angel of doom - 1.droppdf.com1.droppdf.com/files/lxmaq/angel-of-doom-james-axler.pdf · he put on...
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MYTHICPROPORTIONS
Insidiousalienforcesconspiringtoenslavehumanitygrowincreasinglydangerousanddefiant.Willingtodowhateverittakestodefeattheseancientinvaders,theCerberusrebelscarryonthefightforfreedom.
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DAMNATIONTHRALL
TheCerberusfightersembarkonanurgentquesttodiscoverwhathappenedtoexpeditionslostinItaly,onlandthatoncebelongedtotheEtruscanempire.OnsitetheyencounterthemonstrousCharun,armedwiththehammerofthegods,andVanth,theangelic
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wingedhuntresswithaheartofevil.Thesealiengodsareintentonopeningaportaltobringtheirkindtoearth,harnessingthepowerofvictims’mindswhileusingtheirbodiesasshocktroops.AstheriverStyxispoisedtoflowagain,theCerberusteammustprevailoraninvasionfromabarbaricdimensionwilllaysiegetoEurope…and
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beyond.
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Asecondbrilliantsunhadappeared,blazingwhiteandhotEdwardsscrambledtohisfeet,standingonthefrontoftheManta.Themachinepistolsnappeddownintohisfist,readytogointoaction,butthestrangeglowingdiscwasn’tmoving.Heputonhisshadowsuit’sfaceplateandhopedforthevisortoscreen
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andfilterouttheblindinglight,aswellasanalyzetheobjectinthesky.
Therangewastenmiles,anditwasadvancingquickly.
HeactivatedhisCommtactmicrophone.“Guys,whereveryouare…”
Nothing.Noresponse,notevenstatic.Heturnedhisgazebacktothesky.Forallthepolarizationofthelenses,
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hecouldn’tmakeoutadetailoftheblazingcometloomingevercloser.Butinthespaceoffifteenseconds,ithadclosedtoninemiles.Hecouldn’tgetdetailsabouttheshapeoftheobject,onlyitsrange,andtherewasnoguaranteethatwasright.
Edwardsturnedtoopenthecockpit,butthecommandsignaltoremotelyopenthecanopywasalsojammed.
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Hewasinacompleteblackout.
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Othertitlesinthisseries:HellRisingDoomDynastyTigersofHeavenPurgatoryRoadSargassoPlunderTombofTimeProdigalChaliceDevilintheMoonDragoneyeFarEmpire
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EquinoxZeroTalonandFangSeaofPlagueAwakeningMadGod’sWrathSunLordMaskoftheSphinxUluruDestinyEvilAbyssChildrenoftheSerpentSuccessorsCerberusStormRefuge
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RimoftheWorldLordsoftheDeepHydra’sRingClosingtheCosmicEyeSkullThroneSatan’sSeedDarkGoddessGrailstoneGambitGhostwalkPantheonofVengeanceDeathCrySerpent’sToothShadowBox
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JanusTrapWarlordofthePitRealityEchoInfinityBreachOblivionStoneDistortionOffensiveCradleofDestinyScarletDreamTruthEngineInfestationCubedPlanetHateDragonCityGodWar
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GenesisSinisterSavageDawnSorrowSpaceImmortalTwilightCosmicRiftWingsofDeathNecropolisShadowBornJudgmentPlagueTerminalWhiteHell’sMaw
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ANGELOFDOOM
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A dreadful ferrymanlooks after the rivercrossing, Charon,appalling filthy he is,with a bush of unkemptwhite beard upon hischin, with eyes like jetsoffire.
—Virgil,Aeneid
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TheRoadtoOutlands—FromSecret
GovernmentFilestotheFuture
Almost two hundred yearsafter the global holocaust,Kane, a formerMagistrateofCobaltville,often thought theworld had been lucky tosurvive at all after a nuclear
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device detonated in theRussian embassy inWashington, DC. Theaftermath—forever known asskydark—reshapedcontinentsand turned civilization intoashes.Nearly depopulated,
America became theDeathlands—poisoned byradiation, home to chaos andmutated life forms. Feudalrulereappearedintheformof
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baronies, while remoteoutposts clung to a brutishexistence.What eventually helped
shapethiswastelandweretheredoubts, the secretpreholocaust militaryinstallations with stores ofweapons, and the home ofgateways, the locationalmatter-transfer facilities.Some of the redoubts hidclues that had once fed wild
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theoriesofgovernmentcover-upsandalienvisitations.Rearmed from redoubt
stockpiles, the baronsconsolidated their power andreclaimed technology for thevilles.Theirpower,supportedby some invisible authority,extended beyond theirfortified walls to what wasnow called the Outlands. Itwasherethattherootstockofhumanity survived, living
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with hellzones and chemicalstorms, hounded byMagistrates.In the villes, rigid laws
were enforced—to atone forthe sins of the past andprepare the way for a betterfuture. That was the barons’public credo and their right-to-rule.Kane, along with friend
and fellowMagistrate Grant,had upheld that claimuntil a
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fateful Outlands expedition.A displaced piece oftechnology…a question to akeeper of the archives…avague clue about alienmasters—and their worldshifted radically. Suddenly,BrigidBaptiste, thearchivist,faced summary execution,and Grant a quicktermination. For Kane therewasforgivenessifhepledgedhis unquestioning allegiance
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to Baron Cobalt and hisunknown masters andabandonedhisfriends.But that allegiance would
make him support amysterious and alien poweranddeny loyaltyand friends.Thenwhatelsewasthere?Kanehadbeenbrought up
solely to serve the ville.Brigid’s only link with herfamilywashermother’s red-gold hair, green eyes and
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supple form.Grant’sclues tohis lineage were his ebonyskin and powerful physique.But Domi, she of the whitehair, was an Outlanderpressed into sexual servitudein Cobaltville. She at leastknew her roots and was aremindertotheexilesthattheoutcasts belonged in thehumanfamily.Parents, friends,
community—the very
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rootedness of humanity wasdenied. With no continuity,there was no forwardmomentumtothefuture.Andthat was the crux—whenKane began to wonder iftherewasafuture.For Kane, it wouldn’t do.
So the only way was out—way,wayout.After their escape, they
foundshelter at the forgottenCerberus redoubt headed by
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Lakesh, a scientist,Cobaltville’s head archivist,and secret opponent of thebarons.With their past turned into
a lie, their future threatened,only one thing was left togivemeaning to theoutcasts.The hunger for freedom, thewill to resist the hostileinfluences. And perhaps, byopposing,endthem.
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Contents
Chapter1
Chapter2
Chapter3
Chapter4
Chapter5
Chapter6
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Chapter7
Chapter8
Chapter9
Chapter10
Chapter11
Chapter12
Chapter13
Chapter14
Chapter15
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Chapter16
Chapter17
Chapter18
Chapter19
Chapter20
Chapter21
Chapter22
Chapter23
Chapter24
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Chapter25
Chapter26
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Chapter1
They had marched from thesea, landing on the westerncoast of Italy after a longjourney, and when theyarrived, they were a fullexpedition. Three of thefifteen-foot-tall GearSkeletons, the walking
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combination of body armorandtank,hadbeentheheavymuscle of the Olympianexpedition to Italy. Forgedfrom secondary orichalcum,which combined bothlightness of frame withincredible durability, thefearsomewarmachineswerearmedwithshoulder-mountedlight machine guns. But theGear Skeletons were alsoversatile, their strength
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obviating the need forbulldozers or other heavymachinery.Captain Myrto Smaragda
and nineteen of her brethren,brave Olympian men andwomen,were the bulk of theexpedition escorting thepowerfulwarmachines.Theywere experienced soldierswhoworePraetorianarmor,ablend of leather and polymerto pay homage to the armor
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ofancientGreekwarriors,allthe way down to the oddofficer’s side arm: a three-foot falcata such asSmaragda’sownkeensword.The human troops were nomore primitively armed thantheir walking roboticcompanions. Each soldierwas equipped with a helmetwith advanced night-visionoptics and built-in commsthat would keep the warriors
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intouchwitheachother.Theradiowiththepowertoreachback home to NewOlympusrodeonthebroadbackofoneof the three Spartans. Thedevice was capable ofbroadcasting hundreds ofmiles, thanks to the ancientAnnunaki technology,especiallythechargedenergymodules that were built intothe millennium-old skeletalrobots.
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The Gear Skeletons hadbeen designed for use by asmallerrace.FormerarchivistBrigid Baptiste of theCerberus Redoubt hadexplained that they weremade to accommodate trans-adapts: half-size humanoidsof great cleverness, densityanddurability.Assuch,therewasnearlyno legroomforafull-size human. Fortunatelythehorrorsofwarhadmeant
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there were plenty of capableamputeevolunteers to ride inthe chests of these great warmachines.Amputeesweretheonly norms who could pilotthe machines from theirtruncatedcockpits.Despite their impressive
weaponry, Smaragda and herunit were not here asconquerors;theywerehereasexplorers.Evenso,theycameequipped to defend
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themselves from whateverhorrors lurked on theMediterranean Sea or in theEtruscan countryside. Foryears Smaragda and herfellow warriors had battledagainst the mutated hordesunleashedfromtheCrack,anabyssal canyon wherein thegenetic weapons of long-losteras were rekindled andturned into a means ofensuring the domination of
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theyoungGreeks.“Remember this. We
believed in the ideals offreedom, even as Heracovered our eyes with thescales of her deception,”Diana had told them. “Zoogavehislifesothatwecouldbefreeofthefacadeofafalsewar and to ensure ourfreedom and self-determination.Wecandonoless toprotect the libertyand
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freedomofthosewhowillbeourneighborsand,hopefully,alliesorfriends.”The caution toward
gentleness was accompaniedby another admonition. “Ialso will not throw awaytwenty-three lives and threeancient, alien artifacts toprove how nice we are. Ifsomeonetriestokillyou,youkill them right back! We’renot loading cupcakes and
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cotton balls into yourmachineguns.”Soherethegroupwas, the
Spartans ambling with theirlong brass limbs takingenormousbut slowstrides sothattheydidn’tforcetheNewOlympian soldiers to marchtoo hard or heavy. Smaragdaknew thegiantmachineshadtheability tocrossahundredmilesinthespaceofanhour,their nimble, precise legs
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allowing them traction andsure footing on even theroughest of terrain. Even so,the pilots weren’t impatient,allowing their machines tomove at such a sedate pace.TheChargedEnergyModulesthat activated and motivatedtheir limbs were remarkablepieces of technology thanksto the Annunaki, the samealiens who had at oncecreatedthewarriorrobotsuits
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and theoneswhohadkickedoffthemassive,cripplingwarthat had left New Olympusslowtorecover.Even so, there was little
assurance that the CEMs,despite capturing andrecovering them from thecrashed scout ship thatinserted itself into the war,were an inexhaustible supplyof power. Just because theyhad not run one down
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completely didn’t mean theycouldnotbedrained.Nooneknew how to recharge them,despite the combined effortsof New Olympian andCerberusscientists.Unnecessarywear and tear
on the crystalline jewels ofconcentrated energy was tobe frowned upon, as well aspain and injury to the pilots.The properties of secondaryorichalcummade it rustproof
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and immutable fromhammering or cutting byconventionaltools.Italsodidwell to absorb even thehardest of falls and otherimpacts, lessening theeffectsuponthepilots.Butevenwiththose amazing attributes, theamputee warriors nestled intheir chests were stillvulnerable. They had notbeen called Gear Skeletonsfor nothing, requiring
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conventional vehicle panelsto enclose theusers to shieldthem from the elements andoncomingattacks.Even with their cushioned
pilot chairs, however,movement at high speed andthe prodigious leaps the warsuits were capable of didleave their pilots with pulledand torn ligamentsaswellasminorfracturesintheirspinalcolumns,evenwhiplash.
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More vulnerable to attack,the body-armor cladPraetorians at least didn’thavetoworryabouttheirownphysical abilities rippingthemorshatteringthemwhenthey fought to the limits oftheirbodies.Smaragda flicked thevisor
of her helmet to scan mode,sweeping along the sides ofthe road, searching forunusual heat sources on
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infrared. The last thing theyneededwasanambush.Therewas not supposed to be anenemyforceinthispartofthecountry, despite the rumorsthathaddrawnthemhere.Something dark had been
awakened in recent days.Towns and villages in theinterior had stoppedcommunicating, stoppedtrading, disappearing as ifthey had never existed. One
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man returned from a visit tosuchavillage,hishairturnedwhite,speakingof“theywhowalked as ghosts” and ofwinged angels, both horribleandwonderful.The Italians had turned to
theirneighbors,seekinghelp,and New Olympus’s newrulers sensed that suchoccurrences bore the stink ofurgency. A full army wouldbe too much, but with the
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storiesof thehorribleangels,thetrioofmobilearmorsuitswas, hopefully, going to besufficient. There was a linebetween coming in too hardor too soft. Smaragda feltbetter with the Skeletonslumberingatherside.All being well, with them
present, they would beprepared for the very worst.Three giants with shoulder-mounted machine guns and
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enormous axes and swordswould dissuade anyopponent, even if they werewinged angels of giganticproportionthemselves.Smaragda scanned the
sides of the road leading tothetownthathadspookedtheEtruscan traders so badly,looking for signs of whatcould have terrified the lonesurvivor.ShegrippedherM-16 rifle tightly, but she kept
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her finger wrapped aroundthe handle, firmly under thetrigger guard so as not toaccidentally set off theweapon.Shewasinnomoodto waste ammunition or tocause undue injury. Carryingyourgunwithyour fingeronthe triggerwasasureway todoboth.Over theheavy,ponderous
thuds of the Spartans’gigantic claws, Smaragda
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pickedupsomething thatshecouldn’t quitemake out. Sheimmediatelyheldupherfist.The trained Olympians
cametoahalt.Deafening silence
descended upon the Greekcolumnandsherealizedwhatfeltsoodd.There were birds on the
branches of the trees alongthe road, but they made nosound. They were still, no
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nervous tics she’d seen otherbirdsdisplayasthey,eveninrest,continuouslyturnedtheirheads,makingcertainnothingwascreepinguponthem.Thevisible birds, however, wasnot what had truly disturbedher.There were trees, heavy
and dense with foliage, butthe impunity of nests ofhidden birds was notaccompanied by the riot of
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tweetsandchirpsthatwarnedany intruder of howoutnumberedtheywouldbeifthey dared enter the thicket.Thecountrysidewassilent.Smaragda stepped off the
road, closing on one of theclosest trees. Her menwatchedassheslungtherifle,thendrew the falcata.Withatwist, she rapped the spineagainsta low-hangingbranchwhereasongbirdperched.
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The creature turned itsattention toward her, blinkedwith eyes slow and gummy,but did not launch. Even theturn of its head was casual,unconcerned, not the flickermovement of a normal bird.Smaragda gave the branchanother tapwith the spine ofhersword.Thesongbirdtooka clumsy sideways stepfurtheralongthebranch,thenunfurleditswings.
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Just before she could tapthe branch a third time thesongbird took off, wingsflapping powerfully, movingwith the natural strength andspeed of the creature, thelimbs beating with theurgencynecessarytokeepthetinythingaloft.Itwasn’tasifthesongbirdwasinsomesortof debilitating trance. It flewstraightandtrue.It just didn’t seem to care.
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Thenormallyskittishcreaturewould have taken off onSmaragda’s approach, letalone not stay in place fortworapsonitsperch.“Notgood,”shesaid.Niklo spoke up. “This
placehasbadmojo.”Niklo had ten years on
Smaragda and it showed inhisgruff,grizzledlooks.He’dbeen through plenty ofbattles,beforeHeraandZ005
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arrived in Greece, mixing itup with bandits and othercoldhearted thugs who madetheir living preying off thedefenseless and helpless inpostapocalyptic, shatteredGreece. When the hydradrones rose up, Niklo hadbeen one of the first whoknew what to do back whenthe best weapons wereswords and muskets. BeforeHera had opened the
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Olympus Redoubt and itsstockpiles of late-twentieth-century armaments, it was amatteroftoughness.Smaragda and Niklo had
been thrown together in themadness of the hydra wars,quickly gaining each other’strust as they’d stood the lineagainst swarms of mutantclonesbredintheancientvatsoftheCrack.Niklo’s unease at the
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strangeness of this deadcountryside echoed hers and,with those five words,cemented Smaragda’sinstincts.DespitethefactthatSmaragda had gotten anofficer’s commission andNiklo remained mastersergeant, there was nojealousy or animositybetween them. Smaragda’srole entailed much more redtape, something Niklo could
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pawn off onto her. In themeantime, officer corpsdidn’t regularly get issued aSquad Automatic Weapon,either, and the brawny,grizzled Niklo loved usingthelightmachineguntoplowtheir way out of an ambushwithalongbeltofammo.“Tan, get on the radio.
We’re experiencingsomething weird. Everyone,if your weapons aren’t hot
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already, safeties off,”Smaragdaordered.“You heard the lady!”
Niklo bellowed. “Heads onswivels, standard perimeterprotocols!”“Movement!” came a cry
fromtheirscoutuptheroad.Smaragda turned and
joggedtowardtheman.Niklocutheroff.“You talk to home base,”
hetoldher.
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Smaragda wrinkled hernose, not wanting to exposeany of her men to dangerwhile she was busy on theblower back to Olympus.Even so, she was the one incharge and she was the onewhose opinion and authoritymattered. This was a chain-of-commanddecision.“If things look bad, you
hold down the trigger untilyou melt the barrel laying
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down cover fire for ourretreat,” Smaragda orderedhim. “And you make damnsure you come back, or I’mswimming across the Styxand dragging you back tolife.”Niklo smirked, his lined
face a road map of seventyyears lived in the space offorty, dark eyes twinkling.“Myr, I’m counting on yougettingmebackfromHades.”
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TheOlympians,turnedintoawell-oiledmilitarymachineof professional warriors,remained in their defensivepositions, alert and ready fortrouble. No one was in theline of fire of the other andeach had a designated vectorto scanandsearch.Everyoneknelt, making themselvessmaller targets and bringingtheirkneeandthigharmorupto their chests to bolster the
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protection of their vitalorgansagainstincomingfire.Thanos—“Tan” to his
platoon mates and friends,who seemed to be everyone—looked concerned as hewasontheradio.“Notgettinga signal. Something isjammingus.”“How can that be?” the
pilot of the Spartan asked.“This radio is designed totransmit across hundreds of
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miles. It’s predarktechnology, solid-state andcan cut through anyinterference like a knifethroughmud.”Tan shook his head.
“Listentothis.”Smaragda took the
receiver. The only sound ontheotherendwas…unnatural.A knocked-out radio
should only receive static,white noise, the pop and
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crackle of randomfrequencies and the hiss ofelectromagnetic radiationpouring off the sun onto thesurfaceoftheEarth.Ajammedradioshouldnot
be singing in unholy butbeautiful tones. She couldn’tbear to listen to theblasphemous signal for morethan a few seconds beforehanding the radio back toTan.Hedidn’t seem tobe in
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a hurry to put it back to hisear,either.Shetriedthehelmetcomm.
“Niklo,comeback.”As soon as she stopped
transmitting, there was thatsong; a high, melodic tone,singing verses in a long-forgotten tongue. But evenwithout understanding thewords, Smaragda knew itspoke to something that didnotbelongonEarth.Itwasa
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prayer.Whatwasworse, sheknewsomethingwaslisteningand somewhere, beyond theveil of her senses, it wasstrugglingtorespond.“Karlo, Rosa, go grab
Niklo and Herc and bringthem back. We’re headingback to the boat. If you seeanyoneoranythingthat’snotNiklo or Herc, open fire,”Smaragdasaid.So much for a mission of
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peace and mercy. Smaragdadidn’tliketheideaofsendingoff her soldiers to retrievetheir teammates under orderstokillanystrangers.Howeverthe singing and the oddbehavior of the wildlifearoundthemaddeduptothisroadbeingnothinglessthanamurdertrap.And she’d led her platoon
rightintoit.Karlo and Rosa jogged up
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the road to where Herc, thescout, had called back aboutmovement. Niklo had onlybeenoutofradiocontactforaminute, but it felt like alifetime.The only hearteningthingwasthattherehadbeennosoundofgunfire.Afterall,ifNiklodidn’tcut loosewiththe SAW, that meant therewasnoenemyforcerising toengulf them. The Olympiansergeant would have made
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any ambush pay for theirsurprise, and the lightmachine gun would havebeenheardformiles.The silence around them,
the damned silencesmotheringtheplatoon,ateather. Smaragda upped themagnification on her helmetoptics, scanning the roadahead. It had been middaywhen they’d stopped, cloudsmovingin.Thedayhadbeen
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growing steadily grayer anddimmer, but now the lightwas fadingeven faster,whenthe sun should be highest inthesky.Her blood seemed to
thicken in her veins as eventhe high-tech optics in herPraetorian helmet, the sameadvanced night-vision andtelescopic lenses that KaneandGranthadaspartoftheirMagistrate armor suits,
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showednothing.“Captain?” A voice spoke
up.“Movement?” Smaragda
asked.“No. Just…smoke,” Tan
said.Smaragda flipped up the
visor on her helmet. There,invisible to the infraredscanners, was a roiling,spreadingcloudthatbillowedout onto the road. She
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glanced through on infraredagain. No one seemed to beinsidethecloud,utilizingitascover or concealment. Whoknew if the smoke had someproperties that could befiltering out even the bodyheat of her fellowPraetorians?“Should we open fire?”
another soldier asked, nervesjanglinginhisvoice.“On what?” Smaragda
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asked.“Wemightjustendupcutting Niklo and the othersapart.”“But they’re not on the
infrared,”Tannoted.“Retreat,” Smaragda
ordered.“Smoke’sclosinginonthe
road behind us,” announcedthe Spartan at the back oftheir formation. “I’m goingto…”“Stay put!” Smaragda
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commanded.“Don’tenterthesmoke.”Every instinct told her to
openfireintotheinfectionofblack ink spilling onto theroadoneitherend,bracketingthemin.Smaragdawouldn’triskthe
livesofhermeninafriendlyfireincident.“GS 26, knock us a road
through the trees, now!”Smaragdaordered.
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Thesuitinthecenteroftheformation reacted quickly,plunging into the woods.Large, brassy arms wieldingunimaginablestrengthpushedagainst trunks, shoving treesout of the ground, rootssnapping. Branches shatteredagainst the suit’s broadshoulders and Smaragdawaved her men into the gapbeing created by thebulldozer-like robot. She
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stayed at the back of thegroup, watching as the wallsof inky, foreboding smokebegan to close in on wherethey used to be. It was as ifthe clouds were onlyfollowing the road, formingperfect columns, notspreading out into the forestand upon the path thatSkeleton 26 pushed through.Smaragda continued steppingbackward, minding the
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exposed roots and splintersleftintherobot’swake.Shekeptthemuzzleofher
rifle aimed at the wall ofdarkness and turnedsideways,skippingbackafterhermen.“Niklo, I’ll be back,” she
whispered.“Ifyou’realive.”Silently she repeated that
thought. Leaving soldiersunder her command behind,inalurch,wasasbadadefeat
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as seeing themfall inbloodyheaps.“Everyone comes home.”
Smaragda repeated themottoofthePraetorians.“Soonerorlater,we’llbebackforyou.”Ascreamsplit theair.She
whirledand lookeddownthetroughcutthroughthewoods.Of the three Spartans in theunit, she could only see one,the other two havingdisappeared behind awall of
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darkness that interceptedthem. Of the fifteen soldiersshe’d pushed into retreat inthewakeoftheSpartans,shesaw only six, and they wereinfullretreat.The mighty robot’s
shouldergunsopenedupontothe shadowy smoke as itlunged for the brass giant.The flash and flicker ofmuzzle-blasts did little todent or illuminate the
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choking,inkyfogthatseemedto grow tentacleswithwhichtoentraptherobot.Smaragda shouldered her
rifle,butrealizedthatopeningfire into the fogwouldmeanthat she could be blindlygunningdownfellowsoldierstaken captive by the cloud.She wanted to yell for acease-fire fromtherobotbut,watching the giant fight forits life, she noted that tracer
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roundsstruckthesmoke,thenbouncedoffthecloud.GS 26 lashed out with its
battle-ax, theedgesheated tosteamy white by elementsinside the gigantic weapon.Theaxseemedtofarebetter,loppingoffsolidhunksofthedarkness, but only if theywere slender tendrils.Anything thicker than ahuman torso caught the ax,forcing the Spartan to
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struggleandwrenchthebladefree.Tendrils whipped out,
snatching up another of hermen.Smaragda lunged, drawing
herfalcataandslashingatthetentacleoflivingnight.Blademetaliensmokeanditwasasif she tried to chop a treebranch. The solidness of thetendril of cloud rattled herarm, tendons popping as she
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put enough force into theswingforafollow-through.The soldier in the fog’s
graspturnedashen,eyeswidewithhorror.Hebreathedout,wisps of frosting moistureescapingfromhislips.“Run!” he rasped. “Get
away!Liveto…”Another whip of darkness
wrapped around thePraetorian’sheadand,withinmoments, he was wrenched
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off of his feet and into thesmoke as if he was neverthere.Lashing smoke fingered
out toward her, but sheswattedthepseudopodsaside,scramblingintoretreat.The Gear Skeleton still
fighting the fog disappeared;onehandreachedup,clawingat the air in the hope ofgraspingsomeanchor,buttherobotic claw stilled and was
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suckedintothedarkness.Smaragdaturnedandraced
off a side trail between thetrees. Whatever the smokewas, it seemed to havetrouble flowing through andaround the trunks of theforest. She swerved andwove, bounding over fallenlogs and branches. Sheregretted lifting the visor sothat she could see themidnight horror that
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expanded onto the road asleavesandfrondsslappedandslashed at her face and eyes.Shestruckatreetrunkatfullspeedwhilehalfblindedbyaleafrakinghernakedeyeball.The impact jarred her, but
she seized the trunk, using ittomaintainherfooting.She glanced back and saw
thattherewerethreetentacleswinnowing their way aroundtrunks, stretched out at far
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backasshecouldseethroughthetrees.SmaragdaraisedherM-16 and opened fire. Riflerounds shattered the eeriesilence that had fallen in thewake of the last Spartan’sdisappearance, but they didnothing to dispel the livingdarkness stretching andseethingafterher.Smaragda turned and ran
again, having paused only toslide down her eye shield,
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leaving the advanced opticsoutoftheway.Smaragda ran for as long
andashardasshecould.Within an hour shewas at
the coast, on her knees, herchest burning, shouldersaching, trying to vomit buthavingnothingtospitup.Twenty-two people were
nowgone.Shewasthelonesurvivor.She pulled off her helmet
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and, for a moment, thoughtsomething else had comeafter her. A sheet of whitespilled down over her eyesandshescreamedinshock.Thenshe realizedwhyshe
wassostunned.Before the smoke her hair
hadbeenasdarkasaraven’sfeathers.Now the tresses that she
could see were as pale andwispyassilkenicicles.
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Trembling, Smaragdalooked around for the boatthat had brought theexpedition.“Live to tell what
happened,” she said in aterrifiedmurmur.“Live to tell what…
happened…”sherepeated.Tears drenched
Smaragda’s cheeks as shestruggledtoherfeet.
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Chapter2
Domicroucheddeeplyasshefaced off with the man inblack. Perfectly balanced inher hand was the handle ofoneofherfavoriteknives,itsflats gleaming under theharsh lights.Shewasa smallwoman, hardly five feet in
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her bare feet, andDomiwasalmost constantly barefoot.Her body looked thin andfrail, her complexion waswhite as bone and her hairwas wispy, silvery andtrimmed short so as toprovidelittlemorethanpeachfuzz for an opponent to grabon to. Most startling aboutDomiwasher eyes, ruby-redgems that denoted the causeof her pale flesh and
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translucenthair.The girl was an albino.
And yet she was facing offagainstamanafoottallerandeasily a hundred poundsheavier than she was, hermuscles tense, ready forbattle. In thecenturiesbeforeskydark, the cataclysmicnuclear Armageddon thatdrovehumankindtothebrinkof extinction, albinos hadbeenconsideredfrail.Indeed,
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as a child, she had been, butsurvivinginthedeadlyworldoutside of the villes, in theharshwildernessbetweentinyislands of civilization, hadhardenedher.Shewas thin of limb, yes.
Buthermuscleswerecordedtight and had strength andswiftness within them,makingherakintoapanther.Her “claws” were her knifeand her “bite” was a deadly
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little .45-caliber DetonicsCombat Master, which shedidn’thaveaccesstonow.Thebigmaninfrontofher
was powerful, armored, andeven inside thatarmor,hadalightness on his feet,bouncing on the ground in ataunting dance, making itapparentthatheexpectedherto charge him. He wasdangling himself as bait,waiting for her to commit to
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an attack before he turned itaround.Domi was a survivor,
though. Before she’d beguntolearnhowtoreadunderthetutelageofLakeshandBrigidBaptiste,herschoolhadbeenexpansesofdesertorgnarled,predator-stalked forests. Herteachers had been the crueland the powerful, seeking touse her as meat or pleasureor,insomegrislycases,both.
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And the feral albino girl hadbeenaquickstudent,passingeverytestthrownather.Thiswasnot the first time
she’dfacedthearmoredbrutein frontofher.Hisheadwasencasedinaglossybuttoughhelmet,shieldinghisfaceandpreventingher fromseeing ifhe was blinking or shiftinghisglance.Withoutaviewofhis tells, Domi was partiallyblinded, at her usual
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disadvantage.Withnothingtobetray her enemy’s thoughts,and even his body languagedistorted by the bouncingdance he shuffled, all of herusual cues as to where orwhen to strike or even todefendweregone.The brute lunged. He had
his own blade, twice thelength of Domi’s, almost ashort sword that lookednormal-size in his massive
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fist. The movement startledthe wild girl, but even whenreflexively responding to thesudden rush, Domi’s bodyreacted with speed andagility.Theedgeof theknifewhistled through the air andshe could feel the brush ofwind off its cold, unyieldingdaggeronherbareupperarm,thelethaledgemissingherbyfractionsofaninch.Domi’s swift sidestep
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planted her left foot downhard for support, bracing hersothatshecouldkickupwithher other leg, the kneestriking the big knife-man inthe side. She’d aimedinstinctively away from thebulletproof polycarbonateshells that shielded hisabdominal muscles and intothe ballistic cloth side panel.The impact was more thansufficient to elicit a grunt
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frombehindtheopaqueblackvisorofherfoe’shelmet.Domi brought her knife
around, finding a brawnyshoulderand stabbing into it.Evenassheplungedthebladedown, shewrappedher otherarm around his, snaring ittightlytogiveherleverageonhimandtomakeherhardertoreachwithhisfreehand.Thearmored brute lurched erectand Domi’s feet left the
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ground.Nowshewasridingabucking beast, and just tomake certain he couldn’tshakeherfree,shewoundhermuscular legs around hisforearmandwrist.Suddenly the brute not
onlyhadtodealwiththebulkof his armor and thethrobbing pain of her stab,but also the unbalancing,unsettlingweight of the feralgirl.
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“Dammit!” Edwardsshouted as he toppled offbalance, bringing them bothdowntotheexercisemat.Domi stabbed again at the
ballistic cloth between thepolycarbonate plates thatwould have providedprotection against slashing,stabbingsteel.Fortunatelyforthe former Magistrate,Domi’s knife was a blunt-edgedaluminumcopy,meant
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for training. Even though itsedges were soft, rounded,unable to cut anything softerthanmud,when you stabbedsomeone with the tip, it stillwas hard, unyielding metalslammingintosoftflesh.And it hurt, much to
Edwards’sdismay.“I thought these things
weren’t supposed to injureyou,” Edwards grunted asDomislitheredoffhisarm.
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“Not normally,” Domireplied, her verbiage clippedas she was still brimmingwith adrenaline from thetraining session. “But ’m notnormal.”“You can say that again,
runt.” Edwards looked herover. He was used to herdropping pronouns andadjectives while stressed orenergizedforcombat,sowasnot worried about her
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suffering some sort ofepisode or being too out ofbreath. Indeed, the commentabout her not being normalshowed she still retained herwits, sense of humor and asignificantskillatwordplay.“Still, I’m damned glad I
was wearing armor,”Edwards added, giving her apoke in theshoulderwithhisfist. “Just too bad you foundthekinksinit,littlecheater.”
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“Was the point,” Domianswered, rubbing herknuckle-brushed upper arm.Shesmirkedathisaccusationofcheating.“Pardonpun.”Edwards grinned, pulling
offhishelmet.Hishairwasaclose-shaved scruff aroundhismelon-sizehead,showingoff his bullet-bitten ear.Though theMagistrate armorwas designed to beenvironmentally adaptive,
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beads of sweat still formedthanks to the exertion andcondensation of Edwards’sbreathinsidethehelmet.When they’d met at first,
and were being assigned toeither run or be a part of theCerberus Away Teams,Edwards had bristled at theconceptofworking“beneath”suchayoung,tinyfemale.That was dozens of
sparring matches ago, across
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thepastseveralmonths.Sincethen the brawny formerMagistrate had come torespect Domi. There weretimes when she soundedbarely more educated than atoddler, and she alwayslooked like a frail wisp of acreature, but there wasstrength and intelligence inthere.It wasn’t the kind of
phenomenal intellect as
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displayed by others such asBrigid Baptiste orMohandasLakesh Singh, who boastedunique scientific andmathematical acumen. Itwasmore the wisdom and agilityof mind showed by fellowformerMagistratesKane andGrant. Itwasknowledge thatdidn’tinvolvesplittingatoms,but observation of hersurroundings, instincts thathelped her react and respond
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to danger at speeds beyondeventhemosttrainedsoldiersthatEdwardsknewof.Beingunderhercommand,
even if it was a mere threepeopleinthewholeCerberusAwayTeam,wasnothreattohis abilities, his prodigiousstrength and paramilitaryMagistrate training. Histeammate, the beautiful andbright freezie Sela Sinclair,was another sharp mind and
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strong woman Edwards hadlearnedtorespect.TheMagistrateshadbeena
strictly masculinecommunity, a group of menwho were of similar size,similar strength, each pickedand groomed from evenbeforebirthtobecomepartofthe hybrid barons’ eliteenforcers. They had beenforged as rough, macho andgung ho, their individuality
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limited by the stripping oftheir first names. Edwardshad been born Edwards, ashisfatherbeforehimandthatfatherbeforehim.Hismotherhad been a donor, ahandpickedmaidenchosentobear a healthy child, to mixwith the genes of a soldierand warrior to produce anidealfightingman.Edwards had been given
very littleof anormalyouth.
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It was spent physicallytraining, learning the lawsand procedures of theMagistrates,notbeingaboy.Forhim,aswellasDomi,theluxuries of childhood wereabsent,littlechanceofplayorexploring and nurturing asenseofaweandwonder.Now, in the wake of the
barons’ evolution andshedding of their hybrid-humanforms,Edwardswasa
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lawman who found a newvocation as a warrior in thedefenseofCerberusRedoubt,and an avocation as anadventurer, a hero to swoopin to the rescue and restoreorder.Through this selfless
assistanceofothers,Edwardsfelt awakened. Reborn even.Inhelpingothers,intravelingtheworldfor thepurposesofgrowing knowledge, for the
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effortofbuildingaworld,hewas young again. He wasalive whereas before he’dmerely survived and existed.It was a lesson, atransformation, that Domihadalsoundergone.Domiherselfwasachildof
the wilderness. Later, in theTartarus Pits, the hellishsubterranean area in theshadowoftheAdministrativeMonolith in the center of
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Cobaltville, she’d had toscrabble as a petty thief andwaspressed into servitudeasa prostitute. It was only heracceptance as an ally, theaffection of Grant as asurrogate father andprotector, the gentle love ofLakesh, that had turned herfrom a feral savage into anavidstudent.She’dgonefromaslumcriminaltotallyoutforherself to someone who
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understood that love andaffectionwerenotnecessarilydisplayedbysexualdesire,aswithGrant,andthat intimacycouldcomewithgentility,notcruelty,aswithLakesh.Givensuchanenvironment
that nurtured goodness,growth and intelligence,Edwards found himself onlymockingly grumbling about“babysitting trips with nerdsto ruins” and actually
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showing excitement aboutlearning about the history ofthe strange planet they livedupon.“Hey,youtwo!”It was Sela Sinclair, who
herself had not becomeinvolved in the ever-escalating sparring matchesof Domi and Edwards.Sinclair’s preference forcombat was not the close-quarters of knives and fists
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but rather the application ofleverage and focused energy,usually in the form of thecollapsible baton she hadbecome intimate with in herpre-skydark life as an AirForce officer. It didn’t meanshe didn’t lack for bare-handedskill,butwhenthingscame toahands-onapproachher preference was for thestrength-amplifying qualitiesof an ASP telescoping
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fighting stick, the same waythat Domi preferred a sharpknife. And even then, theASP was only for situationswhere she didn’t necessarilyrequire the killing of anopponent.Sinclair folded her arms,
leaning on one leg, hip tiltedjauntily.“Something come up?”
Domiasked.“TheCATteamsarebeing
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called in for a briefing,”Sinclair said. “Somethingabout a call from NewOlympus.”Domi perked up at the
sound of that. Edwards andSinclairhadjoinedherinthatprior mission, arriving laterwith armor kits meant forSandcats and Humvees thatwould be adapted to theOlympianSpartans.Theyhadalso been presentwhenHera
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Olympiad had gone berserkwith power, standing theirground against her madnessand the ever-growingenergies and mass of hercorruptedcommandnode.Hera, a Cobaltville
scientistwhohadbeensenttoretrieve Annunaki artifactsfrom Greece while theOverlord Marduk was stillBaronCobalt,hadacquiredasmart-metal control nodule
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when one of Marduk’sNephilim drone trooperswascaptured. Using theknowledge she had gainedfrom her exploration of theCrack, she’dmanipulated thesmart-metal pod to provideherself a new form ofclothing. Because the podwas now reacting with anintelligent mind, it followedher commands rather thansimply existed as a suit of
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body-conformingarmor.Of course, Marduk had
known of her interferencewith the Annunakielectronics.He’dtriedtotakecontrol of her and, barringthat, his psychic assault haddrivenherinsane.Hera had bonded that
modulewithanotherpieceofAnnunaki technology, aThreshold, and an electricaldroneweaponon topof that.
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CAT Beta—Domi, Sinclairand Edwards—had been atthe forefront of the battleagainst the out-of-controlHera as she’d continued toadd mass and energy to hersuit’s frame, assisted byBrigidBaptiste.Despite the defeat of the
superhuman Hera, thedamagetoNewOlympushadbeen significant. There weresorties from Cerberus to the
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Greciannation, teamsmostlytheretoexcavateandopenupcollapsed and damagedtunnels in the deepunderground military basethat had been the Olympianredoubt. The digging andrebuildingwerenecessary,asHera’sdestructionhadcutoffaccess to redoubt supplies ofammunition, food andmedicine stored for thehundreds of years since
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beforeskydark.Rebuildinghadbeengoing
well,butforNewOlympustoactually send out a call forhelpmeantsomethingbighadpoppedup.“Shower and change.
You’ve got fifteen minutes,”Sinclairtoldthem.The two Beta Team
members headed to thegymnasium locker roomwhereDomi helped Edwards
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out of his bulky Magistratearmor, cutting the usual de-prep time by half, allowingEdwardstodomorethanjustlet the showerhead spit onhim for a second. That bothteammates were naked wasnotadistractiontoeither.Domi had her devotion to
Lakesh, and Edwards wasuninterested in settling downand of no mind to steal thescientist’s woman. Indeed,
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Edwards was a man ofpersonaldiscipline,andwhilehe believed that men andwomen could be lovers andwork together, he personallydidnotwanttocomplicatehisrelationship with the tinyDomi. Edwards also had apreference for taller, fuller-figured women, and to themassive former Magistrate,Domi’sappearancewasmoreof a prepubescent boy’s than
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an object of sexual desire.Hell, knowing her for thislong, becoming nearly abrother to her on the CATteam, she was not an object.She was Domi. Friend.Living being. Person.Not anobjectoflust.From what Edwards had
read or seen in vids frombefore the destruction ofmankind,hecouldappreciatethat at least one thing had
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advanced forward since theage of “civilization.”Humanityneededtogrowup,to not just focus on theirbaser instincts and rut likeanimals. Reproduction wasimportant, but there wereothermuchmorevitalmattersthatneededattendance.By the time Edwards
finished his shower anddressed,heandDomiarrivedatthebriefingwithminutesto
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spare.In fact, they had both
enteredsoonerthanKaneandGrant, and were there to seeBrigid Baptiste, the thirdmemberofthegroupthathadbeen entitled CAT Alpha.Brigid was not happy to seeKaneandGrantamblinginsoslowlyaftertheircounterpartshadshowedsuchpromptness,andsheletherdistasteforthesituationshowinherscowl.
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“I told you we shouldn’thave stopped for coffee,”Grant said, catching thedisgust in Brigid’s glare. Heslid into his chair at themeeting table, setting thetravel mug down in front ofhim. Kane shrugged at hisfriend’s statement of being“busted.”“It’s not like we’re the B-
team,” Kane noted, giving awink toDomi,whowrinkled
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hernoseatthemockinsult.Ifthere was a rivalry betweenthe CAT teams, no one oneither of the two squads hadbeenmade aware of it. Theywere comrades and allies.Theonlyrankcamefromthefact that Sinclair wasawakened after Kane, Brigidand Grant became a team,and Edwards had onlyrecently found himself a freeagent in the wake of the
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collapse of the baronies.Kane’s joke was taken instride, not in malice, andBrigidrolledhereyes.“As you know, ever since
our first contact with NewOlympus, we’ve beensending over manpower andassistance to help them withtheir rebuilding,” Brigidbegan.“They’vereciprocatedby helping to design Kane’sexoskeleton during…recent
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troubles.”“I didn’t get to blow-dry
and curl my hair for thisrecap?” Edwards asked,rubbing his closely shavedpate.Brigid chuckled. “Sorry,
but you know I try to be ascompletestaspossible.”Edwards shrugged. “Not a
problem. I just neededsomethingto…distractme.”Domi nodded in
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recognition. Edwards wasreferring to Ullikummis’sattack and conquest of theCerberus Redoubt. Not onlywasEdwardspresentforthat,but also he’d been infectedwith one of the stonyAnnunaki’s seeds, makinghim a puppet, a pawn of theexiled godling. Memories ofthat time, the lossof lifeandthe madness of theirenslavement,werestillrecent
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andraw.“Right now, they’re
starting to expand their areaof influence over there,peacefully.” Brigid quicklyaddedthepeacefully.“They’dsent out an excursion intowhatused tobe theEtruscancountryside.”“Italy?” Sela Sinclair
asked.Brigidnodded.Sinclairsmirked.“Ialways
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wanted to take a vacation inthe countryside with thevineyards.”Brigid gave the Air Force
veteran a one percent salute,akin to thegesture thatKaneand Grant gave each other.Shecontinuedspeaking.“Outof twenty soldiers and threeSpartans sent into the Italiancountryside, there was onlyonepersonwhoreturned.Thecommander of the ground
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platoon. Shewas in shock tothe point that her hair turnedwhite. She claimed they hadencountered an amorphous,seemingly sentient darknessthat was immune to gunfireand had swallowed people.Even their robotic supportteamwasunabletobreakthebonds.”“Bulletproof fog that eats
soldiers,” Grant murmured.“Do you have any historical
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correlation and backgroundforthat,Brigid?”“Nothing so far,” she
replied. “The only possiblelinktoaninky,all-envelopingblackness is the relation ofoneoftheoldgodsofItaly—Charun.”“That sounds like the
‘mythologicalguywhohasaboatontheriverofthedead’Charon?”Kaneasked.Brigidacknowledged that Kane got
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thepronunciationandidentitycorrect.“Anyrelation?”“Charun,itisbelieved,was
a renamed chooser of theslain in Etruscan mythology.He was a winged god ofdeath,”Brigidexplained.“Aninvulnerable fog or a wavemight be in reference to theriverStyx’sallegedpropertiesofmakinganyonedippedinitinvulnerable,likeAchilles.”“You’ve been hitting the
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research hard enough,”Kanementioned. “Sometimes, it’sbest to put speculation asideandputfeetontheground.”“And hope that we’re not
stumbling into a trap,”Sinclairadded.“Youwantustocomewithyou?”“Ingeneral,werarelysend
both teams into the fieldtogether, but in this instance,itwouldbebeneficialtohaveyoualong.Myanklestillisn’t
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at a hundred percent, so myrunning and jumping will beimpaired, and DeFore stillwishes tomake certainKanehadn’t received anythingpermanent in regard to thecrackhereceivedonhishead.I’m under the presumptionthatthereasontheexpeditionencountered such a powerfulsurge was due to the size oftheintrusion,”Brigidsaid.“So if we show up with
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three to six people, we canslip under their radar, so tospeak,” Edwards concluded.“I can figure out why youwant Beta with you.” HeglancedtowardDomiasif toprovideclarity.“Indeed. We’ll also be
heading to Olympus in twogroups. One via traditionalmat-trans, and Edwards andGrant in theMantas,” Brigidadded.“We’llseeifourjerry-
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rigged weapons systems forthem might prove sufficientto deal with a superhumanthreat.”“Ifwehaveatargetthatwe
can use theMantas against,”Grant added. “Who knows ifthe thing generating thatweirdblackmasswill beoutintheopen.”“We’ll cross that bridge
when we come to it,” Kanesaid.“Thefirstthingweneed
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to do is get to NewOlympus.”“And since we’re taking
theMantas,we’llcatchuptoyouinafewhours,”Edwardspointed out. “Don’t drink allthe hospitality before we getthere.”Kane chuckled. “It’s not
the hospitality you shouldworryabout.”Edwards didn’t say it out
loud, but looking at the
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concerned features of BrigidBaptiste in the wake of thebriefing, he knew thatsomething out there wasgoing to be a terriblechallenge.Then again, that was the
reasonfortheexistenceoftheCerberus Away Teams, headdedgrimlyandsilently.
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Chapter3
The arrival of the strangerswas nigh, as the radio signalcamethroughfromacrossthegulf of land and ocean thatseparatedNewOlympusfromthe Bitterroot Mountains.Diana Pantopoulos was atoncerelievedattheresponse,
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and guilty for having drawnthe Cerberus warriors backintotheircontinent.Diana had inherited the
role of “queen” of NewOlympus, an unenviable taskalongside AristotleMarschene stepping into the“boots”ofZ00s, in thewakeof that last visit. As of now,Greecewas actuallyworkingon a charter and constitutionallowing a representative
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government, but alsoallowingDianaandAritoactas“rankingmanagers.”The two were still
commanders of the GearSkeleton forces, having risenin rankwith the lossofZ00s—the Magistrate formerlyknown as Thurmond—andHera Olympiad—HelenaGarthwaite, the scientist sentby Baron Cobalt to uncoverancient technology that the
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baron recalled on a geneticlevel.Thosetwo,andanotherMagistrate, had been sent onanexpeditiontofindthetoolsof Marduk, Cobalt’s originalAnnunaki form, and in theprocess,theyhadbuiltGreeceinto a fortress-like societywithremarkableSpartanGearSkeletonsas thebackboneoftheir mechanized militaryforce.Itwasanempirebuiltupon
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clay feet.Through theuseofclone production facilities,Helena Garthwaite hadinitiated a program of terrorto unify the Greekcountryside.It was the effort of Kane,
Grant and Brigid that endedthat deception, the years ofdeath and violence, but insuch a spasm of destructionthat ithadleftNewOlympusheavilydamagedandmanyof
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its heroes fallen on thebattlefield.Dianadidn’twantto think if they had notshowed up. The true evilbehind the whole society,Marduk, the former BaronCobalt, arrived to claim hisstorehouse in the TartarusCrack.Though teams had come
and gone, assisting in thereconstruction of NewOlympus in thewake of that
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war, this would be the firsttime the men and women oftheCerberus teamswouldbereturningasagroup.Dianasmiledatthethought
ofherfriend,thesmall,feistyDomiamongthem.“Incoming mat-trans event
at the old Oracle Temple,”cametheannouncementfromher wheelchair’s built-incomm panel. Diana pressedSend.
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“Alert received. Reportingto command center,” sheanswered.“Shall we get your suit
ready?”“No.Let thenewArtem15
meetthem,”Dianasaid.And with that, the
wheelchair-boundadministrator of NewOlympusfeltapangofregretatherpromotion.She’dlovedbeingthearmoredsuitnamed
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for the goddess of the hunt,Artemis.ButasAristotlehadbeen promoted to Z00s, anew “queen” was necessaryfor the rankings. Now, shewasH34a, as Zeus andHerawere the king and queen ofMountOlympus.Whereastheprevious Hera was petty andmanipulative, Diana tried tobealittlenobler,alittlemorerighteous.She’dlearnedfromthemistakesofthepast.
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Or had she? Wasn’t shejust buying into the samelevelofheroworship?Hadn’tshe and Ari just taken theplace of amanipulator and aman who, up until his finalbattle, had been happy todeceiveothersforthesakeofhisownpower?Rolling herself into the
command center, she notedthatAristotlewasthere,alongwith the rest of this shift’s
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personnel. They werewatching the progress ofArtem15 and two other suitsas they bounded acrosscountry, taking enormousstrides that ate up terrain atgreat velocity. Diana held awistful moment for the dayswhen she’d needed to boltacross countrysides onemergency missions.Artem15’s long legs allowedhertoeasilytop100milesan
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hour, and those speeds werenecessary in defense of thepeopleunderNewOlympus’sprotection, townsfolk who’deasily be outnumbered andslaughtered in the assaultsmade by deadly hordes ofHydrae.Thatkindofrapidresponse
gave Diana a little wear andtear as she sat in the controlcouch of the mighty GearSkeleton, but the hero suits
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and the Spartans were oftenridden hard, beyondacceptable limits. Now, theywere only on their way as ameans of ferrying theCerberus visitors from theparallax point atop theremains of the temple of theOracle to New Olympusitself.Therewasstilla lotofdigging to be done to get tothe mat-trans buried duringthe old Hera Olympiad’s
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rampage.Those damaged tunnels
and elevators themselveswere made all the moreinaccessible by the fact thatthere was little way for thefifteen-foot armored titans tofit into the redoubt and dig.Smaller conventionalexoskeletons, one of whichKane had utilized during his“infection” by Ullikummis,had provided some ease.But
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they were not based on aframe constructed of alientechnology alloys, nor weretheirchargedenergymodulesable to operate at maximumcapacity due to theconventionalhuman-designedmetals not being up toAnnunaki-levelsnuff.“Queen on the deck!”
announced First OfficerOrestes,standingtoattention,clicking his booted heels
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togetherinasharpsalute.“Asyouwere,”Dianasaid,
waving off the show ofrespect. She’d earned herplace as an officer, but shedidn’tfeel thatshewarrantedall of this attention oradulation. Even so, Ari gaveher a wink from across theroomwherehewaswatchingthe main screens thatdisplayeddronecameraviewsofthecountryside.
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“ETA to their arrival?”Dianaasked.“They’re a half mile out,
sir,”CommsOfficerKindalossaid, looking back over hershoulder. As always, Dianafelt a little self-conscious.Whereas HelenaGarthwaite/Hera Olympiadwas beautiful to the point ofperfection, the formerArtem15 pilot had morewrong with her than merely
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amputated legs below mid-thigh. The same battle thathadtakenherlowerlimbshadleft scars spider-webbedacrossher foreheadand rightcheek. Diana’s pride forcedher to wear her hair flippedover,herblondlocksmaskingher deformity with a curtainoftresses.Unfortunately, since her
ascension, she’d been forcedintoamore face-to-face role.
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Hidingherfeatures,nomatterhow insecure she was aboutthem, would not do when itcame to projecting herauthority.Arihadtriedtotellher that she did not appearbad-looking, even with thecrisscross of healed fleshpatterned on her face. Dianadidn’t believe him. Eventhough he was in love withher, she still didn’t trust hisopinion.
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Ari rolled around to her,gave her a clap on theshoulder.“Honey.”Diana smiled, resting her
handatophis.“You ever get tired of all
these snap-to’s?” she askedherkingandlover.Ari shrugged.
“Occasionally.Butitremindsme not to mess around withmypower.”“Whatpower?We’restuck
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with all the decisions butnone of the fun,” Diana toldhim.Ari looked to the trio of
running and jumping robots.“Thatwasfun,wasn’tit?”Diana gave him a pop on
thebiceps,but laughed.“I’mtooyoungtobenostalgicandshit.”“Just keep smiling. You
lookprettier,”Aritoldher.“Liar,” Diana called him,
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but she still leaned over andkissedhimonthecheek.The two returned their
attention to the screens.Mounted on tiny motorizedplanes, the pursuit camerasenabled the New Olympianstheability tokeep theireyes,remotely, on things withoutendangering the cameraman.Theunmanneddroneconceptwas still in its earliestdevelopmentswhen, in2001,
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theworld had been blown tohell by a global nuclear cull,all caused by a renegadedimension traveler by thenameofColonelThrush.But,thankfully,inthepostwarera,more thanacouple survivorshad come to Greece fromIsrael, which had beenextremely active in suchtechnologicaldevelopment.The tiny airplane zipped
ahead of the trio of
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welcoming robots toward theramped natural obelisk uponwhichtheOracleTemplehadbeen built. There were fourpeoplevisibleatoptheclean-cut “table” at the peak ofwhat had been a spire ofgranite. The structures atop,wallsformedfromahengeofnatural-appearing stones anda long-gone roof, wood andthatch rotted away by thepassageofhistoryandimpact
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of storms a millennium ago.It bore more recent damage;burns from ASP blastersstriped the massive, lithiccolumns, evidence of amorerecent battle between theheroeswho had arrived backthen and Marduk’s ASP-armedNephilim.At the baseof the ramp was a goldenpuddle, amirrormade of themolten remains of HeraOlympiad and Z00s, and the
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metals surrounding theirbodiesasZ00shadmade thefinal sacrifice to end herunholyrampage.The puddle itself was a
reminder of wounds, thedeaths of four other GearSkeleton pilots slain at thetalons and blasters Hera hadabsorbed into her extended,reprogrammed body. It alsocommemorated Thurmond’send, especially in the face of
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his admission of his wrongsand his ultimate betrayal ofHera’s foul protectionscheme. It was now anhonored tomb,amemorial totruefreedom,andthebirthofequality under law for all ofNewOlympus.As the drone swooped
closer, they saw four peopleinthemidstofthehengethatformerlyheldthetempleroofand walls together. Three
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women, one man and thesight of small, slender,spider-limbed Domi, herbone-white complexion astark contrast to the deepebony of her shadow suit,made Diana’s heart skip abeat. A kindred spirit hadreturned. She imagined thiswaswhatitfeltliketohaveavisitfromasisterafteralongtime, Diana being an onlychild.
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The other woman wasundoubtedly Brigid Baptiste;Diana quickly recognizingher on the screen thanks toher flame-gold tresses,vibrant and noticeable. Thetall woman knelt, punchingthe recall code into the smallpyramid-shaped interphaser,sending it back to CerberusRedoubt. The small deviceexploited the intersection ofnaturally occurring energy
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paths or “parallax points” asreferredtobythedesignerofthe interphaser, MohandasLakesh Singh. It was apricelesspieceoftechnology,so recalling it to the redoubtwouldkeepitfromendingupinthewronghands.This was not Cerberus’s
indictment of New Olympusas “thewronghands,” but astherewasnowaytopenetrateinto the mat-trans chamber
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for New Olympus’s redoubt,it would be useless to Dianaandherpeople,andleavingitout in the elements wouldmakeittoovulnerable.The thirdwomanwas also
familiar to Diana—a slenderwoman with a duskycomplexion, her short hairarranged inbraids.She stoodat attention, maintaining thedemeanor of even the highlytrained New Olympian
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troopers,keepingtheframeofher Copperhead submachinegunclasped,muzzledown toher belly and finger off thetrigger. It was just a briefinkling of Sela Sinclair’sAirForce officer’s skill andmental alertness. Though itwas unlikely she’daccidentallytugonthetriggerofthecompact,bullet-spittingweapon, a true professionalnever took chances. If the
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firearm discharged withoutSela’swill,thegunfirewouldonly harm the ground at herfeet. At the same time, hereyes scanned theirsurroundings.“This is Grant to New
Olympus command andcontrol.” Another familiarvoice piped up. “We areapproaching your airspace intwoMantacraft.”“Edwards here, in Manta
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Beta” followed the otheraircraft’sradio.“Welcome to New
Olympus airspace.Antiaircraft measures arebeing tuned down for yoursafe passage,” Kindalosannounced loud enough forthe rest of the commandcenter to hear. Quietly, in alower tone, she switchedchannels on her headset andcontacted the air defenses.
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While it was unlikely thatmere .50-caliber machineguns could bring down twotransonicManta craft, it wasbetter to not have even thatslightrisk.“Sir? Majesties? We just
gotword that therewere twoaircraft coming in, and fromthe west, of course, right?”radar station officer NikoMikoles asked. “I’ve gotthree contacts on radar. All
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fromthewest.”DianaandAriimmediately
tuned in on their observationscreen.“Kindalos! Let them
know,” Diana commanded,sharpandurgent.Kindalos’s fingers flew to
the frequency switch, linkingback to the fast-flyingMantas. “Cerberus flight. Beadvised. Unidentified flyingobject flying in parallel,” the
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commofficersaidquickly.Before therewas a chance
for Grant or Edwards toreply, a loud screech blazedoverthespeakers.Kindalos, wearing her
headset, was literallyslammedfromherseatbythesonicburstexplodingsocloseto her ear. At the samemoment Mikoles’s radarscreenblazedbrightly,energyseeming to pour into the
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readout.Afteranother instantthe screen cracked down thecenter,wisps of ozone risingfromtheshatteredglass.“Medic to C-and-C!”
Orestes yelled into theintercom.DianaandAriturnedtothe
armrest comm-links on theirchairs, but discovered thatwhatever odd pulse that hadliterally flooredKindalosandcaused screens to die in a
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spectacular manner hadrendered their radios equallyuseless.Aristotle didn’t delay an
instant, dropping himselffrom the seat of his chair tothe floor beside Kindalos.Thoughking,thetrainingandinstincts of a soldier werehard to bury and the formerAre5 showed that he was asskilled in the ways ofemergencymedical treatment
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ashehadbeeninwagingwar.HelaidKindalossothattherewasnostrainorstressonherneck, in the event of reflex-inducing whiplash. Theheadphones were swiftlydiscarded.The young woman’s left
ear was drenched in blood.Ari tore a kerchief from hisbreast pocket, applying itgentlytothesideofherheadto keep away infection and
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stop the slow trickle pouringfromherbursteardrum.“Come on, kid, don’t do
this,” Ari murmured. OtherofficersjoinedAri inlookingover the injuredKindalos. Inthe meantime Diana andOrestes checked on Mikolesforinjuries.“I’m fine,” theyoungman
toldhissuperiors.“Weneedafireext—”As if to answer his
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incomplete suggestion, aguard pulled the trigger on aCO2 canister, blastingthrough the radar screen towhatever produced the stinkof ozone beneath the brokenglass.Diana spared a small part
ofhermind to showpride inthe military precision andloyalty presented inresponding to the injury andthe damages done to their
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electronics. While therewould always be those whothoughtofsoldiersasnothingmorethanmindlessthugsandfodder, real troops wouldband together and movequickly with calmness,practiced problem-solvingand true care for their fallencomrades.However, with the pulse
that had knocked out bothradar and the radio
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communications, they wereout of touch with Grant andEdwardsintheirMantas.Right now, all they were
able to do was to get theirown comms back up andrunning.Evenas she thoughtthis, there were alreadyguards racing on foot toconveyalertstotherestoftheOlympianredoubt.So much fixed, and now
another attack had driven
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them back to blindness andprimitivemessages.At least we got the fire
extinguisher on the radarscreen, Diana thought toherself.Otherwise,wewouldhave been sending smokesignals.
***
THE SUDDEN BURST offeedback that struck Grant
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brought a mixture of goodnews and bad news to thebrawny pilot. Firstwas goodnews, in that theCommtact’snew frequency filter hadmanaged to minimize thebrain-rattlingdiscomfortof…whateverthatelectronichowlwas. One of the weaknessesof the implants and theirplates was that it was quitepossible to blow out thehearing of someone listening
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with either too loud aresponse or viaelectromagnetic interference.Fortunately, Lakesh and theother whitecoats back atCerberushadbeendiligentinimproving the Commtactnetwork and the electronicswithin.Unfortunately there was
more bad news. Thenavigational instrumentsbased off radar, which was
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prettymucheverythingintheMantacockpit,wererenderedas useless as his Commtact.There was little to tell if thesystems themselves hadsuffered catastrophic damageor if they were merelyjammed,dazedbythesuddenwaveofenergy.AttheveryleastGrantand
Edwards had been able tohear the majority of thewarning coming from New
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Olympus. Grant would havefelt a lotmore confident hadnot theHeadsUpDisplayonthe pilot’s helmet beenequally invalidated by theinterferencepulse.Still, therewas a dome of glass, andGrantwas an expert pilot, soat least he wouldn’t findhimself crashing. Just tomakecertain,hepulledonhisshadow suit hood.One thingthe faceplate allowed for, in
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addition to being a self-contained environment, wasadvancedopticsandsensors.Grant glanced back and
couldsee,inthedistance,theoutline of Edwards’s ship.They couldn’t talk by radio,but maybe they couldcommunicate with handgestures, especially with thetelescopic zoom available intheeyepieces.He throttled down only a
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fraction, steering to parallelEdwards, when he caught aflicker of darkness from thecornerofhiseye.Somuch for being able to
use sign language withEdwards before the UFOarrived.Grant turned his head,
swingingtheMantaintoanS-turn thatwould allowhim tosurvey a maximum of skyaroundhim.Thecockpitglass
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of the high-velocity shipallowed him a fairly goodpanorama of theMediterranean airspace.Edwardswasvisible,aswell.He was keeping his distanceand was focused onsomethingGrantcouldn’tseeatthismoment.“Deaf and mute, and half
blind,” the big, formerMagistrate grumbled tohimself.“Imightaswellbea
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sittingduck…”With that thought,
however, Grant noticedEdwards suddenly acceleratehis Manta, as if to engageramming speed against hisfellowpilot.Therewasonlyabrief instant of confusionuntilherealizedthatwhateverhad drawn Grant’s attentionas the UFO was now flyingon his tail, sticking to hisblindspot.
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That turned out to be amuch better form ofnonverbal communicationthat instantly clicked inGrant’s mind. Within amoment he throttled up tonear escape-velocity speed,tearingawayfromhispursuitutilizingthescramjetenginesbuiltintothemoon-base-builtwonder craft. He onlymaintained escape velocityfor a few seconds, but that
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was more than sufficient tohave created a few miles ofspacebetweentheMantaandhispursuit.Withadeftspin,Grantwas
able to see the UFO as itraced to catch up. He couldseeapairofpowerfulwings,but what hung beneath themwasnomerebird,notevenapteranodon.He employed his optic
enhancementsandzoomedin,
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focusingonaman.No, tocall it amanwould
have been amisnomer.Withelectronic readouts on thetransparent shadow suit’sfaceplate, Grant could seethattheentityhadawingspanof thirty feet, its skin toneblued like that of a pallidcorpse. Around its bare,brawnyarms,hesawwhatatfirst appeared to be coiledserpents, but recognition
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immediately kicked in. Hebore some version of theserpentineASPblasterswornby the Nephilim drones whoserved beneath Enlil and theother Annunaki overlords.Theyglintedlikemetalinthesun, but those weaponsseemed puny in comparisonto the winged humanoid’shandheld device. It was agigantic hammer, gripped insinewy,powerfulhands.
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Grantlookedatthefaceofhis foe, one twisted in grimrage, tusks protruding andcurving out over hismustached upper lip, a blackbeard of writhing wormscrawling up the sides of hisface before they lengthenedinto serpents like a maleversionof theGreekmonsterMedusa. His nose plungeddown over his peeled-backlips like the hook of a
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vulture’s beak and its eyeswere shadows beneathbulging,clifflikebrowridges.Grant’s shock at the
hurtlingcreatureknockedhimfrom taking a mentalinventory of the beast’sappearance, and he flippedthe circuits to activate theweapons recently added tothe Manta. As he did, therewas a whine of protest fromthe systems, informing him
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that whatever had negatedradio communications hadlikewise disabled theweaponrycontrols.“Isn’t that just great?”
Grant growled, throttling upthe engines and hurtlingtoward the flying humanoid.Though he was certain thehammer was far more thanjust a brutish weapon meantfor crushing skulls, he wasgamblingonaMach2impact
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stunning theflyingopponent.The creature was notthematically different fromthegiganticKongamatofromAfrica, and he alwayswondered how one of thosemuscular horrorswould havedealtwithbeingrunoverbyasupersonicManta.The tusked mouth turned
into a semblance of a smilethrough the telescopicmagnification on Grant’s
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faceplate and immediatelyhestarted to regret playingchickenwithaflyingdemon.He didn’t have long to
doubthiscourse,though,asamoment later the Mantajolted violently. Evenstrapped into the pilot’scouch,Grant’sheadandarmsflailed wildly in the cockpit.Alarms and lights jerked tolife around the cabin, theviolence of impact making
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the horizon cartwheel in thecracked windshield of thesupersoniccraft.Stunned,Granttriedtowill
hishandsbacktothejoysticknestled between his knees.Unfortunately centrifugalforce and a stabbing pain inhis back and shoulder keptthem dangling at the ends ofhis ropy arms.All thewhile,his optics displayed acountdown of the Manta’s
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altitude as it spiraled towardtheMediterraneanSeabelow.At this speed, strikingincompressible water, itwouldbelikehurlingamelonagainst a stone wall, exceptthe meaty fruit disgorgedwould be Grant’s internalorgans.
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Chapter4
Edwards was aghast at thesight of the wingedmonstrosity flying to meetGrant’s Manta at rammingspeed. At the same time hegrimaced at theinconvenience of having hisweaponry disabled by
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whateverhadknockedouttheradios. As it was, the flyingmonster itself was spiralingout of control, seemingly asstunnedastheManta,itspilotlocked in a fatal corkscrewheading toward the waitingsea beneath them. However,evenas thehammer-wieldingflier toppled head over heelsthrough the empty air,Edwards’s Commtact camebackonline.
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“Grant!”Itwasachorusofalarmed cries in familiarvoices.Edwards looked between
the stunned monstrosity andhis fellow Cerberus warriorplummeting toward theground.With apit ofdisgustin his belly, he realized thatthe newly armedMantas hadvery little that could be usedto save another aircraft fromcrashing. The upgrades were
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meant to swat threats fromthe sky, to ensure that theycrashed.And if Edwards could not
rescue Grant, he’d sure ashell avenge his friend. Histhumb flicked up the safetyswitchonhis joystickandhepressed down on the trigger.In a moment a pair of .50-caliber machine guns roaredtolifebeneaththekeelofhisManta, streams of lead
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locking on the fallinghumanoid. As tracersdescribed the path of firefrom Edwards’s guns, thewinged creature jolted toalertness.Onebulletsmashedthrough the beast-man’swing, but no pain registeredonhistarget.Instead the huge hammer
was raised in both hands. Itlowered its head and thehammer’s bonce began to
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glow brightly, turning into ablazing sun at the end of itstwo-meter-long shaft.Edwardswatchedastheairinfront of the hammer and thefalling devil sparked to life.Instinctively the formerMagistrate realized whatthose individual flares wereas he eased off the trigger.Thehammerwasincineratingthe massive bullets in flight,shielding the stunned
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opponent.“So, ifyouwant toplay it
that way,” Edwardsmurmured, “let’s trysomething that won’t burnup.”Edwards kicked in what
passedforafterburnersontheManta, and the crush ofacceleration pushed himdeeper into thepilot’scouch,the transonic aircraftblistering along at escape
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velocity. This low, hewouldn’t be able to keep upthepaceverylong,butitwasmerelyashortburstofspeedthat roared him past theirwinged opponent. UnlikeGrant,hewasn’tgoingtoramhis enemy, but rather, let thesonic boom in hiswake beatat the odd, hammer-wieldingbeing.And since the interference
had stopped and theManta’s
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cockpit was now receivingcamera images, he was ableto spot the effects of thethunderclapofhispassageonthe creature. It had lost itshammer and, once more, itwas working into a spiral.Unfortunately this spiral wasslow and winding, lazy andcontrolled.Evenso,therewasnoway
that Edwards was going toallow it anywhere near its
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fallen hammer, wherever itwouldhavelanded.Heswunghis Manta around, all thewhilehoping thatsomewhereGranthadregainedcontrolofhiscraft.The winged creature
spotted the incoming scramjet and righted itself, puttingon its own burst of blindingspeed.Withinmomentsitwasout of sight, a spray of .50-caliber lead chasing it over
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thehorizon.“Guys? How’s Grant?”
Edwards asked, stilldistractedbywhatever itwasthey’dencountered.
***
IT COULD HAVE beenadrenaline surging throughGrant’s limbs that gave himthestrength topullhishandsbackdowntothejoystick,or
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it could have been the moreautomated systems on theManta kicking into gear,providing just enough of aniota of balance and slowingfor him to regain control ofhimselfinthedeathspiral.Orit could just have been themental image of himexploding like overripe fruitagainst the surface of theMediterraneanSeathatfoundGrant with his fingers
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wrapped tightly around thecontrolsoncemore.Whichever it was, he hit
full reverse on the thrusters,jetsblastingoutbellowsofairto slow his twirling descent,even as his other arm seizedfast to the stick, bringing thecontrolsurfacesbacktolevel.With that all going on in
the space of a fewmoments,the inertia of Grant’s insidescaused a sour ball of bile to
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roll up into his throat, acidictaste making him grimace indisgust as the Manta’s crashcoursewithoblivioncame toan abrupt halt. It wasn’t likecrashing into a wall of stoneor an ocean from nearly amilehigh,butitcertainlywasan upsetting experience. Hecouldn’t see through theglovesofhisshadowsuit,buthe could feel how whitenedhis knuckles were as he
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clutched the throttle andcollective.Despite the environmental
protections provided by thefull-body shadow suit, Grantwas drenched in sweat, hishearthammering to thepointwhere he wondered if itwould burst through his ribs.Adjusting the thrusters inVTOL mode, he steered acourse toward theOracle.Hewanted to set down because
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hecouldfeelastreamofcoldair hissing through thecrackedwindscreen, hear theflap of torn seals andbouncing metal holding thecockpit’scanopyinplace.InthedistanceGrantheard
asonicboomandwonderedifit was the explosion ofEdwards’s ship or thedetonation of some otherweapon. It might have beenthedistractionofkeeping the
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Manta on course for itsemergency landing, but ittookamomenttosinkinthatEdwards and his ship hadgonesupersonic.Whatever Grant had
collided with had proved tobe more than capable ofstanding up to the incrediblewitheringpowerof the jerry-rigged .50-caliber machineguns and missiles on theirships. And since Edwards
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saw with his own eyes what“ramming speed”accomplished, the big, baldbrutewentwith a balance ofraw power and ability. Theblast of air parting and thenclapping back together atMach speed was the trickhe’doptedfor.“Grant, you all right?”
Kane asked over theCommtact,hisvoiceshowingfarmoreemotionandconcern
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than the stoic Cerberuswarrior had displayed in alongtime.“Yeah. I’ve gotmyManta
limping to a landing nearyou,”Grant responded. “Anyclueas tohowmuchdamageI’m suffering? Systems arestillonthefritzhereandtherein the wake of that feedbackblast.”“Youcanseeitforyourself
onceyouland,”Kanereplied,
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hisvoicegrowingharder.Grantcurledhislip.Itwas
likely that it was more thanjust a scratch. He kept thepace even and steady,knowingthatimperfectionsinthe hull would make arenewed effort at supersonictransit a very messy methodof suicide. The shadow suitprovided a modicum ofsmall-arms protection andhadkepthim fromshattering
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limbs on short falls orminorcrashes, but should thecockpit split open and therestraint belts on the pilot’scouchfail,noamountofnon-Newtonianfabricwouldkeephimfrombeingcrushedashehitthegroundafterthousandsoffeetoffreefall.“Guys?” Edwards spoke
over the comm-link. “How’sGrant?”“Limping along. What
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happened to the wingedbastard who ran me over?”Grantaskedback.“HetookoffrunningafterI
knockedthehammerfromhishands,”Edwardsreplied.“Dowe have contact with NewOlympusyet?”“You got a hammer from
him?”Brigidinterjected.“Big bad hammer. It just
missed opening Grant’sManta like a can of rations,”
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Edwardsexplained.“That’s a fair assessment,”
Grantadded.“Hewasanuglycuss,withblue-grayskinandsnakesforhair…”“Charun,”Brigidstated.“So much for a skeletal
boatman,” Grant murmured.“What, we have the crossbetweenThorand someuglyangel?”“No,Charunwas a god of
thedead.Edwards,yougoing
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tokeepwatchoverwherethehammer landed?” Brigidinquired.“Damn straight. Once I
knocked the thing out of hishands, we got our commsback,” Edwards explained.“So keeping the hammeraway from him is, in myhumble opinion, a greatplan.”“Good,”Brigidsaid.“Then
we can see if we’re dealing
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withAnnunaki technologyor—”“Charunhadsomemetallic
snakes wrapped around hisarms that immediatelyreminded me of Enlil’s ASPblasters,” Grant said, cuttingher off. “But these werebigger, thicker. Presumablymore powerful. And beingwound around his arms, helikelystillhasthem.”“Confirm on that,”
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Edwards advised. “We’llneedpeopleonthegroundtoget to the hammer beforeCharunreturns.”Grant’s mood was not
goodashegrewclosertothespire where his compatriotshad landed with theinterphaser. So much forhaving the advantage of airsuperiority,hemused.Hegrithisteeth.Ofcourse
they had air superiority.
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Edwards’sManta stillwas inperfectcondition,andaslongas the strange, hammer-likedevice was out of the handsoftheirenemy,theirweaponssystems would operate andtheycouldcommunicatewitheachother.AndfromthewaythatEdwardsseemeddeadseton protecting the airspaceover the fallen weapon, itoccurredtotheCATBetaex-Magistrate that the hammer
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wasspecial.Maybe the winged
humanoid had access topowerful arm blasters, butthere were bigger and moreimpressive tricks in his losttoolbag.Grant frowned, swinging
thewoundedMantacloser tothe ground, making thedecision to land near thepuddle of molten secondaryorichalcum. There was more
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flat ground and he didn’twant todamage thewingsorharm his friends with tooclumsy of a landing. Thehenge stones would likelyadd to the damage of hiswounded aircraft, makingrepairsevenmoredifficult.Soon he was in range so
that he didn’t even need thetelescopic zoom on hishelmet to inform him thatthree Gear Skeletons, one
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adornedasa“hero”suit, twoothers as Spartans, hadarrived at the base of therampleadingtothetopoftheoracularspire.The giant exoskeletons
spread out, forming aperimeter in which Grantcould set the Manta down.Even as they did so, theyextended their arms upwardto cushion the descent of thecraft in case it had suffered
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more damage and couldn’textenditslandinggear.Grantkeptuphisvigilance
upon landing. The last thingheneededwas toget sloppy,no matter what kind of helphehadavailabletohim.Evenso,whenhefeltthepowerfulrobotic hands latch on to thehull of hisManta,Grantwasrelieved.Unfortunately the bigman
realized that such relief was
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only temporary. This wasonlyhisfirstencounterwithawingedmonstrosity powerfulenough to engage an armedManta. Another godlikebeing,differentinsomewaysfrom their usual Annunakiopponents, but stillformidable, still extremelydangerous.Hehoped thatCharunwas
alone, but even as he did so,he realized that things were
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neverthateasy.
***
EDWARDS DIDN’T HAVE tosearchtoohardforwherethehammer went down. It hadproduced so much energy inits shield against the twinmachine guns on his Mantathat it left a smoke trail andits landingproducedahighlyvisible scar on the
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countryside. So far, hissystems were continuinguninterrupted, but that didn’tmean the winged enemywasn’ttryingtoslipbackintoGreek airspace after beingdrivenoff.However,hedidn’twantto
waste any more of theManta’s endurance thannecessary, so he swung theaircraft low over the crater.As he did so, sensors in the
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Manta’scockpitmeasuredthewidth and depth of the dentthe hammer hadmade in theground. It was only two feetindepth,and littlemore thantwoandahalf feetwide,butit was a crater carved intosolidrock.Edwards was no expert at
mathematics, but he’d seenlargebombsgooffbeforeandplaced the power of thehammer’s impact equal to
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about twenty-five kilogramsof plas-ex. That was merelyfrom falling from a greatheight,notbeingthrown.Now he could see why
even a glancing blow hadalmost crushed Grant’sManta.Edwards landed the ship
and used the shadow suit onhisforearmasakeyboardandmonitor togather thecrater’sinformationandtransmititto
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theothers.Ifanything,BrigidBaptiste would want to seethe physical environmentaleffectsoftheartifact.Itmightbe only pure trivia, but itcould also give the brilliantarchivist some form of scalefromwhich todetermine justwhattheywereupagainst.Edwards got out of the
cockpit and jogged closer tothehammer,lettingtheopticsin his shadow suit faceplate
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continue to recordinformation about thehammer.Asheclosedwithit,he could see that the handlewas fully two meters inlength, and it was not madefrom any material herecognized. It was dull, notresemblingthepolishedbrassof secondary orichalcum orany other natural alloy theCerberus explorers hadencountered.
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No, that was wrong,Edwards thought. There wasa woodlike grain to thehandle,but the shadowsuit’sanalytical optics were notregistering it as anythingcarved from a tree that he’dever seen.He frowned.He’dseen something made ofwoodbutnotwoodenbefore,andhewishedhe’dhadahintof Brigid Baptiste’sphotographic memory at
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timessuchasthis.“Brigid,”Edwardscalled.“Thankyouforthecamera
footage of the artifact,” sheanswered. “What are yougoingtoaskabout?”“The handle. It looks like
some kind of material I’veseenbefore,but I can’tplaceit.I’mhoping…”“The Cedar Doors we
encountered underground inIraq,” Brigid responded. “In
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mythology, they were thegates to an entire CedarForest, whose fruit, wheneaten, would provideimmortality. Unfortunatelysaideternalexistencecameinthe form of zombie-likereanimation andwas not fullof cedar trees as weunderstoodthem.”Edwards took a deep
breathof relief. “That’swhatwas bugging me. So, this is
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fakecedar?Orapetrifiedtreematerial?”“It is possible,” Brigid
answered. “But I wouldpreferacloserlook.”Edwards grunted. “I’ll
babysitthisthinguntilwecangetarecoveryteamhere.”“Donotattempttomoveit
yourself,” Brigidadmonished.“Whoknows—”“Yeah, I wasn’t going to
get zapped by any security
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systems built into a hammerthatcanpunchahole inrocklike fifty-five pounds’ worthof TNT,” Edwardsmurmured. “And while Idon’t know the kind of heatthat could incinerate twoounces of armor-piercingshell, let alone a wholevolley…” Edwards trailedoff, hoping for her to givehimaboneofinformation.“Even that calculation is
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beyond my currentknowledge,” Brigidinterjected. “But the meltingpoint of lead is 328 degreesCelsius.”“That’d be nice if I were
shooting a handgun, but theFifties fire tungsten-coredbullets.”“Three thousand, four
hundred and twenty-twodegrees Celsius,” Brigidoffered.“Oh,my.”
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“Tentimeshotter thanyouthought?”Edwardsasked.“Tenpoint four-three-three
rounded to the nearesthundredth, but, yes,” Brigidsaid.Edwards could hear the
smile in her voice as hedemonstrated at least asemblance of mathematicalskill, so that the big brawlershowed that he wasn’t acomplete drain on the brains
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of the assembled CerberusAway Teams. “This is verydisconcerting.”Edwards nodded, even
thoughheknewthehead-bobwouldn’t translate over theCommtact. But if he gavevoicetohispersonalfears,hewould losemore than a littleof his appearance as a toughguy. Even so, he couldn’tdisagree with Brigid’s ownoutwardly calm evaluation.
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The hammer’s powers wereformidable, easily asdangerous as the glove thatMaccan utilized in his attackon Cerberus, maybe evenworse, since it was a largeritem.Edwards’s curiosity led
him nearer to the deadlyhammer,examiningthecraterevenmoreclosely.Foralltheforce of its impact, it stoodflatlyonitsheadandhadnot
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penetrated the bottom of thebowl.Thissetthehairsonhisneck on edge, because thatwas not how it should havebeen naturally. He recordedthis, and transmitted it toBrigid.“Edwards,donotapproach
anycloser,”shewarned.“Itfiredoffsomethinglike
a braking rocket, didn’t it?”Edwardsasked.“Yes,” she told him.
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“Which means that theartifact, indeed, has somemannerofautonomy.”Edwards took a couple of
stridesbackward,butevenashe did so, he recalled theshapeof thehead. Itwasnotthe normal shape for asledgehammer, nor was it astylized T shape with Celticcarvings enmeshed on thesides, as the holy symbol forThor that Edwards had seen
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before. This was a morecrystalline structure,semitransparent, flat-sidedbutheld inplacebywebbingforged frommoltenmetal. Itwas a hexagonal prism, withapairofhexagonalpyramidsformingthecapsoneachend,as if itwere a gigantic pieceofquartz.Except this quartz was
bloodred and glowed fromwithin as if possessed by a
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hellish flame at its core. Thewhole thing had an eerieelectricity that madeEdwards’s skin crawl, evenbehind the protection of hisshadowsuit.Ashewas fullyenvironmentally enclosedwithinthehigh-techgarment,his instincts were onmaximumalertsimplyduetothe crackle of energy he feltintheair.Brigid Baptiste, as usual,
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had been correct in herassessment. He’d gotten tooclose to an entity that couldprotect itself with the samefacility it had protected itswielder from the heaviest“small arms” that had everbeen developed. EdwardsflexedhisforearmandtheSinEater automatically launchedinto the palm of his hand,ready to spit lead. He didn’tthink it would be any more
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effective than the heavymachine guns he’d firedearlier, but Edwards was notgoingtogointodeathwithoutafight.The throb of dread in the
air lessened the further hebacked from the alienweapon.“Okay.IfIdon’tmesswith
you, you won’t mess withme,”Edwardsmurmured.Ashe spoke he could feel a
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tickle in his forehead, rightfrom the spot where theinhuman Ullikummis hadinserted the seed of his fleshinto his brain. With thataction, the ancient stonegodling had gained totalcontrol of Edwards, turninghim from a protector ofCerberus into an oppressive,dangerous marionette. Thefeeling was still raw insidehisskinandspirit.
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Whateverthesourceoftheodd reminiscent feeling, itmade him angry, remindinghim of his violation byanotheralienmindaswellashis failure as a protector offreedom. As much as hefought, he’d still ceded hiswill to something else, nomatter how powerful. Thateven Brigid had likewisebeen changed and abused bythesamegodlingdidn’thelp,
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asshe’dfoundawaytofightUllikummis’s control.Edwardshadn’t.Itstilldidn’tmatterthatthe
would-be conqueror was nolessthanthesonofEnlil,norengineered to even greaterabilities than a standardAnnunaki overlord. Edwardshadfallen,andhestillhadn’tfelt as if he’d washed thatstainfromhisspirit.Andrightnow,hefeltasif
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the alien artifact in front ofhim saw that stain, smelledthestinkoffailureuponhim,andsawanopportunity.Edwards grit his teeth and
settled in, standing guard.The anger spurred by theshamehefeltmadehimwishsomeone would try to stealthehammer.He wouldn’t even have
minded going into battleagainst the winged
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monstrosity when it returnedforitsproperty.
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Chapter5
Perched on the nose of theparked Manta, his Sin Eaterretracted into its forearmholster, Edwards knew he’dbe waiting a while forsomeone to show up forCharun’s fallen hammer.Even at this distance, thirty
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yards from where it’dcratered therockyhillock, itsemanations whisperedpromises of ancient evil upanddownhisspine.He checked his wrist
chron,adisplaybuiltintotheforearm of the sleek, body-conforming shadow suit,actually.Brigidhadcontactedhim again, alerting him thattheywouldbeonhispositionin about two hours. The big
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Magistrate passed the firsthour and a quarter thinkingabout the brief, brutal aerialchase and battle he’dundergone. At supersonicspeeds,evenafewsecondsofmovement translated intomiles of ground to cover,especially since there were acouple of ranges ofmountains between him andNewOlympus.Even with the mighty
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strides and leaps of theGearSkeletons,itwasunlikelythatthere would be an arrivalwithinthenextthirtyminutes.Edwards started to inform
himself not to take aerialcombat so far away fromfriendswhocouldcometohisaid, but his common sensekickedin.Thewholepurposeofairsupportwastodistanceaerialcombatantsfromtroopson the ground. Getting the
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horrific Charun as far fromhis compatriots was the bestthingtodo.Hecouldn’thaveanticipated the presence of apowerful artifact in need ofrecovery.For amoment he saw that
he had two shadows on theground,lookingpastthewristchron. Edwards squinted,then looked back up into thesky.Up there, somehow,hadappeared a second brilliant
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sun, blazing white and hot.He scrambled to his feet,standing on the front of theManta. The machine pistolsnapped down into his fist,ready to go into action, butthestrange,glowingdiscwasnot moving. He put on hisshadow suit’s faceplate andhoped for the visor to screenand filter out the blindinglight as well as analyze theobjectinthesky.
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The range was ten milesanditwasadvancingquickly.HeactivatedhisCommtact
microphone.“Guys,whereveryouare…”Nothing. No response, not
even static. He turned hisgaze back to the sky. For allthepolarizationofthelenses,necessary for use on walksoutside the Manitus MoonBase,hecouldnotmakeoutadetailinregardtotheblazing
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comet loomingeverandevercloser to him. But in thespaceoffifteensecondsithadclosed to nine miles. Hecouldn’tgetdetails about theshape of the object, only itsrange, and there was noguaranteethatitwasright.Edwardsturnedtoopenthe
cockpit, but the commandsignal to remotely open thecanopywas jammed.Hewasin a complete blackout. He
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ground his teeth behind thefaceplate and looked back atthe hammer. “You wouldn’tbealone,wouldyou?”The hammer didn’t speak,
but it didn’t have to. Therewasanewmalicehanging inthe air; a smug sense ofsuperiority that provedannoying in humans but wasinfuriatingwhenitcamefroma supposedly inanimateobject.
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Edwards tried to open themanual hatch, a backup incase of the failure of theremote access. The onlyproblem with that was thatnow the hatch was shut;immobilized by a force sostrong that even using hisfoot-long fighting knife hecouldn’t budge it open. Hebent the blade by sixtydegrees and gave up for fearof losing an important
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survival tool or causinghimself injury should theblade shatter. In frustration,he gave the cockpit ahammering blow in an effortto somehow override theManta’ssecuritysystems.“Come on, open,” he
growled.The Mantas, however,
were machines meant towithstand the stresses ofsupersonic flightandre-entry
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flights from the moon. Asstrong as Edwards was, hewas nothing compared to theforce of air pressure strikingthe atmosphere at multiplesof the speed of sound. Andwith the Manta sealed tightbytheinterferenceputoutbyCharunoroneofhispartners,it was far too late to grab afewgrensfromhiswarbag.All he had were his Sin
Eater and his Copperhead. It
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was formidable firepowerwhendealingwithbanditsormindless mutants, but themind behind the ever-approaching torch wasencased in a body that hadsurvived a crash with aManta. Though his gun’sbullets moved at the samespeed as a Manta in fullacceleration, neither of thempossessedtherawmassoftheorbital transport.Hemightas
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well be throwing kernels ofriceattheopposition.Edwards grimaced in his
impotence.Hecouldstayandprovide a brief, valiant, butultimatelydoomedresistance,oratleasttrytodosomethinguseful. Thinking ahead, heknew he had to opt for thelatterchoice.Edwardssighed,lookingat
the hammer in disgust, thenran, bounding off theManta.
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Sticking around would besuicide, or worse, get himcapturedandusedagainsttheothers.Runningawaywasnotgoing to be his course ofaction,though.Edwards raced to find a
good spot wherein he couldhide his bulk. At least theshadow suit’s fiber opticswere still in workingcondition, picking up thesurrounding dirt and scrub
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brush to disguise himamongthem. It wasn’t invisibility,but it was still greatcamouflage.The suit’s fiberswerealso radar-absorbent, sothat meant he might not bepicked up by any form ofdetection.Theenvironmentalseals in
place with his faceplate alsoprevented his scent fromescaping the skintightgarment. With all of these
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precautions, however,Edwards was still worried.This wasn’t his first go-around with entities ofsuperhuman weaponry orability. One of the previoushad strunghimaround like amarionette, turning him froman individual fighting for thefuture of the planet to a footsoldiertryingtoconquerit.Therewasabowel-chilling
senseofdreadas theblazing
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sun died down. Two wingedfigureshungintheairatleasta hundred feet above thehammer. Edwards almostflinched as the faceplateoptics zoomed in on them,almost as if they could hearthe electronics focusing. Heheldhisbreathinanefforttofurtherlowerhisprofile.Withhis body mass draped overthe Copperhead and SinEater, there were no metal
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objectstoreflectradarpulsesor show up magnetically, hehoped.His thoughts were racing,
soifeitherofthesetwoweretelepaths, they would hearhim as if he were screamingat the top of his lungs. Hisfists clenched and he foughtto control himself, to deadenhis frantic mind. All thewhile, he hoped that thefaceplate was still recording
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the image of these twoentities.Though theywerewinged,
neither set of appendages oneither appeared tomove, notCharun and his leathery,demonic adornment, or theother’s feathered limbs. Theother was far from beingCharun’s equal in ugliness.Instead of a scaled, liplesscrack with curved tuskssweeping up from his jaw,
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hermouthwas lushwith lipslikeflowerpetalsorsucculentas orange wedges and thecolor of wine. Instead of ascragglyblackmane,thinningand pierced with yellowedhorns, her browwas smooth,withauburntressescascadingin looping curls that spiraleddownpasthershoulders.Charun’s skin was blue-
gray, holding the pallor of anear-mummified corpse,
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despite the vital and bulgingmuscles beneath that ashen,crinkledhide.Herswasdeepandrichlytanned,vibrantandglowing from within; adecidedly Mediterraneanbronze gained by long hourstakinginthesun.She,likehe,was topless, her full,pendulous breasts jostling astheywereframedbyanXofleather straps that seemed toconnect her to either the
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eerilymotionlesswingsorthequiveracrosshershoulder.Both of them were the
same height, nearing eightfeetfromtoe-tiptothetopoftheirheads.In one hand she held a
great, hornlike torch that hadfaded to merely thebrightness of ordinary flamenow. In the other she held abow. But even with hisgreatestmagnification on the
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shadow suit optics, he couldnot see the string on theancient-seeming weapon.Instead, where the bowstringwouldhavebeennotched,oneach arm of the bow therewas a bejeweled block ofgoldenmetal that shimmeredwiththesamebrassysheenofaGearSkeleton.Therewasahand-molded grip in thecenter, with a stubbyprojection making it seem
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like some form of pistolaroundwhichabowhadbeenbuilt.Edwards couldn’t help but
think that this device mightbe more than gaudy,ornamental,ancientweaponryand more a piece of alientechnology. The resemblanceof segments to secondaryorichalcum, the sameAnnunaki alloy in theOlympian war suits, was all
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the evidence he needed tomaketheassumption.Speaking of the devil, the
woman extended her armwiththetorch.Withaflashofbrilliant flame, the groundsuddenly came alive withseveral pillars of sproutinglight. Edwards’s stomachtwisted as either his eyesadjusted to the brilliance orthe shapes of the pillarssolidified into human forms.
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There were two GearSkeletons, and from Brigid’sbriefing, Edwards couldrecognize the Spartans ashaving the same ID numbersasthosereportedmissing.There were about twelve
soldiers with the two battlerobots, and the CerberusAwayTeammemberletoutalow hiss of his retainedbreath,inhalingtoreplacethestale air. The armored
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warriors were clad in thefamiliar mix of modernMagistratepolycarbonateandclassicalGreekleatherarmor.The faceplates were open
on theirhelmets, though,andthrough the empty space,Edwardsmadeoutthewhite-eyed,slack-jawedexpressionsof the Olympian soldiers.They moved with normalagilityandwalkedapace,buttherewasliterallynothingbut
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pinholesinthemiddleoftheireyes.Edwards’s molars ground
together until they locked inplace.Notgood.Notatall,hethought.The fluid nature of their
movements indicated that theblank-eyed soldiers were inperfecthealthandability,butthe unblinking, slack natureof their features warned ofsomethingdarker,deadlier,at
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work than hammers capableofsmashingMantasfromthesky or torches that burnedwith the brightness of a sun.These were thralls, lostcompletely to the control ofanoutsideentity.And yet, for the soulless,
zombified expressions, theywere spread out, searchingcarefully for any sign ofEdwards, their guns at arms.The two Gear Skeletons
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walked over and seized theManta, picking it up as if itwere a toy, further testimonyto the kind of raw power ofancient Annunaki robotics.Themecha beganwalking tothewest,carryingtheaircraftintheirpowerfularms.“The pilot might not have
gonefar.”Thewomanspoke,loweringcloser.Again, the motionless
natureofthosewings,despite
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their classic angelic ordemonic shape, dug intoEdwards’s nerves. It onlytook him a few moments torealize that the appendageswouldn’t be natural, butartificial constructs designedtomatchahuman’sviewofawinged deity. He’d beenaround with Cerberus longenough to know whentechnology was theexplanation of something
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occurring inmythology,be itthe hammer of a god orsomethingassimpleasflight.Thewingswere silent and
motionless on the backs ofCharun and his beautifulpartner,whichtookawayonepossibility that they weresome manner of jet pack orrocket belt. Indeed, the eeriequiet pretty much narrowedthingsdown to somemannerof antigravity system. As to
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whytheirflyingdeviceswereso similar to wings…well,eventheMantahadwings.Itjust made flight andmaneuvering easier. Hecouldn’tseeflapsorailerons,but given their biologicalappearance, they could havebeensupple,enablingthemtosteer.This also explained the
lack of pain or reaction toinjurywhenEdwardshadput
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a .50-caliber round throughCharun’s wing. He saw thescorchedhole, flesh split andtattered at the edges of the“wound.”Hisoptics couldn’tdetect any mechanicssandwichedbetweenlayersofleathery skin, but nor couldhe seebloodvesselsorothersignsthatthewingwasalive.As if on silent, telepathic
cue, Charun looked down athis injury, the limb bending
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around sohecould lookat itmore closely. That tuskedmawturnedupat thecornersinasmile.The woman looked across
and met his smile with herown. Almost playfully,Charun brought the bullethole up to eye level andpeered at his partner throughthe aperture,which elicited alaugh from the angelicfemale.
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It looked like a truefriendship between the twoentities, reminiscent of whathe had seen between Kaneand Brigid, the ability tocommunicate entire ideas injust a few gestures, becausethe audio pickups on hissuit’s hood were notconveying anything morethan breathing between thetwo.Theonlywordsshehadspoken seemed to be toward
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the slave stock searching theManta’slandingarea.That spoke to either
telepathy between the flyingpairoran intimate friendshipthat often did not require asingleword.Edwards, at thispoint,wasdesperatelyhopingit wasn’t telepathy. Suchdoomie powers would makeall of the camouflage andhiding amoot, useless point.Thankfully, it didn’t seem as
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if the zombified Olympiantroops had any more specialsenses as he lay, still as arock, his suit’s camouflagesystemmakinghim look likeinertstoneandsoilpiledasashortberm.Asoldierwalked towithin
inches of Edwards’smotionlessform,evenlookedright down at him, thencontinued on. The big bruteof amanmade a convincing
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pileofrocks,butthatdidnotgive him the freedom tobreathe a sigh of relief.Instead he kept frozen,muscles tense to the point ofaching. His breathing ranshallow and he only allowedhimself to blink when hiseyesweredriedandburning.Itseemedlikehoursbefore
the soldiers moved on andCharun and his “bride” rosefurther into the sky. She
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waved her torch, almostdismissively, and suddenlystreaksof the same light thatdeposited the Olympianzombies on the groundflashed up, sucked into thetongue. Charun alighted onthe ground just long enoughtoliftthemassivehammer.Edwards didn’t move his
head, didn’t do more thansweep his eyes to theperiphery of his vision at
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either angle. He waited,remaining still despite thegrowing ache and fatigue inhisshouldersandneck.Hedidn’tknowhowlongit
was, but finally the heavytread of Gear Skeleton feetresounded again. Edwardsalmostdidn’twanttorelax.“Edwards!” a voice
shouted.When he turned hisheadtowardthesoundofthatcall, he could feel tendons
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popping at the base of hisskull,makingitfeelasifhot,wet gore splashed down onhis neck. He winced andgasped.“Here,”hecroaked.A slender but muscular
figureracedtohisside.ItwasKane.He helped Edwards to his
feet.Looking around, he could
seeoneofthesuits,complete
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with a quiver of javelins andbrassy, steel-wool curlsflowing down over hershoulders. That had to havebeenthenewArtem15.“We’ve been trying to
contact you for an hour,”Kanesaid.Edwards pulled off his
shadow suit hood. Beads ofsweat splashed andevaporated in the cool air oftheGreekafternoon.
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Kane tilted his head andlookedattheCommtactplateon his friend’s jaw. Hesnapped it off its mountingandlookedcloseratit.“YourCommtact looks like itburnedout.WhathappenedtotheManta?”“Charun and his girlfriend
showed up,” Edwardsexplained. “With two of themissing mobile suits. ThesuitspickeduptheManta.”
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“Girlfriend?” Kane asked,fishingintoabeltpouchforareplacement plate. Once hedid,hehandedittoEdwards,who donned the newcommunicator.Almost instantly he heard
Brigid Baptiste’s voice.“Givemeadescriptionofthisgirlfriend,”sheordered.Edwards launched into his
recorded memory, thentapped the interface on his
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suit’s forearm. “I’m alsosending you the vid my suitcaptured.”“That is Vanth, and her
torch is of equal power toCharun’s hammer,” Brigidexplained.“And,yes,theyarepartners.Psychopomps.”“Psychos?Yeah, I can see
that,” Edwards grumbled.“Psychopomp…that’s not thesameascrazy,right?”“Theterm‘psychopomp’is
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Greek. Literally translated, itis‘guideofthesoul,’’’Brigidtold themboth. “Choosers ofthe slain. Angels or sub-deitieswhotakepeopletotheafterlife.”“Thatexplainsthezombie-
like appearance of theOlympian soldiers searchingforme,”Edwardsadded.“The theft of their spirit is
a concerning development,”Brigid mused over the
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Commtact. “As do Charun’srecovery of his hammer andthe disappearance of oursecond and currently onlyflight-capableManta.”Kane frowned. “You said
this torch could spit out thebodiesandthenpickthemupagain. Don’t yell at me forbeingwrong, but that soundsan awful lot like theThreshold or Lakesh’sinterphaser.”
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“If that,” Edwards mused.“Itcouldbelikeoneofthosetrapsintheoldvids.Theoneswith the four guys fightingtheghosts?”“Turning the humans and
the mecha into energy, thenstoring it in that format?”Brigid inquired. “And, yes,Kane, I can see thesimilarities in yourassessment,aswell.”Edwardsfrowned.“Great.”
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“What’s wrong?” Kaneasked.“I’m getting used to this
crazy shit,” Edwardsgrumbled.Kaneclappedhisfriendon
the shoulder. “Come on.There’s room for you onArtem15’sotherarm.”Edwards nodded and the
two men were picked up,gingerly,with a gentle touchbelying the robot skeleton’s
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massive might. Once theyweresettledintothecrooksofthe giant’s elbows, it turnedand began to run; long,looping strides that crossedfirstfifteen,thentwenty,thenfinally thirty feet in a singlebound.The wind in Edwards’s
facewascoolandrefreshing,a release from the paralyzedcaution and stony patiencehe’d had to endure while
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waiting for the arrival of hisallies.He still couldn’t shake the
feelingthathe’dleteveryonedown. No matter how muchinformation Brigid and Kanegot from his report and hisvid.
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Chapter6
Smaragda sat at theconference table, hershouldersslumped,shocksofherwhite bangs hanging lowover her baggy eyes. Shestaredat the topof the table,but she was so deadened, sonumbed by the trauma of
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losingherplatoon,shedidn’teven register thegrainof thefaux wooden veneer toppingthe furniture in front of her.Allshecoulddowasfighttheneed to close her eyes, todispel the horrors of herplatoon’sswallowing,tokeepthe echoes of their screamsfromringinginherears.She was clad in a nearly
shapeless sweatshirt thatcovered her arms, hiding the
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recentworkshe’dcarvedintoit with a razor. The flesh ofher forearms was heavilycheckered now and was rawfrom the disinfectant she’dpoured over the dozens ofnew cuts to prevent sepsis.Smaragda hadn’t cut herselfsince she was a mereteenager, the focus and élanof being with the NewOlympian military stealingnot just privacy for the act,
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but also drowning out theneedforcontrollingherpain.Nowherforearmsstankof
hydrogen peroxide,dampened somewhat by theloose bandages and therumpled sleeves of her top.She didn’t know if heracknowledgmentoftheodorswas just a strongmemory orif she truly was literallyreeking of it. Either way, itwastoolatenowasthelights
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came on in the conferenceroom,peoplefilinginthroughdifferent doors. Smaragda’seyes rose slightly and shewatched her queen rollherself along on herwheelchair.Their eyes met as they
were at the same level, andSmaragda instinctivelylooked back down, wishingthat she could wither away,shrinkingintothegroundand
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outof thepresenceofQueenDiana.She pressed her forearms
harder against the tabletopand the pressure on her skinallowed slowly healing snipsand cuts to pop open. Itwasn’t the samekindof rushas she got from pressing arazorbladeagainst it,but thepain still clouded herperceptions, takingheroutofthe moment, out of her self-
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loathingfor…surviving.Conversations murmured
around the corners of herconsciousness and it wassomething that helped her tomuffle the distant memoriesof her dying friends. If onlyshe’d stood her ground…atleast she wouldn’t have feltso useless. No, she wouldhave had the beautifuldarkness of oblivion, herbody and soul swallowed
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completely by the Stygiancloud,hersufferingendedbyitsravenousgreed.“So we have a new
development,” Dianaannounced, her voice cuttingsharply through both theconference room and intoSmaragda’s numbed mind.“Ourpeoplearestillalive.”Smaragda looked up,
staring at her queen, herhands clenching into tight
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fists so that even her closelytrimmed nails threatened tospear through her palms.“What?”“They are alive and under
some form of mind control,or have had their bodiescommandeered by theEtruscan menaces,” Dianaclarified for her. “We havevideo of both the intrudersand our missing people,thanks to Edwards over
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there.”Smaragda glanced in the
direction Diana pointed andsaw a brawny, broodingfigure,hehavingcasthiseyesdownward.“Justtryingtogetasmuch
as I could. I sureashellwasuseless in terms of fightingthose two,” Edwardsgrumbled.Smaragda turned and
glanced toward the screen,
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thelightsdimming.“Myrto, see if you can
recognizeanythingoffof theinitial parts of the video,”Diana ordered. The queen’svoice held more than a littleconcern, something thedisgraced soldier couldn’tunderstand. If anything, sheshould have been executedforsuchadisgustingfailure.Why worry about me?
Smaragda mused silently.
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Why even have me here atthistable?But even as she did so, a
smallmonitorwasslidtohersection of the table and shelookedattheflyingentities.“Didyouseeanythinglike
that?”BrigidBaptisteasked.Smaragda shook her head.
“Theonlythinganyofussawwas a literal flood of dark,churning smoke. However,wewere in thewoods, and I
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couldn’t see through thecanopyoftrees.”Brigid nodded. “Perhaps
that is why there was thatformofmanifestation.”Smaragda looked down at
the screen, watching as herfriends suddenly appeared,deposited on the ground bystreams of light emanatingfrom the torch held by theflyingfemalefigure,Vanth.She could recognize them
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by the subtle differences, thelittlebitsofcustomizationoneach of her fellow soldiers’armor, even before thecamera focused on the facesinside their open-visoredhelmets. She looked at onesetofeyesandherheartsank.Everyinstinctwastograbthetinymonitorandhurlitaside,but she didn’t even possessthe will to lift her arms, toeven touch the image of lost
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brothers.Edwards leaned across the
table, his long arm snatchingup the tablet and turning itawayfromher.“She doesn’t need to see
thatshit,”thebigmangrufflyannounced. “Pardon mylanguage.”“It’s excused,” Diana
stated.“I’msorry,Myrto.”The failed soldier just
shook her head, tried to say,
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“It’s okay,” but could onlymanage a mumbled, garbledsemblanceofhumanspeech.“Are you sure you’re all
right to continue thisdebriefing?” Edwards spokeacrossthetable.A hand rested upon her
shoulderandshelookeduptosee that it was BrigidBaptiste. Her touch wasdelicate and her expressionwasoneof concern. “Letme
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talk with her alone,everyone.”Smaragda shook her head.
“Icanbeuseful…”“We know that,” Brigid
answeredher. “I justwant totalktoyou.One-on-one.”Smaragda looked into the
emerald, shining eyes of thetallwoman, seeing awarmththat made her dislike herselfeven more, not wanting todeserveanyofthatforallthat
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she’d failed to do. And yetthe offered hand wasirresistible and she rose,guidedtoadoorway.
***
EVEN IF BRIGID BAPTISTEwere not possessed of aphotographic memory,enablingher to recognize thesigns of severe emotionaltrauma, she would have
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noticed the turmoil thatwrapped up the frost-hairedSmaragda. Taking her intothe hallway, away from thepresence of others, shemanaged to give the youngwoman some privacy. Thecorner of the corridor waswelllit,butnoonewasusingit.“I’m sorry for dragging
down the debriefing…”Smaragdabegan.
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“You aren’t,” Brigid toldher. She braced Smaragda’sface in both of her hands,locking eyes together. “Justlook into my eyes andconcentrateonmyvoice.”“Why? What are you
doing?”Smaragdaasked.“First, I’m going to get
your complete testimonywithout causing you moreconscious mental harm,”Brigid explained. “I’m
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hypnotizing you now, lullingyoursenses,makingyou feelmore and more comfortable.As the notes of my voicestrum gently in your ears, Iam commanding your visualattention. With sight andhearing focused, calmed,youwill become more attunedtoward thecues that interferewith your detailed memory,as well as separate yourselffrom your emotional
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barriers.”Smaragda’s dark, red-
veinedeyesslowlyunfocusedwith Brigid’s continueddescription of the hypnosisprocess,calmingher,fixatingher until Brigid was able todraw her hands away fromthegirl’scheeks.Smaragda stood stock-still
and the Cerberus archivistbegan asking her questionsandreceivinghonestanswers.
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The trick to hypnosis wassimplyacaseofdistractionofthe conscious mind, takingaway filters of behavior andemotionthatwouldotherwiseinterfere with clarity ofcommunication.The shell-shocked soldier
was much more forthcomingin her responses, and didn’tseemasifshewantedtofoldherself away under the table.And since this was Brigid
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Baptiste,notasinglesyllable,not a single impression,would be forgotten or lost inthe translation. Her brilliantmindabsorbedeveryfactanddescription uttered bySmaragda,aswellasopinionsandimpressionsonthingsshecouldonlyspeculateabout.The whole hypnotic
session took only fifteenminutes for the directquestioning and Brigid was
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partially of a mind tocontinue, digging intoSmaragda’s self-loathing andattempttotakecareofit,likea surgeon having discovereda tumor in the midst of anoperation. However, Brigidrealized that if she attemptedto dig too deeply, she couldcauseasmuchharmasshe’dattempttoundo.No,meatballsurgery on the traumatizedyoungwomanwasnot going
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tobeonthemenutoday.Smaragda’s healing would
have to come from a moreconventionalsource,butevenas Brigid closed out thehypnotic session, shecomplimented thewoman onher observational skills andher ability to bring vitalintelligencetoNewOlympus.Positivereinforcementon thesubconsciouslevelcouldbeaminor salve, but it wouldn’t
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upset the Greek woman’sthoughtssuchasanattempttobury her feelings of self-loathing and survivor’s guilt.Putting that down deeper inSmaragda’s mind would beexactly the opposite ofremoving a tumor; it wouldbepushingapacketofsepticand diseased flesh into avulnerable set of organs,waiting for one moment tosplitandinfecttherestofher,
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poisoningeverythingelseshedid.No, Brigid couldn’t
sublimatetherawfeelingsonSmaragda’s part. She couldonly attempt to leave animpression that she actuallyhaddonesomegood.With a snap, Smaragda
blinkedherbloodshoteyes.Therewasamomentwhere
the soldier seemed unsteadyon her feet, but Brigid
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assistedherwitha firmhandonhershoulder.“What happened? It feels
likeIfellasleep,”shesaid.Brigid nodded. “In a way
youdid.Ihypnotizedyou.”Smaragda’s browwrinkled
as she looked up at the tallCerberus woman.“Hypnotized. You didn’t dosomething like make mecluck like a chicken ifsomeone says ‘dinner’ or
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something,right?”“Nothing like that,”Brigid
answered.Smaragdamanaged a brief
flicker of a smile before shecasthergazetothefloor.“Atleast I was good forsomething.”Brigid put her arm around
the soldier’s shoulders.“Come on, let’s get back tothemeeting.”ThistimeshesatSmaragda
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right next to Edwards. Thebigmanseemedconfusedforamoment.“She’s toohardonherself,
just like you,” Brigidmurmured. “Maybe keep aneye on her and take yourmindoffofyourill-perceivedfailures.”TheCATmembernodded.
“All right. I can takeahint,”headdedwithamockgrowl.“How’d you screw up?”
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BrigidheardSmaragdaaskasshe returned to the head ofthe table.At thispoint,KaneandGrantputawaythecardsthey were toying with asthey’d waited for her toreturn. She chuckled at thetwo of them sitting back upand looking interested, as ifthey were schoolboys afraidof being busted by theirteacher.“I thought you would be
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getting more informationfrom Diana and Ari,” Brigidsaid.“We did. But afterwe got
all of that, and showedmoreof the vid, we had time leftover,”Kanetoldher.“Whatdidyouget?”Grant
askedher.“I got deeper information
onthesituation,”Brigidsaid.“And it contrasts with theinterviewinonlyafewminor
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errorsanddifferences.”“I told the truth,”
Smaragdainterjected.Brigid nodded. “You did.
But human memory is, formost people, a fickle thing.The human mind altersperceptions upon reflection,adding details that might nothave been there in theoriginal case, and ignoringothers that seemed irrelevantatthetime.Astudyinthelate
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twentiethcenturyproved thateyewitness testimony wasonlyaccurate inone instanceout of ten where there wereother forms of corroborationsuch as audio and videorecording.”“Really?”Kaneasked.Brigid nodded. “In my
instance,thatkindoffilterformemory is missing, mostlikelyageneticanomaly.”“Like a doomie.”Edwards
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spokeup.Domi shook her head.
“Brigid’s too smart for that.Doomies can’t handle thefuture.Theygetcrazy.Brigidlooksstraightback.”Brigid managed a weak
smile. She didn’t want tocorrect her friend and oft-times student Domi. Shecouldseethefuture,butonlyvia educated calculationsbased upon prior data, a
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cause-and-effect form ofpremonition. She didn’tengage in it too often, onlyfor the purposes of planningfor battle and avoidingdangers. And even then, hercalculations were not onehundredpercent.“DidMyrtoseeanything?”
Dianaasked.“Shedescribed thefogshe
mentioned in detail,” Brigidstated. “And as our initial
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evaluationofpotentialmyths,therewasaStygianaspect tothe cloud.Andyet therewassomethingequally familiar tous.Duringarecentexpeditionto Africa, we encountered asimilar unnatural darkness.Toeveryoneofoursenses,itwas something that was atruly physical entity. Notevenaflashlightorhigh-techopticscouldcutthroughit.”“What was it really?”
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Aristotleasked.“It was a psychic
projection. One that was sostrong,itevennumbedtactilesenses,” Brigid stated. “So,what Myrto saw could havebeen something similar. Aformofsmokescreen.”“Whynotjustuseanactual
smoke screen?Wouldn’t thattake a lot of energy?”Aristotlepersisted.“Because theywere facing
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soldiers. There had to be afocus for them to counter.Something akin to myhypnosis of Myrto,” Brigidexplained. “The black,invulnerable fog wassomething that could drawthe fire of the Olympiantroops without endangeringthemintheprocess.”“You mean that my men
wereopening fireon a cloudthat wasn’t there, and it
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wasn’t even concealing theonesattackingus?”Smaragdaasked.Brigid felt some relief as
the soldier regained some ofthefireinherbelly.“It may have, in some
instances. But being a blackfogtoyourconsciousmind,itallowed you to shoot into itand not even register anyimpacts.Youcouldevenhavebeen steered to shooting
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between your friends. Orhave known, subconsciously,where your brethren were. Itis no good to take people aszombie prisoners when theirown compatriots open fireand cut them down,” Brigidtold her. “In that way, youprotected your brethren,deliberately shooting not tohitthem.”Smaragda rested her
forehead on her palm.
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“Wouldn’t it be amercy justto kill them than let thembezombies?”“We shall see. There may
be a means of recoveringthemfromthiscurrentstate,”Brigid offered. “And if thereis…”“Then shooting them
would be condemning themto death for no reason,”Smaragda concluded.“Damn.”
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Brigid nodded. “There ishope.”“How did you tell that?”
Smaragdaasked.“I asked for every detail,
and more than once you, inyour hypnotic state, told methat you shifted your aim soas not to hit your friends.Evenwhen youwere alone,”Brigidsaid.Smaragda’s voice rose in
frantic intensity. “But the
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cloudwasbulletproof.Itevenwas capable of smothering aGearSkeleton!”“So it appeared. But that
wasn’t the case,” Brigidreplied. “But yourunconscious mind could tellthat the pilots of those suitswere floundering, hesitant tostrikeintothefog.Whentheirguns went off, they wereshooting at empty air.Whenthe fog reached at them, it
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was actually the capturedsoldiers and townspeoplefrom the Etruscancountryside.”“Those were…
townspeople.” Smaragdalooked down at her hands.“Didwe…?”“Again, the purpose of
expandingyour zombiearmywas not to lose them ascannonfodder,”Brigidsaid.“Howarewegoingtodeal
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with them, then?” Grantasked. “It’s not as if we’vegot a means of blocking outenemythoughts.”“Maybe we do.” Edwards
spokeup.Everyone looked to him
and, as one, the groupunderstood what he wassaying. Edwards saw thezombified Olympian troops,and saw Charun and Vanth.As did the recording
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equipmentonhishood.“Either the sealed helmet
or the optics providedeverything you needed toimmunizeyourselfagainstthemind-muddling effects,”Brigidsaid.Smaragdanodded,catching
up. “Our helmets aren’tenvironmentally sealed andthe‘fog’was invisible inourmultiopticvisors.”Brigidnodded.
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“What about anyoneinside?”sheasked.“Only the two we sent in
initially.AndthenthetwowesentforNikloandHerc.Andthey were gone on the IR,”Smaragdasaid.“Wereyoustilllisteningto
the prayer on your radio?”Brigidasked.Everyone turned toward
her.“Prayer?” Diana asked.
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“Whatprayer?”“Myrto heard a voice
inside a radio notewhile herhelmet radio was jammed,”Brigid advised. “You didn’tremember the anomaly onyourradioconsciously.”“To be honest, all I
rememberisthatcommswereall jammed up,” Smaragdareplied.“Just like with us,” Grant
pointed out. “Except we
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didn’t hear anything otherthanstatic.”“Butthatisbecauseweset
the Commtacts to filter outbursts of transmission orwhitenoise,andmodulatethevolume down low,” Kaneoffered.“I hadmymicrophone off
and I set the Commtact topassive, only activating on…a recognized call fromanother on the same
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Commtact network,”Edwardsadded.“So it was not even some
form of atmospherichallucinogen. It was a post-hypnotic suggestion carriedon the radio interference,”Brigid noted. “One thatallowedyoutorememberthealien prayer, but not enoughthatyoucouldtranslateit.”“Even so, we won’t take
chances for our infiltration,”
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Kane said. “Shadow suithoodsonatall times.Myrto,webroughta suit foryou,aswell.”“Me?”thewomanasked.“You were there. Your
friends are in peril. You canguide us to the spot wherethey were taken, and theirfamiliarity with you willprovideuswithacoordinatedgroup once we free them,”Brigidtoldher.
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“‘Once,’” Smaragdarepeated.“Youthinktheycanbesaved?”“It’s what we do,” Kane
informed the soldier.“Especially when someonehas their life literally pulledfrom them like this. I can’timagine a worse punishmentthanlosingyourownwill.”Grant looked to Brigid.
“So, half-hour hypnosis. Iknow you got the entirety of
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thechantthatMyrtoheardontheradio.”“And I’ve been attempting
a translation as we speak.That was why I hadoverlooked the possibility ofthe transmission being acarrier signal for the originsofthefoganditseffectsuponthe Olympian soldiers,”Brigidreturned.“Multitasking in your
mind,”Kanementioned. “I’ll
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never get over how you pullthatoff.”Brigid frowned.
“Especially while beingcautious about my efforts attranslation.There seem tobephoneticcuesthatmanipulatethoughtsineachword.Ihaveto separate the whole of thecontext to the point whereonlyoneword is transcribed,andoutoforder.”Grantwinced.“I’malready
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getting a headache trying tofigurethatallout.”“So when do we leave?”
Selaasked.“In the morning,” Brigid
said. “I’ll need time to workon the translation. It is afrustrating blend ofBabylonian and Etruscan,which is annoying as it’s aprototypical language toLatin…andthereareonlytenthousand textual examples of
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the tongue that I can workfrominthismix.”“Only ten thousand,”
Dianamurmured.“AndmostofwhichIhave
not read,” Brigid confessed.Even though she couldn’thave been expected to knoweverything, she hated feelingunderprepared for thismission, especially in regardtolinguistictranslation.“Get some sleep at least,”
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Kane ordered. “And I meanyou,too,Myrto.We’regoingto pay a visit to Vanth andCharun. Without the benefitofarmoredsupport.”Aristotle frowned. “I’m
sorry, my friends, but thatsoundstoodangerous.”“To you, it sounds
dangerous,” Grantinterrupted. “To us, it’sanotherdayattheoffice.”
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Chapter7
BrigidBaptistemadeherwayto the quarters she wassharingwithSelaSinclairandDomi. The Mount Olympusbarracks were full, so theaccommodation of anindividual room for each ofthe Cerberus envoys was an
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unlikely thing.Theother twoCerberusAwayTeamwomenhad agreed to share theirquarters while Kane wasstuckwith thegiganticGrantand Edwards as his “dorm”partners.“Still not walking good?”
Domiasked.Brigid had wrapped her
sprainedankleunderneaththeleg and boot of her shadowsuit. It had been all right for
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thestartoftheday,butasthetime stretched later, the achegrewandgrew.“It’sjustslowingmedown
alittle,”Brigidreturned.Thelittlealbinoslowedher
pace to match Brigid’s, thenlet thetallerwomandrapeanarm over her shoulders.Brigid appreciated Domi’stightly muscled armsupporting the small of herback. Sinclair dropped back
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and lent her shoulder for theotherside.“Honestly,” Brigid said.
“I’mnotacripple.”“We’re a team,” Sinclair
told her. “We watch out foreachother.”Brigid smiled. “Thank
you.”“Besides, you interrupted
workout,”Domiadded.Brigid looked to the ruby-
eyedgirl,afrownturningthe
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corners of her mouth down.“Are you saying carting mearoundisaworkout?”“It’s not like toting Grant
around,but…”Sinclairpipedin.“Andit’sabigbutt.”Domi
giggled.Brigidwrinkledhernose.“Just kidding, girlfriend,”
Sinclairsaid.“I know you are,” Brigid
repliedwithmorethanalittle
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indignity. “But you twojokerswouldn’t be having asmuch fun if I took it instride.”With that, Brigid lifted
both feetoff thegroundwithagrinandSinclairandDomilet out gleeful yelps as theywere suddenly off balance.Before anyone fell, though,she put her feet back down,wincing as that action onlyaggravated things more,
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whichonlyadded toBrigid’slaughter, this time at herselffor being so silly that sheendeduphurtingevenworse.The three of them reached
their quarters and Domi andSinclair helped Brigid ontoher cot. It had been a longday of preparations andbriefings,sogettingsomerestwould be good for all ofthem. Tomorrowwould be ahuge day and there was no
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telling what Charun andVanthweretrulyupto.Brigid was glad for the
sheer comfort of the shadowsuits. Their body-conformingnature and environmentaladaptations made them quiteeasy tosleep inwithoutneedof a cover, so she merelystretched out on her cot’smattress.Therewas a stretchand a tentative pivot of herfoot on the other end of her
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soreankle.Shehadn’tcausedserious harm to it with herhorseplay, so once that wasdone,sheclosedhereyes.Evenasshedidso,shewas
only resting some of herbrilliantbrain.Theotherpartwas still working, separatingand attempting to translatetheindividualsyllablesoftheancientsong.Brigidimaginedherself sitting in an emptyroom, the object of her
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translation separated ontodifferent note cards that shecouldarrangeappropriately.Thereweregreat segments
of this blasphemous-feelingchant that had grammaticalsyntax that made Germanseem blunt andstraightforward. Merelymoving words and syllablesseemed to alter the chantdramatically. All the while,she kept herself on guard
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against any hidden messagethat could manifest itself asan “information virus” thatwouldthreatenher.In her barren, mentally
constructed study, she heldoneof thecards,andthoughtbacktoZaragoza.There, too,had been a hellish song,which had stolen lives,literally. This had been donemathematically, and as soonas she thought of that, she
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mentally summoned achalkboard with Ereshkigal’ssonguponit.That had been an easier
translation simply due to thefactthatithadbeenspokenina living language, not onedead,without theoptionof astill-extant speaker providinga verbal context. Brigid hadthought about speaking thesongthatSmaragdahadheardand allowing the Commtact
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and its built-in translationmatrix to take care of anyunderstanding.This one was different,
though. Ereshkigal sang hercallofsuicideinSpanish.This language was a dead
and gone variant of Italian,much more primitive, andseededwithwordsoriginatingon lips not too different thanthose of the Annunakioverlords who had been the
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originoffartoomanythreatstotheworld.Brigid turned to the
shadowy tune of Ereshkigal,then back to the song ofVanth and Charun. Theancient goddess whotormented Zaragoza ferriedher tune of reanimation ontemplebells,urginglifetothetownspeople who had takenher song to heart and killedthemselves. The shambling
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walkers were of a differentflavor than the Olympiantroopswho carried a lifeless,dead-eyedpallor.Thosewereactual revenants, horrors thatshould have been buried orreturnedtothecycleofdeathand life being eaten byscavengers.This instancewas the theft
of some form of energy,rendering them as operativesfor the two winged horrors.
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Brigid didn’t want tospeculateonthepotentialofahuman soul as that kind ofpower source, but as sheticked down through thepossibilities, eliminating allthe possibles, nomatter howimprobable,shefoundherselfcomingtotheconclusionthatitwasthetheftofjustsuchahigher mental function thatwas at fault. And whypreservethebodies?
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Charun and Vanth bothshowed the capability tooverwhelm even the armedMantas, as well as otherphenomenal feats. The veryact of using her torch as akind of threshold/interphaserproved to be more thansufficientasaweapon,tothepoint where she’d beencapable of transporting adozen humans and two gianthumanoidrobots.
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Brigid lookedcloserat themonitor, studying how theGear Skeletons were notsummonedback to the torch;they were too busy carryingthe Manta overland, backtoward the west. Thismomentarily confused her,when she realized that theMantawasn’t connected to aliving being, much like thepiloted oversize battle suits.The amputee pilots were
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literally plugged into thepowerful robots bymeans ofa cybernetic access point ontheir spine. As much as theOlympian soldiers were ableto be transported along withtheir weapons and armor,there must have been someformof“lifeprerequisite.”Or, simply, it could have
been that therewasanactuallimit to how much the torchcould pick up and deposit.
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Occam’s razor. Vanth hadcome to retrieve Charun’shammer, and possibly takethe human pilot who’ddisarmed her partner. Thatwaswhy therewasa limitofhowmany soldiers and GearSkeletons were transportedin.“So you do have limits,”
Brigidmused,quicklyaddingup the combined weight ofthe deposited Olympian
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troops, the two skeletonsandthe Manta. “And on closerexamination,shedecidedthatshe couldn’t ferry theweightof the Manta. However,rather than destroy the ship,she’s using it as bait for thepilot and his companions…namelyus.”Brigid rubbed her chin as
she watched the two beings.They weren’t moving theirlips and neither of them had
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spoken aloud to be heard onthe audio pickups in theshadow suit hoods. And yetthey did seem to have ashorthand;gesturesandfacialexpressions that told eachother as much as anyconversation could. Brigidhad seen similarrelationships, between Kaneand Grant, primarily, and itwas slowly growing amongthemembersofCATBeta.
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It was also an element ofher friendship with Kane.Thesetwohadbeentogether,seeminglyforever.Andyet,ifthey had been around for solong, what would have beentheimpetusfortheirsuddenlyexpandingtheirinfluence?Of course, there had been
thewarwith theHydrae andDanton that kept NewOlympus from hearing aboutthe winged “soul thieves.”
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With that kindof distraction,therecouldhavebeenendlesswars going on on the Italianpeninsula, and the besiegedOlympians wouldn’t haveheard a clue. Only recentexpansion of trade andexploration allowed them theluxury of exploring furtherthantheirdoorstep.Brigid went back and
played the testimony shereceived from Diana and
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Aristotle. In her memoryconstruct, she put down asmall room, the conferencetable where the Olympianregentsspokewithher.She knelt to look into the
room, to play back thescene…and something gaveherpause.Shelookedaroundat the note cards strewedacrossherworkarea.Evenasshe was multitaskingmentally, there was an
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anomaly, an oddity that wasitchinginhermind.Brigid cleared the
distractions, returning herwhite room to its clean state.It was a symbolic means ofcleansing her mind ofeverything competing for herattention, and it usuallyworked.Notnow.Themental note cards, for
alltheirexistenceatthewhim
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of her will, had notdisappeared.“Dammit,” Brigid
murmured. “There is muchmore psycho in thesepsychopomps than Ianticipated.EvenSmaragda’stestimony has a dangerousweighttothem.”The note cards began to
swirl around, building into atwisting dust devil. Thoughthis was all occurring in
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Brigid’s mind’s eye, she feltthe pressure of the windsbuilding. She pursed her lipstightly and immediatelysummoned a brick wallbetweenherselfandtherisingstorm.“You’re in my mind,
whoever you are,” Brigidannounced. “And you walkhereatyourperil,intruder!”The note cards rattled
against the wall she’d
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constructed out of her willandshethenheardahissshewasn’t quite certain of.Within moments, however,shesawsharpcornersslicingthroughthewall,tryingtodigdeeper, to penetrate thebarrier of her mentaldefenses.Brigid slammed another
wallagainsttheother,buyingherselfamomentmore.Inthesame instance she armored
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up, summoning a variant ofKane’s and Grant’s oldMagistrate armor, a carapacethat in the real world wascomposed of blackpolycarbonate materials andKevlar, rendering her twopartners immune to all smallarms.Thisone,however,wascast in the same shade ofemerald as her eyes, a smallamount of narcissisticaffectationonherpart.
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Withina fewmoments thesecond wall was sliced toribbons by the active,dangeroussongofVanthandCharun.Brigid held her ground,
summoning her own versionofaSinEater.Thisone,however,wasnot
ameregun.Thiswasafocusof her personal will, a twin-barreled beast that bracketedher right hand like the claws
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ofacrab.Thenotesstoppedswirling,
thetornadoofforcethatmadethem up fading and settlingintoashape.Itwasawingedwoman, tall and beautiful,withflowinghair.It was Vanth, and she did
not have her torch. But shedidpossessherbow.“Pitiful human.” Vanth
spoke. “You have let me in,andthatisyourdoom.”
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Brigid smirked. “I’ve hadworse between my ears,lady.”In a flicker of motion
Vanth raised her bow andopened fire with it, arrowsspitting out as if she wasfiring a machine gun. HadBrigid not steeled herselfbehind the armorofherwill,it would have provedimpressive, but even as shestoodherground,shefeltthe
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pricks of dozens of impacts.The archivist swept the endsofthearrows,snappingshaftsoff her armor. A moment ofconcentrationand thewingedhuntress’s arrowheadspopped from her shell,clatteringtotheground.“Youresist,”Vanthmused.“BecauseIknowwhatyou
are.Iknowwhattheseattacksare. And having lookedbehindyourcurtain…”
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Brigid swept up herdouble-barreled Sin Eater,spitting out molten yellowspears of flame that lashedtoward Vanth. The goddesslet out a wail of surprise,folding her wings aroundherself as Brigid’s mentalcounterattack splashedagainstherfeatheredshields.Brigid could feel the
blazing heat of her ownonslaught and watched as
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feathers fluttered away,burning and flickering out ofexistenceon thebattlegroundofhermind.Brigid opened fire again,
slashing another searingswath of destruction. Vanthspreadherwings and flewatthe last moment before theCerberus warrior’s beamsstruck. Vanth shot up like arocket, accelerating awayfromBrigid.
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“No. This is not how weplay this game,” Brigidgrowled.Shegaveamomentof concentration and then inthe next instant she wasparalleltoVanth,whohurtledthroughthewhitevoid.Vanth’s face flashed from
grinningvictorytoshockandsurprise.“What?”“I’ve spent a lot of time
alone in my mind. I knoweverythinginsideit.Itislarge
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enough to encompass auniverse,butthereisnowherethat any intruding program,no mathematical trick ofthought, can escape myfocus,”Brigid told theenvoyof the goddess. “You areinside my brain and I ameverywhere!”With that,Brigidcut loose
once more. This time Vanthwasunabletobringherwingsuptoshieldherself,norcould
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she swerve. The twin-barreled burst of energyslammed into Vanth’s near-naked chest, the heat of theEarth’s own blood searingandcharringflesh. Insteadofthe stench of human flesh,however, itwasodd, twisted,alien. It did not matter, forBrigid’stakeontheSinEaterheld a bottomless supply oftheblazingenergyofherwill.She held down the trigger,
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blocking out the huntress’sscreamsofpainandthesnap-popofroastingfleshandfattytissues.A charred wing swept
around,slammingintoBrigidhard enough to break herconcentration, ending thefountain of lavalike fury thatshe’d unleashed. The blowsent thearchivist intoawhirland she took every ounce ofwillpower to stop her
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dizzyingspin.“I am a song that has
swallowed hearts and mindsacross two universes,”Vanth’savatar saidasBrigid“landed,” lying prone fromthe dizzying impact. “Girl,you have no concept of howin over your head you trulyare.”Brigid looked up. “I’m in
myownhead.Notinoverit.”Vanth fluttered down
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closer to the prone BrigidBaptiste. It had replaced itsbowwithaspear.“Iwillpeelyououtofyourdefenses,andthenIwilladdyouto…”Brigid narrowed her eyes
andVanth paused as she feltchangesaroundher.“…add you to the…
power…”Figures began to appear
around the winged huntressas she floated over Brigid.
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Firstdozens,thenscores,thenbythehundredsuntilthetwoofthemweresurroundedbyasphere composed of womenwho looked exactly likeBrigid Baptiste, complete inherarmorofwill.“The power of what?”
Brigiddemanded.“Who…what?” Vanth
asked, turning, looking upand down. “Thousands ofyou.How?”
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“You’re the onewho is inover your head. And undermine,” Brigid returned. Sherose from the “ground,”floating up to the avatar ofVanthunleashedinhermind.“Youwantmyintellect,for
what?”Brigidasked.“The torch,” Vanth
answered.“Toopentheportalfor the bodies to passthrough.”“To go home?” Brigid
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continued, getting closer toher. The goddess was nowsufficiently cowed. Vanth’ssharp senses picked up thateveryoneoftheotherBrigidsheldaSinEatersimilartotheone that had hit her so hard,causedhersomuchpain.Vanth’s attention locked
ontoBrigid.“Yourworldwillbecomemyrace’snewhome,human.”Brigid nodded. Her lips
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curled with anger at thisentity inside hermind, beingproudandcheerfuloversuchablasphemousideal.“And when we come, it
will be as a plague,” Vanthwarned. “An endlesshorde…”Brigid floated backward
from the armed huntress. “Itsounds fascinating, but I’llkeep my brain here…andyourplagueontheotherside
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ofourdimension.”With that, Brigid willed
herself into all of the copiesshe’d placed around theintruder in her mind. ToVanth, it looked as if she’ddissipated like a windblownfog. In actuality, Brigid nowlooked at the mathematicalvirus input into her mindfrom thousands of points ofview…over the sights of herwillweapon.
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“Goodbye,”themillionsofBrigidstoldtheVanthavatar,and she pulled the trigger.The universe of Brigid’smind’seyeturnedtothecolorof raw,blazing lava, the roarand heat manifesting intoactual sweat on her browwheresherestedonthecot.“Brigid?”ItwasDomi’s voice, from
the real world. Brigid couldfeel the slender but rough
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fingersofthegirlpressingonher shadow-suited shoulder,hear the notes of concern inher little friend’s voice. Hermillion guns opened up,working to crush the Vanthavatar, and even as theyattackedher,shewatchedandfelt as slashes of sickly lightcarved through herduplicates.That hurt. The torch’s
searinglightfeltaspainful,as
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horrible, as her owncounterattack seemed whenshedamagedVanth.“Brigid!” This time there
was panic in Domi’s voice.“Wakeup!”“One moment,” Brigid
calledout.TheVanthentitycontinued
to crumple under myriadrelentlesscounterattacksfromBrigid’swill.Theintruding…virus. The intruding virus
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wasn’t lettinggo, firingbackwith everything she couldsummon. In addition to thetorch’s flame, arrows flew,darting out, and Brigid felther chest tighten, stung bythose phantom shafts. Insidethe Magistrate armor of herwill, she was soaking wet,trying hard to breathe whilethe spike of agony stuck inherbreastbone.“Go away. Die now!”
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Brigid growled. She realizedthatshewasinsuchamentalstruggle she’d reverted tohow Domi would speak inthissituation.Domi,help.Andwith that summons, a
simulacra of the feral albinogirl appeared, cladmerely inher black suit, bare-handedand barefoot, but drawingtwindaggersfromsheathsonher hips. Like a snowy owl,
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she swooped down uponVanth, those black talons ofhers carving deep into theburned and battered goddess.The creature sang out a wailof pain as diseased blue puseruptedfromeachofVanth’swounds. The once soft andsupple-looking torso of thewoman was in placesblackened, charred, andwhere the shell of its skinsplit, the milky blue gunk
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seeped, blackening like oilwhen it lit against thesurroundingflames.Somewhere in a part of
Brigid’s mind, she realizedthat the tintofVanth’sbloodresembledthesicklypallorofCharun. Perhaps a sign ofancient injuries incurred inthedeeppast.In the meantime Brigid
summoned up Kane andGrant,aswellasSinclairand
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Edwards. IfVanthwanted totake her over, then Brigidwould take strength fromherfriendship, the very reasonshe was fighting so hard topreventthewingedhuntress’stakeover of her mind. ForshouldthealiengoddesstakeBrigid over, turn her againstthe others, then there wouldbeverylittletostandbetweenthe twowinged invaders andthe rest of theworld.They’d
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already showed their deadlyadeptness at taking over theGearSkeletonsandOlympiansoldiers. They were givingher a struggle to the pointwhere she was sufferingpsychic and physicalexhaustion.And with her five friends
leaping into action,hammering at the Vanthvirus, Brigid had a breather.Herchestno longer felt as if
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itwerepinionedbyanarrowwhenshebreathed.Thesweatwas cooling from her brow.Herstrengthgrew.No more cockiness. She
leftupherfriendsanddoveinherself.For it was through
teamwork that Brigid was ather ultimate strength. Toomany incidents hadreinforced that it was thecombined talents, skills and
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attributes of the Cerberusexplorers that provided thebest results. Together, theyhad dared the godsthemselves, and thisfragmentaryessencewasnowcrumbling, pieces shatteringoff of her charred form,bursting into puffs of ash,thankstothatknowledge.Her summons of friendly
thoughts gave her all sheneeded.
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And as soon as the virusattackhadbegun,itwasover.Brigid knelt, her friends
fading back to where they’dcome from, the imagesdissipating as quickly as thecharred embers of Vanth’sintrusion. Merely gettingbacktoherfeettookasmuchwill as it had taken to battlethe virus. Her legs felt likerubber and when she wasfully stood, shegulpeddown
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deeplungfulsofair,tryingtorecharge and replenish whatlittle remained in herreserves.She spent more of her
mental energy, takinginventoryofherself,scanningfor signs or remnants of theVanthentitythathadinvadedher mind via the song. Allthat was left were the actualwords and notes of thetransmission that tormented
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Smaragda so. Finally, duringthe battle, her translation oftheenemymessagehadbeencompleted. It was assembledon a board, giving thearchivist all she required forunderstanding the ancientrhyme.It also felt hollow, again
like the song of Ereshkigalwhenshe’dreaditinEnglishfrom the Spanish. Whateverinformation virus, whatever
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hypnoticenergy,wasinthosewords was gone, strippedaway. Its remnantswere alsoexpungedfromhermind.Shehoped.“Brigid!”With that she opened her
eyes and was back in “theworld.” Both Sela SinclairandDomiwerestandingoverher on the cot. Domi had atowel in her hand and wasblotting away sweat on her
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brow.“I’m fine,” she muttered,
mouthdryandgummy.“You didn’t sound it,”
Domi returned. “You weredrenched with sweat andmutteringinyoursleep.”“You didn’t listen closely,
did you?” Brigid asked. Shedidn’t know if her partnerscould actually handle thesong if she’dspoken it aloudwhile in the throes of battle
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withVanth’savatar.“You were sputtering
gibberish,” Sinclair offered,“and given what you aretranslating, we pulled on thehoods and killed the audiofeed. Once you stoppedmovingyour lips,weslippedthem off. But you were stilllaying there and sweating upastorm.”“You were right to do
that,”Brigidsaid.“Itwasthe
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songofVanth.Iwasfightingitseffectsinsideme.”DomihelpedBrigidtosit.As sore as she’d been in
her“white room,”Brigid felta similar dull ache fromwhere Vanth’s arrows hadstruck her in the chest. Shetouched herwrist, taking herownpulseanddoingamentalinventoryonherbody.“Let’s see if there’s a
doctor on duty,” Sinclair
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suggested.Before Brigid could say
anything, the rest of theCerberus Away Teammemberscamein.It was all she could do to
layback,theburningbeneathher breastbone a reminder ofthe brutal battle she’d justfought.
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Chapter8
“You nearly died in youradventure with Enlil and gotright back to work!” BrigidsnarledatKane.“The doctorswant to have
you wait on your cardiacenzyme results,” Kaneresponded. “Just to make
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certain you aren’t flirtingwithaheartattack.”“Andweletyou…”Brigid
murmured.“Don’t get excited,
Baptiste,” Kane ordered.“Thelastthingweneedisforyoutorushintoaction.That’swhy you wanted us to bringCAT Beta along with us,right?”Brigid’s lip curled in a
sneer.
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“Besides, according toDomiandSela,youhadyourfairshareofadventurebeforethe rest of us, fighting thatthing in your mind,” Kaneadded.She folded her arms, body
language for cutting herselfoff from him or what he’dsay.Kane knew that when she
gotintooneofthesestubbornmoods, it would take a
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shifting of continents to getthrough to her. No matterhow much he repeated thatshewastheoriginoftheideaof relying on CAT Beta tomake up for weaknesses andinjuries among the CATAlphateam,shewasinasnit.“Baptiste?” Kane asked,
trying to drawher out of hergrump.“Goon themission,Kane.
Just go. I brought this onto
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myself by trying to translatethatchant,”Brigidgrumbled.Grant leaned his head into
the hospital room. “I’d sayshe learns fast, but that’sprettyobvious.”“Onceshewasthestudent,
now she’s the master ofgrump,”Kanesaidback.“You think this is funny?”
Brigid challenged. “Not onlyam I sidelined, but I’msidelined because of my
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damnedcuriosity!”“Sobecauseyou’remadat
yourself, you threw a metalpan at my head?” Kaneasked.“Like I could hit youwith
such a non-aerodynamicobject.”Brigidgrunted.“Youcould duck that in yoursleep.”“Well, thank you for the
vote of confidence,” Kaneanswered as Grant handed
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himthenow-dentedbedpan.“How’s the ankle?” Grant
asked.“I aggravated it in
horseplay with Domi andSela,”Brigidsaid.“You have been a busy
girl.”Grantchuckled.“Not another laugh. Not.
One. More,” Brigidthreatened.Grant showed her the
palmsofbothofhishandsin
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a sign of surrender. “Notanother.”Brigid sighed and lowered
hergazeatherself,reclinedinthehospitalbed. “Howcomeneither of you get hurt badlyenoughtomissoutonall thefun?”“We’ll transmit as much
information back to you aswe can, if we find relics,”Kaneoffered.“Goon.Justmakesureyou
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know how to program theinterphaser,”Brigidinsisted.“We know,” Kane
returned.“Don’t make me hobble
out of this bed and come toyour sorry rescue!” Brigidadded.Kane backed into the
hallway, handing off thedented bedpan to a nurse.“You and your partners havemydeepestsympathies.”
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The nurse peered aroundthe corner. “Don’t worry.She’s not the first soldierwe’vehadtodealwith.”“She’s a beast of a
patient…”Grantwarned.“We’ve dealt with Queen
Diana when she was stillArtem15,”thenursereturned.“Shewasthedefinitionofthebeast.”“I hear you talking about
me!” Brigid spoke over the
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Commtacts for Kane andGrant, causing both men towince.“Aw, crud,” Grant
rumbled.“We’ll never get rid of
her,”Kaneadded.“Damned straight,” Brigid
concluded.“Behave, Baptiste. Just
because you hypnotized theCAT teams and Myrto toguard against the song of
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Vanth doesn’t mean you canbelazy.Healupandjoinus,”Kane told her before turningoffhisCommtact.A moment later he felt
Grantslaphiminthebackofthehead.“What was that…?” Kane
began. Then he shook hishead. “Brigid wants the lastword.”“Gettingsoyouwon’tneed
these things anymore,
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partner,” Grant concludedwithalaugh.
***
THE CERBERUS EXPLORERSand Myrto Smaragda werebackattheOracle,justastheinterphaser beamed in fromtheir redoubt.Kanekneltandentered the coordinates ontothe small keypad built intothe side of the pyramidal
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device.TheinterphaserwasameansofexpandingthereachoftheCATteamsbeyondthelimitations of the mat-transnetwork in various redoubts.There were weaknesses inutilizing the local mattertransmission chambers as thedamage to the Olympianredoubtproved.Their Greek allies literally
could not receive or sendvisitors via the mat-trans,
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though thankfully theCerberusRedoubtwasabletorescue people trapped behindcollapsed tunnels within theHera Olympiad-ravagedheadquarters. Rescue teams,includingKaneandtherestofCATAlpha, aswell as CATBeta, retrieved the injuredand the imprisoned andbrought them back via theparallaxpointatoptheOraclepeninsula.
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Hundreds of lives thatcould otherwise have beenlost were given a secondchance. Efforts to retrievefurther supplies trappedwithinthedepthswentviathesame circuit, but not like thehectic, constant matterjumping of those first fewdays of search and recovery.Itwasalsotheonlymeansofgetting maintenance teamsdown to work on the deep
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undergroundnuclearreactors,sent in forweek-lengthshiftsalong with appropriatesupplies.The last thing that Kane
andtheCerberusstaffwantedwas a nuclear meltdown inthe Mediterranean, causingloss of life throughout NewOlympus and its environs.They had too many friendsandtherewerealsotoomanypotential allies out there for
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themtoriskafailureofthosereactors.“We’re still going to have
to walk a ways,” Sinclairmentioned. “According toLakesh, there had been aparallax point on the Italianpeninsula until three monthsorsoago.”Kane frowned at the idea
they had been literally sobusy over the past monthsthat the disappearance of a
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majorparallaxcrossroadswassomething listed as far downon the priorities of theCerberus explorers. Only themention of a danger in theEtruscan countryside sparkedthe memory of that mysteryin Lakesh’s mind. “Threemonths.”“The point is turned off?”
Smaragdaasked.“Howisthatpossible?”Kane tapped in the
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coordinatestotheinterphaser.“Vanth and Charun have tobebehindthatdevelopment.”Smaragda’seyesnarrowed.
“So,theyhaven’tbeenawakefor long. The stories that wereceived go back at least sixmonths. What were theydoingthefirsttwoorthree?”“Wakingup.They’vebeen
asleep for a while,” Grantsaid. “Brigid said that theworshipofCharunandVanth
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ended around three thousandyearsago.Theyonlywokeuprecently.”“Gathering people to
power the device that hashijacked the parallax point,”Sela added. “Because there’sno way that you can dosomething likecutoff accessto a wormhole without anassloadofpower.”Kane frowned. “Gathering
up the energy to shut down
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the parallax point usingbrains.Humanandotherwise,given your account of thebirds.”“Zombified humans is one
thing.Butthesongbirdsweredownrightcreepy,”Smaragdaresponded.“Brigid did say thatVanth
wanted her brain and soul toaddtoopeningadoor,”Domiadded. “The points arealready doors for us. Maybe
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they want to change wherethedooropens.”“Tounleashthehordesasa
plague,”Grant repeated fromBrigid’sdebriefing.“If I didn’t know any
better,I’dthinkthatwhenshehypnotized us, she plantedseeds of answers for thequestions we’re asking rightnow,” Sinclair mused, herarmsfolded.Edwards chuckled. “Like
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none of us have learnedanything from ouradventures?”“Yeah. We picked
Edwards for the Cerberusteams for more than just themuscles he’s wearing on hisarms,”Grantadded.“There’ssome working musclebetweenhisears.”“All of our ears, yes,”
Sinclairanswered.“Butwe’rethinkingaboutparallaxpoints
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as doorways that can behijacked. And the whole‘dragon roads’ thing as acircuit board that can berewired.”Kane stood, looking down
at the interphaser. “What’swrongwith that? Imean, it’snot as if Lakesh hasn’texplainedthatinsimpletermsfor us foot soldiers enoughtimes.NorBrigid.”The air around the group
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began to hum, laser beamsspraying out in a patternaround them.The interphasercreated a matrix of energysurrounding them, plasmavortices taking on theappearance of mist and fog,litandglowingunder theraybeams shimmering from thepyramidal device’s top. Thefivepeoplewere transformedfrom solid matter intocohesive streams of atoms
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thatcouldbeslurpedthroughthe wormhole. All of thisenergy was poured out atCerberus Redoubt, from thelong-runningnuclear reactorsthat were the only powersource at their beck and callthat could open such awormhole.The interphaser simply
found those crossroads ofmagnetic lines crisscrossingthe surface of theworld, and
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in finding thenexus, beamedthose massive energiesthrough the thinning ofreality, literally opening adoor between universes,foldingthespaceontheotherend. To an observer, theeffect was sprays of mistyTechnicolor energy flyingoutward in sheets, and thenfivehumansclad in skintightblack leather materializing,rather than the interphaser
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reconstructing the bodies ofthe travelers in their journeyacrosshundredsandhundredsof miles and across twodimensions.The process was painless,
ifdisorienting for first-timersor those entering animproperlyprogrammedmat-trans.Kanewasfamiliarwith“jumpdreams”andmorethanonce these very samedisconnects from reality
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actually gave him glimpsesinto other lives, otherincarnations.The interphaser, however,
had cleared up much of thatinterference that resulted inanauseating landing or thatwave of deliriummaking thejumpers sensitive to oddpsychic vibrations. In away,it felt less like a dangerousleapintotheunknownthanithad before, where every
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redoubtwasstillanunknown,potentially inhabited bycoldheartsorothermenaces.The world phased back
into view around theCerberus adventurers andSmaragda, becoming moreandmore visible through the“bubble” of laser-lit smokearound them. Withinmomentstheywereatasmallclearing in a forest, oneadornedwith stones arranged
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inaformofhenge.The warriors immediately
scanned the surrounding treeline, though part of KanemissedthepresenceofBrigidto explain to them what thiscirclet of standing rockssignified. It was alreadyevident to Kane and Grantthat the stones meant thatancient peoples knew of thepresenceofaparallaxpointinthis location. Those with
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sensitivity to extrasensoryphenomenaknewtoassociatethese placeswith ameans ofcontactingthegods.There was scarcely an
interphaser landingpoint thathadn’t showed some form ofmarkerthatithadoncebeenaspot of worship.While therewasnorealconfirmationthatthe Annunaki thresholdjewels operated on the sameparallax point principle, this
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would have been a likelylanding point for theoverlords themselves asthey’dvisitedtheEarth.Kane remembered that he
had his shadow suit hoodrecordingvid,andBrigidwaslooking over the scene here.Their landing point was notfar; only about seventy-fivemiles from where the majornexus had been before itbecame a black hole on
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Lakesh’sobservations.Domi was crouched, her
hood down. Though the girlwasnotaversetotechnology,there were some things thatonly her feral instincts couldpick up on. Smells andbehaviors of local wildlifewereasmuchinthecuesshecouldpickupon instantly asKane’s own point man’sinstinct.Her ruby-red eyes locked
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in one direction. “Heavysteps.”“Beta, disperse. Myrto, go
with them. We’ll stay,observeandinitiatecontactifpossible,”Kaneordered.Therewasnodisagreement
among the three CAT Betamembers and theirOlympiancompanion as they gatheredtheir effects and disappearedintothetreeline.“Atleastwe’vegotbackup
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out there this time,” Grantmurmured, shouldering hiswarbag.“I’mnotpickingupanythingontheCommtact.”“Me, either,” Kane
returned. “That meanssomethingelsemightbeup.”“Charun and Vanth might
have figured that if theycouldn’t brainwash Edwards,or get Brigid with their littlevirus,wemightbeimmunetotheir subtle ways,” Grant
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offered.Kanenoddedinagreement.
“So they sent GearSkeletons.”“Capture or kill?” Grant
proposed. “That’s what wehavetofigureout.”Kaneandhisfriendwentto
the tree line, looking for agoodhidingspot.“We’vegotthe same dilemma here,partner.”Grant’s lips pursed in
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thought. “We’ve brought thematerials needed toincapacitate the Olympiantroops without much harm,but the Spartan pilots…wewould have to donate armortothem.”Kane chuckled. “A cloud
in every silver lining. Don’teverchange,buddy.”ThelargeMagistratehada
shotgun out. Loaded withless-lethal loads, mainly
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neoprene slugs that wouldpunch with enough force tostun and bruise, but againstthe Sandcat panelsenveloping theSpartan pilotsitmight aswell have been ahandful of marshmallows tobehurledatthegiants.Therewasonesavinggrace,though,but they didn’t know if itwouldwork.UnderthepumponGrant’s
and Kane’s less-lethals were
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Taser units. Each of theselittle electric guns fired twinprongs via compressed air ata target. On humans, thebarbswould stick inclothingorstabshallowlyinskin,andthe finewiresattached to thetines would ferry forward apowerful pulse of voltage,capableoffreezingaperson’smuscles and nervous system,effectivelyparalyzingthem.The theory, as devised by
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Sela Sinclair and BrigidBaptiste, was that maybe, ifthe electrical currentsomehow connected to theSpartanwar bots, their pilotswouldbeaffected.Thepilotscommanded the powerfulrobotic suits through acybernetic node installed atthe base of their spines, sothat the mighty GearSkeletons could actuallyconduct the electrical shock
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oftheTasers.“Ifit’soneortwo,we’llbe
fine. If it’s all three, we’regoing to have to get creativewhile one of us reloads,”Grantnoted.“Or if we miss,” Kane
offered.Grantnarrowedhiseyes.“This is a new system for
us,” Kane added. “So wewon’t be as good andaccurate with it as we are
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withourusualarms.”“If I can hit targetswith a
bow and arrow, I might beable to compensate withTaser tongs,” Grantgrumbled.“Hush, I can hear the
stompsofaSpartanclosing,”Kanereturned.Kane knew he didn’t have
to say anything.Grantmighthave been famous for hisgruff, grumbling nature, but
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whenitcametimeforseriouswork, there were few peoplequieterthanhe.The two men slithered
deeper into the cover of thetree line, eyes open, earspeeledfortheapproachoftherobotorrobots.There was also the
potential that the Spartansweren’t alone. Who knewhow long the twomysteriousgodlings had been ready for
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an arrival by the Cerberuscontingent? There had beenhours between the timeEdwards was picked up, thedebriefing, and then finallythe very hectic night in thewake of Brigid’s battleagainst the deadly song ofVanth.So far, things seemed in
the clear. Neither Kane’scunning nor Domi’s feralinstincts had been tripped by
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the presence of soldierscamouflaged among theforest surrounding the littleclearing.Theonlysignsofanenemy presence were theleaden footsteps of the robotapproaching. Enemy ambushwasnotcloseenoughtobeonthe agenda, but then, thesetwo Etruscan entities hadlivedascontemporariesoftheAnnunaki overlords. MaybetheywereotherIgigi,orthey
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were an entirely differentspecies, but whatever thecase, they didn’t survive theintrigues of the dawn ofhumanity by being easy topredict.Then again, wits and
cunning often did wondersfor Kane and his allies indealing with deadlyoverlords. One of theproblems of being a beingwith access to armies and
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nearly magical technologywas a tendency to overlookthe scrabbling little apes andtheir resourcefulness withnothingmore than twigs andpebbles.Too often, in Kane’s
observation, these “gods”forgot that theyweremortal,fleshandbloodas therestofthe planet. Enlil and hissurviving brethren hadlearnedthatlessonatthecost
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ofmorethanacoupleoftheirfellow Annunaki. Brigidmentioned that there weresimilarities between thehypnotic song of Ereshkigaland that of Vanth. Vanth’sversion,however,hadamuchmore mathematical base,she’dtoldhim,whichmadeitinto an aggressive, human-brain-basedpieceofmalware.Ifthesebastardscannearly
give Baptiste a heart attack,
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thentheydefinitelyareinfullAnnunaki range of powers,Kane thought. Heremembered his ownpsychicduel with Enlil in India, onethat had almost crushed himmentally and physically.Kaneneverclaimedtobeanygreat shakes mentally, andthathesurvivedthetelepathicconflict instigated by Enlilseemed merely stubbornresolveanddumbluckrather
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than anything else. Vanth’sattack against Brigid stillweighedonKane’snerves.There was nothing more
thathewould like todo thanwring Vanth’s neck, shouldshe show. Kane and Brigidwereanam-charas, andharmto one was literally harm toboth.Bideyourtime.Going off in a knee-jerk
reaction was not the key to
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victory here.Hewasn’t evencertain that either Charun orVanthwouldbe showing.Assuch,heremainedpatient,hisless-lethal shotgun ready foraction. The Sin Eater, foldedaway along his forearm,would be for someone orsomething worse. Brigid hadstated for theentireCerberusgroup that they would dotheir best to rescue andrecovertheirlostsoldiers.
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The monstrous stepsslowed. The walker was onthe far side of the clearing,fifteen yards away, andobscuredbythetreeline.Onething, though, had becomeapparent. What they hadmistaken for the ponderousbulkofawalkingSpartanwarbot wasn’t a thing forged ofalien alloys and cobbledSandcatarmor.Fingers, the size of
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sausages, swept aside thecrown of a tree, branchesshattering under incrediblepressure. The splinteringlimbs weren’t violentlythrashed, merely shruggedaside with a casual brush ofan arm as long as Kanehimselfwastall.Thecreaturethatthearmattachedtowasathingofhorror,itsfacejustastwisted and inhuman asCharun’sown.
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Thiswasnotanautomaton,anditwasfar toolargetobean Annunaki or one of theirservantNephilim.Thiswasagargantuan creature, notunlike another horror thatKanehadencountered.IthadbeenintheAppalachianRift,and his name was Balor ofthe Baleful Eye, an entity ofhorror and suffering createdbyanotherscionofEnlil, thebrutalyeteternallyhandsome
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Bres. This thing was not aFomori, but he could already“hear” Brigid’s explanationof how the Celtic Fomoriandemons and the GreekCyclopswere likely differentcultural observations of thesame creatures. And thesegiants were the creations ofhorrible technologies thatmadefleshandboneflowlikemolasses.Because of the power it
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instilledinthem,andbecauseof the continuous agonies itravaged them with, the one-eyed giants were fearless inthe faceofdangeranddeath.Kanewatched as splinters ofsmashed branch speared intothick,elephantinehide,takingonly trickles of blood,elicitingasmirkonthetitan’sface. Anything that sparkedits way from the endlessexistence of dull ache was a
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moment of pleasure, a relieffromthesamenessofeternity.According to Bres, whenthey’d last battled, theconstant state of their bodieswas breaking and tearingtheir deformed figures, andinstantly healing. Only theworst of agonies couldpenetrate such a fog ofconstantache.It had made the Bres’s
Fomori formidable, utterly
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fearless in battle, evenenjoying receiving injuries.Added to thatwas the riotofcellular activity that madethemhealalmostinstantly.Less-lethal shotguns were
not going to be the order ofthis battle.Notwith eighteenfeetofripplingbrawnandthesplinter injuries on its armclosing, the trapped woodbeing scabbed over tobecome part of its uneven,
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aliendermis.Thebig,uglyeyesweptthe
tree line as the creatureinhaleddeeply.“Smellyou,”itrumbled.The fat, knob-knuckled
fingers wrapped around thetrunkofthetreeit’dmangledand twisted, wrenching thefieldmaple from the ground.Clumpsofdirtfellawayfromthe gnarled roots, the three-foot-diameter log easily
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grasped by the cyclopeanhorror.“Smell you.Kill you,” the
thinggrunted.Kaneroseandrushedaway
from his position as themassive trunk slashedthrough the air, propelled bymightymuscles.
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Chapter9
Five or so years ago, whenhe’d been a Magistrate inCobaltville, there werelengthy lists of things Grantnever thought he would runinto, encounter, let alone bethreatened by. Sure, he’dheard stories of genetic
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mutants unleashed upon thecountryside in great hordesjust to enforce a feudallifestyle among the survivorsof the apocalypse back in2001. But those things hadbeen hunted down, thanks tothereunificationprogramthathad trained and armedGrantand Kane, equipping themwithpolycarbonatearmorandhigh-tech weaponry fromfull-auto side arms to
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Deathbirdassaulthelicopters.After a while, the mutieswereexterminated,somethingthat Grant regretted missingouton.Since then, however, he’d
faced biological andtechnological wonderswithout end. Pan-terrestrialaliens such as the Archons,the hybrid barons whocommandedGrant andKane,the Nagah, the Fomori, the
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Annunaki themselves. Granteven recalled the time histesseract“timeshadow”facedoff against a livingMinotaurinabrutalbattlethousandsofyears prior. Grant evenregularly visited New EdoandThunderIsle,wheretime-trawled dinosaurs lived andthrived.None of them quite
matched the scope ofeighteen feet of rippling
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muscle, topped by agrotesque head with a huge,waterygreeneye.Ateighteenfeet,ittoweredovereventhelargestofpredatorydinosthathe’d encountered, theAcrocanthosaurus.Fortunately thecyclopsstoodbipedal-erect, so its entirebody was in a column offlesh, bone and muscle,unlike the forty-foot-longAcro,which squared its bulk
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on two massive hind legs,balanced out by a musculartail.Evenso,nearlytwentyfeet
ofhumanoidwas impressive,especially since it was nomere inflated person. Thiswasacreaturewithbroadfeetand fat legs, its girth slowlytapering,butnotbymuch, toshoulders that were “only”seven feet across, and armsthat,whileseeminglyspindly,
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werestillthickerthanGrant’sbyafactorofthree.ThemomentGrantsawthe
brute rip up a thirteen-foottreebytherootswithnomoreeffort than he would havepulledoutanannoyingweed,his mind raced. The cyclopshad announced its intentionsin amanner thatwould havemade Domi seem loquaciousandthenfast-balledthemaplelikeajavelin.Thethree-foot-
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thick trunk smashed againstothertrunkswiththecrashofthunder, and only the gruntsofKane’seffortsoverthedininformedGrantthathisfriendwasallright.“Yo! One-eye!” he
bellowed, stepping into theopen.“Pickonsomeoneyourownsize!”The giant had been
reaching for another treetrunkwhenitpaused,looking
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aghast at the dark-skinnedhuman who rose to greet it,shotgun clutched in fists thatwould have been massive toanyotherentity.The cyclops reared back
andwhippeditsheadforwardin a challenging roar. But assoon as the creature openedits mouth, Grant shoulderedhis shotgun in one smoothmovementandfired.While there wasn’t much
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hope that a neoprene batonwould do much to penetrateits hide, getting whacked intheepiglottisbyarubberslugthat could break normalhumanribsdidsendthegiantintoastunnedcoughingfit.That single shot purchased
several seconds for Kane togethisfeetbackbeneathhim,and time enough to come upwithacoordinatedplan.“Fall back into the heavy
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woods—he’ll have a hardtime moving quickly inthere,”Kaneordered.Grant turned and broke
throughthetreeline.Assoonas he was out of sight, heimmediately cut to the left,running perpendicular to hisprior course. That change ofdirection was a lifesaver asthe enraged giant plowedthrough trees, bellowing likea wounded bull. Yard-thick
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trunks exploded under thepressure of the cyclops’spassage.Grant, thanks to his time
on Thunder Isle, wasintimately aware of thesquare-cube law. The giantwas three times theheightofahumanbeing,butthenatureof such growth was that itsvolumeandmassgrewmuchfasterthanitssurfacearea.Asa “normal-size” human, the
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beastwouldhaveeasilybeenabout300pounds.Duetothatmass increase, the thing wasnow more than a ton inweight—2,700poundsbyhismentalcalculations.Since the creature’s
musculature and bonestructure had been altered byAnnunaki technologies—nanomachines rebuilding theentity to properly support allof the added material—there
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was little doubt the cyclopshadfewphysicalimpairmentsin regard to its enormousweight. By the thickness ofthosemassivelegs, therewaslittlequestion that just takinga single footstep wouldshatter its own bones. It wasmutatedtobethatlarge.Such incredible power
inherent in its limbs wasenoughtogiveGrantpause.“We might have to get
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lethal with this bastard,”Grant said over hisCommtact.Kane’s pause was enough
to remind Grant of thepotential nature of this beast.What was now a cyclopeanhorrormight once have beenan innocent person. Thenagain, nearly 20 feet and3,000 pounds of rampagingmuscle were hard to handlewith kid gloves. “Whatever
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happens,wegohome.”“Find you!” The titan’s
roar was such that Grantcould feel the air shudderaround him. Would any oftheirweaponshurtthatthing?And given the kind ofregenerative power he’dencountered among theFomori in the Appalachians,would they cause it lethalharm? It was going to be afine line that, despite the
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practicality he normallyshowed,Grantdidn’twant tocross without exhausting allotheroptions.There used to be a time
when Grant would havekilled a mutant monstrositysuch as this outright, butyears of battle, as well aslearning more and more ofZen fromShizuka, had takenthe quick edge off hisaggression.Italsodidn’thurt
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that this thing was talking,giving it some semblance ofhumanity, and that he andKane were able to keepskirtingitsattentions.That wasn’t going to last
forever. But Grant wonderedatsomething.“Kane, we’re gonna zap
this thingwith the Tasers. Ifthatdoesn’twork,thenwefillhim with lead,” Grantoffered.
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The breath of relief onKane’s end of theCommtacttold Grant that the idea wasgreatly welcomed. If thecurrent could go through themetal of a Spartan war bot,therewaslittledoubtthatit’daffect a flesh-and-bloodhumanoid with even betterefficiency.Atleastthatwasthehope.The cyclops grunted,
snorting as it was confused
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and frustrated by how easilyit had lost its prey.Apparently its enhanced sizecame with similar benefits,such as hundreds of squarefeet of olfactory receptorsthroughwhich it could smellits prey. Grant had to keepducking through and pasttrees, at the same timeavoiding rustling theundergrowth. Though large,he was lithe and capable of
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greatagilityandstealth.The cyclops was keen of
smell,butthatsingulareyeofhis at least helped outGrant.Depth perception andperipheral vision were bothheavily curtailed by the lackofbinocularvision,and thus,as a predator, it was leftpoorly off in close pursuit.Thenagain,anine-footreachforgave a lot in terms ofgrabbingatsomeone.IfGrant
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was caught in those massivepaws, not even his oldMagistrate armor couldpreventhisbeingcrushedlikeagrape.It wouldn’t even take a
grab.Justaclumsyswatwitha fist the size of a melonwouldbemorethansufficienttoshatterhisribs.Thecyclops’svisionmight
not have been ideal forhunting, but as Grant
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inadvertently snapped thebranch of a sapling as hescurried past it, the thing’shead turned, attention lockedontothatsound.Thethudofatonandahalfoframpagingman-beast informedGrant ofhis deadly situation. Hewhirled with the shotgun,raising it and hoping theTaserlauncherbeneathwouldbeenough.The boom of Kane’s
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shotgun was a sharp soundamid the ponderous steps ofthe giant and the cyclopsstoppedaftertwomoresteps.“Damned…humans!” the
creature growled. “Puny,worthless…humans!”“Now,” Kane whispered
into the Commtact as thecyclops turned its back toGrant. Taking two swiftstrides, the big Magistratebounded into firing range for
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theTaserandfired.Thebarbsstruck the creature in itsbroad back, the barbed tinesstickingintothethickhide.“Hate you!” it bellowed.
Grantdidn’tknowhowmuchlouderthethingcouldgetbuthewasn’t going to let it turnand try to rip him apart. HeenergizedtheTaserand,withapullofthetrigger,heardthesnaps and cracks ofintermittent voltage popping
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alongtheelectricalwires.Thecyclopsgroanedandgrunted,gurgling,butitstood.Itsarmsmoved stiffly, but even withitsrangeofmotionlimited,itcould still cause some harm,simply by toppling over.Luckily, it was so paralyzedanditslegsofsuchgreatsizeand density compared tonormal human limbs, that itstayed standing. In anothermoment Kane was out and
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firing. His Taser darts stuckinto the cyclops and he cutloosewithhisownvoltage.Together the twoCerberus
warriors hammered the giantwith the output from bothTaser batteries. At 50,000volts, and with the Tasersoperating at 3.1 milliamps—onthehighendoflesslethal,electric-shock technology—the cyclops received not justone zap of electricity, but
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each Taser was hitting himwith19pulsespersecond,38times per second. For thespace of thirty seconds, thegiant’s nervous system wasoverrun and abused byamperage. While the voltswereameasureoftheenergy,ampswerethemeasureoftheforce carriedby each charge.Higher amountsofmilliampswere lethal; 10 milliampscould cause a fatal series of
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convulsions in a 150-poundhuman. This was why theTasersonlyputoutathirdofthat, often only a fifth oflethalcapacity.Grant didn’t know how
that would work against anentity that was twenty timesasheavy,butconsidering theparalysis the cyclopsdemonstrated, apparently itwasenough.Grant’s Taser ran down,
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reachingtheendof its thirty-second cycle. He swept theshotgun aside on its sling,letting his Sin Eater launchintothepalmofhishand.Thecyclops teetered, then fell toits knees, the groundshuddering beneath the solesof Grant’s boots. A swallowclearedthelumpinhisthroatat the thoughtof themassiveopponent’scollapse.Sure, Kane and Grant felt
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fear in the face of enemies,despitethebravadoandsmarttalk they fired off. But thatwas thewholepointofbeingahero.Doingwhathadtobedone, nomatter how scary itwas.Grant approached the
stunnedcyclops,seeingKaneenter the clearing at a rightangle.HisSinEaterwasout,aswell.Thebeasthadvoiceditshatredofhumansloudand
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long enough, so that if it didswing to kill, neither formerMagistrate would have asingle regret about putting itdownwithawaveoffull-autoheavy slugs. But even so,they didn’t want to causeundueharm.One thing that had been
partof their rebellionagainsttheoldbaronsandtheirvilleswasarejectionofcrueltyandcontrollingthelivesofothers.
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Theyfoughtforfreedom,andthere was still a strongpossibilitythatthispoorbeastwas merely the victim ofCharun or Vanth, mentallytwisted by the same kind ofhypnotic forces that hadincapacitatedBrigid.Thecyclopsgaveitsheada
shake, as if clearing thecobwebs out, and both Kaneand Grant froze in theiradvance toward the mighty
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giant.Whenthethingliftedaseventy-two-inch-diameterarm, things were alreadyapparent that the Tasers didwork on it, but not aseffectively as they wouldhave liked. The giant’s fisthammered the ground,striking with a force thatmade wrecking balls seeminadequate. Grant felt hisknees buckle beneath himfrom the vibratory shock
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wave.OvertheCommtact,hecouldhearKanegrunt as thesurge of force transmittedthrough thegroundgavehimtrouble.Grant was so bowled over
by the impact of the giant’sfist on the ground, hecouldn’t seewherehis friendand partner had fallen, orstumbled. For all the bigMagistrateknew,atreecouldhave fallen upon Kane,
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trapping him so that themonster could pounce uponhim.Grant let himself tumble
intoaroll,togivehimalittlemore distance, and with apivot,hewasfacingthetitan.Asbigas itwas, the cyclopshad a hard time getting upfrom its kneeling position.Those legs were meant forkeeping it standing, not forease of bending so that it
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could stand from a fallenposition. It crawled towardthe tree line, where its longarmscouldbeusedtoreachatreetrunkandhelpbraceittogetbacktostanding.“Kane!” Grant growled.
“What’syourstatus?”“Staggeredbythatthing.It
punchesashardasamortar,”Kaneanswered.“Wecan’tlethimbackonhisfeet.”“No way in hell. Pop him
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in the head with the less-lethal. Distract him,” Grantordered.Kane didn’t ask questions,
and the brawny Grantdropped his war bag. Hefoundacoilofrope,theexactitemhewas looking for.Thebig man didn’t know howwell this would work, but itwas better than nothing. Thegiant was still flesh andblood,andpartofthedictates
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of a giant was the need tobreatheand,hopefully,haveasupplyofbloodtothebrain.It took a moment of
guesswork, and Grant wasglad he had inflexible rope;nylon that wouldn’t stretchandgive.Heneededtochokethebeastout.Healsopluckedout a steel collapsing batonthathecoulduseasahandle.As he was making
preparations, he listened to
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the thunder and crash ofKane’s shotgun, bouncinghigh-velocity neopreneroundsoffthecyclops’shead.Thebeastbellowed,cursedinits limited lexicon, thrashedand swung one arm towardKane while keeping itselfpropped with the other. Thiswas mere harassment, not acounterattack. Though therubberslugscouldbreakribs,even snap necks at close
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distance, theknots ofmuscleanddensebone thatmadeupthis giant could continuesuffering annoyance andpricklingpainallthewhile.There was little danger of
causingitpermanentharm.Not like putting strands of
strong rope around its throatand garroting it. Lack ofblood to the brainwould killmuch faster than loss ofbreath.
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Could kill. I just have toget to him first, Grantremindedhimself.With two quick strides
Grant was at the thing’sheels. The fat, flat,elephantinefeetwerenothingthat would provide ahandhold, but he threwhimself at the top of thecyclops’s heels, launchinghimself as high as he could,and was able to clear the
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four-footledgeformedbythestumplike appendage. Withtwo kicks, he was standingand racing along the calf ofthe giant. It was a platformthatwaswideandflat,easytobalance upon.The next levelhehadtohurdlewasactuallysixfeetinheight,andwasthecyclops’sass.Grant drew his combat
knife, knowing that he wasgoingtoneedeveryounceof
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leveragehecouldget.Withaleap, he was clawing on atchest level on one of thegiant’s cheeks. He broughtdownthecombatbladelikeaclimbing ax, the sharp pointdigging into heavy hide andelicitingagruntofannoyancefrom the cyclops. Still, thatthickskinwasstrongenoughthatGrantcouldhaulhimselfup higher on the butt of thebeast.Hedughistoesintothe
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dimple of a lower backmuscle when the thingpushed itself off of one arm,tryingtogetupright.Grant planted one foot on
the handle of his knife thenswung the loops of ropeupward with all of hisstrength. The coils snaggedthe creature, but he couldn’tbe sure where. Even so, hekicked off of the knife,planting the soles of his feet
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against the broad sheets ofmuscle that formed thecyclops’sback.Kanewasbackagain.This
timehisSinEaterblastedoutsingleshotsthatelicitedmoreannoyed snarls and gnashingofteeth,distractingthebestialgiant.Grantfinallywasuponthe titan’s shoulder andpushingtheropesdownunderthe cyclops’s chin. It turnedits head, swinging it as if to
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thrash Grant from itsshoulders.ThebigMagistratestill held on to the coilslooped around his foe’s neckandswungonthem,usinghis240 pounds of muscle towrench the rope tight aroundthething’sthroat.The collapsible baton
snapped openwith a flick ofhis wrist and Grant jammedthesteel lengthintotheslackofhisnoose.Ahardtwistand
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he soon had not onlyhandlebars, but heard thecroak and groan of thecyclops as it struggled forbreath. Big, fat fingersreached up to snag the rope,but Grant cranked on hisbaton,twistingtotakeupanypossible looseness in thelines. If thecyclopswasabletocatchabreath,therewasagoodchance…The ground suddenly
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seemed to rush towardGrantinthecornerofhisvisionandthe burly Magistrate twistedhis body with everything hehad.The giant threw himselfonto one shoulder and theforceofthatplungeproduceda loud, sickening crack. Itcould be a dislocatedshoulder, or the creature’scollar bone, but either way,thesoundsstrugglingpastthegiant’s restricted larynxwent
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up several octaves. It wasdefinitelyleftinpain.Grant felt good that the
creature didn’t roll onto itsback. About the only thingthat kept it from crashing itsfullweightontoGrantwasitsbent, massive leg. Therewould be little that couldtwist such a thicklymuscled,heavilybonedlimb.Usingthetension of the baton in therope as leverage, he stood
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perpendicular to his giantfoe’sshoulders.Grant’s own legs pushed
out, removing the absolutelast of any slack around hisopponent’s throat. While hedidn’thaveenoughmuscletomatch the cyclops, he didhave the leverage and morethan sufficient power in hislegs to constrict the bigbastard’s blood vessels andwindpipe. Even with the
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thing’s fat fingers clawing atits throat, trying to snagsomethingtorelieveallofthepressure,Grantflexedhislegmuscles, digging into thebeast’sshoulderblades.It started to feel as if he’d
dislocatebothshouldersfromthesheeramountofstrainhewasputtingonthegripwhenKaneranuptothebaton.Kane braced his back
against the cyclops’s wide
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shoulders, then hooked thesteel bar in the step betweenhisboot’ssoleand theraisedheel.Kanepushedwithallhehad,andthattensionheldhimup enough so that he couldraise the other foot. Thecombined leg and torsostrength of the twoMagistrates was more thansufficientnow,andGrantsawthe giant’s shoulders stopsquirming.
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“Enough,” Grant ordered.“He’sout.”Kanelethiskneesflexand
dropped his feet to theground.Grantdropped to thedirt, panting. His skin wassoaking wet beneath theshadowsuit,evenasthehigh-tech uniform was hard atwork, whisking hisperspiration away to coolhim. This level of exertionwas something he hadn’t
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maintained for a long time.His arms, legs and backached.Hewatched the batonslowly twirl, the ropesslackeningaround thegiant’sthroat. With the loosening,the deep, steady breathing ofthe cyclops reassured himthat his plan was successful.They’d downed the mutantwithouthavingtoslaughterit.“We’regoingtoneedtobe
environmentally sealed so he
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can’ttrackusbyscent,”Kanenoted.Grantnodded,watchinghis
friend jog over to retrieveboth war bags. Kane walkedback,gruntingasheextendedGrant’s war bag to him. Hetook it and tugged the loopsof rope off of themonstrosity’s neck, returningit to the bag. He hoped thatthe suffocation would keepfor a while, but just putting
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his palm where the pulsewould be on a normal manshowed a strong, steadyheartbeat.“Sleep tight, One-eye,”
Grant muttered. “We don’twant to see you again for alongtime.”Withthat,thetwomerciful
Cerberus adventurers pulledontheirhoodsandstalkedoffintotheforest.
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Chapter10
Four people were all thatmoved on the old goat paththrough the hills. One man,who could be two smallermen by height and weight,and threewomen, eachwell-armed and clad in theseamless skintight shadow
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suits. They, of course, wereCerberusAwayTeamBeta.Edwards walked at the
back of the formation,cradling a massive shotgunidentical to the ones carriedby Kane and Grant. ShouldtheCATencounteranyofthemindless, the enslaved, itwould be his position to laydown less-lethal fire,stunning and staggeringattackers in an effort to
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prevent harm from befallingthe thralls of the Stygiancouple—CharunandVanth.The next tallest of the
group was Sela Sinclair,though her second place inheightwasadistantone.Shealso possessed a less-lethal,ammunition-loaded shotgun.It was Sinclair who had puttogether the crowd-safetyweapons, andwhileEdwardswould be smacking overly
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aggressive attackers withneoprene slugs, she took itupon herself to fire ferretrounds. The .12-gauge slugswould vomit forth payloadsof tear gas, something thatshould make even the mostpowerfully mind-controlledvictims pause.No amount ofmentaldominationcouldstopthe body’s responses topowerful irritants suchas thepepperextractwithinthetear
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gas shells. And when theirenemy couldn’t see, theycouldn’tattack.The third member of the
group was a young, olive-skinned beauty who seemeddecades older than her trueage thanks to her bone-whitehair. This was MyrtoSmaragda, the sole survivoroftheOlympianexpeditiontothis very countryside. Herpresence was as much a
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healingprocess forherselfaswell as a hope for rescuingher lost platoon. Her choiceof armament was aconventionalassaultrifle,justincasetherewereotherformsof opponents under thecontrol of the Etruscangodlings,oranappearancebyone or the other themselves.Certainly, the othermembersof the group also hadconventional firearms, as
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well. Even so, Sinclair hadgiven Smaragda a grenlauncher, loaded with largertear gas shells, as well assmoke grens to hide andcoverthemagainstpursuit.The last, as well as the
smallest, of the group wastheir leader. Her size,however, did not mean thatshe was the least of thisgroup. Though movingalmost like an animal,
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scouting ahead of the team,shewas the appointed leaderofthegroup.Herexperience,surviving in the Deathlandsand later in the urbanapocalypse known as theTartarus Pits of Cobaltville,had sharpened her wits inways that no mere scholarlyeducation could hone awarrior’smindandskills.Shedidn’thaveanylongweaponsin hand, but her gun and her
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knife were sheathed at herhips,readytoflickeroutinaninstant. The rifle she hadstrapped to her back wassomething to fall back upon,justincase.Sofar,nothinghadshowed
uptokeepthemontheirtoes,but Domi, Edwards andSinclair were professionals,aswasSmaragda.Relaxationof theirvigilanceanddullingof their instinctswas aquick
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road to doom. Then again,Smaragda was a livingexample of how even themost diligent of adventurerscould end up on the losingside of a conflict.Theywereawareofthedangersthattheyapproached,butevenso,theywere stepping onto the hometurf of creatures capable ofalmost crushing an aircraftand stoppingheavymachine-gun fire cold with energy
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fields.Caution was the order for
thepresent,asitalwayswas.Domi combined both her
ownferalinstincts,sharpenedin countless wastelands anddanger zones, with the high-tech additions of the shadowsuit hood. At first, she hadbeen afraid of feeling morecut off from the world, butthe electronic boosts werethings that she could make
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use of. Now the hood wasgiving her access tospectrums of hearing andsight she’d only dreamed of,though she took care not torely too heavily on theelectronics,thesameasKanehad with his point man’sinstinct.Her ruby-red eyes were
sharpatpickingupfaintlightin the dark, but even theydidn’t have the preternatural
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ability to register ultravioletand infrared wavelengths.Theshadowsuitopticsdid.And so far things were
quiet with the setting sun.There was also no contactover the Commtact. Thatmeant in their hour of travelso far, Kane and Grant hadpersevered over theapproaching monstrosity. Noreport on what they met upwith,butalsonodistresscall.
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That was good news toDomi,becausesheknewthather comrades in arms wouldat least get a message out ifthey were in fatal distress.The two of them had stuckaround to make contact,perhaps to be captured or tobe invited into the arms ofVanth and her mate. Withthatasoneoption,CATBetawastosneakuponthehomeof the enemy, gathering
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information through stealthratherthaninfiltration.Kane and Grant had been
takeninbymorethanenoughgloating enemies that it hadprovedtobeausefultactictooffer an olive branch, orsimply be captured. Still,without Brigid Baptiste’spresence,Lakeshwouldhavesaid it unlikely for such aplan to work. Kane, Grantand Brigid’s ploys and ruses
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worked thanks to what theancient scientist called a“confluence of probability.”Luck was on their sidewhenevertheystoodunited.Domi had little doubt that
either Kane or Grant wouldbe overwhelmed by anassailing monstrosity like aGear Skeleton, but she alsodidn’tsufferthedelusionthatthey were invulnerable. Ifeither was in danger, Kane
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would certainly give a loudand clear warning to Beta.Sure,somepartsofherwouldrebel at the concept of herfriends dying, but BrigidBaptistehadbeenadamantonteaching her practicality andlogic.Domi would mourn those
two, but only after she wascertain there was no othermeansofbringingthemback.Kanehadn’tgivenuponher,
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even when it had appearedshe’d died in the detonationof an implode gren. Findingthe Time Trawl on ThunderIsle had been Kane’s meansof rescuing her, plucking hertemporally from before thedetonationofthelethalbomb,saving her life. Even certainatomization by hi-ex hadn’tstoppedKanefromtrying.Domi could do no less for
any of the rest of her
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Cerberusfamily.She’d penetrated into the
depthsoftheverybasewhereshenearlydied,lookingforacure for Lakesh as his mindbegan to fail. Her lover hadbeen losing hismind, thanksto abit ofgeneticvengeancecast upon him by Enlil,countermanding the samedestructive nanobots that hadrebuilt Lakesh from a two-and-a-half-century-old, half-
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artificialscientist toamaninhis vibrant late forties. Theslow robbery of Lakesh’sintellect was ultimatevengeance against the manwho assembled the CerberusRedoubt to battle againstEnlil and his kin, when hewas first Baron Cobalt, thenwhen he was Sam theImperator, then finally histrueAnnunakioverlordself.IfKane andGrantwere in
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trouble, though, both menwould have the foresight tosend out a signal, one thatwas a tight-beamcommunication, nearlyunjammable, up to satellitesLakesh and the Cerberustechs had hacked into.Whenthat emergency dispatch wassquirted out, Domi wouldhave received the relayedmessageatthespeedoflight.Broadband jammingwas one
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thing, but a full-poweremergency pulse, focusedlike a laser, would not beblocked by whatever theenemywasusing.Theyweregettingcloserto
avillagenow.Domihadbeenable to smell the village andits attendant flocks oflivestock, but the road hadbeen eerily quiet. Normally,at this range,when the smellwas this strong, the bleats of
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goats and sheep would hangheavilyintheair.Thiswasn’tthecasehere.Thesamethingthat Smaragda had observedbefore—the lack of life andspark in nature—was anoppressiveweightonDomi’sferalinstincts.Everynerveinher was on edge, hating theominousquietsmotheringthecountryside.It was giving Smaragda
hell, Domi could tell as she
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glancedbackontheroad,butthe woman was a bravesoldier, strong of will andwilling to go into terror.TheDomioffiveyearsagowouldhave not even dreamed ofstepping into such anunnatural void of life. Eventhe rotted shanties of theworst parts of the TartarusPitshadrodentsandfliesandpeople all squirming andstruggling for life; a wild
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energy that made the worldfeelright.This was a nightmare of
lifelessness, farmore chaoticto her senses than a dark,dusky realm where anymoment a knife could slidebetween your ribs. Therewerefewcuesforheraseventhe animals had seeminglygone mute. A fence loomedahead and Domi waved forthe others to stay still and
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silent. On silent, bare feet,she moved up to the closestpost,keepingherselfdownina crouch. The grasses alongthe fence had grown nearlythreefeettall,bothinsideandout, something that alreadyseemed out of place for thestench of sheep prevalent inthisarea.Reaching the fence, she
parted some grass and sawthat there were at least forty
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sheep penned into the area,but they simply stood inplace. They’d eaten, but notwith the same mindlessindustry that a usual flockwould have. The animalswerejust takinginenoughtosustaintheirlives,notgrazingdown to the nub and thenmovingontoanothersection.By the growth, Domi wasable toput it at threeor fourmonths, putting the conquest
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of this small farm town rightin the area of the firstexpansion of Charun andVanth after their awakening.This was just as the CATssurmisedupontheirtransit.Approach on the roadwas
too risky. The ovine brainwasn’t oneof the sharpest intheworld,butcertainlyifthesheepwere caught in a formof mental thrall, there wasevery likelihood they could
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serveaseyesandearsforthetwo Etruscan demigods.Domi slowly allowed thegrass tobend itself back intoposition,innohurrytoletherpresence be betrayed by therustleofblades.There was no wind,
especially none at her back,so her scent wouldn’t wafttoward the sheep. Withpracticed stealth and grace,shereturnedtotherestofher
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team.“Sheep. Just like the
birds,” Domi noted softly,keeping her voice low.“Numb.”“Why mind control sheep
or birds?” Edwardsmurmured.“Thepowerneedstopunch
a hole to the otherdimension,” Sela Sinclairoffered.“Theywanttoopenadoor back to their home
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world,anddoing that takesalotofenergy.”“So they’re tapping free
will? Souls?” Smaragdaasked. “However that goes,it’d be a hell of a boon,technologically.”“Ifyoudon’tmindrobbing
someone of theirindividuality,” Sinclaircountered.“Maybe for prisoners,”
Edwardsmentioned.
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“Maybe we get out ofhere,” Domi grumbled, herrubyeyesnarrowedtoslitsasshe looked back toward thefarm.“Weskirtthetown.”“Andweshutthehellup,”
Smaragda added, gaugingDomi’simpatience.The albino girl nodded.
“Notsomanywords.”With that, Domi and her
team backtracked, then gavethefarmtownawideberth.
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It would add an hour totheirtrek,butwhenitcametobutting heads with alienmenaces,therewaslittletobegainedbyrushingblindlyintobattle.
***
WITH NIGHT’S ARRIVAL,cloaking the world indarkness only illuminated bystars and a slim crescent of
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moon, CAT Beta had beenable to move with a littlemore speed. In the inkyshadows, they had theadvantage of superior nightvision, including Domi’sruby-red gaze, which madeher sensitive to even thefaintest of glows. She’d longsince inured herself todaylight, but except onovercastdays,shekeptapairof sunglasses ready to keep
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from being “snow blinded”bytheburningsun.It was after the arrival of
dusk where she came mostalive; a nocturnal predatorentering her environment.The others were utilizingnight-vision optics, and withthe world cast in green vialight amplification, the fourof themwereinfar lessneedof keeping to foliage andsuch.
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Sure,theymeanttostayinthe shadows, something thattheycoulddiscerneveninthenight-vision optics. Domieschewed that, as she wasused to a lifetime of nighthuntingthatshehadhonedtoperfection. This was trainingand skill that she continuedusing, even with technologythat couldn’t honestlyimprove upon the senses sheutilized. She could
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understand using IR andUVvision, as well as telescopicoptics, but for night work,with plenty of naturalstarlightforhertoseeby,shedidn’tusethehood.The four people kept their
profile low, thanks to thecamouflage aspects of theshadow suit’s high-techpolymers. Though Domididn’t have her faceplatedown on her hood, she did
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have it tucked up over herbone-white hair, so as tominimize the shockingcontrast of it against thecountryside. The same hadgoneduring theday,aswell.Her bare feet, though cast ofthesamealabasteras therestof her albino skin, had beendarkenedanddirtiedbyyearsoftrudging,sothatshedidn’thave to worry about themstickingoutlikesoretoes.
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Domi heard the flutter ofwings in the distance, thenfroze, the others coming to ahaltbehindherandcrouchinglow.“Bird?” Edwards
murmured,speaking ina lowtone.“Lots,” Domi returned.
“Toodarktoseeus.Maybe.”Edwards and Sinclair
immediately picked up onDomi’s heightened agitation.
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Her language skills sufferedin fight-or-flight situations,butthatwasallrightwithhertwopartners.Whenitcametofighting for survival, Domi’slack of elocution wasbalanced by downrighteloquence when it came totheartsofviolence.However,astheywereclosinginonthelocation of the missingparallax point, any bit ofactionwouldonlydrawdown
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the attention of the godlingsandwho knew howmany oftheirmindlessslaves.Though CAT Beta was
madeof formidablewarriors,armed with powerfulweapons, there still werelimits to both firepower andskill in the face of superiornumbers. Standing andfightingwouldbetantamounttosuicide.Their option was silence
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and a fighting retreat ifnecessary.That retreat would get
harder, though, the farthertheypenetratedintotherealmof Charun and Vanth. Therewouldbealargerperimetertofight through, more lines ofthrallsat theirbacks toblocktheirescape.Together, though, the four
of them knew that even if itcame to blasting through the
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opposition, they were stilllimited by several things.They knew that theiropposition was composed ofinnocents enthralled by thepair of winged demigods.Andtheyhadalimitedsupplyof ammunition, even if theydidn’t care about causinglethal harm to the mentalslaves.As of now, Edwards and
Sinclair were scanning the
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skies with their IR optics,pickinguptheheatsignaturesof several small birds inflight. They swept the airabovethem,stayingasstillaspossible. There was a dulldreadhanginginthenight, ifonly for the fact that theyknewtheirenemyhaditsownair force, the very birds ofthisarea.If therewereraptors in the
area, then there was also a
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likelihood that Vanthwouldn’t even need to sendactual troops to bring themdown. A bird of prey hittingwith its claws at over 50miles an hour, up to 120 insome instances, was morethan sufficient to slicethroughshadowsuitandflesheasily.“I’mwatching for patterns
among the birds.” Sinclairspoke softly, only truly
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audible thanks to theCommtact’s jawbonemicrophone pickups andinner ear stimulation.“They’re not acting asobservers. Ifonebirdpasses,it doesn’t come back thisway,notevenmakingawideberth.”“You’re going by
twentieth-century unmannedaerial vehicle surveillancetactics, right?” Edwards
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asked.“Youhad like…what?Oneortwoupatatime?”Sinclair nodded. Domi
couldhearherhissofdisgustas Sinclair realized that withall of the night flying, onebird wouldn’t need to circlethem to keep track.Notwithwaves of sets of eyes thatcould be in the air. Even so,the flights overhead didn’tseem to be particularlyconcentrated. The whole
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thing reminded Domi of thesweep of that line on thecircular radar screen,illuminatingtargetswitheachpass.As long as they continued
their slow crawl, as long astheir shadow suits matchedthegroundbeneaththem,andas long as they only reallymoved quickly in the lullsbetween the mind-controlledeyesinthesky,theywouldn’t
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befound.As if that hopeful thought
summoneddownthewrathofCharun and Vanth, Domispotted a flicker in thedistance,theglowofmultipletorches illuminating themovements of a patrollinggroup. Domi kept the teamstill.CATBetaandSmaragdausedthetelescopicaspectsoftheir shadow suit hoods tozoom in on those distant
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lights.Threehundredyardsaway,
they saw a group of tenpeople. They were locals,dressed in simple, handmadeclothing, but each of themhad either a brutal farmimplementorafirearm.Theywere searching; a party ofmixed men and womenthralls.Edwardsspokeupfirstthis
time.
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“They’reactivelysearchingfor us,” he subvocalizedthrough the Commtact.“Their eyes are at leastmoreanimatednow.”“MaybeCharunfiguredout
that you were camouflagednear the Manta’s landingsite,”Sinclairoffered.“It’s weird. They’re just
below looking human,”Smaragda mentioned, hervoice also a low whisper.
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“Like…”“Robots. Zombies,” Domi
muttered. She was put onedgebyallofthis,aswell.If there were people and
birds out in the nightsearching, then there couldhave been other hunters.Domisweptthecloserterrain.They were in waist-highgrass, which meant therecould be all sorts of smallermammalspresent,butifthere
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was one thing the feral girlwas good at, it was spottingthoselittlemorselsthatwouldkeep her alive and survivingfor another day, be it in aforest or a desert. Herinstincts looked for mice,voles, rabbitsand,withsomerelief, she came up withnothing.Thatdidn’tmeanthetiniestofanimalswasignoredby the demigods, but it didtellthewildwomanthatthose
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miniature mammals weren’tbeing used as spies andseekersrighthere.It was a small measure of
relief.“Do we wait for them to
pass?”Edwardsasked.“No.Butwestayslowand
steady,” Domi returned.“Birds,Sela?”“None,”Sinclairreturned.“Move,”Domiordered.And she took the lead, her
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petite form crawling out,slender arms and legscarryingheralong inacrawlthatwouldapproximateafastwalk as long as she wasn’tamongtallgrassesthatwouldswaywithherpassage.Itwasan achingly slow process,pausing every time Sinclairhissed and indicatedsomethingwasintheairoverthem.By the time that they
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reached the road where thesearch party patrolled, thethralls were out of sight, theglow of their torches havingdisappeared around the bendof trees. Even so, Domiflickedonher infraredvisionand was able to capture theheatsourcesofthoseburningbrands even throughintervening foliage. Shereturned to her normal,naturalvision,andwavedthe
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othersontotheroadwithher.Their shadow suits shifted,blending into the dirt road,takingontonesofbrownandrust to match the well-trampled earth that made upthepath.“There’s a canopy of
trees,” Sinclair noted.“Sweepingforheatsources.”Domi nodded.They didn’t
dare move until they werecertain that nothing was
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waitingonatreelimborinaknothole, servingasa livingsecurity camera for theEtruscangodlings.Once that was cleared up,
they continued moving,pickinguptheirpace.Sinclairremained on infrared,countingontheheatgivenoffbyDomi’sbarefeettomarkasafe walking path, all thewhile keeping her head on aswivel. Tension, living and
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movingintheshadowsorthebreaths between momentswithoutbirdsinthesky.This was nothing new to
Domi. This was where shewas born, skulking in theshadowsagainstauthorityandpredation that would slamdown upon her and end herexistence.Itwastense,itwastough, but there was onething that would make thisworth all the anxiety, all the
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stealth.Freedom for those
currently hounding them,freedom from Vanth andCharun’s domination of theirlives.This deadly game of hide-
and-seek had only oneacceptableoutcomeforDomiandher friends, and thatwasthe fall of the wingedconquerors.
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Chapter11
Brigid Baptiste tested herweightonherfootoncemore.It had been an entire daysince the others had left forItaly via interphaser. She’dbeenbedridden,eatingaspirinand trying to relax herstrained system thanks to a
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psychic battle against thesong of Vanth. EKGsimmediately after showedthat her heart had irregularrhythms,renderingherinlessthan optimal condition topenetrate into enemyterritory.The aspirin pills were
meant to bring her heartbeatback into normal parameters.They must have worked,sinceitwasthemorningafter
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her friends had left and herEKGs over the past eighthourshadprovednormal.Theacetaminophen had alsoworked wonders on hertender sprained ankle, as shewasable towalk securelyonit.Of course, even if she
wanted to take theinterphaser,Kaneandtherestof the Cerberus teams hadthirty-six hours’ worth of a
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head start on her. No, whatsheneededtodowastowait.Kane and Grant had doneplenty of work makingcertain she was checked outontheMantas,andshecouldfly them adequately enough.She wouldn’t be an aircombat ace, but she couldland a Manta in a clearing,and keep control of it as itskimmedtenmilesabove theEarthatsupersonicspeed.
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Her role was rapidresponse, so being “stuck”back here minding the storewas a necessary evil. So far,the only thing reported fromthe field was Kane andGrant’s encounter with thecyclops.Theothershadgoneinto radio silence, whichmadeBrigidfeelalittlemoreedgy than normal. She wasnot a sit-back-and-wait kindof woman. She was an
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explorer, an adventurer. Herhungerfornewknowledge,aswellasherobligationtoassistthe helpless, demanded thatshebeupandaround.Dianahad informedBrigid
that she was free to keepherself incondition,mentallyandphysically,makinguseofthe Olympian library as wellasphysicalrehabilitation.After ice baths and hot
wraps, Brigid’s ankle was
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feelingasstrongasever.Shecould put her full weight onit, and her ligaments hadreturned to full limberness.While there were medicalfacilities and a gymnasiumbackattheCerberusRedoubt,New Olympus had far morecause and need to engage inphysical rehabilitation. Therewere those who werecatastrophically injured, tothe point where amputations
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were needed to preventsuffering from gangrene.Then there were others withlessdramaticwounds,sothatOlympian doctors became awell-oiled machine when itcame to pulled and sprainedlimbs, as well as brokenbones.Brigid continued flexing
her ankle, pivoting on it tomake sure she hadn’tmerelynumbedit.
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“You keep working thatankle at that rate, you’ll ruinit again.” Diana spoke up.“Then again, what would Iknow? I lost my feet yearsago.”Brigid sat, laying a towel
around her neck. She’dworked up a good sweat,hoping that her body’sexertions would distract her.Therewas no such luck, andshewasstarting togrowsick
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of the walls around her.“Thanks for the use of thefacilities.”“I’m surprised that you
haven’t been in the library,”Diananoted,rollingcloser.Brigid smirked sheepishly.
“There isn’t much that Ihaven’talreadyreadthere.”“Even in the original
Greek?”Dianaasked.Brigidnodded.“Iendedup
learning Greek while doing
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background on theAnnunaki’s presence inancient Greece. It’s where Imanaged topickup somuchinformation about yourcountry.”“And since you can read
bothlanguages…”“Speed read,” Brigid
returned. “Whatever I hadn’tread through in thepast, I’vebeen checking out sinceyesterday morning while
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sitting in the tub.” Brigidcasuallygesturedovertowardthe therapy tub and the twostacksofbooksnexttoit.“You’rethatanxiousabout
yourfriends,”Dianasaid.“I’mthatobvious?”The queen of New
Olympus chuckled. “It killsme that I can’t go out as acommander anymore in thefield.Thefirstfewdaysstuckrunning this place, evenwith
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Ari’s help, I was gettingreadytochewmyownlegofftoescapethistrap.”“Looks like you
succeeded,”Brigidnoted.Diana’s laugh was loud
and long. “Aristotle’s aboutthe only one who rides meandjokesaboutmeanymore.Ineededthat.”“I figured. I’ve been
watching and seeing howuncomfortable you are with
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alltheadulation,”Brigidsaid.“And despite everything, I
can’t really order them tostop,” Diana added. “Theyneed someone to fight for.Astandardtoliveupto.Whichhurts, because I used to leadfromthefront.”“And you’re looking for
me to give you a means tofeel like one of the boysagain?”Brigidasked.Dianashrugged.“Maybe.”
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Brigidnodded.“It’s hard to explain…I
thought, maybe since weshare a similarbackground…”“You want to feel like
you’re doing actual work,”Brigid said. “And you’vebeen wired to feel likeadministration and being theleader isn’t sufficientemploymentforyou.”“Yes,” Diana said. “I
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mean, I hardly get time torest,but…”“Do you have a cabinet,
through which you can freeuptime?”Brigidasked.Diana tilted her head. “A
cabinet?”“Maybeevenmakeitmore
democratic,or representative.Thatmightgiveyouroomsothat you’re not overstressed,but you’re also not slackingin leadership. You and
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Aristotle are in charge. Youwanttoengageinactivitythatmaythreatenthecontinuityofgovernment.But, ifyouhavesomeonetofill in,sothereisno chaos should somethinghappen…”“IgetbacktobeingDiana,
warriorqueen,”shereplied.“Technically,Hera,”Brigid
responded. “The inertia ofrecenthistoryandthelogicofGreek mythology do dictate
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that Zeus and Hera must sitatop the throne of NewOlympus.”“ExceptAriisn’tmuchlike
Zeus. No sprinkling downinto town as gold dust ormating with women as aswan,”Dianaadded.“You’dpreferthat?”Brigid
asked.Diana shook her head.
“No. But, hey, Zeus got tospend time away from the
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halls of the Pantheon. Whycan’tHerabelikethat?”“There is no reason you
should allow yourself to bemarginalized,” Brigidreturned.The armrest on her chair
beeped.“Hey,Di.”“Fast.” Diana greeted her
mechanic, Hephaestus.“WordontheManta?”“Yup. We managed to rig
together a cowling,” the top
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techniciansaidovertheradio.“Any time that Ms. Baptisteneeds,shecanhopinandgetmoving.”“That much is a relief,”
Brigidadmitted.“CanIcomedownandseeher?”“Sure, if you have the
time,”Fastanswered.“GivemefifteenandI’llbe
right there,” Brigid said.“YourMajesty…”“Go. You’ve been idling
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around here long enough,”Dianatoldher.
***
THE SUN HAD risen a halfhour earlier and, judging bythe distance Grant and Kanehad “jumped” with theinterphaser, it stillwould notbe the break of dawn forBrigidandNewOlympusforanotherseveralminutes.This
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wasn’tmuchofaconcern,atleast for the two men,becausetheyhadmanagedtogetsnippetsofrest.Whereas they had sent
Domiandtheothersalongina stealthy fashion, neitherGrant nor Kane was activelytrying to avoid patrols ordetection. They continuedtheir steady approach to thesiteof the“missing”parallaxpoint, obviously armed and
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wearingtheirshadowsuits.The full capabilities of
Vanth and Charun wereunknown, but they hoped toprovide CAT Beta with asmuch obfuscation as theycould.Theywerethebait,thelamb in the trap todraw inalion. So far, they’d pulled inenough attention in the formofacyclops,butatthispoint,they were not certain ofexactly howmuch theywere
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facing.They had managed to
outpace the monstrosity leftbehind, so that gave themsome feeling that they’ddistracted the demigods sofar. During the night, Grantinformed Kane that birdswere flying overhead,sweeping past their positionas they’d encamped. Neithermanneedednorwantedafirein the dark, thanks to the
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environmental featuresof thehigh-techshadowsuits.Evenso, theybuiltasmall
fire just to make themselveseasiertofind.NowKanecouldsee,inthe
distance, a group of peoplewalkingalongtheroad.Theyhad torches, still lit in themorninggloom.Grantpickedup on them, aswell, and thebigmanflickedoffthesafetyonhisshotgun,justincase.
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“I count eight,” Grantstated.Kanenoddedinagreement.
“Andthey’rearmed.”“Not quite a band of
coldbloods, though,” Grantadded. “It’s a mix of longarms and really sharp farmimplements.”“Cover me. I’ll try to talk
tothem,”Kanesaid.Grantglancedathisfriend.
“Well, we are hanging our
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assesouthereforCharunandVanthtograb.”Grant took cover behind
the trunkofa thick tree.PartofwhatgaveKanehopewasthat the less-lethal shotgunslugs would fly far and true,unlike conventional shot,which would disperse andlose power over even thirtyyards. From his standpoint,Grant could easily snipe anyof the gunmen should things
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growdangerous.Kane slung his shotgun. If
necessary, the Sin Eater onhis forearm would flash intohis palm, but as there wasvery little in terms of less-lethal ammunition for theMagistrate’s signature sidearm,hewouldonlyuseitasalast resort. The day hecouldn’tprotecthimself fromagroupoffarmers,especiallyonesundermindcontrol,was
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the day he felt he’d have tohanguphisshadowsuit.It was a mix of men and
women, but there was nodivision among the sexes fortheweaponstheybore.Therewereonlytwotorchesamongthem, and already, havingcleared the canopy of theforest, the bearers weredousing them in the dirt,grinding them out andsmothering them. Later
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tonight, if they were still onpatrol, then they’d be relit,but for now, they wereannoyances.The group locked eyes on
him; sixteen orbs drained ofcolor and vitality, with amilky appearance thatglimmered in the sunrise, allaimed toward him like thesickly pustules. Kaneswallowed, shaking off theunease at the slack,
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emotionlessfacesthoseblankorbsresidedin.Definitely under control,
Kane thought. He wonderedwhat kind of response hewould get, burying thenigglingfearofthe“uncannyvalley” before him. Thepeople were absolutelynormal in appearance, exceptthey didn’t act, didn’t haveemotion. This produced akind of fear in most people,
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knownastheuncannyvalley.The closer to human anartificial entity appeared, themoredisturbingitwas.EveryinstinctinKaneinformedhimthat these were not humans,more like something thatworepeoplethewayheworeclothing.Though not a single gun
was leveled at Kane, thoseeyes dug at him, relentlessdrills of eerie, silent
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inhumanity.Hemade certainthe Commtact was set toItalian translation and spoke.He was glad for the fear,because fear producedadrenaline,andadrenalinenotonly boosted blood flow andreaction time, it alsosharpened senses and madethought clearer. If they trulywere adeadly threat, thenhecould explode intoinstantaneousaction.
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“I am Kane, of CerberusRedoubt,”heannounced.The faceswere unchanged
in response to his statement,butthepersonclosesttohim,a pallid woman with blackcurls spilling down to hershoulders,beganspeaking.“Welcometomyland.”Kane’s nose twitched as
she spoke clear, perfectEnglishwithout thenecessityof the translationmatrix.Her
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voice, however, was deep,resonant. The black-hairedwomanwasfartoowispyforsuch a tone of voice. Ofcourse, the reverberation andtone were very close to thewords of an Annunakioverlord, something thatseemed projected acrossmultiplewavelengths.That made Kane all the
more on edge, especially forthe fact that the demigods
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were very much like thegodlingshehadbeenbattlingsince the arrival of Tiamatand the evolution of thehybrid barons into their trueforms.“Wecomeinpeace,”Kane
offered, fighting off thethrash of thoughts suddenlyracing through his mind.Thinking ahead, or solvingmysteries, was one thing hecould do, but not when he
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waswithin arm’s length of agroupofpotentialopponents.Thewoman nodded. “And
yet, you come knowing thatsomething is wrong. Or doyou merely come to retrieveyouraircraft?”“A little of both,” Kane
answered truthfully,frustrated that there was noemotional reaction to let himknow what was going onbehind those pale eggs that
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weresupposedtobehereyes.“We came armed, becausethisisadangerousworld.”“As we are armed, as
well,”thewomantoldhim.Nomovement.Nocoughs.
No shuffling of feet. Rightnow,theeightpeoplewereasmotionlessasstatues,saveforthe lips of theirspokeswoman. Any changeonlycamewhenKaneshiftedhis own weight from foot to
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foot, because even withoutthe black spots of pupils intheireyes,hecould feel theireyesfollowhismotion.“Youwouldn’t happen to knowanything about giants in thearea,wouldyou?”Kane hoped to keep the
situation defused, steeringaway the concept of thethralls being the danger hewasarmedagainst.“The cyclops,” thewoman
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answered. “We thought itmerely a myth, but it hascome to my land. It is anannoyance.”Kane narrowed his eyes.
“Annoyance?”“The creation of those…
notlikeme,”thewomansaid.“You are Vanth, then.
That’s who I’m speaking to,right?”Kaneasked.“Of course,” she replied.
“You know me by my
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husband. Charun. Andpresumably from yourcomrade, who managed toelude even my huntresssenses.”“Yeah,”Kaneconfirmed.“Idonotmindyourpilot’s
evasion of me, nor of hisattack against my beloved,”thewomanstated.“Charunisa formidable, fearsomewarrior, more so in his warpaintandbattlegear.”
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“War paint,” Kanerepeated.“You may inform your
friendbehind the tree thatheno longer has to protect you.Ifyouwish toaccompanyusback, you will come asguests.” Vanth’s voiceechoed.Grant’s grunt of surprise
over the open Commtactalerted Kane that thedemigoddesshadspokeninto
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his ears, as well, despite adistanceoffiftymeters.“Do you wish to disarm
us?”Kaneinquired.The black-haired
spokeswoman shook herhead. “There would be nopoint. You are guests. Notprisoners.”Kane nodded. He glanced
back quickly to make sureGrantwasonhisway.“We are interested in you
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two, and the woman whousually accompanies you,”Vanth said as Grant joggedforward.“She’s at home.
Recovering,”Kaneanswered.“Baptistewashername.”Kane’s lips tightened. He
had no real reason to besurprised, though. He had asuspicionabout thesourceofVanth’sknowledge.“Yes. Ihaveheardofyou,
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from the thoughts of others,”Vanthstated.“The missing New
Olympian platoon andpilots?”Kaneprompted.Vanth allowed her thrall a
smirk,theflexoflips.“Aye.”Thesearchgroupturnedas
one, more indication of theiralien nature, or the aliennatureoftheconsciousnessincontrolofthem.Grant stood shoulder to
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shoulderwithKane,watchingthe group as they proceeded,leading the way down theroad.“Eitherwe’re heading into
thebiggest trap in theworld,or they think we’re insectscompared to them,” Grantmusedsoftly.“Seemslikeabitofboth,”
Kanesaid.“Afterall,someofour biggest, Manta-mountedweapons couldn’t hurt
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Charun, so why should guyson foot, with much smallerguns,besuchathreat?”“I apologize for the
damageofyourcraft,Grant,”a voice boomed from ahead.The two Cerberus warriorslooked to see who wasspeaking, even looking upinto the canopy of the trees,just in case Charun himselfhadflowntogreetthem.It turned out to be one of
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the men, who slowed,droppingbacktowalkbesidethem.The man was slender, but
hespokewiththetimberofalion, each word bearingenormous weight as it wasspoken. The man wasequipped only with asledgehammer, as if in echoof the original Charunhimself. Kane wondered iftheblack-hairedwomanhada
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bow of some form, but thenrecalledthatshehadbeenoneof the group snuffing outtorcheswiththesun.Brigid’sdescription of Vanth’s torchflaredfreshlyinhismemory.It all could have been a
coincidence.“Youcametowardusfast,”
Grantsaid.Achucklethumpedfroma
chest too tiny to contain it.“Of course I did. My lover
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and I felt you breach thedimensionsattheOracle.Wethought it enemies, returnedtotormentus.”“Who’d be your enemy?”
Grantasked.“The gods of the Isles…to
the north and to the west,”Charunsaid.“Theysenttheirone-eyedminions to conquerus, and eventually, the hair-shirted humans whoworshiped them came and
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tore down the empire of ourchildren.”“The Tuatha de Danaan?”
Grant asked. “Wait, one-eyed…liketheFomori.”Kane and Grant agreed to
show very littleforeknowledgeoftheFomori.“Yes.Abastardhalf-breed
by the name of Bres…hisminions roamedas farasmyborders. I enjoyed crushingarmies of them with my
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bride,” Charun added. “Haveyouheardofhim?”“Only in respect to the
Celticgods,”Kaneanswered.“The ones the Tuathamasqueradedas.”Charunnodded.“Itisapleasuretomeetthe
enemy of our enemies,”Charunstated.“Likewise,” Kane
answered.Then Charun’s puppet
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rejoinedtherestofhisgroup,leaving Kane alone withGrant.There was very little
wonder that they were beingobserved from tree branchesby perched birds and othermammals. The moment thehumanscame intoview, theyhadalreadybeensurrounded.The tiny, milk-white eyes ofthe mind-controlled animalsfollowed themwith the same
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penetratingdread.Yeah,Grant is right,Kane
thought. They think we’relessthaninsectstothem.Kanegroundhisteeth.And this time the bastard
demigods might actually beright.
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Chapter12
Mohandas Lakesh Singhstirred from his too empty,lonely bed with the chirpingofhisCommtact,analertthata signal had been receivedfromKaneandGrant.“I’m awake,” Lakesh
murmured, yawning and
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looking at the empty spacewhere Domi should havebeen sleeping. He ran hisfingersthroughhisthick,grayhair, matting it back downeven as the swift, tight-beamtransmission was translatedand transmitted via thecomputers.“Contact made. Invited in.
Everything mind controlleddown to squirrels andsparrows.”
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ItwasKane,subvocalizingand sending off the messagewithallthespeedhecould.CharunandVanthwereso
sure of themselves that theydidn’t even seem to careaboutthemessagetransmittedby the two…prisoners?Guests?Visitors?Lakesh was full of worry.
While Kane and Grant werewalkingtallthroughthefrontdoorsofCharunandVanth’s
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kingdom,hislove,Domi,wasmoving in stealthily, alongwith the restofher teamandone other. If there wassomeone who could travelundetected, it was the albinogirl, a stalker of bothwilderness and urbanapocalypse. The same wentfor Edwards, a Magistratewho’d patrolled through theTartarusPitsasalawmaninadangerousfringetown.
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CAT Beta was nearly asskilled and experienced asCAT Alpha, so he shouldn’thave been so fearful forDomi’ssafety.Logicdictatedthat,butLakeshwassomeonewho trusted as much inintangibles that lay outsidethe realms of hard numbersand mathematics. Thingssuch as the confluence ofluck,amannerofsuperstitionthat in theexperiencesof the
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Cerberus Redoubt “family”was more than just mysticmumbojumbo.Therewasanentire quantum universe outthere, onewithmultitudes ofprobabilitiesandrealities,andsomehow Kane, Brigid andGrant had proved to be thecornerstoneofthemovement,defying long odds andsurviving.True, the three of them
were merely human, capable
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of being hurt. Brigid wasgettingoverasprainedankle.Grantstillsportedabruiseonhis back and Kane himselfhad escape a seriousconcussion, or worse, bydegrees. And yet their skillshad been sufficient to sendfirst the barons and then theoverlords scrambling to thewinds. They’d held off theinvasionandnearconquestofthe Earth by one of Enlil’s
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mostdangeroussons,aswell.Through strength, courage
and intellect, they had donethebesttoreturnhumanitytoruling itself, shuckingoff themanacles of slavery to thealien Annunaki. Yet therewere still so-called gods outthere, struggling andconspiring to bring downhumankind. Vanth andCharun stunk of such alien,monstrous heritage, of the
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same cruel dreams ofconquest.The video Brigid had
transmittedback toCerberus,Edwards’s recordings of themissing New OlympiansoldiersscanningtheManta’slanding and Charun’s fallenhammer, were proof positivethat their powers of mindcontrol were a deadly threatto any and all life forms onEarth.
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Kane’s assertion that eventhe beasts of the Etruscancountryside were enthralledonly hammered home thatpoint. It was one thing tohave control of hundreds,even thousands, of humanminds. Kane and the othersknew how to deal withhumans, even to the point ofbeing able to take control ofthesituationwithoutharmingthehypnotized.
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Buthowdidyoudealwithswarms of rats or flocks ofattacking birds? Domi hadalso transmitted the nightbefore,havingcapturedsomefootageofsheepononefarmthat CAT Beta had neared.On enhanced resolution,Lakesh saw into milky,lifelesseyesasramsandeweswent about their life ofchewingcudandyetexistingas just more observers.
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Lakesh remembered in hisyouth, hundreds of yearsbefore, when he’d been at apettingzoo.There were goats at the
pettingzoo,andwhileLakeshwas bored, having to hangaround all the “kid stuff”—apun he’d been pleased withhimself over—hewatched asone of the animal handlersbegan to have trouble withone of the rams. The sheep
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reared up and suddenlywenton the offensive, slammingthe keeper, a burly, barrel-chestedman of six feet. Themancollapsed,stunnedbythesuddenassault.The goat continued its
attack, biting at the keeper’scheek and ear, coming awaywith blood all over its snout,the human’s face slick andredfromsuchinjuries.That was one goat, only
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needingtouseitshornsonce.The Italian countryside wasfullofsuchsimilar livestock,and the threat of all thosejawsandteeth,formerlyonlymeant for slicing toughgrasses and twigs, suddenlybecamedarkanddeadly.Ratswere equally as imposing,should they swarm andattack. There were tales ofsewer workers who sufferedcountless lacerations and
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infections from stumblingintoanestfulloftherodents.Brigid had toldLakesh, as
she’d told her compatriots inNew Olympus, that Vanthpromised to unleash thosetrapped beyond thedimensional doors to herhome “world” like a plagueoflocusts.Maybe the threat of
invasion wasn’t a physicalone but one of alien control.
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At this moment Charun andVanth both appeared to besuperhumanly strongexamples of humanoids, butwhat if they were simplyideas? Concepts? What ifthey were spirits hurledacross the gulf of themultiverse divides, findingtheirhomesinsidethefleshoftwounfortunates?What if the parallax point
they were trying to breach
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only needed the merest ofpinpricks in terms of anopening? The invasionwouldn’tcomeintheformofliving bodies, hurtlingthrough a schism, a tear intime space, but a leak.Millions of alien mindsflowing through a wormholeasifitwereaventinadam?Thousands of ghosts orthought packets hurtlingthrough per second, each
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seeking out the closestvacated central nervoussystem?Brigid relayed that Vanth
was seeking all of theseminds for power, butwhat ifthe opening of that doorwastwoways?Theemptiedshellsoftheliving,strippedoftheirintellect and free will, theiremotions, their souls, wouldpunch a hole throughuniverses and then provide
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safe landing areas for thosemillionsofinvaders.Lakesh shook his head at
theconcept.“Boss, you got the
message?”Bryasked.Lakeshnodded,despitethe
fact that Bry was halfwayacrosstheredoubt.“Yes,yes,friend Bry. I have receivedthe message. Have yourelayeditontoDomiandtheothers?”
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“Coded and direct-bursttransmission made,” Bryanswered. “Hopefully, it cutthrough so fast our Italianbogeyman didn’t hear athing.”“There is that hope,”
Lakesh responded. “Though,asyoumayhaveheard,Kaneisn’t particularly convincedthat Vanth or Charun isconcerned about ourinterference or
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communication.”“You got that from six or
sevenwords?”Bryasked.Lakesh chuckled. “It’s all
in the tone. Plus, I believehe’sbeentakinglessonsfromDomiinbeingsuccinct.”“That’d do it,” Bry
answered. “Are you comingtothecommandcenter?”“I’ll be there in a bit.
We’ve got more informationto go over, don’t we?”
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Lakeshsaid.“Yup. Vid of the first
contact rode in on the sameinfodump,”Bryresponded.Lakesh nodded. “I’ll be
thereinabit.”Heswunghislegsoverthe
sideof thebed.For someonewho had lost over 150 yearsof aging and cryogenicsuspension, and allaccompanying ailments andaches, he still felt tired and
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achy being roused from hisslumber. Lakesh knew,though, that his sleep wasneverasrelaxingaswhenhisbeloved little Domi wascurled against his side. Shewas at once a calminginfluenceinherpresenceanda cause of worry with herabsence.He’d be much happier,
much more secure, wheneveryonewasbackhome.
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The trouble was, if theyhad never gone out there inthe first place, menaces tohumanity would eventuallyseep their way back toCerberusRedoubt.There was duty putting
them all out there in the lineofdanger.Itwasadutythatnoteven
Lakesh would feel rightshirking.
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***
BY THE TIME they hadtraveled along the roadtoward where Charun andVanth had set up their shop,Grant and Kane were tired.It’d been a brisk four-hourmarch, one that didn’t showon the faces of theirensorcelled escorts, but wasevidentintheslowingoftheirstepandlimpsthatshowedup
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onsome.Kane, younger than his
partner, was not feeling astender asGrant, but even so,he didn’t think he had it inhimtowalkall thewaybackto their initial landing point.Thereversetripwouldtakeatleastsixhoursatasanerpace,but the godlings wanted tomeet the two humanemissariesfromCerberus.When the escort finally
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stopped walking, they wereon a rocky, barren seemingcountryside, with no sign oflife, save for sprigs andindividualbladesofgrass.“Thisdoesn’tlooklikeany
ancient temple tome,”Grantsaid, looking around. Sincethe parallax points wereplaces where reality thinnedsufficiently to allow them toreceive communications, orevendirectvisitsfromtheso-
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called ancient gods,humankindquicklygrewintothe habit of building shrinesandtemplesatsuchplacesofpower. This hill, while fairlyflat and pyramid-like inshape, was nothing special.Then again, the fact thatGrant immediately thought“pyramid”mighthavebeenacuethatthehillwasnotwhatitseemed.“No, it doesn’t,” Kane
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agreed.“Butyoucanfeelthevibes,can’tyou?”Grant glanced at his
younger friend. “Notparticularly,butthefirstthingIthoughtwhenIsawthiswaspyramid.”“A buried pyramid, like
Xian in China? But this isnowherenearthatscale.”“Let’skeepheadingtoward
the apex. That’s usuallywhere the actual center of
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power is on these things,”Grantsuggested.Kanenoddedandfollowed
his partner. As they nearedthe peak, there was a faintrumble, the scrapingof stoneon stone as the point of thispyramid was pushed aside.The two men stopped,watching a long, powerfularm finish opening the top,then climb up and out of thehill. It was the same being
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he’d seen two days earlier,tall and long of limb, withmusclespackedliketightenedcables along his powerfulframe. He did not have hisbatlikewings,but then, therewas the possibility that thoseappendageswere simply partofaflightharness.This was Charun, his
features much less twistedand distorted, the war painthavinggoneaway.Thiswasa
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god who was receivingvisitors,notacaptor.Grant hoped that the
situationwouldremainso.“Greetings.”Charunspoke,
his voice sotto voce andrumbling through the airaboutthem.“Vanth was not kidding
about war paint,” Kaneobserved.The giant’s mouth opened
into a smile. Charun still
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possessed tusks, but his facewas not twisted in thesemblance of rage. His skinwas still coated in a finepatinaofscales,meaningthathis heritage was not muchdifferentfromanAnnunaki’s,but his blue tint may havebeena racialvariation.Grantwas used to being the tallestmanintheroom,butevenhehad to look up to Charun ashe strode closer, towering at
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least two heads taller thanhim.The Etruscan godling
extended a big, beefy hand,and Grant accepted theoffered handshake. The lasttime Grant remembered hishand being so small insomeone else’swaswhen hewas a child, holding handswithhisfather.Thegiantwasfartoocordial,toosmiling,tobe at all concerned by the
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Cerberus pair’s presence asCharunmovedontoKane.“Welcome to our home,”
he said. He swept an armtoward the open top of thehill. “Mind you, be careful.The ladder was built forpeople of our size, notsmaller. While it certainlywill not collapse under yourweight,youmightnotbeableto grip it as firmly as one ofus.”
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“Why…thank you,” Kanesaid.“Did you take the Manta
down that shaft?” Grantasked.“Oh, no…there is an
alternate entrance,” Charunsaid. “However, we’re goingto keep that location secretfromyou.”“Understood. You don’t
need rats crawling in yourbackdoor,”Grantagreed.
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Inwardly, he felt bad forreferringtoCATBetaasrats,but the alluded-to entrancewas exactly what those fourwould need to penetrate intothe depths of the Etruscangods’pyramid.Kane paused, looking
down the ladder. “I didn’tthink thatpyramidshadbeenbuilt in Europe. There’vebeenplentyinAsiaandSouthAmerica…and naturally in
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NorthAfrica…”“There are more in what
you humans used to callBulgaria. A whole complexofthem,”Charunstated.Kane was first down the
ladder and Charun motionedforGranttogonext.The huge demigod was
correctaboutthesturdinessofthe ladder, as well as thethickness of the rungs.However with their non-slip
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gloves and boots, there waslittle to fear from losing hisgrip and hurtling down theladder. He took a glance up,and saw Charun following.Thankfully,theloinpiecethatthe giant wore was a onepiece that covered anythingbeneath,foldedoverabeltinthefrontandintheback.“We’reenteringanancient
pyramidinItaly,andtheonlythingIcanworryabout isan
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alien up-skirt,” Grant saidinto the Commtact for Kanetohear.There was a snort, both
aboveandbelow.“Youarewelcome,Grant!”
Charunexhorted.“Busted,”Kaneadded.“Good ears,” Grant said
aloud.“Having spent time inside
the brains of you humans, Ican pity the dullness of your
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senses,”Charuncalleddown.“And I can understand thedisgust at some of theappearances of your ownbodies.”“Yeah?”Grantasked.This
conversation was going tomakeorbreakalotofthings.So far, Charun haddemonstrated that there wasvery little that could escapehis attention, part of thereasonheevenmadethequiet
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aside to Kane. If Charunhadn’t acknowledged it, thenthere was always thepossibilityofslippingupandspeakingwrongly.Rightnow,GrantandKanehad tobeontheir best behavior. On theother hand, Charun’sacknowledgment could havebeenbecausehewasn’tsomeformofmenace.That bit of information
didn’t jibe well with what
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Brigid Baptiste had reportedfromhermentalduelwiththeVanth virus that had invadedhermind. Then again,Vanthpresented herself as anangelic beauty—what was tosaythatshewasn’tamistressof deception, seduction andsubterfuge?Thiswouldn’tbethe first schism between so-called partners, even amongthe gods. The fall of theAnnunaki as aworld-shaking
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power had been due toOverlord Lilitu’s gambit tosupplant Enlil as the highestauthority. That scheme hadfallenapart,aswellasguttedthe gigantic living star shipTiamat.Maybe Charun was a nice
guy, but that still meant thatVanth was all the more of atrickster.“We regret having to
utilizethehigherintellectsof
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your people, and even yourlivestock,butVanthandIarecareful not to endanger thebodies of those we’veborrowed,”Charunadded.Kanehoppedofftheladder
upon reaching the bottom.Grantandthedemigodjoinedhimimmediately.“‘Borrowed,’” Kane
repeated.“Yes.We’ve been looking
for a sufficient source
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through which to open anaperture between thisdimension and our home.”Charun sighed. “You have afine world here, especiallywith the stink of theAnnunakiscouredfromit…”“Notquitescoured,”Grant
corrected.“This area is free of their
reek,” Charun responded.“Andthus,wenolongerhaveto worry about them
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swooping down on us. Youare to thank for much ofthat.”“Weare?”Grantasked.Sure, Grant was playing
dumbforthemoment,buthewasstillsurprisedatthekindofweight theNewOlympiansoldiershadputontheeffortsof theCerberusheroes.Afterall, they had fought withirrepressible courage andwillingness to die for their
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countrymen. The final battlewith the Enlil-empoweredHydraehordeshadresultedincasualties. Hundreds werewoundedandscoreshaddied,but the linewas held if onlyfor the stubbornness of theGreek warriors, either insidemassive armored robots ormerelyontheground,cladinleatherandKevlar.Thatwas a day of conflict
that had been one unlike
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Granthadexperiencedbeforeor since. And Grant had notbeen on the battlefield,fighting scale-hide-armoredmutates and bloody-clawedgiant sloths, but he’d alsobeen with Kane aboardMarduk’s scout ship,sabotaging it and wreakinghavoc to keep the overlordand his Nephilim forces outof the conflict. Grant hadthrown every dirty infighting
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trick in the book atMarduk,cheap shots and blindsideattacks giving the big manthose few extra ounces ofedge against the seven-footAnnunakidemigod.The hammering assault on
thebridgeofMarduk’s scoutship bought Kane enoughtime to plant sabotagecharges along the length ofthe scout ship, gutting it,slaughteringnearlyhalfofits
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crewandforcingtheoverlordtoabandonGreece.Those memories should
have been resigned to a sidenoteinNewOlympushistory,but Charun seemed highlyinterested in this part of thepair.Maybe he wasn’t
threatened by the humans,but Charun seemed to beactivelytryingtoengagetheirfriendshipandcooperation.
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“You said you were onlyborrowing their minds.How…andhowwill theygetthemback?”Grant asked thedemigod.“Vanth explained that
we’re utilizing their higherbrain functions as extraprocessors. We’re dividingsome extremely complexmathematical equationsamong a little over amillionbrainstems,”Charunstated.
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“You’re using them ascalculators,”Kanesaid.“Exactly. Essentially,
we’re doing what yourancient ancestors would callcastingaspell.Except,we’redoing it in the very code ofwhich the multiverse iswritten upon,” Charunexplained.“Onceweopenupthatdoor,wecangohome.”Grantnodded.“Thatmakes
sense. But what are the
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numbercrunchersgettingoutofthis?”“Theywillbetheoneswho
might just give you humansthe means to spread outamong the stars,” anothervoice interjected into theconversation.Kane and Grant both
turned,watchingtheentranceof Vanth, tall, beautiful andhalf naked, striding as if shehadnotacareintheworld.
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“My beautiful, brilliantbride,”Charunsaid.Grant andKane nodded; a
subtle bow to the womanuponherentry.“Gentle humans,” Vanth
said.“Welcome.”“Milady,” Grant greeted.
“The means of humanstravelingtothestars?”“Theuseofcraftisallwell
andgood,butthesameroadsthatcrisscrossthisballofdirt
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areonlyasmall factorof theequationthatistheuniverse,”Vanth stated. “There aresimilar roads, marked bymagnetic fields, but theystretch from world to world,from star system to starsystem, and from galaxy togalaxy.”The brown-haired beauty
stepped closer, a smirkbrighteningherfeatures.“With the equations your
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fellow Earthlings have beengiven, you can spill into theuniverselikeuntoaplagueoflocusts.”
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Chapter13
The eyes of Vanthwere likejewelssetablazefromwithin,anchoringKane’sgazeasheroddlyharmonicvoicebuzzedbothinhisearsandhismind.This was the same kind ofsensation that he’d felt, eversince Balam first “opened
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that door”—communicatingwithhimthroughtelepathy.Itwas a switch that neverturned off, and Kane didn’tlike the tingles, the ticklesofVanth’s power brushingacross his brain, as if thefolds on its surface were thehairofherlover.Itwaseerie,invasive, and at the flash ofhis anger of recognition, shewithdrew,hersmilefading.“Lady Vanth,” Kane
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greetedher,doinghisbest tostifle the tension inhisvocalcords.“Have you been giving
these warriors the grandtour?”VanthaskedCharun.Themaledemigodnodded.
“The only thing that we’rereally missing is the thirdmember of their trinity. Thehumanwoman,Brigid.”Vanth frowned, conveying
an all too human
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disappointment. “What haskepther?”“She suffered some minor
injuries, so we did not feelthat shewould be up for thetrek from the alternateparallax pointwe landed at,”Kaneansweredtruthfully.Hiswillwasabrickwall,andthatwas bolstered by Brigid’sposthypnotic suggestions,sublimating his suspicionsandworriesdeep,beyondthe
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reachofameresurfacescan.Using mostly intact truthswould prevent her fromsensinganythingwrong.It was not going to be a
perfect solution, especially ifVanth’smental abilitiesweretruly powerful. Kane’s willhad been tested by telepathicgoddesses of late, and hedidn’t feel like pressing hisluck. So far, however, hedidn’t feelas if she’dbroken
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throughanything.Then again, itwasn’t as if
she’d leave a note pinned tothe inside of his brainwherehe could find it. That waswhat truly sucked about thisfor Kane. He’d been madeaware enough to know whatwashappening,buttherewasverylittlehecoulddobywayof mental inventory thatwould give him an idea ofhowmuch his thoughtswere
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rummagedandsearched.“Well, you surely have
another aircraft like the onewe requisitioned,” Vanthstated.“It was under repairs last
we saw it,” Grant answered.He nodded toward Charun.“Thisguydidquiteanumberonit.”“Ah, yes,” Charun noted
with a chuckle. “We havetakengoodcareofyourother
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craft. I hope you did notpunish its pilot toomuch forfleeingfromourarrival.”“Wewent easy on him. If
hecouldn’thurtyouwiththeweaponsmountedonit,therewas no way he could dealwithyoucarryingameresidearm,”Kanesaid.Charun smiled, his
shouldersstraighteningalittlefurther, his chest jutting aninch or two more with pride
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over the power he haddisplayed and theintimidation he wielded as awarrior god. Kane couldn’ttell if the demigod wasbuying into this through ego,or that he and Grant weresimplygoodactors.“So, you want me to pop
overandbringBrigid?”Kaneasked.“Whoeverwishestoflythe
Manta,asyoucallit,”Charun
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offered.“Iwouldassumethatyouwouldgo,Kane,foryourframe would allow moreroomforherasapassenger.”Grant lookedatKane.“He
hasapoint.”“You are near the size of
one of us, Grant,” Charunstated.Herestedalargehandon the big Magistrate’sshoulder,makinghim feel asifhewereachildoncemore.“There will be no harm to
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befall him under myprotection.”“You’re sure?” Kane
asked.“We shall have the ship
readied for you,” Vanth toldthem. “Then we shall havethe three who are as one asourguests.”Kane was once more glad
for the posthypnoticsuggestions that drained anytension or relief from his
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features. This was feelingmoreandmorelikeatrap.Maybethe“virus”thathad
infected Brigid was eitherstill alive or hadmanaged totransmitadistresscallbacktoits originator. Kane didn’thave a clue as to how thegoddess’s song worked, buthewouldn’tputitpastVanthto actually be able tofragment her intellect to thepoint where such a mind
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control effort couldcallbacktoher.“How soon would that
be?”Kaneasked.“We will take some time
for you to rest your tiredlimbsandtofillyourbellies,”Charun stated. “While theappropriated Spartans carrythe Manta outside, you’llhave at least an hour ofrelaxationwithus.”“Sounds good,” Grant
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returned.Kanecould feel thehintofsarcasminhisfriend’svoice.Eat, drink and be merry,
humans, Kane imagined thethoughts of the entities infrontofthem.Fortonight,westealyoursouls.
***
“YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS,”Brigid said over the
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Commtact.“I’masseriousasI’veever
been,”Kanereturned.“Vanthwantsyoutocomevisitusinthe scenic, placid Etruscancountryside. She promiseswine and the mathematicalsecrets that will enable us toleavetheEarthfarbehind.”“That is a temptingoffer,”
Brigidreplied.Neither of them was
speaking about it out loud,
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but the implications of allthree of them beingsummonedbeforeVanthweredangerous. Brigid had donewhat she could to reinforcethe minds of her comradesthat had gone on ahead, andshe had also self-hypnotized,compartmentalizing thememories she possessed ofVanth’s viral knowledgeenteringherbrain.Such autohypnotic
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suggestion had carried heragainst the intrusion andviolation of Ullikummis, somaybe it would work again.If not, it was unlikely shewould ever know whathappened. Her precautionscould prove for naughtagainst a superior hand atmindcontrol,andthestressesof her battle against Vanth’sprojection still made herwary.
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“Andyouwon’tevenhaveto walk far on your gameankle,” Kane added. “I canpickyouupandflyyourighthere.”“Why can’t I use the
interphaser again?” Brigidasked.“Because of the efforts of
Vanthtoopenupawormholeat the parallax point here,”Kane explained. “So she andCharuncouldreturnhome.”
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“All right,” Brigid said.“When can you get goingoverhere?”“I’m outside with Grant.
We’re running down thechecklist to make sure thething is still in full flyingcondition,”Kanetoldher.“So far, looks all right,”
she heardGrant on the partyline.“You’re notworried about
staying there alone?” Brigid
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inquired.“Whatcouldtheydotome
that they couldn’t have adozen times over?” Grantanswered.“I’llbefine.Ican’twaittoseeyouagain.”Brigid admired her two
partners in adventure. Theymaintained their calm, andsounded optimistic andtrustinginthefaceofultimatedanger.Sure,she’ddoneabitto keep their minds from
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betraying them, but even so,they were acting well. Shecouldpickup inflectionsandtones in their voice thatindicated theywere speakingof their own freewill, ratherthan repeating by rote orbeing intimidated into lyingtoheraboutthesituation.She knew that the two
Stygian entities would beoperating under a great dealof risk in sending Kane to
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her. Certainly, they had ahostageintheformofGrant,and therewasa small tremorof doubt in Grant’s voice,something she could pick upbecause of her familiaritywiththeman,buttheredidn’tseemtobeanyduplicity,anysubterfuge, going on at thepresent.Together, Brigid and her
friends had survived a greatmanytraps,andthiswouldbe
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justanother, andyet, the lawof averages said that runs ofluckwouldrunout,nomatterwhat. Certainly, they wereprepared and skilled enoughto handle unexpectedtroubles, just for when theirluck did fail, and Kane andGrant proved to be brutetough enough to cope withproblems that could only besolvedwithforceofarms.Blunt violence was
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somethingBrigid herself hadbecome well versed in, aswell. Early on, she’d turnedup her nose at Kane andGrant packing all manner ofhardware with them whenthey journeyed out on anexpedition. Now, she carriedthe big, almost hammer-shapedTP-9automaticpistol,whichsheslidintoitsholster.The TP-9 was asemiautomatic, civilian
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version of the old TMP-9machine pistol, only slightlysmaller than the Sin Eatersthat Kane and Grant carried,and also carrying a 20-roundmagazine.“Will she mind if I come
armed?”Brigidasked.“They haven’t had us
surrender our side arms, butletmeask,”Kaneresponded.Again, Kane was
informing Brigid of the
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cockinessofhishosts.“Vanth said she doesn’t
care what you bring. Justremember, we can’t fit morethan a grasshopper into theMantawithbothofuspackedintoit,”Kaneoffered.Andtherewasthetidbitof
information Brigid had beenwaiting for. Vanth’sconfidence allowed her torepeat the term “locust” inspeaking with Kane and
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Grant.WhenKanementioned“grasshopper,” which locustswereaspeciesof,Brigidhadall the confirmation sheneededaboutVanth.Itwasacasual thing to say, though,and one that was actuallytrue, as the Mantas weremeanttobesingle-seatscramjets. Such a casual referencewaseasytopassoff.Brigid, however, did not
have any doubts that Vanth
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would get the hint. Thedemigoddess was acontemporary of theAnnunaki overlords, and assuch, had survived theirschemes. Enlil and the restweredevilsofsubterfuge,andas guileless seeming Kane’scomment was, it wouldn’thaveescapedhernotice.Andif there was such apossibility, Brigid had to erronthesideofcaution.
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“I’ll bring my pistol,”Brigid returned. “And I’llmake sure my ankle’s tapedupwellenough.”Anything to make Vanth
think she was at less thanoptimumcapabilitywouldbea card in her favor. It wouldalso give her options. Shethoughtofwhatshecoulddowith the taped ankle. Metalcould be disguised as a kindofsplintorbrace.
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“Sounds good to me,”Kanereplied.Brigid said her goodbye
and disconnected fromKane’s transmission. Ofcourse,Lakeshandtherestofthe home crew back atCerberus had been listeninginontheconversation.“Send me an interphaser,”
Brigid requested over theCommtactbacktoCerberus.That was code in itself.
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The interphaser was a pieceoftechnologyworthtentimesits weight in gold, enablinganyoneinpossessionofitthecapacity to travel acrossworlds.As such,Lakeshwasloathetopartwiththedevice,especially since it was, inessence, an ever-developingprototype. When notoverseeing the redoubt orapplying his intelligence tothe crises the CAT teams
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encountered, he wasconsistently tinkeringwith it.There were severalproprietarybitsoftechnologywithin the pyramid-shapedobject, things that were hardto duplicate, but also therewas the concern of othersgaining control of it. Groupssuch as the MillenniumConsortium, or the voodoocult led by Papa Hurbon,could easily utilize the
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interphaser to conquer largeareas.Fortunately, since Brigid
didn’t need to use theinterphaser to reach theparallaxpoint,whatcouldbedeliveredwassomethingelse.A fail-safe device that couldtempt Vanth, all the whilepretendingthatitwasperhapsdamagedintheflight.And if the goddess was
someone trustworthy…well,
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then, Brigid could continueonstatingthat they’dneedtobring in another interphaser,while the small but deadlybomb in a rigged interphaserhousingwas leftdisarmed. Ifit was such an instance thatVanth was going to bring adeadly invasion into theworld, thefauxwasdesignedto blow up with sufficientforce to kill an overlord.Maybe, just maybe, it would
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proveenoughtoalsoslamthedoor on an interdimensionalhordeofattackers.Ofcourse,detonating the bomb wouldbe a final desperate act onBrigid’s own part, likelykilling her, her allies anddozens,maybeevenhundredsofthethrallsofVanth.The worlds of H. L.
Mencken flashed throughBrigid’smindatthatthought.“To die for an idea; it is
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unquestionably noble. Buthowmuchnobleritwouldbeif men died for ideas thatweretrue!”In all the struggles of the
Cerberus explorers, sherealized there was a truth—thatmenshouldbefree fromtyranny. The tyranny of firstthe hybrids, then theirevolution into the overlords,was the first of many suchunjust reigns that she was
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willing to die to stop. Therewere others that arrived.Cults,thepredationofbanditsand other such coldbloods,and especially thetechnocracy known as theMillennium Consortium,wereallexamplesofthekindof man’s own inhumanity toitself.So if she had to be blown
to oblivion to stop Vanth,thensobeit.
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“Nobler to die for an ideathatistrue,”shemused.
***
WITH A FLASH across hiswindshield, Kane knew forcertainthathe’dreenteredtheatmosphereandwasswingingthe supersonic Manta intoGreek airspace. He checkedon his scanners, watching tosee if perhaps he’d been
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shadowed by Charun orVanth, but for now he wasaloneinthesky.Brigidwasatthetempleof
theOracle, standing beside asmall pyramidal device. Hefrowned, realizing that itwasan interphaser. Bringing oneof those into the presence ofVanth andCharunwas not agoodthing.He recalled when the last
ofthepureTuathadeDanaan
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on Earth, the mad godMaccan, came for theinterphaser.Maccan’s assaulton Cerberus had left severaldead and scores injured,including Domi, who hadbeen tortured in Lakesh’spresencetomakehimgiveuptheinterphaser.The devicewas something
he’d needed to return to hishome dimension, thanks to alinkage in the great Martian
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pyramid. Grant, Kane andBrigid had rushed to Mars,dealing with little, mutatedtrans-adapts, pint-sizehumanoids designed forsurviving in less atmosphere-richenvironments, aswell asbeing proportionately denserand stronger than a normalhuman.With an army of such
mutantsintheMarsbase,andMaccanhimselfsettingupthe
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interphasertoheadhomeandthen bring back an army ofhis followers, the trio hadfound themselves in a trulydangerous situation. Only byforcing Maccan’s ancientglove weapon—the SilverHand ofNaudha—to unleashits power inside the pyramidhadtheymanagedtostopthescheme.Theancientbuildingcollapsed as the SilverHand’s power bolts tore
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throughtheroof,allwhiletheCerberusadventurersracedtothe mat-trans to take thembackhometoEarth.If one god was a threat
with the interphaser, thenletting Vanth and Charunhave access to it would beeven worse; at least that’swhat Kane assumed. Thenagain, Brigid was rarely awoman who did anythingwithout purpose and plan.
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The tiny pyramid was aninterphaserhousing,buttherewaslittleguaranteethatithadanyofthepropercomponentswithin. This could be adamaged prototype orsomethingworse.Kane swung the Manta
over the center of thetemple’s remains, landing itamong the Doric columnsthatwereallthatremainedofthe ancient structure. The
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ruins were large enough toland the compact scram jet,evenwithBrigidpresent.He popped the cockpit for
her.“So,you’rebringingthatalong?”“Yeah. Try not to fly too
recklessly.The interphaser isusedtojusttransportingitselfand recalling immediately.Being jostled isn’t in its bestinterests,” Brigidadmonished,climbingupand
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handinghimthedevice.Kane looked at the casing.
It felt heavier than normal,but then Brigid caught hiseye.“Don’tthinkofit,”shetold
him.And almost immediately
Kane’s thoughts became alittle fuzzier, clearing amoment later as theinterphaserwascradledinhisarms like a baby. “You sure
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this can take entering andexitingorbit?”“If not, I can tinker with
it,” Brigid stated. “It’s just abackup plan that might helpourgodlingfriends.”Kane nodded. He still
knew enough to feel distrustof the Stygian aliens, thosedoubtsforwardinhismind…but something had slitheredbackintohissubconscious.Brigid squeezed herself in
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behind the pilot’s couch,grumbling and complainingall the way. She was a tall,well-built woman, soslithering into such a tightspotwasnothingfunforher.Heturnedandhandedhertheinterphaser, wondering whyhis arms felt so achy andweakasheliftedit.Kane dismissed it as
tensionanduncertainty.Theywerefacingoffwithtwoalien
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humanoids that seemed tobecapableofstealingaperson’ssoul and breaching thebarriers between universes.He wanted to talk to Brigidabout this, but something inhimwhisperedthatshedidn’twant to know about hisdoubtsandworries.He ground his molars,
feeling completely offbalance,evenashewentoverthe checklist for takeoff. It
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may have been overlyredundant,ashe’djustdoneita few minutes ago beforetakeofftothetriphere,buthewas a pilot. Not as good asGrantwas,whichwaswhyhewanted to go over everyvariable, every condition, oftheaircraftbefore riskinghisandBrigid’slivesontakeoff.The more he concentrated
on the every day, themundane, thebetterhismind
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and stomach felt. He wantedto ask Brigid if she hadanything to dowith this, butonce again, a fog ofobfuscation had himforgettingwhathewasgoingtoaskafewmomentslater.Itwas a mental roller coaster,andonehewanted togetoffof,butevenwishinghecouldtalkwith someoneelseaboutitwasmakinghimfeelworse.“Kane?”
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Heturnedandlookedbackto her. “Is Vanth attackingmybrain?”Hemanagedtosqueezethe
wordsout,butitwasasifhisthroatwasa thinslitofclothand as he pushed eachsyllable through, the canvastore, threads popping, hislarynx growing more andmorerawwiththeeffort.“No. No,” she said. She
touched the side of his face,
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squirming to look himsquarelyintheeyes.“What’s wrong with me?
Mymemoryisgoingallcrazyand I can’t concentrate,”Kaneasked.“ItfeelslikeI’mnotaloneinsidemyhead.”“Concentrate on me,”
Brigid told him. “I shouldhave known that your willwastoostrong,thatyouweretoo aware of yourself to beable to ignore my
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posthypnoticsuggestions.”With that statement he
began tocalm.“Posthypnoticsuggestions. You’ve beenhelpingmekeepmythoughtsaligned.”“But you are too smart.
Too in touch with your ownthought patterns that youwere feeding into a loop ofrecognizing the dissonance,andthenaggravatingyourselfmore as your subconscious
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went to work burying it,”Brigid said. “Your pointman’s instinct comes fromyourabilitytoseethroughthefilter of your subconsciousandpickuponactualdetails,not the usual tricks ofconsciousnessthatinformourdailyperceptions.”Kane blinked, but kept his
focus on her. Parts of himwere upset with her, rootingaround in his head, but then,
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he’dactuallybeenoneof thepeople for the act of alteringhis thoughts, protecting theCerberusexpedition from theintrusive powers ofVanth. Itwasmerely his ego rebellingat the thought of his mindbeing manipulated byanother.“I’ve broken your
conditioning by merelymentioning posthypnotic,”Brigid offered. “Should we
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trythisagain?”“I don’t think so. If
anything, it might makethings worse for me, even ifyoumanagedtofindawaytoget me out of my loop ofconfusion,”Kane said. “Whoknows,shemightnotscanmecasually…”“Except you’re returning
with new stuff, newinformation,” Brigidcountered.
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“Like the interphaserhousing…being heavier,”Kane agreed. He narrowedhis eyes. “If we spend toomuch time here discussingthis, she’llwonderwherewedisappearedto.”He finished his checklist
and, satisfied that the Mantawas ready to go, he glancedback. “All right, we’re off.Make sure I don’t bang theinterphaser around toomuch,
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okay?”Brigid took a relieved-
sounding breath. “I’ve neverbeen so happy to hear youplaydumb.”Kane tilted his head.
“What’re you talking about,Baptiste?”“Never mind,” she
concluded, sighing withexasperation.Kane’s lips pulled into a
tight,self-satisfiedsmile.
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Chapter14
The four people in the CATBeta squad had seen thedeparture of Kane’s Mantafrom the mountainside andrealized that something wasup.From thedirection that itflew in, Domi was certainKane and Grant had
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ingratiated themselves intothe house of the Etruscangodlings. That was always agood thing in Domi’s mind;she didn’t have to worryaboutputtingona false frontto engage in the tiresomegames of intrigue and falsepoliteness with the alienentities. Shewas here, in thewilderness, where she wascomfortable.She was glad for the
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launch. Now she could startlooking for a sign to trackfrom where the robots hadbrought the captured Manta.Withgrimdetermination,shefollowed theback trailof thetwo Gear Skeletons as theytrundled from the improvisedlaunchpadon thesideof thehill. Shadowing themwas anexercise in the basics, asneither of the giganticmechanisms was the quietest
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of devices, nor did theirponderous tread land lightlyontheground.Evenso,shedidn’twantto
belulledintoafalsesenseofsecurity, so she acted as ifthey were possessed of thesharpest hearing and thekeenestofeyes.Shestayedtothe foliage and shadows,crawling along to pace them,but always keeping aware ofwhere her next hand- or
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foothold shouldbe, so asnotto crunch a leaf or snap abranch.The others were behind,
keeping a distant watch, justin case someone, somehow,pickeduptheferalhuntress’strail. Edwards and Sinclairboth had long-range rifles toprovide her with overwatch,andtheyhadnight-visionandinfrared capabilities thatwouldpickupsuchacreature
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inpursuitofher.So far, things were quiet.
Ofcourse,theywereonradiosilence, but Domi knew thatif she did develop a tail, theothers would fire. No matterwhat kind of silencertechnology was developed,therewas noway tomake arifle report quiet. She’d hearit.Of course, if she heard it,
thensowouldthegodswithin
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themountaintemple.Domi focused on the
missionathand, livinginthemoment, as was her nature.All of that was how shemanagedtostayaliveforhertwo decades of life so far,even in the face of inhumanopponents. Keep the basics,always move with absolutecertainty and keep your eyesandearspeeled.No technology, no tricks,
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weresubstitutes for thehard-wonskillsshe’ddeveloped.The pair of giants reached
a set of crags and anoutcroppingalongthebottomofthehill.Fromadistance,itseemed like a naturalformationandacasualglancewould havemistaken it for anormallyformedcave.Astherobots continued on, Domicould tell that it was anentrance, with stones and
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slabsofsolidrockpositionedto conceal a metal-walledframe. The size of the “caveentrance” was also anindicator of the unnaturalstatus of the opening, as thefifteen-foot-tallgiantsstrolledthroughthedoorsasifitwerenothing.Domisethershadowsuit to duplicate the rockyterrain, because it would behard to hide herself amongthe barren hillside without a
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little bit of technologicalassistance.With a few quick strides,
shewasoutfromtheedgeofthetallgrassesandupbesidethehand-builtentrancetothemountain of Charun andVanth.Shepeeredaroundtheedge and saw that theSpartans had gone down ahundred feet of corridor,thanks to their long strides,andwereapproachingagate.
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She switched on the shadowsuithood’sopticsandgaveaverbal order to search forcameras or electric eyes,things that even her finelytuned instincts couldn’tdiscernintheshadowsof theunlithallway.Domi didn’t merely skim
or glance; rather, she lookedalong as much of the walldetail as the telescopic zoomandlightamplificationwould
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allow her to, which meanteverything that wasn’tobscured by the massiveshoulders of the NewOlympian war suits. Therewasnowayshewasgoingtoendanger the other membersof her team without athorough examination of theartificial corridor.Fortunately, it seemed theonly man-made objects werethe ribs that upheld the rock
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walls, and the flat plates ofsteelthatformedtheroofandwallsattheexposedentrance.No electrical wires were inevidence, and the metallooked as if it had beenpresent for centuries, thankstorust.No wiring, no bulbs were
in evidence, and there wereno small mammals in thecrags and holes along thewalls of the deeper tunnel.
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Sheobservedasthegateroseandheardtheclankofchainsandapulleysystemliftingtheiron bars. Domi remainedstill, so that if someonelooked at her, she’d simplyappear to be just anotherrock.Evenherbreathingwasshallow,sothathershouldersand ribs didn’t shift toomuch.It was waiting, and those
whoknewDomiwouldhave
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neverthoughtshe’dhavethiskindofpatience,butthiswasnot simply idling. She wasobserving, and staying lowprofile. She blended into hersurroundings, eyes and earspeeled. She was not onlywatchingforanyholesin theEtruscan gods’ security, butalso if someone was cominguponherfrombehind.Sofar,shewassafe inher
periphery, and hadn’tmissed
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thatthegatewaslarge,heavyand dwarfed the pair ofSpartans. There were alsogapsbetweenthebars,whichthehood’sopticsimmediatelymeasured, displaying thedimensions of each gap.Getting through would be atask of phenomenalcontortion even for the slim,tiny Domi, let alone any oftherestofherteammatesandSmaragda.Theonlymeansof
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getting through would be torely on technology that wasleft behind at Cerberus, orcrudely spending timediggingachannelbeneaththegate, and hoping thesurrounding dirt didn’t caveinontheditch.The second option would
also leave them vulnerableduring the length of time ittook to dig that hole,especiallyifitwastobelarge
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enoughforEdwardstoslitherthrough. Domi’s lips pulledtight as she realized theirquarry had a good piece ofsecurityhere.Sheglancedback,scanning
the mountainside with thetelescopic optics for herfriends.Edwards and Sinclair
appeared in stark contrast tothecountrysideasshepickedup their passive IFF
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signature.Shewasout in theopenandvisibletothem,butlike her, their suits wereconfigured to blend in withtheirsurroundings.Domi lifted her hand and
wavedfortherestoftheteamtocomedown.Sure, theideaof digging under the heavyiron gate was a bit foolish,but it was also so audaciousthat no one would considersomeone try it. If therewere
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any contraindications on theopposite side of the gate formakingtheirentrancethroughthere,thentheycouldretreat.Domi hoped it wouldn’t
come to that. She wanted togetinsidebeforetheirfriendsendedupindeeptrouble.Something bothered Domi
asshewaitedfortheothers.There were only two
Spartans lifting andmaneuvering the Manta; the
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same suits she recognizedfrom Edwards’s vid footage.She wondered at the lack ofthe third of the suits. Sherecalled the heavy tread of asolo entity approaching theirlanding at the parallax pointwithKaneandGrant,but thetwomen had reported that itwasn’t a Gear Skeleton thatapproachedthem.Ithadbeensome form of inhuman giantakin to the massive Balor
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they had battled in theAppalachian Mountainsmonthsago.Thatkindofacreaturewas
an abomination crafted ofhuman flesh, of a living,willing host, and often thedeadanddyingvictimsofthemutant. The Fomori, as theyhad called themselves, wereonaverageaboutthreetofourhundred pounds, their bodiesbulked up almost like
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cannibals, robbing the verypartsofotherpeople,stealingmuscle, bone and skin tomake them larger andstronger. This form ofhideous transformation waspart and parcel of a deadlybeing known as Bres, whowas an inheritor of Enlil’s, ahalf-breed who had moldedhimself into an object ofperfection.Stolen flesh, Domi
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continued to muse, lookingdown the tunnel. She beganto wonder what a GearSkeletonwouldresembleifitweregivenacoatingoflivinghumans, and the thoughtswere uncomfortable. It onlymade sense…skeletons needmuscleandmeat.And a hammer-wielding
god such as Charun wouldneedanopponent.One whose bones could
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never break, being forgedfrom an alloy version oforichalcum, and whose fleshcould be healed and rebuilt,using the mindless andenslavedthrallsDomiandhergroup had been avoiding forthepastdayandahalf.Shewonderedif theothers
would pick up on that. Shehadtoremaininradiosilenceand avoid broadcasting thepresence of CAT Beta to
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Vanth.Shehadtotrustintheintelligence of her threefriends that this threat couldquite easily have been areplayofHelenaGarthwaite’smanufactured threat, thatVanth built something forCharun to slug it out with,finally having scored enoughtomakeatruegiant.Ofcourse, thiscouldmean
thatsomeofSmaragda’sownpeople could not be
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recovered, not if they weredissectedandrebuilt tomakenewmonsters.Domi ground her teeth.
She’d have to informSmaragda of the fates shesuspected, but hoped shewouldn’thaveto.Domi prayed silently that
she’d never have to tell thebrave Olympian soldier thatthecomradesshehadlosthadbeen torn apart and
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reassembled as the muscleandskinofaroboticgiant.
***
THE DULL RUMBLE ofthunder in the sky alertedGrant that the Manta hadreturned. His instincts werebuzzing, almost as if thetension he was feeling wasemanating from him likeelectricity.Grantwasglad to
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have Kane and Brigid bothback at his side, but hecouldn’t help to think thiswas an elaborate trap, onethat was intended to pull thethreeofthemoffbalance.Grant fought the urge to
jump up and head to theladdertoseeKanebringinginthe Manta from the peak ofthe hill. The hatch at the topwasopen,whichwashowhewas able to hear the sonic
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boom of the Manta’sdeceleration as it reenteredthe atmosphere. Charunsmiledatthesound.“Your friends have
returned,” the eight-foothumanoid confirmed. Hisfacewasbright andhappyatthe sound; his eye lit withgenuine pleasure at theprospect of meeting BrigidBaptiste. Grant felt bad forbeing so suspicious of
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Charun,buthe’dencounteredenough sociopaths, humanandotherwise,whocouldputon a good mask of falseemotion. If he turned out tobe a noble and just being,then Grant would begforgivenessoftheStygian.Hehopedhewouldbeable
to beg such forgiveness. Thefact that the giant let himkeep his side arms, even thebag of variousweapons,was
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disarming enough an action,but it alsocouldhavebeenasign of superiority. After all,Charunhadfacedtheheaviestof small arms on the Mantaand was unharmed. Whatmereman-portableequipmentcouldinjuresuchabeing?The truth was that Grant
realized Charun’sinvulnerability had, in part,been due to the ancienthammer, an artifact of alien
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technology that was sopowerful, it might as wellhave beenmagical. Sure, theothers had seen the damagethe hammer had wroughtupon his Manta, but Grantwastheonlyonetohavebeenon the receiving end of theweapon in the hands ofCharun. The aircraft hadshaken violently. Even theinertial nature of the pilot’scouchhadconveyedtheforce
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ofthehammerstrike.Charun was not an
opponent to underestimate,and for all his cheer andamicability, showed signs ofgreat intellect behind hisattempts to seem simple andstraightforward.“Ididn’twant to seem too
rude by hopping to my feetwhen I heard it,” Grant toldCharun as he rose from hisseat.
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“It is understandable,Grant,” Charun said. “I havespent many a quiet hour inthe company as an uncertainguest.”“Inbetweenyourtasksasa
chooser of the slain?” Grantquestioned.“My duties as a so-called
psychopomp, as youmentioned before,” Charunsaid. “The stories, as we’veexplained, have permutated
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overthemanycenturies.”“So, maybe it is a good
thing that we have Brigidcoming in to join us, so wecan better understand what’sgoingon,”Grantreturned.“Vanth would explain
much better,” Charunadmitted. “I was moreengaged in protecting ourborders from the minions oftheoverlords.”“Which makes you damn
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fine in my book,” Grantnoted. “Enlil and his bunchnever have been friends ofmine.”“The enemy ofmy enemy
is my friend,” Charunresponded.“Eveninmytime,itwasanancientsaying.”Charun motioned to allow
Grant to take the leadup theladder. Without hesitation,Grant was up the rungs andoutof thehatchon thepeak.
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The wake of the Mantabisectedacloud,smearingthewhite fluff of it behind,creating a streak on theafternoon sky. He enjoyedwatching one of thesemachinesinaction,evenfromthousands of feet away, itssheer velocity and nature.When not engaged in stealthmode, it was a vulgar,glorious display of the truescaleofhumancreativity.
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It was one thing to punchthroughdimensionalwalls,tosquirt your atoms through awormhole halfway around acontinent, but really, Grantwasapilot.He’dbeenflyingtheDeathbird iterationof theAH-1 Apache gunship fordecades,andnothingfelt likethe sensation of skimmingover treetopsat150milesanhour. With the discovery ofthe Mantas from the moon
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base, all dreams of velocityand agility were increasedexponentially. There was nosenseofmovement inamat-trans,nothrillwithit.Even the Deathbird was
still a magnificent flyingmachine that moved and feltlikeanextensionofhisbody,anamplificationofhimself.Watching from the
sidelines, he was stillimpressed with the sleek,
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transorbitalplane.Charunwasupthroughthe
hatch and standing besidehim. A glance at the gianttold Grant that he wasinterestedintheMantas,too.Charun followed it
intently. He’d encounteredthe—tohim—aliencraft,andthoughheworeaharnessthatlethimtake to theskieswithinhuman ease and wielded ahammercapableofsplittinga
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Manta in two with a directhit, the scram jet waswondrous to Charun. Therewasasenseofrespectforthehumans’tinkering.The approach was clean
from Grant’s more clinicalthinking, observing Kane’shandlingof theManta.Therewasadifferencebetweenhimand his younger partner.Whereas the Mantas were ajoy,adrug toGrant, toKane
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they were merely anothermeans of transportation.There was no flourish, noexcitement in his tearingbetween orbit andatmosphere.Grant had to give Kane
props for being precise andalways in control, but thatwas no way to truly fly.Charun, with his wingharness, was someone whowas more along the lines of
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what he experienced as apilot.Ofcourse,allofthiscould
have been projection, butGrant could see Charunnodding at the same pointsthat he’d approved of inKane’s handling of theManta. The scram jetswitched to Vertical Takeoffand Landing mode, itsengines swiveling so that itcould hover and land on the
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clearingonthehillside.Charun’s head whipped
around and Grant could feelthegiant’stensionincrease.“What’s wrong?” Grant
asked. He let his Sin Eaterslide into his hand. Charunwas suddenly on thedefensive and he could seethe demigod’s hands flexingopen and closed, sorelymissing the hammer heshouldhavehad.
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“We’ve got intruders,”Charun stated. “They’recomingin.”Grant was frozen in doubt
foramomentbuthekepthisthoughts of CAT Beta deepwithin the back of his mind,buried under other mentalprocesses.Therewasathreat,bringing Charun out of hiscuriosity, making the giantwish for a weapon. Thatwouldn’t be Domi and the
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rest. The albino girl was aghostwhenshewantedtobe,just as stealthy as Kanehimself.No…someone was
approaching,out in theopen,andtheywereonawarpath.“Should we have Kane
takeoff?”Grantasked.“No,”Charunstated.“This
shouldbenothingforme.”“Butyou’reallitchy,ready
tofight,”Grantadded.
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Charun glanced at themachinepistolinGrant’sfist.“Asareyou…”“Your instincts kicked
mineoff,”Grantreplied.“They come from that
way,”Charunstated,pointingdownthehill.“Icannotquitetellthenumberofthem…itisas if there is more than onemindorspiritperintruder.”Granttiltedhishead.Kane and Brigid were
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running forward, both ofthemwith theirweaponsout,but leveled at the ground soas not to accidentally shootsomeone as they rushedforward.“What’s going on?” Kane
asked.“Charun sensed intruders,”
Grant explained. “Comingfromthatdirection.”Kane turned his head
toward the forest that was
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pointed out. Brigid glanceddown, too, but then returnedher attention to the Etruscangiant.Heremeraldeyeswerewideasshelookedatthetitanfrom head to toe. Then sheglanced at the hatch in thepeak, blank-faced servantsarrivingcarryingcapsulesthesize of smallmelons in theirhands.Charun turned to the first
servant, plucking the “ball”
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from his hand. He swung itup over one shoulder andGrant watched as strapssuddenly stretched out fromthe capsule, winding aroundhis chest. Then came thewings; crushed buds the sizeof Grant’s forearms beganunfurlingintoleatherywings,likethoseofagiganticbatorreptilianpteranodons.“The magic disappears
when you look upon it up
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close,no?”Charunasked.Hepicked up another of thecapsulesandpressed it tohisface, this one becoming thetusked, terrifying mask that,atthisrange,Grantcouldtellwas the “war paint” Vanthhad referred to. It was notmuch different from theshadow suit Grant himselfwore.Thisone,however,putitself ontoCharun, spreadingdown and increasing the
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unhealthy blue-corpse pallorofthetitan.Inaway,thiswasalso close to what he sawwhen Enlil began armoringhis Nephilim warriors withthose little buds of smartmetal.“Nope, not a bit,” Grant
replied.“Prettyfantastic.”Charun flexed, feeling
more himself as he “suitedup” forwar. Therewere stillfour more servants, all with
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their eyes empty, facesimpassive asmind-controlleddrones.Eachheldadifferent-coloredcapsule.Charun picked up one that
unfurledinhishand,forminga long metallic rod of greatstrength as it finishedtransforming. He plucked asecond, stabbed it atop theshaftand itquickly formedacrosspiece, anchoring to thehandle of the hammer.
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Charun took each of the lasttwo, sticking one on eitherend of the crosspiece, eachcapsuleformingintoadeadlyalloywedge thatwas the lastofthehammer’sformation.Brigid observed this, as
well, and Grant intended toaskher, later, ifhewas rightin the assumption of thistechnologyresemblingthatofthe Annunaki, especially thecorrupted armor node that
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had turned Helena from asilver-skinned goddess into arampaging engine ofdestruction.“Let us gird our loins,
Kane and Grant!” Charunbellowed. “The enemy isuponus!”Grant saw Charun lift his
hand, pointing toward anobject hurtling up from theground. It was a two-hundred-pound chunk of
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stone arcing into the sky,hurtling straight toward theCerberus expedition andCharun.
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Chapter15
Kane saw the flying stone,and grabbed Brigid Baptistebythewrist,pullingherdownthe hillside. Moments laterCharun took a half step andswung his hammer, the headconnecting with the two-hundred-pound missile loud
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enough to make Kane regretnot pulling his hood up toprotect his hearing. Theimpact was a direct slap inthe face, pressure wavessplashing against him andmaking him lose his footingontherockyhillside.“For the glory of Styx!”
Charun bellowed, and Kanewasn’t certain if his shoutwas even louder than thatalien-tech hammer striking
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the granite slab that nearlycrushedthem.With that pronouncement,
Kane watched as Charun’s“fake”wings glowed slightlyandhelaunchedintothesky,his tusked mouth a rictus ofglee and ferocity, his insanehammer crackling with arcsof lightning across its headandshaft.“You two okay?” Grant
asked.
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Kane blinked and shookhis head. “My ears areringing from that battle cry.Where did he knock thestone?”Brigid pointed down the
hill.“Youmeanthepowderedgravel cloud he turned itinto?”Kane looked to see wisps
of dust settling on thehillside. Well, we caneliminateourfriendsasbeing
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behind thisattack,hemused.EvenEdwardscouldn’ttossatwo-pound rock like that, letalonetwohundredpounds.Charun flew forward
towardthelaunchpointoftheslabofstonewhenhiscoursejerked violently upward. Asmaller,fasterrockmusthaveflashedathimfaster thanhisreflexes could allow, andCharun somersaulted,tumbling through the air
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towardtheground.“The antigravity elements
of his flight harness willcushion his fall, but he mayhave suffered considerabletrauma from the rock hit,”Brigidnoted.“Weneedtogettohissideandprotecthim.”“Yousureyouknowwhere
helanded?”Kaneaskedher.Brigid nodded. “I’ll steer
youfromuphere.”Kane looked down to her
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ankle. “Right. You’re notrushing anywhere on thatankle.”“Hurry,” Brigid
admonished. “There’s treemovement. Something quitelargeissmashingthroughtheforesttowardhim.”KaneglancedatGrantand
the two partners took offdown the hillside, runningandjumping.“He mentioned more than
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one opponent,” Grant said.“But apparently only one ofthem was big and strongenough to act as a livingpieceofantiaircraftartillery.”“Let’s hope that’s the
case,” Kane answered. Heglanced back and saw thatBrigid was hard on theirheels,notquiteasfastduetotheir longer strides, but shewasn’tgoing tobe left in thedust.“What’retheoddswe’re
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going to run into our oldcyclopspal?”“I’d say they were even.
One chance in one,” Brigidsaid over the Commtact. “IdoubtevenBalorcouldcausesuch sway among healthytrees.”Kane grimaced, bounding
down the slope.Hewasgladfor the protection offered bythe non-Newtonian nature oftheshadowsuit.
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The main element ofprotection in the space-agepolymers was that the fiberswere fluid in nature until themoment an object struckthem. The design was firstdiscovered at the end of thetwentieth century, enablingskiers to better handle high-speedimpactsandcrashesonthe slopes. One moment theskintightuniformwasflexibleand supple, but when
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something like a collisionoccurred, the fibers becamean almost steel-hard plate,blunting impact andpreventing serious trauma.Taken to the extent of themoon base scientists, theshadowsuitscouldevenstaveofflightsmall-armsfirefromanything short of a full-poweredrifle.More than once Kane had
been saved from a deadly
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blow hurled by a foe ofinhuman strength, thepolymers blunting rib-splintering punches. Hisenjoyment of the shadowsuit’s protective properties,however, was extendedtoward the fact that he couldslip and crash to a knee andnothavetheskintornorsplitbybashingagainstarock,norwould the sharp impactpenetrate the cushioning
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effects of the polymers andcausealegfracture.Thesolesof his boots also kept himfrom feeling it when helanded on a sharp stone thatwould have even given aconventional combat boot apuncture. The sides of thebootsalsowouldkeephislegrigid within normal range ofmovement, preventing asprained ankle or a badlyflexedknee.
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The suits were made forall-outonterrainsuchasthis,andKanewas going to needevery bit of personaldisregard to get to the fallenCharunintime.The familiar bellow of
“Hate you! Kill you!”reverberatedoff the trunks intheforest,makingthecyclopsseem even more deranged atthispoint.OrmaybeoldOne-eyewas
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growing crazier, especiallyafterbeingputdownbyKaneandGrantearlier.Failureandfrustration were powerfulmotivators, but they alsotended to make those whosuffered such embarrassmentcrazier.Whenyouwentupagainst
eighteenfeetoftitanwhowasberserk and pissed off,chanceswere that you got toseejusthowgoodyourfancy
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space suit could do againstfists carrying tons of force.As Kane and Grant wovebetweenthetrees,Kanecouldmake out a flowery fountainof light; infrared cameraspicking up a flare of powerthat could only have beenCharun’shammer.“Just what the hell is all
that light?” Grant asked.“Some kind of fire wall tokeep the cyclops and his
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friendsatbay?”“Or maybe it’s just
pumping out another kind ofenergy and our suits can’tquite identify it,” Kaneresponded. “Just that there isalotofit.”“Great,” Grant murmured.
“Well,I’mgladwesealedthesuits. I don’t need to be hitwithhardradiation.”“Kane’s right,” Brigid
called from above. “I’m
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tryingtodeterminetheoutputof the hammer. The readingsare either pure gibberish orit’sputtingouttheequivalentofaminiaturesundownhere.Light, radiation,magnetism…”Kane looked through the
fiery glow, seeing somethingmassive swing down againstthe fountain of light. Theywere a hundred yards away,but the cyclops had reached
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Charun first and wieldedanother tree like a club. Butwhen the huge log crasheddown, it burst apart in thehandsofthetwo-tontitan.“Die!”thebeastroared.Kane unleashed his Sin
Eater, slowed to a kneelingposition and aimed at thefigure in the distance. Thecyclopswasabig,easytargetas they’d closed anothertwentyyards,wellwithin the
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range of the Magistratemachinepistol.Hepulledthetrigger, rippingoff aburst of9mm slugs toward the hugeassailant.The cyclops slapped at its
chest, growling at the impactof the bullets. Kane frownedas he realized that aspowerful as the Sin Eaterwas, capable of punchingthrough the armor of aDeathbird or the windshield
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of a Sandcat, it had donenothing more than to annoythegiant.Theangry titan turnedand
its singular, bulging eyelockedonKane.“I’vegothisattention,”he
saidtoGrantasnearlytwentyfeet of rampaging humanoidlunged straight at Kane.“Flankhim!”The gigantic creature’s
long strides accelerated it
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towardKane,andoncemore,the Cerberus leader wasastonished at the kind ofvelocity that a living freighttrainofmusclecouldachieve.He held his ground, firingsingleshots ineffectually intothe titan’s bulk until the lastmoment.Withinthreeofthemassive
strides of the cyclops, Kanehurled himself aside, divingoutofthepathoftwotonsof
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opponent. At that point, thecreature had far too muchmomentum to stop and turnonadime.ThetreeKanehadhad at his back disintegratedasthetitanplowedthroughit,branches and splinters flyingfromthedevastatedtrunk.Grant’sSinEaterroaredas
he pelted the cyclops withfull-autobursts.Kane could see blood
spattering under bullet
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impacts, but the creatureseemed more annoyed thaninjured by them.Then again,thegunsweredesignedtoputhumans downdecisively, notorganisms the size and massofanelephant.Thecyclopsspunandtried
to slow, skidding on wide,log-size feet that dug upmounds of soil. Even thatwasn’t enough, so it reachedout its long, massive arms
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and sank its fingers into theground.Finally reachingahalt, the
cyclops glanced betweenKane and Grant, who wereboth reloading their spentsidearms.“Wehad to rundownhere
without anything bigger thanour Sin Eaters,” Grantsnarled.“You’re welcome to run
back and grab something,”
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Kaneoffered.Hetookaimatthe giant’s singular eye andpulledthetrigger.Thecyclopsmusthavehad
incredible prescience andreflexes, because the largepalmoftheman-beast’shandrose, blocking the salvo thatKane launched. The skin onthe thing’s palmwas torn upbytheburst,butbloodmerelytrickled from the ravagedflesh.Theredidn’tseemtobe
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toomuch in terms ofmuscleorguts thatwereusual in thehands of a humanoid. He’dslashedatenoughhandswithhis combat knife over theyears.He fired again, hoping to
penetratefurther,oratleasttokeep the cyclops occupied.The ring of the high-velocityjacketed slugs on metalreached Kane over the rattleoftheSinEater.
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“Brigid, he’s got a metalskeleton,”KanesaidovertheCommtact.Ashetoldher,thecyclops
reached out with his otherarmtosnatchaboughoffofatree.“ThisisasIfeared,”Brigid
pronounced. “Especiallywhen you described thephysiology of the beast tome.”“It’s a Gear Skeleton?”
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Kane asked, whirling andthrowing himself out of thepath of the hurled branch.Thewoodstrikingthegrounddugintohalf its length, thensplitupitscenter.Thatwouldexplainalotof
things,especiallyconsideringKane wasn’t certain that anactual humanoid skeletoncould support such strengthand stresses as this twenty-footcyclopswouldputonit.
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Kane rolled to his back,aimed and fired, his burststriking the forehead of thegiant, missing the thing’scentered eyebymere inches,skin splitting under high-velocity impacts. It roared indiscomfort,whichmeantthat,somehow, there was livingflesh wrapped around theorichalcum bones of thathorror. And if there wasliving flesh wrapping the
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giant…Grant appeared in Kane’s
peripheral vision, hurling agrenat thebig creature.Thistime, the cyclops wasn’tcharging with the speed andforceofarhinoceros.Havingovershot his target on morethan one occasion, the gianthad decided to take thingsslower, steadier, relying on astep that could take it twelvefeetcasuallytooutdistanceits
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foes.Thegrencaughtthegiant’s
attention and it whirled,claspingitinhisfist.“Stupid…”Before the epithet that the
cyclops intended could formonitslips,thegrendetonatedin a brilliant flash. Twentyfeet of monstrosity rockedback on its heels thentoppled, shaking the earthbeneath Kane’s feet, almost
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sending him back onto hisass.“I thought you were
griping about us only goingafter these things with onlyour side arms,” Kanegrumbled.“That’s why I decided to
make a gren one of my sidearms,”Grantanswered.Kanepickedupawinkand
a grin from the normallygrouchyMagistrate.
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“HurtFeem!HurtFeem!”KaneandGrantlookedout
into the forest. Their conflictwiththecyclopshadeatenupsome time, time enough forthe other intruders thatCharunhaddetected tocatchupwith their gigantic leader.They saw the twisted, bulky,lurching things thathadbeencalled the Fomori whenthey’d encountered them inthe Appalachian Mountains.
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They were big, but nowherenear the size of Charun, letalone the cyclops they called“Feem.”“Polyphemus,” Brigid said
on the Commtact, as shecould hear everything Kaneand Grant could hear. “Thatwas the name of the cyclopsOdysseus battled in hisjourney home from theTrojan war. They called himbyhismiddlesyllable…”
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“Thanks for the legendlesson,” Grant said. “Sorry Iwastedmyonegren.”“These suckers won’t be
wrapped around a GearSkeleton,”Kanereplied.“Butwehavetoknow…”Grant put his finger to his
lips. Saying anything morewouldsimplyletVanthknowwhat they suspected abouther. That the beautifulgodling was a mistress of
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twisting and mutating flesh,and clad the skeleton-likegiant robot in the meat ofSmaragda’s missing platoon,ratherthanbeingformedintothe trio of terrors who’d justappeared.That didn’t make the
prospect of fighting theseentities any less distasteful.Kane wasn’t going to rollover and die for anyone, butmurderingpeoplewho’dbeen
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warped by Vanth wasscarcely something Kanerelished. His one hope wasthat the Fomori brutes hadbeen people who hadwillingly surrendered theirhumanity for the promise ofpowerandrank.All these thoughts were
pushed aside as the creaturesclosed to less than ten yards.Kane stiff-armed his SinEaterandblastedsixholesin
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thechestofoneofthehorror-sculpted abominations. Thething staggered under theimpacts, grunting as heavybullets punched through itshide and heavy sheets ofmuscle and bone. TheFomori, however, didn’t fallfrom the abuse he suffered.Knowing the kind ofpermutations the otherFomori had gone through, itwas likely that his vital
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organs were placedsomewhere other than in thecenterofhischest.Kane sidestepped as a
second of the barrel-bodied,three-armedhorrors leapedathim;threehundredpoundsofmusclecuttingthroughtheairand missing only by inches.Kane opened fire, shootingthe would-be tackler in theback, stitching him with along burst where it appeared
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the thing’s spinal columnshouldhavebeen.Thecreature let out awail
and dropped to its knees. Itcaught itself with two of itsspindly-seeming arms, butbefore Kane could put thething out of its misery, theone he’d peppered in thechest lunged forward, twofists crashing against hischest. Once more, theprotective qualities of the
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shadowsuitproveditsworth,as those twin hammer blowslifted Kane off his feet andhurled him four yards back.OnlyKane’sagilitykepthimfromcrashing intoa treeandlanding so that he could getbacktohisfeet.Herosetomeethistwisted
opponent as it lunged tofollow up on its initialassault. Kane didn’t shoot,knowing he only had a few
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rounds left in his magazine.Instead he charged, as well,snapping up his foot to kickthe thing right where he’dblasted it in the chest.Bloodgushed from the point ofimpact, the two bodies andtheir velocities addingtogether in the force ofcollision. Kane ran just thatmuch faster to bring hismomentum up to overwhelmhis foe’s. As such, he was
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able to ride the staggeredFomoritotheground.As he did so, Kane aimed
forthething’sskullandfiredoff the remnants of his SinEater’s payload, the heavyslugs smashing apart boneand splashing brains allacrosstheforestfloor.Itwasabrutal,cruelbitofbutcher’swork, but at this point,Kanewas in do-or-die mode.Distantly, part of his mind
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hoped that he was correct inthe evaluation that themindstrapped in these twistedbodies had sold out theirhumanityforpersonalgain.Kane dumped the spent
magazine from his Sin Eaterand reached for his last fullone. He hadn’t expected torun into a bulletproof titanand three of his equallydurablepartners.Magazineinplace, round chambered, he
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looked up in time to see thesecond one he’d woundedmakingitschargeathim.Off to the side, he could
seeGrant inpitchedhand-to-hand combat with theobscenity that targeted him.Thetwowerelockedinatestof strength, Grant’s armsflexingwith all the power inthem and also giving lie tothe “skinny” nature of theFomori’s limbs. The rest of
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itsbulk,itsdoubledtorsoandneckless head, were so thickthattheymadeevenmusculararms seem anemic byproportion.Kane sighted his second
attacker’s face and cut loosewith two rapid shots—onebulletperpullofthetrigger—to conserve his ammunitionand maximize his accuracyand effect. The first shotseemingly had no effect, but
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the second one caused thecreature to flinch, jerking asthebulletstruckhim.Thehitonly made the Fomoristumble for a step, but thatwasallthetimeKaneneeded.His free hand drew histwelve-inchcombatknifeandslashed the thing across oneofitsreachingarms,thesharpbladecarvingthroughmuscleandgratingagainstbone.Theflap of slashed meat flopped
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backward as the abominationwailed in agony. A secondarm lashed up, clutchingKanebythewrist.Kane twisted, using his
entire body as leverage tokeeptheFomorifromgettinga secure grip on him. As hedidso,hebroughthiskneeupinto the torso of themisshapenhumanoid.Hewashoping to catch a kidney orsomething, but the solid
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impact he felt through thecushioningofhisshadowsuittold him he’d only struckmuscleorbone.Theone-eyedhead whirled to face Kane,hatred glaring in the single,bloodshotorb.KanegraspedhisSinEater
inhisfreehand,rusheduptocontact range and fired, themuzzle spitting flame andmetal into itsmouthwith thefirstshot.Thecreaturejerked,
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itsgrasplooseningonKane’swrist. Kane fired again andthebulgingeyeburstapartinasprayofmilkygoop,thetopof its skull bursting open,petals of meat and skullfluttering in the wind at theslug’spassage.“Twodown,”Kanerasped.“Three!” Grant grunted,
twisting violently on thestocky,heavilymuscledneckof his opponent. The
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crackling of bones breakingand tendons popping wasgrisly, but it was the surestsign the thing that Grantbattled was long dead. Limplimbs dangled, as did itsmisshapen head as Grantlowered the corpse to theground.“I hope they don’t have
any more like that,” Kanemuttered.“Killfriends!”
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The unearthly roar causedKaneandGrant to lookbackto where the cyclops hadtoppled.The thing rose to itsfulleighteenfeetinheight.Itsleft arm had been flayeddown to the brass skeleton,stilldrippingwithbloodfromwhere Grant’s gren hadshreddeditsflesh.Thething’storsowasalsoblackened.“How much do you have
left?”Grantasked.
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“I’m on my last mag,maybefifteenleftinit,”Kaneanswered.“Noothergrens?”Grant shook his head.
“You go left, I’ll go right.Maybewecangettotheheartofthething…”“It’ll still have Sandcat
armor underneath all of thatmuscle protecting the pilot,”Kanereturned.“Killhumans,”thecyclops
snarled.
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“You’re going to have towork for it, Ugly,” Kanetaunted.Heclutchedhisknifeand gun tighter, waiting forthe titan to charge. The twomen had fought plenty ofpowerful opponents acrosstheir lives, but this onelooked just a little too large,was far too determined togive up.Without the kind ofweaponry necessary to bringdown an armored vehicle,
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Kane didn’t give himselfmuchofachanceagainst thecyclops.“No…” came a rumbling
growl from behind thecyclops.Apparently, Charun was
not completely out of thisfight, but could even thedemigodstandbeforeameat-coveredwarrobot?
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Chapter16
Charun, the demigod, themateofVanth,rosetohisfulleightfeetinheightbehindthegigantic cyclops thatthreatened to bludgeon Kaneand Grant into pulps. Kanecouldn’t help but think thatany impressive power he’d
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observed in the Etruscangodling in comparison tohimself and Grant hadsomehowvanishedinthefaceof the bloodied but stillmassive abominationstandingbetweenthethreeofthem.Certainly, equipped with
his eight-foot-long warhammer, composed of foursmart-metal subcomponents,he looked as if he was well
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armed to deal with any foe.But the foe in question wasan ancient Annunaki GearSkeleton,apilotedautomatoncomposed of the alien alloyknown as secondaryorichalcum, one of thehardest materials theCerberus explorers hadencountered to date. Thatmuch was apparent from thebloody, glistening left arm,strippedofallmeat thanksto
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the detonation of Grant’sgren. Its skinwas blackened,cracked in places, but thebeast supported by thefifteen-foot war suit withinseemed undiminished inintensityorstrength.Charunwasalsocladinhis
war paint—in actuality aform of smart metal armorakin to the skins theAnnunaki had clad theirNephilim drone warriors in.
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Alreadyimpressiveduetohisphysique and size, Charunwas now a beast of terror,with oversize tusks andtwisted features granting himamonstrousappearance.Kane recalled the armored
masksworn by theTigers ofHeaven in New Edo. Thesamurai warriors had carriedon the ancient tradition ofornate helmets usuallyfrontedbydemonicmasks to
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intimidate their foes. So be-tusked, so vile, the scowlscrawled across Charun’sfeatures, it would havebroken the spirit of lesserfightingmen, but in the faceof the twisted, one-eyedgiant,itwasjustameetingoftheuglyandinhuman.AbouttheonlytoolCharun
might have that would eventhe odds was the antigravityflightharnessstrappedacross
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his broad chest, attachingbatlike leathery wings to hisback. Charun, however, onlyhad one wing out, flickingreflexively.The huge rocks that the
cyclops had thrown, or theout-of-control plummet fromthe sky, must have damagedtheantigravityharness.Eighteen feet of height
might not have been much.Standing on each other’s
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shoulders, Kane, Grant andCharun would have actuallydwarfedthecyclops,buteventogether their combinedweight wouldn’t havematchedthegiant’s—andthatwas part of where its brutepower lay. Not only did thething have an automaton asits skeleton, hydraulicsaddingtothemassofmuscletissue wound around therobotinahideousmockeryof
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the human form, but it hadthatonce-livingfleshasapartofit.“Charun, just give the—”
Kanebegan.“You threaten the friends
of Charun, abomination!”The demigod cut Kane off.“Fillthyhands,andchallengeone who would be yourmatch,coward!”“Not scared,” the cyclops
snarled. “Came to kill you
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first!”“Then do thy duty,”
Charunchallenged.The cyclops leaned to one
side, wrapping its massivehand around a tree trunk.With two levering actions, itsnappedtherootsholdingthetree to the ground, and liftedit like a club. Grant steppedcloser toKane, tossinghimasparemagazine.“Atleastwe’llbothbeable
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to throw lead at thatmonstrosity while he’soccupiedwithCharun,”GrantmutteredovertheCommtact.“Like that’d do anything
more?” Kane asked. “Let’sseewhatCharuncando…”“And if he kills the poor
bastard slurped into theGearSkeleton?”Grantcountered.“Ihaveafeelingthegooey
innardswerealreadytornoutbytherootbywhoevermade
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thatabomination,”Kanesaid.He didn’t want to mentionspecifics, but both Kane andGrant were aware thepossibility was strong thatthiscreaturewasthespawnofVanth.Andif itwerenot thespawn of Vanth, then it washighly likely the creation ofsome other threat. Justbecause they were theenemies of the Etruscandemigods didn’t mean that
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eithersideofthisconflictwasonthesideofangels.Vanthputonaprettyshow
as an angelic being herself;allbeauty,unashamednudity,and glowing, featherywings.But Kane was fully awarethat the deadliest threats hidunder appealing, delicateskins as well as warty,reptilianhides.The cyclops and Charun
lunged to attack each other,
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each swinging their club atthesametime.Kane grimaced at the
thought of “their ally” beingoutclassed in size andstrength, but the demigoddidn’thesitatetohurlhimselfinto action. The tree camedown like a thunderbolt,exploding as it struck thearmoredCharun, even as thecyclops was just out of theswinging range of his alien
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hammer. The destruction ofthe tree would have beendeafening without the soundfiltersontheirshadowhoods.A cloud of splinters and
sawdust filled the air,obscuring their view ofCharun, but the Etruscangodling’s hammercartwheeledtowardKaneandGrant. Before the thingreached them, it stopped,resting on its head, swaying
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slightly.“Oh, not good,” Grant
murmured.The cyclopswaved, trying
topushasidethecloudtoseewhere Charun had gone.Suddenly a pair of handsreached up from the settlingdust, fingers digging intoeither side of the cyclops’sface, fingers spearing intocheeks. The abomination letout a roar, jerking upward
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andpullingCharunfreefromtheground.The demigod, as he rode
the cyclops upward, broughtboth feet up and hammeredthe hooflike boots of hissmart-metal armor into thething’s clavicle. Flesh toreunder the force of the kick,but the cyclops’s secondaryorichalcumbonesdidn’tbendor break under the force ofthedoublekick.
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The naked hydraulic clawand the cyclops’s still-flesh-wrapped hand grasped atCharun’s waist, but the lithegodling used the monster’scollarbone as a base to fliphimselfupandoverthetopofits head, out of the reach ofthose huge paws. In doingthatsomersault,Charuncameaway with handfuls of tornmeat that used to be thegiant’s cheeks. The man-
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beast let out another hideouscry; a combination of painand frustration as its smalleropponentstymiedhim.Grant reached out for the
hammer’s staff, thinking tothrow theweapon toCharun.Unfortunately the alientechnology had its ownagenda. A sizzling arc ofvoltage shot up the handle,popping loudly in the air.Grantwinced,anonlethaljolt
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ofelectricitycausinghisarmto contort reflexively. Theeffect was not very differentfromtheTaserjoltsKaneandGrant had used to floor thecyclops earlier, and bothformer Magistrates hadTasered each other tounderstand the effects. Thatdidn’t make the shock hurtanyless,however.“That’s one way to keep
your toys out of someone’s
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hands,”Kanegrowled.Grant sneered. “I was
tryingtohelphim…”“Well, the hammer isn’t a
mindreader,”Kanesaid.“Ormaybeitis…”Grant glared atKane, then
looked back at the upendedhammer. “Like it senseswe’re still distrustful of ourhosts.”Excellent save, Kane
thought.“Letmetry.”
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“If it doesn’t shock you,I’m calling bullshit,” Grantmurmured.Kane reached out, hiswill
sublimating any and alldoubts about Charun. I’mhelping your master, youdamnedhammer.Thenext thingKaneknew
was that he was hurledbackward by a flash oflightning.Hisgloves smokedfrom the electrical discharge,
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andhisheadhurt,despitetheprotective effect of hisshadowsuithood.Hisfingersthrobbed inside the gloves,twitchinguncontrollablywiththe aftereffects of the zap.Abouttheonlythinghecoulddo to leaven the painwas tocursealoud.“Dammit!”“All right, it doesn’t like
anyhuman,”Grantsaid.Kane blinked, shaking his
hands to get rid of the after-
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tingles from the electricalshort. “Or maybe it’s reallyclumsy…”“The hammer is clumsy?”
Grantasked.Kane rose again and
approached the hammer. Hereachedoutquicklythistime,no hesitation, no reluctance.The electrical jolt was thereas he connected with thehandle, but this time it wasonly painful, not
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electroconvulsive. He closedhis fingers on the haft andpulled. At first the hammerdidn’t want to leave theground.Heputhisotherhandaroundit.“Come on,” he growled
even as he felt the jolt andcrackle of energy surging uphis other arm. “I handled thestaff of Moses. I can liftyou!”Ofcourse, thefact that the
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hammer itselfwaswellmorethanahundredpoundsmighthave been what was slowingdownhisliftingofthedevice,he thought. The surge ofelectricity tickling hismuscles increasedagain.Thehammer grew lighter andsoon he stoodwith it as if itweighednomorethanhisSinEater.“The discharge,” Kane
said.“Itwastryingtomakea
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connectiontous.It’ssousedto cutting through Charun’ssmart-metal armor to linkwithhim…”“It didn’t know that we
neededalotlessenergytogetthrough the shadow suits?”Grantasked.“That’s what I’m hoping,
becauserightnowIfeellikeagodmyself,”Kanetoldhim.With a few long strides
Kane was up against the
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cyclops’s massive leg. Heswung the hammer around,hismusclesflexingwithmorepower than he could haveimagined. Connecting withthe secondaryorichalcum legstructure beneath the fleshjarred him to a halt,vibrations rumbling backthrough the hammer andalong Kane’s arms. Still, theimpact was loud andshattering, chunks of
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pulverized meat sprayingfrom between the hammerand the anvil of the robot’sleg.Thehugehydraulickneebuckledundertheforceofthehit, pistons twisting andbursting.The cyclops screamed and
looked down at Kane. Thefeedback from the hit wassuchthatKanewasunabletomove,stillstunned.Theabominationwoundup
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to smash the humanwarrior,butCharunleapeddownfromthe creature’s shoulders,tackling Kane. The giant’smassive fist slashed throughthe air, whipping up a windthat Kane could feel eventhrough his suit’s hood. TheagiledemigodcurledKaneupagainst him like a child,running to dodge thecyclops’ssecondhurtlingfist.This time the log-thick limb
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crashed against the groundwithathunderingboom.“You wielded the
hammer?”Charunaskedwithdisbelief.Kanenodded.“Yeah.”CharunsetKanedown,and
themanfromCerberuscouldseethatheheldtheweaponinhis off hand. “The hammerhasnearslainmostmenwhotouchedit.”“Grant and I both got a
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shock, but we’re stillhealthy,”Kaneresponded.Hedoubted the truth of thatstatementrightnow.Itfeltasif he’d been running for thepast seven hours, nonstop.His arms and legswere limpas spaghetti, andhis stomachgrowled, begging to be filledas if he’d used up everynutrient in his body. “Stillalive.”“The hammer is a fickle
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mistress,” Charun said. “Itgives and it takes. Let mehandlethisbeas—”BeforeCharuncouldfinish
theword, thecyclopsplowedintothedemigod.Evenonitsdamaged knee, it still wasbarreling along at speeds ofmorethanfiftymilesanhour.CyclopsandCharunwereonemassive whole, and any treetrunk in their path wassmashed open or snapped in
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two. Nothing short of amountainside was going tostop those two as the pair ofbattlingtitansplowedthroughtheforest.GrantracedtoKane’sside.
“Talktome…”Kane took a deep breath.
“That thing made me tapreserves of strength I barelyknew I had. I feel like Ipulled every muscle in mytorsoandarms.”
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“And now you’re a limpnoodle,”Grantmurmured.Kane tilted his head. “To
add insult to my injury, Ididn’t even slow down thatone-eyedmaniac.”“I wouldn’t say that,”
Grant replied. “Before Iclocked the big bastard atabout seventy-five miles anhour.Youtookathirdoffhisgroundspeed.”“Whoopee,” Kane
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murmured.The crashing of trees
stopped in the distance, butnow thunderclaps filled theair.Bothmen fromCerberusfelt the ground shakingbeneath their feet as blowswere exchanged in thedistance.“Wegoing togetcloser to
thisfight?”Grantasked.“You can go. I’ll just sit
here until my legs tell me
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they can work again,” Kaneanswered.“I can’t take you
anywhere.”Grantsighed.Another thunderclapshook
thegroundandseveraltonsofmeat and metal hurtled backalong the tunnel the cyclopshadtorninitsinitialattackonCharun. The winds comingoff the flying abominationsent Kane sprawling andforcedGranttodighisfeetin
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topreventbeingblownover.The cyclops struck the
ground, producing anotherquake-likerumble,butafteracouple more earthshakingbounces, it came to a halt. Itstruggled to its feet, most ofits chest bared after beingslammed by the alienhammer. Blood glistened onthe brass and nowKane andGrant could see that thecockpit didn’t have Sandcat
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armorplates.“This…isn’t one of the
Spartans sent by NewOlympus?”Grantasked.“Also explains the three-
foot height differencebetween this and the averageSpartan,” Kane added. “Thiswas another automaton.Anotherkind…”“So maybe we’re off the
hookwhenitcomestokillingthesethings,”Grantmused.
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“We can hope, right?”Kaneasked.The cyclops swayed
unsteadily on its legs. Thehuge eye in the center of itsmisshapen face was burst,deflated and dripping viscerainamilkyflood.Charun appeared beside
them, leaning on the handleofhishammer.“This…wasaformidablefoe.”“No kidding,” Grant
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mused.“Still kill you.” The
cyclops spoke. Its voice wasno longer an air-rattlingbellow. It was a rasp and,witheachword,bloodspilledover its mangled lips.Through the metallic ribs,Kane and Grant could seelacerated lungs like hugebellows, struggling to take inandexpelair.Kane looked for the heart
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andfoundit.HedrewhisSinEater and took aim. Charunlookedscarcelyable towalk,and the cyclops took amenacingsteptowardthem.“No, you won’t,” Kane
returned to the giant. Heopenedfirewithhissidearm,firing on full-auto. A coupleof rounds struck the brassyalloyribcage,bouncingawayuselessly, but others slippedbetween the gaps in the
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robotic ribs, striking toughheart muscle. Those blowscausedthecyclopstostagger,butittookanotherponderousstep toward the trio ofwarriors.Grant looked at Charun,
sagging against the hammer,and Kane’s own sappedstrength.TheSinEaterscouldcause the cyclops pain, evenstagger itwithdirectshots tothe heart, but therewas only
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one thing that could put thegiant down for the count.Without a thought, hesnatched the hammer fromCharunandcharged.The alien artifact hummed
throughhisbones,anadrenalhigh that called back to hismusings on Kane’s flyingskills before.Grant’s alreadyformidable musculatureswelled and throbbed withunearthlystrength,powerthat
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wasonlygoingtocosthiminthelongrun.Butfornow,thebig,formerMagistratefeltthemightofagodswellinginhismightythews.He eyed the beating heart,
the lacerated lungs, cradledinside the secondaryorichalcum rib cage. Thehammer seemed to sense itswielder’s intent and rose,swinging directly toward thealien alloy breastbone.
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Havinggottenused toastateof Zen in his practice ofsamurai archery under hisbelovedShizuka,Grantdidn’tresist;heflowedwiththepathof the weapon, the hammeractingasanextensionofhimasmuch as hewas a part ofthe hammer. The surgingforce was accompanied by abrilliant light, a charge ofenergy that bled off instreamers of plasma as the
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hammer head accelerated,lashing at the rib cageof thecyclops.Grant could sense that the
hammer had become blazinghot, the air slicing, sizzlingwith its passage. And then,contact.Theworldturnedabrilliant
white,eventhepolarizedfacescreen of his shadow suithood unable to filter out theblazing glory of the hammer
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atthepeakofitspower.Tearsflowed, trying to protect hiseyes from a blaze that itwasn’t truly feeling throughthe environmentallycontainedsuit.The air itself seemed to
explode in a deafening wavethe hood couldn’t dampeneven with its auditoryelectronics. Grant almostwould have wished thatsomeone had struck his ears
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with hammers than listen tothatsound.Blind and deaf, Grant
staggered backward. Therewas no telling where thecyclops was because Grantwas in a world of ringingeardrums and a burningafterglow hanging in hisclenched-shut eyes. Rightnow he was helpless andanything could come uponhim; he wouldn’t even be
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able to tell if a Manta waslandingrightnexttohim.Insensate,Grantwhispered
words, half in prayer, half inself-reproach, begginghimself to recover from thehammer’slanding.Strong hands gripped his
shoulders immediately,fingers grasping tightly, butnot to hurt. They were alsohuman-size, more or less, sothey didn’t belong to the
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cyclops.“Grant, you got him.” He
could only “hear” it over theCommtact, the vibrations inhis jawbonegoingdirectly tohiseardrum.“Can’t see,” Grant
muttered.“Can’thear.”“It’s all right, man,” Kane
said. His voice was comingthroughmoreclearly.“Impressive.” He heard
Charun. “None but I have
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usedthehammerlikeso.”Grant still felt the
hammer’s handle in his gripand realized the artifact washelping his eyes and ears torecover from the traumathey’dbeensubjectedto.Within another few
momentshecouldseeclearlyagain and theworld sounded“right” again. He peeledhimselfoutoftheshadowsuithood and looked around. He
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handed off the hammer toCharun. Whatever the drainthedevicehad inflicteduponKane,ithadn’thadthateffectonhim.“Your arms and legs feel
likerubber?”Kaneasked.Grantshookhishead.“No.
Wereyoufightingit?”“It’s a hammer. You
manhandle those,” Kanereplied.“Not this one,” Grant told
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him. “Itwas alive. Itworkedwithme.”“Bothofyoucouldlift it,”
Charun stated. “That is whatimpressesme.Butyoutappeditstrueforce.”Grant nodded. “All that
Zen learning fromShizuka. Iallowed theweapon to guidemeinitsmostefficientpath.”“And that is what has
bonded this weapon to me,”Charun stated, hefting the
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warrior artifact. “Weunderstand each other, andnow you, Grant, have thesamementalbond.”“Crazy,”Kanemuttered.“But not outside of our
understanding of thetechnology of the gods,”Brigid interjected. “Such aswhen we saw how theoverlords commanded theirshipswithmentalpower.”“Thehammerlives,”Grant
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said. “Andyouhave toworkwith it. That way it won’tbeatyouupanddrainyou.”Charun smiled, clapping
Grant on the shoulder. “Wellmet.”Grant looked back at the
remnants of the cyclops, the“rib cage” of the roboticskeletonnowstickinguplikegnarled fingers, everythingwithin charred to a crispthanks to the plasma
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discharge. The abominationwas dead. What was more,thebeastwasnotthecreationof Vanth, at least not usingone of the captured Spartanwarriors in their GearSkeletons. There was anenemy out there, whether ornot itwas thegoddessof thehunt, or some other entity.And it had access to horrorsbeyondthescopeofanythingtheyhadencounteredsofar.
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Chapter17
Beneath the hill that VanthandCharuncalledtheirhome,Domi and the rest of CATBeta moved silently, edgingdown the corridor firstconstructedfromancient ironframework, then hewed intostone itself, digging through
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the Earth. According to thereadoutsonDomi’sfaceplate,they had descended twohundredfeetastheyfollowedthe corridor. This was offtheir current “altitude” andnotinrelationtothedepthofthehillovertheirheads.Their descent ended at the
wrought-iron gate, andDomiwas rightaftergiving themascan with the telescopicoptics on her shadow suit.
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There was no way thatanyone was going to slipthrough the bars, as thevertical crisscross left gapsaboutafootwide,evenmoreslender than Domi couldsquirm herself through.Edwards looked at the rockfloor beneath the gate andfrowned.“Somuchforthedirtfloor
theory,”hemuttered.Domi kept her ears open
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for the sound of anyone onthe other side of the heavygate.“Think of something,” she
toldhim.“Iwill,”Edwardsreturned.
He looked back at Sela andSmaragda.“Wewill.”Domi nodded, standing
watch.Within a few moments,
however, there was the roarof an explosion outside that
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rumbleddownthecorridortothe surface, as if a massivebombhadgoneoff.The fourinfiltrators froze at thecacophony.Almost immediately after
the throb of the distantthunderbolt, Domi picked upthe clank and thud of heavyroboticfeetcoming.“Hugthedepressionsinthe
wall and go full stealthmode,” Domi said. She
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quickly unpacked her bootsand tugged them on. It wasone thing to be barefoot outin the wild—the feral girlreliedasmuchonthepadsofher feetashereyesandnosetodetectpotentialtrapsortripwires. However, to beinvisible in the corridoragainst a furrow in the rock,she was going to need hercomplete suit. Luckily, theboots slipped on like socks,
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firmingupastheysealedwiththerestofhersuit.The boots would also
nullifyher infraredsignature.Domi’s feet, through athermal camera, would haveresembledasmallmammal’s,rather thanpointheroutasabarefoot woman in a body-conforming environmentalsuit. However, in the closequarters of thiswide and tallartificial cavern, a pair of
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naked feet would definitelyattract attention. With greatswiftness,shefoundafurrowalong the wall and pressedinto it. She tapped herforearm, bringing up thecontrol menu, and set it forblend-mode. Miniature opticsensors picked up hersurroundings and translatedtheterrainontotheskinofthesuit.Domi glanced around,
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reflexivelyholdingherbreathasthegaterose,clankingandrattling. A dozen of theOlympian soldiers camerunning through as soon asthe gate cleared six feet inheight,eachofthemcarryinga rifle. In their body armor,they had their own helmetscomplete with electronicgoggles and radiocommunications, but Domifrustratingly waited for them
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topass.Noneofthemseemedconcerned with scanning thewalls.The Spartans, however,
stood in front of the risinggate, floodlights blazing ontheir artificial heads. Domiwas surprised when shecounted all three of themissing Olympian wararmors,whichwas at once arelief and yet only confusedher even more. If the Gear
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Skeletons hadn’t been thebasis for the cyclops thatKaneandGrant encountered,thenwhatwas?She let those thoughts lay
idle as the trio of robotsrushedalonginpursuitoftheenthralled soldiers. As soonas the group was fifty feetaway, Domi relaxed andwaved to theothers,pointingtotheloweringgate.Everyone, even Smaragda,
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made it through the gatebefore it closed,butonce thewrought-iron barrier lockedinto place, the white-hairedsoldier looked through thebars.“There should be more of
them,” she whispered softly,her fingers wrapping aroundthe bar as she gazed on indeepconcern.Domi rested her hand on
Smaragda’s shoulder. “Some
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ofthemmighthavebeenheldback, or put on some otherduty.”“What about that
explosion?” Sela Sinclairasked.“Whatever it was, it gave
us an opening to get in here.Let’snotwasteitbystandingaround sowe’rediscovered,”Edwardswarned.Domi nodded, and the
group fell back into silence.
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She took the lead, followingthe route she’d heard thetroopsandtherobotstake.Sofar, except for an occasionaltorch here and there, theundergroundtunnelwasunlit.Theonlythingtheyhadgoingfor them were their night-visioncapability and infraredilluminators.Domi kept using her
illuminator intermittently, ifonly to prevent them from
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being seen by others furtherdownthesetunnelswiththeirown night-vision optics. Shekept themmoving at a briskwalking pace, but her sensesand instincts were on fullalert. So far, no trip lines orelectric eyes were inevidence, and there were noopponents lurking in theshadows.Sofar,everyonehadsilent
weapons out. Domi’s knife,
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its blade coated in phosphateblack paint, wouldn’tglimmer with a reflection.Edwards also had his knife,similarly dark coated, aswasthecustomofMagistrates,thefoot-long deadly edge readyto sever an arm if necessary.Smaragda’s falcata, like thatof all Olympian combatblades,was dull in its finish,a dark gray steel. EvenSinclair’s collapsible baton
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was coated in a nonsliprubberized coating, the thinlayer providing a tacky feelthat wouldn’t skid, but didvery little to cushion theanodized steel beneath themillimeter thickness. In thedark,thefourofthemhadthemeans of delivering quick,silentdeath.Domi didn’t want it to
come to that if theyencounteredanyofthemind-
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controlled slaves of Vanth,but in a choice between herteammates and a potentialthreat,theferalgirlwoulddowhat she had to, and mournandregretitlater.The four of them
eventuallybegantoencountermore andmore lit torches inthecorridor,andslowedtheirpace. It was still quiet, butthere was no telling if therewas someone around a bend
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or in a side room standingguard.Withtheirwillsstolen,thesentrieswouldprovetobesilentandliterallyunblinking.Domi noticed there weredoors to different chambersleading off of the corridor.The depth they reached nowwas over three hundred feet,and the hill itself extendedanother four hundred above“ground level.” The air feltthicker and heavier down
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here,despitethelackoflight.Passing by each doorway
was an exercise in cautionand risk. So far, many ofthese rooms were empty ofpeople, but there weresupplies stored down here.This, however, was nothinglike any redoubt Domi hadever encountered. The hillabove seemed to be somemanner of pyramid, buriedunder years of sediment and
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soil, perhaps evendeliberately.For all the exploration, all
the hidden temples andunderground vaults, evendistantworlds thatDomiandher friends had visited, shewasn’tsurprisedsomeonehadconstructed, then buried apyramidinItaly.Sherecalledthegiantstructure—Xian—inChina,andhowthathadbeendugoutfromhiding.Shealso
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recalled that somewhere inEastern Europe was analleged compound of buriedpyramids,at least that’swhatBrigidBaptistehadsaid.This was another
undiscoveredmystery,passedover and unknown from thedays when humankind wasallegedly at the top of itstechnological and scientificskills. And what horrors laybeneathweregrislyindeed,if
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Vanth was the mastermindand soul stealer that theCerberusteamssuspected.Domi pointed toward one
of the rooms and thenmotioned for the others toenter there. The plan wassimple. They would post upin an out-of-the-way positionand allow Domi to sneakahead.Thesmallwomanwasmuch more likely to loseherselfinthemazeoftunnels
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shouldanyonebelookingforher, and yet her trackingskillswouldallowhertotraceback to where she’d left therest of CAT Beta. As thereweren’tmanythingsstoredinthe room she’d sent theminto, there was little chancethey’dbestumbledupon.Granted, with Edwards in
there, even being a “normal-size” room, it was crowded.The door closed easily and
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noiselessly. They’d checkedto make sure there were nowiresthatcouldbeconnectedto a security system, soopening and closing itwouldn’tgivethemaway.Edwardsleanedincloseto
Domi. “Thirtyminutes.Thenwecomelookingforyou.”Dominodded.“Orifwehearsomething,”
Sinclairadded.“Youwon’t,”Domisaid.
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The door closed and thesilent,feralgirlstalkedaway,keeping to the shadows asoften as she could, nomatterhow empty the corridorswere.Eventually she made her
waytoalargerchamber.Shepausedbeforegoingin,butithad some form ofbioluminescent lighting andshe could see over a shortbalcony that therewere huge
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rows of cages packed withhumans and animals. Domiscanned first for sentries orother means of alarms, butnone were positioned on thetier of walkway circling thecavernous room. Still, shecrawled to the edge of thebalcony, peering over anddown.She could see that there
were dozens of cells, andstartedtocountthem,firstby
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rows, then by columns,“horizontal and vertical” asshe’d been taught by Lakeshwhen it came to figuringthings such as area, butquickly, she realized therecould have been millionsdownthere.Sheunsealedherfaceplate and took a breath,and smelled the stink of anentire city full of people andanimals. She noticed therewere people moving in the
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spacesbetween thecellsand,resealing the faceplate, shesaw that they were wheelingaroundcartsofsludge,takingthemofftowardasidetunnel.Of course being mind-
controlledmeantthatyoustillrequired normal bodilyfunctions. Those who wereactuallymoving aroundweregoing about the task ofkeeping bodily wastes frommaking the air all but
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unbreathable. Domi scannedfor other entrances and sawthat there were differentformsofcartsbeingwheeledin from just beneath her.These were loaded with riceandbeans.Subsistencefoods.Domi smirked. “Explains
thesmell.”Forwhateverpurposethese
peoplewere being kept, theywere being kept alive and in
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good health. She didn’t seeany signs of abuse or morethan token captivity. Thosewiththefoodopenedthecellswithout needing to unlockthem, and the thralls movedsilently, orderly, receivingtheir platefuls of food andcupsofwater.Somuch forkeeping them
all as slaves and prisoners,Domi mused. Vanth wasactually providing for their
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well-being, so they wouldn’tstarve or dehydrate. Thenagain,keepingthemaliveandhealthy might have been theonly means of keeping herpower sources. There was amix of humans and animalsdown there that, together,could provide enoughmentalenergy todoalmostanythingthedemigoddesswanted.Domi looked around and
noticed a stairwell. She
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debated going down into thepit of prisoners, but alsonoticed that there was noroom for one of the GearSkeletons to climb the stairs.There must have been someotherplaceof storage for thewarmachines.The other reason she
declined to go down therewas that there was a goodchance someone would beawake and alert enough to
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transmit her presence toVanth.Bettertoobservefromafar than toget in close.Shetook several digitalphotographs using theshadow suit hood, storingthem for when they wereonce again out in the open.She slinked back along thecorridor that lead here andheard the clanking of a gateinthedistance.Shefrozeinaniche in thewall,waiting for
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thearrivaloftheSpartansandthe NewOlympians that hadappeared before, and hadgrantedCATBeta themeanstoenterthiscomplex.The movements of the
mechanical giants seemedmuch slower now, andaccordingly,thehumansfromGreece kept to the moreleisurelypaceoftheirrobots.Peering through the dark,
she made out the figures as
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they carried somethingbetween them. It wasEdwards’s Manta. Theyhauled it along as if it werejustalargechairbetweentwomovers. The mind-controlledsoldiers stayed around them,guarding,butalsousing theirflashlightstoguidethegiantsand their burden. The groupmadeittoanintersectionthenturnedoff.Domi waited a few
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moments, then jogged offafter them, keeping herprofilelow,herfootstepssoft,though the heavy stomps ofOlympian footwear androbotic claw treads mademore than sufficient ambientnoise to conceal a dancingdinosaur.Domi stayed with her
stealthtraining,nevermakingamoveoranoise thatwouldbetray her position, never
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committing to a movementthatwouldleaveherstuckoutin the open to an observer.Sheshadowedthegroup,whodidn’t seem to care if theywere followed or not. Thatdidn’t mean she wasn’tremaining on her toes,though.Onemistakeand thiswhole mountain could comecrashingdownonherandheralliesinCATBeta.She continued counting
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down the time to Edwards’sdeadline in her mind; she’donlybeenexploringforaboutsix minutes. So far she’dmanaged to pick up a lot ofinformation about the truescope and nature of Vanth.Continuingalong,shepausedas the Spartans took theManta into an undergroundhangar, settling it downgently on its landing gear.With a quick scan of the
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hangar, Domi noticed thatthere was a third Spartan,matching the insignias of thesuits taken by Vanth’s song.Itwasstandinginastallnextto the other two. TheseparticularGearSkeletonshadsimilar but crudely paintedinsignias and decals that, bycomparison,showedthemforthefraudstheywere.Domi also noticed one
other thing. The “pilots”
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inside those armored giantswere far from human. Itlooked as if someone hadturned a person into doughandhurledthemintoapilot’sseatratherthananamputeeoradwarvenpilot.Shewrinkledhernoseindisgustasthetwosuits strode over and parkedthemselves. Soldiersimmediately began bringingfood to the meltedmonstrosities inside the
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chestsoftherobots,unseemlyheads turning and stretchingonneckstogumatspoonfulsofriceandbeans.Theinsidesoftheirmouths
were without teeth and theirtongues were bulbous,swollen and pink, flatteningout to let the spoonfuls landonthem,beforeslurpingbackbetween lips. It remindedDomi of a desert tortoisegnawing at a pulpy cactus,
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except the turtle was cute tothe feral girl. This inspiredherateverysecondtochopitinto pieces with an ax thenburntheremains.Domi closed her eyes and
took a cleansing breath,steelinghernervesagainstthedisgusting sight. Her distasteat what was on display didnot prevent her fromsnapping pictures on herhood’s optics. The rest of
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Cerberuswasgoingtogetaneyeful, no holds barred. Thethings down here wereatrocities, a familiar-seemingabomination, but these livingspitballs, all tentacles andpseudopods, were somethingnew that Brigid Baptistewould have to know about.The truth of the “servile”Spartans was a lie laid bareby the existence of thesesluglikehorrors.
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The soldiers themselvestook off their helmets andthey, too, seemed to be farfromthemindlessdronesthatthe Cerberus explorers hadencountered so far. Theirfaces were coated in someform of dust or paint thatmade them seem pallid andlifeless. They were also nothuman, not if their glassy,milky eyes had anything tosay about it. These things
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were naturally without anydetail or structure to theireyes save for the pinpointpupilatthecenter.She kept “snapping”
photos of these creatures.Theywere hairless, stretchedand distorted in theirappearance, the Olympianarmor the only thing thatmadethemappearnormal.Asthey doffed their uniforms,Domi could see that their
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color was a natural grayish,and was immediatelyreminded of Quavell and theother hybrids. These weren’tquitethesame,though,asthesimilarities were vagueenough to delay herobservationofthisfact.Theymight have been a part ofVanthandCharun’struerace,as the Quad V hybrids hadbeen designed from theground up to be one of the
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servantracesofthebarons.Indeed, the barons
themselves were hybrids,with ancient Annunaki DNAplanted into the human race.When Tiamat returned andunleashed her signal toevolve, the barons literallyshed their old skins, growingfrom five-foot spindlycreatures to seven-foot,muscular and beautifulgodlings. The Quad Vs had
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been removed from theequation, the hundreds orthousands of these creaturesgrowing to six feet inheight,their wills andminds sappedtobecometheNephilim.Dominarrowedhereyes.The Nephilim were Quad
V hybrids whose minds andindividuality were stolen orsublimatedand thenmutated.Breshadalsocreatedhisownwarrior drones—the Fomori.
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Allofthissoundedahellofalot like the activity Vanthinitiatedwith theItaliansandthe missing Olympianexpedition; all those humansleft milling around in theircells.Shetriedlisteninginonthe
conversations of the unusualaliens, but they didn’t speak.This added to their aliennature, if only for theknowledge that Vanth was
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suspected of possessingtelepathicabilities,aswellasother entities that they’dencountered.AllofthismadeDomikeepherselfhiddenandcamouflagedwith evenmoreparanoidurgency.Brigidhadengaged CAT Beta inposthypnotic suggestions thatgave their surface thoughtsgood cover, should they bediscovered. They were alsoutilizing their Commtacts to
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produce a form of whitenoise, rendering theminvisibleonradiofrequenciesthe Cerberus scientistsassumed telepathy operatedon.Itwasallexperimental,and
for all Domi knew, thecreaturesinfrontofherweresimply humoring her,ignoringthenosylittleapeasshe crawled around theirbasement.
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If that was the case, thenKane and the others were ingreatdangerabove.Domi frowned beneath the
faceplateofherarmor.ThesethingsfromStyx—“Stygians”asBrigidlabeledthem—werebeyondthekindofthreattheyhad been anticipating. Alltheir less-lethal combat gearwas intended to hold offinnocentbutmindlessthrongsofhumans sentagainst them.
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TherewerehumansandbirdsusedastheeyesofVanth,butitappearedthatwhenitcameto military action, theseprotean meat puppets weretheonestodothatwork.Movement sounded in the
corridorleadingfromthegateandDomi stilled and calmedherself, emptying her mind.There was one last Stygian,wearing the Olympian fieldarmor, walking back. It
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carriedabloodylumpoffleshin both hands. The lumplooked like the squirmy,sluglike head of the thingsbonded with the GearSkeletons.Aseveredhead.The soldier came closer
and Domi continued to takepictures. The waxy eyesblinked,rippling,oozingfleshacting as lids, demonstratingthat theseveredpartwasstillalive. Domi also got to see
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thattheneckstumphadfusedwith the Stygian holding it,the fleshy protuberanceentering the opened belly ofthe armor and connecting tothethingbeneath.The soldier and its grisly
charge passed her by, notnoticing her, and continuedinto the robot hangar. Domiwatched as the neck cameunstuck from its bearer, andshefoughttheurgetoshiver,
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her skin spawning goosebumps as the disembodiedhead was placed onto theflesh of one of the other“pilots.”The dully gumming
creaturebarelyacknowledgedthe new mind merging withits body, until the new headopeneditswoundofamouth,moaning for spoonfuls offood.Then, theoriginalheadbegan licking the gore and
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blood off its new conjoinedbrother.Domi steeled herself,
ignoring the churning in herbelly.Shedidn’tenvy thosewho
would see these pictures orthisvidwhenshesentitbacktoCerberus.
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Chapter18
IttookahalfanhourforCATBetatocomecloseenoughtothe surface to transmit theirfindings home. Lakesh hadbeen on the edge of his seatawaitingthenews.“Any problems?” Lakesh
asked.
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“Nope. As long as therewas an open conduit to thesurface, even with an irongate in the way, the signalwas clear,” Bry said. “Ofcourse,theyhadtotransmititto one of the satellites ontheir horizon, from theirperspective.”“I’mgladyouwereableto
maneuver one to be in linewith the entrance to theunderground pyramid.”
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Lakesh sighed. “Otherwise,who knows how long wewould have to wait for themtogetoutof…whatisthat?”Bry glanced at the screen
Lakesh was watching.Brewster Philboyd was onhand and turned away,spewing his coffee into agarbage can. Philboyd begandry heaving, his tormentamplifiedbytheechoesinthesmallmetalbucket.
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“That’s—” Philboydgagged “—nothing thatshouldbe.”Lakesh observed Domi’s
photographs of the contentsof the Gear Skeletons insideVanth’shangar.He’dalreadymade notice of the threecaptured war suits, but themolten, distorted blobs offlesh and muscle sittingwithin the cockpits of theextant armors were at once
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disturbing and enthralling.Thoughhewasn’tabiologist,he could see where theamorphous nature of thepilots was a boon to theirability to interface with thecontrolsystems,especiallyashe couldn’t see where acommand node could beinsertedontotheirforms.Healsowasacutelyaware
of how similar a set of fleshsculpting had returned him
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from a 250-year-oldcryogenically preserved manphysicallyinhiseighties toaman inhis late forties.Flesh,bone and even his bionicparts had been broken downand rebuilt to the molecularscale byEnlil in his guise asSamtheImperator.That bit of transformation
ofoldanddyingcellsto“newones” was one of the fewreasonswhyLakeshcouldgo
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outonmissions,occasionally,and actually be a suitablelover to Domi. He realizedthat, quite easily, Sam couldhave made him into anymanner of abomination. Helooked through the pictures,elicitinggrunts fromBryandPhilboyd.The armored soldiers,
however, were an evengreater revelation. Lakeshhadbeen inon theProjectof
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Unification; one of the greatminds behind the barons andtheirmeansofcrossingmilesandkeepingthegreatvillesintouch with each other viamat-trans and the remarkabletechnologiesstoredwithintheredoubts. He realized thathumanity’s fate had beenhijacked by tyrannical forcesfromthetimethathumankindwas first crawling on allfours.
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The Stygians were similarto the hybrids, but therewassufficient difference thatLakeshwaswonderingiftheywere some manner ofprototypecreatures,perhapsahalfway breed between theQuad V and Balam, the lastArchon who had overseenand limited the growth ofhumanity’s intellect andindependence. Balam hadwavered from his original
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mission as minion of theAnnunaki and their baronialincarnations.There was nothing to say
that these creatures were notsome intermediate form ofservitor race. Over the pastyear Lakesh and the rest ofCerberus had been gainingnew insights into the worldwhen Annunaki overlordswere the unsubtle rulers ofEarth, before their
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hibernation,theirdescentintothe background due to theiraccords with the Tuatha deDanaan.The Igigi were what the
Nephilim had once been,before Enlil’s terrible act,lobotomizing the race into aseemingly endless army ofwarrior drones. Perhaps itwasn’t a lobotomizing of anentire species, but a cloningand genetic manipulation.
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The Nephilim were not ondisplay here, though. It wastheStygians,andLakeshsawone of them enter, wieldingthe apparently severed headofoneofitsallies.Judgingbythe similarity of theappearance of the “skeletonpilots”andthefleshylinkagewith the humanoid Stygian,this must have been anotherpilot.Lakesh had received the
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report of the battle with thecyclopsfromKaneandGrant.This had been the mind
operating the giant warrior,thethingthatCATAlphahadfought, shoulder to shoulderwith Charun, against. Grantmayhaveshowedthathewasable to operate the deadlyhammer of the Etruscangodling,but a small sliverofthe creature survived,possibly for the sake that
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Kane and Grant had beenspentafter theirwarwith thegigantic abomination andthreeofitssmallercomrades.Tired, unwilling to stickaround the abattoir, the twomen and Charun returned tothe buried pyramid, lettingthe “mindless thralls” do thecleanup work and toconveniently bring thesurvivingseedof thecyclopshome.
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Lakesh would have to askDeForeabout this.Whileshewas nominally the chiefmedic at Cerberus, herstrengthswere in biology, soshe would understand thesethings much better. If thatthing could withstand aplasma discharge of the kindthat Grant and Kanedescribed, they’d need toknow a lotmore about theseentities.
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For now, Lakeshforestalled the ill feelings inhisgutandbegancomposinga quick, cryptic note forBrigid Baptiste to receiveduring their next bit ofcontact.Lakesh simply hoped he’d
still be able to warn CATAlpha of the true extent oftheirtrap.
***
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SMARAGDAWASGLADwhenDomi returned to theirhideout in the storage cell.She’d been trying to processthe memories of the passageof her fellow soldiers. Herallegedfellowsoldiers.Finally, when Domi
returned and explained whatshe’d seen, the Olympiansoldier let out a breath ofrelief.“I thought my mind was
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playing tricks on me,” shetold CAT Beta. “None ofthem looked right as theypassedby.”She looked over the
pictures, shared via suit-to-suit electrical conductivityrather than by transmission,on her suit’s forearm sleeve,configured as a monitor.“Then it’s likely that mypeoplearedowninthepit?”“I know you’d love to go
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downthere,”Domisaid.“OnlyifCharunandVanth
are kept busy,” Smaragdastated.“Face it,weheard thesoundofthathammerstrikingoutside. We’re all loaded upwith some nice firearms, butthatissometerrifyingshit.”“Not looking forward to
fighting him, either,” Domiadmitted.“That much is obvious,”
Edwards murmured. “All
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right,soMyrtoisnotgoingtoget stupid and jump the gunto rescue her partners.Great.We’re all being smart aboutthis.”“Smart is a relative thing.
After all,we’re stuck inherewith aliens, including alien-piloted robots, and locked inby a several-ton, wrought-irongate,”Sinclairsaid.“Always looking on the
brightside,”Domianswered.
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“Well, you came backfairlyquickly,”Edwardssaid.“How much more did youexplore?”“Wecouldlookforanother
exit to the surface,” Selaagreed.“But thechancesare,thewayupandoutwouldberight through the hangarwherethealiensare.”“And going through them
would raise enough of aracket to bring Vanth and
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Charun running. Or even ifwe snuck past them…”Edwardsnoted.“Wewait for them,”Domi
said. “Commtacts on passivepickup. Hear when they’retalking.”“You think they’ll bring
them down here to see theprisoners?”Smaragdaasked.“Beendealingwithenough
of these types,” Domianswered.“Lovetoshowoff.
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Show how smart they are.TheirI-love-mewall.”“Even if that means it’ll
turn Kane and the othersagainst them?” Smaragdacontinued.Dominodded.“Enlilnever
minded.Walkedusallaroundhis ship.Thought hewas theshit.”Smaragda nodded. “Hera
was the samewaywith you,too.TheoldHera,thatis.She
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let you in, even though youmight have figured out herscam.”“Shewasbalancing threats
atthetime.TheHydraewerenow under the control ofMarduk,” Sinclair added.“Andwewere the only oneswhocouldhelpherstophim.Well, Kane, Grant andBrigid.”“You helped, too,” Domi
returned.
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Sinclair shook her head.“We all know who the starsofthisshoware.”“This world…more
complex every passing day,”Domisaid.“Weget involvedasmuchastheydo.Wecarryourweight.”“But every day, we get a
little closer to beingdisposable,” Sinclairmurmured.“No,” Domi countered.
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“We’re all needed to keepbuilding.Protectingfuture.”“Yeah, Sela,” Edwards
added. “What’d that actorsay? No small roles, onlysmallactors?”“Speakforyourself,Tiny,”
Sinclaircountered.“Allright.JustthewaythatLakeshtalksabout their damn confluenceofluck…”“Hey, we’re still here,”
Edwards said. “It’s not like
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we’re red shirts. Just keepgoing,onestepafteranother.And don’t be stupid. Weweren’t picked because wemakemistakes.”“Just remember, we’re
human,notlegends,”Sinclairsaid.“So’re Kane and others,”
Domi added. “Smart enoughto avoid mistakes. Toughenough to survive when wemake ’em. Quick enough to
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learn from ’em, too. Whythey picked you two. More’n’one-dimensional.”“More than just hammers
looking for nails,” Sinclairagreed. “Okay. Even so,we’re going to be waitingawhile.”“But now we know,”
Smaragda said. “We knowthey’re not using our peopleas soldiers, and that one ofour Spartan pilots didn’t die
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to give Kane and Grant agoodshowasacyclops.”“Things are looking rosy
all over, but I wouldn’t gettoo comfortable,” Sinclairadded.Domi narrowed her ruby-
red eyes. “Why you thinksittingbackatdoor?”“All right. Just remember,
someone has to take the roleof the grumpy bastard,”Sinclair told her. “I’m just
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looking on the bad side ofthings…”“Expect worst. Enjoy
disappointment,” Domiconcluded.“You’re getting too smart
for your own good, girl,”Sinclairchuckled.Edwards smirked. “Let’s
hope we stay too smart forthegoodofVanth.”Smaragda uncapped her
canteen and took a sip. “I’ll
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drinktothat.”Thefourpeoplepassedthe
watercanaround,bidingtheirtime, knowing that sooner orlaterthewarriorsofCerberusweregoing tohave to riseasone to do battle togetheragainst theEtruscangodlingsand their Stygian minions.Thanks to Domi, they knewthe odds, not limited tomerely a dozen soldiers andthreebrutalrobots,butalsoa
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million humans and animalskept in thedeepest pit of thepyramid.
***
ITWAS A victory feast, withhuman thralls—womenmostly—bringingfoodbeforethe battered but victoriousCharun and his honoredguests. Brigid was includedwiththem,forheclaimedthat
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itwasunderherobservationsandoverwatch thatKaneandGrant had been able to helpthe demigod prevail againstthe cyclops and his twistedbrethren.Brigid felt as if she were
beingparanoidasshesniffedand tentatively tasted eachglass of wine and morsel offood. Indeed, they weredealing with aliens whosemental and physical
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capabilities were such thatdrugsorpoisonwouldbethefurthest thing from theirminds. Vanth herselfdemonstratedasongdesignedto infiltrate a human brainand leave the person it wasattached to a drone withoutfree will. Herbs or toxinswere beneath suchcapabilities, and yet shecouldn’t help but feel thenecessitytobecareful.
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Vanth smiledatheracrossthe great feast table in thecavernous hall in whichCharunconductedhisrevelry.Hergoldeneyeswereatoncewarm and alienating, andBrigid partitioned her mind,burying her concerns andworries deepwithin, creatingbarriersofuselessandnearlyendlesstrivia.“You are used to dining
with those who may be
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devils,MissBaptiste,”Vanthobserved, her voice smoothand sensuous, like silkreimaginedassonicwaves.Brigid wondered why she
would even need her songwith seductive tones thatthreatened even to enthrall astraightwomanasherself.“Yes,” she answered,
sipping her wine. It wasclassic Italian wine, fortifiedconcentrate, diluted with
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clean spring water. To drinkthe original fruit of this vinebefore its diminishmentwouldbetoriskone’shealth.She recalled that a goblet offortified wine was howCaligula assassinated hisbrother, the sheer weight ofits alcoholic contentpoisoningtheyoungman,yetlooking to the rest ofRomansociety as “an honestmistake.”
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“You say you have dealtwith the likes of Enlil…soyouknowofourstruggles.”“My ordeals have been
with Marduk and hisfollowers, co-opting ourgodhood. Before we weredriventoourslumber,CharunandIsawhimmasqueradeasZeus.Charun and Iwere notguards, but those who caredforthesoulsandspiritsofourpeople,”Vanth stated. “Back
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then, the power of believerswassomethingworthwarringfor. We gained our role aspsychopomps in that wemanaged to rescue ourworshipers from theoverlord’sdominion.”“Sometimes you brought
them back whole and othertimesyouwereabletoreleasetheir essences,” Brigidsurmised.Vanth nodded. “I presume
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you are aware of quantumtheory.”“Many aspects, though the
math can be overwhelming,”Brigidresponded.“Then you understand the
concept that the reality thatyou and I currently sit in issomething that is merely ashadow. A tesseract of anoriginal,”Vanthsaid.Brigid nodded. “I’ve
alwaysbeenmoreofafanof
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thebeer-headdescriptor.Thatweliveinthequantumfoam,while the totalityof reality isactually the fluid we arefloatingon.”Vanth smiled. “Right.And
each person, their existence,their essence, while it mightlook like something differentand unique, is all composedof the exact same cosmicenergy. When an organicdies, the vitality that made
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them alive does not dissipatedue to the laws ofconservation of matter andenergy.”“It returns from the
quantum foam to the cosmicfluid,”Brigidconcluded.Vanth took a deep breath,
closing her eyes in almostorgasmicrelief.Brigidbitherlower lip, steeling herselfagainst themagnificence andsheer magnetism of the
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woman in front of her. “Youdonotrealizehowwonderfulit is to talk to someone whocan entertain these thoughts,letaloneunderstandthem.”Brigid glanced over at
Charun,whowaslaughingasGrant and Kane joked withhim. The eight-foot titanpickeduphistankardofmeadandtookadeepdraught.“So,youaremoreintouch
with this quantum whole,”
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Brigidstated.“Wecantracetheenergies,
the threads. Indeed, inreturning to the foam-and-bubbles theory, our universeisfromthenextbubbleover,”Vanth said. “We’ve calledour home Styx…buthumanityhasgoneandmadethat out to be a river to theafterlife.”“Which, in the terms of
quantum theory, a wormhole
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between our universeswouldbe akin to such a river,”Brigid said. “Not the riverStyx,buttherivertoStyx.”“Which in your English
would still be named theRiverStyx,”Vanth said. “Togive ourselves a commonterminology. We can agreeuponthis,correct?”Brigid nodded. She sipped
some more. The food wasdelicious, but she couldn’t
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helpbutwonderatwheretherest of the population of thiscountryside had gone. Therewere far fewer humansworking in the pyramid thanshe would have expectedgiven the sparseness of theEtruscanlands.According to the New
Olympians, others had sentexpeditions into this land,seeking out those who hadformerly been traders and
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customers.Thoseexpeditionsfaded intonothingness,neverreturning,andthiswasontheheels of the loss of threecaravans traveling through.Even via satellite, the Italianpeninsula was notablydepopulated. One year ago,according to infrared scans,there were several hundredthousand humans, as well asattendant livestock, living inthesurroundingterrain.
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Now, except for thesmaller animals, birds and acouple of small towns, therewere barely two percent ofthelifeformsvisible.While it was possible that
Vanthmayhaveexterminatedthem all, this pyramidwas asignificant source of heat.Measurements showed thatsomewhere in its halls andchambers, the heat signatureof a million mammals was
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gathered.“Right now, I have
sequenced the people andlivestock together in atelepathic algorithm,” Vanthexplained. “An organicsearch engine that issearching for the frequencythrough which we can openup our River Styx and allowforeasypassagebetween thetwo.”“Evencattleandsheepcan
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beusedforfiguringthisout?”Brigidasked.“Every brain cell can be
used as a binary computer,eventhoseoflowermammalsand avians,” Vanth stated.“The capacity of math assimple as one and none isthereforeveninsects.”Brigidraisedaneyebrow.“No,Ihaven’thijackedthe
bugs,” Vanth told her. “Firstoff…I don’t care much for
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thelittlecreepycrawlies.Andsecond, a million vertebratesisaperfectcontiguoussystemforascertainingtheportalandopeningit.”“You’ll be able to open it
without an Annunakithresholdorourinterphaser?”Brigidasked.Vanth nodded. “My torch
is our technology for thatpurpose. We just need thecombination to the lock, to
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useanotheranalogy.”Brigid took a deep breath.
“Ihatetoseemdistrusting…”“You have a proper
purpose to be so,” Vanthcountered. “From theinformation I’ve gleanedaboutyourhistorywithotherpan- and extraterrestrialentities, you cannot havegotten a good impression ofour kind. I would love toinform you that not all of us
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arethesame.”“No. We’ve encountered
benevolence,aswell,”Brigidreturned.“Enkiisthegreatestof theseexamples, aswellasBalamandQuavell.”“But you see me,
borrowing the minds ofothers of your species,without asking,” Vanthadmitted.Brigid nodded. “That is a
frightening and imposing
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concept. To be hijacked tobecome part of a massivecalculator.”“Theyareallsafeandwell
beneath the pyramid. Theyare shielded from even themightiest of mankind’snuclear weaponry, cradledunder one thousand feet ofthis arcology,” Vanth toldher. “You do sense thesimilarity between this andthemegalithic ville you used
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to reside in—Cobaltville,correct?”Brigid nodded. “Safe.
What about their otherneeds?”“They are being kept fed,
bathed, and theiraccommodations are beinghygienically maintained byhumans we’ve programmedfor that task,” Vanth said.“Andoncewe are donewiththem, then we will free
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them.”“Unharmed,” Brigid
returned.Vanth nodded. “I swear
uponmyoath as defender ofthese lands. Ihaveprotected,not conquered. I have nottaken that for which I haverepaid. And the wonders Igive unto humanity inrepayment for opening thedoor back to our home shallbeendless.”
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Brigid looked towardCharun and her fellowadventurers. Her instinctsweretinglingandherbeliefinthebenevolenceofVanthwasshaky for now. Was thisdemigoddess seducing herwith soothing voice and liesby omission? Or was shesincere and genuinelypleadingherinnocence?“Endless wonders,” Brigid
repeated. “Let’s drink to
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that.”Vanth poured some more
wine,forthebothofthem.Toendless wonder…not endlesshorror.
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Chapter19
Kane could feel Charun’sdisappointment at beingdraggedawayfromthe table,from feasting and carousing,and forced to accompanyVanth and Brigid on theirtour through the mightypyramid.
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“This is not fair.We havewon a mighty victory,”Charunsaid.“This is how Brigid
celebrates,” Grant offered.“Knowledgeisjoytoher.”Charun wrinkled his nose,
sniffing in disdain. “Just aswell.There is little fun tobehad when carousing withinsensate thralls. In theircalculation mode, they agreetoanyandallsuggestions.”
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“Not much sport in thealready drugged,” Kaneagreed. “That immediatelyputsyouaheadofmostoftheenemieswe’vebattled.”Charun looked down at
Kane, then roared withlaughter,drawingstares fromBrigidandVanthupaheadofthem.“Use your inside laughter,
mylove,”Vanthchided.“This ismy inside laugh,”
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Charun countered. Kane sawthewinkinthebigman’seyeinhis response toher. Itwasa human enough action,disarminglyso.TheseentitieshadelementsincommonwithhimandBrigid,includingthefamiliar chiding and jokingtogether. If there had been athirdmember of their group,Kane would almost havethought these godlings hadbasedthemselvesoff…
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“So how much did youlearn about us from theOlympians?”Kaneasked.“Not as much as I would
haveliked,butenoughtoseethat your reputation ofcourage and proficiency aswarriorswasnot exaggeratedby their memories,” Charunstated.Kane nodded. “Especially
with Grant wielding yourhammer.”
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“That was a surprise,”Charun admitted. “But then,it has been a long time sinceyou battled alongside thesoldiersofNewOlympus.”“AllIdidwasnotresistthe
weapon,” Grant said. “Itknew where it wanted to goandIhelpedit.”“You’ve said that before,”
Charun pointed out. As theywerenow,VanthandCharunwere both wearing their
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loincloths and nothing more.Weapons, armor and wingpacks had been returned totheirproperstorage, fornonewoulddareassailthehomeoftheEtruscangods,orsoKaneimagined the thinking ofthese beings. He was busyprojecting thoughts andlikenessesontothem,butkepthis true doubts and fearssmothered deep down in hisgut. He wasn’t allowing his
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prejudices to rise to thesurface, though, ever sincehe’d started adventuringalongside Brigid Baptiste,both he and Grant hadleavenedtheiroldandcrankyways. There were still initialknee-jerk reactions, and tonsof suspicions,but theydidn’tletthemblindthemtotherealevidence of their eyes andears.Theyjudgednowondeeds,
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not words, but no one couldbe immune to negative firstimpressions, not when you’dspent a life in lawenforcementandbeentrainedto look for the worst, thesigns of danger among thoseyoumeet.No,Kanewas notthe same man he was sixyears ago, but some thingsneverchanged.Especially the tenet of “be
polite,becourteous,buthave
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aplan tokill everyone in theroom.”Just because you weren’t
judgingbooksbytheircoversdidn’tmeantheystillweren’tfull of lies and deceit, andoften enough, those coversdidmatch their contents.Butnow, Kane wanted to beabsolutely certain, not to letprejudices color anyevidence.He returned to examining
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thepair.Vanthdidn’tseemtocare that her feminine assetswere all but bared for all tosee, a string around her hipsholdingupthelengthoflinenthat hid her genitals in atoken nod to modesty inmixed human company. Herfull, luscious breasts werepert and,Kane had to admit,hypnotizing in their soft,roundedperfection.Henotedthat Grant tended to focus
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intently on her face orsomethingelseratherthangetdrawnintothosetits.Hercomfortatnearnudity
almost seemed like a dare toeither of themen. Her battlearmorwasnearlytransparent,or it was designed with thesame tapestry of her skin, sothat when she went intobattle, you saw her as if shewerenaked,butherfleshwasprotectedagainstallelements
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andharm.“Hell, if I had a body like
that, I’d charge into battlenaked, too,” Brigid hadadmitted when they’d firstarrived via Manta. Thatmemory brought a smile toKane’s lips as the image ofVanth was replaced withBrigidherself,lookingbaretoalltheworldyetstillwrappedin alien alloy cloth toughenough to turn small arms
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fire.Baptiste, forgive me for
that, he thought as theylooked through hallsdecorated with ancientartifacts. The pyramid wasclean,and itwasaplace thatarchaeologists would havekilled to enter had theyknown of its existence inanother age. Hell, there wasenough gold and silver tobring in pirates from across
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the globe seeking wealth.Gemstones and artwork fromthe time when the gods letman assume he was thepinnacleof lifeon theplanetwereondisplay,aswell.Thewealth of history here
isincredible,Kanemused.Insome rooms he saw theleather spines of booksstuffed onto shelves, as wellaswound scrolls and storagetubes for more of the same.
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Something Brigid hadmentionedniggledatthebackof his mind. “The library ofAlexandria.”Charunlookeddown.“Ah,
Alexandria. An almostimpressive collection, muchofitstolenfromourlands.”Kane tilted his head
questioningly.“We were here first,”
Charun explained. “Withoutus, there never would have
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been a Greece, or a Rome.Alexandria was put togetherforthem.”Kane understood the
emphasis in Charun’sstatementwasacursetowardtheAnnunaki.Methinks you protest too
much,Kane thought, tappingalinethatBrigidhadusedonmore than one occasion. Hewasstartingtowonderiftheyweren’t kith and kin to Enlil
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andhislot.Once more, he found
himself fighting againstancientprejudices, remindinghimself that therewere thoseofAnnunakibloodwhowerenotevil.Balamhadamixtureof genes including that race,and he’d warned and aidedCerberus against theoverlords. Fand’s father wasEnlilhimself,andyetshewasa trusted ally, calling upon
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Kane and the others instruggles against ancientevils. Then there was Enlil’sbrother, the benevolent Enki,andhisspawn,theNagahandthe Watatsumi who’dsplintered off from theirIndian brethren acrossmillennia and catastrophes.The mere presence of theDNAoftheoverlordswasnotacondemnation; itwasjustasign that they were simply
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different from human. TheNagah and Watatsumi haddemonstrated that they werejustashumanasanyoneKanehadmet.Maybe Charun’s disgust
with Enlil was such that herejected his Annunakiheritage, ormaybe it was alljustatrick.Andyet,KanehadhisSin
Eater on his forearm, hisfighting knife in its boot
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sheath and was still clad inhis protective shadow suit.ThesamewentforGrant,andBrigid had her weapon, aswell.If they truly were tyrants,
looking to usurp humanity,why would they have beenallowedtheirmindsyet?Whywould they be left armed?Charun had even allowedGrant to replace his spenthandgrenonhisbelt,theone
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weapon that could even theodds between a mere humanand the godly hammer ofCharun.There was no way that
Charun and Vanth wouldhave been dumb or trustingenough not to consider theCerberus explorers a threat.He wondered if his weaponwouldevenoperate.Butevenif there was some means ofmagnetically disabling the
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Sin Eater, that wouldn’trender his knife or Grant’sgrenuseless.Wouldit?Or maybe they just don’t
care if they get shot orstabbed. Maybe they feel sophysicallysuperiorthathand-to-handwithaknifewouldbesuicide for any human, andmere bullets only sting, notslay.You’re projecting again,
Kane.
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“Charun, you look a littlebored. Why not show uswherethefunstuffis?”Kaneasked.“The weapons or the
wenches?” the demigodasked.“Or the liquor?” Grant
added.Charun chuckled and then
gave Grant a tap on theshoulder. “Now I know whyyou and my hammer
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coalesced sowell.You thinkmuchlikeme.”Grant shrugged and
smirked. “The best things inlifearesimple.”“You are as wise as you
are brave,” Charunexclaimed.“Honey?”“Yes, we heard. Even
using his inside voice, Grantisnotsoquiet,either,”Vanthreplied.Theannoyanceinhervoice
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was not harsh, even gentle.As if she was having fun.Kane had been there manytimes before with Brigid intheir conversations andinteractions.And there was that
familiarity again, that mirrorimage between Charun andVanth and Kane and Brigid.Over the course of hisadventures, Kane had seenglimpsesthathis lifewasnot
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confined to the body hecurrentlyinhabited,butratherhewasa streamof energy, athread of life entwiningmultiple people, from farback into prehistory andstretchingtoadistantfuture.Kanewanted toaskBrigid
if a psychopomp could pickupandpatternsuch thingsassouls.Andtherewasstillthefact
thatVanth’ssonghadbeenin
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Brigid’shead.Wasitjusthersong or was it the demigodherself? Brigid had madevery certain to hypnotizeCAT Alpha and CAT Beta.Were their perceptionsinfluenced by whateverremained inside Brigid’sbrain?Kane had been stuck like
thisoncebefore,withNeekrahavingallegedlytornhimoutof his own mind and
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stranding him in a comatosestate. Time in the illusionpassed quickly, so that heperceived the turning ofcenturieseventhoughhewasonly out for the space of adayandsomechange.MaybeBrigid thought that she hadbeen shielding the membersof the teams against thepsychicinterferenceofVanthand Charun, but in truth,she’d laid them bare and
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vulnerable.Oralmostallofthemwere
renderedhelpless.Kane’s posthypnotic
suggestions were removed,hismindandwillpowerbeingtoo strong for suchmanipulation, rebellingat thecommandtoforgetanddispelhis curiosity and thoughts.Had his own subconsciousfound a way to buck thesystem, to dispel whatever
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influence Brigid had placedupon him? After all, theposthypnotic suggestionswereconceivedasameansofpreventing their minds frombetraying them by actuallyacknowledging theirsuspicionsandprejudices.The ways of the
subconsciousmindweresuchthat Kane could have knownexactly the kind of dangerBrigid had been putting him
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into with her hypnosis, andthencouldhavemadeenoughofafusstogethimtonegatethat conditioning. Of course,thisnowmeantthatKanewasalone, the rest of his alliesagainsthim.Or would that actually be
what Vanth and Charunwanted him to believe? Thewhole situation with theseentities and their telepathicpowers was one that could
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leave Kane doubtingeverything, even if he wasseeing something right infront of his eyes. TravelingdownonelineofpossibilitiesoranotherwassomethingthatcouldbringKane to theedgeofmadness.As he was trying to
determinewhichendwasup,heandGranthadentered thechamber where Charun saidthat the best of his “toys”
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werelocated.Kanewantedtocallitahangar,buttherewasno real exit to the outsideskies.Here,hesawtheMantathatEdwardshadlost,aswellas the three OlympianSpartan suits in stallsspecifically designed forthem.Therewereother stallsalong the wall of the samenature, including two withroboticshapeshiddenbeneathtarps.
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“You have your ownGearSkeletons?”Kaneasked.Charun nodded. “Yes.We
kept them around andactually repainted ours tomatch those of NewOlympus.”“To infiltrate?” Grant
questioned.“To keep our robots from
being chopped to pieces. Infact, thosewerethesuits thatwere transporting Edwards’s
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Manta to and from thehillside,” Charun said. “Thisis a courtesy as we did notwant to create wear and tearupon the Olympian amputeepilotsandtheirmecha.”Kane blinked in surprise.
“No wear and tear on thepilotsortherobots.”“Thecalculationprocess is
not one that endangers thoseinvolved,so longaswehavethe staff to keep them fed,
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wateredandcleaned,”Charunexplained.Grant strolled along,
looking over the Olympiansuits, then lifted the tarpcovering the two duplicatesthat had been utilized. Kanejogged up beside his friend,peeking behind the curtain.Charun strode over andpulleddownthetarp.“There are similarities in
thebasicconstruction,butwe
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hadtoimprovisesomepanelsonourstomatchthearmoredcockpits of your friends,”Charun said. The fronthatches to each of thesearmor units were open, andKane could see the emptycockpits.Henoticedthattheirtorsoswerelarger.“These weren’t built for
trans-adapts,” Kane said.“Nor whatever midgets thatpiloted the original skeletons
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oftheOlympians.”“No.Thesedonothavethe
cybernetic interface nodulethat can plug into a spine,either,” Charun told them.“Rather, take a look at theheadrestofthechair.”Kane squinted and noticed
a small crown with stones,possessing the smoothnessofriver stones and thetranslucence of gems orquartz crystal. These were a
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familiar sight, his havingnoted similar artifacts in theAnnunakiskimmers.“The gems form a matrix
around a sentient mind andrespond to its commands,”Charun explained. “Givenyour experience with ourcousins…”“TheAnnunaki.Youadmit
to being related to them?”Kaneasked.Charun nodded. “Though
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we are not from the sameworld as they. In fact, youcansaythattheAnnunakiareour twistedmirror images inthis dimension. Thus ourdistaste.”“So you truly are from
another universe,” Grantmused. “We’ve experiencedother casements, as well.Some of those realitiesechoed our own…somewerevastlydifferent.”
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“We haven’t accessedthose in a long time, thoughwe’re aware of otherdimensions and pocketuniverses,”Kaneadded.“OnethingIwanttoknowwasthatwe brought our interphaserbut you aren’t interested inusingit.”“If anything, your
technology is not as ours,”Charun told them. “Yourdevice can be used to help
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openanaperture,butwehavethe means of opening thatdimensionalfloodgatebacktoStyx.We just need the codeto open it. And theinterphaser won’t do that forus. But you should thankBrigid for me. It wasthoughtfulofyou.”“Thanks. I’ll tell her,”
Kane returned. “Though,wouldn’t Vanth be the onesaying that, as they’re both
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talking and touring side byside?”“Thetruthbetold,I’mnot
certain if Vanth’s recallextends to matters ofconversational courtesy,”Charunsaid.“Asyoucantell,mostmenendupgoingstupidaround her, and that tends tomake women hate her.Fortunatelyyou’reamongtherareof theapes thatdoesnotallow their hormones to
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distract them from theimportantthings.”“Trust me,” Grant
interjected. “Kane tends togetplentyofdistraction.”Kane rolled his eyes,
pretending to maintaininterest in the tour, thediscussionsgoingonbetweenGrantandCharun.All the while, he returned
to his mind, trying toinventory itself, looking for
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signs of interference, ofsabotage.He recalled Brigid
Baptiste’s co-option, herhijacking by Ullikummis tobecomehisgodlyprophet,hisright hand as the villainousBrigid Haight. Though shehad been under his control,there had still been a BrigidBaptisteinsideHaight’shead,locked into a mental versionof a safe room to keep her
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true identity while allowingthesonofEnlil tobelievehewas in command. When thetime was right, Brigidrestored herself to heroriginal personality,successfully throwing off thefetters of Ullikummis andfoiling his plans towrest theEarth fromhis fatherand thehumanshebattledwith.HadBrigid givenKane an
outside bit of suspicion, the
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doubtthatBrigidwasentirelyherself when she worked toinuretherestof theCerberusteams against Vanth’spsychicsong?A shadow flickered in the
corner of Kane’s eye and ittookeverythinginhiswillnotto suddenly react to the newpresence. There was aphysical manifestation at hisshoulder and he caught aglimpse of red-gold curls
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spilling across his peripheralvision.“The word to break the
conditioning of the others isanam-chara,” Brigid’s voicewhispered in his ear. “I waserroneous in the belief thatI’d dispelled the song ofdomination completely frommyconsciousness.”Kane nodded grimly to
himself. Since thismanifestation of Brigid was
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one solely perceptible to hisconsciousness, he didn’tspeak aloud.Was this why Istarted wondering if thosetwoandtheirrelationshipwasso close to ours? BecauseCharun calls Vanth his brideandyouandI…?“We are different.
Something closer than theyare,butIneededyoutothinkof that term, I planted thecrumb for you to break
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loose,”Brigidsaid.And just what am I
supposed to do now? Kanelooked around the arsenal. Itwas vaguely interesting, butthe truth of the matter was,they were in an enemyfortress. This far down intothe pyramid, his Commtactwouldn’t pick up a signal.And am I supposed to breakyououtofyourhypnosis?“I can handlemyself,” the
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Brigid message told him.“But I told Domi and theothers to hole up in a saferoom.You should be able topick them up as they havetheirCommtactsonpassive.”Kane looked sideways at
Charun and Grant. The twomenwerestillconversing.Hewasfreenow,andhisdoubtsweredispelled like smoke. IsCharuninthiswithVanth,orissheconninghim?
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Brigid stepped in front ofhim,frowning.“Charunisthebrainsofthisoperation.”The demigod looked at
Kanedirectly,hiseyesaflamefromwithin.“Vanth is a willing
accomplice, but it’s Charunwhoisthewielderofthesongand who has the telepathiccapabilities,”Brigidwarned.Kane frowned asCharun’s
tuskssnaggedhisupperlipin
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asneering,smugsmile.More movement sounded
behind him, bare feetslappingthestonefloorofthearsenal. Grant turned, dazedandconfusedatthearrivalofthenewcomers.Kanerealizedthattroublehadarrivedintheform of the Etruscandemigod’s reinforcements.He clicked his Commtact tobroadcast, all frequencies,knowing he’d need all the
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help he could get. Thingswere going to turn violent atanymoment.“Anam-chara,” Kane
uttered,butnotbeforeCharunsnatchedthejawplateoffhispartnerGrant.“Oh,no…Kanehas fallen
under the control of Vanth,Grant,” Charun stated, hisvoice stentorian, to the pointwhere the Cerberusadventurer could feel the
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impactofeachsyllable.“Youhavetosubduehimbeforeheturnsagainstus,Grant.”The big former
Magistrate’s eyes grewmilky, watching as Charunstaggeredbackward.“Kane?” Grant asked.
“Kane!Snapoutof it!Don’tshoothim!Kane!”Suddenly, in themiddleof
the arsenal of Charun, Kanewas confronted by the one
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weaponhecouldnotdestroy.His friend, his brother byblood, sweat and tears. AndGrant lunged forward, theglazeofhiseyestellingKanethat Grant felt he wascompletelyoutofcontrol.He wanted to speak
another word, but a suddengrasp seized his throat. AndCharun, sitting against thewall, grinned, his eyestwinkling as he denied Kane
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the means of breaking thisspell.Grant’s fist hammered
deep into Kane’s stomach,and despite the non-Newtonian polymersstiffening to lessen the blow,all the breath was expelledfromKane’slungs.
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Chapter20
Domiandtheothersheardthevoice of Kane over theirCommtacts, meaning that hemust have been close;otherwise the walls ofinterveningstonewouldhavemade reception impossible.His words were familiar, the
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affectionate term that he andBrigidBaptiste held for eachother.Anam-chara. Itwasa term
fromCelticspiritualtradition,and was a belief that thehuman soul radiated allaround the physical form inan aura. When two peoplecame near each other, therewere instances where thataura opened and channels oftrust and understanding
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immediately opened betweenthe two individuals. Whenthat occurred, the Celtictradition stated that one hadfound their soul friend, or inthe ancient tongue of theCelts, the anam-chara.Though Domi doubted thatkind of deep, almostsymbiotic bond from thebeginning,therewasnodoubtthateachcompletedtheother.She’d also noticed part of
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thatbetweenKaneandGrant,as well, which was probablywhat Lakesh saw when hementioned the confluence ofpersonalities that always leadCATAlphatovictoryagainstimposing odds. However,between Kane and Brigid,this was what seemedstrongest.Domi, however, realized
thatshewasinsideapyramidthat Charun and Vanth
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allowed CAT Beta toinfiltrate. The two demigodshad drawn from Brigid theplans of both teams to dealwith the Etruscan entities.However, Charun and Vanthhadnotcountedonthementalresilienceof the flame-hairedarchivist. She’d hypnotizedthe group to the holes thatthey had funneled theCerberus Away Teamstoward, but there were other
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measures that Brigid hadimplanted in them. Ratherthan continuing to wanderaroundthepyramid,allowingthe minions of the demigodsto entrap them, Brigid hadarrangedforthemtoseekoutatrulydefensibleposition.This storage room was
such a place. The door wassturdy enough to withstandattack,yet toosmall toallowoneoftheroboticwarriorsto
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reachveryfarinto.Thewallswere simply too thick foreven a skeleton of secondaryorichalcumtosunder,andthechamberwasdeepenough tobeoutof rangeofagraspingclaw. There were thick,durable crates that the fourpeople had assembled into abarricadeinstinctively.Fists pounded at the door
and the CAT Beta membersmoved behind their
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assembled cover. Shelvingunits were stocked withweapons and ammunition, aswell,providingDomiandherallieswith themeans toholdoutagainstaprolongedsiege.Of course, all of those
factors protecting the CATmeantthat theycouldn’trushto Kane’s aid. Over theirCommtacts, the four alliesheard their friendgruntingasheengagedinamelee.
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The door shook as fistsstruckit.“Youaretrapped,humans!
Surrender!” came the shoutfrom the other side. Domirecognized the alienresonance, as if the voicewere echoing in upon itself,vibrating along differentwavelengths.Thiswasakintothe tones of the Annunaki,although these creatureshardly had the depth and
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poweroftheoverlords.Thesemusthavebeensubordinates,mere minions, though theirchallengewasoneofmalice,so these weren’t emotionlessdronesor thralls. “Throwoutyourweapons!”“All right,” Domi
conceded, shouting loud.“Give’emweapons.”Edwards smirked, his Sin
Eater snapping into the palmofhishand.“Bulletsfirst?”
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“Duh,”Domiresponded.Edwards winked at
Smaragda. “That means weblow the crap out of thesealienscum.”Smaragdachuckled.“Iwas
hopingyoumeantthat.”CAT Beta aimed their
weaponsat thedoorbutonlyDomi andEdwards fired, theferal girl’s .45 and theMagistrate’spistolhavingthepunchtocutthroughthedoor
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between them and theiropponent. The two gunshotswere loud in the small room,even with their hoods on tofilter their hearing, but theaudio pickups rewarded thetwo shooters with the soundof strangled pain and a bodydroppingtothefloor.While it might have
seemed more impressive forall fourof them tocut loose,hosing streams of bullets
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throughthedoor,theywantedtomaintain their coverage asmuch as possible. Such avulgar display of firepowerwould have been a waste ofammunition and weakenedtheir first line of defense.Rather, the marksmanship ofDomi and Edwards hadeliminated one of theiropponents withoutcompromisingthedoor.That did not prevent their
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foes from opening fire, andfrom the racket, Domi couldtell that the Stygians wereusing the captured rifles ofthe Olympians. The door’sthickness absorbed most ofthevolleyofreturnfire,onlya few projectiles here andthere managing to punch allthewaythrough,theirenergyspent and turning them fromlethal bullet into impotentrain clattering on the stone
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floor. Already, Domi wasglad at their defensiveposition being an advantagethat grew. As long as thehumanoid minions of Vanthand Charun wasted theirammunition, they would beless likely and capable ofbringing the fight to CATBeta,whilethecooler,calmerheads of the four defenderswaited for an opportunity tofightbackeffectively.
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“Brainsandbrawn,”Domigrowled as she let theStygians spend their energyand time in their futile initialassault.
***
BRIGID BAPTISTE HEARDKane speak thewords of herposthypnotic suggestion, thekey word that would breakthe conditioning that she’d
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unfortunately inflicted uponthe others. She took a stepaway from Vanth as theyentered one of the librariesshe’dbeenboastingabout.The half-naked goddess
casually followed Brigid’sdefensive movement, herefforts to create distancebetween them, and her lush,beautifullipsturnedupintoasmile.“So, you’ve finally
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dropped your pretenses?”Vanthinquired.Brigid narrowed her eyes.
“You are the one who hasbeen lying and subvertingminds,myownincluded.”“Subverting my mind,”
Vanth mimicked, except asshespokesheturnedBrigid’stonehigher,whinier,showingdisdain for the humanwoman. “Your minds? Youwerebuiltfromthegroundup
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tobeslaves,servantstoaliengods.”“And yet we’ve sent them
scattered to the four cornersof theEarth,strippedof theirpower and superiority,”Brigidchallenged.Shepulledthe TP-9 from its holster,leveling it at Vanth. “I willnot fire upon an unarmed,helpless opponent, but if youprove that you’re notharmless…”
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“You seek to instill fearintome?”Vanthasked.“Asachild, I hunted the mightiestof beasts, naked, unarmed.The creature’s tusk marksstilllinemybelly,butIbrokeitsneck.”Brigidglanceddowntothe
stomach of the seven-footwoman,seeing thefaint linesof a long-healed cut. Shefocused on the sights oncemore, matching Vanth’s
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glare. “So, you believe youcan take a spray of bulletswithoutharm?”“I am she who mothered
the legends of Artemis andAtlanta,” Vanth growled.“These limbs have shatteredtree trunks as if they weretwigs. Without a weapon, Iammighty.With them, I aminvincible!”Brigid circled back toward
the doorway, relying on her
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impeccable photographicmemory to navigate withoutlookingwhereshestepped.Vanth’s lip curled in
dismissal. “You threaten mewith a rain of lead and fire,and yet you cannot pull thetrigger?”“And you just see me
holdingmy firearmwith onehand,notwonderingwhattheother is doing,” Brigidreturned.
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Vanth’s eyes glanced toBrigid’s other hand, whichwas empty. She looked backalongtheCerberusarchivist’spath and saw a small disklyingontheground.Amoment later a brilliant
flare of light blazed in theroom. Brigid Baptiste didn’tdelude herself that she’dcarry enough firepower towound a god, but if Vanth’svision and other senses were
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of the same superhumannature as her physique, thenthe brilliance of one millioncandle-powerblazingintohereyeswouldbuyhermoments,ifnotminutes.Vanth screamed, agonized
by the flash, and Brigidwhirled,duckingintothehall.Though her own vision hadblurred, Brigid relied on thatphotographicmemorytomapout her course of escape and
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evasion. Behind her, Vanthroared in fury, furnitureshattering under hammerblows from those “barehands” the demigoddessboastedof.“Witch! I shall peel the
flesh from your scalp, crushyour skull and drink yourbrains!”Vanthbellowed.Now I see the species
resemblance to Charun,Brigid mused as she hurtled
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down one corridor afteranother. By the time she’drun a hundred yards fromVanth, her emerald eyescould clearly take in hersurroundings once more.Vanth’srantingsandcrashingfistswerestilldistantbehind,which meant Brigid had theopportunitytofindthedetourCharun had led Kane andGrantoffupon.That bit of navigationwas
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simplicity for her, and shecharged on, finding astairwell that throbbed withthe continuous explosions ofdistantgunfire.“Domi and the others are
awake, as well,” Brigidmused as she descended thesteps. “AndVanth lied aboutbeing the only two entitiesfrom herworld to be on thissideofthewormhole.”Taking the steps quickly,
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jumping when she could,Brigidwasgladfor thebraceshe’d wound around herformerly sprained ankle, aswell as the day’s worth ofrehabilitation of the tenderjoint. Each landing was aspike of discomfort, but itwas nothing more than areminderofhermortality,notacripplinglossoffooting.Reaching the floor where
the gunfire resounded most
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strongly, Brigid entered thecorridor. She paused onlylong enough to pull more ofherpackageofsurprisesfromits hiding space inside herboot and the wrap at herankle.Vanth’s screech at the top
of the stairwell informedBrigid of the demigoddess’sarrival. After seeing the wayCharun had armored up, sheknew that Vanth was also
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likely to be fully decked outwith armor and her othergear.Brigid put an adhesive
patchonthebackofherslim,flatautomatedmunition,setitto motion-sensor mode andcontinued onward. The hi-exdevice was designed for usein multiple manners, almostallof themantipersonnelandcapable of damaging lightarmor upon detonation. In
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some instances, it could beusedfordemolition,couldbeburiedandwouldgooffwiththe vibration of a group oftroopswalking past, or stuckto a wall, utilizing infraredbeamsastripwires.Itwasamazinghowclever
mankind had been in theproduction of weapons ofdeath and destruction, Brigidthought, but then she wasthankful. There was an
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enragedgoddessonherheels,so showing disgust at theaptitude of humanity towardwarfare and armory wasintellectually dishonest andincongruous. She glancedback to see Vanth hoverdown to the entrance to thislevel,glowing,featherywhitewings unfurled behind herback.“Now what toys do you
hav—”Vanthbegan,floating
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forward.Themunitiononthewall detected her and thecorridor shook as if athunderbolt had struck it.Brigid kept going, knowingthat Vanth’s armor wouldprovidemore protection thanthe light mine couldovercome.Brigid entered an armory,
seeing their lost Manta aswell as a group of slender,pallid humanoids looking on
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toward some spectacle. Shechanged direction, letting thebulk of the transonic craftcover hermovements, but asshe neared the nose of theMantashesawthatKaneandGrant were engaged in apitchedbattlewitheachother.“Oh, that is unfortunate,”
Brigid murmured as Grantlifted Kane from the groundbyhisthroatwithbothhands.
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***
GRANT FELT THE flutter offingersalonghisjawline,andthen he was no longer incontact with the outsideworld via the cyberneticcommunicator he’d beenwearing only a momentbefore. The plate, wornoutside and attached viapintles to the bone beneaththe skin, was another of the
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wonders of Manitius basetechnology that the explorersof Cerberus had added totheir adventuring kit. Theywere meant to maintain aconstant flow ofcommunication between theCAT members and CerberusRedoubt,ensuringthatnoonewouldbelostoroutoftouchforlong.Thetruthwasthat,aswith
any technology, there were
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times when it wouldn’t orcouldn’t work. Especially inthe face of opposition thathad its own communicationsnetworks and a modicum ofelectronic countermeasuresand radio jamming. Still, theease of the Commtact overbulky, regular radios wasworth being stuck with ametal plate on yourcheekbone that could bereduced to an expensive
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decoration rather than aphonetohome.Charun, beside him, had
been jarred from his reveriein showingGrant around theStygians’armory,turningandlooking on in shock. “Ohno…Kane has fallen underthecontrolofVanth,Grant!”The words had landed
inside Grant’s brain like anavalanche, the stones sharpand heavy as they battered
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against any thoughts he triedtoentertain.“…under the control of
Vanth,” Grant repeated. Hisvision blurred and his heartrate suddenly accelerated.Genuine shock and surprisebubbled up within him andsuddenly Charun staggered,hischestsplashedwithblood.Grant easily recognized thechatter of a SinEater,whichmade his confusion all the
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stronger as he turned backand saw Kane, gun in hand,smoke wisping from the endofthebarrel.“Vanth betrayed me.” It
wasasoftwhisperinGrant’sear. He imagined it as awhisper,butinallprobabilityCharun was speaking to himdirectly,mindtomind.“Kane?Whatdoyouthink
you’re doing?” Grant asked,stepping between the
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staggered,bloodyCharunandhis friend. He looked Kaneover,buttherewerenowordsfrom his friend. If anything,Kaneclawedat his throat, asifsomethingwasstuckthere.Anger flashed in Kane’s
coldblueeyesasheliftedtheSinEateragain, levelingitatthe wounded demigod, hisfinger taking up the slack onthemachinepistol’strigger.“Kane?” Grant asked.
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“Kane!Snapoutof it!Don’tshoothim!Kane!”With that shout, Grant
hurled himself forward,heedless of the danger tohimself. Kane raised his gunoncemoreandGrantchargedin, his fist a piston of steelslamming into his friend’sstomach to keep him frompulling the trigger andgunning down the helpless,woundeddemigod.Theblow
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knocked the wind out ofKane,muchtoGrant’srelief.The shadow suit’s protectiveabilities prevented thepossibility of an organrupture, but also allowedenoughforcethroughtokeepthe gunman from firing atCharun.Charun had just said that
he’d been betrayed by hislover, Vanth, and that theselfsame goddess had seized
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command of his friend’sthoughts. No matter whatkindofcontrolthealienwitchcould have wielded overKane, therewas little chancethat he’d gun down Grant.Even so, he was glad theshadow suit provided somemeasure of small-armsprotection.With a leap, he was atop
Kane, shoving his arm aside.The gun didn’t fire, so that
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meant Kane did have somemeasureofself-control.Grantsqueezedhardonhisfriend’swrist in the hope of makingthe smaller man drop theweapon. “You’re not in yourright mind. You can’t killCharun!”Gunfire resounded in the
distance, almost as if thefloodgates of sanity hadshattered, waves of madnessflushing through the
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hallways.Kane could only issue a
croakfromhislipsandGranttookthatasasignofVanth’scommand of his mind. In aflash, something hardslammedagainstGrant’sjaw,snapping his head up andback.Itwasn’tKane’sclosedfist,ratherhisforearm.Grantrecognized the martial artsmaneuver, one that wasmeanttoapplythemostforce
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possible to inflict a burst ofsensory input on nerves andblood vessels at the junctureofneckandjaw.Properly placed, the blow
could render an opponentinsensate without causingbone damage. The impactwas not delivered with aclosed fist, as itwould breakknuckles and render fingersstiff and useless. Rather, aforearm or elbow—both
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thicker and more heavilyprotected than the lightercarpal bones—delivered thestunningattack.Grant’s instincts had
kicked inswiftlyenough thathe’d avoided the bulk of thepunch,buthewasstilldazed.Putting Kane down withoutkillinghimwasgoingtobeachallenge, as both men wereequally well-trained, andwhere Grant possessed
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superior strength, Kane wasfasterandmoreagile.Grant also possessed a
longer reach, so heimmediately pushed Kaneawaytohisarm’slength.ThestiffenededgeofKane’shandslicedthroughtheair,missingGrant’sface.Thekaratechopwas something a little moredangerous, butwhen focusedonthesideoftheneckorthatcluster of nerves and blood
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vessels, had the same effectas a forearm smash. Thekarate chop also had thepotential of hitting too hard,possiblybreakinganenemy’sneck. Even with the non-Newtonian cushioning of hisshadow suit, Grant realizedthat Vanth’s mind controlwaspushingKanetodeadliermeasures.Withakicktothestomach,
he vaulted Kane halfway
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acrossthefloor.“Don’tmakeme hurt you,
bro. Say something. Let meknow that naked bitch hasn’tgotyouasherpuppet!”Grantdemanded.Kane gathered himself up,
glaring silently back at him.He pointed to his throat, butstill stood in a defensivemartialartsposture.Grant kept his distance,
circling. He’d see white,
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slender figures in thecornersofhiseyes,buttheyfadedtheinstant he tried to focus onthem. They couldn’t havebeenanactivethreat,notwithGrantdistractedlikethis.The only reason they
wouldn’tbeinterfering…They’re not interfering
becauseyou’reontheirside.Grantpaused.Kanewasn’t
taking the offensive, and hewasn’t looking for his
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firearm,either.There were huge gaps in
thelogicofhisbattlewithhisfriend, and that went doubleashelookedandnoticedthatthe Sin Eater was stillretracted, flat along Kane’sforearm. He’d neverunleashed it, and thus hadn’tlost it when Grant tackledhim.Anger surged through the
big man as he realized he’d
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justbeenduped,havingfalleninto an illusion cast byCharun.Of course, he still felt the
impulse to battle againstKane. This was somethingthat had slithered underGrant’s conscious defenses,whichwasdoublydisturbing.Hadn’t Brigid Baptisteimplanted posthypnoticsuggestions into theCerberusexpedition to protect them
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fromthis?“Damned aliens,” Grant
snarled. He lunged forwardand wrapped both handsaround Kane’s throat, liftinghis friend up. It was anaggressive move, one thathadn’t inspired an ounce ofresistance from the voice atthe back of his mind,shoutingforhimtoputKanedown like the rabiddoghe’dbecome.
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GrantonlyhopedthecollarofKane’s suitwasabsorbingthebulkoftheforce,asithadearlierwithhisinitialpunch.“Kick that bastard in the
head,” Grant hissed to hisfriend.Kane’s eyes flared with
recognitionandagreement.Withamightysurge,Grant
whirled,hurlingKanetowardthefallenCharun.Twistinginmidair, Kane brought both
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feet up so that he couldconnect with the Etruscangiant. Soles stiffened to thehardness of steel plates andCharun found himselfcrashingagainstthewallwith200 pounds of fighting-madCerberuswarriorkickingout.Kane’s momentum wasincreased by the power ofGrant’s throw, and the twomen had actually flooredCharun.
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ThestrangepressureinsideGrant’s skull disappeared inaninstant.“Anam-chara!” Kane
rasped,finallyabletospeak.Evenmorestaticdissipated
from Grant’s mind and helooked around to see theslender, pale creatures he’dbarely been able toacknowledge under theministrationsofmindcontrol.Of course, the moment they
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sawthathehadbeenreleasedfrom domination underCharun’s spell, theyimmediately struck a retreat.Theyhadshoweduptoenjoythe carnage that would haveoccurred when the twofriends engaged in a bloodybrawl, and foolishly did sowithout weapons at hand.Now, having underestimatedGrantandKane,theyrealizedthat discretion would keep
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them alivemuch longer thanstanding in front of twoarmedandtrainedwarriors.Brigid Baptiste swung
aroundthenoseoftheManta,her TP-9 in both hands andleveled toward the fleeingStygians, making them runevenmorequicklyaway.“Weneed togonow,” she
said. She must have realizedthechangeindemeanorofthetwo former combatants.
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“Vanthisbehindme…”“Thisway,”Kanecroaked.
“It sounds like Beta’s in themiddleofafirefight.”Grant let his Sin Eater
launch into his grasp. “Howrude.Weinvitethemtoallofourgunbattles.Let’sregistersomecomplaints!”Kane grinned. “It’s so
much better having you onmysidethanagainstme.”As one, Brigid, Kane and
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Grant rushed down thecorridortowardtheirbesiegedallies.
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Chapter21
So far, the Stygians outsidethe door to CAT Beta’shideout had wasted a lot oftheir ammunition, and hadonly succeeded in leavingragged gaps in the door’spanels. Domi turned andmade certain that her allies
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wereallinfullhoods.“Gas them,” Domi said.
She’dgottenaglancethroughtheholestorninthedoorandcould tell that while theywore appropriated Olympianarmor, they had forgone thehelmets.Itwasanuncertainstrategy
since therewas no guaranteetheir body chemistry andbiologywerecloseenoughtohuman to be adversely
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affected by clouds of peppergas. However, if their senseof smell and touch, if theyhadsimilarlysensitivemucusmembranes tohumans,Domicouldattest to theconclusionthatteargaswouldsendthemscurryingaway.Smaragda fired her under-
barrel gren launcher on herrifle. The 40 mm shellpunchedthroughaweakened,bullet-eaten section of door,
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andwhentheroundstruckthefar wall, it popped loudly.Hissing smoke gushed intothe corridor and they werealmost instantly rewardedwith the sound of raspingcoughsandgasps.SinclairandEdwards,who
had switched to his shotgunonthecommandtogasthem,fired their 12-gauge variantsof tear gas shells, adding tothe billowing, eye-burning
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miststhatreplacedtheroarofautofire with the sounds ofspitting, retching andwheezing.“There’s a reasonwhywe
wear helmets on thebattlefield,”Smaragda stated.She thumbed another shellinto the breech of herlauncher.“What?” Domi asked
bluntly,pointingtotheroundsheloaded.
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Smaragda looked down.“Flash-bang.”“Boom,”Domisaidwitha
grin.No longerneeding theirsuits to be in camouflagemode,theteamletthesecondskins return to their shadowyblack, hoods turnedtranslucent for the ease ofrecognition andcommunication. The blackfaceplates were good forstealthandintimidation,buta
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conversation lacking facialexpressions wasunnecessarily troublesome,especially for Domi, whotended to lose most of hervocabulary in times of stressandconflict.Smaragda grinned in reply
andfiredthelauncher.The hoods protected the
hearing of those inside thestorage room, audio pickupsfiltering out the massive
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pressure wave, but for theStygians trying to root themout,itwasunadulteratedpain.The stun gren shook loosesplinters and remnants ofdoor that had been hangingon by threads, and Domicould see one of the pallidaliens clutching the sides ofhis head. Though thecreatures had no apparentexternal ears, that didn’tmean they didn’t have
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eardrums that could beruptured.The blast wave also did a
number on their vision, asblack,thicktearsflowedfromtheir almond eyes and slitnostrils. Domi recalledBrigid’s explanation of theeffect of dangerously loudflash-bang grens; that thesound was accompanied bylevels of pressure that burstsmall blood vessels in vital
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areas suchas the sinusesandeye lining in some cases.With their sinus membranesalreadyundergreatstressdueto the tear gas, the Stygianswere undoubtedly goingthrough hell as the alreadyfilled chambers of their skullwereexacerbatedandflushedwithblood.Gunfire rattled in the
corridor, which caughtDomi’s attention. It didn’t
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take more than an instant torecognize it was the gunfirefrom her friends’ pistols, notthe appropriated Olympianrifles. Slender, haggardfigures lurched through thechoking tear gas in an effortto flee the arrival of CATAlpha.A black-gloved hand
reached in front of the doorandgave a rapon a solidbitofremnant.
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“Excuseme, is themanofthe house around?” Brigidcalledout.“And the ladies, too,”
Edwards shouted back.“What took you guys solong?”“Wouldyoubelieveactsof
god?”Brigidasked.Domi ran to the door,
opening it for her friends.“We staying here or movingalong?”
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“I’d say we’re moving,”Kane returned. “Especially ifVanth isn’t going to wastetime on the scrambledCharun.”Domi snapped her fingers,
waving the rest of her teamintothecorridor.SelaSinclairled the way, motioning thedirection from which CATBeta had entered the bowelsof thepyramid.Domipausedlong enough to see Grant
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setting up a pair of flatdemolitionschargesalongthewalls.“It slowed her down once
before,” Brigid said, startingto run and follow Kane andtheothers.Dominodded.“Good.”She
turned toward Grant, callingout,“Hurryup!”“I’m coming!” Grant
growled, punching thecontrols to activate the wall
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mines.Domi caught the reaction
of the big man as he lookedaway from the wall, thenspun and raced toward them.Instantslaterthewalleruptedunder a thundering crash, ablast much larger thananything the trip-wire minecould have produced. Domicould have sworn, in themoment before the tunnelwasshakenby theexplosion,
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that she saw a black arrowslicingthroughtheair.Whatever the case, Grant
skidded on the floor, thenscrambled to his feet.“Vanth’shere!”DomihelpedGrantgethis
footing again, and the pairexploded into motion, racingaway from the spreadingcloudofdustanddebris.Vanth had definitely
showed up ready for all-out
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war, and she wasn’t stayingher hand, or the quiver ofarrows she wore. Thosearrows struck with the forceof thunderbolts and, rightnow, the teams wereequipped more for dealingnonlethally with mind-controlled minions than withdeadly enemies whosearcherywasasdestructiveasanti-tankmissiles.“She’s making room
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between us and them. Sheneeds to getCharun back onhis feet and into his armor,”Grant explained. “Still, that’sa hell of a bow and arrowset.”“Damn right,” Domi
agreedastheychargedalong.Grant and Domi finally
caughtupwiththeothersandsaw Kane and Edwards hardat work cranking up thewrought-iron gate from the
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inside.NowthattheEtruscangodlings knew of thepresence of the CAT teams,there was little to be lost byusing the official controls onthe door. Working together,thetwomenusedaleverandasetofchainsandpulleys tolifttheseveral-tonirongate.Brigidpulledthelastofher
paper-thin explosive chargesandplaceditalongthechain.“What’sthatgoingtodo?”
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Grantasked.“It’llslowdownVanthand
Charun,” Brigid said. “I’lldetonate it by remotecontrol.”“Did you see that arrow?
Or did you forget about thehammer strike?” Grantcountered.“In close quarters, it’ll put
them at a disadvantage,”Brigid told him. “Trust me,I’m thinking ahead on this
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one.”“Comeon,”Kanegrowled.
“The longer we ditherhere…”“And the prisoners?”
Smaragda asked. “We’retrapping my friends downthere?”Brigid gave Smaragda a
shove past the gate. “We’renot forgetting our promise toyouandNewOlympus.Trustus.”
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Domi and Grant duckedbeneath the lowering gate,Brigid scurrying throughimmediatelyafter.Shetappeda control on her forearm andthe sound of her munitiondetonating was instantlyfollowed by the clattering ofunravelingchains.From there, it was a hard
runbacktothesurface.
***
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SMARAGDA SAT IN theforest, her arms crossed,elbows resting on her knees.Shefeltgoodtogetoutoftheshadowsuithood,feelingthewindonherfaceandthroughher prematurely whitenedhair. Though she wasphysically free from theconstraints of theenvironmentally sealed suit,theworldwasdarkandheavyaroundher.
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Thegoodnewswas that itwasn’t her fellow Olympiantroopers who wereaccompanying the roboticarmor suits. They were notwandering around as mentalslaves.Instead they were
corralled, like cattle, theirminds hijacked for thepurpose of punching a holethrough to an alien universe.AccordingtoBrigidBaptiste,
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the flame-haired scientificgenius of this expedition,theiridleexistenceswouldbeonly a temporary condition,asoncethedimensionalwarpwasopened,therewouldbeaneed for bodies for theinvaders.“Charun and Vanth are
likely Igigi,” Brigidexplained. “The nonelevatedcastes of Annunaki society.However, eitherbydesignor
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accident, their originalidentities were usurped andoverwritten bytransdimensionalduplicates.”“If they can overwrite the
Annunaki, then what chancedo humans have?” Smaragdaasked. “You’re saying thatmyfriendswillceasetoexist,and in their place, in theirskins, fiends will appear andbecome a part of an armyofconquest.”
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Brigid looked at her, lipssealed tight. Smaragda couldsee the thoughts churningbehindthewoman’seyes,andsheimmediatelyfeltregretatclaiming there was no hope.If there was a human beingalive with the brilliance torescue both her brothersoldiers and hundreds ofthousandsofItalianpeninsuladwellers, it was BrigidBaptiste.
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“I’msorry,”Smaragdasaidquickly. “What would youneedmetodo?”“Rightnow,we’regoingto
let the enemy come to us,”she said. “Vanth andCharunhave been embarrassed, andthey are angry. They willcomelookingforus.”“But we can tell that they
haven’t started with thesearch parties,” Grant added.“According to Lakesh, who
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has three satellites lookingdownon theirpyramid, therehas been no movement fromeither of the entranceswe’veencountered. There are otheropenings, but no activitythere,either.”“You found other
openings,” Edwards asked.“Airducts?”“Definitely,” Grant
confirmed. “Otherwise,things would become
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unbreathabledownthere.”“Given the human and
livestock cells, it’s not thehealthiest atmosphere downin the pit,” Domi said. Hernose crinkled at the memoryof the smell. “But that wasone thing Vanth didn’t lieabout. They’ve been takencareof.”“They want all the shells
theycanget,”Kanemuttered.“Not to mention their
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squirmy little pale freaks,”Sela Sinclair added. Sheglanced over to Domi.“Sorry,Domi.”Domi waved off the
mention of the pallid natureofthealienhumanoids.“Howare we going to handle thetwo of them and their allieswhen they do come huntingforourheads?”“It will depend on who
they send after us,” Brigid
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explained. “We’re lucky tohave Edwards as our packmule…and you already havesufficient less-lethalfirepower todealwith thrallssent in place of the standardtroops.”“You think they’ll take a
shotatuswiththelocalsandour missing Olympianplatoon?”Smaragdaasked.“It’d be the one thing that
would stayourhand,”Brigid
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told her. “And, frankly, evenif they send out a mob ofhuman zombies,we’re goingto have to remain careful.Rubber slugs still cankill bybreaking necks or snappingribs and puncturing lungs.Also,whilerare, teargascancausearespiratoryarrest.”“So theirbest shot atus is
throwing their captives downourthroat,”Kaneagreed.“If they wish to capture
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us,” Brigid returned. “Don’tforget theirotherweapons, ifthey deem it practical tosimplyexterminateus.”“Wejusthavetofigureout
howmuch Annunaki assholeis part of their DNA,” Kaneoffered.“If theyareanythinglikeEnlil,they’llsnatchusupand drag us before them forhours of gloating andspeechifying before puttingusoutofourmisery.”
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“If that,” Grant agreed.“Those bastards could talkLakeshtodeath.”Domi pursed her lips.
Edwards sat next toSmaragdaandleanedclosetoher ear. “Grant justdisrespected Domi’sboyfriend.”“He can talk and talk,”
Domi admitted to Smaragda.Domi still glared at Grant.“Benice.”
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“We’re blowing off steamhere,”Kanesaid.“Rightnow,all we’ve got planned iswaiting for the bad guys toattackus.”Smaragda looked around.
“I wish that Vanth andCharun hadn’t been sothorough in depleting thefauna of the area. Ifsomething were coming,we’d be better able to noticeforthefrightenedanimals.”
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Domirosetoherfeet,evenas Edwards rested a gentlehandonhershoulders.“Don’t worry. We’ve got
the satellites watching thewholearea,andwe’realreadyimmunized against theillusion of the black fog byBrigid’s hypnosis,” Edwardstoldher.“There’snowaywecan—”“Shutup,Edwards.”Domi
cuthimoff.
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Kanestood,alsolookinginthe direction where Domiscanned.“You forgot about the
black fog, Baptiste?” Kaneasked.“I did not. I merely
discounted it as a form ofpsychic illusion, transmittedvia communicator,” Brigidreturned. “But, apparently Iwas mistaken in the truenature of the Stygian flood.
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Whatareyousensing?”“The birds, which
shouldn’t be reacting, areflying back toward thepyramid,”Domisaid.Smaragdascrambledtoher
feet.“We’vebeenwonderingif they were being used asspies for those two. Whatif…?”Smaragda focused on her
memories.
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***
…THERE WERE BIRDS on thebranches of the trees alongthe road, but they made nosound. They were still, nonervous tics that she’d seenother birds display as they,even in rest, continuedturning their heads, makingcertain nothingwas creepinguponthem.Thevisiblebirds,however, was not what had
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trulydisturbedher.There were trees, heavy
and dense with foliage, butthe impunity of nests ofhidden birds was notaccompanied by the riot oftweetsandchirpsthatwarnedany intruder of howoutnumberedtheywouldbeifthey dared enter the thicket.Thecountrysidewassilent.Smaragda stepped off the
road, closing on one of the
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closest trees. Her menwatched as she slung therifle, then drew the falcatablade. With a twist, sherapped the spine against alow-hanging branch where asongbirdperched.The creature turned its
attention toward her, blinkedwith eyes slow and gummy,but did not launch. Even theturn of its head was casual,unconcerned, not the flicker
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movement of a normal bird.Smaragda gave the branchanother tapwith the spineofhersword.Thesongbirdtooka clumsy sideways stepfurtheralongthebranch,thenunfurleditswings.Just before she could tap
the branch a third time, thesongbird took off, wingsflapping powerfully, movingwith thenaturalstrengthandspeed of the creature, the
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limbs beating with theurgencynecessarytokeepthetinythingaloft.Itwasn’tasifthesongbirdwasinsomesortof debilitating trance. It flewstraightandtrue.It just didn’t seem to care.
Thenormallyskittishcreaturewould have taken off onSmaragda’s approach, letalone stay in place for tworapsonitsperch…“Brigid, one bird flew
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away before the fog firstappeared,”Smaragdastated.Brigid cast her eyes
upward, a typical action ofthose seeking to rememberexactdetails.Thisonlytookamoment as the swift-mindedwomanlookedaround.“Yournotice of the animals andtheir odd behavior triggeredthedefensemechanism.”“Rustling all around us,”
Domi said. “All the small
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mammals I haven’t noticedareback.Withavengeance.”“No wonder individual
bullets didn’t do anything tothe cloud mass,” Sinclairsaid. “Birds and hordes ofrodents don’t react togunfire.”Smaragda grimaced. “Can
thesesuitswithstandtheteethandnailsofrats?”“Within reason,” Brigid
said.
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The Greek warrior tuggedher hood on; the othersfollowingsuit.“Run or fight?” Sinclair
asked.“Lay down tear gas and
wait to see if they want todare it,” Kane returned.“Their instincts might makethemturnaway.”Grant and Edwards, both
armed with the less-lethalloaded shotguns, opened up,
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firing into the forestsurrounding them. Ferretrounds burst on impact withtreetrunks,releasingtheeye-burning gases. Kane andSinclair rolled conventionaltear gas grens, adding to thewall of choking, blindingsmoke. Safe in their fullysealed environmental suits,theywouldbefine.Theonlydownsideoftheir
tear gas plan was that
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eventually the clouds woulddissipate and the throngs ofsmall creatures would maketheirwaythrough.Even now, Smaragda
focused her suit’s optics andsaw the fluid, seethingswarm. It was an easilyidentifiable black cloudbehindthepepper-spraymist,blotting out the trees behind.Itwasalsoasolidentity.“This is not good,” Brigid
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said. “Iwas afraid of this. IfVanth and Charun couldconstruct a cyclops orFomori-style entities, thenthey could alter the biomassavailableintheformofbirdsand small mammals into…that.”“Oops?”Sinclairasked.Brigid nodded. “A terrible
miscalculation andassumptiononmypart.”“We’re also locked off
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from communication withCerberus,” Sinclair added.“Fortunately, if Vanth orCharun are releasing theirsongs, the filters are keepingitoutofourCommtacts.”Atendrilstretched through
the tear gas cloud, lashingtoward the Cerberus teams,and Smaragda opened firewith her rifle. The assaultweapon chattered, flamesbelching from the muzzle.
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EdwardsandGrantwerealsocutting loose, punching theferretroundsintothelungingtentacle. The pseudopod ofinky darkness twisted, losingits stretching momentumforward, and the shotgunshellsshotouthotstreamsofgases from their tear-gasreservoirs.Allofthissenttherubbery limb into retreat,backbeyondthecloud.Bynow,everyonewasup,
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armed,readytofightfortheirlives.“Climbing,” Domi
announced,pointingtowardatree trunk that was nowenveloped in the tarlikebiomass of the Stygianhorror. The blob surgedupward as if it was underpressure, and Smaragdacouldn’t imagine how such athing could exist without askeletal structure. She then
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realizedthatitlikelydidhavemore than sufficient skeletonandmusclemass,consideringit had the bone structures ofmillionsofsmallcreatures.Kane fired on the branch,
hisSinEaterchoppingat thebough and snapping it offbefore the black abominationcould loom above the groupofadventurers.“Retreat! Sela!” Kane
shouted.
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With that, Sela Sinclairwhirled with her Taser inhand. There were lengths ofthebonelessmassbehind thegroup, as they truly werefacing an amorphous entity.Sinclair fired her Taser, andthe tongs of theneuroelectrical weapon stuckin the inky skin of thecreature.Apullofthetriggerandahundredthousandvoltssuddenlyflowedintothebulk
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ofthecreature.Black tendrils thrashed
violentlyandthetwoarmsofdarkness suddenly retreated,making an opening for theCerberus warriors to escapethrough. Smaragda pausedlong enough to turn and firethe gren launcher under herrifle’sbarrel into thebodyofthebeast.It was a flash-bang gren,
and while there was no
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shrapnel put off by the 40mmshell,whatitdidproducewas a thunderousblast andablazingbrightlight.Thelightwouldn’t do anything to anorganism that apparently hadnovisual organs, but if therewas one thing Smaragdaknewaboutsound,itwasthatit was amplified in fluidbodies.The shock wave of the
flash-bang gren was deeply
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muffled by the bulk of thecreature,butthekeeningwailthatunleashedfromtheentitymade up for it. Smaragdawhirled and followed theothers as they chargedthrough the forest. This wasall toofamiliar to thehorrorsthathadgonebefore,herwildcharge to escape themonstrosity the first timeshe’dencounteredit.She couldn’t help feeling
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likea failurenow,butasshewatched the Cerberuswarriors pause and continueshooting at the bloblikeabomination, she realizedthey were leading this thingtoapositionwheretheycouldcounter it with strategy andintelligence.Feeling a spasm of hope,
Smaragda rushed forward,leaping over a flailingpseudopod and landing in
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Edwards’sarms.“Come on, whitey, we’re
going to show this snot ballhow we treat monsters,” hetold her. His smile was justone more thing giving her ahope that they could rescueherbrothersinarms.
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Chapter22
“Baptiste, what’ve you gotformulating in your head?”Kane asked as he ran,keepingpacewithBrigid.Thatdayoftherapyforher
ankle and the bindings hadworkedwonders,becauseshewas easily at the lead of the
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pack.Herinjuredfootheldupto this frantic gait, and therewaslittledistractingherfromthetaskathand.“Sofar,wehaveconfirmed
that heat and sound havenegative stimulus on thecreature,”Brigidstated.“Something hot and loud.
Gunshaveboth—”“But thecreaturehadbeen
struckatnearmuzzle-contactrange with the lightmachine
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guns mounted on a Spartanwar skeleton,” Brigidreturned. “If the dark thingcouldn’tbewardedoffbythetemperaturesgeneratedbyanM-240 firing on full-auto,then we need somethingmore.”“Dark thing?”Kaneasked.
“Sowhyare they reactingsobadly to the teargas rounds?Those shouldn’t be burningashotlyasmuzzle-blasts.”
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“Then it has to besomething in the tear gasitself,” Brigid replied. Sheglanced back and saw theothers following. Sheimmediately began a mentalbreakdownof the ingredientsfor the gases used in thoserounds.Brigid immediately
corrected herself on thepresenceofthepepper-based,oleo-resin in those CS
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canisters.Peppersprayand2-chlorobenzomalononitrilehadsimilar inflammatory effectson eyes and mucus tissues,but the cyanocarbon of teargaswasadifferentcompoundentirely. For one thing, OCspray was capsicum mixedwith ethanol, which dried itout into a waxy resin.Subsequently, that materialwas carried in a solutioncalled propelene glycol,
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which could cause severeallergicreactionsbutwasnotdangerous. CS gas, however,was dissolved in methylisobutyl ketone, an organiccompound that may or maynot have been the activeingredient causingclastogenic mutation inmammaliancells.Studies were not
conclusive by 2001, whichwas when the world went to
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hell. But Brigid Baptistefoundone focuspointon thepotentialdangersandtoxicityof CS gas. Clastogenicalterationwasachromosomalchange,geneticdamage.The creature behind them
was made up of avian andmammalian creatures, thesum total of thousands,perhapsmillions,ofmiceandother rodents, as well assongbirds. If one portion of
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the aerosolized cyanocarboncould have a drastic adverseeffectonthemammalianpartof the alien entity, then therewas little doubt that itwas adirectinjectionoftheteargasvia ferret shells that hadcausedtheorganismpain.“Wethought itwaspained
by breathing the tear gas,”Brigid said, loud enough forall tohearas theymadetheirwaytoanopenfield.“Thatis
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notthecase.”“Direct injection?”
Edwards asked. “Becausenothing short of punching aferret shell into the bastardseems to cause it to react…Myrto’s flash-bang tricknotwithstanding.”“Correct,” Brigid
responded.“WeneedtomakethisthingingesttheCS.Ithasa chromosomal effect onmammals,andthiscreatureis
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at least thirty percentmammalian.”“And because the creature
itself is a manipulatedbiomass, anything that hurtsits DNA hurts the processmaking it a whole entity,”Sinclairagreed.“Simple. Shoot it,” Domi
concluded.“Load up,” Grant ordered.
He plucked his hand grenfrom his belt andwhipped it
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full-force toward thesemifluid entity. “I’ll give itsomethingtochewon.”The small egg-shaped
bombspiraledthroughtheair,bouncingoff of thepudding-like skin of the blob. Itrebounded into the air abovethe amorphous atrocity, andon its way back down,erupted full-force. Severalouncesofhi-exandametalliccore created pressure and
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heat, as well as a sheet ofhigh-velocity splinters. Cutand slashed violently, theamalgamatedmassshudderedand partially retreated to thetree line. There was a briefmoment of respite as thebattered blob seemed toobserve its prey, trying tofigure out an approach thatwouldnotcauseitinjury.Kane handed off one of
their remaining hand-thrown
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tear gas canisters to Brigid.He’d dumped the load of hisshotgun onto the ground,leaving the neoprene batonslugs in the dirt whilereplenishing the magazinetube with more CS shells.The antibarricadeammunition might not havehad the volume in it that thecanister or a 40 mm grenheld, but so far, thoseshotgun-launched rounds had
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managed to burn and deterthealiengestalt.Brigid suddenly watched
thethingcollapseuponitself,disappearing as if its bodilycohesionburstapart.“Watch your feet!” Brigid
warned.“It’sgonenearlytwodimensional and isconformingtotheground!”Thegrassesoftheclearing
began tomoveas ifbesetbyphantom breezes. Though
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Brigid couldn’t feel themoving air on her skin, herfaceplate registered that therewas no wind in the vicinity.Whatever caused the knee-length grass to rustle wasmovement caused frombelow.“We need to make it pull
into a more cohesive form,”shesaid.“Right.It’snotbigenough
or thick enough to keep a
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shell insideit,”Grantagreed.“Edwards?”The burly CAT Beta
warrior aimed his less-lethalshotgun at the ground, butrather than triggering the 12-gauge, he cut loose with theunder-barrel Taser. The twindarts zipped out and into themovinggrassblades.AssoonasEdwardssawthatthewiresconnected to the barbs weremoving along, he triggered
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thebattery.Suddenly a tarlike mound
bubbledupoverthetopofthegrass,theamorphouscreatureunleashingitswailinaspine-scraping warble of a milliondifferenttinyvoices.TendrilswhippedouttowardEdwards,thick, cloying strandswindingaroundhisarmsandshotgun.Therewas a brief pulse of
panic for Brigid as she saw
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those slack pseudopodstighten around his arms, butthen Smaragda drew hersword and lashed at thesnarlingtentacles.Herfalcatapiercedthetarryblacknessofthe amorphous anomaly. Atthe same moment SinclairgaveEdwardsazapwithherTaser,theshadowsuitatonceinsulating her teammateagainst the voltage sent fromher shock weapon and
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conducting the electricalenergyintotheremnantfleshthatclungtohim.As the charge rolled
through, tiny sparrowsfluttered away on the wing,while rodents toppled to thedirt. Elements that had beenhalved by Smaragda’s swordstroke fell in wet, bloodysplatters.Too bad there were no
weapons that could direct
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electricity on a larger scale,Brigid thought, but shemaintainedherconcentration.Where one “bubble” of theabominationfaded, twomorerose,andGrantpumpedateargas shell into one of them.Domi’sknifewasout,andtheferal girl slashed andflickered, interceptingpseudopods and tendrils,Kanemirroringheractionsontheotherside.Bladesandtear
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gas cartridges were keepingthis horror at bay, but theywere battling a creaturewhosebiomasswasmeasuredin tons, and the shockedelements being broken offmeasured in ounces perorganism.ThatmeantaloadofCSor
ketone was going to have tobedisgorgedintotheheartofthebeastandthatrequiredanalmost suicidal tactic. Then
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again, as Brigid recalled, thesoldiers taken by thisplasmoid terror were stillalive.“Kane. Gas canister,”
Brigidordered.“Anyoneelsewith a hand-thrown unit. Tome!”Kane lobbed his tear gas
grentoher.Brigid quickly drew a
length of cord from a beltpouch,slippingitthroughthe
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ring pins of the two grens.She was pleasantly surprisedthat Edwards had broughtenough for the whole class.Sevenoftheshellslayontheground in front of her as shequicklystrung thecotterpinstobetuggedoutallatonce.At the same time, ferret
rounds, bullets and bladesslashed violently, battingaway or burning into thewrithing, surging Stygian
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force that threatened tooverwhelm the Cerberusexplorers.Already, through her
peripheral vision, Brigidcould make out the slowingof her allies, their armsgrowingtired,nottomentionthat their supply of shotgun-basedgasroundswasrunningout, and no one wasinterested in burning off thelast of their more ineffectual
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rounds. Regular bullets weremerepinprickstotherubberyfleshofthisfiend.“All right, let it grabme!”
Brigidshouted.“No,” Smaragda called. “I
owethisthing!”Brigid looked toward the
woman. She admitted toherself that she didn’t relishthe concept of beingswallowed whole andsmothered by the spawn of
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CharunandVanth,butsofar,she was of the opinion thatshe couldn’t allow anyoneelse to go through thisdangerouscourseofaction.Itwas her “harebrainedscheme.” She couldn’t letanyoneelseriskabsorption.But Smaragda, behind the
transparent faceplate of hershadowsuithood,wasdeadlyserious as she extended herhand to catch the cluster of
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tear gas grens that she’d justmade.If there was one thing
Brigid Baptiste was certainof, it was that the NewOlympian soldier had morethan sufficient motivation todeliver a load ofchromosome-damagingchemicalsintotheheartofthecreature that had frightenedevery lick of color from herhair,ontopofkidnappingher
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closest friends and allies intheworld.Brigidlobbedthecircletof
tear gas grens to the Greekwoman, who put them intoher breadbasket rather thanclutch at the cord connectingthem. Smaragda’s wits wereabout her, and simplysnatching one out of the airwould have wasted that grencanister as she removed itssafetypin.
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Smaragda gave her falcataa whirl, handing it off toEdwardshandle-first.“Coverme,”shesaid.The biggest member of
CATBetanoddedgrimly,hisfistclosingaroundthehaftofthesword.“Allthewaytothegatesofhell.”With that solemn
pronouncement, the twopeople turned toward thebloblike horror. The five
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other Cerberus warriorsstopped shooting andretreated, pulling back to lettheir friends become the baitforanabomination.
***
TO EDWARDS, THE LOGICwas simple. The Cerberusteams might have beenwilling to sacrifice an ally tothe formless alien
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monstrosity,at leastas farasthe callous Etruscan deitieswould have assumed. TheAnnunaki contemporarieswere masters of crueldisregard. Edwards couldeven imagine Enlil assumingthat CAT Beta themselveswere nothing more thandisposable cannon fodder tobuyKaneandtheotherstimeto succeed, so Vanth andCharuncouldn’tbethatmuch
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different.And as soon as Edwards
threw in with Smaragda,standing fast to shield herwith three feet of hooked,battle-sharpened sword inhishand, the bloblikeabomination realized thatthere was something up,somethingthatcouldthreatenit.Ormaybeitwasoneofthedemigodsbackatthepyramidwho was doing the thinking
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for the tarry tons of biomassbeing wielded as a giganticweapon.Afterall,noamountofthetinybrainsofmiceandbirds could assemble into asinglecohesiveconsciousnesswilling to endanger itself inbattlewithhumans.Edwardshadyet toentera
field where birds werepresent and the flock didn’tchoose to turn and run, atleast without the presence of
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eggsorchickstodefend.No,theabominableamalgamwasbeingcontrolledbytelepathicpuppet strings. Powerfulwings wrapped aroundSmaragda and Edwards,fingers reaching out to eachother to intertwine andcompletely encircle the pairofwarriors.Yes,thiscreaturewas doing things no normalmammal or avian would do.It was more amoeba than
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even the most coherentswarm.“This had better work,”
Edwardssaid.Smaragda remained
impassive as shewound tapearound the hulls of the teargas grens. Now it was nolonger seven loose canisters,butasolidwhole.Onetugofthesafetypinsandthespoonsholding the nozzles shutwouldrelease.Teargasgrens
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didn’t explode; they vomitedout their payloads. And allEdwards had to do was tomakeaproperopening.The creature swelled, and
suddenly all of that puddingskin parted, showing offgrisly pink inner tissues, rawnerve endings stretching outtoweboverthetwohumans.Edwards realized that he
wouldn’t have to split openthe outside of the creature to
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gettheteargasinside.Tarry black lips of flesh
elongated, blotting out theskyoverthepairasSmaragdaclutched her weapon as if itwereaprize.Edwards swunghis sword,
the keen edge severingthreadsofneuronsandaxonsas if they were gossamer,continuing to put up thecharade that he didn’t wantSmaragda and himself
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swallowedbytheirenemy.Eveninsidethefullysealed
shadow suit, Edwardsrealized there was very littlethat could be done to resistthehorriblecreature thatwasbringing down its rubberybulk. He lashed out, thefalcata cutting deep into apink semblance of muscle,butmorewormliketendrilsofpink, white and red fleshsnapped out and seized his
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sword arm. Now, panicrushed through the CATwarrior.Therewasnoneedtoact, as the strength of theStygian entity was beyondanything he could hope tomatch. His boots left thegroundandhekickedwildly.Therewasnoleverage,sohewas a plaything in the graspofagiant thatdidn’t respondtopunchesorbullets.Suddenly an arm wound
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around his waist. This onehad weight to it, but it wasnothing like the graspingpower slurping him up intothetissuesofthealienshape-shifter. He couldn’t see forthemass pressing against hisfaceplate,turninghisuniverseintoawindowof tumorsandthrobbingpolyps.He didn’t need to see
Smaragda, however, to knowthatitwasher.WithEdwards
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in the midst of beingswallowed, she’d leaped upand joined with him. Therewas suction tugging theskintight polymers fromEdwards,tryingtodrawawaythe shadow suit to create adirect contact with his skin.He remembered Brigid andSmaragda’s description ofhowthethinghadswallowedan entire platoon of NewOlympian troops, and knew
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thattheslightesttouchtobarefleshwouldproveparalyzing.That suction had to come
fromsomewhere,though,andas soon as the turgid,inflamed flesh was aroundSmaragda, the wholethrobbing mass suddenlybegan tossing Edwards as ifheweretrappedinoneofthelaundrymachinesbackat theredoubt. Hurled and twistedaround,hecouldnowseethat
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Smaragda was inside thiscavity with him, as was thetear gas unit. Seven jets ofwhite, eye-burning chemicalblew outward, and therippling pink flesh aroundthem started breaking down,twisting apart as rabbits andsquirrels started filling thischamberofmutatedmeat.The falcata fell between
thesquirmingvolesandfieldmice, and Edwards reached
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forit.Hisfirstinstinctwastobegin chopping his way out,but to do that would be togive the tear gas ameans ofescape into the atmosphererather than into its bulk. Thebirds provided enough of askinandcohesionthatitkeptthespreading,chokingcloudsthrough its system.Whatevertechnology altered thecellularstructuresofthelocalfauna into thisentity, at least
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for the mammals, was beingcounteractedbythechemicalsthat seemed to directlydamage the chromosomes ofa good portion of its totalbulk. With coughing andwheezing tiny creaturestwisting and clawing,gnawing for their means ofescape, the tarry black formwas being assailed fromwithin in a second wave oftorment.
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Smaragda scrambled toEdwards’s side, holding outherhandforhim.Hegraspedhers and looked at thedisintegrating walls aroundthem. Chemicals and alienpowers were waging wararound them, as Edwardsnoticedsomeofthesecrittersbeing slurped back into thebiomass, but even with eachmouse swallowed, a half-dozensquirrelswerereleased
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from the bulky mass. Teargas blinded and agonizedanimals chewed, and jets ofblood erupted, smearing thewholemess.“How much longer?”
Smaragda asked, battingaway at enraged or simplyconfused creatures boundingtoescapetheseethingclouds.Arcs of cracked blue
rippled along the skin.Weakenedanddisorientedby
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thebadmealithadeaten,thetarry abomination was nowvictim to hundreds ofthousands of volts ofelectricity from Tasers andstun guns Edwards had beenhauling all of this time. Astheshocksrippedthroughthecreature, the sky appearedabove them, sky that wasfilled with fleeing songbirds,crowsandhawks,allburstingto freedom from the
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nightmare of oneness theyhadsufferedunder theforcesoftheEtruscandemigods.Sinclair and Domi rushed
to their allies asKane,Grantand Brigid continuedpumping Taser shocks intotheremainingpieces.Butthistime,however,theblackened,rubbery entity wasdisintegrating without theinducement of electricalcharges.
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Vanth and Charun hadreleased their tiniest ofpawns,andnowtheCerberusteams were together in avacated field. The formersegments of the biomass hadseparated, and except for afew scores of dead creatures,all of them were running orflying all out to escape thearea.“Did we kill the big bad
beast?” Edwards asked,
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slowly getting to his feet asSela andDomi had an easiertime lifting the smallerSmaragda than they evercouldhoistinghimup.“We dispersed its biomass
sufficiently that Charun nolonger maintained itsstructural integrity,” Brigidsaid.“Smallerwords?”Edwards
asked. The tug-of-war andrumblings in the belly of the
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abomination had left himwith little patience fortechnicaljargon.“The mice and birdies are
alive. The crap keeping ittogether is gone,” Brigidclarified.Edwards smiled. “That, I
understood.”Kane and Grant gave the
big man claps on his broadshoulders.“Feelingbetter?”“Betterhow?”
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“Not beating yourself upover falling once?” Kaneaddedtohisquestion.“Are you going to hit me
with that stale old shit about‘fall down once, stand uptwice’?”Edwardscountered.Kanewrinkledhisnose.“If
you’re going to put it thatway…”“I’m yanking you, man,”
Edwards said, disarming anytensionwithachuckle.
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“One threat down,”Brigidpronounced. “But we’ve stillgot two demigods and theirStygianminions.”Edwards felt his shoulders
slump. “I wish I hadn’tunderstoodthat.”The thunderous footsteps
in the distance warned theCerberus adventurers of thegravityoftheirposition.This thing was far from
finished.
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Chapter23
Charun sliced through theskies, headed for where theyhad lost contact with theirprotean emissary onlymoments ago. His wingharness propelled him alongas if he were a bullet, anysense of wind resistance
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deletedbytheverybubbleofantigravity that pushed himalong.Thefielddeflectedtheairinfrontofhim,partofthemechanism that allowed himto smash through Grant’sMantadaysbefore.Therewasatouchofregret
on the part of Charun as hesailed toward the battlefield,his hammer clutched in hismighty hands. Grant and theothers, they had been so
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easily mentally disarmed,given to feel a sense ofcamaraderie with the twogodlings,buyingintoataleofneedandmistakenidentityortranslation of thoughts. Hecould have had them as partofhisworld, if it all hadnotbeen for thedamnedwoman,BrigidBaptiste.Grant showed his worth,
thewayinwhichhewasabletohandlethemightyhammer,
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learning the true symbioticnature of the intelligentmetals that made up theweapon. Where Kane hadstruggled with the artifact,Grant knew that a Zenapproach, abondingwith thehammer, was the means bywhichonetookcontrolofthedeadly piece of alienweaponry and focused itspowerwithdeadlyefficiency.The body that Charun
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currently was burdened withwas starting to lose itscohesion, while Grant’swouldgivethedemigodyearsmore tosurvive in thisworldwhilethemillionbrainsatthebottom of the pyramidengaged in forcing open theaperture between universes,the route to home and to hisbelovedminions.Back home was the true
form that could contain the
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power of Charun’s soul. Thepoor fool who had beenpresent when his seed wasplanted. Not the beautiful,darkwomanNathalie,theonewho actually sowed him, butrather the local guide, anItalian farmer well on in hisyears, who’d told her of thehiddenpyramid.Charun recalled having
been tempted to make thewoman his bride, to implant
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her with the geneticinformationtocreateabrand-newVanth,buthishandwasstopped by a subconsciouscommand, a force frombeyond him. The nameHurbon was associated withthe hesitation, one that toldCharun there were moreimportant things forNathalieto do than serve as atemporaryshell.Instead, simmering inside
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the skin of the now-erasedfarmer, Charun had returnedtotheman’shomeandfoundthelocal’swife.Shehadbeenas withered as Charun’s“human suit,” sixty yearsmaking her skin hang inwrinkled drapes on herskeleton. All it took was akiss, a penetration of energy,and the seed that had beenonebecametwo.TherestofthesonsofStyx
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who inhabited the pyramidwerecomposedofachicken-coop full of birds. Thegenetic data, and the feast oftheStygiansuponeveryotherlivingcreatureinthebarnsofthe farm, turned the smallpoultry into the reedy butpowerfullybuiltwarriorswhocould be grown even largerandmorepowerful.Once Charun had brought
his family back together,
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there was only the task ofamassingthosenecessary.At first it was a town or
two disappearing. Over thepast several months thedisappearances becameepidemic;convoysvanishing,even expeditions from thecoastarrivingtowonderwhythe center of the peninsulabecame a black hole fromwhere thousands were neverseen again. Several hundred
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thousand human brains, andeven all of the largermammals that Charun hadn’tcrafted into themeat suit fortheir recently fallen cyclops,orthesmallcreaturesmoldedinto the Abyssal blob, werenowgathered in the city-sizeprisonbeneaththepyramid.“This is disrupting us,
love.”Vanthspokeacrossthemileswithhermindtouchinghis.“Weweresoclosetothe
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finalequationandnow…”“Continue your focus, my
bride,” Charun admonished.“The humans will surrenderortheyshallbecrushed.”“Crushed,”Vanthrepeated.Charun knew that tone of
mind, her disdain stinginghimlikeanopen-handedslap.“Bride,mindthywords.”“They have cast down
others of our ilk before,”Vanth warned. “Just because
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you have girded your loinsandbroughtyourself to thematthepeakofyourarmorandweaponrydoesnotmeanthatyouwillfarebetter.”“Already, you think that I
havenot learnedmy lesson,”Charun growled as hehovered above the clearingwhere he andVanth had lastfelt the presence of theAbyssal. He scanned around,his armor augmenting his
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already formidable senses,andyet foundnothingon theground. It wasmereminutesafter the savage battle andthere was no sign of humanlife.He alit, his draconian
wings folding back againsthis shoulder blades. Therewere signs and elements ofthe battle, shell casings andthe bisected corpses ofsparrows and voles. He bent
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and lifted one halvedcreature.He cursed the luck that
they had come equipped todeal harmlessly with groupsof mind-controlled people,and the very gases theyintended to slow and dispelthrongs of thralls had alsoproved to counteract theatomic matrices that turnedmillionsoftinycreaturesintoan unstoppable whole. He
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crushed the half squirrel, itsdelicate bones snapping andits meat liquefying in hispowerfulgrasp.Hewipedhispalm against the ground andstoodtall,lookingaround.During his flyover and
hover, his augmented visionhadsweptforamileineverydirection,andthoughthemenand women of Cerberus hadbeenlaudedfortheirphysicalprowess, there was no way
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theycouldhaverunasfarandasfastasthis.Thatmeant that they were
present but had renderedthemselves all but invisibleand undetectable thanks tothe optic camouflagetechnologies of their shadowsuits.Withoutheatsignaturesand sealed airtight…theymight as well have beenphantoms.Kaneandhisallieswanted
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to dictate the terms of theirnext encounter, which wassomething Charun could notallow.The battle he’d forced
Grant and Kane into hadspilled back onto him and,withouthisarmor,withouthisweapons, the frail fleshcontaining the power of hisbirthright was easily felled.WithabodysuchasGrant’s,he’d be unstoppable and
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closer to his original heightandbuild.Of course, Vanth had
promised that with theincredible intellect of BrigidBaptiste,hewouldn’thavetoworry about shadows, meresubstitutebodies.Theirhomeworld was almost open, andCharun’s hordeswould bringhis slumbering form across,unitinghimwiththefleshthathewasmeantfor.
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“Humans! I grow tired ofyour games! Bring me thewomanBaptiste,andweshallbe gone from your livesevermore!”Charun glanced around.
“Notaker?”Charundrovethehandleof
his hammer into the soil andthen stepped away from it.“Whatdoyouwant?”“You wish a fair battle?”
hecalledashepeeledoffthe
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headpieceofhisarmor.“You,sevenagainstone?”Hebeganpullingoutofthe
near-fabric-like top of hissmart-metal body armor.“You wish to prove yourselfagainstagod?”Nothing. No one moved.
Hewas alone and apparentlyaddressing a field full ofmouse and bird corpses,stripping himself down. Hishead still hurt from catching
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the hundreds of pounds offorce Kane had developedwhenhewashurledviolentlyby Grant. That impact, andthebackofhisheadcrashingagainstasolidstonewall,hadrendered Charun insensateandhelpless.Allhecoulddowas watch as Kane, Grantand Brigid had fled thearsenal to rush to the rescueof their allies trapped in thestoragechamber.
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“We had all seven of youunder our roof. We couldhave snuffed you out! Butthatisnotourway.Thatwasnot our need!” Charunbellowed.Within moments figures
were at the tree line, butCharun knew that it wasmerely the automatons fromhis own arsenal. They stoodthere, scanning around,utilizing camera mounts of
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their own to sweep for signsofthehumans.Charun initiated a
telepathic contact with hisStygian pilots. Have youmadeanycontact?Negative, sire. We saw
none. We heard none. Nonestruckatus.“This is maddening!”
Charunfrowned.“Where could you stupid
little humans have gone?”
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Charun asked, hoping hismockery would inspire themintostupidity.He spent fifteen minutes,
walking around, finding onlyemptytear-gasgrenhullsandother spentcasings,but therewere no footprints, no spoorand no infrared imagery.There wasn’t even an activeCommtact that he could usehisownsmart-metalarmortohome in on as he pulled it
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backoverhischestandarms.Husband…return home.
Leave the humans towanderaround,confusedandlost.Vanth had a compelling
point,andaccordingtoher,itwould be only days, notmonths, until the resurgenceof their portal. To crawl intoVanth’s supple, loving armsandtotasteeventhewitheredshadow of her true flesh,would be the sweetest of
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release, a recharge for hisnext encounter with the menandwomenofCerberus.His leathery wings
unfurled, stretched to almosttranslucent tautness. Theyappeared as living flesh, butthey were more akin to thepolymers that made up thesuitsofhishumanopponents,including theability toeithercarry or insulate against theelectric charges necessary to
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produce a gravity-defyingionicfield.Charun extended his hand
and the war hammer rosefrom the ground,cartwheelingtohisgrasp.Withbutathought,hewas
airborne, spearing into thedimmingsky.His Stygian warriors,
manning the Gear Skeletons,would continue their huntthrough the night. Nothing
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could interrupt theirtelepathic contact with him,and with Brigid Baptiste’sinterphaser under theircontrol in the pyramid, theCerberus explorers weretrappedandisolated.Let the humans stew—let
them fret and worry. Theirending would come, as hadthose ofmillions beforewhostoodinthepathofCharun.
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***
KANE SCANNED HIS backtrail, thegrowingshadowsofevening being taken intoaccount and adapted by hisoptic camouflage on hisshadow suit. The arrival ofCharun himself had beensomething of a surprise,especially as he hadn’texpected the demigod to behands-on in his hunt for the
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humans. The trio of Stygian“snot-pilots” in the GearSkeletons seemed perfectlycapable of crushing them ontheir own, especially sincethey didn’t have the kind offighting power that Charunhad inadvertently bestoweduponGrantwithhishammer.Moving with every bit ofstealth and grace he had, hewasaphantom.He saw Domi motion,
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letting him know of herarrival at their rendezvous.They’d only traveled fourhundred yards in the time ittook for Charun and hisbounding automatons toarrive, but it was still roomenough for the sevenmembersoftheexpeditiontodisappear into nooks andcrannies of the ground, thefoliage and the roots of theforest.Kanewasn’tabig fan
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of hiding, but in the face ofopposition that could crush ahuman skull with the samefacility that a man couldcrush a grape, discretionwasthebetterpartofvalor.Right now he and the rest
of the team were homing inon him, following the soundof clicks he made with histongue. It was one thing tousesomethinghigh-tech, likeaninfraredemitterthatwould
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showup on the optics of therobots, but the noises hemade were in imitation ofinsect chirps. Unlike Domi,the others were visible tohim, but only because heknewexactlywhattolookforin terms of signs of motionamong his camouflagedfriends.Finallythesmallpartywas
reassembled,andallhundredsof yards from the towering
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automatons skulking throughtheforestfortheirtrails.“I can’t wait to pick up a
rocketlauncheranddealwiththoseblobs,”Grantgrumbled.“Me, either,” Edwards
agreed. “But how is thatgoing to happen with thethree of those things lookingforus?”“Brigid, just what was in
that interphaser housing thatyoubrought?”Kaneasked.
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The archivist smiled. “Oh,that little thing? I wasconsidering different optionswhenIhaditbroughtin.Thefirstthoughtwasafail-safe…a compact but powerfulexplosivedevice.”“That’s what I thought
when I handled it,” Kanesaid.“Butitwasstilltoolightto be even a suitcase-sizenuclear warhead, and there’sno way that anything else
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could have been packed inthere with enough power todissuade Charun and Vanth.If I didn’t know any better,I’d have thought that you’dbrought a regular interphaserinwiththehousing.”Brigidfrowned.“Andwhat
would the purpose of thatbe?”Kane smirked. “You
brought in a working, full-powered interphaser so that
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thecavalrycouldbecalledin.At the same time, the extramass has something to dowith a jammer. A frequencyjammer to do to Charun andVanth what they’ve done toourCommtacts.”“I triggered thecountdown
for the broadcast of thatfrequency the moment Ifound you two,” Brigidanswered. “In five moreminutes,thesongofVanthis
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going to disappear from theairwavesandamillionpeoplearegoingtoawaken.”“That could get messy,”
Grantsaid.“It could, if there weren’t
three Spartans ready toprotect them from theStygians, and Charun’sarmored minions werealready occupied with us,”Brigidsaid.“That sounds like a great
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plan,” Smaragda offered, butthere was doubt drippingfrom that statement. “But thepilots of those armors areinside the cells hundreds offeet below the arsenal, ifthat’s where they put yourinterphaser.”“Thatisexactlywherethey
would have put theinterphaser,” Brigidcorrected.“Theythinkittobeadangerousweapon, and the
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arsenal has been constructedso as to minimize potentialdamage to the rest of thepyramidintheinstanceofanexplosion.”“Butnot in the instanceof
three Olympians beingbrought in throughaparallaxpoint,” Smaragda concluded.“So…”“Blowing up the very
humans we’re coming torescue is highly
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counterproductiveandagainstourethics,”Brigidadded.Kane nodded. “I was
wondering what would eventheodds.Buthowaboutus?”“Activate your Commtacts
now,” Brigid said. “Weshould be in communicationwithourride.”“Our ride?” Edwards
asked. “The only ship wehave access to is a MantabackinGreece…”
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“Left with theincomparable mechanicFast,”Brigidadded.Thecrackofasonicboom
as the aforementioned shipentered the atmospherepunctuated Baptiste’sstatement.“Mantascancarryone,two
people at the most,” SelaSinclairnoted.“Inside its sealed cockpit?
Yes, it’s at best a crowded
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two-seater,” Kane said. “Butwe’re in full-bodyenvironmental suits. Suitsthatallowitswearerstowalkon the surface of the moonwith only an oxygenattachment.”Domi looked down, then
smiled. “We can hang fromtheoutside,onharnesses.”Edwards chuckled. “You
arealmostdiabolical,Brigid.”“Almost?” Brigid asked,
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raising an eyebrow. “Whichof you guys want to fly it?It’s being brought in viaremotecontrol.”Kane and Edwards both
pointedtoGrantimmediately.“He’s the best pilot we
have,”Kaneadded.“Good,” Grant said. “The
weaponssystems?”“Hephaestus was told not
to alter them,” Brigidanswered. She tapped her
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forearm. “You’ll have theremote piloting controls onyour shadow suit forearmdisplay.”Grant looked down. “This
looksawfullyfamiliar…”“Naturally.Weneededyou
to be familiar with theoperation of the Manta,”Brigidexplained.Grantnodded.“Hangon…
I’m going to give us a fewmore minutes before the
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armorsharassus.”Brigid nodded. “That was
anticipated.”
***
AS SOON AS Grant wasplugged in to the Manta’sremote-control network,suddenly he was surroundedinhishoodbyallthedisplaysandcontrollayoutsnecessary.As he moved his hands, he
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realizedthathewasinsideofa virtual cockpit, and heimmediately took control ofthe joystick and the throttle.Even the newly mountedweaponsystemswerepartofthe computer-generatedcommand module on theManta. Suddenly, theCerberus pilot was wherehe’dbeenhoursago.AndtheMantaswitchedto
hover mode, guns deploying
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asheflickedcontrols.Attheedgeof theclearing
the three robots of Charunand Vanth stood, looking upat the newcomer andinfiltrator. They each hadsomeformofheavymachinegun in theirhands,carriedasif they were gigantic rifles.Before they could doanything, though, Grantactivated the Browningmachine guns on his Manta,
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spraying the lead shipwith awave of half-inch-wide,armor-piercing slugs. Whilethebulletsdidn’tpenetrateordamage the secondaryorichalcum frame, the steelplates that protected thecockpitofGrant’s first targetsuddenlybecameasieve.Hot lead burned into the
pilot of the alien-controlledrobot and its semifluid bodystructure did not make it
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immunetoimpactscapableofliquefying armor plate. Thecontrol couch beneath theamorphous pilot was alsochewed awry, the internalsystemsof theStygianarmorbursting apart in a wave ofdestruction.Gutted by heavy-caliber
fire, the robot toppledbackward.Theothers reactedtothesuddenrainoffireanddoom, scrambling to evade
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thehoveringManta.Grant didn’t intend to let
his element of surprise getawayfromhimforamoment,however. He hit the throttleand tore off, swooping lowenough above the GearSkeletons that they werebowled over by the Manta’sthrusters.Sent out of control by the
suddenrush,Grantswunghisship upward, armed the
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unaimedartillery rocketpodsontheship,thenloopedbacktoward the ground. Missiles—77 mm—ripped from thepods, and struck eitherdirectlyor incloseproximityto Charun’s robot minions.Hi-exes erupted with suchviolence,Grantcouldfeelthetremors through the soles ofhis boots. He couldn’t seewhat was happening to thetwin robots he’d hammered
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with artillery rockets as heswooped the Manta up andaway to keep the ship fromcrashing.At least not right away.
Withinamomenthewasableto get a rear camera view ofthe ground, and the dust-penetrating infrared lensessaw that while the nearlyinvulnerable frames of therobots were still extant,everythingelse thathadbeen
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boltedonorwassittinginthecockpit had been forciblyremoved by the pressuresreleasedondetonation.Grant swung the Manta
back toward the section ofwood they were placed in.Along theway, he swept theskies in the direction ofCharun’s pyramid. Thewinged demigod was overthere, but he was tornbetween the suddenmayhem
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under his roof and theviolenceoccurringagainsthissoldiers.Grant brought the ship
down and landed it in aclearingjustlargeenoughfortheManta.Securitystrapsranall along the topof the sleekship,aswellasnewcowlingsthat could shield the ridersoutsidefromhighwinds.“I was wondering why it
looked and maneuvered a
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little different,”Grantmusedas he climbed up to thecockpit.“Spaceforsix.”“And the pilot,” Brigid
said. “There are alsoreplacements for the less-lethal ammunition in thecompartmentwithyou.”Grant reached in, pulling
out twowar bags.He took apeekin.“Realshotgunand40mm shells. Not the less-lethal.”
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“I said replacements, did Inot?”Brigidasked.Grant grinned. “What
happened to getting tiredaboutustalkingaboutenoughfirepower?”Brigid strapped herself
onto the hull. “That goes outthe window when you go inmy brain and make me apuppet.YoucanhandmemyCopperhead and grenlauncher when we get to the
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pyramid.”Grant closed the cockpit,
advancing through the pre-liftoff checklist with a broadsmile.This time, the gods were
goingtobetheonestofeelafewthunderbolts.
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Chapter24
The wave of disorientationpassedforDianaPantopoulosand she was suddenly in awhole new area wherein oldhumanweapons and artifactswereondisplay.Betweenherand two of her personalsquadron mates was the
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interphaserthatreleasedtheminto the pyramid of CharunandVanth.In thebaseof thedevice was a powerfultransmitter that, by allaccounts,shouldbedrowningoutthestrangesignalthathadseized and controlled thehundreds of thousands ofpeople on the Etruscanpeninsula.The three of them arrived
withoutwheelchairs, but that
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was really a matter ofconvenience when they werearound people who weretaller than they were. Dianamovedalongonallfours,herstrongarmsandthestumpsofheramputatedlegsgivingherasmuchmobilityasayoung,swift monkey. Sure enough,Diana was glad to see theSpartan units up against thewall, their Sandcat armorplate chests open. So secure
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were the demigods that theyhadn’tleftguards.Why would they? They
assumed that their seizure ofthis pyramid had cut it offfrom outside interference.Brigid Baptiste and thescience team at CerberusRedoubthadbeendoingalotof number crunching, mind-bending dimensional physicsthat allowed them to piercethebubbleofpowersevering
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the parallax point from therestoftheplanet.“This is going to suck if
theyemptiedthegunsandtherest of the gear,” one ofDiana’s squadron matespointedout.“We’ll still have the
Skeletons’ limbs,” Dianasaid.Shesnatchedahandholdonthecalfofoneofthesuits,and her well-muscled armslifted her up. Climbing was
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easy, thanks to the fact thateach of the amputee pilotspresent was a victim oflower-body trauma ratherthanupper-bodystress.Everyamputeewasgivenhoursandhours of rehabilitationtraining to render them ableto move around, wheels ornot.Dianaandhertwopartners,
however,hadbeenchosenforthefactthattheyhad,pound-
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for-pound, the best upper-body strength and agility ofany of the New Olympianpilots.All that time in the gym
with the weight machinesmadeDianafeelahellofalotbetter, especially as now shewas back on the front lineswithher fellowwarriors.SheswungherselfintothecockpitoftheSpartanwithgraceandease. The interface was still
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intactandsheplugged it intohercybernodule.Once connected to the
mobile armor suit, she wasimmediatelybackinbusiness.The hands of the suit closedher cockpit for her as shechecked all the displays.“ChargedEnergyModules atfull strength, guns areloaded.”“Same here,” called her
allies. Even through the
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closed shells of their controlnodes,theyheardthecriesofalarm.Artem15 took her first
stepsina longtime,crossingthe arsenal and stooping toseeagroupof slender,pallidcreatures racing down thehall.Eachofthemborearifleandopenedfireonherassheappeared in the doorway.Bullets pinged impotentlyagainst the armored skin of
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her suit, and for a momentArtem15 thought that thesepoor,deludedbeingscouldbespared.Thensherealizedthatthese aliens had taken morethan twenty of her soldierscaptive but also hadthousands more under mindcontrol, and they wererushing to the armory in aneffort to prevent any rescueattempt.The shoulder-mounted
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machinegunsswiveledtolifeat her mental command, andsherestedon theknucklesofher massive hands, allowingthe weapons plenty of roomtofireonthealiens.Thetwinlight weapons followed thefocusofhervision,atleastinrelation to theviewscreen infront of her face, and in thenext moment both of themerupted, spitting thunder andfire.
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The two Stygians at thefront of the formation werestill cutting loose with theirrifles when slashing streamsof 7.62 mm bullets rippedthem in two. One of theM-240shadarateoffireof950rounds perminute.With twoguns cutting loosesimultaneously, the wall ofdeath hacking into the pallidalienswasanobscenedisplayof force. It took only a few
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seconds to turn half a dozenarmed troopers to sixmangled, shredded corpseslying in pools of gore andburst tissue. The slaincreatures were ignored fornow as Artem15 and herallies headed out into thecorridor.The interphaser housing’s
jammer had made it so thatBrigid and the rest of theCAT teams could inform
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Diana of the setup for thepyramid, one that nowappeared on a data monitorjust off her shoulder. If therewas something that gave theNew Olympian a sense ofhope, it was that they wereunder the direction andguidance of one of the mostthorough and intelligentwomen in theworld.Havingused the passive GPSinformationfromCATBeta’s
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suits and their exploration ofthe lower levels of thepyramid, Artem15 and herSpartan guard were fullyaware of the path to thecaptivesoftheEtruscangods.Artem15 led the way, her
escorts pausing only to rip adooroffofitshingesandjamit into the rock as a barrieragainst pursuit. The quartersfor the fifteen-footautomatonsweretightenough
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that they had to move downcorridors in single file, butthelastthingtheyneededwasfor Charun and Vanth toshow up and easily maketheir way in pursuit of themobilesuits.“Fiddy, set up a barricade
here,” Artem15 ordered.“Weapons free. Especiallytheexplosivespears.”“Yeah. I remember the
briefing aboutVanth and her
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explosive arrows,” Spartan50, nicknamed Fiddy,answered. He accepted thesheathsforgren-tippedspearsfromSpartan46andherown.“On me, Four-Six,”
Artem15 added. “We’regoing to look for a way outfortheprisoners.”With that, the three robots
became two. Artem15 hatedleavingoneofherowninthelineoffire,butthereweretoo
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many people in need of helpandtherehadtobesomethingthat could hold the Etruscandeitiesatbay.This being a Spartan
expeditionary suit, and notthe true Artem15, she didn’thave her heat spear, a “herosuit”weapon.Insteadthewarspears were simply old RPGshells on sticks, thrownwithmore than sufficient roboticstrength to burst the impact
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fuse on the warheads.Artem15’s arsenal was boththe standard explosive shellsand a superheated spearheadon a conducting staff thatcouldcarvesteelandstoneletaloneflesh.Thatwouldhavebeennice
to have, but she’d makemayhem with what she had.The shoulder guns alone andthe powerful, wall-smashingfists of the Gear Skeleton
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wouldhavetosuffice.And then, Artem15 and
Spartan 46 were on thebalcony overlooking theprison of the pit. The depthand breadth of the chamberwas nothing short of epic,easily eclipsing every otherstructure she’d seen exceptfor the Tartarus Crack inwhich Marduk had left hisvast clone vats and thehundreds of ancient
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automatons that wouldbecome the backbone of theNewOlympianmilitary.Looking through her
cameras,Dianacouldseethatthe people down thereseemedtobeawakeningfromtheir hypnotic slumber. Notjust humans, but alsolivestockintheformofcattle,sheep and horses werepresent.Theyapsofdogsandyowlsofcatsalsomanagedto
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reachherears.Thepyramidshook.“Fiddy?”Another distant explosion
resounded. “Winged bitchshowed up and tried toimpress me with her boomstick!”“Fallbackifyouhaveto,”
Artem15ordered.“If,”Spartan50addedwith
defiance.“As you were,” Artem15
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returned. “Come on. Let’slook to see if there’s a pathout of here for the crowd.Therehad tobeaway in forallofthem,andnotdownthenarrowladders.”Spartan 46 grunted in
agreement. “I can’t recall thelast time I saw sheep doingladders,doyou?”Diana let out a chuckle.
“Climbing time. We’ll lookforamajorramp.”
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The two robots dug theirfinger and toe claws into thewall and scaled their waydown into the pit, aware ofthepreciouscargotheyhadtoprotect from the demonsabove and their ownfootsteps.
***
THEMANTAALITonitsgearand Kane hit the release on
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his harness. He carried hisshotgun again, and this timeinstead of rubber slugs andtear-gasshells,hewasarmedfor war. He paused only tograbapackofspareshellsforthe weapon. Kane knew thatusingagrenlauncherinclosequarterswouldbringasmuchharm tohimandhisalliesasit would to his opposition,given the general nature oftheweapon,but these rounds
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were meant for punchingdeep through lightarmoranddetonating inside their targetwithout sprayingindiscriminate shrapneleverywhere.Hehookedtheammopack
to his harness and thumbedtheexplosive12-gaugeshellsinto its tubular magazine.Charunhadbeenpulledfromthe battlefield, even as hisStygian pilots had been torn
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to shreds under Grant’scounterattack,and thatmeanttherewerealliesinthedepthsof the pyramid who’dengagedVanth and his othermonstrousminions.The last thing he wanted
was to have even a fullyarmed and equippedOlympianSpartanstandaloneagainst the two alien entitiesand their forces. Certainly,the pair had lost control of
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their amorphous giant, thecreature who’d swallowedthreesuchwarriorrobotsandaplatoonofsoldiers,butthatdidn’t mean they werecompletelydisarmed.Kane reached the peak of
the mountain and saw thatCharun had left the hatchopen. He caught sight of ashadowmovingatthebottomoftheladder,sotheCerberusleader pumped a single shot
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into the hole. The detonationofhisshotgungrenwasloud,andabloodiedStygianguardlimpedintoview,holdingthebroken pieces of his rifle inhishands.Kane slung the shotgun
and snagged the ladder. Thefriction of his grasp and thepressure of his boots on thesidesoftheladderhelpedhimslide down in a controlleddrop that deposited him into
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the entrance foyer of thepyramid. The stunned andwounded Stygian let thebrokenpiecesofhis rifle fallaway, one tri-fingered handpluckingaknifefromhisbelteven as Kane let go of theladderanddroppedtherestofthewaytotheground.With the reflexes of a
panther, Kane duckedbeneath the wounded alien’sslash, realizing the creature
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he was up against might nothave been operating at peakcapacity but still possessedprowessequaltothefinestofthe Magistrate corps. TheStygian reversed the point ofits knife and stabbed, thepoint snagging the shoulderof Kane’s suit. Polymerssplit, slicing open, but stillmanaged to protect thehumanskinbeneath.Kane spun, as if to whirl
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away from the deadly attackof his alien foe, but droppeddown to one knee and swepthis leg across the ankles ofthe humanoid. The Stygian’sspindly legs snarled againsteach other under the swift,savage lash, and it comicallywindmilled its arms in aneffort to stay upright. In thenextmomenthe’dcrashedonthe hard stone floor, andKanepounced, comingdown
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with hisweight focused ontothepeakofhiselbowagainstthe breastbone of the alienminion.Ribs snapped under the
elbow drop, Kane’s jointprotected by the non-Newtonian polymershardening like steel. Thatvery protective quality alsomade the force of the blowincrease as the elbow wasnow as if it were encased in
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armor plate, rendering theprotective cage of bonearound the humanoid’s vitalorgans a mass of splintersstabbingandslashingthroughlungsandbloodvessels.Inky-green blood spurted
from the abomination’s lipsanditscolorlesseyesblinkedinshockandhorror.Kanerolledawayfromthe
fallenfoe’storso,spinningonhisbackside so that he could
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bring his booted feet aroundto bear on the opposingentity’s head and neck. Aswift scissor kick pulverizedjawbone and groundvertebrae to chunks, endingthe thing’s suffering withinmoments.Kanescrambled tohis feet
and looked up the ladder,Grant taking the lead downtheladder,Brigidabovehim.“Beta, I’m picking up
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comms from the Olympians.They’re looking for the exit.The main exit,” Kane said.“Uplink with Cerberus andlook for that door leadingunderground and go thatway!”“Sureyouwon’tneedus?”
Edwardsasked.“Over a half million
humans need you more thanwe do. Now go!” Kaneordered.
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“Onit,”Domireturned.“Close thedoor,Baptiste,”
Kane said. “And leave asurprise in case we chasethembackupthisway.”Brigidbracedherselfatthe
top of the ladder and Granthandedupalargerversionofthe flatmine she’dhidden inheranklebraceearlier.“Thisshouldshearevenan
armored Annunaki in two,”Brigidsaid,securingit.
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“Then don’t arm it toosoon,”Grantoffered.“As if I’d forget that, or
anystep,”Brigidreplied.In moments they were
down with Kane, guns outandready.
***
THE SOUND OF Lakesh overher Commtact made Domifeel whole again, his Indian
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accent and deep voicesoothinghernerveslikesalveonaburn.Itdidn’tmatterthatshewas in full rundown theside of a mountain, loadedwithgrensandaCopperheadrifle. It didn’t matter that, afewhundredfeetbeneathher,two alien entities claiminggodhood were still trying toget to over half a millionhuman captives and assortedlivestock.
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It just mattered that herlove’svoicewasinherear.“We’re looking for the
mainentrancetotheEtruscanpyramid, and using ground-penetrating radar as well asuploads of the layouttransmitted by both you andBrigid.We’vefoundastrongpossibility,” Lakesh said.“Adjust your heading fortydegreeswest,beloved.”“Thank you, Moe,” Domi
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said.“Howbigistheopeningwe’relookingfor?”“It’s actively concealed,”
Lakesh responded. “Someformofcamouflagenettingisover the cave, and therewasno thermal reading on thecrack.”Domi skidded, adjusting
her heading. Behind her,Sinclair, Edwards andSmaragda took to the newcourse, as well, Edwards
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laden down with one of thetwowarbagsthathadarrivedon the Manta. Domi led theway with her Copperhead,whichshouldbesufficientforeven a Stygian soldierwearing New Olympianarmor, thanks to its high-velocity armor-piercingbullets.But if thatwasn’t thecase, she had a bolt-action,magazine-fed shotgunattachedinfrontofthetrigger
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guard, in theplaceof theoldforegrip handle. The XM-26was a 5-shot 12-gauge thatstripped off shotgun shellsfrom its box, and could berapidlyreloaded.Of course, Cerberus
Redoubt had loaded the warbag with light antiarmorshells intended for vehiclesakin to Sandcats andDeathbird helicopters, andhopefully that kind of
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firepowerwouldbesufficientto hurt Charun and Vanth.Domi didn’t envy that Kanewouldgetashotatthemfirst,especiallysinceshewasdeadcertaintherewerelikelyotherthreats guarding the caveentrance.They reached the
camouflagenettingandDomislung her rifle. Grabbing herknife from its sheath, shestarted slashing, creating a
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holeinthecaveentrance.Shecould see that the ramp waseasily fifty yards wide andtallenoughforeventheNewOlympian Spartan mobilesuits to walk withoutstooping.Hereyesadjustedtothedarknessandshesnaggedahandfulofnettingtouseasa climbing rope to descend.The entrance continuedbeneath her, a slanted fieldthat would disgorge onto
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ground dozens of yardsfarther. It was just simplerand quicker to drop downfromtheupperlipofthecaveentrance.Asshegotdown,herruby-
red eyes scanned thedarkness. There wassomething wrong, somethingdangerous that spurred herinstincts to full life. Shebrought down theCopperhead-shotguncombo.
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“Slow and easy,” Domicalled upward. “Companydownhere.”Dustrainedfromwhereher
comrades stopped at the roofof the cave entrance,reassuringher.“I’ll scout,” she informed
them.“Dammit,” Edwards
cursed.Domi ignored his
frustration and treaded into
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the cave. She alternatedbetween infrared illuminationandheralreadylight-sensitiveeyes. The setting sun hadturned the cave inky-black,but something was presentthatheralreadycannysensescould feel but were notshowing up on her shadowsuit’sopticsoraudiopickups.Thensheheardthefaintest
of rustles, saw small cloudsofdustandsandfallingfrom
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risingshapes.Of course. They hid under
tarps,hidingthemaswehidein our shadow suits, shethought. Her instincts hadn’tlet her down, realizing thatthere would be guardspresent, and theywould seekthe same means ofconcealmentashadbeenusedacross millennia of humanwarfare. Domi whirledtoward one of the rising
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figures, letting theCopperheadsnarlouta salvoofhigh-speeddeath.The tarp shook and
vibrated under the rain ofbullets, but the form beneathcontinued surging forward, adeep, vibrant growlresonating inside a deep,powerfulchest.It was a Fomori-style
creature and probablysomething that was also
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protected by bullet-resistantfabrics or fabric-like metals.Itwastoocloseforhertoriskthe shotgun gren or to doanything else but throwherself into a somersault asthe tented titan lungedforward.Domihitatuck-and-roll,gettingoutofthepathofthe monstrosity, itscamouflaging tarpaulinfluttering to the ground andrevealing its massive,
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deformedbulk.Domiwasonherfeetinaninstant,trackingandshootingatthecreature’sexposedback.While 4.85 mm rounds
mighthavebeeneffectiveonhuman-sizefoes,evenbehindballistic body armor, to theStygian giant her salvo ofautomatic fire was nothingmore than the scratching ofan irritating itch. At morethansevenfeetinheight,and
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looking to weigh in at fivehundred pounds, the creatureboasted four thick arms andoneandahalffaces,atrioofglistening eyes locking ontoher. The one and a halfmouths were ugly scars thattwisted into a gleeful pair ofsmiles, and four large handsopened, a dozen fingersclawingtheairforher.“Food!” her Commtact
translatedforher.
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Domi triggered the M-26and the antiarmor shellboomedloudenoughtorattleher teeth in the confines ofthe cave. The Fomoriwhirled, one of its quartet ofarms hanging by threads ofskinandstretchedsinewfromaravagedtorso.Despite that horrific
damage, it still continued itssingle-minded approach, twomore of the things throwing
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off their disguises, gibberinglaughterechoinginthecave.Domi worked the bolt on
her under-barrel shotgunwhen the snarl of Edwards’sSin Eater heralded theeradication of the alienabomination’sskull.SelaSinclairandSmaragda
cutloosewiththeirshotguns,chopping a second of thehorrors apart with a salvo ofarmor-piercing, explosive
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slugs, thunderclaps strikingquicklyandcertainly.The third of the Fomori
was caught flat-footed, leftindecisive as to whether toattack the small black-cladgirl, charge toward thenewcomers or flee to fightanotherday.Thatmomentofindecision meant that Domiand Edwards were able toboth take good aim at itsmisshapen skull and rain
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damnationontoit.Aflurryof9 mm bullets and anexplosive slug sent a rain ofblood and tissue mistingacross the interior of thecavern.“Told you wait,” Domi
said. She took out hermagazine and loaded tworeplacementshellsintoit.“Andweheardtherewasa
party going on,” Sinclairreturned.“Ain’tnoparty like
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aCATBetaparty.”Domismiled.“Thanks.”“Anytime, boss,” Edwards
said. “Now let’s get to thepit.”The four warriors
continued down into thedarkness.
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Chapter25
Vanth tore her tattered wingharness from her shoulders,hurling it to the ground indisgust. She watched as herlover approached,hammer inhand, trepidation slowing hisgait.“Mybride?”Charunasked.
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“You had to bring theinterphaserintoourarmory?”Vanthasked.Hersmart-metalarmor sleeve was healing itstear, quickly, but the wingharness, having receivedmuch more damage, wasshornapart.“Thatwashowtheygotin?
But how did they get—?”Charunbegan.“Howdidtheyactivatethe
three battle robots that you
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left with quivers full ofexploding spears?” Vanthasked. She drew her torch,then extended the flame likethe blade of a sword. “Howdid they render me as anEarthbound fool by throwingsaid bombs at me with theforceofagiant?”“My love…” Charun
started to speak but Vanthslashed at the air betweenthem,lettingoutascreechof
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frustration.Vanth glared at him. “Let
usinvitethemunderourroof.They will suspect nothing.Our song has alreadysubjugated their greatestmind.”“Still your tongue!”
Charunbellowed.Hescannedaround the corridor and sawthat Vanth’s arrows andquiver were not present.“Whereisyourbow?”
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Vanth’s rage flashed tomorbid guilt, her beautiful,lushmouthturningdownwardatthementionofherarchery.“You lost it to a human?”
Charunasked.“My arrows detonated,”
Vanth admitted, steppingback. “My arrows detonatedbecauseyou—”Charun snatched the
femalebyherwrist,draggingher off balance, disregarding
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the flaming sword in hergrasp.“BecauseIwhat?”“Because you invited
those…mewling little apesunder our roof!” Vanthshouted.Charun let his hammer
hang in the air, backhandinghisbridewitheveryounceofstrengthhecouldmuster.Hercheekandjawwereleftlivid,lips dripping blood beneaththesplitmaskshewore.Even
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behind the shielding for hereyes, Charun could see themwelling up with tears ofdespair and rage. “Becauseyou were foolish in yourinvulnerability.”Charun slapped her again,
hermetal mask peeling evenfurther away, her lips burstlike overgorged worms. Hetightened his grasp at herwrist, pulling her in closeruntilhercheekwaspunctured
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ononeofhistusks.“You blame me for your
failures?” Charun whispered.“You tell me that it was myfault that our scheme didn’twork?”“The humans…” Vanth
began.Charun threw her to the
ground and took the torchfromherhand.“Thehumans.The humans are too mighty,too willful. Brigid Baptiste
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somehow managed to staveoff your suggestions becauseshewasbrilliant.Doyounotrecall the origin of thisspecies? The simplicity andcomplacency inserted intotheir DNA? They were borntokneelandserve!”Vanthlookedup,herblood
dripping on the stone floorbeneathher.Charun observed the
intersection and he saw
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scattered segments of theblack bow that Vanthwielded, a holy devicemadeof the same materials as hisownhammer.Theyhadbeendriven apart, and scorched,charredby thedetonationsofpowerful energy crystals.That explained the shreddedwingharnessofVanth’s.Shehad survived the chain-fireexplosion of her deadlyarrowsonlybyusingherown
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wings as a shield; after all,that was part of the purposeof the appendages.Certainly,they allowed for easiersteering and maneuvering inflight, but the wings’ mainpurpose was to protect theirbacks,andtheirabilitytofoldaround their front was afeature that had carried thebattle for Charun on manyoccasions.Absently,Charun gave the
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torch blade a twirl, admiringits balance. It was nothingcomparedtohishammer,andyet, with it, Vanth hadshowed the ability to carvemountains…suchas thisone.Thedetonationsofherarrowsshowed the sturdiness of thegranite halls she’d carvedthrough the interior of thismountain. Even afterthousands of years ofhibernation, this homestead
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stood mighty against theelements. Certainly, it hadbeen buried under soil androck, and entrances had tohave been reconstructed bythe mightiest of theirFomorian forces, but theStygian pyramid was indeedstillpowerful.How could he have been
blamed for thinking that theinterphaserwassomeformofbomb, especially since he’d
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been reading that in BrigidBaptiste’s thoughts all thewhilehethoughthehadthemall under his influence? Hadthebombinthehousinggoneoff, all they would have lostwouldhavebeenanythingnotconstructed of secondaryorichalcum, a mighty alloythatfewpowersonthisplanetcoulddent.And yet there was that
failuretocompletelyinfiltrate
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and connive inside the mindof the human woman. Shehad managed to deludeCharun and Vanth all thewhile making it seem as ifsheweretheirperfectpuppet,even leading both of theCerberus teams into ambushsituations, trapping themfirmly. The plan had been toleave them seeminglyunaware of how easily theyhad gotten through the front
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door,onlytobeensnaredinaweb spun by one of theirown.Butshe’dknown.She’d put the blocks in
placetomakeitonlyseemasifthey’dwalkedintothetrap.Once there was a propercommand given, the meeklambs to slaughter showedjust what kind of lions theywere, flattening Charun andstunningVanth.Theyhadlost
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a dozen Stygian humanoidsthen.He felt the sudden input,
theshockandacheofthreeofhis Fomori shock troops atthe ramp entrance to thepyramid. All of them haddied.ThatmeanttheCerberuswarriors were invading frombelow, making their waydirectlytowardthethrongsofmammals assembled for thepurpose of housing an army
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of amillionStygiandemons.The apes and their livestockwouldbetransformedintotheshock troopsofaconqueringinterdimensionalarmy,butallof that was under assaultnow. The kind of energynecessary to make thatwormholeopeningwasgone.Their brains were freed.
Thewhispersandmurmursofall of thoseminds threatenedto wash Charun’s own
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thoughts away. Toomany ofthem were present. Thebreakdown of the tethers onthe sentients and even thedroning thoughts of foodwere becoming a rising tidethat menaced hisindividuality.“Vanth, my bride, I
apologizeforthemistakeI’vemade,”Charunsaid.She was quiet now, her
hands folded to her face.
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Maybe he had gone too farthis time with his rebuke.After all, the two of themthought they had everythingundercontrol.Anyfailureonherpartwasweightedagainsthim,aswell.Hekneltbesideher,resting
his hand on her shoulder.“Mybride…”“The humans,” Vanth
whispered. “Angry.Confused. Do you not feel
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them?Hearthem?”“Takeyour torch,”Charun
ordered. Her eyes werebloodshot and full of tears.This was far more thanCharun’s slaps, the pain,swelling and bleeding he’dinflicted upon her. This waspsychic trauma. “My bride,your torch will shield yourmind.”Vanth lashedout,hernails
raking his war mask, the
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smart metal parting undersharpened claws of theslightly greater, far lessflexible hardness. Throughthe rip, Charun felt thethoughtsof their captives,nolonger enthralled, no longerdominatedby the task forcedinto their minds by the songofVanth.Hepressedhisownwarmask shut and the smartmetal stitched itself closed,sealing against the external
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pressure of hundreds ofthousandsofconsciousnesses.“Diabolical humans,”
Charun growled. He pulledVanth to her feet, pressingher mask closed. “Ignorethem,shieldyourself!”“So many…so angry,”
Vanth repeated again andagain.“Toomuch…”“Shield yourself!” Charun
roared, pressing the edges ofherrippedheadpiecetogether
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in a vain effort to isolate herfrom the collective humanityinthepitbeneath.“They…”Vanthbegan.She turned away from
Charun, looking back fromwherehe’dentered.There was Kane, standing
between him and the warhammer, shotgun in hand.GrantandBrigidwerebehindhim. Though they were cladhead to toe in their shadow
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suits, their faceswerevisiblethrough the faceplates ontheirhoods,andeachofthemregardedthepairofdemigodswithgrimresolve.Charun pushed Vanth
aside, wielding her torch.“There is no hope for you,mortals.”“If that’s so, why are you
so eager to fight?” Kaneasked.Grant touched the
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hammer’shandle, closinghisfist around it. He gave themighty weapon a tug andCharun watched as itwobbled.BrigidBaptiste’ssmilewas
blasphemous against theEtruscan deity. “Havingtroubleconcentrating?”“‘Concentrating’?” Vanth
repeated.“What are you doing?”
Charun asked, holding the
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flaming spire of the torchbetweenhimandthehumans.He tugged on Vanth’sshoulder, trying to get herbehindhim.“Scrambling your
particularbrandoftelepathy,”Brigidanswered.“‘…of telepathy,’” Vanth
repeated.Charunfelthernailsstab through his leggings,prickingintohisthighs.“Or you could say your
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frequency,” Brigid correctedherself. “The same oneyou’ve been using on yourprisoners.”“‘…your prisoners.’”
Vanthmouthed the words asherclawssliced into theskinand muscle of Charun’s leftleg.Hebackhandedherhard.Shebarelybudged.“No way to treat a lady,
Char,” Grant said. Heupended the hammer, giving
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it a twirl. He twisted thehandleandsuddenlythefour-piece unit broke apart, asmaller hammer going toKane’shand.“Wecoulddothiswithour
shotguns,”Kanemocked.Thesmart metal of the hammerseemed tomold to the imageof what a warrior like Kanewould wield: a plain Celtic-stylebattle-ax,completewithswooping beard, adding
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cutting length and depth tothe blade. For Grant, hisweapon retained its hammerstyling, except there was ablunt, flattened end and aspikedpointattheback.“Butyou were so keen on Granthandlingthehammerthat…”Charun concentrated with
allofhismightandsuddenlythe two humans were spuntoward each other, theirweaponsalsospinningtoward
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each other. This was hisweapon and no mere apewould—Charun staggered, his
concentration broken by thedetonationofa12-gaugegrenagainst his war mask. Onlythe power of his armor kepthim from harm, but as hestaggered backward he couldseeBrigidBaptisteridingouttherecoilonhershotgun.“Yeah, getting poetic with
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your own weapons wasstupid,” Grant growled. HeopenedfireandCharun’sribsreceived a hammering blowthatsentthetitanreelingoncemore. With a flourish, heswung the torch and a waveof heat and light smashedagainst the trio of Cerberuswarriors,bowlingthemover.Vanth’s torch hadn’t quite
put out thekindof powerhewanted. Charun was too
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distracted,toostunned,bytheonslaught to focus all of hisenergy into commanding theweapon. As well, it wasattunedtoVanth,andherfacewas slack and beset upon bywakingnightmares.“Tome,”Charun growled,
and the four sections of hishammer flew from wherethey had been dropped,reachinghishand.More hammering
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explosions pepperedCharun’sbroadchest,evenashe wrestled his chosenartifact into itsoriginal form.“Run,Vanth!”“…anth…anth…Vanth,”
the female demigodmurmured, crawling forwardonherhandsandknees.Charun sneered as he
finally assembled thehammer.The roar of machine guns
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filled the air, butCharun feltnone of that. At first heattributed the lack ofsensation to the puny natureof human weaponry, but aspray of blood splashed onthe floor at his feet. Helooked down and saw hisbride, riddled with bullets,herblankeyesglazingover.“Vanth?”Charunasked.Spartan 50 lurched into
Charun’s view and the angry
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Etruscan deity brought thewar hammer up. Thedetonation of an explosivespearhead shook the entirecorridor, but Charun hadshielded himself and hismate. Her armor was stillsplit, torn open, and thehuman form she wore wasriddled with bullets beneath.The frail oldwoman, despitebeing pumped with thestrength of a god, had been
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unable to deal with theonslaught of blazing bulletspunchingintoher.Charunlookedupfromthe
lifeless form at his feet,regarding Spartan 50 as hishammer’sshieldburstbulletsin midair against itsshimmeringplasmascreen.“She died at your hands?”
Charunasked.“It’s about time she went
down,” Spartan 50
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challenged.“Younext.”Charun let thehammer lay
and leaped at the GearSkeleton.HisfingerstoreintotheSandcatarmoraroundtherobot’s cockpit. He roared atthetopofhislungs,thesamekind of nail enhancementsthat had drawn his bloodmaking short work of thesteelplatingmeant toprotectthe amputee pilot of theOlympian battle suit. Metal
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peeled and parted under hisonslaught, even as thehammer’s plasma fieldmelted the barrels of theshoulder-mounted machineguns.Tearing his foe’s shielding
free,helookedattheamputeewithin. Strong arms, nubs oflegs cut off at mid-thigh, abeard. He wore a simplecoverall and there was littleabout this baby-like
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humanoid, this mewling ape,that distinguished him as thekind of warrior to slay agoddess.Even then, Spartan 50
pulled a handgun from aholsteronhischest,aimingitatCharun’sface.“You expect me to beg?”
thepilotasked.Bullets rang off of the
facial armor of the demigodashesankhisfingersintothe
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Olympian’s chest, shatteringribs and lacerating heart andlungs.Withamightywrench,Charun tore the organs fromhis bride’s murderer, lettinggoresplashalloverhim.“You maniac!” came a
shoutfrombehind.It was Kane, and the man
openedupwithhisSinEater.The hammer swatted bulletsfrom the air, but the warriorfrom Cerberus emptied his
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whole magazine in an efforttodrawbloodfromCharun.“Maniac?Maniac?”Charun wrenched the
corpse of the pilot from itscouch and hurled it as amissile at Kane, bowling theman over. “My wife is deadat the hands of yourmisbegotten species, andyoudareinsultme?”“Don’t use the shotguns,”
Charun heard Brigid say.
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“His hammer is detonatingany projectiles sent towardhim.”Charunlookeddownatthe
waistofthemobilebattlesuitand found one of thewarheads in its quiver. “Yes.Ifyouwillnotblowyourselfup,thenIshalldothejobforyou!”Grant plucked something
from his belt and rolled itlow, rebounding it off the
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wall so it went past thedemigod in his resplendentarmor.“Whatare—?”Thecorridorbecameaball
oflightandthunder.
***
THE EXPLOSION OF severalspear grens, cooked off byGrant’s own hand-rolledgren, bought Brigid and him
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enough time to drag Kanefrom beneath the corpse ofthe murdered Olympian.Standingatgroundzeroofsomuchdevastationwouldhavetotally obliterated any othercreature, but the thing stoodthere, blinded and deafenedbythemultipleblasts.Kane grimaced as he
kickedtohisfeetwhilebeingdraggedalongbyhis friends,and then he clapped both of
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themtolethimknowhewasabouttomoveonhisown.“So, we’re back to
shooting this bastard?”Grantasked.The ground shook beneath
their feet. Charun had gottenhishammerbackinhandandhe’d tapped the floor. Atseveral feet thick, the stoneslabs that made up thestructure between the levelsof the pyramidwere great at
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transmitting the kind ofvibrations that rattled thethreeofthem.“Well, he dealt with that
amountofexplosiveswithoutconcern,” Brigid said. “Idon’t think even the armor-piercing shells we have candoanythingagainsthim.”“He’spissed,”Kaneadded.
“We’redealingwithonlyoneof them now, but he’s gonefullberserk.”
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Grantpausedastheygottothefoyer.“Brigid…”“I disarmed it via radio,”
shesaid.Grantsurgeduptheladder,
snatching the explosiveminefrom where she’d placed it.He opened the hatch and gotout onto the top of thepyramid. There, a few yardsdown from the peak, theMantawasparked.“Can the two of you buy
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me a few moments?” Grantasked.Brigid nodded as Kane
joinedthem.“Distracthim?”“Slow him down,” Grant
said.“I’llbeintheManta.”Kane gave a one percent
salute to show that he waswilling to follow his friend’slead. He took Grant’s warbag.“Any idea what he’s up
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to?”Kaneasked.Brigid nodded. “I’d rather
not say anything, though.Hemightbelistening.”“Through several feet of
solidstone?”Kaneasked.“Icouldhearyouonthefar
side of the moon, yousnivelingmonkeys!”Charun’s rage and volume
were unmistakable. Kanereached into the war bag,looking down into the hatch.
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The demigod strode into theopen, wielding his hammer,glaringuptheladder.“You wish to slow me?”
Charun asked. He spread hisarms.“Doyourworst!”Kanedecidedtoobligethe
ancient alien, dropping acoupleoflivegrensdownthehole. Brigid was on the lid,slamming it shut to containtheexplosion.Kane’s teeth shook at the
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rumble, which seemedunusuallystrongforacoupleofgrenblasts.“Shouldn’t the
countersignal be interferingwithwhateverdoomiepowersCharunhas?”Kaneasked.The top of the pyramid
shook once more, seethingand cracking under apowerful force bursting fromwithin. Kane and Brigid losttheir footing, but he
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recovered, bracing her fromfallingintoacrumblingriftinthepeak.“Let’s get off the top of
this,”Brigidreplied.Kane didn’t argue; he
simply grabbed her by thewaist and the two of thembounded across the growingchasm in thehilltop.As theyreached the other side,another thunderous boomresounded. This wasn’t the
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explosives anymore.Someonewasliterallytearingthe top off of the pyramid,andaslideofdirtandpebbleswashed the two Cerberusexplorers another severalyardsdownthehillside.With a last, powerful
surge,onesectionofthepeakdisappeared and Charun andhis hammer erupted throughthe broken stone. His wingharnessliftedhimthroughthe
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hole,andKanewassurprisedto see that the wall he’dpunched through was easilythree feet thick.Thehammersparked with arcs of blueplasma.“Humans,”Charunsnarled.“Maniac,” Kane returned.
Hebroughtuphisshotgunasthe bat-winged horrorhovered.“Prepare to pay for your
trespasses,”Charunwarned.
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Amoment later somethingbigger,darker,loomedbehindtheflyingwarrior.Charun looked back over
hisshoulder.Grant’sMantahovered,ten
yardsfromtheEtruscantitan.Hepoweredupthespotlightsfor the craft, casting Charunin silhouette for Kane andBrigid.Overtheloudspeaker,Grant’s challenge wasunmistakable.
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“Pick on someone yourownsize,asshole.”
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Chapter26
Charun hovered in front ofGrant. With his armor andwarmask,hewaseasilyeightfeet in height. His betuskedfeatures twisted; a face thatwas born of ugly hatredechoed in his actions andwords over the past several
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minutes.Thebeaklikenoseofthe blue, pallid man-beastwas set between eyes thatwere red and livid with amixture of suffering andanger. Batlike wings thatspread to a span of twentyfeet waved and undulated.They didn’t beat, but theydidn’t have to as they weremore for steering,maneuvering and shielding,the actual impetus of
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Charun’s flight originatingwith a field of ionic energythat severed gravity’s graspuponhim.Inthemeantime,Grantwas
in a stub-winged, sleek,bronze craft that bore morethanapassingresemblancetotheseacreaturefromwhichittook its name. The Manta.The ship had been built forthe purposes of ManitiusMoon Base, but had quickly
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grown in utility for theexplorers and warriors ofCerberus Redoubt. Notusually equipped with gunsandmissiles, this time it hadbeen so armed, as well asrecently bedecked withstreamlinednacellesinwhichit could carry passengersoutside. Of course, thattransport could only be donesafelywithintheconfinesofaManitius-designed shadow
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suit complete with itsenvironmental seal, evenunder the protectivewindshieldshells.Grant tilted the Manta
further away from Kane andBrigid, hover jets lifting theshipfromthebrokenpeakofthepyramid.Charun rose, as well, but
he didn’t seek to stay thesamedistancefromthescramjet.
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“You wish to pit yourflying skills againstmine? Inthe same thing I brokewhenfirst we laid eyes upon eachother?” Charun asked. HisvoicewasloudandclearoverGrant’s Commtact. Brigid’sploy of breaking the radiojamming of Charun’shammer,aswellasthemind-cloudingsongofthedeceasedVanth, had cleared theairwaves for such
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communication.Grant nodded, then
grimaced, forgetting that hisopponent could not seethrough the cockpit glass.“We battle in the sky. Youandme.”Charun rolled his head
back and laughed, but therewas no mirth or warmth inthe cacophony leaving histwisted lips. “You expectmetocareenoughtoallowyoua
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fairfight?”“I didn’t think you were
that much of a coward,Tusks,”Granttaunted.“Maniac. Coward. Just for
that, after exterminating youand your pathetic friends, Iwill create a death camp andslaughter millions just inresponse to your insults,”Charun said. With that, heburst skyward, acceleratingfar faster than Grant could
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have imagined, going fromzero to supersonic in thespaceofinstants.Grantlethispilotcouchtilt
back and he took off inpursuit of his enemy. Manandmachineversusalienandnearly magical technology,andalready,Grantwasawarethathewasbehindthecurve.G-forces, the results of high-velocity maneuvers and thecrush of acceleration, were
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somethingCharun apparentlycould ignore without care.The shadow suit and thepilot’s couch in the Mantaprovided some compensationfor such stresses, but theEtruscan demigod wastaunting in the ease withwhichhedefiedphysics.Grant hit the throttle and
followed Charun’s course.All the while the weight ofinertia squeezed him. He
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knewthatfighterpilotscouldhandle g-forces, theequivalent of one level ofgravityon ahumanbody,uptonineGswhileengaging indogfightingoverthespaceofa few minutes. However, inthe instance of using anejector seat, people couldsurviveuptoforty-fiveGsforanejector-seat launch. Itwasan iffy set of circumstances,though. The Manta’s
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maneuverability, only in thedirest of maneuvers, couldeasily top that ashe flew theshipintheformofadogfight.With most of his artilleryrockets havingbeenused, allhe had left were the .50-caliber heavy machine gunsmountedontheship.Machine guns that
Charun’s hammer had “de-fanged”inanearlierdogfightagainstEdwards.
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In moments Grant wassupersonic, at amuch slowerrate than Charun had gone,andalreadyhewaslookingatthe radar screens for signsofhisopponent.Charun was approaching
fromtherearof theMantaatMach 3, and Grant hit thethrusters on his ship, jettinghigherintothesky.Hedidn’tthinkthataltitudewouldhavean adverse effect on the
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demigod,butiftherewasonethingGrantcouldhopefor,itwastonegateanyofhisfoe’sadvantages. That meantreaching escape velocity. Hekepttheshipclimbinghigherandhigher.Fireballs of blue plasma
slashed through the night,showing up on his radarscreens as solid objectsthemselves. Grant foundhimself both relieved that
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Charunwasn’t hurling rocks,but the plasma bolts weremovingwithspeedthatcouldeat the distance between thetwo of them. They were attwelvemilesinheightandhespiraled the Manta intoevasion of the dischargesfrom Charun’s mightyhammer.“I thought you said you
wanted to battle! Not runaround like a frightened
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chicken,” Charun called out.“You were the one mockingmy strength of will andresolve!”“You act like your shit
impresses me, Char,” Grantreturned. Fifteen miles,twenty miles. He used therearview camera to see howCharunwasmaneuvering;hiswings had gone fromundulatingtoflatandstill.And for every maneuver
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Grantmade,Charunadjusted,aswell.Hejustwasn’tdoingso as fast. The air was thinenough that those artificialwings couldn’t grab andcarveagainstwindresistance.However, Grant could alsosee that those wings wereglowing with electricalenergy.The sensors on the Manta
indicated they were highlyionized and were producing
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pure thrust to make thosemaneuvers.“Come get some,” Grant
saidfinally.Hehitthebrakes,twenty miles up, allowingCharun to close the gapbetweenthem.Charun cut loose with his
hammer, but the plasmablastswerewideofGrantandhisship.“You looking for me to
flinch,Char?”Grantasked.
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“I’m looking for you todie, ape!” the alien snarled.“Mybride—”“Is rotting where she
belongs. In a tomb!” Grantshouted,cuttinghimoff.Get him mad. Get him to
forgeteverything.The hammer in Charun’s
handreleasedablazeof rageand, for a moment, Grantfearedthefireballwasahugewall of energy coming
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straight for him. No, thatwasn’t the case. It wasmultiple streams of plasmathat formed the walls of atunnel between the twoairbornefoes.“Come to me!” Charun
bellowed.Grant hit the afterburners
ontheMantaandacceleratedtowardthewingedentity.As soon as they were
within two miles of each
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other, the range closingswiftly, Grant triggered theBrowning machine guns.Their recoil and the forcefulslugstheyspitweretoomuchfor the moorings thatconnected them to his craft.The .50-caliber blastersweretornfromtheirpods,spiralingoffintothenight,thenutsandbolts sealing them shorn bythe sheer physics of thesituation.
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The sight of the machineguns falling away elicited achuckle from the demigod.He let go of his hammer,lettingithoverintheair.Yeah, I figured you could
do that, Grant thought. Afterall, it had flown back toCharun’s side before, and hehad nearly forced him andKane to bludgeon each otherto death with the damnedthing.Hoveringwas aminor
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stunt for the ancienttechnology.Charunstoppedandstarted
flying backward after a fewmoments,allowingtheMantatotouchhim.Hisclawedtoesscratchedatthecockpitoftheship.Charun perched on the
noseoftheManta,hissmart-metal gloves and bootsallowing him to stick to theaircraft, even as they hurtled
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through the thin atmosphereat twentymilesup, thespeedofsoundlongpassed.Grant opened the cockpit
andthedemigodlaughed.“You want to make this a
fist…”Grant’s SinEater drowned
out whatever the Etruscancreature wanted to say, hisbullets slashing at thearmored war mask. Charunand his wings formed a
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stopgapwindshield, but evenwith that, even with hisshadow suit providingenvironmental protection, icycold slashed at Grant. Thisdidn’t matter, though, as hetook the deadly mine he’dtakenfromthepyramidhatch.The Sin Eater clacked on
an empty chamber andCharun’s bloodied featureswere visible through hisshreddedarmor.
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“Youthoughtthatcoulddosomething to me?” Charunasked.Granthurledthemine,and
its electro-adhesive basestuck solidly to the alien’shead.Grant’stossalsocarriedenough forceandmomentumto rock the demigod on hisheels, rock him far backenough for him to hit thecontrolstoclosethecockpit.Grant hit the thrusters,
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taking the Manta to orbitalvelocity.Evenintheminimalatmosphere at this altitude,Charun’s wings served asenoughof aparachute topryhimoff thehullof the scramjet, all the while he battledwith the mine that clung tohis naked face aswell as hissmart-metalarmor.The jolting alterations of
momentum, and Charun’ssudden deceleration,
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weakened the wing harnessdrastically.A radio signal detonated
themine.All of that ionized energy
being put off by the flightsystems on Charun’s armordied out. If the mine hadn’ttakenoffthedemigod’shead,it had deprived him of hiswings,ofthethrustthatcouldsever him from the grasp ofgravity.
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Whichever the false god’sfate, Grant knew one thing.Falling from twenty-twomilesabovetheEarth,“godlyarmor or not,” was notsurvivable.Even ifhe landedin the Mediterranean, he’dstrike with such velocity thewater would be as solid asbasalt.Grant adjusted course,
slowing so he didn’t tear theManta apart as it made its
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waybacktothepyramid.Every mile of the trip,
Grant kept his eye on theradar, but all he saw was alarge, inert form sailingbackunder the greedy grasp ofgravity.
***
“THE HAMMERDISAPPEAREDfromradar,butonly because it was heading
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beyondEarth’sorbit,”Lakeshexplained as the heroes ofCerberus and of NewOlympus were gathered.“Vanth’s torch also tookflight, joining thehammer asitflewintospace.”“Didn’t Charun andVanth
say they were from anotheruniverse?”Dianaaskedattheheadofthefeasttable.“They did,” Brigid
explained.“Buttheyoperated
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on Earth with the Annunaki.They originally inhabited thebodies of lesser Annunaki,and had stolen theirtechnology.”“So, the hammer and the
torch went back to Nibiru?”Kaneasked.Lakesh nodded. “The path
of the artifacts would haveput them on a coursesomewhere beyond Jupiter,whichwaswherewe assume
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istheAnnunakihomeworld.”“Any regrets about not
beingabletousetheirsecretsto reach their homedimension?” Aristotle askedBrigid.Brigid shook her head.
“TheStygian realmand theirinhabitants, at least throughthedoorwaywecanaccessonthisworld, is not a placeweshould seek to make contactwith anytime soon. I can
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vouch foroverhalfamillionItaliansthatkeepingthatdoorclosed is in the best interestsofallinvolved.”“Here, here,” Aristotle
agreed. “Though, it is ashame that Charun’s tantrumclosed off so many sectionsofthepyramid.”“When we have the time,
we’ll start excavations,”Lakesh promised. “We stillhave much of your base to
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breakfromisolation.”Aristotle nodded. He
lookedoveratDiana,whoforthe first time wore her hairpulledbackinaponytail.Shewasn’t hiding her features.The infiltration of theEtruscan pyramid had helpedher shed her own feeling ofisolation and alienation.“Speaking of alone, wheredidGrantgo?”“He is around,” Grant
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heardBrigidsay.“Hehashisownthoughtstogoover…”Spartan 50—Ignacio
“Fiddy”Phoebus—wasbeinghonored for his ultimatesacrifice. His grave wasaddedtothehonoreddeadofthe nation of New Olympus.He’d perished in battleagainst false gods, havingbrought the end ofVanth byhisinitiative.No one compared to the
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accomplishment of Grant ineliminating Charun. Bothmenhadovercome their foesthroughtheuseoftechnologyandwits.And yet Grant stood aloof
fromthemourners.Hehadn’thad a chance to know theyoung Ignacio as anythingmorethanjustanotherfaceinthe crowd, remarkable onlyforthathesatinawheelchair,signifying that some earlier
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battlehadlefthimdiminishedenough to fit into a cockpitmeantforasmallerspeciesofhumanoid.Spartan 50 was dead, but
his memory would live on.No one else would take thatname,aswas thecase foralldeceasedbattlesuitpilotsandtheircallsigns.Thismuchwasmadeclear
as there were Spartan callsigns that reached into the
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low 200s, many having diedintheHydraewars.GrantnoticedthatEdwards
had wandered off, hand inhand with Myrto Smaragda,thetwoofthemsharingquietwhispers and tender looks.The shade of gloom that hadhovered over Edwards’sfeatures since his dominationbyUllikummis had faded, atleast in the presence of theyoungwarriorwoman.
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Smaragda’sshockofwhitehair hadn’t showed signs ofdarkening, but the lonelinessand isolation she’d displayedhad lessened, her platoonreturned. When IgnacioPhoebuswasloweredintotheground, however, the tearshad come to her cheeksunashamedly. Tears hadcome unashamedly to all thewarriors present, men andwomen.
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They had become brothersandsistersforthesimplefactthat they risked their lives inthe protection of those whocouldnotfight,eitherforlackofstrength,lackofskill, lackof arms to engage in thatbattle.Humanity, in crawlingfrom the wreckage wroughtupon it by Annunakiinterference, was showingsignsthatithadlearnedfromthe petty tribalism of the
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ancient days. Be they thesoldiersofNewOlympus,thesamurai of New Edo, thetroops of Aten, or the CATteams of Cerberus, they hadallalliedforasinglecause.Defenseoftheweak.No,Grantwasn’t feelinga
lickofsatisfactionforhavingkilled a god. His anger wasassuaged, but the sense oflosshefeltwiththemurderofSpartan 50 still hung on his
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shoulders.KaneandBrigidappeared,
Kanehavingbroughtabottleof ouzo from the celebrationof Ignacio’s life and themourningofhispassing.“Deep thoughts?” Brigid
asked.“Youhavetoaskmethat?”
Grantinquiredback.“Not really,” Brigid
responded.Grant accepted the bottle
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ofouzoand tooka longdragon it. He liked the hint oflicorice that leavened andsweetened the spirit. Heswallowed, the burn tinglinginhischest.“Thanks,”GranttoldKane.“I was afraid you were
going todosomethingstupidbackthere,”Kanetoldhim.“Like what? Open my
cockpit at the edge of spacewithanangrygiantlookingto
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tearmeapart?”Grantasked.“Nah,” Kane said. “You
punch gods in the kidneyeveryTuesday.”Grantchuckled.“I think he’s referring to
feeling like you didn’taccomplish anything,” Brigidsaid.“IstoppedCharun.Alotof
people are safe because ofthat,”Granttoldthem.Kane nodded. “We’ve
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bought some more time formankindtocrawlupfromthewreckage.”Grant smiled. “Isn’t that
whatwe’vebeendoing sincewe first blew out ofCobaltville all those yearsago?”“That goes without
debate,” Brigid said as shetook thebottleanddownedaswig.“Nowcomeonbacktothefeast.”
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ShehandedthebottleofftoKane.“What’s the rush?” Grant
askedthearchivist.“Because sooner or later,
your God-punch Tuesday isgoing to roll around again.Andgivenourrecentstringofopponents…I have a feelingit’llcomemuchsooner.”“Let’s celebrate some life
beforethat,”Kaneadded.Grantnodded.
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The three soul friendsreturnedtothegreathall.Eat. Drink. Be merry.
Someday theywouldallpassfrom this Earth, but untilthen, freedom would beprotectedand fought for, andlifewouldbelived.
*****
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FirsteditionAugust2015
ISBN-13:9781460385265
AngelofDoom
Copyright©2015byWorldwideLibrary
SpecialthankstoDouglasP.Wojtowiczforhiscontributiontothiswork.
Allrightsreserved.Except
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