Aemon could hear his heart over all the noise. The time had come.
"Now, my faithful," Imogen said, lowering her arms, grabbing Aemon and gazing out over the crowd. "Let my children begin your journey to eternal life. It will hurt at first, but when you awaken, you will be remade. You will be better than you have ever been and feel no pain, suffering or want. You will be the vanguard for the future of humanity!"
The Order attendees started chanting her name, over and over again. "Ibilirith, Ibilirith, loving Mother Ibilirith."
Aemon recoiled, but she pulled him closer and said only loud enough for him to hear, "Do not fear, dear Aemon, and do not mourn for what comes. This will be brutal for them, but then so was being born from the loins of their mothers. Once the horror is over for them, my harvesters will take their heads and hearts to the manufactory and they shall be reborn into bodies that defy the weaknesses nature imposed upon them."
His legs started shaking and he felt an urgent need to empty his bladder. Imogen's voice was sweet. Too sweet. She was insane.
Then the first of the screams started and the chanting died away.
Aemon tried not to watch what was happening, but he could not help himself. The back row of attendees was harvested first, their bodies torn to ragged pieces by the sharp blades protruding from the eight legs of the harvesters. Some of the Order knelt and let themselves be shredded, while others backed away but were blocked by the press of bodies behind them.
Some ran past the harvesters and threw open the doors of the chapel, only to find the other four Secondborn warriors blocking the exit. The machine-men pushed them back inside. Lucien slowly stood and watched on, his mouth opening and closing like he was speaking, but no words came out.
"Indalius, take the patriarch away," Imogen said. "I want him to undergo the metamorphosis."
Dutifully, the machine obeyed and picked up Lucien, who did not fight, and walked him out the secret entrance toward the Tomb of Ibilirith. Radashan only had eyes for Imogen and ignored the carnage in the room. They are all insane. Aemon wanted to call on the Shield of Heaven to make this insanity end, but then he remembered Lydan was a lie too.
There were no divines. Only this...
Blood began to pool over the entire chapel floor as more and more of the Order were harvested. The machines themselves were covered in gore, some trailing intestines and other viscera Aemon did not want to identify. The containers on their backs were already becoming full of heads, hearts and brains. Blood poured from small pipes sticking out the side of them like water spurting from a tap.
As the screams of the Order attendees reached a crescendo, Imogen suddenly turned on Aemon and pulled him to her. She put her lips to his and forced her tongue in his mouth, holding him so tightly, he could not breathe. In a panic, he bit her tongue. She pulled away, spat blood, then struck him hard across the face.
He toppled down the stairs into the growing pool of blood and gore, the harvesters cutting and tearing around him like frenzied scavengers shredding carcasses. As Imogen followed him down, she shouted at Radashan to make sure no one came near her.
Aemon's head rang with the blow and he struggled to get to his knees. He turned his head to Radashan, hoping the Founder would do something. But Radashan stared at Imogen, rocking back and forth, his eyes shining bright.
Then the last scream from the slaughtered died away, and Aemon knew he would never escape. He would be enslaved to Imogen forever.
Using one hand, she grasped him by his throat and lifted him from the ground. "I brought you here to make love to me in my moment of triumph." Her grip tightened, and he felt his windpipe compressing, blood rushing to his head. He could not breathe, nor swallow; all he could do was look down at her. Kill me. Do it. I hate you. I hate you.
"I wanted to feel your lips on mine, your body pressing against me." She bared her bloody teeth. "You ruined it for me. You ruined it. How dare—"
She dropped him into the blood, gasping for air as Radashan picked her up from behind. Spinning around, the Founder started carrying her toward the side wall of the chapel. "Put me down," Imogen screamed, pummeling his metal body with her fists.
Asura flew to her mother's defense and began clawing at Radashan with her talons and pecking at his eyes. But he went on, reaching the wall, kicking it and ducking inside another secret door when it opened.
Aemon, dripping blood and worse, staggered to his feet and went after them, leaving the pitch-black room full of death and the twisted machines who had wrought it behind. The time to seize the genkey had come.
CHAPTER 35
KARA
Kara sat up and moaned. Remembering the dream of Ahnna and of seeing Aemon, she looked down at herself, unsure of what to expect. There were no horrific injuries, but the pain was there. Clawing, tearing, crushing pain, all over her face and deep in her ribs.
"I can feel it too."
Jolting in fright, Kara searched for the speaker. Semira sat on a chair a dozen feet away. "What happened?" Kara glanced around. She was in a small concrete room on a bed. A blanket was draped over her and she wore a loose-fitting white gown. "Where are we?"
"I believe we are at the home of the Oracle," Semira replied. "I haven't seen much. I've only just woken myself."
Kara rubbed at her aching chest. "I feel like my ribs are being split open from the inside out."
Semira held up an arm. "It feels like I'm holding it in a fire." Sweat glistened on her forehead. "But the pain is slowly easing. Slowly."
"What happened to you? I don't remember much after—" A flashback of teeth and dark faces came to Kara and she grimaced. "You tried to help me, didn't you?"
"I killed the beast," Semira said flatly, her lip curled. "I burned it."
"You saved me."
"Don't thank me, half-blood. I couldn't care less about you. I did it to save myself."
Kara studied her. Her sister studied her back. Neither spoke. What was there to say?
Eventually, Kara climbed off the bed and stood unsteadily, pain shooting through her body. The concrete floor was cold under her feet and she focused on that rather than the agony of her invisible wounds. Semira picked something up from the floor and tossed it unceremoniously at her. It was a pair of shoes. Frowning at her sister, Kara slipped them on. Then she saw her black cloak. She slipped out of her gown and started dressing.
Semira turned away. "Do you have no modesty? Oh wait, you were naked for a living."
"Yes, I was." Kara pulled the hood over her head. "I worked hard for my pay, just like my mother before me. Your father—" She stopped herself. I'm in too much pain to start a fight. Plus, we have more important things to worry about. "So what do we do now?"
Semira glared at her, but Kara held her ground. She would not look away. Eventually, her sister turned to the door. "There is someone we must meet here. She has much to tell us."
"I know. I saw her too."
"You saw Ahnna?"
Kara nodded. "She showed me things and said I must stand before her, with you at my side. She has a task for us."
Semira's face darkened. "She said that to me too. Her task can wait. I need to find father first, and she's going to tell me how."
"Where are Sasha and Aisha?" Kara asked, suddenly reminded of their absence.
"Her name is Ryhana."
"Ryhana..." Kara had a flash of memory. "I know that name." She thought hard. "Imogen killed her, long ago. She was a scientist who created monsters using genetics."
"I know. I now have Dwaycar's memories to guide me." The sour expression Semira had on her face showed she was struggling to deal with the weight of it all. "But I don't know where Ryhana and Sasha are. For all I know, they're with the Oracle already. My room is next to yours. After I woke, I heard your pitiful moaning, and came and sat in here with you. I haven't seen anyone else."
Pitiful moaning? If you were in as much pain as I am, you'd be doing more than moaning.
Suddenly, a figure darkened the doorway
. Both women recoiled as it stepped into the room. "Follow," it said in a buzzing drone, gesturing with an arm.
It looked like a man, but his body was a black shadowy mass, his facial features twisted and warped. When his arm moved, an after-image of it trailed in its wake. He appeared to be a servant, like the ones that had attacked the bunker. The servant stared at the space between the two sisters, as if he could not see them but still knew they were there.
Semira gasped, then backed against the rear wall. "No... no."
Kara retreated too, her heart beating hard. Was the servant a threat? She wished she had her power.
"Follow," the servant buzzed again.
Semira's face had gone pale, her eyes wide, hands raised, as if warding off an attack. The figure in the door hadn't moved. It still motioned for them to follow. Kara didn't understand. She studied the being's face. It looked like it might have been a real person once. She could see the vague outline of a beard, a jagged scar across one cheek and shoulder-length hair. Semira still cowered against the wall.
"What's wrong?" Kara was starting to get annoyed. "I don't think it means us harm."
The servant spoke again. "Follow."
Finally, Semira said, "I know him. He's called Thrim."
"How could you know him?" Kara glanced from one to the other. "Have you been here before?"
"No." Her sister showed no signs of relaxing. "I killed him."
"You what?"
Her eyes swiveled to Kara. "He was a scion. I killed him back at Sunholm. He charged me when I entered the library to kill my father." Then her eyes went back to Thrim. "How is he here?"
"Follow," Thrim said once more, still ushering them forward.
Kara had no idea how Thrim had gotten here, and frankly, she didn't care. Imogen is out there, hurting Aemon and killing people. "We need to go with him. I think he'll take us to Ahnna."
Semira swallowed, her eyes glued to the servant. "You go first. Try to get him out of the doorway. I don't want him near me."
Shrugging, Kara cautiously made her way toward Thrim. He backed out the door, still staring into space. "Follow."
Kara didn't bother to see if her sister would come and trudged after the servant as he led her away from the room. They passed through silent passages, the icy air misting with every breath. She heard footsteps racing up behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Semira. Kara let her sister catch up, then strode on.
They never spoke during their long journey through the maze of passages. Semira's face was a mask, with no hint of thought or emotion, her eyes never once leaving Thrim. Your sins haunt you, even here. Kara took an unhealthy amount of satisfaction in that. Her sister had gotten off too easily. Kara had suffered great loss, great pain and uncertainty. This had all been forced on her against her will.
But for Semira... she had brought it all down on herself. She'd killed her family, her brethren, slaughtered innocent people and even the old man who'd loved her. Her sister deserved this. She could blame Dwaycar all she wanted, but she still had control of her actions.
I have no pity for you. My heart is ice.
They reached a large metal door with ancient words written across it. Sarcophagus Entry One. Below that was Advanced Hyper Neural Net Array.
Ahnna, Kara thought. Ryhana had said the Oracle resided in a sarcophagus. This must be it.
A loud grating sound echoed through the concrete passages as Thrim opened the door. When his task was complete, he retreated into a shadowy corner and stood there, staring into space. Silent and still as the cold concrete passage.
Kara strode toward the door, her sister a step behind, seemingly not wanting to be left alone with the remnant of the man she'd murdered. Entering the next room, they found themselves in a huge open space with a colossal black cube hovering in the air at its center. The room was lit by electricity that arced between metal rods poking from the roof. A faint hum, like that of one of the machines in the Temple of Sacred Lights, could be heard coming from the direction of the cube.
"Welcome, scions," a monotone female voice intoned. "I am the Oracle. Long have I waited for this day."
"Where is Ahnna?" Kara asked, scanning the room. No one seemed to be about.
"I came to you as Ahnna, but I can be anyone or anything I choose. This world is a simulation of reality and I am its heart. The code that is my being floats high above the earth in three space stations, and coalesces inside this construct." The cube thrummed and pulsed with electrical energy. "I was made to serve those that gave me life by creating simulations of whatever they desired. Some came here to communicate with others long distances from them; others came to gleam knowledge of the past or play out probabilities for the future. And many came for entertainment—to hunt monsters or each other."
An arc of electricity shot out of the cube and into the ground, spraying the floor with sparks. "You have encountered some of their former prey. The shadow beasts, the Great Shadow. All were made for the people who came here to hunt."
Kara raised her voice. "I want to know where Ryhana and Sasha are. Are they here?"
"They are safe." The Oracle's voice had a tinge of warmth to it. "I watch over them fondly, as I did the man called Arden. They are the only beings in this world that are more than just mindless constructs or shades of those who once were. Sadly, the corruption has begun to claim Ryhana, and she no longer remembers how she came to be exiled here."
"Exiled?"
"Her own creations killed her, and I brought her soul here and attempted to upload it to a new host. But someone prevented her leaving, so she has remained here for many years, lost until Dressen found her. Now she is touched by the corruption, and slowly forgets much of what made her the person she once was. A great scientist, who made monsters by splicing the genes of disparate organisms. You can still see the fruits of her labors in your underground home."
Suddenly, Semira stepped forward. "You mentioned my father. Where is he? I must find him."
Electricity pulsed within the cube. "Indeed, you must. His destiny is linked to both of yours."
The sisters glanced at one another, each seemingly as confused as the other. "What do you mean?" Semira asked.
"He was my servant in your world, my eyes in the dark. Through my manipulations using his visiondreams, I had him find and then implant Dressen's genkey into your lower back."
"My father did that to me?" Semira gasped in disbelief. "No..."
"Yes, and with my subtle messages within his and Liana's visiondreams, he found Imogen's genkey and set in motion the events that led to its passing to Kara."
"What?" Kara and Semira both cried at the same time.
"This war needed to happen so that the Firstborn would be defeated and the surface returned to humanity."
Kara saw red. "So you're to blame for—"
"Do not vent your anger at me, or I will silence you. I control everything here." The cube glowed with menacing pale-blue light. "Your father did what needed to be done, as I believed Dressen would do." The monotone voice changed pitch. "I sent Dressen back to your world. He was to find the scion who could activate Imogen's genkey, bring her to Annbar, and wait until Imogen took control. Once his task was complete, your souls would come here, to me, while the two twins would reactivate the manufactory, start production of the Secondborn and help tip the balance of the war in humanity's favor."
Kara's heart skipped a beat. "No. What? You said you wanted to save humanity."
"Some lives need to be sacrificed for the greater good. There are many thousands of people in Stelemia. If twenty-five percent are turned into life-infused machines, the scales of the war could be evened out. My estimation tells me, humankind could sacrifice or lose as much as seventy percent of the remaining population and still have enough to rebuild once the war is done. Some should be sent into battle, some should be turned into the Secondborn and the rest, with a bias toward men with professions, breeding-age woman and children, should be kept clear so they can rebuild wh
en all is done."
"That... That is monstrous," Kara cried. "You're talking about people's lives."
"The alternative is extinction. Your race is slowly choking to death underground." The cube flashed. "Humans must return to the surface and multiply. The underground ecosystem of your home cannot sustain the amount of people required to face down the threats looming over the horizon."
"There must be another way. There has to be."
"There is not. Everything I have done has been to ensure the survival of humanity. I have simulated the future countless times, and the path I have set your feet upon has the highest probability for a positive outcome."
Kara glanced at Semira for help, but her sister's eyes were focused inward. "You're not going to say anything?"
Deep lines formed on her sister's brow. "Dwaycar wanted me to slaughter my own kin," Semira said. "He wanted to kill his sister. He never once spoke of working with her."
"I ordered him to put aside his differences with Imogen," the Oracle thrummed. "I trusted him. He assured me he would do as I instructed. Yet... he disobeyed me. I cannot fathom it. Why imperil the future over petty grievances? It is illogical."
Semira seemed to think this over. Then she brushed back her hair and sneered. "Because he is human."
"Human." The Oracle was silent for a time. "No matter. You are here now, and I gathered up the souls of your father and your brethren in the Covenant of the Lost Sun. The souls of the slaughtered scions are now my loyal servants who watch over this place."
"Gathered—" Semira began, lower lip twitching, sneer fading. "And Liana? Is she..."
"Your sister is not here. She is gone."
"Gone." Semira's voice was a faint whisper almost lost to the electrical thrum.
Kara went to reach out to her sister to comfort her, but stopped herself. No. She doesn't deserve it. Even if she has been used as a gaming piece like me, she doesn't deserve my sympathy. She murdered people.
The Lost Sun Series Box Set 1: Books 1 and 2 (Lost Sun Box Set) Page 69