Conquest

by A L Fogerty

  They found a high school. Kayla knew from experience that high schools had large rooms called auditoriums, and that the building could hold a lot of her army.

  “I need a party to go in with me to clear it out,” Kayla said.

  “I’ll go,” Sid said, dismounting his horse and handing the reins to Felix.

  Kayla nodded, glad she would have the chance to do something productive with Sid. Another two dozen soldiers offered to go while the rest of the party stayed outside to gather and account for the horses and supplies.

  Sid found the side door leading into the auditorium. He and the group slipped inside. Kayla followed them, and Sid gave her a sideways glance. He wanted her to rest, but she had to show the army that she was there with them and that she wasn’t asking anything of them that she wouldn’t do herself.

  The moment they walked into the auditorium, they were overrun by a horde of skeletons. The place must have been packed when the plague hit the town. The shifters drew their swords, and others dropped into their animal forms, battling back the decayed teenage zombies.

  Kayla drew her strength and blew back a dozen skeletons charging at her soldiers. They flew across the gymnasium and shattered against the back wall, flooding down from the bleachers and through the doors. Her men and women fought valiantly against the surge. Steel, fangs, and claws clashed against dry bone. Dust and debris flew, clouding the air with a heavy haze of decayed remains.

  Kayla and Sid stood back-to-back. He swung his hammer while she blasted the skeletons with her magic and shot them in their skulls with her bow. When the tide of zombies ceased, Sid winked at her, and she winked back, squeezing his shoulder affectionately.

  The army began to move the men and horses into the auditorium while the clearing party moved farther into the school. Skeletons and even a few fresh zombies roamed the hallways. Kayla drew her magic and blasted the zombies rambling down the hall. Her soldiers charged in, finishing them off as they passed.

  “We need to clear the classrooms,” Kayla said. “The army needs as much room as it can get.”

  The clearing party went from one classroom to the next. Kayla blasted them, then Sid and the others crushed anything that moved. When the last room was cleared, she slapped Sid on the back, feeling the solid muscle under his dense armor. He turned to her and took her hand in his, their eyes catching. The warmth of his fingers around her hand sent a thrill down her spine. His grasp was tender and soft despite the calluses on his palm. She felt a flash of affection and desire quicken inside her, her heart speeding from rapid to frantic.

  “I’ll go tell the others,” she said, stepping out of that moment of spontaneous intimacy.

  Walking down the hall, she turned and looked over her shoulder, finding Sid’s eyes still on her. Sid had always been a solid, supportive presence in her life. Even when she was not herself, he still cared for her with his understated masculinity. Unlike Jagger, who took what he wanted when he wanted it, her passionate Quinn, or her high-spirited Riddick, Sid stood in observant silence, waiting.

  She bit her lip as she moved into the auditorium and caught Jagger’s eye. She didn’t know if she was ready to take on another mate. The events of the last year had taken so much of her strength, and her heart was broken. Leaving Oksana was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. Leaving Riddick was only slightly less difficult.

  She nodded to Jagger, and he began directing the army to move into the school. Once everyone was safely inside, they settled down to wait for the storm to pass. She went to find Bane in the crowd of animals packed into the auditorium. Her loyal companion had stayed to protect the horses. Kayla knelt, ruffling the fur on Bane’s neck affectionately. Bane licked Kayla’s cheek, and she laughed. Someone stepped close, and she looked up to find Jagger standing above her with a worried look on his face.

  “We have a problem.”

  “What is it?”

  “What we thought was a dust storm is really a tornado.”

  She stood as Bane sat at her heel. “What should we do?”

  “This is probably the safest place for us, but if the tornado hits the school…”

  She felt the flash of concern spike through their mate bond. A tornado could rip the building apart and destroy her army.

  “You need to get to safety,” Jagger said.

  “I’ll take her.” Kayla turned to find Sid walking toward her.

  “I know where we can go,” he said.

  They hurried down the main hall they had cleared and turned a corner down a secondary one. Sid stopped at a narrow, windowless door and grabbed the handle. Bane followed close behind her, and Sid lit the lantern he’d grabbed from his saddle.

  “There is a basement down here,” he said, guiding her down the rickety stairs.

  She followed him into the darkness, guided by the light of his lantern. At the bottom of the stairs, the light cast shadows on the stacks of boxes, books, and discarded furniture covered in a thick layer of dust. There were a few chairs and a large desk. Kayla sat on a high-backed wooden chair. It swiveled, catching her off guard.

  Sid took the office chair across the desk and set his lantern between them.

  “I should be up there with the rest of the army,” Kayla said. “Maybe I could stop the tornado, like the one in the City of Ghosts.”

  “No way.”

  Kayla raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I’m not letting you put yourself in danger.”

  “It is possible I could stop it.”

  “It’s also possible it would pick you up and take you to Oz.”

  “Oz?”

  “You never read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?”

  Kayla shook her head.

  “Me either. Felix read it to me when we were kids. After our mom died.”

  Kayla had lost her own mother when she was young. Her heart went out to Sid. She imagined him as a boy, staying up late while Felix read him bedtime stories. It made her smile. “What’s it about?”

  “It’s about a girl who ends up in a magical world over the rainbow. She wants to go home, but she has to battle a wicked witch to get there. In the end, she finds out that the power was inside her all along.”

  “Huh. Well, maybe I should have read it. It might have given me some pointers on how to defeat my own wicked witch.”

  “Maybe it’s inside you too.”

  Kayla gazed at Sid across the desk. Dust motes danced in the dim light. She wanted to reach out to him, take comfort in his strength, and let his solid body give her the stability she desperately needed.

  The storm hit. It smashed the building with intense shuddering winds. The entire building shook as the tornado howled around them. A screeching groan filled the air, and Kayla shot to her feet. Dust poured from the ceiling above. The sound of tearing drowned out any other thought. Debris smashed against the door at the top of the stairs, and Bane howled.

  “It’s hit us!” she yelled.

  Sid drew her into his arms and pulled her away from the stairs.

  “I have to help them.”

  “We’ll stay down here until it passes.”

  They moved farther into the basement, the light of the lantern growing dim with the increasing flow of dust from above. Kayla choked on the thick air. Her mate bond with Jagger and Quinn was filled with frantic emotions—panic, fear, and desperation.

  “I can’t stay down here while they are in trouble.” She tried to pull away from Sid, but he held her close to his chest.

  “I promised I’d keep you safe.”

  Kayla could flatten any man, but instead, she let Sid hold her. The warmth of his densely muscled form comforted her. She pressed her face to his chest, closing her eyes. Bane panted anxiously in front of them as they stayed ducked in a back corner of the basement, surrounded by draped boxes and supplies.

  “I’m so worried,” Kayla whispered, looking up at him with a tear in her eye.

  “You can give all your worry to me,” he said.

  The tone
of his voice and the smell of his body made her feel as if she really could give him her concerns. There was nothing Kayla needed more, in that moment, or maybe ever. She reached up and cupped his face, placing her lips to his. Heat slipped between them, their bodies coming alive like electrical currents zipping through the air.

  His tongue slid through her lips, and she tasted him. Kayla’s body came alive with need. She climbed onto his lap, feeling his manhood even through the layers of his armor. He held her face in his hands as she moved over him, catching her eyes with his.

  “Kayla.” He spoke her name like a prayer.

  The storm raged, and her heart went with it. Sid pulled open the front of her leather vest, exposing her breasts. His hungry mouth found her nipple and sucked greedily. Their mouths devoured each other as she slid over his hardness. He gripped her thighs, pushing up under her, giving her a solid mount to ride.

  “Kayla!” A muffled scream came from the top of the stairs. It was Jagger.

  “Oh, thank the gods,” Kayla said, starting away from Sid.

  He stopped her, pulling her back into another consuming kiss. “Don’t forget this, my queen.”

  She stopped, looking into his eyes. “I won’t.” Her heart throbbed in her chest. They sat silently for several long moments. He covered her chest, and a small smile curved his lips.

  “Kayla!”

  Kayla jumped to her feet and hurried to the top of the stairs. She tried to push through, but the door was jammed. She used her magic to push it open, but there was something blocking the way.

  “I’m trying to get out, Jagger.”

  “The roof caved in.” His voice was muffled by the debris.

  “Stand back!”

  She gathered her strength deep into her belly, placed her palms to the door, and let it blow. The door smashed against the rubble on the other side, crushed by the power of her magic. Dust streamed into the room through the filtered sunlight. “Is everyone okay?” she asked.

  “We’ve had some injuries. A horse broke its leg. We had to put it down. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. So is Sid.” She looked back at him as he stood behind her on the stairs with Bane. A tingle of desire shot up her spine when their eyes met. No, she would not forget what they’d shared.

  “Stay back,” she called through the rubble. “I’m going to try again.”

  She took a deep breath, gathering her magic. With her palms facing the broken door, she shot her magic at the debris. The door splintered. The broken roof beams smashed in two, and the roof crumbled into the hall.

  “There’s a path through!” Jagger yelled. “Hurry! Be careful!”

  She peered through the open door at the carnage then slid out of the basement. Bane was right behind her as she sprinted over the rubble and into Jagger’s arms. He caught her and squeezed her hard. She turned, finding Sid starting out of the basement. The roof started to collapse right above him.

  Kayla whirled, lifting her palms. She had very little magic left but used the dregs of her power to blow the falling wood away from Sid. It crashed into the pile of drywall and insulation. Sid hurried toward them, dust in his blond hair. His eyes flashed as he looked at her, and all at once, she felt her knees going out. He caught her and lifted her off her feet just as she lost consciousness.

  When she woke again, she found herself in her tent. It was dark outside, and the smell of roasting meat filled the air. Sid walked through the tent flap, holding a plate of mystery meat and beans. She sat up in bed and looked around, dazed and confused.

  “We made camp after the storm.” He knelt beside her and handed her the plate.

  She inhaled the food. The scent made her mouth water, and she scooped a forkful into her mouth.

  “How are you feeling?” He placed his palm on her forehead.

  “Starving,” she said between bites.

  “You used too much energy today,” he said softly.

  “But look, I finally got the rest I needed.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The weather shifted suddenly as they rode through the devastation the storm had left behind. Kayla pulled her fur cloak over her shoulders against the chill. Lightning’s body was warm and strong under her as she marched with the army through the endless expanse of nothingness. The storm had left the land covered in a thick layer of dust. Grasses had been torn from the ground in knotted whirls. The few buildings they passed had fared no better. Roofs were torn and tossed into other buildings. Windows were shattered, the glass sprayed over the dirty streets like glittering shards in a sea of dust. The desolate landscape should have filled her with overwhelming despair, but somehow her chronic sadness had passed.

  It was replaced by something else. Perhaps a sense of emptiness but not the gnawing kind. It wasn’t a lack of happiness so much as a thin melancholy. There was room inside her since she had kissed Sid, room she could fill with something other than the horror of her daughter’s curse.

  She was marching. Moving. Surrounded by an army of men and women who were loyal to her. Slowly, shred by shred, a sense of purpose slid inside her. It was so minute at first that it was almost imperceptible. But by midday, she had become aware that it was happening. She took a deep, shuddering breath and let it out, and she was swept up in the intensity of the new emotion.

  Tilting her head, she gazed into the bright, clear sky. It was so blue, so full of promise and possibility. She then looked around for Sid. He was riding ahead of her in the procession, talking to Felix and Quinn. She nudged Lightning into a trot, moving quickly to catch up with him.

  “Sid,” she said, her voice bursting with the energy inside her. He turned his gaze to her, his lips curving into a smile. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? Even with this chill.”

  “I like the cold,” Sid said. “Better for riding.”

  “Do you think about what happened in the basement?”

  “Of course,” he said, looking up into the cool blue sky.

  “It’s done something to me. I feel so much lighter now. It’s hard to explain.”

  He turned to her, squinting into the sun behind her. “That is a good reason to continue what we started.”

  “Maybe.” She sighed, not sure if she was ready for another mate, no matter how good being with Sid made her feel. “I think I need time.”

  “There’s no rush, love.” He squeezed her thigh gently. “I’m a patient man.”

  “I know you are. That’s one of the things I love the most about you.” The words fell out of her mouth like water falling from a faucet. She said them before she had clearly articulated them inside her mind. She and Sid stared at each other, the heat of the words passing between them.

  “There are many things I love about you,” he said softly.

  She had the strongest sensation to jump from her horse and throw herself into his arms. Sid gave her so much strength. His quiet, understated presence held her up like the foundation of a fortress. She wanted to feel his solid arms around her again and give in to the thrill of his penetrating yet confoundingly gentle kiss. But the niggling doubt at the back of her mind plagued her. Her despair for her daughter was like a lead weight on her heart, so heavy that she didn’t have the strength to imagine allowing herself such a fragile new emotion.

  The army moved through a small town that had been built around the edges of the highway. The buildings had been destroyed and were covered in dust. When Kayla looked away from Sid to take a deep breath of crisp, still air, she heard a familiar sound. She gasped, recognizing the cackling of gnolls.

  Horses sidestepped, nervously whinnying at the scent. A dozen gnolls surrounded the front of the procession, laughing and chattering. The hyena-faced humanoids brandished their crude weapons at the shifter soldiers. There were far more shifters than gnolls. The fight should be easy.

  A sound she’d never heard before filled the air. It was almost like the popping of suction when Oksana slipped off a nipple when she nursed. That was followed by a groaning
crunch, like when Bane enjoyed a juicy bone.

  It was so loud, an involuntary shiver went down Kayla’s spine. The soldiers dispersed the gnolls. But the true threat waddled out from behind a decimated building. All she could see was the massive mouth full of row after row of bloody teeth. It reminded her of the pictures Felix had shown her of sharks as they’d prepared for the trip west.

  The horses at the front of the line reared, dropped their riders, and ran off in an uncontrollable gallop away from the monster. Kayla pulled back on Lightning’s reins, cold dread chilling her entire frame.

  Jagger charged toward her and grabbed her reins, attempting to pull her away from the danger.

  “Stop it!”

  “You need to get back!” he shouted.

  “Since when do I need protection?” She didn’t like that she’d been cloistered in the basement during the storm while her entire army weathered it above ground, even if it had given her that precious moment with Sid. She had to show her army she was willing to do what she expected of them.

  “Kayla,” Sid called after her.

  She pulled her reins free of Jagger’s grip and charged to the front of the line. Sid was right beside her in the fight.

  “If you won’t protect yourself, I will,” he said, gripping his hammer.

  The giant monster swooped down, opening its mouth. It scooped up the disoriented soldiers who had fallen to the ground, crunching on their bones, devouring them in seconds.

  Kayla screamed, pulling the extent of her power from the deepest bit of her core. She looked inside the creature’s body, trying to find its heart, but she felt nothing. It did not have the normal structure of a living thing. She grunted in frustration, pulling her strength into her own heart.

  “Stay back, Sid,” she yelled. Sid was a big, strong warrior, but his hammer was no match for this demon. She wouldn’t see him hurt because of his misguided sense of protectiveness.

  She kicked Lightning to charge forward, and raising her palm, she let her alpha power loose at the massive beast. It swooped again, snapping at the fleeing soldiers who hadn’t been eaten in the first pass.