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The Vast Collective Series Books #9-13
Flood 11.3 One Man's End Is Another Empire's Beginning

Flood 11.3 One Man's End Is Another Empire's Beginning

{Enki | Pantheon}

Pehton didn’t find this hard to believe at all. Razor would totally kill his former ally out of jealousy and cumulative resentment. Finally, the great Pain Curator recognized he was as manipulated as Quet, Nox, Pehton, and anyone else Primary Rem crossed paths with. Thank Elden she’d given him that copy of Nox’s Verse.

Flying with the flock through the storm, Pehton and the Lyriki army followed the Gargantuan Lyriks’ compressed figures to a conduit leading to Cinder’s shrine. From there, she’d follow into whatever conduit they took to Ishkur. She didn’t care where it went. Pehton remembered her children. Their names, Aria and Torch. Their faces and beautiful coloring, such an exotic combination of their parents’ genetics. And their hugs and smiles in the sunshine.

Pehton’s children.

Caedes kept up beside her with his brand of support, strong and silent as a column—

Pehton’s palm vibrated, startling her. Only the Primaries communicated this way—

A little three-dimensional rendering of Razor appeared in her hand. “Peh Peh, it’s time.”

“Hah! As if I’d go along with your plan.”

The tiny figure smirked. “Triangulate the chorus, and we’ll both finally be free of Remorse.”

Where Pehton paused in the rain, she looked up to see her kids move further away from her. Her army lingered at her side, ready for orders. Droplets momentarily disrupted Razor’s image while he waited for her answer.

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A galaxy newly united and free of Remorse.

Pehton swore loud enough to reverberate through Cinder’s shrine. She really was about to go along with this! “I’ll do it, but I don’t know how you have the power with the atmosphere and gravity slipping.”

With one of his infuriating smiles, Razor admitted, “This will use the last of Enki’s reserves now that Fury dimmed the sun for Ishkur.”

But if Enki lost all power… Pehton narrowed her eyes at the transmission. Did Razor know the implications for his chance of survival? Not that she cared. She said, “Get ready.”

“I always thought Gait was lucky to have you.” The sincerity confused Pehton before he added, “Over and Out,” like he found it amusing and disappeared.

Caedes, cute when drenched in the rain, did not sound amused. “Can you trust him?”

Pehton laughed again. “Absolutely not. I hate the man.”

“You wish you did.”

“Ugh!” That deserved an eye-roll. If Razor could invade the private frequency of Pehton’s earpiece, why did he appear like a message from R2D2? “You might want to stand back.” She nodded at Caedes, who did as he was told—With the sexiest smirk, distracting Pehton momentarily.

Stop that.

Focus on triangulating the galaxy’s most deadly Weapon of mass destruction.

On Pehton’s signal, all the Lyriks drank Rayne’s chain. The War King’s nanites suffused with Pehton’s nacre, and a sun blazed in the Lyriks. Pehton sang with it. The others joined and matched in pitch. It rose in volume. Kerosene fumed from their blood, blurring Pehton’s vision. Flames erupted beside her. Torch and Aria returned to join in the song. Despite the loud foot stomps of combat boots, the sound left the room in a vacuum, only filled by their chorus.

Before Razor traveled on the frequency of their voice to join in the interface of their constructs using the satellites they activated, Pehton prayed to Elden Sagan had truly gotten through to the Last Aegis.