Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Planet Joule was a step above the slave planet of Varz, but not by much. It was an unsightly little world that bore the wicked scent of salt and despair.
The terrain was rugged and rough. Snow fell from the sky in a tornado of gray soot and charred bones, and the air was the nauseating shade of hazy yellow.
Dante pulled on a helmet and adjusted the oxygen levels so as not to inhale any of the smog. He smoothed the visor over his eyes and tucked the wisps of his hair inside the hard material. He sealed his helmet airtight. He prayed Autumn hadn’t been made to suffer here. What a miserable place to be stranded.
Although the outskirts were barren, the majority of Planet Joule was occupied by maximum security cells in a monstrosity of a prison called Revolving Sight. Only the worst of the worst criminals were transported here from around the universes to serve out their sentences, paying for their crimes with their miserable lives.
The Grand Supreme found it more amusing to leave the prisoners alive rather than dispose of them upfront. He decided the dates of their executions at random. In many ways, it was worse to be sent here than to be made a slave.
Most never saw the light of day again after entering the facility walls and their suffering never ended. There was no escape but death.
Although he hoped it unlikely, if there was any chance Autumn was on this planet, he had to search for her.
Dante dispatched his men to scour the outskirts while he teleported into the windowless obsidian dome of the facility. He stepped lightly. There were still forty-nine other planets to search if this one yielded no results.
Inside of the building was eerily quiet and clinically white. Not a single body occupied the hallway. The building consisted of fifteen floors of numbered windowless doors that circled the structure in straight lines, coming to a head like a hive.
His heavy black boots clicked against the metallic tiles with crisp precision as he surveyed his surroundings.
Okay, where to start?
In an instant, he was swarmed by a team of guards who pointed their silver blasters at his head.
“Easy,” he held his hands up in mock surrender. A smile twisted over his mouth from beneath his helmet. His blood boiled with vengeance, secretly he hoped one of them fired so he could act upon their attempt.
He was approached by the captain of the guard as identified by the words embroidered into the left breast of his uniform.
“Identify yourself.” He cocked his metallic blaster. His fiery orange hair framed his emerald-hued face. Long fingers hovered over the trigger.
Dante removed his helmet, holding the protective gear in the crook of his arm, his spine straight. Everyone gasped and fell to one knee. He didn’t need an introduction.
“Forgive us,” the captain stuttered. “There was no formal announce?—”
He held up a hand to silence him. “Save your excuses. I don’t have time for them. I’m searching for my wife. Where is she?” he demanded.
Whispers erupted among the guards. “Why would the empress be here?” the captain finally asked, lips trembling.
He ignored his foolish question. “If I find out you’re lying or playing dumb, you’re all dead men. You have one minute—empty the cells.”
“But we?—”
“Fifty-nine seconds,” he folded his arms. “Trust me, if I get down to zero, you’re not going to like what happens next.”
The guards jumped to their feet at his threat. They scrambled from cell to cell, unlocking them. Doors sprang ajar and white puffs of steam poured into the hallway.
Dante followed the guards, glancing inside of each chamber. The conditions appeared miserable. There were no windows and blinding white lights with barely enough room to stand. The prisoners were shackled to the wall by their ankles. Hope had long since left their eyes.
He searched through hundreds upon hundreds of cells. The one trait all the occupants trapped inside possessed was they had defied the Grand Supreme in some way or another and waited for their execution date.
At the end of his rounds, he determined Autumn wasn’t there.
“Thank you, gentlemen, you’ve been most cooperative,” he turned on his heel to leave and then paused.
Wait, someone is missing. His heart hammered in his chest.
He turned back around, his mouth curving. “Take me to the hole.”