“How did you learn that?” I asked.
“That information was not part of our deal,” he said. “Suffice it to say, I have that information on good authority.”
Vink looked at me, the skepticism on his face plain as day. Varnu sighed audibly.
“As I said before, I am not asking you to release me until you have the information checked out and confirmed,” he said. “Once you do, I require my assets and a shuttle – as agreed upon.”
I hated the man, but it was a deal I could live with. Especially if it meant getting Riley back where she belonged – with me.
I stood and Vink followed suit. “We will let you know once we have your information confirmed.”
“I look forward to it,” he replied as he leaned back in his seat. “And I look even more forward to my release.”
“We will see,” I said as we turned and left the room.
Chapter Ten
We were fortunate – Optorio's twin moons were obscured by a thick cloud cover. The night was dark and murky, making it much easier to move about unobserved. Vink led the column of twelve Guardsmen through the inky darkness toward Varnu’s estate.
Vink motioned for us to activate our starlight goggles as we approached the house, making the darkness as bright as day.
“I see no guards,” he whispered into his comm unit.
“I don't know that they have any,” I replied. “After their assets were seized, the family was forced to scale down. I don't think they can afford a private army anymore.”
“All the better for us.”
I nodded. A large decorative gate of iron surrounded the estate. It was decorative and yet, served a purpose – it kept people out. The bars of the fence had been electrified and would likely hurt you pretty bad if you touched them.
“It's quiet,” Vink said. “I don't like how quiet it is.”
“Maybe we are catching a break,” I replied. “After everything we have endured, it might be nice.”
“Yeah, I'm not counting on that.”
He pulled a small black box from his belt and punched in a couple of keys. “The electrified fence has been neutralized,” he said. “Let's proceed. Single file through the gates. Stay sharp.”
We approached the house and one of the men moved ahead of the column and quickly pulled open the gate. Vink was first through and I was second. The rest of our squad followed behind. Things were going smoothly. Easily. Which, as much as I tried to deny it, sent a wave of unease through me.
And of course, right on cue, that was when chaos erupted.
Lights attached to the roof of the estate flared to life. They were as bright as the afternoon sun – which made it highly incompatible with our starlight goggles. The bright lights flared into our goggles, temporarily blinding us all – not to mention sending bolts of pain shooting through our eyes and our heads.
The men grunted in pain and I watched as everybody tore the goggles from their heads and threw them to the ground. They groaned as their eyes adjusted to the light. But as they stood there, trying to orient themselves, I watched an sonic fence rise up from the ground and pen them all in. It took a moment for it to register, but they quickly realized they'd been trapped. They were stuck in the middle of the sonic fence with no way out. With no way to help me.
“Vink,” I called.
He had already seen what happened and was scanning the area surrounding us. “His father tipped him off,” he snarled. “Told him we were coming.”
“Actually, he did not,” came a voice from the shadows on the porch of the house.
A man stepped into the light – Veshna. And he was holding Riley by the arm, a curved knife held to her throat. She looked at me and immediately burst into tears. Veshna shook her roughly but pulled her tighter against his body.
“Drop your weapons,” he called.
I looked over at Vink who looked enraged. But he threw his weapon to the ground in disgust. With an angry sigh, I followed suit. I looked back at our squad, still penned in by the sonic fence. They all looked frustrated. Angry. But they could do nothing. They were trapped.
And though no fence held me in place, I too, was trapped. I was as impotent to help Riley in that moment as our squad was.
“How did you know we were coming if not for your father?” I asked.
Veshna laughed. “I have many friends in many places,” he said. “I learned that you visited him at the prison today. It doesn't take a genius to put that puzzle together.”
“Let her go,” I said. “She has nothing to do with any of this.”
“Oh, I disagree,” he replied. “She is my leverage.”
Vink growled and looked over at me. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't risk Riley's life by doing something stupid. I had to let this play out.
“What is it you want, Veshna?” I asked.
“Not very much, really,” he replied. “I want you to step down and vacate the throne.”
“What, you think you should be on it?” Vink scoffed.
Veshna shook his head. “No, not me. I won't be taking the throne.”
“Then who?” I asked.
“It's not your concern,” he snapped. “I am going to do you a kindness and allow you to leave Optorio – with your human whore – if you vow to never return. All you need to do is abdicate. In public.”
“Oh, is that all?” Vink asked. “Not asking for much, are you?”
“It's either that, or we prolong this bloody conflict between us,” he said. “And you never see your precious human again. At least, not alive.”
“Don't you dare do it, Jendrish,” Riley called. “Don't you even think about it.”
“I just have this sneaking suspicion,” I said, “that if I agree to your demands, my shuttle will have some sort of accident before I ever clear the atmosphere.”
A small smile touched Veshna's lips. It was as if he couldn't help himself. It was as if he thought this was his crowning moment of glory and he needed to gloat about it.
“I suppose this leaves us at a bit of a stalemate, does it not?” I asked. “I'm not going up in a shuttle just to have you shoot us down.”
“And I can't leave you alive,” he replied.
“Then what are we going to do about this?” I asked. “You kill her, I'm going to kill you. And if you kill me, Vink is going to kill you. Nobody is going to win in any scenario here, Veshna. So what are you going to do?”
“There is one way to settle this,” Vink said.
I looked over at him and cocked my head. “What are you talking about?”
“It's one of the old ways,” he said. “A practice that hasn't been used in a long, long time. But one that Optorions of old used to settle disputes.”
“And what is that practice?” Veshna asked.
“Trial by combat,” Vink replied.
I nodded. “One on one. No interference from anybody. Only one survives,” I said. “It certainly would clear up all of the lingering issues here.”
Veshna was tall and had some length on me, but I believed that my training as a Guardsman would negate that advantage. A one on one fight might actually be the best solution to our problem.
“No, Jendrish,” Riley yelled. “You can't.”
“What do you say, Veshna,” I called. “Are you willing to fight me man to man?”
A look of anger crossed his face. “Why would I not be? Do you think I'm afraid of you?”
I gave him a soft laugh. “I think you've been afraid of a lot of people for a long time.”
“Do not speak as if you know me,” he spat. “You do not.”
He was growing angrier by the moment – which was something that worked to my advantage. I needed him to not just keep his focus on me, but to also direct all of that anger my way as well. I wanted him good and mad. I wanted him to fight me.
“I don't need to know you to know the type of man you are,” I said.
“He's not going to fight you,” Vink said. “Too much of a coward.”
With a growl, Veshna pushed Riley to the ground and strode down the steps. He stalked across the compound until he was standing almost nose to nose with me. He was angry. Enraged. Which was good. Very good.
“Trial by combat,” he sneered. “Only one will survive this.”
I nodded. “Only one. You kill me, the throne is yours.”
I stole a quick glance over at Vink who looked at me with a small measure of concern. I was putting myself in harm's way and he did not like it. But under the circumstances, there really was no choice. He unsheathed the sword on his hip and took a step back. I took the sword from the sheath on my back and stood before him, a small burst of excitement flowing through me.
“Jendrish please,” Riley said. “Don't do this.”
Vink had moved over and had his arm around her shoulders, guiding her back toward the fence. She was clear of the fighting and was going to be kept safe.
“Free my men,” I said.
“And let them kill me?” he asked. “I think not.”
“Put them outside the gates and put the electrical field back up,” I said. “I will order them to stay outside no matter what happens. They will not harm you. You have my word.”
He looked at me a long moment and then finally nodded. “Fine.”
“Vink” I called over my shoulder without taking my eyes off of Veshna. “Get everybody out on the other side of that fence. And do not come in here no matter what happens. Do you understand?”
There was a long pause before Vink finally answered me. “Understood.”
“Jendrish,” Riley called out. “Don't do this.”
I shut it out and focused on the task at hand. I had to kill Veshna or be killed myself. As I readied myself, movement on the porch drew my attention. Out of the shadows stepped a large, brawny man with a look of pure contempt on his face.
“I said no interference,” I replied. “I controlled mine, now you control yours.”
Veshna looked back over his shoulder and nodded. “No interference Kalmor,” he said. “No matter what happens.”
The big man nodded and remained standing where he was.
“I don't know about you,” Veshna said. “But I'm getting a little bit of an excited rush here.”
I gave him a small, half-smile. “That makes two of us.”
“Are you ready?” Veshna asked.
I nodded. “I'm ready.”
Without warning, Veshna came running in, bringing his sword down in murderous arc. I got my own sword up just in time to deflect that blow. Steel clashed against steel and I felt the vibration all the way up my arms. Veshna, though tall and lanky, apparently had some power in his arms.
With the sound of our swords ringing together still echoing out into the night, I lashed out with my foot and caught him in a midsection. I had driven the air from his lungs and he doubled over, gasping. I quickly moved to press my advantage, bringing my own sword down, hoping it would be one killing blow.
But I had no such luck. He sidestepped my slice and came tearing back in, slashing and stabbing. I was in a frenzy, parrying blows from every angle possible. Veshna was an accomplished swordsman and he was a lot stronger than he looked. I had my hands full, to say the least.
Veshna sliced and I wasn't fast enough. The blade of his sword sliced into my midsection, drawing a pained grunt from me. I was vaguely aware of the sound of Riley shrieking – it sounded like she was light years away though.
I felt the blood flowing from the wound, making my stomach area slick with it. I winced as I moved. It wasn't a particularly deep cut, but it hurt. He came at me again and I was able to deflect the blows – but just barely.
I thrust the tip of my sword and it bit into his upper arm fairly deep. His blood flowed and he grunted in pain, but lashed out with that curved knife that seemed to have magically appeared in his hand. The blade of that curved knife cut across my forearm, laying it open. I took a step back as he advanced and then disaster struck.
I felt something under my foot a split second before my ankle turned and I went down on my back. Hard. The air was driven from my lungs as I hit the hard packed earth beneath me. As I looked up at the stars overhead, I realized that I was done. That I had lost the fight and was about to die. I didn't like it, but as a soldier, I'd made my peace with death a long time ago. My biggest regret was not being able to tell Riley I loved her one last time.
Veshna entered my field of vision. He was looking down at me with a cruel smile upon his lips. This was it. I was about to die.
“I can't begin to tell you how satisfying this is for me,” he said. “I am going to savor every last second of your life. And I'll spend eternity thrilled with the knowledge that my will won out”
I heard Riley and Vink shouting for me. They were both nearly hysterical. I did my best to shut the noise out.
“Time to die,” Veshna spat. “Your Majesty.
I watched as he raised his sword over his head, intending to bring it down point first into my body. But as I lay there watching, something burst from his chest. A spray of blood rained down on me and Veshna's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.
He looked down at the blade of the sword that was protruding from his chest and then at me, his mouth forming a perfect “0”. and then the blade was yanked free and Veshna's body fell to the ground. Limp. Lifeless. His eyes wide open but staring at nothing, fixed in the permanent glaze of death.
The man who'd been standing on the porch – Varnu’s man – stood there with his sword in his hand. He looked at me, his expression was one that said he did what he had to do – but he wasn't even remotely close to being happy about it.
The man reached down, and helped me up. I winced in pain at the wounds on my arm and midsection. I looked at the man and shook my head.
“Why did you do it?”
“Let's just say, I did not share Veshna's vision of the world,” he said. “I have a woman. She's from Praxias Four. And according to Veshna, she should probably be killed. Wasn't worthy of life. So I've been feeding his father information for a long while, hoping that this day would eventually come.”
“And here we are,” I said.
He nodded. “And here we are,” he replied. “Now get out of here. Go and build a better society.”
I did as I was told and got out of there. Now that Veshna was gone and the rebellion was over, we had a world to build.
Chapter Eleven
Riley
We sat on the balcony off our bedchamber, looking out over the red waters of the sea. Together, with the man I loved, we sat there, holding one another and listening to the gentle waves rolling in to the shore. I'd never grow tired of this view. It was so different and so much more amazing than anything I'd experienced before. It was relaxing – which was what we needed after everything we'd been through.
“I'm sorry,” he said softly, his face nuzzled against the crook of my neck as we lounged on a hammock together. “I never should have sent you away.”
I was still a little hurt by him sending me away like he had. But considering the fact that he'd saved my life – again -- I was working on getting over that.
Jendrish took in a deep breath, as if he was breathing me in. My hair fell over his face, hiding him from view, so I pushed it aside, eager to look at him. That was another view I'd never grow tired of, his beauty was something of legend, and he was mine. We were together. He loved me. And I loved him.
Jendrish continued. “I sent you away because I was scared for your well-being, Riley. None of this should have happened, but I did it to keep you safe. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something had happened to you.”
My body tensed up and I gritted my teeth. I knew that he'd wanted to keep me safe. But he had no right to make that decision for me.
“It was wrong, Jendrish. I'm a grown woman. And whether you realize it or not, I have a right to make my own decisions – and you took that away from me. Can you see why I'm pissed?”
H
e nodded. “It wasn't the right choice,” he said. “I see it now. I just didn't – I'm just not used to this. As a soldier, things were different. I didn't have so many things to consider or deal with – such as the feelings of those I care about. I only wanted to protect you.”
“But do you know why it wasn't the right choice?” I pressed on. “Not just because I got kidnapped -- but because it wasn't your choice to make.”
Jendrish didn't say anything, which caused me to pull away from him. I sat upright and tried to be distant from him – or as distant as I could be while still sharing a hammock with him. I was on the verge of getting up when he grabbed my hand in his and kissed the palm lightly.
“I understand that now,” he said. “It's just – I not only wanted to protect you, but I was afraid of you seeing that animalistic, savage side of me that war brings out. I didn't want you to judge me harshly because I was – a savage. You've never seen that side of me before, and I feared – ”
“Feared what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Feared that you wouldn't love me anymore if you saw what I was capable of doing.”
“Oh, so it wasn't just for my safety then, huh?”
I put my feet down on the ground, climbing free from the hammock. Jendrish followed as I paced back and forth across the balcony.
“I'm sorry, Riley.”
“You keep saying that, but I don't know if you know why you should be sorry,” I said. “Do you realize every man I've ever been with has made me feel like I'm just a stupid girl, incapable of making my own decisions? I thought you were different, Jendrish. I thought you respected me, knew I was smart and capable. And I thought you knew better than to think our feelings for one another were so shallow that I could stop caring for you that easily?”
The light in his eyes were gone. I could see shame all over his face as he literally begged me for forgiveness. I was mad – and rightfully so. But I couldn't deny that seeing him in so much pain killed me. It hurt me on a deep, spiritual level. I never wanted to be the cause of pain for him.
And so, I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and staring deep into those eyes. I kissed him – just a chaste peck to remind him that even though I was mad at him, I still cared for him.
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