Fire and Brimstone (Chaos of the Covenant Book 2)

by M. R. Forbes

  “Not much.”

  “Do you know about the engines?”

  “What about them?”

  Abbey took that as a no. “I know Thraven’s building more ships. I need Ursan to tell me where.”

  “I know where.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. But I’m not going to tell you.”

  “I’m not above torture,” Abbey said. Maybe once, but not now. Not where Thraven was concerned.

  “I have a high pain tolerance. It’ll take a while. It’s only a matter of time before his forces claim the city. Then what are you going to do?”

  “So what is it you want?”

  “I want you to help me save Ursan.”

  “You have to be kidding,” Bastion said.

  “Nope. Ursan’s my friend. We’ve been running together a long time. He didn’t know Thraven was going to do this. Trin talked him into signing up with the General. She convinced him it was his best chance at getting revenge for his parents. Once he can see it’s not true, maybe he’ll come back around.”

  “Or maybe he’ll still want to kill me for killing his wife,” Abbey said.

  “Could be. But you were going to go after him anyway. If you two fight, whoever deserves to win will win. At least this way I’m doing the right thing, instead of nothing. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.”

  “Which could be exactly what Thraven wants,” Bastion said. “Queenie, you can’t make a deal with this guy. He’s a fragging mercenary.”

  “I have to eat.”

  Abbey stared at Dak. The options were clear. She could bring the Trover back with her and take her time getting him to talk, or she could agree to his deal and go find Ursan Gall. Getting out of a war zone as soon as possible certainly seemed like the safer course. And if Thraven really did want her to fight, wasn’t it better that she didn’t fall into his bidding?

  On the other hand, how long would it take her to make Dak talk? Hours? Days? Ever? There was no guarantee, and every minute that passed meant another minute that Thraven had to bring another warship online. What was the bigger risk? Finding Ursan Gall in the middle of this shitstorm, or allowing the enemy to bring their full fleet to bear?

  “You’re a loyal friend,” Abbey said.

  “Not always. I let them take him. I ran away.”

  “It sounds like they would have killed you.”

  “Yeah. I should have fought, anyway.”

  “I find Ursan, you tell me where, no matter what happens after that. Deal?”

  Dak nodded. “Deal.”

  “Queenie,” Bastion said.

  “It isn’t your decision, Lucifer,” Abbey replied. “I lead, you follow.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Let him up.”

  Airi and Bastion lowered their rifles. Dak got to his feet, clutching the pistol in his left hand.

  “I can take you to Gorix’s workshop. That’s where the assholes grabbed him. It could be that Gorix knows where to find them. If I find out that cockroach set us up, I’m going to flip him on his damn back and leave him there to rot.”

  “Now that is cold,” Bastion said.

  “You aren’t funny,” Dak replied.

  “How far is it?” Abbey asked.

  “Not far. A couple of blocks. Ursan didn’t want to be too far from the workshop.”

  “All right. Let’s go.”

  38

  It only took a few minutes to cross the distance to the warehouse where Gorix’s workshop was located. The surface of Anvil remained an as-yet unscathed dead zone, a place suddenly devoid of any signs of life. Abbey noticed a pair of deep red chairs in front of a large window in one of the buildings they passed. A pleasure house, where the synths had been removed from it to prevent them from being damaged. There were other shops around it in a similar condition, their most valuable goods removed from sight, their doors no doubt locked.

  She could still hear the explosions coming from above, along with the constant vague echo of gunfire. A line of smoke was rising from a klick or two to the south, where a Shrike had apparently crashed. What size was Thraven’s force, and would it be able to conquer the entire planet? In space, the modified starships would destroy the Outworld’s lesser fleet. Shrikes were powerful against existing Republic tech but nearly useless against a ship like the Fire or the Brimstone. On the ground, The Outworld PD didn’t know about his undying soldiers, and wouldn’t know how to deal with them efficiently, especially when they used the Gift.

  In other words, yes, he would be able to conquer the planet and the city with it.

  It was only a matter of time.

  “Ruby, what’s your status,” Abbey said as they moved into the warehouse. Like everything else, it was completely abandoned.

  “There you are, Queenie,” Ruby replied. “I was worried about you but didn’t want to risk giving you away. I’ve been in contact with Gant. Thraven’s forces are assaulting the planet, as I’m sure you’ve figured out. The Fire is here, along with four other starships featuring similar technology. The Brimstone is cloaked and safe for now, but the Outworld defenses are being torn apart. They tried to gang up on one of the ships and had some moderate success, but weren’t able to destroy or disable it before they were obliterated. As for the Faust, the entire spaceport is on lockdown. No ships in or out under threat of being fired upon. Thraven’s Shrikes are leaving it alone, though I don’t know why. It is strategically illogical.”

  “I’m sure he has his reasons,” Abbey said, considering Ruby’s report.

  They were in deep shit; their escape route pretty much cut off. Even if she did find Ursan Gall, what would it matter? There was no easy way off the planet or out of the system. Assuming Thraven took the spaceport and abandoned the weapons batteries there, they might be able to get the Faust in the air. Then what? Could they jump away before the Fire and her ilk caught up to them? She didn’t know. She wasn’t going to abandon Gant and the other Rejects, anyway.

  “I want you and Gant to see what you can do about prepping for an emergency evac. I want vectors that limit the amount of time both the Brimstone and the Faust are exposed, and I want it ten minutes ago. Either all of us leave, or none of us leave.”

  “Yes, Queenie,” Ruby said.

  “We’re tracking Gall now. I’ll report back as soon as we have him. Queenie, out.”

  “This way,” Dak said, leading them to a stairwell in the corner.

  She knew something was wrong the moment she pushed the door open. The smell was horrible, like cooked meat and burned metal.

  “Ugh,” Bastion said. “What the hell is that?”

  A dead Plixian was resting at the bottom of the steps. Its thorax was torn in half.

  “Dead bug,” Dak said. “I think the Children did this.”

  There was smoke still sneaking out through a hole in the wall, wafting up the stairwell toward them.

  “They’re all dead; I bet,” Dak said.

  Abbey led them down the stairs to the half-open secret door into the Plixian tunnels.

  “What’s through there?” Bastion asked, pointing at the other door. There was a horrible stench coming from that side as well.

  “More death,” Airi said.

  Dak moved ahead of Abbey, grabbing the door and pushing it further into the wall, the thick muscles in his neck throbbing as he strained.

  Abbey walked through in front of him. A sharp thump from behind gave her pause. It was followed by a number of smaller taps.

  “Boots on the ground,” Airi said.

  “Yeah, but whose boots?” Bastion asked.

  “Lucifer, watch our exit,” Abbey said.

  “Roger.”

  “Which way?” she asked.

  “I know you have the Gift, but you should still follow me,” Dak said, getting in front of her again, holding his pistol out ahead of him.

  Abbey let him take the lead this time, following him through the many tunnels beneath the surface of the planet
. They passed a number of dead Plixians, as well as a few Outworld humans. All of them were shredded as though they had been attacked by animals.

  “What are these Children of the Covenant?” Abbey asked.

  “I don’t know,” Dak replied. “First they looked like Terrans. Then they changed.”

  “What do you mean they changed?”

  “They turned into monsters. Demons. They grew at least this much.” He spread his hands. “Their faces elongated. Their teeth became fangs. Their hands became claws. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it. Maybe it’s common where Thraven is from?”

  “Did Thraven ever say where he was from?”

  “A planet in the Outworlds. He never mentioned it by name. He said that’s where the Gift came from. That it’s common on his world, though the effects aren’t the same on his kind as they are on others. Ursan told me the Gift is poison to Trovers.”

  “And Gant seemed immune to it back on Drune,” Airi said.

  “Anger and hate,” Abbey said. “You said it helps.”

  Airi nodded. “I think it does.”

  “Queenie,” Bastion said through her comm. “Whatever you’re doing, do it faster. The boots just made their way into the warehouse.”

  “It’s right through here,” Dak said.

  They followed him out of the tunnels and into an open space. It had clearly been ransacked, with broken machines and hundreds of parts littering the floor along with more dead Plixians. There was blood everywhere. Dak pointed at one of the corpses.

  “Gorix,” he said sadly. “He was a friend of mine.”

  “We aren’t going to find anything here, Queenie,” Airi said. “We should go.”

  Abbey scanned the space. “You said Ursan brought his wife’s head here?”

  “Yeah.” He looked out at the mess. “It was back there last time I saw it.” He pointed to the corner of the workshop. There was nothing there. “It looks like they took it. There was armor, too. A special design. I don’t see the box it was in. No sign of Villaueve either.”

  “Who?” Abbey said.

  “Villaueve. He’s a Lrug scientist. He said he could fix Trin.”

  “Fix a decapitated head?”

  Dak shrugged. “That’s what he said.”

  “Queenie,” Airi said, pointing to a spot on the floor. “Look.”

  Abbey followed her finger. A dead Plixian was resting near the side of the room. His entrails had been spilled across the floor, the green blood from them used to scrawl out a simple message on the floor:

  Prove yourself worthy.

  “What the hell does that mean?” Abbey said.

  “Queenie,” Bastion said, his voice slightly shaky.

  “What’s wrong?” Abbey said.

  “I think Dak owes you.”

  Abbey glanced over at Dak, confused. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Ursan Gall is here. He’s calling your name.”

  39

  Abbey looked over at Dak. The Trover seemed surprised, but at the same time amused.

  “I told you,” he said. “Thraven will get you to do what he wants. One way or another. He wants you to fight Ursan.” He shook his head. “He wants Ursan dead, and you under his thumb.”

  “Frag that,” Airi said. “Let’s just shoot him and be done with it.”

  Dak glared at her.

  “He isn’t going to win,” Airi added in her defense.

  “You owe me the location,” Abbey said.

  “Kell,” Dak replied. “You’ll have to look it up for the coordinates. It used to belong to a narcotic cartel. It’s got a good atmosphere for growing shit that will get you up. Thraven told Ursan the Outworld Cooperative discovered they were trying to frag up Outworlders to make them soft for the Republic. To make an invasion easier. I tried to tell him it wasn’t true, but there was a paycheck involved, and a chance to go after the Republic, and Trin was pushing him to do it. I know now it was all bullshit. Too fragging late.”

  “Kell,” Abbey repeated. The name didn’t mean much to her, but Benhil probably knew about it. “Thank you.”

  Dak shrugged. “Sure. For whatever it’s worth. I don’t like the odds of any of us making it off this planet alive. The Children, they’re immune to the magic. Even if you beat Ursan, you’ll probably have to deal with them.”

  “Do bullets work?” Airi asked.

  “Not that well.”

  “Damn.”

  “Whose side are you on, Dak?” Abbey asked.

  “I told you, Ursan’s my friend.”

  “So you’re going to try to stop me?”

  “No. That’s not the way this is supposed to go down. But if Ursan wins, I’ll back him up.”

  “What if he loses?”

  “I’m against Thraven.”

  “Understood.”

  Abbey left the workshop, heading back through the network of tunnels to the warehouse. She could hear Ursan as she got closer.

  “Lieutenant Cage,” he was shouting. “Lieutenant Abigail Cage. I know you’re here. I’m waiting.”

  She reached the steps. Bastion made his way down to her when he saw her.

  “Is he alone?” she asked.

  “Right now. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more assholes nearby.”

  “Let’s assume that much. Lucifer, Fury, wait here. Keep your eyes out for the creatures that Dak described. If they get hostile, our move is to retreat back to the tunnels and try to force them to come in one or two at a time, to wound them and cut them down just like Thraven’s soldiers.”

  “I know you’re close, Cage,” Ursan shouted. “I can smell you.”

  “If Ursan kills me.” She paused. The kill switch was bullshit, but they still didn’t know it. If she told them now, how would they react? She needed their compliance to help Gant and the others. “If he kills me, Ruby can keep the reset running. Get back to the Faust and get out of here. The Brimstone should be ready to rendezvous by then. I can’t say you’ll survive, but at least you’ll have a chance.”

  “Roger,” Bastion said. “But Gall isn’t going to kill you.”

  “Dak, if Ursan wants out of this bullshit,” Abbey said.

  He nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. I won’t kill yours if yours don’t kill me.”

  “Deal,” Airi said.

  “Caagggeeee!”

  Ursan screamed it at the top of his lungs, so loud and shrill that Abbey could feel the pain behind it. She didn’t blame him for blaming her for Trin, even if his wife had picked the fight. She sure as hell wasn’t going to roll over and die for him, either.

  “Wait here another minute,” Bastion suggested. “His head will explode, and we can sashay right out of here.”

  “Thraven’s army is still out there,” Airi said.

  “Sashay,” Bastion repeated.

  “I’m going up,” Abbey said.

  She started up the steps without looking back.

  “Good luck,” Airi said behind her.

  She reached the door at the top and stepped through. Ursan Gall was in the center of the room, his eyes already fixed on her. He looked wild, his hair half-shaven, his clothes dirty, his hands clenched in fists.

  He laughed at the sight of her.

  “You?” he said. He had tears in his eyes. “You’re the one that killed my Trin? Look at you. What do you weigh, fifty-four kilograms soaking wet?”

  “Ursan,” Abbey said, taking a few steps toward him with her hands out. “I don’t want to fight you.”

  He laughed harder. “What? That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Of course, you want to fight me. I want to kill you.”

  His last words came out as a hiss, and he sprang toward her, his fingers elongating into claws, the Gift reaching out ahead of him.

  Abbey felt her Gift responding, rising to meet the attack. She bounced away, rolling and hopping to her feet, facing Ursan as he landed and slid, turning back her direction.

 
; “Thraven wants me to kill you,” Abbey said. “He knew I would find you. He set you up.”

  “No,” Ursan said. “He knew you would find me because he wanted you to find me. He wants me to kill you. This is your trap, Cage. Your death. Not mine.”

  He sprang toward her again. She didn’t move away this time. She met his Gift with her own, letting them cancel one another out. He landed ahead of her, leading with his claws, slashing wildly at her. She avoided the attacks easily, getting behind him and pushing him into the wall. He slammed it with his shoulder, the limb breaking under the force.

  He bounced off and turned. His arm healed in seconds, and he rotated his shoulder a few times to test it.

  “Ursan, Thraven isn’t what you think he is. He isn’t a friend to the Outworlds. He isn’t a friend to anybody.”

  “I don’t care,” he shouted. “Do you think that matters? Do you think that makes any difference now? She’s dead, Cage. She’s dead because of you.”

  He threw his Gift out at her. She tried to block it, but this time it was too strong. She was thrown backward and then slammed down to the floor. She felt her body shatter as she hit, and she clenched her teeth in pain.

  He was there before she could heal and get up, pouncing on top of her, putting his claws to her throat.

  “You aren’t so strong when you don’t have someone to shoot your opponent in the back are you?” he asked.

  “He’s going to steal Trin from you,” Abbey said. “He took her head.”

  “A good reason for me to kill you, then, isn’t it?” he replied, almost calmly. “He’ll forgive me for disobeying him. He’ll let me stay with her when he brings her back to life. We’ll be together again. A team.”

  Abbey felt her own fury rising. Not because of Ursan, but because of Thraven. He was using them all. Mars and Emily Eagan, Olus, Ursan, and Trin. Every life was a toy that he played with, a piece to be moved into position, manipulated into doing his will despite the illusion that the decisions were uniquely made.

  Now she was going to have to kill Ursan Gall, even though she knew they weren’t really enemies.

  And that pissed her off more than anything else.