Serpents of the Abyss (The Darvel Exploratory Systems #2)

by S. J. Sanders

  “Great,” Eddie mumbled as he checked his rifle. “You’re leaving it to me to convince a hundred workers who have lost friends and loved ones to the serpents that we now have to work with them. No offense,” he added with a glance toward Kehtal.

  Lori frowned but she got it. Emotions were going to run high for a while and there would be some resistance.

  “That too is within the nature of things. We have every confidence that, with your charm, you’ll pave the way. Fortunately, as your mechanics and tech team were also exposed, you will have them here to help you keep this place running and operational,” Everly said, his shoulder lifting with another apologetic smile. His smile falling, he glanced down a corridor to their left that would take him to the docking bay. “Well, I’m off. Good luck to all of you. And please, get yourselves outside as soon as possible.”

  With that he hurried away, and Lori stared after him with her tongue glued to the back of her teeth. Everything felt more real, more charged now that he was gone.

  Kehtal’s grip tightened on her for a moment before he reluctantly put her down so he could strap on his velkat. She used the opportunity to check and charge her own weapon. She was immensely grateful that orientation had included firearms training for emergency situations or else she would be useless. He gave her rifle a curious glance, following her movements before grabbing a rifle for himself. Sufficiently armed, he hissed.

  “We must leave. How do we get out of here?”

  Lori nodded. He was right.

  “Eddie…”

  Eddie looked over at her with a smile that betrayed little of his nerves. “I’m on it, kid. It won’t be the first time I’ve been in a combat situation, not since they retired me after needing too many cybernetic parts and adjustments to be worth putting in the field anymore. Let’s just hope we can get out of here without needing these too much.”

  He patted the rifle at his side and set out at jog.

  “Come on, let’s get going,” he hollered out at them seconds before he took a corner.

  “Damn, he’s quicker than he’s let on. Fucking old cyborg,” Vi muttered, and she raced after him.

  Lori didn’t have to say anything to Kehtal. He shot forward the moment she started running. She knew that it frustrated him to go slower, but she was grateful for it. She didn’t want to be picked up and carried. They all needed to be able to protect themselves and each other. As easy as it would be for him to snatch her up and leave the humans behind to fend for themselves, somehow, he had realized that she needed to stay with her team. He didn’t make any effort to separate her from them.

  Taking the corridors as quickly as they could, they were nearly out of the common building when gunfire erupted. Kehtal whirled around, his wings shooting out protectively as he flattened her behind a wall. The plasma bursts sailed by their shelter. Both Vi and Eddie leaned out to exchange shots, leaving Lori growling in frustration that she was useless pinned under Kehtal.

  “Ms. Straford, I suggest that you and your friends come out immediately!” Patricks shouted out from behind cover. “You have nowhere to go. I assure you that a quick execution will be far more preferable to any other options that await you.” The sound of weapons recharging met her ears. “In accordance with colony evacuation mandate 26-C, all experiments carried out at a United Earth facility must be destroyed prior to evacuation. You will not be making it out of here alive, one way or another. Neither you nor that thing. Come forward now and your friends will be allowed to live whatever life they have left on this rock.”

  Lori swallowed, looking over at her friends. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want her baby to die. She hadn’t even told anyone, not even Kehtal, wanting Slengral to be the first who heard. But could she really sacrifice her friends just so that they could have a future?

  Vi shot her a stony look. “Whatever you’re thinking, Lor, don’t. You are not going out there.”

  Eddie nodded, his expression tightening with anger. “We’ll get through this.” He glanced down at the comm, pulling up a list of shuttle departures. Lori could barely see it, but what she could see affirmed that there were only a couple of shuttles that had not yet departed. Up ahead the terrible sounds of something trying to hack through a sealed door echoed down the corridor. The impacts were too loud, too big and too furious to be a human crew trying to break through. Eddie closed his eyes for a moment and blew out a breath before shouting back.

  “Commander Patricks, if you don’t leave now, you won’t have another opportunity to catch a shuttle off the rock. All codes have been transferred to me. If you miss this window, there will not be another. Raza colony has now been scheduled to lock down in ten minutes.”

  A deafening silence fell, only the sounds of whoever was beating at the door filling the air between them. Patricks cursed, no doubt verifying on his comm that Eddie wasn’t lying.

  “My access is blocked. Who turned over the command codes to you?” he snarled.

  “Not really the point right now,” Eddie drawled. The sound of metal screeched as it was pulled away. “But it sounds like you best make a decision quick, before our guests make it the rest of the way in.”

  “Do an emergency lockdown of this section. Now!” Patricks bellowed.

  “No, I don’t think I will.”

  “You idiot, they’ll kill you too!”

  “Not with me and Kehtal here, they won’t,” Lori interrupted. “Between you and me, I really hope they go through you first.”

  The sound of boots echoed up from the direction they came. Guards were coming up from the docking bay rather than loading into the last shuttle. Lori shot a panicked look at Eddie, and his face set into grim lines.

  They were surrounded.

  They dropped their weapons. Even Kehtal when she hissed at him to do so, despite his reluctance to part with it. That didn’t make him any less deadly, however. He eyed the approaching humans, the tip of his tail stiffening, his wings spreading.

  Guards closed in behind them, rifles raised, and Patricks chuckled as he stepped out from his guards and strode over to them. Another terrible screech of metal and then everything silenced. Lori’s breath caught.

  Patricks smirked. “Seems there’s still some loyalty here,” he observed. “Now that your serpent rescuers have been dealt with, I’m taking charge of this situation again. Killing you four is going to be a personal pleasure. And mine alone.”

  His weapon rose, and Lori caught a whisper of sound as the rifle armed. She stared at the end of the rifle, her arms crossing protectively over her belly knowing that it would do no good to protect the new life growing inside of her.

  There was a flurry of movement, and men screamed as they were torn backward off their feet just outside of Lori’s line of vision. Patricks’ weapon discharged, the shot going wild as he turned to confront the threat behind him. Kehtal growled, his arms sweeping once more around her, drawing her protectively against his chest as he whipped out his velkat with his free hand and ran it through the nearest guard’s chest.

  Blood poured from his wound, and he slumped, falling to the floor as those around him scattered, running back toward the docking bay. Lori smiled at their retreat, but she knew that the danger wasn’t over yet. Her head whipped back around to Patricks. Sneering, he angled his rifle at her and took aim, his eyes burning into her.

  A dark body crashed into him with a fierce shriek, the coils of the Seshanamitesh’s thick tail wrapping around him as he pinned Patricks to the ground. Facing his certain death, the commander screamed, his rifle firing into a wall as he brought his arms up to defend himself. Lori’s eyes widened as the male rose above the human, his head lifting as he straightened, his expression grim and wings spread.

  Slengral stared down, his eyes glowing like fire, his velkat rising in his hands before plunging deep into Patricks’ chest. The commander’s body jerked, blood gurgling from his mouth, and it pumped out from the cavity punctured through his chest. Slengral stared down at him dispassio
nately as Daskh joined him, the formidable male a startling deep burgundy, glowering at the commander as his body spasmed. Silently, Kehtal carried Lori over to their side.

  Immediately, her mate bristled, his eyes taking in Kehtal’s possessive embrace despite the look of approval that filled Daskh’s face. Lori wondered at it but remained silent, her attention focused on the strange confrontation between Slengral and the male holding her.

  To her surprise, Kehtal didn’t shrink from him or defer to him in any way as he had in the past when it came to her. Instead, he met Slengral’s eyes with a low hiss that seemed to convey a lot more than what her translator offered. Her mate’s expression hardened slightly, but rather than attack, his posture relaxed, his arms going out to collect her.

  Kehtal’s crests flicked, and he inclined his head in agreement. Gently he rubbed his cheek against Lori’s head. and she hugged him close, ignoring the way her mate’s eye fastened on the exchange. There was no hostility, or even anger in his eyes, just watchfulness and curiosity. Although she wasn’t sure how to interpret it, she was relieved. She couldn’t pretend that she didn’t care for Kehtal any more than she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t care for Daskh.

  Finally, she reached out to her mate as Kehtal handed her over. Slengral practically curled his large body around her, his wings cupping around her. Holding her tight to him, he breathed her in, and a soft, affectionate hum passed between them. Lori’s eyes misted, and she hugged him tight. She didn’t need the words to know that he loved her and missed her.

  “Ashlava,” he whispered. “Finally.”

  When he folded back his wings again, he turned just so Daskh could greet her and reassure himself that she was well. The gesture surprised Lori but she smiled at her mate in silent thanks as Daskh buffed his knuckles against her cheek and bumped his forehead against hers, his nostrils flaring and mouth parting as he took in her scent and taste. After a moment he reluctantly drew back, his eyes fastening meaningfully on Slengral.

  She had no idea what was going on, but it was to remain a mystery for the time being because her mate grunted and carried her away.

  Chapter 44

  Lori sighed against Slengral’s shoulder as her mate carried her out of the common building and into the street. His fascination with the buildings of the colony made her smile against his scales. His voice rumbled pleasantly against her ear.

  “This is our home now,” he observed, a thoughtful note in his voice. “There are many… changes. I do not like some of them and others will take some adjusting. I do not know how I will like living in this colony, but for you, I will. It is safer for human mates here.”

  He sighed and nuzzled her.

  “My nest is wherever my mate is the happiest and safest. Because you are everything, ashlava.”

  Tilting her head to look up at him, Lori smiled, fully aware of how much power this male had to melt her heart into goo.

  “I feel the same… although I’m not ashamed to say that I’m really grateful that you’re willing to part with the pitch-black cave filled with things that want to eat me,” she said.

  Slengral hummed in agreement, no doubt also remembering the last thing that tried to eat her.

  “I will miss the galthie flowers,” she admitted softly. “It was nice to have that rather than always depend on artificial lights. Everything requires electricity in the colonies.” She winced as a thought occurred to her. “Which is another thing that’s going to have to be repaired, in addition to whatever holes you guys put into Raza’s dome shield and the walls of the buildings.”

  “It was necessary at the time, but do not worry, ashlava. We will assist in repairing this Raza place. As long as you have skilled people who know what to do, we can aid with instruction from them. Seshanamitesh are larger and bigger than humans and the other people you have living here.”

  She pecked a kiss to his shoulder and snuggled back into his arms. “I’m glad to hear it, though I’m not sure what we’re going to do with the inner lab. It’s… unpleasant. And there are definitely some things that are going to need to be torched.” The last part she muttered to herself, thinking of the ghastly display case that had sat across from her cell.

  “We shall confer with Eddie regarding what needs to be done and make a decision by a mixed council so that everyone’s voices are heard.”

  That he was alluding to the shinara and its female-centric policies made her heart go out to him. How many times had issues regarding the welfare of the males had gone unnoticed or disregarded? How many times had it been abused? Although United Earth portrayed itself above the patriarchal system with equal opportunities for all their citizens, Lori knew that was a convenient lie that everyone told themselves to feel better. That no matter how bad things were, it was better than before. Which was worse, having the faults of her society hidden behind smiles and good intensions or having them out where everyone was fully aware of them?

  She had no satisfactory answer for that, since it seemed that many humans and Seshanamitesh were dissatisfied and hurt either way. She understood his desire for fully equal exchange and decision-making and supported it whole heartedly. Maybe Raza could accomplish something that neither of their people had been able to experience elsewhere.

  “We will make Raza suitable for all of its inhabitants,” she agreed, brushing her nose against the scales of his chest.

  A happy hum reverberated against her lips. “Where is our nest, ashlava? I need my mate.”

  She swallowed back a moan, her belly filling with liquid heat at the need in his voice, and she pointed out the way to the residential block. She wasn’t entirely sure how comfortable Slengral was going to be in her cramped quarters, but she needed him, too. She tried not to wiggle in his arms, but the moment he adjusted his hold and she felt the bulge of his sant within its sheath, a hunger consumed her. He rubbed her against him until they were both panting with desire by the time that they arrived at her dorm building.

  The smallest whimper escaped her when he came to a stop, a startled hiss tickling her ear. Curious, she sat up a bit in her embrace and looked around. Slengral had entered the building but was now staring up the stairs, his ear ridges flicking. There was an elevator too, but she knew he wouldn’t fit in it, so she kept that to herself. With more than one mumbled curse when he banged something on the walls, he took to the stairs easily enough, his tail winding as he pushed himself up one flight and then the next. When he saw the dorm room that she shared with Vi, however, he hissed.

  “This is your nest?” he demanded. “There is no room for even a human to adequately move in here.

  “Actually, this room is both mine and Vi’s. We share,” she corrected.

  He shot her an affronted look.

  “She will have to find another nest. A male doesn’t share his nest with any other females except his mate. To even allow another female to cross into his mate’s territory is unforgiveable.”

  “Okay,” Lori drawled. “We’re not going to go to those lengths. I’m sure that new living arrangements can be worked out, but you’re not banning my friend from coming inside.”

  He grunted without comment and gently set her on her feet, his eyes scanning the meager space available. If he was thinking what she was, then he would be wondering just exactly how they were going to get horizontal and satisfy the desire climbing through them when it was debatable if Slengral even had enough space to comfortably lie down anywhere.

  “Well, this is a fucking tragedy,” she muttered. “I don’t know how we’re going to make this work.” She sighed. “Maybe we should just go back to your nest.”

  “It will be fine,” he assured her, his nose brushing against her brow. “With the next waking cycle, I can start removing walls to expand our living space until we have an adequate den. And I will build a ledge so we can fly out rather than be dependent on your human entrance. We will claim this entire top floor. I would prefer to claim all of the building, but that seems unreasonable to the rest o
f your people,” he mused.

  Lori muffled a quiet laugh.

  “I’m sure that everyone will be pleased to know that,” she mumbled around a snicker.

  “I do not care what they think, but I do not like to hear a lot of unhappy squawking,” he corrected. “I do not know what they say, but the words irritate my ears. I only like it from my ashlava, but her words are even sweeter when she is speaking the Seshanamitesh language,” he rumbled flirtatiously as his nose brushed a little lower, dragging against the sensitive place on her jaw as his hand dipped low, his knuckle rubbing against her sex through her uniform.

  She snorted with amusement and wiggled away from the teasing touch.

  “Well, at least make sure you leave a few walls intact. And get one of the construction guys to help you so they can turn off the water and show you what walls you can demolish. We will need at least a few rooms available,” she added. “Definitely a bedroom,” she whispered as she rubbed suggestively against him.

  He shivered and gave a low, humming moan that immediately amped up her own desire. His cock slid free against her belly. Its hot length pulsed against her, the precum releasing a familiar scent into the air.

  She wiggled a bit to let him know that she wanted to be released. His arms quickly and instinctively tightened around her, but it lasted only for a moment before he let her go with a sweet sighing hum. He sank low on his coils, fitting himself in the scant space between the bed and the door, his red eyes glowing up at her with heat and adoration. She stripped off her tunic and pants, her movements less than graceful in her urgency. Slengral didn’t seem to mind because his eyes followed her every move as if she were the most beautiful thing in his world.

  He stroked his silky scaled hand over her breast, the blunt side of his claw teasing her nipple. She arched against his touch, a murmur of pleasure falling from her lips. She needed him. She loved him. Being stuck in that awful cell had cemented that so firmly in her blood—in her very soul—that she was certain that she needed him just as much as her mutated blood needed the planet’s air. As much as he needed the contact with her, and to not be separated from her, she needed that as well. It would likely be quite some time before either of them would feel comfortable letting go of the other.