by Anna Hackett
“We’re here,” Rillian said. “Landing now.”
He set the ship down, and when the ramp opened, a wave of baking-hot air filled the ship. The gladiators stood, and Galen was the first out of the door, Neve close behind him.
“Here.” Rillian wound a length of beige cloth around Dayna’s neck and head. “It’s made from a high-tech fabric that reflects the sunlight.” He’d already put his on, looking like some sexy desert sheikh.
“Thanks.”
His thumb brushed her cheek, then he turned and ducked outside. She followed and blinked against the sunlight.
“The sand here is high in a certain mineral that absorbs more heat,” Rillian said. “That’s how the Plain of Burning Sands got its name. Be careful.”
Nodding, she scanned their surroundings. Low dunes and more scalding sand. No wild desert arena, no trapped fighters, no bloodthirsty spectators.
“There’s nothing here.” Despair gripped her chest. Dayna closed her eyes and memories of imprisonment assailed her. Cages, screams, the cheers. And the witch’s laugh as she’d fed on Dayna’s energy.
“Dayna?”
Rillian’s cool voice broke the spell. She was free. She was making the choices in her life now. “I’m okay. Let’s look around.”
As she moved across the sand, she glanced up at the hot suns blaring down on them. Ahead, she saw Neve angrily kick sand into the air. Corsair was there, wrapping an arm around his woman and pulling her close.
Dayna fisted a hand and pressed it against the symbiont stone between her breasts. Maybe the women were dead. Maybe all the Zaabha prisoners were dead. Maybe there was nothing left to find.
A hand rested on her nape and squeezed. She leaned into Rillian, absorbing his strength. She so rarely leaned on anyone, but with him…it felt good.
“Zaabha has been hidden for years,” he said. “It was never going to be easy to find.”
Galen appeared. “We will find it. There must be something here.”
Dayna looked around again. Sometimes on her cases, it was the smallest thing that had led to a breakthrough. The thing most people overlooked.
“Fan out and search for anything,” Galen said. “No matter how inconsequential.”
With a nod, Raiden turned, his red cloak flapping in the desert breeze. The other gladiators followed him, and he ordered them into a search pattern.
Dayna walked with Rillian, searching the sand. Then he lifted his head, glancing off toward the west, his gaze narrowed.
She paused. “What?” She looked around. “What did you see?”
“Nothing.” He frowned. “I didn’t see anything, but for a second, I felt something.”
Felt something? Dayna looked around again. She felt the hot wind and the heat radiating off the sand. “I don’t feel anything.”
His eyes flashed silver. “I’m not sure what it is, but my symbiont senses something.”
Chapter Fourteen
Something tickled along Rillian’s senses. He turned in a slow circle, and Dayna glanced at him, then back at the sand. She was studying the ground intently. He knew her previous employers on Earth must miss her skills and focus.
“I don’t sense anything,” she said, huffing out a breath.
“Use your symbiont’s enhanced senses,” he told her. “Embrace them.”
She nodded, closing her eyes. Rillian turned, blocking out the energy of the nearby gladiators. There was another hum of energy coming from somewhere.
She opened her eyes and shook her head. Frustration was stamped on her face.
“Don’t push so hard.” He gripped the back of her neck and squeezed.
He spotted something in the sand nearby and walked over. He crouched down to study it. Under a thin layer of sand, deep grooves were cut into the bedrock.
“Something was here.” Dayna crouched beside him. When she touched the ground, she pulled her hand back with a hiss. “Damn, that’s hot.”
She lifted her head, looking off into the distance. Then she jumped up.
“Dayna?”
She broke into a jog and Rillian followed. She stopped by another matching set of deep grooves in the ground.
They both stood there for a moment, frowning. The marks didn’t appear to be random. They were deep, and cut into hard, desert rock. That would have required a lot of force.
“What could have done this?” she said.
He shook his head. “And what were they for?”
They walked in several widening circles, studying the sand around them. Rillian glanced over at the gladiators, and caught Galen’s gaze. The imperator shook his head once before turning back to his gladiators.
Another prickle of energy whispered over Rillian’s skin.
He stopped and closed his eyes. He focused on the feel of the wind brushing against his skin, and the hot sunlight hitting him. He sensed Dayna go still, but her energy was like a bright, fresh blast that he absorbed.
Then he felt the wave of unfamiliar energy again—jagged, discordant.
Then he realized what he was sensing.
It was energy from living beings. A lot of them. It was the same as when he walked the casino floor—lots of different energy levels, from lots of different species.
He spun to look at Dayna. “What do you sense?”
She looked away from the gouges on the ground and set her shoulders back. She closed her eyes.
Drak, he loved seeing her embracing her symbiont. The cool look of control and power on her face made him proud as hell.
“I can feel the House of Galen gladiators. They put off a lot of power. Neve and Corsair.” She opened her eyes, staring at the others in the distance. “Not much from Magnus.”
Rillian nodded. “He can dampen his bio-signature. What else?”
“Energy.” A frown tugged at her lips. “Different kinds of energy.” She tilted her head. “It’s distant, like a low hum.”
Exactly what he was sensing. “Energy from what?”
She turned, scanning around them. “People. A lot of people.”
“So where are they?” he asked, frowning.
“That’s the question. There’s no one here.”
Oh, they were here. They just had to find them. He signaled Galen and they started walking toward the others.
Suddenly, a dark form dropped from the sky and landed in front of them with a spray of sand.
Rillian jerked to a stop, slamming an arm out to stop Dayna. A huge Thraxian rose from a crouch, and slid a sword off his back.
Another Thraxian landed close to Dayna. The alien swung his arm, and his fist caught Dayna in the face. The blow sent her crashing to the sand.
Filled with ice-cold anger, Rillian moved. He slammed a kick into the Thraxian’s gut. The man doubled over with a grunt, and Rillian followed through with a hard chop to the back of the Thraxian’s large head. He slammed to the sand.
Moving on instinct, Rillian ducked. A huge, clawed hand swept over him. He spun and thrust up with an uppercut. His attacker staggered backward.
As he raced to Dayna, he heard shouts and the clash of metal on metal. More Thraxians were raining from the sky, and charging toward Galen and the gladiators.
Rillian stopped beside Dayna. She was sitting up, shaking her head. He grabbed her arm and yanked her up. Three more Thraxians landed from nowhere, surrounding them.
Yanking his knife from his belt, Rillian felt the familiar hilt settle in his hand. Dayna pulled her laser pistol off her hip and held it up. He knew she’d been practicing with it in his weapons room.
A big Thraxian stepped forward. His eyes glowed a deep orange, like burning flames.
“You should have heeded our warnings,” he said, in a deep, guttural voice. “Now you will die.”
Dayna fired, the laser pistol whining in her hand.
One big Thraxian went down with a roar. She kept shooting, spinning to fire at the other attackers.
A huge body came in from the side and slammed into her. They c
rashed to the sand and her pistol flew out of her hand.
She rolled and caught a glimpse of Rillian fighting another Thraxian. God, he was so swift. He moved impossibly fast. She watched him jump, spin, then slam a fist into the Thraxian’s face. The alien staggered back, and Rillian landed, and advanced.
Taking advantage of her distractedness, her Thraxian elbowed her in the gut, and the air rushed out of her. They rolled across the sand, and the alien got to his feet. She struggled to get up and he grabbed the back of her shirt, dragging her through the hot sand. Bastard. He was bigger and stronger.
Anger poured through her. No. Not anymore. These were the aliens who had stolen innocent humans from Fortuna Station. Who had destroyed the space station and killed so many. Who’d subjected innocent people to so much.
She felt her symbiont stir, feeding on her emotions. She pulled on the inner power, took a breath, and spun. She slammed her fist into his gut.
The Thraxian flew backward as though fired from a canon. The comical surprise on the alien’s face almost made her laugh. Dayna leaped to her feet and strode toward the alien. She stopped to snatch up her pistol.
She reached him, set her boot in his gut, then aimed her weapon at his chest and fired.
He flopped back on the sand and didn’t move. She turned and saw two large Thraxians fighting Rillian. He ducked a swing and kicked out. He took down one Thraxian, while the other one charged him. A blow to the back drove him to the ground.
No, you fucking don’t. Dayna raised her pistol, striding forward. She pulled the trigger.
Laser fire hit the Thraxian and he shuddered under the impact.
Rillian sprang upward and grabbed the Thraxian from behind. With a quick move, he broke the alien’s neck. He released the body and it fell to the sand.
She ran to Rillian, her chest heaving. He touched her cheek briefly, before they both turned. In the distance, the gladiators were locked in a deadly fight with a large group of armed Thraxians, and several Srinar as well.
Jesus. Swords clashed, and Thorin roared as he swung his huge axe down. Corsair stood to the side, firing a deadly-looking crossbow.
“Come on.” She broke into a run. “We need to help them!”
She and Rillian moved fast, sprinting toward the fight. Suddenly, she heard a thwap sound in the air.
Rillian stumbled and jerked to a stop.
Dayna skidded on the sand and turned. A huge spear had pierced his shoulder from behind. The wicked point protruding through his shirt made her stomach turn.
“No!” she cried.
His face contorted with agony, blood sliding down to soak his shirt.
She ran to him and instantly realized that it wasn’t a spear. It was a harpoon. There was a length of metal cable attached to the harpoon, leading up into the air.
She grabbed onto him. “Rillian—”
Eyes the color of gunmetal met hers. Then suddenly, he was yanked upward off his feet.
Dayna reacted on instinct. She clamped her arms and legs around him. He groaned in pain, and the sound stabbed through her.
They flew up through the air frighteningly fast. What the fuck?
Holding onto Rillian tightly, Dayna arched her head back. Above, she spotted a giant, dark shimmer in the sky.
Her chest locked tight, her eyes widening. There was a giant, invisible, floating fortress hanging above the desert sands.
They were pulled closer to the massive craft, and she saw the bottom platform was a smoke-blackened, industrial level. Smoke churned out of exhaust pipes, and she saw what reminded her of coal-fired engines. Rillian had said fancy engines didn’t work well in the desert. Grimy-faced workers looked out through the metallic bars with dead eyes, watching as they whipped past.
And then they were jerked up over a huge wall. Rillian groaned again, the agony of the sound making her heart hurt. Then, everything became a fierce blur, as they tumbled and slammed hard into more sand.
In a whirl of color, sound, and pain, Rillian sprawled on the ground. Agony radiated through him from the wound on his shoulder. It felt like he was on fire.
His clothes were soaked with blood, but thankfully, he felt his symbiont compensating for the blood loss, and attempting to heal the wound. It would be sand-sucking bad if he healed up around the harpoon, though.
He managed to get to his knees, blinking away dizziness.
“Take it easy.”
Dayna came into focus in front of him. She had bunched up her head covering and was pressing it to his shoulder. He saw the worry on her face. She pressed harder to staunch the blood loss and he groaned.
“Sorry.” Her eyes were full of misery.
“Fine. Healing.”
Something flashed in her eyes. She moved behind him, and without any warning, she gripped the harpoon and yanked it out. Hot pain flared.
Rillian shouted and fell forward.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby.” She pressed the wadded fabric against both sides of his wound.
He gripped her hand. “Thank you.” His voice was hoarse.
She blew out a breath. “I hate hurting you. Now, we just have to work out what the hell is going on, and get out of here.”
Now that his dizziness was easing, he lifted his head. He went still and felt Dayna do the same.
“Fucking hell,” she murmured.
They were kneeling in the center of an arena.
The arena floor was covered in sand and ringed by empty stands constructed of a jarring mix of metal, wood, and whatever had been scavenged to build them. He felt the faint vibration of the engines beneath their feet.
Rillian turned his head, taking it all in. “No wonder we hadn’t been able to find Zaabha.”
Zaabha was on an airborne platform. It could fly, move, and stay hidden. Drakking crudspawn Thraxians.
“They must have regular set down locations,” she said. “Hence, the maps. But they can go anywhere.”
Nearby, a rattling sound echoed across the arena. Several large gates were clanking upward.
“This isn’t going to be good,” Dayna said, her voice tense.
“No, it isn’t. Help me up.”
They stood together as the gates stopped and stared at the dark shadows. A number of animals slunk out of the darkness. They were big and deformed, and no species of animal he knew.
“What are they?” she asked.
“I see features of hunting cats, but I’ve never seen a species this big.” Some of the animals were severely deformed—bones twisted and large growths in strange places. “I think these are probably the result of some illegal breeding program.”
“Nice,” she muttered.
Another large alien creature lumbered in behind the cats. It had gray-green bumpy skin, overdeveloped muscles, and powerful arms.
He dragged in a deep breath. “That’s a larg. Banned from the Kor Magna arena. They enjoy crushing their prey to death.”
“Oh good, the more the merrier.” Dayna moved in front of him and shifted into a fighting stance.
Rillian fought off a smile. Of course, she was going to protect him.
Behind the animals, he saw several fighters of different alien species move into the arena. They all wore threadbare, tattered clothes and scarred leathers. Their weapons were a haphazard mix of homemade swords and scavenged spears and axes.
These were the imprisoned fighters of Zaabha. People who had been fighting to survive for who knew how long. People that knew they had to kill or be killed.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to make it out of here,” Dayna said quietly.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. “The Thraxians still don’t understand Earth women.”
She shot him a sideways smile. “Or suave casino owners who own half the planet.”
She lifted her knife and Rillian pulled out his own blade.
“Let’s fight.” Rillian grabbed her for a hard kiss. “Don’t get hurt or I’ll be very unhappy.”
The cats bo
unded in fast.
Rillian leaped in front of Dayna and, as the lead cat jumped, he timed his move, then grabbed the cat out of the air. He spun its huge bulk and threw it to the side. Dayna ran and slid in low, feet first. She slashed out with her blade. As she cut into the hide of a cat, it screeched.
Another cat flew at Rillian in a flurry of sharp claws. He dodged, and it flew overhead.
When he spun around, it was to face the bulky larg. It slammed a giant foot down into the sand, making the floor vibrate. Rillian raced toward the alien. He was fast and it was slow.
The larg swung clumsily and Rillian leaped up, jumping over the creature’s arm. It was slow, but he knew that if it got a hit in, it would break bones. His shoulder screamed in pain, but he blocked it out, slashing out with his knife. He nicked the creature’s cheek and it roared.
Rillian landed on the larg’s arm. He jumped again, aiming straight for the alien’s face. He rammed his blade into the soft spot between the creature’s black eyes.
It shuddered, arms waving through the air. As it collapsed, Rillian leaped off, landing beside Dayna with a roll.
“Rillian.”
She was tense, braced to fight, and her knife clutched in her hand.
He raised his head and saw the first wave of fighters were racing at them. He straightened, seeing the desperation and despair on their faces.
Dayna stepped forward, waving her arms. “We can get you out of here!”
The closest fighter darted forward, giving no indication he’d heard her words. He swung a rusty sword at her and she ducked, going in low to stab him in the thigh.
More fighters swarmed over them. Rillian spun, ducked, and kicked. He jumped high, slamming brutal kicks into one man’s face. He landed and rammed his hand forward, taking down a tall woman. He spun, grabbed two fighters, and rammed their heads together with a crack. Both fighters dropped instantly.
Turning, he saw Dayna fighting. Drak, she was amazing. Strength and skill. Power and beauty. He watched her spin, kick, and follow through with a hard punch. Like him, she was trying not to kill the fighters.
But more were coming.