“She has to stop this. We can’t keep letting her travel there alone. It’s insanity,” I told Mary.
“We have to support her. If we don’t try to work with her, she’ll just take off like Dean did, and I know for a fact that I couldn’t handle that right now,” Mary said quietly.
She was right. Jules was too headstrong. She loved us deeply, but she was at that age where she thought she knew everything. Jules considered herself an adult, and she’d gone through more than most people, but I needed to keep an eye on her. To protect her.
This wasn’t going to help things, but I had to tell Mary. “Sarlun contacted the bridge.”
Mary raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? About Dean?”
I nodded. It wasn’t the first time we’d heard rumors about his whereabouts, but so far, the few tips had led nowhere. We’d also learned a few theories about Patty and the Zan’ra boy, but nothing concrete, nor any hard evidence about their location. “Elion system.”
Her eyes widened, and she stepped closer. “Do we tell her?”
We were on a direct course to Techeron, where I’d be separating from the rest of the crew, Mary included. I was determined to find Dean before this happened, so that Jules could come with me. Otherwise, she’d never join the expedition, no matter how badly she wanted to see Fontem’s real collection.
“We have to, Mary.” My hands fell to my sides, and I felt every year of my life as I saw the sadness creeping into her eyes.
“Okay. She won’t stop until she finds him.”
“And Dean won’t stop until he brings his sister home,” I reminded her.
“So what do we do?” She slipped her arms around me, pulling me close.
“We do what we always do. Keep fighting the fight and trust Jules will make the right decisions.” I kissed the top of her head as she leaned into my chest.
“Like her ending up underwater with this ancient god in a coffin, right?” Mary asked. She was frustrated, but we all were.
“We’ll tell Jules about the sighting. It would be smart for her to check out that derelict station at Elion anyway. It’s been on her list.” I moved toward the fridge and opened it, seeing a few bottles of beer. They were Magnus’ favorite. I didn’t touch them, pulling out some leftovers to heat up instead.
Two
Someone had seen Dean. This was it. Jules had a feeling she was finally about to track him down. She was so angry with him. They’d kissed, and then he’d disappeared. He’d even said he loved her, but she didn’t have a chance to ask what he meant by it. Did he love her like a sister… was he only saying that stuff because he was vulnerable at the time?
Jules puffed her cheeks and finished packing her bag. It was full of the usual survival equipment, and she opened her bedside nightstand, unfolding the prints Regnig had made for her of the four Zan’ra. She stared at the slightly crude drawings and stopped on hers. The girl had dark hair and bright green eyes. Who had Ja’ri been? There wasn’t enough to go on. The one Zan’ra that seemed to have any kind of infamy was O’ri, and that was who possessed Patty right now. He was dangerous.
She wished she could talk with her old friend: find out if the girl remained inside her mind, or if this O’ri had overtaken her, using her like a puppet. Jules wanted to think Patty would be willing to fight it, but the last time she’d seen her, she was too accepting of her fate.
Her door was open, and she looked to it at the sound of a knock. It was her mom, and the sad smile over Mary’s face told Jules what type of conversation she was about to have.
“I’ll be fine, Mom,” she assured Mary.
“I know you will be. I never doubt you, not for a second. But this is Dean, and with how upset he was at losing his sister… then his father. Dean might not be the same boy you…” Her mom paused, stepping into her room. “He’s going to have scars now. You may not see them, but they’re there, hiding inside his young heart. He needs you more than ever.” Her mom’s hands rested on Jules’ shoulders.
“We all have scars, Mom,” Jules said softly.
Her mom nodded her agreement, and hugged Jules closely. “What’s your plan?”
Jules slid her tablet from the pack, bringing the Crystal Map application up on the menu. She accessed her saved route, showing her mother the nearest portal to Elion. It was one system over, meaning she needed to procure a ship. “Papa gave me enough credits to find passage out there, but I was thinking of just using my abilities.”
“I don’t think so, Ju. They’re too unpredictable.”
“No they’re not. It’s been a long time since they’ve failed me.” Jules placed her hands on her hips, tapping one foot impatiently. She didn’t want to waste any more time. Dean needed her.
“What about yesterday, when you fell into the water?”
Mary had her there. “The lightning hit me. I recovered eventually.”
“The ship is your best bet… can we send Slate with you?” her mom asked.
“No! Mom, I’ll be fine. I move faster alone.” It was Jules’ answer, and it was final. She might only be sixteen, but she was a full-fledged Gatekeeper.
“Promise me you’ll be cautious.”
It was Jules’ turn to hug her mom, and she let go, slinging her pack over her shoulders. “I promise.”
Jules knelt, petting Maggie behind the ears before leaving the suite. Mary followed along, chatting about Hugo as if discussing her son would ease the tension. Seven months of searching. Jules’ nerves were fried, anxiety filling her every time she thought about tracking Patty’s brother. So many things could have befallen him over those months. Maybe he had found Patty and Lan’i.
Papa leaned against the wall near the portal’s entrance, holding something in a small pouch. He undid the drawstring, showing Jules the contents. “Take this.”
It was the bracelet Professor Thompson had used to steal her powers when the Kold had attacked the Academy. “Good call. Thanks.” Jules slipped it into her bag and embraced her dad, who let her go faster than normal. “And save your breath. Mom already gave me the speech.” Jules smiled at him, and he grinned in return.
“Good. Remember: Elion, then straight here, okay?” He constantly tried to ensure she didn’t go rogue in her search for Dean, Patty, or the Deities.
Now that Jules knew there were other Deities in existence, she had to find them too. And Dal’i, the Zan’ra with the orange eyes. She could teach Jules so much. If they worked together…
“Okay?” Papa echoed.
“Fine. I hear you.” Jules nodded to the portal guards and saw they were different than the ones who had helped her yesterday after her collapse. Had that only been a day ago?
The door closed, leaving her alone in the portal room, and she moved toward the beautiful pulsing crystals below the clear table. This entire network of portals was magnificent, almost like a living entity. The Theos had believed they were creating it, but the Shandra stone’s power originated from the Deities.
“Imagine their secrets,” she whispered to herself. “What could a Deity teach me?” Perhaps the god would smite her from the universe, since they’d killed all but four of the Zan’ra. With the power Jules possessed handling the Arnap, it might have been the right call.
The symbol for Ravios was an interesting one, with a simple bird-shaped silhouette and a wavy line underneath. Jules located the icon and glanced toward the door, making sure she was alone in the room. She pressed the symbol, the room flashing white.
She appeared in the mysterious portal room, and instantly put a shield up, spotting a figure close by. The man was armed, and pointed a gun in her direction from ten meters away. He looked absolutely shocked to see someone arrive here, and almost dropped the weapon.
He said a few foreign words, but Jules didn’t comprehend them. One of the newly-unlocked attributes of being a Zan’ra was deciphering languages with ease. It was a skill she was still honing, but after he called out more instructions, she was able to translate what he was saying.
She tested it, using his language in return, the words leaving her tongue feeling too large for her mouth. They came out with a thick accent, but he appeared to understand. “I’m not here for trouble.”
He didn’t lower the gun. It was dark, almost like it was cast from a heavy iron material, and the man himself was wide at the shoulders, his body narrow. “Where are you from?”
Now they were getting somewhere. Jules noted that the gun’s aim began to shift toward the floor. “I’m here on Alliance business. Are you familiar with the Alliance of Worlds?”
He shoved the gun into a leather holster on his hip and shook his head. “You speak Zecriun. How? And you have a shield generator. Is that technology for sale?”
Jules didn’t want to explain it to him, so she took the easy approach. “I’ve had the translation modifications, and I might be able to connect you with a trader who’s willing to barter. I’m Jules. Jules Parker.”
If he recognized the name, he didn’t show it. The man removed a hat, something that reminded her of an early twentieth-century kind that Papa called “bowler hats.” She didn’t know what they had to do with knocking pins over with a ball. His hair was long, slicked back, and he smiled, making him closer to handsome. “Artimi Fended. Pleased to meet you, Jules.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, still skeptical of the man’s motivations. His skin had a light green tinge to it, but otherwise, he looked quite human.
“It’s my turn to stand watch,” he said.
Judging by his reaction at her arrival, they didn’t have much company. “When was the last time someone came through?”
“A long time,” he replied.
She started to move across the room, only now noticing the design of it. The floor was a rich wood, the walls a slate-gray stone. Lights were flickering from digital torches along the edges.
He didn’t budge from blocking the exit. She noticed there was a chair, with food containers and water sitting beside it. A cot was centered in the hallway beyond him. He was living here.
“Can I get past you?” she asked.
“What is your purpose on Ravios?” Artimi asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m just passing through on my way to Elion.” She managed to keep most of the annoyance from her voice.
He looked surprised again. “Elion. There’s nothing out there for a girl like you.”
She fumed at his presumptions but didn’t show it. “What do you mean, nothing?”
Artimi put his hat back on and stepped aside, letting her through. “Like I said. Nothing but an old station and some long-abandoned mines.”
“I’d still like to go.”
“How are you getting there?” he asked.
“I’m going to buy a ship,” she replied.
This made him laugh, a sharp mirthful sound. “I happen to have one. It’s not for sale, but perhaps you’d care to employ me for a price.”
The picture was growing clearer. Whoever Artimi was, he hung out near the portal and tried to con someone into hiring him as a tour guide, or whatever else they needed while stuck on the middle-of-nowhere planet Ravios. “I think I’ll take my chances elsewhere.”
There wasn’t much information on Ravios in the Gatekeepers’ network, and the data that had been accrued was at least a century old. All Jules knew was that the locals had interstellar, but rarely vacated their system. And that the people, the Zecrua, weren’t very social. Her first impressions of Artimi didn’t substantiate those findings.
He followed along behind her as she marched down the narrow corridor leading away from the Shandra, and didn’t say anything as she climbed the set of stone steps heading above ground. Most of the Shandra were underground, and she slowed as she neared a double-doored exit.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked.
Jules kept the sphere, not willing to remove it yet. “Nothing.” She pressed the button to the side of the doors, and they hissed, separating in the middle. She stepped through, finding a red sky, angry black clouds, and tiny specks in the air.
It was hot, too hot, and she had the distinct feeling she’d traveled to Hell for a moment. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she peered around, seeing no other people. Movement above caught her attention again, and she recognized the dark dots for what they were: animals. Flying birds. But they were too big to be…
Something swooped down from behind them, thick talons dragging along the stone ground. All she saw was a flash of red leather, vein-covered wings, and a dripping snout. It screeched, and another arrived, then another, and she stared at the sky as a horde of thousands of the huge winged beasts began circling before diving toward her.
“Now do you want to hire me?” Artimi smiled widely, and Jules nodded.
____________
With Techeron less than a month away, I had a few things to finish up before we left for Fontem’s collection, including checking on the Terellion and Regnig’s progress. I flew in the shuttle over Haven, thinking how much had changed here since we’d first arrived. I tried not to count how many years had passed. While Mary and I were here that first time, Magnus and Nat had been moving with General Heart toward New Spero in a colony ship.
Back then it was unspoiled, with only a few buildings in a quiet village where the old Deltra Teelon befriended me after a tumultuous beginning to our relationship. Now the city stretched for miles past the actual city center, and towns had popped up in every direction, each with their own communities, schools, store fronts, and local growing zones.
It was nowhere as advanced as New Spero, or even our imaginative colonies on Earth, but it was quaint, with the idyllic smaller-town feeling that many of us had grown to appreciate. So many races had moved here since the creation of the Alliance of Worlds, and with the Academy being the central focus, the population had almost doubled since its inception.
I guided the shuttle above it all, smiling at how far we’d come as an alliance.
The Academy filled the viewscreen as I shifted the craft toward the school, landing near the instructors’ residences, opting to visit Karo and Hugo before checking in with Regnig and Fontem. The shuttle settled gently, and I noticed the parking pad was mostly empty at this early hour. I’d forgotten to check what the local time was before departing Light through the portal room, but the sun was rising now, and I exited the transport, letting the chilly morning air blow against my face.
I missed the normalcy of living on Haven, but there was no returning to that again. I was the captain of a starship, and with what Lom of Pleva was attempting, and the complexity of the Zan’ra, I had too many things to manage.
Maybe once Lom was dealt with, and Jules, Patty, and Dean were safe, then I’d consider returning to the peaceful life I’d had a short taste of. As I walked toward Karo’s place, I shook my head, laughing at the idea of me ever being truly happy on the sidelines. I knew Magnus had planned a retirement in a few years. He’d kept talking about fishing, watching his kids as adults, and enjoying his time with Nat. That had been taken from him.
I tried not to focus on it, but his death always had this natural way of sneaking up on me, no matter the situation I was in. Like he was urging me on, unable to leave my side for some reason.
“Dean, I wasn’t expecting you so early,” Karo said from behind me. He smiled widely, and I noticed that his cheeks were flushed and he was in workout gear.
“I hadn’t pictured the Theos as the running type,” I told him.
He patted his stomach. “How do you think I’m able to eat so much pizza?”
We walked to his door, and he unlocked it. Hugo sat at the table, his back to me, and he chatted with Karo and Ableen’s four kids. They were joking and laughing, and it melted my heart to see my son in such a caring household. This was vibrant, a family atmosphere that would do Hugo well.
“Hello, Mr. Parker!” one of the quadruplets said. I thought it was Barl, but I hadn’t been around enough lately to watch the
m grow up.
“Kids, good to see everyone.”
Hugo was out of his chair, rushing toward me, and I lost my breath as we collided, squeezing in a tight hug. “Dad! What are you doing here?”
I glanced at Karo, and he shrugged. “I thought a surprise would be better.”
“Are you taller?” I asked Hugo, even though he’d visited Light just two weeks ago. I couldn’t believe how big he was getting. He was already stronger and more agile, and I thought the training at the Academy was doing wonders for the boy. Before this, all he’d been interested in was video games.
“Dad, I aced my portals exam!” he shouted, and I walked him to the table, arm over his shoulder.
“Is that so?”
He took his seat, and Karo Jr. moved aside, offering me a spot. Ableen entered the room, carrying a jug of juice, and smiled at me. “Dean, so good to see you,” she said.
“Likewise. Thanks again for letting Hugo stay here. I know he can be a bit of a handful,” I said, receiving an eyeroll from my son.
“Nonsense. I wish these four were as polite as he is.” Ableen winked at Hugo, and he laughed as he returned to his breakfast.
Karo gestured toward the food. “Can I offer you something?”
“Sure, why not?” I grabbed a plate and dug in, chatting with the kids and the Theos adults, learning about what was happening at the Academy, but never fully able to concentrate. Not with the looming threats over my head. At that moment, Light was moving toward Techeron, and I still had far too many things to deal with before we figured out how to prevent the timeline merge.
“Time for class, kids,” Karo said, and they all groaned, rushing away from the table and leaving it in a total mess. Hugo stood and started to clear the plates.
“Hugo, don’t worry about that today. You’ll be late,” Ableen told him.
“Thank you. Dad, will you be here later?” Hugo asked.
It broke my heart, but I had to tell him. “No. I can’t stay. You’re coming next weekend, though, and your mother can’t wait to see you.” I wanted to tousle his hair, but it was combed nicely: another new thing about him I hadn’t noticed before.
Old Secrets (The Survivors Book Thirteen) Page 2
