Relias: Uprising Page 38

  “So it was just us now. I was dazed, the Durants were immobilized, and I had to make a choice. At first I picked up my sword, barely able to stand, mind you, and dragged it towards the entrance. But there were thousands of them. Tens of thousands. And the only way out… I knew it was… was with them. And after what they’d done to the Durants in the camps and research facilities I knew what they would face was worse than death. So I saved them.”

  Tess’s face was grim. She scooted closer to her father and hugged his arm. It was as though Luke hadn’t even noticed. “I’ll never forget their faces, the words they were barely even able to whisper… they begged me not to… at first I decided not to but there was… there was no other way, Tess. There wasn’t. I had to kill them. They would’ve been on the butcher tables right next to me, watching themselves dissected, disemboweled, and instead of dying quick with the ones they loved at their sides, they’d die slow, lonely, in complete agony. I had to Tess. I might’ve murdered other people in my life but never… never them.”

  Tess nodded but said nothing else. She didn’t ask any more questions. But Luke, though obviously lost in emotional turmoil, went on.

  “Your brother tried to save me.” Luke said. It was that statement that drew complete shock from Tess. Luke spoke in a whisper now. “He had pretended for years after Frenz thought he’d rewired Lazarus’s brain to be a Legionnaire. But after hearing about Olsgrad, hearing how I was the last man standing, he gave it all up. He sacrificed himself. His life… it was for nothing. They took him into custody, shipped him off and executed him.” Luke saw Lazarus in the crowd of Legionnaires, yelling, dressed in the armor of a commander, hacking through the crowd with his customized katana, yelling for Luke, for his father. He disappeared, and that was the last Luke had ever seen of him.

  It was then that Tess knew that Luke had nothing else to say. She squeezed his arm tighter and closed her eyes. “You’ll always be my hero…”

  A warm tingling spread throughout Luke’s chest. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever said to him. It was just another piece of evidence that, by fighting for others instead of for himself, he had made the right choice. He reached a hand over and put it on her head.

  Tess held herself there, calm and quiet. She opened her eyes and looked towards the duffle. “So those your things?” She asked. All she wanted was to talk to him. Luke patted the bag and nodded.

  “Everything I’ve got.” He said quietly.

  Tess smiled. A warmth spread throughout her that she couldn’t describe. She’d never felt like this, not even when she first saw Luke in Alighieri’s office. That Luke wasn’t the Luke that now sat next to her. That man was vengeful, hateful, but the man that she now looked at was her father. He was a man she admired and a man that she’d brag about once more.

  They sat on the bench quietly, the silence speaking for itself. They were relieved and overjoyed to be at each other’s side and nothing else had to be said.

  They sat for what could have been hours, staring at the fountain both with faint smiles on their faces. At long last, Tess came to a startling realization.

  “The others! We have to get you back!”

  The break in silence caught Luke off guard, but hearing Tess’s proposition drew a groan. Tess already knew why he was hesitant but tugged at his arm anyway. Even with both hands she was still unable to reach even halfway around his arm.

  “It’ll be fine!” She giggled. Luke let her pull him upright and he picked up his bag. “I’ll do the talking and the apologizing, you just stand back and let me do it. I promise it’ll be great, and the operation will, especially with you here now, it’ll go perfect and there’s…”

  Her voice was lost as a deep, rumbling hum which rattled the streets. They both looked down to the ground as vibrations traveled beneath their feet, up their legs and reverberated through their entire bodies.

  It was engine noise. Helio engines. And they were getting closer.

  Luke looked to the sky and, no more than a hundred feet from the tallest building, a massive dark shape obscured the sky. All along its belly there were hundreds of tiny lights, each varying in color. It took little less than half a minute for the entire shape to pass over them. Tess folded her arms in confusion and Luke, confused as well, looked on with curiosity.

  “Strange for a Helio to be flying that low.”

  “Why would it do that?”

  “Got me.” Luke said, picking up his duffle bag and heaving it over his shoulder. “But let’s get to that hotel. I could really use a soft bed right… now…” Luke trailed off as the rumbling returned, this time louder and more intense. Looking back to the sky, Luke’s curiosity turned into fear.

  There were more ships. And not just Helios, of which there were four visible at different altitudes, but Primals and Mystos flew alongside one another, all travelling in the same direction; back in the direction where Tess had come from. Luke took several steps towards the center of the square with his eyes wide as the worst case scenario began pounding through his head.

  “Tess…”

  “Yeah?” She replied quietly, awed by the terrible size of the multiple armadas that were passing over them.

  “Where’s the hotel that Rush and the Ditrinity’s staying at?”

  Tess’s head jerked as she looked at Luke. Complete terror stained her face. It was all the answer that Luke needed. He took one last look to the sky and started down the street.

  “We have to get them out of there.” He said. The end of his sentence was drowned out by a group of Battlecrafts that went screaming overhead.

  “But, Dad, there’s… look at them! Look at how many there-“

  “We have to do this!” Luke replied forcefully. But noticing his temper getting out of hand again, Luke quickly controlled himself and spoke once more. “Tessie, listen to me, this is the last hope we have for the Darks, for Relias. We have to do this. My priorities have been completely out of whack and they have to change.” Tess’s face fell towards the ground, dazed at what was happening. Luke put a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. “Tess, the only friends I have in the world are in that hotel, and at the very least I have to try and save them. Even if we all die, I’d rather do that then spend the rest of my life knowing I left my friends to that. I won’t do that. But Tess…”

  Tess shook her head and started begging him. “Dad, please no, please, I don’t…” Her eyes were tearing up as years of hopes and dreams were quickly fading away. Then, immediately, she burst into sobs. “I don’t want you to die! Please don’t! We can do what you wanted! Go live by ourselves, be happy, not worry about all this and-“

  “Tess, you know-“

  “And we could just be happy together cause you’re all I’ve got!”

  “Tess, you know I can’t do that.” Luke explained quietly, pulling her further off the street as a Battlecraft passed below the tops of the buildings. “But Tess, listen to- listen to me. I need your help finding that hotel. Can you do that?”

  Tears rolling down her face, Tess shook her head. “Dad, I-“

  “Can you do that?”

  He held her face, forcing her to look at him. She had her mother’s eyes, but she had his presence. Luke smiled at her. “Nothing will get past me and hurt you. That I can promise.”

  Tess blinked away another tear and nodded, returning the smile. Luke put a hand on her shoulder. “Alright, then let’s-“

  “YOU!” Came a harsh voice from behind them. Tess looked behind Luke and she squeezed his arm. He saw a renewed terror spill across her face. Luke stood up straight and turned around.

  It was a full squad of Legionnaires, all set up with full life support armor; helmets, air filtration, the lot. It was loaded with special units and was larger than usual: Three Berserkers, three Skirmishers, four Knights, a Helldog and a Monolith. With a setup like that it was obvious they were expecting a fight. All held their massive guns at the ready as they approached.

  “There’s a
curfew in effect!” The Monolith boomed, using his particle cannon to point with. “And what you doing with a girl like that, old man? You a pervert or somethin’?”

  They all laughed. Luke nudged Tess behind him.

  The Monolith stopped only a few yards from Luke. Luke came up to his waist. The other Legionnaires moved to his side and formed a semi-circle around them.

  Luke looked around him, getting his bearings and evaluating the situation.

  “You,” The Monolith said while pointing to Tess. “Get off the streets. And you.” He went on, tapping Luke on the shoulder with the barrel of his cannon. “The bag. Open it.”

  Tess squeezed Luke’s arm tighter. Luke patted her hand, whispered some reassuring words to her and turned attention back to the Monolith. “Listen, she’s my daughter and we were just out for a walk. Is there any way that-“

  “Open the bag,” The Monolith said slowly and dangerously. “Or I rip a leg off.”

  Luke lowered his head and nodded. Gently grabbing Tess’s shoulders, Luke led her over and sat her down on the fountain’s edge. “Now baby, I need to you stay here while I do what they ask, okay?”

  Tess’s fear mixed with confusion. “Dad, wha-“

  “Hurry up, geezer!”

  Tess looked to the Monolith as he tapped his cannon impatiently. Dread spilling from her eyes, she looked back to Luke.

  With his hand on her shoulder, he smiled warmly.

  She watched him the entire way as he stood up and returned to his bag. He knelt down beside it and partially unzipped it under the close watch of all twelve Legionnaires. Then it caught and Luke tried forcing it open.

  The Monolith was getting fed up fast and nudged Luke with the toe of his boot. “I’ll arrest your raggedy ass if you don’t-“

  “I’m trying!” Luke protested, working at the zipper with all of his might. “Here, look, I’ve only got one thing in here and I can fit it out through-“

  “Just open the damn bag!” He shouted. He raised his cannon. “DO IT NOW!”

  Luke picked the bag up with one hand rummaging around inside of it. “I am, I am, I’m just-“

  A hole blew out of one side of the bag. The Monolith’s head burst apart, his giant body slumping to its knees and falling to its back. Before the others could react, Luke threw off his trench coat to reveal his white Razorback-skin long coat and drew his massive sword from his back.

  “HOLY SHIT IT’S THE GRINDER!”

  “BUST ‘IM UP!”

  They opened fire. Automatic gunfire echoed through the streets while white, frantic muzzle flashes erupted like strobes. The air between them and Luke rippled and the bullets ricocheted away. Luke lunged at the first Berserker and swung his sword across his belly, blood bursting through the gap in his armor as Luke moved onto the next Berserker in the same fluid motion, taking off his arm. The Skirmishers had already reacted. He caught one razor flail around his armored forearm and jerked the soldier onto the tip of his waiting sword.

  The air still rippled and flashed behind him.

  With the first Skirmisher still on his sword, Luke spun, ducked beneath the swinging halberd of the second Skirmisher, withdrew his sword and sliced the soldier in half and raised his free hand. The third Skirmisher’s upper body disappeared in a cloud of wet red mist as he was hit with a Charger.

  The Helldog, who hadn’t had a clear incineration path, saw his chance to fry Luke and unleashed a massive plume of flame. Luke backhanded his sword and hurled it spinning through the soldier’s chest. He stopped flaming and fell to the ground twitching. Luke spun, both hands humming as they held chargers, and took down the barrier.

  The Knights were sprinting away, having dropped their weapons. None dared to look back. Not even short on breath, knowing their escape meant his exposure, Luke unleashed the Chargers and hit them both between the shoulder blades.

  The Helldog was still alive, laying on his side with Luke’s mammoth sword skewering him. One quivering hand pressed a finger to his radio transmitter and he spoke into it with a wet, raspy voice. Luke strode over towards him, reached down, and pulled his sword from the Helldog’s stomach. Luke pressed one armored boot to the man’s shoulder, rolled him to his back, lifted his foot high and put the heel of his boot into the man’s face, crunching the white helmet flat with a wet crunch. Stepping over the corpses of the massacred Legionnaires, Luke beheaded the two Berserkers, both incapacitated but alive, and moved to one of the ownerless swords laying on the ground. Luke picked it up by the blade and took it over to Tess.

  She was shocked. Her eyes looked over the bloody piles of flesh that lay throughout the street and the dark puddles that spread from each of them. As Luke moved to her side, Tess shook her head in complete surprise.

  “Dad, you just… what did you-“

  “It’s war, Tess.” Luke said in a reassuring tone. “It was the only way.”

  “Yeah, but… look at what you-“

  “Here.” Luke said, putting the hilt of the sword in front of her. “Take this.”

  Tess looked down at the sword as though using it were the most impossible thing in the world. She shook her head and pointed towards the street. “There’s guns over there, powerful ones, I can just use-“

  “You’re taking one of those too.” Luke said, but he nudged her stomach with the heel of the sword. “But what happens when a Legionnaire gets too close to use it? Or when it runs out of ammo?”

  “Dad, but I don’t…” Tess said, timidly taking the sword and feeling its raw weight. Feeling the cold steel in her hands made things seem even more impossible. Her eyes pleaded with Luke. “I can’t do this, Dad. Please, I-“

  “When you get close enough to that first Legionnaire to use this, just do what feels right, your first impression.” Luke said, clasping the Tess’s hand as it gripped the sword. “You won’t think, you won’t have doubts, you’ll just know and it’ll feel right. Just let it happen.” Tess was still apprehensive. Luke became more forceful and spoke louder. “You’re a Semprys. This is war, and nothing’s ever been more natural to us, just follow me and you’ll know what to do. Trust me.”

  Four Battlecrafts zipped down towards the square and Luke snatched up his bag. “Come on.”

  Luke ran off and Tess, having no other option, took off after him.

  They rounded the corner onto the next street, running at breakneck speeds. As they ran, Luke pulled the rest of his armor from the duffle, throwing on his shoulder pads and gauntlets, consuming the last of his calorie packs and tossing the empty sack. He slowed down so Tess could run beside him and take him to the hotel.

  “So you ever used any Furo?”

  “You know I haven’t done anything big.” Tess said through paced breaths.

  “Yeah,” Luke said, realizing the stupidity of the question. “But that comes naturally to us too. Dr. Rowlings made Elemental sound like the most damned thing to understand on the planet like a Durant had to be some sort of quantum physicist to understand it but honestly, you just have to think about it. At least that’s how I do it.”

  The magnitude of what she had to accomplish was daunting to her, and Tess was becoming more and more discouraged.

  “Like exercising a muscle.” Luke said, making it simpler in an attempt to encourage her. “The more you use it, the more powerful it gets. You just need to figure out how to flex those muscles and knowing how to flex a muscle is based entirely around instinct.” Tess was starting to appear stronger, more sure. Luke knew she could do it. Otherwise, he’d leave her behind. “It’s just a matter of finding the muscle and flexing it.”

  Tess nodded. Apprehensive though timidly determined, she was ready and Luke could see it in her eyes. He took a quick look towards the cluster of battlecruisers and his face became grim and resolute.

  Together, sprinting side by side, Tess and Luke tore down the street, heading into the heart of the conflict where tens of thousands of Legionnaires were being deployed. In the sky, dozens of battlecruisers, more than half
of them Helios, floated towards the Crichlin Suites, the hotel where Rush and the Ditrinity slept and, by this time, were surrounded. Luke and Tess would have to fight their way through if they wanted to get in at all. But Luke had to come up with a brilliant plan and do it fast. If they did nothing, the whole of the Pretoratan Legionnaires would overwhelm them and they’d all be dead in a matter of minutes.

  For too long Luke had lived in the past and fought for the dead. The vehement way in which he clinged to the past had made him ignorant to the irony of his vengeful bloodlust. But he was done daydreaming, done living in the past. It was time that he started fighting for what he had left. Luke cracked his knuckles and picked up his pace.

  It was time for war.

  Chapter 27

  “Their room’s been blown to shit! Muldoon’s dead!” Pitt yelled frantically, bursting into the room. “Room’s been completely demolished!”

  “Whose!” Pontious shouted as he shoved a full magazine into his Infiltrator.

  “Sable’s and Seraphine’s! They’re gone!”

  “Goddammit.”

  They were in Morlo’s and Vyvyr’s room. The power to the hotel had been cut and they mulled around in the darkness with only the glow of the moons and planets illuminating the room.

  “Got gear over here. Come get it.” Morlo stood next to the massive crate he’d brought in, holding his axe in one hand and a cannon in the other. “And where the hell is Nate!”

  The door slammed open and the knob embedded itself in the drywall. Hendrick powered into the room with his face cemented into an enraged scowl. He was already armored up. He shoved Pitt roughly to the side and bent over the crate.

  “Where are they.” He growled. Morlo raised two objects wrapped in cotton linens.

  “Right here.”

  Without a thanks Hendrick snatched them from Morlo, tearing the cloth off and revealing two overhauled, armored Blazers. Hendrick fastened them to his forearms and spun towards the door.