by Eve Langlais
“Fuckin’ cunt is getting away,” someone yelled.
“What did you call her?” She heard Titan’s deceptively calm voice as she reached a door at the far end.
It opened, and one more man plus a woman confronted her.
“That’s the Emerald queen’s brat. Grab her.”
Riella yelled as fingers gripped her flesh arm tight. She pulled and leaned away from them. “Let me go!”
Her metal arm swung to the rescue, forming a fist and slamming into the hand holding her, smashing a few bones. Something rammed into her from behind, and she hit the floor hard on her knees. A hand grabbed her hair and yanked, drawing a scream.
Which was followed by a bellow and a strange sound. The plaintive wail of metal and then a clang as if something heavy was thrown.
She jabbed her elbow behind her into something soft and was rewarded with a shriek of pain and a loosening of her hair. She freed herself from the grip, thankful the bounty required she be brought in alive.
She was also done being nice. She snapped a jab at the woman in front of her, only to curse as her attacker flicked a tiny whip, the coils of it wrapping around her metal wrist and jolting her. Damned thing threw current.
She pulled the bionic arm close and reached out with her other hand. It hurt when her knuckles crunched bone, but she yanked the electric whip free.
Someone behind her screamed. It was cut short. She whirled to see Titan out of his cell, standing amidst a pile of bodies. All of them broken.
She glanced at him, the metal sheen in his eyes, the lack of anyone home.
She took a step back. “Titan?”
“It’s dangerous for you here.”
He went for her, hands grabbing, and in a smooth move, he’d slung her into his arms.
“What are you doing?” she asked, holding on to him. She pushed into him, her fingers on his skin, trying to shove some of her psionic energy into him. Not a single spurt of heat occurred. He didn’t react to her touch at all.
“We’re leaving the city.”
The king wouldn’t like that. She’d made him a promise, but then again, the danger had just proven itself. If she couldn’t be safe in the city with people, then perhaps she needed to be somewhere there weren’t any people. Because, no matter where she went, the greed of claiming the bounty would follow.
There was no alarm being raised, she noted as Titan went up the stairs two at a time. Probably because the guards were out cold. Their bodies lay splayed on the floor. She couldn’t tell if they were dead or alive. Didn’t stop to check either.
Emerging into the city, he set her on her feet but kept a hold of her hand. The scents of food cooking wafted, spiced and flavorful. It made her stomach growl. As they kept sprinting, his hand wrapped in hers, tugging her along, she could tell they neared water because she could smell it, pungent and moist.
Would they escape via the river? He didn’t say, and she didn’t ask. She did wonder that he didn’t stop at all to acquire clothes or supplies of any kind. As if he knew exactly where he was going, Titan made for the city wall. Forget the fact there was no gate open at this time of night, he made straight for it.
“What are you going to do? Smash your way through the wall?” she asked, eyeing the stone palisade, freshly mortared to create a lumpy but effective barrier.
He stood before it and eyed it left and right, up and down. “A hole would make too much noise,” was his summation. “How are you at climbing?”
“Probably better than you,” she boasted.
“The baby—"
“Will be fine,” she interrupted. “I’m pregnant, not incapable.”
“Go first and I’ll follow.”
She knew he meant to act as a net to catch her if she fell. She wanted to laugh. Cute but unnecessary. She rarely succumbed to gravity. Although, as she scaled the wall, conscious she had only a moment before the spotlight the guards wielded to keep watch arced back, a part of her wondered what it would feel like to let herself slip and actually be caught.
She peeked down at Titan to find him intent on her. His eyes fierce. Sexy. Filled with purpose. And she was that purpose. For now, anyhow. That might change once the child was born.
But wouldn’t it be nice if she remained in his sights? Someone to be a partner. Someone to share with.
Just before the lip, something exploded. It drew her attention, and she looked over her shoulder to see flames shooting in the sky. “That can’t be good.”
“Move,” he growled. “Use that distraction to our benefit.”
A valid suggestion. Riella threw herself over the edge and clung tight. She looked down at Titan and grinned. “Last one down is riding, not driving.”
“Like fuck are you driving.”
He flowed up that wall, moving effortlessly, his eyes a silver gleam. She dipped over the edge and threw herself.
Titan yelled.
She tucked and would have rolled if something hadn’t shot past her and plucked her out of the air.
It took her a blinking second to realize Titan had caught her. “How the heck did you move that fast?”
He smiled and, rather than give her an answer, said, “I’m driving.”
“Put me down.”
It surprised her he listened and set her on her feet. She glanced behind her. The city lights might not illuminate much, but the sweeping spotlights showed smoke in the sky. Sounds of alarm too.
But she saw no sign of pursuit on this side. That might not last long. They stood on a strip of land with water beyond it. Still water covered in a slick scum.
Titan moved toward it.
“You can’t be thinking of swimming in that.” She jogged to catch up.
“I’d rather not, as I’m pretty sure it’s toxic.” He huffed with his hands on his hips. “But we need to get across.”
“I vote we use something called a bridge.” She aimed her finger. “That way. I think.”
“You think?”
“It’s hard to tell. We were running and then climbing. I lost my sense of a direction a bit, but I’m fairly certain that’s where I came in.” She paused. “Maybe.”
He chuckled. “If we get lost, I will blame you.”
“How can we get lost? Don’t you have a superior sense of direction?”
“Are you challenging me?” he asked as he moved along the edge of the water in the direction she suggested.
“Just wondering at your skills. Wastelanders are renowned for their survival skills.”
“And what are your skills, princess?” He turned to look at her.
“I make things.” The simple truth. “What do you do?”
“I kill things.”
As the hump heaved from the water, he spun from her and ran for the long snout that emerged from the water, opening into a dark maw lined with teeth.
“Titan!” What was the idiot doing?
“This is what I’m good at.” He jumped into the air using his bionic leg as a springing point, rising high, higher than an ordinary human could have. As he dropped back down, he extended his bionic arm, its fingers straight and forming a spear point.
How? She could only gape as he slammed down, his arm going into the eye of the monster.
Which, needless to say, didn’t go over well.
The monster uttered a bellow, and then it was going under, taking Titan with it.
Oh no.
The water swallowed them, and she stared for a moment before cursing. She ran to the edge and could see nothing, although there was a bit of a ripple. The scum shivered as if a battle went on below.
The bridge crossed over the most active section. She ran for it and clutched the rotted wooden railing. She didn’t have much light to see anything.
“Titan!” she hissed. The water was still. She leaned over the side, peering down. The rotted sides cracked, and she fell forward.
“I wouldn’t recommend a dip.” Titan grabbed hold of her and pulled her back.
She whirled,
nose wrinkling at the awful stench. But rather than remark on it or the fact he was wet, she said, “How did you make your hand into a spear?”
He stared at her. “That’s what you want to say? Not ‘good job killing the monster.’”
She smiled. “Do you need to be congratulated every time you do something?”
The glower on his face went with his snarled, “Let’s go.”
She took a step just as something smashed through the floor of the bridge.
Riella barely managed a scream before she fell through. Her head rapped off the hard edge, dropping her senseless below.
Fourteen
It took a moment before Titan realized he was huffing and running, his body slicing through the night, barefoot, outside. Not just outside the dungeon but in the marshlands themselves. A body was slung over his shoulder—with a familiar scent, if kind of rancid at the same time.
Fuck me. What had he done?
He halted his run and rolled the body from his shoulder. He lay it on the ground, and in the cresting dawn, he could have groaned as he saw her.
Riella with her flaming red hair, freckled skin, and lying lips.
Why the fuck had he stolen this woman? Why the fuck had he complicated his escape? If freedom was his goal, he could have slipped away, and given he’d won his freedom before, none would have probably followed.
He could have run and found a new place to live.
But he’d kidnapped Riella.
And despite knowing her mother would come after him with everything she had, he wasn’t giving her back. He needed her. Needed to protect her and the child she carried.
His child. The memories of their conversation filtered back, as well as snatches of their run through the city. But after they scaled the wall…things got murky. What happened?
Not much. We just saved our child. The other voice teased around him. “Our.”
Separate and yet not.
He knelt by Riella and touched her cheek. She breathed, yet her eyes remained closed. She didn’t appear harmed but for a knot he felt when he palpated her head. She’d wake sore. Possibly concussed.
How did it happen?
Please don’t tell me I hurt her. He’d rather die than be that kind of man.
Wasn’t us. We rescued her.
Show me.
For a moment, his mind opened up and he remembered seeing her falling through the bridge, unconscious before hitting the water. He dove through after her, his lungs tight, his determination to not lose her driving him deep enough to catch a fistful of her hair. He grabbed hold of her and dragged her to shore. Pumped her of water until she gasped for breath then ran with her away from danger.
He should still be running. The threat to Riella remained and would follow. The bounty would make sure of that.
We can’t have that. He had to protect her.
He swept her back into his arms, skin prickling as he took stock of where he was. In the Marsh. On a road to…he had no fucking clue. He couldn’t tell if he was on the right one to find the vehicle she’d stashed or even heading back for the city.
“Fuck me,” he grumbled, turning in a circle and trying to figure out a direction.
“I will not fuck you,” was the surprisingly indignant reply.
Startled Titan looked around. “Who said that?”
“Who do you think?”
“Alfred?” he asked tentatively.
“Were you expecting someone else?”
“How the fuck are you here? I thought you drowned with the tank.”
“I almost became some river slug’s home because of you. Thanks for not saving me when you saved yourself.”
“I was made a prisoner. I couldn’t come back,” Titan said, feeling guilty he’d forgotten about the robot head. “I’m sorry.”
Alfred actually snickered. “Did you really apologize? Given the incident, the chances of you locating me underwater and retrieving me were very slim. Not odds I would recommend.”
“How did you get out?” And then he frowned as something occurred to him. “Wait a second. Am I really talking to you? Did you get a new body? How come I can’t see you?”
“Humans always having to see things to interact.”
A whirring object suddenly hovered in front of Titan’s face, and he almost dropped Riella. He blinked at the bird somehow remaining aloft with its wings spread. He could hear a faint hum.
“You’re a bird now?” Titan asked.
“Ball drone.” The image flashed for a moment to show a metallic ball, the air around it shimmering as it hovered. The bird hologram returned.
“That is beyond radioactive,” he breathed.
“I know. This is almost better than the big wheelie version of me. Although I could use a pincer arm. I’m going to ask Riella to build me one.”
“I didn’t hurt her.” It felt important to establish that.
“Of course you didn’t,” the robot snorted, as snarky as ever. “If you ever tried, she’d pulverize you.”
“Someone attacked her in the dungeon. Three someones actually.”
“That was fast. Word only arrived this afternoon via a bird much uglier than me. Whispers on the wind say the queen is offering a fortune for the return of her daughter.”
“So I’ve heard. Which means there’s probably more hunting us right now.”
“More than likely. The queen is angry by all accounts. Angry enough she won’t stop until she gets her hands on Riella.”
Titan stared at her cradled in his arms as he followed Alfred. “The danger stops if the queen dies.”
“And how do you plan to get close enough to her to attempt that?” Alfred’s sarcasm floated ahead, the shape of him offering a subtle glow Titan could follow. “In that city, she has hundreds of Centurions. Not to mention more of the spiduses and other nasties she keeps in reserve. Then there’s the weapons she’s had her minions create.”
“Meaning it’s impossible.”
“You will never get close while she’s in the city.”
“There must be a way to draw her out,” he muttered.
“You’re holding it,” said a groggy voice.
He halted and glanced down at Riella. “You’re awake.”
“With a screaming headache.” Said with a wince.
Riella pushed at him until he set her down. He steadied her when she wobbled.
“If I ask if you’re okay, will you hit me?”
She grimaced. “Probably not. The thought of moving makes me hurt even more.” He noticed the way her hand crept over her belly.
“Is the baby…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“I don’t know,” was her soft reply.
“If you’re done chatting, we don’t have time. Those thugs that attacked in the dungeon won’t be the only ones after Riella. There was another pair shadowing you when you went over the wall.”
“And you tell me this now?” Titan barked, glancing behind them and seeing nothing. “How far back are they?”
“I don’t know. They split up once they hit the ground, which is admirable given they entered the swamp. Worrisome, too, because that means they’re comfortable hunting in it.”
“Didn’t you say you stashed a vehicle?” Titan asked.
Riella nodded, and her lips pulled tight. “Ow. Yes, but I don’t know where we are.”
“I do happen to know.” Alfred dipped low in front of them. “Surprisingly enough, given your inept meandering, we’re almost there.”
The ambush came just as they reached a thicket. Two people leaped from the boggy water itself, and Titan had nothing but his hands to defend them. He managed to grab and wrestle the first wiry body, but the second got past him.
Busy, he could only listen to the thumps of flesh hitting flesh and the grumble of a woman with a deep voice saying, “Would ye fockin’ stand still, ye slat?”
He might have worried more if a body hadn’t sailed past, Riella chasing it a moment later.
Titan
wrenched the neck of the one attacking him then took his knife.
“Behind!” Alfred yelled.
Before Titan could finish pivoting, he saw Riella standing over a body smoldering at her feet, the hole in her assailant’s chest the size of a ball drone. It explained the smell of burning meat. Didn’t help the guilt he felt kind of hungry.
Alfred had dropped the guise of a bird and hovered close to Riella. “That’s the pair of greedy bastards who followed you over the wall.”
“It’s not greedy. The kind of bounty the queen is offering is life altering. I don’t blame them for trying,” Riella said.
Titan eyed them both. “You say you understand them, yet you don’t seem bothered they’re dead.”
“Why would she? They’d sell their own children if the price was right.” Alfred harrumphed.
Riella rolled her shoulders. “Understanding doesn’t mean letting them use me.”
“We should get out of here,” he said. “Even if Alfred didn’t see more, they’ll be coming.”
“The vehicle I was telling you about is in there.” She dug into the thicket and emerged wheeling a sleek vehicle. Four wheeled, and the tires sported a rugged tread. The engine was roughly covered by a few sheets of metal. The seat barely large enough for two. “Do you know how to drive one of these?”
“Can I write my name with pee?”
She stared at him.
“That would be a yes. I take it the Enclave don’t take pride in their skills.”
“Most of us pee in a toilet.”
He grinned. “Not on this road trip you aren’t.”
“This is not my first rough voyage.”
“You call this rough?” He snorted as he checked out the bike. “Princess, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
“Do you even know where to go?” she asked as he swung his leg onto the rugged motor vehicle.
He examined the controls to get a feel for its abilities before turning it on. “I was going to follow this road and see where it led.”
“It turns into a fork a half-mile off,” Alfred offered. “Left goes to a hamlet, right meanders through the swamp.”
“See, already a plan is coming together,” he said as the engine began to hum.