David’s eyes widened. “This was settled by the people. The council voted against you.”
“The council was wrong.” He wrenched my head back.
David straightened. “Then why not kill me now?”
I cringed. What was he doing?
“You know quite well that you’ve left enough direction on terraforming for others to follow your plans.” The Caretaker twisted my hair. I whimpered, despite my clamped lips. “You will stop the project for me.”
“I won’t.”
“I think you will.” He took me by the neck with his other hand, hoisting me into the air. “Shall I kill her first, or make her watch me disembowel her father before she dies?”
Dad blinked and startled. He glanced about the room, as if seeing the ship for the first time.
His gaze settled on me, and his eyes widened—not the emotionless visage of a trained soldier, but the concern of a father.
He knew me.
Poseidon’s grip tightened. A gurgle erupted from my throat before I could stop it.
“All right. I’ll do it,” David said.
Oh no.
“A wise decision.”
Poseidon passed me on to the Caretaker watching Nematali. His grip hurt just as bad as the psycho’s did.
David’s jaw dropped when Poseidon removed a gold hoop from his wrist, pulling it apart and stretching the metal into a wide, broken circle.
He offered the trinket to David.
“What is that?” Dad asked.
“It’s a shunt,” David said. “If I put that on, I will be incapable of saying no to him.”
Poseidon fondled the hoop, which now looked more like a collar. “Your free will. A small price to pay.” The walls moaned as if the ship began to wheeze its dying breaths. “Put it on. I have no time for delay.”
David stepped toward him.
“Don’t do it,” Nematali said. “He will use you in ways you cannot imagine.”
The Caretaker holding my hair twisted. I arched my back and kicked my feet, trying to keep my scalp intact.
David took another step. “You promise you won’t hurt them. You won’t hurt Jess?”
Nematali’s eyes bore through me. She warned me once that they would use me to get to David. I couldn’t believe she was right.
“I promise I won’t hurt the girl. All I want is you.”
Another step.
I wrestled against my captor. “David, don’t!”
The ring neared David’s throat. His eyes narrowed.
Poseidon tilted his head to the right and growled. His hands shook as if fighting something.
Poseidon sneered. “Get out of my mind, boy.”
David stepped away. Dad grumbled and elbowed the alien behind him. The floor vibrated beneath me as David nailed Poseidon in the gut. The larger alien barely moved.
I kicked the shins of the alien holding me. He stumbled, releasing me as Nematali scrabbled for his weapon. She’d freed herself!
Dad kicked his captor’s midriff, and that Caretaker fell to the decking. With a raptor-like swoop, Dad snatched the cylinder that had been pointed at him and crunched the metal firearm against the alien’s face. The being dropped to the floor, motionless.
I fumbled for the weapon Nematali and our captor tussled over. The Caretaker raised his arm, heaving us both into the air.
“Jess!” Dad called. “The stomach, just above the navel!”
Well, the dude didn’t have a belly button, so I kicked where it should have been. He grumbled, but only elevated us higher. I kicked again, and his grip loosened. Maybe there was something to this kicking thing. I jammed my heel into his midriff. He harrumphed, and I plopped to my rear. Nematali seized the weapon, and a flash of light blasted from the cylinder’s tip. The alien fell.
On the far side of the room, David and Poseidon circled each other beside the ship we’d arrived in. The golden collar lay at their heels.
I scrambled to my feet as Dad ducked a fourth Caretaker’s fist. He swung at the being’s diaphragm, but the alien sidestepped him. I ran to Dad’s side.
“Keep back, Jess,” he said.
I never was good at following directions. I inched beside Dad, giving the goon two targets.
A voice behind us rattled off words in Erescopian. Nematali lay on the floor, the gun pointed at her face. Dang it!
Thunk. I held my head and staggered. Flashes of light blazed across my eyes. Had I been hit? I slipped to the floor. Being a second target: not my brightest idea.
Dad grunted, and sounds of a scuffle came from my left. My eyes refocused as Dad fell to his knees beside me.
Damn.
The roof caved in on the far side of the platform.
David stumbled across the deck, covering a gash on his right arm. Deep pain emanated from his eyes.
Poseidon spat on the floor. “You’re done, boy. You have no more options.”
The goon holding Nematali pulled her hands behind her back. The dude behind Dad nudged him with the cylinder. The ringing in my head left the room spinning. There had to be a silver lining in here somewhere.
“You don’t care about saving Erescopian lives.” David grimaced, holding his arm. “You only care about staying in power.”
A grin crept across Poseidon’s face. “It’s always been about power. The old are the ones dying in those ships. Those still loyal to the Caretakers. But the young … ” He glowered at David. “ … have started to ask too many questions.” He picked up the ring and handed it to David. “Now we end this.”
“I looked in your mind,” David said. “I’ve seen the option you gave me. You’re going to make me kill my friends.”
Poseidon snickered. “It seemed appropriate, since it’s your fault they are here in the first place.”
He lunged at David. The Caretaker’s huge form overtook him, whacking David backward to the floor. Part of the ship behind them tilted. Were we sinking?
Poseidon sat on David, pulling both of his arms over his head. David squirmed beneath the alien’s bulk, fighting as Poseidon brandished the gold ring. I struggled to my full height, but something hard walloped my skull again.
My forehead thudded to the floor. Maybe the rest of me, too. I couldn’t feel much. The room swirled in circles, slowing just as Poseidon clicked the collar around David’s neck.
38
A chuckle rattled through the room as Poseidon slid off David and stood.
David took a knee, scowling. “I hate you. You’re an animal.”
“But aren’t we all?” Poseidon turned his cold eyes toward us. He pointed at Dad. “The first thing I would like you to do is rip out that human’s heart.” He sneered. “And then shove it down your precious human female’s throat until she suffocates.” The ground rumbled. “And do it quickly. The air is already starting to thin.”
David turned toward us. His face contorted before his palms covered his eyes. Was it possible? Could he actually make David do this?
“Now!” Poseidon demanded.
My heart pummeled my ribcage. Tears pooled in David’s eyes. The goon behind us dragged Dad to his feet.
No. Please, God, no!
A deep hole formed in my chest. Sweat dampened my shirt. My mouth opened, drying my tongue in the parched air. The words I tried to form lodged in my throat.
David stepped toward my father. The muscles in his neck twitched. His legs moved sluggishly, as if he fought every step.
“Take control, soldier,” Dad said. “You don’t need to do this.”
David’s face contorted. Anger, hate, contempt, fear, loathing, horror, and sadness riddled his features: repeating, fading, and gaining in intensity.
His hands fisted. He struggled against himself, leaning back as his legs moved forward. David growled through clenched teeth, releasing his breath with a puff before taking another step.
He closed his eyes and sobbed. “I’m sorry.”
&
nbsp; His arm shook as his hand slowly rose, reaching for Dad.
No.
No. No. No. No. No. No. No!
David’s eyes quaked. His gaze flashed toward me. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop!” My voice ripped my vocal chords as I screamed. “Don’t!”
His reach hesitated, poised between himself and my father.
That’s it! Fight it! Fight it!
Dad didn’t move. He stared David in the eyes.
David’s biceps trembled. Beads of sweat ran down his elbow. “I’m not strong enough to stop him,” David whispered. “Please understand I have no choice.”
He grabbed the collar of my father’s shirt. Dad’s gaze remained centered, focused on David. He whispered something, and David choked back a sob.
The sound of tearing fabric ripped open a hole to the gates of Hell; a hole centered within me, gnawing through everything that made me human, leaving me vacant. Lost.
Dad’s arms quivered despite the defiance cemented to his features. His bare chest rose and fell in deep, full breaths.
David released the edges of the torn shirt. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
“I don’t blame you, David,” Dad said, his tone strong and emotionless.
David recoiled. His entire body shook. “I’m so sorry.”
He wiped his eyes dry on his sleeve and reached for my father’s heart.
“No!” Bile shot up into my throat. Burning. Blistering.
David’s fingers reached Dad’s skin.
My God. This was actually happening. He was going to …
A high-pitched shriek rang through the room. Poseidon howled as a black, rounded shadow sprang from the side of our ship and bashed into the false ambassador’s side, pushing him into the wall. The partition gave, and Poseidon’s shoulder sank into the murky surface.
The spinning blur turned into a mass of spindly hair, legs, and teeth clinging to Poseidon’s torso.
Edgar!
The massive spider slashed his fangs at the larger alien.
Poseidon bellowed, throwing the grassen to the floor. Edgar bounced once and lay limp.
“What are you waiting for? Kill the humans,” Poseidon shouted at David.
Shaking, David turned back to Dad, his face twisted.
“Fight it, David,” I whimpered. “Please.”
Thomp.
The air wavered beside us. The wall behind us flared in sparks, and the Caretaker holding Nematali fell. She ran toward us, followed by the real ambassador brandishing a shimmering silver disc. He’d freed her!
“Hit her!” Poseidon yelled.
David swung his fist, smacking Nematali in the jaw. Her head whipped back before she thudded to the rumbling surface at his feet.
The ambassador limped toward us. He aimed the weapon at David, then the Caretaker holding Dad and me, then at David again. “How did he get shunted?”
The alien behind me shifted toward the ambassador and fired. The weapon flew out of the ambassador’s hands as our would-be savior fell back, unconscious.
I spun and slammed into our distracted captor. The alien cried out, and David paused as the being stumbled. Dad sprang forward and shouldered David in the ribs, driving him back. With ninja-speed, Dad turned and kicked our former captor above the navel. The alien fell to one knee. Dad’s second strike left the alien unconscious.
Holy crap.
Poseidon shouted in Erescopian. David stepped away from us and stared at the larger alien. Poseidon pulled and shrieked, unable to free his arm from the wall. The partitions encroached, closing around him.
Edgar still lay in a heap on the floor. If he’d sacrificed his life for us, at least Poseidon was trapped for the moment.
David ran to Poseidon, pulling at the Caretaker’s arm.
“Leave him!” I cried.
“He can’t,” Nematali said, holding her cheek. “He’s been ordered to help. He has no choice with the shunt.”
David smashed his shoulder against the wall. Poseidon only sunk further.
“Get me out!” The huge alien spat, his eyes veined and bulging as the wall sucked him further in.
Bluish blood splattered to the floor as David pounded the wall without mercy. Poseidon flailed his head. The memory of the pressure against my chest as the walls surged toward me, the inability to gain a breath, the sheer terror, ripped through my mind.
Thick purple fluid sprayed David’s white shirt as the false-ambassador choked and coughed blood. A grunt gurgled through the fluid, followed by a hiss of bubbling air. Blood seeped from Poseidon’s eyes as the dark irises glossed over.
His struggle stopped.
The deep gray ooze continued to congeal around him. His face was the last to disappear as the wall sucked him in.
David backed up a step, panting.
The wall that had absorbed Poseidon ceased shimmering. The particles dulled. A crack formed it the surface. The wall was dead, and most likely everything trapped within.
David fell to his knees, holding his head as he bellowed a desolate cry. He reached for the floor, steadying himself.
Was it over, or was the collar still in control?
I took a hesitant step toward him. “David?”
He stood suddenly, and I jumped back. His eyes flashed in our direction, before he shook his head and blinked his eyes. Breathing deeply, he reached to his neck and unclasped the metal collar, throwing the shunt to the floor. David stared at his hands, flexing them.
The walls quaked. The scent of dead fish wafted through the hangar.
Something crashed on the floors above us.
“We need to go.” David turned and headed toward the ships.
I scooped Edgar into my arms. “I got you, buddy.” The creature chittered and raised a hesitant leg.
Nematali and Dad followed, dragging the unconscious ambassador between them.
The wall to our left melted, spilling gobs of goo onto the deck, while the panel to our right cracked like dry clay, littering dust at our feet.
David stopped at the base of our ship. His gaze touched each of our faces. “This ship won’t carry all of us. I was barely hopeful it could take three. We’re almost out of power.”
Nematali balanced the ambassador on one shoulder and pointed to the hovering orb beside our ship. “I can take the skipper ship. With the ambassador unconscious, I can lay him at my feet.”
David nodded as the flooring trembled. “When you get out, make for the nearest transport.” He glanced at the craft we’d arrived in. Its hull seemed dull in comparison to the skipper. The waterfall had disappeared, and the ship lay flat on the deck. “We’ll probably be dead in space within minutes. You’ll need to send someone for us.”
Dad furrowed his brow as he followed Nematali to the small, circular craft. “Looks more like a giant marble than a spaceship.”
“I assure you, it is much faster than a marble.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
The ship lowered and molded to the flooring. Dad and Nematali hefted the ambassador’s limp body through the liquescent surface until he disappeared. Nematali glanced at each of us before she followed. The orb’s exterior closed around her like flowing water, and the ship rose.
Part of the ceiling fell above, dribbling on the orb and coating the hull with black blobs that trickled down like gooey raindrops as her ship lifted into the air. I sheltered Edgar as another splotch hit my shoulder.
“Come on,” David called, reaching for me.
I clutched his hand, and he pulled Edgar and me through the chilly outer wall.
Dad slid in behind me. His gazed darted left to right. “This thing flies?”
“Let’s hope so,” David said, tapping a shiny panel on the wall.
I set Edgar down on the floor beside the entrance. He limped into the nearest wall and immersed himself into the liquid metal until he vanished. I hoped he had a seatbelt somewhere in there. I pus
hed my backpack beside the wall.
Dad and I followed David to the front of the ship, where he sank his hands into the controls. Three chairs appeared. The ship rattled. I slipped into the seat on David’s right.
We jolted as our ship rose into the air.
Dad sat beside me. “Is there a way to belt ourselves in?” The chair came to life, securing him in a cushion of liquid metal. “Well, I guess that answers that question.”
My chair molded around me as the ship joggled and lurched, knocking David into his seat. “This isn’t going to be one of my best flights,” he said to the windows in front of him.
Lovely thought, since he crash-landed the last few times out.
The windows closed into swirling, black opal pools. I closed my eyes and whispered a prayer. We only had to get off the dying cruiser. Then someone could pick us up. We’d been through worse. We could do this.
My chair filled in the spaces around my neck and head as the rattling increased.
“David?”
“We’re okay!”
“Is this normal?” Dad asked.
I didn’t answer. So far, all of David’s flights seemed to be like this.
Bile rose in my throat as we continued to shake. I closed my eyes. It hadn’t taken us this long to land on the ambassador’s cruiser. We should have been out by now.
The ship bounced twice and lurched to a stop.
“No!” David bellowed.
My eyes shot open.
David leaned over the panel, swishing his arms erratically. He looked up at the blank screen. “No. No. No. No. No. No!” He banged his fist on the panel, but it sunk right through.
A hum pulsed through the outer walls. David looked up.
“What is that?” I asked.
He turned to me. His wide eyes narrowed as he gulped. Either he didn’t know, or he didn’t want to tell me.
We tilted to the side. A whoosh sounded from the right, as if something had slid beside us. We shuddered, jostled, and started moving again.
“Something knocked us free. I can’t believe it.” David sat back, and the chair engulfed him.
My seat rattled beneath me. I closed my eyes and held my breath. We jerked again, and the shaking stopped.
David exhaled as his chair relaxed, letting him sit forward. The windows opened to bright, twinkling stars. The ambassador’s ship drifted to the right, somewhat out of view. Part of the rear of the cruiser dripped off like thick sludge and floated into space. A cloud of vapor fizzled from the opening left behind.
Ashes in the Sky Page 23