A Blue Star Rising

by Cecilia Randell

  BLUE

  She and Garfield ran after the other cub. They came to a “T” intersection and Vivi hesitated, looking left then right, then left again. She took off in that direction, and a moment later leapt onto a green armor-clad man. But it wasn’t an attack. She clung to him.

  Felix.

  “Oh thank God. You’re right, I’m so not ready for this.” She wanted to leap and cling as well, but Vivi had already claimed him.

  Felix grinned, and she noted a splash of blood on his chin. There was no cut, though. “You got the cub. You’re doing well enough. And Jason has the control room. We have to hurry, though, the outside guards have been called in.”

  Blue looked at Vivi where she hung on Felix’s armor. Then she looked to Garfield.

  “Pack?” she asked.

  He set off the opposite direction down the corridor, back the way they came. Then he froze, and Felix shifted Vivi to his back just as another man emerged from a locked room. This wasn’t a guard though. He wore a pale green coat, sported salt and pepper hair, and though his body was thick with muscle he didn’t move with the same grace the others had.

  Bad. Bad, bad, bad.

  Vivi yowled from Felix’s back, the sound chilling. The man fumbled for something in the pocket of his coat, and then Vivi leapt. She hit the floor once then jumped up, going for the man’s face.

  Bad, bad.

  Garfield stayed where he was, and Blue had the impression he watched his sister more than the man. Her baby was scared now. But not of the man.

  “Felix,” Blue whispered.

  “We need to find Forrest. Now.”

  She nodded.

  Vivi’s teeth were buried in the man’s neck, and blood seeped from multiple puncture wounds. He gripped her with one hand and with the other found whatever he was looking for in his pocket. A small gun, but not like the stunners.

  An injector?

  Before she could react, Felix was there, gripping the man’s wrist and pulling it away. Then he reached for the cub, his large hand curling into the scruff at the back of her neck.

  Vivi prey.

  And Blue understood. Vivi needed to do this, to bring down this man. Was this Miyari? What had he done to them exactly? If so, they should stop her, they might need this man to fix whatever was being done to Forrest… But the savagery the piquet showed, as well as Garfield’s insistence in the back of her mind, had her hesitating.

  Felix pulled, but Vivi clung to the man, her front claws firmly planted in the muscle of the man’s chest while her hind legs ripped and tore at his abdomen and her razor-baby teeth gnawed at his throat. He jerked a few times, and then slowly slid to his knees.

  It was too late to keep the man alive.

  The corridor was oddly silent, except for the gurgles the man still made and the low growl coming from Vivi. Even Garfield had quieted.

  Blue turned her head. Vivi may have needed to do this, but Blue didn’t need to see it. This was different than when she and Garfield had encountered that other guard. Or when they’d been in the crystal cave. This was just… death for the sake of death. And this she had a problem with.

  She would be keeping an eye on Vivi after this. What was that line? For the female of the species is more deadly than the male…

  She looked back when a door whooshed open behind her. The man was either dead or unconscious, fallen to the floor and half turned away as Felix held his hand to the scanner. Then Felix dropped that and entered the room.

  Blue and the cubs followed.

  Forrest lay on hospital looking bed, surrounded by beeping machines and strapped down. He stared, eyes open and unblinking. Vivi jumped atop him as Blue rushed to the side of the bed. Vivi pawed gently at his chest, then his face, rubbing her own against it and yowling.

  He didn’t move, didn’t blink.

  Oh God, what had happened to him?

  “Get the straps undone.” Felix started on the ones at his feet

  Blue swallowed and joined him in undoing the restraints, starting with his wrists. She got the buckle of the first one undone and was rounding the head of the bed to go to the other when she spotted the tube filled with a silver-green liquid leading to an IV port at his elbow.

  “No,” she whispered. She ripped it out, then scrambled for something to tie off the puncture wound with. Oh, God, had Forrest been given whatever had killed those other men? Was that why he wasn’t responding? She reached for his neck and found his pulse, strong and steady. Okay, okay, he was breathing. They could figure out the rest, they could, they just needed to get him away from here. They would figure out the rest. He would be fine.

  Felix nudged her aside and wrapped a scrap of torn sheet around Forrest’s elbow, tied it off, and undid the last buckle. “A little longer pet. I need you to hold on a little longer. We still need to find Levi and make it to the control room. And I need you to take point.”

  Blue stepped back as he lifted Forrest from the bed and flipped him over one shoulder, securing him with an arm around his thighs. She could do this. Just a little longer. Gathering her thoughts, her gaze snagged on the IV tube and she snatched it up. If this wasn’t the same thing the others had been given, the healer would need to know. So they could make Forrest better.

  She pulled in a breath and looked at Garfield. “Levi?”

  And then the cub was off.

  He stopped outside the next room. Felix gently placed Forrest on the floor and propped his back against the wall. Then he dragged the bloody and torn body of the man to the scanner, placed his hand there and unlocked the door.

  What happened to the other hand? Should we just take this one? And then Blue wondered if she might not be having quiet hysterics.

  This room was a match for the other. But there was no IV in the arm of the dark man who lay there. His eyes were open and focused on her. Then he smiled. It was Garfield’s turn to leap up and assure himself that the man on the table was well. Blue and Felix made short work of the straps.

  Levi was a bit unsteady when he stood. “They haven’t fed us. Or me. I do not know where they took Forrest.”

  “We have him. Move now, talk later.” Felix went back to the hall and picked Forrest up.

  Blue looked from Levi to the hall.

  “I am well enough, Blue.”

  She nodded and headed out the door.

  Then she looked down at Garfield. “Which way?”

  He set off. Blue held her dagger ready and Felix handed his stunner over to Levi, who took up a position at the rear of their very strange procession. Vivi stuck close to the mercenary, occasionally looking up at Forrest who was once again over the giant man’s shoulder.

  Rest of pack. Coming.

  Almost-pack, Blue thought back at the piquet. Safe with almost-pack until rest of pack arrives.

  Felix’s comm beeped. “I’ve got you guys.” Jason’s voice was tinny but clear. “Be aware, I’ve got at least one of the guards right outside the door, and another who’s stationed himself in a hall nearby. No sight of the third, and the ones outside are nearly here.”

  “Got it.” Felix motioned for them to stop. He looked at Blue, then the swaying Levi, then back to Blue. “Have you had any lessons with the stunner yet?”

  “No. They were on the class agenda for next week.”

  He nodded then looked to Levi. “Honestly. Can you make the shots?”

  Levi hesitated then shook his head.

  “Fuck.”

  Looks like Felix is learning his English from the hooligan. Or me.

  “Can you carry Forrest?”

  Blue thought Felix was asking her at first, but Levi answered. “I want to say yes, but…”

  “You wouldn’t be able to move fast enough. No. I prefer the honest assessment.”

  She realized the problem. Felix was the only able-bodied, fully trained person they had who was not locked in a room. And he couldn’t do all of the things. Garfield chirped and she looked down into his fuzzy, and blood-spattered, face. They mad
e a good team.

  “We can do it,” she said. “Garfield and I, we can take out the guard. Get us behind the second guy. Then when we attack, Jason can open the door, get the guy who’s right there, and we’ll slip in.”

  Felix raised a brow, then nodded. “As good a plan as any.” Then he looked down at Garfield. “Can you do that? Get us behind the second bad man?”

  Garfield set off, leading them back the way they’d come. Anticipation radiated from him, and she hoped to hell, once again, that he’d understood.

  “Oh,” she said, realizing something. “I may have gotten that third guard. Garfield and I had a run-in when we were getting Vivi.”

  “Good. But do not assume. There could still be others we’re not aware of.”

  A thought struck her and Blue paused. “The Ministry agents.”

  Felix paused as well, then shook his head. “No time. And if they’ve been here as long as we think, there’s no telling what state they’re in.”

  “Agreed,” came Jason’s voice over the comm. “Just get in here.”

  A minute later they came to an intersection and Garfield stopped just before the opening to the other hall. He looked right and let out an almost silent chirp. Vivi came up beside him and rubbed her head against his shoulder.

  Better.

  Was he saying Vivi was no longer in mindless-rage-mode? Actually, if she was, it would help, but did she want to leave Forrest?

  Help.

  Okay then.

  Blue pulled her second blade, nodded to Felix, then stepped into the intersection. The guard stood at the other end, back pressed to the wall and head turned away. Her sweater still disguised the makeshift armor underneath, so she wasn’t defenseless, but there was a lot of ground to cover until she reached him, and she was not the quietest person.

  They made it half way before she must have done something to alert the guard she was there. Or maybe they all had that built-in sense that someone was sneaking up on them. Regardless, he straightened away from the wall, shouted, and swung his stunner up.

  She sprinted for him. The first shot hit her square in the chest and was deflected by Felix’s borrowed armor. She did stumble, but she didn’t go down. She second shot did the same. Then the guard must have realized she wore some form of protection, and aimed for her legs.

  A shot from behind her hit him in the shoulder, distracting him just long enough for the cubs to reach him. Garfield went low, for the groin just as she’d taught him, and Vivi went high, aiming for the neck.

  Vaguely, Blue heard a whoosh and moments later a shot, but her attention was too focused on the enemy in front of her for it to fully register.

  This guard must have been smarter than his counterpart, because he spun away, not letting the cubs reach the vulnerable parts of him. Vivi latched onto his back and reached up with one paw, swiping at his unprotected head. Garfield dropped back to the ground, then darted between the guard’s feet, trying to trip him. It was even easier to reach the vulnerable bits from the ground.

  Then Blue was there. Slash, don’t stab. Go for the fleshy bits. Wait for your opening. The words of her various instructors floated through her mind. Don’t hesitate.

  Her opening came. Vivi had gotten her claws into the man’s cheek, and he’d reached up to dislodge her. She brought her right hand up, the dagger Felix hand given her clutched tight, and buried it in his armpit. Not a fatal blow unless she’d hit the artery there, or her knife was long enough to hit the lungs. She had no idea if that was the case, or how to ensure it, though, only that it was vulnerable and within reach.

  And it distracted the man enough that he tripped over Garfield. He went down, ripping the blade from her grip, and Garfield now had his opening.

  Felix and his burden slid past her, Levi just behind. The dark man grabbed her arm and dragged her along. “We just need him down, not dead, before we move.”

  Blue let herself be dragged until she noticed the cubs hadn’t followed as well.

  “Kids!” she called out. She really needed a better way to summon them. But then they tumbled around the corner, the fur around their faces more red than golden-gray.

  Jason stood in a doorway, stunner in hand. Felix pushed past him. She and Levi followed and then the cubs. Jason dropped the stunner then reached into a small panel and with a quick jerk, ripped a wire from the wall. The door slid closed.

  Blue surveyed their haven as Felix laid Forrest on the floor. A few chairs, monitors, three bodies, two cubs, an unconscious Forrest, three conscious people and one very sturdy door.

  “Holy shit, I can’t believe we’re alive.”

  Chapter 36

  MO’ATA

  His comm pinged.

  Holding up his hand, he called a halt to the procession.

  It was Felix. “We’re secure.”

  The cold ball of dread sitting on Mo’ata’s chest thawed.

  “We did not locate the Ministry agents, or any other… subjects, but they may be here. We have not done a full sweep. Forrest will need immediate extraction to Karran to see a healer. He was given a drug we suspect was similar, if not the exact same, as what was found on Petyr and Zeynar’s man, and has yet to regain consciousness. Be aware, there are at least seven hired men that have not been eliminated. I do not know the nature of their contract, but if it is a standard mercenary one they may decide to surrender once it is clear they are outnumbered. If they are. If they are freelancers…”

  “Got it. We are still two hours out.” Forrest. The young man had become a brother to him, and Mo’ata was not ready to face the idea that they may lose him

  Silence. Then, “You are making good time.”

  “Yes.”

  Another pause. “Also be aware that we are somewhat trapped and may need to be cut out of the control room. Unless I can repair the wiring.”

  A muffled, and feminine, voice came over the line.

  “Let me talk to her,” Mo’ata said. He trusted the mercenary, but… hearing his shopa’s voice was a lot different from being told she was fine.

  Then she was there. “Hey.”

  “Blue.” He’d meant to be relieved, and supportive, and just damned grateful she was alive. He really had. But even he was aware that he sounded like a scolding pilik. He softened his tone, reminding himself of the terms he’d agreed to—no fluff-cloud blankets of protection. “Shopa.” And then he remembered that only applied once she was ready. “What part of ‘partners’ do you not understand? That was your term. Together. If you are going to dive into a deadly situation with horrible odds, we do it together.” That still didn’t sound right. But he couldn’t very well tell her “not at all.”

  A sigh. “You’re right. But you weren’t here.”

  Was she trying to kill him?

  “And I wanted to wait, but… we needed to do something to stop what they were doing to Forrest. Garfield didn’t really understand what it was, just that it was bad and that it needed to end now. And Mo’ata, when we found Vivi… and Forrest still isn’t awake… he’s not asleep, I don’t think, but he’s not here…” She sniffed.

  Was she crying? Dammit. She hadn’t started out crying.

  “Culan’s bones, I had this under control.” Felix was back on the line. “You can talk to her again once you are here to deal with the tears. She is well. Remarkably well. Just hurry, and be careful approaching. I would say ask whatever portal worker you have with you to just bring you here, but…”

  “You don’t know what is between us and you.”

  “No. I didn’t have time for a full reconnaissance. I’ll send updates if we spot any more men, or patterns, on the cameras.”

  Then the line disconnected. Mo’ata half turned and met Zeynar’s gaze. Duri and Prin were close behind him. Dean Gravin had halted a little ahead and stood half turned. The other Order agents, including Jana, were still in their positions.

  “They are safe for now,” Mo’ata said.

  Zeynar’s closed expression didn’t change.
He had become more and more silent as they traveled and didn’t hear from Felix, until the man Blue liked to refer to as the King Hooligan more than resembled a Reaper—one of the Order’s assassins—intent on inflicting pain before death.

  “Forrest will need immediate medical attention,” Mo’ata continued. “They locked themselves in the control room but have not secured the facility. Seven more guards that we know of, and assume deadly force unless they give a clear sign of surrender.”

  Zeynar nodded, an eager glint in his eye at the knowledge there were still men to be killed.

  Mo’ata focused on Gravin. “How precisely could you land one or two people? Could you get into the control room and back out with the… injured?”

  He hesitated, laid his hand between Emila’s ears, then shook his head. “I would need to know the precise location. Transferring in and out of closed spaces is too risky otherwise. I could get us closer, though.”

  Mo’ata thought about it. For a full minute, he weighed the idea of transporting just outside the facility, despite the risk of hostiles. But Blue and the others were safe for the moment, and there was no sense in putting his team at a disadvantage simply to get there a little faster. He sent a message to Felix.

  Let me know if Forrest worsens.

  Then they set off again. He hoped the hired guards did not surrender. Like Zeynar, he needed to hurt something.

  BLUE

  “Pixie?” Forrest’s voice was hoarse and wobbly, like he wasn’t sure he remembered how to use it right.

  “Forrest? Oh thank God.” She bent over and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “Thank you, thank you.” She stayed curled around him, her lips brushing against his skin with each word, and the damn tears started. Again.

  She’d been fine, right up until the point it had sunk in that they really were safe. Maybe she’d been riding the high of the adrenaline flood that had flushed through her system, and the aftermath had finally caught up. Or those stunner shots to the chest had made it through somehow, sapping her energy. Whatever the case, the strength she’d used to keep going after finding Forrest and Levi deserted her.