Chapter 10 – Your Reality Or Mine?
The daylight fades to a burning red on the horizon, casting the city in its glow like it’s on fire. An omen? I don’t usually believe in such nonsense but as we swiftly move in and out of shadows cast by large buildings I begin to wonder. In the driver’s seat Sarah Clifford focuses intently ahead, her hands strangling the steering wheel. Perhaps she is pretending its Solarkar’s throat. I try to feel angry or determined, hell I would even settle for repressed excitement like Whisper, who stands on my lap with his front paws on the passenger window. But I feel none of these. Mostly I’m concerned. I know this Solarkar is up to something big, something dangerous on a scale the world has never seen. He has to be stopped now, before it can reach critical mass. I feel the sand in the world’s hourglass draining as each minute passes by. Imagine me, Jerry Price, protecting the world which has mistreated me so. I secretly envy my shadow at times. A being with absolutely no concern for others except in the ways they might provide him with pleasure. Such a simple life.
“Do you know what we will find?” Sarah asks, never taking her eyes from the road. The car tires squeal as she takes an extremely sharp left turn. Sarah’s face is harder than steel. She asked me this twice already, expecting that I mysteriously gained some brilliant insight since the last inquiry five minutes ago. Now, instead of treating me like some kid playing detective she acts like I’m some kind of other worldly expect. An improvement I suppose. In truth, I have absolutely no idea what we will find, it could be anything or nothing at all.
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
She gives a grunt of disappointment. Wanting to give her something more substantial I send my gaze into the other worlds at various depths. The closest distinct world is the one Brick’s kind occupy. It’s mostly empty; devoid of any vegetation and containing a few horrors like the black sand. My sight usually skips that world altogether, the sparse life there not worth my attention.
Further down is Whisper’s world and my gaze automatically drifts there. In stark contrast to the world above it, that world is rich in life and diversity, containing the hivetung and watchers along with countless other species. Seeing further isn’t possible unless I shift closer and I have no desire to do so, remembering the viscous orange goo, the twisted flesh and bone trees and of course the giant maw resembling a cave that tried to kill me.
The landscape before me is a dizzying blur as trees speed by and I refocus on my immediate world just as Sarah makes another hard left. I am almost thrown out of my seat by the inertia from the car, wishing I had put on my seat belt. Whisper is not perturbed by the ride, his tail swishing back and forth in excitement. I think about asking Sarah to slow down but one look at her stony features is enough to activate my self-preservation instinct and I remain silent.
We pull into a parking lot that is nearly deserted with grass and various weeds attempting to retake the land, bursting through the pavement like zits. A short distance away stands the warehouse and a single glance tells me everything. We are in deep shit. The deserted parking lot and the nondescript building don’t concern me. It’s the giant structure in Whisper’s world that occupies the same exact spot that has me dumbfounded.
It’s a hivetung hive. It can be nothing else. I absently scoop up Whisper, placing him in my satchel and exit the car, approaching the hive, transfixed. Dozens of hivetung busy themselves outside the structure, each towering over me, nude and genderless like the others I’ve seen. They move with purpose, cutting vegetation away from the hive with bone swords like the one I have at the motel. They have cleared a swath of land in a large perimeter around the hive and are now chopping up bits of fallen trees, bringing them inside the tall but relatively narrow opening of the hive while others carry bone basins brimming with water.
The hive itself is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Tall and imposing, it towers high in the air, dwarfing the nearby trees and nearly as tall as a skyscraper. My first thought is that the hive is composed of sand but as I draw near I see that most of it is massive, sun-bleached bones, most significantly larger than the hivetung themselves. Bones of creatures they killed? Stones and what appear to be hardened sap fill the gaps, making a wall more solid than concrete.
No wonder Sarah couldn’t find the source of vision, it must be here, produced in another world, out of reach to all except to those that can shift. Looking at the hivetung hacking at the thick vegetation with smooth broad strokes of their bone swords, I think it might be out of my reach as well. The two hivetung waiting for me at my apartment had nearly been my end. What could I do against the two dozen outside or the scores within?
A thundering cry erupts from the thick jungle canopy and ten hivetung appear dragging a thick, roughly spun net into the clearing holding half dozen watchers thoroughly tangled within. They give fearful yips as they claw the net, their heads springing forward only to entangle themselves even further. Cheers of approval rise from the workers outside as the hunters drag their catch inside the hive. The entrance appears large to me but for the hivetung it’s just enough room for them to pass two abreast. Looking further inside the opening I can see a jagged bone rampart with more hivetung watching the activity below, armed with bone bows and spears, a easily defensible position.
I start forward, wanting to expose the secrets within when a sharp tug brings my attention back to my own world. Sarah looks pissed with her hand clasped tightly onto my arm.
“What the hell are you doing?” She yells and I notice I had almost walked into a wall. I had been so focused looking into another world I hadn’t been paying attention to where my physical body was. It’s happened before much to my embarrassment.
“Sorry, I was a bit distracted. I think I found the source of vision,” I say.
“You did? Tell me!” Sarah says, her voice ripe with triumph and Whisper pokes his head out of my satchel eager to know. I tell them. I can actually see the emotions change on Sarah’s face like she is living a lifetime of experiences crammed into a few seconds. As I speak the triumph leaves her eyes. It changes to fear mixed with anger then to overwhelming despair as her dreams of ending vision vanish. Whisper, ever the brave, noble warrior is unperturbed.
“Don’t worry, Sarah. Any foe can fall if approached correctly,” he says in his purring tone. Sarah just looks at him, not understanding.
“Whisper’s right, we can still do something,” I say, giving her a confident smile. “After all, you have a shifter with you.” The grip on my arm changes to something gentle, almost affectionate. I feel myself redden as she gazes deep into my eyes, her cool blue ones showing gratitude and perhaps something more.
I cough to cover my embarrassment. “Let’s go inside so I can get a proper look.” She doesn’t let go of my arm as we stride inside. A disgusted grunt from my shadow tells me that all the gooey feely stuff is making him sick and a second later a dark blotch speeds far away from me. Whisper however, gives me a wide ferret grin.
Any enjoyment I had from Sarah’s affection dissipates once we enter the warehouse. Of course the contents of the storage facility are just as she described. It’s what I see in Whisper’s world that shakes my foundation, killing any hope of ending this swiftly. Whisper had said that a hivetung colony could be populous but I don’t think he did it justice. It’s more like a ninety-five percent off sale on Black Friday. Hivetung are everywhere, busy with various tasks and I doubt I can find a safe place to shift without being instantly discovered or stepped on. But it’s pointless to even try, for the same strange sigil stones I encountered before are imbedded in the walls and floors with overlapping fields of forbiddance. Stretching outward I try to shift just a tiny bit closer. The reaction is immediate as several stones flare to life. A powerful force slams into me before I can move the slightest bit toward the reality they occupy. I stumble with the feedback and Sarah, who is still clutching my arm, steadies me. Sur
ely all this protection against shifters can’t be directed solely at me.
Regardless of whom the sigil stones are there to thwart, my attempted intrusion into the hive does not go unnoticed. Like stepping on a fire ant mound the nearest hivetung, seeing the stones flare to life, sends out the alarm. Bone swords are drawn and the hivetung stop what they are doing, scanning every shadowy corner looking for intruders.
“Well, I think I pissed on the ant hive. They know someone at some reality tried to shift,” I say.
“How could they know that?” Whisper asks.
“They have sigil stones all over the place,” I say. “They flared up when I tried to shift a second ago. Sarah, show me the spot where the monster and hivetung where. Quick, before something happens.”
She doesn’t demand an explanation. Perhaps I’ve finally won her over with my winning personality. More likely she remembers her last time here and the resulting slaughter. A valid concern. We dart quickly around large metal containers like those found on large cargo ships, reaching our destination a minute later. We’re near the core of the hive and the spot Sarah gestures to in her world is an empty area with nothing of significance. That is the exact opposite of what exists in the other world.
In a chamber designed for a king there’s a slightly raised dais dominating the area with a throne of bone in the center. Resting atop it like a barbarian warlord, is Solarkar. It can be no other. Though significantly smaller than the hivetung he has an aura of absolute command surrounding him as if it’s his divine right to be instantly obeyed. Solarkar now wears a gray scaly suit of armor that looks like it had been peeled off some monstrous snake, covering him from the neck down, leaving only his hands and head exposed. Overlapping thin stone triangle plates decorate his torso, each one with an unknown sigil carved into its surface glowing with power. He looks nothing less than a deity overlooking his subjects. He’s eerily similar to the young girl from my vision so long ago, both in demeanor and appearance. His skin has a bluish hue to it and the strange green leafy hair that moves in disturbing ways. His eyes are unnaturally bright with slit pupils that resemble my own. My attention is so fixated on the man that I nearly miss the large, canine golem bound to a tall pillar of stone next to Solarkar. It lets out a long howl, opening its maw wide revealing countless human fingers, each one twitching. The damn thing is just as big as Whisper when he’s in his world. Not a comforting thought.
The alarm reaches the dais and Solarkar’s head snaps to attention as his eyes go distant, scanning not the horizon but various realities. I can feel it. Grabbing Sarah’s arm I quickly dart behind a large shipping container, hiding us from view.
“Stay here and be quiet,” I hiss, handing her the satchel holding Whisper. “Both of you,” I add as Whisper pokes his head out. Ignoring the look they give me I lean out from my hiding spot. Solarkar is now standing, straining to see all. Several hivetung approach his dais armed with those bone swords, ready to obey their lord. After exchanging words in a musical tongue they stand in a semi-circle around Solarkar. Unlike the rest of the hive no sigil stones decorate the dais and he can shift his forces at will. Solarkar’s features take on a serene look as he closes his eyes. Suddenly, a sonar-like pulse emits from him, echoing across all realities. It passes through the shipping container along with Sarah and Whisper but when it hits me it resonates back, reflected by the part of me that allows me to shift. Solarkar smiles.
“So, disciples of Belaroth or agents of my kindred have not come for me. Instead the interfering gnat has shown itself at last. Disappointing that such an insignificant creature should succeed where they have failed thus far,” Solarkar says, his cultured voice reaching my ears despite the worlds that separate us. I give Sarah a quick look but her face shows no recognition; she can’t hear him. Pressing my fingers to my lips, I gesture for her to stay put.
“You expended a lot of resources trying to swat a single gnat,” I say, stepping out from behind the container. I hope my voice doesn’t betray my churning stomach or sweaty palms. Solarkar’s face locks immediately onto mine and we glare at each other through realities. His gaze travels from my plain sneakers to my black trench coat and settles on my face, specifically on my eyes. He appraises me like a master hunter deciding whether or not to take a young buck.
“Who’s thy sire, boy?” The sentence is archaic and it takes me a second to understand his meaning.
“You tell me,” I say, trying to hide my ignorance.
He laughs at me. It’sa cruel laugh. I hide my discomfort, showing nothing.
“Of course, you don’t know. Your sire planted his seed, doubtful that it could take root before the first world called him back. Still, from your abilities and countenance you must be from one of the Primehouses. It explains why he told me about you. We might even be blood kin.”
He? He who? I remain silent, my mind racing. His confirmation of my origins isn’t unexpected, still it is unsettling. He drew closer studying me closely, perhaps trying to determine my parentage and a part of me hopes he will succeed. After a few more seconds he shakes his head.
“There is too much human in you for me to see. No one in court would ever admit to such an act. The mixing of different ancient one’s creations blood is sacrilege.” He comes even closer as he speaks and I tense, waiting.
“It doesn’t matter who my father is, Solarkar,” I say, purposely using his name. “Why are you making vision? You don’t need money or power. Do you just get a kick out of watching people eating each other? I guess I’ll just ask Belaroth and find out,” I say, throwing out the name he had used earlier, trying to provoke him.
Snarling he lunges forward, seizing my arm and dragging me to his reality…or at least he tries too. His pull is strong with flawless control but I am far stronger. Gritting my teeth I hold firm, unmoving as a mountain. He could no more shift me against my will than my shadow could help an old lady cross the street. Solarkar’s eyes widen in disbelief at my resistance, then changes to fear as I clamp onto his arm, pulling him instead. He fights, seeming to claw at reality itself, trying to find a handhold to anchor himself but it’s useless. He is nearly in my reality when he suddenly pivots, landing a kick to my midsection. The blow is weak from both his position and the realities separating us but the surprise strike makes me lose my grasp on his arm and he pulls away, returning to his stronghold. I reach for him again, determined to finish this, but he nimbly dodges aside, moving to the edge of the dais and throwing his arms wide.
The air around the dais ripples as reality begins to distort and Solarkar shifts the whole thing to my world, including the hivetung and the canine golem. I didn’t know such a thing was possible and instinctively I throw my will against his, my raw shifting strength against his practiced, smooth control. The struggle is intense but brief. He screams as I break his power with my own. Blue blood gushes he collapses to his knees. My own head throbs from the effort but I keep my feet, lunging for him once more. Solarkar can’t rise in time and I think victory is mine when he does an awkward roll off the raised dais, landing on the ground a foot below onto the sigil stones.
“No!” I snarl, but it’s useless. He’s already beyond my reach. He gives me a sneer worthy of a British royal but I can see fear in his eyes. I had frightened him badly.
“I underestimated you, boy. I won’t do so again,” Solarkar says, stumbling to his feet as more hivetung come into the central chamber standing on the dais. If he manages to shift a single one to my world it would be trouble, especially if they manage to get to an area protected by the sigil stones before I could shift them away.
“We shall see,” I say, running from the dais. I grab Sarah and Whisper as I pass their hiding spot.
“What the…” Sarah begins as I drag her through the maze of metal containers.
“Something’s coming,” I say, and the color drains from her face. She puts on an impressive burst of speed
, quickly outpacing me. She is out of the building and into the car revving the engine just as I exit the warehouse. Her fear is so intense that for a wild moment I am afraid that she might leave me behind.
Opening the passenger door she makes frantic gestures for me to get in. I need no encouragement. Slipping into the passenger seat I slam the door shut just as four hivetung exit the building, each unclad and wielding their bone swords. Moving swiftly with long strides they nearly reach us as Sarah floors the accelerator, tires squealing in protest. Burnt rubber fills my nose leaving an acrid taste in my mouth, which quickly leaves my mind as the nearest hivetung swings his sword at my window. Ducking and shielding Whisper with my body I am showered with fragmented glass as the blade cleaves through the metal frame and window alike.
“Shit!” Sarah yells as we hit a large bump, jostling me from my cowering position. Daring to look up I see cars swerve out of the way as Sarah pulls us roughly on the road still accelerating wildly. Turning around I see the hivetung fall behind. She curses again as we barely avoid rear-ending a rather hefty SUV in front of us.
“Take it easy! We made it, they’re gone!” I cry now more frightened of the traffic in front of me. For a moment she ignores me, driving with a recklessness usually reserved for adolescent boys playing video games. I am seriously debating if I should dive out of the car when her death grip on the wheel eases and she slows down to her normal, only slightly suicidal pace.
“Did we win?” Whisper asks and I sigh.
Hours later we sit in my motel room, each of us brooding over events in our own ways. Brick is in one of the adjoining rooms watching TV. He claims that it helps him think, but I have my doubts. My shadow, being his usual self doesn’t care at all and is off tormenting someone who would likely require extensive therapy and medication afterwards. Sitting on my bed Sarah has Whisper curled up in her lap, absently stroking his fur. Both of them have the look of someone stumbling over a rather complex physics problem. I sit in the only chair in the room next to the bed with my trophy bone sword in my lap.
The sword could withstand shifting between worlds; that was evident now from the hivetung that had pursued us. Perhaps because it is organic and not an artificial construction using metal. Still what good is it? I can’t realistically shift inside the hive without being overwhelmed in seconds. I’m sure that the dais which also functions as Solarkar’s throne room is guarded continuously, especially now. The outside of the hive isn’t much better, with dozens of hivetung patrolling the area. A brief mental image of myself charging the hive entrance, sword in hand only to be literally stepped on by the first hivetung I encounter. A likely scenario. Even if I get past the main entrance there are hundreds more inside, possibly thousands. That’s not including any beast they have tamed or controlled like the canine golem. The hivetung are giant compared to me but are physically smaller and weaker than most creatures in that world. It’s their cohesiveness that makes them a force to be reckoned with. How come they don’t rule the land like humans do here?
“Whisper,” I say. “The hivetung seem very organized and powerful. How come they don’t rule your world?”
Whisper snorts. “They might be strong inside their hive but outside it they are just prey. Tasty prey.” He licks his lips, barring his sharp teeth. I stare at him in surprise along with Sarah, whom I had shifted so she could participate in our conversation.
“Hivetung are vegetarians,” Whisper continues. “They eat the foliage around their hive and seldom travel far from it. The only time they do is to make a new colony or to trap other species to serve them. They are a race of cowards who snare the young when no one is vigilant.”
“Have they taken any of your young?” I ask.
Whisper lets out a feral growl. “Yes, many times.”
“What did you do?” Sarah asks, scratching behind his ears in an attempt to calm him. It doesn’t work.
“Against the will of my Alpha I gathered several clan members who were loyal to me who wanted to fight. We attacked at dawn, quickly slaughtering all those outside, feeding on their remains as their brethren watched from inside their hive, cowering in fear.” His tail twitches back and forth wildly at the memory. “Arrogant from our effortless success we stormed the hive entrance itself. We were slaughtered. The hive entrance, while large for you humans, was narrow and cramped for others larger than the hivetung. They shot sharpened bones into us, killing many. Of the dozen I brought with me only three survived along with myself.”
Whisper’s eyes harden in anger. “They took the bones of our fallen, adding to their hive.”
“That’s terrible,” Sarah says, giving him a comforting hug. I agree with her but it also gives me an idea.
“Whisper, what are the chances that the hive I saw today is the same one you attacked?” I ask.
Whisper forgets his anger in Sarah’s crushing embrace. “Fairly high. Hivetung colonies are few and far apart. When their queens are ready to expand to a new colony they fly far away before burrowing underground.”
“They fly?” I ask, shocked.
Whisper nods. “Only the fertile queens that are ready to lay. The queens find a suitable spot and tunnel deep underground until they mature, then the hive begins to form.” Whisper gives a savage smile. “Unless they are found and eaten before their defenses become too strong. Which is the fate of most.”
“The hive I saw was immense almost as tall as a skyscraper. Does that mean it’s old?” I ask.
“Yes, very. The bigger the mound, the older the colony, and the more hivetung inside. The really old ones have vast chambers in the surface structure and endless tunnels in the ground below. The one you saw must be dozens of generations old and is almost certainly the same one I attacked.”
“Would your clan help us?” I ask. Sarah’s eyes widen, hope blossoming in her features.
Whisper shakes his head sadly. “The Alpha was enraged that I ignored his orders. I envisioned glory, defeating the hivetung and rescuing our young. Perhaps even becoming alpha myself. The Alpha knew better. Such a hivetung hive would have formidable defense protecting the structure and a frontal assault was madness. I wanted to be a hero, instead I only proved that I was a fool.
“The Alpha banished me from the clan to forever live as an outcast.” The pain in Whisper’s voice is like a blade in my heart. I never knew he had such a past. I feel like an ass for not knowing.
“Oh, Whisper!” Sarah cries, crushing him once more to her chest.
“Whisper, you are now and forever part of my clan,” I say. It sounds a bit lame but has the desired effect, and I meant every word.
Whisper gives me a ferret grin, tears brimming around those very blue eyes. “I know, Shifter. And I’ll forever be at your side. I still hate being so small here.” We all laugh.
Days pass as Sarah returned to her job with little hope of ever stopping vision. Brick, shadow, Whisper and I ponder the problem of how to stop Solarkar. As long as his stronghold remains so will vision. Each day we visit the site, looking for some weakness to exploit. We find nothing. The sigil stones imbedded on the hive walls and floor prevent any shifting and the well-guarded entrance along with the hivetung around the perimeter protect it from outside approach.
On the sixth day I am in a depressed stupor, cursing my own uselessness while slumped in the chair next to the bed. I’m not the only one who isn’t being productive. Whisper naps on the bed, confident that I will figure everything out. His absolute confidence in me darkens my mood further. My shadow is off doing things which I’d rather stay ignorant of and Brick watches Star Trek: the Wrath of Khan on TV. The screen is a blank to my eyes, its emissions fully in the human world which my sight can’t penetrate for some reason, but I can hear it just fine. Apparently, Kirk and Khan battle in space, fighting to a draw as both starships exchange fire in a nebula.
“He followed me this far,” Kirk says. ?
??He’ll be back, but from where?”
Spock’s monotone voice reaches my ears. “He’s intelligent but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking.”
Lighting arcs through my perviously dim neurons as Spock’s meaning comes clear. “That’s it!” I cry, leaping to my feet, startling both Whisper and Brick.
“Brick, one of these days I swear I’m getting you cable,” I say, moving to the phone. Drawing Sarah’s business card from my pocket where it had been partially crushed, I dial the listed number. Whisper and Brick just stare at me in confusion.
“Clifford,” Sarah answers in a distracted voice.
“Sarah, its Jerry,” I say, barely able to suppress the excitement I feel. “I know how to stop Solarkar. Bring a subway map with the overhead streets on it to my motel room along with some flashlights. We are going to take Spock’s advice.”