Madeline and Sizx drew their guns, aiming at Kyle.
Kyle laughed. “Let me give you a tip, ladies. The only weapon that will kill me is the king Sciphil sword, which none of you has. Now, I’m going to be a gentleman here. I’ll take your king-to-be with me and let the ladies live. I’d love to kill him, but at the moment, he’s worth more to me alive than dead. How does that sound?”
“I need your reserved energy patch, Sizx,” Ciaran said between his teeth.
“It was ruined at District Seven,” Sizx said.
Knowing Kyle couldn’t handle the dagger with Gaia’s blood stain, Madeline drew it and charged at Kyle. He blocked the dagger and staggered back. Then she saw a strange look in his eyes as if he was trying something new.
She knew Kyle was a mind-bender. In their previous encounters on Earth, she’d seen him control people’s minds and make them do whatever he pleased, including killing themselves. His ability didn’t work on Madeline and Ciaran, and apparently it didn’t work on Eudaizians like Sizx, either.
Madeline felt a slight prick at the back of her neck, and then something resembling a smile crossed Kyle’s face.
“You’re with child. Wait. Children,” he smirked. “I can see three minds in you. Hello. Welcome to Eudaiz, children.”
She felt a pang in her stomach. Kyle was peeling the painkiller away and was waking the children. He couldn’t control her mind, but he could certainly work on the babies.
Sizx lunged at Kyle and copped a kick, flying backward toward the far end of the station and crashing into a wall. Where is Ciaran? Madeline thought as she retained her stance, trying to suppress the pain that had started to hit her in waves. She couldn’t afford to turn around to look for Ciaran and leave Kyle unattended.
Kyle advanced. Madeline didn’t withdraw but gripped her dagger harder and charged. Kyle grabbed her dagger hand, twisted the dagger from it, and tossed her several feet away. From the ground, she could see Ciaran standing with Gaia and Liam next to him.
“I believe you just hurt my wife. I can’t accept that,” Ciaran growled.
Kyle laughed. “I don’t believe you’re in a position to say that—”
Before Kyle could finish his sentence, Ciaran reached his hand out. Gaia grabbed it.
The capsule burst into flame, and an explosion echoed through the station, numbing the mind and plunging the entire place into darkness. Under the light of the fire, Ciaran aimed the gun at Kyle.
“Ready, Gaia. Fire,” Ciaran said.
The beam coming out from the gun was like a tidal wave of energy. Kyle was instantly swept away. From whatever dimension he was thrown into, his voice echoed back, “Ennead will kill you all . . .”
Darkness.
One light flickered. Then the next. And the next. The station lights were back on. Ciaran darted toward Madeline and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I wish you’d told me you could draw energy, put it back into you, recover, and shoot Kyle away like that. Would have saved me a lot of worries,” she grumbled.
“It wasn’t me—it was Gaia. And I had no idea it would work,” Ciaran said patiently.
“I’m sorry. I know. I don’t mean to be petulant.” She clutched at her stomach again.
The pain was bad. There was hardly a physical sign of pregnancy at all. But she could feel every blow of her children kicking inside her. Ciaran could see how bad her pain was. “Is there anything you can give her to ease the pain?” Ciaran asked Liam.
He shook his head.
“I can handle it,” Madeline said.
From a corner, Sizx had finished reconnecting the communications panel. “This is not the station to Tower One. Somebody manipulated the central system and sent us here.”
“Where are we then? Can we make it to the tower in time?” Madeline asked.
“If you’re in pain, we are going to a medical center, not the tower,” Ciaran growled.
“If I don’t take the position in time, Eudaiz is doomed. There’s no point in going to a medical center. They’ll find us and kill us, Ciaran.”
“If you’re alive, we can always figure things out.”
“Get out of here,” Sizx shouted and raced out of the station. As soon as they made it outside, a spark flashed behind them, and the station became a volcano of metal and flames.
Ayana and Pete arrived in two private capsules. They jumped out of their vehicles.
“Wrong station. We were waiting at Tower One. Get in or you’ll be late!” Ayana waved frantically. Madeline and Ciaran got into her capsule. Liam, Gaia, and Sizx climbed into Pete’s. The two capsules flew away.