Excelsior (23 page)

Panic quickly flooded the halls as the assistants tried to get away from the specimen that stood alive and well before them. He let out a deep roar with his teeth bared, and more energy was sucked into his hand and fired toward the other assistants in the room. The smell of ash filled the labs as every man and woman in Danaak’s sight was reduced to nothingness. Their fear – which Danaak was more than willing to spread by making sure there were as many witnesses to each killing as possible – accelerated the effects of the jewel so rapidly that it took barely more than three seconds for them to die.

Dr. Ritgen walked through the main entrance, immediately disturbed by the sounds of agony and chaos. He quickly followed the noise as it grew louder and louder until he saw an assistant dissolving before his eyes. As the ash floated the floor, Ritgen came face to face with Danaak. His eyes widened to the point where they looked like saucers. “Oh my God,” he said to himself. “How is this possible?”

As Danaak’s gaze fell upon Ritgen, he slowly lowered his arm and smiled. “I know you,” he said. “It is you that I have to thank for my reanimation, I assume? I remember seeing those eyes watching over me and hearing you ask where I came from. So now I’m going to answer you. My name is Danaak. I came from another planet in another galaxy, a planet known to my people as Denab IV.”

“Denab IV?” Ritgen repeated. “This, this is incredible. I always knew you were from somewhere else, but I never knew where. And the sword? Was that from the same planet?”

“The sword?” With the answers that Danaak was prepared to give Ritgen as his last gift, now he had some questions of his own. “The sword is here as well?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, yes. We discovered it more than ten years ago.”

Danaak grabbed the doctor by his shirt and held him up off the ground. “Where is the sword? I want it!”

The doctor struggled through his explanation. “You, you don’t understand. It’s an artifact that has been donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You, you can’t have it!”

Danaak shoved Ritgen to the ground. “How noble of you,” he said. “And now I have a chance for you to die a hero.”

As Ritgen stood, Danaak placed his hand over the jewel, pulling from it another burst of energy. “Do not be afraid,” he said.

Ritgen stood up and faced the being that was supposed to bring him fame and fortune. “I am not afraid of you,” he said as he forced his speech and heart rate to steady themselves. “I uncovered you! You, you belong to me!”

“So wonderfully brave,” Danaak smiled a vicious smile and unleashed a small blast of energy that struck Ritgen on his left arm. Very slowly, the energy ate away his arm like the flame on the end of a cigarette. Ritgen screamed and Danaak slapped a clawed hand over his mouth. He leaned forward and hissed into Ritgen’s ear.

“You do not have very long to live. I would not waste that time by screaming. Instead, you should contact the authorities. Let them know what’s happening so you can die a hero.”

Tears rolled down Ritgen’s face as his forearm burnt away and fell from his elbow. The energy began working its way to his shoulder as he saw the fire alarm at the end of the hall. He ran to it, opened it up and pulled the lever down, setting off the alarm.

Danaak looked up as he heard the clanging through the halls and smiled. He pointed his hand toward Ritgen. “Now you can scream.”

*   *   *

Nocterar lay in his chamber, his eyes shut and what passed for a smile across his face. He moaned in pleasure as he felt wave after wave of energy flow through his body. He heard the distant voice of the jewel in his ear.

“I will continue to service both masters, my Lord. Every burst of energy I release for Danaak gives you strength. I can feel you returning to your maximum energy level, just as you were eons ago. You are almost ready to reclaim your throne. And I will be there for you when you do.”

Nocterar let out a sigh of pleasure and sat up. He felt the muscles in his broad chest expand then flexed his powerful arms. He slowly rose and looked around.

“The time has come.”

CHAPTER 11

Jason slammed his hand against his horn, joining the belching chorus of honks and beeps around him as they sat frozen at the
72nd Street
entrance to
Central Park
. “Move it!” he bellowed from his car window, veins bulging in his neck. The driver in front of Jason’s car offered a hand gesture in response.

“What does he mean by that?” Zorribis asked. “There isn’t one person ahead of him.”

Jason practically growled in frustration. “No, that’s not what that means.” He then yelled back at the driver. “How original, pal! You want to come over here and do that in front of me?!”

“Be calm, Jason,” Grannik said. “Elder Klierra said she is on her way with Matthew and our team. They will contact us and we will get there when the time is right.”

Jason turned and looked Grannik in the eye. “Do you even realize what it is you’re saying?! My nephew is on his way toward that... alien, and we’re stuck in traffic with the only thing that can help him get through this…” He choked out his words. “I can’t lose him.”

They listened as Manhattan Newsradio broke into programming with a special report. “As I am speaking, medical personnel are rushing to the scene to help survivors of this attack. We have some bizarre and confused reports from the technicians who were at the scene, telling us of a massacre. The perpetrator, who witnesses describe as the subject of experiments, has yet to be identified. Police confirm that the victims have been burnt beyond recognition but the rest of what we’re hearing, we’ve been told to disregard as panic-induced babble.”

“That’s not just babble, honey,” Jason said with gritted teeth.

Zorribis kept his eyes on the police cars that were the source of the tie-up, and saw they were moving out of the traffic. “Here we go,” he said cryptically. He grabbed the bag from the back seat and reached inside, pulling out a pistol and a flip device.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jason asked.

“You really must learn to relax and trust others, Jason,” Grannik said from the back seat. “He knows what he’s doing.”

Zorribis quickly connected the flip device to the end of his gun barrel and stepped out of the car. Jason’s voice suddenly escalated into a panic pitch. “WHAT THE HELL?! You’re gonna shoot at a cop car?!”

“Will you be quiet?!” Zorribis said slamming the door. “We’ll be in range to use this. The laboratory should be less than fifty tronks from here.”

“What the fuck is a tronk?!” Jason bellowed.

The young Denarian ignored him as he ducked into the bushes alongside the park. In one graceful movement, Zorribis leapt onto a low stone wall and then caught an overhanging branch from a sturdy maple and spun his body onto it. In a second, he was invisible from sight. There was silence, then a detectable ‘splat’ as something seemed to suck in the bumper of the police car.

“Zorribis!” Jason demanded, “What was that?”

Jason was craning his neck still trying to spot Zorribis in the tree when the car door opened and Zorribis slipped inside. He looked unexpectedly relaxed.

“I repeat, what was that? What did you do?” Jason demanded, his hands throttling the steering wheel in aggravation.

“I attached a flip to the vehicle,” Zorribis answered. “The police are so busy they will not notice anything on the back of their car. So now we wait.”

“We just wait? That’s it?”

“Yes. Calm your nerves. Relax. When the time is right, we will be there in a flash and Matthew will have what he needs.” He looked into Jason’s eyes with deadly seriousness. “I promise you, he will be all right.”

*   *   *

Matthew sat quietly on the passenger side of Klierra’s front seat, watching her effortlessly zip around cars as
Queens
traffic became
Manhattan
traffic. Her reflexes would put a
New York City
cabbie to shame.

“We are going the correct route, yes?” Radifen asked. He had just put up Karini’s window to prevent him from hanging out and making some sort of alien noise that sounded to Matthew like ‘yee-haw!’

“Don’t worry,” Klierra answered keeping her eyes on the road. “I’ve gone this way to and from the laboratory many times.”

Matthew leaned back in his seat and chuckled, thinking how Karini resembled a crazed golden retriever, his long blond hair flapping the wind. He felt his body relax at the thought and his eyes grew heavy. Even with Klierra driving like she was in the Indy 500, Radifen’s endless queries and Karini bouncing in the back seat, Matthew couldn’t keep from sliding into a deep sleep.

He shook himself back to consciousness and a second later his eyes snapped open and he found himself lying down on a firm surface, a bright light blinding him from above. He sat up and looked around. Matthew Peters had never been in that room before but Excelsior quickly recognized it as a recovery bed on Denab IV.

*   *   *

“Welcome back,” Klierra said with a warm smile as Excelsior stretched and put his feet on the floor. “You had us all worried. We are so thankful that you were not stabbed in any vital organs.”

“I thought my armor was supposed to withstand a simple blade.”

“This was no simple blade, we think it was made of the same metal used in your sword. Krunations could not possibly produce materials for a blade like that. Elder Triterus is convinced it had to be members of his bloodline.”

“Under Danaak’s control. Where is Danaak now?”

Suddenly, the room started to shake and dust fell from the ceiling. Klierra cast Excelsior a worried glance. “This must be your answer,” she said. “He has been attacking us from all sides since he claimed command over the Krunation Empire. We have resisted, but his aim is no less than genocide.” An explosive burst from outside sent more dust into the room.

Denab IV’s savior stood up, wincing as pain seared his side. “I have to stop him. Where is my sword?”

“In the next room with Triterus. He is trying to repair your armor and enhance it to resist another attack like the one you have just survived.”

Excelsior cut off her words with a sharp gesture. “I do not need the armor. Just the sword.”

“What are you saying?”

“There is no time for armor. Leave it for the next host of my lifeforce.”

“No.”

“I must go.”

“No! We need you. Do not do this.” Klierra’s voice was close to panic.

“What you need is freedom. Freedom to enjoy life. Freedom to live in harmony on this paradise I have created for you. If Danaak is here, you do not have that opportunity.” He brushed her cheek with his fingertips then dropped his hand. “Goodbye, Elder Klierra.” Excelsior turned and walked out of the room, leaving Klierra alone.

Klierra put her hand to her face to feel where his fingertips had been and realized her cheek was wet. She called after Excelsior but her words were only a whisper, “I cannot lose you again.”

*   *   *

Matthew awoke suddenly to the sound of police sirens. Klierra was driving carefully now as she reached
180th Street
and Broadway. “Ready?” she asked the two Denarians in the back seat. Both men held glistening chrome weapons below seat level.

“Are we there yet?” Radifen asked. Karini had the window down again but made no move to stick his head out.

“Almost,” Klierra answered. She turned toward Matthew. “I hope your uncle can get the sword here in time.”

Matthew nodded. He had nothing to say.

*   *   *

The staccato click of Hodera’s boots echoed through the Leap of Faith chamber as she paced back and forth watching two Krunation guards escort inside a frail elderly Denarian woman. Her wispy white hair was held in a surprisingly neat braid that reached to her waist. Her tilted almond-shaped black eyes were serene as she walked with an almost defiant sense of calm.

Hodera watched from a distance as the guards walked the Denarian woman up to the Leap of Faith console. They then stood on either side of her, waiting for their next instructions. The Krunation general stepped forward and walked around the woman, inspecting her up and down but never looking her in the eye.

“Welcome, Lokris,” Hodera hissed as she choked out her next words. “It is so… good to see you in such a healthy condition. You have been in our care for so long, you have been excused from your labor assignments, you have slept in a comfortable cell, you have eaten the finest foods your… culture has to offer.”

Lokris suddenly felt the point of Hodera’s blade poking her in the back of her neck. “However,” Hodera continued, “for all the time you have been with us, I have never once heard you say thank you for everything we have done for you.” Lokris remained calm as Hodera gently pushed the point of her blade deep enough to puncture her soft skin. Despite the pain, she wouldn’t give her tormentor the satisfaction of crying out.