Page 94 of Cheating Fate

“No! They’re going after the Divine?!” I blurted out.

The doors finally gave in at that exact moment. Thanks to Lenora weakening the thick metal, it bent like folded paper under the tremendous strength of the Braxians.

Gavin stiffened, his eyes flicking from side to side as he listened to his inner voice. He shook his head as he refocused on me.

“I’m not perceiving any danger for him. At least, I’m not feeling the urge to rescue him,” Gavin said with a frown.

“He may have already taken refuge,” Rhad said pensively. “But there’s definitely fighting going on there. People are dying. And the Draylians are also in the room.”

“Fuck,” Gavin said, worry descending over his features.

“Let’s go in,” Vahl ordered.

Those side doors gave onto the inner garden that separated the Parliament from the Basilica. It was vast with various sections with fountains, sitting areas, and multiple sculpted bushes surrounded by beautiful exotic plants. Under different circumstances, I would have loved exploring the peaceful landscape.

However, it was the smothering ‘dome’ sensation suddenly lifting that elated me. Not even four meters outside of the Parliament’s Great Hall, the effects of the psychic disruptor vanished, and our powers fully returned. My Veredian companions emitted victorious whispers as they regained their abilities as well.

We couldn’t see any enemy outside. But as we closed in on the building on the other side, a Veredian chaser came out of stealth. It fired a tractor beam at an invisible target. Half a beat later, it connected with a human ship, disrupting its camouflage. They attempted to fire at the Veredians, but their missiles bounced ineffectively off of their shield.

In the distance, a couple of Dantorian patrol ships were rapidly closing in on our position. I wanted to stay here and bear witness to the battle that would follow, but a more important task beckoned us.

Instead of going straight for the main doors straight ahead, Vahleryon gestured for us to go further north towards the secondary side entrance. It would take us closer to the throne where our scanners indicated the concentration of the fighting.

“No more killing, unless absolutely necessary,” Vahl mind-spoke to all of us. “If we do not encounter more psychic disruptors inside, I will paralyze them. Then you can shackle them. We need answers, and dead people don’t talk.”

We nodded our assent then hurried to the door. Reyes placed his hand on the digital lock next to the door, unlocking it in seconds. He opened the door, and Vahl charged in, the rest of us hot on his tail.

As Rhadames had stated, an all-out battle was raging within. The Hallowed Knights had formed a protective wall in front of the dais where the Divine still stood. They were pushing back the intruders, fighting with a mix of swords and blasters. At least a dozen corpses from both sides littered the floor, a handful of others lying prone with grievous injuries.

Why had Taseus not taken refuge somewhere? Granted, he possessed undeniable psionic powers—which he was using on some of the enemies. But his guards still should have taken him down to the bunker he undoubtedly possessed as well.

To my shock, I spotted the three Draylians perched on the balcony above the throne. A female stood directly behind the Divine, and two males had taken position on the outer edges, where the balcony turned the corner to each side. They attentively observed the battle without appearing to get involved, almost like spectators. Except for the female…

At the same moment we barged in, one of the armored attackers fired an odd weapon that shot multiple darts at the Divine. The Hallowed Knights’ shields intercepted half of them, but the others flew straight at their target. He remained stoic, unfazed by the threat. The Draylian female fired an even stranger weapon at the incoming missiles, and the air shimmered in front of the Divine. The darts crashed on an unusual energy wall then turned to ashes, leaving Taseus unharmed. The shimmering faded a few moments later.

They’re protecting him?! What in Gharah’s name is going on?!

“STOP!” Vahleryon shouted, swiping both his palms down as if slamming closed the lid of a large container.

Every enemy fell to their knees, their palms flat on the ground, unable to resist my brother’s kinetic compulsion. The Hallowed Knights froze from the neck down. It gave me an eerie sense of déjà vu from back when we were children and Rhadames teleported us to the Korlethean Quorum. That day, an assassin had murdered Uncle Xevius in front of Aunt Kamala. I was able to resurrect him after Vahl paralyzed all the Korletheans present in the chamber that day so that they wouldn’t murder us on sight. It still boggled my mind how incredibly powerful both of my siblings had already been at such a young age.

“Zhara,” Vahl said without looking at me, his gaze turned towards the Draylians on the balcony, who seemed unaffected by his powers.

He didn’t have to say anything else for me to know what he wanted.

“Dhaxius!” I called out, pointing in turn at three heavily bleeding Dantorians.

He also didn’t need me to go into details to understand his task. He hurried to each of the wounded to stem the flow by freezing the injured area.

I ran to the dead Hallowed Knights and mended the most grievous injuries before resurrecting them. Lenora, Rhadames, and Reyes injected them with stabilizing sedatives that would give me a bit more time to work my way through the most critical patients first.

Vahl glanced at Gavin, who nodded. I loved that in such a short time, they’d already started forming an intuitive bond. Gavin took over organizing his companions in disarming, shackling, and moving the prisoners to the side of the room.

“I will release you now,” Vahl told the paralyzed Hallowed Knights. “The battle is over. Stand down and assist the others in securing the prisoners.”

With a look of wonder on their collective faces, the Knights complied and promptly got to work.

“Welcome to my hall, Great General,” Taseus said in a strange tone that mixed warmth and amusement. “I’m sorry that you should find it in such a mess.”