Page 16 of Scion

I snarl and dive just before the swooping Hed’s talons rip the back half of my skull off. Too focused on verifying the disturbance in my cognitive rev, not nearly focused enough on everything else. Sure, the monster came from directly behind me, gliding silently and from out of the gathering darkness, but still. It’s the size of a freaking volo. If I was paying even a small amount of attention, my revs would have caught something. It’s the Argos all over again.

“Tell me you’re not choosing this moment to develop a sense of humour. Or wait. Is this whole thing a joke? Azure, if you’re messing—”

“Not… a joke.” I gasp out the words furiously as I fling myself to the side again, narrowly avoiding the grasping claws. Damned thing will be able to rip my arm from its socket if it gets a good grip. “I am trying… to stop… your pet… from killing me.”

“The bios aren’t there to kill you. Remember? Unlike the assassin in my house. Now tell me what I need to do, or I’m getting out of here.”

“GahhhAH.” I sprint for the cover of a nearby thicket, hurling myself into a particularly spiny gorse. I’m rewarded with tiny scratches all over my skin, which while painful are still better than the kind the owl is trying to give me. It squawks in frustration. It sounds like a klaxon. I scramble up and keep low, keep running. “Can you disable the presence sensors from there?”

“Yes.”

“Do it before you move. All the security, actually. There’s nothing stopping whoever’s there from accessing a terminal. If they realise”—I don’t need my revs to spot the trees up ahead suddenly shaking. I switch direction. “If they realise you’re running, they may force the house into lockdown. Trap you inside.”

Silence, both on the comms and from the forest. The latter’s more ominous, as far as I’m concerned. I creep into some thick shrubbery and lie perfectly still. I’m not going to outrun the thing, but I might be able to fool it into thinking I’ve escaped.

“Alright. It’s done. Where am I going?”

“EMP ring. Deeper the better. Keep as many bios around you as you can. Don’t go further; they’re probably monitoring outside the ring too.”

“How will you find me? Comms won’t work.”

“I’ll track you once I’m DAMN IT TO HELL CAN YOU CALL YOUR CREATURES OFF?” I hiss the words as I leap up and start zigzagging madly between trees, somatic revs activated, suddenly less concerned about evading the attention of the circling Hed above. I barely caught the movement of the gargantuan snake hunting me in time. It slithers after me.

“They’re bios, Azure, not espers. I thought you were supposed to be good at this?” She whispers the words. The tension in her voice says she’s creeping for the exit. That’s something. Doing what she’s told, even if she’s finding time to annoy me while she does it.

“I’ll… find you… once I’ve dealt with… the assassin.” Breath short. The revs let me sprint longer and harder, but it takes no less effort.

“And if there’s more than one?”

“There… isn’t.”

“What if they deal with you instead?”

“Then I… don’t care… what happens to you.”

She utters a soft laugh, even though I was in no way joking.

“Is there any… way you can communicate… to the bios to let me through?” I growl as I jag left behind more tree cover; there’s a sudden gale buffeting my back as the Hed arrests its dive at me. “Could take me… hours to get back.”

The faint clicking of a door through the comms. She’s outside.

“Let one of the bios catch you.” She’s still whispering. Just out of breath enough that I’m sure I’ve misheard her.

“Pardon?”

“The Heds were told to bring you back here. It’ll be fastest.”

“No.” There’s a steep gully; I leap over a wall of densely packed brush, sliding hard down the almost sheer slope. Let’s see the stupid megasnake follow me down here.

“They’ve been told not to hurt you, Azure.”

Sharp rocks tear through my suit, slice into my already-injured and aching leg. I ignore the sting. Slide smoothly to my feet again and continue my sprint as talons scythe the air not far from my head. “Were these ones around when you mentioned that?”

“Look, I’m almost at the forest. Comms are about to cut out. But they know, Azure. They know. If you want to get back here in time to save me, you’re going to have to trust me.” A pause, and then, “Or, you know, if you don’t want to lose that file—”

“Shut up and keep running. I’ll see you soon.”

Another few seconds, and the comms go dead. She’s reached the forest. Or the assassin got her, I suppose. Hopefully the former.