Irresistible: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 9) (14 page)

E
MMY

“You bastard.” I was furious and ready to kill. “Let him go.”

Abel just laughed. “Why would I do that? I might still need him. Hell, I might need you too. You’ve been a great help so far.”

“You let us get away.”

“That’s right, Emmy. Don’t forget, I brought you here. You didn’t even need to find transportation yourself.”

I snapped my mouth shut as I realized Abel had been controlling my actions every step of the way. “But how did you track us? I thought we scrambled your signal.”

“You scrambled a signal, that’s true.” He looked thoughtful. “It required the use of some illegal technology, but it was all worth it in the end, don’t you think?”

“Neurotracking? You bastard.”

“I left one of my men with orders to try and stop you half-heartedly if you tried to escape. I wanted you to get away. I knew you wouldn’t cooperate with me voluntarily. There was no way to make you tell me how to get here or force you to bring the ladle to me. I tried that with Morley before, and it didn’t work.”

I pressed my lips together, trying to hide how angry I was at myself.

“The solution was letting you think you were doing everything for yourself. That way, I could follow from behind, and you would never know.”

“You lazy bastard. You wanted us to do all the work and waltz in after us to claim the ladle for yourself.”

“No one was dancing. We lost four men to the statues before we noticed the ropes hanging overhead. It was an ingenious solution. I can see why Morley chose to work with you.”

I couldn’t believe I led this asshole right to Zelia's ladle. We wouldn’t let him get it. Would we? I glanced at Morley, and he shook his head.

Unfortunately, Abel noticed our little exchange. “Don’t play any games with me.” His face looked terrifying. “You’re going to take me all the way to the ladle. I’m going to drink from it and get healed.”

Morley looked at Abel with a sad expression on his face. “That was always the goal.”

“I doubt it. It’s not like I would be able to use the ladle once it was in official hands. They would seal it, or set up a priority waiting list for humans and aliens from all over. I wouldn’t have a chance.”

“That’s not true, Abel.” Morley cut me off with a frown.

“Don’t be naive, girl. To you people, it’s just another bauble or cute artifact. It’s the only thing that can save my life.” He held up a skinny, shaking arm. “Look at this. I’m dying, in case you don’t remember.”

Morley looked at the ground. “I’ve always cared about you, Abel.”

“I don’t want to hear it, Morley. Let’s go.” One of his men poked Morley with a gun and he stepped forward, stumbling a bit.

Ven had been silent, absorbing the conversations around him. He whispered softly so only I could hear him. “The bridge.”

That might work if I could trick them across. “Okay, then.” I tried to look as upset as possible. “Let’s go. You have to come through the Gate of Truth.” I pointed to the archway, taking their attention away from the bridge.

Two of Abel’s men immediately started forward and stepped on the wrong blocks, which fell away, dropping the men into the chasm.

Abel sighed. “You know they’re not dead, Emmy. They have hover pads to stop their fall. They can’t come all the way back up, but we can retrieve them later.” Abel gave me a furious glance. His team now consisted of one woman and two men.

Three of them and three of us. The odds were almost even now, but Ven was out of commission, and Abel had the better of us. Secretly, I was relieved. I didn’t want unnecessary deaths on my conscience.

“Tell us how to get across,” he shouted.

I didn’t say anything.

“Let’s not make this difficult. Give me what I want, or I kill him, right now.” He put his gun against Morley’s head.

“I can’t believe you’re capable of this. Mother would be disappointed in you.” Morley looked gray.

“Don’t put me to the test. Do you want to know if I can murder my brother?”

The revelation stunned me. Was Abel Morley’s brother? How come no one ever told me before? I looked to Morley for confirmation. He nodded, then dropped his eyes.

I didn’t want to deal with dramatic revelations right now. Ven swayed beside me. I wondered if he looked paler than before or if I imagined it. His body seemed stiff, and he was sweating. Estimating the potency of centuries-old poison was difficult. With one arrow, I hoped he would have lasted a few hours, but two arrows had entered his body. He probably only had an hour before the onset of full-body convulsions.

“Tell them, Em,” Ven muttered.

“Yes, tell us, Em.” Abel couldn’t prevent himself from mocking him.

It didn’t matter if Abel came with us. The only thing that mattered was getting to the ladle and saving Ven’s life.

“You have to step on the numbers in the correct order. The numbers which aren’t part of the Fibonacci sequence will fall away.”

“Clever.” Abel muttered to himself and Morley winked at me. I was glad he was still alive, but I hoped we could keep him that way.

“So what’s the correct path? Morley will be going first, so don't bother lying, unless you want to see him plummet to his doom.”

“0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13.” I felt impatient as they crossed. “I’m interested in your plan to get through the Gate of Truth. Can you look in the mirror and consider yourself worthy?”

“It doesn’t matter at this point. I’m going around the Gate of Truth. Let's call it Abel’s Gate.” Abel walked forward, pressing a small round device onto one of the columns.

Ven grabbing my hand and pulled me down. Everyone on the other side scattered, running as far away as they could. We realized Abel was prepared to use explosives. Ven fell on top of me. I couldn’t see much, but I heard a loud blast. Debris fell onto our bodies.

“That human is not like you other humans,” Ven whispered. When everything was quiet again, we stood up to inspect the damage.

“He’s crazy. We can’t be sure a structure thousands of years old will remain standing after destroying one of its primary supports. I don’t think everything will come crashing down, but losing the Gate could destabilize this area. We should retrieve Morley and get away from Abel’s team. Do you have any ideas?”

“Abel is desperate. He’ll do anything to get the ladle, probably even kill.”

I took Ven’s hand and looked into his eyes. “Morley’s alive for now. I want to keep it that way. We’re not going to die either.”

We saw everyone else start to get to their feet. Abel pushed Morley forward and over the rubble first.

We climbed the pile of rocks that used to be the Gate of Truth. Ven met Morley at the top, helping him climb down. Morley’s hands were still tied behind his back. I was afraid he was going to trip and fall on his face.

“Leave him alone. No tricks, Emmy.” Abel waved his blaster in our direction.

“I’m trying to help him down,” Ven said. “You’ve tied his hands. It makes it hard for anyone to move.”

“Fine.” Abel gestured with his blaster. “Move away from him now. We’ll move his hands in front of his body so he can move.”

Abel made a sharp motion, and one of his team came to bind Morley’s hands. “Let’s go,” Abel called.

I glanced at Ven as we moved down the open passageway. Sweat had started dripping off his face, and his breathing was erratic. He needed to use the ladle soon.

After a few minutes of walking, we came to a closed door. I turned to look at Morley questioningly, and he nodded. We were at the finish line.

We had done all the research. It was hard work collecting information on the myths and legends surrounding Zelia's ladle. The only thing we had no information about was the final test.

Everything we learned about the ladle was shrouded in mystery, but the last obstacle was a total enigma. As far as we could tell, there were no stories about it. All we heard were frustratingly vague rumors.

We walked into a strangely-shaped room. To our surprise, the Silver Mestolo of Zelia was inside. It rested at the far end of the room on an altar. It wasn’t even in a case.

Maybe the reason why we never heard anything about a final test was that there wasn’t one.

The ladle had a silver hue because of its composition. It was made from filaden, an unnatural element with a high concentration of Higgs boson particles. The ladle was encrusted with yellow jewels. The gemstones were vital for preserving the stability of the metal.

It was amazing to discover the ladle was real, but as my sense of wonder faded, I started to look around the bizarre room. The surroundings were long and narrow — perhaps twenty feet across. At both ends, the floor sloped upward. From the outside, it looked like the letter U.

Alcoves were cut out of the rock walls every few feet. Each one was waist-high. Inside were small pools with beautiful golden fountains in the shape of Heralla deities. The water sparkled and the sounds soothed my mind.

The others caught up with us. Abel let out a strangled cry.

“It’s finally within my grasp,” he whispered to himself. Abel rushed across the room. “You won’t stop me this time.”

“Do you honestly think no further safety precautions are surrounding the ladle? You may be a fool, but I didn’t know you were stupid.”

Abel paused momentarily.

“Do you remember the stone soldiers?” Morley was getting louder. “If they took the time to build those statues, why would they leave the ladle lying around for anyone to take?”

“Figure it out. You’re supposed to be the smart one. How do we get it? And you better hurry up,” Abel said, nodding his head at Ven. “He looks like he could use the ladle right now.”

I turned my head to look at Ven. As his legs spasmed, he lost his balance and collapsed on his ass. The poison had started to consume his body already.

“You’re going to have to untie Morley,” I said, deciding to give Abel a few orders. “If you want that ladle you’ll do as I say.”

I stared at Abel angrily, exhibiting a power I didn’t know I had. Ven wasn’t going to die if I could do anything about it. He tried to hold my gaze but quickly surrendered, giving a nod to someone who cut Morley’s bonds.

“What’s wrong with Ven?” Morley asked.

“He got hit with two arrows.”

“You know they’re coated with strychnine, right?”

“Of course I know.” I cut him off. “This ladle better work or death will be his reward for helping me find it.”

“How much longer does he have?”

“I think he’ll be in real trouble in about twenty minutes.”

Behind me, Ven’s body was starting to convulse. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I blinked them away. “Let’s just take it. I don’t care who ends up with it at the end as long I can use it now.”

E
MMY

I ran and checked Ven’s pulse. It was erratic, but it existed. I stood up and made my way back to Morley, trying to hide my terror.

Morley knew me too well. He could sense my feelings with a look. “You care about him, don’t you?”

I nodded, unable to speak.

“Let’s do what we have to do. Zelia's ladle appears to be on the altar, ready for the taking.”

“It can’t be that easy. If we try to walk up and take it, something’s going to try to kill us.” I didn’t want to make another mistake.

“I agree.” Morley rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Don’t you think the monks were using the ladle at the same time they guarded it? They were supposed to live for a long time and be almost impossible to kill. If the legends are true, it would make sense for them to be regularly drinking from the ladle.”

“Right. They would need a way to get to the ladle without killing themselves.” We walked gingerly into the room and looked around, examining the floor and walls but avoiding the area that contained the ladle.

“There’s one fact on which everyone agrees. The stories all say the Stone Goddess will destroy anyone who tries to touch the ladle.”

“The Stone Goddess.” Morley looked up at the ceiling. “Do you remember the dig we did on Tyrranus 4? There was a giant rock that fell at the end and almost killed everyone on the team. If the mechanism hadn’t rotted away, we might not be standing here today.” He looked at me expectantly.

I snapped my fingers. “The Stone Goddess is always represented as a stone wheel with the outline of a woman over it. If the wheel is an actual thing, it would be perfect for smashing intruders to smithereens.”

“Exactly.” Morley nodded. “Look at the design of the room. The wheel will fall and start rolling, crushing everything in its path. When it reaches the end, it will roll up as high as it can. Gravity will pull it back down into the room and crush anything it missed. The wheel will move back and forth like a deadly pendulum until it pulverizes everything in its path.”

“It could be set in motion if anyone touches the ladle.” I felt the familiar excitement which came from solving the riddles of the ancients. “What if there is a scale or weighing mechanism built into the altar? They wouldn’t need any further protections.”

“Why would anyone risk destroying the thing they wanted to protect?” Abel had moved behind us and had a skeptical look on his face.

Morley didn’t stop looking but still took the time to answer. “A giant stone that crashed onto the ladle wouldn’t crush it. It’s essentially indestructible.”

Abel didn’t say anything else. I supposed he was satisfied with Morley’s response. Thinking about Morley’s words, I remembered the inscription on the stone wheel at the festival.

“At City Hall, for the Festival of the Stone Goddess, there was a wheel with an inscription. It said, 'The Stone Goddess leaves no survivors'.”

There was a hairline crack in the ceiling shaped like a rectangle. “There it is. Do we trigger it or try to avoid it?” Sometimes it was necessary to activate traps in a controlled way that prevented anyone from getting hurt.

“I think we should try to avoid this one.” Morley thought for a moment. “What does it mean if she doesn’t leave survivors? The extent of the danger isn’t clear. It seems like someone would survive a wheel rolling around. There must be something less obvious.”

“Be careful, Morley.” He nodded and approached the altar at a crawl. It took an agonizing five minutes for him to advance ten feet. He always checked everything imaginable. His meticulous nature and his intuition were the only reasons he was still alive. After studying the ladle and the altar, he nodded. “It’s a weight trap. You can tell by these signs...”

“I don’t think we have time for extensive explanations.”

“Right. Abel, do you have anything that can weigh the ladle without disturbing it?”

Abel nodded his head. A woman on his team pulled out a device and aimed it at the ladle, calling out the weight.

“We think the object itself is the tripwire. We need to swap it out with something with approximately the same weight. It’s a classic protection because it’s effective.” Abel’s team was already busy weighing rocks and various objects they carried.

“This device is close, but it’s a little heavier.” The woman handed a piece of gear to Morley.

“Don’t give it to me yet. Remove parts or cut off plastic until the weight comes down. We need to make sure the weights are as close as possible.” With a sigh, she took out her knife and began scraping off some of the plastic.

“Making the swap is going to be tricky.” Morley looked nervous. Tricky was an understatement. Abel eagerly began to approach the altar but we both ignored him. He wasn’t close enough to disturb us.

Slowly, Morley set the device down next to the ladle. I stood on the other side, waiting for the right time. When we were both ready, I started sliding the device toward the ladle while he pulled the ladle away.

At the back of my mind, I vaguely realized Abel was suddenly directly behind Morley, but I was concentrating on moving the things in front of me a little bit at a time. Morley finally retrieved the ladle from its resting place as I simultaneously slid my weight into position.

As soon as Morley pulled the ladle away, Abel bumped him, reaching for the prize. After waiting for so many years, he couldn’t last a second longer. Abel’s greed triggered a series of events. Abel inadvertently pushed Morley’s hand into the weight, moving it from the correct position. I quickly pushed it back, but it was too late.

Morley and I looked up. We heard the grinding of old gears and stone against stone. I glanced at Morley. Usually, he was calm even in the most difficult circumstances, but I knew he was genuinely afraid this time. We heard the sound of something large moving inside the ceiling.

Abel wasn’t paying attention to any of it. He stared desperately at the ladle, clutching it tightly in his hands as he ran to the closest fountain.

Morley and I moved together. We each picked up one of Ven’s arms, lifting and dragging him from the room. Abel’s team had already disappeared. Ven had a massive body, and my half was hard to carry.

He groaned but didn’t wake up. When we were almost to the door, I made a decision and released him.

“Morley, there’s no point in getting Ven out of here if we have to leave the ladle behind. I’m going back to get it.”

“You’re going to take it from Abel by yourself?” Morley asked. “He’s going to kill you. Even if he doesn’t, the stone wheel will crush you.”

It felt like the room was listening to our conversation. We heard the sound of something massive rolling around in the ceiling.

“I have to get the ladle.” I was prepared to do anything to get what I wanted. “Even if we can move Ven out of here, we won’t be able to save him without it.”

I ran back to where Abel stood by the fountain, carefully dipping the ladle into the water. I held my breath, walking up behind him. Would I be able to grab it and go?

He took a deep breath and drank.

The rumbling noises that sounded so far away were getting louder. Less than a minute had passed since Abel inadvertently activated the trap, and I knew the Stone Goddess’s wheel was coming to smash us all into tiny pieces. I dived for the ladle as soon as he finished drinking, but misjudged the distance and missed badly.

Abel moved back. “You’re never getting it.” His eyes were full of hatred.

“Please.” Despair threatened to take over my soul. “I’ll give it back. My friend needs it, just like you.”

“He’s nothing like me. For one thing, I’ve already used the ladle.”

The noise in the background grew so loud that it overwhelmed our conversation. I couldn’t hear the rest of his words. The stone wheel materialized overhead, showering red dust over our bodies as the ceiling shattered.

Abel and I both started running for the door, but it was too late for us. A piece of rock slid into place, covering the door and sealing the room.

If there had been any question about the strange shape of the chamber, it was definitively answered as the wheel crashed onto the altar, destroying it. The stone began rolling to us, gradually picking up speed.

The inscription was right. Was it possible for us to survive?