(I) Intercept
Chapter 37 of "Path of the Deathless" opens with dynamic events: -21 (I)Interceptâ...Shiv!â Adam shouted. Shiv blinked and found the Young Lord holding him by the... Read on for more!
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21 (I)
Intercept
â...Shiv!â Adam shouted. Shiv blinked and found the Young Lord holding him by the shoulders. The Umbral woman seemed to have left already. âAre you alright? Is it that book you got earlier? Did it reach into your mind? Or were you thinking about how to seduce that elf you just bumped into? Please say no. Please.â
âNo,â Shiv breathed. âI just got another Quest.â
âWhat? Tell me you were going to seduce another one of these elves instead!â
âAdam,â Shiv said. The Young Lord quieted at Shivâs sudden shift in demeanor. âWe need to follow that Umbral. I think someoneâs blackmailing her. They want her to bomb Passage. And if we fail, I think our way back up will get sealed.â
***
âWait? Foreshadowing? When did you get Foreshadowing? I didn't know you had Foreshadowing!â
Shiv was straining his paltry Stealth Skill as much as he could as they left the library, but a few factors were working against him. The first was the aforementioned detail that his Stealth was barely in the Initiate threshold of thingsâjust over twenty-one. The second was that he was one of the two extremely noticeable surfacers in a place mostly populated by Umbrals and spiderfolk. The last was the only other noticeable surfacer was an idiot who didnât understand the meaning of avoiding attention, and who focused on actively interrogating Shiv rather than following the Umbral in silence.
After the Foreshadowing hit Shiv, he quickly explained to Adam what he glimpsed through the skill and what was at stake. They then followed the Umbralâwho left the bookstoreâbut not before paying for and then asking the worker to hold all their purchased books.
Now, the twosome were pretending they were on a leisurely stroll. That just happened to take the same path as the Umbral woman with the acid burn on her face. The Umbral woman Shiv suspected to be a terrorist. Everywhere they walked, eyes swung to gaze upon them, fingers were pointed in their direction, and Adam only made it worse.
âAdam,â Shiv said through clenched teeth. âCan we at least at Stealth.â
âNo, because I . Just like I donât have Foreshadowing.â Adam was practically raving now. âHow? Tell me how? Why do have Foreshadowing?â
âBecause the world hates me, but the System wants me to have a fighting chance, it seems,â Shiv muttered. And that seemed to be the long and short of it. With all the ugly events Shiv ran into, developing Foreshadowing was like⌠Not quite a direct form of resistance, but something to buffer him from the dangers of life.
Shiv thought.
Shiv picked up his brooch as Adam continued to talk at him. Valor now took on Shivâs role in trying to get Adam to quiet down. âUh, operator. Person running this communications thing. I might have an emergency to report.â
A brief pulse of magical interference sounded from the brooch.
The use of âhonoredâ made Shiv cringe. He wasnât used to that. He wanted to tell the operator what he told Adam, but he paused. Right now, they were only going on his feelings. It might be better if someone with authority and influence tried to do this. More effective than just an outsider accusing an Umbral local of terrorism. One that likely works at Passage, no less. âActually, can you patch me through to Sister Uva? Sheâs a Psychomancerââ
Shiv blinked. Mettabon was her last name? And was Esteemed Sister a rank? Intel-0122 would be her identification. Uvaâs voice came out from Shivâs brooch before he could think too much about this.
He sighed. âSort of. But not exactly my trouble. Youâre probably not going to like thisâŚâ He kept a close eye on the Umbral as he narrated events to Uva. Meanwhile, Valor and Adam were exchanging threats in the background, ruining even the of Stealth. Thankfully, despite most of the city seemingly being aware of Shiv, the Umbral he was following was lost in her own world, wandering toward a prismatic crystalâthe ones used to call demons to serve as public transport.
As he finished, there was a brief pause before Uva replied.
âIâm not lying to you. Foreshadowingââ
âAnd she has one son, right?â
Uva bit back a frustrated growl. She sighed.
Shiv chuckled. âI was thinking the same thing earlier. Iâll make you dessert later as an apology.â
âCrows too.â
Valor spat.
âMine?â Shiv.
Valor added. Adamâs face contorted in offense.
Great. Spies. Deception. More ravens. âHope this doesnât end with me being thrown even deeper into the Abyss,â Shiv muttered. âAt least I can probably survive the fall now.â
Yunni Havata summoned a demon and climbed aboard. A few Umbrals went with her. Shiv winced as he considered his options. If he and Adam got aboard, that just might spook herâshe might seem oblivious right now, but she couldnât miss two surfacers sitting near her.
âWell, weâre not getting on that. Sheâll see us.â Adam studied the scene, his expression turning focused.
âYeah,â Shiv replied. âOr maybe if we do spook her, it might end the operation. And then Uva and the others can detain her.â
Valor said with a note of severity.
âI guess weâre not getting on that demon, then,â Shiv muttered. âWe need another way of following her.â
âI got a way,â Adam said.
âYou do?â Shiv asked, surprised.
âYeah.â And the Young Lord displayed his idea by manifesting the fiery wings of a hawk on his back. Shiv blinked. Adam grinned. âWhat? You donât have this skill? Itâs very convenient. It lets me dash aroundâand even fly if I use it right.â
Shiv tried not to let his envy show. âHow did you even get that?â
âReflexes. Level that enough, and youâll be surprised about what youâll be able to achieve. I can follow her from a distanceâpretend Iâm sightseeing and all that. You should go to Passage first and try to get ahead. Intercept her there if something goes wrong. Itâll give us multiple chances to stop this if I lose her or for me to pin her down if something goes wrong on your end too.â
For a moment, Shiv said nothing. He just stared at Adam.
âWhat?â
âI didnât realize you were capable of that,â Shiv said, blinking.
âCapable of what?â Adam asked, narrowing his eyes.
âThinking things through.â
The Young Lord sneered. âYouâre a bastard, Shiv.â
âNo, Iâm not mocking you. Itâs⌠Itâs a good idea. We can even stay in contact through the brooches.â
âYes,â Adam muttered to himself. âI came up with a good plan. Itâs almost like I was at an academy for this sort of thing, and was chosen as Team, Lance, Company, and Force Leader for each year of the annual War Games while I was at Phoenix.â
Shiv blinked. âSounds impressive. I wish I was there to see that.â
The Young Lord opened his mouth to give a retort, but realized Shiv was being genuine. âWell⌠You might still see me in action yet. And not taken by surprise this time. If there are more of those tainted raven-faced bastards, then I want my pound of flesh as well.â
âRight,â Shiv said. He started looking around for another prismatic crystalâand realized he never summoned a demon before. It might take a bit too long fiddling around to learn how. Yunniâs demon was already carrying her into the air⌠Time to do something âHey, Adam. How high is your Physicality?â
âWhy?â Adam asked, more curious than suspicious.
âBecause Iâm going to ask how far you think you can throw me next. The demons are still constrained by traffic rules and stuff. Maybe you can give a lift and vent some of that anger you got about me in the same moment.â
Silver Tongue > 3
The Young Lord quirked an eyebrow.
***
âYou sure you can throw me that far?â Shiv said, clutching Valor tight. He didnât want to drop his friend down somewhere onto the many streets, bridges, and alleys below. The problem with a big city was that there were a lot of places to get lost in. âBecause⌠thatâs over a kilometer away. I think.â
âTwo and a half.â Adam smirked. The Young Lordâs wings were trailing fire through the air, and the locals were pointing and gawking at them everywhere. They took a parallel route to Yunniâs demon, pretending they were sightseeing. And they were, in a sense. It was just going to end with one of them throwing the other. It felt a bit weird letting Adam hold him like he was a newborn kitten, but Shiv put up with it.
âAlright, I think weâre close enough now,â Adam said, eyeing a large demon-summoning platform that overlooked the lower levels of Passage. The plan was to chuck Shiv over there firstâand for him to jump down thereafter. It was going to hurt a bit, but overall, it seemed like a pretty good deal. âHey, Shiv.â
âYeah?â
A burst of fire flashed out from the Young Lordâs wings as both acceleration and elevation began to climb.
âAre you sure you want to do this?â
âYeah? Why? Are you doubting your throwing arm? Cramping up now?â
The Young Lord scoffed. âWell, youâre no coward.â
âYouâre getting dangerously close to a compliment, Adam. Just chuck me. Iâll be fine.â
Adam drew in a breath. âMy mother had that skill too. Foreshadowing.â
Shiv looked up at the other surfacer. That was why Adam was so bothered. âAh. Iâm sorry. Canât feel good seeing something she had manifest in someone like me.â
âNo. Iâyouâre not like You were right.â Adamâs begrudging admission hit Shiv like a punch to the jaw.
He wasnât expecting this from the Young Lord. And judging from the pained expression on Adamâs face, he wasnât expecting himself to say it either.
âAlright. Put us both out of our miseries,â Shiv said. âThrow me before you actually start feeling affectionate.â
Adam barked a disbelieving laugh. âYeah. Like thatâll ever happen.â And then, as he drew his arm back, he flapped his wings a final time, and a blast of speed accompanied his throw. A sudden surge of velocity pulled at Shivâs insides as the world blurred around him. Demons, halted in traffic, zipped by below Shiv while people pointed up to note his passing. The wind felt nice against his body, whistling his approach to the target destination with wailing notes.
As Shiv sailed through the air, he wondered how far he could throw Adam. Shiv was pretty strong now too. Relative to before, at least. He didnât think the Young Masterâs Physicality was truly past the Adept Threshold yet, but between his wings and the height⌠Shiv was dead-on approach for the platform. In fact, he was going to strike the center at a spiking angle.
He tucked in and braced, holding Valor close. He crashed into the platform like a round of artillery. The ground burst into fragments of stone, and several Umbrals making a slow approach jumped back in fright. Shiv felt his right arm and shoulder bruise, but beyond that, he felt perfectly fine. Without that skill, his insides would have suffered some serious damage. At the least.
Valor asked.
Shiv waved at the surprised Umbrals, still recovering from his sudden appearance. And then, he was running toward the edge, preparing to jump again. âOnly on the first platform. Adamâs got a damn good throw.â Not a surprise considering who his father was. Legend had it that Roland Arrow never missed a shot. Shiv could believe those legends, and Adam was, for most purposes, a lesser version of his father.
As Shiv leaped over the edge, he heard one of the Umbrals behind him call outâtelling him to think things through. He just laughed. They thought he was doing something drasticâand that death could contain him. Wrong on both accounts. Once more, Shiv was falling, and he was surprised to discover how used to falling he was by now. Comfortable enough to have a conversation with Valor. âHey, Valor, what do you know about New Albion? Why do you think them doing this now has something to do with me? Foreshadowing showed me her planning this for months in advance.â
The ground was fast approaching. Shiv aimed for a patch of grass and soil by the side. He missed and made a crater in the stones beside it. âAdam Arrow I am not,â he coughed, crawling out from the small depression he left. Several Umbrals and spiderfolk reacted to his presence with alarm. A few of them were talking into their brooches. Good. Shiv was looking for them. âYou,â he said, pointing at a Weaveress.
She jolted with fear and pointed at herself. âMe?â
âBring me to security. They should be expecting my arrival.â He looked around at all the people entering and leaving Passage and winced. âAnd maybe set up a quarantine too. Youâre about to have a serious problem.â