Of course, he wondered again whether the Locc were even alive.
He eyed the mouth of the cave as he put what remained of his water back into his pack. In a few hours I might not even be alive.
The sand pouring into the cave suddenly doubled in volume as rocks crashed down, widening the opening.
Tarillion leaped to his feet. Ah, hells.
There was no climbing back up and out of the cave now. He turned and scanned the walls surrounding him. What had been an escape now turned into a deathtrap.
When in doubt…
He grabbed his lasgun, flicked it to its highest setting, and aimed it at the back of the cave. He fired. It exploded in a burst of sand and crumbling stone.
The wall of the cave opened into a dark cavern.
Tarillion wiped the dust from his face as he shined his light into the darkness. He had been wrong to assume that the cave he had found was merely there by accident. If Apta’s ship had stopped nearby, then there had to be a reason.
The light shone dimly into the far reaches of the cavern. It was more than just another cave. He was standing in a cave complex.
He glanced over his shoulder, one boot in each cave. The sand continued to pour in. In a few minutes, he would be drowning in sand if he stayed.
There was no choice but to go forward.
He climbed into the interior cavern, his feet finding purchase on the hard rocks beneath him. There was little sand inside the cavern—it had not been exposed to the elements for a long time.
He stood up. The ceilings were taller than he was, though not by much. He looked ahead resolutely at the next tunnel. He would have to keep walking until his comms turned on—or until he found another path through the darkness.
It was impossible to keep track of time as he traveled. Along with everything else, the time function on his comms—set to Imperial standard time—was malfunctioning. He estimated that he had been walking for at least three subcycles when he came to a fork in the cave system.
He shone his light down one and then the other but they appeared to be entirely the same.
“Emperor’s arse,” he said for the second time that day. He slumped against the side of the cave and slid down to the ground, beginning to feel exhaustion creeping over his mind and body. He took another ration bar out of his pack.
As he turned, his fingers brushed the wall, and a chill went through him.
Runes.
The walls were covered with runes.
I’ve been in the temple all along.
A surge of adrenaline shot through his system. Of course. This is why her trail ended here.
He scrambled up, making for the other tunnel, his hand traveling over its walls. Nothing. He returned to the first tunnel and walked through it slowly, his fingers finding runes on both sides.
Where are you, Qloe? He pulled his scanner out of his pack and set it to look for Caderan particulate signals.
He waited as the portscan worked. A few minutes later it gave a soft beep, indicating that a thousand feet ahead, there was a faint trace of Caderan engine particulates.
Tarillion’s mind went quiet as he focused on the path ahead. She’s the key, he decided. The key to the Locc, the key to everything.
The path became more difficult to travel over, growing more narrow. He climbed over rocks and boulders, the light clenched between his teeth.
Close.
He stopped and checked the scanner. He was now a hundred feet away from the source of the particulates.
He switched off the light and pulled his lasgun from its holster. He went the rest of the way by feel alone, his hands skimming over the rune-covered walls.
Tarillion turned a corner, and saw a faint light shining through the rocks at the end of the corridor. He tightened his grip on his lasgun as he came closer and closer.
Holding his breath, he nudged one of the rocks in the wall down with the muzzle of his lasgun. It tumbled easily down to the ground. He peered through the small opening.
Just beyond the end of the tunnel was an enormous cavern. There was a large shaft in the ceiling—large enough for a small vessel to pass through.
In its center was an elegant ship, its design unmistakable.
Qloe Apta.
Chapter 10
The ship’s gangplank was lowered and unguarded. Whoever was on board was gone—for the moment.
Tarillion walked slowly and quietly on board the ship, scanning for life signs. Nothing. He made quickly for the cockpit. He inserted a datapiece into a port and waited a beat before launching an invasive programmed parasite into the ship’s databanks. It gathered up every last byte of information before scrambling everything remaining in the ship ‘banks.
Now he would have all of Apta’s data. Whether that mattered now or not was unclear.
If the Locc’s here, then I’m just wasting my time.
Tarillion removed the ‘piece and plugged it into his portable comm device. It would function as a ‘reader. He studied the data. Most of it was gibberish, although he recognized the names of planets they had visited as they scrolled past.
He put the comm device and ‘piece away. He had more pressing problems at present. He had to find a way out of here—or he had to go after the Locc himself.
At any rate he had to get off Apta’s ship before someone came back.
He cradled the lasgun and stalked towards the exit. As he approached the gangplank he saw a figure dressed in black waiting for him.
It was her.
He never lowered his lasgun, not for a minute.
“Qloe,” he said, his voice neutral.
She, on the other hand, was not. “Lees,” she hissed. “What in all the hells are you doing here?”
“Completing my mission,” he said, lifting the lasgun and aiming it at her. “What else could you expect from me?”
“You have to go,” she said, urgency in her voice.
“Why?” He walked up to her. She still had not raised a hand or weapon against him. In fact, she was unarmed, as far as he could tell.
“Because—” she glanced behind her—“you know why.”
“I don’t,” he said bluntly. “I’ve had enough of your lies and diversions, Qloe. Be honest, for once. I won’t tolerate anything less.”
She began to speak but another figure emerged behind her, on the edge of the cavern. Tarillion’s trigger finger itched.
Who else could it be but Captain Adon Heik?
“You were right about one thing, Tarillion,” said Heik, his arms crossed. A lasgun hung casually at his waist. “She is a sweet. Little. Thing.”
Apta didn’t blink or flinch, not once. She continued to stare at Tarillion as if she was begging him to listen to her.
“She was very useful in identifying this temple,” Heik said. “It’s impressive. The biggest one yet. Had me come down with her—just me and her. I wasn’t sure at first, but as you know, this little bounty hunter can be very convincing when she chooses to be.” Something vicious and animalistic glowed in Heik’s eyes.
“This is over now,” said Heik. “Go back to your ship, Tarillion. If you go now I won’t shoot you...again.”
Tarillion didn’t waver. “It’s not over until it’s been found,” he said. “And as far as I can see...you haven’t gotten it yet.”
“It’s just a matter of time,” Heik said dismissively. “Apta,” he said. “Come here.”
She refused to look away from Tarillion. “Lees,” she said. “Please.”
“Come.” Heik’s voice was dangerously low and soft.
She stood there as if her feet were fixed to the ground.
Something changed in Heik’s countenance. “Very well,” he murmured.
He moved quickly—too quickly.
A shot rang out in the cavern.
Apta looked down, and closed her eyes.
The shot had burned straight through her gut.
She fell to her knees as Heik turned and disappeared through the tunnel.<
br />
Tarillion reached for her, his lasgun clattering to the ground.
“Leave,” she breathed. “Lees, get out of here.”
He slid his arms under her legs, sweeping her up. “I’m taking you back to your ship,” he said. “Where’s your medical equipment?”
“I’m past that,” she said. “But if it will get you on my ship and out of here…”
He began to walk and she gasped in pain as he jostled her. He knelt again, letting her slump against him.
“Heik,” he said. “He—”
“It’s here, you know,” she said. “The Locc.”
“I don’t care about that,” he said.
She closed her eyes for a moment. “I was trying to do the right thing,” she said. She opened her eyes and smiled at him again. “Like you do, Lees. I was trying to save you. I had to decide if I was going to do the right thing for the universe, or the right thing for me. And I decided that I would save you. But now I’ve lost both,” she said, her eyes distant.
He checked her wound. Years of experience told him that it was a fatal injury. There was nothing in a ship’s medpack—or even a fully equipped medcenter—that could heal a wound that cut through her abdomen.
“You’re hysterical,” he said to her. “You need painkillers.”
“The Locc needs to eat,” she said. “Souls. Memories. Experiences. It was my duty to bring a soul to it—a soul of this era, of this age. The Locc must know the universe as it is, and I knew it had to be an Imperial captain. My kind have always served the Locc. We feed them. And when I met you, I thought you would be the one. But I couldn’t,” she said. A speck of blood appeared on her lip. “Those sacrificed to the Locc do not always live. So I went to him.”
He looked down at her, shock warring with astonishment.
“My sisters are waiting for me,” she said, turning her head to him. “There—in the caverns beyond.”
“Sisters?” Hope bloomed in his chest.
“Take me to them,” she said.
“Senorat is beautiful,” he said, ignoring the rattling sound in her chest. “The most magnificent waterfalls in the galaxy. There are palaces built under them. I’ll take you there.”
He ducked under a low hanging stalactite. He was moving fast, even with her weight in his arms. He could feel her blood warming his uniform.
“After Senorat we’ll go to Octavis...”
“Lees,” she said. It was the first thing that she’d said since they left her ship. “You are either very clever or very stupid.”
“Why not both?” he panted, holding her close as they crossed into a larger passageway. “Besides, you were the one who picked me to feed all my knowledge and experience to a mythological monster. I can’t be all that stupid.”
“The Locc isn’t a monster,” she said, her voice fading.
“Stay with me,” he whispered. Her body was growing limp in his arms. He knew he wouldn’t be able to carry her further if she continued to collapse.
She fell silent. “Qloe,” he said. When she didn’t respond, he gritted his teeth and slowly knelt down. He pulled the last of his water out of his pack and poured it into her mouth.
“Wake up,” he said. “I haven’t found them yet. You have to stay with me.”
She opened her eyes and blinked hazily. “Promise me something, Lees,” she said.
“As long as you stay awake, you can have anything you want.”
“Promise me you’ll leave the Empire.” She paused. “You’re meant for something better.”
He breathed slowly, in and out.
“I promise I will,” he said finally as she closed her eyes.
A few moments later Tarillion became conscious that the room seemed to be moving. He held up his light. The room was filled with dark, shadowy figures. He held her close and reached for his lasgun.
Something brushed his shoulder. He was suddenly looking into the eyes of a woman—a woman who had the exact eyes, hair, face, and body as the limp bounty hunter in his arms.
Then there was another. The room was filled with creatures that looked exactly like Apta.
“You’ve brought her back to us,” said the one in front of him.
Chapter 11
“Who are you?” he demanded. “What are you?”
The women looked at each other for a moment, as if making a decision. “We are the same as her,” they said. “Born of the same mother and father. We are sisters. We are the Nu.”
She isn’t even human. Tarillion looked down at Apta. Her face was pale, but exactly the same as the other creatures surrounding him.
“That doesn’t tell me much,” he said.
“We are guardians of the Locc,” she said. “Our sister was sent away fifty decades ago to bring back a soul for the Locc. And she has done so.”
Heik, Tarillion realized. It would have been me.
“She’s hurt,” he said, lifting her up slightly.
The Nu looked down. “She will not live,” she observed.
“She told me to bring her to you,” he said. “There must be something you can do.”
The Nu dropped to one knee, looking at Tarillion. “If she were human, and had a soul, then perhaps the Locc would save her,” she said. “But she is like us—and we do not possess a soul.”
“The man who’s seeking out the Locc right now will destroy it. And all of you.”
This seemed to disturb the Nu more. “What kind of man is he?”
Tarillion struggled to find the right words. Some way to convince the Nu to stop Heik from approaching the Locc.
“He doesn’t have a soul,” he said, finally. “He’s human, but he doesn’t have one.”
The Nu stood up. “And if we help you,” she said, “will you give yourself to the Locc?”
Tarillion began to stand up. “Yes,” he said. I’ll be fulfilling my promise to you, Qloe—just not in the way you imagined.
They swarmed around him in an instant, lifting Apta up into their arms. They touched his arms and indicated that he should follow them.
Tarillion couldn’t count how many there were. At least twenty—probably more. They said that Apta had been away from Thypso XXIV for fifty years.
Fifty, he thought, startled. She’s older than me.
He followed them. It was strange to be in the presence of creatures that looked exactly like the woman they carried. Yet even knowing what they were, he couldn’t bring himself to think of Apta as anything less than human.
They started with a walk that broke into a run.
The tunnel opened into a massive cavern. It was at least twenty times the size of the cavern where Apta’s ship sat. A deep crevasse ran through the ground, and lava flowed steadily into it from a crack in the far wall. It was like something out of a dream—or a nightmare.
The small figure of a man stood in front of a shapeless, black mass on the edge of the crevasse. He seemed to be hypnotized by it, his arms and hands loose at his sides.
He appeared to sense them coming. Heik turned.
Surprise registered on his face for only a moment when he saw Tarillion, standing next to the Nu who carried Apta.
Heik grabbed his lasgun and fired it at the Nu. He hit the Nu standing next to Tarillion. The creature crumpled to the ground, instantly dead from the shot that burned through her skull.
“They’re unnatural, you know,” he said, his words directed at Tarillion. “They appear in the myths, too. They’re aliens. They prey on human men to conceive hundreds of clones that appear to be human. But they are not human—and you know yourself the place of non-humans in the Empire.”
Tarillion knew. Aliens were worse than animals where the Empire was concerned. Animals, at least, were not sentient.
“You’ve been plotting against the Empire this entire time,” Heik said. “When you should have been helping me.”
“There’s not a chance in all the hells in this universe that I would ever help you,” Tarillion said.
“Unfaithful t
raitor,” Heik said. “Not that it matters much. I’ve sent a signal to the Secace. It will be here soon. That woman of yours seduced me and convinced me to come to Thypso alone—but my ship’s only a cycle away. Put down your gun, Tarillion, and I won’t tell Karsath about your misconduct.”
Still arrogant to the end, Tarillion thought.
“You won’t be telling anyone anything,” Tarillion said. He moved in a flash, shooting the lasgun out of Heik’s hand.
Before Heik could respond he shot again without hesitation, the shot hitting Heik squarely in the throat. The man went down quickly, to Tarillion’s grim satisfaction.
He approached the stunned captain, turned him over onto his stomach and fired a series of low-grade stun shots into the base of his skull. The dirty pirate’s trick would wipe out days of recent memories, leaving Heik unable to recall what had happened on Thypso XXIV.
He looked up at the Nu. They were creeping closer.
Time to live up to my side of the bargain.
There was no time to take pleasure in what he had just done, and no time to think.
Tarillion dropped his gun. He reached for Apta, picking her up from the Nu who were holding her. He carried her carefully, still hearing her faint, scratchy breath.
He stepped over Heik’s stunned body without a second thought. His eyes were on the Locc now.
The Lord of the Dark seemed to change shape as he drew closer with every step. It transformed over the course of seconds, holding the face and figure of one human being after another.
All the souls it’s devoured, Tarillion thought. His pulse was pounding. He was aware of the Nu crowding behind him, their familiar forms following him. Making sure he fulfilled his promise.
Tarillion paused before the Locc. It appeared to sense his presence as he drew closer. It seemed to shrink, then expanded around him.
He held Apta tight against him. He can’t get me without her.
He felt the creature envelop him slowly, its rippling blackness wrapping around him. He refused to feel fear. He thought only of the woman in his arms.
The Locc was consuming him, body and soul.
Lords of the Dark: A Darkspace Saga Novella Page 5
