by Chris Fox
“Mohn Corp. is one small piece of his plan, a way to harness technology his contemporaries know nothing about,” the Old Man continued, finally lighting the pipe. He took an experimental puff. The stuff was pungent, but not unpleasant. “A war is about to begin, Mark. A war between gods who drew breath when the most complicated human tool was a stone hand axe. When we lived in caves and could only dream of writing. The winner of that war will decide the fate of our species. You assume my master is a monster, an evil to be stopped. Mark, he is the best hope we have. You know of Irakesh. There are far worse evils gathering strength even now. My master is the only one strong enough to oppose them.”
“I get that you believe that,” Mark said, blinking rapidly. The smoke burned his eyes. “I don’t. I’m not going to sell my soul, Leif. I’m better than that. I’m loyal to humanity. I sent Jordan to deal with Irakesh. He’s the best of the best. He’ll deal with you and your master too, eventually.”
“Will he now?” Leif asked, rising from the chair. “Osiris will be here soon, and I promise after you meet him you’ll feel quite differently about things. Not only will you serve the Master, but you’ll count yourself privileged to do it.”
The Old Man turned and slipped from the room, leaving that cloying smoke in his wake. For the first time he could remember, Mark was terrified. These ancients possessed abilities they barely understood. One thing had been quite clear: they could control minds.
6
Oh, Shit
“Oh, shit,” Blair said, rising unsteadily to his feet. He blinked away spots, the afterimage caused by the glow the Ark had emitted. The massive structure had returned to a flat black, and was little more than a looming shadow now that full night had fallen.
“What is it?” Liz asked, turning to face him. Her tone was hard. It had been since the fight, not that he could blame her. A lot of people had died.
“Steve and Irakesh,” Blair said. He tucked his hands in the pocket of his windbreaker to ward off the chill. “What if the system malfunctions shorted out their cell?”
“They’d still be trapped inside, right?” Trevor asked from his place in the shadows beneath a nearby pine. Blair started. He’d almost forgotten Trevor was there.
“Maybe,” he said, directing his answer to the twin pools of green shining in the darkness. “I still don’t know everything the Ark can do, but at the very least it does have a light bridge. They might be able to use it to light walk out, though I’m not sure where they could go.”
“Then you’re right. We need to get inside,” Liz said. She sounded so tired, her usual determination faded to a dull monotone. “Trevor, will you go grab Jordan? The three of you can investigate. I’ll stay to oversee the island until you get back.”
“On it,” Trevor said, trotting off into the darkness. Blair could hear Jordan bellowing orders down near the dock, so not far.
“It wasn’t your fault, you know,” Blair said, quietly. He approached Liz, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
She wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. It was as intimate as she’d been with him in a while, especially in the last few weeks. They’d never really returned to the close bond they’d developed when they’d been on the run from Mohn.
“The attack wasn’t my fault,” she said, disengaging and meeting his gaze. “The moment of hesitation when I couldn’t decide whether to stop the deathless or help you was. I screwed up, and I cannot allow that to happen. Jordan’s right. Emotion can get us killed.”
Blair wanted to trot out a counterargument, or at least say something to make her feel better. What would that be, though? He’d made a lot of mistakes in the last several months, most of them caused by giving in to one emotion or another. They had to be above that.
Liz settled her arms around his waist again, soft curves pressing against him. It felt good, and he decided to enjoy the moment. They might not get another any time soon, at least if their track record for crises continued unabated.
“I’m glad I met you, Liz,” he whispered. She didn’t reply, but she did squeeze him a bit tighter.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel, approaching quickly. Liz released him immediately, her back straightening as she became the warrior once more.
“Let’s move,” Jordan said, striding up boldly. “Trevor filled me in.”
“Great,” Liz said, turning to face him. “Handle the situation, then get back here as quickly as you can. I’ll handle the defense for now, and see if we can recruit a few more people to replace our losses. Is Yuri still in command?”
“He is,” Jordan said, giving a tight nod. “I’ve ordered him to organize the remaining militia into smaller squads for more coverage. You’re right, though; we need more people. Starting recruitment is a good idea.”
“You’re wasting time,” Liz said, her tone frosty. Her eyes were fastened on Jordan. “If there’s a chance Steve has escaped we need to stop him. This time we listen to you. If he’s left that cell, he dies. No more imprisonment. He’s too much of a risk walking around.”
Jordan nodded. His expression was…approving.
“I’m going to initiate the light walk,” Blair interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention.
It was harder than usual, perhaps because the Ark had less to give. Warning klaxons were still echoing in his mind, and he was aware of several hundred systems that were still offline. Whatever the Ark had done had taxed it to the edge of its abilities, even with the enormous infusion of power Irakesh had given it when he detonated the bomb.
Blair used some of his own energy, closing his eyes and willing them to appear within the central chamber. There was a moment of resistance, then they were surrounded by clear white light. When it faded they stood in the central chamber.
7
Pursuit
The lights in the central chamber flickered, occasionally flaring brighter, yet never reaching their full illumination. The place reeked of ozone, though Jordan wasn’t sure what had caused it.
“What the hell happened to this place?” Trevor whispered, spinning slowly in place.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jordan said, fixing Blair with his gaze. “Can you detect whether the cells are still occupied?”
“I don’t know,” Blair said, rounding to face him. He looked concerned. And angry. “I felt something, a surge of some kind.”
“Like the pulses?” Trevor asked. Jordan noted the deathless had one hand around the .357 belted at his side. He might not like Trevor, but he respected his combat prowess.
“Sort of,” Blair said. He spun slowly, one hand raised as if testing the air somehow. “Not quite, though. It was weaker, and it reminded me of something. It was just like whenever I light walk…”
Blair trailed off, and his eyes widened. “Oh, crap.”
There was a brief flash of light, then Jordan was elsewhere. He took in his surroundings once again, this time even more cautiously since he hadn’t been expecting the second light walk. They stood in an arched hallway with bronzed walls. Every few feet, a small room with no door broke the flow of the hall. The one they stood in front of had a crackling lattice of energy.
“They’re gone,” Trevor said, pointing at the cell even as Jordan realized the same thing. There was no sign of Irakesh or Steve.
“Irakesh is a master of illusion,” Jordan said, thinking out loud. “Is there any chance he’s using that to fool our senses?”
“So we’d open the cell and let them out,” Blair said, cocking his head as he approached the crackling blue energy. “I don’t think that’s it. I’d be able to sense Steve at least. He can’t hide the presence of an access key, and I don’t feel anything inside. They aren’t here anymore.”
“You said you felt light walking?” Trevor said. His words hung in the air as they all considered the implications.
“How far could he go using that?” Jordan asked. It bothered him that he didn’t understand the tactical limitations of such an immense power.
/> “Not far,” Blair said, shaking his head. “I think he’s still in the Ark somewhere. He might have made it as far as Angel Island, but I doubt it.”
“Where would he go inside the Ark?” Trevor asked.
“There are only a few tactical choices,” Jordan said, voice deepening as he shifted. His clothing disappeared, replaced by thick blond fur. He barely felt the pain. “He could be trying to wake the sleepers in those rejuvenators, or he could be trying to escape. Do you think he has some sort of power that would let him get through the bay?”
“Possibly,” Blair allowed. He shifted as well, bones cracking as a muzzle sprang from his face. In the space of two seconds, he gained two feet in height, and his body was covered in thick silver fur. “There’s another option, though. He could be trying to use the light bridge.”
“Light bridge?” Trevor asked. The deathless withdrew his pistol, cradling it in both hands.
“No time to explain. I’m going to light walk us down to the light bridge. We’ll start there, and if we can’t find them we’ll widen the search,” Blair said.
Then they were bathed in light again, and Jordan was elsewhere. Damn, but he was getting tired of this light walking shit.
8
The Nexus
Blair blinked twice, knees sagging as he gazed around him in wonder. He wasn’t sure where the sudden weakness had come from; perhaps it was the enormous distance they’d apparently traveled. Wherever they were, it certainly wasn’t anywhere near San Francisco.
You have entered the Nexus, Ka-Dun, the Beast rumbled softly. Even the Mother does not understand it fully. Its age is incalculable.
That surprised him. Gaps in Isis’s knowledge were rare, though she’d already admitted they did exist. Whatever this place was, it predated even her. He studied the architecture carefully, immediately picking out common patterns. The fluted columns could have been found in Fourth Dynasty Egypt, the scarabs and sphinxes the same style he’d grown up loving.
The resemblance to ancient Egypt ended there. The walls were a familiar black stone, dotted with diamond-shaped crystals every ten feet. Those were a perfect mirror of the ones found in the Ark of the Redwood, reinforcing what he already knew. The Builders had created this place as well.
Bridget would have loved it. Thinking of her was painful, but also freeing. They’d reconciled at the end, and in her final moments he’d learned just how much that had meant to her. She’d died content, and her sacrifice had not been in vain. He could finally lay her memory to rest, and move on to better things. Red-headed things.
That brought his attention back to his surroundings. Irakesh had been directly responsible for Bridget’s death, even if it was Cyntia who’d done the killing. He and Liz had dealt with the crazed abomination, but Cyntia’s death did little to quiet his thirst for vengeance. Irakesh and Steve were going to die, even if it meant giving up vital knowledge.
“This way,” Blair said, stepping down from the platform. It was a raised golden disk about a dozen feet across, surrounded by a triangle of black stone that sloped gently to the floor.
Trevor disappeared into the shadows, while Jordan prowled ahead. His pistol was comically small in his huge furry fists, but Blair seriously doubted anyone would be foolish enough to laugh at the commander.
They followed the corridor between the fluted columns, each diamond-shaped crystal flickering to life as they passed. They shed a wan illumination, just a pale shadow of the brilliance Blair had witnessed in both the other Arks he’d seen.
“What’s wrong with the lights? This place is even worse off than the Mother’s Ark,” he whispered softly. It was for Trevor’s benefit. He was a master of the harder sciences, and far more at home with computers than Blair. If anyone understood what was happening here, it would be him.
“This place has to run on power of some sort. I imagine it’s running out,” came a disembodied whisper to his right.
Jordan made a sudden shushing motion, then glided into a chamber at the far end of the corridor. Blair followed, stopping in the doorway to gawk. The chamber was a large domed room, the ceiling thrusting some seventy-five feet into the air. It was perfectly clear glass, and it held what appeared to be an ocean at bay, the kind that was so deep light no longer penetrated.
“We’re at the bottom of the sea,” he muttered, taking a step into the room.
A flicker of light at the room’s center drew his attention. Several gemstones along the floor had flickered to life—a ruby, an emerald, and a pair of diamonds. They pulsed once, then a holographic form appeared above them.
“What the fuck is that?” Jordan rumbled, aiming his weapon at the hologram’s head. Blair assumed the gesture was reflexive, as Jordan’s posture was too relaxed for real combat.
“I think we’re looking at one of the Builders,” Blair said, taking several steps forward until he stood before the hologram.
It was roughly six feet tall, with mottled green skin the color of summer-cut grass. It had large black eyes, like a shark’s. Its arms were a bit too long, its limbs a bit too thin. Each hand had four fingers.
“Holy. Shit,” Trevor said, joining Blair near the hologram. “That thing is right out of the X-Files. Are you telling me the pyramids really were built by aliens?”
“That assertion is incorrect,” the figure hummed, its voice digitized but still recognizable English. “The structures you refer to as pyramids were constructed by humans during the early Holocene. They were created by a culture you refer to as the ancient Egyptians, during the fourth dynasty. The first was constructed by pharaoh Khufu. The second was…”
“He meant the Arks,” Blair interrupted. Part of him wanted to listen, wanted to ask how this thing knew so much about human history. It had been dead on about Khufu’s pyramid. What else did it know? If only they weren’t so pressed for time. Steve and Irakesh were getting away even now.
“Ahh, the Arks were not constructed by aliens either,” the figure corrected. It flickered, fading a bit. A moment later it returned to full illumination. “They were constructed by the Builders, an early hominid that predated your species by six-point-four-million years.”
Blair’s jaw sagged open. “So these Builders, they were born on earth then? How many years from the current date did they build the Arks?”
He’d asked the question to see when this thing considered humanity to have begun. That could mean Homo sapiens, which was roughly 200,000 years old. Or it could mean Homo erectus, or an even earlier ancestor. If that was true, it would make the Builders over 10,000,000 years old.
“Six-point-six-million years,” the being answered, cocking its head. “Your genus first appeared roughly 200,000 years ago, while your species is nearly three million years old.”
“That’s great,” Jordan interrupted, finally joining them near the hologram. “Has anyone else passed this way recently? We’re looking for two humans.”
“Ah, the Ka-Dun and the deathless,” the figure said, nodding. It focused its gaze on Jordan. “They departed this room three minutes and sixteen seconds before your arrival.”
Blair stifled the urge to ask how this thing knew what a Ka-Dun was. “Where were they going?”
“To the light bridge in the southeastern section of the Nexus,” it explained, shifting those flat black eyes back to Blair. “I believe they are seeking the Ark of the Cradle.”
“Let’s move,” Jordan snarled. He stalked forward several paces, then turned a sheepish look to Blair. “Do you know which way the southeastern corridor is? I can’t get my bearings down here, and something is playing havoc with my compass.”
“That way,” Blair said, starting towards one of the doorways leading to the room. He counted seven of them, now that he’d torn his gaze from the hologram. Each doorway had a slightly different Ark glyph above it.
“Ka-Dun Blair,” the figure called as they started for the doorway. Blair turned, shocked that it knew his name. “Be aware that the Nexus has reached critical power
reserves. If a conduit to a powered Ark is not restored within the next three hours, power will fail entirely, and this entire complex will be crushed by the ocean above.”
“Lovely,” Trevor said, already moving for the doorway. He looked back at Blair even as he glided forward. “Can we trust this thing?”
“I don’t know,” Blair shrugged, glancing at the hologram. It seemed benign, but appearances could be deceiving. “Either way we have to stop Steve and Irakesh. Let’s see if we can catch them before they reach the light bridge.”
The race was on.
9
Osiris
An unremarkable servant in plain white clothes led Mark into the sitting room, the kind of library with all mahogany furniture and the thick smell of tobacco. A fire roared in one corner. It was the only source of light, as the windows were covered by heavy curtains. A figure sat in the corner opposite the fire. His features were thick with shadow, but his hands revealed a great deal. Too-pale skin with long fingers. Each nail had been expertly manicured, and his forearms revealed the heavily muscled frame of an athlete.
The door closed behind Mark. A floorboard creaked as the guard shifted outside. Then the figure rose, stepping into the light of the fire. His perfectly styled hair was dark. Not quite black, but something close to that. It bore the faintest hint of red, if that wasn’t a trick of the light. He wore a dark blue suit with a thread count as high as any Mark had ever seen. Armani, unless he missed his guess. This man could have swam with any of the sharks who ran the super-corporations springing up around the world. Until you reached his eyes. They glowed with a faint inner light, the horrifying green that conjured thoughts of Chernobyl. Those eyes made it abundantly clear this man wasn’t even remotely human.