Shadow Hunters (30 page)

Feet and hands and scythe-blades sinking into carnage, Ethan struggled to rise. He cried out in rage.

The gate had been opened, and the protoss were fleeing in a mass exodus. Ramsey was still there, for now.

Enough of relying upon beasts. He would leave such machinations and manipulations for his queen, whose skills were best suited to it. He rose, scythe-arms flashing, hungering as if they had a will of their own, and moved purposefully forward. He would slay Rosemary Dahl and bring Kerrigan Jacob Ramsey himself.

We must go, Jacob.

Zamara reached out to Rosemary as well. Jake saw the assassin’s head whip up before she fired one last time, clearly reluctant to leave without seeing the enemy destroyed. Jake shared her feelings. He hesitated, watching the battle continue to rage, watching the legacy of Adun unfolding before his very eyes. Ulrezaj had been brought to a full halt now, his attention entirely focused on defending himself from the onslaught of unified, fiercely directed protoss mental energy.

The image of the drained protoss husks and the briefly-glimpsed creatures in the tanks flashed in his mind. The knowledge of what the Sundrop had done to Rosemary, to Alzadar and all the others—

Fall over, you glowing dark bastard. I want to see you topple.

Jacob!

Zamara’s thoughts cracked like a whip in his mind, and Jake started violently. She was two heartbeats away from physically commandeering his body and
forcing him to flee. Rosemary raced toward the gate at a flat-out run, pausing only to turn and yell over her shoulder, “Jake, come on!”

Then she, like the protoss, was gone.

Still, Jake could not bring himself to move. His friends were dying out there.

Dying to save me and the knowledge I bear. Dying to save you. Do not let their sacrifice be in vain!

“Ladranix—”

No words met Jake’s mind when it brushed Ladranix’s. Nothing so confined or limiting as that—just a feeling, of respect, and affection, and pride.

Then Ladranix was gone.

“No!”

Alzadar’s grief and fury sang in Jake’s mind as the remaining protoss fueled the storm with everything they had. Zamara’s thoughts grew harsh and Jake gasped as pain shot through him and his body was usurped by the preserver. His legs began to move, bearing him closer to the blue mist that whirled within the oval confines of the warp gate.

He fought her as he had not done for a long time now, not since the beginning, and if for only an instant, he was stronger, Jake turned his head just in time to see Ulrezaj’s whirling motion turn erratic, the fierce blackness fluctuate. Had they gotten him?

He guessed he’d never know. All he knew was that the bitter gamble had paid off, and that the cost was dear indeed.

But Zamara was right—he couldn’t let their sacrifice be in vain.

His head aching, his eyes filling with tears, and his heart swelling with pride at the courage of the people who had made him so welcomed, Jacob Jefferson Ramsey raced toward the warp gate and jumped through.

The Dark Templar Saga will continue in

Book Three

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR CHRISTIE GOLDEN HAS written thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Golden launched the TSR
Ravenloft
line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful
Vampire of the Mists,
which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar.
Vampire of the Mists
was reprinted in trade paperback as
The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists
in September 2006, fifteen years to the month after its initial publication.

She is the author of several original fantasy novels, including
On Fire’s Wings
and
In Stone’s Clasp,
the first two in her multi-book fantasy series from LUNA Books.
In Stone’s Clasp
won the Colorado Author’s League Award for Best Genre Novel of 2005, the second of Golden’s novels to win the award.

Among other projects are over a dozen
Star Trek
novels, including
The Murdered Sun, Marooned,
and
Seven of Nine.
She’s authored the
Dark Matters
trilogy,
and continued the adventures of the crew of
Voyager
in
Homecoming, The Farther Shore, Spirit Walk: Old Wounds,
and
Enemy of My Enemy.

An avid player of Blizzard Entertainment’s
World of Warcraft
MMORPG, Golden has written two novels for their game,
Lord of the Clans
and
Rise of the Horde.
And no, she won’t tell you her characters’ names.

Golden has had the remarkable opportunity of writing much of this current trilogy in a place that to her feels alien indeed—Flinders Island, Tasmania. In her more sedate life, she lives in Colorado.