Chapter Eight #4
The hands were long and claw-like, hanging at its sides as the tips glowed with an inner light, pulsating like a heartbeat. It stopped just short of the cage, its crystalline limbs bending in a motion that was mechanical and oddly graceful.
Toni shivered as she noticed the faint ripple of energy emanating from the creature’s core, like heat waves off asphalt, distorting the surrounding air.
The creature opened its mouth and spoke—if the sound could be called speech.
The sound was a mix of grinding stone and chiming bells, a language that seemed as ancient and unyielding as the being itself.
The menace in its voice cut sharp and clear—a bully’s taunt aimed at Azazel, the way cowards torment a captive who can’t strike back.
She clenched her fists, her heart pounding against her ribs as she fought to keep her breaths shallow but steady. The sight of Azazel’s face, sweaty and flushed, made her ache to reassure him.
The guard tilted its head again, as if hearing her. Its faceted eyes shifted in her direction for the briefest moment. Their depths caught and held her gaze with an unnatural intensity.
Holding her breath, Toni didn’t dare move. She remained still. Every muscle locked in place as the Elite guard straightened to its full, towering height.
The multi-compound lenses turned its focus to Azazel, as if memorizing every detail of the man encased in the serrated crystal cage. Then, with a faint hum of energy rippling through its form, the guard turned with mechanized precision, the motion smooth for something so angular and rigid.
Not daring to blink, she focused on the Krystalii as it headed to the exit. She sucked in her breath and watched as its feet didn’t appear to touch the ground. Darn thing gave an effortless illusion of gliding.
Chime-like sounds of shifting crystals resonated with each step and sent faint echoes through the cavernous room. The low-watt light from its core dimmed the more it moved and cast longer shadows against the crystalline walls.
Damn, the special effects from the creature gave the surroundings a scary-as-hell edge.
It paused at the doorway, its head tilted as if something caught its attention.
Toni’s heart leaped into her throat. Her breath caught against the stifling pressure of her panic. Did it know she was there? Could it sense her?
But then, with a low, resonant hum, the guard resumed its movement, and its massive form disappeared through the doorway without so much as a backward glance.
The moment it was gone, she swore the room exhaled. Her eyes remained glued to the empty doorway. The only sound was her deafening heartbeat pounding in her ears.
It took several seconds before she dared to move. Clenching her trembling gloved hands into fists, she let out a grateful breath. “Whew! That was close. Thank you, Sensos.”
Daring a glance at Azazel, she almost burst into laughter.
His eyes were as wide as all get-out, his open jaw practically resting on his chest.
Well, didn’t that say it all? Maybe now he’d calm down so they could get him the hell out of there and escape.
One could only hope.
Azazel snapped his mouth shut when a line of drool threatened to roll free from his lips.
How in the world did Toni escape the Krystalii guard’s notice?
It was then he noticed the strange outfit she was wearing.
If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear she wore that unusual suit the so-called rebels had given her to wear from the Vault of Forgotten Worlds in their simulation.
Except, covering her head was a clear—fishbowl?
And hovering next to her was his spider-bot, JR14.
He’d give anything to hear what they talked about as the droid bobbed up-and-down while Toni spoke with her expressive hands, emphasizing whatever she said.
She pursed her lips and glared at the bot with narrow eyes.
Apparently, she didn’t like whatever the droid was telling her.
She put one of her hands on her trim hip while wagging her finger at him before waving it around.
One more bob from the bot before he buzzed to hover in front of Azazel’s crystal cage. The droid’s eyes changed from his normal pale sky-blue to a vibrant kaleidoscope of colors, a clear sign the bot was examining or processing something.
Toni moved closer behind the droid, now putting both hands on her hips, her lovely lips creased into a frown. Looks like she wasn’t happy with whatever the AI droid was doing.
All at once, the bot’s eyes switched color to a solid red.
Then he zoomed backward until Azazel only saw him as a dot in the distance, then he rushed into view, his bulbous head tilted as if in determination.
If Azazel could put his hands up, he would have.
The damn thing looked like he was going to ram into the crystal cage!
The only thing Azazel could do was twist his head sideways when the bot reached the barrier… then zoomed in without a problem. He landed on Azazel’s shoulder as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Azazel swallowed a hiss when a sharp pain pierced his neck right next to where the bot stood on his shoulder. Did that damn bot just jab him with one of his razor-thin legs?
Query.
Was that JR14’s inanimate voice in his head?
Please ascertain and confirm your ability to converse with me in this manner.
The voice spoke to him, not on a psychic level, but more of a mechanical one. Like using earbuds when listening through Bluetooth.
I can. He replied on the same path. Talking to the bot like this was not uncomfortable, just disorienting.
Excellent. JR14 announced.
“However,” the bot stated out loud. “It is best to conserve energy by speaking out loud whenever prudent.”
Azazel gazed at the spider-bot in amazement.
“How did you get in here? Can I get out the same way?”
“Response: once I determined the vibrational aspects of this enclosure, I adjusted my own frequencies to match it with 99.9 percent probability of success. It only became a matter of intent to do so.”
Okay. Not something he could pull off. Gathering his thoughts, Azazel watched JR14 out of the corner of his eye.
The bot fluttered his wings before sliding them under his back panels and folding his legs to settle.
“Now communications can commence,” he continued in his matter-of-fact tone. “And we can illuminate you on our escape plans. Bonus: I am communicating with my family now gathered with yours at the chancellor’s palatial space station orbiting Zerin.”
Azazel’s eyebrows furrowed. “How can you talk to them without the Krystalii knowing?”
“I have determined it is possible by bypassing the Krystalii psychic network without any organic or sentient methods.”
The bot’s blunt response didn’t surprise him, but his answer did.
“Since I am of a mechanical design, they are unable to penetrate my unique frequency to intercept. As of now, if you wish to convey any correspondence with the outside forces, you can do so with limited capability.
“That sounds a little awkward.” Azazel mused out loud, trying to keep his doubts to himself.
JR14 must have picked up his uncertainty.
“Possibly. Suggestion,” the droid responded. “Limit queries and statements to minimal as possible. That would save time and probable confusion. To whom do you wish to communicate first?”
He watched the stunning woman outside his crystal cage, holding her hands together as she watched him.
“Antonia.” His voice was lower than intended. “How is she? Does she know who I am? Does she realize we first met in a psychic dream Baelon created?” The questions twisted his gut. Her not knowing who he was gnawed at the pit of his stomach.
“She is as aware of you as you are of her.”
The bot’s quick reply told Azazel JR14 didn’t need to ask Toni that. It had to be something he’d witnessed firsthand.
“Observation,” JR14 continued. “I find it fascinating how two sentient entities can connect on such a profound level without a physical meeting firsthand. I believe I will study this phenomenon further to discover if it is an anomaly or if this is natural to organics.”
Having a sentient spider-bot study his love life wasn’t something Azazel looked forward to.
“Let’s not get sidetracked, JR14. I think we should get out of this predicament first.” Azazel studied the cage casing closer.
With his movements restricted, he couldn’t run his hands over the surface to get a proper feel for it.
The tomb-like pen pressed around him, clamping down hard on his psychic abilities.
Except for his inner demon that stirred when Toni came into the room. Now the damn thing prowled like an animal, looking for a chance to get loose.
“You said you can communicate with your family.” Azazel scrambled to get the important questions out first. “Do you mean JR10?”
“Affirmative.”
“And who’s with him at the chancellor’s palace? Are they aware of where I am and the predicament I am in?” He ignored the heat curling up his neck. It wasn’t easy to admit being duped by Baelon. But nursing a bruised ego was the least of his worries.
“My brothers, JR15 and JR13, are there with their respective sentient companions. JR12 is approaching the space station with his partner and will dock within the next twelve hours.”
Azazel did a quick calculation in his head. Abalim and Asmodel were on the station and Arakiba was on his way there. When the bot didn’t expound on their health or lack thereof, it was easy to conclude there wasn’t anything wrong with them.
“Where is my brother, Adapa?” His eldest brother didn’t have a JR unit.
“The prince consort is on the planet Akurn with his wife, Queen Inanna. They are in continuous contact with Federation Consortium Chancellor D’zia E’etu.”
Which made sense. Good to know Adapa was well away from the thick of things.
Especially since Azazel suspected the queen now carried twins.
Before agreeing to take the assignment on finding Toni, he was tempted to tell Adapa about the children on the way.
But at the last minute he decided it wasn’t his place to do that.
It was something only the man’s wife should share.
“JR12 as well as JR13 have gathered specific intelligence from Krystalii allies that will enable us to overtake the hard control Baelon has over his subjects.”
Krystalii allies? Now there was an oxymoron if he’d ever heard one.
“The one reality Baelon exposed to you in that Dreamwalk is that there is a Nexus Core on this ship. Not only is it a psychic amplifier for communication, but its primary function is also control. Lord Baelon uses it to maintain an iron-clad dominion over all Krystalii. If disrupted, the restrictions he wields over them will dissipate, giving us an opportunity to free you and allow the ship to be taken over by the Consortium forces.”
“So, what you’re saying is I have to take out the Nexus Core first to get free from this prison?” Talk about a circular idiom.
“Negative.” Replied JR14. “It would be illogical for you to take out the Nexus Core in order to liberate you from your current imprisonment.”
“Well then, who…” He didn’t have to finish his sentence. His eyes fixated on the stunning figure of Toni standing in front of his cage with her arms crossed, glaring at him and frowning.
“Update,” JR14 announced. “JR12 is close enough to send a reinforcement that has the capability of achieving a 73.69 percent chance of success in disrupting the Nexus Core. I must leave to coordinate this endeavor between them and Antonia.”
Before Azazel said anything, JR14 sprang off his shoulder and zoomed through the crystal cage’s force-field.
A distinctive figure digitized into view behind Toni.
Azazel sucked in a breath when he recognized who—or rather what—it was. “Oh… no,” he muttered out loud.