Kill the Queen! (Chaos of the Covenant Book 4)

by M. R. Forbes

“Then why did you come to me? Why did you have to ruin my life?”

  “Because I found your evidence. It’s nothing but bad luck on your part, Nel.”

  She lifted her head, looking at him again. “If I vote against the bill, this Thraven will release the recording and ruin me.”

  “You care more about your reputation than your husband?”

  Lorenti was silent. She lowered her eyes.

  “I don’t believe it,” Pahaliah said.

  “Don’t you judge me,” Lorenti said, shifting her gaze. “You don’t even know me.”

  “It’s over, Nel,” Olus said. “If you vote for the bill, the entire galaxy will be at war within a month, and that will only be the beginning. Once the universe is in chaos, Thraven will kill you and everyone on the Council.”

  “You seem so sure.”

  “I’ve seen how he works, and I understand him. Damn it, Nel. I’m asking you to trust me. I’m sorry Bruce got caught in the middle. I would have taken both of you here to talk about this, but I hope it proves to you where the real evil is in this.”

  “It does. Everywhere.” She leaned back on the sofa, fresh tears running from her eyes. “Can you promise to protect me?”

  “No.”

  “Then how do you know I won’t agree with you here and now, and turn on you tomorrow?”

  “I don’t, other than I’m banking on the person I’m hoping you are, deep down below all of the political bullshit. The one that cares about the Republic.”

  Lorenti was silent for a moment. Then she got to her feet. “Do you mind if I use the bedroom? I need some time to think about this.”

  “You need time to think about saving the galaxy from a monster?” Pahaliah said.

  “Pali,” Olus said. “Not helping.”

  Pahaliah stood and stormed out of the cottage.

  “Where did you find her?” Lorenti asked.

  “Actually, she found me. If you knew what Thraven and his kind had done to her and her kind, you might be able to find a little compassion in there. If you have any.”

  “Compassion? Where is yours, Olus? I just lost my husband, and what you just dropped on me isn’t exactly easy to take.”

  Olus paused. He was reverting a little too much to his older self. “Maybe you’re right. Take some time, then. I’ll be waiting. The bedroom is back there.”

  Councilwoman Lorenti followed his point. She had gone three steps when Pahaliah came back in, carrying a communicator.

  “This was in her purse, beeping,” she said.

  “Being tracked?” Olus said. “Nel, you never let us put a beacon in your private comm.” The recording of her exploits had helped explain why not.

  “It’s an incoming comm,” Pahaliah said, looking him in the eye. “From Mr. Davis.”

  “Take it,” Olus said to Lorenti.

  Pahaliah tossed her the communicator. Lorenti answered it, Evolent Ruche appearing in a small projection above the device.

  “Councilwoman Lorenti,” Ruche said, smiling in the projection. “I heard about the disruption at Nez’pa, and the unfortunate loss of your husband, Bruce.”

  “Did you call to offer your condolences?” Lorenti asked. “Or gloat?”

  “Neither,” Ruche said. “To be honest, I was hoping to speak to Captain Mann. Is it safe to assume he’s there with you?”

  Lorenti looked at Olus and then turned the comm to face him.

  “There you are, Olus,” Evolent Ruche said.

  “What do you want, Davis?” Olus asked.

  “It’s not about what I want. It’s about what you want. Let me show you something.”

  The projection flashed for a moment, diverting the stream to an alternate device. Instead of Ruche, Olus saw a young girl sitting on a chair, her mouth gagged and her arms tied.

  “Look familiar?” Ruche said. “Take a second.”

  “Hayley?” Olus said.

  The girl looked up. She didn’t look scared.

  She looked angry.

  “Did Thraven send you to do this?” Olus asked. “If so, he’s making a mistake. A huge mistake.”

  “Is he? Here’s the deal. You return Councilwoman Lorenti to her home, and after the vote passes tomorrow, we’ll release Miss Cage to you. What do you say?”

  “I say I trust you about as far as I can throw you.”

  “I’ve heard you have the Gift, Olus. You might be able to throw me quite far.”

  “The point is, there’s no part of me that believes your word is worth anything. So why would I agree to something like this?”

  “Because when the elder Cage learns her daughter is dead, do you know what she’ll do? She’ll go on a rampage, and the Gift will get the best of her, guaranteed. She’ll lose her mind, and when she does, you’ll lose the only person in the galaxy that has even a slim chance of challenging Gloritant Thraven.”

  Olus stared at Hayley in the projection. Damn it. He had figured Thraven might go for Cage’s family eventually, but eventually had come sooner than he had hoped.

  “If you hurt her at all-”

  The projection switched back to Ruche. “Don’t be dramatic, Olus. We aren’t going to hurt her. We’re not monsters.” He started laughing, his teeth elongating as his smile spread. “Mostly.”

  The link went dead. A tense silence followed.

  “Frag,” Pahaliah said, breaking it.

  “Well, Nel,” Olus said. “I guess you’re going home early.”

  “It isn’t all bad news, Olus,” Lorenti said.

  “No?”

  “I believe you now.”

  “It’s a little late for that.”

  “It is? Since when has the infamous Captain Mann caved in to the demands of psychopaths so easily?”

  Olus considered the statement for a moment. Then he nodded. “You’re right. I have an idea, but it may lead to the destruction of the galaxy.”

  “I’m in,” Pahaliah said.

  “So am I,” Lorenti said. “Tell me what you need.”

  31

  Two hours had passed before Abbey felt comfortable leaving her hiding place. Two hours without breathing, counting on the Gift to keep feeding her and keep her alive. She could tell she was losing strength from the effort, the molecular machines coursing through her bloodstream deactivating one by one as their resources were spent. At one point, she had wondered if she would be noticed because of the growling in her stomach.

  She pushed at the stone that covered her with the Gift, easy at first, and then with increasing pressure. It took more effort to move it the second time than it had the first, but she managed to get it up just enough that she unstuck herself from the mire and rolled out of the way.

  The stone came down heavily beside her, and she sprang to her feet, quickly scanning the area for signs of the enemy. Nothing. They were gone.

  She was free.

  She took a minute to spit out the mud that had gotten trapped in her mouth and nose and ears. She pulled some of it off her demonsuit as well, clearing the path to her tightpacks and her Uin. She checked her sidearms, finding the barrels stuffed with mud. She dropped them to the ground and moved the drek with her foot until they were buried.

  She breathed for the first time in hours, finding the sensation had already grown less familiar. She gasped and coughed at first, before regaining her earlier rhythm.

  She smiled. Where did Thraven’s forces think she had gone? She had vanished from their midst almost instantly and without a trace. Had she left them wondering if the Gift had given her the ability to fly or become invisible? It was a whimsical thought, but after the week she’d been having she needed a moment of whimsy.

  Only a moment. That mercenary was still out there, no doubt eager as hell to hunt her down. So were the Venerant and the rest of Thraven’s army. She didn’t have any more time to waste.

  She stood in the rain, staring into the mist ahead of her. What direction had the Fire gone down in? She thought back, recalling the sound of distant collision a
nd the rattling echo that followed. Then she turned in that direction and began to run, careful to watch the terrain before it tripped her up again.

  Two more hours passed this way before Abbey had no choice but to slow down. She was getting tired, the activity of the day catching up with her. She checked her TCU. She had covered nearly fifteen kilometers and had to be on the other side of the crater by now. The landscape was changing gradually as the ground sloped ahead of her, slowly switching over from the stone and mud and vines to grasses and small shrubs. The fog was less dense here, too, giving her a longer view of her surroundings.

  She kept a close eye on her HUD, watching for the enemy to be picked up by the suit’s sensors. The area seemed to be clear. Had Thraven’s forces decided to wait for her to come to them? She doubted it. The Fire was a potential destination, but it wasn’t the only destination. She could try the crater again, or she could wait things out and hope for a rescue. She knew the Rejects would come back as soon as they had the chance. At the very least, she knew Gant would come looking for her. Besides, she had watched that merc bastard long enough to know he wouldn’t waste more time waiting around for her, not when he had been so close to blasting her to pieces.

  She made it another hour before she stopped moving altogether, pausing to rest behind a smaller outcropping of stone that speared up through the grass. The rain was lighter further away from the crater, the storms a little less violent. Even so, it ran down her face as she sat catching her breath and regaining her focus. The respite gave rise to a fresh bout of anger that rose from her gut and caught in her throat. The Rejects needed her. Hayley needed her. Damn Thraven. She couldn’t wait to get another shot at him. It didn’t matter how powerful he was. She was going to rip his fragging throat out.

  First things first. She gave herself five minutes and then regained her feet. She checked her HUD, which had painted the terrain around her. More of the same. At least it was easier to traverse than those damn vines.

  She kept moving, spending another three hours on her feet, pacing herself to keep from becoming exhausted. She had used a lot of the Gift’s energy to keep herself alive under the rock, and she didn’t want to waste any more of it. The demonsuit’s muscular augmentation helped immensely, allowing her to cover nearly eighty kilometers in the six hours.

  She landed smoothly following another suit-enhanced bounce, coming down beside a larger bush covered in thorns and flowers. She didn’t know what it was called, but it was beautiful and deadly, and she liked that. She spared an extra moment to admire it before moving forward again, taking a long bounce that brought her down near another of the plants.

  She paused once more, listening. She thought she heard something in the distance. The rumble of thrusters? Or was it thunder? There had been no sign of Thraven’s soldiers or the mercenaries over the prior hours, but she knew they weren’t going to give up that easily. They had likely been regrouping and deciding what to do next.

  It seemed their decision had been made. The rumble grew louder, too consistent to be thunder. Had they spotted her? There was no way, not without dipping beneath the clouds. She crouched beside the bush, looking up. She didn’t see anything, but she could hear it getting closer.

  Her HUD flashed a warning, a red dot appearing on her left side. She turned her head that way, making the outline of a mech at the edge of the fog.

  It was coming her way.

  Her HUD started displaying more targets behind the mech. Infantry. The thrusters were louder overhead, moving south. How had they gotten so close so fast?

  How the frag had they known almost exactly where she was? Just because they were close didn’t mean she had been spotted yet.

  She preferred to keep it that way, but she wasn’t sure she was going to get a choice. There were no rocks to hide under. The cover here was minimal. Damn them for catching up to her out here.

  She bounced forward, keeping a low arc and hoping they wouldn’t pick up her movement. She landed in the open, obscured only by the fog. She was about to bounce forward again when she spotted the faint outline of units ahead, which appeared on her HUD a moment later. Shit. She went lateral, away from the targets, far enough that she lost sight of them and her display cleared.

  Only for a few seconds. Another patrol was moving up from the west. It would cross the first patrol close to her position, completing the sweep of the area. Had they seen her yet? She didn’t know. If they had, they weren’t telling.

  She changed directions again, moving diagonally through the middle of the three patrols, trying to split them without getting caught in the act. The dropship grew louder overhead, coming back her way. The first patrol she encountered returned to her HUD, having changed direction to cut her off.

  They were on to her. Damn it.

  She landed softly, pushing off the ground with augmented strength, launching into the sky and covering thirty meters in one long, low arc. The third patrol joined the first, closing ranks in her direction. She had gained a little bit of time from hiding, but that was it. Whoever was running the show in Thraven’s camp was smarter than she expected, and now she was almost stuck back in the same shit as before.

  Maybe worse. There was nowhere else to hide.

  She looked back over her shoulder. A mech was approaching ahead of the soldiers, a Viper. It was a fast, light, anti-infantry unit. It started firing on her as it burst ahead of the others, and she barely dove away from the rounds as they dug up the grass behind her.

  She rolled to her feet, changing direction while the mech adjusted its aim. She bounced back toward it, forcing it to try to rotate to get her in the line of fire. She hit the ground and stopped, spreading her hands wide and then clapping them together, the Gift exploding from her. The mech’s legs crumpled inward, knocking it over and taking it out of the fight.

  “Fragger,” Abbey said.

  The infantry was coming out of the fog. She jumped at them, grabbing her Uin and spreading them in her hands. Gunfire mixed with shouts of pain as she tore through the squad, the sharp blades cutting deep through their blacksuits, tearing into synthetic and organic musculature alike.

  Within seconds, the entire group was down.

  Abbey paused to pick up one of the rifles, checking her HUD to find the remaining threats. The first patrol was closing in, their heavier mech too damn close. She cursed when she heard the thump of its heavy cannon, leaping into the air just ahead of the impact where she had been standing. She landed close to the Viper. The pilot was using it as cover, and he turned to face her, pointing his sidearm her way.

  “Seriously?” she said.

  He pulled the trigger, hitting her in the chest.

  “They didn’t tell you what you were hunting, did they?” she asked, walking toward him.

  He fired again, and again, hitting her in the chest two more times before she reached him and tore the gun from his hand. His eyes were wide, her wounds already healing, the demonsuit closing up with them.

  She slammed him in the side of the head with her rifle, knocking him down. Then she looked back toward the converging patrols. She could still hear the dropship overhead, but nothing had come down from it just yet.

  What were they waiting for?

  There were too many to fight, and they were cutting her off from both the crater and the Fire. She would have to go the long way around and try to lose them.

  She bent her knees and bounced again, adding the Gift this time, rocketing away, covering three hundred meters in one leap, coming down and doing it again. A second mech fired at her back, hoping to get a lucky hit before she vanished.

  It didn’t. She landed safely, jumping again and getting out of the mech’s sights. Four more long jumps and the terrain ahead of her started to change again, a narrow body of water and a line of massive trees appearing out of the mist. She jumped again, clearing the river and landing on the opposite bank. She would have loved to pause for a drink of water. There was no time.

  She entered the woods
, staying on the bounce until she was deep inside, the enemy far behind.

  She hoped.

  32

  “What the hell are you waiting for?” Elivee shouted.

  Quark was in the cockpit of his dropship, leaning over the shoulder of his pilot, a Fizzig he alternately called Champ and Shithead. Right now he was Champ, having managed to get pretty damn close to Cage without alerting her to their presence until it was nearly too late.

  Of course, the bitch had escaped again. She was a strong one. A feisty one. He liked that. He would be damned if he was going to try to get the drop on her this way. You couldn’t catch a demon like her in a trap made for a soldier. It didn’t matter if they had the numbers. Numbers were useless against something like her.

  He turned his head back, almost about to explain that truth to Vee. He chose not to.

  “You want her that bad, I’ll open up the ass and you can bounce yours out. Good luck to you if you go.”

  “I led you right to her,” Elivee said. “And now you’re letting her escape.”

  “Bullshit on both counts. You know, I liked you a lot better when you were under me. Anyway, it was my bot that spied her crawling out from under that rock. Fragging genius idea, that. It was my bot that told your drone which way to follow, too. On the second point, she isn’t escaping. She’s moving into my world. Playing to my strength. That’s why I organized your units to push her that way. Plus, I wanted to see what she could do. She knocked down that Viper like it was made of fragging tin foil. If I could get her to be with me before I killed her, I would be a happy, happy Quark.”

  “What about me?”

  “What about you? Don’t get all emotional Vee. It was fun. It’s over now. Business time.” Elivee made a face. Quark smirked at it. “I’m sure you wish you could hit me with that voodoo that you do right about now, huh?”

  “Asshole,” Vee said.

  “Yup,” Quark agreed. “Champ, hang out over the line here for a second.” He pointed at the map of the terrain on the HUD. “When I give you the say so, I want you to drop Red there, Blue there, Yellow there, and Black will go right here. Got it?”