‘Gren, are you still with me? Can you hold the Bind?’
Eron took another swipe at the cables. They snapped free and whipped back, barely missing Eron’s shoulder.
‘Gren,’ Eron called again.
No answer. He had to be certain. To attempt a new Bind now could disrupt whatever hold Gren may have – releasing the gallu altogether. The creature itself certainly looked to be free, though. He was on his feet, wavering there much like the intoxicated humans in the night-time establishments Kira had introduced him to. Much like Eron himself had done on more than one occasion. Breathing into that deep well in his mind, Eron reached out tentatively, searching for sign that Gren’s Bind with the creature still held. A void greeted him.
The gallu began to move, arms and legs showing little unification. The creature would have been a ridiculous sight if he weren’t also so dangerous. The gallu stumbled away.
Eron let out two short exhalations, seeking the cognitive pathway he required. It drifted like a faint memory, protected within its own cortex. An entity in his mind that moved of its own accord. He coaxed it forward, reached for it, and peeled back the folds. The mea connection opened. On his arm, at the stone’s locale, there was warmth and little else untoward. But in Eron’s skull, it was much like what the humans called a brain freeze. The neurological response of opening to the stone pained nerve endings throughout his face and skull. A headache. Quite unpleasant, if he was truthful.
Eron broke into a run. The creature was moving towards a secondary elevator, a small unit that was used exclusively by Tamas to come and go from his chambers. The gallu lurched about but maintained a good pace.
Eron focused on the mea, readying to unite the stones. Sending a silent prayer to Lahar that he would recall the training correctly, he reached out. Searched. Found. The Bind leapt across the metaphysical void, rapid as any neurological transmission.
The connection of synapses nearly dropped Eron to his knees. He faltered, gathering himself. Gren had not been wrong. The gallu’s strength was formidable, far more so than the hapless Azrael. And he was not pleased with the renewed Bind. The gallu reached the elevator doors but did not slow, throwing his considerable weight against them. The Telteriun was a dense metal, the carapaces exceeded half a tonne, and the doors were unlikely to withstand the onslaught. In the end, no onslaught was required. In an unfortunate incident of timing, the elevator doors opened. Inside, two bewildered humans, medics judging by the equipment they held before them like shields, cowered against the back wall of the elevator. Eron hauled at the Bind. The resulting pressure within his skull was enormous. His eyes bulged, and the roar against his eardrums was deafening.
There was some result. The gallu did falter, his thick legs buckling for a moment. One of the humans managed to sidestep the staggering gallu and ran out of the elevator. His companion was not so fortunate. A stinging sensation whiplashed through Eron’s mind, and his tenuous hold on the Bind collapsed. Warm liquid filled his nostrils. The gallu stepped into the elevator and grabbed the human, lifting the woman easily and hurling her out into the chamber. Her scream soared into the smoky air, ending a few moments later when she hit the concrete with a crack and thump that spoke of broken bones. Eron took a step towards her, then corrected himself. Admonished himself. She was not his concern.
Standing in the centre of the elevator, the gallu arched its back and made the first sound with its constructed vocal chords. A guttural sound that might have been from a wild animal. Something burst from his back, filling the confines of the space.
Appendages that looked to be wings.
‘By Lahar’s great blessing, what are . . .’ Eron breathed out the words, letting them die on the air unfinished.
The creature twisted, trying to turn and see what protruded from his own back. The wings, tubular lengths of metal alloy, were too big for the confined space. Knife-like points formed each tip and made light work of the innards of the elevator, shredding metal around the creature as he twisted and turned. The gallu launched upwards with breathtaking speed, and half a tonne of Telteriun cannonballed up through the thin ceiling. The wings were the last things to disappear into the elevator shaft.
Eron was about to lose the gallu.
He swore, letting go a stream of Kira’s favourite expletives. The thought of her bolstered him. Not with pleasant recall, but the realisation that this was the very moment he could prove his loyalty, his dedication. Show his worth. To his captain, and his Lord.
Eron let his desperation fill him, let it bloom into something greater and harder. Let it drive the Bind out into the void and lash around the creature that sought to disgrace him. The desperation melted into something dark, buoyed by the many solitary days he’d endured, the banishment and the shame. The disappointment.
Though the gallu was lost from view, Eron sensed the upward motion of the creature as he made his way up the shaft. Eron sought greater purchase, body straining with the effort of increasing his hold on the Bind. His lips were warm and damp, fluid streaming from his nose. But he held fast. The gallu fought, but Eron fought harder.
Slowly, but most definitely surely, the Bind began to drag the creature back down the shaft. And desperation turned to exhilaration. The shade inside Eron grew, an ire that tightened the muscles of his chest. The gallu’s resistance grew weaker with every tightening of the Bind. And with one final sharp tug, Eron wrenched the creature back through the gaping hole he had made in the elevator roof. The heavy humanoid shell hit the floor, his shape indented into the surface. No sign of
