The Complete Pendomus Chronicles Trilogy: Books 1-3 of the Pendomus Chronicles Dystopian Scifi Boxed Set Series

by Carissa Andrews

  Even with all the devastation, there’s a miraculous beauty in all of it. We’re coming to the final steps—the final few moments testing our truth. The Beacon is set to ignite fully, and the Acropolis will rise. We’re almost done.

  I turn around and run through the tunnels toward the Haven. I pass the Oasis first, then on toward my first home beyond the Helix. As I reach the Haven, I’m flooded with a strange mixture of nostalgia, excitement, and even sadness. The quiet stillness of this place is all wrong. Being here without Trae, without the others—it feels wrong.

  If the timelines are reset—all of this will never have happened. Leaving the Helix. Being taken in by Traeton and his friends. They may not even exist. With the timelines as they are, it’s hard to tell how the decisions humans have yet to make will play out. There are gray aspects in the timeline; areas needing to fill themselves in once I do what I’m meant to.

  I slow down, walking through the Haven in silence. I know this will be the last time. Unable to allow any remorse to reach me, I continue on with my mission. The Caudex needs to be destroyed in the Beacon. It’s the only way to set everything right.

  Closing the heavy door to the Haven is like closing out a final chapter of one of Trae’s books. Bitter sweet.

  As the exit to the outside comes into view, I break into a full run.

  When the cold, outdoor air hits my body, I’m surprised to find some of the others huddled in small groups. Relief floods my body, as I see Delaney, Ash, and those from the vassalage—Antricia and Rendan—amongst many others.

  My eyes flit to the trees around me. I’ll need to be careful without Tethys’ protection. Videus’ numbers are down, but I don’t know how many he had in his control before. And after the Lateral—who knows what else Videus has up his sleeves. Those white elephants were a surprise.

  Jogging up to Delaney, the others begin to chat and point at me.

  “Lane, I’m so glad to see you,” I say, embracing her as I approach.

  She returns the hug, a sigh escaping her lips.

  “Runa, we’ve lost so many—I hope you have good news,” she says.

  “It’ll all be over soon. The Beacon has been initiated.”

  As if in response, the ground shudders again. As I turn around, large chunks of snow and ice crack apart and slide off the side of the broken dome that used to house the Lateral.

  The locked sun with its halo smiles down on me while snowflakes kick up and flitter through the air. Even though it’s been the symbol of our locked planet, the sundog has always been a reminder to me—even in stillness, there’s beauty.

  I’ll actually miss it.

  “But—I thought you didn’t have the mark?” she says surprised.

  “I didn’t,” I say, lifting my sleeve, “but I do now. The process has been started.”

  “So the city—it’s intact?” Delaney asks, her eyebrows tugged inward.

  I nod, “For now it is. There seems to be a shield of energy protecting what’s left.”

  Delaney’s eyes widen and she shakes her head.

  “You saw a shield of energy surround the city?”

  I nod, “Yes, it pulled itself up from the five posts around the city.”

  “Runa, that’s no shield. The Lateral is about to blow—we need to move everyone out. Now,” she says, spinning on her heels. “Ash, get everyone back—”

  The hillside behind us explodes—sending everyone hurtling through the air with the rest of the debris.

  20

  Traeton

  WALKING AWAY FROM RUNA feels like I’ve ripped pieces of myself outta my body and left them behind. I know this is the right thing to do—but I can’t stand the thought of her doing what she needs to do alone. Heading into the Lateral again to ignite the Beacon—raising the Acropolis. Whatever that means. What does that even mean? Does the building have lifts under it or something? Or is it all metaphorical? This’s all something straight outta one of my fiction novels. Yet, here I’m living it. Crazy.

  ~I never believed I would be alive to witness the arising of the Daughter of Five and the return of the Acropolis.

  Taking a deep breath, I ease into the conversation with Caelum. I’m never ready for his initial contact, even though I know he’s still lingering with me.

  Ever since my time with Runa—our time together—I’ve wanted desperately to be the only one in my head. To cherish the moments we had together without the casual onlooker of Caelum.

  I take a deep breath and sigh it out.

  “Well, bud—time not only to witness the Acropolis, but put an end to Videus’ tyranny. Do you think he’ll buy us coming to find him?” I say.

  Caelum takes a moment, considering all we’ve seen—all that’s yet to come.

  ~I am not sure. He is not a stupid man, quite the contrary. In order to seem believable, we may have to do things we would otherwise not do.

  “What in the hell does that mean?” I ask, climbing a drift of snow up toward the top of the small hill leading to the Archives.

  ~Simply that it may mean going along with Videus’ plans momentarily. He is not always a nice man.

  I snort, “No kidding.”

  Suddenly, the ground I’m climbing on begins to rumble. The snow in my grasp crumbles through my hands and I lose balance, sliding downward a meter or so. Shifting and cracking beneath my feet, I struggle to find a good hold onto anything as everything around me breaks apart.

  ~The Daughter of Five must be getting close to igniting the Beacon.

  “No really? What gave it away?” I say, searching for a way out of this mess.

  ~It was the breaking apart of the ground. Did you not notice?

  I shake my head, and just about see my brain with the eye roll that follows. These AirGliders seriously need to get themselves a clue. They’re smart, but so stupid at the same time.

  Leaping from one rock to the next, I barely miss careening down into an abyss as the building buried in the snow begins to unearth itself. I knew the Archives was big—but until now, I had no idea the true extent of it.

  Large turrets and towers are the first to rise up out of the ground, aspects of the building I had never even seen while I was inside. The outer building is much more ornate, and artistic than I gave it credit for.

  “How is all this possible?” I say out loud to myself.

  It’s hard not to stare in awe of it all.

  ~The building was hidden for its own protection. It has centuries old mechanisms to allow for it to—

  “Thanks, genius. I wasn’t actually needing a lesson on it. I’m just surprised,” I say, scrambling to solid ground and running away from the commotion of the Archives—the Acropolis as it rises from the ground.

  When all is said and done, this place is going to draw some crowds—that means Videus too. As I get to the tree line, and feel far enough away, I turn around and take it all in.

  The enormous building looks like a medieval castle from the history books of Earth. Only more ornamental, and embellished. Large birds, Salamanders, Waterbears, and a creepy looking spider adorn the four outer towers and various aspects of the building.

  “What in the hell are those?” I ask to Caelum, pointing at the spider. I involuntarily shudder at its size.

  ~They are TerraDwellers.

  “Well, thanks. Glad you cleared that up,” I say sarcastically. “What in the hell are TerraDwellers?”

  ~They are the last of the Four Pillars. No one has seen them for a very long time. I am not even sure they are still on the planet.

  “Well, we better sure as hell hope they are. They need to make it here in time to help Runa with the Beacon,” I say.

  ~Indeed.

  “Alright—any sign of Videus? Can you sense him or anything?” I say, surveying the scene.

  He has to be here somewhere. No way he’d let something this huge happen without noticing and developing a plan of attack. I know I wouldn’t.

  Caelum takes a moment. I swear I can hear his wheels
turning as he tries to connect and figure out what Videus is up to.

  ~I am not sure where he is. It feels as though he is guarding himself from me, though I am not sure why.

  “Dammit. I’ll bet I know,” I say. “He’s worked out you’ve been compromised—probably saw footage from the Helix. He knows I’m the one who blew up the vassalage—which means this plan of Runa’s has just gone down the allay.”

  I search the tree line. If Videus can hide himself from Caelum, could he still locate him? Or are they both operating blind? Somehow, I’m guessing Videus knows exactly where we are. I wouldn’t get that lucky.

  How did everything get so phugged up? How could one man lose himself the way Videus has? I just don’t get it.

  ~My mast—Videus—has bound things too tightly. He can no longer see the lines of reality clearly. He has been in and out too many times and he has forgotten himself. He only knows he cannot save his brother, and in turn, he refuses to allow anyone else to be happy. Especially the Daughter of Five. She became his obsession to keep from feeling.

  “Feeling what?” I snort.

  ~Anything.

  “That’s a shit plan.”

  ~I didn’t say it was otherwise.

  “Okay, so if he knows his second in command has been compromised—what then? He’d fly solo to stop Runa?” I say, musing aloud.

  ~That would be my assumption as well.

  “Then we’re in the completely wrong place. We need to find Runa now,” I say.

  “Oh, that would be a grand idea, Traeton. Do that, won’t you?” someone says behind me.

  I spin around quickly, coming face-to-face with Videus. Adorned again with his headdress and dark cloak, I realize who he has chosen to embody—the Egyptian god known as Thoth.

  I don’t know why the insight hit me—something in the irony of this all. Or maybe the absurdity.

  How did he learn about Egypt? Did he have books, too? Kani and I only learned by the books in the Archives, and even then, it wasn’t easy to understand at first. Their culture and way of life was so different from ours. It took Landry to explain it to us in a way we could understand. Granted, we were pretty young.

  I swallow hard, unsure of my next move.

  How do I bide enough time for Runa to do what she needs to do?

  “Videus,” I say, finally acknowledging his presence. “How are you?”

  “Cut the pleasantries, boy. Where is the girl?” Videus says.

  “Screw you. How about you cut the pleasantries. If you’re going to do this, drop the act. Let go of this Videus persona—and lose the Thoth complex. You’re not as clever as either of them.”

  “Big words for such a small, fragile being,” he says in a low voice, “I could snap the arteries to your brain in half if I wanted. You’d bleed out inside your skull until your body completely shuts down. It’s not pleasant, but I would still enjoy it so,” he says.

  For the first time in a long while, fear rushes through me. Could he honestly do something like that? Hell if I know. Wouldn’t put it past him, though.

  “If you were going to, you’d have done it already. It’s not going to get you to Runa,” I fire back.

  Videus stands motionless, a dark tower of a man in the midst of the sea of snow.

  “Where are the rest of your cronies, by the way? No birds or Salamanders to come to your aid? Is that why you had to send the spectacle show with the clouds? Nice touch, by the way. They were creepy as hell,” I say.

  “The white elephants are more than a spectacle, but I don’t expect a simpleton like you to understand. You have yet to see their beauty, but you will,” Videus say, his voice now low and smooth.

  “What does that mean?” I snort.

  “Only that you’ve yet to discover what they’re capable of, boy. Now, why don’t you tell me where to find my little Everblossom.”

  The way he says ‘my little Everblossom’ makes my skin crawl. It’s like a creepy old man, lurking in wait to do unspeakable things. I suppose he is.

  “No clue where Runa is,” I shrug nonchalantly. “She had her own mission and I wasn’t about to get in her way.”

  “She didn’t want you screwing things up for her, eh?” Videus says.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “She sent you on your way so you weren’t a detriment to her. You’re a liability, Traeton.”

  I swallow hard. That wasn’t why she sent me off on my own, was it?

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say.

  ~Do not play into him, he’s baiting you.

  Caelum’s warning both pulls me back to the present and solidifies my tactic. He’s right, I can’t take what he says personally, but I can make Videus think I do.

  “Oh, I think I do. Did you tell her about Caelum? Does she know how hard you’ve been working to keep him in there, despite knowing who he was?” Videus says.

  My insides recoil, but I keep hold of myself.

  “Yeah, actually, she does,” I say, my eyebrows raising.

  “Hmmm,” he says, pacing slightly. “And she was fine with all that, was she?”

  “Of course not—she was pissed.”

  “Ah,” he goads.

  “Not at me, you imbecile. She was pissed at you,” I spit.

  Okay, so in truth she was sorta pissed at me…but we’d worked passed all that, right?

  Damn, come to think of it—I never got the chance to talk to her about it. I never got the chance to warn her about the impending doom I sensed from Caelum when we were in Landry’s bunker.

  ~Do not begin second guessing yourself. It is what he wants.

  “Oh, I’m quite sure she was upset with me, that’s a given. But I wasn’t the one who betrayed her. Am I right?” he says.

  “Screw you. You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say, anger arising, despite my best efforts to keep under control.

  Videus chuckles.

  “You know, I always thought if the Acropolis rose, it would mean the end. Yet, I find it oddly satisfying,” he says, beginning to pace. “You see, everyone’s close—very close to being able to destroy everything I’ve worked so hard at. Yet, right at the eleventh hour, I’ll be able to sweep the rug from under your collective feet.”

  “And just how do you suppose you’re going to do that?” I ask, calling his bluff.

  If he had more, he would have done it by now. All of this is just a way to bide his own time until he’s able to take out Runa. I know it, he knows it.

  “Do you see a Beacon anywhere, Traeton?” Videus asks, a small chuckle escaping him again.

  I look over my shoulder. The Acropolis darkens the entire horizon, but beyond that I don’t see anything standing out. Though, to be fair, I have no idea if I’m even supposed to.

  “You don’t,” Videus answers for me, “because it’s not fully ignited. It’s weak and dissipating without the proper strength. It won’t ignite until the Five offer their support—in blood.”

  I turn back to face him, “What are you getting at?”

  “Well, Traeton, your little lover will have blood on her hands in order to make this work. More than she already does, that is. The Pillars—and her own. But I can stop her—and you’re going to help me, of course,” Videus says.

  “And why the hell would I do that?”

  “Because you no longer have a choice,” he says, simply.

  With that, Videus raises his arms to the sky, and a cluster of those cloud-like abominations split apart and careen toward me at an ungodly speed.

  There’s nowhere to run—nowhere to hide out here in the space of dead trees. At least, no where close enough. The cluster of white elephants latch onto my arms, my legs, and torso. The pain is absolutely excruciating as their bizarre cloud teeth bury into my skin. My veins tense up, as something foreign oozing into my blood stream ignites a burning sensation throughout the rest of my body. Dropping to my knees, my back seizes up, but I still try to pry them off of me w
ith the little strength I have.

  It’s no use.

  Whatever this is—whatever he’s doing, it causes the white elephants to turn red, the longer they’re latched on.

  “You may be wondering,” Videus begins, “what makes these little guys so beautiful.”

  I glare at him.

  “Not overly top of mind,” I say through clenched teeth.

  “Well, let me enlighten you anyway. See, blood is such a pesky thing. Who needs it really? I have something far more productive to replace it with,” he says.

  “What in the hell are you talking about?” I say.

  “Very soon, you won’t have to worry about growing older, about dying. In a few moments, you’ll be fully synthetic. Of course, you may experience side effects such as complete loss of mental control—but I’m sure you can handle it,” Videus laughs. “I’m sorry, Caelum, unfortunately it means you’ll be annihilated as well. Turns out, I can only trust myself to get things done right.

  Videus slowly unhooks his ibis mask, and lets it fall to the ground. My energy and consciousness begin to slip. I watch, helpless, as the mask lands softly in the snow, a bizarre remnant of his hidden identity no longer needed.

  21

  Runa

  MY BACK SLAMS AGAINST A TREE, knocking the wind out of me. I land in a heap in the snow. The Caudex flies from my hands, landing a good few meters away. All around me, people, rocks, snow have been thrust backward.

  The energy expelled by the Beacon bursts through the hole already created in the ground by Videus, and huge plume of blue light thrust into the sky. White double spirals rotate around the blue light, reminding me of the way the Helix looks in the distance.

  Gasping for air, I push myself to my hands and knees. My body aches and it’s extremely difficult to gather air into my lungs. Cries of pain, surprise, and suffering erupt all around me.

  “What’s happened?” someone wails nearby.

  “Not again,” someone else cries. “It’s the girl—the one with the white and purple hair. This is all her fault.”