“There’s just the two of you?”
“Yes. We don’t know where they took the others or of their fate,” Asalak said, a cast of doubt in his stare.
Paige saw the unspoken urgency in his eyes. “Ok, then. I have two people up on the roof. They’ll help us up.”
“Excellent,” Asalak agreed, glancing back at Eklan.
Paige could sense the man’s anxiety even from afar.
Maybe the situation is worse than any of us realized.
She uncurled the rope from her body and looped it around Asalak’s tall frame. He let her secure the line around his waist, focusing on each of her movement as if to record it for future reference.
Once done, she eased close to the windowless frame and peered up at the others, still looking down from the roof. Using a compact flashlight affixed to her left shoulder, she thumbed the switch twice. From above, the confirmation signal lighted up the night.
Two flashes. Perfect. Kyle is on the ball.
“Ok,” Paige said to Asalak. “If you can pull yourself up, it will help immensely. Keep in mind to have your feet in contact with the wall at all times so that you don’t end up spinning like a top above the void.”
“I understand.”
Asalak shot a glance at Eklan. There was a wordless exchange between them, then Asalak straddled the window’s sill and made his way outside. Paige guided him upwards as he began his ascent, looking up to make sure the others were still there. A few minutes later, she saw him reach the top of the wall and a pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him to safety.
“Is he safe?” Eklan asked from the main door.
“Yes.”
The loop of rope smacked against the wall next to window frame and Paige jumped out of her skin. She grabbed it and pulled it inside.
“Your turn, Eklan.”
She turned to the other Amilaki. He was staring out through the glass pane, out at the corridor. He shot a glance at her. She noticed that his brown eyes were steeled with resolve. He put his right hand up and pointed at the door with two fingers.
His gesture was clear: two individuals were approaching.
She dropped the rope, gripped her gun and maneuvered away from the opening, taking position on the other side of the door. She was hidden in darkness yet had a clear line of sight to the door.
Eklan moved away from the door, pulling the body of the insensate guard out of sight. There was the sound of jiggling keys followed by the screech of ancient hinges swinging open. Paige saw a compact silhouette enter the room, an arm thrust out in front. She couldn’t see what the hand was holding but she instinctively knew it was an incapacitator. She turned to Eklan. He nodded then shifted his stance. She realized with a start that he was ready to pounce. She gripped her weapon tighter, her heart rate shifting into high gear.
A second later, Eklan lunged.
There was a shout, female, and a tumble of bodies. Paige exploded out of the corner and met face on the second man. With complete stupefaction, she recognized him at once.
Josh Newbury.
The young private with the muscular build and the iron-gray stare simply gazed back.
Then he charged forward.
Paige danced sideways, bringing her gun down on his left shoulder. He didn’t flinch and with a sudden quick move, grabbed her free arm. She twisted her body sideways, struggling to escape his hold. He doubled down, maneuvering for a better position. She kicked his right knee out and he dropped. His hand still gripped her however and she fell along with him, the two crashing to the floor. She kicked and kicked again, hitting him repeatedly. There was a low moan when she struck his knee again and with a burst of energy, she freed herself from his grip.
She got up to her feet. Someone grabbed her. She felt a strong hand push her head down.
“Shut your eyes!”
She had barely managed to recognize the voice when a supernova ripped the gloom to shreds. Even with her eyes closed, the shock of light twisted her insides, making her wobbly at once. She squeezed her eyes even tighter, the gray bubbles of unconsciousness already bursting into view. She felt an arm prop her up, keeping her from falling. Three words kept bouncing in her ears. At first, she was too dazed to make them out but as the tide of nausea subsided, they made sense once more.
“Are you hurt?” Eklan asked, visibly concerned.
Paige straightened up and he let go of her, standing close by in case she lost her balance.
“No,” she managed to answer at last, “I’m shaky but unhurt.”
She scanned the room. There were three bodies on the floor now. She knew they weren’t dead but their inertness still gave her the willies.
“We have to leave, now.” Eklan glanced at the door. “They’ll be coming.”
She nodded in acknowledgement. Willing her stomach to behave, she grabbed the rope from the floor but as she rose up, she lost her step and stumbled. Eklan steadied her then took over the task at hand. He wrapped the rope around his body with precision, applying the same technique she’d used with Asalak. Once done, he made his way to the window. She made a quick visual inspection of the setup then nodded in appreciation.
“You learn fast,” she grinned.
“I learn from the best,” he replied, mirroring her smile.
She gingerly approached the void, holding the wall to secure her footing. She repeated the signal that they were ready to proceed. Way up on the roof, someone answered her call.
Eklan began to climb.
Paige watched him go up into the shadows, with only the swinging of the rope and the movement on the roof to mark his progress.
Turning to the main door, she saw a change in the quality of the light.
Was someone coming?
She shot a glance at Eklan. He was at arm’s length of reaching the roof. Just a couple of seconds…
She made her way to the main door and cracked it open wide enough to peek outside. Two men she didn’t recognize were hurrying up the corridor, staring straight ahead. She retreated back inside and closed the door. Staring at the doorknob, she was befuddled by the fact you couldn’t lock the door from inside.
Shit.
She darted to the open window just as the rope appeared, as if from thin air.
There was a loud bang as the door was thrown wide open.
A mix of fear and adrenaline exploded within her.
“Hey you!” A voice called from the door.
She leaped out the window.
Her left hand found the rope and she gripped it as tight as she could. There was a muscle-wrenching jerk as the momentum snapped her back toward the wall. She fumbled with the rope, working to seize it with both hands. In the opening of the frame, a man lunged out to grab her.
She ducked. There was a flash of hurt as his nails raked her scalp.
Too close.
With desperation coursing through her, she tried to maneuver out of the way as the spiraling arc brought her closer to the wall.
Bur her muscles were burning now, the strain too much to endure.
She saw the man in the window pull out a snub object, one she’d seen way too often.
A shout came down from the roof.
She shot a glance upward. Beatrice and the others were pulling on the rope, working to get her out of harm’s way.
But she knew it was too late.
She couldn’t hold on anymore.
The rope began to slip from her grip even as she ascended.
If only she wasn’t so tired…
The man in the window gazed at her with cold detachment then turned his head to those on the roof. He raised his right arm. The incapacitator glistened under the moonlight.
Her fingers found the gun strapped to her thigh.
She let go of the rope.
The man in the window took aim.
Her heart fluttered. The brick wall zoomed past with accelerated speed as gravity took hold. Way up, the faces of those she called her friends mirrored the horror of the momen
t.
Her index found the trigger.
She raised her arm as the air rushed past her ears, the ground coming up at great speed to meet her.
She fired.
The bullet tore through the man’s hand and he cried out in pain, the weapon flying away from his grasp.
Paige saw with sudden clarity Asalak, Eklan and Kyle pull Beatrice away from the edge. The red-haired young woman who had become her friend was shoving them away, desperately refusing to move, her lovely face distorted with shock and fear.
Run, Trish. Go save the world.
I know you can do it. I’ve known since the first time we met.
Don’t ask me how I know.
I just do.
And as she waited for the moment that would define her life, she knew she’d done good. She had given humanity a fighting chance, perhaps the only one that remained.
And now it was up to her friends to finish the job.
Farewell, my friends.
Don’t let me down.
There was a tremendous impact as her body hit the ground.
The universe winked out.
26 Descent
“No!” The scream escaping Beatrice’s lips cut across the night like a razor blade over raw skin. She couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“We’ve got to go down there! She needs our help!”
She had seen Paige plummet down into the thick gloom surrounding the building, her body vanishing from sight. She stared at Kyle. Though he was nodding at her, agreeing at once with her call, his features were frozen in dismay and his stare was one of a broken man.
“Kyle?”
He turned to her.
Her heart went to pieces. He was scared and confused, trying to maintain the composure of a soldier while the world around him spun out of control. The pain in his eyes shook her to the core.
She’s gone, Trish.
The words exploded like a bomb in her mind.
“No!” She cried.
I’m sorry.
The voice inside her head must be an echo from the past, brought to life by the trauma of seeing Paige vanish. It had to be.
Because the voice was supposedly gone forever.
Catalyzed by the thought, she drilled her stare into Eklan’s. He gazed back at her, his eyes like two miniature black holes. Though his face was set in stone, she could sense the pain churning within him, the despair wishing to burst forth and although he didn’t say a word, she could sense the other light inside him.
Asher’s light.
There was a shift in his stare and Eklan’s entity settled back into place. Within a millisecond she found herself back on the roof, her body swaying against the wind.
A stir of footsteps and voices rose up from beyond the edge of the building.
“We need to find a way out of here,” Asalak said, veering his head to where the noise came from.
Beatrice, startled by his voice, snapped back to attention. Though he seemed in control, she noticed that he, too, appeared on edge. She had the distinct and immediate impression that something terrible was taking place but that he was keeping it to himself in fear of spooking her even more.
But it didn’t work.
Ice-cold fingers of terror gripped her heart.
This is it. The moment of decision.
Asalak was staring at her, waiting for an answer. Somehow, he believed that she should lead the way now, that she was the one to follow. She stared back at him. His gaze was full of composure but also of something else. Something he was sure about with absolute certainty.
Something that ignited her hope.
Trust.
The Amilaki’s gaze anchored her resolve.
It was her turn, now, to take back control.
“This way,” she called, indicating the ladder they’d used to climb up. Asalak and Eklan followed her at once, with Kyle picking up the rear.
Stealing a glance backward once last time, she set aside Paige’s final moments, choosing to revisit them later… if Fate allowed it.
Ahead, the steel rungs of the ladder waited, just a few feet away. She reached the edge of the roof and grabbed hold of the superstructure protecting the ladder. Shooting a glance down at the immediate area surrounding the building, she saw a flicker of movement in the dim light. She retreated out of sight, back to the relative safety of the roof.
“I think I saw something, someone coming this way,” she said, turning to Kyle.
“Let me have a look,” he said, indicating the telescopic sight mounted on his weapon.
Beatrice shuffled sideways and the Private took position at the edge of the roof. He put both knees down then set himself flat on the gravel. Shuffling forward on his elbows, he settled into a comfortable position then aimed his weapon down at the ground. He peered into the scope, playing with the focus to gain a clear view.
“I see them.” De Rozan called.
Beatrice edged closer. “Can you see who they are?”
“I think it’s Sergeant Garcia and your friend, Noah.”
“Noah?”
Beatrice slid forward. Kyle moved his head aside so that she could stare into the scope. She saw the outlines of three men huddled together and although it was difficult to make out, one was indeed much thinner than the others.
It’s Noah, all right. Must be.
She grinned at Kyle then eased away from the edge.
“I think our people are on the move,” she said, joining up with Asalak.
The Amilaki nodded, clearly satisfied. “Excellent.”
“Uh guys, we have a problem.”
There was an edge to Kyle’s voice that stopped Beatrice in her tracks. He was staring out at another part of the grounds, at the opposite side of the lot. “There is a bunch of people coming about, from the front of the building… and they’re not wearing helmets.”
“Tebayi’s people.”
Asalak turned to Eklan. The Amilaki with the haunted stare nodded slowly, a resigned expression solidifying into place. “We’ll have to fight our way in.”
Beatrice glanced at them with mounting concern. “What are you guys talking about?”
“We need to go back inside the Cube… and destroy Tebayi,” Eklan said.
There was an uncharacteristic vehemence in the Amilaki’s tone.
“Destroy?”
“Yes. There is no other possible way now to save your people. Even as we speak, she is getting stronger by the second, taking over your infrastructure. It might even be already too late.”
Beatrice nodded, her mind whirring with the implications of such a power. They needed to move and fast. Each heartbeat meant less time for them to do what needed to be done. They couldn’t afford to be wrong, not this time.
The stakes were too high.
“Suggestions?”
“A diversion,” Kyle piped up. “I stay here, keep the bad guys away. You go down and do the rest.”
Beatrice thought it over then said, “Good idea.”
Asalak and Eklan stepped out to the ladder and began working their way down, the two moving out without delay.
Kyle turned to meet Beatrice’s glance as her feet settled on the first rung. “Good luck.”
“You, too, Kyle.”
She looked down between her feet. Asalak and Eklan were already half-way down, their heads getting smaller by the second.
Wow, they’re really moving.
Looking up at Kyle, she gave him one final nod. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
Despite a cloak of worry, there was a gleam of hope in his stare. “Okay.”
She began her descent.
The wind whistled in her ears, catching the latticework of steel wrapped around the ladder. It blew the hair away from her eyes and she was glad for it, for the rungs were slippery and hard to see in the low light. Keeping a steady rate of descent, she climbed down with speed and at last reached the bottom. She hurried out to where the others waited, behind a thicket of tall bushes swaying
in the wind. Asalak pointed at the corner of the building, to where a group of people lay low, their presence practically undetectable by the naked eye. She tried to identify some of the individuals but they were too far, and too well concealed.
“Look,” Asalak said.
He directed her attention to another group, one about twenty yards away. They were just three in numbers. They moved with stealth, going from one dark zone to the next, always keeping to the shadows.
“Stay here,” she said, not waiting for an acknowledgement. She hurried toward the trio, skirting around the edge of the trees to shorten the distance. The wind was blowing toward the mountains and in her direction, carrying the voices of the men to her ears. She moved with skill, using the gloom to stay out of sight.
I’m getting good at this.
The thought had not even finished settling in her head when someone grabbed her from behind.
She yelped in surprise. A rough hand clamped over her mouth, pressing down with force. She twisted sideways and without looking back, struck out with her elbow. There was a low thud followed by the sounds of a tussle.
“Beatrice, go!”
She recognized at once the voice of Sergeant Garcia.
Ignoring his order, she moved closer to him. A large shape rose from behind the soldier, wrapping him up in darkness. With a sharp jolt, she recognized the tall brute.
Vokug.
Startling even herself, she let out a hiss of pure rage and rushed forward. Garcia lashed out with a mean jab to the other man’s ribs. Vokug shrugged it off and with one violent shove, hurled Garcia out of the way. The Sergeant fell hard, rolling to a stop at Beatrice’s feet. She leaped over him, the momentum propelling her in a head-on collision with the Amilaki. From the corner of the eye, she saw a slender form slid behind the towering hulk, taking position behind his knees. She bore down on Vokug like a lion escaping a cage, turning sideways at the last second to meet him with her right shoulder. The impact propelled the Amilaki backwards, directly in the path of the man hunkering behind him. Vokug lost his balance and crashed hard, his head hitting a large rock with a sickening crunch.
He moaned once then lay completely still.
Beatrice took a step closer. She watched the puddle of blood spread beneath the man’s cranium, darkening the grass with crimson.
The Parabiont Invasion Book 3 Page 16