“Not that way, you pale-faced son of a snipeling. Try the door.” The menig guffawed, swatting Paz on the shoulder blade.
His vision cleared as four troopers marched him through winding corridors and outside past several gates. The moon had risen in the darkened sky, and crickets sang their nightly chorus. Slaves trudged past, their eyes downcast, not even bothering to spare him a glance. He glimpsed the tall donjon that was the main keep before the guards prodded him into another building.
If only he could get free, he’d investigate the source of the cors particles. He’d already recorded the coordinates for the island on his improvised PIP, secure in his pocket. His captors must not consider him much of a threat if they didn’t search him.
They halted in front of a set of heavy wooden doors. At the enlisted rank’s knock, a gruff voice called for them to enter.
Paz swallowed, his bowels turning icy, as he caught sight of the long table with restraints and the instruments spread out on a metal tray in the interrogation room.
****
Jen passed through the doors to Tent Ten with quaking knees and a tumultuous stomach. What would they do to her in there?
Her Trollek guards snickered as they pushed her inside then shut the doors behind her. She swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat. What looked like a brightly lit operating room met her eyes.
A treatment table sat in the middle of the floor with various contraptions surrounding it. An IV bag hung on a pole, full of a clear liquid, and tubing reminiscent of a hospital ward protruded from the wall.
“Welcome, Jennifer Dyhr.” A woman smiled at her from a computer console, but the smile didn’t extend to her glacial blue eyes as she approached Jen’s position. She had exquisite features and lovely blond hair cascading in waves to her shoulders. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you. I’m Dr. Morar, but you can call me Algie. Please, come inside.”
Jen didn’t budge. “I’m not moving until you tell me what’s going on. Why am I here, and what do you want from me?”
The female, wearing a white lab coat, moved closer and regarded her with curiosity, like one might do for an amoeba under a microscope. Her nametag read Dokter Algie Morar.
“Sit on the table, Jennifer. I won’t hurt you.”
Jen couldn’t believe this beautiful creature was General Morar’s wife. She didn’t possess any malformed features like the males of her species. Obviously Jen had a lot to learn about their race.
Since they were alone and Jen’s rubbery legs threatened to derail her, she perched on the edge of the treatment table, which was covered by a clean white sheet.
Her nose sniffed a coppery scent. “What exactly is this place? I’ve heard mention of experiments.”
Jen’s heart fluttered at the sight of a gutter bordering the table’s edge. It ended in a spout below where a person’s feet would go. A rust-stained receptacle rested under this spout.
Realizing its purpose, she fought against a wave of dizziness. She leaned on her hands, the table’s cold surface penetrating through the sheet.
Algie lifted a tourniquet from a nearby tray along with an alcohol swab. “I’d like to get a blood sample. If you do not resist, I will answer your questions.”
“All right, but why me?” It might work to her advantage to pretend to cooperate.
Algie’s rosy lips curved in a sly smile. “You’re special, my dear.” She applied the tourniquet around Jen’s upper arm. “Make a fist, please. Good girl. You see, our king perceives you and your sisters to be a threat. I view things differently. I believe you to be our people’s salvation.”
She swabbed Jen’s vein, then picked up a needle. Jen winced when Algie stuck her. Dark red blood oozed into a test tube.
“What do you mean by my sisters? And how am I special? How can I help save your people?”
Algie inserted a new vial. “Well now, where to start? We first became aware of your power when Nira Larsen walked into the employment office for Drift World, a theme park in Orlando and our central recruitment station. She was the first human to resist our spell. We had to find out what made her different.”
“Go on.”
Algie plugged in a third test tube, while Jen watched with growing alarm. How much blood was she going to take?
“At first we feared Nira might have a mutated genetic trait. If she wasn’t the only one among your kind to have this ability, we could lose our power to confound humans.” Strands of blond hair fell into her face as she bent over Jen’s arm. “We’d already begun testing people for certain proteins, but Nira’s results showed a significant difference.”
“How so?” Jen sat still while Algie withdrew the needle and applied pressure to her arm with a gauze.
“She possessed a strand of Trollek DNA. We’ve mated with humans before, but Nira’s sequencing differed from other hybrid children. I suspect your blood will show the same trait.”
“What? That can’t be true.”
Jen’s face must have shown her horror because Algie laughed. Then her expression sobered. “Nira has other abilities, and so might you.”
“If I have similar powers, how did I get captured?”
Algie fastened a strip of tape over the gauze. “It’s simple, my dear. I suspect your talent hasn’t blossomed yet. Tell me, can you read the symbol engraved on your wristwatch?”
Jen shook her head. “No, but I’d like to learn what it means.”
“Nira Larsen can read runes. However, I’d rather the two of you do not meet each other in person.”
Jen’s fingers curled. “What do you know about my watch?” She didn’t like Algie’s last remark. It sounded ominously like a threat.
Algie’s mouth tightened. “You and your sisters all have them. They have something to do with the prophecy.”
“Yes, Paz mentioned it to me.” She kept her voice even to hide her ignorance, hoping Algie would elaborate.
“Our king heard the prophecy from his advisor’s lips: The six daughters of Odin must unite with the six sons of Thor to utter the ancient words and prevent the coming darkness. I don’t put much credence in legends myself. My beliefs are, shall we say, more grounded than King Jorg’s.”
“What is it your king wants?” The information could be useful to Paz when they met up again. And who were those sisters everyone kept mentioning? Jen had no siblings.
“What our liege wants doesn’t matter. I have the solution to our problems.” Algie strode to the counter to place the test tubes in a holder.
“What problems? Help me to understand.” She filed away a mental note about Algie’s attitude toward her king. The Trollek scientist didn’t sound very respectful toward her leader.
“As I said, other people among your kind have mixed blood. That’s one of the purposes of our recruitment centers, to screen people for these genetic markers. I’ve been trying to find a more compatible match to our genetic code. It’s possible your particular sequence holds the key.”
“A match? For what reason?” Jen slid off the table and began pacing.
Finished labeling the vials, Algie shot her a pensive look. “I don’t see any harm in telling you, since you won’t be sharing this information.”
Jen swallowed. What did that mean? Did Algie plan to kill her? She remained silent, while her heart pounded so hard it rattled her ribcage.
“Over the years, our reproductive rate has decreased.” Algie dragged a manicured fingernail across the counter. “We discovered a defect in the Trollek male gene. The water on our world is responsible. We learned this after years of study.
“We can still have children when our females mate with human men, but it’s diluting our bloodline. King Jorg ordered us to invade Earth, not only for your resources that are rightfully ours, but because our race is dying.”
“So what is your solution?”
Algie waved a hand. “I’m in charge of the SARB project. SARB stands for Stabilize and Reboot. Our objective is to make our male sperm viable again.
To that end, we’ve been splicing our DNA into the human genetic code to find a compatible combination. Once we identify a stable string, we’ll use it to repair the damage to the Trollek male genome.”
Jen’s stomach churned. “You’ve been combining Trollek and human DNA? Is that why you need blood samples?”
Algie nodded. “Our screening process identifies humans who already possess a string of Trollek DNA. Presumably, they’re descendants of prior mating between our peoples. We’ve been injecting them with our DNA to find a stable sequence but so far have failed. Unfortunately, the human test subjects do not survive the studies. It’s just a matter of hitting on the right sequence with the right serum. Your blood might be more compatible.”
Jen’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re planning to inject me with Trollek DNA?”
“You’ll be ensuring the survival of my species if we succeed.” Algie’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. “And if we don’t, well then, King Jorg need not fear your part in the prophecy.”
Jen didn’t want to press her luck by asking for further explanations. Time was running out, and if she didn’t escape, she’d be the next victim on that table.
Algie spoke into a comm panel on the wall. “You can come and get our guest now.” She turned to Jen. “Leytnant Bosk will see to your comfort while we wait for these lab results.”
Five minutes later, the officer pushed through the doors, his bulk stretching his uniform taut across his chest.
“Put her in the tower room that’s shielded against vector shifts. We don’t want her making any unexpected trips away from here.”
How could I do that? Jen wondered at the strange remark but got distracted by the sadistic gleam in Bosk’s eyes.
“When are you gonna work on her? Can I stay and watch?”
“Later. I need to run these tests first.” Algie sauntered toward him and trailed her fingernail down his pock-marked cheek. “Be a good boy, and I might grant you permission to stay.” Her sweet tone turned sour. “What’s happening with her partner? Did he talk yet?”
“He’s in Interrogation now. The general is personally handling the session. Too bad these walls are so thick, or we could hear his screams.”
Jen’s eyes widened but she remained silent. What were they doing to poor Paz?
Algie glanced at a security camera mounted on the wall. “Can you tell Oversergent Warok that I have an errand for him?”
“Yes, Min Dokter.” Bosk beat his hand on his chest and bowed. “I will send for him as soon as I lock up this puny human.” Wheeling toward Jen, he glowered at her, a dribble of spit on his mouth. “Come, let’s get you secured.”
Aware of the shock stick hanging off his belt, Jen had no choice except to meekly accompany him.
****
General Morar paced in front of Paz, who was strapped to a table in the center of the interrogation room. The Trollek commander’s ugly face creased in a scowl, making his long nose curl downward toward his mouth.
“I thought you and your friends were dead. What a surprise to hear from my troops that Major Zune failed in his mission to capture your team. They destroyed the jamming signal transmitter and half of Drift World along with it.”
Paz’s heart swelled with joy and pride. Despite overwhelming odds, his friends had accomplished their goal.
“I’m sorry I missed the action,” he replied, testing his bonds. The leather restraints held firm. “Zune pushed me into a pit housing the power generator, and I ended up across the ocean.”
“Do your colleagues know you’re alive? Have you been in touch with them?”
A surge of hope followed. His team was still intact!
“Does it matter?” Paz attempted a shrug along with a nonchalant expression. His gaze followed the shock stick the general kept slapping against his palm.
“It might, depending on how well we loosen your tongue. Cooperate, and I promise your death will be swift and painless. Where is their base of operation?”
“They’ll have moved it by now.” Sweat popped out on his brow. He bunched his biceps, pushing against the straps holding him down. They still held tight, digging ridges into his skin.
“Where was it before the raid on our facility?”
“We had a suite in a local hostelry.” He named the resort. They’d long since left the location where one of their team members had been murdered. He doubted the Trolleks knew about their safe house.
“You have a ship in orbit, do you not? What is the frequency for the defense shield?”
“I guess Kaj didn’t tell you much if you don’t know that answer.” He flushed with satisfaction, hoping he could hold out with the same bravery.
The general applied the shock stick to the nerve bundle on the side of his thigh. Agony burst into his brain like a solar flare. He screamed, unable to stop himself.
“You will talk, Drift Lord. If not to me, then to the Korporal here who knows how to use these instruments. When he starts cutting, you’ll wish you’d spoken earlier.”
“Go to Hel’s dominion. That’s where your kind belongs. But I guess your king already knows this. It’s said he’s either mad as a howler monkey from the voices he hears in his head, or else he communes with the devil.”
A jab to his groin stole his breath and made pain explode into white stars behind his eyes. He struggled to gain air.
“Do not disparage King Jorg, human, or I may take one of those knives and gut you myself.”
Go ahead. I would die quickly.
Paz spared a thought for Jen. If it weren’t for her, he’d provoke the general into killing him. But while he still breathed, hope lived that he could free her. He didn’t know what he’d do if they threatened to harm her.
“Why do you need the frequency for our ship anyway?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “We’re not going anywhere until we defeat you.”
The general guffawed so hard it shook his brawny body. “There is hardly anyone among your team left. Captain Zohar plots against us with Yaron of the Glade and the Tsuran swordsman known as Lord Magnor. Three against the mighty Trollek army?”
“Then why do you care where to find us if we’re so small a threat? Do you mean to kill us for sport?”
The corners of Morar’s mouth turned down, and his eyes blazed. “There’s the prophecy. Our king gives it credence.”
“Do you really believe in those old legends?”
“What I believe doesn’t matter. I obey my liege’s orders. And he wants to eliminate any chance of the prophecy coming true. Tell me, what is your team’s next objective?”
Paz’s lips tightened. The prophecy said that six sons of Thor and six daughters of Odin would prevent the coming darkness. With Kaj still missing, Dal in the hospital, and Borius and Rayne gone, their force had been seriously diminished. It didn’t seem viable for the legends to be true.
He was taking too long to answer. The general jabbed him again, and rational thought fled in the explosion of pain that followed.
“I don’t know,” he said between gritted teeth. “I’ve lost contact with them. I thought they must all be dead.”
“With our jamming signal deactivated, your ship sensors can detect our portals. Is that why you’re here? To destroy this gateway?” Morar didn’t even give him a chance to answer. He stabbed the stick into Paz’s side.
Even while a cry escaped his lips, a surge of triumph bloomed inside him. So this island did harbor a portal to the Trollek dimension.
“That’s not why I came here. When I was tossed into the pit back in Orlando, I must have fallen through a spontaneous rift in the space-time continuum. I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in Japan.”
He tried to lean upward but the strap across his chest was too rigid. “Listen, General, these random tears are increasing. By keeping the rifts open, you’re causing the dimensional drift to widen. The energy blast that will result from the buildup of cors particles will destroy everything, not just our world. If you believe your people will be spar
ed, you’ve been fooled.”
The general smacked him across the face. “Our king says we will be protected. Are you calling our liege a liar?”
“I’m just saying…if that voice King Jorg hears in his head has promised him that his kingdom will survive the mass destruction, it’s lying.”
General Morar glanced at the other officer in the room and the enlisted soldiers guarding the door, then he leaned over Paz. “What do you know about that voice?”
Paz smirked. “Some say the demon Loki is manipulating your king. Loki wants to be released from his underground prison. In destroying our multiverse, he gains his freedom and his revenge against the gods who put him there.”
Morar straightened, his mouth tightening. “I do not believe such nonsense. Our liege commands us to regain lands that are rightfully ours.”
“So why does the prophecy matter to him?”
“You’re not the one asking questions here.” The general jabbed the stick into him repeatedly until shadows danced about the room and Paz’s eyes rolled up in his head. “How did you come to be on this island?”
“I crashed here in an aircraft. You should know. Didn’t you send those soldiers onboard to capture us?” Paz’s voice came out a dry croak.
“Only the woman. We didn’t realize you’d be aboard. Were you sent to protect her?”
Paz shook his head from side to side. His back hurt from lying supine, and his nerves screamed from abuse. He needed to change his position. Squirming, he grunted with frustration at being strapped down.
“You must have met up with the woman somewhere. Did you trace her through her watch?”
“I don’t know what you mean. When I regained consciousness, I found myself near her. I was disoriented, and she took pity on me as a fellow American in a foreign country. At least, she assumed I was a compatriot by my accent. She offered me a ride home, that’s all.”
Another long jolt from the shock stick left him gasping for air. Paz knew this punishment was mild compared to what would come next. The korporal shifted his feet, impatient to get to work with the real tools.
“I’m not an idiot.” The general’s nostrils flared. “I know you and the woman are working together. How much does she know of your mission?”
Warrior Rogue (The Drift Lords Series) Page 8