Adrian dropped the sword and knelt down to help his son. “Can you walk?”
Bantyr shook his head. “No, I-I can’t feel my legs, Dad.”
“Are you in any pain?”
“It’s bearable,” Bantyr said, grimacing.
Adrian’s heart sank. After watching the force by which Dorange had tossed his son throughout the room, he knew that his Bantyr might never be able to walk again. Adrian helped his son up and leaned him comfortably against the silver obelisk in the center of the room.
As he did so, Bantyr stared at Dorange’s head. The eyes were wide open, staring back at him. “So that’s how you kill a transfigured being, huh,” Bantyr said.
Adrian glanced at Dorange’s head and kicked it away so that the eyes weren’t looking their way. The stare sent shivers down his spine. “I guess so.”
“We better tell Jake and Celeste to keep their heads on straight, then, huh?” Bantyr questioned, chuckling.
“Yeah, we better,” Adrian replied, smiling slightly and enjoying his youngest son’s sense of humor.
The mention of Jake and Celeste spurred Adrian into action. He quickly reached for Dorange’s body and began undressing it.
“What are you doing?” Bantyr asked.
“I need to look like Dorange. Macaria said she would contact him again.”
As Adrian dressed, Skip, Chris, and Kevin had regained consciousness, although they were extremely disoriented, with Kevin bleeding profusely from a giant gash on his head. They made their way next to Bantyr, sitting next to him while nursing their wounds. Bantyr then explained to them with pride how his father finally killed Dorange Gar. Each one of them was impressed, seeming too weak to even reply.
Just as Adrian finished dressing, the holographic table that Dorange and Major Washantu had set up previously came to life. The holographic image of Macaria’s head popped up. “Dorange Gar. Come in, Dorange,” Macaria said. The signal was weak and distorted, causing the audio and video to weave in and out.
Adrian stood in front of the table and responded, “My Queen,” he replied, doing his best impression of Dorange Gar. And then he kneeled to his knees, duplicating the standard Gnol salute.
“Wh . . . of Adrian Palmer?”
Adrian stood back up. “He is dead.”
“Go . . . d. I have found Koroan and the ch . . . . The plate of Terrest transported them within the King’s Ch . . . of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.”
“Great Pyramid?” Adrian questioned, intrigued. “Why there?”
“The gold plate of Earth is not on this God-forsaken planet.”
“What? Then where would it be?” Adrian asked, surprised.
“On a . . . er world. A world that I h . . . long forgotten about until now.”
Adrian’s head was swirling. In a way, he was relieved that Macaria and Koroan Chast wouldn’t be able to get their hands on Earth’s gold plate. Yet, he felt some disappointment in the fact that they wouldn’t be able to retrieve it themselves. “Wh-what world?”
“It’s on a world within Orion’s Belt.”
Adrian didn’t know what to say. He just stood there dumbfounded, waiting for Macaria’s next move.
“That’s all for now, Dorange,” Macaria continued. “I will contact y . . . soon. Be ready to insert the gold p . . . of Gn . . . om into the control panel when I tell you.”
After Macaria’s image disappeared, Adrian turned around and looked at his brother. “Orion’s Belt?”
Kevin shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s the Orion Correlation Theory,” Skip piped in. “The Great Pyramids in Egypt, these pyramids here, and other pyramids around the world were built in alignment with the three stars within Orion’s Belt. Many ancient people believed that pyramids and temples were gateways to other worlds. It now looks as if these ancient structures weren’t built as metaphors. They are, in fact, literal star gates to other worlds. And,” he continued, pointing at Gnolom’s plate as it lay on the stone floor, “those plates may be the keys that unlock the portals.”
Adrian nodded his agreement, but then looked back at Skip, perplexed. “If Macaria’s right about another world, then what kind of world, let alone what kind of people are we talking about?”
“I don’t know, Adrian,” Kevin said before Skip could reply. “But from the sounds of it, she wants to unlock a portal that may lead to that world. Coming from a fallen angel possessing the body of a Gnol, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
Adrian didn’t respond at first. He turned and stared at the plate of Gnolom. He walked slowly to it, picked it up, and examined it. He then looked at the silver obelisk, walked up to the top, and looked down at the slot.
“What are you doing, Adrian?” Kevin asked, concerned.
“I’m waiting for Macaria to give the order. We . . . we need to know.”
CHAPTER 18: DESTINATION ORION
King’s Chamber within the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt . . .
Macaria placed the holo-com back into her pocket and picked up the glowing and humming Terrestrian plate. As she examined it, Calum began to fuss again. She shot a death glare toward Koroan. “Shut that miserable child up!”
Koroan did his best to hush the child, almost too much, which concerned Macaria.
“You seem to be taken with that child,” she said curtly.
“He is just a child, my Queen. He has done nothing to deserve the ire you give him.”
“The ire I give him?” Macaria quipped, irate. Dropping the plate, she rushed toward Koroan and levitated herself to just a few inches above his height. She spat in his face as she screamed, “That child is the enemy! He has been the enemy from day one! The only reason he lives is so that when he comes of age, he can translate the plates! That is it, Koroan! Nothing less, nothing more! Do not forget your place or his!”
Koroan stepped back in terror. Calum stopped crying, his eyes wide open, staring at Macaria as if he could feel her venomous rage as well.
Macaria lowered her feet back to the stone floor. She was still fuming. You are a fool, Koroan, she thought. You are only a pawn in a larger game. She then turned and picked the plate back up. “There must be some sort of control panel in here. That is why the plate glows,” she said, examining the plate.
Koroan ignored her as Calum began to fuss again. The constant crying infuriated Macaria even more, but she managed to keep her rage in check as she searched around the sarcophagus and the wall nearby.
She was beginning to get more and more frustrated. The ancient room contained nothing that looked like a control panel or even a slot in which to insert the plate. But the closer she held the plate to the sarcophagus, the brighter it glowed. The hum even grew louder, an indication that something was nearby. “Where is it?” she said, finally ending with a curse word.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Koroan lay Calum down on the dusty stone floor. He made sure his blanket was secured around him as he fussed. It sickened Macaria how he seemed to care for the child. He then made his way to her, knelt down, and began to look around the base of the sarcophagus.
“May I?” he asked, holding his hand out toward the plate.
Macaria glared as him suspiciously and then slowly handed over the plate. Once it was in his hands, Koroan guided it around the base. The plate began to glow brighter and hum more loudly as he did so. “These ancient people would have built this sarcophagus over something they were trying to hide.”
Macaria knelt down beside Koroan and examined the base as well. She placed her hand where the base and floor met, feeling along the small cracks in the stone. As she felt, her finger traced along a deeper ridge on the backside of the sarcophagus. She shoved her hand in deeper, forcing her palm to slide inside. Her hand was down under a stone that was under the sarcophagus. “Hold the plate here,” she demanded, waving for Koroan with her free hand.
Koroan held the plate above where her hand was under the sarcophagus. Sure enough, the plate glowed even brighter and hummed
louder. “Do you feel anything?”
Macaria tried to force her hand in further, but it was as far in as she could push it. “Lift the sarcophagus,” she ordered.
Koroan set the plate beside her, stood up, and stretched out his left arm. The room began to rumble as he grasped the heavy sarcophagus in an invisible grip. Dust began to drift from the ceiling to the floor as he began to lift the heavy structure.
Macaria felt the weight of the sarcophagus give way and her hand dove deeper underneath the stone floor. She just hoped that Koroan wouldn’t let go, which would crush her arm. Although she would be able to heal from the injury, the initial pain would be intolerable. Using her fingers, she felt around the underside of the stone. Her index finger ran across an indentation. “I feel something.”
Koroan continued to hold the sarcophagus up a few inches above the stone floor as she pressed the indentation. Suddenly, there was a deafening concussion sound, causing her to pull her arm out quickly. As soon as her arm left the crack, the four walls that made up the sarcophagus dropped into the floor. Dust drifted over them like a light snowfall as the room rumbled and shook for a few seconds as she backed up, standing next to Koroan.
After the rumbling stopped, the floor of the sarcophagus began to rise. It rose up to Macaria’s height. Below the floor rested a silver metallic stand. It was narrow from the bottom up until it expanded into a flat surface at the top. A slot the size of the gold plate of Terrest rested in the center of the flat surface. Symbols that Macaria recognized all too well covered the stand’s surface as well as inside the slot. “God’s pure language,” she muttered.
The plate resting on the ground next to the sarcophagus glowed much brighter now and hummed more loudly. Macaria approached it slowly, picked it up, and gave it to Koroan. She then pulled the holo-com from her pocket. After pressing the button to contact whom she wanted to, she said, “Dorange . . . I have found the control panel.”
*****
Underground Pyramid under the Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, Mexico . . .
Adrian paced back and forth with the Gnolom gold plate in his hands, just in front of the holo-table within the underground pyramid. It had already been a good thirty minutes since Macaria’s last transmission and he was beginning to get impatient. During that time, General Christopher Peterson retrieved Jennifer and the other soldier under his command and brought them back to the safety of the underground pyramid just in case there were any other Gnols lurking around above ground. Using the short-wave radio, he also contacted Anyta at Kwajalein and informed her of everything that had happened since their last communication.
After removing Dorange’s body from the room, Kevin and the others sat on the floor of the pyramid with their backs resting against the wall. They were sipping on water and eating food rations. Nobody said a word, too exhausted to even speak.
Suddenly, the holo-table sprang to life and the distorted image of Macaria’s head appeared. Adrian’s stomach churned with anticipation at what they were about to discover, despite Kevin’s objections. The audio and video came through again, disrupted from poor signal quality.
“Dor . . . I have f . . . the control pan . . .”
“My Queen,” Adrian replied as he performed the customary salute.
“Are you ready . . . ert the pla . . .?” she asked, her question jumbled.
Despite the scrambled transmission, Adrian understood her and quickly made his way up the center obelisk and held the plate above the control panel. “Yes.”
Before Macaria answered, he saw his brother looking at him with a concerned expression, telling him not to insert the plate.
“Good. In . . . the plate,” Macaria said.
Just as before with Dorange, bright white beams of light burst from the symbols carved within slot, locking onto the symbols inscribed upon the plate. The plate hovered above the slot for a few seconds, held in place by the magnetic pull. Then, without warning, the plate dropped into the slot. For a long moment, everything went silent. It was an eerie silence, one that made the hairs on the back of Adrian’s neck stand on end.
“Koroan has j . . . st inserted the Terrest plate,” Macaria added.
Adrian was about to say how nothing was happening when the underground pyramid began to tremble violently.
“Earthquake!” Kevin yelled, taking cover as bits of stone began to break off from the structure above.
The rumbling abruptly stopped, and Macaria’s transmission disappeared as the lights on each of the four obelisks resting in each corner of the pyramid flashed off, leaving them in complete darkness. Adrian pulled a flashlight from his pocket and clicked it on. But nothing happened. He tapped the flashlight against his hand and tried again. Again, nothing. “My flashlight’s not working.”
“Neither is mine,” Chris Peterson’s voice echoed through the darkness.
“The power is out on everything we have,” Skip added as he fiddled around with the holo-table.
Adrian was about to reply when bright, white light began to coalesce near the bases of the four corner obelisks. The room began to quake once again as the light became brighter and brighter.
“That’s plasma energy!” Kevin hollered above the sizzling and popping sounds of the energy.
Adrian jumped down from the center obelisk, leaving the plate behind as it swayed back and forth. Chunks of stone began to rain over them as the rumbling continued. He rushed for Bantyr and covered him with his body. “We need to get out of here! The whole thing is coming down!”
Kevin and the others nodded their agreement as they began to scramble toward the exit. Chris went to help with Bantyr.
Just before they left the hidden chamber, the quaking stopped. Everyone turned around and watched in amazement as the plasma energy coalesced up the obelisks to the their tips. White, blinding light shot out from each point upward and to the center of the top of the underground pyramid. As soon as all four energy beams collided, a gigantic concussion of energy knocked everyone into the walls; some flew through the exit and rolled through the entrance room. Adrian flew back, hitting his head on one of the gold entrance doors. Before he blacked out, he witnessed an astronomical energy beam explode through the point at the top of the underground pyramid.
*****
King’s Chamber inside the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt . . .
Macaria, still holding the holo-com in her hand with the small 3D image of Dorange floating slightly above it, watched with anticipation as Koroan held Terrest’s gold plate just above the slot of the hidden control panel. Beams of light shot out and locked onto the plate. It hovered in midair for a few seconds. The light pulled the plate into the slot. As soon as the plate entered the slot, the holo-com went dead, as did their flashlights.
She tossed the holo-com aside and walked toward Koroan in the darkness. Calum, who lay nearby, began to cry again, causing untold rage to reverberate throughout her entire being. Just as she reached Koroan and the control panel, the pyramid began to tremble, knocking both Macaria and Koroan off balance. They fell to the floor.
Koroan scrambled to his feet and rushed toward Calum and scooped him into his arms for safety as chunks of stone began to rain down upon them. “We have to get out of here or the whole pyramid is going to come crashing down upon us!” he yelled.
Macaria shook her head. “No! I need to know where Earth’s plate is!”
Without warning, plasma energy began to collect on the stone floor under their feet. Koroan, cradling Calum in his arms, sprinted out of the room before he was caught in the web of white burning energy.
“Where are you going? . . . You coward!” Macaria hollered after him. As soon as the words left her lips, the plasma energy wrapped around her foot and leg, melting her boot and setting the bottom leg of her pants on fire. Abruptly, she levitated herself to avoid being burned and extinguished the flames.
She held herself in midair as the pyramid tossed and turned, causing bigger chunks of stone to fall over her. She howled her
frustration with the realization that she couldn’t stay within the King’s Chamber to see if a portal opened to another world. Before heavier stones crushed her, she levitated herself out of the room over the coalescing plasma energy. Once in the corridor of the Great Pyramid, she dropped to the floor and began sprinting to the exit, trying to outrun the plasma energy as it collected along the floor behind her.
The plasma energy coalesced faster than she could run, enveloping the floor, walls, and ceiling. She was now surrounded in flesh, melting energy. She could feel the skin of her new body burning off of its bones as she continued to run. She tried to levitate herself once again, but the energy was too much, sapping her powers.
Before she succumbed to the light, she burst through the entrance of the pyramid, landing on one knee. She could feel the plasma energy behind her and turned around. To her astonishment, the Great Pyramid was enveloped in blinding, white-hot plasma. Turning her eyes from the blinding glare, she saw that the other two pyramids next to the Great Pyramid were glowing in plasma as well. All three structures were consumed in light.
She looked down at her hands and backed away as far as she could from the heat. She continued to back up, staring in awe at the sight before her, until she bumped into someone, the back of Koroan. Intense pain flushed through her entire body. Looking at her hands, she stared in horror. Her skin had literally melted from the intense heat of the plasma energy.
The pain, however, was beginning to subside as her transfigured body began to heal itself. She watched in amazement as the burnt skin began to regenerate. She also felt the healing effects on her face and the rest of her body as well. With her strength returning, her eyes transfixed upon the three pyramids. “Are you seeing this, Koroan?” she said without looking at him.
“Yes, my Queen,” Koroan answered. He too was mesmerized by what was taking place before them.
The plasma energy covered all three structures. Then, out of nowhere, a beam of light erupted from the point of each pyramid. The three beams shot into the air, meeting a point and forming into one beam of light just before exiting the atmosphere. The three beams colliding caused a gigantic explosion. A wave of untold energy exploded out from the point of collision in every direction. The energy wave hit Macaria and Koroan, throwing them backwards another one hundred yards or so. The concussion would have certainly killed a normal mortal, but not Macaria and Koroan.
Worlds Without End: The Prophecy (Book 3) Page 35
