SarthDarah felt numb. She was still burning up from the fire. The roar of swirling wind was dying down. The whiteness of the heat faded back to the dimness of night. She was still standing, her feet planted onto the rock below her. Ringing in her ears began to grow louder, replacing the absolute silence that had fallen.

  The barren landscape around her was leveled flat. She saw no other bodies, even Rythorn’s had been vaporized and scattered to the wind. That fire had come down and cleansed all who were consumed by it. Why was she still here then?

  SarthDarah had been standing right next to Tartarus when the wrath of heaven opened upon them. As she looked around again, she saw him. He was standing ten feet from her, waiting.

  The blood red eyes of Tartarus were squinted and focused on SarthDarah. The only creature to ever have survived his full fury. The wrath that had been compounded for generations in his family had snuffed out numerous foes. They defeated would-be coup leaders, and even the ancients living in the Labyrinth with this power. Yet this girl stood.

  Tartarus was fighting the urge to rush her. To gore her. To rejoice in the victory yell as her body fell limp on his horns. Instinct held him back. His body knew she was dangerous, even if her attacks barely touched him. They had done a lot of damage to this body. The little purple flash girl had promised him it could take it. That girl had been too fast to hit for him, but she didn’t want to fight.

  Tartarus wanted to fight.

  “END!” Tartarus bellowed loudly. “NOW! Come, end it!”

  He kicked at the ground and steadied his footing. SarthDarah was barely able to shift herself to a ready position before he charged in. Her body twisted, dodging the horns by a narrow margin. Tartarus rushed past a few yards before he stopped.

  SarthDarah reacted by chasing him down and jumping onto his back. She put an arm around Tartarus’s neck and twisted. The momentum of his rush and her pull sent him tumbling over. SarthDarah felt a crack in her side as the body of Tartarus landed on her for a crushing moment before continuing on.

  Despite the pain, she forced herself up onto her feet. The golden trim of her robes, sparking and beginning to burn. Her generator buzzed in her chest, a slight twinge of pain coming from it as her will to defeat Tartarus overrode her body's limits.

  “Tartarus!” SarthDarah yelled.

  She let her aura burn hotter, brighter. The gold reflecting the light all around, brightening up the dark cliff side. SarthDarah might as well have been a star settling on to the planet. Tartarus was forced to put a hand up to block his eyes when he looked at her.

  “I think you were right. It is time to end this.”

  No words were needed for the conflagration that she sent towards him. It was just her, her pure will powered by her soul. There might have been a power boost in there from someone she cared very much for; but this was an all out attack of will.

  Tartarus screamed as the light flowed over him. The heat was searing, even for his enhanced body. He was supposed to be able to command the flame, it was his gift from the core of this world. Valkerrah had promised the fire of this planet would never betray him. He should be impervious. He should be…

  “That is not the fire of this world. She burns with the energy granted to her from a soul that came from another. It is her world’s energy that she is pulling straight from the source. You lose, and I want your soul.”

  Tartarus looked around. The heat had only lasted until that voice stopped speaking. This wasn’t the cliffside he had been on. He looked down a dark hallway, stone carved by years of hard work. He was back in the Labyrinth. He was home, they had made these tunnels through the bedrock of Tios. Why was he here again?

  “SCREEAAAAAAAHHH!”

  Tartarus turned, he knew what that beast was. He began running towards the safety of the hidden camp nearby. Two turns away, he knew this place better than anything else. He could dodge the Core Eater, then figure out what had happened.

  He slid under the rock and around the sharp corner of the hidden path. Holding his breath he waited to hear the dozens of tiny legs scraping by as the Core Eater passed. Tartarus remained perfectly still, until he heard the scrapes. Two of them, from inside the camp.

  Before he could gasp in another lung full of air, the creature lunged at him from the dark.

  SarthDarah released the energy in a smooth motion. Tartarus had been burnt up, and she couldn’t even see his body. Something about doing to him what he had just done felt justifying. Giving him a taste of what he used to hurt so many. She knew it wasn’t enough, that the people she had lost to get to this point would haunt and hurt her even though she kept winning.

  Was the sacrifice ever worth it?

  SarthDarah let her shoulders fall. She was alone here on the cliff. Walking over towards where Lavia had been dragging Jorn, she had to hold back tears that began to well up. There was a long black scorch mark that led towards the improvised barricade. SarthDarah almost decided to not continue walking. She didn’t want to be disappointed by being unable to find even a trace of the rest of her group.

  “SARTH!!” It was Jorn.

  SarthDarah looked up at the rocks that barricaded the warrior. She really did start crying then. The dam had burst, not in sadness, but in glee as she found even the one friend. As she took the first step to run to him, Lavia poked her head up as well. The smile on her face made SarthDarah mirror it. SarthDarah began to sprint.

  “I thought…” She started as she came around to their side. “...oh.”

  Duerlin lay motionless on the ground. His body was smoking as if it had been burnt out from within. Black marks scarred all over his arms and face, looking like cracks in a ceramic statue.

  “He saved us…” Lavia’s smile was gone, and her embrace was something SarthDarah didn’t want to leave.

  Ironfiddle was sitting on Duerlin’s other side, holding the sheath of Duerlin’s sword. The Dwarf was quiet, not even humming a tune like he normally did in the background. It was eerily quiet considering everything that had just happened around them. The battle was over, the war had moved on without them.

  “I thought it was us that were about to die.” Jorn spoke softly. “He flashed in out of nowhere and then grabbed onto us before flashing us all back here. The searing heat had barely started to hit when it happened. Until it was over I didn’t know what he had done.”

  Everyone was looking at the Swordmaster that had given his life to save two comrades. It hadn’t been Tartarus that killed him. Duerlin had burnt himself out using too much power. He had surpassed the limits of his vessel, using his own will and soul to burn energy the same way SarthDarah had. It had destroyed him from within.

  SarthDarah put a hand on Duerlin, offering up a moment of prayer and peace for his soul. Hoping that it would return to his true self. It was an optimistic goal, but he had beaten the odds so many times already. Maybe he could do it again.

  “Where’s Kuru and Lyria?” Lavia was looking out over the barren landscape.

  SarthDarah shook her head, not wanting to answer. She knew Kuru had powers that would allow her to escape, hopefully. Watching Lyria burn had been a lot to take. Now having Duerlin gone too, SarthDarah felt like she was watching her friends disappear. One by one they kept falling around her. The pain of losing her family hit all over again.

  “Fear not, for I have returned.” Kuru’s voice was followed by the light tap of her feet landing on the ground beside SarthDarah.

  Fear? That wasn’t what she was feeling. It was anger, sorrow, envy for a power that would allow her to save them all and bring the ones already lost back. SarthDarah was never afraid, not of an external entity.

  “Fear?!” SarthDarah shouted as she stood, getting within inches of Kuru’s face. “I do not fear anything but my own weakness. I did not worry myself over you being gone, you seem to be attached to me in ways that go way beyond your attachment to others. I despair at the fact that I once again failed to protect my friends! My family. I won the battle, but I am losing this war. We still haven’t reached our destination, nor have we secured any way to do so. The Minotaur horde is probably reaching and ransacking the city already! And don’t even get me started on yet another opponent that seems to be way stronger and impossible to beat.”

  Kuru remained motionless and calm while SarthDarah ranted on. She knew the anger was not meant for her, not directly anyway. She just needed it to be aimed in the right direction. Kuru was close to getting her desire, she just needed SarthDarah to finish what was started.

  “So go beat the one commanding your family to die. You want revenge? You want to prove you have the power to save your people? I told you already, you had that power long ago. You used it finally, and so did your friend here. Only by tapping into your true self’s power will you surpass the one who started this fight. You put down Tartarus using energy derived from your soul, taken from another world. More power in your one finger than in all of Tartarus’ rage.”

  The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down. SarthDarah wanted to prove herself, and Kuru wanted the power to be more overwhelming than even the Mistress of Chaos had predicted. If her Grandmother had thought the explosion of energy contained in a vessel gained from simple attunement to nature was impressive; then this would turn her eyes to Kuru in extreme favor if she could increase it one hundred fold.

  “How can I beat her? Valkerrah didn’t even have to try against me the first time. It felt like I was a five year old struggling to hit a master.”

  “How did you beat Tartarus? Or the Silvered one? Or the Pirate?” Kuru’s eyes had softened slightly, and her breath came out in a long huff against SarthDarah’s face. “You really can not fathom your own power can you?”

  SarthDarah blinked at that. Fathom her own power? She was strong, and had two natures of energy to use and combine to create massive attacks. That was all well and good, but that did little to satisfy the requirement to beat Valkerrah.

  “You're a monk, and don’t know yourself?” Lavia had her head leaned in to get closer to SarthDarah.

  “What?”

  “She is a noob, ya know.” Jorn was half smiling, making a joke as he wiped the back of his hand across his cheeks.

  Ironfiddle was looking on with a mixture of sadness and creativity. His mind was already starting to work on a final ballad for Duerlin the Swordmaster that had saved his friends. He had enjoyed wandering with his old group, but once he and Lavia had been captured on the sea, it had been abound with excitement ever since.

  The group seemed to relax slightly. SarthDarah was giving Jorn a dirty look, but her face was barely containing the smile behind the scowl.

  “This noob just beat the world boss. I think that means I should get a little respect.”

  “Sure!” Jorn clapped her on the back with one hand as he stood.

  Lavia was on her other side, the two of them sharing a grin at each other. SarthDarah had a split second to decide if she was going to let them or not, she decided it wasn’t worth fighting.

  “All hail!!” Lavia and Jorn both cried out as they lifted SarthDarah up onto their shoulders.

  “HEY!!” SarthDarah shouted. “Put me down!”

  “Should I sound the trumpet milady?” Ironfiddle bowed slightly and chuckled at her reddening cheeks.

  “NO! Absolutely not.” She cried out.

  Kuru was giggling softly as she watched on. For a moment they all seemed happy again, even though they had just lost so much. It was surprising to her that she felt comfort in the mortals being happy again.

  Kuru had never cared so much for the souls of mortals, but these few had left an impression on her. She had gained so many new souls for her collections here. This test had been successful for her no matter how the situation with Hizumi turned out. Gaining Tartarus had been a bonus she had not expected, and knowing that he was a vessel bound soul was tempting for other reasons. It was hard to not smile, good thing the mortals all made light of such dramatic times.

  “Come,” Kuru interrupted their playful joy. “We need to get moving. We can still make it to the Capital if we go now. We’ll have to stay quiet and behind the Minotaur horde, but once we are close I can send a signal to the Admiral to wait for us.”

  Jerod hated his luck. It was no good thing to be left in this forsaken city anymore. Screams had been breaking the normally peaceful early morning. The morning light had not even begun to signal dawn. If he hadn’t been up to start preparing for the morning breakfast, Jerod would have probably been overlooked.

  Minotaurs ran past, throwing clubs and hammers into the shop windows. They were pulling whatever items they could grab as they moved. It was an unending line of them. Jerod stood in shock, watching as his windows all were broken. Then as the Minotaurs noticed the fresh bread and the man standing by the oven, a few of them jumped in through the windows.

  “Stay back…” His voice wavered.

  He got a few snorts and grunts as an answer as they came closer. Fearing suddenly for his life, Jerod dropped the pan he had been holding. He turned and ran to the stairs leading up to his apartment.

  “Alleria!!” Jerod’s voice strained and broke.

  He couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough. He took them by two and tripped about half way up.

  “RUN!!” He screamed as she opened the door.

  For a few long moments, Alleria stood there. She had on a white gown, and a silver necklace that they had pawned from someone long ago. The golden jewel in it glimmered slightly as her breath left her. Her eyes were locked on something below Jerod.

  A creak from the floorboards behind him made Jerod turn around. Three large bull faces crowded the bottom of the stairs. They all had a menacing smile that showed discolored and broken teeth. One put an arm forward and reached out to grab at Jerod’s ankle.

  With a quick jump, Jerod managed to pull himself up out of reach. The Minotaur laughed, snorting as he did. The other two dropped their smiles and pulled out small axes with jagged blades.

  “Please, no. Stay back!” Jerod pleaded.

  “Moove.” The middle one spoke with a thick accent as it took another step up the stairs.

  “No. Please!”

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  “Jerod!” Alleria screamed.

  She had shut the door, but her voice carried through. It was followed by breaking glass and a soft thumping from inside the apartment.

  “Shit! Alleria!” Jerod’s focus shifted away from the encroaching beast.

  He felt the hand grab around his leg, then pull sharply. His head bounced off of the stairs a couple times as his body was tossed like a doll to the bottom floor. He lay there for a moment, looking up at the two other Minotaurs that scowled down at him.

  He tried to look back up the stairs, hoping that his wife would get away. Worried that she had already been ambushed and assaulted as he lay dying on the floor. Jerod turned his head to the secret door that was carved into the bottom stair. That damn monkey and its instruments were in there.

  Was it for good that he had found those? Or was this his karmic fate for having taken them? Could he somehow find a way to luck out of this scenario? Probably not.

  “HELP!!” Alleria was screaming as the Minotaur carried her down the stairs.

  He had her under one arm, her arms tied to a short rope from his belt. Jerod tried to call out, tried to raise his hand to reach her. He could do neither. His luck had finally turned completely sour it seemed. Had his whole life just been one honey trap after another?

  Jerod was trying to pull himself across the ground to follow them. The Minotaurs didn’t even look back at him as they carried his wife out the now demolished front entrance. One more came in after the first three were gone. His axe was already thick with red gore.

  Jerod thought about the few people left in the city around him, and how that number must be reaching near zero already. The Minotaur let out a guttural snort, raising the axe as he slowly walked towards Jerod’s limp body.

  “No… please… bring her back.” Jerod was still reaching a hand out for Alleria.

  He didn’t register the pain when he heard the axe come down. It must have severed something important, or he just wasn’t feeling it. His body wasn’t moving anymore. His mind must have been leaving him now, because he saw the Minotaur fall over and land in front of him. The bullhead was still scowling in rage and determination, but it was no longer attached to the massive body.

  “Well, aren't you lucky.” A female voice called down to him.

  Jerod turned his head slightly, it was painful. He could still feel himself lying on the floor. He could see the purple eyes glowing in the morning sunlight. This wasn’t his wife, she had an otherworldly sort of beauty that he had never seen before. Jerod was trying to make his mouth work, but instead his eyes began to water. Damn his luck, why had it not saved Alleria as well?

  “My wife…” He trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought of where she was now.

  “Hmm? The pretty blonde girl that was just dragged out?” Hizumi looked back out into the street. “There’s not much I can do for her now. I was actually surprised to see someone still in here. Though I am glad you are still alive.”

  Jerod was cursing his luck even harder now. It had been his damn fault every time. He should have left her to live a quiet life in their village. He could have run away on his own. She would have had another man’s children and been given the life she always wanted. Jerod had just gotten her kidnapped by a Minotaur horde. He started to imagine what they would do with her, then stopped.

  “They’ll kill her.” Jerod was saying this in hopes that it was the only thing they would do.

  “No. They want slaves, and since they killed the majority of the army already…” Hizumi trailed off, a wicked grin on her face. “That’s for them to do. I am here for something else. You, my lucky merchant, happen to be in a position to make it out of this city alive. I only need a couple things from you, then I will place you under my protection.”

  “Your protection? What good is that now?”

  “Well, you could stay here and see what that horde has planned for your city. Or you could swear loyalty under me, and we can leave and you can continue living your lucky life.”

  Jerod looked between the radiant purple eyes of Hizumi and the Minotaurs still looting the stores around them. He hadn’t much choice anymore, she had just given him his only options. He wouldn’t survive on his own, not with the horde rampaging around. He would end up a slave to them just the same as anyone else, or dead.

  “You don’t leave me a lot of options.”

  “I beg to differ. I am offering you an option that normally shouldn’t exist at all for you. You would already be dead after all, had I not intervened.”

  “So I owe you then? A clever trick to force a debt? Don’t play me like a fool, I know what kinds of deals shady merchants make.”

  “Then decline my offer.” Hizumi chuckled through her silky smooth words.

  “I just told you I cannot.” Jerod felt a flare of life in his chest.

  “Then stand up straight when you talk to me. I don’t let my underlings act like vagrants or children.” Hizumi’s tone changed to a commanding bark. “You might, or might not be, aware of a certain trinket hidden here. I want it.”

  Jerod hurried to stand up. He knew the shady merchants and how they did business, and this woman was even more domineering than most of the men he had dealt with in the past. Her eyes flared and the look in them gave Jerod pause before he answered.

  “Uh,” He was worried he might offend her somehow. “Pardon my question Miss, but I don’t understand the arrangement you are looking for. I still don’t even know who you are. What is it exactly that I can do for you?”

  There was a flash of purple light, and in the afterglow, a wall appeared to block them off from the street. It was carved with images of battles and parties, all mixed one after another. Above them a large rotation of stars filled the once blank wood ceiling. Jerod was gasping in a breath as he looked up, then fell backwards and landed on the floor as he took in what he saw.

  “Let me introduce myself.” Hizumi gave a dramatic flourish and bow. “I am Hizumi. I employ many agents across many star systems. I hold sway with the Galactic Federation courts and many of the dignitaries from worlds around the galaxy. My favorite job is liberation, of course.”

  Hizumi was smiling broadly. As she spoke, the stars twinkled and several of them became highlighted in a faint purple outline. There were sixteen clusters of stars and planets highlighted on his ceiling. Many of them had a dark green outline instead of the purple. Jerod watched as they all became connected in tangent by lines of color. Soon it looked like an eye with a large spiral spinning away from the center of it.

  “This is our galaxy.” Hizumi pointed upwards to a single speck not far from the center, only a short ways out on the first spiral of color. “Here is Tios. It orbits a massive central collapsed star called Nexora. There are half a dozen or so inhabited planets around Nexora, and just about as many dwarf and red stars.”

  Jerod understood little of the astrophysics lesson, he just stared at the show above him. He had never thought beyond his own life. Or his own city. To think of his world, well that was to just know that that was where he was. Nothing existed beyond that. He couldn’t fathom it, his eyes saw, but his mind refused to believe.

  “How do I know this is real? This is an illusion!’

  “Would you like to see for yourself?” Hizumi questioned calmly.

  “What? More tricks?”

  “No. Give me what I want, and I will take you personally to the central star system. We can take a short tour of the Federation council chambers, you can see all of the worlds coming together yourself.”

  “I…” Jerod wavered. “I still can’t say no to that. Fine, then take me and let us begone from here.”

  “Oh, but it’s not that simple yet.”

  “WHY!!” Jerod let his emotions boil over. “I have just lost my entire life, again! My wife was taken. My goods were stolen. My house has been destroyed. Why can we not just go?”

  Hizumi snapped her fingers, the display of the galaxy above them shut off. The dull morning light was suppressed by the debris and dust all around them. She knew what this man was feeling, she couldn’t empathize wholly, but she could sense the pain. It was hurt that drove his anger. She could use that.

  “There is something here I need to recover first. Then we can go.” She spoke gently, but with firm resolve. “Show me the hiding spots.”

  Jerod looked over towards the stairs, only briefly before returning his gaze back to hers. He should make sure he got a written contract for safety and passage first. His mind was slowly working, remembering how to make a deal.

  “Make our deal first. I want proof you won’t simply take whatever it is you want and leave me.”

  “Smart boy.” Hizumi smiled, getting a small thrill at the prize she had found in the rubble. “Hold up your arm. A gift, to mark our future dealings and my promise of absolute protection.”

  Jerod hesitated slightly, not sure what that meant. He put his right hand out to her anyway. The deal made it sound entirely in his favor, those always had some sort of convoluted meaning to them. He wasn’t sure how to feel when Hizumi put her hand on his wrist, then slowly moved it up to his elbow. Every inch of where her skin touched his was alight with sparks.

  Quick sparks of purple lightning zapped and created a friction between them. Jerod felt his heart beginning to pulse faster, the surge of adrenaline started causing him to lose his breath. When he felt her hand reach his shoulder and his hand bumped into her side, Jerod gasped in a large lungful of air.

  “Hold that breath.” Hizumi put a finger from the other hand on his lips. “One small shock, then it will be over. Do you swear to be mine?”

  Jerod held his breath, his body felt the electric current running all the way through it now. He could only nod, knowing that he couldn’t turn away from this now.

  “Good.”

  A prick of pain at his collarbone and a feeling of fire running into him for a short moment caused him to expel the breath he held. By the time he had taken the air back in, the pain was gone. A small numbness replaced it, and his heart rate began to slow.

  “What was that?”

  “The promise I made. You have my absolute best protection now. If I can not manage to take you from here now, and if for some reason your body becomes terminated; you now will have your soul transferred into a vessel instead of dying.”

  Jerod blinked, stared at her trying to make sense of it, then blinked again. If his body became “terminated”? Was she going to let him die anyway? What a shitty rotten deal that was. How could that even come close to the bargain they had agreed upon?

  “Now, where is that hiding hole? I saw you glance to the stairs. Is it upstairs? Or in the wall around them?” Hizumi was already walking over to them.

  “No. And I don’t think our deal is fair. You just said I would still die.”

  “Hmm, not upstairs or the wall. And it’s you that’s not being fair. I gave you explicit terms that stated you would not die.”

  Hizumi put her foot down on the first stair, stomped up and down lightly a few times, then tried the next one. Jerod was thinking about what she had told him. His soul into a vessel? He had gotten stuck on the being terminated part. How was he supposed to be a soul in a vessel? Like a pot? Or a stone?

  His eyes went wide and he sat straight up again. She was a witch, and had tricked him. She put something in him that would pull his life away from his body and into an item. She only wanted to know where the trinket was, then he would become an inanimate object forever.

  “I don’t want to be a rock!” Jerod yelled, standing and trying to make a run for the door.

  He took two steps and then looked back and forth at the confusing wall that had replaced his storefront. The battles between monsters and creatures he had no explanation for decorated the upper half. Scenes of parties and castles were spread across the lower half and jutted up in between the battle scenes.

  “I don’t want you to be a moron.” Hizumi was halfway up the stairs, still tapping lightly at each one. “I want your skills. You are a useful person, and would be wholly unuseful to me as a rock. A vessel is a crafted machine that is capable of housing life. Your soul fits into one specifically attuned to that small shard of crystal I just gave you. Only when, and if, you happen to die, will it take place. Your vessel is aboard my personal ship in orbit in the central system.”

  Jerod blinked. His confusion went away in small bits each time she explained more. He thought back to her saying who she was. To what she had claimed about the galaxy. She had opened up so much more to him. His small world was only a tiny blip in such a large map. His whole life had meant next to nothing in comparison.

  He thought about that again. Only in the frame of looking at everything had his life meant nothing. When he looked at what he had accomplished individually, he felt his own perseverance meant a lot. He still wished Alleria was here. Her scream for help as he lay on the floor would stick with him forever. He knew it was his fault.

  “You won’t find it that way.” He spoke up just as Hizumi reached the top of the stairs. “It’s in a compartment under the tread of the bottom stair. I hollowed out the floor underneath to accommodate it, then insulated the bottom of the step to keep it from sounding hollow.”

  “You are clever.” Hizumi’s voice was full of glee as she raced back to the bottom. “Get anything you can carry and wish to keep. We’re leaving.”

  She was pulling the compartment open, her eyes twinkling as she saw the monkey and instruments lying there waiting. Jerod looked around his shop, he had started with none of this. He didn’t want to take any of it either. Everything held memories that would forever be attached to Alleria.

  His eyes roamed over all of the cooking supplies. Then to the few damaged trinkets that the Minotaurs left behind. Chairs and tables were tossed aside and snapped into pieces. His once bright and wonderful store had become a dark and terrible eyesore. He couldn’t find anything happy left.

  Jerod looked towards Hizumi as she tucked the items she had pilfered into a sack. He watched her for a moment, taking the time to draw in her full details. Her eyes had been so distracting before, that he had failed to properly take in everything about her.

  Hizumi was wearing tight fitting clothes under a long overcoat that fit snug around her shoulders, then flared out from her waist downward. Jerod thought she would have been wearing fine clothing by the way she carried herself, but what Hizumi wore was instead travel worn. The shirt was marked with slight burn marks, even the fringe of the overcoat seemed to have been frayed by fire recently.

  Walking closer, Jerod was able to tell that the dark gray fabric had once been white. It was smeared with ash and soot. Why was she covered in ash and soot? With the burn marks on her shirt, he wondered if she had run through a fire to get here.

  “No token of home?” Hizumi asked when he continued to stare at her.

  Jerod shook his head. He didn’t want anything from here. Instead of dragging old memories to a new life, he preferred to clean the slate and see what new memories he could make. Alleria wouldn’t ever be washed from him, she would remain like the filth on Hizumi’s coat. His eyes were fixed on a spot that looked like it might be a face smiling out at him.

  His luck was terrible, he had to be the most unlucky bastard to ever walk this planet. Now he had a chance to have the worst luck out of an unknown number of planets. If this was real, and not just a dream that his dead body was hallucinating before finally shutting off, Jerod was ready.

  “You might want to stick close to me. The Minotaurs won’t bother me, but they will attack and kill or kidnap anyone else. You won’t stand much of a chance alone.” Hizumi started walking towards the wall she had created. “However, that would be your fastest way off this planet. Remember; if you die, you will wake up on my ship. There is a crew there that will see to what you might need, and they can also inform you of what you can do next. They might not be prepared for you to show up, so please be polite to my staff.”

  “I didn’t think anyone would tell me to be polite to people I would meet after I died. Always thought death was just the end of it.”

  Hizumi chuckled softly. She put a hand up and murmured a few words. The wall shimmered and then vanished. The broken storefront returned, the bright daylight with it. Jerod winced and put a hand up to block the light. To his relief the street outside was empty and quiet.

  Jerod winced at that thought immediately. His relief turned to guilt as he thought of what it meant for it to be so quiet. He really did feel like he had been stained with her memory.

  “Star Needle access is this way.” Hizumi was already walking away.

  Jerod rushed to follow, but his heart felt like it was dropping out trying to stay. Too late for a different choice, he kept pace with his new purple eyed Master.

  Admiral Griffon watched from the Star Needle’s Terrestrial Aircraft Dock. The clouds swirled around in the morning light, being pushed and pulled by the massive swells of pressure below. He tracked the battle from the start in the bay, all the way up to the collapse of the city directly below him. The mountains created a wonderful natural boundary and protection. They also made escape near impossible for so many when an enemy did manage to break in.

  This world was supposed to be a peaceful power merger. It had turned into an all out battle of the major factions of Tios. The Empire had hedged its bets by aligning with Mistress Nyx and demanding refugee status when the army was forced to deploy. Many of the citizens were now being evacuated up into the incomplete Space Needle. There were only a handful of tracks that could transport people to the Orbital Landing Docks at the top. His ship along with several others had made the journey to bring supplies, and now they would return with as many people from Tios as they could fit.

  The rest would have to manage inside the Space Needle, hoping that they could keep the Minotaur horde out. It would be several rotations before another ship would arrive. They would have access to the stores of food and water. There was a small cache of weapons that they could use, maybe. Admiral Griffon doubted if any of the survivors would know how to use a weapon if it came to it.

  “Too often we see the loss of our best, fighting to hide our worst.” His deep voice was clear despite the fast blowing wind.

  “Sir, the ship is ready to go. Are you still planning on taking this aircraft out first? I only ask because time is growing short. The people will only be mollified for so long before the fear sets in completely and turns to hysteria.”

  Griffon looked back at the young attendant that had come with him. It was always nice to have someone tracking all of the background noise and details that would distract him from what was happening in front of him. Griffon liked being reminded of the movement of things he wasn’t aware of. It kept him alert.

  “Yes. They had to find fuel for it, it shouldn’t take me more long to locate them. I got a message saying they had just reached the outskirts. There is a small river valley at the base of the mountain where I can land and pick them up. Otherwise Kuru’s group won’t make it to the Star Needle before it’s sealed up.”

  “If you insist. I thought she could travel at will on her own?”

  “She can. It’s the small group of newly minted immortals that she wants me to rescue.”

  “Sir!” A second attendant ran up. “The aircraft is fired and ready to launch!”

  “Thank you, Dagny.” Admiral Griffon returned the girl's salute, then moved quickly to the aircraft.

  The cramped pilot pit was made for much smaller people than him, but he managed to situate himself in a place to operate all the controls. He gave a thumbs up to the two attendants, and with a loud whoosh, launched himself into the sky. The aircraft snapped him back into the seat as the launch pad brought him up to speed and flung him straight out over the clouds.

  The engines were thumping loudly as he banked and throttled up. The aircraft took to the flight surprisingly well for having sat dormant for so long. Admiral Griffon turned down into a nosedive, aiming for the city gate on the southern side of the mountains. He swung the aircraft up and towards the river that Kuru had mentioned to him, it wasn’t far.

  Gunnar had been right, he didn’t have much time before the people started to panic. Panicked people did stupid things, and he couldn’t risk his ship or the few people he could save. This was a short flight, and Kuru only had four others with her, so it would be easy to pick them up and be back.