A Machine Divine by Derek Paul

Author:Derek Paul [Paul, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Breaking Pattern, LLC
Published: 2023-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Adouble-decker bus arrived from the Riali train station, with Asher eagerly awaiting at the steps of Langford. The doors swung open, and the Vanatian koroka team piled out. Asher immediately spotted Liam and blindsided him with a bear hug. “Liam!”

Liam hugged back with his one free arm. “Ash! Brother, you have no idea how long I’ve looked forward to this.”

Liam had a few hours to spare prior to the game, so they sat with the Vanatians in the Langford cafeteria and caught up with a few more friends. Once they’d finished, Asher took Liam outside to walk around the sanctuary.

“Let me get this straight: your roommate inducted you into a secret society that’s currently being hunted down by a terrorist who kills via poison gas attacks, which may somehow have ended in the death of your mechanical engineering teacher. And then you saved your genetics teacher from a magical berry overdose given by the pissed-off koroka center who I’m about to play?”

Asher nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Anything else I should know?” Liam asked incredulously.

“Yeah...” Asher plucked a leaf off a nearby fig tree. “That center is on a time-delayed steroid I developed in a secret lab paid for by my roommate’s ultra-wealthy parents.”

“Right. Of course.”

“Well...I figured you could use a challenge.”

Liam laughed. “Ok, so on a scale of one to ten, how badly do you want me to bash him in the face with my tonfa?”

“Hmm...like a twenty.”

“Done.”

Asher’s smile faded. “The longer the game goes on, the less the effects of the drug will be. But even without any chemical help, Roman is no joke. He basically beat Kipos singlehandedly. He beat the hell out of me and Nico. I’ve seen him rip apart a gazebo.”

“Ahh, so don’t be a nerd or a structure made entirely of cheap Riali wood, got it.”

“No, seriously, he’s violent. Be careful with him. He’s a hothead, and the steroids might wear off by the end of the match, but he’s more agile than he looks, and he’s got about twenty pounds on you. The Langford guards will sacrifice themselves to keep him alive. He carries the team.”

Liam laughed again. “I don’t need your help strategizing, Asher. I got this. I’ll whip his ass for you.”

“Thanks.”

The two continued their walk through the sanctuary. “This place must be heaven for Callie. How’s she been doing?”

Asher’s face turned a shade of guilty red. “Honestly, I haven’t kept up with her all that much. She seems to be doing well. Cloud has a cage somewhere out here. I’ve seen her talking with a few people. She sat with Nico and me for the first two home games, didn’t see her at the last one.”

Liam gave Asher a disappointed look. “You don’t talk to her? You’re both Vanatians. You come from a school with only a hundred people in your class, and almost every single one of them stayed in town after graduating...”

Asher shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve always been different. She hangs out with other people than I do.

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