by Scott Moon
The giant Hero of Man exuded intensity combined with calm determination. Kin enjoyed operating with the talented soldier. Later, when social skills became necessary, they would probably fight.
Orlan glanced away from his sights at Kin. “Can you see the source?”
Kin paused and squinted down the long, rough passage. “Looks like the wall is glowing. Some kind of mineral deposit.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Follow with the others when I give the signal.” Kin moved forward, hunting over for targets. Not wanting to limit his vision, he didn’t stare through the targeting reticle. If an enemy appeared, he was ready to raise the weapon a few inches to aim.
The wall fell away on the right, revealing an underground lake fifty meters below. Much of the wall on his left glowed with soft green and yellow luminescence. He squinted when something moved in the water. About the size of a large man, it slid beneath the surface and reemerged several meters farther away.
He aimed the riflescope and increased magnification, catching a humanoid torso diving. A long tail slashed the wake.
“What is it?” Orlan asked.
Kin raised his head from the gun and glanced over his shoulder. “You’re as bad as Rickson. I told you to wait for my signal.”
Orlan snorted. “Rickson is waiting for my signal. Don’t worry. That kid is sharp.”
He is sharp, and brave as any soldier I’ve known. Including you, Orlan.
Kin searched for the creature below, but it slipped beyond the reach of the wall light. “We’re too visible here. Let’s keep going.”
He led the way to the end of the cavern and up the steepest passage yet. At the top, he reached back to pull Rickson, Tass the Ror-Rea woman, and William up one at a time. He waited for Orlan and Nander.
Rickson helped Tass find a place to sit, shyly rearranging the Ror-Rea’s injured wing. The ceiling was low. Kin couldn’t stand straight. He cocked his head to watch his young friend.
“We’re almost there, Tass,” Rickson said.
Below, Orlan’s voice echoed. “You first, Nander.”
“Roger that.”
Orlan cursed. “Told you not to say that. It’s a Fleet response, and you’re not Fleet.”
“Is it not correct?”
“Just get your ass up there.”
Nander appeared. Orlan followed close behind.
Kin helped Nander and then pointed to the floor. The Imperial sat.
“Take my hand, Orlan.”
Orlan struggled up the final obstacle without assistance. “Watch that damn Imperial.”
For a heartbeat, Kin resented Orlan’s tone. He knew better than to indulge his ego. Pride spawned the greatest mistakes in military history. Still, Kin didn’t like Orlan telling him what to do. He trained his weapon on Nander and waited for Orlan to catch his breath. “Did you see the creature in the water?”
Nander, who had expressed little fear until now, went pale. “I didn’t.” He paused, looked down, then raised his eyes like a scared kid. “What did it look like?”
Orlan interrupted. “If he didn’t see it, don’t describe it, Kin. I want to test his knowledge.” He stared at Nander. “You tell me what it looked like. Explain the fear in your eyes. Tell me what it is.”
Nander avoided Orlan’s confrontation. “I did not see it.”
Kin moved closer. “What were you afraid it would be?”
A moment passed.
“The creatures that destroyed our world appear as a mixture of humanoid and serpent. Equally at home in water, on land, or in the void of space. And they prefer darkness.”
Kin faced Orlan, reading his expression. He turned around. “We’ll rest for a while. Tell us about this creature while we wait.”
No response.
Orlan strode toward Nander, moving with his legs bent and head down. He almost looked like a Reaper attacking. Quick and violent, he slapped the top of Nander’s head. “I’ll throw you down there.”
Rickson joined Orlan. “We didn’t have to save your worthless butt. You better tell Kin what he wants to know.”
“It’s my imagination. The Slomn couldn’t have found Edain. They were three systems behind us when we decoded the wormhole.” He looked at Kin. “I’ll tell you what I know. It isn’t a secret. We have fled the Slomn for thousands of years. Each time we settle on a planet, they come and destroy the entire system.”
Kin had assumed the Mazz Imperials were conquerors, extending their control across the universe just as Earth Fleet had always done. The size and power of their fleet dominated every enemy standing to face them, yet he felt truth in Nander’s words.
The Imperials weren’t the hunters.
“You’ll tell me more when we get out of here.” Kin signaled Orlan. “Take the lead.”
“Roger.” Orlan moved a few steps, then stopped to glare at Nander. Moments later, he disappeared into the next tunnel.
Kin and the others followed. He took a position behind Nander, watching his hands, counting the number of times the man glanced over his shoulder.
Is he checking my diligence as a guard or searching for something else?
Real fear pained the Imperial’s eyes. The Slomn terrified him. Kin hadn’t seen the expression since leading raw recruits in battle on Hellsbreach. He didn’t think the man was a coward. On the contrary, Nander seemed a capable fighter and a leader, no matter what rank he claimed.
Nander seemed wary of Kin but not afraid. Whatever waited below in the shadowy lake worried the man, haunted his imagination, caused him to climb the tunnels with greater enthusiasm, and look back for what might be pursuing.
Kin wasn’t surprised when the creature attacked, but the manner took him off guard.
The floor, walls, and ceiling began to vibrate. Darkness descended like a physical force. There wasn’t much light in the catacombs, but the sudden elimination of light, of even the memory of light, prompted action. Kin found each member of the party, except Orlan, by feel and forced them down.
“Be quiet. Stay down. Don’t move.”
He crept back to guard the tunnel from which they had emerged. “Orlan.”
“I’m on your left.”
Kin located Nander, put his mouth near the Imperial’s ear, and spoke quietly. “What’s going on?”
Nander trembled. He sucked in a long, ragged breath and exhaled a whisper. “We’re dead. I miscalculated.”
“Is it a Slomn? How do we fight it?” Kin sensed something coming. Scales rasped across stone. A wave of heat blew in his face. Despite everything he had experienced and overcome — Reaper captivity, confinement in a space casket, hopeless battles on hostile planets — the fear in his guts wouldn’t let go.
Orlan’s voice broke the silence. “The thing you saw in the water seemed to avoid light.”
“The flashlight on my rifle won’t work,” Kin said.
“Yeah. Same here.”
Nander’s voice vibrated and went up an octave. “He brings the dark!”
Kin grabbed his arm and noticed the man’s trembling muscles. “If you want to live, you need to tell me how to fight it.”
No response.
“Talk to me.” Kin released Nander and faced the direction he expected the attack. “I didn’t realize Imperials were cowards.”
“The Slomn bring the dark. Right before they bring the light. Close your eyes or you’ll go blind.”
“We’re already blind,” Orlan said.
Kin squeezed his eyes shut, turning away from the attack. Even through his eyelids, it seemed the sun struck his skin. Heat buffeted him as he edged back, covering his face with his arms for greater protection. The contrast from absolute blackness to blinding light hurt. Daggers stabbed through his brain. He heard the serpent-man sliding into the room and desperately wanted to fight back. He kept his eyes closed longer than seemed reasonable, then a moment more.
The Slomn’s roar blasted the air. Kin opened his eyes but remained on his stomach, unable
to face the terror, afraid of heat that would burn him to nothing. He understood his fear of fire was in his head, because he still lived. Or maybe he’d already been swept away in a nuclear explosion that leveled the mountain.
Keeping the side of his face to the floor, he saw, with one eye, a form slither past. Smoke seeped between each scale. The large shape moved quickly, then stopped. After a moment of hesitation, it shrieked in frustration before retreating the way it had come. Kin closed his eyes.
Get up, Kin. You have to get up or you’ll die.
He fought to his feet and looked around. William the Reaper squatted in the center of the cavern. He seemed to wear a parade uniform covered with medals. The image in Kin’s imagination refused to coalesce. He sensed more than saw a dignified figure — like a retired battle saint who could end the Mazz invasion with a nod or send the Slomn monster to hell on command.
I’m being enthralled. I’ve got to break this fantasy. Was that my father? Commander Westwood? The man I wish to be?
William crumpled. Kin rushed forward. Orlan reached the boy-Reaper first, kneeling beside him like a father discovering his fatally wounded child.
Orlan’s gravelly voice betrayed deep emotion, anger conflicting with sadness. “So you can change.”
William had saved them, somehow. It seemed doubtful the Slomn feared Reapers, and Orlan had either seen his son change shape or suspected. Kin looked from father to son several times.
“What happened?” Kin asked.
When Orlan ignored him, Kin checked the others. Rickson lay sprawled across Tass the Ror-Rea, sheltering her injury-weakened body. Nander stared at William. Kin had the distinct impression the Imperial soldier hadn’t closed his eyes, that he had seen it all. His peculiar expression baffled Kin, who expected fear and confusion but found a face suffering a horrible epiphany.
“Orlan!”
The big trooper stood slowly, keeping his eyes on William before facing Kin. He appeared lost in grief.
“We need to get out of here.” Kin scanned the room, expecting the Slomn to emerge from the tunnel.
“He won’t change back to his real form because he’s mad at me,” Orlan said.
Kin saw William open his eyes and stare at his father. Orlan was right. The boy didn’t want to talk to him.
“Let’s go, Orlan. Carry him if you have to.”
The journey took forever and ended immediately. It was like walking through a dream. Images of the Slomn danced before Kin, slipping into shadows, sliding through dark, distant water. He followed Orlan, who seemed determined to carry his shape-changing son to safety. In time, the boy-Reaper pulled free and stalked sullenly out of the subterranean maze.
Night covered the valley when they emerged. Kin spotted Orlan watching the scene below covertly. William squatted near a bolder. Imperial forces ranged across the broad area at the foot of the mountain. Distant sounds of machines and marching troops drifted to Kin’s ears.
Orlan put a finger to his lips and pointed up.
Kin looked and saw an Imperial over-watch position less than fifty meters away.
Orlan pointed to his left.
Kin stared harder this time but soon spotted an Imperial patrol.
Nander stood a little straighter and edged away from Orlan and Kin. If he decided to run, he would escape. Neither Kin nor Orlan could catch and restrain the Imperial without alerting the nearby soldiers.
Orlan aimed at Nander but didn’t shoot.
Tension increased as Kin sought a trail that could lead them away from the enemy units without taking them toward the rapidly growing base camp. Every moment, he expected Nander to raise the alarm.
When Kin’s party slipped beyond reach, he confronted Nander.
“Why didn’t you try to escape?”
Nander pointed at Orlan. “He would have killed me.”
“That happens during war. Are you a coward?”
Nander clenched his fists, started to speak, but controlled his anger. “You saved me once. Now I’ve saved you once.”
Kin nodded.
Nander waited.
“I can’t let you go.”
“I understand. Things are different now. Nothing I can do matters. The Slomn have found this planet and will kill us all,” Nander said.
“Surely one Slomn can’t destroy your invasion force.”
“No, but more will come. The creature is a scout. How he came to be in the mountain, I don’t know. Yet I can’t begin to hope it is a coincidence.”
“Why do you attack Earth Fleet? If this enemy is so dangerous, we should make an alliance,” Kin said.
“Allies betray each other. All the races of the universe must stand against the Slomn.”
Orlan lunged forward. “Fleet troopers won’t be your slaves. Do I look like a slave?”
“Stop.” Kin needed to think. “We’ll talk again when we get to Maiden’s Keep. It’s the best safe hold in the mountains. Laura and Rebecca need to be warned.”
Orlan backed away from Nander and turned to lead the group.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WHEN they found the safe hold, it was abandoned. Kin slipped to the ground, utterly exhausted. Rickson, Tass, and William huddled inside the front entrance. The shepherd was the last to fall asleep. Orlan and Nander searched the keep, working without words, seeming to almost trust each other.
Unable to admit Orlan was stronger, Kin did his part. He found discarded bandages and food containers. Laura and the Crater Town refugees had been here. Rebecca’s Shock Troopers and the remains of Raien’s 11th Light Reconnaissance Company had fought a tough battle. Bullet holes and blast marks defaced the walls inside and out. Bloodstains patterned the floor. Ruined bits of armor and weapons lie abandoned.
Orlan returned to Kin’s side. “They’ll be easy to track. I think Laura led them away as the Shock Troopers defended the retreat.”
Kin nodded. “We’ll rest, eat, and follow when we can.”
Orlan sat with his back to a wall. “Do you remember the Green Mountain Campaign?”
“I remember, although I wouldn’t call those hills mountains after seeing this place.”
Orlan laughed. “We were young. The Green Mountains on Earth VII seemed impressive, especially to the recruits who had never lived anywhere but a space station. You were a pushy bastard even then.”
Kin thought Orlan’s words lacked malice, despite the message in them. At times, the trooper became maudlin, expressing with indirect eye contact the type of sentimentality that reminded Kin of silk lying over a knife. He always suspected Orlan was setting him up for an ambush.
Just lower your guard, Kin. This won’t hurt a bit.
“Our squad leader went down. Someone had to take charge.” Kin attended the conversation with half his intellect. The abandonment of Maiden’s Keep concerned him. Laura would have left a message if she could. He wasn’t sure what Rebecca would do when forced to retreat, but was alarmed she hadn’t held on until Kin contacted her.
Orlan opened and closed his fist as he watched Kin. It seemed he was flexing his hand to relieve pain from an old injury. With Orlan, it was impossible to be sure of his motives. Kin wouldn’t be surprised if the trooper decided to punch him for no reason.
Kin shifted his weight. His back ached from physical insults received during the recent battle and desperate flight through the tunnels, but he couldn’t remember the specific injury. “You didn’t step up.”
“I was busy fighting.”
Kin shrugged. “We made it.”
“You always make it.”
Kin suppressed a shudder. The weight of Orlan’s words promised he wouldn’t make it next time. He looked at the trooper. “We still have a truce?”
Orlan nodded, staring at him. Stubble covered his face. Dried blood flaked from his jaw line.
“William will be all right. He just needs time.”
“What do you know about being a father?”
Kin looked at William the Reaper, then at Orlan. “
Nothing.”
“Good. Don’t interfere. If I go down, get him to his mother.”
Kin saw something eager in Orlan’s eyes. The expression gave Kin pause. He hesitated. “I can do that. Where is she?”
Orlan chuckled. “She’s with your little brother.”
KIN hadn’t considered his younger brother in a long time. Memories hurt too much. Ashton had been full of patriotism and hero worship the last time they talked. But then Kin lost everything at Hellsbreach.
How disappointed had Ash been? Did he hate his brother as a condemned traitor? “You spoke with my brother?”
“No.” Orlan stood abruptly as Rickson hurried toward Kin and Orlan. “I just heard Tabitha took up with some dashing young pirate with a hero complex.”
Rickson started talking before he caught his breath. “Droon’s coming.”
Kin put one hand on his pistol. “What?”
“He’s alone. I saw him from a good distance. Seems like he wants to be seen.”
“You have strange friends, Roland.” Orlan picked up his rifle and moved to cover the entrance of Maiden’s Keep.
“He’s not my friend.” Kin knew what Droon wanted. During the encounter after Westwood’s flight, the Reaper King claimed he would only hunt Clavender. His unexpected presence suggested he still sought the Ror-Rea princess.
Kin descended the trail as Orlan covered him from a rock outcropping. Droon dismounted from a Reaper-lizard-horse and walked forward. Even a normal gait caused the Reaper to look like a stalking predator.
Kin lowered his rifle but kept his finger near the trigger. “What do you want, Droon?”
The Reaper stared without responding. He uttered clicking sounds, opening his mouth to reveal rows of teeth dripping venom. He spread his clawed fingers as he sat on his haunches.
Strangers to Reapers might assume he was resting or affecting a submissive posture. Kin understood the Reaper was ready to pounce. He had seen Droon leap twenty feet from a squatting position.
“Not you, Kin-rol-an-da.” Droon shifted his weight, edged a step nearer. “I have Cla-ven-da.”
Kin clenched the rifle. “Unless you came to give her back, we have nothing to discuss.”