A Healer's War

Chapter 55 - Asset Acquired

Chapter 55: Asset Acquired

Twenty-ninth of April. X643 A.A.

Dawson's hand swallowed the metal doorknob, and he paused, listening. Not a peep came from the other side of the door. He grinned. Do it. The Heart of Wrath warmed in his chest and he looked down at the glowing fist. Orange light radiated out, outlining the bones through his skin. In his palm, the metal door handle popped and crackled. He opened his fingers, and smoldering metal pooled and sizzled on the gray hallway carpet. He shook off the last of the molten goo and nudged open the door. Behind him, his troopers slipped past and inside, the lights on their rifles sweeping the dark apartment.

The corrupted presence inside the Heart touched his mind, pressing a hungry word there. Find.

"Jacklyn," Dawson said, stepping into the darkness. "Let's make this easy."

The floor creaked beneath his weight and he swept his eyes back and forth. A streetlamp cut through a partially opened curtain, throwing deep shadows into the corners of the apartment—anyone one of them could hide the Host. Straight ahead, he found an empty chair beside the couch where someone lay, apparently sleeping. A tension grew between his shoulders, and he felt the Heart snarl. It couldn't be that easy.

"There on the couch," Dawson said. Two lights snapped over and highlighted the figure with two white orbs. It was a woman, but not Jacklyn. Blonde, and too young. Must be the doctor involved, Doctor- something- Seeker. He took two long strides over and leaned in close to her face, his beard braid dangling, grazing her lips. He inhaled.

"Dozed," said over his shoulder and grinned. "In her own home. Shameless."

The Heart shifted, cooing and calling. Dawson followed the scent and reached into her pajama pocket. He felt something hard, then a burst of attention and curiosity. The Heart hissed and the presence retreated. Dawson drew a red mythstone from the doctor's pocket. "A baby Wyth." He turned the stone over, probing the small shard and feeling the small Aspect retreat. "With a baby Aspect," he snickered. "Go ahead." The Heart's presence reached down his arm, sending a ripple of pins and needles through his fingers as it pressed into the foreign stone. Dawson felt the struggle, the young darting and dashing with nowhere to run. The outcome was inevitable, and soon, the little fire Aspect's power would be theirs.

Two men hurried forward as the rest of his troopers fanned out. Their boots banged through the quiet room. Dawson glanced up at the painting above the couch: horses running into the sunset. He chuckled. "So much for fairytale endings."

Dawson waved to his troopers waiting behind him. "You two, bring her. The rest of you search the apartment." His eyes scanned the deep shadows. "The Seed is here somewhere." He felt a swell of heat in his chest as the Heart's presence returned in full. He lifted his hand, holding the doctor's dormant mythstone in his palm. There was no cloud to the stone now, no emotion from radiating from it. His fist glowed again, and he squeezed until he felt the stone pop and he let the shards trickle onto the doctor's unconscious form. "Thanks for the snack."

"ARGH!"

One of his troopers, reaching for the doctor, curled unnaturally inward with the crack of splintering bone. The man rose off the ground as the shadows slipped off Jacklyn, her misty hand gripping his chest. Dust ran down his legs and overflowed his boots as he spasmed, falling to the ground in a grisly gray mound. The second trooper tried to raise his rifle, but the Host drove her fist through the faceplate of his helmet with a wet pop. The man slumped to the floor; their blood pooling on the rug.

Dawson's skin crackled, and he and the Heart roared their challenge.

Jacklyn tossed the mummy aside and lunged at Dawson, her shadow hand extending into a vicious claw.

Predictable.

Dawson sidestepped her reach, leaving Jacklyn grasping at air and too frail to recover. He drove his smoldering fist down with everything he had, connecting with her cheek. A jolt of lightning fired up his arm, sending all his nerves singing. It was like punching a stone pillar. Jacklyn slammed into the carpet. Crack! Wood splintered. Lengths of jagged wood tore through the surrounding rug. Shaking out his numb hand, Dawson readied another blow, but paused as Jacklyn moaned, her eyes half open. Her shadow hand flickered and dissipated in a faint cloud. The Heart demanded more, delighting in the pain.

Dawson shuddered, tempted by the Heart's promises, but forced himself to lower his fist. The light in it faded a moment later. He was glad he didn't hit her harder. Anything more might have thrown her through the floor, which would have been difficult to cover up, or worse - kill her. The thought made Dawson's scorching skin cool and prickle, and even the Heart recoiled at the idea. Whatever the Seed contained, they both agreed it needed to stay that way.

Two troopers emerged from the bedroom. Their lights swept their dead comrades before landing on Jacklyn's still form on the floor. Dawson held up a hand.

"Get the mag-cell."

They saluted and hurried off.

The Heart throbbed with victory as Dawson knelt, smiling at the drooping Host.

"Jacklyn," he rumbled. "This is no way to welcome an old friend."

"Come a little closer and I'll give you a hug," Jacklyn said. She tried to rise, and for a moment, Dawson thought she might, but she sagged and dropped back down to the carpet. This was not the same Jacklyn of five years ago. The meat was gone from her bones. The rage in her eyes had faded. She was tired and weak. Part of him had hoped for a challenge; the Heart always wanted a fight.

"You know the drill. Cooperate and save yourself from the pain. Just tell me where Caroline is."

"Never heard of 'em..."

"Did you send her away or did she finally wise up and leave your doomed campaign?" 

"Fuck you."

A sly smile pulled his mouth into a sneer. "No. She's too loyal. Love does that. Which means she can't be far. An Assay, perhaps? You've always been the stickler for your little laws. "

Jacklyn coughed and flecks of blood landed on his pants. "Don't worry," she said, using her breath. "She'll... find us." Her eyes rolled back, and she slumped against the carpet.

A jolt of nerves rose from his belly. He'd hoped to neutralize the Wyth by now. Even aged, Caroline would be formidable. Her mastery of casting was still etched in Dawson's nightmares. Dawson's chest warmed as the Heart's irritation grew - it wanted the fight. It needed that fight. His nerves dissipated as he remembered the present awaiting him at the plane with his reinforcements. The Brand alone would tip the scales in his favor. What chance did this one Wyth really have?

"We'll be ready," he said to himself.

"Sir?" someone said behind him. Dawson rose, looming over the trooper. The man stiffened. "Orders, sir?"

He grinned, savoring the sharp fear wafting off of him. "Bind and load the package. Watch that left arm. And what is Emmett's status? He should have the nurse by now."

The trooper snapped off a salute and tentatively approached Jacklyn, stepping over his mummified comrade.

"Get ready, boys. The game has changed. The Wyth is hunting us now."