Trey shrugged. “No way of knowing. All I know is that they brought people and weapons in here earlier today and have set up a perimeter of guard posts every fifty yards around the site. They have a clear field of vision for fifty yards after we come out of the forest, so if we try to attack on the ground, they’ll just cut us to pieces. It’ll be over in seconds.”
The way Trey held himself and spoke, I got the impression he was ex-military.
“We can put people inside the perimeter using dragons,” Jevyn said. “If we focus on three or four of the guard posts and take them out, the rest of us can then come in from the ground. The building with the machine is on this side of the site, so once we’re in, we can get the important people inside and defend it from any guards from outside.”
A murmur of agreement went up in the group.
“Me and my guys will do it,” Kam said from the back of the gathering.
Kam had bought eight large and fearless dragons with him from Nindock’s town, and they all stood, weapons slung over shoulders, nodding at the prospect of the fight.
Jevyn looked over at Kam and then took the three steps it needed to reach him. I stepped over too. Once the events were upon us, my nerves had dissipated. I’d already made my peace with whatever happened after we found the machine. I just wanted to get as many dragons and vampires out of here in one piece once it was over.
Jevyn held out a hand to Kam and looked him in the eye. Kam stood slightly taller, straightening his back, and then looked down at Jevyn’s hand. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he took it, and the two men shook.
“Thanks, Kam. Break a leg out there.”
Kam grinned and shook Jevyn’s hand again. “Oh, I will, don’t you worry.”
“Be ready to go when I say, okay?”
“You got it.”
Jevyn looked around the assembled people there. “Okay, listen up. The aim of this is to get me, Lynnette, Cole, and Derek to where that machine is. The four of us are essential for what will happen when we get to it. You guys need to do whatever it takes to get us there in one piece.”
“What happens when you do get there?” I asked.
Jevyn flashed a look at me. “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is to get us there, the existence of both of our planets is at stake here.”
I smiled grimly to myself, Jevyn was in command mode, pushing himself away from me. I could see in his eyes that it was cutting him deep to do it, but I understood why. It was making it easier for me to walk away at the end of this and try to forget him. If I was pissed at him for doing it, that would be a good thing.
That wasn’t going to happen. How could I be mad at him for doing what he thought was the right thing?
“Okay, everybody, let’s do a weapons check. Get loaded up with ammo and be ready to move out in five minutes,” Jevyn said, turning away from Kam.
That was what we all did. Grim-faced dragons and vampires loaded up, packed extra ammo into backpacks, stuffed our pockets with grenades and flash-bangs, and left whatever humanity we had behind us.
I looked around.
None of us were killers. Well, maybe Kam was an exception. None of us wanted anyone to die, but this was what we had been driven to by Chemosys. Trey’s news had proved to me, at least, that Chemosys was willing to kill anyone who stood in their way. That meant we had to be prepared to stoop that low, so we could prove there was a better way long term.
The five minutes went by in a flash, and soon we were all assembled, ready to move out.
I slung two automatic weapons over my shoulders, ready for the walk to the edge of the woods. I looked around to see how my people were doing. Nova looked blank, like he had switched off the funny, caring part of him for the duration. Penny was sharing a hug with Cole, who seemed to have grown in stature since we had arrived. Sparks was talking quietly with Derek who looked petrified. Frankie was bouncing on his toes, raring to go. Marty looked glum at having to stay behind but offered me a nod and a smile when he saw me looking at him.
“Let’s go,” Jevyn said calmly and then headed off through the trees toward where the bright floodlights pierced the night sky, turning it to daylight for the people defending the plant.
“Hey, Katie.” I heard Cole’s voice behind me and slowed down for him and Penny to catch up.
“What?” I was glad for the company and distraction.
“How do you think Chemosys knew we were planning this today?”
“It might just have been a lucky guess, I suppose,” I said, although I wasn’t convinced. “My guess would be some greedy dragon was offered a lot of money to let them know what was happening. It doesn’t matter now anyway. When and if we get back, I’m sure Nindock will be doing his utmost to find out. When you think how easily they got cameras into the town, it’s no real surprise that they had a spy in the camp.”
“You don’t think it was Carol, do you?”
“Why Carol?”
“I don’t know, just spitballing. Guessing.”
“Well, don’t. I don’t think Carol was involved. Oscar has been guarding her pretty much non-stop anyway.”
“Maybe it was him then?”
“Cole, stop. Just worry about what’s happening now.”
“Okay.”
As a way of taking his mind off what was about to happen, a little pointless speculation wasn’t so bad a thing, but I didn’t want it to continue after the event. Carol and Ypalde had been through a bad time, and Carol had no reason to support Chemosys after what they told her daughter about her. No, it wasn’t Carol.
It was clear someone had warned Chemosys, and I pitied them when Nindock, and particularly Kam, found out who it was. I couldn’t see that confrontation ending well. Ugly and bloody would be my guess.
Forcing a way through the trees to avoid any patrols that might be on the ground was hard going, especially for those at the front of our little column of hope, but eventually, through the trees, the imposing edifice of the Chemosys plant came into view, and we spread out so we could get a look at what we were facing.
The main part of the plant was huge, with pipes running around the outside and steam escaping from places that clouded in the cold night air and rose into the light before dissipating in the breeze. The building we were interested in was small by comparison, windowless and dark, with one light showing through an open door at the bottom.
Jevyn gathered us all around.
“Okay, this is where we split up. Kam and his guys are going to fly in and take out the two nearest guard stations. I need a couple of people on either side at the next guard stations to distract them from what’s going on. Fire and move, and stay in cover. Anyone?” Frankie had his hand up first, quickly followed by the rest of my people. Jevyn quickly split them up. “Okay. Stay safe. Off you go. As soon as the fighting starts inside, just lay down fire. Then move.”
“Got it.” Frankie nodded, looked at Sparks, and said, “Let’s move.”
Sparks tipped her gaze up at Derek. “I’ll see you when this is all over.”
Derek looked like he was going to cry, but he coughed and pulled himself together, took Sparks’s face in both hands and kissed her sweetly on the lips. It made my heart break.
“I can’t go,” Nova said, his gaze on Jevyn.
“Why?”
“Because I want to be with Famil. I want to come in, and when you do whatever you’re going to do, I want to end up in Dracos. I’ve tried to fight it, but I can’t.”
I’d never heard Nova speak about anyone like that. I didn’t know whether I was going to be able to stand losing Nova and Jevyn when it was all over, but I kept my mouth shut. This wasn’t the time for outbursts from me. This was real life, people deciding how the rest of their lives were going to pan out.
One of the dragons from Nindock’s place volunteered to go with Penny in Nova’s place.
Jevyn nodded. “Okay. Thanks. Nova, you better stick with us. Once the shooting starts, the rest of us are going in. W
e need dragons protecting the flanks, and Nindock and his guys are going to lead the charge. Remember not to shoot each other in the chaos,” he said with a slight smile.
I watched him the whole time he was talking. It was as if he was built for this moment, as if he was meant to be here. He only looked at me once. A fleeting glimpse full of pain and regret. It was enough.
In the cover of the trees, Kam and his half-dozen followers took off, leaving their clothes behind but with their packs looped over their necks. I watched as best I could, until suddenly, they all disappeared as part of their approach. All I saw was a glint of moonlight on metal as their weapons floated in, seemingly unaided but most importantly, unseen. One of them appeared on top of the building we were aiming for. The rest must have landed inside, because after another anxious thirty-second wait, the sound of gunfire broke out from inside.
I stole a glance either way to see the distraction teams doing their jobs.
“Let’s go.” Jevyn tapped Nindock on his shoulder.
Nindock ran and dodged as we crossed the open ground.
Ahead, the sound of grenades exploding filled the night air with dull percussion and screams. It was working. Nobody shot at us as we approached. Nindock and his guys were firing their weapons, red hot bullets zinging toward the dark shapes of the guard stations. Fire had broken out in one of them, but from the other, someone must have spotted our approach as bullets spat toward us.
“Keep running, heads down,” Jevyn yelled.
One of the dragons to my left was shot, spinning away from the rest of the group, lying groaning in the grass. Cole stepped up. He grabbed the fallen dragon’s weapon and aimed where the shot had come from.
I grabbed him and pulled him back inside the protective cordon of dragons. We needed him alive. I stepped out in his place and readied myself, but no more shots were forthcoming. Both stations were on fire by the time we reached the fence. Both had been taken, and Kam and his guys were setting up to fend off attacks from other stations on that side of the compound.
Over the shouts and screams, I could hear klaxons wailing out the alarm into the cold night air. Others would be coming, I knew that.
As a dragon snipped through the last part of the fence to allow us through, a helicopter flashed across above us. Two men leaned out, one on either side, firing their weapons. The dragon on top of the building immediately opened fire. I wasn’t entirely sure what happened as I focused on the shouting behind me, but when I looked back, the dragon was gripping the side of the helicopter. He grabbed the man on that side and hauled him straight out of the open door. I didn’t see where he landed, just his scream as he fell.
A short burst of fire saw the other man falling, and then the helicopter wheeled away, more shots coming from inside as Kam’s man did what he had to. A few seconds later, a bright fireball exploded into the night sky, lighting up the buildings with its demonic orange glare.
I caught a glimpse of him landing back on top of the building before Jevyn’s shout brought me back.
“Come on, we’re in. Let’s move.”
It seemed to take forever for us all to sidestep through the hole in the fence being held open by two of Kam’s dragons, but eventually we were all through. The building was no more than twenty yards away, and a couple of dragons were already guarding the open door.
Occasional firing from outside still kept us ducking as we ran, eventually making it to the cover and safety of the building that supposedly housed the machine. When we got inside, I was surprised to see Lynnette waiting for us. I noticed she had disappeared hours before when we were still in Boise, but I had no idea she was here.
Her eyes followed the main group headed inside, leaving Nindock’s men guarding the outside of the building.
We were down to the most important people in the group. Jevyn, Cole, Trey, Derek, Lynnette, and Nova. Nindock, a couple of his dragons for protection, and I trailed down long corridors. Our footsteps and the rattle of weapons echoed around as we walked.
“Where are the guards?” I asked Jevyn as we walked.
“Lynnette came in earlier and took them out. She had access without causing any suspicion. It’s the guys outside who have to keep them away now. They know they need to buy us time.”
He didn’t look down when he spoke or directly at me. I understood why. It was killing me, but I couldn’t help thinking what it must be doing to him.
When we reached a set of stairs, Lynnette pulled the door open and led us all through. The stairs went down into a basement area. Another door took us into what looked a lot like a hangar or a very large garage. On a dais in the middle of the room, something stood covered with tarps.
Lynnette pulled the tarps off to reveal, well, it was difficult to describe. It looked a little like a failed high-school-engineering project. I had expected something sleek and modern-looking. This looked like a large engine with bits welded onto it.
I looked across at Cole who was grinning broadly and stroking it as if it was a baby. He saw me staring at the machine and then at him.
“What?” he said. “It’s a prototype.”
I shook my head. It looked like it was ready for the junkyard.
“Can you get it working?” Jevyn asked.
“I think so.” Cole started flicking switches on a control panel, but nothing seemed to be doing anything. The machine stood there on the dais, cold and unresponsive.
“Why isn’t it working?” Cole said to himself as he jabbed at buttons.
I followed a bright-orange cable as it snaked across the hangar floor and away from the machine, and then I tapped Cole on the shoulder. He stood and faced me impatiently.
“What? I’m busy.”
I didn’t bother saying anything. I just pointed to where the end of the power cable lay on the ground, disconnected from the socket in the wall.
“Shit. Good point,” he said, red-faced, and then walked over to the cable before lifting the connector and plugging it in.
A couple of nervous laughs sounded as he walked back to the controls.
This time, when he flicked a switch, something happened.
A high-pitched whine started up, rising in volume into a shrieking whistle that had everyone covering their ears until that became a much lower, constant hum.
“It takes about ten minutes to warm up, and then another five to force the rip,” Cole said calmly as he tinkered with the controls. “I’ve switched the target to Pathya rather than Grayfair so whoever goes through it will be close to home at least.”
“I have something I need to say,” Jevyn said. Everyone in the room watched him. “The whole point of today is to close the rift. With this machine on Earth or on Pathya, there’s a chance it will be used to open rifts again. I can’t allow that to happen, but it’s going to take a sacrifice. The whole plan revolves around leaving this machine between dimensions, where nobody can get to it, and then to destroy it. Whoever does that will be stuck there, unable to get back. It can’t be anyone who can open a rift themselves. We need a volunteer.”
Of the people in the room, only Cole, a couple of dragons, and I couldn’t open rifts.
I thought about what it would mean. Eternity stuck in a place between dimensions where nobody was ever going to be able to go. Alone for a lifetime. Destined to live with nobody by your side until death raked its bloody claws over you and put an end to your torment. And yet, it needed to be done.
“I’ll do it.”
I turned to look at the voice that had beaten me to it.
“Trey? Are you sure?” Cole asked. “What about everything we’re doing on Earth? I need you for that.”
“When this is all over, these people are going to need you, not me.”
“I know, but—”
“I’m doing it so you don’t have to, Cole. Listen, we’ve been friends for a long time, and you hauled my ass out of the fire on more than one occasion. I have no family left here now, but you’ve just found Penny. I want to do this. Besides
, I’m the explosives expert here. You want something blown up, I’m your man, right?”
“Right,” Cole said, his voice husky and breaking.
“So, let me do this for you.”
Cole shrugged and then nodded, holding out his hand to his friend. Trey took it, shook it, and then pulled Cole’s slight frame in for a crushing hug.
Trey pushed Cole gently away. “Now, don’t go getting all mushy on me, Cole. What do I need to blow to put this thing out of action?”
The two men spent the next five minutes with Cole pointing out places on the machine while Trey attached explosives he pulled out of his pack and carefully wired them into place.
“Okay, so this is the plan,” Cole said. “Once the machine forces the rip around itself, anyone who wants or needs to stay in Pathya should go through.” He looked over at Nova, who nodded, and one of Nindock’s dragons put up his hand to show he wanted to go too. “After that, Derek will form a rip on this side. I’ll form one in Pathya, and then the machine will go off. It will leave the machine and Trey between the two dimensions. The force of the explosion will destroy the inter-dimension, forcing any open rips to close and stopping any more from opening. That will be it. No more traveling from dimension to dimension. So, anyone who wants to change their minds, speak up now.”
I tried to catch his eye, but Jevyn wouldn’t look at me. Was he giving me a chance to go to Pathya to be with him? Would it work? Would his mother ever leave us alone? What about the people who relied on me here? There was still a cure to be found. I was sure. I was certain.
I couldn’t go with him.
I wanted him to stay.
But I couldn’t force him to.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Jevyn said. My heart rose, hoping beyond hope that he was going to stay. “When the inter-dimension collapses, it will cause a shockwave. I don’t know how big or how much damage it will cause, but my guess is it will be substantial. Anyone who isn’t directly involved would be well advised to get clear now.”
This time he did look at me.
This was it. After so long together, this was finally it. The moment I had dreaded for so long, and even though I had resigned myself to not seeing Jevyn again, I still couldn’t quite believe it was true.
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