Chapter 10

Marco watched Liz slide to the floor, and shook his head in disbelief. How was it possible that she didn’t know any of this? He thought they’d learned these things long before she and Max were married.

Slowly she raised her eyes to meet his, and when he saw the wild look in them, he felt something shift within his chest... something come alive. Her eyes had always been like two dark pools that he could just lose himself in... find himself in. She continued to stare up at him silently.

What did she want from him?

"Tell me the rest," she breathed finally.

The urge to guide her, to make her understand her purpose, was compelling—he’d spent too many years fulfilling his duty as their protector not to feel it. Obviously, they didn’t know their true destiny—and he was painfully aware of just how vulnerable it left them all.

What did they know?

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He simply could not do this—he had a mission to complete.

He cleared his throat, furrowing his brow. "The rest?" he asked.

"How can I be the bride? Tess was his wife before."

"No, Liz." He shook his head slowly, "Trust me, it was you."

"Trust you?" Liz asked incredulously, raking her fingers through her hair.

He hadn’t even noticed his choice of words...how could he expect her to trust him about anything? Trust had departed between the three of them so long ago. Well, not the three of them—between the two of them and himself.

"What purpose would it serve me to lie about such things?"

He extended his hand to her, intending to help her to her feet, but she ignored it. He wasn’t sure how to read the look on her face. She dropped her head, bowed it almost, and remained on her knees. He tried to see her expression, but her long dark hair formed a curtain, hiding it from him.

"Liz?"

She kept her head lowered. "Please, Marco...just don’t hurt him," she whispered.

Again, he felt the spark of something come alive within him, but he willed it to die.

"I work for Khivar, Liz, and I must fulfill my mission."

She shook her head slowly, eyes lowered to the ground.

"I’m begging you. Please don’t hurt Max."

Begging you.

And then it hit him, nearly driving him to his own knees.

The woman he had called Queen was kneeling before him--bowing before him--begging for her husband’s life. One with such a noble and beautiful spirit was reduced to bowing before a traitor. He closed his eyes against the sight of it.

God, how had it all come to this?

He was kneeling before Max, the terrible gash in his forehead throbbing incessantly.

But when Max had turned his back on him that night, he had left a great void, because Marco had only one destiny-- to serve a king.

"Liz, please get up." Marco said, extending his hand again.

"Not until you tell me you won’t hurt him," she pleaded with him. "You don’t have to do this.... We’ve changed the future."

"Shall I remind you again that I no longer serve Max?"

Liz gazed up at him, suddenly seeming so very small. "The version of Khivar who told you to go after him no longer exists."

Marco was silent for a long moment. "That’s not really true, Liz."

Her eyes flew to his own, fear growing on her delicate features. "What do you mean?"

"I made contact with...our people before I found you."

" Our people? You’re one of us--you said so yourself."

"The people I serve," he corrected.

"So Khivar knows."

"Not exactly...the people who answer to him know. And they’re outside right now."

"Then this is all a setup." Liz clutched her hands to her chest. "Why would you do this to him? At least tell me that much."

Marco thought about his answer for a long moment. There were so many things he could say in response to that question. "Because long ago he gave me no other choice," he stated flatly, walking away from where she knelt on the granilith floor.

Max pressed the gas pedal a little harder, but the Jeep was already at its maximum speed. It was so old and battered, it wouldn’t push more than a good 75 miles an hour. Isabel sat beside him, her arms folded tightly around her, trying to warm herself against the cool desert air. Michael, Maria and Tess rode in the back. They had stopped at the Valenti’s on the way out of town, because they would need Tess in particular if they hoped to make their plan work.

The Jeep’s headlights furrowed two bright rows in the dark ahead of them. Max wished again that all of this weren’t unfolding at night, which put them at a big disadvantage. And whoever this Marco person was, he’d made a strategic move in going to the pod chamber. It put him at a geographic advantage, since he could watch their approach for nearly a mile as they made their way up to the top.

In fact, one of the very reasons their protector had no doubt chosen the pod chamber’s location—for its strategic value—was now putting them all at great risk. He glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Michael watching him.

Michael leaned forward, placing his hands on the back of the seats in front of him. "You and Maria should stay at the bottom. Tess, Isabel, and I can go up."

Max shook his head firmly. "We’ve been over this. We have to stick together, Michael. We’re stronger if we do."

"You know what Liz told you...she said I should go."

" And if you leave us, then who’s to say someone won’t be waiting for us below?" Max glanced quickly over his shoulder at Michael. "That’s why we stick together."

"Maxwell, she said he was the only one."

"That we know of," Max corrected.

Isabel stared out the window. "Max, I don’t have a good feeling about this. I think Michael might be right."

Max was silent for a long moment, staring at the road ahead. They were only a few miles away now. Why was everything always such an uphill battle with all of them?

He noticed Tess staring at him from the back seat, and their eyes locked for a moment. "Listen, if Max thinks we should stick together, then that’s what we should do," she said.

Thank you, Tess.

Michael turned back to her. "Thanks a bunch, Tess. It’s his ass they’re after, remember?"

Maria threw her head back in exasperation, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Hello? Could everybody please just like shut up for a moment?" She looked around the Jeep with a dramatic sweep of her eyes. Everyone remained silent, waiting for Maria’s next statement. Max studied her curiously in the rearview mirror. "Isn’t Max supposed to be the leader here?" She continued, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"We’re stronger together." She added, placing her hand on Michael’s arm.

Max caught sight of Sheriff Valenti’s headlights in the rearview mirror. "And don’t forget, Valenti’s right behind us. He’ll be backing us up, too," he offered.

But despite his confident assertions, Max couldn’t shake a small growing feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong. He just hoped that it had nothing to do with Liz—and that they would get to her before this Marco could hurt her. Max would die before letting anything happen to her--he’d had a taste of life without her in the past week, and he never wanted to experience that again.