The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (47 page)

“
Me?
But...”

“
You.
Your power over the earth is unique. Only you can open the way to
these mysteries. Only you can use much of the technology left by
Cronus.” He paused and sharpened his gaze. “And only your
death can secure Hyperion's rise to power.”

“
He
wants to kill Justin?” Aaron said with a gasp. Then he scowled.
“Over my dead body,” he said fiercely.

“
Over
all of our dead bodies, Aaron,” Mr. Fitzgerald said firmly. “I
believe that Hyperion's followers have a base somewhere. There were
hints of such a thing in the old records. Nothing as large and grand
as Sanctuary, of course, but a refuge nonetheless. The servitor that
you fought before you returned here, Justin, tells me that he might
have other mechanical beings at his disposal.” He frowned in
thought. “And some reports from the outside hint that some of
his genetic creations might be on the loose as well.”

“
Hyperion
created monsters?” Aaron asked incredulously.

“
Oh
yes, Aaron. He may have been a black traitor, but he was also
brilliant, as were all of the first Titans. However, that discussion
is for another day. What I am getting at is my belief that he sees
Justin as his most dangerous adversary.”

Justin
was getting more and more nervous. “Okay, I can sort of
understand why he'd want to stop me because of Sanctuary, but why am
I his most dangerous enemy? I'm just a kid.”

“
No
Justin,” Prometheus said heavily. “You are a Titan. Your
friends are all human-titan hybrids, but in you the blood of Cronus
runs true. And this is what Hyperion's heir fears. Should you
discover his base of operations, you could bring it down around him,
destroy it more easily than I think even you realize. And you can now
attack servitors and other constructs at a distance. That is, I
believe, why he fears you.”

“
And
that is why you will not take part in any counter-attack on the
renegades,” Fitzgerald said firmly.

It took
Justin a moment to realize what the man had said. “Hey, wait a
second! Those animals killed Democritus. They killed some of the
Guardians as well as some of my fellow Titans. I am not standing by
down here, shaking like a frightened mouse, while those guys are in
control topside.”

“
A
laudable attitude, Justin, but foolish,” Prometheus said
sternly. “If we lose you, we lose Sanctuary, and the war to
come. Do not let your selfish pride blind you to the situation we
face. None of us has the power to stand up to Hyperion's corruption
except you, and you are barely trained in the use of your power.”

Justin
had never been spoken to like that, at least not by the old Titan,
and he glared up at him. But then he took a deep breath, swallowed
his anger and asked “Then what do we do?”

“
We
formulate a plan, Justin,” Fitzgerald said calmly. “We
gather allies, find weapons. We think first and then act.”

“
You
realize that while we're thinking and planning, the renegades could
be killing the rest of the Guardians, right?”

They all
turned and stared at Jason. Justin had forgotten he was even there
and now he watched as Jason turned his angry gaze at him. “Are
you just going to hide down here like a child? Your friends, what
were their names, Mrs. Mallon and Mr. Bellisle? They could be
torturing them or killing them right now in anger over the attack.”
He shook his head in disgust. “I don't know about you, Justin,
but I couldn't hang back and let people I cared about go through
that.”

“
Be
quiet, Jason,” Aaron said angrily. “You don't know what
the hell you're talking about!”

“
Actually,
I think he does, Aaron,” Justin said, turning away from Jason's
red face. “But Prometheus and Mr. Fitzgerald have experience
that I don't, so I have to let them run the show. And hope that I can
do something later.”

Fitzgerald
seemed to have been a bit shocked by Jason's outburst but his nodded
approvingly at Justin's words.

“
Very
wise, Justin. Don't worry. I said that you will get your chance to
fight and I meant it.”

“
Good,
sir,” Justin said quietly. “Now, if it's okay with you,
I'd like to head back to Borgen's place, maybe get some rest, have
something to eat.”

“
Excellent
idea, Justin. We'll remain here for now and work out a plan.”
Fitzgerald began speaking to Prometheus and Justin headed for
Borgen's house, followed closely by Aaron and a reluctant Jason.

“
I
can't believe that you're going to let those two tell you what to do,
Justin,” Jason hissed at him angrily. Justin waited until they
turned a corner and were out of sight of the two leaders.

“
I'm
not, Jason, so knock it off. You've made your point.”

“
He
what?” Aaron looked confused. “You mean you were lying to
Fitzgerald back there?”

“
I
had to, Aaron. Jason's right. All they will do is talk this to death.
Something has to be done and right now.”

“
I
knew it, Justin,” Jason said with a wide grin. “Sorry to
be so hard on you there, but just sitting around and doing nothing
was making me crazy.”

“
All
of us, Jason,” Aaron said agreeably. He looked at Justin. “So
what's the plan?”

“
First
of all we need to talk to Maria. We could use her skills in this, if
she's willing. Julia is too young and too emotional, I think, and
Yolanda is too attached to Julia to leave her, so we won't mention it
to them. Richard is needed in medical, so he's out.”

“
Wow,
just the four of us, huh?” Aaron said a bit nervously. “Well,
at least they won't be expecting that!”

Justin
grinned at him. “It may be more than four of us, bud. I have an
idea on how to dig up a few allies, but I'll keep it to myself for
now.”

Both
Aaron and Jason wanted to know what his idea was. Jason was very
insistent, but Justin refused to tell them. “It's a long shot
anyway,” he said and left it at that.

When
they got back to Borgen's house, they found Maria sitting with
Yolanda in the dining room. They said that Julia was sleeping;
exhausted and depressed by the events earlier.

“
I
know how she feels,” Justin said. “But we don't have a
lot of time right now. Once this is over with, we'll get a chance to
take a break and maybe go back to being normal. Sort of.”

Maria
chuckled. “Yes, well, my definition of normal has changed a lot
in the last few weeks. Just having a place to feel safe and stop
moving constantly will be a relief.”

Dhalena
bustled in, a huge plate of sandwiches in one hand and a juice
pitcher in the other.

“
You
boys look like you could use some refreshment.” She put
everything on the table and took three glasses from a side cupboard.
“Now, enjoy yourselves. Leave the worrying to the adults for
the moment, if you can.” She shook her head sadly and left the
room.

Justin
grabbed a few sandwiches and some juice. Aaron and Jason weren't slow
to follow his lead, but the girls said that they had already eaten.

“
What
is Fitzgerald going to do, Justin?” Maria asked anxiously.

“
No
idea. We left him talking it over with Prometheus. I'm sure that
between them, they'll come up with something.”

Justin
finished eating and was trying to think of some way to talk to Maria
alone, when Yolanda yawned and said she was going to grab a nap while
she could.

“
Good
idea,” Maria said with a sympathetic smile. “We'll wake
you guys if anything happens.”

Yolanda
left the room as Aaron began asking Maria about the rescued teens.

“
They're
all okay, I think. Your friends, Gerry and Norm, are good. But
everyone's a bit malnourished and tired from the constant state of
fear they've been in. Stabel says that they are all in shock and he's
going to keep them in medical for a day or so, just in case.”

“
And
the Destroyers?”

“
All
good. Richard did an amazing job on Serena. The others suffered from
some burns and a few cuts but they'll live. They just need time to
heal.”

Justin
worked up his courage. What he was going to ask of Maria would land
all of them in trouble, not to mention deadly peril.

“
Feel
like taking a walk, Maria?” he asked. “I'm going a bit
stir crazy at the moment.”

She
looked surprised but agreed. He nodded to Aaron and Jason. “Be
back in a bit,” he told them.

Outside,
Justin waited until they were a good distance from the house before
speaking.

“
Sorry
for dragging you out here, Maria, but the servitors hearing is a
little too acute from my liking and I wanted our conversation to be
private.”

Maria
looked intrigued. “What's on your mind?” she asked.

He told
her what Fitzgerald and Prometheus had said; all of it. And he told
her that they wanted him to remain in the town in safety when, or if,
there was another attack on the top level.

“
Ah,
I see. As the heir of Cronus, you're the key to everything.”
Justin thought he caught a curious gleam in her eye, but decided it
was just the light. “And I take it that you aren't willing to
sit here on your hands and wait for things to happen.”

“
No,
I'm not. There are still Guardians up there being held prisoner.
Including some who are my friends. Somehow I doubt that they are
going to be held for very long if the renegades begin to get
impatient.”

“
So
do you have a plan, or are you just going to go in there, guns
blazing?”

He heard
the skepticism in her voice and tried not to get annoyed. “I
know it sounds nuts, Maria. And if you have a better idea, please
tell me.”

She
walked slowly, clearing thinking it all over. She was flipping the
staff she'd been given over and over again. Justin waited anxiously
but stayed quiet, letting her make up her own mind.

“
Okay,
Justin, I'm in,” she said suddenly and laughed when he jumped
in surprise. “What's your plan?”

“
I
think the best way in is through the second level. There's a curtain
of water there, a curtain Gate, that will let us enter. When we climb
the stairs, we'll be at the far end of the main hall. Now, if the
Guardians are being held in the Arena room like Fitzgerald thinks,
that's the easiest and safest way to get there. The door leading off
of the main room to the Arena room is just a few dozen yards to the
left of the stairs. We should be able to get there without being
spotted, as long as the renegades didn't put another guard at the top
of the stairs.”

“
Don't
worry about that, Justin. If there's a guard there, I'll get rid of
him or her.” Her voice sounded grim.

Justin
nodded. “Okay, that's your call, Maria. Once we release the
prisoners, we scurry back the way we came and get them to safety. How
we proceed from there depends on the circumstances. Let's not get too
far ahead of ourselves.”

Maria
was nodding as he spoke. “I like it. Simple, direct and with a
minimum of risk. Now, the question is, how do we leave here without
arousing suspicion? We can't very well just leap into that fountain
under Fitzgerald's nose. Or use the one on front of Borgen's house.”

Jason
chuckled, picturing Fitzgerald's face if they did something like
that.

“
Leaving
is easy, Maria. We just need some water.” He looked at the
houses they were passing by as they walked. “And if I'm not
mistaken, every house in town seems to have a water spigot next to
their front gardens.”

Maria
looked around and her eyes widened. “As easy as that?”
she asked in amazement.

“
Yep.
As easy as that. Now let's go and invite Aaron and Jason to take a
walk, shall we?” He grinned at her suddenly impish expression.
Maria nodded and they retraced their steps to Borgen's house.

They
gathered up Aaron and Jason and were heading back out when Borgen
stopped them.

“
Where
are you lot off to now?” he asked, sounding slightly
suspicious.

“
We
thought we'd check in with our friends over at medical, Borgen,”
Maria said brightly. Justin was surprised at how convincing she
sounded. “Did you want to come along?”

“
Oh!
Oh no, thank you,” Borgen sounded mournful. “I've seen
enough sad faces for one day. Maybe you can cheer them up. Enjoy.”
He gave them a wave as they left.

They
walked casually up the street in the direction of the medical
building; just in case Borgen had decided to watch them.

“
Getting
a bit paranoid, aren't we?” Aaron whispered, obviously
remembering the servitor's excellent hearing.

“
Better
safe than sorry, bud,” Justin murmured back. “I wouldn't
be surprised if Fitzgerald had told Borgen to keep an eye on us, just
in case.”

They
stopped about a block away.

“
Any
sign of anyone?” Maria asked anxiously.

They
looked in all directions.

“
I
think it's clear,” Jason said. “These houses all look
deserted.”

“
Yeah,
they probably are.” Justin spotted a water tap in a nearby
yard. “Let's use that one,” he said as he pointed it out
to the others.

They
made their way through the small garden, the bright blue and yellow
flowers contrasting their dark thoughts. Justin turned the handle on
the tap and water came gushing out and began to spread into a large
puddle.