“We may be able to negotiate a peaceful resolution,” Tanik said.
That set off warning bells in Darius’s head. In his vision Cassandra had been killed for trying to negotiate with the Cygnians.
“Your people could use an ambassador, someone who’s seen what they’re going to face and who can warn them to back down before it’s too late. But it’s your choice, Gakram. You can also throw your life away by fighting me, if that makes more sense to you.”
Gakram snarled, and Tanik smiled. “I’m going to release you now.” With that, Tanik dropped his hand, and Gakram fell, landing on all six of his limbs. He hissed loudly, and the quills on his back rose like hackles, but he made no move to advance on Tanik. The air sang with tension as the two of them stared at each other.
“A simple threat combined with a demonstration on an unpopulated world in the Cygnus System may be enough,” Tanik said, giving in with a shrug. “It will be your job to convince your people to back down after that.”
Gakram hissed once more, but he seemed less agitated now. “I will try.”
Blake cleared his throat. “Well, that sounds like a nice plan—assuming those weapons exist, and that you can get your hands on them.”
“They do and we will,” Tanik replied.
“Sure, sure. Here’s a sidebar for you: let’s say that I don’t want to be a part of it. What then?” Blake asked.
Tanik spread his hands, palms up, to take in the whole group. “The choice is yours. You’re not prisoners.”
“So we can go back to the camp?” Blake asked.
“I’d prefer it if you stayed for a while,” Tanik said. There was a hint of menace in his voice, and Darius wondered if it was a threat.
Blake said nothing, but he crossed his arms over his chest and glared.
Tanik nodded. “Good. Now that that’s settled, why don’t you open those crates and start distributing our supplies?” Not waiting for his reply, Tanik’s gaze skipped to one of the Marines. “Sergeant Davies, you and your squad can get started setting up the generator and the lights.”
“All right,” the Marine replied. His face was hidden by his helmet, but Darius committed the voice to memory.
“And let’s get started boarding up those entrances!” Tanik said, now shouting to be heard over the sound of booted feet thunking on stone. “We don’t want Seekers surprising us in the night.”
Darius took a moment while everyone was busy to have a word with Samara. Cassandra followed him. “Hey, Samara,” Darius whispered.
She just looked at him.
“Yes?” Tanik asked.
Darius felt a chill come over him under the weight of their combined stares, and he could have sworn he heard urgent whispers echoing at the edge of his hearing. He forced a smile and nodded to Samara. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Then ask,” Samara replied.
Darius thought about mentioning his vision of her, but something told him not to say too much. “Did you ever own a gold locket?”
Samara’s eyebrows inched upward. “Why do you ask?”
“I found one when we were here earlier. I thought maybe it was yours.”
“Show it to me,” Samara replied.
Darius flashed an apologetic smile. “That’s the thing. I lost it.”
Samara’s eyes narrowed swiftly. “Then why are you telling me about it?”
Darius shrugged. “Because if it was yours, I thought you might want it back. I wondered if I should try to find it again.” He glanced at Tanik as he spoke, but there was no sign of recognition on his face, either. Maybe his vision had just been a dream after all.
Samara shook her head. “Don’t waste your time. It probably belonged to one of the Revenants who died here twenty years ago.”
Darius nodded slowly. A warm breeze gusted through the castle and Darius rubbed his arms to keep warm, wondering as he did so, why a warm breeze left him feeling chilled.
Darius frowned. “We should get another fire going.”
“And waste firewood?” Tanik asked.
Samara stared at him. “Are you feeling all right, Darius?”
“Yeah, it’s just drafty in here,” he said, and jerked his chin to the open windows. “I’m sure I’ll feel warmer once the Marines board them all up.”
“Yes,” Samara replied. “I’m sure you will.”
“Sorry to waste your time,” Darius replied. He grabbed Cassandra’s hand and led her back to the others.
“What was that all that about?” Cassandra whispered.
Darius shook his head. “Nothing. Don’t worry.”
Cassandra regarded him with her eyebrows skeptically raised, but she left it at that.
“Make a line!” Blake said as he dug through a supply crate with Dyara.
Darius shuffled into line with Cassandra and the others, wondering about his vision while he waited. Samara’s comment about the locket belonging to one of the dead Revenants had sparked a new line of thinking: maybe he hadn’t seen a vision of the future, but of the past. And if that were the case...
Did that mean the real Samara Gurhain was dead, and that this one was an impostor? He had to admit, Tanik meeting her here after twenty years seemed like a big coincidence.
Darius glanced at Samara. She caught his eye and smiled. He forced himself to return the smile before looking away. No, Tanik had recognized her, so she must be his wife.
Unless she’d deceived him somehow. Darius had witnessed Tanik use his abilities to make a Cygnian King think he was Captain Okara of the Deliverance. With that plot, they’d snuck past the Cygnian fleet guarding the Eye. But Tanik was a Revenant and Revenants were immune to each other’s abilities.
Darius frowned, unable to make sense of his suspicions. Something wasn’t adding up. He and Cassandra reached the front of the line, and Dyara handed him a bundle of supplies while Blake passed a second bundle to Cassandra.
“There’s a flashlight, a sidearm, three fresh jumpsuits, two ration packs, and two canteens for water,” Dyara explained. “Any questions?”
Darius shook his head and said, “Thank you.”
Dyara nodded, and he went to stand at the foot of the stairs with the others who’d already received their supplies. Darius glanced at Cassandra’s bundle and was happy to note that she hadn’t been given a weapon.
“What now?” Cassandra asked.
“Now, you get your weapons,” Tanik said, striding over to them with two of the glassy black swords they’d used a few hours ago to roast Awk over the fireplace.
Samara joined him, carrying two more of the swords, in addition to the one she carried in the scabbard on her back.
Darius watched in horror as they passed the swords to the kids, starting with Arok and Cassandra, then Seelka and Flitter. Gakram was the only kid who didn’t get one.
“You can’t be serious,” Darius said.
“Is something wrong?” Tanik asked.
“You said those swords are sharp enough to slice off our own feet if we’re not careful, and you’re passing them out to children like they’re toys.”
“Don’t worry,” Samara said. “There are scabbards in the armory with the other weapons. We’re going there now. Keeping the weapons sheathed when not in use should prevent any accidental dismemberment.”
“Yeah, and what about the intentional version?” Darius asked.
Arok grinned and flourished his blade in the Banshee’s direction. Gakram jumped back, hissing and flicking his barbed tail back and forth. He stood on five feet, clutching his supplies to his chest with one arm.
“I hate to say it, but I agree with Darius,” Blake said, walking up to them with his own bundle. “This is a bad idea.” His free hand rested on the butt of a sidearm holstered at his hip as he eyed the sword-wielding teenagers.
Cassandra held her bundle of supplies under one arm while she held her sword aloft with the other.
“Revenants are warriors,” Tanik said. “And warriors need weapons. Would
you prefer it if your daughter were helpless to defend herself when the Awks attack?”
Darius glared at Tanik, but he decided not to press the issue any further.
“Samara, would you please take us to the armory?” Tanik asked.
“Of course, follow me.” She led the way behind the stairs and the fireplace to a shadowy stairwell, curving down.
Darius froze, blinking in shock. It was the exact same stairwell he’d seen in his dream.
Chapter 14
Tanik used the tactical light under the barrel of his sidearm to light the way, but Samara went on ahead, content to walk in the dark.
One by one everyone followed her and Tanik down the stairs, but Darius held Cassandra back, letting the other kids with their swords go first. He didn’t want her accidentally running into one of those blades in the dark.
Dyara and Blake hung back with them. When it was just the four of them, Blake gestured to the stairs and said, “After you, Spaceman.”
“That nickname doesn’t even make sense anymore,” Darius replied.
“How about Chosen One? Or maybe Your Highness? Does that work better for you?”
Darius ignored him. He took the flashlight from his supplies and flicked it on to illuminate the stairwell. “Stay close,” he said to Cassandra, and then followed the sound of footsteps and muffled voices down.
They passed several landings with wooden doors, just like Darius had seen in his dream. Darius wondered if he’d find a locked door at the bottom, and behind that, maybe a long hallway with a well at the end...
He didn’t have a chance to find out. Everyone was waiting for them on the other side of a splintered door on the next landing. Darius walked through with the others, and Samara gestured to the walls of the room.
“Welcome to the armory,” she said.
Cracked and broken windows lined the left wall, letting in slanting beams of sunlight that danced with gleaming specks of dust. All kinds of weapons hung on the walls between those windows—swords, spears, daggers, rifles, and pistols, as well as a few others that Darius couldn’t identify.
The floor was wide open and padded with a spongy black material. Thick, curving wooden beams supported a high ceiling overhead.
“This is where the Keth trained,” Samara explained.
“It should work for us as well,” Tanik said.
He went over to the wall and removed three gleaming black swords, while Samara went to collect the scabbards she’d mentioned. Tanik joined Darius and Dyara at the entrance of the armory and stared pointedly at the supplies in their hands. “Everyone, put your belongings down for now. We’re going to be here a while.”
Darius left his things on the floor beside the entrance with Cassandra’s and Dyara’s bundles.
Blake stood in the doorway looking on with a frown. “Maybe I should go help the Marines while you guys do... whatever it is you’re going to do.”
“By all means,” Tanik replied.
Blake left the entryway without further comment, his footsteps echoing as he climbed the stairs.
Tanik hefted the swords in his hands. “Darius, Dyara? Take your weapons.”
They each went to take one. After that, Samara passed out the scabbards. They were looped through thick black belts, creased and cracked with age.
“Strap these on and sheath your swords,” Samara directed.
They all took a moment to do so while Tanik and Samara went to stand in the center of the room.
“Gather round and watch,” Tanik said.
They formed a loose circle. A moment later Tanik’s black armor turned bright and shimmering with light, as did his face. He drew his sword to reveal that it was glowing brightly, too.
Seelka gasped, her white eyes blinking in shock, while Flitter spread his wings and chirped excitedly.
“Revenants can focus the divine light in a shield to protect themselves,” Tanik explained. “They can extend that shield around other things that they touch—weapons, armor, or other people.
“There are different kinds of shields. Some are for defense, while others can turn an ordinary blade into a superheated beam of plasma.”
As they watched, Tanik’s sword grew brighter. He walked over to the nearest wall, and swiped the weapon through the stones.
The rocks exploded with a thunderous boom.
Darius wrapped himself around Cassandra to shield her as shards of rock zipped by them in a stinging hail. “Hey!” he said. “Are you crazy?”
Tanik turned to regard them with a thin smile. “With training, you can learn to focus different shields at the same time, both to protect your person and to empower your blade.”
“Why not just use guns?” Cassandra asked.
Darius recalled asking that same question when he’d seen Tanik using a sword during the attack on the Crucible.
“Because lasers and projectiles would reflect off the inside of our shields and kill us. There’s no way to shoot and protect ourselves at the same time. Now, I want you all to try shielding yourselves as I did. Imagine yourselves wrapped in a blanket of light.”
Darius tried it, and in that same instant he saw dazzling light pouring out from him in all directions. He stared at his hands in shock, blinking against the glare as he turned them over first one way, and then the other.
“Snaz!” Cassandra blurted out as she began glowing, too.
One by one, the other Acolytes all lit up the room, some more brightly than others.
“The brighter your shield, the stronger it is,” Tanik replied. “You’ll learn to strengthen them over time, but right now they are an indication of your innate potential.”
Darius looked around, comparing himself to the others. It was hard to be sure, but it looked like he and Cassandra were glowing the brightest, while Arok’s shield glowed the least.
“As you can see,” Tanik began, “Darius’s shield is almost as strong as my own.”
All eyes turned to Darius, making him feel very uncomfortable. Samara’s gaze was the worst of all. There was a wary gleam in her blue eyes that was either jealousy or malice. He couldn’t tell which.
“Cassandra’s not far off,” Dyara pointed out.
“Yes, she appears to be very strong as well,” Tanik agreed. “Perhaps she has a talent for shield projection.”
“A talent?” Cassandra asked.
Tanik nodded. “Every Revenant has one ability that is stronger than the others. A talent.”
“What’s mine?” Darius asked. His shield faded as he lost his concentration, and one by one the others did, too.
“Your talent is the same as the Augur’s,” Tanik replied. “It is the ability to affect other Revenants with your mind.”
“And what about me?” Seelka asked, her white eyes pinched into speculative slits.
“You’ll each discover your talents during the course of your training,” Tanik replied.
“What’s yours?” Darius asked. “And Samara’s?”
Tanik smiled. “We are both skilled in many different abilities.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
“No,” Tanik agreed. “In time I’m sure you’ll be able to guess what our talents are. Consider it a training exercise. Right now, we need to choose your sparring partners.”
Darius didn’t like the sound of that. He laid a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. “I choose Cass.” Better that she train with him than someone else, like Arok or Samara.
“I’ll choose your partners,” Tanik said. “Darius you’re with me. Cassandra, you’ll face Samara.”
Panic stabbed through Darius at the thought of his daughter facing that woman. He hadn’t had time to figure out what his vision meant, but there was something about her that gave him the creeps. “Hang on—” he said. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to put Cassandra and I together? You and Samara are both already trained Revenants.”
“And therefore less likely to accidentally slice you in half,” Tanik said. “Consider yourselves lucky. As fo
r the rest of you—Arok, you’ll face Flitter. Seelka and Dyara, you’ll both face Gakram.”
“Two against one?” Gakram growled in Cygnian.
“You have six limbs. That leaves four arms free to wield swords, and four eyes to track them. Cygnian Revenants are rare, but they are terrifying in battle.” Tanik held up his robotic arm and flexed it with an audible clicking sound. “I should know.”
Darius remembered how Tanik had fought a Revenant Ghoul at the Crucible, only to return later with his sword arm missing at the shoulder.
“Spread out with your partners,” Tanik said. “And don’t forget to use your shields. Your swords will be deadly, but fragile without them, and we can’t afford to lose any of them or you.”
Samara walked over and nodded to Cassandra. “Come with me, girl.”
Darius grabbed Cassandra’s hand and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t worry. I will make sure no harm comes to her,” Samara said. “You can trust me, Darius.”
But that was the problem. He didn’t trust her at all.
Chapter 15
Darius leapt over Tanik’s sword, narrowly missing a swipe to his legs. The glowing blade swept back in a zigzag before he even touched ground, forcing him to parry in mid-air. The two blades struck with a sizzle of energy, and a metallic clank.
Thump. Darius’s boots hit the padded floor, and he backpedaled quickly to get some space. But not too much space. Behind him Dyara and the Vixxon girl, Seelka, were sparring against Gakram and his four swords.
“Good!” Tanik said, and flung away a bead of sweat from his shining brow. “Now let’s try something new.”
Darius glanced around, panting with exertion as he looked for his daughter. Cassandra was on the attack, grinning wildly as she pushed Samara back with a fast series of strikes. Darius watched them with growing concern. What if one of those blades slipped? All of them were shielding themselves, but were those shields enough to keep them from getting hurt?
As he wondered about that, a blinding splash of light dazzled his eyes, connecting with his shoulder. He felt the impact, but it wasn’t the sharp bite of a sword; it was the heavy blow of a bludgeon.
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