"We have no cover here," Raiska says.
Kula nods. "And if they are still alive, they can no longer sneak up on us."
I can't be sure what I like better. In the forest, I felt like we were hiding. Even if, in theory, the other contestants could have just popped suddenly out of a tree and jumped right on top of me, I at least had the illusion of being safe.
In this barren plain, I can see everything around us for miles. When I look back, the mountain is just behind us, but the treeline is a few miles back. If either Philos or the little goblin aliens were coming for us, we'd be able to see them. Still, there's no hope of us hiding from here. They'd see us as well as we'd see them, and it would mean a guaranteed confrontation.
I like to think Kula and Raiska are stronger and better fighters—I know they are—but I know from history on Earth that battles are not simply about who is the better fighter. Luck and chance are often huge factors as well.
There's also the extra variable of me. Kula and Raiska don't just have to defeat the other aliens, they have to make sure I'm safe. I'm a liability and a disadvantage for them. I'm just hoping against hope that the others died in the explosion. Or that they fell to their deaths. I'm hoping that Raiska's alien sperm is making quick work of my uterus, and that I'll be pregnant in no time.
I want the Breeding Games to end. I don't know if that will mean going back to Earth, but if I can just go back to Thrace and be with Raiska, that will be all I'll ever need. I can hope for a way to see my friends and family on Earth sometime down the line, but for now Raiska, Kula, and Ellie will be all the family I can ask for.
Both brothers stiffen and reach for their weapons.
I look over my shoulder expecting to see Philos and a swarm of little goblins coming for us, but Raiska and Kula are looking in the other direction.
I squint against the sun, which is nearly kissing the horizon by now, and I see a trail of dust. I shield my eyes and try to focus on the dark figure leading the dust, and I see what looks like a horse.
"What is that?" I ask.
They both answer me at the same moment. "The Koira."
Twenty-One
Philos & Kiveta
I am waiting just at the edge of the tree line. My smaller body risks walking further into the thinning trees, as it can keep a lower profile and camouflage itself. My golden skin is a liability here, but as much as I can change the size and shape of my body, I cannot change the color of my skin.
I want to wait until the sun falls. I won't be able to truly sneak up on them in the dark, but I'll be able to get closer before they catch me.
There's another problem too. I was able to eat some forest creatures while I worked my way through the mountains, but my calorie requirements are much higher than what the forest can provide for me. I won't be able to fight without consuming my own flesh.
I've been considering which of my limbs is the most expendable, but then I see something from the eyes of my smaller body.
There’s dust in the distance. Three or four fast moving objects. They are approaching the two Valittu and the fertile prize.
Shit.
I have to do something right now. There's a chance that whatever these things are, they will kill the Valittu, but they may also kill the human. Or worse, they might ally with the Valittu and make it impossible for me to ever secure the human.
I need to go in now, and embrace the chaos.
I look down at my body. I could consume my arm. It would be painful, and I’d be in battle with only one arm, but I'd be able to grow my other limbs to compensate. One giant arm is better than two small ones.
Then it hits me.
My smaller body. That which once was Kiveta.
It won't resist, as it's a part of me. Eating it won't erase Kiveta either, as he's already melded with my mind. We are one, and the body is no longer necessary. It's dense in six-dimensional energy. It's a small little body, but it's more fuel than hundreds of cheese steaks. The body comes toward me, and I look at it. I see my golden body through its eyes. Kiveta is no more. Philos is no more.
I realize the sacrifice that must be made. If I want to claim the fertile prize for myself, I'll have to sacrifice that which once was Kiveta. The part of me that was Kiveta feels pain when I make the decision, but the decision has already been made. It must be done.
I lift the body up and start to eat. I'm revolted at first as I chew through bone and meat. I could try to break it down through six-dimensional energy rather than with my teeth, but eating it like this will give me a more immediate burst of power. It won't last as long as it would if I consumed it on the higher dimensions, but I know I need everything I can get to take on the two Valittu.
I bite the little body's head off. I chew through its neck and spine. The body twitches and wriggles like a worm as I chew and swallow the head. Power surges through me. More than I've ever felt.
The fertile prize is mine.
Twenty-Two
Raiska
The figures are close enough to see clearly. It's the Koira for certain, and they are riding their mechanical horses. It's an ancient technology, and few people have ever seen one in person. The horses are completely made of metal, and they run on some kind of artificial intelligence that is no longer understood. The robotic horses are bred rather than made. The first set of them were likely constructed in a lab or factory, but every generation since has been bred. It's a lost technology, and only the Koira possess these horses. They are fast, and even though the Koira were over a mile away when we first spotted them, they are nearly on top of us already.
The Koira themselves are small. Too small to see clearly even from this distance. Their little legs do not hang down off the horses like my legs—or even a human man's legs would—they are stubby little things, and unless I look very closely, I almost imagine the mechanical horses are cyborg centaurs. Machine horses with organic torsos jutting out of them.
The horses stop abruptly. Panic hits me from the higher dimensions.
Kula and I both turn in the same instant. We turn in the same direction the Koira are now facing.
From the sparse treeline we see it. Philos is coming toward us. He's larger than the trees already. With each step he takes, he grows larger and larger still. He begins running in a full-on sprint. He must be over fifty feet tall already, and as the length of his legs grow with each step he takes, he clears more and more distance with each stride.
Kula and I turn our weapons toward him.
I look over my shoulder at Annabelle. "Stay behind me, Muru!"
Still on horseback, the Koira fan out. There are only five of them right now. I see more dust clouds in the distance—more Koira on more horses—but they are too far away. Philos is going to be on top of us in mere moments, and the Koira—fast as they are—are at least two minutes away still.
Kula and I stand shoulder-to-shoulder and brace ourselves.
Philos has stopped growing, but he's the size of a small skyscraper on one of Earth's cities. Every time one of his feet crashes into the plain, there's a rumbling I feel deep in my bones. The ground cracks beneath his feet, and clouds of dust race toward us as he pulverizes the ground beneath his massive feet. Each of his feet looks to be the size of a bus.
"What do we do?" Kula asks.
There's fear in his voice. As long as I've known my brother, the only time I ever heard such fear in his voice was when I cut the bond out of him. Ever since, he's been utterly fearless, but with Philos rushing toward us like a force of nature, I too understand his fear.
I don't fear for my life. I fear for my Muru. If Kula and I can't stop him, she'll be his to take. I'll have lost her, and I'll have failed in my promise to protect her above all else.
I grip my scythe and hold it forward. Six-dimensional weapons cut deeper than anything in the galaxy, and it shouldn't matter how large he is.
"Go for his ankles, brother," I order.
Kula nods, and the two of us charge straight into him.
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It's like no battle I've ever fought. As I get nearly in range to take a swing at him, his foot lifts up to take another step. I have to run backward to try to catch his ankle as it comes back down to the ground. He adjusts his stride, and suddenly I'm in a deep shadow. His foot is blotting out the sun, and it's coming down straight for me.
I run as fast as I can toward the line of the shadow. I leap just as I feel the air rush above me from the massive foot crashing down. I fling my scythe backward as I jump, and it slices into his heel. Purple blood spurts out and covers me like a fountain. Philos roars, and he tries to dig his heel down onto me again.
I roll away and slash once again. More blood. I'm soaked in this fucker's blood. My hair is clinging to my face, and my kilt is soaked through. I can smell him on me.
I brace for another stomp, but he just rushes away from me instead. He fears my scythe.
He's limping slightly as he runs now, but it's only slowed him down marginally. Kula, over 100 feet away from me, is covered in blood as well. We've cut into both of the golden-skinned alien's feet, but it doesn't matter. He keeps going.
We try to catch up to him, but he's faster. He doesn't even stop to take her, he just hunches over slightly and scoops her up into his hand, which is the size of a large car. He cups her in both hands, and I run after him.
I realize in shocked horror that I cannot keep up with him. He runs with an awkward limp, but his size is too great an advantage, and he's gaining hundreds of feet on me every ten seconds. Soon he's completely out of range.
I fall to my knees. My knees hit a puddle of his blood from where his wounded feet cracked the earth. My whole body trembles. My muscles tighten, and I roar and scream into the Lakrian sky.
"Muru! My Muru!"
The Koira circle around Kula and me. More than fifteen additional horsemen soon spill in and tighten the circle.
I know that if I want to get my Muru back, I'll need to get out of this. I've taken a few seconds to lose myself in grief, but I'm a warrior, and to get her back, I'll do everything in my power. I won't take a single second more to feel sorry for myself.
"Stand aside!" I roar out at the Koira. They've circled us from every direction. They have long, furry snouts on their faces. Their eyes are little black beads, and they have tall, pointy ears.
Some are holding spears. Others are holding bows. A few have energy weapons. All weapons are pointed at us.
"You brought a monster onto our lands," one says.
His horse strides forward. There's a mechanic whirr with each step the horse takes, but if it weren't made entirely of metal, its movements would look graceful and organic. The horse even huffs a bit as it stops and looks down at me.
The Koira who spoke is a male, and he seems older than the others. The fur on his snout and ears is grey more than golden-brown like the others. He's one of the few holding an energy weapon, and it's pointing right at my face.
I don't dare to let go of my scythe. I hold it forward, ready to block a laser or plasma shot with the six-dimensional blade, and then I'll cut his horse's legs off before he can get another shot off.
"He's taken my mate!" I shout. "I need to get her back. Will you help me, or will you sit aside while a monster takes an innocent?"
The fur above his eyes is mostly black, but there are little golden brown eyebrows peppered with grey, and he furrows them at me. "This monster is your enemy?"
"Did you not see us trying to cut it down?" Kula shouts, swinging his axe around for emphasis. The axe is covered in purple blood. It drips and flings blood as he swings the axe through the air.
"You failed to do so," the Koira leader says.
"He was pretty fucking big!" Kula huffs. "And none of you fucking helped us."
"It was not our battle."
"We're wasting time," I growl. "I need to go after him. Every second is precious."
"Then go," the Koira leader says, and the other Koira guide their horses away, so that a gap forms in the circle around us. "We will not stop you from getting back your mate."
Kula starts walking, but I grab his shoulder and shake my head. "It's not good enough."
I fold my scythe away into the higher dimensions. As a Valittu and harbinger of the Ulkar, I was accustomed to getting what I wanted through force and threats of violence. Surrounded and greatly outnumbered, and more desperate than I've ever felt in my life, the urge to threaten and to fight them to get what I need is all-encompassing.
My love for my Muru has shown me another way though, and I do not need the scythe to try this.
"Put your axe away, brother."
Kula looks at me like I've gone mad. "Let's just go! Before they change their minds."
"We won't be fast enough." I look up at the Koira leader. I fall to my knees. "I need a horse. Two horses. I know that these horses are your most prized possessions. That no non-Koira has ever so much as touched one. Still, as one honorable warrior to another, I wouldn't ask this if it weren't absolutely necessary. Please, give me what I need to save my Muru. I will bring your horses back, and I will be forever in your debt.
The Koira around us mutter in shocked voices, but the leader raises his hand, and they all go silent.
He moves gracefully and dismounts his horse. He hits the ground, and he's even shorter than I expected. Barely three feet tall. He looks utterly naked and defenseless without his horse.
He pats the horse on its metal butt, and it walks toward me. He snaps his fingers at another Koira, and he reluctantly dismounts. The horse moves toward Kula.
"If they will allow you to ride, then you are free to use them," the leader says. "If they refuse you, however, then there's nothing I can do. The destriers have minds of their own. I am no more their master than they are mine."
"I understand," I say, and I leap up onto the destrier.
I don't even consider the possibility that the thing will refuse me. If it does, I know that Annabelle is as good as gone. It might buck me off at any moment, but until that happens, I will assume it will accept me. Not as master—as the Koira said—but as a partner.
Kula looks up at me skeptically, but he jumps up onto his horse as well.
I sigh relief, but just as I do, Kula's horse lets out a loud neigh, and leaps up onto its hind legs. It throws Kula off, and he hits the ground with a loud thump.
"Go," the leader says. "It has accepted you, and you alone.”
Kula motions for me to go without him. "I'll try to stay behind you, brother. But go! Get your Muru back!"
Twenty-Three
Annabelle
Philos holds me in his palms. His fingers are pressed tightly together, but little rays of light leak through as he runs. He's trying to keep his hands stable as he runs, but each step has me rolling back and forth within his massive hands.
I try to kick and thrash and bite, but it does nothing. Even biting into his skin with all my strength is likely as painful to him as a mosquito bite would be to me. He never so much as winces or slows down.
I'm trembling with fear. I saw how fast he moved before he snatched me up. I saw how little damage Raiska and Kula were able to do to him.
What chance do I possibly have?
Somehow, deep in my heart, I still believe that Raiska will save me. It's the only thing keeping me going. Logically, I don't see how he could ever stop something as large as Philos, but emotionally I am prepared to believe Raiska's promise. He will protect me no matter what. No matter the cost, and no matter how bad the odds. I cling to that thought as I'm jostled back and forth with every massive stride.
It goes on like this for at least ten or fifteen minutes, but then the jostling dies down. Philos is walking now. His hands begin to tremble, and he sets me down. I expect light to flood in when his hands open, but the light I see is starlight rather than sunlight. The stars and the planet's ring are even brighter outside of the city. Philos looks down at me, and then he falls to his knees.
The impact sends a massive cloud of dust up
into the air. I have to shield my eyes and press my lips together, but dust still goes up into my nose, and I cough.
As the dust subsides, I see Philos has already shrunk back down to his regular size. He looks like a very large and strong human dipped in gold. He's only a foot or so taller than some of the larger human men.
He gets up onto his knees, and then he stands.
Something about his gait or the look in his eyes tells me he's weakened or injured. His feet are still bleeding. The wounds are shimmering like the scars on Kula's face and chest, and like the fresh wound on Raiska's leg.
I don't hesitate for another moment. I run.
I don't dare look back over my shoulder at first. I run as fast as I can. The plains are flat and there's very little to block my path, so I just run toward the mountains we came from.
It’s night time on Lakria, and the mountains are very far away, but the light of the stars and the planet's ring are bright enough for me to see those mountains clearly even from this distance. I know that Raiska is back in that direction, and I'll run as long and as fast as I can if it means closing the distance toward him.
I don't expect that I can run so long without stopping, but if Philos is as injured as he seems, I might be able to out-endurance him. Raiska will be coming for me too, so each step I take toward Raiska is one step less he has to take before he can rescue me.
I keep running, as fast as I dare, and after twenty seconds or so I risk a look backward.
I wanted to see Philos still on the ground, bleeding out and not coming for me. Instead I see him just a few feet behind me. He limps with each step, but he's running fast. Faster than me.
My blood goes cold in my veins, and I try to run faster. Maybe he's giving it everything he's got. Maybe if I can just go a little bit faster for a little bit longer, he'll collapse and never catch up to me again, maybe—
He tackles me to the ground. I hit the cracked plains hard. My cheek smashes against the soil, and my shoulder and elbow cry out in pain.
The Breeding Prize: A Scifi Alien Romance (The Breeding Games Book 2) Page 13