Tara The Great [Nuworld 2] (13 page)

much time, I’m thinking. I don’t imagine they’re going to tolerate our disabling their

room, my lady. They’ll be here soon if they’ve got any warrior blood in them, yes.” He

let go of her and moved to the door, listening.

Tara backed out of the Runner transmission without making contact with her

people. Now she was in uncharted territory. She couldn’t move as fast. The Lunian

landlink system ran differently than anything she’d ever seen before. She accessed their

files easily enough, but the names on the files appeared to be coded, and she started

playing guessing games.

She jumped when the light on the receiver began blinking and beeping again. Tara

reached for it, but Darius grabbed it before she could. “If you wish to speak to us, you

will do so in person,” he said into the receiver before returning it to the cradle. “I don’t

know how much time that bought you, Tara, but move quickly, yes.”

It didn’t buy her enough time. Within seconds, the door slid open and Brev

appeared with several guards. Darius stood at the entrance and held the laser tight in

his hand but pointed at the floor. Brev glanced at the small burn hole in the ceiling

above the landlink.

“As promised, here are your weapons.” Brev’s face looked strained.

Tara guessed he followed orders under protest.

Brev stood unmoving, with his hands clasped behind his back, and watched the

guards turn over the confiscated weapons. His lips were pinched in a flat line, and his

light-colored eyes followed the movement as his guards handed over lasers and the

Eliminator to Darius.

The man did not look pleased. “I’ve also arranged for some food for you,” Brev

added as he continued to stand at the entrance of the room.

One of the guards placed a tray on the edge of the bed. The only other table in the

room had the landlink on it, and Tara was still sitting there.

“After you eat, we would like to have you join us in our conference room. Would

you be willing to do that?”

There was a note of sarcasm in Brev’s voice—an implication that they might be too

busy destroying the room to attend a meeting. At least, that was what Tara guessed

were his thoughts.

“We’ll be there, yes.” Darius either ignored the sarcasm or didn’t notice it. He

bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment of the invitation.

Brev opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it. He looked from Darius to

Tara, smiled slightly and bowed his head. “Good. I’ll send an escort for you in an

hour.” He backed out of the room, along with his guards, and was gone.

A guard arrived at their room exactly one hour later. He led them down the long

hallway, turned left to follow an adjacent hallway, then through two sliding doors into

a large room.

“Welcome,” Polva greeted them as they walked in the door. “Please, join us at the

table. My husband will be here shortly.”

Tara accepted a chair across the table from Polva and studied the woman, who

chewed the corner of her finger and cast wide, pale eyes on Darius. Tara thought she

saw a mixture of fear and curiosity in this foreign woman’s expression, and watched as

Polva shifted in her seat and glanced at the door. Polva might know her husband’s

work since she was here on this mission with Brev, and had been involved in Tara and

Darius’ capture. She also looked as jumpy as a rabbit, which might make her not think

as clearly, and slip information that Brev felt Tara and Darius shouldn’t know. This

might be the best time to probe for some answers.

“How long have you been on Nuworld?” Tara began.

Polva jumped at the sound of the words. “I’m sorry?”

“Did you just arrive here?”

“Uh, yes, but we’re from here. Earth is our home.” Polva emphasized the word

earth.

“Earth is dead,” Darius said. “Your home no longer exists. This planet is called

Nuworld now.”

Polva stiffened and opened her mouth to respond, then seemed to stop herself and

remained silent. Tara wondered what it was Polva felt reluctant to say.

“That is exactly why we have sought you out,” Brev said as he entered the room.

All three turned to look at him. Tara caught his face in time to see a cold stare

directed to his wife. It faded quickly and he smiled politely at Tara and Darius.

It dawned on Tara that she judged a warrior’s ability, sight unseen, by the

appearance of his or her body. This man was pale with little muscle tone. Therefore, her

initial impression had been that he was no threat. But as Brev stood there before them,

she felt a wave of caution pass through her that she couldn’t identify.

While Brev couldn’t harm them in physical combat, a threat of some sort definitely

existed.

Chapter Eight

Brev took his place at the head of the table and picked up a flat control device. He

pushed several buttons and a white, opaque screen lowered from the ceiling at the end

of the room. “It is my great honor to moderate this meeting,” Brev began, looking at no

one. “In one moment we will be joined by Mr. Toulon, our President and a great

leader.”

Bright lights flashed from the white screen and all heads turned toward it. Colors

began to appear. The image of a man from the chest up came into focus.

“Communication may begin,” a voice from an unknown source said.

“Greetings, Tara of the Blood Circle Clan and Lord Darius of Gothman. It is a

pleasure to be meeting with you at last. I am Dav Toulon, President of New America.”

The man speaking to them sat behind a large dark, square desk. His hands were folded

confidently on top of it. A small smile didn’t fade as he spoke.

Tara studied the man. He was balding and somewhat heavyset. His skin showed

the paleness of his people and his eyes were the familiar washed-out blue. He spoke his

words as if he’d memorized them. The reception on the screen went out of focus for a

minute then fine-tuned once again as he continued.

“We are the people of Earth. We’re descendants of a colony that settled here

hundreds of years ago as space travel with NASA progressed. When Earth became

uninhabitable, our forefathers believed they were stranded. Several generations ago, we

discovered humans had not become extinct on our planet, but instead had migrated

underground. We began to watch the planet as life slowly returned to the surface. We

now feel our return to Earth is possible and have decided to make contact with you

prior to doing so.”

He paused at this point and Tara assumed he was waiting for a comment of some

kind from either one of them. She didn’t look at Darius or anyone else in the room but

instead watched the man’s face. Something about his small smile made Tara uneasy.

His speech seemed too well-rehearsed. His voice inflection never changed from the

pleasant tone of a friend. But his body remained rigid, not relaxed, and his hands, with

fingers interlocked, never moved a muscle or twitched. Tara watched the man as he

stared blankly, not giving any indication that he was excited about the possibility of

moving his people to a new home.

“What do you want from us?” Darius finally asked.

“At this point, I don’t believe we need anything from you. Our transit should be an

uneventful, peaceful movement. I don’t predict any problems. We’ve planned this

thoroughly.” Mr. Toulon sounded like he was discussing a family picnic in the country.

Tara started to ask where they planned to live on Nuworld, but a loud explosion in

the hallway caused all parties to jump to their feet. The screen went blank.

Brev quickly picked up one of the transmitters and shouted instructions to whoever

was on the other end. Another explosion sounded, this one more muffled, as if not as

close.

“We’ve got to get out of here.” Polva ran to Brev’s side and grabbed his arm.

Darius moved to the door, his laser drawn.

“Move away from the door,” Brev stopped talking on his transmitter and pointed a

long black gun toward Darius.

Darius didn’t change his position but moved his gaze toward Brev.

Tara pulled her laser and pointed it at Brev. “I suggest you put that thing away.”

Brev turned to look at Tara, and his gun moved with his gaze, so that it now

pointed at Tara. She watched the weapon shake in his grip, allowing her to see how

nervous he was.

Darius stepped in behind Brev when the man turned to face Tara and slipped

Brev’s weapon from his hand with little effort.

“I just didn’t want you to get hurt,” Brev spoke quietly, his pale eyes jumping

nervously from Darius to Tara.

Another booming sound came from far behind the walls. This sound however, was

different from the others. It started out quiet and muffled, but grew louder and louder

as it appeared to move through the walls, coming closer. Tara turned to the wall,

alarmed, her body braced, desperately trying to figure out how to fight…a sound.

* * * * *

Darius also focused on the direction of the explosive-like noise. He grabbed Tara’s

arm and pulled her across the room so quickly her feet almost left the ground. “We’ve

got to get out of here!”

He pushed the button on the side of the door, as he’d seen the others do. The door

slid to the side and he yanked Tara out of the room, almost throwing her up against the

wall in the hallway.

He looked up and down the hallway with all instincts in high gear. No weapon

known to Gothman could travel through walls. But it was safe to guess, as it passed by

them, it would take out the ceiling and the walls, suffocating them underground as they

were buried alive. The only thing they could do was to run as far from the sound as

they could. He wrapped one arm around Tara’s waist and flew down the hallway on

long, muscular legs, literally carrying Tara at his side.

The hallway wall behind them blew out and rock flew everywhere. He dove to the

ground, pulling Tara underneath him. Debris stung his back as they ducked from the

explosion. Electronic crackling and popping noises sounded above them.

Tara lay flat on the ground, breathing heavily, and he imagined feeling the pain of

her preexisting injuries. He left her lying there and stood, brushing debris from his

clothes. Tara moved at his feet, but he didn’t turn to assist her. Instead, he scanned the