The Godking Conspiracy

by Cheree Alsop

  The scuff of a foot on the bricks warned my heightened senses. I spun and dropped to a knee. My fist caught the Godking in the stomach. The force of my beetle-fueled strength along with his momentum dropped him gasping to the ground.

  I shoved him with my foot, rolling him onto his back. I pinned him with a knee to his chest the way he had done to me. I hit him once, then twice, getting his attention.

  “I’m a gladiator,” I said to him. “I can kill you without spilling a drop of blood. Where is your prophecy without your blood to fuel it?”

  His face paled with fear and dismay. “You wouldn’t!”

  I put a hand to his throat and started to squeeze. His eyes bulged and he tried to struggle, but I refused to let go. This man had threatened everything Nova loved. For all we knew, Evia was already lost in his quest to add more Andenite to his pyramid of blood and wasted life. He had bribed members of Parliament to send me after my sister. If his actions before reaching immortality said anything at all, we would be in a Universe of hurt if he ever did achieve such an ambitious goal. I couldn’t let that happen. I tightened my grip.

  Chapter Twelve

  NOVA

  The ground suddenly shook so hard Nova was thrown off her feet. She would have fallen further, but Redden grabbed her arm and hauled her back. The bodies of the soldiers the Quarians had bested were jostled off their steps to join those Malivok had slain below.

  “What’s happening?” Nova asked.

  “I think it’s the pyramid!” Farlon shouted above the deafening rumble. “Look!”

  He pointed to where Kovak and his father battled. Nova didn’t know when the Godking had gotten free, but their blood colored the steps in a wash of blue and golden light.

  “I don’t think the stones know what to do with the mixed blood,” Redden said. “The pyramid’s cracking!”

  Another huge rumble threw all of them off their feet. Nova managed to grab the lip of the step where she stood and hold herself in place. Kovak wasn’t so lucky. The bloody gladiator pitched forward toward one of the giant cracks that opened along the side of the pyramid. Massive billows of steam rushed out. Kovak caught himself before falling headlong into the hole.

  “I’m done with you!” the Godking shouted. “You’ve ruined everything!”

  “I’m just finishing what you started,” Kovak replied.

  The Godking bull rushed the gladiator and tried to shove him from his precarious foothold. Kovak fell and took his father with him.

  Nova’s heart skipped a beat. She ran forward, terrified she would see Kovak’s lifeless body deep inside the pyramid. Instead, she spotted both of the Smirens fighting to work their way out of the massive crack.

  The tattoos on both of their arms glowed faintly, their beetles almost used up. Kovak wedged his foot into a crevice at the top and eased himself over. He was nearly to the step when a hand closed around his ankle. Nova’s hand flew to her mouth at the sight of the Godking’s wild, wide eyes and snarling, bleeding grin.

  “You aren’t going anywhere without me, Son! I will reach my immortality!” He used Kovak to climb up to the step and then to his feet. “You’ve outlived your usefulness,” he said, leering down at the gladiator who was struggling to hold on with the rocks quaking around him. The Godking brought his foot down to crush Kovak’s hand.

  At the last moment, the gladiator grabbed the Godking’s ankle and jerked backwards, throwing his father onto his back hard. The Godking hit his head on one of the steps on his way down. Nova heard the sound through the rumbling chaos around her. Before the Godking could get back up, Kovak scrambled the rest of the way onto the step. His tattoos faded, the strength of the skull beetle used up.

  “There is no place in this Universe for your kind of greed, Father!” Kovak shouted. The gladiator bent and picked up a massive chunk of the step that had broken free. “You’re finished!” he growled.

  Nova was sure she was about to see the Godking’s skull be crushed. Part of her begged for Kovak not to spill any more of the Godking’s blood out of fear that it truly would ignite the Andenite, but the other part wanted the man dead and gone, the threat he posed erased from the ‘Verse.

  Kovak raised the rock above his head as if to throw it down with all his might, but before he could let go, he staggered backwards. His eyes widened. A trickle of red ran down his bare chest. Another one appeared.

  Confusion and fear surged through Nova.

  Kovak’s eyes met Nova’s, then shifted behind her. Nova followed his gaze and spotted one of the Blavarian soldiers on the lift with a gun pointed at the gladiator. Farlon tackled the soldier, but the damage was already done.

  Time felt as if it slowed when Nova turned again to Kovak. The rock fell from the gladiator’s hands. He took one faltering step backward and then another.

  “Kove!” she shouted. She ran down the steps, but she couldn’t move fast enough.

  The Godking surged to his feet and lunged forward. Nova thought he would save his son; instead, the Godking’s momentum took them both over the edge of the crack.

  Nova’s legs threatened to give out. She stared at the space where Kovak had been, her mind reeling.

  “No!” Lord Briofe screamed. “It can’t be!”

  “Kove!” Redden shouted as he ran past Nova.

  The sight of the Quarian spurred Nova forward. She dropped to her knees where Kovak had fallen and peered desperately into the deep crack through the pyramid’s core, but the billowing mist obscured her vision.

  Had Kovak just saved her star system and possibly the Universe only to die in the pyramid at the hands of his father? Tears filled Nova’s eyes. She kept seeing Kovak’s face when he was shot. His dark eyes had been filled with such pain and regret. Oh, how it shattered her heart! She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think. She should have been faster. She shouldn’t have taken her eyes off the lift. Now, the man she loved was dead.

  The tears broke free and rolled down her cheeks.

  “You must have a hundred lives,” Redden said.

  “At least one.”

  The sound of Kovak’s voice poured over Nova like a bucket of warm water. She turned to see the Quarian helping the gladiator from the mist a few steps down. They both paused at her expression.

  “But-but you fell,” she said, trying to make sense of everything. Relief and denial warred inside of her. She barely dared to hope that it was really him. Her mind couldn’t grasp it. “I saw you fall!”

  She rose shakily to her feet.

  “I’m here,” he reassured her in a voice that was weaker than normal.

  “But how?” she asked.

  She couldn’t stop touching him, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips. The blood from the bullet holes dripped down his chest. She could hear how hard he was struggling to breathe, but still he kept his feet.

  “How?” she asked again. She knew she was repeating herself, but she couldn’t stop trembling. None of it made sense.

  Kovak shook his head. “When my father took me over the edge, the thought that I couldn’t leave you kept circling over and over in my mind.” He gave a small smile. “I managed to grab a handhold and held on for dear life. Luckily, I snagged this during our fight.” He lifted the pouch he held. “I’ve never had skull beetles so powerful. My dad must have found a fresh source. It was enough to allow me to climb back up.”

  The pyramid gave such a strong shudder they were hard-pressed to keep their footing.

  “And the Godking?” Nova asked.

  Redden shook his head. “There’s no way he survived that fall.”

  The pyramid shook beneath them again.

  “It’s happening,” Farlon called from above. “The entire pyramid is igniting. We’ve got to get out of here!”

  “But if it explodes, the star system will be lost along with everyone in it, and the star systems beyond if Junquit’s numbers are right,” Nova said. “We’ve got to stop it!”

  “There’s no way,” Redden tol
d her. “Come on. We don’t have a lot of time to get clear. We need to hurry!”

  Nova took a step after the Quarian.

  “I’m staying.”

  She and Redden paused at Kovak’s words. Farlon stared at all of them from a few steps higher.

  “What are you talking about?” Redden demanded. “That’s madness!”

  Kovak shook his head. He stumbled slightly. Nova grabbed his arm before he could fall. He put a hand to the bullet holes in his chest. “My dad started this. I’m going to do what I can to give you time. It might not be much, but it could help you get as many people as you can out before the star system is compromised.” He paused, drawing in a ragged breath before he said, “Jump as soon as you clear the atmosphere.”

  “We’re not leaving you,” Farlon said, crossing his arms.

  Kovak held the Quarian’s gaze. “I know it’s madness, but it may give you time to save lives. Remember what happened during the Wars? We sacrificed almost our entire battalion. We knew what was coming, and did we run away?”

  Farlon’s eyes lowered. “No.”

  “No,” Kovak repeated. “And everyone in the Accords is alive because of us.”

  The pyramid shook harder.

  “Get out of here and take as many as you can with you,” Kovak said above the din. His gaze hardened. “That’s an order.”

  Farlon’s face paled, but he nodded. “Yes, Captain.”

  Redden followed his brother to the lift.

  Kovak turned to Nova. “You, too,” he said, his voice gentler.

  “I’m staying.” Nova didn’t know how she was able to keep her voice from shaking with the jolts of the pyramid, but she was glad she did.

  Kovak stared at her. “Nova, you’ve got to go! This whole planet is going to blow.”

  “With you on it,” she replied. “I’m staying.”

  Kovak was already shaking his head.

  She put a hand on his arm. “Kove, I know exactly what I’m doing.” Her voice softened and she said, “If you die, I die. We’re two drifters, remember? I won’t let you drift alone.”

  He blinked and she saw the tears in his eyes. “Nova.”

  “I know,” she replied.

  “Nova, come on!” Redden shouted down.

  Nova waved her arm. “Go on without me. That’s another order!”

  Both Quarians looked down at her with indecision clear on their faces.

  “Go!” Nova said.

  “I sure am tired of orders,” she heard Redden grumble to Farlon.

  “This may be your last one if we don’t hurry,” Farlon replied.

  “They’re tempting fate to stay.”

  “Who knows what goes through the minds of lovers in the face of certain death?” Farlon replied. “It’s not your place to argue.”

  The pair disappeared down the lift.

  Nova turned her gaze back to Kovak.

  “You sure about this?” he asked. His dark eyes roiled with pain and concern.

  “I’m sure,” she replied. “I’m not leaving your side.”

  The pyramid gave an ear-shattering rumble as several more cracks ran up its sides.

  “Do what you can,” Nova said. “I’ll be right here.”

  Kovak gave her one last searching look. “You own my heart,” he told her.

  Nova’s breath caught. “And you, mine,” she replied.

  He took a calming breath and then dumped the contents of the pouch into his hand.

  “What happens if you take more than one skull beetle at a time?” Nova asked.

  Kovak gave her a wry smile. “I guess we’ll find out.”

  He put them in his mouth and chewed. He swallowed and then his eyes widened. He cursed softly at whatever he felt. She had no idea if that was a good sign or bad. His head hung and his chest heaved as if he fought an internal battle.

  Without looking at her, Kovak lowered to his knees and placed his palms flat on the stones. The Andenite upon which they stood glowed in small splatters as drop of blood fell from Kovak’s chest.

  Silence settled around them in which Nova heard her heartbeat thundering in her chest. She had chosen to stay at Kovak’s side and face death. The fact made her tremble, but she refused to leave the man she loved even though it was lunacy to stand there instead of fleeing with the others.

  But she believed in him.

  Nothing happened at first, then Kovak whispered a word. The tattoos around his arms glowed brightly. He grunted and his eyes closed tighter. A hiss escaped his lips. His hands flattened completely and bright yellow light flooded from his fingers through the stones.

  Nova shielded her eyes as the light intensified. She saw ships lift off in the distance and prayed they made it to safety. Kovak’s arms shook. He looked as if he was fighting to keep his hands on the pyramid. As soon as his palms lifted the slightest bit, the entire pyramid shook so hard it nearly threw Nova from where she stood.

  She knelt in front of Kovak and placed her hands on top of his. His trembling slowed.

  “Nova, you should go,” he said in a whisper. “I can’t hold it much longer.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she replied. “Whatever happens, we’re in this together.”

  Kovak lifted his head. His stormy gaze bored deeply into hers as if he could read her thoughts and see her dreams. She wished she could share so much more with him. If they truly were about to meet their end, her regret was that they had only known each other for such a short time. How had so much happened since she found Kovak on Roan Seven?

  Nova closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. She felt tears run down her cheeks as he kissed her back gently at first and then fervently. She heard his breath wheezing through his lungs and knew he was losing his battle.

  He was dying along with the planet. If only there was a way to save them both.

  The answer struck her so hard she jerked back and Kovak’s eyes flew open. The pain in his gaze hurt her more than she could say. The rakish glimmer that had always caused her heart to skip a beat was fading. She was losing him.

  “Heal yourself and heal the planet the same way,” she said.

  Kovak blinked, his expression bleary with confusion. “What are you talking about?” he rasped weakly.

  Nova crawled closer and put her hands on his cheeks, willing him to look at her.

  “Kove, you healed Redden when he died, remember? Heal yourself like that and put the same force into the planet instead of strength.” Desperation filled her voice as she tried to make him understand. “The planet doesn’t need strength.”

  “It needs to be healed,” he whispered with understanding dawning in his gaze.

  She watched him closely, worried about the pallor of his face and the obvious strength it took to even speak. “Can you do it?” she asked softly.

  He closed his eyes as if searching for something inside of himself. When he opened them again, the determination in them filled her with hope. “I’ll do what I can.”

  He turned his attention back to the pyramid. His expression became one of intense concentration. Sweat rolled off of his bare shoulders to mix with the blood beneath him. He stared at the bricks as if he could see through them to the heart of the planet.

  “Entun.”

  The word left his lips in a whisper, but Nova felt the strength of it just the same.

  The fire tattoos on the Smiren’s forearms faded and instead the ancestral tattoos across his chest flared. Kovak gave a grunt of pain and shut his eyes tight as blue light exploded from beneath his fingers and rushed through the bricks of the pyramid. His arms shuddered, but she no longer had to hold his hands down. It was as if the pyramid itself was holding onto him.

  Bright blue light glowed beneath them with such brilliance Nova could barely look. The bricks shook, but it felt different this time. Instead of massive, rolling waves that threatened to throw them off the stones, the ground trembled in time to Kovak’s breaths. His chest heaved. With each breath, the pyramid moved up and down
in a steady roil.

  Nova looked down at the land beyond the pyramid and saw that it, too, was rolling. Her gaze moved from the strange, looping trees to the edge of the pyramid. A chill of amazement ran through her at the sight of the massive cracks pulling together.

  “It’s working!”

  She realized she had said the words aloud when Kovak’s eyes opened. Blue light shone around his dark irises, ringing them in the same glow as the pyramid. Matching blue light emanated from the bullet wounds in his chest.

  “Kove?” she said.

  “I feel it taking me away,” he replied. His voice sounded strange to her ears, faint and echoey even though she was right in front of him.

  Nova’s thoughts swept back to the Room of Prophecy Lord Briofe had shown her. The blue light had flowed through the pyramid and into the man on top, but here, the light flowed from Kovak into the pyramid and to what she could only imagine was the planet’s core. He was repairing the cracks, yes, but what would happen when the skull beetles were used up?

  “Kove, you have to let it go.”

  “I-I can’t,” he said.

  “You have to,” she told him. “The planet will take everything you have.”

  He looked down at the brick beneath his hands. His eyebrows pulled together, forming a furrow between them. He gritted his teeth and pulled backwards, but his hands didn’t move. Nova put her hands on his and pulled, but they didn’t budge.

  “They’re fused to the pyramid,” she realized with horror.

  “You’ve got to go,” Kovak said. “If it takes me, I don’t want you to be here to see it.”

  Nova’s eyes burned with tears she refused to let fall. “I’ll be here at your side no matter what happens.”

  A shudder ran through Kovak’s skin. When he spoke again, blue light shone from his mouth. “Two drifters?”

  “Always,” she replied.

  She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck. She felt him tip his head toward her as if trying to offer what comfort he could. The thought that he was more concerned about her than the life that was being drained from him made her tears break free.