The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (35 page)

“
I
know, Richard. Thanks for that. But that's not what I meant.”
He collected his thoughts as they followed the hallway around a
curve. “The renegade Titans found out that we were in that
desert level, somehow. I was wrong when I assume it was Dominic who
tipped them off.”

“
Which
raises the question; how did they know?” Richard responded.

“
Exactly.
But I don't think any of us was involved in that,” Justin said.
“They must have had some way to monitor that level. And they
weren't monitoring this one, or the one where Prometheus lives. So
let's hope that they've lost track of us now.” He sighed.
“We've had enough trouble to last us.”

His
friends agreed and the rest of the walk though the corridor was
carried out in silence.

“
Hey
guys, another door up ahead!” Aaron exclaimed. He was first in
line and hurried forward.

The door
was identical to the first one and just as hard to open. When they
had managed to force their way through, they found themselves at the
bottom of a circular stairway leading upward.

“
Woohoo!”
Aaron cried. “Finally, a way to get out of this place and away
from those damned snakes!”

Justin
felt a rush of hope mixed with relief. The sooner they got away from
here and its terrible memories, the better for all of them, he
thought.

“
Guys,
I'll go back and collect the others,” Richard volunteered. “No
reason for all of us to walk back there.”

“
Great
idea, Rich. Thanks,” Aaron said and slapped him on the
shoulder. “We'll wait for you before heading up.”

With a
nod, Richard headed back and Justin, Jason and Aaron took the
opportunity to sit down and rest for a bit.

They all
drank some water from their flasks, ate a bit of fruit and talked
quietly.

Jason
told them some more about Dominic. While locked up by the government,
Dom had confided to Jason that his parents had split up when he was
three. His mother had left and he had only seen her on an occasional
holiday.

“
He
was pretty angry about that,” Jason said. “But his dad
was an engineer, worked on dams and bridges so he got to see a lot of
the world. I think he wanted to follow the same career path as his
father did.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his
eyes. “So much for that dream,” Jason added, sounding
bitter.

Justin
felt a hole somewhere inside. He had begun to like Dominic. They were
becoming friends, he thought. And now it would never happen. A flash
of pointless anger shot through him for a moment and then left him
feeling empty, useless.

No more,
he thought. I can't lose any more. First Dad, then Wilson, then Mom
and now Dominic. He glanced at Aaron who was busily peeling and
eating a banana, looking thoughtful. What if that had been Aaron, he
wondered. What would I do if he died?

Stop it!
Don't think about it, he said to himself firmly. It's not going to
happen. You're all getting out of here and that's all there is to it.
He wished he could believe that.

They
heard the others coming before they saw them. From the sounds of
their footsteps they were running and the three teens leapt to their
feet.

“
What
now?” Aaron asked anxiously.

Richard
ran through the door first, followed closely by Maria, Yolanda and
Julia. All of them were panting loudly and looked scared.

“
What's
happened, Maria?” Justin asked her.

“
The
snakes, Justin. Somehow they found a way around your barrier on the
ramp. They came pouring into the chamber back there and we only
managed to get through that first door and close it behind us.”
She stopped to take a breath and Yolanda spoke up.

“
I'm
sure I saw a gorgon entering the room just as we shut the door. I
don't know if it saw us, but they'll figure out where we're gone
pretty quickly.”

Justin
had an idea. “Okay guys. Everyone up the stairs. I'm going to
close and seal this door. Should slow them down for a while at
least.”

The
others hurried up the steps. Aaron stayed with Justin. “You
want to do something like we did when we sealed that entry room
doorway?” he asked.

“
Exactly,
Aaron. I'll bring up the stone to cover the door, you turn up the
heat and melt it into place.”

“
You
got it, boss,” Aaron said with a grin.

“
Okay,
here we go.” This time, Justin didn't even need to close his
eyes. He pushed the button and closed the door, then focused on the
stone floor in front of the doorway. Do I really need to touch the
stone to control it, he wondered. Well, let's see.

Justin
pointed at the area where he wanted the stone to rise. He felt his
way into it, imposed his will on it and, with a low rumble and a
series of snapping sounds, the floor broke up and loose stones began
to rise in place until they reached a point slightly higher than the
door.

“
Okay,
Aaron. I've got them. Apply the heat.”

“
Right,”
Aaron said and with gentle hand movements, coaxed some heat out of
the air. Flames appeared and went from red hot to white and he waved
them on to the pile of stones balanced against the door. Justin
stepped back from the heat.

It took
only a few moments to block the doorway. Then, with a last glance at
their handiwork, Justin and Aaron headed up the stairs, happy at last
to get away from the horror of the snakes.

At the top of the stairs, everyone gathered to catch
their breath. There had been no sound from the doorway now far below
and Justin allowed himself to hope that they had seen the last of the
gorgons.

“
How's
everyone holding up,” Justin asked anxiously.

“
I
think we're okay, Justin,” Maria answered for the group. She
looked around, catching everyone's eyes in turn. “We'll each
mourn Dominic in our own way, I'm sure. For me, I'll remember him as
a true friend, and I'll miss him dearly.”

The others agreed. Julia wiped her eyes and Justin saw
Richard from the corner of his eye doing the same, He knew how they
felt.

“
Look,
if any of you need a few minutes..?”

There were a chorus of noes and head-shaking.

“
We
have to assume the worst, Justin,” Maria said. “Those
gorgons may not give up for a while. We killed their queen, after
all, and they're probably looking for revenge. So we can't waste time
here, even under the circumstances.”

Justin agreed. He looked at the door leading out of the
stairwell.

Unlike most doors in Sanctuary, it wasn't made of stone.
In fact, he was surprised to see that it appeared to be made of
steel, reinforced by straps on what looked like titanium.

“
Wow,”
Aaron said as he examined the door. “I hadn't noticed how
reinforced this thing was. Someone sure didn't want those gorgons
getting out this way. And I just realized that there's no opening
rune anywhere around either.”

“
That's
encouraging, actually,” Justin said as he ran his fingers over
the door. “If there are any inhabitants on this level, and they
hate gorgons, they're okay in my book.”

“
I
hear you, Justin.” Maria was staring at the door thoughtfully.
“But the question is, can we get through it?”

“
No
problem, Maria. Justin has a way with doors. Don't you, Just?”
Aaron was grinning at him and Justin felt himself blushing a bit. He
shrugged.

“
I
guess I do at times. Let's hope that this is one of them.”

He stepped up to the door and stared at it a moment,
letting his sense of earth reach out and feel its way into the metal
of the door. Then he raised his right hand and glanced at the palm.
His mark shimmered as it appeared and he laid his hand flat against
the door.

The door shivered and a metallic clang reverberated
through the air as it snapped open. There was a sliver of light
peeking through the edges of the doorway.

“
There
we go,” Aaron said smugly. “Told ya. Now, what will we
get this time? Minotaurs? Metal eels? Talking snakes or maybe just a
tribe of carnivorous monkeys?”

The entire group laughed at Aaron's comment. His joking
cut through the gloom somewhat and the teens seemed encouraged by the
fact that they were now getting away from the nightmare they had left
behind them.

“
Shall
we?” Justin asked with a glance at Maria.

“
Yep.
All or nothing it is, Justin,” she said with a tight smile, and
together they pushed the door wide open and stepped through.

The
rest of the group stepped through behind Justin and Maria and then
they all stood still, staring around themselves, speechless.”Well,”
Aaron said, after a long moment. “Here's something you don't
see every day.”

Justin could only mumble an agreement. He wasn't sure
but he wondered if perhaps he was asleep and dreaming this.

They were standing on a street. On a sidewalk, in fact.
On both sides of the street were quaint, one and two story homes,
complete with small fences around their front yards and little
patches of flowers planted under their windows. The air was fresh and
full of the smell of growing things. When he looked up, a round,
yellowish-white ball of light was centered in the far-off ceiling,
looking very much like the sun.

He shook his head in disbelief. Then he looked over his
shoulder at the door they had just exited. It appeared to lead into
the side of a house that towered over them some twenty feet. The
sidewalk was made of cut stone and the street itself was covered with
cobblestones, clean and well repaired. As he watched, the door slowly
closed with a metallic click.

“
Where
the heck are we?” Julia wondered aloud. “Did we somehow
come out on to the surface or what?”

“
Definitely
not the surface, Jules,” Maria told her. “Look up and you
can tell that the sun is just a really large light.” She kept
looking around. “I like it though.”

“
Same
here, Maria,” Jason added. “I wonder where all the people
are though?”

“
Wonder
no more, Jason,” Richard said as he gazed down the street.
“There's a group of riders heading this way.”

“
Riders?”
Justin squinted. The band of riders was still too far away to make
out their features, but he suddenly realized what he was looking at.

“
Okay,
guys,” he said quickly. “I don't want anyone freaking
out, okay? We have to make a good impression here, so don't
panic...until you absolutely have to,” he added with a grin.

“
Why,
Justin? What's wrong?” Maria was shading her eyes and trying to
see who was coming.

“
Nothing...yet.
But they aren't riding horses, Maria. They're riding what look like
pegasi. And the mounts are definitely made of titanium.”

Aaron grasped what Justin was saying instantly. “The
mounts are servitors?” he asked with a gasp.

“
Yep.
And although they are wearing clothes,” Justin continued as he
watched the approaching party, “I'm fairly certain that the
riders are too.”

Jason cursed. Julia suddenly looked faint and Yolanda
quickly put her arm around her to prop her up. Maria's expression was
grim.

“
Well,
if it's a fight they want...” she said menacingly.

“
Hang
on, guys,” Justin cut in. “Wait and see what they want
first. Don't jump to conclusions. The servitors that Aaron and I know
are good guys. These ones may be as well.”

“
Breathe,
Julia, breathe,” Yolanda said as she gave her friend a little
shake.

“
I'm
okay, I'm okay,” the younger girl said breathlessly. She
watched the riders with trepidation.

“
All
right, Justin. We'll play it by ear,” Maria stated. She still
looked quite stern.

“
Good.
Easy does it, guys. Let's hear them out.”

The riders approached loudly; their mounts metal hooves
ringing on the cobblestones. Despite his tinge of fear, Justin
marveled at the mounts the servitors were riding. Each one looked
like a horse but had long wings that lay flat along their sides.
Justin was quite sure that they couldn't fly and he wondered at their
purpose. The riders were just as fascinating.

Like the servitors in upper Sanctuary, these constructs
had human-like features. Some appeared old, some young. None was ugly
but their faces were a mixture; from attractive to slightly homely.
There were several female servitors in the group and Justin noticed
that Julia looked surprised at this, and a little reassured for some
reason.