by S. T. Boston
As he sped by the cropless fields beneath him, Sam carried out the inspector's final instruction and threw the engines into reverse, reducing speed further. Before the plane could slam down into the ploughed field, Sam cut the engine and switched off all the electrical systems, lessening the chance of a fire. Gripping the yoke so tightly his knuckles turned white, the King Air glided into East Field, lost the last forty feet of altitude with a gut-wrenching drop, and just slightly faster than Ackhart would probably have liked, if he'd been alive to witness it, the plane slammed down onto its belly, sending a hail of debris behind it in a frenzied wake of clumpy brown earth and stones.
The shock of the haphazard landing jarred every bone in Sam's body, rattling him to his core. Stupidly, he was still gripping the yoke, as if he could steer the King Air in off-road mode. He closed his eyes as dirt from the field hammered the windscreen, the small stones ricocheting off the thick glass. The section of windscreen damaged by the bullet gave way, showering the cockpit in glass. Sam felt the tail start to lift as the nose dug into the soft dirt, and the lifeless body of the Earth-Breed pilot he'd killed was flung forward. His body, moving with more speed than Sam thought possible for a corpse, slammed into the back of his chair.
Ironically, as Sam would later realise, the dead pilot had the last laugh. Despite being dead he still managed to hit Sam's seat hard enough to catapult Sam into the instrument panel and knock him unconscious.
Chapter 19
Adam stood in the shade, his slender figure protected from the unforgiving desert sun. Nonetheless, the heat was sweltering, and his white cotton polo shirt was wet with perspiration and stuck uncomfortably to the nape of his neck. Walking back a few steps, he craned his head upward and looked toward the sky. Towering some three hundred feet above was the black underside of a colossal spacecraft. He tried to focus on the perfectly flat, black surface, but his head began to spin. Lowering his gaze to the ground he took a few seconds, waiting for the nausea to pass. Gradually feeling better, he walked for what seemed like an age, shielded by the massive hull of the craft that loomed ominously overhead. Despite pounding his way hurriedly over the highly-compacted sand and his laboured breathing, there was no sound, all he could hear was the steady thump, thump, thump of his own heartbeat. Reaching the edges of the shade, he walked out into the sun.
Thump, thump, thump.
With fresh sweat pouring from his hot skin, Adam walked along the side of the massive craft until he reached a point where the hull swooped down from the sky and met the ground. He stopped and placed a hand against the ship's onyx-like surface; surprisingly it was cool to the touch and seemed to vibrate very gently beneath his fingers as if it were a living thing.
Thump, thump, thump.
Nauseous once again, he rested his back against the cool surface and relished the slight chill that ran through his hot body, and slowly turned toward the merciless sun. Only now the sun was gone, replaced by two hungry, amber eyes which regarded him from a god-like height with both hatred and interest. Adam shrank back, as if the craft would absorb his body and shield him from the heavy gaze of those hateful eyes. Inch by inch, Adam slid down the hull until he was on his knees, cowering on baking, compacted sand. As the fiendish eyes continued to drink him in, he noticed them almost smile at him. It wasn't a pleasant sensation, rather the idea of the eyes smiling installed a fresh fear in his gut. Those eyes knew something, something he didn't, and it terrified him.
Thump, thump, thump.
With the eyes still mocking him, he saw something else from the corner of his eye, in that watchful sky. A small pinprick of black, a floating speck of dirt speeding across the skies. Unable to draw his gaze away from the swiftly growing speck he remained transfixed, and tried hopelessly to focus on it. Just as he thought he could make out its shape it burst and gave birth to a new sun, which spread with ferocious speed across the sky. A burst of pain erupted in Adam's eyes, and suddenly everything was in darkness. As a thunderous roar filled his head, his flesh began to boil against his bones and he opened his mouth to scream, but instantly his throat turned to fire. Then he was ash. Fire and ash.
* * *
Adam's eyes snapped open, his breath coming in quick pants that over-oxygenated his blood and made him woozy. The first tendrils of morning light were creeping in beneath the floral drapes, the shafts of autumn sun picking up swarms of busy dust motes which floated around the room on invisible air currents. The fire had died down during the night and Adam's skin was chilled. He shivered, removed Oriyanna's hand from his waist and sat up. For a few moments he watched an ugly black spider, busily weaving a web between the worn red bricks of the fireplace and the overhanging oak ledge above. Everyone was still asleep, Lucie snoring gently, still sitting in the seat with her legs stretched out on the foot stool. Maya was face down on the small sofa, cocooned into a foetal position with her arms wrapped around her slight body in an apparent attempt to keep warm. Oriyanna, who'd been wrapped around him not moments before was murmuring something in her sleep. Adam tried to focus on her words, but the strange and exotic dialect was lost on him. Digging his phone out of his pocket he saw it was almost six AM. In a few minutes the power and phone networks would be up, and he hoped there would be news from Sam, but the chance of getting a signal out in the sticks was slim to none. He'd probably have to drive to the nearest town to stand any chance.
Getting to his feet he retrieved the poker from the hearth. As quietly as he could, he tried to stoke the fire but the wood he'd fed it hours earlier had been devoured and reduced to nothing more than a few hot embers which glowed dimly, barely hanging on to life. Laying the implement gently back onto the grate he straightened out his sweater and tutted at the dishevelled state of his trousers. He'd been smartly dressed for the book talk, but that now seemed like a lifetime ago. He needed a long shower and a change of clothes, but doubted he would be getting either.
Making his way through to the kitchen, he collected up a glass from the drainer and turned on the cold tap, letting it run for a while before placing the glass into the steady stream of water. He shut off the tap and drank deeply, his mouth and throat resembling the scorched desert from his dream. The water, although chillingly cold, carried a nasty, metallic taste; the taste of old, seldom used pipes and age. Setting the glass onto the side and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he surveyed the abysmal selection of tinned food he'd found last night. Shaking his head, he wondered how a couple of tins of beans and a tin of preserved oranges would feed four people. As if sensing the lack of food, his tummy offered up a protesting growl of hunger. Ignoring it, he glanced out of the window. It had been hard to gauge the exact condition of the back garden in the darkness, and in the dim first light of morning he could see much more. Long strands of ivy had latched themselves onto the wooden shed, strangling the dilapidated building and setting it slightly askew. The grass could almost house a small Amazonian tribe and looked more like a jungle. Tangled through the various overgrown bushes and weeds were some angry, knotted thorns which seemed to belong to one of his grandfather's old fruit bushes. Left unchecked for the past few years, they'd set about on their own mission to take control of the whole garden. They were winning.
“Trouble sleeping?” came a soft female voice from behind him. Stolen from his thoughts, Adam turned to see Oriyanna leaning against the off-white door frame, her blonde hair glowing in the early morning sunshine.
“Bad dream,” he replied, smiling back at her. “I seem to get those when you're around.”
“The desert?” she asked curiously.
“How did you—?”
“I had the same dream – the eyes and the explosion?” Adam nodded solemnly, not bothering to try and figure out why they'd shared the same dream. With Oriyanna, that kind of madness was normal. “That ship, the large black one,” she paused, eyeing Adam to ascertain that he knew exactly what she meant. “That's Asmodeous' vessel, the Arkus 2. At least, that used to be her name.”
; “And he's out there, right now. Waiting for us?” The acceptance in his voice surprised him. Oriyanna nodded and crossed the room, wrapping her hands around his waist she kissed him deeply on the lips. When they parted, Adam looked down at her and said, “You know, it would be nice to spend some time with you and not be fighting for our lives.”
“Well, maybe when this is all over,” she said temptingly, her deep blue eyes dazzling with promise.
Before he could tell her they might be dead before it was all over, the sound of someone clearing their throat drew his attention. Maya stood in the doorway, almost exactly where Oriyanna had been not a minute before. Yawning and trying to get control of her dark, sleep-tousled hair she said, “Are you planning on cooking that food we found?”
“Sure, once Lucie is up. Let me go and check on her.” Adam made his way back through to the lounge to discover his sister had moved, ever so slightly. A bead of sunlight was making itself at home on her face, and in her sleep, she seemed to sense it and turned her head slightly, causing it to loll off the edge of the seat. The resulting movement snapped her awake. Frantically, she looked around for a few seconds, as if she was still caught up in whatever night terror she'd been suffering.
“Is there any news?” she asked, sitting up and stretching.
“It's almost six, sis,” replied Adam. “The networks aren't back up yet – I'm sure once they are you'll hear from him.” Adam wasn't sure how convincing he sounded. “Why don't you come through to the kitchen, we're going to crack open the cans of food I found yesterday. If there's nothing growing in them, we might just have ourselves some brekkie!” He raised his eyebrows in an encouraging fashion.
Lucie followed Adam through to the kitchen, and collected up one of the two tins of baked beans with sausages. Turning the can over and searching for a use by date, she glanced at Adam, who was fishing a tin opener out of one of the drawers. “Are you certain these are going to be okay?”
“Only one way to tell,” he replied, finding the tool he needed and waving it triumphantly in the air.
“I'll do the honours,” said Maya, taking the tin opener out of his hand and turning to the sink. The sharp point on the utensil had seen better days and no matter how hard she pushed down, it just wouldn't breach the thin metal. Turning to the drawer she recovered a sharp kitchen knife and tried to pierce the top of the can.
“Careful it doesn't slip and…” Lucie began, looking over her shoulder, but her warning was too late. The can toppled over and Maya drove the knife down into her left hand, slicing open the skin between the top of her thumb and index finger.
“Shit,” Maya hissed, snatching her hand away. The tin of beans spun across the drainer before tumbling to the floor.
Lucie grabbed Maya's hand and put it over the sink. “Best wash it out,” she encouraged as blood began flowing steadily from the wound, dripping into the metal sink with a dull plink, plink sound. Manoeuvring Maya's hand under the tap, Lucie turned it on. “Those knifes have been in that draw for God knows how long.”
“It's okay, really,” Maya protested, struggling to free her wrist from Lucie's grip. “Just get me an old towel or something, in a day or two it will be just fine.”
“Nonsense,” Lucie fussed, “If it gets infected…” Lucie's voice trailed off as the water, which had been coloured a very light shade of pink from Maya's blood, turned clear. Eyes wide, Lucie watched as beneath the water's flow the damaged skin turned pink, then healed completely. Lucie dropped Maya's hand and stepped back a pace. Neither Adam nor Oriyanna had seen it, and neither were ready for what happened next. “She can heal!” Lucie gasped.
In a flash, Maya grabbed the knife from the drainer and pulled Lucie backwards by her untidy brown ponytail. As Lucie stumbled back, Maya grabbed her around the shoulders and whipped the knife to her throat. In a mixture of panic and surprise Lucie screamed, the sound piercing the otherwise still morning and resonating through the walls of the old cottage.
Oriyanna was first to react, a nanosecond before Adam. They both rushed toward Maya who had the knife pushed painfully against Lucie's neck. Her eyes darted from Adam to Oriyanna as she tried to weigh up which side the threat might come from. “It wasn't meant to happen like this!” she growled, the soft and mystical edge to her Eastern-European accent gone. “If either of you take another step, I'll bury the blade so deep into her neck, it will pop out the other side.”
“Just take it easy,” said Adam, holding both palms up to show he was no threat. “What's all this about?”
“The… cut,” Lucie choked the words out, “it healed. She… said she was Earth-Breed!” Maya tugged her hair painfully, and Lucie shrieked.
“I should have trusted my instincts,” Oriyanna said in a low voice. “I sensed something was off about you, but as you'd saved Adam, I gave you the benefit of the doubt.”
“I don't understand,” said Adam, his mind spinning. He glanced toward Oriyanna, who slid her hands behind her back. She huffed out an annoyed breath when she realised the Glock was still in the lounge by the fireplace.
“Really!” Maya spat. “There is nothing remotely familiar about me?” she scolded in a venomous voice. Her accent was gone, replaced by another familiar one that she couldn't hide beneath her aggression. It wasn't a million miles away from Oriyanna's, but it had a slightly different twang to it, a twang that he'd heard once before, deep below the pyramid. The memory was clouded thanks to the feverish state Adam had been in, but it was there.
“You're no Earth-Breed,” growled Oriyanna, her body tensed. Like a lioness, she was poised and ready to strike at the first opportunity.
“You get full points,” Maya said scornfully. Her hauntingly beautiful eyes burned with fury, and Oriyanna realised with horror why her eyes seemed so familiar. Buer had fixed Oriyanna with an identical stare when he'd had hold of her in the Tabut Chamber, two and a half Earth years ago.
“You took everything from me!” Maya shrieked, looking hatefully at Adam, the knife's blade pushing into Lucie's neck. “Between you, you have left me with nothing!” She turned and glared at Oriyanna. “Thanks to your book, Adam, I know exactly how my father died and who pulled the trigger. Soon after, in the invasion of Sheol, my mother was killed. Maybe you didn't cause the explosion which killed her,” Maya hissed at Oriyanna. “But you are high on the council and there is no one else here to blame.”
“Buer was your father?” Adam said shakily.
“Her real name is Lilith,” Oriyanna cut in. “I never had the pleasure of meeting her, she is a child of Sheol, after the war. It was always rumoured that Buer had a wife and daughter, but never confirmed. Let alone that she possessed the Gift. Typical of his kind, to bestow such a power upon their kin.”
“And the penny finally drops!” Lilith turned her face upwards toward the dirty white ceiling, as if relishing the revelation. “A thousand years I lived on that shit stain of a planet, then after my father and mother were killed and Sheol was taken I escaped with Asmodeous on Arkus 2.”
“But you killed your team to get to me, to make sure I wasn't taken?” Adam protested.
“Don't you get it!” she shrieked, her voice an octave higher. The blade had cut Lucie's skin, a small trace of blood running from the tip of the knife, and like a lone red tear it ran down her neck, paused momentarily as it navigated the slight hump of her collar bone before disappearing below her sweater. “This was never about getting you to Asmodeous, this was about my own revenge. I didn't plan on her showing up.” She shot her fiery gaze across to Oriyanna. “But things don't always go according to plan. I wanted you to suffer like I did, to have someone taken away from you, then once you'd seen your sister killed…well, I hadn't decided what I was going to do with you! Once those nukes fly, you're all dead anyway. The radiation poisoning will be far more unpleasant than anything I can do. As for me, I knew that doing this only bought me a one-way ticket, but when you've got nothing left to lose, who cares?”
“Just let her go,” Ada
m encouraged, taking a tentative step toward Lilith. “You can have me, you can do what you want to me. Just let Lucie go.”
“This isn't about killing you!” Lilith retorted, her hand steady on the blade. “This is about taking something away from you! Come to think of it, I can make you pay twice— no, three times!” The thin, reptilian smile spread yet again across her once-pretty face. “You can watch me kill your sister,” she paused, seeming delighted by her discovery. “She is with child,” she finally declared. “You're going to be— oh, sorry, I mean you were going to be an uncle, Adam!” She laughed maniacally, letting her words sink in. “I thought I detected something strange about her, and this explains it.”
Adam stared into Lucie's frightened eyes. Tears began to well up against her lashes and she tried to blink them away, which only caused them to streak down her face.
“I was going to say you could watch me kill your sister, and then her!” She nodded toward Oriyanna. “But now I get to take three things away from you – it's almost too perfect to be true.”
“If you harm either of them, I will kill you with my bare hands.” Adam's fear was swiftly replaced by a red-hot fury. He glanced at Oriyanna, hoping she'd figured out a way to overwhelm Lilith. Unfortunately, with both of them unarmed and Lucie with a blade to her neck, they were well and truly on the back foot.
“Enough of the chatter,” Lilith growled, her eyes sparkling with rage. She took the knife away from Lucie's neck, ready to drive the blade home.
Chapter 20
Sam sat back against the seat and ran his dirty hands over his face, trying to detect any trace of injuries. Of course, there was nothing to find, the Gift had taken care of the split lip and broken nose he'd suffered on impact, an impact which rendered him unconscious for a short period. As the memory of the crash caught up with him, he looked about frantically, searching for any signs of fire. Thankfully there were none, and the only sound in the cabin was the soft ting-ting of broken glass as it dropped from the spider-webbed windscreen.