“Ready?” Delia asked in a whisper. Outside, she could hear running footsteps—and hobnailed boots. Roman soldiers were coming this way.
“Ready,” Jake growled.
“Count of three. One, two, three…”
Delia pressed the oval, flat crystal hard with her index finger. She waited. Nothing happened.
“What the hell?” Jake growled.
Confused, she looked at him and then pulled off her armband. “Take it off. Maybe we need a more direct pressure on the crystals.”
Hurriedly, Jake did as she suggested. He heard the Roman soldiers just outside the door. And they were coming in.
“Now!” Delia whispered, and pressed her crystal as hard as she could. It had never not worked before. Why wasn’t it transporting them back to the lab?
The door was shoved open by two grunting Roman soldiers. Jake was shoved violently, and landed on his hands and knees. The armband clattered on the floor and bounced away from him.
Delia cursed and started to pull her sword out of the scabbard as the room filled with Roman soldiers, their own swords drawn, their faces dark with threat.
“Hold!” the centurion barked. “Don’t move!”
Jake scrambled to his feet. He leaned down and grabbed the armband, shoving it into the pocket of his tunic. By now five soldiers had their swords aimed at him. Breathing hard, he saw Delia slip her armband into her pocket also. She raised her hands.
“What’s this about?” she demanded angrily.
“General Brutus’s scribe accuses you of theft,” the centurion barked. “Now, move forward!” He gestured for Delia to step his way.
Jake could see Kapaneus, tense and angry, standing just outside the door. His eyes were glittering with rage, arms crossed on his chest. The scribe smiled lethally as Delia was pushed out ahead of the Roman soldiers. Jake felt a sword nudging his back and he stepped out in turn.
There was a crowd gathering, of temple priestesses as well as the populace. The braziers flared, sending light dancing across the faces of the fifty or so people who stood around the outer door.
Jake’s gaze never left the scribe. The smirk on Kapaneus’s face made anger burn deep within him. How badly Jake wanted to plant his fist into the bastard’s bearded jaw. Turning, he saw Delia being shoved toward where he stood. And then, it hit him. Even without his headband, Kapaneus was able to stop them from time jumping! That was why the ESC didn’t work! Jake’s mind spun. How far away did they have to be from this alien before his mind no longer had control over their ESC devices?
“Now!” Kapaneus yelled. “Search them, Centurion! They have my headband on them somewhere. And they came here to steal the arrowhead of the goddess Diana! They deserve to die!”
The centurion, a man of near forty and a grizzled veteran of many campaigns, glared over at him. “Hold your tongue, scribe. You may work for General Brutus, but I am in charge here.”
Breathing shallowly, Delia stole a glance at Jake, less than two feet away. The armbands did not work! Her mind spun with questions that couldn’t be answered.
Kapaneus stood to one side, his narrowed gaze on her. Even now, Delia could see the glowing red of his aura.
“Now then,” the centurion growled at Jake, “hand over what you’ve stolen.”
He opened his hands. “Search me. I have nothing that belongs to the scribe or to this temple. He’s framing us,” Jake accused, pointing at the scribe. “We are personal guards of the mistress Servilia, General Brutus’s mother. Surely, this is wrong! We’ve done nothing! We came here to worship the goddess Diana.”
The centurion halted and frowned. “You are Greek mercenaries working for the lady Servilia?”
“Yes,” Delia said hotly, “we are! This scribe is jealous of us! He has set us up, Centurion. How is it that we cannot come here as freeborn citizens of the Roman Empire and worship whom we please?”
Delia saw the dark eyes of the old soldier abruptly narrow. He turned and glared at the scribe, whose mouth had fallen open. And then he studied the two of them. Knowing that his commander, Marcus Brutus, would be furious with him for stopping the Greek mercenaries who had saved his mother’s life, he hesitated.
“They lie!” Kapaneus shouted. He strode forward and pushed his way between the soldiers. “Search them! They have stolen my headband! I know they have it on them!”
The centurian glared at him. “Step back, Kapaneus. You may be educated, and write on papyrus, wax and clay tablets for General Brutus, but we do not arrest people without proof.”
Snorting violently, Torbar lunged at Jake. The Roman soldiers stopped him and threw him back. He nearly fell, but caught himself as the crowd around them murmured.
Regaining his balance, Torbar wished mightily for his headband. If he had it, he could mind blast these simpletons and get hold of that intriguing relic. But as things stood, he was vulnerable. It was a pulverizing realization. Still, he had enough energy to freeze the capacity of their armbands. At close range, Torbar could stop these time raiders from going anyplace. But if they were too far from his physical presence, he could not control the armband. The leader of the soldiers was hesitating, he saw. The man probably did not want to get in trouble with the general by arresting his mother’s bodyguards. Of all things! Gritting his teeth, Torbar snarled, “I tell you, they have my headband! You must search them!”
Delia laughed harshly and lifted her chin. “We must return to the mistress Servilia. Do not hold us up any longer. We have nothing that belongs to the scribe.” She raised her hands, her palms toward the leader.
“Get out of here,” the centurion growled to them. He jerked his thumb toward the front of the temple. “Leave now!”
“Wait!” a woman’s voice from within the sacred room cried out.
Delia didn’t hesitate; she lunged through the opening provided by the Roman soldiers, with Jake on her heels, then pushed her way through the crowd.
In seconds, they were clear and free. Delia dug her boots into the smooth marble floor as she ran. “The horses!” she cried.
“Yes!”
Delia heard a roar go up behind them. She’d already guessed that the priestess had gone into the sacred room and found the relic missing. She hated being a traitor to these women who had trusted her. The ring of hobnailed boots echoed loudly through the temple.
They hurtled down the white steps, which appeared gray in the dusk. Delia saw their mounts tied to an olive tree to the left. Jake leaped ahead of her and raced for them. Behind her, she heard the soldiers yelling. They were gaining on them….
Jake got to the startled horses first. They danced around in panic as he stripped the reins from the tree. Delia leaped onto the back of her gelding. Jake threw her the reins.
“The Tiber!” she yelled, whirling her mount around. The Roman soldiers, led by Kapaneus, were charging down the steps. While Jake jumped upon his horse, Delia leaned forward and dug her heels into her gelding’s flanks. The animal grunted and leaped forward just as the closest soldiers rushed at them.
The hooves of the horses clattered loudly on the cobblestone street. Several spears were thrown, clanging as the iron tips hit the pavement. Wind rushed by Delia as she raced down the now nearly deserted avenue. It was nearly dark—dinnertime for Romans. The streets were clear except for beggars here and there.
Jake galloped up beside her. “Why the Tiber?” The river flowed outside the walled city of Rome.
“It’s our only escape!” she panted. “They’ll shut the gates on us. We’ll be trapped inside the walls! Once that centurion sends a messenger by horseback to the nearest gate, we’re doomed! If we reach the river, we can dive in and swim. They won’t catch us that way and we’ll be outside the walls. It will give us time to figure out why our armbands aren’t working.”
Jake nodded. “Hey! I figured out why our ESCs didn’t work. Kapaneus used his mind to freeze them. I don’t know how far away we have to be from him before they will work.” The street was dark now e
xcept for braziers lit in front of wine shops. The cobblestone was slippery and their horses were in jeopardy of falling.
“Look out!” Delia cried. She hauled back on the reins. Her mount skidded to a stop, its iron shoes making sparks fly.
Ahead of them was a small contingent of cavalry. Delia was stunned by how swiftly the soldiers could communicate. There was no radio to call ahead and alert one another about a crisis. Whirling her horse around, she yelled to Jake, “I know another way to the river! Follow me!”
Behind them, the clatter of the cavalry unit swelled. Ten Romans mounted on horses sent a loud echo up and down the avenue. Beggars scurried to either side, pressing themselves up against walls to escape being run over.
To Delia’s chagrin, she saw Kapaneus mounted on a white horse riding hell-bent for leather toward them. Somehow, he knew they would take this route to the river. Realizing the scribe, or whoever the bastard was, wanted the headband, Delia started to dig it out of the pouch tied to her belt. It was hard to get hold of as they flew along the narrow, twisting street.
Up ahead, Delia could see the smooth black waters of the Tiber. It was a wide, deep river, with strong currents.
Kapaneus was gaining on them. Their own mounts were lagging, because they’d been running for miles now and were tiring out. She saw the scribe whip his horse repeatedly. The white gelding surged ahead, only ten feet behind Delia’s horse now. If she could force Kapaneus off their track, his mind energy would wane and their ESCs could work.
Breathing hard, she dug for the headband, finally curling her hands around the damn thing. Holding it up so that the scribe could see it, she swerved her horse to the right, cutting off his own mount. They nearly collided. The white gelding grunted and slid, almost unseating the scribe. At the last second, he grabbed its mane and hung on.
Delia made it to the banks of the Tiber and halted her horse. The scribe was riding hard to catch up.
“Here, Kapaneus!” she shouted, waving the headband in the air.
“Give it to me!” he screamed as he galloped down the bank, straight toward her.
Laughing, Delia threw the headband out into the Tiber. “Go get it!” Then she whirled her mount away from the scribe and headed toward Jake.
Torbar screamed in rage and launched himself off his galloping gelding. Landing hard, he rolled several times. And then, scrambling to his feet, he dived into the black waters, searching frantically for his headband.
The Tiber was not shallow. As Torbar leaped into the water, he discovered it was cold and deep. Making several dives, his hands outstretched and searching, he met only mud. Where was his headband?
Again and again, he dived, groping blindly. Out of breath, he surged to the surface, gasping loudly. It was nearly dark. To his left, he saw the two Greeks abandon their horses on the bank about half a mile downriver. He felt his mind energy dissolving as they rode farther away. He knew that shortly their armbands would work once more and they’d be able to time jump. He didn’t care. Getting his headband back was far more important! In seconds, they leaped into the Tiber, swimming strongly away from the shore, to avoid being shot at with arrows or spears hurled by the Romans.
Cursing, he saw the cavalry arrive—too late. They hurled their spears toward the fleeing swimmers, but all fell short because the Greeks had already reached the center of the wide river. And then a group of Roman archers raced to the bank to try and shoot them. Standing in waist-deep water, Torbar watched.
There was no choice—holding his breath, he sank beneath the surface, hands moving relentlessly across the muddy bottom, trying to find the only thing that would get him off this accursed planet.
Gulping and spitting out cold river water, Delia heard Jake cry out behind her. The current was strong in the center of the Tiber and was quickly carrying them out of range of the archers. Her boots were filled with water and dragging her down. She’d already jettisoned her sword belt and weapons in order to remain afloat.
Floundering in the icy river, Delia twisted toward Jake, who was about five feet behind her. To her horror, she saw an arrow sticking out of his left shoulder. Giving a cry of alarm, she swung her arms outward and battled against the current to reach him. Delia could see his teeth were clenched and pain clearly written across his wet face.
“Jake!” she shrieked, noting the current had moved them out of the archer’s range. She gasped and splashed toward him. Grabbing his upraised right arm, she used all her strength to keep his head above the water, which was turning even darker with his blood. “Hang on!”
Jake groaned. He felt Delia’s arm snake across his chest. She was drawing him onto his back so that she could help keep him afloat.
“I—I can’t use my left arm!” he said through gritted teeth, his head tipping back against her shoulder. They swam together, the night swallowing them up. “We have to make it to the other side of the river!” Water rushed into his mouth. Jake spat it out. Delia was gasping as she jerked him along with slow, strong strokes of her arm and legs. She had one free arm to swim with now.
Jake knew they’d never make it to the other shore. It was too far away, and the icy water was already causing hypothermic symptoms. In a matter of minutes, Delia would be growing numb, the river stealing the life heat from this courageous woman’s body. She would begin to flounder, and eventually they’d both sink and drown in the Tiber.
Something told Jake to reach for the armband he’d stuffed into his left pocket. Could he move his hand? The arrow in his back made it difficult. Each attempt sent white-hot pain through him. Gritting his teeth even harder, he forced his left hand beneath the water. Fingers searching, he finally located the armband. Turning the smooth metal, he fumbled for the crystal, but his fingers were cold and refused to bend.
Jake tried one last time. He’d never known an armband not to work when the crystal was pressed but Kapaneus had interfered with it. Still, his gut screamed at him to try pressing it one more time. Maybe they were out of range of the alien’s controlling energy over the ESC. With a final effort, he got his fingers around the metal.
With water sloshing continuously into his face, blinding him, he finally felt the crystal with his nearly numb fingers. “I’m going to try pressing the band,” he called out. His voice was ragged. He was losing a lot of blood and growing weaker with each minute that passed.
“Do it!” Delia gasped, lunging time and again as she angled them toward the far shore in the darkness. Coughing, she spat out water. Only the strength of her legs kicking violently kept them afloat.
His thumb found the smooth, glassy surface of the crystal. Jake prayed it would work this time as he pressed the stone. Instantly, pain shot up his arm to where the arrow was stuck in his back.
Seconds later, he felt the familiar spinning sensation that always signaled a jump had been initiated. Letting out a groan of relief, he felt himself and Delia begin a slow, circular spin. That meant the time jump was under way.
Since Delia was physically touching him, she, too, would be part of the jump.
His body was filled with pain, his mind roiling with questions as to why the armband hadn’t worked before. It didn’t matter. Closing his eyes, Jake felt his awareness of his surroundings fade. He knew from Professor Carswell’s experiments in the lab on inanimate objects that their molecules would begin to draw apart. As they did so, their bodies would literally disappear. When called back with the crystal resonation, the molecules would reassemble at the other end, into physical form once more.
That was the last thing Jake thought before everything began to dissolve.
Delia’s warm, strong arm around his chest made him feel hopeful that they would wake up at the other end of their journey and find themselves once more in the glass cylinder. There, he could get medical help. There, they would be safe….
Chapter 20
A thena concentrated until she heard General Beverly Ashton call out, “They’re back!”
Instantly, Athena opened her eyes a
nd broke the connection she had maintained via the headband to the armbands the Time Raider team wore.
“Get a corpsman!” Ashton ordered a lab tech.
Jumping out of the comfortable chair where she orchestrated the time jumps, Athena rushed into the other room. There, in the glass cylinder, were Jake and Delia. She lay beneath him, her arm across his chest. Water pooled around them on the floor of the cylinder; they had obviously been swimming when she’d connected with them.
Gasping, Athena saw an arrow sticking out of Jake’s back, and blood covering his left arm and shoulder. Her stomach knotted. She was no good at emergencies like this and relied heavily on Beverly, who could remain calm and cool during such a crisis.
Athena stood aside as two paramedics carried Jake, who was unconscious, out of the glass cylinder. Both he and Delia were sopping wet, the civilian clothes they’d worn for the time jump clinging to their bodies. Athena saw the anguish in Delia’s face as he was hurriedly wheeled out of the room on a gurney, to be taken to the nearby Flagstaff hospital.
Only when the door to the lab closed did Athena move to Delia, who had staggered out of the time capsule cylinder under her own power. Her curly black hair was draped wetly around her glistening face. She was tugging on a leather thong and pulling up a leather pouch that had been hidden inside her tee. If an object was retrieved in a time jump, it automatically returned with the person.
“Athena?” Delia said, her voice hoarse. “This is the piece. The fragment!” She handed the pouch to the professor. Right now, all Delia wanted to do was be with Jake. She knew he had lost a lot of blood. Would he die? Would he live?
“Thank you!” Athena exclaimed, giving her a warm and deeply grateful look. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but I’m tired. We had to jump into the Tiber in order to escape,” she explained, pushing the wet curls off her brow. Ashton took a dry towel from a lab assistant and handed it to her.
Athena’s hand was tingling wildly. She gazed down at the soaked pouch. Excitement was tempered by Jake being wounded. “That was a close call. I’ll take this to the conference room and open it up.”
Time Raiders: The Seeker Page 20
