38 - A Liar

For as long as the Alliance has existed, there have been sporadic campaigns for a softer treatment of mages. After all, they don’t ask for the Dark Power, and once chained in silver, they look like normal people, often very young.

But there’s a reason those movements never take off: most of us remember the vital truth that, unlike their victims, mages chose their path.

They could get silver tattoos, and live a normal life. They could join the Council and practice magic within the law.

I have little sympathy for those who choose otherwise. They followed their desires, overlooking the safety of everyone else in the world. They will cause suffering, unless they’re stopped.

* Chancellor Elshem of the One World Alliance

ThauCons are coming.

I have a vivid, horrifying memory of the soldiers in black, silver-lined armor I saw at the tube station. Of their knives and swords and rifles. They looked huge and otherworldly, as terrible as the demons I glimpse in the Else.

But as I think about those, the Else ripples and my skin tingles. Something is close, and it heard my thoughts. Lost Stars. I’m so going to die, and I kind of had it coming.

I keep following Dr.Voronev, one step after another, taking deep breaths. The Tetrahedron is still in my bag, but it’s just an empty shell now. The real relic is in me. What the Abyss have I done? Why do I keep making idiotic decisions on the spot?

No time to think about it. I must get to Iketek and Dara.

“Do we take the elevator all the way down, or do we jump?” I ask, hoping Iketek’s still listening - it’s hard to tell if the mind-talk channel is open.

“There are already ThauCons on the first floor,” she answers, “and they could stop elevators. We jump. Join us at the restaurant, and use only the stairs.”

Five floors of stairs. I can do that, right? I mean, I’m so weak, I once sprained my wrist by raising a teacup too quickly, but going downstairs is easy.

In any case, first of all I must get out of SilverEye, before they connect the dots and stop me. Dr Voronev is still talking, so I can’t just run for the door. That kind of thing makes people suspicious, and suspicious people call ThauCon, and ThauCon kills people like me.

“Sorry, I think I must go now,” I say, with a sheepish smile - the best excuse is not making any excuse, sometimes.

“Well, say hi to Professor Kairim for me,” Doctor Voronev says. “And don’t let xem ride too hard on you, xe forgets people have interests in life besides classifying dusty relics, so…”

She stops, frowning, her eyes lost. Another worker does the same, stopping mid-walk as he carries a steaming cup of coffee. They must be getting a StemLink broadcast. Fuck, fuck.

“Oh, dear,” she says, worried, “there’s a ThauCon emergency operation, apparently. Maybe you should wait here, they say there could be an…”

She trails off, and confusion battles with suspicion in her mind. “Infiltrator,” she concludes, slowly.

“Could you wait a minute,” she adds, frowning, “while I call your professor?”

The workers in the cubicles are looking around, some are getting up to talk to each other. A few look at me.

“Sorry, I really don’t have time,” I say, pushing the Lie with a trickle of magic. “If ThauCon confiscates the tetrahedron as evidence, getting it back will be a bureaucracy nightmare. My advisor will be furious. Thank you for everything!”

It’s not very convincing, it’s a Lie that wouldn’t work without magic. But I reach for a slightly different world - one where I’m Kairim’s student, Dr. Voronev knows me already, and she trusts I’m on university business. Why else would I be here, after all?

“She’s increasingly skeptical,” Iketek says, urgent, “I’ll force her to believe you. But then, leave fast! Even if it doesn’t trigger alarms, she’ll realize what happened in a few minutes.”

Dr. Voronev turns, looking for colleagues, or maybe for a security guard. But once again, her eyes flash gold, and she nods with a mechanical movement.

“Of course,” she says. “I’ll show you the way.”

We walk the last stretch of awful carpeting to the office space entrance. The previously-relaxed security contractor is standing up, now, looking worried.

“Dr. Voronev,” he says, “did you get the alert? There’s a security warning. We can’t let anyone out for a few minutes.”

“Oh, I’m not leaving,” the researcher says, and her words sound strangely stilted - I can even recognize Iketek’s posh cadence through her words. “I’m just escorting our guest out. Xe’s allowed to leave, xe’s not an employee.”

“Wait,” the guard says, “I’m not sure xe can leave right now, the protocol…”

When I need a smart idea, I often try to think what my sister would do.

But for once, I rip a page from my bratty, entitled elder brother’s book, and I channel his I-own-the-world grin.

“Sorry, my friend,” I say, flashing the guard a bright smile, “but I need to go! And as she said, I don’t work for you guys, so it’s not like you can keep me in. You aren’t the real police, so you can’t arrest people, you know.”

I don’t use any magic, because I’m pretty sure this is true - he could have kept me out, but a security contractor has no legal grounds to arrest me. I learned that kind of stuff during high school trips because boring people kept trying to arrest me, for this reason or that.

The guard glares at me, but I know how I look: harmless and absolutely insufferable. Like most people, he concludes I’m not worth arguing with.

“Well, if you meet the men in silver, have fun telling them they can’t arrest you, but hey, not my problem,” he grumbles, and raises his hands. I flash him an even-brighter smile, and leave for the reception.

My instinct is to bolt downstairs, but I force myself to walk as long as the receptionist can see me. Also, where are the ThauCons? Are they coming down from the roof? Fuck, fuck, they could be a flight of stairs above from me.

“Korentis,” Iketek says, and I feel her worry - emotions directly spilling through mind-communications is a sign of an imperfect spell. A sloppy spell, as she says. That scares me more than everything else - Iketek is never sloppy. “We have a complication. The agents are coming for us, not for you. And they’re already below your floor. So, they stand between you and us.”

I feel a moment of relief - and then a double serving of guilt. First, because I’m an asshole to be happy that the men in silver are after my friends. Second, because it means they’re between me and the way out, so it’s bad news for me anyway.

“Fuck, what’s the plan?”

“They obviously don’t know your position yet, or they’d have entered the labs,” she says, and I realize just how close I was to being arrested before even getting out. “Your best bet is leaving through the mall on the fourth floor. There’s a second ThauCon team at the entrance, but they can’t keep watch on everything. In case you forgot, Daravoi and I set up a ruin-ward in toilet block C, thirds stall from the left. Trigger it, and a section of the wall will collapse, leading you directly in the crowded sports center next to this building.”

“So, should I take the elevator?” I ask, doing my best not to panic - I need someone smart to tell me what to do.

“Absolutely not,” Iketek says. “Walk downstairs. If they lock down the building, get to a shopping floor and mix with as many people as possible. Otherwise, keep walking to the exit. We’ll do our best to draw the ThauCons’ attention. Good luck.”

“Draw their attention?” I ask. “What does that mean?”

“Time’s out. I must cut this channel - their mages could track it. See you at meeting point C.” A pause, then she adds: “Or beyond the Last Horizon, my friend.”

I feel the moment her mental presence fades – like a faint pressure disappearing from inside my brain.

Forgotten Enemy, she sounded emotional. She even called me friend without a hint of sarcasm.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

And now I’m alone. How can I evade ThauCon without my friends’ help? I barely trust myself to tie my own shoelaces.

I’m really fucked. I start walking down the stairs, mechanically - the last instruction Iketek gave me. What if I literally bump into the ThauCon agents on my way down?

And what happens if I manage to flee, and my friends don’t? What do I do If I get to meeting point C - fuck, I hope I remember where that is - and they aren’t there? What if I find myself truly alone, again?

“The kid needed not fear, for xe was not alone,” a voice whispers, strangely toneless.

I yelp and look behind myself, but there’s nothing. I don’t dare check into the Else, though.

“Who are you?” I whisper. “Are you real?”

Yeah, I’m totally not going mad, it’s just that sometimes I forget who I am, and sometimes I talk to voices in my head.

“Once was a Guardian who kept watch over a great treasure,” the voice answers, “and once was a kid who took that treasure. The kid was lost, and didn’t realize what xe held. The Guardian was concerned, because the treasure still needed watching, and now was bound to a frail, confused young human.”

“Can you help me?” I ask, and I think too late that I could try to sound less desperate. “They’re chasing me! Also, wait, human? Are you a demon?”

“The Guardian was once the bearer of a treasure, and now watched over it” it answers, “the kid spoke of demons, but demon meant a great many different things.

The guardian was, indeed, a denizen of the Else. And the kid, in xir ignorance, didn’t understand that xe had no need to talk aloud, for the Guardian to hear.”

Fuck, I have my personal demon? That’s cool. And also horrible.

“Can you take me out of here?” I think, addressing the Guardian in my mind as I usually do with Iketek.

“The Guardian held no power in the World Above,” it says, “but the Guardian was ancient, and had great knowledge of magic.

The Guardian wished for the kid to leave that place alive, and quickly. For as the kid and the Guardian talked, their enemies approached. Those who would take the treasure, at any cost.”

Great, I have a mystical guardian demon, and the only thing it can do is lecture me.

“Enemies? You mean the ThauCons?” I ask.

The demon doesn’t answer immediately, and I decide I’d better keep moving. As I walk past the electronics’ store - I’m getting winded already, and there are sixty more floors - I start meeting more people on the stairs, most walking down at a brisk pace. A lot of them are checking the news - from bits of conversation and glances at screens, I gather ThauCons are checking people at the entrance, but they’re not locking down the building yet.

“Once upon a time the Men in Silver had been truly powerful, bearers of the devouring darkness. But in this fallen age, they were just an annoyance, and pawns to greater powers,” the voice answers. “No, worse things came than children with silver knives. Mages far too powerful for a kid, new to xir powers, to contend with. And most terrible of all, the Seekers, from the deep Else, would soon come to hunt the treasure.”

“That's bad, and also incredibly unhelpful,” I say. “Also, could you stop calling me kid?”

I should probably worry more about the powerful mages and monsters from the deep Else, but I’ve no idea where to start. I'm so out of my depth, I might a well focus on the stupid stuff.

There’s something like a dry, metallic laughter.

“It had been a long time, since the Guardian had spoken to a young human,” it says. “How else should the Guardian address the kid? Not by xir name, surely. A name should not be given that easily, for the currents of the Else can carry it far.”

“Look, I’ll think about it, keep calling me kid for now,” I concede. “Just tell me what to do.”

“The Guardian possessed vast knowledge, and wisdom far beyond that of any mortal. And yet, for too long a time it had been barred from the World Above. Even now, it could see it only faintly, through a haze. Its knowledge was dangerously unreliable, tied to ages past,” it rambles on. I’m beginning to think this demon is fucking useless.

“But the Guardian knew one thing was for sure. The kid had to make xirself harder to find, because xir enemies circled ever closer.”

That's some practical advice, I guess. I'm so desperate for someone to tell me what to do, I don't even stop to consider if I should trust a mysterious demon whose understanding of the material might be centuries or millenia out of date.

“I could change face again, I guess?” I think, “but I have to pass through an ID gate to leave. If I don’t look like I’m supposed to, they’ll spot me.”

“The World Above had changed, since the Guardian had known it," it says. If it asks what an ID chip is, I'll scream. "But some things don’t change. To escape xir hunters, the kid should make xemself too hard to find, or far too easy to find.”

“Too easy? What the Abyss does that mean?”

“The kid should not speak lghtly of the World Beyond,” the Guardian says, reproach clear in its usual toneless voice. What is it even talking about? This is like the help function on a tablet, it never tells you anything useful.

Before the demon can complain more about kids these days and give cryptic, ominous warnings, a vibration shakes the building. People curse and look around - some check their tablets, some start running downstairs. More and more people are crowding at the elevator booths.

I feel waves washing through the Else, though - Iketek and Daravoi are using power in spades, and I don’t think they’re the only ones doing so..

“What’s happening?” a woman asks, scared. “Is this like Valanes? Is it a terror attack?”

Lost Stars, I wish my friends were anywhere as powerful as the mages in Valanes. I bite my tongue before I get myself lynched, though.

I could go into the toilets and look at what’s happening to Dara and Iket with a quick Sight spell. That would be really stupid, but...

“Once was a kid who had more curiosity than sense, and xe worried about xir friends,” the Guardian starts talking again. I’m starting to want it exorcized. “But the kid had to flee, save xirself before xe could help anyone else. Xe had little time. The Seeker was closer and closer.”

“So, how the fuck can I hide myself?” I ask.

“The Men in Silver seek faces. The hunter seeks the magic beneath the face. But the kid is a liar - xe can change both those things. And xe can make them appear where they’re not, but could be.”

“What do you mean…” I begin, but to my surprise, I understand. Make myself too easy to find. I can make multiple illusions of myself, and send them away - I can make them move following simple patterns.

“The kid understood the power of Lies, if only in a superficial way. It’s a great and subtle magic. One that can defeat much more powerful opponents. For no strength can crush an enemy unseen.”

So, can I really do it? ThauCon has face ID software, and they know my current identity, or they’ll learn about it as soon as they talk to Voronev. And whatever the seeker is, it’s a mage or a demon or something like that, so it will follow my magical signature.

At floor thirty-eight - Forgotten Home, my legs are feeling heavy, and I’m not even halfway down - I walk into a clothing store, which sells gray office tunics and other boring formal wear. There are people inside, shopping as if nothing was happening - a few are checking phones and tablets, but it looks like most people in the tower don’t realize there’s an emergency yet.

I beeline for the restrooms, splash some water on my face as I catch my breath, and close my eyes.

Carefully, I step into the Else. There’s a snarl of light many floors above - Iketek’s gold, Daravoi’s dark red, and a bright, terrible green.

There are also dark shapes circling around the mages, like sharks below a boat. I can’t make them out clearly, they’re still deep into the Else, just shadows in the endless blue. But I glimpse claws, blades, and something like vast wings.

No time for that. I focus on myself - on the possible mes.

I think about the delivery boy - Vandeis, was his name. What would he do? Fuck, he’s not paid nearly enough to deal with this shit! he’d call to work and say he quits. He’d throw down that stupid thermal bag, and rush to the elevator - or the stairs, since he’s fit and the elevators are congested.

I picture him, exasperated at this new bullshit in the job he already hated, and I catch that vision, give it color and a bit of reality taken from the Else. The shape of a young man forms in midair, first in blue light, then in color. Dark skinned, curly-haired, wearing comfortable clothes under the thermal vest. Soon, a replica of the boy I briefly impersonated stands next to me. He mutters an apology and leaves, walking down the stairs at a brisk pace.

I immediately feel tired - I had to pour quite a lot of power to make the Lie partially solid. But I can do it a couple more times.

Tharvais. Xe wouldn’t rush out, too level-headed - xe’d get to a quiet place, a library or bookshop if possible, and check the news, trying to understand if it’s safe to leave.

I pour some magic in the vision, and the serious, dutiful student stands next to me. Xe looks at the bag where I carry the relic, arching an eyebrow, and I almost hand it to xem, then I realize what I’m doing, and send xem away. Xe walks down at a steady, deliberate pace. Running wouldn’t help, and could spread panic.

Now, Korentis. The good-for-nothing, impulsive mage. Scared of ThauCon, scared of demons, scared of being alone. What would xe do?

I draw a blank. I’ve no idea. So… what do I wish xe would do? Xe’d go upstairs and try to help xir friends. That’s clearly the decent thing to do.

A scrawny kid with messy white hair and sickly pale skin looks at me. I pour a little more magic in xem than in the others, so that there’s a blue spark in xir eyes, and xe’ll leave a faint magical signature.

Xe sticks xir tongue out at me, the cheeky asshole, and leaves, running upstairs, at a pace xe won’t be able to hold for more than a couple of floors. Such an idiot.

I meant to make a copy of my current identity, Kilistek, but I’m getting seriously tired, and for some reason, it’s more difficult - I’m already in one place, it’s harder to believe I could be elsewhere.

“Once was a kid who had skill with Lies,” the guardian says, “but xe had to be careful about the lies xe believed, for…”

The voice suddenly stops. There’s a vibration - but this time it’s not in the building, it’s in the Else. Something tenses and then rips.

I look up, and there’s a purple gash, far above, a place where the Here and the Else are the same. Something is coming through - a monster of snapping claws and hidden eyes. And another presence, larger and less obvious, follows behind. A thing made of sleek wings and silence and terrible patience.

“The Seeker comes,” the Guardiansays, “the kid should stay away from the Else, and hope that xir illusions will be enough to mislead it. The Guardian will attempt to misdirect it. The kid should run.”