“Think about it,” Severine said. “You saw how vicious this thing can be. Ryan planned for virtually everything, but even he knew that there was always the possibility that things would work out differently than he intended. There was a chance that he wouldn’t get the people here that he wants destroyed, that it might take longer than expected, or that he was going to be able to get to them without bringing them here. And if that happened, there would be no reason for him to maintain the army that he trained specifically for this mission.”
“I thought that he was intending on weaponizing the army,” Rilex said.
“Do you honestly believe that we are the only ones?” Severine asked. She could see Rilex’s face fall and she felt the tremble inside her as her mind was flooded with thoughts that she had been fighting not to let through. “There would have been questions if Ryan had bodies to handle on Earth, so he took care of that. The Meldor didn’t need to find its own food down here because Ryan made sure that the Valdicians brought it plenty. But that wasn’t its only purpose. It’s here as a backup plan.”
“In case Ryan didn’t need any of this army any longer,” Rilex said. “He could just remove the lights and release the Meldor on them.”
Severine nodded.
“We can’t leave it here,” she said. “It deserves to be free, too.”
Chapter Eleven
Athan found himself in the oldest section of the tunnels without fully realizing where he was running. This was the section of the lair of the Order that was rarely used, but that contained some of the most precious, and most fearsome, of possessions that the organization had been holding and protecting throughout time. He avoided this area as much as he could and now he felt even more uncomfortable there. The tense energy that had filled the tunnels when he first got down into them was thicker in this area and Athan felt like he was struggling to draw the air into his lungs enough to keep him breathing steadily. At least here he couldn’t hear the whispers of the other Order members seeking him out. He still needed to find Ellora, but being in this area meant that he could escape far more easily.
He was weaving through the back tunnels, feeling his way along the darkness with his fingertips along the walls, when he heard whispers starting again. His body tensed and Athan pressed himself against the wall to protect his back. There were no lights in this area. It was that way by design with the intention that anyone who came to this area would be forced to bring along their own source of light. It was meant to create a heavier, more foreboding feeling in this area that would stand in stark contrast to the newer, more welcoming areas filled with colored light that ushered them through. The effect was boldly, intensely evident now. In the other times when he had been in this area, Athan had gone there with purpose and direction. He had been carrying light with him and was confident in what lay ahead. As he stood there in the darkness, however, he could imagine the thoughts and feelings suffered by those who were brought down to these chambers. The darkness was oppressive and even the light of a torch or a lantern would only penetrate it a few feet ahead. That made it so that all that lay ahead of someone forced down into this area of the tunnels would be the unknown, increasing the fear that they would likely already be feeling. For those who were not being brought to one of the fearsome prison cells at the end of the corridor, but rather were being escorted through this area for some other reason, the purposeful darkness would prevent them from being able to see any more of this space than their escort deemed necessary. It was a primitive, and yet highly effective, layer of secrecy and protection that the Order used to keep all that they did concealed in mystery.
Athan didn’t know which direction to move. He could either go toward the sound of the voices deeper in the tunnels or he could go back the way that he had come and risk encountering the rest of the Order again. He was starting back toward the main section of the tunnels when he heard the voices in the darkness get louder. Though he couldn’t understand the words through the muffling of the distance, the tone of each voice sounded familiar enough that he paused. The voices grew closer and he heard a voice that took the breath out of his lungs.
“I don’t understand why you can’t tell me more.”
Ellora.
He didn’t know who she was talking to, but Athan started in the direction of her voice as fast as he could move confidently through the darkness. He turned a corner and saw a flicker of light cross the corridor in front of him. There were two dark figures in the illumination and he let out a sigh of relief. Though they were moving quickly, the smaller form that he assumed was Ellora didn’t seem to be resisting. She was going along with the other one willingly, telling Athan that she hadn’t been captured. Though the very fact that she was still in the tunnels kept her in danger, it was comforting to know that she wasn’t alone. Someone was with her, which gave her a better chance of getting out of the lair alive.
Athan ran toward the light and turned the corner sharply. He heard Ellora gasp and felt a hard blow in his stomach. Grunting, he bent over the pain in his stomach and leaned against the wall beside him. He felt the warmth of the light from a torch touch his face and he looked up into it.
“Athan!” Ellora gasped.
“You know him?” a man’s voice demanded.
Athan looked beyond the glow of the flame form the torch and saw an unfamiliar face in the shadows. He wasn’t anybody that he knew and there was something about him that was very different than the rest of the Mikana in the Order. His age was impossible to determine. While he looked young, there was an ancientness in his eyes that seemed to carry the weight of endless years in them.
“Yes,” Ellora said. “This is Athan. Don’t you know him? He was Aegeus’s best friend.”
Athan felt his spine straighten defensively. The mention of Aegeus was uncomfortable in a way he couldn’t quite define.
“I’m sorry,” the man said. “Are you alright?”
“I don’t know him,” Athan said, choosing not to justify the apology as he straightened.
“This is Mhavrych,” Ellora said. “He said that he knew Aegeus.”
Athan saw her take a step away from the man, looking at him suspiciously as if she was concerned now that he had lied to her.
“I did know him,” the man said. “But very few know me.”
Suddenly what Ellora had said was the man’s name sunk into Athan’s mind. He looked at the man, scrutinizing him, trying to remember exactly when he had heard that before.
“Mhavrych,” he said.
“Yes,” the man said. “That is the name that I was given when I was younger.”
“You were on Penthos,” Athan said as realization struck him. “You were there the night that Kyven and Emerie were trapped in the quarry. You saved Nylek.”
“Yes,” Mhavrych said.
“You left before anyone was able to thank you,” Athan said. “You didn’t even stay to make sure that they were going to be found.”
“I didn’t need to be thanked,” Mhavrych said. “That wasn’t why I did it. And just because you couldn’t see me doesn’t mean that I wasn’t still there to make sure that they were alright.”
“But you…” Athan started, but then hesitated. He didn’t want to offend the man, but he needed to understand. “You’re one of the…”
“Hybrids?” Mhavrych asked. “I know.”
“I don’t understand,” Athan said.
“You don’t have to,” Mhavrych said. “Not now. What matters now is that we get out of these tunnels and back where the Order can’t access us. We need to get back to Penthos as quickly as possible.”
“How did you get here?” Athan asked. “The only ship that has traveled here since we were on Penthos is the one that we were on.”
“I have traveled back and forth far more than just then,” Mhavrych said.
“What are you doing down here?” Athan asked.
The man looked frustrated, on the brink of anger, but Athan didn’t care. He said that he knew Aegeus,
but that didn’t make any sense. Why would a man who knew Aegeus not know Athan? Why would Aegeus have anything to do with a hybrid? And why would one of the hybrids not only rescue members of their group, but also be connected to the Order in such a way that he knew how to get into the tunnels, and about this specific area of the lair? He was suspicious and defensive, and felt like he needed to protect Ellora, himself, and everyone else.
“It needs protecting,” Mhavrych said solemnly.
The words were simple and straightforward, but they held tremendous meaning. Athan felt a shock go through his heart and he took an involuntary step back. His hands were shaking and everything around came into sharp, crisp focus.
“Do you have it?” he asked.
Ellora was looking back and forth between them, her expression one of confusion, but there wasn’t time to explain. Mhavrych held up a worn, dirt-streaked sack briefly and then tucked it back to his side.
“What is it?” Ellora asked. “What are you protecting?”
Athan ignored her question. Now wasn’t the time. At some point, she would need to know everything, but for now they needed to put all of their focus on finding their way out of the tunnels and back to Creia. He hoped that when the time came for her to understand what was in that bag and its significance, that her husband would be the one who would explain it all to her.
“What do you know about these tunnels?” he asked Mhavrych.
He still didn’t understand who this man was or what he had to do with all of this, but he had to trust him. There was no other choice but to put his faith in him and hope that he wasn’t making the wrong decision.
“Everything,” the man said.
“What is the fastest way to get out of here?” Athan asked. “The Order isn’t just looking for Ellora, they’re looking for me, too.”
“We’ll have to go through the cells,” Mhavrych said. “There’s still a possibility that we’ll run into one of them, but it’s less likely, and even if we do, we’ll have a better chance of getting through only one or two than we would a larger group.”
Athan nodded despite the hesitation in his chest. The cells were nothing that he wanted to experience. When he was younger, they were rarely used, only employed in the most extenuating of circumstances, but it hadn’t remained that way. The years brought tremendous change to the Order and how it operated, change that was the cause of Aegeus’s resistance and rebellion, the motivation behind the plan that Athan knew he was making, but never knew the details. In more recent times the cells had been used far more frequently, and once people were damned to time in those cells, they were rarely, if ever, seen again. He didn’t know what they might find within the crumbling walls, but if that was the only option, they could have no hesitation.
Mhavrych lifted his torch above his head and looked to either side as if to confirm that they were still alone. He then gestured in the direction that they had been heading when he encountered them.
“That way,” he said. “Listen carefully. Follow my instructions as I say them. Don’t hesitate.”
Athan stepped ahead of Ellora, not wanting her to go first down the corridor and watched over his shoulder as Mhavrych took the place at the end of the line. They remained close together as they walked quickly further into the darkness, only the light of the torch making a small pool of illumination at his feet guiding his way. He listened carefully for Mhavrych to give instructions and followed them immediately as he did. They moved through sections of the lair that Athan had visited before and then he found himself turning into a corridor that even he hadn’t seen. The feeling was unnerving, but he kept listening to Mhavrych and letting his words guide them through a series of quick turns that had them coiling in on themselves and then back out to make a larger circle before leading into a corridor so narrow that Athan could touch the walls on either side of him simply by leaning slightly in either direction. The light from the torch touched narrow doors only as high as his waist on one side, and above his head on the other, slightly offset rather than being regularly stacked with the lower doors.
“They are meant to torment the prisoners further,” Mhavrych explained without Athan having to ask. “Some are kept in the cells beneath while others are kept in the upper cells on the other side. They know that they are there, yet they aren’t able to see each other. Guards prevent them from communicating.”
Athan felt a chill roll down his spine. This wasn’t the way of the Order. This wasn’t what they were intended to do or how they were meant to care for the precious ward placed in their protection. This was purely the product of the corruption that had grown within the Order like thick, choking vines that could infiltrate and break through even the strongest buildings over time. He tried to ignore the thick, musty smell in this area that seemed to grow stronger the further they walked through it. He kept his eyes focused on the path ahead rather than allowing himself to look through the miniscule barred windows at the tops of the doors. He didn’t want to see what was still inside any of them.
At last they reached a dead-end of the corridor and Athan stopped. Mhavrych walked up behind him and looked up. Athan followed his gaze and saw a small hatch in the ceiling above. It appeared to be made of slats of wood held together by metal straps. A metal ring in the center told Athan that this door was meant to be pulled down into the tunnel much like the ramp that led down from the wall above.
“How do we get up there?” Athan asked.
“We climb,” Mhavrych said.
Athan’s heart sunk as the other man extinguished the torch and sent them into thick blackness. He heard the sound of Mhavrych searching through the pouch that he had tied to his belt. A moment later there was a milky glow. The glow grew and when his eyes grew accustomed to it, Athan could see that Mhavrych was holding a ball of light in his hand. Though he hadn’t seen it, it occurred to him that this was not the first time that he had conjured that type of light in an emergency situation.
“That’s the light that you used to save Kyven,” he said.
Mhavrych nodded.
“Does he still have it?” he asked.
“He never showed it to me,” Athan said, “but I’m guessing that he kept it.”
“Good,” Mhavrych said.
With no further explanation, he planted one foot into the wall on one side of the corner, and then jumped up slightly so that his foot planted into the other. He tossed the ball down to Athan and used his hands to help him scale the walls until he was close enough to the ceiling to grasp the ring in the door. Athan saw him pull the door down and disappear up through the gap in the ceiling. He was gone for several seconds and then Mhavrych’s face appeared in the opening.
“Help Ellora up,” he said.
Athan rested the ball of light at his feet and helped Ellora up toward Mhavrych’s waiting hand. A few moments later she was through the gap and it was only him left.
“I’m going to toss the light up to you,” he called up.
The darkness that fell when the ball left his hand was disconcerting, but Athan mimicked the movements that he had seen Mhavrych use and was soon close enough to the ceiling that he could see the glow of the ball through the gap. He could feel the cool air from outside and filled his lungs eagerly with the freshness. Grasping the sides of the gap, he pulled himself through and rolled away. There was a low thud as Mhavrych pulled the hatch back into place, but Athan didn’t move. He lay on his back, his eyes closed as he willed his breath to normalize. When he felt in control again, he opened his eyes and saw that they weren’t out in the open as he would have expected them to be. Instead, they seemed to be surrounded by the low overhanging branches of a tremendous tree that had bent down to create a clearing beneath. This created the ideal concealment of the entrance to the lair, but Athan wanted to get out of it. After even the brief time in the tunnels, he didn’t want to feel closed in any longer.
Athan climbed to his feet and they started out from under the tree. They appeared to be deep in the forest be
hind the kingdom, further out than he had ventured, and he immediately increased his pace. He wanted to get to the kingdom as quickly as possible, knowing that he would feel safer once they were back within the walls of the kingdom with Creia and the rest of the crew.
Chapter Twelve
Rain piloted the vehicle that Athan had given them and that they had left in the orchard through the gates to the human settlement and pulled it to a stop beside the wall. She had been relieved when she found that the vehicles were waiting for them upon arrival from Penthos, knowing that they were going to be vital not just for gathering everyone and everything that they would need from Uoria, but also once they returned to the desolate planet. Having these vehicles at their disposal meant that they could move much more quickly and easily, enabling them to fight more efficiently and get people and supplies where they needed to be without having to rely on walking.
She climbed out of the vehicle and looked around at the settlement that she hadn’t seen since she and Jonah returned for their own vehicle. It had been less than a month, but it felt like so much longer. In all of the chaos that she had been experiencing, the settlement seemed quiet and calm. She could still see the remnants of the horrific battle with the Covra, including the huge wall that had been instrumental in their final battle once the Denynso came. It was strange to see it standing there. She knew that it was like everything else that had been created by Loralia – a reflection. It was only there because the lovely, but unusual woman had used her compact to reflect it and it could only linger because of the belief of those who saw it. If they questioned it or didn’t believe that it was there, it would disappear. Despite knowing this, Rain could see that the wall was still there, solid and strong in the middle of the road. She knew that it was those pinnacle moments as they stood behind the wall and engaged in their final clash with the disturbing creatures that had implanted the humans with their eggs, knowing that the birth of the next generation would destroy them. There was utter disregard for their lives, but there was nothing that they could do. The arrival of the Denynso and then the human scientists had been the only thing that saved them. If they had arrived only shortly after they did, the entire settlement would have been lost forever.
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