The Topaz Operation
Page 31
Turj eyed Prevwahn for a moment. “I’ll stick around until you find a good replacement. How’s that?”
Prevwahn rubbed his chin, considering Turj’s offer.
“Not me,” said Ryle.
“I wasn’t going to recommend you,” said Turj.
Ryle wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or offended.
Prevwahn leaned against his desk. “Well, Waap. I know it’s pointless to argue with you once your mind is made up. I could be heavy handed and force you here, but I won’t.”
“Smart man, Mr. President,” said Turj with a rare grin.
* * *
Ryle made his way back down to the gathering and found his mother talking to Jyssa and Mitchett.
“So, are you two back together again or what? I thought that was over,” said Odura.
Jyssa blushed. “Mother...”
“I like her, Jys. She’s blunt, a lot like me,” said Mitchett, smiling.
“He’s very cute, Jys. You could do a lot worse,” said Odura.
Jyssa giggled.
Upon Ryle’s return, Odura pulled him and Jyssa over and hugged both their necks at the same time. With tears forming, she pleaded, “When will all my children be back home?”
Chapter 63
Gawbolos and Orebolos raced their spacecrafts toward Amethyst. They descended through the murky clouds over Had and docked inside the still roofless Tower of Aqtal, where the dark master, holding the Flute of Fienna is his right hand, greeted them.
The Eyes of Aqtal approached their lord, held up their arms, and let their stored light flow out of them like a mighty river. The light filled Aqtal until his body was bursting at the seams with luminescence. The Eyes emptied their light and Aqtal stood, pulsating with energy.
Aqtal raised his hands. Golden energy effused around his hands, encompassing the flute and swirling around it. Beams of flashing energy shot upward, racing to the sky, through the clouds, even into space. The energy beams struck the moon Samdu, rippled through the space rock, breaking it apart piece by piece, until the entire moon shattered into trillions of pieces. Samdu was no more.
Aqtal cackled loudly with wicked laughter.
Acknowledgements
Once again I’d like to thank my friend, Ryan Curnutt, for reading the manuscript and offering valuable feedback. Also, Lauren Salisbury did a helpful readthrough with feedback—thank you.
As she did for Book One, my mom, Suzi, a thirty-year veteran of catching mistakes in documents, did a proofread of the near-final draft. Thanks!
A mountain of thanks to my wife, Blythe, and my two girls who put up with a lot of “Daddy writing time.”
And special thanks to my late father-in-law, Ken Williams, who read an early draft of this book just two months before he passed away. He said the book “seemed like a movie.” Perhaps someday, Ken. God bless.
About the Author
Jared Sizemore is a native of the Indianapolis, Indiana area and now lives in Florida with his wife and two children. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications and a Master of Divinity—but he has not yet mastered divinity.
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