Read Treasure of Light (The Light Trilogy) for Free Online

security team shuffled aimlessly, cursing under their breath about “goddamned Gamants.” Through the open door, shouts and cries rose in a deafening crescendo. Gunfire shredded the city streets. A brilliant flash of purple lit the interior of the shuttle and both soldiers spun to peer out the side portals.
    Jeremiel screamed, “Now, Harper!” and lunged forward, leveling a kick at the closest soldier’s throat. The man fell backward, dead before he hit the floor. Jeremiel whirled as Simons raced back, his pistol aimed.
    The shuttle blazed with rifle fire.
     
    Jamie Ryngold sprinted down the long white hall. Of medium height with broad shoulders and blue eyes, he had short brown hair that brushed the tops of his ears as he ran. Five other members of the security team weaved around him. They hurried toward the landing bay to meet Captain Tahn and the shuttle transporting their prisoner up from Horeb. A smile of excitement touched Jamie’s lips. The great Jeremiel Baruch, leader of the Gamant Underground and murderer of dozens of his friends— at last, they had him. He silently raised a fist to the ceiling in exultation.
    “You look happy,” Kell Gilluy, his lover, said wryly.
    He smiled at her. Tall, with a mass of blonde curls and blue eyes, her purple uniform hugged her body, accenting every toned muscle. “Happy? That’s an understatement.” He affectionately patted the med pack on his belt. “Maybe I should have overfilled this syringe and taken care of Baruch without any further fuss.”
    “Not a good idea, love. The Magistrates prefer to have him alive so they can drain him dry of every shred of information first.”
    “Yeah, I know. With Baruch’s wealth of knowledge, we ought to be able to permanently kill his damnable Underground Movement.” The faces of a dozen dead friends flashed before his eyes. His jaw hardened.
    “Let’s hope Iona finally found that scum, Dannon, so we’ll have a positive ID on Baruch. I won’t believe it’s actually him until we verify it.”
    They passed a few engineering technicians dressed in brown jumpsuits. The glare of the dim overhead panels spread like a veil of dove-colored silk over the walls, glinting in the metallic facets of bulkheads. The wall chronometers flashed the time.
    “Damn,” Kell said, “Tahn’s going to kick our asses for being late.”
    “You think Baruch’s already on board? I doubt it. Simons left less than an hour ago to pick him up off Horeb.”
    They slowed to a brisk walk as they rounded another corner and from the edge of his vision, he saw Kell whirl. He turned in time to see her flinch as though at the flick of a whip. Her knees went weak and she grabbed for the wall, bracing her hands against it to steady herself.
    “Kell?” He lunged for her arm, supporting her. Her beautiful face twisted hauntingly. “What’s wrong?”
    Obliviously, the rest of the team raced down the hall toward the transport tube.
    “What’s … what’s happening?” she whispered.
    “What do you mean? Are you okay?
    She stared wide-eyed at the blank wall, almost as though she sensed the faint outline of some bright alien form. He traced the path of her gaze, feeling a little eerie himself, like something invisible stood just beyond his shoulder, watching.
    “I can’t seem to … I thought I saw a shadow as we turned the corner. “I—I don’t feel very well.”
    “I can tell. You act like you just looked into the abyss and it looked back.”
    She put a hand over her stomach. Kell, the tough rock-steady woman every security team hoped to have in its ranks, trembled like a leaf in a gale. His brows drew together. He gently enfolded her in his arms. Trying to make light of it, he teased, “I thought you looked pale when we first left the mess hall. Must have been that soup—I told you it smelled like something we scraped off the bulkheads after the last party.”
    “Don’t…. Something’s wrong somewhere, Jamie. Terribly wrong.”
    He swallowed