The Mask and Jo found the others interrogating the two heads.

  ‘If this place is falling down, then what can we do? Is anywhere safe?’ Old Ben was asking.

  ‘The jungle,’ said Kleos, ‘that’s where I’d be heading, if I were you lot. But, although the jungle isn’t going to collapse, I imagine in other ways it’s far more dangerous than this castle. This castle—in such a poor state—has a greatly weakened garrison. The undead here have been rotting away for a long time, gradually slipping down in Cultivation, losing their faculties. It’s only due to numbers, the Castle Core dragging them back after each death, and how well fortified this place is, that the creatures of the jungle haven’t already spread within it. Those creatures will be far more dangerous than what you’ll typically find in this place. Spiritual Beasts and Plants, Mutants, Bugs, and who knows what else.’

  ‘We won’t survive out there,’ said John, shaking his head.

  The Mask moved to speak, to promise that it would help them survive, but Nicolai cut it off. You can’t make that promise.

  You said we would work together!

  We will. We will work together, and we will keep them safe as much as possible… until Paxolnaz is dealt with. After that I will go my own way.

  The Mask seethed. I want to stay with them. I…

  Staying with them any longer than strictly necessary only puts them in more danger. Even once Paxolnaz is dealt with, the Dark will remain. You worry that I might lose myself and kill them. Based on that, shouldn’t you agree that it is best I leave as soon as possible?

  The Mask couldn’t help but nod, even as anger spun through it. You always get your way.

  Nicolai was silent.

  ‘There is, possibly, another way,’ Maric broke in, interrupting the chatter between the others. ‘There is a Trade Link in this place, is there not?’

  They eyed the undead curiously, and someone said that there was.

  ‘Trade Links are special creations. They are not built by any race, the one here was not built by my brethren. They are placed directly by Heaven. It might be appear like it is a natural part of the castle, but I assure you, it is not. The Trade Link, and the area around it, will have been switched out for whatever was in its place before. Further, all such creations have a foundation. This one will reach all the way through the castle to the ground. Made by Heaven, they are designed to be exceedingly difficult to destroy. It can be done, but it is very difficult. I imagine… that even if this whole castle crumbled to the ground, the Trade Link would remain standing. If you can move and go to live within it, then you should be safe.’

  ‘How sure are you about this?’ spoke Maxine, her eyes shining.

  ‘Pretty sure. I’ve read mention of this in a number of different books and scrolls.’

  ‘That’s what we have to do then! Get everyone to the Trade Link!’ she cried, looking around.

  The others were looking back, nodding.

  ‘Bit of a problem, there,’ said John. He glanced at the Mask, and it knew what he sought. The location of the Trade Link.

  It was high time they knew. It had always wanted to share that with them, to share everything with them. It—

  —was grasped and pulled, dragged beneath his Soul, once more just one of many, a Module. Don’t be foolish, Nicolai told it, rolling his eyes. He knew it understood, after their chat, but he was beginning to realise it was rather impulsive. He supposed that it couldn’t help it; it was only human.

  Nicolai’s head rose. He gazed at John, eyes glittering. The shadows were forming a beautiful, mesmerising shape behind the man. The Soul rot was an endless painful itch that made him want to rip fleshy things apart with his bare hands, to drink oil and breath smoke, but Threat Analysis and Cyberware helped him identify all that as coming from the Dark.

  Allowing the Mask to take Control had given him a moment to relax, a method of changing his mental point of view. The Darkness was all through him, and it was a problem, but for now he was dealing with it.

  He needed to question Maric and Kleos, to work out what he could do about the Soul rot. But first he had to deal with this.

  ‘We have to deal with the Chosen,’ he said, casting a look around at them while completely ignoring John’s prod about the Trade Link. He spoke as though he had a plan, in tones of confidence, because he did.

  While the Mask had been acting in his place, he’d been thinking. In spite of his words he did not consider the Chosen a real problem; not anymore. Not compared to Paxolnaz. They were simply a way to achieve what he wanted. He needed to kill the Angel on the roof. Doing so was his current best move to survive against Paxolnaz. To do that he needed a more powerful weapon.

  Anti-Material Rifles were available at the Trade Link for 70,000 points. His other desired item, a Skin Suit, cost 50,000. Then the Yin-Yang Rotation Pills and Incense sticks, to rapidly improve his Cultivation. The stronger his Cultivation, the better he could resist the Soul rot.

  It came down to money, as it often did. How could he gain so many points-tags? Within him his mind clicked and ticked, Threat Analysis and Cyberwarfare aiding him, as he put the final polishes on his plan.

  He looked to Maxine. ‘I assume you wish to tell everyone about the imminent destruction we face, and the safety of the Trade Link?’

  ‘That’s right,’ she said, nodding. She frowned. ‘Uh, why? Do you have a problem with that?’

  Nicolai gave a puzzled smile and raised his hands as though confused she would imagine such a thing. ‘Of course not. It’s the right thing to do.’

  If every group in this place learned that the only safety to be found was in the Trade Link, then they would have to assault the Chosen.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Nicolai envisaged a great war, spilling all through the castle. Blood on the walls, gunfire in every hallway.

  Those people would need a lot of guns and a lot of ammo. Luckily for them, Nicolai was happy to provide. Doing so would give him the funds he needed.

  The Mask stirred, horrified, but he pressed on it, kneaded it. Don’t worry. Our group will be fine. Who do you care about more—all those faceless, unknown people (many of whom will likely be murderers and rapists) or our group? Would you rather Perro, Jo, Azure, and Beth die in the place of some evil random psychos?

  While the Mask chewed on that, he continued speaking. ‘Once you’ve spread the word, I’ll do my part,’ he told Maxine. ‘I’ll make sure they’re well armed when we all move against the Chosen.’

  Maxine frowned at him. ‘Moving against the Chosen isn’t necessary, is it?’ Her frown grew. ‘A lot of people will die. Don’t you have some private access to the Trade Link? We can just tell everyone about that and everyone can move in. It might be a tight fit, but even just being closer to it should help.’

  Nicolai kept his face carefully blank, and pulled up the first of the arguments he’d prepared. ‘That won’t work,’ he began regretfully, shaking his head. ‘The Chosen are jealous of the Trade Link. Vikrum is actively hunting me—hunting all of us—so as to find how we access it. He wants us dead, Maxine. You and me. Everyone.’

  He settled back, eyeing her, his Soul Sense settled around her. She was looking concerned, but there was resistance in her still. He continued. ‘If we tell everyone how to get to it over the radio, who do you think will arrive there first? Everyone to arrive will find themselves under immediate attack by the Chosen. Even if we try and just tell the leaders in person… the Chosen have been putting spies into groups—we ourselves had one in our midst, as anyone here can tell you. It would only take one Chosen spy to learn where our Trade Link access is, and the jig is up.’ Nicolai sighed and made a tired, dismissive gesture. ‘They’ll just secure it like they secured the other access point, and then the Chosen will hold it in totality, and the rest of us will be left to die out here. At that point we won’t even be able to fight against them, since they’ll control all the guns.’

  ‘He has a point,’ said John, nodding, exchanging worried looks with Cait.

  ‘I get that, I know it’s a risk,’ said Maxine. ‘I just don’t see any other way, and I’m sure… I think Vikrum can be reasoned with.’ She leaned forward ‘There doesn’t have to be any bloodshed. Hell, you know what? If he wants us all to join, why not? So what if we lose our Seeds? Better than dying.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s not what any of us wanted, but what other route is there?’

  'I agree,' spoke up old Ben, nodding. ‘There's been enough blood spilled. If there's a route that might see less of it, we should take it.'

  ‘I suppose,’ murmured Nicolai, ‘if you’re afraid of a little fight. I think there’s a better way. We don’t necessarily have to fight the Chosen. There are a lot of groups here. Taken together, there are more people not Chosen than there are Chosen. If we simply gather enough people together and arm them… we would just have to threaten to fight.’

  Maxine had at first looked unconvinceable, but with these words her expression shifted. Thoughtful. His Soul Sense crawled around her, feeling closely, and he continued.

  ‘Like you say, it might be possible to reason with Vikrum. Maybe. But why go to him like dogs, looking for scraps? Hoping he will be kind to us, rather than putting us down as he would be free to do. If we simply form together, we can become strong enough that he will have to deal with us as equals. At that point, the coalition we form can take control the Trade Link access point we already know of, and he can have the other.’

  Maxine was nodding. When he’d said the word coalition he’d felt something, a turning in her emotions. An eagerness, a hunger. This prompted him to lean forward, recalling some of the things she’d said on her Radio show. He gazed entreatingly into her eyes, and spoke softly.

  ‘Isn’t that what you wanted to do in the first place? Get everyone working together? Imagine, a great coalition of all of us, together and working as one. Finally, we’d have a chance to do more than just survive.’ His smile grew as he saw her sitting back, an expression of deep consideration on her face. From what he felt with his Soul Sense, he already knew she was convinced, but her nod confirmed it. It was fortuntae she was still in the Seed phase, without a true Soul.

  ‘Stop that.’ Another Soul Sense slapped against his, pushing it away from Maxine.

  His head snapped to the side, and he saw Beth frowning at him.

  ‘What?’ he asked.

  ‘What you’re doing… manipulating her. I can see it.’

  Nicolai glanced at Perro and Azure, his face abruptly blank. He’d gotten too used to being the only one with Soul Sense. Now there were others he ought to be a little more subtle. But the teenagers seemed unaware, not appearing to guess at what he had been doing. However, Jo, sat beside Beth, was also frowning at him. These two had more experience with Soul Sense.

  ‘I’m just helping her to make the right decision,’ he said to them. ‘But, sure, I’ll be more… hands off.’ The job was done, anyway. He held in a smile as he looked back to Maxine.

  ‘We’ve almost all got our Seeds complete, though,’ said John, frowning at Nicolai, Cait nodding beside him. ‘So what does it matter? We could just finish the process off, then go and join the Chosen. He can’t take what we don’t have.’

  ‘Hey.’ Nicolai raised a hand in gentle rebuke. ‘What about Elena, Katie, Sara, Old Ben?’ His tone asked: Don’t you care about them? and he pointed vaguely at the four. ‘It wouldn’t be very fair to them, would it?’ Katie was nodding fervently, as was Elena, though less fervently. Sara didn’t appear to even be listening. Old Ben snorted and looked to speak, but Maxine got there first.

  ‘No, he’s right,’ said Maxine, chewing on her fingernail. ‘There’s no reason we can’t get everyone together. Sure, I think Vikrum might listen to reason…’ she looked around at the others, eyebrows raised, ‘but he’s not exactly got a stellar track record of reasonableness, so far, right? If we don’t have to risk going to him, we shouldn’t.’ She looked to Nicolai. ‘You’re sure this can be done without bloodshed?’

  ‘Of course. Mostly. Well, there might be a little. Just to let them know we’re serious. But considering how many people have already died out here, I think this is the best route.’ He smiled. ‘To keep everyone safe, not just now, but for the future, too. Imagine how things will be, everyone working together in unity. A Great Coalition.’

  She nodded, her eyes distant, a faint smile on her face. He kept his Soul Sense away but even so, just from her face he saw that she was imagining herself at the lead of this coalition, doing things the right way, whatever that looked like to her.

  Through the darkness lining his Soul there came a pulse of hunger as he thought of the bloodshed to come. Many groups despised the Chosen after the endless back-and-forth skirmishes they’d engaged in. Once brought together and armed, those people wouldn’t be interested in peace.

  They’d want blood.

  Maxine would try to stop the killing but it wouldn’t take much. As soon as the first few shots were fired and the first friends lost, vengeance would flare and the war would erupt in full. A war which would require a lot of bullets. And if somehow she managed to hold things together, a few secretive acts on his part could quickly change that. He’d just have to kill some popular people and blame it on the Chosen.

  His Mask was still squirming but he realised he’d tilted it off from his face while talking, numbing its feelings. Still, he could feel enough from it. It was saying that he was being pushed by the Dark, that surely there was a less bloody way to accomplish his aims.

  I’m not doing this for the Dark, I’m doing this to gain Control over it, he told the Mask. Furthermore… This is the most efficient route to get what I want. Therefore it was the correct route. Cyberwarfare agreed. Threat Analysis, oddly, was less sure.

  Nicolai could hardly wait for the carnage to begin.

  ###

  While Nicolai talked, Jo watched him. His behaviour was so different now, compared to when they’d been alone.

  He shows a different side with me. The thought made her smile. She was getting through to him. But she sensed something strange from him, as he talked. Something that drifted behind his eyes, something that leaked faints hints from his Soul Sense… bloodlust?

  It could only be one thing. The Demon they’d seen, it was haunting him.

  Nicolai was broken inside, but that was fine with Jo.

  I can fix him.