Carpe’s face turned from his normal green complexion to white. “That’s the plan? That’s all you’ve got? Ray wants you to get a magic ring? Does the magic ring even work?”
“I don’t know.” The world started swirling around Ari. She started sucking in breaths and the world began to spin.
Kirian caught her again and steadied her. “We don’t need the twenty questions, Carpe. We have to get that stupid ring and we have to get it now.”
“Harry’s not going to be happy to see you, Ari,” Carpe continued. He started to pace.
It was Ari’s turn to frown. “Why not? Harry loves me.”
“Exactly. That’s why he wants you safe on Arcturis. He said that the other Overlords and Kirian would protect you when push came to shove.”
Ari felt better. Harry would be happy to see her. She took a step forward and put an arm on Carpe’s shoulder. She touched his smiling dragon tattoo. She had the same one hidden under her shirt sleeve. “That’s why I have to do what I can to save you guys. And Harry. And everybody. Now let’s do this before we lose our nerve. Okay?”
“Okay. I saw scouts and patrols massing outside the Regal front door on my way here,” Carpe said. “We’re going to have to go around the back. But I don‘t know what we’re going to be walking into. But if you say we have to then we have to.” He crouched and peeked outside the portal station. “Christmas present,” he muttered. “Okay, get ready. We’ll run on my signal. I’ll go first.”
“And I’ll watch our back,” Kirian said.
There was a moment of silence as they made their way forward. Ari could hear her heart racing and nothing else. She could feel the fear in the air and see the tension in the faces around her. Well, she could see the tension in Kirian’s face and Carpe’s face. A quick glance at Fleek revealed his usual expression of cool nonchalance laced with annoyance.
“Fleek,” Ari whispered, more curious than anything. She wondered if the fractals had an effect that took away fear. Because that could come in very handy if true. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Do I not look scared?” he asked in a whisper.
“No.”
“Huh,” he replied.
“Okay,” Carpe said. “Get ready. Go.”
Carpe led them out of the portal station into the street. Then he sprinted forward three buildings, finally ducking into a convenience store. He held the door open until everybody including Kirian was in and then he shut the door. Then they all dove behind the counter. Carpe peeked outside the window to see if they were followed. “It’s clear,” he said. Then he led them to the back door of the convenience store and out into an alley.
Once they were outside, Ari noticed that the wind was starting to whip up and the clouds were gathering. Just like they did on Arcturis before things got even worse. “Carpe, we have to get to Regal as fast as possible. I think we’re running out of time.”
8
Carpe looked around, making a note of the odd change in the weather. Then he looked at Ari and shook his head. “Listen, if we go faster, there’s a good chance we won’t all get there alive, if at all.”
“We’ve got to try. If I don’t get to Regal, then it’s all over, Carpe.”
He thought about it for a moment. Then he pulled out more than half a dozen pistols from different pockets hidden on his person. He handed them out to Ari and Fleek. Then he turned to Kirian.
Kirian held out a hand to stop him. “Thanks, but you know me, I’ve got plenty of my own.”
Carpe sighed, put the extra pistols back in his pockets, and double checked the two he held in his hands. “Okay, I guess we have to make a run for it. That‘s okay. It’s not every day a gangster like me gets to die to save the galaxy.”
“Hey,” Fleek corrected. “You’re a musician and a damn good one.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with gangsters,” Kirian chimed in.
“I think we can do this,” Ari said. “Together. As friends. Friends who have been through a lot together. I don’t want to lose any of you. I mean that. Let’s all get to Regal, okay?”
They all nodded. Carpe pointed to Kirian. “Same formation. Ari goes third.” He stared down at Ari. “If this goes sideways, don’t slow down and don’t try to help us. Keep going to Regal. Do you understand?”
Ari nodded.
Then Carpe turned to Fleek. “You look awful, mate. What the hell?”
“Rock and roll, man,” Fleek answered. “The lifestyle gives, and it takes away.”
Carpe shrugged and crept around the alley to see if it was clear. Then he gave a hand signal to Kirian and sprinted forward.
Fleek went next, followed by Ari. Ari darted out into the open, feeling vulnerable. She didn’t need to check to know that Kirian had her back. The streets were deserted. There weren’t any ghost drones in sight. Hey, Ari thought, sometimes you get lucky.
They continued on in formation. This wasn’t the route that Ari was used to taking from the portal station, but by her estimates, they had now covered approximately half the distance to Regal.
Carpe ducked into another alleyway. The others followed. So far so good. Ari recognized where they were now. The rest of the distance to Regal was a straight shot.
“Okay,” Carpe said. “So far, so good. Do you know where we are, Ari?”
She nodded.
“Perfect, so no matter what happens, you know where to go. Plus, Harry has tons of surveillance around the casino entrances and he knows you’re here in Vega. The second somebody catches sight of you on the monitor, he’ll send the entire cavalry. By the way, you’d better be right about this being absolutely necessary, or I’m dead meat.”
“Trust me, Carpe. When I’m done talking to Harry, he’s going to know you’re a hero.”
Carpe, scoping out the street beyond, held a hand up to be quiet. They held their breath as a patrol of ghost drones hummed by. After a minute, he whispered, “Clear.”
Then he turned to them. “Okay, we’ll go on my command.”
The crunching noise of a footstep echoed in the corner behind them. Carpe whirled around and then charged at Ari, knocking her down.
As soon as she hit the ground, Ari could see pink ray gun fire hit the wall behind her. Carpe jumped up and rushed the demon drone. Ari knew she should look away from the figure, that she should run away to Regal, but she felt something coming from the figure, energy she had never felt before. Odd.
“Ari, run!” Carpe screamed. There was another blast of ray gun fire. Kirian grabbed Ari and darted out in front of Ari to the street, leading the way. Ari glanced back. She could see Carpe, caught by the creature, lean forward and headbutt it. There was a grunt from Carpe, a cracking sound, and a horrible squeal noise that could have only come from the drone.
Ari ran fast, following Kirian down the neon-lined street. Carpe passed them all and said something to Kirian before falling back again.
“Did you kill that thing?” Ari asked him as he passed her.
“I don’t think it’s dead,” Carpe said. “That’s why I’m going to stay back here. Just in case.”
Ari heard laser fire. Then she heard Carpe grunt again. Then there was a loud thud. Despite knowing better, she turned to see what was going on. There was the ghost drone again. Her gaze went down to Carpe, who had fallen. He had been hit with the blast. “Carpe!”
That’s when Kirian grabbed Ari’s arm from behind. In Kirian’s other hand was a short sword, which she threw. The sword hit the hooded figure right between its glowing eyes. There was another horrible screeching noise from the creature.
Kirian ran, pulling Ari with her. “Ari, let’s go.”
Carpe got up and hobbled behind them. Fleek came back to run alongside Ari and Kirian. He looked scared now. He ran back to Carpe and grabbed an arm, helping him to go faster.
Now they were all just going at a wild-eyed sprint down the Regal main strip. The element of surprise was in the rearview mirror. The sound of pounding footsteps and her own beatin
g heart filled Ari’s ears again. It was working, though, and they emptied into the back street of the strip. Neon and beautifully landscaped trees came into view. For Ari, this was home.
“We’re almost there!” Ari said. She could feel her excitement and nothing else with the amount of adrenaline that was coursing through her veins.
That’s when the group literally, upon turning the last corner, ran into an entire group of ghost drones.
Several of them toppled over, clattering to the ground, but that still left at least six of them to deal with.
Carpe came crashing in, taking out two more with his body before the rest of the drones pulled out weapons and pointed them at him.
“Run!” Carpe yelled, but it was too late. It only took seconds before reinforcement ghost drones came around a nearby corner, weapons out. Now they were surrounded.
Ari raised her hands. They were so close. Only a block left to Regal. If they were just a little closer, she might have been able to get Harry’s attention.
“What are we going to do now?” Fleek asked with his hands up.
One of the drones used a communicator, probably to call for backup.
“What do they do with their prisoners, Carpe?” Ari asked.
“They don’t take prisoners,” Carpe said. He dug his hands into his clothes, for what Ari knew were more weapons. Kirian’s hand went down into her jacket pocket to do the same while stepping in between Ari and the hooded figures.
Ari swallowed. This can’t be happening. Ari was about to lose the people who meant the most to her in this galaxy. Her mind raced for a solution, but there was none.
“Are you ready, Carpe?” Kirian asked.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he replied.
To Ari’s surprise, the drones either didn’t notice that Kirian and Carpe were arming up to fight them or they didn’t care. Odd.
“Fleek,” Kirian said. “When I count to three, you go with Ari to Regal. Make sure she gets there, Fleek. No matter what.”
Fleek nodded and took a step closer to Ari.
“One,” Kirian said, cocking one of her weapons. “Two.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot, steadying herself for her last stand.
“Three!” yelled a voice from behind them. Ari knew that voice, but it had been awhile. She turned around to see a smiling, handsome green face.
“Kracken?”
“Fire in the hole!” Kracken yelled.
Something caught her eye. Something small and round, and rolling on the ground toward the ghost drones.
“Grenade!” Carpe yelled. “Everybody run!”
If the drones were ignoring the threat before, they seemed familiar with the word grenade. They backed up.
On cue, Ari and Fleek turned and ran toward Regal. Ari glanced back to see Kirian help Carpe get up. Kracken was following behind. They almost got to the door, too, before more of the drones showed up.
Ari froze as she reached the door. There were dozens of them between her and the door. They had her cut off. Their weapons were pointed at her and Fleek. Oh no. I thought I made it.
Just then the Regal double doors opened and Harry and dozens of other Regal associates grabbed the drones. They dragged them back into the building.
The Regal guys, in what looked like practiced movements, killed the drones quietly with knives. Harry motioned for Ari and the rest of the group to follow. Then they shut the double doors with a thud.
For the first time in what felt like hours, Ari could breathe. In and out, she told herself, bending over. Carpe was shot in the leg, but she had seen him recover from worse and they were already bandaging him up. The rest of them were okay.
Ari threw her arms around Harry, who returned the hug. For a split second, his expression softened from battle-hardened and weary to a glint of a smile. And then it was gone.
“Ari you’re here.” He shot Carpe a dirty look. “I told you not to bring her here.”
“It’s not his fault, Harry. I had to come.” She looked at Kirian and Fleek. “We had to come, there was no choice. As usual, I’m trying to save the galaxy and all. I mean, you guys look like you’re doing a good job of hanging in there, but you don’t understand what’s coming. Why did you drag the dead enemy soldiers inside? Why not leave them out there?”
“Oh, believe me,” Harry answered, “they’re keeping score. Their soldiers have been implanted with tracking devices. So we’re making sure they know how many victories we have. Until you guys showed up, they were actually starting to avoid this part of the strip.”
Ari smiled at Harry. It really was nice to see him again. “Well, it’s clear he messed with the wrong Vega crime boss, that’s for sure.” She could tell by his expression that he was worried. “Even you can’t hold out forever, though.”
Harry led them to one of the casino’s restaurants, which was impressively still operating. They all followed approvingly. All except for Ari.
“Harry. I have to run up to my room. It’s why I’m here.”
Harry narrowed his eyes at her. “You mean to tell me that the secret to saving the galaxy is in your bedroom?”
“Yup. It’s a long and stupid story. You guys eat, I’ll catch up in a minute,” Ari said, heading toward the elevator.
“Wait for me,” Kirian said, trailing behind.
Ari pushed the button for the elevator. “I can grab the ring myself. You should eat while you can.”
Kirian shook her head. She had her sword out and looked around the room suspiciously. “No way. This is the whole reason we’re here.” She got closer to Ari. “Plus, you’re not at all sure about this plan, I can tell. You’re going to need backup. Am I right?”
“Fine,” Ari said, privately wondering when Kirian got so insightful. The elevator dinged and they got on. Ari couldn’t hide her fear. Kirian was silent, but she stayed on high alert. She went out of the elevator first and then burst into her apartment, swords out. It was dramatic and comforting in a way.
In the end, Ari’s apartment was empty, as expected. Ari rushed to her bedroom and got the small jewelry box that had the ring in it. She held it in her hand, looking at the pink box with the sun on it, as if for the first time.
Kirian followed her in and looked at the ring with interest. “I’ll admit I’m a little confused why this ring is so important. And why there was nobody here trying to steal it if the fate of the galaxy hangs on it.”
“Other than Ray, who probably stole it, I doubt anybody even knows it’s here.” Ari opened the box and stared at the ring. It was just as she remembered. It had a wraparound dragon design inlaid with gold and jewels. Just looking at it had her breaking out into a cold sweat. “Who knows if the galaxy really is hanging in the balance? It’s just Ray’s theory.” She could feel the pull of the ring. Its beauty and power were unmistakable. It’s why it was her last resort. She knew she couldn’t face it without giving in.
“Why does Ray think it’s going to help us? And if it’s so powerful, why did Ray give it to you?” Kirian asked, moving in to stare at it with Ari. “And why are you afraid to put it on?”
Then Ari realized how happy she was that Kirian was here. Kirian was smart, to the point, and a good listener. And also more intuitive than most people knew.
“Okay,” Ari said. “You remember that room that Ray took us to? The one with the Staar charts that only I could read?”
Kirian nodded. “Because of your Staar heritage. Yes. That was freaky. What does that have to do with the ring?”
“This ring was there. He gave it to me and said that I’m the only one who could activate it.”
“Because you’re part Staar?” Kirian asked.
Ari nodded. “He said if I put the ring on and used it, that it would change me.”
Kirian’s eyes got wide. “Into what? Like into a bear or a wraith or something?”
“Well, still me, according to him. He said it would change me, but not into something I wasn’t meant to be. He was cryptic as always.”
“Look, I get that Ray can be infuriatingly vague. But he’s never hurt us. I don’t think he would hurt you. Do you? Maybe this ring won’t do anything at all. Are we screwed if you put this ring on and nothing happens? You can tell me,” Kirian said, standing up straight. “I can take it. Vega’s as good a place as any for me to die, if need be.”
“Oh, something’s going to happen. I put it on once before. I can feel its pull. That’s why I’m scared. I have no idea if it‘s going to go down the way Ray hopes. It’s very powerful but I don’t know how to work it. And I don’t know what it will do to me.”
Kirian knelt next to her and looked at the ring. “Wow. It’s gorgeous. I mean, it’s incredible. It looks too big for you though,” Kirian said. “How did you get it to stay on?”
“It adjusts. Magically. It’s apparently a Staar activated magic ring that adjusts to its wearer.”
“Okay,” Kirian said. “I’ll tell you what. We’ve come this far. You‘re going to put it on, right?”
Ari nodded.
“Okay. You put it on and I’ll be right here. If you need help, just tell me and I’ll yank it off. You trust me, right?”
“I trust you more than anyone else in this entire galaxy, Kirian. Thanks for coming with me.”
Ari took a deep breath and put on the ring.
9
Kirian watched Ari take the ring out of the box. Then she slipped it onto her finger. The ring wound around Ari’s finger, changing shape until it fit perfectly.
Ari turned to her and raised her eyebrows. “I guess that’s it. We should get back to the others.”
Kirian turned toward the door to leave, like Ari said. And that’s when she heard Ari hit the floor.
Overlord Alliance: Book 2 of the Neon Octopus Ally Series Page 5
