Raven's Sphere

by Melissa Koberlein

  I ignore her. “I’ve stolen and cheated for most of my adult life. I should probably be in prison instead of standing before you.” Note to self—if I make it through this, request a pardon from General Casik. “But like many of you, I’m Zetian, and our planet is about to be attacked. I’m here to tell you that we cannot let the Cadmarians take our planet. Zetians are not cowards who lie down and let these vain aggressors take what they want. We battle back, and once we get a taste of victory, we’ll get greedy for more. That is our nature as Zetians. As for the Cadmarians, I can’t deny that they are formidable. We have felt their wrath time and time again as they bombed our cities. But I’m here to tell you that stops now. Now, we will show them what we’re made of.

  “For those of you who are not Zetian, you’re as much a part of this fight as the rest of us. If the Cadmarians take Zeta, your home will be next. It's only a matter of time. Cadmar won’t stop until they have taken control of the entire galaxy. You also know that Princess Garren of Cadmar has a powerful weapon. It’s a silver sphere of light capable of destroying anything in its path. I’ve witnessed its destruction firsthand. It has the potential to wipe us out in an instant. But as I’m sure you’ve heard, I traveled to Mythos, and I have immunity to the sphere. I’m no longer just Zetian. I’m Mythosian too. The proof is in my eyes and hair.

  “So, my friends, our mission is clear—I’ll board Garren’s ship and steal the sphere. Your mission is to hold off Garrick’s forces and show them what we’re made of. And as you may be asking yourselves, why listen to a thief like me? Why believe that I can defeat Garren and steal the sphere? I’ll tell you why.” I lean closer to the monitor. “Because I’m Revis Nevar’s daughter, and soon, I’ll have my hand around Garren Geldian’s throat as she begs for her life.” I raise my exposed bionic arm and make a fist for effect. “Let’s kick those egotistical Cadmarian asses back to their own system. Who’s with me?”

  I nod to Stass to cut the transmission. I look at Cole for his reaction. He purses his lips and nods approvingly.

  “I’m getting a response, Raven,” Stass says, listening to her headset.

  “What are they saying?” I ask, nervously. Please tell me they aren’t all going home.

  “Here, I’ll put it on the open comm.”

  Many voices at once come over the speakers.

  “I’m in.”

  “Did you see her eyes?”

  “She’s kicked my ass before in the Fornax system. She can take Garren.”

  “Revis Nevar was bad ass. Imagine what his daughter can do.”

  “I’m with her.”

  “That arm is sick.”

  “She’ll get it done.”

  There are more, but the overwhelming chatter is positive. I take a much-needed deep breath and sit.

  We are united.

  Stass pats my back. “Cool. Now, let’s get to work.”

  Cole stands. “I have to go. Raven, a word?”

  “Sure.” I follow him out into the passageway. I shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other unsure about what to do with my hands. “So I guess this it?”

  Our eyes meet, and instead of responding with words, he pulls me to him, my body fitting to his like two pieces of a cosmos puzzle. I’ve always known the pieces fit together. I just refused to match them. But now I’m ready. His warm, demanding lips match my own as we embrace. I wrap my arms around his neck, and my body responds, not wanting to let him go.

  As quickly as the embrace began, he ends it, my mouth still open and warm from his lips.

  But his eyes never leave mine. “I love you.”

  I open my mouth to respond, but Cole covers my mouth with his hand.

  “Don’t,” he says. “Don’t tell me that you don’t love me back, that we only have physical chemistry, and that’s only because you’re lonely. Don’t tell me that we’re not right for each other. Because the way I see it, we’re a perfect match.” He pauses and his gorgeous blue eyes turn to glass, ready to shatter. “Don’t tell me that I’ll get over you with time. Because I’ve tried that, and it doesn’t work. And for the love of Zeta, please don’t tell me that you don’t deserve to be loved because, damn it, you do. I want all of you, every part, even the rough-around-the-edges-stuff. So wait until I get back to tell me you aren’t interested. I just needed to tell you how I felt before I left.”

  He moves his hand from my mouth, and I nod, brushing his cheek lightly with the back of my hand.

  I’ll give him what he wants. “Good luck.”

  Cole adjusts his weapons holster, his battle face returning, leaving what he said to float away in the air between us. “You make sure that sphere of yours doesn’t come and bite us in the ass. I don’t want to end up space bait.”

  “You got it.”

  And with that, he’s gone.

  26

  Garren’s Ship

  Kedo keeps his word. I shuttle to a Cadmarian freighter, where his ship docks early the next morning. They are picking up weapons for the ensuing fight. It seems like only yesterday I was stealing holograms off a freighter just like this one.

  I’m in my black battle suit, complete with knives, poisoned darts, pistols, smoke bombs, and finally the band Joe gave me from the chamber of light—a good luck charm. You never know.

  Kedo walks me to a private room on his ship and indicates I should wait there until he gets me. There’s a Cadmarian uniform inside. I shrug into the jacket and slip the pants on over my battle suit. It’s cumbersome, so I’ll shed the disguise once I’m on Garren’s ship.

  Half an hour later, we pull away from the freighter, headed toward Garren’s warship. Kedo’s voice sounds on the comm in my room. “Contact with Garren’s ship in twenty minutes. Ready yourself to board a transport with me as my officer. Don’t forget to tuck your hair into the cap and keep your eyes down.”

  I press the comm. “Copy that.”

  I grab the Cadmarian cap and stuff my silver-and-blue hair up into it. I take a deep breath and think about Emery, wishing he were here with me. I sigh, his death still weighing on my mind. He would calm my nerves, make me feel confident. If I screw this up, the galaxy is going to be one big Cadmarian slave-fest.

  Keep your head in the game. Cole and Teagan are risking their lives right now. Garren may be a princess, but princesses can get knocked down just like the rest of us.

  No one questions me as I follow Kedo into the transport, a smaller ship that will shuttle us to her cruiser. We enter the hangar of Garren’s ship as two immense doors open vertically like a mouth waiting to swallow us. There are a ton of fighters at the ready. I make a mental note of it for my escape. Cadmarian troops are hurriedly checking their ships, preparing for the second wave of the attack on Zeta. Hopefully, the battle will be over before they have a chance to leave this ship.

  As the door to the transport opens, Kedo nods at me, indicating that this is as far as he goes. I’m on my own now. Thankfully, Stass downloaded the schematics and security codes for this ship. I’ve got three coded doors to get through and one air shaft to crawl through to avoid a retinal scanner. The shaft should drop me in the outer chamber of Garren’s quarters.

  Keeping my head down, I make my way through the passageway unnoticed. The ship is crawling with officers, going in every direction. The bustle should work in my favor.

  I come to the first coded door I need to pass through in an empty hallway. I walk over to the panel and key in the code Stass downloaded. A red light flashes back at me. Uh-oh. Did I enter it wrong? I type in the code again. Red light, again. Oh, shit. Don’t panic.

  Another officer walks up behind me, wanting access through the same door. “What’s the problem?”

  “The panel seems to be malfunctioning,” I say, averting his eyes.

  “Malfunctioning? Let me see.” He pushes me aside, and types in a code as I watch carefully. A green light turns on, and the door opens. They’ve changed the codes already.

  He turns back to me. “It seems to be workin
g fine. Hey, eyes on me, soldier.”

  You asked for it. I look up at him. Recognition surfaces in his eyes that I’m not only not Cadmarian, but I’m the most wanted individual in the galaxy. I smile and shoot him with a poison dart. It lands in his throat, paralyzing him immediately. I lower him to the ground. He’ll be out for hours. According to the schematics, there’s a storage room around here somewhere.

  After I drag the officer into what I can only describe as a small closet, I head back over to the coded door. I key in the code he used.

  Green light. Nice.

  Hopefully, they don’t change the codes on the hour. You’d think they have security breaches all the time. I creep down the metal corridor, hoping I don’t run into any more problems. So far, this passageway is empty except for a few bots humming and whining along their way to work the ship.

  The second door is in sight. The same code that I just used should also work for this door. Beyond this door is the air duct in the ceiling. I take a deep breath and key in the code. A green light flashes, and I know I’m in the clear. The door opens, and I step through into a smaller passageway with a vent directly above my head. Using a versa-tool, I unscrew the bolts holding the vent in place. I jump and pull myself up into the tight-fitting airshaft, using the strength of my artificial arm. I replace the vent.

  I begin my low crawl through the shaft. Per the schematics, I’ll be crawling like this for upwards of a thousand feet until I reach Garren’s outer chamber. From that point, I’ll make my presence known. It’s a slow process crawling along in such a small space. To conserve energy, I take my time. I’m not exactly fond of small spaces, but I can handle them for short distances. I see a turn coming. It should only be twenty-five feet beyond the bend. I continue, making the turn, and see a light at the end of the passage. That’s my exit point. Be graceful, Raven. Take your time.

  The vent cover at the end of the passage is like the one I removed to enter the shaft. Now it’s a matter of unscrewing this one in a similar manner so that I don’t make too much noise. I use my versa-tool again to unfasten the bolts and pull the vent up and inside the shaft. I lower my head first and check my surroundings.

  The hall is empty, just as I’d planned. The door leading into Garren’s private chambers is closed, as is the locked door on the other side with the retinal scanner. Leaning down even further, I hang from the ceiling and lower my legs into the room, letting them dangle momentarily, and then gently dropping to the floor like a cat, without making a sound. I crouch down defensively, out of habit, and honestly, just in case I missed something. Nothing happens. I’m alone in the outer hall. I double check the locked door to my right, before moving toward Garren’s chamber door to my left.

  This is it. Beyond this door is Garren and the sphere. I sidle up to the door. There’s another keypad to get into her chamber, but that’s not what I have in mind. I take one last deep breath and close my eyes to center myself as I learned on Mythos.

  I hear my dad’s voice in my head, too. Keep focused. Remember what I taught you. When a formidable opponent believes they have won, that is when you’re most capable of victory.

  Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll make you proud.

  I open my eyes and put my goggles on. I pull the pin from one of my smoke canisters and drop it by the door. I tap the comm button and press my body against the passage next to the door, waiting for the entry to slide open. Sure enough, one of Garren’s guards emerges from the chamber and is engulfed in smoke. I use one more of my precious darts to knock her out. Then I creep into Garren’s chamber. I can see fine with my goggles, as the smoke floods the room.

  But Garren’s smart. Before I know what hits me, I’m knocked off my feet, before I have to time to react.

  Then she’s on top of me with a knife to my throat. “What are you doing here? Come to die?”

  I kick her off, flipping her over my head, and get my feet under me. She rolls and lands back on her feet as well. We stand there, staring each other down as the smoke dissipates and swirls around our ankles. Damn, she’s good.

  But so am I.

  “I’m here for Emery’s sphere,” I say, watching her every move.

  She laughs. “Is that so? I think you mean my sphere.”

  “Where is it?”

  Garren removes a black velvet bag from her belt. She opens it and pulls out the sphere with a gloved hand. “It’s right here. But you realize, it will protect me and kill you, right? All I have to do is remove this glove.”

  “Then do it. Take off your glove. If you don’t, I’m going to take the sphere from you.” I advance on her, smirking.

  Probably for the first time in her life, Garren looks apprehensive. She’s probably never felt uneasy before, so she doesn’t hide the emotion well. Her eyes dart back and forth, likely re-assessing the situation. “Look, I don’t want to kill you, Raven. You and I are a lot alike, and I could use someone like you in my personal guard.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but no, I think I’d rather just take that sphere from you.” I raise my eyebrows in a challenge and move even closer.

  She takes a step back.

  “Why aren’t you afraid of the sphere?” Her tone borders on frustration and rage.

  I smile viciously at her, grating my top set of teeth on my bottom lip. “I haven’t forgotten that you’re the one who took Emery from me. I loved that kid. But you knew that, didn’t you? So, maybe I have nothing to lose. Maybe I’ve lost my mind. Or maybe,” I pause for emphasis, “you should just take that damn glove off and find out.”

  Garren growls and uses her mouth to tug on the index finger tip of the glove in her empty hand, her eyes like daggers. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Oh, I’ve been warned,” I say, calmly.

  She drops her glove and grasps the sphere in her bare hand. “You have got a death wish the likes of which I’ve never seen. But I’m happy to acquiesce your request. Goodbye, Raven.”

  She launches the sphere at me.

  I’m not sure how the immunity will work, so I simply put my hands out and catch it.

  Whoa.

  The sphere floats in my hands, barely grazing my palms with warm energy, so bright and beautiful. It reminds me of Emery and my heart swells. I don’t know how or why, but I think to the sphere, I’m going to get you back for him.

  The sphere brightens slightly and maybe, although this could be my imagination, whirls faster on its invisible axis.

  I glance back up at Garren’s horror-stricken face.

  “No, it can’t be,” she says. “How is this possible?”

  I toss the sphere in the air and catch it for good measure. Yep, I’m immune to the sphere. “Ya know, I think it likes me better than you.”

  Garren reaches out her hand, and the sphere goes sailing back to her. Okay, I may be immune to the sphere, but it clearly belongs to her.

  She places the sphere back in its bag. “It doesn’t matter. I’m still going to kill you.”

  I crouch into a fighting stance. “Bring it, bitch.”

  She pulls a knife from her back harness and moves in my direction. I pull one of my knives out too. We circle each other around the room. She’s good with handheld weapons, of that I’m sure. My plan is to take the knives out of the equation. She lunges first, but I’m ready for her.

  I parry to the side, the knife point missing my chest. I duck under her arm and kick her in the shin. She backs up to regain her balance. I’m back in my stance again, circling. She lunges again, this time, the knife connecting with my forearm. I howl, as pain sears across my flesh. My adrenaline kicks into high gear, and my focus is right back on Garren.

  My turn. Using my right arm as a distraction, I make to punch her. She pivots out of the way, but I clip her shoulder with my knife on the other side. Shocked by my move, she screams and drops her knife to grasp her bleeding shoulder.

  Before I can go in for the kill, someone grabs me from behind. I twist, trying to break free. I look down and r
ecognize the long blue fingers holding me still. I’m in bigger trouble than I thought.

  A Mahthe.

  I slam my head back. The Mahthe yelps as I connect with her apparently sensitive chest. I move out of the way so I can face both Garren and my new attacker.

  Garren screams, “She cut me! Get in her mind. Make her kill herself.” A malicious calm settles on her face. “And make it slow.”

  Instead of responding, the Mahthe stares at me, solidly on Garren’s side.

  You will take your knife and slowly slit your throat, I hear in my head.

  I stare back at her. I heard what she planted in my mind, but I’m not complying. I gasp inwardly—the mind band from Joe. They don’t realize what it is because it’s from Joe’s dimension. Slowly, a smile creeps onto my face, the color returning to my cheeks. She can’t control me.

  Garren yells, “What are you waiting for? She’s not doing anything.”

  The Mahthe tries again, this time, more forcefully. You will slit your throat with your knife!

  I ignore the Mahthe and pretend to check my timepiece.

  The Mahthe yelps, black eyes flashing, as she stomps her feet, ready to charge me. Her talons could shred me in an instant. Quickly, I shoot a dart from the sleeve of my suit, hitting the Mahthe in the chest. A look of shock crosses her face before she drops to the ground unconscious.

  I turn back to Garren. “Now it’s your turn.”

  She glances between me and the Mahthe on the floor.

  “How did you do that?” Her voice is distant.

  “Let’s just say I’ve got few tricks up my sleeve,” I reply smartly.

  “Don’t we all?” Garren says, shooting me with a small hidden bow attached to her forearm. The arrow hits me in my artificial arm with such force that it thrusts me backwards, pinning me to the wall.

  I struggle to free my arm as sparks fly from the exposed circuitry. I can barely move my bionic fingers. She knew exactly where to target me for maximum damage. I yell in frustration.

  “Who’s the arrogant one now?” she says. “You should have used a dart on me right from the start. But you didn’t, did you?”