by M. R. Forbes
“Frag,” Abbey said. “Gant, can you contact Delta?”
“As soon as I can get back to the comm,” Gant replied. “Give me a second.”
“Get them down here. Call in Rezel’s ships, too. We need transport off this fragging planet.”
“Roger.”
Keeper had tried to warn her. He said not to bring the Asura to the surface. He told her not to let them off the Covenant where they were at least contained.
Damn herself for not listening.
She made it out the door and into the corridor, just in time to see an Asura appear directly in front of one of Rezel’s Venerants. The Gift flared from the Nephilim, flames reaching out and engulfing the soldier. It disappeared, leaving the corridor empty for a moment, reappearing beside the Venerant and stabbing her in the side. She cried out, trying to shove the Asura away. It vanished again, reappearing on the other side and running its blade through the Venerant’s neck.
Abbey threw her hand out, the naniates at the ends of her fingers breaking away and launching toward the soldier, four bullets that pierced it before it could react. The spears went through the Legionnaire before breaking apart into a million separate machines and streaming back to their home.
She made it to the Venerant, who was already dead. She leaned down, finding a dagger and a gun beneath his cloak. She took both, making her way to the tube that could bring her down to the others.
“Queenie,” Gant said. “I’ve got Delta Squadron inbound.”
“Roger,” Abbey replied. “What about our transport?”
“We may have a problem.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Sorry, Queenie. It seems Aqul has noticed the Covenant didn’t come back.”
“That little piece of shit. If he leaves with my ships, he’s as good as dead.”
“He hasn’t left yet, and Imp said he’s still got transports moving personnel, but if he notices the fighting on the ground he might change his mind.”
“Damn it. Get Imp to buzz the tower as low and slow as he can manage. Have the rest of Delta tracking the Asura. As far as I know, only one of them can fly up to attack them.”
“A big one.”
“Oh, and tell them not to hurt Dog if they can help it. He’s not malicious; he’s just chasing the Darkstone.”
“I’ll remind you of that if he eats us.”
“Just do it.”
“Aye, Queenie.”
Abbey reached the tube. The shaft was clear, the carriage near the bottom. She grabbed the closed doors, forcing them open despite the complaints of the safety system. A new set of claws sprouted on her hand, and a fresh set sprang from her feet. She jumped into the shaft, sharp edges digging into the transparency and holding her in place as she started to climb.
“Queenie, this is Imp, do you copy?”
Bastion’s voice entered her mind. If he was able to reach her on the short-range comm, it meant he and the rest of Delta were inside the planet’s atmosphere.
“Roger, Imp. I hear you. What’s your position?”
“We’re closing in on the city. What the frag is going on down here?”
“I’ll tell you later. Get your ass to the tower. Pull around it as best you can, I’m on my way.”
“On your way? What do you mean on your way? I’m in a starfighter, not a hovercraft.”
“I’m aware of that, thank you. Pudding.”
“Aye, Queenie?”
“You’re in charge of Delta. If you see any Asura that aren’t dragons, kill them.”
“We’ll do our best, Queenie. Our munitions are loaded for starship combat, not ground support.”
“Understood. Okay.”
“Aye, Queenie?” Pik said.
“What’s your status?”
“Fragging bugs,” Pik replied. “If you remember, I was in favor of killing these things back on the Covenant.”
“Duly noted,” Abbey replied. “But we wouldn’t have taken Jamul without them.”
“And now we’re going to lose Jamul because of them.”
“We got what we came for. I wasn’t going to bring them off the planet with me, anyway.”
“You were going to leave them here to kill everybody?”
“Of course not. I was going to take everybody with us.”
“I don’t know if there’s going to be anybody left to take. We lost fifty Freejects already.”
Abbey winced at the number. She had to hurry.
“Queenie,” Benhil said. “Requesting backup. Uriel, Cherub, and I are getting pinned down.”
“What’s your position?” Abbey asked.
“A warehouse or something, due east of the main tower. We’ve got a squad of Rezel’s former slaves with us. They were showing us where to pick up supplies. I’m marking it on my TCU.”
“Roger. Delta, can you find the warehouse?”
“I have it, Queenie,” Ruby said.
“Gant, are you still at the array?”
“Aye, Queenie.”
“The others are in trouble, and could use your ninja skills.”
“Roger. I’m on it. Three of Rezel’s ships are inbound to extract us.”
“Cancel that order and then go.”
“What did you say?”
“I said cancel the transports. We can’t risk that the Asura will get on board and hitch a ride off the planet.”
“Uh, Queenie, if the transports don’t come, how are we going to get off the planet?”
Abbey stopped climbing. “I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet. I’m open to suggestions.”
Gant chittered nervously. “And I thought things were starting to go our way.”
“Silly squirrel-man,” Abbey replied.
She resumed her ascent, hand over hand up the side of the tube toward the top. They needed to stop the Asura attack. She also needed to prevent Aqul from leaving. How were they supposed to do both?
She made it to the top of the tube, climbing out and running to a window at the end of the corridor. She could see the east side of the city far below, and the Apocalypse fighters sweeping past, firing down on the streets. Smoke was rising from different areas where the Asura were doing their best to kill everyone that wasn’t Asura.
“Rejects, hang in there,” she said. “I have an idea.”
6
Abbey put her hand to the window, using the Gift to push against it and wrenching it from its frame. It exploded outward before tumbling to the ground below, though she didn’t wait to see it hit bottom. She climbed out and scaled the outer wall, quickly reaching the rooftop.
“Imp, I’m in position. Come and get me, will you?”
“Come and get you? In a starfighter?”
“Don’t argue, just get close.”
“Roger. Don’t hurt me, okay, Queenie?”
“No promises.”
She scanned the horizon, finding one of the Apocalypse fighters breaking away from the others. It streaked toward the tower, closing in a hurry, slowing slightly as it neared. She could see Bastion in the cockpit; his eyes squinted in concentration as he attempted to get as close to the building as he could.
She ran to the edge, pausing there and waving to him. He adjusted course, slipping the fighter to the left, so close that for a moment she thought the short wing might clip the structure.
She watched him intently, the Gift flowing outward from her as she prepared to jump.
“Ah, Queenie, shit,” Bastion said, the fighter cutting to the left at the last instant. “Watch your six.”
She didn’t hear the last sentence. Something came at her from behind on a blast of torrid air. She spun around just in time to get a look at the underside of Dog’s immense body before a talon reached out and grabbed her.
She cursed in pain as the large foot squeezed around her, threatening to crush her in the powerful grip. Dog swept over the tower, angling downward, wings spread in a glide. It roared loudly, rolling sideways and turning to the landscape beyond the city.
&n
bsp; “Dog,” Abbey said. “Damn it not now.”
She couldn’t move her arms to try to communicate with the dragon. She could barely even breathe.
She did hear the roar of thrusters, and she watched as Bastion flashed by in the fighter, cutting back to slot in behind the creature.
“Imp, don’t shoot him,” Abbey said.
“He’s going to eat you,” Bastion replied.
“If he were going to eat me he would have already.”
“Whatever he’s doing, he’s interrupting your plan.”
“Yeah.”
“Do we have time for this?”
“Not really. Standby.”
She wriggled in Dog’s grip. It only tightened, cutting her breath off even more.
“Frag it,” she shouted. “Dog, let me go.”
The dragon ignored her, dropping toward a nearby line of Nephilim, who were eagerly trying to escape him. Flames blasted from his mouth, washing over them, leaving them a smoking mess of charred flesh as he touched down, walking on three feet, using his wings for balance.
He let Abbey go then, throwing her forward so that she rolled to a stop in front of him.
“Dog,” she said, getting to her feet. Smoke was pouring out of his nostrils, his mouth snapping open and closed. She didn’t get a good feeling about the posture. “Don’t even think about-”
The head snapped toward her, jaws moving almost too quickly for her to avoid. Apparently, the discovery of the Darkstone meant her usefulness had changed. Would her naniate-spiked blood fuel the dragon better than normal meat? It was the only thing that made sense.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, pushing with the Gift to leap aside as the head darted toward her again.
She had only just landed when a wing slammed into her, knocking her aside and taking her breath away. She barely got up before the head snapped down, bouncing backward and putting a little space between them.
“Queenie, I’ve got a lock,” Bastion said, his fighter dropping toward them.
“No,” she said. “I’ve got this.”
She jumped aside as Dog tried to bite her again, throwing the Gift forward with her fist. It hit the dragon hard on the side of the head, knocking it violently to the side. The blow only made him angry, and he growled and reached for her with a foot.
She caught the foot in both hands, the Gift pouring from her, helping her to hold the talons at bay.
“Seriously, Queenie,” Bastion said. “I can end this right now.”
“No,” Abbey replied. “It’s not his fault. He’s an animal.”
Not like the Legionnaires. They had deliberately turned on her, and she had no problem killing them.
She shoved the foot to the side, rolling away as it came down hard on the ground, digging into the earth. She jumped up, grabbing the side of his wing and twisting, throwing herself toward his neck with the Gift. He roared and tried to turn his head to bite her, but she was too fast. She gripped onto him, getting her hand to his head and pushing the Gift into him.
In her mind, she visualized the Asura Sergeant who had taken the Darkstone. She sent Dog the image of him eating the soldier and claiming the entire stone for himself. She had no idea if the dragon had enough intelligence to understand, but she had to try.
It seemed that he did. He began running across the ground, wings pumping to get him airborne once more, the rider on his back suddenly forgotten. They lifted into the air, rising rapidly and turning back toward the city.
“Imp, where are you?” Abbey asked, turning to scan the sky.
“Coming in,” Bastion replied, the fighter suddenly appearing from a line of thin clouds.
“Don’t miss,” she said, standing on Dog’s neck.
“What do you mean, don’t miss?”
She gathered the Gift and jumped, arcing high into the air, letting the dragon speed away.
There was probably some part of her that should have been afraid to be suspended a thousand meters in the air with nothing around her and no way to keep from falling, but she found she wasn’t worried. She had taken in so much of Lucifer’s Gift. She had accepted it fully back into her system. She felt strong. Powerful. Unstoppable.
For as long as she remained sane, anyway.
She swept the Gift around her, creating a flow of air that was almost powerful enough to keep her up and let her fly. She sank slowly, the wind buffeting at her as Bastion approached, slowing as he neared. The canopy of the starfighter slid back, and she reached out with the Gift, catching the fighter and slowing it more than its onboard systems would allow, too much for it to stay aloft on its own. It hovered for a moment beneath her, Bastion looking up with an amazed, frightened expression.
“Were you telling me not to miss, or yourself?” he asked as she sank into the cockpit, coming down on his lap. It was a tight fit, but she made it work.
“Either way,” she replied. “Watch out for my hair, and be ready to hit the thrusters.”
The canopy slid closed, her head just barely fitting beneath it. It was a cozy fit, one she didn’t mind all that much.
“How am I supposed to fly like this?” he asked, his hands wrapping around her to cradle the controls.
“I thought you were a professional?”
She released the Gift. Immediately, the fighter began to drop.
“Oh, shit,” Bastion said, working the controls around her.
They were both pushed back as he increased thrust, gaining speed to level the fighter out. They streaked near to the ground before sweeping upward, taking a steep vector toward the atmosphere.
“Get me to Aqul’s flagship,” Abbey said.
“Aye, aye, Wonder Woman,” Bastion replied.
“Who?” Abbey asked.
“Nevermind.”
7
Judas fell to his knees when Lucifer entered the Covenant. He bowed his head without looking on his Master, already aware of the changes that had altered his form. Even so, it was impossible not to notice the size or shape of the shadow the Father cast, large and monstrous and frightening.
“Father,” Judas said, remaining in place. “I present you with Gehenna, the Harbinger of Armageddon.”
“Judas,” Lucifer said, his voice causing the Apostant to shiver. “You have done well. Very well. Thank you for your faith. You are a true friend to me. A true disciple.”
“Thank you, Father,” Judas said.
“Rise and look on me, brother.”
Judas came to his feet. He looked up slowly, forcing himself not to draw back in fear at the sight of his Master. He could feel the energy of the Gift emanating from the Father, a constant burning that itched at his flesh.
“Where is the Keeper?” Lucifer asked.
“On his way,” Judas replied. “Where is Belial?”
“He will be along shortly. I gave him one final task to complete at the Shrine. We will not be returning to it.”
“But-”
“I will die. Yes, I know. The Gift will finish what it started. It will happen in the presence of the One, and my work will be complete.”
“The Seraphim will be freed at last?” Judas asked.
“Yes. We will return to Elysium in glory, and deliver the killing blow to the Great Manipulator. We will return our kind to their rightful place as masters of their universe.”
Judas bowed his head again. It was all that he had been waiting for. All that he had sacrificed for. All that he had hoped for.
He had been a loyal Seraphim once. Loyal to the Shard, and to the One. He had fought against Lucifer when the war had started, still blinded by his trust and his faith in the future the One had promised. He had lost his wife in the early fighting, and for centuries had blamed the Father for his loss.
Time and experience had changed his perspective. He had watched the Shard die, the Seraphim splinter, and the Archchancellors come to be. He had observed their decisions, argued their positions, and participated in the genocide of thousands of their kind in the name
of the One. At least until he had come to his senses.
He had never expected it would be his wife who drove him back to Lucifer. Her memory had stayed with him always, and in the days when the Infected nearly overwhelmed their facility and killed every Archchancellor and every Seraphim with them, he had come to realize what a mistake they had made. He had watched Seraphim enslave Seraphim, experiment on them and turn them into mindless automatons in the name of the Shard. And if they could enslave one another for the Shard, didn’t it stand to reason that the One was capable of enslaving them? Couldn’t it be possible that Lucifer was right?
His wife had always beckoned him to judge everything based on actions, not words. The One’s words were correct, but the actions were questionable.
Why were they never allowed to return home?
It had been easier than he ever imagined to betray the others. To bring some of the Lucifer’s Gift onto the Shardship and pass it into the Focus. To prepare the Covenant for a day he knew would one day come, even if it took a million lifetimes. To fake his death at the hands of the Asura, and hide away. He had no remorse about it now. The Terrans and the other intelligent life in the Shard’s galaxy came secondary to the needs of his kind. He didn’t desire to kill them, but he desired the Seraphim’s slavery less.
“My Lord Lucifer,” Judas heard Keeper say.
He looked up, finding the intelligence approaching. There was no hint of malice in the Keeper. No question about his loyalty. He was a machine, and his instructions had been altered, making him more loyal than even himself or Belial.
He would do whatever the Master commanded.
“Keeper,” Lucifer said. “It has been so long.”
“Welcome home, Father,” Keeper said.
“Set a course for Tigrul,” Lucifer said. “And prepare to leave at my command.”
“Yes, Father,” Keeper said.
“I understand you have been making alterations to the ship?”
“The Chosen requested conversion of some of the living habitats to offensive capabilities. A number of residential structures have been reconfigured into plasma cannons. Would you like me to reverse the conversion?”
“Reverse it?” Lucifer said. “Not at all. Continue the conversion. Add as many weapons to the Gehenna as you can.”