He returned the hug. “I don’t understand.”
Every pair of eyes in the room was on me now. “The Theos. They’re inside the stones. Part of them anyways. Their essence. It’s the only explanation. We all know they created the portals, but no one really knows how or why they work.”
I waited for someone to comment, and when no one did, I continued. “The Iskios were once flesh and blood, but they were contained on the crystal world as another state of matter. Even now I imagine their energy has created the Unwinding, which we can only make assumptions about.
“The Theos destroyed their counterpart and quickly realized they’d upset the balance. They created the portals and sacrificed themselves into them as a last gift to the galaxies.”
“How did you know the Iskios wouldn’t come with Leonard?” Suma asked.
I shrugged. “I didn’t. It was all a hypothesis. When the stone began its alarm, I hoped it would work. I felt the fight before I came to. The Theos couldn’t let the Iskios go.”
“Look, the Larsk Two symbol is here now,” Suma said. I went to her side, where the once-hidden symbol appeared, but in a muted gray color. Suma stood at the portal table, eyes wide. “And now it’s gone.”
I glanced back, only to see nothing where the symbol had been. My head still swam as I moved, but it was getting better by the minute.
“The symbol for Larsk Two. It’s vanished,” Suma said.
Eighteen
Maggie licked my face, and I glanced out the window to see how high the red star was in the sky. It had to be afternoon, judging by the heat in my room and the angle of the light.
“Hey, girl. Aren’t you a good puppy? I’m sorry I’ve been away so much. This will get better, I promise.”
Maggie rolled around the bedding, her fuzzy ears dancing as she flopped from side to side. “I’m going to bring Mommy home, then we can finally be a family together.” I thought of Mary and the child she was carrying, and felt the darkness threaten to cloud over my mind again. Instead of letting it, I trundled out of the blankets and hopped beside Maggie, giving her a ferocious belly rub, and kissed her on the top of the head.
She sneezed, shook, and jumped off the bed. She had me trained. I let her outside, and after my own bathroom pit stop, I made a pot of coffee. The tablet on the Theos sat on the table, and I fumbled through it, getting no more information than I had the first four times I’d sifted through it. It was garbage, nothing more than a pathetic distraction from the Supreme.
If I was going to get help from the Theos, I needed more than a child’s guide to an ancient race. I needed to get to Bazarn Five. Maggie ate her kibble loudly beside me, and I pecked away at an overcooked fried egg, wishing Mary was there.
I caught a look of myself in a mirror on the adjacent wall as I got up to clean my dishes. My hand instantly went to my face, where a full beard had grown. It made me look older: angrier, somehow. I considered shaving it then but decided to keep the facial hair. I’d shave it when I found Mary, if she wanted me to.
The sides and chin were specked with gray hairs, some white, betraying my true age. When had my youth disappeared? I’d started this all in my mid-thirties, and I honestly wasn’t even sure of my real age any longer. Somewhere around forty, I guessed. I could do the math, but my mind wasn’t willing at the moment. I had too much else to do.
“Come on, Maggie; let’s go for a walk.” The cocker sprang to her feet and ran to me, jumping on my legs. “I know, I know. It’s been a while. I’m sorry.”
I tossed some pants on, and a standard-issue blue t-shirt made with pride at Terran Three, before slipping my runners onto my feet. I laughed to myself when I recalled all the times on our false journey to the Theos that I’d ended up with no shoes or boots on. “That must be how you feel every day, hey, Maggie?” She tilted her head at me, probably trying to decipher if I’d said anything about food.
“Come on.” I opened the door for the dog, and she ran out to the front yard ahead of me. I didn’t bother with a leash out here. The only time I did was when we brought her into town.
Our garden was overgrown with weeds, and I decided to hire someone to clean it up for us. Mary and I had built that together our first summer here, and I couldn’t let it go. Large tomatoes grew on the left edge, and I stopped to peer into the thick plant to see heavy green ovals weighing it down. The smell of summer, dirt, and tomatoes threatened to overwhelm me with sorrow.
“I’m going to find you, Mary.” I looked to the blue sky, where thin wispy white clouds rolled by. “I’m going to bring you home.”
Maggie barked, and I looked across the yard to see her urging me to join her. She had important things to smell, and I was keeping her from it. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” I called, and she ran a circle around me, herding me.
The heat of the day made me sweat after less than half a mile, and I wished I’d brought some water with me. As Maggie sniffed around, I thought about the problem at hand. We needed the Theos. They had to be awoken to counter this Unwinding we knew so little about.
I was confident I was right. The Theos were inside the portal stones. But how many? Did each house one of the ancient race, or was there a collection of their energy powering each stone? How could I harness them from inside? When we’d tried to travel from Larsk Two with an Iskios inside Leonard, there had been a battle. If I was a gambling man, I had to say the Theos countered the Iskios, leaving the portal immobile, and that was why the symbol had disappeared.
Bazarn Five might contain the answers I needed. That was another large problem. I knew how to get there, but would I find roadblocks there too? I had no idea how far my title of Gatekeeper would get me.
I really didn’t even know the best route. Even if I could somehow talk to a Theos hiding inside the portal stones, would they heed my call for help? I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. Getting angry now wasn’t going to help me.
I pulled an earpiece from my pocket and pushed it into my ear. “Magnus, you there?” I asked, knowing his integrated comp-system would alert him that someone was trying to contact him.
I turned around, and Maggie ran ahead, heading back home. Her tongue lolled to the side, and she looked back, a dog smile on her face.
Magnus’ voice cut in. “Go ahead, Dean.”
“Is the team ready?” I asked.
“The team’s a go. We’re ready when you are.”
“Tonight we travel to Bazarn Five.”
____________
“Leonard, are you sure you’re up for this?” I asked the young man.
“I think so. I want to help.” He fidgeted with his glasses; his thick black hair bounced as he threw a pack on his shoulder.
“You’ve been through a lot. I don’t want to ask any more of you.”
“Dean, I’m fine. I’m just glad I could be of assistance.”
“Assistance? Without you, we wouldn’t have known about the portal stones,” I suggested.
“You knew already,” Leonard said.
I grabbed my pack, slinging it on my shoulder. “I had an inkling, a theory. You helped solve it. Either way, thanks.”
Clare passed me the device. “I know I said it works, but its range is still limited, and I didn’t have the real Mary around to test it with.”
“You think I’ll be able to find her with this?” I hefted the handheld cellphone-sized electronic piece in my right hand.
“Yes, but only when you’re within range. It’s set to constantly search her out, and it’ll alert you when her DNA is nearby.” Clare was staring straight into my eyes.
“How far is that?” I asked.
“It’s hard to tell. I’ve only tested things on New Spero.”
I didn’t like her answer, but it was better than nothing. Worst case, it didn’t work at all. No harm, no foul. “Thanks.” I kissed her on the cheek, and she squeezed my arm.
“Bring her home, Dean,” Clare said softly.
“I will.” I made the promise, and I wa
s going to keep it. “You going to be okay with W staying with you for a while?”
“Of course. He’s quite the discovery. He’s a very old model, apparently, but as the old saying goes, ‘they don’t build ‘em like they used to.’ We can learn from him.”
I cringed. “Just take it easy on him. He’s been through the wringer.”
Clare gave me a surprised look that turned into a small smile. “He’s in the best hands. Take care of yourself, Dean.”
“I will,” I said quietly before bellowing, “Everyone ready?”
A lander flew in the sky, lowering toward our position. “Who the hell is that?” Magnus asked, using his hand as a visor as he stared at the incoming vessel.
It set down on the gravel near the portal caverns outside Terran Five, and a familiar figure stepped down as the door hissed open.
Magnus rushed over to her. “Natalia, is everything okay?”
Slate came and stood beside me as we watched the married couple.
They spoke in hushed tones, their body language saying they were knee deep in an argument. This went on for a couple of minutes, and we did our best to mind our business. At the end of it, Nat and Magnus were walking toward us, a resigned look covering Magnus’ normally neutral face.
“Guess who’s coming with us?” he asked, stating the obvious.
“Glad to have you, Nat.” I knew she wouldn’t leave her kids behind if she didn’t feel this was necessary, so I didn’t press the subject.
“She’s my friend too. More than that. She’s my sister. We were all reborn that day when we met, and we’re family. All of us.” Tears formed at her eyes, and I embraced her, getting a firm hug back from her. “We’ll find her, Dean.” She whispered the last in my ear, as if it was a secret between the two of us.
“You know we’ll make it happen,” I said, and Magnus glanced at me before giving me a wide smile.
A while later, we stood in the portal room. I took a head count. Leonard was there, nervously moving around the space; Magnus and Natalia stood next to each other, the ever-formidable pair. Slate finished off the crew, my ever-loyal buddy, like the younger brother I never had but knew I couldn’t live without.
“Sarlun going to be ready?” Slate asked.
“He better be. It’s time we finished this, once and for all.” I scrolled through the tabletop screen; the portal stone glowed hot and bright. When I found the symbol for Shimmal, I took one last look at my friends. I was grateful for the support and help from each and every one of them. I hoped we made it out of this unscathed.
I tapped the icon, and white light enveloped us.
Nineteen
Suma slumped in her white chair. “I’m sorry I can’t come.”
“It’s okay,” I told her. “I can’t believe your father let you come last time.”
“It’s not fair. Did you tell him how much I helped last time?” she prodded.
I had, and I told her so.
“Then why? Why won’t he let me come?” she asked.
“Suma, that’s for him to know.” The fact that Sarlun had let Suma join us on a mission to the crystal world but wouldn’t let her come to Bazarn Five worried me. Just how dangerous was this “luxurious” world? There was so much about the universe I didn’t know, and I couldn’t help but feel I was about to walk barefoot into a snake pit.
“Take this.” Suma looked around the room, seeing we were still alone. Her wide black eyes scanned the corners, checking if the cameras were on us. They were pointed away in their constantly rotating pattern.
I palmed the gift and slid it into a pocket, sensing she wanted me to keep it between us. “What is it?”
“It’s a recorder. Set it on any physical book, and it will record everything inside digitally, allowing you to translate or decode whatever you need. I thought it might come in handy.”
“Where did you get this?” I asked, thinking how valuable it might be on a world with the largest library and encyclopedia in the known universe.
“From Father’s room.” Her gaze cut through her quiet words. “Don’t tell.”
Sarlun had a room full of amazing artifacts from hundreds or thousands of worlds. It only made sense he’d have cataloged them, and that Suma would have access.
“Thank you, Suma.” I didn’t know what else to say. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
She beamed at that, and the door opened. Sarlun entered, wearing a pristine white suit with the Gatekeepers’ logo on it: a portal stone with two spears crossing over it. I’d never seen any Gatekeeper with the actual weapon before, but the point was made.
“Let us depart. Suma, you’ll enjoy your week at our second home.”
Suma looked down at her feet. “Yes, Father.”
“Chin up, Su.” Slate put an arm around the small Shimmali girl, and she looked up at him begrudgingly. “We’ll be back before you know it, and we’ll have you over for a holiday. Right, Dean?”
“Of course,” I said, and Suma rushed me, giving me a hug before leaving us in the portal room with her father.
Sarlun didn’t comment that his daughter had avoided a hug with him. He passed me a bag. “Dean, it would be prudent for you to change as well.”
I looked down at the same T-shirt and shorts I’d been wearing all day. The others were in New Spero jumpsuits, and I took the offered clothing from Sarlun, heading to the corner to change. When I was done, I caught a glimpse of myself in the shiny metal door. I didn’t recognize myself with the graying beard and white suit.
“Looking spiffy, boss.” Slate picked up our bags and hauled them to the portal table.
“Everyone ready?” Sarlun asked, tapping at the table.
“Da,” Nat said, and we all agreed.
I didn’t know a lot about Bazarn Five, except that the wealthiest of the wealthy went there to trade antiquities, shop, vacation, gamble, and to learn from the library. I’d seen opulence when I’d visited Europe after graduating school, but our lives had become simple on New Spero.
I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of beauty when I opened my eyes after being transported by the portal.
It was unlike any portal room I’d visited before. The ceilings were at least thirty feet tall; giant pillars carved from what looked like golden marble supported the ornate carved display above. My gaze lingered on the images of worlds on the ceiling, carved and painted with the most stunning color palette I’d even seen. I had to believe some of the tones had never been duplicated on Earth, and I was speechless at the exhibition.
“Wow,” Slate said from behind me.
“Yeah, wow is right.” I broke my stare to look forward at the armed guards approaching. There were four of them, encased in formidable golden armor. This world certainly had a specific feel to it.
The guards had four arms, each appearing powerful, but the more impressive thing was their height. I couldn’t tell when they were across the room, but as they neared, I saw they had to be at least eight feet tall, towering over Magnus and Slate as if they were children. They wore helmets that left their faces open. Small eyes assessed us over short, thick noses. Their skin was dark, gold flecks either naturally present or painted on.
They all stopped a few yards from us, and one stepped forward. He spoke, revealing sparkling white teeth.
“Greetings, Sarlun of Shimmal,” he said in the Shimmali tongue, and his welcome translated for us.
“Greetings be upon you.” Sarlun handed the guard a small disk.
The armored giant scanned it, handed it back, and then smiled a toothy grin. “Welcome to Bazarn Five,” he said, this time in English, before eyeing us each suspiciously. He apparently took a special interest in seeing a human in a Gatekeeper uniform, and I wondered how he possibly could have spoken our language. But after a few moments of scrutiny, he smiled again and waved us in. “You can never be too careful. We’re under high alert here.”
Sarlun was walking ahead of us now. I grabbed my bag and hurried to hear their conv
ersation.
“Why’s that?” Sarlun asked.
“Someone sent pirates after one of Garo Alnod’s vessels.” The guard led us down the portal room, and as I listened, I observed. The carvings and paintings continued down the long room, impressing me to a new level with each passing frame. At the end of the room, a painting of a colorful wormhole lightly swirled as we walked toward it. The center appeared to be the exit.
“That’s not surprising. I hear his ships are often a target.”
“This time, his daughter and her paramour were on it,” the guard said, pausing at the doorway.
“What happened?” Sarlun asked, his eyes wide.
“The ship was found destroyed, Rivo taken hostage.”
It finally clued in. “Rivo?” I set a hand out palm down just over my hips. “About this tall? Blue?”
Sarlun and the guard turned slowly to me. “What do you know about it?” Sarlun asked.
“Remember I told you about getting boarded by pirates?”
Sarlun nodded slowly. Magnus moved behind me, a laugh building in his enormous chest.
“You’re not saying it was you who freed her from the confines of those pirates, are you?” the guard asked in perfect English. I realized then he must have a built-in translator. The things the wealthy could do.
I shifted uncomfortably under the huge alien’s gaze. “Kind of.”
“Kind of? She told her mother and father she was saved by a skinny pale being. That could be you,” he said, and Magnus barked out a laugh.
“Guilty as charged.” I waved a dismissive hand in the air, as if to put it behind us.
“She also said the being was offered riches, but all it wanted was for her to blow the pirate’s power stealing units up. Is this true?” The other guards stood around us now, all intent on my words.
“That’s right. We helped each other. Without her breaking us free from their energy drain, we couldn’t have escaped. Look, can we get moving? I have some important business here, and every minute we’re delayed could mean something bad happens.” I stepped forward, hoping the guards would let me pass through. They didn’t.
The Survivors: Books 1-6 Page 97
