Zeke had been quiet until then, but he raised a finger, drawing attention to himself. “No, you won’t. Not with what you’ve built.”
Anger splayed across Lael’s face. “Is that so, little boy? Do you care to test your theory?”
“Zeke, wait.”
I shouldn’t have said anything because Zeke didn’t react. Worse, my tone was too scared and protective. Lael’s head whipped around, and he stared at me. Recognition replaced confusion as he glanced back at Zeke for a second. “You’re not serious. You replaced me with a child? Oh, Ori. How far have you fallen.”
White-hot ire clouded my vision. He could insult me all he wanted, but I wouldn’t let him disrespect Zeke. Before I could speak, Zeke put a hand on my arm.
“I’m okay,” he said softly. When I looked over, he winked. “But thanks.”
Lael laughed, but there was too much anger for him to hide his real feelings. “The mighty Orion. Lickspittle to a mere boy.”
“You don’t know me, so I’ll excuse your ignorance,” Zeke said in a calm voice. “Your tech is operating at a frequency and power level so far below current spec, it wouldn’t be functional if the Drevlin attacked. I’m not sure which of your assistants brought you this ancient technology, but it’s so laughably useless you should consider the possibility you’ve been set up.”
Whatever Lael expected from Zeke, the authoritative tone and command of the subject matter wasn’t it.
“I get why you don’t believe me.Iwouldn’t believe me if I were you. Which means I need to give you information for the brains of your operation to chew on. The others you’re counting on to rush through that tree line over there.” Zeke pointed to his left. “They aren’t coming. All eight have been detained. Those portable energy emitters you kept as a failsafe, they’ve been neutralized by a focused polaron wave, oscillating at frequencies above the level your defenses can keep out. This neutralized the power sources, rendering them useless.”
Lael glanced at the angel closest to him. If he wasn’t the scientist in the group, he at least understood the physics better than Lael.
“And since you’re checking to see if I’m lying, Orion and I are wearing an energy shield designed to withstand a blast from a weapon powered by an 11,000 megajoule generator. That’s approximately twenty percent greater than your machines can generate.”
The shocked expressions on the angels’ faces confirmed the accuracy of Zeke’s statements. Lael noticed it, too, because it was about that time he lost the rest of his swagger.
“Lastly.” Zeke waited for Lael to meet his steady gaze. “Before you decide whether to self-destruct your tech in the hopes of taking us with you, I should tell you, Michael and the other leaders have taken steps to defend this world. The tech Ori and I are using to protect ourselves is at least one full generation behind the cutting edge. If your goal was truly to protect the planet, that’s not necessary. It’s being handled by people who are competent enough to create weaponry and defense that can match and exceed the Drevlin.
“Your sacrifices won’t draw attention to a problem too long ignored. You won’t be heroes. You’ll be reviled as mass murdering terrorists who killed millions of innocent people for no gain. And that assumes you can even detonate your devices. The polaron beam should have been strong enough to destroy the devices inside the barn.”
A surge of pride swelled within me for the remarkable man by my side. His courage and unflinching confidence in the face of danger were utterly captivating.
The blood drained from Lael’s face as Zeke’s words hit home. For a long beat, stunned silence reigned before Lael finally found his voice.
“You’re bluffing,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “There’s no way you could possibly?—”
“Orion and I wouldn’t risk millions of lives on a bluff,” Zeke said, his tone hardening like steel. “If you truly want to protect the world, you’ll stand down and let Gabriel know who put you up to this ill-fated plan. Otherwise?—”
The singe of an energy weapon forced everyone to take evasive action. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. My heart seized as I turned to Zeke. He shook his head, and we both looked toward the barn. Lael was down. More energy weapons rang out, these from behind us.
Lael’s two assistants were running for the open door. One was cut down by a beam of light. It paused for a moment, stopped by a diffusion shield, before it cut through and killed the angel.
The third angel was closest to the door and managed to get inside before his shield failed. Zeke was on his feet a half second before me. He made it to Lael’s side and cringed. He gagged loudly and turned away.
I didn’t need to check Lael to know he was dead. Most of his back had been burned away, half his internal organs had burned, and the rest were a bloody mess. I’d seen worse in my life, but that didn’t make this any less horrific.
The guards Gabriel sent surrounded the barn, and I put an arm around Zeke. “Are you okay?”
“Been better,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m sorry about Lael. I’m sure you still cared about him.”
I took a moment to question if I did. The short answer was yes, but it was complicated. I didn’t hate him, and we’d once meant a lot to each other. He’d hurt me, but part of me still believed it wasn’t deliberate. That the reason he stayed as long as he did was because he loved me and wanted it to work. It just didn’t.
“That wasn’t the Lael I knew. His injury did more psychological damage than anyone realized. He wouldn’t have done this on his own. He wasn’t a murderer.”
Engines roaring warned me a moment before an SUV and an ATV burst through the green wooden barn doors. Instinct kicked in, and I pushed Zeke in one direction and ran in the other trying to draw their attention.
They ignored me and headed for the main road. Energy weapons locked onto the SUV and quickly overwhelmed the diffusion shield. Shockingly, they didn’t cut through the metal and the SUV continued to drive.
The ATV driver didn’t fare so well. Once his shield collapsed, he was killed an instant later.
