Liam still couldn’t make out any movement and could not place the sound over the echoes. A thought struck him and his legs froze in place, filling with ice as he came to the realization. His eyes, shaking with adrenaline, began to crawl toward the ceiling. Liam’s jaw clenched as he beheld the unfathomable.
He nudged Saturn in the side and held a shaking finger up to the ceiling. After a short protest Saturn followed his eyes up. She cursed under her breath. Countless yellow eyes stared back at them. Nix and Ju-Long soon saw what the commotion was about and pointed their weapons up toward the ceiling.
The stories didn’t do them justice. Though they were bunched together as they hung from exposed pipes on the ceiling, Liam could tell they were at least four meters tall and made mostly of muscle. They wore sparse garments that were tight against their hardened bodies. The angular faces were reminiscent of the Ansarans, though far removed from millennia of evolution. The only feature that truly remained of the Mother World were the eyes. Golden orbs of light so much like Nix’s, though so far apart in intentions.
One of the Kraven dropped from the roof, slamming down on the grated floor ten meters from the crew and raising himself up to his full height. His muscular chest puffed out, purple veins pulsing along his tight physique and lining his body. The hair on his head was matted and black, slicked to the back with the sweat and grease gained only by neglecting to bathe. Purple brands marked his body, countless symbols burned into his flesh. Liam noticed that he favored his right leg, the other was deeply scarred.
The Kraven giant starred directly at Liam, his golden eyes locked on and his brow turning downward with fury. His jaw clenched together and he ground his pointed teeth together. The Kraven’s boxy chest was ornamented with dermal implants and red war paint adorned his face that just as well could have been blood.
One by one the rest of the Kraven began to drop from the ceiling until the center area was surrounded. When the last of them landed, the crimson-faced Kraven let out a war cry that incited the others. He held himself with the confidence of a leader. Liam raised his energy weapon up toward his chest, a small ball of blue light pulsing at its tip. The Kraven leader didn’t seem to be concerned, his expression unwavering.
Before Liam could pull the trigger something flew through the air and knocked his weapon from his hands, clanking and sliding along the floor. Liam’s eyes turned to follow it. A jagged blade was sticking out of the side and had absorbed all of the energy, dissipating it into the air. His eyes returned up to the leader, whose glare had intensified.
He spoke with a deep voice that easily filled the massive bridge. “Coward. You would fire on an unarmed opponent? What weak species are you, outsider?”
“I am Liam Kidd of Earth,” Liam said, feigning confidence though his moxie was fading fast. “Do you have a name?”
The Kraven leader spat at Liam’s feet, prompting an eruption of laughter from the Kraven Throng. He slapped his large chest with his flat palm and said “Crius, Lord of the Throng. You are unwise to come here, Liam of House Kidd.”
“We’ve come for the device.”
Crius looked around and shrugged his shoulders, showing two rows of yellowed teeth as the corners of his mouth edged up into a grin. “The Azure Key. You’ll find its power is beyond your puny reach.”
Some of the Kraven continued their laughter. Their enormous frames easily filled up most of the room and their broad shoulders often touched. Crius dropped his chin to get a better look at Liam, sizing him up curiously. Liam tightened his jaw and made himself look as big as he could, a wasted effort by comparison to the brute before him.
Liam took one small step forward. His head was about as far back as it could go so he could still see Crius’ face. “Ragnar must have promised you a handsome deal for you to come out of hiding.”
His smile distorted and Crius bellowed a grunt that elicited angry roars from the other Kraven. “The Kraven hide from nothing. We fight for honor alone.”
“It was honorable to attack this colony without provocation? It was honorable to attack our asteroid mine? No, there’s no honor in that. It was cowardly.”
Every one of the Kraven roared with rage. Liam began to think he had touched a nerve. Nix grabbed at Liam’s cloak from behind and whispered, “What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
He put a hand up over his shoulder to signal to Nix that he knew what he was doing. Crius raised his hand as though he was going to strike at Liam, but when the other Kraven protested he lowered it. Liam took notice and stepped forward once more. “We’re taking the Key. One way or another.”
Crius looked around to the other Kraven and laughed from his belly. “You are a fool, Liam Kidd. Look around you. You are in no position to make threats.”
“Your attack on this colony has failed. Your leadership of the Kraven is in question, I can see it in the faces of the brave warriors around you. If you are a man of honor you will prove you are fit to lead by using diplomacy.”
“I will give my people your head, outsider!”
“I am unarmed. I doubt your people would respect a murderer.”
The Kraven on the bridge grew restless. It was clear that the longer the conversation went on the less they thought of their leader. Liam could see that Crius appeared weak to them. A man half his size was speaking down to him. Crius’ rule was hanging by a thread.
Crius grunted and spat, “Single combat. Your death will be swift, but honorable.”
“A duel?” Liam asked. “What are your terms?”
“Terms? We fight for honor.”
“No,” Liam said, provoking snarls of outrage from the Kraven. He continued, “If I best you, I require safe passage for myself and my crew as well as the Azure Key.”
Crius considered the offer. The Kraven watched on in silence, the tension in the room mounting. The Kraven leader had countless scars across his body from innumerable fights. Liam couldn’t imagine Crius would see him as much of a challenge. Crius put his hand across his chest and said, “By the gods I swear it. However, when I kill you, your companions will feed the Throng, starting with your puny Dinari friend.”
Nix’s eyes widened. He was quivering under his thick cloak, having trouble holding onto his weapon. Liam got the impression that eating their foes was a form of disrespect more than anything else. Still, Liam had a plan and it was their only way off the ship. He nodded and said, “Then we are agreed.”
“Choose your weapon, whelp.”
A half-dozen Kraven approached them and laid out several weapons, from blades to spears, all far too crude for their level of technological prowess. Each was meant for a Kraven hand, far too large for Liam to wield, save for one. It would have been a dagger to the Kraven, but to Liam it might as well have been a sword. It had a smooth curve to it like a scimitar, but with strange lines in the metal that made Liam question how it was forged and from what exactly it was made.
Liam bent down and picked up the blade, which was surprisingly light in his hand. Crius nodded and chose a large jagged blade, seemingly made from a broken part of the ship, but sharpened into a devastating weapon. Liam knew if he were hit by that, Tetanus would be the least of his worries.
Crius made a motion with his hand and the Kraven scooped up the remaining weapons and gave them a wide berth. Several of the Kraven took back to the rafters or climbed on top of the suspended workstations to leave room for the duel. They were restless now, clamoring over each other to get the best view.
Saturn’s weapon was raised at Crius and she said, “Liam, you don’t have to do this. There’s got to be another way.”
Liam turned to her and smiled confidently. “Trust me.”
33
Crius made the first move. He lifted the heavy piece of metal over his head with both hands and swung down with brutal force. Liam rolled forward and to the right dragging his sword across the side of Crius’ kneecap as he did. It was a glancing blow but it quieted the Kraven onlookers momentarily and led to several g
asps. His purple blood trickled slowly from the wound. Crius looked at his bleeding knee but didn’t let a sound escape his lips. He only turned and readied his next blow.
With the Kraven onlookers out of their way, there was a good ten meters square with few obstructions to mar the fight. Liam planned to use every inch. Crius’ sheer size meant that he could only take a few steps before running into his brethren. Liam would have to use every ounce of his cunning to get out of this fight alive.
Crius swung across his body. Liam hopped backward, the blade missing his face by mere centimeters. The Kraven warlord fumed, blood rushing to his face. He bared his two rows of pointed teeth and growled from his belly, a horrible sound that resonated inside Liam’s eardrums. Crius’ yellow eyes reflected the holographic image of Garuda as they squinted down at him. The Kraven took another swing and hit only air as his jagged blade flew through the image of the planet, disrupting the projection briefly.
Liam tried to roll around the Kraven warlord again but was kicked by his massive leg. Liam tumbled onto his face, his sword sliding a meter away from his fingertips. His ribs felt crushed from the force of the blow, but Liam clenched his teeth and hardened his muscles in anticipation. Crius didn’t waste any time and swung down with both hands on his gruesome blade. Liam rolled to his right, grabbed his blade, and barely got it up in time to meet the Kraven blade. Liam struggled against Crius’ serrated blade using his spare hand on the back of his sword as leverage.
Liam’s scimitar began to bend under the pressure, the jagged edges of Crius’ blade splintering his curved blade. Liam’s eyes widened when they shot to the tiny fissure. He shifted his weight and Crius’ blade slid down Liam’s sword and into the grated floor to Liam’s left, where it became lodged. As Crius struggled to break his sword free from the seam between the grates, Liam found his feet and glanced another blow off the Kraven’s knee, crossing his previous cut. Crius swung his elbow back at him but Liam was able to back away to the corner of the open area, putting as much distance between him and the Kraven leader as possible.
A steady stream of dark purple flowed down Crius’ calf. The Kraven leader howled. Liam couldn’t say for sure whether it was a howl of pain or anger, but he guessed his approach was working. If he was lucky the Warlord would begin to slow down. Then again, he had a lot more blood to lose than Liam.
Crius stomped his good leg over the grate and yanked his grisly sword from its clutches. He took two labored steps toward Liam, crossing much of the distance between them, and said, “You have lasted longer than I expected, outsider, but your time has come.”
He swung his massive blade with reach Liam couldn’t match. Liam squatted down to one knee. The Kraven blade missed his skull but severed a few strands of his blond hair. Liam saw them floating down as he looked up at the titan before him. At the end of his swing Crius twirled the blade behind his head and came down with it, aiming to cut Liam in half. Despite his large frame and heavy weapon, Crius swung the blade fast. It took everything Liam had to get out of the way of the sword in time.
Somehow, he found himself between the Kraven’s legs. He felt Crius looking around for him. Liam used the opportunity to lift up his blade and stab downward through the back of Crius’ bad kneecap. The Kraven dagger became wedged between flesh and bone. Crius fell to his knees, his arms swinging wildly behind him. The warlord’s arm caught Liam and flung him ten meters through the air, into a group of Kraven, who quickly muscled him back into the tiny arena.
Liam’s blade was still stuck in the Kraven’s knee, irretrievable. Now he was unarmed and about all he’d accomplished was piss off the Kraven giant. Crius lifted himself onto his good leg and yanked the dagger from the back of his knee, tossing it into the crowd. A jet of purple spurted out from the wound, eliciting a wail of rage from the warlord. He tried putting pressure on his left leg and stumbled back to his knees. Liam may have hit an artery because the Kraven’s blood was flowing freely now, dripping down into the grated floor.
The Kraven onlookers became hushed, watching in silence as their leader suffered. Even on his knees Crius was a couple heads taller than Liam and frightening to behold. Liam skirted around the edge of their makeshift ring, searching around him for any kind of weapon. Crius lifted himself up again to one foot and gritted his teeth. He was determined now to remain upright. Crius’ jaw tightened as he forced himself to stand on both feet, crying out in pain as his bad leg straightened.
Crius began to limp toward Liam, slow at first, but with increasing speed. He dragged his sword along the ground creating a slew of sparks, raising it up as he neared his target. When Crius tried to swing Liam leaped toward the titan’s wounded side. The Kraven warlord tried to turn on his bad knee in pursuit but it was too much for him. He plummeted to the ground.
Nix cried out to Liam, who turned to see the Dinari’s weapon flying through the air toward him. He caught it and turned in time to see Crius readying his next strike from one knee. The two of them froze, a ball of energy readied at the tip of Liam’s weapon. Crius sneered, “You would break the ancient rules of combat?”
Liam lowered his weapon. The grate under the Kraven leader was coated with blood, dripping down into the floor so there was no way to tell how much had been spilt. Crius’ face had begun to lose color. His eyes were having trouble keeping focused. Liam made a snap decision and tossed aside his energy weapon. It clanked as it slid across the grates.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Liam said, praying he would be right.
Crius steadied himself with one hand and let his sword fall to the floor. His yellow eyes found Liam’s and his gaze softened. “You are a worthy opponent Liam of House Kidd. Finish it, and let me die gloriously in battle.”
Liam shook his head. “I’ve beaten you. Give me the key and my crew and I will be on our way. Nobody needs to die today.”
Crius’ expression hardened. “Perhaps you’re not as worthy as I thought. You would dishonor me with mercy,” Crius said, spitting at Liam’s feet.
Liam shook off his boot and turned his back to the Kraven leader, rejoining his crew. He approached Ju-Long, whose face contorted as he advanced. His hand was pointed past Liam. Crius was on his feet, sword in hand, coming down with his blade with one last ditch effort. Liam’s eyes widened. He didn’t have time to get out of the way.
Mere meters away, Crius stopped in his tracks, sword falling to the grated floors. He collapsed to his knees with a dazed look in his eyes. Finally he fell onto his face and Liam’s suspicions were confirmed. Six metal spears were sticking out of his back. He was killed by his own people.
A rather large Kraven advanced on Liam, his face adorned with blue face paint that covered countless scars. He might have been even taller than Crius. The Kraven looked down at Liam and the crew and said, “Crius dishonored the Throng, he was unfit to lead. Your battle is honored outsider. Take the Azure Key and leave quickly.”
Another Kraven stepped forward holding a small black box. It appeared dense like lead, but when he placed it in Liam’s hands it was far lighter than he expected. It was hard to imagine such a small thing was responsible for their presence on Garuda, for traveling across the galaxy.
The blue-faced warrior continued, “Without this ship, the Key is meaningless. It is but a small part of a much larger whole. This ship itself was designed to integrate with it.”
The Kraven giant moved his eyes around the ship, examining the damage and the occasional spark. “I cannot imagine what you plan to do with it, but take it far from here. It has brought us nothing but trouble. The Ansarans will pay for what they’ve done this day.”
Several of the other Kraven yelled out “Liars” and “Cowards” at the mention of the Ansarans. The blue-faced Kraven had sad eyes. Liam imagined he was weary from far too many battles. The other Kraven seemed to respect him as an elder, though he looked no older than Crius.
“Thank you,” Liam said. “Your integrity will not be forgotten.”
“Pray it is not,
outsider.”
Liam knew the Ansarans would not leave the crashed vessel unsearched for long. The new Kraven leader must have known this too, because he picked up Crius’ sword and began barking orders to his warriors.
“What will you do now?” Liam asked.
The Kraven titan looked down at Liam with a glint in his eye that was almost hopeful. “We will fight, as Kraven do.”
34
Liam jumped off the opening of the Kraven vessel to the sand a meter below. His brown boots quickly became yellowed with the fine grains of sand. The breeze picked up and several specs found their way into his eyes. He held the device in his left arm and he blocked the wind with his right.
Saturn was the next down from the ship and jogged to catch up to him. She undid her ponytail and her dark brown locks became tousled in the breeze. Liam glanced over casually, noting that the look suited her. She turned to him and said, “Back there, that was incredible.”
Liam’s ego inflated a little with pride and he let himself smile, his mouth curling up at the side and causing the scar on his cheek to tighten up.
“Incredibly stupid,” she added, punching his arm and throwing him off balance. “You could have gotten us all killed, what were you thinking?”
Liam’s smile faded and he defended, “Well I had to do something, didn’t I?”
Saturn looked away and said, “You had me worried there.”
When she turned back to him she wore a small smile. “Remind me to never get in a fight with you,” she said before taking off toward The Garuda.
Liam knew Saturn wasn’t the best at displaying her emotions, making what she said even more uplifting. Ju-Long clapped a hand on his shoulder. Liam hadn’t even heard him approaching because he was in such a stupor.
“Maybe we should reserve you two a private room.”
Liam brushed his hand away and replied, “Ha, ha. Very funny. Hey, where’s Nix?”
The Corsair Uprising Collection, Books 1-3 Page 16