“I don’t need anyone’s help.” Riot spat out a last mouthful of bile before she stumbled to her feet and looked at herself in the mirror. She felt like death, and she didn’t look much better. Her hair was a mess, and a laceration barely visible through her hairline still let out a trickle of blood. “What time is it?”
“It’s zero-five-hundred on the planet,” Evonne informed her. “May I suggest a visit to the med bay? I can walk you through the steps to set up an IV and the proper medication that will have you feeling better soon.”
“Let’s do it.” Riot mentally prepared herself for the trip to the med bay. She kept one hand on the wall. “Where are the other members of the squad?”
“Corporal Sean Rizzo and Mohammad Vetash returned to the ship and are sleeping soundly in their rooms.”
“And Deborah and Wang?”
“They did not return. They said they were going to stay in the Trilord pyramid. Each of the members of your squad asked about you before turning in for the night.”
“That’s precious.” Riot fought back another wave of nausea. “Tell me what I need to do to feel better. I have a meeting this afternoon that could mean the difference between peace and intergalactic warfare.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Wang looked at Riot with a raised eyebrow. “You seem … off.”
“I’m fine,” Riot growled. She stood in the cargo bay of their ship with the rest of the members of her squad. “Now get on with it.”
Riot had spent that morning recovering from her hangover. The effects were still lingering, but she felt a hundred times better than she had. She had assembled her squad before the peace talk meeting would take place. If things went badly, then war would soon follow. After everything Riot had seen about the healing nanites Wang had injected into Ketrick and the injured members of the Savage Trilords, she knew they needed them before the next confrontation, if or when that would be.
Wang wore his grey-and-black uniform, pacing in front of the group like a drill instructor speaking to his recruits. “Well, it’s pretty simple and a lot like the nanites we used before. The main difference is, these nanites are programmed to live in our bloodstream and repair our wounds when inflicted. It will accelerate our healing to such a degree … well, you all saw Ketrick’s wound heal in a day.”
“It’s going to make us immortal?” Vet eyed the needle gun on the steel table next to Wang. “I hate needles, but if it’s going to turn us into Greek gods…”
“It’s not going to stop the aging process.” Wang loaded the first vial of silver liquid into the needle gun and motioned for Deborah to move the blonde hair from the side of her neck. “And you can still die. If the wound you receive kills you, or there is nothing to repair, then you’re gone for good.”
Wang went from member to member, injecting them with the new nanites. When it was Riot’s turn, she hoped Wang wouldn’t be able to smell any kind of alcohol on her. If he did, he didn’t say anything. A sharp stab in the side of her neck, and it was over.
Freaking tiny machines in our body, Rizzo said with his hands. He rubbed the spot over his neck where the needle had pierced his ebony skin. I’m a minority—handicapped and a Marine. Haven’t I been through enough?
“Hey, Wang.” Vet picked up a scalpel from a cabinet in the med bay. “Let’s see if these nanites work. How long until they kick in?”
Riot was about to stop Vet from cutting himself, but she was interested in seeing the healing process, first-hand. If Wang was right, then he was basically turning them all into a squad of superheroes.
“You should be good.” Wang shrugged, doing some quick math on his fingers as he muttered the numbers. “Carry the one, take away the twelve … Yeah, you should be good to go.”
“Should be?” Deborah asked, looking over to Riot to see if she was going to stop the madness.
“Good enough for me.” Vet brought the steel scalpel down across the palm of his hand. A second later, a long, thin laceration separated the skin on his palm and a burst of crimson blood oozed out of the wound.
Deborah looked away as if she were going to be sick, though everyone else in the med bay leaned in. As soon as the blood sprung from the cut on his hand, the leak stopped. The skin grew over the slash as if the wound had never been there at all.
Vet looked, wide-eyed, as he wiped away the excess blood on his pant leg. He showed the group his palm again. There was no wound at all.
Who’s that old superhero you like? Rizzo asked Riot. He held his left fist tight, then pointed to his knuckles with his right hand. The one with the claws?
“Glad to see my love for the classics is rubbing off on all of you.” Riot thought back to one of the heroes she related to the most. “Wolverine.”
“We’re a badass group of Wolverine Marines.” Wang smiled. He grabbed a bone saw from another cabinet in the med bay. “Let’s see how fast Vet heals from this.”
Everyone in the room looked at Wang like he was crazy, most of all Vet himself.
“It was just a thought.” Wang wrapped the cord around the tool, muttering to himself again. “Jeez, calm down, people.”
“Ketrick is approaching the rear cargo bay,” Evonne’s voice spoke loud and clear. “He’s alone.”
“Probably here to get us for the meeting.” Deborah looked over to Riot. “Ready for this?”
“Let’s do it.” Riot was actually looking forward to talking to Boris and Remus more than she was looking forward to seeing what Ketrick had to say about the previous night. Riot doled out orders to the rest of the squad before she left. “Rizzo, Vet, if things go south, we may not have that long until the fighting starts. Have the ship ready to rock and roll.”
Rizzo nodded along with Riot’s words.
“Roger that.” Vet was still looking at his healed hand like a kid with a brand new toy. “We’ll be ready.”
“Wang”—Riot looked over to the medic—“get full combat gear for you and Deborah ready. If things turn bad, the safest place for her will be in the ship. But you and I will do the most good out in the field. The Savages will need your medical skills.”
Riot walked out of the room with Deborah in her wake.
“So, if things get bad, I’m just supposed to get back to the ship?” Deborah tossed the idea around in her head. “I can help Wang in the field with the wounded.”
“No way.” Riot shook her head. “You’re too important.”
“I want to help.”
“You will, you are.” Riot pushed back the memory of her dream where she was dead. “If things get bad, I need you to get these Marines back home. You know the alien tech better than any of us.”
41
Ketrick didn’t say too much when Riot and Deborah disembarked from the ship. He walked with the women back through the grounds that had held the celebration the night before. The field that was once alive with laughter and joy was now empty.
A foreboding feeling hung in the air and worked its way down to Riot’s stomach. The next few minutes would dictate full-out war or a chance for peace.
Ketrick walked next to her, his red eyes as serious as she had ever seen. Today, he wore long, black pants and boots. Iron greaves rested on his forearms, his bare chest a canopy of muscle and black tattoos. His long, black hair was tied behind his head.
When the trio reached the entrance, Kila motioned them inside. Deborah followed her instruction, but Ketrick grabbed Riot’s hand before she could follow.
“A quick moment.” Ketrick looked into her eyes and released her hand.
“I’m not like that.” The words had gushed out of Riot’s mouth in a rushed whisper. “I’m not that person you saw last night. It won’t happen again.”
“I know.” Ketrick shook his head. “That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh, really?” Riot staved off the rest of the apology she had been thinking about since early that morning. “What’s going on, then?”
“I just wanted to apologize for
forcing you to talk about something you didn’t want to. I can be a bit stubborn at times, and it gets people I care about into trouble.”
“Wait, are you apologizing to me?” Riot almost laughed out loud. “You took care of me when I was trying to drown my pain. You have nothing to apologize for. You were right. I needed to take a hard look at myself and come to grips with who I am.”
“So you’re not mad at me?”
“No, stop worrying. It takes away some of your bad-boy charm.” Riot slapped Ketrick on the shoulder so hard, it hurt her hand. “You gotta lay off the shoulder press, Muscles. Now come on, let’s go make peace or start a war.”
Riot didn’t wait to see if Ketrick would follow. She was in a great mood. It was as if a weight she hadn’t even known she was carrying had been lifted from her shoulders.
For a moment, a disturbing thought crossed her mind. Was she falling for the Savage prince? No, that couldn’t be it. Riot didn’t fall for guys anymore. She had killed that part of herself a long time ago and buried it down deep. Maybe not as deep as she thought, given the events of the previous night.
Riot shook her head clear of these thoughts as she jogged to catch up with Kila and Deborah, who were about to enter the throne room. Ketrick joined them a moment later.
“Into the belly of the beast?” Kila asked with a heavy breath. “Remus and Boris are already sitting with the queen.”
Riot nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Kila opened the doors, leading them into the familiar throne room. A long table had been brought into the chamber, with chairs facing one another from across the table.
Two dozen Savage soldiers stood behind the queen on one side. On the other side sat Boris and Remus. Behind the leader of the Brutes and Karnayers stood a handful of their own guards. Yellow-eyed giants dressed in brown vests and leather pants, and four slender, blue-skinned Karnayer warriors dressed in what looked like black body armor.
No one in the room carried weapons, but that didn’t mean blood still couldn’t be shed. When Riot and her companions entered the room, Boris gave them a sideways roll of his yellow eyes. “Finally, we can begin.”
Riot and Deborah took up seats on the queen’s left, while Ketrick assumed his position on her right. Kila joined the ranks of soldiers standing at attention behind the queen.
Remus eyed them all one at a time. His stare wasn’t intimidating or menacing, but rather weighing them up as if they were all on some kind of mental scale.
Boris, on the other hand, didn’t mind glaring at all of them.
“If we can begin.” The queen held Boris’s stare with an even look of her own. “I hope we can agree that war is the worst scenario for all of us seated at this table. If we meet on the battlefield, many will die, both trusted friends and perhaps even family.”
“There doesn’t have to be war.” Boris leaned back in his chair and crossed his scarred arms over his barrel chest. “If you simply swallow your pride and agree to our terms, we can all leave and have a mug of Borshock before the day’s end.”
“And what terms would these be?” Ketrick said. “The same ones that imprison the fire serpents we’ve held sacred for so long? The same terms that see us allied with an enemy who manipulates us for our strength?”
Boris and Ketrick glared at one another. For a moment, an immovable object met an unstoppable force, and the tension grew in the room to such an extent, even Riot was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
Holy crapollie, Riot thought. It’s going to go down right here, right now.
“There is a huge universe out there, beyond your stars.” Remus took hold of the lapse in conversation like a skilled politician. “We would all be better equipped to deal with threats in the universe if we had strong allies to support us. A rope woven with many cords is not easily broken.”
Not for the first time, Riot wondered if Remus and the Karnayers were the threat the Syndicate had warned about. It stood to reason that they very well might have been.
“Allies that bend the knee to one another are not allies at all.” The queen looked from Remus to Boris with an accusatory stare. “What did he promise you, Boris? Your aid in turning the fire serpents into weapons along with your army, for what? For rule over Hoydren, and then rule over the universe?”
“Our dealings are none of your business, Revna.” A look of shame crossed Boris’s eyes momentarily and then it was gone altogether. “You had your chance. I have to do what’s best for my people.”
“So you’re going from planet to planet, collecting weapons and soldiers for an intergalactic war?” Deborah asked from her seat beside Riot. She looked at Remus with genuine interest. “Those like the Savage Trilords who refuse your request are either killed or enslaved, and then you move on to the next planet? Your offer isn’t one of alliance, it’s an ultimatum: join us or else.”
Everyone was surprised by the words coming from the usually meek Deborah, but none more so than Riot. She hadn’t always been the nicest person to the doctor, but now she felt a swell of respect in her chest.
“You may see it as such, and you are welcome to.” Remus shrugged. “I can’t help what you believe. Our mission is simple, it’s only a matter of time before we arrive at Earth with the same proposal.”
“Is that a threat?” Riot already knew where these peace talks were going. She would be seeing Remus on the battlefield soon. No need to pull punches now. “Are you planning to invade Earth?”
“Oh, it’s not us you have to be worried about.” Remus gave her a wicked grin. “There are far more ancient, far more powerful forces lurking in the corners of the universe other than the Karnayers.”
“Who are you talking—”
“It’s clear there is no peace to be had here,” Boris interrupted. “You will not surrender and join us. You would rather have war.”
“We will not see the creatures of this world harnessed for war and treated like slaves.” Queen Revna stood from her seat. “Neither will we join strangers who are tyrants disguised as friends.”
“We have nothing more to discuss.” Boris stood from his seat and stomped out of the room, yelling for his retainer of guards to follow. “To war, then!”
Remus stood with a small smile. He nodded to everyone at the table, but held Ketrick’s eye. “Maybe a rematch is in our future.”
“I’ll be coming for you.” Ketrick stood with a look of focus so intense, Riot thought he would drill holes through the Karnayer. “Believe that.”
Remus smirked and followed Boris out of the pyramid with his own guards.
Boris could still be heard roaring through the pyramid, “To war! To war!”
42
They won’t wait to attack.” Ketrick stared at the backs of Remus and the rest of the Karnayers as they left the failed peace talks. “They’ll come now, and they’ll come quickly.”
“I agree.” Kila stepped forward from her place beside the other Savage Trilords. “We should expect an attack within the hour.”
“What does the size of their force look like?” Riot’s mind was running through a dozen different scenarios at once. “How many ships does Remus have?”
“He has only the one that we’ve seen.” Ketrick motioned for Riot and the others to follow him through the pyramid and up multiple flights of stairs. “Boris’s forces should be in viewing range soon. As much as I would like to face that son of an oxenheim once more, Vikta and I are the best suited to deal with the fire serpents under his control. Perhaps we can put them down without killing them, or maybe I can get through to them.”
Riot followed Ketrick through a short hall and up flights of stairs that doubled back on one another. Deborah, Kila, and the queen also followed.
“I’ll see that they do not breach the walls of Silna,” Kila promised. “We might be outnumbered, but I’d take a Savage warrior over five of the Brutes any day.”
“I understand everyone’s eagerness to fight and die for each other,” the queen cautioned as they crested
the last flight of stairs and walked back into another hall in the pyramid. “However, wisdom followed by action will see us through this battle.”
Ketrick turned a corner again and led them out onto a balcony. They were about halfway up the pyramid, but still high enough to see the city of Silna that sloped down below them, the city wall, and the approaching army.
The Brute army was a sea of yellow, brown, and black. They were still too far away to make out specifics, but there was no denying the size. It was something Riot wasn’t used to seeing. Warfare had evolved on Earth to a degree where standing and facing each other, army to army, was suicide. It took her breath away to see an entire militia marching in their direction.
“What do you think, Riot?” To the queen’s credit, her voice did not waver. Her red eyes were hard and full of determination. “You’re versed in combat. I heard what you did to save Kila and Hemming when you restored my son to me. I would hear your council.”
“Ketrick and Kila are both right.” Riot nodded as the only course of action became clear to her. “Kila should hold the walls. Ketrick is our best chance at dealing with the dragons—er, I mean, fire serpents. Let my team and me handle the ship or ships Remus brings with him.”
Nods all around settled the matter. From the oncoming Brute horde, a low, steady war beat drifted on the breeze. Like the heartbeat of a giant, the pounding continued, always on time, always steady.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“All of you be cautious.” Ketrick’s eyes strayed to Riot’s. “Don’t take unneeded risks.”
Kila, the queen, and even Deborah looked at Riot now.
“What?” Riot looked around her. “Why is everyone looking at me?”
“Because we know you,” Deborah said with a tilt of her head. “Come on, let’s go.”
“I thought you said the best plan would be for you and Wang to go fight on foot.” Deborah jogged next to Riot as the two women exited the pyramid and made for their craft. “What happened to that?”
War Wolves: Boxset 1-3 Page 16
