Kastori Devastations (The Kastori Chronicles Book 2) (27 page)

He put his hand on Erda and followed her because he felt drawn to the void—he had finally found the source of the screams in his head, for they intensified as he got closer to the throne room.
Celeste, we’re coming.

To his surprise, the voices responded.

Please! Hurry! I’m starving and dying in here, Cyrus.

I know where you are. We’re coming, sis.

No, I’m in the room you’re looking at. Please, Cyrus! Please! Don’t leave me to die! Please!

She sobbed, and Cyrus’ legs wobbled. His grip weakened on Erda, but she turned him to the left, and he walked away from the void.

Calypsius growled behind him.

Cyrus brandished his sword, but only saw Crystil behind him.

“Watch where you point that,” she said.

“Are you hearing this?”

“I hear some things. I don’t think they’re what you’re hearing.”

How does she stay so calm?

I’ve got a lot to learn.

They reached the last corner of the top floor hallway, with Gaius on the other side.

“Ready?” Cyrus asked, as much for himself as for the others.

Everyone nodded.

“Go.”

Awaiting them was Gaius, clad in black robes with red stripes. He removed his mask to reveal a normal Kastori face. He looked young—no older than Crystil—with dark brown eyes, a thick neck, and short brown hair. He swung open the door to the prison.

“Hurry,” he said, not bothering to hide his concern. “Typhos will soon sense this door has opened and will return at any second. We cannot waste any time with anything but getting her outside this temple.”

57

Typhos emerged from the portal and immediately felt so hot that he removed his robes, leaving just one layer of light armor and his mask on. He looked to the sky and smiled as the inferno spread so far it burned the clouds in the atmosphere. It created a downpour of embers, and he took great pride in the power he demonstrated.

A pity, then, that this planet has nothing to burn.

He looked down, up, to each side and behind him, and saw the same thing everywhere—desert sand, a few small, rolling hills of sand and blue skies. Up above, two suns, both the same size, baked the planet. Typhos had never felt such heat before, and cut his fire spell short.

It only marginally helped. He still felt the intense heat of the two massive stars and sought shelter. He sensed the other Kastori and guardians and felt their presence about a hundred yards ahead… but with nothing else around them.
What are they doing?? Wasting my time sightseeing.

He charged ahead and saw one of the Kastori appear, waving his arms.

“My Lord, the—”

He collapsed to the ground, his body riddled with bullets. Typhos threw himself down.

Guardians
.
What is going on?!?

No one responded at first, and he worried that this planet had technology that might rival magic—a seemingly impossible notion, but one that crossed his confused mind.

They have automatic weapons of some kind, my Lord
, Carticus responded.
There’s a massive base ahead. I think there are humans inside, but it’s well protected. I can’t get a read.

What do you mean, you can’t get a read,
Typhos messaged, now more concerned than angry.

They have some sort of blocking spell. I can see past it, but the response coming back is fuzzy.

Typhos cursed loudly as he punched the sand in frustration. More bullets whizzed past him, some into the sand.
A hill of sand is not going to protect you. Go!

He cast a powerful barrier spell, one which would deflect all bullets, and ran to the top of the hill. In the distance, he could see a small, rectangular building, the source of the bullets. Moving as fast as he could, he focused on casting the most powerful ice spell he knew, one which would freeze the entire building and its weapons. The entire planet chilled. Dark clouds formed above the building, and with a swift movement of his arms, Typhos produced his most powerful ice spell.

He opened his eyes, the heat returned, and Typhos saw that he’d successfully frozen the machine.

Temporarily.

With the heat outside, the ice began to melt. He sprinted ahead, ordering the Kastori he passed by to join him in destroying the building. Typhos cast powerful lightning spells to destroy the technology powering those guns. Fires and sparks broke out from the damage, and soon, the other Kastori and guardians joined in, destroying the exterior of the building.

Typhos reached the base of the building, shocked at its size. It looked like six palaces combined, and would require several minutes of walking just to get through. Down at the far right side, a large door remained ajar.

“Go,” Typhos said. “I need time to concentrate. I need to find the source of this planet’s power now that we’ve eliminated this threat.”

“You heard him, let’s go,” Carticus shouted, and the Kastori ran.

He knelt to one knee and concentrated. He sensed the planet’s energy…
here?

He stood and looked down. Sand covered his boots. The building remained. He concentrated once more and came to the same conclusion.
I’m standing over the source of the planet’s power…

Wait.

This is the source. No, can’t be. It’s man-made.

No.

It’s feeding off the planet.

One part of him felt scared. The humans on Monda knew nothing about fighting Kastori magic.
Humans here had nothing better to do than research. They know. They’re using it.

The other part of him boiled with deadly anger.

He charged ahead and brandished his sword. He would annihilate every living being in the building, no matter the cost. He wanted them to look at a pure magic user as his sword impaled their chests and cut their throats.

When he reached the entrance, he saw more horrifying things. His Kastori lay dead on the ground, including one of his white-striped guardians. At the next entrance, two figures in thick black armor were dead on the ground. Their hands remained gripped on their guns, and Typhos stole one. It looked similar to the guns on Monda, but when Typhos fired it, he cringed.

They imbue their weapons with magic from the planet.

He threw the gun to the ground in frustration and destroyed the weapon with a lightning spell. He turned back and heard the deathly sounds of battle, specifically screams of the dying and gunshots. He renewed his barrier spell and walked into the hallway. A human fired multiple rounds of fire-embedded bullets, but Typhos charged him. Typhos rammed his sword through the man and twisted it.

“This planet is ours,” he sneered. “Your weapons are stronger than we thought, but still not good enough.”

The man went limp, and Typhos pulled his sword out. He sensed no other enemies in the immediate area and turned one more corner to face his victorious men.

“Annihilate anyone else here,” he said as he cast a barrier spell on everyone around him. “You are all protected with a barrier shield. This will not last forever, but with your powers, it won’t need to. Go!”

His men—now three guardians and a little over twenty Kastori—charged.
The humans stand no chance now.

The only way they have a shot is with someone like the girl. And she…

She…

The thought of Celeste pained Typhos, overwhelming the anger he’d felt from Nubia’s humans. He had thought getting away from her would heal the trauma, but much as getting away from Erda had not worked, it did not with Celeste.

He trudged through the giant building, always a few hundred feet behind his men, letting them do the dirty work. He never could shake the thought of Celeste.
How could it be… what are the chances that she would be that?

After another hour of fighting, Carticus came to Typhos and went to one knee.

“My Lord, we have eliminated all life in this building,” he said. “We eliminated some automatic weapons as well. We lost about half our forces, but I and two other guardians still live.”

“A small price to pay for the rewards this place offers,” Typhos said, though his mind went elsewhere.

“My Lord, I wish to show you what appears to be their main research room. It shows what they were doing with the magic here.”

That snapped Typhos back to attention, who growled.

“Rise,” he said as Carticus got to his feet in record time. “Show me.”

Inside the research lab, several men bled out on the ground. Sparks flew from damaged equipment, and all sorts of objects littered the ground. In the middle of the room, a giant table full of odd-looking boxes sat.

“The information is on the boxes, my Lord,” Carticus said.

Typhos approached the first box he saw and examined it closely. It showed what looked like a blueprint of the building—but instead of just a giant rectangle, it looked like a disc with a funnel at the bottom, leading to a single room.
The concentration of magic of the planet.

He went over to another screen, one filled with numbers and odd signs he did not recognize. He moved to the next one, and read a report.

“Embedding Weaponry With Natural Elements: An Analysis.”

He read carefully, realizing with horror that no longer did the Kastori have a monopoly on magic.
The people on Monda were weak and distracted, and never discovered the power of magic.

But here…

“Destroy this place,” Typhos said. “I don’t want anyone coming back and finding out about what this place has to offer.”

“My Lord, there’s so much—”

“I do not misspeak,” he said ominously. “Make sure that you do not harm anything in the lowest level. But destroy everything else. And I mean everything.”

58

Typhos stood in the sweltering heat as his Kastori wrecked the building. He wanted to enjoy the carnage as sparks shot off and fires erupted. He wanted to feel joy at seeing yet another enemy vanquished.

But instead, his mind kept flashing back to the first people he had killed.

Ramadus.

Garron.

The images of the former chief of the Kastori and the father of Pagus roared in his mind.
It never ends, does it. You will all forever be in my mind for as long as I kill and destroy.

He took no pride in feeling hurt, but he couldn’t think of any other way. Forgiveness seemed off the table, not when such a move would appear cowardly. He would not run away—that would not solve the problem. He could not coexist with the enemy, most especially with Erda and Celeste still alive.

Only his death or their deaths would bring him the silence of the mind that he had sought for over two decades.
Killing humans here and this building isn’t doing anything.

Even as he accepted this fact, he did not stop the devastation of the human settlement. It blocked an incredibly important part of his mission—access to the planet’s main core of energy, and the place where he could prove his power by destroying an entire planet.

“My Lord,” Carticus said as he knelt before Typhos. “The destruction will finish within minutes.”

Typhos looked down at Carticus and back at the destruction.

“You have done well, Carticus. I—”

The girl is free.

Typhos suddenly sensed the prison door opening.
No. No! Gaius!

You traitor!

“No!” he screamed. He stared down at a trembling Carticus.
Is he a traitor too?!?

You know how to find out.

Kill Gaius, take his power and test everyone here. Everyone.

“Have an outpost ready for me. I have to return to Monda and deal with a traitor. Kill anyone that does not move fast enough.”

He didn’t wait for Carticus to respond as he walked away in a fury.
I should go back and destroy that entire planet. Blow up their temple with everyone inside. Kill Erda, kill Celeste and kill that traitor.

You’re not as strong as you think you are, Typhos. You thought you could read the mind of everyone.

No!

He must die.

He will die!

Typhos teleported from the carnage as he looked at his men with contempt and hatred.
Traitors will die
, he broadcasted just as he departed for the palace.

In the void. Good.

He walked comfortably in the void, knowing that Gaius and the others would not sense his arrival. He crept to the door and listened carefully. He caught the trail end of Gaius speaking.

“… getting her outside the temple.”

Typhos went to the edge of the void, so close that leaning forward would make him visible. But with the darkness around him, not even the brandishing of his sword could be heard.

He held the blade tightly and waited for Gaius to come so he could end the traitor’s pathetic life.