Shattered Soul

by Angela Verdenius

  “No. Each other.”

  There was something in his tone that made her push upwards again to look down at him.

  His gaze was just as calm, but now there was something more in them, something soft. Something that made warmth sweep through her. Something... “Fredrico?”

  Reaching up, he pushed a heavy lock of her hair behind her ear before he cupped her face in his hand. “Rani, I’m falling in love with you.”

  Stunned was a mild word for what she felt upon hearing that declaration. She didn’t know what to say, what to think. Warmth swept through her, but she didn’ ct sor whatt know how she felt. “Fredrico, I... I don’t know…”

  His smile was gentle. “You don’t have to know. We have forever for you to figure out what I already know.”

  She arched one brow at his statement. “That’s rather presumptuous of you.”

  “Looks like not all my ego got destroyed here after all. I do believe you resurrected some of it. You’re a miracle.” His gaze softened. “My miracle.”

  That warmth was filling her, regardless of how uncertain she felt. “Fredrico, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t worry,” he replied calmly. “One day you will. I can wait.”

  Rani blinked, not sure what to answer to that bold proclamation.

  “After all,” he continued huskily, “I’ll still have you here in my arms, where you belong, and beside me where you place is.”

  If there was one thing she couldn’t deny, it was that being in his arms felt so right. Being with him was just so right.

  Lowering her head, she started to press a kiss to his lips.

  A loud banging on the door interrupted them.

  Without hesitation Fredrico pushed Rani around and down so that she was sheltered behind him, while he reached for his laser on the bedside table and roared, “Who the hell is it?”

  “The Overlord is calling for you and Rani,” was the shouted reply. “Now. It’s urgent.”

  Rani flung the covers back and climbed out of the bed. “That can’t be good.”

  They dressed quickly and ran to The Overlord’s chamber. Inside they found The Overlord contemplating Veknor, who stood before him.

  “What’s wrong?” Fredrico asked.

  Rani watched quietly.

  The Overlord’s pupils dilated. “We attack now.”

  Rani raised her brows at Veknor, who inclined his head in agreement. “Well, shit,” she said.

  It seemed the night was full of surprises.

  ~ * ~

  Inner Sanctum of the Outlaw Sector

  Space

  Battalions of space ships soared through the sky, spearing higher into the clouds and beyond until space swallowed the metal hulks. Demons moved, shadows in space that hazily blotted out stars. Horns tossed, tusks gleamed. They mingled amongst ships, guarding them.

  On the flight desk of Fredrico’s ship, Rani watched the ships flying in close formation around them. Two days of travelling and they were finally drawing close to their destination. No doubt The Darknen already knew of their coming, there was no way anyone could miss the coming of a battalion of space ships and a whole heap of tusk-tossing demons. It was only a matter of time before he met them head-on.

  Fredrico appeared by her side. “We’re leaving.”

  “It’s about time,” she replied. “Standing here waiting for some mystical attack by The Darknen just isn’t doing it for me.”

  “Trust me, The Darknen has his own army.”

  “If it’s as weird and spooky as ours, I may not stand the shock.”

  “I’ll be sure to revive you personally with a little tongue to tongue.” His grin was all teeth and hot suggestion.

  “I’m pretty sure that should be mouth to mouth, but I’ll take what you’re offering.” A little curl of desire spiralled through her.

  His eyes gleamed, but rather than take the subject further he turned and led the way through the flight deck.

  Damned shame he was getting such good control of his emotions. Rani took one look at the hard-eyed crew of Fredrico’s and revised her thoughts. Damned good thing they were both able to control their emotions for a short time. The thought of the crew watching them ripping each other’s clothes off was not a good thing.

  Following Fredrico through the ship, Rani took note of the space pirates that were in the process of checking weapons yet again. Carto, Fredrico’s second-in-command, was overseeing the process with cold calm. He glanced up at her with soulless eyes, nodded briefly and returned his attention to the manblasters across his knee. Alonz’s metal hand made a whirring noise as his fingers loaded the laser packs. The packs looked ridiculously small in the hulking brute’s metal hand. The other space pirates looked briefly at her, not one with lust but all with mild deference.

  Not really caring if they respected her or not, Rani continued down into the bowels of the ship behind Fredrico. In the small hold at the bottom Veknor was already sitting in the four-man space shuttle. She jumped into the back seat, and Fredrico slid into the pilot’s seat. The space shield slid over top and sealed shut, the hold door open, and the shuttle flared to silent life and soared out into space.

  Immediately she saw the weirdly comforting forms of Ethmor and Dreden fall in on each side of the shuttle, their monstrous haziness causing a dip in the space, the only thing to reveal their presence.

  A face at the shield made her jump, the bleeding black holes where eyes should be grotesque. It was a damned wraith. It swung away and swooped off. More wraiths followed to disappear in space.

  “Brought your friends, I see,” she said to Veknor.

  The dry rustle that accompanied his slight movement no longer chilled her. “You noticed.”

  “Couldn’t help it when one of them just scared the crap out of me.” Fredrico chuckled and she pulled a face at the back of his head before returning her attention to Veknor. “I hope your crazy idea works.”

  “Nothing is ever for sure,” Veknor returned. “We’re not quite ready, it’s true, but we can no longer wait.”

  “Still not going to tell us the source of your information, huh?”

  “Just follow the plan.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “Warrior, you don’t like anything you can’t face with a sword in your hand.”

  “Gosh, Veknor, you know me so well. I’m touched.”

  Fredrico veered the shuttle around. “Hold on. The slipstream is coming.”

  “Where?” Rani asked, grabbing hold of the hand rail.

  “Here,” he replied, and the shuttle swung around sharply.

  It was as though a huge hand had grabbed hold of the shuttle. The metal creaked, the shield splintered but held. The stars blurred as the shuttle was pulled through space at incredible speed. Everything was a blur, the c a the shistars flashing. Dimly she registered the roar of Ethmor, and one of his tusks flashed out of the corner of her eye.

  The shuttle shuddered and for one awful second she thought it was going to literally pull apart. How it held was a miracle, as far as she was concerned.

  The slipstream veered down sharply and the shuttle fell. It dipped, swayed, and Rani had to grit her teeth against the nausea that threatened. Her darkness rose suddenly, cloaking her and forcing the nausea back. Her sight sharpened and now she could see it. Colours flashed, inky blackness loomed, and then they were in a tunnel so black she couldn’t see anything. But she knew they were still going at an insane speed, she could feel the pull in her very soul.

  And that was her first indication that wherever they were, it wasn’t something she deemed normal. Her soul felt heavier, dragging, and she gritted her teeth. A massive hand came down and wrapped around her, and looking up she saw Ethmor’s monstrous form above the shuttle. On the other side was Dreden, his hand wrapped around Fredrico. Veknor’s demon had hold of him.

  The demons held back whatever was coming. She saw them, winged monstrosities with gaping maws and scythes that sought to sever the souls
from the bodies of the invaders, and only the demons kept them back, their great roaring and tossing tusks a threat.

  Seemed like even monsters respected demons. Yay for the demons, Rani thought faintly. Even weirder was the fact that she felt so damned safe inside her demon’s hold.

  The monsters fell back and disappeared. The demons released their hold on Rani, Fredrico and Veknor, and Rani was relieved to find her soul seemed to be firmly attached into her body.

  Glancing up from patting herself down, she met Fredrico’s eyes from where he had twisted around in his seat. “Hey.” She grinned lopsidedly at him.

  “Are you all right?” Concern for her was in every hard line of his face.

  “All together, thanks for caring.” She cast her gaze over him. “You?”

  “Fine.” Fredrico switched his regard to Veknor. “You?”

  A dry laugh rasped from Veknor’s throat. “Just dandy, friend.”

  The words produced a strange look on Fredrico’s face, and then he smiled. Rani realized that Veknor sounded almost like the Veknor of old if you didn’t count the fact that his voice whistled like a wind through dry branches.

  There was no time for further thought as the shuttle speared upward suddenly, throwing them all back in their seats, and next thing it had broken through the wall into an ocean. An ocean filled with nightmares. Mere aliens with bleeding, gaping wounds and serrated teeth swam quickly alongside the shuttle, their webbed claws scratching along the splintered shield threateningly.

  Again Ethmor, Dreden and Veknor’s demon protected them, coming alongside and roaring at the mere aliens, their tusks cutting through several as they tossed their great heads.

  Ethmor snapped at one, managing to bite off the whole top half from the belly up, and with a toss of his head he chomped the carcass down, green blood trickling from his lips. He turned to look at Rani and roared, his eyes gleaming orange.

  “Good boy,” Rani said. “Nice trick.” Hell, what else could she say? The demon was protecting her and doing it well. Messily, but well.

  Murky shapes carved a swath through the water in the distance, approaching c apeaming orarapidly. She didn’t have to worry, because the slipstream yanked the shuttle up and through the water, flinging them out into a cavern of sorts. The shuttle hit the ground with a bone-jarring jolt and everything went silent.

  For several seconds they sat and took stock of themselves before Fredrico slid the space shield open and they climbed out to stand on the spongy surface.

  “This doesn’t look anything like The Darknen’s fortress,” Rani observed. “Think we got lost?”

  Veknor turned his hooded head briefly in her direction before walking around slowly, his steps dry rustling.

  Fredrico examined the shuttle. “Hopefully not, because this shuttle isn’t going to last much longer.” As he spoke, the space shield shattered and broke apart. “Not at all, actually.”

  “We are almost there, I can feel it.” Lifting his arms, Veknor breathed deep and murmured quietly.

  Deep red ran through the air, heat filled the cavern, and the stench of sulphur burned Rani’s nostrils. Taking shallow breaths, she eyed Veknor. He might sometimes sound a little like the Veknor of old, but it would be wise to keep in mind that he wasn’t the old Veknor. He was a dark mystic and into freaky shit.

  She glanced at Fredrico and caught the tight expression on his face as he watched his old friend. Closing the short distance between them in two long strides, she nudged him in the back and said softly, “Friends no matter what. Right?”

  Almost instantly she felt the tension ease from him and even though he didn’t smile, she saw the fleeting warmth in his eyes when he looked over his shoulder at her. “Right.”

  He looked so tempting standing there with his blonde hair caught at the nape in a leather thong and his lean body clothed in tight pants and a billowing-sleeved shirt. Rakish. Dangerous. She inhaled deeply. Enticing.

  Fredrico’s eyes darkened but he merely frowned a warning at her.

  Reeling in her wayward emotions and thoughts, Rani sighed and looked across at Veknor. “Are we there yet? Close? Please?”

  The dark mystic turned to face them. “I never realized what an annoyance you can be, warrior.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She grinned faintly. “Unfortunately, mystic, this is how I am when going into a fight. I can’t tell one direction from another, but I can kill the enemy with my attitude.”

  “Really?” Veknor asked dryly.

  “That’s what my sister warriors always said.”

  “They would know.” He paused. “And now so do we.”

  “Lucky us.” Fredrico’s lips twitched in amusement.

  “Can I still play?”

  The twin red glows of Veknor’s eyes burned bright. “The playing is going to get a little rough.”

  “I can handle it.”

  “Good. Here we go.”

  No sooner had the words left his mouth than the slipstream roared through the cavern and picked them up. It lifted them high and yanked them down the tunnel, going lower and deeper. The walls passed, jagged and dangerous, and Rani would have fought to stay away from them, would have fought to remain upright, would have been tossed around like a feather in a storm, but Ethmor was there again, his hand holding her, protecting her from the walls and keepin cls tossg her upright.

  Having her own demon was turning out to be quite handy.

  Veknor’s demon was ahead, Fredrico’s behind. The demons flowed with the stream, their bodies merging with the rock, part flesh and part mystical, but solid where they protected their charges. The tunnel curved and went straight up, the shaft narrowing, the walls so close Rani could have reached out and touched it. Up and up, faster and faster, and then suddenly they came out and pulled to a shuddering stop.

  Ethmor released her and she fell to her hands and knees on the floor. Her mind spun and she had trouble breathing for several seconds. A hand came to rest on her back and Fredrico knelt beside her.

  “Easy, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Just concentrate.”

  The violet glow came through his hand and seeped into her, touching her thundering heart and soothing it, slowing the frantic beats. Her breaths went from almost hyperventilating to steady breaths. Coming back to sit on her heels, she leaned against Fredrico, feeling his arm come around her waist to cradle her to him. “You came through that better than me,” she managed to say.

  “I’ve travelled the slipstream before.”

  “You could have warned me.”

  “Sorry. It was a long time ago. I’d forgotten its affect if one isn’t prepared for it.”

  “You are going to pay when we get back home.” Closing her eyes, she waited for the dizziness to pass.

  “Is that a promise?” he teased.

  “Oh yeah. I’m gonna suck you dry, pump you back up, and suck you dry again. I’m going to do it so many times your toes will curl and you’ll be screaming my name for a change.”

  Fredrico went dead still. Feeling the dark change in him, she looked up to see his eyes burning hotly. His jaw line was tight, his voice harsh with dark desire. “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

  “Sorry.” Glancing across at Veknor, she could almost see the disapproval pouring off him. “I’m sorry, okay? The words popped out before I thought. Mind you...” she grinned up at Fredrico. “It’s a goal to keep in mind. Fight, win, and go home to be—”

  “If you’re quite finished,” Veknor rasped, “we have work to do.”

  Fredrico helped her stand, not releasing his hold on her until she was able to stop her knees shaking. Once she was able to walk without her legs threatening to give way, she took notice of where they stood.

  The hole in the floor they’d come through opened into a dungeon. The doors on the cells were nothing but iron bars. Rotting corpses in various stages lined the walls, the chains still anchored around the wrists. Nothing alive was in the stinking dungeon.

  “
Delightful,” she said. “Reminds me of some parts of home.”

  Veknor ignored her and started down the dank corridor.

  Laser in hand, Fredrico followed with Rani by his side. “I had no idea you were like this during battle.”

  “Karana, the Reeka leader, always threatened to gag me.” Rani ignored the little twinge at the memory. “I guess it’s my survival mode. It didn’t always work, though.”

  “Oh?”

  “I wasn’t laughing when my throat got slit. I certainly wasn’t laughing when Phemar brought me back from the dead. That I’m l c Tht aughing now is a little ironic.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. I thought all the mystic shit had burned it out of me.”

  There was a small curve of amusement on Fredrico’s lips. “I’m glad to see it didn’t. I find you quite entertaining.”

  “You won’t by the end of the fight,” she assured him. “By the end of the fight, most of my sister warriors were ready to run me through with a sword.”

  “I’m not your sister warriors.” His gaze captured hers. “I’m your lover.”

  Oh boy, that held a lot of insinuation, but mostly it just made her feel warm. “That’s what makes you more interesting.”

  Halting, Veknor hissed, “Something’s coming.”

  Immediately alert, Rani stepped back against the wall and scanned the surroundings. At first she could feel nothing, but then a slight shiver went down her spine. A roar sounded from behind her and she sprang forward just in time to dodge the dislodged stone from the wall as a huge figure broke through it.

  Fredrico shoved her behind him, but being taller she was able to lift her arm and level her laser at the monstrosity they faced, using Fredrico’s shoulder to steady her arm.

  The monstrosity was one new to her. Stocky, four arms and two legs bulging with muscle and corded veins, it had great, curving talons in place of nails. Around its neck was a thin thread holding an array of ears, still with bits of rotting skin attached. Its face was wide, jagged teeth with bits of flesh between them too big for the mouth.