2. I’m Done With Tentacles #3
Naoma rolled her eyes. “Whatever. He was pushy so I gave him a shot. To be fair, this wasn’t the first time that serpent defended me.
I had been wrestling with what it is for a long time before I told you about it at the diner.
Crazy fans in Zingang whenever I toured in Blue Districts.
It was never a full-on serpent, but I saw a powerful light force people off of me.
Still wasn’t enough to prevent the damage Reef did to me, but I knew there was a chance.
If not…” Her eyes were down as she traced her finger in a spiral on the ground.
She looked up at me.
“I was outside,” I said.
She nodded. “I’m glad you came along for all of this. I know I need to tell the others about all of this, but like you were saying, it’s hard to trust those closest to us. Ali. Cut. Deleon.”
“I never trusted Deleon in the first place.”
“I know… It doesn’t matter. Once I gave into his reading, I sat in that chair facing away from him. Red flag right there. You know how Ralia can tap into someone’s neurospace without an analog connection?”
“Everything is wireless now.”
“Everything should be. That’s when I screamed.
When he pierced the back of my head, trying to work those things into my neurospace hardware.
“ She shook her head, smirking. “Poor shac had no idea what he was messing with. I don’t even know what he was messing with, but the serpent didn’t like it.
It shot him back, you came in, now we’re here on the other side of the story. ”
I chewed on my bottom lip, squinting at the corpse as I tried to work my way through what had happened.
“That black light,” she said. “Do you think he had a Gui?”
“No zegging idea. You don’t think yours is, so why would his be?”
“Then what could it be? An anti-Gui serving the Gongtide?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s dig though what we can, maybe pull out some of the hardware, and take it back for Ral and the Luxists to analyze.”
She nodded, unfocused and lethargic.
“What? Do you have a better idea?”
“No, I’m… I just don’t know.”
“Do you have a problem with the Luxists?”
“No, it’s just…” She looked up at me. “I’m sure they have answers, but I don’t know… This is the first time seeing them since you told me that the serpent and phantom face you saw on me in that diner are the same as those on the relics they carry.”
“And the problem with that is? Are you scared they’re going to pull you in as a member?”
“No,” she laughed, but her nerves were getting the best of her. “Petya, have you ever heard of anyone being a living version of that symbol? Just look at the Cross followers. Their symbol represents their God.”
“You… think you’re the Luxist God? Or possessed by it?”
“Laugh all you want, but is that thing living inside of you anything less than a god? As far as we can understand it? Sure, it’s not the thing you saw in the Earth’s core–all that still doesn’t make sense, I’m sorry.
What I mean is even if it’s not a god at all, what if they treat me like it?
Zeg, Pet.“ She took a deep breath. “I’ve just escaped being worshipped as a false god.”
“You’re retiring?”
“No, maybe, I don’t know. What I mean is, I’ve escaped being the pop goddess Reef forced me to be. Even if I continue, I can’t be the same idol that manipulated so many people.”
“You can use that influence for good.”
“You’re missing the point. I don’t want to be treated like a goddess.”
“Then what do you want?”
“A life? My past? To help you do what you have to do.”
“Why? You’re free from Reef, Nichley, you’re not constrained by–”
“A light ghost like you are? I think I am. Really, Petya, do you think I’m that shallow? Now that I’m free I can just run?”
“No, I didn’t mean–”
“What is there to run to? More ownership while you and the others are doing the only thing that really matters to the world? Freedom doesn’t matter as long as Gongtide is still working.”
“I’m sorry if I—“
“Don’t. It’s fine, really. Light, there are so many questions to figure out. Where the world sees me now, where Nichley is, and those are just my problems.”
“Our. If you’re going to bear our burdens, at least let us share yours.”
She nodded.
“Abbas will handle Haven, Ralia can cover our tracks, and Akna can help bridge the gap from Arabasian Luxists to Republic Luxists.”
“Why not Boyband?”
“Come on, I know he’s the one with the family connection, but do you think he knows anything about the Luxists compared to her?”
She laughed. “Right. Have you checked in on him recently?”
I nodded, then walked over to remove any retrievable hardware from the therapist. “He got sick of being alone after a day, so he convinced Ralia and Abbas to let him take Kuni.”
She faced me, wide-eyed with terror as I speared my hand into the back of the therapist’s head. She had been with us long enough to grow used to such a thing that I knew her terror was from my words, not my actions. “You let him take responsibility for a ten-year-old?”
I laughed, keeping focus on the bloody remnants at the base of the therapist’s skull. If this thing had a typical neurospace implant, this would be enough for a lead. “I didn’t do anything. Ralia gave him the go.”
“Are we sure that her brain is still intact with all that new tech?”
“Oh come on, Boyband can be excessive, but he knows what he’s doing.”