He opened his eyes and heard the transport explode above him at the same time.
Three...
Two...
One.
He slammed into the glass walls on the top of the tower. He heard people yelling as he skidded to a stop. His body ached, but the armor had done its job. He got to his feet in a fluid motion, pulling the giant's armor off as he did.
Four men stood in front of him, stunned and staring. Servia had been right about them. They might be criminals, but they spent their time manning a tower that was never attacked. Now, a huge man with red eyes confronted them, bright red lasers streaming from the hilt in his hand.
Alistair moved through the four men quickly, taking their lives as they'd tried to take his.
"I'm in," he announced into the comm.
"About time," Servia said with relief in her voice.
Alistair walked over to the control panel. Glass was strewn across it. "Gods damn it," he said. "This thing is like reading a different language."
"Don't worry, good chap, I'm still here," Jeeves responded in his ear. "Faitrin managed to get me hooked up to you too. Will you give me access to your SkinSuit?"
Alistair did. He didn't feel anything, but he knew the AI was looking through his hood. Seconds passed, then Jeeves told him what to press. Alistair touched the panels in front of him, then asked Servia, "Did it work?"
"Door just opened," she responded.
"On my way down." Alistair grabbed the gigante’s armor, then found the stairs and rushed to the bottom. Everyone but the AllMother and Obs was waiting there for him. The gigante led them underground, following the same staircase.
Alistair looked down a long tunnel with lights on either side. They were a kilometer from going underneath the walls.
"We will meet opposition," Caesar said. "They are coming to kill us now."
"Get us to the rest of your kind," Alistair instructed.
The giant nodded. "Yes, master."
The group started down the tunnel. Alistair and Caesar walked side by side, two gods coming to take their vengeance.
Chapter Nineteen
“Death? That’s for other people.”
—Hel vi Thraxus
Hel's head was cocked, and she held a torch in her hand. Fire shot from the end of it, and she watched as Thoreaux’s skin blackened and bubbled.
The Subversive was screaming, but Hel had chained him up for this little experiment. She had never burned flesh without a purpose before, and she wanted to see how long it would take to burn down to the bone.
She kept the flame on the lower arm, but the screaming had stopped. Hel looked up and saw the Subversive had fainted from the pain.
"Damn it!” She'd have to go get a stimpack to wake him and keep him up. Truthfully, she should have already administered one, but she had been anxious to get started.
She stood up and walked across the room to the door. She reached to push it open when someone on the other side pulled it.
Veena was standing in front of her, disgust written on her face. Hel gave her the most charming smile she could muster. "How can I help you, Primus?"
"He's here," Veena said, her eyes flashing to the unconscious Subversive.
"Who?"
"Who the fuck do you think?"
A shiver of fear ran down Hel's back. It was involuntary, and she couldn't hide it from Veena. The assassin closed her eyes for a moment to settle herself, but when she reopened them, her right hand was trembling—the one that held the torch. "Kane?"
The Primus bitch smiled. "That's right. All of your plotting and planning has brought him here. He somehow took out one of their defense towers, and from what I understand, he's in a tunnel trying to go beneath the ground."
Hel looked over her shoulder at the unconscious Subversive. She didn't understand what could make the man chase them this far. It was a loyalty she could never feel, to give up his life for someone like the cretin in the corner. Hel understood what this meant for her. If he did make it through this fortress and find her?
Death would be a welcome release from what Kane would do.
She turned back to Veena. "Where's Ares?"
"He's preparing for battle."
"Have you talked to Manius?" Hel asked. The man ruled this fortress and a quarter of the underworld on this giant planet. There were so many rumors about the man that Hel couldn't keep up with them all. He took cold credits, however, and had been willing to entertain her plans.
"No, but that's why I'm here. One of his lackeys said he wanted to speak to you. The lackey wasn't keen on coming down here to talk to you. Even the worst criminals find you vile."
"Thanks for the message. Tell the lackey I'll go to Manius now." Hel reached out and closed the door, then turned around and stared at the man in the corner. She'd met with Manius once before when he allowed them to stay in this fortress. It'd cost a lot of credits, but she hadn't wanted to be in the wilderness with Kane hunting her for this exact reason. The man simply defied odds.
She didn't know what Manius was going to say about any of this. All she knew for sure was that Kane’s arrival wasn't good, not for her, and not for anyone she traveled with.
Hel knew she couldn't keep the underworld boss waiting. She left the Subversive chained up and locked the room as she left. She wasn't taking any chances with him getting loose. She understood that if she was caught by him or his friends...
No, she wouldn't think about it. Right now, she had to deal with Manius.
Hel made her way through the castle-like fortress. There was a lot of movement around her, but that was usually the case in here. She couldn't tell how seriously they were taking Kane.
She reached Manius' quarters. Two guards stood outside, and they recognized her and were expecting her. One opened the door without saying anything,
