30. Aru

The thin air made the climb challenging even for a god, and as Aru trudged up the steep, rocky slope of the mountain, his breaths were coming in short, labored gasps. Behind him, Dagor and Negal followed, with Negal holding Jasmine"s hand and helping her climb.

The woman was struggling, her face flushed with exertion and sweat beading on her forehead. He"d insisted that Jasmine use an oxygen mask to help her breathe, but even with the extra support and the help they were providing, she was reaching the limit of her endurance.

Soon, they would need to carry her, but he had anticipated that.

Jasmine was an actress, not a professional mountaineer.

Regrettably, they had to take her with them on this mission, and there was no way to get her where they needed to be with a helicopter. Edgar couldn"t land safely where they were heading. On top of that, the winds were picking up, so Edgar might not be able to reach them even at the rendezvous location, and they could get stuck on the steep slopes overnight.

They were adequately equipped for that contingency, with tents and food to last them three days if needed, but he hoped it wouldn"t be necessary. If they made it up the damn mountain by two o"clock, they could be down the other side by three, and there was a spot that would better protect them from the elements where they could set up camp.

Aru needed to be available by four to make the daily telepathic and satellite call, connecting the Clan Mother with the queen.

Her Majesty and Her Highness were aware that it might not happen because conditions didn"t allow it, but he would hate to disappoint them.

He also needed to consult the queen about what to do if the twins were found alive. Not that it was very likely, but on the remote chance that they had somehow survived, he knew he couldn"t report that to the commander of the patrol ship.

If the Eternal King was told they were alive, he would stop at nothing to eliminate them. Aru did not doubt that it wouldn"t take long for the command to arrive from the king to kill the twins. And if he couldn"t do that for whatever reason and could not provide proof of their demise, the king would order the patrol ship to turn around and eliminate all life on Earth.

The commander wouldn"t carry out that order, which would make everyone on board a traitor and a deserter, and the king would send another ship to finish the job. All they would gain was a few centuries, which in the grand scheme of things was very little.

Aru had only two options. One was to claim that he hadn"t found anything, and the other was to claim that he had found the twins dead. The problem with that one, of course, was proof. If the pod"s record showed that life support functions were still working, Aru might not be able to assert that the twins were dead.

He couldn"t tamper with Anumati"s equipment because it was tamper-proof.

What if he destroyed the pod and claimed it had been damaged in the crash?

That would only arouse suspicion. The pods were built to withstand almost anything. A malfunction was possible, but not a complete disintegration. That was why his team"s assignment was so important. They needed to find all the pods and either find survivors or provide proof that there were none, and then ensure that the pods were never seen by humans.

A cry of pain pulled Aru from his thoughts.

Negal was holding Jasmine up, but it appeared that she had stumbled, and something wasn"t right.

Her oxygen mask hung loose from its cord, and Jasmine was clutching her ankle. "I need to sit down." She pulled on Negal"s hand.

He lowered her gently to the ground and crouched next to her, looking lost for what to do next as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Aru crouched behind her, propping up her back. "Just breathe, Jasmine. The pain will subside in a few moments."

He wasn"t sure that was true for a human, but it seemed to calm her down.

She turned to look at him with tearful eyes. "What are we going to do now? I can"t walk."

"We will carry you. I planned on doing that anyway because you were reaching your breaking point. I should have done it an hour ago, and then this wouldn"t have happened."

"I"m sorry," she said, her chin wobbling as she tried not to cry.

"Nothing to be sorry about. I just hope Julian can patch you up when we return."

Jasmine winced. "Humans don"t heal that fast, Aru. It might take weeks before I can step on this foot, and we don"t have the time."

"Don"t worry." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Worst case scenario, we will carry you the entire time."

She groaned. "This is so embarrassing. I"m not some dainty damsel. I"m heavy."

Negal chuckled. "Nonsense. You don"t weigh more than one of these backpacks. The only thing I"m worried about is Edgar"s jealousy. He won"t like it."

"That"s his problem." Aru pushed to his feet. "Who wants to go first?"

"I do." Negal crouched in front of Jasmine. "Hop onto my back."