by S. E. Smith
Cardin glanced over at the cage. Madas was still unconscious. He fingered the last dart he had.
“You’d be dead before you had a chance,” the Tearnat commented as if reading his mind.
He blanched and dropped his hand to his side. The fog was getting thicker, increasing his unease. There was always a chance that Madas’s prince could make it here alive. That was what the Tearnat sitting on the stump of the dead tree was expecting. If the male did by some miracle make it, they would never see him coming.
A noise near them made him jump. “What was that?” Cardin asked.
The Tearnat turned to give him a cold stare and pointed a laser pistol at his chest. Goddess, how could he have been so stupid to get himself into this mess?
“Unless you wish to wait outside of the security of the moss, I suggest you shut your mouth,” the Tearnat threatened. “Your incessant talking not only attracts the beasts, but will alert Gril to our location and cover the sound of his approach.”
Cardin swallowed again and nodded. Sitting down on a log, he tightly gripped the small laser pistol in his hand. It was little more than a toy, usually perfectly adequate when he was shooting small prey, but now it felt woefully inadequate.
Goddess, but I hate this place, he thought, trembling when he saw the long leg of a night crawler move through the fog.
Gril threw the empty hull of the green water nut to the side. In front of him, he could see the veil of sweet moss hanging from the trees that bordered the Goddess’s Fury. Droplets of water ran down his shoulders from the rain that had started during the night and continued even as the first rays of light struggled to lighten the horizon through the dark, heavy clouds.
The rain had washed the blood from his face and clothes. He had encountered a night crawler. It hadn’t gone well for the creature. It really shouldn’t have gotten in his way.
Gril focused on the layout of the Goddess’s Fury. He would head first for the large hot spring where they had seen the cage. As he walked along the path, he gathered some of the sweet moss hanging from the trees. He draped it over his shoulders and tied some around his waist.
Striding forward, he was almost to the entrance when a cloaked form stepped out onto the path in front of him. He sneered when he saw the Tearnat holding a spear in one hand. He swept his hand down along his side, pulling the short laser sword out and activating it in one smooth motion.
“Wait!” the man called out, lifting one hand.
“Get out of my way. I will not let you stop me,” Gril ordered.
The male reached up and pulled the hood of his cloak off his head. Gril frowned when he recognized him as one of Madas’s brothers. He tried to remember the male’s name.
“I’m Joren. I’m not here to stop you. I want to help you,” he explained.
Gril studied the other male. “Why should I believe you?” he suspiciously demanded.
Joren cautiously walked toward him with his hands raised, his expression somber. Gril could tell the male wasn’t much older than Madas.
“I’m probably the only one who could ever relate to Madas—not only because of our age, but because of our desire to escape this world and travel to the stars. Unfortunately, our mother had very different plans for us both. I wasn’t as smart or as strong as Madas. I gave in,” he quietly shared.
Gril relaxed his stance. “Why are you here?” he asked.
A crooked smile curved Joren’s lips. “The same reason that you are, I want to save Madas,” he explained.
“Why haven’t you already?” Gril demanded.
“Because we aren’t the only ones here. There were two more in the group than when we headed out—I counted. One is Cardin. I can handle him, but I didn’t recognize the other one—he was wearing a cloak with a hood—but I saw him carrying a weapon like the one you’re holding. We don’t have those here,” Joren said.
Gril stiffened. The saboteur of his ship! That was the only person it could be. There had been a tracking device on his ship. It appeared that whoever was searching for him had decided to use the situation to his advantage. If he couldn’t find Gril, he would have Gril come to him.
“Do you know where they are?” he asked.
Joren nodded. “Near the hot spring where Madas is caged. I saw them, but had to come back to this side when Cardin started repairing the barrier to keep the night crawlers out. This is the main path in and out. Neither have come back through, and it isn’t like there are a lot of places they can go without getting eaten, so I’m assuming they are still there,” he replied.
Gril looked up. It was hard to tell what the time was with the rain and cloud cover.
Joren must have realized what he was thinking, because he said, “We have less than an hour. There is a small explosive under the cage that will blow the pin holding the bar in place. The bottom will open and Madas will fall into the boiling water. She’ll be dead in a couple of minutes,” Joren said.
“I want you to get Madas out of the cage before that happens. I will take care of Cardin and the saboteur,” Gril growled, pulling the thin cable over his shoulder and handing it to Joren.
Joren nodded, turned, and took the lead. He knew the way better than Gril. They went through the curtain of moss to the Goddess’s Fury and were quickly enshrouded in the heavy fog. Gril sheathed his laser sword and pulled the rifle off of his shoulder and into position. He had one focus—kill anything that stood between himself and Madas.
Madas leaned back against the bars of the cage. Her gaze was locked on Cardin and the other Tearnat. Cardin fingered the long, slender tube in his hand.
“If you shoot me with another dart, I swear I will rip off your shaft and shove it down that tube! It is about the same size as a dart, correct?” she asked snidely.
The pale Tearnat chuckled and Cardin released a low curse, hiding the slender tube in his cloak. Madas turned her attention to the Tearnat who had sat silently throughout the brief period that she had been awake. Leaning her head back, she tried not to focus on the throbbing in her head or the nausea roiling in her stomach.
“I almost like you,” the Tearnat stated.
Madas shot a heated scowl at the cloaked figure before closing her eyes. “The feeling is not mutual, but you have my permission, if you like me so much, to release me. I’ll even get rid of that simpering pile of night crawler dung for you. I’m sure you’re as tired of his endless sniveling as I am,” she offered.
“This entire mess is your fault, Madas. If you had agreed to be my mate, none of this would have happened,” Cardin defended.
Madas opened her eyes and stared back at Cardin until he looked away. “Do you really think you could have made it to the pits in time? You can barely take a piss on a tree without getting lost,” she retorted.
“I was raised to be a future councilman, not a hairless beast taking a shit in the woods. Your father should never have taken you out in the forests. Your place was in the village, not studying some obscure plant or daydreaming about going to the stars,” Cardin snapped.
Madas surged forward, uncaring of the way it made the cage swing. Rage and grief filled her. She had lost everything—everything—that she had ever cared about. Her father, her grandmother, L’eon, and possibly Gril.
“Don’t you dare talk about my father. He was a better Tearnat male than you could ever dream of being!” she snarled.
Cardin took a step closer to the hot spring. “Did Matteu ever tell you that he wasn’t really your father? Did your mother ever tell you that you weren’t really from her egg? Matteu found you, abandoned in the forest—unwanted and left to feed the creatures that you love. Your father could never produce any eggs, so your mother opened her legs to any male that could fill her womb,” he cruelly said.
Madas sat back and shook her head. “You lying piece of Night Shadow dung. If you think this lie will save you when I get out, you must be delusional!” she growled.
“I’m not lying, Madas. Why do you think your mother didn’t min
d how often your father left the village? Why do you think each of your siblings is so different from the next? Goroff is my half-sibling. Did you ever wonder why she resented you so much? Your father found you and treated you like you were his. He loved you more than anyone else—including Tima. You were just like him in almost every way, but you weren’t his biological daughter,” Cardin said in a quieter, less emotional voice.
“You lie,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “If you don’t believe me, you could always ask Joren—that is if you live. He knows. He has your father’s personal journals. Your father made him promise to give them to you one day—before you left to go to the stars,” Cardin said.
“Enough!” the Tearnat suddenly growled.
“Look out!” Madas’s cry of warning came too late.
Cardin was in mid-turn when the booted foot caught him in the side. Madas watched in horror as Cardin’s arms reached out, searching for something to grab hold of. His tortured screams filled the air when he hit the boiling waters of the hot spring. He flailed for a moment, his screams fading as his body rolled in the water until he was face down.
“Now you get to see what will happen to you,” the Tearnat sneered.
“I think not, Dev. Drop your weapon,” Gril coldly ordered.
Madas clung to the bars of her cage, ignoring the pain of the hot metal. Her breaths came in small pants as she tried to calm herself. She kept her focus on Gril so that she wouldn’t see Cardin’s lifeless body.
“So, you made it to your true mate’s side. I hope you enjoy watching her die like her former lover,” Dev commented, dropping the laser pistol as she held both hands out with palms toward Gril.
“Gril, she has another weapon!” Madas shouted when she saw Dev reaching behind her back.
Gril jerked to the side when his former mate threw a series of blades. One of the blades sliced a deep cut along his bicep. He rolled when she threw several more. He dropped his rifle and pulled two of his own blades.
Dev had disappeared in the fog. He rolled and stood up with his back against the trunk of a dead tree. He ignored the blood running down his arm, reassured by the familiar weight of the blades in his hands.
“Why, Dev? You wanted your freedom—I gave it to you,” Gril called out.
“Do you think this is about you and me, Gril? This is about something much larger than either of us,” Dev scoffed.
Gril turned and threw one of his blades. He heard Dev hiss. He threw another slightly to the left. This time, there was no mistaking the sound of it hitting flesh.
“That will cost you, Gril,” Dev swore.
Dev fired wildly through the fog. Gril jerked out from behind the tree when he heard Madas’s frightened cry. He dove closer to the hot spring. Peering over a nearby log, he could see Madas clinging precariously to the bars of the cage. The bottom of the cage had fallen open and was swinging vertically, rocking the entire cage.
“Hang on, Madas,” he shouted.
“Well, I sure as hel meiya don’t want to let go. Will you just kill her already?” she snapped.
Dev’s coarse chuckle echoed through the fog. “I have to admit I like my replacement. Did Gril tell you that I was his mate and that I laid two eggs for him?”
“Poor eggs! I hope you aren’t raising them, because I have to tell you that you are a horrible role model,” Madas growled.
Gril chuckled. “Devac wasn’t a very good mate either. I should have known when you tried to kill me the first time that I should have done more than send you away,” he called out.
He was rewarded for his comment by several flying pieces of debris when Dev fired at the log he was using for cover. His gaze swept the fog, wondering where Joren was. The Tearnat better not betray him or Madas, or he’d make sure that Joren joined Cardin in the hot spring.
“I was a fool for not making sure you were dead. You always said that the Goddess must be watching over you. You should have died in the crash, but this will be much more satisfying. You can listen to your precious little mate scream as she is cooked alive before I slice you open and let you join her,” Dev vowed.
“Goddess, does she go on like this all the time? I think I would have slit my own throat if I had to listen to her constant whining,” Madas growled.
“I am really looking forward to watching you die,” Dev snapped.
“Well, that was a short-lived friendship,” Madas retorted.
Gril listened to Madas and Devac, and realized what Madas was doing—she was distracting Dev so that he could get a better fix on her position. He continued listening to Madas bait Dev as he silently worked his way closer to Dev’s position through the fog.
A brief thinning in the fog gave him the chance he needed. Dev turned as he rushed her. He gripped her wrist and they turned as her finger fired off several shots. Madas’s scream and the loud sound of a splash broke through his concentration. He turned his head and gaped in horror when he saw the cage submerged in the boiling water, just the top visible.
“Feel the pain, Gril,” Dev hissed, striking his knee with her booted foot and bringing her knee up into his stomach before she turned and struck him across the face with her tail.
Gril fell backwards and twisted, his fingers clawing at the ground, his horrified eyes focused on the hot springs. Dev kicked him in the ribs and he rolled closer to the edge. Superheated steam rose from the edge and mist dampened his skin. He looked up to see Dev pointing a laser pistol at his head.
“Let’s see how many lives you really have,” she hissed with a malevolent smile.
Time seemed to slow as Gril watched Dev’s finger tighten on the trigger. He braced himself for the blast… and felt a heavy thud on his chest but no pain. Looking down, his eyes widened when he saw the small but all too familiar lizard sitting on his chest with his mouth open.
Dev’s outraged, shrill curse filled the air and she fired several more times. Each time she did, L’eon jumped and swallowed the blast as if it were a delicious sweet. Dev backed away, her eyes growing wide with alarm when he sat up. Her eyes grew larger when Madas appeared out of the fog, Joren at her side.
“L’eon, you can kill the bitch,” Madas growled.
L’eon grinned and crawled off of Gril’s lap. His body began to glow and he looked at Dev with malicious glee. Gril rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around Madas’s waist, his eyes glittering almost as brightly as L’eon.
“Run, Dev,” Gril ordered.
Dev backed away, holding the laser pistol in front of her. She repeatedly fired at L’eon. The small lizard caught each bolt of energy. Turning on her heel, she disappeared into the fog. Gril watched as L’eon sneezed and burped up a glowing ball of energy that rolled across the ground like a marble.
He turned to Madas just as they heard a terrified scream. Gril held Madas to him until the screaming stopped. He looked over her shoulder at Joren.
“I guess she stepped out of the protective area of the moss,” Joren stated with a grin.
“How…?” Gril asked in a tight voice, looking down at his precious Madas, alive and well in his arms.
Joren nodded to L’eon. “He appeared out of nowhere as I was trying to figure out how to get the cable across the hot spring in case your former mate cut the rope. Anyway, L’eon appeared out of the fog, grabbed one end, and ran across the vine above the hot springs to the other side. I don’t think you’re going to get your cable back. He used his tail to weld it to the post while you were fighting with your former mate—who by the way was a real piece of work! I thought I had it bad, but you did a lot worse—”
“Joren,” Gril growled.
“I was able to crawl out the bottom,” Madas continued the story, “and was climbing up the side when one of your former mate’s shots cut through the vine. Fortunately, I had one hand on the cable when it snapped,” Madas finished, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Will you both quit calling her my former mate? It was an arranged agreement that lasted
less than a year before she tried to kill me, and it happened a long, long time ago!” he said.
Madas turned to her brother. “He’s a lot older than I am,” she explained to Joren.
Joren’s eyes lit up. “Is he an egg snatcher?” he joked.
“By one hundred and thirty-five years,” she laughed.
“Nice!” Joren said, grinning at Gril.
Madas turned and looked at Gril. “I’m ready to leave this place—without any other goodbyes,” she said, suddenly overwhelmed.
Gril saw her eyes flash over the hot spring before moving away. He could understand her feelings, but there were a few things that needed to be settled before he left and he still needed to acquire the part for his ship. As much as he wanted to protect Madas from any further distress, the attack on them both had to be addressed.
“We need to return to the village. The part to my ship and the items you wish to take with you are there. We will not leave without them,” he said.
Madas closed her eyes and nodded. He caressed her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed back at him. He could see the shimmer of tears.
“You owe her nothing, Madas,” he quietly said.
“I know,” she replied.
“Come on, L’eon. I think Madas could use some of your love. She missed you terribly,” Gril summoned, bending to scoop up the amazing lizard.
L’eon scrambled up to his shoulder and quickly hopped onto Madas’s. She rubbed her cheek against L’eon’s and smiled at Gril. He could see the joy as well as exhaustion in her eyes.
“I should probably return to the village,” Joren muttered. “If I left now, I could probably make it there before dark.”
“That is a good idea. We will be there by midday tomorrow. Madas and I need some time alone before we return. Do not speak a word of this. I will take care of those responsible,” Gril ordered.
“I won’t,” Joren promised.
They all turned at the same time when the ground suddenly shook under their feet. Gril hissed out a warning and pulled Madas behind him. Joren fumbled for his pistol and held it with both hands. Gril pulled his laser sword and pressed the power button.
