Sentinel: Galactic Gladiators: House of Rone #1

by Hackett, Anna

  The robot jerked, moving wildly. The lights on the side of it winked out.

  It stopped midflight, then plummeted toward the ground.

  Drak. Jax let it go. He hit the ground hard enough to rattle his bones, then rolled, and came back up on his feet.

  When he turned, he saw he was standing right beside a hidden door that blended into the rock wall.

  And he scented Quinn.

  “There’s a door here!” He heard the others running, but didn’t wait. Quinn had been in Gaarl’s hands too long already.

  Jax lifted his cybernetic leg and kicked down the door with one blow.

  Inside the small, dark room, a man turned in a whirl of robes.

  Jax saw the mask. Edull.

  “Gaarl,” he growled.

  With a flap of robes, the man turned and ran. Jax smiled. Never run from a cyborg. Jax chased him.

  A second later, he had the Edull pinned to the wall, an arm pressed to his throat. “Where is Quinn?”

  The Edull stared mutinously over his mask.

  “Answer me.”

  “She’s dead,” Gaarl rasped.

  Horror and pain slammed into Jax. For a blinding second, he couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.

  “Steady,” Magnus said from behind him.

  Jax blinked, sensed the others standing behind him.

  “The woman from Earth is dead.” Gaarl’s laughter was ugly and harsh. “She had spirit, though. I would have liked breaking her.”

  Jax slammed the man against the wall. “Where is she?”

  Gaarl lifted a hand, tearing at Jax’s arm and making choking noises. Jax relaxed his hold a little.

  Then Gaarl’s hand moved and yanked his mask off.

  Jax cursed, seeing that ugly pincer mouth open and close. The Edull’s breathing turned labored. Jax tried to slam the mask back on him, but Gaarl turned his head.

  “Magnus!”

  The imperator grabbed the Edull’s head and held him. Jax got the mask in place, just as a terrible rattle echoed in Gaarl’s chest and he slumped.

  “Drak!” Jax threw the Edull’s body to the ground. He spun. “Is anyone picking up any biosigns?”

  All his fellow cyborgs were silent.

  “No,” Magnus said quietly.

  Pain cut through Jax. Quinn.

  * * *

  Ow. Her back aching like hell, Quinn lay on the rocky ground, staring up into the darkness.

  She could see some faint light above. Far above. Gaarl had pushed her down a big, old, dirty shaft.

  Sitting up, she assessed her aches and pains. She was almost certain she hadn’t broken anything, but she felt like she’d been hit by a speeding truck.

  Fucking Gaarl. She wanted to rip his head off.

  She heard a noise in the darkness beside her.

  She froze, peering into the dark, but down in the bottom of the hole it was pitch black. Another sound, a body shifting. Then a creature breathing.

  Quinn moved into a crouch. She didn’t have a weapon, dammit. There was movement in the shadows, and her pulse spiked. She moved her hand along the ground, and her fingers closed over a decent-sized rock. Better than nothing.

  Something that looked like a small animal burst out of the darkness. It neared her, then scuttled backward a step.

  Quinn flicked on the light at her shoulder, and gasped.

  Wild, tangled, brown hair fell over a pale face.

  Quinn hissed. “Jayna?”

  The woman pulled back, fear on her dirt-streaked features. There was no recognition in her eyes.

  “Jayna, it’s Quinn. From the Helios.”

  The woman’s gaze dropped to the ground and she curled in on herself. She was clutching her left arm to her chest. It was wrapped in bandages that were stained rust-red.

  Quinn tasted bile in her mouth. Dammit, Gaarl hadn’t treated the wound properly when he’d taken Jayna’s hand. It was dirty and likely infected.

  “Jayna.” Quinn kept her voice calm and low. “I’m here to help you.”

  She needed to gain Jayna’s trust. Crossing her legs, Quinn sat down.

  “I’m from the Helios, the exploration ship we both worked on. I was security chief, and you were a scientist. We know each other.”

  Jayna glanced at Quinn through her snarled hair.

  Quinn looked around the hole. “I’m going to get you out of here. Then you’ll be free.”

  Jayna tilted her head. “Free?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sunlight.”

  Quinn bit her lip and mentally called Gaarl every nasty name she could think of. “Yes, I promise.” She held out a hand. “We’ll get out of here together.”

  Jayna inched closer. She paused, staring at Quinn’s hand. Then she lifted her own. Her nails were broken and dirty. Her fingers brushed over Quinn’s palm, before Jayna yanked her hand back.

  Quinn rose. “We need to find a way to get out of here.”

  “No way out.” Jayna’s voice sounded rusty.

  Circling the space, Quinn ran her hands over the rock walls. She was hoping for a door, a ladder, hell, she’d take a crack she could climb.

  Nothing. Her shoulders drooped. There were no exits, no tunnels, no trapdoors.

  She lifted her head, looking up the vertical rock walls. She couldn’t see any way to climb out, either. Stepping back, her boots hit a container. From the smell, she realized that was what Jayna had been using for a bathroom.

  Gaarl was a fucking dead man.

  Quinn kept circling the hole, and heard something crunch under her feet. She aimed her light down. Bones. They’d been gnawed on.

  “The monster…he throws food,” Jayna whispered.

  “Once we get out, we’re going to a city. There, you’ll have a lovely room, a bed, real food.”

  Jayna’s teeth sank into her bottom lip.

  Quinn cupped her hands around her mouth. “Help! Anyone up there?”

  Where was Jax? She pulled in a breath. He should have found her by now. Worry trickled into her veins. What if Gaarl had hurt him? Her stomach rolled.

  Suddenly, she felt a tiny flutter of a touch on her back. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Jayna touching her. Trying to soothe her.

  Quinn forced herself to find some calm and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way out.”

  God, she hoped to hell she wasn’t lying. If the cyborgs killed Gaarl, but couldn’t find her and Jayna, they’d starve to death.

  No, screw that. She’d find a way to climb out.

  Thump.

  The loud noise made Quinn spin.

  Thump.

  Two big bodies landed in the center of the hole, both bending low, hands to the floor.

  Jayna made a terrified sound.

  Quinn saw Mace rise, big and imposing. Jax rose beside him.

  Elation rushed through her. “Jax!” She ran to him and leaped on him. “Where the hell have you been?”

  He threw his arms around her, his hold impossibly tight. “I thought you were dead.” He buried his face in her neck.

  “I’m fine.” She hugged him back, absorbing his warmth.

  “Gaarl said…” Jax just held her tighter. So much emotion pumped from her cyborg.

  “I’m here, I’m alive.” She stroked his hair. “And I found Jayna.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jax breathed Quinn in. He felt the steady beat of her heart in her chest, and it eased something inside him.

  He glanced beyond her, and saw the woman crouched on the ground.

  “It’s okay, Jayna,” Quinn murmured. “They’re friends.”

  The woman didn’t look reassured, and Jax felt a rush of anger at what had been done to her.

  Mace took a step forward, and Jayna backed up against the wall.

  Detaching from Jax, Quinn held out a hand. “This handsome cyborg here is Jax. And that big guy is Mace. While they might look scary, I promise you that they’re here to help us.”

  Jayna’s body vibrated with
tension.

  Her expression filled with sadness, Quinn looked back at Jax. “We need to find a way out. She’ll feel better once we’re out of here.”

  Jax and Mace both looked up.

  “We can’t jump back up,” Jax said. “This hole is too deep.”

  “Where are the others?”

  “We broke into groups to search for you.”

  She nodded. “Okay, well—”

  The ground started to tremble, a rumble of sound that echoed off the walls. Small rocks tumbled down on them.

  Jayna made a frightened noise, and, this time, when Mace moved closer to her, she didn’t shy away from him.

  Jax gripped Quinn’s arm, widening his stance to keep his balance.

  “Jax, what’s happening?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.” He touched his ear. “Magnus? Magnus?” He cursed. “No contact. The remaining traces of dacton cause too much interference.”

  “This has to be Gaarl’s doing,” Quinn muttered.

  “Gaarl is dead.”

  Her eyebrow rose. “Good. Hear that, Jayna?”

  “Unfortunately, the man had a talent for creating robot guards and booby-traps.” And he’d clearly left something for them.

  Without warning, the far wall of the hole burst outward.

  Rock and dirt flew everywhere. Jayna screamed, and Mace snatched her off the ground. Silver flowed over his body and he curled around her.

  Jax dived on Quinn, pressing her flat. Chunks of rock slammed into his back.

  When he lifted his head, he saw Mace—now completely covered in metallic skin—covering a struggling, screaming Jayna. Then a robotic snort filled the air.

  Swiveling, Jax watched a huge robot beast with four long arms lumber through the hole in the wall. It was made out of scrap metal parts that were overlapped together.

  Drak.

  “What the hell is that?” Quinn breathed. “It looks like a four-armed, robot gorilla.”

  “One of Gaarl’s creations.”

  The robot roared, and swung two of its powerful arms. It hit the shattered wall, and more rocks rained down.

  Time to move. Jax bounded up, pulling Quinn with him. As they backed up, he got a glimpse beyond the creature of the hole through which it’d come.

  “There’s a room behind it.” Lights glowed from within. He saw benches and equipment. Realization. “It’s Gaarl’s workshop.”

  The robot roared again. It had a squat head with a slash of a mouth, a horizontal strip of light that blinked rhythmically where eyes should be, and a domed head.

  “Mace, take Jayna and get into the workshop,” Jax ordered. “I’ll create a distraction so you can get past the beast.”

  Mace rose, holding Jayna against his chest. Surprisingly, the woman wasn’t fighting him anymore.

  As Quinn took in Mace’s silver skin, her eyes widened.

  Jax lit up his arm, feeling the energy flowing through his tattoo. “Quinn, stay back.”

  Her response was a snort.

  “Quinn—”

  “I’ll use my head, cyborg, and if I can help, I will.”

  This woman…so brave and magnificent. She moved up and smacked a kiss against his lips.

  “Go. Be badass, and then let’s get home.”

  He turned, then raced toward the robot beast. Its head turned, its blinking gaze locking on him.

  Jax didn’t jump. Instead, he dropped to the ground feet first, sliding in under the robot’s legs. He thrust his arm out and touched his electrified hand to one stout leg.

  Electricity arced and sizzled. But as Jax prepared to run, he saw that his attack had no real effect on the machine.

  Behind the creature, he backed up, studying it in greater detail. His gaze narrowed. He realized that the robot wasn’t just made of metal.

  Drak. It had organic parts as well. Flesh and sinew at the joints. Patches of thick, leathery skin. He’d never seen anything like it.

  The beast let out a roar and slammed its arms down, hammering the dirt. The ground shook, and Jax took a step back.

  Clank.

  The beast froze. It shook its head. Clank. It roared again.

  Jax sidestepped and watched Quinn throwing rocks at the beast’s head.

  The beast lifted its giant feet, turning until it spotted her. It lumbered in her direction.

  As it moved, Mace raced past, Jayna’s face buried in his chest. He ran into the workshop.

  “Quinn.” Jax waved an arm at her.

  She nodded. As the beast came at her, she ran. The robot took a step to the side, blocking her path. It swung one of its arms, and Jax’s breath lodged in his chest.

  Quinn dropped flat, and the arm swiped over her head.

  Snorting, the robot beast stomped a foot. It came down right beside Quinn.

  Too close. It stomped again, and she rolled.

  This drakking creature was too close to his woman. Jax leaned down and grabbed a large rock that had come from the broken wall. Using all his strength, he hefted it above his head. Then he threw it at the robot’s back.

  The rock smashed into the creature, and it lurched forward.

  “Quinn, move it!”

  She leaped up. Large rocks littered the floor and she jumped onto one. She started hopping from one rock to the next.

  The machine swiveled and roared.

  “Quinn!” She was still too far away.

  The robot swung an arm at her.

  Time slowed down, and Jax charged forward. But even with his speed, he wasn’t close enough.

  The beast’s arm crashed into Quinn, lifting her off her feet. Her body flew sideways, and she slammed into the rock wall.

  No.

  * * *

  Quinn sucked in a breath. Her vision was blurred, and the pain in her torso made her nauseated.

  She struggled to push herself up, and fire burned through her side. Damn, she hoped she hadn’t broken any ribs.

  Blinking, she heard the robot roar again. She watched Jax fighting it. Her cyborg jumped and twisted in the air, his glowing arm bright in the darkness.

  God, he was something.

  Quinn managed to stand. No matter what was broken or bruised, she was going to help him. He was hers.

  Since she’d been abducted, all she’d fought for was survival and to find the rest of her crew. Now, one handsome cyborg had given her something to live for.

  She glanced over at the ragged hole through to the workshop. There had to be weapons in there. Tools, at least.

  She half-jogged, half-hobbled through the hole and to the closest workbench. She snatched a number of things off the bench and shoved them in her pockets.

  Quinn frowned. No explosives anywhere to be seen, unfortunately. Her gaze fell on two short swords, and she smiled. These would do.

  She returned to the hole in the wall, and watched Jax evade the beast for a moment.

  “Jax!” She tossed a sword in his direction.

  He jumped through the air and reached out one arm. His hand wrapped around the hilt of the weapon as he snatched it out of the air.

  When he landed, he shot her a smile with a feral edge.

  She lifted her own sword and rushed into the fight.

  “Aim for its organic parts,” Jax yelled.

  Right. Quinn ducked low. The robot was slamming its arms around wildly. She darted in close and raked her sword across a patch of skin. Then she pulled back, and jammed the sword in. The skin split and sparks flew out.

  Jax was jumping and whirling. He could jump far higher than she could, and was targeting other biological parts on the creature’s upper torso. He kept slashing and cutting, and blood streaked down the robot’s metal abdomen.

  With another bellow, the robot smashed into the wall. Massive rocks rained down like a deadly waterfall.

  Fuck. Quinn saw one boulder coming and dived out of the way. It was the size of a damn car.

  Several giant boulders thudded down near Jax. He was running and dodging
.

  Then a rock smashed into him, knocking him over.

  Her breath caught. Get up. Get up, Jax.

  He’d just started to move, when a giant slab landed on his leg.

  She heard the crunch of metal, saw his face twist. Horrified, she saw the rock had pinned him to the ground.

  “Jax!” Quinn scrambled over a boulder and ran for him.

  Sensing weakness, the creature stomped closer to Jax.

  “Get back,” Jax shouted.

  “No way.” She yanked some small throwing stars she’d taken from the workshop out of her pocket. She tossed them at the robot beast.

  The lethally sharp stars sliced into the robot’s face, hitting the slit of glowing light. It halted, lifting its hands to paw at its head.

  Quinn raced to Jax. Oh, God, his gorgeous cybernetic leg was crushed flat under the giant rock. She gripped the rock and tried to heave it off his leg.

  “Get out of here. Find the others.”

  “No.” Dammit, the rock was way too heavy for her. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Please, Quinn.”

  She cupped his face. “No. You’re mine and I can’t leave you. Don’t ask me to.” She couldn’t lose anyone else, and especially not him.

  His eyes flickered. “Okay.”

  Not willing to give up, she heaved on the rock again. Agony ripped through her ribs and she felt her muscles straining, her veins bulging.

  “Watch out, Quinn!”

  Their robot friend stomped closer, its arms swinging again.

  Shit. Quinn threw herself to the side and hit the wall. The pain that rocked her made her bite her lip.

  The robot whirled, the light blinking on its face.

  Then she had an idea.

  She moved to Jax. “Can you throw me into the air?”

  Jax’s brow creased. She knew he wanted to argue and tell her to leave, but finally he nodded. Trust was written in his expression.

  He trusted her. She smiled, and when he held out his arms, she stepped closer. He gripped her hip and thigh.

  “I won’t let you die here,” she said. “In case you missed it, you’re mine, cyborg.”

  He gave her a smile, then using all his cyborg strength, he threw her upward.