Blood in the Fire (Timelaws Trilogy) Read online

  I wrapped the sleeve once around my midriff and struggled to tie the knot. A shiver of cold and pain ran down my spine as another gust of wind tore through my thin clothes and pounded on my exposed wounds. I took another step forward, but this time the fire in my leg was too much and it crumbled beneath me. Anton reached out to catch my shoulders, apparently forgetting he was a hologram. His hands passed through me as I landed in the dirt.

  I squeezed my eyes shut as the throbbing from the claw marks across my waist united with the sting from my leg and back. At last, when I felt I could breathe again, I looked up to see Anton kneeling by my side. His expression was more tortured than mine. “I guess this is as good a spot as any,” I said.

  Without moving, I reached out with my mind to the security system. As I’d suspected, it was connected to a planetary network of information. A lot of the databases were blocked; even so, there was a vast span of unsecured, public communications. I mentally submitted a search for historical databases and was instantly rewarded with more options than I could have imagined. Better yet, they were editable.

  ”I have an idea,” I told Anton. Actually, it was probably the dumbest, most harebrained idea I had ever put into action. And that’s saying something. I checked the security system. It was about to located me.

  “I’m going to introduce myself to the wizards,” I announced.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Anthe at the Helm

  HMSS Ingeniur – November 2184

  Luke

  In the past few minutes, the other ship had done a lot of growing. Transformed from the small spec in the grid view into a massive egg-shaped vessel that moved across every corner of our ceiling and beyond. In fact, it moved so much, I still couldn’t get a good look. All I could make out was a white hull with many, many rows of lights. That’s one heck-load of decks, I surmised as our own ship rolled and pointed my feet toward where my head used to be. Stomach swam and lurched with every turn, dive, and flip. Still Anthe continued to dance our ship around theirs in incomprehensible patterns. If these were the piloting skills she’d learned from my sister, I was sure as hell gonna see to it Liz never got a driver's permit.

  “Their bombarding the hull with infrared radiation. A lot of it is getting through our shields,” Tamer said. How could he sound so calm? That didn’t sound like calm news.

  “Infrared radiation?” Mark asked. “Is that worse than other kinds of radiation?”

  “It’s heat,” I replied. “Like what you get from the sun.” Why attack us with heat? I couldn’t see any beams or rays extending from their ship to ours. Shouldn’t have expected any I guess. I did, however, see a couple of torpedo-shaped objects zoom right above us.

  “Can you divert some coolants from the engine to our hull?” Anton asked.

  “To some sections yes, but I don’t know if it will be enough,” Tamer replied.

  “Enough to do what?” Mark asked. He sounded scared. Hard as he tried to hide it, I could feel the fear radiating from the chair next to me.

  “Do it,” Anton ordered. “Supplement cooling with a spell if you have to.” I wished he’d answered Mark’s question.

  Tamer was more amenable. “Our outer hull is made of a carbon fiber composite,” he said. “It’s more conductive than pure carbon fiber, and they’re using that to their advantage. Soon, the high temperatures will weaken the ships internal structure. And it will fry us in the process.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face as I imagined our bodies getting baked alive. Now I knew why Anton had kept his mouth shut.

  Suddenly, our ship shook as though it had barreled into an asteroid. I listened for the sound of an explosion, or something breaking, but my ears were met with silence.

  “Shields held,” Tamer said. I heard Mark let out a sigh of relief.

  “They’ve sent mines and torpedoes everywhere,” Anthe said. “I’m doing my best to avoid them, but these parts are getting crowded.”

  “Tamer, want to clear a path?” Anton asked. “Detonate their weapons with our own if you can.”

  “Why would you make the outer hull more conductive?” I asked.

  Mark had a more practical question. “And you don’t have shields to protect against heat because…?”

  “Of course we can handle heat,” Tamer retorted. “This isn’t a standard weapon.” The egg-ship took a dive from directly above our heads. I finally got a good look as the massive, dome shaped surface came crashing down. At the last possible moment, I felt as though my chair were pulled out from beneath me and our own ship began a similar dive. Then we rolled to the side and the other ship fell past us and out of view. Thank goodness for the seatbelts.

  “The power required to fuel that monstrosity and its weapons is enormous,” Tamer continued. Guess Mark’s comment must have hit a sore spot. My cousin closed his eyes and took a breath to calm himself. “I’m, sorry Anton,” he said. “My abilities aren’t enough to curb that kind of heat transfer.” Oh.

  Anthe nodded. No one, save myself and Mark, had even looked up at the egg ship when it barreled toward us. They were all buried in their individual screens. Above us now was just a plain view of stars and darkness, but our ship continued to heave and roll and brake and accelerate. My lunch would find its way out of my stomach if we kept up these evasive maneuvers much longer. As if speaking to himself, Tamer replied to the remainder of my question. “The increased conductivity allows us to better defend against electricity or what we call lightning bolt weapons.” Then he looked up from his screen for what seemed like the first time in ages, and he turned to Anton. “This ship has one of those and their ship hull is carbon fiber.”

  “Anthe?” Anton asked.

  “Confirmed,” Anthe replied.

  “Should I fire?” Tamer asked.

  “Abso-damn-lutely. At will,” Anton said. “Anthe, steady her out. Give Tamer a good shot.”

  “I know Liz’s tricks,” Anthe replied as her hands jived across her console and a sly grin grew on her face. It was Liz’s grin, the one she’d get when she knew she’d just outsmarted someone. A nervous smile edged Mark’s features too. The image of our sister’s ingenuity gave him hope.

  Then, suddenly, I felt as though I were being lifted out of my chair again. I hate down. The other ship came into view. No more than a small, bright spec in the distance―maybe miles away. That kind of distance didn’t mean much out here. It started to grow, and I realized that this was what it must feel like to face an oncoming train.

  “Firing the bolt and low frequency mag pulse now,” Tamer said.

  “Ten torpedoes coming in,” Anthe warned. She might as well have been announcing afternoon tea.

  I felt Mark’s muscles stiffen as he braced for impact with the other ship. On the grid still up at the front, I saw a small ship facing a volley of incoming projectiles and one large red dot. The small ship was us. In a moment, there wouldn’t be any way out; we’d be surrounded. Move, Anthe! I wanted to yell. But for once, our ship remained stationary.

  A bright white light erupted in my peripheral vision and I turned to see a lightning bolt shoot toward the incoming egg-ship. They continued to close in on us. I thought I detected the floor start to drop away again, but Anton’s voice erupted, “No. Take the hit, Anthe. This could be our only shot.”

  Our ship froze. Then suddenly, a loud rumble swelled all around us. Everything began to shake. Seemed an avalanche was burying the ship. I thought I would be thrown right through my seatbelt as the quake jolted my every bone. The egg ship was still coming in. I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped the armrests with white fists. Please, God, no, I prayed. My heart raced through my throat as I anticipated that final blow. Instead, the rumble quieted. I looked around, expecting to see broken metal, frayed wires, and damaged consoles.

  “No hull damage,” Tamer reported. “But primary shields are down.”

  No damage? That sure as hell sounded like damage to me. I had imagined the whole ship being torn in two. The other
vessel must have changed course before we collided.

  “We’ve nearly bypassed shield resistance,” Tamer said.

  Our enemy came out from underneath us. Suddenly the sight of them sickened me. I saw Mark’s face and realized he felt the same. “We’ll get them,” I said. He stiffened his jaw and nodded.

  “We’ve done some damage to one of their infrared projectors,” Tamer said. “But others are still emitting.”

  “Our hull temperature is at 2000 degrees Kelvin and rising,” Anthe confirmed. As if it had heard her, our ship responded with the loud groan of hot metal being forced to bend against its will. The foreboding sound seemed to come from everywhere at once. It cut to my core and paralyzed my muscles with fear. This ship really was about to tear itself apart.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Good-Bye

  The Ori Forest - Fall 2834

  Elizabeth

  As I worked information into their database, my eyes caught a glance of the first signs of daybreak. It might have seemed like a hopeful omen, except that my visions of sunlight were overtaken as thick, gray clouds claimed the remaining sky. The cold wind held strong, but I huddled on the ground and ignored it. I’d re-evaluated the plan several times. My conclusion was always the same: it was a dumb idea. How else would you classify a strategy modified from something I saw on TV? Admittedly, there was one very notable difference between myself and the fictional time traveler I intended to emulate: I wasn’t famous. Unlike him, my achievements were not quite so flashy and certainly not terror-inspiring. But I could fix that, and I had. Hopefully well enough to buy me some time at least.

  “Anton, you have to go now,” I said. He remained silent, as he had for the past hour while I completed my task. “The wizards will be coming soon, and I don’t want them to find out you were downloaded into their security protocols.”

  Anton regarded me with motionless eyes. At last, he nodded. “Please stay safe,” he said. Somehow, buried in his expression, I could feel his deep desire to kiss me good-bye. His photonic body was like a cage, keeping him distant. He stood to leave.

  “Wait,” I said. I took a deep, shaky breath and looked down to my trembling hands. I wasn’t sure if I could see the first hues of blue skin beneath the layers of fresh and dried blood. “What happens to you now?” I asked.

  “My program will delete itself,” he responded matter-of-factly.

  “That’s horrible,” I breathed. “No, when I go back, I’ll tell Anton…” The hologram shook his head.

  “If that were true, then you would have already and I would be different,” he interrupted. Then, because he must have seen the sorrow in my eyes, he kneeled back down next to me and said, “I don’t mind; I’m just a hologram. No emotions.”

  “Could have fooled me,” I countered. “How was Anton able to program you so well?”

  He smiled. “I watched him. My program was designed to try and predict his actions, his expressions, everything about him. When the prediction was wrong, it self-corrected. After years of gathering data and tweaking my algorithm to fit the results, it got to where I could mimic him with 98% precision.” The hologram shrugged. “Guess that was close enough.”

  “Yeah, close enough,” I agreed.

  He smiled. “It’s been a pleasure,” he said. “For his sake, please don’t die.” I nodded. Then Anton stood back up and turned himself off. I was alone.

  Maybe the wizards won’t come after all, I wondered. The planet’s security system had detected me some minutes ago, but the wizards had not appeared yet. For a moment, I thought that perhaps they’d found me and didn’t care. Maybe they would never come.

  The idea was barely formed when suddenly a loud whoosh of air blasted all around me. As soon as the sound died away, I saw over a hundred wizards newly materialized in the ori forest around me. I looked around and saw their pale, pointy faces peer back at me. I wished my hologram-boyfriend was back here beside me.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Theatrics

  The Ori Forest - Fall 2834

  Elizabeth

  It was time I had a chat with the local population. Very slowly, I shifted my gaze from one wizard to another. My eyes rested on one with a vile look. I studied him from head to toe and took in every detail of his lanky figure.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he erupted.

  “Quiet,” another wizard reproached. His voice was thick and throaty, like an old man who’d smoked too many cigars. I smiled.

  “So you must be in charge,” I accused the throaty wizard.

  “Well deduced,” he answered with a sweet, mocking tone. His yellow eyes regarded me. “You sound rather… smug, for someone who’s bleeding all over our forest,” he said. Hollow checks sunk further into his wide mouth when he spoke.

  “Do you always judge your enemy by appearances?” I countered. To prove my point, I rose to my feet. He examined my movements as I straightened to full height. Renewed pain gripped my leg and made my vision blur, but I didn’t flinch. With my chin up, I took a single step toward him. I hope my leg holds me this time. “I bet by now you’re probably wondering how such a small person like me could make it onto your planet,” I taunted. ”Past all those big, bad weapons and defenses.”

  The lead wizard didn’t respond.

  “Tell me your name,” I commanded. He curled his nose and opened his mouth to admonish me, but I interrupted before he could. “You might want to hear the rest of my offer before you protest.”

  His frown deepened. “What’s that?” he barked. He was tired of my game.

  “You tell me your name and I’ll tell you mine,” I offered. “Trust me. You’ll want to know it.” Standing as I was, I felt like a target for every breath of frigid air that lifted my skirt and slipped through my thin shirt. I crossed my arms to hide my trembling.

  “Prikhoff,” he replied. It was only a partial name, but I didn’t care. The point here was to demonstrate power. Mine.

  “And I’m Elizabeth Juliana Carter,” I replied.

  “Kill her,” Prikhoff commanded. No! I prayed silently. Two of Prikhoff’s subordinates began chanting, but I lifted my arms to silence them. Surprised by my motions, they stopped.

  I started taunting them again. “As you’ve noted, I’m bleeding and yet I don’t heal myself. I haven’t bothered with a shield or put up any kind of resistance to your special army here.” I gestured flippantly to the troops watching me. “And last but not least, I’m on your planet.” I lowered my voice to a whisper and leaned in toward Prikhoff. He smelled like a rotten fungus. “Don’t you want to know why?”

  He lifted his upper lip in an angry scowl. Pointy, rotten teeth revealed themselves. “And I suppose you’ll tell me if I let you live?” Prikhoff asked. His moist breath carried with it his moldy scent.

  “I’ve already told you,” I said. “You have my name. And you have access to an interplanetary database that holds historical information from hundreds of planets and civilizations dating back more than a few centuries.” My voice darkened as I prepared to extend my challenge: “Look me up.”

  Prikhoff huffed at my suggestion, but curiosity got the better of him. I watched his eyes glaze over as he mentally accessed the database and searched the name I’d given him. Then slowly, his eyebrows knitted together and I thought perhaps I detected the slightest hint of fear taint his angry expression.

  “You destroyed a whole wizard planet by yourself? With just one spell?” he said as his eyes refocused on me. This time, there was a hint of admiration in his tone but also doubt. Had I taken the lies too far? “You traveled to a forbidden time and brought an extinct civilization back into existence?” he questioned further.

  I kept my eyes locked on his gaze and nodded. My heart pumped blood through my veins at record rate. Without a doubt, the wizards would be able to investigate my entries into their database and determine that they were fake. When they did, I would be killed. But how long would it take?

  “You brought
someone back from the dead?” he asked.

  I didn’t remember adding that to the database. “Yes,” I replied. I concentrated to keep my heart-rate steady. Tamer had given us some basic training in evading lie detector spells, but it was not my best skill.

  “You led the team that created the Timelaws.”

  “I did,” I replied. “You can check the entry for authenticity if you don’t believe me.” I regretted saying the words almost as soon as I said them.

  Prikhoff nodded to the wizard who had first spoken to me. “Do it,” he ordered.

  “You can even cross reference my identity with my DNA,” I offered as I reached out with my bloody hand. What was I doing? The body I was in was fabricated. However, it was also the best shape-shift forgery I’d ever accomplished. Perhaps if he were busy verifying my DNA, he might not think to check on the other stories I’d planted. The history of my involvement with creating the Timelaws was the only truthful tale my spell had added to their database. And if I had gambled wrong, this would be game over.

  The wizard frowned in disgust, but he took a few steps toward me and wiped his finger on my bloody palm to gather the sample he needed. The feel of his thick, sweaty skin against mine gave me goosebumps.

  “It can’t be you,” Prikhoff accused. “You’re not allowed in this time. No one from your period is.” His voice softened to a sickly tone. “Or don’t you know the Timelaws prevent it?”

  “You have a database full of impossible histories,” I responded. “Time periods I had no business showing up in. And yet, here I am.” I kept myself turned away from Prikhoff. His presence was tough to ignore, but it sent that much more of a message when I did. I looked at the wizard testing my blood instead. “Tell me, Sweaty. Does my DNA match with the person who led the construction of the Timelaws?”