Aegis Rising (36 page)

The guards threw the bodies in a heap into the first ore bucket they came to. “Why did they even dig this tunnel in the first place?” the guard who had been on watch duty asked.

“From what I hear, it was initially an exploratory shaft but there was hardly any mineral here, so they abandoned it and drilled that other tunnel they’re working in right now. I guess they left this one to be used as an escape route for emergencies or something.” He turned on the winch and watched the bucket with the intruders disappear through the underpass and out of sight. “Come on. Let’s just tie them up and get out of there. Hajjar will deal with them.”

The first guard sighed again and both men reluctantly stepped into the second ore bucket, which followed the first one down into the dark tunnel.

40

Rikèq came around slowly, attempting to clear the cobwebs from his mind. He tried in vain to remember what had happened. Though he strained to look around through blurred vision, he couldn’t make anything out at all. Resting his head back, he closed his eyes and took a couple of breaths, then sighed.

It took a while for the grogginess to leave him and when it did, he felt released, save for a dull pain in his lower back that grew increasingly bothersome. He eased his eyes open and took a proper look around. He was surprised and puzzled to see that he was back in the cave where the men with weapons had found and subdued them.
Was I not here before? Why did they bring me back?
He took another look around the cavern. He could see the mouth of the cave and realized that the sun had just recently set.

Suddenly remembering his companions, he attempted to get up from his seated position but found himself struggling against a metal chain wrapped around his chest, pressing him back against an iron post. That post was connected to other similar posts by a rusty cable overhead on which hung large metal buckets. The line of pillars retreated into the distance until they were hidden by a bend in the tunnel.

Rikèq tried to move his hands but found that they were tied together behind him, and it then occurred to him that this was causing the pain in his lower back.
How long have I been out?
he wondered.

A moan sounded frighteningly close, startling him. He twisted his head to the side and saw Breyas bound to another face of the four-sided post. “Breyas,” Rikèq breathed in thanks. “Breyas?”

The other man lifted his head, squinting. “Who is speaking?” he garbled.

“Rikèq.”

“Who?”

“A friend.” As Rikèq waited patiently for Breyas to regain his senses, he twisted his head to the other side and saw Aydar likewise pinned to the third face of the pillar. He was beginning to come around as well. Rikèq supposed that Keno was on the fourth side of the pillar, behind him. He called out his companions’ names over and over to shake them out of their stupor.

Finally Breyas responded, his speech less indistinct. “I loathe it when those men pollute our bodies with their poison,” he sighed. He looked down at the chain that was wrapped around him, the same chain that bound all four men against the post.

“Hold on . . .” Breyas sounded tentatively victorious. “My legs are not bound!”

“Mine, neither,” Rikèq said. “But that does not matter much, because this chain has been wrapped multiple times around us.” He struggled unsuccessfully against the bindings once more just to see if he could wiggle free.

“Breyas, Rikèq? Is that you?”

“Aydar!” the two men exclaimed. “Yes, it is us.”

“Is this the cave where we were captured?”

“Yes.” Rikèq tried to see around the post but couldn’t. “Is Keno awake yet?”

“I am,” the last of the group wheezed. “Are we alone?”

“It seems so. How is everyone feeling?”

“Just give us a few more minutes and we should be fine,” Aydar said. The men rested quietly for a while, willing their bodies back to a higher level of energy; it was a form of meditative recovery that the people of Dema-Ki had been taught since they were very young, and it often proved useful.

Rikèq gazed at the chain that pressed into his chest. “We need to get out of here. I think these people have planned something and I want no part in it.”

“We need to get out of these chains first, Rikèq,” Breyas grunted.

Rikèq sat still, trying to think of a way to release the quartet from their bindings. “Keno.”

“Yes?”

“I think I may have an idea. I will start to tug the chain my way, and when I rest, you must tug it your way. It will be painful, but unless someone else has a better idea, I cannot think of any other way.”

The others said nothing. Rikèq took it as an agreement that they were going through with his plan. “Here we go,” he muttered, then strained forward against the chain. He could hear violent curses as the chain forced Keno back against the post and dug deep into his chest and arms.

Rikèq continued to strain against the chain until Keno gasped, “I cannot breathe!”

Rikèq slowly leaned back. “I apologize for that, my friend—there is no other way.”

Keno took a few gulps of air and tried to focus on anything but the pain. The other three waited tolerantly. Without warning, Rikèq was forced back against the post by the chain. He wheezed as the metal dug into him; it felt as if his ribs were about to break under the pressure. He held on for half a minute, eyes stinging with restrained tears from the torment, before he yelped, “Enough!”

Keno rested back against his side of the post. “Is everything okay?”

“Y-yes.” Rikèq quickly caught his breath. “My turn.”

They alternated back and forth for ten minutes until they both stopped, fatigued, the agony in their arms and chest nearly unbearable. As they tried to regain their strength, Breyas wriggle against the chain. “It is loosening!” he exclaimed. “I can
almost
push myself up.”

Hope sparked energy into the group and Rikèq tugged against the chain again, straining until the veins in his neck bulged. Keno bit the inside of his lip until he tasted blood and used that minuscule sense of pain to focus his thoughts.

A loud creaking sounded overhead as Rikèq tugged. He tilted his head as far back as he could to look up. The post, stretching from the ground to the roof of the tunnel where log beams had been installed for support, was being shaken whenever the chain was tugged. Rikèq leaned back against the post, beginning to worry. “Keno, this next time you tug, be prepared to just force yourself out of the chain and quickly get out of the way.”

“Why?”

“The post might come loose and fall over on you if you are tugging. It is already starting to—”

A deep, threatening growl echoed from up the tunnel. It sounded like no animal Rikèq had ever heard before.

“What was that?” Aydar whispered. “A wolf?”

“Wolf? I thought it was a bear.” Breyas struggled against his chains urgently. “Whatever it is, it does not sound like something I would want near me.”

The aggressive growls came again. At the bend in the tunnel they saw a large, human shadow accompanied by what appeared to be the shadows of massive wolves cast against the rock wall.

“Pull, Keno!” Aydar bellowed. Rikèq winced as he was again squeezed against the post as Keno strained against the chain in frenzy.

“That is enough!” Rikèq shouted when he felt the post begin to tilt in Keno’s direction. Keno stopped as some small rocks started to fall from the roof of the cave. He fearfully glanced up, then at the shadows that were drawing nearer.

Using the post to support his back, Rikèq squirmed upward. “Hah!” He wiggled his feet out of the chain and, as he took a step forward, found himself on unsteady legs. He struggled to release his hands from behind his back but couldn’t get them free.

Rikèq heard guttural barks and looked up. His throat went dry. Three black creatures, eyes gleaming bright yellow, were sprinting toward them, jaws snapping. “Move!” Rikèq yelled. Aydar and Breyas had already managed to free themselves and the three started off at a shaky lope.

“Wait!” Breyas stopped and looked around. “Keno!”

Rikèq and Aydar stumbled to a halt and spun around. Keno was still struggling out of the chain and the creatures were drawing closer, closing the gap until only thirty feet remained between them and the trapped human. The animal leading the attack surged forward with a burst of speed. Keno saw it and wriggled frantically, not realizing the post was tipping further every time he moved.

Rikèq, Breyas and Aydar watched in horror as the column suddenly tipped too far over. A large log beam fell, along with part of the tunnel’s roof, and crushed the leading beast as it made a wild lunge at Keno. The cable attached to the post snapped and other posts along the tunnel began to sway and topple.

Keno had at last managed to free himself from the chain and turned to run, but it was too late. The post he’d been tied to came crashing down onto him. He bellowed in pain and struggled to crawl away but was quickly buried by an avalanche of falling rocks.

“
No!
” the group cried.

It took a few moments for the debris to settle and for the dust to clear. Rikèq staggered to the wreckage, followed by Breyas and Aydar. They tried desperately to push the rubble away with their feet, cursing their bound hands. The collapse had created a crude barrier that protected the men from the beasts, which were hungry for a kill.

“Keno!” Rikèq called out. “Can you hear me?” He stood still, hoping to hear his friend’s voice.

“Hold on. I hear something,” Aydar murmured. The group remained mute as they strained to listen.

A portion of the rubble beside Rikèq collapsed toward him and the massive, terrifying head of one of the beasts crashed through it. It gnashed its teeth, exposing three-inch fangs. The creature let out a hair-raising roar when it spotted the men and drove itself out of the rocks, followed immediately by another. The men cried out in terror and moved away from the beasts at a stumbling run.

“Get out of the cave!” Rikèq shouted.

Aydar looked back at the creatures. The two animals were fast approaching—only a scant dozen yards were between them—and the gap closed further with the creatures’ every bound.

The three men raced as fast as they could toward the cave entrance, still thirty paces away. Aydar turned for another quick glimpse of the beasts. The realization that they would not make it dawned on him and he slowed down and came to a stop.

The other two turned around and yelled at him to keep running. It was then that Rikèq saw a solemn, gritty expression on Aydar’s face. “Aydar . . . ?”

Aydar looked at the men with glazed eyes and said in an impassive voice, “Tell my nephew I love him.” Then he turned to confront the oncoming beasts.

There was a dismayed outcry from Breyas. “What are you doing?”

As the animals drew closer to Aydar, the man yelled to his friends, “Run!”

A scream was torn from his throat as one of the creatures bit into his leg and pulled him down. The sound became a gurgling noise as the second creature leapt and clamped its jaws around Aydar’s neck. Rikèq and Breyas stood in shock, unable to believe what was happening.

With silent tears, they turned and ran, rallying all their balancing skills to keep upright with their hands tied. They reached the opening of the cave and came to a halt. Staring down, their eyes beheld a steep incline that fell away from the opening. The base of the mountain lay too far below them to see in the darkness, with large trees in the way. The men faltered, not sure what to do.

Hearing a vicious snarl behind them as one of the two beasts that had attacked Aydar hurtled toward them, they threw themselves out of the cave without further thought, tumbling down the side of the mountain.

Hajjar was directing the Marauders with the controller in his hands. He climbed over the rubble under which both an intruder and one of the Marauders lay crushed. He cringed when he saw one of the animal’s large paws with its claws unsheathed protruding from the debris in what must have been its final attempt to escape. Hajjar was troubled by the realization that he would have to inform Ajajdif about the loss of the animal.

Hearing the noise of frenzied feeding, he found a hybrid mangling one of the intruders and looked past them just in time to see the last two intruders launching themselves out of the cave. The second of the two Marauders that remained alive made to give chase, but Hajjar quickly used the controller to command the hybrid to return to him. He knew that if he lost another animal, Ajajdif would have his head on a stick. It was easier to say that the intruders were all killed.

The Marauder came to a reluctant stop as the nano-transducers triggered an impulse in its brain. It gazed down at the tumbling men, whining in exasperation as it kneaded the ground with its claws, then turned and stalked back toward Hajjar. The ex-mercenary bent down to pat its head but the hybrid snapped its jaws at him and he quickly pulled his hand back. He glared at the animal and pressed the remote again, sending a painful pulse up its nervous system. The Marauder howled and rolled onto its back in submission. Hajjar smiled, relishing the sense of control he possessed over such a powerful creature.

He took a proper look around the place and an explosion of expletives spewed from his mouth as he assessed the mess. He had no interest in playing the role of cleanup crew and decided he would arm-twist the mining engineer to send some of his workers in. He settled down on one of the fallen rocks and lit a cigarette, taking a drag from it as he watched the Marauders finish up their job of removing any evidence of the trespassers.

41

I
t was late afternoon, and nobody noticed a crouched figure in the trees as it moved around the training ground, spying on the Elders and the five as they trained.

Hutar observed the happenings below him with resentment. He had been somewhat curious about the five’s progress and wanted to see for himself how far they had gotten in their training. What he witnessed made his blood boil. In less than two weeks, they had already advanced to the intermediate stage.

He was dumbfounded as he watched the five train. They were getting ever more resilient and independent, but what upset him the most was how quickly they were grasping the concepts of their individual abilities. Jag was stronger and more agile, and even Tayoka’s distracting actions did not divert his concentration. Tegan was now attempting to link minds with small creatures, and her obvious eagerness for it accelerated her process. Mariah was capable of moving the smallest of objects. She still had some ways to go but it dismayed Hutar to know that she could very well soon be a proficient telekinetic. Aari, enthusiastic about light manipulation, was accelerating his learning process just as Tegan was.