Izikiel Read Online Free Page B

Izikiel. ‘To save Izikiel.’
    ‘ But how do you know who I am?’ Izikiel asked, a strange sense of discomfort rising up within him as he felt another memory stirring in the depths of his mind.
    ‘ I know because I am one with the Eternal Flame. And you are Izikiel, the first true disciple in almost a thousand years.’

NINE
    Izikiel’s mind raced as he struggled to comprehend what he had just been told. He attempted to find something within him that would indicate that it was true. But there were only vague, incomplete memories. Miniscule fragments of names and places. Nothing solid or complete that would help him to make sense of this latest revelation.
    ‘ But I have no memory of whom or what I am. How is this possible?’ he asked.
    Da’Amo looked at him for a moment before turning and walking across the chamber towards the other side. He stopped in front of a large doorway sculpted into the cavern wall.
    ‘ You were brought here by the Eternal Flame. It is your destiny to challenge the Void Lords,’ Da’Amo said, before he disappeared through the doorway.
    Izikiel closed his eyes as he attempted to remember how he had arrived on the planet. A series of dormant memories rose up from within as his mind conjured up vivid images of a flaming solar trail leading to a devastated planet with twin suns. Izikiel found himself looking at it from space. He could clearly make out a cluster of lights and a single domed structure denoting civilisation on the night side of the planet. He wiled himself towards it but instead found that he was accelerating into the northern polar cap. As his speed increased, he pushed against it with every fibre of his being. But he was powerless, unable to affect his trajectory. The ground loomed up before him. Dazzling white sand exploded in his eyes and he blacked out.
    O pening his eyes, Izikiel looked at Te’Anne. Her green eyes registered concern.
    ‘ I remember,’ Izikiel said. ‘I remember coming to this planet, being swept along on a solar trail and landing on the northern polar cap. Try as hard as I could I was unable to steer myself towards the settlement on the other side of the planet.’
    ‘ New Babylon,’ Te’Anne said. Her eyes clouded over for a moment as she seemed lost in thought. ‘The settlement you speak of is the New Babylon trade outpost. It is the only functioning star port on the planet.’
    ‘ Then we must go there. I don’t know why but I know I must go there.’
    Te’Anne nodded her head as the two of them stepped through the doorway into the side chamber. Inside, the walls were sheathed in a shimmering metal with black conduits running through them. There were several glowing images projected into the air which Izikiel recognised as holographic displays. The centre of the small chamber was occupied by an array of what appeared to be surgical equipment. Probes, scanners and other devices hung suspended from various flexible metallic appendages. In the centre was a single steel slab. Xavier lay on the slab, his body half covered by white gauze. A dozen robotic arms swivelled frantically across parts of his body, splaying green beams of light into his tissue.
    ‘ No!’ Te’Anne cried out as she ran towards Xavier.
    Izikiel experienced a sense of nausea as he noticed that most of the man’s right arm had been ripped off. Dozens of deep gashes marred his chest, while one of his eyes was covered with a thick green fluid. His stomach turned as bile rose up into his throat. Turning away, he found himself looking directly at Da’Amo.
    ‘ I am sorry. I barely got there in time to save your friend,’ the true believer apologised in a solemn tone.
    ‘ Will he...be alright?’ Izikiel asked, taking a few deep breaths.
    ‘ I was able to stabilise him. The medical robots will do the rest. It will take some time to rebuild his arm and chest. Much longer for his eye.’
    Nodding, Izikiel looked around the room. The equipment was truly astounding given the