by Lisa Lace
“Bring the pillar with us.” I helped the old Makroid over the hill as Christine dislodged the pillar from the ground. “We’re going inside.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CHRISTINE
The inhabitants of the Makroid village didn’t know how close they were to their doom. The entrance to the place that could ruin the tyranny was less than a mile away. How many hours had Lord Silas spent searching for a temple that was practically beneath his feet?
I hopped off the stairs, landing on the smooth, caramel stone floors. The ground was warm to the touch and had an electric feel to it. It was almost as if the temple had known we were coming. Sacred vessels and elaborate shrines filled the majestic building. The blazing fire of standing torches lit up a series of rooms. Hieroglyphics marked the walls and vaulted ceilings. Under each archway, a pair of gilded Zamoan deities stood guard on either end.
I didn’t have the chance to appreciate the historical work of art. The Makroid were on our tail.
“Spread out!” General Wasid bellowed behind me.
Moving behind a pillar, I vaulted over the holy well and crouched behind one of the shrines. Axl had the same idea. He rolled across the floor and got into position next to me. The other Urwanians took refuge behind columns, statues, and altar tables. When the Makroid flowed into the temple, we opened fire.
All hell broke loose. I could hear my teeth grinding through the ringing in my ears as I fired my pistol. The explosions of gunfire rang loud in my ears but seemed far away at the same time. The people who ran out of ammunition had to use whatever they had available. Religious artifacts and swinging torches became deadly weapons in their hands.
“Axl, watch over this!” As a Makroid came barreling toward me from the side, I hurled the pillar at Axl. He caught it in midair and set it on the ground, resting one foot on top as he prepared to fire on a group of Makroid focused on taking the pillar. Meanwhile, I thrust myself up against the wall and launched myself at my attacker, kicking him back into the well.
“I don’t want it either!” I wheeled around, wincing in pain as I caught the pillar in the crook of my arm. I bludgeoned the Makroid behind me with the butt of my gun and fired at another one. In the midst of the violent bloodletting, Lord Silas and Akuza appeared in the stairwell.
“Stop talking to each other!” Natya clobbered a Makroid with a large metal basin. She pointed at the central archway as the blood from a gash on her palm rolled down her arm. “Do something useful and get to the pyramid!”
“I’m going in!” I scooped up the pillar and started to move. Axl disarmed two Makroid, stealing their weapons. He jogged alongside me, protecting me from stray blaster fire as we made a run for it. On the other end of the room, Lord Silas told Akuza to stop us.
My chest felt tight and was starting to cramp from all the physical exertion, but I couldn’t let pain prevent me from doing what was necessary. I kept my eyes on the prize, focusing on the black pyramid perched on the pedestal as my calf muscles burned.
“Come on,” I muttered under my breath. “I’ve done harder things than this before.” By the time I made it through the final archway, the Makroid had caught up to us. Around me, the Magnum team parried the blows of soldiers in black and green uniforms. I pushed forward, lunging to the steps of the pedestal until I felt a giant weight on my back.
“Agh!” Akuza tackled me from behind, smacking my face against the bright, hard floor. The pillar sailed out of my hands and plummeted to the ground, sliding into a faraway corner.
The room started to spin around me. “Get off. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
I wasn’t the only one trying to influence Akuza. The cold tone of Lord Silas’ voice terrified me. “Don’t choke now. Finish her!”
I arched my legs and pounded my fists against the floor, veins projecting from my arms and neck. I thrashed around, doing all I could to slide out from underneath him, but I was out of energy. The sensation of a shaking blaster jammed under my chin wasn’t enough to make me move.
“We don’t have to do this.” Akuza’s voice came down from above me. I felt the splash of falling tears sting my scraped cheek. “We can get everything we want without killing anyone.”
“The pillar isn’t everything I want. You have to prove yourself.” His father slammed the cane on the ground.
Akuza withdrew his pistol, instantly lightening the load on my back. “I can’t do it.”
“You’re pathetic.” In a remarkable display of strength, Lord Silas lifted his son by the sleeves and threw him across the room. Akuza crashed into a wall, squealing as he tumbled to the ground. He moved away from his father and huddled in the corner. Akuza was so traumatized by the savage attack that he completely missed the pillar inches away from his feet.
Before I could lift myself off the ground, Lord Silas moved to me and stomped on my leg. I threw my head back when I heard the sickening crunch, howling in pain as white-hot heat shot up and down my mangled limb. Tears fell from my eyes. I glanced over my shoulder through clouded vision, hoping for someone to help me. Between the gaps of Lord Silas’ legs, I could see Axl busy warding off a Makroid horde. I was on my own.
I swung out my elbows and started to crawl toward the pillar, but the tyrant seized my ankles and flipped me over. Stepping on my leg again, he tugged at the handle of his cane and revealed a long, glinting rapier. He swung back the blade, eyes appearing red with manic bloodlust.
Every muscle in my body became tense. Staring down the tip of the thin silver blade put my life into perspective. For a single moment, all the pain in my body stopped.
I heard a cry from behind me. “No!”
As Lord Silas lowered his rapier, Akuza leaped in front of me, and the blade pierced his stomach.
Time is supposed to slow down in the face of death. The changes in Lord Silas’ expression came like a series of pictures. First I saw anger, which turned into disbelief, and finally despair. As he stared at his dying son’s body, I pulled myself to my feet and limped towards the pillar.
Dragging one leg behind me, I snatched up the pillar and crawled up the pedestal steps. I thought I could make it. When I reached the last step, the sides of the pyramid split open. I placed the pillar in the center of the pyramid and stumbled back down.
The pyramid swallowed the pillar, and the temple walls began to tremble. One by one, the fires on the torches went out. The bedlam halted as the remaining Urwanians and Makroid looked around and started to panic. People started rushing to the only exit.
“Christine!” Axl lifted me off the ground. I clung to his neck and bounced in his arms as he dodged the chunks of sand and rock falling from the crumbling ceiling. He only had to make a final leap over a pile of Makroid corpses before bolting up a winding stairwell. The last thing I saw was the dumbfounded face of Lord Silas vanishing behind the cascading rubble.
Axl carried me out of the temple passageway, where we caught up with the rest of the Urwanians. Fleeing residents and prisoners of the Royal Bubble joined us. Together, we watched as the dome imploded, bathed in sparks and orange flames. In less than sixty seconds, a sinkhole consumed the fragments of the royal city.
As the Makroid began to weep for their lost homes, something happened that no one had seen for centuries. Above the wreckage, the skies began to clear. Sunlight shone through the clouds.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
AXL, ONE MONTH LATER
“Three, two, one...and pull!”
Securing my grip on the thick braided rope, I locked my feet on the ground and tugged with all my strength. Using the combined force of five Urwanians and Makroid, the utility pole slowly rose off the ground. A separate group near the base formed a ring around the pole and screwed it into the foundation.
“Great work, everyone. That was the last thing we needed to do today. Come back tomorrow – same time, same place.”
I lowered the brim of my hard hat and nodded at the project manager. The Makroid slightly lifted his head b
efore lowering his eyes back onto the clipboard. As the crew members treated themselves to a drink of water and descended into meaningless chatter, I took a step back and looked at what we had accomplished together.
It would take decades for the Makroid planet to get back on its feet. We had only been working for three and a half weeks, but we had done a good job considering everything that had happened. After the destruction of the royal city of Makroi, the remnants of the fallen dictatorial power scattered and a new structure was starting to arise.
For the first time in eight centuries, the citizens were going to have elections for the ruling party and the heads of a new government. Empress Angkora and the leaders of other planets had volunteered time, money and people to help rebuild Makroid communities. Magnum had agreed to help with the project, and Christine was part of the package.
In less than a month, we filled the sinkhole and paved it with tons of concrete. No one could save the ramshackle mud huts in the village. Its residents relocated to temporary quarters as construction crews built sturdy and affordable housing in the old locations. Another job was clearing the trash and rubble off the streets. Environmental teams replenished vegetation with mature trees when possible. Otherwise, they used containers of seeds that were flown in from other planets. In this district alone, we had managed to establish a new hospital, market, and a four-story schoolhouse.
“Axl!”
I could recognize the sound of Christine’s voice without looking at her. Leaning against her crutch, she hobbled toward me with her hard hat in one hand. The door of the portable toilet swung open behind her. I couldn’t read the expression on her face, but it concerned me.
“Is something the matter?”
“That depends. I don’t know.” Christine cradled the hard hat to her chest.
“What is it?”
Licking her lips, she handed over her hat. Inside the shell was a small rectangular tablet resting on a piece of cloth. My body went numb. I leaned in closer, staring at the glowing green indicator. My eyes started to tear up.
“Is that a pregnancy test?” I gasped, my chest flooding with warmth. “I hear they’re not always accurate. And I’m from another planet.”
Christine reached into her jacket pocket and tossed a clear bag at me. It contained six additional positive pregnancy tests. She cleared her throat. “Do you have anything else to say?”
I threw the tests aside and wrapped my arms around her. As Christine’s stiff body softened in my grasp, I pressed my lips against her. She kissed me back tenderly, her lips moving with mine in a perfect rhythm.
The gravity of the situation started to weigh down on me, and I stepped back. “We have our appointment for the annulment next week.” I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what was to come. “Can we raise a child as single parents?”
Christine slipped her free arm around my waist, pulling me back to her. “I don’t think we can. But we don’t have to,” she whispered, the blue jewels in her eyes staring at me intensely. “I mean, I am your airi, after all.” She kissed me on the cheek before pulling away from me. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave for Urwan right away. Aunt Meredith hates spaceports and she hates waiting. We’ve got a lot of hate on our hands.”
“Relax. They dismissed us twenty minutes early. I’m glad that you’re talking to your aunt again.”
“Me too. We still need to work through a lot of trust issues, but she’s getting on a spaceship for the first time in her life. That’s a big step for her! Now, come on, move that cute butt of yours!”
“I’m right behind you.”
As Christine dragged me toward the spaceship, a flock of squawking lomas birds glided across the sky, bound for the setting sun.
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Bonus Book - Cyborg Fury
by Lisa Lace
CHAPTER 1
The tall black building had once been the pinnacle of scientific advancement. Every scientist hoped to work in it eventually. On this day it seemed appropriate that a heavy rain covered the edifice. Cyborg Sector was where Dr. Neil Daniels’ career began. Now that it was being shut down, it would also be the place his career ended.
When the administration announced they were discontinuing the cyborg program, and would no longer be using augmented soldiers to reinforce the regular army, they gave most scientists and other workers early retirement. Neil had been unfortunate enough to be one of the retirees.
No one cared that he had made cutting-edge advances helping physicians transform human bodies into mechanical soldiers that people could control remotely. The crushing weight of political correctness meant he could no longer save lives by creating supersoldiers. Although a few employees were kept on to help the remaining cyborgs make the transition to civilian life, he was not chosen to be one of them.
That didn’t mean he was going away empty-handed. Neil shifted uncomfortably as the rain trickled down the back of his neck and onto his coat. It was cold for April, but he wasn’t going to let a little thing like weather stop him.
He hoped that the darkness would hide him well enough. Maintenance had taken most of the solar-powered exterior lights off their timers. What was the point of lighting an empty building? In its heyday, Cyborg Sector was treated more like a maximum security prison than a place of scientific research. There were numerous guards, alarms at every gate, and doors that required high-clearance passes. Nobody got in or out without being logged, checked once, then checked again.
The upper levels of Cyborg Sector, however, were now no different than a typical office building. Neil needed a key card to get through the door, but his entrance would not be recorded either in the security system or on video. Nevertheless, his heart pounded in his chest, competing with the sound of the rain on the asphalt. He had no job to lose anymore, but he still had his reputation. Did it matter? Would he ever need anyone to remember him as a respected scientist, or was he destined to spend his remaining years doing yard work and solemnly marking a bingo card on Saturday afternoons?
That wasn’t going to be his future if he had anything to say about it. There was still significant work to do. It didn’t matter if the government wasn’t willing to pay for it. With every crisis came an opportunity. Now Neil could continue his research on his terms, without anyone gawking over his shoulder or criticizing his methods. If all else failed, he could write a book. There was still plenty of life ahead for Dr. Neil Daniels.
He marched determinedly to the building, keeping his peripheral vision sharp to detect anyone who wanted to stop him. Nobody who cared about his plans was hiding behind the dumpster or crouching around the corner. He held his key card up against the gray square next to the door. The lock clicked open with a tiny snap, allowing him to pull the door open and slip inside.
Neil stood in the dark entryway for a moment to catch his breath. There wasn’t any reason for him to have respiratory problems. It hadn’t been a long walk from his rented van. Neil was letting his nerves get to him. Slipping his card back into his pocket, he crept quietly through the maze of offices and cubicles on the first floor. He had made this journey many times, but it had always been brilliantly illuminated by a vast array of LED lights on the ceiling. Creeping among the wall panels now felt confusing, lit only by emergency security lights directly wired to the electrical grid.
This area didn’t look like Cyborg Sector at all. There were no cyborgs and no labs. Secretaries fielding calls from terrified citizens and angry cyborg rights organizations had once filled the cubicles. There had been employees in accounts payable and accounts receivable, human
resources (a term the scientists always found amusing), and public relations. It was a place of everyday productivity and the fundamentals that any company would find necessary for existence. Now it terrified him.
Neil paused every few seconds to listen for the telltale sound of footsteps following his path. He had never seen anyone follow him through Cyborg Sector before, but there was always the possibility that someone else was inside waiting for him. He wondered if anyone suspected him of performing illegal experiments.
He had made sure to go willingly the day the administration forced all unessential personnel to leave the facility. The scientist had packed up his desk and his lab station, stuffing everything in his work universe into the back of his station wagon. He had joined the other employees in the lounge for punch and cake, biting his tongue to keep from saying everything he felt about the entire process. His coworkers didn’t take the news as poorly as he did, or perhaps they did a better job of faking acceptance. They had held up plastic cups to toast new opportunities and six months of severance pay. Neil had done the same alongside them, but his heart was somewhere else.
Eventually, he reached the door on the other side of the maze of cubicles. It was a solid metal door, markedly different from the wooden doors that led into corner offices and janitorial closets. Painted a bland gray, it would have blended into the walls if it weren’t for a small sign near a keypad that read Authorized Personnel Only – No Exceptions. He was still authorized for access, so his pass card opened the door, and he stepped through.
The door opened onto a landing at the top of a set of stairs. Normally, the lights would have been on, illuminating an enclosed, windowless stairwell. But the majority of funding related to Cyborg Sector had been cut off, and the utility bill was long past due. Neil pulled a flashlight out of the pocket of his coat and flicked on the button.
