Broken Vision

by J. A. Clarke

  Alerik didn't return.

  Exhausted, Maegan succumbed to sleep and awoke disoriented with no concept of how much time had passed. The room seemed hotter. The pain in her head was gone.

  Her stomach growled. The last time she had eaten had been on the Blue Zephyr, when Alerik had all but forced the food on her. She had no idea how long ago that had been.

  She began to prowl the room's perimeter, pushing at the panels, looking for an exit. This was not Taragon architecture. She wondered about the native inhabitants of The Divide. They had seen only Taragon guards on their way into this place.

  A panel yielded under her hand and slid open without a sound.

  A Taragon guard stepped into the opening, a blaster pointed straight at her.

  She stood her ground, heart pounding. The blaster was primed. She could see the white flare. "I'm a guest of your sha-priestess, Nargune," she said. "I would like some food."

  He spat some words she didn't understand, but the message was clear. The barrel of the blaster hit her in the stomach and pushed her back when she didn't comply fast enough. The panel snapped closed.

  Stomach aching, she continued to work her way around the room. Another panel opened soundlessly. An empty corridor stretched out before her. She was almost certain it was the same one Nargune and Alerik had taken. It was lit with a bright white light that had no obvious source and was cooler by degrees than the room.

  She didn't hesitate. There was no choice. She stepped forward. The panel closed behind her. The atmosphere in the corridor was eerie and disorienting. All she could see was white. As she moved, her footsteps made no sound. She couldn't even hear her own breathing. The corridor was narrow enough that she could touch both walls simultaneously. It seemed to anchor her a little.

  A portal opened to her touch. Another white, empty corridor. Some muffled sounds at a distance. She decided to stay in the first, larger corridor. Another portal. Another empty corridor. The original one appeared to have no end.

  The wall yielded under her fingers again. This time the new corridor wasn't empty. A body lay crumpled on the floor, a blaster at its side.

  She approached with caution. The body, dressed in the uniform of a Taragon temple guard, didn't' move. The smell of death, thick and biting, hung in the still air.

  She nudged him with her foot. Nothing. She stepped over him and saw why. His head had taken a direct hit. She bent and retrieved the heavy double-barreled blaster. It was primed to fire, but the guard hadn't had time to release the blast before he'd taken the fatal shot, which from the condition of his shattered skull, looked like it had come from a laserray.

  Hampered by the weight of the weapon, she could only test one side of the corridor at a time. A portal opened, but not onto another corridor. Brutal sound and color flooded her senses. Something flew past her line of vision. She heard a thump, followed by a shrill scream. The thunder of weapons firing. Men and women shouted and cursed in many languages. The odor of singed flesh and charred organic material rolled into the corridor.

  She leapt backwards, confused, adrenaline surging.

  The portal should have resealed instantly like the others had.

  It didn't.

  The tip of a magblaster cracked against its rim. The enormous body of a Taragon temple guard appeared. Only his eyes, death-crazed, were visible through the thin platshield that covered his face. He swung the blaster up, pointing it straight at her chest.

  The muscles in her arms screamed as she struggled to raise her own weapon. Her timing was off by a nanonan. She wasn't certain she could even activate the unfamiliar weapon. Instinct drove her. Old training kicked in. She threw herself to one side. The blast from her attacker's weapon seared her side under her arm, but took its destructive energy out on the corridor wall.

  She was backed up against the wall with nowhere to go. Instinct and training had saved her the first time. All she had left were sheer will power and luck. Even as the temple guard repositioned his blaster for a second shot, her fingers found the firing mechanism. She steadied her weapon. Before she could release the blast, her attacker stumbled, and fell face-forward at her feet, a gaping hole in his back.

  "Ma'am." Drakal stuck his head through the cavity and nodded at her. "Stay there, please, until we've finished up out here."

  Astonished relief made her knees wobble. She gulped in some deep breaths. Through the portal, which had failed to close because it was partially blocked by the Taragon fighter's body, she saw not just Mariltar warriors. A multi-nation team were engaging the Taragon fighters in a large exterior plaza. And the winning side was clearly apparent.

  A temple guard had found cover behind a low wall. She saw him pick a target.

  She scrambled through the portal and knelt to aim her blaster. Her weapon slammed back against her shoulder. The guard fell and didn't get up. Adrenaline pumping, she ran to appropriate his position.

  The Taragon guards were vastly outnumbered, but resisted demands to surrender. Only after a long, fierce battle did the last one lay his weapon down.

  Drakal appeared. "You don't follow orders well, do you?"

  She shoved back her hair, which had fallen loose. "Where's Alerik?" Her side hurt, but she ignored it.

  A peculiar expression crossed his face. "He wasn't with you?"

  "No-- Blazing starpits," she whispered. "I mean he was, but then Nargune..." Pain in her stomach doubled her forward.

  Drakal caught her with one arm. "Maegan?"

  "I'm all right," she gasped. "I'm all right. Give me a nan." She pulled away from his hold and bent forward, hands on her knees. The cramps slowly subsided.

  "Is she hurt?" someone said.

  "Don't think so. At least not seriously that I can see," Drakal responded. "She doesn't know where Governor Mariltar is."

  "This place is a warren. We need to get into those corridors."

  "Nargune took Alerik away." Maegan straightened up. She didn't recognize the three fighters dressed in Coalition uniforms gathered around them. Two were Soron. The one who wore commander's bars, to her utter shock, was Taragon.

  He noticed her inadvertent recoil. "Calm, lady. I'm on your side, but I understand how hard that might be to accept. The majority of our population does not subscribe to the teachings of these priests."

  She shook her head. "Then how can you let your children be taken to build their armies?"

  A flash of genuine pain crossed his face. "Those of us off-world in the service of the Coalition had no true understanding of the extent of the problem. We accepted that the power of the priests had been neutralized. There were rumors of children who disappeared occasionally from the more sparsely populated areas. Runaways from a hard life. Rarely investigated, at first, because the parents never complained."

  "Because their children's lives would have been at risk."

  "Yes." The commander glanced around. "We need access to the rest of this complex."

  "There are portals that open to pressure from the inside." Maegan couldn't quite shake her mistrust, but for now she had no choice but to cooperate. "I don't know how they operate from the outside. Everything seems connected in there."

  "There are two that are jammed open," the female Soron said. "We can start with those."

  The commander jerked his head and barked some orders. Troops of Coalition fighters formed and moved off through the portals. More portals began to open up around the plaza as the groups progressed through the corridors.

  Drakal had moved a few steps away to speak with the commander. In the center of the plaza, Coalition fighters were preparing the prisoners for transport. Med teams were caring for the wounded. No one paid her any attention.

  She picked up her blaster and began to edge toward the nearest opening.

  "Maegan!"

  For a nanonan, she contemplated running, but realized she wouldn't get far. Drakal sounded out of patience.

  "Alerik and Morgon are in there somewhere with Nargune," she said.

 
"And we have hundreds of Coalition fighters looking for them," he said. "What you saw here was just one unit. A medtech should look at your side."

  "I'm fine," she said. The stinging pain had subsided to a dull throb long ago. "I can go with one of the groups. I promise I'll stay with them." She swallowed. "I need to do something."

  Drakal grimaced and gave a sharp nod. "Stay here." He strode across the plaza to where the commander now stood with the prisoners. They had a short conversation, then Drakal made his way back. "Let's go."

  They entered the corridors at the same place she had come out. Once again, she was hampered by her weapon and could only trigger portal openings on one side. She explained her method to Drakal, who took the opposite side. As they moved through the system, they occasionally saw other groups, which had branched off to explore the connecting corridors. Something compelled Maegan to stick to this main route, the last place she had seen Alerik.

  A portal opened on her side. An acrid smell accompanied a billow of smoke. Drakal shoved her aside. She crouched to peer past him. In contrast to the main corridor, this one was dim and narrow. A small fire burned beside the bodies of two temple guards, but even as she watched, it flickered out. Muffled noises came from where the corridor disappeared into darkness.

  Drakal stepped back and the portal closed. "Slieking place," he muttered. "I'm guessing that part leads underground. Let's keep going." He gestured with his free hand. "How long has it been since you saw Governor Mariltar?"

  "I don't know. I fell asleep or lost consciousness and lost track of time. Nargune took him down this corridor to see Morgon."

  Another portal opened ahead of them and a small group of Coalition fighters appeared.

  "What's down there?" Drakal demanded.

  "Just habitat pods, sir," a Merlon said. "All empty. No sign of the original inhabitants."

  "No other exits out of the pods?"

  "Not that we found, sir. We tried them all."

  "Stay with us. This is the last place the governor's mate saw--Excuse me." He paused to listen to his communicator. Maegan saw the creases in his brow smooth out. His temple mark softened from almost black to a slate gray. "Thank you. Please inform Commander Foster. He'll want to notify his family."

  His gaze caught Maegan's and he must have seen a question there.

  "Corenna," he explained. "He was wounded in the first assault wave. They expect a full recovery."

  "I'm glad," she said. She had spared a thought for the black-haired man. She'd rarely seen the two of them apart.

  Drakal turned back to the group.

  Impatient and anxious to move on, she began to edge past him. His arm shot out to block her. A chilling scream erupted from the corridor just ahead of them and chaos ensued.

  Pushed to the ground, Maegan could see little beyond the forest of legs. The screaming continued, a sound of desperation and defiance overlaid with the zing of laser fire. Then abruptly it cut off.

  Maegan staggered to her feet. Her stomach was cramping horribly again. She knew instinctively it had nothing to do with what had just happened. She had to get to Alerik. Time was running out.

  Cradling her weapon, she skirted the group. Drakal had his back to her. They were all preoccupied with the Taragon guard, who lay crumpled on his back on the ground. As she passed by, the guard looked straight at her. A terrible sound rattled from his throat. The menace in it made her stumble. She jerked her gaze away. Clutching the blaster more tightly, she hurried on.

  The corridor stretched out ahead of her with no apparent end. She began to run. She didn't know what it was that drove her. All she knew was that it was far stronger and compelling than the voice of caution that shrieked at her.

  She heard a shout and forced herself to move faster. The blaster was heavy. She considered abandoning it. Her boots slapped against the composite floor. Her heart pounded in her chest.

  She slammed into nothing, bounced and fell. Her head smashed against the wall.

  * * * *

  "It's some kind of force field."

  "Not like anything I've ever seen."

  "Zap it with your laserray!"

  "And have the beam bounce back on one of us the way she bounced? Use your deiming brain!"

  "You have a better idea or do we just head back and pretend it's not there?"

  "Make him tell us."

  "Anyone know Taragon? He won't respond to Universal."

  "Contact Commander Tak," a voice snapped close to Maegan's ear.

  She opened her eyes. Drakal squatted in front of her.

  "Head all right?"

  She nodded. The new throbbing in her head was minor compared to the urgency that gripped her entire body. "He's through there," she said. "I know he is. We have to get to him. We have to--"

  "Maegan!" Drakal cut her off and thrust his face closer.

  She bit down on her lip as she realized her voice had been rising with her panic. The two fighters who had stayed with them while the others had gone back to the prisoner were staring at her.

  "We will find him," Drakal said more gently. "If we have to dismantle this entire system, we will find him."

  "And he'll be dead," she whispered. "Nargune will kill him, and Morgon. She'll never allow herself to be taken prisoner. She--"

  A long moaning wail filled the corridor. It rose in pitch and volume until it was a scream that made Maegan shudder with dread. Then it abruptly cut off.

  Drakal was on his feet. "Blood of Cor, what slieking happened?"

  One of the Sorons was coming back. "Dead, sir." The man's face was damp with sweat and drawn with shock. "He just...expired. Commander Tak only asked one question."

  Another fighter strode up. "Commander Tak's on his way."

  "His wounds weren't serious," Drakal snapped. "How could he just die?"

  "Nargune." Maegan didn't realize she'd spoken out loud until five pairs of eyes focused on her.

  Drakal frowned and opened his mouth.

  "He's a senior temple guard," she said, cutting him off. "Did you see his faceshield markings?" Tired of looking up, she maneuvered to her knees. The pain in her skull wasn't so bad.

  Drakal grabbed her elbow and helped her to her feet. She looked at the faces around her. Two more of the fighters had joined them, leaving one with the body. Facial expressions ranged from curious to outright skepticism.

  "He's the last line of defense for the temple and his sha-priestess. He failed in his job. He had to die."

  "But how?"

  She shook her head, then wished she hadn't as jagged pain tore through it. "I don't know how. Nargune has powers we don't understand. That's why she's so dangerous."

  "Not any more. Her power base has been destroyed," one of the fighters said. "There's nothing left of what she's built on The Divide."

  Gods. The news sent a shaft of sheer terror through her body. The Coalition, it seemed, had come through and authorized a major offensive against one of the nine nations, not just a minor rescue mission. It was what she and Morgon had worked so long and hard for. The child armies would be dismantled, the children returned to their families or adoptive homes.

  But at what cost?

  "Don't underestimate her." Maegan turned and pleaded directly to Drakal. "Please. She still has Alerik and Morgon, and we don't know where they are."

  Or even if they're still alive.

  Insidious and damaging, the doubts crept from the shadows of her mind and wove through her thoughts. With the destruction of her world, what reason would Nargune have to allow Alerik and Morgon to live?

  The corridor stretched before her, blocked by the barrier she couldn't see. Alerik was imprisoned behind it. She knew it with every fiber of her being. The urgency within her escalated. There had to be a way through.

  She was vaguely aware of Drakal barking orders, of two pairs of fighters moving off. She edged closer to where she thought the barrier was as, from down the corridor, came the sound of more voices and thudding boots. Odd how the noise
made by many seemed to be magnified in this white world. When she'd been on her own, everything had seemed so muffled.

  And then she blocked it all out, all the voices, all the activity. The barrier had to be close. Her heart pounded to a matching pulse of pain in her head. Perspiration dampened her skin.

  From a far distance, someone called her name.

  Alerik!

  For a nanonan, hope flared bright and joyous. Without conscious thought, she increased her pace.

  She heard her name again. This time, she realized it came from behind her. The voice was fainter, yet demanded her attention.

  She turned. Shock splintered through her.

  Twenty paces down the corridor, a multi-nation group of fighters pushed against an invisible barrier. Commander Tak had arrived and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Drakal. Both men gestured her back, their shouts muffled in the vast whiteness.

  She took a step toward them, a tiny part of her curious how she had passed through a barrier that held them all back. All her training demanded she not proceed alone. But the urgency was hammering at her.

  Time was not in their favor.

  She made the only choice she could.

  Chapter 24

  Margaine Confluence

  The Divide

  The white corridor took an abrupt turn and ended just as abruptly in a cavernous room that appeared to be hewn out of earth and rock. Heat radiated from rough walls bearing jagged symbols in blood red and bright orange. Kneeling pads littered a metal-smooth floor in no discernable pattern. A ring of squat columns stood in the room's center.

  This had to be Nargune's temple, and it was empty.

  So sure she had been about to find Alerik, Maegan stood at the room's threshold and tried to control a rising panic. The urgency that had driven her had vanished. There was nothing, no sense that her mate still lived; no instinct that drove her.

  Nothing but this terrible panic.

  She forced herself to move forward into the stifling heat. Beneath her feet, the floor undulated and she stumbled. Not metal or any other solid material, it felt like a thick gel with a hard, flexible skin. Moving more cautiously, she circled the temple, searching for exits.