Excelsior (27 page)

Danaak began soaking up energy from the jewel to rid himself of Jason once and for all, but a laser blast in the back broke his concentration. He turned around to see Grannik standing in front of him, his pistol ready for another shot.

Danaak looked past Grannik and saw Radifen also standing there. “We have both been waiting a long time for this, Danaak,” the older Denarian declared. The two opened fire but Danaak ducked out of the way, then soaked up more energy from the jewel. As the Denarians fired at him again, Danaak retreated into the shadows of the hallway behind him. As soon as the blasts stopped, Danaak responded with a long energy burst that struck Radifen square in the chest.

Radifen dropped to one knee as the force sent painful volts through his body, but he refused to cry out. He clenched his teeth, barely letting a whimper escape his lips. Danaak stopped the blast, hoping to see Radifen be turned into nothingness and was shocked to see the old man still standing.

As the energy slowly ate away at his body, Radifen stood, taking a long breath and standing up straight. He would not give this creature of darkness the satisfaction of suffering in front of him. “Is that all you have, Danaak?!” he yelled out. “Come on, I took harder punishment in the cell from your lackeys! Maybe you should call one of them down to this planet to do your work!”

Seething with rage, Danaak stepped out from the shadows. His right hand glowed brightly, ready to strike at any moment. In his left hand was Jason's pistol from the earlier fight, and he opened fire.

Radifen and Grannik fired too, hitting Danaak in both shoulders and grazing his cheek. Danaak winced with pain and looked past his two Denarian adversaries, seeing Matthew standing between Zorribis and Klierra. Klierra had a firm grip on Matthew’s shoulder, ready to leap in front of him at a moment’s notice.

The Krunation’s eyes widened with disbelief. “No!“ he yelled as he fired his pistol again, this blast aiming right toward Matthew. The young man could sense Klierra’s desire to sacrifice herself and lightly pushed her away, at the same time reflexively held up the sword. He swung at the laser blast, which deflected safely into the wall. Matthew smiled as Danaak fired again and once again, the blast was deflected. Klierra was stunned and delighted that he didn’t run but was prepared for it. In a way, he had prepared for it all his life.

Danaak and Matthew circled each other. A tight grip around the sword, Matthew viewed his Krunation adversary with the same contempt as Nick the wrestling captain from school. Only this time, the young man prepared himself to do more than just walk up to Danaak and dare him to throw a punch.

Radifen and Grannik aimed their pistols at the Krunation's head. “Let him come closer,” Klierra said, still impressed with Matthew‘s performance. The two Denarian warriors kept their fingers away from their triggers.

“You can’t be him. You can’t be back,” the Krunation glared at Matthew. Matthew remained silent. As the two locked eyes, Danaak placed his right hand over the jewel, building up a powerful amount of energy. He then reached back and swung, but Matthew dodged the punch and delivered his own right in Danaak’s stomach, then hit him with another on the chin.

The Krunation was stunned, allowing Matthew time to sheath his sword and hammer away at him until Danaak staggered back. Sensing the momentum shifting in his favor, Matthew walked forward, punching at him like he wished to knock Nick out all year.

“Go get him, kid,” Zorribis said under his breath, proud of how great ‘Matty’ looked in the armor as he proved himself to be worthy of Excelsior’s power.

Enraged, Danaak shoved Matthew back and finally connected with a punch to his jaw. The force almost knocked Matthew off his feet, and he stumbled while Danaak prepared for another punch. But just as he reached back, Danaak felt someone grabbing his arm before it could swing forward. Grannik was standing behind him.

“Forgot about us?” he said, and pounded at the back of Danaak’s head, knocking him down on one knee. Danaak roared with anger as he spun around and gave Grannik the punch that was meant for Matthew. The shot sent the Denarian into the wall, cracking the marble on contact. Grannik slumped down to the floor.

Danaak could see Matthew from the corner of his eye. He had pulled out the sword again and was ready to strike the Krunation. But Danaak’s reflexes were too keen and he dodged the blade, then used his razor-sharp fingernails to slash at Matthew’s right arm. The armor made the blow useless. Furious at his failure, Danaak slashed at the young man again, cutting him deeply on his unprotected right hand. He then yanked Matthew’s Excelsior helmet off and smacked him on the side of his head with it. Matthew crumbled to the floor like a marionette with cut strings.

Before anyone could react, Danaak fired an energy bolt that struck Grannik in the chest. Grannik glanced down, a look of resignation on his face as the energy began to consume him. He slumped to the floor. Radifen ran over to his friend.

Radifen looked into Grannik’s eyes and grabbed his hand. “Let me finish this and then we’ll go on together.”

“I’ll wait for you,” nodded Grannik. Suddenly, Grannik was looking past Radifen, his eyes wide open as he only saw the ethereal glow of eternity before him. Once his breathing stopped, the energy consumed the remainder of Grannik’s body and he was gone.

With Danaak transfixed by the carnage he had caused, Klierra used the time to check on Matthew and Jason. She knelt between the two of them and lifted Jason’s head. A small puddle of blood had formed. She was relieved to see that the cut wasn’t too deep, but he did need medical attention as soon as possible. Matthew was also a mess, with blood trickling down his forehead and a gaping wound on his right hand, dangerously close to his wrist.

Radifen turned back toward Danaak, his eyes looking like they could burn a hole through his body with rage alone. The Krunation smiled back, ready for a fight, and suddenly he was struck in the back by another laser blast. Danaak dropped to one knee, then turned around and saw Zorribis standing there with his pistol drawn. “For such an honorable race, you people really enjoy attacking from behind,” he muttered.

“If it forces you to turn around,” Zorribis answered, before firing his pistol over and over to finish his sentence. Danaak fell back as the blasts came one after the other, and it looked like Zorribis had finished the job, but then the jewel in his chest started to glow, causing the wounds to slowly close.

Zorribis kept firing, but Danaak felt his strength return and rose, fully restored. Radifen grabbed Danaak by the shoulder, turned him around and connected a hard right cross to his jaw.

Danaak sneered at Radifen as he pressed his right hand against the jewel. Zorribis aimed his gun at Danaak's head, but Radifen held up his hand to stop him. “Stay back, Zorribis!”

Hearing Zorribis’ name stopped Danaak in his tracks. He smiled widely and repeated the name slowly. “Zorrrrrr-iiii-bis. I remember that name.” He pointed toward the younger Denarian. “So it was your ancestors that provided me with the blade I needed to use against Excelsior. And I was never able to thank them for their services to the Krunation Empire.”

As Zorribis ran toward Danaak in a blind rage, Klierra yelled out, “Zorribis! Don’t!”

Danaak ducked Zorribis’ punch and grabbed him by his neck. “Do as your Elder says, young man. Stay out of this.” The Krunation knocked Zorribis’ pistol away, raised him off the ground by his neck and tossed him onto the floor, then used his other hand to blast the wall, burying him in rubble.

“It would be a shame to kill such an artist,” he said as he looked at Zorribis’ unconscious body.

“So tell me, Danaak,” Radifen growled, the wound on his chest the same size as before. “How would you like to fight a Denarian warrior without that jewel?”

Danaak smiled. His hand still glowed with the power he had already absorbed from it before he was called out. He looked around for a suitable place to fire the energy to drain his hand, and laid his eyes on Klierra, who was still sitting beside Matthew and Jason. He was so tempted to just fire on all of them, but he could see no advantage in it. No, Excelsior had to be awake and aware for Danaak to kill him. And to kill Jason... well that would be a waste of energy. He could just as easily crush him with his bare hands.

After considering his options, Danaak shrugged his shoulders.

“No,” he said and blasted him in the face with his energy. Radifen stepped forward into the blast, attempting to absorb as much as he could, but Danaak kept blasting in one continuous stream, tearing Radifen’s flesh from his body.

“Is... that... all... you... got?!!!!” Radifen forced out of his mouth as he struggled forward. Finally, Danaak moved his left hand to the jewel and allowed it to absorb more energy, causing both hands to glow. Radifen received a double burst of energy. After several more moments of resistance, his body finally fell against the wall.

“Radifen! No!” Klierra yelled as she saw him turn to her and point to Matthew. His gaze never left them and a moment before he dissolved into ash, his lips formed two words. “Ever upward.” He was gone.

The yell from Klierra caused Jason to stir and open his eyes. He forced himself to his feet, despite Klierra trying to hold him down. Jason pushed her aside and then ran toward Danaak in blind anger. “We’re not finished!” he yelled.

Danaak waited for Jason to get close, and then reached out and grabbed him by his shirt collar, hoisting him off the ground with a sadistic smile. “You have been finished for a very long time already,” he hissed in Jason’s face.

Matthew yelled, “Jason!” and Danaak glanced over in time to see the young man wearing Excelsior's armor running toward him. Matthew lashed out with his sword, cutting into Danaak's arm, which caused the Krunation to drop Jason. Danaak grabbed his arm and the jewel started to glow as his wound closed. Matthew gave Danaak a hard right-hand punch to his chin. It barely fazed the Krunation. Danaak grabbed Jason by the hair and tossed him into the wall.

Jason lost consciousness again as he struck the wall. Danaak stepped forward and punched Matthew. The two locked eyes and Danaak looked closer. He saw something that was never a part of Excelsior's personality. He saw fear. Matthew couldn't hide his fear as his blood leaked from his forehead and clouded his vision.

Danaak’s eyes widened with surprise and revelation. “You're not Excelsior,” he said softly so that only Matthew could hear it. “This is who you send after me, Elder?!” Danaak yelled at Klierra. “You send a child to destroy me?!” The Krunation then viciously grabbed Matthew by the front of his armor and gave him a back-handed slap that echoed through the quiet laboratory.

While his focus was on beating this Excelsior impostor into oblivion, Klierra unsheathed a glittering dagger and stealthily moved behind Danaak. The blade shimmered as it reflected the light in the hallway. Matthew’s eyes widened as he recognized the weapon, remembering how it had stabbed Excelsior so long ago. He noticed Klierra had washed the blade clean of Excelsior’s blood.

“If I cannot kill Excelsior himself,” Danaak announced, “then I will enjoy killing someone pretending to be him.” He shook Matthew like a terrier with a rat.

Klierra pressed her body against Danaak’s back and, with a sharp and swift motion, slit his throat. Blood splattered Matthew as he was dropped to the floor. “Run, Matthew!” Klierra yelled as Danaak’s hand clamped down on her wrist. Matthew didn’t move.

Danaak twisted Klierra’s arm and plunged the knife right into her stomach. She gasped as he drove the knife deeper, then pulled it out and stabbed her again. She dropped to her knees and reached for Zorribis’ fallen pistol, shoved it against Danaak’s chest and fired. Both the Denarian and Krunation refused to submit; Danaak kept stabbing and Klierra kept shooting.

Finally Klierra gave Danaak one last shot that went straight through his body. He dropped like a stone, his head slamming onto the floor. Klierra looked at her wounds then buckled to the floor. A trace of blood slowly began to leak from her mouth.

*   *   *

Lokris’ eyes suddenly snapped open as she felt an intense pain like her chest was being impaled. A faint whisper escaped her lips. “Klierra -- no!” Her body became rigid for a long moment, unbeknown to Nocterar and Hodera, before relaxing and once again laying still on the floor.

Nocterar balled up his fists and relayed new orders to his loyal general. “Alert a squadron of officers and get them here. Have my sword ready.”

The Krunation emperor looked down at his muscular arms as he felt more and more energy returning to him. He hadn’t felt this strong since the day he was given the honor of leading the Krunation Empire. His impatience was clearly getting the better of him as he stood and paced around the Leap of Faith chamber.

Hodera watched him and said with a reassuring tone, “The guards will be ready at your command, Lord. The way this battle looks, you will not have to wait much longer to have what you want.”

“What I want is Excelsior,” Nocterar suddenly barked at her. “And there is no sign of him there.” He took a deep breath and relaxed his fists. “I do not care if they are Denarian, Krunation or one of the planet‘s indigenous life forms. Whoever is left holding the jewel will be brought back here,” Nocterar declared. “Hopefully it will be Danaak. At least, I know HE can provide some sport.”

*   *   *