The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [220]
The faeros incarnate was out there, a cauldron of fiery hatred, a nexus for the revived elementals. Osira’h could find him, too, and force him to come.
She squeezed the hands of Rod’h on one side and Gale’nh on the other. Her two sisters completed the ring. “Like we did before,” she said. “Form a barrier that’s stronger than fire, stronger than thism.” As they worked, the air acquired an impermeability that stopped some of the worst heat. The children concentrated on the intangible connections that tied the whole race together. “Reach out and strengthen the soul-threads. Find the other Ildirans — all of them. Rusa’h has burned his own paths. Now it is time for us to undo them and weave our shield.”
Using their exotic bridging abilities, Osira’h and her brothers and sisters isolated and cut off the connecting chains through which the faeros had entangled the soulfires they had stolen. The fiery elementals had traveled along those scorched pathways when they had ignited the thism to consume Ildiran souls. Now the five children erected roadblocks along those blackened lines. They severed intersections and sealed off pathways by which the flaming elementals could retreat, starving them of the soul energy on which they fed. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, blocking out the world around them so she could hone her concentration.
But then Osira’h became aware of shouts nearby, cries of terror. The heat in the air increased to an unbearable level, penetrating their tenuous shield until she could feel her skin sizzling. A golden-orange light flared in front of her face, making her reel backward as a huge, angry fireball descended before them. Larger than any of the other faeros, it hovered close, a swollen, roaring knot of flames.
Osira’h sensed the seething fury even before she saw the incandescent manlike figure inside. She held fast to her siblings, refusing to break contact.
Rusa’h had answered their call.
* * *
153
Chairman Basil Wenceslas
The shuttle pulled away from the still-frozen Klikiss swarmships, passing through the wreckage of the Earth Defense Forces and the maddeningly intact Confederation ships. Appalled, Basil worked his jaw but was unable to find words. He could guess exactly what must have happened — a treacherous ambush. At least the Goliath seemed intact.
Ignoring the pilot, he took charge of the comm console and opened a direct channel to the EDF flagship Juggernaut. “General Brindle, what the hell happened? Why aren’t you firing on the Confederation warships?”
The reply took longer than he expected, due to the chaos and confusion that still reigned aboard the EDF ships. Brindle sounded distracted. “Our ships were sabotaged, sir, most likely by the Klikiss robots. They must have booby-trapped our ships when they repaired them. We have ascertained that it was not in any way connected to the Confederation ships.”
Basil knew Sirix was capable of doing such a thing, and in a way he was disappointed that he couldn’t blame Peter for the disaster. Regardless, he felt satisfied to have caused the destruction of all the black robots . . . even if the breedex did not seem grateful for the assistance. Enemies everywhere.
Basil studied the motionless alien swarmship, considering what the Klikiss hive mind would do when it broke free of its mysterious paralysis. He might never have another chance like this. “General Brindle, are your weapons still functional?”
“Yes, sir. The Goliath has full armaments, and nineteen other ships remain undamaged.”
“Good. The hive mind is aboard the main swarmship. Destroy it, and you destroy the entire Klikiss threat. Let’s take care of this right now. Open fire with everything you have.”
The General hesitated. “Initiate hostilities against the Klikiss? Sir, two-thirds of my fleet is gone!”
Basil bridled. “Right now the breedex is crippled, and the insects can’t defend themselves. They’re not going to shoot back! If those unharmed Confederation ships have any balls, they’ll join the fight beside us. It’s what Peter always promises