by Vi Voxley
From behind the eyes of the warrior, a vicious gaze stared at him.
Around them, the fight had moved further, but the Brions clearly wanted to cut the Fearless down for the insult he was doing to their former commander.
"Stay back," Tieran warned, motioning for the Brions to hold. "I will kill it."
The Fearless barked an ugly laugh.
"I wouldn't do that if you want to see your female again."
The words were a clear bait, but Tieran couldn't stop his blood boiling at hearing that. If the bastard had hurt Audrey… it would mark the first time in his life when he enjoyed taking a life.
Without a question, he charged and the warrior host met him. There was no doubt in Tieran's mind. If it were anyone else, he might have hoped to spare Audrey's life with his own, but it was the Fearless. They didn't show mercy and they didn't bargain.
The only thing they were capable of was taking. If it wanted the both of them dead, no promise it gave would undo that.
The speed of the creature was incredible, but it was slowed down by the warrior. Compared to everyone else, the captain would have surely been an impressive fighter. But for the Fearless, it was a meat-bag that wasn't doing the job.
Tieran was giving no quarter, knowing the man the warrior had been was already gone. He kept up a relentless pressure, moving so fast it was hard to see until he managed to strike a wide blow with the glaive.
It cut the captain's legs from under him by the knees and he slumped to the ground. Tieran waited, his blade at the ready, for the Fearless to emerge, a frown of concentration on his face. He knew there was no need for him to kill the host.
The Fearless wouldn't allow itself to die like that, never in a million years.
The body was laughing, although everyone present could hear the pain underneath.
"I see," the Fearless said. "Very impressive. You will do."
Tieran knew what it was talking about. He had already suspected something similar when the Fearless hadn't simply stabbed him in the back when it had the chance.
But it wasn't so easy to take over someone that was conscious. For that, the Fearless had to have them subdued and Tieran had no plan to let it get so far.
“Never,” he growled back.
The captain's spine broke as the Fearless forced its way outside. Even among the company of warriors, Tieran could hear astonished gasps. As for himself, he didn't even blink, refusing to take his eyes away from the enemy, knowing how fast it could move.
The beast shook itself free from the corpse, turning its dark red eyes to him. Blood was dribbling off of it, the draconian form of it shiny and slick with the insides of the body it had inhabited.
Tieran raised his glaive, knowing he had to let the Fearless move first. There was no use in charging a creature like that. No move those bastards didn't already know or wouldn't be able to predict. Thousands of years of experience spoke through the beast.
It wasn't something he could hope to counter with luck.
Surprisingly, the Fearless wasn't attacking either. The two myths, one man and one beast, stood there regarding each other until a cry split the air.
It came over the ship's inner comm link and it was Audrey.
The cruel smile on the Fearless' face told Tieran exactly who was causing that.
"Leave her alone," he said despite knowing it was useless.
"No," the Fearless replied, as expected. "I like the way she screams. She does that more now after I took the pretty thing away from her hand."
Her bracelet.
Without it, he knew that Audrey must have suffered greatly under the power of the lifestone, and the Fearless’ presence.
Tieran wanted to turn and run and find her, see if he could soothe the torture like before, but he was in the middle of the battle.
"Surrender now," the Fearless said. "I will let your female live."
"Go," Tieran ordered a group of paladins, covering them. "Find her. Get her out of here."
Behind him, Tieran heard them rushing away, hoping that they reached her in time. Then he turned his attention back to the Fearless who didn't seem bothered in the least.
Just as he was thinking it was weird for the Fearless to let prey get away from it, the creature turned tail and ran. The shock was so great that for a moment, Tieran stood stunned.
The Fearless wasn’t known to run, and definitely not when it seemed to be gaining the upper hand, but perhaps that was a new trick too, after baiting and stealing.
He hadn't expected the Fearless to delay their fight and he swore to never to let that happen again.
Coward.
Then he turned and ran towards the bridge, knowing the remaining paladins and Brions were capable of dealing with the Jorcossi. If the Fearless wanted him to give chase, Tieran was willing to give in. He couldn't let the creature escape to roam free and he didn't want Audrey to face it alone again.
The bridge was up ahead, but when he barged in, there was no one there. For a moment he thought the room was empty, but then he saw Audrey, tied and gagged under the command throne. He stepped forward, only to see her struggle and shake her head furiously.
Looking around, Tieran saw the paladins join him, as confused as he was. He had sprinted past them, but they had been almost on his heels when he entered the bridge. He took another step forward, but Audrey was now thrashing wildly. She managed to spit the gag out of her mouth just in time to scream:
"Tieran, behind you! The paladin!"
He turned just in time to strike the glaive right into the heart of the paladin coming up at him. The glaives of the other paladins struck into the body a split-second after, but Tieran had made the first cut. The death grin on the man's face stretched wider and wider until the Fearless emerged and Tieran backed away to untie Audrey, the paladins surrounding the beast.
“Run,” Tieran hissed at the paladins. “Kill the Jorcossi. Get off this ship.”
His voice boomed and the paladins turned away, following his orders to the letter. The loyalty of those men was astounding, as was their willingness to put faith in their commander to be able to handle the situation.
"With both of you here now," the Fearless said as Audrey got up, staring at it with loathing. "If you don't want to watch the other eat their own flesh, I want to hear something other than "no" from you."
The “No.” came from Tieran before he could even think about it.
15
Audrey
Audrey stared at the enemy.
Her heart was beating a thunderous, bone-shaking rhythm in her chest. Without the bracelet, it was hard to concentrate on anything other than the Fearless, but Tieran's nearness helped.
More than it used to, in fact. Like a light, the paladin standing by her side kept her grounded in reality. It even seemed like it stopped the Fearless from affecting her emotions too much.
The creature in front of them was enormous, barely fitting onto the bridge. Even then, it had to crouch. A part of Audrey wondered how it intended to get anything from the mines if its size would have brought the mountain down on it.
Which was not a bad idea in itself, but Audrey had more urgent problems.
The Fearless was terrifying, she couldn't deny that. But after the initial shock had passed, her fear was partly replaced by fury. If that thing wanted to get to her planet, it had to go through her and she wouldn't help the Fearless if it was the last thing she did, which was all too likely.
Still, Audrey heard the words come of her mouth: "You think you can force us to help you. I think we haven't been saying no loud enough."
She caught a glimpse of a smirk on Tieran's face and took courage from that. If he managed to smile in a situation like that, it meant he didn't count them as dead yet.
The Fearless, however, laughed again. Right before it charged, faster than Audrey could see, plowing through the paladin like butter.
All she felt was Tieran pushing her out of the way when the creature slammed into him, sending
the both of them flying across the room.
And Audrey discovered that she was a liar. It had been easy to be brave while the Fearless was only talking, freely sharing its plans with her. Now, panic took over and she had to fight it down with everything she had.
It was difficult though, seeing the way Tieran matched the Fearless' claws blow for blow, but even she could see that it was close. One mistake, one wrong move and the man she loved would be worse than dead.
The realization hit her so hard that it actually knocked the Fearless out of balance, still connected to her emotional core.
It spun its massive head to look at her for a moment, both of them equally surprised by the outcome. But it couldn’t do anything else before returning its attention to Tieran, who came at it with his glaive ready to slice and dice.
Audrey hadn't thought to weaponize her feelings, but she was glad to see Tieran take advantage of the enemy's momentary distraction at once. The paladin managed to score a good hit, the impossibly sharp blade of his glaive piercing the Fearless' stomach.
To the both of their surprise, the Fearless howled like it was dying. The bridge shook under the sound waves, more delicate technology rupturing and Audrey had to cover her ears not to be deafened by that scream.
A pulse of pain rattled through her. It was like a light in her flickered for a moment.
The lifestone!
"The lifestone," she called to Tieran. "You hit it!"
Neither one of them had the time to properly digest that information. The Fearless had heard her exposing its weakness and changed direction, coming her way. It turned its back to Tieran, but the hard skin there seemed harder to break through than on the stomach.
Audrey crawled away, but Tieran wasn't going to let her get drawn into the fight. She saw the paladin run faster than she thought was possible, jumping over the consoles of the bridge to land smoothly between her and the enemy.
The glaive in his hand was marred with dark blood and it gave the Fearless pause. The creature halted its attack, considering. Audrey could almost feel its brain working, trying to calculate.
When Tieran looked her way, Audrey saw a deep frown on his face. She had no idea what bothered him that much about them not dying.
She could feel the Fearless' pain, though. And the terrible hunger, the ruthless core that Tieran had talked about. It wanted to kill them both, there was no doubt about that, but it needed them too. A conundrum.
Clearly, sentience came with its downsides. Simply rampaging through planets would have been so much easier for the Fearless if it wasn’t aware of the consequences, which it seemed to be, now.
The paladin surged forward and Audrey almost screamed. The Fearless was grinning with its large mouth, the teeth opening to snatch Tieran up, but he dodged them. While she crawled away again, refusing to get in the way and make Tieran guard her as well as fight, Audrey saw his intention.
He wanted to carve the stone out of the enemy.
That’s insane, Audrey thought, but it was the best chance they got.
Miraculously, the Fearless backed away, but Audrey noticed the shift in it before Tieran did.
"Look out!" she called, but the Fearless moved so quickly Tieran had no time to parry.
He flew across the room, landing with a thunderous clunk against the command throne. Audrey didn't see whether he was conscious or even alive, because the monster was now coming for her again, wasting no time.
She ran to Tieran, her mind spinning. There was no way out. They had pushed the Fearless too far, drained whatever passed for patience in that dark beast.
Like to confirm her thoughts, the Fearless snarled, its voice like an avalanche:
"I offered you his life. Now I will take it."
Okay, now we're fucked.
Audrey shook Tieran, desperate for any sign of life. If she lost him, just like that, she didn't think she could go on.
His eyes snapped open, but went wide when he looked behind her. Audrey didn't dare to turn, wanting the last thing she saw in her life to be him.
"Run, Audrey," he said instead. "Run to the docking bay and don't stop for anything. And don't look back."
His words carried such authority that Audrey found herself moving before her mind registered the fact that she'd sprung up from the floor. She dashed out of the door, hearing the impossible sound of tearing metal behind her. Behind her, she could sense Tieran following her, staying a few steps behind her to cover her escape.
Audrey hated it, but there was nothing to be done. They had pissed off the one creature in the galaxy who should have been tread around lightly.
Tieran had warned her not to, but Audrey couldn't fight down the urge to see. When they rounded a corner, she looked at the Fearless and a scream tore itself from her throat.
It was instantly clear to her that she hadn't really seen the Fearless before, not the way it truly was. She had seen a beast, but nothing more. She had even dared to look it in the eye and that didn't fit anything she'd ever heard about them, which had made it so unbelievable.
Now she knew why.
The Fearless had evolved and become smarter. It had tried to form a plan, but she and Tieran just refused to play along and now it had decided to revert to its roots.
It came after them, tearing apart the ship as it burst through the corridors, seemingly growing bigger with every step. Audrey couldn't believe her eyes, but down at its genetic level, it was part Jorcossi now, wasn't it? And they were able to grow with tremendous speed.
As its mouth stretched wider, the roars became louder and Audrey felt the ship shake under the low-resonating sound.
It had lost control and the way she understood it, that was an advantage for them. Since they managed to outrun it now, which had been impossible before, that had to be the truth. But the Fearless was now true to its name.
"It's going to destroy the ship!" Audrey called to Tieran. "It's tearing it apart around us! There is nowhere to go!"
"Keep running!" Tieran ordered, moving on to speak to his comm link. "Everybody to the bay! We are taking the Jorcossi ship!"
Now Audrey finally remembered. The Jorcossi ship was there too. If they took that, took the ship from the Fearless, it wouldn't be able to follow them, at least for a while. The way it tore through the bigger Brion vessel made her doubt the thing would ever fly again.
She ran for her life and knew that everyone else aboard was doing the same, with the possible exception of Tieran.
The sounds coming from behind her were more reminiscent of the stories she'd heard about the Fearless. Without care or sense of pain, the Fearless clawed its way to them by slashing its claws through doors and walls and floors.
Audrey could see gigantic gashes in the floor behind whenever she turned her head as the Fearless rushed after them on all fours. The sight nearly took her down on its own.
The only reason they were not dead was because the Brions built their ships sturdy enough. It made the Fearless push through the construct, never getting to show them its true speed.
The bay was up ahead now. Audrey could see paladins rushing there, but they were being delayed by a swarm of Jorcossi.
They were so close.
So very close to denying the Fearless a chance to chase them, perhaps even to escape the trap it was putting itself into. Audrey had no idea if it had already realized their plan or whether it would have made a difference. She could feel nothing but hunger and loathing from the Fearless.
And then the beast was gone.
Something had changed, but Audrey couldn't put her finger on it. She almost stopped, but Tieran grabbed her, never slowing down. Her feet left the ground as the paladin picked her up and still ran faster than she had on her own. That told Audrey something had just gone terribly wrong.
"Everybody in, now!" Tieran roared.
The paladins heard him. Audrey couldn't see any Brions, but there hadn't been many left when she had entered the ship. Had they all died? It sounded like them never to
abandon a fight, while paladins were able to back down to fight another day.
She slid off Tieran's lap when they burst into the Jorcossi ship. It was the weirdest contraption she had ever seen, but Palians could fly anything in the galaxy. They probably had manuals somewhere.
"Take off!" Tieran ordered harshly.
Audrey looked around. There were still paladins fighting outside the ship.
"We can't leave!" she protested. "We aren't all here!"
"Take off, now!" Tieran bellowed to the pilot. "All power to the engines. Make for Verien."
Audrey wanted to rush out to help, although she only had her gun, but Tieran's hands closed around her and held her in place. She struggled, but the ship's doors closed swiftly after them and she could feel the engines flare up.
"Why?" she asked, despairing. "They are your friends, your brothers, we can't—"
"Yes," Tieran said and his voice was very dark. "They are and they understand."
Audrey doubted that very much, but the truth was about to become very clear to her.
"Where is the stone?" Tieran asked as the Jorcossi ship sped away from the larger one.
"The Vehement…" Audrey began, but then she felt a change in the Fearless and the guns of the Brion ship suddenly rolled out and took aim at Tieran's ship.
Their own never stopped as the Vehement was blown to pieces.
Audrey felt the vessel shake beneath her feet as the engines worked to their full speed. Distantly, she heard Tieran tell the pilot to draw power from any part of the ship where it wasn't vital. Even shields. All that mattered was that they put enough distance between themselves and the Fearless.
"The stone," she whispered. "It's… it's…"
She swallowed dryly, reaching out for the stone, and the Fearless along with it. Her thoughts were muddled however, her grief for those lost souls on the Vehement and back on the Brion ship choking her up.
"In the engine of the Brion ship," Tieran said, making her look up at him. "Isn't it?"