Read Online The Cydonia Objective (Morpheus Initiative 03) by David Sakmyster - Free Book Online
Authors: David Sakmyster
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Your mother or your father. Which would you have stay in this world?"
She turns to him, and now meets his cold one-eyed stare.
"No," the father yells. "You can't make her choose. Take me, kill me." He struggles, almost frees himself but then the butt of a rifle slams into his back and pins him to the rocky sand.
"Choose," the Eye repeats, stepping closer so his hulking shadow envelops the girl. His robes flow and whip in the rising winds and sand devils blow around them both.
"Please don't…" the mother whimpers.
The girl looks over to her, a cry on her lips. "Mother-"
"Good enough for me," the Eye says, and nods to his man. The woman's head scarf is tugged back. Her neck exposed and then torn in a jagged, swift cut as the blade digs deep. Flesh and muscle parting, blood escaping. Her eyes go cold with surprise and then… acceptance.
The Hummingbird turns away, an unvoiced cry in her throat.
The father whimpers his breath into the rocks.
And the girl focuses not on the object of her hatred, but on a lone boy standing in the crowd. A grime-faced curly-haired boy her own age. A boy trembling with fear, but whose eyes hold such emotion. He struggles against the clutches of his parents, who hold him back from running to the girl…
-His one friend.
The Hummingbird shakes her head slightly at him as if to say, 'not now'.
"It is done," the Eye says matter-of-factly. He points to the girl's father. "Break his legs, bind him and bring him with us." Then he kneels down, takes the girl's chin in his hands and uses a dirty thumb to wipe a tear from her eyes. "You'll do as I say from now on. You keep us safe, and your father lives. These villagers live. Fail me, and they all join your mother."
With a flourish, his black robes whipping around, he scoops up the Hummingbird, sets her on his horse and climbs in the saddle behind her. With a joyous shout, he races toward the cliffs.
"And now, my sweet. You will help us navigate the tunnels, and when we have found a place of safety deep within the mountains, my brethren will join us, and our work can truly begin."
Into the cavern, darkness covering them. A seeping of blue forms around the edges of the vision. Closing over the sparkling reality of everything in the center. The white of the horse's mane, the thickness of the leather harness, the saddle, and the shaking little hands that hug the horse's neck, drawing comfort from petting the magnificent beast.
"You will sleep," the Eye says, "only when I let you. When I am in slumber you must cloud our presence—in the past, the present and the future—as I know you can do. Just as you hid yourself and your parents from me for months. You will do all this, and your father will live." He strokes her hair as the veil of blue encircles the entirety of the vision. And his last words follow Phoebe out of it…
"The Eye and the Hummingbird. You and I, child. We will be unstoppable."
#
Complete BLUE.
Phoebe pulled back. Twitching, eyelids fluttering. Dimly aware of the plane descending, the pressure tightening in her eyes. Stay in it, she thought. Focus… retreat, find something…
Back in the clearing. The villagers disbanding, returning to the fields. Tending to the dead. Saying prayers and moving on.
Except for one.
The curly-haired boy.
He slips away from his parents as they go to mourn and prepare the funerals. Scrambles toward the wall of caves, the place that holds such mystery for him, even though for others the caves are used merely for shelter, for makeshift homes.
He follows the tracks of the one-eyed man. Enters the cavern and quickly makes his way after them. Descending deep into the mountainside. Coming to a branching trail, narrowing passageways.
He follows the light ahead, dimming. But he sticks to the shadows and creeps along.
#
Blinking, Phoebe stirred and opened her eyes. Yawned and popped her ears.
Gotcha, she thought. The boy is the key.
And then she noticed Orlando, eyelids moving
She turns to him, and now meets his cold one-eyed stare.
"No," the father yells. "You can't make her choose. Take me, kill me." He struggles, almost frees himself but then the butt of a rifle slams into his back and pins him to the rocky sand.
"Choose," the Eye repeats, stepping closer so his hulking shadow envelops the girl. His robes flow and whip in the rising winds and sand devils blow around them both.
"Please don't…" the mother whimpers.
The girl looks over to her, a cry on her lips. "Mother-"
"Good enough for me," the Eye says, and nods to his man. The woman's head scarf is tugged back. Her neck exposed and then torn in a jagged, swift cut as the blade digs deep. Flesh and muscle parting, blood escaping. Her eyes go cold with surprise and then… acceptance.
The Hummingbird turns away, an unvoiced cry in her throat.
The father whimpers his breath into the rocks.
And the girl focuses not on the object of her hatred, but on a lone boy standing in the crowd. A grime-faced curly-haired boy her own age. A boy trembling with fear, but whose eyes hold such emotion. He struggles against the clutches of his parents, who hold him back from running to the girl…
-His one friend.
The Hummingbird shakes her head slightly at him as if to say, 'not now'.
"It is done," the Eye says matter-of-factly. He points to the girl's father. "Break his legs, bind him and bring him with us." Then he kneels down, takes the girl's chin in his hands and uses a dirty thumb to wipe a tear from her eyes. "You'll do as I say from now on. You keep us safe, and your father lives. These villagers live. Fail me, and they all join your mother."
With a flourish, his black robes whipping around, he scoops up the Hummingbird, sets her on his horse and climbs in the saddle behind her. With a joyous shout, he races toward the cliffs.
"And now, my sweet. You will help us navigate the tunnels, and when we have found a place of safety deep within the mountains, my brethren will join us, and our work can truly begin."
Into the cavern, darkness covering them. A seeping of blue forms around the edges of the vision. Closing over the sparkling reality of everything in the center. The white of the horse's mane, the thickness of the leather harness, the saddle, and the shaking little hands that hug the horse's neck, drawing comfort from petting the magnificent beast.
"You will sleep," the Eye says, "only when I let you. When I am in slumber you must cloud our presence—in the past, the present and the future—as I know you can do. Just as you hid yourself and your parents from me for months. You will do all this, and your father will live." He strokes her hair as the veil of blue encircles the entirety of the vision. And his last words follow Phoebe out of it…
"The Eye and the Hummingbird. You and I, child. We will be unstoppable."
#
Complete BLUE.
Phoebe pulled back. Twitching, eyelids fluttering. Dimly aware of the plane descending, the pressure tightening in her eyes. Stay in it, she thought. Focus… retreat, find something…
Back in the clearing. The villagers disbanding, returning to the fields. Tending to the dead. Saying prayers and moving on.
Except for one.
The curly-haired boy.
He slips away from his parents as they go to mourn and prepare the funerals. Scrambles toward the wall of caves, the place that holds such mystery for him, even though for others the caves are used merely for shelter, for makeshift homes.
He follows the tracks of the one-eyed man. Enters the cavern and quickly makes his way after them. Descending deep into the mountainside. Coming to a branching trail, narrowing passageways.
He follows the light ahead, dimming. But he sticks to the shadows and creeps along.
#
Blinking, Phoebe stirred and opened her eyes. Yawned and popped her ears.
Gotcha, she thought. The boy is the key.
And then she noticed Orlando, eyelids moving
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