Warrior Queen

by J. N. Chaney

  The cave walls trembled and the ceiling groaned in protest as the Boneclaws advanced, so near now that I could hear their clicking.

  The wolves slunk back, emitting keening noises low in their throats. The one with the pup picked it up gently in her jaws and carried it away.

  The rest of the wolves followed suit when Tiberius burst into view—a frenzy of white fur and heavy limbs the size of tree trunks.

  Tiberius slowed to a stop in the middle of the passageway as he stared at me.

  Mario, Nero, and a few dozen rebels came in moments later from the opposite direction, all heavily armed.

  “Put down your weapons,” Mario ordered, moving closer.

  I nodded at Mark, Nell, and Prime Lambert to tell them it was okay. Slowly and cautiously, after some hesitation, they laid down their guns.

  “You too, Visaro,” Costas said, motioning at my staff. “Don’t do anything stupid this time. My men will kill you before you can get a shot off.”

  I almost spoke without thinking but remembered that he had no idea the staff was nothing more than a glorified flashlight at the moment. “Fine,” I said.

  Resisting the urge to smile, I tossed it to him.

  Mario caught it in one hand and dropped the rifle, letting it hang around his shoulder. Shock, then calculating glee registered on his face when it glowed blue in his grasp.

  Come on, I thought. Do it.

  For the first time, Mario did not disappoint me. The fool immediately turned the weapon on Tiberius.

  “What are you doing?” the creature asked, fixing a piercing gaze on Mario.

  “Taking control,” the man replied, aiming the staff at the Boneclaw. “Once I kill you, I’ll be lauded as a hero.”

  The staff glowed and the tip lit, emitting nothing more than a few useless sparks. He stared down at it and I knew he was trying to figure out what was wrong.

  I stepped forward. “He told me he planned to betray you. I modified the staff for a different purpose. It can’t hurt anyone. Now you know just how untrustworthy he is.”

  Tiberius grabbed Mario with his massive hand before the rebel leader could even raise his rifle. “Your people are no better,” he growled.

  The staff clattered to the ground, but I didn’t pick it up. I wanted to show Tiberius I meant no harm.

  “You might be right,” I said, spreading my hands in an open gesture. “Still, I mean you no ill will today. I have to talk to you about Othello.”

  Tiberius showed his fangs at the mention of his son. “What have you done?”

  “Nothing, though he is injured and needs help. I can tell you where he is.”

  “In exchange for what?” he snarled.

  “Nothing,” I said, maintaining my calm. “I would prefer to live after this, but that’s up to you. I’m not demanding anything.”

  I could tell the Boneclaw didn’t know what to make of me. In a show of good faith, I told him everything about my encounter with Othello.

  A moment later, once I had finished, he gave a simple grunt. “Very well,” he said. “What of this one?” Tiberius glared at Mario. “You would prefer he live as well?”

  “Not really, but I don’t want any more blood on my hands. You have my word he will pay for his crimes. We will no longer attack your people, so long as you don’t attack ours.”

  “You cannot ensure such a thing. This one is merely the leader of some of your kind. You are not the leader of any,” the Boneclaw replied.

  “She will be,” Prime Lambert said, edging forward. “Nero should never have been chosen, and the Primes involved will answer as well. I bear witness to her promise and she has my blessing.”

  Tiberius did not answer right away but was instead silent. I could sense his mind working through it, taking all of this into account. He was, as far as I could tell, wiser than most men, and it would not do us well to keep him as an enemy.

  Perhaps he felt the same of us. I hoped that was true, anyway. The last thing we needed was a war between two species, with one vying for the death of the other, a never-ending conflict that went on for generations, until only half of us remained. What would be the point of so much loss? What could any of it bring?

  I prayed the Boneclaw saw what I saw. I hoped his dealings with humanity had not broken him yet.

  Finally, the old beast’s eyes fell back on me, and he blinked and took a heavy breath. “Very well,” Tiberius decided. “Break faith with my people again and it will be the end of all of you.” He tensed his heavy fists and narrowed his eyes on me. “I swear it now, to each of you. I will wipe this land clean of Man should you betray your word today. Do not test me, now or tomorrow.”

  I nodded my acknowledgement and stepped back. “You have my word.”

  The Boneclaw dropped Mario. “Very well, Lucia Visaro.”

  I helped the others to relieve Mario's men of their weapons. With their lack of Boneclaw support, the coup stood no chance of success. These people knew that. They understood it was over, and now things could get back to normal.

  No, not normal. We were far beyond that now. Whatever came next would be something new.

  Better, I hoped.

  “I must go now,” informed Tiberius. “Othello waits for me, but you and I will have much to talk about in the coming days.”

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  I watched the creature leave, each step shaking the very ground beneath my feet.

  “Lucia!” a voice called out. I watched as Josef threaded through the mill of people to reach me.

  I motioned at him as he approached. “I’m sorry, but we didn’t find the stolen cores.”

  “What?” he asked, confused.

  “The fusion cores we were sent to retrieve,” I reminded him.

  “Oh, I’m not worried about those.” He waved the thought away then produced a datapad from his jumpsuit. “I’m just glad you’re alright. Mark told me your staff needs to be fixed?”

  “Yes, please,” I said gratefully, holding it out.

  We made quick work at bringing the staff back to full function and I felt more at ease for it. I told Josef all I had learned, with Mark and the others filling in the occasional gaps.

  “This is disturbing,” Josef said when we had finished. “Something like this should not have been allowed to happen.”

  “There will need to be new Primes brought forth, after the current apprentices have been investigated,” Prime Lambert said, then looked apologetically at Josef. “Not that I don’t trust you, Apprentice Braid, but after this disaster we must be sure.”

  Josef nodded. “It is necessary. I know where my loyalties lie.”

  “We’ll have to do a check of all our people,” I said abruptly. “I have a feeling Mario has more men we haven’t found.”

  Lambert sighed. “You’re very likely right, Prospus Visaro. It will no doubt take quite a long time for the community to recover from this devastation. We must do our best to set things back to normal sooner rather than later. The people will not do well if things are dragged out.”

  “You said she will be the next Director?” asked Mark, looking hopeful.

  “Yes, Prospus Nagata,” Lambert replied. “She would have been chosen if not for the corruption that befell the ceremony.”

  “Good, I have to confess that I don’t feel up to the task anymore. Working with computers is more my pace,” Mark said.

  Everyone chuckled at his relief.

  20

  As much as I wanted to fall into bed and sleep for a week, some things could not be left waiting.

  Prime Lambert and I met with Cyril and my mother to debrief on the events in Mario's stronghold and the fusion core facility.

  Mario had been locked in a room alone until his fate could be decided. We didn’t know what to do with him, but the fact was that he was a traitor, and we couldn’t let that go unpunished.

  Most of his men were released, however, to show mercy and hopefully return things to normal. They were pawns in this, it was dec
ided, and most would not move against the colony again. If they did, then we would deal with them in a decisive and justified manner.

  Besides, our colony was small. There were only a few hundred of us, which meant every loss of life took its toll on the greater whole. Less people meant a smaller genetic pool. It meant less viable parents. Fewer children to keep us going.

  By the time everything was settled and the day was spent, my entire body ached, shouting at me to rest. I would in time, but not yet.

  There was still one last thing I needed to do.

  “No. I won’t allow it,” my father said from his bed in the medbay.

  “Dad, I have to do this. I made a promise,” I countered. “You taught me to keep my word, and that’s what I gave him.”

  “Send someone else,” he said firmly.

  I exchanged a glance with my mother.

  She gave me a nod before turning to my father. “Cyril,” she began. “Think about it: if she doesn’t fulfill her promise, this Tiberius creature will consider that a betrayal. It puts the colony at risk. Again.”

  He harrumphed, but his forehead creased in thought.

  “Alright,” he relented after nearly two minutes of silence. “But you’ll take a few other hunters with you. Between the wolves and Boneclaws roaming around, it would be madness for you to go alone. More than a few of our people have yet to be accounted for, and I can only imagine what has happened to them.”

  “I’ll be back soon,” I said, embracing them both with a hug. “I’m glad you’re still not a fool.”

  “I might be,” he replied. “Letting you go off like this. I’m probably the most foolish man in the colony.”

  I kissed his cheek. “I can’t argue with that.”

  A few minutes later, Josef met me in the medbay, bringing the cast I’d requested for Othello. The boy’s lips quirked up into an easy smile when he saw me. “I’m coming with you.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I answered.

  “It’ll be fine,” he assured me. “Besides, you’ll need me to fit this cast on the Boneclaw, right?”

  I sighed but nodded. “Fine,” I said, causing him to smile. “But if we run into any animals, don’t try to be a hero. Let the rest of us handle it.”

  “I know where my skills lie,” he assured me, lifting the cast in his hand. “I—”

  A woman screamed suddenly from down the hall, causing us both to pause. With a brief, exchanged look, we darted toward the noise, hoping to help.

  As we arrived, we found Mario standing with a young woman in a chokehold, forcing her across the room. A flash of light at her throat drew my eye to the piece of broken glass he was holding.

  “Stay back, all of you!” he yelled, jerking her from side to side.

  My grip tightened on the staff and it began to glow.

  “Lucia,” Josef warned. “Don’t.”

  Mario was inching toward the door to the caves. He looked desperate and afraid, probably anticipating the worst possible punishment that our people could provide.

  “Mario,” I said calmly, hands raised in a peaceful gesture. “Let her go.”

  His eyes flashed to mine, wild with fear or madness, maybe both. He shook his head. “No. Get back. I’ll kill her! I’ll kill all of you if you try anything.”

  He no longer seemed terrifying, not like he had before. Not in his desperation. The man standing before me was weak, consumed by stupidity and a primal need to live. He’d reacted emotionally and without reason, barely a thought in his head, and that made him a fool.

  “No one needs to get hurt today,” I said, moving a few centimeters closer to him.

  Mario's breaths came in pants and he flicked a glance around the room. A small crowd was quickly gathering, many armed and all of them angry.

  “Give me the glass and stop this,” I said, holding out my hand.

  His nostrils flared, the muscles in his neck bulging. “You want the glass?” he asked. “Why? So you can kill me yourself? That’s what you want. It’s what all of you want!”

  “No one wants that,” I said, still trying to stay calm. “But you have to see there’s no way out of here. We can’t let you leave. Even if you did, you know the caves are too dangerous. You’d be killed within the week. Be smart about this. We can work all of it out. You don’t have to—”

  “Shut your mouth, you idiot child!” he barked. “These people already have it in their heads that they want me dead, and that’s never going away. I’m not staying in a place that hates me, where every day I’m cursed. Look at the way they stare! Look!”

  He shoved the woman roughly to the ground before lunging toward me.

  My senses were a little dull from the fatigue and my reaction equally slow. I threw a forearm up to protect my face and grunted at the burning sensation as the glass tore into my flesh.

  Mario slashed again, but I twisted to one side and grabbed his wrist as it whipped past my face. I tried to break his grip on the sharp object but couldn’t manage a hold.

  He had perhaps fifteen centimeters on me and a lot more muscle, with years of practical experience. Crazy or not, he was still a highly skilled hunter.

  Mario broke my grip easily, jerking me forward and delivering an elbow strike to my chin. My ears rang and my vision blackened as my head reeled.

  Shaking it off, I stepped in when he expected me to pull back, then stomped on his foot. It worked, loosening his grip, and I slammed my fist into the still-raw knife wound on his chest. Mario yelped and pushed me away.

  “This is all your fault,” he wheezed. “Things were going to change.”

  Guards arrived, weapons trained on him.

  “You need to take responsibility for your own stupidity,” I snapped at Mario, waving away the guards with my clean hand.

  Mario snarled and launched himself at me again. This time, I sidestepped his attack and delivered a kick to the inside of his right knee. He went down to one leg and I caught him in the throat with a hard right jab, knocking him to the floor.

  His empty hand went up to his throat as he gasped for air.

  I placed a knee on his chest and a foot to his wrist, quickly wrestling the shard from his grasp, then I flipped the glass in my hand and stabbed it into his chest until he groaned.

  “This is directly over your heart,” I said between gritted teeth as I leered over his snot-covered nose. “It is over!”

  Mario's lips twisted. “Yes...it...is…!”

  He grabbed my fist with both hands and pushed the glass into my knuckles. I gasped and let go as the sharp edge sliced into my palm.

  I fell back and crawled to my feet, half-expecting him to get up. Instead, he did the opposite, lying there for a moment and staring up at the ceiling as the blood began to pool out of him.

  “Doctor!” I yelled to the crowd behind me. “Get the doctor!”

  But it was no use.

  The bastardized grin was still on his face when the last breath left his body.

  Shortly after Mario's forced suicide, Josef and I, along with a few of our best hunters, went to meet with Tiberius, who had gone through the work of moving Othello to a better location. I instructed them to wait outside and keep an eye out for wolves while Josef and I continued.

  “You came,” Tiberius said when we entered the courtyard, the air crisp and clear, and the bright light of the sky shining down.

  “As I said I would,” I replied. “This is Josef, an engineer and a trusted friend.”

  Janus had activated scanners in the area and come up with a proposed radiation treatment plan, which I held out for the massive Boneclaw to see.

  “Medicine for Othello,” I said when he didn’t answer. “I would give it to you, but it is made for human hands.”

  “I thank you.” Tiberius nodded at me, then gestured behind him to where Othello waited.

  The other Boneclaw lay listlessly on the stony ground inside the courtyard.

  I walked over and put a hand on his large forearm.
“This might pinch a bit, but you’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

  “Get it over with,” he wheezed.

  Pushing the injector down to get it close to the skin, I pressed the button. Othello jerked slightly but otherwise didn’t react.

  “Josef,” I called over my shoulder.

  A warning growl came from Tiberius and I glanced up to see him blocking Josef’s way with one arm.

  “What is this?” he asked, eyeing the case suspiciously.

  I sighed. It would be a long road to trust for us both.

  “A brace to set Othello’s break. Josef helped me to create it.” I strode over and opened it slowly. “See?” I held up my arm to show him the similar construction.

  Tiberius peered inside at the contents. He grunted and let us pass.

  Together, Josef and I assembled it around Othello’s injured leg. When it was ready, Josef activated it. The brace retracted and snapped the bone back into place with a crack that echoed in the small yard, and Othello roared in pain.

  “Sorry!” Josef said quickly. “But it should be alright now.”

  Othello said nothing as he moved into an upright position. We backed up to let Tiberius help him to his feet until he stood awkwardly on one leg, slowly lowering the other.

  After a few successful practice steps, Tiberius nodded to me and Josef. “You’ve kept your word,” he said, watching Othello. “We will meet again to discuss the future for both our people, but today you have done well.”

  “When will we see you again?” I asked.

  “Six days at this time,” he answered. “That is when we will forge our peace.”

  Another Selection Ceremony took place soon after the events involving the coup.

  It went pretty much the same as the first, although without the interruption afterward. The newly appointed Primes officially chose me as the next Director, though the announcement was bittersweet.

  Aside from myself, only Mark and Nell had been allowed to grace the stage. Allan had chosen exile with Nero and a few others.

  Karin…well, I’d hoped she was watching from somewhere. We’d retrieved her body, along with any others we could find. In the days after Mario's death, a mass funeral had been held in the hangar to celebrate the lives they’d lived and mourn their passing.