The Valkyrie Returns (The Kurtherian Endgame Book 7)

by Michael Anderle

  Ashur panted as the wound in his side healed. “I heard Demon mewing in pain and came to help.”

  “She has gone into labor,” Sabine informed him. “You are too good, considering she has not been very kind to you recently.”

  Ashur gulped. “Oh.” He caught sight of Demon in the corner, writhing on a pile of blankets. She turned her back to the room, where the saber-tooth lay in wait for the Ooken should it get past Sabine. “Well, I’m not an asshole feline. If she needs help, I’m going to answer the call.

  The male cat hissed as Ashur approached.

  “Take it easy,” Ashur told him. “I’m here to help.”

  He took a defensive position beside the male, making sure to remain a few paces from the distressed mother-to-be. “You chose a funny time to give birth, Demon.”

  Not…a choice, Demon managed between grunts of pain as a fresh contraction hit. My babies are ready to come into the world, war or no war.

  Ashur nodded his appreciation for her predicament and turned his attention to Sabine. “How long before you run dry?” he asked.

  Sabine didn’t pause in her effort to keep the Ooken at bay. “I’m good for twenty thousand shots,” she told him, shifting her stance to show him the bulging pouch on her left hip. “William gave me the extras he took from Eve’s armory before he took the techs to the surface. The problem is that this putain keeps fucking healing.”

  The Ooken was down to four tentacles thanks to her expert shooting, but it was healing the rest and continued pressing at the open doorway.

  Ashur and Demon’s mate growled in unison as another Ooken joined the first.

  Sabine’s cursing got louder, and she slipped into her native tongue. “Fucking Ookens! Des fils de putes. Je vais faire de toi des calamars poilus!”

  The translation Ashur’s software gave him left him with a distinct desire to never eat seafood again. “Hairy calamari? Ugh.”

  “How else do you describe them?” Sabine’s shrug did nothing to affect her aim. “I heard someone say it, and it stuck with me.”

  Ashur made a very human-like expression of disgust. “I stand by my earlier statement of ‘ugh.’”

  Nevertheless, he did his part to help Sabine keep the two Ookens out of the room. He darted forward to nip a thin tentacle that came slithering around the doorframe, even as Sabine drove the other back.

  Ashur didn’t know much about the law of averages, but Sabine had to hit something the Ookens couldn’t heal eventually, right?

  The law worked both ways. The Ookens charged at the doorway, and Sabine cried out as one managed to get a tentacle in and catch her wrist.

  Sabine bared her teeth as the pain washed up her arm. Still, she maintained her grip on her Jean Dukes Specials despite the blood that dripped from the wound. The pistols jerked in her hands even as the jagged tear in her wrist healed.

  Demon rolled over suddenly, hissing as she pressed against the wall. The next moment she arched her back and let out a strangled yowl as her first kitten emerged.

  Her mate rushed to her side, and the kitten was followed by another a few moments later.

  Ashur felt a moment’s panic as he was left alone to support Sabine. “We need help!” he barked.

  “There is nobody,” Sabine told him through gritted teeth. She fired without pause, her relentless determination keeping the Ookens back despite their rapid healing. “William took everyone to the surface, remember?”

  Ashur shook his head. “Fighting help,” he clarified, looking at Demon as he spoke.

  Demon paused in cleaning the kittens. We are not alone down here. I can smell the metal beings nearby.

  Ashur sniffed, catching only the scents of blood and birth. “What metal beings?”

  Sabine’s eyes lit up with worry. “The Bl’kheth!” she cried. “Shit! Where are they, Demon? They might be in danger.”

  Ashur was completely lost until he saw a flash of blue in the air vent above their heads. “Space rats!” he exclaimed.

  “They are not space rats. They are prisoners of war who are to be protected,” Sabine ordered. “Michael was clear that they need our understanding and compassion. They’re not vermin to be hunted down.”

  Ashur laughed, a hoarse bark barely heard above the screeching Ookens. “We’re a little preoccupied for that.”

  As long as they do not attack us, I have no issue with them. Demon wrinkled her muzzle and returned to welcoming her young into the world.

  Her mate returned to his defensive position as she cleaned the kittens and set them to nurse in the protection of her curled-up body.

  There was a scuttling sound as the Bl’kheths left the air vent.

  “Where are they going?” Sabine called.

  She got her answer a moment later when the air vent in the corridor exploded out of the ceiling and six tiny blue-skinned, dark-winged aliens flew out and attacked the Ookens.

  Ashur couldn’t keep track as the winged beings phased in and out of sight. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he figured he hadn’t been able to find them until now because they’d been hiding in the Etheric.

  The Bl’kheths were all armed with regular household items. Sabine saw steak knives, knitting needles, and even a pair of scissor blades that had been separated into two Bl’kheth-sized longswords. The Bl’kheth wielding the blades wasted no time in plunging them into the Ookens’ eyes.

  Sabine ceased firing when she lost sight of the Bl’kheths. Their skin matched the Ookens’ exactly, and she had no way of telling where they’d gone once they had landed unless she could see their weapons. She couldn’t risk shooting them by accident.

  The blinded Ooken dropped to the floor, motionless. The scissor blade in its eye quivered with residual force, and the Bl’kheth was gone.

  The other Ooken followed suit in the next moment, drawing a relieved sigh from Sabine as it crashed to the floor.

  She glanced out into the corridor, her head turning left, then right to ensure there were no more Ookens lying in wait before rushing to kneel at the feet of the two dead aliens to look for Bl’kheths.

  “Come on out,” she encouraged in a soft voice. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. I want to thank you for your help.”

  “They went into the Etheric,” Ashur told her.

  If not for her enhanced reactions, Sabine would have missed the flicker of blue and steel of the Bl’kheth winking in and out of sight. She stepped back, shocked. “Huh, so Michael was right. You can walk the Etheric. No wonder we couldn’t find you guys.”

  Demon sniffed the air delicately. They are not there, Sabine.

  “It also explains why the Seven went to the effort of enslaving them,” Ashur added, sniffing the air where the Bl’Kheths had just been. “I don’t think they’re coming back.”

  Sabine wrinkled her nose. “Well, no. They were abused horribly in that factory. I'd bet Jean’s missing component is their genetic material.” She glanced around without much hope of seeing the tiny blue aliens. “Dammit. I hope they understand they are free of that now. Well, Michael will be glad to hear we made contact, even if it wasn’t the kind we were hoping for. I think the least we can do is leave them something good to eat.” She nudged the broken door with her toe. “Something better than this. They like rare elements, right?”

  Ashur sat back and rolled his shoulder. “Judging from the way they tucked into Clarence’s core, I’d say so.”

  Sabine pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Okay, then. Demon first, then we go and see Eve. She has to have stores of the elements needed to create new EIs that we can raid.”

  Demon lifted her head from the kittens as Sabine and Ashur entered the room once again. Sabine. Come see my babies.

  Sabine smiled as she walked across the room. She paused to lay a hand on the male cat’s head as she knelt by Demon. “They’re beautiful!” she cooed.

  Ashur wagged his tail as the kittens wriggled around by Demon’s body. “They are pretty cute. But don’t tell anyone I said so, especially B
ellatrix. She’ll want more puppies, and the answer to that is hells, no.”

  The tawny kittens were unaware of the attention they were receiving. Their eyes were closed as they suckled at their mother’s teats, their tiny claws pushing at Demon’s underbelly to release the milk within.

  Demon bore it with grace and a self-satisfied smile. She yawned, mouth gaping, signaling her need for rest.

  “Do you have names for them?” Sabine inquired, unable to take her eyes off the fluffy bundles of cuteness.

  Demon looked at her kittens. I do. The female is called Alyssa, and the male… Something tells me his name is Sam.

  Her mate emitted a meowl of surprise, the sound completely incongruous for his size and strength.

  Demon fixed him with a look. You like that?

  The male nodded and lifted a paw to touch his chest, then nosed the male kitten.

  Sabine laughed and clapped her hands with delight as she figured out what he was trying to tell them. “Sam is your name?” she asked.

  The male—Sam—nodded enthusiastically.

  “Another mystery solved! It’s a good day for felines, eh?” Sabine got to her feet, somewhat reluctant to say goodbye. “The invasion looks to be over. I’m going to get a couple of Guardians down here to make sure you four are okay while I check on my students.”

  Demon let out a small snore in response.

  QSD Baba Yaga

  Bethany Anne left the Etheric and broke into a run when she connected with her ship and it told her about the break-in. She bared her teeth, her temper rising with every step closer to the armory. “Izanami, get out here.”

  Michael appeared instead. “The vault remains safe, but there’s a lot of damage everywhere else in First City. New Citadel was hit, too, but you know Mahi’.”

  “I know the Bakas,” Bethany Anne replied. “They didn’t touch Second City or the lake towns?”

  “No,” Izanami replied. The AI appeared at Bethany Anne’s side, matching her pace. “My Queen. You have read the logs, I take it.”

  Bethany Anne turned red eyes on Izanami. “You know I have. There was a Kurtherian aboard my home and you didn’t kill it?”

  “Her,” Izanami corrected Bethany Anne. “And I don’t think I killed her.”

  Michael’s lips drew back in a snarl, and his eyes flashed red. “There was a Kurtherian inside our home?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Bethany Anne told him. “This whole attack looks to have been a diversion for a robbery. The crystals are gone.”

  Michael chose not to point out that they had stolen the crystals in the first place. Besides, he was exercising considerable effort to contain his anger. “This cannot go unanswered.”

  Izanami bowed her head. “I did my best to poison her. This was no ordinary Kurtherian.”

  Michael frowned. “Gödel,” he ground out.

  “How the fuck did she get in?” Bethany Anne raged as she waited for Izanami to open the armory. “Not just the ship, but my family’s living space has been violated. I want to know how.”

  Izanami shook her head. “She came through the Etheric,” she explained. “Watch the video. I did everything in my power to protect the ship, but I couldn’t prevent the theft from occurring.”

  Bethany Anne pulled the camera footage from the incursion. “What was stolen? Apart from the crystals.”

  Izanami winced. “Your boots that Jean made.”

  “My what?” Bethany Anne somehow found that worse, although she was relieved that her beloved pair was safely stored in her closet. “What the shiny fuck does a Kurtherian want with my footwear?” She strode across to inspect the smashed display case. “I don’t get it. The crystals, sure, but my boots? That’s too fucking personal to take as anything but an insult.”

  She pressed her lips together as they walked into the armory and she saw the broken display case. “Put the footage up on the holoscreen. I want a better view.”

  Izanami replayed the encounter on the holoscreen, as asked.

  Bethany Anne watched with the knot of anger in her stomach growing harder. “I want that Kurtherian located, and I want to know why the R2D2 isn’t here yet. We need to rethink our defenses.”

  Izanami frowned. “That would be because you had the station come the long way around. They will Gate in once they reach High Tortuga, as planned.”

  Bethany Anne was torn for a moment as to what her next action should be. She turned away from the screen with fire in her eyes. “Michael, can you check in on everyone? I’m going down to the vault. I want to see the children.”

  16

  The Etheric

  Gödel returned to her flagship with the headache blurring her vision.

  She flung the stolen boots into a corner, repulsed by her spontaneous urge to take them. The library cabinet followed her without deviating from its course. She no longer cared about that either.

  The unexpected loss of one of her Chosen not only reduced her power base, but it also made her feel as vulnerable as she’d intended to leave Death.

  Yet again, the humans had turned her carefully laid plans on their head and wrested a win out of the ashes of their defeat. She had the cabinet, but the cost had been prohibitive.

  Gödel snarled and kicked the trundling cabinet.

  Tens of thousands of soldiers destroyed. Ships she couldn’t replace without significant reinvestment from her factories. And she was forced to elevate another to replace the one Death’s minions had killed.

  She took a seat and closed her eyes for a moment before taking out the box containing her serum.

  She would rebuild. In the meantime, she would rethink her strategy.

  Next time, she would not give Death a chance to act.

  Devon, The Hexagon, Vid-doc Vault

  Bethany Anne entered the vault with a determined stride. “Is the inner Gate active?” she called, pausing at the entrance to the inner chamber.

  Eve replied through the speaker system. “No. I deactivated it while you were in the elevator. You can cross without finding yourself face to face with the black hole.”

  Bethany Anne nodded, knowing Eve could see her just fine.

  She made her way to the viewing area and took a seat by the control panel. Her fingers hovered over the button that would inform the children she was waiting to see them. This call was unscheduled, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to let her anger go until she’d seen Alexis and Gabriel’s faces and heard their voices.

  “Do you need some help?” Eve inquired, once again from the speaker.

  Bethany Anne shook her head. “No. You can leave the vault now, Eve. I want to speak to my children in private.”

  Eve’s silence announced her sudden absence.

  Bethany Anne pressed the button and sat back to wait.

  The wallscreen came on, although it only showed the black nothingness of an incomplete connection. Bethany Anne sifted through the game data while she waited for the twins to pick up.

  The screen flashed, and there they were.

  “Hi, Mom!” Alexis erupted, a bright smile making her eyes sparkle.

  “What’s with the unscheduled call?” Gabriel chipped in, similarly pleased to see her.

  Bethany Anne’s jaw dropped, and she found herself unable to speak around the wave of emotion that hit her. For a long moment, she said nothing, just stared openmouthed at the two adults looking back at her from the wallscreen. “You two,” she managed eventually. “You’ve grown since my last call with you.”

  Alexis snorted. “State the obvious, Mom,” she teased. “Is there a reason you’re calling? Is everyone okay?” A faint hint of worry creased her features.

  “Everyone is fine,” Bethany Anne assured them quickly. “I just wanted to catch up, is all. Can’t a mother check in with her kids every once in a while?”

  Gabriel laughed, deep and throaty. “Not when the mother in question is you,” he told her. “Something’s up, right? You can’t fool us.”

  Bethany Anne hadn’t planned o
n discussing any of the events outside the game. However, these were not the angry teens she had said goodbye to not so long ago, nor were they the same almost-certain youths hovering on the brink of adulthood she’d spoken with a few months of gametime earlier. “Oh, you know,” she replied. “War, the Seven, and Demon had a couple of kittens.”

  Alexis clasped her hands together for a brief second, looking like the teenager she had been. “Seriously? That’s just amazing!”

  Gabriel was not distracted by the mention of fluff-bundles. “What’s going on in the war? The Seven attacked Devon?”

  “Yes.” Bethany Anne closed her eyes. “We were hit pretty close to home,” she admitted. “Everything is okay. You four weren’t in any danger, but the Ookens made a mess of First City.”

  Alexis frowned, her joy of a moment ago replaced by a hard expression that reminded Bethany Anne of her resolve to take joy from the unscheduled time with the twins. “You kicked ass and left the name-taking to the cleanup crew, right?”

  Bethany Anne grinned and waved a hand. “You know it. Your Aunt Tabitha even managed to kill a Kurtherian—with a little help from her new affinity with technology.”

  “What do you mean, ‘affinity?’” Alexis inquired.

  Bethany Anne lifted a shoulder, wishing she’d brought a Coke down here with her. “I had your aunts and uncles go into the Vid-docs on the ship and get their nanocytes switched out for the newer ones. Let’s just say that the results varied, and your Aunt Tabitha chose her own way, as usual.”

  “How about that?” Gabriel marveled at his sister. “You were right.”

  Alexis shrugged. “It was only a matter of reducing the probabilities until the solution presented itself.”

  Bethany Anne tilted her head. “Right about what?”

  “That you would have everyone upgraded,” Gabriel answered. “Was Alexis also right about you extending that to other groups?”

  Bethany Anne pressed her lips together in amusement. They might be grown, but their personalities were just the same. Alexis had a knack for figuring her next steps, and Gabriel was inquisitive enough to demand answers. “Surely you two have better things to do than speculate about how I’m running my strategy? What about your training? Don’t you have assignments?”