Heir of Shandara (Book 4) (29 page)

Roselyn called her name and asked her a question. It took Sarah a few moments to catch up. They were in a laboratory in Hathenwood. There were few humans in Hathenwood, so it was less of a risk to bring her brother here than Shandara.
 

“They’re on board the
Raven
and heading to Shandara,” Sarah said.
 

The Raven,
Sarah mused, remembering their journey on board that airship. It seemed as if they had come full circle.

“Then they should reach Shandara in about five hours’ time,” Roselyn said.

Sarah nodded. The first time they journeyed to Shandara had taken weeks with the Drake and Ryakuls dogging their every move. Now the time was cut down to hours instead of days. If a Hythariam flyer was dispatched, the journey would take even less time. There were other methods of travel, but Aaron needed this time. They all needed a moment to catch their breath.

“Does he know yet?” Roselyn asked.

Sarah nodded. “He knows.”

“How did he take the news? Sometimes, men can be funny about such things,” Roselyn said.

“Quite well, considering. I’m sure he’s still in shock, but after everything that’s happened, I think it helped him,” Sarah said. She needed him near her now. Out of danger. She wanted all this to be over so they could live out their lives in peace.

There were two large capsules in the room, and Roselyn went around them making notations. They had frozen Rordan and Darven to slow down the infection. There were other Hythariam in the room, monitoring from their stations. The only person out of place was Sarah, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave.

Roselyn walked over to her. “We’re going to open one of them up now. It’s the only way to get the samples I need. Perhaps it would be safest if you were to watch from the observation room?”

“What about you? Proximity would put you in danger as well,” Sarah said.

The metallic door to the lab hissed open, and two black armored Hythariam soldiers entered. They nodded in greeting to them and stayed just inside the doorway.

“I’ll be well protected,” Roselyn said.

“You’ll be even better protected if I remain,” Sarah said, with her fingertips grazing the handle of the long knife on her belt.

“I would never doubt your prowess as a warrior. I was thinking that the virus is designed to infect humans so…” Roselyn said.

Sarah smiled. “I can create a shield if it comes to it.”

Roselyn nodded, letting the matter drop.
 

“What do you need to get from Rordan that you don’t already know?” Sarah asked.

“The samples collected so far contain dead versions of the virus. Or the change is so far along that it hinders our efforts to create a cure. Rordan and this other man were newly infected before they were captured. We can get much more information this way,” Roselyn said.

The capsule with her brother inside was moved to the central table. As soon as the capsule was locked into place, several holographic monitors came online. Each showed different sets of information. Roselyn entered a few commands and watched the capsule expectantly.
 

The capsule slowly hissed open, a misty vapor escaping from the edges. The top slid halfway down, exposing Rordan’s upper torso. Sarah grabbed her knife as she leaned over to get a better look. Rordan’s pasty-white skin almost glowed under the lighting. His features were smooth as if he was asleep. She saw the slight flicker of his pulse on his neck. Roselyn used a long needle to extract Rordan’s blood, and for a moment Sarah thought she saw his fingers move.

“Are you sure he won’t wake up?” Sarah asked.

The two soldiers moved to the end of the capsule.

Roselyn filled up two more vials with Rordan’s blood. “No, he’s still in cryostasis.”

Sarah could barely take her eyes off her brother. She tried to convince herself that he was just asleep and continued to watch the pulse in his neck. She had gambled that removing the amulet would diminish his powers, but she didn’t think they were completely gone. Some doors, when opened, couldn’t be shut again.
 

Roselyn carried the vials away and returned with another device. It was some type of scanner, Sarah recalled. The skin on Rordan’s torso darkened like a storm cloud.

“Increase the dose,” Roselyn said to one of the other scientists in the room.

Sarah drew in the energy, heightening her senses. “I don’t like this. Something isn’t right. Can you close it back up?”

Roselyn put the scanner down and retrieved another instrument from the tray nearby.

“I just need to collect a skin sample and a culture from inside his mouth, then—”

Rordan’s eyes flicked open. His irises were completely black. Rordan’s hand shot forth, grabbing Roselyn’s outstretched arm. Roselyn cried out as Rordan let out a guttural roar. One soldier tried to pin Rordan’s flailing body down while the other grabbed his arm. Sarah was there in an instant, her long knife out, and slammed it down, severing Rordan’s hand at the wrist. Metallic bands stretched across his body, restraining him. Snapping his teeth like a wild animal, he jerked his head toward Sarah. The soldiers released him, and the capsule shut. After a few moments, sounds of Rordan’s struggling ceased.

Roselyn blew out a breath and thanked her. A Hythariam came and retrieved Rordan’s severed hand and placed it on a tray, then loaded it into a small clear container.

“I thought you said he couldn’t wake up?” Sarah asked.

“The virus must work faster than we thought. Did he get you?”

Sarah shook her head. “He went for you. The reports from the battlefield were that they all but avoided Hythariam.”

“I think I just happened to be in his way. Come on over here. Let’s see what we have,” Roselyn said, some of the shakiness leaving her voice.

The soldiers stood guard on either side of the capsules now. Roselyn loaded the vials, and they emptied into a machine. Sarah glanced back at Rordan’s capsule. The sight of his black eyes made her skin crawl.
 

They both sat down at one of the large holo displays while Roselyn worked her magic.
 

“This will allow me to take a closer look at the blood. I have some theories on how the virus works, but this will help me understand it better,” Roselyn said.

“Is Iranus still angry with you for giving the Nanites to Verona?” Sarah asked.

“He can be angry for as long as he wants. Those Nanites saved Verona’s life. That in and of itself is enough justification in my mind. Without them, we wouldn’t know as much as we do now. Verona was lucky to only be partially exposed.”

Sarah pursed her lips in thought. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Verona, but I agree with Iranus: our world isn’t ready for the Nanites.”

Roselyn was silent as she worked through the data in front of her. “People like Halcylon made a perversion of their intended purpose.”

“Once you release something into the world, you need to accept that the intended purposes of that something is bound to change,” Sarah replied.

“Regardless, the Nanites aren’t a viable option. We don’t have the means to distribute them to every human on the continent anytime soon,” Roselyn said.

Sarah frowned. “What about a cure? Will you be able to distribute that?” she asked.

Roselyn’s face lit up. “Oh, yes. There are a lot of ways to distribute a cure. It doesn’t need to go everywhere at once. We can address the most immediate threat first and then work our way out.”

Sarah smiled. She like the simplicity with which Roselyn set about what others would consider insurmountable tasks.
 

“This is interesting,” Roselyn said. “Once introduced into a host, the virus becomes more aggressive. It’s almost like it doesn’t fully engage until it finds a viable host. Halcylon had to modify it so it would be compatible with humans.”

Roselyn kept working, and Sarah felt a slight flutter in her stomach. She smiled slightly while caressing her stomach.
 

Roselyn turned toward her. “Oh, did you feel them?”

A giggle escaped Sarah’s lips, and she nodded. They shared a quick hug, and something chimed on the holo display.

“The simulations are done,” Roselyn said.

“I thought you said it would take a while.”

“Normally they would, but we’re patched into the systems in Shandara. Those systems did all the heavy lifting for us,” Roselyn said.

The door to the lab opened, and Iranus stepped inside. He stooped more now when he stood, and the lines showed on his face. His hair was completely white. Sarah rose from her seat to offer it to him, but he waved her back down with a smile.

“I see you’ve gotten your samples,” Iranus said.

“I may have a solution, and it has to do with blocking what Halcylon has done to adapt the virus to humans.”

Iranus rubbed his chin as he read the information on the display. “You’re looking to prevent the infection.”

“Correct. Once they are already infected, I can’t reverse the infection. I think prevention is our best option. Essentially, I’m hoping to convince the virus that it is in an incompatible host, which would cause it to go dormant. I will keep working on it, but given the time we have, I think we should move forward with this,” Roselyn said.

“The results look promising,” Iranus agreed, studying the screen for a moment.

“I want to run a few physical tests, with the samples we’ve collected,” Roselyn said.

“Assuming all this works,” Sarah said. “How will you distribute it? We should protect our soldiers and other essential people first, as there is greater risk of exposure for them.”

Iranus nodded. “Once we confirm what the simulations tell us. Then there are a number of ways we can distribute. We might even consider using a method that the Zekara have already proven to be an effective way to distribute the virus. Only we’ll be distributing the cure.”

“Great news. We should tell the others,” Sarah said.

Iranus shook his head. “We can’t. Not something this important. We need to keep this a secret for as long as we can.”

“Why?” Sarah asked.

“The Zekara are able to listen to our communications. Gavril has been using codes to keep communications going, but I’m willing to wager you understand how important something like this could be,” Iranus said.

“I see,” Sarah said.

“We won’t know if this works until we test it on someone who has been exposed,” Iranus said, and nodded to the capsules behind them.
 

The interior of the capsules showed up on the display, showing Rordan’s and Darven’s faces. Seeing Darven’s face with the scars that marred one side triggered a memory. Darven had been among those that they had fought at Shandara before the Drake captured her. Aaron had singled him out. The two had met before. Sarah gasped, her eyes widening. Iranus and Roselyn stopped speaking and looked at her.

“What is it?” Roselyn asked.

Sarah pointed at Darven’s face on the display. “That’s the man who murdered Aaron’s mother.”

Roselyn and Iranus looked at the display, their mouths agape.

“He was with the attack force that went to Earth,” Sarah said. “Darven held his mother captive to get Aaron to surrender.”

“We have him now, and he won’t escape,” Roselyn said.

Iranus sighed. “We will need to test the cure on him.”

Sarah was about to protest, but she knew Iranus was right. “Fine. Cure him, and then I will have him executed.” Darven was a citizen of Khamearra and subject to the justice that Sarah would visit upon him.
 

Iranus left them to make arrangements for synthesizing the cure. This way, they would be ready if Roselyn’s tests were successful.

Roselyn’s eyes were locked on the screen as she continued to work. They were both warriors of a different sort. Both of them dangerous in their own ways. The capsules behind them were quiet, but Sarah had to suppress a shudder whenever she glanced back at them. When she had been captured by the Drake and was surrounded by Ryakuls, she had felt the presence before. Not since then had she experienced the feeling she got when she looked upon Rordan’s capsule. Nothing living was inside. She reached out with the energy, immediately sensing the lifebeats of those around her, but from inside the capsule that held her brother there was not a trace of life.
 

“Who does this?” Sarah asked.

Roselyn gave her a bewildered look.

“I’ve been witness to all manner of cruelty done by my father and the Elitesmen, but what Halcylon and his Zekara have done is just so… evil,” Sarah said.

Roselyn placed her hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “We’ll stop them. All of us together. You’ve got to believe that.”

“Rordan would kill everyone in this room without a moment’s hesitation, but he doesn’t deserve this. No one does,” Sarah said.

“Halcylon is consumed by hate.”

“How can anyone follow such a person? They’re here and free, yet they still follow Halcylon to war.”

Roselyn turned back to the screen. “We’ll see how many follow him when they’re defeated. You’re right, no one deserves this, but at least some good will come from Rordan’s death.”