Monkey's Luck

by Bonnie Milani

  him. Hauling the rifle up in my working hand, I skipped out of reach before Kriegsman could get

  a grip on my ankles. “Give it up, Colonel!’ I aimed the muzzle between his eyes.

  He glared up at me in a mix of fear and rage. “Go ahead and end it.” His tone was half a snarl

  and half a plea. “That’s what you’ve been after all along. Go ahead – kill me!”

  I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to! My finger strained for the firing tab. Memory flooded the

  back of my mind, memories of my own screams, of the terrible, smoking hole in Romeo’s chest.

  I heard an animal’s growl, realized it was coming from my own throat. Somewhere nearby a

  steady thump-thump echoed the rhythm of killing rage. It took all my strength to pull in a ragged

  breath and force myself to look up.

  The women of the sisterhood formed a circle around us. Each woman held her metal rod at

  the vertical. They thumped the rods’ ends into the tarmac in a steady, deadly rhythm, their eyes

  hunter-focused on Kriegsman. Looking around the circle I realized Kriegsman wasn’t my kill. I

  shuddered in a breath. “Sisters, I can’t give him to you.”

  “Why not?” That was Del, eyes blazing with a hate that outshone my own.

  “Because if we kill him now, nobody will ever know the truth. And his kind will still be able

  to use Marg Sang for a battle cry.”

  Del thought about that a moment. She glanced around the circle, got matching nods in answer.

  “Y’know, Aryan – we don’t’ give a gobbin’ good damn.”

  “Gods dammit, don’t make me shoot you! Not for the likes of him!” I fell back, cradling the

  rifle.

  The air erupted.

  Dropping out of the sky was a fighter squadron I’d never thought to see. Fighter ships tore

  over us, Lupan needle-nosed hunters and StelFleet mantas wingtip to wingtip. Their combined

  thunder shook the ground beneath our feet. I watched the ships bank tightly into a return run.

  The fighters broke out in mixed pairs on the return run, Lupan and StelFleet fighters

  disappearing on their own pre-assigned courses. The lead pair swung around to put in on the base

  landing field. They set down so close to us I could hear the separate thuds of their repulse fields.

  The fighters’ arrival broke the women’s killing mood. They’d rough Kriegsman up, but they’d

  leave enough to stand trial. I left him in Del’s hands and trudged off to count my losses.

  Chapter 13

  Across the field relief was giving way to giddiness. Every soldier on the base wanted to ‘be

  there’ to see the first joint StelFleet – Lupan operation. I worked my way through the mass of

  eager bodies headed toward Romeo’s gun, too numb to even smack the grunts who knocked into

  my broken arm. After this the peace talks would almost be an afterthought; even the most

  hawkish Lupan couldn’t doubt our desire for peace now. All my dreams were possible now. Or

  would have been…

  I found the two of them sitting up. Romeo had his back to the base of the massive gun. Above

  the black burn of his wound he looked drawn. His wolf’s ears drooped at an exhausted angle.

  When he met my eyes, I felt his mix of regret and joy. The shared sense of loss tore open all the

  old wounds in my heart. But he was alive. I told myself that was what mattered.

  Beside him, Roy nestled in the crook of Romeo’s arm, his head resting against Romeo’s

  shoulder, the Lupan’s palm cupping his cheek. Little bastard could’ve given a cat lessons in

  contentment.

  I thought about kicking him, decided against it. I didn’t want to find myself facing down

  Romeo. “I hope you don’t expect me to wish you both well,” I said.

  Roy lifted those baby browns to me. He didn’t have the energy to even flutter, but he

  managed a smile. “Missed the heart,” he said dreamily. “Going to take a while to recover. “But

  that’s all right. We can wait.”

  “Yeah.” No point in saying my wait was going to be longer than his.

  Being a Sprite, Roy must have read my body language. “I said we, you silly chit.” He gave me

  the full eye roll, though he was smiling beneath it. “You’re the one who finished the Impression.

  You complete the link. Like it or not, you’re part of us, now.” He fluttered his lashes at me in a

  way that sent a blush searing up my cheek. “You know, I’ve always wanted to find out how it

  feels from a woman’s perspective.”

  Oh, gods…I realized I was the one doing the eye roll and groaned. Romeo pried one amber

  eye open, then held out his free arm. Somewhere within me I felt the longing in his soul that only

  I could fill.

  Ah, well. As monkey’s luck went, it wasn’t half bad.

  The End