Zara pushed the buttons and spun the knob. Each time, nothing happened. He turned to watch Sicar trying to fend off the intensifying swarm. All around him, more bugs were landing as he tried to calmly remember all the combinations he already tried. Through the glass, he could see the condition was no better. He scratched his head and bit his nails while he thought.
“That’s a bad habit you know.” Sicar knocked books from the shelves in an attempt to flatten some of the attackers. “Can you get us out of here, or do we have to squish them all?”
Zara moved the knob one last time and hit a button. “Please stop breaking all those books,” he demanded as he ran toward Sicar. “We cannot get out of here using that,” he said pointing to where he was standing. “As long as we stay in here, we will be fine.”
Sicar hit Zara with one of his legs. “Did you even think about what you just said?” He pointed at the door with another leg. “We still have to get through all of them.”
Zara walked over to the door to make sure no new creatures were getting inside. “They will eat each other if they have to, I’ve seen it happen.” He smacked away some that were flying by his head. “I spent years studying these things before being subjected to the Alkaskre’s experiment on me. I was foolish for allowing them to convince me I had to.”
“If you get out of this alive, you can write them an angry letter.” Sicar kept fighting despite all the biting as more began covering him. “Until then, help me kill them.”
“They weren’t like this when I found them.” Zara flicked several from Sicar’s back. “They didn’t even fly.”
Zara tried to stop Sicar from smashing more books. “You don’t have to be so destructive.”
Sicar pushed Zara suddenly, and he fell backward. “You are right. I could use you instead. That flattened more than these fragile things.”
Sicar moved toward the door and crouched low. “Did you hear that?”
Zara stood and wiped off the dying. “I don’t hear anything.”
Outside, the swarm began flying up the steps, away from the door.
“Something must be happening.” Sicar crouched low to the ground, preparing for the worst.
Above them, heavy steps could be heard entering the house. Flames shot down the steps, finishing the remaining insects on the stairs, blackening the glass in the process. Zara and Sicar moved back and waited. Someone wiped away a section of soot and peered inside the library. Muffled voices could be heard, and then the door opened slowly. Two heavily-armored humans stepped through, pointing their weapons at Sicar and Zara, who was huddled in a ball on the floor.
“It’s almost clear in here, sir.”
Jory poked his head through the door and then entered slowly to avoid the shattered pages and remaining insects. Sicar moved forward but stopped when the guards prepared to protect Jory with what was surely lethal force.
“Did you have to break so many of my books?” Jory looked at Zara and sighed. “You have nothing to fear, please stand up.”
Zara stood slowly but made sure he was behind Sicar.
“You know the value of these, don’t you?”
Zara nodded slowly. “I thought all those were destroyed.”
Jory smiled. “I made sure of it.” He turned his attention to Sicar. “I would like to hire you again, name your price.”
“Our last transaction ended badly. Are you sure?”
Sicar stood up and folded his legs around himself and then straightened his cloak.
“I was wrong about a few of my friends. You could help me teach them a lesson. As long as Zara behaves, he is welcome to help.” Jory saw Zara was getting angry. “Is there a problem?”
“I won’t help you kill Theterm.” Zara looked at the guards and then at Jory. “That’s not going to happen.”
“It’s funny you mention him. He helped the Alkaskre convince you to keep those things safe while they were eating you alive. You saw what happened when they stopped.”
Jory saw Zara was listening. “Do you even have a scratch on you?”
“No,” Zara said quietly.
“You thought if they died, you would die. You thought if you died, they would escape and everyone else would die. All lies. Do you remember who put those thoughts in your head?” Jory raised one eyebrow for dramatic effect. “We both know. Theterm spent all that time with you, watching you suffer, and he knew the truth. It was all to create a miracle drug for the Alkaskre.”
“Is that all I was? A test subject?” Zara began to believe.
“Not to me. You are a genius. Sicar here is proof of your work.” Jory opened his arms wide and smiled even wider. “You figured that out, didn’t you?”
Sicar turned and looked at Zara. “Is that what you were trying to talk to me about earlier?”
“When Zara first came to us he was very interested in two very unique insects, and even had multiple samples of each with him. These pesky mindless things that only live to eat,” Jory said as he squished a few of the remaining bugs. “The other an extremely intelligent but venomous spider. Zara, being much more mentally advanced than others, discovered not only an antidote, but an extract that helped keep the human body in a state of balance.”
“I was one of his experiments?” Sicar demanded to know.
“Oh no, Zara did not know what he discovered. Laird, another one of Theterm’s allies, hid the truth from him. During the final stage of testing, when the drug was in his system, she spliced his blood with the spiders he brought.” Jory pointed to Sicar. “After many attempts and years of testing, you were born.”
“Does all this sound right?” Sicar asked Zara. “You and I have a connection?”
“It could have all happened that way, I guess. I worked mostly with someone named Lyssa, but Laird and Theterm were around,” Zara said.
Jory shrugged. “The more time I spent with you, it started to make sense. Yes, I did try to talk to you about this earlier.”
“Theterm is definitely good at manipulating others with the whole truth as well as select pieces. He did admit he had made many mistakes in the past. I am willing to help you get answers, but do not expect me to kill.” Sicar leaned closer to Jory. “If I find out you are lying, I will never stop hunting you. Do we have an understanding?”
“Yes. I will send you both to Storality. If Theterm and Laird are working together like I believe they are, one or both will show up there soon. Stay with them and learn whatever you can.” Jory pulled two items from his pocket that looked like marbles and held them out to Sicar and Zara. “If you carry these, I can come to your aid if you need me. Crush the outer layer, and it will signal where you are.”
“You take them both,” Sicar said to Zara.
Zara grabbed them and put them into the pocket of his jumpsuit. “Ready?”
Jory motioned for them to walk over to the mirrored floor. He turned the knob a few times and pressed the correct combination of buttons. A Way opened, and Zara and Sicar crossed through into the empty portal area fortress on Storality.
Jory closed the Way and turned to his guards. “Wait two hours and then do what we discussed.”
Jory whispered something and was gone.