by Dan Decker
She forced the thought away, worried that he would try to take her hand or put his arm around her. When he didn’t do that, she relaxed.
She wasn’t ready for any of that, if she ever would be again.
“I hope so,” Jorad said, a confident smile plastering his face. The last time she’d seen that smile had been at the festival. It felt good to see it, but it also came with another reminder of how she had felt about him before everything had happened.
She stepped away and let him get further ahead, still afraid he might try to take her hand. She followed after. When Jorad passed by Tere a few minutes later, the air around the two seemed to get colder.
Tere put his hand in the pocket of his coat right after Jorad passed and for brief instant Soret caught a glimpse of something shiny and flat.
“Glad to see somebody smiling,” Wes said from beside her, his voice low and conspiratorial. “This crowd is way too somber.”
Soret wiped away the grin, wishing she had been more careful. “Can you blame them? They just lost their homes and they’re heading into an unknown land.” Wes rolled his eyes as he looked away.
She found her eyes drawn to Tere’s pocket again. It hadn’t just been her imagination. Tere had the tablet. A chill swept over her. It was one thing to suspect, quite another to know. It had been easy to make a plan when all she had to go on was conjecture. She was filled with a sudden desire to tell somebody and for the space of several steps quickened her pace, intent on finding Xarda.
No, she thought, coming to a halt. Things have changed. Jorad isn’t who I thought he was and the world isn’t the same place. She would stick to her plan. Her stomach churned with the decision, but she put the thought away. If she didn’t take care of herself, who would?
Chapter 29
Adar felt a chill run down his spine as he examined the town square, the rough edges of the hole he’d made in the ship’s door were just overhead. The Hunwei and turncoats that had been around the tower were gone.
How long had it been since he’d last looked outside? Five minutes, maybe ten? It was probably less than he thought.
The town hall was quiet. A lone stream of smoke wafted up into the sky from the once burning inferno that had been a squad of Hunwei. The mass no longer had flames, but he could still see heat waves distorting the air above it.
He could also make out part of the governor’s mansion and the rubble pile it had become.
There wasn’t a Hunwei or turncoat in sight. The door of the other ship was up as if it was preparing for departure.
Adar had expected they had little time left to live, assuming the Hunwei would attack them once their comrades hadn’t secured the ship. He and the others would have been trapped with little they could do other than continue to fight.
Whoever is in command on the other side will know that, he thought, remembering how the Hunwei bombs had flattened buildings in a blink of an eye. This ship is damaged. They’re not going to waste resources sending others to come after us. Why do that when they can just drop a bomb? While the ship is armored well enough to protect against a blaster, I’m sure they have bombs that would turn us all into a twisting mess of metal and flesh just as fast as they leveled the governor’s mansion.
The thought came with a feeling of certainty. He knew that was what they were going to do because it was what he would have done if their roles had been reversed.
He opened his mouth to shout a warning for everybody to evacuate the ship just as the other ship’s engines spun to life. Cursing, he motioned for everybody to gather around him.
“We need to get as far away from here as we can. They’re going to drop a bomb on us.” He wondered if the others had been able to hear him over the departing ship because nobody moved for a long moment.
In the next, everybody spun into action. Helda grabbed two of the women near her and said something Adar wasn’t able to make out. One of the two scooped up Lars. The other picked up another of the children and ran for the doorway.
Congestion had already formed, and before Adar thought to do something about it, there was Helda again, forming everybody up into a line. As Adar watched the scene unfold, his mind spinning through options about what to do next, he noticed Helda glance his way. She gave him a nod that he returned.
He was glad she was trying to make up for before. It would be a long time before he ever trusted her, but he had no doubt she would join him if asked. Given her size and ability to take charge, he could make use of her.
I’ll have to be careful with her, he thought, glancing at Neare and Erro. Melyah, how can I know who to trust? He was inclined to think Neare could be trusted in a fight, but was that just Adar’s need for help talking?
The whine of the ship's engines increased. If it got away, the Hunwei would take with them the knowledge there were a group of humans who had figured out how to turn the Hunwei’s weapons on them.
It was bad enough the turncoats had escaped earlier to tell the story of how the tower had destroyed the Hunwei.
Adar needed to preserve each and every advantage they had, no matter how small it was.
Adar wasn’t under any illusions. The Hunwei and turncoats had been easy to kill largely because they hadn’t been expecting resistance. This would change once they were on their guard.
He stepped forward and grabbed Neare by the shoulder as he waited for his turn to leave. The man faced Adar.
“There may be a way to keep that ship from escaping,” Adar said, “but I’ll need help to do it. They know we can use their weapons. We can’t let them tell the others.”
Neare frowned as if considering what to say. Erro licked his lips. His face had returned to a normal color, but his eyes continued to dance every which way.
“I can’t,” Neare said as he motioned to his son. “I have to take care of him. He’s all I have left. The Hunwei took everybody else.”
“The others are still alive. That’s what brought you north. Join with me. We’ll look for them together.”
“Join with you?” Neare bit his lower lip. Three weeks ago, the man wouldn’t have shared a table with Adar, now he looked as though he was considering it. “I’m sorry. If it were just me, maybe, but I got to look after him. I have others counting on me as well.”
Adar suppressed a scowl and nodded. “Barc is around here somewhere. Take him with you if you can, he'll never make it on his own.”
Neare returned the nod as Adar went to the ladder on the far side of the hold. He climbed up, wondering how much time he had before the other ship would be airborne. He made it several steps down the hallway before he stopped. A voice came from up ahead. As he drew closer, he could tell it came from the command center.
Biting off a groan, he brought up his blaster. I may have cleared the ship before but who knows what happened while I was out cold. He continued his approach, stopped just short of the door, and listened.
He could hear the voice but was unable to understand the words. It was too low to be human, and it lacked the raspy growl of a Hunwei.
He peeked into the room, wrapping his hand tight about his small blaster so that he was pressing the button along the back of the grip.
A creature—unlike any Hunwei he’d ever seen—hung suspended in the air. It almost looked human, but several of the dimensions were wrong. The eyes were a little too big for the face, and the forehead was too high. The nose looked like it had been smashed until it was almost level with the mouth and the creatures chin was double the size of any man's. It had hair, but it had been cut short, and the rest of the body was well built. Adar could see muscles bulging out of the clothing, threatening to bust it open.
It took Adar several minutes before he realized that the creature was translucent and that he could see the far wall through the monster. The colors that Hucky had brought up on the display in front of the chair had been see-through in the same way. Those had been an illusion, this must be as well. It looked like the same technology that Derren's tablet h
ad used to show Adar the various towers throughout the world.
Since he couldn't understand what the creature said, he focused on its clothing. It was black with gold stripes down the one side. The shoulders were tipped in gold as well.
How had he missed it before? The man-like being wore a uniform.
Adar clenched his teeth. He had theorized the Hunwei communicated by flashing light between the ships. That had been dead wrong. This was how they sent messages back and forth. In the same way, Derren's tablet had shown him what was happening back at Vigorock, this image was being transmitted from somewhere else to here.
Nine bleeding burning fires! He thought. The Hunwei commanders must already know about the tower and what it can do. If they know about that, they'll also know their own weapons are being used against them.
It might already be too late to keep the word from slipping out about how the Hunwei here had encountered resistance.
The message continued. The speaking creature hadn't noticed Adar looking into the room. Adar hesitated to get any closer, afraid something might pick up his presence and transmit it back.
He kept expecting the creature would see nobody was listening but he continued unabated.
The recognition of that fact made Adar pause. After weighing the consequences, he took a deep breath and stepped into the doorway with his blaster up. He waited, expecting the creature’s image to take notice of him.
When nothing happened, he took several steps into the room. Now that he was closer, he could make out the eyes a little better. They weren't human, that was certain. In fact, the eyes reminded him of a snake or lizard. And now that he thought about it, the light brown skin did seem to have scales. He would need to get closer to know for certain but decided he would go no further.
The creature stopped speaking, and Adar froze, wondering if he'd gone too far. It seemed as though the creature was staring at him but he realized it was just his imagination playing tricks. The creature raised its arm and made what looked like a fist and gave a slight nod of the head.
The image faded away. As it did, Adar saw it had been below a clear circle in the ceiling. He'd noticed it earlier but had thought nothing of it, assuming it to be a decoration of some sort. Now he figured it had something to do with the projection. He hadn't the slightest idea how to explain it.
Adar waited for as long as he dared before moving forward, hoping the ship outside was still in the process of lifting off and not about to bomb them. Some of the ships moved faster than others, the specifics of which he needed to pay more attention to in the future. It would eventually pay off to recognize a ship and know if it was one of the slower moving ones.
He might have a couple of minutes, or it also might be too late.
He moved forward to the blaster display on the wall, tucking the small blaster into his belt. The extra large blaster still hung where he had left it, undisturbed since he'd last thought of taking it down. He didn't hesitate as he lifted one end from the rack and lowered it. When it was almost to his waist, it began to slide out of his hands. Using his knee, he jammed it to the wall.
It was heavier than he’d thought.
I'll have a difficult time moving it, let alone trying to figure out how to use it.
He took a breath, and while using his leg to guide it, let it slide the rest of way until the back of the weapon rested on the floor. He positioned himself so he was under it and removed it out from the other rack where it had come to a stop.
Once he did, he shifted so it rested on his back. He waited, gasping for breath. It's not too late to turn and run.
He thought of the others. Lars’ face came to mind. He hefted the weapon and moved towards the door. There was still a chance the Hunwei hadn’t reported to the others what had happened here.
It wasn't until he was halfway down the hall that he realized he had another problem. How in the nine burning fires was he going to get it down the ladder?
The roar of the ship's engines echoed through the hall and increased in ferocity, taunting him forward as his heart beat faster. He ignored the question as he struggled with the weapon until he was at the top of the ladder and could put it off no longer. It hadn't seemed high before, but now as he looked down, he realized his options were to either push the blaster over the side or abandon the effort.
Without hesitation, he maneuvered so that he could drop it over the edge. He was just about to do his best to lower it down as much as he could before letting go, when Neare appeared below.
“That ship’s about to take off!” Neare cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted. “You need to get out of here.” When Adar didn't respond, Neare muttered something Adar couldn't hear and came closer with a look of resignation on his face. Perhaps he was thinking he owed Adar for sparing Erro. “Still need some help?”
Adar's grunt was lost in the noise coming from outside as Neare came to the ladder and reached up.
“It's heavier than it looks.” Adar wrapped his hands tight around several rods that stuck out from the front of the weapon and jammed his arms around the ladder. Sweat streamed into his eyes, but he was unable to do anything about it. The weapon strained his arms to the point he was afraid his left arm was going to be wrenched out of its socket. He used a rung of the ladder to tilt the back of the blaster over. “Guide it down. Don't try to catch it.”
He leveraged the weapon, straining more with each inch as it went down. It was still a foot above Neare's head, and they were fast approaching the point where Adar was about to lose control over it.
“It's about to slip!” Adar said.
“Just a little bit more and I'll have it.”
“Let it fall, just guide the thing! Watch out for your feet.”
It happened fast. One moment Adar had it in his grasp, the next it slipped away. It crashed. Neare was there and pushed it up against the ladder, steadying it, keeping it from toppling over. When he saw Adar descending, he maneuvered it over to the wall to make way.
When Adar was down, he snagged the front end of the weapon and lowered it until it was at his waist. “Grab the other side.” He could barely hear himself over the noise coming from outside the hole in the door.
Neare looked as though he was about to say something but he bit it off as he squatted to heft up his side of the weapon.
It still wasn't easy to move, but it was a lot easier than moving it himself. Adar led them towards the door, shaking his head as he took in the hole he'd made. Confound it all. Why hadn't he tried harder to figure out how the door had worked? This would have been a lot easier if he had been able to get the ramp down.
When they got to the hole, he set the front of the large blaster on the bottom lip of it and climbed through. With Neare pushing from the inside, they maneuvered the weapon most of the way out. By that time, the other ship was lifting off the ground. It was only up a couple of feet, but it wouldn't be long before it was in a position to destroy Adar's ship.
“I'm going to need you to hold up the front of this,” Adar said once Neare had joined him outside and they’d pulled the weapon through.
“What?”
Adar got closer and repeated himself.
“You better know what you’re doing,” Neare said. “You're going to have one shot before they see us. After that, we’ll be dead.” Neare shook his head as they set it down and switched Adar sides. He hefted it up and put it over his shoulder, mumbling something that Adar couldn’t make out.
Adar swung around and picked up the back end.
He found a trigger back here in addition to a button. It was almost the same exact setup as the other normal sized blasters to which he had become accustomed. Shouting out directions to Neare, they oriented themselves until they were in a position to fire upon the ship. Yelling at Neare to stand still, Adar used his end to aim.
He had planned to shoot at the engines, but once he saw the amount of flame coming from them, he changed his mind and aimed for the body of the ship. Muttering a praye
r to any of the gods that may have been listening, he depressed the button and pulled back on the trigger.
Nothing happened as the ship rose ever higher.
“Bleeding Melyah,” he muttered. “Neare, look for any buttons up by you!”
Neare looked back, and Adar showed him the button along the bottom of the blaster and pushed on it. When a look of confusion crossed Neare’s face, Adar repeated his instructions and pressed the button. Not certain that Neare understood, Adar was about to put down his end when Neare turned his attention to the front of the blaster.
The ship had gained sufficient enough altitude that it was several stories in the air by the time Neare located the button.
“Got it.”
At least, that was what Adar thought he said.
The blaster design confused Adar. The second button meant that this was a two Hunwei weapon, there wasn’t a way for a single Hunwei to press both buttons and fire it. He would have thought the engineers would want to give one Hunwei the ability to use it. Unless it was powerful enough they wanted an additional safety mechanism.
Had it been made to require two concurring Hunwei?
In order to aim at the ship, Adar now had to lower his end almost to the ground. He was unable to balance it, so he rested the back of the blaster on a large cobblestone. Once he had the ship in his sights, he called out to make sure that Neare had his button covered.
Adar covered his as well and just before he pulled the trigger, he cried out to Neare. “Close your eyes!”
Afraid Neare might not have heard it, he repeated himself, yelling as loud as he could. Hoping Neare had heard, he kept his own eyes open and shifted just before he fired to make sure that the blaster was leveled squarely on the ship.
A large blast the size of a huge boulder exploded out the front end of the weapon. Adar could feel the heat of the blast. If Neare hadn’t followed his instructions, the man would be blind for sure.