“They had a race like that? As in, past tense?” I asked.
“Yes. We ended up destroying every last one.” Karo averted his eyes, as if he was ashamed of his people’s actions.
“You don’t have to apologize to us. I’m sure the universe is better off without brain-sucking aliens,” Slate said. “You guys did the right thing.”
“We know some made it off-planet on space ships, and they could have expanded out there, propagating. Could you imagine a race like that being loosed somewhere like Udoon Station, or Bazarn Five for that matter?” Karo asked.
I shuddered, thinking about one of the parasites being inside my house. “We did a clean sweep of the house and didn’t find anything. But now you have me worried about the kids.” I glanced at the three of them and smiled as Dean picked up a crayon and showed Jules how to color a duck properly.
“I have an organic sensor Clare gave me years ago somewhere in my garage. I’ll find it in a bit,” Magnus said.
“Of course you do.” I laughed, clinking my beer bottle to his. “Where does this leave us? If this is a parasite, why is it killing so many?”
“We don’t know that he’s killing them,” Leonard said.
“But so far no bodies, right?” Slate asked.
“Right.”
“That means he’s killing them. Consuming, perhaps?” I asked.
Karo tapped a long finger on the countertop. “These parasites didn’t do that. They could live in a vessel for as long as the body functioned, which could be years and years. The vessel only ate what they would normally eat to stay strong.”
“Then it has to be something else. Something dangerous,” I said. I hated that the thing had been inside my home, of all places. But at least that gave me the drive to find it and kill it. “Leonard, can you call your friends in high places and ask them to find the footage of Stan? You remember where you were, and what time it was?”
He nodded. “Yeah, close enough. I’ll call the city office now. Clay has access to all the cameras. He’ll shoot it right over.” Leonard crossed the room and used the console to contact his friend.
“As if we don’t have enough on our plate,” Magnus said, looking at his kids playing with mine. “All while the wives are off on a fun excursion.”
“The wives?” I glanced at Slate, who took the comment in stride. “You do realize our last two trips of gallivanting ended with us being chased by Misters, then being imprisoned? I mean, Slate, Karo, and I literally worked in a rock pit for weeks.”
Magnus nodded. “And you seem like you’re almost rehabilitated now.” He punched me in the arm and guffawed. Only Magnus could pull off a true guffaw.
“What’s the deal with you and Loweck anyway, Slate?” Magnus asked the younger man.
Slate shrugged. “I don’t know. I like her.”
“You do know she…” Magnus started.
“I know, she’s part robot. But she has her own mind.” Slate focused on his beer.
“I was going to say that she could kick your butt. I don’t really care if you’re dating a cactus, as long as you’re happy,” Magnus said, surprising even me. These two were always quick to get on one another’s nerves, and it was rare for Magnus to say something so kind to Slate.
“Thanks, Mag. Appreciate it.” Slate took a drink.
“Sure. I’ll stand by my statement. From what I hear, she’d give Van Damme a show,” Magnus said.
Karo remained noticeably quiet. “What about you, big guy?” Magnus turned to the Theos man. “Ableen is quite a catch. Do I hear wedding bells?”
Karo smirked at me and took the bait. “The Theos do not partake in such barbaric ceremonies.”
“Barbaric?” Magnus asked, standing up straight like he was about to defend the sanctity of our tradition. He broke into a laugh and loosened up. “You’re probably right. Plus, the Theos would know better. You’ve been around a lot longer than us.”
I saw Karo’s face change. He was upset about being the last of his kind, and even having Ableen around wasn’t enough to cheer him up for long. His people’s life forces were inside the portal stones, and we’d promised to release them. “It’s all going to work out,” I said quietly.
Leonard ran over, holding a tablet in his palm. “Clay found it. Check this out.” He set the device on the countertop, and we all leaned over it. “There he is.” Leonard pointed to a big, lumbering man. His shirt was filthy, his pants torn. He walked how I imagined Frankenstein’s monster would carry himself through the streets of Terran One. People shifted out of his way on the sidewalk, and he stopped every now and then to peer at the buildings.
The camera changed, and we saw him from the front, dark bags under his eyes. Then he stumbled into Leonard. We watched the incident without volume, but knew enough from Leonard’s recount of the story.
Then Leonard was off, leaving Stan alone. “Where did he go?” I asked.
The camera showed Stan sniffing the air, and he headed into an alley.
“Any cameras positioned there?” Mag asked.
Leonard shook his head. “No. They lost him after that. Clay’s searching, though.”
I used my finger, sliding the bar on the bottom of the tablet back half an inch. I played it at half speed. “I think I saw something.” I paused it, zooming past Stan to the entrance of the alley. “A woman went into the alley. I think he followed her.”
Leonard went white. “I know her. That’s Amy from Human Resources.”
“Call the office. Find out if she’s there.” I had a bad feeling she hadn’t returned from lunch.
“Looks like we have a job to do.” Slate clenched his fists, and I nodded.
“Who’s going to look after the kids?” Magnus asked, and all of our gazes landed on the Theos man beside us. His hair remained braided, and his lips held a tinge of their former red glory.
He raised his hands in the air and shook his head. “Dibs out.”
Eighteen
The last piece of pizza sat cold in the box on the coffee table, and we sat around, music softly playing in the background. If we weren’t discussing finding a killer staking Terran One, with an ancient alien in our midst, I could have sworn we were on Earth, shooting the breeze after watching the Yankees win a playoff game.
Empty beer bottles littered the kitchen countertop, and I was amazed how far New Spero had come. We’d actually ordered three pizzas and had them delivered via drone to my home. Karo had watched the incoming food with a vested interest that made us all laugh.
“I think humans are one of the most evolved beings out there,” Karo said from his spot beside Slate on the couch.
“Why do you say that?” Slate burped, reaching for his beer.
“Despite your… belching and unusual traditions… you have found a way to outsource pizza production, and then a robot brings it to your home. That is far above anything the Theos accomplished,” Karo said, with only a hint of a joke.
“You found a way to power crystals that allow people to traverse the stars with the blink of an eye,” I told him.
“Yes, but… pizza.” He reached for the last piece, and I shook my head.
“I don’t know where it all goes,” I told him.
Leonard was in the kitchen, trying to find out more about the city office’s missing HR person. Amy hadn’t returned, and we knew why. The kids were sound asleep in Jules’ room. We decided sticking together would see us through the next couple days. The children were happy about it – even Dean, who was used to being outnumbered by his little sister and Jules.
“Wait… they found her,” Leonard said, rushing into the living room. He flipped the tablet, and showed us.
“That’s her?” Slate asked, squinting.
It was dark, and the camera was giving us a feed of night vision. “It’s her. I think” – Leonard zoomed, and there was a dark blotch on her shirt – “that’s blood.”
“So what? It kills the next victim and takes her over? Then there should be remains
of Stan somewhere, right? If it hops bodies?” I asked.
“Presumably,” Magnus said. “I’ll make some calls. We can meet the local PDs tomorrow morning first thing.”
Magnus used to run the New Spero defense force, and his name still carried a lot of power around here. He’d claimed mine was even more mystical, and was probably right.
Slate cracked his knuckles. “So we search the city center tomorrow, locate its whereabouts, and take it down?”
“Exactly,” I said. “Speaking of which, I think we’d better call it a night if we’re going to stop a killer in the morning. I’m sorry the house isn’t larger. Someone can share my room with me, but I have to warn you I have cold feet.”
No one laughed at my joke, and Karo said he’d sleep there as long as Mary didn’t mind. We settled on pulling a cot out, meeting halfway. I offered to take the cot, since Karo was far taller than I was.
Slate found a home on the couch, and Magnus had brought cots from home, laying them out for Leonard and himself. Carey and Charlie stayed in the living room with Magnus, and Maggie followed me to my bedroom.
Minutes later, I was on the cot, staring at the ceiling, wondering what strange things had to occur in my life to end up chasing an alien murderer on a colony world, with a seven-foot-tall alien sleeping in my bed instead of me. Dean Parker’s story was one even I couldn’t believe at times. Maggie curled up between my legs near my feet, and was already breathing deeply, the day too much for her. Somehow the two of us still fit on the compact bed.
“Dean, are you awake?” Karo asked, his voice a quiet whisper.
“Can’t sleep?” I asked him.
“No. I’m worried.”
“About what?” I asked, knowing there were a few things on the man’s mind.
“Ableen. Then the Theos in the stones. We really don’t want to lose our method of moving between our worlds. There’s so much to see out there. Now that we have the Crystal Map, we’ve found so much more than we ever knew. How can we lose that?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Ableen can feel their need to move on. And I think I can too,” I admitted.
“You’re right. I wish there were another way. Will you be there when we disable them? Will you help us?” he asked.
“I will.”
“Good,” Karo said. “Dean, there’s something I haven’t told you.”
My heart raced, but I didn’t let him know that. “What is it?”
“I know how to release them. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it before, but if we’re going to, there is a way.”
“You mean we won’t need to hit every stone to do it?” I honestly had been dreading the logistics of the mission. In my head, it could have taken a lifetime to release the Theos, especially if we needed to fly between portal worlds.
“The control crystal is on my home world,” he told me. “You remember?”
I’d visited his planet once, when I was searching for the Theos’ help to rescue Mary from the clutches of the evil Iskios. “I remember, all right. We can shut it off from there?”
“Yes.” Karo’s voice was low. “The apex of the crystal cluster lies high in the mountains. That is where a highly concentrated number of Theos poured themselves into the stones. We can shut off the entire system from there, freeing every last bit of their energy. The whole map as we know it will cease to exist.”
“Then you and I will go there and release them when we have the last of our Gatekeepers. Deal?” I asked.
“Deal. You’re a good man, Dean Parker,” he said.
“So are you,” I told him. “But whatever you’re thinking, I’m not singing you to sleep.”
He laughed, and moments later, Karo was snoring softly. It wasn’t long until the sound lulled me to sleep.
____________
Slate stood with the shortest straw in his grasp, and he frowned. “I’m not staying here!”
Magnus barked a laugh. “Slate, you drew the short straw. That means you’re the sitter.”
“What about Karo? He’s much better at this kid stuff than I am,” Slate argued.
“Jules loves you. And maybe you can teach Dean some fighting techniques,” I told him, and finally, he calmed and nodded slowly.
“I do like the idea of shaping his young mind,” Slate said.
Magnus poked a finger at Slate’s chest. “Make sure you don’t hurt him. And don’t let Patty eat any dairy.”
Slate scribbled his instructions on a pad of paper. “Anything else?”
“Yeah. Keep them alive,” Magnus added. “You have the drone system set up, so you’ll know if anyone’s returning to their nest.”
I shuddered as he called my house the creature’s nest. “Let’s avoid naming it that. Thanks. Slate, you’re going to be fine. And don’t worry about us. What I need from you is to watch the kids for us. We’re counting on you. Okay?”
“I won’t let you down, boss,” Slate said firmly.
Jules ran up to him and tugged on his finger. Maggie followed behind my daughter, hoping the girl would drop a piece of the toast she was slowly eating. “Zeke,” she said. “Play dollies.”
Slate’s eyes met mine “Zeke?” he whispered at me, and I smiled widely.
“Fine. But we’re going to play Gatekeepers, not tea party,” he said with finality, and set off toward the living room.
Dean appeared in the kitchen and was wearing a deep frown. “Dad, I want to go with you.” He crossed his arms.
Magnus shook his head. “Kid, we’re going somewhere dangerous. You have to stay and watch over your sister and Jules.” He jerked a thumb toward Slate. “And keep an eye on this guy too.”
“But, Dad…”
“No buts. Your mother is away, and I’m in charge.”
Magnus led the way outside, and Leonard, Karo, and I followed. It was chilly out this morning, the sky overcast, and light rain fell as if an ominous portent of what was coming. I pushed the worry aside. With any luck, we’d track the thing Amy was carrying by lunch time, and we could go home.
Maybe the women would even be finished saving the next twosome of Gatekeepers by then. One could dream big.
“We ready?” Leonard asked. Instead of taking his SUV, he’d opted for calling in a police transport. It landed in the back yard, the lights and siren turned off.
Jules was on the porch with Dean and Patty beside her, Slate standing protectively behind the three kids. Maggie started to follow me onto the pathway to the police vehicle, and I had to tell her to stay. She cocked her head to the side but understood, running over to Jules’ side. The other spaniels were hiding on the porch in the shade, staying out of the already hot sunlight.
“Ready as we’ll ever be.” The lander door opened, and a woman stepped out. Her hair was cut short and she was wearing oversized aviator sunglasses.
“Which one of you is Leonard?” she asked.
He raised a hand and stepped forward.
“Good. I’ve been instructed by Mayor Patel to make sure your group is provided with whatever they need. I understand you have a line on the guy that’s been going around killing people?” she asked.
“We think so,” I told her.
She lifted her sunglasses and stopped a foot away from me, entering my personal space. I forced myself to stand my ground. “And who are you?”
“Dean Parker,” I said, seeing the flash of recognition.
“Never heard of you,” she said, and Magnus laughed.
“What about you, big guy?” the policewoman asked. I saw her name etched into her uniform. Reed.
“Magnus,” he said.
“Just Magnus, no surname?” she asked, standing before the large Scandinavian.
“For today, Magnus will do fine,” he said with a big smile.
I had the feeling she knew exactly who we were; she was just toying with us. I wasn’t sure if I appreciated that.
“And who’s this piece of work?” she asked Karo, who glanced over at me.
“Look, can we g
o?” I asked, moving past the introductions. “You’re supposed to help us, then fly us into the city. We have a killer to find.”
“Fine. Have it your way, Parker,” she said, and I saw the hint of a smile. “I’m Reed.”
“What, no first name?” Magnus mumbled as he entered the police transport.
“Very funny. How does that lovely wife of yours put up with you?” she asked.
So she did know who we were. “Reed. Nice to meet you. Downtown?” I urged, and she moved to the front of the ship and sat in the pilot’s seat.
I peered out the side window and waved at Jules, who was waving both hands to see us off. I loved that little girl with all of my heart. She was the perfect blend of Mary’s grace and beauty, and my stubbornness and curiosity.
“Downtown it is,” Reed said. “What do we know about the perp?”
Leonard took this one. “We think the perp is from another world. They might be transferring from one vessel to another.”
“Vessel?” Reed asked as she raised us higher from the surface. The skyscrapers of Terran One were already visible in the viewer.
“Bodies. The target is killing its prey, then taking the bodies,” I explained.
“Then there has to be a corpse, right?” Reed asked. She was catching on quick.
“That’s what we’re going to find out. The local PD did a quick scan last night, but they came up empty-handed,” Magnus said.
“And you expect to find more than they did?” Reed pressed.
“No. But they didn’t have all the information,” I said.
“You’re the boss,” she told me, and Magnus frowned.
“Leonard, they didn’t find her on any other feeds?” Magnus asked, indicating Amy, the missing HR woman we’d seen emerge from the alley.
“No. She must have avoided the cameras,” Leonard told him.
“She could be anywhere,” I said.
“Dean, if this is the same creature that was living in your house, do you think it would return?” Karo asked the question everyone had been thinking.
“I don’t know. I can’t presume to understand its motivation. I’d have to speculate, which can be a dangerous game,” I said.
The Gatekeepers (The Survivors Book Eight) Page 15