Rakkhan smiled. “If anyone can destroy that maniac, it’s you.”
“Araquiel and I will do our part, don’t worry,” Herakles interjected. “By the time we’re done with Ta’Zan, he’ll be weeping like a baby.”
That got a chuckle out of me. If we survived this, I was determined to offer Herakles a position in GASP. He hadn’t been around for too long, but he damn well deserved it. His grit, his quick wit, and his ability to adjust in response to unexpected twists and turns had already placed him ahead of many non-Stravian potential candidates. His sense of humor was just a delicious bonus.
“And we’ll do ours,” I said. “No matter what we see or hear, no matter what happens around us, we stick to the plan. We do our parts. Then, we reap the rewards and win this damn war before it spills into the In-Between.”
“This is our one shot to make things right. We inadvertently helped Ta’Zan create his Perfects and develop this nightmare. We’ll be the ones to stop him,” Ben continued.
“I’ve told you before, you shouldn’t blame yourselves for any of this,” Amane said, drawing a nod of approval from Rakkhan, Raphael, and the others. “Ta’Zan would’ve woken up eventually. He would’ve found a way off the planet. He would’ve built his Perfects another way. A similar outcome, regardless of the circumstances. This was always his plan. But you’re right about one thing. We will be the ones to put an end to it.”
Kailani stepped forward. She seemed nervous, and for good reason. She was about to walk into the home of the one creature who was most desperate to snag her and poke and prod her, until he figured out what made her magic tick.
“Okay, let’s get the first group there,” she murmured, then looked at Taeral. “You bring in your crew. Let’s see if Ta’Zan knows about all of us, or just my team.”
“That sounds reasonable. We might get lucky,” Taeral replied with a smirk.
“Hey, if he doesn’t know about us, that doesn’t mean we get to kick back with a fruity cocktail and enjoy the tropical sunrise,” Lumi said, raising an eyebrow at the young prince.
“Don’t hate me for dreaming,” Taeral retorted, pouting like a little boy.
Ben and I linked hands. Seconds later, the original recon crew was connected through touch, along with Douma, Raphael, Amal, and Amane. We knew that Ta’Zan wanted them back as much as he wanted us, and that they were included in his demand. The four of them had also insisted on coming with us, in the first group, hoping that Ta’Zan would be too pleased to have them back to worry about Draven’s crew. Wishful thinking, I’d thought, but worth a shot, nonetheless.
We had to go in regardless. This was the most difficult and dangerous stage of our mission. Like I’d told our people, there was no room for mistakes here.
Kailani took a deep breath, waiting for me to give her the go-ahead to teleport us.
“It’s time to go,” I said.
A split second later, we were outside Ta’Zan’s colosseum. Elonora and I had to quickly pull up our hoods, as the sun had proudly risen over the island. Its rays cut through the surrounding jungles, and we couldn’t risk getting burned.
The diamond structure was humongous from up close. It took my breath away.
I stared at it for a couple of seconds, until the Perfect guards patrolling the grounds and the crystalline walls noticed us. They rushed toward us, ready to attack.
I put my hands out and shouted, “We’ve come to surrender!”
They hadn’t seen this coming, for some reason. They’d probably thought we’d sacrifice my mom to keep fighting Ta’Zan. Their brilliant minds had not yet ripened to the point where they could understand that we were perfectly capable of defeating Ta’Zan from the inside out—hopefully, provided we all did our part.
They pointed weapons at us. I hadn’t seen them before, but they seemed designed after the original pulverizers. Whether they had the same deadly pellets or not, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t ready to risk it.
“Ta’Zan wanted us to surrender,” I added. “So, here we are. Get him out here. We need to talk.”
One of the Perfects stepped forward, wearing an arrogant sneer that made it difficult for me not to charge him and rip his throat out—if I could do that. Perfects could dodge much, much faster than I could hit, in the absence of their blood.
“What would you need to talk to him about? You’re surrendering, aren’t you?” he asked.
“The terms of our surrender need to be discussed,” I replied.
He laughed hard at that one. Hunter growled behind me. I motioned for him to keep his reactions under control. The last thing we wanted was a brawl outside the colosseum. We wanted clean and easy access into the diamond dome. Nothing more, nothing less.
“There’s nothing to discuss, you savages. Just get down on your knees and beg for mercy, like you’re supposed to!” the Perfect spat, then aimed his weapon directly at Raphael. “I look forward to beating the daylights out of you, in particular!”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Raphael said. “You’re a lousy guard. I could pick my teeth with your bones, if I wanted to. Now, get cracking and bring us Ta’Zan. He won’t be happy if you try to process us yourself. He hates incompetence, remember?”
The Perfect was boiling. I could tell from the way his lips twisted. He would’ve loved nothing more than to skewer us right then and there, much like his other colleagues, but Raphael made a good point. Ta’Zan was going to be furious if they didn’t notify him of our arrival.
He cursed under his breath, then pressed a small button on his tunic sleeve and spoke into it. “Get Father out to the southern gate. The outsiders are here,” he grumbled.
Raphael and I exchanged glances. Despite the circumstances, he was thoroughly amused and didn’t seem to want to miss out on any opportunity to mess with his lesser brothers. After all, he did have a point. Ta’Zan didn’t assign his strongest and bravest to guard the gates. He was well aware that no one would be foolish enough to try to invade his colosseum, so the guards were, more or less, just for show. The real fighters were inside, ready to destroy anyone who did dare come in uninvited.
“Waiting for the big kahuna to show up, huh?” Dmitri whispered. “Hopefully, he’ll be happy to have us and not anyone else.”
“Raphael, Douma, Amal, and Amane are the morsels he truly wants,” Ben muttered. “He just wants the rest of us contained. They might be enough to distract him and get his mind off Draven and Serena’s crew.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” Raphael said.
The air seemed to turn cold around us when Ta’Zan walked out through the main gate. Chills ran down my spine, as if I was facing death itself—personified. His long, gray hair poured down his back in what looked like a silvery cascade. His slim nose was in perfect symmetry with his high cheekbones and strange eyes. I was finally beholding the source of the Perfects’ superb irises, one blue, one green. By all possible definitions, Ta’Zan was a most beautiful creature.
But, like his own creations had said, his soul was decisively rotten. Still, his presence demanded our full attention and even some of our energy. Just looking at him weighed heavily on my shoulders, while my stomach tightened into a small and painful cluster of anger and anguish.
He’d done so much harm to us, to my family and my closest friends. His reckoning was long overdue, and I sure as hell was ready to kickstart it.
“It took you long enough,” Ta’Zan said, measuring each of us from head to toe with clinical interest. “For a second there, I thought you were prepared to let your mother die.”
“Our mother will outlive you all,” Ben said, his fists clenched.
“We’re here to surrender,” I answered, while the irritating guard moved back.