by Leslie Chase
And there was Zaren, the picture of confidence. His eyes gleamed and a smile tugged at his lips as he watched me approach. There was no sign of doubt about him, no clue that he didn’t believe in his ability to kill me.
I stopped just out of reach of him. More humans were filing out of the ship, Tamara amongst them. One of the guards watched her carefully, his hand on the hilt of a knife. Of course Zaren wanted to make sure I saw Tamara and her executioner. He needed me to remember his threat.
Not that I would forget it for a second. Through the dark hours of the night it had been all I could think about, keeping me from sleep. My mind had chased down every possible outcome, to no avail.
I knew that I would do anything to spare her life. If that meant my death, so be it. Her life mattered more to me than my own, more than anything.
I met Zaren’s eyes and nodded, just a fraction. His smile broadened.
“You have challenged me, traitor,” he said, spreading his arms wide and speaking loudly for all to hear. “And now I will kill you for the harm you have done the Silver Band. Let everyone see who leads here, who is Alpha-of-Alphas.”
A murmur ran through the crowd as he claimed that title for himself, and I wondered what the other alphas would say when they heard of it. None of them were here, and I didn’t know whether they were even on the planet.
Zaren was claiming a legendary title that no one had held since the founding of the Silver Band. Sole rulership over every warrior, mastery even of the other alphas — a few had tried to claim that place over the centuries but none had survived to use the title.
I almost admired Zaren’s gall in using this disaster to take that position. Almost.
“There has only ever been one Alpha-of-Alphas,” I said, unable to let that pass. “You are no fit heir to the title, Zaren. Or do you think you are Printhar reborn?”
He laughed, shrugging off my objection. “If we are to live, we must have unity. And that means we need a single voice to lead us, as Printhar did when he forged the Silver Band. My voice, Auric, mine alone, can restore us to the stars.”
A few of his loyalists cheered that, and the other prytheen joined in. No one wanted to make an enemy of their alpha, not here and now. Cowards, I thought, glaring around.
But that wasn’t fair, not to all of them. Starting a civil war would doom everyone, given how few resources we had to spare. The warriors were trapped as long as Zaren had loyalists to fight for him.
My challenge was their way out — and if I won, they would follow me as they followed Zaren now. Unfortunately for us all, Zaren had taken steps to control that possibility.
Tamara. My eyes flicked up to her, one last look at my khara before the fight began. She stood stiff, her emotions locked down under a tight control that didn’t fool me for a moment. The fear she refused to show leaked out into my soul as our eyes met.
Do not worry, I tried to tell her. You will be safe. No matter what, I will protect you.
It wasn’t easy to believe, even for me. And I had no time to reassure her properly. The fight was about to begin.
The oldest warrior present, Kardan, stepped forward to judge. He looked from one of us to the other, unhappy with his place in this but unwilling to step away from the position tradition gave him in a fight between alphas.
“Fight with honor,” he said. “Remember our ancestors, and the Code they passed down to us. This fight will be settled only by the death of an alpha.”
His ritual words hung in the air between us for a moment, and the audience watched in hushed silence. Kardan stepped back and raised a hand.
“Begin!”
I moved first, as soon as Kardan gave the word. My pounce carried me at Zaren, nearly bowling him over before he had a chance to react.
He’d not expected me to take the initiative, and that gave me a moment’s advantage. But he was skilled too, and fast, and uninjured. My strikes glanced off his blocks as he scrambled back, and then he ducked to the side, disengaging.
My hands flexed, claws extending, and I wished that I’d managed more than glancing blows. However this ended, I wanted to make sure he remembered this fight forever.
A nice set of scars across the face would do, even if I couldn’t open his throat.
As we circled each other, the humans cheered and a few prytheen warriors joined them. At least I had some supporters here — and from the expression on his face, Zaren didn’t like that.
Tough. If you want our people to love you, you need to do something more than lead them on a disastrous raid. I didn’t say it out loud, but I didn’t have to. Zaren’s angry glare told me he knew what I was thinking.
“We’ll see how much they cheer when I open your belly and feed your guts to the birds,” he snarled, baring his fangs. His eyes flicked from me to Tamara, a reminder of what was at stake if I didn’t give in.
Fury welled up inside me, a towering inferno of emotion I couldn’t control. Before I knew what I was doing, I was attacking again, driving him back. This time, though, he was prepared — and my frenzied attacks left me open to his counter.
A blazing pain across my chest followed his raking claws, and I only just avoided a lethal cut to my throat. In return I opened a cut on his shoulder before I dodged away.
Zaren followed, pressing his advantage, and I didn’t dare try to take the openings he gave me. Not when it would mean Tamara’s painful death. Zaren’s claws sliced past my face, a narrow miss that would have blinded me, and my counter sliced into his ear.
He hissed in pain, kicking at my leg in an attempt at a trip. I could have caught him then, grabbed his foot and opened the artery in his thigh. Instinct almost brought my hand down before I stopped myself, and I barely managed to fumble the attack.
If I’d connected, Zaren would have bled out in seconds. I
Around us, the circle of warriors hissed as I nearly won, and Zaren’s eyes flashed with the burning fury of humiliation. His attacks got quicker, more ferocious and sloppier.
If I’d been willing to take advantage of the openings he gave me, I’d have killed him a dozen times in as many seconds. Instead, I fell back, raising my right arm to fend off Zaren’s claws. He tore bloody gouges through my flesh, and burning pain shot through me as I struggled to keep my arm up.
Zaren saw his chance and pressed forward, opening more cuts on my injured arm as I backpedaled, barely avoiding a deadly attack.
My eyes flicked up to the audience. Amongst the humans, Tamara watched, a look of horror on her face.
I’m sorry, my love, I thought. The watching warrior behind her reinforced the danger she was in, and as long as he threatened her, I had no choice. I couldn’t allow myself to win this fight.
23
Tamara
I watched Auric and Zaren circle each other, both bloodied and battered from their exchange. The crowd roared, but the pounding of my heart drowned out the noise. Blood trailed down Auric’s wounded arms, his graceful movements were faltering, and I knew that he wouldn’t last long. His right arm hung at his side, but he kept his left up, defending himself as best he could one-handed.
Zaren didn’t look much better, but the nasty grin spreading across his face showed his confidence. The cuts to his chest looked deep, painful, but they wouldn’t stop him. Whoever won that fight would come away with scars that would mark them for life.
It had to be Auric. He had to win. I couldn’t survive without him. Even if it meant my death — and the irony of that wasn’t lost on me. We would each rather die than see the other suffer.
One of Zaren’s warriors stood behind me, his eyes boring into my back. I felt the danger, though I knew he didn’t care about me. The threat was meant for Auric, and he’d be bound by it. But I wouldn’t. If I was going to act, it had to be now.
To my surprise, my fingers were steady as I brushed my wristband. The other humans crowding around me watching the duel gave me cover, and I glanced down to see Mr. Mews flicker into existence. Not the best interfac
e to manage hacking through, but I had to work with what I had. Though the ship’s systems accepted my authority, I was still trying to ask them to do something they were programmed not to.
Dallas had suggested doing this part during the night, and it would certainly have been easier in the cell. But it would also have been too easy for the prytheen on the bridge to notice me accessing the engineering systems remotely. Now that the fight had started, I hoped they were watching like everyone else. I only needed a few minutes’ distraction.
I worked quickly, trying to focus on the work without being obvious. It wasn’t easy, but the fight kept the eyes of most of the aliens off me as I muttered commands to Mr. Mews and muted his protests. The hardest part was focusing on the work and not on my lover’s desperate fight.
In the circle, Zaren darted forward, his clawed hand slashing past Auric’s face. My mate ducked back just in time, rolling to the side as Zaren pursued him, and I gasped as blood sprayed. Another shallow cut, not fatal but dangerous. I was running out of time.
Mr. Mews yowled a warning as I overrode the safeties, and I cursed. The alien warrior watching me must have heard that. I glanced round and sure enough, he was frowning and pushing through the crowd towards me. There no time to check my work now, I’d just have to trust I’d done it right.
“Do it,” I told Mr. Mews, sending the command to the Wandering Star’s computers and praying I’d set them up right.
At the edge of the camp the forcefield whined audibly and failed with a bang that echoed across the deck of the Wandering Star. The planet’s wildlife rushed to the attack.
For a moment, none of the prytheen moved. The terrifying howls of the charging predators shocked them into immobility. Auric was the only one not affected, bounding forward to slam into Zaren with all his weight, smashing the two of them to the deck in a heap.
Before the rest of them had a chance react, the humans surged forward. Alone, not one of us was a match for even the weakest prytheen warrior. As a mass, though, we rolled over several of them before they had a chance to react.
Every colonist’s wristband hummed, reproducing the sounds that drove the predators wild at full volume. All morning we’d been driving the animals outside the forcefield crazy and now they could get in they were charging for the source of the maddening noise.
In seconds we’d be at the center of a wave of furious wildlife, and we had to take advantage of the moment or we’d all die. My plan was, I admitted, crazy. But this wasn’t the time to doubt it.
I tore my wristband off, wished Mr. Mews well, and threw it as hard as I could at the prytheen charging towards me.
There was nothing wrong with his reflexes. He snatched the wristband out of the air without slowing, his other hand pulling a knife. I saw my death in his eyes.
And then a tenger pounced on him, stingers wrapping around his arm, claws tearing. With a blood-curdling scream, my would-be executioner fell under the creature’s assault.
All around me, humans threw their wristbands at the aliens and scattered. We’d known what was coming, the prytheen didn’t, and by the time they figured it out, everything was in chaos. When one prytheen made it into the crowd, he was torn apart by a mass of humans.
They went down fighting, knives flashing and claws tearing. But they went down.
“No!” Zaren cried out, one of the few prytheen words I’d picked up. He turned and ran for the bridge, not fleeing but trying to take command of his forces in the chaos. If he rallied them, he’d win.
Auric stepped into his path, standing between him and his goal. No longer tentative, restrained. My khara stood tall, ignoring his wounds and snarling a challenge.
The fight for the Silver Band had begun in earnest.
I tried to focus on my own situation but it was impossible. My beloved moved with a grace I couldn’t look away from, blurring into an attack that sent Zaren flying. Each stroke of Auric’s claws slashed close to his enemy, but Zaren was so fast. Fast enough to stay out of the way, to dodge back and roll and scramble aside.
Someone jostled me and I found myself carried along by the crowd of humans fleeing the deck. Around us, animals roared and hooted, ripping into the prytheen as they tried to rally. The aliens were warriors, trained and skilled, and it wouldn’t be long before they got the deck under control. The chaos would only give us the upper hand for seconds and we had to make the most of it.
Fleeing through the airlocks into the Wandering Star put strong steel walls between us and the aliens, and as soon as everyone was inside, I hit the emergency override. The airlock doors slammed shut, locking the prytheen outside with the outraged animals.
We didn’t stop. Once the prytheen rallied, those doors wouldn’t hold them for long and we needed control of the ship if our rebellion was going to mean anything. I turned, rushing for the bridge behind with the other colonists, a headlong dash to take control of the systems which were still working.
By the time I arrived, the bridge was under human control and a lone prytheen warrior sat glowering at his captors. The fight had been quick and brutal — one human lay dead, one clutched at his wounded leg, but another held a heavy pistol leveled at the alien.
I ignored them, desperate to see how the fight outside was going.
The armored glass window let me look down at the deck through a smear of prytheen blood. The crack of gunfire filled the air, but the animals didn’t care about casualties — crazed by ultrasound, they rushed headlong into danger.
I spared the ongoing battle only a moment’s glance though. beyond it, in a space still clear of animals, Zaren and Auric fought like demons.
Both were streaked with blood, wounds deep on their skin, but neither seemed willing to give up. Surrender meant death, after all — there could be no prisoners when two alphas fought. I watched, heart in my throat, as Auric tumbled back with a fresh cut across his chest. Zaren followed slowly, catching his breath.
They snarled at each other, pure rage in their voices. No words: the time for speech had passed, and neither had anything left to say to the other.
Auric’s right arm hung limp at his side, blood dripping down it from deep gashes. His left, though, slashed fast enough to drive Zaren back. But for how long? Could he win with only one arm? My hands pressed to the cool glass and I muttered a prayer under my breath. He had to win. Never mind what Zaren would do to me and the other humans: I couldn’t face watching Auric die.
Damn you Auric, win. You have to win.
Maybe he heard my thoughts, maybe it was something else that drew his eye to me, but Auric looked up. His gaze met mine across the bloody deck and I saw calm acceptance in him. Whatever happened here, he loved me and I loved him and that would be enough.
Not for me, I thought. He couldn’t really hear me, I knew, but I had to try. I need you to live Auric. I need you.
Zaren spotted Auric’s distraction and pounced, putting all of his weight behind a powerful attack that slammed Auric to the deck. I gasped, hammering on the glass, as my lover’s enemy tore into his good arm, knocking it aside. Pinning Auric to the floor beneath him.
Auric slashed with his left hand, claws gleaming red. Zaren just laughed, catching Auric’s wrist in one hand and forcing the arm down.
I stared as he pinned Auric’s good arm down with both of his, leaning over my beloved. Teeth bared, he angled himself to bite out Auric’s throat. I couldn’t look away. It was awful, terrible, and I wanted to hide. To cover my eyes. Anything but watch this awful sight.
But I couldn’t, I was frozen in place. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as Zaren lowered his mouth towards Auric’s neck.
And then Auric’s right arm came up. Despite the injuries, the blood, it moved with speed and grace and above all force, and Zaren froze as Auric slashed across his throat.
My eyes were as wide as Zaren’s. Auric had faked his injury — for the whole fight he’d let that arm hang limp, let Zaren attack him, all to set up this one surprise attack. He’
d nearly died setting it up.
It had been worth it. Zaren reared back, but he was a moment too slow. Auric’s claws dug deep, a shower of blood sprayed across the deck, and then Zaren pulled away. Auric jumped to his feet as Zaren fell, blood pumping from his torn throat.
Bloodied, battered, injured, but alive, Auric stood tall. Raising his bloody hands high, Auric roared, a sound that shook me even through the glass. Outside, every prytheen warrior looked to him, even those engaged in their own life or death struggles.
“I am ALPHA,” Auric shouted, and my heart beat again. After what felt like years, I could move and breathe and speak.
“Kill the ultrasound,” I called over my shoulder. Dallas had been waiting for my order at the communications console. She hit a button and the ultrasonic howl that enraged the wildlife cut off, a strange pressure vanishing from the air. Below me I saw the animals panic. Without the ultrasound to enrage them, none of the predators wanted to stay in the losing fight. In seconds the decks were clear of predators, leaving the bloodied prytheen to look on in wonder.
We’d won. I could hardly believe it, but we’d won.
24
Auric
All around me, the warriors of the Silver Band stared. Some were injured, some dead, all shaken. None of them seemed certain of what to do.
But I stood over the gasping, dying form of their leader. My victory was clear, indisputable. I glared at the first warrior to raise a weapon my way, meeting his gaze steadily until he lowered the gun.
“I am alpha,” I repeated, quieter this time but no less firmly. “I claim my victory by the Code. Does anyone dispute it?”
A few grumbled, which wasn’t a good sign for the future. But no one argued the point. Which was good — I could stand tall and threaten, but I doubted I could win another fight in my condition.