Awareness and suppressed energy vibrated through Kage. If she so much as flinched, he’d take her out.
The circular room fell silent. Tension mounted. Had Foran evacuated all the patients? Kage didn’t dare take his gaze off Isolaund so he could check. The best way to keep everyone safe was to neutralize the threat. Never so glad for his “unnatural” powers, he gathered energy, preparing for a fast, lethal strike.
“Where’s your Sarronti whore?” Isolaund finally asked.
He narrowed his gaze and quickly scanned for Eza. Damn it. She was still blocking him.
“Call her to you,” Isolaund directed.
Kage shook his head. He would never endanger his mate.
Without shifting her attention from his face, Isolaund made a sharp motion with her hand, and one of the guards fell to the floor.
“Someone dies every ten seconds until Eza appears.” Isolaund raised her arm again, but Eza flashed into view before Isolaund could kill anyone else.
Dread and fear stabbed into Kage. This was his worst nightmare.
Clear the room, he told his crew members, leaving no room for arguments. After a long, uncertain pause, everyone obeyed. They carried Tajon out immediately, but the sentinel put up a fight. It didn’t last long. One solid punch to the jaw and the sentinel went down and was promptly thrown over the Outcast’s shoulder.
The patients must be gone too, or Foran’s team would be moving them now.
Though all of his warriors were now out of sight, Kage could sense them nearby, watching and waiting. That only left Eza.
Eza, go, he urged. Get out of here. There was no response. He turned his head, trying to get her attention.
Suddenly, Isolaund spun, projected a stream of energy toward the center of Eza’s chest.
Driven by instinct and desperation, Kage dove in front of his mate, screaming as his body absorbed a small portion of the energy stream. Eza’s scream echoed his, and the impact spun her around. He barely caught her before her limp body hit the deck.
Torak and Dr. Foran were beside him in an instant, each looking horrified and furious. Plasma blasts arced toward Isolaund, but she easily deflected each one.
“We’ll see to Eza,” Torak promised as he tried to take her from Kage.
Kage couldn’t release her, would not allow her to die! This couldn’t be happening. He had to do something, had to save her, had to—
“Give her to me,” Torak insisted, his firm tone cutting through Kage’s raging emotions. “We’ll never be safe until you finish this, and that includes Eza.”
Using logic to drive back his blinding rage, Kage reluctantly passed Eza to his trusted friend. Outcasts crowded into every doorway, taking turns blasting the Sarronti witch without endangering their friends. Isolaund was no longer deflecting the shots, and her smile was triumphant. It took Kage a moment to realize she was absorbing the energy, using it to refuel her strange abilities.
Hold your fire, he ordered. A few kept blasting, so he shouted, I said stop!
The pulses ceased, and Isolaund arched her brows, looking far too confident. “If you’re giving up, I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not interested in surrender.”
He didn’t bother with a telepathic reply. Trying to reason with this creature was pointless. Instinct told him to explode, to hit her with everything he had, tearing the ship apart if necessary. But that’s what she expected, what she was counting on. Suppressing his destructive impulses through sheer force of will, he drew energy into the center of his body and narrowed his focus targeting one tiny area of her mental shields. Then he drilled, burrowing through layer after layer with laser precision.
“Stop it,” Isolaund sneered. “You’ll never succeed.” She patched the hole, reinforcing the weakness as he steadily pushed deeper. “I said, stop!” She punched him in the chest with a psychic fist.
He ignored the attack, remaining locked on his purpose.
Energy rushed into his mind, freely offered from all around him. Kage didn’t question the sudden surplus. He pressed on, determined to break through.
Victory came suddenly. He felt her shields give, and her energy flowed into his mind. The molecules felt odd, contaminated. He instinctively recoiled, but this was the only way. He must weaken her enough for conventional weapons to be effective again. He silenced his instincts and siphoned Isolaund’s power, withdrawing massive currents of the tainted energy.
Isolaund went wild. She threw Kage backward as if he weighed nothing, slamming him against the wall and then the deck as she pelted him with energy hail. Kage saw stars but didn’t break concentration. The room shook, treatment tables breaking free from their stabilizers and rolling across the clinic.
Sensing her rapidly growing panic, he channeled a small measure of the energy into his external shields. The instinct proved valid half a second later when she blasted him with toxic energy.
Draw her fire. Arton urged. That will drain her even faster.
Suddenly Outcasts rushed into the room, provoking Isolaund with threats and aggressive movements, weapons blasts, and well-aimed objects. She tossed around males twice her size and pieces of equipment bolted to the deck. Each telekinetic attack cost her precious energy. Kage kept siphoning, stubbornly weakening his irrational enemy.
Isolaund screamed in exasperation as her strength began to ebb.
Kage felt the pressure on his throat release and shouted, “Fire! Hit her with everything we’ve got.” His warriors immediately obeyed as Kage continued to drain her.
The pulse blasts finally penetrated, but only caused minimal damage.
“Again!” Kage felt his own strength slipping, but the second barrage tore deeper into Isolaund.
She screamed, flailing as blood burst from her myriad wounds. “What did... How are you... This shouldn’t be possible.” She sounded genuinely confused.
The Outcasts kept firing, tearing at and burning through her flesh until she was unrecognizable as Sarronti. And still, she struggled. But her attempts to return fire resulted in sparks and fizzling threads of harmless energy. She finally collapsed as horrific moans gurgled from her shredded throat.
Afraid she’d still find a way to escape, Kage refused to look away. “Incinerate the body,” he advised once the gruesome mess stopped heaving. “Make damn sure she’s dead.”
Happy to oblige, Torak moved closer and blasted at Isolaund’s remains until there was nothing left, not even ash.
Feeling nauseous and dizzy, Kage rushed into the treatment room, desperate to make sure Eza was all right. Dr. Foran and two of his medics were still working frantically.
“Will she survive?” He’d meant to remain silent and let them do their jobs, but the question just slipped out.
“I don’t know how to combat this,” Foran admitted without looking up. “I know nothing about magic, but none of this makes scientific sense. Every system in her body is just...malfunctioning.”
Magic. That stream hadn’t been pure energy. It had contained some sort of twisted spell.
Helplessness welled within him, rapidly building into terror.
A flash of light snapped his head to the side, and suddenly Drakkin was standing there.
“Continue your efforts, but allow mine as well.” Drakkin shouldered past Kage so he could stand beside the treatment table.
“Who the hells are you?” Foran snapped.
“My mentor,” Kage told the doctor. “He’s highly skilled.”
“How did he—you know I don’t care.” Foran glanced at Drakkin. “Help if you can, or I’m going to lose her.”
Kage’s heart lurched, and he silently shook his head. He could not lose her now! He started to push energy and encouragement into his mind, but Darkkin swung his head around toward him.
“Don’t! In fact, reinforce your shields. You must be cleansed before you access the soul bond again.” Without further explanation, he turned back to Eza.
Cleansed? Isolaund’s energy. He hadn’t imagined the odd resona
nce. Whatever Isolaund had done to boost her power was now seething inside Kage. He shuddered, and his stomach heaved again.
The four males worked in intense silence for a long time, then Foran stepped back with a ragged sigh. “I’ve done all I can, sir. She’s almost stable, but...” He looked at Kage and finished with a helpless shrug.
Drakkin worked on alone, body arched over Eza’s, his concentration absolute. He’d been able to save Aria. But her wounds had been physical. Kage shoved away the doubt creeping into his mind. She would survive this. He refused to consider any other outcome.
An hour passed and then another. Kage stood by silently, despising his helplessness. Only Drakkin’s warning kept him from pouring his heart and soul, his last ounce of strength into this fight. He did not want to go back to the way life had been before Eza. She was the other half of his soul. Without her, he was incomplete.
Torak stepped into the doorway and motioned Kage outside. Reluctantly, Kage moved out into the circular part of the clinic, waiting for Torak to explain the interruption.
“Any change?” Torak asked, compassion softening his usually gruff voice.
“Some improvement,” he managed to sound more hopeful than he felt. “The rest is up to Drakkin.”
“Drakkin?” Torak leaned to the side so he could see into the treatment room. “When did...how did he arrive?”
Torak and Arton were the only Outcasts who even knew who Drakkin was, but neither had met the Bilarrian. “Drakkin goes where ever Drakkin wants to go. What did you need?”
“Just wanted to give you a quick update. The guard Isolaund dropped was the only casualty.”
Kage crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “That’s still one too many.”
“Agreed, but we were still damn lucky.” Kage nodded, so Torak went on, “Shortly after Isolaund died, the sentinel...woke up. He didn’t know where he was or how he’d gotten here. Either he’s one hells of an actor, or Isolaund had him under some sort of spell.”
“Did you scan him for micro-bots? It’s more likely that he was a shadow agent.”
“We were about to when he opened a portal and returned to the world below.”
Kage nodded. None of this was surprising. Eza would be able to determine if the sentinel was still a threat when she recovered. And she would recover. “Where is Tajon?”
“He’s down in detention, heavily sedated. Do you want him back in stasis?”
“Not yet. We need to find out what they were doing in that lab. If he cooperates... I’m not sure. With Isolaund gone a lot has changed. That’s another decision for Eza.”
“Understood.” Torak glanced around. Medics and maintenance bots were working to restore order to the clinic. “Is there anything else that can be done for Eza? Anyone who can help?”
“This is beyond Outcast capabilities. If Drakkin needs reinforcements, I’ll have to access some of my old contacts.”
“Understood,” Torak said again then squeezed Kage’s shoulder, and he left the clinic.
Kage slipped back into the treatment room, trying not to distract his mentor.
A short time later, Drakkin straightened and released a heavy sigh. “I’ve done all I can.” He looked at Kage, and for the first time since Kage knew him, there was fear in Drakkin’s eyes. “I don’t think it was enough.”
Kage staggered back a step, colliding with the wall. “No,” he cried, refusing to accept the words. “There has to be something we can do.”
Overlord, may we come aboard. A heavily accented voice barely reached his mind. The thought was muffled by his dense shields. We are healers. Let us help Eza.
His immediate instinct was to accept help from anyone, but the safety of his people was at stake, so he paused to ask, Who are you, and how do you know my mate?
I’m part of the Shadow Circle. She calls me Sage.
“I sense no danger,” Drakkin assured him. “Let them come.”
I welcome your assistance, Kage told the Sarronti healer.
A jagged line appeared on the bulkhead of the treatment room. The line became two than bowed outward until they formed a rough oval. Matter within the oval fluctuated, appearing liquid for a moment before it vanished entirely. Three Sarronti filed into the room, two females and one male.
The same sentinel who had helped Isolaund had opened this portal. He wisely remained on the Sarronti side of the opening. Kage glared at him, and the sentinel lowered his gaze. “Forgive me. I was not myself.”
Kage nodded stiffly, unable to speak the words while Eza’s life still hung in the balance.
“Thank you, Jantis,” The older female said. Her voice was the one Kage had heard in his head. “I’ll contact you when we’re ready to return.”
Without looking up, the sentinel nodded then closed the portal.
Sage offered Kage a tense nod, then turned her full attention on Eza. The healers surrounded the treatment table. Sage motioned to the others, clearly their leader. She raised her arms. The others did the same and light streamed from hand to hand until it encircled Eza’s body.
What name are they known by here? Even in Kage’s mind, Drakkin’s voice was hushed, reverent.
The Sarronti.
They have visited Earth many times, Drakkin told him. Humans call them elves. I’ve read many legends, but I’d never actually met one until Eza.
Will this work? Kage was almost afraid to ask. Can they heal her?
It will be close, but they will succeed, Drakkin predicted.
Kage only nodded, but the tension in his chest began to ease. In all the years he’d known Drakkin, none of his predictions had been wrong.
They watched for a while in silence. The light ring pulsed with energy, growing brighter, then dimming again. At one point, they started chanting, the syllables soft and musical. They fell silent again, and tension mounted, then suddenly disappeared.
Sage turned her head and looked at Kage without breaking the healing circle. “The crisis has passed. We have work yet to do, but she will recover.”
Joy washed over Kage, followed by a distinct sense of relief. “Thank you.” Tears swam in his eyes, but he managed to blink them back. “I owe you a tremendous debt.”
“You owe me nothing,” Sage insisted. “Eza is my friend, and you are an ally of the Shadowborn Rebellion. We must support each other.” Before he could respond, she turned back to her patient.
Drakkin reached over and placed his hand on Kage’s shoulder. “It’s your turn, son. Your energy must be purged, and it’s not something I can do alone.”
Kage ignored the suggestion and shrugged off Drakkin’s hand. “I’m not leaving.”
“You must. This evil will quickly spread until it corrupts every molecule of your being. I allowed you as much time as I could. We must get this out of you right now.” Not allowing Kage to argue, Drakkin grasped Kage’s wrist and teleported them both to Bilarri.
“ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE ready for this?” Malik asked six days later. He stood with his mother and Eza outside the council chambers waiting for the official start of the council session. “You still look pale.”
Eza laughed. “My skin is literally white. How can you tell?”
“He’s right,” Sage joined in, looking at Eza with obvious concern. “You look rundown. Have you been resting as much as I suggested?”
“I’ve done nothing but rest. I’m just missing Kage,” she admitted grumpily.
“I thought he was returning today,” Malik said.
“So did I.” Eza allowed even more of her frustration to show. Being without her mate so soon after their bonding was intolerable. But they were both alive, a fact that could have easily changed, so the celebration was still possible. “Kage is still too weak to teleport home, and Drakkin won’t provide transportation. Drakkin insists that Kage rest for a few more days before he returns to his responsibilities.”
“I agree with Drakkin,” Sage said with an unrepentant smile. “All creation knows neither of you will rest
once you’re on the same planet.”
Malik flashed a grin then grew serious again. “Did you learn anything from Tajon? What did Isolaund want in the lab? And how did Tajon know about Kage’s abilities?”
Before she could answer, Sage said, “Go back farther. How were the Outcasts able to contain him? Sculptors can walk through walls.”
“Sculptors can reshape matter,” Eza stressed. “Torak took him to one of the ships and used an energy barrier in a cargo hold. The only solid surface was the lowest deck and passing through that would have dropped Tajon into the vacuum of space. With death the only alternative, he chose to cooperate.”
“And were you able to learn anything?” Sage returned to the original question.
Eza sighed. Just thinking about the circular conversations she’d had with Tajon was exhausting. “He claims he’s a hapless victim that everything was Isolaund’s fault and he has no idea what she wanted in the lab or why she was so determined to kill Kage and me. He swears he has little memory of anything that happened that day, claims it all took place in a sort of haze.”
“Was he a mind slave like the others?” Sage asked.
“No,” Eza told them. “Which is why I don’t believe a word he told me. I’ve tried again and again to determine if he’s telling the truth, but what I see in his mind is so convoluted it’s impossible to draw a definitive conclusion. He knows more than he’s admitting, but I also believe the real villain is dead. The Outcasts had already released the others, so Torak saw no justifiable reason to keep Tajon in custody. To my knowledge, he ran back to his father’s village with his tail tucked between his legs.”
Malik didn’t look pleased. “I hope that doesn’t circle around and attack from behind.”
“Me too,” Eza said softly.
A chime sounded, announcing the official start of the council meeting.
“Are you sure you have Ralnor’s vote?” Sage asked Malik, looking worried. “The rules are clear. This sort of proposal can only be ratified if the vote is unanimous.”
“We’ve got everyone,” Malik assured her. This was his last day on the council, so this must be done now. “Have the others arrived?” he asked his mother.
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