Hastelloy felt an overwhelming urge to point out the shameless flirtation for Tomal’s benefit, but the snarl and bright red hue searing through the engineers cheeks let Hastelloy know words were not necessary. The action of his devoted queen delivered an adequate slap to the man’s pride all by itself.
Valnor regarded the naked queen with a satisfied chuckle. Without paying her a second glance, he paced over to a nearby chair, grabbed a silk robe folded over the backrest and tossed the garment to its owner. “Cover up,” he ordered. “I’ve had better, and from women who didn’t share a bed with my father.”
Cleopatra pulled the robe up close and held it over her chest, but moved no farther as she still must have held faith in her seductive prowess. Valnor only looked more annoyed. “Damn it woman, your offer for sloppy seconds is rejected. Now stop embarrassing yourself.”
That did the trick and prompted the queen to sit up with her legs curled under. She hastily threw on the robe, and then got to her feet and stood in front of Valnor. “What is it you want then: food, gold, jewels?”
“Keep going,” Valnor prompted.
“Land, stone quarries, ore mines,” she went on.
Valnor’s raised eyebrows prodded her to keep going, but she fell silent with a perplexed look, but then an epiphany hit her, “My son. I’ll give you Caesarion so you no longer have a challenger for Caesar’s estate and name.”
“I’ll have Caesarion and him,” Valnor commanded. “Mark Antony is nowhere to be found so I need you to deliver him to me.”
Valnor turned and took a few paces away and then, almost as an afterthought, spun back around and carelessly twirled his hand in the air between them, “And all that other stuff you mentioned earlier.”
Cleopatra’s posture markedly improved at the notion of Valnor’s bargain. “If you name me as regent of these lands and I’m allowed to keep one tenth of the treasury and annual trade income you will get your man.”
Hastelloy felt Tomal’s body go rigid next to him in their hiding corner. Had his nose been a teapot, a shrill whistle would have sounded as Tomal’s anger came to a boil.
“How?” Valnor asked of Cleopatra.
“We’ll make it seem as though I escaped during the night,” Cleopatra conspired. “Antony and I have prearranged communication channels in case the city fell and we got separated. He’ll eventually establish contact allowing us to meet and you to capture your man.”
At that moment, Tomal’s rage consumed him. Tomal shoved the huge vase he hid behind with everything he had, causing it to rotate forward and crash on the stone floor with an ear piercing shatter.
“You venomous viper!” Tomal hollered as he stormed forward into the room paying no attention to the minefield of jagged shards of clay littering his path. “I sheltered you in my arms only to feel the sting of your fangs dig into my neck.”
“Antonius, my love, I . . .” Cleopatra began.
“Don’t!” Tomal snapped as the crunch of his footfalls drew closer to his prey. “We’re all just expendable assets in place for your benefit: Caesarion, me, everyone.”
Before Cleopatra could utter a word of protest, Tomal shouldered his way past Valnor and grasped the woman around her throat with both hands. “You’re dead to me, and now it’s time to make you so for the rest of the world.”
Just when Tomal began to squeeze the life out of her in earnest, Hastelloy thrust his arms under Tomal’s armpits and clasped his hands behind his head to wrench him away from Cleopatra. Hastelloy maintained the full nelson hold to ensure Tomal did not break free and finish his murderous intent.
“Leave us,” Valnor said to his soldiers. “Open the city gates and commence the assault,” he ordered to them on their way out of the bed chamber, leaving the room’s four occupants to their private discussion.
Cleopatra coughed and gasped as she tried to recover from her ordeal. Finally, through her labored breathing, she asked, “What is the meaning of this?”
“A test,” Valnor arrogantly answered. “And I’m sorry to say you failed in spectacular fashion, my dear, considering your former boy toy now wants you dead.”
Valnor went on with an acerbic tone, “Plus I needed to see what you were willing to give up to stay in power. Now that I know everything is on the table, allow me to begin the negotiations.”
Hastelloy watched the queen of Egypt glance around the room, probably looking for a hole to crawl into. She knew she’d played every card in her hand and was still on the losing end of things; now she needed to eat crow and the prospect revolted her.
When her eyes finished their pass over the furniture, rugs, dark corners, and cages about the room, she leveled a stare toward Valnor so hateful it must have drawn venom from every caged viper and asp in the room. Valnor was immune it seemed.
“I require only three things to convince me to leave you as ruler of Egypt,” Valnor offered. “First, you will declare Caesarion an illegitimate bastard and relinquish all ties to my father, Gaius Julius Caesar. Do this, and your son will live.”
Cleopatra’s eyes softened noticeably at the notion of her son remaining among the living as Valnor continued. “Second, you will turn over half the treasury and annual income of Egypt to me.”
She was thoroughly unsuccessful at suppressing a smile upon hearing the unexpected leniency of the second concession. Minutes before she offered to turn over ninety percent of her wealth, Octavian was only demanding half.
“The final, and by far least significant, peace offering I require from you is the return of the religious relic of Jupiter, king of the gods, to me,” Valnor concluded.
The queen’s enthusiastic glow dimmed to a blank, puzzled look, “Your terms are most generous, but I know nothing of any religious artifact.”
“Don’t play coy with me, woman,” Valnor barked. “You know I speak of the flowing, metallic fire that served as my father’s spiritual advisor. He instructed you to conceal it upon his death. I will have my father’s most prized possession back.”
“I don’t . . .” Cleopatra attempted to say but a sharp slap to the face from Valnor rendered her silent.
“This is not open for debate,” Valnor hollered mere inches from her cowering face. “Give it to me now or things will get real damned ugly.
“Have you ever had the experience of being raped by an entire Roman legion in a single day?” Valnor asked in a voice that left frost in the otherwise warm desert air. “Deny me again and you’ll know that unpleasantness intimately well. Over and over again until I get what I want.”
“He warned me another like my dear Antonius would come some day,” Cleopatra finally said, “Another agent of evil and destruction; another heartless, all consuming, abomination of nature.”
“Oh gods, it’s true,” Tomal sighed. “Oh gods, what have I done?”
Hastelloy felt him no longer straining against his hold so he let his devastated engineer collapse to the ground in deep, heaving sobs as he curled into the fetal position against Cleopatra’s bed. Hastelloy crouched down, snatched both sides of Tomal’s head and forced the blubbering heap of a man to look him in the eyes.
“You hear that, Tomal; they used you,” Hastelloy said, venting all the angst and frustration the man caused him over recent years. “Your arrogance, greed, and insecurity let the Alpha control your every move. You performed deeds for them that would make a paid whore blush with utter humiliation. You failed us all, now own it while I clean up your mess yet again.”
Chapter 62: Survival at All Cost
Hastelloy released Tomal’s skull from his grasp and left him to wallow in his own constructed state of misery and moved on to square off against Cleopatra. “This is not your fight, and if we truly are the agents of evil you describe, then making it your fight is a real bad idea. Now, where is the relic?” Hastelloy said slowly while carefully driving dread and foreboding into every word.
“I can’t,” she whimpered in a soft voice lacking any of her former self confidence.
&nbs
p; “Yes you can,” Hastelloy whispered back. “You’re selfish. It’s in your nature to survive at all costs, and your survival now hinges on turning over that worthless glowing ball of fire. A few minutes ago you were willing to give up your son, your lover, your wealth, even your country to be spared. This request, it’s nothing. Now please go get the relic, so we all can go on to enjoy long and happy lives.”
Cleopatra silently considered Hastelloy’s words. Hastelloy, for his part struggled to look relaxed in his outward appearance, but the task was nearly impossible considering how close he was to final victory over the Alpha on this planet. He had the selfish queen exactly where he wanted her - cornered with no place to go except fall back on her selfish nature and make another pay the price for her prosperity.
Finally, she gave Hastelloy a silent nod and backed away with her head hanging low in resignation. Hastelloy followed her to a wicker basket that stood waist high next to the doorway leading to Tomal’s private room. Hastelloy’s heart skipped a beat as she hunched over the basket, removed the lid and reached inside. Victory was just moments away, but as she spent entirely too much time fishing around inside the basket, Hastelloy’s usually keen sense of alarm finally pushed through the euphoria of the victorious moment.
He suddenly recalled his last encounter with Goron’s relic. An elaborate temple, complete with a secret chamber that men were murdered to keep unknown was constructed to protect the relic. Once Hastelloy managed to gain access into the impenetrable hiding spot, a trap door led Goron’s relic to safety. ‘This is too easy’ a voice cried out from the back of his mind.
In panic, Hastelloy grasped Cleopatra by the shoulders and heaved her away from the basket. He watched her hands intently as they came out of the basket and whirled around toward his face. Coiled around the copper skin of her arms were black, textured shadows. In the blur of motion he couldn’t quite make them out, but as her hands drew near, one of the black shadows opened a gaping mouth sporting inch long fangs that lashed out for his neck.
Hastelloy snapped his upper body backwards, nearly bending in half, just in time to avoid the deadly strike. The set of vipers moved out of range when Cleopatra collapsed backwards to the floor. Hastelloy made an initial movement to pry the deadly snakes away, but he noticed dozens of red puncture wounds up and down her arms.
She did not move much as the venom worked fast to shut down her nervous system. Cleopatra’s eyes did manage to remain locked on Hastelloy, who stood over her a few feet away.
“Why?” Hastelloy pleaded.
“The riches Jupiter promised me on Mount Olympus were far greater than the ones you promised here on earth,” she whispered in a fading voice.
“Selfish to the end,” Hastelloy observed and then watched the last flicker of vitality fade from her eyes.
“Damn it!” Hastelloy hollered. “How does a being with no body manage to always stay one step ahead of me?”
The question drew no immediate response. After all, what was there to say? The enemy had once again slipped through their well conceived trap. Eventually the loaded silence gave way to the faint sounds of battle outside the palace as Valnor’s agents succeeded in opening the gates to allow his forces to conquer the city.
Tomal emerged from his self pity to break the silence. “Having, at best, a dead weight around your ankles, and at worst a turncoat with a knife jammed into your back didn’t help. I’ve failed you, the crew, and every soldier still housed in the Nexus in every conceivable way. I’m not fit for duty, or life.”
Hastelloy didn’t know how to respond. The show of contrition from Tomal was unprecedented, as was his failure. The engineer was on the brink of going mad with guilt and despair. He couldn’t condone the man’s actions by saying everything was alright, yet he feared for Tomal’s mental state if he came down on him with the sledge hammer of military discipline.
Valnor’s only response was a disgusted snarl. He then turned and paced into Tomal’s room while shaking his head in disbelief. Valnor soon re-entered the chamber carrying Tomal’s ornately crafted gladius sword with the two foot long blade nearly dragging on the floor by his side. In an all too casual motion, he slid the sword across the stone floor so that it came to rest in front of Tomal with the handle pointing right at him, begging the engineer to pick it up.
“You were hell bent on being the master of Rome, regardless of what that meant for anyone else,” Valnor said with a malice reserved for the very few. “Now’s your chance to be the ultimate Roman. True Romans take their own lives after a complete failure. They consider it the only noble thing to do.”
“That’s their way, not ours,” Hastelloy protested. “Suicide is not an option, we cherish and value a life to its natural end.”
Valnor went on as though Hastelloy were a mute observer. “Which is the greater dishonor, Tomal, living the rest of this life as a vile traitor or living the rest of your existence with the mark of a Novan who committed suicide? Whichever you deem most humiliating is what you deserve.”
“You are not in a state of mind to make this choice, Tomal,” Hastelloy insisted as he slowly paced his way toward Tomal. “When I took my life back in Egypt it was to accomplish a specific end for the greater good. I can live with the dishonor because I had justification. Nothing justifies this. By law I will have to expel you from the Nexus, your life force will end if you do this.”
Tomal’s eyes glistened with regretful tears. Every time he glanced down at the stout blade he barely managed to fight back the urge to vomit. A single tear escaped his eye, ran down the side of his nose, and dripped off the end. It landed with a soft twang on the sword’s broad blade. The faint musical note seemed to make the decision for him.
Tomal slowly wrapped his right hand around the ridged handle to lift the weapon. He dragged it up until the blade stood vertical with the tip resting on the stone floor. He added his left hand to the grip and raised his hands above his head, bringing the business end of the weapon to rest on his chest.
Hastelloy still had entirely too much ground to cover to put an end to the madness. Tomal allowed himself to be deceived by the Alpha. His betrayal was out of weakness of character, not traitorous intent. This punishment did not fit the crime.
Hastelloy looked to Valnor, who stood close enough to stop the blade. With his eyes he pleaded with the helmsman to come to his senses. This was too much, but to his great disappointment, the young man simply stood there and waited for the unthinkable to transpire.
Tomal steadied himself and thankfully paused for a moment so he could summon the courage to plunge the blade through his heart. This was going to be close.
Tomal drew one last deep breath and then pulled down on the sword, but Hastelloy’s iron grip on the hilt prevented the blade from moving. Tomal’s watery eyes narrowed with intent and he redoubled his effort to move the blade into his body. He succeeded in piercing the flesh that caused a narrow stream of blood to run down his chest exposed just above the collar of his blue silk tunic.
Hastelloy shifted into command mode as he felt his grip on the sword slipping away. “Release the sword, Lieutenant. That’s an order!”
In typical Tomal fashion, the order was not met. Hastelloy turned his head in desperation to Valnor. “Ensign, you are ordered to help me stop this.”
A dreadful moment of inactivity passed, causing Hastelloy to wonder if he’d now lost control of the youngest soldier under his command. Before he could give the matter any serious thought, Valnor sprang into compliance. He grabbed Tomal’s hands and pried his fingers loose from the blade, one-by-one. When the tenth digit was removed, and Hastelloy had full command of the blade, he kept it pointed at the lieutenant’s chest.
“I’m in command,” Hastelloy barked. “Your life belongs to me as an asset to accomplish this mission. You live and die at my pleasure, not your own. I still need you.”
Hastelloy then plunged the blade into Tomal’s chest until nothing protruded except the hilt and handle. The look on Tomal�
�s face was that of shock rather than pain. “I thought you . . .”
“You can do your thinking in the Nexus chamber,” Hastelloy stated sternly. “Stay there until the entire crew has returned, which will be a very long time from now. Until then, get yourself right in the head. That’s an order.”
Hastelloy released the handle protruding from Tomal’s chest, took Valnor by the arm and led him out of the room while Tomal collapsed to his knees and flopped over onto his side, letting a random, fading wheeze escape his collapsing lungs.
“Die with honor,” Hastelloy said without turning around.
Chapter 63: Relief Watch
Gallono stoked a fire softly glowing at the center of his circular hut. His muscles ached from spending all day plowing and planting crops in the fields along with the other villagers. The work was taxing and mundane, but he enjoyed it. He loved the fact that at day’s end he could look back and see how many rows of corn he helped plant. Hastelloy had the patience to invisibly move pieces behind the scenes to accomplish an objective, but Gallono much preferred immediate results.
That said, spending the last ten years working the same land with the same people and the same tools was getting monotonous. He wanted to move on with his mission to help Tonwen in Israel but for the time being he felt a greater need to stay and protect the Nexus.
It had been eleven years since he prevented the Egyptian soldiers from reporting their discovery in his fair village, but so long as Cleopatra was in power and under Alpha influence to find the Nexus he would stay put.
News of happenings in the outside world still managed to find its way to the tiny farming community. He learned a few years back that Tomal was banished from Rome but allied himself with Cleopatra in retaliation.
Gallono was fairly certain Tomal knew nothing of the exhaustive search going on for the Nexus by his queen, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to run the arrogant little engineer through with a sword. How could Tomal be so foolish and blind to allow himself to be manipulated into serving the Alpha? It just baffled the mind.
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