Jackson, Clark and Rob were out of the VTOL before it was fully on the ground, along with half a dozen armed soldiers who immediately spread out around the VTOL in a defensive position. Clark glanced at his hand terminal and pointed toward the southeast corner of the compound.
Jackson nodded as he took a moment to survey their surroundings. There were lots of houses, but no people. He started off in the direction Clark had indicated, glancing back over his shoulder at the sound of several more VTOLs breaking through the camouflage shield. They rounded a corner and found themselves before a long structure that appeared to be some type of community building or auditorium. There was a large area of bare ground in front of the building with a big circle marked on it in white.
There were perhaps twenty people inside the circle, and at least that many more gathered around it, all of them loaded down with various suitcases, bags and boxes. Even as the Bearens watched, the people inside the circle disappeared, transported away in an instant. As soon as the circle emptied, the people standing around it hurried inside for their turn to be transported.
For one moment, Jackson was torn. The Brethren were escaping, and from the looks of things, this was the last group. But at the same time, their Arima was in need of them. She had to take precedence.
Jackson started to turn away from the circle when a cold shiver raced through his body and his nose began to burn. Magic. He spun back and saw a deep red and green glow on the far side of the crowded circle. Not just magic. Wrong magic.
As he watched, the multicolored glow expanded rapidly, solidifying into a twenty-five foot long sugea with two narrow snake-like heads. One was a moldy green, the other the color of dried blood. Jackson, Clark and Rob instantly called their bearencas, the best defense they had against any magical creature.
The two-headed sugea rose up behind the crowd, threw back both of its heads, its wide open mouths revealing hundreds of long needle sharp teeth, and spit twin columns of roiling fire into the sky. The people in the circle began screaming, some of them cowering where they stood, others starting to bolt away, when suddenly they all disappeared. Now there was nothing between the bearencas and the sugea but an empty circle, and a wide expanse of bare sand.
Jackson, Clark and Rob reared up on their hind legs, stretching to their full, eighteen foot height as they threw back their heads and roared their challenge to the sugea. The depth of their combined voices caused the ground to vibrate beneath their huge paws, and broke several nearby windows. The sugea’s twin heads hissed loudly, then it took three awkward looking steps before leaping skyward, it’s leathery wings lifting it effortlessly into the air .
“Its going for the VTOLs,” Jackson sent to Clark and Rob. “We can’t let all of those men be destroyed.”
Jackson went down on all fours, turned around and raced back the way they had come, gathering as much Air power as he could. “Clark you take the green one, I’ll take the red,” Jackson sent as he ran. “Rob, feed us your power.”
“Our magic is not strong enough to protect all of those VTOLs and the men in them,” Clark sent back calmly.
“We don’t need to,” Jackson replied. “This thing is Narrasti. Our magics repel each other.”
“In that case, this should be easy,” Clark replied.
Jackson smiled inwardly as he slid to a stop near the VTOLs, his razor sharp claws digging furrows into the ground as his eyes tracked the two-headed sugea. He fashioned a shield of solid air, pulling some power from Rob, sensed Clark following his lead, and waited. Just as the sugea dropped over the area where the VTOLs had landed, Jackson threw his shield in front of the mouth of the red head as Clark did the same to the green head. The flames that shot from the gaping mouths vanished instantly, as did their Air shields, and the sugea faltered.
Jackson prepared a new shield and waited, his bearenca crouched on all fours, his hackles raised in a line down his back as he watched the sugea circle once again. This time it targeted Jackson, Clark and Rob, but they were ready for it.
As the two gaping mouths opened to shoot flames at them, Clark and Jackson thinned their Air shields, spreading them out so that they were as large as they could make them, and wrapped the sugea in them. The sugea roared furiously with one head, and spit flames with the other as it tumbled toward the ground. Jackson felt his shield disintegrate, but he calmly watched as the sugea continued flapping its wings, trying to get as far as it could from them as possible before it fell from the sky and out of their view.
Jackson turned once more and raced back toward the center of the compound, hoping to catch the Narrasti before they were able to get inside of that transport circle and escape. As fast as he moved, he knew he was too late when he came around the last corner and saw the two humanoid figures struggling to their feet on the far side of the circle, one helping the other.
They stumbled into the circle just as Jackson roared and put on an extra burst of speed, but he could not enter the circle, and the Narrasti knew it. A moment later the circle was empty, and silence fell.
“Hope is still here, and we need to get her, now,” Clark said, as close to panic as Jackson had ever heard from him. “They’re going to blow this place.”
Even as he sent the words to Jackson’s mind he was already racing for the house where Hope’s vox signal was coming from. Jackson turned and raced after him, Rob at his heels, all of them knowing that there was a good possibility that they would find Hope’s vox, but not Hope.
It only took them seconds to reach the house in a far corner of the compound. Clark slammed into the door with his shoulder, causing the wooden door to explode into splintered chunks. They all shifted back into their human forms since their bearencas would not fit through the doorway, and raced inside.
“Call the pilot, tell him to get everyone the hell out of here,” Jackson ordered as he followed the scent of Hope’s fear through several hallways. Long before they came to the door with the shattered window they all scented fresh blood, but there was no time to hesitate. Jackson slammed into the door, hitting it with all of his strength, but it barely moved. He paused to look through the broken window.
He saw Hope sitting up just inside the door, alive. The fist that had been squeezing his heart for the past two hours finally relaxed its grip. But they weren’t safe yet.
“Hope, let us in, hurry,” he said, “there isn’t much time.”
Hope looked up, her turquoise eyes wide with shock, and Jackson saw the reason for it on the floor beside her. “Jackson?” she said softly.
“Niha, please, open the door,” Jackson said, forcing calm into his voice.
Hope opened her mouth, but no words came out. She closed it, then reached out and pulled the chair away from the door with one sharp tug. The door burst open and Jackson, Clark and Rob were there, surrounding her.
“We have to get out of here, right now,” Jackson said, scooping Hope into his arms.
“Aisling,” Hope whispered, as she pointed, “don’t forget Aisling.”
Rob looked where Hope was pointing and raced across the room. He could tell by the scent that all of the women on the beds were dead, and he felt a blood-rage begin to simmer within him. The woman lying unconscious, but mercifully alive on the last bed jerked his attention from the dead to the living. He picked her up and raced back while Clark lifted Grace as carefully as he could. Judging from the pool of blood on the floor, her injury was serious, and she probably shouldn’t be moved. But if they didn’t get out of here, they would all soon be dead.
“Hope, wrap your hands around my neck,” Jackson said. “We have to move fast now.”
Hope did as Jackson said, then held her breath as he raced out of the house, moving so fast that everything around her blurred.
Once out of the house, Jackson paused for a moment to consider their options. They could either race back toward the center of the compound for the VTOL that Clark told him was still waiting for them, or race for the compound wall and open desert. The wall was
much closer, which decided him.
“Tell our pilot to get the hell out of here,” Jackson ordered Clark as he turned toward the wall and began running. He heard a distant explosion, then another, followed by a third before they began blending together into one huge roar. He strained for more speed, then leapt into the air, soaring up and over the high compound wall with room to spare. As soon as his feet touched the ground again he continued running, uncertain how big the explosion was going to be. It was a large compound, and while he, Clark and Rob would be able to tolerate any heat and debris that might hit them, the women they were carrying could not.
Jackson leapt down into a dry wash about half a mile from the compound just as debris from the explosions began to rain down around them. He hunched over Hope, sheltering her with his body as he gathered the energy to build an Air shield over them. Once the shield was in place and he knew nothing could touch Hope, he straightened up and turned, looking for Clark and Rob. He was relieved to find them both right behind him, but the amount of blood on Grace was an instant concern.
Hope scrambled out of Jackson’s arms and hurried to Grace, but one look at her face and she knew it was too late. Grace’s beautiful hazel eyes were gazing emptily at the sky, and she was no longer breathing.
“Kalinýchta, o fílos mou,” she said softly, her eyes burning with tears.
“May the feet of her spirit carry her quickly to the next world,” Jackson said.
“May her journey be quick, her destination filled with the peace and joy she has earned,” Clark finished as he closed her eyes with gentle fingers.
“That’s beautiful,” Hope said. “Thank you. Grace would have liked that.”
“We are most sorry that we were too late to save her,” Jackson said.
Hope turned to look at Jackson, touched by the honest sadness and regret in his eyes. She leaned up to kiss him gently on the lips, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Jackson hugged her back, releasing her when she pulled away.
“How’s Aisling?” she asked Rob.
Rob shook his head. “I’m not sure,” he replied. “She’s unconscious, that’s all I know so far.”
“Clark, call the VTOL, ask them to come pick us up,” Jackson said as he moved next to Rob to check Aisling. He reached out with a fine thread of Water magic, searching for the cause of her unconscious state. He found it almost at once and withdrew his magic.
“I’m sorry, Hope, but Aisling has a Controller.”
“Controller?” Hope asked. The word itself was horrifying. “What’s a Controller?”
“I will explain,” Jackson said, “but first, let me tell you that she can be helped. This can be fixed.”
Hope took a deep, ragged breath and nodded. “All right, I’m listening.”
“A Controller is a device created by the Xanti. It’s nano-bot technology of the most insidious nature. They have been abducting women and implanting these devices into them. There are two types that we are aware of. One type simply subverts the victim’s mind. She is essentially a robot. The second type leaves the victim’s mind intact, but she has no control over her own body. She is subject to whatever commands are given to the controller.”
Hope felt sick. What kind of mind would even conceive of doing such a thing to a person?
“And Aisling has one of these Controllers?” she asked.
“Yes,” Jackson replied, almost wishing he could lie, or hide the truth from her. She had been through so much these past days, and he hated that she now had to deal with even more grief, sorrow, and horror.
“She was probably ordered to remain unconscious so that they could take her with them.” Jackson frowned. “I am most glad that they did not take her, or you, but I am not sure why they didn’t.”
“Because Grace and I barred the door,” Hope replied. “I don’t think we could have held out much longer, but they were in a hurry.” She reached out to brush a lock of hair out of Aisling’s face. “Will she wake up again?”
“When we give her Controller a command to awaken, yes,” Jackson said. “I suggest we wait until we get back to the base though.”
“Can the Controller be removed?” Hope asked.
“Our medical experts were unable to find a way to remove the Controller without causing devastating damage to the victim,” Jackson said. “However, there are two women on Jasan who, working together, have been able to destroy the Controllers in all of the women rescued so far. Those women are completely fine now. They are unable to remember anything that happened to them while the Controller was in place, but other than that, they are all perfectly fine.”
“So all we need to do is take Aisling to Jasan,” Hope said.
“Unless the medical experts here can remove it, then yes, I would say that is the best option for her.”
“At least there is an option,” Hope replied as the sound of the VTOL landing nearby filled her ears.
Chapter 57
The return flight to the base was a solemn one for Hope and the Bearens. Jackson, Clark and Rob were extremely thankful that Hope had survived the experience with no more than a bump on the head and a couple of scratches, but they were worried about the toll this new loss would have on her.
When they landed at the base air field, the Director was waiting for them, along with two ambulances, a medical team, and half a dozen armed guards. Clark had called ahead and explained much of what had happened to the Director, including the information they had regarding the Controllers.
Jackson opened the door of the VTOL and jumped out, then turned back to lift Hope down. Clark and Rob exited next and flanked Jackson and Hope as they approached the Director, who stepped forward to meet them.
“I am very sorry about your friends, Hope,” he said.
“Thank you, Director,” Hope replied.
“You have my word that we will do everything we can for Aisling,” he continued. “If there is a way to remove the Controller without causing her harm, we will do it. If not, we will send her to Jasan. No risks will be taken with her.”
“I appreciate that,” Hope said with relief. She had been worried about that.
The Director moved his gaze from Hope to Jackson, Clark and Rob.
“The reports coming in from the men who arrived at the compound with you make it clear that without the three of you, they would all be dead,” the Director said. “I have been instructed to extend the personal thanks of the President of the Earth Union to Clan Bearen for your actions this day. Not only for your bravery at the compound, which saved the lives of many of our men, but also for your assistance with breaking the Blind Sight camouflage system.”
The Director looked to Hope again. “I am instructed to extend personal thanks to you for your assistance with the Blind Sight system as well, Hope Strigida.”
Hope’s mind felt too numb to figure out how she should respond to the Director, though she was aware that something was required. Jackson placed his hand lightly on her shoulder, and bowed deeply. Hope took his cue and bowed as well, as did Clark and Rob.
“We thank you, and your President, for your kind words, Director,” Jackson said. “We are most honored to have been of assistance.”
Hope thought that sounded pretty good to her, and evidently the Director agreed since he nodded, then turned to wave at the group of people behind him. The medical team hurried forward and entered the VTOL to take care of Aisling and Grace. Hope kept her eyes trained before her. She didn’t want to see them take Grace out.
“What are all the guards for?” Jackson asked the Director, his voice casual, which seemed odd to Hope since she felt his tension.
“Let’s walk,” the Director suggested.
Jackson nodded, tucked Hope closer against his side and followed the Director off the air field. Hope noticed that the guards surrounded them as they moved, though they remained a good distance away from them.
“I am going to say something that will probably make the four of you angry,” th
e Director said. “Unfortunately, there’s no help for it. It’s got to be done, especially now.” The Director sighed deeply, then turned to look at the Bearens and Hope as they walked beside him.
“I apologize ahead of time for this, but Hope, we desperately need you to point out the Xanti home world for us immediately,” he said.
Jackson, Clark, Rob and Hope all stopped walking, shocked into silence for a moment. The Director paused as well, the expression on his face difficult to read.
“Poutanas yie!” Hope exclaimed. “I had forgotten all about that.”
“Hope,” Jackson said, looking at her worriedly. “This is very important. Do you mind if we do this now?”
“Absolutely not,” Hope replied at once. She looked at the Director. “Where is that map room?”
“You aren’t angry?” the Director asked in surprise.
“No, not at all,” Hope assured him. “It was the Xanti that transported all of those people, the Brethren, off world, and they tried to take me, Grace and Aisling as well.”
“The Xanti?” Jackson asked. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, I heard them talking,” Hope said as they began walking again, the Director leading the way.
“It was definitely the Xanti,” the Director confirmed. “As soon as our sensor grid was reconfigured to penetrate Blind Sight, a Xanti ship was revealed in close orbit. We fired on it, and it fired back, destroying one installation. The Xanti are now in a technical state of war with the Earth Union, whether they are aware of it or not. And, if we invoke the Mutual Defense Clause of the Joint Command Treaty, with the rest of the Thousand Worlds as well, including Jasan.”
“That makes the knowledge Hope has even more critical,” Jackson said.
“Yes, it does, which is the reason for the guards,” the Director admitted. “I apologize for that, but it is by order of the President until Hope is able to identify the Xanti home world for us. I am aware that the three of you are the best protection she has, but I have no choice in this matter.”
“After she was stolen in broad daylight, practically beneath our noses, from the middle of a military installation, we will not complain that she is over guarded,” Jackson assured the Director.
The Bearens' Hope Book Four of the Soul Page 40