Savior Part 3: Legion of The Godhand (The Savior Series) Page 14

  “Somebody’s been spending way too much time around our friendly neighborhood gunslinger,” I chuckled.

  “Yeah, Charlie’s kinda growing on me. No doubt about that,” Jason admitted.

  “Can’t say the same about Tango though, right?” I asked.

  “Well… he is useful, I guess,” Jason replied, obviously choosing his words carefully.

  “Useful?” I repeated as I tried in vain to hold back laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” Jason asked as I started the sequence of closing his cybernetic arm.

  “You don’t think that’s a bit of an understatement?” I asked as I fastened the final bolt and patted him on the shoulder to signal that I had completed the repairs on his arm.

  “What do you mean? I said he’s useful, which he is. I don’t really see an issue with that,” Jason responded as he rotated his prosthetic right arm to test out his range of motion.

  “The problem lies in the fact that you can’t admit just how vital Tango is to this operation. And the reason why is because of the animosity that the two of you obviously still have for each other. Despite how you may feel about him, Ace, you have to understand that we need him. He’s the only person who scored high enough in the flight simulator to actually pilot an Anokian ship and he’s also arguably the best hand to hand combatant on our entire team— possibly in the entire world,” I said.

  “I’d beg to differ,” Jason scoffed as he continued to test out his newly repaired right arm.

  “Give me a break, okay? I said arguably. The only thing I’m trying to say is that you are both phenomenal fighters and I prefer it when you’re fighting together instead of being at each other’s throats. And besides, you made one hell of a team. Even you have to admit that,” I responded.

  “Yeah, I know, bro— and I know I’ve been a bit testy since we lost Reaper but I’ll be fine, man. You don’t have to worry about me,” Jason said.

  “I hope so,” I replied as I packed my tools into a small black bag.

  “So what about you? How are you doing?” Jason asked with an odd shift of seriousness in his voice.

  “I’m fine. Why do you ask?” I asked without looking him in the eyes.

  “Well, I couldn’t help but notice that my key card had been used to access Nina’s cell a few more times. Funny thing is, I still have my key card,” Jason said.

  “Yes, Jason,” I sighed. “I rigged the swiper and used it to clone your key card when you took me to see Nina the other day. Big deal? I just— I like her okay? And I just wanted to be able to see her without having to drag you there every time,” I lied. Of course I wasn’t lying about my affections for Nina but I was certainly lying about the real reasons for my visits to her cell. A nervous feeling churned in the pit of my stomach as Jason narrowed his eyes and stared at me for a few moments, but I breathed an internal sigh of relief when he finally sighed and shook his head instead of threatening to report me to Director Wells. That’s how I knew he didn’t know the whole story— because if he did, he certainly wouldn’t have let it go so easily. So far I had managed to successfully keep him in the dark about my true intentions, but little did he know that I was still actively plotting to kill the Director.

  “I’m just making sure we’re still good, bro,” Jason finally said as I zipped up my bag of tools.

  “Never better,” I lied as I picked up the bag and headed towards the exit.

  16. DEATHBED

  THE GREATER:

  I WAS WEARING A BLACK AND GREY STANDARD ISSUE SERVICE uniform as I sat within my empty cell and watched curiously as a dark-haired Anokian doctor and two Knights entered the detention unit carrying a pair of hand cuffs. I had gotten word via the intercom in my cell that The Supernal had sent for me and I was troubled by the disturbing look on the doctor’s face as one of the Knights deactivated the transparent barrier to my cell.

  “My apologies for the intrusion, Sir, but The Knight Commander has requested your presence,” the other Knight said as I stared at them from my uncomfortable prison bed.

  “And why does she require my presence?” I asked as I stood and walked over to them with my arms outstretched so that they could apply the handcuffs.

  “There was— there was an incident. She’s not well, Sir. We really should hurry,” the dark-haired doctor responded.

  “What do you mean she’s not well? Where is she? What happened?!” I demanded as I snatched my hands away before the Knights could place me in the handcuffs.

  “The Knight Commanders led a small team down to the human planet to retrieve the Equillian antimatter bomb from your father’s human allies, but unfortunately they walked right into a trap. The Redeemer and the other’s managed to escape unharmed; however, The Supernal sustained a mortal wound to her neck during the battle,” one of the Knights closest to me remarked.

  “Impossible! No human could wound her!” I scoffed.

  “The humans have a weapon… a blade that was forged from a shard of your father’s sword— and it would seem as though this weapon carries the same blessing that our Goddess bestowed upon The Fifth Blade,” The Knight replied.

  “What about the medical chambers? Can we not use them to heal her?” I asked as I frantically turned back to the doctor.

  “Our facilities are able to regenerate damaged tissue and bone under normal circumstances, Sir, however there is not much we can do in this situation. The accursed blade that was used against her will not allow the wound in her neck to heal. We’ve done all we can for her but I fear that she will soon—”

  “No, don’t you even think about saying that! Don’t you dare give up on her!” I barked, causing the doctor to cower in fear. “Take me to her, now!” I growled as I glanced toward the Knights.

  “Right this way, Sir,” the Knight closest to me said as they hurriedly led me out of the brig.

  I COULD HARDLY BREATHE BY THE TIME WE FINALLY MADE it to the Pillar’s medical chambers, but my shortness of breath was not due to exhaustion but rather the unbearable anxiety brought on by not knowing if she would even be alive by the time that I made it to her.

  My jaw quivered with anger and grief as I walked into her room and saw her lying motionless and staring up at the ceiling above her. She was positioned on her back in a sophisticated pod-like bed that was connected to countless machines that beeped and chirped away as the crowd of present medical staffers dressed in pale grey uniforms tried desperately to keep her alive for whatever amount of time that she had left. Jonas, The Redeemer was still wearing his combat armor minus his helmet as he stood near the foot of her bed and stared down at her in sorrow. Tears glistened in his deep brown eyes as I hurried over to join him at The Supernal’s bedside. Despite The Supernal’s critical condition I couldn’t help but breathe a small sigh of relief once I realized that she was still breathing.

  “Hello, Darius,” she whispered inside my head as I stopped next to the head of her bed and gazed down at her.

  Her body was mostly stiff but her hands continued to tremble as she struggled to keep the wound in her neck closed with her telekinesis. This task was taking up so much of her energy that she was forced to use her telepathy to communicate with me instead of speaking aloud.

  “Hey, doll,” I said as I gazed into her eyes. By then they were bloodshot and filled with worry, but they were still hers and thus they were no less beautiful.

  “You came,” she whispered within my mind as she tried to force a smile.

  “Of course I did. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Now tell me who did this to you, Lemore. Tell me and I swear I’ll make them pay,” I said firmly.

  “Leave… us,” The Supernal choked out as the rest of the room watched on in silence.

  “We’ll be right outside,” The Redeemer confirmed as he pushed his long black hair out of his face then turned and led the others toward the exits.

  “You must not seek to avenge my death,” The Supernal replied within my mind as the last medical staffer left the room. “Noth
ing good will come of it. You must instead focus your efforts on leading our people. You are the one who we were meant to follow. Not Cyrus… and not your father. You’re the only one who can save us,” she replied.

  “I don’t care about that right now, Lemore! The only thing I care about is you. The only person I want to save is you!” I protested.

  “It’s over for me, Darius. Surely you must see that,” she said solemnly.

  “No! I won’t accept that. I can’t accept that! I am the son of a Goddess! The son of Eden, herself— and I will do everything within my power to save you, Lemore,” I insisted.

  “But I am beyond saving, Love,” she replied.

  “Then why would you bring me here, if not to save you, Lemore?!” I asked as a sharp pain tightened in my chest.

  “To tell you the truth before I go. You deserve to know, Darius… and I should have told you a long time ago,” she said.

  “What are you talking about, Lemore?” I asked, confused by her reply.

  “I’m not her, Darius. I am not Lemore,” she said.

  “Wh— what are you saying?” I asked as my eyes widened with surprise.

  “My sister and I traded places… in order for me to make the journey to Earth. I needed to find you… needed to make sure that you knew the truth,” she replied.

  “Lenore?! You— if you’re The Infernal then where is Lemore?” I asked as I took a small step back.

  “The Supernal stayed behind on one of the colonies in order to look after our son. She’s—”

  “If this is another one of your tricks…” I growled but I trailed off into silence and forced myself to calm down as I remembered that she was possibly seconds away from death.

  “We were so young back then, Darius,” The Infernal said, ignoring my ominous warning. “So young and… full of life. I always wonder how our lives would have played out if things had happened differently between us.”

  Still confused I watched as Lenore paused and struggled to take a deep breath and a wave of anguish and helplessness washed over me as her already bloodshot eyes became cloudy with tears.

  “It was I who you met that night in the palace, Darius, not my sister. You and I did not exchange names when we first met, therefore you couldn’t have known it was me. I had every intention of meeting up with you again but after your father took my father’s life I swore I’d never speak to you again. Lemore cried herself to sleep almost every night after my father lost the Crown— never able to forget the haunting memories of The Righteous beheading our father in front of us… I grew tired of watching her misery and I began to fear that she would soon take her own life due to her despair… so I used my powers to access her consciousness while she slept. Once inside, I purged her mind of everything that we had witnessed in that entire month. When you ran into her during our Ascension to Knighthood it was only natural that you would assume that she was me because not only do we look exactly alike but you still had no idea of what my name was. Lemore had come to believe that she had repressed the memories of the days that led up to our father’s death, therefore when you told her of our meeting she simply assumed that she had repressed that memory as well. I still hated you because of what had happened to our father, but my sister had no memory of his death and thus she was much more forgiving. I should have told you both from the beginning but I was far too consumed by my hatred for your father to listen to my conscious. That is why I allowed you to fall for her instead of me— I wanted to use your love for Lemore as a means to inflict upon you the same pain that I felt when our father was taken from us. And that is why I made it my mission to destroy your relationship… But I know now that I was a fool, Darius… foolish enough to think that vengeance would bring me solace and too much of a fool to realize that I still loved you.”

  I opened my mouth to respond once she finished but my head was spinning so fast that I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. I didn’t want to believe a single word of what she had said but in my heart of hearts somehow I knew that she was telling the truth. After all, what good would it have done her to lie about something that big when she was moments away from death?

  “No, you don’t get to love me. Not after what you’ve done,” I said through gritted teeth as I finally gathered enough resolve to respond to her.

  “There’s nothing I can do to make up for what I’ve—”

  “You’re damn right about that, Lenore! And to be honest, I don’t even know why you brought me here. As if I didn’t already hate you enough!” I snapped.

  “Still pretending as if you don’t love me, I see,” she replied.

  “You are nothing to me!” I shot back, but I regretted the remark as quickly as I said it. As much as I hated to admit it, she was absolutely right, and though I wanted more than anything to somehow force myself to hate her, the realization that she was the one whom I had met in the First Palace that night melted away every spec of distain that I had ever developed for her. And in a way I suddenly realized that a part of me always knew.

  “Your thoughts betray you, Son of Eden,” she whispered inside my mind as I stared into her shimmering eyes.

  “Why would you tell me this now, Lenore?! How could you wait until you were on the brink of death to tell this to me?!” I demanded as my eyes became heavy with tears.

  “I… don’t know why I waited, Darius, but I wanted you to know before the end. I am sorry if you think I’m selfish,” she choked out as tears streamed from her reddened eyes. “I don’t have much time left—”

  “No, don’t say that! We can fight this, Lenore! We can figure out a way to save you!” I pleaded as her hands began to tremble more intensely.

  “My time has come, Darius, of that much I am certain. You must focus your efforts on the salvation of our people because The Godhand’s plan to seize this world will not succeed. Despite their primitive ways, the humans are surprisingly resilient and I have no doubt that they would see us all destroyed before they give up defending their home. We must follow their example, Darius. You must lead the people back to Eden and take back that which was stolen from us.”

  “But the Knights no longer answer to us,” I said.

  “Then… make… them,” The Infernal said aloud as her hands trembled even faster than before. “The Redeemer has secured your father’s sword. Use my passing as an opportunity to slip away and free The Righteous. The two of you should find The Godhand in the First Quadrant’s Sanctuary. You know what you have to do,” she whispered inside my mind just before her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

  “No, Lenore,” I cried out as blood suddenly poured from beneath the bandages around her neck. “Get in here! Get in here now!” I yelled to the doctors and the medical staffers waiting just outside the room. I could feel my pulse throbbing in my temples as the entire medical staff flooded the room in a desperate attempt to revive her.

  “I need you to stand back, Sir!” one of the doctors ordered as he quickly maneuvered his way between me and The Infernal, who’s entire body had begun to seize.

  “No! No, don’t do this to her!” I shouted to my mother, The Goddess. “You have the power to save her! You’re the only one who can close the wound!” I continued as the doctors tried in vain to stop the bleeding. My fists trembled with rage as more and more blood poured out of the wound in her neck and my heart skipped a beat as I suddenly caught sight of The Redeemer standing a few feet away from me, watching the commotion unfold. “Where is it? Where is my father’s blade?” I demanded as I approached him and clenched my fists

  “You must go now,” The Redeemer said as he withdrew The Fifth Blade from inside his black cloak. “Free your father and confront The Godhand before it’s too late.”

  “No, I will not leave until she’s safe,” I insisted as I snatched the gleaming sword and turned the blade toward my torso.

  “What are you doing, Darius?! This is madness!” The Redeemer protested as I prepared to plunge the enchanted blade into my gut and end my life. />
  “You will not take her from me! If you don’t save her then I will end it all, right now!” I yelled, hoping the Goddess was listening.

  A geyser of blood suddenly burst out of the accursed wound in The Infernal’s neck and her entire body began to violently shake.

  “Oh, is that how you want to play this?!” I yelled as I pulled the sword above my head.

  “No, Darius!” The Redeemer yelled as he zoomed over and grabbed my wrists.

  “Release me, you fool!” I growled as I back hand slapped him to the floor just as The Infernal’s heartrate monitor started to wail, indicating that she had died.

  The holy fire within me burned brightly with rage as I gripped The Fifth Blade with both hands while the doctors tried in vain to resuscitate her.

  “Goodbye, Love,” I whispered as I closed my eyes and drove the shimmering blade toward my gut. I clenched my teeth and waited to feel the pain of the blade plunging into my flesh but instead I suddenly felt the grip of two powerful hands wrapping around my wrists and pushing against my sword thrust.

  “She lives, Darius!” The Redeemer yelled as he pushed against my wrists with all his might, stopping my father’s blade inches away from my stomach.

  “Impossible!” I gasped as I opened my eyes and looked over to The Infernal’s monitors. For a second I thought The Redeemer had deceived me, but my heart nearly leapt from my chest as I realized that Lenore’s heartbeat had indeed returned.

  “It’s a miracle! Nothing short of a miracle! The wound just suddenly closed on its own,” one of the doctors said in amazement as the other staffers worked to clean up the blood and make her comfortable.

  “You did it,” The Redeemer said as the two of us locked gazes.

  “No, She did,” I answered as I finally relaxed my arms.

  The Redeemer released my wrists and I let my arms fall to my sides as I glanced over at Lenore once again. I had no idea of where things would stand between us whenever she managed to regain consciousness but for the moment I couldn’t be happier to know that she had survived. I didn’t know whether or not to be thankful for my mother’s intervention, and to be honest, a part of me wondered if it was actually Her who had saved Lenore. Like my father, I had prayed to Her constantly since the start of The Great War but nearly all of my requests went unanswered.