The Survivors | Book 14 | The Deities Page 3

  “You come with me to help destroy Lom of Pleva. Then what?”

  “I doubt I’ll have that option,” he said from the other room.

  “Why?” And it hit her. “You don’t expect to survive this, do you?”

  The door opened, and he stood shakily, tired and older-looking than yesterday. “I don’t.”

  She thought about the fact that she was the second name on the spreadsheet, and she recalled the name. “Who is Carolyn Lauder?”

  His lips pressed in a firm line. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “She had the most videos. Why are you watching her?” Jules asked.

  “She’s dangerous,” he said.

  “Then why haven’t I heard of her?”

  “Because she’s not anyone you’d encounter in this timeline.” Dean changed his shirt, sliding a thick wool sweater over a dirty tank top.

  “You’re saying she’s bad in your own timeline, and you want to know… what… if we can be different people in different dimensions?” she asked, disturbed by the insinuation. Could Jules Parker be evil somewhere else?

  “Something like that. As I said, drop it,” he ordered, and she found herself relinquishing to his fatherly command.

  “Today’s the day,” she said, changing the topic. “What’s the plan? Find Vitair, drag your body in?”

  “If I’m going to die, do you mind if I have a last meal first?” He grinned, and she had to smile in return.

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Plus, Jules was anxious to leave this disgusting hotel room for good.

  Ten minutes later, they were across Udoon Station, settling for a cozy restaurant near the bazaar. She’d heard of this section before, a place for sellers to showcase their wares to the strange mix of patrons at Udoon. Most people came for the drink, drugs, and gambling, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some half-decent dining establishments. She remembered Papa comparing it to a poor man’s Las Vegas. She’d only seen pictures but understood the sentiment.

  “It’s a quiet place,” he said, walking past the host robot to a table near the kitchen. He kicked out the chair opposite him, indicating that she sit, and Jules was happy to have her back to the wall, leaving Dean exposed rather than her.

  “So how do we reach him?” Dean asked, taking a quick peek at the menu screen. He tapped his order in, and she did the same, finding some Keppe breakfast items as options.

  The coffee-like beverage that came was almost like the stuff Papa made, but thicker, with a harsher aftertaste. “We infiltrated PlevaCorp, and Lom had an executive named Katherine.”

  “Sure. I know of her.” Of course he did.

  “She gave me the means to contact Vitair, which I did, pretending to be her. I assured him that Jules Parker was coming. It sounded like he would find me when the time was right.” The food came quickly, and Jules ate despite the nerves crawling through her stomach. There was no guarantee of when the next opportunity to eat would come.

  “Then we’ll eat, and you’ll do what you have to do. Vitair is watching. I don’t think he’s made us, which is a good thing, since I’m supposed to be dead.” Dean wore his collar high, a knitted cap over his hair, but his hood remained at his shoulders.

  Jules poked at the food after the first few bites settled uneasily, and drank another cup of the steaming beverage. Dean appeared to have no problem eating, and he packed away twice was much food as her. He ate protectively, one arm around his plate like someone might sneak up behind him and snatch it without his permission.

  He’d lived a difficult life; that much was obvious. Her heart ached for him. He’d been with Mary before the timeline split, and then Jules had been born, but they’d left him before eventually dying.

  That explained why he was so different than her father.

  “How are we going to sneak your Delineator in?” she asked after a clunky robot cleared their dishes.

  “You’ll bring it.”

  “They’ll search me, right?” She didn’t love the idea of handing over the only tool that could return them home. If Lom had such a device, he’d have used it himself.

  “They will. But I have another trick.” Dean rose, exiting the diner. He glanced around, the halls far less busy than the day before, at this early hour. Most of the patrons of Udoon Station were likely sleeping off whatever festivities they partook in last night. Dean opened his jacket, pulling at something with his hand. He stretched his arm out when no one was near them, but there was nothing in his grip. “Take it.”

  She held her palm out, and he set something invisible on it.

  “I can’t hide it any better. It’s still there, but Vitair won’t be able to see it,” Dean told her.

  “How?”

  “It’s a bag that cloaks it,” Dean said.

  “Fontem?”

  He shook his head. “Not this time. I found it. Had to work the Inlorian mines for six months to afford it.”

  Inlorian mines? She had a million questions for him, but now wasn’t the time. “What do we do?”

  She would have been happy searching for Lom solo, but with this strange version of Dean Parker beside her, she constantly felt the urge to ask for directions. It was an irritating habit.

  “I’ll be in the room with the ring on. They’ll come for me once you tell them where I am. Hopefully, they won’t catch on that I’m not your Dean Parker,” he said.

  “Okay. I’ll wait ten minutes to show myself in the promenade to give you time to set up. Do you need any help?”

  He shook his head and started to walk away, stopping after a few steps. “I’m…”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m proud of you. It’s probably weird coming from a stranger, but I’ve been keeping tabs on you for a long time. I’ve seen some of the miraculous things you’ve accomplished, and you’re one amazing kid. If this doesn’t work, keep fighting. Get to Lom. Kill him.” His voice was low, his eyes squinting.

  “I will.”

  “And her. If you make it home, end Carolyn Lauder.”

  Jules paused at the comment. “Is it that important?”

  “It is,” Dean said.

  “Then I’ll do it,” she promised him, hoping it didn’t return to haunt her.

  And with that, the other Dean strode off quickly.

  Jules considered finding a communicator to send her parents a message, signaling that she was safe and that she loved them. But that could be tracked and likely would be. She hoped they weren’t too upset with her. If she knew Papa, and she did, he would be up in arms. Her mother, the more practical one, would be calming him, telling him that Jules would be okay. She already missed the young man in her life. He’d been through so much lately, and it was her turn to abandon him. He’d forgive her. He had to. Eventually.

  She slowly walked to the entrance of Udoon Station, where the most foot traffic was centered, and slid the hood off her head when she was confident her ally would be in his room, playing dead. The weight of the Delineator sat in her breast pocket, tucked away and invisible.

  A pair of huge Keppe soldiers walked by her, talking in hushed tones, and she steered clear of a Kraski. Despite the fact that they had no home to speak of and no real resources, she still felt wary every time she saw one of the Kraski. Papa didn’t trust them, and neither did she.

  A giant slug slid past, leaving a streak of viscous gray slime behind it, and Jules stepped over the streak, narrowly avoiding slipping on it.

  Despite the fact she was a Deity, she felt like a normal girl. Her nature had been shrouded in so many layers over the years, starting with the Iskios. Had the Deities foreseen that event happening? Had they allowed the Theos and Iskios to battle in preparation for Jules’ arrival thousands of years later? The Deity on Desolate hadn’t been very forthcoming with information, and her gut told her these gods would say anything to convince her to free them. According to them, she was their only hope at liberty, and she had promised to do just that.

  When it was over
, she wondered if she could ask to be freed from their powers. Could Jules Parker go on as a typical girl, with regular problems? At this moment, when she needed every ounce of strength and courage, it didn’t feel like it.

  “Miss Parker.” The voice was deep and even. She spun around to see Vitair a couple of footsteps apart from her, his thick jaw clenched.

  “Vitair,” she whispered, wishing she’d spoken with more intensity.

  “I see you’ve made it to Udoon.” He didn’t advance, and she glanced around, spotting six of his companions circling her.

  “I have. It’s time to finish this,” she said, her chin up defiantly.

  “I’m afraid you will not be making the trip. We want Dean Parker, not his spawn,” Vitair said absently.

  She didn’t let the comment bother her. These were her enemies, and nothing they said would perturb her. “You’ll have no choice. My father is dead.”

  Vitair showed an emotional response at her words. “Is that so? I don’t believe you.”

  “No?”

  “No. Lom will need more proof than a little girl’s word.”

  “Then come with me.”

  “Where?”

  “I brought him along,” she told him resolutely.

  “What do you want?” he asked, grabbing her by the arm. His grip was firm, and it took all her strength not to use her powers to throttle him.

  “I want you to send me to Lom.”

  “You’d sacrifice yourself for the sake of your friends?”

  She nodded.

  “Fine. Show me the body.”

  Jules marched away, three of the guards walking in front, the other three behind. Vitair kept in step with her, and Jules hoped her partner in crime was good at playing dead.

  ____________

  I folded the once-white sheet over my body and lay quietly. The ring was the strangest thing. I must have been breathing, but no air passed through my lungs. I didn’t feel the compulsion to blink with the band on my finger, and my skin felt off, flaky.

  As much as I wanted this to work, part of me wished it would fail. That Vitair would find me out and end my pain. I was in over my head. I should never have spent so much time in this dimension. I had my own to worry about, but I continued to be drawn to this one, like a moth to a flame.

  Timelines were an interesting thing, and most people go on without ever realizing the multiverse exists. Mine was the same as Jules’ papa’s until he faced off with Mary on Sterona, infused with the power of the Theos.

  He won. I lost.

  My leg had been torn half off that day, and Mary had escaped with the Vortex—and my child.

  They wreaked havoc for another couple of years, but eventually, the Arnap found how to deal with them. The Arnap were dangerous in every timeline, as far as I could tell, but in mine, once Mary destroyed one of their hub systems, they couldn’t let the Vortex continue. They somehow managed to harness its power and killed Mary and Jules in the process.

  I pushed the memories from my mind. That had been a long time ago. Almost thirty years for me. Seeing Jules thriving in this dimension had saved my life.

  The door opened, and I stayed motionless, letting go of the control over my muscles. I needed to sell this. My eyes were closed, but I heard the heavy bootsteps enter the hotel room, and the raspy breathing of a henchman.

  “This is him?” a voice asked. It was Vitair.

  “That’s him.”

  “How did he die?” Lom’s ally asked.

  “We were confronted by a rogue Padlog group on Bazarn Five. They shot him up good, and the doctors did everything they could to save him, but it was too late,” Jules said with the right amount of emotion.

  I felt the sheet lift, the air blowing over my dead skin.

  “This can’t be him.”

  Someone poked me in the stomach, and I convinced myself not to react to the prodding.

  “What do you mean?” Jules asked.

  “This man looks too old,” Vitair said.

  “It’s him. Believe me. Check his DNA if you have to, I don’t care. Just send me on, and get this over with. I didn’t come to convince you of anything. I want Lom’s threats to end. His adversary is dead, and I’m offering myself as a replacement,” Jules told him.

  “It so happens I have a sample of Dean Parker’s DNA loaded into this device.” Vitair plucked a hair from my head, and I nearly winced at the jolt.

  The machine beeped, and I wished I could open my eyes to see his expression when the result came back positive. It chimed after a few seconds, and the man let out a deep breath. “I guess you aren’t lying. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  A moment of silence spread over the room, and Vitair spoke again. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m no animal. If Lom thought him a worthy opponent, then respect is due. I have to say, Lom will be disappointed.”

  My rotting stench was bad, and even I was growing sick of it. With any luck, this wouldn’t take much longer. “When do we go?” Jules asked.

  “We?”

  “We’re sending Papa through with me.”

  “Is that so?” Vitair asked. “And why would we do that?”

  “Do you really think Lom will believe you when you tell him Dean is dead? He’ll think it’s a trick. He’ll assume you’ve been bought off. He’ll have you killed,” Jules said.

  “And you think he has the power to communicate with anyone else on this plane, other than me?” Vitair’s voice was cocky, self-assured.

  “Do you want to take that risk? I have a feeling that Lom of Pleva doesn’t have one plan; he has a back-up for his back-up, right?” Jules was nailing the conversation, leading it in her direction. She was doing a great job.

  Vitair remained quiet for a moment. “Fine. Bring him to the office.” He said this louder, and I heard more feet shuffling into the cramped room. Rough hands grabbed at the sheet I was wrapped in, and soon I was tossed over someone’s wide shoulder. I stayed limp, my head bouncing off the guy as he walked with me draped over him.

  I risked opening my eyes a minute later, in time to see the hotel proprietor chasing after Vitair and Jules. He spoke in a rushed flurry of indistinguishable words, but Vitair seemed to understand the alien’s language.

  I worried the being had tipped our hand, telling Lom’s henchman that I was very much alive, but he slowed and caught the small credit stick that Vitair tossed his way. It disappeared into his hairy body somewhere, and I closed my eyes again, content our ruse hadn’t been discovered.

  We traveled through the station, and I listened to patrons muttering at the sight of seeing a dead man in a sheet being carried openly through the halls. Seeing dead people on Udoon Station wasn’t a rare enough sight to really upset anyone.

  I bumped into a door as the goon carrying me pushed into Vitair’s private offices, and once we were inside, he ordered the guards away.

  “You sure about that?” a woman asked. I couldn’t make her out, but the voice sounded Keppe.

  “It’s a girl and a dead guy. I’ll be fine,” Vitair said, and I was dropped to the floor. My head hit hard, causing light to dance behind my eyelids momentarily. Playing dead was more painful than being alive.

  The sheet was pulled from around me, tipping me over, and I rolled with it.

  “Take it easy with him,” Jules said.

  “It’s not like he can feel it,” Vitair told her.

  “He’s my father,” she told him firmly.

  “Enough of this. I’m sending word to Lom that you’re coming. With… that.”

  I flicked my eyes open, seeing we were in a round room with metallic walls lit up by soft lighting. The floor was a solid, reflective black surface, and I realized this was where he was going to send us to the future. A different time and place. Effectively a type of localized targeted wormhole, perhaps.

  “When will we go?” Jules asked.

  Vitair’s hand moved so quickly, I scarcely noticed it. One second it was empty; the next a narrow weapon sat in hi
s grip, aimed at Jules. “When you’re dead.”

  Three

  He was fast, but Jules was already on high alert. The gun didn’t worry her as much as what it meant. She didn’t know how to operate this machine without Vitair. She raised her hands in the air, feeling the comfort of her invisible shield rising. She was grateful she’d been taught how to keep it hidden, instead of a glowing green orb around her.

  “Why would you kill me?” she asked.

  “Lom is my benefactor, and he depends on me. Do you think I haven’t heard the stories about Jules Parker? You’ve been glorified around the universe for years. The brightest star at the Academy. A sixteen-year-old human Gatekeeper must be something special. Of course, I’ve never bought in on the whole ‘superpowers’ angle.

  “I’ve been around long enough to spot exaggeration when I hear it.” His aim didn’t waver, his thick eyebrows bending into deep upside-down Vs.

  “You’re right. I’m just a kid.”

  “I don’t believe that either, but you pose a threat to Lom, and for that reason, I’m sending you through dead. He’ll be upset he has no one to take his frustrations out on, but it’ll pass. Lom of Pleva is a passionate man, but what he doesn’t lack is common sense. He’ll be happy to see that you’re both gone, no longer a burden, and he’ll finally send for me.”

  “He’s not trying to return?” Jules asked as calmly as she could muster. This whole time, they’d assumed Lom truly wanted to merge the timelines. They’d destroyed the crystal world in an effort to prevent this, vanquishing it from every dimension.

  “Return? Here? He’s king where he is. They worship him. He’s in charge of everything and everyone. No, child. He’s not returning.” Vitair smiled as he said this, and Jules concentrated. Time slowed, and she saw his finger begin its depression on the trigger. She let him fire, the red pulse striking her shield. It ricocheted off the gunmetal walls and dissipated as it ran out of energy.

  “What’s this?” he asked, pulling the trigger again. This time, she stopped the beam by moving a finger, and Vitair was thrown to the wall. His feet lifted from the ground as she choked him with the air, shoving more into his open mouth.