Chapter Thirteen
Doomsday…
Even with the high-tech scanners Zarek had given us, Dad, Kaelen, and Uncle Saul couldn’t figure out a way to disarm the bomb. Even taking one of the Blackhawks, we wouldn’t be able to outrun the blast radius.
“The bomb can’t be disarmed. I’ll see you all in hell.” Julianna proclaimed gleefully.
Xyler zoomed up with Jaxor on his back.
Julianna rolled her eyes. “Your Hollywood hocus-pocus won’t save you.”
“Who dat?” Jaxor asked.
“A crazy lady. Ignore her.”
“Kay. Have more, please?”
I handed him a piece of hamburger meat.
The timer clicked from 00:51 to 00:50.
Was I going to allow that psychotic bitch to push us to the brink of extinction over a guy? Not on my watch. There was only one thing to do. Linking mentally with Qa’a, I said, “We have a problem.”
“Explain.”
I quickly filled him in on our run-in with the Oath Defenders. “W e can’t use the portal to evacuate the base without risking setting off the bomb. Can you and your executioners get us out before it blows?”
“I will remove the bomb,” Qa’a stated.
The knot in my stomach loosened. “The vortex won’t trigger it?”
“There are measures I can take to prevent that from happening.”
“Will it jeopardize your health?”
Qa’a’s laughter echoed in my mind. “I am very hard to kill. You are not. These Oath Defenders need to be dealt with.”
“That’s next on our to-do list.” Qa’a vanished from my mind. I took a deep breath and announced, “I summoned Qa’a, and he’s going to dispose of the nuke.”
Uncle Saul frowned. “Won’t his vortex trigger an explosion?”
“He says he can transport the nuke without it going boom.”
“Best news I’ve heard all day,” Dad said.
A brilliant orange glow popped into existence by the shed and spun rapidly. I shielded my eyes as bolts of green lightning crackled wildly in the night sky.
I cast a worried glance at the bomb. The timer clicked from 00:30 to 00:29.
A vortex formed and twenty seconds later, Qa’a rolled out in his true form. “Show me the bomb.”
Kaelen gestured to the picnic table and sent him a mental image of the schematics. “Can you move it safely?”
“Yes, and I have the perfect location for it. The Tai-Kok are building several slaughterhouses on the planet you call Mars.”
“The explosion will level everything within a ten-mile radius.” I glanced at the vortex. “Where’s Nix?”
A proud smile displayed Qa’a’s terrifying teeth. “He is hunting a third ship.”
“Oh.”
A hysterical laugh erupted from Julianna. “These stupid special effects aren’t going to save you.”
“Is she an Oath Defender?” One of Qa’a’s tentacles slithered around Julianna’s neck.
“She is.”
A horrified look on her face, Julianna screamed, “Get it off me! Get it off me!”
“Good.” Qa’a ate her. “I will return for you.” The Supreme Leader picked up the nuke and walked into the vortex. Ten seconds later it vanished.
I sagged against the table. “I really need some chocolate.”