Maxis fanned his senses along the perimeter. Twenty, maybe thirty men placed at every quadrant. Perfectly placed. Positioning Eryx and his men could only manage if they knew the details of his hideout.
Traitor.
Falon’s chuckle rumbled through the room. “Yes, your dear brother, leading your enemy to your doorstep for the second time.” He uncurled his arms, glided closer, and rasped in Maxis’ ear. “Now what are you going to do about it?”
* * * *
Another thick and ominous cloud drifted in front of the sun and lifted a fresh wave of goose bumps along Galena’s arms. She hated Asshur. The whole region reeked of desolation with its crackling clay terrain and sparse, gangly vegetation. Tucked into a twenty by twenty indention along a desolate canyon wall, at least she and the rest of her group were isolated from the cool winds.
A chill racked her from the inside out. For the last ten minutes, she’d barely ripped her gaze from the barren horizon, waiting for Reese. One minute she couldn’t wait for him to show, and the next she prayed he wouldn’t.
Jagger and Ludan muttered behind her. Every now and then Lexi chimed in, a light and sassy sound against their deep, rumbling voices. Hard to believe she’d only been a part of their lives for less than a few weeks.
Ramsay stood beside Eryx and glowered at the skies. “You think he’ll show?”
Unlike his brother, Eryx’s attention was locked on her, a nearly constant weight she hadn’t been able to shake. “He’s on his way. The link shows him two or three minutes out.”
The link.
Praise the Great One, she was an idiot. He’d scanned Reese’s memories before he’d made the connection, and then turned scary angry. He must’ve seen the kiss.
And then she’d spent the night with him. If he checked both their links last night—
A muted thud sounded behind her.
“My Malran.” Reese’s voice rumbled behind her, followed by an awkward pause. “Ramsay.”
Male greetings rang out from the other men, polite, but insincere, and Eryx jumped in behind them with quick, staccato orders.
Galena swallowed past the lump in her throat and turned toward Reese.
Praise the Great One. Wrong choices or not, Reese had brought his pride today. He stood before Eryx, shoulders back, hair unbound and wild. Instead of a drast, he wore a loose ivory shirt with black leather pants and boots. Rather a new age pirate with a rugged edge.
He lifted his chin in answer to whatever had been said, a resolute hardness to his mouth.
What she wouldn’t give for contact. Even just one glance. She couldn’t tell him how much last night had meant, how sorry she’d been to leave before the sun rose, but her eyes would say enough.
“You get one shot.” Eryx cut into her thoughts, his words aimed at Reese. “Two minutes to share whatever it is you want to say. If Maxis so much as twitches, all bets are off.”
Galena edged closer.
“Fair enough.” Reese jerked his head toward the canyon wall opposite them. “The main entrance is about a hundred yards north. A flat ledge juts out with a natural rock slab sheltering the opening.” He faced Ramsay and his gaze swept right past her. “You’ll want to cover the secondary openings at the coordinates I gave you yesterday. Not a lot of guards since he doesn’t tell many about the place. Only a handful at each entrance.”
Why wouldn’t he look at her? Her heart cramped and her lungs burned with a need to shout. To rant and rail.
A hand cupped her shoulder. “You okay?”
Lexi stepped into sight, her slate-blue eyes filled with concern and pity.
“I’m fine.” Or she would be eventually.
“I’m not buying it.” She pursed her lips and sidled closer, eyes pinched with too much intuition. Damn, Lexi and her emotional radar. “He’s doing what he feels is right. No one’s forcing him to take this route.”
The same way she’d followed her instincts the night before. It might have meant nothing to him, but for her it was everything, a feminine liberation and an exploration of a part of herself she hadn’t even known existed.
And now the man who’d given it to her was marching into death.
“Men are in place,” Ramsay said from somewhere behind her.
Eryx strode to the center of the group. “Ludan, you’re with me. Jagger, you’re with Lexi until we have the cave secured.” He peered over one shoulder at Reese. “You’re up.”
Reese nodded, hands fisted at his sides, and stared at the rocky ledge beyond. A muscle ticked at the back of his jaw. “I’ll incapacitate the guards up front, but I won’t take them out. You want them dead, it’s up to you.”
Wind gusted past the ledge and he shot to the sky, never once looking back.
Galena’s heart lurched and she stepped forward.
Lexi clamped onto Galena’s wrist. “This isn’t your battle. Let it—”
A grated scream rent the air and Reese freefell toward the Earth.
Galena darted after him, the wind a sharp whistle in her ears.
Reese crashed to the ground and curled inward, clawing his head the same as Phybe had only days before.
“Eryx, it’s Maxis!” Galena landed beside Reese and shoved him to his back. Straddling his waist, she gripped either side of his neck and froze. She hadn’t been able to save Phybe. Maxis’ mental destruction had been too quick and vast to risk the healing. What in histus made her think she’d live through the same with Reese?
She could do this. She would do this. No one’s healing surpassed hers. Not even Eryx’s.
Shouts rang out behind her and someone tugged her arm.
She tightened her knees at Reese’s sides and speared her spirit into his.
“Galena,” Eryx barked. “You can’t save him. Get out.”
She mashed her eyelids tight and visualized her path, up through the carotid.
“Eryx, let her go.” Lexi, thank The Great One.
Someone gripped her shoulders and footsteps shuffled on the sandy rock.
Her spirit turned at the cerebral artery. Damaged brain tissue spread in all directions, what should have been a healthy pinkish-gray a charred and blood-streaked mess. She healed as she ghosted along her path, scanning for the source.
“Galena, tell us what you need.” Lexi’s voice lilted through her mind, an echo behind each word that said she shared her words with others.
Galena’s fingers trembled and her arms ached with fatigue. She’d never healed this much damage this quickly. No way would she stop whatever Maxis was doing alone. Pulling in a lungful of air, she shoved a summer green blast of healing energy across Reese’s cortex. “The damage is everywhere, but I can’t keep up.”
A muffled curse grumbled nearby and large hands covered hers, rough calluses abrading her knuckles. “Ramsay, we’re going in with her,” Eryx said.
“You sure about this, Eryx?” Ramsay whispered beside her.
A tear slipped down her cheek, the wind cold in its path. They’d always question Reese’s motives. No matter what he did right. And if anything happened to her, they’d lay the blame at his feet.
Eryx’s hands tightened against hers. “I can’t stop her, and if she’s determined to fight, then we fight with her.” His energy surged to meet hers, his powerful white aura bathing everything around her and lightening the weight of Reese’s pain on her spirit.
Another wave rushed in behind it, this one tinged with silver. Ramsay.
“Now what?” Ramsay asked.
“Find the link.” Eryx’s spirit pushed in front of hers, Ramsay right behind it. “Ludan stop worrying about me and feed Galena. Her energy’s too low.”
A giant hand pressed between her shoulder blades, and power jolted through her veins and sinew, feeding her starved cells.
“I don’t see anything,” Ramsay said, his mental voice distracted.
Of course they wouldn’t see the connection. The link was between Reese
and Maxis. To find Maxis they’d need a connection to Reese.
“Eryx, that’s it.” Galena’s arms shook, palms slick against Reese’s neck. “Your link with Reese. Use it.”
“How?”
“Stream through your link to Reese.” Galena kept healing, a fresh jolt of adrenaline and hope pushing her faster. “See if you find Maxis that way.”
“Shit, that’s genius.” Ramsay’s spirit swirled around hers. “You look, I’ll cover Galena.”
Eryx’s light wavered and disappeared.
Ramsay weaved his energy with hers, amplifying her healing with his warrior strength.
Cracked squeaks ripped passed Reese’s throat.
“Son of a bitch,” Eryx said. She’d never heard him so stupefied.
Ramsay’s energy formed a barricade around hers, protective. “What?”
Hope fluttered in Galena’s stomach. “You found him?”
“Yeah, I found him.” Eryx’s deadly tone sent a chill across Galena’s heart. “Ramsay, funnel through my link. We’ll attack the thread on two fronts. Pull the link tight and do not let him connect. Ludan, need you ready to hit the center.”
“Got it.”
“Galena, whatever you do, stay back,” Eryx said. “Do not engage. We clear?”
“Just do it.”
Ramsay’s spirit faded. Left without his strength, Reese’s injuries slammed heavy against her.
She pulled in a steady breath and narrowed her focus. If they could fight, she could heal.
Reese bowed beneath her and Galena opened her eyes. His face was a mottled red, his neck strained.
“Ludan, now,” Eryx commanded.
The steady stream of Ludan’s energy dropped to nothing and her spirit staggered, slamming back into her body in a dizzying recoil.
Reese convulsed, his entire body shaking as though an entire lightning bolt coursed through him.
Darkness hovered at the edge of her vision, her energy almost depleted, but she leaned forward and pinned Reese by his shoulders.
Lexi jumped in to help a second before Reese slumped, his jaw slack and muscles limp.
“Reese?” Galena’s vision blurred behind tears and she cupped his face. “Reese.”
“Galena, it’s okay.” Lexi’s arms wrapped around her, and a fresh wave of energy surged behind it. “He’s fine, but he needs you to heal him. The men need their strength, but you can have mine.” She covered Galena’s hand with her own and laid it over Reese’s heart. “Feel his heartbeat.”
A weak thump registered beneath her palm, and her shoulders sagged. His vitals were haggard, but steady, no more violent reverberations like she’d felt during Maxis’ attack. “What happened? Where’s Maxis link?”
“Snapped that bitch in half,” Ludan boasted behind her.
Ramsay rose beside her. “Yeah, but what about Maxis?”
“Hard to tell. He can’t feel good though.” Eryx shoved to his feet. “And if he’s stunned, that means he’s vulnerable.” With a quick, reassuring squeeze to Lexi’s shoulder, he spun toward Maxis’ cave. “Ramsay, prep the men, we’re goin’ in.”
Chapter 13
Eryx flew a second pass along the cavern wall, Ludan off to one side. Their masks were in place, but speeding this fast anyone with baseline detection skills would sense them a mile off. “You see anything?”
“A two-mile stretch of ugly.” Count on Ludan to make urgency sound boring. “You catch anything in Reese’s memories?”
He had, but everything looked the same up close. Stopping, he replayed what he’d gleaned of Reese’s time at the hideout. The most prevalent exterior memories had shown a flat rock jutting from the canyon wall with a shelter hiding an opening. Spindly bushes with straggling sage green leaves marked either side. “You see any bushes?”
Air gusted across Eryx’s face, and Ludan’s energy zinged across Eryx’s mental radar. “Back this way. Thought I saw something closer to the top.”
Eryx followed and tried to wrestle his escalating impatience into submission. Every damned nook and cranny looked the same.
“Here.” Ludan’s energy stopped.
Sure enough, there it was. Maxis might be an underhanded blight on their race, but he had to give him credit for originality when it came to subterfuge. “Ramsay, we’ve got the entrance. You found yours?”
“Just found it.” Ramsay’s voice resonated with an extra bite. “Two rebellion guards tipped us off. Not the best training. They’re out.”
“Out for a nap, or for good?”
“Out for good.”
Well, that explained the extra bite. “Might want to save the rest for questions, brother.” Eryx drifted forward. “Slow and easy going in. We’ve stirred enough to wake anyone with half a pulse. I don’t want to give anyone else inside reason to run.”
Ever the mother hen, Ludan flew in front of Eryx’s path. “Ever consider you’re killin’ our job benefits?”
Eryx let his somo have the lead for the moment, but if they found Ian or Maxis, a mountain wouldn’t be able to block his path. “Find me Ian and you can have free rein at the training grounds Reese told us about.”
“A bonus. Nice.” Ludan touched down on the landing, Eryx a second behind him.
Ten or fifteen feet into the tunnel, a torch glowed bold orange, near red. Behind the puddle of light, was nothing but black void.
A steady draft slithered down the corridor and energy pinged against Eryx’s senses. “Up and on the right. Whoever it is is strong. Too strong to be human.”
“Rebellion lackeys.” Ludan shimmered into view. “I’m done with the cloak and dagger bit.”
Eryx dropped his mask as well and grabbed Ludan’s shoulder. “They fight, they’re out. They surrender, they get a hearing. We clear?”
Ludan’s jaw shifted side to side.
“Reese made bad choices for the wrong reasons,” Eryx said. “There could be more like him. They roll, they get a chance to come clean.”
Ludan nodded and strode forward, his clipped steps a calling card for whoever waited.
Two warriors stepped into the tunnel, eyes wide with fear, hands fisted and ready to engage.
One swung a punch at Ludan.
Ludan dodged and gripped the fist as it flew past his check. Torquing the man’s arm behind his back, Ludan leveled a dagger at his throat. “Knees. Now.”
The warrior hit his knees.
Ludan glared at the other man, still shell-shocked. “That means you too.” He wrenched his hold on the man in front of him enough to elicit a whimper. “Unless you want to take me on.”
Shell-shocked dropped and put his hands behind his head.
Ludan grunted and stowed his dagger, but kept his captive’s arm locked at a painful angle. “Maxis didn’t dig deep for you boys, did he?”
“You two are lucky he’s in a good mood.” Eryx stepped between the kneeling men. “You get two choices. Get us to the heart of this beehive or take your chances with my moody somo. What’s your pick?”
The men wide-eyed it with each other.
“I’ll take you,” Shell-shocked said.
The other one flinched and glared at his partner. “Maxis will kill you.”
Ludan wrenched his arm again and crouched close. “I won’t. But I’ll make you wish I had.”
The two kept the silent eyeballing up for another second or two before Ludan’s captive relented and ducked his head.
With his dagger hand, Ludan motioned Shell-shocked to his feet. “You lead.”
The four of them headed down the tunnel. Not-so-tough guy shuffled behind Eryx as best he could with Ludan twisting his arm between his shoulder blades.
Eryx nudged Shell-shocked in front of him. “How many more of you?”
The warrior cast a guilty glance over one shoulder, but trudged forward. “There are three entrances, two men at each entrance and one near the pens.”
Ludan chuffed. “Shit for se
curity.”
“We had more,” Shell-shocked said. “Uther’s pulled most out on some big—”
“Neil.” Not-so-tough lurched from Ludan’s grip and aimed for his fellow warrior.
Ludan intercepted and a sick crack rattled down the dark corridor.
Not-so-tough slumped to the rock in a lifeless heap, his head at an all-wrong angle.
With a careless step over the body, Ludan rolled his shoulders and got up close to Neil/Shell-shocked. “You were saying?”
“Later,” Eryx said before Neil could answer. He jerked his chin toward the blackness. “I want this over with.” He switched to tell-coms. “You’re up, Ramsay. Got another entrance we need to cover, two men at each one. I want prisoners.” He stepped alongside Ludan and raised an eyebrow. “Not dead men.”
Ludan shrugged, though it was shallow enough to admit he might have been trigger-happy. “He was about to shut our source up.”
Ramsay’s chuckle wound through their open link. “Guess I’m not the only bloodthirsty bastard. I’m heading up the ramp. Wesley’s hunting for the other exit.”
Eryx followed Ludan and Neil around a wide corner and the tunnel opened to a thirty-by-thirty circular room. A lifeless fire pit sat at its center, squat oak chairs arched around one side, and a tall-backed, onyx wanna-be throne at the other. Otherwise the place was a big zero.
“Not feeling all that impressed.” Eryx strode toward the black tunnel on the other side of the room. “Where’s that go?”
Neil swallowed and the color drained from his face. “The pens.”
“I’m thinking not the animal variety.” Ludan stepped up tight behind Neil. “Am I right?”
Neil nodded, but the action looked damned pained.
Eryx motioned with his head. “Move it.”
Hustling around the far side of the fire pit, Neil took up point.
“Report,” Eryx said to Ramsay.
His brother sounded a whole lot more pissed off than he had a few minutes ago. “Wes found the second entrance. Men are contained. Got a talkative one who said Maxis took off five, maybe ten minutes before we got here and didn’t look so good.”
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