Chapter Seven
Azazel didn’t like this. He should never have let Toni come with him to the most-guarded place on a hostile ship filled with psychic bullies. He glanced at her beside him. As she clutched the space weapon Tharion had given her, her luscious lips pressed into a thoughtful frown.
But, by the gods, there was no denying she looked like she belonged there, apparently relaxed about the whole thing.
While his admiration for her grew, something nagged in the back of his mind.
His intuition screamed that nothing about this felt right.
Getting to the Dimensional Rift was easier than it should have been.
His inner beast rolled in rising agitation, as if in agreement.
Taking shallow breaths, he concentrated on the faint hum of the Nyrlith's systems throbbing under his booted feet.
A dim, violet glow from overhead strips cast eerie reflections off the crystalline walls.
Toni pressed close to him, her gloved fingers steady against the edge of the weapon she carried.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have split up like we did,” Azazel muttered, his voice a bare whisper. Guilt burned like acid in his throat.
Toni’s response was soft but firm. “Not that he gave us much of a choice. I’m sure once we cut off this stupid rift thing, we’ll go and get Vaeloryx and the others out. Don’t worry, Az, we’ve got this.”
Azazel preened at the nickname she’d given him.
Sneaking another peek at her, he caught the resolve hardening her features.
Now, that was all kinds of sexy. His inner beast purred.
Damn thing was acting like a domesticated house kitten with her around.
With concentration, he released the tension pinching his neck.
Toni’s confidence steadied him. He nodded and turned toward the passage ahead.
The Dimensional Rift Epicenter was three levels below the rebel hideout. Once they severed the Krystalii’s psychic network, it should throw Baelon’s forces into chaos. Even with the Elites distracted by the Nexus Core being down, it’d be ridiculous to think none of them would be encountered.
JR14 shifted, scanning ahead with his infrared sensors.
“Attention: two Elites headed this way,” the droid announced in a low voice next to his ear. “My analysis confirms they carry electro-lances and plasma shields.”
And that’s what he got for thinking of them. Azazel gestured to back up against the smooth wall with fractured crystal panels. He swallowed hard. The guards’ silhouettes loomed through the mist seeping from a ruptured coolant line above them.
“What do you think we should do?” Toni clutched the smooth end of her weapon and aimed it at the ceiling.
“I’m afraid since there’s no place to hide, we’ve got no choice but to engage.
Get ready.” He whispered, pitching his voice just loud enough for Toni to hear, and stepped forward, palm raised.
Since they’d brought the psychic hotspot down, it was time to use his natural powers. The air around his fingers crackled.
The nearest guard faltered as invisible pressure seized him. The second lunged, his lance streaking blue lightning through the mist.
Toni fired, her shot hitting the lance and knocking it aside. She pivoted, sidestepping a slash aimed at her midsection, and brought her pole up in one smooth motion. Another shot.
The guard splintered into clear crystal dust.
Azazel crushed the first under his telekinetic grip, shards of crystal cracking apart.
The corridor fell silent.
“You okay back there, kalu?”
“Affirmative. Proceed,” replied JR14.
“Good! Let’s go before there’s more.” He glanced at Toni, then sprinted forward with her close behind.
He couldn’t put his finger on it, but the fight felt wrong. Defeating those guards was way easier than it should have been. His mouth dried. His inner savage rumbled in agitation, tightening his grip around Azazel’s chest. Ignoring the sensation, he pushed forward.
He didn’t know how it happened, but they didn’t encounter anyone else before reaching the chamber housing the Dimensional Rift.
Holding his breath, he peeked around the corner to see if there were any Krystalii there.
He held Toni back against the corridor wall.
All clear. With a nod in her direction to follow him, he snuck inside, Toni close behind.
A spherical construct sat in the middle of the room and pulsed with an unnatural light. Inside, jagged fissures swirled in a kaleidoscope of pale colors.
His gut twisted. There was an undeniable pull from it. A raw, uncontained energy that strained the very air around them.
“Damn.” Toni snorted. “Freakin’ thing looks like a crystal ball on steroids.” She stepped closer to it. “You know, it kinda looks like a movie prop in one of the fantasy movies I produced last year.”
Movie prop? Azazel narrowed his focus on the nucleus.
He’d love nothing better than to examine it closer, but time was running out.
Kneeling by it, he pulled out a small pulse generator from a pocket in the suit Tharion gave him.
“JR14, monitor it while I set these energy dampeners on it and make it overload.”
Toni stood guard. Her focus shifted to the open doorway where the pounding of heavy footsteps echoed down the hall.
Had to be more guards.
“How long?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Less than two minutes.” He didn’t look up.
Not that he thought they had two minutes.
He stretched his senses outward, seeking the energy signatures closing in.
“Here, trade places.” His jaw tightened as he sprang to his feet.
“You keep watch on this and make sure the energy dampener keeps working. I’ll hold them off. ”
Toni’s gaze shot up to meet his. “No! You don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do. Let’s finish this.” He glanced at the bot on his shoulder. “JR14, you stay and help her make sure nothing goes wrong.” He turned, not waiting to watch the bot leave his shoulder before he stepped into the corridor. His inner beast now growled in approval, eager for glorious battle.
The first wave of Elites came in fast, their crystalline weapons glinting in the murky light.
Azazel didn’t wait. He swept his arm forward, slamming one into the wall with a telekinetic burst. The others charged, and he twisted, dodging a strike before sending another Elite crashing to the floor.
Pain flared through his arm as a lance grazed him. Gritting his teeth, he pushed harder, throwing a wave of force that knocked the guards back.
“Almost there!” Toni shouted from the other room.
Azazel grunted as he blocked another strike. Light flared behind him.
A hum coming from the Dimensional Rift shifted, its rhythm faltering.
“Yay! It’s done!” Toni whooped.
Azazel slammed the last guard against the wall and spun, running back into the chamber.
“Okay, we’d better get out of here!” He held out his hand for Toni.
She grabbed it, laughing.
“Yeah, no kidding!”
As they sprinted, Azazel took one last glance behind them and watched as the device collapsed inward. The swirling rift distorted the walls as it imploded.
JR14 leaped onto Azazel’s shoulder as they dove through the doorway just before it slammed shut behind them.
A deafening boom followed, shaking the deck.
Azazel leaned against the bulkhead, his breath ragged.
Toni grinned at him. A bead of sweat rolled from her temple.
“Told you we’d do it.”
He managed to make a weak smile and clasped her hand in his.
“Next time, let’s leave saving the galaxy to someone else.”
A resounding boom of laughter, along with the clinking sound of clapping crystals, made Azazel jump.
“That was so entertaining!” Lord Baelon stepped out of the mist and smoke that seeped through the cracked doorway of the Dimensional Rift chamber into the hallway.
“My entire crew and I thoroughly enjoyed your show. Didn’t we?
” The clear blue crystals in his head reflected in the low light as he nodded behind him.
Azazel straightened. His eyes widened when he didn’t see any fractures or dull parts of their nemesis’s body. Then his attention swung to the fog when a small group of Krystalii waltzed through.
The rebels. Every one of them. Including Vaeloryx.
“Most assuredly, my Lord.” Vaeloryx put a hand over his heart, bowing with a smirk.
“Ah, yes.” Baelon gestured to the aquamarine-and-silver Krystalii. “I believe you have met my second-in-command, Sentinel Commander Vaeloryx, head of my Elite troops.”
Toni gasped.
Azazel straightened, keeping her hand in his as they faced the Krystalii. He ignored the pain his nails created in the palms of his other hand as he clenched his fingers into a tight fist.
The growl from his inner beast was loud enough to hear with his ears and not just his mind.
“You may have played your part well.” Azazel nodded to Vaeloryx and the other rebels. “But betrayal has a price I hope you’re prepared to pay.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.” Baelon’s grin widened. “I’m sure you have more important things to concern yourself with.” He tilted his head toward Toni. “Starting with her.”
Azazel jerked. His eyes widened as he watched Toni dissolve into nothingness.
“Toni!” He reached out to where she’d been, but his fingers only met air.
He turned to Baelon, both hands clamped into tight fists.
“What did you do to her? If you harmed her…” Taking a step toward the Krystalii, he raised one of his fists as a blinding heat engulfed him.
His inner beast reacted with blinding speed, clawing, desperate to get free.
It took everything Azazel had to contain it. If he gave in to it, letting his primitive urge free, he’d never find Toni.
“Harm her?” Baelon guffawed. “You shard-less vermin.”
With a blink of Baelon’s neon blue eyes, Azazel found himself frozen.
The sizable crystal alien stopped in front of Azazel and leaned in.