Page 34

XYREK

My gut churned with anticipation. In a few moments, I would set foot on Darlam. Me, Noodar, Zaarek and Tharaax. Impatiently, my fingers drummed against the chair I was leaning against while I stared through the three triangular windows of the bridge.

Noodar's trip had been almost anticlimactic. His ship made its way through the atmosphere like on any other planet. He landed and took right back off to get the rest of us, well, the rest of us Space Guardians. Not the females, Nock, or Tucker. We weren't willing to take that risk until we figured out how to shut the forcefield down, which was our number one priority.

While waiting for Alice and me to arrive, the others had interrogated Possedion and Moddekdum, but either they didn’t know where the forcefield was run from, or they were able to withstand the waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and various other tortures Sloane and Tucker came up with.

"Where do you want me to drop you off?" Noodar asked.

We had a lot to accomplish, so we decided to split up. Zaarek and I would work on finding Shade's Vale. I had an idea that it would be located around the Borrog Mountains, but that was more a hunch than anything. It was all I had to go on, though.

In the meantime, Noodar and Tharaax would scout the rest of Darlam to see if they could find any trace of the forcefield's source.

"Take us to the top of the Borrog Mountains," I told Noodar. From there, I would have a good view of the entire valley and the gorge between the mountains. It would have made sense for the Darlam outcasts to find refuge there. It was a hard-to-reach place, filled with water and plenty of game.

Darlam was a one-continent planet. Several uninhabited, tiny islands dotted the ocean surrounding the continent, but it was on the main landmass where the Darlams thrived.

Noodar kept the ship low, low enough that we could see the ruins of several towns we passed over. I had no idea what the towns' names were; from the air, they were unrecognizable. Cobblestone roadways had long ago been overgrown by vegetation, and most of the buildings had crumbled from plants growing through their walls. The elements had since taken their toll, and nobody was here to fix them.

"Stop, can you go back?" I asked, tensing.

Below us was another set of ruins. I wasn't sure what made me ask Noodar to stop; from above, they didn't look any different than the others we had flown over. Still, there was something… something pulled me to this place.

"Do you want to go out?" Noodar asked.

I did, but I also didn't want to make the others wait for me.

"It's alright. We can take a look," Tharaax agreed.

Gratefulness washed through me. I hadn't known Noodar or Tharaax before, but they were quickly becoming like brothers to me. Zaarek's hand fell on my shoulder. He nodded at me. Alright, we were doing this.

Noodar brought the ship down and opened the hatch. I tore down the gangway like never before; the urge to throw myself against the dirt below me was tempting, but I resisted. Instead, I stopped dead in my tracks, taking in the surroundings while inhaling Darlam's air deep into my lungs. It was by far the cleanest air I had ever breathed. The scent of flowers woke a new avalanche of memories, and I threw worried looks at the others, who seemed more curious than anything.

Ruined buildings stood around me. The ground below was uneven, as several stones had been pushed up from the dirt. Large trees and bushes were taking back what had once been theirs before the Darlams came and built this town.

Slowly, my feet began moving.

"Do you think this is… Rek?" Zaarek asked.

He was only a few feet from me. His hand reached out to touch a building. A building that was suddenly very familiar to me. In my mind's eye, I could see how it used to look. Saw the beautiful female poking through the now shattered glass window, waving at us. Black hair framed her silvery features, and her smile had been breathtaking. No wonder my brother had fallen in love with her. Noevah meant as much to me as my sisters. Maybe more because my sisters had moved to their Soulweb mates' towns, and I hardly ever got to see them.

Zaarek entered through the shattered entrance door.

"Zaarek, no!" I yelled, but it was too late. I hastened after him.

"This…" Zaarek looked around. The frame of the fireplace he had built still stood. Same with the large metallic oven Noevah used to cook the most delicious foods on.

My heart pumped hard and fast as I followed a completely subdued Zaarek as he explored his house. Over twenty thousand years had passed. An incredible amount of time. Mind-blowing. I could still see the colorful curtains that had once hung by the windows, the couch and chairs that were now nothing more than a few metallic springs and dust.

For a moment, I got so caught up in my emotions that I forgot about Zaarek, who had entered the bedroom. A tortured cry made me rush after him. I found him kneeling on the ground, holding his head, screaming in pain.

"Frygg!" I hastened to his side. "Did anybody bring a healing wand?" I asked, even though they hadn't seemed to do much good before.

"Let him go through this. The pain isn't real. It's just in his head," Sloane's steady voice came through my comm.

"That's easy for you to say," I snarled. It wasn't her brother on his knees, tortured by pain.

"Trust me." Sloane's voice sounded a bit more empathetic.

"Frygg," I knelt down next to Zaarek while Tharaax ran back to the ship for a healing wand, and Noodar circled us, looking as concerned as I was.

"What is this place?" Noodar asked.

"This was his home. The house he built for Noevah—Nova—and himself." I filled them in.

Zaarek crumbled in on himself. He fell into a fetal position, breathing heavily. Tharaax returned, waiving the wand he had already activated. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to do much good, and we couldn't bring Nova down here to link their mating marks.

"I think his breathing is evening out," Noodar observed.

He was right. Thank frygg.

"Zaarek?"

"I'm here," he grunted, rightening himself. "I'm good."

He didn't look good, though. He looked like he had been in a fight with several Pronex and maybe one of Alice's Xenomorphs. Or, like a Xenomorph had eaten him, chewed him up, and spat him out.

I helped him to his feet. When he looked at me, it was different than before. I saw myself mirrored in his eyes.

"Brother." He said, making my heart clench.

He opened his arms, and I gladly fell into his embrace. "Zaarek."

He slapped my back until I coughed. Frygg, that felt good.

"Very emotional, you two," Sloane snarked through the comm.

"Be nice," I heard Alice admonish her, and smiled. It was good hearing her voice.

Zaarek let go of me. His face took on a hard expression. "I remember everything."