“My name is Alex Fox,” she said, “and I'm a changeling.”
23
Knightshades
“Do you think we should unhook him?” Quincy asked his mother. They both seemed sorely conflicted about the idea, and Kai shook her head. She looked searchingly at Quinn. He was having flashes of lucidity as some memories came back, but briefly and in small fragments. It was strange. Almost as if he'd had a severe blow to the head...but he wasn't sure how that could have happened, since physically he felt fine. Wait, no. There was the nausea, he grunted.
“Anything?” Kai asked him hopefully, and he raised his eyebrows, confused. She walked up to him and took his hands, whispering to him intensely. “Quinn, I need you right now. We're in over our heads here and Quincy...” she looked over her shoulder, then sighed, and continued, “He beat the odds by finding us and getting in here, but we need your help to get out.” She tugged his hands together, and begged him with her eyes, whispering, “Please. Please help us.”
“Okay,” he heard the word escape his lips. Quinn took a deep breath and drew back, looking around the room. More memories were coming back to him. Whatever they'd done, they must not have gotten to finish it, because he was remembering things more easily the longer he was awake. Finally, it clicked where they were.
“Oh my God...this is the reeducation facility...I didn't think this place was real,” he muttered, and then turned to Kai. “How did Quincy get in here? This place is more than top-secret. Even I didn't know for sure if it existed when I was in the Knights.”
Quincy beamed with pride, smiling. “Well, it wasn't easy,” he said. “But I told Uncle Turk about what happened, and he told me where this place was, and managed to swing me a one-time keycard.” He frowned. “But he said we'd have to figure our own way out.”
“Turk?” Kai asked, surprised. “Figures. And here I always thought he just hibernated in his room and dorked around on the intelliNet”
“Apparently not,” said Quinn. Then to Quincy, “Good work.” Quinn had a thought occur to him as he saw his son smiling. “Hey, did Turk give you a map of the facility?”
“Here,” Quincy nodded, and handed his father a meta-chip card. “Oh, and you'll both need one of these,” he said, fishing earbuds out of his pocket for both Kai and Quinn. They put them in and tapped them on. “Should probably ditch your old ones...if you even have them anymore.” His parents shook their heads, and then Quincy nodded and looked over at the minister. “So...”
The unconscious man in the chair chose that moment to go into a fit. He started bucking; making more noise than Quinn was comfortable with in this situation. “Kark,” he muttered, and removed the earbuds from the small old man, then put his hand over his mouth.
When he did, Minister Qortus opened his eyes with a gasp, then looked right at Quinn and grabbed his wrist. “Important...listen...”
Qortus winced and fell back into his chair as an alarm sounded from the hallway, and Quinn realized the guards must have found their empty rooms. That meant they had almost no time left. Kai grimaced at him and tapped her ear.
“No...Don't go...” Qortus rasped out. “I have...to tell you...something...vital.”
“Yes?” Quinn said, nervously glancing around. “Tell us quick, we've gotta go.”
“Not here...take me...with you...can't...” and he collapsed, his bearded chin dipping forward to rest on his chest. Spittle dripped from the side of his mouth, and Kai groaned.
“More complications,” Kai whispered.
“If he said it's important, it must be,” Quincy said. “He used to be the Minister of Science!”
“But that doesn't mean we should take him with us,” Kai said.
“I got this,” Quinn smiled as he draped the small man over a muscular shoulder. “Now let's find an exit.” He tapped his earbud to check the downloaded files, and said, “This way.”
Quinn followed the map as fast as their party could travel toward what seemed like a plausibly unmanned exit. He'd never heard of anyone escaping from this place, and hoped they were about to make history. If not, this would be a short trip with a sad ending.
Then, a beefy guard rounded a corner at just the wrong time, no doubt rushing to their room in response to the blaring alarm. Before the man could even raise his voice or his pulse-gun, Quinn's fist shot up and smacked him hard across the jaw, knocking him out cold.
Feeling more at home with some hard physical contact, Quinn took a deep breath, then stepped over the guard and rounded the corner. “Come on,” he grunted urgently. Kai and Quincy nodded and followed him. Qortus moaned, and Quinn turned his head. “Quiet,” he said. “We're getting you outta here. Just a bit farther.” Qortus slipped back into unconsciousness. “Crazy old man,” Quinn muttered.
After less than a minute, they arrived at an old maintenance shaft, if Quinn was reading his map correctly. It would lead them out onto a wide support beam that spanned from this facility to the main structure of wherever they were. Come to think of it... “Hey Quincy, where's this facility located?”
“You're not gonna believe it,” his son laughed. “We're in the Prime Citadel.”
“Seriously?” Quinn shrugged. On some level, it made sense. Where else would it be? Especially if someone needed to be accessed or disposed of quickly? He shuddered...they'd come close to having their memories completely wiped.
There were rumors that they changed some people's identities while they were in here, too. Turned them into something more useful to the empire. That was just sick, in his opinion. The idea of walking out of somewhere with no memory of who you were when you went in...It just felt wrong on so many levels. Worse than death, in many ways.
Quinn shook his head, then opened the hatch and motioned for Kai and Quincy to get in. He followed them, dragging Qortus behind him. Fortunately, the tight passage was clean and smooth, so it went well, and they made it to the other side without complication.
However, once they reached the other end of the tunnel and Kai opened the exit hatch, a powerful gale of icy wind blasted him in the face. Quinn discovered why when he moved beside her and saw what she was looking at.
The space beyond the hatch was massive, and the meter-wide support beam stretched across a vast gaping expanse. At the bottom was the Citadel’s wormhole-generator engine, buzzing loudly as arcs of lightning leapt around far below their precariously high position. Quinn gauged that it must be more than a kilometer between here and the bottom. They’d be horribly exposed all the way across.
“I don't like heights,” Kai said tersely, her eyes wide with fear as the wind whipped her hair violently around her face.
“This is the only way out, Kai,” Quinn said with exasperation, and set Qortus on the floor. “Unless you’d prefer to fight through an army of armed guards?”
“I just might!” she snapped, then looked outside. “Kark me.” Kai slowly crawled out onto the support beam, buffeted by the high winds from below. She swayed, and abruptly paused as a strong gust almost caught her, and she flattened herself against the beam, gripping both sides of the metal. She slowly scooted backwards through the hatch, and once she was safe in the tunnel, breathing hard, she grabbed Quinn by the collar.
“This is completely insane!” she yelled, and pointed outside. “We're gonna get killed out there!”
“No we're not,” Quinn replied, putting his hand on hers. “We can do this.” He looked down at Qortus, then at Quincy, and his son nodded, apparently clear on what his father was planning. Quinn felt a surge of pride and a smile quirked his lips.
“What?” Kai yelled over the rushing wind.
“We're gonna put you in the middle, all right?”
“What?” Kai yelled. “Why?”
“Quincy and I are heavier than you, so we won't be as affected by the wind. And if you feel yourself getting pulled, you can hold on to one of us.”
She seemed to consider, then nodded. “Okay!” she yelled. “But I want you to go first!”
Quinn sighed. It wouldn't leave them in a good position if anyone followed them onto the beam, but he supposed if they did, it would be just as hard for them to get out there, and they'd be all right if they had enough of a head start. Therefore, the less time he spent arguing, the safer they'd be. He nodded, and hefted Qortus in front of him, pushing the old man down the beam as he began to crawl across it. What he wouldn't give for his armor in this situation. He really missed that jetpack right now! Eyeing the closed hatch on the other side, he could see this was going to take a while.
Quinn checked behind him to make sure Kai was following, and that Quincy was close enough behind her. So far, so good. Kai shot him a glance, and then yelled at him, “Keep moving!” He nodded, and returned to the process of pushing Qortus carefully down the beam toward the other end.
When they were halfway there, he heard Quincy yell. “Someone's coming!”
Quinn looked over his shoulder, and cursed. Those weren't guards. They were crawling too fast. He looked closer, his eyes stung by the harsh wind, and saw their pursuers were in all black, their faces and limbs wrapped with dark bandages. Knightshades! Kark! He felt a surge of panic, and his throat went dry. He saw Kai looking at him, horrified, and made a decision. He turned around and told her, “You and Quincy get to the other side! I'll be right behind you!” Then he moved to pass her.
She grabbed his wrist, searching his eyes. “Who are they?”
“Knightshades,” he answered her somberly as he pulled away, and then swung himself down onto the side of the metal beam. He inched his way past his family, and then hauled himself up behind them to face the oncoming specters of death. Who knew what to expect? He’d never fought these things before.
“Go!” he yelled at Quincy, and added, “I'm so proud of you.” Quinn made sure they were moving, and then turned to face the enemy.
Quinn slowly stood up to his full impressive height, scathed but unmoved by the harsh wind, and walked forward with a heavy-booted stride. When the Knightshades saw him coming, one in front sprung up and sprinted at him, its shock-blade crackling through the roar of the wind.
“Bad move,” Quinn muttered as a strong gust caught the sinister attacker mid-stride and whipped him from the beam.
Quinn saw the fallen Knightshade tossed through the air for hundreds of meters until it was brutally torn apart by the extreme forces of the wormhole engine far below. The next Knightshade was more careful, and stalked cautiously forward. As it got closer, Quinn saw that its only visible human features were broken yellowed teeth and missing lips. A Knightshade truly had no face then. Once it got close enough, it drew its shock-blade and attacked.
The Knightshade was fast. Faster than anyone Quinn had fought recently. A hit nicked the side of Quinn's shoulder, drawing blood and sending a painful shock through his body. Quinn was at the disadvantage without his own weapon, but not as much as most people would have been. He raised his mechanical left arm, and even though it would cost him, engaged the shock function on it, which instantly burned off his sleeve. “Bring it,” he growled, clenching his fist.
The creature engaged him again, keeping its movements tight and controlled, protecting itself from overextending and greater risk from the wind. Apparently it knew cobra stance, which made things complicated. It darted in with its sword at blinding speed, and Quinn was able to parry only because of his years of experience in the field of martial conflict.
Quinn retaliated with a variation of mongoose stance, darting in past the creature's extended blade, clawing under his attacker's jaw line with his mech hand, and twisting. He was rewarded with a grunt, and the creature staggered back, falling to one knee...but it wasn't nearly as damaged as a normal man would have been.
Then the creature swiped at Quinn's legs, and he moved to avoid a blow that would have crippled him. Instead, he managed to stomp his foot down on the blade and move forward, aiming a kick at the Knightshade's throat. However, his attacker didn't surprise easily, and continued with a lightning-fast blade fist aimed at Quinn's Illeal band. Kark!
It doubled him over, but he kept himself from falling all the way forward. His electrified mech fist shot out again, this time connecting with the Knightshade's face with a sizzling crack. The dark creature crumpled to the ground, and Quinn kicked him off the edge of the structural beam to be carried to his death by the powerful wind.
Quinn reached down and grabbed the handle of the shock-blade before lifting his foot off it, and held it in front of himself. He grunted and switched it off, and its blade and hilt collapsed from the electromagnetic entanglement structure back into an inert mechanical rod. He turned and walked back toward Kai and Quincy. They seemed surprised to see him alive. What did they expect, though? He was a Brigadier Knight. Of course he was all right.
Once he made it to the other side, he looked down at Qortus, then at Kai and Quincy. He closed the hatch behind him, relieving them from the wind at last. Kai rushed over and wrapped him in the tightest hug he could ever remember. Quinn smiled, and held her close.
“That was insane!” Quincy exclaimed. “What were those things?”
“They used to be men.” Quinn sighed. “Brave men...but they were turned into that...what you just saw...because they were deemed dangerous by the empire. For what they did, or something they knew. Maybe him, too,” he said with a glance at Qortus. Kai gently pulled away to check on the unconscious older man, and Quinn sighed. “I'm sure that's why they took me. Although, with the secret I discovered, I'm surprised they kept me alive at all.”
Kai looked at him. “What secret?”
Quinn smiled and held out his hand. “Come with me, and I'll tell you everything.”
24
Black and White
“Prepare yourselves,” King Harris said as he stood in front of his war ministers, and gazed up from the balcony outside his royal command center at the dark nebula. The wind gently ruffled his peppered hair, and he took a deep breath. He'd considered this place his home for six years, but that was about to change.
Harris reviewed the status reports from stations across the Highreach Citadel. The wormhole would be large enough for travel within minutes. The Battalion of Brigadier Knights assigned to him stood at the ready, as did the Army of shock troops and the Fleet of Spearcraft.
“All systems normal, Highness,” the Admiral announced from the core navigation chamber.
“Very good, Admiral Trikon,” Harris nodded, and began to pace up and down his balcony. “Maintain course. Knights, any unusual quantum activity?”
“Not yet, Sire,” General Ivers replied over the line as he assembled his Battalion in the air above the city. Harris could see them hovering in formation, ready to strike at any who dared malign the sanctity of the Highreach Citadel. “Too soon to call it, though.”
“Well, keep me informed. We will not end up like the Alba, gentlemen.”
“Yes, highness.”
Soon his Citadel would be in position with the others, and they'd be ready to take the war to the dragons. It couldn't happen too soon, in his opinion. Too much time and life had already been lost from waiting. They needed to figure out a way to free themselves from the incessant dragon attacks.
“Wormhole event horizon now analyzed and breached, highness. Commencing amplification process,” the voice of the Lead Helmsman informed him.
“Full ahead, Admiral,” he replied, then the three-dimensional disturbance in space-time opened up with a ripple, and the Citadel began moving through. As it did, the enemy began to appear on the monitoring systems. The readings from Ivers showed six solid targets.
Six! Unheard of! He cursed under his breath. The Brigadier Knights were the first to engage, of course, and used their shock-lances to steer the dragons toward the heavy guns.
King Harris could see it all from here. These men were the artists of war, and their masterpieces a beauty to behold. They were not without losses, however. Members of the entire seventeenth fist blinked out in an instant as a
dragon turned on them in mid-flight and froze them all with its breath. They would fall to the ground and shatter into shards, but they would be honored, as would their families. Still...
“Blast,” he muttered. He'd always known the cost of freedom to travel among the stars was great, but believed that price must be paid. “General, draw back your men in the fifth fist, and let the Spearcraft engage that one. It's too big.”
“Copy that, highness,” Ivers replied across the crackling connection. It irked Harris that their communications were always so distorted when going through the wormholes. The spatial transition affected all sorts of non-hermited devices, and earbuds were definitely on that list.
“Admiral, continue on course. We won't be derailed by a pack of wild animals.”
“Aye aye, your highness. We'll breach the event horizon in less than ten, nine...” he continued the countdown, and the pitched battle raged above and below the hulking world-ship. Smoke and fire began to fill the sky, and Harris was filled with a sense of urgency to win this battle before the dragons sundered his vessel beyond repair.
Then, suddenly, a great white dragon shimmered in and flew directly at Harris's observation balcony. It must be the leader of their cluster, he reasoned. Two of Harris's ministers ducked reflexively, but he stood his ground, staring down the beast as it approached. He drew his pulse-gun and opened fire, popping off a volley of powerful bursts at the colossal beast. It swerved upward and to the right to avoid the blast, but Harris tagged its wingtip. It regarded him coldly with large, solid black irises, and Harris grabbed the railing as it roared past, shrieking at him.
It came so close that he could smell a strong scent, much like cloves, as its long tail tore a chunk from the thick railing. It peppered several men behind the King with sharp stone detritus...the ones who had ducked moments before, ironically. If any questions about the value of courage had remained in the minds of his ministers, this conclusively demonstrated that the Creator granted no room to the weak or timid. Not here.
Phoenix Rising (Dragon Legacy) Page 16
