by Sam Ryder
“I am Belogon,” the Ender said. “I’m sure Cutter has told you a few things about me?”
Simon nodded. “All good things.”
The boisterous man slapped his knee, chuckling. “I don’t believe that for a second. I can be an arrogant son of a bitch, but that’s because I’m damn good at what I do.”
“And what might that be?” Vega growled, a challenge in her tone.
Belogon cocked his head to the side, finally locking eyes with her. “Strategy mostly,” he said. “I can fight if my back is against the wall, but it’s not my strong suit.”
Vega’s eyebrows shot so high I thought they might break through the roof. Good, I thought. Let her be surprised. The walls she’d built around her beliefs needed to be broken, bit by bit.
“This is Simon and Vega. Both are founding members of the Insurgence, the rebel group trying to sabotage and undermine the Rising’s technological advances.”
“Please to make your acquaintance,” Belogon said, extending a meaty hand across the table. Simon took it without hesitation, shaking firmly. Vega stared at it with disgust, but then offered her own small hand, which was quickly swallowed up by the large Ender’s. She recoiled as soon as she could, and Belogon chuckled.
I moved things along. “Simon, if you’re willing to share information, it would help us greatly. If, in the end, you decide not to forge an alliance, we would still be ever grateful for your assistance. We would also be willing to share as much intel as we have.”
“Of course,” Simon said.
For the next hour, Simon, Belogon and I shared information, discussed strategies to thwart the Rising’s plans, and generally shot the shit. Even Vega chimed in when prompted, sharing her technical knowledge of the Rising’s plans and how she’d managed to keep them from meeting their goals thus far. She seemed genuinely surprised when Belogon conversed with her knowledgably on several rather technical aspects of the Grid. “How do you know about all that?” she finally asked.
Belogon chuckled again. He was in good spirits, for some reason. “The military offers training in many fields. Communications, energy, submarine repair…I took full advantage before I found my true calling in military strategy.”
“But you’re an Ender,” she said.
Oh fuck. Thankfully, Belogon didn’t bat an eye at her tone nor question. “What gave it away? The blue skin or the bulbous nose?”
She gawked at him.
“I’m joking. The walls that the Rising has created between humans and Enders has made it so we don’t really understand each other anymore. As a human, I was an even-keel, slow-to-anger man. As an Ender, I have a temper. There are times when I want to smash my fist through walls. It’s frustrating for me, but a part of my new reality. But my prior training and temperament have served me well, allowing me to remain calm most of the time. Others are not so fortunate, and are unable to hold back their anger. You’ve probably seen my kind at their worst, which has formed your opinion of us as a group. We are not all that way. In fact, the worst of the worst are the minority, just as the worst of the worst humans, like Atticus, are the minority for your kind.”
“I—” Vega, for once, didn’t seem to know what to say.
Though I was glad to see Vega dumbfounded, I didn’t want to make her feel dumb, so I kept things moving. “Is there anything else you want to know, Belogon? Our guests have had a long journey and still are hoping to meet Queen Sienna before they rest.”
“Just one more thing. What, in your experience, is Atticus’s greatest weakness?”
“That’s easy,” Simon replied. “His ego is the size that Texas used to be. He believes he is smarter, more powerful, invincible. If we can attack his ego, we can force him into making rash decisions that may leave him vulnerable.”
“Interesting,” Belogon said, stroking his broad chin. “So how do we do that?”
“You’re the strategist,” Simon said. “You tell me.”
Belogon nodded. “I will think on this and get back to you.”
“Good,” I said. “Thank you.” With that, we stood, shook hands once more and departed.
Vega was unusually quiet and seemed deep in thought.
Chapter 30
Hard lessons
The Queen refused to see us. Which pissed me off more than I let my guests see. “We’ll try again tomorrow,” I said. “It’s probably a bit late for her.”
Simon looked disappointed, while Vega’s scowl had returned. “Wouldn’t want to bother her Royal Ender Highness,” she said.
I let it go, mostly because I was thinking the same thing. “At least we can get some food and rest.”
So that’s what we did. First I checked on Gehn and Belenie. Adi eagerly informed me that Belenie had awoken for a few minutes and conjured the energy to finish healing Gehn. Now they both continued to sleep, for which I was glad. I told Adi she didn’t need to watch over them anymore. “Join us for dinner?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said, roping an arm around my waist.
I watched Vega’s eyes take in the intimate gesture with suspicion. “The food downstairs is good,” I promised, ignoring her narrowed eyes and sharp stare.
“Great,” Simon said. “I could eat a Borgas.” The comment broke the momentary tension, and the five of us—me, Simon, Vega, Hannah and Adi—headed downstairs to the food hall. To my disappointment, the place was deserted—apparently there weren’t any Ender refugees staying in the Queen’s guesthouse at present. It would’ve done Vega some good to see more Enders doing ‘normal’ things, like eating and conversing. Slowly, we needed to change her opinion of them.
As before, the food came out on large plates to be shared. The crowning dish was snake, a long python-like beast that was known to roam the desert searching for prey to poison with its fangs and then squeeze into submission.
We dug into the meat, needing to recharge after our long journey. Hannah and Adi ate less, watching us with wide eyes. “At least your appetites are intact,” Hannah commented.
I was hoping for just a nice light conversation as a nightcap before it was time to sleep. Unfortunately, Vega had different ideas. “Adi,” she said. I’d introduced them at the start of the meal, but Vega had made little effort so far. “What is your power? You are a female Ender, so you have a superpower, right?”
Adi looked uncomfortable under the human woman’s scrutiny. “It’s okay,” I said, placing a hand on her leg. “They are here to learn about us, Enders and humans alike. Tell her.”
“I’m a mind reader,” Adi said softly.
Vega’s inquisitive expression quickly morphed into one of anger. “The fuck, Cutter? You didn’t think to tell us this sooner? The whole time we’ve been sitting here she’s been sifting through our thoughts, stealing information for your cause, eh? Is that the real reason you brought us here?”
“Vega, cool it,” Simon said. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“I’m not jumping at all,” Vega said. “It’s fucking obvious. We’ve been played from the start.”
Adi stood up, her fists clenched at her side. It was the most emotion I’d ever seen the even-tempered Ender display, save perhaps when we’d had mind-blowing sex. “Do not characterize Cutter’s intentions that way. He is an honorable man who is trying to save this horrid world from itself. And, for your information, I haven’t read a single one of your thoughts. My focus has been entirely on Cutter’s thoughts, for they are sweet and kind.”
I loved her in that moment, my eyes drinking in her pretty features and adamant expression. I preferred to look at her, but I was curious as to Vega’s reaction.
For a second, it looked as if the Insurgence leader might leap over the table and attack Adi, but then her features softened, her entire body relaxing. “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to imply…”
Adi’s entire countenance changed. “Oh God,” she said. “I’m sorry, too. I don’t know why I got so angry. It’s just…Cutter has tried so hard to help us, I get defen
sive of him.” Adi slipped around her chair and made her way to Vega’s side. “Listen, I know this is all hard—so hard—for you. I admit, I read your mind much earlier in the day, when you first arrived. I saw…what happened to you—to your father.” A flash of pain crossed Vega’s face. “I swear to you, that is not who—what—the Enders are. At least not most of us. I am most pleased to meet you.”
Vega stared at Adi, ripe with emotion. Then, the most damndest thing happened. Vega hugged Adi. Her chest shook with sobs as the women hugged each other tightly for several minutes. Hannah looked at me, her mouth open. The fuck? she mouthed, echoing my own thoughts. Simon met my eyes next, a satisfied slightly amused smile creasing his lips. What a difference a day could make. More like a half day.
Then again, Adi had that way with people. She was a calming presence in my life. Why couldn’t she do the same for our guests? Of course she could.
Then, suddenly, it was over. Vega pulled back, wiping her wet eyes rather sheepishly. “I’m tired. Where can I sleep?” she asked.
I nodded to Hannah, who stood without me needing to say a thing, grabbing Vega by her elbow and leading her up to the room they would share for the night. Simon followed, turning back only to say, “Thank you for today,” before leaving.
“You’re incredible,” I said to Adi, when we were alone.
“I—thank you,” she said. “But you didn’t need to say it.”
“Yes,” I said, knowing she meant she’d read my mind. “I did. Sleep with me tonight?”
She nodded, her crystalline eyes eager at the prospect, though she knew I meant, for once, to just sleep. My exhaustion was heavy in my limbs and eyelids. There would be plenty of time for all kinds of action the next day.
We headed upstairs, feeling surprisingly satisfied despite all the day’s hardships.
~~~
Despite being in the Queen’s guesthouse, sleep came hard to me. It helped having Adi’s warm, soft body curled up beside me, but even that wasn’t enough. We were plagued with risks at every turn. Even here amongst our allies there was animosity and those who might want to hurt us.
I feared for Gehn and Hannah, Belenie and Adi.
But so long as they were safe in bed, I could relax, right?
That was my last thought as I drifted off to sleep, pulled under by dark waves of exhaustion and peace.
That is, until I awoke to a hand clamped over my mouth.
I snapped awake, but I couldn’t take a deep breath since the large palm covered my mouth. I clawed at the hand, and I felt more hands pulling back on my arms, slamming them against my sides and lifting me out of bed. My first instinct was to fight hard and dirty, doing everything in my power to escape and punish those who dared to interrupt our much-needed sleep.
What had happened to Adi? And the others? Were they ripped from their beds too?
I played it smart. If I fought against the numerous men who had come in the night, I would only get myself beaten within an inch of my life or worse. I needed to save my energy and bide my time, wait like a spider in a web for the perfect opportunity to fight back.
It felt like I was flying, though I was just being lifted in the air by strong arms. In a way, it was impressive that they’d managed to get the drop on me so easily. I really had been tired. I finally managed to pry my eyelids open and try to figure out how many there were, but it was impossible. All I saw were dark silhouettes and a flurry of hands. They dragged me down the stairs and onto the street.
My senses told me the time to act was nigh. I felt the strong grasps start to slacken as they prepared to roughly sling me to the ground. I prepared to lash out…but just before they let go, one of them delivered a hard punch to my midsection, knocking the air out of my lungs. My body clenched and blood rushed to my face as I gasped. They dropped me, slamming me to the unforgiving ground.
As I blinked and tried to force my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night, I made out four figures. A sliver of moonlight offered a clearer picture of where they were positioned, but not enough to really see who they were.
Before I could get another look, a boot slammed into the side of my head, sending me sprawling to the ground.
“You’re dead, Cutter,” one of them barked. I heard a sword being pulled from its sheath.
Wanderers. Has to be.
It made sense, too. Each time they attacked, they learned another way to get closer to me. I overpowered them, so they came out in more numbers. That worked better, but I still beat them. They learned that the power of surprise worked well. Now they were coming after me four-on-one, and they got the jump on me by getting me completely off-guard.
How they infiltrated Paris and the Queen’s palace was even more impressive.
It was a hell of an effort. But damned if I would give them the satisfaction of killing me.
I couldn’t tell if any more were armed or not—but I knew I wasn’t. If I wanted to survive, I had to figure out the best way to defend myself against them. Could I engage them in hand-to-hand combat? Were any of them carrying guns of their own? Or did they all have swords? Who had the sword?
I lifted myself off the ground and stumbled into a standing position. The blurriness of my vision cleared enough that I could see them moving. One of them cocked his hand back to throw a punch, so I sidestepped him, grabbed his wrist, and slammed his arm across my shoulder, snapping the bone in half.
Before he could scream, I hit him with a rabbit punch to the nose that made him howl and sent blood splattering from his nostrils. I followed it with a haymaker to the temple that knocked him clear out.
“Let’s do this, bitches,” I said to the other three. After the drubbing our army had taken at the hands of the Rising, I was fueled by rage and adrenaline. I charged another of the men, who tried to scramble out of the way. I lifted my leg and aimed the heel of my foot high, practically kicking his head off. His skull rattled around like a bobble head and he toppled to the ground in a heap.
There were still two left and one of them had a sword that could ruin my day. Some backup would be good. I reached down, grabbed a rock and threw it wildly at the second-story windows of the guesthouse. Come on, somebody get up.
The moonlight reflected off the broad side of a long sword. The bearer slashed at me with reckless abandon, and I leaped backwards, narrowly avoiding being sliced in half like one of David Copperfield’s assistants. Having missed, his follow through left him vulnerable. I delivered a solid punch to his jaw that rocked him back.
Concerned about the man with the deadly weapon, I’d lost sight of the other guy. He came from behind, hitting me hard in the kidneys and then wrapping his meaty arms around my chest, squeezing.
I bent my knee and kicked backwards as hard as I could, aiming for a particular spot between his legs. Like I said, I wasn’t afraid to fight dirty, not against douchebags like these guys. He squealed like a little girl, which was oddly satisfying. Somehow, however, he managed to maintain his grip. Maybe I’d underestimated how much each actually had between his legs.
So I kicked again. This time, he released me, grabbing his groin, his mouth wide and gasping. Instinctively, I ducked, the other guy’s blade whistling overhead. I was that close to losing my head. Thank you, instincts, I thought.
I cut hard to the right as I knew that damn sword would be coming back the other way. Sure enough, it slashed back but I was already clear of its target and it caught nothing but air once more.
The guy with the gonads that were now probably lodged in his throat had tumbled to the ground, still clutching his man pillows. I ran toward him as I really didn’t want him to surprise me again, aiming a kick worthy of an NFL placekicker at his head.
His eyes widened and he managed to roll, causing me to pull a Charlie Brown whiff at the hands of Lucy. It also gave the sword guy a chance to come at me again, and this time he had me locked in his sights, being a little more cautious. I was getting tired, my movements not as explosive as they were a few minutes ago.
The sword guy moved slowly toward me, eyes on me like a hawk. Behind him, the guy with the crushed nuts pulled himself gingerly to his feet.
I backed up, pretending to be scared, buying time.
Because I’d seen a dark shadow slide out of the guesthouse, as quiet as the night itself.
The sword guy gained a step on me with each he took, moving forward faster than I could move backward. “Whoa, whoa,” I said, trying to gain another second of respite, just enough time for—
Gehn launched herself from the cloak of darkness, shrieking with such intensity that the man visibly flinched, turning toward her and trying to bring his sword to bear in time to—
Her teeth sank into his arm and he dropped the weapon, which clattered down. Gehn landed, still tearing into his arm as he struggled to free himself. Finally, she released him and he stumbled back, gawking at his mangled flesh and the female Ender, blood dripping from twin fangs that gleamed in the moonlight.
“Watch out!” I shouted, seeing the crushed-balls guy finally recovering enough to stumble toward her from behind. She turned, dipping her shoulder to avoid a right hook and then exploding upward to slash at her neck with her sharp nails, opening his flesh.
I wasn’t idle either, and I wouldn’t waste the temporary advantage Gehn had given me. I dove for the other guy’s sword, snatching it just as I hit the ground, rolling once and then rising back to my feet. I didn’t even need to move that fast, because he was still staring at his ravaged arm, where the bone was visible through the gushing wound Gehn had created with nothing more than her teeth.
He looked pitiful.
Too bad I didn’t give a shit.
I drove the blade deep into his chest, shoving him to the ground. Blood gurgled from is lips as his eyes stared sightlessly at the sky. Past him, Gehn had finished off the guy who would never have children again even if he had survived. She looked at me with a bloody smile. “You rang?” she said.
