Chapter Thirteen
Enemy of mine
When Boroc opened his eyes he was lying on his back looking up at a cloudless sky and he could hear voices close by.
“He’s awake.”
He had a god awful taste in his mouth and surprise, surprise, they’d poisoned him again. Boroc sat up and looked across at five humans that had been waiting for him to stir.
“Nice of you to join us.”
This was the same female that he had spoken to in the cell. Boroc studied them without saying anything. They were all dressed in dark green, almost black, satin plate armour of some kind and looked like a group of Japanese warriors.
Boroc stood up; he was still feeling a bit groggy from the drugs and concealed this as best he could. He didn’t do weakness very well, his or anyone else’s.
Apart from a fuzzy head, he felt in good shape and noticed that the wound on his neck had been dressed. Even the damage inflicted from his stunt to save the human, felt a lot better.
Boroc took in his surroundings. An old Shamozolt mining settlement and just behind him was the mouth of the mine from where he had exited. It was now easy to see the trap that had ensnared him and he was all too aware of the fact that it could have cost him his life.
“Is this it?” Boroc referred to the five of them.
“What were you expecting, an army?”
“You need an army to fight an army.”
“We have it covered and after all, we now have you.”
“My weapons?”
“We found your dagger last night. One of those things was wandering about with it sticking out of its chest.”
“And my Zolt-Arc?”
“That crescent moon shaped thing?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s in safe hands.”
“How am I meant to defend myself?”
“Your dagger will suffice. Here, catch.”
Boroc caught it. This blade had a long history with him and it felt good to have it back and after a moment’s reflection, he slipped it into its sheath.
“So what leads do you have?”
“We don’t have a lot to go on. Early this morning a sandstorm blew through here and it has wiped the area clean. We did find something interesting. We can’t quite explain it. There are footprints that we don’t recognise in the tunnel of the mine.”
“Let’s take a look.”
Boroc followed the humans over to the mouth of the mine and studied the footprints. This tunnel had seen a lot of traffic recently and Boroc could easily distinguish the comings and goings of both human and Squalvolvan, but there were also two sets of Ammarla footprints. They must have followed him through the tunnels and this might explain his encounter with the human in the shaft.
“Ammarla. Two of them by the looks of it.”
“Ammarla, here in their physical form?”
“Yes, how exciting,” grumbled Boroc.
“Are they looking for us too?”
“How the hell should I know.”
“We owe the Ammarla our lives.”
“I thought as much.”
“Your attitude worries me Shamozolt, you seem emotionally detached.”
“Emotions can kill you and I am told worrying too much can as well. While we’re on the subject of things that are bad for your health, poison me again and there’s a good chance I’ll forget we’re on the same side.”
Boroc looked across at the overturned mine car and walked over to it and with a bit of effort, he pushed it onto its side.
“Looking for something?”
“I was travelling with a human, a female and she was in this mine car when you ambushed me.”
“You failed to mention that before.”
“At the time I was being treated like the enemy.”
“The jury is still out.”
“Fine, have it your way.”
With Boroc’s help, they found the building that the Ammarla had held up in and Boroc sniffed the air.
“What is it?”
“Humans. They’re everywhere. Can’t you smell it?”
“The Ammarla are travelling with people as well?”
“From the south globe, no doubt.”
“There are people on the south globe?”
“We did all we could to get rid of them, but yes, they’re very much alive in the south.”
This was incredible news for the humans of the north and Boroc could tell that she wanted to know more, but he wasn’t in the mood to elaborate.
The door to this building looked like a wild animal had been trying to get to them and by the looks of it, it had very nearly succeeded.
“If you were out here this morning, how did you miss this?” asked Boroc.
“They must have started off at the crack of dawn,” was the female’s reply.
Boroc kept his thoughts to himself, but he wasn’t impressed.
“Which means they left over an hour ago and a lot could have happened in that time.”
“We’d best get a move on then. If you’re right about the Ammarla tracks, then it looks like they re-entered the mine.”
“Are there any more traps?”
“Not set by us, but those Squalvolvans might have been busy. You can lead the way, Shamozolt, since you’re good at finding traps,” there was a chuckle.
Boroc led the humans back to the mouth of the mine, deep in thought and far from enthralled about going back underground. So much for getting used to the daylight and if he survived this, he never wanted to see another mine again.
They reached the place that Boroc had passed through yesterday, an intersection where many tracks converged.
Boroc looked along the steel tracks trying to get a feel for the direction they may have headed, while the humans did some investigations of their own. Boroc was still wondering why they would bother coming back down here, unless they weren’t given the choice.
“You think the Squalvolvans have them?”
“Who knows? If you hadn’t had me locked up for so long we might have avoided all this. How did you miss them again?”
“We have limited resources at this site. These outposts are primarily for observation purposes, in case your kind ever returned.”
“So where’s the main settlement?”
“Many miles from here.”
“Still don’t trust me?”
“I have no reason to.”
They continued to search for clues and Boroc noticed a set of tracks that had seen recent use. Someone had hauled something out of here, but he was sure it wasn’t ore. The mine cars were built like tanks, so whoever shifted them would have to be built like Boroc and this pretty much confirmed the Squalvolvans involvement. There was no doubt in Boroc’s mind that the only load likely to have been hauled out of this place was human and a few Ammarla, of course. They could easily get six humans in a single car, eight at a squeeze.
“You haven’t told me how many humans are at this outpost, but I bet three cars would take care of it, maybe two if they put up a fight.”
“Are you suggesting these Squalvolvans are here to capture us?”
“This human I was with had been held captive, so they obviously have a use for you, other than food. He was going on about nearly being thrown onto a fire and since I’ve been here I’ve had the benefit of seeing these fires for myself.”
“What relevance is this?”
“I’m not sure, although I do have a theory.”
“You want to share that with us?”
“Maybe.” Boroc paused long enough to give the impression that he was intending to withhold this information and then continued. “The fires are possibly portals. Fire portals.”
“Fire portals! Do such things exist?”
“Of course, they exist.”
“What does this mean?”
“When we catch up with them, you can ask them yourself.”
They continued along the track and Boroc would occasionally put his ear to the steel i
n the hope of picking up a vibration and on his third attempt he was sure he could hear a distant sound. The humans out here weren’t working the mines, so when they saw a light up ahead, they knew it had to have something to do with the Squalvolvans.
Boroc gave up waiting for the humans and charged ahead, his dagger drawn, ready to spill some Squalvolvan blood. The tunnel was ablaze, the heat was tremendous and Boroc stood there watching the flames licking the buckled and twisted track.
The humans finally caught up.
“What is this?” the female asked, shielding her face from the heat. “Is this like the other fires you’ve seen?”
“It’s a fire isn’t it!”
Unable to move forward due to the heat, they noticed something moving in the flames and then quite suddenly, a shapeless form emerged.
“Damn not this again,” said Boroc.
“What the?”
The shape became more defined, although nothing more than a black silhouette and it glided forward and spoke directly to Boroc. “I see you’ve chosen a side, the wrong side and you will live to regret that decision.”
“You again!”
While Boroc had this thing engaged in conversation, he was inching forward and the female noticed this.
“What are you doing?” she whispered
Boroc ignored her and was so close to the fire that a few more paces would confirm his suspicions.
“If you think you can follow us into the flame, think again.”
The tormentor melted back into the fire and a sudden explosion filled the tunnel with the destructive force of a dragon’s breath. The blast was strong enough to push Boroc and the humans back along the tunnel and they could do little to shield themselves from the falling debris.
Boroc was sure he’d taken his last breath, although it wasn’t like him to doubt himself and the pain he was feeling was evident that he was still very much alive.
Boroc’s ears were buzzing from the explosion and if that was his only problem, he would have been happy, but he could barely breathe, the air was hot, thick with dust and he couldn’t see a damn thing. He could feel something under him and a cough confirmed his suspicions. It was the female.
Something was pinning him down, probably part of the tunnel’s construction and he flexed to see if he could free himself.
“Shamozolt, is that you? There’s a crushing weight on top of me.”
“That is me.”
Boroc flexed and felt the weight shift from his back, but his legs were still trapped. He could feel the female moving under him and with considerable effort, he managed to raise his body a few inches and she was finally able to free herself.
She shouted out to her companions, but there was no reply, just the sound of rubble shifting in the darkness.
“Can you get up?”
“If I could, do you think I’d still be lying here?”
“How can I help?”
“My legs are trapped. If you can find something to lever with, then I might be able to break free.”
In the pitch black of the tunnel, the female searched blindly for something she could use as a lever and she let out a yelp as her hands passed over one of her downed comrades.
“They’re all dead aren’t they?”
“I reckon.”
“I can’t find anything that’s going to help.”
The female continued the search, moving along the tunnel, using the cold steel of what was left of the track, to guide her. Boroc was getting frustrated, but no matter what he tried, he wasn’t going anywhere. He could hear the female moving about, so there was still hope; however, what were the chances of a human coming good? Slim at best.
“What is that noise?” the female was back.
“What noise?”
“I don’t know, it seems to be coming from your direction.”
“I may have been grinding my teeth.”
“Well, stop!”
He could feel movement around his legs. “You found a lever?”
“I found something that might work. Okay, let’s try it,” and on a count of three they both heaved, but their efforts made little impression. “Again,” and this time there was movement.
Boroc shifted his weight, which loosened more material and he was able to pull himself free. Boroc lay there panting, his legs stiff and unwilling to respond.
“Are you free?”
“Yes.”
“Thank god, I thought I was going to have to leave you down here.”
“Well, let’s not get all choked up about it.”
“The more time I spend around you, the less I like you.”
Boroc flexed his legs, they were painful, but eager to be out of this place, he dragged himself to his feet.
He felt the hand of the human take hold of his arm, to guide him forward, but he did not react and simply let it happen. Progress was slow to begin with, but his legs were coming back to him.
They hadn’t even tried to continue down the tunnel, there was no point, it had collapsed, so they were retreating, heading back the way they had come.
It was mid-afternoon by the time they made it out of the mine and what they saw was evidence that the Squalvolvans had been busy. They stood together in the mouth of the tunnel and could see great plumes of black smoke rising into the sky.
The human gasped. “My god, the outpost.”
The female left Boroc’s side and ran past the battered mining buildings and when Boroc caught sight of her again, she was kneeling on the sand. It was clear that she was sobbing and Boroc felt awkward or was it that he was feeling an emotion previously unknown to him, empathy. Boroc stopped and took in the scene and then walked slowly over to where the human was kneeling.
After composing herself, she stood up and without facing him, she spoke.
“Why can’t we be left in peace?”
Boroc remained silent.
“You seem to know so much about these things. What do they want?”
“These things! Weren’t you listening? You think these Squalvolvans are the problem, well think again.”
“Okay, I hear you. The Formless Ones then, what do they want with us?”
“They wanted my soul and I gave it to them. Could be they’re after the same from you.”
“Our souls?”
“Beats me, you need to speak to one of those other races.”
“Yes, the Ammarla perhaps. What about this guy you were travelling with, what did he know?”
“He wasn’t making a lot of sense. I think he thought I’d been sent to help him.”
“And were you sent to help him?”
“There may be some truth in it. That surprise you?”
“The idea of a Shamozolt helping us seems wrong.”
“I’m not comfortable with it either.”
“You said he was here with a message. Was that message for us?”
“No. He said the message was for the Hidden Ones and before you ask, I haven’t the faintest idea who they are.”
“The Hidden Ones,” she said, thoughtfully.
“You’ve heard of them?”
“No, but it has got me thinking.” The female reached into her pack and retrieved Boroc’s Zolt-Arc. “Here, take it.”
“You trust me now?”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but you’ve had plenty of opportunities to kill me had you wanted to.”
“We should leave.”
“Yes, there is nothing left here and I have everything I need. Let’s make haste to the next outpost.”
“I thought we’d be heading to the main settlement?”
“We are, but we must first warn the other outposts, before they come under attack.”
Not a chance thought Boroc.
“If you have an opinion, I’d like to hear it.”
“If I’m right about the fire portals then the Squalvolvans could already be at the next outpost.”
The thought of the Squalvolvans tearing through the outposts chilled her to the
bone. “You could be right, Shamozolt, but we have to try.”
There was something about this human Boroc liked. She talked his language, the language of war, not that they had done much talking since they’d left the mine and that was over three hours ago, but that suited Boroc just fine.
During the silent march, Boroc’s mind recalled something the female had said and he was keen to know more, but reluctant to be the first one to speak. Striking up a conversation did not come naturally. He was more accustomed to shouting orders.
The other thing Boroc noticed about this human, was her strength and with the injury to his legs, she was making him look slow. She noticed that Boroc was struggling, but knew better than to say anything. He wasn’t the type to admit defeat.
The shadows were getting longer and Boroc’s limp was getting worse and he’d given up trying to hide it.
“In an hour we have the opportunity to stop if you wish?”
“Stop! Out here, what’s the point of that?”
“We have provisions stored throughout this area, at places we call substations.”
Boroc immediately jumped to the conclusion that this female didn’t think he was up to it.
“I can march for weeks if necessary.”
“I don’t doubt it, but we might both benefit from a couple of hours rest.”
As battle-hardened as he was, his injury could affect their chances.
Boroc was quiet, he was thinking. A couple of hours might help the pain in his legs, but he wasn’t about to admit it, any more than he was ready to admit that his condition was slowing them down. They continued in silence and it was now pretty dark, but at least that meant he could limp without being observed.
The female suddenly stopped. “Okay, this is it.”
“There’s nothing here.”
“How do you know?”
“What sort of question is that?”
Boroc could hear the female moving about and there was a sound like a metal hatch opening and then she returned and tried to take hold of his arm.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to guide you to the entrance.”
“I may have a limp, but there’s nothing wrong with my eyesight.”
“You don’t want to fall down a shaft, do you?”
“I’m perfectly capable of seeing a hole in the ground.”
Alliance Page 33