Chapter Twenty — Part 3

“Wastik has been observing us, and now he is angered. He is trying to get to me. I’m not strong enough to defeat him. I can’t kill him. He is killing Hunters, slaughtering my kind, but I can’t kill him.” I reached out a hand, putting it on the Central’s shoulder. I could feel his terror. I drew my hand back so I could play my flute.

“We’ll stop him. Move your people out of the way, put up no resistance. You’ll have to trust me, because to deal with him I’ll be unable to talk to you. You need the fastest of your race to help my mate get back to our ship.”

He held the flute so naturally, this Central, as if it were part of him. His fingers tittered across the holes anxiously. I saw something in him with my mind’s eyes, a connection was made, and for a moment I felt like a genius.

“You’re Jupe, and you don’t even know it.” I said in standard, not wanting to confuse the Central under such stressful conditions.

I turned to Eohl, kissing him good-bye. “Go to the ship, and get back with my wand as fast as you can. I’ll hold Wastik as long as I can. I have a plan, and I need my wand here to pull it off.”

The Alpha Hunter carried Eohl away from the Central Complex, and I readied myself for a confrontation.

“The Hunter Reed. Is he still alive?” I asked.

The Central whistled an answer. “He’s still alive, in stasis. He was unable to adapt to the new thought structure. I couldn’t kill him.”

“Set him free and bring him here.” I said. “It’s time for him to fulfill his duty to the Hive.”

My heart beat loud and slow, ringing in my ears. I could only hope that my intuition on these matters was sound. An explosion signaled the deterioration of one of the synthetic stone walls. Within moments, Wastik burst into the room, a blaster in his hand. His eyes were insane with rage. He looked at me with hate, then he pointed his blaster at me. The Central lay slouched behind his throne, shaking with fear.

“I’ll kill you and imprison him.” Wastik said. “I’ve had enough charades. I can keep him hostage from his own people, and force them to destroy the people of Earth.”

“You’ve got to get through me, first.” I said.

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

He fired his blaster, giggling with glee as I jumped away from the charged rounds. The weapon was relatively simple in design. A magnetized steel round was blasted through a super conductive coil, then through a powerful static charge. The end result was a tiny packet of plasma that could shear a limb from the body or leave a gaping hole in its wake.

I ran across the Central Complex, hoping that his shots wouldn’t kill any of the Incubators. The Central was already moving them out of the way, their wormy bodies slipping slowly to the edges of the room. The Central had dropped his mace, and I tried to lift it, but it was too heavy for me.

“Very smart, little girl, using the Central as a shield. You know I can’t hurt him until Earth is crushed under his forces.”

I hadn’t been using the Central as a shield, but I wasn’t going to let Wastik know that. He fired a shot at the throne, startling me, and I crouched down lower, looking for my next cubby to hide in. I pulled my shirt off, and pushed my pants past my feet. Once undressed, I focused and took on my angelic form. With wings I’d have more places to hide, and faster reflexes to fight with.

I grabbed the mace again, and this time found it light enough to swing. His boots clicked on the ground as he walked carefully around me, unable to see me from my hidden place. I crouched down, my muscles shaking with anticipation. I began to have serious doubts about my abilities at about the time Wastik’s boots stopped clicking.

What am I doing? I wondered to myself.

I wasn’t a fighter, nor was I faster than a blaster shot. I’m really not bullet proof either. I saw his boot as he walked slowly around the complex and I shot up and forward, flapping my wings in a hard surge. With all my strength I brought the mace down on his foot. He nimbly jumped out of my range. Missing his foot, the mace shattered the floor, chipping out a hole in its wake. Wastik got a shot off before I could swing the mace again. The shot hit my wing straight on, and I was knocked against the far wall.

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