As it was, his conscience wouldn’t allow him to back down once he’d made a commitment. He’d already decided that rescuing the Guardians was a worthwhile endeavor. However, that same conscience would hound him for the rest of his days if Althea were to be hurt or killed. The Duo was a different story. They’d volunteered for this mission. He, along with Al and Brak, had essentially been drafted.
Utilizing the natural cover, Larry led the way down the street until they reached the next block. Crouching in the shadows, he motioned for the others to move in closer. One good thing about a Zetithian task force, being catlike in other ways, they barely made a sound when they moved.
“We’ll cross here where the street narrows,” he whispered. “If we go any farther, we’ll lose sight of our target.” That target being a derelict, wooden building in a section of town that made the rest of Thewbeohol appear to be downright prosperous. He recognized it now, apparently having opted for the same approach his vision had taken.
So far, so good.
“I’ll go first,” Keplok said to Larry. “Cover me.”
One by one, they ran furtively across the open road. Once Al was safely across, Larry followed, and they eased their way toward the rough-hewn wooden door.
He tried the latch, which, not surprisingly, didn’t budge.
“There are beings inside,” Althea whispered. “I can feel them.” She closed her eyes for a long moment. “They read like Palorkans.”
“Are the children in there too?” Dartula’s voice was soft and breathy.
Althea nodded. “Their emotions are quiet—as though most of them are asleep.”
Larry rubbed his chin. “We need a diversion…something to get the Palorkan guys to come out.” When he looked at Al, the skin at his nape tingled. Even if his night vision hadn’t been good enough for him to actually see her, he could’ve identified the aura created by the glowing pupils of his mate. “Think you’re up to a few fireworks?”
“Maybe,” she replied. “Our campfire was the first fire I’d started in ages. I’m a little out of practice.”
The way she’d ignited the pile of dead shrubs they’d gathered from the area around the landing site had certainly wowed their siblings. However, he suspected she was capable of far more spectacular displays. “Think you could get some smoke to go under the door?”
“I can try.”
“They need a target once they’re outside,” Keplok said. “Another fire, perhaps? There is plenty of junk lying around.”
This was a gross understatement. From the look of it, the trash hadn’t been picked up in years, if ever. Wooden crates stacked high with refuse lined the edge of the street, their contents spilling over onto the walkways and piling up against the storefronts.
“It wouldn’t take much of a fire to take out the whole city,” Larry remarked. “We can drag some of that stuff into the middle of the road. Then Al can start a bonfire, which should keep them busy long enough for us to slip inside.”
“In a place as dry as this, fires probably happen fairly often,” Dartula said. “Their firefighting methods may be more effective than most.”
“Good point,” Larry said. “We’ll need aerial support.” He tapped his combadge. “Hey, Brak. We’re gonna start a bonfire. If you spot any Palorkans running back toward our location, hit them with a wide stun beam before they reach the building.”
“Will do, Captain.”
He turned to his companions. “One of us could stand watch and stun them from here, but I’d rather not draw attention to our presence any sooner than absolutely necessary.”
Keplok nodded. “We will need time to free the captives.”
Not knowing how many there were, Larry had no idea how long that would take. Pulse rifles could disrupt a wide variety of locking mechanisms, but again, they had no clue as to what they would find once they were inside.
They had just finished piling up enough rubbish for the bonfire when a Palorkan male who actually had a badge pinned to his vest came sauntering up, holding the ever-present pistol at the ready. “You’re blocking the road.”
“Not for long.” Larry gave the Palorkan a genial smile. “We’re picking up trash tonight. Should have this street spic-and-span by morning. Hadn’t you heard?”
A quiet, choking sound from behind him suggested that Althea was having difficulty controlling her amusement.
“Trash pickup?” the Palorkan echoed. “No. I hadn’t heard.”
“We’ll pick all this stuff up, fly it out into space, dump it, and let it burn up in the atmosphere. It’s the most ecological means of disposal, you know.” Because time was of the essence, Larry chose not to elaborate any further.
The Palorkan’s beady eyes narrowed for a long, heart-stopping moment, then he nodded his long, flat head. “See that it’s gone by daybreak.”
“Oh, it will be,” Larry assured him. “You have my word on it.” He turned to Keplok, who appeared to be within a hairsbreadth of drawing his sword. “Isn’t that right, Bro?”
“It is,” Keplok replied in solemn tones. “But we must hurry if we’re to be finished in time.”
The Palorkan lowered his weapon. “You may carry on, but do it quietly. I must continue my rounds.”
“I understand,” said Larry. “We’ll try to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb anyone.”
“See that you do.”
As the Palorkan, whom Larry could only assume was a constable of some sort, headed off, Larry winked and stage-whispered, “You heard the man. Quickly and quietly.”
By the time the “constable” vanished around the next corner, the makings of their bonfire had grown considerably.
“This isn’t going to be very quiet,” Althea warned.
Larry chuckled. “I’m counting on it. I want a big bang with lots of flames and smoke. But first, we need to light a small fire in front of that door.”
“That much I can do,” she said. “Although I’m pretty sure you could handle that on your own.”
“I could,” he admitted. “But you do it with so much more style.”
Her lips curved into a diabolical smile. “I do, don’t I?”
Larry planted a kiss on her beautifully wicked lips, then selected a medium-sized chunk of wood from the pile. “C’mon, Al. What do you say we light this candle?”
Keplok arched a brow. “Candle?”
“Figure of speech, Bro,” Larry said. “We’ve got a million of them.” Joining hands with Althea, he began walking toward the kidnappers’ lair. “Keplok, you and Dartula take the left side, and we’ll take the right. Keep out of sight until they’ve all left the building. We might have to stun the few that opt to stay inside, so be ready.”
“Understood.”
As they moved noiselessly around the front of the building, Larry placed the piece of firewood on the ground beneath the door before continuing on to the other side. Once they were crouched in the shadows, he whispered, “Okay, Al. Go for it.”
He’d watched her mother do it countless times, and even though the Al he remembered didn’t possess that skill, the technique appeared to be the same. She directed her gaze toward the wooden chunk, and before long, it began to smolder.
“That’s great. Lots of smoke. Now for the bonfire.”
“I don’t know if I can do it from here,” she said. “I’ve never tried…”
Raising her hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to her palm. “You can do it, Al. You’re your mother’s daughter and then some. Light it up.”
Chapter 26
Althea had never attempted to generate the kind of fireballs her mother was so adept at creating. Tisana could aim them with pinpoint accuracy and keep up a barrage long enough to discourage almost any form of pursuit. Up until today, however, Althea had only used her heat-producing ability to ripen fruit.
Neverthe
less, as she focused on the heap of rubbish, power coiled up inside her like a snake gearing up for a strike. Following a sharp inhale, she held her breath for a moment and then let it go.
A ball of fire shot forward but fell just short of the target, only to dissipate in the dirt. The recoil forced her backward into Larry’s waiting arms.
“Atta girl, Al! Try again.”
Her mind took a few moments to process the data. Angles, wind, elevation…
Trajectory.
Raising her chin, she stared at the space roughly two meters above the mark. This time, she waited longer for the power to build, hoping to amass even more energy than before.
Time slowed, changing a heartbeat from milliseconds to minutes as she sucked in more air. When her lungs reached their full capacity, she held her breath as long as she could, then expelled it with a propulsive force that seemed to turn her body inside out.
The explosion as the bonfire ignited shook the ground. In the next instant, a horde of Palorkans stampeded through the open doorway, shouting a variety of expletives. Chaos ensued as other Palorkans streamed from the surrounding buildings like hornets defending their nests.
Althea sagged in Larry’s embrace, his breath warm on her neck as he whispered, “That’s my girl, Al. I knew you could do it.” He waved a hand at the Duo, then helped her to her feet. “Let’s go.”
Keplok was the first through the door. A pulse blast sounded the moment he crossed the threshold. Seconds later, he shouted, “We’re clear,” and the rest of their party hurried inside. “I’ll stand guard while you three check the basement.”
Larry led the way as though he knew exactly where he was going.
Of course. The vision…
Althea’s brain was functioning like an overloaded power circuit. Generating fireballs had left her defenses low, allowing the emotions of what felt like every inhabitant of Thewbeohol to bombard her mind. On top of that, the Guardians were apparently all awake now, emanating emotions that were impossible to block.
Larry stopped before a barred doorway, eyeing her with concern. “You okay, Al?”
She attempted a smile without much success. “I’m feeling a little blasted right now. Should be okay in a few minutes—I think.”
He moved closer and slid an arm around her waist. “The Guardians affecting you?”
“Yeah. Might be better once they know we’re here to rescue them. I’d send them a reassuring suggestion if my powers weren’t so weak right now.”
With a light smooch on her cheek, he released her. “We’ll be as quick as we can. This low-tech stuff isn’t always as easy to circumvent as electronics.” He grinned as he lifted the bar on the door. “Takes a bit more muscle.”
“Trust you to find the humor in a dire situation.”
“That’s my plan.” Shoving the bolt aside, he swung the door open. “Ladies first.”
Althea braced herself for the surge of emotions. As terror mixed with a glimmer of hope assailed her mind, she somehow managed to keep a grip on her sanity as she peered down the darkened stairway. With her Zetithian night vision, she could see well enough, but she suspected that many of the captives couldn’t. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her torch and activated it.
Dust and cobwebs clung to the walls and ceiling, but the steps were clear, signifying their frequent use. As she started down the stairs, the emotional torrent escalated, forcing her to clutch the railing to remain upright. The sickening odor from below battered her acute olfactory sense, affecting her almost as strongly as the mental barrage.
When she staggered, Dartula gripped her shoulder from behind. “Take my hand, Sis.”
Her eyes stung with unshed tears as they joined hands. “Been waiting all my life for someone to call me that.”
Dartula’s reply was a squeeze of the fingers that conveyed her feelings nearly as well as the empathic vibe. They descended the stairs together. Overhead lights flickered and illuminated when they reached the bottom.
Row upon row of cages met their eyes, along with shrieks from both the Guardians and the children of nearly every species Althea had ever encountered.
Apparently, Dartula had met up with nearly as many. “They’re all so…unusual,” she whispered.
Edraitian twins with the standard red hair and blue skin color reversed. A Herpatronian boy with a pelt on his simian body that was orange rather than the usual dark brown. A Norludian female with the bulbous eyes and fishlike lips of her kind, but with long, silver hairs sprouting from the knuckles of her sucker-tipped fingers. An Aquerei male whose iridescent-green head tentacles flowed down past his knees. Those and several others were yelling and rattling their cage doors in a desperate attempt to escape.
I can handle this.
Closing her eyes, she took several slow, deep breaths to calm her mind, then sent out telepathic waves of serenity.
The general clamor instantly ceased, and peace flowed back into her mind.
“Way to go, Al,” Larry said as he joined the two women. “Let’s get these cages opened, shall we?” A moment later, he let out a disgusted growl. “Wouldn’t you know it? Padlocks. Plain, ordinary padlocks. It’ll take us days to burn through all of them, even with pulse rifles.”
To be honest, Althea wasn’t terribly surprised. A high-security penitentiary wasn’t necessary when the captives were monkeys and children. “I can heat them up. Not sure I can melt them very fast, though.”
Just then, Brak entered, holding up a large ring from which a vast assortment of keys dangled, none of which appeared to be labeled in any way. “I found this on one of the Palorkans I stunned a moment ago. However, matching the keys to each lock will take much too long. I can do the job with far greater speed.”
Althea’s eyes widened as she realized what he meant. “Your pincers can cut through metal?”
“Absolutely.” With a snap of his pincer, Brak sliced through the ring, scattering the keys across the basement floor. With that, he began progressing down the row of cages, snapping locks as he went.
Dartula and Althea sprang into action, pulling off severed locks and opening cages.
As monkeys and children rushed from their prisons, a shout of “My hero!” drew Althea’s attention to one of the larger cages. With another snap of his pincer, Brak had freed a Scorillian female. A purple Scorillian female.
Brak froze as though momentarily awestruck, then reared up to his full height, madly waving his pincers. “Oh, my Maker’s wings! In all my years, I have never beheld such beauty. Come out, my dear. Come out!”
With a flutter of her lavender wings, the Scorillian flew from her cage to hover above her rescuer. “Nor have I ever beheld such a handsome hero. I am called Glyssia, and I shall be forever in your debt, just as you shall forever hold a place in my heart.” Still hovering, she lowered her head until her antennae curled around Brak’s.
Even for love at first sight, this exchange seemed a tad sudden. Although given Brak’s infatuation with Larry, Glyssia’s reaction might have been closer to the norm than Althea ever expected.
“Is that a kiss?” Dartula asked.
“No questions now,” Brak snapped. “I’m busy.”
Althea tried to remember ever having met a female Scorillian and was forced to admit she never had. Even so, given the difference in their sizes… “Isn’t she a little young for you?”
Brak swiveled an eye toward her. “A common misconception. Glyssia is an adult female. They are much smaller than the males of our species, and their pincers are not as strong, or she could’ve freed herself and the others long ago.”
Larry burst out laughing. “You can kiss her all you like later on—if you can call that a kiss. But first you need to open the rest of these cages.”
“Yes, Captain.” With another caress of Glyssia’s fluffy purple antennae, he moved on, utilizing both pincers to s
nap two locks at a time, swaying rhythmically as he danced from cage to cage.
Larry tapped his combadge. “Hey, Bro. What’s it like up there?”
“The fire is beginning to burn down,” Keplok replied over the link. “No one is shooting at us yet, but we must make haste if we are to escape unscathed.”
“Has anyone tried to come back in here?”
“Only the six that Brak stunned.” He cleared his throat in an expression of apparent disgust. “They did not stay to help extinguish the fire.”
“Smelled a rat, did they?” Larry said. “I’m not surprised. Let’s hope they don’t have a lot of friends.”
“If they do, they will not get past me.” He may have sounded somewhat arrogant, but Althea didn’t doubt his sincerity for a second.
Nor, apparently, did Larry. “That’s the spirit!”
Althea began herding the children toward the stairs, all the while broadcasting a strong suggestion that the Guardians follow.
She needn’t have bothered. The Guardians had clearly latched onto the idea that they were being rescued and were already flocking toward the exit. However, once they’d climbed the stairs to street level, she was privy to a sight she never dreamed she would see. The Guardians were gathered all around Keplok, clinging to him like a horde of Adairean leeches.
She stared at him, open-mouthed. “They really do like you.”
He shrugged. “I am not entirely unlikable.”
“Apparently not.” She turned to the children. “Let’s get a head count so we don’t forget anyone.”
“There are twelve of us,” the Norludian girl said in piping tones. “Thirteen if you count Glyssia.”
Brak came crawling up the stairs. “I can take two of the children. Glyssia can manage one of the smaller ones.”
The Edraitian twins volunteered to go with Brak, who, not so astonishingly, produced a pair of weblike slings that he attached to his bandoliers. “Climb in, boys.”
Maverick Page 26