Retribution (The Praegressus Project Book 5)

by Aaron Hodges

  “Of course not,” Sam replied. “You’re right, they have to be stopped. But…I guess what I’m saying is, does that necessarily mean they have to be exterminated? What if that’s the very fear that’s driving them? What if they’re only attacking us because they’re afraid we’ll do the same?”

  A long silence stretched out at that. Sighing, Ashley rested her head against Sam’s shoulder again. She picked at the bones of her rabbit, pulling a few last tendrils of meat from the carcass. “I don’t know…” she said finally, “but, I guess they’re a worry for another day. It’s the President we should be concentrating on.”

  “Of course.” Sam smiled, pulling Ashley closer. The fire had died to embers now, but Ashley’s eyes still gleamed in the light of the stars. “When we get that far.”

  Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers. A soft ‘oh’ whispered up from the back of Ashley’s throat, and then she was kissing him back, her arms going around his waist, her body pressing against his. He gasped as her fingers twisted in his long hair, pushing him down.

  Together they fell back on the hard ground, limbs entwined. Dust rose around them as they rolled, tongues dancing, hands tearing at each other’s clothes. Ashley gasped as the buttons of her shirt popped open. Growling Sam broke off their kiss, his mouth moving to her neck. She moaned as he nibbled at her flesh. His hands drifted across her naked skin, touching, tickling, feeling the heat in her skin, the racing of her heart.

  Then she was sitting up, her hands tugging at his shirt, pulling it over his head. A second later it was gone, and now it was Ashley’s hands on his naked chest. He shuddered as her cold fingers trailed along his body. Opening his wings, he wrapped them in a feathery embrace. Her head lifted as he leaned down. Their lips met again in a hard, desperate kiss.

  Growling, Sam pressed Ashley down. She went willingly now, her soft eyes staring at him as she fell back on the dusty ground. Leaning in, he drank in the sight of her bare body, the glow of her skin in the light of the stars. Her lips parted, and he saw the invitation in her eyes, the naked lust.

  Crouching on all fours, Sam poised his body over hers, until they were only inches apart. Her amber eyes stared up at him, wide and expectant, but still he lingered. Pinned between his arms, there was no escape for Ashley now, and he wanted to savour this moment.

  Finally he lowered himself down. Ashley lifted to meet him. He moaned as her breasts brushed against his chest. Her hand went around his waist, pulling him down, drawing him in…

  And then they were one, their souls joined, their minds falling away into the rush of their ecstasy.

  Chapter 19

  “Mum?”

  The word seemed to come from nowhere. It echoed through the cave, lingering in the darkness long after her mouth had spoken it.

  No one moved, no one spoke. Every eye in the cave was fixed on Liz. But she hardly noticed. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the old woman sitting on the boulder, couldn’t bring herself to believe what she was seeing.

  Because it was impossible, wasn’t it? She had seen her mother change, becoming the blood-thirsty creature that had torn away her father’s life. She had watched the soldiers disappear into the woods, rifles at the ready, prepared to shoot her mother on sight. Not once in the last two years had she considered the possibility her mother had survived.

  And yet here she was, aged far beyond her years, but still unmistakably her mother. The milky white eyes were frighteningly different, but the black curls of her hair were unchanged. And her voice…when Liz had heard it she’d found herself transported back in time, to the quiet nights spent around the kitchen table with her family. It was a voice Liz had never thought she would hear again.

  Slowly the old woman climbed to her feet and stepped towards Liz. Watching her come, Liz found herself fixed in place, trapped in the ancient gaze of the old Chead, by the eyes of her mother. The Chead came to a stop just a foot from Liz. Long seconds stretched out as they stared at each other.

  “Mum,” Liz croaked again, barely able to get the word out.

  After everything she’d been through since that day on the mountain, everything she had suffered, it was all too much. Her vision shone as the ancient Chead reached out and cupped her cheek. The soft white eyes drank her in as her mother slowly shook her head.

  “My Elizabeth,” she whispered. “My daughter.”

  A shrill keening began in the back of Liz’s throat. She didn’t know whether to scream or cry. Emotion welled within her, the swirling memories of her grief, the rush of sudden hope. Love and despair crashed together, filling her until Liz thought she might drown in it.

  She saw again her last memory of her mother—of a grey-eyed creature covered in blood, standing over the body of her father. In that moment, Liz had lost both of her parents. Even when her mother had spared her, walking straight past her and out into the forest, it hadn’t mattered.

  Yet now here she was, the woman who had raised her, who had loved her and held her tight on cold winter nights, who had cared for her when she was sick and had kissed her bruises better.

  A tremor started in Liz’s legs. It quickly spread until her whole body was shaking. “How…how is this possible?” she managed.

  A smile wrinkled her mother’s cheeks. She stroked Liz’s face and then turned away. Moving to Chris, she circled him, her lips pursed in the way Liz had seen her inspect livestock at the market. Liz caught Chris staring at her in disbelief, and quickly looked away.

  Completing her circuit, her mother looked at Liz again. “This is your mate?”

  “I…I…” Liz opened her mouth and closed it again, unable to answer. Her cheeks flushed, and she carefully avoided meeting Chris’s eyes.

  Chuckling, her mother returned to Liz’s side. Her pale eyes fixed on Liz’s wings. Reaching out, she stroked the jet-black feathers. “What have they done to you, my daughter?”

  Liz swallowed as tears welled in her eyes. She fought the urge to throw herself into her mother’s arms, and sob the whole awful story to her.

  It’s not her, she grated the words in her mind. It can’t be her.

  And yet it was. She could see it in her eyes. Gone was the mad glint of the Chead, the ferocious hunger of the creature that had killed her father. In its place was a shining warmth, a softness that could only be the love of a mother for her child.

  This was her mother, the one who’d been stolen from her, taken away by the government’s heartless cruelty.

  Liz clenched her fists, swallowing her pain, her grief. “It’s…” she shook her head. “It’s a long story…mum.”

  The word tasted strange in her mouth, like she’d almost forgotten how to speak it.

  The ancient hand reached out to stroke her cheek again. Liz closed her eyes, shivering at the warmth of her mother’s fingers. A soft, sweet scent danced in her nostrils, at once familiar, and foreign. Breathing it in, Liz’s heart slowed. She felt her body relaxing, the racing thud of adrenaline beginning to cool.

  Then Liz’s eyes snapped back open as she realised her mother had touched her skin. Stumbling back a step, she gaped, staring, her heart tumbling into her stomach. “No…” she whispered, her hand going to her mouth. Her mother was so aged, the venom would kill her.

  Her mother leaned her head to the side and frowned. “What is the matter, my daughter?”

  Liz shook her head, the keening building in her throat again. “You…you touched me,” she gasped finally.

  The pale white eyes studied her for a moment. Then, smiling, her mother lifted her hand and inspected it. Liz stared at the wrinkled flesh, searching for the redness that marked her touch, the purple that followed. But her mother’s skin remained a pale white, untouched by sun or venom. Her mother lowered her hand and looked at Liz again.

  “You have the touch?” she asked.

  Not knowing what to say, all Liz could do was nod. Her mother’s eyes danced as she stepped forward and pulled Liz into an embrace. Liz tensed as the wrinkled arms wrapped ar
ound her. A tremor ran through her wings, her feathers standing on end. She held her breath, eyes squeezed shut, hardly daring to move. Breathing in, the sweet scent of her mother filled her nostrils. Memories flashed through her mind, of her mother kissing her goodnight, hugging her goodbye on her first day of school.

  Finally, Liz could fight it no longer. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she hugged her mother back.

  “Mum,” Liz choked into Talisa’s shoulder, “I missed you so much.”

  Strong hands stroked her hair. “There, there, my daughter. I’m here now. You are home.”

  “Home?” Hiccupping, Liz managed to regain some of her composure. Pulling back slightly, she looked at her mother.

  “Home,” her mother repeated. “Is that not why you are here?”

  Liz swallowed, not knowing what to say. For a moment she thought of Chris, of the compulsion that had drawn her after him, that had led her across the sprawling plains of San Francisco, back up into these icy mountains. But staring into her mother’s face, into her soft white eyes, those thoughts drifted away, and finally shook her head.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered.

  “Oh, my daughter,” her mother murmured, stroking Liz’s hair. “We must find your way.”

  Liz shivered, closing her eyes. Pressure swelled in her chest as she struggled to breathe.

  “We’re here to stop you,” Liz’s eyes snapped open as Chris’s voice echoed through the cavern.

  The words cut through the haze blanketing her mind, through the shock of her mother’s resurrection. Blinking, she looked around. Chris still stood nearby, his face pale. He watched them with wide eyes.

  Soft laughter spread around the cave as the Chead laughed. Her mother turned to look at Chris, her milky eyes hardening, though the smile never left her lips. “Stop us from doing what, child?”

  Chris swallowed visibly. His wings started to tremble, but he took a step towards them, head lifted in defiance. “Stop you from slaughtering innocent people.”

  “I see,” Talisa stepped towards Chris, her wrinkled legs carrying her slowly across the cavern.

  Jaw clenched, Chris stood his ground as Talisa closed in on him. Liz watched on, feet fixed in place, unable to move or even find the words to speak. She found herself a silent observer to the conflict between her mother and Chris.

  Reaching Chris, Talisa brushed her fingers through Chris’s feathers. “Do you not want revenge, child?” she whispered in the darkness. “On the ones who did this to you? Who locked you in cages, who tortured you and so many others? Hecate has told me of humanity’s experiments.”

  Chris frowned. “They’re…already dead,” he croaked. His eyes flickered across to the girl, Susan. “You killed them.”

  Talisa’s laughter echoed through the cave as she moved away from Chris. With slow steps, she returned to the boulder and sat down. A sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head.

  “Not all of them,” she said, eyes moving from Chris to Liz, “Not the one responsible for my people’s suffering.”

  “What do you mean?” Chris asked. “Hecate said you destroyed the facility up here in the mountains.”

  “We did,” Talisa replied, “but those pathetic creatures were only pawns, child. Do you not wish to punish those truly responsible? To destroy the one who had you taken, who has hunted you all this time?”

  Forehead creased, Chris took a step closer to Talisa. “What do you mean?”

  “Are you truly so clueless?” Talisa chuckled. “Has your time with the humans taught you nothing? Their leader still lives. Only with his death will my people have their retribution.”

  “You mean the President?” Chris breathed. “How can you…” He shook his head, eyes wide with disbelief.

  “President, master, butcher, his name does not matter. He will die regardless, so that my people may have peace.”

  “Peace?” Liz spoke up, her mind finally beginning to work again.

  “Yes, my daughter,” the milky eyes flickered to Liz, “my time is short, but I shall not rest until this world is safe for all my children.” Her arms gestured around the cave, encompassing the silent host around them.

  A lump rose in Liz’s throat. “What do you mean, your time is short?”

  “It is the curse of the Chead, my daughter.” There was a sadness to her mother’s words now. “We live our lives in the sun, and then we die.”

  Shuddering, Liz blinked back tears as she tried to put her emotions into words. But they would not come, and finally she shook her head, grasping at the message behind her mother’s words. “You want peace?”

  “We do,” her mother replied.

  Liz nodded, stealing herself. She glanced briefly at Chris, then turned back to her mother. “Then we’ll help you.”

  Chapter 20

  Susan’s teeth grated as she watched the strangers leave the cave. Fists clenched, she struggled to control her anger. She could still see the boy attacking Hecate, humiliating her mate, though he had cheated with those cursed wings of his. And the girl...her arm still itched where Liz had touched her. Susan’s lips drew back in a snarl as she imagined tearing the black feathers from those wings, one by one.

  Only Hecate’s presence kept her under control. Despite his encounter with the boy, he remained strangely calm, unperturbed by Talisa’s welcoming of the two strangers. Even during the fight, he had not seemed to take the boy seriously—at least, not until the end, when the deceitful creature had almost killed him.

  The girl’s revelation that Talisa was her mother had shaken him, though. It had shaken Susan as well. An inexplicable rage had overtaken her as the elder Chead embraced the girl. Teeth clenched, she’d watched in silence as the two conversed, exchanging declarations of love and affection. The sudden emotion, the humanity in Talisa’s expression had made Susan sick to her stomach.

  Even now, she could hardly bear to look at the elder Chead. Staring across at her, Susan shook her head.

  “Why, Talisa?” she growled.

  Talisa’s milky white eyes turned towards her. “What do you mean, my child?”

  Susan shivered, her fingers turning to claws as she approached the old Chead. “How could you…tell the strangers our plans? How could you invite them into our ranks?”

  Sitting on her outcropping of rock, Talisa did not respond. Her eyes had returned to their normal, unreadable hardness. Finally, the Chead shrugged. “She is my daughter,” she murmured. Lifting herself to her feet, she stepped up to Susan.

  Susan bared her teeth. “They cannot…be trusted—”

  She broke off as Talisa lunged forward. Her feet scrambled on the loose stones, but the elder Chead’s hand shot out and caught her by the wrist before she could retreat. Pain shot through Susan’s arm as iron fingers dug into her flesh, dragging her forward until only an inch separated them.

  “You would have me spurn my own child?” Talisa hissed in Susan’s ear.

  A lump lodged in Susan’s throat as her eyes locked with Talisa’s. She tried to pull away, but her will fled. Her resistance crumbled, and she suddenly found herself on her knees. Talisa stood over her, murky white eyes aglow in the darkness.

  “You would have me kill her?” she growled.

  Susan bowed her head. “No, Talisa,” she whispered.

  The iron hold on her wrist did not relent. “You disappoint me, child,” Talisa murmured, “I should return you to your own children.”

  Tears stung Susan’s eyes. Shivering, she looked up at the elder Chead. The ache in her chest told her what such a fate meant. She would lose her place at Talisa’s side, would become little more than an incubator for a new generation of Chead. And she would be without Hecate, without her mate—the one thing holding her to sanity.

  Somewhere deep inside, a flame lit the darkness of her despair. Suddenly she found herself able to meet Talisa’s gaze. Gathering herself, she climbed back to her feet. She bared her teeth and faced off against the ancient Chead.

  “No.” />
  The word rang in the darkness, a declaration, a promise. Staring into the Talisa’s eyes, Susan thought she saw something change, a sudden doubt, quickly gone. The wrinkles deepened in Talisa’s forehead.

  “Who are you to refuse me, child?” Talisa growled.

  With a jerk of her wrist, Susan tore her hand free of the old Chead’s grip. “I am Chead!” Her words echoed through the cave, gathering power, restoring her strength.

  Seconds turned into minutes as Talisa stood staring at her. Susan held her breath, fists opening and closing, clinging to the strength that had propelled her to her feet.

  Finally, Talisa gave the slightest of nods. “Very well, my child,” she whispered. “You may remain.”

  Relief swept through Susan. Her shoulders sagged. Her eyes flickered closed as exhaustion swept through her. Sucking in a breath, she looked at Talisa. “Thank you.”

  A smile twisted her elder’s lips. “Perhaps you can help us deal with my daughter and her mate.”

  “What do you mean, Talisa?” Hecate asked, stepping forward to join them.

  “There is more of the Chead in them than they realise, my child,” Talisa replied. Moving back to her rock, she took a seat. “My daughter will come to accept our world, given time.”

  “Then why…did you not tell them…everything?” Susan questioned.

  “They are not ready,” Talisa murmured. “The boy may never be, but my daughter, I can sense the Chead within her. She must embrace her true nature, must accept the change and become one of us. Only then can she learn the truth.”

  “And until then?” Susan pressed.

  “Our plans must remain secret,” Talisa whispered. “You have done well to give us hope, my child, but the stench of humanity still clings to my daughter and the boy. If they discover our true goal, they will rebel.”

  Hecate grunted. “They did not seem…concerned about their President’s death.”