Nearing the others, Andrew pulled off the mask. His head floated in the air. “Where’s Tran?” he asked Tech. He peeled the invisibility suit off him and stuffed it into his belt pouch.
Tech shrugged and pointed upwards. “I’m more worried about that. It’s going for the Stone of Power.”
Above them, the arms of the tentacle monster dangled down, reaching for the box with the Stone of Power resting inside of it. Andrew dropped the remote on the ground and, with two heavy stomps, shattered it. Above him, the crystalline mass recoiled as if in pain.
“Buy us some time!” Tech shouted at Godlin. “Open a rift in the ground or something.”
“There are consequences for those actions.”
“Don’t bring the building down, just do something.”
Godlin closed his eyes. A loud groan came from the ground as it moved, the epicenter of the earthquake radiating outwards from him.
Andrew and Tech lost their equilibrium for a moment, teetering side to side, but Godlin did not. The guards, being farther away, lost their balance next and fell. They stopped firing at the Keepers for a brief second while they picked themselves up off the ground.
Tech took the opportunity to dart out from behind the crane. He grabbed the box with the Quester Stone and quickly crawled backwards toward the protection of the crane.
“Call Mouse!” Tech shouted toward Godlin.
Reaching up, Godlin touched his ear. “Mouse,” he said. “On my signal, get us out of here.”
“Mouse,” Godlin stressed the word. “Just do it and get Tran too.”
Godlin called out to Tech. “He’s already got Christine and Tran. On your word.”
Relief overwhelmed Andrew, his worst fears melting away, but the rest of them still had to escape.
Tech opened the box, reached in, and grabbed the Stone. He gritted his teeth in pain and then threw the Stone at the crystal mass.
Godlin watched as the Stone sailed through the air, his mouth hanging open and his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Venom cursed, his neck tightening. “Withdraw,” he barked, keeping his shoulders stiff as he walked toward the warehouse door. He pointed at three guards and said something to them Andrew could not hear.
The colored mass caught the Quester Stone and swallowed it. It stopped its descent toward the Keepers.
Godlin said to Tech, “Why’d you give that damned thing the Stone?”
Tech grinned. “Quester Stone of Power, remember? Two watch hours says it blows up.”
A wicked grin formed on Godlin’s lips. “Implode and you’re on.”
“Is this really a good time for betting?” Andrew yelled as he shifted backwards, looking up at the mass. It was enough to expose his body to the guards. He toppled over as a bullet slammed into his chest.
Godlin grabbed him and dragged him out of the line of fire.
It felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He took a breath and wheezed, “Hurts.”
“You’re fine,” Godlin said, patting him roughly on the back.
Andrew grasped at his chest. Digging through his shirt, he found the bullet embedded in his body armor and pulled it out. He could feel the bruise forming under his shirt. Careful not to expose himself again, he was thankful for the body armor or that shot would have killed him.
Several more shots pinged against the steel crane. One of them whizzed past Tech’s ear. “Work,” he muttered. He raised his guns again and fired several shots at the nearest guard until he fell to the ground.
Godlin glanced around the edge of the crane, and the guards shot at him. He ducked just in time to avoid taking a direct hit, but one grazed past his face and left a gash across it.
“Venom left with most of the guards,” Godlin said to Tech. He reached up and wiped away the blood on his face, the wound already starting to close. Touching his ear, he snapped, “We’re good. Just one more minute.”
Andrew glanced at the guards. There were three left. “Wait, what about them? We can’t just leave them to get killed.”
“Oh, yes we can,” Tech said. He held off the guards, forcing them to keep low. They were trying to maneuver into better shooting positions.
The mass had tripled in size since it ate the Stone. It twitched in a sort of unnatural way.
“But this isn’t their fault, Venom made—” Andrew started.
“Ouch!” Tech yelped as a guard shot him in the leg, the bullet digging deep into his flesh. He returned fire, dropping the woman that had shot him. Then he ducked down behind the safety of the crane, gripping the injury and stemming the flow of blood. He glared at Andrew. “They are not being controlled. If Venom wants a war, then it means people are going to get killed by his actions. He left them here to die.”
“They are Questers,” Godlin said.
Tech growled and then raised his voice. “Leave here, now!” This caused the guards to hesitate for a few seconds, but they started shooting again.
Godlin growled and then closed his eyes.
Andrew noticed the area seemed brighter all of a sudden. He looked upwards. The crystal mass was collapsing in on itself. “Uh, guys.”
Peering upwards, Tech said to Godlin, “Do it, fast.”
Godlin released another earthquake like before, but the shaking intensified. The cement floor buckled and folded upwards with a cracking sound. The beams twisted as the building groaned and creaked, but it did not fall. The bitter smell of old dust and rock filled the air.
Like before, everyone lost his or her balance except for Godlin. The guards scrambled to their feet and ran, having lost their will to fight.
The creature above them was like a small glowing ball of white light. It hurt Andrew’s eyes to stare at it for too long. “Uh, I think it’s imploding.”
The Quester Stone fell out of the mass, pinging sharply as it hit the ground below. It bounced high, spinning like a top, and fell again. It bounced several more times before the Stone tumbled to a stop.
“I don’t think that’s all it’s going to do,” Tech said. “Andrew,” he pointed to himself. Then he handed the empty box to Godlin. “Stone.”
Godlin inclined his head, taking the box.
The ball of light flickered on and off, like a strobe light gone haywire. Andrew moved closer to Tech, guessing at what he had in mind.
Resting his hand on Andrew’s shoulder, Tech muttered, “This is going to be close.”
“Mouse. Now!” Tech yelled as he touched his ear.
Godlin ran out from behind the crane. He scooped up the Stone into the box. However, one of the guards ran from the door and fired a shot at him. Taking a bullet in the back, Godlin stumbled and fell to the ground. He kept hold of the box, not letting it slip out of his grasp.
Nothing happened for several agonizing seconds. The ball above them exploded, sending flames out in all directions. Andrew squeezed his eyes shut and hoped for a swift death.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tech, Godlin, and Andrew appeared in the teleportation room with a pop. Godlin lay on the ground, the box clutched in his hands. Tech leaned over, breathing hard as drops of sweat rolled down his face. Tran held Christine, who lay on the ground, unconscious.
Pressing his fingers into his chest, Andrew checked to make sure he was still alive. He grinned to himself as he lifted his hands in a small victory.
Walker and Mouse stood nearby, waiting. Walker made her way over to Godlin and helped him to his feet, which he accepted with a smile.
Handing her the box, Godlin gave Tech a glance, one corner of his lips turned upwards.
Tech grinned in return. He was favoring one leg, his slacks wet with blood, but the flow had abated.
Mouse went over to Tech. “You all right? You’re bleeding all over.”
Tech took his sunglasses off and wiped them clean, though his hands shook. “I’ll be fine. That was a little close for comfort. Thank you.”
Mouse nodded. “No prob, that’s my job.”
Tech
forced a laugh, putting his glasses back on. “Yes it is. Where’s Raptor?”
“She’s on her way.”
A low groan came from Christine as she woke up. “Where am I? What happened?”
“Venom kidnapped you,” Tech answered.
“That was Venom?” Christine stood up with help from Mouse.
“Yep,” Mouse said in a high-pitched tone. “I’m just glad all of you are back safe.” A smile pulled on the corner of his lips as he looked around like a proud parent.
Andrew went to Christine and took her by the hands. “Christine! Oh, I was so worried about you. Are you okay?”
Christine threw her arms around him, drawing him in close. “I’m okay, I promise.”
The bruise on his chest burned sharply as her body pressed into it. “Ouch!”
“What happened?” Christine leaned away from him.
“Got shot, but luckily I had body armor.” Andrew found himself grinning at the fact. It would probably sting for a few more days, but he had lived.
“Oh! Sorry! I’ll be careful.” Stepping back from him, Christine pulled out a three-fingered hand from her pocket. “Look what I stole.”
Tech said in a dull tone to Christine, “Great job. Next time, let the professionals handle it. We thought we had lost you there for a while.”
Christine gave him a death glare.
Holding out his hands, Tech said, “Hey, sorry, but those Stones are dangerous. You could have gotten hurt or lost the Stone.”
Tran shot him a pointed look from across the room. Tech rubbed the back of his neck, saying in a softer tone, “Sorry, just worked up. Venom didn’t hurt you or anything, did he?”
“No. Would he have?”
“I don’t know,” Tech replied.
Tran gave a soft, “Eep!” causing everyone to turn.
Standing in the doorway, with her arms folded behind her back and her eyes narrowed, was Raptor. “Well, at least you didn’t get yourselves killed. Mouse told me about the last minute transport and knowing you,” she said directly to Tech, “that means something exploded.”
“Why do you always assume it’s my fault?”
“What did you blow up?”
“The crystal mass,” Tech replied with a sigh.
“Good.”
“I think we were late stopping it, though,” Godlin said. “Venom wasn’t using it to kill powerful Questers; he was recruiting them. We ran into several strong Questers at his headquarters.”
A hum of agreement came from Tech. “Good news is it seems they are new to a fight. They lacked experience.”
“Lacking, for now,” Raptor said.
“He also has androids it seems,” Godlin added.
“And enough food to feed an army,” Tech said.
Listening with a frown, Raptor said, “We’ll have to talk later.” She turned to Christine. “And welcome back.”
Christine managed a weak smile. “Thanks.”
Raptor turned her attention to Andrew. Her eyes stopped on the empty gun holster. “Tech … you gave him a gun?”
“Uh, look. It was just for self-defense,” Tech stammered under her scrutinizing gaze.
Godlin grunted as his eyes drifted over to Andrew. “And he used it.”
Raptor’s eyes became thin lines.
“Just on Venom! Besides, I missed.” Andrew shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Fumbling with the belt, he removed the gun holder from around his waist and passed it over to Tech. He turned to Godlin. “Sorry about that.”
“He meant well, Raptor,” Godlin said. The way he said it made Andrew think Godlin had forgiven him. At least, Andrew hoped he had.
“You can defend your actions later. Right now, we have another matter to deal with.”
Christine spoke up. “Here.” She handed the Stone of Fear to Walker.
“You did well, thank you,” Walker said, accepting the Stone.
“Did you find the sixth Stone?” Andrew asked.
Rubbing her chin, Raptor said, “It was a dead end.”
“Right—” Walker started to say, but the Stone inside the box shimmered a vibrant yellow. It floated upwards, taking the box with it. “Oh!”
The Stone of Power flew toward the door.
Christine yelped in surprise.
Leaping forward, Raptor intercepted the box before it got to the door, grabbing it with both hands. The Quester Stone started to glow brighter in response.
Raptor gave the box a violent shake, bouncing the Stone around inside it. “Stop that.”
The Stone started flickering at a rapid pace.
Turning the box over in her hands, Raptor studied it carefully. “Someone figured out how to contain you.”
“Er, why’s it glowing?” Christine asked.
“It’s awake.” Spinning around to face Tech, Raptor asked, “What did you do?”
“Why is it automatically my fault again?” Tech moaned. Raptor glared at him, and he let out a harsh breath, fluttering his lips. “I threw it into the crystalline mass. That’s how we destroyed it.”
“Awake? It just woke up now?” Andrew asked.
“No, it’s always been awake, but this Stone is unique. The more energy it gains, the more sentient it becomes. It was starving in Tenebris,” Walker replied.
The Stone flashed brighter.
Raptor glared at the Stone. “Stop it or I will bury you under the ice of this moon. At least you had the occasional Whisperer to consume.”
The pulsing slowed. Andrew eyed the box, wondering if it would really protect them from the Stone. “How intelligent is it right now?”
“Approximately that of a five or six year old,” Walker said. “It has a long ways to go before I would consider it dangerous.”
“That’s good, I think.” Christine watched, but she shielded her eyes from the Stone’s bursts of light.
“It’s good, but we’re about to feed it again.” To the box, Raptor said, “Behave or you get nothing. Help us, and you will have an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of dimensional energy.”
The Stone pulsed a few more times, but then stopped glowing and dropped to the bottom of the box.
Bracing herself, Raptor opened the box and reached in. Andrew held his breath, expecting the worst. Nothing happened when she grabbed the Stone. She chuckled to herself in relief. “That’s a lot better. Let’s get this done.” She tucked the empty box under her arm as she started out the door. The other Keepers followed her.
Andrew paused, letting everyone file out past him. “Uh, can we have a sec, you know, alone?” he said to Raptor as he motioned to Christine.
Raptor shrugged. “Whatever, you know where the exit is.”
After everyone left, Andrew turned to Christine. “I just wanted to say, that, er, I had a nice time at the fair, and all. You know, before this happened.” He shifted his feet around, feeling as if he could crawl out of his own skin.
Christine set a hand on the side of her face. “I can’t wait to get home. You’ve no idea where I’ve been.”
“Your own adventure?”
“More like nightmare, literally.”
Andrew frowned. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Just a little shaken up, that’s all.” Crossing an arm over her chest, she rubbed her shoulder.
Andrew gave an awkward laugh and Christine smiled at him in return.
“I know you’re staying,” Christine said, dropping her hand to her side. “And I think you’re right. You belong here.”
The way she stood, hunched over, it nearly broke Andrew’s heart. He stepped in and gave her a hug. “You’ve been a good friend, more than a friend. I’m going to miss you.”
Christine returned the hug, being careful of the bruise on his chest this time. “I’ll miss you too, but is this what you want?”
It was, but he felt scared of hurting her more. “Yeah,” he muttered, averting his eyes.
“Then who am I to argue?”
Andrew blushed and let go of C
hristine. “Well, I … er. …”
“Just say thanks.” Christine said, offering him an easy out.
“Thanks.”
Christine took his hand in hers, and they walked out of the room. The Keepers stood in the hallway in front of the conference room, discussing tactics. Tech explained something to Raptor, using his hands to emphasize his words. Tran would nod to anything he said. Godlin and Walker leaned in close together, speaking in low, hushed tones. Behind Raptor stood Mouse, his finger on his ear, talking to someone.
Raptor watched Andrew and Christine as they approached. To Walker, she said, “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Walker moved into the conference room ahead of everyone.
Turning to Mouse, Raptor said, “Monitor those dimensions. If even one of them starts to look like it’s going to cause trouble, you shut us down.”
“Right away.” Mouse ran to the computer room.
“Godlin, Tech, come stand guard. Something might decide to come through,” Raptor said.
“You mean again,” Tran said.
Raptor smirked. “Tran, go help Mouse.”
“You bet!” Tran left in a hurry, headed in the same direction as Mouse.
Everyone else followed Raptor as she headed into the conference room.
As he entered, Andrew noticed Dynamos and Aerion standing near the door, not too far from the table. Tech and Godlin joined them. Walker stood next to the table, her hands resting on the box with all the Stones. Raptor headed toward her.
Setting the plastic box with the Stone of Power on the table, Raptor asked, “Walker?”
Walker opened each box and set the Stones on the table—the Stone of Fire, Arachnid’s Stone of Fear, the pyramid-shaped Stone of Daring, the Stones of Ice and Future from Chile, the Stone of Life from the tree, and finally, the Stone of Malice from the Arctic.
Intent on helping, Christine and Andrew walked up, but Walker stopped them. “Not any closer, please.” They hung back, closer to the other Keepers.
“That’s just seven,” Andrew said.
“Eight.” Raptor pulled out a thin necklace hidden under her shirt. A tarnished gold key hung on the end of it. She unclasped the necklace and removed the key. A thoughtful expression came over her as she stood, staring at it.
Stone of Power (Keepers of Earth Book 1) Page 31