by N. I. Snow
Kahluna shook her head, “You are lucky, had you not landed on your arm you might have lost too much blood to have survived until I returned.”
Jonah steadied his sister as she tried to stand. “Easy, Sis, you should lie back down.”
Emma pushed her brother away as she wobbled uneasily towards Kahluna. “I can rest when we get to Kahluna's ship. How much farther is it?”
Kahluna turned back to Emma. “We can reach it within the hour, that is if I carry you.”
“Carry me?” snapped Emma.
Kahluna smiled gently. “You have a strong will, Emma, but even now you can hardly stand on your own two feet.” Kahluna stepped forward to catch Emma as she stumbled. “My point.”
Emma knew the former Seeker was right. “Fine. Only this once though. I would like to keep what little dignity I have left.”
Kahluna lifted the girl back into her strong arms, content with the difference between holding a limp body and one filled with life. In the former Seeker's arms, Emma could tell just how strong she really was. The blue-green Tazalian had muscles of steel in her arms alone. Jonah joined Shalinda as they followed Kahluna out of the warehouse. Outside both Emma and Kahluna looked around the empty neighborhood before the former Seeker crossed the barren streets.
Kahluna's long, hurried strides forced Jonah and Shalinda into a jog to keep up. She kept this pace for nearly fifteen minutes until the tired humans forced her to stop. They were in the opening of a shopping center between the warehouse and Kahluna's ship. They had covered ground faster than she had expected. They were twenty-three blocks from the ship; Kahluna could spare them ten minutes to rest. She set Emma down on a bench while Jonah and Shalinda sat in the entrance of a nearby store.
Jonah took the relic out of the shoulder bag. Turning it around, he stared at the object that had endangered his sister’s life. He could see a faint, blue light from within the cracks of the opening.
“So what kind of information does this hold, besides being about the Gaia or whatever. Coordinates? Journal entries? And how do you even know it’s about the Light?”
Kahluna looked at the destroyed buildings around them. "I do not know, but what I do know is that the Ancients searched planet after planet for the Gaia, leaving behind relics like a trail. It does not matter whether or not their contents are about the Light itself. Follow the trail and eventually an answer will be found." She looked down at Jonah. “As for what type of data the relics hold exactly, no one knows.”
“What do you mean?” asked Shalinda.
“Not a single creature has been able to read the Ancient’s writings, not even the Elder Lutianist, whose very back is breaking with the amount of knowledge his brain holds.”
“You can't read it?” Shalinda lifted a brow. “If you used to be some high-and-mighty part of your society, why can't…”
The woman shut her mouth at the dark glare from Kahluna's red eyes. “Back when your race was still wallowing in the dirt, ours was going through a sort of Dark Age. When the Ancients were destroyed, our culture collapsed upon itself. Our technology, our lifestyles, even our language had to be built from ground up.”
Jonah leaned forward. “You're saying no one in the entire universe can read the language. Then, why collect the relics?”
Kahluna turned her glare to the warships in the distance. “Salianos states that if they keep collecting the relics they might find some key to decoding the Ancients’ language. Although this is all just a lie that Salianos uses to invade any planet that might catch his eye.” She threw a curious glance at Jonah, “Why do you ask?”
Jonah shuffled his feet. Emma answered the question, “I…I can read it.”
Years of training to keep her emotions under control lost their hold as Kahluna's eyes widened with surprise. She turned slowly towards Emma. “What?”
Emma replied quietly, “I can read the Ancient’s writing, that's how we found the relic in the pyramid.”
In the jagged ship hovering in the sky above the city, Zaharak leapt out of his seat hastily, startling the A.I. He stared for sometime at the control panel’s holoscreen. The tracking knife he had cut Emma with allowed him to see and hear what the group was doing. He had not expected to discover this much. For the first time in his long life he had almost made a critical mistake. He almost killed the human child and nearly lost a profound investment. The relic was no longer his main target. Little Emma was worth far more than it.
Shalinda stared at a green glow coming from beneath the cloth tied on Emma's wounded arm. “Emma, what's wrong with your arm?”
Kahluna walked over to Emma and pulled off the cloth as the girl looked at the glowing wound. “I don't know. It did that when Zaharak cut me.”
Kahluna slammed a fist on the bench after examining the wound.
Jonah got to his feet, “What is it?”
Kahluna lifted Emma back into her arms. “Zaharak used a tracking knife. Upon cutting the victim it releases a type of dye that allows him to locate and listen in on his target. He has heard the entire conversation.” She ran past Jonah and Shalinda. “We will have to split up. Now that he knows she understands the language of the relics, Emma is more important to Zaharak than the relic. Should anything go wrong, I won't allow Zaharak the benefit of retrieving both.”
“Wait!” growled Jonah trying to catch up to Kahluna, “I'm not letting you take my sister without me.”
“This is not a debate, Jonah Sholtal. Things have gotten a lot more complicated than I expected.” She put on a burst of speed. “My ship is twenty-three blocks north of here. Emma and I will meet you there.”
“No!” cried Jonah still trying to catch up, but in a blur Kahluna was gone with Emma in her hold. Jonah stood in disbelief holding the relic, hoping that the former Seeker's words were true.
Without the humans trailing after her, Kahluna was able to cross the streets and alleyways in a streak of blue and green. For her part, Emma clung tightly to the blue-green reptile, her eyes shut against the sting of rushing wind created by the reptile’s speed. Kahluna hoped they would reach the ship, where the security systems would blast Zaharak to pieces if he crossed within a half-mile radius. Emma would be safe within its hull until Jonah and Shalinda reached them.
When they came in sight of the ship, Emma gazed in awe at the sleek vessel. The rounded hull had a flat look to it. Four also rounded engines jutted from the back. A flat, transparent thermal panel ran along the pointed bow and from the side of the ship another panel was sliding down to allow entrance.
As Kahluna walked toward the panel, still carrying Emma, the hull erupted into a ball of flame. Kahluna turned away, covering Emma with her scaly body. Although they were still several meters from the ship, the heat was intense enough to sear her scales where they were exposed. As the flames died down, Kahluna turned her head to look at the burning remains of her ship. The same fires burned in her red eyes. Zaharak had grounded them. He wasn't about to let his largest prize get away.
Holding Emma tightly, Kahluna sprinted away from the burning vessel. All they could do now was run; hiding would do them no good. She headed for the sounds of the still raging battle. If she found a grounded dropship, she could get them to safety.
Without warning, Kahluna flung Emma into a nearby trash repository, as a gray blur tackled her. The blue-green-scaled Tazalian kicked with both feet sending Zaharak into the air. The Seeker landed cat like on the ground holding his hat with one hand. Like lighting he attacked Kahluna once more. She blocked every punch and kick, but with difficulty. Zaharak was swift. The female Seeker dodged a round kick from Zaharak, only to be hit by his tail as he pivoted his body around. Knocked to the ground, Kahluna spun her body sweeping Zaharak to the ground with her own tail. As Zaharak fell, Kahluna leapt to her feet. The cold-hearted Seeker rolled away from Kahluna's kicking feet and used his clawed hands to flip his whole body into the air, leaving the fedora behind. Landing on his feet he looked up to see Kahluna stomp a boot onto the hat. She he
ard tales about the thing, Zaharak's favored weapon.
Emma peeked out from the edge of the trash repository. She watched as the two Tazalians fought. Zaharak fought weaponless against Kahluna, who wielded a strange looking disk. The Seeker battled Kahluna undaunted; every movement he made brought him safely out of the weapon's way. As they continued their deadly dance, Emma climbed out of the bin. In its hold she was an easy prey; she had to keep moving. Kahluna was buying her time to get to safety.
Five
“Jonah, can you please slow down,” cried Shalinda as she stumbled after her fiancé.
Jonah continued jogging, “Not until I know Emma is safe.”
They had gone ten blocks when they had heard the explosion. Jonah picked up his pace even more. The whole run, he hoped the explosion had not been the ship. When they came upon the remains of the craft, his heart dropped.
“Jonah, I'm tired. Let's rest a bit and then find a new way to leave the city,” Shalinda whined as she put a hand on Jonah's shoulder only to have it shaken off. His patience with her was running low. His sister was either dead or kidnapped and all Shalinda could do was blubber like an idiot.
Jonah began pacing the area in frustration, “We can't stop now. I’ve got to find Emma.” In his anger, Jonah didn’t at first notice the fog taking form before him. When he did, he stopped his pacing. It was one of the Ancients from the pyramid. The figure motioned toward a street to the north.
“The Seeker is down there, you must hurry,” the figure said before disappearing in the direction it pointed.
Jonah took off down the street and following the ghostly Ancient as it led the way. Shalinda hurried after her fiancé, hardly able to keep up with his rushed pace. He had gone two blocks when he found a hoverbike half buried under rubble. Digging it out he was relieved to find that it was still in running order. Setting it upright he began hacking into the control panel, finally getting the engine started. With Shalinda sitting behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, Jonah sent the bike racing down the street.
Kahluna was slowing down, Zaharak knew this. Years of hiding had taken a toll on her endurance, while Zaharak trained every moment he could.
Kahluna had seen Emma run off. Smart girl. If she could hold Zaharak off a little longer, Emma would have a better chance to escape.
The gray Seeker ducked the deadly disk once more. With a single kick, he knocked the weapon out of Kahluna's claws. Kahluna ignored the throbbing pain in her hand as she hooked a fist towards Zaharak's blunt snout. He blocked her attack with an arm, then sent a kick to her chest. When she landed on the ground, Zaharak grabbed the thick of her tail. In a single motion he lifted Kahluna from the ground and tossed her into a nearby building. Before she even landed, Zaharak had gone.
Emma's legs felt as though the bones had been removed. She had chosen to hurry towards a major war zone, hoping to use the chaos of battle to keep Zaharak away until she could find a dropship to escape in. Not ten blocks from her position she could hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions. This made her excited, maybe she was close to freedom. She had gone two more blocks when the metallic head of Dohma crashed through a building in front of her.
The automaton turned its head towards her and let out a metallic roar. Emma turned and began running down an alleyway to her left with Dohma rumbling after her. Heart pumping she burst out of the alleyway into a group of human soldiers. The soldiers turned quickly, guns trained on her only to switch their aim towards the serpent. The metallic monster turned its attention to the group of soldiers, who began firing at the automaton, allowing Emma to escape.
Emma rushed from the sounds of screaming men and women as Dohma tore through the group. She spotted a dropship only a half block away. Freedom was in her reach. Her only problem was the gray-scaled Tazalian Seeker standing between her and the ship. Emma's heart stopped. She started backing away from the Seeker. Her gray eyes watched for any movement from blunt snout to tail tip.
Behind her came the roar of Dohma, but at the sight of the Seeker the serpent turned away leaving to find new victims. As the automaton left, Zaharak began walking towards Emma. Every step he made, Emma took five back. Just as she turned to run Zaharak had a single arm around her neck. With his free hand he cuffed her wrists in energy bonds. Without a word he let go of her neck and lifted her over one shoulder.
“Valkyrie,” Zaharak's husky voice spoke to seemingly no one.
Emma began kicking Zaharak as he walked towards the landing ship. The Seeker ignored her feeble attempt to harm him. When the ship landed, the loading ramp lowered to allow him entrance.
Kahluna ran towards the jagged ship, feet barely touching the ground. She spotted Zaharak climbing the ramp with the kicking and yelling Emma. The former Seeker put on an extra burst of speed; she would save Emma. She skidded to a halt as she watched Zaharak stop halfway on the ramp, he knew she was here. She watched as he gave orders to the onboard A.I. The engines roared to life blasting Kahluna with a wave of heat. Ignoring the burning pain, she ran after Zaharak once more. She was close to the ship when cannons appeared from the sides of the hull. They aimed not at Kahluna but at the roofs of the buildings to each side of her. As blue-white electric bolts shot out of the cannons, the former Seeker sprinted for the ship. Piles of rubble from the rooftops stopped her.
Emma watched in horror as Kahluna disappeared under the mountain of debris. She pounded at Zaharak's back and kicked even harder, screaming the former Seeker's name. Zaharak acted as though he was unaware of Kahluna's plight and Emma’s distress and continued up the ramp. Once inside the dark holding room, Emma gagged at the thick, musty smell, hadn’t Zaharak ever heard of air cleansers?
The Seeker tossed Emma none too gently into one of the cells. Pressing a button on a nearby panel he watched as a white energy barrier formed around the girl. “Careful,” he said turning away from the cell, “one touch of those panels and you will be out cold before you feel the shock.”
He vanished into the darkness of the vessel's only hallway before Emma could say anything. Moments later she felt the ship shudder as it took off. Sitting down, she pulled her knees close to her. Lowering her head onto her knees, she used her long, black hair to hide her scared face. She refused to cry. Whatever happened next, she had to look brave or at least try to.
Jonah drove the hoverbike into the street just as the sharp-edged ship took off. Yelling, he urged the bike to go faster with Shalinda holding on tighter. Screeching to a halt near the pile of rubble, he watched helplessly as the vessel flew off. He knew deep down his little sister was on that ship. He had followed the fog-figured Ancient to the destination, only to have arrived too late.
Stepping off the bike he bent over, ready to vomit. Shalinda rubbed a hand on his back trying to comfort him. He straightened up and walked away from her. His mind was reeling. Emma had been taken away by that scale-faced monster and he could do nothing. He had trusted Kahluna and she had failed him. Emma could be tortured or killed and he couldn't protect her.
A groan snapped him out of his brooding for the moment. He followed the sound to the center of the debris pile. Digging through the remains of the rooftops he uncovered the bloodied snout of Kahluna.
“I found Kahluna,” he shouted to Shalinda, “Help me unbury her.”
Shalinda shook her head, “Jonah we should just go and hide like we planned. All that thing has brought us is more trouble.”
Jonah’s eyes narrowed, “What?”
Shalinda took a step back, “Look Jonah. Emma is gone. All we can do now is take that relic to Q.D. like I said and hide.”
Jonah stood up with his back rigid. “I'm not going to leave Emma in the claws of those cold-blooded creatures.” He turned so quickly Shalinda jumped. Pulling the shoulder bag from his back, he threw it to the ground. “You want to go hide, be my guest. You want to take the relic with you, go ahead, but do it without me.”
Shalinda's eyes watered, “You don't mean that, Jonah. We were going to be…”
>
“Yeah, well, things have changed. Now at least I realize how selfish you are.” He turned back to digging Kahluna out. “I'm going after Emma. You can do whatever you want; I don't care.”
Shalinda held a hand to her mouth. Then after a moment, seeing that Jonah meant what he said, she turned and ran down the destroyed street, tears streaming from her eyes. Jonah would never see her again.
“Wise choice,” came Kahluna's weak voice. “You deserve much better.”
Jonah pulled more debris from Kahluna. “This isn't the time to give me a lesson on my choice of girlfriends.,” Jonah groaned as he lifted a large chunk of roof from Kahluna's torso. “You are going to help me save Emma.”
Kahluna ignored the searing pain as Jonah pulled a long piece of metal out of her tail. “Knowing Salianos, he won't keep her here.”
“Why's that?” asked Jonah as he helped the former Seeker to her feet, blue blood flowing from her various wounds.
“On Tazal is an archive of every relic the Seekers have recovered.” She watched as Jonah shook his head. “Salianos will send Emma to Tazal.”
“Is there any way we can intercept them?”
Kahluna shook her head, her tuft of green hair rustling against her scales. “Even if my ship hadn't been wrecked, there would have only been a slim chance. Zaharak has his ship's lotarKor-drives overloaded. Being the only Seeker to work for a price, he could more than afford it.”
Jonah kicked a piece of rubble and shouted, “Then what do we do? I'm not going to leave Emma to them!”
“I didn't expect you to. That is why we are going to Tazal.” Even as she spoke, Kahluna winced inwardly at the idea. “We will head back to my ship, see if it is salvageable.”
“If it's not?”
“We can take a Tazalian dropship. They are slower, but they will do if my ship is inoperable.”
“Then let's get to it,” Jonah said picking up the shoulder bag.