Retribution (The Praegressus Project Book 5)

by Aaron Hodges

  Stones rattled, and she turned in time to see the second Chead leap at her. Stepping back, Liz reached up to catch the girl’s fist. Her hands were bare—she’d left her gloves in the embassy—and Liz grinned as she felt naked flesh against her skin. The Chead swung at her again, but she was obviously not accustomed to fighting someone with matching abilities, and Liz easily sidestepped the blow. Lashing out, her fist caught the girl in the stomach and sent her stumbling backwards.

  “You might scare humans,” Liz laughed, “but you’re no fighter.”

  Scowling, Susan started climbing to her feet. She made it to her knees before a convulsion rippled through her, bending her in two. A sharp scream echoed from the surrounding cliffs as the Chead collapsed on her side, clutching a swollen hand to her chest. Liz shook her head and looked away as Susan screamed again.

  So I’m still venomous, she thought wryly. It was good to know—although it didn’t explain why Ashley had been unaffected.

  Hecate remained crouched on the ground, but now he slowly pulled himself to his feet. Concern marked his forehead as he looked at Susan.

  “What…is happening to her?” he rumbled.

  “She’ll be fine,” Liz replied. “Just give her a few minutes for the poison to wear off.”

  “Poison?” Hecate repeated.

  “Yeah, it packs a real bite,” Chris muttered as he joined them. Her stomach twisted as his hazel eyes found hers. “Liz…what, what are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you,” she replied.

  Pursing his lips, Chris swallowed visibly. Wisely though, he chose not to respond.

  “Humanity must be…desperate…if they have sent you,” Hecate commented in a mocking tone.

  Liz raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think we were sent?”

  Laughing, Hecate only shook his head. Stepping past them, he crouched beside the moaning Susan and pulled her into his arms. He stood slowly, lifting her to his chest, and then leaned down to kiss the red and purple mark left by Liz’s touch. The girl’s cries faded slightly, as she seemed to regain some of her composure.

  “I know her…” Chris said as he stepped up beside Liz, “but she wasn’t one of the Chead who escaped with you.”

  “No…” Hecate smiled. “We took her…from the facility. She chose…to join us.”

  Liz blinked at the creature’s words. Beside her, Chris paled as he stared at the girl. His eyes widened. “I do know her!” His jaw hardened. Stepping forward, he pointed a trembling finger at the girl. “You’re the one who gave us the last injection! You told me it was antibiotics!”

  Susan wriggled in Hecate’s arms, and the Chead hesitantly placed her back on her feet. A smirk twisted her pained face. “You are…truly gullible creatures.” She laughed. “At least I…have left that misery…behind.”

  Liz looked from Hecate to Susan, her mind struggling to catch up. She didn’t recognise the girl, but then, she had been unconscious at the time. Chris had mentioned a doctor who’d come into their cell after their first fight with Hecate, but Liz had never seen her. But if Chris was right, this girl was the one responsible for giving them their wings. Even after all this time, Liz still wasn’t sure if that was a gift or a curse. Growing them had been the most painful thing she’d ever experienced. And now…now they marked them as outcasts, abominations, freaks.

  Beside her, Chris was glaring at the girl, apparently lost for words. Smiling, Hecate stepped carefully between them. “It seems we have…much to discuss. Perhaps our kinds can…come to a resolution.” Hecate’s eyes lingered on Liz as he spoke, and she found herself shivering.

  “A resolution?” she asked quietly. “What kind of resolution?”

  Hecate shrugged. “That is not…my decision to make.”

  Chris frowned. “You aren’t in control here?”

  Hecate’s laughter came again, its soft rasp slithering across the mountainside. Turning, he started up towards the dark shadow of the canyon. His voice carried down to them as he glanced back. “Come…there is someone…you must meet.”

  Chapter 17

  Chris watched as Hecate and Susan disappeared into the shadows. Steeling himself, he flashed a glance at Liz, and then started after the Chead. His body ached from the fight with Hecate, but he did his best to keep the pain from showing. He didn’t want the Chead to realise how much the fight had cost him. And, if he was honest with himself, he didn’t want to seem weak in front of Liz.

  The soft crunch of footsteps behind him told Chris she was following, but he didn’t glance back. His mind was still struggling to comprehend her sudden appearance. He couldn’t understand, couldn’t comprehend why she’d followed him. The sight of her dropping from the sky had given him such a shock he’d released Hecate.

  Thinking of the Chead, he wrenched his thoughts back to the present. Ahead the shadows loomed. He could see the dark-haired Chead waiting for them there, the former doctor close beside him. Picking up his pace, he closed on them.

  When he was still a few steps away, Liz moved up beside him, her footsteps matching his own. Chris shivered as her hand brushed his. Glancing up, he found her eyes on him.

  “Liz…” he croaked. For a second the words died in this throat, but he forced himself to continue, “what are you doing here, it’s too dangerous.”

  For the briefest of seconds, a smile twitched on her lips. Her hand reached out and caught Chris’s fingers. Squeezing softly, she shook her head. “Let’s just see what they have to say.” Her crystal blue eyes met Chris’s gaze. “We can talk later.”

  Before Chris could reply, her hand was gone. Silently she moved in front of him. Chris sucked in a breath and tried to still his racing heart. A second later, the gloom of the canyon swallowed them up, and they entered the realm of the Chead.

  Chris blinked as ahead Hecate turned and continued over the hard ground. His vision slowly cleared, adjusting to the darkness. He clenched his mouth shut as their surroundings came into focus. For the first time, he realised just what a mess he’d gotten them into.

  Dozens of Chead lay sleeping around them, their soft snores echoing ominously from the towering cliffs. Swallowing, he edged his way between the sleeping bodies, following the retreating backs of Hecate, Liz and Susan.

  He caught a flash of grey as Susan glanced back at them. His stomach twisted, and he clenched his fists as the image of her poised with a needle flashed through his thoughts. He could still see the scene clear as day. Susan had been young and nervous, eager to complete her task and flee their cell in one piece. Even at the time he’d been suspicious of her, but neither he nor Liz had been in any state to resist.

  But it seemed karma had come for the young doctor in the end. Chris’s gaze switched to Hecate, and he shivered, wondering at the relationship between the two. It was clear Hecate cared for the girl, but from the way they walked close together, the shared glances and closeness between them, he suspected things went much deeper. For some reason, the thought made him nauseous.

  “You don’t remember giving us the injection?” Chris asked suddenly, momentarily forgetting where they were.

  Liz flashed him an angry glance, nodding at the sleeping Chead, but Susan only shrugged.

  “The Chead…has burned that foul creature away,” she replied. Her hand drifted out to take Hecate’s. “My mate…has shown me the way.”

  Beside her, Hecate growled. His hand petted Susan’s hair affectionately. Chris was suddenly reminded of the way the Director had treated him, as though he had been some pet to toy with. Even at the end, when she had taken him…

  Bile rose in his throat and he pushed the memory back down into the abyss.

  Looking at the two Chead, Chris couldn’t help but wonder at the fire burning in the girl’s grey eyes. Remembering the demure girl from the facility, he wondered how her nature could have changed so unequivocally. The creature standing before him, draping herself over the towering figure of Hecate, could not have been more different from the terrified doctor sh
e’d been.

  Still, the transformation went some way to explaining the reports they’d heard of the Chead taking women captive. Chris shuddered as he imagined the fate of those poor souls, to be stolen away by the Chead, forced to join them, to become their mates and breed with the very creatures they’d spent their whole lives fearing.

  Ahead, Chris’s keen eyes made out a darker patch in the cliff-face. Hecate and Susan headed towards the cave, though they would have to half-climb, half-scramble up a steep slope to reach it. Shaking his head, Chris bounded into the air, his wings beating quietly in the darkness. Liz followed a second after him, and together they settled down at the top of the slope. Smiling lazily, they watched Hecate and Susan finished their climb.

  The two Chead said nothing as they pushed past and entered the cave. Chuckling to himself, Chris followed after them. Inside, the gloom deepened, but Hecate and Susan pressed on as though a thousand candles lit their way. Chris and Liz stumbled the first few feet, still waiting for their eyes to adjust. When things finally came into focus, they found themselves in a narrow tunnel, its ceiling and floor marked by the thin slivers of stalactites and stalagmites.

  Weaving their way along the corridor, Chris wondered where Hecate was leading them, who they were supposed to be meeting.

  Finally, the soft glow of candles appeared in the darkness ahead. Chris squinted at the flickering light. A Chead appeared, stepping forward to bar Hecate’s path. Whispers, barely audible, passed between them, and the newcomer disappeared again.

  “She comes,” Hecate said, turning to look at them. “The journey has been long…and her strength is not…what it was. She is sleeping.”

  “Who’s sleeping?” Liz asked.

  Hecate only smiled and turned away. Across the cave, a figure appeared in the gloom of an adjoining tunnel. Chris watched as a woman stepped into the cavern. Moving past the flickering candles, she took a seat on a small boulder.

  Chris shuddered as the woman’s milky white eyes travelled around the cave. Grey hair tumbled down around her shoulders. Her face was wrinkled with age, the skin hanging in folds beneath her eyes. Her shoulders were twisted and shrunken, her muscles shrivelled. Yet there was a wordless strength in those white eyes, and Chris found himself unable to look away.

  “Talisa…I have brought…guests,” Hecate whispered.

  “You have,” the ancient Chead’s voice echoed through the cave. Her milky eyes never left them. “Step into the light, my children.”

  Swallowing, Chris found his legs obeying without thought. “Who are you?” he croaked.

  The woman did not answer, only sat studying him, her cold eyes taking in his half-folded wings and muscular shoulders. Only when her gaze flickered to his side, and he looked across at the empty space beside him, did Chris realise Liz had not moved.

  “And you, my child?” the ancient Chead questioned.

  Hesitantly, Liz stepped into the light. Her blue eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open as she stared at Talisa. Fists clenched, a shiver went through her, and the wings half-lifted from her back. Her face was pale, and she looked ready to flee, as though a terrible fear had gripped her. A low moan came from her throat as she shook her head. Her eyes never left the ancient Chead.

  “Mum?” Liz whispered.

  Chapter 18

  Sam groaned as he shifted on the rocky ground, cursing as a new stone dug into his backside. Across the fire, Ashley giggled. Looking up, he shot her a scowl. Giving up on finding a comfortable spot, he stood and walked around the fire. Flashing Ashley a grin, he attempted to sit in her lap.

  “Hey!” she squealed, scrambling out of the way.

  Laughing, Sam quickly stole her spot.

  “Oy!” Ashley shrieked, clambering to her feet. “I’d just finished brushing away the stones!”

  Wriggling his bum, Sam nodded appreciatively. “You did a good job.” He laughed as her eyes flashed, and quickly opened his arms. “Come here, I’m more comfortable anyway.”

  She scowled at him for a moment longer, and then promptly folded her wings against her back and settled herself in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her as she wriggled in close to his chest. Her hair dangled beneath his nose, the smell of dust and smoke mingling with the familiar scent of the girl he loved.

  “How long did Chris and Liz say they’d been in the mountains for?” Ashley mumbled into his shirt.

  Sam chuckled. “A week?”

  “Don’t know how they survived.”

  Feeling the rumble of Ashley’s stomach against his chest, Sam laughed again. Reaching out, he turned the stick they’d propped up over the fire. A skinny rabbit was slowly browning in the flames.

  “It’ll be ready soon,” he murmured.

  Like Ashley, Sam had never spent much time in the outdoors. Once upon a time, his father had liked to take him camping. But with the price of living in Seattle spiralling out of control, his parents had soon found themselves too busy working for weekends away. The only skill he remembered now from his youth was how to navigate using Orion’s Belt.

  “Poor little conejo.” Ashley wriggled in his lap. “Hope he’s tasty.”

  As Sam stroked her hair, he smiled. Ashley was the one who’d caught the poor thing. After two days without food, she’d spotted the rabbit mid-flight, and shot down to catch it. The little critter had never stood a chance against the starving girl. “Since when do you speak Spanish?”

  Ashley looked at him with a youthful grin. Sam loved these quiet moments with her, away from the rush of the world, from the pressures of life. Only when they were alone did Ashley truly drop her guard, allowing herself to become the sweet-hearted girl that lurked beneath her tough façade. He liked the Ashley who could stop a Chead with nothing more than a glare, but this was the part of Ashley he loved most.

  “That was the name of my rabbit,” she mumbled. “We didn’t eat him, but if he was here now, I would. We should have brought food.”

  “Probably, but who would have carried it?” Sam asked.

  She nudged him in the ribs. “Thought that was why I brought you along.”

  “Is that so?” Grinning, he slid his hand up her hip and squeezed her side. She leapt up with a yelp, but with his arms encircling her there was no escape. Ashley burst into laughter as he tickled her relentlessly, until a wild beat of her wings flung them both into the air. They landed together in a pile of tangled limbs and feathers.

  “Never do that again!” Ashley panted as she picked herself up from the dirt.

  Sam laughed. “Never.”

  Pointing her finger, Ashley took a step towards him. “I swear to God, Samuel.”

  Sam raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay.” He laughed. “You win!”

  “That’s better.” Turning on her heel, she marched back to the fire.

  Crouching down, she inspected the rabbit and then picked up the branch on which it was impaled. Returning to her spot on the dusty ground, she sat down and tore at the meat with her teeth.

  Walking over, Sam raised an eyebrow. “Going to leave some for me?”

  Ashley paused, her amber eyes looking him up and down before she returned to her meal. A long strip of meat tore away and disappeared between her lips. She chewed slowly, looking at him thoughtfully. “You’ll be lucky,” she said between chews.

  “Oh yeah?” Quick as thought, Sam snatched the rabbit from her hands and sank his teeth into the hot flesh.

  Yelping, Ashley leapt after him, and they went down in a heap again. Sam rolled, pinning her with his weight as he held the rabbit up out of reach.

  “Truce?” he said, looking down at her.

  Her amber eyes stared up at him, drawing him in. He shook his head, breaking the spell, and she pouted. “You know I could throw you off if I wanted?” she muttered.

  “Okay, super girl.” Smiling, he released her and held out his empty hand. “Truce?” he repeated.

  Rolling her eyes, Ashley took his hand, and they settled back down beside the fire
. Sharing the skinny rabbit, they fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

  “Do you really think they’ll change?” Ashley asked eventually, a piece of greasy meat held precariously between two fingers.

  “Who?” Sam replied, staring into the fire.

  “People,” Ashley murmured. “With everything that’s happened, do you think...they’ll ever accept us?”

  Sam slowly shook his head. “I don’t know…I think maybe they have different expectations than we do.”

  “Expectations?” Leaning over, Ashley put her head on his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

  “I just mean…well, they think things will go back to normal, don’t they? Back to the old days, before the Chead or people with wings ever existed.”

  Ashley fell silent at that. Finally, she shrugged. “I don’t know about the Chead, but I’m not going anywhere.”

  Sam tightened his hand on her shoulder. “Neither am I.”

  “Then I guess they’re stuck with us.”

  “Guess so…” Sam murmured. After a moment’s hesitation, he went on, “Have you smelt them, the Chead?”

  Ashley nodded. “Now we’re away from the city, I can. They’re…everywhere.”

  “I don’t think anyone realises just how many are out here,” Sam said, lips pursed. “Or that they’re…sentient. Harry wants to kill them all, once he has things under control in San Francisco.”

  “Genocide,” Ashley said softly. “That’s what they want, isn’t it? You’re afraid we’ll be caught up in it too.”

  “Maybe. Maybe I just don’t like the idea of exterminating an entire species. It’s not their fault, the deaths they’ve caused. The government was using them, just like they used us.”

  “They’re dangerous, Sam. You know that as well as anyone.”

  “So are tigers, but we don’t go around trying to murder all of them. At least, not anymore.”

  Ashley sat up. “You really think it’s the same?” She frowned, uncertain. “Yes, they’re sentient. But look what they’ve done with it! Driving people from their homes, slaughtering entire towns. We can’t just let them keep doing it.”