Old Secrets (The Survivors Book Thirteen)

by Nathan Hystad

  Jules was confident the Deities were under control, but she was going to need to deal with it eventually. She hadn’t mentioned Lom in a while, and that was good. I wanted to put him out of my mind.

  “What about the executive in your cell?” Natalia asked, and my eyes sprang open. I looked at Mary, whose expression matched mine.

  “I forgot about her. With everything going on…” I set my glass down.

  “Me too. We were so worried about Patty, and then we had these meetings, and Fontem...” Mary said.

  “I’ll go see her later tonight. I’m sure there’s no news there,” I told them, hoping I was right.

  “When are we going to eat?” Jules asked. “I’m starving over here.”

  I laughed, rolling my eyes at her impatience. Sometimes, she could bear the weight of the universe; other times, she was a kid again. I preferred this version of her. “Right now. Can you set the table?” I asked her, and she nudged Dean.

  “Give me a hand, would you?” she asked, smiling at him.

  I could tell they had feelings for one another and tried not to worry that she was too young, or that he was vulnerable after the death of his father. Truth was, I loved Nat’s kids like they were mine, and Jules and Dean’s futures were in their own hands.

  We ate, had a glass of wine, and enjoyed one another’s company like old times. Tomorrow, we were starting the long journey to Haven, but tonight, we were a family.

  ____________

  “Plinick, good to see you,” I greeted the guard. Her eyes opened, and I watched as she dabbed some drool from the corner of her lips.

  “Captain Parker, I wasn’t expecting you,” she hastily replied.

  “I’m here to visit the prisoner,” I told her.

  “Yes, sir. Go right in.”

  The energy field faded, and I stepped through, heading for Katherine’s cell. She was wide awake, sitting on her bed, reading a tablet.

  “I see we’ve given you some privileges,” I told her.

  She dropped the tablet in surprise, but it landed softly on the bedding beside her. “Dean. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”

  “You’ve been treated well?” I asked, not sure I wanted her to be.

  She peered up at me with Janine’s eyes and smiled. “Better than you probably think I deserve.”

  I didn’t take the bait. I squinted, looking at her well-furnished room. Someone had taken it upon themselves to improve her situation.

  Neither of us spoke for a minute, me waiting for her to spill the beans without me asking. “Your daughter is quite the girl.”

  My breath caught in my lungs, and I cleared my throat, playing along. “I know. I sent her here.”

  “Then you heard about her plan? Did you use the communication device?” she asked, and I nodded along.

  “Sure. We used it,” I said, trying to sound relaxed.

  “It’s dangerous, but when she offered me sanctuary on Haven, I had no choice. I want Lom to die,” she told me.

  The picture was growing clear. I turned, rushing from Katherine. “Was it something I said?” she called after me, but I hardly heard her over the thumping of my own heart.

  I raced through the corridors, straight for our suite, and when I arrived frazzled and worried, I found Jules’ room empty. “Jules! Are you here?”

  Mary stepped from the bathroom, a glass of water in her grip. “What are you shouting for?”

  I ran my hands through my hair, feeling my world fall apart. “Jules…”

  “What about her?”

  I crossed the room, heading for the console embedded in the kitchen wall. With the quick tap of my finger, one of the guards’ faces appear on the screen. “Captain Parker, what can we…”

  “Did my daughter use the portal?” I asked, cutting him off.

  “Sure. She was through about fifteen minutes ago,” he told me, and I ended the call.

  “What is this about?” Mary asked me as she grabbed hold of my shoulders.

  “Jules. I think she’s heading to Udoon. She’s going for Lom.”

  Epilogue

  The planet near Udoon was nothing but a stepping point for Jules to reach her goal. A long time ago, before she was born, her father had come into this same Shandra room, meeting with someone named Cee-Eight, who’d flown them to Udoon Station. It was her dad’s big plan to capture Lom and deal with him. She found it ironic that sixteen or so years later, she was using the same portal to move for Udoon with the exact same goal in mind.

  Jules felt different since her experience with the Deity. More herself now, not the Zan’ra imposter. She flew through space, spotting a handful of starships as she neared Udoon. Loweck had lived on this planet for a time, even though she wasn’t of their race. The locals were squat, four-legged creatures, with protruding bellies and mist to assist their breathing away from the surface.

  The station was about the same as her father had described it. Seedy. It facilitated trouble. People only came to Udoon Station to gamble, drink, find drugs, or hire killers. It wasn’t a good place, but today, she had need of it.

  Jules hated leaving home behind like this, but she didn’t have a choice. She’d brought Patty home, fulfilling her promise to Dean. He was going to be so upset with her, but this was for him and for her family. Lom wasn’t going to stop because of a setback.

  Jules moved for the station’s outer hull, far from the docking bays where a hundred various spacecraft were parked. She touched the metallic station and pressed through the wall, creating her own entrance onto the station.

  The room was busy, lights flashing, and she stepped from the corner, raising a hand over her eyes to stop the blinking light show. Music was pumping through speakers, and Jules removed her pack, holding it near her chest to keep from being pickpocketed.

  There were numerous unrecognizable beings, but she spotted an Inlorian, as well as a Kraski, here. So they weren’t all gone.

  Jules walked right by a giant bouncer, who shouted after her in a foreign tongue, but she kept walking, heading for the rendezvous spot. The lounge was half-full, various people sitting across from one another, speaking in hushed tones. Two unfamiliar aliens rose, one taking a swing at the other, and she ignored them, heading for the back of the room.

  Jules was about to ask someone how she could reach Viliar, when she spotted the hooded man across the lounge, sitting at the bar sipping a drink. It couldn’t be him. There was no way.

  ____________

  I felt every ache in my body as I waited for her. I knew she was coming, but the exact date was unclear. I’d seen her only nine of her months ago on New Spero, during Magnus’ wake, but she hadn’t seen me. Another two of my years had passed. Two long and miserable years.

  I patted my pocket, ensuring the Delineator was safe and sound, and took another drink from my mug. This was my life now. Waiting. Boredom. Loneliness. I should have done it all differently, but it was too late for me. My Jules was gone, but this one… this Dean’s daughter could make it. I felt it in my throbbing joints. I kicked a leg out, knocking my metal knee against the bar, and glanced around. Someone was starting a fight behind me, but that happened so regularly here, I paid it no mind.

  I finished my drink off, wiping my mouth with my sleeve, and lowered my chin.

  “Want another one?” the barkeep asked, and I shook my head, dropping a credit on the table. It was time to go. Maybe Jules wasn’t coming after all. Maybe she was smart enough to stay behind. To live her life while she could.

  “Who are you?” The voice cut through me, her voice so familiar, yet so distant.

  I stood, my balance uneasy after the drinks, and I turned toward her, my hood exposing half of my face. “Jules…”

  She reached up, snatching my hood off, and staggered back, hand flying to her mouth. “How?”

  “We’ll have time for that later.” I pointed at the doorway. “Your contact just walked in.”

  I watched as her gaze drifted to the tall man
in a gray suit near the entrance. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

  I longed to hug my daughter, to tell her everything, but this wasn’t her. She wasn’t mine.

  “I’m from the future. And I’m here to help you kill Lom of Pleva.”

  Her eyes glistened with tears and she took my hand, squeezing it tightly. “What do we do?”

  THE END

  Continue the adventure with

  The Deities (The Survivors Book Fourteen)

  The Zan’ra are disbanded. Jules has vanished to an unknown future.

  After a shocking betrayal, Dean Parker regroups, only to discover his daughter is missing.

  Jules meets an unexpected ally, and together they seek to eradicate the biggest threat to her family: Lom of Pleva. Jules is torn as she grapples with the recent news of her birthright, but all is revealed in a truly epic showdown.

  With ancient gods, and trouble brewing in the Alliance, the crew of Light has their hands full.

  The Deities is a tale of hope, adventure, family, and trust. Continue the Survivors series today!

  THE DEITIES

  The countdown to the end of the world has begun.

  A mysterious convergence of natural disasters threatens to destroy life as we know it, and people across the United States are going missing. With no one left to investigate, Special Agent Kendra Baker takes the case, trying to solve the disappearances before she’s out of time.

  Among those abducted is Valeria Miller, the daughter of ex-Marine Corporal Andrew Miller, and he’ll stop at nothing to find her.

  With the help of an unstable conspiracy theorist, they find themselves on the trail of a reclusive billionaire who just might have all the answers.

  As the natural catastrophes escalate and the evacuations commence, it becomes a race against the clock to find the abductees before it’s too late.

  Final Days is a doomsday science fiction thriller, written by Jasper T. Scott and Nathan Hystad.

  FINAL DAYS