Edge of Eon: Eon Warriors #1

by Hacket, Anna

  Eve swung her sword. He dodged. She launched at him and he threw up his armored arm to block her hits.

  I’m coming for you, asshole. She was taking this bastard down.

  Nearby, a Kantos soldier scrambled out of the fight. He yanked what looked like a small cocoon off his back. He dropped it onto the sand, and the water lapped at it.

  The cocoon immediately began to swell.

  What the hell?

  Around her, many of the Kantos fighters started to back away. She felt a nervous energy flow over the beach.

  The cocoon kept growing. Soon, it was the size of a car. Hell.

  She slashed at the Kantos leader, scoring him across his chest. He hissed and fell to the ground.

  “Eve.” Davion appeared, grabbing her arm.

  She touched his chest. “Nice to see you, warrior.”

  He stroked his fingers along her jaw. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  “Right here, Dav.” She moved her hand to his and squeezed. “And pretty damned happy about it, even if I’m pissed you came back.”

  He smiled. “You’ve rubbed off on me.”

  Together, they turned to look at the growing cocoon. It was now the size of a shuttle.

  “What is this?” she asked.

  “I’ve never seen it before, but it must be some new Kantos weapon. I’m guessing it’s something bad.”

  Eve rolled her eyes. “You are the king of understatement.”

  The cocoon burst. Scaly legs broke free, and whatever was inside let out a fierce, high-pitched scream.

  Torax. The raspy voice echoed in their heads. The ultimate weapon.

  The giant, black bug pulled itself free of the cocoon. It had scaled legs, giant pincers, and a huge, scorpion-like stinger that reared up above its head. A row of hungry, brilliant-blue eyes zeroed in on them.

  “Not good,” Eve said.

  The Kantos monster let out another God-awful screech. One of its legs came crashing down, causing the ground to shake under the impact.

  “Now who is the king of understatement?” Davion said.

  They both raised their weapons. She looked at him. “Ready to fight?”

  His sword pulsed with light. “Always, my Earth warrior.”

  Together, they rushed forward.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sweat dripped down Davion’s face. He swung his sword, hit the creature’s scaled leg, then quickly rolled out of the way.

  No effect.

  He cursed under his breath. He and Eve had been attacking it again and again, and they weren’t making a dent in the cursed thing.

  The creature’s stinger rushed at him, and Davion dived out of the way.

  Eve leaped over his head, her sword raised in the air. She sliced at the alien monster, her blade scoring along its side.

  It left a mark on the scales, but not much. The sword had barely penetrated.

  They’d been fighting for what felt like hours, and they were having no impact.

  The Kantos beast stomped on some vegetation. With a screech, its stinger slammed down amongst some Kantos soldiers. It was hungry, fierce, and out-of-control. It didn’t care who it attacked.

  It was covered in black scales identical to the one that formed Davion’s helian armor.

  The torax swiveled its head, focusing on Eve and Davion. Hungry, mindless eyes burned into them. Blue eyes the same color as Davion’s sword. It was a creature bred to hunt and kill.

  The Kantos had, at some time, clearly stolen a helian. They’d experimented on it, corrupted it, and created this monster.

  Rage poured through his veins like molten lava. They’d taken something sacred and abused it, using it to bring this abomination into existence.

  Davion pulled his last grenade off his belt. “Eve, get back.” He tossed a grenade at the creature.

  She sprinted back toward him. He saw the stinger swinging at her.

  “Watch out!”

  It hit the ground right behind her feet. The dirt exploded beneath her and tossed her in the air. Then, the grenade exploded.

  Eve flew through the air, arms and legs flailing. Then she hit the ground hard, as the explosion tossed rocks, sand, and trees into the air.

  Davion ran to her. When he reached her, she was already up on one knee, but looked dazed.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She licked her lips. “Okay. May have cracked a few ribs.” Pain crossed her face.

  The Kantos creature reared, letting out a harsh screech. The stinger came down again, smashing into rock nearby. It was pulverized under the force of the blow.

  Then the beast opened its massive jaws and some sort of blue liquid sprayed out of its maw.

  “Oh, hell.”

  Davion knocked Eve to the ground. He felt the fluid splatter his armor and heard a sizzle.

  Then a burning, stinging feeling rocked through him.

  “What’s happening?” Eve sat up, eyes wide.

  Davion slapped at his armor. His symbiont was in pain. The poison was burning holes through his armor.

  He gritted his teeth. Patches of his skin were visible in places. His armor had been eaten away.

  He looked over and saw the Kantos soldiers smiling.

  “Poison. Designed to debilitate my symbiont.”

  “Fuckers.” Eve raised her weapon. “They’ll regret it.”

  Davion stared at her, feeling his world shift. She was his everything. He nodded and raised his own sword.

  “We need to attack the stinger,” she said. “Together.”

  “Together.”

  They rushed forward together. The stinger crashed down again. They both leaped toward it, swords flashing in the sunlight.

  Davion elongated his sword, pinning the stinger to the sand. The creature thrashed, and Eve stabbed and slashed it.

  It screeched wildly, green blood soaking into the sand. Its legs moved onto less stable sand, and it tilted precariously.

  “Drive it back,” Davion cried.

  He yanked his sword free, and they both charged the creature. The injured stinger was bent at an odd angle, and the monster seemed confused.

  It scuttled backward, farther into the water.

  “Keep going,” Eve yelled.

  There was a splash in the shallows. Davion spotted Shaggy. He leaped into the air, before knifing back into the water. Similar aquatic animals splashed with him. An entire pack of them.

  “Drive it toward Shaggy,” Davion said.

  “Shaggy?”

  “He’s alive. An aquatic creature now.”

  Eve grinned and spun her weapon. They drove the Kantos creature deeper into the water, the waves lapping at it.

  Shaggy darted forward, nipping at the softer underbelly. The creature roared, legs splashing in the water.

  Davion morphed his symbiont into a blaster weapon. It hurt. His symbiont was in pain, but it obeyed. He aimed the blaster at the creature’s head and fired.

  Boom. Boom.

  The creature screeched, half collapsing in the water.

  Eve laughed at Davion. “God, you are badass. Is it wrong that I want to jump you right now?”

  His woman. Davion just shook his head.

  From behind, he heard the enraged clicking of the Kantos soldiers.

  Cren. Taking on a fresh wave of soldiers was the last thing he and Eve needed. He could see her arm hanging by her side, and his symbiont was still writhing in agony.

  A boom echoed in the sky and Davion’s gut clenched. By Ston’s sword, more Kantos reinforcements. Eve cursed.

  But when he glanced up, elation burst through his exhaustion.

  They were ships from the Desteron.

  “Your guys?”

  “Yes.”

  “Man, they have crappy timing.” Her nose wrinkled. “An hour or two earlier would have been better. We’ve saved the day all by ourselves. Now they’ll want to share the credit.”

  Davion barked out a laugh.

  The Kantos beast thrashed i
n the water. Shaggy and his friends were busy tearing it to pieces. Hearing more splashing sounds, Davion turned. The last of the soldiers were sprinting toward them.

  He opened fire with his blaster. When a few got too close, Eve sailed in, her sword a dangerous blur. Soon, the aquamarine water was tinged with green.

  Eve lowered her sword, a smile lighting up her face. “I hope you have a big bed on your warship, warrior.”

  “I’m the war commander. Of course, I do.” He couldn’t wait to have her in it, spread out on his sheets.

  The Kantos beast suddenly reared up out of the water with an ear-piercing roar. Not dead yet.

  He scowled and heard Eve curse. They both spun.

  The giant, damaged stinger rushed forward. It hit the water, then rose high into the air again.

  “Damn thing doesn’t know it’s dead.” Eve turned toward Davion.

  All of a sudden, the stinger stabbed down. It rammed into Eve, piercing through her stomach and pinning her to the sand.

  Davion froze, his arms falling to his sides. Eve’s blue eyes were wide and shocked. She looked down at her stomach and the large stinger sticking into her belly. Blood was rapidly beginning to pool around the wound.

  “No!” Davion roared. He fired wildly on the beast.

  Eve coughed and a trickle of blood ran out of her mouth. The stinger retracted, and the dead alien sank into the water.

  Eve collapsed back and Davion raced to her. He fell to his knees, pulling her into his arms.

  No. No. No. “Eve!”

  He paid no attention to Shaggy’s pack tearing the beast apart. He focused entirely on his wounded mate.

  His symbiont linked them and he felt her pain, felt her stuttering heart and ragged breaths. He kept his gaze locked on Eve’s face. His dying mate’s face.

  * * *

  Through the fog of pain, Eve heard a voice talking—urgent and fierce.

  It was telling her to hold on.

  But there was so much pain. She felt hands pressing down on her belly and she cried out.

  “Eve, look at me. Look at me, shara.”

  Her eyelids felt so heavy, but through sheer grit, she managed to pry them open. She stared into Davion’s handsome, ravaged face.

  Her Davion.

  “Eve, hold on. Promise me.”

  She tried to talk but no sound came out. Her eyes started to drift closed…

  “No. Keep them open.”

  His voice snapped them open again and she tried to focus on him. She saw the lines bracketing his mouth. He was in pain. He was hurt, too.

  He lurched to his feet, carrying her. But they hadn’t gone far when he dropped to his knees with a groan, his breathing harsh. He fell on his side, but he held her close. The water lapped at them.

  Eve slipped in and out of consciousness. She had no idea how much time passed, but again she heard deep voices. More than one.

  “Aydin, he’s injured. See to him. The war commander is our priority.”

  Eve was wrenched away roughly from Davion and she cried out in pain. Nausea washed through her.

  “Davion,” a masculine voice said.

  She cracked open an eye. Davion was passed out beside her, and towering over them was a tall man in Eon armor. He cast a shadow over Eve.

  Another armored man knelt beside Davion, a scanner held over his body. A doctor or medic.

  Davion jerked awake. “No. Eve. See to her. She’s hurt bad.”

  “We’re helping you first,” the standing warrior said.

  Eve couldn’t manage any words. She saw red blood staining the water and knew it was hers. Weakness was spreading through her limbs.

  “No! Brack, see to Eve.” Davion shrugged the doctor off him. “Aydin, help her!”

  “But she’s…Terran,” the doctor said.

  “She abducted you,” the other man said incredulously. “We managed to decrypt the mess she made of our security feed. We saw her drag your unconscious body onto your shuttle.”

  “Help her,” Davion roared. “She’s mine. She’s my mate.”

  Then Davion was close, his face near hers, his hands pressing against her wound. “I’m here, shara.”

  But Eve had no strength left to reassure him.

  “Eve, hold on.” He looked down at her. “Cren, there’s so much blood.”

  “Out of my way.” The doctor, Aydin, dominated her view. She had no idea what he was doing but she felt warmth, and then the pain was gone.

  Now she felt cold.

  “Dav—”

  “I’m here, my courageous Earth warrior. I’m here.”

  “Cold.”

  His face spasmed. “Hold on.”

  Then she felt like she was shaking.

  “Cren,” someone cried out. “The biome is changing. Secure the war commander—”

  “Hold on, Eve.”

  She wanted to, but a yawning black hole opened up in front of her. She tried to fight it, tried to stay with Davion.

  But the hole swallowed her. Her eyelids closed, and then there was nothing.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Eve opened her eyes and blinked.

  She was lying on a bed, and there was no sound, no pain, nothing. She turned her head. A number of tubes were running out of her body to several machines. The lines were filled with red and blue fluids.

  She frowned. A medical ward. Actually, it looked like the med ward on the Citadel Prison. She blinked again. Yep, it was the prison infirmary.

  Her pulse kicked into gear and a machine beeped like crazy. Memories hit her like laser blasts.

  Hunter7.

  The Kantos.

  Abducting Davion. Davion.

  Being injured.

  She shoved the sheet back and touched her belly. She only found smooth skin. Her essentials were covered by a few white strips of fabric—typical attire for medical treatment.

  She looked around again. Yes, definitely the Citadel Prison.

  Her gut went hard. God, had it all been a dream? Her heart started pounding. Was she still on Citadel? Had she hallucinated everything? No. Panic burned through her.

  Davion couldn’t have been a dream. Not everything they’d been through, everything they’d shared.

  Everything she felt for him. She loved him and that was real, dammit.

  She sat up, ignoring the throb in her head. She shoved off the bed, wavered for a second, then started ripping the tubes off. Alarms blared.

  A few tubes wouldn’t come free of her skin, so she tore them out of the machines instead. She staggered toward the door, trailing the tubes behind her.

  The walls shimmered for a second and she frowned, but she focused her gaze on the door.

  She wanted Davion. She wanted his strong arms around her, his strength supporting her.

  The door whispered open and she lurched out into the corridor. Dizziness hit her, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She pressed a palm to the wall to hold herself up.

  She opened her eyes and frowned. Out here looked nothing like the Citadel Prison.

  Confusion rushed through Eve. What the hell was going on?

  A big man appeared at the end of the corridor, striding toward her. Another wave of dizziness hit her, and she worried that she was about to fall. But she kept watching the tall, broad-shouldered man.

  “Davion,” she whispered.

  As the man drew closer, she saw it wasn’t Davion. Disappointment flooded her. He was big and muscled, with long hair that didn’t quite reach his shoulders, but not Davion. His eyes had strands of grass-green in them.

  She sagged. “Where am I?”

  “Are you trying to set your recovery back?” The man scowled at her, looking pissed. He reached for her.

  Eve lurched back. “Who…where…?” Dammit, her head was so foggy. All she wanted was Davion. “Where’s Davion?”

  “You need to get back into bed—” The man reached for her again.

  Eve acted on instinct. She ducked low, spinning under the man’s arm. She w
hipped one of the attached tubes into her hand. Then she wrapped it around her attacker’s neck.

  He jerked in surprise. Standing behind him, Eve kicked at his knees, knocking his legs out from under him.

  He grunted and twisted, moving fast. The man might be some kind of a doctor, but he was still a warrior.

  Eve pressed a knee into his back and pulled the tube back. “Please answer my questions, and don’t touch me.”

  “Eve.”

  A familiar deep voice. She dropped the tube and turned unsteadily.

  There was Davion.

  Warmth burst to life inside her. He was running down the corridor toward her, his big body powering fast.

  Everything inside her expanded and flared. Davion. He was here. It hadn’t been a dream.

  A sob broke free from her throat and she took two steps toward him. Then her legs collapsed.

  She didn’t hit the floor. Davion leaped the last few meters, catching her and pulling her close.

  “I woke up…” She knew her voice sounded panicked. “It looked like the prison where I’d been held. I thought you and everything that happened were a dream—”

  “Shh. I’m here. We’re very much alive and real.”

  She buried her hands in his hair, pressing her forehead to his. She breathed him in, that dark scent she loved.

  “I’ve got you,” he murmured. “Always. Never leaving you, shara.”

  Eve burrowed closer, like she could get under his skin.

  “I’m sorry, Davion,” a deep voice said from behind them. “I thought familiar surroundings would soothe her and did a hologram of her most recent memories.”

  “It’s fine, Aydin.” Davion dropped his head and pressed his mouth to hers.

  When he pulled back, Eve glanced at the doctor. He was still on his knees, rubbing his red throat. Whoops.

  “Aydin, are you injured?” Davion asked.

  “I’m fine,” the doctor growled, lurching to his feet.

  “Um…sorry about that,” Eve said.

  Both men’s gazes swung to her. A smile flirted on Davion’s lips and he just shook his head.

  Running footsteps. Another warrior arrived.

  “Everything is okay, Brack,” Davion assured the newcomer.

  Brack raised a brow. “You’re sure? Aydin looks like he went a round with Caze in the gym, and you are clutching a Terran like she’s the meaning of the universe. That doesn’t shout ‘everything is okay’ to me.”