The Cyber Chronicles Book III - The Core (8 page)

Dena handed
her the sonlar. "It's loaded, so be careful."

"I know."
Tassin held the weapon gingerly.

Dena sat on
her pile of rags. "What now?"

"Now I have to
put on this man's smelly robe and go rescue Sabre."

Tucking the
sonlar into her belt, she picked up the robe, grimacing at its
pungent odour, and pulled it over her head. "Well, at least I smell
like one of them," she muttered. "Dena, you watch him. If he tries
to escape, shoot him. I'll leave you the laser."

"You're coming
back?" Dena sounded uncertain.

Tassin stroked
the girl's dirty, patchy hair. "Of course I am. I wouldn't leave
you behind after all that you've done. Loyalty must always be
rewarded. When I come back, you must be ready to leave. If you want
to take anything, put it in a bundle and be ready, okay?"

"Okay."

Tassin turned
to leave, then swung back. "How do I get to the temple?"

Dena giggled.
"Go straight out, turn right at the yellow plastic, follow the
passage until you reach the street, then turn right again, and
you'll see the temple."

The Queen
nodded and ducked out of the hovel. Following the child's
directions, she hurried along the empty streets until she came to
the squat, ugly building. It had to be nearly dawn, and the temple
door was unguarded. It creaked when she pushed it open, and she
tiptoed through the altar room, keeping as far from the piece of
black glass as she could. She groped along the wall until she found
the door, and slipped into the corridor. A quick glance around
assured her that it was empty. A few torches sputtered on the
smooth, pale walls, but most had gone out.

Following the
priest's directions, she crept down the corridor, the hood pulled
over her head in case she met a wandering cleric suffering from an
attack of insomnia. Turn left, turn right, down the steps. She
faced a steel door. In the middle of it was the combination lock
the priest had mentioned, a round thing with numbers on it. The
door looked solid, if nothing else, embedded about eight
centimetres into the concrete wall. Would the sonlar be able to
destroy it? She bit her lip.

Once she
pushed the button, all hell would break loose, and then she would
not have time to rectify any mistakes. Should she shoot the door,
or the wall? The wall was thicker, but the door stronger. She opted
for the wall, hoping Sabre would be ready to spring into action as
soon as she had made a hole. Taking a few steps back, she wondered
how far away she should be. Not too close, but not too far, either.
Recalling Sabre's description of the sonlar's ability to destroy
matter, she really did not want to be included in the mess. She
decided on about three metres.

For a while
she fidgeted, wiped her sweaty palms on her hips, licked her lips
and shifted her feet, brushed back her hair and scratched
non-existent itches. She checked the weapon for the umpteenth time,
then pushed the green button that made the little blue light flash
and the panel light up. It said 'armed'. Calming herself with an
effort, she allowed her determination to free Sabre to prod her
cowering courage out of its dark corner.

Pointing the
sonlar in the general direction of the wall, she turned her head
aside and screwed her eyes shut, wishing she had enough hands to
block her ears too. Gingerly she pushed the button. It clicked.
Surprised, Tassin examined the weapon. Was Dena mistaken? Perhaps
it was not loaded. The sliding buttons she had played with on the
other sonlar were at one end of their grooves. Which end had they
been when she had destroyed the walkway? She pushed them to the
other end, then repeated her preparations and pressed the
button.

The concussion
lifted her off her feet and flung her down the corridor. She
sprawled, skinned her elbows and banged her head on the bottom
step. Her ears rang from the monstrous boom, and a cloud of dust
engulfed her, making her cough. Struggling to her feet, she
staggered forward, her head ringing like a bell tower with a
demented priest loose in it. Her elbows stung and her head
throbbed. The blast had blown out all the torches, leaving her in
utter darkness, and she reeled up the steps, groping for a torch
around the corner. Finding one, she wobbled back down, holding it
out to see the result of her handiwork.

A two-metre
hole had been blown in the wall, surrounded by a pile of gravel,
all that remained of the reinforced concrete. With a hoarse crow of
delight, Tassin climbed through it to search the dust-filled room
beyond.

"Sabre!" she
whispered, then wondered why she was whispering when she had just
made enough noise to wake the dead. "Sabre!"

Tassin coughed
and gasped. Odd shapes loomed in the torch's light, the flickering
flames making the shadows move. Weird square objects lined the
walls, and a few strange things stood on the tables. Gravel and
chunks of plaster had ripped through the room, splintered the
shabby tables and punched holes in the odd equipment, some of which
lay smashed on the floor. Where the hell was he?

"Sabre! Answer
me!"

Do not let him
be dead, she prayed. It was not just because she needed him to
traverse the desert; it was more than that, but she refused to
label the emotion that twisted her heart. Holding the torch out,
she searched the floor between the square things. He had to be here
somewhere, unless this was the wrong room. Had the priest lied? Had
the blast killed Sabre? Fear squeezed her heart, making her breath
catch. Perhaps using the sonlar had not been such a good idea.

Why had she
not considered the possibility that the blast might hurt him, too?
She cursed her stupidity, but she had not expected quite so much
destruction. Her eyes fell on something that gleamed golden, and
she peered at it. A metal-plated skeleton with a brow band lay in
the corner, another, normal skeleton under it. Her stomach knotted,
and she turned away and tripped over something, sprawling with a
yelp. Scrambling away from it, she held the torch closer to see
what it was.

"Sabre!"

The cyber
looked dead, his eyes closed and mouth slightly open. His chest
rose and fell in deep breaths, however, and his brow band was full
of flashing red lights.

She gripped
his arm and shook him. "Sabre, wake up!"

His head
lolled to the side, and his skin was slippery with blood. She
released him and wiped it off on her robe, her heart heavy with
dread. Could the cyber hear her, even if Sabre could not?

"Cyber, I
order you to wake him up!"

The brow band
flashed more brilliantly, and she held her breath as she watched
Sabre's peaceful face. Distant shouts came from the corridor, and
the slap of running, sandaled feet. She put her hand on Sabre's
shoulder and shook him again, causing his head to loll from side to
side. Lights appeared beyond the hole, and surprised exclamations
followed, then several white-robed priests clambered through the
gap. Reaching across Sabre, she picked up the sonlar, which she had
dropped when she had tripped over him. Pointing it shakily at the
advancing priests, she said, "Stay back, or I'll blow you
away!"

The men
halted, staring at the weapon. A commotion came from the back of
the group as the hairless priestess pushed her way to the front.
The woman eyed Tassin with a triumphant smirk.

"So, little
fool," she sneered, "you came to rescue your friend. How sweet!
Except he's already on his way out, and you've got an appointment
with a nice piece of black glass."

Tassin aimed
the sonlar at her and put down the torch to shake Sabre with her
other hand. "You take one more step, and you're dead. You see that
hole in the wall? This is what made it, and if it can do that to
stone, imagine what it can do to you."

The priestess
snorted. "You haven't got the guts to kill anyone. I can see the
fear in your eyes; I can smell it!" She signalled to the priests.
"Get her!"

Two men
approached Tassin, splitting up to come at her from opposite
directions. She pointed the sonlar at one and kept an eye on the
other.

"Don't come
any closer, I'm warning you! I don't want to kill you, but I will
if I have to."

The priests
hesitated, but came on, apparently fearing the priestess more than
a dirty girl armed with a modern weapon. More fool them, Tassin
thought, although the prospect of using the sonlar again made her
cold inside. It was them or her. If they got to her, she and Sabre
were dead. Aiming the sonlar at the man's chest, she closed her
eyes and pressed the button. This time there was less concussion
with the flash of blinding light and huge boom.

Tassin opened
her eyes and stared at the spot where the man had been. He was
gone, but the wall beyond was covered with blood and shredded meat,
and a metre-deep hole was blasted in it, revealing fresh brown
soil. Everyone gaped at it, for the wall was at least seven metres
from where she knelt. Recovering first, she whipped around and
levelled the weapon at the second man, who backed away, raising his
hands. The priestess drew herself up.

"So, I
underestimated you, but I doubt you'll kill all of us, and we will
not let you pass."

Tassin glared
at her. "Don't make the same mistake twice."

Reaching down
to shake Sabre again, she was startled when her hand was gripped,
and glanced at him. He gazed at her with a faint smile, and her
heart swelled with relief. A powerful urge to hug him almost
overcame her, but she restrained herself, watching the bevy of
priests.

"When did you
wake up?" she enquired.

"The big bang
woke me."

The priests
cast furtive looks at the priestess, who scowled. Sabre raised
himself onto an elbow and eyed the sonlar.

"I see you
found another one of those pretty things to play with."

She smiled.
"It's quite handy."

"That's what
it's meant for." He sat up, looking groggy as he glanced at the
holes and the wall covered with gore. "Now that's what I call
overkill."

"I had nothing
else."

"You certainly
made sure of it." He held out his hand for the sonlar and she
gladly gave it to him, dismayed when he tucked it into his
harness.

"What about
them?" She indicated the priests.

Sabre stood
up, pulling her to her feet. "I suspect they know better than to
attack me, from past experience."

Tassin glanced
at the cyber skeleton with a shudder, noticing the blood-smeared
escape hatch beyond it. "They killed the last one."

"Only by
luring him in here, but I think they tried another method, which
failed. Am I right, Jassine?"

The priestess
nodded. "He was too strong for us, unlike the first man, but my
predecessor told him that what he sought was in here, and he fell
for it. He wasn't very clever."

"Cybers are
logical, and he had to investigate every clue. He found what he was
looking for."

Jassine's eyes
glittered with impotent rage as Sabre approached her, and the
priests shuffled out of his way.

"You will not
escape! I'll find a way to stop you!" she said.

"Why bother?"
he asked. "We're going back across the desert, never to
return."

"You lie!
You'll bring our enemies upon us!"

He shrugged,
clearly running out of patience. "Think what you will, we're
leaving."

The priestess
blocked his way until the last possible moment before stepping
aside. Tassin glanced back as they walked towards the steps.
Jassine muttered to the priests, who nodded. They were plotting
something, Tassin was certain.

"So what's the
plan?" Sabre asked.

"Plan?"

"To get out of
the city."

"Oh!" She
shook her head. "I hadn't thought of one."

He smiled.
"Then we'd better think fast."

As they passed
through the altar room, Sabre stayed between her and the black
glass, then, to her immense relief, they were outside in the fresh,
chill morning air. She shucked the smelly robe and headed for
Dena's hovel.

"Where are we
going?" he enquired.

"There's a
little girl who helped me. I have to find her first; she knows
where the cart and donkeys are."

Sabre followed
her into the first low-roofed shack. A furtive movement made her
jump, and Dena appeared at her elbow.

"There you
are!” Tassin said. “You scared me half to death!"

The girl
grinned. "You're scared of me?"

"No, I didn't
realise – oh, never mind. Take us to the cart, quick!"

Dena eyed
Sabre, looking coquettish. "You're the man from the stars."

The cyber
smiled. "That's right."

Dena grinned
at him, then led them along the street, forgoing the hovel route.
She guided them to a shack where the cart was parked, unattended.
Sabre brought the donkeys from the shed next door and harnessed
them while Tassin tapped her foot and chewed her lip, anxiety
consuming her. What were the priests planning? They were up to
something, she was sure. They would not let them leave so
easily.

The sun peeped
over the horizon as Sabre led the donkeys into the street. Tassin
and Dena climbed aboard the cart, and Dena gave him directions for
the quickest way out of the city. The donkeys' little hooves tapped
on the concrete road, their ears flapping with the nodding of their
heads. Sabre led them at a trot, pulling them along. Halfway along
a deserted street, the priestess stepped out in front of them, her
triumphant smile back.

"I will not
let you leave the city."

Sabre
increased his pace. "So you keep saying."

Jassine was
forced to get out of his way or be run down, and her expression
grew wrathful. She waved her arms, and mutant men stepped out of
the buildings and side streets all around them, each holding a
stick tipped with a piece of black glass. Sabre halted the donkeys
and drew the sonlar from his harness as he leapt onto the narrow
board that served as the cart’s seat.