The Deities (The Survivors Book Fourteen) by Nathan Hystad

Author:Nathan Hystad [Hystad, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Woodbridge Press
Published: 2020-10-20T00:00:00+00:00

Eleven

The lights turned on in the hallway, and Lom rolled over in his bed. “Regnig, what is it?”

Something’s happened to the portals, sir. The telekinetic bird’s words were laced with worry.

“What do you mean, something?” Lom swung his feet out of the bed, the metal soles landing on the bedroom floor. He missed the touch of his skin against the ground. To feel the cool marble under his toes, to walk on grass barefoot.

You’d better come. Regnig didn’t elaborate, and Lom didn’t press him. It was late, and he was still foggy. Sergo and Walo were being held in a cell tonight, Lom letting them sweat it out before the interrogation tomorrow. They’d break. They always did.

The central palace on Shimmal was expansive, and he kept his quarters on the opposite end from the portal. It was a long hike through the wide empty halls, and Lom nearly picked up Regnig, hating to dawdle at the bird’s hobbling pace.

Regnig had been loyal and hard-working. It was a rare trait in the people around Lom, so he relaxed, letting the man carry the tempo. Whatever had happened with the portals couldn’t be too bad, though they’d been acting peculiar the past few weeks, ever since the crystal planet had disappeared. Lom didn’t know enough about them, but none of it would matter. He’d be gone in a week or so. Returned home by way of Carolyn’s device she was building at Terran Nine.

Any issues now would be minor setbacks. It was nice to not care any longer. To let things happen without anger and fury consuming him. Lom had allowed it to run his life, but maybe it was time to make a change. Once he was home again, with the Parkers gone, he’d be able to live in relative peace. These past years had been a fun experiment, but he was growing tired.

Vitair waited near the portal entrance, his arms wrapped around himself like a blanket. He’d also been faithful, working alone at Udoon, waiting for word from Lom. Perhaps he’d leave this empire to those most loyal in his life. This pair seemed as likely as anyone, but deep down, neither of them had the killer instinct to lead. Carolyn Lauder did. Lom smiled as he approached Vitair, and the man must have taken the expression as a good sign. He returned it nervously.

Lom heard Hectal’s and Rulo’s boots echoing through the corridor behind him. They were always nearby.

“What is it?” he asked Vitair, but it was Regnig who opened the doors. The white-walled room glowed a different color. The portal stones were always blue, but they’d lost that effect. They were clear, the light emanating from them a sharp white glow.

“Do they function?” Lom asked.

“We don’t know. We wanted to show you first,” Vitair told him.

Lom walked through the plain room, his footsteps heavy. This was wrong. Someone had messed with the network. It was the only explanation. He stood at the table, wondering if it was safe to enter.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.