2041 Sanctuary (Genesis) (26 page)

Sarah saw the light fade from Riley’s eyes and his chest ceased to move from the rhythm of his breath.

She stared down through shimmering tears at the man who’d stolen her heart and caressed his face with shaking hands. ‘I love you, Riley,’ – Sarah pressed her lips to his – ‘I love you too.’

Chapter Forty Two

The fires of hell continued to simmer and burn, and black smoke coiled into misty skies like the pyres of the damned. Sarah held Riley to her as her tears ran dry from the searing heat. The precarious bridge on which she sat shuddered and the words she’d spoken before echoed in her mind.
Where you go, I go
. She looked over the edge of the narrow walkway and down into the abyss, where the orange flames of burning tar created strange forms in the wind. The storm rumbled overhead like the death knell of her soul and she hugged Riley tighter as the ground shook again.

All I have to do is wait
, she thought,
wait for the end to come and I can be with him again
.

Pain in her hand made her look down to see white knuckles gripped around her cross. She released her hold to stare at the golden keepsake … Trish’s golden keepsake. A vision of Dresden Locke sprang to mind, along with his words.
I’m sorry, Riley; she knows too much, they all do
.

A shock of realisation wrenched Sarah from the chains of grief.
Locke is going after Trish and Jason.
She stumbled to her feet, pulled on her Deep Reach helmet and pressed the button for two-way communication, but all she could hear was static.

‘Trish, Jason, if you can hear me, Locke … Locke killed Riley. He wants to stop us getting to the surface. Be careful, I’m on my way.’

She turned back to her dead lover as lightning flickered above, reflecting in his eyes that stared fixed into the nothing of beyond. Sarah reached out a hand and breathed deep before closing his eyelids with a featherlike touch.

‘I have to go,’ she whispered, kissing Riley goodbye, ‘he’s going to kill my friends.’ She stood to face the seething furnace as a powerful wind sent flames curling around her like the Devil’s breath. Sarah’s brows furrowed deep with cold fury. ‘But not if I kill him first.’

Chapter Forty Three

Sarah ran forward through smoke and flame.
Trish and Jason think Locke’s on their side –
she leapt over a fissure as her senses switched sharp –
they won’t stand a chance!

Visor warnings spun over her display in all directions, but she ran on, trusting instinct over technology.

The ground shook and the flames roared higher. She glimpsed movement on a bridge to her left.

Jefferson Church emerged through the shimmering heat. ‘Sarah!’ he said, calling out. ‘Where are the others, where’s Riley?’

She slowed and glanced round to where she’d just been. ‘He’s gone!’ She looked back as a gust of wind revealed the way ahead. Sixty feet away, the figure of Dresden Locke moved through the flames.

Sarah’s heart raced faster and she closed her mask and ran on through fire.

‘Sarah, wait!’ Jefferson stared after her before turning to look back the way she’d come. ‘Gone where?’

♦

Searing heat filled Sarah’s lungs, but it only served to fuel her anger. Vaulting a fallen column, she closed the gap on Locke.

The noxious mists cleared a little and a black mass loomed out of the darkness. Sarah gazed up at the colossal form of a winged sphinx wreathed in cloud, its enormous Anakim face and sweeping headdress lit up by sporadic flashes of purple light from the storm above.

She looked down to see Locke turn in her direction. Their eyes met across the expanse and his surprise at seeing her changed to determination, and he upped his pace. The chase was on.

Sarah felt a surge of rage and she leapt forward.

Second by second, Sarah’s long legs ate up the ground between them, her youth and skill a match for the ageing SED leader fleeing before her.

He glanced back to see her closing and pulled something from his utility belt and threw it in her direction. A huge explosion sent shockwaves through the network of crumbling bridges. A large section disappeared in a pall of dust and flame and Sarah skidded to a halt at the edge of shattered stone.

Warning messages bombarded her head-up-display and she pressed a helmet button to switch off her visor. The dark of Sanctuary descended, but the fires and storm lit up the scene with enough light to see by. Sarah saw movement in the distance. She could just make out the tiny outlines of Trish and Jason pass through the towering entrance built into the sphinx’s chest. Locke had seen them, too, and he angled his route towards the staircase between the beast’s pair of giant claws. Her gaze dropped back to the chasm before her. Some of the walkways hadn’t collapsed. Enough remained that she could see a way across. If she’d had the time she would have gone around, but if she wanted to save Trish and Jason it was this way or nothing.

With no more time to think, Sarah took four long strides back the way she’d come and sucked in a deep breath. ‘You can do this, Sarah,’ she said as fear sought to cripple her, ‘remember your training. Remember who you are.’ She closed her eyes. ‘I’m Deep Reach,’ she whispered, ‘I’m Deep Reach.’

Her eyes snapped open and she powered forward. Arms pumping, legs straining, Sarah leapt out over the abyss.

♦

Dresden Locke raised his arms against the roaring flames and took a step back. He’d seen Morgan’s accomplices entering the colossal sphinx moments before. He was amazed to have seen Sarah still alive; he’d been certain the stone walkway was about to collapse. He cursed his impatience. If he’d had a little more resolve she’d no longer be a problem.
Although
, he thought, glancing back,
there’s no way she can catch me before I reach her friends
.
She’ll have to go back and find another way round, and by then I’ll have the pendant and be waiting for her
.

He touched the knife at his belt and felt a twinge of regret for killing Riley.
I had no choice
, he told himself,
he left me no choice
.

Waiting for the wind to die back down – and with it the flames – Locke stared in disbelief at a figure crossing the expanse behind. He zoomed in his visor to see Sarah leap across an impossible gap, haul herself up an inverted overhang and then scale a sliver of rock as it collapsed behind her. The Englishwoman’s slim figure disappeared in a cloud of debris … only to emerge seconds later onto another section of walkway. With only half of the collapse left to traverse, he realised she might make it across. Urgency seized him and Locke threw himself forward through the fires. Rolling to the ground, he jumped up to extinguish the flames that clung to his jacket and ran towards the sphinx. Moments later he was leaping onto the first step of the oversized staircase. Scaling it as fast as he could, his breathing grew laboured and passing halfway he paused to look back. There was no sign of Morgan, but his hopes of her demise were dashed as a hand appeared over the final ledge. Unable to believe what he was seeing, his fingers sought his utility belt for another explosive charge, but he was all out. He turned back to the Anakim monument to resume his ascent, his efforts redoubled.

♦

Sarah rolled away from scorched stone and clambered to her feet. She activated her visor and saw Locke high above, disappearing up the ancient stairway. Jumping forward through dying flames, she ate up the distance to the first step and launched herself upwards. Higher and higher she climbed, her movement settling into a rhythm. Step – step – climb. Breathe. Step – step – climb. Breathe.

Seconds ticked by and her exertion continued, heart and lungs working in unison to power her on until, finally, she reached the mist-veiled summit and the entrance beyond.

Locke had long since gone inside and Sarah prayed Trish and Jason were okay. She tried the coms button on her helmet again. The message, ‘
No Signal
’, flashed up on her visor. The only benefit of her not being able to reach them was that neither could Locke.

Removing a small pocket knife from her belt, she prised the blade out and moved into the dark.

Chapter Forty Four

Sarah crept forward through the giant Anakim Sphinx, her ears straining against the quiet while the sound of the storm faded away. Her footsteps sounded loud to her ears as they echoed through the enormous structure. Her visor adjusted to the interior light, or lack thereof, and she double-checked her helmet’s torches remained in the off position. The worst thing she could do now would be to advertise her location. With her knife held before her, she advanced through an avenue of enormous statues. The dynamic sculptures struck powerful poses above her, the eyes of man, woman and beast from eons past appraising her from lofty heights. The whole place glistened with the sheen of water and the drip drop of falling liquid intensified the damp hush that closed in around her.

Locke was nowhere to be seen and if he lurked in the shadows he could already be behind her. But she didn’t have time for caution. Trish and Jason were all that mattered. With this in mind she realised her idea of remaining hidden was erroneous, at least in part.

She cupped her hands to her mouth. ‘Trish, Jason!’ she said, her voice booming into the dark. ‘Don’t trust Locke!’

A moment later, the sound of her voice echoed back towards her. ‘Don’t trust Locke … Locke … Locke.’

She shouted again. ‘He killed Riley!’

‘Riley … iley … iley.’ The echo died once more and silence returned.

Did they hear me?
she wondered.
Locke must have done. What will he do now? Wait for me, or press ahead for Trish and Jason?

Either way she had to keep moving, as even if her warning had got through, her friends were still in grave danger. A distant sound alerted her to the need for haste and Sarah struck out to her left and into another section of the sphinx and a forest of soaring columns shrouded in mist.

Chapter Forty Five

Darklight leader, Commander Hilt, leapt over a gaping chasm and landed with a jolt on the other side. Chunks of stone tumbled into the fiery abyss and he turned as Samson took two strides and jumped across after him. Hilt raised his sword to deflect the incoming strike and Samson’s blade scraped across stone in a shower of sparks. Kicking away the colonel’s legs, Hilt rolled to his feet and powered his blade down at Samson’s neck. The colonel blocked the strike and thrust his other sword into Hilt’s shield, forcing him back.

‘Tiring, Darklight?’ Samson said, getting to his feet.

Breathing hard, Hilt didn’t respond. Samson was human, and just like him, was feeling the pace.

Hilt moved back onto firmer ground and glanced left to see one more intersection remained before the lattice of bridges ended near the feet of the Anakim Sphinx.

His visor warned him his armour was overheating and he made a run for it. Flames roared around him and ten strides later Hilt burst through into the clarity of clean air. Opening his mask, he breathed deep and turned to see Samson following.

The Terra Force leader slowed to a walk as he emerged from the flames and allowed a twenty foot gap to open up between them. He also retracted his face-plate and then wiped the sweat from his face with an armoured wrist.

Hilt stared into Samson’s cold eyes as each studied the other. He knew the colonel would like nothing more than to relieve Goodwin of his head, but that was something Hilt could not, and would not, allow. He also knew Goodwin and Susan must be close, for as far as he could tell the immense sphinx was the focal point of the surrounding complex. If they were anywhere, it was inside the ancient structure. He edged towards the stairway to block off Samson’s route inside.

‘What’s with the Englishwoman, Morgan?’ Hilt said, buying himself more time to recuperate.

Samson didn’t reply. Instead, the Terra Force officer dropped to one knee to rest while keeping his eyes fixed firmly on Hilt.

‘Do you even know why they want her?’

‘She has something she shouldn’t,’ Samson said.

‘The pendant?’

Samson glared at him and said no more.

As Hilt prepared for the resumption of hostilities, he noticed a large figure emerge from the lattice of bridges to the left. From the look of his uniform he was a Deep Reach explorer and he carried the limp body of one his team in his arms. Hilt recognised the dead man as the person Samson had threatened with death should Morgan not give him the very thing he’d just mentioned, the mysterious pendant.

The man moved away from the toxic fumes and his breathing apparatus slid back to reveal a bearded face. He paused as he saw the two soldiers before him.

Hilt stood aside to let him pass.

The man adjusted his grip on his grim burden and moved up onto the Anakim steps to begin a crippling ascent.

With the moment gone, Hilt closed his face-plate before moving back to face his opponent, who stood in response.

‘Ready to die, Darklight?’ Samson said.

Hilt sliced the air twice with his glowing sword to leave a cross of light fading in the dark. ‘As ready as you, Terra Force.’

Samson showed his teeth in something approaching a grin and sealed his face back inside his helmet.

Hilt surged forward, catching the colonel by surprise and laid into him with everything he had, sword and shield against sword and sword.

The ring of clashing steel sung out over howling winds as the battle ebbed and flowed. First Hilt gained the advantage, only for Samson to come storming back in a snarling rage.

Hilt sensed an opening and sent Samson spinning to the ground, but the colonel surged to his feet and unleashed a relentless barrage that drove Hilt back – and back again.

Ducking a vicious slice, Hilt anticipated a feint and slammed his shield down, sending one of the colonel’s swords clattering to the ground. Samson altered the direction of his counter-strike and snapped Hilt’s head back with a brutal uppercut, before backhanding the shield from his grasp.