Stack a Deck: Book Four: The Weir Chronicles Read online

  A moment later, the shimmering, opaque cloud formed. The second his father’s image solidified, Jaered jumped to his feet and rushed toward Aeros with raised palms. “Wait!”

  “Insolent bastard!” his father roared. He flicked his wrist and Jaered lifted from the ground, then slammed against the building.

  He slumped in a heap on the concrete step. A muffled moan escaped. “It wasn’t me,” Jaered croaked.

  “The variation in the earth’s field. A parashyft.” Aeros grabbed Jaered by his hair and dragged him away from the building. “Only you would be so bold!”

  Jaered held tight to his father’s wrist to prevent his hair from being ripped out. He scrambled to get to his feet, but his father jerked him about and kept him off balance.

  With a final shake, Aeros let go and Jaered ended up in a pile of pine needles, flat on his back. The stabbing pain in his side was nothing compared to the pounding at his scalp.

  “Open your goddamn eyes. I’m here, it wasn’t me!” Jaered shouted.

  Aeros stilled. He gazed at Jaered with crimson flames for eyes. “Who?”

  “Ever since the Heir disappeared, I’ve been trying to track him down.” Jaered got to his feet. “I caught up with him at a market in Seville today. But I lost him. I came back here to search for more clues when I saw him enter the building. A few seconds later, there was a stutter in the vortex.”

  “Why would he dare Weir law and parashyft? Which dimension did he go to?”

  “I’m not a damn mind reader.” Jaered rubbed his scalp. “As far as I know he’s never left Earth before.”

  “My brother forbids all Weir to parashyft under penalty of death.” Aeros grew still.

  “Apparently, the Heir thinks himself above the Primary’s laws.” Jaered couldn’t recall ever seeing his father so rattled. He fought to keep the satisfaction off his face as he got to his knees. “Looks like your brother’s influence with Earth’s Heir has fizzled.”

  A dark storm filled Aeros’s features. Jaered knew that look all too well.

  “My brother’s hold over the Pur Weir is crumbling. I’ll show the Weir who’s really in charge,” Aeros hissed.

  “There’s a handful of possible dimensions,” Jaered said. “And they’re big worlds.”

  “Not for me.” A blinding light and a deafening sonic boom. Aeros was gone.

  Jaered’s core absorbed the energy of his father’s parashyft, and the ache in his side lessened. The ringing in his ears took a few seconds to subside. His ability to store tremendous amounts of energy had saved him countless times from his father’s power.

  Once he’d recovered, Jaered shyfted to the gym just as Patrick groaned, “Four.” He then stretched it out to, “Forty-nine.” The Duach Heir was in the middle of doing chin-ups on the raised bar. Had he sensed Jaered’s return? If so, he’d made progress in reading the subtle energy changes in his newborn core.

  Patrick’s next chin touch was counted off at fifty. Jaered rolled his eyes. He hadn’t seen the Duach Heir do more than eight or ten in the past week. The guy wasn’t breaking a sweat.

  Patrick dropped to his feet, then glanced over his shoulder. He feigned surprise at Jaered standing in the middle of the gym. “Where’d you go?”

  Jaered hadn’t told Patrick that Earth’s greatest threat was his father. He wondered how long he could keep that bomb from exploding. “I had an errand to run.”

  “Where?”

  “You ask too many questions.” Jaered turned away. The comment brought back memories of working with Vael. Jaered didn’t know if his friend was in a Pur prison, or dead. He shook off the flicker of melancholy like he had so many other losses in the battle to defeat his father. “I’m stepping up our timetable,” Jaered said. He pulled his T-shirt off and tossed it to the side.

  Patrick’s brow lifted. “What happened to you?”

  The concrete step had left an elongated bruise across Jaered’s side, and already it was turning from red to deep purple. “I slipped.” Jaered fell to his hip and swung his feet around. Patrick hit the floor with a resounding Splat!

  “Ugh! Stop doing that!” Patrick yelled.

  “Your enemy will catch you by surprise every chance,” Jaered said. He pinned Patrick to the floor before he could regroup and held him down with the weight of his body. “If they won’t offer you mercy, why should I?”

  Jaered didn’t roll off of Patrick until he relented and his face took on an ugly shade of pink. He headed toward the weapons cabinet with coughs and gasps in his wake.

  “We need to find Tara,” Patrick rasped.

  “You’re not ready to take on the Pur army,” Jaered tossed over his shoulder. He chose broad swords. It was time to add some weight to their sparring.

  “We won’t have to worry about them,” Patrick said, resting on his knees. “The Syndrion is looking for Ian and Milo. Not me. Ian said so.”

  “This isn’t about you or your girlfriend,” Jaered snarled. This is about defeating Aeros and saving not one, but two planets!” Jaered approached Patrick with determined steps. “Get up!” he shouted.

  Patrick rose to his feet. “Tara can help us. We need her.”

  Jaered tossed the sword at Patrick, but the skittish imbecile danced back, allowing the precision weapon to drop to the floor. Jaered clenched his jaw and took three quick breaths to steady his temper. The Duach Heir’s training had made scant progress and they were wasting precious time, something his home world of Thrae, and Earth, didn’t have.

  The need to defeat his father became more compelling with every encounter. Jaered paused in midstride and grabbed his aching side. Patrick and Ian didn’t have history with Aeros, not like Jaered did. Could he blame them for not grasping how brutal the man could be, that he can destroy entire planets? If Ian didn’t find Rayne fast, he was about to learn firsthand. Jaered counted on him surviving. They needed the Pur Heir.

  {3}

  The tremendous energy surge of the parashyft ignited every nerve in Ian’s body, but Jaered had failed to mention the need to take a deep breath before parashyfting. Ian appeared in the storage room gulping air.

  His inaugural trip to a new planet had left him dazed, while his core and muscles felt lighter. Was the gravity different on Thrae? Ian took a moment to adjust to the changes in his body and was comforted when he could draw warmth from the surrounding air into his core. His shivering lessened, but the chattering teeth took their time to ease.

  He tested his powers by forming a core blast in his open palm. It stuttered at first, but then came to life. He snuffed it out, then used his keen sight to study the dim surroundings. The lone, upper window was covered in what looked like cardboard. Wide tape held it in place. Long wooden crates were piled from floor to ceiling along the perimeter. An amber light peered from beneath the steel door. It flashed on and off to a rhythmic beat.

  A faint whiff of burnt flesh made him pause. It seemed a lifetime ago when Ian flung the core blast at Jaered, the night he kidnapped Rayne. Was this the very spot where Jaered had parashyfted both of them? If so, Ian was in the right place.

  A sound of running footsteps, then a metallic click and the door opened. A tall, wiry man stood in the doorway. He wore a plain tunic and loose, thin fabric pants. The stranger blinked with wide eyes, then glanced around the room. “Who are you?”

  “I need to meet with Gwynn. Jaered sent me.”

  Alarm contorted the man’s face. He rushed in, grabbed Ian by the arm, and ushered him out of the room, then paused long enough to lock the metal door. He pressed a button. The flashing amber light stopped. The stranger gestured to follow and led Ian down a dark corridor.

  Lights blinked on as they approached, then off a few feet behind them. In spite of the rustic appearance of the storage room and hallway, the motion sensors gave Ian the impression of modern technology.

  The man stopped at a single panel door, identical to all the others they had passed. He knocked twice, hesitated, then once again. A second later, the door opened with a jerk.

  “Is Mother Gwynn back yet?” the escort asked.

  “No,” the middle-aged woman said. She peered at Ian with a mix of curiosity and concern. “She didn’t know when she and Liem would return.”

  The man glanced at Ian from over his shoulder. “He claims our Heir sent him.”

  Heir? Jaered was Ian’s counterpart on Thrae. Ian took a moment to ponder this new revelation. “I’m here for someone. Her name is Rayne.”

  The woman scrutinized him. “Who are you?”

  “My name’s Ian. Ian Black.”

  She gasped. “Forgive me, Your Highness.” She dropped to both knees with clasped hands and hung her head. “I am Catherine. This is Sven.” The man fell to one knee and bowed.

  Stunned, Ian took the woman’s elbow and helped her to her feet. “Who do you think I am?” he asked.

  “Aren’t you Earth’s Heir? The one our Mother told us about?”

  “Whose mother?” Ian asked.

  “Gwynn. Mother-to-us-all,” the woman said.

  Ian’s questions would have to wait. This confusion wasted precious time. “We need to hurry. I have to find Rayne. Do you know who she is? Where she might be?”

  “Of course.” Catherine came alive. She grabbed Ian’s arm and dragged him into a small, sparsely furnished apartment, then addressed the man in the hall. “Sound the alarm. Make sure everyone knows this isn’t a drill. Aeros is coming.” She slammed the door.

  How did these people know to expect the threat? The woman led Ian through the small kitchen toward a narrow door. It opened to a pantry filled with spices and grains. A few jars with handwritten labels were stacked on shelves and a couple of canvas bags were propped just beyond Ian’s feet.

  Shoved from behind, he entered but soon stopped in front of the pantry wall. The woman reached up and pushed on an upper corner of the wall, and then pressed the toe of her shoe against a lower corner. It opened to what appeared to be a hand-carved dirt tunnel. Ian couldn’t see but a few feet ahead.

  Catherine pressed up against him from behind, but he didn’t budge. “Where are you taking me?” he said.

  “Your Highness, please. Unless you’re ready to confront Aeros, you’ll do as I say or you’ll get us both killed. In all likelihood, more than just us.” This time the woman gave him a forceful nudge, and he entered the tunnel with cautious steps.

  She withdrew a straw cloak from a hook and wrapped it around Ian’s shoulders. The smell reminded him of freshly mown alfalfa. She led him down a descending tunnel where the air soon cooled and the walls grew damp. He caught the sound of distant rushing water.

  Catherine stopped at a wooden-planked door embedded in a rock wall, put an ear to it, then knocked. A metallic scrape and the door opened to a massive cavern with stone walls and natural rock benches. From the looks of it, more than a hundred people of all ages had gathered.

  A bright light illuminated the room. It came from a wide column of energy that rose from the dirt base, then disappeared into the rocky ceiling. The energy pulsed to a rhythm all its own and lit up the people in a strobing glow. Stalagmites and stalactites were scattered throughout the space. Moisture filled the air and drips pooled at the base of the stalagmites next to Ian. A few of the people sat with dangling legs on overhead ledges. Everyone was eerily silent. Those closest caught sight of Ian and fingers or chins soon pointed in his direction.

  Ian searched the faces for Rayne, but she wasn’t among the gathered.

  The core deep in Ian’s chest adopted the pulse of the column of energy. Mesmerized, he approached with slow steps as the gathered bodies parted. Many faces regarded him with curiosity, others with suspicion. A few stared at him with nothing short of awe.

  The closer he drew, the more intensely his core beat, matching the column’s rhythm. He stopped and reached toward it, but it vibrated in a shuddering beat that repeated itself in Ian’s chest. A man grabbed Ian from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. “Stay still,” he hissed at Ian’s ear.

  Ian took in those closest to him. Everyone was frozen in place. Some had lowered their faces to their laps and thrown their arms over their heads.

  In an instant he understood the dread surrounding him. Aeros was here.

  {4}

  The man released him and sat down in silence. Ian tuned into the heartbeats around him and was shocked to find that his was the only one drumming in panic. He focused on quieting his heart and backed away from the column to soothe his core.

  Questions swarmed about Ian’s thoughts as he studied their faces. These people were accustomed to hiding from Aeros. Earth wasn’t the only planet the megalomaniac had laid siege to.

  Ian didn’t know how long they sat unmoving with shallow breaths. It felt like an hour or more before the brilliant column of energy shuddered once again. No one moved for several more minutes.

  Catherine was the first to stand. At her gesture, the crowd stood while children dropped from the ledges into waiting arms.

  “Why did Aeros return?” a man called out from the edge of the crowd. He pointed at Ian. “Did he follow you?”

  Catherine stepped onto a nearby rock. “This is one of Earth’s Heirs and he deserves more than pointed fingers and disrespect,” Catherine said with a raised chin.

  Whispers and gasps filled the cave. Everyone fell to one or both knees and bowed their heads.

  “He is here for our Sun,” Catherine announced.

  I’m here for Rayne, Ian kept to himself. His powers might be developing further, but he’d never be able to harness the sun. “Please, stand,” Ian said. The crowd did his bidding as if one.

  “Who was it this time?” The voice came from the back of the cavern.

  “Aeros never comes without taking a life,” an older woman said. Desperate voices and fearful glances rose from the gathered crowd.

  “You ask what I cannot answer,” Catherine replied in a voice tinged in frustration. “You know the drill. In Mother’s absence, report back to me if you find something amiss.”

  “When will Mother return?” someone shouted.

  “I don’t know,” Catherine said. “Go, do some good instead of griping and moaning about what we have no control over.”

  The bodies filed out a handful of doors in an orderly fashion. Ian returned to the column of energy. With each step, his core absorbed the power and every nerve in his body tingled as if struck by lightning. “What will happen if I touch it?” he asked.

  “I wouldn’t know,” Catherine said. “Our Heir is the only one who has.”

  If Jaered could touch it . . . Ian extended his hand. The column pulsed toward him like a greeting and met the tips of his fingers. A surge of electromagnetic energy ripped through his body while deep in his chest, his core absorbed it like a ravenous predator. With an upheld palm, he walked around the column, relishing in the concentrated energy.

  “This amount of power must be coming from the planet’s core. How did you contain it?”

  “I don’t have the information you seek.” A tremendous sigh came from the small woman and it echoed about the cavern. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. Mother Gwynn is typically in charge.” Catherine wandered over and sat on one of the rock outcroppings. “I’m not a leader, not like our Mother.”

  “Where is she?” Ian said. He found it difficult to pull his attention away from the column. “You must know where she took Rayne.”

  “You are referring to our Sun,” Catherine said.

  “Why do you refer to her as that?” Ian asked.

  Catherine indicated the wall behind him. A towering triangle with a sun at its center had been carved into the sheer rock. It was identical to the Seal on Ian’s chest, and the one that both Jaered and Patrick shared.

  “She is the sun that binds the three Heirs and gives you tremendous power,” Catherine said. “She must be protected at all cost in our fight against Aeros.”

  Ian had searched for answers most of his life. He’d never imagined that he’d find them on Thrae. Was this why the Primary had forbidden all of Earth’s Weir to come here, because they’d learn the truth? “As long as I’m here, there is a risk Aeros might return,” he said. “I need to find her soon so your Heir and I can keep her safe.”

  “No one knows where she was taken. It was to protect her, and us,” Catherine said.

  “There must be someone who has a clue, a starting point.”

  “There is . . . one.” Catherine stood and led Ian out of the cavern and then through the tunnels. They returned to the back of her pantry.

  He hung up the straw cloak and closed the pantry’s back wall. When he stepped out, Catherine spoke in hushed voices with Sven. The look on their faces gave Ian pause. “What is it?” he said.

  The tall, wiry man hurried out of the apartment. Catherine bit her lip. The worrisome gesture reminded Ian of Rayne.

  “Aeros has left a message,” Catherine said in choked words. “For you.”

  *

  On the way to the control room, Catherine filled Ian in on what she referred to as the heartbeat of their compound. It housed all the controls for the settlement. Water filtration, air circulation, and something called the dome, were monitored and adjusted from the single room.

  They both froze at the threshold, as though to take a step into such horror would make it real. To call the scene a bloodbath wouldn’t begin to describe the mutilation. The poor woman gasped and turned away from the sight. Instead of an efficient technological center, it resembled a meat-packing warehouse. Blood had sprayed the walls like an uncorked, shaken champagne bottle. Chunks of flesh and brain matter littered the controls, chairs, and floors. Scraps of clothing were ripped to shreds along with what was left of bone and tissue. From where Ian stood, it was impossible to guess how many bodies perished in the massacre.

  What possible power did Aeros possess that could rip humans apart like this? Ian swallowed, but a lump of guilt caught in his throat.