Chapter 19 #3
As my braid retracted, I raised my shield to bash back an armored enemy coming at me.
I followed up with a roundhouse kick. He stumbled but never got a chance to fall to the ground.
As I completed the rotation from the kick, I whipped my head around, and my braid wrapped around his neck.
Sharp small blades shot out from its length, beheading him.
At the edge of my vision, I spotted Lenora and Sylvius pulling more flying Dantorians to themselves. They used their kinetic powers to collapse their adversaries’ suits, crushing them within.
Then, as one, the attackers retreated.
To our shock, the large doors began to close. The enemies still inside the room tried to escape, only to get locked inside with us. Moving at dizzying speed, Vahl slashed through half of them with a sword in each hand. It was like watching a blur.
He ran up to the door to open it only to find it locked.
“REYES!” he shouted, glancing over his shoulder at him.
He didn’t need explanation and ran forward to use his powers to unlock it. Meanwhile, Vahl turned to look at us.
“Anyone hurt?” he asked, before glancing at the dignitaries when we all shook our heads. “Primus, is there a secure area you and the dignitaries can go to while we eliminate the threat?”
Coron didn’t respond. He seemed shellshocked as he looked at the surrounding carnage. Gavin walked up to me with a concerned expression. I smiled reassuringly as he caressed the back of my shoulder.
“Coron!” Vahl snapped when he didn’t respond.
The Primus’ body jerked as if hearing his name had been a physical blow. He stared at my brother, wide-eyed. When he still failed to respond, a female dignitary took a step forward.
“There’s a bunker down this way,” she said, pointing in the opposite direction our attackers had fled. “It’s not too far but…”
“Vintor, Nolar, Sylvius, and Trehv, escort them to safety, then join us when you’re done,” Vahl ordered.
They nodded and swiftly herd the dignitaries away. The female who had spoken gently grabbed Coron’s upper arm and led him after the others. Dazed, he complied without a word.
“It’s stuck,” Reyes growled. “It’s not locked, but something on the other side is jamming it.”
“Lenora,” Vahl said before turning to Gavin.
My mate was already on the move, Curok and the other Braxians also jumping in. With the doors being so thick and massive, it would take a while for Lenora to sufficiently weaken the reinforced metal to make a large enough opening for us.
We couldn’t risk having Rhad take us to the other side.
First, he needed to have seen that place before he could teleport us there.
But he only got a glimpse when the enemies fled.
And more importantly, we didn’t know if they had an ambush set up there.
I just thanked the Goddess they hadn’t released some lethal gas in the room.
“Zha, message Kamala to have her intercept any vessel attempting to leave the Basilica or Parliament,” Vahl ordered. “Reyes, run scans for traps and ships, especially if any are powering up. Rhad, scan for non-Dantorian people in the vicinity.”
We got to work while Vahl called up a map of the Parliament and Basilica based on publicly available schematics. It displayed as a 3D hologram over his armband.
“I do not detect any traps. But there are a couple of human ships and a Zolian one,” Reyes said grimly a few moments later.
“WHAT?!” Vahl exclaimed, a few more of us gasping in shock.
“You heard me correctly. I have no idea what in the Goddess’ name the Zolians are doing here,” Reyes said, shaking his head. “But there’s also another unidentified shuttle on the opposite side of the Basilica at the back. It seems to be camouflaged as the reading is quite weak.”
“I think I know who that shuttle belongs to,” Rhadames said with a hint of anger. “The corpses here belong to humans and Zolians. But I also pick up three Draylians.”
“What the fuck?!” Gavin exclaimed.
“They’re in the Basilica,” Rhad added.
My blood turned to ice.
“No! They’re going after the Divine?!” I blurted out.
The doors finally gave in at that exact moment. Thanks to Lenora weakening the thick metal, it bent like folded paper under the tremendous strength of the Braxians.
Gavin stiffened, his eyes flicking from side to side as he listened to his inner voice. He shook his head as he refocused on me.
“I’m not perceiving any danger for him. At least, I’m not feeling the urge to rescue him,” Gavin said with a frown.
“He may have already taken refuge,” Rhad said pensively. “But there’s definitely fighting going on there. People are dying. And the Draylians are also in the room.”
“Fuck,” Gavin said, worry descending over his features.
“Let’s go in,” Vahl ordered.
Those side doors gave onto the inner garden that separated the Parliament from the Basilica.
It was vast with various sections with fountains, sitting areas, and multiple sculpted bushes surrounded by beautiful exotic plants.
Under different circumstances, I would have loved exploring the peaceful landscape.
However, it was the smothering ‘dome’ sensation suddenly lifting that elated me.
Not even four meters outside of the Parliament’s Great Hall, the effects of the psychic disruptor vanished, and our powers fully returned.
My Veredian companions emitted victorious whispers as they regained their abilities as well.
We couldn’t see any enemy outside. But as we closed in on the building on the other side, a Veredian chaser came out of stealth.
It fired a tractor beam at an invisible target.
Half a beat later, it connected with a human ship, disrupting its camouflage.
They attempted to fire at the Veredians, but their missiles bounced ineffectively off of their shield.
In the distance, a couple of Dantorian patrol ships were rapidly closing in on our position. I wanted to stay here and bear witness to the battle that would follow, but a more important task beckoned us.
Instead of going straight for the main doors straight ahead, Vahleryon gestured for us to go further north towards the secondary side entrance. It would take us closer to the throne where our scanners indicated the concentration of the fighting.
“No more killing, unless absolutely necessary,” Vahl mind-spoke to all of us. “If we do not encounter more psychic disruptors inside, I will paralyze them. Then you can shackle them. We need answers, and dead people don’t talk.”
We nodded our assent then hurried to the door. Reyes placed his hand on the digital lock next to the door, unlocking it in seconds. He opened the door, and Vahl charged in, the rest of us hot on his tail.
As Rhadames had stated, an all-out battle was raging within.
The Hallowed Knights had formed a protective wall in front of the dais where the Divine still stood.
They were pushing back the intruders, fighting with a mix of swords and blasters.
At least a dozen corpses from both sides littered the floor, a handful of others lying prone with grievous injuries.
Why had Taseus not taken refuge somewhere? Granted, he possessed undeniable psionic powers—which he was using on some of the enemies. But his guards still should have taken him down to the bunker he undoubtedly possessed as well.
To my shock, I spotted the three Draylians perched on the balcony above the throne.
A female stood directly behind the Divine, and two males had taken position on the outer edges, where the balcony turned the corner to each side.
They attentively observed the battle without appearing to get involved, almost like spectators. Except for the female…
At the same moment we barged in, one of the armored attackers fired an odd weapon that shot multiple darts at the Divine.
The Hallowed Knights’ shields intercepted half of them, but the others flew straight at their target.
He remained stoic, unfazed by the threat.
The Draylian female fired an even stranger weapon at the incoming missiles, and the air shimmered in front of the Divine.
The darts crashed on an unusual energy wall then turned to ashes, leaving Taseus unharmed.
The shimmering faded a few moments later.
They’re protecting him?! What in Gharah’s name is going on?!
“STOP!” Vahleryon shouted, swiping both his palms down as if slamming closed the lid of a large container.
Every enemy fell to their knees, their palms flat on the ground, unable to resist my brother’s kinetic compulsion.
The Hallowed Knights froze from the neck down.
It gave me an eerie sense of déjà vu from back when we were children and Rhadames teleported us to the Korlethean Quorum.
That day, an assassin had murdered Uncle Xevius in front of Aunt Kamala.
I was able to resurrect him after Vahl paralyzed all the Korletheans present in the chamber that day so that they wouldn’t murder us on sight.
It still boggled my mind how incredibly powerful both of my siblings had already been at such a young age.
“Zhara,” Vahl said without looking at me, his gaze turned towards the Draylians on the balcony, who seemed unaffected by his powers.
He didn’t have to say anything else for me to know what he wanted.
“Dhaxius!” I called out, pointing in turn at three heavily bleeding Dantorians.
He also didn’t need me to go into details to understand his task. He hurried to each of the wounded to stem the flow by freezing the injured area.
I ran to the dead Hallowed Knights and mended the most grievous injuries before resurrecting them. Lenora, Rhadames, and Reyes injected them with stabilizing sedatives that would give me a bit more time to work my way through the most critical patients first.
Vahl glanced at Gavin, who nodded. I loved that in such a short time, they’d already started forming an intuitive bond. Gavin took over organizing his companions in disarming, shackling, and moving the prisoners to the side of the room.