"I am no different. My legs are sore from walking so much," said Nick, waving his hands.
Corvan nodded. "You are flesh and blood out here on the celestial stratum. You may be killed in battle and reach a higher plane. We eat, drink, and sleep as we used to." He had flaxen hair and dark skin, and claimed to be from a southern country on Azimuth.
"The desert is made of glass," Corvan had said when Nick first met him. "And our city, Mehabal, is of milky stone near an oasis. Perhaps one day, you will see it."
Nick returned to the moment. "Does a higher plane exist? Heaven?"
"We're not in touch with the higher plane, though our studies and customs suggest so." Corvan's shaved head shined in the starlight, as did his black leather jacket.
"Can I visit Earth?"
"We are unable to enter the mortal atmosphere. Albeit as a Kinsaver, the rules are skewed for you. I'm not sure what your abilities are."
Nick nodded, a little dejected, as he yearned to go home to visit his family once more. He gazed off into Horologium with its several high towers. In the center stood the tallest, a large silver clock adorning the top. The emblem of a sphere rested below it.
A knock drummed from the chamber's door behind them. Denon entered the room and approached the deck. Spiro strode in behind him.
Denon said, "The Aulic Assembly has contacted us. Biskara resides on a plane between Eridanus and Dorado. The star darts are having problems launching. We must go."
Nick wrung his hands. "Am I to participate?"
"Yes, we need every able soldier." Denon turned to Corvan. "You are to join the others in distracting Biskara."
Nick and Corvan rose.
"Come with me," said Denon.
They exited the chamber and walked down bright hallways flooded with brilliant moonlight. Nick met Spiro's gaze. He wondered what a star dart was.
Denon said, "It seems Biskara has captured the Fomalhaut. She's being raided by celestial monsters, and we have to get rid of them. They are grounding the star dart fleet, which is needed to help repel the offensive on Meridia's capital, Meracuse."
Nick scratched his crown. He wondered what the Fomalhaut was, but figured he would find out soon enough. "I'm new. Aren't you going to train me more first?"
"No time. These are dire circumstances, and a Kinsaver may come in useful." Denon shook his head and sighed. "Besides, we need as many soldiers as we can rally, as most of the truth seekers are at the main battle."
"You said monsters. Plural," said Spiro.
Denon nodded, appearing grim. "You'll see what I mean. Come with me." He pressed a sword into each of their hands.
Looking back, Nick could not say how they traversed time and space in order to reach the Fomalhaut. All he knew was that one minute he was walking away from the brilliance of Horologium, and the next he floated just outside an enormous starship.
Even the city of the truth seekers paled in comparison to the ship, the most glorious thing he'd ever seen—sleek and beautiful, the color of a comet in the night sky. Windows glinted in the tempered steel hull, a thousand strong, each a portal into the small world within. Turrets and massive guns lay mounted across the bow of the ship, and a few hung from the underbelly. The gigantic bay protruded into the cosmos, akin to a shark lurking near the shoreline.
Inside rested a hundred smaller ships, each streamlined and elegant. Nick gaped at them. A red light flashed within the hangar, and he spied men scurrying over the deck. The hangar doors were only a quarter opened, providing not nearly enough room to launch any of the star darts safely. A force field must have been in place to keep the vacuum of space at bay.
Behind the Fomalhaut, Azimuth swelled like some behemoth, fertile moon. Azimuth's yellow sun rose, spreading its golden fingers along the eastern horizon. All around them, stars dotted the sky, and beyond, a shooting star streaked.
Nick's heart pummeled against his ribcage.
As they glided closer, Denon handed each of them a pair of metallic bifocals.
Nick handled his with care. "Sunglasses?"
"No." Denon put his on over his eyes. "The Sight. Nick, we cannot always behold both planes—mortal and celestial—and these spectacles allow us to switch from one plane to the other. Press the button here...." He touched just behind the hinge on the left arm of the glasses. "...and you can shift planes."
Nick slid the goggles on, and the vision of the Fomalhaut instantly changed. While he still observed the gleaming ship, he no longer glimpsed the troopers rushing around inside.
"Everyone's gone."
"Click the button."
Nick did so, and the crew returned. Rather than being in color, though, only their infrared images appeared. He switched again, and this time a single, pale specter glided across the hangar bay.
"Come," said Denon, and they glided closer to the hull.
Nick glanced around. "We are the only other truth seekers on this mission?"
"I told you, the rest are battling Biskara," replied Denon somberly. "Once aboard, we'll not be able to view the humans without the Sight. Our world is a reflection of theirs, but ours will not have life. The demonic apparitions you recognize there are stalling the ship and keeping the star darts from launching."
"How?"
"I do not know."
Nick repressed a shiver. At last, they reached the Fomalhaut and boarded the hangar. A slight buzzing rang in Nick's ears as they passed through the force field. As Denon had said, the crewmen Nick had seen on the deck were no more. He hit the button on the Sight and spotted them rushing about. They shouted in the dark hangar, trying to operate the power of the ship.
Nick grimaced. He couldn't hear anything, as if he'd gone deaf.
Once or twice, he thought he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, but when he glanced, no one was there. Switching the Sight again, he found a few pale beasts fleeing the hangar.
Denon said, "First, we must find out what they're doing to stall the ship. Hurry—the ghosts will know we're here soon enough."
As Nick scurried along behind Denon and Spiro, he scanned around. This was nothing like the craft he'd seen outside. Though brilliant to behold the exterior, the halls inside were dark and devoid of life. Cables hung from panels in the ceiling. A few sparks of electricity zapped when a swinging wire touched another. Nick turned away, and thought he spied something beside the cord. It was white and pale, but disappeared after he blinked his eyes.
A shiver thrilled down his spine. The things he'd seen in the hangar were everywhere, slipping in and out of the shadows. He hurried after Denon and glanced back.
A swarm of them materialized and now followed them.
"Denon," whispered Nick. "They know we're here."
"Keep walking," said Spiro gruffly. "Sooner we find out what's happening, the better off we'll be."
Nick tried not to eye the sinister beings. One he viewed clearly, as they strode by the thing in the hall. Its head was positioned upside down, its mouth gaping in an eternal, silent scream. Black eyes followed him as they passed it by. The creature froze and faded, reappearing almost directly beside him. Their bodies shifted and snapped, crackling like lightning. Any humanoid form they took lasted only a few seconds before they became something else entirely. A moan filled the hallway.
"A hive mind," said Denon. "They're monitoring us. If we don't interact, we should be fine."
A light glimmered ahead and the bellow of voices screaming down the dark corridor echoed on the portside.
Nick halted. He recognized one of the cries. Emily....
"Hey," he whispered to Denon, but when he turned to look, both Denon and Spiro had vanished. Skin crawling, Nick glanced down to the left, then back where his companions had gone. The flickering light ceased, leaving him in complete darkness. He tried switching the Sight, but only a few dark shadows hurried down the hall: human soldiers. He clicked the button again and another electric ghost vanished around a corner ahead. An eerie cackling followed behind.
Remembering Emily shouting for help, he sucked in a deep breath and hooked a left. He stalked down the hallway toward the voices. The clamor became louder near a sliding door. He rested his hand against the entrance, his heart hammering in his chest. Ever so slowly, he eased the metal door aside, and another cry escaped the room beyond. He whirled around the corner, prepared to strike anything that approached him.
Nick gasped and stiffened, his eyes wide.
The chatter came from four ghost-like creatures that hovered. Small voices, some like children's, others similar to old women and men, rang in his skull, yet they did not have mouths with which to speak. The beings transformed into rotting corpses garbed in rags, and he could almost smell the sour stench of their decaying flesh.
"Help us," one whispered.
"Save me," begged another.
Nick stumbled back and gaped. Heat drained from his body as he balled his hands into fists. "Stop!"
"Stop?" hissed one, the pitch echoing in his head. A sudden eerie silence filled the room.
All four of the things turned their attention to Nick. He felt them watching him, though their black eyes had shifted away, replaced now by sparks of electricity. Chills ran through him and goose pimples prickled up his arms.
"You cannot stop us," whined another, the voice as faint as wind.
Nick groped in the dark for his saber to fend the demons off. They approached, reaching for him with four, six, eight, twenty arms made of thin bolts of lightning. Anything those arms touched crackled and smoked. They were alive with electricity.
The cold steel of the blade felt heavy in his hands when he tore it free of its scabbard. He raised the saber, ready to slash at the first creature.
"Back off!" he called, his voice shaking. "I... I'm warning you!"
"You...."
"...cannot stop us."
"You do not have the power."
The voices mingled in his mind. Their whispers scratched inside his brain like rats scrabbling across the floor. He struck the nearest one, but the glittering steel didn't harm the beast. He hit them repeatedly, and each time, nothing happened. As they grew closer, Nick spied a thin tendril of energy linking one to the other.
Then, it clicked.
Power.
Nick shook his head and forced himself to focus. He aimed and swung the sword. "Don't have the power, huh?"
With a single blow, he sliced through the bolt connecting the closest one to the others. A loud crack reverberated in the room as he severed the tendril of energy. The horrific figure shrieked, but as it vanished, the noise faded. The other three hesitated only a few seconds before launching at him. Nick slung the weapon, breaking one more of the connections—another crack and another shrill cry.
The remaining two froze as their companion dissolved. They seemed to be thinking, calculating.
Nick raised his scimitar, aiming to strike again, but both backed away and fled into the darkness.
I have to tell them. Spiro and Denon were on the ship, somewhere. He needed to find them. The power is what's feeding them!
Milo shoved his way to Shelby and the other Kin. Blood dribbled down his face and neck. "Okay, now spread out across the entry. We need to push them back from here."
Shelby danced around the gate, clanging her sword, deflecting blows with her shield, and jabbing at the dark enemies flooding in.
Max parried an axe aimed for her, forcing the warrior back. He dropkicked the soldier off his feet and rolled up off the ground in front of her, fending off a charging Nightlander.
Emily and Riley stood at the end of the battering ram, firing away into the black horde.
Stuart fought on the other side, blasting his hand-cannon.
Nightlanders poured in from all directions, many squirting through and hammering the gateway. The doors rocked and a large hinge fell to the dirt with a thud.
Shelby fought to protect the entrance, striking every opponent she could. The doors would not stand much longer, she feared. One side began to collapse and a lump formed in her throat.
They were about to fall.
Nick ran down the empty hallways for a long period before he found Spiro and Denon.
Dozens of the creatures swarmed around them. Snaps and clicks filled the air as the beings linked in circles around them, jabbing and striking like vipers of energy.
Nick raised his weapon and hacked one, two, then three apart from their companions. Crack, crack, crack! The blade went through the electricity. At last, he was near enough to shout, "They're feeding from the energy! Cut between them!"
Spiro and Denon began to slice as Nick did, and soon vanquished a number of the creatures. Those who had not dissipated turned and ran.
Nick wiped the sweat from his brow and approached his friends.
"How did you know?" asked Denon. The singer dripped with perspiration, and sported several ugly gashes along his arms.
The rotten stench of burnt flesh pervaded the air.
Nick shook his head. "Maybe it's instinct." He winked as sweat-drenched hair fell in front of his eyes. "They're draining the energy of the ship. That's how they exist, their power source. We have to get the humans to cut the power."
"They must have already tried," said Spiro.
Denon said, "If they did, they probably pulled the switch back on too soon. It wasn't off long enough to break the circuit."
Nick asked, "How do we tell them?"
"We can't. Truth seekers can't communicate with mortals, except through the Silver Sphere, and even that's only when they contact us."
"Blast it! We need to find some way to interface with the people on this ship. We have to explain to them to turn the power off and leave it off."
The three of them clunked down the dim hall, headed for the bridge.
Nick switched the Sight again. He scanned the empty, dark gangways for someone to try and talk with, but any soldiers he had seen before were long gone.
Something clattered to the floor. Nick jumped and whirled around. A box had fallen.
He frowned. "One of those things?"
"Yes," said Denon. "They're following us."
Nick didn't need to change the Sight to know. He shivered and continued after the others, quickening his pace. "How far until the bridge?"
"We're close." Spiro pointed up. "See those flashing red bulbs?"
Nick squinted and spotted them.
"They're emergency lights on the deck. We have to be careful, though."
"Why?"
"Cutting power, if we can even manage to, might kill everyone. The oxygen will shut off, and so will the force field on the hangar bay. All of the air on the ship will be sucked out."
"Can't we tell them to move people behind doors and close them?"
Denon shook his head. "No way to secure the hatchways. Anyone below will be vaulted out into orbit."
Nick chewed his lower lip, unnerved by the thought of all of those people vanishing into space to perish. There was no other way, though; somehow, they had to cut the power.
"I don't want anyone else to die," he murmured, the memory of an ice pick in his belly bursting to life. He winced and grabbed his side.
Denon stopped, silent for a moment.
"What?" said Spiro.
The singer raised his eyes and caught Nick's. "Legend tells of Kinsavers. They've been few and far between—the last to join the truth seekers died and went to the next level almost a hundred years ago."
Nick shifted impatiently from one foot to the other. He switched his Sight and spied a gang of the electric vermin moving toward them. Denon seemed impervious to their presence.
"Aye," whispered Spiro. "My mother used to tell me about them, but 'twas a short tale indeed."
"Kinsavers, people like you who are guided to watch over Kin on Earth, are reborn differently when you transform to a truth seeker. You don't simply die and become one of us. You first have a second chance at life, on Azimuth. Because you've treaded our ground and breathed our air, you
are linked to the Kin, and to the mortal plane."
Nick squinted. "I don't understand. I thought I couldn't go into Azimuth's atmosphere as a truth seeker."
"You can't, but you may be able to connect with the people on this ship."
"Like with a link?" asked Spiro, rubbing his chin.
"Perhaps," said Denon. "I'm honestly not sure. The legends are vague at best, and no records exist of what a Kinsaver can actually do. You do have different abilities than other truth seekers, though."
Nick nodded. "I'll try. And all of those people in the hangar? Won't they die?"
"Not if they get into the star darts," said Spiro. A spark lit his eye.
"We must hurry," said Denon. He eyed the electric creatures. "Come, we'll talk as we go."
"Listen." Spiro scurried alongside them, talking fast. "When we enter the bridge, try to link with someone. Tell 'em to get everyone in the bay to board the 'darts. They aren't connected to the main vessel, and should be able to protect the crewmen just long enough for the ship to reboot."
"Okay." Nick nodded. "Except... how do I even go about talking to these people?"
"That, I don't know," said Denon. "You're on your own. Try something—anything. It may come instinctively." He winked.
They came to the bridge at that moment. Dozens of the creatures sucked energy from panels and wires.
Nick clicked to the other Sight and frowned.
Men scrambled about the bridge in disarray, some frantically trying to order the door on the hangar to open all the way. Others shouted into microphones, attempting to contact Azimuth. Nothing worked.
A soldier raced by with a message, running right through Nick. A jolt of hot, tingling energy engulfed his body. For a split-second, he'd felt the man's heartbeat and inflating lungs.
Nick eased past the crowd as Denon and Spiro went about separating the beings from their feed. Once or twice, Nick switched the Sight. Each time, fewer creatures appeared on the deck, until more materialized and took the place of the fallen seconds later. It was hopeless.
The Silver Sphere Page 26