Sacrifice
A Sequel to Quietly into the Night
Conventional Couples
Rating: PG-13

Chapter Thirty-Five

Antar – Royal Palace

Kyle pushed aside some brush and shoved at a large boulder that was shoved up against the wall of the palace. He gave another mighty shove, and the boulder shifted enough to reveal an entrance to a passageway. He squeezed through it and held out his hand to help Saranara. She slid in and stood next to him, breathless with excitement.
"Now what?" she whispered.
"We wait," he answered. "Make sure we got in undetected. If I tell you to run, I want you to get the hell out of here, do you understand?"
Saranara nodded, even though she had no intention of leaving Kyle.

The pair waited for several minutes, until Kyle was certain they were safe. He took Saranara by the hand and led her through a labyrinth of tunnels. At a junction in the tunnels, Kyle paused and thought for a moment and turned left. He led Saranara up a small incline and motioned for her to remain silent. He pressed a small stone protruding from the wall, and a small panel opened, revealing a small opening to one of the palace rooms. Voices from the room began to filter into the tunnel.
"I want her found, Jokorda. I won't wait any longer!" demanded a voice. Kyle looked at Saranara and mouthed the name Kivar. She nodded to show she understood who was speaking.
"What of the others, is there any word on that bastard brat of hers and the Earth mongrel that took him from the palace?"
"No, Lord Kivar. Not yet, but we will find them, never fear."
"I don't fear it Jokorda. It is you who should be afraid – afraid of what will happen to you if you don't find them. If they are not dead by DoubleMoon, then it is you and your men who will die!"

This pronouncement caused Saranara to gasp. Kivar looked around trying to locate the small sound. Finding nothing, he continued his conversation with Jokorda.
"What of the traitor, Naloch?"
"We have captured him, Lord Kivar, but he won't tell us anything. He has withstood all the usual punishments."
"Then try something else fool! He has answers, and I want them. I must find Elizabeth, and that brat of hers. Once I kill him, she will realize that it is in her best interest to obey me."
"Yes, Lord Kivar. By your leave, I will return to Naloch's cell and try to get the answers you seek."
"Yes, fine, go," muttered Kivar as he paced manically around the room. Jakorda bowed and fled the room quickly, unwilling to draw any more attention to himself than necessary.
"I must find Elizabeth," said Kivar. "I need Zan's bride by my side to rule. The people will not accept me without her. Antar will flourish with me as its ruler, so long as Elizabeth is by my side."

Kyle closed the panel silently, and motioned to Saranara. The two continued down the tunnels, this time going lower into the bowels of the palace. He stopped finally, and pulled Saranara close.
"Kyle, he wants to kill them, and you," she whispered, her eyes wide with fear. "That monster wants to kill that sweet little boy, my father, and you."
"He won't," said Kyle, confidently. "We'll stop him. He isn't going to hurt Kam, or your father."
"Or you either?" she questioned.
"Don't worry about me. We need to get your father out of here." He kissed Saranara gently. "Come on, we have to keep moving. The sooner we get your father out of her, the better."

The couple pressed on, and soon they emerged in what could only be, for lack of a better term, the dungeon. Moans of pain issued forth from the cells. Kyle opened up the cell door closest to him and helped the prisoner out. It wasn't Naloch, but Saranara greeted him with pleasure.
"Barloch," she whispered. "You're alive! Who else is here; have you seen my father?"
"Aye," gasped the badly beaten man. He motioned to a cell across from his, and Kyle rushed over and opened the door. Naloch fell out on the floor and Saranara rushed to him.
"Father, oh Father, what has that beast done to you."
"Don't worry child," said Naloch. "Get the others out."
Kyle went from cell to cell, opening doors and helping the prisoners out of the cells. As soon as all the cells were open, Kyle and Saranara did their best to lead the injured men back into the tunnels.

They carried and dragged the worst of the injured through the tunnels and out through the hidden entrance that Kyle and Saranara used. Waiting for them, as the exited the opening, were Max and Liz.
"How did you know?" asked Saranara puzzled.
"Kyle's little communication trick was working," said Liz as she watched her husband begin healing the wounded men. "I heard him call out. He told us what he found, and how to find you, so we came as quick as we could."
"I'm glad it worked," said Kyle. "Damn, I wish I could get this power to work all the time."
"I wonder if it only works in times of stress?" mused Liz out loud. "Kind of like my visions?"
"It's possible," said a newly healed Naloch. "But we can't waste time standing here talking about it. You were foolish to come and get us," he said, hugging his daughter tightly. "But I'm not going to complain either."

Once everyone was healed, Max led them to where Isabelle, Jereon and Michael were waiting. The small band of rebels had no sooner assembled when Michael began to lead them away from the enclosure that housed the rest of the captured rebels.
"We can't go in this way," he whispered. "There are too many guards, and they did something to them. Their powers are useless."
"Are you sure, how do you know this?" asked Naloch.
"Yeah, I managed to get close enough to talk to a couple of people in between passes of the guards. It's not good in there."
Naloch thought for a moment, and smiled.
"There might be a way. We need to leave here immediately. Jereon, do you remember that tunnel where you and your friends used to play. The one that was caved in?"
"Yes, Father. Actually, we have some possessions stored there," said Jereon vaguely, unwilling to say anything that would put Maria and the children in danger.
"We need to go there. Hidden in the tunnels is something that can help us."

"But the tunnels are caved in," said Max. "You said so yourself."
"No, Max, they are not. They are made to look as if they were caved in. In fact, your father designed them. They were used to hide some things that may be very useful to us."
"If you knew where they were, why didn't you ever use them before?" asked Max, as the small band of rebels set off on their journey.
"The tunnels are locked with a special lock, and only he who has the royal seal is able to open it."
"What is it?" asked Liz. "What's hidden in the tunnel, Naloch?"
"It's better that we don't talk about it," said Naloch. "Once we get there, you will see what I am talking about."

The building came into sight, Jereon and Saranara waited outside with the other rebels, while Max, Liz, Michael, Kyle, Isabelle, and Naloch went inside. Naloch led the way down to the tunnels.
"Maria!" yelled Michael. "It's us, we're coming in."
Naloch activated the door to the tunnel and the group stepped inside to be greeted by the signs of a struggle. Maria and the children were nowhere to be found.
"Maybe they left already," said Liz. "That's it, the orbs were charged, so they left."
"I don't think so," said Max. In his hand was Maria's backpack, with the orbs still inside.
"Oh God!" cried Liz. "My babies, and Maria. That bastard has them. We have to get them, Max."
"Max, what are we going to do?" questioned Isabelle.
"We're going to kill the son of a bitch," said Michael, in a dead voice. "Naloch, what's this thing that can help us?"

Naloch motioned to Max and pointed to an engraved section of the wall.
"Pass your hand over that, Max. The sooner we get in there, the better. Michael's right. We have to get back to the palace."
Max passed his hand over the section that Naloch indicated, and the wall in front of them dissolved. They looked inside and were greeted by a veritable arsenal of weapons, some recognizable to the podsters, and some not.
"Of course," said Liz. "Kivar and his followers aren't equipped to deal with these types of weapons. Remember, on earth, the guns. The bullets killed the soldiers Kivar sent down."
"Correct," said Naloch. "Zan's father didn't want our people to have conventional weapons. We didn't need them; our powers were enough to defend ourselves. Any time we came in contact with these types of weapons, he confiscated them immediately."
"But he never got rid of them," said Max.
"Your father – Zan's father wasn't a stupid man Max. He knew the time would come when they might prove quite useful. He schooled several of us on their uses."
"Great," said Michael, already pulling out weapons. "Then I suggest you school us pretty damn quick, because I need to go save my wife!"