by Berinn Rae
At that moment, the com-tec’s shaky voice came over the intercom, telling everyone to lock themselves in their rooms immediately.
“Ready?” Nalea asked.
Sienna nodded as she shoved a handful of hand restraints into the one cargo pocket that wasn’t chock full of weapons. At that moment she fell in even more in love with cargo pants. She felt like she could take on North Korea all on her own. A one-woman Terminator. Only more petite and more kick-ass.
She did one final check before looking up. “Ready.”
Nalea poked her head into the hallway. “Clear.”
Sienna stepped forward, and her back pocket zapped her with a tiny electrical bolt. “Crap.” She recovered from the near heart attack and fumbled for the com that could double as a portable bug killer. Nalea had hers out and to her ear already.
“Go,” Sienna commanded into the flimsy bookmark-shaped device.
“It’s the Draeken,” the com-tec said in a rush. “They’re everywhere. It’s impossible. How’d they — ”
“Calm down, Tanel,” Sienna spoke into her com. “How many are there?”
“Don’t know. Dozens. Multiples of ten at least. More.”
Shit. Dozens. Not good. Not good at all. “Where are they now?”
“Looks like they are all moving toward the Commons from the three checkpoints.”
Nalea frowned. “But there’s nothing at the Commons. Why are they moving away from the armory?”
“They have to go through there to get to the com room and the officer quarters. Or, ah, shit. Of course.”
“What?” Nalea asked.
“They plan to set up shop in the Commons to divide and conquer the base.” With the exception of a few smaller hallways that connected the larger hallways like spider webs, the base was set up in a hub-and-spoke pattern, with everything coming together at the Commons. The Draeken would effectively cut off all areas of the base from each other and sit and wait for Apolo to return. They could decimate the Sephian force in one blow with minimal casualties on their side.
“Good work. Keep us posted,” Sienna spoke into the com before sliding it back into her pocket.
“We can’t let them take the Commons. If the com-tec can’t get a hold of Apolo to warn him …” Nalea didn’t finish. Sienna couldn’t blame her. They both knew the outcome already, and it didn’t need to be put into words.
This was one seriously screwed up situation. And to happen at the same time nearly all troops were off base, the mess was way too screwed up to be coincidental. Decision time. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. Split up. You head to the checkpoints that didn’t show breaches to pull together what’s left of our base forces. I’ll try to beat the Draeken to the Commons and set up a defensive position for us. We can’t let them take the Commons.”
“You can’t possibly think to hold off the Draeken on your own.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But I can at least buy you time to bring in the cavalry.”
Nalea watched her for a moment and then nodded. “Kill on sight.”
“Damn straight.” They pulled each other into a quick hug. As they split to go down separate hallways, Sienna paused and turned to face her friend. “Hey, Lea?”
“Yeah?”
“You better not drink that wine without me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She gave Sienna a smile that was all too quickly erased by battle hardened features before disappearing around the bend of the hall.
Sienna was alone. Completely, utterly alone. Against an alien force she didn’t stand a chance against. She’d only seen one Draeken before — the scout that Legian had hunted to ground, and without Legian’s help, he would’ve killed Sienna. She reached for the com. “Update,” she commanded.
“Looks like each group is a full squad. Ten in each. There are at least four groups, maybe more. The Ohni group will be to the Commons soon, within a few minutes at most. Some med-tecs blocked the hallway. It slowed them down a bit. The other two groups are farther back. Looks like some of our folks are fighting back.”
Without another word, Sienna sprinted toward the Commons. Things were a lot easier with an eye on the base for her. Saved her from wasting time in being cautious.
There was no sound as Sienna approached the large, open area of the Commons. Not even the usual noise of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen. The med-tecs must’ve set up one hell of a roadblock. Good for them.
Looking around the room filled with enough tables and chairs to seat half the base, she turned back to the kitchen. It was the only place where she wouldn’t be a sitting duck. With a hop, Sienna hoisted herself over the waist-high counter and gauged her surroundings. The ceilings were ten feet high. It would limit the intruders’ ability to fly. And she could use all the help she could get.
One human against thirty or more winged aliens. She’d have better odds of winning the lottery. She shook her head. She needed to buy Nalea time. They could do this. She set out two laser guns on the counter in front of her. Time for the fight for her life.
A noise came from hallway Ufen. The temperature in the Commons skyrocketed. She was sure it was from her adrenaline, especially when she felt a chill slide down her back. More sounds followed, sounds of boots thudding, weapons clanging, clothes rustling. It grated against her nerves. Showtime.
She wiped sweaty hands on her pants before reaching into a pocket and pulling out a small disc. A Draeken chaos-charge. She examined it with irony. A taste of their own medicine would serve the bastards right.
When the first Draeken came into sight, she nearly dropped the charge. Sienna had forgotten how intimidating they were. Taller than even Legian, with light hair and drades covering their eyes. And those wings. Skin covered by complicated weaves of colored designs. There was nothing like it. The wings were huge, taller than each soldier. Even tucked in, the wings were as wide as each soldier. It was terrifying and beautiful. In a dark angel kind of way. Humans didn’t stand a chance against these guys.
As they started to spread out, she came to her senses. Here goes nothing. She swiped her finger down the ignition pad and threw the disc into the center of the squad. The charge was designed for use against Sephians, but she was counting on the fact that the thing wouldn’t be pleasant for its creators, too. The moment the charge hit the ground she crouched behind the counter, closed her eyes, and held her hands to her ears. Even so, the sound was deafening when the charge exploded in an eruption of light brighter than the sun and a sound like a harpy’s screech.
When she could bear it, she pulled her hands from her ears and picked up the guns. She jumped up and began shooting like a crazy woman. The Draeken, with blood oozing from their ears, staggered from the blast, knocking tables down and crawling behind them. Two Draeken went down with her first spray of shots. The remaining Draeken fired back, and she ducked behind the counter. Their shots cut through the wall like fire through paper-mâché. Her heart lurched in her chest. What the hell kind of technology did these guys have?
Scrambling to the next counter, Sienna pulled out a second charge. Only this one wasn’t a Draeken charge. This one had been created by the Sephians. She hated this one. It reminded her of the dark ages where life mattered so very little.
Voices sounded muffled, but she could tell they were coming closer.
Don’t hesitate. She raised herself enough to send another barrage of shots across the open area. At least one shot made it home because she heard a grunt and then yelling. She shimmied across the floor back to the original counter. Can’t let them get a bead on me.
Sienna simultaneously pushed two buttons on the blood-charge before throwing it over the counter. Like the chaos-charge, accuracy didn’t matter on this one. She curled into a fetal position. Shouts and sounds of scrambling Draeken filled the air. Clenching her fists, she prayed she was safe behind the counter.
There was no sound when the blood-charge exploded. There never was. The screams were the only way one knew it went off. And
there were plenty of those. She waited for several seconds after everything became deathly silent. Then, she warily pulled herself to her knees and peered over the counter. The entire squad had been killed. Hundreds of tiny x-shaped spurs stuck out of their bodies and wings.
The marks left on their skin were identical to scars Legian earned during the war. His squad had been discovered while sabotaging a Draeken base during the war. The only two survivors, Bente had dragged Legian into the woods where they played hide-and-seek with the Draeken for days until they were rescued. Legian had been lucky. If it hadn’t been for Bente, he never would have lived. And that convinced Sienna beyond any doubt that there was a greater force in the universe that not only kept Legian alive but brought him millions of miles to her.
A couple Draeken still moaned, and she sighed. These guys weren’t so lucky. She felt pity for them. The spurs were coated with a deadly cocktail of anticoagulant and poison designed specifically for Draeken physiology. They were already dead. Their bodies just didn’t know it yet.
Her pity didn’t last long. A shot whizzed by her ear, signaling a second squad already spreading out into the room.
Dammit. Where was Nalea?
She felt in her pockets for another charge. No more. The lights in the Commons flared to life. Taking off her glasses, she could see the battlefield clearly.
“Nuleet,” a Draeken called out. He said something else, but she couldn’t make out the strange, curt words, which reminded her a bit of German. Everything fell silent.
Building courage, she peeked around the corner of the counter and looked right into the eyes of a large Draeken with long, mussed, silver hair looking back at her. He arched his brow.
“Human?” He spoke in clear, nearly perfect English, with barely a hint of that German-like accent. The Draeken sounded genuinely surprised at seeing her. “Surrender. You are sorely outnumbered.”
“Don’t be so sure. That last squad didn’t last long,” Sienna called out from behind the counter.
“There’s no honor in using a blood-charge. Only Sephian scum would resort to that.” The Draeken had the nerve to sound pissed off.
“Then how about you surrender?” she replied.
The Draeken chuckled. “To whom? Apolo is at our camp right now. Or should I say, a nonexistent camp right now.”
She gritted her teeth. She figured it had been no coincidence. But the truth still made her stomach roll. The thought of Legian heading into a trap … no, she refused to think of that. Legian would be fine, she tried to convince herself. He could smell a trap a mile away.
“If you surrender now, we will not hurt you. We have no intentions to harm humans.”
“Yeah, sure. And a pack of wild hyenas makes great puppies,” Sienna replied drily. Except her insides were twisted, like a wet towel wrung too tight. She wasn’t going to delude herself. She knew there was no getting out of the mess she was in. It was a textbook case of FUBAR.
“Would you like me to bring you some?”
“Joking.” Sienna may not have inherited her parents’ sense of survival, but she also wasn’t going to cower. And she wasn’t going to be someone’s easy prey. Hell no.
His wings ruffled in obvious irritation.
“Have it your way, then.”
He made a motion with his hands, and his squad spread out. At that moment, the third squad appeared, looking a little worse for wear. One against twenty. Even after obliterating the entire first squad, her odds hadn’t improved much.
A hurricane of shots flew through the kitchen, and she scurried to hide between the ovens and refrigerators. Before she reached a safe place, heat blasted her, and a sharp pain cut through her left thigh. She cried out and dropped to the ground. Blood poured from the laser wound. So much blood. No! Please, God, don’t let it be an artery.
She had to stop the bleeding fast. She pulled out a hand restraint and tightened it around her thigh. The makeshift tourniquet would buy her a few extra minutes at the most before she would pass out from blood loss. You’d think the laser would cauterize the wound. Go figure.
The timer was set. She had to figure out how to kill a couple dozen Draeken before she blacked out. Hell.
Her attackers must have heard her scream because the shooting stopped. She clenched a gun in her hand. The silence scared her more than the gunfire.
“Keep moving. Don’t fail them. Don’t fail Legian,” Sienna repeated like a mantra. With a heave, she dragged herself back to the front. She wasn’t going to go down without taking a couple more Draeken with her. Out of nowhere, a boot came down on her injured leg, and she screamed in blinding agony.
When her vision cleared, she found herself lying on her back, with the Draeken who had spoken before now towering over her. He got down on one knee, watching her with silver eyes. Then he grabbed her gun and tugged the collar of her shirt.
His eyes looked over her soullare. “Interesting.”
“Jealous?” she sneered with every ounce of tenacity she had left.
One side of his mouth curved up. That was, until a laser cut through a wing and he went sailing back against the sink, porcelain shattering.
“Sienna!”
She pulled herself up to see Nalea run toward her. Sienna had never seen a more beautiful sight in her life. The sounds of battle echoed from the cafeteria. Help had finally arrived. Thank God.
“It’s about time.” She crawled for the gun that the Draeken had taken from her and had dropped when Nalea shot him.
Nalea gave her a full, real smile before giving the fallen Draeken a solid kick to the gut. He let out a grunt. She grabbed a fist of hair and yanked. “Roden.” She spat the name with vile surprise.
Even though his brow was furrowed in pain, he smiled. “It’s nice to know I’m unforgettable.”
“You will pay for what you’ve done to my people.” She pulled out her gun and aimed. His leg kicked out, knocking her down.
“Lea.” Sienna’s scream came out more like a whisper. Somehow, she pulled herself up on an elbow, helplessly watching the two tussle, too weak to help. They were too close for her to open fire. All she could do was wait for a clear shot as her friend fought an opponent who clearly outmatched her in both size and skill.
Time seemed to slow as the two fought. The one called Roden knocked Nalea to the ground. She twisted and came up with a blade, slicing across his shirt. His wings closed around her, trapping her inside. Aside from two pairs of boots, they were blocked from her sight. After several seconds of violent struggle hidden within his wings, the two fighters became eerily still. What the hell?
With the last of her strength, Sienna fired a shot above his head, and pieces of ceiling rained down onto his closed wings, hitting his wound. With a hiss, his wings opened, and Nalea collapsed to the floor, staring up at him in shock.
“No.” Sienna fired again on instinct. Missed. The Draeken kicked the gun out of her hand, and his boot shoved her hard. She felt herself hit the wall, and she hazily thought it should’ve hurt more than it did.
As she lost feeling in her limbs, Nalea filled her vision.
“Glad you could make it,” Sienna whispered hoarsely, no longer having enough strength to talk.
“Stay with me, Sienna. Stay with me.”
“We make a good team, don’t we?”
“Yeah, Sienna. We do.”
“Peace out.” Or, at least that was what she thought she said before the world closed in on her.
Chapter Eleven
I’m in hell.
That was Sienna’s first thought when she cracked open her dry eyes. Her head throbbed. Her mouth tasted like cotton. Every muscle in her body ached.
When she moved to pull her beaten body upright, hot pain shot through her leg.
“Oh,” she muttered hoarsely.
“Careful, tahren.”
The sweet words were a beacon calling to her. Strong arms enveloped her in heat and pulled her gently into a seating position. Legian held her against him for
a moment while he fluffed the pillow behind her back. She inhaled the masculine scent she’d missed so much. The man she’d missed so much.
“Water.” Jesus. Her throat was so dry she croaked out the word like a chain-smoking frog.
“Here.” She felt Legian wrap her hand around a glass. He coaxed it to her lips, and she nearly moaned when the cool liquid poured down her throat.
He pulled the glass away too soon and wiped water from her chin with his finger. “That’s enough for now.”
Sienna lay her head back against the propped pillow. Now she knew what Humpty Dumpty felt like when he fell off the wall. But she was alive. So totally didn’t see that one coming.
She was alive, which meant by no small miracle they had held back the Draeken. And Legian was here. He’d made it back to her. She reached out, and he grabbed her hand and held it against his warm cheek. She lifted her eyes and looked at him.
She heard a click, and suddenly she could see him in the light from the small beaded lamp at her side. His hair was messier than after their wildest lovemaking, his eyes were swollen. He winced in the light but continued to look at her straight on.
“You look like shit,” she blurted out.
“You’re not looking so great yourself,” Legian replied with a smirk. Then he frowned. “I wish you had the Sephian ability to pull energy from others to heal yourself. Seeing you like this — ”
“I know.” She instinctively looked around for a window, even though she knew there were none. The base was underground, and there was no way to tell day from night. The Med room had more color than the rest of the base combined. Where everything else were shades of black, in Med, silky fabric draped the walls and all the furniture was soft. Even the plush mattress she lay on was nothing like a hospital bed. Everything was more like a surreal lounge on Star Trek than about the chemical-laden cleanliness of human hospitals.
Sienna turned to her lover, her neck muscles too stiff. “How long have I been out?”