“See?” Karn said. “The spark is in you. You just used it. You are still using it without thinking.”
“Get me down!”
“Get yourself down,” Karn said, and walked out onto the occultation disk toward the crackling mana core. The geodesic mesh had been vaporized. The five mighty struts that had supported it now ending in charred slag that still glowed a faint orange.
“Sure,” Slobad muttered, “then you’ll tear my arms off, huh?”
“No, that was a joke,” Karn said without turning around, “and a trick. To show you a sliver of what you can do. I know you say you don’t want the power, but no one should give up such a thing without a taste.” He raised one hand a jabbed a finger in Slobad’s direction. “Are you going to stay up there all day?”
“Um,” Slobad said, and closed his eyes. He pictured himself standing on the disk next to Karn.
He opened his eyes and was standing on the disk next to Karn. “Neat!” Slobad exclaimed. “Uh, but not mine to use, huh?”
“Oh, it is, if you choose the power instead of Glissa and the others,” Karn said. “Once you do this, there is no going back. Souls that died will finally die, and those that still lived will return to their original plane. You will remember this dimly if at all but will know for the rest of your life that you gave away something wonderful. Have you decided?”
Slobad took a deep breath then exhaled long and hard. “Yes. Tell me how to get her back.”
EPILOGUE
Deep in the heart of a metal world, an elf and a goblin wandered through a chattering swarm of tiny builder artifacts that chirped at them with friendly whistles. The larger combat constructs had fallen silent, their power sources gone dark, their clawed feet and deadly blades frozen in mid-strike. The Panopticon was completely gone. Not even the heavy support struts still stood. The mana core seemed just a little smaller than before, and no longer quite as bright. The ball of energy gave off soft warmth that filled the interior.
For the first time since she could remember, the Glissa didn’t have a care in the world. Just a wicked headache.
“How did you do it?” Glissa asked.
“Do what?” replied Slobad.
“I remember charging Memnarch, and he started to go over. I was still holding on-”
“Oh, that,” Slobad said. “It was pretty funny, huh? Memnarch starts going over backward, you lose grip and smack head on platform. Memnarch drops into that big ball,” he added. “Then the big boom-wave hits, and after a few minutes of that Slobad blacked out. Woke up not far from here. You were there, too. Asleep. You been out for days.”
“So we won,” Glissa said. “But if I was out for days … where is everyone? Surely they would have sent someone looking for us if the attacks have stopped.”
“Slobad thought that too, huh? Went and checked it out,” the goblin said. He produced the chain of charms Bruenna had given the elf girl and placed it in her palm. “You keep that, huh? This goblin’s been in the air enough for a hundred lifetimes.”
Glissa took wrapped the chain around her forearm and buried the urge to scream. If they’d won the battle against Memnarch, only to lose the war … “What did you see? Are they-are they dead?”
“They’re not anything,” the goblin said. “They’re gone. All the nim are dead, huh? And none of the constructs work, except these little guys.” The goblin let a small Memnarch-like artifact scuttle up one arm and down the other. “Slobad has theory.”
“Really?”
“Slobad can have theories! It’s just-the soul traps. Can’t explain exactly how I know, but when Slobad was hooked to that machine, felt a-a mana backlash. And the traps are gone, too, huh? Had a few days to look.”
“‘Mana backlash’?” Glissa said, covering a smirk. “You were in that rack for too long.” She leaned down and kissed the goblin on the forehead. “And I’m glad you got your arms and legs back. You looked terrible.”
“Well, yeah, magic. Crazy stuff,” the goblin continued, waving at the exhilaratingly close mana ball that still crackled with energy overhead. “Woke up, and there they were. Never know what magic’s gonna do, huh?”
“Wait,” Glissa said, “If the soul traps are all gone, why are we-”
“Get back, vermin! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all! Back!”
“Flare,” Glissa said. She drew her sword and took off in the direction of the voice. Slobad followed with exaggerated care over the carpet of scuttlers.
“Close that-get out of-ow! I’m going to tear you apart!”
“With your teeth?” Glissa asked. Geth’s head sat next to a perfect silver sphere the size of the elf girl’s fist in a large silver chest lines with a soft purple material. The leathery gray skin that clung to Geth’s skull looked fresher somehow, the black eyes a little less withered. He didn’t even stink that badly. “Geth, why are you still here? Slobad, why’s he still here?”
“Glissa!” the head exclaimed. “Get these things away from me! I was taking a nap, then one of these insects figured out how to unlatch my lid, and-”
“Why is he here at all if the soul traps are all gone?” Glissa asked no one in particular. “Why are we still here, Slobad?”
“That, I can answer,” Geth said. “Someone gave me a message. But first, you’ve got a promise to keep.”
“What you talking about, head?” Slobad said.
“I said someone gave me a message to give to the two of you. But I’ve done enough work for free. Glissa owes me a body. No body, no information.”
“No deal!” Slobad snarled, glad to have found someone he could finally kick around.
“Wait, Slobad,” Glissa said. “Geth, there’s no one else here. Not even bodies.” She picked up one of the scuttling mini-Memnarchs, which buzzed with irritation and kicked at the air with four small legs. “Just these.”
Slobad took the scuttler from Glissa and held it close to his face, whispering. He nodded a few times as it hooted a response. Finally the goblin placed the scuttler back on the ground, and it stood next to the open chest. “Okay, head,” Slobad said. “This little guy agrees to be your body. Good enough?”
Geth considered, clicking what was left of his tongue against the latticework remains of his cheek. “It’ll do what I say?” he asked.
“For now. After a while, it’ll do what you think,” the goblin said.
“Slobad, you can do that?” Glissa asked.
“Yeah, I … I can,” Slobad said, somewhat surprised. “I can talk to them, too. And this one’s volunteered, so I’m okay with it, huh?” The goblin sidled up to the elf girl and whispered, “I think they’re a little scared of you, so this one wants to do this so you won’t fry his buddies. Won’t believe me when I tell ’em you won’t. Try not to step on any, huh?”
“I don’t think I could if I wanted too,” Glissa said quietly. “It’s gone, Slobad. The spark. I can’t feel it.” It was true, she realized. She tried to reach the energy, but it had left her. She felt relieved and abandoned at the same time.
“I’ll take it!” Geth interrupted. “I can always work my way up. Look at Memnarch.”
“Good,” Glissa said, glad to think about something else. “Now talk.”
“Not until-”
“Geth, he’ll do it. But talk. Now. Or I put that ball through your skull and out the other side. What is that, anyway?”
“Okay, okay,” Geth said. “Who else am I going to tell? There was a golem. Said to make sure you got the ball.”
“Bosh?” Slobad gasped. “Bosh is alive?”
“Don’t be stupid,” Geth said. “This golem was big and quicksilver, as you well know. Like he was melting and frozen at the same time. Friendly fellow. Said that you two were supposed to hold onto that ball for him, and he’d come back. You’re supposed to wait for him, if you want. And one more thing. Two, really. Lift me up.”