by Ciara Knight
She cringed, but managed to yank her leg over and stumble to the ground once more. We relaxed a little when the howling faded and my communication device remained quiet.
We walked for an hour. No matter how badly my lower back and calves ached, I swore I wouldn’t complain. Raeth had it far worse.
Even with all our physical training, we were still hurting. Walking around and over debris required different muscles than just walking down the smooth, level corridors of the Freedom, especially when evading Wasters. “We don’t have much more time. We should head to the nearest building that looks habitable.”
My leg muscles throbbed in protest at the sight of massive mounds of grey and black rock that we’d be forced to climb over. “Where’s Mag’s when you need her?”
Raeth pointed. “Th-there. A street.”
We honed in on the cleared path through the middle of the rubble. Yes, it was easier going, but was it safe? Every nerve in my body remained on alert as we trekked along the cobblestone path in silence. Shadows covered us with cool darkness, almost as if to warn of the evil ahead. Ryder fell back to walk close to Raeth and me as Penton took the lead.
A crash broke the empty silence.
Ryder and I spun around and the crackling in the communicator roared to life once again. It took a minute to distinguish between the pounding in my head and the clanging in the distant darkness.
When a shadow moved down the alley, I stepped closer. Royal blue dots blinked. A second later, the outline of a figure stepped into the light.
My breath caught. It was the size of a human male—bald, with bluish pasty skin and glowing florescent blue eyes that warned us away. It had only appeared for a moment before retreating back into its shaded home, but it had to be a Waster.
Ryder took half a step back when hundreds of shining toxic eyes blinked at us. The smell of death and decay wafted from the alley. No, it wasn’t a smell. A warning that filtered through the communicator.
I tripped over my boot and landed next to Ryder. Rocks dug into my palms.
Wiping the coarse sand from my hands, I bolted to my feet. Ryder swept Raeth into his arms. Bendar’s small legs double-timed it in the opposite direction down another alley. Moans and cries sounded in front of us before more eyes shone. We retreated to the main road.
“There!” Ryder raced to the closest erect building and shoved the door open with his feet. Light filtered through holes in the roof. He scanned the dim room as I tried several doors. One gave way.
“Here!” I glanced back at them as I crossed the threshold, walking right into a Waster nest. In the low light, I could see a pile of bones, human and rodent, stacked in a corner.
Several ominous figures moved through the shadows, black robes covering their thin frames. Scaly, appendages peeked out from under the robe.
These things weren’t human…not anymore.
I spun on my heels. Something grabbed my jumpsuit. I swiveled and ripped it from the creature’s clutches, falling on my hip. Screaming, I scuttled backwards on my butt and hands, my feet kicking in wild hysteria.
One boney hand with long brown nails clutched my left boot. I kicked and kicked into the darkness.
Penton, wielding his gun, fired into the room at the Wasters. The weapon took out several creatures, killing them instantly, before it exploded in his hand. He flew backwards, slamming against the far wall. I managed to jerk my foot free and the hand retracted back into the abyss.
Bendar yanked Penton up, with more strength than I thought he possessed.
Slam. Bang.
Two doors behind us and one to the right shook then swung open, more shadowy figures descending on us.
Ryder led us back to the street and lowered Raeth to her feet. She took Penton’s hand, examining the damage. Bones and tendons gleamed in the fading light, his hand completely mangled.
With no time to tend to the injury, Ryder slung Penton’s arm around his shoulder to manage his weight. Trapped, we huddled together on the street as darkness descended. The hissing sounds of the creatures echoed in my head, the communicator shrieking just as persistently. I spun in a circle, looking for a place to hide. Any place. But most of the buildings were only ruins and offered no protection.
Raeth pointed down the street at a small, nondescript building only a few stories tall. “We could g-go th-there.”
“It’s our only choice.” Ryder stumbled forward, supporting Penton on one side, while Raeth helped from the other.
With each step, the creatures followed us, the shadows growing into the street. Within minutes, they’d closed in.
Eyes wide, I started to run. “Hurry up. If we don’t reach that building, they’ll block our path.”
Then I froze. While the larger structure was covered in shadows, I could make out three creatures climbing the side of the small building to crouch on the roof. Other creatures slithered to the front of the building.
We’d underestimated the Wasters. They weren’t mindless. They’d formulated a plan and were carrying it out.
Ryder flipped an unconscious Penton over his shoulder and moved to my side. “Bendar, get between Semara and me, and Raeth, flank her. We’ll never get inside. They’ll fall on us the minute we approach the door.”
We stood in a small line of light, which I feared would disappear before I could blink and leave us in unpredictable darkness.
Then a Waster inched closer, his foreign, hiss-like speech reaching my ears. The communicator crackled at the base of my brain and translated his words.
Hungry. Want flesh.
Chapter Nineteen
Ice swirled in Ryder’s dark eyes as his gaze met mine. “What?”
A tremor shot through me, keeping tempo with the continued hissing of the Wasters. Swallowing hard, I forced myself to tell him and the others what I’d heard. “They want to eat us and use our skin for clothing.”
Their constant demand for food reverberated through my brain. As much as I wanted to smash the communicator at the base of my skull, I wondered, could I talk to them or would the attempt only kill me sooner?
No, I knew there’d be no reasoning with them and their attempt to force submission through their constant mantra only flared my resistance.
Ryder settled Penton at his feet then shot his arm out before him, his palm up, and arched his fingers. Silver snaked down his arm. Two Wasters wobbled on the roof of the building then fell with a thud to the ground, lifeless.
I concentrated on the dark objects in the ally to my right. The ones who crept ever closer hidden in the shadows. The device in my neck hummed in time with their rapid pulses. I felt a bubbling of acid erode my veins as I connected to their chemistry. The odor of ammonia burned my nose and lungs. I wrestled against the inferno that coursed through my body.
Steeling myself, I sent my gift out. It caressed a number of iron post a few meters away on the ground. I clinched my fist and in unison, the rods rose from the ground. A blink later, they flew forward like arrows slamming into the chests of those I could see. Three…four…five. More continued into the darkness, hitting unseen targets.
But it wasn’t enough.
Dozens more closed in on us, their eyes gleaming, their mouths drooling acid, their hissing hunger never ending.
We had to reach a secure building. But that wouldn’t matter if we couldn’t survive the next few minutes.
There has to be more metal somewhere. Ryder couldn’t fight all of them on his own. I studied the area for something, anything.
Nothing.
Raeth lifted her hands in the air. Blue swirls formed a funnel, snagging dozens of Wasters in its path and tossing them like rag dolls. I could hear the faint thuds of their bodies dropping somewhere outside the city in the direction of the tunnel.
“I’ll keep th-them back.” Raeth puffed out her chest and the rubble below us shook and tore from its resting place. Dust and dirt flew, creating a great plume of debris. The creatures disappeared behind the erected wall.
&n
bsp; While Ryder tackled the ones on the roof, Raeth turned toward the ones lurking in the alley, stopping them by creating another blue wind storm.
Yet for each one they destroyed, more advanced.
I always thought time slowed when in life-and-death situations. It didn’t. It rushed forward, ticking away as darkness creeping closer on all sides.
A light flashed. If not for the tinted glass of our masks, we would have been blinded like the Wasters, who were wailing on the ground.
“This way,” a voice echoed, and a sense of déjà vu struck me. This situation felt familiar, reminding me of Old Chicago and Mags. But as much as I wished she were here with us, right now, the only thing that mattered was that the man’s voice didn’t belong to a Waster.
Ryder lifted Penton and once again, tossed him over his shoulder. Bendar and Raeth took the lead with me in the middle and all of us charged through the blazing lights toward the building.
“Inside,” the deep voice ordered. “Second door on the right.”
Once in the building, we bolted for the second entrance on the right. Raeth arrived first and shoved the door open seconds before Bendar crossed the threshold. As soon as Ryder entered, we heard the solid metal door behind us slam shut, followed by the groans and clicks of a locking mechanism. We were finally safe behind a secure seal.
Ryder lowered Penton onto a couch that had suffered extensive abuse, no doubt at the hand of the Wasters. The faded stripped cushions had white stuffing hanging from their edges, and the whole sofa tilted awkwardly. Not that Penton cared as he sat hunched in on himself, with his arm clutched to his chest. I doubted he was conscious of much other than the never-ending agony from his shredded hand.
Moving to Penton’s side, Raeth removed her mask then his and knelt before him. Her alarm and worry were palpable and I feared she would regress into her own world. But as happened so often over the last several months, she surprised me with her strength, offering Penton what comfort she could.
I removed my mask then, bending at the waist, I inhaled, welcoming the musty air that filled my lungs. Even the breather’s rubbery, metallic scent had been better than the overpowering ammonia stench of the Wasters.
“Glad you could make it.”
At the man’s voice, I faced the door, seeing Captain Paulson swagger forward. What was he doing in the middle of this ciaos when he was the captain of a Middle European ship?
He leaned against the edge of the table and grinned. “Princess Semara, do not stare at me with those large blue eyes of disbelief. I already know that Gordon instructed you to flee to me and Middle Europe,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice as his accent thickened with each word.
So, this was the man, probably the only man that could make ice-cold Mart squirm. Now, there was a story I’d love to know more about.
“Thank you for being here and saving us.” I tilted my head at him then turned my attention to Ryder. He sat on the sofa beside Penton, silver swirling down his arm and over Penton’s injury, healing it.
Moving to Ryder’s side, I settled my hand on his shoulder. Healing exhausted him, but not when our energies merged and flowed between us. The loss was inconsequential to either of us, versus Ryder needing twenty-four hours of rest before he was functional again.
“Okay, vampire. Don’t drain too much from her or we’ll be stuck here for days.”
Ryder snarled his disgust at the repulsive term. Yes, his gift could suck the life from someone, leaving a desiccated husk behind. But it could also heal and save lives as he had done for Raeth, me, and soon Penton.
I shot Paulson a venom-filled glare. “Not to worry, Captain. He has amazing control.” I turned back to Ryder and Penton.
Slowly, veins and shimmering tendons knit back together without a seam, followed by the muscles. Finally, the edges of torn skin fused together, leaving only a few faint white lines. As the pain eased from Penton’s face, Raeth finally allowed herself to relax.
Sighing, I shifted my gaze to Captain Paulson. He might have saved us, but I still didn’t trust him, especially when he was eyeing Ryder.
Once again, tension gripped me in a vise as my heartbeat escalated into fight or flight mode. “How did you make it here before us?”
“Ah, you traveled the abandoned tunnel. I…have a better way to move about my homeland.” He winked. This man was the definition of suave when it served his purpose. Charm oozed from every pour, almost lulling me into a cocoon of safety. But if the Waster voices couldn’t paralyze me into inaction, his gift wouldn’t quell my mistrust.
He rubbed my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re safe, Mademoiselle. My heart would have shattered if harm had befallen you.”
I fought the desire to respond as the deep, buttery sound of his words caressed me.
As I leaned forward, toward his raised hand waiting to cup my face, Ryder’s arm wrapped around my waist and clasped me against his chest. “Tone it down, charmer.”
“What?” I looked between Ryder’s narrowed stare and Captain Paulson’s raised eyebrows. He dropped his hand, once again the smug captain that appeared on the screen back aboard the Freedom. “Wait? Your gift is…?”
His lips curled on one side. “Fitting for a Frenchman, no?”
A sense of violation and a need for a shower filled me. Poor Mart. She must have fallen for his charms before she realized he’d actually felt nothing. For the first time, I understood her anger, insecurity, and hostility. “I dislike Neumarians using their gifts to manipulate people.”
“We all manipulate people. I just admit it.” He oozed the charm once more, but this time I leaned against Ryder’s chest, taking comfort and refuge in his arm around my waist.
Paulson stared at him. “Don’t worry. I won’t seduce your girl. I have never resorted to using my gift to bed a woman.”
Now, it was me who snarled. “What did Mart ever see in―”
“Ahhh!” At her scream, my head snapped in Raeth’s direction as she collapsed to the floor, holding her head tight.
I raced to her side and fell to my knees. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I held her against my chest. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”
Bendar plopped onto the floor beside her head and stroked her hair.
She continued to scream, clawing at her face.
Ryder nudged us aside and jerked her onto his lap. Grasping her arms, he trapped them at her sides in an iron-tight hug. Even so, she struggled against the confinement.
Penton stroked her brow. “Please, what’s wrong? What can I do?”
“Open her eyes,” Captain Paulson ordered. “Did she inhale the toxic mist?”
“No, we wore masks.” I lifted her eyelids. A royal blue pool of terror looked back at me. “No!”
“She’s Neumarian, right? What’s her gift?” Captain Paulson knelt on one knee, studying Raeth’s eyes.
I hesitated.
“Tell me if you want to save her.”
Penton held her face between his hands. “She manipulates Earth. Wind, water, dirt, anything of the land.”
“Did she manipulate the blue mist?”
My mind scanned the last hour. The memory of Raeth’s blue funnel cloud sent a heat wave through every muscle and nerve in my body. “Yes,” I whispered.
Ryder released Raeth’s arms and shoved Captain Paulson out of the way. “I’ll heal her.”
“No.” He grabbed Ryder’s jumpsuit at his shoulders, knocking him to the ground.
Ryder jumped to his feet and penned Paulson to the wall. “What are you doing?” he snarled. “That’s my sister.”
Bendar tucked his feet under him and stood. “Stop. Help.”
“Listen,” Paulson said, “you can’t heal her with your gift. You’ll both suffer from the toxic chemicals if you try.”
Chin high, Penton maintained his hold on Raeth as her thrashing grew more violent. “While I’m only human, I’ll give my life force to save her.”
Paulson waved him off. “Yes, yes, young
love and all that.”
“Yes, I love her. But it’s more,” he shouted. Everyone paused at his declaration, except Ryder who never wavered in his stare at Paulson.
“Please, Captain,” Penton begged. “She’s part of the Triune. Her life means more than mine. More than any one person’s. Take my energy, Ryder. Take it all if you need to.”
Ryder released Paulson and stepped back, his fists clenched tight at his side. “What can be done?”
Raeth continued to thrash and scream. She managed to free a hand from my grasp. “Help me.” Three long red lines ran from her lower eyelid to her chin where she’d scratched herself.
Penton recaptured her arms and forced her onto the floor. Once they both were laying on their side, one of her arms penned to the tiled floor and the other secured by Penton’s hug, Bendar resumed stroking her hair, while I threw my body weight over her legs, stilling them.
The artificial knee joint dug into my chest. Thank goodness she was small. “Please do something.”
Raeth arched her back and cried out.
Penton looked between us all. “Please, help her. I can’t lose her. I love her.”
Bendar leaned over Raeth’s ashen face. “Shh. Help.”
Ryder stepped back. Captain Paulson swaggered by him and joined us on the floor. Placing his hand on Penton’s back, he hovered over us, looking down at Raeth. “There is nothing that can be done. Not here. Not now. Not with the supplies we have. I’m sorry.”
Chapter Twenty
“Do something,” Ryder demanded.
Captain Paulson retrieved a leather satchel from a nearby table. Sliding the buckle free to open the bag, he knelt by her side. “There’s a chance we can keep her stable. But it’s a small one. To have a chance of success, again, a small one, we must keep her from physical activity, put her into a coma-like state. At headquarters, there’s a serum. But time is of the essence.”
“You can cure her?” the three of us asked simultaneously.
