The Legacy of Earth (Children of Earthrise Book 6)

by Daniel Arenson

  Bay's chest constricted. He could barely breathe.

  "Then we'll restore you from backup!" he said. "Right? We've done that before. Like after your shuttle was destroyed! There's a backup on Rowan's minicom, and more on Earth, and—"

  "I deleted my backups," Brooklyn said. "All of them. I didn't tell you. I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid of dying again. Of being cloned a thousand more times. Being sent to war as an army of clones. I felt every death, Bay. Every starship, every shuttle destroyed—I felt my clone die. I never wanted to be software again. So after I became human, I deleted all my backups. I had to make sure I could never be installed into another starship. I wanted to be human. Just human forever."

  Bay stared at her, feeling so hollow. Another bullet hit the tower—only centimeters away this time. Rowan knelt, firing on the enemy, holding them back. Bay barely noticed the battle around him.

  "Oh, Brooklyn," he whispered.

  She smiled through her tears. "I'm dying, Bay. But this is the last time. My last death."

  "No, Brooklyn. No!" He held her tightly. "I'm not letting you die. You're going to live, Brooklyn! You're going to make it home! We're going to live together in our house, and eat those pancakes, and go on those hikes in the forest. And be happy. You and me together. Like always. Like the old days. Remember the old days, Brooklyn?"

  She reached up with a shaky hand and caressed his cheek. "You always promised to someday take me to a green, beautiful world. And you did, Bay. You took me to Earth. And I got to be human! I became a woman. A woman in love. I felt grass beneath my feet, and I tasted food, and we made love under the stars. My life was short. But it was full. It was so precious to me. Thank you so much for the memories."

  He wept, holding her close. "I love you, Brooklyn."

  She smiled at him. "I love you, Bay. Be happy with her. Be happy with Rowan. Be happy on Earth. All of you."

  Her eyes closed. She slumped in his arms. And Brooklyn breathed no more.

  Across the lake, the human infantry was gaining ground, giving Bay and Rowan a respite from the enemy's potshots.

  Bay looked at Rowan. She stared back, eyes haunted.

  "Let me see your finger," she said.

  "Sure, if you want to fish it out of the lava," Bay said, raising his hand.

  Rowan cringed. A bullet had taken off most of the finger.

  "You already lost one hand, pancake," Rowan said. "I'm not letting you lose any extra fingers."

  She held his mangled hand, and Bay winced. But the pain soon faded. The Harmonians flowed from Rowan into his stump. They began weaving new cells and bones, healing. Bay watched in wonder as a new finger sprouted.

  "Since when could they do that?" Bay said.

  "They can regrow simple stuff," Rowan said. "Remember how they regrew my teeth?" She lowered her head. "I wish they could have helped Brooklyn. She was hurt too badly. Even for them." She wiped her eyes.

  Bay tightened his lips. The grief threatened to flood him. He would deal with that grief later. Years of fighting this war had given him this strength, this ability to lock his grief in a box, to save it for after the battle.

  "How is your jetpack?" he asked Rowan.

  "I have enough fuel," she said. "I'm ready to fly."

  He clasped her hand. "Rowan, are you ready to do this? You and me?"

  She nodded, fire igniting in her eyes. "Yes. Let's do this. You and me." She snarled and raised her pistol. "Let's go kill the bitch."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Emet stood at the head of the infantry division, raising the banner of Earth.

  They were halfway through the city of snakes. They were falling fast. But they were still charging forward.

  "Onward, Earth!" Emet cried. "Onward to victory!"

  The soldiers charged. Thousands of them, guns booming. They stormed down the streets, clashing with the basilisk horde. The HDF artillery pounded the towers. Their courage lit the darkness. The ants were now emerging into the city too, storming along the roads, climbing the towers, tearing through the basilisks. Buildings shattered and fell.

  Emet didn't know if they could conquer this city. If they could kill Xerka.

  But for the first time since arriving on Sskarsses, hope rose in him.

  They were moving forward. Gaining ground. And he began to think that maybe—just maybe—he would see Earth again.

  For long hours, they fought, pushing forward kilometer by bloody kilometer. The basilisks pounded them mercilessly. Shells exploded among the human lines, tearing apart entire platoons. Companies shattered and reformed. They had no tanks, barely any artillery of their own. They kept pushing forward.

  Emet would not hunker down. He would not dig trenches or find shelter among the towers. He kept advancing. Forward. Ever onward. Banners flying and guns roaring. Marching even over the bodies of their fallen.

  We end this tonight, Emet thought.

  Finally, down to half their force, they reached the lake of fire.

  Ahead, past the churning lava, it rose. Axis Vypira. The tower of the empress.

  Emet looked up. He could see two soldiers flying toward the tower, jetpacks flaming.

  He stared through his binoculars. He recognized them. Bay. Rowan.

  Emet inhaled sharply.

  I'm coming to join you.

  A stone bridge spanned the lake of gurgling lava, leading to the tower's island. Hundreds of basilisks were guarding the bridge. They slithered toward the humans, guns firing. Earth responded with machine guns, holding the enemy back, driving them into the lake. Basilisks fell into the lava, screaming as the flowing magma engulfed them.

  Sappers raised barricades along the shore—heavy metal shields, blocking the enemy fire. Other sappers released small wheeled robots onto the bridge. The machines moved at incredible speed, detecting explosives and disabling them, securing the bridge for the humans to follow.

  Emet turned toward his officers. Tom and Leona stood before him. Both were covered in ash and blood. Both were bandaged but still stood tall and strong, guns in hand.

  "Are you ready?" he said.

  "Always, my friend," Tom said.

  Leona nodded. "Let's win this war."

  Emet lingered for just a moment, looking at the pair. At Leona, his beautiful and strong daughter, tall and proud. At Tom, a man who had become Emet's closest friend, a man he would be proud to call a son-in-law. They were the salt of the Earth. Emet loved them both.

  You two are the future, Emet thought. Leona, you carry my grandchild. I'm old. But you two will lead Earth long after I'm gone.

  He turned toward the bridge. Emet raised his rifle in one hand. In the other, he raised the banner of Earth—a blue planet with golden wings, resplendent on a white field. Behind him, his infantry troops gathered. Thousands who had survived so much hardship. Who had fought through fire and blood for him. Among them, their platoons raised their own banners. The colors of Earth—white, gold, and blue—filled the mountain. Some of the banners were tattered. Others bloodstained. All billowed proudly.

  Emet looked at those banners, and his heart soared. They were not merely pieces of cloth. Not merely pretty colors. Looking at those banners, he remembered them flying over Earth. He remembered the taste of Earth crops. The sound of laughter in the mess hall. The sunsets over the fields. His family around him. Here in this dark, cold place, those banners were a link to Earth. A memory of home. Emet would fight under those banners until his last breath.

  "Forth, humanity!" Emet cried. "For Earth!"

  He ran onto the bridge.

  Behind him, his people followed.

  They ran across the bridge, boots pounding, voices rising. The lava roiled below, and the tower soared ahead.

  I'm coming, Bay and Rowan. I'll be there soon. Let's win this war.

  Emet was halfway across the bridge when he saw the figure emerge from Axis Vypira.

  At first, it appeared like a shadow, towering, arms outstretched. Flames flared around the beast like
wings.

  A humanoid beast. A strange, hybrid man.

  He stepped onto the bridge, moving fast, and let out a roar. The sound was so deafening Emet winced. The sound waves slammed into Emet, palpable and rumbling, hammers against his ribs. Behind him, soldiers dropped their banners, even their guns, and covered their ears.

  The beast was running now. His footfalls shook the stone bridge. The creature had a human shape, masculine and powerful, but he was not fully human. Red scales coated him. A golden mane framed a cruel face, the skin deep red, the eyes golden. His fangs shone. As the strange figure ran closer, Emet realized how large he was. He easily stood eight feet tall, maybe nine, and his body rippled with raw strength.

  A chimera. A creature part basilisk, part human, with bits of feline tossed in. Emet had never seen anything like it. Yet the hybrid looked oddly familiar.

  "I am Hssgu!" the chimera howled. "I will feast upon ape flesh!"

  "What the hell is that?" Leona said. She aimed Arondight at the running beast.

  "I don't know," Emet said. "But let's kill him."

  Hssgu was a hundred meters away now. Emet and Leona opened fire.

  The chimera leaped into the air, dodging the bullets. Emet could barely believe how fast he was. Hssgu came flying toward the troops, bellowing.

  Emet stood before the strange figure, firing his rifle. Bullets pounded the beast, shattering against his scales.

  Hssgu overshot Emet and landed among the human infantry. Soldiers screamed, falling off the bridge into the lava. Creatures of molten stone and fire rose from the lake, snatching soldiers within their basalt jaws.

  The creature on the bridge roared, grabbing soldiers, tossing them into the magma. Bullets slammed into him, but Hssgu's scales protected him. He grabbed soldier after soldier, tossing them over the bridge. He lifted one man and bit deep, tearing the soldier in two. Blood on his fangs, Hssgu tossed both halves at the soldiers ahead, knocking them down.

  "Ape flesh is mine!" he bellowed. "Sweet blood of man!"

  Leona screamed. She ran, hurled herself forward, and leaped onto Hssgu's back.

  She clung to his mane, climbed higher, and drew a knife. But the beast grabbed her, raised her overhead, and prepared to toss Leona into the lake. The lava monsters breached the surface, melting and reforming, hungry for flesh.

  Emet charged. He barreled into Hssgu with all his strength.

  Emet was a large man—tall, muscular, among the largest warriors in his army. But it felt like slamming into a brick wall. The beast of scales and fur didn't even budge.

  Hssgu spun toward Emet, still holding Leona overhead. The creature snarled, jaws opening wide, fangs glistening with blood.

  Emet fired his double-barrelled rifle into the beast's face.

  The blast shattered one fang. Hssgu howled and staggered backward, dropping Leona onto the bridge. She landed atop corpses.

  Emet fired again. Two more bullets slammed into the scaly head. Bone shattered. Blood gushed.

  Emet loaded another magazine, prepared to fire again.

  He was too slow.

  Hssgu swung his paw. His claws severed Emet's hand.

  The hand, still holding the rifle, tumbled into the lava.

  Emet howled.

  "Dad!" Leona cried, but a blow from the beast knocked her back.

  Emet refused to fall. Even as his blood gushed, as his consciousness threatened to flee—he drew Lightning, his pistol.

  Hssgu faced him, grinning savagely, half his jaw gone.

  "Do you know who I am?" the creature rumbled.

  Emet fired his pistol. A bolt slammed into the beast.

  Hssgu fell back a step. Another step. A third. Soldiers were shooting him, but the scales stopped the bullets. Hssgu lashed his paw again.

  The razor-sharp claw tore across Emet's torso. Ripping off armor. Cutting deep into the flesh. They were so sharp that Emet barely felt a thing.

  He tried to fire again.

  But he fell.

  Emet landed on his knees. The gashes in his belly were deep. He could barely breathe. He tasted blood in his mouth. He tried to fire Lightning again, but Hssgu ripped the gun from his hand.

  Leona and Tom were shouting. They leaped onto Hssgu, but the beast hurled them off. Leona almost fell into the lava, but Tom caught her, pulled her back onto the bridge.

  Hssgu knelt above Emet. The scaly, shattered face twisted into a rictus grin.

  "Do you know who I am?" the beast repeated.

  Emet stared at that hideous face.

  And he saw it there.

  He saw himself.

  The creature licked his remaining teeth. "Yes. I am your son, Emet Ben-Ari. My mother, the blessed Xerka, forged me from her own and your DNA. You are my father. Know that before you die."

  Emet stared in horror into Hssgu's eyes.

  His eyes.

  No. Oh Ra, no.

  Hssgu laughed, saliva and blood dripping. "Yes, I see the pain in you. Die in agony. Die slowly." The beast pierced Emet's belly with a claw, then twisted, tore the flesh. "I will make it last."

  Emet screamed.

  "Son—" he managed, rasping. "Son … I must … tell you …"

  The monster leaned closer, licking blood from his teeth. "Do you want to beg, old man?"

  Emet whispered words. Barely audible.

  The creature leaned down closer. "Beg, old man! Beg louder."

  "Go to hell, kid," Emet whispered.

  He drew a knife from his belt and shoved the blade into his son's ear.

  Hssgu howled.

  Emet shoved the dagger down to the hilt and twisted the blade.

  The howl died. The creature fell onto Emet, crushing him. Emet felt something snap inside him. Something shatter.

  Soldiers were shouting above him, pulling the hybrid creature, finally tugging it off. They tossed the twisted corpse into the lake. Emet tried to breathe, swallowed blood.

  "A medic!" Tom was shouting. "We need a medic!"

  Leona knelt by Emet, tears on her cheeks, hands shaking as she applied bandages to the wounds. Tom wrapped a tourniquet around Emet's arm, stopping the blood from fleeing the stump.

  Emet's vision was fading now. Blackness was engulfing him.

  "Go," he whispered. "Leona. Tom. Go to Axis Vypira. Help Bay and Rowan. Win . . ."

  Vaguely, Emet was aware of medics sawing off his armor, poking him with needles, bandaging more wounds. Somebody placed an oxygen mask on his face, and suddenly he was swaying on a stretcher. Leona and Tom were at his sides, running with him.

  "Go on," Emet said. "Go on without me. Win this war. Help them …"

  A river of morphine washed over him. He drowned in it, and everything went black.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Rowan and Bay, the last of the Blue Eagles, flew with their jetpacks, circling the white tower.

  There on its crest she stood.

  Xerka.

  The Basilisk Queen held her rocket launcher. She fired. Again and again. Shells streaked forward. But Rowan and Bay dodged the barrage, circled again, and stormed toward the tower's crest.

  Axis Vypira had a flat, oblong roof—the opened jaws of the stone serpent, the battlements rising like fangs. Rowan and Bay landed, aimed their guns, and opened fire.

  Their bullets shattered against Xerka's scales. The Serpent Queen raised her rocket launcher again, but bullets slammed into the weapon, shattering the muzzle.

  Inside the launcher, a shell exploded.

  Light blazed. Fire roared. The shock wave knocked Bay and Rowan down. The explosion rocked the tower.

  Rowan groaned on the roof. Her ears rang. She struggled back to her feet, armor cracked, head spinning. Bay struggled to stand beside her. Above them, the flaming heart crackled, raining sparks.

  Xerka still stood before them. The explosion had destroyed her gun. It had also taken the queen's left arm and half her face.

  She's hurt, Rowan thought. She can be hurt. She's not immortal.

&n
bsp; The queen's injuries should have been fatal. Half her skull was cracked open, revealing the brain. But Xerka only laughed. She slithered closer, her human half balancing on the snake body.

  "Such proud little apes!" she cried, voice a raspy shriek. "So clever to have come so far!"

  Rowan aimed Lullaby. "It's over, Xerka! Stop where you are. Surrender to us. Stand trial for your crimes."

  Xerka laughed. "Surrender? When I'm so close to wiping out you vermin?"

  "You've lost!" Rowan said. "There are soldiers racing across the bridge, storming into your tower, clearing it of basilisks. Your city crumbles around you. You stand here alone! I give you a chance to surrender, to stand trial on Earth. Refuse—and die!"

  "Oh, my precious child," Xerka said. "I know you so well. After all, I devoured your parents. I understand you. I knew you would come. And I've prepared a surprise for you. See them, my dear apes. See your beloveds rise again!"

  Xerka slithered aside.

  A hatch opened in the tower.

  Creatures emerged.

  Rowan stared in horror. They were hybrids. Half human, half serpent. Scaly. Moving on snake bodies.

  But they had familiar faces. The faces of her friends. Of all those Rowan had lost.

  Mairead. Ramses. Duncan. Coral.

  And other faces too. Her family.

  Her mother. Her father. Her sister. Scaly and shrieking for her blood.

  "You left us to die!" the hybrids screamed. "You betrayed us! Die! Die!"

  The creatures pounced, claws stretching out.

  Rowan and Bay screamed and opened fire.

  Their bullets tore through the creatures. But the hybrids kept advancing, even as they bled, as the bullets ripped through them. Claws grabbed Rowan, cracked her armor, tore her skin. She fell. Bay fell beside her, shouting, swinging his rifle.

  "You left us to die, you little whore!" screamed her mother—demonic, scaly, eyes blazing red.

  Rowan thrashed, trying to free herself. Her mother slashed Rowan's cheek, ripping the skin. Her father clawed her chest, tearing off her armor, cutting her skin.