Epilogue
When the signals came, the cybermonks were strolling through the outskirts of a small forest near Verd. The first orbital platform was yet to be resurrected, so this was a little late in reaching them. A drone happened upon a visual abnormality.
“Did we predict this?” asked Lightnyng. “I mean did we?”
“I told you I detected a creature in the library stacks.” Stryng smacked his red lips and wondered if they should be running for the vaults.
Above them the atmosphere boiled with the intrusion of a gigantic wedge carving through the clouds, severing air, casually slicing through kilometers of weather layers. Lightning branched from its edges, booming. Rain pattered past to dot the cybermonks’s heads.
A starship bigger than the moon of Omm was aimed at their location.
Erroar snarled. “It is the instrument of a vengeful angel. The hand of Fate.”
“Or a digit gone wrong in our Prediction,” Lightnyng contemplated. “Let us run.”
They ran for the entrance to the vaults beneath Verd.
“I know you don’t believe me,” Stryng said loudly over the sing of their wheeling legs. “But I found the facts about the creature in the data stacks. Deep inside. In a file lost for decades due to a misplaced number. It’s a probability dragon and we exterminated the people who birthed Ember because of their association with them. They were nasty.”
“Wait. Wait. Now you say this?” Lightnyng said absentmindedly. “Nasty does not compute.” He stared upward, for he’d halted to look at the pretty thing in the sky.
The starship loomed closer, blocking out the sun, scattering before its path a stream of screaming code that struck the monks and interfered with their logic processes, courtesy of a small program Ember had thought to add to the beacon at the bow of the ship.
Like metal statues the cybermonks remained halted and they looked above, and only one of them thought clearly enough to spool out a code to mess with Ember’s.
“Run,” muttered Stryng, scooting forward. “Run!” The vault entrance was just there.
But Lightnyng and Erroar stayed rooted to the spot for they were mesmerized, and slightly doomed.
A few million tons of starship coming down on their heads make most AI poop their pants.
* * * * *
Ember knew when it happened, or approximately so, though she was with her men. She was awake and wondering.
Was there anyone good out there? Was everyone who took power upon themselves evil? The monks? The Xatar. CESS. The list grew by the day.
The galaxy had never been more in peril.
It made her doubt. It made her think that perhaps it was time for someone to do something about it all.
“What do you think, Ig?” He’d found a vacant spot between the legs of Hoss and Baz, down the bottom of the bed.
Ig toddled up to her and burped fire, singeing the sheets. He nudged her for a pat.
“Yes, I agree.” Sometimes things just needed exterminating. “Hey. When did you learn to do that?”
“Whenever it was, you housetrain him. I don’t want my bed in flames.” Hoss rolled her to him and tucked her into his body. His solid biceps held her caged, and she sneaked her hand under his where it lay next to her breast. It made her feel safe. “Now, you’re done messing around?”
Ember smiled and sighed, then shut her eyes. “I’m done.”
More Dark Monster Fantasies will be released later in 2018
Due to readers asking for a Ledderik and Tiana story that book will likely be the next one.
Unfortunately Tiana may not survive to be Led’s partner due to the cruelty of the author.
If you missed reading PREY, it’s here: