I’d already figured that out for myself. My heart started pounding as I looked across at Tyler, a silent message passing between us. Who could be brazen enough to threaten a convoy on its way to see Levain at the Warden’s request?

  We hunkered down in our seats, straining to make out details through the lower row of windows. Maddening minutes trickled by. I flinched when the comm badge chirped against my breastbone, followed by Matt's query. “Ben? How’s everything going? Did you meet Levain yet?” Suddenly, before Ben could respond, the situation went sideways.

  Bots painted in jagged red and yellow stripes exploded into view from both ends of the alley. More slid down off the rooftops on both sides of us, landing around the carriage as if leaps like that were no problem at all. Some fired plasma rifles at our escorts; others wielded some kind of energy swords. Our escorts fought back, turning the alley into an instant war zone.

  It all happened so fast. Fifteen seconds, twenty tops, and all five of the escort bots and our driver were nothing more than scrap metal and sparking electrodes spread across the asphalt. Amidst the acrid smoke of their demise, plasma bolts scorched the carriage, shattering windows and burning holes in the upholstery. Tyler howled as a bolt hit just inches from his head.

  “We can’t stay here!” Ben shouted, kicking open the door. “Stay low!” He flung himself face-first into the alley.

  Tyler and I looked at one another, both stricken with fear. “You first,” Tyler said, growling when another plasma bolt sizzled into his shoulder. It pierced his clothes but not his underlay. “Well, what are you waiting for?” he shouted. “Christmas!”

  I shrugged and followed Ben, Matt’s training succeeded in keeping me from full-on panic. Tyler landed right behind me. Ben immediately grabbed my arm and dragged me beneath the carriage. I pulled Tyler after me, the smoke hanging in the alley working to obscure our dive from the carriage.“Now what?” Tyler asked, looking at Ben and then at me as rifle fire continued pouring in overhead. “This isn’t part of the Warden’s stupid request, is it?"

  “Who knows,” Ben answered, tapping the ground beside him. Or rather, as luck would have it, an old sewer access cover embedded in the asphalt. “I think those robots weren’t as dumb as they looked. They stopped the carriage over this access on purpose.” A soft glow lit his fingertips, and the heavy sewer cover lifted silently, rising to hang suspended against the bottom of the carriage. “Hurry.”

  I slid forward, peering into the darkness. Quickly swinging my feet around, I turned over and shuffled down onto the rusted service ladder, descending it a dozen feet before my boots landed on dry metal. Only the fusty smell of old sewage remained.

  Tyler came down right behind me, Ben bringing up the rear. He guided the manhole cover back down into place, his head barely clearing the top of the tunnel. His fingertips continued to glow until he twisted his comm badge, producing a backlit light. We did the same to ours, the combined illumination allowing us to see the way ahead. We started walking, moving at a brisk pace to get as far from the area as we could before our attackers realized we had vanished.

  Of course, Tyler was first to break our grim silence. "You got a plan, Ben?" His inquiry echoed hollowly through the metal tunnel. "Or should I start mentally composing my last will and testament?"

  “Do you have anything to bequeath?” I asked.

  “I have a timeshare in a starship,” he replied.

  “It’s non-transferable,” Ben said. “Didn’t you read the contract?”

  “Not the whole thing.”

  “It’s in there.”

  I laughed quietly. “Anything else?”

  “Do the clothes Asshole made belong to me?” Tyler queried.

  “No,” Ben said. “Also in the contract. They go back into Asshole’s inventory when you leave.”

  “Damn, you were thorough.”

  “What can I say? I’m from Earth, too.”

  “Right,” Tyler laughed.

  “We have to assume that the bots alerted Levain after they parked the carriage over the manhole,” I said.”He’ll likely send another team to retrieve us.”

  “How do you know he has another team?” Tyler asked.

  “Princess Goloran deferred to us at the mere mention of his name. Someone that powerful has to have more than just one armed escort unit. Even if he doesn’t, he can probably hire mercs to cover the deficit. I think as long as we keep to this tunnel, someone will meet us.”

  Grinding metal echoed from behind us, signaling the attackers had discovered our ruse.

  “The gig is up,” Tyler said.

  “We should run now,” Ben replied.

  It was the best idea I’d heard so far.

  CHAPTER 44

  Our footfalls rang through the dank passageway as we raced to stay ahead of the murderbots. My heart pounded, my pulse racing. Each side tunnel we approached left me certain another ambush awaited us around the next bend, but the glow from our comm badges revealed infinitely more of the same—a deserted tunnel.

  “Where the…hell is…the cavalry…you predicted…Noah-san?” Tyler panted beside me.

  “Any minute now…I hope,” I replied, equally out of breath.

  We pushed our aching bodies faster, rounding a gentle curve. My eyes strained against the dark, terrified that we'd slam full speed into a dead end before Levain could locate and rescue us from the ambushers. Mercifully, the way ahead remained open, but for how much longer? The murderbots were still trailing us, their metal feet clanging on the metal tube, continually growing closer. They already had an edge in foot speed, and we couldn't run indefinitely. With no weapons, standing and fighting wasn't an option either, not to mention Shaq couldn’t work his poisonous magic against machines, and the Aleal, still tucked in my pocket, couldn’t eat the brain of something that didn’t have one.

  It was only a matter of time before push came to shove.

  We came out of another loping turn, each step leaving me more eager to locate a ladder to return us to the surface, or at the very least provide us somewhere to hide. As the minutes passed, neither of those things presented themselves. The enemy bots were still gaining on us, their footsteps so close that I kept looking over my shoulder, waiting for them to appear right on our heels. For my first eight or nine glances, they weren’t anywhere to be seen. And then suddenly, the first murderbot rounded the bend behind us. Hideous red eyes gleamed within its expressionless faceplate. It raised its rifle, and I winced, anticipating blistering rays piercing my back.

  Just as it fired, Ben’s burst of chaos energy knocked the robot back into those behind it. The wayward plasma bolt slammed into the tunnel just ahead of us, offering a brief glimpse of a ladder a short distance away.

  So close, but still so far.

  “Pick up the pace!” Tyler shouted, our view of the ladder fading as quickly as the light that lit it up. Looking back again, six sets of yellow eyes untangled themselves from the pile Ben had left them in, rising to resume the chase.

  I shifted my attention from the machines to Ben, wondering if he had enough energy left for one more push. His sweaty brow and tired eyes answered the question for me. It was all he could do to keep up with Tyler and me. Our only shot was to reach the ladder and climb back to the surface before the bots caught us.

  Which meant we didn’t have a chance.

  My body tensed in anticipation of the end. I nearly gave up and skidded to a stop. The underlay would absorb one or two hits in the executionary barrage, and then it would be over. I glanced at Tyler, feeling more sorry for my friend than myself. He was here because of me. Because he had a soft heart. Because he cared. He didn’t deserve to die like this, so far from home without a chance to even say goodbye to his mother.

  My footsteps slowed, and just as I stumbled, a shadowy form that hadn’t been there seconds earlier stepped out of the shadows ahead, an RPG-like weapon balanced on his shoulder. “Get down!” he shouted in an enhanced voice.

  I didn’t need to be told twice. A flash of azure light nearly blinded me as we dove to the tunnel floor. I threw my hands over my head and squeezed my eyes shut as a rocket streaked past. In less time than it took to draw my next breath, the tunnel quaked under the concussive force of the hit. Still ready to die, I expected the thunderous detonation to bring the entire tube down around us.

  Silence followed for a handful of seconds... I cracked an eye open, peering over at Tyler through the dust and smoke created by the blast. Sprawled beside me, his eyes connected with mine. "What the hell happened?" he coughed out, gingerly sitting up. I followed his shocked gaze to where the tunnel had mostly collapsed behind us, burying our would-be killers, or least cutting off their access to us. “Damn. Score one for Levain,” he said.

  “Noah? Tyler? Are you okay?” Ben’s voice drew my attention to where he crouched on the floor a few feet away.

  “I’m fine,” Tyler replied. “Thanks to the Mandalorian there.”

  “I’m good, too,” I answered, before remembering the Aleal in my front pocket, the one I had landed on. I jumped to my feet, poking a finger in to check on the little booger. A reassuring tendril poked into the tip, sending a tingle up my spine.

  The clearing of a throat drew all of our attention to the newcomer. He stood with feet braced in a ready position, clutching the unfamiliar rifle in black-gloved hands, the rocket launcher discarded. A man, I guessed, based on his broad shoulders and height, though his helmet obscured all facial features beneath a black faceplate.

  After a tense pause, the mysterious figure straightened from his combat stance. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he strode toward us, stopping less than a foot away. Regarding us briefly, he gestured back the way he had come.

  "Let's go,” Ben said. “I think he's Levain’s cavalry.”

  We trailed our rescuer toward the end of the tunnel.

  “Um, thanks for the assist back there,” I said. “Are you with Levain?” The question seemed rhetorical, but I didn’t see any harm in asking it.

  His helmet shifted marginally toward me before our guide faced forward again without response. It was as much of an affirmation as I would get. Reaching the ladder, we climbed from the depths back into muted daylight, emerging in a nondescript alley choked with refuse. It was even dirtier and dingier than the one we had escaped by the skin of our teeth.

  “Where are we?” Tyler asked.

  Once more, our new escort ignored the query. He crossed the trash-littered pavement and climbed aboard what looked a lot like an Old West buckboard. He sat down in the middle of the front bench, giving the three of us little choice but to squeeze onto the bench behind him. Tyler’s butt was still a foot above the seat when our escort slapped the robot horse with the reins. Steam rose from its polished nostrils as it surged forward, momentum slamming Tee’s rear down on the seat.

  “Hey! Jerk!” he shouted, rubbing his butt as he threw our rescuer’ a disgruntled look. Ben hid his grin behind his hand as he and I exchanged amused looks. Mando merely ignored him.

  After passing several small buildings, the buckboard angled toward a hulking warehouse hunkered behind a twelve-foot stone wall topped with razor wire. Robot guards patrolled the outside of the wall’s perimeter. Heavy steel doors parted to allow us entry, and we crossed a large courtyard, passing a few similar wagons before moving toward the warehouse and a second set of blast doors. They too opened in front of us, bringing us into a sparse antechamber. Glaring white lighting chased away the outer decay, while pale walls and gleaming tile floors transformed the space into what could pass as the reception area of a wealthy business. A quartet of burlier, crimson-painted robots stood outside an elevator, its doors open on the brightly lit interior. They came alert at our entry, snapping to attention.

  Our escort dismounted the wagon, leaving us to jump down and hurry after him as he walked past the formation and into the elevator without acknowledgment. The guards remained at stiff attention while we boarded the elevator. I stared at our rescuer the entire way up. Who was he? Why hadn’t he removed his helmet? Might he be Levain?

  The elevator stopped three floors up. The doors whispered open, revealing a carpeted reception lounge appointed in plush black velvet furnishings. Neatly arranged statues and gilt-framed artwork lent the space an upscale ambiance. Potted greenery and baskets of exotic flowers added visual interest and a pleasing aroma. My muscles relaxed some, the peaceful atmosphere calming the tension of our violent escape and nick-of-time rescue.

  Full-length windows dominated the exterior wall, the gauzy ivory curtains over them creating a hazy, less-than-ideal view. We obviously weren’t in the best neighborhood, and the surrounding construction reinforced the downtrodden nature of the immediate area. It seemed like a strange place to meet someone with the kind of influence Levain seemed to hold over the city, if not the planet.

  "Do you think Levain's office is here?" Tyler asked.

  “I hope so,” Ben replied.

  Our guide stepped past the lounge seating toward a back hallway. We followed him down several corridors to a closed circular portal guarded by another pair of crimson bots. When the barrier slid aside, my pulse jumped with excitement. After so much build-up and danger, we'd finally reached the mystery figure waiting at the end of our quest.

  We passed through the doors, into a large but simple office. Heavily laden bookshelves ringed nearly the entire room, save for the parts of the wall broken up by doors and windows. Fancy rugs lay strewn across a gleaming hardwood floor. A large lump of fur rested on one of them, its midsection rising and falling. A thick wood desk occupied the back of the room, its surface clear. An oversized high-backed chair faced the window directly behind it. A thick white-clad elbow rested on the right arm.

  Our guide raised his hand, pointing at the floor near the door. We stopped on the spot as he continued toward the desk.

  “I don’t suppose we’ve gotten the message the Warden wanted us to deliver,” Tyler whispered close to my ear.

  “Not that I’m aware of,” I replied, looking at Ben. He shook his head. We were twenty feet from the man I presumed to be Levain, and we were still flying blind. Another of the Warden’s games?

  Our helmeted ninja friend knocked twice on the desk to get Levain’s attention. My heart rate kicked up another notch in anticipation.

  The chair swiveled around to face us.

  CHAPTER 45

  A behemoth of a man in both size and shape, the man in the chair instantly became the most intimidating entity I’d ever encountered. He regarded us the way an elephant might regard an ant, his deep-set eyes shadowed by a thick brow beneath a bald, oversized forehead and crown. A wide nose led to a thick, leathery pout that didn’t look as if his lips were capable of ever cracking a smile. His square jawline and strong chin gave way to two softer ones beneath, which themselves vanished into a deep purple scarf he wore around his neck, tucked under a white vest beneath his white coat. His glare alone left me eager to retreat with or without completing our task.

  His chair groaned, seeming to exhale as he lifted his massive bulk out of it with a surprising ease. We waited for him to speak, but he seemed in no hurry to do so. He leaned forward, planting his jackhammer fists on the bare desk. I waited for it to buckle under his massive bulk, but it held up better than me.

  “Are you Levain?” Ben asked, his eyes narrowing with speculation.

  “Are you human?” Tyler asked. I couldn’t help wondering the same thing myself. He looked the part, save for his oversized cranium.

  “Nobody comes looking for Levain by name unless they have some sort of death wish,” the man finally said, ignoring Tee’s question. The bass zen of his voice surprised me. “Do you have a death wish?”

  “The Warden sent us,” Ben answered. “He⁠—“

  Levain cut Ben off with a deep, throaty laugh that rumbled across the office, ready to shake the books from the shelves along the side walls. “The Warden sent you, did he?” He paused thoughtfully. “The Warden sent you?” He pointed at Ben, waving his finger back and forth to encompass all three of us before glancing at our rescuer. “Maybe you should have left them down in the tunnel with Zariv’s bots.” The other man shrugged. “That bastard owes me for trying to rob me of what’s rightfully mine.” His head swiveled back to us, landing on Ben. “So the Warden is sending children to do men’s work now,” he continued. “You poor bastards. You probably have no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

  “Maybe you can tell us.” Tyler said. “The Warden was… light on details.”

  “We aren’t even supposed to be in this galaxy,” Ben added. “Our ship⁠—“

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Levain interrupted. “If you’re here on behalf of the Warden, and you’ve never heard of me, then you must be newbies, visitors from another part of the universe. Where did you come from, and how did you get here?”

  “How many visitors come to Warexia?” I asked. “We had a run-in with the Achai⁠—“

  “Kid, almost everyone in Warexia started as a visitor to Warexia. That’s kind of how this place works. A thousand ways in, and no way out.”

  “Wait, you can’t mean that,” Tyler said. “There has to be a way out.”

  “Those are the Warden’s words, not mine.” He proved me wrong when a huge grin formed between his thick lips, which looked ready to crack open and bleed from the strain. “I know a way out.”

  “You do?” We all said it at the same time, and probably way too eagerly. Could our best hope of getting out of this place and back home be standing right in front of us? There was no way it could be that easy. Could it?

  “I do,” he affirmed. “But before you ask, no, I won’t share.”

  “You don’t need to tell us how,” Ben said. “Just help us do it. Please. My friends here were only supposed to be gone from Earth for a few hours. They’ve been away from home for weeks now.”

  “Boo-hoo,” Levain said. “Why should I care about that?” He paused, tilting his head slightly to the side. “Wait, did you say, Earth?”