Chapter 9:
Him. Drake. He was the one who could guide the weapon.
That had to be why she had had such a dream of him. Why she had been given to know him before his arrival.
It had not occurred to her at any point in her long life that it could possibly be a human who would take charge of that lethal weapon. But there was more to consider than just the weapon. There was the thing that the weapon protected to consider.
These beings that came to the fortress had no idea of how precious that other thing was, and she did not trust them enough to tell them of it. That she would have to take it out of there in secret was clear.
She had no choice but to leave. This place was falling, and if she tried to stay, she would follow along with it. She had no idea if there was any way possible for her to avoid death if the fortress fell with her still inside it, but she had little hope that she could.
Why had she not simply taken the Orb with her? All of its guardians were dead now. Those vast spiders that weaved their webs that kept it caught firmly in a net of space and time, anchored to its hiding place there within the machine, were long since dead.
The Orb frightened her so much that she rarely even looked at it. The knowledge that came from the Orb was a knowledge that could drive one insane.
That took her thoughts back to Drake. He was a human man, one endowed with ambition. She had sensed that in him. He was clearly the leader and the fact that she had seen his face, and had such an intimate dream about him, only seemed to reinforce the fact that he would be the one to guide the weapon.
The ancient race that created that weapon created it so that one of a singular nature would be the only one able to use its power. Drake was possessed of the singular nature. Clearly, he was. His personality seemed to shift between light and dark though.
She had spoken at length with the others as they had walked back toward the gardens, taking the unconscious man along with them, and they had all spoken highly of his bravery and courage. They had spoken highly of his ability to lead. They had spoken highly of his decision to betray the Federation that they all were now at war against. But they had been reserved about him as well. It seemed that none of them truly trusted him or his motives.
She had a feeling that they were not quite sold on the fact that he was indeed a traitor to that Federation. That there was an undercurrent of suspicion that he may, in fact, be a double agent of some type. That he may be only pretending to betray the Federation in order to undertake the mission that had brought him and them to her world.
He might very well be going to betray all of them. If he did, the consequences to himself would be incredibly high. The weapon would destroy him. The weapon was meant to fight evil, and if he had more darkness in him than light, that he too would die. The weapon would hone in on that darkness, call it out with that seductive promise of power. She had seen that happen before. She did not wish to see it again.
Talon stood next to her now. His wide shoulders leaned into a battered wall, and his eyes rested on his mate, the human warrior-woman named Jessica. That Talon did not trust Drake was obvious. That he also did not trust her was equally obvious. He seemed to trust several of the people there within the group, but those people were either his siblings or his sibling’s mates.
Lornia said, “I know very little of human strength. Do you think he can go on?”
Talon’s lips pursed. “Most humans, when faced with either death or life, tend to find the strength they did not know they possessed.”
She couldn’t figure out what to say to that. Talking was difficult as she had to summon up the language that she had not spoken in so long and try to translate their words into her own language before being able to reply. She conducted herself with a nod and hoped that it relayed her agreement. “He is not dying though.”
Talon said, “He came very close though, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Talon asked, “How many more of those things are there?”
“I don’t know.”
He hissed out an impatient breath. “I don’t know how long we can continue to carry Drake. We’re all tired. Coming through those gates and passing those obstacles exhausted us. For all kinds of reasons.”
That she could understand. Her arrival at the fortress had been fraught with terror and great emotional distress. “We need to move. Do you think he can walk?”
Talon’s eyes met hers. His narrowed. “Why did you not ask him yourself?”
Because she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. There was that dream, for one thing, and the lingering embarrassment over being face-to-face with a man that she had dreamed of in such a way. For another, there was that knowledge of his being the one who would guide the weapon. It lay heavy on her heart, that knowledge. She did not trust him. She was not even sure that she liked him. She was not sure that the weapon was suitable for his hold either.
“I didn’t think of it.”
Talon side. “Drake! Can you walk?”
Lornia watched as Drake attempted to lever himself up using his hands as a brace against the wall. He stood there for a moment, swaying on his feet. His face went gray with pain, but he nodded his head in a brisk manner. He took a few ginger steps forward. “I think so. I don’t think I can run though.”
Talon said, “Then you had better ready all of your weapons in case another of those things come at you.”
To Lornia’s utter shock, they all began to laugh. She gawked at them. What kind of creatures were these that the idea of danger could send them into such gales of laughter? Irritation sped through her, but she tamped it down. Now was not the time for her to be angry at them or impatient. They had a long way to go still, and she had something very important to retrieve.