The Gatekeepers (The Survivors Book Eight)

by Nathan Hystad

  “Did you not hear them?” she asked, and Karo nodded.

  “I did, but perhaps not as acutely as you. Our ancestors sacrificed themselves into these stones so long ago. They struggle to stay, I think. They understand their function and fight to help us,” Karo said.

  Ableen had stopped screaming, but she was rocking back and forth on the ground as Karo hugged her tightly. “They are in pain. We have to help them. We must release them, Karo.”

  Karo glanced up at me, locking gazes. I instantly knew that they were right. We couldn’t keep the stones alive for our own convenience. I had to support her on this. “Ableen, help us bring our brothers and sisters home, and we’ll do everything we can to close the stones, freeing your people.”

  Her eyes went big, and she blinked innocently. “Do you promise?”

  I cringed. The Alliance of Worlds relied on trade, and a lot of it was done through the portal system. We’d have to find another way. I felt confident making the deal. “I promise.”

  Karo smiled wide and helped the woman to her feet. I wiped Jules’ red cheeks and kissed her on her smooth forehead. “You okay, honey?”

  “Okay, Papa,” she said softly.

  The huge familiar guards strode up to us, immense guns pointed in our direction. I raised my hands and stepped in front of our group. “Good evening, gentlemen,” I said, not knowing what time of day it was on Bazarn.

  “It’s you again. Should I alert the planet that we might be under attack soon?” The guard’s alien words translated into my ear through my earpiece.

  I laughed at this. “Always nice to see you too. Can you…”

  “Let Alnod know you’re here and send a ship for you?” The other guard finished my sentence for me.

  “Exactly. See, we’re good friends at this point,” I told them, trying not to think about how easily they could tear me limb from limb. The room was eye-catching, with its high walls and pillars. Images of various planets were carved into the ceiling, and the gold color was etched into every nook and cranny the designer could find.

  “What’s that all about?” the first guard asked, pointing to Ableen, who was on her feet beside Karo behind me.

  “Nothing. Her cat died,” I said, and the two guards frowned at one another, confusion spread across their faces. “Good to go?”

  The giant armored guards stepped apart, clearing a path to the exit. “By all means. Don’t cause any trouble while you’re here, Parker.” So they knew my name. Mary glanced at me. It was her first time here, though I’d told her a lot about the stints I’d been to the world.

  We moved through the space beyond the portal room and found the halls empty, as well as the stairs leading to the promenade. No hologram women greeted us to give directions this time, and we emerged onto the boardwalk. I was glad to see it a hustle and bustle of activity. So Bazarn was once more open for business.

  “Everyone watch your pockets,” I warned, recalling the time we’d been pickpocketed in the middle of the crowd. We carried our packs with full EVAs inside, and Jules clung to Mary as we strolled through the center of the promenade. It wasn’t that busy, but it was warm in the bright sunlight. Smells of foreign foods wafted through the air, and I found I was suddenly hungry. I hoped Regnig would have something other than birdseed available.

  Perhaps I could convince the pilot of the transport vessel to make a pit stop. I found the same ship Garo sent last time, lowering from the distant sky to land at the edge of the square. Slate took the lead, and many visitors and locals alike cleared the way for the large incoming blond man in a white jumpsuit.

  I noticed Ableen cowering from the throngs of people. She was skittish, and I didn’t blame her. All of this was so alien to a woman who’d never left her home world. She was young and frozen in time for centuries aboard the Collector’s ship. Karo whispered comforts to her, and she appeared to accept his word as gold as we arrived at the awaiting vessel.

  One of Garo’s blue Molariun pilots opened the doors and waved us aboard.

  “Dean!” Rivo ran over, jumping up and wrapping her arms around me. She was so tiny, she hardly weighed a thing.

  “How did you even make it home?” I asked.

  “I left the night of the festival, before things went to hell. Dad was sick, and I needed to be with him,” she said.

  “Is he all right now?” Mary asked, settling Jules to a seat. She pulled out a bag of breakfast cereal and opened it for our daughter.

  Rivo’s four eyes cast aside, telling me he wasn’t fine. “No. He’s not doing well. Part of me is grateful the portals have been closed, because it’s given me a chance to care for him.”

  Everyone was on board, and Rivo glared up at Ableen, who was over twice the small blue girl’s height. “What do we have here?” she asked.

  “Rivo Alnod, this is Ableen of the Theos.” Karo stood proudly when he said this, looking like he was posing for an ancient Greek statute.

  “What… you found another Theos? This is great!” Rivo grabbed Ableen’s hand and tapped the top of it with a finger, as if checking if the woman was real.

  “Rivo, if you expect our story, I’m not telling you until we’re with Regnig. I think I’m all storied out for today,” I told her as the ship lifted up.

  “Magnus and Nat are home safe?” Rivo asked.

  “They weren’t quite yet, but they were on the way,” Slate told her.

  “Rivo, do you mind stopping somewhere for food? We only have road provisions, and I’d rather salvage what we can,” I said, and she nodded, speaking softly to the pilot. Our detour only took a few minutes, and soon we were up in the air, heading away from one of the rich floating islands above Bazarn, moving toward the desert. The food smelled great, and already Slate was trying to sneak a peek into the crate it arrived in. Rivo slapped his hand away.

  “And I see the offspring is here.” Rivo nodded to Jules, who had a donut-shaped cereal bit stuck to her cheek.

  Mary rolled her eyes. “Yes, the offspring is here.”

  “She’s very cute. For a human,” Rivo said, and my wife laughed.

  “I suppose you’re right. Thank you,” Mary said in return.

  I glanced out the vessel’s display screen and saw the ship’s nose diving toward the sand. Here we went again. We traveled through the holograph and into the tunnel leading far below the surface, where the secret library and its telepathic caretaker resided.

  It wasn’t long before we were on the cliff platform outside the door leading to the library. Rivo asked the pilot to stay put, and we poured from the ship. Jules tried running for the ledge, as if to peer over it, and I grabbed her by the scruff of her romper. “I don’t think so. With me, missy.” She giggled as I carried her over to the entrance, which swung open before I had the chance to knock.

  I knew it was only a matter of time, Regnig said telepathically. Everyone appeared to have heard his words, because Mary broke out in a smile.

  “It’s great to see you again,” Mary said, and the tiny bird man lifted a stubby wing, inviting us inside.

  Karo smiled and nodded at Regnig, whose large eyes widened at seeing Ableen with our group. Who is this?

  “Ableen,” Karo said, ushering her inside the door. We made our way to the hall and settled inside the edge of the library. Slate set the crate of food on a table, and Regnig stuck his narrow tongue from his beak.

  A female Theos. I never thought I’d see the day where I met you, Karo, and now that we’ve met before, I never thought I’d meet another of your kind. This is preposterous and amazing, Regnig said. What brings you to my little nest? He motioned for us to have a seat, and when he realized he didn’t have enough chairs, he directed Slate and me to an adjoining room, where we found a dusty old couch. We wiped it off and carried it to the center of the library, where Regnig and I had first had a long chat.

  Jules wobbled over to Regnig, and I laughed at how close in size they were. She thought he was something akin to our dog, and she tried petting him, receiv
ing a scowl from the one-eyed telepathic bird.

  Perhaps she’d be more comfortable in a cage? Regnig said jokingly.

  I scooped her up and sat down, passing her a tablet from my pack. She threw on headphones and watched her favorite show while we talked. We tried to limit her screen time, but there was a time and place for distractions. I guessed there would be a lot of that on this adventure.

  “You asked why we came.” Everyone had settled in, and Slate was passing out food. It consisted of something brown and sticky on noodles, but it smelled wonderful, and my growling stomach was grateful for it. Jules slurped a noodle from her plate, sauce stuck to her nose. “We need to find a way to track where a portal stone sent someone. Or groups of someones.” I proceeded to explain to him the dying Theos, and how many Gatekeepers were trapped on other worlds, potentially dangerous places.

  “Without tracking them, they won’t be able to go home,” Mary said.

  Regnig appeared to consider this. And you think the stones will be gone soon?

  Karo took this one. “My people are leaving them. They fight to cling to our world, but their energy is spent. They will be sent to their final resting place as soon as we can facilitate the Gatekeepers home.”

  Ableen brightened at this, and she returned to eating her dinner, slowly poking the food before eating it with hesitation.

  I understand. This will be difficult. I’ve been a hermit my whole life, and only since you’ve visited me, Dean Parker, have I had… what you’d call a social life. I even visited Earth and saw your childhood home. You are family to me now: you, the Alnods, and the one you call Suma. Regnig sat in a petite leather chair and watched us all with his unblinking stare. Without the portals, we’ll need another way to move about with ease.

  “There are over two hundred portal planets, and perhaps more we don’t know about,” I said, deciding to tell everyone about the devices I’d found while searching for Polvertan the Motrill. “I have some portal devices that can replace the stones, only Clare hasn’t been able to duplicate the technology. Sarlun’s team hasn’t either. They came from Fontem’s room. Do you have the one I gave you?”

  Regnig knew about Fontem’s room, because I’d left him access to it so he could catalog the items. I do, and I have found some real gems inside there. Actually… there might be something about the portals.

  My heart raced. We’d searched his library high and low before, and Regnig was sure we’d exhausted all his materials while I was searching for Mary and the real Theos home world.

  “Can we go now?” I asked. Everyone was nearly finished eating, and I forced a few more bites from my half-full plate.

  I don’t see why not. Regnig stood, flapping his compact wings; a feather fell off, floating toward my slumbering daughter.

  “Dean, I’m going to stay put with Jules. It’s getting late,” Mary said. Rivo was already dozing off, and we left her sleeping soundly.

  “Boss, how about you and Regnig make this a solo trip? I’ll stay behind,” Slate said, and I knew he wanted to protect my family. I nodded, giving him a smile.

  “We’d also like to join you.” Karo spoke for Ableen and himself.

  Regnig’s beak opened, then closed tightly. We would love the company.

  “It’s settled. Let’s go.” I stood up, my back cracking at the change of posture.

  I followed Regnig, stopping at the short desk on our way. He tapped a drawer, and a blue light emanated, scanning his face before the drawer opened. I recognized the half of the portal device as soon as I saw the sleek metal.

  “What’s this?” Karo asked, flipping a leather-bound book closed.

  I read the title. Dean Parker: A Modern Recaster.

  That’s… the book I told you I was going to write. Regnig’s thoughts felt abashed, and I refrained from opening it to read anything.

  “I thought you were kidding,” I told him.

  Why would I joke about something like that? Perhaps I can convince these two to tell me their story one day. Regnig pointed at Karo and Ableen, who didn’t appear to hear his words. I knew Regnig could direct his telekinetic thoughts to one or all minds in a room.

  “I’m sure they would be more than happy to,” I told him.

  Would you do the honors? Regnig asked, grabbing the device and passing it into my outstretched palm.

  I led our group of four to one of the library’s side cubbies. It was a place with soft lighting where one could bring a volume and sit in peace, reading or studying the contents. I activated the portal device, and its line of light shone out, covering the walls and ceiling in a flat plane; the evidence of the portal disappeared once it was locked into place.

  “I’ll go first,” I said, wishing I had brought my pulse rifle along. I doubted anyone would ever find Fontem’s collection from the other side, but we’d stumbled upon it rescuing the Motrill prince, who was now a Gatekeeper, and one of the missing Keepers at that. It was a diplomatic mess: swearing Polvertan in, then having him go missing the next day.

  I stepped through, arriving in the once-familiar space. Only I wasn’t alone.

  Four

  The hunter sniffed the air, sensing a storm arriving. He was miles from his nest and didn’t like the idea of being stuck out in the open for the impending rain. The region had turned colder in the last few months since he’d arrived on this new, lush land.

  It was so far removed from what he’d known his whole life, and being in this body was… odd. Animals from the plains of his land were an understood capacity. These two-legged creatures were different. He knew it was time to change from this shape. There were no others like him. His snout was longer than their breathing apparatus, his skin a different color, his legs thicker and shorter.

  His legs carried him across the open expanse between the city’s fence and the hills, where he made a home away from the prying eyes of the locals. If they knew what he was, they’d have killed him long ago, and he felt his luck starting to slip away.

  The bones inside his belly were fully digested, and he felt weak because of it. It was time to feed again. He had used the last few bodies he’d fed on to fuel this vessel, rather than go through the pain and struggle of shifting into their forms. Now it was time. He was strikingly dissimilar, even though they were all bipedal: two legs, two arms, comparable enough physiology, but far enough apart to elicit strange looks.

  The hunter ran now, finally used to walking as this being. Once the brain of the prey had been fully absorbed, he understood the man he’d shifted into. He was from another world, one called Shimmal. He could only assume the man had traveled to the hunter’s land through the glowing crystal. He also felt the fear as he’d pressed the symbol etched on the flat surface those many moons ago, a warning sent off by the prey’s brain sitting inside his belly at the time.

  He called them portals, and they were unreliable. The hunter had thought about returning to the cave he’d arrived to on this world and traveling home, but there was nothing left for him there, even if he could comprehend how to operate the device.

  So he kept walking, returning to his nest as the rain fell hard from above. His clothing sat on his body like tattered rags, and the water poured on him, drenching him within moments of the first flash of light in the afternoon sky. He was glad the immense red star wasn’t bearing over him today. The sight of it sent shivers through his spine. It felt too big, too alien for his mind to process.

  The hunter heard the mechanical noise before he saw the ship lowering to the ground. His version of a heart pumped blood quickly through his thick veins as he recognized it. He’d seen them around the village, rising into the air, moving quickly. From the ingested brains inside him, he knew this to be a transport vessel or a lander, depending on which prey’s memories he accessed.

  He wanted to run, to hide in the treeline that was only a few hundred yards away, but he stopped, knowing the ship would easily catch him. He had to wait for the right time.

  The hunter wiped rain from hi
s eyes, his snout twitching as a door hissed open on the vessel. Two humans emerged. He knew that was the name of their race. There were many colors of them, and they had males and females as well; a fairly universal trait.

  One of each stood there now, holding weapons pointed at him from thirty yards away.

  “What are you doing out here?” the man asked, holding his weapon firmly in place.

  The hunter knew he didn’t look like them. He was in the form of a Shimmali, and his clothing was dirty, torn, and had his prey’s blood all over it. He licked his lips, tasting dried iron on his chin. “Friend,” he squawked, unsure what language he said it in.

  The two armed humans glanced at one another, and the woman lowered her gun. She smiled despite being out in the middle of nowhere in the rain. “Why don’t you come with us then, friend? We’ll find you some help,” she said, and the hunter knew he had them.

  The large male lowered his weapon as well, and the hunter timidly stepped toward them.

  “What’s your name?” the man asked when they were close enough to stop yelling above the storm.

  Water dripped off the hunter, and he was glad it had wiped some of the blood from his body. “Soloma.” He used the man’s real name.

  “Soloma?” The woman’s brow furrowed.

  He couldn’t wait any longer. He lunged at the woman first, assuming her the most cunning. Her guard was down, and his stubby teeth easily tore through her throat. Her gun clattered to the rocky ground, and the hunter picked it up, firing two rounds at the man before he’d even had a chance to react. They lay there lifeless, and the hunter smiled.

  He moved for the ship, checking to see if there was a pilot waiting inside. There was no one else. Good.

  He removed the clothing from the two guards, finding the meals a much better experience without the fabric slowing him down. He’d had a stomach ache for days after the first victim. He ate the man first, crunching the bones to dust before swallowing. The woman, he swallowed what he could whole, and spent the next two hours inside the shelter of the ship, converting from the Shimmali man into the visage of the female human.