My arms are around him instantly. “Oh my God, I’m so happy it’s you.”
“I found where General Rune and Jex are being held,” he says, pulling back and bringing up a digital display right in front of my eyes. A geometrical shape appears, floating between us. I step back, trying to see it in its entirety. Symbols and numbers flash around it.
“I don’t understand anything it says,” I say, impatiently. “Where are they? How many guards are there?”
“Right outside this panel is the hallway that leads to the isolation ward.” He moves toward the wall and points to a small discreet lever that will no doubt bring us closer to Rune or instant death. “The display says there are six guards in the outer hallway and three on the inside. Two more are standing in front of one particular door. I can only assume it would be General Rune’s. But it doesn’t have to be. He could be anywhere in there.”
I count on my fingers the number of the guards. I have to do it three times to get it right. “We have to get through eleven Caelum just to get to them?”
He nods slowly, “Eleven.”
Sliding open the hidden panel, I peek my head out. The corridor stretched out before me, long and foreboding. Tore places a hand to my shoulder, “The ward is built in the shape of an octagon and there are ten isolation cells on every side.”
I snap my head back over my shoulder at him, “Jesus, now you want me to do math? Eight sides, ten on each.” I blink at him. “Eighty cells? We have to go through eighty cells until we find Rune’s?” And all they can hold is eighty prisoners on this huge ship?The crime rate here must be ah-freaking-mazing.
“Once we pass all the guards, I’ll use the docking station on the inside of the ward to unlock all the cells. You try and find him. I estimate we have no more than five minutes before the mainframe senses there’s an issue and alerts Pious. Two minutes after that we’ll have more guards here.”
Seven minutes. Seven minutes to zap eleven Caelum and for Tore to unlock the cells. Are we not even going to mention if there may be other prisoners inside and how they are going to react?
“How…how many other prisoners do you think are inside there?”
“I’m not certain, but it’s not like we have time to figure it out. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the countdown to Rune’s execution has accelerated.”
“Yeah, I did notice. How much time do we have now?”
He leans his hand above the small exit and locks eyes with me. “He has an hour left.”
I look back out at the menacing gray steel corridor and swallow back any uncertainty. This has to work. I have to get Rune out of here and he has to help me stop Pious and get me back home. I can’t think of any other outcome. Not now.
“Okay,” my throat is too dry and my voice cracks. “Everyone fully suit up. For this to work, we need to make them believe we’re supposed to be here and then, surprise them.”
Tore’s expression turns grim as his eyes scan our puny rebellion. “Don’t let them raise their weapons. If they do, we all die.”
I nod.
“Let Sarahh and the others go first,” he says. “You and I need to be behind the front lines of the fight for me to get to the console and for you to be free to search the cells.” He gestures for Sarahh and the others to step through the opening, then he pauses and turns back to me. “I’m going to keep this panel open slightly, we should meet back here. I’m positive Rune and Jex were beaten, they are going to need to heal but I’m not sure of the safest place.”
“Let’s just get them, and then we could figure out the next step.” My voice shakes and cracks. I want to say more, but we have no time. Now my countdown says Rune has only thirty minutes left. That means Pious is either in the ward already or on his way. Before I could speak my fear, Tore is through the panel and sliding down the corridor like he’s nothing more than a shadow.
I move out and press myself to the wall while my pulse hammers loud in my ears. We quickly move through the quiet, turn a corner, and suddenly there’s an explosion of light and sound. Sarahh and the other women stand in a line; electric-blue lightning bolts surge out of their fingertips, blowing back everyone in front of them. To my right, Tore lunges through the smoke to reach the docking station. His hands move fast over the buttons and lights. I take a deep breath and rush frantically around the edge of the electric field of fire. One Caelum bursts into flames to my left and his body drops to the floor in front of me. I can feel the heat of it through my armor. I search desperately through the smoke and flames stepping over bodies and peering into cells.
I find Jex first, stunned and badly beaten. He’s naked and covered in purple welts. I run to him and try to lift him. His fists come flying at me. “Jex! It’s me, Kate. I’m here to get you out!” I grunt and block his swings. “Stop fighting me, you idiot!” My armor gives me the strength to hoist him up over my shoulder and carry him out of his cell.
I put him down right outside the door and lower myself to meet his eyes. “It’s Kate, Jex. I’m not going to hurt you. Where’s Rune?” When he doesn’t answer me, I shake his shoulder and pinch his arm. “Where is Rune?” I growl.
His eyes lift to the left, through the haze of smoke. Without thinking I jump up and rush ahead, across the huge expanse of the room. Dozens of men, stripped bare, stumble out of their cells. My eyes scan their faces frantically, looking for Rune. “Rune!” I call out. “General Rune! Has anyone seen him?”
One prisoner pushes at me and points to a closed cell door. “He won’t be able to move.”
I grab hold of his wrist and stop him from walking right into the melee behind us. “Thank you,” I say, patting his hand.
He looks down at our exchange in confusion, but I just wave him off and head for Rune’s cell, but two Caelum lunge toward me on either side, blocking his door. Their enormous size unnerves me for a moment, just enough time to feel the jittering curl of hysteria bubbling up in my throat, then I raise my arm and blast out a bright wall of electric-blue bolts of energy.
When the smoke clears, they’re both gone and dark gray ash softly drifts down. I pull off my helmet and yank at the keypad of the door, pulling it open.
The chaos from the fighting behind me rises to a fervent pitch, and then suddenly stops. I take the faceplate off so he can see it’s me. I step though the cell in the dead silence and my gaze immediately locks on Rune’s. His eyes, rimmed red and bloodshot, widen. His lips part. “You came for me?” His voice is low, barely louder than a breath. “He told me you were dead.” I can see the heartbreak in his face and hear the pure relief in his voice.
Heat blooms out across my chest and my cheeks flush with fire. I’m suddenly aware of how I might look in this moment, my hair matted and tangled, stuck to my face from my sweat and tears. No, I’m not dead, though I might look like half a zombie right now.
But he doesn’t seem to notice, or mind. He pushes his body off the wall, pain marring his features, but there’s also something more—some sort of ruthless, thunderous need to reach me. His hands pull me hard against him, gathering me in his arms. His hands, bruised and covered in scrapes, cup my cheeks, and the cool silk of his lips press against mine. His kiss is gentle at first and then, as if he’s just awoken from a deep slumber his whole body awakens, and he pushes me against the wall kissing me deeper, harder. There’s a desperation behind it, a need and desire I’d never felt from someone else before. I feel his kiss in every nerve ending in my body. He moves his lips against mine, our bodies touching, melting into each other. I want more of him. More than his lips and his gentle hands on my face. I grasp at his hair and whimper into his mouth. This kiss is more than someone wanting to repopulate his ship, this kiss means something so much more.
He pulls away slowly, reluctantly, and presses his forehead to mine. “What a precious feeling this is, with you in my arms,” he breathes. “It’s bigger than this universe, it feels too big. Against all reason we could ever find to fight it, I could not. It’s everything.”
I take a deep breath, resolving to tell him how I feel.
“Oh good, you’re both here,” a voice snarls from behind us.
I reel backward, staggering to keep my balance, and Rune sags weakly against me almost making us both collapse to the floor.
Pious stands, fully armored save for his faceplate, before us, leering down. “Time’s up, Rune.”
