Chapter Twenty-Six

CHRISTINE

As the cruiser rolled across the rugged Echilean terrain, I tightened the knot securing the parcel on my lap. I looked out at the stretch of industrial wasteland outside the window. The dark gray fog of centuries-old pollution was so thick that the needle-nosed tip of the ship seemed to cut it into pieces. I thought I had never been to this part of Echiles before, but it was hard to tell. Everything looked the same on the butchered planet.

“Are we there yet?”

“This is the place,” Axl murmured, fingers flying over the central panel of the dashboard. “I just need to activate the tracking device and send a message to the palace so they will know we’re here.”

I slipped the parcel into my backpack and picked up a couple of temporary gas masks. After securing the straps of the cardboard masks behind our ears, we checked our weapons and disembarked.

I hadn’t checked the time before we left. As soon as we set foot on the cracked dirt, I remembered why Echilean explorations usually took place after sunset. The afternoons on this planet were horrendous. An arid wave of sweltering heat accosted us. The ground felt like a stove, with steam hissing out of the crevices. If it were not for the cooling, skin-tight fabric of my bodysuit, I would have burned in seconds.

I glanced at Axl’s exposed biceps enviously. Urwanians had tougher skin than humans. The worst thing that could happen to him was coming out a few shades darker.

“There’s no one here.” I spun around slowly, looking for activity.

Axl dragged his fingers across the remnants of what was once a tall stone fountain. Apart from a few abandoned wooden sheds, the place looked deserted. The only sounds of life came from the crunches of dead insects under our boots.

“They should have arrived before us.” Axl reversed course, starting to head back to the spaceship. “I’ll try and make contact with someone else from Magnum.”

“Hold on. I think I see him.” In the distance, Barthan emerged in the dimly lit entrance of a hospital halfway down the block. “Hey!” I put my backpack on the ground and started waving both arms. “Over here!”

When the acquirer approached us, something seemed different about him. Instead of being alert, there was a look of shell-shocked emptiness. He stared blankly in front of him. It seemed like he intentionally refused to look in our eyes.

Axl saw it too. “Barthan, where are the others?”

“Sorry, Chief.” Barthan’s dead eyes darted toward me.

Everything happened so fast that it was over before I could blink. Barthan reached into his holster and pulled out a weapon. In an instant, he shoved the cold, hard barrel of his neutralizer up against my forehead. My heart jumped into my throat.

There was only one way for Axl to react. He drew his weapon, aiming at the person who used to be his right-hand man. “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, breathing heavily through his clenched teeth. “Let her go!”

“I need the pillar.” Even though Barthan didn’t raise his voice, I could feel every word striking me like flying debris. “Give it to me now. I don’t want to kill her, but I’m prepared to do whatever it takes.”

“I would listen to him if I were you.” The soft tap of a cane echoed down the street. Lord Silas strolled out of the hospital entrance with a red cape dancing behind him. Moments later, a throng of fully armed Makroid poured into the streets and surrounded us. Sweat began to pour down my back and the sides of my face. I glanced at the Makroid barricade. Would we be able to break through?

Akuza appeared. To his credit, he looked slightly embarrassed.

“Axl.” Lord Silas beamed and emphatically hit the ground with his cane. “Even from a distance, I knew I recognized the eyes. They look like Onya. She was a beautiful creature and a fighter to the end. She would have been proud if she could see you today.”

If looks could kill, the smoldering hatred in Axl’s eyes would have been enough to take down the entire Makroid force. He looked around angrily with a glare that could cut through steel. His eyes settled on the traitor. Overwrought with guilt, Barthan succumbed to his withering gaze.

“I had no choice, Axl. They have my family. I would do anything for Bam-Bam.”

“And so you did. Now hand over the pillar.” Lord Silas extended a hand, wiggling his fingers. “This time, I am asking you nicely.”

“Wait a second.” I heard the dull whine of Barthan’s pistol beginning to charge, and I quickly closed my mouth.

Squatting next to me, Axl pulled out the parcel from my backpack and slid it toward the Makroid tyrant. Lord Silas stepped on one end of the box, opening the package with the tip of his cane. When he snapped his fingers, Akuza dropped to his knees and took the pillar into his hands.

“It is authentic, Father.”

“Excellent. Thank you for your sacrifice.” Lord Silas patted his son on the back with his cane and turned his back on us. “Get rid of them.”

When I heard those four words, I felt all the energy leave my body.

“No, wait!” Akuza twisted his hands together. “Don’t kill them. Isn’t it smarter to keep hostages? We can use them as collateral.”

“Collateral?” Lord Silas raised his cane at his son. “That’s a good idea. You’ve learned something during your imprisonment, Akuza.” The tyrant glared at the Makroid. “You heard my son. Restrain them.”

Two Makroid came up behind me and pinned my arms. “Hey! Let go!”

I saw a Makroid strike Axl on the head with the back of her weapon. He wouldn’t go down without a fight. It took another four Makroid to immobilize him and secure his wrists and ankles with electric cuffs.

Barthan wasn’t part of the group attacking Axl. He decided to charge the tyrant instead. “You bastard! Did you forget about my family? You said you were going to free them!”

The last thing I saw before the sack was put over my head was a Makroid seizing Barthan from behind, plunging a knife deeply into his stomach. I heard Barthan’s guttural screams and Axl roaring his name. Then there was nothing.

What had I gotten myself into?

My head throbbed. I didn’t want to do it, but I had to rest my head somewhere. I ended up leaning against the grubby tiles in the tiny cage. The cell was barely tall enough for me to sit up. There was enough room for me to bend my legs if I lay on my side. After a few hours of restricted movement, my aching limbs had begun to go numb. I could hardly feel the tender, chapped skin around my wrists and ankles.

My situation wasn’t great, but it could have been worse. Axl wasn’t even in a cage. Someone had attached him to the wall by his arms and wrists, spreading out his limbs. Electric restraints pinned him. They would shock him if he made any sudden movements.

We weren’t the only prisoners in the area. Other cells were next to us, and we could hear occasional wails.

A different world was outside the prison. Judging by the impressive staircase in the center of the room, we were somewhere underground. Well-dressed Makroid bustled about the vast chamber and prepared for a grand banquet. Some pushed carts of rotisserie meats, while others ticked off checklists.

At the far end of the room stood an enormous throne. Painted skulls and mottled feathers decorated the eyesore. Lord Silas waited at the foot, munching on a greasy poultry leg.

Axl moaned. I jerked my head in his direction. His head was down between his shoulders, and a fresh sheen of sweat covered his face. The handcuffs on his wrists were still smoking.

“Axl, are you okay?”

“Quiet, human!” The passing Makroid rattled my cage after snapping at me.

I scowled at the Makroid. Axl lifted his gaze to me and rolled his eyes to the right. I followed his gaze to the plinth at the foot of the throne, which held the pillar in a protective glass box. Did he want me to take it? He was supposed to be the mercenary, not me!

When Lord Silas finally left through the sliding doors above the stairs, I took a deep breath and started counting down from a hundred to ease my nerves.

“Watch out!”

A thunder of artillery fire woke me from my trance. It looked like Axl was walking across the room, but I knew he was still a prisoner. Was he projecting an image of himself? As Axl appeared to strut across the room and make his way toward the pillar, the confused Makroid emptied their guns. Their bullets went through Axl’s etheric form but failed to break his stride.

The distraction was my chance to escape. Leaning against the edge of the cage, I squeezed my fingers between the bars, stretching out an arm. With a swoop of my fingers, I managed to snatch a set of keys from the belt of a fleeing Makroid. While the rest of the room descended into mayhem, I jammed the keys into my handcuffs and fell out of the cage.

A blinking Makroid froze in front of me. “Hey! She’s escaping!”

I swung my arm back and punched him the chin. When he toppled over, I grabbed both of his weapons. It was fight or flight time. I fired wildly at the Makroid around me, clearing a path as I headed for Axl.

Tossing one of the pistols aside, I shot off a tabletop and held the slab of metal over my body with one hand. I mowed down the rest of the Makroid in my path and fired at Axl’s chains. When they broke, Axl fell into a heap on the floor. Groaning, Axl pushed himself off the ground and looked up at me. “We have to get the pillar.”

I grabbed a stray weapon on the ground and thrust it into Axl’s hands. Slinging his arm over my shoulder, I managed to haul him onto his feet. His body burned hot against me. He fired at the Makroid as I made our way toward the plinth.

There was no time to think or fret. I saw nothing but the pillar ahead of me. It was so close that I could practically taste it. That day, a heavenly force must have been smiling down upon us. Weaving through the hailstorm of bullets, I wrenched the prize out of the case, tucked it under Axl’s arm, and dragged us up the stairs to safety.