Page 16 of Concluded
Ashley huffed and gave him another pearl.“Fine.I wish the plants and snakes were all gone.”
This time, the electric thrill he experienced while holding the pearl was even stronger.But when he gave the pearl to Ashley, he felt so depleted that he doubted he’d be able to stand.He watched while she made her wish.The room seemed to do a weird shimmy, as if he were looking through warped glass, and then the snakes dropped to the floor with sickening thuds.They lost their colors and dried to nothing but ashes, reminding him of the fireworks he used to play with as a kid.The vines also turned gray and disintegrated.Soon even the fine residue disappeared, leaving the room as pristinely white as before, the cracks in the marble gone.
“That was pretty good.”Ashley’s hands were on her hips as she surveyed their surroundings with approval.
Dee began to shake as he realized the repercussions of what he’d just done.He’d created life—and destroyed it—using nothing but his talents and will.Wasn’t that one definition of a god?A minor god, perhaps, but still….
“I want mammals this time,” Ashley announced.“Puppies?Or, no.Something fierce, but I also want to control it.A lion, do you think?”She looked at him as if expecting input.
And… Dee wanted to say yes.Because creating something like that would be amazing, and he could even picture himself scratching the creature under its chin and throwing a ball for it to chase, as if it were a house cat.But if he made the lion, what would Ashley demand next?A human who she could also boss around?Dee had a gut feeling it was exactly what she’d want.
“Not now,” he said.“I’m worn out.”That was the truth, at least.
“If you’re going to be useful to us, you need to be stronger.You should exercise your magic like a muscle.”
“Usefulhow?For gods’ sake, who isus?”
She laughed and returned to her chair, arranging her limbs gracefully.“The world could be so beautiful, but it’s fucked up.You know that, right?”
Images slid through Dee’s mind of things he’d seen in jails and on the streets.Of recent news headlines.“Yeah.”
“And who fucked it up?”
“I don’t….Um, corporations and politicians and billionaires and?—”
“People, babe.They wear different hats, but they’re allpeople.People who beat their kids or abandon them, right?”She cast him a significant look.“People who steal and fight and greedily gather every crumb they can while ignoring the starving.Who turn away from other people—or worse, attack them—because they look different or love different or believe different.They dump toxins into the environment, wage war, commit genocide.They?—”
“I get it.People suck.But there are good ones too.”
She shook her head.“They’re good when it’s easy or benefits them, that’s all.”
Dee had, on occasion, entertained somewhat similar thoughts, although he’d never been quite that pessimistic.“You haven’t answered my questions.”
“People have been making bad decisions for far too long.I’m a member of a… well, we’re not really an organization, per se.An entity, let’s say.Our goal is to gather power for those of us who deserve it.Those of us who are strong, who are special.We’ll make sure that people stop fucking up, once and for all, and the world will be ours.”
She sounded entirely sure of the goals and her likelihood of success.Dee had never been that certain about anything, and he envied her.“How do you plan to do this?”he asked.
“We recruit anyone of value.Some folks are a little harder to convince, but I don’t think you’re one of those.”She winked at him.“And once we’re strong enough, we work together to eliminate any opposition.Permanently.We’re almost there.”
Dee felt chilled.“Are you talking about genocide?”
“You’re thinking small, honey.It’s really just another step in evolution.It’s like… when your kitchen gets invaded by ants.What do you do?You get rid of the little shits because that’syourkitchen.It was made for you.And you don’t stop to feel sorry for the bugs.Besides, in a way you’re doing them a favor.Their dumb little struggles are over.”Ashley shrugged and recrossed her legs.
Her little speech was terrifying—and yet also, somehow, oddly appealing.Why should Dee care about billions of people, none of whom had ever given a damn about him?And here he was with his rare and powerful talents.Maybe hewasmore evolved than ordinary humans.Maybe it did make sense to hand the keys over to extraordinary individuals.
No more scrambling around for rent money, trying to please idiots who wanted love charms, wondering how he was going afford his next meal.No more jails.No more… being alone in the world.He’d never asked for much but had rarely gotten anything.It was his turn togetsomething, dammit.
Besides, if he refused, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t get to simply walk away.He’d end up one of those squished insects.
“How about you?”he asked after a long pause.“Why did you decide to join the cause?”
She nodded as if she approved of the question.“I’m not like you.I can’t grant wishes.In fact, it used to be I couldn’t do anything all that amazing.But certain people saw my potential and asked me to join.I grew so much stronger when I did, and I got all sorts of nice perks.So now I have superpowers too.”
Dee couldn’t help but wonder: if he joined, would he become more powerful too?
Then he remembered that nothing came for free.“What’s the price?”Hesitantly, he added, “My soul?”
Ashley laughed.“It’s not like that.You’ll see.Anyway, even if you had a soul, are you really using it?”She lifted an eyebrow.“Maybe it’s time to trade it in.”
