Defender of the Empire: Chaos
Page 26
I did not throw it at Betrayer or any of his followers. No. I threw it up. The hilt thunked into the ceiling right next to the chandelier dangling over the crystal Heart. For a breathless second, nothing happened. Then the energy in its blade overwhelmed the knife and it exploded. I got to see the chandelier and the ceiling around it begin to fall before Marius tackled me. We hit the ground hard next to Cassiana and the others.
A moment later, the floor crumbled under us and we fell into deeper darkness. Screams and the roar of crumbling rock echoed after us.
***
One of the Norighen men was sniveling at his feet. Betrayer snarled at him “Stop your sniveling!” .
“Ssorry M-master,” the man stammered. He was busy staring at the rock that was pressing against Betrayer’s shields. Considering how a few of the smart ones had crowded around Betrayer when he threw up the barrier, the sniveler couldn’t back away from the sharp edge that would have crushed him if he hadn’t been so lucky. Having escaped death so narrowly made the man whimper. Betrayer rolled his eyes and let his shield slide past the sobbing man.
“Anyone else feeling sorry for themselves?” Betrayer asked over the echo of the sniveling man’s shriek of dismay and the wet crunch of stone grinding a body into paste beneath it. The others paled beneath the fine layer of dust that covered them. As a whole, they shook their heads. “Good. I am glad to hear that. Shall we leave?” he asked, before punching a hole through the rubble to run into a corridor above the mess they were in. Any of the fools who didn’t put up their own shields or moved fast enough for his taste were crushed.
He didn’t feel a tad of remorse for the idiots. Instead, he absorbed the energy from their passing and fed it into his own shields. His beautiful creation had been shattered before he could stop the ceiling from crushing it. The Heart of Souls was little more than potent-less sand now. Damn you, Rylynn, he growled in his mind. He couldn’t punish her for her actions, but there was a man who wasn’t moving quite fast enough … Betrayer smiled at the satisfying sound of stone crushing weak flesh. It just wasn’t as satisfying as it would have been if Rylynn had been the one he had just snuffed.
Betrayer did not make the mistake of thinking the girl was dead. Oh, no. He would not be that fool again. No, he would do what he could to destroy her. But first he was going to blast his way out of the Maze. He did not give credence to the tiny voice in his head that whimpered that he might not win this game against the young woman. She had surprised him already. He shut the voice up by promising himself that she would not surprise him again.
He and the strongest of the survivors made it to the surface. They had blasted their way up into the courtyard of the Norighen House. Unfortunately, it had become a media circus with the planet’s militia and reporters storming the place. All demanding the truth and arresting everyone in sight. Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem, but the family was being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and the indecision about what they should do. Should they prove to the world that they were who the media accused them of being? Or did they just let themselves be rounded up? Their inaction caused them to be rounded up like cattle. Betrayer glared as he bent the light around himself so as to disappear from sight. How weak had the bloodline become? He speculated darkly. He wondered if Alec could have pulled them together into something stronger. But he didn’t see the boy. Perhaps Alec hadn’t been as strong as Betrayer had thought him.
Betrayer left his weak descendants to their fate.
***
I could feel his rage and boy, was it a thing to behold. It was strong enough that I could pick up hints of what it was about. The crystal he had used to create monsters was gone. I smiled and opened my eyes. Rubble lay within an arm’s reach of me. Water dripped and echoed and I turned to see that we had fallen into a natural cave. A pool of dark water had a thin layer of dust on its surface. Another drop fell from the stalactites above and caused the layer to ripple. On the side of the pond that I was on, I could see a distant tunnel entrance. Unlike what we had been in, it looked rough. I had a feeling that this cave hadn’t been seen by human/Kina eyes until now. Also different from the above tunnels, it didn’t have the feeling of despair clinging to every surface.
It was just there.
“Release me,” an angry Alec snarled. I rose to my knees and saw that Marius had Alec in a head lock. The Kina was struggling to pull Marius’ arm from his throat.
“I think not. One can’t let the known snake bite him in the heel,” Marius replied.
Alec struggled for a moment before slumping. I knew than that Marius was draining the energy from the other man. “If it wasn’t for this ‘snake,’ you would have all been crushed under the ceiling that she brought down,” Alec hissed.
“You brought the floor down?” Cassiana asked from where she also knelt. Samkara lay beside her, watching with wary eyes.
Alec snorted. “It certainly wasn’t you. Your stunt with the hallway had probably weakened the ceiling above where we stood and Rylynn’s trick just brought the whole thing down.”
“You collapsed the hallway?” I asked Cassiana with interest. This new way of using energy fascinated me.
The young woman studied the orb in her hand before meeting my gaze. “I had to do something before they overwhelmed us. I just punched it out like how they were denting the walls.” She replied.
“It was brilliant.” I praised. Alec glared at me. I smiled. “How is everyone?” I asked, ignoring him.
“A bit banged up, but alive.” Ace replied. Mykio gave me a thumbs up.
Marius grinned over Alec’s head “I’ve never felt better.” He informed me. Alec growled half-heartedly at him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I got Cassiana wincing in sympathy at Alec. She nodded to me. “I’ve been better. Samkara doesn’t seem hurt.” At the sound of her name, Samkarasmiled and nodded. She then dragged herself off the floor.
Jason just shrugged before he got to his feet. “How do we get out of here?” he asked, rubbing his arms. I had to agree with him, it was a bit chilly in here.
YOU FOLLOW ME, MY FRIEND, Prathane said, shimmering so all of us could see him. Alec eyed him with both hunger and wariness.
Chapter 32 – Colony Vivort’ain
I have no idea how long we climbed through the underground, but eventually we did find a way out. Our way out was a ledge that a water fall had widened over the years before cutting out the middle. We stood on the ledge for a moment, letting the warmth of the sun sink into our skin. Even Alec was quiet. Not that he had been loud but he had complained often about Marius being near him all the time. I honestly think it freaked him out that the one thing he had considered his constant source of strength could easily be taken away. Marius ignored him.
“Lassie, get us out of here. There are eight of us,” I called, using a handheld communicator that had somehow survived everything that had happened to us. Ever since losing M. Kit, I had decided to opt out of having a Medi-Comp. And it wasn’t necessary either, thanks to my healing ability. If I needed to communicate, I had the handheld comm. and a Spectral who I don’t think minded playing messenger.
“I’ll have you out of there in a moment,” Lassie answered, though I could hear the questions in her tone. She would understand in a moment.
“Thanks.” I closed the comm. and turned to Marius. “You’re going to want to keep contact. The transporter tends to jolt syncs into seizures,” I warned. “And Alec, you’re going to get permanent frown lines if you keep looking at me like that,” I predicted.
Alec didn’t get a chance to reply as we trans-located from the ledge to the transporter bay of the Secret.
“Welcome back,” Aunt Sylvia greeted us.
“Thank the Lord, you’re here,” Mykio proclaimed, coming toward her. “Oh, Healer of aches and pains, your niece dropped a rock on my back.”
“Apparently I need to perfect my aim,” I grumbled.
“I think I’ll enjoy hearing about your adventures. But I can
wait. However, Rylynn, you’ll be happy to know that the ‘Pure Families’ have been declared criminals and are in the process of being arrested for their crimes against the rest of their people.”
“What? No,” Alec gasped, staring at my aunt. For once he looked more lost than I had ever seen him. I was sure his vengeful streak would surface again, but for now the news of his family’s arrest, on top of the loss of his special ability, had left him powerless. Broken almost. Cassiana’s soulful eyes took in his defeated posture with regret. My aunt caught the other girl’s expression and her eyes shadowed with understanding.
I shook myself and turned to Marius. “Do you mind staying with our new friend for a while?” I asked.
“I guess I don’t. However, we can’t keep him with us forever,” Marius replied.
“Nor can we return him to his home world,” I said, thinking out loud.
“And why not?” Alec snapped at me.
“Too dangerous,” I replied.
His dark eyes, so much like Betrayer’s, narrowed at me. “For me or for you?” he baited.
“Yes,” I answered simply.
“I have an idea of what we can do with him …” Marius began.
“We can’t kill him,” Cassiana protested, taking a step toward them. Alec’s brows rose into his hairline and Cassi flushed, looking at me instead.
“That wasn’t what I was suggesting,” Marius said. “I know a safe place for him. Where he can even be helpful.”
“Where?” I asked.
“A colony in the Gi’eon system.”
I nodded. “Give the coordinates to Westley. In the meantime, the two of you might as well get used to each other,” I said, with a look between him and Alec. Marius shook his head and Alec glowered at me. I didn’t care. He was not going to get the opportunity to hurt my crew.
Sylvia took Sam and Cassiana with her to the medical bay as the rest of us went our own way. I’m pretty sure Mykio went with the women to the medical bay and I wondered briefly if the guy really did get hit in the back with a rock. I went to the bridge and filled them in on what had happened. In turn, they informed me that they had contacted Admiral Wingstar to inform him of the arrests of the Pure Families. He and a ship were on their way to lend any necessary assistance. He was also aware that we may or may not be there when he arrived.
Which was good, because we weren’t going to be. Alec was too much of a problem and Marius, for all his skill, couldn’t keep an eye on the man every second of every day till we figured out what to do with Alec. I had the uneasy feeling that it would only take a second for Alec cause us pain. .
A day later found us within the shrunken limits of Gi’eon system, orbiting a habitable moon circling a gas giant in the Goldilocks Zone. Cassiana, Alec, Marius, Samkara, and I transported down to a small town called Eva. Marius had told us before that the moon was a colony world populated by a group of Spectral Vampires that he had discovered two cycles ago while I had been out. The Spectral ‘V’s had found a way to keep Spectrals from bonding with them. Marius didn’t explain how, but their method led to an early death. “They call the place ‘Vivort’ain,’ Gi’eonen for ‘Living Grave,’ Marius had said before we transported down.
Looking about Eva, I couldn’t come up with a worst name for the place. It was full of life ‑ flourishing flora and fauna by the sound of it. That was, of course, until a welcoming party came toward us. The woman standing before us looked frail enough that a strong wind could blow her away. Her flesh was gaunt, but her soul gleamed at us from her brown eyes.
“Welcome to Vivort’ain,” she greeted us in a surprisingly strong voice. “I am called Tasela.”
“Thank you,” I said, bowing my head. “I am Rylynn. These are my friends, Marius, Samkara, and Cassiana.” Each nodded at my introduction. Finally, I gestured at Alec, who stood beside Marius. The two stood close enough that Marius could keep a hand on the other in case he tried something. “The other goes by Alec.”
“Greetings. What can we do for you?” Tasela asked, turning back to me.
“I do not mean to offend, but I know what your people can do, Tasela. Knowing that, I was hoping to help you by giving you Alec.” At which point Alec shot another glare at me.
Tasela’s eyes widened and she stepped back a pace. “Oh, no! We do not keep slaves here!”
Alec smirked. I ignored him. “That came out wrong. You see, he is kind of a problem for me and my crew. Dangerous, but he could help you. He is an energy sync,” I explained. “The rest of his family have been arrested for an array of crimes, including murder and kidnapping, which he has also had a hand in. We were thinking that, if you were willing, your people could keep him from causing more harm while he served his sentence here.”
Tasela considered Alec a moment. “So, this is house arrest?”
“In a way,” I replied. “I know that we don’t really know each other, but I would owe you a great deal for taking him off my hands. His skill with manipulating energy makes him dangerous to my crew. Only Marius can deal with him and as amazing as Marius is, he is only one man,” I said, being perfectly honest. The woman and her people deserved that much.
“For as long as he lives, he can help you sate the hunger,” Marius added.
Tasela glanced at him and seemed to realize that he knew exactly what she felt. “Allow me to discuss this with my people,” She said, before turning back to those that followed her. I turned back to my own group.
“Do you think they’ll take him?” Cassiana asked me.
“You sound like you hope they will, Cassi,” Alec observed.
She flicked a glare his way. “Of course I do. The alternative is your death, you ninny,” she snapped.
“And you would prefer me alive?” he asked, as if he didn’t believe her.
“As crazy as it sounds, I would,” she told him frankly, before turning to me. “If they do let him stay, I’ll stay with him.”
“What?!” I asked in shock. “He hurt you …”I began, but she shook her head.
“For being raised in that nightmare, he was surprisingly kind to me.” She leaned closer to me and dropped her voice. “I can’t explain it, but maybe now that he is away from that, he can become a decent person. Or at least realize that life isn’t all about obtaining power.”
“Do you love him?” I surprised myself by asking, though it would explain some things.
Cassiana looked over her shoulder at Alec, who stood stiffly beside Marius. His arms were crossed over his chest and his head was down. He looked almost like he was in deep thought, but even to me he looked alone. He had gone from being one of the most powerful men on a planet to being reduced to nothing. Everything his people had built was gone now. Looking back to Cassiana, I could see that she also saw him as being alone. She met my gaze. “I don’t know what I feel for him. Not yet, anyway. But I can’t leave him. Not now.”
I nodded. “I can’t stop you if the people here decide to let him stay and are okay with you being here, as well. But I want you to be careful. If you ever need help, and I do mean ever, you call us. Understand?” I said, holding her shoulders.
Cassiana smiled at me and nodded. “Aye, ma’am.”
“Good,” I said, before noticing that Tasela was returning.
“We will let him stay here. As long as he does not hurt any of our people or visitors, then we will allow him to live here as he will,” she announced. “We will not allow him to leave, however; not that that is much of a problem. Hardly anyone ever visits.”
“And if I want to keep enough energy to do small parlor tricks?” Alec asked, with a dirty look over his shoulder at Marius, who shrugged.
“This you and I can discuss,” Tasela replied.
“Tasela, would you mind if I stayed with him?” Cassiana asked. Alec jerked to stare at her incredulously. She flushed under his gaze, but she kept her attention on Tasela.
“What are you to him?”
“I’m his … um,” Cassiana began uncertainly.
Tasela glanced between the two before shrugging. “You may stay.”
“And me?” Samkara asked, taking a step forward. “She is the only best friend I have.” Tasela agreed to let Samkara stay as well.
“And that is how Marius and I were the only two to return to the Secret,” I told my aunt once I was back on the ship. “I’m just worried that I made a mistake letting Cassiana stay with Alec,” I admitted, leaning against one of the med-beds.
“It was her choice to make. And perhaps it will be a boon later on,” my aunt said soothingly, as she mixed a herb concoction together. Some would think her silly for messing with such plants since the rest of the crew had Medi-Comps. But the reality was my aunt liked being prepared. And if we were being really honest, I think she found the process of making teas, tinctures, and salves relaxing.
“But what if he hurts her?” I asked, chewing my lip.
“’What if’ is a dangerous phrase. It often keeps people from making choices. Notice, though, that Cassiana made her decision. She chose to stay with him. I think she is strong enough to handle whatever challenges come her way.” Aunt Sylvie paused to look at me. “I think she was more traumatized by being kidnapped and thrust into the Maze than she ever was by Alec. I’m sure that he scared her a few times, but I think she also loves him.”