Read Online The Manticore Ascension: A Short Story in the Arena Mode Universe by Blake Northcott - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Blake Northcott
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again!”
“He’ll kill us all anyway,” Drake snarled as his brother continued to restrain him. “These filthy superhumans are all the same.”
I turned and swatted at Drake with the back of my hand, clanging my knuckles across his breastplate. “ I’m one of these ‘filthy superhumans’, you douchebag!” My hand ached, but I was relieved to finally be able to curse. Either ‘douchebag’ was a word that their profanity modulators didn’t recognize, or it was no longer offensive thirty years in the future.
Taktarov’s expression lightened when I admitted what I was. “I know you. It was thirty years ago when I first...but it can’t be. You’re the same age.”
“It’s me,” I nodded. “Long story, but it’s me.”
“And you’re here ,” he said, not even attempting to mask his disgust. “Serving these humans? You’ve pledged yourself to them?” He was staring at my chest. Taktarov shoved the King into the arms of his soldiers and approached me, striding across the expansive throne room, waving for me to meet him halfway.
“Brynja,” Dawson shouted, reaching out to grasp my arm. I phased through him and kept walking, leaving him and Drake in the threshold.
As I continued towards Taktarov I reached down and pulled the pendant from my shirt, letting it fall over top. It was enhanced vision – it must have been: he could see the Lehmann family crest dangling from a chain around my neck even though it had been concealed.
“Why?” he asked. “Tell me how you came to be their servant. Came to wear their crest.”
“I don’t serve anyone ,” I fired back. “I just don’t want to see anyone else get murdered.” Just a few hours in Arena Mode and I’d seen enough bloodshed to last a lifetime.
“The bloodbath is just about to begin,” the King shouted from across the room. “Drake, Dawson, dispose of this trash!”
“Enough!” I screamed, so loud I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “You don’t know how powerful this man is. He’ll kill us all if we don’t give him what he wants.”
I stepped within arm’s reach of Taktarov and stared into his crackling red eyes. “I’ll read the King. I’ll jump inside his mind and get him to reveal the location of the blood. Then we all surrender and no one dies.”
I almost gasped when Taktarov’s lips pulled into a smile, creasing the lines around his eyes. He was actually emoting . I guess he’d softened in his old age. “King Lehmann,” he called from halfway across the room. “You allow superhumans to negotiate for you, now? And a woman, no less?”
“She will never speak for this house!” The King declared, still struggling to break free from his captors’ clutches. Two of his soldiers were still gripping his arms, twisting them behind his back. “She’s a liar, and a traitor, and –”
“Okay you can kill him,” I shrugged.
“What?” Dawson cried out, the color draining from his face.
“I knew it all along!” Drake shouted. He shrugged free of his brother’s grip and rushed towards me with his sword overhead. “I’ll kill you both!”
As Drake sped forward, Taktarov held up two fingers. A pair of his soldiers broke formation, racing to intercept. One launched chunks of ice from his hands as he sprinted; pulling moisture from the frigid air, he rounded the spheres between his hands and pitched them like fastballs, sending them hundreds of feet across the room.
The knight parried with his sword as he advanced, shattering the frozen orbs with smooth, practices strokes.
A final icy blast came in more of a burst than a sphere, aimed lower and more precisely. It caught Drake’s metallic boots, icing them to the marble floor. He grunted and twisted, struggling to lift his feet, but he was completely immobilized. And the soldiers were fast approaching.
The second soldier was markedly faster than the one launching ice, sprinting several paces ahead. He ripped off his gauntlets, revealing a pair of
“He’ll kill us all anyway,” Drake snarled as his brother continued to restrain him. “These filthy superhumans are all the same.”
I turned and swatted at Drake with the back of my hand, clanging my knuckles across his breastplate. “ I’m one of these ‘filthy superhumans’, you douchebag!” My hand ached, but I was relieved to finally be able to curse. Either ‘douchebag’ was a word that their profanity modulators didn’t recognize, or it was no longer offensive thirty years in the future.
Taktarov’s expression lightened when I admitted what I was. “I know you. It was thirty years ago when I first...but it can’t be. You’re the same age.”
“It’s me,” I nodded. “Long story, but it’s me.”
“And you’re here ,” he said, not even attempting to mask his disgust. “Serving these humans? You’ve pledged yourself to them?” He was staring at my chest. Taktarov shoved the King into the arms of his soldiers and approached me, striding across the expansive throne room, waving for me to meet him halfway.
“Brynja,” Dawson shouted, reaching out to grasp my arm. I phased through him and kept walking, leaving him and Drake in the threshold.
As I continued towards Taktarov I reached down and pulled the pendant from my shirt, letting it fall over top. It was enhanced vision – it must have been: he could see the Lehmann family crest dangling from a chain around my neck even though it had been concealed.
“Why?” he asked. “Tell me how you came to be their servant. Came to wear their crest.”
“I don’t serve anyone ,” I fired back. “I just don’t want to see anyone else get murdered.” Just a few hours in Arena Mode and I’d seen enough bloodshed to last a lifetime.
“The bloodbath is just about to begin,” the King shouted from across the room. “Drake, Dawson, dispose of this trash!”
“Enough!” I screamed, so loud I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “You don’t know how powerful this man is. He’ll kill us all if we don’t give him what he wants.”
I stepped within arm’s reach of Taktarov and stared into his crackling red eyes. “I’ll read the King. I’ll jump inside his mind and get him to reveal the location of the blood. Then we all surrender and no one dies.”
I almost gasped when Taktarov’s lips pulled into a smile, creasing the lines around his eyes. He was actually emoting . I guess he’d softened in his old age. “King Lehmann,” he called from halfway across the room. “You allow superhumans to negotiate for you, now? And a woman, no less?”
“She will never speak for this house!” The King declared, still struggling to break free from his captors’ clutches. Two of his soldiers were still gripping his arms, twisting them behind his back. “She’s a liar, and a traitor, and –”
“Okay you can kill him,” I shrugged.
“What?” Dawson cried out, the color draining from his face.
“I knew it all along!” Drake shouted. He shrugged free of his brother’s grip and rushed towards me with his sword overhead. “I’ll kill you both!”
As Drake sped forward, Taktarov held up two fingers. A pair of his soldiers broke formation, racing to intercept. One launched chunks of ice from his hands as he sprinted; pulling moisture from the frigid air, he rounded the spheres between his hands and pitched them like fastballs, sending them hundreds of feet across the room.
The knight parried with his sword as he advanced, shattering the frozen orbs with smooth, practices strokes.
A final icy blast came in more of a burst than a sphere, aimed lower and more precisely. It caught Drake’s metallic boots, icing them to the marble floor. He grunted and twisted, struggling to lift his feet, but he was completely immobilized. And the soldiers were fast approaching.
The second soldier was markedly faster than the one launching ice, sprinting several paces ahead. He ripped off his gauntlets, revealing a pair of
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