Page 137 of The Only Way Out Is Up

[… I. Am not. A slave.]

The hatch slides open, and the stubby shape of Bug Zapper emerges. It doesn’t activate, not without me triggering it. I grab the weapon and pull; threading wire snaps, and the assembly comes free in my hands. I nearly fall off the claw, grabbing wildly at Star’s carapace with my free hand.

You are. You have always been. You need only remember.

Go fuck yourself, asshole. I drop, and something pops in my knee with a spike of pain. I feel the Twisted’s attention shift to me.

You speak, meat? The mental voice carries utter disgust. This should not be.

The thing raises its claws, ready to swing them down and obliterate me. Star, free of the pressure, wobbles backward for a moment before surging up with his forelimbs to grab the Twisted and hold it fast.

[Emphatic: no!] Sparks shower from both of them as they struggle. [He is my meat.]

I slam Bug Zapper into a gap in the Twisted’s armor and trigger the EXPLODE.

Waves of yellow energy crackle along the monster’s armor, and every limb it has contorts. Sigils pop inside it one after another. The wash of power passes over Star, deflected by the influence of his core; I distantly hear crackling from the barrier field and the sound of more sigils shattering.

You…

I feel the Twisted dying, the strange standing wave that animates it petering out. But I see something, too, as the link between us flickers and fades. A towering mountain, and beneath it a hole in the earth, unfathomably deep and utterly dark. But not empty. Five red lights glow in the blackness, five red eyes in an arc.

… will…

The monster goes limp. Star drops to the ground in a heap.

… un… der… st… and…

The voice dies away at last, and we’re alone.

FORTY-FOUR

Alzimyth is no longer smiling.

Star is still for a long moment. Then he climbs back to his feet, shuddering, like a human waking up from a nightmare. One of his legs is torn away, and another hangs limp and broken, but it’s a relief to see him move like himself again.

Are you all right?

[Assessment: yes, apart from incidental damage. I apologize for the lapse.]

No need for that. Whatever that thing was, it got into your head.

[Disagreement: I do not possess such an appendage.] He gives a little shiver, metal clattering. [But I concur that the experience was… unprecedented. And decidedly unpleasant.]

It’s over. I speak aloud, raising my voice for the others. “It’s over!”

The barrier field flickers and sparks all along its length, badly damaged by Bug Zapper. Behind it everyone is staring at us. Ky has a broad grin, one arm raised in triumph, and even among the Council there are some cautious smiles, though Devon Dreikin looks sour. Hisham is downright beaming. Somi is on his feet, a fierce smile on his face, while Spike hides her grin. Quech, of course, looks like he just swallowed something vile.

And Alzimyth just stares, as though he can’t comprehend what just happened.

“That’s not… possible.” The knight shakes his head, not angry as much as confused. “You…”

“I believe the, um, match is decided,” Hisham says, bustling over to Alzimyth. “Taj Fara is the victor of the Ascent, yes? By the terms you and he agreed.”

“He’s… he can’t…”

“Star and I beat your champion,” I shout. “So fuck off back to wherever you came from and let my family go!”

Now comes the anger, flowing in like a dam has suddenly broken. Alzimyth turns from me to the Council. Most of the members are muttering approvingly, and even the guards have joined in, save Quech. Looking from one face to another, the knight realizes he stands alone.