Edge of Time (18 page)

Al cocked his head to one side, as if listening to a voice far away. “Yes. The time for pretense is over.”

Riley's heart hammered and doubled its speed.
That
was Rhozan. “So, what do you really want?” She had to find out the plan before Darius turned up and killed the little weasel. What did Rhozan want with Alec?

“The one who gave me access to this world,” Al continued.

“And that would be who, exactly?”

“This one.”

The sensation hit her broadside. Disoriented, she let go of the door handle. Clutching her head in her hands, she fought to repel the overwhelming sensation of Alec from her mind. Without realizing what she was doing, she tightened her grip on her orb and mentally
pushed
the Emissary away. There was a shuffling noise. Riley struggled to open her eyes. The Emissary had backed behind the counter.

“Drop the orb, Potential,” Al croaked. “You do not have the power to fight me.”

Riley held the orb out in front of her like a shield.
Hurry up, Darius
. “And what about the rest of us?” she croaked.

“Suffering. Hatred. Death.”

“Oh, like that's a great choice.”

“Give me Alec and I will spare your life.”

“Sure you will,” Riley said, leaning back against the door. “I bet you'll even promise.”

There was a pause. Riley could almost sense Rhozan searching for the meaning of her words.

“I promise. Your life for Alec's.”

She was about to make a scathing reply when Darius bounded into the room from behind the kitchen and knocked the Emissary to the ground in a flying tackle that would have won him awards in the CFL. Al hit the filthy ground with a pathetic grunt and was unconscious by the time Darius had landed the second blow. Riley ran over and grabbed at his arm to stop him from killing the man.

“He's out already,” she shouted.

Heaving with exertion, Darius yanked his arm out of her hands and climbed off the Emissary's body. He brushed himself off. “Making bargains?” he snarled.

“Are you mental?” she shouted back. “As if.”

“I heard,” Darius began, pointing at the Emissary and uncharacteristically struggling for words, “what you said.”

Anger flooded her. Without pause she stepped forward and grabbed hold of his shirt collar, pulling him almost off balance. “You absolute, total, insufferable
creep
,” she exploded. “I'd never bargain for Alec's life. Ever. I was getting our enemy's plans, numbskull.”

For a taut moment, she stared at him, anger and hurt pounding beneath her skin and mirrored in his eyes. She literally felt the rage drain from his body. “Sorry,” he said. He reached up and covered her smaller hands with his. “I'm not thinking straight. Guess I'm not as regenerated as I thought. Forgive me?” He pulled her into his embrace and rested his lips against her forehead.

Alec ran into the kitchen and skidded to a halt. “I got rid of the woman but there are more,” he gasped.

Riley abruptly wrenched her hands out of Darius'. She stepped back, avoiding Alec's narrowing eyes.

“Front or back?” Darius asked as he let her go.

“Back.”

They spilled into the parking lot. Darius came to a screeching halt within a couple of steps and Riley barrelled into him. She looked around in horror. There were at least six of them at first glance, vacant-eyed, slack-jawed and armed with sticks and bottles. Alec shoved her between himself and Darius. Alec kept his back against her. She could feel him panting.

“Use your orb,” Riley instructed. “Knock them out.”

“And have Rhozan know exactly where we are and what we're up to? No thanks.” Darius squared his shoulders. “I've managed to keep the power signal low enough to stay under the radar for the last two weeks. I'm not blowing that now, if I can help it.”

“I think Rhozan knows we're–”

Darius interrupted. “How many do you think you could take, Alec?”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Riley hissed. “He'll be killed.”

“I'll take the goon with the Metallica shirt and the little one with the Mohawk. You keep the others busy until I've knocked them out.” Alec flexed his muscles.

“No,” Riley almost shouted.

“Head for the truck, Riley,” Darius whispered. “We'll hold them off. Get it started and pick us up.”

Riley caught sight of the half smile on his face and realized it was too late. She twisted around to see the same smile mirrored on Alec. “Oh for Pete's sake.”

It was over in minutes. Darius bowled over three women in one flying tackle while Alec rushed the pot-bellied, heavy metal aficionado and knocked him out with a spinning hook kick to the temple that was close to poetry in motion. Riley mentally picked her jaw up off the ground as Alec parried, punched and kicked two more into submission. Where on earth had he learned that?

The truck
. Riley gave herself a little shake and ran. She quickly shimmied into the driver's seat. The engine roared to life. Both Alec and Darius bolted from the melee and dove for the front seat. The instant the door slammed, Riley put the pickup into reverse and backed out of the parking spot, tires burning against asphalt. She ignored the high fives and whoops of bravado as she watched the last two Emissaries stumble out of the parking lot after them and disappear in a cloud of dust.

“Rhozan knows where we are now,” she said once the other two had stopped congratulating each other.

Darius instantly sobered. “Keep your hands off your orbs from now on. He'll guess where we're heading but if we stay under his radar, we've got a chance of getting there without him knowing.”

“He can't follow us without the orb signal?” Alec asked. He was rubbing the red and rapidly swelling knuckles of his right hand.

Darius gave a shrug. “I hope so.”

There didn't seem to be anything to say to that. Riley bit the inside of her lip and concentrated on her driving.

It took several hours to get to the outskirts of Toronto. Abandoned cars and debris of all sorts littered the roadways. There wasn't a soul for miles. Nothing moved. As she slowed to steer around the carcass of a transport truck, Riley asked, “What are we going to do when we get to Alec's place? What if they don't want to come with us?”

“They will,” Alec said. “I'll make them.”

“You won't,” Darius interrupted.

Alec twisted around in his seat. “Whaddya mean? We're going to save my parents. That's why we're going back to my place.”

“Alec, you don't seem to understand this,” Darius said slowly, enunciating each word as if it pained him. “We can't just grab your parents and run. Where would we go? Rhozan is invading this world. He's turning the people against each other and they're doing the job for him. Look around you. This city is almost dead. Soon the entire country will be affected. Then the continent. Eventually, there will be no place to run.”

“So, what are you saying? We're leaving my mom to die in some riot? Forget it, Darius. No way.”

“Standing idly by while someone you love is in danger isn't in your DNA.” Darius turned to give Riley a quick glance as he spoke. “We have two choices.”

There was silence as the truck again slowed down to avoid a burned-out mail truck.

“So?” Alec challenged. “What are they?”

“One,” Darius said, raising a finger into the air, “we keep running and hope we can hold out for as long as possible. Make for some uninhabited South Seas island and wait for Rhozan to come for us. Because he will. Riley and I both know it.” He paused.

“Or two,” Alec prompted.

“Or two, you take on Rhozan and close the rips.”

F
or several seconds, Alec couldn't believe his ears. Was he kidding?

Riley reached over and shoved her hand under his chin, pushing his jaw back into place. “Flycatcher,” she laughed, turning on the indicator light to change lanes, despite the complete lack of traffic.

Alec twisted around in his seat until the seatbelt was nearly strangling him. “I can't take on Rhozan.”

Darius crossed his arms. He raised one eyebrow. “Got a better idea?”

“You're crazy. The guy's an alien. With like, superpowers. I'm just, uh, me.”

“Sounds like your standard summer blockbuster, Alec. He may be the alien, but you have the home-world advantage. And as for powers, why do you think he wants
you
?”

Alec scrambled for something to say. “Riley, help me out here.”

“No can do,” Riley said. “Darius is right. Rhozan is after you. We won't be able to run forever.”

“Yeah, but …” Alec couldn't believe this. “How do you know for sure?”

“He told me.” She didn't take her eyes off the road.

“Who?”

“Rhozan.”

“
What
?”

“'Fraid you're not the only one with connections, bud,” Riley said. “‘Al' was pretty clear about that back at the donut shop. Rhozan wants you to join him for world dominance et cetera, et cetera. I said you'd pass.”

Alec laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. She was scared, too. He heard it in her voice and that rather pleased him. Maybe because it didn't make him feel so alone.

“Alec, we're with you in this,” Darius said quietly.

“For sure,” Riley chimed in. “I mean, it's not as if you're capable of winning without us, or anything.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He felt his lips turn up. He caught Riley's return grin out of the corner of his eye. “So just how am I supposed to stop him? Ask nicely? Threaten him with a ‘time-out'?”

Riley giggled.

Even Darius cracked a smile. “What do we know about Rhozan? He's conquered other planets. He feeds off negative emotions. He can't control our minds. He's afraid of orbs. He's made contact through Alec's mind and is aware of what Alec is.”

“We're screwed,” Riley summarized.

“No, we're not.” Darius leaned forward, giving her a pointed look. “There's something in that we can use. Some weakness we can exploit. I've been thinking it over, and–” He didn't get to finish as they drove into airspace that had radio reception. The car radio suddenly changed from quiet static to a man's frantic voice.

“Stop here,” Alec ordered.

Riley slammed on the brakes and the pickup skidded to a halt.

“… And all highways are now closed, as of four o'clock today. Martial law has been declared. We repeat, all citizens are to remain home. Stay off the streets. Stay with your families …”

The signal faded. Riley turned the channel.

“Hey.” Alec lurched forward. “That was important.”

“Alec, it was
Chinese
. How the hell are you understanding all these languages?”

“I'm not, I'm just–” Alec stammered. He rubbed the back of his head, puzzled.

“You're in the right vicinity, just a bit lower and to your right,” Darius advised.

“Huh?”

“The implant. That's its location.” Darius pursed his lips at Alec's blank expression. “When you awoke in Med Ops, your head hurt, didn't it? Just there.”

Alec took in a sharp breath as the memory resurfaced. “They put something in me?” he gasped, not sure whether to be thrilled or horrified or both.

“All Operatives have the implant.” Darius was nonchalant. “It's a universal translator. Haven't you ever wondered how we know what everyone is saying? Think I spent about a hundred years boning up on Earth languages before taking this assignment?”

Alec paused. Actually, the thought hadn't occurred to him at all. He glanced at Riley and was surprised to see her mutinous expression.

“What's your problem?” he asked.

“I didn't get one,” she snapped. “What's the matter, wasn't I good enough?”

“Potentials are usually implanted after they've been screened for aptitude and ability. We hadn't enough time to test all the Potentials, there was so much else going on. Alec was already unconscious and they had his scans available.” He gave Alec a half-apologetic look. “We'd been monitoring you for a while.” He turned back to Riley. “Sounds like we're in the middle of a curfew, Riley. Don't be surprised if we meet an armed convoy and they try to send us back.”

“You mean the military? With guns and stuff?”

“Yup.”

“What do we do if they do?” She stared straight ahead.

“Hope they're out of ammunition,” Alec muttered.

A
lec stared through the window without seeing anything. How on earth would he take on Rhozan and win? It was stupid, not to mention impossible. There had to be another solution.

“Cripes, speak of the Devil,” Riley muttered under her breath. Up ahead, the highway narrowed as plywood barricades funnelled the several lanes into one. Numerous camouflage-coloured trucks and one tank were positioned at the end of the road. Soldiers were lined up behind the trucks, guns positioned and ready to fire. “Should I turn around?”

“Slow to a crawl,” Darius advised Riley. “Don't do anything that spooks them.”

“As if,” Riley replied.

“And let me do the talking.”

“Sure thing,” she said as she brought the pickup to a complete stop.

A soldier carrying an assault rifle walked out from the barricade and waved at them. With the barrel pointed directly at the windshield, the soldier advanced.

“Put your hands in the air,” Darius said quietly.

“I think the uniform makes her look fat,” Riley muttered.

“Shut up,” Alec whispered. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the soldier's rifle.

“Get out of the car!” the soldier yelled. “Keep your hands up at all times. Throw any weapons onto the ground.”

Riley leaned out the window. “Can I turn the engine off?” she shouted.

The soldier nodded and Riley threw the gear into park and cut the engine.

“Take your time getting out,” Darius advised. “No sudden movements.”

Alec took a steadying breath, undid his seatbelt and stepped out into the stifling heat. He kept his hands up around his ears and hoped that the soldier couldn't see him shaking. All he could see was the ugly, open snout of the gun and it was way too close for comfort.

“On the ground,” the soldier shouted, waving her weapon.

Alec couldn't hear Riley's comment, but he was sure it was scornful. He wished her nervousness didn't manifest itself as vitriol. He pulled the sleeves of his shirt over his hands, trying to protect the skin, and carefully lowered himself to the scorching concrete, keeping the soldier in sight. Whatever she was going to do, he wanted to see it coming.

He tensed as heavy, black boots surrounded him and the hot barrel of a gun pressed into the back of his neck. Harsh hands patted him down and he swallowed the retort on the tip of his tongue.

“Who are you and where are you going?” the female soldier demanded. Her eyes were dark and glittering. A sudden fear surged through Alec. Was she an Emissary?

“My name is Darius Finn,” Darius began, his voice filled with Tyon
willingness
. “We'd been travelling across country when we heard the news about what is happening here. Alec's parents are frantic to be reunited with him. We must be allowed to pass.”

Darius' words were
so
persuasive. The soldiers' faces gradually changed with each uttered word, from cold impersonality to uncertainty.

“Please let us pass. We are of no danger to you or any person living within your boundaries. We wish to leave you in peace.”

The soldiers holding Darius slackened their hold. The ones holding Riley let go of her completely. Riley caught Alec's eye and winked.

The soldier in charge seemed to be immune. “No one is allowed in or out of the city limits. The curfew remains in place. We cannot let you past.”

“We
must
pass through. We are of no consequence.
Please
forget you have seen us,” Darius urged.

The hands fell from Alec's body completely. Only the captain of the squad kept her gun, and her eyes, hard and unwavering, levelled at his chest.

Ever so slowly, Darius slipped his hand into his pocket. Alec fought not to smile.

“Let us pass,” Darius said. The Tyon power was magnified ten times with his hand on his orb. Immediately all the soldiers backed up several steps. Two even started to walk back to their trucks as if they had already forgotten their presence. “Put your gun down,” Darius directed his instructions towards the captain. “
Forget you met us
.”

The captain blinked several times. Her gun dropped to her side. Several of her comrades followed suit. The captain turned to follow them.

“We're not going to get very far in this pickup,” Riley said as soon as the soldiers were out of earshot.

“Uh-huh,” Darius nodded.

“One of those army trucks would attract a lot less attention, if there are more soldiers inside, and I bet there are,” Riley continued.

“Uh-huh.”

“So, I think you should ask really nicely and see if they'll let you borrow one.”

Darius smiled. “You don't ask for much, do you?”

“If you don't ask, you don't get,” Riley reminded him with a tight smile. “We're going to need every advantage. I'd take the tank if it had air conditioning.”

Darius and Riley ducked under the barricade unchallenged and Alec followed. He found himself giving the tank a wide berth. He'd seen hundreds in his on-line games and he was pretty familiar with them as artillery, but playing pretend had never relayed just how fearsome a weapon they were. Darius headed directly for the smaller truck. He stopped at the cab and peered up at the driver, a young man who'd barely begun to shave and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

“I need your truck,” Darius said with a gentle, disarming grin.

“Uh,” the boy soldier moaned. His eyes widened. His jaw went slack.

“Let us have your truck,” Riley said pleasantly.

A frisson rolled down Alec's back. Where had she learned to do
that
?

The soldier handed the keys out the window.

“Make sure you stop anyone trying to come after us,” Riley added as she pulled the door open and put one foot up onto the step. She leaned over his nametag. “Do anything you have to, Jeff.”

From the other side, Alec climbed up into the stifling heat of the truck's cab. Fuzzy dice swung from the rearview mirror. Darius got in beside him and closed the door.

“Leave, before he changes his mind,” Darius advised.

“He'll throw himself in front of a train before he lets anyone come after us,” Riley said smugly as Jeff walked away as fast as his legs would take him. “You know it.”

“And
you
know that wasn't necessary. Don't let this power corrupt you, Riley. We have to be kind to lesser beings, not play with them. With great power comes great responsibility.”

“Yeah, yeah, Superman,” Riley muttered as she put the truck into gear.

“Spiderman, know-it-all,” Alec corrected.

Riley stuck her nose in the air and steered the lumbering vehicle down the wide multi-lane highway. They manoeuvred carefully around the worst of the debris and crunched over the smaller stuff that couldn't be missed. They passed under multiple overpasses, all empty of life. It was the eeriest thing Alec had ever seen. A post-apocalyptic world, straight from the games he loved to play. Except this was real. And, somewhere inside this hell, his mom was hiding.