Timeless (The Cartographer Book 3) (10 page)

“To hell with this,” Vigil growled. His bracelet came to life and he fired. Bolts of pure white energy shot from his wrist and out the rear window, striking several of the robots. They exploded in a burst of sparks and dropped to the ground.

“After them!” Janero shouted to his minions. His face was a twisted visage of fury as he fired at us. The shots were wild and came nowhere near the bus.

“Your rage blinds you Janero!” I shouted before firing my rifle, taking out two more of the advancing robots. They faded in the distance as Jori picked up speed.

“It looks like we are in the clear,” Kedge remarked.

Jori uttered a dry laugh. “For now. Once we get to the bridge crossing the Po River, I will feel much better about our chance.”

“How far is that?” I asked.

“Not far,” he replied. “It's right before the Terminal checkpoint.”

“Another checkpoint?” Kedge asked sourly.

“Listen, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we have The Forsaken all around us. Also, Braxii and the Order are aware of our escape, which means every checkpoint between here and the moon will now be on high alert.”

“And it seems the Consortium has forces here to support the Order,” Yori added. “If we make it to the Terminal alive, it would be a miracle.”

“Gee, thanks for the comforting words,” Kedge barked.

“See that tower in the distance?” Jori gestured out the windshield to what appeared to be the largest cell phone tower in existence. It lingered over the distant tree line like a father watching its children. “That tower is controlled by the Order from the Temple. It emits a high range tractor beam which will bring down any hostile ship attempting to enter or leave the planet's orbit. Even if you manage to find your friends, there is no way you are getting off this planet without taking out that tower first.”

I sighed and fell into the nearest couch. “And the hits just keep on coming.”

Yori approached and stood over me, tapping his sword against his shoulder. “Don't worry about the tower. That's where we come in.”

“We have enough plastic explosives in the cargo hold of this vehicle to blow that tower out of the galaxy,” Jori said. “This is the plan: We will drop you off as soon as we cross the bridge, where you will head east toward the Terminal. We will head west and take out that tower.”

“You will know it is safe to take off when you hear the explosion,” Yori added. “The Order will be more concerned with sending his forces after us than dealing with a lone ship of the Insurgents.”

I smiled and relaxed. It seemed to be a good plan and since the rebels knew the layout of these lands better than we did, I assumed it would work. Kedge and I exchanged looks and he smiled before offering me a nod. It seemed he agreed with my silent assessment. Our confidence was high until we reached the bridge.

“Oh no,” Jori gasped.

We stood up and moved toward the front of the bus to see what his concern was. “Damn it!” Yori cried.

Up ahead, the bridge was long and wide with arching steel girders running along the entire span. It reminded me of railroad trestles I had seen on the outskirts of Albuquerque. The bridge stood about fifty feet from the river below. The river roared underneath and smashed against the concrete support pillars. It was about thirty feet wide and seemed rough to cross due to the currents. I lamented that fact because swimming the river seemed our only chance at survival. Up ahead, the bridge was blocked by several large, horned animals that were powder-white in color and looked like something out of Jurassic Park. They had three horns and thick, loose folds of skin that covered them like armor. Atop each animal sat one of the Order's golden soldiers, heavily armed and pointing their rifles toward us. Behind them were soldiers atop what appeared to be nothing more than four wheeled all-terrain vehicles. These soldiers were different, however, for they were not adorned in armor, but rather bright red sashes, which hung loosely around their waists. When I saw those belts, my heart sank and I knew our slim chances just fell even further.

The Scarlet Moon
.

Calypso

“He's too dangerous to keep alive,” Hark-Kalech counseled.

Calypso picked at his fingernails with the end of a dagger. He looked up when Hark-Kalech spoke. “You may be right,” he agreed with a shrug. He returned his attention to his pinky finger and dug a sliver of grime from underneath the nail.

Kale and Hark-Kalech looked at each other before returning their attention to him. “This is a serious matter Calypso,” Kale insisted.

“Indeed it is,” he replied as he continued whittling away at the nail. “Perhaps you should marinate on this little fact, my friends. What will be the repercussion of murdering one of the Timeless?” When they remained silent, he answered for them. “Some of the fringe planets who remain our allies will not remain that for very long. Some of these planets are bound to us through visions of peace and prosperity, but if we start murdering hostages, how will that look?”

“What do you propose we do?” Kale asked.

Calypso looked up and placed the dagger gently on the table. “We continue ahead as planned.” He pushed his chair away from the table and stood. “The Insurgents are a minor annoyance that will be dealt with in due time. More are siding with us in this conflict every day. The Insurgent's allies will soon follow suit when they see the war is unwinnable for them.”

He went to the window and stared outside with his hands clasped behind his back. They were on schedule to reach Caelum before the end of the day.
Where I can finally take my place as the rightful leader of the Consortium
, he thought. The plot to defeat Meta and usurp the command of the organization had gone as planned. There had been a few issues along the way, but nothing he hadn't been able to handle.
Just like he handled Solomon Corvus.

The communicator on the wall interrupted his thoughts. “
Calypso, we are receiving an incoming message from the planet Gliese
.”

“I will be right down,” he replied. Before leaving the room, he turned to his two Council members. “To respond to your quandary regarding our guest, he is to be confined and treated as a prisoner of war until I decide otherwise.”

Calypso left them grumbling amongst themselves. He had more important matters to tend to. He couldn't kill Moro yet because he still provided a valuable bargaining chip in dealing with the Insurgents. Killing him was not an option at this point in time, not yet.

When he stepped onto the bridge, Braxii's distressed face loomed on the overhead screen.

“Hello Braxii, I hope all is well,” Calypso said cheerfully. The question had been rhetorical, of course. The look of dismay on his face told the story before a word had even been spoken.

“I'm afraid I am the bearer of bad news, Calypso,” Braxii grumbled. “The group the Insurgents had sent has escaped.”

Calypso's face darkened. “How could this happen?” he growled. “I sent men. How could you fail in containing a small group of people?”

“Rebels,” he replied, as if the word would explain failure of epic proportions.

Calypso slammed his hand down on the console, startling the helmsman. “The rebels are nothing more than cavemen who couldn't organize a successful strike against a school of handicapped children,” he growled. “Those were your words to me not long ago.”

“Brasus will help us locate them,” he replied calmly. “He always delivers in our time of need.”

Calypso clenched his jaw and gripped the end of the console panel until his knuckles were nothing more than white dots against the charcoal gray exterior. He despised nothing more than religious fanaticism. He hated the Order for their beliefs, but he needed their forces, as well as their exports.

“Well just in case Brasus is on a lunch break or something, I will have my men lead the recovery efforts.” Calypso let go of the console and cracked his knuckles.

“They won't get far,” Braxii offered. “No ships can leave orbit unless I allow it. They are still on the planet surface. We will find them.”

Calypso nodded briskly and flipped off the overhead. He turned and simmered on the inside as he left the bridge. Nathan was part of their group, he was sure of it. Capturing them would have all but assured an end to the war before it even began. With Moro and Nathan captured, the Insurgents would have had little choice, but to surrender.

He stomped through the halls and let his anger fade. They would be in Caelum in less than a day and he couldn't afford any more setbacks. He had worked so hard in undoing everything Meta had done. In his final days of lunacy, the High Prince succeeded in fracturing most of the Consortium's allegiances and it fell to him to see those restored.

He entered his quarters and entered the bathroom where he stopped in front of the mirror. He ran his hand through his hair and winced at how gaunt he had become. Trying to restore the Consortium had taken its toll on him. He wasn't eating, he barely slept. To be honest, he looked like absolute crap.

“It will all be worth it,” he reassured himself. “It will,” he repeated and splashed water on his face. A lock of scarlet hair fell across his eyes and he brushed it aside.

He stretched out across the bed and closed his eyes. Memories of his son filled his thoughts. The boy had been sacrificed by Meta, stolen away in his prime. “Small sacrifices for the greater good,” Calypso had been told at the time.

“I would sacrifice this entire universe to have him back. There is no
greater good
,” Calypso whispered before drifting to sleep.

The Plan

The idling of the bus engine rumbled through my skull like a thunderstorm. It could have just as easily been an announcement of an impending death sentence. Ahead of us stood an army of twenty soldiers, prepared to gun us down at a moment's notice. Behind us sat the hostile lands of The Forsaken and the incoming robot army of Janero.

“So what's the plan?” Kedge asked.

Jori's eyes were ebony orbs nestled under his protruding forehead. He fixed his gaze on the army ahead with deep concentration. A low rumble emitted from his throat and I wasn't completely sure if it was a growl or a burp.

“The plan is to get you people out of here,” he explained. “Follow the riverbank southeast until you reach the narrowest point. You know you are there because there will be an old house, green in color, erected against the tree line. It's most likely surrounded by weeds now because old man Marsten died years ago, but you can't miss it.”

“What about you two?” I asked.

Jori laid his hand on the steering wheel and smirked. “I'm going to drive this thing right smack into the middle of them.”

“What?” Kedge exclaimed. “That's suicide!”

“Maybe,” Yori said before producing a black cylindrical object from his pocket. He looked at it with a grim expression.

“What's that?” I asked, eyeing the object suspiciously.

“Portable fire,” Jori replied grimly. “We call 'em Hellburners.” He locked eyes with Yori and nodded slightly. His eyes glazed over and I knew immediately the implication of that look. Kedge was right, it was a suicide mission.

“It won't do much to the Thunder Lizards, but without their riders, they will be disoriented,” Yori added.

“Wait a minute,” I interjected. “Why don't we just double back and cut through the woods or something?”

Yori pointed to the tower in the distance. “Because of that,” he replied plainly. He bounced the grenade in his hand. “A couple of these thrown at the group will buy us the time to take that tower out. If it remains standing by the time you reach the terminal, then you won't be going anywhere.”

“Sacrifice,” Jori growled, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “We live it every day.” His neck cracked when he swiveled his head toward us. “The rebellion continues because of the sacrifices we make every day. Our sacrifice is no greater than any other.”

“You don't owe us anything,” I countered. “Why are you helping us?”

Jori smiled. “Your escape would prove most inconvenient to the Order. This makes me happy just thinking about it.” He turned to Yori. “We have a saying: My adversary's adversary is my ally by default.”