Rout of the Dem-Shyr (The Ascendant Series)

by Raine Thomas

  “Wait!” she shouted.

  Gren cursed and reached for a weapon, but Kyr stopped him. Follow my lead, she thought.

  “Don’t kill us,” she called out to the unseen observers. “We’re not these Marauders you think we are.”

  As she spoke, she sent out calming thoughts. She didn’t want to put herself at risk by using the energy it would take to actually influence all of them, but she didn’t want them shooting first and asking questions later, either.

  Within moments, they were surrounded. Kyr couldn’t mask her surprise when she saw just how many of them there were.

  And they were all female.

  Eyra had at least gotten the general style of clothing right, she noted, even if the colors were wrong. The other females were dressed similarly to her, but in shades of pink and purple that blended in with the environment. Even their masks, hats, and goggles were in the pastel and jeweled tones. It was no wonder she and Gren hadn’t spotted them, Kyr thought. They were wearing the perfect camouflage.

  “Then what are you doing in this sector?”

  Kyr turned to the female who had addressed them. With a quick scan, Kyr discovered that it was this female’s mind that she had read as the strongest. This was their leader, she believed.

  “We’re looking for a…friend. He was dropped off a few days ago, but he was incorrectly sentenced.”

  A round of snickers and guffaws followed her statement. She picked up a resounding, Aren’t we all? thought that puzzled her.

  “Well, this here is Peace Keeper territory,” the female said through her purple mask. “I’m not satisfied with your answer, but we’re just wasting air standing out here.” She turned and waved at a few nearby Peace Keepers. “Restrain them. Let’s bring them in for questioning.”

  Gren started to object, but Kyr sent him a silent warning. She had picked up enough of the thoughts around them to know these women were honorable. She felt that they weren’t inherently malicious, though they wouldn’t hesitate to kill to defend themselves or others. Most important, they just might be her ticket to finding Ty. But she and Gren had to earn their trust first.

  He mentally glowered at her as their weapons were confiscated and their wrists secured behind them. Kyr didn’t feel any concern until the women placed dark circles over their goggles to blind them. She read in their thoughts that it was to keep them from discovering the location of their base. She swallowed hard, hoping she hadn’t made a huge mistake.

  It’s a little late for that, Gren thought.

  He was irritated with her, but she knew he wasn’t overly alarmed. That helped calm her as they walked under guard to wherever it was the Peace Keepers lived.

  She followed Gren’s thoughts as he tracked their progress. He listened to the way sounds echoed. He paid attention to the direction and intensity of the air flow around them. He silently recorded every twist and turn they made. If they walked up a slope or downhill, he added it to the evolving map in his mind.

  It was absolutely fascinating.

  It didn’t take his level of skill, though, for her to know they were ultimately led underground. They went through a doorway and down some stairs. There was no wind and the only sound was of their movements as they trudged inside. She got the impression that the space opened up once they were at the bottom of the stairs. A loud clanging sound told her the entry door had been closed. That was followed by a whirring sound that reminded her of a generator. The air once again began moving. Maybe it had been a ventilation system kicking on.

  She blinked against the light when the blinders were removed from her goggles. It took her a moment to adjust, but when she did, she saw that they were in a room that didn’t seem to serve any purpose. Multiple tunnels led off to areas unknown. This space was monitored by a trio of Peace Keepers sitting behind what Kyr assumed was a wall of shatter-proof glass. Actually, she thought after a moment, the room looked like a receiving area.

  The lead Peace Keeper spoke briefly to the women behind the glass before turning back to face Kyr and Gren. “The female is coming with me. Jenna, you take the male. Let’s see what they have to say when they’re not together.”

  “No,” Gren said.

  “You won’t have anything to worry about if you’re both innocent of any wrongdoing,” said the female named Jenna.

  “We don’t have anything to worry about in any case,” Gren countered. “I stay with her.”

  Kyr tried to tell Gren that she could handle herself, but both he and Sem told her to stuff it. She wasn’t going to win this one. Frustrated, she watched the leader move over to look more closely at Gren.

  “Remove their goggles and masks,” the leader ordered.

  Kyr had hoped to keep her eyes covered longer, but supposed that was out of the question if she wanted to avoid a confrontation. She and Gren stood still while their items were removed. When Kyr’s goggles were off, she glanced at the leader. She expected the woman to be staring at her and commenting on her unusual eyes.

  But the woman wasn’t staring at her.

  Gren?

  Kyr frowned when the woman’s stunned thought entered her mind. Gren stilled beside her, telling her he had also heard the thought. The leader recognized Gren. Why hadn’t he told her that he knew these people?

  But a quick scan told her he had no idea who the woman was. They both watched in bewilderment as she removed her hat to reveal red hair cut into a razor sharp, chin-length bob. Next went her mask, followed by her goggles. Her almond-shaped, sky blue eyes lifted to Gren’s.

  “Scarlyt,” he choked out.

  He looked like he had seen a ghost. Kyr couldn’t help but feel the same way. She was looking at the adult version of the young woman she had seen Gren kissing in his memories…the woman he’d apparently failed to choose when he was given the choice.

  Chapter 38

  Marauders, Ty thought. Just great.

  At least he had deposited the Gift. If it came down to it, he would get the Marauders to take him to the mine in exchange for the Gift’s location. For now, he lifted his hands in a show of surrender and hoped they didn’t just shoot him.

  “State yer business,” one of the males called out.

  Deciding honesty was best, Ty said, “I’m in search of shelter for the night.”

  “With whom does yer allegiance lie?”

  “I’m loyal to myself,” Ty replied. “You could say that I’m exploring my options.”

  There was a brief discussion between several of the Marauders. Ty looked among the group, but couldn’t see anything distinguishable about them. Everyone wore some version of a black face mask and eyewear.

  “I’m not looking for any trouble,” Ty added. “I just want to continue on my way.”

  The male chuckled ominously. “We can’t let ya do that. The bounty on yer head is too high.”

  Ty stiffened. Bounty? Did they have him confused with someone else?

  He watched as a hatch sprung open and a newcomer emerged. The male’s hair was the first thing Ty noticed. His thick, dark dreadlocks were bundled back into a high tail that reached below his shoulders. Several decorations that looked like bones were woven into the impressive hairdo. He wore thin goggles reminiscent of wire-rimmed glasses, and a small mask that left much of his face uncovered. His black attire was meticulously put together, from his long, dark suit jacket and vest to his pants and boots. Black leather gloves covered his hands.

  Though they’d never met, Ty recognized him. MalakDane.

  Back when he was receiving his Mynder training, Ty learned the stories about Malak. Those stories detailed acts of brutal torture and multiple murders. Malak was looked to as the epitome of why Alametrians were supposed to undergo the Ruvex Rite to be purged of negative emotions. Every Mynder was warned about him and shown his picture so they would know to kill him on sight if he ever made it through the protections around the Dark Lands.

  He was an evil that all Alametrians feared.

  You wouldn’t know
it to look at him, Ty mused. He was about the same age as Ty’s father and wore it well. He carried no weapon that Ty could see. Although he was only an inch or so shorter than Ty, he was slender and looked more likely to read a book than attack someone.

  “Do you recognize me?” Malak asked as he stopped a few feet from Ty.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. That saves some time. I’ll admit that I don’t know whether the bounty Cerybus mentioned is worth more if you’re dead or alive, or we’d have already killed you.”

  “What bounty are you referring to?” Ty asked.

  Malak’s head tilted in consideration. “Well, I don’t suppose you would have heard about it, seeing as you’re a freshy.”

  “Are you sure you have the right guy?”

  “Yes, TaeDane. I’m sure.”

  Ty could admit that hearing his name jarred him a little. There actually was a bounty on his head.

  “Who placed the bounty?” he asked.

  Malak laughed as though the question was absurd. Behind him, a number of the Marauders joined in. When Malak’s humor eased, his dark eyes met Ty’s.

  “Since I want to get the best price on your head,” he told Ty, “we’ll start with alive and progress to dead if needed. Do you intend to come quietly?”

  “Sure,” Ty said.

  He noticed Malak’s quick blink of surprise. He saw no reason to resist, though. This group surely had a base of operations where they would bring him for the night. He could get free room and board out of this deal.

  “Very well,” Malak said, nodding to the crew behind him.

  Ty stood compliantly as he was disarmed and secured in restraints. They led him onto their vessel through the hatch that Malak had used. There were several barred cells inside, telling Ty this was a habit for the Marauders. Did they take prisoners for their own purposes? Were there often bounties on Outcasts? Or did they just have some kind of arrangement with the mine to bring escapees back?

  He was locked inside one of the cells. There was a bench built into the side wall, so he sat down. Two guards stood across from him on the other side of the bars. One of them, Cerybus, propped himself up on the long bo he held and stared at Ty without blinking. The other, considerably smaller than Cerybus, held his projectile weapon aimed at Ty’s head.

  Ty stared back at Cerybus, but his focus was on memorizing the directions the ship took. Every bump and sway made its way onto his mental map. He figured they were taking an unusual route to be safe, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to remember how to get back to the Gift.

  Would the offer of the Gift be enough to offset the bounty on his head? Was it even an offer he should extend to these people? Hope had said that Marauders were those who had actually committed the crimes for which they were convicted. In looking into Malak’s eyes and knowing what he had done to get cast out, Ty believed that. Could he look past his own moral objections long enough to deal with the devil?

  When the vessel slowed, the two guards changed their posture, telling Ty that they had reached their destination. Sure enough, the vessel stopped a few seconds later. Cerybus opened the cell door, so Ty got to his feet. He allowed himself to be led out, noting that they took a different exit than the hatch.

  They turned a corner. A door stood open at the end of a short walkway. Cerybus steered him towards it. As they walked, Ty’s gaze fell on some storage crates near the door. One of them was labeled in V’larian.

  The sight of it had Ty’s thoughts churning. It was one thing for there to be V’larian scraps that somehow made it to the Dark Lands, but that crate looked new. Where the hell had it come from, and why did Malak’s crew have it?

  He pondered that as he was led into what looked like a storage unit. About thirty yards in front of them were crates stacked from floor to ceiling, stretching too far back for Ty to see. There were also uncrated goods off to the right. Several males stood near them. Ty gathered from their gesturing and the few words he caught that they were conducting inventory.

  One of those males called out to Cerybus as they disembarked. Cerybus grumbled and tagged another large male who hadn’t been on the vessel to take his place. Ty barely reached his new guard’s chin. Both guards led Ty to one side of the storage unit where there was currently no activity.

  “Is there nowhere to sit around here?” Ty asked.

  The giant guard shrugged. “Got the floor.”

  Ty sat and propped himself against the wall. “Are we going to stay the night here?”

  “Seems so. We’ll never make the mine tonight with the air gettin’ worse.”

  The mine? They were taking him to the mine? Ty considered that. He assumed Vycor had put the bounty on his head. The Advisor must have found out that Ty had survived. He either wanted Ty turned over to the mine authorities to be put to work, or to be killed. Either circumstance would make it impossible for Ty to figure out how to get word to the rest of the planet about the mine and Vycor’s role in it.

  But that was tomorrow’s problem. If people like Hope and Reider had escaped from the mine, he’d damn well figure out a way.

  The larger guard shifted his weight, drawing Ty’s attention to the weapon he held. He noticed that parts of the projectile weapon were V’larian.

  “How often do you guys meet with the V’larians to get supplies?” he asked, taking a stab in the dark.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” the giant scoffed.

  “Tsk tsk, Coll,” came Malak’s voice. “You’ve become far too talkative with our prisoner. Why don’t you bring him into my office? I’d like to chat with him myself.”

  Coll swallowed hard. Ty didn’t have time to wonder why before the huge guard reached down and plucked him up, setting him back on his feet like he weighed nothing. Ty didn’t bother resisting as he was led to a door on the other side of the storage unit.

  A window beside the door gave Ty a view of the office before he was ushered into it. He saw a chipped marble slab supported by short pillars that apparently served as a desk, two un-matching chairs—one behind the desk and one facing it—and a number of stacked crates that were open and on their sides to display their contents. Most of the items looked like they’d been pieced together by Tinkers.

  “We can conserve our air,” Malak said, nodding at the chair in front of the desk.

  Coll deposited Ty in the chair and then unceremoniously removed Ty’s goggles and mask. The loss of his air canister concerned Ty, but he dismissed it as unimportant at the moment. If it came down to needing it, he’d get another one somehow.

  Malak removed his own goggles and mask, placing them in one of the open crates. When he was done, he turned and approached Coll, who stood to the right of Ty’s chair. The smaller guard, whose name Ty didn’t know, looked from Malak to Coll before taking a long step back. The giant’s face glistened with perspiration. Considering Malak was a foot shorter than him, Ty was perplexed by his behavior.

  Stopping directly in front of Coll, Malak asked, “What did the prisoner ask you?”

  Ty realized the giant was in trouble for speaking to him. Malak’s expression showed only polite curiosity, but Coll was close enough that Ty felt a tremor of fear rush through him.

  “He asked if we’re goin’ to stay the night here, sir,” Coll replied.

  “And what did you say?”

  “I said probably.”

  “He mentioned the mine,” the other guard said.

  Malak abruptly stood straighter. Coll flinched. Ty watched in bafflement as Coll staggered back, clutching his abdomen. Blood seeped between his fingers. Ty glanced back at Malak and saw that he held a blade in his left hand. Ty had no idea where it had come from.

  “I heard our prisoner fishing for information about the V’larians,” Malak said, studying the blood on his blade without expression. “Is there anything else I need to know, Coll?”

  “N-no, sir,” Coll stammered. “I swear it.”

  Blood colored his lips. Ty knew the wound he had sustained wa
s a bad one, and it was all because Coll had spoken to him.

  “Excellent,” Malak said. “Thank you.”

  Then he used the blade to slit Coll’s throat.

  Warm castoff blood splashed onto Ty’s face and clothing. It sprayed on Malak and the other guard. It arced across the room and splattered against the wall and window leading out into the storage unit. It pooled under Coll’s body as he slumped to the ground and bled out.

  He was dead in seconds.

  Ty was too stunned to react. He watched Malak toss his blade carelessly onto the marble slab and then settle on the edge of it, facing Ty.

  “Leave us,” Malak told the other guard, sounding bored. “You can watch through the window, but don’t expect any trouble. TaeDane knows going outside is a death sentence, don’t you, TaeDane?”

  Ty couldn’t manage more than a nod. The other guard hurried out and closed the door. As Malak had suggested, he stood outside the window.

  “He can’t hear us,” Malak said, bringing his arms up and crossing them over his chest. “We can speak freely.”

  The shock over what had happened started to ease into sensible fear of the unstable Marauder leader. Ty knew Malak had killed Coll to teach him a lesson. If Ty didn’t want any other “lessons,” he needed to stop asking questions and not let Malak know how affected he was by the blatant brutality he had just witnessed.

  Keeping his expression as bland as Malak’s, he asked, “Do you plan to tell me who put the bounty on my head?”

  Malak smiled humorlessly. “No.”

  “Then I don’t think we have anything to discuss.”

  Malak’s smile faded. His dark eyes glittered. A drop of blood ran from his temple along his cheekbone like a blasphemous tear. Uncrossing his arms, he braced himself on the desk and leaned forward as if he was about to share a secret.

  “But I want to discuss Kyr,” he said.

  Ty held the other male’s gaze. Malevolence filled Malak’s eyes, radiated from his soul. The stink of death filled the room, making Ty feel like he was sitting in the bowels of hell. But he had years of experience at hiding his reactions. That came to his aid now.