Nicki is determined to be selective... the innocents should and must be protected; it is the how that keeps us glued to Lauren Kirk-Cohen's explorations...

...Continues from The Unforgettable Storm II

“Great, let’s go.” I try to turn back to the horses coming our way, but Felix grabs my arm.

“Nicki, this is more dangerous than you can possibly comprehend,” he says softly, so that the others won’t hear. “Our very existence depends on this working. If they even think that we are planning to undermine them, they will kill first and ask questions later. You had better be a good actress; both our lives depend on it.”

I smile grimly at him. “I’m Andia. Those of us who can’t act are killed quickly for not showing the proper reverence to our masters.”

Felix looks relieved. “Alright, let’s go,” he says.

The outburst of shouting and arguing about my presence isn’t any more than I expected, judging on what I’ve seen so far. Felix doesn’t look at me as he argues, insisting that I can be trusted. Eventually, with much grumbling, I am given a spare horse and I follow the group towards the nearest town.

It is nightfall by the time we arrive. Everyone else goes to their homes. Felix tells me to wait while he arranges a place for me to stay. Finally, he comes back and pulls me into an inn, shutting the door firmly behind us.

“If we want to do this, it needs to be fast,” he says. “Tomorrow morning we’ll give the leaders everything we know about the layout of the palace. The device will be activated shortly after that.”

“So how do we shut it down?”

“We can’t shut it down,” Felix says grimly. “It’s too late for that – it’s been activated and nothing will stop it. All we can do is control who it kills. We’ll have to get inside it – I’m not sure how, but we’ll have to work it out – and change who it is set to kill, so that it kills only the Andia leaders and not the people.”

I open my mouth to ask how we do that, but Felix isn’t finished.

“We’ll need to be quick. As soon as one of us enters the mind of the device, it will be vulnerable to discovery by the Andias. We need to be fast making the changes, or they could seize control of it and use it against the Rensos.”

This is starting to sound impossible, but I just nod, knowing we have no other choice. “So what will we do?” I ask.

“I have a plan,” Felix says. He sits me down on the bed and starts to explain it to me.

The next morning, I have to sneak out while everyone is distracted by Felix giving his feedback to the leaders. He gave me directions to the building where they are keeping the device. I creep along deserted streets; most people are still in bed.

As he said there would be, there are guards outside the building. Years of living among the Andias, though, has given me plenty of experience in combat and surviving. I sneak up behind them with a wooden club. They are out cold before they know what is happening.

I slip into the building. Felix didn’t know which room it would be in, but the green light coming out from under the door to my left makes it fairly obvious. I open the door and shut it behind me.

The device looks like a plain, rough wooden box, apart from the fact that it is glowing bright green. On the lid, there is a lightning bolt engraved, hitting a skull. I move further into the room, glancing nervously at the door. Felix said he’d meet me here. He doesn’t know how to work the machine, but he’s at least familiar with it. He said that a mistake could cost me my life, and I must wait for him.

The machine starts to vibrate, and the light becomes brighter. I don’t know what it means, but I have a fair guess that it’s getting ready to kill all of my people. Felix said the leaders wouldn’t need to come into the room to activate the machine, so no one will walk in on us. It appears they’re activating it from somewhere else right now.

I tap my foot nervously, watching the door. What if something has happened to Felix? What if he’s not coming? The light is almost blinding now. I feel sure that if I wait much longer, it will be past the point of no return.

A mistake could cost you your life.

But waiting could cost everyone their lives.

I screw up my eyes and approach the blindingly bright box. It vibrates angrily, as though daring me to come any closer. Slowly, I inch towards it. My hand touches the rough surface.

In one blinding instant, everything goes white.

...continued...

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