The Way of the Brother Gods by Stuart Jaffe Page B

returned to Malja, that sense of something unsettling underneath. "You don't follow the rules?"
    "Not anymore. The goal of the Gate is to be the caretaker of all worlds. We are the protectors and the controllers. The Gate believe that we should stop there, but after traveling these worlds and seeing how few contain anyone with even reasonable intelligence, I know we can be so much more than caretakers. We far surpass all others in knowledge, in technology, in magic. We have gifts that can bring peace and prosperity to all. And we can crush with ease those who stand in our way or threaten the worlds with blood conflicts and unbridled atrocities. We can be the true gods of the universes." Harskill's face brightened with his words. He started to speak again but faltered. He closed back up, glancing around as if afraid someone might have heard him. With an embarrassed chuckle, he put out his hand. "You have been lost to us for so long and we never even knew. Now that you have been discovered, I can show you the wonders of the worlds. But before I can do that, I need your help in stopping Ms. Watts from using the Dish. Please, will you help me?"
    A high-pitched noise squawked from a mesh circle on the post by the stairwell. "Malja?" Cole's voice — fuzzy and distorted — called out. Harskill brushed past Malja, clearly annoyed at the disruption, and pushed the single red button next to the mesh.
    "This is Harskill. Malja's here with me."
    He gestured for Malja to come over. She put her mouth close to the mesh and said, "Cole?"
    Harskill let go of the button, and Malja heard Cole's voice. "Have Harskill bring you down to the Infirmary. Fawbry and I have Tommy here and ... just come down here. You've got see what's happening to him."
     

Chapter 8
    Malja left Harskill, hurrying down the stairs, skipping as many as she could without falling, and worked her way through the long series of halls until she reached the main entrance. From there she followed instructions Harskill had given her before she left the lip of the Dish. A few people walked the halls doing whatever business they had. They got out of Malja's way, looking at her with concern or confusion.
    When she burst into the Infirmary, Cole and Fawbry stood against the back wall, watching Tommy as if he were a dangerous creature. The room had two rows of cots and several devices that Cole, no doubt, had made. One of them glowed orange and gave off heat. Another beeped every few seconds and had numbers on its screen. Above Fawbry's head was a monitor displaying the main gate and several hallways. On the other side of the room, Tommy floated. Catching her breath, Malja walked toward the boy, and she saw what had caused Cole's urgent call.
    Dozens of snake-like appendages had grown out of Tommy's arms. They started around the elbow, and a few reached to his wrist. They wriggled back and forth as if attempting to escape his body, but they never appeared able to detach from his arm. Worse — Tommy's head had angled back with his mouth open, and a line of drool streamed down his cheek.
    "I-I think," Fawbry said, his voice shaking as much as Malja's heart, "this has something to do with Barris Mont being inside him."
    "Don't get too close," Cole said. "If Fawbry's right, those tentacles could link you with Barris Mont's mind just like they would've when he had his own body."
    "Except it's Tommy's mind, isn't it?"
    "It is. But all that Tommy's been through recently, and what I saw when I was with you in the mountains, suggests that Barris Mont is more than just a presence inside Tommy. He truly shares that boy's body and mind."
    As Cole and Fawbry talked, Malja watched Tommy closely — searching for any sign, any flicker of the boy she had spent so much time protecting. The things on his arms made the sickening sound of wet innards sloshing from an open wound, and the smell reminded her of an enemy's bowels let loose in battle. This all started after Tommy had healed her. Had she