The Gilded Empire

by Ryan W. Mueller

  Markus scratched his head. "Absent?"

  "We don't know what happened to them. They could be dead for all we know. But without them, we are in danger of falling prey to Krinir's desire for destruction. If we don't stop Krinir, he will destroy the world. Compared to that, Warrick is a minor nuisance."

  Nadia's expression twitched, but she said nothing.

  "So that's what you have to understand," Yasmin continued. "Our technology here will ultimately be the means by which Krinir destroys the world. I understand that getting rid of it will cause a great deal of hardship. It is a terrible choice we have to make, but it's the best option." She shook her head slowly. "I wish I could tell you there was another way."

  "And how do we know you're right?" Nadia asked. "Or that you're even telling the truth? You're asking us to place our trust in you with little proof."

  "You saw the video recording," Markus said. "That's what Krinir can do."

  Nadia glared at him. "Do you actually want to do this? We're talking about destroying the greatest prosperity in the world."

  "The Empire is also quite prosperous compared to the rest of the world," Markus said. "And you wanted to kill Warrick. How is this any different?"

  "I didn't know about the rest of the world back then, Markus."

  "Well, now you do," he said, surprised at the vehemence of his arguments. He'd rarely questioned Nadia, but they had to do something now. The resistance had helped them. It was only fair that they help the resistance in return. He still couldn't get the images of Krinir's fire out of his head. Krinir had taught that ability to Warrick.

  If Krinir wasn't stopped, he could create even more tyrants.

  Nadia was blinded by her hatred for Warrick.

  "You don't have to decide right now," Yasmin said. "I've read the Webs of Fate, and they show a few other paths you are likely to take first." She closed her eyes for a few moments, then opened them. "Before you do anything else, you need to rescue an old friend."

  "Who?" Markus asked.

  "His name is Berig."

  * * * * *

  Berig felt sick as the police led them to a building called the police station. It was a bright building, but it didn't feel inviting. The police maintained force fields around them and led them to a room off to the side of the building, where they placed their fingers on pads.

  Berig had the feeling they should have resisted, but they stood no chance against so many. When the pad glowed red, Berig's unease grew.

  "What does that mean?" he asked.

  The officer's expression was grave. "You are escaped convicts."

  Berig felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. Before they'd escaped, they'd been sentenced to execution. Why would that change now?

  "You are due for execution," said the officer.

  Berig pushed against his force field but only earned himself a sharp jolt of pain. He couldn't fail after all this. The other Berig had come back to save him. Surely he hadn't made that sacrifice so that Berig and Lara would die now.

  But how could they escape this? They were in over their heads.

  The police led them to a darker portion of the building containing prison cells. Berig was placed in one cell, while Lara was led to another. As soon as they closed the door, Berig felt the certainty of his fate pressing down on him. A heavy burden he couldn’t lift.

  He leaned against the back wall of his cell, waiting to die. Again.

  * * * * *

  Nadia examined the plans of the police station again and again, feeling uncertain about their chances of rescuing Berig.

  "It isn't going to work," she said.

  Daniel was pacing. "With me on your side, it should work. I outrank anyone in that police station, and I don't know for certain that I've been implicated in your escape."

  "They have to know," Nadia said. "You disappeared at the same time we did."

  Yasmin nodded. "She's right. Your way of doing this won't work."

  Daniel sighed deeply. "I know. I was just hoping we could avoid bloodshed."

  "We're fighting a war," Yasmin said. "Sometimes, bloodshed is unavoidable."

  Nadia understand that statement. In her quest to kill Warrick, she'd accepted that she might have to kill people along the way—people who were only doing their jobs, who perhaps were not evil. But if you supported evil, you had to accept the consequences.

  Then again, what if these people didn't know they were supporting evil? On the surface, the New Earth Empire looked like a prosperous and wondrous place. But beneath that loomed the threat of Krinir and the dangers of the empire's technology.

  It was a gilded empire. Perfect on the surface, but troubled underneath.

  Learning of Berig's fate had convinced her that this place needed to be destroyed. Execution for the simple act of entering the empire—that was evil. No other way to describe it. There were many forms of evil in the world.

  Warrick. Krinir. The New Earth Empire.

  Evil flourished everywhere, and eliminating it fell to people like Nadia and Markus.

  Weavers in the Webs of Fate.

  "What is our plan, then?" Nadia asked.

  "I know the codes to get into the station through a back entrance," Daniel said. "Once we get inside, we'll have to subdue a guard and steal their keycards. With those keycards, we should be able to free them from their cells, and then we'll return the way we came."

  "It sounds simple when you say it like that," Markus said.

  Daniel chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure there will be a few complications."

  * * * * *

  Berig was staring at the wall, lost in thought, when he heard the footsteps. Were they coming for him? He scooted back in his cell, praying he'd have more time before his execution, praying for some way out of this, though he didn't see how that was possible.

  The door to his cell opened. A large contingent of guards stood in the doorway, and one of them generated a force field around Berig. Some of the guards had already grabbed Lara, and she stood within a force field, staring at the ground in defeat.

  "The president has ordered your immediate execution," said one of the guards.

  Berig felt as if his legs had turned to lead. All this time, he'd held out hope that someone might come to rescue them if they just had enough time. Now there was no escape.

  The guards led them through the corridors.

  "Where are you taking us?" Berig asked.

  "To the execution chamber," said one of the guards. They rounded a few more corners, then stopped before a metal door. A guard pressed his hand to the door, and the handprint there glowed green. After the door hissed open, the guard led them through.

  The chamber beyond was bright and empty. The guards released the force fields, but there was no escape, not with so many guards standing in the doorway. Berig and Lara took spots against the wall. At this point, there was no reason to resist.

  "I love you, Lara," Berig said.

  "I love you, too, Berig."

  The guards pointed their plasma rifles and prepared to fire.

  * * * * *

  Markus stood in the dark alley behind the police station, examining the building they were about to break into. He didn't like the idea of sneaking around. He'd always been a more direct person. It was better to defeat your enemies through pure skill.

  He couldn't think of any way they'd manage this without earning the same fate as Berig.

  Daniel strode to the back entrance, beside which there was a keypad—or at least that was what Daniel had called it. He pressed a few of the numbers on the keypad, and there was a faint click. The door swung open, and Daniel stepped through, gesturing for Markus and Nadia to follow. Markus's stomach clenched as he walked through the door.

  The corridor beyond was quiet and dimly lit. They moved slowly, keeping their steps silent. Markus's heart pounded so fiercely he thought the guards might hear it. Sweat trickled down his forehead, but he ignored it, pressing onward.

  Daniel stepped t
hrough a nearby door, beckoning them through behind him. The new corridor they'd entered was much brighter and contained perhaps a dozen doors.

  "These are all the cells here," Daniel said. "They should be in one of them."

  Each cell contained a window, through which they peered, checking for Berig and his companion Lara. It didn't take long to determine that all the cells were empty.

  "Where could they be?" Markus asked, feeling sick.

  "It's highly irregular, but they might have been executed already," Daniel said. "After all, if we can see their importance in the Webs, then so can our enemies."

  Nadia began pacing. "If they were going to execute them, where would they be?"

  "This way," Daniel said. "Follow me."

  They raced through the corridors, rounding a few twists and turns. At one point, Daniel held up a hand, signaling for them to stop. His expression was lined with concern.

  "What is it?" Nadia whispered.

  Daniel kept his voice low. "There are a lot of guards up ahead, right at the entrance to the execution chamber. We have to act quickly."

  The resistance had equipped Markus and Nadia with new TWs. At a signal from Daniel, they all let loose at once. Bursts of lightning crackled in the air, striking a few of the guards and alerting the rest to their presence. The guards turned, firing their plasma rifles.

  Markus, Nadia, and Daniel all raised shields just in time to absorb the energy. As they pressed forward, Markus kept the shield going, and Nadia and Daniel launched more attacks at the guards. Lightning. Fire. Jets of water. Shards of ice.

  The guards retreated, firing their rifles in a futile effort. Soon they'd retreated far enough that Markus could slip into the room. Nadia took over the duty of holding the shield while Markus rushed inside. A weight lifted off his chest when he saw Berig and a darker-skinned woman standing side-by-side against the wall, apparently unharmed.

  Berig's eyes widened almost comically. "Markus! Is that really you?"

  "Yeah, I came here to get you out. Come on. We've gotta move."

  Berig and the woman didn't question him.

  "You must be Lara," Markus said to her. "Nice to meet you. There isn't much time for introductions, though. We've gotta get out of here."

  Out in the corridor, Nadia and Daniel were still battling with the guards. The guards didn't carry TWs, but their plasma rifles were dangerous enough. Markus could tell that Nadia's shield was already weakening.

  "I'll take over the shield," he said. "You keep attacking." He channeled his magical energy through the TW, raising a shield and stretching it so that it surrounded all five of them. He felt himself straining to make the shield that wide. How long would it hold?

  "We need to retreat," Daniel said. For the most part, the guards' armor was holding up to their magical onslaught. Daniel had told them, earlier, that a lot of guards had armor that generated its own relatively weak shields.

  The five of them turned and ran the other way. Nadia and Daniel joined the efforts to hold the shield around all five people, and Markus no longer had to work so hard.

  The corridor flashed by as plasma rifle discharges burst all around them. They raced past the cells, nearing the corridor through which they'd entered. Even with three people holding the shield, it grew weaker every time it was struck.

  They darted into the darker corridor, then reached the door leading to the alley. But the guards were close behind, firing their plasma rifles in a continuous barrage.

  To the right was the alley's only exit, and more than a dozen police officers stood at the end of the alley, blocking their path.

  "Can we get past them?" Markus asked.

  "I don't think so," Daniel said. "They've probably got even more people out there."

  "Then what can we do?" Berig asked, his face pale in the moonlight.

  "I have an idea," Lara said, "but it might be a little insane."

  Chapter 44: The Chase

  Nadia looked the direction that Lara was pointing. At the other end of the alley, where it ended with a massive wall, was a flying vehicle. It was black and gleamed in the moonlight. The word POLICE was written across the front of it.

  Daniel slapped a hand to his forehead. "Of course! Follow me."

  They rushed to the end of the alley, holding their shields around them. Nadia had almost lost all her magical reserves. She prayed they could escape in this vehicle. While Nadia and Markus kept the shield strong, Daniel entered a few numbers on the vehicle's keypad.

  The door swung open vertically, emitting a low hiss. The five of them scrambled into the vehicle, closing the door behind them, and Daniel took a position in the driver's seat. The engine came to life with a great roar, followed moments later by the vehicle lifting from the ground.

  Daniel pushed a lever, and the car lurched forward. At first, Nadia's stomach clenched, but then she realized that Daniel had control of the vehicle. Surely he knew how to drive—or fly—one of these things.

  The vehicle moved forward more quickly, and the guards fired their plasma rifles at it. The attacks fizzled against a shield surrounding the car.

  After a few more moments, the vehicle soared high into the air, flying above the tops of buildings. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.

  "We've got someone on our tail," Daniel said.

  Nadia glanced back just in time to see another police vehicle behind them. A bright blue glow gathered in front of the flying car, and a blast of energy soon barreled toward Nadia and the others. She covered her head, bracing for the impact. When the energy hit their vehicle, it rocked tremendously, making her feel sick.

  "How much more of that can we take?" she asked.

  "Not too much," Daniel said. "One of you needs to man the weapons."

  "I'll do it," Nadia said. Aiming at another vehicle here had to be much like aiming a bow. The others all looked terrified at the prospect anyways, so she didn't have a choice. She jumped into the seat Daniel indicated, then stared in confusion at the glowing panel ahead of her. "How do I use the weapons? I don't understand any of this."

  Another blast of energy hit the car, and the force of it nearly knocked Nadia out of the chair.

  "There's a belt," Daniel said as he guided the vehicle beneath a bridge stretching between two buildings. "Strap yourself in."

  Nadia fumbled with the belt for a few moments before securing it. "I still don't know which buttons to press."

  Another attack struck the vehicle.

  "I don't have time to explain," Daniel said. "Just try something." Another blast. "Anything!" He turned the flying vehicle so that it dodged the next attack. "Try not to blow up any buildings, though."

  Nadia found a device shaped like a cylinder. It looked as if it might be a means of aiming a weapon. She'd seen similar, but smaller, devices on some of the plasma rifles. It also reminded her of the telescopes she'd used back home to gaze at the stars.

  She pressed her eye against the device and saw through it the outside of the vehicle. Right now, it was facing ahead of them, not toward the vehicle she needed to attack.

  "How do I turn this thing?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. "I need to turn it around."

  "There should be a lever to your right," Daniel said, guiding the vehicle through the city at alarming speeds. "Turn it and the scope will turn."

  Nadia turned the lever, and to her relief, the scope did turn. Now she could see the car behind them, but they were moving so quickly and erratically that she couldn’t get a clear shot.

  "Why aren't we flying above the city?" Berig asked from behind her.

  "If we go up high, we'll stand no chance of escaping," Daniel said. "They'll shoot us out of the sky." The car suddenly jerked downward, and they passed between two bridges, barely fitting in the gap.

  Nadia's entire body trembled as she tried to aim at the vehicle behind them.

  "The red button to your left fires the weapons," Daniel said.

  Nadia aimed, hoping she'd hit their pursuers, and
pressed the red button. The same kind of blue energy burst from the rear of their vehicle. Her aim was too high, though, and the energy soared up into the open air.

  She aimed again. Fired. Missed high. Aimed again. Fired. Missed low.

  This time, the blast of energy collided with a billboard. The billboard exploded with a brilliant orange glow, and bits of it rained down on the city below. Nadia's stomach churned as she prayed she hadn't hurt or killed anyone.

  "I-I don't think I can do this!" she said, her heart drumming in her ears.

  "Yes, you can," Daniel said. "Just keep firing. It'll distract them at the very least."

  She swallowed her fear, though her chest felt so tight she could barely breathe, and aimed again. Every shot she aimed now was a little high. She didn't want to hit another billboard—or worse, an actual building. She couldn't have that on her conscience.

  The vehicle rose, fell, rose again. Sometimes, they veered so sharply to the side that she would have fallen out of her chair without the belt. Behind her, Berig, Markus, and Lara had all strapped themselves into other chairs, but they were still clinging to everything they could.

  Nadia could only fire when they were on a relatively level path, and that rarely happened. The city was a dangerous maze, crisscrossed with all kinds of obstacles.

  Nadia's palms were sweaty, so she tightened her grip on the lever as she sighted their enemy through the scope. She fired again, and finally struck the other vehicle. The blast didn't destroy the car, and she hadn't expected it to.

  Another attack struck their vehicle in retaliation, and this time the side of the car blew off. Wind rushed into the vehicle, strong enough that it would have blown them out if they didn't have the belts to restrain them. As it was, the wind was still annoying. She couldn't hear anything over it. She couldn't concentrate well enough to aim at their pursuers.

  "I'm losing control!" Daniel shouted. The car rocked more violently than ever. They were headed straight toward some kind of stone monument in a large park.

  At the last moment, Daniel gained enough control to keep them from striking the monument, but it was clear that he wouldn't keep the vehicle in the air much longer.