It would only grow bigger, of course, as she made her way toward it. The question was whether she’d be alone or not. If Hamiad really followed an inner code, she believed he would show up sooner or later. Because so far, he seemed an opposite to Mitchell.
They’d seen the better of a dozen dates together. Official dates with flowers, the occasional chocolates, pretty dresses and dress shirts. All arranged by Tobias and Mitchell’s parents. Her mom had relinquished her input on matters, since Sarah couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the whole process, even if it came off as a bit sterile. The problem was, they were running out of restaurants and hangouts to spend their evenings in. Not that she would’ve hated repeating a few. Mitchell’s poems beat listening to Nebirian any day. An hour twice a week, each week. They’d grab a bite to eat, chat about school and each other, maybe browse a few shops, and discover their time up.
They’d never gone much farther than talking or holding hands, though. The opportunity never seemed to present itself because in the back of her mind, she knew Tobias had set these things up. They needed to get closer on their own time. They had to break the routine.
So she suggested a covert meeting of sorts to Mitchell. They planned to meet in the south end of Bagram, far from his family’s restaurants, after school. And he agreed. But when the time came, he left her hanging. She waited stupidly for two hours at the Shroud War memorial statue.
A trip to his house got her answers, though. More than she wanted, even. She stopped outside his window, something she’d never done before. And that’s when she caught him and the other girl kissing. All Sarah could think was that he’d outright abandoned her.
But Hamiad wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t let her walk the empty path alone. It wasn’t in him. At least she hoped not.
A distant mechanical groan interrupted her thoughts. Blue light wavered above, giving her a heads-up to an Anunnaki craft speeding out of the base and into the night sky. She watched the bluish craft curve to the left, taking a few steps to turn in that direction.
“I thought the base would be prettier,” Hamiad said. His voice made her jump. He’d come out of nowhere, wearing a brown shawl.
“Hi,” she said, still stunned with relief. “Did you…?”
She meant to say plant the bombs.
“I figured you might need backup out here. We could always set up the explosives later.”
An ashamed grin hung on his face. He must’ve realized just how crazy that sounded. Perhaps how crazy it sounded from the beginning.
He offered her a brown shawl. It was getting chilly. Not cold, but after so much hot, humid air, a small drop in the temperature practically threatened an ice age.
Chapter 21
A maze of jagged walls tore up the sand around it like the teeth of a giant beast. They were too precise to be natural, and yet no one lived here now. Navigating along the tops of these walls, Sarah and Hamiad found themselves constantly watching their step or else risking a fall ten feet onto hard stone.
Sarah had never appreciated her mother’s bravery in traveling miles through rough terrain. At least she had Hamiad. Somehow, her mother had made a living traveling around by herself.
“Is this how the Naga guard their proxies?” Sarah asked, pulling her foot away from a particularly sharp-edged tip.
Hamiad shook his head. “These look more like the ruins of an old city.”
Sarah noticed a couple of shattered pots and coins. He had a point.
The maze ended at a field of black paved flooring. It was hard to believe they had actually come this far. The base of the conoid structure’s sloped surface stood less than one hundred feet dead ahead. Aside from the blue craft that had shot into the sky, nothing suggested that the dead-black proxy even operated right now.
The Anunnaki don’t make it very inviting. But then they probably weren’t used to human visitors.
They sat on the edges of two walls opposite each other. In their brown shawls, they appeared to be two lost and weary travelers.
Even to Sarah the plan sounded pretty crazy: two teenagers facing up to an Anunnaki military base. What if the Anunnaki somehow recognized them as freedom fighters from Utbashi? Maybe Anunnaki regulations dictated they simply shot humans on sight if they came too close to one of their proxies.
Her heart raced as the thoughts spun through her head, and she started to wonder if she could keep her cool.
“Communication is an important part of a successful plan,” Hamiad said.
Sarah had almost forgotten he was sitting there. While he didn’t seem so angry anymore, outside of tactical talks, he still hadn’t said anything to her. Only, the way he said this now, Sarah knew he meant only to talk, not talk tactics.
“Just got caught up in the moment.” She shrugged.
“I don’t blame you. Even I haven’t been to a proxy.”
“You’re not nervous?”
“There’s one thing Ibdan told us that I’ll never forget. He said we wouldn’t have to worry about being cowards as long as we knew who we were fighting for. That didn’t mean ourselves; it meant our squad. Even if it was only a few people.”
“Was it easy, then? Fighting at Utbashi?”
“It wasn’t easy. But I never considered giving up.”
Sarah watched him as his eyes drooped to the sand. “It must be tough now.”
She didn’t have to say now, after losing so many fellow recruits.
“I guess I’ll have to settle for you being my squad.” Hamiad laughed, looking directly at her.
Sarah turned back from his gaze. The image of his brown eyes was etched in her head. It would be hard to deny that she’d grown fond of Hamiad. There was no way she’d ever think of him as any less than the Watcher recruit who had saved her life. As a real friend.
“It’s funny. My stepdad always warned me to stay as far from these bases as possible.”
“I heard he taught you Nebirian.”
Sarah shrugged. “That was all he ever taught me.”
Hamiad picked up sand and let it filter through his fisted fingers. “After this is done, when we’re safe in another village, will you teach me their language?”
“So you can spy on them?”
“It’s nothing like that.” Hamiad waved it off with a grin. “Eventually, there will be peace talks. I figure negotiations will be easier if we can speak their language.”
“Wasn’t the idea to send them back to Nebiru?”
“It’s impossible. Their warp gates are destroyed. They’re stuck here.”
Peace. Sarah never would’ve expected Hamiad to be in favor of it.
“You set to go through with everything?” he asked after a moment of silence.
“We have to. Turning back would look suspicious.”
They rose up, took in a final steady breath, and started toward the base, their nerves racing. A palpable tension grew beneath them.
“I figure it like this,” Hamiad said uneasily. “Johnny’s probably still alive. So we can survive too.”
“Maybe.”
They were nearly to the slant of the conoid structure. Sarah turned to Hamiad. “For what it’s worth, I think you would’ve made a great Snake-eater.”
She thought about Johnny’s medals, still resting in her pocket. She’d be sure to give them to him if they made it through this.
The proxy loomed, a vast black mass in front of them. Distant spires rose against the horizon.
After all the miles of walking, she’d forgotten about her throbbing ankle. As she started up the conoid’s sloping surface, the pain surged back. She cringed and waited a few moments for the discomfort to subside before continuing. It felt like she wore lead boots.
“Sarah,” Hamiad said with such unease that she paused.
She turned to see him looking dreadful as if he’d finally opened to a painful reality.
“Yeah?”
“This won’t stop the Anunnaki’s plans. They’ll still have the healing Conifer.”
Somewhere at the edge of her consciousness, this fact had always existed. Ghostly and quiet, but there. She’d tried to keep it out of the forefront of her mind. But now Hamiad wanted her to confront it. She didn’t know what to say.
She had to accept that they couldn’t stop the Anunnaki as a whole. Stopping the Ascendi would have to do.
Besides, the Himalayas provided the solution. They offered a haven from this war and any future wars.
“All right, then,” Hamiad said quietly.
They trudged on.
A sense of foreboding emanated from the top landing. Sarah hesitated upon reaching it. She didn’t see anyone. Still, she knew something was watching them. All Anunnaki buildings worked as a form of surveillance. Just because this base showed no signs of activity didn’t mean it wasn’t watching them.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Hello, I have something to give you from a soldier named Zatra.”
She pulled out the designator.
Two Anunnaki stepped away from the wall, the colors of their body suits adjusting to match the dark sky now behind them.
Sarah raised her arms in surrender. Hamiad followed suit.
Whatever happened from this point was in the Anunnaki’s hands.
Without saying anything, the soldiers grabbed their shoulders with one hand and held their other, open palm, to the sides of their heads and dragged them through an interlocking spiral hatch. Sarah knew Anunnaki were strong, but she felt like a dog’s chew toy. Even if she wanted, there was no chance of resisting.
“Where are we going?” she cried. The Naga ignored the question.
Every hatch the Anunnaki palmed open only amplified her panic. Their swift walk sent boiling aches up her ankle, but she fought back the urge to cry out. Something told her if she just played along, she’d be free soon.
They passed a corner and entered a shaft. Seconds later a new corridor greeted them. A sudden surge of heat made her head spin. All her sunburned skin began prickling with sweat. Suddenly her whole body stung from the intense warmth pounding against her skin.
Even Hamiad looked a little dazed.
Before she knew it, they entered a new pod. Finally the Naga released them. Sarah tried to catch her breath, but the thick air didn’t seem willing. Not just that, but eerie moans echoed throughout the pod. Relaxing was not an option. She needed to play the role she’d rehearsed. She straightened her posture, trying to regain her composure. Then she saw the pits in the floor. The moans emanated from within.
Crouched over one pit and facing away, an Anunnaki ordered them to bring her.
The hand against her shoulder pressed in. If the Anunnaki wanted to hurt her, there was nothing she could do.
As she walked closer, she noticed the triangle-eye symbol on the Ascendi’s shoulder.
“Greetings, Sarah Stevens.”
Chapter 22
Horrified, Sarah said nothing. How did the Ascendi know she’d be here?
As if to answer, the Ascendi gestured for her to look into the pit.
A few seconds passed before she recognized the woman inside. Her hair hung in tatters, her clothes dirty and torn. And her face…her face was etched with deep lines like she’d been gone for years instead of days. But it was her mom, and she was alive.
“Mom?” Sarah dropped down into the pit. Her ankle twisted painfully when she met the hard floor, but it didn’t matter. So many questions swirled in her head as she clutched her mother. Why wasn’t she in the Himalayas? Did the Anunnaki know she worked with the Watchers? Was she dying? The biggest, how had she ended up in such a poor state? Her body looked so frail, almost skeletal. Sarah should’ve been happy to see her. Instead, she feared she might hurt her by hugging her too tightly.
“Sarah.” Her voice was less than a whisper.
“Mom, what happened?”
A heavy lump swelled up in her throat.
“They caught me a few days ago.”
Then she didn’t know about New Bagram’s destruction, did she? The Anunnaki wouldn’t have told her.
“I was going to find you. After…”
She trailed off. She didn’t need to tell her mother about New Bagram’s destruction. Not now.
Her mom heaved a sigh. “Let’s just get out of here. Tell me, is Krem safe?”
“Yeah.”
Her mother managed a smile and looked up at the Ascendi. “You kept my children alive. So I’ll tell you where the last one is. And then you set us free.”
It didn’t come off as a question; it came off as a confirmation. Maybe they’d already negotiated this agreement.
“And then I set you free. I’ll even throw in a complimentary tune-up for you both.” The Ascendi revealed a violet gem in his hand.
Sarah’s stomach lurched. Utbashi’s treasure. The healing Conifer. The Conifer of life.
“He’s going to give us that?”
“No. He’ll just heal us,” her mom answered. “In exchange for the location of a Conifer,”
“A Conifer?” Sarah asked.
If the Ascendi wanted knowledge of a Conifer’s location from her, why didn’t it read her mind? And suddenly she felt the answers creeping into her head. Funneling there from an outside source. She could almost reach out and grasp new understandings at will, but something warned her not to. Still, they pushed into her thoughts, and she accepted them.
The last two Conifers were shielded from the Ascendi Major. The Ascendi couldn’t read her mom’s mind because somehow she’d blocked out his mental energy. She recalled disturbing images of her mom restraining Tobias. His hands crashing against her, spit flying as he cried at the top of his lungs, his body trembling to escape what he perceived as threats. Frantic fear consumed Sarah like a giant beast was chasing her.
More answers popped up spontaneously.
Blinking, she realized that all those times her mom stopped Tobias’s panic attacks, the trauma had worn on her psyche too, leaving horrific memories to gather and rot. But now those rotting memories were a barrier of sorts against the Ascendi’s mind reading. Every time he had tried to read her mother’s mind, to figure out what was inside Tobias’s study, he received only the wild, numbing memories of Tobias losing it.
Then the answer is in Tobias’s study, isn’t it? the Ascendi asked her mentally. Sarah closed her hands into fists and shut out the voice. He stood above with a blue Conifer. The mind Conifer.
Sarah wanted to laugh. After everything, Tobias’s PTSD fits were the thing standing between the Ascendi and one of the last two Conifers. At least for her mom. But she didn’t know how long she could keep the Ascendi out of her own head.
“Remember that thing your stepfather protected during the Shroud War?” her mom said. It must’ve been a Conifer. The Conifer the Ascendi sought now. “I’m going to let the Ascendi know all that I know. And then we’ll be free.”
Sarah could hear the hunger to surrender in her mother’s voice. She fought back the urge to scream. Was her mom actually going to help the Ascendi after what he did to Bagram, let alone her?
If her mom offered him whatever it was he wanted to know, he might release her. For a moment, Sarah imagined traveling to the Himalayas with her mother, Krem, Hamiad, and the other recruits. She wanted to cling to that thought forever. The best part was that it was completely within her grasp.
But it meant they’d be helping the ones who had firestormed Bagram. The Naga who seemed more willing to hurt innocent humans every day.
“Wait!” Sarah cried. She gulped a big breath. There was one major decision to make. Her next words were going to upset both her mother and the Naga. “The Anunnaki…they attacked New Bagram with a firestorm. It’s gone.”
Her mother’s eyes grew wide.
“What?”
Hate formed across her face as she glared at the Ascendi. “You lied—”
Before she finished, the Ascendi jumped down and raised his palm to her mother’s face. “Too bad,
” he said. Sarah recognized the flat metal circle resting in the center of his palm. A resonance blaster. The device hummed, about to fire.
She thrust out her arm to knock his hand away. But it ended too soon. She was absolutely powerless to stop the pulse surge. Blood splattered across the floor and forced her to look away. She couldn’t scream. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t even blink. There was only the lingering mental image of the red circle on her mother’s forehead and the intense pain twisting inside her.
A knot formed in her throat. Tears ached behind her eyes. Suddenly, Sarah heard herself cry out in a wild screech that ended in sobbing. Her whole face burned as the tears and whimpers came free. She sat there, wiping her face over and over. And then the urge to physically be with her mother consumed her. Right now, seeing the resonance-blaster wound was a terrifying thought.
Still sobbing, she bent down and pressed her face to her mother’s hand. She felt the cold innateness of her mother’s hand, confirming she would never hear her speak, see her paint, know her nourishing aura again.
The Ascendi was explaining that he’d put out an alert for Sarah as soon as he read her mother’s mind. And once Sarah passed through the Anunnaki’s scanners, he knew to take a portal to this base. But those words were all miles away.
“I picked up a rifle. I threw a grenade. I’m sorry,” Sarah said to her mom. Her own voice sounded hoarse, hurt and foreign. More foreign than the Nebirian from other Anunnaki in the chamber.
They’d gone through so much for nothing. Was this the pain Hamiad felt for Ibdan? The pain he felt for his family?
Something this horrific should’ve put her in shock. But now that she’d seen war, a desperate rage flooded her heart. The knife weighed on her ankle, and she knew what to do. She reached to her ankle and unclipped it.
“I tried to keep the promise, but I couldn’t,” she told her mother. Slowly, she propped herself up, preparing to lunge at the Ascendi. And then at a touch from his fingers, a strange heat ran through her entire body. She lurched and collapsed onto the floor, limp.
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