15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chloe

I watch in horror as Vornas collapses, his body hitting the jungle floor with a sickening thud. My heart races as I rush to his side, dropping to my knees beside him.

"Vornas!" I cry, cradling his head in my lap. His eyes are closed, his breathing shallow and ragged. I then glare up at the Host and yell, "You did this!"

The Host flutters nervously. "Now, now, let's not overreact. I had to intervene. We would have lost this fight otherwise. You see—"

I whirl on him, fury blazing in my eyes. "Shut up!" Turning to the Kro'tek warrior, I bark out an order. "You, big guy. Hold him down. Make sure he doesn't try anything else."

The Kro'tek nods solemnly, and within moments he has the Host pinned to the ground.

My eyes then land on the Zyrillian, her antennae twitching anxiously.

"Hey, engineer," I call out. "Those consoles back in the facility had no security. Do you think you could get back in there and slow down the Administrator?"

The Zyrillian's bug-like eyes light up. "Affirmative," she chirps, already scuttling off toward the hidden entrance as she calls out, "I shall impede their progress to the best of my abilities!"

With that handled, I turn my attention back to Vornas. His breathing is labored, and the gash on his side is bleeding heavily. My stomach churns as I realize the extent of his injuries.

"Vornas," I whisper, stroking his face. "Stay with me, okay?"

His eyes flutter open, unfocused and filled with pain. "Chloe," he rasps, then reaches up and touches my cheek. "Listen to me. You must stop the Administrator. And… and you must return to Mythos as my queen to distribute the cure to all the races."

"What? Vornas, no—"

He fumbles at his neck, pulling off a beaded necklace. "Take this," he insists, pressing it into my hand. "My people will trust you when they see it. Promise me, Chloe. Promise you'll finish what we started."

"You're going to make it—"

"Promise me," he begs, his energy fading.

I clutch the necklace, tears spilling down my cheeks. "I promise," I whisper, leaning down to press my forehead against his.

Suddenly, a soft glow illuminates the clearing. I look up to see the Lumenari floating toward us, her bioluminescent body pulsing with ethereal light.

"I can save him," she says softly.

I turn to her. "You can? Please, do it!"

The Lumenari descends as we all step back, her jellied form enveloping Vornas. I watch in awe as her light intensifies, seeming to flow into Vornas's body. His breathing steadies, the wound on his side slowly closing.

But as Vornas regains his strength, I notice the Lumenari's glow beginning to dim.

And that's when a horrible realization dawns on me.

"Wait," I gasp, reaching out to her. "Are you… Are you giving him your life force?"

The Lumenari's light flickers weakly. "It is necessary," she says softly. "To save us all from a great darkness."

I clasp her jellied hands, choking back a sob. "But you'll die," I whisper.

"And he will live," she replies, her voice fading. "Now it is your time to stop what is coming."

As the Lumenari's luminescence fades into Vornas, her form dissipating like morning mist, a hollowness carves itself into my chest. The finality of her sacrifice hits me, a gut punch of grief and gratitude. But when I look down at Vornas, his eyes are clear and alert.

"What happened?" he asks as he touches his side, realizing his wound is healed.

I swallow hard, pushing back the lump in my throat. "The Lumenari saved you."

Vornas looks around, as if in search of her. "She did? Where is…"

It seems to dawn on him then.

"Oh," he says, a faraway look in his eyes.

But there's no time to mourn, not when the Lumenari's final act has given us a fighting chance. Her sacrifice demands action, not sorrow.

"All right," I say, trying to sound certain when I'm anything but. "We've got a score to settle with the Administrator, and a planet to save. Let's—"

A flash of movement catches my eye. The Host is trying to squirm out of the Kro'tek's grip, though he's not making much progress.

"Right," I say, my anger only intensifying. " You're still here. Let's make sure you don't go anywhere." I spot some vines nearby, and Vornas is already on it, cutting them down and tossing them to the Kro'tek.

The Kro'tek works quickly, his massive hands surprisingly deft as he binds the Host's limbs. Once secured, he hoists the squawking creature onto his back, strapping him in place like some bizarre alien backpack.

"There," the Kro'tek rumbles. "Keep an eye on bird-man easier this way."

The Host's indignant squawks fade to sullen muttering as he realizes the futility of his situation.

Just then, the Zyrillian engineer scuttles back into our midst, her antennae twitching with barely contained excitement. I'm surprised she's back so quickly, but then again, she is a tech genius.

"Everyone!" she chirps, skidding to a stop before us. "I've discovered a weakness in the Administrator's processors. We have a window of opportunity to overload the system, but it won't last long."

I nod, and we're already on the move to return to the underground facility as I ask the Zyrillian, "So how exactly do we overload the system?"

"The Administrator is running at maximum capacity to awaken all the robots. If we can infiltrate the control room and push it even further, we can fry the entire neural network! The only problem is that some of the robots have already woken from hibernation, and they're guarding the location."

Well, it's clear what we need to do next—not that I'm exactly thrilled to face a robot horde. "Vornas, Kro'tek, and I will lead the charge," I say. "We'll clear the path so you can work your magic."

"Perfect!" the Zyrillian responds.

The Host squawks indignantly from his position on the Kro'tek's back. "This is preposterous! You can't possibly think you'll succeed! So long as we give them the Saberkai, the Administrator will spare the rest of us! Don't you want to return home?"

I ignore him as we reach the door, turning my attention to Vornas instead. His eyes meet mine, a silent understanding passing between us.

"Ready?" I ask.

He grins, all fangs and confidence. "Always, my queen."

We set off toward the control room, our footsteps echoing through the sterile corridors. As we round a corner, we encounter our first obstacle—a pair of robotic guards. Thankfully, they aren't upgraded to the teeth, and are more on the level of the first one we faced.

Still, that doesn't mean they'll be easy to take down.

But Vornas doesn't hesitate, launching himself at the nearest one with a feral growl. I duck under the second robot's swinging arm, using my smaller size to my advantage as I weave around it.

"Kro'tek!" I yell.

The rocky warrior takes his cue and lumbers forward, his massive fist connecting with the robot's head. It crumples to the ground, sparks flying.

Vornas finishes off his opponent by going for the exposed wires, then we press on, continuing deeper into the lab as the Zyrillian keeps pace behind us, occasionally calling out directions.

"Left here!" she shouts. "The control room should be just ahead!"

And sure enough, we reach the control room door, a massive metal barrier that looks impenetrable. The Zyrillian scurries forward, her nimble appendages already working on the control pad.

"Stand guard," I tell Vornas and the Kro'tek. "If anything comes at us, we must hold them off at all costs."

But no more robots come, and as the Zyrillian works, I can't shake the feeling in my gut that this has been too easy. I scan the corridor, half-expecting an army of robots to come pouring in at any moment.

But then a new thought occurs.

Maybe the army is already inside the very room we're about to open.

"Got it," the Zyrillian announces as the door's locks disengage. "Now comes the hard part."

When the doors open, my worst fears are proven right.

Because there's an entire robot horde inside.

And they don't look too happy to see us.