Bandits (14 page)

BANDITS

A dark eyebrow lifted as he spied Daniel drop into the boi
l
ing sea. “How the hell will he survive? Rayne’s taught him a way in, I just know it.” He jabbed his knife down angrily on the ship’s edge and narrowed his eyes at Daniel’s boat. “He’ll come out. When he does, I’ll keep them alive - until I get what I want.” His mouth curled up in a sinister smile. Leaning on the rail of the ship, he grounded out, “Three years I’ve waited… hunted for this.” Anger and frustration welled up within him at missing his oppo
r
tunity to capture the boy.

His new second-in-command came up behind him. “Sira Zukan, let me finish this off. You have my word that we’ll get him as soon as he comes up to recover his ship. Trust me, Sira Zukan. I won’t let you down. Quinn was never the man for the job. Me
r
wins are weak, but I’m made to kill. The boy will be ours, and his treasure yours.”  The man knelt down in front of him in order to show his loyalty.

His disdain for his second in command simmered, and he turned around. He looked down at this Dakinian who dared to address him with superiority. “Thedo, you forget your place. I am Sira Zukan! I don’t take orders from you! The boy should’ve been captured days ago. The treasure may now be lost, and if it is, we’ll all be sentenced to death all because you didn’t do your job,” he sneered.

“Sira Zukan, I tried to tell Quinn to get him before he left the house, but he wanted the boy to lead us to the treasure. I did double back to clean up the evidence, like you insisted.” Thedo peered up at him pleading. The surrounding men looked at him with contempt and disgust. Several of them grinned at him, awai
t
ing the inevitable punishment.

“I remember telling Quinn to bring him to me when we left Rayne’s.” A leer formed on his lips, and he kneed the man’s chin. “But my orders went unanswered!”

The Dakinian fell back and held his bloody mouth in surprise. With a grunt, he pulled himself up to his knees. “Sira Zukan, forgive me. I was only following Quinn’s orders. I will do this… for you… I’ll get the boy. Trust me… I’ll do it!” he begged. Tears streamed down his pale face, his hand fisted against his forehead.

He moved away from the pleading man and casually looked out to sea before he growled, “I decide what the hell the course of action we choose to take. You forget your place, D
a
kinian.”  He slid the knife from his hilt, pivoted around, and aimed it.

Thedo crawled from one man to another. “Please … help! Tell him! Tell him it was Quinn!” The other men kicked him away, stood back, and jeered at him.

With a flick of his wrist, the knife sailed through the air and landed with precision to pierce the Dakinian’s heart. Sira Zukan called out, “Anyone here strong enough to be my new second in command?”

The men shuffled, some looked down at their feet, and a few started to walk forward. A tall dark-skinned man frowned at the others. “I am, Sira Zukan.” He walked up to the Sira Zukan and bowed his head.

Sira Zukan walked over to the twitching body. Yanked his knife from Thedo’s chest then put it in his belt, and smiled. He grabbed the dying man’s head, looked into his rapidly blinking eyes as the man coughed up blood, and then finished the job by breaking his neck. With a jerk, he pulled his hands back and laughed out loud as he watched Thedo’s now dead body drop and bounce on the deck of the boat.

“Humph,” he wiped his bloodied hands on his pants and turned to his new second in command. “Crindel, I knew you were the man for the job.” He laughed and slapped him on the back.

“Thank you, Sira Zukan,” Crindel answered his head still bowed.

“We’ll sit here and wait.” His jovial expression shuttered and then turned hard. “I don’t know how the hell they can survive the
Sea
of
Fire
, but someone better find out. Until then, shoot and destroy the water cruiser. We’ll find a way in. If not, we will wait for them, and without their cruiser, they’ll have no choice but to come with us.” Looking around at the men su
r
rounding him, he nodded.

The murmurs of agreement waved through the group of a hundred or so men that littered the deck, and they quickly r
e
turned to their work. A few standing about picked up the dead Dakinian, and threw his body over the side of the boat, where flames almost instantly devoured it.

He stared at the ship ahead, as it exploded and sank deep within the sea. The burning flames thundered as it engulfed the remaining pieces of the ship. His eyebrows creased in thought.
Seems Daniel has Bry’s brat with him also.

He grinned, satisfied that fate was finally smiling on him, and pleased that he would also be able to bring down Bry for his betrayal. “I can’t wait to sink my knife into your precious pri
n
cess,” he laughed out at his secret joke.
You both pushed me out for the last time Rayne. This time I will be the one coming out on top.

He’d told Bry to look out for any clues that Rayne had indeed snatched the treasure, and Bry denied Rayne’s admi
s
sion to him emphatically. This time, he was convinced he would be the last one standing, and would enjoy destroying their children along with them. Merwin’s King will be under his control. His desire to be the new chief of the Zukar would happen soon, very soon. So close,
close I can taste It- and it tastes good. Now Daniel, come out, come out wherever you are…

“C’mon!” Gabe grumbled and turned the wheel of the water cruiser. After maneuvering through the dense fog, Gabe had the rotten luck of a nasty run-in with Merpins. That battle ended in a gash down his arm and about six Merpins left dead in the sea behind him. He’d maneuvered his water cruiser for two days, straight out of Merpin territory and close to the
Sea
of
Fire
.

He glowered, still angry he’d missed the chance to catch up with Daniel’s pursuers. He was, however, grateful that it appeared that Daniel slipped through the fog safely. Gabe noticed the skid marks and the abandoned car on the beach where his family held their water cruisers. The messy clues from Daniel’s speedy depa
r
ture had him worried about their safety.

He hadn’t communicated with his father since he left. Knowing his father wanted to elude any possibility of eave
s
dropping on their conversation he hadn’t bothered to call. His father had held more secrets from him than he thought possible. “What were you and Rayne hiding Dad?” he had asked his father, to no avail. He figured he would get answers once he met up with Daniel. At least one answer to the question that had been weig
h
ing heavy on his heart, affirmation that Jade and Nickel were safe.

While dazed in thought, the boat swayed off to the side and hit a protruding rock. “Damnit! Ugh!” He jerked the wheel and straightened out.
Beep, beep, beep.
He glanced at the tracking device on the cruiser, and jabbed his finger on it to turn it off.

Coming into the gorge of the Fire Isle, he heard the e
x
plosion. “What the hell?” With a deep intake of breath, his eyes widened. A large ship from the Vipen sect of the Zukar, stood tall. It’s black and gold flag waving in the warm breeze off the sea. It fired once more on Daniel’s water cruiser.

Gabe narrowed his eyes, and his face turned down into a frown.
Yeah, just what I want - to kill some scum today.

He just knew Daniel had gotten away. Otherwise his cruiser would have been taken over by the Vipen. Cruiser’s were hard to come by and there was no way they wouldn’t have a good reason to destroy one.

He spied someone staring in his direction.“Aw hell,” Gabe whispered. He hit his hand on the wheel of the cruiser. Quickly, he put on the breaks. He looked around for a place to hide his ship, and he knew if he was spotted they wouldn’t be able to getaway. He didn’t want his cruiser to suffer the same fate as Daniel’s, especially while he was still on it.

Gabe backed his cruiser up in hopes that he had eluded the men trailing Daniel. Frantically, he looked around at the hanging vines and trees along the islands on either side of the gorge. He turned around and searched the closest island to his boat. His eyes landed on a patch of long brush and hanging vines that were full with red flowers and wide green leaves.

He figured the pursuers were waiting for Daniel to resu
r
face. Gabe wanted to get in on the fun and kill some of these men. Backing the cruiser up, he decided he would tuck his boat away while he figured out how to get to Daniel’s trove. Racking his brain he tried to remember what Daniel told him he needed to do to get into the
Sea
of
Fire
.

Finding a somewhat secluded area to tuck and moor his cruiser, Gabe pulled out his image booster, which would allow him to watch the pursuers at a distance.
Think, think…think! What did Daniel say he needed when he came to his trove on our last visit.
His mind recalled his last visit long ago. He looked out to the sea and saw floating schools of Firefish with a few Gelfish as they past by, and then he looked up at the sunlit sky as if see
k
ing inspiration there.
Gelfish! That’s it. Hell, I can’t believe I forgot.
He dropped in several traps and planned how he would sneak up on Daniel’s pursuers.
Don’t worry Daniel, I got this… and man is it gonna be fun to nail these scum to the wall.

BANDITS

Daniel followed Jade, and he watched Nickel lead the way to their trove. The water of the
Sea
of
Fire
was extremely hot, but because of the Gelfish they only felt snug and warm as they swam through the simmering waters. It was clear enough to see through while they navigated around the sea snakes and various indig
e
nous fish of the
Sea
of
Fire
. The creatures of the sea were illum
i
nated with bright orange glowing outer layers. Some fish carried fire within their transparent bellies while they swam in the clear sea of boiling bubbles. Daniel looked above at a thick sea of orange and blue fire. It danced above them on the clear blue water that surrounded the
Golden
Island
. Daniel relaxed a little, because he knew for sure no one could follow them. At least for now, they were safe.

As he swam, thoughts of his father slipped into his mind. He remembered with clarity his father’s long graying hair and dimpled cheeks with laughing gray eyes telling the tale of how he found the
Golden
Island
, the home of their family treasures. His father’s voice would get animated with the retelling of when he’d first landed on Merwin and spotted the
Sea
of
Fire
from the ship he’d hidden in. Although his ship landed on their home
island
of
Bethan
, he’d never forgotten how golden and beautiful it looked from above. His father planned for two years before building his trove. He’d told them how he’d fought so hard at building the EBRA sect so he would be eligible to claim this trove.

His father’s determination to claim his trove paid off with a pleasant surprise. Rayne realized that although the
Golden
Island
was surrounded by fire and a boiling sea, it was inhabitable and sprouted sand of gold. It had trees of green, edible fruits, and a dormant volcano in the middle of it all.

The trove was deep within the island, only accessible from the volcano or from the sea. Daniel glanced at the millions of golden shells that lined the watered base of the
Golden
Island
, and looked for the specific pattern that would reveal the entrance to the trove. The shells contained deadly Fire clams, and if disturbed they would attack and eat through any fleshly matter. Daniel’s father had extracted hundreds of the deadly pests from their shells in order to create the entrance to the trove. The shells remained in place, and if the intruder w
as
n’t taught where they were located, they’d be victims of a deadly trap.

Daniel and Nickel had traveled to the family trove at least three times a month since they were born. While there with their father, they would navigate the Fire Isle repeatedly and then travel to and from the under water entrance. His father had them do it so often that now Nickel and Daniel traveled to the trove without just memory, but from habit.

Daniel watched Faulk slap several fish away that tried to play with him, and smiled while he speculated if Faulk was still spooked from their last fish encounter. Faulk traveled closely behind Nickel and Jade. Schools of orange glowing fish with curved bodies wiggled alongside them, lighting up their path.

Jade hesitated in front of Daniel when a sea snake rubbed against her and bit her before it swam away. He quickened his stroke to catch up to her,
but
she glared back at him and swam faster. Daniel noticed that Jade shook her arm and grimaced against the bite of the sea snake on her wet suit once she was a comfortable distance away from him. From experience Daniel knew her arm would blister from the heated electrical touch of the urchin. He hoped it didn’t break through the protection of the Gelfish. He smiled when she continued to swim at the quickened pace that Nickel set, even though Daniel knew her arm must hurt her badly.

They finally arrived at the island’s base, and Daniel n
o
ticed that Faulk’s eyes were aglow with excitement. Faulk pointed excitedly at the golden sight of the millions of shells clustered tightly together, which appeared to sparkle with gold when the water moved. Transparent Firefish snaked through the millions of golden shells, swimming in and out while sto
p
ping to nibble on the green strings of blue fire kelp. Faulk looked back at Daniel and smiled through his mask. Daniel nodded back at him and then signaled to Nickel to open the entrance. Nickel shooed a fish away from the jagged golden shell, which acted as a lever entrance to the trove. He snapped shut a series of golden shells that would initiate the deactivation of the lock to the barriers of their family’s trove.

The shells that camouflaged the entrance, folded down
. A
n entrance formed of flattened shell
s which
slid into the base of the island. The opening at the entrance revealed a tunnel illum
i
nated with light from the Gelfish that stuck to the top of the tunnel. Nickel swam in and the others followed. As Nickel tr
a
veled about a quarter mile into the tunnel, he swam upward to the top. He sunk a hand into a large Gelfish that was stuck on the ceiling of the tunnel, and with a yank he pulled out a lever hidden in the fake Gelfish that camouflaged the unlocking mechanism that would drain the water from the tunnel.

Nickel grabbed onto a curved rock like handle on the ceiling and put his feet on the ceiling to secure himself. Random sets of metal handles extended from the rocky surface of the ceiling. Daniel signaled, and they all followed Nickel’s lead. They grabbed the extended handles and braced their feet on the ceiling of the tunnel. A whirlwind of air started from inside the tunnel, and extended outward. It felt as though a large fan was twirling the water in waves around them. Air was forced through the tunnel, pushing from the direction in which they came. They held on tightly as water rushed over them, and below them to clear out the tunnel.

Daniel was the first to let go and dropped easily the se
v
eral feet to the surface of the tunnel to land on his feet. Jade stumbled and slid on her behind. Faulk was there to help her up. Daniel narrowed his eyes at the scene and grunted.
He
snatched off his mask and walked in the rear
of the line
to ensure everyone made it through safely.

Nickel moved out of the way, and allowed Daniel to lead. Daniel walked ahead of them and smiled at the glowing orange light ahead with the anticipation that they were close to being safe again. The dripping from the residue of the water-filled tunnel echoed behind him.

Daniel stopped when he came upon a small cliff. Coming to the end of the tunnel, he held his hand up for the others to stop. The edge of the tunnel on which he stood, looked down onto a lake of molten gold that moved slightly from the slow run off from a lower connecting tunnel. The large vaulted ceiling went up for miles, and beautiful gold liquid seeped from a few of the tho
u
sands of tunnels above.

“Stay back. I have to call the bridge,” Daniel directed.

Faulk peered over Daniel’s shoulder. “Man, this is unb
e
lievable. Is that real gold?”

“Yeah. It can be made into anything when it’s cooled. The bottom of this cavern is extremely hot. This was one of the main reasons my father wanted to stake this place. No one knows it’s the true treasure -the best trove any Zukar could ever ask for,” Daniel replied.

Faulk’s eyebrows creased in thought. “So what’s to stop someone from just grabbing the gold and taking off? Why would they even want to continue on?”

Daniel smiled and whistled a tune with loud pitches and dips. Nickel joined in and whistled in perfect harmony with Daniel. Up out of the shimmering molten lake came a beast with scales of bronze and green. It had a pointed bronze nose, and mouth full of sharp red teeth, with fanned ears. Its outer shell was shiny, as if it was made from an alien metal. It roared, and its neck extended green webbed wings. The beast had crystal blue eyes and emitted bluish-orange fire into the air. It appeared to attack, as it’s long neck came toward them suddenly.

Daniel whistled once more, and the beast stopped a
b
ruptly and shot up into the air. Its large muscled body pushed its sunken neck out as it stretched into one of the highest tu
n
nels in the cavern. The head snaked inside of the tunnel, and it jerked out with a squeal of fire. Long red teeth came to a sharp point in its crowded mouth. It appeared to smile and stare at Daniel for another command.

Clicking and hammering vibrated throughout the cavern. Flattened rocks appeared extending from the edge of the tunnel from which Daniel stood.

“Don’t be scared of him. He won’t hurt us,” Daniel heard Nickel console Faulk and Jade.

Jade resisted Nickel’s pulling on her arm. “No, I don’t think so, Nickel. That thing looks hungry and dangerous. How can it survive in molten gold?”

Daniel answered, “The planet my father got it from was covered in lakes of molten lava. The creatures there lived in e
x
treme heat. Its outer shell and skin are repellent to heat.”

Jade’s jaw dropped. “Amazing. But… uh, why won’t it go back into the lake?”

“Because Daniel didn’t tell him to yet. He’s still got something left to do,” Nickel replied knowingly.

Daniel looked back at them, with the beast moving an
x
iously side-to-side awaiting its orders. “Follow me on the bridge. Bubbles wants his snack.”

“Bubbles?  Who names a monster like that Bubbles?” Faulk asked
.
He followed behind Jade to climb the bridge that elevated upward to a tunnel above.

Daniel fished in his pocket and threw a leftover piece of jerky to the beast. Then he adjusted the packs on his back and took the final step into the tunnel where the bridge ended. “My mot
h
er,” Daniel’s hand teased the necklace she’d made for him a
b
sently. “She named it when my father brought it home from the Planet Selestic. She had it since it was a baby and trained it to protect this cavern. They grow fast. They’re territorial metal-eating beasts, a perfect choice for my father to put in the
Lake
of
Gold
.”     

Nickel whistled the tune, and the beast pulled a lever high within the cavern that retracted the bridge to its hidden location under the tunnel from which they came.

“Who came up with the whistle?” Faulk asked. He looked around with his mouth agape as they walked through the ma
n
made tunnel overlaid with silver.

Daniel didn’t stop to turn but laughed softly. “My mot
h
er loved to whistle and to sing. Her voice was beautiful. She was known for it on Earth, until my father convinced her to ru
n
away with him.”

“I heard she was beautiful -black hair, green eyes and tall, not blond like you and your dad,” Faulk said. He and the others kept the quick pace Daniel set.

“Yeah, well I guess I ended up looking more like my f
a
ther than Nickel did,” Daniel said.

He stopped in front of a wall of bronze. He bristled at looking like his father, but put those thoughts away. Daniel swiped the wall up and down several times with his hand. The wall of the cave on his right opened, and a flat, glowing gelpad pushed out. It was square in shape with several circular raised bumps. Daniel pushed in the sequence to open the wall. They passed through a darkened hallway. The door behind them closed, and the wall opened up in front of them.

“Here’s our treasure trove,” Daniel said.

He looked upon the covered walls of weathered woods from the multi-colored firebran trees that could only be found on the
Golden
Island
. Large leather covered couches and ove
r
sized chairs littered the open room. Winding stairs at the far end of the room, lead up to the loft of rooms above them. Briefly his eyes closed and relief filled him.
We made it.
“Go ahead and take a look around. The kitchen, game room, and the shooting rooms are in the back.”

“This is nice. Who decorated?” Jade asked, looking around in awe while she rubbed her arm where she’d been bitten by the sea snake.

“My father decorated it -a surprise for my mom. She loved the multi-colored barks of the firebran trees found on this island. The green and yellows of the bark were her favorite colors,” Daniel answered, frowning at the way Jade was favo
r
ing her arm.

They took off their wet suits, and Nickel put them in the back room that Daniel’s father built for gear.

Daniel observed Faulk and Jade talking. Faulk reached over and took Jade’s hand, and then whispered something in her ear that made her laugh. Daniel was
fuming
. Resolved to get Faulk away from Jade, Daniel walked up behind them. “We can’t stay here. We’ve got to find the treasure my father stole before anyone else does, hopefully we won’t get killed in the process.” Daniel pointed to the winding stairs. “Faulk, go with Nickel to the safe and see if my father left the other half of this map there.” He grabbed Jade’s arm. “Come with me, and I’ll give you something for that bite on your arm,” Daniel said. He tried to look less angry than he felt.