“Tell usss what we wisssh, Kasssar, and we will let you go.” Those glowing, unblinking eyes watched him with cold cruelty as it uttered its lie. Red heat clouded his vision. Vache, Kasar warrior rage, filled him. He spit what little moisture he could summon into the leader’s face. Without a sound and without wiping the bloody spittle from its snout, the reptile slowly turned and touched a switch with a claw. A hot blast of pain ripped through Vadyn. His back arched. His muscles strained. Darkness threatened him again, but, with it, came blessed relief. His last coherent thoughts were of Cayla. He had nearly given up the hope for their union. But, several times during his torture, he had felt the strength of her love sustaining him even as she blocked herself. He wished he could just feel the connection for real one more time. He knew she would fight to survive for their child’s sake—she could even survive his death because of their child. He could die happy. But death was a weak escape, not a warrior’s way. He wouldn’t give up without a struggle. Giving up was another failure to haunt him with its fragile ineptness. No! He fought the darkness and his careening thoughts. He was a Kasar warlord! He remembered his friends and their needless deaths. The desire for vengeance choked him. He swallowed his own blood in reflex. His stomach roiled. I’m sorry, my friends, for letting you down. I’m sorry, my mate, for not being with you longer. My child, I am sorry I will never know you. All of his life regrets plagued him while he fought to breathe through the pain.
If given the chance, he would make up for his neglect. He roared but heard only a weak groan. Darkness claimed him.
Chapter 15
BATLA DROPPED his Cobra from patrol squad formation. The ship wobbled in erratic motion, moving like it was a damaged ship in distress. Just as Cayla thought, the old war veteran had jumped at the chance to be the bait. What seemed like a wounded ship’s flight was an orderly path, a drawing for predators.
She watched her screen through narrowed vision. Hiding in the dark side of Kasara’s moons, behind her little Vyper, Kasara’s ten fighter squadrons spread out in wing formation. Over the Elders’ objections, over the warrior clans’ dissentions, she commanded all the troops. Never in Kasara’s history had a ly’teal done such a thing. But she had threatened to go without them. And she meant it. No one doubted her. Tyrei was the first to support her claim, and, not to be outdone, Batla had seconded her plan. So in order to protect her and Kasara’s heir, all the warriors had to follow. Cayla hid her satisfaction and focused intently on her instruments. If she had brought all the fighter pilots that had wanted to come, she feared they would scare the Xeetag away. The rest dutifully hid further behind Kasara’s moons. They had been waiting for too long. If the lizards didn’t show soon, the squadrons would have to regroup for tomorrow. Damn it, she knew they were out there—today had to be the day that they would strike. Dalhum wouldn’t hold together much longer.
There! Was that what she thought? She stared intently, without blinking. Something quivered.
For a moment, the background wavered. Ghost shapes of cloaked Xeetag were finally following Batla’s decoy! The area in front of the stars warped, distorting space so that she easily located them on the screen just as they had looked outside Dara V.
Almost—almost in range—wait just a little longer. “Now!” Her cry echoed to all ships at the same moment she hit her weapons array. Silent explosions pinpointed the Xeetag’s cloaked locations. Warrior roars erupted over the com. Cannons blasted. Within moments, the mighty Xeetag’s cloaked squadron was surrounded. Seconds later, they were caught in a cross fire, revealing themselves fully when their devices failed.
When the rest of their armada minus their scarce cloaking ability made the transition from hyper-drive, she signaled for the remaining Kasara fleet that had hidden behind Kasara’s moons. Massive fighters formed a solid ring around the Xeetag, flanking them. Before the enemy knew of the pincer movement, it was too late. Fierce cannon fire laced the atmosphere with deadly accuracy. Tracers scored direct hits for the lasers to follow.
Pandemonium rained amid firm orders in the crackling com static.
Caught between the little Vypers’ in and out maneuvers, the Xeetag ships suffered Kasara’s lightning strikes. Then the heavier Cobras’ deadly cannon fire pounded the lizards’ floundering ships. Within moments, they were slashed to pieces. In complete disarray, the remaining few fighters deserted and raced for Dalhum. That left the enemies’ huge carriers with their ground troops behind and unprotected and unable to land. The air grew thick with whirling ships and confusion. But the lumbering Xeetag carriers filled with lizard ground troops were surrounded. They obviously didn’t know what to do. But they still managed to inflict heavy casualties to Kasara’s warriors.
Cayla watched with a heavy heart as two hopelessly damaged Cobras went up in flames, both ramming a massive Xeetag troop carrier before they exploded. Other Kasar suicide pilots effectively took out some of the Xeetag heavier ships; if too wounded to survive, they chose to go out in a moment of glory. Admiration warred within her bitter grief. Then both emotions drained the fight out of her. Only the thought of Vadyn waiting for rescue kept her moving through the motions of command. His warrior spirit memories sustained her until finally the skies above Kasara cleared. No enemies remained in sight. But with the few wounded Xeetag ships limping back to Dalhum, Cayla knew they had time to warn the lizards’ home world. Hopefully, if all went as planned, Tyrei was there and safely hidden by now. While the others were busy engaged in the battle, Tyrei’s all important job had been to sneak in and get Vadyn out. If the Xeetag were kept busy fighting, perhaps they wouldn’t be guarding him too closely. Panicky fear threatened her tenuous hold on sanity. She couldn’t just fly home to Kasara to wait as her lieutenants had gotten her to promise before the battle. No, she could do this. Quickly, she ordered the rest of the damaged and remaining squadrons back to Kasara with a barely hidden quiver in her voice. With her com silent, she then pulled her fighter out of formation.
“Ly’teal? Where are you going?” Batla swung his craft after hers. She knew better than to try and fool the old veteran.
“After Tyrei and the el’kota.”
“Well, I’m coming too!” His growl sounded even more ferocious over the static-filled com.
“Me, too!” Voices that she couldn’t identify echoed Batla’s.
“Aye, and me! Me! Me!” Countless calls followed until finally she slowed her Vyper. The silly fools would all try and protect her. She had to send them back to Kasara.
“I know you all want to come, but my orders to you are to protect Kasara. How can you do that if you all follow me?” She paused, dropped her voice. “One fighter flying in low might escape Xeetag detection but not a whole fleet of vessels. Thank you for your offer, but I’m going—alone.” She pushed into hyper-drive without waiting for an agreement. After transition, she noted that two blips had still defiantly followed on her coordinates. She shook her head. She didn’t have time to argue, but she had her suspicions. “I thought I ordered everyone back to Kasara,” she growled when they transferred into free space. She knew one ship was Batla’s; the other could only be the twins’ Cobra.
“Our communicators must have shorted out. We thought you said to follow you. Sorry, ly’teal, but since we’re here—”
I’ll just bet you’re sorry, she grinned to herself. “Well, let’s go down for a look-see.”
“Right behind you.” She could hear the excited glee in the warrior’s growl.
“Popi?” At least she thought it was him.
“Yes.”
“I’m glad you two came.”
“So are we, my lady. So are we.”
The roar of a Cobra’s exploding cannon shells threw the Xeetag into panic flight. Batla was busy before the twins and Cayla even got close. She checked around but didn’t see Tyrei’s Vyper anywhere. Not that she had expected to. Never a hesitant warrior, he should be in
position now, nearer the el’kota’s location. Perhaps even inside. Excitement lent butterflies to her stomach. She couldn’t wait! He was so close. But she dared not reach out for fear of exposing their plans.
With the twins on her right in their Cobra, Cayla buzzed the Xeetag’s world with her guns loaded and her heart in her throat. Doubts assailed her. Maybe she should have brought additional fighters with her. She had no idea if she would be needed, or if her presence would make things more difficult. She only knew she had to be in on Vadyn’s rescue, no matter what. She had to see him soon, place her hands on him so she knew that he lived. Hurry!
When she finally neared the airfield, she saw the lizard-world in total uproar. Crowds of troops without leaders dropped weapons and ran about through smoking chaos. Evidence of cannon fire scored the many flattened buildings. Cayla shook her head in exasperation. Hopefully, Batla had missed Vadyn’s prison. She hovered in her craft and ground her teeth at the old warrior’s disobedience, but she understood his driving need for vengeance. She felt the same. But damn it, he was supposed to have sneaked in, maneuvering his Cobra behind Dalhum’s many asteroids and barren moons. So much for his stealth. She pushed thoughts of Batla away and concentrated on Tyrei. She still hadn’t spotted his Vyper anywhere! Carefully she beeped his wrist communicator first then whispered, “Are you in position, Lieutenant?”
“Ly’teal?” Astonishment rang in his low growl. Obviously, he fully expected that she would be resting, safely back on Kasara. She grinned. From his growl, he wasn’t pleased to find her here.
“Do not worry, Tyrei, Kasara is safe.” She kept her voice strong, self-assured. “I will provide back up for you.”
“Whatever you do, do not land, ly’teal!” In the background, she heard his snarled mutter, “I would prefer you went home to Kasara.”
“And I would prefer that you get the el’kota the hell out of there!” She nearly yelled at him. Hastily, he replied.
“Yes, my liege.” She could almost see him tip his head to her in her mind. She smiled and nearly forgave him until he demanded, “Who came with you?” Even though he rightfully assumed that she had other fighters with her, his thought that she needed them irked her.
“Batla and the twins,” she grumbled reluctantly. “Wait until we join you.”
“No.” She actually jerked her head at his disobedience then he explained. “It is better that we do not wait any longer. I’ve located what I think is the command center with its holding cell. I will be in a good position in a few moments, then I’m going in alone. I’ll leave my com link open; follow it but do not call. When you get there, have the twins circle the building and come in from each side.” Tyrei paused, and his next words echoed softly. “It has been an honor to serve you, ly’teal.” Her heart thumped heavily. His words sounded almost as if in farewell.
The lump in her throat made her reply echo thickly to her own ears. “The honor has been mine, Tyrei.” Be safe, she whispered to herself as fears swamped her. Damn it, she wanted Vadyn out of there—now. Her adrenaline pumped to maximum. On her ship’s screen, two battle-sized warships launched from the Xeetag’s battered airfield. Obviously, some order remained in the lizards’ command.
“Fire at will,” her orders rang out just before a weapons’ spread from the twins’ and Batla’s ships opened fire. They weren’t taking any chances with her safety. Well, they’d just have to leave her some fun. She loosened her Vyper’s lasers, hitting the Xeetag’s grounded ships then she targeted the unstable world and released her rockets. Boom.
The uneasy planet’s seismic activity threatened to tear it apart. It unraveled even further.
The vibrations started a chain reaction deep in the core.
A cosmic disaster waited just a few moments more.
In the battle’s hazy aftermath, she scanned the shaky, cloud-covered planet for a safe place to land close to Tyrei’s coordinates. The world was indeed unstable. Expelled brown dust ringed the atmosphere, making it impossible to get a good reading. How long before the place self-destructed?
Surprise had been her best weapon. Since that was over, she had resorted to trading laser fire, and although the Xeetag feinted and dodged, they were no match for the talented twins’ Cobra fighter or her speedy little Vyper. Finally, the Kasar warriors were satisfied that none sufficiently threatened, and they joined her. She had been merciless in her revenge for her parents, for her mate, but still, she felt as lost, as empty as the skies. Impatiently, she checked her wrist. Ten marks had nearly passed. “Land!” she ordered and hastily led the way toward Tyrei’s com beacon. But, she didn’t wait for the others. Before her Vyper’s engine had even died to a whine, she had shouldered her heavy laser rifle and rechecked her equipment. She grunted in warrior satisfaction and ran for the nearest group of mud brick buildings.
“This has got to be the command post,” she muttered to Batla and the twins when they skidded to a stop next to her. She ignored their worried glares. Without another word, she ran bent over into the next stone building’s shade. “Damn it, where’s Tyrei?” she muttered. Cautiously, she crept forward then ran to the next pile of rubble. Suddenly, Batla jammed himself in front of her, and the twins effectively covered her right side and rear. All three pair of golden eyes censured her. Just when she was ready to blast them with a reminder of who led and who followed, her wrist com softly beeped.
“Where are you, Tyrei?” she snapped in a hushed whisper.
“I am to your right, ly’teal. Look in the front building’s shadows.” He exposed one hand briefly in a wave.
“We see you.”
“Give me a few more minutes before you enter.” Cayla heard the click that said he had turned off the communicator before she saw Tyrei’s shadow slip inside the building. Her pulse beat a heavy rhythm in her ears. Impatiently, she counted off the seconds. Low, teeth-grinding growls came from the warriors who still surrounded her. They were trying valiantly to keep their vache under control. Around them, outside of where they hid, a few lizard men ran everywhere with seemingly no sense of direction. Many collided with each other before racing blindly away in another direction. She tightened the grip on her rifle, took a deep breath, and gathered her thoughts. The aimless Xeetag were all such tempting targets, but she must put her anger aside. Her mate waited for rescue. She must not foul this chance. She remembered the way Vadyn had draped between the Xeetag when they dragged him from their ship’s bridge. A sob gathered in her throat, but she clenched her jaw. Her chin rose. Vadyn counted on her. She must succeed in this rescue.
With barely a sound, she tapped Batla on the shoulder, and with a two-fingered wave, she motioned him forward. She and the twins crept in his wake. Haphazardly stacked crates and boxes crowded the inside of the building. They went from boxed stack to teetering stack, edging deeper into the room until they were inside the very core of the rank-smelling place. Cayla didn’t know which smelled worse, the musty reptile odor or the smell of old blood and suffering. A ring of yellow light illuminated figures in the center of the room. A low snarl escaped Batla. He stopped, trembling in front of her so that she had to look around him. Her heart dropped at the sight that greeted her.
A lone, large Xeetag stalked back and forth with Vadyn hanging limply over its forearm. Vadyn’s head and arms swayed back and forth, but he didn’t make a sound. His head lolled, bobbing with the lizard’s jerking stride. He was out, and this must be the leader of the lizards, the one responsible for all the deaths and heartache. Her finger tightened over her rifle’s trigger impatiently. She glanced at the twin next to her. Tremors visibly shook him. He was barely in control. His fangs fully extended, and the hand he rested on his laser held razor-sharp talons. But his gaze remained steady on Vadyn’s unconscious form. A hitch caught her breath. She looked closer at Vadyn’s hands. His mangled fingertips, claws ripped from their protected sheaths, dripped sluggish red. Her stomach rebell
ed at the sight, and she swallowed hard, reminding herself that he lived. Her throat wasn’t relieved though; she still fought convulsive muscles that urged her to vomit. The growls from her warriors grew so loud she shook her head at them. Obedient, they fought long bouts of deep breathing to calm down, to bring vache under control. The time had come for payback, but strict order must be maintained. She dared not use her mind-link to Vadyn for fear that she would be swept under by his injuries. The temptation to do so was so great that she gritted her teeth and blanked her mind.
The lizard lumbered back and forth, still swinging Vadyn, scattering blood drops. The stuff seemed to be everywhere: on the table, on the floor, and some still trickling in a weak stream. That meant he lived, didn’t it? But could he really have lost so much and still be alive?
Yes. If he bled, he lived. She clenched her jaw and raised her head. He had to live. She would know if he didn’t. In any case, in the next few moments, she would kill the big Xeetag. It surely had ordered her parents’ deaths and had done despicable tortures to her mate. Silently, she motioned her band forward with a finger flick. Inside the foul darkness, they wound their way deeper into the lighted room. The sound of heavy running feet jerked them back against the wall until a troop of Xeetag pounded past. Where had they come from? Cayla’s heart thudded back to normal, but still she waited, watching.
Sharp hisses issued from the room. More Xeetag exited in an agitated rush past their leader. They headed in all directions away from their location. Fleetingly, she wondered where Tyrei was in all the uproar. Too many Xeetag were still in residence to stay hidden for long. Besides, the warriors at her side were growing more impatient with each second that passed. All waited for Tyrei’s signal, for the right moment for rescue. Cayla shifted her weight, praying that the signal came soon.
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