The Conspiracy Game: A Tully Harper Novel: A Tully Harper Novel (The Tully Harper Series Book 1)

by Adam Holt

  Moments later I heard the hatch open. Sawyer made his presence known. He shot a few stun shots that bounced off the walls and landed near me. The red mist was still with me though. The shots seemed slow compared to moments ago.

  “This is Round Five,” I said. “You didn’t expect me to get this far.”

  “You do have nerve, and now you have something more. Shall I explain?”

  “Sure,” I said. If it bought me more time, anything was fine.

  “It was the morning I found you with the Harper Device. I came down to the Space Lab to bring you to this very room for exercise. Between training you and feeding you, I had gained your trust. That morning you weren’t in your cage though.

  “I looked across the room and saw the Harper Device had grown to three times its normal size, and inside it I sensed a lifeform. You. The Device must have sensed my presence because it cast you out immediately, as if it wanted to keep a secret of its own. I don’t know if you could have survived any more exposure to it anyway.”

  “So you think you saved me from the Device?”

  “Of course. The Device intended to kill you, but instead the exposure gave you some of its power. Tully, this could change everything.” He shot a few more stun shots my way. I backed away from his voice, hoping to keep him out of sight on the other side of the Hamster Wheel.

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “Your powers would give you standing among the Ascendant. If you had shown them to the Ascendant Lord, he would have freed you right then. They would award you with Exceptional Status. When they return to Earth, they will reward those with special abilities. Your powers would make you useful. They might even spare Sunjay and Tabitha in return for your loyalty.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. With my powers, the Ascendant might make me an offer to live. I wouldn’t have to fight Sawyer to the death. I could probably find some sort of place among them. But it was a deal with the Devil. I knew that. If I had to betray the world to survive, I didn’t want to survive. Then again, maybe survival was all we could hope for now.

  “If I reveal the Device and put down my weapon you’ll let us live?”

  “Yes. You have my word.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  As an answer, a giant purple fireball roared around the corner. A massive incinerator shot. I jumped into the air to avoid the heat and found a familiar landing spot—the basketball hoop. The last time I stood there Sawyer swept my feet and knocked the air out of my lungs.

  Another fireball rounded the corner. It singed my jeans, and I beat out the fire with my hands. The moment I touched the flame, the red mist returned to my mind and an idea formed in my head: he’s shooting from one direction. He’ll come from the other. By the time I turned around, he already had his staff in the air.

  “Where is the Device? We made a deal.” He aimed his staff at me. I could feel the hairs on my arm stand up.

  “You were right about a few things, Sawyer. You’re stronger and faster than I am. I never had a chance. You were also right about something else—my powers are useful. But I’m not Gallant Trackman. I won’t use my powers against my own people.”

  He didn’t hesitate. He launched an enormous purple ball of flame toward me. But I was ready for his move. I threw my black staff in the way of his shot. The staff exploded on impact, an explosion that blew us away from each other. I carved another portal and was in the space lab before he could react.

  Everyone watched as I flew through the ceiling and landed beside the cage. Sawyer would be right behind me with his staff set to kill, like an avalanche that would be upon me any second. I said a quick prayer and focused on what I needed to do.

  Sure enough, Sawyer came right behind me. He was cautious though. He came through the hatch and stayed on the ceiling, his staff loaded for another shot.

  “You fought valiantly, boy, but you are unarmed now. So we made a deal. Tell me the location of the Harper Device.”

  “I can do better than that. I can show you. Just unfreeze my friends. Then follow me.”

  “So be it. Gather beside the cage.” Sawyer turned off his staff. The purple glow around Tabitha disappeared. Her scarf, which had been black as midnight, turned a bright red. She slowly regained her senses.

  “Sunjay always has a map for the next level. Right, Tully?” She floated toward me and held on to my arm to steady herself. Sunjay came from the other direction.

  “I don’t have—“

  “Tully must have it then. He must,” she said, yanking my sleeve. The next level? What was she saying? What was she—then it struck me. I knew exactly what to do.

  Sawyer’s gravity disappeared. He drifted in our direction.

  “Where is this next level?” he asked, slowly floating toward us as we gathered beside the cage.

  “I forgot the map, but I can still find it,” I said. “It’s you who forgot something.”

  “That’s impossible,” he said, laughing. “I have unlimited memory.”

  “Really? Which rule did you teach me first?”

  “Rule #1, of course. Never let your guard down.”

  “Exactly,” I asked.

  Sawyer was almost upon us when I sprung my trap. Find the next level, I thought, the next level. I pushed Tabitha and Sunjay nearer to the cage. Sawyer shook his head. He thought I was just dodging him for no reason. But I wasn’t.

  The next level. I set aside everything else and focused my attention on the interior of the Lion’s Mane. With some effort, my mind penetrated the ship’s walls. There are no walls, no walls, and with that they seemed to melt away. I saw the skeleton of the ship and everything on board—rooms full of Ascendants with black staffs and cold faces; hangars crammed with all sort of weapons and smaller spacecraft. I found my dad working his way through the ship, probably trying to plant his bomb. I didn’t have time to follow him though. I had to find another room.

  The search continued until I found what I was looking for—a black lit room with three thrones. In the middle of the room sat the Ascendant Lord, his face swimming with strange images and his mind full of rage. He leaned forward onto a black staff, barking orders left and right. His black braid of hair flew back and forth. Trackman stood at his side, looking angry and nervous. The Device was still missing.

  I opened my eyes. In my mind the trip had taken hours, but only seconds had passed. Nevertheless, Sawyer was about to land, but right at his landing spot a red circle appeared. He saw it, as did everyone else in the space lab.

  “What is this? Tully, this is an impossibility.” The red circle widened and turned into a portal to the throne room. Of course, this worked both ways. Everyone on the Lion’s Mane could see through the portal on their end, too—me with outstretched hands, Sawyer floating toward them.

  “But it’s the Lion’s Mane,” said Sawyer. “Wait, I understand. Unbelievable, you’ve created an interspace portal between the two ships. But where is the Device? You must be using it.”

  Sawyer floated toward the portal. Our side had no gravity. The other side did. The captain stopped shouting when he noticed the portal. He advanced toward us, as did a few other warriors. Trackman looked relieved. “Well, greetings, Adversity. This is a bit surprising but convenient. Did you find the Device, Sawyer?”

  “No, it’s the boy,” he said. He was now only a few feet from the portal. “I don’t know how he’s doing this.”

  Sawyer looked at me with a question on his face. It was a question he never got to ask.

  It was time to launch my trap. My hands glowed red again as Sawyer was about to touch down. He gasped in shock. It was the most human noise he ever made. No longer did he see his friends on the command deck. Instead, the portal opened into the cold void of space.

  Sawyer turned back to me. “No!” he said. “Stop me! Stop me! I can’t stop myself!” He was right. He swung his limbs wildly trying to grab at anything that could stop him. I widened the portal until it filled the half of the wall.

  Tabitha and
Sunjay edged away from him toward the orangutan cage. We all watched Sawyer pass within inches of us on his way to outer space. He wrenched his head around to see me and kept flailing for a moment. There was nothing he could do. Before long, his limbs stopped moving. The cold of space turned him to stone. His bright blue eyes stayed fixed on me until, at last, their light ran out. He was lost in an endless canvas of stars.

  Fatigue finally caught up with me. I was breathing fast and my hair was soaked with sweat. All that was left was to close the portal. My hands trembled as I pushed the portal. Close, I thought, close, close.

  The portal began to shrink, but it didn’t close. It was like trying to shut a door that had flown open in a hurricane. My hands struggled and the lightning flowers shimmered with power, but the portal wouldn’t budge. Suddenly a horrible image reappeared in my mind—the Lion’s Mane’s command deck. Nothing could make the image disappear. I lost focus. The portal swung free of my control and through it reached a familiar hand with a deadly golden ring.

  Trackman.

  He grabbed the first person he could touch.

  Tabitha.

  “No!” I gasped. “No!”

  It happened so fast we had no time to react. Sunjay grabbed one of her arms and Trackman held the other. I reached for her as well, but a black staff emerged from the portal and knocked me back across the lab. Now it was Sunjay and Tabitha fighting Trackman, but the staff knocked Sunjay back. Tabitha was through the portal in a moment, Trackman’s signet ring pointed at her neck. He sucked air through his teeth and pointed toward me.

  “Check mate again, Tully,” he said. “The Conspiracy Game is over now. You can open all the portals you want, but you can’t fight the entire Ascendant army. I’d like to see you try.” Trackman put his other hand on the edge of the portal. He was about to come through and retake the ship.

  “Tully, my song!” said Tabitha.

  “Not the right time for showtunes, girl,” Trackman said, laughing at her.

  But I remembered the lyrics she sang in my dream: “The hand that opened the door/Will have to let it close.” Trackman held the ring closer to her neck. I hadn’t been able to save her in my dream, and I wouldn’t be able to now. A terrible choice was in my hands: to give us all up or to let her go. We both knew what I had to do.

  Close the portal.

  “Tully, I trust you!” yelled Tabitha. “It’s always been in your hands!”

  Energy streamed into me from somewhere. I could feel it, like a river of fire running through my veins. I took one last look at Tabitha’s lovely green eyes and raised my hands. The river of fire rushed into them. The lightning flowers became a blinding white light surrounded by red flame. The light and heat caught everyone off guard. Trackman was closest, and Tabitha took cover behind him. The sleeve of his jumpsuit burst into flame. With a scream, he tried to put out the fire with his hands. With one huge push the portal expanded, glowed red again, and then slammed shut. The river of fire was gone, and with it every last ounce of my energy. I started to black out.

  At that moment, The Adversity was rocked by several explosions—more like shockwaves that knocked us all against the side of the ship. I heard Buckshot yelling orders, Sunjay grabbing my arm, and Queen Envy screaming. The noise and shouting around me faded into a red mist. The last thing I remember was a strange vision—I saw half of Tabitha’s lucky scarf floating in mid-air, and near it was Gallant Trackman’s burned hand, reaching for me with that deadly ring on his finger.

  LOST AND FOUND

  I was in a dream, a beautiful dream. I laid under a tall, green tree in my jeans and favorite t-shirt. Fields of purple flowers stretched across the hills near me. A small stream gurgled beside the tree, its green leaves rustling gently in the wind. I propped myself on one arm. In the distance loomed beautiful towers of purple and black. Someone was stroking my hair. I expected to look up and see Tabitha, but it wasn’t her. The freckles on her cheeks, that black hair brushing across my face. I hadn’t dreamed of her in years, but those soft grey eyes belonged to only one person. My mom.

  She whispered, “Look at you, all grown up. The man I hoped you would become.”

  She pointed across the fields. Miles away from us stood the towers. On top of one I saw a girl. Yes, there was Tabitha, standing by herself, scanning the horizon for something or someone. I wanted to jump up and shout to tell her I was coming, but she was so far away. My mother kept stroking my hair. “Shhh, rest. You don’t have the strength. There will be time for that. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

  “She needs me now.”

  “And she will need you later, and you will need her.”

  “When?”

  “Be patient. Do as your father says.”

  “But he’s gone.”

  “He’s never gone, neither is Tabitha, neither am I. Tully, you passed through fire once. You must pass through fire again to find her.”

  I wanted to hear more, but the purple flowers, the tree, the towers, they all faded into a red mist. A familiar beep sounded in the background.

  When I woke up, someone was stroking my hair. I opened my eyes, hoping to see Tabitha, expecting my mom, but the kind eyes of Sylvia Moreline met mine instead.

  “Hello, Tully. You’re in the infirmary. Don’t say anything just right now. Just rest for a minute. Just rest.”

  She gave me a sip of water and another, but I could hardly hold up my hand without feeling dizzy. I drifted in and out of my dream world. Each time I was by the stream with my mother and Tabitha stood in the tower. I didn’t want the dream to end. I wanted to clamber over those purple hills and break down those purple towers, but I didn’t have the strength. Finally the dreams ended. I opened my eyes and saw Queen Envy beside me. The infirmary bed wrapped itself around me and tried to keep me still.

  “Dad and Tabitha, where are they?”

  My mind was still numb, my body ached. The bed fought to keep me in place but I pushed myself free. I felt faint but had to get up.

  “Baby Bear, you’re supposed to stay here. We’re about to leave for Earth.” I pushed myself off the bed. My shoulder felt numb and my head ached. She put a hand on my shoulder to keep me in place.

  “Help me to the Flight Deck,” I said. “We can’t leave. Tabitha and dad, they’re on the other ship. We can’t leave.”

  “Tully, that black ship is gone. It just started spinning and smoking, and that purple thing flapped everywhere. Then it flew away. I’m sorry.”

  “The Lion’s Mane can’t be gone. Tabitha and dad are still on board.”

  “Honey, you gotta be brave now. The ship is gone. We are on our way back to Earth.”

  “Okay, and I’m on my way to the Flight Deck. You can help me or not.”

  I couldn’t believe what she said. I had to see it. Queen Envy helped me down the magnetic walkway. My legs hardly moved, and my mind didn’t work much better.

  When we arrived on the Flight Deck, Buckshot had just powered the thrusters and set a course for Earth. The Lion’s Mane was nowhere in sight but it had left behind the comet shell, now split into two pieces. We coasted between the two halves of the enormous shell. In the distance a chunk of the purple spacebridge floated like driftwood down a river. The 3D model showed the scene as well. Buckshot turned toward me once he punched in the last coordinate.

  “Tully, there’s just nothin’ for it,” he said. “The Lion’s Mane disembarked. Your dad did just enough damage to cause them to retreat. He saved our lives.”

  “But we couldn’t save his,” I said. “Or Tabitha’s.”

  “We don’t know that, Tully.”

  “But I could’ve saved him. I could’ve saved her. I just…”

  “…You saved us, and your father kept the Ascendant from getting the Device,” he said. “No one could have done more.”

  He was right. I did everything I could, and it wasn’t enough. I bought my dad some time to save us but not enough to save himself. I defeated the Android but lost Tabitha. I
tried to ride the avalanche. Somehow I survived, but everyone I loved was missing under layers of cold snow.

  Snow. The 3D model of the “dirty snowball” still blinked away in the center of the room. I looked at it as Buckshot worked. So much had happened since we first encountered that dirty snowball. I knew Trackman and Sawyer were playing The Conspiracy Game, but I had no idea how big that game really was. Sometimes you don’t see how bad things are going to get, and then suddenly they are upon you. You can only hope that you’ll have some friends to rely on.

  Moreline reached to switch off the 3D model of the snowball. She must have seen me staring at it miserably, but before she switched off the model, I grabbed her hand. Something on the surface of the 3D model caught my eye. A tiny red dot drifted along the edge of the shell.

  What is that? My heart leaped. It couldn’t be! I closed my eyes and tried to use my Red Vision to see it, but dizziness stopped me. I was just too tired to see anything but what was right in front of me.

  “Wait,” I said. “Buckshot, wait.”

  He didn’t turn toward me. “Thrusters are a go, Tully. We need to go. I’m sorry.”

  “Just look.” I pointed to the model. “We can’t leave without the Device. I know where my dad hid it.”

  “You do?”

  We looked at the surface of the 3D model together. The red dot drifted and grew brighter.

  “Well, I’ll be derned,” said Buckshot. “DORIS, thrusters full right, turn back 180 degrees.”

  The Adversity wheeled around. We watched the edge of the snowball for any sign of the Device. There was no glow at first, only a white and grey wasteland. We waited to see the dim glow of the Harper Device floating somewhere in space. That’s not what we saw though.

  “The Cerberus!” yelled Sunjay, entering the room from below.

  We saw the beat-up remains of the small spacecraft. It crept toward us like a wounded animal. From inside the vehicle came a familiar glow. In the dim light I could just make out the Device…and a pilot.