by Nina Croft
“Fergal?”
Her voice was low, but he blinked open his eyes.
“Thank you.”
He gave a wry smile, then glanced at the guards and spoke quietly. “I got you into this. It’s up to me to get you out.”
“No, I got myself in.”
“Anyway,” he said, “you’re not out yet. Neither are your friends.”
“But you’ll save us all.”
She sounded so sure of him. He wished he were as sure. They lapsed into silence. There wasn’t much to say. Or rather, there was too much. An eternity of words that now would never be spoken. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but maybe she was better off not knowing. Maybe she would find it easier to move on. Christ, he was getting maudlin.
He was saved from sinking any further into depression by a rap on the door. It opened, revealing two more guards and behind them Hatcher and Beauchamp.
“It’s time,” Hatcher said.
Chapter Twenty-Three
They followed Hatcher through the building, a circle of guards surrounding them, out of a set of double doors at the back, which led into a huge courtyard area. The doors opened onto a stage at one end. Opposite was the podium Tannis had mentioned. Fergal stared at it intently but couldn’t tell whether the ship was there or not.
Above them, the sky was dark crimson—the suns had set but still formed a glow. Daisy shivered beside him, and he followed her gaze. Three great pyres had been built in the center of the courtyard. They stood eight feet tall, each with a stake in the middle.
Two rows of seats had been set up on the stage. These were filled except for four in the middle of the front row. Around the edges of the courtyard, a mass of people milled restlessly. He had no doubt that this little party was also being commed to the rest of the universe.
Hatcher led them to the empty seats, and Fergal sat down beside Daisy. She was still staring with horror at the pyres, and who could blame her?
To Hell with his father. Fergal reached across, took her hand in his, and squeezed. She glanced at him. “I saw someone burned once.”
“You did?” He wasn’t aware there had been any public burnings—this was obviously a special occasion.
“Back on Earth. A woman. Rico shot her before the flames could get to her, though.”
There was obviously a story there. One he was destined never to hear. He turned slightly so he could keep an eye on the doors to his right. He needed some sort of sign from Stefan that everything was ready.
Trouble was, he was by no means sure that Stefan would follow through. The scientist probably didn’t want his success story self-destructing.
A rumble went through the crowd as the doors opened and the three prisoners were hustled out into the courtyard. They all had their hands bound behind their backs. One of the guards pushed at Tannis as she hesitated in the doorway, and she turned and snarled at him. Rico appeared cool and unbothered by the whole fiasco. Devlin bristled with barely restrained fury.
They came to a halt directly in front of the stage, only feet from where Fergal sat, and the guards stepped back. He didn’t think he had ever seen his father so happy. Hatcher rose to his feet and moved to the front of the stage. God forbid, he was going to give them a speech. Rico must have thought the same.
“Save us the sanctimonious sermon, asshole.”
Hatcher’s eyes narrowed, but he ignored the interruption and started to speak. Fergal let the words wash over him while he kept one eye on the little group, the other on the door.
Come on, Stefan, you bastard.
He still held on to Daisy. She was gripping his fingers tightly, but she would have to let go soon. He stared at Tannis, who stood directly below his seat, and tried to work out what she was thinking. She caught his gaze and gave a little shake of her head.
No ship, then.
For a second she closed her eyes, and he guessed she was communicating with Callum—or trying to. Suddenly, she went stiff. “You’re fucking kidding me.” She spoke the words aloud, so presumably they were meant to be heard.
Rico swung his head around to face her. “What?”
“Freaking dragons, that’s what. Shit.”
Fergal turned to Daisy, who was chewing on her lower lip. Obviously, dragons were not good news.
“They’ve had to take evasive action,” Tannis muttered.
“Well, tell them to take it quickly,” Rico snarled. “Have I mentioned how much I hate the goddamned Church?”
“Frequently.”
Hatcher completed his speech, and an expectant silence fell on the crowd.
“No way is anyone tying me to that fucking stake,” Tannis said.
“So we fight?” Rico said.
“A little difficult trussed up like this. Ideas would be good here.”
Fergal stared at the double doors, willing Stefan to appear. Tannis was right. Once they were tied to the pyres, it would all be over.
The guards approached the group almost warily. Rico bared his teeth, and they stopped.
“Come on, Stefan,” Fergal muttered.
“Take them,” Hatcher snapped, and the guards overcame their natural reluctance. Two grabbed each prisoner.
“Fergal, do something,” Daisy said from beside him.
They were almost at the stakes now. Tannis was staring at the sky.
Then the double doors were pushed open, and Stefan slipped through. He searched the stage, found Fergal, and gave a small nod.
He squeezed Daisy’s hand and tugged his fingers free. She tried to hold on, her gaze flashing to his face. “What?”
“As soon as you hear something, head for the podium where The Blood Hunter will land.”
“And where will you be?”
“Right behind you, sweetheart. Just don’t look back. Keep going. I’ll catch up.”
She stared into his face. Did she believe him? She glanced at her friends being dragged to the pyres, and she nodded.
“Good. Be ready.”
She opened her mouth, but Fergal couldn’t hear her words. A loud roar filled his mind. He was winding back on the loop, and it was disintegrating, the voices in his head clamoring for freedom. A freedom he wasn’t about to give them. Not yet, anyway. He had a job for them to do first.
For a second, everything went black, then it was as though a light flicked on in his brain and he could see everything clearly. No, “see” was the wrong word. He knew everything. For a microsecond he savored the feeling, then he got to work.
Come, he ordered.
Daisy sat frozen in her seat, horror washing over her as Rico, Tannis, and Devlin were dragged across the ground toward the pyres.
Where was Fergal’s diversion? She cast him a sideways glance. His face was white, his eyes closed, but she could see the flicker of rapid movement behind his lids. She stretched out her hand and nudged him, but he didn’t respond.
Her friends were almost at the pyres now.
“Hey,” Rico called out over his shoulder. “I thought we were going to get a chance to say we’re sorry.”
Her gaze flashed to where Hatcher stood on the stage to her right, his eyes narrowed on the vampire. He held up his hand, and the guards halted, turning the prisoners back to face them. “You wish to repent of your sins?”
“Yeah, I do. You want me to list them out?”
A small smile curved the priest’s lips. “There is no need for that. I give you absolution. Now proceed.”
“What about me?” Tannis asked.
“You, too, my child. And you?”
It took Daisy a moment to realize he was speaking to Devlin.
“You can take your fucking absolution and stuff it up your arse,” he snarled.
Hatcher gave a wave of his hand, and the guards continued, dragging them forward. Daisy wanted to leap up, race after them, stop them, but she couldn’t seem to move.
Beneath her panic, she heard something. The thud of many feet. The sound came from beyond the double doors and was getting clo
ser.
Fergal still appeared out of it, but she noticed his friend standing at the side of the doors, his gaze fixed on Fergal, his face tense.
Then he too must have heard the footsteps, his eyes widening.
The people’s attention shifted from the prisoners to stare at the doors. Even the guards sensed something amiss, and they stopped and turned slowly. Rico caught her gaze and raised a brow, but she could only shrug. She was pretty certain this was Fergal’s diversion, but what had he done?
The doors were flung open from inside. For a second the space remained empty, then it filled with men. Silver men. This close she could see the layer of silver encasing their bodies and the blank expression in their eyes.
One of the guards opened fire, and the laser blast bounced harmlessly off the body of the man it hit. More shots, but the silver army kept coming. As one, they raised weapons and started shooting. The guards holding the prisoners went down first. Rico, Tannis, and Devlin sprinted across the open ground, heading for cover.
Fergal was still not responding, and she shook his arm. Nothing, and she swallowed down her panic.
What had he told her?
To run for the podium. He would follow. But how could he in this state?
There was total chaos now as more of the silver men swarmed into the arena. Most of the guards were down, but the audience was charging around, trying to find a way out. Hatcher still stood at the center of the stage, but no one shot him. Max Beauchamp was beside him, and a blast took him in the chest, hurling him to the floor.
“You have to go,” a voice said from beside her.
She turned to see Stefan, standing behind her. “I can’t. I can’t get Fergal to move. They’ll kill him.”
“No, they won’t. He’s controlling them.”
“What? How?”
“It doesn’t matter how, just believe it.”
“Will he come back?”
“I don’t know. But he’ll be safe. I’ll look after him. You need to get out of here. If Hatcher recaptures you, Fergal will do whatever he says and this will have all been for nothing.”
She nodded. She wouldn’t let that happen. Not again.
“Good. Hold out your hands.”
She did, and he unlocked the cuffs and pressed a laser pistol into her hand. “Fergal is doing this for you. No one else. Now make sure it’s worth it.”
The need to stay and the need to go ripped her apart. She glanced up. Hatcher hadn’t moved, but his focus was on them, and he took a step forward. She leaned across and kissed Fergal on the lips. No response. Then she was on her feet and running.
She passed close to Hatcher and skidded to a halt. For a second she aimed her pistol straight at his head. Her finger tightened on the trigger. She could kill him now, for all the people he had murdered. But in the end, her finger stayed steady on the trigger.
“You only live because you’re Fergal’s father,” she said and turned away. She peered back over her shoulder. A group of the cyborgs had formed a circle around Fergal and Stefan, protecting them.
Someone grabbed her from behind. A guard. He held her in front of him as a shield. Daisy elbowed him in the gut, pulled free with ease, and broke his neck with one quick twist.
“Over here.”
Through the chaos, she heard Rico call out to her and headed toward the sound. They were all crouched behind a barrier in front of the podium. Tannis was unlocking Devlin’s cuffs. She glanced at Daisy and scowled. “Why the hell didn’t you kill Hatcher? You had the chance.”
She looked away and then back. “He’s Fergal’s father, I couldn’t.”
“Fuck that,” Tannis snarled. “Give me a minute.”
She stalked across the arena, picking up a laser from a dropped guard. Without a word, Devlin raced after her. The cyborgs ignored them. They were now moving methodically through the arena, picking off any remaining soldiers. Tannis and Devlin came to a halt ten feet from where Hatcher still stood on the stage. He appeared dazed at the chaos around him.
“For Janey,” Tannis said.
“And Tris.” Devlin spoke from beside her.
But as they took aim, a swarm of cyborgs filled the space between them, covering Hatcher.
“Shit.”
“Tannis, get your ass over here, we need to leave,” Rico yelled. “Now.”
“Crap.”
They turned and raced back to cover.
“Look.” Rico pointed to the sky, and Daisy stared upward. There was a ripple in the darkness, like a tear in space. White light flashed, and The Blood Hunter hurtled through. “Dios, Saffira must have opened a wormhole.”
Tannis snorted. “It’s lucky we ever saw the ship again.”
“Hey,” Devlin said, “she’s been practicing.”
“I’m just grateful to see her. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
The ship swooped down and landed gracefully on the podium only feet from them, and the doors to the docking bay opened. Jon and Alex stood in the doorway, blasters held at the ready.
Tannis and Devlin were already halfway up the ramp. Daisy pushed herself upright but hesitated. She glanced back over her shoulder. She could hardly see Fergal through the swarm of cyborgs.
“I’m going back for Fergal,” she said. “I still have my shuttle. We’ll catch up.”
“Oh, no, you’re not,” Rico said. “I made a promise.” He scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder, his arm like an iron band holding her in place.
The ramp lifted as he ran up. Daisy had one last glimpse of Fergal surrounded by his army before the doors slammed shut behind them and they were lifting off.
Despair filled her as Rico put her down on the floor.
She hurried over to the scanner unit by the doors and switched it on, but already the planet was vanishing into the distance.
She was gone.
A thousand voices relayed the information. A thousand pairs of eyes sent back the image of The Blood Hunter hurtling into space.
He’d been fighting for control, trying to keep the influx of information from shattering his mind, but pain drilled into his skull. He was vaguely aware of someone beside him, talking urgently.
Stefan.
But he couldn’t hear the words. His external senses were shutting down, his brain cells exploding, cutting off the nerves. He was exhausted from the fight. But Daisy was safe. This was it. The end.
He stopped fighting.
Red-hot agony poured into his skull. For a second everything was blindingly clear.
Then nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A switch went on in his head.
Daisy was safe.
At least he hoped she was. He’d been off-line for a long time.
His mind blank.
Now a light flickered on, like a computer in his head, checking the systems. He remembered the pain, but right now, his brain was a beautiful white space. Empty. He wasn’t sure he wanted to change that.
His eyes squeezed open, and he could see. Not a lot—he was lying on his back, staring at a white ceiling.
“About time,” a voice said from behind him.
He searched his databases. Stefan.
“What the fuck happened?”
“I brought you back from the dead. Well, maybe not dead, but you were off-line. I rebooted you. Your body was fine, but your brain had shut down. Actually, it had melted.”
“So where am I?”
“Still on Trakis Five.”
“Hatcher?”
Stefan grinned. “Your father?”
“How the fuck do you know that?”
“He told me. Just before he was about to perform an exorcism on you.”
“Shit—he’s still trying to get the devil out of me.”
“I told him it would kill you but I could reverse the process and hand you back as good as new. You know he loves you.”
“Yeah, but he’s also a complete crazy bastard.” He thought about what Stefan had said. “So ca
n you? Reverse the process?”
“Hell, no. But he doesn’t know that. Wait a moment, there’s something I need to do.” He stepped away and pressed the comm unit on his arm. “He’s awake and fully functioning.”
Fergal couldn’t hear the other side, but Stefan was smiling as he came back to him. “Your girlfriend was pleased.”
“Daisy?” Panic hit him. She hadn’t come back, had she? Everything would have been for nothing. “She’s not here, is she?” He never wanted Daisy anywhere near his father again.
“No. She wanted to be. When she realized you weren’t dead, she wanted to take you away. I persuaded her you were better off here, where I had all the Cybercom equipment and a functioning laboratory. I had to promise to keep her updated and inform her if there was any change. If I don’t, she calls every day.”
“How long?”
“Six months.”
“What happened to the others?”
“Take a look.”
He was almost afraid to move in case something didn’t work. But he swung his legs over the side of the bed and staggered to his feet. And everything was fine. He glanced around. He was in the same room where Stefan had taken his blood, and he crossed to the big window.
Below were the other volunteers. They still stood in rows. Unmoving.
“So it didn’t work?”
“They shut down when you did. It’s what enabled Hatcher to take back some semblance of control. But look…” He waved his hand toward the room below. There was some movement now, as though they were coming awake. A jerk of an arm here and there.
“Will they be okay?”
“They’ll function as normal, but you’ll always be able to control them…if you want to.”
“My own private army? I think I’ll pass. Will Hatcher let you all go?”
“I don’t think he’ll have a choice. A lot has happened in the last six months. The war is nearly over, and most of his remaining soldiers have gone AWOL. There’s some sort of sickness devastating half the planets. No one is interested in wars or religion right now. Just staying alive. This is the Church’s last stronghold, and it’s only still standing because of you.”