We'd been dropped far back along the path we'd taken while Kory, seventeen feet of black-scaled, fiery High Demon took on the most terrifying creature I'd ever seen.
Like a giant ground worm, it erupted from the ground at Kory's feet, tearing through the grass and plant life with a terrible roar, its huge maw filled with wicked, sharp teeth. It snapped at Kory's Thifilathi, which swung at and missed hitting the creature.
"Holy fucking hell, it's a hybrid Ra'Ak," Trent shouted over the noise of battle ahead of us.
Kory's answering roar of frustration shook the ground, and a subsequent bellow from the creature followed, before it leaped forward to snap at Kory's leg. Lexsi's nearby shout as the creature bit Kory's thigh almost deafened me.
She turned Thifilatha, then, and rushed the creature, while it was attempting to score another hit against a wounded High Demon. Once she arrived at the battle site, another creature tore through the ground to distract her from helping Kory.
"Fuck that," Wyatt snapped and became vampire mist.
I'd seen it in his eyes, however—what he planned to do.
His grandmother had taught him that trick, after all. Mist inside their head and blast the mist outward, making their heads explode.
That thought had bare seconds to form in my head before the ground rumbled again and more creatures exploded from the ground.
If anyone thought to have a more effective security system for Bornelus than this, I had no idea what it could be.
"Wait here," Travis turned to shout at us before he and Trent became what their fathers and grandfather were—dragons.
Travis was deep-blue sapphire, Trent was emerald, their scales gleaming in the light of Bornelus' sun as they leapt toward the fight.
"I get us away if necessary," Bekzi informed me. He could fold space and take us with him.
I wanted him to take Sabrina and the others out of here. Instead, I ran toward Travis and Trent's last spot before becoming dragons, and lifted Travis' ranos rifle in my hands.
No, I hadn't trained with one, but things were about to get much, much worse.
"Get back," I shouted to the others and raised the rifle.
"No!" David yelled. "You could kill Wyatt!"
"You think I can't find Wyatt?" I leveled the gun, closed my eyes and waited for my mindsight to kick in. I'd know moments ahead of time where each creature would be by the time I fired my weapon.
If I didn't act now, the entire space around us would be boiling with these creatures, and I wasn't about to leave Wyatt, Travis, Trent, Kory and Lexsi behind to die.
Time to let them know how tough we could be.
I fired.
Chapter 15
BlackWing X
Travis
"Randl's exhausted. There isn't a scratch on him otherwise," Karzac informed me. I wasn't in the greatest shape, either, but at least Karzac left me awake. The others bore wounds of some sort, and were placed in a healing sleep.
"The poison in these Ra'Ak hybrids isn't as potent as that of a normal Ra'Ak," Karzac added.
"A normal Ra'Ak doesn't live underground and burrow through it like a giant earthworm," I responded before lifting my glass of bourbon and draining it.
"Enough of that," Karzac removed the glass from my hand. "You only had a few scratches, and somebody has to captain the ship," he reminded me.
"How the hell did Randl know where to shoot?" I asked my next question.
"Hmmph," Karzac snorted. "I believe it involves the prescience he has. Susan said he was shooting with his eyes closed."
"Damn," I sighed. "Thanks for coming and bringing Quin with you."
"She was needed to heal the High Demons," Karzac said. "They were impervious to the poison but had deep bites and gouges. Quin healed that while I tended to the poisoning of the others."
"What do you think Kooper will do when he gets here?" I asked.
"No idea, although I worry about the planet's fate after the discovery of these hybrid creatures."
"That makes two of us, and we still haven't had time to examine what we went down to see."
"I'd suggest going straight to it next time," Karzac said. "You can't be any worse off than you were before."
"True."
"I'm bringing in BlackWing VII and IX," Kooper appeared in the Captain's cubby, where Karzac and I sat. I wished for another glass of bourbon, but knew better than to suggest that to Karzac.
"I want to go back down there after the other ships arrive," I said.
"I'll let you. Take Randl with you, too."
"Are you kidding? You think I'd go without him?" I asked. "He told us something was coming for us. Turns out, he was not only right, he was really right."
"We don't have micro-drones that can see very far beneath the surface," Kooper sighed and walked to the hidden liquor cabinet behind the desk. He grabbed two glasses and the bottle of bourbon, poured one for himself, handed a second one to Karzac, then refilled mine.
Karzac lifted an eyebrow but drank anyway.
"There was no indication of any of this—it was all hidden, just as it was on Cord'ilus," Kooper went on. He poured himself another glass of alcohol after draining the first. "Could be Sirenali bones or a steep spell we haven't encountered before."
"Randl said something similar—he called the enemy a necro-sorcerer and said he'd never seen anything like it before."
"That title gives me the shivers, but I can't say it's inaccurate," Kooper grumped. "For now, we'll use it until something better comes along."
"Let's hope it's resolved before we have to rename it," Karzac huffed and emptied his glass.
Randl
I was asleep for nearly a day after the attack. I knew the creatures—what remained of them, anyway—had retreated deep into the ground before I stopped shooting.
It felt like hours, although it had probably been more like minutes while I fired Travis' weapon at the giant, worm-like creatures. I hadn't kept track of time—I'd been more focused on keeping track of the creatures and where their wriggling bodies and heads would go next so I could aim ahead of time and shoot when the right moment came.
After a shower, I dressed comfortably and made my way toward the galley, hoping something would be available to eat. I was famished and hoping for good food at the end of my search.
I found Travis, Trent, David and Terrett sitting around a table, eating and talking when I arrived in the galley.
"Have a seat, bro," Travis indicated a chair across from his.
"How are the others?" I asked as Susan set a plate of food in front of me. Bekzi showed up with a glass of fruit juice shortly after.
"Everyone's fine. Quin and Karzac patched everybody up—Kory's leg is healed, but he's still in a grumpy mood, according to Lexsi. VII and IX are on their way to help out, if necessary."
"Are we going straight in, next time?" I asked before lifting food to my mouth.
"That's the plan," Trent said.
"This is delicious," I said after chewing and swallowing.
"Boeuf Bourguignon," Trent said. "It's a favorite, but takes a while to cook. Susan made it for us."
"We're hungry, too." Wyatt and Jayna walked into the galley together. Wyatt held a solicitous hand at her back.
She didn't blush like Sabrina would have, but she was happier than I'd ever seen her, and it was due to spending time with Wyatt after the attack. It's strange—and wonderful—how dire circumstances can force people to acknowledge feelings they'd kept hidden before.
Sabrina had confessed no such feelings for me after her kidnapping. She'd been swept into Travis' arms and allowed her desires free rein by kissing him repeatedly.
People suffer through unrequited love every day, I reminded myself. It's only the worst ever if your heart is the one involved.
"I'll bring plates," Trent offered and rose from the table. He winked slyly at Wyatt, too. At least Jayna didn't see the wink; she was trying to hide the fact that Wyatt had linked his fingers with hers beneath the
table.
"When will we go back down?" I asked. "To the planet?"
"Tomorrow, after the others get here. It doesn't look like these creatures can fold space like regular Ra'Ak, and that's a real plus," Travis said. "How the hell they got there to begin with is anybody's guess—this wasn't a world destroyed by the Ra'Ak. Bornelus killed itself with nuclear warfare long ago."
I mentally added that fact to the information I'd accumulated on the planets affected so far. Pyrik was afflicted in some way by nuclear waste dumps. Here, a hybrid race existed that had never been seen before, and could also have been greatly affected by nuclear poisoning.
Perhaps when we returned to examine the anomaly inside the city, I could get a better idea of what went wrong with this world.
"What did the micro-drones get, image-wise?" Wyatt asked.
"It looks like a concrete block—a big square with no doors, windows or anything else. The sensors couldn't penetrate any part of it, but the ground around it emitted a high level of radiation. Nothing else on the planet was affected like that," Travis explained.
"That would be an anomaly, all right," Wyatt agreed.
"The radiation shield provided by our utility belts will protect us well enough, but some of us can put up extra shielding if it's necessary," Trent said.
I had a feeling that the medallion I wore could protect me against that sort of thing, too, but I didn't say it. I'd already determined that whatever the concrete block's purpose was, it and the surrounding area was now empty.
Like the ship carrying the bodies of Lorvis and Akrinn was empty.
Would we discover bodies or bones? I wondered. Perhaps the creatures had devoured everything and we'd find nothing.
I suppose we'd learn what we could the following day. Too bad Quin had gone back to Le-Ath Veronis with Karzac the physician. I'd discuss this with her if she were still here.
"I sincerely hope those creatures don't come anywhere near that anomaly," Jayna sighed. "I have no desire to see those things again."
"We'll just hand the ranos rifle to Randl to begin with," Travis grinned at me.
There was something about the experience of shooting those creatures that I hadn't told anyone. At the time, I wasn't thinking about it—my goal was to kill as many of those beasts as I could.
Reflecting on the incident later, I felt as if I'd willed my shots not to miss. Travis, while teaching me to shoot a pistol, always said that during a stressful encounter, some shots always missed their mark.
This time, mine hadn't missed. I had no idea whether I could repeat my performance a second time, and felt concerned as a result. My accuracy the first time was extreme good luck, perhaps, and I was grateful for it.
"May we have a safer journey and a better day tomorrow," David lifted his glass. I lifted mine in return and nodded at the stoic dwarf.
Queen's Palace, Le-Ath Veronis
Winkler
"Is it my imagination, or has Amlis actually become more reasonable?" Lukas asked. I'd invited the Grand Master of Harifa Edus to dinner after he'd contacted me, asking for a meeting.
"Quin may have had something to do with that," I speculated after clearing my throat.
"The Avii Queen?"
"Yes. She's a powerful healer," I said. "That's privileged information, by the way," I added.
"I'll keep that to myself, then," Lukas agreed. His dark eyes narrowed for a moment as he considered everything I'd said. "You think she may have corrected his, ah, mental instability?"
"It's happened before."
"Is it something you can expand on?"
"Not really, no." I didn't want to get into the whole story of the previous King of the Avii, or how he'd become more rational after a healing from Quin. I also didn't want to explain how Justis had gained the throne; his brother, King Jurris, was murdered by an obsessed journalist who'd asked for an interview.
"Sounds like a long story," Lukas sighed. "No," he held up a hand, "Maybe another time; I don't need to hear it now. What I wanted to talk to you about is the number of letters Amlis and I are getting from the logging interests, asking to scout our forests. My replies have always been a polite hells no, but Amlis had already said yes months earlier while still suffering from his affliction, shall we say. One of those scouting parties is scheduled to arrive next week. Amlis contacted me three days ago in a panic, because he doesn't want them on Harifa Edus now."
"Fuck." I couldn't help cursing.
"My thoughts, exactly. Amlis wants me there when they arrive, to make sure they don't get away with anything. I'm asking you to come with me, to doubly ensure they don't get away with anything."
"I'll go. Perhaps I'll ask Lissa to come with me, in case they get unruly. Compulsion isn't off the list for her, at least."
"I wish we could bring in Randl," Lukas chewed his lower lip for a moment.
"Maybe we can," I said. "I'll ask Kooper if we can borrow him. He may not want to see Amlis, but we need his talent—or, we could ask Quin. She can see what's in that scouting party and keep us informed of their true intentions."
"After what she did to Rodrik, she may not want to see Amlis, either," Lukas pointed out.
"I'll ask for one or the other. Surely we can bring in one of them to help us sort this out. Look at it this way," I pointed my fork at Lukas. I think the logging industry was jumping the gun somewhat on this. If the Conclave hadn't been postponed, then the vote would already be taken. They were counting on it passing, don't you think?"
"That would make sense, since they were asking for permission to allow scouting parties long before the Conclave was scheduled."
"Yeah. Makes me wonder how many other worlds got messages, and how many of those said yes."
"You think they were gauging the vote by the number of acceptances?" Lukas lifted an eyebrow in speculation.
"Possibly. Damn, why didn't we see this before? Did Amlis get the names of the scouting party?"
"Just the supervisor's name," Lukas shrugged. "I can give you a copy of the message—it's on my comp-vid." He pulled the device from a pocket and tapped it a few times.
"I'll have somebody look at it," I responded as he pocketed his comp-vid. I intended to send it to Kooper, who'd forward it to Quin, no doubt. Something about all this was making my wolf's fur itch, as my father used to say.
"How many big logging concerns are involved?" I asked. "How many letters from different companies did you get?"
"The big six," Lukas said, giving me the nickname for all the major logging concerns combined. There were many subsidiaries of each of those six, but nearly all of them were connected to one or the other in some way.
"You think they're getting together on this?"
"With the vote in the offing, it wouldn't surprise me at all."
"Just what I was thinking," I confirmed. "Maybe I'll do some digging myself, or ask Rigo's network to look into it."
"Rigo's network?"
"Vampires." That one-word answer was all I needed to give Lukas. If a vampire couldn't get to the bottom of this, especially a vampire spy, then not many could.
"How soon?"
"Yesterday soon enough?"
"Thank you. The time of the scheduled meeting is on the communication I sent you. Bring anyone who can help—that will agree to come," Lukas said. "I worry they'll roll over Amlis like a bump in the road."
BlackWing X, Bornelus Orbit
Randl
"How do you suppose the presidential election is going on Pyrik?" David asked as he and I worked out with weights after our meal. I needed physical activity of some sort to clear my mind before going back to my research.
"I hear it's down to a run-off, as there was no clear winner in the first election," I grunted and pushed weights up with my legs.
"So, another election between the two with the most votes?"
"Looks that way, although I don't think either remaining candidate has stellar qualifications. I think they were elected because they had good hair and tee
th." I'd quoted my father, who often said that of elected officials.
David chuckled and agreed with me.
"It may take another month to set up the subsequent vote, to give those two blusterers a chance to further their cause with the people of Pyrik. That means they won't have much time to settle into the office before the Conclave reconvenes."
"I hope we have this mess sorted out by then, or we may be in horrible trouble," David grunted as he lifted the weights above his head.
"I agree," I said and shoved my leg weights up again.
"We have a new twist, and it's not a good one," Travis folded into the weight room.
"Now what?" David dropped the weights at his feet and frowned at Travis.
"The concrete block we were going to examine?"
"Yeah, what about it?" David asked.
"It's gone. Disappeared right under our noses."
"Holy, fucking, bloody hell," David cursed.
"Micro-drones show a deep hole there, now," Trent leaned back in his chair. We'd gathered in the Captain's cubby to discuss the disappearance of the anomaly. "They've gone down into the hole for at least twenty feet, and there's nothing except the roots of trees and vines smashed against the dirt that surrounded the concrete block. Down there, the radiation is stronger, too, and I've sent the specs to Kooper's science team to see whether they can figure out why."
Like the vanishing of three people on Pyrik, the disappearance of a seemingly innocuous block of concrete made little sense as to how and why it was accomplished.
"We should have gone directly to it," Sabrina tossed up a hand.
"Yes, but we found ourselves in a war the last time we set down near our quarry," Travis pointed out. He didn't add that Sabrina's rescue had been our objective on that mission, and we'd set down as close as we could to the spot Quin indicated.
We'd been surrounded then by tall, crumbling walls and debris of a disintegrating city that required careful maneuvering to locate Sabrina. With Quin and two others flying above us, we'd been better equipped to find Sabrina—even though we were involved in a battle almost immediately.
MindSighted: BlackWing Pirates, Book 1 Page 21
