by Mikayla Lane
“What do you mean?” Lanie suddenly felt nervous.
“Lanie, your nanites will automatically heal you if you suffer an injury. The likelihood of that happening with your weapons and armor systems is very small,” Cin explained.
He continued when he realized Lanie still didn’t understand. “Lanie, your nanites will never let you get sick and will continually replace your dying cells with new ones. You’re virtually immortal.”
Lanie wished like hell that she hadn’t taken that sip of coffee when she started choking on it. As quickly as it started, she was fine, and she paled, wondering if the nanites had stopped it or if she had.
Cin dropped to one knee in front of Lanie and gently tilted her chin to make her look at him.
“I can stop this if you want,” Cin promised. “But if I do, it will limit your ability to fight among the stars because you’ll be able to be harmed too easily.”
Lanie was torn. She wanted her life back but hadn’t expected it to be one that could last centuries. Just thinking about it was overwhelming, and Lanie tried to slow down her thoughts and think more clearly.
Briefly wondering if Cin could keep the nanites from letting her die in battle but stop them from making her immortal, Lanie quickly discarded the idea. It made no sense and was a spit in the face to the nanites protecting her and their creator, who’d done so much for her, including giving her immortality.
Cin stood and took the carafe into the kitchen, knowing Lanie needed a few minutes to herself. He’d wrongly assumed that Lanie understood the ramifications of what she’d accepted when allowing him to enhance her with the nanites.
Although Gabe had told Lanie all about his weapons and armor systems and his near-immortality, she’d never made the connection that she’d be getting the same thing when accepting the nanites.
Cin knew he should feel bad about the miscommunication, but he didn’t. He wanted Lanie by his side for as long as he could have her. Cin knew it was selfish, but he didn’t care. He’d spent centuries selflessly fighting for a planet that didn’t have a clue what he was doing.
Never asking anything for himself, Cin had fought tirelessly to aide others in the universe in their fight against evil, never wanting anything more than reciprocity when the time came to help mankind.
Lanie was the one thing Cin wanted for himself, and he would fight to keep her. She had come to mean more to him than anything else, and he refused to give her up but would also respect her wishes to keep her happy even if it would rip his heart out to remove her immortality.
Cin was on his way back to the deck with a full carafe of coffee when he saw Lanie jump out of her chair, holding the brilliantly glimmering elven pendant away from her chest.
“Told you it was elven spyware,” Cin said with a chuckle. “Niama is trying to contact you.”
Seconds later, the shimmering light flitted from the pendant to the deck and seemed to stutter before a life-sized ghost-like Niama appeared in front of them.
From the looks of her, something was terribly wrong. Niama’s perfect hair was tousled, bruises lined her jaw, and one eye was swollen near shut.
“Mirrored lead faraday cage,” Niama whispered brokenly before her ethereal form collapsed on the deck. “Charriat’s Gorge on Letrania. They’ve built a cave complex.”
Before Lanie could ask anything, Niama’s form blinked in and out for a moment before it was gone, and she turned to Cin. He was already armored up and checking his weapons.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong with Niama?” Lanie demanded as she stood and called on her armor and weapons.
Niama was her friend, and Lanie wouldn’t be left behind.
“The elves are ensnared in a device that is stripping them of their magic and killing them.” Cin was furious. “I’m guessing they went after who was getting the relics for the Consortium and fell into a trap. They don’t have much time.”
Cin made a portal in the air and turned to Lanie. “Are you sure you want to go?”
“Damn right, I am.” Lanie was furious and determined to rescue her new friends.
“Go invisible,” Cin warned before he disappeared and jumped through the portal.
Lanie quickly followed and sucked in a gasp at what looked like the Grand Canyon’s twin. They were standing near the edge, and Lanie looked down at the churning water below them, hoping they wouldn’t have to scale it to get down.
“Give me a moment to find the elves,” Cin whispered. “The Consortium has to be using a lot of power to keep the cage charged.”
Lanie looked around in awe at the triple moons hanging in the sky and the twin suns rising in the west. She had no idea how big the planet was that they were on, but all she could see was a desert-like landscape dotted with tall, pine-like trees.
Everything was white. White sands, off-white barked trees, stones, boulders, all of it was varying shades of white. When Lanie looked in the gorge, there was an explosion of colors and textures with brightly feathered bird-like creatures flying through the air.
There was a plethora of foliage and dense trees lining either side of the water rushing through the deep gorge. The place was beautiful, but it felt strange and eerie to Lanie. Like something wasn’t right with it all.
“We need to go down. Hold on to me,” Cin warned before he grabbed hold of Lanie and stepped off the edge.
Her gasp of fear and shock was the only thing that kept Lanie from screaming before she realized they were slowly descending into the gorge and not rushing headlong to their deaths.
Realizing Cin was using some means to float them down, Lanie ran through her mind to see if she had the ability as well. She was stunned to find that she did and vowed to delve more deeply into her nanite and AI capabilities when they got back to Earth.
Once their feet hit the ground, Cin took her hand and helped Lanie traverse the rocks and boulders along the bank until they saw a large opening in the solid rockface. Keeping their backs to the sheer rock of the gorge, Cin led them towards it.
Halfway there, voices drifted down from the gaping hole, confirming they were in the right place, and Cin moved more cautiously towards what he knew would be Consortium raiders. He stopped at a large boulder just beneath the opening and gently pushed Lanie into a kneeling position.
Lanie stayed where she was while Cin hauled himself over the ledge and disappeared. Within seconds two men were thrown over the edge. The fact that they didn’t scream during the twenty-five-foot fall told Lanie that Cin had killed them before chucking them over the side.
“Give me your hand,” Cin whispered.
Lanie stood and raised her hands, and Cin pulled her into the mouth of the cave beside him. “There are more than forty raiders here, scattered throughout the interior. When we get to the elves, they will be too weak to go into a portal. You’ll have to help me get them through.”
“OK,” Lanie whispered back, knowing her nanites made her strong enough for the task.
“Stay invisible and use only silent weapons,” Cindrac warned. “Can you make blades?”
Lanie tried it and smiled when she saw a shimmering dagger in her fist. “Yes, I can.”
“If you see me fire on anything, then it’s your cue that you can as well.” Cin wanted to make sure Lanie would follow his lead during the battle.
“I’m good, Cin,” Lanie said with a chuckle, infused with a sense of calm and confidence. “We’ve done this a couple of times now. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Let’s go.” Cin ran down the cave tunnel, keeping close to the walls as he followed the map in his mind of where the elves were held captive.
Unlike most Consortium controlled bases, this one still used the technology that existed on the planet before the Consortium conquered it. It had been easy for Cin and his nanites to infiltrate the systems and find out where they held his friends.
Finally reaching the first door to the interior, Cin placed his hand on the scanner and released his nanites into the system, giving h
im full technological control of the base. Unwilling to alert the Consortium to their presence, Cin didn’t change anything and stepped through the doorway.
“What the hell?” someone shouted from the interior when the door opened, and no one was there.
“Be on your guar-” someone began before a gurgling sound was heard.
Seeing the two other raiders in the hall, Lanie manifested a short sword and ran it into the closest one. Before the body slid to the floor, Cin had taken out the last, grabbed her hand, and started jogging down the dark grey rock corridor.
“There’s five coming around the corner,” Cin warned.
Seconds later, the first raider appeared, and Cin clotheslined the man, then sank a blade into his throat when he hit the ground. Lanie used her short sword to slash open the stomach of one, then spun around and threw herself between two others, striking out with both weapons. Cin had already dispatched the other two and helped Lanie finish off hers.
Taking off down the hallway, Cin decapitated several raiders as they ran past until they reached a door. Lanie knew without a doubt this was where Niama and other elves were held and prepared her weapons for the coming battle.
“There are seven inside the room,” Cin warned. “Four I can take out with the computers they are in front of and shut down the faraday cage at the same time.”
“I’ll hold off the other three.” Lanie was already manifesting a short sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.
“On three,” Cin warned, then counted down to one.
When the door opened, Cin turned to the left to take out the computers and operators while Lanie rushed the first of three raider guards. They surrounded a giant birdcage in the center of the room that sparked and popped with what appeared to be electricity.
Refusing to look at the half dozen bodies lying motionless on the floor inside the cage, Lanie rammed her sword in the stomach of the guard and decapitated another when he rushed over to help his friend.
Computers exploded behind her, and Lanie ignored the flickering of energy crackling around the giant cage and ran towards the last of the guards. Cin must have got to him first because the man fell to the ground just as the room went dark.
Lanie’s eyes were adjusting to the darkness when Cin waved his hand, and emergency lights flickered to life around the room. She joined him at the door of the cage and rushed inside the moment it opened.
Reaching Niama’s side, Lanie slid to her knees and gasped at the deep bruises on the elf’s face and the paleness of her skin. She’d just picked up Niama’s limp wrist when Cin threw up a portal in the air and gently placed Adamo inside of it.
Gathering her strength, Lanie picked up the elven princess and carried her through the portal. She barely registered the gleaming white stone courtyard before half a dozen stunningly beautiful elves ran to her and took Niama from her arms.
Figuring this was the elven world, Lanie went back through the portal and helped Cin get the rest of the elves out of the cage. By the time they finished, the once packed courtyard was nearly empty except for the largest, oldest, and most regal of the elves that Lanie had ever seen.
It wasn’t just the elaborate crown, gold-threaded clothing, fur-lined cape, or golden war staff he carried that gave away his status. It was the penetrating gaze, rigid set to his jaw, and the absolute power that radiated from him.
“Cindrac,” King Lioda said with respect. “There are no words. Again.”
Cindrac bowed and looked to where Adamo and the others were taken. “Did we get to them in time?”
For the first time, Lioda’s eyes lit on Lanie, and she nearly shrank from his intense stare that seemed to strip her soul bare. It was unnerving until he smiled and nodded at her with respect.
“I heard you have finally taken a mate.” Lioda’s eyes never left Lanie as he stalked towards her. “May I?”
Lanie was scared to death to decline though she had no idea what the king was asking her permission to do. Too terrified to move, Lanie watched as Lioda placed his hands on her head, and she felt a slight electrical charge race through her before he stepped away and smiled at her.
“You have my blessings and the promise of a debt to be repaid at your leisure for saving my children and their guard, Lanie of Earth.” Lioda smiled kindly before turning back to Cindrac, leaving Lanie to take stock of herself to see why she felt different.
“Will they be all right?” Lanie asked again. “Can I see Niama?”
Lioda turned back to Lanie with a quirked brow at her outburst, but she refused to back down. She had to know her elven friends would be all right.
“Yes, Lady Lanie,” Lioda said with a smile. “They will heal quickly now that they are home again. You can’t see them now, but I do not doubt that Niama will want to thank you in person once she is well again.”
Feeling like she’d been put in her place, Lanie shut up and moved to stand by Cin, who grasped her hand. She was wondering why he was holding it so tightly when Lanie saw plans running through her mind.
Cin smiled down at her to make sure she understood what to do, and when she nodded, he held both of his hands palms up, and Lanie did the same. Nanites shot into the air a few inches before crashing back inside them, leaving gleaming medallions in their wake.
Taking the small quarter-sized coins from Lanie, Cin held them out to Lioda, who looked at them oddly before taking them from Cin’s hand.
“What is this magic you’ve created for me?” Lioda grinned and studied the medallions in his hands.
“They will neutralize the effects of a mirrored lead faraday cage,” Cin promised. “If Adamo and Niama are going to continue battling the Consortium over magical relics, they need to be prepared for another trap.”
Lioda clenched a fist around the medallions, and his jaw tightened. “Thank you, Cindrac and Lady Lanie. This gift means much to myself and my people.”
“Maybe call us next time-” Lanie stopped speaking when Lioda’s stern blue gaze turned to her. “I’m sorry.”
Lioda’s brows raised, and he looked at Cindrac, who smiled at Lanie before nodding his head in agreement.
“Lanie is right.” Cin looked at Lioda and held his gaze. “Before your people rush into another battle with the Consortium, contact us. If nothing else, I can get crucial information regarding what they may be facing, and if they get into trouble, Lanie and I can reach them quicker.”
“That sounds suspiciously like an Alliance, Cindrac of Earth.” The tinkling, lyrical voice drew Lanie’s attention, and her jaw dropped at the tall, slender, and ethereally beautiful woman walking towards them.
Lanie knew this was the Queen, and Adamo and Niama’s mother. She looked more like their older sibling, but the regal bearing was something that came with time, and the woman before them had it in spades.
“I am Queen Shamir.” The woman smiled broadly at Lanie. “Niama spoke of your courage on Raider’s Moon, and now you’ve helped to save not just Niama but Adamo and their guards.”
“Is she going to be all right?” Lanie didn’t want to leave without knowing the elven princess would survive. Niama’s condition and her inability to wake up had scared Lanie.
“Niama is healing, but it will take a few days for any of them to feel ready for visitors.” Shamir smiled gently. “She will be anxious to see you once she is well, and I will tell Niama of your concern.”
Lanie was a little surprised when the woman turned away from her and looked at Cin. Her clear green eyes sparkled with intensity.
“Did I hear you correctly, Cindrac of Earth?” Shamir asked with a quirked brow. “Are we forming an Alliance?”
Lanie was surprised when Cin shifted his feet nervously and looked at the ground to avoid the queen’s penetrating gaze. Cin took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and faced the royal couple.
“My world comes first,” Cin stated in a voice that made it obvious he’d said the same thing to them before.
“We have agreed to those conditi
ons previously.” Lioda nodded his head in assent.
Cin turned around and threw up another portal in the air before facing the elven royals again.
“Lanie and I must destroy the Consortium base and the cage. What were Adamo and Niama looking for on Letrania?” Cin asked.
“They found a document on another raider base that spoke of a hidden facility manufacturing fake relics to replace with the real ones they were stealing.” Lioda’s face was a mask of anger. “They traced it to Letrania.”
Cin was already running the Letranian base's plans through his mind and discovered several areas where manufacturing could be occurring. He nodded in respect at the royal couple.
“We’re going back to find out and destroy the base. I will let you know what we discover,” Cin promised and led Lanie to the portal.
“Perhaps we can also expect an answer on an Alliance as well?” Shamir said with a smile. “It seems to me that Niama and Lanie might want a say in fighting together as well.”
Lanie knew the queen was manipulating her in the hopes that she could convince Cin to join whatever alliance the elves wanted with him. As much as Lanie liked Niama and the others, her first loyalty was to Cin, and she’d follow his lead as she promised him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The couple came out of the portal and back into the room with the faraday cage inside it. The place was exactly like they’d left it, and Lanie was beginning to think the raiders didn’t know they’d been there until Cin forced her to become invisible.
Three heavily armed raider guards entered the room and moved slowly around it, looking down at their dead comrades and assessing the room's condition, empty cage, and missing elves.
“They’re gone, and everyone is dead!” one of the raiders spoke into a mic of some kind.
A crackling sound was heard before a voice came through the mic. “It’s got to be that fucking bastard, Cindrac. Keep your damn eyes open and keep him away from downstairs, damn it! We’re clearing out now.”
Cin squeezed Lanie’s hand, and she returned it, letting him know she’d also caught the part about clearing out downstairs. She wasn’t surprised when Cin followed the raiders to the door before impaling two in the back and slitting the throat of the third.