Dust to Dust Ch. 02

"My sentience was preserved, but my body was reduced to ash."

"You're a golem," Valar muttered in disbelief. "An intelligent, self-preserving golem."

"What's a golem?" Dusty asked.

Katrina answered that one, having composed herself a bit. "Golems are humanoid creatures created by magic. They are normally automatons, which means that they feel no pain or emotions or anything. They just destroy whatever they are told to, then dissolve when their mission is over." She translated some of this to her friends quickly, and Vexla looked horrified. Katrina explained why. "Golems were initially created by the gargoyles in an ancient war with the succubae. Being made of stone, they had an affinity for making inanimate matter animated."

"Several golems were used by the Swords of Cleansing in the latter half of the first Purity conflict," Valar added. "They can be as dangerous as the mind that creates them."

"So why do you want your talent gone?" Dusty said, still confused and looking at Ash. It seems that you're invulnerable and . . ."

"You didn't hear all of that, did you?" Valar interrupted. Now he looked at Ash. "You don't have emotions, do you?"

Ash shook her head. "No. I remember them though. It is the only thing that has kept me going all these years. Memories."

"But -- " Dusty started.

Vetlia whispered something to Katrina, who translated. "Emotions are important," she reminded Dusty. "Without them -- "

"I have a great deal of power," Ash explained. "Untempered by emotion, I could become a monster, or I could simply dissolve into a pile of dust. I do not know for sure. I only know that I . . . that the person I once was, would never have wanted this. I have kept myself on the path with my memory of what 'good' and 'evil' are, but I have noticed my memory fading. I do not know how much time I have before the memories are too weak to guide me. I just know that I would not have wanted to go out like this." She looked at Dr. Trendenfall. "So I asked your father to cure me . . . or kill me."

"Kill you?!" Dusty shouted.

"I cannot be allowed to become what I am becoming."

Valar leaned back. And he thought that this would be a casual meeting. "So what did you want of me?"

Dr. Trendenfall shook his head. "I've done everything I can," he said. "But the rules of science . . . they just don't apply here, or at least not in a way I can comprehend. She is a creation of magic, so I think magic is the key to her salvation or to her death."

"You can't . . . Dad, you're seriously going to try and kill her?!" Dusty was mortified.

"As a last resort," he replied, feeling her anguish. What Ash had asked of him flew in the face of everything he believed.

"It is at my request." Ash reminded her. She wondered why the girl was so offended. Ash wasn't.

"I honestly don't know if I can help. I will try," Valar assured them. This was a mystery, and Valar was drawn to mysteries. "Though you will need to make yourself available to me," he told Ash.

"I was wondering, since I'm trying to cure the woman of the abilities that keep my daughter safe --" Jon started.

Tom McBride picked up the cue. "Would it be possible to arrange for extra security around the Academy to look after Dusty and her friends without LOOKING like there is extra security? That way Ash and Dusty can remain here were it is still probably safer than being on Earth -- "

"And it gives me time to think of something," Valar said. "I believe that will work. I am friends with the Security Director for this province. I will arrange for something to happen. I may have to share some information, if you allow it, but he understands the need for secrets."

"You're friends with Evlidone Msabdteelfinclor?" Katrina murmured. "Of course! You aided his daughter Eliza during the war!"

She translated to her suite-mates, and they looked at him with further awe. Like many young Terrans, they all had a kind of hero-worship for Eliza Msabdteelfinclor, the sorceress solider of the Purity war.

"Why do you youngsters always get like that?" he mumbled. He didn't blame them though. The leader of Hybrid Security tended to make an impact on everyone she encountered.

Dr. Trendenfall looked at his daughter. "Dusty, are you okay with this? I'm sorry about all of this."

"It's . . . it's okay Dad. It's just a lot to take in. But shouldn't I come back with you?"

Valar interrupted. "I know what you're both going through," he said compassionately. "Do you keep the ones you care about with you in time of strife or send them away? You cannot keep them completely safe," he told Dr. Trendenfall. "I've seen it tried. Ambassador Kelik was killed in a Purity raid on a fully fortified base far from the front lines of the Purity war. We do the best we can."

"And if we fail?" Jon replied, drawing his frightened daughter to him.

"We fight back," Valar said. "And then we feel very, very sick for a very long time."

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Back at the Academy . . .

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[[ I wonder if professor VanHouten could help? ]] Dusty muttered, staring at Ash who was near the window, glancing out periodically. Since her cover was blown, it was thought wise that she move inside the primary domicile so she could be closer to her charge.

[[ Why? ]] Katrina asked.

[[ She understands how things are made up and how to change them. ]]

[[ She IS the most potent alchemist at the Academy, ]] Vetlia agreed. It annoyed her having to acknowledge that a human could perform any type of magic better than a Terran, but that was mostly her pride talking.

"Can this lover of yours be trusted?" Ash asked from the window.

Katrina stared at Dusty, who just blushed. While everyone knew that Dusty was not monogamous, none of them knew that she had been sleeping with professor VanHouten. Katrina quickly translated what Ash had said, which led to a barrage of questions for the young woman. Katrina, another of Dusty's sexual partners, was hardly offended. She was actually a bit aroused.

"Thanks a lot," Dusty said.

"You did not seem ashamed of being with her. I apologize if I mentioned something inappropriate," the woman hissed.

Dusty shook her head. She answered a bunch of questions, confirmed her relationships with Martha, made all her roommates swear to silence (again) and sent them off to bed. All of them looked out of the corners of their eyes at the newcomer, but were afraid to look at her dead on.

When they were alone, Dusty sat down next to the woman.

"Please move away from the window," Ash said. "It makes you vulnerable."

Dusty moved a little further away. "Better?"

"Yes."

"Ash . . . what was it like?" Dusty asked nervously. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know the answer, but was fascinated by the question.

"What was 'what' like?"

"Dying."

Ash looked at her. It almost terrified Dusty how blank the woman's expression was. "As I recall, it was exceedingly painful. It took several minutes -- " She stopped. Dusty's face had gone pale. She had to remember that these sorts of details were not exactly dinner conversation for normal people.

"How did you escape?"

"Well, when the experiment 'succeeded,' they were overjoyed. I managed to reform the first time out of fear, or at least the strong recollection of fear. I returned to a state I understood and was comfortable with. Then I remembered anger . . . hatred even. I lashed out at the scientists and the guards. The problem with creating something new is that you do not know how to deal with it. They had no defenses against me. So I killed those in my immediate path and -- " She paused when a particular powerful memory entered her thoughts.

"What?"

"The lead scientist . . . he sat in the next room looking through a window. I remember him discussing something with a colleague when I was dying. They were laughing about something. When I got to him . . . I still remembered the pain and the hate quite well. So I crawled in his throat and choked him to death."

Dusty was caught between terror and disgust. "You killed him from the inside."

"I would later find that to be a very effective tactic," Ash said neutrally. "But that first time . . . it was very personal."

"Did your parents ever find out?"

"My parents abandoned me when I was fourteen. My mother was a prostitute and my father one of her regular clients. I was the perfect candidate for Chimera. They picked up people that no one would miss and then promised them the moon. Quite an effective modus operandi really."

"So why did you become a bodyguard?"

"I determined it would be an effective way to accrue the credits and favors needed to pursue my end."

Dusty gulped. "Aren't you afraid . . . you know . . . to die?"

"No," Ash replied matter-of-factly, staring out the window.

Dusty stood up. She was physically and psychologically exhausted but, before heading to bed, she stopped next to her protector. "I'm sorry," she said. She touched Ash's shoulder. Then she walked away, feeling the soot on her fingertips.

Ash found the whole thing odd, but quickly dismissed such thoughts. After all, the girl was only human.

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To be continued . . .