The Gilded Empire

by Ryan W. Mueller

  The alarms began blaring again, and the door slammed shut behind them. Markus wanted to scream, but he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.

  Nadia nudged him gently, her touch reassuring. "We'll have to see if there's another way out."

  Markus could barely speak through his fear. "And if there isn't?"

  "We'll worry about that when the time comes," Nadia said. Markus wished he could take that attitude, but he knew the truth. He was going to die. In this tunnel. Right now.

  No. That was only his fear speaking. He could not let it rule him.

  They continued through the tunnel. Soon it branched out in three directions. They chose to go straight ahead for no particular reason.

  They followed the path for a few more minutes as alarms blared. It was only a matter of time until guards entered these tunnels. They were probably close already. Though Markus, Nadia, and Karin had magic on their side, Markus knew it wouldn't be enough.

  At last, the narrow space came to an end. When Markus rolled out of the tunnel, he felt as if he'd been given a new chance at life. He got to his feet shakily. "I never want to go back through that place."

  "I don't think any of us particularly cared for it," Nadia said.

  Markus wanted to argue, but it would do no good. They had limited time, and they had to make the most of it. The room they'd entered had a massive window, through which they could see the room with all the crisscrossing beams of light. On the wall opposite the window was a large computer screen. To its left, a set of stairs spiraled downward.

  "I think those stairs lead down to the room out there," Karin said.

  Together, they made their way down those stairs and found themselves staring at the impenetrable maze of light. Dispirited, they returned to the computer. It was their only hope.

  "Let me see if I can disable them." Karin began working at the keyboard, muttering under her breath and casting glances over her shoulder.

  "Don't worry about anyone that's coming," Nadia said. "We'll watch for them."

  Karin nodded and returned to her work. Markus had never seen anyone work at such a frantic pace, but the longer she worked, the more frustrated she appeared. The blaring alarms and flashing red lights certainly didn't help. Markus was getting a headache himself.

  "I'm almost there." Karin continued working feverishly. "Come on. Let me through." She hit the keys a few more times, then slammed her fist against the wall. "Damn! The computer locked me out. They know we're down here."

  "But if we can't disable those beams of light," Nadia said, "then what can we do?"

  "We could go back into the ducts we just left," Karin said.

  Markus's stomach clenched. '"I'm not going back in there."

  Karin gave him a sharp look. "We have no choice."

  "I may not know much about your world," Markus said, "but I understand the way people's minds work. If they wanna protect something, they're not gonna make it easy to get around an obstacle like this. That computer was our best chance. We'll just have to go through that room and hope we don't get killed."

  Karin's look became even sharper. "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

  "We can't backtrack," Markus said. "If they know you've used this computer, then they'll already have people in those—what did you call them, ducts?"

  Karin ran a hand through her hair, sagging against the metallic wall. "Didn't think of that."

  "Maybe those beams of light won't hurt us," Nadia said. "Maybe they're intended as some kind of security, meant to detect intruders. They already know we're here, so there's no risk in getting detected." She shook her head. "But I could be wrong."

  "You could also be right," Karin said. "We have to risk it."

  "Then we shouldn't waste any time," Nadia said, and they all raced down the stairs. Now they stood at the edge of the room, watching the beams of light as they swept across every inch of that room.

  "Well, it was my idea," Markus said, "so I'll step out there first. If it kills me, you can go back through the ducts." He took a deep breath. "But I don't think it will." I hope, he added silently.

  After a few more deep breaths, he stepped out into the room, and one of the beams of red light immediately swept across him. To his relief, it didn't hurt, but the second it touched him, a new alarm began blaring—a lower sound, more like thousands of bees buzzing.

  The red beams of light had all stopped. Nadia and Karin joined Markus at the edge of the room, and a few moments later, the door they'd gone through slammed behind them. That horrible buzzing sound continued, growing louder and more terrifying.

  A low rumble passed through the floor, and Markus caught motion far above. The ceiling was opening, and something was coming down through it.

  Something huge.

  "I think I know what that is," Karin said. "They call it the Defender. I'd always thought it was a myth. Looks like it isn't." She paused a moment, eyes wide in terror. "Too bad it's the last thing we're gonna see before we die."

  Chapter 11: The Defender

  Nadia looked up at the immense form of the Defender as it descended from the ceiling. They all backed into a corner of the room so the giant thing wouldn't land on them. When it hit the ground, the entire chamber shook, knocking Nadia off balance.

  She stared at the Defender. It was a robot, yes, but it was larger than any other robot she'd ever seen. By far. The monstrosity had to stand at least a hundred feet tall, and appeared to be just as wide. At the end of its arms were two smaller machines, relatively speaking. Each smaller machine contained a giant hole, through which something deadly would likely emerge.

  The Defender's main body was even more terrifying. It looked to be made of the same solid metal as the other robots. Maybe lightning would work on it.

  "Intruders! Intruders! You must die."

  "Guess we don't get a chance to explain ourselves," Markus said.

  A surge of lightning burst from the creature and flew toward them. Nadia, Markus, and Karin all raised shields at the same time, but Nadia still held her breath as the lightning crackled against the barrier. For a few terrifying moments, she was sure their shields wouldn't hold, but then the lightning dissipated.

  As soon as they dropped the shields, Nadia let out her own bursts of lightning, aiming at the Defender's main body. The spell didn't hit it, striking a barrier instead and reflecting back toward her. Nadia, Markus, and Karin all threw themselves to the side, narrowly avoiding the rebounding spell. They'd have to come up with another plan.

  But the Defender didn't give them time. One of its arms flew toward them. Markus and Nadia jumped out of the way, but Karin wasn't quick enough. The impact sent her flying at least thirty feet back, where she struck the wall and fell limp.

  She had to be dead, but Nadia couldn't worry about that right now. The Defender's other arm was flying toward them. Nadia pulled Markus down, and they narrowly ducked beneath it. Nadia sent a spurt of fire toward the Defender, but the spell bounced off the shield.

  "What can we do?" Markus asked breathlessly.

  "I have no idea."

  They both launched every spell they could think of, recalling what Rik and Alana had done with their staffs. But nothing worked against the massive guardian. Again and again, they narrowly avoided the killing blows it sent at them. Nadia was so panicked she could barely think. All she could do was dodge each attack the Defender sent at them. They couldn't keep this up for long, and the Defender appeared to be tireless.

  "There's gotta be something we're missing." Markus jumped to the side to avoid another attack. "Maybe we should hit the arms."

  Another arm shot out toward Nadia, and this time it seemed to predict her movement. Instinctively, she let a burst of lightning fly. When it struck the Defender's hand, it didn't reflect back at her. Instead, it swirled around the hand, and the hand stopped its movement less than a foot from her.

  She launched herself to her feet. "Markus, you're right!"

  Without even looking at hi
m, she cast another lightning spell at the nearby hand, which had stopped moving entirely. The lightning crackled in the air, and smoke issued from the hand, growing thicker and thicker. The hand jerked a few times, and Nadia sensed what was coming. She threw herself to the ground moments before the hand exploded, sending shards of metal flying through the air. She raised a shield on instinct, but would it be enough?

  A flood of debris rained down on her, some of it penetrating her shield. She covered her head as a few heavy bits collided with her. Some of them burned her hands, and she felt blood trickling down her arm.

  Then it stopped. She jumped to her feet and turned to see that Markus had eliminated the other hand. He was covered in blood, though, where some of the debris had struck him.

  She rushed toward him. "Markus! Are you all right?"

  He struggled to his feet, swaying as blood flowed down his neck. "I'm fine."

  She was about to check on him, but then she heard the voice of the Defender.

  "Activating emergency defenses. The intruders will die."

  Markus still wavered on his feet. "I don't like the sound of that."

  "Oh, you don't?" Nadia said. "I thought it was just me."

  Two large panels opened on the Defender's metallic body. From each panel, a massive cannon of sorts emerged. Each cannon aimed itself at one of them. Markus and Nadia combined their efforts into one powerful shield.

  Pulses of blue energy burst from the cannons. Nadia flinched and squinted against the brightness.

  The blue energy collided with their shield. The barrier might have offered some resistance, but it wasn't enough. The energy shattered the shield and collided with them. It felt hotter than the fire in Crayden, and Nadia screamed in anguish.

  She could think of nothing but the pain, and she smelled her own burning flesh. After all this, they were going to die.

  Then it stopped. Nadia lay on the ground, her body racked with pain. She tried to push herself to her feet, and every inch of her body blazed with searing agony. Her tears stung as they slid down her face. She couldn't move more than a few inches without screaming.

  The defender's voice rang out again.

  "Emergency defenses have failed. The intruders must die. Activating self-destruct."

  At this point, Nadia didn't even care what was going to happen. She was in so much pain that all she could think about was the comfort that would come with death. They'd been foolish to enter these tunnels, and they had to pay the price.

  Her eyes could barely stay open. She only wished she could go to death without so many regrets. Warrick was still alive. Kara and Rik were lost in the Shadowed Land. Krinir was out there somewhere, a force even worse than Warrick.

  And Nadia couldn't change any of that.

  As she struggled to remain conscious, she thought she felt hands against her, but maybe it was her imagination. Markus was surely dead or dying. Maybe she was dead already, and it was her mother leading her into the afterlife.

  But if she was dead, why did she still hurt so much?

  And why was that pain becoming less intense?

  Her eyes came open, and she was looking up into Markus' blue eyes.

  "Stay with me, Nadia. Please, you can't die on me like this."

  "I-I’m alive," she said, her voice barely more than a croak. To her surprise, her pain had faded away almost entirely. Every movement was still painful, but it was nowhere near the agony she'd felt moments ago.

  "Can you run?" he asked.

  "I think I can. Help me to my feet." Nadia got to her feet shakily, using Markus for support. He was still covered in blood, but it had already started to dry. As they started running, she said, "What happened? How are you not burned all over?"

  "I don't know. I guess my shields are stronger than yours."

  "What do you think it meant by self-destruct?"

  Markus staggered a bit as he ran. "I don't know, but I have the feeling it's gonna involve a very large explosion."

  Nadia pointed ahead. "Look! That door's open." It hadn't been open before, but perhaps the Defender couldn't keep the door closed with all the damage they'd done.

  The Defender's voice boomed out again. "Ten seconds to self-destruct. Nine. Eight."

  Markus and Nadia kept running. The door was so close, but they were both weak. Nadia gritted her teeth against her pain and ran as fast as she could.

  "Five. Four. Three."

  Markus and Nadia dived through the door and cradled each other in their arms. The door did not close behind them.

  "Two. One. Zero."

  The explosion rocked the entire place with more ferocity than Nadia had expected. The sound of it was deafening. As the fire surged toward them, she prayed their shields would be strong enough.

  Chapter 12: A Potential Ally

  Markus held his shield strong as heat erupted all around them, burning as intensely as the fire in Crayden. He closed his eyes, praying for it to end. Just when he was sure he'd die, the heat finally abated. He looked up, peering through the smoke in the corridor, then got to his feet and offered an arm to help Nadia stand.

  She wavered on her legs. "I didn't think we'd survive that."

  "Neither did I." He assessed Nadia's burns. "How're you feeling?"

  "They still hurt, but I know there's nothing more you can do."

  They started down a corridor lined with the same reflective metal as the rest of the underground passage. For the moment, it appeared deserted, but Markus remained tense, checking their surroundings for any traps. At least the alarms had stopped blaring. Maybe their pursuers thought the Defender had killed them.

  The corridor continued for a long time, making occasional turns, but there were no branching passages. Twice, they encountered robots like they'd seen before, and they handled them easily. Soon they reached another open chamber.

  And stood face-to-face with at least a dozen guards.

  "Your adventure ends here," said one of the guards. Before Markus and Nadia could react, two of the guards created force fields around them.

  "How'd you get ahead of us?" Markus asked.

  One of the guards stepped forward. He looked like the commander. His posture was intimidating, and his blond hair was shaved short. "Did you think the entrance you used is the only way into these passages?"

  "Are you going to kill us?" Nadia asked.

  "If we wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already." The commander shook his head. "You have done a great deal of damage down here. You have any idea how much it cost to build the Defender? I'm afraid you won't get a comfortable prison this time."

  Markus felt the crushing weight of failure as they marched alongside the guards, confined by the force fields. They crossed the open chamber, then climbed a series of walkways much like those they'd used to descend before. Soon they reached another door, which the commander opened by placing his hand against it.

  They stepped into another room containing all kinds of computers, then exited that room, entering one of the palace's many corridors. Markus didn't recognize where they were, only that there were no other people here. This had to be a restricted level of the palace.

  One of the guards turned to the commander. "Shouldn't we inject them with new tracking bots, sir?"

  "We should, but we don't have any with us. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

  The guard nodded his agreement, and they continued through the corridors. They went down a nearby set of stairs, entering a portion of the palace with dimmer lighting. This area contained doors with barred windows. It looked clean, but it was still a dungeon.

  The guards shoved Markus into one cell, then forced Nadia into the one beside it. As soon as Markus crossed the threshold, he felt a strange vibration in his hands. Then his TWs started to burn, and he scrambled frantically to remove them. By the time he threw them on the floor, his palms were bright red.

  "The force field around the cells has disabled your weapons," said the commander.

  Markus glared at him. "D
oes it have to burn so much?"

  "That should be the least of your concerns. After everything you've done, you are likely facing execution. The president gave you a choice, and you disobeyed him."

  "Don't we get a trial?" Markus asked.

  "In matters like these, trials are a luxury we don't have." The commander slammed the door in Markus's face, and he felt more trapped than ever. At least he'd had Nadia back in the dungeon in Warrick's palace. Now he was all alone in a small cell.

  He called out to Nadia, but the walls must have blocked all sound because she didn't respond. Dejected, he slumped against the wall. How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? How would they ever find their way out of this?

  Markus's cell contained a toilet and a sink. It was better than Warrick's dungeon, but it felt worse. In a way, he looked forward to his execution. At least then he wouldn't be trapped in here. His chest tightened when he thought of spending the rest of his life in this cell.

  He had no idea how much time passed. He could not see the sun, could not check a clock. No one came to feed them, and his stomach grew more and more unhappy. Though he knew he should conserve his energy, he paced his cell.

  Eventually, he grew exhausted. He settled down on the hard bed, trying to ignore his growling stomach and racing thoughts. Sleep proved elusive.

  He lay awake for hours, wondering what they could have done differently. If they died now, Karin's sacrifice would be pointless. After all they'd been through, they couldn't die like this. There had to be a way out of this situation, but he wasn't seeing it. Once again, he felt lost and overwhelmed in this strange world of technology.

  When the door to his cell opened, he sat up abruptly. The commander stood in the doorway, beckoning him forward.

  "Come quickly," the commander said in a low voice. "We don't have much time."

  "What? I don't understand."

  "No time to explain. Follow me."

  Markus trailed after the commander, stepping out of the cell. Nadia stood a few steps away, glancing around nervously. Markus gave her an encouraging smile, but it probably looked more anxious than anything.