Bloodlord (Soulguard Book 3) (12 page)

Chapter 22

              It had been three months since I had gotten back from my trip through the rabbit hole and I still hadn't heard from the other side of the gate. I was beginning to worry. What if they had been caught? What if the Kresh were slaughtering my people on Cerres?

              I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. I was out by the gate in the middle of the Dance of Blades. Otep was screaming in my ears and my rage was pouring out through my walls. I can bleed off a lot of rage while I practice but sometimes I get a little carried away.

              Arcs of power slammed outward from my swords as they blurred with speed. Power hammered the earth all around the spot where the gate had opened twice before. If I could have opened it from this side I would have just to get at them.

              I finally stopped and just stood there, staring into that spot. I looked down into the Source as I usually did while out here. I looked for some reason why it was this spot.

              Kil'Sin'Deres had said they didn't know how to set the Great Gates to a different location. I wondered if that was because there was something unique about the spot. But I still could find no discernable difference from any other spot I have looked at.

              Except, now, this spot was on fire.

              I felt Pelin approaching. I could feel the caution she was taking. The Shak'Tar understand my rage more than anyone. They share a piece of it, themselves. We all have the Kresh DNA in our blood. What they don't have is the ability to touch that Source and kick that DNA in the ass. It has already changed me more than a normal Bloodborn changes in a lifetime.

              "It's fine Pelin," I said, "My tantrum is done."

              "We worry about you, Master," she said, "The Blood affects you more than it does most of us."

              "I worry bout it too, Pelin," I said, "I just have to do the best I can until..."

              "Until what?"

              "Nevermind," I said, "It's just a pipe dream. What's goin on?"

              "We have a report from Hub," she said, "You have been worried of late and I thought you would like to know immediately."

              "Kil'Sin'Deres Marked both clans that you removed their Farrara'Ti. He has moved them into the Cerres Facility and the surrounding buildings."

              "Good," I said, "I'm glad he got out of the Earth Facility, or Doran, whichever you would rather call it."

              "He also moved his clans into Hub and took a second facility," she said, "He took Fuegass and the small clan that was holding it. Now he must remain quiet for a short time so as not to draw more attention to them."

              "I can see that," I said, "So we control the access to two other worlds, one of which, is controlled by my people."

              "They have sent emissaries from Cerres to Fuegass. They will not Mark any Humans but they will begin to unify the population of that colony. Be warned, some may request to be Marked after they find out the whole truth about what is happening. I know you don't want this but it is something we will have to deal with."

              "I understand," I said, "But I don't want anyone Marked until they have been given the knowledge to make that choice. I want them to see what freedom is before they just jump in with a new Master."

              "It will be done, Master."

              "Don't call me Master."

              "Yes, Master," she said with a grin.

              I just let out a long sigh that just caused a larger grin from Pelin.

              "Anything from the Prophet?" I asked.

              "The first groups of refugees he has pulled from the villages on Kresh have begun to arrive in Hub. They are beginning to funnel them into Cerres to keep them safe. After a time Fuegass will be available to them as well."

              "It seems your friend is wasting no time," she said, "He has a group of nearly five hundred men and women who have knotted their streams as your Soulguard. They work with the Prophet to protect their charges."

              "The man is dedicated," I said, "He sees people in need and he will help."

              "Some of his people have come to Cerres and begun training with your group, there. Once he found out they were there, he be began sending them to Keller for their training. It freed him up to find more people and get them out of harm's way."

              "How many Humans are on Kresh, I wonder."

              "Millions," she said, "Possibly, billions. Kresh is about the size of your world. But where yours is three quarters water, Kresh is three quarters land. There is a lot of space to fill."

              "Wow, it looks like Ric has a big job ahead of him."

              "Very big," she said.

              "I almost hate to ask, but has another Kresh taken up residence at the Doran facility?"

              "Yes," she said, "His name is Gal'Vor'Hadon and he is powerful. He has a large clan and he will use them. He has fewer of the Ma'Nar, but more of the lower classes than some of them. But his clans are closer to ideal to face what we have on Earth. He'll flood the world with sheer numbers."

              "If they're the lower classes, our troops have a better chance of facin em," I said, "I guess I need to spread the word about what to expect. Any guesses about when he'll come through?"

              "Kil'Sin'Deres says to expect attacks to begin within the next three months. It doesn't give us much time to ready our forces."

              "Better than the last time we had prior warning," I said, "Several days warning was all we got. We knew where it would be though. This time we have to wait."

              "This will be the last agent through the gate for a while. Are there any special messages you wish to send?"

              "Just what we've talked about," I said, "Tell them I am proud they are my clan and that I could ask for no better."

              "It will be done."

              As Pelin walked away, I thought of the short time we had left before the world would be under attack. So much to do and a small time to do it in. I would call Warren. We needed to speed up production of the Source Weapons.

              I looked at the spot where the Gate had been, as the fires I had started died off, and started back toward the base. I had to meet with Paige and Gregor, Marco and Polo, and tell Lyrica what was happening.

Chapter 23

              "Three months," Paige said, "That just sucks."

              "That it does," I said.

              "With no clue where the gate will open?" Gregor asked.

              "None," I said, "We know it won't be Romania. We doubt it will be here but we have to be prepared in case it is here. Frankly, there's not much we can do to prepare."

              "We'll warn everyone," Paige said, "We can tell them that the Kresh will be in high numbers, and that the lower forms are vulnerable to gunfire."

              "It's the best we can do," Gregor said, "Keep our forces on alert and be prepared to join the battle as soon as we find out where to go."

              "Now I'm headin over to see Marco and Polo," I said, "I'll let em know what's goin on."

              "Good," Paige said, "We'll start making calls and put the word out. I wish we had more time."

              "It wouldn't have mattered when they came," I said, "We would always wish for more time. Although, I wish we had more of the Source Weapons out there."

              "Very true," Gregor said.

              "Good luck with the politics," I said as I stood and left the room.

As I made my way toward Marco and Polo's offices, I heard a song. Someone was playing Lime in the Coconut loudly outside the new barracks for our support Mages.

              I saw the guy laying on a lounge chair designed from a shield outside the barracks with a drink in his hand.

              What caught my eye, more than anything else, was the spot the music was coming from. To the naked eye, it was coming from nowhere, but my Sight picked out the source of the music at once. The man had created speakers from a set of intricate shields.

              Just the focus necessary for something like that was ridiculous. I don't think I could do it with the ability to see what I was doing, much less with the limitations of a Mage.

              I cleared my throat and the Mage opened his eyes. He was on his feet, immediately.

              "Yes, Sir," he said, quickly.

              The music stopped.

              "What's your name?" I asked.

              "Jack, Sir."

              "Jack, that's the damnedest focus skills I've ever seen. How did you do that with shields?"

              "Um, I'm kinda good with engineering, Sir."

              "It's just Colin, Jack," I said, "If you can do that kind of detail with a speaker, I have a job for ya."

              "Whatever you need, Sir... Colin."

              "Come with me," I said, "I want you with Jacobs. What kind of engineering are you good with?"

              "Almost any kind," He said as he started regaining his composure, "I'm older than I look. I have degrees from twelve different colleges over the last sixty years."

              "Holy shit, where have you been all this time?" I asked, "You shoulda been busy for the last few years."

              "I've been in Japan for the last two years," he said, "I just got back to the States a month ago."

              "I can guarantee you'll be busy from here on out," I said, "Jacobs will appreciate a guy like you.

              "Uh... thanks."

              After I left him with a thoroughly pleased Jacobs, I headed back toward the offices I was previously aimed for. I might have uses for Jack the Engineer, myself. I would definitely get him in touch with Warren and see what he could do with enough money to back him. The outcome could be quite interesting.

              Marco and Polo were waiting in front of the building they held offices in.

              "Colin," Marco said, "I understand we have a time frame to work with?"

              "Vaguely," I said, "within three months is what Kil'Sin'Deres estimated. We know the guy is strong and has a lot of Kresh in his clans. It's gonna be ugly. He'll pour millions of his Kresh on us and try to take us with sheer numbers. One advantage we have is that most of his Kresh are of the lower classes. Bullets will work with the majority of the Kresh."

              "Still limited effect with the Soldiers, though," Polo said, "And it sounds like those will be plentiful as well."

              "True," I said, "There's really not goin to be an easy way to stop em, guys. It's gonna get bloody."

              "If they come out here we'll destroy em," Marco said, "It’s a pretty safe bet they won't come out here."

              "I don't expect em here, but I have to stay here so the lure is still here. It might be the only way we could coax em out here," I said, "I need to move to Edinburgh so I can respond quicker, but it would move the lure to a spot where we aren't ready."

              "We'll get with the President and see if we can start consolidating our forces in Europe at Edinburgh. We'll get them on high alert and ready. It's probably the best we can do. This Soulgunner Corps is growing and they're being incorporated in all the units we have."

              "It's a shame that only about a third of our troops have been able to use the Soulgun," Polo said, "It'll limit us but a third is better than none. We still have about twenty five thousand Soulgunners in the American forces. Nearly ten thousand of those are National Guard. I think we'll be sending at least half of those to Edinburgh, as well."

              "Those numbers seem to be carrying on through the other countries as well," I said, "Except, oddly, China. They have a nearly seventy percent success rate."

              "Is there anything that can explain why?" asked Polo.

              "Not that we can find," I said, "It just seems to work that way. Since the attacks, their army is probably the largest in the entire world. Maybe not the best trained, but the best armed for this war."

              "Warren has five plants working twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. He's signed some contracts to sub out the barrels to the Springfield Arms Company, too. They're taking over the replacement barrel operation. We receive finished barrels in a totally separate plant and our Soulguards are installin the shield lenses."

              "That’s impressive, considering it's only been a few months since you began." Marco said.

              "It's time sensitive and we're runnin out of time. Especially now. Warren has spent a shitload of money expanding the operation. I told him to keep it goin. I don't need the money, I just blow shit up."

              "That's what I hear," Polo said, "I understand you blew a few things up on your secret mission a few months ago. Someone told me you left a rather large piece of graffiti on the walls of Hub."

              "It seemed appropriate."

              "The operating term was 'secret mission'," he said, "It implies a mission that nobody knows happened."

              "They don't know anything about the mission," I said, "They just know I can reach them when I so choose and remove them from this mortal coil."

              "And where'd you get that particular phrase?"

              "I've been dying to use that in a sentence," I said.

              "I'd say so," Marco said, "It's a pretty good phrase."

              "I think so," I said, "It ranks up there with 'Woe is Me'. How often do ya get to hear that one used?"

              "By the way," Polo said, "Am I to understand that you signed a contract with certain Middle Eastern governments that we are on the verge of open war with for your weapons? This comes from the White House and they are not pleased."

              "They signed contracts," I said, "The Source Weapons will not be used on other Humans."

              "You know they can't be trusted," He said, "They'll follow the contract only as long as it suits them."

              "Don't worry," I said, "The contract will be enforced. They try to use the weapons on Humans, they'll lose the weapon."

              "I just don't see how you'll be able to enforce it."

              "It's enforced already, Seran," I said, "Just trust me."

              "I'm trying," he said, "All I see is stronger weapons in the hands of people who have sworn to destroy this country."

              "We have bigger fish to fry, now," I said, "Have a little faith in Humanity and let's just get ready for an Alien Apocalypse."

              I turned and headed toward home, "Now I gotta tell my lady about the impending Apocalypse, I'll see ya later. All I can say is just trust me."

              I could see the doubt in both men's auras, but they would understand soon enough. The Human race had to unite as a Race or we would die.

              As I approached, I could sense a disturbed Soul awaiting me.

"Can you explain this to me?" Lyrica asked as I walked into our quarters on base.

              She handed me an envelope. I opened it to find a check for a rather large amount.

              "I guess I forgot to tell ya about that," I said.

              "About the fact that I would receive a check for some ungodly amount of money. You knew about it?"

              "Frankly, I'm surprised you hadn't picked that particular memory to watch over the last few months. I guess I should tell you when you become a third owner in a company that is selling arms around the world."

              "But, why?" she asked, "I'm not doing anything for the company."

              "You've been working for no pay for the Soulguard for close to fifteen years, honey," I said, "Without the things you learned in that time and taught me, that company may well have never existed.

              "You work every day in the hospital in Wichita and never ask for a cent. They won't offer to pay you until you ask them to and you won't. So, now you'll be paid for the things you would never ask to be paid for. You never have to ask to be paid for anything you decide to do for the Soulguard or the Hospital.

              "What this job requires of you is to be the same beautiful human being you've always been, both inside and out."

              She was in my arms and I felt the wetness on my shirt as she cried.

"I love you." was the only thing I heard.

"And I love you, my Little Angel."

"I don't need that much money."

"Too bad," I said, "but that's the check you have for the last quarter. The next one will be similar."

"That's for a quarter?"

"Yep."

"Holy... Wow!"

"Enjoy it, Love. We may be overrun with Kresh in a few months. The whole idea of wealth could be lost after what's comin."