Chapter 27 part 2: Killer 'Splosion Drones

As usual, warnings apply. This is the rough draft of a story with adult themes and situations. If you are offended by bad language and grammatical errors, gentle reader, read no further! For those of you who have decided to stay, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this week's chapter!

PS I went back and did some minor editing on the first part of this chapter so if you are confused where Marion came from, The KSD has a name now. I got tired writing, "the woman."



By the end of the speech, Marion was trembling and Aleph insinuated herself between the two of them. “That’s fine, Dimitri, I think Knox is aware of your feelings on the subject now.”

Dimitri shrugged. “Whatever, advice is free.”

Marion’s eyes raked from Dimitri to Aleph. “Whatever you think you know doesn’t make any difference. Senak and its duke will fall. Make it easier on the people of Senak, convince your duke to abdicate. I’ll allow both of you to leave. There doesn’t need to be any bloodshed.”

“Except the blood you already shed at Strangefellows.”

“And what about the people you souljacked,” said Sam. “Are you going to free them?”

“Those people were the victims of a necromancer. In order for a hero to rise, there must be a villain to overcome.”

“Oh my fuck!” said Dimitri, “next you’re going to tell us we need to ‘kneel before Zod!’”

“No, now I’m going to shoot you in the belly.”

The hand holding the pistol Marion had concealed at her waist whipped up faster than Sam could blink. As fast as she was, Aleph was faster.

Aleph blurred as she crossed the distance between herself and Marion, slapped the pistol away, and trapped her arm in a painful joint lock. As Aleph’s hand connected, the gun went off with a deafening crack. The bullet hit the cobblestones and chips of stone spalled off into the darkness, humming as they went.

There were shrieks and calls of alarm as people dove for cover and scrambled away. The customs agents spaced throughout the square began corralling people away, while others began converging on them, their truncheons drawn and held their sides.

Dimitri scrambled after the pistol and picked it up, holding it down at his side, before returning.
Aleph had Marion’s arm trapped under an armpit, while her hand pressed up on her elbow. Though it must have been painful, Marion’s expression betrayed no discomfort.

“You might be able to terrorize the people here, but you don’t impress me,” Aleph said into Marion’s ear. As her breath brushed against the woman’s skin it condensed into wisps of heavy mist.

“Look at you, a jumped-up crow barely a century old and already presuming to talk down to her elders,” spat the oily voice using the body’s lips. “Let me explain something though, you might take a guess at who’s controlling this body, but you have no proof. Without that you can’t touch me. Here’s more truth. Penhold is old and growing older. He might have been the right person for the job seventy years ago, but he’s long since ceased to be effective. I mean, look at his help,” he said sneering at her. “The daughter of war criminal whose ambition for power was so great she went outside her own species to get it. If that’s not desperation, I’m not sure I know what is.”

A hard look came into Aleph’s black eyes and she adjusted her grip on Marion’s arm. “Words can hurt, Knox, but maybe not as much as this will.”

“What do you think you are doing?” Marion asked, sounding darkly amused and not in the least bit worried. “You won’t kill this body, not while there’s a chance the owner can get it back.”

“Maybe,” Aleph said with a feral smile, “but I have a feeling that while you’re just controlling the other bodies remotely, you’ve got a more intimate connection with this one.” Aleph gave the arm she was holding a quick jerk. There was loud crackling and Marion howled in pain.

“You bitch!”

A smile slowly parted her lips. “Absolutely,” she agreed warmly, bopping Marion gently on the nose with a corpse-white finger. She released her arm and stepped back. Marion staggered and hunched over her injured limb.

They were surrounded by customs agents by then and Aleph pushed Marion into the waiting arms of the nearest pair who made short work of getting her on the cobblestones and handcuffed.
“Dimitri’s had his say, now it’s my turn. You’re a sad, small man who wasn’t ever able to grow past the limitations of his age. Like a child, you believe the world owes you something for your mere existence, all the while desperately trying to compensate for your shortcomings. Without your Guild to prop you up you would be nothing more than an unsightly stain on the bedsheets of history; dead through your own incompetence centuries ago.”

“Leave now and take your toys with you. You won’t have any luck here. The Guild might be able to protect you for a while, but in the long term even an alchemist can die.” Here she paused and fixed Marion with a meaning look. “Just ask Elanor.”

“What do you mean, ask Elanor?” asked Marion from the ground, as though nothing untoward was going on.

Aleph gave her a tv host’s wide smile that showed her teeth and inky black gums and winked. If she’d given Sam that smile he didn’t know if he’d be more likely to fall in love or run screaming.
Aleph turned and began to walk away from the clump of customs agents.

“What do you mean, ask Elanor!” Marion screamed.

Aleph looked over her shoulder. “Just a feeling I have. Alchemists of the Red are hard to kill, life finds a way, Knox.”

Sam jogged to catch up to her as she swept away. “That was from Jurassic Park,” he hissed at her.
She glanced sideways at him. “Yes, but Knox wouldn’t know that.”

Dimitri began to laugh.