Closing her eyes and fortifying herself to the best of her ability, Katarina screams and throws all her body weight against Michael as she kicks his legs at the same time. Just as the blade slices across the tender skin of her throat, the glitter purple of dark matter sweeps over her skin. An explosion causes the room to shake and she's thrown out into the sand as the sounds of cracking wood, breaking glass, and crackling of fire surrounds her. She looks up just in time to see Doss sending more fire into the collapsed building and dodge two knives that Michael throws at him. He picks up one of the knives and slices it across Michael's throat.
With one more surge of fire, the inferno engulfs the house and Michael screams as he rolls on the sand, trying to put out the flames. Doss storms over to him and with one last slash across his throat, Michael stops moving and lies there motionless as the sand around him turns dark with crimson. Doss drops to his knees and catches his breath before crawling over to Katarina who is still lying on her back and breathing heavily. That really took all the energy she had out of her.
"You okay?" Doss asks through ragged breaths.
She manages a smile. "I think so. We did it."
"You did it. I couldn't have done it without you, baby."
They share a short kiss before helping each other to their feet and brushing of the sand clinging to their clothes. Katarina shakes her head as she looks at the destruction left behind. "Velex is going to kill us."
"Nah." Doss begins searching through Michael's blood-soaked robes. He slips a slightly charred piece of paper out of his pocket and opens it. He reads over it and then tosses it to Katarina. "Interesting. I guess we're going to Vergessen."
"Vergessen?" Katarina asks. "The IGR planet?"
"Yep. Just read it. Also, now we need to get back to the lab and alert Kazimir about Paradise. This entire conflict is just getting started."
Katarina holds up the note and reads it.
I apologize for the primitive form of this message. We couldn't risk sending this electronically and it being intercepted. You should go ahead and burn this once you've read it. Anyway, the army below Paradise is waking up. It seems that our time is approaching. Once Paradise awakens, I will finally be able to reclaim what is rightfully mine. That Russian bastard can try to stop me, but Kazimir knows that I hold the real power in this galaxy. With the Nymphs on my side and the Shadow Spies rejecting Kazimir's leadership, everything should be in place for our invasion of Vergessen. If Dressler so much as looks in that direction, you have my permission to silence him. Once Jophiel is healed from whatever is plaguing him, he will be used to power our army. Then we will dispatch them to Vergessen in order to secure the next phase of our plan. If you go to Vergessen, make sure to take some bug spray. It's an awful swamp planet with nothing but radiation, mutated giant insects, and some crazed IGR citizens who have set up their own backwoods tribal form of government. I couldn't care less what happens to them. We're not three to be friends. We're there to retrieve the power core. We'll be using the old mine shafts to get down far enough to power up the drills and dig the rest of the way to the reactor. Then it's off to Friedhof. For the time being, you have to eliminate Uriel. If left alive, we will fail. Don't listen to the rumors. I know he survived that crash. One more thing. Be wary around Gabriel. I am beginning to sense some tension there. Perhaps he is the spy who has been leaking information to Kazimir. My contact will check back in with you at the bar in two weeks with an update. I expect good news and one less archon.
- Adam Clark
* * *
Soul-devouring guilt overpowers Velex's prejudice and racism just enough to walk across the hall to where Blice and Zach have been operating on Jarred for the past twelve hours without stopping. He had seen Raguel carry the mutilated body into that room and when he saw Jarred in that state, Velex knew he did the wrong thing. It makes him sick to even think about it. Even though they hadn't known each other for very long, Jarred was someone Velex could have considered to be a friend. Now any friendship they could have had is gone. What can he do?
He slides the metal door open and steps into the darkened room where the only lights are from the one computer screen and a bright battery powered light connected to the generator. Without a word, Zach and Blice leave the room. Maybe they know why Velex came here. He goes over to the bed and looks at Jarred who is still unconscious with wires and tubes helping him to breathe and connected to all the various machines and an IV in his arm. His legs have been wrapped in bandages and blood has soaked through to the white sheets under him. Even his arms and chest are covered in red and pink burns. How could Velex have been so stupid? What drove him to do this to a friend?
Velex pulls up a chair next to the bed and sits in the quietness listening to the machine helping Jarred breathe. In times like this, he chooses to rely on his religion to help in any way it can. He takes out a small knife from his pocket and makes three small incisions on the palm of his left hand, one for robotics, one for biology, and one for computers. The trinity of Technotheism also represents the original founders who are Kazimir, Clark, and Velex himself. Pressing his palm against the computer, he begins to cry and focus all of his thoughts into the electronics. The buzzing and humming of the machines vibrate gently through his arms as he prays to the electricity. According to the teaching of Technotheism, if a person bonds with technology and believes enough in the science of it all, then the miracle of knowledge will help them overcome any adversaries. The almighty powers of technology will find a way to develop a cure, deliver insight, or transform the world around him. Technology will be the savior of mankind and Velex believes in this notion wholeheartedly. After a few minutes, Velex opens his eyes and gently touches Jarred's shoulder. "Forgive me."
11
Doss lands outside Kazimir's lab, careful to remain hidden from anyone who could see him with his wings out. Well, according to the note he found on Michael's body, Clark already knows he's alive. So maybe it doesn't matter one way or another. After Katarina slides off of his back, he takes her thin hand and pushes open the metal door then leads her inside the darkened hallway. He stops when he sees the archon in the main room who is drinking straight from a bottle of wine. What is he doing here? "Raguel?"
Raguel puts the bottle down and wipes the wine from his beard on his arm. "Hi there. Don't try to kill me, okay? I've come here to join up and finally make a difference in this petty fighting. It's time to end Clark and his bloodshed."
"I killed Michael." Doss says.
"It's about time someone did it."
"So where are you in all this?"
"On your side."
He scoffs. "Sure you are."
"Shh. Please be quiet." Raguel says. "Jarred isn't recovering very well and he needs his rest."
"Recovering from what?" Katarina asks, very much concerned now. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"He has severe burns covering seventy percent of his body and he lost a lot of blood. He's in critical condition, but he's stable."
"What happened?" She asks again.
"Velex turned him in to the Inquisition for being a Nymph and they burned him at the stake. Luckily I was there to rescue him before he died. It was not a pretty sight."
"Oh my God. And what of Velex?"
Raguel takes another long drink from his bottle of wine. "Kazimir won't let anyone near him. We're under strict orders to stay away and not speak to him. If they weren't cousins, I know that Kazimir would kill him."
"I didn't think Velex was that much of a racist." Katarina says.
"Just against Nymphs?" Doss asks. "He doesn't have a problem with anyone else. He never had a problem with Zerachiel who is Japanese or Gabriel who's African."
"It has nothing to do with physical appearance or culture. Doss, you knew that Velex's wife was killed by a Nymph, right?"
"No."
"Yep. After the Nymphs made their presence known, he intercepted one of their ships and there was a misunderstanding that resulted in the death
of a Nymph leader. Well, that was enough to make relations fall apart. A week later, a Nymph assassin broke into Velex's house and poisoned his wife to get back at him. Velex was away on a mission so he had no idea until he got back and found here there. Their baby was in the room, but he was spared. They tried to make her death look like she caught a sickness, but it was an awful form of Nymph poison. At that moment, Velex swore that he would eradicate the entire race. He nearly succeeded when he ordered nukes to be dropped on their home planet of Olympus."
"So that's why he's always hated them." Doss says.
"As you know, Velex has never been one to think things through completely before he acts."
"And he always gets onto me for that same thing."
"Because he knows from his own mistakes what can happen." Raguel says. "This is just another one of those mistakes. If Jarred doesn't make a full recovery, I don't know if Velex will ever be the same."
"Are y'all done talking about me?"
They turn around to see Velex standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. Doss reaches out to him. "Axel, come talk with us, please."
"I know I screwed up. I get that."
Kazimir interrupts their conversation before it begins. "Guys, he's awake."
"How is he?" Doss asks.
"We managed to get his blood pressure stabilized and with the advanced medical procedures and regenerative nanobots on this planet, he has been recovering. We've been pumping his body full of those nanobots and they seem to be working miracles. He actually wants to speak to you, Axel."
Velex sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "What do I say?"
"Just try to apologize. I saw your blood on the computer." Kazimir says. "You were praying, weren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I? I almost lost a friend all because I couldn't look past one thing."
"One thing first. Don't mention his legs."
"Oh God. What?"
"We had to amputate both of his legs from the knee down."
"Damn." Velex heads down the hallway. "If I don't return in ten minutes, know that Jarred got his revenge."
Doss opens a bottle of water and puts his feet up on the table. "What is this country turning into? So now we put people in the stocks and burn them at the stake? This isn't medieval Europe."
"When people are scared of the technology around them, they revert back to cruder times." Kazimir says. "If you ever get a chance to study some history, you should find out about the original Inquisition whose purpose was to combat religious sectarianism. They would hunt down people who didn't believe the way they wanted people to believe. Then after Paradise was first created, they were the ones who hunted down the M.A.G.E.s, material altering genetic experiments, who failed. Now they've evolved, or devolved as many would see it, to hunting down Nymphs and torturing them as they would have done with heretics."
"So our culture is falling apart?" Katarina asks.
"The balance between humanity and technology must be carefully monitored. Too much humanity leads to the decline of invention and medicine whereas too much technology threatens to uproot religious, cultural, and artistic innovations. One must never sacrifice the innate human aspect for the advancement of the artificial."
"Doesn't that go against your own religion?"
"Just because I believe in something doesn't make it right." Kazimir says. "You of all people should know about that, Doss."
He nods his head and watches the water in the bottle. "I . . . I see."
* * *
Velex composes himself before entering the room where he's surprised to see Jarred sitting up and drinking a cup of tea that Zerachiel undoubtedly gave him. "Jarred? You wanted to talk to me?"
Jarred sets down the teacup on the table by the bed. For a minute, he only looks at Velex without saying a word. No expression shows on his face or in his eyes until he begins to speak. "I have been shot dozens of times, cut up with all kinds of weapons, thrown from a thirty story building, been attacked by ravenous nanobots, and imprisoned and starved for months. Do you know what I did after each of those things?"
"I don't know."
"I had a drink and moved on."
"Jarred . . ."
He smiles at Velex and weakly takes his hand. "You had your one free pass, Velex. Next time, I'll have to kick your ass. Now, bring me a shot of vodka. I'm not staying in this bed any longer."
No way. He's still far from being recovered. "But you-"
"I don't want to hear it. And not only that, but I'm going down to Paradise to get my husband back."
"And how do you expect to get there?" Velex asks.
"I'm gonna fly."
"You can't fly, Jarred."
"Doss is strong enough to carry me. If not, then I'll steal one of your precious space fighters."
He has to know the answer to the most pressing question now. "Why don't you hate me?"
"Because every time I start to get angry at you, I am instead reminded of the person I truly hate."
"Who's that?" Velex asks.
"My father." Jarred crosses his arms and stares up at the ceiling. "I was never good enough for him. We were best friends until I was twelve years old and he got called to the school where I had been sent to the office for kissing a boy in the hallway. When he got there, he thought I was in trouble again for playing with knives or grenades like usual, but when he found out the truth, he completely changed. We were silent all the way home. Once we got to the house, he dragged me into my bedroom, took my clothes off, and handcuffed me by my wrists and ankles to the bed. He told me that he would beat me until I didn't like boys anymore. So he took off his belt and whipped me. For two and a half hours, I screamed and cried as he hit me and called me all sorts of names that I wouldn’t know the meaning of until I was older. By the time he was finished, I was covered in bruises from my neck all the way down to my feet. He broke my skin and there was blood on the blankets. He left me there, handcuffed to my bed for two days without food or water until my mother came and released me. She told me to hide so I shut myself in my closet and stayed there. One day, they left and never came back. I left the closet and turned on the television where I found out they had died in a car accident. The inquisitors showed up and told me I had to leave. Turned out that my father even removed me from his will. So I was twelve years old and kicked out on the streets. I gathered up anything I could find in a backpack and took my father's rifle then wandered the streets alone. I had no family to take me in so I did all I could to survive. Sorry. I guess you didn't want to hear my life story."
"No, it's okay. That explain so much, actually."
"It doesn't matter. That's why I don't hate you, Velex." Jarred pushes back the blankets to reveal his legs that are titanium from the knee down. He's obviously surprised. "Well . . . now I feel closer to my grandfather. Byron made having a metal leg really cool. Now I'm twice as cool. He'd be so proud."
"Has that morphine gotten to your mind, Jarred?"
"Probably. It's great." He slides off the bed and groans as he tries to stand.
"You're in pain."
"You constantly reminding me isn't helping that fact." He grabs onto Velex's shoulders. "Help me out to the main room. I'm not going to stay in bed all day."
Velex puts his arm around his back and helps him walk down the hall. Jarred groans in pain the entire way, but he's making it shakily on his legs that he's not used to yet.
Kazimir stands and claps his hands as he sees them enter the room. "Unbelievable. Gentlemen, behold the power of technology. Not a Technotheist? I bet you are now."
"It's because he's a Nymph." Raguel says. "They might not be truly immortal, but there is something to the legends. Their bodies are able to adapt to hardships in the world around them. The nanobots in Jarred's body sensed that he needed increased healing so they all started fortifying him and repairing his skin, tissue, and muscles. It's the same reason that he was able to carry Katarina through the snow in conditions that should have killed them both. Then
his body produced enough heat to warm them. It's a beautiful thing."
Velex sits Jarred down in a chair. "You are the strongest man I've ever met."
"Why do you say that?"
"Your capacity to forgive."
"I'm young, but I've had what many would consider to be a hard life." Jarred says. "I haven't found a person who can't be forgiven."
"What about the things Clark has done to Jayce?"
"Demons aren't people. The same goes for my father."
* * *
Two weeks have gone by as preparations are made for the journey to Vergessen to intercept Clark's Blood Force agents. The power has been fully restored and the atmosphere generator seems to be functioning normally, at least for now. Jarred has made significant improvements in his recovery both physically and mentally as well as with Velex. Despite what should have torn them apart and made them bitter enemies, they have actually been talking and bonding more than they were before this ordeal. Both men have found a new respect for each other.
Today, Katarina is helping Jarred who has decided that two weeks without working out is the worst thing ever. Even two metal legs can't keep him from doing all the physical things he used to do. It's reassuring to watch him, even though he can't hide the pain he's obviously in. Like right now, the tears are streaming down his face and hitting the floor below him as he struggles with all his strength to do pushups. Katarina tried to talk him out of it, but that only made him want to do it more.
"Damn it!" Jarred yells as his arms give out and he collapses on the floor.
She rushes to his side and holds out her hand. "Do you need help?"
"No. Just leave me alone."
"You're hurting. You need to recover."
"I have recovered."
"Then why do you look like you're dying?" Katarina asks.
Jarred wipes his eyes on his shirt as he sits up and drinks from his bottle of water. "I'm not weak."
Paradise Awakened Trilogy Page 51
