The change that comes over him is immediate. His entire body tenses. “No, you’re not.” His voice is harsh, commanding.
“You know I can fight them. I want to do this—for my people as well as yours.”
He runs a hand through his long hair. “Ande, you can’t come. I wouldn’t be able to focus on the mission, to take care of my men as I should.”
I see the set of his jaw and shut my mouth.
I’m not going to fight about this, but there’s no way in hell I’m staying behind.
6
Juordin
We land halfway up the mountain, on a ledge in front of the main entrance to the Palaramore caves. We have three landers, one for each team, and they barely fit in the tight space. I had left Ande in the library, her eyes wide at the sheer amount of books and vids available for her perusal.
It’s strange to be doing a mission in broad daylight. I feel conspicuous, as if at any moment the cats will jump out of the cave and we’ll be torn to shreds.
“Weapons check. Tranqs, blasters, goggles.”
The men check their weapons and sound off. All seem ready.
“Don’t forget—tranquilizer guns first, then energy blasters once we have the three we need. Otherwise we could accidentally kill them all.”
I’ve brought my best three teams, hoping we’ll be able to take three of the cats alive. But they are slippery bastards. Thank the gods I didn’t bring Ande. I would lose my mind if she were in a battle with those things again.
On her planet, we got lucky. The cats weren’t expecting anyone to fight because her planet lacked technology, so two of us could take them on. But the cats that landed on my planet were better trained, better armed, and fought in groups. They could injure her. Or worse.
The cave is pitch-black inside. We switch on our night vision. But as we keep going farther inward, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a trap. That something will go wrong.
It’s just your imagination. Brought on by trauma from the first invasion.
I’ve warned my men that the cats have incredible hearing and smell. That there’s to be no communication except by hand signals, even over the coms, until we’re in battle.
The cave splits into two tunnels. I lead my team to the left, motioning for the other two teams to take the right. In under a minute, I know the cats are straight ahead.
It’s the stench.
Rotten meat and wet fur. The smell of nightmares and razor-sharp fangs.
I signal for the men to pull out their tranquilizer guns.
The cats are curled up in a large heap, apparently asleep.
I give the signal and we open fire with the tranq guns, hitting at least six of them.
They all awake in a mass of screaming, hissing, and yowling.
“They aren’t wearing suits!” I yell, cursing inside. Ardaks without suits are much, much faster than ones with suits.
They don’t even bother to get weapons or put on suits before they spring at us, fangs and claws bared.
It takes me a second to realize that none stay down, even the ones we hit with tranqs.
“The tranqs don’t work!” Miopoli screams at me.
The toxin must counteract it. “Then let’s do this the old-fashioned way. Open fire!” I order.
The men obey, but several are still switching out the tranq guns for energy blasters.
I don’t have time to get my blaster before the first is on me. It goes straight for my neck with its fangs. It’s only by sheer force that I push it back, its claws tearing at my armor.
The cat is so close I can’t get to my blaster. But I can get to my knife. I push it back against the wall, stabbing it until it stops moving. Damn. This is why everyone is killing them. There’s no choice.
One of my men screams as a cat gets the better of him, its long fangs tearing into the man’s shoulder. I sheathe my knife and I’m on the cat in an instant, twisting its head and breaking its neck with a sickening crunch.
Too many cats. A lot more than ten.
We’re fighting as hard as we can, but we have only minutes until all of us are dead.
I hit the button for the com. “We need backup! Come in! Backup!”
But there’s no answer.
Another cat has jumped on me and I grab on to it, slamming it back against the wall of the cave as hard as I can. I drop it and it doesn’t move.
“Nets!” I cry, pulling out my metal net. We still need three alive. I toss one end to Miopoli and together we force the cat he’s fighting into it.
“The nets!” I call out again. I see the others trying to get to their own, but it’s impossible. The cats are too lithe, too quick. I actually wish they had their suits on to slow them down.
Then another cat is on me and all I can focus on is blocking its fangs.
I see movement out of the corner of my eye, and see another soldier rushing in.
This soldier is tiny, and for a moment I wonder if Father has been letting children into the army.
But then I hear the battle cry, and two swords flash.
My vision goes red.
“What are you doing here?” I scream, kicking the cat in front of me so hard I hear a crunch and it goes flying with a terrifying yowl.
She doesn’t speak, but takes on two cats with practiced ease. The swords flash quicker than I can see, and the cats fall down, dead. She goes to the next, and the next, before they even know what’s happening.
I jump into battle next to her, trying with my knife and my blaster to keep them from touching her. But it’s too close to fire without hitting one of my own men.
Ande’s swords are formidable. She thrusts and parries, but with such strength that she’s taking off claws, paws, and heads. Four down. Then five. Six. She seems almost to be flying as she goes to the other men, taking out the cats they’re fighting.
How is it possible that such archaic technology is so effective?
“Bag two more!” I order the soldiers. I wait for the right moment and hit the closest cat in the back of the head with my useless blaster. It crumples to the floor, and I help the soldier net it.
Then we trap the last one, snarling and snapping, and net it while Ande threatens it with her swords.
Now we stand there, chests heaving, my vision starting to clear. I throw my arms around her. “Oh my gods—I thought I was going to lose you. Never do that again!” I’m hugging her, lecturing her, pushing her long black hair back from her face.
But she doesn’t answer. I pause for a moment and realize her body is trembling like a leaf. She pushes away after a second, going to the side of the cave. I hear her vomit.
None of the other men speak. But we all know we would have been dead without her.
She walks back over a minute later on unsteady legs.
I realize I’ve forgotten about the other teams. I hit the button for the coms. “Team Para, Team Xeno, come in.”
No reply.
Bad. Very bad.
“Head count?”
“Six. Two men down, plus one additional.” Miopoli answers.
“Let’s grab the cats and three of the suits.” I point to a pile of suits in the corner. “We’ll load them up then look for the others.”
There are six of us, including Ande, and we haul the cats back down the tunnel, carrying them between us. They hiss and spit and claw at our hands, until Ande pokes at each of them with her sword. Their eyes flash, and their open muzzles flash fangs that promise death if they get the chance.
Exiting the cave is much quicker than entering. I peek down the other tunnel, but see nothing. When we reach the exit, we throw the cats into one of the landers.
I look at the two men who were injured the most. “I want you to leave now and head back to base. We need to get these cats in for testing as soon as possible. The longer they’re in the open, the more chance we have of losing them.”
I glance at Ande. “Take her with you.”
“Like hell!” She shoots me a
lethal glare. “I’m not going back until you do.”
I step closer to her, crowding her with my presence. “I cannot risk you getting hurt. Leave now.”
Her green eyes flash with defiance. “The only way you are getting me out of here is in one of those nets.”
For a minute, I consider it. Then, I eye her swords and sigh. She’d probably try to use them on me if I did that. I’d never sleep again. She can guard the entrance to the tunnel. She should be safe there.
Together, we secure the cats in the back of the lander. “We’re out of range for coms, but as soon as you’re in range, call for backup. Send me three or four teams, at least.” I watch as they take off, hoping nothing stops them from making it back to base.
It’s going to be at least an hour before backup arrives, and I know that could mean the difference between life and death for the men inside. I don’t plan to engage if we’re too outnumbered, but we need recon.
I turn to Ande. “You should stay here.”
Even tired as she is, I can tell she barely refrains from rolling her eyes.
I put a hand beneath her chin and force her to look at me. “We all know you’re the best fighter for this—you’ve just proven it. Our blasters do nothing in close quarters—we’re liable to shoot each other—but your swords are deadly.”
She looks surprised that I would admit it. I don’t know why. I always give credit where credit is due.
I glance back at the cave, then back to her. “We don’t know what’s in there. It could be a trap. I sent fourteen men in, and none have come out.”
“You need me,” she says simply. “Let’s do this.”
No! I really don’t want to take her back in there. Every instinct tells me I don’t want to know what’s down that second tunnel. But I look at the set of her jaw and realize she’s going to come, whether I like it or not. So I might as well keep her close to me.
I grab her a set of night vision goggles from the second lander.
“Can either of you two use knives or swords?”
“Knives were part of our training, but not swords.” Miopoli answers.
“I can use a knife, but it’s not my best weapon,” Cinvad admits.
“At this point, they’re working a lot better than blasters.” I grab two more knives from the stash of weapons in the back of the lander, and to my surprise, there’s a sword. I’ll have to thank Father for this. His motto is to always be prepared for anything.
I turn to all of them. “This is recon only. Do not engage unless there’s no other option.”
They all nod, and I swallow hard.
“Let’s do this.” I echo Ande’s words, and she gives a brief smile.
And then there’s no more stalling. We’re off into the blackness of the cave and the tunnels behind it.
Ande has her swords at the ready, I have my knife and sword, and the other two have knives and blasters.
It’s the worst-prepped team I’ve taken on a mission since I was ten. And then the cats were imaginary.
We hear the screaming before we see it. It’s bloodcurdling and sends shivers up my spine. The four of us freeze in our tracks, and I can tell we all want to turn and run. But we can’t. Another scream. Then two more.
The tunnel opens up into a large cave that slopes downward. I peer around the wall of the entrance, and what I see chills my blood in a way I’ll never forget. I motion the others back, but it’s too late.
The cave below is teeming with cats in a frenzy. They have the men—or what’s left of them. They are eating them alive, ripping off their limbs, using sharp claws and peeling their flesh away.
I want to fly into a rage and kill them all. But we can’t. With five blasters, we have forty shots at best. I can’t even kill my own men to spare them the torture without giving us away. And I know if they see us, they will only eat us, too.
We have to wait for backup. But no one wants to go back. We stand there, listening, every scream tearing at us. Finally, I force the others to turn and leave with me.
When we reach the entrance to the tunnels, each of them reacts in a different way. Ande vomits again. Miopoli screams and pounds on the lander, and Cinvad shakes uncontrollably.
“Do you have explosives?” Ande asks, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.
Miopoli answers, “Yes. But probably not enough to kill all of them.”
“Do we want to kill all of them?” Cinvad asks.
Ande’s mouth turns down. “They’re all already dead.”
“I agree,” I assert. “What if we brought the cave down on top of them?”
“We definitely don’t have enough explosives for that,” Miopoli replies.
Cinvad starts. “Well…maybe we do.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
He’s already leading us into the lander to the onboard computer. “This cave lies directly on the Cordovian fault. If we could blow it at the right location, it would bring the mountain down.”
Cinvad pulls up the maps, rotating through the 3-D images, looking at the fault. “Yes. We can do it. But someone is going to have to go partially into the cave, along the ridge I saw in there, to set the last one.”
I kick the side of the lander. “Of course.”
“I’ll do it,” Ande volunteers.
“No, you won’t, dammit!” I snarl. “And you will obey me this time, or I’m going to cuff you to the lander.”
“I’ll bet I could get free.”
The other two men wisely remain silent, heading to the back of the lander.
I turn to her and my vision turns red around the edges.
Now she’s just trying to goad me.
I lean forward and speak directly into her ear. “Don’t push me, Ande. I’m in charge of this mission, and I need to know you’re going to obey me.”
Her eyes widen. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Then do as you’re told—and don’t take unnecessary risks.” We stare at each other for a moment. I’m just waiting for her to push me. I’d love to cuff her to the lander so I don’t have to worry about her.
But after a few moments, she looks away. “Someone needs to be in charge. This is your mission. I will cede to you for the duration of it.”
I feel an immense weight lift off my shoulders.
We walk around to the back of the lander, where the other two are pulling out the explosives.
“I’m not that well versed in explosives—that’s Vartan’s area. But he didn’t make it, so…” his words trailed off for a second. “Anyway, I helped him load these after the first Ardak attack in case we needed them.”
Ande examines the explosives. “Does the other lander have the same?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll get them.” She and I go to the other lander and open the back. We haul the other explosives to the entrance of the cave.
The other two men join us.
“Are you sure we can bring a whole cave down?” I ask Cinvad.
He nods.
“All right.” I grit my teeth, thinking of the screams inside. “Let’s do this.”
7
Ande’ie
I have to admire Juordin and his warriors. The scene inside the cave chilled me to the core, but they don’t even consider turning back and leaving their comrades to the cats.
“You are to stay here, just inside the entrance to the cave.”
“What?” I almost can’t believe it. Does he actually think I’m going to stay here? I snuck on board his lander to fight—and just saved all their asses. I’m not waiting outside to see if they come out alive.
He unconsciously smacks at his shoulder, and I notice the toxin indicator is turning red again. “You need to…”
“…go in there and kill some damn cats,” he finishes for me.
“But the tattoo…”
“…can wait until my men are taken care of.” His jaw is tight.
“You have a bad habit of finishing my sentences.”
�
��And you have a bad habit of not following instructions.”
I shrug. No point in arguing that.
Juordin turns to the men. “Let’s go.”
I wait about ten seconds, then follow them down the tunnels at a rapid pace, thankful that they don’t turn back too often to see if anyone is behind them. We approach the yowling, and it would appear that some of the men are still alive. I want to charge in there and kill them all. But that would be suicide. Better to take them out with the explosives.
Two of them set up explosives by the entrance, and Juordin goes inside to set the charge along the fault line inside.
Stay back, I tell myself. He’s a trained warrior. Let him do this.
But then I hear some falling rock, and several loud yowls split the air and echo down the tunnels. I can hear scrambling and clawing inside as the cats start to head in our direction.
“Fuck!” His men curse and finish setting the charges as fast as they can with shaking hands.
Juordin springs through the opening a few seconds later. “Are they set?”
“Yes!” the other two spring up.
“Then fucking run!” None of us have to be told twice.
I turn and start to run, and in a few seconds, they catch up with me. Juordin grabs my arm, spurring me to go faster.
“I thought I told you to stay in the entrance!” Juordin yells at me as he pulls me along.
“I thought you might need my help!”
At that moment, the entire tunnel starts to shake and dirt fills the air as the cave blows behind us. Huge chunks of rock fall from the ceiling, and for a moment I wonder if the entire tunnel will bury us.
But Juordin pushes me to keep running. Most of the yowling behind us has stopped, but not all of it. And the cats that are left sound a lot angrier now.
He looks over his shoulder and curses. “We need a fucking miracle!”
I can feel the cats behind us, their stench getting closer and closer.
We’re at the entrance when they catch us. I pull out my swords and turn to face them, and the others pull out their blasters. We catch most of them before they get to us. But one of the last ones runs smack into Miopoli, and its speed and weight pushes them both over the edge of the cliff and they fall, screaming and yowling into the valley below.
Alien Infiltration: A Warrior Prince Romance (The Tourin Legacy Book 3) Page 3