Chapter 13 – Heart of Sue
Their landing was less than graceful. The cloying brilliance vanished so abruptly that Sam barely had time to realise it had gone before she hit solid ground, and was promptly squashed as Richard came down on top of her. There was a moment of confused limbs and then the pressure vanished as she was pulled upright.
Her eyes wouldn't open. The light filtering through her lids was considerably too bright for the levels outside and she wasn't sure she wanted to know where they were.
"Well, this is different."
That was enough. Summoning her tattered nerves, Sam forced her eyes open. As soon as the lids were far enough apart to allow a clear picture, she suddenly found the problem became preventing her eyes widening so far that they met the nape of her neck.
She was standing in a vaulted corridor, apparently carved out of flawless, if glowing, golden marble. It was so far away from what she'd been expecting, dreading, that she had to blink a few times before her brain would accept the image.
"Wh-?"
"The questions? Not helping." Richard stepped closer to one of the walls, wand drawn and peered closely at it. Sam looked down, feeling a burn rise onto her cheeks. It was a ridiculous time to feel embarrassed, but…
…
…
…what the…?
There were patterns moving below the muddy remnants of her trainers. Under the marbled surface, eddies swirled in the glow, twisting in lazy ripples. Despite herself, Sam leaned down and stared. It was as if the floor was actually very thin, a layer of clear glass, over some shifting substance akin to golden smoke, peppered with luminescent dust. The patterns whirled again, like threads of ink spreading through water, and as she watched she could nearly see shapes.
She could see shapes. Or rather, she could see figures.
Sam straightened up, feeling the giddy edge of panic rising anew around her stomach, and had to fight the urge to try and simultaneously raise both feet.
"R-Richard…?"
"I know."
She span round. Richard was still staring at the wall, but this time his gloved hand was resting on the surface. Behind it, or inside it, whichever was the most accurate, his pose was being mirrored by a figure in the smoke. The body-shape was familiar: humanoid but distorted, disproportional in limbs and bust and with strands of hair pouring away from a featureless face back into the surrounding smoke. The difference was in the eyes; namely that there weren't any. The face was blank, with flat fog where the jagged slashes of gold should have been and the empty mouth hung open, not far enough to give the impression of speech or cry but enough to form the only distinguishable feature.
The figure wasn't alone. There were more, less distinct and more transient but there, condensing out of the mists for long enough to turn empty faces towards the wall, before dissipating again. Sam watched the main figure give something that was almost a shudder before sinking back. The silent mouth was the last thing to vanish.
Richard stepped away from the wall, his own face almost as blank as those foggy features.
"There's so many of them," Sam said softly as she watched the hazy shapes spin. "What are they doing?"
"It's all twisted up –" Richard muttered, but he seemed to be ignoring her, "– and the eyes… No –" his head snapped round, his gaze focused somewhere several inches behind Sam's head "– no, it is flesh. Just not like ours. She's pulled them in from the whole damn country and now they're the body!"
"Er… pardon?" Sam ventured. Richard nearly jumped and shook himself, re-focusing on her face. He blinked a few times, then selected a glare.
"Thinking out loud, kid, don't worry. Don't have a pensive to hand."
"What's going on?"
Richard gave a low growl as he swung a hand accusingly at the wall.
"This." His expression softened microscopically as Sam just looked more confused. "We're inside… Well, we're inside. I don't know what to call it, because it shouldn't be possible. This is Sue, every inch. Katryna's got them so tied to her they're forming the walls, and that shouldn't work! They shouldn't be able to exist like this."
"But she, I mean, outside, she was big, but she wasn't a shape that had corridors!" Sam knew she was gabbling, but didn't make much attempt to stop it. She had a horrible suspicion that if she didn't let the tension out some way, she'd explode.
Richard shook his head.
"Doesn't matter. The shape isn't real, I don't think. Not properly, so there's no weak points. It's like a pearl being made by the bit of bloody grit! She'll be in here somewhere, the heart of this whole thing. And that's where I need to go."
"And… me?" Sam asked, hesitantly.
He raised an eyebrow.
"You want to stay here?"
She glanced at the wall again, and shivered.
"No."
With a small nod, Richard drew his weapon again, spinning the wand absently round his bare fingers as he glanced around. Sam edged closer to him, and stayed close when he moved off. She couldn't avoid walking on the floor, but she could try not to look at it. Or at the walls. In the flawless, soft glow of their surroundings, Richard presented a slightly battered dark smudge on the gleam. She watched him, noting the emphasised stamp of each footstep and the expression of bloody-minded determination etched onto his features. Maybe she could trick herself into finding his resolve comforting.
Any attempt to synthesise that line of thought faltered each time Sam's treacherous gaze flicked over to the walls and she saw the currents writhe. She couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being escorted somehow, because she was increasingly sure that the smoke rippled more alongside them than it did behind. It would have been unnerving, had she still retained enough intact nerves to justify the expression's use.
Then there were the corridors themselves. Twice as high as a man and wide enough for three people to walk down comfortably, they branched at unexpected points and always seems to be sloping downward at the furthest reach, yet remained ice-flat no matter how long they walked towards the apparent dip. Three times, Sam turned round to find herself looking straight into a blank wall or a branching junction that hadn't been there before. She didn't mention it to Richard; he looked worried enough. There was a strange tension in his face and his lips twitched occasionally, as if there were words there barely held back.
He came to a stop very sharply. His bare hand twitched, and when he spoke, his words were quiet and clearly not meant for her.
"It still holds. We all promised. But I need a sign –" he cut off as the laugh started. Low at first and somehow it felt low, as if it was bubbling up from around their ankles, but it didn't stay that way. The sound rose, up in pitch and focus until it danced in the air around them, tinkling with the delight of shattered crystal.
"Childish pledges went out with the toy box, Richard."
"I wasn't talking to you."
"I'm the only one here. I only ever was."
A small muscle twitched under Richard's eye and he aimed a Glare at the wall.
"What's wrong, Katryna? Am I scaring you?"
The tinkling laugh that followed rocked the floor. Ahead of them, the wall shimmered and fell aside like a curtain, exposing a new tunnel. It seemed a little more solid than the previous ones, and the dip at the end shimmered less to the eye, and…
The walls were guarded; or at least lined. Blurry figures in the smoke queued up like subliming statues, packed shoulder-to-shoulder and closer behind the solid veneer, hunched together as if hanging loosely from invisible strings.
"I can make them dance for you, Richard. One puppet to another."
He didn't even blink. Something like a sigh ruffled the air and when the voice came again it sounded slightly affronted.
"Be that way. Do hurry, dear Richard. We're waiting."
The voice faded. For a tiny fraction of a second, Richard didn't move. Then he span round so fast he nearly blurred and ducked down, catching Sam's shoulder hard enough to hurt. His gaze locked with hers.
"I know what you think of me, kid. Forget it. I'm not a hero, and I don't train heroes. What I am is bloody good at what I do, which isn't pretty. I'll do my best to keep you out of this, but if we're into the final seconds and you're between me and a clear shot – that shot goes through you. Understand?"
Sam gulped.
"Yes."
Richard gave a tight nod. He looked up at the new tunnel and the strange strain was momentarily in place again on his face. His expression hardened, his fist tightened and he stood up, striding forward in one smooth action, his outer robes trailing behind him as if they were trying unsuccessfully to catch up. Sam at the silent faces in front of her. She was trying very hard not to be sick from fear. Not that it would have made much difference – she hadn't eaten anything since… when? The guesthouse sandwiches? A little over a day ago.
If time flies when you're having fun, it barely even crawls when you're running on fear.
She shook off the thought and dashed after Richard. Staying behind was unthinkable. Even if I'm no use, I'll at least be there. That counts, right?
The silent Sues didn't move as they went past. This time the corridor end got closer with each step, until the walls splayed apart as the ground tilted beneath their feet, the space opening out into a forest of thick golden pillars. Richard threaded his way through them without a word, Sam scurrying behind him. She glanced at the pillars, unconsciously searching for more ghostly shapes, but the glossy substance seemed thicker here and nothing was visible within. They rounded another and Richard swung out a hand, pulling Sam to a halt with a grasp to her shoulder.
She was too busy staring to notice. A perfect circle of space opened up in front of them here, surrounded by a winding wall of pillars lashed erratically together as they spiralled upwards. No ceiling was visible – the mesh of columns winding upwards until they vanished into the brilliant golden light that poured down from above. Sam couldn't shake off the impression that she was standing on the edge of a gilded funnel-web, woven of gold and light and marble. The resemblance was carried further by the figure tangled in the gold several metres off the ground.
Richard's intake of breath was so sharp that it hissed, and his hand shot out again, blocking Sam's automatic half-step towards the suspended shape. It took a lot of effort to push down her urge to run over, do something.
It was Jackie. Or Zitkalasa, or whatever; that wasn't the point, the point was that she was here, she was intact and she was – hopefully – alive! And hanging from the wall, apparently unconscious, but still –
"Amazing, Richard. Even without a Stu, you manage heroic timing."
Both watchers turned and suddenly Katryna was there, standing in the centre of the circle. She was perfect. Soft golden light surrounded her, adding shimmering highlights across the flawless form that seemed cut more from bright ivory than from flesh. White-blonde hair, rippling and drifting like silk, flowed down her back and caressed her curves, brilliant even against the surrounding light. She was clad in a blue-white gown, tailored to every line of her, her feet encased in delicate shoes spun from threads of silver. As she faced them, an angelic smile rose onto her face and her large, platinum-grey eyes focused on them.
Fixated in the perfect stare, Sam suddenly felt very shabby. She fought the urge to stare at her feet, embarrassed at the idea of even daring to stand before this-
No. Not again.
Her teeth creaked as she clenched them and forced her head to stay up, eyes starting to water as she kept her attention fixed. Katryna wasn't looking directly at her – thankfully – and she didn't want to consider how difficult this would be if she were. Next to her, Richard swapped spork hands, so the handle was nestled in his bare palm. A little of the strain left his features and his eyes narrowed.
"Give up, Katryna, and I'll make it quick. For old times' sake." The last few words were spat. As a response, Katryna laughed brightly.
"Snappy comeback. One minute, then I'll play hostess." She turned and raised her arms, her eyes lighting up and focusing on the still form hanging above her. The figure shuddered as its eyes snapped open. One look at the expression that contorted the familiar features told Sam exactly what she'd been dreading: it wasn't Jackie. Zitkalasa's eyes burned scarlet and she hissed down at Katryna, visibly struggling with her bonds.
Richard started to move. Without a glance, Katryna waved a hand, and the cloaked man was knocked back as the floor erupted in front of him, a dome of faintly-gold tinted transparent material swirling up and sealing over the two watchers. Richard growled and leapt to his feet again, lunging at the almost-glass with his spork, but Sam was still watching the scene outside their new prison. She saw Katryna's eyes catch light, mirroring the brilliance above, saw Zitkalasa writhe as she tried to avoid the stare, but it was too late. The flame-haired Sue's eyes lit up and she shrieked as a huge spasm rippled down her body. Smoke rose, wrapping around her in thickening tendrils until she was obscured by a heavy cocoon, broken only by twin points of searing gold.
Just like before.
Katryna smiled as the redhead spasmed once more, and then the smoke split away, a humanoid figure in oily fog swirling towards the centre of the room even as her misty hands snatched back at the limp body. Zitkalasa swivelled as she was dragged through the air, the slashes of furious gold blazing across her face. They widened as Katryna made a beckoning gesture and the second Sue screamed, clutching at her face, but it was too late, light spilling between her fingers and crackling towards Katryna in twin streaks of lightning. The bolts danced in the air around the impossible blonde and she smiled happily. A strange shiver ran through Zitkalasa's hovering shade, her hands dropping limply to her sides.
Her face was as blank as the others' had been. She hung in the air for a moment, empty mouth gaping, then upturned and plunged into the floor, vanishing into the flawless surface. If any expression was evident on the featureless face, it was resignation, and then she was gone.
A moment later, the shield around them shattered as Richard finally slammed the spork through. He stalked forward instantly, his gaze flicking upward.
"Jackie?" he asked, warily.
"Oh, come now, Richard."
Richard stiffened as Katryna spoke, turning towards him with a bright smile on her face. Tiny gold sparks orbited her, slowly fading into her general glow as they moved. Richard's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Katryna laughed again, softly this time, as if at some private joke.
"You really believe it, don't you? How idealistic."
"I don't have time for this – "
Katryna snapped her fingers. Above her, the pillars drew apart silently and Jackie's bonds tightened, drawing her back into the space. The wall sealed again just as rapidly.
"No!" Richard lunged forward, then span round and sprang at Katryna, wand out and spork clasped so tightly in his hand that it shook. His features twisted.
"Bring her back!" He swung the spork up, holding it like a dagger as he advanced on the luminescent figure in front of him. Katryna watched him, and giggled.
"Bring her back? You don't get it, Richard. There is no 'her'. No Jackie, no Terrace. No Kate, and there never was. It's just you, Richard, you and me. We're special. Oh, and your little toy? Outclassed." She raised her hands. Behind her the floor boiled, sending bronzed spheres of light bubbling into the air.
Sam's heart skipped a beat as she saw what each sphere contained. Richard froze, shock riveted onto his face, and he took a step back. Inside each sphere, a spork gleamed in the strange light. There must have been over a hundred.
Katryna smiled brightly.
"You know one of them was carrying eight of these? You instil impressive paranoia in your minions, Richard. A shame to waste it." She leaned forwards and behind her, the sporks swarmed. "Now tell me, how exactly did you hope to stop me?"
"Any way I can." Richard's fingers twitched on his wand as he trained it on Katryna. The Sue sniggered.
"You're all alone, Richard. Always were, really, but even the comfortable illusions have gone now. I don't – "
"I'm here."
Both figures in the circle turned, similar expression of surprise on their faces as they both noticed Sam as if for the first time. She tried to match the stares, hide the fact she was trembling violently. What in the world had made her say that?
Well… she was here. And she was probably going to die anyway, so what the hell:
Sam raised a shaking hand and pointed at Katryna, who was regarding her with a look of pure disgust.
"And she's lying. This is the illusion," she waved nervously at their surroundings, trying to stop her voice from cracking as she spoke, "and it's rubbish."
That was all she could manage. Her vocal chords stopped functioning as she saw the expression of loathing on Katryna's flawless features. In that moment, she didn't look at all beautiful.
"Succinct. Allow me to return the favour, Serena. Die." Katryna flicked a hand and the swarming sporks shot forward. Sam's muscles seized up as she watched the razor tips glint. She'd be shredded –
Richard moved. He lunged round, wand whipping through the air so fast it hissed as he snapped a spell. An invisible wave caught around Sam, hurling her bodily aside so violently she skidded when she hit the floor. She rolled badly, hands scrabbling on the glassy surface as she tried to get back onto her feet. A sound with extremely unusual harmonics rippled through the air and Sam splayed herself out, hugging the floor tightly enough to bring herself to a halt. She looked up as Katryna's eyes blazed, saw the Sue scythe her hand round again, and the sporks' path changed. They swooped round, spiralling towards their new target.
There wasn't time to dodge. Golden bubbles burst as they hit, releasing the deadly tridents. Silver plunged through heavy blackness as the swarm slammed into Richard. The sheer force of impact hurled him backward, a small cry escaping his lips as more sporks hit, slicing into him again, again, again, smashing each other aside even as repeated blows sent him stumbling, buckling, backward. He collapsed, the final few bubbles releasing their razor burdens strongly enough to send the crumpled form vanishing into the forest of pillars, which promptly started to close after him.
Sam hit the front pair just too late. She barely remembered standing up, yet alone running, but suddenly she was there, scrabbling ineffectively at the melded surface that had been a gap. No, no, no, no, no! That did not just happen!
It couldn't have happened! How… how could she have sporks? They-she-everything-
Richard!
She dodged to the side, searching for another way into the maze of columns, and then froze as a soft laugh came from behind her. She'd actually forgotten. The thought sent a tiny giggle of sheer nerves escaping from her lips as she turned.
Katryna was watching her with a malicious interest.
"How heroic. How pathetic," she laughed. "It was such a good story in places. And with sentimental value, of course. Now," she said, ice creeping into her voice, "you've been an irritation since you arrived, Serena, and amusing diversions aside, I am rather busy –"
Sam didn't wait to hear anything else. She darted aside, throwing herself into the nearest gap she'd spotted, clearing the pillar just as something hit the column behind her with a sinister rush of air. Green sparks scattered over her heels and Sam stifled a yelp as she dived headlong through the golden forest. At first she tried to angle her run, to try and get back to where Richard was… She refused to think any further about what she might find.
The vague plan didn't work. She'd barely run a few metres before the columns opened out again into the circle and she flung out her arms, swinging herself back a split second before another flash of green sizzled past her so close it left after-images across her vision. The hiss that accompanied it was almost as bad as the greasy whispering in the air. What the hell? The room was behind me!
She scrambled backwards and ran again, this time taking nearly seven steps before the room opened in front of her, but managed to avoid presenting a target. Her heart hammered against her ribs and she could feel wet heat on her cheeks, but she tried to ignore both. Think, Sam, think. This isn't real, so direction isn't normal…
…and I am really, really in trouble. So now –
"I'm getting bored now, Serena."
Sam yelped as she felt the pillar behind her shudder. She leapt away as it plunged into the ground, vanishing instantly. She managed to get behind another one, which promptly sunk as well. A laugh echoed through the remaining forest.
"This is my turf, little Serena."
"It's Sam," Sam muttered, and squeaked again as two more columns plunged into the ground. Her cover was getting very sparse. A new sound broke the air, the soft, rhythmic click of heels. Sam turned just as the final pillar behind her dropped away, leaving her in an open space in the forest line, and felt her heart skip several beats as she focused on Katryna walking smoothly towards her with one hand extended. Sparks crackled from the tips of the Sue's nails.
Sam didn't wait. Overriding her shaking muscles by sheer force of panic, she turned and launched herself away from Katryna, running for the open space away from the Sue. She sprinted out and skidded to a horrified halt. Katryna was standing on the other side of the circle she'd just entered. She had just run out of one side of the room, and straight into it again from the other direction. Direction really didn't mean anything in here.
Katryna turned round and smiled brightly.
"Slow on the uptake, aren't we?" She looked scornfully down her perfect nose at Sam. "Such an anticlimax. And how were you planning to stop me, little Serena?"
"Keeping you distracted was a good start."
Both women turned, identical shock on their faces as the dark figure stepped out of the pillars nearest to Katryna, weapons drawn. Richard looked awful – there was blood running down his face from a series of gashed wounds, part of one ear was missing and his robes looked like they had been through a shredder. That aside, he was unbelievably intact.
Sam forced herself not to sag with relief. Katryna's reaction was a little different.
"No!" The Sue stared at him, utter disbelief plastered across her face. "That's not possible! No one could survive that!"
"Heh," Richard's smirk was visible even under his injuries, "Nearly right. No Stu could survive that, but, thanks to you –" he spread his arms, a little shakily, "– that doesn't apply to me anymore. I'm human, Katryna. I should probably thank you for that."
"Save your breath." Katryna's hand flicked out, sending a jet of scarlet rippling towards him. Richard didn't try to dodge and instead hurled himself forward into a low roll, carrying him underneath the blast. His tattered robes whirled around him as he straightened up right in front of Katryna and lunged. Silver flashed and the Sue gave a cry of shock. Her arm arced out; catching Richard so hard across the chest that it produced an audible crack, and hurled him away. He yelped as his back smashed into a surviving pillar and he slid down it, pushing away from the base even as he hit the floor. He rolled sideways, back into the open space and onto his hands.
An obvious effort to stand failed and he toppled sideways, struggling to half-prop himself up as he rolled to look at his opponent. Katryna was staring down at the sliver of metal protruding from her chest, a shocked look on her face. For a few moments, nobody moved.
Then she started to laugh.
"That's it?" She straightened up and began to move towards Richard's prone form, seeming somehow to grow larger with every step until the spork's hilt was a barely visible glint on the iridescent robes. "That was your best attempt? The great Richard, at the height of his final battle, and that was the best you could do?" She was towering over him now, her eyes blazing icy silver as a disturbingly bright smile twisted her lips. Richard managed to heave himself up onto his shaking elbows, but his expression indicated that even that movement was nearly too much strain.
He was finished.
Katryna knew it. Almost lazily, she extended her right hand over him, fingers pointing downward, and her smile widened.
"Imperio."
Richard's entire body jerked and stiffened as the curse hit him. His face contorted, before blanking out, his eyes glazing over. Katryna stepped back, still smiling.
"Now, what to have you do? Stand up, Richard. I want to look at you."
He did. Slowly, stiffly, he hauled his battered figure upright and stood straight, swaying slightly, his blank stare fixed on Katryna.
"Yes."
"Good boy," she purred, leaning closer with a dark look in her eyes. "And now-"
She didn't get to finish the sentence, as it was at that point that Sam threw herself at the robed woman. No she thought briefly, this wasn't a woman. It… it was nothing more than a damned Mary-Sue! She couldn't really fight, she knew that, but she couldn't just stand and watch! Five-foot two of desperate, angry teenager slammed into the Sue, who let out a cry of surprise and began spinning erratically, trying to shake off the girl clamped across her back. Sam clung on grimly, wrenching at the luminescent blonde locks, clawing at any available exposed skin. Panic sang through her, but this time it wasn't fear for herself – it was the cold horror brought by very idea that she wouldn't be able to do anything. The Terrace was gone, Jackie had vanished and Richard… The first sob choked past her lips as his blank face rose across her mind.
He was beaten. They were beaten. But she was dammed if she was just going to roll over and give up! She tugged even harder, and was rewarded by a fresh shriek as a clump of platinum-white came away in her hand.
"Get – off – me – you – little-!" Katryna screeched, spinning round absurdly as her hands clawed ineffectively back, trying to get purchase, "Richard!"
Sam managed a final rake of nails before strong hands locked around her shoulders and wrenched her away from Katryna's back. The world span dizzyingly as she was hurled unceremoniously aside. She hit the ground badly – again – and skidded, skinning her palms as she pressed them into the glowing floor to try and steady herself. Something caught under her hands and she fell to one side, finally coming to a halt several metres away. .
She forced herself round apprehensively and swallowed a yelp as Katryna loomed over her, hate flashing in her eyes.
"You dare… A Serena has the audacity to challenge me? I'll kill you where you stand, you little bitch!" Her voice wasn't even faintly melodic now – far more like a screech owl than a siren – and there were strange specks of violet flickering and out of her stare.
"My – name – is – Sam!" Sam hissed, surprising herself with the force in her tones. She summoned a glare and focused it on Katryna. It wouldn't do any good, she was as good as dead now anyway, but she was not going to give up! There –
Her jaw dropped. Katryna regained a little composure, clearly thinking the expression was for her benefit, but she wasn't the focus of Sam's disbelief. Behind Katryna, his arms still half extended from tossing her aside, Richard cut a near-silhouette against the glowing walls, but suddenly his face was far from blank. The dark stare caught Sam's and shifted downward for a split second.
Sam could barely breathe. He… he wasn't under the Imperiuscontrol? Her eyes widened slightly as the implication hit her. He was standing under his own power. He couldn't be as badly hurt as she'd thought, as he'd been portraying. But why? Why make it look as if he'd given up…?
The eyes flicked downward again, just as Katryna turned round to see what Sam was staring at that wasn't her. Richard's expression blanked out again, and Sam snatched the opportunity to look down. Her gaze locked on the thin, white shape of what she'd fallen on earlier, and she blinked.
Richard's wand was lying mere centimetres away from her fingertips. And Katryna hadn't noticed. Reflexes sharpened by fear, Sam quickly snatched the wand and shoved it up her tattered sleeve, just before Katryna turned back, apparently satisfied that Richard was still under her control. Her attention returned to Sam and the terrifyingly bright smile returned to her face.
"What shall I do with you now?"
"Surprise me," Sam snarled and pulled herself round so the arm with the concealed wand was facing away from Katryna. She didn't know was she was supposed to do with it, but it felt good to be armed. Even if she couldn't use the weapon, nor did she have any idea how to even improvise other than to try and stick in some part of her opponent's face.
Katryna smiled coldly.
"If you insist." She raised her right hand into the air, fingers twitching, "Cruci- AAH!" The curse degraded in a scream of pain as Richard stepped around from behind her, caught the extended hand and smoothly wrenched it sideways. The crack positively echoed. Katryna tried to jerk away, but Richard's balled fist swung round, catching her hard in the jaw. She was sent staggering back by the force of the blow, clutching at her wrist as she stumbled –
Then the world exploded. Blinding golden light erupted from around the Sue as she suddenly lunged into the air, spread-eagled, violet-flecked gold blazing from her eyes. Sam threw her arms over her head as a hurricane sprang up around them, the air suddenly searingly hot and razor edged, cutting small blasts of pain from her flesh. The wind howled at an unnatural pitch that violated the ears, and it was all Sam could do not to clap her hands over them as she tried desperately to focus through the seething clouds of white light surrounding Katryna.
It was like what had happened to Jackie, when her Sue peaked. Why was-?
Any more thoughts on the subject died as another wave of scalding air blasted over her, sweeping aside some of the luminescent fog, and she couldn't repress a gasp. If she'd thought Katryna had changed form before, this was far beyond even that. Her body was bizarrely thin, the limbs splayed either side of her almost insectoid in their sharp lines, and contrasted impossibly with the gravity-defying cleavage that was barely restrained by her dress. Her clothing itself could hardly be described as material anymore – the cloth was suddenly so smooth and iridescent it appeared Katryna's skin had warped into blue-white scales over half her body. Her hair stood out either side of her, glowing crystal-white and twisting into thin tendrils that seemed to be moving to a different wind, and her eyes… Sam had never seen anything like them before, and was overcome with a sudden, desperate desire never to repeat the experience. Where recognisable optic structures had once been were now little more than wide slits in the translucently pale skin. Violet-hued white fire blazed out of them, spilling tiny sparks down her face, with hints of slanted pupil, less black than an absence of anything, occasionally visible as the flames danced.
Suddenly the wind seemed to focus, swirling back from around the room and spiralling around Katryna's hovering form. It caught the sparks, sweeping them up into condensed tornadoes howling in front of the Sue, like guard dogs on patrol. Katryna shuddered and the fire of her eyes became less erratic as she slowly turned in the air until she was facing Richard. The impossible pupils locked onto him.
He didn't flinch. He hadn't even moved.
"T-4T 15 1T!1!1" Katryna's voice was painful to hear, catching and skipping harshly around the inside of the skull, and her words contained several syllables no functioning larynx should have been able to produce.
Richard still didn't move. From Katryna's point of view, he must have been radiating insufferable calm.
"So this is the final form of a hosted Sue?" Very deliberately, he ran his gaze across Katryna, and sneered. "If that's the perfection we were aiming for, I'm a very glad I am 'only' human."
"I \/\/1LL GET H06\/\/4RTZ1!1! 4ND I WILL B TEH UL71/\/\4TE!1!" Even Katryna looked a little surprised at the sound of her own voice, and her next words were actually bordering on understandable. "4nd y0u, de4r R1ch4rd w1ll n0t 5t0p m3!11!"
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, but I will."
"D1E n0w!1!" Katryna flung out one of her emaciated arms, fingers flexing like grasping claws as the air in front of her burst into white flames and surged forward. Richard threw himself to one side, hitting the floor in a roll as the crystal inferno swept past him, scorching a powdery scar in the wall behind. The movement carried him back onto his feet and he was forced to dodge once more as she fired again. Now, the gap between them was far shorter, and the strain of his movements was showing on his face for real this time. He managed to dodge a further two blasts, but the fifth spout of silvery fire caught him in the side. It was only a glancing blow, but enough to send him crumpling onto his knees with a cry of pain as the shirt there evaporated, taking several layers of skin with it. Katryna didn't hesitate and shot forward, towering over Richard's fallen figure and appearing to grow again as she did so. The fire spilled from her fingertips as she raised her hands above her head, an insane smile contorting what remained of her face.
"1 \/\/1N, R1ch4rd." The ball of flame forming between her hands increased, blazing like a localised supernova as she tensed to fling it down.
"Sam! NOW!"
She hadn't even been aware she was waiting for the cue, but apparently part of Sam's mind knew what she had to do. She ripped the wand from her sleeve and threw it with every ounce of strength she could summon. Pale wood was dark against the brilliance as it streaked across the room. Katryna half-turned, momentarily distracted by the sudden action, and her blazing eyes widened as they focused on the wand. She lunged towards it but jerked oddly in the air, as if she were tangled in her own hovering attack, and then it was too late. Richard's outstretched fingers closed around the wand, plucking it out of the air and he swivelled, his arm sweeping out like the accusing digit of some avenging angel. His eyes narrowed.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Green light erupted from the tip of his wand and shot up towards Katryna's towering figure, aimed perfectly at her heart…
…no…not at her heart…
For one horrible, eternal moment, it looked as if he'd missed. Then the jet reached its target, and it became clear that Richard had hit exactly what he'd been aiming for.
Katryna's scream was an almost physical force as the spork embedded in her chest exploded in a storm of emerald bolts. Green lightning crackled across her limbs as they convulsed horribly, oily grey mist rising where the light touched, and over it all the scream sliced the air apart. The Sue began to shake violently, lightning crawling over her entire body, over, through, into her, radiating dark hunger. The blazing eyes flickered, fire fading, and then suddenly the scream intensified as green light began pouring from those eyes, swamping the brilliance there before. Grey fog spewed from her mouth, boiling away from her skin, shrouding her in so much oily mist that her actual form was obscured. The figure shuddered in the air, a humanoid shape of grey, faintly luminous fog, with two slanted blazing eyes, entangled in a crackling web of green lightning and over it all the scream, like a dying banshee, echoed with itself.
Sam didn't have chance to see any more as Richard ploughed into her, flattening her to the ground under him as he swept his outer robes around them both. A strange, deafening sound, like an explosion in reverse, thundered through the air and the ground shook. Points of green light filtered through some of the rips in Richard's cloak, although it still held most of its integrity. Sam clutched at him as the world shuddered, invisible things outside the dark shield battering them, the strange sound assaulting her ears. She knew she was screaming, from the pain in her throat, but she couldn't hear it, any other sound swallowed and crushed beneath the sheer power of the one smashing at them. Richard wrapped an arm round her shoulders and drew her closer, curling his body around hers and she could feel him shake as he took the brunt of the hidden assaults.
She couldn't see; could barely breathe the air, thick with the overpowering scents of blood, sweat and charred cloth and skin; couldn't hear anything above the deafening shriek scything through her skull and she just wanted it to end, for the noise and the shaking and the battering and everything to just STOP!
And then it did.
- x -