by Cheree Alsop
Devren took a step toward her, but she held up a hand.
“What did you do to me?” Lyliel asked. He stared at his hands in despair.
“For a moment, I was all that was good in me,” Liora told him. “You brought my evil to the surface and the light in my soul forced it away with the shackles of my body.” She opened her hand, studying the familiar scar on her palm. “When I passed through you, I gave you half of the good in me and took part of the evil you hold so dear.” She smiled at him. “I created balance in each of us.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve made you human,” Liora told him.
Lyliel stared at her. His eyes showed his horror, his fear. He shook his head, trying to deny it, but his body was proof enough. The robes of evil he had worn so proudly now shrouded his shoulders as a simple cloak. His eyes met Liora’s. Though they didn’t have their bitter glow, the hatred in them still simmered in their dark depths.
“You think you’ve beaten me, but you’re wrong,” he spat. “I may be in this mortal state, but in the end I am Sadarin. I will live far past the death of this body. Your precious people, however, will not.”
That caught Liora’s attention. “What are you talking about?”
Lyliel crossed his arms in front of his chest. “As we speak, an army is massing toward your treasured home planet.”
Liora shook her head. “Ralian is not my home.”
He gave a slow nod of acknowledgement. “Oh, I know. I meant the home you have chosen in your heart.”
“Corian,” Liora breathed.
She could see her father in her mind’s eye directing his fleet, caring for millions upon millions of people, oblivious of the threat heading toward them.
She saw Brandis and Malie, happy, carefree. She wondered if her brother had proposed. He loved Malie; of that she had no doubt. She also knew how many waited on Cree for the word of their engagement.
The thought of them in danger filled her with adrenaline. She grabbed Lyliel by the throat.
“Send them away.”
“That’s the irony of it all,” he replied with a twisted smile. “I didn’t send them in the first place, though it would have been a good idea; implementing an attack on the people you love while you bombard me here with thoughts of light and balance would have been brilliant. It would have been the perfect way to tear you down and show you just how deeply you have failed those you care about.”
His smile spread. “No. You did it yourself. They are all after you, Liora Day, destroyer of peace and happiness. The Coalition General demands your head. You started this when you first stepped onto the heap of junk Kratos.”
Devren bristled.
Lyliel ignored him. “Damaclans are the Coalition enemy. You doomed your people before you even realized it. Say goodbye to your newfound father. I hope you treasure the moments you had together because he will die cursing your name.”
Liora met Devren’s gaze. “We need to go.”
"On what ship?" the Sadarin asked. "Did you think you could just float out of here and my machines would take you home?"
Lyliel raised his hand and the box next to Devren exploded.
"The Ketulans answer to me," the Sadarin said in a low growl. “And I say for them to kill you and anyone you have ever come in contact with.” He glared at Liora. “Curse you for turning me into a mortal. When this body dies, I will come after everything you have ever loved.” His gaze took on a malicious twinkle. “If my Ketulans leave anything behind.”
"Liora, we’ve got to get to the ship!" Devren said.
“Wait,” Liora replied.
She couldn’t leave Raio and her mother with the Sadarin. He was right. He would shun his mortal state as soon as he was able to and regain the power he had as a Nameless One.
Liora dropped to her knees. She heard Devren run forward. She closed her eyes and put her hands to the crystal floor. The crystal resonated with her energy. She gave a slight push, testing the power of the planet. It pushed back with more strength than she was prepared for. The energy was fast, voracious as though the planet itself was eager to get rid of the evil residing within it.
“The Council for the Unification and Order of the Cosmos is going to have another mark against me,” Liora said with a half-smile.
She pulled and the strength of the planet surged into her arms. Liora directed the power along the crystal floor. It circled around the Sadarin and rose in columns.
“What are you doing?” Lyliel protested.
The crystal reached to the ceiling and then the columns expanded, enclosing the Sadarin completely.
“Let me go!” he yelled.
The crystal encapsulated his feet and grew up his body, effectively pinning him in place.
“You won’t be able to cause pain in this Macrocosm any longer, Lyliel,” Liora said. “I am the girl who ends it all. The Sadarin are done controlling the Cosmos.”
She gave one last push, ensuring that he was trapped completely. The crystal solidified, then continued to grow outward. Even after Liora pulled away, the walls thickened to the width of a man, then an ursilis. By the time it reached the thickness of a banta ox, she couldn’t see or hear Lyliel’s protests.
“Will that hold him when he’s a Sadarin again?” Devren asked.
“I’m not sure,” Liora replied, “He sucked a lot of power from the core. The planet’s not thrilled about how it’s been used. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in there for a very, very long time.”
“Let’s hope so,” Devren said.
He and Liora ran to the table. Raio waited beside it, his expression one of wariness.
Liora grabbed one of the bands and cut through it with her knife. Raio watched her slice another one. He grabbed two more in his bare hands and pulled. Both snapped and fell away, freeing their mother.
“I’ll carry her,” Devren told them. He was about to slip his arms underneath her body when Raio shook his head.
“I’ve got her.”
He gently lifted Raliel into his arm. The silver-haired woman’s head rested against his chest.
Faint humming, grating noises sounded from down the stairs.
“The Ketulans are coming,” Raio said. “I know another way.”
He led them past the Sadarin’s crystal chamber and into a small alcove. The ground changed from crystal to stone the further they rose. Raio carried the woman with tireless effort despite the number of stairs they climbed.
Devren kept checking the communicator. After several breathtaking minutes, he was able to get through.
“Hyrin, we have a problem.”
“Let me guess. The Ketulans no longer listen to you and they are intent on our destruction,” Hyrin replied.
At the Talastan’s dry tone, Devren paused. “How did you know that?”
“Well, I decided that the safest thing to do in case that very thing happened was to become an asteroid.”
Devren sounded incredulous when he repeated, “You became an asteroid?”
“Yes, among the other asteroids,” Hyrin continued. “We attached to one of these massive rocks and we’ve been watching the planet in case that sort of thing happened. The Ketulans swarmed out a few minutes ago.”
“We would have attempted to contact you,” O’Tule cut in. “But we were afraid the sound would draw them to us.”
“As it is,” Zran pointed out.
“He’s right,” Hyrin said. “They’ve marked our location. We’ve got to leave!”
“Catch us on a flyby,” Devren instructed. “The faster we can get out of here, the sooner we can notify Corian of the danger.”
“Danger?” Straham repeated.
“Corian is under attack. Try to pull them up for when we reach the ship,” Liora instructed.
“Yes, Warden,” Straham replied.
Devren looked around. Down below, the ship they had flown in on was in a million pieces. Apparently the Ketulans took their jobs very seriously. Liora followed
the captain’s gaze to a small outcropping about halfway up the canyon wall.
“Hyrin, I’ve got our meeting place. It’s going to be interesting.”
“Why do I think that’s the last possible thing it’s going to be?” Hyrin replied. “Interesting and difficult beyond all belief are two entirely different concepts.”
“Depends on who’s saying them,” Devren shot back as they ran up the steps that had been carved into the wall.
Several moments later, the S.S. Kratos burst through the thick atmosphere. Ketulans surrounded the ship, grabbing at pieces and repairing their machine comrades felled by Straham shooting from where he was strapped to the hull.
“Where are you?” Hyrin asked.
Liora and Devren waved. Liora glanced back at Raio.
“They’re friends. You can trust them,” she reassured him.
He shook his head. “I don’t think I can trust anything anymore.”
Liora pushed calmness and acceptance toward him. It felt strange to use the emotions to help her brother cope, but after all he had been through, it was exactly what he needed.
“I can feel what you’re doing,” he said.
There was a hint of obstinacy that made her smile.
“You can trust me.”
He nodded. “I know that.”
His easy acceptance of her felt good.
“One step at a time then.”
“What’s the first step?” he asked, watching her closely.
“To get on that ship,” Liora replied.
At that moment, the Kratos flew past with the dozen or so Ketulans cutting into its sides.
“I see them!” O’Tule shouted into the communicators loud enough to make Devren and Liora cringe.
“That’s a big step,” Raio pointed out.
“Well, I couldn’t make it too easy,” Liora replied.
He leaned against the wall in his dark robes, their mother in his arms and his eyes on Liora. His lightening gaze swept behind her and his eyes widened.
“Look out!” he warned.
Liora ducked at the sound and spun, unsheathing her knives as she did so. She stabbed the blades into the fuel cell of a Ketulan and yanked them back out in a practiced move before it fell to the ground.
Beside her, Devren did the same. Three other Ketulans attacked. Liora took down one, Devren the other, and a bullet clipped the third to send it spinning into the canyon below.
“Nice shot,” Devren said over his earpiece.
“Thank you, Captain,” Straham replied.
The ship flew up next to them. Hyrin opened the hatch and Straham helped them aboard.
“Incoming,” Hyrin said over the intercom.
“Get us out of here,” Devren told him.
The hatch closed and the Kratos sped back out to space.
Devren turned around to look at Liora and Raio.
“Straight to the medical bay,” he said.
Liora was about to protest, but he speared her with a look. “I know whose bay it used to be, but I also know you’re covered in wounds that’ll fester if they’re not tended to. Tariq would want you to take care of yourself. Raliel needs to be monitored and Raio could probably use a bit of monitoring himself. I’ll see you both after you’ve had a chance to tend to your needs.”
He left Straham to help them and strode up the hallway.
Raio stared after him. “He’s certainly good at giving out orders.”
A hint of a smile touched Liora’s lips and she nodded. “Yes, he is.”
When they reached the medical bay, Liora sat on the table telling herself over and over not to look for Tariq in the familiar setting. Raliel was hooked up to an I.V. on the far bed. Estra, the new medic from Corian, said that her vitals read like one in a coma. Raio couldn’t say what the Sadarin had done to her. Their only hope was to wait and see if she pulled out of it.
“He has so many broken bones that were never properly treated,” Estra told Liora.
She showed Liora the report from the diagnosis machine she had run across Raio’s body.
“He’s had so many wounds. There are scars here that should have killed him.” Estra looked at Liora. “I don’t understand it.”
Raio came out of the small washroom. He had discarded his dark robes for a simple blue Kratos uniform. The effect softened his features and made him appear less intimidating. There was a bandage across his throat from the shallow wound made by Liora’s knife. He pushed his snarled hair back from his forehead and gave them both a searching look.
“Are you talking about me?”
“Definitely,” Liora replied. “According to the reports, you should be dead.”
That made Raio smile. He liked to smile. It was as if getting away from Lyliel brought out a happier side of him that had never had a chance to exist until he was free.
“Do you remember how you got them?” Estra asked.
Raio looked at Liora. “I have no idea. I actually don’t remember much at all about growing up.”
Liora nodded. “Getting you away from there was the best thing we could do.”
The intercom buzzed. “Liora, we need you.”
“On my way,” she replied.
She ran up the hallway with the feeling of ghosts charging at her sides. How many times had she made the same flight? She touched the painting of the happy underwater earth creatures and turned at the next corner. The control room door stood open.
“I didn’t mean you had to hurry,” Devren scolded her as soon as she stepped inside. “All things considered, you should probably take it easy.”
The bandages across her arms, the stitches that kept the wounds along her shoulders and back together, and the bruises on her face contradicted her when she said, “I feel great. What’s going on?”
Devren shook his head and gestured toward the monitor. “We can’t reach your father. It seems the Ketulans are blocking radio signal.”
Liora’s heart slowed. She leaned against the back of the captain’s chair. “How do we get word to them?”
“Maybe we can send it elsewhere?” Hyrin suggested. “Is there anyone else we can call?”
“How about Tramareaus?” Liora suggested. “I’m sure he and Shathryn would help.”
“We’ve already tried,” O’Tule said. “That was my first thought. But the Ketulans aren’t allowing anything in that direction.”
Liora thought for a moment. “If we can’t warn them to defend themselves, we’ll send an army to them.”
“What are you suggesting?” Zran asked.
“There’s one perk to being the Damaclan Queen,” Liora replied. “Time to put that to use.”
Chapter 17
The sight of starships battling Ketulans and Coalition spacecraft met their eyes when they finally reached the Tucana Dwarf Galaxy.
“I’ve got your father!” Hyrin said.
He quickly moved the image to the main screen.
Senior Commandant Day looked haggard and angry, his uniform tattered instead of straight and pressed like he usually wore it. There were cuts on one of his cheeks, and even though he stood with straight shoulders, the exhaustion on his face was clear.
“Liora, I’m so glad to see you safe!”
“We couldn’t reach you,” she replied. “I sent the Damaclans.”
“Which we greatly appreciate,” her father said. “Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to the report of a Damaclan battalion surrounding our planet. It didn’t take long for word from the Coalition demanding that we turn you over to them.”
“Did you tell them I wasn’t there?”
Senior Commandant Day shook his head. “Doing that would have sent them searching for you. If we fight them here, I know exactly where they are.”
Liora was amazed at her father’s stubbornness. “At what cost?” she asked.
He gave her a grim smile. “At the cost of keeping my daughter safe. The Coalition have the numbers, but our ships outmaneuver them. We can open a pat
hway for you to land. If you stay out there, they’ll have you for sure. The Ketulans have done a great deal of damage, but my troops are holding strong.” He lifted an eyebrow. “It’s a good thing I stopped relying on the Coalition for defense.”
“Yes, it is,” Devren replied. He looked at Liora. “While the Kratos is a strong ship, I’d rather get us into some Nines so we can give a little payback.”
Liora nodded. “You read my mind. Let’s land.”
Her father gave several orders to men and women around him.
“At my signal, the path will be open. I’ll have ships waiting for you,” he told them. His gaze lingered on Liora. “It looks like you’ve had quite the ordeal. Are you sure you want to fly?”
“This is my war. I need to be a part of it,” Liora replied.
Her father gave a nod of respect. “So be it. I’d be out there if I wasn’t needed here.” He was about to turn away.
“I brought Raliel,” Liora said.
The Senior Commandant paused.
“She’s in a coma. The Sadarin wasn’t kind to her. I’ve also brought Raio, her son and my half-brother.”
Her father nodded. “They’ll be well cared for.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Take care of yourself out there,” he replied. “When things calm down, we have a lot to talk about.”
The next few moments were filled with silence as the ships readied to clear a path. Outside the Kratos, rockets from the Damaclan crafts peppered the sides of the Coalition starships. Nines and Tens from the Corian army sped in and out, delivering major damage and then speeding out of harm’s way. On every side, Ketulans tore ships apart with a speed and aggression that was terrifying.
Liora saw the body of a Coalition officer be ripped from his ship and shredded before three Ketulans attacked his Iron Falcon. His body floated in two halves through the darkness.
“Now,” Senior Commandant Day commanded. “Head straight through and don’t slow down until you breach the atmosphere.”
“Yes, Commandant,” Hyrin replied.
The screen switched to the main view of what was in front of them. Hyrin hit the thrusters just as the first ships cut through, clearing the path ahead moments before the Kratos reached it. A huge Coalition Iridium Osprey moved across the path. Hyrin didn’t slow, but his eyelids blinked rapidly, betraying his nervousness. At the last possible second, two Nines shot through the bottom of the ship, blowing it in half. The Kratos passed through the debris and into the Corian atmosphere.
