Sci Fi & Fantasy / Majitsu/Mechanica (5 2/3)

The intercom announces that the next stop is coming up as Jordan and Nina stand very close to one another, pressed together by the increasing crowd of the subway car. Jordan is between her and the rest of the occupants, holding both of their bags in his free hand, and trying desperately to make up for his behavior yesterday.

After that blowup in the hallway, they’re both still a little raw around each other despite how much effort he’s putting into acting normally. That endeavor is one-sided. Nina has been reserved all day--which makes him feel even worse than her scolding him.

This morning, she’d silently handed him his homework assignment, despite his assumption that she wouldn’t bother. It was a short, book reading question sheet where simple copying would not have sufficed, and both papers were turned in, with in-depth, original answers and even with a successful attempt at his handwriting to make it seem authentic.

To be honest. He wishes that she’d just left him hanging. That moment was a jarring reminder of how much she looks out for him. Not only that, it spotlights how much he takes advantage of her.

“Listen to me, you need to get away from that woman.”

Nina has never let him down. She’s never disappointed him. For a person to confront another on their personal life is a rare event. In most cases, the build up to the intervention is long, and doubt-filled. Only in the most extreme cases of certainty that they must voice their opinion for the welling being of another, does that confrontation happen. Knowing Nina, for the last three years she’s been mulling over the knowledge of his relationship with a vampire.

Shouldn’t he head her judgment? Or at least give it some consideration?If it were anything else, he wouldn’t hesitate to take her advice. But, he’s sure that she just didn’t understand Wendy.

“Hey,” She doesn’t take her eyes off of the window as she speaks. Buildings zip by as the speedy train winds it’s way through the city skyline. Though this is technically a subterranean railway, in actuality, about 40% of their trip is above ground on overhead rails. “Is something following us?”

Jordan perks up, excited that she’s initiating the conversation this time.

“I don’t think so.”

Irritated, she barks back through grit teeth. “Can’t you check?”

She knows she’s not crazy; that lady and her female friend a few seats away also seem on edge--after the last train stop, their lively conversation fell dead. Same with the three girls at the end of the train car.

Nina feels like she’s being rubbed the wrong way, kind of like brushing her hair against the grain. This car seems saturated with an unpleasant pressure that assaulted you on the edge of your consciousness like the sound that a television makes--even when it’s on mute, you can enter a room and instantly know the TV is on.

“It’s not like I’m some kind of radar, you know.” Even though he says that, he still tries his best to be perceptive and pick up what she’s talking about. His eyes dart from passenger to passenger, falling on a few uncomfortable looking girls who appeared irritated, but that’s it. Nothing particularly alarming.

Nina, on the other hand, is becoming more and more affected by whatever it is that she’s sensing. Her whole body is hot with an annoying sensation that she can’t pinpoint.

“What is that?” She murmurs through clenched teeth. Her breathing is faster, and her head feels foggy, as if she’s on the edge of having a dizzy spell or a panic attack.

“What is what?” Now he’s a bit worried--she looks like she’s about to faint.

She only shakes her head in reply. The car is now uncomfortably warm, and she inches away from him in order to cool off.

Jordan merely watches her carefully, noticing that her breathing is slightly audible, and her face is flushed. He inches back--she’s definitely going to throw up.

Her eyes dart up to the window and she quickly reaches back and rips her bag out of his hand just as they pull into the subway station.

“I’m getting off.” Despite the fact that this is the wrong station, the instant the doors are open, she bolts out. The blast of august air is humid and heavy, since is one of the few aboveground open air stations on this route.

“Ah Geez!” Annoyed and concerned, Jordan stumbles out after her, accidentally bumping into the only two boarding passengers in the process. This station is always nearly empty in the afternoons since most of those boarding here do so in the morning, and people getting off don‘t usually loiter around.

**********
A lattice of metal beams supports a small bridge that offers about four feet of clearance to passing trains as it crosses over the tracks, to the other side of the station. Nina stops midway and slumps onto the railing, as if exhausted, and by the time he reaches her, the warning chimes are already blaring on the platform below them, signaling that the train is about to leave. And, moments later, as the back of the last car disappears around the bend, they’re both sitting on an open bench near the vending machines, waiting for the next one.

“You like cherry right?“ Jordan murmurs, standing, and trying to force the machine to take a wrinkled bill.

“Yeah…” Nina doesn’t look up, she just keeps her eyes on the floor, and mumbles a half-hearted reply.

This guy…

Ka-chunk. The drink is dispensed, and Jordan hands her a coconut flavored lemonade while he looks away from her, pseudo-apologizing. “It’s the only thing left.”

“Thanks. You‘re so sweet.” She doesn’t even have the energy to try and open it.

Jordan, why couldn’t it be you?

The cheap bench shifts as Jordan sits on the edge, as far as possible from her. The only thing that breaks the silence is the roar of an express train going by. These two teens simply sit on their respective edges of the bench, Jordan looking up at the sky, and Nina with her eyes firmly on the ground.

“You know,” Nina scoots over, touching shoulders with him. “Kino still likes you.”

Cool as always, or at least pretending to be, Jordan brushes off the shocking comment. “That’s nice.”

“You don’t think she’s cute?”

“She’s pretty hot, as far as 14 year olds go.”

“You’re only 15 yourself, you know.” Nina teases, but there’s an undercurrent of complete seriousness.

“I’ll be 16 soon. Besides, I couldn’t be with her anyway.”

“Because of that woman?”

“…yes.”

“You love her?”

“Of course.” What kind of question is that? Nina knew full well that he’d never betray the woman he owed everything to.

Nina either doesn’t sense his annoyance, or simply ignores it, and continues to pressure him. “You don’t ever feel like she’s taking advantage of you?”

“No. What’s with these questions?” Jordan can’t keep the edge off of his tone as the irritation starts to intensify.

“She’s brainwashed you! Can’t you see that’s not a healthy relationship? She doesn‘t love you!”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Up until now, their voices had been rising with each exchange, but that last line was delivered with such coldness, in such a flat voice that Nina is shocked into silence.

And they both sit there, seething.

Nina has crossed the line. She has no right to meddle in his personal life. He’s put up with it until now, but she just took it too far. Even the most docile of animals will attack if you prod them enough.

Another Express train roars past, and as the last clacks of it’s wheels fade into the distance, the quiet storm of tension between them is broken by a soft whimper.

At first, he hardens himself, focusing all of his anger to prevent himself from being swayed by a girl’s tears. He’s right. She’s wrong. He cannot give in, no matter what, his pride won’t allow it. But, even as he concentrates all of his energy into staying angry, he keeps his eyes firmly locked on a building in the distance--if he looks at Nina, all of his defenses will crumble.

Every sniffle puts another chink in his armor.

“I’ll walk home.” Not wanting to lose, Jordan simply removes himself from the battle. He doesn’t even glance back at the girl. He leaves Nina to cry over her coconut lemonade by herself.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
The open, sand colored Venetian blinds sway slightly due to the light breeze of the air conditioning, causing moonbeams to shift across the floor and walls. Other than the faint light from outside, the only source of illumination in this room is the screen of Wendy’s desktop computer. He always tells her that it’s bad for her eyes to use the computer in the dark, but she believes in research, not old wives’ tales, so until, someone proves it, she’s not going to change her habit

“Yeah, it makes more sense that way. That wall wouldn’t break without a noticeable attack, but I suppose it could be eroded under prolonged exposure to invasion. Nina and other women seemed to be the only ones affected, right?”

Without taking her eyes off the screen, she types away at a furious speed, only pausing to hit a backspace every now and then.

“Yeah, just females.” Jordan is lying face-up on the soft carpet, still feeling a bit raw over the fight.

“Succubus. You know what that is?” Her typing stops, and she peers over the screen to gauge his response.

“A demon that has sex with you and you die afterwards, right? ”

“Not exactly, you don’t necessarily die. But you got the general idea. They use an area hypnosis to draw in males. The side affect to that is repelling of females. If a man is a positive charge, and a woman negative, a succubus is a negative on overdrive, pulling all the positive to it with ease, and pushing all other negatives away.” Wendy resumes typing. “ For a woman, it’s not really comfortable to be in an enclosed place with one.”

“Well, I didn’t get hypnotized…”

“That’s because of the wall I made. It’s mine, meaning it repels. What I’m saying is that your mental barrier was eroded over a long time by being in contact with a succubus.”

“Ms. Yin!”

Wendy raises her eyebrows, but doesn’t show any other reaction. “She’s your substitute, I assume.”

“Yeah…you‘re not going to kill her, right?” Jordan watches her face for any sign of dangerous thinking.

“Why would I do such a thing?”

He‘s not falling for that. “Say it.”

“…fine. I promise not to kill, maim, or otherwise harm this Yin person in any fashion.” She slams her finger on the backspace button, barely containing her irritation. “ But, you’re missing the point. Your precious teacher wasn’t on the train with you, as far as I can tell.”

“True.”

Her typing resumes at full force as she explains. “That’s the problem. If succubus repel other women, what do you think happens when two succubus meet? Nothing, because they don’t. Yet, the fact that you ran into two of them in the same day, out of millions of people, means there’s probably a ton of them roaming the city. That’s what’s weird.”

Her chair slides back and hits the wall as she stands abruptly. “I’m going out for a bit, I may not come back tonight, so don’t wait up for me.”

Jordan doesn‘t even move, and tiredly asks, “Where are you going?” This sort of thing is normal for her, so he‘s not worried. A cat my disappear for a day or two, but they come back eventually.

She drops to her knees, next to his head, and leans down to kiss him. “Just to confirm something. Don‘t worry about it.”

“Be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah…see ya later.” With that, she shuts the door behind her.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
The next day

Drenched buildings zip by as the slightly less speedy train winds it’s way through the city skyline. A nearly torrential rain is creating artificial waterfalls that flow down the sloping sides of these skyscrapers. The distant bridge and rolling hills can’t been seen through the gray curtain of water that’s been soaking the entire city all day.

He sighs.

Today was lame. Completely boring. Nina was absent from school for the first time in all the years he’s known her. Shamefully, he’d actually been relieved at first--but that quickly devolved into a loneliness. Honestly, he’d rather have dealt with the post-fight awkwardness than a day without his best friend.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

“It sure is annoying how “they” are always right.” He murmurs to nobody as he exits the crowded train.

A lattice of metal beams supports a small bridge that--

…wait a second.

“Aw man.” He didn’t realize that he’d gotten off at the wrong stop until the train was already gone. Now he’s sitting on that same fated bench, waiting for the next, and repeatedly flipping his phone open and closed.

Last night, at about 1AM, she’d called him. But his phone was in his backpack, so he didn’t get the MISSED CALL alert till this morning. At that point, he didn’t even bother to call back since he’d foolishly assumed he would see her in school.

He shoots her another text message, apologizing again. Though he doesn’t expect an answer since she’s been ignoring his messages all day, and hasn’t texted back yet.

“Pick up.” He mutters, and attempts to call her this time.

“Hey it’s Nina, I’m not here right now, leave a message and I’ll be sure to call you back.”

“And you scold me for never answering…”

An express train roars past.

“Ah, what the heck.” With a snap, he shuts his phone and stands up, stepping out from underneath the awning, and getting soaked immediately. His backpack is made of plastic anyway, so there’s no harm done. He’ll be walking home again today. Wendy didn’t come back last night, so he’s in no hurry to rush back to a possibly empty apartment.
**************

“Kino?”

When the drenched boy finally enters his apartment, he finds that the seldom used living room is a bit more crowded than usual. The first surprise, of course, is that Wendy is home despite being gone for merely a day or so. The second is the troubled young lady that anxiously fidgets and avoids his gaze. Kino’s face is so twisted with worry and anxiety that he’s immediately suspicious.

Wendy, with her arms folded, and leaning against the kitchen island at the edge of the room. Kino, on the furthest edge of the couch away from her, closest to the door. The two females seem to be in some sort of a standoff.

“Is something going on?” He’s getting chills. This is the anxiety of a person forced to ask a question that they know they won’t like the answer to.

Immediately, Wendy answers, nearly cutting him off in her impatience. Her voice is swift, curt, and harsh. “Kino. Tell him.”

Clearly embarrassed, and most likely shocked by his soaked appearance, she looks down at her feet and only murmurs something inaudible in response.

“Kino still likes you.” Jordan shakes that memory aside, knowing that this has nothing to do with yesterday’s confession. If that was the case, she would already have been killed by the vampire in the corner of the room.

“…Did Nina go to school today?”

He‘s genuinely surprised by that question.

“No. Why?” Alarm starts to set in, and his eye meet Wendy’s gaze. She’s as unreadable as a stone, not a single trace of emotion for him discern.

“She…didn’t come home last night.”

His brain stops. All thought processes are halted as abruptly as a race car hitting the side wall.

“What do you mean?” As if to point an accusing finger at him, his mind brings back the image of the girl that he left to cry by herself on the bench last night. Of course Kino would be here--he’s the last one to have seen her.

“We…had a fight yesterday morning. A really bad one.” Kino’s eyes meet his, searching his face and expression for answers. “She didn’t stay here last night?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Ignoring her question completely, Jordan whips out his phone and hastily scrolls down to Nina’s number. “She wouldn’t--”

“Hey it’s Nina. I’m not here right--”

“--Fuck!”

“She’s not with you?” Kino leans back, startled by his outburst.

“What the fuck does it look like?” He barks back, annoyed at her inability to see the obvious. “I’m calling the police.”

“Jordan. Wait” The silent woman cuts into the conversation. Her voice is as sharp as the edge of a spear. “...Kino, if you’re not going to finish it, I am.”

“Finish what?! Someone explain this to me!” His surprise has worn off, and hot rage starts to replace it.

“…My boyfriend.” She can‘t hold his hard gaze, and looks away in humiliation. “Is 24. I wasn‘t careful, and Nina found out.”

If Jordan’s thoughts were stopped earlier as abruptly as a race car hitting the wall, this revelation is like an earthquake fault swallowing the burning wreckage whole.

“--she got all preachy, and we had a big fight.” Kino can’t keep the edge out of her tone, she can’t help but get upset at the memory. “I told her to butt out of my life, and to stop trying push her stupid morals on me.”

The similarities are starting to make him feel sick. “When was this?”

“About three weeks ago. We haven’t been on speaking terms since. I think she might have run away--”

“Are you a fucking idiot?!” Jordan has to step back, and make sure that she’s not within arms reach lest he lose control and wring her neck. “Just what kind of person do you think she is? Run away? She probably went to your boyfriend’s place last night.”

“What? Why would she do that?”

Because I was an idiot yesterday.

The confrontations in the hallway and the train station, when viewed in hindsight, were completely rational considering the circumstances. He was a fool to not have noticed it. She’d not only been holding on to the knowledge of him and Wendy, but her sister and an older man as well. Both were clearly destructive relationships from her perspective, so of course she’d lose patience eventually.

Those are secrets that shouldn’t be kept, and dealing with it on two fronts probably strengthened her resolve to intervene. Most likely, as soon as she found about Kino’s lover, Nina made up her mind and decided that enough was enough. Perhaps that’s the reason behind her pressuring him to consider Kino as a love interest.

This is a hurricane, a whirlwind of revelations that nearly overwhelms his ability to think rationally. Just over 24 hours ago, everything was completely normal. This is too fast. Life shouldn’t go from decent to a complete storm of problems in that small window of time.

Wendy cuts in once again. Her tone is full of authority and finality leaving no doubt that she’s the one in control of this conversation now.

“Good, Jordan. You’ve reached that conclusion on your own. Now I’ll just fill in the gaps,” She stares pointedly at Kino “…for both of you.”

“Last night, I observed 18 succubus and 11 incubus, just by loitering in a single place.”

Jordan, shocked, looks at Kino, who has a similar expression. Why was Wendy saying such a thing in front of her?

Wendy continues with no pause. “I must apologize to you, Jordan. I haven’t been completely honest with you. I was--well, we’ll get to that in a minute. Kino, you said you called your boyfriend earlier. Do it again and put it on speaker.”

Both pairs of eyes watch Kino intently as she dials and waits. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. “Hey it’s Kevin, I’m not in, but leave a message. Peace.”

“I see.” Wendy reaches up and rubs her temples, resigning herself to her misfortune. “Kino, your boyfriend is dead.”

“How do you--”

“Shut up.” Wendy fixes her in a glare so hot that even Jordan takes a step back. “You can run to his house and confirm it with your own eyes if you want, or you can help get your sister back.”

Her eyes fall on Jordan now.

“We’re dealing with a real vampire. Silvia Valentine. That girl is obsessed with creating a path to paradise, and this kind of disgusting magic is her method.
Kino, you attach some sort of significance to sex, right? Of course you do, you wouldn’t have been useful to Kevin, an incubus, otherwise. Some say that having sex is like giving a piece of yourself to the other person. Some believe it to be a covenant that binds the two into one person. Others see it as a confirmation of a life promised together.
Silvia only works from a distance, using contracts. She creates succubae and incubi, contracts with them, and then has them contract with other people. The victim of one of her minions is not just a casualty of their draining sexual acts, but their own superstition as well, and in giving misguided love, they have unknowingly surrender a piece of themselves to these demons. Not in the figurative sense, but in the literal.”

“What are talking about?” Kino is completely lost.

“To put it simply. She’s making a Botnet. A network of computers infected by self spreading viruses, and at any point, she can glean whatever she wants from any computer in the network. If you would’ve simply fucked an incubus and not attached any significant meaning to the sex, you’d be fine.
Listen, If a cop pulls you over and tells you to get out of the car, and you leave your car door open, that’s implied consent for him to search your vehicle. You loved an incubus, and gave significance to the sex, therefore, you contracted with him are now a carrier of that implied contract--a succubus.”

“…I’m…a succubus?”

Wendy‘s irritation flares. “Are you stupid? How many times do I have to say it?”

Jordan cuts in, sensing that they’re getting sidetracked. “What does this have to do with Nina? Kevin is responsible?”

“No, Kevin is dead. In this world, there’s only one thing that a mage who pursues paradise fears--Freemasonry. If Silvia’s network is compromised, her enemy could easily trace it back to her, Therefore, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill the minion who has become a liability.”

“Freemason?” Jordan can’t wrap his head around everything.

She waves his question away. “Let’s stay relevant to the task at hand. If her goal is to remain secret and draw no attention, murder would certainly be counterproductive. That’s why she works with a partner--a mage named Loren.
Loren has a skill set that’s useful in killing without being traced, so all of the murdering is done by him. By working together, those two remain unnoticed by those who would try to kill them.”

Jordan is shocked by her coolness. How can she say such a thing so calmly? “That means…”

“Yes, that means there’s a possibility that Loren, if he’s working with Silvia, might have gone after Nina .

“Then we need to get moving! Maybe we can still save her.” Even as he says it, Jordan’s conviction is nearly broken by the look of hopeless resignation that flashes across Wendy’s face. He digs deep, through the despair that begins to cloud his mind, and grabs hold of his only hope. “We can use Kino to find Val, and if we find him, we can go from there.”

But, wait a minute. Isn’t he missing something here? There’s a question that hasn’t been asked yet--the most important inquiry is being stubbornly ignored. In the business of law, a lawyer is told to never ask a question that they don’t know the answer to, because that response can possibly break their case.

How do you know all of this?

Jordan knows better. He knows her answer could possibly shatter the idol he’s built up in his mind. Is he prepared for that? If not, the question should not be asked. As long as it remains merely speculation, he can continue delude himself.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

This sprawling metropolis, like most American cities is a thick layer of concrete lain down atop the sacred Native American land underneath. Most the area’s leyline current still gushes forth, undiminished in volume.

But, that power is inversely proportional to the amount of life in the area. At least, that’s the current theory. In the scramble to uncover the reason behind the weakening of magic in highly populated areas, many varied hypothesis abound, yet not one of them seems to address the issue in it‘s entirety.

For mages, it’s the equivalent to the issue of global warming--extremely important, but nobody cares. Other than those in the more academic community of their kind, no mage ponders such a thing. Magic is weaker than it was in the past; that’s just the way it is.

However, in this case, the evidence seems to suggest that the current theory is right.

The strongest current in this city, though comparatively weak in regards to others, lies just at the edge of the urban area, where the thick skyline begins to diminish towards the fringe of the metropolitan area. They’ve always known this, though it didn’t matter to Wendy and Jordan, who really had no need for that small boost in the quality of their magic. There two are like casual fisherman compared with a professional one, for the former, the local lake is enough, and the latter will not be satisfied unless they’ve traveled a hundred miles to the mouth of the most nutrient rich estuary.

“This is it.” Wendy speaks for the first time in over an hour. Even though the night is warm and humid, Wendy wears a maroon vinyl-like jacket. It may be out of place for the weather, but it does match well with her black skirt.

Jordan’s shoulders are burdened with the weight of an unconscious Kino draped over his back. She’d been put to sleep, against her will, in order to probe her mind. Yes, they were putting her in danger by bringer her along, but Wendy had made it clear that Kino is not exempt from the murder of compromises.

If they’d left her, there’s a good chance that she could be killed.

Not stopping, hesitating, or even considering retreat, they continue to walk through this darkened factory yard, wide as a football field is long, and only lit by the mercifully bright moon tonight. The flat expanse shows no signs of recent use. Rusted pipes and bits of scrap lay around, as if the economic recession had hit with such devastating speed that these companies couldn’t even bother to clean up as they rushed to close down these factories. Now, cargo ships simply speed by, day after day, and this district simply sits as a rusted kingdom of abandoned waterfront factories.

Across the ground, the shadows of the clouds can be seen distinctly as they shade small irregular patches of the yard from the full moon’s intense illumination. Beyond this spotted expanse, directly in front of them, a three story factory towers above them as they approach. To say it’s only three stories tall is deceptive, the actual building is as tall as a seven story building in terms of height, and the only indication of the internal floor count are the three rows of windows.

Then, like a legendary sea monster opening it’s gaping maw, the several ton sliding steel door begins to roll open.

“Jordan…” Wendy’s face is paler than the moonlight, her brow is furrowed in worry.

Jordan understands, he knows. Whatever is contained within that opening, whatever lies in the caverns of that building, there is no chance that he’ll ever see his lover in the same way again. He is not foolish, he knows that there’s something more to the story. That monster in the flames of that horrible tragedy, his immortal savior and the contract between them--only a fool would believe that there’s nothing else to it.

But, even if he’s being used in some way, he doesn’t care.

Seven years ago, that boy woke up with nothing. With not even the memory of what was before, one could say that he was completely empty handed. Wendy filled in the gaps for him. She was his family. Even if she’s somehow done something terribly nefarious, it matters not, because he had nothing to lose to begin with.

“…I love you.” She knows that she doesn’t have right to say it. Even though he responds likewise now, she knows that his feelings won’t remain after tonight. This is an indulgence for her, hearing him whisper the same in reply gives her the false hope that there’s a chance of that remaining true.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. For what he was, she should have never developed an attachment to him. Everything was a manipulation to keep him loyal to her.

She doesn’t know when, but, somewhere along the line, what was an evil intent began to thaw into warm affection.

Right now, there can be no room in their minds for such frivolous thoughts. Another step will take them into this lair of evil. Standing before the five foot wide opening, the couple steels their nerves and calms their thoughts. And with one final glance at each other, they step through the gate.
 

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