by Rai Aren
The guard that Khadesh had hit, who had been lying on the ground a few feet away behind Mitch and Khamir, now regained consciousness. As he struggled to his feet, he picked up his submachine gun from the ground and tried to aim at it them. His vision was blurred. He shook his head. No effect. Not wanting to accidentally shoot Hans, the guard instead ran towards Khamir, punching him in the side of the face.
Khamir was stunned, but regained his headlock over Hans. Mitch leapt to his feet, kicked the guard in the knee, and tried to wrestle the gun away. The gun dropped to the ground as Mitch and the guard wrestled with each other. The guard got the advantage and threw Mitch to the ground. Mitch slammed into the ground, hard, landing on his shoulder and hip. Ignoring the pain, he quickly got up and took a running dive at the guard. They wrestled furiously on the ground.
Hans spotted the submachine gun close by. With Khamir still clinging onto him in a headlock, Hans drove his body backwards, slamming Khamir’s body into a wall. With a twist of his upper body, he flung Khamir off him. Hans ran to pick up the submachine gun and aimed it at Mitch.
Mitch, catching a glimpse of Hans out of the corner of his eye and seeing what was going to transpire, fought himself free from the guard and lunged to the ground at the last second. A loud series of bangs echoed throughout the room. The guard he was wrestling with was shot multiple times before collapsing, dead.
Hans swore.
“Mitch!” Alex screamed. Hans turned the gun towards her and fired. Jack, reacting with incredible speed, broke away from the guard he and Bob had been fighting, and knocked Alex out of the way.
He cried out in pain as he took a bullet to the arm.
“Jack!” Alex cried. “No!”
Bob seeing his best friend shot, became enraged. He fought like a man possessed against the guards, summoning renewed strength he never knew he had. He wanted to kill them. He wanted to kill Hans. He ducked a fierce blow, and came up fast with his meaty fist. It connected with the man’s jaw, snapping his head back with a sickening crunch. The man fell limp at his feet.
Hans, desperately trying to fight off the Pharom’s effects, turned his attention back to Mitch.
In all the commotion and fighting, Fessel had snuck off and hid in a corner of the room.
He watched his former colleagues fighting for their lives. He might have once resented, and even hated them at times, but he didn’t want them to be killed. None of this was right. He had to do something. Fast.
He made a quick decision. He got up and took hold of the Sun Disk, which sat a few feet away from him. With all of his strength, he hurled it towards Mitch. “Mitch, use it as a shield!” The Sun Disk landed with a heavy thud, only a couple of feet away from Mitch.
Hans, seeing the betrayal, fired off a burst at Fessel. Fessel screamed and collapsed as he was hit. Mitch scrambled to the Sun Disk, grabbed hold of it and swung it around just in time as Hans opened fire at him. The bullets ricocheted off of the large metal disk, hitting Hans in the head and chest. He fell hard to the ground, dead.
Mitch ran to Fessel’s side. “Fessel!” He was badly injured and unconscious, but still breathing. Mitch looked around for help. It was chaos in the chamber.
Khadesh had joined Alex, who knelt over Jack, cradling his head.
“Go turn the Pharom off,” Jack said, wincing in pain. “We’ll be in trouble if it goes off.”
“Go, I’ll look after him!” Bob shouted, as he bent down to hoist Jack up.
Khamir, seeing Jack bleeding badly, raced over to help. “I will help you, my friends.” He stopped to pick up Hans’ gun, and helped to support Jack as they raced out of the chamber.
“Alex,” Khadesh said, breathing heavy, “we need to get the Pharom. Disengage it.”
“Right behind you,” she said as she nodded.
With Alex following close behind, Dr. Khadesh ran to where the platform stood. He moved as quickly as possible, as the nauseating effects of the Pharom were nearly overwhelming him. He stumbled. Alex helped him up.
“I remember how to disengage it,” she said. “Let me do this.” Her stomach felt like it was doing backflips. She fought back the urge to throw up.
Khadesh nodded. “Okay, but hurry, we will not last much longer in here.” He was struggling badly with the Pharom’s effects and the injuries that Hans and Maximilian had inflicted upon him.
She stepped in front of him, sweating bullets now, and reached out for the platform.
A shot rang out, hitting Khadesh in the shoulder. He cried out in pain and collapsed. Blood splattered at the base of the platform.
Alex screamed and dove for cover on the other side of the platform.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Khadesh, shaking in agony, turned to see Maximilian holding a gun.
“That’s mine!” Maximilian yelled as he tried to fight off the crushingly intense effects of the Pharom. It felt like wave after hot wave of thrumming energy was assaulting every fiber of his being, right down to a cellular level. “Get away from it.” He swayed as he struggled to stay standing. He started to see large black spots.
“You do not know what you are doing,” Dr. Khadesh said weakly. “It is too powerful for you.”
“Maybe for the likes of you,” he replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead, “but not for me.” He squeezed his eyes closed and then re-opened them, trying to see straight. It wasn’t working. ‘Get a grip, Maximilian,’ he thought to himself. ‘Its power is just far beyond your wildest dreams. That’s a good thing,’ he told himself. ‘It’s more than I hoped for. I will become so powerful that no one will ever be able to touch me. It will change everything….’
Dr. Khadesh spoke, “You cannot hope to control it, Maximilian. Stop now.”
Maximilian felt himself close to blacking out again. His head reeled with the dizzying effects, throwing off his balance. The room started to spin. He staggered towards the platform. He stood over Dr. Khadesh. “I will show you control.” He pointed his gun at Dr. Khadesh’s head, ready to shoot again. His vision was growing increasingly spotty. His hand shook badly. “Professor Dustimaine, do you want the honor of revenge?”
Professor Dustimaine, still crouched on the floor of the chamber, blanched at the suggestion. “What? No!” he said as he crawled away. “You’re insane!”
“So be it, coward,” Maximilian said. He now used both hands to try and steady his aim. Sweat poured down his brow now, stinging his eyes. His breathing became labored.
“No!” Alex shouted, leaping up from behind the platform.
The momentary disruption allowed Dr. Khadesh to kick Maximilian hard in the knee. He screamed, misfiring his weapon. The bullet hit the Pharom, ricocheting off. Echoes of the shot rang throughout the chamber. The Pharom began to shake violently. Suddenly, it began to emit a brilliant blue light. The light surrounded the Pharom, growing larger and more intense.
Dustimaine fled.
Maximilian, forgetting about the pain in his knee and now blind to the risks the device represented, marveled at what was happening to it. His eyes were wild. He was enraptured. ‘This is it,’ he told himself, ‘this device will transform me. I will be unstoppable.’ He laughed, his voice high and shrill, his body now trembling uncontrollably.
“He’s going mad,” Alex said, her voice hushed. She swallowed hard, desperately fighting to stay conscious as waves of energy fought to overwhelm her senses.
Khadesh nodded grimly.
“I can feel its power coursing through me!” Maximilian exclaimed. He was now drenched in sweat. He dropped the gun and reached his unsteady hands towards the ancient device. Nothing else mattered any longer. The now shimmering blue light emanating from the Pharom kept growing in intensity. “It’s more incredible than I ever could have imagined. And it’s all mine…”
“Oh, no,” Alex whispered, kneeling down t
o help Khadesh. “We have to go. Now!” She helped him to his feet, putting his good arm over her shoulder, and together they raced to the chamber entrance. She fought hard to maintain her balance and her focus as they ran. The humming grew louder. It felt like her insides were vibrating. Her stomach was in her throat and she felt incredibly hot. Sweat poured down her back. She stumbled, but they kept going.
The guard that Bob had knocked out regained consciousness. Confused at what was happening, he ran after them.
Without warning, an intense surge of light and super-charged heat blasted from the Pharom towards Maximilian.
Mitch, ducking behind the Sun Disk for cover, was also caught in the blast. The force of the blast sent him and the last remaining guard hurtling into the wall.
The blast tore through Maximilian. His bloodcurdling scream was cut short as he was incinerated.
The blue light surrounding the Pharom turned into what looked like large blue flames. The angry flames seemed to be pulsating, looking like they were about to explode and devour everything in their path. They surged outwards, engulfing the last guard who had fallen near Mitch. The man screamed and writhed in agony, until he too was gone.
Alex and Khadesh made it to the other side of the chamber entrance just in time. She shielded her face from the heat and brightness of the Pharom’s radiant energy. Her heart pounded. She looked at Khadesh. He was losing consciousness. “Dr. Khadesh,” she said, slapping his cheek, “stay with me!”
He groaned.
She was panicking. She knew the Pharom had to be turned off fast or none of them would survive this. She crawled back into the chamber on her hands and knees.
It was harder to breathe now. The large blue flames that had been coming off of the Pharom, now waning, had sucked most of the oxygen from the chamber to feed on. Alex collapsed. She struggled for every breath. She felt close to passing out.
A gentle voice spoke. “Rise, Alexandra. You must not give up.”
She opened her eyes and saw the face of her father. His eyes were kind as he smiled lovingly at her. She missed him so.
“Daddy…”
“Do not be afraid,” he said. Then the vision vanished.
Alex shook her head. Tears streamed down her face. She looked towards the Pharom. The blue flames surrounding the Pharom had shrunk back further. She watched for a few moments longer as they died away, but she could still feel its pounding energy assailing her senses.
Alex stood up, but she was dizzy and disoriented and stumbled backwards. She then saw Mitch on the ground, unconscious. The Sun Disk lay on top of him, covering him. She could see it rising and falling ever so slightly, in time with his breath.
‘Thank god he’s ok,’ Alex thought, she shook her head to clear her blurring vision. She took a deep breath, and moved with determination towards the platform housing the Pharom.
She saw the inscription, written in the Kierani language, on the front of the platform:
The power of thought is like no other
Only for this may the light shine forth
For those who would wield it for ill purpose,
May they be turned to ashes and cast asunder
Beneath its rays of power
For those who would wield it for good,
May they ever be wise in their ways,
And to them, the ultimate power made known
She remembered the method to deactivate the Pharom. She reached out with a trembling hand, and with the last bit of energy left in her, firmly pressed each of the three instances of the Kierani word for ‘power’. She felt the familiar tingling sensation in her fingertips as she did so. The Pharom’s glow began to dim. Its colors dulled and the swirling patterns within all but stopped. Then she heard a faint click.
Alex collapsed from exhaustion.
Chapter 53
War, Circa 10,000 B.C.
THE day had come when Zhek chose to act. He was not a patient man. Every day that his son was with those people was an abomination to him.
His army gathered. The loud and boisterous group consisted of one hundred and ten men. It was not a large force, but they were each fueled by deep personal anger, and that, Zhek knew, would be very effective. They gathered several leagues outside of the main city. In the mix were some highly trained soldiers, but for the most part, the army consisted of farmers, blacksmiths and simple villagers. They had very little military training. They carried pitchforks, hammers, staffs, axes, and wooden spears. Zhek, and his small core group of trained soldiers, carried swords and the curved daggers Zhek had designed.
Zhek addressed his army. “We are here today because it is time for the Royal family to step down. We will give the King the opportunity to negotiate a peaceful resolution to this conflict. Once the King sees that his people have turned against him, he will have no choice but to accede to our will.”
The army cheered vigorously.
“If he chooses not to listen to reason, then he forces our hand. We will fight!”
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” they yelled back.
Zhek could feel the swell of energy. They were primed and ready.
“Are you with me?” he shouted.
They roared. They were ready.
He tied his long hair back into a ponytail. He wrapped a dark scarf around his face and pulled the cloak’s hood over his head. “Move out!” he shouted.
Zhek and his army rode swiftly through the night towards the Palace. Rekar had managed to provide strategic information on the Palace. He knew specific areas in the Palace defenses that had been weakened by the fire.
Rekar rode behind Zhek, but his fight and fire were all but gone. However, Zhek had insisted he join them, threatening him if he did not. Rekar just wanted it to be over, for it all to end.
Zhek’s thoughts were private. He considered his plan, a plan he had shared with no one else. He had to do it. He thought of his son, his one last link to the broken promise of a life that would never be fulfilled. Setar was all he had, the only thing he lived for and he would stop at nothing to get him. ‘Soon,’ Zhek thought, ‘soon I will have my revenge, and my son and I will rule as we were meant to.’ His heartbeat quickened. He whipped his horse to run faster, faster to the destiny that awaited them all.
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Finally, Zhek’s army came into view out of the darkness of the evening. The light from their torches grew brighter as they rode closer to the Royal Palace.
The King was ready for them. His scouts had spotted the army entering the city. Royal guards gathered all along the edge of the Palace balcony that ran the length of the building overlooking the grounds. Their defenses had been set.
“Archers, be at ready!” Commander Maraeven ordered. Royal soldiers prepared to light their arrows before firing them from their bows.
Zhek’s army stopped in their approach towards the Palace and began to move into formations for their attack. Zhek was furious to see he would not catch his enemy by surprise. Word had leaked out. If he found out who was responsible, he would slit their throats himself.
“Wait for my command,” Traeus commanded. “Zhek!” he yelled, looking down at the gathered force. “I know you are out there. Do not come any closer! We are well-prepared for you.”