Eight of Hearts: The Rift Blade - Book 1

Chapter 30

James gave Tobias a smug look of triumph as he drew his blade and shouldered it. "What are we waiting for then?"

"You two, actually," Kaya noted.

"Oh."

Kaya walked past them, setting a quick pace towards the gateway. "We're out of time. I would have preferred you two to be better equipped, but we need to go."

"Crap!" Tobias shouted. "Stink-bomb, could you run back to the hub and grab my stuff for me?"

His answer was a punch to the shoulder that knocked him back against the wall. "My name's Stink-bug," he said sternly.

James pulled to the side and reached over to help him back up.

"Whoa," Tobias muttered, grateful for his armor once again. "That was different."

"I think you mean 'hilarious'," James chuckled as he pulled Tobias back to his feet. "I guess he decided you weren't the prophesied one either."

"For a brief moment, it was like my luck was better than yours for once," Tobias said, looking wistfully in the direction Kaya and Stink-bug were jogging.

"Sucks that it's over, huh?"

"Hurry up you two!" Kaya called back to them.

Tobias raised an eyebrow at his friend, then they both took off down the hallway after her.

They reached the large cavern with the gateway a moment later. They were late, judging by the crowd that gathered around the large archway. James gaped at the sight of the glowing symbols and stalactites that decorated the room. They followed Kaya as she led them through the crowd to the gateway. She leapt onto a large rock and turned to look around at her soldiers.

"Attention!"

Silence fell as everyone turned to face her.

James leaned over to whisper to Tobias. "Here comes the epic motivational speech!" he said.

"We are about to launch an attack on the Human Dimensional Security Force's primary holding facility. If anyone needs to use the bathroom, now would be the time."

Tobias started to raise his hand, but James pushed it down.

"When we step through the gateway, we must be prepared for anything," Kaya continued. "Our first objective will be to secure the control room; once there we should be able to override their security measures. It will probably be heavily guarded, so look where security is tightest."

Tobias glanced around, realizing that in all the commotion he had lost track of Stink-bug. He finally spotted him pushing his way through the crowd in his direction, carrying what looked like the assortment of weapons Tobias had brought from the In-Between.

"We'll be going in blind, but once in the control room, the rest should be simple," Kaya was saying.

Stink-bug stopped beside them, then turned to face the others with Kaya. He pointedly ignored Tobias's angry looks and gestures, until finally he offered something to the disgruntled college student. Tobias snatched it from him excitedly, then became immediately irritated again when he realized it was a skull.

"Don't forget that the enemy carries a warp drive strapped to their wrists: if things get hairy, don't hesitate to steal one to warp out of there."

Tobias pulled a face at Stink-bug, but went back to standing with James, skull in hand. There was no point in fussing about it now. If he didn't have a weapon, they wouldn't expect him to fight. His goal was to track down the other six Aisa had mentioned. Ultimately though, his goal was to find Sarah.

"Remember why you are doing this; who you have to fight for," Kaya said, as if she read his thoughts. "They will keep you strong--keep you determined." She held her fist in the air as she shouted, "My brother is my hook! Who is yours?!"

"My wife," answered a voice. Tobias spotted the speaker, identifying him as Shifty.

"My sister," said another. Rocky, the other man besides Stink-bug who Kaya had singled out earlier.

More voices shouted out, until Tobias couldn't keep track of who was speaking any more.

"My father!"

"My brother!"

"My cousin!"

"My friend!"

"My daughter..." a quiet voice said. Tobias turned to the big man next to him, and realized it was Stink-bug who had spoken. His eyes held such sadness. Tobias felt a surge of sympathy for the big man, as well as a sense of renewed longing of his own.

"Sarah..." Tobias whispered, quietly adding his own voice to the cries. "My fiancée."

Kaya turned to them, her eyes focusing on James. "Are you ready?" she asked.

James nodded, looking uncharacteristically solemn. "Sure thing."

Did he hear what I said? Tobias wondered as he watched James step towards the gateway. If so, it made sense that he would be subdued now. Sarah was more than Tobias's fiancée: she was James's sister. If anybody were to help him find her, James would be the one.

The crowd of rebels cleared a space around him as he stepped in front of the gateway. His jaw was set as he tensed his shoulders like an athlete about to perform a difficult feat. He raised the rift blade over his head, then held it for just a brief moment before swinging it downward with a mighty yell.

Tobias saw the gash appear in the air beneath the arch, only this one continued to expand until it completely filled the gateway with that strange dark mass. It shimmered like an oily surface, reflecting the light in the cave in a myriad of colors. Now that he got a good look at it, he was reminded of the color of the rift blade. Like whatever the void was made of had somehow been harnessed and crafted into this strange phenomenon.

There was audible gasp from the rebels as James stepped away, allowing clear view of the strange portal.

"He did it," Shifty muttered, disbelief in his voice.

He wasn't the only one who seemed to have harbored doubts, as murmurs of awe rippled through the cave.

"Who's first?" James asked, proudly admiring his handiwork. The tension and sobriety that had subdued him was gone, replaced by his usual optimism.

A loud roar that caught him off guard, and he spun around to see Stink-bug charging towards him. His usual attitude of apathy was gone, replaced by a terrifying look of fury. He bowled James over as he charged through the gateway, on his way to rescue his daughter.

The rest of the rebels took up the cry as well, rushing headlong into the gateway after their companion. Tobias was swept up in their charge, and soon the cavern was empty save for the stalactites, and a very stunned James.

"Alright!" he groaned from where he lay, face down on the ground. "Great spirit there!" He sat up and carefully checked himself over for injury. Nothing seemed broken, but he probably had a black eye from his impact with Stink-bug. He stood, then limped over toward the portal, stopping in front of it to give himself one last push of encouragement. "I guess it's my turn," he said aloud with a half-smile.

He closed his eyes, then stepped through the portal. He felt a strange rush of energy wash over him, then everything went still again. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring at a large wall of video monitors, each showing a different area of what was clearly an advanced prison block. He spotted the crowd of rebels milling about in confusion in one of the hallways in one camera. They seemed disoriented now, despite their former enthusiasm, unsure of which direction to go. In front of this wall of security displays, a single guard sat slumped over in an office chair, fast asleep. This was the control room that Kaya had mentioned, James realized.

"Well, that was easy," he muttered.