by Erica Rue
She and Zane took turns wandering off to use the restroom. Neither was very hungry, though they had packed some of the rations Brian hid at the smugglers’ den. Dione tried the professor’s manumed.
“I still can’t reach him,” she said.
“His manumed might be completely shot by now,” Zane said.
“Then how are we supposed to find him?”
Zane looked uncomfortable. He wiped sweat from his forehead with his shirt and then stretched his legs one last time. “If we can’t find him, we could find the Vens that are chasing him.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” Dione said. “Do we even want to do that?”
“I’d rather be the ones to find them instead of the other way around.”
“Come on, we’d better keep moving if we’re going to make it to the shelter Brian marked.”
They were headed toward the river. According to his last known location, the professor was just on the other side. If you assumed that he was running from the direction of the Ven ships, that would put him somewhere in the red zone she had marked on her map. So much depended on his speed… and if he was even alive.
He’s dead. You’re too late. How could he still be alive? She and Zane climbed back onto Canto and in moments they were racing through the forest. They would find the professor. She would not leave him again. He was alive. She knew it. He had to be.
6. LITHIA
They had been waiting for hours. The tension in Lithia’s neck and shoulders had turned into an ache. The sun had set, and it was getting dark. Where were the Vens? Where was Victoria? “We only have to hold them off until Victoria shows up with the shuttles. Then, evac,” she said to Brian.
Brian gave her a knowing look. “We can only hope she agrees.”
Of course Victoria would agree. It was the only thing that made sense, which she would see first-hand when she returned. Assuming they lasted that long.
Lithia was not worthy of a tower spot. She suspected if Brian’s reputation hadn’t been tainted by his collusion with Dione, he would be guarding the gate, but instead he was on the opposite side of the settlement, keeping an eye on the forest. Most of the defenders were concentrated at the entrance, which was flanked by two towers.
Without warning, gunfire erupted from the opposite side of the settlement, the side exposed to the open plain. Brian’s communicator came to life, and a frightened voice spoke. Lithia couldn’t be certain, but she thought it was Nick. “They’re here, at the gate. They’re trying to breach the tower. They’re not stopping. Help us!”
“How many?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know! Dozens!”
The defenders rushed to other side of the settlement, leaving a scant guard in the towers. Lithia saw the problem immediately.
“Brian, it’s a misdirect. Most of their forces are still in the woods. They’re luring us away!”
Brian cursed and took out his own communicator. “Nick, we need to hold here. Take a few reinforcements, but don’t compromise the rest of the wall.”
“Reinforcements, now!” was the only response. Lithia, who was near the base of the tower with others who did not have proper guns, could see men and women leaving the other towers. These troops, if you could call them that, were untrained. They were not supposed to be the ones on these walls, and Nick hadn’t been trained for command. Brian shouted his warnings over the confusion, but armed civilians scrambled to the aid of those at the gates.
Most of the militiamen in Brian’s tower stayed. A good thing, too, as it wasn’t long before Vens burst from the tree line. Lithia saw that the tower to the right of Brian’s now had a few vacancies, so she climbed up to join the others and get a better view.
The Vens rushed toward the walls in small groups. Melanie and Brian began to fire along with the others, but the bullets were not enough. Or maybe their aim was bad. In no time, the Vens were at the walls. The pre-fab material was strong, but the Vens sought out the joints. Were they trying to pry the walls apart? The defenders were firing, but most of the firepower was at the gate, along with the best fighters left in the settlement.
What were the Vens trying to do? Then she saw it. The towers were spaced too far apart. There was a place in between Brian’s tower and her own where the angle of the wall blocked any shots they might take.
Lithia didn’t know why—it was suicide—but she headed to that part of the wall.
“Brian, they’re climbing in,” she said into her manumed. The wall would have been enough to keep out humans, but Vens? Not even close. He didn’t seem to hear her on the communicator. Even her ears were ringing a bit with all the gunfire. A few others who realized what was happening came to join her. Thankfully, they had guns. In no time at all, the first Ven had landed inside the settlement.
The Ven, green and hulking, was so much larger than the blue one she had seen in the cargo bay. Its overlapping plating gave the illusion of horizontal stripes. It extended its claws and growled, revealing sharp teeth. As it raced toward her, she did the only thing she could. Retreat. She fired a few times, but her stun rifle was useless. The long knife sheathed at her side would not stand a chance against the brutal club the Ven wielded. The Vens on the ship had not had weapons. She had not expected this.
Lithia sprinted toward Brian’s tower, hoping she could get some cover fire, but instead she heard a scream. It was one of the Ficarans who had joined her at the wall. She turned to see the woman on the ground. The largest Ven she had ever seen loomed over her. Its bloody club was all the explanation she needed.
He raised it to finish the woman off, and there was nothing that Lithia could do. The Ven looked up at her, and Lithia was struck by how dark it was, so green it was nearly black. A bullet hit the shoulder of its raised arm, and it barely flinched. It growled in anger. Lithia turned her head away as it brought the club down. She couldn’t watch. As she saw other Vens closing in, she ran. She had no means of defending herself.
Another scream meant another Ficaran down. This time when Lithia turned, the Vens were farther behind, and the black Ven was no where in sight. There were five of them, and they were slowing down after being shot a number of times. She saw one standing over a fallen Ficaran and immediately fired her stun rifle. Maybe it would distract the injured Ven, for just a moment, to give her a chance to move in.
When her shot hit, it growled. Apparently it did hurt. It bent over and bit the Ficaran, who howled in turn.
What?! Why now? There are only a few inside the walls, but they could easily overwhelm us. Where are the rest? If this was yet another misdirect, the settlement was screwed. Without Victoria and the trained soldiers who had the better weapons, they didn’t stand a chance.
With horror, Lithia realized the other Vens around her were doing the same. They were biting as many Ficarans as possible. Soon, the bitten would turn against their own. The Vens had sacrificed a few of their number to sow chaos within the walls. Not a bad tactic when outnumbered. Still, Lithia thought it was overkill. Without Victoria and her trained fighters, the superior Ficaran numbers were meaningless. The Vens would figure that out soon enough.
Well, they had not expected Lithia. She focused in and got to work. While the Ficarans tried to take down the Vens, she directed her shots toward their bitten victims. They fell reluctantly, some even taking three hits before hitting the ground. They would wake up sore tomorrow, but they wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone. She still ached from where Cora had stunned her last night.
Brian and Melanie found her as she was firing a final stunning shot at a crazed Ficaran man. There were no more Vens in sight, but the growling beyond had resumed.
“Come on, back to the tower,” Brian said, a little too loudly.
More screams erupted behind them. A boy, no more than fourteen, was on the ground, being pummeled by a much larger woman. Lithia must have missed one. She fired, but her shot went wide. The woman was too far away.
“I need to get closer,” she said, running forwar
d.
“Wait!” Melanie said. It was too late. Another Ven had seen them and was heading their way. Lithia didn’t stop advancing. She was still too far to make the shot. If she didn’t, that woman was going to kill the boy.
She ignored the movement in her right periphery, the shots ringing in that direction, and took aim. The first shot hit the woman square in the chest. The second shot missed as the woman bent over, and Lithia sensed the movement on her right getting closer. She had to stop this woman now. She exhaled and took an extra fraction of a second to steady her aim. The third shot hit its mark, and the woman slumped to one side.
Lithia didn’t get a chance to see if the pummeled boy was moving because in that moment, the Ven was on her. She dodged to the side, almost in time, but the Ven’s club came down. Instead of smacking her in the chest, it crashed against her shoulder. Most of the power of the blow glanced off to the side, but her arm still throbbed with pain.
“Get out of there!” Brian said. Easier said than done. The Ven lunged again. She could see fluid leaking out of a few bullet holes, but they might as well have been microrounds for all the damage they had done. The Ven was fast despite its size, and she barely had the sense to draw the knife that Melanie had given her. The large, yet dull blade would not save her. They were far enough away from the wall by now that very few people with guns were nearby.
“Shoot it!” Lithia screamed.
“We’re out of ammo,” Brian said.
Lithia and the Ven circled each other, and Brian and Melanie inched forward. Maybe the three of them could take down the Ven together.
The growls from the forest turned to high-pitched screeches and every hair on Lithia’s body stood on end. A warning. Something was coming.
Growing beneath the screeching was another sound. A familiar sound.
“Flyers,” she said, never taking her eyes from the Ven. “They’re coming back.”
The Ven seemed to realize this, too, and knew it didn’t have much time left. It lunged again, this time toward Melanie, who was not expecting it. Lithia flinched. This was an invitation to the Ven, who redirected its attention at her.
It seemed to realize that her weapon was useless and stopped holding back. It charged toward her. She scrambled backward. Just before the Ven swung down with its club, a shot rang out. It stumbled and dropped its club, though it was not dead yet. Lithia could see fluid leaking from a large hole on the side of its head.
Nothing she had seen at the weapons depot could make a dent like that. She looked up and saw a shuttle hovering far up in the air, the back open. She couldn’t be certain, but the shooter’s long, brown ponytail looked like Victoria’s.
The Ven was moving toward Melanie, probably to bite her like so many others.
“Brian, help me,” Lithia said.
She still held the knife, but it would be hard to get the right angle with it. Brian grabbed the Ven’s club from the ground and aimed at the wound on its head. The Ven stopped its attack, allowing Lithia to step closer. Even though it was seriously wounded, Lithia was afraid to get too close to those claws. Brian swung again, and this time hit his mark. The Ven stumbled and fell to its knees. In the instant of vulnerability, Lithia shoved the blade up through its plates and into its brain, wiggling the blade to sever any neural connections.
Brian helped Melanie to her feet. They heard more booms ring out from the shuttles in the air. Some of the craft were so low that men were jumping out and joining the fray by the gate. Maybe that’s where this Ven had come from, Lithia thought. If that was so, there might be more bitten Ficarans raging around the settlement.
Brian’s communicator crackled. “They’re retreating. Victoria’s back! She’s sent them running!”
As much as Lithia hated to admit it, Victoria and her people really had just saved them all. She pulled the knife from the Ven’s back, wiped it in the grass, then sheathed it again. She kept her stun rifle ready in case they ran into any other frenzied Ficarans. Lithia had to stun several before they reached the gate.
When they arrived, Victoria and several of her soldiers were there, speaking with Nick. Lithia couldn’t hear what they were saying over the rumble of shuttles heading toward the hangar, but Nick looked like he was going to wet himself while Victoria looked triumphant. Finally, the leader turned and addressed those present. A crowd had gathered, and Lithia recognized a few people who must have wandered this way from the forest side, just like she had.
“The raid was a success,” Victoria began. “As I speak, our people are unloading supplies. And this raid was just the first. Tomorrow, we will go back out. These demons” —Victoria turned to Nick and corrected herself—“these Vens, whatever they are, will not destroy us. They are a distraction from the real threat. Did you see how they ran as soon as they saw the Flyers? They know that we cannot be beaten that easily. In light of our victories today, we will honor our fallen tonight. Food and drink are being brought to the square even now. We will take care of our wounded, and then we will celebrate what it means to be alive.”
Lithia did not join the cheering crowd. She turned to Brian. “Is she freaking kidding me? A party?”
“It might seem strange, but in the face of death, we celebrate life every chance we get,” Brian said.
“So you think this is a good idea?”
“I never said that. Just that this isn’t unusual for us.” He thought a moment. “Except for the fact there’s actually food. Victoria doesn’t know how much damage the Vens really did.”
The crowd began to disperse, but Lithia and Brian were not lucky enough to avoid the woman’s notice. Nick must have told her they were here, because she scanned the crowd until her eyes settled on them. She didn’t send a goon after them. She just beckoned them over, and they complied.
“Brian, Nick told me you came back.” Victoria nodded at Lithia. “Who’s this one? I didn’t catch her name when you all left me at the coast.” She cocked her head and gave her a cold smile.
“This is Lithia. She saved a lot of Ficaran lives tonight, so before—”
“The Aratian prisoner who escaped,” Victoria cut him off. “I’ve heard about you.”
“Only believe the bad things,” Lithia said.
Victoria raised an eyebrow. “You saved some of my people. Thank you. I also heard that you know the layout of the Aratian Temple.”
So that’s what this was all about. “Yeah, I got the tour.”
“Here’s my offer. I’ll let you all join the celebration tonight, but I want all the intel you have.”
“Why are you planning an assault on the Aratians when the Vens are attacking our settlement?” Brian said.
“Those Vens have only been trying to kill us for a day. The Aratians have been oppressing us or starving us for years, and I’m not going to give them a chance to find their bearings. Plus, after their defeat tonight, I imagine these Vens will look for an easier target. So, Lithia, do we have a deal? Your freedom, tonight and for the rest of your time here, in exchange for actionable intel on the Aratian settlement.”
Lithia paused. “You grew up there. I doubt much has changed. The layout of the Vale Temple is probably just like yours. They all seem to be practically the same.”
“I’m aware of that, but I don’t need to know where the rooms are. I need to know who or what each one contains.”
“Like where the Regnator sleeps?” Lithia asked.
Victoria’s hard stare betrayed nothing. “We’ll talk later. I need to see to the commemoration ceremony.” She left them and headed toward the square where tables were being set up. Crates were being carried from the shuttles to the square, though some were taken straight into the Field Temple.
They were actually setting up for a party.
Brian shook his head. “That was too easy. She’s planning something.”
Melanie rejoined them. “Come on, there’s some clean-up left to do. All those people who gotten bitten need to be moved.”
“And restra
ined,” Lithia added. “Just in case they wake up before the crazy Ven cocktail wears off.”
“How many?” Brian said, his voice soft and serious.
“At least twelve dead, more wounded or stunned.”
“I expected more,” he said.
“So did I,” Lithia said. “I guess we got lucky.”
“Or these Vens aren’t as bad of a threat as you claim,” Melanie said.
Even Melanie was doubting her now. This wasn’t good.
“Maybe,” Lithia said, “but I don’t think so. They’ve wiped out entire colonies.” The Vens were deadly. She knew that. They were not easy to take down.
“How many Vens were killed?”
“Five,” she said.
“And you’re sure they’re dead?”
“We did what you and Brian said. Severed the neural connections. The rest ran off.”
That didn’t sound like the Vens Lithia had heard about. “That’s a lot of damage for a dozen Vens to do in such a disadvantageous position.”
Melanie thought for a moment. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought about it like that. Why didn’t they send in more?”
“I don’t know, and that’s what worries me,” Lithia said.
7. CORA
Despite the long summer days, Cora arrived at the Aratian gates well after dark. Sam had shown her how to use the autopilot on the ATV, but she hadn’t trusted it enough to relax and she certainly hadn’t gotten any rest.
Her guilt had helped keep her awake. Lithia and Zane had lied to her. They had pretended to be working for the Farmer, the god who had created her people and brought them here. He was supposed to return. That was why she had helped Lithia and defied her father. If she could just explain everything, he would understand.
When the sentries opened the gates for her, she was surprised to find a small crowd waiting to greet her.
In another moment, she realized that the crowd was not there for her. It was the cavalry, assembled and making final preparations to leave. What had happened?
She scanned the men’s faces, but before she could pick out her father, he stepped forward and usher her off to the side.
