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  “Whether we stay or go, we have to move right now. There will be more of those.” Anonemuss began running down the hill toward the nearest cover: that provided by a copse. Milan and Athena ran after him. Cindella was hesitating.

  “What is it?” asked B.E. “We need to move.”

  “Inny. If we let them take the portal back, she’ll never get through.” Erik spoke with heartfelt regret. “The same with Harald.”

  “We’ve no choice.” B.E. shouldered his pulse rifle and began to run after the others. A moment later, swift as a diving hawk, Cindella raced past him.

  It was hard for Ghost to accept Milan and Athena’s decision, but there was no point waiting any longer, hoping they would turn back. Her two friends were already halfway to the trees. She turned to the last remaining avatar, that of Gunnar.

  “Well, are you joining us?”

  There was something in the posture of the handsome trooper as he faced the portal, its shimmering silver light reflecting in his eyes, that suggested a yearning to leave. When he began to run, Ghost was sure that Gunnar was going to plunge back through to the safety of Saga, but with a groan of self-pity, the avatar swerved to rush after the others. Surprised, Ghost followed.

  Ghost had enjoyed the battle at the portal and had been looking forward to the opportunity of exploring this new world, backed up by the human team. But now events had moved in an unexpected direction. A dark sense of foreboding lay upon her as she saw Milan and Athena duck under branches and out of view. By choosing to come, they had demonstrated their loyalty to her. But they might have just made a decision that would cost them their lives. Despite Ghost’s considerable powers, it might prove impossible for any of them to get back to Saga.

  Chapter 9

  A REALM OF MAGIC AND MONSTERS

  From the cover of the woods, Ghost watched as several more planes flew around the hill on which stood the portal to Saga.

  “The others aren’t going to make it, are they?” Although they were hidden hundreds of yards from the hill, B.E. was nevertheless careful to speak in a whisper.

  “Even if they created a new avatar straightaway and raced to the portal with someone as fast as Milan as a driver, they still wouldn’t get there before the tanks and riders I saw coming up that road,” answered Erik glumly.

  “Right. In that case, let’s push on deeper into these woods and get clear of the scene.” Once again Anonemuss gave the lead. When at long last Cindella turned away from the portal with a nod of agreement, the scout set off at a low crouching run to where the trees were thicker. Everyone followed suit, brushing aside ferns and running with a crunching sound over fallen twigs. They might be leaving a trail for anyone who looked closely at the ground, but on the other hand they were making good progress. It was surprising how quickly they lost sight of the edge of the forest. After a few minutes running, it felt as though they were in a completely different world from the one in which they had fought the battle at the portal.

  They kept up this dash through the trees for some time, until Milan, panting, called out, “Sorry. I’m . . . not as fit . . . as I was. Can we walk a bit?”

  “Yeah, can we slow up for a while, please?” Ghost, too, was glad to ease the pace. It was easy for the human avatars to push themselves hard; they registered fatigue simply as a dip in a graph, not as the aching of their muscles or as shortness of breath.

  By now the group was in an older and denser part of the forest. Ivy climbed around tall tree trunks, some of which Ghost recognized as birches, but there were oaks, ash, and chestnuts, too. Maybe it was because she grew up in a city, or because this was a different world, but there were all sorts of trees that seemed unfamiliar to her. While the forest was not all that dense—there was plenty of room to run between the tree trunks—a canopy of branches high above them filled most of the sky and there was a darkness to the forest, even though the position of the sun suggested it was still midafternoon.

  “Let’s have a break,” Erik called out, and the word “break” was shouted ahead by B.E. to Anonemuss, who stopped. “We humans can grab some food and a chance to refresh ourselves. When we’re back, we should perhaps line up properly for the journey: our scout up front, me or Ghost at the back. That kind of thing.”

  “Go ahead then. How long will you be?” Milan flung himself with a sigh of relief onto a cluster of dry brown ferns.

  “How about thirty minutes?”

  “Fine. Take your time.”

  “See you then.” Cindella gave a wave good-bye.

  “Later,” B.E. acknowledged, already clasping his hands behind his head and stretching out his feet.

  For a few moments the avatars remained frozen. Then they were gone. Milan shook his head and looked from Ghost to Athena.

  “It is always so freaky when they do that.”

  “What happened with Gunnar, back at the portal?” Ghost squatted down and began to rummage in her pack, producing a high-energy bar that she opened and began to chew.

  “Ha!” Athena laughed. “When he refused to go through, Milan got hold of him and threw him into it.”

  “Didn’t do much good, though. He just came crawling back again. I very nearly shot him. He’s a waste of time.”

  “That would have been a mistake.” Athena frowned. “I think we have to be careful with him. From what B.E. said, Gunnar represents a large faction of human opinion. If we get rid of him, that might cause whoever runs their world to shut down the whole operation and leave us here alone.”

  Milan sat up. “Speaking of here—where are we?”

  “Somewhere pretty strange,” answered Ghost. “Do you both get the feeling this place is a bit . . . more simplistic than Saga?” She had broken a twig from the bush beside her and was looking at it closely.

  Milan shrugged. “I dunno. But the colors seem different. It’s like we are in a cartoon.”

  “Yes, that’s it,” said Athena. “There’s less subtlety in the colors and shades. But the detail of the objects in the world seems pretty good.”

  “Yeah.” Ghost had broken the twig, to reveal its pale interior. Now she threw it to the ground and went over to lie beside Milan in the bracken; her eyes had suddenly become heavy. “I’m shattered after that fight. Mind if I try to take a quick nap, while you two keep watch?”

  “No worries, Ghost.” Milan shifted about, and a moment later she was drifting away, head on his arm, the memory of her recent hand-to-hand fight giving way to a dream about airboard racing.

  When she woke, Athena was studying the tracking device, while Milan was carving his name into the bark of a tree with a large knife. It was the return of the humans that had disturbed her. They were all back. At the sight of Gunnar’s athletic-looking trooper, Ghost couldn’t help but challenge him. Ever since the battle she must have been suppressing some anger toward Gunnar, because it welled up now out of her recent dreams.

  “Hey, Gunnar. Something I’ve been wondering: why have you come on this mission, if you are so afraid of being here?”

  “I’m not afraid.” Immediately Gunnar’s voice rang out in a loud, defensive tone. Everyone else turned to look at him, and despite the impassive expressions of their avatars, it seemed to Ghost that their attentive posture communicated disbelief. What other explanation but cowardice was there for Gunnar’s recent behavior?

  After pausing to face Ghost’s stare, Gunnar let out a sigh. “Very well, I acknowledge a certain trepidation. You remember that the Dark Queen addicted thousands of humans to Saga?”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, I was one of them, and it was absolutely souldestroying. I couldn’t go any distance from a console without breaking into a sweat. I needed to know I could get back into Saga and experience whatever it was that was flowing into my brain. Not that it was pleasurable; it was a necessity. And I was firmly convinced that I would die if I couldn’t have it. Of course, I tried staying away, but as I wasn’t prepared to kill myself, I had to keep going back to my console.”

&nb
sp; “I understand that. But why did you agree to join Erik and his friends and come on this expedition?”

  “To deal with that fear, mostly. I mean, it is partly true that I come as a representative of those who want to exercise caution in any dealings between humans and EIs. But I also wanted to get over my horror of entering EI space, my dread that when I come to unclip, it will be there again, the addiction.”

  “So, you joined with a sincere willingness to assist us?”

  “I wanted to. I hoped to. And while we were in Saga, I was fine. But when we came to the portal, I just couldn’t face the unknown like the rest of you. What if one of those people who we were fighting had the powers of the Dark Queen? I just couldn’t let an EI tamper with my brain again. So I backed out.”

  “And Milan threw you in?”

  “Eventually, after he had shouted obscenities at me for a bit.”

  “So now?”

  “Now?”

  “How do you feel? Are you still afraid of clipping up?”

  “Yes. But seeing as there’s no ill effects so far from this new environment, I’ve calmed down a bit.”

  “Well . . .” Ghost paused, choosing her words carefully. “I felt let down.”

  Gunnar’s avatar nodded. “My apologies, Your Highness.”

  “I’d like to know that I can count on everyone. I hadn’t planned on Athena and Milan being here, and I’m particularly concerned for them. If you panic again and make a mistake, there are real lives at stake, not just avatars.” She paused to let that sink in. “It might be better if you unclip now and let us continue without you.”

  “I know. I was actually thinking about it. But I do want this mission to succeed. I want to find out what’s happening and why Saga is under threat. But at the same time, we humans mustn’t do anything that might alert a powerful EI to our existence, to our community on New Earth.”

  “Well, there’s only seven of us, and I’ve a feeling we are going to need everyone here to deal with the people controlling these troops. So how about this: Athena, Milan, and I promise not to ever reveal that you are humans and you promise not to do anything that will put our lives in danger?”

  “Of course. I’d never do that.”

  Unable to judge by eye contact and by the expression of the avatar, Ghost listened intently to Gunnar’s voice. As far as she could tell, he sounded sincere. “Right then. Let’s carry on.”

  “So, what’s the plan?” asked B.E.

  “Well, the way I see it,” said Athena, “is that the agent I’m tracking will probably have to report to whoever is in charge, so we should follow him northward to find out what’s going on here.”

  “Wait a moment.” Cindella stepped forward. “I was talking to Harald and Inny on our break. They are stuck on the far side of the portal. They say there’s a large army gathered there now and they died again trying to join us. It’s impossible for them to come through alive. So they were wondering if they could help back in Saga by relaying Ghost’s orders and getting some serious defenses in place, ready in case that army tries to come through.”

  “Good idea.” Ghost thought for a moment. “Please ask them to report to Kalpurnia, head of the guild Ages of Saga. She’s currently in charge of getting equipment and troops to the portal as soon as it comes off the factory floor, and it would be good to get progress reports from her.”

  “Will do.” Cindella stiffened and a moment later disappeared, causing Milan to glance at Ghost and then roll his eyes.

  It took a few minutes for Erik to return, but suddenly Cindella was back among them.

  “Done,” said Erik. “Are we ready to move on then?”

  “All set to chase down this scout and find the bad guys,” answered Milan cheerfully, hoisting his rifle over his shoulder. “Which way?”

  Athena looked up from the screen and gestured. “The problem is if we go straight toward the scout, that will take us to the road all those soldiers came down. He is probably using that road, in fact. So I suggest we go east a bit more first and then north, parallel to the road but hidden by this forest.”

  “That way?” Anonemuss gestured to where the gloom of the forest looked darker still and the brambles and bushes looked thicker.

  “Yeah.”

  “Want to be our point?” Erik asked him.

  “I guess that’s my role, although it will be hard to keep quiet walking through that, and these clothes aren’t ideal.” Anonemuss gestured to his white shirt and black trousers. Being an office worker was no longer a disguise.

  “You go on ahead; we’ll probably make more noise than you. I’ll go next, then B.E., Gunnar, Milan, and Athena, with Ghost guarding the back. Does that make sense?” Cindella glanced at Ghost, who nodded.

  Soon they were moving through the darkening forest in a line, Anonemuss just visible up ahead and everyone else bunched together behind. There was not much talk. Even Ghost, with her extraordinary agility, had to concentrate in order to avoid the brambles and branches that caught at her clothes. Occasionally a bird was disturbed by their progress, fluttering off toward the shadowy canopy with disconsolate cries. Through gaps in the roof of leaves could be seen a deep blue sky in which clouds were beginning to show touches of orange as the sun declined.

  The ground over which they walked rose and fell in long undulations, and it was after breasting a small hill that everyone gathered beside Anonemuss where he had halted to look down into the next dip. It held a large clearing and, at its center, a circular stone fountain about five meters in diameter. The statue that rose from the water was of a slender princess, holding an urn from which water flowed. Around the fountain was an inscription, which Ghost was able to read despite the ornate lettering. The part facing her said, “. . . YOURSELVES AND REST AWHILE.”

  “That’s interesting,” Ghost whispered to Anonemuss, who nodded.

  “We’re in a fantasy world—another Epic, maybe?” Anonemuss observed.

  “You mean, literally, another Epic?”

  “Why not? If humans created it once, why not run it again?”

  A low whistle from Milan, who had taken out a pair of binoculars and was looking through them, interrupted their conversation. “That is some cute chick. Strange features, though.”

  “She’s an elf,” said B.E.

  “You know, as we’ve been going through the forest, I was thinking that the soldiers we fought at the portal, especially the ones with guns, didn’t seem like they belonged in this world.” Erik lifted his voice so they could all hear. “And this seems to confirm it. This realm is a fantasy one, and like Anonemuss just said, it could even be another copy of Epic.”

  “Fascinating,” muttered Athena.

  “Yeah, this is kinda awesome. Does it mean we’ll meet, like, wizards and dragons?” Milan asked.

  “Maybe, if we are unlucky.” B.E. checked the settings on his pulsar. “Though it would have been a lot easier to have fought a dragon with one of these than with bows and arrows.”

  “Wait here. I’ll go investigate further.” Keeping to the edge of the clearing, Cindella slowly circled the fountain at a distance, until she was nearly back to them.

  “It says, ‘Welcome to the lands of the Sylviani. Refresh yourselves and rest awhile,’” Erik called up to them. Then Cindella removed her glove and the glade was flooded with the inquisitive turquoise light of the Ring of True Seeing. Immediately, she took several steps back and sought the cover of a tree. Her rapier and dagger were in hand.

  “Erik, what’s up?” shouted Ghost.

  “Shoot it!”

  The statue of the elfin woman was gone. In its place was a plinth on which lay a monster whose body was the coils of a serpent, but whose shoulders, arms, and head were those of a female human. The creature was looking directly at her and Ghost felt dizzy.

  With astonishing litheness, the serpent woman reared up to shout an incantation, while glowing spheres of power gathered in her outstretched hands. Some kind of spell was going to be launched a
nd, realizing this, Ghost grabbed Athena, bringing them both to the ground, rolling over in the hope of escaping the impact. The explosion, when it came, was not the one she had feared: a spell that engulfed Milan in destruction. Instead, from the corner of her eye, Ghost saw a flash from B.E.’s rifle. A bolt of pink energy shot across the glade to consume the head of the monster. While its hands dropped to its sides and its torso toppled backward, the serpentine body lashed about in hideous convulsions, splashing water in all directions, until with a final shudder it lay still. B.E. shot the body once more, but it didn’t stir.

  Cindella came out from behind a tree. “Save your power. It’s dead,” said Erik.

  “What was that?” asked Athena, getting back to her feet and brushing ferns away from her legs.

  “I’m not sure. I don’t think this is Epic, because we didn’t have anything like it. Some kind of serpent spell caster, with illusions and who knows what other spells.”

  “Hey, there’s treasure in here.” Anonemuss was leaning over the edge of the pool, looking into the dark water. Her curiosity aroused, Ghost walked across to him. There were objects at the bottom: bones in rusting armor and some coins gleaming in the murk.

  “Loot the dead,” muttered B.E., “as we used to say in our Epic days.”

  “I don’t know if we should,” said Erik. “Let me look again with the ring.” Cindella moved up to the pool, hand raised, emitting a flow of light like a turquoise star.

  “Well?” Anonemuss had straddled the stone wall of the fountain and was ready to climb in.

  “I don’t see any traps.”

  “Good enough.” The dark water came up to the scout’s waist as he waded around the pool, avoiding the serpent’s body and investigating the debris. It took a while, but at least there seemed to be no danger.

  Most of the items that Anonemuss lifted from the water were useless, either rusted metal or rotten leather. But there was a magnificently decorated dagger that shone with a faint ruby light, in perfect condition, as well as a ring with a large opal whose gold setting was pristine. Anonemuss tossed the dagger up and down.