Page 77 of Destinies of Diamond
“That’s impossible,” August told him. “They couldn’t have made their way to the moon, especially not without being spotted.”
“The attacks on Terra have just started,” Pollux reasoned. “The rebels aren’t powerful enough to come here.”
“I suppose we’ll just have to find out,” Brendan decided.
He was scowling ever so slightly, and I knew why. Our whole plan with the Terran terrorists was a gigantic ruse. If we were under attack, the only possible culprits were the Centaurs.
“Be watchful. This might be more dangerous than a group of stray—”
Brendan never got to finish the sentence. The wall of the room melted, the heat resistant metal unable to withstand the pressure of whatever was on the other side.
“Get behind me!” August shouted. “Quickly!”
It was a good idea, since he could absorb tachyon emissions far better than any of us. It was also not something the rest of my unit did.
As our enemy entered the hall, I just stood there, staring. I met the eyes of the creature and my world tilted on its axis. My heart was racing and my vision started to blur. I had trouble breathing and images of the past flashed through my brain.
I was back in Gaia’s Haven again, watching Selene die in front of me. No. This couldn’t be. This wasn’t possible.
Voices assaulted me from every possible direction.
“Why?”
“What is that thing?”
“Fuck! Run!”
The only ones who were silent were my fellow Chimera Warriors. Their senses might not have been as sharp as mine, but even so, they were as well attuned to Selene’s presence as I was. They—like me—could see her and find her anywhere.
The creature—the chimera—roared. The cry came through the massive snout of a lion. Meanwhile, a snake head curled around the room and a flare of power danced around its serpentine body, destroying everything in its path. It didn’t look like a regular chimera either. It seemed a blend between flesh and metal, a twisted being that was both alive and not.
“The First Chimera Project,” Paul Welton mumbled. “But how? It was supposed to be destroyed.”
Yes, and Brendan still had his tablet with him. His father’s tablet had been with Selene.
The goat head on the chimera’s back remained inactive. It didn’t take a genius to understand why.
How had this happened? It should have been impossible for a human to turn into such a creature. Was I just imagining it? Was this strange feeling only an illusion? I wanted to believe that, but somehow, I doubted it.
The lion roared once again and in the sound, I heard an apology.“This is the way it must be,”Selene whispered in my head.“I’m sorry, but there was no other way.”
A blast of flame erupted over the hall, threatening to consume everything in its path. A corona of fire popped up in front of August as he tried to absorb it. But there was only so much he could do and this creature, no matter what connection it had with Selene, had far more power than my lover had ever displayed.
But August was not alone. He never had been. “Your Majesty, get down!” I shouted at Brendan.
Brendan complied, and when I pulled him out of the way, he went along with it. Normally, I wouldn’t have been concerned, but there was no telling to what extent Brendan had preserved Typhon’s skills, so Selene could easily harm him, even if she didn’t intend to.
She wouldn’t have come here for a simple attack on The Grand Judiciary. There was something greater at work, a power she was planning to unleash. I could already feel it vibrating in my bones, in my teeth.
I didn’t know what to do. On one hand, the last thing I wanted was to go against Selene. On the other, I was afraid that her plan might involve us losing her, which, as far as I was concerned, was unacceptable.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a say. The chimera started to grow, its flesh pulsing bright crimson. The metal couldn’t have changed on its own, but the living tissue had no such problems. The tachyons flaring through the air slowly began to turn into additional limbs, and the heads grew larger.
In the blink of an eye, we found ourselves forced to evacuate the hall. Outside, in the corridors, we found only chaos. Star fleet members and guards ran around in desperation, wide eyed, in a panic. The lights were flickering and dying. The ground was still shaking.
“How can this be? It’s just one beast!”
“Do we have a real way of taking it down with the other chimeras gone?” Leonardo asked.
