She barely broke her stride as she reached the first Braky, slicing her blade through its neck before looping her sword around her head and plunging it into the second Braky’s back. It howled in pain, but she quickly silenced it by pulling her sword free and smashing its head clean from its shoulders.
The third Braky dropped its grip on its human captive and spun around to face Sloane. But it wasn’t quick enough. She didn’t hesitate as she darted across the space between them and brought her sword down on the Braky’s skull, cleanly slicing it in two. It crumpled to the ground in a heap along with the other two creatures who already lay dead in the grass. The three humans were slowly picking themselves up in shock.
‘Get back to the camp, now!’ Sloane demanded, before turning and continuing towards the edge of the trees, where the original was just entering the woods. As Sloane ran, she reached for the knife sheathed on her other thigh and threw it towards the Braky. The weapon sailed cleanly through the air before sinking into the creature’s shoulder with a thud.
The Braky gave a deep bellow in pain, the sound rumbling across the open field between them. It turned quickly, and its blood red eyes landed on Sloane. With one mighty fling of its arm, the monster carelessly tossed the woman it had been dragging aside, and she flew through the air several feet before landing hard on the ground.
Sloane didn’t hesitate as she kept sprinting towards the creature. The Braky braced itself, hissing through its teeth and raising its clawed hands as she approached. Using her speed and momentum, Sloane went to drive her sword into its gut. But the creature darted swiftly out of her way, kicking her in the back as she barrelled past.
Sloane stumbled forwards, losing her footing for the briefest of seconds before she turned again on the beast. She had never tried to fight one of the originals before, and it was even faster and more powerful than she was. Rhyn too would have been shocked by its strength and speed. But she couldn’t afford to worry about that now. She had to focus on its weaknesses; not on how unbeatable it was.
The beast came at her, swiping its long jagged claws towards her face. She ducked and drove her sword upwards at the creature’s body. Her sword connected, but the Braky darted back before the blade could do more than scratch its skin.
The Braky growled in disgust, but it stayed back, and its menacing red eyes inspected her closely. ‘You’re not like them,’ it hissed, jerking its head in the direction of the camp. ‘Not human.’
Sloane’s eyes narrowed at the creature, and she raised her sword up in front of her, watching for its next attack. ‘No,’ she replied. ‘I can’t say I am like them anymore.’
The Braky threw its head back and laughed darkly before its glare fell back on Sloane.
‘Not human. Not Unfaih,’ it drawled.
Sloane’s whole body stiffened. All warmth drained from her skin, and she tried to remember to breathe. What did the creature mean? If she wasn’t human, and she wasn’t Unfaih, then what was she? Sloane felt her arms weakening and her sword lowering. The beast was just trying to distract her. It had to be. But before she could regain her focus, the Braky launched at her again.
Sloane was still in shock and not nearly ready enough for its attack. The creature quickly dodged around the sword she still held out in front of her and slammed its fist down on her hand causing the weapon to drop to the ground. Before Sloane could move to grab it, the Braky lifted her up and hurled her backwards.
She flew through the air across the clearing and landed on the ground beside the woman it had been dragging towards the trees. The woman was barely moving, but she was still breathing. Sloane wanted to check that she was okay, but she could already see a series of thick, bloody gashes across the woman’s chest. The Braky had scratched her, and there was no hope for her now.
A grunt came from the Braky as it charged at Sloane again. She was still on the ground and without her sword, but her mind was racing for a way she could use her position to her advantage. The Braky had almost reached her, but just as it stretched out its claws to grab her again, Sloane leapt forwards. She rolled past the creature and jumped to her feet behind it. The Braky stumbled as it missed her and she didn’t waste a second before throwing herself onto its back.
The creature buckled beneath her as she slammed into it and wrapped her arms and legs around its body, but it didn’t drop to the ground. Sloane knew she only had a few seconds before she would be thrown from its back, so she had to move fast.
Her dagger was still lodged in the creature’s shoulder, and the wound was oozing thick, black blood. She grabbed hold of the hilt, and the Braky roared as she yanked the knife from its rough skin. In one swift movement, Sloane pulled the creature’s head back with one hand and cleanly sliced her blade through its throat with the other.
The Braky dropped beneath her and Sloane rolled off its back, a look of pure disgust on her face as she watched it writhing on the ground. She paced over to her sword, picked it up and returned to stand over the beast before finishing it off with one heavy swing of the weapon. She had killed an original Braky.
Sloane gasped and took a step back as the creature began to shudder violently. Its dead body began to break up into a million tiny pieces before her eyes. It dissolved into dust, the pieces scattering as they dispersed across the ground below it. Sloane stared at the empty space where the Braky had lain, oily blood stains on the grass the only sign it had existed at all.
An agonising cry of pain broke the silence and rung in Sloane’s ears. She turned to find the woman the Braky had tried carry off lying in the grass, her mouth wide open as the scream left her lips. The woman then fell limp against the ground, and Sloane watched as her body began to disintegrate just like the original Braky’s had. It was like watching a body completely decompose in the blink of an eye, and in a matter of seconds all that was left was a pile of dust. Her remains caught on the breeze and drifted away until there was no trace of her left at all.
Sloane stood frozen in place as she stared at the dust floating up into the air before her. She had never seen anything like it. Shouts of alarm from closer to the human camp drew her attention and she turned to see other clouds of ash and dust floating into the air. Several Unfaih stood in shock as their Braky enemies vanished right in front of them.
Not all of the Brakys were gone though, and a few of them still battled tirelessly against the Unfaih. Their numbers had dwindled dramatically, however, and the creatures no longer appeared to outnumber the Unfaih warriors. Some of the creatures seemed to realise what had happened and started scrambling to retreat, but the Unfaih wouldn’t let them.
As one, the Unfaih force let out a thundering battle cry that rose above the camp before they swept across the open clearing, destroying all of the Brakys that remained before they could escape. Sloane raced back towards the battle, but before she could arrive to help, the creatures had been destroyed.
Sloane reached the Unfaih fighters as they gathered near the opening in the wall of the human settlement. She felt sick over the carnage she’d just witnessed. The Brakys that had attacked the camp may have been defeated, but they had caused chaos before the Unfaih had arrived. Sloane had no doubt that they would have flattened the camp and killed or turned everyone in it if Rhyn’s warriors hadn’t been there.
Rhyn looked up as Sloane approached, wiping a hint of sweat from his brow and smudging the dirt that coated his hand across his forehead. He looked surprisingly tired after such a short battle, but she had seen him taking on several of the creatures all at once.
‘Did you see the Brakys?’ one of his warriors asked, as several of them gathered around their prince.
Rhyn gave a small nod, confusion clouding his eyes as he looked around the camp.
‘Why did they turn to dust?’ another fighter asked.
‘I think I may know the answer to that,’ Sloane said, as she came to join the group.
She felt a host of Unfaih eyes narrow on her, and she folded her arms across her chest as she
looked back at them. ‘I fought and killed an original.’ She glanced at Rhyn to gauge his reaction as she spoke, and he was staring at her intensely as he waited for her to explain.
‘I went after it because it was dragging a human woman away from the camp. But she had been scratched by the beast. When I killed the Braky, the woman also turned to dust, along with the creatures you were fighting.’
The Unfaih eyes that watched her all widened with shock. ‘I think the two are somehow connected,’ Sloane continued. ‘Maybe all the Brakys that disappeared had been turned by that original, just like the woman.’
Silence descended upon the group as the Unfaih shared confused looks. ‘Have you ever heard of that happening, Rhyn?’ Sloane asked.
‘Never,’ he shook his head as he replied. ‘But we’ve also never seen one of the originals attack the castellum before. This changes everything.’
A feeling of apprehension fluttered in Sloane’s stomach. She could see determination filling Rhyn’s eyes, and a part of her worried about the conclusions he was already jumping to.
‘If we could kill all of the originals, maybe we could destroy the entire Braky hoard,’ he said.
Murmurs of surprise and agreement spread around the group. The Unfaih warriors seemed excited by the idea, but Sloane didn’t feel so sure. She had seen the inside of the Brakys’ lair. She had seen how many of the creatures dwelled within its dark depths, and they had no idea just how many originals there were. She wanted the Brakys gone for good, but part of her was concerned about how many fighters the Unfaih would lose just trying to get to the originals. Another part of her worried about herself, as the words of the Braky she had killed lingered at the back of her mind.
‘But we have other problems to face right now,’ Rhyn said, his eyes turning back towards the camp. Sloane followed his gaze and swallowed as she looked at the line of human soldiers standing like dark shadows against the brightly burning flames that devoured their home.
They were slowly emerging from the crumbling hole in the wall of their camp. The men looked exhausted and their eyes were haunted by the terror they’d just witnessed, but their lips were firm and their focus steady as every one of them raised their guns and trained them on the Unfaih.
They may have defeated a great many Brakys that night, but Sloane suddenly realised that they still had one more enemy to face.
Chapter Ten
Rhyn sheathed his sword at his side and raised his hands in the air in a sign of peace as he paced towards the humans. The soldiers looked terrified, which didn’t exactly bode well for the Unfaih. They may have just saved the humans lives, but that didn’t mean there was peace between their peoples. Especially not after the devastation both parties had recently caused while fighting against each other.
A large man casually stepped out from the group of soldiers and walked to meet Rhyn in the middle of the grassy space that separated the Unfaih warriors and the humans. Sloane didn’t hesitate as she started after Rhyn, keeping her own hands up in the air as she followed him. If they were going to talk, Sloane thought she might be able to help bridge the gap between the two groups. She desperately wanted to avoid another fight.
As she moved towards the man who approached Rhyn, she tried to figure out who he was. She’d seen him shouting orders on the battlefield, but did not recognise him beyond that. He was tall for a human and had dark hair that was cut incredibly short. A tattoo crept up his neck, and there was a heavy look of concern in his deep brown eyes. He wore similar camouflage gear to the soldiers behind him, but his uniform was flawless, and he looked impressively smart despite the battle that had just raged around them.
In the dim light of the night on Aeris, bright silver and gold badges sparkled on his chest, indicating his superior rank. The man appeared calm as he stepped further away from his soldiers, and he wasn’t reaching for the handgun strapped to his side. He didn’t have to though, when he had many more guns pointed at his enemies from behind his back.
Another figure appeared at the front of the group of soldiers, and Sloane was surprised when she realised Dean was jogging out into the open to follow the officer. She had always gotten along well with Lieutenant Dean, but he had betrayed Rowe when she was being detained in the camp, so Sloane didn’t feel like she could trust him anymore.
Rhyn paused when he got close enough to the man, and Sloane stopped at his side. She wasn’t sure if he would want her there or not, but there wasn’t exactly time to ask any questions.
The stranger and Dean came to a stop in front of them. There was an appraising look in the officer’s eyes as he studied Rhyn. It took courage to stand before such a fearsome Unfaih warrior and not reach for a weapon. But the officer remained calm as he watched Rhyn and the warriors grouped in the clearing behind him.
‘Those creatures…’ the man finally started, shaking his head with wide eyes that betrayed how shaken he was. His reaction said it all. He was shocked. All the humans in the camp were. It was probably the only reason their guns were cocked in their hands, but not a single bullet had been fired at the Unfaih.
‘Those creatures are called Brakys,’ Rhyn said, his voice calm.
‘Brakys?’ the man repeated. He glanced in Dean’s direction as if to seek confirmation from him, but the Lieutenant looked just as confused. Sloane’s eyes narrowed at him. She had warned Dean about the beasts, and he hadn’t believed her.
‘Yes,’ Rhyn continued. ‘They are an evil army of creatures from my world, and when we received word that they had entered this world, we came to aid your people.’
‘Aid us? We didn’t need your help,’ the man growled.
‘Yeah, because you totally had that under control,’ Sloane scoffed.
The man turned his gaze on Sloane, anger building in his eyes as he stared at her. He looked like he was about to argue back, but Dean placed a hand on his chest and leaned in close to the man’s ear.
‘She’s right,’ Dean said, so softly that Sloane shouldn’t have been able to hear. ‘We would all be dead if they hadn’t arrived.’
The fire in the man’s eyes dimmed a little as he glanced at the bloodstained field around him. It was difficult to deny that what Dean had said was true when surrounded by such a sight.
‘And Lieutenant Dean here will be the first one to tell you that I warned my father about the Brakys,’ Sloane added. ‘I told him to evacuate the camp to protect everyone from the creatures' inevitable attack, but he wouldn’t listen.’
She turned her hard gaze on Dean, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited to see what he said.
There was a defeated look in Dean’s eyes, as though he genuinely hadn’t believed Sloane was telling the truth about the Brakys until he’d experienced the horror of seeing them in the flesh.
‘She’s right,’ Dean said. ‘Captain Avery ignored her warnings and put everyone in danger.’
The man in uniform glanced at Dean, weighing up his words before he faced Sloane and met her gaze. ‘Sloane Avery, I presume?’
Sloane nodded. ‘And you are…’
‘Captain Denton,’ the man replied. ‘I’m in charge of this settlement.’ His expression hardened as he spoke, and it was clear to everyone that the only reason he was in charge of the settlement was because Rhyn had taken Sloane’s father captive. But the longer he stared at Rhyn and the warriors behind him, the more Denton’s features relaxed. It was as though he was beginning to realise that the people he had thought where his enemy had just saved his camp.
‘Why did you help us?’ Denton asked.
Rhyn let out a slow breath. ‘Because we are not your enemy.’
A look of confusion slowly crossed Denton’s features, and he frowned as he looked at the warriors behind Rhyn again. ‘But the battle between our people…’
‘You mean the battle you humans started,’ Rhyn growled.
Denton slowly swallowed but nodded. ‘Yes. Why did it come to that?’
Sloane cleared her throat. ‘You clearl
y haven’t been here very long,’ she replied. ‘My father started the battle. Rhyn’s people were merely trying to defend their home, and I sided with him to stop you all from making a terrible mistake.’
Any anger or aggression Denton had shown them earlier disappeared as he listened carefully and waited for her to continue.
‘One scratch from a Braky is enough to turn a human into one of the creatures. That’s what happened to the rest of my brother’s team. It wasn’t the Unfaih that killed them.’
Dean shook his head in disbelief, and Denton’s eyes narrowed as he realised how far the Captain had gone to deceive him. Sloane could see that she was finally getting through to the humans.
‘We had to stop you from entering the rift as any humans that go to Rhyn’s world will be in terrible danger,’ she continued.
‘We have been at war with the Brakys for a very long time,’ Rhyn added. ‘Allowing you humans to be turned into those creatures is not in either of our interests.’
Denton nodded slowly. He was difficult to read, but Sloane thought she could sense his anger building as he listened. ‘Your father failed to mention those things to me,’ he said.
‘Not surprising,’ Sloane said. ‘He tends to lie frequently.’
‘But why would he lie?’
Sloane glanced at Rhyn before she replied. ‘We’re still trying to figure that out.’
Denton nodded and rubbed a hand over his eyes. ‘Well, it seems pretty clear to me that you’re not about to attack us.’ He glanced over his shoulder and waved a hand at his soldiers, ordering them to lower their weapons. The men complied immediately, though some of them didn’t look particularly happy about it.
‘Tents are still burning, and there are injured people we need to tend to,’ Denton said. ‘I would like to discuss this further with both of you. I feel like I’ve been dragged into this whole mess blindfolded, but it seems we have a common enemy. Perhaps we can help each other.’
The Rift War Page 11