Prologue

The day was almost done, the scorching sun sinking hard beyond the line of mountains and pillars of smoke. In every direction that the soldier looked he saw one thing: destruction. The cities were long gone, the men and women with them; places that had once seemed invincible when he'd first stepped on Earth now lay decimated. New York, Los Angeles, London. All annihilated by missiles intended to protect America and the free world, turned upon the humans by a blood-thirsty, alien race.

Nothing remained but dust and stone and ash. And death. So much death that Jake Tierny was gagging on it. But that was why this mission was the most critical one he'd ever undertaken, even after a near-lifetime of soldiering. Earth's future depended upon his actions in the next few hours. Humanity's future depended on it, even as the universe did, because if their enemies could not be stopped on this human battlefield, then they never would be. They would move on to a new planet, a new race, devouring the inhabitants like the locusts they truly were.

Jake pushed past a mud-encrusted tent flapping in the heated wind, and shielded his eyes against the setting sun. He had come to tell his king and queen goodbye. After he used the mitres to travel back in time to that critical day—the one day they knew could turn the tide of war and stop their enemies—he would never come back.

Kelsey had returned hours earlier, explaining how their once-protector, Marco McKinley, had forced her to operate the mitres, allowing him to travel backward ten years in time. His queen was nothing if not tough, hardened by years of battle at her husband's side, even as she had the nurturing heart of a mother. Marco's final betrayal had hit her particularly hard, and she'd been in seclusion ever since, quiet inside the temporary home she shared with Jared, their king. No regal splendor marked their tent, no royal flags or banners. Theirs was just one more in a long series of shabby lean-tos erected two days earlier along the edge of Mirror Lake.

So it all ended here. The final battle—the greatest and most futile one—where they would turn their few remaining guns on the Antousians and have a last showdown. The OK Corral, alien style. Jake smiled; he liked that image of an Old West standoff here in the true American West. Too bad he'd miss it. He knew it would be one glorious sight to see.

"My lord," he called out, clearing his throat as he stood outside Jared's tent, waiting to enter.

Muffled sounds came from within: the soft, feminine voice of his queen followed by Jared's familiar deeper one. "Come in."

Jake dipped his head low, his broad shoulders barely clearing the entry as he pushed his way inside. Kelsey knelt on their pallet, her eyes swollen from crying. Don't blame yourself. No one could have stopped McKinley, not with that much hatred driving him to do what he did. He wanted to say that, but swallowed the words; his human queen would never buy his easy absolution.

He offered Jared a crisp salute. "Commander, the forces have massed along the lake's southern rim," he said. "Our scouts warn their attack will come after nightfall."

Jared gave a thoughtful nod, never looking up from the grimy battle plan spread on the table before him. The man had fought his way through more skirmishes than any forty-year-old soldier should have realistically survived. And yet here he sat, his long black hair silvered by maturity and hardship, his face scarred by years of captivity at their enemy's hands.

"We're no match for them, not this time." Jared's voice was more weary than defeated. "They will kill the lot of us."

"And so it will end," Jake agreed solemnly.

"And so it ends." Jared met his gaze meaningfully, his one blinded eye half-closed, the other trained on him keenly.

"Unless we mount a counterstrike."

"Go on." Jared nodded for him to continue.

Jake stared at the ground between them, praying that his commander would go for his very radical strategy. "You're right about today; it will mark our final defeat," he answered at last. "And that's why my plan is our only choice."

Jared glanced up, surprised. "What do you have in mind?"

"I know how we can open a door, sir." Jake knelt, placing a fist over his heart. "And I'm the one to do it."

"Tell me of this plan, Jakob." His one good eye narrowed intensely.

"I'm going to use the mitres, my lord. I'm going to chase McKinley back in time and stop him, sir. I'm going to kill the bastard before he can accomplish his goal."