Burn With Me (Legend of the Sun Whisperers)

by Christle Gray

  “That is not important. What is important, is that we must get out of this place before we are detected. Or killed.”

  Maddelyn shook her head and leaned back against the wall of the alcove. “I didn’t come all this way to have you pull the rug out from under me now. How did you even get here, anyway?”

  Draco narrowed his eyes before he spoke, his jaw clenched. “I spoke to the sun of this system and requested permission to tap into its energy for a power boost in order to find you.”

  Maddelyn blinked her eyes, uncertain she had heard correctly. Her mouth went slack for a second before she was able to speak. “I don’t even know what that means, exactly, but you shouldn’t have bothered. I have this all under control. No thanks to you.”

  Draco took a step toward her and faltered, catching his balance with an outstretched hand. “Just as soon as I’ve had a few moments to recover from the drain of power the transport caused, we will be leaving.”

  Maddelyn backed away, shaking her head. “Not on your life, buddy. I’ve come too far to quit, now.” She was not about to let him take control of the situation, not when she had come this far.

  Draco’s eyes blazed up for a second with what Maddelyn imagined was mild fury, probably just one step below the way he’d appeared when he killed the Raknorg soldier at her shack. “I will not stand by and watch you risk your life in an unwinnable fight!”

  “Then don’t stand by. Help me!”

  His jaw clenched tighter, as unmoving as his decision. His stubbornness just spurred Maddelyn on to action. “Fine. I guess I’m still on my own, then.”

  Draco’s hand darted out but she easily sidestepped his reach, turning swiftly to dart out of the little alcove. Remembering CAIT’s directions that she would be near the main control room, Maddelyn silently crept to the first doorway in the long hallway and ducked inside.

  More of the same glossy black greeted her in the doorway, differentiated only by a seam that ran down the middle, with a panel to the right side. “Great. Raknorg door lock. How do I get past this?”

  She studied the panel for a few moments, determined to not let a little thing like a locked door deter her from her plan. Upon inspection, Maddelyn realized that on the other side of the panel, closest to the wall, there was another smooth black rectangle, possibly some kind of a scanner.

  “Worth a try.” With a shrug, she placed her gloved hand on the pad. Her entire body stilled as she watched a red light move over the area, scanning the palm. For a few torturous seconds, nothing happened, and Maddelyn’s heart sank with disappointment. But then, the two doors slid smoothly open, granting her access.

  She stepped carefully through, her muscles tensed and ready for action, and immediately moved off to the left, flattening herself against the wall. This room was huge, and though it still was mostly black, multiple counters with more flashing lights than she could count lit the room with an eerie, reddish glow. Ok, now what?

  “I suggest we leave.” Draco’s voice nearly made her cry out in surprise, since she hadn’t heard him come through the door behind her. Maddelyn’s hand flew to her mouth, her teeth digging painfully into her knuckles in order to keep quiet until her heart removed itself from where it was firmly lodged in her throat. When she felt it was safe, she removed her fist from her mouth and promptly punched Draco in the arm with it.

  “Now who’s trying to get us killed?” her voice was a harsh whisper.

  Draco shrugged nonchalantly, but his amber eyes were still lit from within. His lips parted, as if he was about to say something, but then he grabbed her hard by the shoulders and roughly pushed her to the floor, following close behind. The action made her bump her head on the edge of the nearest counter, and she was sure she saw stars for an instant.

  “Hey, what was that for?” she asked, rubbing the now sore spot on her head.

  “We have company, so you’d better keep quiet, if you value that pretty little head of yours.” His words were so sharp, they could have cut something.

  Maddelyn turned to peer around the edge of the counter, barely glimpsing a peek of their Raknorg guest before Draco yanked her back. “What part of that statement sounded like ‘look at the evil alien so he knows where we’re hiding?’”

  Maddelyn gave Draco a nasty look. “There’s no need to be rude. I was just trying to see where we stood.”

  Draco grabbed her arm again, his grip firm, but still not as strong as she knew he could be. “Where we stand, is that we are getting the hell out of here.”

  Maddelyn shrugged off his arm. “I told you already, I’m not going anywhere until I do what I came to do.” Draco opened his mouth to argue, but Maddelyn cut him off. “And you’re not back to one hundred percent yet, so you can’t make me!”

  Before Draco could react, or Maddelyn could think about what she was about to do, she sprung from her hiding place and covered the space of the main aisle she’d seen to immediately crouch behind the next counter, across and away from Draco.

  From her new spot, Maddelyn could see Draco and the fury that lit his gaze even more. She could also hear her blood rushing in her ears, the fear of how close she was to either succeeding or failing drowning out all other sound for a few scary moments while she concentrated on getting her emotions and everything else under control.

  I can so do this.

  “Intruder alert! Intruder alert!” The grating voice of the Raknorg cut through the air along with the shrill wail of a claxon, making Maddelyn’s teeth ache.

  Crap.

  A cold panic set in, numbing her insides as she stole a glance over at Draco. His features were set in a determined look that had “I told you so” written all over it. Men.

  A small beeping sound brought her out of her thoughts for a moment, almost too soft to hear over the now deafening alarms. Maddelyn glanced around, and realized with a sinking feeling in her gut that is was coming from the glove still on her hand. They must have tracked the glove when she used it to open the lock on the door.

  She shucked the black glove, removing the data crystal and shoving it into her pants pocket. Then she banged the thing violently against the floor, the screen on it cracking further as little sparks arced through the air, before the thing went completely dead. Well, CAIT had said the thing couldn’t take her home anyway. No big loss. Everything is still on track.

  Just as she was patting herself on the back at a job well done, a stream of light whizzed right over her head and exploded on the wall behind her. Maddelyn gulped and crouched even lower. There was no way to deny that they’d been found, now.

  Across the aisle, Draco crouched as low as he could. The small counter was barely able to hide his broad shouldered form from the rain of alien fire that now erupted from the Raknorg’s gun. Maddelyn watched in fascination as Draco proceeded to pulse lightly with a golden light, before forming one of those destructive balls of fire in his hand and hurling it in the direction of their attacker.

  Remembering the gun that she’d also stolen from the dead soldier, Maddelyn gripped the handle and pulled it from the waistband of her jeans. The black metal of the gun’s casing was cool in her hand as she turned it over, examining it in the hopes that the way to operate the thing would make itself known. A small switch on the top looked promising, so Maddelyn flicked it to the side. A faint humming brought the weapon to life in her hands, and the tip glowed a bright orange-red in mere seconds.

  Now, we’re in business.

  Maddelyn peeked around the edge of the counter just long enough to see the Raknorg fire another round in Draco’s direction. The alien was at the other end of the room, in front of another glossy black door. A larger, brighter console of flashing lights was situated midway between the two places. With a certainty deep down in her gut, Maddelyn knew that fixture had to have the data port she needed to end this. She just had to figure out how to get there.

  Inhaling deeply, Maddelyn moved to the edge of her hiding place, the gun heavy and awkward in her hand. A memory of he
r father trying to teach her how to fire a weapon surfaced briefly. She’d shied from the instruction, certain she’d never need to know such a thing. How she’d wished she’d taken him up on his offer, now. Maddelyn curled her finger around the trigger and extended her arm, taking aim as best she could for someone who’d never fired any kind of weapon. Sweat trickled uncomfortably down her ribcage as she held her breath and squeezed her finger back against the trigger.

  The end of the gun erupted in a blaze of light, the force knocking Maddelyn backwards as the gun kicked back and slammed into her jaw.

  Well, that’s probably going to leave a mark.

  Of course, this also meant her aim went wildly askew and the resulting damage landed far above the alien jerk she was trying to hit. For her effort, the Raknorg sent a gun blast her way, showering sparks over her head just as she scrambled out of the way.

  Rubbing her throbbing jaw for a moment, Maddelyn moved to the edge of the counter again, this time determined to hit the Raknorg will all she had. She squared her shoulders, gripped the gun tighter, and let out a long breath as she fired again, more prepared for the force of the gun’s recoil. This time her blast hit the Raknorg’s right shoulder, taking him down.

  “Yes!” Maddelyn cast a victory glance over at Draco, who actually seemed a bit impressed. But the joy of victory was short lived as the glossy black door slid open and two soldiers took the previous one’s place. Their gun fire immediately cut through the air like heat seeking missiles.

  Maddelyn pounded the floor in anger as she slid back into a crouch. Was it too much to ask for something to go her way once in awhile? She prepared to fire again when noises behind her caught her attention.

  Maddelyn’s head swiveled as she realized what was happening.

  They were coming for them through the door she and Draco had entered through. Mentally slapping herself for forgetting the back entrance, Maddelyn racked her brain to figure out what to do. Hoping for the best, she aimed for the control panel on this side of the door and fired, sparks flying through the air as the wiring shorted out. Maddelyn’s stomach took a nosedive as the doors began sliding open, but then they stopped short, leaving about a one inch gap. With a sigh of relief, she turned her attention back to the two soldiers still firing at her and Draco from the front.

  Draco’s fireballs seemed larger and better aimed than before as he continued to release his fury on the Raknorg soldiers. Maddelyn could only hope that this meant his strength was returning. Because if she was going to be able to do what she needed to do, Draco would need to keep both soldiers occupied.

  Remembering what Draco had said about sensing her thoughts, Maddelyn took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on sending a message to Draco through the chaos of the fight.

  Cover me. I’m going to try and get to that central panel. I’m sure there will be a data port for the crystal there.

  A loud groan was the response she got to her left, letting her know that Draco had received her message, loud and clear, despite the carnage going on around them. She dare not risk a glance in his direction, or else she’d lose her focus.

  I have to do this, Draco. Please understand.

  Maddelyn steeled herself as she prepared to make her way to the central console. With a deep breath that just might be her last, Maddelyn leapt from her spot and sprinted toward her destination, attempting to block out the sound of gun fire and exploding circuits as they burned through the air just a bit too close for comfort. Just as one blast came close enough she was sure her hair was at least singed, she reached the counter and ducked down, breathless with adrenaline and fear.

  A few seconds passed before she could move without fear of passing out. But as control of her wits and her muscles returned, Maddelyn slid the data crystal from her pocket and pulled herself up on her knees so she could see the panel better.

  So many flashing lights blurred with the action surrounding her. A couple of electrical fires spewed smoke into the air as well, making her cough. Madelyn glanced over the panel frantically, searching for anything that looked like what CAIT had described to her.

  Please, if there is a God, let there be a data port on this damn thing, or all this will have been for nothing.

  Maddelyn was about to give up when she spied a curiously shaped hole on her far right, amongst a group of lights blinking red in rapid succession. Bingo. This one’s for you, Serra.

  With as much gusto as she could manage, Maddelyn shoved the crystal home, the cylinder fitting snugly into its rightful place with a small click.

  For a few intense moments, the thing merely blinked at her, almost like it was mocking her in some way. But then, the floor beneath her legs began rumbling, the vibrations jarring her knees and traveling up her body hard enough that her teeth chattered.

  The alarm claxons changed, went up a notch in volume until Maddelyn could barely even here herself think, let alone anything else going on around her. She crawled on her hands and knees, not trusting her feet to carry her safely over the unstable floor. Slowly she crawled back toward where she left Draco. The two Raknorg soldiers were still firing at him, though Maddelyn could hear additional chaos in the hallways as the other soldiers tried to figure out what was going on. If CAIT was right, then the mainframe should be infected by now, and spreading to each and every station, ship, and glove in the vicinity.

  Finally.

  At last, Maddelyn had some sort of vindication for the decimation of her once beautiful home. Though nothing would bring any of her family members back, at least they had a small dose of justice in their name.

  Maddelyn even managed to smile as she neared Draco’s nook, now eager to take him up on his offer of leaving this damn ship. Just as she clumsily pulled herself to a semi standing position, a grating sound just ahead caught her attention.

  One of the Raknorg had managed to pry open the fried rear door just enough to fit the muzzle of his blaster through. Maddelyn blinked, time slowing to a crawl as her brain processed what was about to happen. She glanced over at Draco, still fighting a war he had no reason to, only because he had cared for her enough to keep her safe. Now look what it got him.

  Thank you, Draco, for being Serra’s fiery angel. And, I’m so sorry.

  Engrossed in the fight, Draco swiveled his head abruptly to look at her. His eyes grew wide in confusion for a brief instant.

  And then there was nothing but black.

  ****

  Hearing Maddelyn’s thoughts brought Draco suddenly out of the intense fire fight, the sorrow in her words reaching down to touch his very soul.

  Before he could react, a blast of orange laser fire caught her square in the chest, crumpling her body to the floor in a lifeless heap.

  “NO!” The roar that came out of his mouth vibrated the room so hard, it almost tore the place in half. Even the soldiers froze mid fire, stunned by the force of his anguish.

  Draco rushed to Maddelyn’s side, not caring about the chaos going on in full force around him. Hadn’t he told her she would get hurt? Hadn’t he explained how dangerous this plan of hers was?

  His finger lightly caressed a strand of her hair. She was so still. But his heart refused to accept what his brain already knew.

  No one could survive a direct laser blast from a Raknorg gun like that.

  Anger burned hotly in his gut, reaching out with fiery fingers to claim every part of his being, turning him into a firestorm of pure pain and something even stronger.

  Vengeance.

  The air shimmered around Draco with intense heat as he gathered Maddelyn’s limp form in his arms and stood. He turned to face the door that the Raknorg soldier had managed to pry even further open. The soldier forced his way through the opening and stepped through unknowingly.

  Draco cocked his head to the side as the light around him intensified, turning the room the bright golden orange of sunlight. The console he had been using as a shield began to melt and burn like a dying candle under the heat as the glow extende
d outward from his body in ripples that contained nothing but pure fury. Blasts from the soldier’s guns rent the air and collided with the fiery glow, doing no damage as they were absorbed into what had become a molten, golden shield of energy, pulsing with life.

  The Raknorg froze, his red eyes wide with surprise and fear as he took in the sight. The soldier took a small step backward in an attempt to escape Draco’s anger, but the action was in pure vain. In the next instant, a tendril of fire sprang forward from the halo around Draco and plucked the surprised soldier off his feet, wrapping him in flame that fused the grey armor into his skin instantly. Draco smiled as the Raknorg’s screams split the air, the alien burning to ash in mere seconds that floated through the smoky air.

  Draco glanced down, Maddelyn’s features slack as he held her in his arms. The reality of her lifeless form brought him back enough to his senses that he realized he needed to get off the ship, if he was to help her at all. With all the control he could muster, Draco drew his fire back inside, the room dimming to its normal light. A large scorch mark radiated from where Draco stood, one last reminder of the fury he was capable of as he closed his eyes and shimmered out of sight in a column of bright white light.

  When he opened his eyes again, the familiar deck of CAIT came into view. Draco stooped and gently laid Maddelyn on the floor, holding his ear to her chest.

  Nothing.

  “Is she…?” CAIT’s feminine voice barely registered through his grief.

  Draco pressed his hands to her chest, trying to ignore the blast burn that left a hole in her shirt and torso as he attempted to pump life back into her body.

  One…two…three…four…five.

  He counted each compression silently then moving to cover her mouth with his, pushing air into her lungs. The taste of her lips was still sweet, her body still slightly warm to the touch. That fact almost tore him apart as he continued to try and bring her back.

  Not dead. She can’t be dead. Please. Make her not dead.

  So much death had already filled this world, filled Maddelyn’s life. Why had he been brought here? To watch the first woman he had ever really cared about die at the hands of a primitive race of bullies?