Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (24 page)

“For any race to do that is a very
impressive feat. I haven't known anyone to escape from one of my
cells, let alone escape the ship with the entire crew hunting them
down.”

Jahdiel rolled her eyes. “They still left
the Princess behind, that was the only one that mattered.”

“You haven't seen the last of Nimesha and
that boy,” Kirill warned. “They'll come back for her, trust
me.”

“Yeah,” she crossed her arms. “Well, not
before she's on Hera in the control of Merikh. Once she’s there,
it’ll be your job to make sure no one takes her, not mine.”

“Maybe,” Kirill winked. “Be careful on your
way back. There’s no telling where she is right now.”

Jahdiel clenched her fists and hung up the
comlink. She hated Kirill, but now he was one of Merikh's puppets
and she’d have to put up with his smirking face. He could try to
get under her skin, but she wouldn't let him know he was doing it.
Soon, he’d be irrelevant. She was already planning ways to escape
Merikh's grasp, and every time she talked to him, the more her mind
urged her to do so.

“Merikh, may I go see the Queen?” Kirill
asked. “I would find it satisfying to let her know Kanti will soon
be on Hera with us.”

“Go ahead,” a grin crept across his green
face. “Let her know that we are
fully
in control of Orion
now.”

Kirill turned around and left the reception
room. He walked down the bloodstained marble halls and made a pit
stop in the library. There was one survivor in the Palace Merikh
wasn’t aware of yet, but he was sure he’d let him survive once
proper introductions were in place. He walked to one of the
bookshelves he knew to be an entrance to a hidden system of
tunnels. Slowly, the shelf moved to the side and revealed the
system of tunnels behind.

A black figure with a glass head holding a
brain stepped out. Kirill hadn't seen him in person for a very long
time and was glad to see him again. If it weren’t for him, his rise
to power would’ve been much slower.

“Abdul,” Kirill smiled. “It's been a long
time, my friend.”

“It has. Far too long,” he smiled back. “And
somehow, Adira never even guessed that I was the one betraying her
the whole time. Full trust was placed in me, without even a second
thought, even when she’d become aware of a traitor amongst her
Council.”

“Well, she's about to find out you were the
one stabbing her in the back the entire time,” Kirill grinned with
pleasure. “We're going to speak with her right now.”

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he
replied. “Does this also mean that I no longer have to hide in
those wretched tunnels?”

“I'm going to work on that,” Kirill
answered, turning to leave the library. “I haven't exactly told
Merikh yet about you hiding from him.”

“And you brought me out?”

Kirill shrugged. “He trusts me now. I’d say
even more than his woman, Jahdiel. I tried to tell you we’d get
along fine.”

“How is that?” He asked. “You’ve just met
him. He’s known Jahdiel for years.”

“I’ve shown him her irrelevance. What I have
to offer is much more valuable. Something no single person could
ever offer and he knows it.”

They walked down the marble hallways to the
dungeons. The stairs winding down, were littered with body parts
which made them slick and treacherous. Abdul looked to Kirill with
wide eyes.

“And now you can see why I hid from these
monsters. This is atrocious. No civil being could be okay with
something like this.”

Kirill rolled his eyes. “They just killed
the rebels. I would've killed them myself if they hadn't.”

“Those were more than rebels. They were very
wise and important figures in Orion. It was them who ensured
stability and peace. Without them, it’ll be hard to attain that
again.”

“And now we no longer need them,” Kirill
walked into the dungeons. “Merikh and I are ruling Orion now. I’ll
put my own replacements in their spots. They may not gain the
respect of everyone in Orion, but they’ll strike fear into each and
every one of them. That fear will keep them in line more than
respect ever would.”

“If Merikh lets you live that long.”

He looked to Abdul. “I wouldn't worry about
that. I already have a plan in place to make sure I’m the sole
ruler of Orion.”

“Already vying to overthrow him so soon?”
Abdul chuckled. “You've just met the bloodthirsty crodillian.
Aren’t you going to give it some time to decide whether he lives or
not?”

“I don't plan on letting any inferior races
live,” Kirill arrived at the Queen's cell. “Crodillians are one of
those inferior races. I’ll wipe them from the existence of this
galaxy and return it to its true glory.”

“But they're strong,”

“And they're uncivilized monsters who’ll
destroy any type of society that I want.”

The Queen appeared from the shadows. Her
rags were dark brown and her wrists were crusted in red blood and
sores. “
Always
vying to betray someone. Are you sure the
crodillians are the ones you want to betray this time?”

“Hush,” Kirill ordered with a motion of the
hand. “What I have planned is none of your business.”

“Of course not,” Adira replied smugly. “I
wouldn't want to be a part of the plan that gets everyone involved
slaughtered. I’m perfectly fine here in my cell where it’s safe
from your plights.”

Kirill's face reddened. “I have someone with
me I think you'd like to meet.”

Abdul stepped forward. “Your majesty.”

“You traitor!” Adira grasped the cell’s bars
with both hands. “I trusted you more than any of the others!”

“And that's what enabled me be to be so
successful. The thought that I was the one betraying you never even
crossed your mind. I really take pride in that. Countless years of
playing you, and if it weren’t for this moment, you never would’ve
found out.”

“It doesn't matter now. The crodillians will
have both of your heads when they find out what you're up to.”

“They won't find out until I want them to,”
Krill said.

“You really think they trust you?” She
asked. “How many other races, besides their own, do you see within
their ranks?”

“Two,” Kirill answered. “And it’ll be one
before very soon.”

“It may not be the one you're thinking of,”
Adira chuckled with a glint of satisfaction in her eye. “Why are
you here, Kirill? I don't think it's to have a nice conversation
with me, as I wouldn't want to have one with you anyway.”

“No, it’s not,” Kirill crossed his arms,
furrowing his brows. “I’ve come with some information you may like
to know.”

“Oh?” Amusement covered her face. “And what
could you possibly have to tell me that I would care about?”

“Our daughter is about to make a visit to
Hera.”

Adira's eyes widened and her body slumped.
“You wouldn't.”

“I would and she’s on her way as we
speak.”

“They'll kill her like they're going to kill
me and you!”

“I’ll just make sure I survive any possible
attacks. As for you, good luck locked up in that cell.”

“You're a monster!” She yelled. “This is
your bloodline! Your own daughter!”

“I don't care about her,” Kirill said. “I
didn't even know of her existence until not too long ago. To me,
she's just another girl. If her death means I rule Orion, then so
be it.”

“You're
never
going to rule, Kirill!”
Adira began hitting the cell door. “Save your daughter! Don't bring
her here to die!”

“She's coming and the next part of my plan
will take effect.”

“Your plan will never work! It’s already
broken.”

“That’s where you're wrong. The wheels have
already begun to spin and I’ll come out top. Merikh is playing on
my ground. He doesn’t stand a chance against me.”

“You think their monster of a leader
actually trusts you?” She asked. “He's just using you, and when
he's done, he's going to throw you out just like he has Jahdiel.
That thing played you from the second he saw you. He’ll put
whatever you have started to a stop before it get much
further.”

“He hasn’t thrown Jahdiel out yet, I haven’t
given him enough reason to, yet.”

“Oh, he did before he even met you. I've
seen the way he talks to her,” Adira responded. “He doesn't treat
her like an equal, she's being used. She's just too naïve to see
it. Just like you.”

“He can use me if he wants, but it’s only
because I'm also using him.”

“He will be finished with you first,” Adira
said. “He’ll never let you beat him. I’m sure he already has orders
out to kill you at any sight of misbehavior.”

“I'm the only one with a chance of winning.
I told you, he’s on my ground.”

“Do you think if you kill him Orion will bow
down to you? Is that your master plan?”

Kirill stared at her expressionless. “Worry
about yourself, Queen. You’re not in a very good predicament.”

“The crodillians won't succeed Kirill and
neither will you if you stick with them,” she warned him. “You need
to switch sides before it's too late.”

“Switch sides?” Abdul asked.

“Yes,” Adira nodded. “There are rebels. I
know it.”

“There are no rebels,” Kirill replied.
“Every town has been surrendering peacefully.”

“Do you really think they'd attack in small
numbers?”

“I don't care if there are rebels,” Kirill
smiled evilly. “I’ll wipe them out if they pose a threat to
me.”

“You'll wipe out the ones who you later
expect to bow down to you?” Adira grinned with pleasure. “No race
of Orion will
ever
bow down to you if you're seen next to
Merikh. It’s you who’s in the predicament. You’re stuck in-between
two sides, both the wrong choice because neither wants, nor needs,
your help.”

“You’re right. The inferiors won't bow
down,” Kirill said, holding his anger in. “But those who want a
pure society, like me, will bow down willingly and thank me for
what I've done.”

“And that's why you'll never rule,” Adira
backed up in her cell. “Nobody wants the society you dream of.
They’d rather die than kill other races of Orion. You're an even
bigger monster than Merikh. At least he isn't biased in who he
kills. That monster just kills anything that breathes.”

“Your daughter will be here soon!” Kirill
raged. “And when she gets here, you’ll both will play along!”

“We'll tell them
whatever
you want,”
she shrugged. “But it’ll all be for naught because the races will
rebel no matter what we tell them to do. Orion is stronger than
either one of you monsters wants to believe. The races will survive
this, while you, I and your
daughter
will die.”

“My mind is made up,” Kirill turned around.
“I won’t aid a few rebels who’ll surely die. The crodillians are my
best ally in this war. I side with the strong, not the weak.”

“And that's where you made your mistake,”
Adira whispered down the hall to him. “The rebels have hope. They
have a cause to fight for, a reason to live. They’ll stop at
nothing to make sure you and Merikh fail. They are the strong and
you are the weak.”

Kirill marched up the gory stairs and down
the halls. Abdul jogged to catch up with him and to calm his
temper.

“Kirill,” he puffed. “You may want to listen
to some of the things Adira said.”

“What?” He flung around. “You want me to
listen to her?”

“Hear me out,” Abdul insisted. “She's right
about you being used. I've been watching them in the tunnels, and
they’ll never truly be your friends. They’re much like yourself,
too much so for me to be comfortable.”

“I don't need them to be my friends, Abdul.
I just don't need them to be my enemy.”

“You may not want the rebels to be your
enemies either.”

“We'll just have to wait and see. Won’t
we?

“You know, once the rebels find out you're
helping Merikh, there's no turning back. You'll have to move
forward, regardless of the consequences. No matter what ends up
happening, you’re going to always been an enemy to Orion.”

“Let me worry about how things unfold. I’ve
spent most of my life thinking about how I’ll take Orion. It’s
right in front of me now and I can see victory. I won’t let what a
few think keep me from taking it,” he marched forward.

Zarah stood above the races in the Dining
Hall with both hands grasped to the rail. There was no podium in
the room and it was essential every race saw her so she’d stood at
the top of the stairs. Every race needed to be reminded that every
choice meant life of death from here on out. If the crodillians
found out about this base, every last one of them would be
slaughtered and their planet burned. Not very many of the races had
seen firsthand what the crodillians could do, but it was her job to
make them understand. Simply being aware of what they were capable
of and witnessing it in person were two completely different
things.