Blood in the Fire (Timelaws Trilogy) Page 18

  The wizard scowled at me.

  “Answer the question,” Prikhoff demanded from behind me. Sweaty nodded.

  “And the entry is real?” Prikhoff asked. Sweaty looked past me and nodded again.

  “So, there’s the answer to your question, Prikhoff,” I said, still facing away from him. I stepped even closer to Sweaty and tilted my head. “I’m perhaps all I appear to be.” Nothing was more important than preventing Sweaty from checking the rest of my forged entries. One word from him and Prikhoff would give his army the order to attack. I was defenseless. I picked up Sweaty’s three fingered hand in my own and used my sleeve to wipe my blood off his finger. He smelled even worse than his commander, but I ignored it. “These injuries don’t mean much to me,” I said. “And neither…” I paused for emphasis, “does your planet.”

  I wanted desperately to turn around and look at Prikhoff to see if my words landed, but I satisfied myself with the look of horror that crossed Sweaty’s face. “You know what I can do, Prikhoff,” I continued. “The impossible.” I prayed more than ever that I was succeeding at being dramatic and not over-the-top. Taking the theatrics too far would ruin all credibility. Not far enough and they wouldn’t fear me enough for my plan to work. “I’ve proven that your planet’s defenses mean nothing to me,” I continued. “The Timelaws mean nothing to me. Do you really want to find out what I can do to your precious little forest? Your cities? This fragile army certainly can’t stop me.” A nasty grin returned to my face. I hoped beyond all hope that I looked and sounded scarier than I felt. “Go away and I’ll leave you and your people alone.”

  Finally, I allowed my neck to twist around so that the corner of my eyes met Prikhoff’s wide ones. “Or stay to find out what I can really do,” I threatened.

  Prikhoff was thrown off guard. Red anger registered on his cheeks. He’ll call my bluff. The terrifying thought threatened to paint my face with defeat, but, instead, I smiled and turned back to him. He retreated backwards in fear, then stopped himself. I held his gaze. “Bah. You’re not worth it,” he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

  Then, with a single word, he disappeared.

  A loud whoosh echoed through the forest, and I blinked to find his army gone. I had won.

  An exhausted sigh escaped my body as I collapsed back down to the ground. I bowed my head into my folded arms and let my hair fall over my shoulders. All that was left to do now was wait a few hours until I had enough power to take Naimi with me and return to my body. My tense muscles began to quiver as I realized the full extent of my accomplishment. I had beaten this wretched, frozen, bloodless planet that had done nothing but fight me, bite away at my skin, at my sleep, at my strength since I’d first arrived. I had won.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Anton’s Command

  HMSS Ingeniur – November 2184

  Mark

  Ever seen a sick deer? Neither have I, but looking at Luke right now, he was the picture of a wide-eyed buck about to barf. His thick hands gripped the console so tight, I thought he would leave an imprint in the metal. His muscles flexed in resistance to every push, pull and drop this girl could dish out. Me, I preferred to just treat it all like a roller-coaster and go with the flow. Ship pushed me right, I leaned right. Let the seat-belt do the work. Stifling heat pounded my face and made me wish I could strip down to my underwear. If it weren’t for the seat-belt, I might have. I did have to give it to Luke though. The intensity of this particular ride was perhaps just a smidge too awesome for even me. Another loud groan of folding metal rose up from the belly of the ship. It sounded like a monster with a stomachache.

  “The bolt weapon is down,” Tamer said. He didn’t have to explain why. Even I could hear what the high temperatures were doing to our ride. I waited to hear Anton give an order. The next step to get us out of this mess. But he was silent.

  After what felt like the longest pause in history, at last, Anton’s voice came through. “I’m open to suggestions,” he said.

  The ship tumbled and I wondered if perhaps his words had knocked it out of control. Imagining our impending doom in a space toaster, I couldn’t help but look down to Liz for direction. Well, she looked like Liz. Anthe still acted like she had control over those shiny buttons on her screen, but now it felt like all control had suddenly become an illusion.

  “Retreat,” Anthe said. “If I stay, I can prevent them from following you.”

  “We can bring back help,” Tamer offered. That sounded like a great idea! Why hadn’t we started with that?

  “No,” Anton said. Wait, What? “That ship is too advanced. If our people come now, unprepared… they would suffer too many casualties trying to save the five of us.”

  “Six,” Luke said. His voice was pained.

  When did the ship start smelling like burnt electrical wires? Seemed like a silly thing to be bothered by right now. However I couldn’t stop thinking about that awful stink as it swelled around us, almost like it was telling us to get out.

  “Anthe, do you have to remain alive for Liz to complete her mission?” Anton asked.

  She nodded. “If I die, Liz will be stuck in the twenty-ninth century on a wizard planet. I doubt she or Naimi would make it.” Blood drained from my warm face and my chest stopped mid-breath. I pictured her trying to come home to us and realizing she was trapped there. Then I thought of her dying all alone so far from home. The ship made a hard dive to the right and, this time, I really was going to be sick.

  “But I don’t think it will come to that,” Anthe continued. Good heavens woman! “I told Liz six hours. It’s almost time,” she said.

  “My sister comes to this ship,” Luke affirmed. “And then what?” Damn him.

  “She’ll know the spell I’m using to cloak the teleport. The one that would prevent them from following you if you choose to go. She will be able to see Naimi to safety,” Anthe replied.

  “And Liz?” I asked. I hadn’t realized I was holding back tears, but my voice betrayed me. Anthe was silent. I felt numb. Why wouldn’t she say it? The woman was a cold-hearted witch. The ship rolled right again and I let my body fall limply against the belt. What about Anton and Tamer? Why wasn’t anyone telling Anthe that my sister was not an acceptable casualty? Anton would not agree to this.

  “Tamer, get out of here,” Anton ordered. I turned back to look at him. His expression was hard. “Take Mark and Luke with you,” he finished.

  Luke opened his mouth to protest, but for once, I beat him to it. “No,” I bellowed. “Luke and I stay.”

  “So do I,” Tamer said. “I can help fight.” There we go. We fight. Something on the left side of the ship ripped away from the body. We heard and felt her skin being sheared away. Looking over, I saw black, white and silver chunks floating in a cloud of our dust.

  “You follow orders,” Anton said. His voice wasn’t harsh, in fact, it was kind. But the kid also made it clear there was no room for argument. To hell with that.

  “Luke and I don’t answer to you,” I said. “We stay.”

  Anton looked at me with compassion. “Liz would not want that,” he said, but his sweat-drenched face betrayed that he was deliberating on the issue. “However, I won’t make Tamer teleport you against your will,” he agreed at last. “Are you sure?” The ship lurched, and a crash echoed through the halls.

  “I’m losing control,” Anthe said. “We have two port thrusters non-functional.”

  Luke looked at me as though he were condemning me to death. This wasn’t his decision though. “We’re sure,” I said. Don’t know why, but I choose that moment to notice that my wet shirt was clinging to my skin. Perhaps it was the realization that I would never wear a clean shirt again that suddenly made this one so uncomfortable.

  “Alright,” Anton agreed. I couldn’t understand how he made it to sound so calm. “Tamer, you get out,” he said. Anthe started to mumble a spell.

  Tamer lifted his head from his screen and he turned back to look at our command
er. “Anton, I never said this to you before,” he said. “To hell with your orders. I stay.”

  “No,” Anton countered. “Someone has to warn our people. We’re not equipped to fight a ship like this and I won’t have it catch anyone else by surprise. They need to prepare. They need you to tell them what to prepare for.”

  Tamer studied Anton for a moment, then nodded. “I programmed the computer to emit varying EM pulses,” he said finally. “But it does not look like they are any more susceptible to that than we are.”

  “Thanks,” Anton said with a solemn smile. “Go.”

  My cousin regarded Luke and me. I thought he was preparing to say goodbye, but when he spoke, it wasn’t to us. “Anton, you know Liz would have done the same if it were you,” he said.

  “I know,” Anton reassured.

  But Luke erupted. He’d been doing a lot of that lately. “Are you kidding?” he yelled. His muscles strained so hard I thought he might tear through his seatbelt. “My sister sounds nothing like him. My sister would not abandon anyone. She would never, ever condemn one of her friends to death.” Luke’s face pulsed with red rage.

  “Yes she would,” Tamer said. “It’s the right call.”

  He leaned across me to look at Luke. “Liz knew the score,” he said. “She had the strength to make the tough choices, and I can only hope to be as strong as her and Anton if I’m ever in that position.”

  “You already are,” Anton said. “Go.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  She’s Back

  HMSS Ingeniur – November 2184

  Luke

  Mark looked as stunned as I felt. My throat tried to summon words to comfort him: It’ll be okay, buddy. But I couldn’t make myself talk. Didn’t trust my voice. Instead, I sat there like a rock.

  It didn’t seem like there was anything left for us to do but wait. Anton unbuckled his belt and stumbled toward Tamer’s seat. The ship tossed him toward the wall, but he grabbed the back of the chair and pulled himself into a sitting position.

  “Are you ready Anthe?” he asked as he buckled up.

  “Affirmative,” she replied.

  He smiled, but didn’t look up as he worked the console in front of him. “Such a simple answer for such a sacrifice,” he said gently. “Thank you.” The ship decelerated and began to climb. “I have navigation; go ahead when you’re ready.” Was Liz finally coming back to us? The thought made my head spin. I didn’t want her to come back, not to this wounded, hobbling ship that smelled of ash and burned wires. Not to such a hopeless situation. At the same time, there was nothing I wanted more than to talk to her again. I wanted to tell her…

  Guilt ate at my stomach as I contemplated what I wanted to say. She deserved to know how angry I was. To see in my eyes that I blamed her for putting us in this situation. If she’d only listened to me…

  Anthe lifted her head from her console and turned back toward us with a smile. Her words cut through my rage. “Be gentle with her,” she said. Was she talking to me? “This ship has been through a lot without you manhandling her.”

  Anton grinned. “Will do,” he said. Anthe began her spell.

  Elizabeth

  My blistered lips moved gingerly to the words of my return spell. Already fading vision darkened further and the tall ori around me transformed into dark shadows. Was I bleeding out right there on the forest floor? My arms and legs couldn’t move. A heavy downpour of wet snow had started to drench through my clothes and soak into my already frigid skin. All my senses numbed except the searing pain that burst through my skull and the tingly feeling between my skin and my bones as they peeled away from my soul, transforming into a cold, limp corpse.

  Then the second phase of the spell began. At first, I was lost in darkness. Then my senses started to return. I could smell burning metal and ash. My flesh was consumed by pins and needles and my lungs longed for air. But I couldn’t move yet, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t cry, couldn’t flex a single muscle. My heart wasn’t beating, blood didn’t flow. Had Anthe left this body too soon? But just as before, I felt my heart start to thump. My chest blazed; it made me want air. My mind struggled for a breath, but the spell would not be rushed. Then finally, after an eternity of fear, I was able to open my mouth. My lungs filled with the smoke-seared atmosphere. I inhaled too fast and my body launched into a fit of coughs.

  “Easy, easy. You’re okay,” I heard a voice say from behind me. I opened my eyes and with dazed vision saw that I’d been hanging off a seat belt. The room lurched. After a moment of panic, I realized that I was in a spaceship. My body continued to cough while my head swam in circles.

  “Sorry, I’m trying to hold her as steady as I can,” Anton said. It was nice to have him near again.

  “That’s okay,” I replied. My voice sounded strange to me. Perhaps it was the fact that my throat wasn’t parched dry. Freezing wind and ice had been replaced by acrid smelling smoke and pounding heat. My hair and clothes were drenched with sweat. It felt good for about a second before the stifling air became overbearing.

  I lifted my head upright, despite the dizziness, and surveyed the scene around me. The projectors around the room seemed to show debris everywhere, stretching for miles. It couldn’t all be us. But I knew from Anthe’s memories that it was. Unlike when I’d accessed Ketya’s mind, Anthe’s thoughts had presented themselves to me easily. She had been happy to leave. After her extended duty, she was eager to reunite with her son.

  I reached down to my hip, where a hidden pocket was sewn into the uniform and felt the reassuring bump of a turtle’s shell. I had brought her back with me as part of the spell that returned me to my body. Then I turned to look behind me at Luke, Mark, and Anton.

  “Liz, we need to tell you―” Mark started. He had a hollow, scared look in his eyes. His voice was weak, like a child’s.

  “I know,” I cut him off. All the humor and energy I’d come to expect from Mark was drained. “So you guys want to find out who’s trying to blow us out of the sky?” I asked.

  “What good would that do?” Luke replied, the edge of defeat in his words cut through me like a knife. I closed my eyes and gathered my strength for a moment.

  “Alright guys,” I said. “A few things about what I do. One, just because I’m beat doesn’t mean I give up. Two, always smile.” I shot Anton a playful wink. “And one that I just learned, you never know what you’re going to be able to talk your way out of until you try.”

  I spun in my chair and tapped the black screen in front of me. Anthe’s navigational controls appeared before me. Five of our eight thrusters were down. On the right was a panel of red warnings showing critical damage areas around the ship. At a glance, I saw that our weapons stores were exhausted, the engine was over-heated, and life-support struggled on its last leg to clear the smoke and dust that had gathered around the ship and to maintain survivable temperatures in the crew accessible areas. I wiped all the information away with a single brush of my hand and brought up Communications. Time to ring up the egg-ship.

  Our own vessel started shaking like a Ford Explorer with bad shocks on rocky terrain. I gripped the console with my left hand while my right continued to manipulate my screen. The sound of glass and metal clanking rang through the ship. “What’s going on Anton?” I asked.

  “We just lost gravitational pads in the kitchen and dining hall,” Anton replied. My heart skipped a beat. The gravitational pads were not a vital part of ship functions, but I couldn’t believe damage that severe had struck so close to the bridge. The destruction was closing in on us.

  “Well then I hope no one was hungry,” I replied. “Looks like our friends just picked up their phone.” I tapped the button and their commander appeared before us on the front screen.

  “Rothin,” I whispered under my breath. He was much older than Ketya remembered. His short hair had turned white and he had wrinkles and dark blemishes all over his pale face. But there was no mistaking him.

  Surprise registered on Roth
in’s face. “I guess I don’t need to introduce myself,” he replied. “And you are?” Anton threw the ship into a spin. My fingers grabbed for the table’s edge as the sudden acceleration pushed me over.

  “Someone who would appreciate it if you would stop firing at us,” I replied. “Is a civilized conversation too much to ask for?”

  An amused smile graced Rothin’s face. He held up his hand to someone off screen. “Well, since I am curious how you learned my name, I will,” he said.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Rothin’s Revenge

  HMSS Ingeniur – November 2184

  Elizabeth

  “They ceased fire,” Anton replied. Our ship leveled out. Thank heavens.

  “I know a lot of things,” I said. Perhaps dredging up his past would help me appeal to his kindness. “You cared for Ketya. You tried to help her and her child.”

  Rothin’s face darkened. “Once maybe,” he replied. “She paid me back by burning down my home. My oldest sister, my father, my friends, all died because I wanted to show Ketya a bit of mercy.” The way he said her name, he practically spit it. The kitchen alarm that had been sounding steadily since I’d arrived wailed one last time and then died out. It was the most merciful technical failure we’d endured so far.

  “It wasn’t her,” I said. Ketya would have desperately wanted him to know. “Anthe, Brovkyl’s mother, destroyed your town.”

  Rothin’s yellow eyes gleamed with venomous hatred. “Anthe gave the order, but she did it to save Ketya’s daughter. And me, I devoted my life to making sure Anthe’s plan failed.” A wicked smile blossomed on his face. “And I think perhaps my chance to avenge my father and my friends might just be at hand.”

  His voice echoed through the part of me that still carried Ketya’s memories. It would have broken her heart to hear Rothin say those words. She had loved him too. “Maybe. But you can’t be Rothin,” I replied. “It’s been over 7,000 years.” Perhaps it was wishful thinking. Could the Rothin who had protected Ketya and supported her when her mother and brother were killed, really have turned into this nasty thug? There was a thick layer of hatred in his old eyes.