Chimera Academy The Complete Collection

by Eva Brandt

  The result wasn’t as pleasurable for him as it had been for them.

  My Chimera tamer uniform monitored the tachyon emissions of my body and controlled the output of radiation I naturally caused just by walking around. With my powers out of whack, it had kept me from completely losing control. It had also hindered me and made it even harder for me to fight back. With the uniform destroyed, I no longer had that problem.

  The moment King Philip touched my naked skin, he lost the battle he hadn’t realized he’d been fighting. Fire erupted out of me, and he reared back, cursing. It was too late. The blaze was already consuming his hands, and his attempts to stop it just fed it further. As he screamed, the cuffs around my hands and feet tightened, trying to suppress the tachyon emissions. I’d been afraid that would happen.

  It was part of the reason why I hadn’t tried to break free earlier and I’d chosen this approach. But with the uniform out of the way, the cuffs weren’t enough to fight off my out of control power. I lashed out blindly, not caring what happened to Philip as long as I got away.

  He had enough sense to realize he was outmatched in terms of raw power and tried to put up a hasty shield. But it was a little difficult to concentrate when his skin was still burning off. The fire didn’t need my direct input anymore. It was just doing whatever it wanted, as if it was alive.

  I took shameless advantage of this and freed myself from my bindings. The cuffs cracked and I got up on shaky legs. The top of my uniform was in pieces, exposing my breasts, but at that moment, I couldn’t have cared less. I needed to get out of here.

  I knew better than to think I could do it on my own. The ship was crawling with armed guards and any moment now, they were bound to show up. This room was doubtlessly under surveillance. There was only one solution to my problem.

  I rushed to the king’s side, hoping and praying I wouldn’t hurt myself in the fire I’d started. By now, he was incoherent with pain and he didn’t try to fight me off. When I reached into his coat and took his tablet, he seemed unaware of what I’d done.

  The device had survived my attack unscathed. It was also impossible for me to access. Or it would have been, had I not found out that a lot of the devices Chimera nobility used had a genetic lock. Brendan owned something identical, and Penelope Welton had offered him a similar item when he and the others had come to save me in the Apsid Quasar.

  My attack had left the king badly injured. It was a piece of cake to smudge the screen with his blood. I honestly should have known better than to think it would be that simple.

  The tablet did boot and the display lit up. But there was another security filter blocking the screen, one I had no idea how to bypass. I might have figured it out had I had more time at my disposal, but I wasn’t that lucky. The door burst open and ten members of the Crius Guard Corps burst into the room, already pointing their phasers at me.

  “Step away from the king, you treacherous Terran!” one of them bellowed at me.

  I had no intention of doing that. My only remaining advantage was the fact that I was still near the wounded Philip. I couldn’t underestimate him just because he was injured and out cold, but it was either that or trying to go through the angry guards on my own.

  I hoisted the unconscious royal in my arms and shielded myself with his body. I didn’t have any weapons, which was not ideal, but I didn’t need them. My time at Chimera Academy had been well spent and it wasn’t that difficult to break someone’s neck.

  With a dose of distant hysteria, I realized that six months ago, I’d have been horrified at the thoughts now going through my head. Right then and there, I couldn’t have cared less about how many people I’d have to maim or kill. I was fighting for my freedom and if that meant taking lives, I wouldn’t hesitate.

  “Try to hurt me, and he’s dead,” I said. “I mean it.”

  The guards faltered, not trusting their aim enough to risk the king’s life. “You don’t want to do this, Acting Pilot Renard,” another man offered. “You have a promising career ahead of you. Don’t abandon your life and your dreams for nothing.”

  I shot him a look of disbelief. “Are you serious? I’ve already attacked him and burned his hands to a crisp. My career and my dreams are gone, and not because I did anything. It’s because of him, because of his whims.”

  As I spoke, I tightened my hold on the king. He let out a light, choked noise which alarmed me, since it meant he wasn’t unconscious as I’d originally thought. Careful, Selene. Be careful. Don’t drop your guard. One blast from a phaser, and your child could die.

  “Listen, I don’t want to kill anyone,” I told the guards. “Just let me go. I’ll be on my way and you’ll never see me again. Easy. Simple. Everybody wins.”

  “We can’t do that,” the guard who’d first shouted at me said. “We can’t just let a traitor go.”

  As far as I was concerned, I was only protecting myself and my baby. But then again, that wasn’t exactly true. My relationship with Jared could be considered treason, and we had plotted the king’s murder. I hadn’t been too involved in the whole scheme, but I’d still known about it.

  Did it really matter in the end? The king didn’t seem to know about Brendan’s plan at all, or if he did, he hadn’t mentioned it. I certainly wouldn’t say anything. Even if I did, it would make no difference to the end result. “I don’t care about your opinion of me,” I snapped at the guards. “You other let me go or he dies. I’m not kidding around.”

  “Acting Pilot Renard—”

  “Don’t call me that,” I cut the guard off. “I think we all know I lost my position the moment I was brought here like a criminal. I haven’t done anything wrong, but I won’t take this abuse, just because you all think I have. Put away the phasers, or I start burning off limbs completely.”

  He was already badly burnt, but with the advances in technology, he could be restored to perfect health. That wouldn’t happen if I lost control of my power again and carbonized him completely. I was barely holding back now, knowing that if I lost control altogether, my fate was sealed. But still, the guards refused to get out of my way and I wasn’t sure how to leave while still making sure they wouldn’t jump me.

  The tablet vibrated in my hold, still inaccessible by regular means. I couldn’t access it. I could try to destroy it, but Gaia only knew what effect that would have on me. “Please,” I thought to myself. “Please, someone. Anyone, help me!”

  The device heated up. My restless tachyon manipulation skills flared, responding to the power inside the strange object. As the temperature increased even further, I was torn between the desire to drop it and the desperate hope that this was a good sign.

  It was. The room started to shake and with it, so did the blocked bond at the back of my mind. “Wait for me, Selene. I’m coming.”

  The wall exploded and the familiar form of my chimera rushed inside. I could have sobbed in relief when I saw her. She still wasn’t completely herself, her eyes flickering in a constant struggle. But she was there, once again emanating the same wisdom and familiar warmth that I’d come to rely on ever since I’d bonded with her.

  This time, when she took me in her paw, I felt protected and had no desire to free myself. She held onto the king too, doubtlessly acknowledging that he was a useful prisoner. “You did very well, Selene,” she whispered through our connection. “Now let me handle this. Close your eyes.”

  I did, too exhausted and scared to ask her what she planned. She swept forward, and the sound of screams, blasts, and nauseating squelching hit my ears, a symphony of death and destruction. The scent of burnt flesh and spilled blood assaulted my nostrils, even more powerful than before.

  And then, Sphinx was opening her cockpit and sliding me inside. It was only when I was in my seat, secured by the belt, that I finally opened my eyes. “Where are the others?” I asked her.

  “Still trapped, I’m afraid,” she offered. “I could only get free because I heard your call, and I don’t know how long I’ll b
e able to fight off the original command I was given.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Wait… What do you mean?”

  “I think you know, Selene,” Sphinx answered. “We have to get you out of here before it’s too late.”

  I didn’t want to leave her and the other chimeras behind. I didn’t care about what anyone else said. The chimeras weren’t tools. They were individual beings, and they were my family. But I didn’t have a choice. Unless I found a way to crack the tablet, I was useless here, and I had to prioritize the well-being of my baby.

  “You can do it, Selene. Your lovers are already looking for you. You’re not alone. You never will be.”

  That sounded an awful lot like a goodbye, and I didn’t know what to say to her. I tasted desperation in my mouth, and it wasn’t just mine. It was hers too.

  We weren’t connected through the Sphinx’s systems, but even so, I sensed her anxiety and her terrible struggle. The damn device was still vibrating and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to destroy it or try to access it again. “You can’t destroy it,” Sphinx told me, her voice thick with regret. “That thing holds a fragment of Chimera’s soul. You have to keep it safe, no matter what.”

  A soul fragment? What the fuck? “How is that even possible? You can’t just… hack a soul to pieces.”

  “It’s an inaccurate term. Tartarus diamond cores tap into our souls, which allows us to inhabit metallic shells at next to no strain. But Chimera was always different. She carried three distinctive souls—one of a snake, one of a goat, and one of a lion. That was why it was almost impossible for her to inhabit a regular chimera like us. Even Typhon, who is built similarly, has trouble, and he doesn’t use more than one soul.

  “Each core went into one of these devices. One of them is with Brendan. The second is now with you. I’m not sure about the third. But if you destroy any of them, you’ll destroy Chimera, at a metaphysical level. So please… Don’t do it. She’s family.”

  That, I could understand, and I clutched the tablet to my chest a little more tightly. “I wouldn’t have known how to do it even if I’d wanted to. But what other solution do we have?”

  “You leave and find the others. Don’t worry about us. Just run and don’t look back.”

  By the time she finished the phrase, we’d already emerged in the ship hangars. She hadn’t needed any input from me to get rid of the guards who’d tried to stop us. Through the displays, I could catch a few glimpses of the corridors tinged with blood.

  In front of us, I saw the familiar, immobile chimeras. Several men were trying to enter the cockpits of the Harpies, but the mechanisms were stuck. “It’s no use,” someone shouted. “We can’t force them open.”

  “Chimeras do whatever they want, you know that,” another soldier replied.

  “Not this time. We’re supposed to have fixed that problem. Try again.”

  The man on top of the Aello complied. The Harpy jerked and her wing flashed through the air. It was almost like a reflex, not an actual conscious response. Either way, her aim was true. The soldier fell from on top of her—in two separate pieces.

  A new wave of panic exploded through the hangars. “What the fuck? What the fuck?”

  “Guys, get back!”

  “And where are we supposed to go? The Sphinx is right there.”

  This was my chance. I now had an opening that would hopefully help me escape. “We won’t hurt you as long as you don’t get in our way. Let us pass and you’ll live.”

  After having seen their coworker being hacked to pieces in front of them, the guards were far more agreeable than the earlier ones. If they wanted to save their leader, they didn’t mention it. Instead, they complied with my request and got out of the way.

  Sphinx carried me to a small vessel and opened her cockpit. As I climbed out, the hatch of the ship opened too, allowing me to enter. It was a small, star fleet fighter, nothing like a chimera. I’d never piloted one before. How in Gaia’s name was this supposed to get me from here, to safety? “Sphinx, I have no idea how to pilot this thing.”

  “Get inside and you will.”

  Her cryptic comment didn’t reassure me, but I obeyed. As I slid into the pilot’s seat, the systems came alive. The displays of the small vessel looked different from Sphinx’s, but not as much as I had expected. “Brace yourself,” Sphinx murmured. “I’m sending you the frequency of the Venom. The systems at Tartarus Base are still inaccessible, but your lovers escaped in Brendan’s ship. You can catch up with them.”

  How did she even know that? Her consciousness had been suspended ever since we’d left Tartarus. She couldn’t have kept track of my lovers’ actions. I wanted to ask her about it, but she didn’t give me the chance. A wave of power flowed through the metallic floor, emanating from her and echoing into me.

  All of a sudden, I knew everything she had told me I would. I knew how to pilot this machine. And I also knew what Sphinx was planning and why she wanted me to leave so quickly.

  Tears filled my eyes and it took everything in my power to not protest, to not scream at her and tell her to stop this. But I remembered what she had told me all those months ago, when we had argued about me being too soft-hearted. She’d told me I needed a soul of steel, that without it, I wouldn’t survive Chimera Academy.

  I wasn’t worried about my own survival, not anymore. I had something far more important to protect.

  “I’ll see you again, Sphinx,” I promised. “Take care of yourself.”

  “Of course,” she replied tightly. “Don’t worry.”

  She was still standing there, holding onto King Philip, when I took off in the shuttle. I’d wanted to take him with me, because he could have come in handy as a prisoner. But Sphinx had already been on the edge and she wouldn’t have let me have him.

  It was beside the point. As soon as I was out of harm’s way, in space, a heavy explosion erupted in the distance. The void that surrounded me kept me from hearing anything, but its strength still echoed into me, into my very soul.

  Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to control my connection with Sphinx. I refused to shut it down completely like I had in the past, but I couldn’t leave it like this either, since I risked getting hurt in the process.

  It was easier said than done, and I still felt the echoes of Sphinx’s destruction into my very core. But even as my vision blurred with tears, I could still feel her consciousness lingering, lurking at the back of my mind. I knew she’d survive this, in some form, as would all the others, and at the same time, I could feel her relief at having been freed from the shackles Brendan’s father had imprisoned them in.

  It was not enough. I wanted them back. I wanted my family to be whole and safe. Furiously wiping my tears, I focused on piloting my vessel and headed toward the coordinates Sphinx had given me.

  I could only hope my lovers would forgive me for having been unable to save their old friends.

  Extreme Circumstances

  Jared

  When I’d left New Washington after I’d found out the truth about Tanya Renard, I hadn’t expected to return so quickly. At most, I’d believed that if I did come back, it would be to accompany Selene in a possible confrontation with her mother.

  I definitely hadn’t expected having to come here to ask for help. But our list of allies was slim, and both Brendan and Archibald believed Tanya could be included in it. We couldn’t trust her, but we could at least rely on her to want to free Selene.

  That was what brought me to the Temple of Gaia that day. This time, I didn’t bother with stealth. I didn’t think I could have hidden my presence anyway. After the effort I’d made taking out three groups of chimeras and transporting myself through space not just once, but twice, I was almost completely drained. Unless I approached the sun a little more or we followed Brendan’s insane plan, it would take me a little while to get my strength back.

  The temple priestesses intercepted me in the courtyard, barring my entrance to the inner sanctum
of the building. I shot the five young women an unimpressed look, knowing I could easily turn them to ash even in my current condition. “I want to see the High Priestess. It’s about her daughter and it’s urgent.”

  One of the women took a step forward, glowering at me so fiercely I half-thought she was a Heliad. “And why would we approve such a request from a stranger? Whatever relationship you have with Selene, your business with the High Priestess can wait until we’ve verified your identity.”

  They didn’t seem to realize my nature, which made sense. I didn’t look inhuman per se. I’d changed since I’d left the academy and had returned to the Apsid Quasar, but my Heliad body remained similar enough to a human that no one would deem me suspicious. If I hadn’t been male, the priestesses would’ve allowed me to pass without too much fuss.

  In any case, I didn’t have time to truly explain the situation to them. Selene had been taken by Brendan’s father and whatever plans he had for her couldn’t be good. We had to stop him, at once. “I’m not asking for your permission. Get out of my way, or I will remove you.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” a familiar voice said, interrupting our exchange. “If you want to speak to me, I’m here.”

  Tanya Renard emerged from the depths of the temple. She was accompanied by the same priestess who always seemed by her side. If I remembered correctly, her name was Yolanda. Come to think of it, she looked a little similar to the young adept who’d mouthed off at me. This must be Selene’s friend, Louise, then.

  I made a mental note to not harm them too badly if we ever ended up fighting. Selene wouldn’t want that, and I had to respect her feelings. If they forced my hand, I’d still go through them, but hopefully, it wouldn’t be necessary.

  “What do you want, Flight Lieutenant Glass?” Tanya asked. “What’s so urgent that you had to come here yourself, defying our laws?”