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Stories from the Verse
A Dozen Verses
Chapter 153: Slade 299
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Cooper 123
The psi-clone was restoring its defenses, blocking Slade with the force wall, slowing his movements, dissipating the energy of Shella’s magical force attacks, reading their minds and anticipating their actions, but apparently unsuccessful in its efforts to strike back. Slade kept up his barrage of prayerfully-enhanced strikes against the shield; he remembered that once Lauren’s shield was hit hard enough that it collapsed, and he was hoping this could happen here. The creature continued jabbering as it fought.
“Why can’t I do anything about that sword? Nothing works! Wait--perhaps I can weaken its molecular structure so it breaks--oh, no, not good.”
Slade paused, hesitating, trying to figure out what was happening--and then turned and shouted, “Run!”
Shella ran. Slade prayed, “Ullr, we hunt and our prey escapes. Let the Norns guide our steps.” The prayer had no discernible effect--of course not, he thought, we’re not pursuing, we’re fleeing. Shame on me. Although he could easily have overtaken Shella he stayed between her and the danger behind.
There was a blood-curdling shriek, and the ground shook, and suddenly everything exploded--not the creature, or perhaps not just the creature, but the planet itself became a huge bomb, ripping through his body like a bonfire through a sheet of tissue paper. He knew they were leaving; the death of the psi-clone had been devastating for that world, but hey, that world hadn’t yet been more than a wasteland which had perhaps found its best possible use in bringing an end to the monster.
As the dust cleared, he found himself standing in a large room in another universe surrounded by several people, his wife lying on the floor ahead of him staring at the ceiling.
“Rise and shine, dear,” he said. “It’s time to start a new day.”
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with eleven other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #536: Character Confrontations. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
