The Cultist's Retreat (The Erik Midgard Case Files Volume 4)

Chapter 14

We re-materialised in the largest enclosed space I had been in since the city dome on Mercury.

The huge circular room was the size of a sports stadium, but without tiers of seats and with a much lower roof. Well over ten thousand civilians, in fashions and team colours from every part of the Solar System, filled the floor to the walls. Most had drinks and snacks one hand, team flags or foam fingers in the other, and a lot were wearing oversized hats in the shape of lightboards with full sails. They were watching the vast wall screens that showed live footage of the race, cheering as the lightboard surfers zipped, spun and dived through the ice and rock of the rings. Secondary screens showed maps of the route and helmet eye views from the most popular racers. In the middle of the room, a huge animated hologram of Poseidon - the god of the sea, but also of racing, looking like a moving ice sculpture - was driving a chariot pulled by six horses.

Poseidon Station was the start and finish line for the race. The route was a giant, two-hundred-mile loop out from the station and back. The winner would be the first person to complete three laps, with added prizes and prestige if their team finished together. While people had light-surfed all the way around Saturn's rings, they were about one million eight hundred and seventy thousand miles in circumference at their widest, so it took more than a year and was not practical for a competitive race.

"Is that thing going to work in here?" shouted Despoina, over the cheering.

"It is! This way!"

She was right to be worried. Kairos could hide for hours in a crowd this size. But his red timeline had appeared directly in front of me as soon as we arrived, still sparkling with gold and easy to follow.

"Great! Keep an eye out for the Venusians!" said Jake, nodding to the screens. "I've put five hundred on them!"

"They're here?" I automatically looked at the nearest screen, but did not see the Half-Shell's pink-and-green.

"We established they weren't involved! No reason to break their hearts!" said Eleusinian.

"The Oxbridge mainframe didn't give them very high chances, but I thought, what the hax? I've gotten to know them..."

"Move! Where is he?"

Unfortunately, Kairos's timeline looked easier to follow than it was. It was impossible to move more than two steps in a straight line without having to weave around or between the fans. It took us several minutes just to reach the hologram. Wherever Kairos was, he was getting further away every second. I grabbed the base of the hologram podium and pulled myself up onto it one handed, making the hologram flicker, but getting a clear view over the heads of the crowd.

"Hey!" called someone in an orange station crew uniform. "What do you think you're..."

"IP! Get the station commander on the com! We have a situation!" said Despoina. "Midgard?"

Kairos's timeline was easy to see now. I followed it with my eyes as it snaked through the crowd towards a set of open doors in the far wall...

I ducked as a laser flashed and two bolts tore past my head. The cheering turned to screams. The crowd surged and heaved as it tried to run in multiple directions. I heard Eleusinian and Despoina both bellowing for everyone to keep calm and Mirabi and Jake cursing. I glimpsed Kairos stepping backwards through the doors, turning and running. I almost yelled in frustration myself. He had spotted the perfect way to slow us down. But his timeline was still visible, and the area around the doors was clear, as everyone close had run away from the place where the shots had come from. There was one way. I tapped my wristcom and closed my helmet visor. Helmcom switched on and I stared hard at the open doorway, over the heads of the surging crowd, until it locked on, and hit transmit.