As the sphere stabilized and became transparent, the creature’s yellow eyes widened in surprise. “Foolish man! These visitors are trespassers! Thieves! They cannot be trusted, otherwise I would have never been tasked to follow them.”
“Silence! You chose the wrong prey today, gloomy one. Return to the shadows you sprang from!” The guard spun around, lifting the sphere in the air by some unknown force, whipping the it around and around, ever faster until he released it at great speed, sending the shadowy figure flying off into the sea far below.
Three other guards rushed to grab Zahn, but the guard dressed in white yelled back to them. “Stop! I have royal dealings with this one. You are all dismissed!”
One guard, dressed in a grey robe like the others, flew up to him, disgusted. “What is the meaning of this? You know well enough that the law is quite clear on trespassing, especially for non-citizens. We cannot pardon them.” His gaze narrowed on the hooded man. “Manu, the law is clear. I must report them to the Empress.”
“You are bound by your duty, as am I, and this one is coming with me. You are all dismissed!” Manu’s voice boomed at the guards, and they slumped as they surrendered to his will. Each of them flashed looks of bitter disappointment back to him and flew away.
Zahn breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to the hooded guard, his face still completely hidden by his thick white hood. “So, it’s you? You’re Manu? Thanks for stopping that blade! I don’t know what I would have done. You are Manu, right?”
The hooded man turned to him, his features still hidden. “Yes. And you are?”
“Zahn.” He bowed slightly. “It’s an honor to finally meet you. My mission partner Asha should be around here somewhere. We jumped up here together, but I think she hid in the stones when that shadow creature came.” Zahn turned around, back to the cluster of boulders he’d been inside. “Asha! Can you hear me? I found Manu! Well, he sort of found me. But it’s safe to come out! Asha?”
“Yeah, I’m right here.”
He felt a tap on his shoulder and whipped around to find Asha standing just behind him. “There you are. Look!” Zahn gestured toward the hooded figure.
She looked up to the robed figure and squinted, trying to see beyond the darkness of his hood. “Glad to finally meet you! So, do you have a good reason for hiding your face?”
“Yes,” he said. “Now, follow me. We must meet within my mountain chamber.”
With a wave of his hand, the shimmering outline etched into the rock faded away, revealing a square opening, and Manu led them into a small room with a spiral incline that led downward, deep into the mountain.
Zahn looked at Asha and grinned. Finally, they were making real progress.
CHAPTER 15
MEET THE EMPRESS
Once again, Jyana glided above the murky sea floor, over patches of the familiar stony coral that provided the only shelter for so many endangered species.
Deep down though, she didn’t know why she was doing this. After all, less than a day of planetary time had passed since her last survey, but something drew her down here once again. Perhaps she was holding out hope that she would find something different, that the coral would show signs of new activity. Or perhaps she just wanted to get out of Mirage City and stop thinking about her problems. She’d even set her T-relay to silent.
She reached into a pocket of her thin golden pants, pulled out the relay, and touched it to her temple, causing a grid of wispy white lines of light to cover the gloomy seabed. As Jyana surveyed the sea floor, she thought of the visitors.
They’d been searching for someone the entire time, and they’d kept it from her. When she’d asked them for their purpose on Tavisi, Asha had only ever given a partial truth, and it made Jyana question her integrity.
How could they have known someone on Tavisi, anyway? What tie could the Confederation possibly have to one of our citizens?
Jyana stewed on this for a while, identifying a few fish and crabs along the way. She didn’t want to look at the data quite yet. If the numbers were even worse today, it would only depress her more.
She shook her head, as if trying to shake off some insect perched on her nose.
And how did they manage to meet Vayuna in the first place? How could she side with the Confederation? The Visionaries are meant to serve Tavisi, and no one else.
Below, Jyana noticed a suvarnak crab on a tan coral branch, slowly moving its golden mandibles, and she sighed.
I just wish that, for once, I didn’t feel out of the loop. Anyway, at least I’ll see Advisor Kathini soon. Talking with someone on the environmental committee is definitely a step forward. I just hope she takes me seriously.
She tapped her T-relay, causing a holographic image of her data to appear in the air. The population trends of over a dozen species were plotted alongside one another, and she studied the relationships between the crabs, indra fish, various species of coral, and the many other creatures around her.
It didn’t look good.
Just as she was about to head to another survey site, she was shocked to see Torin rush toward her through the coral, wearing a flowing red robe and a proud smile. She pocketed the T-relay, and the glowing grid on the seabed vanished.
“Jyana!” He reached out and took her hands. “Jyana, something wonderful has happened. One of the royal messengers came to me.” Torin’s eyes beamed with joy. “My darling, what we’ve wanted for so long has finally happened!”
“What?” she said. “Torin, what’s happened?”
“Well, it’s technically a secret.” His voice grew hushed. “And I can only tell you if you swear not to tell another soul until after the ceremony.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“Swear!”
“I swear!”
A smile crept across his face. “Oh, my beauty, my love, I’m going to be promoted to Chief Ambrosia Director!”
At hearing the revelation, a thrill ran up her spine. “Darling, that’s great news!” She embraced him tightly and kissed him.
“And!” he continued. “We are invited to a special ceremony in which we’ll meet the Empress herself.”
Jyana grew silent. Few ever had the chance to meet her. It was a rare honor.
“And here’s the exhilarating part,” Torin continued, “The messenger told me that the Empress also requested my presence within the holy walls to speak with me privately. I can only guess that it’s a private orientation for my new role. Do you know what that means?”
“You’re going into the monument.” She spoke as if she were only speaking to herself, under her breath.
He nodded. “Precisely. Well, that’s my best guess, anyway.”
Jyana embraced him again. “I’m so happy for you, my love. You’ve worked so long for this.” She pressed her eyes shut and felt his heartbeat. “And I’m so proud of you.”
He held her tightly.
“I know, my love. I know. I’m excited too.”
Still hovering over the tan coral in silence, they slowly spun in their embrace, completely unnoticed by the sea creatures that surrounded them. And for the first time in a long while, Jyana felt safe within Torin’s arms.
CHAPTER 16
A CREEPING DREAD
The creature Durazha cracked open her ancient eyes, still propped up on a command chair as small minions tended to her regenerating body. Although it had only been a short time since her revival, she had already persuaded her father Razakh to share control of his fleet of shadowed warships.
She blinked furiously. Her facial shielding, an important part of her new carapace, made her vision blurry. She pressed her eyes shut for a few moments and blinked again, finally making her eyes focus.
A sweeping expanse of stars were displayed on the visual array just ahead of her. And below, swooping control consoles ran under the length of the array, pulsing in a sickly viridian light.
Durazha’s eyes rested on the pulsing controls as a creeping dread dawned on her.
/> Time was running out. She could feel it.
Her unexpected return had given everyone pause, enough time for her to persuade Razakh to reinstate her status as autarch, based primarily on the sheer strength of her reputation, not to mention the fear that she instilled in others. But over the past few days, she noticed discord among her father’s minions, and she feared that they were on the verge of turning against her.
A thin smile crossed her face as she realized what she had to do. It was a risk, but she stood to gain tremendous respect and secure her position of power.
There was no escaping it: Durazha had to take complete control over her father.
She heard the familiar clanging sound of his approach, sending the minions scurrying away into the darkness.
“Prepared, Durazha?” he said. “The battle will be glorious.”
“Yesss, father,” she whispered, turning to behold his dark form. “And what of our agreement?”
Razakh groaned and knelt down beside her, his crimson eyes gazing into hers. “Durazha, we would be foolish not to share our power in this war. The Confederation pests have amassed a sizable battle group, and they approach as we speak. I cannot give you complete control, Durazha. We will face this together.”
She squinted her eyes at him and scowled. “Fool.”
“Durazha!” he screamed, his eyes flaring in anger. “If I am a fool, then you are the daughter of one. You will obey me, or you will reenter the abyss I pulled you out of!” Without warning, he slapped a dark helmet over her carapace, and a sharp pain shot down her neck. “This will transmit your thoughts to the battle subsystem. You shall manage the fighters while I direct the flagship. Do you understand?”
“Yes…” she growled.
Durazha considered reprimanding her father, but was distracted by the viewpoints that now overlaid on her vision like dozens of tiny bubbles.
Each showed a different angle of the battle group ahead, and within each bubble was an array of viridescent shapes, haloing any moving object in range. As she watched, she heard Razakh clamber over to his obsidian throne just behind and sit down.
“At last Durazha, we shall work as one. The first formations will reach the fighters momentarily. Prepare yourself!”
“Father,” she snapped, “I oversaw the creation of this mental interface. I am more than ready.”
“Then let us obliterate the Confederation infestation.”
“With deep pleasure.”
Among the dozens of bubbles overlaid on her vision, she saw a swarm of Confederation fighters racing toward them, in configurations that she hadn’t seen before. One ship looked like four pyramids evenly spaced apart like a starburst, and as it approached, dozens of points on its surface glowed bright magenta. Durazha focused in on it, sending dozens of cloaked fighters swarming around the ship, scarring it in seconds.
To her surprise, a nearby broadcast filled her mind.
Surrender the Chintamani Stone! You do not understand its power. Surrender the stone, and we will ceasefire! Otherwise, we will be forced to obliterate your vessels.
Without a second thought, Durazha deactivated her comm.
In the midst of the swarm, more of the starburst ships appeared, and one let out a huge wave of red light that washed over the entire battle group, decimating her fighters’ shields.
Simultaneously, every Confederation fighter, most of which were small pyramids, focused their fire onto a small section of her swarm, destroying a cluster of her fighters in seconds.
“Vermin!” Durazha screamed, causing a new wave of pain to shoot down her head, through her neck, and into her back. “They’re using a pulse weapon to overload my fighter’s cloaking cells. We need to take out the starburst configurations.”
Still behind her, Razakh’s deep voice reverberated around the room. “The vakramukta weapon has already begun.”
From multiple viewpoints, she noticed some of Razakh’s cruisers fire a half dozen viridian beams into open space. Where the beams intersected, the starlight rippled and faded. More cruisers approached, shooting more viridian beams into the fissure as it grew exponentially.
Meanwhile, Durazha sent her scouts out in a spherical pattern, beyond the battle, and waited. Now a safe distance from the pulse weapon, the position of her cloaked fighters were once again a mystery to the Confederation fleet, and she checked back to see her father’s progress.
The vortex had grown enormous, easily the size of a small moon. The Confederation force must have recognized this, because at that moment, they sent a swarm of spherical fighters toward Razakh’s cruisers. Yet he continued, using the combined power of all thirteen primary cruisers to grow the vortex and tow it toward them, twisting starlight around it into strange squashed shapes as it slid across space.
Seconds later, the Confederation swarm reached her father’s cruisers, raining a storm of purple plasma down upon them.
“Durazha,” Razakh called out, “the vakramukta has not finished forming the fissure. Send in your fighters! Now!”
“Yes, father!” she barked. “But I must concentrate them first.”
It only took a few seconds for Durazha to gather her fighters into groups of a dozen or so before she moved them in and swarmed the edges of the Confederation battle group. This worked well, distracting the ships, and a new wave of beautiful chaos erupted all around them. Two of the Confederation’s prized starburst configurations exploded into glorious balls of purple fire, and Durazha’s mouth twisted in a sharp grin.
As the vortex grew nearer to the Confederation swarm, their fire became less focused, and to her surprise, they ignited their pulse weapon three times in succession, revealing with clarity a wide stretch of Durazha’s cloaked fighters. In a mad instant, a group of the ships shot off a narrow volley and broke through Durazha’s spherical defense, leading the rest of the ships out into open space.
Once out, they jumped away, leaving her battle group alone in the darkness.
Durazha sat in silence for a moment, a seething anger roiling within her chest.
“Razakh!” she burst out, “I wanted to finish them off! How could you be so shortsighted and allow them to leave? You fool!”
“Silence!” Razakh stood up and walked over, his dark form suddenly towering over her. “You will respect my power, Durazha, or you will be reduced to nothing more than a mere husk!” He knelt down to her, his seething red eyes filling her vision. “I returned you to life, Durazha. And if you fail to cooperate, I will not hesitate to take that gift away.”
Durazha watched the anger swirl around in his eyes, smirking to herself. Something about her father’s anger gave her a rush, and it was so easy to get a reaction out of him. Only time would tell if she could get the reaction she desired.
“Of course, father.”
He huffed the air and stood up once more. “This battle was of no consequence. We have reduced their swarm, and there are other concerns to attend to.” He walked back up to the command chair behind her and sat down.
“Prepare to engage to the Kuvela system!” he shouted, and Durazha realized he was talking to the entire battle group.
“What?” she said, stunned. “Why waste your time with such an insignificant place?”
“There is much you have missed, Durazha. Only one world has ever managed to destroy a fissure under my command, and until now, that world has been allowed to continue unscathed. We must show the Confederation our true power, for our honor and for our hundreds of lost brethren. Prepare to engage!”
Durazha shook her head. Her father took all of this so personally, but war was not personal. Long ago, she’d realized that, to win, one had to look at the facts with detachment. Only then could you make intelligent decisions. If her father was choosing his targets based primarily on his emotions, then he was a fool indeed. He certainly didn’t deserve a faction all his own, much less the control of a vakramukta device.
As these thoughts rolled around in her mind, she heard the deep rumble of the timespac
e drive and saw a distortion in space waver ahead of them.
“And now,” her father boomed, “we shall show Avani the penalty for using a sacred stone against us.”
In a blink, they flew into the vortex, and a revoltingly white realm flooded Durazha’s vision. It flickered away into an easy blackness, but soon came back. Back and forth this black and white pulse continued, until it sickened her.
When they reemerged into the darkness of space once again, new information was overlaid on her vision. Above, Durazha noticed the night side of a massive world, swirling with a thick reddish atmosphere of hydrogen and helium, containing slight traces of ammonia and methane.
“We have arrived,” Razakh said in almost a reverent tone. “Durazha, confirm that the cloak shells are stable. We must remain hidden until we are ready to strike.”
“Confirmed,” she said, glancing at the data spanning her vision. “And what do you expect to accomplish by hiding the fleet behind a gas giant?”
“All a part of my Grand Stratagem, Durazha.” He bellowed with a deep, menacing laugh. “You shall see! You shall see.”
Meanwhile near the spinning remnants of the battle, the abandoned vortex Razakh had created still drifted in the middle of deep space, nearly invisible except for the distortion it added to the starlight around it. Someday it would be mistaken for a natural wormhole, yet if its eventual discoverers had known of its real creator, they would have abhorred its existence.
CHAPTER 17
THE HIDDEN PATTERN
BZZT. BZZT. BZZT.
Yantrik gasped as his eyes shot open.
“What the blazes?” He popped up from the hammock he was lying on so fast that it flipped right around, spilling him onto the floor with a loud thud.
The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) Page 9