You make many assumptions.
“Right. Maybe if you’d tell me more than half-assed snippets of stories.”
There was something else that was bothering me.
“Hey, buddy,” I said, “How did the Dendon people survive long enough to create all this nifty technology? From your accounts, the race was on the verge of extinction until your King dude showed up to…well, basically make things worse?”
All I got was silence in reply. So I kept yapping.
“Someone made a big mistake, didn’t they?” I said, “Someone did something stupid, or something big happened…and all of a sudden, the original Dendon race was about to be completely wiped out. So someone whips out this time machine they just invented and says: Dude, use this to go back and fix the boo boo. “
“But then someone else gets a nifty idea. Why not go back and fix everything? Because, why not? And who better to fix all these screw ups than The King, right? Because he’s awesome sauce.
“But things don’t go quite like he planned. So he has to keep trying. Again, and again and again. Until this one last time and something else goes wrong. Before he can start the cycle again, he goes splat on a mountain on Earth. Whups. But wait! The communal memory of Dendon survived. All it had to do was find a dumb enough human that it could manipulate into taking on The Challenges, whatever they are.
“How about it? Any of that ring true, buddy?”
I continued up the stairs, the steps ringing against the wall behind me as they fell. I’d run out of things to say. I wasn’t feeling anything from the Dendon. No smoldering anger or disgust. Nothing.
I put my foot up on the next step.
I looked up and realized there was an end to this journey. In the dim glow of light from my body, I saw the faint outline of a doorway.
Etched into the wall below the doorway was the last image. Koba, standing unarmed before a huge dragon, its wings outstretched. On its eyes were two red gems. The only other color I’d seen on the copper wall.
I was wrong, the Dendon said, You are not worthy.
The steps under my feet fell away. They rang against the wall as I fell.
Fifty-Five
Chris
For a fraction of a moment, I felt like Wiley E. Coyote in an ancient Road Runner cartoon.
I hung in the air, the ground suddenly pulled out from under me. The crystal steps I had stood on flipped away to slam against the copper wall of the hollow column I’d been climbing for approximately forever.
My Dendon buddy and I had been discussing Dendon history…well, I’d been speculating and he’d been stewing in silence.
Until, suddenly, his words in my mind:
I was wrong. You are not worthy.
An instant later I was trying to stand on air.
And failing.
I sucked in a breath of coppery, spicy air and let out a horrific yell.
And plummeted.
I flailed my arms out.
And caught the edge of one of the folded down stairs. My body slammed against the steps, making them ring out.
My fingers slipped.
I fell again.
And caught the next stair down.
For a few seconds, I clung there. My breath heaving in gasps. My heart pounding so hard it should have burst from my chest.
“Not cool,” I managed to gasp, “Give me the stairs back.”
For a reply, the rest the stairs above me flipped down. They rang against the wall loud enough to make my ears ache. I would have clapped my hands over my ears. But my fingers were too busy hanging on for dear life.
I squinted up at the open doorway above.
It was only a few feet away.
Which might as well have been a million miles right then.
The crystal step my fingers were clamped on was only a couple inches thick. And the polished surface wasn’t exactly grippy.
My fingers, slick with sweat, were already starting to slip.
“Come on, buddy,” I said, “I’m sorry. Your King guy was totally cool. And so are you. You don’t want this to end here, do you? Not when we’re so close.”
Guess he didn’t believe me. The stairs stayed stubbornly down.
My fingers kept slipping.
Okay, what powers could I summon to get my precious heiny out of this?
How about super strength? What about that?
I concentrated. Imagined energy flowing to my muscles.
Nothing.
I let out a string of curses. They echoed down the hollow copper column.
“Damn you!” I shouted, “I took those powers back! They’re mine!”
Which got me nothing at all. Obviously what I thought was mine was only mine until it wasn’t any longer. Sorry, dude, want me to call the Waambulance for you?
My fingers were getting really tired.
I adjusted my grip on the edge of the step. Sweat ran down my cheeks. My heart raced so hard I got lightheaded.
My fingers felt like they were on fire.
I had three choices. 1. Try to crawl down the tube of flattened steps. 2. Fall to my death. Or, 3. Climb up.
One and two were pretty much the same thing. If I tried to climb down I was going to fall and die anyway. And this time I wasn’t so sure I’d get resurrected, what with my Dendon buddy all in a huff.
Which left me with: Climb up.
I closed my eyes. There was only one reason to not give up. Somewhere out there was Liz. This planet had her. I don’t know if I was her only hope of rescue. She wasn’t exactly the typical damsel in distress.
But she was being used as a pawn in a game.
What would happen to her if suddenly the game were declared forfeit?
“Screw you, buddy,” I said, “I’m not giving up, you cold bastard.”
I reached a trembling hand up to the next step.
Inch by inch, I made my way across the narrow, slippery edge of the step.
Then I pulled myself up to the next one.
My arms burned. My shoulders and fingers cried out in agony.
Sweat ran down my body like a river. My breath came quick and short. Blood roared in my ears like a jetliner taking off.
I tried not to think about the long fall to the bottom. Instead, I kept an image in my mind.
Liz. My golden warrior.
This damned planet wasn’t going to beat me. I was going to reach the top and beat whatever was in that room.
Slowly, agonizingly, I made my way up to the next folded down step.
The fingers of my right hand slipped from the slick edge.
For a heart-stopping moment, I swung out over the abyss. Only three fingers on my other hand kept me from plummeting.
Quickly, I wiped my fingertips on my jeans and swung my hand up to the next step. I hung on and wiped my other fingertips off.
And moved up again.
Step by step.
Dragging my body up as my fingers screamed for mercy.
I promised them that if we got out of this I’d never ask anything more of them than moving Guydoro’s burgers from the plate to my mouth.
They didn’t believe me, but they kept hanging on.
What choice did they have?
All sense of time went away. I was just a machine. Moving my abused fingers up from one narrow ledge to another. I ignored the burning agony in my arms and shoulders. I wiped sweat from my fingers on my stained jeans and reached for the next step.
Until, suddenly, I found myself hanging at the lip of the doorway.
I bit back a sob of relief. I wasn’t safe yet.
I wouldn’t be safe until I was off this planet.
If I could ever be safe again.
I hung there for a long minute. Resting, gulping deep breaths of spice and copper tinged air. Wiping sweat away from my face and hands–hanging by one aching hand at a time.
I examined my situation. How was I going to lever myself up through the door?
If I had my super strength I could ju
st pull myself up.
I tried to call the power up again.
And got nothing.
There was no way the screaming muscles in my arms were going to be able to pull me all the way through that door.
“How about a little help, buddy?” I said, “Come on, let’s be friends again. No hard feelings, right?”
All I got was icy silence.
Which was what I expected.
Some days a guy just had to do everything himself.
I glanced down at the step edges I’d climbed up. I could swing my foot up. Gain a little leverage there.
I moved my hands until I got a grip on the vertical edge of the doorway. Swung my left foot up and caught the stair edge.
Slowly, my body crying and protesting, I worked my way up into the doorway. I got my body halfway through the doorway and pushed with my legs until I lay in a quivering, half sobbing heap on the floor.
I closed my eyes and let the waves of agony from my arms and hands wash over me. I bathed in the miasma of sweat and fear that hung around my body.
“Screw you, buddy,” I said, “I made it.”
Light came through my closed eyelids.
Words echoed in the open space I’d dragged myself into. A voice calm and sonorous.
And familiar.
“Welcome, worthy warrior. You are now ready to begin.”
Fifty-Six
Kawl Tejoh
This was his moment of glory.
Kawl Tejoh only wished that he wasn’t naked during it.
The six muscular guards followed him in perfect formation. Again, it would have been better if everyone’s penises weren’t out and flapping about. A couple of the guards had more than adequate equipment. He would have felt better if they were in front of him and not behind him.
Sergeant Bav Kyn had come up with a terrible plan to overpower the two smaller metal worms. However, the plan had become brilliant once Kawl ran it out of his own mouth.
Such magic was called leadership.
That’s why he was the captain.
Him being captain had nothing to do with his father pulling strings with Defense Command.
Kawl and his flying wing of guards strode across the golden room toward the Earth creature. The pathetic creature cowered against the golden wall. Standing near it were the two strange metal worms.
The worms were no bigger than his leg. They seemed to be made of some bronze colored metal, like the larger creatures that had attacked him earlier. These smaller worms stood on their back end on stubby little legs. They were articulated at the middle and at their head. If what sat at their other end could be called a head. The head was simply a glowing red eye, surrounded by five articulated appendages that ended in glittering silver blades.
The blades were the only part of the creatures that concerned him.
But that’s what the guards were for.
He glanced at the golden form on the platform as he and the guards passed near it. It was some sort of female figure. The Earth creature had said something it about it being one of his crew.
The Earth creature seemed very fearful of the female waking up.
Little matter. The figure was motionless. Either dead or in some sort of suspended state. It wouldn’t be a factor in his capture of the golden room.
He had thought Dendon’s treasure would be the faster than light drive. Then, when that hope had been destroyed, another opportunity opened up.
Gold was a precious metal on HeJovna. An entire room made of it would make him wealthy beyond measure.
Of course, the Emperor would require his tax.
Still, there would be enough left over to live a life of leisure and luxury.
Becoming Emperor no longer seemed like such a prize. Let HeJov keep doing it.
All he really wanted now was to get off this cursed planet.
With a large quantity of gold.
And the capture of an Earth creature might be a small bonus. The Emperor’s scientists would no doubt enjoy dissecting the pathetic thing.
“What are you doing, man?” The earth creature said.
The guards peeled off on each side of Kawl. The drove straight for the worm creatures.
“Shit!” said one of the small creatures in a high, squeaky voice.
“Shit!” cried the other one.
They fanned out the blades on their heads. But Bav Kyn and his soldiers dove as one and grabbed the little beasts.
It took three guards each to subdue the beasts. And not without a huge amount of cursing and some blood lost.
But, finally, the guards held the little bronze beasts up in the air. The beasts writhed and gnashed their blades together.
“Butthurt!” One shouted.
“Crackhole!” The other exclaimed.
Whatever that was supposed to mean.
The Earth creature had tried to escape also. Kawl had captured the pathetic creature himself. Grabbing it by the neck as it bleated and squealed for mercy.
Such pathetic creatures.
If this was a typical example of the species, taking over their planet would be laughingly easy.
“Captain,” Sergeant Kyn said, “We are ready.”
The six guards stood next to another doorway that Sergeant Kyn had pointed out. Some distance from the large doorway by the tube system. Kyn had suggested that this might access a maintenance system adjacent to the tunnel system. One that would likely still be pressurized and filled with breathable air.
After careful consideration, Kawl decided that the door might be a maintenance tunnel that was probably still pressurized and filled with breathable air. Which led to his orders of subduing the bronze worm guards and opening the doorway.
They would follow the tunnels to the point closest to the excursion craft. Then they would run for the ship and get off this blasted world.
Well, after coming back for a few loads of gold from this room.
It was all very simple and logical.
And the Earth creature made it more convenient. At least what it was wearing would make things more convenient.
Kawl looked the pathetically quivering creature up and down.
“You space suit,” he said, “I like it very much.”
Fifty-Seven
Chris
I lay on the cold floor, my body weak and aching. My fingers burned with pain from the climb up into this room at the top of the hollow column. I breathed in coppery, spicy air.
I wasn’t in any condition to get up and fight.
But an image formed behind my closed eyes.’
Liz…beautiful and golden. Her deep blue eyes filled with mischief and laughter. Her smile lighting up her face.
I’d get up and fight for her.
I realized there was real light in the room. The glow turned the inside of my eyelids red.
“Welcome, worthy warrior. You are now ready to begin.
A deep and sonorous voice.
A very familiar voice now.
I’d heard it so often in my head.
Why hadn’t I realized the voices were the same?
Despite my aching, protesting body, I found the strength to roll over. I got up to my knees, leaning against the door frame I had, in blazing agony, pulled myself through such a short time ago.
I opened my eyes. Warm, white light bathed the room from behind me. The wall in front of me was a coppery color, though a much paler shade. It was smooth, featureless, and shimmered with an almost silvery color.
I summoned enough strength to stand. Then enough courage to turn around and face what was behind me.
Who was behind me.
The King.
Or an image of him.
He stood in the center of the small room. Tall and noble. His regal bearing nearly made me bow my own head. The figure wore simple white robes draped over his body. Long, creamy white hair flowed over his head and down his shoulders like a mane. His large, silver eyes were fixed on me.
He wasn’t real, though. Just
a projection. I could see the wall behind him.
That and he glowed with a white aura that seemed more than a little over the top.
“It is time to prepare for your last challenge, worthy warrior,” The King said.
The voice from the dreams the Dendon Device had given me. Why hadn’t I noticed the Dendon and The King had the same voice?
“I thought I was still gearing up for the first challenge, your mightiness,” I said.
The image of The King smiled and gave a gentle nod of his head toward me.
“The first two challenges were from within,” he said, “You must win the battles inside your soul before you are worthy to meet the last challenge.”
I rubbed my hands over my face. My fingers would hardly bend, they ached so bad. The Dendon didn’t seem to be in any hurry to heal me this time. Or was that part of these ridiculous challenges?
“Fine. Great. What’s my third challenge, O’ King?” I asked.
The King’s smile grew wider. “The third challenge is what it has always been. You must best the dragon.”
Well, sure. Isn’t that how everyone becomes king? Just slay a dragon and POOF! You’re a king.
“Fine. Great. What happens after I kill the dragon?” I asked, “You going to try to stuff me in a time machine so this stupid cycle can start over again?”
The King’s face was serene. Like so many of those scenes in the copper column. If he was real, I would have punched him, just to get that expression off his face.
“There is no time device, worthy warrior,” the image of The King said.
I bit back my instant retort. Let his words settle in for a long moment.
Cautiously, I spoke again: “What do you mean there’s no time machine? The device in me told me–”
“Your own words and ideas,” the King image said, “There is only one Dendon. We were the architects of our own glory. And the victims of our hubris.”
I staggered back. Hit the wall behind me. I could feel the energy draining from me. No!
I straightened up. Clenched my aching hands into fists.
“What about the story?” I asked, “The King and Koba and Ivfa. You made it damned clear the King was a time traveler.”
Forbidden World Page 23
