Fall of Icarus (66 page)

           
The metal casings that had been blown free from the first grenade launched across the surface of the pond, reforming around the grenade’s core.
 
With a flash of brilliant blue light, the shell reformed and fused together.

           
“Stop that!” Achilles yelled as the casing blew apart once more.
 
This time, Achilles didn’t bother angling the shards of metal toward Yen.
 
Instead, the shell flew away and splashed into the water, joining the remains of its previously dismantled brother.
 
“You’re wasting both our time!
 
You’re a fossil, Yen Xiao!
 
You’re a has-been.
 
You’re little more than a footnote in this war!
 
When I’m done with you, history books won’t even remember you!
 
Just lie down and die like a good puppy!”

           
Psychic power roared through Yen’s core.
 
His head whipped backward in surprise as the energy shattered through Yen’s controls and countermeasures.
 
Never before had Yen pushed himself so far or so hard.
 
The
anger which he struggled to contain
merged with the psychic power and fed it, letting it grow like a sentient leech, feeding off Yen’s own essence in order to defeat so strong an opponent.
 
Blue tendrils broke free of the yellowed skin on Yen’s back, reaching out like the legs of a spider.
 
They reached around his body, snapping out toward Achilles like chained animals.
 
At their tips, they elongated into razor-sharp spines and blades while still others formed hungry maws filled with row after row of saw-like teeth.
 
Yen’s power was free of his control and was eager for retribution against Achilles.

           
Even the Terran seemed startled by Yen’s sudden transformation.
 
He stepped backward in surprise, his feet skimming the water.
 
The grenades before him gave chase, remaining only just beyond a foot away.
 
Yen’s lips pulled back into a malicious snarl as blue light poured from his eyes.

           
“Impressive,” Achilles said breathlessly.
 
“It looks like you’re finally accepting who you are and who you have the potential to be.”
 
The Terran’s eyes narrowed as he continued.
 
“But it still won’t be enough.
 
You’re wasting all this energy and you’re still no closer to detonating these grenades!”

           
“I noticed… a weakness about you… Achilles,” Yen said, his voice little more than a rumbling growl.
 
“Science may have… given you the power… but your abilities… are limited.
 
You don’t seem… to be able to use your powers… to multitask.”

           
Achilles seemed taken aback by Yen’s accusation.
 
Frowning, his nostrils flaring in anger, the Terran glowered at his enemy.
 
“What makes you think I can’t?
 
I’ve focused on all three grenades simultaneously.
 
And what about you?
 
You’ve been straining all this time on these grenades and you’re still not strong enough to get them to me!
 
I’m still stronger than you!”

           
Yen smiled wickedly.
 
When he spoke, gone was the breathy, weary tone he had taken before.
 
“And what makes you think that I’ve been concentrating on the grenades?”

           
Lightning split the sky, revealing a massive shadow that blanketed the area around Achilles.
 
In horror, Achilles looked skyward.
 
Above him, held aloft by Yen’s power, the giant stone monument hovered, its pointed tip turned downward like the point of an enormous spear.
 
His body shaking, the Terran turned his gaze back toward Yen.
 
Though Yen could feel the coppery taste in the back of his throat and could feel blood oozing from his nostril, he still smiled.

           
“You wouldn’t,” Achilles hissed in disbelief.

           
Releasing his psychic control over the monument, tons of stone came crashing down on top of Achilles and the grenades.
 
The ground beneath Yen’s feet shook violently, throwing him into the water, as the giant stones fell one by one on top of the Terran psychic.
 
Sprays of water filled the air as the monument crushed the outer walls of the pond, sloshing its shallow waters into the soft, grassy earth beyond its borders.
 
Clouds of dust billowed outward, stinging Yen’s eyes and burning in his already raw throat.

           
As the last of the stones fell to the ground, Yen pushed himself to his feet, brushing off what debris and dust he could.
 
His hair was matted with water and grey dust and his face was pale white.
 
Only his eyes still burned with the intense blue inner light, glowing brightly in the dark night air.
 
Stepping out of the water, Yen shook himself free.
 
Almost as an afterthought, he released the last bit of his psychic control.
 
From beneath the piles of rubble, Yen smiled as he heard three muffled explosions; the final nail in Achilles’ coffin.

           
Pain roared through Yen’s brain as he staggered forward.
 
Leaning heavily on one of the nearby trees, Yen closed his eyes as tears cut tracks down his dust-covered face.
 
His eyes closed, Yen didn’t notice the blue tendrils that reached out from his body on their own volition.
 
As he pushed away from the tree and tried to regain his bearings, the tendrils lashed out at the tree behind him, scoring long tears across its bark.

           
Yen’s nerves felt like they were on fire, but a single thought was able to cut through his pain and distraction.
 
Somewhere, close by, Doctor Solomon was hiding in his laboratory.
 
The doctor had already suffered strike one when he mutated the Seques and killed so many of Yen’s friends.
 
Strike two was modifying Deplitoxide to disable the engines on Alliance Cruisers.
 
And now, as though adding insult to injury, Doctor Solomon had created the abomination Yen had just faced.
 
There would be no other opportunities for the doctor to become a God.

           
Anger boiled beneath the surface of Yen’s skin as the tendrils whipped in anticipation.
 
Not only would Solomon no longer play God, Yen would do one better.
 
It was time to send the doctor to meet his maker.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

           
Cardax had escaped.

           
The words rolled through Keryn’s mind like a poison, burning away her reason and leaving only a vacant, aching hole in her chest.
 
The reality of her situation washed over her in crashing waves that threatened to drown her.
 
Choking back sobs, Keryn lowered her head to her hands and let the hot, salty tears spill from her eyes.

           
Keryn had failed not just her mission, but she had failed her team as well.
 
Regardless of Adam’s comforting words on Pteraxis, she had led her team into a trap from which two of her teammates didn’t survive.
 
A third now lay in the medical bay, his blood smearing the floor beneath the operating table.
 
With a sigh of resignation, Keryn realized that she couldn’t even bring herself to go check on McLaughlin.
 
Though she hadn’t seen him since they climbed aboard the
Cair Ilmun
, she knew she couldn’t face the accusing looks in the eyes of the surviving team.

           
Sitting in the cockpit, Keryn felt abandoned.
 
Her hands drifted aimlessly toward the console and brought up the radar.
 
The small red dot marking Cardax’s ship was beginning to fade from the screen as he sped out of the galaxy.
 
Soon, he would be beyond the
Cair Ilmun
’s radar range and would be unreachable.
 
She knew that they should begin pursuit, but depression weighed heavily on her shoulders.
 
She couldn’t bring herself to activate the engines and begin the chase.
 
Even if she did, Keryn wondered what the result would be.
 
Would they catch Cardax on another of his bribed planets?
 
Would she lead them into another trap?
 
Would she have to watch the rest of her team die before she finally died herself?

           
The responsibility of leadership was a burden to Keryn, one that she had to bear alone.
 
Except, she realized, she never should have had to bear it alone.
 
There should have been someone supporting her, keeping her from trouble, and protecting her every step of the way.
 
Had it been there for her, she might have been able to avoid the trap on Pteraxis and Rombard and Keeling would still be alive.
 
McLaughlin wouldn’t be in the medical bay, fighting for his life.
 
Keryn might have cut herself off from the rest of the team, but she was abandoned long before they ever reached Pteraxis.

           
Her pity quickly turned to anger as she yelled out into the empty cockpit.
 
“Where are you?
 
I know you’re here!
 
Answer me, damn you!”

           
I’m here
, the Voice replied coolly.
 
I’ve always been here.

           
Keryn bared her teeth in a snarl of frustration.
 
“Don’t you give me that condescending
tone!
 
Where have you been?
 
I needed you and you abandoned me!”

           
I can’t abandon you any easier than I can create my own body and walk away.
 
I’m a part of you, whether we like it or not.

           
“My team was ambushed,” she replied, feeling her anger grow at the Voice’s blasé attitude.
 
“Some of them died.
 
I
could have died!
 
You don’t care about that, do you?”

           
But you didn’t die
, the Voice hastily answered.
 
You
are
still alive, aren’t you?

           
“That’s not the point, and you know it!
 
My team needed you and you weren’t there for us.”

           
Let us clarify some things
, the Voice said angrily.
 
Keryn could feel its irritation in her mind.
 
You wanted me gone.
 
You cast me out of your mind when you severed the merger between us.
 
I may be a part of you, but I am also a sentient entity with the memories of hundreds of your ancestors in my consciousness.
 
And I have
never
been as insulted by a Wyndgaart as I was by you.
 
You used me for your own gain when you were in danger, but once that danger had passed, you cast me out.
 
Banished me to a hell you can’t begin to comprehend.
 
So I’m sorry if I’m not overly sympathetic to your plight.

           
Secondly, I’m not here to support your team.
 
I don’t give a damn if every member of your team dies.
 
I only care if you die, and you didn’t.
 
If you had been in any real danger, I would have been there to save you.
 
You don’t have the prerogative to call on me whenever it suits you then belittle me when I’m not needed.
 
I have helped generations of your family and never have I been treated with such blatant disrespect.

           
If you want me to be there for you, we need to reevaluate our relationship.

           
“I don’t want you here,” Keryn said softly, much of her fire burned out.

           
Yes, you do
, the Voice replied.
 
You forget
,
I can see everything you think.
 
You’re going after Cardax, which means you’re intentionally going to try to get yourself killed.
 
You’re going to need me.