Izikiel (2 page)

They were inte
rrupted by the return of Xavier. The large scavenger’s protective sun suit glowed a dull crimson as it shimmered from prolonged exposure to the heat of the twin suns. Xavier activated a wrist mounted control and the suit dissipated the built up heat with a faint hiss. Removing his face shield and hood, he held out his arm towards Te’Anne.

A fist sized
raw diamond sparkled faintly in the palm of his hand. Te’Anne’s eyes widened in delight as a smile spread across her face. Picking up the gem with both hands, she carried it to a well-lit corner of the cave. Crossing her legs, she sat down and pulled out several sharp implements from the sheaths on her arms. Applying them to the raw diamond in rapid succession, she began to chip away at it.

‘
She is the finest jewel maker on the planet,’ Xavier said with a hint of pride in his voice. ‘Refining a raw gem is extremely difficult. One wrong cut and the entire crystalline structure can disintegrate. Few have the skill these days and even fewer are able to do so without the aid of power tools.’

‘Incredible,’ Izikiel said. ‘
Although I still can’t believe that you can just walk around picking up diamonds in the sand.’

‘It’s not easy, believe me. Even with the sun suit it gets
very
hot out there.’

‘I can imagine.’

Xavier eyed him suspiciously for a moment but said nothing. In the corner, Te’Anne continued to work on the raw diamond. She increased the speed with which she drew back her shaping implements and brought them down on the magnificent gem. She used her feet to rotate it. The sounds of her work echoed steadily throughout the cave as her hands became a blur of motion. Then she stopped.

She held up the jewel
that she had fashioned. Its multi-faceted crystalline surface reflected the light within the cave in a million directions. Izikiel stared transfixed at the gem. The light refracting through it caused his mind to conjure up images of a distant solar spectacle. Pure beams of light lanced out across the expanse of space to shine upon the farthest stars and planets. The light shimmered and danced, flowing like liquid across the blackness of space. Then it changed. It became denser and brighter as it drew him in. He was unable to look away as the flaming plasma reached out for him. He opened his mouth to scream as it engulfed him once more.

‘
Izikiel!’ Te’Anne shouted. He felt her hands on his shoulders shaking him, bringing him back to the present. The flaming plasma was replaced by a pair of green eyes staring at him in concern.

‘
Are you alright?’ she asked.

‘
The diamond. Keep it away from the light!’ he gasped.

Te’Anne handed the jewel to Xavier who deposited it
inside a dark grey container on the ground. Closing the lid tightly, he looked at Izikiel.

‘
What happened?’ Xavier asked.

‘
I don’t know. I keep getting this vision.’

‘
What sort of vision?’ Te’Anne asked.

Izikiel took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he allowed himself to remember the vivid images in his mind.

‘
I am in the centre of the Universe suspended in the darkness of space. I can see the Galaxies all around me. They glow with light and warmth. Then one of them begins to reach towards me. Flaming tendrils of plasma stretch out across the darkness of space devouring everything in their path. The flame engulfs me and that’s when I return to consciousness.’

Izikiel finished, relieved to have been able to share his nightmare with someone
else. He was surprised to find that both Te’Anne and Xavier had the same stunned expression on their faces. He asked them what was wrong.

‘
Your vision is of a burning flame reaching out across the Universe?’ Xavier asked in a subdued tone.

‘
Yes. Do you know what it means?’

Xavier looked at Te’Anne who nodded her head. Turning back towards
Izikiel, he said, ‘You dream of the Eternal Flame.’

Izikiel stared at them in disbelief.
The revelation that his vision was showing him an all-powerful interstellar deity filled him at once with wonder and dread. Without warning, his subconscious released the memory that he had been suppressing. He felt sweat forming on his brow as his breathing increased. Watching the memory expand in his mind, he fought hard to prevent the flaming tendrils of molten plasma from rising up to claim him.

‘
We should take him to see Da’Amo,’ Xavier said.

Te’Anne nodded.

‘Yes. He may be able to help you.’

Izikiel managed to force the
fiery memory to recede. As his breathing returned to normal, he asked, ‘Who is Da’Amo?’

‘He is a trader and a good friend. On several occasion he has mentioned that he knows the location of one of the last remaining true believers living on the planet. He operates a trading outpost not far from here,’ Xavier said. ‘Come on, it’s getting dark outside. We’ll need to move swiftly for the night won’t last long.’

Xavier walked over to the dark grey container and packed up the remainder of their equipment lying around the cave.
He then moved to the two light emitting devices and adjusted a control on each. Slowly, their light dimmed, throwing the cave into partial darkness. Xavier placed one of the devices inside the container while the other he set on the ground next to it. Te’Anne collected her tools and returned them to the sheaths on her arms and legs. Grabbing a light brown pack, she hoisted it onto her back. Izikiel watched them in silence.

‘
Here, you can wear these. They won’t protect you from the sunlight but they will keep you warm at night,’ Te’Anne said.

S
he handed him a pair of dark grey leggings and matching long sleave top. It was only then that Izikiel remembered that he was wearing only a pair of jeans. Still puzzled by his attire, he accepted the new clothing gratefully.

Walking behind a rock outcropping,
he returned moments later clad in dark grey. The material of the leggings and top moulded itself tightly to his legs, feet and torso. He absently noted the lack of any feel from the clothes. Even though he could see that he was wearing them, he was unable to determine their shape or texture.

‘
It’s polyformic clothing,’ Te’Anne explained. ‘It adapts perfectly to your skin and allows it to breathe while maintaining your body temperature.’

Nodding his understanding
, Izikiel followed Te’Anne. They walked towards the back of the cave and through a narrow passage. Izikiel braced himself for the harshness of the twin suns as they stepped outside. Instead, he found himself in darkness.

The sky above was a
heavenly canvas interwoven with a multitude of stars. Each shone with its own distinctive ambience and hue. He turned his gaze away from them, fearing that he would be drawn towards the Eternal Flame once more. Instead, he looked around at his surroundings. It was then that he realised that he could see the rock formations around them. They glowed with a faint inner light that illuminated the white sand. He stared at the strange phenomenon, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

‘
The stones reflect the light that they have built up during the day. It is a quality unique to the Kartucian Desert,’ Te’Anne explained.

‘
How can a stone glow?’ Izikiel asked, unable to take his eyes off the rocks.

‘
No one knows for sure. Some say it is the souls of the true believers who have returned to guide the way for those still living. Others say it has something to do with the crystalline structure of the sand. Regardless, it allows us to travel at night without using any energy.’

Te’Anne set off at a brisk pace. Xavier walked beside her
. He carried the large container on his shoulder as if it were little more than a handful of sand. Taking a deep breath, Izikiel expelled it into the night air. It steamed and then crystallized into miniscule drops of ice which fell to the ground. Realising just how cold it was outside, Izikiel marvelled at his clothing’s ability to keep him warm. He felt perfectly comfortable encased in the polyformic material. As he followed Te’Anne and Xavier, he began to wonder how he had come to be in this strange place. An unending desert filled with ancient secrets and a nightmarish climate.
At least I’m not alone
, he realised with a sense of relief.

The temperature continued to drop as they made their way across the illuminated sands of the Kartucian Desert. Izikiel found himself marvelling at his companion’s sense of direction. Everything looked the same to him. Yet somehow Xavier and Te’Anne never faltered as they kept up a steady pace.
At one point, Xavier raised his arm, motioning for them to stop. Kneeling, he examined a series of markings in the sand. Raising his head to scan the horizon, he looked back down. Straightening up, he turned towards Izikiel and Te’Anne.

‘
Desert wolves,’ Xavier said. ‘I make about a dozen of them.’

‘
Can we get around them?’ Te’Anne asked. Her hand instinctively moved down to one of the black cylindrical devices strapped to her leg.

‘
No. We’ll need to wait it out. I don’t think they’ve sensed us yet,’ Xavier replied, shaking his head.

‘
But daylight is only a few hours away. We can’t afford to be caught out here.’

‘
We won’t.’

A single howl rang out across the desert. It was a strange, hollow sound which carried on the cold air. Moments later
, it was answered by another. This one was much closer than the first. As the night descended into silence, Xavier dropped the container he was carrying to the ground. Opening it, he withdrew a squat, metallic object. Prying it in two, he unfolded its ends and formed a double barrelled implement which Izikiel instinctively knew could only be a weapon.

‘
They’ve found us. Our only chance is to get to that large rock formation on the horizon. Te’Anne, lead the way. Don’t use your weapons unless absolutely necessary. Move!’

Drawing tw
o small hand weapons from her leg sheaths, Te’Anne began to sprint across the sand. Izikiel followed close behind with Xavier bringing up the rear. As he ran, Izikiel tried to catch a glimpse of the desert wolves. At one point he thought that he saw something large disappear behind a rock. It was the size of a man walking on all fours. He realised it could just as easily have been one of the many shadows created by the glowing rock formations. Izikiel began to wonder if there really was anything out there. What he had experienced of this world made him question how anything could survive out in the open.

Another howl pierced the night and suddenly
the desert wolves were upon them. Two dark shapes appeared on either side of them with another handful behind them. Izikiel’s heart raced as they increased the pace of their frantic dash. His feet sank into the soft sand as his tired muscles strained to their limit. The rock formation appeared close now, filling up a large portion of the horizon. He was breathing heavily. Sweat poured down his face as the polyformic clothing struggled to maintain his body at an even temperature. Glancing over at Te’Anne, he watched in horror as she tripped and fell to the ground.

‘
Xavier!’ Izikiel yelled as he stopped to help Te’Anne.

Xavier braced the double barrelled weapon and turned around in mid
-stride. Aiming it at the nearest desert wolf, he fired. The sound was deafening as a bolt of blue energy arced out towards the dark shape. Hitting it squarely, the desert wolf wavered for a moment and then dropped to the ground. An oily burning smell filled the air. Coughing, Izikiel realised that the other desert wolves had dropped back after witnessing the power of Xavier’s weapon.

‘
Hurry, it won’t take them long to regroup,’ Xavier said. Looking over at Te’Anne, he asked, ‘Can you run?’

She slowly placed some weight on her
leg which gave way beneath her. She shook her head.

‘
Damn it! Izikiel help me hoist her up between us. We’ll have to carry her the rest of the way.’

As the two of them supported Te’Anne, the
desert wolves let out a howl. This time there were a large number of voices joined as one.

‘
They’re letting the others know where we are. We’ve got to hurry or we’ll be surrounded,’ Xavier said.

As they approached the rock formation, a
handful of desert wolves moved to block their way. Izikiel finally got a good look at the creatures. Each was about the size of a grown man on all fours, covered from head to toe in glistening red spikes. Their heads had long snouts with two small eyes set on either side. Izikiel absently marvelled at how they had managed to adapt to such a harsh environment. Drops of ice had formed at the tips of each spike. As the ice slowly melted it delivered water to the creature encased within the impenetrable outer shell of red carapace, allowing it to survive during the day. Something told him this was not what he expected a
wolf
to look like.

‘Look out!’
Te’Anne cried out.

T
wo of the creatures leapt towards them. Their jaws opened wide to reveal razor sharp teeth.

‘
Now!’ Xavier shouted as he and Te’Anne fired in unison. The cobalt energy beams burned through the two desert wolves. Their lifeless bodies dropped to the ground, landing with a heavy thud in the white sand.

Everywhere
Izikiel looked it seemed a pair of black pupils stared back at him. He braced himself as the desert wolves closed in.

A flicker of movement near the rock formation
distracted him. He was just able to make out a dark shape coming towards them. Then a desert wolf crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. Searing pain exploded in his right arm and chest. His mouth filled with a pungent, metallic taste. As darkness closed in around him, he heard a deep voice utter a single word.

‘
Aduro
’