Looming war threatens everything Fate holds dear
Fate’s reunion with Finn has given her the courage she needs to confront the dark forces poised to claim the immense power stored within the Keep. But a deadly game of deceit is playing out behind the scenes, birthing what may be an even greater threat. As war bears down on Fate and those she loves, her only hope is to break her blood oath as Keep Guardian in order to lure the final battle to unexpected realms, where surprising allies are gathering forces.
To get there, Fate must fight. She will fight for her childhood friend, whose formidable warrior skills are under the control of an ancient evil. She will fight for her father and dear friends, each of whom are prepared to die for her. And she will fight for the future she dreams of having with Finn.
Will Fate succeed in keeping her world from shattering, or is she headed for sheer destruction?
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Chapter 3 – Fate’s War
Where You Go, I Go
Fate pulled at the breastplate of her armor to keep it from digging into her armpit. She’d chosen one size too small, but there wasn’t time to run back to the armory to change. Brune, on the other hand, was already dressed and armed to the teeth with every weapon she could carry.
And so was Finn.
An involuntary sigh escaped past her lips as she looked him over. Finn wore the armor like he’d been born to it. The molded leather fit the sculpted contours of his muscles like a glove. The tarnished bronze and gold tones of the cybernetically enhanced gear covering the arm and leg bracers, shoulder pads and breastplate seemed molded to his form. The sleek helmet fit like a crown.
He caught her staring and smiled. Heat flooded into her face and she didn’t know what to do with the sudden rush of emotion. She dropped her gaze and reached for her aeronaut pack.
“The aeronaut packs are not obligessary for this mission.” Farouk ambled his cage into the middle of the sanctuary as the three of them gathered in front of him. He pushed his hand through the bars, displaying a small gadget in the palm of his hand. “You’ll be teleporting to the core with this.”
“Did I hear you say teleport?” Fate asked. “As in vanish from one spot and show up in another?”
Farouk’s devil-shaped ears slanted with annoyance. “What otherelse could I potentiably mean?”
“The king of word salads has to ask?”
Finn stepped forward for a better look. “How does it work?”
“The instrument connectifies to the brain. The only way to make it work properly is to envisionate where you wish to teleport.”
“What happens if you don’t have a clear idea of where you’re going?” Finn asked.
Farouk touched his snout to his shoulder and gave him a sidelong glance. “You could restructalize inside solid matter, such as a mountain, or you could transhift into another dimension, either of which would be…displeasurable.”
“More than just a little.” Finn’s stance grew rigid. “I don’t like it. Sounds too risky.”
“I’ve already tested it.” Brune shot him a challenging stare.
Fate narrowed her gaze on Brune. “Is that what you’ve been up to lately? Leaving the sanctuary without the rest of us knowing, even though we’ve been in lock down?”
“Someone dispensable had to test the teleporter. It’s not like we could risk our precious Keep Guardian.” Resentment dripped from Brune’s tone.
Fate ignored the jab. Brune was obviously trying to distract her from the real issue, which was the general air of secrecy between her and Farouk. She wanted to push the subject, but this wasn’t the time to get into what Brune’s real missions were outside the sanctuary walls. She’d only continue to evade her questions. “How will we all visualize the core if none of us have actually seen it?”
“You may not have seen the core, but I suspiciate you were close to it during your initiation,” Farouk explained. “Otherelse, you wouldn’t have seen the crystals being disported to the laboratory by the robots. That’s why you’ll be the one to triptivate the positionality to Brune and Finn’s teleporters.”
Fate’s stomach swirled with nervous energy. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to know if Kaliena will be down there waiting to jump out at us from behind a couch when we arrive? I really hate surprises.” She muttered the last part.
Farouk shook his head. “I’m unable to diagnosticate anything outside the few quadrants left under our control.”
Mason rushed into the room. He was dressed in full gear. “Sorry I’m late. I had to wait until Darcy fell back to sleep.”
Brune sauntered over to him. “And where do you think you’re going?”
“With you guys.”
Brune’s eyes glazed over with disinterest. “Negatory. Without the Dragon Eye, your super soldier days are over.”
Mason raised his chin, his gaze defiant. “I’m trained. I can do this without the Dragon Eye.”
“You only think you can.”
Mason gripped the hilt of his sword. The blade stuck in the scabbard. He yanked twice before it came free. Holding it out in front of him with the blade wobbling, he glared at Brune. “Come on! Spar with me. I’ll show you what I’ve got!”
Unable to watch any further, Fate half turned, but even as she did, her gaze was dragged back to Mason. She knew how he was feeling. The Dragon Eye headgear had given him instantaneous superhuman speed, strength and expert combat skills. To be deprived of that kind of power after growing used to it, was not only frightening in the ensuing powerlessness, but also humiliating.
“That’s not fair!” Mason complained. “Just let me wear the Dragon Eye. You guys need all the help you can get out there.”
“No way,” Brune told him. “The Dragon Eye technology controls the brain. That’s like putting a sign on your back that says, ‘Hey Kaliena, make me your stooge.’”
“Jessie’s gear got infected,” Mason argued. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen to mine.”
Brune’s impassive expression remained unchanged. “How?”
Mason opened his mouth, but a high-pitched screech interrupted whatever he was about to say.
“What are you doing in here?”
They all turned to see Darcy standing in the doorway. She was wearing black pajama bottoms printed with pink skulls and a t-shirt that read, ‘Oh my Goth!’ Her fists were clenched and she was shaking with rage.
“You promised me you wouldn’t go out there again!” Her blue, charcoal rimmed eyes turned into angry slits. “So that’s why you feather tickled my arms this morning. To get me back to sleep so you could sneak out!”
The sword slipped from Mason’s hand and clanged on the floor. “I just wanted to help, Dimples.”
Darcy shrieked, turned on her heel and shoved the big steel door open. Mason ran after her, letting the door slam behind him with a loud bang. As bad as Fate felt for him, she was relieved Darcy’s anger was aimed elsewhere. She’d withstood the brunt of far too many accusations that she was trying to get Mason killed every time he joined their previous missions.
Fate looked at Finn. “Does Darcy have dimples?”
He shrugged. “She doesn’t smile enough to be able to tell.”
Brune turned back to them. “Something needs to happen to those two. They’re useless and getting on my nerves.”
“Gerdie’s been researching forgetting spells so we can send them home without any memory of the Keep and what happened here,” Fate assured her. Brune was forever threatening to end them by some sort of unpleasant means. “So far Gerdie hasn’t found anything strong enough to make the forgetting permanent. We need to give her more time.”
“Time is something we don’t have,” Brune grumbled.
“Exacturacy.” Farouk stared intently at Brune. Secrets floated on the air between them, though something was different. Fate sensed resistance between them, a clue she hadn’t picked up on before. Farouk tore his heated gaze from Brune and held the teleporter out to Fate.
She took the device, turning it at different angles to figure out how to wear it. “I give up. Where does it go?”
“You hook it over the ear,” Farouk instructed.
Fate eyed the brass tube encircling the intricate circuitry overlaid with cogs and wheels, before finally seeing the ear shape. She hooked it over the top of her ear and turned the little screw to tighten the fit. “That’s not so bad. Now wh–”
Cold metal snaked through her ear canal, followed by an explosion of pain spreading through the right side of her skull. Sparks of light flashed before her eyes as the room tilted.
Finn was by her side in an instant, holding her upright. She blinked as he came into view. Concern hardened the planes of his handsome face as he spoke to her, but she couldn’t hear his words. She closed her eyes. A buzzing cut through the silence before the muffled sound of Finn’s voice grew louder and clearer.
“Fate, can you hear me?” Finn’s tone was tight with panic. He shot Farouk a black look. “What did you do to her?”
Fate found her footing and stood straight. “I’m fine. It was just a dizzy spell, a mere side affect of the stabbing pain in my brain.” She scowled at Farouk and Brune. “Thanks for the warning.”
Brune shrugged. “Is it better to dread what’s coming, or just deal with it when it happens?”
“None of it’s better, especially since I’ll be dreading the brain jab every time I have to put this thing back on.”
A cold smile crept onto Brune’s face. “Oh, didn’t we tell you? Once this is on, it only comes off through major brain surgery.”
Fate stopped breathing.
Finn stormed toward Brune. “You evil witch,” he seethed.
Farouk raised his cage and clambered between them. “I constructified the teleporter, not Brune.”
The muscles in Finn’s jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth. Darkness stole the brilliant green of his eyes. “Why the hell would you make it permanent?”
“The unimerging of organic tissue and micro circuits must be recontinuous for the atoms to discatter and restructalize in proper order. Any delay in connectification would result in perpetual discatterment.”
Finn’s pained gaze moved to Fate.
Brune moved into his line of sight. “It’s your turn. Unless of course, you’ve decided to opt out.”
Panic raced through Fate and she found her voice. “No, Finn, don’t do it.”
Finn swallowed. “Where you go, I go.” He took the teleporter Farouk offered. The moment he adjusted the tightness of the instrument onto his ear, he winced, gripping the edge of the table for support. His back arched as he breathed deeply, silently enduring the pain Fate knew too well and wished she could save him from.
At last he straightened, his expression dark and somber. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
Farouk looked at Fate. “You know where to take them. Now, close your eyes and envisionate the laboratory.”
Fate squeezed her eyes shut, tuning everything out as she traveled back in her mind, picturing the red glow of the furnaces burning deep within the depths of the Keep. She visualized the tunnels filled with steaming pipes and complicated machinery. Once she saw it clearly in her mind’s eye, she honed in on her memory of the laboratory with its complex system of glass beakers connected by reams of copper tubing.
All of a sudden, her skull filled with a horrible buzzing. Clamping her hands over her ears, she looked at Finn who was doing the same, each unable to form a single word as the buzzing became a paralyzing full body vibration. The sensation of pins and needles covered her skin. She wanted to scream but her throat was locked.
Then Finn disintegrated into billions of tiny particles and smoke. Within the same instance of seeing him destroyed before her very eyes, Fate burst into a cloud of atoms.
This concludes Chapter 3 of Fate’s War.
CLICK HERE to read Chapter 4.
