by Auryn Hadley
"Shut it, man," Blaec growled, then turned back to the barracks, but the human grabbed his shoulder, yanking the Major to face him.
"No. They broke up the Blades for a reason, Blaec. Don't get above yourself."
Blaec wrapped his fists in Tharp's shirt and pulled him into his face. "Yeah, they did. They fucked up bad, too, thinking it would work. My mate's laying in there, nearly raped by a human, and drugged so bad she may die. All the damned wolves running around here know it. If you don't want every one of them to go berserk, you'll stay the fuck out of my way tonight. If Sal dies, so will every human in this place."
The Captain, struck at Blaec's arms, knocking them away. "There's more of us than them, you stupid scrubber. I never liked you, Blaec. You get above yourself too easy. Those damned dogs try to bite any of us, and we'll kill them all."
"Rill ya?" asked a voice behind him, the accent clearly not human.
Tharp spun and stared into the eyes of Rragri.
"Now's a really good time to look at the ground and bow," Blaec said, glancing to the ground and lowering his head. "Orassae."
"Kaisor," Rragri acknowledged him. "Vargwar!"
"Yes, Orassae," Harrgra whimpered.
Rragri stared at him, and the translator whuffed. With his tongue lolling from the edge of his mouth, he turned to the humans and spoke Rragri's words to them. "Kaisae Sal is my cousin, and I claim her of my family. If any harm comes to that family, you all will pay for it." She turned to the Captain and snarled.
"Umso!" Rragri demanded.
"Submit!" Harrgra translated the words and the tone a split-second later.
Tharp glanced at Blaec and mimicked his posture. "My apologies, Orassae," he said blandly.
Rragri gave the man no warning. Her lips pulled away from her teeth as she leapt on him, knocking the elite soldier to the ground. Each of her four hands held him, and her teeth pushed against his throat.
"You have offended me, human," Harrgra said for her. "Submit, or I will extract my revenge."
"I submit!" the man gasped.
Rragri released him, staring into his eyes. "Do not forget this. You can not kill us all. You can not control us, and you are fools to think you are superior to us." Behind them, pale shapes slunk into view. Dozens of grauori stalked forward, the hair on their necks raised, teeth bared, and a deep thrumming pounding against the humans too low for their ears to hear.
"Orassae," Blaec said softly. "Your cousin will heal. Her grunae is helping. These humans did not have anything to do with it. Do not hold them responsible for crimes they did not commit. They do not know your customs and intend no disrespect. You merely overheard posturing common among males."
Rragri nodded and stepped away, barking a command to the grauori around her. They relaxed, some shaking their fur back into place. With a last look over her shoulder, Rragri turned and trotted toward the barracks.
"Kaisor, you are to attend the Orassae," Harrgra said before hurrying to catch up with the leader of the grauori.
Blaec glared at the men. "Keep your shit straight around them. A single grauori can kill ten humans easily. They aren't fucking around, and they're pissed about how you're treating the iliri."
"Why?" an officer at the back asked.
"Humans made us from them. It's how you tried to domesticate the grauori. They feel guilty that they let it happen and responsible to what they call their cousins. They think the iliri have lost too much: their claws, their fur, their culture. You took it from us, and they blame you. Rragri knows none of us were born when it happened, so she's willing to allow you to make amends."
"Not counting yourself among us anymore?" Tharp asked.
Blaec shook his head and pulled his collar open to show the silver tattoo. "I'm iliri," he said turning to follow Rragri. "And I like to be on the winning side."
Chapter 11
Sal lay quietly in a bed in the infirmary. Pale men clustered around her. They talked quietly, trying not to disturb her. Occasionally, one of them would glance over to the sleeping women.
"You sure she got it all?" Geo asked.
Risk nodded slowly. "I've never seen anything like it, but yeah."
Shift leaned over his legs, looking at the others. "I don't know how it is for Risk, but when I heal, I can almost see it. The life force, it glows, and it's like a river. We can't see the source, but we can divert it."
Risk nodded. "Yeah, close. I can see where it wells up, but nothing beyond that. It's like putty, though, not water, and I can grab it and pull more, but the patient feels it."
"Ah," Shift said, "that explains it. It slips through my hands, I can only divert it. But it remembers and knows where it should be. That's how we heal, we tell it to go where it was before, and make it like it should be."
Audgan made a confused gesture. "So what's with the breathing then?"
"It's just how I focus,” Shift said. “If I get distracted, I can move things to the wrong place, wither a limb, or cause more problems. It's not exactly a skill with a lot of room for error. I suppose, if it was faster, it could almost be a weapon."
"Ah," Audgan said, bobbing his head. "Like how if I'm distracted, the fear just leaves. I get ya, man."
"So what did Raast do?" Zep asked.
Risk and Shift looked at each other.
"I saw, but I could not even begin to explain it," Shift said.
Risk sucked in a long breath, clearly thinking. "You know how novices have amazing luck? Like in combat, they do things so unexpected that we don't know how to counter it?"
The Blades chuckled, most of them nodding.
"It's like that. She opened the well and let more life in, and then she sent the, uh - think of it like used bath water. It's dirty. She sent that back. I don't know where it went, but she drained it." Risk lifted his hands and just let them drop. "Thing is, well, you know how my healing hurts?"
"Oh yeah," Jase muttered, and the others nodded.
"Well, she blocked that. It's like Raast covered Sal's eyes or something. Mentally I mean. It took all the energy Sal had to fuel the healing, but if I had to guess, I'd say she was unconscious while it happened."
"Raast touched her," Jase said, "and Sal went limp. I thought the poison was too much fer her."
Risk shook his head. "No. The pup blocked the pain."
Blaec pressed both hands alongside his nose, pinching the bridge between them. "The damned pups. She said what the grauori was doing was wrong. She watched them, and she didn't like what they did. It's like you could see that she understood what to do."
"How many times were they healed?" Razor wondered.
"Who?" Shift asked.
"The pups. Roo got hit, and a grauori healed her. It didn't work, so Risk healed her."
Risk waved that off. "No, they were born by the time I healed."
"Yeah, but..." Arctic spoke up. They turned to look at him, and he shrugged. "Remember? Sal said Roo was holding Hwa's mind. We pulled him out, but no one thought about the pups. Roo was dying. She probably locked onto them, and they were in a meld with their dam the whole time."
"Maast," Jase whispered. "And Rhyx has been tickling all of our heads fer as long as I can remember. I jus’ thought she'd be a linker, but, maybe it's somethan else?"
Ask Rragri, Hwa said. If she doesn't know, she'll know who would.
"I'd ask," Shift said, "but I don't think it would make much sense to me. Risk? Jase? Which of you would understand more?"
Risk stood. "This time, I think it's me." He looked around him, staring at all of their faces for a moment. "Guys, if I'm right - and I don't know if I am - but, from what I saw..." He shook his head.
"What, man?" Zep asked.
"Raast makes my healing look like human medicine. I have no clue where the end of her ability lies. She might even be able to fix things like insanity if she's healing the brain like that."
"Whoa," Geo whispered, and the men chuckled awkwardly.
Risk left to find answers from Rragri, and t
he men returned to their quiet conversations, most of them talking about memories they had of their time with Sal.
"Remember when she kicked your ass in her trials?" Razor chuckled.
Zep nodded. "I was so sure I was going to put that smug little iliri into the ground, man. She growled at me in her sparring match, and I made her choke that man out."
"Kinetry. That's who it was," Jase said. "The Lieutenant with the 97th."
"No shit? Yeah, ok. I feel a bit bad about that, then. He's a pretty good guy," Zep admitted. "But yeah, her file said she had no combat experience, and there she was tossing around weapons like she thought she had a clue. The rest of ya were so smitten with her, I thought I'd show you she wasn't perfect."
Blaec chuckled. "Didn't work out so good for you."
Zep shook his head. "Damned if it didn't. I moved as fast as I could, and she matched me for every swing. I put all my force into the blows - yeah, LT, I know we're supposed to go easy on the recruits and all, but damn. That girl took every hit, blocked it, and I couldn't force her weapons out of my way. Worst part was how she taunted me."
"Yeah, getting up in your face?" Shift asked.
Zep nodded, looking at the new guys. "We always back off before the call, right?" They nodded. "Yeah, I pulled her cap from her head and said something about grabbing her hair. Man, she got pissed. She stood right up in my face - well chest - and waited for the call. Damned if I could touch her either."
"How'd it end?" Audgan asked.
Zep shook his head. "I took a clean shot, I mean, she left her neck wide open, right? I swung at it, but before I could react, she threw herself against me, her back to my chest, put both of her blades - she was double sabers for that one - in the same hand, and snagged my sword out of mine!" Zep chuckled. "Then she held it to my throat. I about pissed myself, I tell ya. Never seen that move before, and I still don't know the counter to it."
Jase leaned back and smiled. "I wish ya coulda seen her face, though. I swear she was as shocked as ya were."
Blaec nodded. "I think that's the only time I've seen her confused."
Zep nodded. "Sounds crazy, but I wanted to hug the kid when she handed the swords to me. We all knew the other men had been giving her shit, ya know. And she was the only one to beat us."
"Ever," Jase pointed out.
"I was pretty happy to just get a touch," Audgan said. "I can't imagine winning that first spar. Damn."
"She's only gotten better, too," Razor said. "The more she embraces the iliri, the better she gets. Makes me glad she's on my side."
"I think the only one of us with a chance against her is LT," Zep said.
Blaec shook his head. "Nah. I mean, sparring, sure, but if she's in the maast, no way. I can't move that fast, and I can't beat it out of her. She'd just take it in. I think Cyno's the only one with a chance."
"Nah," Jase said. "She gets it worse. I'm as fast as her, and stronger, but if yer talking about in maast? It'd be close, but I can na beat a Kaisae."
"You'd submit," a weak voice said.
"Sal!" the men cried out, all of them moving to her side, speaking at once.
Her eyes tried to follow them but couldn't keep up. Too much. Slow down.
The men fell silent. "Sorry, demon," Zep said softly.
"Hey, Zep?" Sal whispered.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Thanks."
He shifted his chair closer. "You remember it all?"
"Yeah. I'm good. I'm not human, Zep," she reminded him. "It's not the same."
"Ok, demon. Promise?"
Sal nodded slowly.
Blaec and Jase shared a look. Jase just smiled and patted Blaec's shoulder then, together, they stood. Blaec gestured for the men to clear the room while Jase leaned over and kissed Sal's head gently, then moved aside for Blaec to do the same.
"We're just outside, love," Blaec whispered.
"Thanks, guys," Sal croaked.
When Zep turned to stand, Jase shook his head, glancing at the tiny form tucked into the bed. She needs you right now, not us. We're good.
Zep nodded and moved closer to Sal. He pulled her hand gently into his and held it to his chest while the room cleared.
"Tell me you aren't just trying to protect us, ok?" he begged her.
"No," she said, struggling to sit up. Zep helped her, gently lifting her up so he could prop the pillows behind her back, then he offered her a glass of water. Sal took a long drink before she continued. "If you're worried about them trying to rape me, you can stop, big guy. I'm pissed, yeah, but not for that. I'm not even positive that's really what they wanted."
Zep said nothing, watching her face.
Sal sighed and patted his hands. "Zep, humans have been raping us for centuries."
"That ain't the same thing, Sal, and you know it."
She just pushed the blankets back, exposing her thighs peeking out of the short hospital gown. She pointed as she talked, her finger tracing one swirling pink line. "It started when I was thirteen, here," she explained. "They told me not to make a sound, but that was all. My master decided I was old enough. I think that may have been the first time I had the maast, but I didn't know the difference back then. I bit him - and they beat me for it."
Zep said nothing.
"About once a month after that, they had a big party, and there was always an auction of sorts. The best present resulted in a night with me. I learned to stop biting them, but I paid them back in other ways. When I was about sixteen, I'd gotten pretty used to it. I learned not to fight back and how to get it over faster." Sal took another long drink. "Same thing."
"That doesn't make it better, kid."
She shrugged. "Funny thing? I think I was just over seventeen. Soldiers started coming through by then, and they gave me to some officer. I don't know his name, but yeah." Sal smiled at her memory. "He was part iliri, the first one I'd seen. I could smell he was different, but I thought it was the army. I didn't know until I was a Blade that it was iliri and humans I was smelling. I just thought the pungent smell was from being in combat."
Zep watched Sal's finger tracing the story in her tattoos. The pink line faded into purple high on the inside of her thigh.
"He could have done anything he wanted. I wasn't fighting by then, and I could see he wanted it, ya know? But, he didn't. I stripped and tried to climb on him, and he told me to stop. He told me it wasn't right, but he wouldn't cause me any punishment. I spent that night with him, just laying beside him. We slept."
"Least there's some good men out there."
"Yeah, iliri," she clarified. "I mean the Anglians, too, but here it's just the iliri."
"And me?" Zep asked.
Sal chuckled, lifting her pale eyes to meet his. "You're iliri. I can't even think of you as human, big brother." She took another drink and passed the glass to him. "That's when I decided to become an elite, ya know. That soldier, he told me all about the elites, and he talked about the Blades, too. He told me stories of war until I fell asleep against him. He said I had to be eighteen to be conscripted, but I don't have a birth date. I waited until it was eighteen years after the record of my purchase so I could prove it. When the next group of soldiers stayed with us," Sal chuckled, "things changed."
"It worked out," Zep assured her.
"Yeah, it did. They called me into the dining hall and told me I would be serving the Captain that night. I waited until the dinner was over, and when he tried to escort me to the guest room, I hit him. When he tried to restrain me, I bit the crap out of his arm."
"Damn, that's a pretty clear message."
Sal nodded. "He yelled that I could have just said no, and I told him slaves didn't get that option. He was pretty pissed. I didn't know we could hit that hard, ya know? I screamed at him that I'd rather die than spend another night with a human, and he laughed. He said the army had plenty of ways to die, and conscripted me on the spot." Sal smiled and leaned back. "Took me three years. I missed the first round you all had. Found it two days
after the closing date. We heard you didn't accept anyone that time around, and I started working on my application before you'd even posted the next recruitment. I can't even tell you how it felt to get the approval for the trials. This would be different if I were alone, but I'm not. I'm never alone now, Zep."
"Yeah, you're one of us now," he said. "Our Kaisae. I'm gonna take care of you, ok? I won't ever let anyone hurt you, demon. I swear it."
"I know, Zep. You've got my back, big brother. You always have." Sal smiled up at him, the exhaustion making her feel so weak and vulnerable. "Thank you, babe. I hate to say it, but I was pretty scared. That's the first time I haven't been able to fight back."
"I know, kid," Zep whispered. "But you got the whole pack behind ya. We're all here with you, ok?"
Sal chuckled weakly. "Yeah, and they disbanded us, trying to stop us, but it won't work. I know you'll take care of me." She caught his hand, holding it between her pale fingers.
Zep stared at the contrast between their skin. "Yeah, kid. I swear it. I'd rather die than let anyone hurt ya."
"I know." She squeezed again. "And I feel the same. Just don't let me get you in shit, ok?"
"Hell, babe. You're the best reason to get in shit. Someone's gotta make sure you don't fuck this up, right? Besides, they think I'm human, remember? Let's me take care of all you mutts a bit."
Chapter 12
Zep's words made Sal realize that it was the middle of the day. All of the elite units should be in practice sessions or monitoring the borders of the Conglomerate's camp. Her brothers were supposed to be on duty, not sitting around her hospital bed.
"Zep? How'd?" she gestured at the door. "Aren't you all supposed to be at your assignments?"
"Sturmgren yanked some cords," he told her. "Made it known that any officer that didn't give us the day off for a family emergency would be getting the worst assignments until he retired. They weren't happy, and we're pretty sure our officers will try to get even with us later, but yeah." He bent to kiss her hand. "I was right, too. Devil Dogs is the only unit trying to make this easy for us. They've been treating me as one of their own."
