The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(39)

She strikes at his head, and he dodges in that same lightning-fast manner.

She tries to kick his leg, and he does something that, again, is too fast for my eyes to see. All I witness is the end result: Frederick is not there for Kate’s leg to kick.

How does he do that?

Throughout the fight, I don’t really understand his strategy or technique. My suspicion that he’s toying with her gets stronger. He seems to be giving the crowd a good show.

Kate executes a barrage of attacks, her limbs reminding me of a jackhammer that’s been carefully programmed to follow some strange, mathematical pattern.

Frederick dodges the lion’s share of the attacks, but Kate lands a few kicks.

A grimace flits across his face.

Emboldened, Kate walks back a few steps, then, in a blur, charges Frederick. This time, she, like Frederick, is so fast she’s nearly impossible to see.

Before she can land a punch, something happens that my brain refuses to process at first.

Frederick doesn’t do his super-quick dodging maneuver this time. Instead, he vanishes. Instantly and without traversing the intermediary distance, Frederick is behind Kate. And I mean, one second he was in one place, then instantly, he’s in another. There’s no mistaking it.

Did he Teleport? I was under the impression it was only possible when you got pulled into the Quiet, but maybe that’s not the case. Alternatively, maybe the twins are working together, like in a stage trick. One of the brothers could’ve dropped into a hidden hole beneath the square, and the other could’ve jumped out of a similar hole quickly to achieve this disappearing / reappearing effect.

Looking around, I spot Louis in the crowd, which destroys my ‘stage trick’ theory. I also don’t see any hidden doors in the square’s ground.

The crowd cheers louder. I guess this makes more sense to them, since here I am standing in stunned silence instead of cheering alongside them.

Kate’s back is to Frederick, and he moves as quickly as he did when he was dodging her attacks. He pulls the straps of Kate’s mask. Before she realizes what happened, the mask falls to the square’s floor. Shock momentarily shows on her now-bare face.

I have to hand it to Kate; she still has some fight in her.

She grabs his wrist and tries to use it as a fulcrum point to throw him to the ground.

Then Frederick does that illusion-like maneuver again. He disappears from where he was standing and shows up behind her again.

Kate’s hand is empty. If this were a trick, she would’ve had to be in on it and a good actress to boot.

This time, Frederick does some kind of sweeping maneuver with his leg, and Kate falls to the ground, landing on her back. Having fallen that way myself, I know it must hurt like a sonofabitch, but she doesn’t show it.

In a gentlemanly gesture, he reaches his hand out to help her up, saying, “That was a truly valiant effort, Lady Kate.”

She mumbles something, and everyone claps.

Frederick winks at Gustav, grabs his brother, and walks in the direction of the large gazebo on the eastern side of the square.

“Let’s follow them,” Gustav says. “With the festivities almost over, we should be able to get some privacy to talk with the others.”

As we follow the brothers, I notice a few Elders heading in the same direction as us. I’m too perplexed to make small talk, though, still digesting the fight I just saw.

“How did he do that?” I ask Gustav after a few moments. “I mean, I know from personal experience just how quick and deadly Kate is.”

Gustav smiles. “Are you convinced now? Do you believe that if one of us wanted to make you Inert, you would be?”

I nod. “If all of you can whoosh the way he did, then yes.”

“Teleport,” Gustav corrects. “We can do that and more.”

So my first guess was right. “People can Teleport once they’re already in the Mind Dimension?”

“Only a few can.”

“You mean just the Elders, right?”

He smiles again. “Let’s save this for the chat we’re about to have. We’re almost there anyway.”

“So this is how you crossed the room so fast back at the Castle,” I say, remembering how confused I was by the old man’s speed. “You Teleported?”

Gustav takes off his mask. “I did. Now, let’s see how everyone is getting on.”

With that, he enters the gazebo—our destination.

My heart rate increases. Despite Gustav’s reassurances, the Super Pusher might be in this very gazebo. Furthermore, I now know I wouldn’t stand a chance against one of the Elders in a fight; that’s just transitive logic. Frederick did to Kate what Kate did to me. It’s not a comforting picture. The only thing that gives me a modicum of calm is the hope that the Super Pusher would not strike in front of the others.

Unless Mimir’s message to me was, ‘Don’t trust a single Elder. They will gang up on you and make you Inert together.’ But no, that’s not likely. Given the distribution of power as it stands, them ganging up on me makes no sense, not when one of them would suffice for that task.

With this not-so-encouraging logic, I gingerly follow Gustav.

“Where are the twins?” asks Alfred, who enters with us. “I saw them headed this way.”

Since he and the others have taken off their masks, I follow suit.