by Anna Hackett
Kavon was silent for a second, then nodded, his eyes glowing. “Warriors, we search.”
The men scrambled, studying every inch of their surroundings. Aurina stared at the metal and wood track. She crouched to look closer. It was an interesting design, the metal wrapped around the wood. As she touched the metal, it glowed, and she snatched her hand back.
“Nanami,” Kavon said. “They infuse the metal. That is why the track in this part of the mine is in such good condition.”
She touched a design etched into the side of the track. “This almost looks like writing. You really have to—”
The ground beneath them dropped several inches.
The warriors cried out and Aurina lost her balance, falling squarely on her bottom. She snatched up her fallen light wand and looked around. A five-by-five-meter square of stone had dropped down. As she watched, it dropped another few inches.
Kavon hauled her up, and wrapped his arms around her. “We need to get off this—”
The platform dropped…and this time it didn’t stop.
It picked up speed, air rushing past them. As they whizzed downward, the warriors shouted. All around them was a vast, empty darkness.
Viken teetered on the edge of the platform, crying out. The others grabbed at him, but as the platform gathered speed, the warrior lost his balance and fell off the edge.
Colm knelt at the edge before bellowing a curse.
Aurina gasped and pressed her face against Kavon’s chest.
Kavon muttered a curse against her hair, his arms tightening around her.
She wasn’t sure how long they fell. It felt like hours, but in reality she knew it must have only been a few minutes. The platform started to slow. The warriors all crouched near the center, hands touching the ground to keep their balance.
Then it jerked to a stop, and Aurina was thrown against Kavon.
She pulled back.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. He looked fine, his long hair windblown.
“Colm?” Kavon asked.
“Fine.” The warrior stood, his face a little pale. “Viken—” His voice was grim. “The fall was too high to have survived.”
Oh, God. Aurina swallowed the lump in her throat. The warrior had been nice, in the prime of his life.
A muscle ticked in Kavon’s jaw before he gave a short nod. “We can’t grieve for him now. He may not have been fighting an enemy, but it was a warrior’s death. On an honorable quest.”
The other warriors nodded, bowing their heads.
Finally they all stepped off the platform and Aurina looked around. She gasped.
The platform was an elevator. She could see the framework and some complicated system that worked it. They’d descended deep below the mountain and were now in a giant cavern. This deep, the air was hot and thick.
And she could see.
The walls of the cavern all glittered with a shimmer of silver. Like the rocks were sprinkled with glitter.
“A primitive form of nanami,” Kavon said.
“I swear, if you could bottle and sell the stuff, you’d be the wealthiest planet in the galaxy.” She looked around, noting dozens of mine carts nearby. Some were still loaded with a sparkling ore.
“These nanami are unable to do what the nanami in our blood can do,” Kavon added. “They are wild, simple, unable to be directed.” He looked around. “Where to now?”
She pulled up her Sync. “God, the maps fit. I thought they continued on the same level, but they are below the other tunnels.” She studied the map, then pointed. “That way. We need to go into that tunnel.”
Kavon nodded and his men moved in closer. “Everyone, watch where you step.”
As they approached the tunnel, she looked along the rock wall, and saw another entrance to the left and another to the right. In the light of nanami, she could see an entire row of tunnel entrances. The mine was huge.
“You’re sure this is the one?” Colm nodded at their entrance.
“As certain as I’ll ever be. It matches the location on the map.”
They moved inside. The tunnel went straight, the floor surprisingly smooth. Then Aurina spotted something ahead.
She frowned. “What the hell is that?”
It was a long, brown…shell, lying on the tunnel floor.
Colm whistled through his teeth. “It is the skin of a dusa.”
Kavon nodded. “The beasts shed them every winter.”
Everything in Aurina stilled. It had to be fifteen meters long! And thicker around than she was. It was clearly some sort of giant, snake-like creature. “Tell me they’re friendly.”
“Hell, no,” Colm exclaimed.
“They are not friendly,” Kavon said. “They like to bite, and have a terrible poison that can burn through the skin. They can also spit molten rock, and circle around a man and squeeze him to death.”
She closed her eyes. Of course. Trust her to crash-land on a planet filled with fire-breathing horses, huge monsters, massive cranky birds, and giant snakes. “Let’s hope this one is long gone.”
Kian touched the skin and held up his hand. It dripped with a clear, sticky goo. “I would guess this was very recently shed. Perhaps in the last few hours.”
Aurina groaned.
“It changes nothing,” Kavon said. “If we meet the dusa, we will take it down. Carry on.”
Aurina stiffened her spine and kept moving, perhaps a little more cautiously than before. The tunnel turned left, and soon branched off. They continued to follow the map. But every scrape of a boot had her glancing over her shoulder to make sure a giant, lava-spitting snake wasn’t stalking them.
Kavon held a hand up. “There is something else ahead.”
Aurina couldn’t see anything in the gloom. “You’re sure?”
“He has the best eyesight of any Markarian,” Colm said. “But I can also make out something propped against the wall on the left.”
They moved forward cautiously and, out of the shadows, she saw a lump of…something against the wall. Was it another dusa skin? She suppressed a shudder.
“It looks like the skin of some sort of creature,” Colm said.
Aurina squatted beside the object and frowned. It looked like it had arms and legs…very humanoid in shape. It had a thick, green skin that was coated in a dense layer of dust.
“I need some more light. Hold a wand up higher.”
One of the men complied, and the light reflected off a round, bulbous head that was made of a luminous, smooth substance.
She froze. Oh, God, it couldn’t be. It wasn’t skin at all. She swiped a hand across the head, and through the clear spot she’d made, she saw a visor. The green skin was the high-tech plas of an enviro suit, and the “head” was a helmet.
And inside, she saw a human skull.
“It’s not an animal.” Her hands shook a little.
She found the old clasps at the base of the helmet, flicked them open. She pulled the helmet off.
The warriors all gasped.
“This is an enviro suit. It’s a really old model, but space travelers wear them to survive in harsh environments.” She lifted her scanner. It beeped and she looked up at Kavon. “He’s not Markarian, he’s definitely human.” She swallowed back the excitement making her a little giddy. “We must be getting close to the ship.”
Kavon nodded, still staring at the body.
“He…he is one of the First Warriors,” Darroch breathed.
She glanced back at the long-dead man. “Yes, I guess he was.”
After a moment’s silence, Kavon stepped back. “We keep moving.”
As they trekked deeper down the tunnel, it started to narrow. Soon, they had to walk in single file to make it through. Of course, Kavon refused to let her lead. His over-protectiveness left her amused, annoyed, and feeling safe all at once.
Then the roof of the tunnel lowered. They stopped, all staring at the tiny space.
She got the impression warr
iors did not like crawling. But Kavon nodded his head, and with a giant sigh, Colm fell to his knees and squeezed his massive shoulders through the gap and disappeared. Kavon followed, and then Aurina wriggled through after them. Behind her, she heard the other warriors muttering and cursing.
Thankfully, the gap widened again, and the roof rose. She stood, and saw Colm and Kavon standing over something, hands on their hips.
“What is it?” She hurried over and her mouth dropped open.
A sheet of twisted metal lay against the wall. She crouched, lifting her scanner again. “It definitely looks ship-grade.” Results filled her scanner screen. “It’s been subjected to a lot of heat and force.” She touched it, wondering who had made it, how long ago, and how it had ended up here—in the dark of a buried tunnel on a barbarian world.
Her hand brushed something engraved into the metal. She grabbed her light wand and tilted her head to read the words. “Infinity Aerospace Industries.” Her eyes widened. “Stars, Infinity still makes starships today.” Her gaze collided with Kavon’s. “The company began on Earth. Kavon, this is from a Terran starship.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kavon felt a growing sense of dread. He didn’t know if it was his nanami warning him, or just his own disturbed feelings from being so deep underground. They kept moving, and soon the tunnel opened into another vast cavern. This one was missing the glowing nanami.
Aurina strode forward, looking around. Her shoulders slumped. “Nothing.” She turned back, disappointment stamped all over her face. “There’s nothing here.”
As he watched her kick at the dirt, he knew his sense of dread was centered on her.
He didn’t want her to leave him, and this quest no longer felt like it was about avenging his father or cementing the favor of the king. Kavon felt that every step deeper into these tunnels was putting Aurina farther away from him.
He frowned. Even though he knew she didn’t fit, he wanted this bright, vibrant woman in his life long term. His hands curled.
“Definitely nothing here.” She looked at his warriors, who were also searching the cavern. “Anything?” When Colm gave her a single shake of his head, she sighed. “We move on and keep looking.”
Kavon hated seeing her so dejected, and right now, he needed to touch her and feel her warmth pressed against him. He pulled her close, tipped her head back, and kissed her. When he pulled back, her eyes were closed, her lips apart.
“We will find what we’re looking for,” he told her. “I’ve realized you are a very stubborn and determined woman.”
“Damn right.” She opened her eyes and smiled, then her gaze slipped past him, angled upward. She went stiff and air hissed out of her.
Kavon turned, his arms tightening on her.
There was no giant dusa or anything threatening them.
But high above, lodged on some rocks, sat a mangled starship.
The warriors all spread out, looking at it. Kavon couldn’t see the roof of the cavern, and suspected it went right to the top of the mountain where they’d encountered the naga.
Aurina was staring at the ship. “This is it, Kavon. This is how your ancestors came here. Durendal might be resting inside that ship. I need to get up there.”
Kavon eyed the steep rock wall. He didn’t like the idea of her climbing up there, but he shoved his discomfort away. “Come here.” He gripped her waist and lifted her up.
She grinned at him. “Thanks, warrior.” Then she climbed up the rocks, steadily and cautiously. She tested each handhold and foot grip.
She reached the mangled ruin, and took a moment before she found a hole in the side where it was easy for her to slip inside.
Kavon waited. He heard a clang of metal inside the wreck, saw her light wand shining around. He wanted to tap his boot on the floor, but resisted. Just.
“Anything?” he called out.
“Not much in here,” she yelled back.
Then suddenly, with a groan of metal and a shudder, the entire ship slipped an inch.
The warriors gasped and leaped back. Kavon didn’t move. “Aurina!”
“I’m fine. Not finished yet.”
“Out. Now.”
“I still need—” The ship slipped another inch, small rocks cascading to the cavern floor.
Kavon eyed the wall, determining the best place for him to climb up. Then he saw a flash of movement, and spotted her climbing out. She climbed down the wall and above her, the ship slipped again.
His heart racing, he reached up and snatched her off the wall.
“It’s falling!” Colm shouted.
Kavon sprinted toward his warriors, Aurina in his arms. He heard metal screeching against rock. He dived and turned, Aurina tucked to his chest, sliding the last few meters to his warriors. He saw the entire wreckage fall off its perch and crash to the cavern floor. A massive cloud of dust rose up, choking them.
Aurina’s fingers flexed on his shoulders, and she coughed. “That was close.”
“I think we are finished here.” Kavon wanted her back in his estate, preferably locked in his rooms. She would turn his hair gray, a tough feat when the nanami kept Markarian hair dark well into their old age.
“There was nothing in the ship.” Aurina stood and dusted off her clothes. “It had been stripped. Makes sense. They crash-landed, took everything that would be useful to them.” She held up her Sync and grinned. “I did, however, manage to interface with their comp system.”
Kavon frowned. “It had power?”
She nodded. “Not much. I’d say their backup nuclear generator is running on fumes. It was just enough to get their last logs out.” Her grin widened. “There’s also a map. To where they settled in the tunnels here.”
“Where?”
“It’s a neighboring cavern.”
He let Aurina lead the way, but stayed close. They headed into another tunnel, and he half expected Aurina to trip over something, since her attention was focused on the text on her Sync.
“What else did you find?” he asked.
“A log written by the ship’s first mate…the second-in-command.”
“Words written by the First Warriors,” Kian breathed.
Aurina glanced at the warrior, then at Kavon. “You sure you want to hear this? I mean, it might simply make them men in your eyes.”
A part of him didn’t want his beliefs shattered, but they’d come this far. He looked at each one of his warriors—strong, loyal and honorable. Nothing would change that.
“Go ahead.”
She nodded. “They were a group of former soldiers. Ex-military. They were tired of fighting and seeing innocent people injured and killed in conflict. They wanted a new life, someplace where they could help people and not always kill.”
Kavon felt his stiff shoulders relax a little. Maybe he had been worried. “They were honorable.”
Aurina stopped. “You were afraid they wouldn’t be?” She grabbed his arm and squeezed. “Kavon, it doesn’t matter. It is who the Markarians are now that matters, who your people have made yourselves. Honorable, protective, maybe a bit autocratic with a hint of arrogance.” She winked at him. “The first two are pretty awesome.” Her face turned serious. “You don’t have poverty or hunger, or people living alone and suffering. Most of the galaxy can’t claim the same. You should be proud, whatever you came from, you’ve made yourself into a great people, a great person.”
“You should be proud, too,” he said quietly. “It matters little who your father was. Your mother was clearly a good, strong woman.”
Aurina smiled. “Thank you. And yes, she was.” She squeezed his arm again. “Let’s go find this sword.”
***
They moved into yet another cavern. They’d been through several other ones, and they still hadn’t found anything related to the crash survivors. She released a breath and studied the map again. According to this, they should have come across it already.
Had she read the map wrong? Had they missed it? M
aybe after all this time, there was nothing left to find?
Then she heard a sound. The tinkle of running water.
She turned her head and followed it.
“Aurina?”
She heard the crunch of Kavon’s steps behind her. There. She saw a small waterfall running down the rock from above. It pooled in a small puddle at the bottom…a pool with smooth metal sides.
She glanced around, holding up her light. “Look at this.” She saw a wide, neat entrance cut into the rock wall of the cavern. She looked up and saw numerous similar rooms carved into the rock. A few metal ladders still dangled from above.
Kavon had already strode into the ground floor room. “They lived here.”
She saw tables and chairs made from debris from the ship. A pile of animal furs sat in one corner. They’d used what they had and what they’d found here to make a home. “The smaller rooms above must be where they slept.”
She didn’t see any sign of the sword.
Then she saw something strange. A glass door at the back of the cave. Frowning, she moved toward it. The glass was frosted, and, as she touched it, lights flared to life. The door slid open.
Kavon was behind her in a second, sword drawn. Behind the door, more lights clicked on.
She gasped. This was no primitive cave. This was a lab.
She stepped inside. Metal benches lined the room, and an old-fashioned comp dominated a table in the center. Lots of scientific paraphernalia was scattered around—beakers, test tubes—and at one end of the lab, large cylinders filled with colored liquids.
Wandering closer, she tapped the comp. The screen flared to life, filled with text and images.
As she read, the meaning of the text seeped in, and she gasped.
“What?” Kavon demanded.
God, should she tell him? She’d seen that he’d been worried about the true intentions of the First Warriors.
“I…” She turned to face him, sliding her hands over his chest. “You’re sure you want to know?”