Reborn (The Cartographer Book 2) (19 page)

“I think I just stepped into the Twilight Zone,” I said, wide-eyed.

The shorter man looked at me and a wide smile crossed his face. He turned his index finger toward me. “I know you.”

I took a step back and my hand fell from my weapon. “That's nice. That makes one of us.”

His smile faded. “It seems Vayne only talks about himself and his treasures when he should be talking about more important things. Menjaro the Messenger, fastest among the Timeless, at your service.” He slapped Liath upside the head. “Bow, you fool!”

Liath let out a squawk and attempted to bow but the gesture was so awkward it looked more like he would vomit instead. Menjaro clutched his fur tightly to prevent himself from sliding off. I placed my hand over my mouth to stifle the laugh rising from my throat.

“You cannot do anything right,” Menjaro sighed and rubbed his face in frustration. “I apologize for my hairy friend here but I will forgive him this one time and blame it on exhaustion from our trip.”

“How long have you been here?” Vayne asked.

“Long enough to know I want to be gone as soon as possible,” he replied sourly. “I followed you here only because I owed Vigil a favor. Of course as soon as I knew you were coming back to Earth I raced to beat you here. I waited on the other side of a ruined warehouse about two miles back and hid my ship. I didn't want survivors or something more…undesirable…stumbling across it.”

“Are there survivors?” I asked hopefully.

Menjaro looked at Vayne. “He doesn't know, does he?” When he spied the confusion on Vayne's face he slapped his forehead. “Oh, that's right, you decided to skip the meeting. That reminds me, Ibune is also not happy with you by the way.”

Vayne waved his hand dismissively. “You and your damn meetings.”

“Wait a second,” I interrupted. “What am I supposed to know?”

Liath growled and licked his lips. Menjaro reached down and patted the side of his neck. “Settle down Liath, we will be leaving this place soon enough.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He flattened it against the back of Liath's head and scanned it with his index finger. He looked up apologetically. “Sorry, I had to recall the minutes of the meeting. According to Scribe the battle took its toll. Meta attacked everyone in his determination to destroy the time hole. He took out half the planet along with the Ascended forces unfortunate enough to remain behind.”

“It seems I was right about the High Prince,” Kedge grunted.

Kedge was indeed right. As much as I trusted the Consortium to do the right thing, this was the worst thing Meta could have done. He was no better than the Lumagom who destroyed Mars. I was about to ask him the status of survivors when Menjaro interrupted with a scowl.

“I know you as well.” His cherub-like demeanor vanished and his face darkened. Liath seemed to sense his master's emotional change and let out a menacing growl. They took one step closer to Kedge. “Oh yes, Kedge Mal'Dineen, I remember you as well.”

Kedge folded his arms across his chest, unperturbed. “It seems a lot of people know me. Rumor has it I've been around awhile.”

“Indeed,” Menjaro muttered. “Are you happy with your former friends' actions? Does Lumagom blood still flow through your veins?”

“I guess you two know each other?” Wraith asked.

Kedge narrowed his eyes and matched his scowl but remained silent.

“Those aren't his friends anymore.” I stood next to him in a show of support.

“We shall see.” Menjaro eyeballed him before turning his attention to me. “I apologize for bringing such grim news, but there is nothing more you can do here. If you notice the sky, the atmosphere is starting to degrade and soon the air will become toxic. If there are survivors here, they won't live for long.” He turned Liath around and looked over his shoulder, focusing his attention on Vayne. “Vigil does not normally rage for long, but Vayne has a habit of rubbing him the wrong way. If I were you I would return to Xajax before his anger causes his head to explode like a volcano.”

“That would be a sight to see,” Vayne replied. “I would sell my ship to see that.”

“Always pushing boundaries.” Menjaro shook his head and turned to leave.

“Wait,” I cried. “What about my parents?”

He stopped. “If I am correct, they do not live far from here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small circular object. Its gold surface glittered in the sunlight. His mouth tightened while he studied its surface. “According to my calculations you should have enough time to find out for yourself.” He returned the object to his pocket and stared at the sky. “Atmospheric tearing….hmm. If I were you I wouldn't linger for long.” He turned and sped down the road, becoming nothing more than a mirage on the horizon.

“I will stay here and run some scans to check for survivors,” offered Vayne.

“
According to my calculations your home is approximately two-point-four miles from here
,” Gard said.

“Hold on a minute.” Wraith popped the clip from his weapon and checked the ammunition. “Full load.” He slammed the clip closed with a grunt. “Now I'm ready to go.”

My hand brushed against the butt of my weapon. I checked it earlier so I knew it contained a full clip.

“Let's go.” I turned down the road.

Solomon Corvus

The goblet flew through the air and crashed against the wall. Calypso stood, wide-eyed, with fists clenched closely by his sides. Corvus missed his head by inches. He also missed the window which was fortunate for everyone. The outline of Earth floated in the background as the shuttle orbited the planet.

“How the hell could this happen?” He roared.

Calypso composed himself and lowered his head. “I underestimated Meta. I never imagined he would attack Earth.”

Corvus ran his hands through his snowy hair and paced the room. Rage flowed through his veins but he had to shove it aside so he could think clearly. He agreed with Calypso. He never thought the High Prince would attack Earth. Perhaps Meta's attack on the planet was a blessing. The Consortium was now fractured and weakened. He breathed in deeply and let the rage ebb before looking at Calypso.
Were their forces strong enough to attack Meta directly?

Calypso flinched under his gaze. “What?”

By his calculations, the Scarlet Moon provided him with six ships and over five hundred soldiers. The remaining Lumagom forces came with ten ships and seven hundred soldiers. Without the use of the time hole on Earth, he could not hope to gain allies without manipulating events in the present. “What do you think of the Consortium's manpower at this moment?”

Calypso closed his eyes and flexed his fingers as he mentally calculated. “Meta's personal fleet is made up of ten ISS class warships, twenty-five IPS class scout vessels and ten royal barges which are nothing more than entertainment and transport ships. I am not sure how many of the Defense Fleet forces Embeth took with him. I assume Meta still holds at least half of the Defense Fleet which means he has an additional thirty ISS warships at his disposal.”

“What about the Explorer's League?” Corvus asked.

Calypso shrugged. “They are nothing but science and research ships, limited to self-defense weapons.”

“It is the quantity I am interested in,” he countered.

Calypso held up his hands. “I think it's safe to assume they followed Satou. They were loyal to him.” Calypso chuckled.

“What's so funny?”

Calypso stopped and shook his head. “Oh nothing, I was just thinking what some had been calling them.”

“Insurgents,” Corvus finished. He had heard the term himself, mostly from intelligence gathered by Shai. “It appears they may not be made up of only disgruntled Consortium folks though.” He had heard the rumors.

Calypso nodded. “The Timeless.”

“Again with this term,” Corvus grumbled. “How is it I never heard of these people before?”

Calypso dropped his head and stared at the floor, but not before Corvus spotted his incredulous eye roll. He hated him for that.
Calypso the great universal explorer.
He continued to treat him as if he were a moron. As if for some ungodly reason, a human—even one from the future—could not possibly know more than the great Calypso. His insolence created a red waterfall of rage to wash over him.

Calypso let out a choked gasp as hands closed around his throat. He dropped to his knees, flailing at appendages that weren't there. Corvus stood across the table with his eyes closed as his fury consumed him. He also stood next to Calypso with his hands wrapped around his throat, choking the life out of him, but no one could see his projection.

“Urk,” Calypso gasped. His hands reached for his throat, but came away with empty air. He tried to stand but the pressure from the phantasm kept him on his knees.

“Your disrespect is really starting to grate on my nerves,” Corvus said calmly. “Next time I will not let go.” He opened his eyes and the phantasm disappeared.

Calypso collapsed on the floor, gasping for air. As he struggled to breathe, Corvus circled the table and stood over him.

“You think of us as nothing more than sheep,” he sneered. “You may be right about humans. The Ascended, however, are not.”

Calypso raised his head with the fires of rage burning in his eyes. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he coughed and rubbed his throat. “Ascended or not,” he rasped. “You do not know everything.” He stood up on one knee and slowly massaged his injured neck. “The Timeless are real. We were attacked by them. If you decide to disregard them, they will destroy you.”

You
. No more “we”. It could have just been a mistake on Calypso's part. Or perhaps he was already distancing himself. Either way, Corvus made a mental note to keep a closer eye on his colleague. He was correct in one regard. If the insurgents had new allies, it would be prudent for him to gather more as well.

“You're right.”

Calypso seemed taken by surprise from his quick agreement. He narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “I guess you came to your senses.” He stood up and backed away, as if distance would keep him safe from Corvus' wrath. “What do you plan to do?”

Corvus smiled. “I plan on finding us some new friends.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Calypso asked.

“Leave that to me.”

Invited Guests

Our trip along Carlsbad Cavern Highway was rather uneventful until we reached the intersection of National Parks Highway. That was when things took a turn toward bizarre.

“What is that, Nathan?” Wraith pointed ahead.

He pointed toward a small brick building with six garage doors. All of them were open but empty. A big white sign hung along the front of the building.
Joel Volunteer Fire Department
. A ladder truck was parked outside. It was nothing more than a scorched shell of metal on four smoldering tires. The only reason I knew what it had been was half of the ladder remained. It was a charred skeletal reminder of the attacks. Before our discovery, it felt like nothing more than a peaceful Sunday where the streets were empty because everyone had gone off to church.

“It's the remains of a fire truck,” I replied. Before I could turn away and continue down the road I spotted the charred corpse next to it.

“There is no sense lingering here.” Kedge grabbed my arm but I brushed it away.

“No,” I growled.
I have to see this
. I embraced the rage I felt at that moment.

The remains of a patch, half-blackened from whatever had killed the poor guy, stood out on his shirt.
Joel Volunteer
, it read. The rest of the patch was burned beyond recognition. I saw others burned inside the fire truck. Their charred remains were unrecognizable. With a grimace I headed toward the building.

“Hey, be careful,” Wraith called out. “We don't know who or what we may run into down here.”

“
I am picking up no life signs in the area. There seems to be no immediate danger
,” Gard offered.

All I had to do was look up to the dark tears in the sky to know what “immediate danger” we would be facing soon. “How did they do it?”