Chapter 128
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight
Sometime after taking the ramp down, Connor’s armor lights winked to life. They were feeble pinpricks at first, then they grew brighter. The same happened with Elise’s—Martienne’s—armor.
The archaeologist didn’t seem surprised. “The influence of this imprisoned thing can be insidious.”
Insidious…like the pocket of heat it had created in the area where they’d found the alien jailers’ hidden chamber.
That heat was gone now that the two of them were protected by the sled.
Outside the sled’s protective golden bubble, another avenue sped past in a blur. Only the alien machine’s subtle hum lingered.
He held out his hand. “Could I see the Asp?”
Elise blinked and looked around, confused. “I’d forgotten I even had it.”
Connor hefted the weapon, turning it over and checking the sophisticated mechanisms with care. After all it’d been through, he could still smell traces of the cleaning oil and the gunpowder residue. “The power has limits.”
“What?”
“We’d all be dead if it could do whatever it wanted.” Connor thought back to the giant bugs tearing Martienne in half, and the bitter bile rose into his mouth again.
“I suppose so. Its greatest influence seems to be on the mind.”
“But it—or Selen… Which one is in control? Is it Selen doing its bidding, or is she actually operating independently?”
“Corruption can twist people.”
“So you think she’s been in control all this time?”
“It’s possible. It’s also possible she’s completely gone, and this is all the work of that thing.”
“Well, whichever one is doing this, they’ve thrown these monstrous creations at us, and they’ve caused things to fail, but they’ve never done the simple thing that could have killed everyone: foul all our weapons at once.”
The sled dropped down a ramp again, then sped up.
Connor looked around. “This seems narrower, doesn’t it?”
She glanced up. “And lower.”
Indeed, the ceiling was actually visible in the glow coming off the sled.
They slowed. Ahead, at the very edge of the glow, another ramp came into view.
This time, the sled stopped.
Elise sighed. “I guess we’ve arrived.”
Connor handed the Asp back to her. “Keep it.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve got a pistol. I prefer to work with my hands, though.”
The archaeologist climbed out and brought the machine gun up, sighting down the ramp at an imaginary target. “Will I be able to control it?”
“Short bursts. Brace it against your shoulder. Plant your feet and expect the recoil. You’ll be fine.”
She lowered the gun. “Was there a point to your question about control?”
“About whether or not Selen was behind all of this?” He tested the ramp with one foot—first applying weight, then stomping. “Another way they could have killed us by now.”
He took the lead. Behind him, Elise scraped along, as if lost in thought.
About halfway down the ramp, Connor realized it was growing colder. The last sweat on his arms left him shivering.
The archaeologist exhaled loudly.
When he turned around, he saw that she was blowing into her cupped hands.
She frowned. “Sorry.”
“No. I feel it, too. The temperature drop…is that normal, or are the systems down here going haywire?”
“I haven’t a clue. Obviously, their technology has its limits.”
“But Selen’s down here.”
“I haven’t yet convinced myself that she’s the threat. If—” Elise stopped with a grunt and doubled over.
When she straightened, blood trickled from a nostril.
Connor held a hand out. “You all right?”
“I think so.” She wiped the blood from her face, then leaned her head back. “Let’s just be a little more cautious as we proceed.”
At the base of the ramp, there was an archway with symbols, just like the first one they’d found.
The stench of sulfur and ruptured guts boiled from the opening.
Elise gagged. “Something’s changed.”
“It’s Selen. She’s getting closer to the source of her power.” The amulet was a constant, comforting heat against Connor’s chest. “We need to get in there.”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
But even though the archaeologist did file in behind him, there was an unsteadiness to her gait. When Connor looked back, her head was on a swivel—constantly jerking left and right and to the ceiling.
This place was getting to her. It was getting to him, too.
After several meters, Connor’s armor lights revealed two forks splitting off from the main passageway.
Irritation bubbled up, and he gritted his teeth. “Who does this? I mean, why bother?”
Elise took a cautious step past him. “It would seem to be a continuation of the design. Everything seems structured around confusing the prisoner through physical means.”
“I know.” The annoyance passed. “I think it’s getting into my head.”
“We are closer to it now.” She drifted to the right. “Maybe this path?”
“No.” The amulet grew warmer. “Let’s take the left.”
“You’re sure?”
He pressed a hand against his chest. “It…feels like the way to go.”
“From that jeweled relic your girlfriend gave you?”
“Yes.”
“And I felt compelled to go in the opposite direction.” Elise pinched her nose. The blood wasn’t flowing anymore. She smeared the last of it on her coverall pants leg. “I doubt this thing can influence that piece of jewelry.”
Connor let her take the lead. As they proceeded down the passageway, the sensation that he was moving in the right direction grew stronger, but so did his concern that the thing was influencing him.
He wanted to trust Toshiko, to believe that what she’d done was pure, and that their bond was something special.
But this thing, the way it could push itself into the real world from its prison…
…the ways it could influence the mind…
No. Toshiko was too strong to ever succumb to even an ancient alien power.
Elise gasped. “Up ahead! You see that? On the left?”
“Light.” Connor hurried past her and drew one of his swords. “Stay here.”
He padded forward as quietly as he could, straining for any hint of sound.
Then he heard it: voices.
The Moon twins.
Connor stopped at the doorway where the light was coming from and peeked inside.
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