“Taking them to the high priest,” Robin replied without thinking.
For a second, the sentinel was silent. Then he barked, “No such orders have been issued. What is your designation?”
“Ah…” Robin said. He waved his hand in front of the sentinel’s face. “I am not the droid you’re looking for.”
Robin saw Freya blink, and he felt Tekmet’s eyes on him. The sentinel just stared.
Sighing, Robin slumped. “I’d really hoped to avoid this,” he muttered. Then he drove his foot into the sentinel’s chest, knocking it off its feet.
Before the other sentinels could react, he opened his hands to deploy his plasma saber. A message flashed across his face.
Abundant explosive substance detected at unknown vicinities. Explosive weapons inoperable, he read.
“Great, now you tell me!” he said aloud. “So what’s left?”
Before he could get another message, two of the sentinels charged him.
Spinning, Robin drove his elbow into the back of a sentinel’s head, leaving a sparking mess behind.
Then he eyed the flashing parts of his own armor. “Well, let’s try that one!”
He blocked a blow from the other sentinel and quickly threw a kick that knocked the sentinel’s head off its shoulders.
Following the blow, he spun around to face the third sentinel, which still restrained Freya, thrusting his left arm forward. From under his arm, a thin, tightly wound metal cord tipped with a metal spike flew out. It passed through the sentinel’s midriff, and Robin heard a metal clang as claws expanded from the spike. Yanking hard on the cord, Robin yanked the sentinel off its feet. Robin’s other fisted hand connected hard with its face and detached its head.
“Well, that was fun!” Robin said. The cord withdrew under his arm.
Frowning, Freya walked up to him.
“‘I am not the droid you’re looking for’?” she mimicked. “What the heck was that all about?”
He shrugged. “I saw it in what was known as a movie in my ancient Earth studies,” he answered.
“Robin?” Tekmet asked, his jaw open. He walked around Robin to look him in the eye.
“Hi, Tekmet,” Robin said, nodding. “I got it to work.” He raised his arm, displaying his bracelet.
Suddenly a warning flashed across Robin’s holo screen.
“Oh, great!” he said.
“What?” Freya asked.
“I think an alarm has just been tripped.” He watched as what appeared to be a map of the surrounding area displayed on his screen.
“Looks like we’re going to have company real fast!”
On the display, he saw a mass of fast-moving red dots coming at them.
“But what about Hannah and Kylie?” Freya demanded.
“If we don’t leave now, we’re not going to leave at all!” Robin barked.
Before she could do or say anything else, he scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder.
Freya banged her fists against Robin’s back as he ran through the tunnels, Tekmet matching his strides.
Now and then a sentinel appeared in front of them, and Robin disabled each one with a kick or a punch as they passed.
Eventually, they burst into the main cavern.
“Robin, behind us!” Freya cried.
He whipped around, one hand instinctively open. This time, his plasma saber emerged into his palm as he faced the horde of sentinels rushing at them. He fired shot after shot, knocking as many as he could out of action, trying not to hit the workers who were milling around behind them.
“Tekmet, take Freya!” Robin barked, handing his sister off to the Anubis so that he could receive the other plasma saber and open fire.
“Okay, what now?” Tekmet asked, holding Freya protectively.
“I don’t know! I’m kinda making this up as I go!” Robin answered. The blade of one of the plasma sabers ignited, and he cut a sentinel in half, still shooting with the other plasma saber.
A moment later, Robin turned at the sound of stone grinding on stone. He saw the offering indentation move forward and the statue dragon’s mouth open to receive it.
His gaze shifted to Tekmet, and silent communication passed between them. At once Tekmet clasped Freya and leaped into the bed of crystals.
“Robin!” Freya screamed, popping her head above the rim. “What about you?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll cover you!” he called. He blasted more sentinels. Quickly, the guards began collecting people to use as shields.
When Robin couldn’t see a clear shot anymore, he retracted the plasma sabers’ blades, and the metal parts extended into fighting sticks.
Soon, he was a blur of motion as he deflected and struck out with the sticks. After kicking a sentinel aside and caving in its head with a whack from one the sticks, he turned to face the rest, only to find the sentinels, shielded by workers’ bodies, moving toward him.
“Okay, that’s not fair,” Robin muttered. He took a step back from the advancing horde.
Glancing behind him, he realized that the offering indention was halfway through its journey. Reacting quickly, he brought the ends of his plasma sabers together, forming a staff.
“I’d love to stay and fight, but I’ve got a rock to catch!” he shouted.
Robin darted to the edge of the platform. Digging the tip of his staff into the ground near the edge, he vaulted into the air.
Time seemed to slow as he soared through the air, arms and legs flailing. Freya and Tekmet’s eyes locked on him as he soared over the ravine, the river of lava beneath him. He reached the apex of the arc and gravity started pulling him back down.
He fell closer and closer in the direction of the offering area. Reaching out, he grasped the edge before his armored body slammed against it. The sudden impact against the surface jolted his hands loose, and he slid partway down the rock face. He gripped a slight overhang before his left hand lost its grip altogether.
Instantly, Freya reached over the edge and gripped his wrist to stop him from falling further. For a second he looked at her eyes. Then his weight began pulling her over the lip.
“Get out,” he yelled.
Her eyes widened.
“Robin!” she screamed.
His hand slipped from her grasp, and he began to drop.
Wind rushed past him as he tumbled to the river of lava below. His body twisted in midair to face it, and he watched as the river seemed to rush up to meet him. Seconds away from impact, he crossed his arms over his face. He shut his eyes, ready for the impact and the melting white heat.
It didn’t come.
Slowly, he cracked one eye open. He seemed to have stopped in midair. Blinking in confusion, Robin looked around to see if someone or something had caught him.
He saw that a pair of giant, metallic dragon wings had sprouted from his back. He saw the words scrawled across his holo screen:
Flight mode activated
Robin released the biggest sigh of his entire life. If there is a manual for this armor, I have got to find it.
With experimental flaps of the wings, he shot up through the air. Bursting over the cliff rim, he turned to face the gaping crowd. With a mighty snap of the opening wings.
At once, various red circles and lines highlighted and pointed out people on the screen in front of him. Soon the faces of Hannah and Kylie zoomed in.
Quickly making up his mind, he shot toward them, weaving through the air as the sentinels raised their arms and fired on him.
He approached the pair and snatched them from the ground.
“Hang on to me!” he yelled over the rush of air. Then he circled around and dashed back toward the mouth of the statue dragon.
As soon as they arrived above Freya and Tekmet, Robin straightened and deactivated flight mode. As they dropped into the bed of crystals, he released the pair, who Freya quickly embraced as the wings retracted into his armor.
Just as his wings vanished, Freya turned and smacked Robin’s
shoulder.
“Ow!” she squealed, clutching her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me you could fly! You scared me half to death!”
“Hey, it was news to me too!” he snapped back. “But I think we have bigger issues!”
He turned at the wall of flame. “Get behind me!”
Before anyone could say anything, he pushed Freya behind him. Focusing hard, he crossed his arms above his head. A second later, just as they were about to be engulfed by the flames, a red bubble shield projected from the crystal on his bracelet, surrounding them all and keeping them safe.
After they passed through the wall of flames, he lowered his arms, which dissolved the shield. They were now in an open possessing area, with giant alcove after alcove piled high with crystals.
Large containers, either empty or loaded with crystals, rolled at intervals along a giant conveyer belt before they were dumped into alcoves.
“Over the edge!” Tekmet barked as they neared the belt.
Scrambling to the edge, Robin lifted Kylie in his arms, and they all vaulted over the side.
“Now what?” Tekmet asked, looking around.
Robin realized that they had passed through a series of valved pipes that shot jets of flame. A mix of magic and showmanship, he thought.
“I guess we find a way out of here and steal a ship.”
Chapter 22
Knight versus Knight
Robin had barely taken a step forward when a shot landed at his feet. He looked straight up. On a catwalk above them stood an armored figure.
“What the heck is that?” Freya demanded.
The figure flipped over the edge of the catwalk, twisted through the air, and landed right in front of them, crouched down.
Slowly it stood to face them. The muscular female body was as tall as Robin, with a pair of force plasma sabers slung low on its hips.
Its head, like Robin’s, was dragon-shaped, triangular from the side, with four horns on the corners connected with webbing. At the bottom corners of the webbing were pairs of smaller horns. The webbing overlapped behind the main connections, with the smallest horn at the base of the jaw. Beneath the chin was a small barbed horn.
“The last Dragon Knight…” Robin muttered. He relaxed and set Kylie down. “I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s nice to have—”
Then her plasma sabers shot into her hands. She activated them, and a pair of short swords appeared. Moving quickly, she slashed at Robin.
Moving just as quickly, he deflected the blows. She dropped down, using the momentum to try to cut his legs out from under him. After blocking her attack with a kick, Robin leaped up and flipped over her as she regrouped for a double attack.
He kicked her in the back as he passed over her, and she stumbled forward and dropped. Rolling across the ground, she slashed again, only to find him above her.
Robin landed, and she rose to her feet. They faced off.
“Lady, what the heck is your deal?” Robin demanded. She charged, and he pushed her back with a pair of kicks to her chest.
“In case you haven’t noticed…” he shouted. He rolled across the ground as she formed a staff with a large slashing spearhead. “We’re on the same side!”
He sprang back to his feet, deflecting a slash. His plasma sabers dropped into his hands, and he drew them together to form a staff. Spinning it around, he blocked several attacks. The staves became blurs as they attacked and defended.
Robin ducked a slash and turned to face his opponent. Their staves met midair. Ducking again, he rose and pointed a finger at her.
“Look, lady, I think we have a serious problem. It’s called miscommunication!” he snapped.
His words had no effect. She slashed at him again. Robin blocked it before she nailed him hard with a side kick, slamming him with enormous force against a wall. Shaking his head to clear it, he watched as she adjusted her grip on her staff.
Then she hurled the staff at him.
Dropping down and rolling away, Robin barely managed to miss being impaled by the spearhead. Her spear flew back to her hand. He detached one plasma saber, forming a sword, and blocked the longer, thinner staff spearhead.
He ducked to the side to avoid a thrust and blocked a couple more attacks, spinning around her. He rolled away when she jumped up, twisting, to slam the staff down where he had been.
“This is really not getting through your thick head!” Robin said to her as he rolled to the side, dodging another attack. “I don’t want to fight you!”
He rolled and then pinned the staff down with his sword.
“Look, lady! I’ll say it again! I don’t want to fight you! But if you try to hit me again, I’m going to kick your butt!”
She paused and stared at him. Thinking it was over, Robin climbed to his feet. She immediately leaped into a spinning kick, nailing him hard in the chest and knocking him back down.
“Okay, that’s it!” he growled. He curled up and jumped to his feet. Charging at her, he threw a low roundhouse kick. She dodged it, but he nailed her across the head with a spinning kick. She climbed to her feet and threw a punch, which he blocked. He nailed her with a punch and followed that with a spinning backhand to her head.
She blocked the punch and slammed him with an elbow to the face. Grabbing his head, she drove her knee into his skull.
He dropped to one knee, expended the other leg, and spun around, sweeping her legs out from under her. Then he jumped forward to tackle her, but she grabbed him in midflight and tossed him aside.
He rolled onto one knee and held out his hands. His plasma sabers became swords, and he turned to face her. She morphed her staff to include spear blades on both ends and spun it over her head.
They charged at each other once more. He deflected a couple jabs with his swords.
Then she retreated, deflecting or blocking his attacks. Deactivating one blade, she used it to throw a kick, nailing him in the chest. She raised her staff high to block a downward slash. But she didn’t see the attack from his other sword. Slicing the staff in two.
Stepping back, she stared at the sparking ends of her plasma sabers. But she didn’t have time to ponder long. Robin brought both his blades down. She brought both broken ends up and blocked the attack.
Drawing close, he glared at her through his helmet; she glared right back.
Then, at a sound behind them, he turned his head and watched a lift descending to their level.
Chapter 23
The Black Dragon
As Robin continued to watch the lift, he saw that it held two passengers: Balwin, who was wearing what Robin guessed were his finest clothes, and a well-dressed woman, whom Robin didn’t recognize. She was wearing onyx clothing, including an overlapping jacket with a silver sash around her waist, a shirt, and black pants. A flowing black cape was attached to her shoulders with silver brooches. Around her forearms were intricate silver armguards, and she had highly polished black boots on her feet.
As the lift drew closer, Robin noticed her face was narrow and very angular, her eyebrows defined and pointed, her lips full and hard, her jaw strong. On her head was a silver diadem that connected at the back and restrained her long dark hair from her face.
“Oh no…” the other knight whispered in terror. She quickly disengaged and leaped away.
“What the…” Robin said, as she disappeared from sight.
Before he could go after her, the lift reached bottom. Robin turned to face the occupants as they disembarked.
Robin moved to stand in front of the others, and Tekmet joined him. For a brief moment, the pair from the lift eyed Robin.
“Well, well, well,” the woman said, stepping forward. “I never would have thought I would meet the new generation of knights so soon.” Her tone was eager, like a child on Christmas day.
Balwin moved forward. At once she raised an arm to block him.
“This is my pleasure!” she warned the lord with a growl.
With a low bow and sweep of his arm, Bal
win moved back. Robin frowned.
Reversing his grip on a sword, Robin grunted. “Lady, I don’t know who you are. But you’re going to wish you’d stayed out of my way.”
Her smile widened. “You have no idea how wrong and how out of your league you are,” she said. She stepped forward, lifting a hand to the shoulder brooches. With a flutter, the fabric fell to the floor.
For a second both stood stock-still, facing off. Then they charged at each other. Robin slashed at her with his swords, but she easily dodged them, as if he weren’t even moving. She knocked them from his hands, sending them rolling across the floor. The blades sucked back in.
Next Robin threw a hard tornado kick, which she caught in midair. She sent him hurtling over her shoulder across the floor.
Stopping on one knee, Robin looked at her in surprise. Then he leaped up high to the catwalk above, only to find her waiting there for him.
How can she be so fast? he thought. His heart was pounding in his ears.
He threw a kick that she easily blocked. After blocking one punch, she sent one toward his face but missed. Growing more confident, Robin threw another kick.
She easily stepped out of the way and close-lined him as he passed, knocking him hard to the floor. But before she could drive a fist into him, he kicked out. She blocked and stepped back. Robin jumped to his feet.
He went on attack, throwing punches and a roundhouse kick that she easily blocked. He jumped and flipped over her. Catching her backhand to him, she dragged him back in front of her and soundly kicked him, first in the gut and then in the face with the same leg.
Stumbling back, Robin landed hard against the railing. Clutching the bar, he looked up and quickly rolled down the walkway just before she propelled her leg down on the railing where he had been.
Robin was startled to see the railing snap in two under the force of the blow. She’s toying with me, he realized, eyes widening.
When he jerked his left arm forward, the cord again shot forward. She stepped to the side to dodge it and caught the cord in both hands. Then she wrapped the cord around his forearm with a flick of her wrist. Before he could stop her, with the cord still in her grasp swung him off his feet and across the room.
Blood Calls Page 10
