Plague of Death

by D. L. Armillei

  Van moved closer to Brux and the ambassador. She pointed to the two sets of gear. “Does this mean Paley gets to go with us?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Sorry, but no,” said the ambassador. “We’ve come to the conclusion that sending one of our people is the best way to go. And we just happen to have someone here, under eighteen and prepped for the trip.”

  “A terrigen? What about the Reagan Rule?” Brux asked.

  “An attempt seems warranted due to the urgency and importance of this mission.”

  “Meaning, you’re sending someone to spy on us?” Van narrowed her eyes at the ambassador.

  “Uh, no. No. We—”

  “Who’s going to bring him over?” Van interrupted. She had no desire to hear his flimsy excuses. “Who else is on our team?”

  Last year there were five kids on each team, plus Paley, making Van’s team six. Between the two teams, only three of them made it back to Lodestar.

  “My son, Ixl.” Uxa had come back into the room, answering Van’s last question. “He’s a vichor.”

  Van gaped, taken aback as a handsome bronzed skin boy entered the room following Uxa. He appeared to be around Van’s age and was dressed in marketeer’s scouts clothing. She had a hard time picturing Uxa as this boy, or anyone’s, mother.

  Ixl nodded at the crew.

  Van gathered herself together and nodded back.

  “Paley hasn’t shown yet,” Uxa said.

  Van scrunched her face. “That’s weird.” Where’s Paley? She wondered if her friend had changed her mind about going on the mission and then remembered how excited Paley got over the idea of finding her parents. Something didn’t feel right.

  “Ixl will transport using the Twin Gemstones,” the ambassador said. “With one of our junior agents, Brad Davis.”

  A dark-haired boy that looked older than eighteen entered the room behind Ixl.

  “Junior Agent Brad Davis,” he said, making his name and title sound like one long word. He firmly shook hands with Brux, and then Van.

  “Are you sure you’re your underage?” Pernilla asked as she shook his hand.

  “I’m seventeen years and nine months old,” he said.

  Van turned to the ambassador. “So, he gets to go but Paley can’t?” She shook her head and walked away.

  The ambassador cleared his throat, and his eyes darted to the floor.

  “You three need to change.” Fynn opened the conference room door and pointed to restrooms down the hall.

  Van, Pernilla, and Brux each grabbed their marketeer’s scout’s clothes—worn khaki cargo pants with lots of pockets, a ribbed tank, and a shabby button-front shirt—and dashed into their respective bathrooms.

  While in the stall, Van could hear Pernilla through the partition. It sounded like her teammate was moving quickly as if getting changed were a contest. Van tsked as she picked up her speed, entering the unspoken race to see who could change fastest.

  When Van and Pernilla returned to the room, Brux was already there.

  Ixl and Brad were prepping for transport through the portal by checking their backpacks, supplies, and gear. Then, Uxa handed each of them a Twin Gemstone. They held the egg-size gem in their open palm and moved their hands next to each other’s.

  Both gemstones flashed a variety of vibrant colors until synchronizing with each other. They settled on a rich, deep orange that pulsed in harmony.

  Van shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I wonder what’s keeping Paley?”

  Since Paley wasn’t allowed to go on the mission, the group collectively figured she probably ran back home to pout in the quiet of her bedroom.

  “Doesn’t sound like Paley,” Van said, thinking she should go back and revisit the room with the cells.

  “Fynn, go check on her,” Uxa commanded.

  Fynn nodded and dashed out of the room.

  Uxa shuffled everyone else into the hallway. She led them through a long, winding corridor and down two flights of stairs.

  They came to a door, and Uxa typed in her passcode to open it. They entered a circular atrium made of granite and marble with a high, domed ceiling known as the House of Lacus.

  Against the far wall, a dais held an enormous black disc bordered by a band of granite, lined with pictographs. A set of curved stairways protruded from the wall, one on each side of the disc, extending two stories high, from the floor to the platform that held the portal.

  Brux, Pernilla, Uxa, and Ambassador Kasey headed in the direction of the control room, while Brad and Ixl made their way over to the stairways leading to the portal.

  When Van passed through the center of the atrium, she stopped to gaze at the fountain that, in its center, had a statue of Queen Amaryl of the Dark War. She couldn’t help but admire the toga-clad woman—her ancestor.

  Amaryl’s right hand held a torch, a sword was sheathed in her belt, and around her neck she wore a coin pendant necklace. Water continuously poured into the fountain from an urn tucked under her left arm—wait. It wasn’t an urn. It was a chalice that had a barely noticeable marking on the rim.

  Van peered closer.

  The chalice had an inscription of an ankh.

  Before Van could even comprehend the meaning of this discovery, through the corner of her eye, she caught a movement behind one of the many Doric pillars. Her head snapped in that direction.

  Van squinted but saw nothing.

  Hm. She tiptoed over to the pillar, to investigate, to be sure.

  “Vanessa, come along,” Uxa called from the door of the control room, startling Van and causing her to stop before reaching the pillar.

  She paused, not sure if she should investigate or go to Uxa. “I thought I saw something.”

  “I’ll check it out,” Ixl said from the foot of the stairway closest to Van.

  “No.” Uxa glanced at her son. “You get to the portal.” She gestured to Van. “Vanessa, come along.”

  Van turned around and headed to the control room.

  Once there, she peered into the monitors looking for anything out of the ordinary in the atrium. All she saw was Ixl and Junior Agent Brad Davis reaching the dais.

  The granite stone band surrounding the disc moved clockwise, rotating faster and faster until it became a glowing reddish-orange. A thin strip of sea-blue water filled the layer below the fiery band and rotated counter-clockwise at a steady pace.

  Waves of sparkles twinkled in the eternal blackness within the disc. The sparkles began to swirl. The portal was ready to transport.

  Everyone got so caught up in the details of preparing the terrigen-vichor transport, they all missed the guy who scurried out from behind a pillar and dashed toward the stairs.

  Except for Van. She gasped.

  Uxa’s eyes darted to the monitor. She scowled as Myles sprinted up one of the stairways.

  “What the—” Brux said.

  Van rushed to the door of the control room. “Paley, no!”

  Pernilla elbowed Van out of the way, and screamed, “Stop him, you idiot!”

  Paley stood by one of the pillars at the foot of the stairway, chewing on her cuticles. She released her finger long enough to yell, “Myles, go!”

  Ixl and Brad jumped through the swirling blackness as Myles reached the dais.

  He jumped through with them.

  Chapter 13

  Sparks flew from the black disc. Loud snaps and crackles echoed throughout the atrium in the House of Lacus.

  Three bodies came shooting out of the portal as if being expelled from the gaping mouth of a monster.

  “Ixl!” Uxa rushed up the stairway, her eyes wide with terror as Pernilla, Brux, and the ambassador followed directly behind.

  Van ran to Paley.

  “What did you do?” She gripped her friend’s shoulders and shook them. “Did you free Myles?”

  “He said Uxa lied to us about the Twin Gemstones.” Paley looked sallow, her words were high pitched and stressed. “He said he knew a safe way to g
et through the portal. That he’d come back for me.”

  “What were you thinking?” Van resisted the urge to smack her friend in the head.

  “If he could make it through without a gemstone, then I could too.”

  “All three of them could die!” Van released her grip and threw her hands in the air. “Or suffer brain damage!”

  “Myles said that wasn’t true.”

  “And now what do you think?” Van indicated the three bodies lying on the platform.

  Paley’s shoulders slumped; she cast her eyes downward. “I’m sorry.”

  “How did you even get in here?” Van asked. “It’s locked with a passcode.”

  “The same way we got in last year—from the outside, through the main door.”

  Van and Paley walked to the bottom of the nearest staircase. The others were at the top, on the platform checking on Ixl, Agent Davis, and Myles.

  “Myles pretended like he had caught the illness,” Paley said. “I called for an agent. When he opened the cell to check, Myles tackled him, grabbed his ID card, and we took off.”

  Fynn returned. He dashed across the atrium and skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. “What happened?”

  “We had an accident,” Uxa cried from the platform. She continued to kneel next to Ixl. “Call emergency medics.”

  Fynn twisted around, sprinted past Van and Paley, and beelined into the control room.

  Van looked up at the platform. “Let’s go see if we can help.”

  She and Paley started up the stairs, then Paley hesitated.

  Van clutched her friend’s wrist and tugged to keep her moving. “Time to face the music.”

  As they reached the platform at the top of the stairs, Van heard Pernilla ask Uxa, “Why would you risk sending your son?”

  “He volunteered.” Uxa sat on the floor and cradled her unconscious son’s head in her lap. Blood dribbled from Ixl’s ears and nostrils. His hair looked singed on the ends, and he smelled like his clothes had been burnt.

  “He’s strong. Testing placed him as the most competent to complete this task.” Tears welled in the corners of Uxa’s eyes. “He’s strong,” She repeated.

  While the ambassador tended to Agent Davis, Brux collected the Twin Gemstones and checked on Myles. All three men were in a similar condition—unconscious, singed, and had blood streaming from their ears and nose.

  Pernilla shifted. “If Van was able to take Paley through last year—that means Van is strong.”

  Van paused, paralyzed by Pernilla’s words—they sounded almost like a…compliment.

  No one had noticed she and Paley had reached the platform, and Van knew that Pernilla would’ve died if she realized Van had overheard what she’d said.

  “Why can’t she take Paley this year?” Pernilla asked. “The more hands on deck the better.”

  “Paley is of very little help to the team on these missions,” Uxa said. “She compromises Van’s energy and diverts Van and the other team member’s attention away from completing their task.”

  Uxa tore her eyes away from Ixl, waved her hand to indicate the other two seriously injured people caused by Paley’s interference and said, “My case in point.”

  Pernilla and Uxa both noticed Paley and Van.

  Paley whimpered at Uxa’s cruel, yet accurate comment.

  “I’m sorry you had to hear that,” Uxa said.

  Pernilla sneered at Paley. “Nice work, doofus. You took out two members of our team.”

  Fynn and a bunch of emergency medics rushed up the stairs carrying stretchers. They stabilized their patients and took them away, presumably to the medical unit. The ambassador left with them to oversee their care. Uxa refused to go.

  “You should be with your son,” Brux said.

  “There’s work to do.” Uxa straightened the vest of her uniform and threw her shoulder’s back, ready to carry on. “I’ll be of no help to the medical team.”

  Van beamed, proud of Uxa’s resilience. She considered her mentor’s emotional control an asset that made her a good leader. Van strived to emulate that level of control.

  “What now?” Pernilla asked.

  “Now that the ambassador has left us, I can tell you that my son,” Uxa voice cracked with emotion for a split second, “had an ulterior motive to go on this mission.”

  Uxa began walking down the steps. They all followed, not wanting to miss a word, except Fynn who rushed ahead.

  “I asked Ixl to see what he could find about the master demon. To search for documents written by our ancestors and condemned by the Balish, to see if our Grigori had encountered it in the past. To listen to any folklore while in the Living World that would give me more data—anything—so I can figure out what this evil is and how to fight it.”

  Uxa led them back to the control room. “Now that my son—and Agent Davis—are out of commission, it’s up to you to gather this information.”

  They entered the control room to find Fynn fussing with their gear, backpacks, and supplies.

  He looked up and greeted them. “Check, check, and check. All is in order and ready to go.”

  Van had planned on talking her way into getting Paley on the team again, but after this fiasco, she didn’t think Paley stood a chance.

  Then, surprisingly, Brux declared, “I think Paley should join us.” He stood tall, firmly planting his feet. “She should go on the mission.”

  “What? Why?” Fynn asked.

  “She helped us carry Maren to the hospital,” he said.

  “So?” Pernilla went over to Fynn and grabbed her backpack.

  Van couldn’t figure out where Brux was going with this idea. So far his reasoning came across as pretty inadequate.

  “Doing what’s right isn’t enough to be rewarded with a trip through the portal.” Pernilla began inspecting all the contents in her pack.

  Brux continued, “Paley’s at risk of catching the illness. Chances are, she’s sick already.”

  “That’s why she made the poor decision to help Myles,” Van said, catching on.

  Paley pressed the back of her wrist to her forehead. “I do feel a bit feverish.”

  “So she has to go with us,” Van said.

  “Still not following.” Pernilla pulled out a black ribbed tank, sniffed it, and then stuffed it back in her pack.

  “I’m not either,” Fynn said.

  “The Twin Gemstones will raise her vibration higher than it is on Providence Island,” Brux said.

  “Keeping her in the Living World will slow the progression,” Uxa said, sounding like an agreement.

  Fynn grimaced. “You’d let her go? Even after what you just witnessed?”

  “We’ll keep an eye on her,” Brux said. “Make sure she doesn’t do anything else stupid.”

  “I’d feel better with her on the team,” Van said, and based on the objections Uxa had made earlier, she added, “Otherwise I’ll be preoccupied with worrying about her.”

  “I have to go. I’ll die quicker if I stay here.” Paley scrunched her brows, probably from realizing what she said.

  “For Paley’s health,” Brux said, with a nod. “And to help Van stay focused on completing the mission.”

  Van remained stunned that Brux campaigned for her cause. Van wanted her best friend along for company and support. She also believed that, despite making bad choices, Paley deserved the chance to find out about her birth parents. Van resigned to the fact that she would always be there for Paley to pick up the pieces. However, she had no idea why Brux wanted Paley to come along. Maybe he was being sincere and actually cared about what Van wanted.

  “But someone else should carry the Twin Gemstone, not Van,” he said.

  And—there it is. Van knew he couldn’t be entirely helpful.

  “I’ll do it,” Pernilla said.

  Both Brux and Pernilla were shocking the heck out of Van. Since when were they on her side?

  Pernilla had no idea what it felt like to have her energy drained cont
inuously by the gemstones while in the Living World. That was the reason she volunteered. But, nevertheless, Van grudgingly gave her credit.

  “If it helps the mission and gets us going, let’s do this,” Pernilla said like a trooper.

  Fynn gawked in disbelief at Uxa while she seemed to mull over the idea. “You can’t seriously be thinking of letting—”

  “To prevent any more harebrained schemes,” Uxa interrupted. “I do think it’s best that Paley join the team.”

  “Yay!” Paley clapped her hands together. “I’ll get changed.”

  Van gave her pal a hug.

  “But Brux will carry the other gemstone,” Uxa said. “Not Pernilla.”

  Brux and Pernilla stared at each other with quizzical expressions, but neither challenged Uxa’s decision.

  “Drink this.” Fynn handed Paley an ampule. “Colloidal silver. You’ll need to drink one daily as a precaution to keep the illness at bay, or progressing if you’re already sick, and it will keep you from spreading the illness. I’ll go grab more from medical.” He dashed out of the room.

  Brux picked up his backpack. “We’re already down to a skeleton crew.” He slipped on his pack. “All of us need to keep as fit and healthy as possible.”

  Van noticed a handgun laying among the extra gear scattered across a side table that held the stuff they weren’t taking with them. She had never seen an Earth World gun in person before and grabbed it.

  She held it in front of her face, studying the weapon. “Can I take this?”

  Brux snatched it out of her hands. “That’s dangerous.” He placed it on a nearby console.

  “Must be Agent Davis’s gun,” Pernilla said as she heaved on her backpack.

  “Why didn’t he take it with him?” Paley asked.

  “Earth World guns don’t work in the Living World.” Fynn and his know-it-all tone had returned with Paley’s ampules, a backpack, and a set of female marketeer’s scout’s clothing.

  “The vibrational frequency of guns is too low for them to function properly there,” Uxa said.

  “The Balish have guns.” Van remembered their narrow escape from Agerorsa last year.

  “DEWs,” Brux said. “Directed-energy weapons.”