Free The Zygan Emprise: Renegade Paladins and Abyssal Redemption by YS Pascal Page A

led us
into the cavern-like sitting room, and offered us some drinks which
we gratefully accepted. We sat on moist seashells which resembled
truncated stalagmites and waited for her brother.
    Eikhus, a mighty vortex, arrived within the
hour. Not wishing to have to dry off again, I slipped through his
welcoming arms, but Spud wasn’t totally able to avoid his soggy
hug, to my fervent amusement and Spud’s obvious annoyance. Nerea
brought us up a tray of thikia, and, munching the tasty seaweed, I
gave Eikhus a rundown of recent events.
    “We don’t know where he went,” I concluded
about Saul, “or how he went.”
    “I suspect it was some type of time-traveling
X-fan,” Spud added. “But the cell was supposed to have been
E-shielded by Earth Core.”
    A thought occurred to me. I turned to Spud.
“You don’t think Sutherland went back to Sidon…to finish his
assignment?”
    Spud shook his head. “Not with that temporal
vector shield in place. It would be impossible for him to penetrate
it.
    “Then we’re back to square one.”
    Eikhus, ever more and more somber, threw out
a wet hand. “ Earth has temporal vector shields?”
    “Not until now,” I responded, brushing the
mist off my windbreaker.
    “That is curious,” Eikhus said. “Temporal
vector shields are very complex, tricky to install.”
    “We figure someone from Zygint Central must
have put it on,” Spud continued. “When they discovered Benedict’s
plans for temporal attacks.”
    “But after Saul had already gotten to
Yeshua,” I added.
    Eikhus looked at us, concerned. “How many
Andarts do you think Benedict’s planted for this campaign?”
    Spud shook his head. “We do not know. Nor
where they might be.”
    “Right now, we need to find one .
Saul.” I corrected, “Sutherland.”
    “Sutherland?!” Eikhus misted us both once
again. “You are serious?”
    “Gary informed us he was one of Benedict’s
lieutenants,” said Spud.
    “One? He’s third in command of Benedict’s
operation! If Sutherland was the Andart, it wasn’t just a
small-scale guerilla attack. We’re talking prime mission.”
    Spud and I looked at each other in alarm. I
frowned, “What in the world—in the universe—was he hoping to
achieve on Earth?” A small planet at the edge of a small galaxy
that was still in cosmic diapers as far as Zygfed was
concerned.
    Spud looked equally troubled, and, barred
from indulging in his stinky smoking habit in the company of the
Kharybdians, grabbed a stylus from his pocket and chewed it as he
pondered.
    “I think we should comm the gang—emergency
meeting,” Eikhus stated with an urgent squeak. “These are deep
waters.”
    “Good idea,” I nodded.
    Eikhus sidled over to his holo, drew in his
limbs and became more cylindrical. He started rotating fiercely,
forming a torrential waterspout with a growing central appendage
that reached out to wash over the holo screen.
    Spud pulled his hoodie over his head and
headed for the opposite corner of the room. His back to us, he
huddled to avoid the collateral spray. I sighed as I wiped the
moisture from my eyes. Sometimes Spud can be so rude!
    After a few minutes of spinning, Eikhus wound
down and faced me. “They’ll meet us at Matshi’s kalyvi. It’ll be
safer there.” He glanced at Nerea. “Let’s go.”
    Eikhus added a few words to his sister in
Kharybdian, then pointedly turned and flung a sheet of water at
Spud’s back. “No offense taken.”
    Dripping from head to toe, Spud reluctantly
followed us out of the thal, pausing only to thank Nerea on our
behalf for her hospitality.
    We set off once again along the banks of a
muddy rivulet, and, shivering, trudged slowly, sloshing step by
step, towards the outskirts of Eikhus’ village. I broke the chilly
silence. “Where are we headed?” I asked Eikhus once we were out of
earshot (and mist-shot) of passers-by.
    “The Chidurian Enclave,” Eikhus said.
“They’ll be waiting.”
    Spud’s tone was dry, unlike the