Book of Glitch – Chapter 13

“Iggy?” she began to carefully ask. “Where did you learn to strike like that? I didn’t see what you did to that blockhead, but I could hear the displacement of his bone. That was a rather clean break.”

The young Stonie beamed at her compliment and the uneven, toothy grin resurfaced across his face.

“You like that, did you love?” he chuckled. “There’re a great many things I could show you if you were wil—yeah, yeah... I know my gem doesn’t like to be touched.”

“I’m also not in favor of being called anyone’s gem,” she rebuked.

He continued, “Well like I said, I’ve lived everywhere and in my travels I’ve learned the best way to put plasma on the table is to fight in the underground boulder battles. You’re looking at one of the greatest warriors this sight of the Atlantic, my sweet. I could get you into a match if you’d like.”

This time Syena was the one to snicker and the two had to stand in the darkened avenue as she collected herself. Seeing that Iggy’s spirits had at least lifted enough for him to continue his preposterous propositions, she renewed her efforts to get to the diplomats’ quarters to find Joshua’s uncle.

“I’m sorry, I was just imagining what my father would say if I found me and my brothers at one of those boulder battles,” she grinned. “He’s done everything in his power to present Stonies as nothing but humble and respectable variant beings. I just thought it might be amusing to see him angry about us doing something, but I’m sure you can see how ridiculous that is.”

“No, why should I?” Iggy asked.

“He’s the Stonie representative, Field Marshal Basal, surely you’ve seen him on the telescreens,” she said.

“Your dad’s the bloody Stonie marshal?” Iggy shouted. “What are you doing…? If he knew you were… What in the magma are you even doing out here again?”

“I already told you,” she hissed. “I lost my friend in an accident.”

“Are you mental? No one’s going to believe a story as shoddy as that coming from you,” he hollered.

“What are you talking about? Once we get to his uncle, I know Elder Caleb will have his guards searching-”

“Wait just a minute. You don’t mean the Grand Duke Elder Caleb, do you? Blimey love, that’s the last old cogger to go to with this. Best yet, don’t go telling anyone about this.”

Syena rolled her eyes and proceeded down the lane that opened onto the square that lay between the estates and the palace.

“Hang on there, ouch. Would you just listen to me? You can’t just go tell the top Elder that you were up in some tower with his nephew and the old boy suddenly flew out the window,” Iggy whispered. “He’ll have a swarm of Ceruleans drown you where you stand.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Syena shouted. “Caleb and my father are good friends—he would never doubt me let alone have me attacked.”

Her companion scoffed, “Don’t be so dense/daft love, you think some crusty old man is going to defend you when word gets out that one of the beloved Elders has gone missing, or worse? Look around you—didn’t you see the way they acted as soon as we showed up?”

When they had first entered the lane, there had still been several Incantare strolling along looking into the boutiques and chatting with one another. As Syena and Iggy made their way toward the square, the conversations about them had dulled to whispers and two Aero females had even flown over to the other side of the street. She had originally supposed that they had merely seen a companion of theirs on the other side, but she peeked over to see that the two females were glaring at her and Iggy. 

A male Bolt who was advancing toward them clutching his neck, an action she would have been willing to attribute to the male’s possible ill-health if he hadn’t spat on the ground just as they had crossed his path. She acknowledged that the reactions of the Incantare around them were rather crude, but wanted considered the reasons outside from who they were that would cause such undeserved disdain from their audience.

Looking over her lavender frock and black leather pants, which had been shredded to little more than threads and straps and caked in soot from the explosion, she wondered if she bared a greater resemblance to Iggy’s nomadic lifestyle. Yet she still couldn’t surmise what about her disheveled appearance would incite the Bolt to scorn her and Iggy so harshly as to defile the ground at their feet.

“Yours is a bit too charged for our tastes, mate!” Iggy shouted at the back of the retreating Bolt. “Do you see? They’re so used to treating us like we’re monsters. You honestly think they’ll believe you had nothing to do with old what’s his...?”

 “Joshua, and yes. I just need to explain what happened to Caleb, he’ll understand,” she argued. “Really Iggy you shouldn’t assume that everyone views us in such a negative way, especially if there are more Stonies presenting themselves in a positive-”

“Oi, you there,” shouted a gruff, stifled male voice.

The two young Stonies turned about to face three older Stonie males, one of whom was gripping his nose. Syena rolled her eyes as she recognized the aggressive Stonie from outside of the tower, accompanied by two equally hideous and engorged males.

“You kiddies have gotten yourselves into quite a bit of trouble, messing with my friend here,” spoke one of the haggard males. “Though I can’t imagine how a twig like you managed, to crack such a wallop on old Rocko here.”

“Shove off Brickson, you won’t there,” the injured Stonie retorted. “Anyone can get a lucky dig on a chap when he’s not looking. What’s say we teach these young ones a lesson in respecting their superiors?”

“Pray you don’t think the bloke might be referring to himself, eh Syena?” Iggy beamed.

The largest of the three males by the name of Rocko advanced on Iggy, who to his attacker’s bewilderment countered him and laid the old stone out on his back before the former had uttered his protest. The still silent, more ragged appearing partner of the other two managed to grab hold of Iggy as the boy’s attention was on the fallen male, but he had not counted on Syena intervening.

The girl stabbed at his collarbone with her pointed hand, an assault that would have killed any other variant being, but only managed to crumple the graying convalescent Stonie to his knees. The pain from the blow still left him writhing at her feet, shouting an incalculable number of insults at the girl.

“That’s quite enough of that Miss. What’s say you be a good girl and come along nicely?”

The injured Stonie had boldly stepped toward Syena and wriggled his cricking arm about her waist. Iggy had wrestled Rocko into submission, and now sat on the brute’s back while yanking the male’s chin toward the heavens.

“Oi mate, I wouldn’t…” Iggy began to warn Brickson.

But it was no use—Syena had somersaulted and flipped her aggressor on his head. The male squirmed and pounded the ground as she wrenched his legs further and further back, so that his inflexible spine was curved into an unforgiving cyclical shape to the point that his feet practically stood on the back of his head. She could have snapped the male’s back, but she released him and tossed his flailing legs to the road. Iggy, who had been cheering her on, jumped off of the male he had sat on and rejoined his companion.

As the two observed the sorry trio, a blast from the other side of the road struck a mere two feet from where the young Stonies stood. The two looked over to see three Bolts standing hand-in-hand with a partner Dragoon. Perhaps you will recall that when charged, the heat emitted from a Dragoon will combust at such an alarming rate that the resulting explosion can even damage an adolescent Stonie at close proximity. As Syena stared at the attackers, Iggy glanced down to see that they had managed to knock over the silent male from the gruff trio of Stonies.

“Well well,” drolled a gurgling voice. “What a bounty we’ve stumbled upon here, darling.”

From behind the Bolt-Dragoon guard stepped out a squat, male Shaman and an obscenely large Sham female. She licked her reddened lips, and stroked her protruding chin as she spoke.

“Why yes my dear, these will fetch us quite the reward once we’ve finished them off.”

At that the Dragoons stepped forward and began to direct wave after wave of dry, smoldering heat at the bewildered group. Iggy reached for Syena’s arm and dragged her away from their downed fellow Stonies. As they ran, she looked back to see that the hag Shaman was stomping the ground and shouting for one of the Bolts to chase after them while the remaining artillery continued to suppress Rocko and Brickson. Their silent comrade had fled in the opposite direction into the square, but Syena was certain she could hear his sharp wails of pain as a series of blasts reverberated in the distance.

As the Bolt coming for them closed in on them, Syena hoisted an illuminator pole from the pavement and hurled it toward the Bolt. The Bolt managed to dodge the strike, but the magnetic draw of her charged flesh drew the seventeen-foot, iron pole back at her. She collapsed under the unexpected weight of the pole, giving her prey enough time to escape through a maze of back ways that wove all the way toward the borough of royal guest villas.

“I don’t have much criminal experience but I can’t imagine it being normal for the Incantare to attack like that in the street, even if we are suspects,” Syena huffed.

“Well I’ve gotten into a few rows here and there, but you’re right a Sham would never come after one of us like that,” Iggy seconded. “Especially not some slinking old warlock and his saggy, hag partner. What bothers me more is why those other Incantare were working with them.”

“Seemed to me like they were working for them,” she proposed. “And did you see how they made those explosions? I’m sure that was the same sort of blast that put the hole in the lab wall.”

“So what you think those were the Shams who came after you and your Elder friend earlier?”

Syena silently considered Iggy’s inquiry. If those were the same Shamans who were responsible for the attack at the tower, she pondered why they would still come after her. Then she recalled what the female Sham had said about collecting a bounty for the entire group.

“I think those Shamans are hunting Stonies?” she proposed.

“Hunting Stonies?” Iggy rebuked. “No one can hunt Stonies, except maybe other Stonies.”

“Well I don’t know,” she defended. “Maybe those three were in some sort of trouble and they confused us with being involved.”

“Hey now, don’t slow down,” he scolded. “Besides even if those three are wanted, you should know the authority would only send the Stonie regiment to go after other Stonies.”

Iggy had a point, which only troubled Syena the more.

“Where are we going?” he shouted.

“Back to my family,” she answered. “My father might be able to tell us what’s going on.”

“Then we better get off of the streets, it’s no good stomping around out in the open. Follow me.”

Iggy made a mad dash into the empty avenue, running straight toward a manhole and ripping off its cover.

“In we go,” he said as he reached out for Syena’s hand.

She stared at him and looked around the street for an alternative hiding place. But in the distance she saw what looked to be three trails of light bobbing toward them at an alarming speed. Iggy grabbed a hold of Syena’s arm and dragged her into the pitch-darkness of the pit. He recovered the iron plate and sealed the tunnel before jumping down to meet her. Just as Syena dealt him two throbbing blows they heard the tramping of footsteps overhead.

“Quickly,” he whispered.

And the two raced down the dank underground passage.