Mask of Humanity

Jo moved quickly, jogging through the castle, her drone moving out in front of her. She knew this latest haul of crystals wouldn’t be enough, but until she reached her sister she could pretend to herself that they would.

She slid through the crack in the wall concealed behind the tapestry, ignored the cruel murmurs of the painting as she always did, now, and ran up the stairs. As she went the same terror as always rose within her. Beth was no longer able to lock and re-open the door behind her, being confined to bed and barely able to move, thus the door must be left open. The fear that one day Jo might return to find her sister murdered filled her as always.

She pressed into the small complex of rooms, not even bothering to close and lock the door as she darted toward Beth’s room. She’d take care of that after assuring herself that… after assuring herself.

Beth lay on the bed, still, pale, hairless, her face sunken, her body unmoving. Her Seed rested in the hollow of her throat. The stock of Seeds Jo had taken but which Beth was unable to consume lest hers go out of balance was on a table to the side, along with a water bottle.

‘Beth?’ she asked, forcing herself to speak normally instead of screaming. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked, when she wanted to ask are you alive? and lightly shook her sister.

Beth’s eyes opened slowly. ‘You’re back.’ She smiled. Her voice was weak and shaky. Jo’s breath escaped her in a relieved gasp.

‘Here,’ Jo put an Oma crystal beside the Seed. ‘I’ve found more. What’s the progress, now?’

‘Mmmf.’ Beth groaned, then sighed, tapping her Mark. ‘I’m at eighty-one Soul, seventy-eight Oma. I think I need about—‘

‘Hello,’ a voice rang out behind them.

Jo's eyes shot wide open and she lunged. She seized her rifle and turned in a snap but was immediately grabbed by powerful hands that clenched tight around her forearms.

A man stared down at her with cold curiosity. Her training and her chip asserted itself and she wormed one of her arms under his, looking to get a grip on his clothing, shoving forwards to knock him off balance and beginning to twist her hips, but he moved much faster than expected and did something she couldn’t make sense of.

She found herself off-balance, confused and disorientated—he’d somehow gotten to the side of her—and the rifle was ripped from her grip and then he shoved her back. The room lurched around her as she flailed and tumbled to the ground.

‘Jo!’ Beth cried out.

‘Stay there!’ Jo yelled, scrambling to her feet and getting between her sister and the man.

‘I didn’t expect this,’ said the man, his dark eyes moving past Jo to land on Beth. He was quite tall, with short dark hair and a few week's worth of bristles on his cheeks. There was something oddly familiar about him. He formed a lopsided smile, one that seemed almost pitying.

‘We all have our reasons, eh?’ He turned the rifle in his hands, looking it over. ‘You got this before all the Chosen did. How’d you manage that?’ His probing eyes returned to her. ‘You found a Trade Link, didn’t you? You still have access to that Trade Link?’

This man was going to kill them. Her breath was coming hard and fast. She had to do something, she had to act, but her training and her chip held no solution to a situation like this.

‘Leave us alone! Go away!’ Jo screamed at him and pulled a knife. She had her feet set to lunge forward but the rifle came round immediately, the man flicking the safety and cranking the bolt as if he’d done the same a thousand times before.

His movements held an easy smoothness and grace that seemed inhuman, like someone with under-skin augments, but more primal. Vicious. Predatory. More like an animal than a man. That was when she recognised him, her eyes widening. This was the man she’d encountered about a week ago, who she’d been trying to lure out so she could shoot him, the one with something that let him fly. She’d seen that same predatory manner in him, and had felt as though she were hunted.

And now, here he was. While she’d been busy with her own issues, a wolf had been tracking her down.

He aimed the rifle at her and for a moment she froze like a deer, but then Jo looked behind and saw Beth, and she snarled. So what if I die, so long as I can save Beth. She took a step forwards and he moved the rifle, now aiming at Beth.

‘No!’ Jo put her body between the gun and her sister, her lungs spasming as she hyperventilated.

The man took a few steps back. He moved more slowly, now. He lowered the rifle and tugged open the side of the black poncho he wore. His eyes moved between her and Beth, thoughtful. He reached into a pocket and took out an Oma crystal, holding it out. He nodded to Beth, but his eyes were on Jo.

‘You need these, don’t you? To save her.’

His eyes were calculating. He wasn’t going to kill them. Not yet. He wanted something. Jo forced herself to take slow breaths, trying to calm herself.

‘What do you want?’ she asked.

‘Put the knife aside,’ he said. ‘On the table.’ There was an air of command in his voice, a heavy edge of threat. The rifle was hanging low but she knew it could be raised in an instant.

Jo put the knife on the table.

He gave a smile that was worryingly friendly, and his eyes moved slowly between her and Beth. Wheels were turning in those eyes. She frowned as his face moved oddly, an expression half formed before it went blank.

‘You’re a good shot with this,’ he said, his tone thoughtful. ‘You have an unlocked Combat Chip, don’t you? But it’s not just that. You move like you’ve had training.’

Jo didn’t reply, wary, unwilling to volunteer any information to the dangerous individual before her. He was right, though. On all counts.

He nodded as though she had spoken those words rather than thinking them. ‘And her, too?’ he asked, looking to Beth.

Both Jo and her sister remained silent. But again, he nodded as though she had answered. ‘This is what I want,’ he said. ‘I want to know how you got this rifle, and I want to work together.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘If you want to work together, then give me the gun back,’ she snapped.

‘Not just yet.’ The smile reappeared as his eyes met hers. ‘Do you know how Contracts work?’

Jo frowned. She’d made a Contract with the painting, and had been regretting doing so ever since. She hadn’t understood that they were literal Contracts, at the time. It was a mistake she’d told herself she would not be repeating.

‘You do,’ the man said, as though he’d read her mind, his smile growing. ‘How many more crystals does she need to finish her Seed?’ He glanced at the little stock of dead Seeds on the table. ‘She’s close, isn’t she? Will those be enough to get her there, if I give you crystals?’

Jo stared at him, unsure what to say. She glanced at Beth behind her.

‘I’m close,’ her sister weakly assured her. ‘Eighty percent. I think these would do it, if we had the crystals.’

‘And now you do,’ said the man, tapping a pouch on his hip. ‘But first, we will make a Contract.’

‘What kind of Contract?’ asked Jo, licking dry lips, wary and worried. Everything was happening so fast.

‘The two of you will agree to do whatever I ask. Effectively, you’ll be my subordinates, loyal to me, unable to harm me or do anything you think might harm me, and must follow my directions.’

‘What?’ Jo snarled. Give up their freedom, become this random man’s slaves? No. Her teeth clenched tight. ‘I’d rather die,’ she spat.

‘Jo…’ came Beth’s voice.

‘No, Beth! What’s the point of us surviving this just to end up as slaves!’

‘Would you rather she die?’ the man asked. He asked like he was honestly curious.

Jo scowled at him, and her gaze moved to the crystals in his hand. She took a slow breath, steadying herself. There was a way through this, there had to be. She was getting those crystals. She was going to save Beth.

This man wanted them to work for him, to form a Contract. The Contract would only last for a couple of months, at least according to the text she’d seen the first time. She could work with that. But, she had to make sure the Contract wasn’t overbearing; she couldn’t allow herself and Beth to become disposable tools.

The man was gazing at her through narrowed eyes. There was something crafty in those eyes, gauging and thoughtful. The look stirred a memory in Jo, bringing her back to days sat across the table from her father, who’d gazed at her with eyes just the same, cold and crafty and ancient, studying her, weighing her.

‘Well? What is your counter offer?’ her father had asked, tapping the table impatiently.

Jo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She firmed her will, just as she had all those times. This was a deal, that was all, and she’d been training to broker deals almost as long as she’d been able to walk. She hadn’t realised it when she made the Contract with the painting, and if her father could see the wording of that Contract… Oh, he would not be happy. But this time Beth’s life hung in the balance. This time, she knew what to do.

‘I am amenable to working with you,’ Jo said, her tone of voice and her stance shifting, a practised smile spreading over her features. ‘But your terms are simply unacceptable. We will not accept the complete loss of our agency.’ Her eyes narrowed slightly and she projected the confidence and certainty she’d been taught. ‘If that is a requirement, then I don’t see any point in further discussions.’

The man’s face remained exactly the same. Carefully, suspiciously blank. He’s good at keeping a poker face. But she’d been faced with such faces before and she sensed the wheels turning in his eyes, and she knew that he was surprised, that he was rethinking. Then, he smiled, a smile she recognised as just as practised as hers, but with a tinge of something else, something that surprised her. He looked almost pleased.

‘In that case… let’s see what we can work out.’

They talked. He was good. Very good and he had the leverage with those crystals in his hand, and he knew it, too. But Jo worked away, and ignored what he said and paid attention instead to what he meant, and she gradually worked him down to something just barely acceptable. Her main focus was on making sure he couldn’t sacrifice them for his own benefit, but instead had to do his best to keep them alive.

In the course of it they exchanged names. The man was called Nicolai. She’d learned from their discussions that there were more with him, a group, but he didn’t seem to trust them, not exactly, not based on the measures he’d pushed for within the Contract. He was also obsessed with the Trade Link, which was understandable. He tried to get her to tell him where it was, wheedling away, but she kept her cards close.

‘That will do,’ she said at last, speaking through gritted teeth.

‘Good,’ Nicolai said.

She wasn’t exactly happy with the agreement which had been reached, but she believed that he felt at least partly the same. His face had flicked between only two expression the entire time: blank and unreadable, or a friendly smile. Both looked quite practised, to her eyes. But in spite of the unreadability of his face, she was sure she sensed a faint niggle of irritation from him. He’d not been able to leverage the Contract quite so far in his own favour as he’d wanted, but it was still far too much in that direction for her tastes. Best I could do.

‘You know how it works?’ he asked.

Jo held out her Marked hand in answer, and he extended his own.

Just before their hands touched, she pulled back, a sudden frown on her face. She turned to Beth. I can’t make this decision alone.

‘Are you okay with all this?’ she asked her sister.

‘It’s up to you.’ Beth smiled wanly. ‘I told you. I don’t mind if I die. I just want you to live.’

‘I’m not going to let you die! You’re not dying! You’re not leaving me!’

‘Then, let’s do it.’ Beth shrugged, her smile strained, her movements weak and pained.

‘Alright.’ Jo’s gaze lingered on her sister for a moment. Beth had all but given up, recently. Integrating the Seed will change that. It has to. She turned back to Nicolai. She clasped his hand, met his cool, patient eyes, and nodded.

He began to speak. ‘I, Nicolai the human, a Marked in Heaven’s Great Game, wish to enter into an agreement with Jo, one bound by the Rules and our Marks.’ Their Marks shimmered, lights twinkling and emerging, and then they were wrapped in a shining weave of light, dancing with strange symbols, words hovering between them. Jo had seen this before, but even so it made her shiver. She could feel a power in the words, a power that pressed like a weight against her mind.

Begin contract.

‘I agree to be honest in my dealings with Jo, and expect the same from her in return. Neither of us shall seek to betray the other, but in the event that we decide to betray one another we must let the other know of this prior to taking any action. I will be required to take any reasonable action to ensure Jo remains living and in good health, and she must do likewise for me. Neither of us may attempt to harm the other nor perform other hostile or aggressive acts, excepting in circumstances where it proves necessary in some manner to do so to save one another from larger harm, or when agreeing to spar or for another friendly purpose.

‘Jo agrees to share with me the location of the Trade Link, however she may not share this location with third parties, excepting Beth who will be a party to this agreement. None of us will share this information unless I, Nicolai, allow it.

‘During combat situations, Jo agrees to follow my commands. As before, it is my responsibility not to give orders that have a very high likelihood of Jo dying or being severely injured; unless there are no options without such risk, or if I assume the same risk alongside her.

‘Jo must not tell third parties any information that may reflect badly on me, nor any items I specifically mention that I do not wish others to know.

‘Jo must aid me in the pursuit of these goals: surviving, growing stronger, accruing resources. Jo must speak up if she notices risks or advantages while we are pursuing these goals, and aid me if she sees means to do so. She must avoid actions that would put our goals at risk. Likewise, I must aid Jo in the same areas, helping her also survive, grow stronger, and accrue resources; however, as the lead partner, I reserve the majority of resources and benefits for myself, but must allocate enough that Jo continues to grow in capability alongside me. The only exception is Reward Shrines; should Jo receive one, she may choose the reward which is solely hers to do with as she wishes.

‘This Contract is conditional upon me making an identical Contract with Beth, and does not take full effect on either of us until I do so. Once the Contract is made between all three of us, the aforementioned clauses will be shared between both Jo and Beth. If one of them breaks the Contract, they both will be considered to have transgressed.

‘This agreement exists only between myself and Jo, and neither of us may share the existence or details of the agreement to third parties unless I agree to do so, excepting Beth who will be enfolded into an identical Contract and join our partnership.

‘In the event that I break this agreement, I accept Heaven’s ruling for my transgression against it.’

At last his speech ended. Jo had listened extremely carefully to every word he spoke, and it was all as they had discussed. Regardless, she paused, replaying his words through her implants, making doubly sure. She then began to say the same from her side, going through it all until she reached the end.

‘In the event that I break this agreement, I accept Heaven’s ruling for my transgression against it,’ she said.

Contract witnessed.

The words echoed, settling around them with a strange power. The lights burned bright then flickered and were sucked back into their Marks which shimmered for a moment before turning dark.

Next he repeated the process with Beth. Jo had to help her sister raise her hand.

When the lights faded, Jo saw Nicolai let out a breath of air, and she noted how his body relaxed, softening. Jo let out her own breath. It was done. The tension slipped away to pool just out of sight. She had faith in the Contract. She had already learned how iron-clad they were, and the one she’d just made precluded either of them from harming the other. She and Beth were safe.

‘Alright,’ Nicolai said, and he pulled a pouch of crystals from his vest then held it out to Jo.

She snatched at it, feeling like she was grabbing something precious from a roaring fire. His lips twitched and she scowled in response, but she couldn’t stop herself from holding the pouch tight, couldn’t keep the relief from her face.

‘I’m going to head off, please lock the door behind me. There are more in my group, I’ll bring them back here. Go ahead and integrate the Seed.’ He looked to Beth. ‘I’ll warn you, it’s a difficult and messy process, but be strong, and you will be through it, and all the better for it. Trust me on that.’ He grinned at her, a kind of savage joy shining through him. He glanced to Jo. ‘Move anything you don’t want drenched in filth away from her, and keep a careful watch on her. I almost choked on vomit when I integrated mine.’

‘You’ve finished yours?’ Already?

He nodded. ‘There are easier, faster ways than what you’ve been doing. I intend for you to finish yours as soon as possible, too.’

So we’ll be more useful to him. Still, finishing her Seed was appealing.

‘How many more in your group?’ she asked.

‘Not too many, don’t worry, they’ll fit.’ His teeth appeared and disappeared in an amiable flash. ‘I don’t have a contract with them, but I believe they are trustworthy. When they get here, don’t tell them about our Contract, or how many crystals I gave you.’

Jo snorted. Didn’t sound like there was a lot of trust between him and them to her.

‘Sure.’

He nodded and smiled. It was again a surprisingly friendly, sympathetic smile. It was the kind of smile that made one feel seen, and understood, and appreciated. The smile even touched his eyes, which seemed more open, now. Had she merely imagined the emptiness?

‘I’ll be back soon,’ he said, and held the rifle out to her.

Jo reflexively took it, and found herself stunned. Everything had changed. She felt her wariness slide down a notch and forcefully pushed it back up as she checked her rifle over.

Nicolai strode to one side of the room and placed a sack there, then pulled a… a severed head out of it. A head that was not dead. It blinked at him and looked around, its alien eyes settling on Jo and Beth, strange little face formed into an expression Jo hazarded as being curious.

‘This is Kleos!’ he pronounced, holding the head out to them. ‘He’s a friend of mine. Make sure he doesn’t come to any harm; think of harming him, as harming me. I believe if you do so, our Contract won’t be happy. Keep an eye on my sack, too, but don’t take anything.’ He nudged the sack with his foot, then placed the head on the table and turned it till it was looking at him. ‘You heard everything?’

‘I did,’ said the head. Jo gaped at it, and heard Beth gasp behind her.

‘You understand?’

‘I do. I’ll give them any advice I think they need.’

The man turned the head to look at them. He tapped the wood beside it. ‘Friend,’ he said. Jo bristled, irritated by the patronising words.

‘I get it,’ she snapped.

‘Anything I should know before I leave?’ he asked.

Jo considered that, frowning, and one matter rose to the front of her mind. ‘There is a weird painting downstairs. I have a Contract with it, too.’

‘Oh?’ He didn’t look happy to hear that. ‘What kind of Contract?’

‘It wants me to go get it something, a paintbrush, and change how it looks. Like, paint on it. I, uh, I only have three days left.’

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Do you know where the paintbrush is?’

‘I do, but it’s well defended, I’ve not been able to get to it.’

‘And what happens if we do so, make the change it wants?’

Jo bit her lip, unhappy to be reminded of her fuck up, of the issue she’d been doing her best to ignore. ‘I don’t know. I don’t trust it. It acted nice at first. It helped us. But ever since I made the Contract it’s been different. Nasty. I didn’t realise they were literal contracts like on Earth, back then. The one I made with it isn’t in my favour.’

‘Mmmm. Okay. We’ll talk more on this later.’ For reasons she could only guess at, he took some rags and a water bottle from his sack before turning to leave. As he reached the door he glanced over his shoulder and said, ‘Don’t forget to lock the door behind me, and open it when I knock and you hear my voice.’

He walked out. She watched him leave through the main door and just like that he was gone. Jo swallowed and exchanged a look with Beth.

‘Nice to meet you, humans,’ said the head.