Burn the Night

by Jonathan Yanez

  “So your people think you’re here to learn how to protect them and become a full-fledged Arilion Knight,” Layga began.

  “But really you’re here to learn and go back and slaughter all those slave owners,” Jeba finished with an approving nod.

  “Exactly,” Jace said, his eyes not leaving Emma’s. “You don’t like that plan, human?”

  “I didn’t say that.” Emma dusted off her pants as she rose from her place on the floor.

  “Your eyes say everything,” Jace countered.

  “I’ve learned that when a fight comes my way, I’m going to see it through to the end. That’s the only thing to do.” Emma sighed, thinking of the Shay and more recently her battle with the Ree commander. “However, if there is a way to stop the fight and come to terms before the blood begins to flow, then maybe that’s worth looking into.”

  Jace didn’t say a word. Instead of speech, he began to disrobe. He pulled his arms through the black and purple Academy uniform he wore. Although he had torn off the sleeves, it still covered his torso from his neck down to his waist.

  “I’m flattered that you find me attractive, but my heart belongs to another.” Jeba waved off what she guessed were his advances. “Besides, it wouldn’t be appropriate. We’re not alone.”

  Jace ignored her words, removing his shirt and dropping it to the floor beside him.

  Layga audibly gasped.

  Emma felt her combination lunch-dinner gurgle in the pit of her stomach.

  Jace’s torso was covered in scars. Long white marks rose from his skin where his black fur refused to grow back. His upper body was a crisscross of painful lesions that interwove with one another like some massive spider web built on his chest and stomach.

  Layga lifted a hand to her mouth.

  Jace turned around slowly to make sure they could all see what he had endured. His back was worse than his chest. Only sporadic clumps of black hair grew at all amongst so much scar tissue rising from his back.

  “The leading families of Raze prefer not to mar the faces of their slaves,” Jace explained as he finally turned full circle and began placing his shirt on once more. “They want us to bleed, but they don’t want to look on their actions. I will return one day and I will free my people. Those in the ruling class can submit or die. I’m not interested in talking with them, not anymore.”

  Emma was so shocked, she wasn’t sure what to say. The pain that Jace had endured for the entirety of his life had molded his hate into something not easily swayed.

  Emma was trying to come up with the words, but trying to change his mind in the moment didn’t seem right. As much as Jace would deny it, he just needed someone to understand him right now, not preach to him how he should or shouldn’t feel.

  “You’re safe now and with a new family,” Emma said, moving forward to stand in front of Jace. “I think I’m just starting to learn that myself. We can agree and disagree how to handle things, but we have to have each other’s back no matter what. It’s a big universe out there and if we’re going to survive, we have to do it together.”

  Jace slowly nodded.

  That would have to be enough for Emma at the moment. It seemed that was all the Were could offer..

  Jeba started a slow clap that picked up speed as the seconds ticked by.

  “Why are we clapping?” Frank asked as he entered the room.

  Jeba immediately stopped and began batting her eyelashes at Frank.

  “What’s the word?” Emma asked as she redirected her attention toward the Marine. “Can we go in?’

  “I thought you were afraid of confronting the Vilmar?” Jace asked with a grin. “Eager to begin now?”

  “Still not eager to run into an abandoned asylum at night filled with vampire-like aliens,” Emma corrected. “I’m just ready to get this over with. I hate waiting.”

  “Well you’re in luck.” Frank motioned to the window and the last rays of the setting sun beyond. “We’re ready to gear up and head out. We were just waiting for the cover of night. General Fox and his team have designated an entry point for us. We travel with myself and Emma in the lead, Jeba and Layga in the middle and Jace bringing up the rear.”

  “All due respect, I feel as though I would be better suited to remain by your side.” Jeba sauntered over to Frank, swinging her hips as she did in a way Emma had never seen her do before. “I can help protect you.”

  “Thanks for the offer.” Frank slowly backed out of the door as if he were retreating from a slumbering bear. “But I’ll manage. Come on; follow me. It’s time to get this done.”

  Emma and the others traveled with Frank through the interior of the building. Two rooms and a hall later, they came to an open chamber that had been converted into a kind of mission control room.

  Marines stood at attention at hastily erected work stations, near a wall of weapons and equipment. General Fox hunched over Laloyd’s right shoulder as the Marine and Draconian examined a map on a large screen.

  “I think we’re geared up as much as we need to be.” Frank lifted the vambrace on his right arm to prove his point. He motioned Layga and Jeba over to the row of equipment. “Dean Extile had weapons and uniforms sent for you.”

  The Ree and Bracka nodded and went to gear up before the fight.

  “Oh hey, Emma.” Laloyd turned from his seat and gave her a warm smile. “You should know your father seems to be in good spirits after a long night of sleep and a heavy breakfast I made him. You know, all the fixings to help him out. He’s going through a rough time right now. I made him pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, potatoes—”

  “I’m sure Emma is grateful to hear the news,” General Fox interrupted. “However, we have a job to do here right now.”

  “Oh right.” Laloyd turned back to his monitor and brought up an image of a city block. There were a half dozen or so smaller buildings around one main structure that had to be the abandoned asylum. “So here’s what we’re looking at. Man, I’m glad I don’t have to go out there. I mean, I’m no coward, but I have absolutely zero desire to go into an abandoned crazy house while it’s dark and hunt down a…”

  Laloyd’s voice trailed off as he looked at the four pairs of eyes staring him down.

  “You’re not helping right now.” Frank patted the Draconian on the shoulder. He motioned to the monitor with his right pointer finger. “Where’s our incursion point?”

  “Right.” Laloyd struck the keyboard a few times, narrowing in on the rear of the massive asylum building. He zoomed in to a pair of closed double doors. “This is the rear entrance. It was used for waste management. It should be easily accessible.”

  “Great, waste management,” Emma said under her breath.

  “Like poop?” Jace asked, catching on to where Emma was headed. “We have to go through the poop chute?”

  “No, like trash.” Laloyd scrunched his reptilian brow. “I wouldn’t send you through excrement. That’s gross.”

  “We have two units of the very best with a perimeter around the grounds along with some tech the Draconians were willing to share with us,” General Fox said as Laloyd zoomed into the view of the grounds once more. General Fox drew a triangle around the asylum grounds. “Reaper One and Two are in position. Trust me, if Desmond tries to escape this time, he won’t be going very far.”

  “Understood,” Frank said, looking to Emma and Jace. “Questions?”

  “I have a question if I may?” Jeba asked, rejoining the group. She wore black and gold Academy light infantry armor that hugged her body. A sword hung on the right side of her hip. “What if we do find this Vilmar? Are we supposed to bring him in or kill him on the spot?”

  Layga also rejoined the group. She wore a similar suit to her counterpart’s. The Ree carried a heavy axe on her shoulder. The blade of her axe shone with a dull blue light.

  “We should kill them,” Jace said without hesitation. “They’ll have no mercy on us.”

  “Capture if you can, but not at the risk of your o
wn safety,” General Fox instructed the team. “You all come back safe. That’s an order.”

  21

  “I just want to make sure we’re not going to split up at any point,” Emma whispered to Frank as the group left the perceived safety of their command building.

  “What?” Frank frowned at her through the dark. “Why would we split up?”

  “I don’t know; they just do it in all the horror movies ever made. The group at some point thinks it’s a great idea to search a large space individually and nothing good has ever come of that in the history of movies, like ever,” Emma said to Frank as she kept her eyes open, her head on a swivel. “Just tell me we won’t split up in there.”

  “No worries, young padawan,” Frank reassured her. “We’ll stick together.”

  “Good,” Emma whispered back.

  Frank and Emma took the lead with Layga and Jeba in the middle and Jace bringing up the rear. As soon as they left the building, Emma could sense something was very off. It was possible the feeling could be in her head, but it felt like something was present. It was more than the feeling of being watched. It was in the unnatural cold of the night, in the ways the shadows played out against the stars and recently emerged half-moon.

  In the city of Los Angeles, stars weren’t exactly visible, but even the crescent sliver of moon seemed to give off little light compared to other evenings in the city of angels.

  Emma and Frank led the way down the left side of the sidewalk. Emma could hear General Fox providing Frank with updates via the earpiece she and the others on the team had been given before they left.

  “Radio silence from here on out,” Frank whispered through the comms.

  “Roger that,” General Fox answered.

  Emma’s heart raced as she squinted into every dark recess, every deep shadow that seemed a little too black. There was nothing.

  “These Marines holding the perimeter are hidden well,” Layga observed as they made their way forward. “I have not been able spot a single one yet.”

  “That’s their job,” Frank reassured the group. “It’s nice to know that they’re out there and they have our backs just like we all have each other’s. We’ll get through this and joke about it one day.”

  I hope he’s right, Emma thought to herself. For the first time, Emma found herself worried not for her own safety or even that of Frank and Jace, but for Jeba and Layga. Not only were they not Arilion, but they were still recruits. What had she been thinking to allow them on this mission?

  It was too late now; they were there together for better or worse.

  Frank sank to a single knee using the building to their left for cover. He lifted his right hand in a closed fist, signaling them to stop.

  “What is it?” Emma followed his lead, dropping to a knee. She couldn’t see anything, but her hearing was either playing tricks on her or someone far off was whistling in the night.

  “Listen,” Frank whispered.

  Sure enough, the sounds of a rather merry tune drifted on the night air. Where it was coming from was impossible to tell for sure, but Emma could guess. They were on the corner of their own block, ready to travel past the smaller outlying buildings to the asylum. Right now, the only thing that could be seen of the main structure was the top two stories of the five-story building that rose up into the night. It looked like a kind of altar to some long-forgotten blood god or maybe that was just Emma’s imagination getting the best of her once more.

  “The Vilmar is playing mind games with us,” Jace said in such a low tone it was nearly impossible to hear. “They are known for their trickery and tactics such as this. They’ve been an enemy of my people since history began. We should move forward and not stay out here in the open.”

  “Agreed.” Frank stood up, motioning them forward.

  “Emma, if you die tonight, may I have your vambraces?” Jeba asked.

  “No, what? No.” Emma looked back at her friend, one part amused one part annoyed. “Jeba, this is not the time for this and I’m not sure it works like that anyway.”

  “Oh great, here we go.” Layga hunched low, trying to make herself a smaller target in the night.

  “What?” Emma asked.

  “Do you remember when we fought the Shay on the beach?” Layga asked. “Jeba was going on and on about someone dying that night too.”

  “I can’t help what I feel.” Jeba shook her head, sending her red ponytail whipping back and forth behind her head. “I have the same sense again this night. One of us will fall.”

  “Enough with the prophecies, Nostradamus.” Frank pointed across the street with his right hand. “On me, we’re going to cover the open ground fast.”

  Emma nodded, following Frank’s lead. The Marine sprinted across the street taking a path along the sidewalk that would make them pass the outlying asylum buildings on their left. The route would eventually give them a straight shot to the rear of the main building and their entry point.

  “Still clear,” Laloyd’s familiar voice sounded on the comm channel. “Nothing to report.”

  “Roger that,” Frank breathed as he moved forward.

  It felt great for Emma to finally have something to do rather than sneak around and let her fear grow. She pumped her legs underneath her as she stayed on Frank’s tail. The glow of her vambraces and those of Frank’s in front of her were like beacons of hope in the darkness. It was as if the vambraces themselves fought, burning the night in favor of the light.

  Emma stopped behind Frank with the rest of the group behind her. They were near a long white building with peeling paint. Along with the eerie whistling that stood out in front of the white noise of Los Angeles like a sore thumb came a stench.

  Jace coughed, working his nose around like a dog. To Emma, it smelled like rotting meat. She pressed her body up against the wall to her left, trying to figure out where the smell was coming from.

  “Giant, did you relieve the gas from your bowels again?” Jeba asked Layga as the two recruits joined Emma against the building.

  “A hard left around that building and you’re there,” Laloyd’s excited voice sounded over the comms. “Wait—I see something. Back entrance.”

  The whistling came to an abrupt stop.

  “You can just use the back door.” The sound of Desmond Delshire’s voice traveled to where Emma waited with the rest of her group. “Or don’t. It’s up to you.”

  “Wait here,” Frank said, looking back at Emma. “You’re in charge.”

  Before Emma could voice her concern, Frank stood up straight and walked around the corner.

  Emma swallowed hard, peering around the side of the building. In front of her, a lawn of dead grass traveled to the front of the asylum. To the right was a group of skeleton trees and to the left the asylum itself.

  In the light of the moon, it was difficult to make out exact details, but Emma could make out the figure of a man just outside the rear asylum doors. She knew it had to be Desmond; there was no one else around.

  Frank traveled past the wide building he had been hiding behind a moment before. He stopped at the corner of the gigantic asylum building. The structure was enormous. Not only towering five stories in the sky, but its strange giant shape like a large twisted L added to its mystery in a macabre way.

  The number of broken or dark windows had to be in the hundreds while the overall degenerating look of the building told a story of abandonment all on its own.

  “I don’t know you,” Desmond said to Frank. “Where’s the girl? I want to talk to her. I know her. She shot me with a hose.”

  “You can talk to me,” Frank said, squaring his shoulders. “You’re going to come with me. Surrender now or we’ll put you down. I’m not going to make that offer again.”

  “I already told you, I’m not speaking with you,” Desmond said. This time, his voice carried a hint of venom with it. “As far as putting me down, you have no idea what’s waiting for you in here. Now let me talk to the girl. I know her. We shar
e familiarity. I don’t know you.”

  “Let Emma speak to him, Frank,” General Fox’s voice sounded over the comm unit. “Maybe there’s a chance he’ll slip up and give us something useful. Keep him talking.”

  “All right,” Frank said out loud to the Vilmar. “If you try anything, imagine the most painful death you can wrap your mind around, then double it.”

  “Promises, promises,” Desmond purred through the darkness.

  Emma rose from her spot behind the corner and squared her back like she had seen Frank do. Her lips were dry all of a sudden. She clenched her fists at her side and forced herself to walk forward.

  “There she is.” Desmond waved at her. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation yesterday.”

  “Conversation?” Emma asked incredulously. She stopped next to Frank. “You mean when you were trying to kill me?”

  “Well, all relationships have their ups and downs.” Desmond sighed. Emma could practically imagine him rolling his eyes. “Anyway I wanted to talk with you because you’ve seen what I can do. You know I’m capable of giving you a run for your money and—oh, we should probably talk about me sending my turned after your father. How is he, by the way?”

  Emma felt heat rise to her face. Anger boiled inside of her, burning her vambraces from a dull violet to a bright shining indigo force that glared in the darkness.

  “It’s what he wants,” Frank warned her. “He wants to play on your anger so you’ll make a mistake. Don’t give him that. You control that.”

  “You know he’ll never be safe now,” Desmond chuckled. “Never. I’ll send turned after him now over and over again until he’s one of mine. I’ll watch the transition torment him and, who knows, keep him for a pet or maybe experiment on him. I’ve been doing some great things with experimentation these days. I should show you.”

  It took everything inside of Emma not to charge the Vilmar right there and then. A thought of an ancient knight wearing full armor riding a war horse came to mind. She could construct that, lance and all, and ride down Desmond, pinning him to the cold ground with a lance twice the size of his own body.