The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera

by Michael Robertson

  Chapter 6

  The first SA knew of being shot at came when a pulse of laser fire hit the ground next to her. Shattered stalt peppered her left shin. Then another shot hit, no closer, but on her right this time.

  Still turning and trying to make her mind up, she didn’t know which way to run. Because of the noise of beings all around her, she had no idea where the shots came from. Another blast hit the ground; this time behind her. The spray of stalt chips smashed against her calves.

  Then it dawned on her: the glare of the sun. Of course! Why had it taken her so long? The brightest of all the bright spots, it was what she’d followed to get out of the hangar. If she travelled towards it again, it would take her away from where the palace had been and, hopefully, the bulk of the soldiers too.

  Like she’d done when escaping the hangar, she took off and moved at a jog, totally unaware of what lay in her path. The same lurch in her stomach with every step, but like with the guards, she couldn’t avoid what she couldn’t see. Deal with the problems as she clattered into them. Who needed palms and kneecaps anyway?

  Yet another blast crashed into the ground on her right. It felt like the shots were coming from behind her.

  Despite the blaster fire—several more shots missing SA but clearly aimed her way—it didn’t sound like anything chased her as she ran. The accuracy of the attack backed up her theory, the shots missing by wider margins the farther she travelled. Whatever was trying to kill her had a half-hearted lust for it at best; maybe they weren’t even aiming for her.

  Not only did the accuracy of the shots deteriorate, but they came less frequently too. As SA tuned into her own laboured breaths from where she tried to keep a good pace despite her exhaustion, she realised they’d turned into the dominant sound now rather than the chaos that had surrounded her. Rightly or wrongly, she slowed down to a fast walk. The limited evidence she had told her she didn’t have to worry about being chased. The bigger threat now came from her inability to see. One foot in front of the other, she gave herself the time she needed to plant down and be certain of its stability before she took her next step. Blind, exhausted, emotionally frayed, and confused, the slower pace felt like a luxury, and until she knew she couldn’t afford it, she’d damn well take it.

  While maintaining her fast march, SA rolled her shoulders and snapped her head from side to side. No twinges or major pains yet, but they’d come. She’d written her body a lengthy IOU. Give it a day or two and she’d be aching from head to toe.

  Despite the bright sun, the strong wind kept the temperature down. Such a fierce glare in front of her, even mostly blind, SA had to squint in the face of it.

  The sounds behind grew more distant, yet SA still had a desire to run. But she ignored it. The evidence at that moment told her she had nothing chasing her. With her struggles as heightened as they already were, she didn’t need to add to them by running away from imagined foes.

  Now she’d slowed down—her throat dry and her muscles tired—questions flooded SA’s mind. She’d gotten away from the immediate danger, but what now? How wide did the desert stretch? Would she be walking until she dropped? Would her sight return? What kind of creatures lived out in the stalt landscape? A shake of her head helped her stop the thoughts. One step at a time. Safety first, and then she’d plan her next move. At some point, the Shadow Order would come looking for her. They had to, right?

  How the thing approached her without her hearing she didn’t know, but when a heavy step slammed down on her left, SA spun to face it while drawing two knives from her harness. Like with the soldiers, the thing then attacked her from the other side. A whoosh on her right gave her the slightest of warnings for the thick tail, or rope, or whatever it was that crashed into the side of her head. She went down hard.

  For the few seconds SA remained conscious, she felt hairy and muscular arms grip her, wrap some kind of rope around her, and throw her over its shoulder. Despite trying to fight it, her head turned increasingly woozy, and as the thing carried her away, the whiteness dominating her vision turned black.

  Chapter 7

  The cold rush hit SA square in the face, bringing her to with a sharp gasp. It forced an involuntary inhale, which dragged some of the water into her lungs. While listening to her own barking panic, she shook and twisted to get free, but the ropes were tied too tight. Restraints at her wrists and ankles, she’d been bound in a sitting position to a chair she couldn’t see.

  SA’s inability to move accelerated her panic. Her pulse pounded through her skull as she tried to look around, but they’d tied a blindfold on her as well.

  Slowly, SA relaxed, dragging more air in with each breath. Her throat was sore, dry, and tight, but slightly looser than before. As she found the rhythm of her respiration, her pulse slowed and the tension in her chest relaxed. On what felt like her first full inhale, another splash of cold water slammed into her face, the force of it knocking her head back. At least this time she had the good sense to hold her breath.

  The water dripped from SA’s face, soaking her already damp chest. “Where am I?”

  Whatever had given her the drenching remained in front of her. She could feel the slight cool from being in its shadow and hear its breaths as a deep rattle. But the creature offered her no reply.

  SA swallowed, a dry pinch of dehydration tickling her oesophagus. “Who are you? What do you want with me?” Her frustration got the better of her and she spoke through a clamped jaw. “Where. Am. I?”

  But the creature gave her nothing, and although she waited for another splash of water, that didn’t come either.

  SA didn’t know how long she’d been asleep for, but the cold press of something against her lips woke her instantly. She clamped them shut and shook her head, twisting away from the cool pressure. While breathing through her nose, she tried to take in the scent of what was being offered to her. Other than a musky tang of sweat from the hand around the cup, she smelled nothing.

  Although SA couldn’t have seen the creature when it knocked her down, she’d caught a glimpse of its silhouette. In her memory, it stood considerably taller than her. It confirmed her impression of it when it spoke, its voice so deep, the vibration of it shook SA’s chest. “Drink.”

  SA turned away from the cup. “Who are you? And how do I know it’s safe to drink?”

  The thing pressed the cup harder against her lips, stopping just before it hurt. It had the force to push her teeth out if it tried, and if it came to a battle of wills, there would only be one winner, so SA took a sip. Cool and fresh, it tasted like water, her throat relaxing for the liquid relief. “I don’t understand. It seems like you’re trying to take care of me. If that’s the case, why do I have a blindfold on? Why am I tied to a chair?”

  But the creature didn’t respond. Instead, it let out a deep sigh while standing up. SA then listened to the thud of its steps as it walked away from her.

  A gentle touch on her shoulder roused SA. The best way she’d been awakened so far. Then, as if to rectify that, another hard splash of water slammed into her face. She held her breath while it ran down her front, turning her top sodden, the damp fabric cold against her chest.

  SA flinched at the next splash of water and turned away so most of it hit the side of her face.

  The beast’s words came out as a furious boom. “Hold still!”

  SA snapped rigid and faced it. Despite the fight burning deep inside her, she knew how to pick her battles.

  Maybe the creature felt bad about shouting at her, because the next soaking came from the beast pouring water on her rather than slamming her in the face with it. The action bordered on nurturing. SA felt the warmth of its breath against her face and listened to its slow respiration as it concentrated on the task at hand. When the flow of water stopped, the same smell of sweat on the beast’s skin smothered her from its close proximity. The gentler approach threw her off. What did this creature want with her?

  The brute gently tapped the top of SA’s hea
d to wake her up. Where she’d expected pain from being tied to a chair for so long and what she’d been through prior to being made this thing’s prisoner, she felt none.

  The creature washed her eyes again. Tender like it had been previously.

  “What’s going on?” SA said to it. “Please tell me. Who are you? What are you doing to me? How long have I been here?” She then added, “And thank you for being more gentle this time.”

  But the beast didn’t respond.

  When SA heard the sound of a ship’s engine nearby, she jumped and looked in the direction of the noise. Not that she could see anything with the blindfold across her eyes. “What’s that? Who’s there?” A million and one possibilities sat at the edge of her mind. Something had come to take her away. The beast had nursed her back to health before selling her off as a slave. What would they use her for? The fighting pits? Prostitution? She levelled her breathing. It wouldn’t help to panic about it. She could only deal with what got put in front of her.

  As before, the creature responded with silence, adding fuel to the paranoid fire raging inside SA’s skull.

  The ship’s engine then shut off, the creature moved away from SA, and after a few minutes of silence, she accepted she’d been left alone. Again.

  SA’s most recent soaking gave teeth to the night’s sharp chill. The cold sting of her damp top pressed against her chest, and gooseflesh lifted on her arms. She shivered where she sat. If she stayed there much longer, she’d get pneumonia—at least, that was what common sense told her—but deep down, although cold, she felt great in every other respect.

  The creature in front of her, SA opened her mouth to question it again, but it spoke first. “I’m going to take your blindfold off in a second. You’ve been here for three days, which should be enough time to heal. I’m hoping your sight will be fully restored. I’m doing this at night because you’ve had that blindfold on for a long time. To take it off in the bright glare of the Varna desert will just turn you blind again. We can let your sight wake up with the new day. Are you ready?”

  SA nodded.

  The chink of the creature putting the bucket of water down against the stalt ground, it then walked around behind her and untied the knot in the blindfold at the back of her head. The soft and damp fabric fell down her chest and landed in her lap.

  While blinking repeatedly, SA made out the glow of a nearby fire. Everywhere else looked dark, but as she blinked against the blur, her world shifted into a tighter focus. At first, silhouettes appeared as her world began to wake up.

  Not yet perfect, but her sight better than it had been since the stalt dust got into her eyes, SA remained tied to the chair. She looked left and right for the creature holding her captive. It stood too far behind for her to see. When it walked around her right side, she turned to look up at it and gasped.

  Chapter 8

  A beast unlike any SA had seen before. The thing looked like a cross between a centaur and a gorilla. A chest as wide as SA stood tall, it had four arms and four legs. Although where a centaur would have the lower body of a horse, this creature had the lower body of a sabre-toothed tiger but bigger. Much bigger. A tail thicker than one of SA’s arms, no wonder it had knocked her out cold on the first attempt.

  The creature’s mouth stretched so wide it could have easily removed SA’s torso at the waist with one bite. Its sharp and jagged teeth were crammed in like rocks at the foot of a cliff and leaned back towards its throat. If it latched on to something, it would only let go when it wanted to. To stare into the darkness of its gullet forced an involuntary gulp from her.

  Still bound to her chair, SA shook and twisted. At least if she could fight the thing, she’d have a chance. But the struggle proved as ineffective then as it had done for the past few days. The ropes were tied too tight for her to move. A hard clench to her jaw, she said, “You coward. Tying me up so you can eat me. Look at the size of you, and you won’t even make it a fair fight.”

  The beast had yellowed claws on the ends of its thick fingers. It swung for her, the sharp enamel flying across the front of her face, the wind from the action disturbing her hair.

  Instead of the sharp sting and then warm rush of blood from the cut it opened up on her, SA felt the ropes around her loosen and fall to the stalt ground. Almost impressed by its ability to swing so close and not cut her, she flinched when it threw several more swipes, each one so quick they were easier to feel than see. The pressure loosened and the ropes fell free from her wrists and ankles.

  After rolling her shoulders to shrug off her bonds, SA got to her feet. The action felt easier than it should have. No aches or pains like she’d expected, especially after the kicking she’d received when she got free from the palace. She stared at the brute, clenched her jaw, and balled her fists. No matter that she didn’t fancy her chances, she wouldn’t go down without a fight. If the creature planned on killing her, she needed to leave a lasting impression on it if nothing else.

  But the beast didn’t make a move. It simply regarded her through its blood-red glare.

  “Are you going to try to eat me now?” she said.

  A hard scowl hooded the brute’s crimson focus as it glowered at her for a few more seconds. Then its expression changed; twisting at first, it opened its split-jawed mouth, threw its head back, and laughed at the sky. The deep boom of it rolled like distant thunder.

  It took at least thirty seconds before the brute stopped laughing at her. When it did, it shook its head. “Of course not. We ravas are all herbivores.”

  The tension left SA’s frame as if it were liquid seeping from her toes. Her ability to articulate herself went with it and she spoke with a stammer. “W-w-with jaws like that?”

  The beast picked up a large stalt rock and threw it into its wide mouth. When it bit down, the sides of its muscular jaw widened by a few inches. It instantly turned the rock to pebbles, many of which spilled over its bottom lips and fell to the ground while it chewed.

  SA nodded and smiled to herself. “Okay, that makes sense now.” As she sat back on the seat she’d been strapped to, she said, “So why did you knock me out and tie me up if you mean me no harm?”

  “I did it for your own good.”

  Hard not to laugh, SA shook her head at the thing. “Huh?”

  “Well, your own good and my own good. I could see you were a kind person and probably on our side. I watched you run out of the palace and saw you fight those guards despite being blind. I may be big, but after seeing you in the full flow of battle, I didn’t fancy my chances if it turned sour, so I had to take you down before you could attack me. I’m not sure I would have been able to persuade you to come with me otherwise. I couldn’t risk getting into a fight with you.”

  As much as SA wanted to deny the assumption, she couldn’t.

  “When I got you back here and confirmed you were blinded because of stalt dust, I needed to make sure you didn’t rub your eyes. You had so much of it in them, any pressure would have turned your eyeballs to liquid.”

  SA flinched at the thought.

  “To make you better, I had to treat your eyes. To treat your eyes, I had to tie you up and blindfold you with that.”

  Following the line to where the thing pointed, SA looked down at what had been her blindfold. It had felt like fabric, but she now saw it was a large thin leaf. “What is it?”

  “It’s the fahar plant. It grows on the banks of this lake.”

  So preoccupied with her captor up until that point, SA hadn’t looked around. Now the creature mentioned it, she turned to take in the vast lake behind her. Although she could see small campfires dotted around it, they were too far away for her to tell what beings had lit them. The bright moon reflected off the water that looked to stretch for miles in every direction. Were it not for the wind disturbing the surface of it, it would have been hard to distinguish from the stalt ground.

  “This lake and the fahar plant have healing qualities. We have just two sources of water on Varna.
Two lakes of almost equal size. This one, which breeds life, and the one at the planet’s other pole, which only brings death. It’s like the planet filters all the poison into the other lake so it can deliver purified water to this one.”

  “Why didn’t you explain all of this to me at the time?”

  “I didn’t know I could trust you.”

  “And you do now?”

  “I’m not sure, but I knew you’d be healed by now, so I had to.”

  She took another look at the beast’s large and clawed hands. If it wanted to, it could clamp a grip on the top of SA’s head and turn her skull to dust with one squeeze. However, despite its appearance, it held itself like a peaceful being. Its muscles were at ease, powerful if it needed them, but not primed and ready to be used. This creature only acted in self-defence. It clearly had no interest in going to war. A few more seconds of silence between them, she frowned at the thing in front of her. “And what do you want from me?”

  “Nothing.”

  When SA didn’t respond, the creature elaborated. “Enigma landed here several years ago. We should have taken them down then, but it’s not in our nature. Also, we didn’t anticipate what they were capable of. We’re a simple and democratic species. It’s hard for us to understand the mind and actions of a dictatorship. When they first came here, they had a few ships and weapons, but most beings in the galaxy have a few ships and weapons. By the time we knew we needed to take action, they were too large for us to take down. Their industry—from training soldiers, to making weapons, to building their palace—has been massively detrimental to our ecosystem. They output pollution at a frightening rate. At least, they did.”