“Oh, but I do,” Achilles replied. “Your mind is an open book to me. I can see the recesses of your subconscious where you push your true powers out of fear. You don’t believe me? Then think about all the times you have been a dominant power in battle. How many times have you defeated an enemy because of your psychic strength? And yet you are so easily defeated by me. It’s pathetic. I thought you would be a much better challenge, especially after my father mentioned you by name. But if this is all you can do, I hardly see a reason to keep you alive.”
As Achilles walked forward, mirror images of him began to separate from the original. First ten, then twenty duplicates of Achilles strode forward, each moving independently of the others. Glancing back and forth, Yen felt a stab of fear in his chest. He knew that this was only happening in his mind, but try as he might he was unable to break free of the illusion. Standing in the water, Yen formed a pair of psychic whips, one in each hand, and began striking the closest of the images.
One by one, the false images faded from view under Yen’s assault. Disrupted by the new psychic power, they wavered and disappeared. For every one destroyed, however, another seemed to materialize before him. Staggering backward, Yen sloshed through the pond as he moved closer to the monument at the far end. The images closed in, growing progressively closer despite Yen’s fevered attempts to destroy them. He had no idea what these images would be capable of should they reach him, but he had no intention of finding out.
“Old fool,” a voice whispered from behind him, alerting Yen to the danger moments before a pair of open palms struck him in his lower back.
An explosion of pain rocked Yen’s body as he was lifted effortlessly into the air. Suspended and paralyzed, Yen was turned slowly around until he faced the darkly smiling Achilles, who stood hovering above the lake’s surface, his hand upraised as he lazily spun Yen in circles.
“I had thought to keep you around, so that we might learn from one another,” Achilles said angrily. “But I realize now that there is nothing that I could possibly learn from you that I do not already know. You have no intrinsic value to me. You’re nothing more than my puppet. But like all toys, I’vve grown weary of playing with you. I’m no longer a child, so I must discard my childish things. Goodbye, Yen Xiao.”
Achilles’ outstretched hand closed into a fist and Yen felt his throat constrict. Though he struggled for air, Yen was helpless to stop the Terran from choking the life from his body. Instead, Yen could only glare in rage as he struggled to draw breath.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Through the hole in the wall, Keryn and Adam slipped into the cool desert night. They slid along the buildings, trying to leave as little a silhouette as possible in the bright moonlight. Aside from the occasional gunfire, the town had taken on an eerie silence. Taking a deep breath, Keryn hoped that the tentative ceasefire that had existed when Adam was guarding the window to their building would hold for a while longer. As long as the townsfolk continued to believe that a deadly gunman was waiting just inside the room, they would be hesitant to approach the building. Keryn hoped that diversion would buy them enough time to make it out of the town’s limits before they realized the dupe. The thought of running like a madwoman toward the landing field with an entire armed town in pursuit did not appeal to her.
Staying low, the pair moved from box to barrel, constantly scanning the area ahead as they moved from one cover to another. Passing alleyways that led back to the main thoroughfare through town, they paused and peered toward the lamp lit main street. Unlike the shadowy darkness through which they moved, the setting sun had automatically activated the flickering lanterns that illuminated the two main roads through town. As Keryn’s eyes moved up the cliff face behind town, she could see similar lanterns lighting the length of the switchback trail. Craning her neck, the pinpricks of lantern light stretched the entire height of the plateau’s face before disappearing at the crest of the plateau’s top.
From within the glowing pools of light, Keryn could see townsfolk moving. They moved with an air of caution, though their awkward graces as they tried to slip stealthily within the shadows made it apparent that they learned their techniques more from console videos and less from actual soldier training. Frowning, Keryn felt pity for the simple citizens of the town. Their vision clouded by the large sums of money that Cardax had poured into their meager lives, they were willing to toss aside their morals and self-respect just to protect their new way of life. They were willing to die for a smuggler about which they knew next to nothing. Would they be so willing to die for him if they knew that Cardax had sold out the Alliance? Keryn wondered if they would so willingly accept the Oterian’s money if they knew just how much he had soaked it in blood beforehand.
With a nudge from Adam, she slipped from behind her crate and passed the exposed alleyway. Though the town was relatively long, the end quickly approached. From the end of town, the desert opened up, leaving little protective concealment. The pair would have to move quickly but carefully to avoid detection. Looking up, Keryn both admired the myriad of stars while simultaneously feeling disappointed that there weren’t any clouds hanging in the sky. The large disk of the moon stole away many of the shadows that they could have used to move undetected. Instead, the silvery illumination would leave them exposed while they ran away. Still, she had seen the unimpressive marksmanship of the townsfolk. Once they made their break from the town, she doubted any of the pursuing gunfire would even come close to them.
Lost in her bemusing, Keryn nearly ran into a figure as he detached himself from an upcoming alleyway. She started bringing her pistol to bear on the new target before she caught the moonlight glistening off the cool metal of the figure’s pistol, trained on her chest. Deep in thought, she had let a civilian get the drop on her. Keryn scowled at her own ineptitude. Her frown deepened as she realized that she knew the figure.
A confident smile spread across the Uligart’s face as he looked back and forth between Keryn and Adam. “I warned you that you should have just left town. We don’t like when people threaten our source of income.”
“The storekeeper,” Adam grumbled. “From Yako…”
“
“You don’t have to turn us in,” Keryn offered.
The Uligart turned sharply on her. “Of course I do!” he hissed. “Do you have any idea how much money Cardax will pay me for capturing you both?”
“It seems like you’ve got your mind set on it,” Adam interrupted, his voice getting a little louder than the whisper they had all been using. “You might as well call out and let the rest of the town know where we are.”
“Keep it down!” the Uligart ordered. “You think I’m going to get other people involved and share my fortune? No, you’re mine and mine alone.”
Keryn looked down and noticed the gun wavering slightly in his hand. His grip was awkward, as though he didn’t usually carry a pistol. She didn’t notice the traditional calluses that would mark a steady gunman. The Uligart’s hands seemed smooth, the hands of a storeowner and not a gunfighter.
She took a step forward, smiling broadly. “First of all,” Keryn said condescendingly, “this isn’t the first time I’ve had a pistol pointed at me, nor will it be the last. Go ahead and put that thing away before someone gets hurt.”
The Uligart took a step back, his eyes locking intently on the Wyndgaart woman. “Stay back,” he stuttered.
“And secondly…” Adam rumbled as he stepped forward. His hand shot out in a blur, catching the pistol near the trigger well and smashing the Uligart’s fingers between Adam’s fist and the pistol’s grip. With a grunt of pain, the pistol went flying from the storekeeper’s hand and was lost in the desert beyond.
“…you really should have called for help,” Keryn finished as she stepped forward.
The Uligart’s eyes opened in surprise as Keryn’s knife slid smoothly into his abdomen. The sharp blade slashed through organs as she turned the knife upward until the tip of the blade entered the Uligart’s right lung. He opened his mouth to scream, but only a gurgle escaped. He leaned forward, he weight falling on Keryn’s shoulder. Slowly, as she supported his weight, she lowered the storekeeper down to the hard, desert clay as his blood soaked his shirt and pants. Once he was firmly on the ground, Keryn leaned back and looked at the Uligart, who looked surprised but peaceful on the ground. With a sharp twist, she pulled her knife free, splashing her own arms with the
