The Colony (The Survivors Book Seventeen)

by Nathan Hystad

  “This isn’t good,” she muttered.

  She ramped up her attempts. She shot green energy at the walls, but it fizzled out, marring the metal slightly. That meant they weren’t invincible. Jules came up with a new idea. She stood near the door, balling her hands into fists. Power culminated within her, threatening to explode. She funneled all her anger with Ranul, her resentment for Sarlun, and the pain of losing Dean to another woman, trying anything to increase the potential of this explosion.

  Jules filled her reservoir, wondering what the Deities were doing. They’d disappeared, claiming they wouldn’t return. How strong was she? It was time to put it to the test.

  She slammed her fists against the doors, releasing the entirely of the force. It reverberated into them, and she lost sight of anything but the intense green cloud of energy.

  Wind gusted against her face, and she waved her arms, clearing the air around her. She laughed nervously. She’d blown the entire roof off the building. It rained in pieces, and she sent a gust of wind to counter them. There were Brack below, and despite the fact that they were enemies, Jules didn’t want any innocents being killed. Jules patted herself to find she was unscathed. They’d used a rune to prevent her from escaping, but not to prevent a direct concussion blast.

  She had a panoramic view of the city from here, and tried to assess her situation. Where were the others? “Jaessa,” she whispered, looking to the neighboring tower. It had a room atop it as well. Was that where they were situated? Or had they eliminated her allies?

  Outpost moved closer to the surface, and finally, it drifted out of her line of sight, lowering past the forest. She had to reach them. The drop troopers would have seen her explosive performance. She sped away, flying toward Outpost in her sphere. If Ranul had done anything to Magnus or Nat, Jules wasn’t going to be able to refrain from destroying her.

  She lifted higher, trying to avoid detection by the ground troops, and a few minutes later, watched as the warship settled to the grass. It broke dozens of significant trees in the process, snapping the old wood like toothpicks.

  Jules floated onto a high tree branch, staying hidden while she stared at Outpost. What were they doing down here? It was obvious their plan with Peters had failed; otherwise, Ranul would have boarded and been detained. Jules doubted the woman would fall for any tricks. She’d have used the decades of captivity to refine her plans. Then what was the scheme?

  The barrier on the primary hangar opened, and Jules used a scope to investigate. Magnus was there. She zoomed again, seeing Nat beside him, and Sarlun. He was facing them, a gun in his grasp. Jules had hoped against all odds that he wasn’t actually with Ranul, but her eyes weren’t lying. She concentrated, using her powers to overhear their discussion. She ignored the surrounding noises: animal calls from the forest behind her, the wind rustling the leaves all around her.

  “Where is it?” The woman’s voice was rough, like she hadn’t spoken for a decade.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Magnus said. She lashed out, striking him in the gut. He didn’t react. Jules tensed. She wanted to go confront Ranul, but she needed to hear what she was after first.

  “The gemstones. Peters said they were with him,” Ranul uttered.

  “We both know Peters is a liar,” Nat told her.

  “This will go a lot faster if you work with the Maiden,” Sarlun interjected.

  “Shut up, traitor.” Magnus glared at the Shimmal leader. “You don’t have a say.”

  Jules noted the sadness in their friend’s eyes. The slight twitch of his snout. He was in pain. It wasn’t his choice, it was the tattoo. This visual confirmed that to her.

  Ranul stalked forward, and Jules spotted Peters in the hangar too. She zoomed on him, and saw the fear on his face when the Brack woman stopped near him.

  “Peters, you said you had the stones. Where are they?” Ranul’s voice was marginally lighter, more playful.

  “I swear, I have no idea. They told me they’d take it easy on my sentence if I cooperated.” Peters tried retreating, but Ranul grabbed his collar, hauling him closer. She went nose to nose with him, drawing a symbol with her free hand. Light carried from a metallic wand, and Peters dropped to the ground. Blood pooled past his lips.

  Peters was dead.

  “He’s useless. Who’s next?” Ranul looked at Natalia. “How about you? I can sense your resilience. Can you lead me to the gemstones?”

  Nat remained still.

  “Do you want to live?” Ranul had a knife in a holster on her hip, and she brandished it.

  “Da. I have children.”

  Jules’ hand shook, and she pulled the scope off her eye for a second. Why does this woman want the gemstones? Jules wanted an answer before she broke up the party.

  “What are their names?” Ranul picked under her nails with the blade.

  “That’s none of your…” The knife slashed so quickly, Jules doubted her Auntie even saw it. Nat cradled her arm where it had been sliced. Blood leaked past her fingers.

  “What are their names?” Ranul asked again.

  “Dean and Patty.”

  “How quaint. Was Parker the father?” Ranul raised an eyebrow, making the skin pucker around her injured socket.

  “No. Their father is dead.” Nat glanced at Magnus for a second.

  “Where are the gemstones?” Ranul demanded.

  “They’re in a safe place.”

  Ranul slapped her, snapping her head to the side. Nat raised a hand to her mouth but didn’t retaliate.

  “I can sense it. My spell is telling me it’s nearby. You’re lying to me!” Ranul was furious, and even Sarlun walked farther from the volatile woman. She looked like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

  “Don’t touch her again,” Magnus whispered.

  “Or what? You think one more dead body means anything to me? I’m here to gain power. I will not be stopped by some insignificant human, not when I’m so close. The crystal is near, and it’ll bring me to Gasade. If you don’t reveal it, I’ll tear this ship apart.” As if to prove Ranul meant business, Jules watched as she used the wand again, drawing a symbol of light into the air. It lingered for a moment, and she pressed a palm to it, and another to the hangar’s wall. A huge section of the warship shot out, crashing to the grass. It embedded deeply into the ground.

  Jules finally understood. Ranul wanted the crystal portal fragment in her quarters.

  “Be that as it may,” Magnus started, “we don’t know what you’re after. We can’t help you.”

  Jules sensed what was about to happen. She dropped the scope, letting it fall. She shot forward as fast as she could, blurring across the half-kilometer distance into the hangar. Ranul finished drawing the same rune, and reached for Magnus, but Jules was faster. Death’s Maiden’s hand touched her sphere instead. Everything hurt for a moment and she bounced off the hangar’s interior wall, landing hard on the floor.

  Magnus rushed toward her. “Jules?”

  Her ears rang, but she felt okay. The spell had been powerful enough to penetrate Jules’ protective shield. She needed to be cautious around this woman.

  Jules climbed to her feet and locked gazes with Sarlun. His gun arm lowered, and the weapon fell from his grip.

  “Pick it up,” Ranul ordered him.

  “No.” Sarlun’s face contorted, and his hand flew to the spot on his shoulder where Jules knew the tattoo was inked into his skin. It clearly hurt when he disobeyed her.

  Jules had to help Sarlun.

  “You want the crystal?” Jules asked.

  Ranul focused all her attention on her. “You’re the one? The kid I’ve heard about? It seems you have some magic of your own.”

  “If I give you the crystal, will you let us leave?” Jules stepped near the Brack woman. She was approximately twice her size, and Jules felt like a child compared to Ranul.

  “You know its location?” Ranul smiled. It was an unsettling sight.

  “It’s mine.”


  “Not anymore,” Ranul said.

  “Fine. But here’s the deal. You can have it, then you have to leave, and we never want to see the Brack again.” Jules could tell this was important to Ranul, so she decided to press her luck. “And your people invaded Adrol twenty years ago. I want you to ensure they depart peacefully.”

  “What are they to you?” Ranul asked.

  “Friends. I don’t want to find any Brack there when we travel to Adrol in a few weeks.” This woman wasn’t going to be a pushover, so Jules needed to show strength. Someone like Ranul would appreciate that.

  “If you show me the crystal, we have a deal.” Ranul’s grin suggested how eager she was. She wanted to get to the Beykn’s home planet. “Sarlun, I said pick it up.”

  Sarlun’s fingers shook, but he bent down, retrieving his weapon. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to Jules as they walked toward the hangar’s exit into the ship.

  “Come. Show me the crystal before my patience runs out.” Ranul walked like a cheetah on the hunt.

  Jules followed, stopping at Natalia and Magnus.

  “Be cautious. She’s not right in the mind,” Nat said softly.

  Jules jogged into the corridor, leading them to her quarters. The lights were off inside the ship, and Sarlun used a light from his tablet to guide their path.

  “What happened to Outpost?” Jules asked.

  “It’s a good spell, don’t you think? Those people were incredible. And we’ve only scratched the surface,” Ranul told her.

  “We’ll have to use the manual stairs, since the power’s gone.” Jules led them into a stairwell, and considered going on the offensive, but she wasn’t sure what kind of protective runes the woman might have. If she gave up the crystal, they could come to an agreement. It was what her father would try to do.

  A few minutes passed, and they eventually made it to her quarters. Jules used her powers to slide the door open, and was almost knocked aside by Ranul shoving past her. Judging by her excitement at the thought of the portal shard, Jules thought she might have made the wrong decision.

  Twenty-One

  “Nice work. A little more left. Twelve degrees.” We were in the atmosphere, which was the toughest to navigate safely. Gravity took over, dragging the Cyclone toward the surface, and the air thrusters didn’t have the same effectiveness as they did in space.

  “Dean, we’re off the mark, but I think we’ll land within five kilometers of Jules’ ship,” Mary said.

  “Not good enough,” I muttered. Ever since seeing Ranul on the viewscreen, I had this sinking feeling. Something bad was about to happen, and it was even beyond the visions Ovalax had shared with me. I heard the whispered cautionary words escaping Jules’ lips. Turn around. I looked behind me, and Hugo was missing. “Malir, where is my son?”

  “He thinks he found a way to fix the actual thrusters. The Cyclone runs a dual intake system, and whatever that woman did only killed the first one. All he needs to do is repair their linkage adapter, and we’re operational,” Malir said.

  “Hugo’s doing that?” I was shocked.

  “He’s a smart kid.”

  The ship’s warning alerts blared out of tiny speakers, and I deactivated the sound. We were pushing for Jules’ destination, but Mary had been sugar-coating it. Unless we managed to slow, we were going to crash land. Not how I foresaw our mission to Ebos ending.

  What had started as a quiet trip with my wife had turned rather imperative. If we didn’t survive this landing, our galaxy and others were doomed. Something scratched at my mind, and I sensed Ovalax again.

  The surface came quickly, and Mary did her best to stay elevated. There were a few issues with the Cyclone, one being the distinct lack of wings for gliding. We were basically in a massive heavy tube falling to the planet. The air thrusts helped a bit, but not enough.

  “I love you.” I kissed the top of Mary’s head and rushed to the engineering room. Hugo had a panel apart and was tinkering with it. He slid dark glasses over his eyes and started to weld. “We’re out of time!”

  He didn’t stop working. “Almost got it.” Hugo’s voice cracked, and I could tell he was under immense pressure. His hands went quickly, reconnecting the piece by plugging a modified harness into the control hub. He stared at it, whispering encouragement to himself. The light flickered on, then off. He tapped the device, and it whirred. “It’s working!”

  I stuck my head into the hall and shouted, “Mary! Hit the engines!”

  Hugo and I went to the bridge, just in time to see how close we were to crashing into the city. The Cyclone barreled toward a tower above the trees when Mary kicked on the thrusters, sending us higher. The stabilizers were still off, and we rose above the floor from the adjustment. Malir laughed and hooted as Mary guided us across the city, circling it in a lengthy loop.

  “This place was once inhabited,” she said.

  My heart was still hammering from the excitement. We’d almost crashed into the ground, and Mary seemed unfazed.

  “How can you be so calm?” I asked.

  “It’s all those board meetings, I guess,” she muttered.

  “Where do we land?” Malir scanned the radar for the blip from Jules’ ship. He pointed it out to us, and Mary went in that direction. We landed, emerging from our craft, not finding an Alliance vessel in sight.

  “She came here, but that’s when the sensors stopped picking her up. Someone might have relocated her transport.” I walked around, seeing how soft the grass was, and noticed the exact location she’d touched down. Four sunken spots held landing gear. “Where is she?”

  My brain itched again, and I glanced at the city. A couple unique vessels flew overhead. “This city is occupied.”

  Mary nodded. “Maybe the kids should stay here.”

  “I apologize, Mrs. Parker, but I am not a child,” Malir said.

  He was slightly shorter than me, with broad shoulders and a great track record at the Institute. “Malir, walk with me. Mary, you and Hugo…”

  “Dad, we’re coming too.” Hugo already had a pulse rifle out of the cargo hold, and he tossed it to Malir.

  “Fine, but be cautious. We don’t even know who these people are,” I said.

  Mary didn’t argue with Hugo, and I was surprised. He’d proven himself by repairing the adaptor. “Hugo, you did well.”

  “Thanks, Dad. Now let’s go find Jules.” Hugo went past me, and I shrugged at Mary.

  “Guess we better follow him.” The terrain was manageable, and we sped over the first half-kilometer.

  “What’s this?” Malir stood near one of the giant tree trunks, indicating a marking on the bark. It looked torn apart.

  I thought about the runes Jules and our allies had been researching. “I think this might be related to Ranul’s obsession.” I’d witnessed similar things in Ovalax’s visions.

  I wanted to stay hidden from the villagers, but I expected they’d already seen our ship almost collide into their home. We crested a hill, my legs burning with the effort. Hugo and Malir seemed to have no issues ascending the steep incline, and I momentarily longed for their youth.

  “Dad, you gotta check this out,” Hugo said from a perch ahead. Mary and I joined them, observing the city from a new vantage point. Huge bridges connected their buildings, with numerous people on them. They were focusing on something in the distance. My gaze followed along, and I groaned when I witnessed what they were staring at.

  “Is that Outpost?” Mary whispered.

  “It appears so.” The warship had been brought to Ebos’ surface. “We’d better go there. Check if Magnus and Nat are okay.”

  “If Jules is on Ebos, she’s with them.” Mary hurried up the hillside, and I struggled to keep pace.

  Twenty minutes later, I was drenched in sweat as the heat of the day affected me. Ovalax seemed to be demanding I hurry, and I didn’t know why. I wanted him to show me what we were up against, but he wasn’t so forthcoming. Instead of trying to reach him, I just tru
dged forward, moving around the base of the city in the direction of the warship. It loomed larger, and I couldn’t get over the scale of the Alliance-created vessel. It was harder to gauge these things in space when you’re flying into their hangars in a lander.

  The warship was nearly as tall as the enormous trees, and I saw it had knocked a couple of them askew, creating a barrier between us and our destination. I stared at the toppled tree, glancing down its length. “Any ideas?” I asked our group. “We either climb it or go around.”

  “Both options could take a while,” Mary said.

  The urgency in my mind was pressing.

  Hugo pulled a drone from his backpack. He clipped a rope to it and directed the device to the top of the slanted tree. I watched him with a grin while he stuck his tongue out in concentration. “Almost have it,” he mumbled. “There.”

  The drone circled a branch, tying the rope, then secured it with a three-inch staple. It returned, and Hugo shoved it into his bag.

  “Saved us again.” I patted his back. “Let’s get up there.”

  We each climbed it, and in minutes, we all stood thirty feet off the ground on the fallen tree. The warship was huge. With a scope, I saw people within an open hangar. I looked closer, and noticed that part of the wall had been torn off.

  The entrance was two hundred meters in the air. “Any more tricks?”

  A blast struck the bark below our feet. I spun, firing back at an incoming army. Over two hundred soldiers emerged from the forest, all in black suits of armor. Their visors glowed with runes encompassing the screens.

  “I think it’s time to run,” I whispered.

  ____________

  Jules watched Ranul open the crystal’s case and slide the prize free. She held it in her hands, jagged fingernails clicking against the sides of the stone. “I’ve waited so many years for this moment.”