The 'pard rumbled, the sound rising from her chest, filling the air with all of the things Subria could feel in her heart, with a… connection.
Slowly, the hand raised to push the strider away turned, stretched to cup the companion's jaw. It was soft, warm and silken, a balm to her nerves, soothing the panic and fear.
The companion closed her eyes, the rumble – a purr, Subria realised – growing louder as she leaned into Subria's touch.
A word shivered through Subria's skin, travelling through the nerves where her hand stroked the 'pard. It was fuzzy, as if seen through a dense fog, shivering on the tip of her tongue, almost forming in her mind and dissipating again as she reached for it.
The 'pard pushed her head closer, almost touching Subria's chin with her nose, allowing Subria to reach up and scratch the soft fur behind the companion's ear.
The word grew, the shape of it becoming clearer. Subria leaned forward, resting her forehead against the 'pard's, and reached up with her other hand, arms encircling her head.
Apani. Forest and mountainsides, the fog clinging to the trunks, scattering in the wake of a silent shadow.
'Apani,' she whispered, opening her eyes.
The 'pard, Apani, purred louder.
The space in Subria's chest suddenly grew, expanding until she thought it might explode, filling with the scent of rain, with Apani and—
A yowl tore the sensation from Subria's chest. And then shadows and fury were between them, driving the 'pard back with wings and fangs, talons flashing in the lights. Air rushed backed into Subria's lungs, a great shuddering mouthful as the space in her chest collapsed, the rain replaced with the musk of fur and the copper tang of blood.
Subria sucked it down, even as she shot to her feet, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
The 'pard was growling, low rippling snarls, trying to dodge Erberos, to catch Subria's gaze again, but the flyer was liquid darkness, always in Apani's way, always—
'Enough.' Instructor Bayard was there, somehow between the 'pard and Erberos, reaching out to snatch the flyer from the air, but he slipped out of her grasp, somersaulting through the air to land on Subria's shoulder.
The 'pard shook her head and took a pace forward, snarling.
Erberos mantled his wings, snarling back.
'Look at her,' Bayard spoke to the 'pard.
The 'pard's gaze switched from Erberos to her, and Subria shrank from it.
The 'pard's snarl died.
'You'll have to wait,' Bayard said again.
The companion chuffed, cocked her head, and, eyes never leaving Subria's, backed out of the lab.
The door slid shut between them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Silence ruled the shuttle, save for the soft rustle of feathers and the gentle hum of a sternard's breathing.
Subria sat at the front of the main cabin, away from the recruits with their new companions, unable to take her eye from the sternard sprawled across the near aisle, its giant head on Sheera's knee. It looked nothing like Yaara, a chocolate brown monstrosity with darker plating across its chest, and yet she could not shake the fear that slithered through her veins, the memory of Yaara's blood-stained muzzle, her handler torn apart.
A gentle hum and Erebos bumped his head into her jaw, his scales warm against her skin, his body a comforting weight on her shoulder, his talons a reassuring prick through the nano-leather of her jacket.
She'd saved her classmates, stopped Doctor Temple from hacking the gene banks, and yet she'd failed. Only two of the eight recruits who had taken the shuttle to the Farm found companions; the rest of them... At least there wouldn't be much to pack once she returned to the academy, and there'd be no need to comm her mum or her sister to pick her up. Just a taxi, and the silent walk to the front door.
If she was quick, she'd be able to get her application in for Sabre University before the first trimester started.
On her shoulder, Erebos hissed.
Subria looked up as Bayard took the bench next to her.
'Your father would have been proud.'
'You knew him?'
The instructor laughed. 'Everyone knew Kylian Venere, and those that didn't have the chance know your mother.' The humour on her face faded, and for a moment she stared out into the distance, her brow furrowed and her mouth pinched as if in remembered pain. 'The Venere name is a lot to live up to.'
Subria nodded, just once, even as shame curled in her chest. There were other ways to live up to the family name, she told herself. Other careers, and yet the thought did nothing for the bitterness winding through her soul.
'I'm going to push you hard, Venere. There's no room for people who coast on their family name at Morague, only hard work and blood.'
'What?' She sat up, the meaning of Bayard's words slipping past the shame. 'But... ' Her voice trailed off.
'You didn't return to the shuttle with a companion?' Bayard finished for her. She eyed Erebos. 'Or a second one, at least.'
The instructor grunted. 'Never fails to amaze me how many of you believe we'd throw away a promising recruit because they didn't bond with a strider. Even if we did, your actions in stopping Doctor Temple would have earned you a place.'
Bayard leaned back against the bulkhead. 'The test wasn't the striders, girl, it was the forest, the sky.'
'The Pollen,' Subria breathed. 'You wanted to see if we would panic, like Bank.'
'Mm hmm. There's always a few.'
'But why the striders?'
A smile lifted the corner of Bayard's mouth. 'Because if I hadn't, you'd all have been looking for the real test and have had a chance to brace yourselves. Besides, every Rider needs a strider, and this is convenient.'
'Tyvian and Sheera have a head start, but real bonds are formed over time, girl.' Bayard nodded towards the rear of the compartment, where Sheera stared into her sterdane's eyes and Tyvian stroked his pea-dragon's wings as if the huge companion would fly away if he stopped.
'You can put that down to the right combination of pheromones and timing. Love at first sight, if you will, but in the end their bond won't be any stronger than the one you forge.
'Now, if one of them caught the attention of a Woolsey…' Bayard's black gaze locked on Subria, stayed there. 'Well, that would have been different.'
It took effort not to shift on the bench, to keep her face blank and meet Bayard's stare as the memory of the blue-grey 'pard played behind her eyeballs, the…the thing that had passed between them. Subria fought the urge to rub her chest, to soothe the small, hollow space left behind.
Erebos landed on her knees, his outspread wings a wall of darkness breaking the stare.
Subria breathed.
Erebos folded his wings, one set at a time, and glided up her arm to rest on her shoulder. She scratched the little hollow at the base of his head, where skull met spine, grateful for the distraction.
The wan-adder hummed, eyes open, attention fixed, not on Subria, but on the instructor.
Bayard sat forward, elbows on her knees, returning Erebos's regard.
The 'adder growled.
Bayard bared her teeth. 'You can't keep her from it forever.'
Erebos hissed, fangs flashing.
The instructor laughed, the sound as dark as Erebos's hide, and stood. 'You'll need bigger teeth before you can scare me, little shadow. And you.' She pointed at her, and Subria wondered how a single, work-roughed finger could be so intimidating. 'I'll have you sorted out before the end of the first trimester. Mark my words.' She clasped Subria's shoulder. 'Welcome to the Academy.'
Author’s note
May 2020
I suck at prequels.
When I started writing Hunter, the goal was to create a quick little introduction to The Hero Rebellion trilogy. It was meant to be a short self-contained story, something to help new readers discover the series and a bonus for fans, but I realised very quickly that wasn’t going to happen.
This sucker had a mind of its own.<
br />
Instead of a Hero Rebellion prequel, I present to you a prequel to a prequel series (which I guess makes me really good at prequels??). And yes, you read it right, Subria is getting her own series. Apani and Ursula will be there, as well as Norah’s grandfather and a few other characters you might remember.
When will you be getting this as yet unnamed series? Currently, I’m slated to start work on it after I finish The Hero War, which should be the end of 2021.
I know, I know, that’s like forever away, but there’s a lot happening between now and then, including the conclusion to The Echo trilogy and then The Hero War. So, make sure to stay in touch!
The story continues
Available now from your favourite retailer
www.books2read.com/Hero
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About the author
Physics makes Belinda’s brain hurt, while quadratics cause her eyes to cross and any mention of probability equations will have her running for the door. Nonetheless, she loves watching documentaries about the natural world, biology, space, history and technology.
She’s also a sucker for a fast horse, a faster computer and superhero movies. When she’s not doing the horse, computer or superhero thing, Belinda writes science fiction (emphasis on the fiction), where she loves to write about butt-kicking girls (and guys) who blow stuff up.
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Also by Belinda Crawford
Have you read them all?
THE HERO REBELLION
Hero
The battle for human evolution begins now.
Hero Regan is special, and not in a way she likes. She hears voices in her head that other people can’t. Insulated from the outside world, her only solace is Fink, a six-hundred-kilogram, genetically engineered ruc-pard. They share lives, thoughts, triple-chocolate marshmallow ice-cream and the burning desire for freedom.
Their chance comes when Hero is allowed to attend school in Cumulus City. Here Hero discovers she is an unwitting part of a master plan set into motion 300 years before, a plan she must either help or hinder if she’s ever to attain the freedom she craves.
(Race)
Riven
Regan
—
THE HERO REBELLION PREQUEL
Hunter
Her entrance exam just became a fight for survival.
Subria is going to be one of the few, a Rider dedicated to helping her people survive, but first she has to pass the entrance exam. However as soon as the test starts, something goes terribly wrong.
Now, she’s no longer fighting for a dream, but survival.
—
THE ECHO
Cold Between Stars
In the dark, empty space between solar systems, something lies in wait.
It’s pretty easy being a ship kid; clean out the cyclers, avoid your sister, don’t get sucked into space. The hardest bit about it is spending a couple of decades in stasis/sleep while your ship travels to the next solar system. Then rinse and repeat all the way back to a home you’ve never seen.
Except I just got kicked out of stasis early, like years early. And I’m alone.
All. Alone.
Except for the fug.
Dark Between Oceans
Echo Between Worlds (coming 2021)
Dedication
To my beta readers –
Iffet B., Jeanette H., Linda W. and Tracy M Joyce.
Thank you.
Published by Hendrix & Faust, Publishers in 2020
Copyright © Belinda Crawford 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
www.belindacrawford.com
A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the National Library of Australia.
ISBN: 978-0-6484881-9-4 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-0-6484881-7-0 (paperback)
Hunter (The Hero Rebellion 0.5) Page 5