One of the flower-people laughed. It sounded no more than ten feet to his left.
What should he do? If he lowered his mace to crawl away, they could jump onto his back and he would be defenseless. If he kept swinging blind, it would not be long before he wore himself out or they found a way to flank him.
"Please... I am sorry. We thought you were just another monster like the rotmen." He heard a sound to his right and swung his weapon but hit nothing. "Killing me will not bring your loved ones back."
"Nash dom ushel. My vse chto ostalos'."
"What tongue are you speaking?" The cadence of it reminded Aemon of the ancient language of Ibilirith.
A vine slapped him across the face, sending him reeling sideways. When he sat up, he tasted blood in his mouth. He waited for a second strike, but it did not come. Were they toying with him?
Metal clanged somewhere behind him. Spinning around, he readied his mace to swing.
"Chto eto bylo?" one of the flowers said.
Other noises came from the darkness, noises he could not identify. The enemies spoke in hushed tones, their voices speaking rapidly. "What is out there?" Aemon asked, sensing they were afraid.
As if in answer, twin red specks of light appeared in the wall of black. Eyes. Intense fear made him tighten his grip on the mace. What is it? He pictured rotmen or something worse.
The eyes moved toward him, the clang of metal on concrete the only sound. Aemon backed away, pushing himself along with his legs, his pain a distant memory. "Stay away from me. Stay away."
The eyes edged closer.
When they were ten feet from him, they stared at him unblinking. One of the flower-people made a choking noise, and the eyes disappeared. Seconds later came a scream, then frightened voices, thrashing sounds and then nothing. Silence.
Aemon panted, his body paralyzed, heart thumping and thumping. What was happening? Had the enemy fled or were they dead? Where were Minard and Erinie? Divines help me. What is out there?
"Squawk, squawk," came a sound from the dark.
A red light shone through a shelf to his right. Holding his breath, Aemon followed it with his eyes. It was coming his way. He gripped his mace and watched it move closer. Lydan, protector of the weak and holy. Give me the strength to fight. Give me—
His prayer died as he saw a figure silhouetted against the light. On its shoulder was the shape of a bird.
Aemon's heart skipped a beat. It looked like Kara.
When the figure neared, the source of the light was revealed. The passkey. The figure stopped, and the light dimmed. Aemon's mouth dropped open as he stared up at her. "Kara, you are alive!"
On his knees, Aemon dragged himself toward her, not caring for the pain it caused him, only wanting to hold her close and never let go. She studied him as he approached, but did not move to embrace him. He neared six feet from Kara when the bird on her shoulder squawked and snapped its beak at him.
He froze as the bird spread its wings, as if readying itself to swoop down on him. After a moment, Kara lifted her hand and patted it on the back of the head. "Now, now, Asura, that is no way to treat an old friend. This man's name is Aemon. He is a trusted companion, not my enemy." The edge of her mouth twisted. "Aren't you, Aemon? I can trust you?"
How could she doubt him after all they had been through?
"You know I am. I... I love you. Surely you know that?"
Wrynric was not there anymore, nor were the others. He could tell Kara he loved her and they would never know.
"You see, Asura, he loves me." The bird stopped flapping its wings but continued to watch him suspiciously, its eyes ruby flames. Kara stared down at him. "Are you injured?"
It took him a moment to answer. "Yes... my leg. I think the bone is cracked."
Kara glanced over her shoulder. "Indalius, my baby, come forward."
Metal clanged, and red eyes opened in the darkness behind her. A towering eight-foot-tall figure stepped into the glow of the passkey. Aemon backed away in horror. The figure was a human skeleton, encircled with wires and held together by a metal frame, with sockets to allow its limbs to move. The eyes shone from a metallic human skull—the only bone not human—its teeth looking more like fangs, as no flesh covered them.
A monotone voice came from the metallic skull but Aemon did not understand what it said. Was he the Metal Man Kara had been searching for? The Metal Man from the old tale?
Kara frowned. "We no longer speak that language, child. For now, we will speak the language of the caves." She laughed. "As primitive and guttural as it is."
"Yes, Mother," the machine-man replied.
Kara turned back to Aemon. "Indalius, my baby, there should be medical supplies here. Send some units out to fetch them for me. My dear, sweet Aemon needs pain relief and I need surgical tools."
"As you wish, Mother." The machine-man disappeared back into the darkness.
Aemon narrowed his eyes. This could not be Kara. At least, not the Kara he had known. "Who are you?"
She patted her bird. "You know who I am. I am Kara."
"You have changed. What happened to you?"
"I have changed. I'm no longer the old Kara I used to be. In fact, I no longer go by that name at all." A faint smile crossed her lips. "Call me Imogen, once known as Mother of Steel Children."
Aemon's heart beat fast. "What did you do to Kara?" Aemon started to raise his mace, but the bird flapped its wings and squawked, so he stopped. "Where is she?"
Imogen put a hand to her heart. "I'm her and she's me. You loved her and cared for her. Now you can love me."
Aemon blinked. "I do not want you. I want Kara. Where is she?"
"She's gone and there's no way to bring her back. But part of her lives within me. That will have to be enough."
How could it ever be enough? Aemon wanted Kara, not this... He had no words for what to call it. He sobbed. Kara was gone. Kara was gone. He had brought her to her doom. They all had.
"I want you to love me, like you loved her." She took a step toward him.
He sniffed. "Why would you want me to love you?"
Imogen pursed her lips. "All you need to know right now is that I have need of you."
"Need of me? Why?" She wanted his love because she needed him?
"I will return to Stelemia to fight the soulless machines that were my Firstborn. Once there, I will need someone to help guide me through the tangled web of Stelemian politics." She gestured behind her. "My servants understand little of the governing hierarchy of the caverns. You can guide me through it, as I work to salvage what I can of humanity and put it to use in our defense."
Salvage? Aemon became suspicious of her intentions. He had seen the way she had acted back at the door where Kahan had attacked them. Violent and reckless. It could not have been Kara.
The words of the prophecy started to play out in his mind.
The Ancient Enemy shall return and with them the scion who shall carry a glowing... and the scion shall use it to unseal the wards and unleash that which must not... Harvesters the scion will use to destroy... Human life... Forever.
Did Imogen know of the prophecy? Was she the scion it spoke of? "What are harvesters?" he asked.
Imogen blinked her white eyes. "How do you know of them?"
"They are mentioned in the Prophecy of Ibilirith."
"Ibilirith... Her temple is where those religious fanatics keep my armor."
That took Aemon by surprise. "Your armor?"
"Yes, it is in a tomb under their temple. I saw it through Kara's eyes."
"But... that tomb is where Ibilirith is buried."
Imogen frowned, looking so much like Kara had. "So the goddess of light stole my armor, or..." She patted Asura absently, then a cunning smile formed on her face. "I bet Radashan is behind this. Maybe he made me into a goddess to say sorry for his betrayal and put me back on a pedestal so lesser minds could worship me."
"Radashan the Founder betrayed you?" Aemon's mind spun, his knowledge of
history suddenly challenged. "How is that possible? How do you know of him?"
"I know of him because Kara knew of him. And yes, he betrayed me. My brother got to Radashan and somehow convinced him to turn on me. Radashan was one of my many male sycophants, and I let him get too close." She clasped the passkey like Kara used to. "Too bad he'd have died long ago. I wish I could have made him suffer for what he did to me."
If what Imogen said was true... Aemon's mind turned it over. Did that mean the stories of the other divines were all lies? If Imogen was indeed Ibilirith, then who were Dwaycar, Lydan and Roryur? Had they returned too? Were they even gods? Did they really go to heaven?
What else about the past could be wrong?
For someone who considered himself a student of history, these questions were more than a little unsettling. They brought everything he knew about the founding of Stelemia into question.
He stopped himself. Let's deal with one thing at a time. This is too much to take in all at once.
"So what are harvesters? What do you intend to do with them?"
Imogen whistled. A moment later, a scuttling sound came from the surrounding darkness. Aemon gripped his mace tighter. What did she have out there?
An eight-legged monstrosity emerged into the red light of the passkey. The legs supported a rounded disk-like body, a head with two eyes and a long snout with sharp metallic teeth. On its back sat a large transparent jar with an opening at the top. It almost looked like the jar stored something inside it, but at the moment it was empty.
Five more harvesters followed the first into the light, each identical to the other. They bobbed up and down, jaws snapping open and closed, each eying Aemon with their strange globed eyes.
When one of the metallic creatures leapt near him, Aemon backed up until he bumped into the side of a shelf. "Get it away from me."
"Oh, stop worrying so much. It won't hurt you unless I want it to." She giggled like a child as she waved the harvester away. "Shoo, scat, you're scaring poor little Aemon."
When the harvester had backed away, Aemon waited for her to explain what the machines were, but she only stared at him, still giggling. When he opened his mouth to speak, a long series of booms echoed throughout the warehouse. One harvester flipped over onto the top of its jar, kicking its legs wildly, while another leapt around in circles as the sound echoed around them.
Imogen gripped the passkey. "Indalius, return to my side."
"Coming, Mother," a voice boomed from somewhere in the dark.
The metal man returned, carrying one of the same boxes Erinie had picked up with the red cross on it. He handed it to Imogen. "That sounded like gunfire," she said.
"Yes, Mother. I sent two of my brothers to investigate."
There were more metal men out there?
"Good. Stay here and guard me while I set to work on poor old Aemon."
Indalius removed something from his waist and held it before him. It looked like the hilt of a great sword. The hilt clicked and a shimmering blade shot out from it. A sword, but one sheathed in blue flame.
Asura flew off and landed on a crate nearby and watched as Imogen strode over to Aemon and opened the box. After studying the contents for a moment, she removed scalpels, needles and other surgical implements.
Aemon gulped. "What do you need them for?"
She held a bone saw up to the light of the passkey. Its shiny blade shimmered blood red. "I'm going to cut off your leg, of course. What else would you need a saw like this for?"
"Wha—What? No..."
"Don't worry; I'll give you something to knock you out." Her voice sounded like she was placating a child. "When you wake, you'll have a new shiny leg. One made of metal."
He got onto his stomach and dragged himself away from her. Imogen was insane. He had to get out of there before—
Indalius pinned Aemon down with a metal foot. "Be thankful, human, that she is not going to harvest you like she harvested me."
"No, let me go." Aemon struggled to get out from under the foot. "My leg is fine. Please, do not cut it off!"
"Release him, Indalius." Imogen sighed. "I don't want to force an upgrade on him he clearly doesn't want. One day he will see the benefit of transcendence and accept it willingly."
The metal man lifted his foot and stepped away. Aemon rolled onto his back and looked up at Imogen. "What are you going to do to me?"
"I will give you pain relief, then I'll make a splint." She made him remove his leather armor. "Yuck. We better clean up your face too. The dried blood over it is not very endearing, nor is all that bruising."
Aemon was about to remind her she was the one who had injured his leg and bruised his face back at the door where they had fought Kahan, but another long series of booms erupted from somewhere in the warehouse. Indalius moved to protect Imogen. "Mother, my brothers report two humans engaged in a firefight with more of the genetically altered lifeforms."
"More of Ryhana's children, no doubt." Imogen filled a needle with liquid from a vial. "You know what to do with them, Indalius. Off you go." The machine strode off.
Aemon's stomach lurched. "No, please, I think those two people are Minard and Erinie. They helped you get to the Metal Man."
Imogen smashed the vial against the side of a crate, spraying its contents everywhere. "That monk was going to kill me."
Her voice had an odd accent to it he had not noticed before she had gotten angry. "Erinie saved you," Aemon said, more wary of Imogen than ever. "She attacked Kahan before Minard could hurt you."
"So?" Imogen glared at him. There was no hint of amusement in her tone, no longer laughter in her eyes. Now she seemed as dangerous as a rotman.
Aemon bit the inside of his lip. The only leverage he had over Imogen was himself. She could force him to go with her, but not force him to do anything beyond that. As far as he knew.
"If you want me to help you and love you like I loved Kara, then you will let my friends go."
She pursed her lips. "If I spare them, do you promise you will stay with me and aid me in my task—no matter what?"
Aemon was about to agree to those terms, but something stopped him. A niggling voice at the back of his mind said there was something more to Imogen's demands. "What will you do once we get back to Stelemia? How do you intend to fight the enemy?"
The passkey flashed. "I intend to turn my life-infused children upon them. But first, I will retrieve my armor from under the temple. That is all you need to know. For now."
Still not trusting her, he asked, "How many children do you have here? You will need an army to defeat the enemy."
She frowned. "I'm not one who tolerates being questioned."
Indalius returned. "Mother, Ryhana's children have been neutralized. The two humans are detained. My brothers report they were carrying guns stolen from the armory." A metallic gear whirred. "What do you wish done with these humans?"
Imogen studied Aemon for a long moment before answering. "Bring them here. I wish to speak with them."
CHAPTER 6
KARA
Kara led Semira through the darkness of the station back toward the office. Semira seemed to have dark-vision too, but it didn't seem as effective as Kara's, as she had to feel her way along. "Why did you come down here?" Kara asked. "Were you fleeing the Great Shadow like I was?"
Semira shivered violently from the cold. "I woke up in the room where you found me. At first I couldn't see anything, then my eyes slowly adjusted. I have no idea where I am. This place isn't anything like the visiondreams the other scions had."
"That's because it isn't. We are different. I think because we had two of the divines within us—it changed us somehow and we are more in touch with this place."
"So what are we doing here? Why didn't we die?"
"I don't know. There's too much of Imogen's memories floating around my head for me to make sense of it all."
Semira frowned. "Her memories?"
"Yes, for some reason I inherited her memori
es, while at the same time, many of my own were lost." Kara put her hands to her temples. "There's so much in here that it makes my brain feel... I don't know. Full, I guess is the best way to describe it."
Her sister paused at the bottom of the escalator, fingering the toy egg. "Dwaycar was in me for so long, I don't remember what I used to be like before he came. Though unlike you, I don't have his memories."
Kara knew how Semira felt. "Where do I end, and they begin?"
"Yes." Semira grimaced. "From what Dwaycar said, he was always a part of me."
Kara reminded herself of what Semira had done. She'd killed without mercy and had even slain her own family in cold blood. Her sister could blame the voice in her head for all she'd done, but Semira still had control of her body—which meant her actions were her own. But then, look what happened to me. The rage I sometimes felt. I even struck Aemon before the Tomb of Ibilirith.
Could Kara have done the things Semira had, if Imogen had been inside her as long as Dressen had been in her sister? What if those around Kara had treated her like filth? Would she have killed them like Semira had?
Those thoughts were unsettling and led to an even more disquieting conclusion. That Semira was a victim too. Stop. She murdered people. I didn't.
Angry at herself for letting her thoughts drift, Kara said, "Imogen told me I was made for her. If I search through her memories, perhaps I could find out more about what we are and why we are here. But first, we need sleep."
They endured the rest of the walk to the office in silence. Semira hugged herself as she shivered, her teeth chattering. The chill of the station was less than that above, but still the air felt like ice and misted with every breath they took. Kara's power in the visiondream only held back some of the chill. If they were to survive the night, they needed to huddle together for warmth.
But did she really want to sleep next to a vile murderer like Semira? The thought of it...
Then she remembered Aemon, and the people back in Stelemia. They needed her. If there was a way to stop Imogen from unleashing her harvesters on humanity—it was up to Kara to find it. If that meant sleeping next to her loathsome sister, then so be it!
The Lost Sun Series Box Set 1: Books 1 and 2 (Lost Sun Box Set) Page 48