Vengeance

by Amy Miles

  “Oh god,” he cries as he pulls me into his arms. “When Bastien told me I didn’t want to believe…” he trails off. I can hear tears choking off his words. “I’m going to get you out of here. There’s a ship waiting for you.”

  I nod, knowing that I should say something. Should tell him that I love him, thank him for coming for me, but none of those words seem to cross my lips as I turn to see Bastien standing behind Eamon. The pain etched into his soot stained features steals the words away.

  He meets my gaze and then dips low, helping Eamon lift me. I cry out in pain and nearly tumble forward but Eamon catches me, adjusting my weight to support me. “I’ve got her,” he grunts, lifting me into his arms, taking my full weight onto himself.

  I can’t see Bastien as Eamon rushes me down the hall. I want to tell him that it’s ok, that he has done enough to save me, but another contraction hits and I am lost to the pain. I press my face against Eamon’s chest as the pain mounts and am only vaguely aware of Bastien grunting to shove open the door. A blast from outside must have fried the controls.

  The instant Eamon climbs through the gap the heat hits me, stealing my breath away. It is far too hot. I lift my face to the sky and see the canopy is on fire. Huge tendrils of flaming vines collapse to the ground. Everywhere I look I see the flash of swords and lasers. The Snake people and Hendrix’s men are locked into battle and I realize that Drach’s compound is not among the swamps but situated in a great grassy plain.

  The grasses whip about madly in the wake of several hover wings that pelt laser fire from above. Everything appears to either be burning or bleeding.

  “Get her in the air, now!” Bastien shouts. He pauses a second to grasp my hand. “I’ll be right back.”

  His fingers slip from between mine and I raise my hand to reach for him but he is gone. Eamon lifts me higher and runs full out. He is not nearly as fast as my friend Toren would be, but he moves with far more speed than I have ever known to be possible for him.

  I try to shield my eyes as Eamon rushes straight toward an enormous scout ship. The hum of its engines rumbles in my chest as he ducks low, protecting me from the heat of the swirling turbines and rushes up the ramp.

  “Illyria!” A familiar face with bouncing curls appears over me. “Oh thank god! We thought you were dead!”

  “Not yet,” I smile at my best friend Aminah. “Not yet.”

  She places a cool hand against my forehead and glances up at Eamon. “She’s burning up. We have to get her to the healers.”

  “No time,” I groan as another contraction hits. They are coming much too fast. So fast I can barely capture my breath. “They are coming!”

  “Toren!” Eamon shouts. I can hear his boots pounding against the metal grate floor. A blast of wind snarls my hair and then Toren is standing before me, windblown and his face drawn with concern. “I need to get Kyan. Can you take her for me?”

  “No!” I shout and grasp on to his arm. “You need to stay with me.”

  Eamon smiles. “I’m not going far. I promise. Kyan will know how to help you until the healers arrive.”

  I nod and slowly let him pull away. He turns and runs in the opposite direction and I look up into Toren’s face. Although his smile doesn’t meet his eyes as he looks me over, I know that he is trying. “Never could stay out of trouble for long, could you?”

  I snort out a laugh but instantly break off. I groan and grasp my stomach. “Run, Toren,” Aminah says, and he does.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  I can feel the ship rocking, pounded by bursts of laser fire that erupt not far from the hull. A constant beeping near my ear draws me from my pain induced haze. I look up to find Aminah hovering nearby, deep in conversation with Toren. They look worried.

  No one else is in the room. That’s odd, I muse. I should have a swarm of healers around me by now.

  “Toren,” I croak and try to clear my throat. It feels dry, as if I have been asleep for days instead of a few minutes.

  He comes to my side and kneels down. Aminah approaches but doesn’t get too close. “Where is Eamon?” His gaze shifts away. I clench down on his arm. “Where is he?”

  “He is coming. I’m sure of it.”

  I glance at Aminah and see tears in her eyes. “What happened?”

  She shakes her head and turns away, her shoulders curled inward as she holds herself. I look to Toren and feel my chest clench. “Toren?”

  He sighs and presses a hand against my shoulder in what I assume is meant to be comforting. “We lost Kyan.”

  “What!” I try to rise up but he holds me down. Now I understand why he chose that place on my arm to rest his hand. It wasn’t for comfort but for restraint.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers, closing his eyes.

  “How…” my voice cracks and I try again, “how did it happen?”

  “Zahra got cut off from the group,” he explains, his voice thick with emotion. “He went after her. It was a slaughter. There was nothing that could be done.”

  “And Eamon? Bastien?”

  Aminah turns at the sound of his name. “Do you remember?”

  I blink, surprised by her question but the instant she says the words a flood of memories pours back in. I gasp as the pain envelops me and threatens to spill over at the memory of each time Bastien and I have been forced to say goodbye, to deny our love. Too many times for me to bear all at once. “Oh god,” I whisper as tears well in my eyes. “I remember everything now.”

  Aminah nods, pressing her hand to her mouth as whimpers rise in her throat. “Kyan did this,” I whisper and close my eyes as the pain of his death washes over me. He must truly be gone for my memories to have returned.

  “Where are Eamon and Bastien?” I ask Toren. My fingers begin to curl around my bed. The pain is coming hard and fast but I push it from my mind as best I can. “Toren? Where are they?”

  He looks away. “We don’t know. I’m being commanded to take off but we have lingered...hoping.”

  I push up onto my elbows and glare at him. The wall behind him begins to blur in my vision, as if it is vibrating. “No. We are not leaving them behind.”

  Toren looks to Aminah. I can see fear in his eyes as he nods. “I’ll go check on them.”

  I collapse back against the bed as he rises and embraces Aminah briefly before rushing out of sight. She sinks down beside me and tries to grasp my arm but cries out as she tears her hand back, her eyes wide with pain.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask through gritted teeth. The darkness behind my closed eyes is soothing compared to the blaring lights of the medical room.

  “You shocked me.”

  My eyes fly open wide. “I did?”

  I look down to see her holding her wrist, her open palm red and blistered. “But that’s impossible. I can’t--” I cut off as a shriek rises in my throat. My back arches as a terrible pain shreds my abdomen. The bed begins to quake. The metal braces that latch the bed to the ground begin to groan in protest.

  “What’s happening?” I can hear the fear in her voice but it sounds hollow in my ears. I can’t respond. Can’t think. All that matters is the pain.

  Illyria. You need to calm down.

  I am surprised by the sudden invasion in my mind. I collapse against the mattress and stare at her, shocked to feel her in my thoughts.

  “That’s not possible,” I groan, curling in upon myself. “This collar blocks my abilities.”

  She turns her gaze onto the tarnished collar at my neck. Aminah starts to reach for it but I bat her hand away. “It’s no use. We can’t get it off!”

  “Then how are you able to hear me?”

  “I don’t know,” I shout. My fingers curl into claws. My neck cords as I grit my teeth. This wave is stronger than all the rest.

  Eamon! Bastien! Get back here now! I wince at Aminah’s shout. She notices and apologizes for including me in her message.

  Reaching behind my head I grab hold of a pillow and press it against my stomach, curling
inward as tight as I can in hopes that the pain will ease a bit. It is a futile hope, but I can’t just lay here and do nothing.

  The table beside me begins to rattle as a scream builds deep within me. I arch my head back and let go, my shrieks echoing off the walls. An array of medical supplies atop the shelving unit across from me begins to plummet to the floor. Aminah cries out as a chair slams into her leg, its wheels still in motion as it careens off her side and spirals toward the far wall.

  In the distance I can hear shouting mingled with laser fire. I can feel anger, rage pouring in upon me. I gasp, fighting to breathe, to think around it. “He’s coming,” I groan, clutching my stomach.

  “Eamon?”

  “No.” I grab onto the side of the bed and hoist myself onto my side. My good leg pushes against the bed as I curl my fingers around the edge of the bed. The metal frame begins to bend to the indent of my fingers. “Hendrix.”

  The door behind me hisses open and Toren appears. There is a great gash down the side of his face, from temple to chin. He looks dazed and barely on his feet. Aminah cries out as he stumbles forward and lands hard on his knees. I can smell the scent of burning flesh and know that he has been gravely wounded.

  “Toren!” she rushes out of my sight. I can hear her cries, her pleas for him not to leave her, but in my heart I know they won’t matter. “No!” she wails, and tears slip past my closed eyelids.

  The door hisses open again and I catch the scent of smoke and death. It mingles together with such potency I can feel my stomach beginning to churn. A hand falls on my arm and I open my eyes to see Bastien before me. His chest is streaked with blood. His hand curled inward, his fingers smashed and useless. He favors his right side as he leans toward me.

  “Eamon?” I ask, breathlessly.

  “He was right behind me.”

  The metal beneath my grip groans as the urge to push grows too great. “You have to help me,” I plead, staring up at him through unbearable pain. “Please.”

  His face grows grim as he looks down at my swollen belly. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “Learn fast,” I grunt and try to shift again. He places his hands on my arm to help me roll but jerks back, his eyes wide with surprise.

  “How did you--”

  “I don’t know,” I wail as I release the edge of the bed and push, knowing somehow that being on my back will bring relief, even if it is not sudden.

  Bastien clenches his one good hand, shaking it out and then moves around to the edge of the bed. “Aminah?” He calls back over his shoulder. I can hear her crying, sobbing as she clings to Toren. “I know this isn’t a good time but I really need your help. Illyria’s life depends on it.”

  I see her slowly rise from the floor. She wipes her nose with the back of her hand, staring down at Toren. “Please,” I whisper to her, begging her to help me.

  When she meets my gaze my heart shatters for her. I can see that she has no reason to want to live. No reason to go on, and I don’t blame her.

  She wavers in place, her curls blowing in the breeze that filters in through the open door. Never before have I seen such desolation but I know that I have felt it. Looking at Bastien now I remember exactly how it felt to be forced to choose Eamon instead. To live without Bastien by my side.

  I would give anything to change that. To make things right.

  Bastien places his hand on my ankle and tries to offer me a reassuring smile. “I remember,” I whisper.

  His gaze narrows and he leans in. “What did you say?”

  “I remember everything…” I trail off as darkness edges into my vision.

  “Illyria? Oh god! Aminah, I need you now!”

  I can feel Bastien tearing at my skirts and raising my leg. It falls to the side with nothing to hold it aloft. I am lost to the pain, barely aware of him shouting to Aminah. Barely aware of anything until I hear a piercing scream.

  I roll my head to the side and cry out as a lighted sword rams through her chest. Her eyes are wide with disbelief as she is shoved aside, falling out of my line of sight.

  Bastien whips around to come face to face with Hendrix. He has the look of a wild man. His hair is singed, some of it cut away in jagged lines. His arms, face and neck are coated with splatters of blood. His hands have a firm grip on his sword as he turns to face Bastien.

  “No!” I scream as Bastien lunges, but it is too late.

  The room begins to tilt in front of me, everything a blur. I can hear the doors rattling, hear glass shattering as I throw back my head and scream. I pull my leg up and grip the bed, pushing with all my might.

  The clash of Hendrix’s sword against metal is caught in my thoughts as I feel rage spiraling through me. The clasps around my wrists begin to boil, the metallic surface bubbling. The heat rises from my skin as I push again.

  “Illyria!”

  I release pressure and fall back against the bed as Eamon rushes into the doorway. He’s alive! I am panting, exhausted beyond belief as I watch him engage Hendrix.

  “Go help her,” Eamon shouts as he slams his fist into Hendrix jaw. The older man ricochets off the wall and comes right back to ram the hilt of his sword into Eamon’s nose. Bastien fills my vision. He is bloodier than before but alert.

  “I need to push,” I whimper.

  He nods and moves between my legs. I look at him, seeing the fierce determination in his eyes as I glance behind him at Eamon and Hendrix locked in battle. “I swear he will not get to you.”

  I nod and grip the bed, growling as I push. Sweat beads along my brow, dripping along my chin to patter against my chest.

  “Push, Illyria. You’re doing great!” At Bastien’s encouragement I gulp in big breaths and prepare for another push. I can feel myself weakening.

  We will protect you, a tiny voice calls to my mind.

  I gasp. Bastien raises up. “Are you ok?”

  “I heard them,” I say in awe. “I heard my children.”

  Bastien’s jaw clenches as he nods. “Let’s get this done.”

  Mommy loves you, I call back but I don’t know if they can hear me. Gripping the bed one last time I shriek and push so hard I begin to feel light headed. My vision darkens and then suddenly the pain lessens.

  Bastien raises up and I spy a tiny body in his arms. His hands are coated with blood as he turns the baby over and pats on its back. I shed tears of relief as the first wailing cry fills the room. I can see two tiny legs and two tiny arms. A small button nose and small wisps of blond hair that curl. A perfect match for Eamon’s. My heart clenches at the sound of the baby’s cry.

  “He’s a boy,” Bastien smiles as he holds him up for me to see.

  “Illyria.” I turn to see Eamon’s gaze locked onto mine. It shifts for a split second onto the child clutched in Bastien’s arms and then goes blank.

  “Eamon!” I howl as Hendrix drives his boot into Eamon’s leg. The sound of bone snapping makes my stomach churn. He stomps again, this time higher. High enough that I fear he has shattered Eamon’s hip. His right arm hangs limply beside him. His chest seems concave, as if he took a hard beating. I can see that Eamon is struggling to breathe. There is no fight left in him.

  “Bastien!”

  “I know.” He stares down at the child in his arms and back at Eamon. “I can’t leave the baby!”

  Eamon cries out as Hendrix stomps down on his lower leg, his boot crunching all the way to the floor. He tries to fight back, to snatch at Hendrix with his remaining good arm but his enemy remains just out of reach. Bastien reaches toward him, trying to cradle my child and reach Eamon’s fallen sword at the same time. Eamon lifts his gaze to Bastien and then toward me.

  “Take care of her for me.” Eamon kicks out his good leg and sends the sword spiraling toward Bastien.

  Gripping his hilt with two hands, Hendrix drives the tip of the lighted sword deep into Eamon’s chest. My breath catches as Eamon’s mouth falls slack. Blood stains his chest as the hand that was reaching out for me fa
lls to his side.

  “No!” I howl as his head rolls to the side. I watch his gaze fade, shifting into nothingness.

  The room careens around me as I arch my back and screech in agony. Bastien grabs onto the edge of the bed as the ship shifts. “Illyria, take the baby!”

  I reach out for my son. Bastien hardly has time to ensure that the boy is safe in my arms before he dives for the sword. He comes out of his roll and slams the sword right up through Hendrix’s gut. Blood spills down the blade, concealing the brilliant white light. Bastien slowly withdraws the sword and rises as Hendrix falls to his knees.

  Hendrix’s expression is frozen with shock. Bastien looks back to me and then slashes with the sword. I hear the thud of Hendrix’s head hitting the floor as if it were a boulder smashing into a canyon.

  Bastien is thrown off his feet as the ship quakes again. “Illyria?”

  My scream rises as I push, knowing that my second child is on its way. The baby in my arms flails and I try not to crush him as I push. Bastien rushes toward a control panel on the wall. “Get us in the air!”

  I can hear a great cracking, like stone splitting all around us. The ship heaves this way and that. Bastien rocks on his feet as he stumbles back toward me. “What’s happening?” he shouts.

  The child in my arms begins to glow, like a pulsating star in the sky. I am forced to shield my eyes as he burns brighter than any sun I have ever glimpsed.

  “Illyria?”

  My teeth begin to rattle and the ship lurches. For a moment I experience a terrible weightlessness before we plummet. Bastien flails to grab onto my bed but misses and rolls across the floor, slamming into the wall. The terrible groans from the planet sound as if the entire world is disintegrating beneath us. He lies still for a moment and then I hear a pained groan.

  Daddy? a tiny voice calls to me.

  I look down at the child in my arms and feel my heart shatter. Daddy is gone, sweet child.

  I can feel his anger, feel it rush over me like a tidal wave. I gasp for breath, fighting to keep from drowning in his fury.

  Are you doing this? I call to him.