Free Sullivan Saga 3: Sullivan's Watch by Michael K. Rose Page A

power to keep him safe.”
    “And what about you, Frank? Are you safe?”
    “Don’t worry about me. The entities can hurt me, they can try to stop me, but they can’t get rid of me altogether. I’ll be okay.”
    Kate nodded. “Let me know what’s happening whenever you can.”
    “I will. I love you, kiddo.”
    Kate smiled through her tears. “I love you, too, Frank. And when you see Rick….”
    “I’ll tell him. He knows, but I’ll tell him.”
    Kate nodded and watched as Allen’s features grew indistinct and faded away into mist.
     
    ALLEN FELT HER energy almost immediately upon his return.
    “That was very clever of you,” Liz said.
    “You can’t blame me for wanting to protect my friends.”
    “No, I can’t. But I see you’ve discovered the secret… that Richard Sullivan enjoys an extra level of protection because of you.”
    “Yes. I had suspected it, but I was finally able to unravel the details in spite of your attempts to cloud my perception. I’m growing stronger, Liz. I’m able to break your shackles more and more easily.”
    Liz raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I suppose you are. But it won’t matter. Within a week, this will all be over. Earth will be destroyed, and the rest of the inhabited planets will not be far behind. Do what you can to keep Richard Sullivan and Kate Alexander safe for a few more days. It’s only postponing the inevitable. But know that you’ve forfeited any chance of ever seeing Liz—the real Liz—again.”
    Allen smiled. “Liz is dead. Rick and Kate are alive. She would want me to do this.”
    “It’s hopeless, Frank.”
    “No. Like I said, I’m beginning to see more. A lot more. I only had glimpses before. Now I know for a fact that there is a way to stop you. You’ve known about it all along, of course. You could have removed the danger long ago, before you led the aliens to Earth, but now it’s too late. Your desire to use the aliens against us made you make the wrong decision. Now you can’t do anything but watch and wait. You set the pieces, Liz, but then you sat back and let someone else move them.”
    “You’re still blind, Frank. There’s still so much you don’t understand.”
    “I don’t think so. I realize now that much of my blindness was self-imposed. I didn’t know how to use this new form. I didn’t know what it was capable of. And that suited you just fine. I don’t suppose you’ve ever known anything else, but I was—I am—human. And if there’s one thing humans do exceedingly well, it’s adapt.”
    Liz extended her energy toward Allen, but it was pushed back almost as quickly. Surprised, she thrust toward him more forcefully. This time he gave slightly.
    “Yes,” she said, “you are stronger. But still not as strong as us. You may be able to adapt well, but not quickly enough. You’ve played a good game, but your time is up. Anything you try to do, we can and will stop you. We may not be able to destroy your energy, but we can spread it so thinly across hyperspace it’ll take you millennia to reform. Checkmate, Frank.”
    Allen smiled. “Not quite. I still have one move left. It may not win the game, but then again, it might.”
     

13
     
    GENERAL WILLIAM ADAMS scanned the reports ticking by on his monitor. The wormholes were appearing in more and more cities and had even been seen in some smaller towns. Even more disturbing, a new type of enemy was now coming through. The animalistic creatures were bad enough, but they weren’t armed. Ground troops were now encountering actual alien soldiers. They were fully covered by armored suits. Fortunately, they couldn’t withstand hits from energy weapons, assuming the range wasn’t too great. Unfortunately, shots from solid projectile rifles and handguns seemed to be completely useless.
    Adams had seen footage from one of the encounters. The aliens had four limbs and walked upright. In fact, because they were completely obscured by their suits, there could easily have been