Dren and Brachia beamed as if they were waiting for Richard to applaud their efforts. Richard hated to disappoint them, but he didn’t see the benefit.
“So?” Richard said.
“So,” said Nickelo, “when you activate the gem in your suit, the titanium is changed to creallium. And creallium exists in the void as well as the current dimension. That’s why your phase rod and rounds from a phase blaster can hurt creatures in the void.”
The light clicked on in Richard’s mind. He knew why the children were smiling.
“Are you telling me you’ve found a way to protect myself from attack by creatures in the void?” Richard said. “If that’s what you’re saying, then I owe you a big hug.”
“Then hug away, Uncle Rick,” laughed Brachia. “Ever since you told us how those dimension-shifting cats attacked you from the void last year, I’ve been trying to find a way to help you defend yourself. This is it.”
Richard was touched. This was bigtime stuff as far as he was concerned.
Richard reached out and tried to hug Brachia. His arms passed through the boy. Richard didn’t care. He gave Dren a simulated hug as well.
“Thanks, guys,” Richard said. “I don’t know what to say.”
Both of the children looked like they were a little embarrassed at Richard’s show of gratitude. But at the same time, they looked grateful for the attention.
Before anyone could say anything further, the door to the lab burst open. Richard heard a maniacal laugh. Dren looked up and screamed.
Chapter 51 – Crendemor Revealed
_____________________________________
Lord Crendemor waited until the proper time. Using the Master computer’s security hack, he broke into the boy’s laboratory and retrieved the Crosioian scout’s equipment.
He could have activated the signaling device in order to have the Master computer teleport him back to the fleet’s flagship, but he didn’t. Instead, he walked towards the girl’s teleportation lab.
They should be with my enemy now, Lord Crendemor thought. I shall have the first down payment on my revenge.
When Lord Crendemor reached the lab’s door, he visually checked the hallway. It was empty. He recited the spell to dissipate his polymorph spell. He wanted his enemy to see his real form. Lord Crendemor felt the spell’s energy work through his body and return it back to his natural form. He looked at his hand. It was a pale, flesh color. He’d been in the form of a dark elf for so many years he no longer liked the look of his real flesh.
Lord Crendemor smiled as he imagined his enemy’s despair when he saw the children killed in front of his eyes.
Reaching into the sack he carried, Lord Crendemor pulled out a jeweled longsword. It was hers. After his enemy had destroyed her body, Lord Crendemor had returned to the river. He had searched long and hard until he found her sword. It was only fitting that her sword be the instrument of his revenge. He’d sworn to use it to destroy everything precious to his enemy, just as his enemy had destroyed that which was most precious to him.
Lord Crendemor knew his enemy was not in the room. He would not be able to kill him now. But, he would use her sword to kill the children his enemy loved. He would kill them slowly.
With her longsword in his right hand and with the Crosioian scout’s equipment in his left, Lord Crendemor opened the door. He laughed in triumph. His revenge was at hand.
Chapter 52 – The Escape
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Richard saw the look of shock on Dren’s face. With her scream still echoing in his ear, Richard turned to face the door. A pale man with a crazed look on his face was rushing into the room with a raised longsword in his hand. Richard stepped between the stranger and the children. As the stranger got closer, Richard noticed his ears. They were pointed.
An elf, Richard thought.
When the elf got within range, Richard leapt into the air and aimed a sidekick at the elf’s head. His foot passed through the elf without making contact. Losing his balance, Richard fell to the floor. He heard another maniacal laugh and then another of Dren’s screams.
“You fool,” said the elf. “You’re pathetic. Turn around and watch as I kill this girl. Then I’ll take care of the boy as well.”
Richard jumped to his feet and spun around. He recognized the sneering voice. On his mission for ‘the One’ the previous year, an elf had been with the party of gnomes he’d been tasked to help. Although the elf and he hadn’t been exactly friendly to each other, they had fought side by side. Richard had even saved the elf’s life. He didn’t understand the obvious hatred in the elf. He didn’t even understand how the elf could be here.
When Richard turned, he saw the elf holding Dren. The elf’s sword was at the girl’s throat. The look of fear on Dren’s face tore at Richard’s heart. He knew it was a look he’d never forget. Richard looked for Brachia, but the boy wasn’t to be seen.
“Kreathin,” Richard said. “How? Why?”
“How?” laughed the elf as he tightened his grip on the struggling girl. “How am I here when you left me eighty-nine thousand years in the past? That doesn’t matter, you pitiful fool. What matters is why? You took her from me. You took my Lillia from me. Now, I’ll take this girl from you.”
Richard felt helpless. He was only a hologram. What could he do?
But fortunately for Dren, there was another in the room who was not helpless. Brachia charged out from behind a workbench. He dove at the elf holding his sister. Richard saw a flash of metal in the boy’s hand.
The elf must have sensed the boy’s attack. Kreathin shifted his sword to strike the boy. Brachia’s knife grazed the elf’s side. At the same time, Dren stomped on the elf’s foot with the heel of her boot. The elf made a sound of pain. The sword thrust he’d aimed at the boy missed.
Dren pulled a knife from a sheath on her belt. It was the same knife he’d given her the previous year. Richard saw her make a backhanded stab at the elf’s leg. The knife blade sank deep into Kreathin’s thigh. The elf screamed. He must have relaxed his grip, because Dren broke loose from the elf’s grasp. She grabbed her brother’s hand and ran towards a round dais in the center of the room.
Kreathin cursed and began a spell. Richard yelled hoping to distract the elf. It did no good. Richard saw a ball of energy forming in the elf’s hands.
Nick! Richard yelled in his shared space. Help them.
I can’t, said Nickelo. We’re not there. I can’t do anything.
In the three seconds it took Kreathin to form his spell, Dren and Brachia reached the dais.
“Kathy!” shouted Dren. “Activate!”
A glow emanated from the dais and surrounded Dren and her brother. They both shimmered. They disappeared just as arcs of electricity leaped out of the elf’s hands into the air where the children had been.
Kreathin screamed his anger. He pulled the knife out of his leg and threw it to the floor. Kreathin shook a bloody fist at Richard.
“You’ll pay,” said the elf. “I swear it. I’ll hunt down anyone you have ever cared for and rip their hearts out. You’ll pay for takin my Lillia from me.”
Richard thought back to the last time he’d seen Kreathin. They’d been fighting zombies near a river. A zombie that happened to be a female elf had attacked them. In order to save Kreathin, Richard had stuck a grenade in the zombie’s mouth and kicked her into the river. The zombie’s head and most of her body had been torn to shreds. Instead of thanking him, Kreathin had tried to kill him. One of the gnomes had told Richard the zombie had been Kreathin’s bondmate.
“She was a zombie, you idiot,” Richard said. “She was already dead. I saved your life.”
“You took her from me,” said Kreathin. “He could have saved her. He told me so. But not after you destroyed her. If not for you, she could have been saved.”
“You’re crazy,” Richard yelled. “She was dead. You can’t bring someone back after they’re dead.”
Kreathin turned
away from Richard and walked over to the control panel for the teleporter pad. After looking at the settings, he laughed. “The fools think they’ve escaped. We shall see. We shall see.”
Richard was unsure what the elf was blabbering about.
Nick. The kids, Richard said. Where are the children? We need to find them.
They’re safe for now, said Nickelo. I’ll explain later. For now, look at the elf’s left hand. He has the Crosioian scout’s gear.
I don’t care about the gear, Richard said. We need to save the children.
The elf stared straight into Richard’s eyes. “We’ll meet again, human. Soon, all you hold dear will be destroyed. You’ll suffer. Oh, how you’ll suffer.”
The elf said a spell. As the spell began to take effect, the elf gave Richard an evil smile. “I have reclaimed the scout’s helmet intact. When you finally learn its secrets, it will be as death is raining down upon all you know. Everyone you care about will die. This I promise.”
With those words, the spell’s energy reached out and engulfed the room in flames. The holograph of the lab disappeared. Richard was once again wholly back at the airfield. The children were nowhere in sight.
* * *
Richard scanned the area. He was still standing near the backup power plant. All seemed quiet. Although the night air was cool, Richard was sweating. The night might be peaceful, but Richard’s mind was anything but.
Nick! Where are the kids? Richard practically shouted into his shared space.
Don’t shout, Rick, said Nickelo. The children are safe. Dren didn’t get a chance to show you, but that teleporter was set for a hundred and fifty-seven years in the past on Portalis.
Why? Richard began before changing his mind. No, never mind. It doesn’t matter. How do we get them back? And what was Kreathin doing there? He should’ve been dead and turned to dust by now.
Hold on, Rick, said Nickelo. The children are probably safer a hundred and fifty-seven years in the past than they’d be here right now. I think something dangerous is going on. And just so you know, I don’t know how to get them back. To answer your last question, I don’t know why Kreathin is alive.
Richard thought for a computer, Nickelo said ‘I do not know’ a lot.
We’ve got to get moving, Richard said. We’ve got to do something. We have to find the children.
Richard surprised himself with his concern for Brachia and Dren. They were the closest thing to family he’d ever had, and he didn’t want to lose them.
Go where, Rick? said Nickelo. And do what?
Richard didn’t answer. He didn’t know. He just felt like he should be doing something.
The children are in the past, said Nickelo. We’ve got to figure out how to time travel to rescue them. I don’t know how. Do you?
Again, Richard didn’t answer. His battle computer was taking the situation much too calmly for his liking.
The good news, said Nickelo, is that it doesn’t matter whether we do something now or a year from now. It’ll still be the same point in time when we go back. We’ll find them, Rick. I just need to figure out how.
I can’t stand around doing nothing, Richard said feeling way too helpless. He needed to do something.
Then don’t, said Nickelo. The elf’s presence and his threat concern me. I’d recommend summoning your dimensional pack and arming yourself.
Richard didn’t have to be told twice. It was something to do, and he’d always liked acting instead of wasting time thinking. He knew TAC Officer Myers wouldn’t be happy, but at this point, Richard didn’t care. Within seconds, Richard was stripping off his clothes and putting on his battle suit.
While Richard dressed, he listened to his battle computer as he outlined the situation.
The elf had the Crosioian scout’s battle helmet, said Nickelo. Somehow, he knew we hadn’t decrypted its data yet. He hinted the battle computer contained a secret, and that we would face some kind of danger soon.
Yeah. So? Richard said as he fastened on his utility belt. Talk’s cheap. He was probably just blowing hot air.
I don’t think he was just talking, Rick, said Nickelo. I calculate a ninety-seven percent probability something’s going down as we speak. I’m not sure when or where. I just wish we could have cracked the security code on that battle computer. I think it’s the key to finding out what’s going on.
Well, it’s too late now, Richard said. Kreathin’s got it now.
Yes and no, said Nickelo. And by the way, I’d recommend getting an M12 instead of your M63. You don’t know what you may be up against. The heavier rounds could come in handy.
I’m only at seventy-two percent Power in my reserve, Nick, Richard said. I hate to waste the Power. I used way too much protecting Myers’ link to his Power reserve. He didn’t even thank me come to think of it.
Please don’t argue, Rick, said Nickelo. Just get the M12. And I’d recommend summoning some quarter-kilo bocks of J22 plastic explosive as well. They might come in handy.
Richard shrugged his shoulders. As long as he was armed, he guessed it didn’t matter. He shoved his M63 back into his dimensional pack and closed the flap. Then he imagined an M12 with an extra bandoleer of 20mm grenades. Richard felt Power leave his reserve. When he opened the pack, he saw the M12, but there was no extra ammo in the pack.
‘The One’ is being a jerk again, Richard said as he pulled out the M12. He let me summon an extra bandoleer of 20mm grenades for Stella the other night, but he won’t let me get one when I need it.
Just deal with it, Rick, said Nickelo sounding not at all sympathetic.
Richard shrugged his shoulders and performed a function check on the M12. The isotopic battery was full. That would give him 400 rounds of plasma energy. Richard checked the grenade magazine underneath the rifle barrel. It held seven 20mm grenades. Richard chambered a round. On a hunch, Richard imagined a single 20mm grenade. He felt a small amount of Power leave his reserve. Reaching into his dimensional pack, he pulled out a single 20mm grenade.
There’s no rhyme or reason to these stupid rules, Richard said as he shoved the 20mm grenade into the empty space in the M12’s magazine. It’s like ‘the One’ makes the rules up as he goes.
I doubt that, Rick, said Nickelo. By the way, don’t forget about the J22.
Richard summoned a satchel with twenty blocks of J22 plastic explosives with remote timers. Once he pulled the satchel out of his pack, he slung the satchel over his shoulder. Thus armed, he felt ready for about anything.
Okay, Richard said. What now?
He glanced at the timer on the heads-up display of his battle helmet. It was 0345 hours. It would be getting light in a couple of hours.
Do you trust me, Rick? asked Nickelo in what Richard thought was a very serious tone.
Richard grew suspicious, but he thrust the suspicion aside. Nickelo was his friend. Richard trusted him with his life. He told Nickelo so.
Why do you ask? Richard said.
Because Brachia uploaded a complete copy of the data from the Crosioian scout’s battle computer into my primary databanks, said Nickelo. That’s what Jonathan and I’ve been trying to decrypt. Rick, I could use some help.
Richard had been preparing to protest they should be doing something, but his battle computer’s words caught him by surprise. In all their time together, Richard couldn’t remember his battle computer ever seriously admitting he needed help; at least not real help. The idea intrigued Richard.
Help? Richard said. How? And doing what?
You may remember, said Nickelo, I told you the security for the Crosioian scout’s battle computer was emotional based. I’d like you to help me break the code.
Me? Richard said. I’m not a programmer. If Jonathan and you haven’t had any luck, I doubt I could do any good.
You’d be surprised, Rick, said Nickelo. I haven’t time to explain now, but I think you’ve got something in your DNA makeup that allows you to interface with computers. Combined with your emotions, I
think you could help. That is, if you trust me.
You keep asking if I trust you, Nick, Richard said. I’m assuming that means you think it’s dangerous.
I’m not sure, Rick, Nickelo admitted. I wanted to ask you for help last week, but I was waiting until you got your DNA baseline.
You mean so I’d be able to selfheal? Richard asked.
Partly that, said Nickelo, but mostly because we needed our shared space.
Richard thought for a minute before replying. Will it help us find the kids?
Richard’s battle computer didn’t answer right away. Finally, Nickelo said, Not directly. But trying to decrypt the Crosioian scout’s battle computer is tying up a lot of logic threads. If we could finish hacking into the scout’s battle computer, I could use those logic threads to figure out a way to get to the children.
Without further hesitation, Richard agreed to help. He was tired of doing nothing anyway. He preferred action to waiting for something to happen.
All right then, Rick, said Nickelo. Let’s get started. I’m sealing up your battle suit. Uh…with your permission, of course.
Of course, Richard said.
The battle suit’s visor lowered to seal with the lower part of his battle helmet just below Richard’s nose. The uncomfortable but familiar tubes forced their way into his mouth, nose, and other body openings. Richard felt the seventeen thousand plus needle threads inserting themselves into his body. He ignored it as best as he could.
When the battle suit completed its seal, Nickelo suggested Richard find a convenient tree and sit down. Richard chose one facing the power plant. After Richard sat down, Nickelo appeared ready to start.
Just follow me, Rick, said Nickelo.
Wizard Scout (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 3) Page 50