"You did, John," she replied in a calm voice. "But you remember what I told you, too. That it wouldn't be you who would survive. There's no way out this time."
Kasdan laughed at her remark. "There's always a way, Taylor. I have no fear of death if I can accomplish my goal." He looked back at Matt. "Before I die, I hope to see you dead. You won't defeat me a second time."
Matt saw the psychopathic brain peering at him through Kasdan's eyes. It made the hair on his neck prickle. Such unreasonable hate had eaten away his soul and consumed his life. In a strange way, he felt sorry for him. He glanced at those standing around and let his gaze rest on Childs for a couple of seconds. The Marine was calm, waiting. Everyone was concentrating on Kasdan, so no one saw Sreng move to within a few feet of his enemy.
"Will you answer something for me, John?" Matt asked. "How did you manage to find where we were, and how did you obtain a time transport to this era?"
Kasdan shook his head, and said, "You really don't understand, do you, Leahy? I gave you more credit than you deserve. It's very simple when you have…"
He never finished the sentence. Without warning, Sreng leapt forward and rammed Eochaid's sword completely through his chest. The blade protruded six inches out his back.
Taylor gasped and looked at Matt; the others uttered exclamations of astonishment and shifted around on their feet.
Kasdan's mouth fell open, eyes wide. Still standing, he turned his head toward Sreng. For an instant he stood there staring at the Fir Bolg champion. Unbelief swept over the crowd as they saw a faint smile lift the corners of his lips. Sreng's face remained expressionless as Kasdan crumpled forward and fell face down into the Moytura mud.
So ended the life of the twenty-first century man, Director of Middle East Studies, murderer, and self-styled avenger. He had entered the valley of death long ago, and had finally met the fate accorded to all who trespass there. Those who might have wept for him would never know his fate. No one would place coins on his eyes for the boatman, and no one would pray for his soul except those whom he had sought to murder.
Sreng stepped back and prepared to be killed in turn. Instead, Douglas Childs sheathed his knife, shrugged and said, "I don't guess it matters who killed him. Our mission is accomplished just the same."
Though Sreng did not understand what he said, he understood the body language. He motioned for the Fir Bolg warriors standing nearby to come forward. "Take this carrion to the edge of the gorge and throw it in," he commanded them. As they were busy complying with their commander's order, Sreng walked to where Dbarr was standing.
"We know now that we cannot defeat you, Nuada. Eochaid's last words were that we make peace with your people if you are agreeable. Unless you object, we will leave the battlefield now and await your conditions."
Dbarr nodded and extended his hand to his former enemy. "There is only one condition, Sreng: that you return to your homes and offer no further hostilities to us. In a short time, we will vanish from your country to enter a new world."
Given the violence of the past week, Sreng was surprised that their surrender could be so easy on them. Though he did not understand what Nuada meant by a new world, he was relieved that his people would suffer no retribution for the war they had waged.
"It will be as you say, Nuada Silver Hand. My people and yours will not meet in battle again." He took Dbarr's proffered hand. The two men stood looking at each other for a long moment then Sreng turned and walked away.
Matt and the others watched the Fir Bolg warriors drag Kasdan's body to the edge of the gorge. They waited as Sreng walked to where they were standing. Eochaid's champion pulled the sword from the dead man's chest and nodded to his men. They picked the corpse up and threw it into the swirling waters two hundred feet below.
Sreng watched the body sink into the maelstrom. His guilt over his brother's death was assuaged. He should have killed the man days ago when he and Eochaid had discussed it. If he had, those murdered in the hut would still be alive. But things once done could not be reversed, and it was senseless to look backward. A new era for Erin was dawning. He turned toward Nuada and lifted his arm in salute. The Danann king returned it. After this day, they would see each other no more. He ordered his men to start gathering up the rest of their army for the return to Tara with Eochaid's body.
The war was over.
Chapter 28
The Star Lords
After the battle, Alan Kriss and his team recovered Kasdan's weapons, including a Beretta pistol that had fallen from his coat during his flight down the ridge, then disappeared without fanfare. As far as anyone knew, they had returned to Apache Point.
Two weeks later Michael DeLong was pronounced fully recovered and ready to return home with the others. On their last morning with the Vryanians, they all stood with Dbarr and Rael on a hilltop overlooking the dome city of New Vryran. A vreel with open door and extended ramp sat behind them. The pilot stood waiting a short distance away.
A flurry of activity had been taking place ever since their return from the Atlantic island. The domes were being dismantled, and equipment was being crated and loaded onto airships for transition to the Vryanians' new home. Twenty-seven heavy transport vreels had arrived to assist in the relocation, with hundreds more airlifting the rest of Vryanian civilization out of their dying world. Dbarr estimated that the process would be completed in less than six months. Leaving their ancestral home was a heartbreaking experience, but the acquisition of a new one on such a magnificent world as Earth tempered the pain.
Dbarr had arranged for the waiting vreel to return the time travellers to their arrival location near the southwestern shore of Lough Corrib. Though they had only known one another a short time, friendships and affections had been formed that would endure through the ages.
No one had spoken for several minutes, dreading to say goodbye. At last, Jake broke the silence and said, "I'm not going back with you, Matt."
Matt smiled and said, "I suspected as much. We'll miss you a lot, Jake."
"I gave it a good deal of thought before making the decision," the big man said. "But I think it's best for everyone. The Vryanians are a great people, but they'll need someone with them who knows his way around this world. Sort of keep them on the right track, so to speak. And there's a bigger reason." He put his arm around Rael and pulled her tight against him. "I think we'll both fit better in this world than the one I'm leaving behind."
Taylor beamed at both of them, a huge grin on her face. "Jake, you old devil! Who knows? You and Rael might just be the progenitors of a new race!" Her eyes misty, she put her arms around both of them and squeezed with genuine affection.
Jake shook hands with Matt and DeLong. "Don't forget about that legend, Matt. You may find it in a book sooner than you think."
"I won't forget, Jake. I hope God blesses you abundantly. I have no doubt that you'll be a wonderful ambassador to the Vryanians. I already know you're a great general. But if you change your mind, you still have your pager."
"I won't change it, Matt. And give my regards to the folks back at AP. I'll miss some of them a great deal. I know you can't tell my family much, but be as gentle as you can."
"Let that be the least of your worries, my friend. Taylor and I will handle it personally."
Having said their goodbyes, they walked to the vreel with Dbarr. Matt nodded toward Jake and said, "If you follow his advice he'll be a great asset to you, Dbarr."
"We already treasure him a great deal, Matt, and we'll listen to him. We will miss you and Taylor more than you know, but I hope Jake staying with us will take some of the sting out of it. We've grown to love all of you, but I suppose that unless there's an unforeseen problem, we won't see you again. Even so, don't have any worries about our agreement. My people will not forget it."
"Thank you, Dbarr. We hope fortune always leans your way." They shook hands in the human fashion and walked up the ramp. After DeLong had gone inside, he and Taylor turned in the doorway for one
last wave to Jake and Rael. The two pioneers returned the farewell as the ramp withdrew and the door closed.
Inside, Taylor said, "I feel like crying, Matt."
"Don't do it. I might start crying with you. But I have a hunch that this won't be the last time we see Jake Donovan." They took their seats as the vreel's crystals began to rotate. Fifteen minutes later they stood on the same grassy place where they had first arrived in this ancient world.
"Take a last look around and smell that air," Matt said to Taylor and DeLong. After a long minute he asked, "All set?" They nodded and joined hands. Matt keyed the start button on his pager. "Ten seconds," he told them. While waiting for the green flash that would take them all home, he looked up at the indigo sky. It had been a long time since he had felt so good.
Some great events take many years to unfold, others only seconds. In that smallest of timeframes between the strike of the Chronocom beam in ancient Ireland, and the arrival of the time travellers in the twenty-first century, the Universe had undergone an astonishing change. Two hundred and fourteen light years from Earth, in orbit above a beautiful blue planet circling a bright yellow sun, three great starships turned their silver noses toward a location between the Sagittarius and Perseus Arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. In formation abreast, their pilots took them out of orbit and began engine throttle-up. Within minutes they had cleared their solar system and plunged into deep space. As power increased, the stars behind them began to dim and disappear into a black void. Seconds later, they attained and greatly exceeded the speed of light. The stars ahead passed by them in colored streaks, vanishing into the void astern as the navigation computers followed their preset courses.
Unseen and silent, they passed desolate worlds, black stars, nebulae, worlds where malignant intelligences lingered, clusters of hot gases where stars are born, and many inhabited planets of the Empire. Four days later, as they approached their destination and dropped to sub-light speed, the stars behind them again became visible. The ships continued to slow as they entered the target solar system and positioned themselves near a large moon in orbit around their ancestral home. In accordance with an ancient agreement, they began broadcasting a continuous signal toward the moon's parent planet, 251,000 miles away. Anticipation and excitement ran throughout the ships, for this was the day they had awaited for five thousand years.
The Chronocom beam deposited Matt and his team on the same grassy area in modern Ireland from which they had transported weeks before. In accordance with one of the physical laws of time travel, the same number of days they had spent in the ancient land had also passed here.
"Well, we're back." Taylor sounded a little despondent.
"You sound disappointed," Matt said as he took out his cell phone, dialed a number, and spoke briefly with someone on the other end.
She looked at the surrounding hills and grassy moors. The land had changed little in five thousand years. The forest that had been in the southwest was gone, and the mountain where they had first met the Vryanians had been worn down by the centuries and looked a little flatter.
"Not really disappointed," she replied. "It's just that I'll miss the new friends we made. It's hard to think that only a few minutes have passed for us, but the people we knew in that time period have been dead for five thousand years."
"I know what you mean," Matt consoled. "But I like to think about it in a different way. If we had a good reason to do it, we could always go back and find them just as we last saw them. Besides, I'm excited about the here-and-now. I can hardly wait until we get back to Apache Point."
"You're right," she said in a more upbeat tone. "I guess we may as well get to it."
"How long do you think? I mean, until the van gets here." DeLong asked.
"They said about forty-five minutes," Matt answered. "They have to come from Galway City. Let's head to where we can watch for them."
It was a short walk, only a few minutes to reach highway N 84, where they had been dropped off three weeks before. They put their packs a few feet off the highway and sat down on the grass to wait. A few cars passed, but the drivers took little notice of them. A cool breeze was blowing off Lough Corrib. The morning sun was warm, and they were content to sit quietly until their ride arrived.
The return to Apache Point took two days, but was uneventful. Matt and Taylor sat in Dr. Durant's office waiting for the eminent physicist to arrive. Matt had spoken to him just after arriving in the United States, and was still puzzled by his cryptic instructions. He and Taylor had been directed to report to his office without speaking to anyone on the way. To pass the time, they sat facing the director's desk, watching the huge star-filled screen behind it. Matt noted the time on the antique grandfather clock in the corner of the room: 7:30 p.m.
"Are you sure he didn't say anything to clue us in about why we're under a gag order?" Taylor asked for the third time since their return. "I don't like being kept in the dark."
"Like I said, babe, he said nothing more than for us not to talk to anyone until after we see him." He glanced sideways at her and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "But I think I can figure it out. When you think about it, it's really him who's in the dark this time." He couldn't repress a snicker at the old man's discomfort.
He said that just as Durant came through the door. "Hello, you two!" he called out in greeting. They both rose and met him halfway. Taylor embraced him with a daughterly hug. Matt was tempted to do the same, but settled for a firm handshake.
"Please sit down," he waved an arm toward the chairs.
He went behind the desk and sat down. Leaning forward, he put his folded hands on the desktop. "Major Kriss reported some interesting facts to me upon his return almost two weeks ago. As you both know, the activities of his team are never recorded in any manner, so I will recap a few details from memory. But first, let me say how happy I am that the two of you, and Mike DeLong, are safe. You don't know the relief I felt when I learned that the threat posed by John Kasdan was finally over. I feel responsible for putting you in danger, but you must believe that I never anticipated that such a thing could happen."
Taylor's eyes narrowed at the mention of Kasdan. She started to say something, but Matt cut her off.
"You can't believe how relieved we both are. But there's something we'd like cleared up," he said in an even voice. "We were told that he had committed suicide after being arrested by NSA agents. We can both assure you that he did not. What happened?"
The old physicist shook his head and said, "The suicide story was the NSA's idea. In reality, he was imprisoned in a special building at our naval base in Cuba. They wanted to continue interrogating him to find out if any foreign countries had been made aware of our operation here at Apache Point. It was only after your team transported to Ireland that I found out he had escaped by using an unauthorized pager built by Arthur Voyles, and smuggled into Gitmo."
"Arthur Voyles!" Taylor exclaimed. "But he's one of our own engineers!"
"Was," Durant corrected her. "He died from injuries received in an auto accident while travelling back to Miami from Key West. According to police reports, he died on the scene without saying anything. But enough about that for now. I want a complete explanation about your activities while you were away. Kriss told me some very disturbing things."
"Like what?" Matt asked.
"Like a battle in which you, Taylor, and Jake were involved, and some kind of anomalous activity by people who are not indigenous to that time era. Maybe connected to the wand?" He raised his eyebrows and stared at them. "And where is Jake by the way?"
Matt and Taylor exchanged glances. "Then you haven't seen Mike DeLong?"
"No. He's in the infirmary being looked over by our doctors. Something about a wound in his side. I haven't spoken with him yet." He paused for a few seconds then said, "And another thing. We've been receiving a strange signal from space for the past three days. It's coming in on a microwave beam aimed directly at this facility. It seems to be gibberish, but it
repeats every sixty seconds in the same format. We've tried a number of responses but to no avail."
To Durant's surprise, Matt and Taylor jumped from their chairs and embraced each other. Both of them were acting as though learning that Santa Claus was real after all. "They did it!" Matt threw his head back and grinned ear-to-ear. "They did it! They're here!"
Durant stared at them, his mouth hanging open. "Would you two please calm down and tell me what's going on?"
Taylor put her hands on the desk and leaned toward him. "What does the message say?" she said, almost too excited to stand still.
Durant looked puzzled. "I told you, it's gibberish."
"It only sounds like gibberish because you don't understand the language," she said. "Do you have a recording of it?"
The director looked at her and nodded. "The fact is, I do. Our linguists have been working on it ever since it started, but they've come up with nothing." He switched on his desktop computer and punched a few keystrokes.
The words that came from the speaker were as clear to Taylor and Matt as if they had been in English. They embraced each other again. Durant sat still, his patience wearing thin.
"Well?" he finally said.
"Before we tell you, I think you'd better hear the whole story," Taylor said.
"I'm listening."
Two hours later they had laid out every element of the events that occurred during the Ireland expedition, except for two items: the exact terms of the agreement they had made with Aeren, the Vryanian president, and what the Vryanians planned to do on the island. Those two things would become obvious within the coming hour.
"It's the most incredible story I've ever heard," Durant said. "And the code? What does it mean?" he asked Taylor.
"First, let me say that it's not a code. Your linguists couldn't break it because it has no Earthly root. It's two words in the Vryanian language. It says, Starships waiting."
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