by Anna Argent
She could barely remember her mother, but now she knew how the woman thought and felt—at least a little glimpse of it. She had a brilliant mind and a sense of loyalty that ran deep, all the way to her bones. She didn’t see herself as a hero, but as a servant of her people—a people she believed deserved to be saved.
Zoe touched the device again in an effort to be closer to her mother. This time the events were more mundane, quieter. There were small glimpses of the life she’d lived, as well as the feelings of love and devotion she’d had for her husband and daughter.
By the time the rest of the memories played out in Zoe’s head, tears were streaming down her face. Her cheeks were wet and cold, and a harsh sob racked her body.
Mom had died to protect these plans and memories. Dad had stolen them to keep them safe from the Raide, and then told Zoe how to find them when it was her turn to step up to the plate.
This weapon was her family legacy. Her destiny. And now that the plans were in her head, she knew she could build it. There wasn’t a single doubt or question in her mind. The last few pieces of the puzzle Mom had left unsolved were well within Zoe’s ability.
Excitement trickled through her, making her burn with a sense of urgency. She had to tell Talan the good news.
She knew how to defeat the Raide. Not just on Loriah, but anywhere they attacked. She could free every race of people they’d enslaved—every world they’d conquered, every species they’d tortured.
Zoe tried to put the sphere into one of the soft bags, but her hands were shaking so hard, the metal ball slipped from her fingers and fell onto the ground. It rolled under the chain link fence and came to a stop against a clump of dead weeds.
She panicked, worried she’d broken it. All the effort her parents had gone to for her to possess this gift—all of the sacrifices they’d made—she couldn’t have ruined that through stupid clumsiness. Even though the information was inside her now, she still had to protect the source of it. No way could she let something so precious lie around for anyone to find.
She hopped down from the crate and slipped back through the hole in the fence. The sphere had only made it a few yards away, but the pavement was cold, hard and dirty. A lot could have happened to such delicate tech in a short distance.
“What are you doing?” Talan asked as he dropped another two heavy bags onto the growing pile.
“I dropped something.”
“Get back in here. It’s not safe.”
The surface of the sphere was gritty with dust, but nothing was broken or cracked.
Relief wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Her parents’ work was safe. She let out a long sigh. Her misty breath swirled out into the night.
And hit something solid. Something invisible.
She instinctively looked down and saw a trail of fresh footprints in the snow.
Krotian.
Immediately, Zoe’s heart froze with terror.
Every one of the secrets Krotian had been trying to discover were in her head now, waiting for him to dig them out.
The weapon could just as easily be used to kill humans or Loriahans as it could the Raide. One small adjustment, and everyone she knew here on Earth and everyone she’d met from Loriah could be wiped out.
Talan would die right along with them.
A deep sense of panic constricted around her. She couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not ever. She needed him.
She loved him.
That thought was almost as scary as the evil standing in front of her.
Zoe opened her mouth to scream a warning to Talan, but nothing came out. Fear had gripped her by the throat, choking off any sound she could have made.
“Zoe?” Talan’s voice was heavy with concern as he turned toward her. Toward danger.
The stakes were too high. She couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t breathe.
Flee! her frantic brain shouted.
Her shoes slipped on the snowy ground as she scrambled away from the Raide. She lost her balance and fell toward the fence.
Krotian appeared at the last second, catching her before she could land.
She couldn’t let him see her secrets, so she squeezed her eyes shut and fought to get free of his hard grip.
“Zoe!” Talan shouted. His boots pounded hard on the ground as he ran toward her.
Her flailing fists did no good against the hard contours of Krotian’s combat suit. All she did was bust open the skin on her knuckles and leave blood slickening his armor.
“Well now,” Krotian said. “I think we’ve played around enough, don’t you? Time to finish this.”
Talan shouted her name again, and the sound was filled with fear and the promise of punishment. But it was too late. She was already trapped inside the grip of a madman.
Krotian slammed his armored fist into her gut hard enough that she nearly puked. Her eyes popped open on reflex, and he was waiting for it.
As his gaze hit hers, Zoe’s world exploded into jagged shards of pain, but she had no air left to scream.
Chapter Thirty
Talan hadn’t taken his eyes off of her for more than a few seconds. What the hell was she doing outside the fence?
He sprinted the few paces that separated him from the fence, but it was too late. Krotian had her by the throat, dangling her so that any weapon Talan sent flying toward his enemy would go through Zoe first.
“Stop,” said the Raide with complete calm and authority.
The breeze shifted direction, bringing with it the musty scent of Dregorgs. Lots of them.
Cyturs skittered out from the shadows, surrounding them in numbers far too large for Talan to survive. Behind them were several hulking Dregorgs, their orange eyes unblinking.
If he fought, there was no way out of this that didn’t end in death. For both of them.
His mind raced through the options for survival, but so far he’d found no acceptable path.
“I’ll do what you want,” said Talan in an effort to buy some time. “Just let her go.”
Krotian didn’t so much as look away from Zoe as he spoke. His gaze was fixed on hers. Whatever he was doing to her made her writhe in pain, but she didn’t utter a sound beyond a faint gurgle. “I can’t do that. She has what I want in that pretty little head. She’s fighting me, but I will dig it out of her.”
Her hands were fisted around his wrists, but to no effect. She couldn’t breathe, much less break free.
Talan’s fingers inched toward his sheengs. He might not be able to cut through that armor, but one of those might get close enough to his unprotected eyes to disrupt Krotian’s concentration and make him glance away—give Zoe a chance to fight.
One of the Cyturs let out a series of furious clicks.
“Don’t,” warned Krotian. “My troops have you pinned down. My armor protects me. There’s nothing you can do to get out of this alive.”
Radek was on his way, but he wasn’t close enough—not to save Talan’s ass. But Zoe… she was worth more alive than dead. All Talan had to do was make the Raide see that.
“What’s your plan?” Talan asked. “If you kill her, there won’t be anyone around with the ability to read what’s on that data sphere.”
“She already knows what’s on it. I’ve seen that much. All I have to do is get that tender little skull of hers to split open for me, and all those tasty little secrets will be mine.”
As Krotian spoke, Zoe’s body tensed, and the thread of a scream escaped her throat.
“It’s in there, but she’s fighting me. Maybe you’d like to convince her to play nice. What do you think, Zoe? Should I have my war slaves strip his flesh away, bit by bit? Or would you rather let me in?”
“No!” shouted Talan, hoping Zoe could hear him. “It’s a trick. Don’t listen to him. You can’t let him have the data. Fight and don’t stop fighting. Not ever. No matter what happens to me.”
“Aww,” Krotian cooed. “Do we have a little crush? Big bad warrior thinks he can win the hand of t
he fair Builder maiden?” He laughed. “Isn’t that precious.”
Zoe moaned. All around them Cyturs shifted anxiously, hungry for battle.
Talan couldn’t stand here and do nothing, but anything he did had the power to make things worse for Zoe.
His mind whirled through the options, cataloguing every weapon strapped to his body.
He lifted his hand as if to scratch his ear. “You’re going to kill me anyway. She knows it as well as I do. She’s not foolish enough to fall for that trick.”
“Who says I’m going to kill you?” asked Krotian.
Talan slipped a metal disk dangling from his earring between two fingers and tugged it free. “The dozen warriors you brought with you send a pretty loud message.”
“Stop trying to distract me. It won’t work. A mind as puny as yours has little chance of doing anything more than annoying me.” He tightened his grip on Zoe’s head.
She whimpered as a spasm racked her body.
Talan wanted to scream and lunge at the Raide, but he kept his boots securely planted.
From behind the building came a buzzing sound followed by a flickering blue light.
The window was opening.
“Seems we’ve run out of time,” said Krotian. “I’ve got to get her back home where we can interrogate her properly. Just as we did her mother.”
And just like her mother, once he took Zoe through that window, she was as good as dead.
Talan couldn’t let it happen. He was out of options, with only one bad play left to make.
He flung the disk he’d pulled from his ears and hidden between his fingers onto the ground. A brilliant light flashed, burning as bright as a star for a fraction of a second.
His eyes were closed, so he was safe, but Krotian had the death stare going with Zoe, and was completely unprotected.
So were the Cyturs, who loathed light and weren’t wearing their protective goggles at night.
A furious wash of clicking rose around Talan, sounding in time with Krotian’s scream of rage.
Zoe had been freed from his gaze, and now her eyes were shut tight.
Talan wasted no time. He charged while he could, before the enemy troops recovered from their momentary blindness.
He grabbed Zoe’s arm and wrenched her out of Krotian’s grip. Something fell from her coat pocket—the data sphere. It exploded into a hundred fragments of metal, completely destroyed.
There was no time to recover the pieces, and even if he had, the chances of the device ever working again hovered somewhere around zero.
A sick sense of loss invaded him, but there was nothing more he could do. Without that data, Zoe’s mind was even more important. The Builders were going to need her knowledge and skill to turn the tide of war.
Talan kicked the Raide to the ground, venting some of his frustration, but he didn’t take time to kill him. There wasn’t a second to spare.
He’d kill the fucker later, once Zoe was safely off this planet and out of reach. He would hunt down his enemy and tear him apart until the pieces were too small to ever be found. Only that image gave him the control he needed to walk away from finishing the job he was so eager to do.
Zoe’s legs weren’t fast enough, so Talan swept her up and raced for the shimmering starlight of the opening.
His path was blocked by a line of enemy combatants that were quickly regaining their sight.
There was no way to bust through that enemy line without risking her, so he came to a halt and let her slide down to her feet. She was still conscious, but not coherent. Fighting the Raide mind fuck had taken its toll.
“Keep your eyes shut,” he told her. “No matter what.”
He didn’t know if she understood him or not, but he’d done all he could for now. With half a dozen warriors in the way, he had no choice but to push forward before it was too late.
Talan unleashed a series of sheengs, plotting the trajectory of each one as it left his fingertips. They flew true, each one hitting a major artery left vulnerable between plates of tough Cytur hide.
The front row of enemy combatants screamed and thrashed around as they realized the damage. They were going to bleed out, but it was going to take several seconds for them to go down—a lifetime in combat.
Behind them the Dregorgs tightened ranks.
He hated killing these creatures, but he couldn’t let them get in his way. Already the window’s light was beginning to solidify.
Talan bypassed his favorite weapon and went right for the darts tipped with poison. He didn’t know if the sharp points would make it through the Dregorgs’ tough hide, but it was his best nonlethal option.
Before he could so much as draw the darts from his vest, he heard the furious clicking sound of a new group of Cyturs approaching from the rear.
He made the strategic decision to clear Zoe’s path first, hoping he had enough time to do the job and still survive the attack from behind.
The darts flew. Two of the three Dregorgs toppled instantly. The third teetered on his thick legs, refusing to drop.
Zoe screamed and climbed up Talan’s leg to regain her feet. “Behind you.”
He spun around, ripping a false button from his vest. A silvery filament whipped through the air, singing as it extended from its hiding place.
Every one of the Cyturs scrambled to a skidding stop. They knew what this was—how easily it severed their limbs when used properly.
And Talan knew how to make the weapon sing.
“Go! Now!” he shouted at Zoe. “Jump through the window.”
The light pouring out of the opening was solid, indicating that the window was complete and ready for use. He’d set the destination for the safest spot he knew—right in the middle of the Builders’ compound. It was fortified. Well-guarded. She had the best chance at survival there of anywhere he knew.
He took a stance in front of her, giving her time to regain her feet.
The silver thread spun through the air, warning the Cyturs to stay back.
“Kill him!” Krotian shouted from some unknown position—likely hiding behind the invisibility function of his armor.
The Cyturs inched forward, their clicks growing louder as they always did right before a battle.
“On your feet, Zoe! Go!”
She used his body to pull herself up. He could see her wobbling from the corner of his eye, but at least she was walking.
“I can’t leave you.” Her voice was rough, like she was choking on a sob.
“You have no choice. Now go and save our people.”
Talan wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he couldn’t dare be that selfish. Anything that shocked her would slow her down, and anything that slowed her down might kill her.
His declarations of love would always remain unspoken, but that didn’t mean his feelings were any less real.
Zoe stumbled toward the fence. Once she was through the hole, all he had to do was guard the only entrance and she would be home free.
Krotian was nowhere in sight, which made Talan nervous. Not that he could do anything about it now. He had his hands full.
A Cytur charged, taking up every bit of Talan’s attention. He flicked the wire in a loop, and the thing’s foreleg fell to the ground in several pieces.
“Behind you!” Zoe screamed.
It wasn’t until that second that Talan realized his mistake. He’d put his attention exactly where the enemy wanted it, and they had used the opening to sneak up from behind.
He tried to turn around, but there was no room—no way to face one enemy without exposing his back to even more. As his mind flew through his possible actions, he found none that didn’t end with his capture or death.
He’d been held captive by those evil creatures once and nearly died. It had taken everything for him not to give up the information the Raide had wanted. But now, with Zoe’s life on the line, the stakes were much, much higher.
If he lived, they could use him against her. Play on her sympa
thies and their connection.
That was not something Talan could allow to happen.
He took out as many of the Cyturs as he could, lashing out at them with lightning speed. He cut a swath to his left, destroying the enemies closest to Zoe and working his way out.
As the searing heat of Cytur claws sliced through his skin, he knew he hadn’t been fast enough. His body lit up with pain caused by their venom. A few seconds from now, he’d be incapacitated with it. Minutes after that, death would come for him.
But right now, he was still himself and able to do what needed to be done.
As the pain caused by the Cytur claws consumed him, he bit back a scream and whipped the wire faster, taking out as many of the enemy as he could.
Behind him, more blows battered his back. He felt his blood cooling on his skin, wetting his clothes. Hard, barbed spiked legs of the Cyturs stabbed into him, leaving gaping wounds behind.
Every one of those blows hurt just as much as the burning poison the first one had shoved into his system.
Talan refused to stop fighting. The window wouldn’t be open long. All he had to do was buy Zoe a few more seconds to reach it. Her people would whisk her away to safety. The elite Imonite warriors—the Builders’ Guard—would protect her once she was on their soil.
He had to believe it was true.
Just a few more seconds and she would be safe. He could stay on his feet that long, even with the pain careening through his system and his heart struggling to fuel his trembling limbs.
Weakness numbed him. His limbs stopped responding to his commands. His enemies took their shots without anything to stop them. His body was being torn to shreds, and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.
He wasn’t going to make it out of this fight alive, but that was okay now. He caught a glimpse of Zoe’s shoe as she disappeared into the light. His job was done.
She was safe.
Talan fell with the sound of thunder filling his ears and the memory of Zoe’s beautiful face clear in his mind. He found the strength to reach up and grasped the intriguing, intricate sculpture she’d given him. He imagined her living warmth hovering inside the metal she’d pinned to his vest. As he gripped it tight and held her memory in his mind, the bright light of death wrapped around him.
