This must be a test, he thought.

So he lowered his head and pretended to pray and to not be worried.

But deep inside, Jack wondered why they had singled him out.

If it was a test, shouldn’t they be testing Will as well?

Maybe they were.

Somewhere else.

He could feel the gaze of the two silent priests on him.

Should he talk? Should he ask something?

What would it accomplish?

He had been asked to wait, so he would wait.

It would not do to disobey, or to show any form of resistance.

If they were to be servants, they would be expected to obey.

And so he prayed.

Until he heard footsteps stop on the other side of the door.

It opened, and he looked up.

A woman walked in.

She wore the same green tunic all the priests did. Her hair was long and dark, her eyes blue and penetrating.

But, most of all, she was not smiling.

“Hello, Brother Jack,” she said.

“Hello, Sister...”

“Anne,” she provided.

“I am pleased and blessed to meet you,” he said with a respectful nod of his head.

She sat quietly across from him and observed him for a moment.

“So you wish to serve Kahn?”

“Very much so, Sister Anne.”

Another moment of silence followed. He filled it by moving his lips and looking down, as if deep in prayer.

“I have heard troubling stories, Brother Jack.”

His heart beat faster, though he tried hard not to look surprised.

“What stories would these be?” he asked, pleased to hear no trembling in his voice.

“Some of our brothers have seen you walk with difficulty. Others have seen you double down and cringe, as if in pain. There have been a couple of times when you also seemed distracted when someone would speak to you. Not to mention a few cases of coughing. While none of these, taken separately, would be cause for alarm, taken as a whole they paint a worrisome picture.” She paused. “Are you ill, Brother Jack?”

The knot in his stomach had grown while she listed all the incidents. He swore to himself. He should have guessed something like this would happen. The longer they stayed here, the more likely it was someone would notice something.

He made a slightly dismissive gesture.

“Nothing serious, I assure you. Nothing that would keep me from doing my duties.”

The woman frowned. “That, Brother Jack, is not for you to decide. What is your illness?”

“Nothing contagious,” he said with a smile.

“That is not the answer I want to hear,” she warned.

“It is no sickness per se,” he lied. “I had a stomach ache the other day. I think I had eaten too fast, or perhaps too much... if not both. As for the coughing, it is from a mere cold I have been treating. It is already all but gone.”

She stared at him for a long moment. Then nodded slightly.

“Very well. You are to go back to your room. We will inform you soon of our decision.”

“Thank you, Sister Anne. I shall pray for you and for a swift resolution.”

“And I for you, Brother Jack. And I for you...”

***

It had taken longer than expected.

There had been daily disasters, of course—often more than one on the same day—, but each time they would either arrive too late, or they would only find one of the three acting alone.

As they made desperate attempts to stall the renegades, the world descended further into chaos.

Tourists were deported en masse. All flights to and from Qojja were canceled. Fanatics rioted in the streets. Hundreds—if not thousands—of people died every day, at the hands of the crazies when it was not from one of the Suryi-spawned disasters.

The three allies grew increasingly frustrated and concerned. At this rate, would they still be able to save Qojja?

They would soon reach a point of no return, when so much damage was done that things would just naturally continue to deteriorate without any further interference from the runaways. And they were getting dangerously close to this point.

But what were they to do? For their plan to work, they needed all three of the renegades to be in the same place at the same time, not to mention catch them in the act.

Though they were slowly losing hope, an opportunity finally came several days later.

Xian’s alarms blared, signaling activity at the Norkh’an Dam—which Evken found disturbing, as it had been named after him.

When they arrived, they noticed all three Rissl were present, and hope flared in their hearts.

“This is it, guys!” said Xian. “We might not get another chance, so let’s not mess this up...”

He landed the ship as close as he dared and they hurried out. Evken was to stay further behind—as he was the most vulnerable—and wait for the three runaways to be incapacitated before he approached to do his part.

But as was to be expected, things did not go as planned.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Xhoras was busy manipulating the water flow to apply more and more pressure on the dam, to the point where the structure was starting to crack.

It was Verlhynn who first spotted Xian.

She spun to face him and, without a word, blasted him with a gust of wind that threw him five feet into the sky.

With quick gestures, he appeased the air around him and made it carry him back to his brethren.

Udrak turned to face him as well. The two of them marched in his direction while Xhoras continued to work on destroying the dam.

Paul, who had watched from some distance away, placed his hands against the earth, and the ground trembled under the Rissl. This made them fall and lose focus, allowing Xian to send a gust of wind, which threw them into the water beyond the dam.

With a calculated gesture, Xian brought lightning down on Xhoras. The leader of the renegades screamed as the electricity burned through his body. The nanobots in him absorbed the brunt of it, but it had been enough to interrupt his work.

A furious Xhoras turned to face Xian.

“Why do you keep getting in our way?” he yelled. “You cannot stop the inevitable! This world will die.”

He lifted a hand and a huge ball of fire appeared hovering before him, then rushed toward Paul.

***

The energies flowed, burned, shifted into a spherical shape. He could see the threads that composed it, that made it whole. They spread and grew and suddenly sped in his direction.

He felt like it was moving in slow motion... But that was an illusion.

Paul reached out with his hand and carefully, delicately plucked out the threads that made the projectile burn. As he unwove them, the flames fizzled out. He then unraveled the elements that defined its size. By the time the ball reached him, it was cold and small as a pea. It fell to the ground before it even hit him.

This all took only a few seconds. By the time it was over, Udrak came riding a wave. It crashed down on Xian as the other Rissl jumped and pressed him against the ground. The earth around them cracked and sagged.

Meanwhile, Verlhynn reappeared wielding a sharp piece of coral which she threw at Paul, as if it were a spear.

This one he did not see coming, but as it hit his back the rock shattered into a thousand pieces.

He thought that was odd. Then again, no one had ever tried to stab him before. He hadn’t even felt a thing, as if the improvised weapon had not even grazed his skin.

From the corner of his eye, Paul saw Xian’s hand press against the earth, and dirt rise into the air. It took the shape of a fist and punched Udrak, throwing him several feet away... right into Verlhynn.

Paul was getting tired of this mess. He wanted it to end. Seeing the three runaways were now near one another, he knelt and hit the ground with all his strength.

The earth under the Suryi opened and they all fell into the newly formed pit.

Xian ran to the edge and frowned.

“It’s too deep, Paul! I can’t see them...”

“Sorry,” grimaced his son. “I got carried away.”

It did not last, though, as a current of hot air blew from the hole, propelling the three renegades out.

“Why are you wasting our time—and yours?” said Xhoras, looking upset. “You can’t kill us, and no longer have a way to hold us. This is all pointless, and you know it! Why don’t you just move to some other planet and let us be!”

“I can’t let you kill innocent people,” answered Xian calmly.

“Abominations! The whole lot of them. They deserve to die. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“We shall see about that...”

It was raining again and Paul realized the water level was rising too quickly.

If this kept up, it would reach the top of the dam and overflow.

***

Many fights had punctuated his life, and not once had he shied away... he even had a lame leg to prove it. Feeling powerless was new to him, as was hiding behind a tree. Watching his new friends fight like this made him feel like a coward.

But he also was well aware of his vulnerability and understood how crucial his part in the plan was. They could not afford him getting obliterated the way his brothers had been—nor would he wish to suffer such a horrible fate.

There still was some concern in his mind, though.

Would he be able to pull it off?

Putting someone to sleep was not difficult, but he’d have to affect three victims at once. Never before had he attempted such a feat.

It was vital for this to be simultaneous, for any one of them could otherwise strike him and destroy their plan—along with his own life.

The thought of failure left a bitter taste in his mouth and made him very uncomfortable.

Evken tried to keep his mind off this negative perspective by focusing on the scene below.

He watched as Xian broke free from Udrak’s grip and Paul sent the Suryi deep into the ground... only to have them fly back out and throw rocks and flames and wind at the pair.

Xian deflected all the blows, though it was clear he was starting to tire.

Heavy rain poured again, turning the earth under them into mud.

Then, all of a sudden, rocks flew into the air. They spun around the renegades, merged, and tightened. It all happened so fast the Suryi hadn’t had time to break free.

“Now!” yelled Xian.

Evken jumped from behind his hiding place and reached out with the palm of his hand.

Under ideal circumstances—which these were not—he would have stared into his target’s eyes. But he had three of them... The distance would not help, either. So he knew he’d have to be creative. He had planned it all out.

During the fight, he had watched his three future victims very carefully, memorizing as many details about their faces as he could. Now, he visualized them, as if they were just a few feet away. And, in his mind, he merged the three faces into one and stared into the cumulative eyes.

They stared back in surprise.

He maintained the contact, bore deep into their souls, and by the strength of his will struck down all of their defenses, one by one. There was nothing for them to worry about anymore. They had finally succeeded in their mission. Everything was well. They could rest now. They deserved it. It had been such exhausting work. It was only fair for them to sleep, now, was it not?

Their eyes closed as they fell into a deep trance.

“You did it!” said Paul joyfully.

Xian let himself fall to the muddy ground and leaned against a rock with a heavy sigh.

Despite the horrid weather, they had prevailed, and relief was in their hearts.

“What next?” asked Evken.

“How do we get them into the cell?” asked Paul.

“I’ll move the rocks,” said Xian. “It’ll move them with.”

While they talked, they did not see when Xhoras began to twitch.

Nor did they see when his eyes popped open.

***

She’d had to wait over a week before she finally could meet with Simon Goodrich, the CEO of Moonrise. She’d been told he was a very busy man these days, despite world events—or perhaps because of them.

There had been so much hype about this world in the last few years that she had been looking forward to exploring Joqqal... but she was too afraid to leave her room. She’d had all her meals brought up to her and paced back and forth all day, watching the news on the TriVid screen.

Susan had not seen the sun once since her arrival on Qojja... and between the madmen marching in the streets and the constant storms, the city felt like a powder keg just waiting to explode.

When the day of her appointment finally came, she dared to leave her room, took a hovercab, and had it drop her off at the Moonrise headquarters.

The ride itself was strenuous and stressful as the streets were teeming with angry crowds. And though they flew above, it made her nervous to watch them.

As soon as they landed, she hurried into the building. An employee welcomed her and guided her to the elevator, and then to Goodrich’s office.

The man at the desk looked up when she entered.

The smile froze on his face when he saw her... though it only lasted an instant. It was so brief she thought maybe she had imagined it.

He stood and bowed his head slightly, gesturing to the chair across from him.

“Miss Caine? It is so nice to meet you! So, so nice... Please, have a seat. How can I help you?”

“I am trying to understand the relationship between your company and Lucaan Labs on Vuulthur.”

“I was not informed you were a journalist...”

“Oh, not at all! It is a personal matter. My father, you see, had volunteered to be a test subject for Lucaan Labs.”

“In that case,” smiled Goodrich, “Moonrise cannot be held responsible for anything that might have happened to your father.”

“I am well aware of this—”

“Then I fail to see why you have come to me?”

“As I said, I’m trying to understand how Lucaan Labs is connected to Moonrise.”

Goodrich pursed his lips. “They’re merely a subcontractor. We use thousands of them, on just as many worlds...”

“And yet,” pointed out Susan, “you didn’t need to look them up. You knew exactly who they were. They must have some significance, then?”

The CEO smiled. “Well, there is some truth to that. Very well, since you are curious, and seem like a decent person, I will introduce you to someone who knows more about this matter.”

“I would appreciate that, thank you,” she said, though she was a bit surprised by the turn of events. “When can I meet this person? I’m sure you’ll understand if I’m not too comfortable with the thought of staying on this planet longer than is absolutely necessary...”

“No problem at all. You can meet him right now. If you would follow me?”

The man stood, still smiling, and motioned toward the door.

“Oh. Alright. Good.”

Susan stood as well and fell in step behind Goodrich.

They went down two halls, then stopped before another door. The man opened it and motioned for her to go through.

“Please, Miss Caine. My colleague will be quite happy to answer all of your questions.”

Susan smiled back as she stepped in.

“Thank you.” She froze when she realized she had entered an empty room. “What—?”

Something cold and metallic was pressed against the back of her neck.

Before she could make another move or say another word, she crumbled to the ground and blacked out.