Timeless (The Cartographer Book 3) (32 page)

“What do you mean?” I hated to admit, despite his creep factor, he had piqued my interest.

He tossed the ankh on the desk and reached into a pocket underneath his cloak where he retrieved a leather-bound book, which measured about two inches thick. The book had been tied shut with a thin, braided rope. He placed this object on the desk next to the ankh and tapped it with his index finger. “Contained within this journal is centuries of research into the power of death. Before the events which created this present universe, I was one of the leading scientists among my peers. My duties had been focused on ways to increase one's lifespan. Either through technology, medicine, or bioscience, I was dedicated on improving our lives and extending them beyond the standard mortality rate.” He waved his hand as if swatting away a fly. “You see, back then, our people lived for an average age of sixty years. Our goal at the time was to improve that to eighty. There were some challenges and unforeseen circumstances, but I won't bore you with details. We were able to improve it to seventy years, but we were about to make a major breakthrough when the universe went to hell.” He picked at the rope binding, like a guitar string. “After spending years mourning the loss of my people, I decided to dedicate my life to something much more fascinating: Death.”

“Well, that's a switch.” I watched him pick at the rope methodically before adding, “and quite morbid.”

“Not at all,” he responded with an icy calmness. “There is great power in death. Think about it,” he said as he ticked off each point on his fingertips. “Life ends, death does not. Death conquers life, but life cannot conquer death, only feed it. Despite our best technologies and medical advancements, we cannot cheat death nor can we avoid it. Death's guarantee is absolute.”

“So why bother doing anything? Why not just give up and submit to death like an offering or something?” My question was serious, but judging by the sour look on his face, he took it as mocking.

“Death feeds on life, silly boy. Without life, death would cease to exist.”

“But you just said that death is eternal. How can something be eternal if it can cease to exist?” I countered.

“AH-HA!” He slapped his knee. “Therein lies the conundrum and this point is exactly why I picked up my research with the Necromasters.”

“Necromasters?”

“A rogue science sect located on Drith,” he explained. The reference to Shai's planet sent a shudder through my spine. “Their research focuses on reanimating the dead. They believe it is the next rung on the evolutionary ladder. Their reasoning behind their research is not important, only their results.”

“Like your army?”

He pointed at me. “Exactly.” He grabbed the journal and shoved it in his pocket before standing. “Remember my cupped hand analogy on Gliese?”

I nodded, remembering it was a bit of condescension on his part, but didn't tell him that.

“There is a fine line between magic and science,” he explained. “You have yet to touch upon a fraction of either. But I did not come here to debate your level of knowledge. I came here to tell you that, even though you will not be leading an army into battle, you do have an important part yet to play.”

“And that is?” I asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“I cannot tell you that. That is something you must discover on your own.”

“Well, that took a turn toward useless. Thanks a lot.” I frowned.

He waved his hand dismissively. “You
will
be involved in the battle on Caelum, despite your cynicism. It may not be the role you envisioned, but it will be a role nonetheless.”

A knock at the door interrupted him. I opened the door to let Grillick and Ibune in. They froze when they spotted Mortem.

“What are you doing here?” Ibune asked. “I thought I asked you to prepare your forces for immediate departure?”

“My forces are prepared,” he replied smugly. “I am here to update Nathan.”

Before she could respond, he left the room. She turned to me. “I'm sorry you had to deal with that.”

I shrugged it off. “It wasn't that bad. He opened my eyes regarding a few things.”

“Oh?” She hesitated and strange look came over her face, as if she didn't know what to say next. After a moment passed, she seemed to collect her thoughts. “I wanted to come here and apologize for the change in plans, but it appears Mortem beat me to it.” Abruptly, she turned and left the room.

“What was that all about?” I asked Grillick.

He shoved his hand into his beard and scratched roughly at his chin. “I do not know. Perhaps her mind is on the task at hand or perhaps she was distracted by Mortem's abrasiveness.”

When I noticed that Grillick didn't move toward the door, I probed deeper. “There is another reason for your visit, isn't there?”

Grillick turned to the window and sighed. “I was coming here to let you know we have landed, but I forgot there was a window in here. Anyway, Sam has been briefed on everything and he is preparing the troops for the trip.”

“And?” I had a feeling there was more to this visit.

He shuffled his feet and looked down. “I wanted to let you know I enjoyed our time together and no matter what happens on Caelum, I wish you the best.”

Although his statement seemed innocent enough, it had a bit of a cryptic undertone to it. At first glance, it seemed as if he were wishing me luck with the upcoming battle, but a part of his statement stuck in my mind.
No matter what happens on Caelum.
What in the world did that mean? Did he mean whether we won or lost? Or was it something else?

“This sounds suspiciously like a permanent goodbye.” I stated.

He stared at his shoes for a long time before answering. “It is.”

“Why?” I asked with a mixture of shock and concern.

“The Timeless have always kept a low profile. Before this conflict, we prided ourselves on remaining somewhat anonymous while we pursued our various interests. We will need to pick up the pieces, mourn the loss of Scribe, and move on.”

Anger began to creep into my voice. “So what about me? What the hell am I supposed to do when this is over? My planet is gone, my family is gone…hell, most of my friends are gone!”

Grillick held up his hands in an effort to calm me. “I completely understand your concern.” He sighed. “I probably shouldn't have come here, but you hold a special place in my heart, Nathan. You have been through a lot and endured so much.”

“Now you are just patronizing me,” I snapped.

Grillick's expression hardened. “I am not here to guide you through life like some kind of life coach. You will need to make your own decisions and live your own life.”

I felt a little embarrassed by my outburst. Grillick wasn't my father and I should not have treated him as such. I should have realized The Timeless would move on after this war was over. It wasn't as if they had a personal interest in running the Consortium or anything. They just wanted to maintain balance in the universe.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap, but the stress of everything is testing my limits.” I moved toward the door. “Shouldn't we be joining Sam or something? I want to be there when he returns so I can…,” I tossed Grillick a sour look before continuing, “you know…so I'm there at the end of the battle, when nothing of importance is going on.”

“Humans are one of the most frustrating species in the universe to deal with,” he grumbled. “When you get to Caelum, be sure you wield your banner of exasperation on behalf of your kind.”

I smiled despite everything that had just transpired. “Thanks Grandpa, I will be sure to do that.”

A smile poked out from the edge of his beard. “Come on, let's go.”

*

I noticed we had landed on the same field as last time, not far from Quark Mountain. That was not the name for the mountains, but the true name was totally unpronounceable so I just made something up. Urlan, leader of the Quark, stood near the landing area with a small contingency ready to greet us. The cargo bay was crowded with Mortem, twenty of his soldiers, Sam, Ibune, Grillick and Embeth. The smell inside the room reminded me of rotting cabbage. With the exception of Mortem, the others kept their distance from his minions. I looked on with horror when I noticed Bella standing in the corner. With the exception of her red eyes and the gaping wound in her chest, she appeared almost…
alive
. Mortem smiled when he observed my revulsion.

We exited the cargo bay where I noticed Urlan and his people standing further from the landing area than what would be considered a normal reception. I knew the Quark were distrustful of technology, but they had been aboard our ships before and should have been used to seeing them. That was when I noticed several of them looking suspiciously toward a circular object floating in the middle of the nearby field. The circle was filled with a shimmering light which looked eerily like water. It was as if someone turned a pool sideways and left it floating in midair. The waves ebbed and flowed in such a way it was almost hypnotic. The longer I stared at it, the more I found myself mesmerized by it. Sam came up to me with an almost apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry Nathan, I heard the news,” Sam said as he struggled with a grenade belt, which hung loosely across his chest. “I will be back as soon as I can to get you.”

I frowned and motioned toward the belt. “Is that really necessary?”

Sam fastened it and shrugged. “I like to err on the side of caution. We have a scout ship in GX-100 monitoring the situation on the ground on Caelum. So far, everything seems to be normal, but we won't know until we get boots on the ground what the actual situation is.”

I cast a sideways glance at Mortem's army. “Good luck with that.”

Sam glanced over at them and curled his lips into a humorless smile. “They aren't the prettiest bunch, but they will be effective.”

“Let's hope.”

Sam chuckled. “Yeah right,” he replied before turning his attention toward Mortem. “Ok, this is how we are going to do this. We will link up by holding hands and daisy chain our way through. I will go in first, followed by Ibune then Embeth and Mortem. This way Mortem will lead his people through, because frankly, I won't touch any of them with a forty foot cattle prod.” He looked at each of them. “Are you ready?”

They all nodded their affirmation and linked hands. Mortem's soldiers did so in such a slow and lethargic way that I questioned if they would be effective in battle until I remembered the way they handled themselves. They would be fine.

Embeth was armed with a rifle strapped across his chest and several frag grenades. Ibune had something resembling golden brass knuckles strapped to her waist. Mortem carried an odd staff, with a pumpkin-shaped object at the tip, that dangled loosely by a slim chain, which glowed with an eerie orange light. He placed it into a harness on his back before grabbing the hand of one of his soldiers.

“This has to be the world's worst conga line,” I remarked.

Sam chuckled and stuck up two fingers in a V gesture. “Peace out man!” After pushing a button on the Oculus, he looked back at us one last time. “I will be back as soon as I can.”

With those words, he stepped through the shimmering water circle, followed by his conga line of followers. Once the last of Mortem's minions shambled through the portal, everything fell quiet. Urlan and his people remained cautiously away from the circle, for fear it might suck them through into the nethervoid. Urlan's steely gaze was fixed to the circle as if he prepared to flee from it at any minute.

Cantrell and Hiro emerged from the ship and wandered over to where Grillick and I stood. They were both armed for battle and carried their helmets under their arms. Hiro stood next to us, as Cantrell moved toward the watery portal and examined it.

“Interesting,” he grumbled.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He turned to me before donning his helmet. “If we are gonna go with you, I'd at least like to know more about this wormhole thing of yours.” He grabbed the helmet with both hands and adjusted it so it fit snugly. “The last thing I need is to come out the other side and my head is where my ass used to be, or vice versa.”

“Sometimes I wonder if that isn't already the case,” remarked Hiro. “Have you heard some of the crap that comes out of your mouth?”

“You just shut your hole,” Cantrell snapped. “You're lucky I even agreed to bring you in on this little expedition.”

“Oh yeah, I'm lucky.” Hiro rolled his eyes and shoved his helmet on.

“Wait a minute, what are you two babbling about?” I asked.

“Oh Sam didn't tell you?” Cantrell commented sarcastically. “When he comes back to pick you up, we are tagging along as your personal bodyguards.”

“I don't need any bodyguards. I can take care of myself.”

Cantrell shrugged. “Maybe you can, maybe you can't. It doesn't matter though 'cuz we are still coming along.”

Before I could respond, a loud humming came from the portal. It was as if the largest bee in the universe was trying to shove its way through. Urlan and his men took to the sky in an effort to get further away from it. Cantrell jumped back and grabbed his rifle, while Hiro grabbed his, and took a defensive stance beside him.

“Oh my,” Grillick squeaked as a shadow emerged within the watery portal. Something or someone was about to step through.

My hand fell to the butt of my weapon. I breathed a sigh of relief when Sam stepped through. He tripped on his way out and fell to the ground, out of breath, with a harried expression on his face and my relief vanished. I rushed to his side and helped him to his feet. As he dusted himself off, I saw the blood on his face.

His cheeks flushed a deep scarlet as he struggled to catch his breath. For a moment, my concern was in the fact he would start hyperventilating at any moment. “Sam, are you okay?”

He waved me off. “Ambush…,” he said and sucked in a breath. “Calypso was waiting for us.”

“That's impossible,” blurted Cantrell. “How the hell did he know?”

“What is the situation?” Grillick asked, his face a grim mask of concern.

“The situation is this: Get your shit and get ready, we are going now,” Sam growled. “Even though they were waiting, they were not expecting Mortem's forces. Ibune and Embeth have taken the lead and are holding them off for now.”