Missing

Markov ran down the stairs to the officers' accommodation level. He had been trying to use the Air Route but it wasn't working at all. Drefnig ran behind him, with a proton cannon hung across his shoulders on a long thick strap.

'Parker just tracked down what's wrong with the comms links,' Drefnig said.

Markov turned to face him as he jogged down the stairs two at a time. 'Finally. Has he fixed it now?'

'He's working on it. He says that Kendle has installed a virus that shuts down every comms link that is opened.'

'Kendle?' Markov said. 'Send a team to arrest her.'

'I already did.'

'I hope you told them to be careful. Remember what happened with Lance.'

Drefnig nodded, holding onto his proton cannon as he jogged down the stairs.

When they reached the corridor below, it was immediately obvious what was wrong with the Air Route. The wall was ripped open where the booth should be, and rubble was strewn across the floor. Markov paused, surveying the scene before him. Three clerics were crouching in the middle of the corridor, gathered around another who was lying dead at their feet. Blood had pooled on the floor around him. More dead clerics were scattered all along the corridor.

Drefnig raised his proton cannon, aiming it at the three clerics who were still alive, but Markov pushed the weapon down so it pointed towards the floor.

'The clerics belong to Lord Hades,' Markov said. 'They're on our side.'

The clerics turned to face Drefnig with dead black eyes. They barked loudly and their faces contorted into odd shapes.

'Are you sure?' Drefnig said. 'They don't look too friendly to me.'

'So long as you don't shoot them, they are,' Markov said. 'After that, you're on your own.'

Drefnig let out a sigh and lowered his weapon.

Alice Penning came running from a door halfway down the corridor. Her face was white and her hair hung loose on one side. 'She's gone,' she said.

Drefnig hurried towards her, keeping his distance from the crouching clerics. 'Who's gone?'

Markov caught up with Drefnig in a few short, mechanical strides. 'What the hell happened here? It looks like there's been a bloody war.'

Penning glanced from Drefnig to Markov and back again. 'Something attacked Rachel,' she said.

Drefnig looked at her with concern in his eyes. 'What attacked her? Was it the Kamari? Were they here, inside the tower?'

Penning shook her head. 'It wasn't them.'

'Then who was it? How did they get in here?'

'I think it was a lord,' Alice said. 'He came in the Air Route. It exploded and he climbed out from inside it.'

'Lord Goran?' Markov said. 'Did he come back?'

'No,' Alice said, shaking her head. 'It wasn't him. It was a different lord. His face was full of hate. He tried to kill Rachel.'

'Okay,' Drefnig said. 'Slow down. Where is Rachel now?'

'She went with Lord Hades.'

Markov frowned. 'Lord Hades was here too? Where did they go?'

'I don't know. They were here and then they were just... gone.'

Markov folded his arms in front of his barrel chest. He glanced up and down the corridor. 'Did they leave on their own feet?' he said. 'Is that what you meant by gone? Or did they vanish like Lord Goran in Wolfhammer Hall?'

Penning nodded. 'Like in the hall.'

'What happened here?' Drefnig said. 'Who killed all the clerics?'

Penning stared down at the clerics' bodies as though seeing them for the first time. Her eyes looked full of pain. 'He killed them,' she said. 'He attacked Lord Hades too. I think Lord Hades is dying.'

Markov opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.