Eternity's Mind (61 page)

She powered up her weapons and positioned her ship among the nearest bloaters, within clear view of the
Prodigal Son.
Garrison would have noticed her by now; maybe he would even guess what she intended to do. This standoff was in her control.

Garrison transmitted, “Elisa, what are you doing?”

“I'm doing what I have to. You forced us to this. No one is going to disgrace Lee Iswander again. No one will take these operations away from him. He will sacrifice them all, and you, before he lets that happen.”

Orli shouted on the comm. Even Seth cried out, “Mother, what are you doing?”

Steeling herself, Elisa broadcast on the open channels so that everyone in the extraction field, including Lee Iswander, could hear her. “You need to back away, Garrison. Withdraw and leave us alone. One blast from my jazers will ignite the bloaters. This whole cluster, all these ships, your ship, mine, and the administration hub, will go up in a flash. You know what'll happen.”

“You can't,” Orli cried. “You'd wipe us out, including yourself.”

“And you'd kill a whole section of Eternity's Mind,” Arita said. “You can't do that!”

“And I can't let you crush Mr. Iswander again. I know what he wants.”

“But we're trying to stop the Shana Rei,” Garrison said.

“I have more personal concerns than that. One shot, that's all I need.” Elisa's voice had a ragged edge. “I'll do it, Garrison. You know I will.”

Lee Iswander broke in. “Elisa, you must stop this. It isn't what I want.”

She just smiled and muted his transmission. She knew he didn't mean it. Instead, she put her fingers on the firing controls.

 

CHAPTER

118

RLINDA KETT

Abandoning Celli and Solimar tore her heart, but as soon as the two green priests had the wental water, Rlinda seemed not to exist for them. They were absolutely certain of what they intended to do.

She had no choice but to trust them. Rlinda had to get the hell out of there.

Believing that the two green priests were as good as dead, she flew off, complaining about the
Declan
's sluggish engines and wishing she were back in her beloved
Voracious Curiosity.
She accelerated away for all she was worth.

When she looked behind her, she saw the glowing greenhouse under fire by a squadron of black robot ships. Then something wondrous happened.

The terrarium dome shattered like a hatching egg, and two enormous verdani treeships emerged: worldtrees infused with wental water that grew into titans, spreading their boughs wide. Huge thorny branches reached out to embrace the universe.

Three black robot ships blasted at
Declan's Glory,
and Rlinda was thrown to one side. The shields vibrated as she corkscrewed into evasive action while the marauders swooped after her. As she tried to get away, the new verdani battleships were huge and exuberant, and with one sweep of their thorny boughs they smashed the robot attackers. Unhindered now, Rlinda accelerated away with a loud whoop.

Back during the Elemental War, she had seen the hybrid treeships, some of which were still guardians in orbit around Theroc. Her heart swelled with wonder as she realized that Celli and Solimar must be inside those trees. That was how they got away! That was why Jess and Cesca had sent the wental water.

In their verdani forms, the transformed green priests flew from the debris of the shattered terrarium, and Rlinda could sense their joy, their newfound energy. The stunted trees that had been confined for far too many years were now liberated. They could fly free, and the green priest pilots, no longer human, could imagine the places they might go. They should have soared across the Spiral Arm exploring empty spaces and unknown star systems—but now, at the moment of their birth and creation, the treeships could barely escape from the Fireheart nebula.

The verdani battleships expanded as they flew into the sea of gases, doubling and tripling in size from the vivifying energy of the core stars. Robot vessels swirled around the verdani battleships, foolishly attacking them, but the thorny boughs struck back, smashing hundreds of robots at a time.

Ahead of them, the other Shana Rei cloud oozed in through the ionized gas, implacable tendrils reaching for the treeships.

Another explosion slammed against Rlinda's shields, and the
Declan
's control panels sparked. Several systems went dark, and she raced to reconfigure her backups, adding power to the front shields because the bombardment was most intense there.

She concentrated on flying instead of gawking at giant trees, but she could not shake off her dread as the last shadow cloud encroached, swelling up to block the escape of the treeships.

Suddenly, robot marauders closed in on Rlinda, opening fire all around. Cursing, she dodged again and again, but they kept targeting her. The shields began to fail. Her lone ship was insignificant in this nebula battlefield, but there were so many hunting robots that a swarm noticed her—and targeted her.

She used every trick she knew, pressed every system beyond its limits, but the robots were relentless. Another hundred angular black vessels closed in. Rlinda swallowed hard. Her shields wouldn't last much longer.

“You don't know who the hell you're dealing with, bugbots,” she said. It was ridiculous defiance, but it felt good. Her left hand strayed to the capsule in her pocket for consolation and comfort. “We'll get out of this, BeBob.” She had always wanted her ashes to fly through space with his when she died—that just might be the case here.

BeBob had been a damn good evasive navigator himself, but Rlinda was on her own. “Wish you were here.”

Her ship raced alongside the towering verdani treeships. They might get away together, or they might all be vaporized right here inside the nebula.

 

CHAPTER

119

MUREE'N

After the Mage-Imperator had nearly bled himself to death, the medical kithmen tried to save him, connecting him to Gale'nh in a desperate transfusion. Yazra'h, Nira, and Prime Designate Daro'h hovered over the dying leader, hoping Jora'h could cling to his strength, hoping the
thism
could save him—and, more than anything, hoping he had purged the shadows from himself.

But Muree'n felt the danger and the darkness spreading much farther. Right now, all of the focus was on the Mage-Imperator, but she sensed another vulnerability. There were more threats just waiting to strike. Yes, the Shana Rei meant to contaminate and possess Jora'h, but they also needed to destroy anything else that might hurt them.

Others were vulnerable.

Muree'n knew not to let down her guard. The shadows had already converted numerous Ildirans into mindless killers. She had seen what they could do. The mobs had tried to kill Nira, Prince Reynald, Anton Colicos, and many more. More than once, they had attempted to slaughter the misbreeds, who remained unprotected.

Mungl'eh had sung her enchanting song, and when the rest of the misbreeds added their unusual
thism,
they had been turned into a powerful weapon. Muree'n realized that the misbreeds were more than they seemed—not disappointments, but unexpected resources. And when Mungl'eh's heart-wrenching voice had resonated through the cosmos, that power awakened something … something powerful and wonderful.

Muree'n wouldn't abandon the misbreeds now. They might be at risk, even now.

As the Mage-Imperator received his lifesaving transfusion and the guard kithmen, bureaucrats, and doctors were focused on him, Muree'n left the Mage-Imperator in good hands and ran to defend the misbreeds—in case they needed it.

Shawn Fennis and Chiar'h were with them, both distraught and tense. Chiar'h's face and arms were covered with medical bindings from the slashes she had suffered in the previous attack. On guard, she and Fennis held makeshift weapons, just in case. Muree'n doubted they knew how to use them, but the two were clearly ready to fight to the death, regardless.

The surviving misbreeds huddled in a protected recovery chamber with soft beds and bright, restorative lighting. Ildiran guard kithmen stood outside the room, but Fennis had refused to let them come close.

Muree'n, though, was different. She entered the chamber and said, “I will do my best to protect you.”

“Will that be enough?” Fennis asked.

She grasped her crystal katana. “It is all that I can give.”

Chiar'h nodded with visible relief. “That may well be sufficient.”

Mungl'eh lay back with her flipper arms raised. Her mouth was open, and her torso inflated as she drew a deep breath to sing. She produced another beautiful melody that vibrated the walls and drew the misbreeds together, pulling them, uniting them. Strengthening them.

Gor'ka and Har'lc added their synergy, and her singing became louder.

Muree'n's heart felt lighter. Her pulse raced, and she experienced a new emotion alongside the dark determination that had filled her for a very long time. It was hope. It was the melody of possibilities. It was the energetic song of a future with no boundaries. And when the song was over, the misbreeds heaved a sigh and settled down.

Muree'n steeled herself to be alert, to be protective.

The misbreeds blinked, and in unison they turned to Fennis and Chiar'h, then to Muree'n. “We wish Tamo'l were with us. But she's gone now.”

“We could sense her before on a faraway planet,” said Gor'ka. “But the Shana Rei have her now.”

Har'lc said, “She is swallowed up in a black nightmare, trapped and drowning.”

“I have sensed my sister, too,” Muree'n said. “And Rod'h. They are together. Perhaps we can find a way to rescue them.”

“No, nobody can,” said Gor'ka. “We've called for her with all we possess, and we have touched her mind. She and Rod'h are both still alive.”

Har'lc said, “They are fighting together, searching for a way to free themselves. Even here, at such a distance, we can pool our thoughts to give them strength, to give them hope, to beg them to rejoin us.”

“I would fight along with them,” Muree'n said. “And with you. Can I help?”

“You can join us,” said Mungl'eh. “We don't know if there is a way, but we are trying.”

“We are all trying,” said Gor'ka.

Muree'n took a step in among the misbreeds and closed her eyes. She reached out, not just with her
thism
but with her tight sibling connection. “If there is a way for me to help Tamo'l and Rod'h, then I will do so.”

“None of us knows,” said Har'lc, “but we all try.”

 

CHAPTER

120

MAGE-IMPERATOR JORA'H

When he woke, the Mage-Imperator felt disoriented—yet strong. Surprisingly strong! His heart was beating, his thoughts were racing, and his pulse had a power that he hadn't felt in a long time. An energy surged through his bloodstream, a clean vibrancy that he could barely remember—and he realized with a sharp intake of breath that he did not feel the shadows inside, not anymore. His blood was clean, the
thism
was pure. All the entangled strands were under his control again.

A sharp pain throbbed in his arms from where he had slashed open his blood vessels, but those were mere physical wounds, and the pain was just physical.

Something was definitely different about him now. He had been purged, and as thoughts swam in his head, he recalled his despair. He had attacked Nira and so many others when he fell under the influence of the Shana Rei. As his last hope, he had bled himself out, just like the Ahlar Designate had. He'd meant to spill all the darkness, drain the taint out of him and out of the
thism.
He had intended to die.

As he became aware again, he blinked his eyes and focused his vision. Medical kithmen surrounded him—but more importantly, he saw Nira, with her beautiful features, smooth green skin, and sparkling eyes. “Jora'h!” She let his name come out with a relieved sigh. “Oh, Jora'h.”

He lifted a hand to grasp hers, but he could barely move with all the bandages and tubes. He turned his head and saw a familiar young man in the bed beside him. Gale'nh! “What happened? Why am I here?”

“We saved you, Jora'h,” Nira said. “The Ildiran people need you. They need your
thism,
and they need your leadership. And I need you.”

Prime Designate Daro'h also came close. He clutched his father's shoulder. “You succeeded in purging the shadows, and you're still alive.”

“But how?” Jora'h said. “How am I alive?”

On the adjacent bed, Gale'nh looked as cold and still as a statue. His already pale skin looked even grayer than before, drained of life. Medical apparatus was connected to him as well, and Jora'h saw that tubes joined the halfbreed man directly to him. Their blood was intermingled. The Solar Navy officer had surrendered his blood, his essence, his immunity that had once been strong enough to resist the Shana Rei. Gale'nh had given of himself, and he had saved the Mage-Imperator, but apparently at a tremendous cost.

Jora'h tried to sit up, felt dizzy.

Nira leaned close. “Gale'nh gave you his blood. You had drained most of yours, and he offered himself. He believed that with his immunity you might stay pure of the Shana Rei.”

Feeling the energy inside him, Jora'h pushed himself up. “But what about him? Will he live?”

“He is strong,” said Prime Designate Daro'h.

Jora'h narrowed his eyes, not hearing the answer he wanted. “But will he survive?”

“He is strong,” Nira repeated. “And we think he is strong enough to live. And you will live as well. Can you feel the difference inside yourself?”