by C A Ardron
As Lion felt strong, gauntleted hands grab his arms, he felt a little relieved to be out from under the Commander’s scrutinising gaze. What did he do now though? He had to get word of this out somehow and fast.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lion watched Fire Tiger pace the length of the tiny cell and then back again. He shifted on the cold slabs as she passed, her thin straw-coloured hair in disarray.
She once more put a hand through it, messing it up even more. The short, freckled woman looked ready to explode.
Lion turned his head away, deciding to let her be for now. Hopefully she’d calm down soon. He studied the three thick energy bars across the wide entrance of the cell. Though tinted a faint green, they still made his eyes ache if he stared at them for too long.
A ferocious growl rose in Tiger’s throat and she spun on the spot, punching the nearest wall. She growled again, shaking her hand to try to ease the pain.
‘That isn’t going to help,’ Coyote told her in his quiet voice.
The woman glared at him, her mouth opening to retort. She didn’t say anything though and after a second made a frustrated sound in her throat, turning away.
She began to pace again. ‘What is with this place? Every temple has a detainment area but energy bars – really? What do they think we’re going to do, try to blow the place up?’
‘Dakkonin detainment cells are designed to hold Sarpiens,’ Coyote replied.
‘Oh lovely, great. I’m standing in the place they’d put the Red Jackal.’
‘They wouldn’t put a Sarpien general here,’ Coyote replied. ‘They’d put someone like the Bloodrunner in the lower levels, in the top-level security-’
‘I don’t care!’ Tiger shouted at him.
Lion sighed and got to his feet. ‘Take a breather, Tiger, this isn’t helping anything.’ Lion turned from her and looked through the bars, ‘Coyote, any insights into what might be going through Gyrfalcon’s mind?’
Coyote released a slow breath. ‘I wish I did, Captain, his behaviour is strange. I’ve worked with the commander in the past. He’s even tempered, patient and analytical. It’s no surprise to me he earned a promotion, but I don’t know why he’s done this.’
‘Red Dragon,’ Tiger grunted.
Lion nodded, ‘yeah. Gyrfalcon mentioned him. Have you ever met him, Coyote?’ Lion glanced at the Canine when he didn’t immediately reply. He noted the older man’s serious eyes.
‘On the odd occasion, yes.’
‘What’s he like?’ Tiger asked, the anger finally leaving her voice.
A strange, reminiscent smile crossed Coyote’s face. ‘General Red Dragon is…exceptional, in every way. I truly believe I will never meet another man like him.’
Lion nodded. ‘The Dakkonin forces are on the frontline, the first line of attack and defence against the sclithe. I imagine a Dakkonin general would have to be quite the warrior and tactician.’
‘It was an honour to work under him,’ Coyote murmured.
‘You regret leaving the Dakkonin?’ Lion asked.
Coyote shook his head and gave a small smile. ‘No, Captain. The battles grew too heated for me. I thought I wanted to retire, but yet I find myself here. Who knows, perhaps I just need a break, perhaps one day I will find myself back there.’
‘Well, whatever the future holds, I’m glad to have you here now.’ Lion turned to face the bars again. ‘We need to get out of this. We know the Unician candidate is here now. We have to get out and rescue her.’
‘A jailbreak?’ Tiger asked. ‘I’d love to, but I don’t see how.’
Lion tried to focus but was finding it difficult to shake off his confrontation with Gyrfalcon.
Then we’ll have to make sure they don’t hear about it, won’t we?
The commander’s words bothered him. What had Gyrfalcon meant by it? Surely he couldn’t jeopardise his position as captain? Was it possible? If Gyrfalcon was working on the direct orders of his general, then maybe Red Dragon could influence Predgariah.
Lion tried again to push it away. Right now, getting the candidate back was the key thing.
Coyote moved from his place by the back wall and stepped up to the glowing bars. ‘Hm,’ he murmured. ‘That pad across the way is for this cell and the two adjoining ones.’
Lion glanced out at it. It looked fairly complex to him. ‘Maybe it is, but there’s no way to reach it.’
Coyote gave him a tight grin and pointed with one finger. A small stream of electricity shot from it and hit the keypad.
Lion’s jaw dropped as it sizzled and a thin stream of smoke began to drift upwards. He grinned at the open doorway, the green energy barriers were now absent.
Tiger stepped out into the corridor. ‘You could’ve done that earlier,’ she complained.
‘Lion didn’t want to get out earlier,’ Coyote replied with a shrug.
Lion breathed a soft laugh as he looked left and right. ‘No guards.’
‘No,’ Coyote agreed, stepping out of the cell. ‘Warriors able to touch the Power without the aid of a medallion are uncommon. Lucky for us, Gyrfalcon has obviously forgotten I am one such warrior.’
‘Coyote, Predgarian temples tend to follow the same design, are Dakkonin temples the same?’ Lion asked.
The Canine nodded. ‘I’d say so, yes.’
‘Good. Where will we find the admin section?’
‘The East wing, all we need to do is follow the corridor around to the staircase leading up. The admin facilities will be on the third floor.’
‘All right, Tiger and I will head there, see if we can find where Jenna Mar’Corri is being held. I need you to head back to Gyrfalcon’s office.’
Coyote’s eyebrows arched.
‘We need our medallions back,’ Lion explained, ‘and right now you’re the best equipped to get them.’
Coyote nodded, ‘I understand.’
‘How are we going to get out of here without being caught?’ Tiger asked. ‘That receptionist will sound the alarm the moment he sees us.’
‘The high level of security will be their downfall,’ Coyote told her. ‘Dakkonin walk freely in the temple, confident of their safety. That arrogance will allow us to pass through areas unquestioned and will also allow us to get close enough to the reception to break past.’
Lion smiled, ‘I’m surprised you would consider Dakkonin arrogant.’
Coyote chuckled. ‘I spent many years in Stradgorl, arrogance doesn’t let you live long down there.’
Lion strode down the corridor to the exit of the detainment area. Opening the door, he drew breath, a Dakkonin warrior walking past.
The un-armoured warrior’s eyes widened. Lion struck out with a Cat-Claw and Coyote sidled round, rapping him across the temple with a Lash-Chop.
The man fell, and Lion dragged him into the detainment area.
Tiger sighed, ‘well, that almost went really wrong.’
‘The other warriors here probably won’t bother us,’ Coyote said, keeping his voice quiet.
Lion nodded, ‘maybe, but let’s try not to take chances. Coyote, get to Gyrfalcon’s office. We’ll meet you when we can in the corridor above the reception.’
The Canine warrior nodded and split off.
‘How are we going to rescue Jenna?’ Tiger asked as Lion began to stride up the corridor. ‘It’s going to be difficult without medallions.’
‘I know,’ he murmured. ‘We’ll just have to be careful.’
He didn’t know how he was going to pull this off, but he had to try. The Dakkonin had kidnapped the girl, she must be petrified. Lion knew there was a lot more on the line than just the candidate’s rescue. If they couldn’t get her back it would damage relations between the Predgarian and Unician Orders, not to mention their personal careers.
A flood of relief filled Lion when the staircase came into sight. With a bit of luck, Gyrfalcon or any of the Dakkonin which had seen them without armour wouldn’t be up here.
As he’d hoped there
were several small enclosed offices not in use. Lion entered one and switched on the light. He waited for Tiger to enter and close the door.
‘Lock it,’ he whispered. ‘We don’t want to be interrupted.’
‘What are we doing?’ she asked, turning the lock. ‘We’re not going to find Jenna in an office.’
‘No,’ he agreed, turning the computer on, ‘but there’s the next best thing.’ The computer loaded up and Lion skimmed the icons on the desktop.
Tiger looked over his shoulder as he sat in the chair. ‘We won’t find anything here, we don’t have clearance.’
Lion grinned, ‘I’ve got all the clearance I need.’ He opened up the Priority 1 Order interface and pulled his Captain’s license out of his back pocket.
Tiger began a low laugh. ‘The interface all Orders can use during emergencies. Gyrfalcon’s going to kill you for this.’
‘He’s brought it on himself.’ Lion pulled over the clipboard scanner and placed his licence face down on it. A few seconds passed and then a list of new options appeared on the screen.
Lion read through and clicked on the data records on the last few day’s phone calls. He scrolled down till he found one connected to Draconia. ‘This looks promising.’
Lion turned on the computer speaker and pressed play. The digital recording began with some minor pleasantries that Lion skipped through, hoping to find something of more interest.
‘Martial Eagle is bringing her in tonight,’ Gyrfalcon’s voice reported.
‘Good,’ said another, deeper voice. ‘With her empathy skills, we’ll be able to track Sarpiens in such a way they’ll never escape us again. I’ll come for her myself tomorrow.’
‘So that’s why they want her,’ Lion muttered.
‘The Predgarians in West Sector know we’ve shown interest in her. An investigation may lead them here.’
‘Do whatever you need to prevent that. If things get out of hand, I’ll sort it myself. Put the girl in the cargo warehouse, that’s right next to the hopper landing pad if I recall. It’ll be a short transfer from there to my ship. Any meddling Predgarians won’t think to look for her there. By half-three she won’t be in Steiron to find anymore.’
Lion paused the recording, ‘we will now.’ He began to shut down the computer.
‘How did you know the call would’ve been recorded?’ Tiger asked.
‘Security,’ Lion told her. ‘Dakkonin are paranoid about Sarpien infiltrators, so all calls are recorded.’
Tiger snorted, ‘I should’ve thought of that. I wonder where the hopper landing pads are.’
‘Top floor,’ Lion replied. ‘I remember Grey Owl mentioning it once. The Dakkonin landing pad is located on the roof.’
Tiger sighed, ‘that’s a lot of floors.’
Lion nodded as he strode to the door. ‘I should’ve asked Coyote if they have a back staircase. Never mind, we’ll just have to be quiet and act like we belong here.’
He opened the door slowly and stepped out when he found the corridor empty.
‘Do you think the other man on the recording was the general?’
Lion frowned as he headed towards the next staircase. ‘Perhaps, he certainly sounded like he had a lot of authority.’
Tiger sighed again. ‘You know, I always hoped I’d get to meet him someday – but not like this.’
Lion smiled, ‘I think half the world wants to meet him. Coyote’s right, from what I’ve heard there’s not many people like him. It’ll be okay, sounds like he’s not going to be here till mid-afternoon. If we don’t run across any problems, we’ll be long gone before he arrives.’
Tiger frowned at him. ‘You’re hopeful.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gyrfalcon checked the small clock on his desk - half twelve. He considered making contact with the general. He needed to be informed of the Predgarian complication.
His eyes drifted to the clock again. The general always told him not to bother him with needless details. Maybe he’d wait, the general’s ship was most likely already en-route anyway.
His fingers resting on the phone receiver, Gyrfalcon looked up when the office door opened unannounced.
He stared open-mouthed when the muscular, dark-haired man entered the room. Gyrfalcon began to rise but realised he was too late.
The intruder’s hand rose, firing a green arc of energy. Gyrfalcon yelped, the narrow burst impacting into his chest, sending him tumbling backwards over his chair and into the wall behind.
‘Puma,’ Gyrfalcon rasped, trying to rise.
‘It’s Coyote,’ the man replied, a small green orb growing in his hand. It weaved forwards, lengthening out into thin energy rope.
Gyrfalcon grunted, unable to get away from it. As it settled around him, he began to feel the drain on his strength.
His eyes growing tired, he shook his head, trying to fight it. Gyrfalcon drew a shuddering breath as he watched Coyote beginning to explore the draws at his desk.
‘I’ll have your head for this,’ he wheezed.
Coyote glanced at him. ‘Don’t blame me, Gyrfalcon, I’m just following orders – but you understand that, right?’
Gyrfalcon sighed. ‘Don’t be mad, you know what Dragon’s like. You think I wanted to do that to Lion? He’s one of the best Predgarians Steiron has. Anyway, he’s doing exactly the same – ordering you to take me out like this.’
Coyote pulled out the three medallions. He placed the Canine medallion about his neck and pocketed the other two before picking out the radios and stuffing them into his other pockets.
He shook his head. ‘Lion didn’t order me to attack you, Gyrfalcon, he just wanted the medallions back.’ He moved towards the office door. ‘That’s the difference between us and Lion. Lion’s young, idealistic, he thinks if he tries hard enough, they’ll be a happy ending waiting for him at the finish line.’ Coyote smiled but it was sad. ‘You and I know better than that.’
Gyrfalcon’s laugh was soft. ‘I was like that once, we all were. Keep close to him, Coyote. Lion’s a good man and I think he deserves his position. Try to keep him alive.’
Coyote nodded and gave the Dakkonin salute. ‘I’ll do my very best.’
Gyrfalcon nodded, ‘get on with it.’
The Canine nodded and raised his hand. Gyrfalcon inhaled, feeling his strength ebbing. He let it take him, closing his eyes and surrendering to his enforced nap.
* * *
‘I thought you were on leave, Leopard,’ Hawk noted.
‘I’ve seen the news,’ she grunted. ‘You think I was going to stay in Havelo with the city being torn to pieces?’ Her gaze shot back to the strange new Feline before her.
Falcon crossed her arms, watching the two Felines stare at one another. ‘You might as well disarm, Lynx, get it over with.’
The kid was chewing his lip again.
‘Don’t do that,’ she chided, ‘it shows a lack of confidence.’
Lynx sighed and deactivated.
Falcon’s lips pursed, watching as Leopard’s body became rigid for a moment.
‘Why does Jay have a medallion?’
‘Red Lynx,’ Dove corrected.
Leopard deactivated, for a brief moment disappearing in her medallion’s pale-yellow light.
‘Answer the question,’ she growled.
Falcon took hold of her medallion and braced herself for all the aches and pains that would accompany the deactivation.
As the silvery light surged around her, she heard Dove explaining about Tigermoth and their tight situation.
‘And giving Jay a medallion was the best you could come up with?’ Leopard demanded, ‘without even putting him through the tests?’
‘It was a calculated…’ Falcon’s eyes sank shut. She sighed, leaning against the passage wall, her body relaxing as the tension finally left her limbs.
The silence was bliss. She gave a start when a hand brushed her arm and her eyes shot open.
‘What?’ she asked, her voice sounding slurred.
‘Why don’t you take a nap, Falcon?’ Dove suggested. ‘Hawk and I will fill Leopard in on everything that’s happening.’
Falcon nodded and turned, her bed sounded really nice right now. She headed towards the stairs, her eyes falling shut again. She gave a sharp inhale as the world blurred, fading away and all she could hear was the roaring of a distant waterfall.
Falcon turned, feeling that familiar warm breeze. She breathed in, blinking in the bright sunlight, the sparse grass was so vibrant.
No. Not here, not again. Falcon closed her eyes, waiting for it. She inhaled, the sharp blade digging deep into her midriff.
She clutched at it, feeling the curve of the hilt, the moulded cat’s head pommel. Falcon didn’t need to see it to know it was hers.
‘My dagger,’ she whispered into the wind.
Her eyes barely working she gazed up at the huge spurt of amethyst fire rising above the treetops in the distance.
She screamed, another pain distracting her from the blade in her guts. Falcon sought out the snake on her left arm, the pale, azure eyes fading, going out like dying stars.
Falcon screamed again and stumbled back a step, the dagger being pulled from her flesh. Barely able to breathe, Falcon looked up, her eyes widening on the hard, hate-filled face of her attacker.
The blonde woman was beautiful even despite the expression. Her armour gleamed, her golden wings open and ready for flight. She was an angel sent by the Light to deliver justice.
The Avian warrior grasped her shoulders, pushing her back. Falcon gasped as the ground underfoot disappeared.
Her breath was whisked away as she fell downwards, the wind whipping around her. Hurtling down, end over end, the roaring she could hear wasn’t just the blood pumping in her ears. Glittering under the twin suns Falcon saw the sparkling water below. It was so pretty. The bottom was bubbling furiously, the waterfall so close now. She heard more than felt the impact, then the darkness took her.
Falcon’s gasp was audible as she drove herself up from the terrible danger of the water. She blinked at the sunlight streaming through her bedroom window.