Drenched: Elemental Warriors (A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Paranormal Romance) Page 31

  He blinked, surprised that he’d spoken so much. Halphia put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he went to take his place back in the lines, not looking at the others. Sorrin didn’t want to see pity on their faces. He just wanted to get this done.

  The lines moved out. Halphia fell into step with Sorrin as they moved, and she leaned in close to him. "I'm proud of you, you know," she murmured as they walked.

  Sorrin didn't look at her, just smiled shortly. "You shouldn't be."

  Halphia didn't argue, and Sorrin could imagine the serene smile that would be on her face. For someone who loved peace as much as she did, she was surprisingly comfortable in times of war. She marched in the lines like she belonged there, and Sorrin was proud of her, too.

  "We'll have the element of surprise," she remarked next.

  "I hope so." His mind was on Abby and her betrayal, however reluctant. If the Camadors had been watching her, then there was a chance that they knew their entire plan and this would end badly.

  "You don't think so?"

  Sorrin turned his head and looked into those too perceptive eyes. She wanted his honest opinion, and she also knew something was going on. Something more than what he was saying. But she wasn't going to press him for the information, and he was pleased about that.

  "We'll be fine," he said finally.

  The floating city loomed in the distance, the sun reflecting on the shiny metal dome at the bottom. The ladder was still there, leading up into the city, and it was just like them to leave it there, a testament to their arrogance. For one wild moment, Sorrin felt like he had four years ago. He wanted to climb that ladder rashly and burst in, his gun in one hand, sword in the other. But he was older now, and he had learned better, so he made himself stay with the group.

  The guards were on the wall, as usual, and it was they who had captured Sorrin the last time he had attempted to gain entry into their city. Now they had a plan for them.

  There were five in all, spread out in intervals around the circular wall that guarded the city proper. The commander lifted a hand, and five of the best snipers the colonies had to offer slunk off into their positions. One sniper for each guard.

  They'd discussed this, of course. Each guard had to fall at the same time. If one fell before the others, then they would sound the alarm, and it would all be ruined. Caution, Sorrin thought. It was of the essence here.

  The commander lifted his hand higher, and no one dared to make a sound. None of the guards had a good view of the ground from up there, and they mostly just watched the perimeter. One of the things about being unbearably arrogant was that it made it hard to imagine that anyone could break through and gain entrance into the city.

  Hopefully they were going to show them the price of that mistake.

  No one breathed it seemed until the commander lowered his hand in a downward slash that was the cue for the snipers to fire. Their shots were already lined up, fingers on the triggers of their guns, and no sooner had the commander dropped his hand than the blasts went off, silent and deadly streaking towards their targets in jets of silvery green energy.

  The impacts made no sound either, but one by one the guards fell, holes burned into their chests.

  No one moved for several seconds, waiting to see if there would be any sort of alarm raised from someone seeing what had just happened. When it was all silent, they moved to phase two of the plan.

  "We're going in in waves," the commander said. "First line, then second, then third. Take out anyone you see, no questions asked. There are prisoners here, humans, and who knows what else. Getting them out is not our priority."

  Sorrin frowned, but then a cleared throat caught his attention. He turned, and the sight of a Camador woman standing there nearly made them all reach for their weapons. Sorrin recognized her just as Abby stepped around her, hands lifted.

  "It's alright," she said. "Kaleth is a friend."

  The so named Kaleth snorted. "You assume much, human."

  Abby rolled her eyes, and it was such an Abby thing that it momentarily made Sorrin ache. She looked...different. There had always been something heavy and worn about her, ever since the moment they met, even though she tried her best to deflect it with humor and bravado. Now it was worse. She looked somehow thinner, and her eyes were bloodshot and heavy, dark circles ringing them as if she hadn't been sleeping. It had only been a week since the last time he'd seen her, and he wanted to pull her closer and demand to know why she wasn't taking care of herself.

  Instead, he focused on the plan.

  "There are reinforcements coming," Abby was saying, and if she was nervous to speak in front of a veritable army of aliens, she didn't show it. "Kaleth and I will go up with one of your lines and rescue the prisoners."

  "We won't be able to protect you," the commander said, visibly dismissive of Abby, more than likely because she was a human.

  "That is fine," Kaleth said, and her voice was melodious as always, but sharp. "I can protect her and the others just fine."

  "And why should we trust you?"

  For a moment, Sorrin thought the words had come out of his own mouth.

  Kaleth shrugged. "She trusts me," she said, pointing to Abby. "And I do not want to see my people rule this planet. That is all you need to know."

  "It's okay," Abby said. "She's on our side."

  And whose side are you on? Sorrin thought, but he kept his mouth closed.

  "Have it your way," the commander said. "You'll go in with the second and third lines. First line, move."

  The warriors in the front saluted, and Sorrin saw that they were the most experienced, the strongest and best with their weapons. They were the first wave, the ones who would break through any defenses the Camadors might have. The second wave was more of the newer warriors, the ones who were getting their legs for the first time and who might not have seen battles like this before. The third was a mix of the two, ready to clean up any messes. Sorrin was in the third line, and he was ready.

  Up and up they climbed, hand over hand on the strange metallic ladder. The sounds of fighting could already be heard from above, and Sorrin's heart was pounding as he moved. Somewhere behind him was Abby, climbing with them, ready to throw herself into danger to save people. To try and make things right.

  That's all any of them could try to do, honestly.

  It wasn't at all like the last time he had done this. That had been night, the sky heavy and dark. The screams of the dying had been a grisly background to everything that went wrong.

  Now it was day, mid afternoon to be exact, and there were still screams, but most of them were the shrill, unpleasant sound that the Camadors made when they stopped being so beautiful. It was actually something to see, and all around them as they vaulted over the edge and landed in the city, the Camadors were now ugly, twisted things.

  Gone were the perfect faces and tumbles of shiny hair, and in their place were scales, thick and grey spreading from their faces down their necks and over their arms, claws that jutted out from their fingers, sharp teeth, like fangs, and eyes that glowed red with fury. They hissed and screeched, sending balls of flame flying from their fingers even as others tried to claw the eyes out of some of their opponents.

  Core powers. They hadn't known the Camadors possessed such things all those years ago. They'd taken them at face value with those serene faces and placid smiles, and they'd suffered for it. Now, they wouldn't be so hasty.

  From the looks of it, the battle was going in their favor. Some of the warriors were wounded, the Camadors were very fast, but most of them were fighting hard, chopping down the enemy as they pushed through towards the tallest building in the floating city.

  "That's where she is," a voice said behind him, and Sorrin turned to see Abby standing there. "The Caran, I mean. If you...I mean, if you were looking for someone to blame for what happened to your people." She looked uncertain, and she didn't wait for Sorrin to say anything, probably fearing the worst.

  Instead she
answered Kaleth's impatient beckoning, and the two of them slipped through the fighting, heading for that shining beacon in the center of the city.

  That was where they had escaped from weeks ago, where the prisoners were kept. The official plan had been to try and break enough of the Caran's forces that she'd be forced to surrender, but Sorrin wasn't so sure that would work.

  "I'm pushing towards the stronghold, there!" he called out.

  The commander faltered for a moment, and Sorrin could see the struggle. He wanted to tell Sorrin to stick to the plan, but he had no command over him. So instead he just nodded and motioned for a handful of warriors to follow.

  Together, they fought their way through.

  Abby and Kaleth were nowhere to be seen once they reached the stronghold, but the sprung open cells were signs that they had indeed been through there. Sorrin didn't know if the prisoners were all human or if the Camadors had some manner of collection of them, but they were being freed, which would only make the Caran angrier.

  Good. He wanted to fight her when she was angry because he was angry, too.

  He caught a flash of Abby's bright hair on the next floor, and looked to see her crouched down, speaking to a handful of human women who looked like they were dazed to be rescued. She pointed towards the way out, and Kaleth helped them out of the cell.

  Sorrin was still waiting for her to betray them.

  For a moment, Sorrin and Abby's eyes met across the hall, and she wavered for a moment, looking like there was something she wanted to say. But she didn't say anything, instead moving on, flitting up to the next level on swift feet.

  From outside the sound of the reinforcements arriving was comforting. This was already longer than his comrades had survived the last time they'd fought the Camadors. Perhaps this would work after all. Sorrin kept moving.

  Three Camadors moved to oppose him as he made his way to the next floor. They hadn't changed yet, so they were still beautiful, standing there in their white clothes.

  "Stop," the man called out, lifting a hand. "You will go no farther."

  "You will not stop me," Sorrin said, and he had his sword flashing through the air in no time. He cut one of them down easily, and then whirled on another, slashing her across the middle while her face twisted and her hands came up. He could see the heat gathering there, and he killed her before she had a chance to kill him.

  The last of them, a white haired male, screeched, and he launched himself at Sorrin, claws pointed out, ready to slice his face to bits. Sorrin braced himself and let the creature's momentum drive him down the blade of his sword.

  A sort of serenity filled him at that last kill, and he knew, deep inside himself, that he could do this. He could win this fight. Sorrin wasn’t the same as he’d been before, and now it was a good thing. He shook the male’s dying form away from his sword and kept moving. The sounds of fighting were all around now, both outside the stronghold and within, but he was focused on the goal he had in his head. Getting to the Caran.

  The main room of the stronghold seemed to be where they were keeping all of their prisoners. Sorrin skidded inside and saw that Kaleth was fiercely defending Abby who was working open the cages with a key they'd clearly taken from a dead guard.

  "Traitor," one of the women that Kaleth was fighting hissed. "You are a disgrace to our kind."

  "And you will be dead soon," Kaleth snapped, her face twisted, her fingernails elongated, and fire shot out, slamming right into her opponent, who screamed and screeched as she died. All around them, the humans seemed to be terrified and confused, and Abby worked quickly, trying to soothe them and get them to move at the same time so that they wouldn't get caught in the fighting.

  "Go faster!" Kaleth hissed, trying to fend off two at a time.

  "I'm going as fast as I can," Abby shouted back.

  "No!" screamed one of the human men in the cells. "This is wrong. They will destroy us for this!"

  Sorrin pitied him, that he'd rather stay locked away than risk the wrath of the Camadors who would surely not care for his wellbeing one way or the other.

  "They would destroy you anyway," Kaleth said, dispatching both of her opponents with a flourish. "Do you really think a deal with my kind would keep you safe?"

  "She promised!" cried one of the women. "We would be safe. She would let us go!"

  "That's right," Abby said, anger clear in her tone. "She'd let you go and then you'd have been her slave forever. Death might be kinder. Now come on."

  She wrenched the door open, and Sorrin noticed that for all their complaining, they still followed her out. He had to wonder if the anger and bitterness in her voice was directed at the prisoners or herself, but he didn't really have time to dwell on it.

  As soon as the last of the humans had disappeared out the door and Abby and Kaleth were going to follow, the door against the other side of the wall slammed open and a tall, refined, inhumanly beautiful woman stepped into the room.

  She was a study in cream and gold and red, and judging from the way she carried herself, and how she walked into the room like she owned it, she had to be the Caran.

  Abby's eyes went wide and she shrank back, looking more afraid than he'd ever seen her look before, so Sorrin was fairly certain that his guess was correct. His instinct was to go and put himself between her and the Camador woman, but he stayed rooted to the spot, waiting to see.

  "Tsk," the woman said, clicking her tongue. "This will not do."

  Her voice was the sweetest music Sorrin had ever heard, and he had to blink to keep himself from leaning in closer to hear more of it. That wasn't what he was here for.

  She waved a hand, and those guards who were left stopped fighting immediately, turning to look at and bow to their leader before every single one of them dropped to the floor, prostrating themselves with their arms outstretched and their foreheads pressed to the ground. "Caran," they murmured, voices like a song.

  "Better," she said. "Now. I am very disappointed in you." Her eyes landed squarely on Abby, and Sorrin bristled when the blood drained from Abby's face.

  "In me?"

  "Yes, you. I gave you a simple enough task, I thought. And I thoroughly warned you what would happen should you fail or betray me, did I not? It's as if you were not even listening. Or as if you did not even care about the fate of your planet. Your friends, your family. All of them will die, and we will make sure that they know it is the fault of one stupid little human girl who couldn't even do one thing right."

  “I won’t be your pawn!” Abby shouted, hands clenched into fists. “I won’t betray my people. Or...or anyone else.”

  Sorrin saw how hard it was for her to keep her eyes from flitting in his direction. He wanted to just assume that most of her words were for show and keep a hold on his anger at her, but it was hard. Abby was a sincere sort of person, he knew that by now, and he knew that it must have hurt her to lie to him. He glanced away.

  “Oh, please,” the Caran said, looking bored. “Do not tell me you’ve gone and started to care for one of these brutes. Do you actually believe a creature like this could actually care for you back?”

  It didn’t even seem like she knew who Abby was talking about, she was just insulting in a general area, knowing she’d hit someone. The lax way she went about it didn’t make anything better.

  “And you, Kaleth,” the Caran continued, turning her gaze to the dark haired woman who had been fighting for them. “If possible, you are an even larger disappointment. I do not expect humans to understand true power when they see it, dull and uninspired creatures that they are, but I expected better from one of my own. What is it, Kaleth? What did they say to you to make you betray me?”

  Kaleth was trembling from head to toe, and Sorrin thought it was rage at first, before he noticed that she was trying not to sink into the same bow that the rest of her kind in the room were in. Sorrin could only imagine how it had been carved into her head that the level of respect she was meant to show her leader was non-negot
iable, and standing in defiance to it now was actually something he could respect. Creators, what was happening to him? Sympathizing with a Camador. What would come next?

  “You have forgotten yourself, Kaleth. You have forgotten what it means to be one of us. Kneel, Kaleth, and perhaps your punishment will not be so harsh.”

  She spoke in a mock soothing voice, clearly meant to make Kaleth believe her, and Sorrin watched, waiting to see what she’d do. He wasn’t foolish enough to try and attack the Caran right now while she was holding court and had several of her guards surrounding her. That would be suicide, but he held his sword ready, fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt. He wanted nothing more than to kill her and have done with it. But apparently this production had to play out first. If Kaleth knelt to the Caran, then at least they would know she hadn’t truly been on their side. Or at least that she was easily swayed.

  For her part, Kaleth seemed to be resisting as hard as she could. Her body shook, and there was blood running down her fingers where they were clenched into fists from her nails biting into her palms. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and instead of kneeling, she lifted her chin. She held the Caran’s gaze with defiance, and then spat right in the woman’s striking face.

  For what felt like a long time, no one moved. No one even dared to breathe, waiting to see what the Caran would do. Such disrespect was clearly not tolerated, and Sorrin wondered if anyone had ever dared to do anything like that before. If they had, they probably hadn’t lived for very long afterwards.

  Slowly, the Caran’s face began to change. It morphed from the lovely and terrifying mask it had been into something even more horrifying. It was clear why she was the leader when she changed, her claws were longer, as were her fangs, and her eyes burned red with fire. The screech she let out shook them all to the bones, and Sorrin had to resist the urge to drop his sword so he could clap his hands over his ears and block out the sound. It was terrible to hear and the Caran was terrible to look at, rearing up to her full height and moving to attack.