Book
2 in the Lone Wolf series, Shakazhan picks up where Lone Wolf ended.
Things are in a right state, but this time Wil and Matilda have some
new friends. With the help of the Kindred, they just might make it
out of this mess alive.
Wil
stood directly in front of Riley. He wasn't there and then he was,
fast as a blink. His weapon leveled at Riley. "I should have
killed you long ago."
Riley's
world slowed to a crawl. Wil's finger tightened on the trigger,
sending the pulse of energy which would incinerate him. He felt an
excruciating pull on his head and the soles of his feet as if he were
being bent backwards into a hoop and dragged through a key hole.
The
pain of transportation was agonizing. A flash of orange light and a
lancing, heat seared his chest and genitals as he fell backward into
nothingness. Like a light speed roller coaster, Riley road the waves
and undulations through space. He lost all sense of time, space,
self; dragged away to the heart of darkness, to a hell he so richly
deserved.
Wil
VanLipsig and his wife, Matilda Dulac, dove into the depths of barely
remembered space, pursuing the villainous John Riley. With the help
of a creature of legend, a Kahlea Master, John escapes capture.
Capitulated into the unknown, he travels to Shakazhan. Like Avalon,
in Old Earth lore, Shakazhan is a thought to be a myth, but it is
very real. Unless Wil and Matilda can stop him, John Riley will
release the Kahlea, bringing destruction to the universe.
The
Inhospitable Surface of Iyundo—1630 Galactic Mean Time (GMT)
"Where
the hell did he go? I hit Riley point blank! It's impossible for me
to miss at that range!"
In
a fit of peevishness, Wil threw his gun to the ground, kicking debris
over it. Matilda moved to the control panel. Flames licked at it,
consuming the ancient device.
"We
won't get this working again." She kicked it hard, the tip of
her steel toed boot bouncing off the console. Finding a port for her
scanner, she downloaded information from the console.
"That's
a waste, baby."
"You
never know what we can find out. Even a fragment can help."
Wil
knew she was right, he just didn't want to admit it. "We need to
get out of here before that blows."
"One
more minute...." Matilda replied in a casual singsong.
Picking
up his gun, Wil considered the flames. "The way that fire is
going?"
"Put
it out, then," she snapped as she watched the status bar on her
download.
"Yes,
Ma'am." He saluted flippantly, searching for something to
extinguish the flames, finding nothing but unusable debris that would
only succeed in feeding the fire.
"Speed
it up, baby, I can't put it out."
"Almost
done."
Flames
leaped higher. Wil watched with growing concern. Just as he was about
to grab her and run, she uncoupled the scanner and set off at a
sprint. Wil followed her, trying to shield her body if the console
blew. They dove behind a pile of rubble, keeping their heads down.
A
small, fuzzy creature burst into the room, gesticulating wildly. Eyes
wide with panic, he chittered at them in a language their translators
couldn't decode. His face sported a slight snout, but there was
intelligence in the bright, dark eyes. Dressed in a loin cloth, his
body was covered with a soft layer of fur and was only marginally
humanoid in configuration. He had a head, two arms and two legs, but
there the resemblance to humans stopped.
Wil
aimed his weapon at it, calm but wary. Matilda stopped him with a
hand on his arm.
"Wait!
He's okay. Listen." She tilted her head toward the creature.
"Listen
to what? That's gibberish."
"He's
telepathic. Come on." She followed the creature without
question.
"Matilda!
Wait!"
"Shut
up and follow him. It's not safe here."
Wil
went after her reluctantly, more to protect her than because he
trusted the creature.
"Hurry!
Felix says it's about to blow."
"Who's
Felix?"
"He
is."
"Who
told you?"
She
huffed sharply, exasperated. "He did."
The
control panel fire gained intensity. The area around it blazed. A low
rumble reached them. The earth trembled below their feet, cracks
forming in the walls and floor. They moved away from the fire and
deeper into the building, opposite the way they had entered.
The
way was often blocked by fallen walls and broken, decaying furniture.
This had been a showplace once. The vestiges of its long forgotten
beauty were still visible—here a green marble floor, there a
magnificent chandelier made of jewels.
"Where
is he taking us?" Wil demanded.
"He's
showing me a picture of a courtyard out this way." She pointed
to their right. "It's safer than going back the way we came."
Wil
followed unwillingly, senses alert. His hackles rose, his nerves
tingled. Matilda could sense tension and concern in Wil's every move.
The sense of urgency she got from Felix made her doubly
uncomfortable.
The
rumbling and rushing of air grew louder and closer. Risking a look
behind them, Matilda saw the chamber they'd left seethed with flames.
The front of the building, where they'd entered, fell into a flaming
pit. Silver tinged fire burst suddenly from its depths.
"Hurry!"
Wil yanked on her arm as he passed her.
The
urging from Wil was unnecessary. Matilda tried to keep up, but his
legs were considerably longer and he could cover more ground in a
mile eating lope, hardly winding him. Panting, she trotted beside
him. The hot, dry air burned the back of her throat. The fire raged
to the rear, erupting anew. It raced closer, singeing their hair.
Their lungs rasped with each breath.
Felix
ducked behind a fallen set of doors, raced around a corner and led
them to a courtyard, surrounded on three sides by the building they'd
just exited. The fourth was gone, long ago fallen to rubble. The air
behind them grew hotter. The walls bulged and vibrated violently.
"It's
going to blow, Wil!"
Matilda
took off at a dead run, legs pumping as hard as they could, her lungs
burning. Wil moved behind her, shortening his stride. He wanted to
take the brunt of the shock wave and any shrapnel. Matilda stumbled,
sliding sideways. He reached out to grab her, missing as her body
tipped away from him. Her knee hit hard on a sharp rock protruding
from the rubble. Standing with difficulty, she gritted her teeth,
determined to continue.
Felix
stopped. The sight of her blood worried him. His saucer shaped eyes
held deep concern. He glanced behind them nervously, though he waited
patiently for her to rise.
Matilda
could barely put her weight on her leg. Shaking her head, she limped
forward a few inches, nearly falling again.
Wil
scooped her up in his arms, running faster than Matilda could have on
her own. His long legged stride devoured the distance toward safety.
They ran over the stark terrain, Wil's legs rapidly eating up the
miles. Felix chittered and gesticulated, pointing to a deep
depression in the landscape. He ran toward it, not waiting for Wil,
trusting him to follow.
The
ground dropped sharply, turning spongy and damp. The depression
looked like an artificially made ditch, not a river bed. The edges
were too regular and smooth. There was a lot of rubble here as well.
Wil slowed, careful where he put his feet.
©
Dellani Oakes 2018
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