Grai's Game (First Wave)

by Mikayla Lane

  The warships were sleek and fast, outmaneuvering the Relian ships easily and keeping them far away from the Valendran fleet. The only thing worrying him was the number of ships heading their way. They were badly outnumbered by at least six to one, and he knew Grai’s ships could not do it alone.

  “Scaden, send out the fighters! DO NOT let them shoot at the warships!” Ivint ordered through the comm, hoping that adding some of their own fighting force would end the battle quicker.

  “Damn we’re glad you said that! We’ve been waiting for that order. Go, go, go!” Ivint heard Scaden order before he saw more than twenty Valendran small fighter craft pour out of the Adaria and begin engaging the oncoming ships.

  Ivint almost smiled to himself when he realized his son had the ships and captains on standby, expecting him to order their engagement in the battle.

  He noticed that the added ships were making a good dent in the oncoming ships when he saw the screen in front of the warehouse out of the corner of his eye.

  The lens he kept on his head allowed him to see the dark ones that had flooded the area, their huge dark shapes towering over Grai, Balduen and the Tezarian’s.

  Arrows flew through the air as if by silent command, and since they were beast bonded, the order had probably gone through the Shengari’, Ivint thought.

  He watched as the dark shadows began to drop, the arrows finding their mark. One of the dark shadows slid to the ground, clutching the arrow that protruded from what looked to be its upper thigh.

  The glowing light in its eyes began to dim as it pulled the arrow out, it's dark skin rapidly becoming a dark-gray color. The lighter the skin became the more Ivint could see its terrible features. The long claw-like hands tipped with deadly talons; the large gaping mouth filled with what looked like several rows of teeth and a small indentation with holes where a nose should be.

  It wore a ragged piece of cloth over its genital area, its body completely hairless from what he could see as it quickly mummified in front of his eyes. The salt must draw all the fluid out of its body; Ivint thought as he saw the dozens of bodies in the same condition scattered around the dock area of the warehouse.

  Ivint couldn’t help but admire the fighting skill of the Relian leader’s son. He again stood several feet in front of the others, his swords flashing quickly through the air as he cut down the shadows that swarmed around him towards the others.

  His body was covered in what looked to be cuts and slashes from the talons of the dark ones, the blood slowly dripping from some wounds and flowing freely from a few others.

  Looking to the Tezarian’s and Balduen, he noticed that they seemed to be in much better shape than Grai. In fact, it looked more like Grai was the one fighting the hardest. Quickly scanning the scene, Ivint figured out what was wrong.

  “They are targeting Grai! You have to help him!” Ivint ordered through the comm built into the headgear that Risk had electronically tied to the Valendran comm’s.

  True to their nature, Balduen and the Tezarian’s had immediately thought to protect the women hybrids, leaving Grai to stand alone against the brunt of the dark ones swarming towards the warehouse.

  Traze looked up in surprise and fear and realized the High Councilor was right. Grai was surrounded by at least a dozen dark ones while the Tezarian’s and Balduen battled that many between them and the hybrid women.

  Jax and Reven flew out of the warehouse, using the lens, they bypassed the other battles and came to the side of Grai, both pulling their swords as they went.

  Jax could swear she heard Grai sigh in relief when she, and Reven began engaging some of the figures swarming him. His brother Dagog must really want the poor guy dead to sic all the dark ones on him; Jax thought briefly before throwing herself into the battle with a grin.

  *****

  Dare paced near the door of the MedLab trying to ignore Tricia, who was fluffing the pillows and telling a story to her small son.

  “Beware!” Gibly hissed, his fur standing on end.

  Dare and David looked around quickly, searching for whatever had alarmed Gibly. Seeing nothing she was about to ask when the shadow peeled away from the outer wall and flung itself at David.

  A large dark hand smacked his rifle across the room as the other hand raked across the man’s stomach, a ribbon of blood appearing through his shirt and tact vest before he dropped to his knees.

  Maggie screamed when she saw David jerked off of his knees and thrown into the wall, his body crumpling on the floor motionlessly.

  “Get back! Grab as much saline as you can and pour it on the floor around his bed!” Dare screamed at Maggie and Tricia, not bothering to make sure they listened before she turned to face the horrible creature in front of her.

  It lunged, faster than Dare had expected and she barely twisted out of the way of the sharp talons that had gone for her stomach.

  Gibly launched himself onto the creatures back, clawing at the back of its neck in a flurry of claws and fangs trying to keep it away from the women and child.

  “Dare!” Tricia screamed as she slid dozens of scalpels and bags of saline across the floor to her.

  Dare watched the creature closely as she looked to the nearest weapons on the floor. She waited until it began to move to avoid Gibly’s claws before rolling to the right and grabbing the two scalpels that had landed there.

  It stood there, mouth hanging open as it tried to dislodge Gibly and looked between a now armed Dare and the other women. It looked at the saline covered floor in front of the women and obviously decided against it, for the moment, when it threw itself at Dare.

  All the air left Dare’s lungs from the impact of the creature’s weight against her body as she hit the floor. Grabbing the scalpels tightly in her fists she began swinging wildly at the body that was crushing her own. She watched in slow motion as the talon tipped hand descended towards her face when its body jerked violently backwards, its skin turning a sickly gray.

  She was in shock as Maggie helped pull her out from beneath the lessening weight of the drying out body that was on top of her. Dare looked up and saw Tricia standing there, still squeezing the now empty bag of saline that she’d used to douse the dark one and a now soaked and sputtering Gibly with.

  “I need help guys! He’s in bad shape!” Maggie yelled, bringing both Dare and Tricia out of their shock.

  The three women ignored the lifeless body of the dark one and managed to get David to a bed. Working together they tried to save his life. And the lives of the others that were beginning to trickle into the MedLab. Relian and hybrid alike.

  *****

  Scaden felt like doing a human fist bump as he watched him and Koda’s combined forces kick some serious ass. Their ships had sustained no damage, Koda’s ships taking all the hits for them as the Relian had promised that he would.

  The only thing that kept him from that fist bump was the fact that Koda’s ships had sustained and were continuing to sustain heavy damage. Dagog’s lack of updated weapons and ships unnecessary as the sheer numbers managed to inflict the most damage. Yet still they fought on. Not one of the ships asking for help. As if they expected none to be offered or given.

  He felt ashamed for not doing more to help, and looking around the room; some of his crew felt the same way. He looked to his friend and second commander Gracus when he squeezed his shoulder.

  “My friend, although these are very different times, we still respect honor. The honorable thing to do would be to release the rest of the fighters you’ve had on standby from the start and get in there and kick some ass.” Gracus said with a half grin on his face.

  Scaden was surprised at the chorus of agreement that grew in volume around him. Smiling to himself, he gave the order.

  “Everyone launch!”

  “Hell yes!” One of the crew whispered as the area filled with the full fighter force of the Adaria. All two hundred craft that were to be used only for the sake of the ship and its crew.

  Scaden fi
gured his father would understand. He was honor-bound to help defend those who had been willing to sacrifice all for them. Even though Koda’s forces could probably handle it by themselves eventually, he was still technically using them for the Adaria.

  He smiled when the fighters swarmed around Koda’s battered and in some cases, burning ships, offering protection while the rest of them started pushing back the wave of Dagog’s forces.

  Maybe he’d fist bump with Koda later; he thought, curious to learn more about the quiet but competent Relian commander.

  *****

  Ivint watched the cameras in front of the warehouse as Viper took out the last of the dark ones with a sword to the chest before his other arm came down to decapitate it.

  He saw as Grai immediately scanned the battle field doing a quick threat assessment before walking over to his hybrid and Relian forces.

  Scanning one of the women, he immediately sat her down and called over others to help her. Breaking out med packs, they began to treat her wounds right there in the parking lot of the dock area.

  He went through each one of his people determining injuries and relegating them to different treatment areas, effectively turning the parking lot into a triage for his people.

  Those who were uninjured or with only minor injuries, started to gather the desiccated bodies of the dark ones into a pile, while another used the light stones to destroy the remains. Their efficiency was remarkable; Ivint thought.

  It took Dread and Viper only moments to realize what Grai was doing before they joined him in helping those that had fallen to their injuries, ignoring their own.

  Ivint made a quick check of those in the warehouse and the other two dark ones that had gotten in besides the one killed in MedLab by Dare and Tricia, had been killed. All minor injuries had been treated, and the women were taking care of those that his people had pulled in from outside when they had fallen.

  “All med tech’s report to the dock to assist in treatment of the fallen.” Ivint ordered, noting that they must have already been prepared for the order since it only took them moments to appear on the cameras.

  “I plan on going outside and seeing one of these creatures for myself. Maybe you would like to check on your brother?” Ivint offered Traze, seeing his concern for his brother who was still bleeding as he helped others.

  Ivint waited as Traze nodded his head mutely before running towards the door. Ivint pulled it open in time for the boy to lose no stride as he sprinted through it and to the door to the dock.

  He smiled at the boy’s antics and noticed that even Banatar and Risk were not immune to the boy’s charm. The three of them followed at a more sedate pace out to the dock and immediately started helping the wounded.

  Ivint couldn’t help but cringe slightly at the surprised look on the faces of the Relian’s and ex-Relian captives who helped make up Grai’s force when they began to assist in treating their injuries.

  Ivint would talk to Reven about it later, his brain refusing to deal with the information nagging at the back of his mind when other matters were more important right now.

  They were lucky that most of the injuries were not life threatening; and it didn’t take much longer to deal with the majority of the injured.

  Ivint looked up as he finished with another deep cut caused by one of the deadly talons on the dark ones and saw Grai stumble as he stood from helping another one of his men. Still covered in bleeding cuts and wounds, Ivint realized Grai was the only one who had not been treated yet.

  Finishing quickly with the man he was helping, Ivint stood and scanned the parking lot for Grai. Ivint found him bent over another man near one of the roll-up doors and grabbed a med tech that had just finished with a patient, on the way.

  Reven looked up immediately as Ivint passed and saw where he was headed. Grabbing a med tech to finish with his own patient, he followed his friend.

  Grai wiped the mixture of his blood and sweat off of his forehead with the back of his glove before digging into one of the med kits they had brought. It was several moments before he realized that the shadows standing over him were not of the night and moon.

  Instinctively, he moved quickly to the side and came up at a crouch in front of his injured man, weapons drawn and ready. Ivint just grinned at the wicked looking blade that had appeared suddenly in Grai’s hand.

  “Let’s hope you have no more need of that tonight.” Ivint told the startled man with a slight chuckle. Although, he was grateful when he put the knife away. The man’s speed was still somewhat of a shock to him, as was Balduen’s. It had been so long since his people had been beast bonded, that he had forgotten how much faster their reflexes were.

  Ivint nodded to the med tech who immediately began treating the Relian on the ground, along with a few others who had finished with other patients.

  “Come, there is much to discuss.” Ivint held his hand out to Grai, knowing that he had not gotten up from the ground yet because he did not want his men to see him stumble.

  Ivint hoped that it would give the man an excuse to accept his assistance and save his pride in front of his men, even though he had no reason to feel less than heroic.

  His strength and skill had been impressive to watch and his concern for his people, including his hybrids was no longer a doubt for anyone. Ivint could well understand why his hybrids and Relian half-breeds were so loyal to him. He was a good leader, who obviously cared deeply for his people.

  Grai looked at the High Councilor’s hand for a moment before accepting it. He was barely able to hide his surprise at the older man’s strength as he quickly pulled him to his feet, holding his hand for a moment longer than necessary so that Grai could gain his balance.

  When he was steady, Grai let go of his hand and gave him a nod of thanks. Ivint just gave him a small smile and held his arm out for Grai to precede him into the warehouse.

  Once inside, Ivint took the lead as he went directly to the conference room. He was surprised to see the line of people that followed and waited while everyone entered the room, leaving the door open for the rest.

  Traze came in and went directly to his brother, breaking open a new med kit on the table in front of him. Ivint was surprised when Reven went to help him and not surprised when Grai tried to push them away.

  “We can’t discuss anything if you are passed out from blood loss. And I do not wish to deal with a mate’s wrath when she finds out that we did not force you to at least clean yourself before going to see your son.” Ivint told the man sternly, hoping he wouldn’t argue for long.

  Grai just nodded his head and allowed Risk to peel the blood-soaked shirt from his chest. Ivint stared at the Ator-Ma confirming that he was indeed mated, yet another truth he could add to the growing list of truths the man had told.

  It wasn’t the bleeding cuts that held his attention though, it was the scars. There had to be more than twenty across his chest, all in varying lengths and depths. Some were obviously inflicted by a blade of some kind, some burn marks; all were horrific.

  Moving silently behind the man as they continued to work on his abdomen, Ivint could see the expanse of his back as he sat on the edge of the chair and stifled the gasp that came at the sight.

  His chest had looked bad enough, but his back barely resembled a body part. The mass of scars upon scars had mottled and distorted the skin to the point that it looked more like he had suffered terrible burns. Ivint would have assumed that was the cause if he hadn’t noticed the individual slashes. The tell-tale signs of being severely whipped and maybe caned.

  Judging by the damage, he had to have been whipped from a small age long into his adulthood for the scars to have set in such a fashion. It reminded him of the damage done to Jess’s legs. The same kind of torture had been used on Kalai’s own son, and Ivint knew that couldn’t have happened without his approval or at his orders.

  Quickly glancing at Traze, he wondered briefly if the boy had also been subjected to the same kind of abuse. He doubted
it though, Grai didn’t seem the type to allow anything to harm those he cared about and Traze showed none of the deep emotional scars that came with such abuse. It gave Ivint a lot more insight into the puzzle the man represented.

  “Koda?” Grai asked, looking around the room at the screens and seeing his brothers battered and damaged ship.

  “I heard from Scaden; they have successfully repelled the incoming force; the others have fled the quadrant. His ships sustained heavy damage and there were a few casualties. We’ve got engineers and med tech’s helping with the situation. Rest easy for a moment while you get cleaned up.” Ivint assured the young Relian.

  Ivint watched in silence as Traze and Reven tended to the worst of Grai’s injuries. Including a deep slash across his stomach that would have felled a lesser man or at least made him seek treatment immediately.

  This man and his strange brothers puzzled Ivint greatly. Their words were surprising enough, yet their actions were the greatest jolt of all. Ivint wasn’t sure if it was the most elaborate scam yet to get inside their ranks, or if they were truly so different from their sire and his brutal ways. Either way, they earned the right to be heard.

  Even as they tended to the deep wound in his stomach, Ivint noticed the man never flinched. His lack of emotion regarding his own injuries told Ivint’s sharp mind more than the man probably wanted to reveal. He shook his head, trying to clear the sympathy so that he could think more objectively.

  It would do no good to express his pity anyway; the proud and strong man would ignore it. He knew Reven must have drawn the same conclusion when he stopped dabbing gently at the wound with the antiseptic long enough to stare at Ivint with a mixture of grudging respect and sympathy for the man.

  One of his men came into the room with a clean T-shirt and tact shirt, which he immediately began pulling over his head even though they were still working on sealing the wound on his stomach.

  Ivint could understand why; the curious stares of those in the room would put anyone on the edge. Although, he was also curious and had more questions than answers, Grai and his people deserved better than that for the sacrifices they made today. If Grai was telling the truth, it would not serve them to treat an ally so badly. And he needed to speak privately with his own.