Domination (A C.H.A.O.S. Novel) - By Jon Lewis Page 0,58

not sure he fears anything.”

“What about you? Do you think the prophecy is real?”

“I can only hope.” The sheriff coughed, and his breathing grew ragged. “If the salvation of humans and Thule alike comes through a person called the Betrayer, it will be because God wills it. And that’s the truth I hold on to.”

A blast shook the holding cell, and a child screamed for her mother. Her voice was swallowed by a cacophony of bombs and bullets as the holding cell echoed with the sound of metal grinding against metal.

The room dipped to the left. And then they fell.

Metal crunched, and Colt could hear the echo of gunshots from somewhere beyond the walls. People scrambled to sit upright, groaning and choking as they strained against their collars. Colt fought to break free from his bonds, desperate to help the people around him.

There was a sound like keys rattling, and a door fell open like the door of an oven. A silhouette, black against the amber light, ducked through. Something stood in the middle of the prisoners with a pistol in each of its six hands.

More shouting. Gunshots. Fighting. Bodies fell, and someone else stepped through the doorway. Colt’s line of sight was obscured by the Thule, but whoever it was, he didn’t have six arms.

The Thule fired one of the pistols and was about to fire another when a bolt of blue electricity shot across the room, hitting it in the chest. The electricity crackled across its body as it fell, leaving the stench of burning flesh.

Colt fought against the chains until he felt the trickle of warm blood flowing down each wrist. All around him were the sounds of moaning and whimpering. A woman sobbed as she stroked the hair of a little girl who didn’t move. An old man lay against the wall, his neck bent at an odd angle, his mouth slightly open and his eyes staring straight ahead.

There was movement near the doorway as a dozen men entered the room, weapons at the ready. One walked to the fallen Thule and kicked it with his boot. Colt couldn’t see his face, but it sounded like he was speaking Thule.

Colt strained to break free. Tendons popped out of his neck, and as metal tore into his flesh, the trickle of blood turned to a steady flow. He pressed harder. The cut ran deeper. The man stood there watching him like a father might watch his son throw a temper tantrum.

“It’s not worth it,” the man said, this time in perfect English. “The best you’ll do is tear your hands off at the wrist. Then there’s the bacteria, not to mention the smell of your blood, which will no doubt draw the Riek. This is their hunting ground, and nightfall will be here soon.”

He stepped into the light, and Colt recognized the eye patch and the scar that ran down his face and across his lip. “Agent Rhane?”

“That’s Commander Rhane, Soldier of the Grail.”

: :

CHAPTER 43 : :

Colt froze, uncertain if he should be frightened or relieved.

Soldiers of the Grail were supposed to be sworn enemies of Koenig’s Defense Corps. And there was the fact that Rhane had helped Colt train for Project Betrayal back on campus . . . but did Agent O’Keefe and the others know that he was one of them—that he was a Thule? They had to know, Colt told himself. Right?

“Look, you’ve got more questions than I have time to answer,” Rhane said, as though he had been reading Colt’s thoughts. “The way I see it, you have two choices. You can come with us or you can stay here and face Koenig’s Defense Corps when they come looking for you—that is, if the Riek don’t get hold of you first.”

Rhane stood there, expressionless, his good eye lingering on Colt. Probing. Searching. Then, without a word, he turned and walked over to the fallen Thule and fished a set of keys from a pouch that hung from its belt. He unlocked Colt’s bonds and led him out of the transport and into a jungle that looked like one of the training scenarios from the hologram room—but this time it was real.

Trees draped in vines rose high overhead, their canopy of leaves blotting out the sun. The temperature was overwhelming and the air was thick, making it hard to breathe. Much of the ground was covered in standing pools that were dotted with cattails and lily pads, and Colt watched as winged frogs,