by C A Ardron
Bursting into the daylight, Jay tried to put in some distance, hoping they didn’t run into Wasp.
‘Who was that man?’ Jenna asked.
Jay noted she sounded breathless again. He started to think she wasn’t as fit as he was but that couldn’t be right. She’d said she was a Unician candidate.
‘I’ve got no idea,’ Jay admitted. ‘I hope he’ll be okay, but we have to get you back to the market.’
Jenna nodded and since they appeared to have lost their pursuers, Jay let go of her hand. He’d already decided on his route, heading straight down the main high street so they could mingle with the crowd on their way back to the market.
Jay glanced at Jenna as she walked besides him, feeling her curiosity and noticing she kept sneaking peeks at him. ‘What is it?’
She shook her head and Jay flushed, a feeling akin to awe flooding him.
‘Who are you?’ she asked. ‘I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like that. How can you use fire so well?’
Jay sighed. ‘I just can, alright.’
‘I understand why the Sarpiens are chasing you now. You know, after everything this is going to sound crazy, but maybe you should join the Dakkonin.’
‘What?’
‘They could protect you from the Sarpiens.’
‘I don’t need the Dakkonin,’ Jay replied, voice low. He couldn’t tell her why he didn’t need them though, so left it there.
He glanced down at his watch and winced. Tiger had said she’d give him his Feline lesson when she got back. She might be missing him by now. Dove and Falcon might’ve returned as well, he was going to get it so bad when he made it back.
‘What’s wrong?’ Jenna asked.
Jay glanced at her concerned face. ‘Nothing,’ he told her. ‘It’s just my…family will be worried.
For a second it hung there in his mind, the feeling strange - the word coming from his lips even stranger. He realised it was true. Dove, Falcon, Hawk, and all the others, they all treated him like a younger brother.
He couldn’t stop the grin from appearing. The Predgarians were his family now.
He saw the odd look Jenna was giving him and tried to shake off the sudden desire to jump up and down in glee.
‘I always thought Unicians were all…Unician,’ Jay commented, trying to change the subject and distract Jenna from the feelings she’d obviously picked up.
She gave a soft laugh. ‘It’s a common mistake. The Unician Order may have been founded in the holy land but they’re like any other Order, anyone can join. You could, if you wanted. With your potential I know they’d accept you.’
Jay cringed from her use of the word “potential.” It was what the Sarpiens called their trainees. He was getting sick of people telling him about his vast potential. He sometimes wanted to go back to before he’d heard of Sarpiens. Back before his parents died, his life had been screwed up ever since. He brushed the thought away, the last thing he wanted was to think about his parents.
‘I don’t think I’m really cut out to be a Unician,’ Jay replied.
‘Anyone could be a Unician,’ she disagreed, ‘but everyone wants to solve problems with their fists instead of their hearts.’
Jay didn’t think the Sarpiens really cared about what people had in their hearts but didn’t speak the thought. ‘Sometimes you have to fight,’ he said instead.
Jenna sighed but didn’t reply.
Turning the corner which led into the market, Jay halted in his tracks and grabbed Jenna’s hand again.
He heard her sharp gasp as she spotted what he already had. The centre of the market had cleared, the shoppers making room for the two white-armoured warriors.
Jay studied them a second, noting one looked similar to White Dove, but the woman’s skin held the yellow tint of the Unician. The hair, though white, was shoulder-length. The other warrior had two backwards curving horns rising out of his metallic half-mask, his mane of white hair flowing down his back.
Jay’s gaze shifted to the couple of warriors they were arguing with. Now in armour, one of them was clearly Wasp, the other was a Canine in red armour. Jay tensed but after a moment saw the armour was all wrong for the Red Jackal.
He pulled Jenna along with him as he skirted the stalls, moving a little closer but making sure they remained out of sight.
‘This could be a problem,’ he murmured.
Chapter Seven
‘Falcon,’ Dove spoke.
Falcon didn’t reply as she adjusted her jacket and gloves in the tiny, deserted car park on the edge of West Sector.
The mission was over, and Dove would be reporting to Lion. It was still the morning though, Falcon didn’t need to be on patrol till noon.
She couldn’t focus on that, or anything else. All she had was her fear. Jackal had known just where to hit her, bringing up the Emissaries like that.
She turned towards the old, run-down road, needing a distraction. Perhaps a walk into town would help.
‘Falcon.’
She bit off her sigh, Dove was concerned, as always.
‘Leave me be,’ Falcon ground out. ‘I can’t talk about this now.’
‘You don’t ever talk about anything.’
Falcon stopped at Dove’s tone. It wasn’t angry, but it wasn’t far off.
‘Not anything important anyway,’ Dove added. ‘You’ll talk about work when we ask, or practice, cooking recipes – but never what you fear.’
Falcon turned a tiny bit, glancing at the healer through her jet hair.
‘You’re terrified of Jackal, Falcon. No, it’s bigger than that, isn’t it? What I’m feeling from you is far larger than a single man.’
Falcon couldn’t force herself to meet her friend’s gaze. ‘I can’t do anything about Jackal,’ she replied. ‘There’s nothing I can do about the existence of the Sarpiens. There’s no point talking about it.’
‘You don’t have to do this alone, Karen,’ Dove told her. ‘If you never talk about your fears, your worries, it will only take you longer to recover.’
‘Recover?’
‘Yes, from your past.’
‘I don’t think there’s any recovery to be made from being a Sarpien, Dove,’ Falcon replied.
‘No, not if you don’t try. I know what they did to you was awful, but you have to try and live again.’
Falcon finally met her gaze. ‘Live? What’s that supposed to mean? I’m living right now.’
Dove shook her head. ‘You never go shopping for clothes, or books or ornaments, items of sentiment. You have no hobbies, all you talk about is work. You’ve shown no interest in dating or making friends outside the Centre. Do you even have any aspirations? Goals for the future, things you want to do, places you want to go?’
Falcon’s mouth opened in a retort, but it died, tears beginning to well up. She cut them off with a scowl, glaring at Dove.
Dove’s face was unchanged as she met the anger, staring intently into Falcon’s eyes.
Falcon shuddered, knowing the woman had seen through her angry act to the hurt inside. She turned away, striding down the street and away from the white warrior.
Knowing Dove wasn’t following her, once off the street Falcon slowed, letting her gaze wander aimlessly across the nearby houses. As she wandered towards the town centre her tears bubbled up again, but this time she let them fall. With no one to watch she didn’t care as much.
Her shoulders rose and fell between her silent sobs and now only a few streets from the market she stopped, one hand on the pale stone wall of the nearest store.
Falcon breathed deeply, trying to stop crying as she wiped at her eyes. ‘Places I want to go,’ she whispered, gazing up at the lavender sky. ‘Oh, Dove, you have no idea.’ She felt her left arm, the jacket covering her shame. ‘I can’t ever go back home, not now.’
Her intake of breath was sharp. Would any of her family still be alive? Falcon shook her head. This was all she had, the Predgarians were all she had. There could never
be anything else for her.
‘Yo, Kaz!’
Falcon gave a start and turned on the spot. ‘Red?’
The dark-skinned Oldeiran with his long red-dyed dreadlocks shot her a toothy grin as he sauntered towards her.
Falcon noticed his clothes were rumpled and looked slept-in, as usual. Over the brown trousers and plain white shirt Red was sporting a new addition however. She eyed the warm, tan coat trimmed with white fur.
He performed a short twirl for her. ‘Check it out, not bad, eh?’
‘Very nice,’ she told him, trying to sound polite. She was in no mood for pleasantries but needed to keep on Red’s good side. His information network was too important for her to throw away because she was having a rough morning.
‘So, what you doin' in these parts, girl?’
Falcon forced a smile, swallowing the impulse, not for the first time since meeting Red, to tell him she was old enough to be his grandmother.
‘Just walking,’ she replied. ‘I’ll see you around, Red. I’ve got things I need to do.’
‘Whoa, whoa, hold yer Unician unicorns there. I got some info you might be intrested in.’
‘Info?’
Red’s toothy grin reappeared. ‘See? Knew I’d catch ya with that fish hook. I got some stuff you might wanna know, seein’ as you an' the Sarps don’t get along real well.’ Red rubbed his fingers together. ‘Dangerous business, dealing with those creeps though, Kaz.’
‘I don’t have much on me, Red.’
Red spread his hands, ‘Kaz, it’s me. I know ya always ready for anythin’ floatin’ to the surface, if ya get me?’
Falcon sighed and muttered under her breath. Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans she yanked out a small pouch. Falcon opened it and took out a single pebble-sized, semi-transparent blue gem. She tossed it in Red’s direction and he snatched it out of the air with ease.
He began to inspect it. ‘Ooh, is this an Irajian diamond?’
‘Close,’ Falcon replied. ‘It’s called an Olphan Jetseeker. Olphara is the sister planet of Iraji in the Neba 6 system. They use them to power their military missiles, missiles which are supplied to the Emperor’s army. Because it’s used as fuel, not jewellery, the price for them is obviously a lot less than Irajian diamonds. However, on a planet like this it’s extremely rare, and therefore worth a lot in trading.’
‘Excellent,’ Red said, a gleam coming to his eye. ‘I’ll get a good trade for this at Rastuol’s store.’
‘Red,’ Falcon prodded as he continued to turn the gem to catch the light, ‘about that info?’
‘Hm? Oh, yeh, the info, right.’ He hid the stone in his trouser pocket. ‘The Sarps are out, despite the fact there be loads more Dakkos because of the Unician parade. Jackal’s gettin’ testy over the ol’ Silver Falcon.’
Red gave her a wink. Falcon’s jaw set at the reminder he knew she was a Predgarian – and had obviously worked out which one as well.
‘Elite Sarps aside, the lower ranks are all hoppin’ about cos of the promotion.’
‘Promotion? Why? Has one of the Elite been killed?’
‘Nah, nuthin’ like that. Word’s out that whoever brings the Falcon in gets the upgrade.’
Falcon’s sigh was more of a growl. ‘Great,’ she muttered.
‘Thought you’d like that one. There’s major unrest between the green Sarps and the blue Sarps in South. The greens go over and attack their territory, the blues get revenge by attacking greens’ territory. I don’t know if yer got trouble with the blues but I wouldn’t wanna be caught in the middle.’
Falcon nodded, ‘I’ll keep it in mind. Anything else?’
‘A couple o' things. There’s a Sarp called Mantis. He’s out an’ about, killin’ things for fun. I hear he’s mad at his boss, so is takin’ it out on anythin’ that moves. There’s trouble with the Dakkos too.’
‘Yeah, I think most of the city knows about that.’
Red waved a finger at her. ‘Now, don’t be like that, you know my info ain’t what you hear on the news.’
‘Fine, what have you got?’
‘They’re out threatenin’, stalkin’ and even kidnappin’.’
‘What?’ Falcon asked, too alarmed to say much else.
Red nodded. ‘Yep, the Dakkos are always a bit high-strung. It’s for the greater good - well that’s what they say. They want people with talent to join their Order – and there ain’t nuthin’ like the Unician parade to draw out the kind they’re lookin’ for. That reminds me, about six months ago, that kid - Jay Morgan?’
‘I remember, what about him?’
‘I saw him this morning.’
Falcon stared, ‘what?’
‘Yeh, he was in Goodman’s Dep Store, with a real pretty girl. They were bein’ chased by a couple of Dakkos.’
‘When was this?’ Falcon knew her voice had gone sharp but she couldn’t help it.
Red gave a small shrug. ‘I’d say about five-ten minutes ago. The kid got away, if you wanna know. He and his girlfriend ran towards the market.’
Falcon breathed in and sped up the street, hoping she wasn’t too late. If the Dakkonin learned about Jay’s level of power they might take him to the temple in Central Sector. The sclithe-hunting Order had a reputation for not taking no for an answer.
Pounding down the street she couldn’t help wondering what had happened to the Dakkonin. Images of the fight in the old warehouse estate sprang up. Grey Eagle and Red Fox had saved her life, watching over her when she knocked herself unconscious creating the huge ice walls to stop the advancing youth from reaching the Sarpiens.
Hadn’t the Silver Locust been there that night too? Now the silver warrior was on the run for attempted murder.
Falcon slowed as she neared the corner leading to the market. What was Jay even doing in town anyway? And who was the girl he was with?
Entering cautiously, Falcon peered around. Her eyes were drawn to the centre, the multitude of shoppers were giving it a wide berth.
Falcon frowned at the four warriors. The two in white were obviously Unicians, the other two, most likely Dakkonin. She grunted, recognising Red Fox.
Scanning the square, she noticed Jay on the other side of the stalls. Falcon studied the blonde, teenage girl stood next to him for a moment. Grudgingly she admitted Red had been right, she was quite pretty.
Just how long had Jay been sneaking out of the Centre to see this girl? How’d he met her in the first place?
Falcon’s eyes were dragged back to the armoured warriors as their voices rose. She didn’t want to intervene between them, but if they started fighting, she’d have to. As a Predgarian she’d have no choice.
Falcon gave an audible gasp, the shock of adrenaline pumping through her system at the gigantic, bloodcurdling roar piercing the air and echoing around the market.
The place erupted into screaming, the shoppers fleeing in terror as a medallion warrior crashed to the cobbled floor, sparks flying.
Falcon gaped at his huge armour. ‘Reptile,’ she murmured, her eyes roving across his bulky brown armour and helm with its broad snout.
She breathed in, realising there was something very wrong. Small, yellow sparks kept flashing in the warrior’s joints.
Falcon knew the outward signs all too well. ‘A rogue,’ she whispered. ‘Oh, this is bad.’
Chapter Eight
Falcon backed around the corner, hugging the stone wall, wincing as the rogue gave out another animalistic roar. Falcon swallowed and pulled the medallion from beneath her shirt. She heard an almighty crash and then the sound of people running.
It became eerily silent as Falcon activated the silver coin in her hand. She waited for the fierce Avian to envelope her. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about the civilians, by the sounds of it they’d all had the good sense to get out the area. She hoped Jay had too.
Her armour in place, Falcon stepped into the market, her sharpened vision picking out the rogue medallion-user right away.
Making a point of not drawing her daggers, Falcon stopped behind the rogue.
‘You think to attack me?’ the huge man snarled.
Falcon sucked in a breath, his voice was barely human.
‘I am Komodo Dragon!’
Of course, no wonder his armour was so big. It explained why he looked ready to self-combust as well, wearing such a powerful medallion.
‘We don’t want to attack you, friend,’ Falcon told him in as pleasant a voice as she could muster.
Komodo Dragon spun around. Falcon gave the other warriors in the square a glance.
Red Fox raised a solitary hand in greeting. She gave him a tight smile. The warrior’s armour was so similar to the Red Jackal’s, but the man had near enough saved her life six months ago.
Falcon wasn’t about to call any Dakkonin a friend, but she was glad he was here. She made the quick observation of the Unicians medallions; an Avian and some kind of horned animal – healer section then. They probably wouldn’t be much help.
‘Who are you?’ Dragon spat.
‘Silver Falcon,’ she replied. Then, for the benefit of the warriors within earshot, added, ‘Predgarian of West Sector.’
After seeing the Unicians nod their acceptance, Falcon glanced about for Jay but he and his friend seemed to have fled.
‘Komodo Dragon, I need you to disarm,’ Falcon told him as she craned her neck to look at his reptilian helm.
His wheezing laugh made her cringe. ‘Or what? You will apprehend me?’
Falcon noted the arrival of three more warriors. The bronze Canine and the obvious falcon warrior she didn’t recognise – though she did take note the falcon was not a grey but a colourless. That one was dangerous.
Her breathing became easier seeing the last was Grey Eagle. If anyone here had a chance of fighting this rogue, it was him.
