Chronicle of Ages (24 page)

‘Did Cornelin really send you?' Maelgwn queried as he pursued her into the corridor.

‘He knows I am here.' Aquilla turned to look Maelgwn in the eye. ‘I gave him a piece of my mind in regard to meddling in my private affairs and Cornelin now realises the error of his ways.' Aquilla resumed her course to the transporter plate. ‘I know everybody means well … since Durak's death my kin have tended to be very protective. But that was years ago now and it's time they got over it. I have.' As she said this, her voice went hoarse, whereupon Aquilla cleared her throat.

It was obvious to Maelgwn that the woman was lying through her teeth, and he began having second thoughts about letting himself be talked into this outing. ‘I don't suppose you want to talk about it?' He was dying to know what had happened to Durak, or at least what his interests were.

‘Talk won't bring him back.' Aquilla managed a smile. ‘And if it could, I'd be with him right now.' She looked up into Maelgwn's face and began to laugh.

‘What is it?' He grinned, guessing it was his resemblance to Durak that had set her off.

‘Forgive me,' she calmed herself. ‘But the likeness is just incredible. Do you believe in reincarnation, Dragon?' she questioned as Maelgwn stepped onto the transporter plate beside her.

‘Most definitely,' he assured her before they were sped to their seaside destination.

 

Maelgwn found himself at a deserted fringe of Mazua where the sand dunes led to the dome's watery periphery.

‘Perfect time to visit, coming onto low tide,' commented Aquilla, as she removed her boots and headed off across the sand. ‘Almost everyone will be preparing to head to the Stargazer.'

Perhaps I should have opted to go there,
he thought, daunted by the idea of being on the deserted beach with this woman. ‘I'm not sure if this is such a good idea.' Maelgwn glanced back towards the city centre where the dome was beginning to open to expose the clear mauve sky of late afternoon.

‘Don't be such a killjoy, there's nothing to fear.' She swung around and walked backwards for a way. ‘Just watch out for sea-snakes as they're a bit deadly.'

‘Sea-snakes?' Maelgwn began unclipping his boots, figuring snakes were the least of his worries.

‘For some reason the dome doesn't repel them like it does other sea creatures. We think it's because the snakes are ground dwellers.' Aquilla came to a standstill and waited for the Dragon to catch her up. ‘Still, I shouldn't worry, as they rarely come into the dome this late in the evening. They like it in the morning hours when they can sun themselves on the rocks.'

Maelgwn accompanied Aquilla to the watery perimeter, where she dumped her boots and dispensed with all her little gadgets. ‘You might want to get rid of some of that hardware you carry. Your thought wave neutraliser is waterproof, as is your fighter module,' she advised as she unzipped her jacket.

Maelgwn nearly had a stroke, until he realised she wore a full-body sleeveless swimsuit underneath her other attire.

The shock must have been apparent on his face, as Aquilla found it most amusing. ‘I find these suits too restrictive for leisure swimming and we Delphinus are always ready to take the plunge, so to speak.'

‘I'm sorry.' Maelgwn snapped out of his stunned dilemma to remove his jacket, belt, and the firearm strapped to his thigh.

‘Don't be sorry,' she implored him, ‘just relax and be yourself … I promise I'm not going to jump you.' She slapped his shoulder reassuringly. ‘Now, are you a strong swimmer?' she asked before proceeding into the water.

He nodded. ‘I was raised by the sea, and can hold my breath for several minutes.' The second half of the statement was a lie — as an immortal, he need not breathe at all.

‘Okay, that's … good.' She seemed surprised to learn that a couple of minutes of breath was all a Homo sapiens could manage to store, but did her best not to sound patronising. ‘The first thing I should instruct you on is re-entry.'

‘Good call.' Maelgwn had to smile at the concerned expression on Aquilla's face; it was much like a first time mother teaching a newborn to swim.

Aquilla walked up to confront the great wall of water. ‘Although the dome poses no physical barrier to humans, it does maintain a certain pressure build-up from the water it withholds.' She placed her hands on the water wall. ‘Therefore, it just takes a little pressure to penetrate it.' As she pushed harder, her hands and arms entered the water.

Captivated by her tutelage, Maelgwn wandered over to experience the sensation for himself.

‘You see?' she questioned, as his upper limbs disappeared into the water up to his elbow.

‘Amazing,' he uttered, feeling the pressure of the dome ease up around where his fingertips reached, and the drop in water temperature of a couple of degrees.

‘But once you're in the water, your momentum needs to be stronger to penetrate back in. Watch me.'

Aquilla launched herself through the rippling wave barrier and into the open ocean beyond. She glided up and around in the crystal clear waters, before swimming back down to the ocean floor, and with a great thrust forward emerged from the watery wall to stand beside him.

‘Get my drift?' She shook herself off, spraying Maelgwn with water in the process.

‘Hey!' He jumped backwards, scooping a handful of water from the sea wall and casting it at Aquilla in retaliation. But before she could return his fire, Maelgwn dived through the water barrier and into the ocean beyond.

Aquilla followed him in, swimming circles around his clumsy movements. She was the very image of a sea nymph. Her ease and grace in the water would give any permanent sea dweller a good run for their money. Perhaps the mermaids of ancient legend had been the ancestor's of Aquilla's kind.

It was difficult not to become so captivated with this underwater experience as to forget he was supposed to be mortal and return to the dome to take a breath. Time drifted by as Maelgwn experimented, doing backflips and somersaults in and out of the dome with childlike enthusiasm and enjoyment. The sun was beginning to set now and the view of Mazua was magic from the water. Maelgwn was starting to really feel confident with this new experience of the ocean, when a huge shark came out of the darkening depths to swim by him at close quarters. The occurrence sent the warrior diving for the shelter of the dome. From the safety of the sand, Maelgwn looked back to see how Aquilla fared and found her riding around on the huge sea creature.

‘Now I've seen everything!' he announced as she emerged from the water, laughing at his mystified expression.

‘Sharks are our friends,' she informed, ‘and are especially playful on a full belly.'

‘But how do you know when they've already eaten?' Maelgwn quizzed.

Aquilla pointed to her third eye, implying she obtained the information telepathically. ‘How about you?' she queried, and slapped his belly lightly — a subtle dig at the fact that he was wearing a thought
wave neutraliser, which prevented her from reading him as easily. ‘Are you hungry?'

‘Sure.' Maelgwn watched Aquilla wring the water from her white ponytail and considered that it might be wise to get in amongst a crowd.

‘Great! We can grab a shower at my place and go to the Stargazer from there.' Aquilla collected her belongings and turned back to clarify. ‘I meant separate showers, you understand.'

‘Of course,' said Maelgwn, although he considered the misconception to be far more appealing. ‘And you have no need to clarify yourself. I am feeling far more secure now,' he assured her.

They made polite conversation as they trekked back over the dunes, towards the beach-front transporter plate. Just a few feet short of their destination, however, the sand moved beneath Maelgwn's left foot and he realised he'd stumbled onto one of Aquilla's deadly snakes. He looked down in time to see it sink its fangs into his outer ankle and, unfortunately, Aquilla saw it too.

Maelgwn cried out in pain and, raising his injured limb, with the snake still attached, drew his EMS Wand to slice the reptile in two.

‘Sit down. Keep still,' Aquilla urged him, pulling a small device from one of her jacket pockets. ‘If we don't remove that poison right now, it will kill you in a matter of minutes.'

Maelgwn took a peek at his ankle to find the bite was almost completely healed over. ‘I'll do it.'

‘Don't be alarmed!' Aquilla squatted in front of him to take charge of the situation. ‘This won't hurt a bit.'
She grabbed his hand away and gasped when she saw the wound vanish. ‘You're not Homo sapiens at all,' she backed away. ‘You're one of the Nefilim.'

The look on her face was one of horror, and yet she served a Nefilim master. As Maelgwn stood to explain, Aquilla backed up further still. ‘I am Homo sapiens … a high bred.' Aquilla's eyes opened wide as he said this, but not in wonder — in fear. Obviously she realised how much trouble such knowledge could bring her. ‘It was part of my mission directive to make sure that no one discovered my secret, meaning that, by rights, I should kill you,' he announced calmly, although his heart was almost punching a hole in his chest.

‘Who can I tell?' Aquilla implored him to reconsider, her eyes filling with tears. ‘Your secret is safe with me … I swear it!'

‘Much depends on this information remaining a secret, Aquilla. You could not imagine how many lives are at stake,' Maelgwn stressed, closing the distance between them. He gripped hold of both Aquilla's wrists, for he was still undecided as to what her fate should be. Now that she knew, there was a risk that other Delphinus could obtain the information from her thoughts.

‘Please, Dragon. There is a way to erase the knowledge from my memory if you'd just accompany me to Gibal's lab.' She made her final appeal: ‘I can mentally block anyone we meet along the way, and if you don't trust me then give me your thought wave neutraliser.'

‘Then what shall stop your kind reading my thoughts?' Maelgwn posed. Aquilla was openly sobbing
now and having seen the concern on her face when she thought him poisoned, he could hardly take her life for trying to save his.

‘I am very good at mind control,' she blubbered through her tears, ‘please, please, believe me.'

‘Damn it!' He let her go, startling his captive with his outburst. Maelgwn knew in his soul that to leave her alive would be a fatal error on his part. It boiled down to a question of Tory and his children, or Aquilla?
What kind of a ludicrous scenario is this?
Maelgwn began to pace in an attempt to ignore his own better judgment.

‘Dragon.' Aquilla timidly called for his attention, and he stopped still to hear what she had to say. ‘Although you are not Durak, I know that somehow his soul is kindred to yours. I loved my husband above all others and still do! There is nothing I would not have done for him. If you can believe that, then surely you realise I won't betray you.'

Dragon, this is Gibal.
The lord's voice came through the communicator pinned to the chest of Maelgwn's suit jacket.
My lab, immediately.

‘Perfect!' He grabbed hold of Aquilla's arm and made for the teleporter plate. ‘I'm taking one hell of a risk.' He held her firm as he waited to be transferred to the outer exit doors of Gibal's lab.

‘I know it.' She looked at him, appearing most grateful for his trust.

 

There was a great gaggle of guards outside the outer entrance and down the long corridor that led to the inner door to Gibal's lab.

As Zerrah was not amongst the men present, Maelgwn charged straight through the armed forces to the lab entrance, dragging Aquilla along behind him.

Inside, as expected, Maelgwn found Gibal alone. ‘What has happened?' He demanded to know the Lord's grievances at once.

The NERGUZ prototype has been stolen,
Gibal informed, frowning when he noted the tight grip the Dragon had on Aquilla.
Would you kindly unhand my assistant.

The Lord seemed more annoyed by Aquilla's predicament than the theft. ‘No, I will not … she has learned of my true nature and until that information has been erased from her memory, she stays with me. I could use a thought wave neutraliser, however, if you have one handy.'

How did that happen?
The Lord became infuriated.

‘I think how the NERGUZ was stolen is a more pressing concern at present,' Maelgwn snapped, annoyed by his own neglect of duty.

As the device had been developed and stored inside a force field that only Gibal knew the code to, this theft was most perplexing indeed.

Maelgwn moved closer to the hovering platform on which Gibal resided. ‘I want every launch bay pad in the city shut down.'

That has already been seen to.
The Lord conjured a thought wave neutraliser from the ethers and tossed it to the Dragon.
And I regret to advise that Cornelin has been murdered.
Gibal looked to Aquilla, sorry to be the one to
tell her, then looked back to Maelgwn.
The stolen item was not on him.

‘No!' Aquilla cried and pulled herself free from Maelgwn's grasp as soon as the thought band was secured to her wrist. ‘Who could do such a thing?'

‘Who indeed?' Maelgwn pondered the possibilities, which were few.

Aquilla looked to the Dragon, horrified by his intonation. ‘Surely you don't think he was involved in the theft of this … whatever it is that's been stolen? If I do not know what this —' she paused to recall what Gibal had called it, ‘NERGUZ is … then I assure you that Cornelin could not have known about it.'

Maelgwn cocked an eye, considering this was not entirely true, for if Cornelin had removed his thought wave neutraliser during their flight to Lura, then he could have acquired the information then.