Plague Birds by Jason Sanford

Author:Jason Sanford [Sanford, Jason]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Apex Publications

Memories Falling from Your Hands

(Three months after saying goodbye to Desiada and Lanea)

Faster, damn it! Run faster! Red Day screamed as Crista ran through the snow-filled forest, chasing … well, she couldn’t say exactly what she chased. The shape fleeing before her blurred and flickered, always on the edge of becoming clear while remaining impossible to see. From the person’s scent Crista guessed she chased a man but beyond that little revealed itself to her senses.

Instead, rainbow static whistled through her mind, a weaker version of what had jammed the senses of her predecessor Derena when she’d been attacked nearly a year ago. Maybe this attacker was one of those members of the Veil who’d so hurt Derena that Red Day had to find a new host.

Why can I still see while you can’t? Crista asked as she jumped over a fallen tree. When you and Derena were attacked neither of you could see until she removed most of your power from her body, but my eyes still work.

This man’s by himself and far weaker than the combined powers of those who attacked previously. You and I also haven’t integrated our beings as much as I had with Derena.

So this man’s disrupting our weakest link—you.

Funny. Don’t underestimate him. With this interference you’ll have trouble releasing me, as happened with Derena.

Crista understood. When she caught up with this attacker she couldn’t count on having access to all of Red Day’s power.

The sun was setting in the forest, making it difficult to see. The man before her ran fast, barely slowing down as he darted between the dark trees. Crista vaulted a creek and ran up a small hill, thinking she had a chance to catch up on the other side, only to slip on ice and smash into a steel oak. She stood up quickly, looking for the man’s distorted shape. But the man had vanished.

Where is he? she asked

I don’t know. I told you to run faster.

Red, blue, and yellow static clicked through Crista’s mind a final time before stopping. No! the AI yelled. He got away. You’re part wolf! Can’t you run through a forest without tripping over every damn thing?

Crista ignored the barb and ran back to where she’d last seen the man. She leaned over the cold ground and breathed deeply.

That’s how she’d detected the man. She and Diver had spent three months reaching the area where Lanea said Crista might discover the secret about who she was. They’d been walking through the forest, Crista enjoying the quiet crunch of frozen ground beneath her boots and the crisp silence—and Diver throwing snowballs at every animal they passed—when Crista scented a nearby human.

Red Day often dismissed her wolf senses as woefully inadequate compared to a blood AI’s heightened abilities, but Red Day hadn’t even sensed the man’s presence. Red Day tried to dismiss the oversight but Crista could tell the AI was disturbed.

Worse, the moment Crista scented the man Diver plopped down melodramatically on the frozen ground, a pained look on her face like she’d sat in something nasty.

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