Pain Stones (Coalescence Book 2) Read online

It probably made a difference. Everyone else seemed to think he was being funny.

  Except Elsa, who just stood there, seeming more or less uncertain.

  Chapter nine

  The Wards being there was a problem for Willum. Not that they weren’t pleasant, even kind people, in their own way. Even with Maria obviously batting her eyes at both Elsa and himself it wasn’t too bad. Marvin was a bit more concerned however, and had stated that they’d been hoping to catch him there. The fact that a palace had been put in place meant that the people there, the Count and his wife had been around for at least an evening. That, or they’d announced a plan to do that.

  No one tried to get him alone in order to talk about things, so it was hard to pick up on exactly what was wanted. Something to do with spying seemed likely, but that wasn’t at all certain. There were no shifty feelings from either of them, and if they were concerned about anything in particular, it wasn’t coming to the top of their minds as they all moved back inside.

  The trouble was that Willum wanted to get to his other work and functionally couldn’t. Not if the Wards were there and needed something. It wasn’t until about ten minutes into the small talk, about nothing in particular that Willum realized something.

  If they wanted his help, or work, they could simply ask him about it. Instead of putting that off. It wasn’t like he was unwilling. Really, he even liked them, as people.

  Standing up, a bit suddenly, he grinned.

  “I need to deliver something. Was there…”

  He led the idea into being, looking at the Wards. The Count rubbed his face but nodded.

  “There is a small issue. Maria and I are hoping to open up a conversation about trade with the new fleets coming in. You have some contacts there, especially with the Ysidril. We were wondering if you could bring the idea up with them? I know that they don’t have that kind of thing, directly. Trade and commerce. It might be a bit misplaced, but they have some very interesting skills and techniques that might aid us here. I spoke to some of their botanists, and it sounds like they could do a lot with improving crops. Yields and that kind of thing. Possibly even making plants that will grow in all but deep winter, up north.”

  That seemed right, though was a small enough thing. Especially given that the Ysidril weren’t going to make it hard for them to get at the needed aid or information. Contacting them and asking would probably have a whole project being set up. Really, anyone could have done that as well. Though speaking their language might not hurt anything. The only other person that Will knew of that had even a few words that way was Count Ward, however.

  The man was very popular with the Ysidril, actually. He honestly could have done it himself. Then, it might be about using Will, so that he and his people would look more powerful. Like they had lackeys to send in for things like that.

  “I can do that. Would it be all right to have people get in touch with you directly? Or to visit you? We can do that in Warden or at the new embassy in the Capital? That’s my new place. The Black Tower. You can get there using the transport system.”

  He spoke in Standard, then did it again in English, for Elsa. She was clearly trying to keep up with things, which was promising. True, it was driven by fear, but whatever it took to get the job done was fine with him. In her case it was all about losing her place there.

  It was an understandable thing, given she didn't really have one yet. Still, she seemed nice, had a useful skill that was in demand, and was willing to work to get a position there. That could work out for her, in the end.

  There were bows then, and a small hug from everyone. Elsa got in on that as well, even though it wasn’t totally comfortable for her. As they walked out, she spoke, doing so in English.

  “Um… They all seem nice. I’m not used to being around this many people all the time. What… What are we doing next?”

  They’d made it outside, all the way to the red box there, before the words came. He had an idea, since he needed to get a delivery in to the King. That was who the second device was for. Since they might well be attacked, by the guards there, Elsa needed a shield.

  “Harmony, first. We need to get some things. That’s on the Moon. You like the Moon, right?” He went slowly, but spoke in Standard. That meant saying it three times, then explaining a few of the words in Elsa’s language. She nodded though, and repeated the whole thing, just as they were stepping out into the underground city.

  It was nice. Not the true splendor of Mars, but they had art in and on the walls, as well as glowing emeralds attached to the ceiling. They had magic lights on them, but each of the public sources for that were crystals the size of a nobleman’s pie plate. It was nice enough, really. They even had a few plants, in large stone containers, along the way in places. That was new, since he’d been there last.

  The very first thing they needed was to go to the magic shop. Conveniently, it was one door over from the hut they came out of. There was more than one transport node on the Moon, but the first one had been put there for some reason. Probably by Dareg, the Wizard.

  The door to the place was green, having been painted that color. It had words on it, those being moving images made of magic. It was propped open, a small wedge of stone put in place to let the light, sound and people in.

  Inside the door there was a decently large room. It wasn’t truly vast, but the merchandise there was mainly smaller stuff. Tiny amulets, all on identical white stone. The shelves and displays were lined with magics. Many of them glowed in different colors, at the sigil. There were also light shows and some soft noises being played in a few cases. At least it had been a few weeks before when he’d gone in. Now some of the things were even more decorative.

  There was a new display for that, along the back wall, by the door to the room there. Things, people’s faces mainly, but other scenes as well, danced in the air, above the table there. It was clear that there was speaking going on. The whole thing looked incredible, he had to admit.

  Behind the front counter there was a decently cute girl. One who was too young for him really. She was probably about twelve or so. Dressed up in all brown like a school kid and everything. Interestingly, the kid jumped over the counter just as soon as he came in. In her hand was, as far as he could tell, a cell phone.

  As in, one of the things from the IPB world, or the kind of thing one of the Zacks might have used at home. Instead of calling a friend, the small black haired kid, who looked a bit Vagish, tossed it at him. It wasn’t a solid overhand throw or anything. Just a gentle arcing of the device at him, that moved slowly through the air.

  That got him to push Elsa back, sending her stumbling out into the hallway. Just before the thing blew up in mid-air. Even as his shield kicked on, Willum was hit. Thousands of tiny things, no larger than the tip of a needle, tried to impact with his skin. Probably to spread poison or do damage like a nano might. Eating him a bite at a time. They bounced off, since the changes made to his skin protected him pretty well. Thankfully.

  The shop door was pushed shut, meaning that the second explosion that hit him blew him backward, ripping up part of the floor, since his shield tried to carry it along with him. That was so he would be held in place, normally. It hurt, which was unusual for him now. Still, the girl who had tossed the thing in the first place just rolled her eyes at him. The look really spoke of him having done the wrong thing.

  “Well, that wasn’t how I expected things to go. Tootles then. See you later? I’m not positively certain how you might say that kind of thing here.” Then, as if it made any sense at all, she waved at the air, ripping a hole in space, and stepped through. Willum dove for the tear, hoping to trap the would-be killer in the void, but missed. Passing through where she’d been.

  The hole in space vanishing, instead of being fixed in any rational fashion.

  It had all happened at a speed that, in hindsight, he realized wasn’t normal at all. Ten or twenty times faster than normal life would have allowed things to ever play out. Eve
n for him, with all the changes that had been made for him, suddenly focusing at a level that was close to what the human mind was capable of at its peak… Willum had barely been able to do anything at all. Really, it had felt a lot like he’d been standing there, just watching the girl behind the counter do whatever she’d wanted to him while he blinked.

  Only, he didn’t really think that he’d done that. Blink. Not even one time.

  After things calmed down, about ten seconds after the small girl was gone, Elsa came back into the room. Armed with her dull knife. Looking ready to use it, if she had to. That part was kind of interesting. After all, they barely knew each other, and here she was, coming back almost instantly, ready to fight a tiny child for him.

  A really powerful kid. One that was well out of place, working in the shop there.

  “I need to search the back. Um…” Honestly he didn’t know what to do with his new friend. The girl wasn’t a coward. That part was clear. She’d survived on her own for years, after all. When things had suddenly gone wrong, she’d done what he’d wanted her to, and left, for a few seconds, then armed herself and came right back. If it had been a normal fight, she would have probably been there just in time to help him against the girl.

  So telling her to go away, or even to run, would be rude. Worse, he didn’t know if staying with him or leaving would help her more. The whole thing was so dangerous at the moment that any action might be the wrong one.

  That the attack might still be going on, no matter how it seemed, was a lesson that Avery Rome had taught him. Along with the aid of some assassins from another reality. Larval clones, designed to kill.

  Beings that were a fraction of as dangerous as the little girl had been. Or the old man. Both of whom had gone into the void to escape him. Which was so strange that it boggled the mind.

  Elsa nodded, and turned, facing the front door.

  “I’ll guard the area up here? I don’t think I would have beaten that girl. I barely even saw anything after the first second. Be careful.”

  He nodded at that, since it was probably close to the best thing they could do at the moment.

  “Good idea. If anyone comes in… Well, shew them away? They probably won’t speak English.”

  That got a nod. It was a curt thing, and seemed stressed for some reason. Willum was feeling that one himself, to be fair. It would fade, but after an hour or two, not in twenty seconds.

  Heading to the back he found a very strange scene. There were two forms in the back room. One of them was his Aunt Patricia. The other seemed to be the tiny attacker from the front counter. A real girl that Will had never met before that moment, apparently. Meaning that the attacker was either an identical version of the counter girl from another place, or a shape shifter.

  Both of the people were restrained. Just by rope though. It was a good bit of twine, twisted several times to make it thick and strong, but only about half an inch thick. It was probably uncomfortable. Each of them had gags in their mouths, tied in place with large cloths. They were sitting along the wall, which was thick and made of stone. Focus stone, or a version of that. The thing was over a foot deep and slick like glass. The combined factors probably explained why he hadn’t heard anything from them, even though they were both alive. Patricia was making noise enough at least.

  “Hello! Your shop was ruined. I’m blaming the tiny assassin out there. If you don’t want your things broken, you might not want to trust people like that to run things, in the future. One moment here while I get you free.” He got right to work, doing his Aunt first.

  Nothing against the little shop girl, but odds were she was either going to be halfway to useless in the moment, or was a secret killer, hiding there, waiting for them to make a mistake. Like letting her go. She felt like a regular person, but Will didn’t know if that would be how a killer would seem to him or not.

  He worked on the hands of his Aunt first, so they could come to the front and get the rest of her bindings loose, if something happened to him in the next moments. The first thing she did was start on the gag at her lips.

  “That man… I didn’t even see it coming. He was… Really normal seeming. He just walked in, made a bit of small talk, then hit me with something. When I came to Ba and I were both tied up back here. Then I heard all that noise. You killed him?” She seemed pleased enough by that idea.

  Right until he shook his head.

  “Not even close. When I came in…” He stopped talking for a bit while he finished working on her ropes, carefully. Then he switched to the other person there. She was almost certainly safe enough, unless his Aunt was lying to him.

  “Ba, that’s your name?” Her mouth was still silenced but the small young lady nodded, her eyes going wide at the use of her own name. “Ba was behind the counter. She attacked, obviously not the real Ba, with something that looked like a cell phone from one of the other worlds. That’s like a handheld, but made of different materials and not as large as what we use. She moved… Fast. When the first attack didn’t work, my new skin and shield handling it, she said something about that not working right and then…”

  He sighed, staring at his curly haired Aunt a bit hard.

  “Then she tore open space and made a node of sorts, escaping faster than I could react. I tried to follow her but honestly couldn’t. So, this makes two attacks like this. It’s… weird.”

  Standing, rubbing her wrists, Patricia growled.

  “Yes. It really is. So… What does it mean? He looked like Ba? Like a Remy might do?”

  That didn't mean a lot to Will. Thinking hard he realized that he’d heard the name before, but there had been almost no data to go with it at the time.

  So he just had to shake his head and help Ba to her feet. She really was cute, if a bit scared looking in the moment.

  “Unknown. Oh, before we go up front, my friend Elsa is guarding it, so don’t be scared of her. Also, it… Well, things are a mess up there. It wasn’t me.” Not that he wasn’t going to be blamed for it. The whole attack had been about him, it seemed.

  Also, one that had been perfectly timed, it seemed, if that was the case. He’d been to the shop before, but it wasn’t as if he went daily or anything. In order to get into place like that, the would be killer, if that was the actual plan at the time, would have had to know that he was coming. Or at least been hopeful that someone would be, if there was more than one target.

  The little device had been pointed at him though. Not Elsa. Also, when Ba had spoken, it had been in English. Not Standard. That was telling. Now that he had more than a fraction of a second to think about it.

  Wincing, his Aunt nodded.

  “Right. Crud. Let’s get to this then.” She walked out first, as if that made any sense at all. She didn't even have a shield on. She did have clothing, which was on an amulet. There was a small pile of things across the room, over in the far corner. The tiles had probably been tossed there, the gold and silver chains broken in several places.

  Ba, wisely, stayed in place, letting the taller people go first. It was just a fear reaction, but one that was sensible.

  When they got to the front, there was a low moan from Patricia.

  “This is… Well, I doubt anything is broken, really. Other than my new display racks. We need to get this cleaned up.” She looked at the busty and shapely girl who was standing there, dressed in magical clothing and being too tall to be a commoner from Noram. “Are you Elsa?”

  There was a knife in her hand, the rusted blade not being put away yet. Turning, the woman, his new pal, nodded at her own name.

  Then she spoke in English.

  “I’m Elsa. I’m afraid my Standard isn’t that good yet. Pleased to meet you?” She kept scanning the front of the shop, as if someone were going to rush in to attack them. It was almost military seeming, which was a bit off, given her life to that point.

  Willum thought so anyway. Then, she’d been part of a special program as a child. That could have been military in
nature. It was possible. Her world had been dying at the time, after all.

  Aunt Patricia just stood there, looking around at her ruined shop for a moment, then switched to that language herself.

  “Patricia Baker. This isn’t the normal welcome we give people here on Harmony. Honest. We need to get everyone in on this. I’ll call that in.”

  Willum looked around, then started picking things up.

  “Shields first. Let me…” There were no strings on things, though Patricia moved behind her counter, and pulled out a box of braided hemp strings that were designed for that. It didn’t take her long to string up three of the correct things, and pass one over to Elsa. The girl took it, looking a bit baffled, while the older woman, who looked about the same age as Will or Elsa, got her own in place. Then she called out.

  “Ba? I have a shield for you.” That got the little girl to come out, which had Elsa tensing up.

  Then she relaxed and nodded.

  “Some kind of shape shifter or… I don’t know, maybe a hologram?”

  There was a slow nod, as Patricia moved to grab a communications device from the floor. Hers was just in the back, but she either didn’t know that, or didn't want to wait that long. After half a moment, she tapped the front of the thing, the sigil she picked being a bit different seeming than Willum would have expected.

  He honestly would have figured that the woman would try to get with her husband first thing. Instead she called up the local guard.

  The man who spoke seemed polite, for that kind of person.

  “Harmony Guard, how may be help you today, ma’am.”

  “This is Patricia Baker, at the main promenade magic shop. We just had an attack here. A high level one. We need to set up an alert and make certain that everyone is at their duty stations for the time being. This appears to have been an assassination attempt at this time. Using alien technology. It didn't work, but we can’t be certain nothing else is going to happen.”

  Willum got the idea before the people on the device did at all. Patricia wanted them to stand around and look official, even knowing that nothing they did would stop the next attack if it came at all. The man on the device just made a soft noise and the device went to black.