Mask of Humanity

After a time, as the Integration continued, Beth’s moans of pain turned into gasps of pleasure. Nicolai recalled how he’d felt in the same moment as the consuming pleasure of the finalising change wracked his body. There was a vague pulse of voyeuristic lust within him which he stamped to death, and he politely turned his head away as her writhing took on a different cadence.

He busied himself examining the room. They had quite a few helpful little things. A medkit, which Jo was keeping close to hand, even though he’d told her it wouldn’t be of any help in the Integration. A few fold-up camping chairs. On the table there were various toiletries, a little portable cooking setup including a stove and utensils, and a pair of solar-charged lamps. It was all the sort of things he would quite like to have himself.

When Beth had quieted again, he looked back to see her staring sightlessly up at the ceiling, a beatific smile on her face, which had recovered from the sunken, half-dead state she’d been in when he first saw her. The rest of her body seemed likewise a little recovered. She’d even gained a fuzz of blonde hair, replacing the bald scalp he’d seen before. If humans had possessed seasons, he would have said she’d gone from mid-winter straight to late-spring.

‘How do you feel?’ asked Jo.

‘Good.’ Beth’s smile became a grin. ‘I feel… so much. I…’ Her eyes grew wide. ‘There’s no pain!’ she yelled, a look of unbelievable joy on her face. ‘Jo, Jo, there’s no pain!’ She let out a laugh of pure delight, and a grinning Jo grabbed onto her, hugging tight, laughing too.

Nicolai’s Mask smiled at the sight. The two girls seemed to feel his gaze, pulling apart and shooting him a look, then turning to one another again, some unspoken message passing between.

Beth smiled at him and glanced at her Marked hand. ‘I completed a Challenge,’ she said, which pricked at Nicolai’s interest.

Of course, she would have the choice of a Symbiote. Immediately his thoughts turned to whether he could take it for himself, but their Contract precluded that. He would simply have to ensure she picked wisely for their purposes. His Mask wriggled on his face, and Nicolai felt a sudden shock of upset from it. He wasn’t sure why.

His thoughts moved on, considering her uses. She’d entirely overcome her ailment, that was clear. He felt no curiosity as to what that had been. It was her past, not his, and he only needed to know she would be physically functional and mentally stable. Like her sister, he believed that she would have an unlocked combat chip and trained skills. That, plus the fact she was now a Cultivator, made her quite an asset.

Her new Soul Sense was spreading around her, uncertain and curious. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you,’ she said, laughing again, tears wetting her eyes as she lunged over and grabbed her sister, who gave her another fierce hug in return.

Nicolai felt the relief boiling off from Jo, and interestingly enough, he also felt Beth’s emotions. The girl’s Soul Sense was giving them off, and though he felt sure that she could have guarded them, she didn’t seem to know how. Was he the same? Somehow, he didn’t think so. Guarding his innermost thoughts and feelings was something he did almost instinctively. He checked regardless, trying to turn and look back at himself. It was an odd sensation, but he could feel how his Soul Sense was firm, closed, and guarded; doubly so in comparison to Beth whose Soul Sense felt wild, free, and excited.

‘You saved me, you did it, by getting all those Seeds,’ cried Beth.

‘I… yes.’

Now there was a wave of guilt and horror and misery from Jo.

‘What is it?’ Beth pulled back to stare at her sister.

‘What?’ Jo blinked at her, face blank. Carefully blank. Poker-face blank.

‘Why do you feel so bad? You feel… guilty?’

Jo shoved her sister away and staggered back, her eyes wide. ‘What? No, I don’t. I’m fine.’

Beth stared up at her, face creasing, and Nicolai detected the girls Soul Sense pressing around her sister, and he felt Beth’s curiosity transform into a driving need to know. He was able to feel what she felt, flooding from her unguarded Soul Sense, an awareness of a lie between them and an urge to dig it out like someone with an abscess in their mouth, unable to stop poking and poking at the nasty, puss-filled little wound with their tongue.

Nicolai’s own Soul Sense slid out and wrapped Jo, forming a protective barrier, blocking Beth. He found it easy enough to hold her Soul Sense away from her sister.

The girl’s head snapped to stare at him. ‘Stop that!’

‘Stop what?’ Jo’s head turned rapidly between him and her sister, and he felt her confusion, felt her grow certain that there was something she didn’t understand, felt her wariness and fear.

‘We can read your emotions, me and her.’ He gestured to Beth, and spoke with a lowered voice. ‘One of the perks of becoming a Cultivator. Those who aren’t, are open to those who are. Neither of you are to tell the others of this.’ He raised a firm finger with these last words, making sure they understood. ‘Doing so would be greatly harmful to my goals. Our goals.’ If the others knew he could sort-of read their minds, his efforts to worm his way to a more controlling position in their group were likely to be seriously hampered.

‘And you’ve been doing so this whole time?’ Jo’s fear was turning into anger, mostly at him, partly at her sister.

‘I have been,’ he admitted freely. ‘I do it with everyone. It’s very useful.’ It would bother her but their Contract was set, no take-backsies. ‘Until you integrate your Seed and become a Cultivator, I don’t think you can defend against it. Right now, I’m defending you from her.’

‘What did you do, Jo?’ Beth asked, ‘I feel your guilt, I know you’re keeping something secret from me. I’ve known for ages, but now it’s so obvious! Why? We’re sisters, we tell each other everything!’ she said this last desperately. From the emotions bleeding out of her Soul Sense, Nicolai gathered she considered this secret to be some kind of betrayal.

The girl’s Soul Sense tried to reach for her sister again, and once more he blocked it. He found the task interesting, and considered it useful experience. Once more people gained his ability, he could see that controlling one’s Soul Sense, and fighting back against others, would become very important. He wanted to attack and see what a Soul Sense battle looked like in truth, gain experience. His Mask frowned at him. Not the time, I know. Fortunately, she was squirming and trying hard to get through his block, which was almost as good in terms of practise.

Settling into it, smiling with enjoyment, he studied her Soul Sense and watched as it came, then knocked it aside. He heard a snarl of annoyance. He watched her gather herself, Soul Sense dark with anger, then she lunged.

He knocked her away, again, this time managing a slightly better angle. His Soul was being slightly damaged with each collision, and he felt his Node start working, burning Oma to replenish it. Simultaneously, he noted how her Soul Sense was shrinking and guessed that the collisions were inflicting a similar damage on her end. It looked to him like she’d suffered more than he, lost more Soul Sense. That was likely because her attacks were ill-disciplined and shoddy, while his defence was firm and well structured.

He was a little worried this might trigger the Contract, that it might consider their little magical brawl as her attempting to “harm” him, and he was careful to frame what was happening to himself, and hopefully to the Contract if it was listening, as “sparring.” The Contract wasn’t killing her so this seemed to work, or it just didn’t consider a Soul Sense scuffle as meaningful enough to activate.

‘Stop it! Stop blocking me!’ she screamed. Her face was red and veins stood out on her forehead. Her Soul Sense hurtled toward him.

Nicolai tensed, seeing that this strike was much better than the last few, her tendril tight and dense, formed into a stabbing point.

He twisted his own aside at the last moment, whipping it around and catching hers in the side, knocking the strike away. He experienced a surge of exhilaration that made him grin, enjoying the tense exchange. Beth’s face, meanwhile, was ever more twisted with rage. Her Soul Sense rose high for another strike, boiling and seething, and her hands clenched into bloodless fists around the bedsheets.

He watched her. Ready and eager, hungry to learn more of how Soul Sense fights worked. This coming attack looked like it would be even better than the last. He couldn’t wait to knock it away.

‘Beth!’ yelled Jo, her face blanched white, a contrast to her sisters, her own fists clenched. ‘Stop! Stop trying to get into my head! I don’t want you to!’

Beth’s Soul Sense tendril flinched away and fell apart, collapsing into a mess around her then forming into a passive sphere. Nicolai stared at it, his own falling limp and sad. The disappointment made his eyes prickle, actual tears starting to form.

He was quick to blink them away, reassuring himself that he would work out a way to spar with her more later. Not only was it enjoyable, it was extremely worthwhile; an unexpected benefit of binding these two to him. It would be impossible for him to practise Soul Sense combat so effectively on his own.

Beth wore a stricken expression—one that was likely not dissimilar to his own—as she struggled out of the bed, throwing the sheets off, standing at first a little wobbly, but then tall, strong with the energy and power of her improved body. She was stark naked and covered in filth. Nicolai crinkled his nose, hoping she wouldn’t attack him. He’d rather not have to touch her.

‘Then tell me, I don’t want any lies between us,’ Beth begged, starting towards her sister, hands raised to entreat or perhaps to grab.

‘No… I… Beth, please…’ Jo stumbled back, avoiding her sisters eyes.

Beth looked like she was going to say something else then her face paled. ‘Ugh.’ A grumble came from her stomach. ‘I need to use the toilet,’ she managed, then choked like she was wrestling down the urge to vomit.

Nicolai snorted, amused by the abrupt end to the drama, then set into motion. He tugged out a pot he’d spotted below the bed, grabbed the cleansing red water bottle and tossed it to Beth, who caught it reflexively, jerkily, unused to her new speed. He noted that otherwise she moved well, looking to be in good health.

‘That bottle will clean you up. Do what you have to do. Let’s all take a moment, relax, talk about things later. Come on.’ He took Jo by the hand and scooped up Kleos on the way then opened the door and towed the unresisting woman after him.