“
I
’m going to kill you, Jack,” Abraham said. His jaws clenched, and his fists were balled up. He’d never ever had any urge to kill a man in cold blood until he met Jack.
“Don’t be so dramatic. Luther was old. Chances are that he had a heart attack.” Dr. Jack pulled Abraham over to Eugene’s computer station. “What happened?”
“We are checking the readout.” Eugene glanced at Abraham. “A shame about your friend. He could have been a true pioneer. Like us.” He rubbed an eye. “It’s possible that he might still be alive. He could have soul swapped, but we’ll never know.” He punched the keyboard. “Bloody systems should have worked.”
“Why don’t you go through it? You’ve been through before,” Abraham suggested.
“That’s what we brought you for, you blundering fool,” Eugene said.
“You know, you’re going to die. Ruger is coming for you.”
Eugene paled. “Shut up!”
“It’s only a matter of time.”
“The only reason that you or he is still alive is because you are the only one coming back and forth through the soul swap. But once we are able to keep the tunnel open for the living, that won’t matter anymore. You’ll be dust in the wind once this is over.”
“Quit bickering and get this thing working,” Dr. Jack said. “Otis, get Mr. Jenkins out of the gurney. He can walk, but keep him bound up and all eyes on him.” He kicked the gurney’s wheels. “I’m tired of rolling this thing around.”
Abraham was moved upright. The orderlies left a straitjacket on him and kept their stun rods ready in hand. Abraham could run, but he had nowhere else to go. He had to see things through.
Colonel Dexter flagged Jack and Eugene over. Drew stood in front of the Time Tunnel, eyeing Fleece. Big Apple and Lord Hawk had joined the wraith.
“What is it?” Dr. Jack asked Big Apple.
The horned halfling huffed on a cigar and said, “We believe it is going to take more magic to keep the portal open and be able to get it to work as you wish.”
“How do you know this?”
“Fleece is the most adept user of magic in all of Titanuus. He can sense what the issue is. He knew the moment that this man died.” Big Apple pointed at Luther. “You need power on our end that is more permanent. You’ll need to harness the Crown of Stones’s power.”
“The king’s crown, you say?” Dr. Jack said. “I thought that wasn’t a factor.”
“So long as it is incomplete, then no man can wield it, but”—Big Apple glanced up—“if you use it to power this ring, it will strengthen the tunnel. Bring me the two that you have in your possession. Perhaps that will be enough to give it a try.”
“What about King Hector?” Dr. Jack asked.
“He’s marching on the lair, but he is being taken care of. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was dead already. But we’ll know soon enough. I have scouts in the sky.” Big Apple eyed Ottum. “Zillon dragon riders will be reporting soon. And we should have your trophy, the sword Black Bane as well. Perhaps you can kill Abraham with it. Ruger too.”
“We’ll shoot Ruger before he makes it within one hundred yards of me,” Eugene said. He eyed Dr. Jack. “This plan is worth a try. The addition of magic might be just what we need. I can rig something up for Fleece.”
“Do it,” Dr. Jack said. “Big Apple, keep me updated on the king’s location. I don’t want any surprises.”
“What do you want us to do with him?” Big Apple asked of Luther.
Dr. Jack replied coolly, “I don’t know—feed him to a dragon.”
Even though Abraham couldn’t see Fleece’s face, he could see his diamond-hard eyes boring into him like a drill. A moment passed as their eyes locked. Fleece broke off the stare and looked down at Big Apple. His shiny eyes fixed on the collar. Then he dragged Luther’s gurney behind himself as they moved away.
What was that?
With a strange shiver up his spine, he pushed by the orderlies as he moved after Dr. Jack. “You know, you are really sick. Aren’t you sworn to help people?”
“If you are talking about the Hippocratic Oath, well, yeah, you’d be right. But that was written centuries ago, you know, before universal health care.” Dr. Jack grabbed a chair outside one of the trailers and sat down. He propped his feet up on the table. “Sit down, Abraham. Relax. Who knows? Maybe when all of this is over, we’ll find you a cozy place to live in one of Titanuus’s prisons.
Abraham sat down in a folding chair. “I didn’t ask for this. Luther didn’t ask for this either. This all happened because of what you did.”
“There are always incidental consequences on the journey to universal greatness. Don’t you realize what we have done? You, of all people, should understand. We’ve created a gateway to another world.” Dr. Jack dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. “You could have had it better than anybody if you only cooperated. You could have been an ambassador to both worlds.”
“Just so you know, I gave King Hector your offer. So I kept my end of the bargain. You can’t blame him for wanting to fight it out. That’s what any one of us would do.”
Jack wagged his fingers. “No, no, no, read your history. Most kings compromise.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. I forgot those scenes in Braveheart
. Thanks for reminding me, Longshanks.”If he wasn’t in a straight-jacked he would’ve wagged his finger at Jack. “And how did that end?”
“Robert the Bruce took England out,” Otis said.
Jack glared at Otis and said, “Will you shut up?”
“Sorry, Dr. Jack.” Otis stepped away.
“Listen to me, Abraham, this fight is over. There isn’t stopping progress like this. We’ve either opened a gateway to another dimension or created a bridge across the universe.”
“Or all of this is a part of my imagination. I’m hoping for the latter, considering my fate is sealed.” He crinkled his nose. “Say, Otis, could you scratch my nose? I’ve got a bad itch.”
“How about I break it? It won’t itch after that,” the orderly said.
“You really have a poor bedside manner.”
Jack pulled a small case out of his pocket and opened it. It contained another syringe. “You know I can send you to Titanuus whenever I want and bring you back the same. It’s only a matter of time before I master it. All I know is that the lightning strike made you special. It changed your DNA.” He eyed the needle. “But I think that DNA can be replicated if all else fails with the portals. Once we control them, I think I’ll be able to code the body that someone jumps into.”
“Aren’t you full of clever ideas, playing God and all?”
“We are talking about immortality. What is more godlike than that?”
“No one lives forever in Titanuus either, moron. In case you hadn’t noticed, they have dragons over there!”
“Otis. Haymaker. Secure him.” Dr. Jack plunged the needle into Abraham’s neck. “Next time you see a dragon, give him a kiss for me.”
