A Temporal Trust (The Temporal Book 2) (24 page)

Lieutenant Harrison hastily emptied his remaining rounds into her chest and legs. The momentary loss of strength allowed Marcus’ knife to fall. With both hands, he worked it deep, pulling and pushing in a seesaw motion until his hands were warm, sticky, and red. Under Kaileen’s morphic illusion was her physical body still in obedience to the laws of nature. She had not been Nephloc; she had not been Perazim; she had been Temporal—one of the first after the original three.

The lieutenant had not lowered his now empty gun. He still held the trigger tight, his finger frozen in the trigger guard. Suteko approached him and placed her hand on top of his, bringing his attention to her. Sweat dripped down and around his nose. Seeing Suteko and feeling her positive energy coursing through him, he closed his mouth and tossed the weapon aside.

Marcus dropped the knife and threw the severed head as far from the body as his little remaining strength allowed.

“Burn it…” Marcus’ voice was weak. “Burn it now!”

Marcus turned away with his dark brown hands covering his face. He fell to the ground, heaving his shoulders with each sob. Tears mixed with drying blood fell from his cupped hands. He had failed even in victory.

Suteko then hurried to Marcus. She was about to use her last bit of strength to transfer positive energy into Marcus when she remembered the Perazim that had slipped inside.

“Marcus! One slipped inside.”

It took a few seconds but Marcus’ mind was quickly back on target. He saw Sam half unconscious and being tended to by Lieutenant Harrison.

“Suteko, Maro—all of you, go! I’ll be right behind,” Marcus said, pushing his arms to stand. His face was caked with blood and dirt; the tears only accented the dirt and did nothing to purify him, to make him clean.

Not even pausing to nod, Suteko was inside. Vered and Sasha were on the stairway after exiting Catherine’s room. They had stayed with Catherine to protect the sleeping Temporal and the human Amato. They had exited only after Catherine told Vered that Kaileen was no more. Suteko turned toward Hikari’s room after Vered confirmed that they were fine.

Turning the corner, she saw Ian standing in front of Hikari’s door. The door was closed and Ian appeared to be guarding it. Suteko breathed easier. Hikari was safe; Ian had returned in time to protect him.

“Thank God you are here, Ian. Did you see it? One of the Perazim entered the house.”

Ian smirked and tilted his head as if examining Suteko for some untold or hidden falsehood.

“Ian,” said Maro as he dashed to Suteko’s side, “where have you been?”

Ian answered without taking his eyes off Suteko, “Why don’t you tell him, Suteko?”

“What do you mean? I have no idea where you were! We’ve been a little busy, Ian.”

Ian’s eyes burned. “Enough games! Tell him! Tell him that I’ve been with you!”

Suteko stood agape, speechless.

“It wasn’t Suteko, Ian,” Marcus said, stumbling in behind Yehi and William.

Suteko glanced back at Marcus with a look that matched the confusion she was feeling. Then horror overtook her as the truth became evident. “It...It was Kaileen. Ian! It was Kaileen pretending to be me!”

Ian shook his head and banged the wall behind him. “No more lies! I was with Kaileen and you—at the same time.”

“Kaileen?” Marcus’ voice was pained and his mind confused. “You were willingly with Kaileen?”

Another voice behind Hikari’s door called out, “Ian, it is time.” The door opened on its own. As it revealed the space of the small room, Suteko glanced inside. Through the opening, she could see Hikari being strangled by the Perazim who had entered earlier. “Ian! In the room!”

Suteko sprinted toward the room with only one object in mind, saving Hikari. She did not see Ian’s arm or his fist as the one stopped her forward movement and the other pushed her into a wall fifteen feet behind.

“Ian!” Marcus shouted and began to approach him.

“Not this time, old man.” Ian dissolved as Marcus reached his previous position. An instant later, Ian reappeared behind Marcus. Before Marcus could turn around, Ian had him in a chokehold. Ian’s left hand clasped his right fist and pulled in, shutting off the jugular vein and depriving Marcus’ brain of oxygen. Ian turned around, flinging Marcus with him.

“You held me back, old man. See how powerful I’ve become!”

The remaining Temporal had all bolted in for Ian as soon as they saw the attack on Marcus. A bright ball of light from within the room blinded them, but something else prevented them from continuing. Their motions had slowed and eventually stopped; the force stuck to them like a vat of tar. They were crippled. It had, however, no effect on their hearing.

“And now, old man, you’ll get yours.”

Suteko watched with the full knowledge she could do nothing as Ian pulled a knife from the holster on his leg. She saw Ian look up and at her. Instead of a reconsideration of his actions, she saw his will to kill only intensify.

Then, she heard a voice coming from the blinding light from the other room. It was her own voice.

“Ian, stay your hand. It is my desire that he lives. Now, come! Come, my love.”

The voice was Suteko’s, strong and deep. Ian hesitated but kept his knife biting Marcus’ throat.

“I will leave you here if you do not obey.” The voice became a growl. “Marcus must be kept alive.”

Suteko was trying to process what was happening. Kaileen had the morphic ability to appear as her. But Kaileen was dead—decapitated. Ian had said he saw the morphic Suteko and Kaileen together. The creature that appeared as Suteko inside the room was someone different, a new and powerful enemy.

She looked deep into the other room. Through the opened door, she could only make out dark shadows. The shadows were moving. Though distorted and hard to see through the tar-like substance holding her, she could just make out three figures in motion. One of them was Hikari; another was the assassin and the third was the origin of the voice and the terrible light. She couldn’t see, but she heard and it was her own voice speaking.

Ian…

She could not speak. She could not move. She couldn’t even position her eyes to see if Maro was still beside her. She felt as if she couldn’t even breathe and yet she was still alive.

Ian had been tricked into betraying them and was choosing to continue even as he was shown it had all been a ruse. Worse, she was powerless to help Marcus and Hikari.

Ian let out a long growl before dropping the knife and ramming both hands into Marcus’ back, sending him flying toward the captive group of Temporal. An instant later, the five were on the ground, free from the stranger’s hold, but terribly exhausted.

Looking up, Suteko saw the light decreasing. One shadow lightened and shrunk until it disappeared entirely. The only other shadow left, presumably Ian, quickly followed suit. As that shadow disappeared, the surrounding light closed within itself until it too was gone.

Suteko hastened toward the room, more crawling than running. Entering the room, she fell and slid, stopping only a few feet from the lifeless body of Hikari. His blood had been spilled in vast amounts across the room. The Perazim had questioned Hikari, torturing him until the last drop of blood took his life away. Nephloc have no blood. Hikari had completed the process of becoming human only to die.

“Hikari!”

Maro approached her carefully keeping an eye on the fallen Hikari and Temporal. “Suteko, Hikari is dead,” he said from the doorway, “Marcus is hurt. He needs you now.”

She nodded. Her appearance was pitiful. Dirt and grime covered her from her feet to her blood-matted hair. She nodded and, taking Maro’s proffered hand, she carefully stood up.

Hikari...I am so sorry.

The battered Temporal were seated around Marcus’ bed at the Berkshire House. The old man had spent the past twenty-four hours bedridden and mostly in silence. A muted television on a table scrolled headlines about the president gone missing. General Gordon was also missing; Ian had betrayed them; Hikari was dead.

“The creature in the light,” said Marcus, breaking a long stretch of silence within the group, “the one mimicking Suteko’s voice was Kaileen’s master. It appears he also taught Ian to manifest himself within short distances—something I was not able to do.” The old man thought about the surprise that had almost cost him his life. “He was Bracker. His real name is Arthimas, one of the three.”

“One of the three?” asked Sam.

“The three original Temporal,” answered Suteko. “Marcus, why were we spared? We all were in his hands. It would have been a simple matter of having Ian slash our throats.”

“He couldn’t have without a fight. The same field that held us captive also protected us from his attack.”
Marcus gave a tug to his chin and said, “Still, there is some larger purpose in store for us. What it is, I cannot tell.”

Sam could no longer keep it in. “Why didn’t we see this coming? Why didn’t I?”

“Son, this is something new for all of us.” Marcus looked down and wiped his brow of sweat before asking, “Are we ready?”

“Are you able to stand?” asked Sam.

Without an audible response, Marcus moved his legs to the side and then down into the slippers waiting for his feet. With Sam to his right and Suteko to his left, he stood and nodded toward the door.

Making their way around what was left of the porch, they were met by five other Temporal who had arrived since the battle. The solemn group was mostly congregated around two platforms covered by white sheets; all had somber expressions.

Lieutenant Harrison and several others in the military had done a good job keeping the media and other interested parties away from the area, but the number of law enforcement vehicles made it seem a circus. They would need to leave. But before doing so, one task remained.

Marcus stopped, squeezing Sam and Suteko’s hands tightly as he did. “Do it.”

Two of the Temporal approached with two-gallon cans of gasoline. As the gas spilled, the liquid gave weight to the sheets spread over the two pyres, bringing out the contours of the bodies under it. One was a shriveled, tiny body; the other was a headless woman. Another Temporal lit a butane mini-torch and moved in.

“Stop!”

Sam looked up to see an Asian man who looked as old as Marcus. It was Bae Khan. Sam knew the name and face from his visions. The man had a stoic look and an ancient Fu Manchu mustache that wiggled slightly in the light breeze. His hand rested heavily on an ornately decorated wooden staff. Sam imagined the man could easily be cast for the part of some hermit guru living on top the Himalayas.

Behind him were a few other newcomers. Lieutenant Scott Harrison followed behind them.

“
Bae—An nyeong ha se yo
.” Marcus was pleased to see his oldest of friends but even this reunion could not coax a smile out of his face.

“I,” said the Korean with a slight pause and no smile. “I must see for myself.”

Marcus waved his hand permissively and sat down in a seat that had been provided for him. Together, they had hunted Kaileen down over a thousand years ago. Together they had sent her to her death—or so they had thought. It had been personal for Khan as well as Marcus. Kaileen, while away from Marcus, had attempted to seduce him into joining her. Failing that, she killed Khan’s non-Temporal wife and child.

Those closest to the platforms pulled the sheets and revealed the pitiful remains of Hikari and the headless body of Kaileen, scaly and ill-treated by age.

“She wore only a ring. There were no other personal effects.” Marcus’ voice was matter-of-fact, but not without a nuance of emotion.

“And the head? What did you do with it?”

“At the first opportunity,” said Marcus without remorse or delight, “we burned it to ashes.”

“No matter her crimes—crimes against you and me personally, she was a Temporal. A pity.” Khan’s head focused on Kaileen’s long fingers, fingers that had caused the death and suffering of many. His stern frown seemed to be permanently etched into his face. “We will not talk of this now.”

Bae Khan backed away and motioned for the one with the torch to finish. As the blaze caught, Khan and the others walked to Suteko and Sam who were congregated around Marcus.

“Sam,” Khan said, extending his hand but keeping his face expressionless, “We have been waiting a long time for you.”

Sam wasn’t sure how to respond as he shook the offered hand. “A long time, sir?”

He turned back to Marcus. “You are sure, Marcus?”

“I am sure, Khan-ssi.”

The Korean man turned back to Sam, tilting his head slightly. The examination continued for over a minute without a word or further question. Sam began to feel uncomfortable as if he was being examined for some twisted use. The silence of the man was punctuated irregularly by the crackle of fire behind him. Everyone’s attention was on these two men—even Suteko who had blamed herself for Hikari’s death seemed totally absorbed by the silent drama unfolding.

“For a millennium, we have waited for you, Sam. And now it is time for you to finish the work you were destined to accomplish.”