Then something whipped past him—the monster, all claws slashing.
Its stinger speared through Martin Krobis' brain.
There was darkness after that, for Boone; a shadowy darkness that somehow was more of his mind than in the room. Dimly, he knew that the carrier all at once was hurtling upward; that the monster had vanished back into whatever realm from whence it came.
Not that it mattered at this moment. Who cared for monsters? The thing was Lor's creation, surely—a Helgae weapon he'd materialized to save them, just as for his mother's—Eileen's—pleasure he had made a rose.
Lor, their son, the mutant. Lor, first clear-eyed champion of a new and higher race.
How many battles would they fight together? What perils would they face before the war against the Cartel's greed was won?
And then, Eileen....
As if in answer to his thought, she came now; knelt beside him, cradling his weary head close to her breast.
"Eileen," he whispered, "Eileen, we have a mission...."
She answered softly, "My mission is with you, Fred, now and always."