Cace!
CHAPTER 33
A DEEP HUM GAINING IN pitch preceded the return of the unit to full power. Lights blinked on, flickered a couple of times, and then burned steady and bright. Aven squeezed through the opening doors and scanned the length of the dim, empty corridor, right to left.
Erynn was gone.
Kerk joined Aven. “Is Erynn here?”
“No,” Aven growled. “Kerk, contact teams four, five, and six. Get a team on each of the next three levels down. Search for Erynn and make sure everyone on those levels is all right.”
Kerk nodded and tapped behind his ear, speaking as he took off at a trot.
Aven turned and ran for the stairs. He contacted Tiar. “Tiar. You okay?”
Tiar responded, his voice clear, as if he stood in the same room as Aven. “It was just a power failure. The generators took over. Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, I’ve got bad news. I lost Erynn. I’m sure she’s headed up to the Medical Unit. I’ll meet you and Cale there.”
“We’re on our way.”
The connection clicked off and Aven stepped up his pace.
Aven burst into the Medical Unit. Bright lighting made Aven squint after the dim corridors. The contrast of Aven in his black tunic, quilted pants, fingerless gloves, and boots stood out against the clean white surroundings. He approached the protesting guard stationed at the front desk.
“Wait! No weapons allowed! Sir. Stop. Now!” The guard fumbled from his seat, bumping the edge of the desk as he came around.
Without a break in his stride, Aven glared and pointed at the guard, effectively ending his admonishments.
Nev stood at the far end of the hall, talking with his staff. The Medical Unit had its own emergency generator and probably experienced little more than a flicker in their service. Word gets around fast though and the loss of power throughout the base would be big news.
Aven strode toward Nev. The sharp report of his boot heels on smooth stone shattered the peaceful calm. “Where’s Erynn?” he shouted when halfway there.
All eyes locked on Aven.
“Erynn?” Nev smiled and took a few short, shambling steps toward Aven. “Erynn’s back? Is she all right?” Nev stopped and frowned. “Is Erynn injured?”
Aven charged forward. He grabbed the front of Nev’s jumpsuit with both hands. Aven shoved, immobilizing Nev against the wall under his powerful grip.
Nev’s head hit the stone with a solid thud, his arms flying up, palms open and forward. “What’s this about? Why are you doing this to me?”
The few others in the hall stepped back in shock. Unspoken protests died in their open mouths.
No one interfered with a physically powerful, angry, and determined Anbas.
Aven growled and whispered, “No more games, Nev—or would you prefer Dhoran?”
The slightest hint of a smile turned Nev’s lips before he contained the expression, turning it to one of incredulity. “I…I…What? I don’t understand.” He responded to this aggression in a soft cowering voice.
Aven pressed his weight into Nev. “Cut the act. I know who and what you are.”
Cale and Tiar rushed past the dazed guard and into the hall to stand behind Aven.
“Byan, I have some questions for you.” Cale’s stilted but even tone relayed his serious intent.
Maire exited a patient’s room, securing the door behind her. She hurried forward, took one look at Nev held against the cold white stone, and turned to Cale. Her eyes brimmed, and a single tear broke free, rolling down her cheek. “I should have…I’ve known for some time now that something was off and I didn’t say anything. I didn’t think anyone would believe me.”
Aven’s teeth ground with an audible grating. He adjusted his two-handed grip on Nev’s pale blue jumpsuit, and the fabric tore along the shoulder seam.
Red-gold scales appeared through the rip, shining in the bright overhead lights. A low throaty growl issued from deep in the Nev/Dhoran-thing’s chest. His smile returned, this time fully exposing the long, sharp incisors. Dhoran blinked slowly. When his eyes opened, a vertical pupil centered in a gold-green iris replaced Nev’s normal, human blue ones.
Aven released his right-hand grip and made a powerful fist. He punched Dhoran directly in the face with a lightening-quick reaction and all the force he could muster. Dhoran never saw it coming.
Dhoran’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped in a heap to the clean white floor.
Aven callously flipped Dhoran to his stomach and bound his wrists behind his back with the leather straps carried inside his belt. He then secured Dhoran’s ankles.
Tiar tapped behind his ear. “Security. Get down to the Medical Unit.” As an after thought, he added, “Send two teams in full armor, weapons ready.”
Cale turned to Maire. “Get a sedative, and make it powerful. We’ll need to keep Dhoran under our control.”
Maire’s eyes widened. “Dhoran? But if…Where’s Byan Nev?” She glanced down at the unconscious form on the floor.
Aven stood up after checking his work and spun on Maire. “Go. I don’t know how long that punch will keep him down.”
She turned and dashed to an open door halfway up the hall.
The small group at the end of the corridor scattered, disappearing into any handy prospect that offered safety.
Two security teams clad in full body armor arrived on the run, and the Medical Unit guard stood aside.
Maire reappeared holding a long silver tube and knelt next to Dhoran.
Dhoran’s eyelids fluttered, and a low throaty rumble of a laugh pushed from his lips. “Maire, have I told you how much I appreciate you?” His tone was deep, guttural, and slow, the words slurred.
She pressed the tube against Dhoran’s neck, and a quiet hiss followed.
Any trace of humor slipped from Dhoran’s arrogant expression. He stared at Maire with those cold gold-green eyes. “How did you know?”
Her jaw tensed, the muscle bunching. “Nev is a strong, confident man. Your pathetic portrayal of him as weak and timid was dead wrong.”
Dhoran’s eyes closed and he chuckled thinly. “You don’t know power. Wait until you experience true strength. When…I…claim…Arranon…” His words trailed off, and his head lolled to one side.
Cale’s orders to the security teams rang through the silent space. “Take him to a monitored holding cell. I want five guards physically present, watching him at all times, as well as the Vid Cams.” He turned to Maire. “Make sure he’s constantly sedated.”
Maire nodded and motioned to a male tech peeking around the doorframe from the supply room. “Quick, get a gurney.”
With Dhoran strapped down on the thin mattress, Aven led the way. The gurney rolled across the smooth stone tucked between the two security teams, their weapons drawn. Aven’s search for Erynn could continue after Dhoran was in a cell and locked in securely. After all, she was somewhere on the base.
The lack of contact did not encourage Jaer. In fact, he knew silence from Aven, Tiar, and Cale was a bad sign. Erynn had done it again. She was off on her own, attempting Cace’s rescue. The transports weren’t due until sometime after dawn. Jaer wasn’t going to wait that long. It was time to go.
He changed from his black tunic and quilted pants back into the heavy white harsh-weather gear. Jaer left the room he and Erynn shared for a too-brief few huairs and hurried down the stairs.
Sean sat before the center fireplace, talking with several locals. Wilo was among them.
Wilo saw Jaer and stood up, coming from the far side of the massive round hearth. “What are you doing?”
“Jaer, you aren’t going out in this storm?” Sean had followed Wilo to where Jaer stood pulling on thick gloves.
“Erynn has gone off on her own to rescue Cace. I have to go back to the base, now.” Jaer stepped toward the inner doors.
Sean grabbed Jaer’s arm, stopping him. “Jaer, how can you know this? There’s been no word—”
Sean released his grasp on Jaer’s coat sleeve. “Jaer, wait till morning. Get back to Erynn safely. You won’t be any use to her if you’re dead.”
Wilo pulled at Sean’s arm, her gaze on Jaer. “Be careful, Jaer.”
Jaer continued to glare at Sean, and then he turned to Wilo and nodded.
A blast of icy air entered as Jaer left.
Erynn studied her surroundings. She did a quick count of the Shifters in the distance. “Fifty, maybe more. Too many.” She sighed. There was a chance she could get to within ten meters of Cace by a circuitous route through the rock formations scattered between her position and the fires, without being noticed. “Then what? Guess I’ll worry about that when and if I get that far.” She stepped from the shadows, dashed across a short open space, and slipped behind a tall column of jagged stone. No shouts of alarm rang out from the Shifters. “So far, so good.” Erynn peeked around the edge of rough stone. She crouched and ran again, squatting next to a short round boulder.
Erynn continued from column to boulder to shadow until all forms of cover lay behind her. Flames danced before her in an oblong ring of fifteen fiery pits. Heat surrounded her. Sweat beaded on her forehead and ran into her eyes. Her vision blurred. She wiped at the stinging liquid. From a kneeling position, Erynn peered across a mere ten meters to where Cace lay. It might as well have been a thousand.
She had a staser, but there were too many Shifters. They could kill Cace before she had a chance to fire on all of them. She glanced up at the ceiling of uneven dark rock. Aleroms clung to jagged outcroppings.
Tine’s explanation re-played in her memory. “They’re like the aleuns of the surface, except aleroms have teeth.”
“Teeth. Of course they do,” she whispered, still gazing up at the aleroms. Motion from inside the fire ring pulled her attention from the ceiling.
Cace rolled from his side to his back and wrapped his arms around his middle. Pain etched his bloody, swollen face. His fear swelled like a crashing wave over Erynn.
Once again, her abilities were useless. If she slowed time, the Shifters would catch her and Cace before they cleared the ring. She had no idea how badly he was injured—if he could walk or even stand on his own. She considered trying to summon the static charge to knock them all off their feet and send them adequately shocked and running. But Cace was in the way. He would also suffer any assault she threw at the Shifters.
A Shifter had noticed Cace’s movements and went over to investigate. The vile creature reached his thin, oily black arm down and clutched Cace’s jacket. Fingers tightened, pulled, and yanked Cace to a sitting position. The Shifter bent forward, his face centimeters from Cace’s, and hissed. “Did you watch the plates burn? They made a good flame. Master is pleased.” The crackle and pop of multiple fires punctuated the Shifter’s guttural mocking.
Cace squeezed his eyes shut, averting his face.
Erynn recalled their stink, the rotting flesh stench that accompanied Shifters. “Let him go,” she whispered between gritted teeth.
The Shifter drew back. He had an audience. Four others ambled over, at first watching. Taunts flew at Cace, followed by hissing and harsh rasping laughter. They began to walk around Cace and the Shifter holding him.
One circling Shifter swooped in, calling into Cace’s ear, “Frail human. You break too easily.” It backed away hissing and chortling.
Cace cringed and pushed at the dark oily fingers clutching his coat.
The Shifter grabbed Cace’s arm, lifted, and bit down. Cace screamed as a deep-red stain grew on his white coat sleeve.
Another Shifter poked Cace’s swollen cheek, eliciting a heartbreaking cry. “We have Master’s permission to play, as long as we don’t kill. Master wants that pleasure for himself.”
The Shifter’s slow guttural tones sent a chill up Erynn’s spine.
When Cace put his hands up to protect his face, they poked at his ribs and abdomen.
Cace screamed in pain at a kick delivered to his chest and covered his ribs with his arms, leaving his face unguarded.
A circling Shifter grabbed Cace’s hair and yanked, letting the plucked clump fall to the floor.
The Shifter jerked and shook Cace. His head snapped from side to side until the tormenter tired of the sport and shoved, slamming Cace down.
Cace’s head bounced on the hard stone surface with a solid thud, and he cried out in pain.
Their amusement at this cruel game tore at Erynn’s already fragile hold on her anger. Her rage built, ready to erupt.
The fire closest to her flared, rising high into the dark. It burned a cold, ice-blue.
Erynn ducked back behind the stone. She had seen this before while in this realm. Once was after she tossed a bloody sliver of rock she pulled from her hand into the flames. The other time was when she’d asked for help finding her way to the portal of fire.
Is it possible?
She craned her neck around the edge of rock.
The five Shifters tormenting Cace scuttled back and joined their numerous comrades, leaving him crying and alone inside the inner ring of fire. They stared at the blue flame climbing higher, reaching the rough rock ceiling.
Aleroms flew, screeching their displeasure at being disturbed, and disappeared into the dark shadows of the cavern beyond the fires.
Cace rolled toward the blue flame and sat up. He rocked back and forth, rubbing at the back of his head, his other arm wrapped around his ribs.
Good—he’s conscious.
Erynn concentrated on a fire at the opposite side of the ring, hoping to get one more to burn the intense blue. If she could scare the Shifters long enough to grab Cace and run for the alcove, she might get him and herself back to the base. “Shifters are easily spooked.”
Instead of one fire, the entire side, top, and bottom of the oblong ring, ten pits in all, burst into furious ice-blue flames. The inferno rose into the cavern’s heights. Their sides joined so that no space remained. An icy wind swirled and eddied through the cavern’s depth. The fires between her and Cace receded, their orange flames dwindling.
Shifters screeched and hissed from behind the frosty-blue wall.
“Now!” Erynn growled. She dashed to the center of the ring, invisible to the Shifters beyond the roaring cold-blue fires. She reached Cace, who was staring at the wall of eerie flames, and touched his shoulder. “Cace. Can you walk?”
Cace jumped at her touch. “Erynn? Oh, Erynn. I knew you’d come for me. Where’s Jaer? And Aven?” Tears streamed down his cheeks, mixing with fresh blood. His left eye was a dark blue and was nearly swollen shut. A gash above his right dripped a steady rivulet of red down his purpling cheek. He pushed off the ground with scraped, bleeding fingers and stood on trembling legs, hugging his arms to his chest. “Hurts to breathe.”
Erynn held his upper arms and supported him. “It’s just me. I’ll explain later. I know it hurts, but can you walk? I’ll help you.”
“Yeah. I think so.” He took a shaky step, then another, like a baby just learning to walk.
This was going too slow. The energy she had to expend keeping the cold-fires burning drained her physically. “Cace, you’ve got to move. Dig deep. Push. We’ll make it home, but you gotta try.”
Home. Jaer.
Cace nodded. “Let’s go.” He was shuffling, gaining some speed, but he needed to go faster.
Erynn took Cace’s left arm and draped it over her shoulder. He moaned, his breath escaping between clenched teeth. With her right arm, she supported Cace at his waist. “Lean on me. Hurry, Cace.”
“Where, Erynn? I can’t see a way out. It’s just dark open cavern. Forever.”
There were five meters, maybe six, to the fissure and escape. “To the back…wall. There’s a narrow…crevice that will take us…to the lowest level of…the base. We can…call for help. You won’t…have to go any farth
er.” Erynn was half dragging and half carrying Cace. Her chest ached, and her lungs sucked in stagnant smoky air. In spite of the chill wind, sweat trickled along her sides and down her back.
Cace gazed ahead toward the wall. “I can’t, Erynn. It’s too far. The end of this cavern must be…milres away. Just leave me.” He stumbled and fell. Erynn was jerked down with him. He grimaced and cried out in agony.
Erynn pushed to her knees, breathing hard. “It’s not really that far…Trust me…Cace…You’re in…another reality. Things aren’t…what they seem.”
A chorused scream of rage echoed through the cavern. The Shifters knew Cace was no longer their captive. He had escaped.
Erynn had a moment of feeling sorry for the wretched creatures. Like Grame, they chose to follow Dhoran and would pay the consequences.
Dhoran will be disappointed with their lack of attention. Will they receive the same fate as Grame?
Erynn glanced back.
The blue flames on the far side of the oblong circle sputtered and died, leaving the usual orange fires. The cold wind faded to a slight breeze and disappeared. Shifters scrambled about, arms flailing, obviously trying to decide what to do or who was to blame. Their decision made, the Shifters hunched their disproportioned bodies and loped toward Erynn and Cace.
Time was running out. Erynn stood up on quavering legs and pulled at Cace’s arm. “You can…do this. I’ve seen…the man you will…become. You have…to run, Cace…now.”
Cace stared at her, his brown eyes wide with wonder. He nodded, pushing himself up off the ground, and together they staggered toward the wall.
The irregular slapping footfalls of Shifters pursued them. Erynn smelled their fetid breath. She sensed their heat on the back of her neck. Her strength ebbed. Cace’s weight pulled at her, sapping her energy. Her lungs ached. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest.
The visions of the curly, dark-haired baby boy with blue eyes and of Cace with a family of his own, played in her mind. The Anim Blath wouldn’t have shown me those things if they weren’t meant to be.
Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice Page 29