“Guys, we can’t do this to ourselves,” Kailani interjected, shaking her head. “We can’t give in to despair. We don’t know who was on those ships; we have no idea who died and who survived at this point. We can’t afford to even grieve right now.”
“The third ship stayed back,” Hunter replied. “It was smaller and most likely command control. “I think most of our people would’ve been on it. There would be seasoned officers leading the fleet on the two starships that went down. But, I don’t know, we can’t even make assumptions at this point. It’ll throw us off the path.”
“What matters right now is that we find Ridan,” Ben said. “We’ll worry about finding the other six-hundred-plus right after that. It’ll be okay, as long as we stay focused.”
We all nodded in agreement, eager to get back to our mission. I was feeling a little better. I’d let it all out already. Concerns had been voiced, as well. I could see things clearly, and I held on to the chance that we could still do something about all this.
“We need to revisit our objectives,” Nevis said, then gently pushed me away so I could sit on my own. Part of me longed for him to hold me a little while longer, but I knew this wasn’t the right time to dwell on my emotions. I’d had my moment. “Find the dragon first, yes. Then, we absolutely have to find Derek and the others. They’ll be with Ta’Zan, for sure. I’ll bet he’s hogging the other six hundred, too. So, we’ll need to figure out a way into whatever fortress he’s got, and a way to get past loyal Faulties and psycho Perfects.”
“Sounds like we’ve already got our work cut out for us,” I replied dryly.
“And then some,” Kailani said.
“Nevis is right,” Rose said. “We have to find out exactly what the Perfects and Ta’Zan are planning. Universal domination is clearly on the table. We just need to understand how and when they plan to do it.”
“Most importantly, we have to learn more about the Perfects,” Ben replied. “Particularly weaknesses. There has to be a way to kill them.”
“You saw them fly past Strava’s atmosphere, right?” Dmitri asked, both eyebrows raised.
Nevis exhaled. “I guess they’re still figuring out the basic principles of planetary physics,” he said. “But outer space clearly kills them. So, we have that to go on.”
Ben shook his head. “There must be a way to kill them that doesn’t involve throwing them all off the planet. How could we even do that, anyway?”
A few seconds passed in silence, all of us looking at Kailani. She shrugged, looking somewhat defensive. “What? I’m still figuring out this whole swamp witch thing. I doubt there’s a spell to kick an entire species off a planet!”
“Worth it to at least wonder about it,” I replied.
“We may have another option,” Nevis suggested, eyeing each of us carefully. “It sounds terrible and cold-hearted, but I think you should consider it, especially if the Perfects’ existence threatens to basically wipe out all the other species inhabiting the In-Between, including mine.”
Ben frowned. “What are you thinking?”
“Destroy the entire planet,” Nevis replied bluntly. “Wipe them all out, with Strava, before they develop their space-travel technology. We all know they’ll be studying the starships they took down. They’ll figure out a way to build fully functional replicas.”
“Whoa,” I managed, staring at him with wide eyes. “That is cold.”
“I know,” he said. “But I had to put it out there. It would require some serious magical assistance from the Witches’ Sanctuary, from the Daughters of Eritopia, from Lumi, and from whoever else could assist us in causing such large-scale destruction. But we have to consider it.”
“Not right now,” Rose replied. “It would be worse than genocide. How can we lower ourselves to their level? There has to be a better way.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but, if all else fails—” Nevis tried to better explain his suggestion, but Rose cut him off.
“No. We’ll think about this later,” she said. “I’m aware that we might have to resort to that, but… but not right now. We’ll focus on doing everything we can to stop it, and we’ll start by talking to the Faulties first, then see if we can work our way up to the Perfects. If all else fails, like you said, we can address this option again. Until then, however, mass destruction cannot be on the table, regardless of the lives we’ve already lost. GASP didn’t come to exist in order to destroy entire civilizations. We’ve always found a way to peace. We’ll do it again!”
We all just sat there and thought about it for a while. Nevis accepted Rose’s argument and didn’t continue that line of conversation. I could see the deep red in his aura—he, too, was suffering, like the rest of us, but he was doing a damn good job of keeping it together. I had to admit, I admired the guy.
Hunter was the first to get back up and cautiously check our surroundings.
“It’s time to go,” he said. “Nightfall will be upon us soon, and Ridan is still out here, somewhere.”
I nodded as I stood and patted the sand off my combat suit. “We’re close to where he probably touched down,” I replied. “I’ll keep my True Sight on.”
“Look for him in the waters or around the beaches,” Vesta suggested. “If he was still conscious when he fell, he would’ve looked for a soft landing.”
We regrouped and started moving again, crossing the dark patch of woods toward the northern edge of the island. The Perfects’ sonic booms echoed in the distance, sending shivers down my spine. Things had gone from bad to worse a little too fast for our collective ability to process it all in one go, but we had to keep our heads clear and adapt as best we could.
Strava had no patience for us. And we had no intention of letting it take more of our people. We were going to get through this.
Ridan
The pain woke me up.
The physical, excruciating agony. It was as if every single cell in my body was screaming, begging for someone or something to put an end to its misery. My eyes were closed, but there was a source of warm orange light nearby. I could feel it on my face.
I stilled and took a deep breath, trying to get past the pain in order to get myself back to a conscious state. My survival instincts were kicking in again, the adrenaline already rushing through my veins and accelerating my heartbeat.
First, I paid attention to the sounds around me. Wood crackling on the fire. I heard leaves rustling as the nocturnal breeze blew past them. Insects chirped nearby in a variety of tiny, rhythmic melodies. Somewhere, not too far from my location, was water. Waves gently lapped at a shore. I was in the jungle. The smells were somewhat familiar, of musky flowers and wild, exotic fruits.
My eyes peeled open.
I saw the fire and recognized the warm orange light I’d sensed earlier. I looked around and saw the dark jungle unraveling around me, with giant trees and thick crowns overhead that obscured the sky and forbade the bluish moonlight from coming through.
I tried to move, but burning pain shot through my arms and ribs. My ankle hurt terribly, as well. I might’ve broken it. Then, I froze as I looked down. I’d been tied upright to a tree. Heavy lines of rope covered my torso and kept me in place. I shifted my weight onto my left leg, relieving some of the pressure from the injured right.
Something was not right. How had I gotten here?
My body was covered in a warm paste of sorts; I could feel it on my skin. I’d been wrapped in large leaves, then tied to a tree.
“What the—” I muttered, then held my breath for a second.
It was all coming back to me in downright terrifying flashbacks. Our journey to Strava. The attack at the lighthouse. The Faulties and the Perfects. The fight to get ourselves out of the diamond colosseum in one piece. I’d gone against Araquiel, that arrogant bastard. He’d nearly killed me!
That last kick had sent me literally flying.
I’d seen the lights flashing above the colosseum—Perfects desperately looking for the oth
ers on my team. Kailani had probably gotten them far enough away to teleport them to a safe place. The hostiles hadn’t come after me, for sure. Otherwise I’d be in that diamond colosseum. Or dead.
My team was probably looking for me. Maybe they’d seen where I’d landed.
I had to get out and find them, but the pain… It crippled me.
It made me groan, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I needed to free myself. I tried to push my body against the layer of rope, but it didn’t even budge. Whoever had tied me up had done a fantastic job. I panted, sweat covering my face. I was ready to go full dragon, until I realized I was too weak and was severely wounded. I’d had to revert back to human form just so that I’d have a better shot at survival.
Which hadn’t even helped, because I’d almost drowned.
Then, I remembered the female figure swimming toward me.
The orange scales on her body.
Movement at the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned my head and spotted… someone. Covered in a heavy cloak made of large, waxy leaves, wearing one of those coconut-like masks on its face with two holes for eyes—two bright orange eyes, staring back at me. My heart skipped a beat.
I could tell it was a female, mostly from the soft lines of her muscular legs. Her feet, ankles, and calves were covered in… orange scales. Those were eerily familiar. Despite the adrenaline rush, my brain still functioned with a minor delay, so it took me a few seconds to put two and two together and identify this creature as the one who had saved me from drowning.
“I know you,” I said, my throat dry and scratchy.
She didn’t say anything. She walked over to the fire and tossed an armful of wood on top, feeding the blaze for a couple more hours. I followed her with my gaze as she took out several large fish from her woven satchel, all freshly caught, from what I could tell. She stuck two Y-shaped wooden sticks into the ground, on both sides of the fire, then impaled the fish on a long rod and placed it above the flames.
The fire licked at the fishes’ bellies. Soon enough, they started to smell delicious, as the fat underneath their scaly skin began to melt and drip into the firepit. I sniffed the air, loving the scent. My stomach growled, a little too loudly.
The creature glanced at me, and, judging by her widened eyes, she was surprised to hear such sounds coming out of me. I couldn’t free myself just yet, though I could’ve used my fire breath. However, I was curious. Given what I could gather from her appearance, she was most likely a Faulty—one of the rejected ones.
She could’ve killed me or brought me back to the Perfects, but she hadn’t. She’d chosen to slather me in whatever that paste was and tie me to a tree. The pain was beginning to subside in my left arm. I moved my shoulder around a bit, and it felt better. I was healing.
Clearly, she didn’t know what to do with me yet. I’d seen how the Perfects treated Kallisto and her kind, so it stood to reason that this creature might be wary of the Perfects, too. This seemed like a golden opportunity to establish a dialogue with her. Maybe even get her to help.
“Listen, I mean you no harm,” I said, then cleared my throat to get rid of that feeling of nails scraping my trachea. “I’ve been injured and separated from my friends. We’ve come here in peace. We’re only looking for our friends. I think Ta’Zan, your… maker, has them. We just want our people back, that’s all.”
I waited for her to say something, but she kept her gaze on the fish, occasionally twisting the rod for an even grill. From what I could remember, her hair was long and white beneath that leafy cloak. Her arms seemed slender and toned, covered in orange scales in a pattern similar to the one on her legs. Her palms were clear and tender, though, her fingers long and delicate.
“I think you saved me,” I muttered. “Thank you for that. I would’ve died if it weren’t for you. I owe you one.”
Still nothing. I wasn’t sure if she understood what I was saying, or she was deliberately ignoring me. Given that we’d been able to communicate with Kallisto, one of her species, the former was unlikely. I sighed, trying to keep my cool as angst began to claw at my stomach. I wholeheartedly detested being tied.
“Listen. You need to let me go,” I said, my tone firm and unyielding. “You don’t need to keep me tied up, as I have no intention of hurting you whatsoever.”
Quiet. Insects chirping.
“Not sure if you know this about me, but I’m perfectly capable of freeing myself,” I added. That got her attention. She stilled and looked up. “I’m only asking you nicely so that we can establish a mutually respectful rapport. Like I said, I mean you no harm.”
She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t look away, either. I had to kick things up a notch and elicit another reaction from her. From this entire scene, my takeaway was pretty simple: she wanted me to understand that she was in charge, that she made the rules, and that I had to obey. Only, I really didn’t like being tied up. Emphasis on really.
“Okay, fine. If you won’t let me go, I’ll do it myself.”
That said, I took one long, deep breath, and fire sizzled through my throat, eager for release.
In a split second, she had jumped over the fire, without knocking the wooden sticks and fish over, and reached me. I was ready to burn the ropes off, but she backhanded me so hard, I was stunned. Pain shot through my jaw.
I passed out before I could even react.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
Again.
Jovi
Words couldn’t even describe how I felt. In my semi-consciousness, I could remember everything—every single detail. Our two ships breaching Strava’s atmosphere, smoothly headed toward the surface to land. The swarm of flashing lights swallowing our vessel and tearing it apart in minutes.
We’d tried to steer away from them, but they were too fast. Their direct hits were insanely destructive. I grabbed Anjani by the hand and ran back to the nearest escape pod, thinking we had a better shot at surviving if we got off the ship first. Most of the fighters in our crew had done the same. I didn’t even get a chance to think about the ones who didn’t. This was an unexpected war, and survival was key.
We’d managed to get out, just in time to see both ships explode, fires blazing like giant mushrooms, smoke billowing, and millions of flaming chunks scattering and plummeting toward the ground. We’d seen the dragons get captured by those flashing creatures—we didn’t stand a chance.
All I could think of was getting myself and Anjani out of there alive. We could hide somewhere, then regroup and find out what was going on here, because clearly there were more hostiles than we’d originally estimated. There were thousands of them, and their strike had practically crippled an entire fleet.
I caught glimpses of hundreds of other escape pods, and I felt an ounce of relief knowing that at least three hundred from my ship had made it. Anjani had cried out Jax and Hansa’s names… We’d both hoped they, too, had jumped on an escape pod.
Then, one of those flashing creatures had rammed right into our capsule.
Everything had gone white, then pitch black as we tumbled in the impact.
I lost control.
With my eyes still closed, I heard the voices around me, wheels rattling on a hard floor. Footsteps shuffling and rushed orders. There were groans and moans—I recognized some of those as coming out of me.
“Will he make it?” One female voice came through.
“Yes. The silvery one, too,” a male responded.
Anjani…
My eyes popped open. Ceiling lights rushed past my head. I looked farther up and saw him—the male creature I’d heard earlier. He looked strange, with big yellow eyes and scaly skin. He reminded me of the Destroyers back from Azazel’s reign of terror, but I could hear his footsteps. He didn’t have a snake tail for a lower body. He was a hybrid of some sort, for sure. He gave me a concerned look as he kept pushing my gurney. The wheels rattling beneath… the white walls… I was in a hospital, or something akin to a hospital.
“Anjani,” I breathed, then tried to get up.
I couldn’t. I’d been tied down.
I struggled against my restraints, ignoring the sharp pain in my leg and ribs. I’d definitely been injured, but I didn’t give a damn. My wife… I had to get to my wife.
“Anjani!” I cried out.
“Lie still, or you’ll make the bleeding worse!” the male creature hissed.
I glowered at him. “Where’s Anjani?!”
“She’s fine. She’ll be fine. So will you, if you listen to me,” he replied bluntly.
“What… What happened?” I managed, then looked around and caught glimpses of other creatures like him—hybrids with either scales, or turquoise or sand-colored fur and horns, rushing up and down what looked like a spacious hallway. There were more of my people on mobile gurneys, tied up and moaning from the pain.
“You were foolish enough to try to attack us, that’s what happened!” the male creature shot back, visibly annoyed.
I saw Heath on another gurney, as two of the hybrid creatures wheeled him into a white room to our right. I lifted my head to get a better look, but my “caregiver” pinned it down.
“Don’t move!” he insisted. “You’ll see your friends soon enough.”
“Which ones?! You shot us down! I don’t even know who made it!” I retorted.
Tears rushed to my eyes as I remembered it all in one gut-wrenching replay. I would’ve loved nothing more than to tear my restraints off and rip his throat out. But I couldn’t. My injuries were severe, judging by the pulsating pain alone.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” he said, his voice trembling.
“Who are you people?” I asked, as tears streamed from the corners of my eyes.
He scoffed. “Worry about that later. Right now, we need to stop your bleeding,” he replied.
I was brought into another white room, where several others like him prepared what looked like an operating table. They had medical tools and white bandages ready, along with a variety of jars filled with colorful liquids.
A Land of Perfects Page 21
