are,’ Sarah said, hurrying to keep up with him as he walked back to his unit. ‘Who is Susan? Why are you down here? What is Darklight?’
‘They’re used by the GMRC,’ Jason said, ‘peacekeepers for hire – mercenaries, right?’
‘There’ll be time for answers soon enough,’ Hilt said, ‘for now, we concentrate on staying alive.’
‘You intend to keep chasing it, don’t you?’ Sarah said. ‘You mean to kill it.’
Hilt looked like he was about to reply before a rumble of distant noise made everyone turn. The Darklight leader’s sword glowed back to life and he strode to the fore. His troops fanned out behind him, their own blades drawn, and odd-shaped shields slid from concealment to mechanically expand in preparation for another round with the phantom.
Coming from the opposite direction to the labyrinth entrance, a light was growing on the escarpment high above. The sound grew louder and Sarah glanced behind, wondering if they should make a run for it. She swapped glances with Trish and Jason, and they edged toward the passage that led into the sprawling maze.
Blazing light appeared over the rise, flooding the chamber and turning night into day. Sarah squinted as her visor image flared due to the sudden change in spectral input.
A powerful voice rang out into the chamber. ‘SARAH MORGAN!’
Sarah stopped and turned to look up at the top of the escarpment, which was now lined with row upon row of Terra Force commandos.
In their centre a single man stood atop an SED all-terrain vehicle. He retracted his helmet’s mask and pointed down at her. ‘I’ve come for you, Morgan!’ he said, ‘there’s nowhere else to run!’
Chapter Sixteen
Commander Hilt looked back at the SED woman, who stared up, open-mouthed, at the force arrayed before them. Whatever she was doing in Sanctuary Proper it seemed it was as he suspected; there was more going on with her than met the eye.
‘Sarah Morgan is under my protection,’ Hilt said, raising his voice and zooming in his visor on the man above. ‘What do you want with her?’
The SFSD Colonel turned his attention to Hilt and his expression changed to one of recognition. ‘If it isn’t Steiner’s pet merc. I heard you were all dead.’
‘Then you heard wrong.’
‘Keep standing in my way, Darklight, and I won’t have.’
Hilt glimpsed a glimmer of movement and thrust his blade left. ‘Take another step, assassin, and it’ll be your last.’
A shimmer of light distorted the air and a chrome-clad figure appeared, with Hilt’s glowing blade resting at its throat.
Something tapped against Hilt’s armoured chest.
‘Think again, Commander,’ a woman said.
Hilt glanced down to see the tip of a slender blade and he followed the length of the sword to where its owner emerged from the background.
He gazed into the mirror-like visor of another assassin. ‘Where’s your leader?’ Hilt said, glancing at the woman’s S.I.L.V.E.R. emblem and the gun she held in her other hand.
Motionless moments passed before she turned her head to look towards the labyrinth. ‘Hunting,’ she said, her voice distant.
Hilt studied her. ‘He seeks the light?’
The woman’s visor retracted to reveal beautiful Asian eyes. ‘He seeks Sarah Morgan, as do I … we all seek the light,’ she touched his Darklight emblem with her sword, ‘but the dark is always just one step behind.’
‘You know of what I speak; the entity – the creature.’
The woman didn’t reply as more of her colleagues materialised to confront Hilt’s beleaguered unit.
The colonel’s voice rang out again. ‘Can you hear me, Morgan?!’ he shouted. ‘You have something I want, the pendant; give it to me and you get to live!’
♦
‘They know about the pendant,’ Trish said in hushed despair.
Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. Their secret was out. They knew what she possessed, the key to the Anakim’s past, the key to their technology, the key to everything.
‘They’re used by the GMRC,’ Jason said, ‘peacekeepers for hire – mercenaries, right?’
‘There’ll be time for answers soon enough,’ Hilt said, ‘for now, we concentrate on staying alive.’
‘You intend to keep chasing it, don’t you?’ Sarah said. ‘You mean to kill it.’
Hilt looked like he was about to reply before a rumble of distant noise made everyone turn. The Darklight leader’s sword glowed back to life and he strode to the fore. His troops fanned out behind him, their own blades drawn, and odd-shaped shields slid from concealment to mechanically expand in preparation for another round with the phantom.
Coming from the opposite direction to the labyrinth entrance, a light was growing on the escarpment high above. The sound grew louder and Sarah glanced behind, wondering if they should make a run for it. She swapped glances with Trish and Jason, and they edged toward the passage that led into the sprawling maze.
Blazing light appeared over the rise, flooding the chamber and turning night into day. Sarah squinted as her visor image flared due to the sudden change in spectral input.
A powerful voice rang out into the chamber. ‘SARAH MORGAN!’
Sarah stopped and turned to look up at the top of the escarpment, which was now lined with row upon row of Terra Force commandos.
In their centre a single man stood atop an SED all-terrain vehicle. He retracted his helmet’s mask and pointed down at her. ‘I’ve come for you, Morgan!’ he said, ‘there’s nowhere else to run!’
Chapter Sixteen
Commander Hilt looked back at the SED woman, who stared up, open-mouthed, at the force arrayed before them. Whatever she was doing in Sanctuary Proper it seemed it was as he suspected; there was more going on with her than met the eye.
‘Sarah Morgan is under my protection,’ Hilt said, raising his voice and zooming in his visor on the man above. ‘What do you want with her?’
The SFSD Colonel turned his attention to Hilt and his expression changed to one of recognition. ‘If it isn’t Steiner’s pet merc. I heard you were all dead.’
‘Then you heard wrong.’
‘Keep standing in my way, Darklight, and I won’t have.’
Hilt glimpsed a glimmer of movement and thrust his blade left. ‘Take another step, assassin, and it’ll be your last.’
A shimmer of light distorted the air and a chrome-clad figure appeared, with Hilt’s glowing blade resting at its throat.
Something tapped against Hilt’s armoured chest.
‘Think again, Commander,’ a woman said.
Hilt glanced down to see the tip of a slender blade and he followed the length of the sword to where its owner emerged from the background.
He gazed into the mirror-like visor of another assassin. ‘Where’s your leader?’ Hilt said, glancing at the woman’s S.I.L.V.E.R. emblem and the gun she held in her other hand.
Motionless moments passed before she turned her head to look towards the labyrinth. ‘Hunting,’ she said, her voice distant.
Hilt studied her. ‘He seeks the light?’
The woman’s visor retracted to reveal beautiful Asian eyes. ‘He seeks Sarah Morgan, as do I … we all seek the light,’ she touched his Darklight emblem with her sword, ‘but the dark is always just one step behind.’
‘You know of what I speak; the entity – the creature.’
The woman didn’t reply as more of her colleagues materialised to confront Hilt’s beleaguered unit.
The colonel’s voice rang out again. ‘Can you hear me, Morgan?!’ he shouted. ‘You have something I want, the pendant; give it to me and you get to live!’
♦
‘They know about the pendant,’ Trish said in hushed despair.
Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. Their secret was out. They knew what she possessed, the key to the Anakim’s past, the key to their technology, the key to everything.
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