Inputting new directives into the console, a faint vapor trail appeared on the radar. Though Cardax had a sizeable lead on the Cair Ilmun, his plasma exhaust trail was still visible and easy to follow. Setting a new course, Keryn set off in pursuit before putting the system on autopilot and moving back toward the medical bay.
In the common room, she ran into Adam, who was coming up to see her. “What did your friends say?” he asked.
Keryn shook her head. “They said that we had better find Cardax, and fast.”
Adam shrugged. “So, what do we do?”
Last time Adam had asked her that, she had hesitated. Her indecision had lost good men their lives and had irrevocably changed Keryn forever. This time, however, there was no hesitation in her response.
“We’re going to find Cardax and I’m going to personally carve every bit of information we need out of his body.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Yen was completely consumed by the power. Lifting the stone monument from the ground had pushed him way beyond what even he had thought possible. The result had been like opening the Pandora’s Box of psychic energy and unleashing a hellish beast that opened its maw and swallowed him whole. Taking on a life of its own, Yen’s power roared through his veins and set his brain alight. The pain was nearly unbearable and brought tears to his eyes. Yet he didn’t fear his newfound power. Instead, he reveled in the freedom he felt, especially the freedom of knowing that he had evolved beyond that of his previous mortal limitations. The psychic power whispered to him, enticing Yen’s mind with thoughts of domination over all that would oppose him. Smiling malevolently, Yen knew that the whispers were less of a new sentient voice and more an outlet to his own subconscious. Despite the physical pain, he had never felt more alive… or more powerful.
The power saturated his essence. Yen could feel it cascading like a waterfall through his body, igniting his nerves. His psychic energy filled him like a clay vessel until he was overflowing, yet still the power didn’t abate. Blue tendrils of power rolled over his body like bolts of lightning, emerging from his back before submerging into the skin of his shoulder. His eyes had taken on a dark, stormy color until nothing remained but the deep, flawless blue, like perfect orbs stolen from the heart of a storm cloud.
Though the power was invigorating, it was also taxing. Yen’s breaths came in labored gasps and exhaustion spread through his limbs. Despite the weariness, he was driven forward by his own rage and anger, emotions from which the psychic power seemed to feed. And all his anger had a single target: the Terran doctor.
Standing before the columned exterior of the Terran scientific headquarters, Yen tilted his head back so that he could see the broad, metal letters printed above the large doors. The words were a jumbled mess to Yen; the universal translator implanted behind his ear did little to translate the written Terran language. Still, he didn’t need to read the words to know what they meant. He had found what he was looking for. Behind those doors, Doctor Solomon hid in his laboratory. Yen could feel the Terran’s mind and taste his palpable fear in the air as though the doctor were standing directly before him.
Alone, Yen strode to the doors. Pressing his palm against the cool wood, Yen could sense not only that the doors were firmly locked, but could also feel the presence of Terran soldiers hiding beyond. They thought themselves well protected behind their barricades and locked doors, but Yen knew better. There wasn’t a place on the entire planet where they would be able to hide from Yen, should he choose to chase them.
Streams of blue energy flowed from his hand in all directions, some seeping through the narrow crack between the doors while others stretched outward, coating the edges of the wooden portal. Inside the building, the lock began to rattle as Yen’s power wrapped its tendrils around the metal bar they had thrown over both doors as a locking mechanism. Despite the metal bar’s incredible weight, Yen easily lifted it from its crook and dropped it onto the stone floor with a clatter. The measly deadbolt lock was also thrown aside, completely unlocking the door before the possessed psychic warrior.
Instead of simply opening the door, Yen’s blue streams of power blew apart the metal hinges holding the massive doors in place. With a psychic thrust, the doors were lifted from the ground and launched into the room beyond. Their weight slammed into the defensive bunkers the Terran soldiers had erected, crushing many of the soldiers beneath their bulk. Stepping confidently into the room, Yen scanned the broken defenses of the Terran forces. A few members of the guard still survived, having dove to safety only seconds before the doors came crashing down on their positions.
Still climbing to their feet, the Terrans were helpless as Yen strode forward, piercing blue tendrils of energy whipping around his body. Lashing out, the tendrils elongated into razor fine points. Bypassing the body armor as though it didn’t exist, the tendrils passed into the Terrans’ bodies before becoming corporeal. Trapped within their bodies, the tendrils slashed back and forth like caged animals, eviscerating the Terrans from within. Gurgling on their own blood, the soldiers were helpless as the psychic energy shredded lungs, perforated stomach lining, and pierced hearts. Within mere moments, the remaining Terran defenses were strewn dead on the floor.
Yen closed his eyes and drank in the power that filled the room. The pungent scent of blood and death filled his nostrils and he took a deep breath. A sadistic smile passed across his lips as he stretched his arms outward, calling back his psychic pets. One by one, they withdrew from the Terran bodies and, snaking around, drove into Yen’s. Each tendril that passed back into him filled him with a greater sense of calm. But Yen could feel an uneasiness on the edge of his consciousness. The power reveled in its own might, but Yen wondered just how much control he truly had. Much of what it had done thus far was a result of his own broken psyche. Eventually, Yen feared that the power might deviate from his desires and begin pursuing its own course.
Pushing such thoughts aside, Yen climbed the broad stairs that led to the building’s second floor. His booted feet clicked on the hard marble floors and behind him bloody footprints marked his path through the science hall. Ahead, drawing him forward like a moth to a fire, brain waves of Doctor Solomon called out to Yen from down the darkened corridors.
“I’m coming,” Yen whispered into the darkness.
Cresting the stairs, Yen found himself in a long hall. Closed doors confronted him on both sides of the hall, but Yen ignored them. They were little more than distractions, set there to lure Yen away from his true purpose. Fearlessly walking down the hall, Yen stepped between the narrow pools of light that were cast by the emergency lights set along his path. Casting only small circles of light, the rest of the hall remained enveloped in a cool and comforting darkness.
Ahead, Yen could sense his prey hiding within a room at the end of the hall. Undaunted by the gloomy darkness around him, Yen walked purposefully forward. So intent was he on the room at the end of the hall that he noticed little else. Yen was caught completely off guard when he heard the safety being switched off on the machine gun to his left.
“Move and I’ll kill you where you stand,” the Terran soldier said.
From his periphery, Yen could see the green glow of the soldier’s night vision goggles. Focused as he was on Doctor Solomon, Yen hadn’t given a second thought to further Terran defenses around the doctor. Freezing in place, Yen sensed another Terran emerging from a doorway behind him.
“Get down on your knees,” the first Terran ordered.