Do No Evil (Aeon Trilogy Book 2)

Chapter 3

Through the security systems that gave him a view of the room outside his sarcophagus, Nick watched as a young acolyte hurried into the room, her bare, rapidly rising shoulders betrayed her rapid breathing. The green and white chiton she wore indicated that she was one of the personal servants Laura had assigned him. Kobus's personal escorts wore red, Abril's wore black and gold, Laura's wore white and acolytes who served all the Aeons wore gray.

The acolyte sized up the situation and slammed her fist through a glass panel set in the wall, shattering it and revealing a crowbar. With bloody hands, she grasped the bar and prepared to use it to pry open the cylinder.

That would take too long, Nick knew. He had little room to move within the cylinder, but battered the sturdy plastic door as best he could with his right arm. The cylinder shook, and the door bent out a little. He hit it again, even harder. A long curved piece of heavy plastic burst violently outwards and bounced off the far wall of the room, leaving a long, ragged hole in the cylinder.

The acolyte fell to her knees with her head bowed and her bloody palms upward in salute. Her mouth worked as if she were trying to speak, but only indistinct noises emerged. She might have been uttering a prayer. She might have been giving a warning.

Before climbing out of the sarcophagus, Nick reached into the corner where he had hidden the silver cross necklace Sarah had given him the day she died. Normally he could not wear it openly because Laura would object. The Aeons had declared themselves gods on Earth. How could he be seen wearing the sign of the Christian God? And how could he reveal that he treasured something given him by a mere mortal? But now he quickly slipped the icon over his head, hoping Sarah's spirit would protect him from the violence above.

Then he pulled himself through the broken wall of the sarcophagus in one smooth motion. His movements were rapid and powerful, but graceful and balanced, like those of a dancer. The wires and tubes that maintained his life inside the sarcophagus fell away as he advanced.

Nick was dressed in a simple dark green cotton tunic bound at the waist by a black leather belt. Its fabric stretched across his broad chest, emphasizing the power of his figure.

The acolyte stared up at him in awe. She managed to stammer, "My lord Vinicius."

Nick ignored her and stood squarely in front of the cylinder with his arms outstretched.

An array of curved and faceted objects emerged from recesses in the walls of the room. Some were shiny and metallic, others dark and leathery. Controlled by an unseen power, they flew silently across the room towards him, forming against his body and latching into place with audible clicks. The process took about two seconds.

Now Nick was dressed head to toe in body armor made of interlocking panels and scales. The armor was thickest around his forearms and shoulders; elsewhere it was close fitting and molded around his physique. The panels that made up the armor were a matte green color. From the back of his helmet emerged two long, curving metal horns - stylized antennae. His chest plate was inset with his chosen motif of a white circle and sword, which shimmered and danced in the glow of the room's flickering lighting.

"Kobus," he said, "I'm coming."

***

Sarah quickly slipped the magnetic gloves back on. She felt along the wall next to the door. Steel reinforced concrete, the same material as the outer wall she'd drilled through. But thinner.

Concrete's greatest value is its rigidity and tensile strength, she knew. But this same rigidity makes concrete vulnerable to shearing forces and vibrations. This weakness is why pure concrete buildings tend to fail in earthquakes, and was also undoubtedly the reason why the concrete in this building was reinforced with relatively supple, vibration absorbing steel rods.