“That’s ridiculous,” Amber mumbled. “If we’ve proved it doesn’t exist, it can’t exist!”
Aden hesitated. “You can’t prove something doesn’t exist if you can’t find it.”
She shook her head. “If you can’t find it, you prove its non-existence by not finding it!”
Aden disagreed. “What if we didn’t have light anymore? The visible wavelength of energy that allows us to see. How would we prove it ever existed—we wouldn’t be able to see anymore?”
Amber scowled. “That’s not fair. I can’t think straight with all these painkillers pumping through me.”
“You don’t need to,” Meshelle said as she approached the oracle.
“Meshelle, wait!” Aden cried. “We should talk about this! Make sure of what we’re doing, at least.”
She shook her head and stepped around the oracle. “If we don’t, we’ll be hunted and killed.”
“What about our pay?” Amber asked.
“What about your life?”
Amber frowned. “Can’t argue that. I happen to know I’m worth a few billion credits…maybe more.”
Aden pushed the medicated woman’s joke aside and watched as Meshelle picked the crystal up and held it over the crystalline prongs protruding from the top of the pedestal. He stared at the multifaceted rock and fought against the urge to grab it from her hands. He was sure somebody else could deal with it better. Not the Kesari, but maybe the Terran government would have the expertise and resources to deal with it.
Before he could finish his thought, Meshelle lowered the crystal to the prongs. A silent pulse of raw force burst out and sent Meshelle, Aden, and Amber flying or skidding back until they hit the ground.
The impact stunned Aden and left him struggling to catch his breath. He stared up, trying to make sense of the pulse of raw power blasting from the pedestal into the sky above and out into space. Colors shifted and flashed, consuming each other as the energy raced straight to the wormhole and beyond.
Aden struggled against the flashing lights that threatened to overwhelm him. He was hurt again, but he’d always been a fast healer. Now, maybe, he had an idea why. Just an idea, though; he needed to know more. That meant he had to survive. He needed answers. Both to what and who he was, as well as why it seemed so damned important that he tell somebody what he’d just seen.
The flashes grew stronger and lasted longer. Aden struggled and tried to rise, only to be driven back down by an unstoppable force. The last words he heard before the light turned to darkness were spoken by the oracle. “You have unlocked the Forge. Rest and you shall have your reward.”
###
Afterward by the Author
I've written loads of futuristic science fiction and loved it. I've written as much or more fantasy. Yes, I loved that too. I've even taking some gentle attempts at merging the two in a couple of different series. But I wasn't satisfied. There was more that I wanted to do. I wanted to take the genres further and bring them together more in a way that was realistic, yet fun.
So I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but it wasn't until I started fantasizing alien races and characters that the story really began to stand a chance. Then Aden came along and his voice was the voice I needed. Aden made this possible and set the stage for some truly amazing possibilities. What you've just read is only the tip of the wormhole, I promise!
Thank you very much for reading and enjoying it. As much as I love writing, it takes readers to make it possible for me to do it. Leave a review, send me some email / a tweet / a Facebook like. Don't miss out on a chance to sign up for my newsletter, visit my blog (http://booksbyjason.wordpress.com), check out my website (http://www.booksbyjason.com), and tell your friends!
Other books by Jason Halstead
Child of Fate (Blades of Leander, book 1)
Victim of Fate (Blades of Leander, book 2)
Silver Dragon (Blades of Leander, book 3)
Blades of Leander (all 3 books in one)
Isle of the Ape (Order of the Dragon, book 1)
Chasing the Dragon (Order of the Dragon, book 2)
Sands of Betrayal (Order of the Dragon, book 3)
Dragonlady (Order of the Dragon, book 4)
Order of the Dragon (all 4 books in one)
Servant of the Serpent (Serpent's War, book 1)
Voidhawk (Voidhawk, book 1)
Voidhawk – The Elder Race (Voidhawk, book 2)
Voidhawk – Redemption (Voidhawk, book 3)
Voidhawk – The White Lady (Voidhawk, book 4)
Voidhawk – Lost Soul (Voidhawk, book 5)
Voidhawk - The Edge of Forever (Voidhawk, book 6)
Voidhawk – Broken Shards (Voidhawk, book 7)
Wanted (Wanted, book 1)
Ice Princess (Wanted, book 2)
Bounty (Wanted, book 3)
Marshal (Book 4)
The Wanted Series (all 4 books in one)
Transcendent (Transcendent, book 1)
Dark Earth (Dark Earth, book 1)
Devil’s Icebox (Dark Earth, book 2)
Soul Mates (Dark Earth, book 3)
Voices (a Dark Earth Book)
Bound (a Dark Earth Book)
The Lost Girls (The Lost Girls, book 1, a Dark Earth novel)
Traitor (The Lost Girls, book 2, a Dark Earth novel)
Wolfgirl (The Lost Girls, book 3, a Dark Earth novel)
Black Widow (The Lost Girls, book 4, a Dark Earth novel)
Guardian (The Lost Girls, book 5, a Dark Earth novel)
Into the Dark (Dark Universe, book 1)
New Beginnings (Vitalis, episode 1)
The Colony (Vitalis, episode 2)
Parasites (Vitalis, episode 3)
Screamer (Vitalis, episode 4)
Squatter's Rights (Vitalis, episode 5)
Evolution (Vitalis, episode 6)
Matriarch (Vitalis, episode 7)
Vitalis Omnibus (Vitalis, episodes 1 – 7)
Vitalis: Resurrection (Vitalis, book 2)
Vitalis: Provenance (Vitalis, book 3)
Vitalis: Genesis (Vitalis, book 4)
Vitalis: Invasion (Vitalis, book 5)
Vitalis: Chrysalis (Vitalis, book 6)
Vitalis: Communion (Vitalis, book 7)
Forbidden Love (Homeland, book 1)
Broken Slipper (Homeland, book 2)
When the Cookie Crumbles (Cookie Cutters, book 1)
Devil's Island (Fallen Angels, book 1)
Devils Rising (Fallen Angels, book 2)
Devil's Dance (Fallen Angels, book 3)
Human Nature
Sex Sells
Into the Dark (Dark Universe Book 1) Page 21