by Hacket, Anna
There was no other sentient life on Hunter7. It created beasts, but not other warriors. That meant only one thing.
Cren. He heaved in a breath. “Eve, the Kantos are coming.” This was their trap.
Her head swiveled, her jaw tightened. The stubborn line of it was getting pretty familiar. “I’m getting you down.”
“There’s no time. This is a Kantos trap. It’ll be hard to free me.”
“I don’t care.” She pulled out the knife she’d claimed at the healing station.
He heaved out a breath. “They’re getting close.” He moved his hand enough to touch hers where it gripped the black rope. “I’m ordering you to go.”
Her blue eyes flashed. “I don’t follow your orders, and I’m not leaving you.” She started sawing at the net.
“Then we’ll both be prisoners.”
She cursed, looking conflicted. He saw her blade was having no effect on the tough, web-like substance. “Leaving is the easy option. I don’t abandon anyone. Ever.”
He heard the Kantos now—that incessant clicking they made.
He didn’t want Eve in the Kantos’ hands.
His heart thudded against his chest. “Eve, they’re almost here. You won’t have enough time to free me. This black substance is near impenetrable. Go. I don’t want both of us to get caught.”
Her curse was ripe.
He touched her hand again. “Go. Now.”
She looked like she was going to argue. “Damn you, Davion.”
Now, she used his name. She shot him a heated glare, then let go of the net. He turned a little, fighting against the gripping pain of the netting, and watched her hit the snow in a crouch.
She looked up at him for a long second. He could see the lights had almost reached them.
Then Eve turned and ran, disappearing into the trees.
Davion sagged, releasing the breath he’d been holding. He knew she’d hide her tracks and make it difficult for them to track her.
She was safe.
He wouldn’t have to watch them torture her, and mar that fascinating skin, mark the stubborn jaw.
The Kantos soldiers stepped into view, gliding on their four legs, and clicking to each other.
A large one looked up at him. An elite. The Kantos leaders looked like the other soldiers, but were taller, their hard, brown skin a little paler in color.
War Commander. The guttural-sounding words echoed in Davion’s head.
The Kantos elite couldn’t speak aloud, except for the clicking they used to communicate with the others of their kind. But they could communicate telepathically.
Davion glared at the newcomers.
* * *
Sitting crouched at the top of a tree, Eve watched the Kantos circle Davion. They lowered his net to the ground.
Bastards.
She leaped down. She’d counted seven Kantos soldiers, one of which was an elite, and one bug. This bug looked like a spider, with a sturdy black body, round back end, and six large, hairy legs. It had a row of yellow eyes and fangs. No doubt vicious and hard to fight.
Plan. She needed a plan. There were way too many soldiers for her to take on alone.
She heard a masculine grunt echo through the trees and her hands curled into fists. They were hurting him.
Eve knew they’d torture Davion. They clearly wanted to capture him alive, so they were after something only he could give them. They’d be ruthless in their quest to get it from him.
She gritted her teeth. No. They weren’t torturing him on her watch.
She snuck closer to the clearing, formulating plans in her head, and just as quickly discarding them. Damn, it was getting darker and darker. Soon, it would be night.
Something rustled in the undergrowth behind her. She whirled. Had a Kantos circled around and found her?
A set of glowing, aqua-blue eyes peered unblinkingly at her from the shadows under a tree.
A primal, scary instinct rolled through her, telling her to run. She couldn’t see the beast, but it was big.
“Um, hey there.” She quickly opened her backpack. A low growl filled the air.
That rumble echoed through Eve, the thing of nightmares.
Great. Could things possibly get any worse? She grabbed a nutrition bar and tore it open. “Here you go, boy.”
The food landed in the snow, not far from the creature’s hiding place.
Another growl, then a giant, black, wolf-like creature slunk out of the shadows.
Holy shit.
It was big. Its back would come up to her breastbone. It took another step forward, sniffed the food, then gobbled it in one gulp. Then it lifted its fierce blue-green eyes to her.
Without a word, Eve tossed another bar.
The beast inhaled that, as well. It studied her again, a pink tongue lolling out of its monstrous jaws.
“Ah, nice doggie.”
All of a sudden, it rushed her. Oh, God. There was no time to react. She stared at the creature’s huge fangs. It could eat her head in a single bite, if it wanted.
It leaped, hit her, and knocked her back into the snow. One giant paw rested on her chest. It weighed a ton and Eve wheezed, fighting for air.
Then, a large, wet tongue licked her face.
“Oh, eww.”
She looked past the solid, shaggy body, and saw that it was wagging its tail.
“Hey, boy.” She gave it a gentle shove. “I can’t breathe.”
It sat beside her and she sat up.
“You still hungry, huh?”
Eve hoped to hell it didn’t want to eat tasty human meat. She opened her pack again and offered the animal some larger nutrition packs.
Unsurprisingly, the wolf devoured them.
Eve had always wanted a pet. It had never been possible because there wasn’t enough money for luxuries. Then as an adult, Eve was always gone too much. Hard to have a pet when you lived on a starship most of the time.
The wolf creature finished its meal, then gave her face another lick. Eve grimaced, but stayed still.
Then, the sounds of fighting caught her ear. She tensed, and her new friend did as well. He growled.
Eve rose, eyeing her friend. “You like to hunt, Shaggy?”
Those aqua eyes swiveled to her, shining with intelligence. For a split second, she was sure the animal smiled at her.
“Come on.” She hefted her blaster. She wasn’t letting the fucking Kantos torture Davion.
With the wolf at her side, she battled through the snow, creeping closer. They shimmied in under the heavy boughs of a tree, sliding on their bellies. She peered through the needle-like foliage.
Her gut tightened. Davion was battling two soldiers, hand-to-hand. His armor was gone, his helian covered in a familiar black ooze. They were making him fight unarmed, and his chest was bare, exposed to the elements.
Cowardly pricks.
One Kantos soldier kicked Davion hard and he staggered back. Now, she could see the sharp, stinger-like spikes sticking out of his chest and shoulders. Fire licked along her nerves. The Kantos had tortured him, sticking those damn spikes into him.
“Ready, Shaggy? We’re going to save my friend and kill some bugs.”
Her wolf friend stiffened, his glowing eyes on the Kantos.
She smiled darkly. “Go.”
Eve and Shaggy burst out of the trees. She fired her blaster, aiming at the closest soldier.
She’d caught them by surprise. After several laser blasts to the face, the first soldier fell, bright-green blood splattering on the snow. Shaggy let out a vicious howl, rushing at more soldiers. He moved incredibly fast, leaped into the air, and knocked down three Kantos and the bug.
She heard the soldiers shriek, and then the crunch of bones.
Grinning madly, Eve spun. Another soldier was rushing at her, sword raised. “Come on, bug boy.”
She fired in rapid succession. Eve ducked and spun, thrusting with her knife. A stronger fighter, this alien jerk blocked and matched her
moves. But Eve let her anger coalesce—at her imprisonment, the threat to her sisters and her planet, the damn situation she’d been forced into, and this killer planet.
Eve lunged, her knife cutting in beneath the soldier’s arm. She sliced into his hard skin, hearing him grunt. Green blood sprayed.
She turned, lifted the blaster, and fired. The Kantos sagged. When she turned, she spotted one soldier staggering away from Shaggy. The bug was dead, torn to pieces, and the wolf still had two soldiers pinned, their arms flailing. She watched the animal tear an arm off and winced.
Effective, but eww.
She turned, saw Davion was fighting his two soldiers. Not having a weapon didn’t slow him down much.
The wounded soldier that had escaped Shaggy headed toward Eve.
She whirled, spinning her knife. Then she charged. The soldier was too slow. She drove her blade up and sideways. It slashed his neck and he made a gurgling sound.
“Not so much fun now, is it?” She stepped back.
There were only Davion’s two left.
With a brutal hit, Davion drove one soldier down into the snow, gripped his head, then snapped his neck with a vicious twist of his powerful hands.
Make that one.
The final Kantos looked at Davion, then Eve. Deciding she was smaller, he turned and rushed at her. He swung his arms above his head.
Eve fired her weapon. He jolted, but kept coming. Dammit. She blocked the Kantos’ swing with her arm. But the hit was hard, rattling her bones. Pressing her lips together, she shoved against him, driving the Kantos back. He rushed at her again, arm swinging wildly. Grimly, Eve danced backward.
Then her boot hit a rock hidden under the snow and she fell.
Shit.
She landed on her side and rolled. She looked up, just as the Kantos drove his sharp arm down. It hit the snow beside her head. Just inches away.
“Eve!” Davion powered toward her, his face coldly enraged. She felt the wave of his fury wash over her.
Another swing of the Kantos’ arm, and Eve rolled to the other side. The hard edge of the alien’s arm clanged on a rock.
Then a long, low howl broke through the clearing.
Shaggy bounded toward her, sending snow spraying in his wake.
Scowling, Eve rolled again, pushing to her feet. Did she look like a damsel in need of rescue?
She spun, swinging her knife. At the same time, Shaggy sailed through the air, his jaws closing over the head of the Kantos soldier.
Eve scowled. “He was mine, Shaggy.”
The animal paused for a second, eyeing her, before he closed his jaws. Bones crunched.
Hands on her hips, Eve turned. Davion stopped beside her.
His gaze skated over her body, then he eyed Shaggy. He shook his head, but he was smiling. “I see you made a friend.”
Shaggy was now happily eating the Kantos soldier. Ugh. “One with dubious manners.”
“Hunter7’s creatures are not designed to befriend anyone.” Davion tilted his head. “Actually, it’s unheard of.”
She lowered her knife. “I’m a friendly woman.”
His smile widened. “I know.”
“And I just rescued your fine ass.”
He shot her a look.
She pointed the knife at him. “You owe me, War Commander.” She pulled the antidote injector off her belt and held it up. When he held out his wrist, she dripped the fluid onto the black ooze trapping his symbiont.
“I want samples of that when we get off this planet,” he said.
“If you ask nicely.”
She saw the blade of her knife was chipped. It had clearly been designed for medical use, not fighting. She strode over toward the other downed Kantos. It was unlikely they’d have any weapons—Kantos used their bodies as weapons—but it was worth taking a look.
“Eve, watch out!”
Davion’s shout had her automatically leaping back…just as a Kantos spider bug leaped out of its hiding place in the trees.
Eve felt a brief flash of pain as the creature swiped at her with one of its clawed legs.
Incensed, she threw her knife at the creature’s eyes. The blade hit, and the creature let out a shriek.
But Shaggy was on the move again. The wolf jumped onto the Kantos bug, taking it down with a vicious growl. The bug flailed.
“Dammit.” Eve straightened. “Everyone’s stealing my action today.”
“Eve.”
Davion moved close, his eyes wide. His hand clenched on her bicep.
“It’s all good, except my new friend hogs the action.”
But Davion didn’t smile. “Eve.”
His tone made her frown and look down. Bright blood splattered the snow on the ground at her feet.
What the hell?
Then she looked at her chest and the diagonal slash across her suit.
Blood was soaking into her suit. That’s when the pain hit her, like a line of fire across the chest.
Dizziness swamped her, her vision blurring. She pitched forward, but she didn’t hit the snow. Instead, strong arms caught her.
Chapter Nine
Davion lifted Eve into his arms. Blood. There was so much rich, red blood everywhere.
“Eve.”
She looked up at him, blinking slowly. “Warrior.” Then she smiled at him. “You’re so pretty.” She ran her fingers along his jaw. “Stinking gorgeous.”
By Alquin’s axe, she was hurt bad. And he had nothing to stop the bleeding.
The huge wolf-like creature trotted over. It looked at Eve and whined.
Davion looked at his wrist. He’d managed to grab his gear that the Kantos had stripped off him. He needed to get her to the rest station and heal her. Then, she’d need time to recuperate.
He checked the map, his gaze settling on the closest rest station. Then he broke into a run, shouldering through the trees and ignoring the falling snow. The wolf loped beside him.
Davion pushed down the pain of the spikes still embedded in his chest. Every step made them burn, but Eve needed help. He could tend his own wounds later.
“Fucking Kantos,” she muttered.
“Hold on, Eve. They’ll pay. For everything.” For every drop of blood of hers they’d spilled.
“Hell, yeah.” Her head lolled against his arm. A grimace crossed her face. “Hurts.”
“I know, shara. Hold on.”
“Hate…Kantos.”
“I won’t let them destroy your planet, Eve.”
She smiled goofily at him again. “There’s a nice guy under the war commander.”
“Not really.” He was known as focused and ruthless. It seemed she brought the good out in him, along with this fierce need to protect her.
The creature beside him suddenly cut in front of Davion and roared. Davion stopped, pulling Eve closer. A white, humanoid-looking beast covered in white fur was lurking beneath the trees in front of them. The thing had claws as long as knife blades.
Cren. Davion froze.
But the creature that Eve had nicknamed Shaggy leaped forward. It snarled and growled. The white-furred beast snarled back.
Then they charged at each other. In a frenzy of growls, the two animals fought.
“Help him,” Eve murmured.
Davion looked at her pain-filled blue eyes. No warrior had ever helped a creature on Hunter7…and yet, he was beginning to realize he couldn’t deny this woman what she wanted.
Shifting Eve in his arms, Davion lifted his arm up and commanded his symbiont. The scales on his arm morphed, and three sharp, spinning blades shot out from his wrist. They whistled through the air, over Shaggy’s head, and cut into his opponent’s shoulders.
Blood spurted and the white beast screamed.
“I love that symbiont,” Eve mumbled. “I want one.”
Davion didn’t tell her that some warriors didn’t survive the bonding with the helian. It was a dangerous, arduous transition.
The bleeding creature staggered off into the t
rees, Shaggy growling after it. But Davion let out a sharp whistle, and the wolf turned, trotting back to his side. Hitching Eve higher, Davion continued on, Shaggy moving close to his legs.
The snowstorm was imminent. The wind was howling, stirring up the snow around them in large eddies. Cold was seeping into Davion’s veins, making each step painful.
He hadn’t gone much farther when Eve lost consciousness.
“Eve! Eve!” Panic rose in Davion’s throat. He wasn’t used to feeling this sense of concern and helplessness.
Shaggy whined.
But his enhanced senses brought him the sound of her heartbeat. She was alive. That calmed Davion…a little.
“She’s alive, Shaggy. But we need to heal her.”
Lowering his shoulder, he pushed against the wind. The darkness closed and it was hard to see where they were going. The snow thickened and the temperature dropped even more. In his arms, Eve shivered.
Cren. They were lost in this snowstorm and he couldn’t see a thing.
Then Shaggy yipped.
Davion turned…and spotted a light in the trees.
He pushed through some low branches, and then he saw the structure. It was a dome-like shelter made entirely of ice. But the inside glowed with warm light.
Davion fought through the knee-deep snow and finally reached the door. He shoved it open and a wave of warmth hit him.
Shaggy brushed past him and he let the animal in before slamming the door closed behind them. In the small entry, Shaggy glanced through the inner doorway that led to the main rest station space. He let out a huff, then flopped down in front of the door. Davion wasn’t fooled. The animal was keeping guard.
That was enough for Davion.
He moved inside. The large, round room was covered by the arched dome above. Through the clear dome, he saw the snow falling outside, dancing in the wind. Any other time, if things weren’t so dire, he’d appreciate the view.
He made his way to a pile of furs and supplies in the center of the space. On the far side of the dome, he spied a set of stairs leading down to some subterranean room. But he’d worry about exploring later.
He laid Eve on the furs, the pain in his chest making him swallow a grunt. For a second, his gaze snagged on her blood-covered chest, his heart lodging in his throat. He turned to the supplies, pressing his palm to the box to open it.
