up from his data terminal.

"I think she's telling the truth—about being shot, I mean. The injuries uphold the story, but so does the drone footage. I've isolated a rifle shot just before Mathews dropped."

"And the source?"

"Too much interference to be exact, but the only one of us in the vicinity was Red—there were five techs close-by, though."

"Red's dead," Perry said.

"We're aware," Kristy hissed. She was staring at Freddy; the kid hadn't taken the accusation well and was pacing up and down the center of the cave.

"It wasn't Frederick, though, right, Bobby?"

"I don't think so. I don't see how it could have been."

"Why'd Matthews say that, then?" Perry asked.

"Maybe it's not Mathews," Hector replied, the aura fiend he'd fought in Redwick still fresh in his mind.

"The hell does that mean?" Perry asked, but he knew. They all knew; some of them just weren't ready to entertain the possibility.

"Are they real? Fiends?" Kristy asked, looking at Hector.

"Aura symbiotes are very real," Bobby answered.

"Though extremely uncommon."

"We shouldn't have left those bodies there. I thought the flayer cats…" Hector shook his head.

"No way to test, Bobby?" He knew the answer in his time would have been no, but he was hopeful that maybe some method had been discovered.

"For an aura symbiote? I'm afraid not. Nothing I'm aware of—nothing quick, I mean." Bobby looked around at them all, pushing his multi-lens specs up on his nose.

"You know, they starve them out when folks are suspected." Perry wasn't handling the idea well." Devils! If that ain't Mathews, then what the hell are we even doing? Why's Paige treating her?"

"Are you listening?" Kristy asked, nudging his shoulder in irritation.

"There's no way to prove it. What if it is her and not a fiend? How would you feel?"

"Why lie about Freddy, though?" Perry asked, and everyone looked at the young Royal. Hector caught his attention with a wave.

"Come here, kid." Freddy's scowl put Hector's to shame as he stalked over to the rest of them. Hector didn't watch him approach, though; his eyes had shifted to the three techs lying not far from where Paige worked on Mathews.

"Bobby, what techs were in the area where the shot originated? Any of our three?"

"Yes." It was clear Bobby had anticipated the question.

"Simo and Willa."

"Not Ling?" Hector looked at the man with the missing leg.

"No, he was further west—closer to the mules."

"You guys know I didn't do it, right?" Freddy asked, looking around the little group. Hector nodded.

"Bobby's found some evidence that supports your story."

"Why'd Mathews say it, though?" Perry asked again." Perry," Kristy said with a sigh, shaking her head. Hector felt that the man deserved an answer.

"It could be she's just confused. Or, she could be a fiend, and she's trying to make us fight."

"They do that? They're, like, smart?" Perry looked around the group, his face slick with a sheen of sweat and his eyes wide as he kept darting glances toward Paige and Mathews. Freddy scoffed.

"You really don't know?"

"Not everyone has fancy tutors," Perry growled, glaring at the kid.

"Listen," Hector interrupted.

"Fiends take on their host's memories and are very good at mimicking their personality."

"That's right," Freddy said, nodding, "and they absolutely try to cause confusion and conflict if they think they're under suspicion!" Bobby cleared his throat, looking from Freddy to Hector.

"She'll want to get out, though, and if she thinks we're her best bet of exiting through a rift, she won't try to kill us or anything, right?" Hector's frown didn't lessen as he nodded.

"That's what makes them so damn hard to figure out. The fiend won't emerge unless it has to—only if we kill Mathews."

"Again," Freddy whispered. Hector tapped his fingers on his rifle, thinking.

"We can test things a little. Bobby, when Mathews comes around, tell her we figured out one of the techs shot her." Freddy nodded hastily, catching on.

"Tell her I should have checked her vitals better. Tell her I feel rotten about getting it wrong." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Why are we doing all that?" Bobby asked. Freddy leaned closer, whispering, "See if she stops insisting I tried to kill her. An aura fiend would be quick to latch onto a story that calms everyone down." Hector stared at Mathews, pitching his voice low as he added, "If it is the commander, though, and if she really believes Freddy tried to kill her, she won't back down." Kristy stood, folding her arms as she stood before Hector and whispered, "What about the techs? If one of them really shot Mathews…"

"Well…" Hector shrugged.

"We'll have to watch them." He grabbed Freddy's shoulder.

"Come on; I want you to stand guard until she wakes. I want her to feel comfortable."

"All right." Freddy didn't look happy, but he went to pick up his helmet and then slipped through the polymer barrier Bobby and Paige had put up over the tunnel mouth. Hector nudged the geologist.

"Bobby, you go help Paige. I want you to be there when she comes around."

"What about us?" Perry asked.

"Try to sleep."

"What about you?" His tone was just shy of accusatory, but Hector didn't let it bother him; everyone was on edge and Perry's interpersonal skills were lacking on a good day.

"I'll be watching. Besides, I have some shit going on with my aura system." Judging his explanation more than adequate, Hector turned and walked over to his bedroll. When he sat down, he turned so he was facing Paige, Mathews, and now Bobby. The three techs were in his peripheral vision, too. He was more worried about them than an aura fiend. What Bobby had said was right; every fiend's priority was to exit through a rift. Once established in the outside world, it would begin its feeding.

They were like mythical vampires, in a way, favoring human blood over all other foods. The behavior was rarely immediately fatal to the victims, but it infected them with a virus that left them debilitated and depressed—easily coerced. The fiends would build a network of such pawns who would strive to put the host into positions where it might earn more aura potentia If this were an Invicti raid, we'd kill her.

//If you were Invicti, Mathews's death would have been well-documented and recorded through the squad link. Moreover, you'd have implicit trust in your companions. // Hector couldn't argue. If he and Freddy were Invicti, they would have spent months or years training together. He wouldn't doubt the kid's ability to declare Mathews dead. The fact of the matter was that Freddy had shared his recording of the event, and he'd done a piss-poor job of verifying Mathew's death.

Yes, Mathews had looked dead—burned and blasted—and yes, her neck had been torn, exposing a severed carotid. Her injuries certainly would have killed the average person, but Mathews wasn't average. She'd mentioned nanites before passing out, and Paige had confirmed the commander had a high-quality bank of them—enough that they could have bypassed her severed artery and kept her brain alive.

In other words, there was doubt, and Hector figured it wasn't his problem; they'd make a report if they got out, and the authorities could put her in quarantine. There were ways to starve a fiend into showing itself. He shifted his gaze toward the techs, moving his head slowly so as not to draw their attention. The real worry that had emerged from all the chaos wasn't the potential aura fiend. No, it was the revelation that Mathews had been shot.

If one or more of the surviving techs were part of the bombing plot, it meant they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the chance to take them all out. Or one of us. Hector glanced toward the tunnel opening. //You still think Freddy was the target? // I think someone willing to sacrifice themself to kill a Royal makes more sense than just randomly disrupting a rift raid. //Some kind of zealot? A radical? // Or someone who's desperate with a lot to lose. //Leverage? Family? // Yeah, something like that.

Hector inhaled, closing his eyes as he regulated his breathing and focused on calming his mind. He hadn't been lying to Perry; he had some aura system shit going on. Trying too many advancements at once, maybe. //Your corpus vivum will handle it, though I'm not surprised you're feeling nauseated. // Hector grunted softly, exhaling as he waited for the momentary spinning sensation to fade. When he opened his eyes, just a slit, he saw Simo look away.

With the throbbing ache behind his eyes, he didn't want to look at his AUI; he made clear his desire, and Evie opened a comm link between him and Freddy.

"Well? Are they going to lynch me?"

"No," Hector subvocalized.

"She's not awake yet, anyway."

"So…"

"So, listen. I'm pretty sure at least one tech was in on the job."

"The job?"

"The assassination attempt."

"The techs?"

"At least one," Hector repeated. He hoped he didn't need to explain how an assassin was worse than an aura fiend.

"I get it. So, the plan?"

"For now, we watch."

"Did you tell the others?" Hector pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut as he replied, "Not yet. There's a chance—small, but…"" Emperor's balls, man! You think they're gunning for me, too?"

"No, I don't think so, but a healthy dose of paranoia is warranted."

"Okay, man. Just keep me in the loop while I'm out here." Hector closed the comm connection, then glanced up, checking on Perry and Kristy; they were both lying on their bedrolls, hopefully asleep. Suddenly, a window on his AUI appeared, flashing briefly to get his attention. Evie? //The Aura Tempering boost finished propagating early, and I created a report for you.

// Hector opened the window, pressing a thumb into his temple to ease the throbbing as he read: //Aura Tempering has been successfully integrated and applied to your boosts. As a result, your Aura Blade has been enhanced. The overall shape of the construct hasn't changed, though it is slightly larger. The edge will be more potent, and the blade will be more stable. As a result, it will cost more aura initially, but maintenance will be more efficient.

// Rather than guess, Hector queried Evie for a readout on the ability: //Aura Blade – Condense aura into a bladed force projection. Cost: 3 aura per twenty seconds. // Hector raised his eyebrows. Prior to Aura Tempering, the blade had cost two aura per second.

"That's a hell of an improvement." Fearing it was too good to be true, he held out his hand and triggered the ability. Aura coursed through him, setting his shoulders alight as it flowed into his fist, condensing into a wicked, twelve-inch dagger. As always, it looked almost like it was made of red-tinted, mirrored glass, and it hissed with crimson steam as he waved it left and right. Hector was pleased with the blade's shape—single-edged with a slanted, angular tip.

He'd trained with similar weapons for what had to be thousands of hours. He just wished it was about six inches longer. In his old life, he'd bought talents that improved his Aura Blade, but they'd only increased its size and, toward the end, his ability to project it. This was a new angle on things, and he liked it. He twisted his fist so he could see the edge better, and when he saw the way it almost sparkled, he stared, willing Evie to zoom his view in.

A closer look showed the edge composed of alternating angles—tiny, razor-sharp, glass-like teeth. Hector pressed the blade against the dense foam of the sleeping mat, and it slipped through to sink a centimeter into the stone floor.

"Damn," he whispered, cutting off the flow of aura and allowing the blade to dissolve into a cloud of crimson steam. While he'd been experimenting, he'd been aware of eyes on him, but he didn't look up. He'd baited his trap, but he wanted to spring it perfectly. His helmet was sitting on the floor beside his bedroll, and he picked it up, setting it between his knees. While he went through the motions of cleaning it, he turned it so the main lens was facing the three techs. You're still connected to my helmet?

//Yes, the near-field connection is active. // Show me the main camera feed. A window appeared on his AUI, and Hector expanded it. He tried not to smile as he watched Simo staring his way. The man didn't look curious. He didn't look like he'd spaced out and was staring by accident. No, there was a focused cunning in those eyes and an expression that could only be described as hunger.