Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3), John Gold [free e books to read online .TXT] 📗

“See you in twenty-four hours. You need to rest.”

***

Figiraldina Elmaro climbed out of her med capsule, though she headed to the table, not the shower. Her wet clothing clung to her, she was shivering, and she felt dark inside. Her mother walked in not five minutes later. One exchange of glances, and her mother got the message.

“That bad? What’s wrong?”

Fiji sighed loudly. Then, she took another two breaths before replying.

“He’s crazy!”

“Too abstract. Who are you and what did you do with my Fiji?”

Her mother buried her fists in her sides teasingly; Fiji smiled.

“He’s insane. Not bad or good, just like a wolf who lives in the city without harming anyone. He could kill me, get rid of me… Really, he could do whatever he wants, and his conscience wouldn’t bother him in the least. I have every right to be proud of how willful and tenacious I am, but he’s light years ahead of me. He’s…he’s… Mom, he isn’t human. People can’t be that…fierce.”

“But they can be like you? You think it’s that simple? Your abilities are always in demand, but you just keep moving forward in a completely different direction. You couldn’t care less about people, about humankind, about technical development in this era. All you want to do is strengthen your abilities and reach your potential. What makes Sagie different from you?”

“His determination. His mentality, his social and cultural norms, his understanding of what it means to be human. He isn’t the boy I met at the trial for the Hunters. What happened to his timidity, his love for people, his understanding of the world?”

“Get some sleep, baby. You need to rest.”

***

While Femida is gone, I think about what it means to be alone. She’ll show me her javelin later. For now, I need to figure out how to get rid of Slender. I’m getting tired of the shapeshifter showing up all the time. What if he finds my parents? Or messes up my trip to the Gray Lands? He always shows up at important moments, and his interference always proves fatal.

I have enough facts to put together an overall idea of who Slender is. He doesn’t like mental damage or the light. At least, he’s okay with the light; he doesn’t like it when there aren’t any shadows for him to hide in. That leaves just one question: how is he able to find me anywhere in the world? He isn’t my pet, and he isn’t in a group with me. A mark on my mental body? That has to be it.

A fine black thread connects me with my body right at my feet. If I weren’t looking for it, I wouldn’t notice it, especially since I can only see it with magic vision.

I’m able to draw new seals in the laboratory and bring over new sacrifices before Fem gets back. This time, I only need fifty of the same kind of victim. The entrances are all blocked, the victims all evenly laid out across the laboratory. Slender is scratching yet another of his tawdy messages on one of the walls.

From the center of the lab, I bend over and activate the seal stretching across the room with a single touch. The area is flooded with light, and Slender scampers around from corner to corner. But there isn’t a shadow or an exit for him to run to. All there is are fifty bodies emitting a bright, all-cleansing glow.

“Well, you little weasel, had enough running? I know you can understand me.”

A second later, and Slender’s face is right up against mine. No eyes, mouth, nose, ears, or hair. Just the ashen skin.

“I’m not afraid of you, so there’s nowhere for you to get your strength from. This room was set up as a laboratory, but you can see that it also works perfectly well as a trap. This seal is used to mark evil spirits you can’t kill or drive out. In your case, it will be a prison you’ll find yourself locked up in for the rest of your days. And there won’t be many of those left.”

The bone knife slides out of my palm. My shield appears from under my shirt. There are two magic barriers as well as four fireflies between him and me.

“I don’t have anything against you, so you can cut the line and head back to your master. Yes, I know about your little black thread. If you don’t get rid of it, I’ll kill you. And hey, let me guess—will it be a permanent death for you?”

Slender is an empath, so he can sense emotions perfectly. But I’m also an empath, and I can feel his fear.

Ten seconds go by. The black thread disappears, and I see more recognition of me as an equal than fear in him. There’s a flash as he disappears through a teleport.

Femida missed him by just an hour. It’s a shame, too, because we could have had a fun going-away party. He always liked carrying her around in his tentacles, and she was always so funny when she shrieked at him. It was in those moments that I could see the girl in her. An unusual sight…

But the javelin is incredible. It’s terrifying, with a fierce appetite and the ability to boost its own weight.

Sinner’s Trident

A terrible ritual perverted the nature of a holy tree, the desire to survive no matter the environment leading to a spear that feeds on the blood of its owner.

Effect: Lets you boost the weight of the trident by endowing it with your health. Each point of health gives it one additional kilogram and ten durability points, and the charge is released when it touches another object.

Requirement: Non-level. All classes.

We figure out why the javelin is called a trident after