Chapter 45

FORTY-FIVE

Dragek emerged in a hidden corner and scanned his surroundings.

The tunnel had led him into a small pool at the foot of a vast cavern. Slender stalactites hung from the roof, glistening with moisture. The floor of the cavern was carved from smooth stone dotted with strange, flat, plantlike organisms with lobular foliage that gently swayed back and forth. They emitted particles of light, glowing in the darkness.

It was warmer in here. Not oppressively so, but just enough to remind him that this wasn't Kythia.

His attention was immediately drawn to the large, machine-like structure in the center of the cavern. About the size of a modest passenger transport, it sat on a natural stone platform.

It was unlike anything Dragek had ever seen on any civilized planet. It reminded him somewhat of a Kordolian structure, but it appeared far more intricate.

It was made of Callidum, shaped like an oval but tapered at the ends, rising up toward the roof of the cave. More like a pod, he supposed, with the ends opening up like petals, revealing just a sliver of light.

Around the base of the structure were a series of interlocking metal circles—at least five in total. He thought they were inscribed with thousands of tiny, glowing glyphs, but from where he was, he couldn't be so sure.

The structure radiated a dark, pulsating energy.

An alien energy, not too dissimilar to the aura he felt when he was near a black hole.

The circles were rotating slowly. A faint, low-pitched hum emanated from the device.

In the center of the oval structure was a narrow opening, just big enough for a person to fit through. The dark, gaping maw seemed to suck in everything around it, including scattered particles of light.

A group of Kordolians stood in formation around the entrance.

He counted twelve in total. Warriors. Fully armed and decked out in military-issue armor suits.

Tarak was close to him now, coming up through the narrow tunnel.

"The coordinates are set," one of the unknown warriors said, his voice echoing throughout the cavern. "Back to the 21st revolution of the reign of Emperor Ilhan. Before he became First Division. Our orders are to go to the place where he's detained and kill him. Then we return to the Kythian entry point and get out as quickly and quietly as possible."

"What if we get intercepted?"

The warrior laughed darkly. "By who? We're an official military Division. They'll know us by our uniforms. We can say we're there on Lord Isnarek's orders. Nobody will question us. If they put up any obstruction, we'll just kill them. Understood?"

The other warrior nodded. "Yes, Sir!"

"All right. Let's move. Remember, all we have to do is kill Akkadian and anyone else that gets in our way. You will not interfere with anything else. This does not change our existence. We'll all be better off once that fucking demon is eliminated."

"That's for sure," another one growled. "But… what if he…?" A note of uncertainty entered his voice.

"He can't do anything to us. We're going back to a time before they made him into one of those monsters. The Tarak al Akkadian you'll encounter is nothing like the one we know now. He'll be easy to kill, believe me."

The leader stepped forward into the dark entrance.

And then, he disappeared.

Shit.

Dragek moved. He pulled himself up onto the rocky banks of the pool, not caring if they detected a disturbance in the water. He ran toward the machine—the portal— still in the state of qim, leaving wet footprints behind on the rocky ground.

He didn't care.

Time was running out.

Another went through. Then another.

He reached them.

"What the fuck?" One of the warriors raised a plasma gun and fired wildly, but being unable to see Dragek, his shot was way off.

He reached the group and pulled the long sword from its sheath at his back.

Then he went to work, taking advantage of the confusion.

He stabbed one in the back, straight through a layer of Callidum armor. Tarak's sword was excellent—one of the finest blades he'd ever wielded. He pushed the dead soldier off his blade and moved to the next, slashing across his unprotected neck.

The soldier let out a gurgling cry, then fell silent.

Tarak was somewhere in the periphery, quickly crossing the distance.

He took another one through the eye, dodging a counterattack, a vicious blade aimed at his neck.

That was three down. Another one had escaped through the portal. That made at least four who had entered the tesseract. Three dead. Five remaining on this side.

Tarak was there now, and he took down two in quick succession. The remaining warriors were shouting incoherently. They couldn't see Dragek, but they'd seen three of their comrades fall in rapid succession under his hand.

They could certainly see Tarak.

Decked out in full nanite armor, his sword drawn, there was no mistaking him for anything other than a First Division warrior.

One of the warriors fired, sending a bolt of plasma streaking through the air.

It flew past Tarak's head. He didn't even flinch. In a heartbeat, he was up against the shooter, slicing through his arm, severing limb and hand—and gun—from the rest of his body.

Dragek was no stranger to violence, but even he could appreciate the efficient brutality of Tarak's fighting style. Without missing a beat—before the warrior even had time to scream—Tarak impaled him through the neck, sending a vicious spray of blood into the air.

Another body fell.

Dragek made a low sound of admiration as he came up on another from behind, drawing one of his slender daggers and slamming it through armor, bone, and heart.

The Kordolian died instantly, just as his comrade screamed and ran through the portal.

One left.

Dragek threw his dagger, injecting it with the force of his ka'qui . It pierced the warrior's visor, cracking it.

He was already dead before he hit the ground.

Tarak gestured toward the portal. " Go ," he shouted, running toward it.

Dragek's eyes widened in shock. No. "But not you... "

He had his link to Jade. He didn't know how or why, but he was sure he would come back to her. The bond between him and his sarien transcended everything.

He had to go back.

If he didn't kill the ones that had gone through, everything would be lost.

But Tarak couldn't go back in time. He was needed here. He was far too important in the grand scheme of things, whereas he, Dragek…

"What if the portal gets…"

Destroyed?

What if there's no way back?

Tarak shouldn't go.

He would be the one to go.

There was no other option.

"You stay the fuck away," he shouted at Tarak. "Do not follow me."

Then, he stepped into the darkness.