Pride x Familiar (2 page)

In contrast, I only had the Valkyrie Armor and
my school uniform.

Perhaps she expected to subdue me quickly, and I
will admit that with her speed she certainly came close, but after
a dozen or more seconds exchanging blows between her jousting lance
and my bladed gauntlets, she ran away, and I was left standing in
the alley wondering what the Hell had just happened.

I caught a glimpse of her fleeing on the
lev-bike she’d used to chase down the van.

Again I wondered, what the Hell had just
happened.

I spared the driver and guard in the van a look.
They were injured but not mortally. They were Aventis after all,
and I could hear an emergency siren in the distance drawing closer
by the moment.

I looked down the alley and the buildings.

Yes, I could do it. The walls offered enough
purchase for the Valkyrie Armor’s legs to kick off.

However if I faced the girl again I would be at
a disadvantage.

I needed to even the odds a little.

Using the blades of my left gauntlet I cut the
passenger door free of the van, then dragged out the man slumped
over the dashboard.

He was an Aventis of the Lanfear Pride, and I
needed his blood.

Ignoring the pain as my maxillary canines
extended, I bit the soft flesh where the neck met the shoulder, and
tasted his blood as it flowed into my mouth.

A mouthful, then a second. It was all I had time
for.

The longer I remained by the van, the further
away she travelled.

I lay the driver down against the van, then
wiped my mouth clean as my canines painfully retracted.

Then I walked quickly into the alley.

I jumped up and then bounded off the nearest
wall.

Ricocheting like a bullet between the two
buildings, I climbed upwards, finally executing a backward flip as
I cleared the shorter of the two.

Landing on the rooftop, I gained my bearings and
looked in the direction of the school.

Damn, we were so close to it.

Why had the girl waited so long? Why not strike
when we entered the habitat?

I had no doubt she was heading for the
school.

No more time to waste.

And then the pain hit me.

The Symbiote elements rich in the Lanfear blood
grew at an accelerated rate.

I collapsed onto my hands and knees in agony. I
decided not fight against the pain and released a howl as the
Symbiote replicated and spread throughout my body.

It might have been minutes before I was able to
stand again though my whole body trembled and swayed. A feverish
sweat soaked the inside of my uniform.

But I couldn’t afford to wait for the effects to
completely subside.

I needed to move, and I needed to move now.

Gritting my teeth against the agonizing storm
inside my body, I took off at a run, and leapt high over the
alleyway and onto the building ahead of me.

While the artificial gravity within the
buildings and at street level was the standard gee, the gravity
high between the buildings was a tad lower.

This made it easier to jump between
buildings.

I ran across a rooftop, and leapt over to the
next building.

All the while the Symbiote continued to grow and
spread throughout my body.

Soon, very soon, I would start to feel my body
power up
.

Another rooftop. Another jump.

I felt well enough to make the call. I rang
Arisa as I ran across a rooftop.

It wasn’t easy to run while holding the
palm-slate to my ear.

It wasn’t any easier to jump from one rooftop to
the next.

But this was one call I needed to make.

I heard the call connect as my feet touched
ground, and a heartbeat later I heard her voice.

“Caprice, you have news for me—”

“Arisa, you asked me to meet him as your
representative. Correct?”

“…eh, yes….”

“You want me to bond him to the Lanfear Pride.
Correct?”

“Yes. What’s going on Caprice? You sound like
you’re running.”

“In that case…we have a problem.”

“What problem?”

“The van you sent for me was hit by a Familiar
of unknown affiliation.”

There was a long moment of silence. “Are you
sure?”

I didn’t nod as I ran. “Yes. She was using a
Fragment—it resembled a jousting lance. She was also wearing a
skinsuit. I didn’t get to see her face because she was wearing a
helmet.”

“Then how do you know it was a girl?”

“Arisa, I know a girl when I see one. She had
hips and curves, though her breasts were probably no bigger than
mine. And she moved like a girl.”

“Very well. Go on.”

“The van’s a wreck and your men were injured. I
survived because my Valkyrie Armor manifested an effect-field
around me. I had to leave your men behind. I’m sorry….”

“Gods damn it.” It was easy to hear her
anger.

I swallowed quickly. “Arisa, I don’t know if
she’s working alone, but she may have followed me when I left
Galatea. If that’s the case then I have a pretty good idea who she
is.”

“You don’t mean—?”

“Constance.”

“Damn it,” Arisa yelled. “She must be acting
under orders from Prissila. Damn it. What is Prissila
thinking?”

I jumped across a wide alley and landed on the
next building’s rooftop.

“Arisa, I may be wrong. I didn’t get to see the
girl’s face. Maybe Prissila has nothing to do with this.”

I ran across the rooftop, avoiding the
electronic equipment mounted on it.

I tried keeping my voice steady as I ran. “But
if it is Constance, then it means Prissila is ignoring the
agreement between your Pride and hers.”

Arisa sounded both incredulous and angry. “To
strike in daylight like this is crazy. It’s sheer lunacy. There’s
no hiding this from the other Prides.”

“You said it yourself. Everyone’s been watching
him for a year now. Then suddenly the Raynars offer him to the
Lanfears. Maybe Prissila doesn’t agree with that. Maybe she wants
to claim him.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that what she did is
an act of aggression against the Lanfear Pride.”

“Arisa, tell me the truth. Do you think she
wants him dead?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know anymore. Where
are you now?”

“Island Two, Habitat One. Running on rooftops.
I’m headed to the school. It’s about a kilometer away. I should be
there in two minutes.”

“You’re using the Valkyrie Armor?”

“Yes.”

“Where is the other Familiar?”

“She’s on a lev-bike. I think she’s headed for
the school. I lost sight of her a while back.”

“She’s heading for the school? Why would she
head to the school…unless she’s the only one they dispatched…?” I
heard a cry of frustration. “What the Hell is going on?”

I jumped onto the roof of a bridgeway connecting
two buildings, then ran along its length before jumping up high
onto the next building.

“Caprice—take her out.”

Surprise almost caused me to miss my next jump.
“Arisa confirm—”

“I said, take her out. Don’t kill her,
incapacitate her. But stop her from getting to him.”

“Is that wise?”

“You let me worry about that. I’m going to have
some of our people meet you at the school as soon as possible.”

I didn’t ask her what that entailed because I
didn’t expect help to arrive in short order.

Arisa and the Lanfear Pride had been
blindsided.

I’d been caught flat-footed too.

For now I would have to deal with this situation
on my own.

I made the next jump and landed on a commercial
building shaped like an Aztec pyramid. “Very well, I’m going to
intercept her as soon as I see her.”

I ran the length of a balcony, then kicked off
to the next building. When I landed, I heard Arisa ask, “Caprice,
do you still have the vial?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Whatever you do, you must get that into
his bloodstream. You must trigger his Awakening. I won’t allow the
Ventiss Family to get their hands on him—not after striking at my
men.”

I swallowed hard as I ran.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll make sure he bonds with
your blood.”

“Go Caprice, fly like the wind. His life may
depend on you.”

I grit my teeth for a heartbeat, breathing in
hard through my nose as I ran across the building’s rooftop.

I spoke into the palm-slate in a hurry. “I’ll
call you when I have news. Good or bad, I’ll let you know as soon
as I can.”

I ended the call, then slowed down in order to
pocket my palm-slate.

Afterwards, I ran with all the power and might
my Fragment could afford me – all the power I could draw out of
it.

The school was up ahead, one district block
away.

I cursed myself for losing sight of the rider on
that lev-bike, but I had no choice. In order to make good time I
had to run as the crow flies, whereas she had to follow the streets
and adhere to the traffic…or maybe not.

As I reached the end of the block, I was one
jump away from the school. A six lane street lay between me and the
ten foot high wall surrounding the school grounds.

Then I caught sight of her.

She parked the lev-bike on a side street
adjacent to the school, then ran over to the institution. With the
aid of her jousting lance she pole-vaulted over the school
wall.

She seemed to know exactly where she was
going.

That was when I noticed the small drone hovering
over the school – watching it.

Was it guiding her?

If she knew where he was then I would use her to
lead me to him.

I took a running leap, and focused the
effect-field generated by the Valkyrie Armor into something
resembling winged heels.

However, I chose not to fly too high.

Hell, the best I could hope for was a barely
controlled glide.

No, make that a barely controlled fall.

I landed on the girl’s lev-bike, shattering it
into a hundred pieces.

This time she wasn’t going to have her way.

#

(Caelum)

I looked out at the habitat sprawled before me
and was once again reminded I was living inside a rock.

One rock out of five rocks, with the largest one
surrounded by its four smaller kin.

A rock oasis within the edge of an immense cloud
of dust and debris – the Hurakan Nebula.

A testament to the wholesale destruction
committed by the trans-space shockwave that heralded the
Cataclysm.

From the secluded corner of the school’s
rooftop, I could see the habitat and its buildings stretch out for
two kilometers into the distance. The rock ceiling overhead was
hidden behind an optical field that mimicked a partly sunny day.
There was even a breeze blowing strongly, courtesy of the habitat’s
life support systems.

The nine foot tall wire fencing that surrounded
the building’s rooftop was the only thing preventing me from taking
a dive into the school’s central courtyard below.

I stared at the scene before me, closed my eyes
for a moment, then paid attention to what she was saying.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I was not alone in this
corner of the rooftop.

“Caelum, won’t you say anything?”

I leaned my forehead against the fencing, then
turned only my head in order to face her. The rest of my body
continued to angle forward, braced against the fence on my raised
arms.

“What do you want me to say?” I gave her a
cheery smile. “Oh, sorry. I should say ‘congratulations’ shouldn’t
I?”

She gave me a trouble look.

Actually, she’d been looking troubled ever since
she arrived at the rooftop.

I forced a bit more cheer into my smile. “Bet
your folks were happy to have their only daughter join a
Pride.”

“Caelum…please…don’t be this way.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me the truth. We’ve been friends for so
long—”

“I am telling you the truth. I’m happy for you.
You finally get your wish. You’ll be joining an Aventis Pride.
Isn’t that what you always wanted?”

“I wanted both of us to be chosen—”

“Well, it didn’t turn out that way.” I shrugged.
“Who knows, maybe things will change in the future. I still have
three years before I’m crossed off their list.”

True. Though it was rare for anyone beyond the
age of nineteen to be accepted into a Pride, it did happen.
However, if the Symbiote didn’t find you worthy by then, chances
were it never would.

I glanced away for a heartbeat. “Then again, I’d
rather I was never chosen.”

I turned my body and leaned my back against the
fence.

“I am happy for you, Haruka. I really am. You’ve
got a bright future ahead of you now. They’ll push you to get the
best out of you, but I’m sure you’ll be up to the task.”

She gave me a pained look this time. “You make
it sound like I’m going off to ‘magic’ school or something.”

“Sorry. But everyone knows that in this corner
of the galaxy where the Aventis rule, if you’re a member of a Pride
you get preferential treatment.”

“I didn’t make that rule.”

“I’m not saying you did. It’s just the way
things work. They won, Regulars like us lost.”

She seemed at odds with what to say.

I struggled to keep the cheer in my voice and on
my face. “What’s with the troubled look?”

Haruka looked away. “Why did you call me up
here?”

“To say goodbye.”

A sob escaped her lips.

I watched the first tears well up in her eyes
then slide down her cheeks.

She swallowed and asked, “Why?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“No, I don’t. I have absolutely no idea!”

“You’re going to be an Aventis, a member of one
of the eight Prides.”

“So?”

I sighed. “Aventis and Regulars like me don’t
mix.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Sorry, but it is the truth.”