Threshold of Annihilation

by T. A. White

  They fell silent, each straining their senses to pick up on the disturbance.

  Kira didn't hear anything for a long moment. She plucked a tendril of the ki that coiled in her center, sending it out into the world. It went easily, no sign of the pain that felt like razor blades sawing at her insides.

  It was a small victory, but recovery often was.

  For several seconds, Kira caught nothing odd.

  Gradually, the sound of many bodies moving in unison reached her. Worse, they were heading directly toward Kira and the woman.

  Selene covered her nose with a grimace. "Tsavitee taint."

  Kira cast her a sidelong look. When had Selene become so theatrical? Selene would know what she was picking up wasn't an actual scent, though it may have presented as a smell due to her brain's interpretation of what it felt.

  Selene glared at Kira. "They followed you."

  "We don't know that."

  The woman sent her a look that said to get real.

  Kira started to respond when she heard her name being called. She frowned. That had sounded a lot like Jin.

  Branches rustled. Jin burst into view.

  "Kira! We have a little bit of a situation!"

  He beelined toward her, a swarm of shriekers erupting from the trees in his wake.

  "You're right. They didn't follow you," Selene corrected.

  The creatures were humanoid, loping across the ground on all fours, their backs abnormally hunched. Their heads were bald and their skin a mottled color that included violets, greens, and some hard to determine mix of colors that resembled the ponds and lakes Kira had traveled past on the way to the cafe.

  The myriad of colors was a camouflage technique and varied for every swarm. They evolved based on their surroundings. Highly adaptive, shriekers bred extremely fast.

  Kira hadn't seen any since the war. Typically, the Tsavitee sent them in advance of their first strike. Their purpose was to soften up the ground troops and make it easier for the main invading force. They tended to chew through civilian populations, ambushing from the shadows for weeks before anyone realized they were there.

  "What did you do?" Kira shouted as Jin zoomed toward her.

  "I don't know," Jin wailed. "I was exploring, and then I was being chased."

  "You couldn't have lost them first? Why'd you have to bring them here?"

  "Don't you think I tried?" Jin shouted plaintively. "They're exceedingly difficult to shake."

  Selene leaned toward her as the shriekers pounded toward them. "Do you think they're here for you or me?"

  Kira shook her head. "It doesn't matter either way."

  They shared a look.

  There was no way Kira could leave Elena here now. Nor would the woman allow her to.

  As if obeying some mental signal, the swarm split to circle around Kira and Selene.

  "I forgot how much I hate these things." Selene raised her hand, a small distortion in the air beginning a few centimeters away from her fingertips.

  It built, growing quickly only to pop like a bubble when Kira pushed Selene’s hand down. As much as she appreciated the offer to help, it would be a mistake.

  "Tuann who will recognize the use of ki are everywhere, to say nothing of Haldeel surveillance. Unless you want to be outed, I suggest you keep your talents to yourself," Kira advised.

  Selene’s expression softened. "You make it so hard to deny you when you do things like this, little sister."

  "Enough jaw jacking; more killing," Jin roared as he threw himself into the midst of the shriekers. Lightning bolts shot from him, hitting several bodies.

  Kira grinned as she stepped forward, already sliding into the necessary mental space she'd need for the coming task. A place where mercy was as unwelcome as fear.

  "When you see an opportunity to escape, take it," she ordered.

  There was no more time to talk after that.

  Kira darted forward, palming the small blade she'd hidden on her in the same instant. She'd prefer one of the swords House Roake had given her, but at least she wasn't unarmed for this encounter.

  The swarm wailed, rearing upright and slashing at her with their two-inch claws.

  Fighting with a knife was different than fighting with a sword. For one thing, she didn't have the reach she would have with a sword. Timing was everything.

  Kira stayed light on her feet, dodging in and out of range of the shriekers, as she slashed, each move delivering a precise, lethal blow.

  Kira pivoted as a shrieker dove in low. She stepped out of the way, slicing a long line along his spine. It wasn't a killing blow, but she didn’t want to chance having her only weapon taken from her if it got stuck in a body.

  Movement on her left had her swaying to her right. A shrieker swung at her. Kira blocked with one arm, stepping inside his guard to plunge her knife in his throat.

  Hot blood splashed on her hand.

  That was three.

  She stepped back to find a small circle had formed around her. Her expression turned cold as the shrieker she’d killed folded to the ground.

  Kira lifted her head. "Who's next?"

  They shrieked and pounced.

  Kira became a whirling dervish, never remaining anywhere long as she sliced and hacked her way through them. Blood lust rose until Kira lived for the swing of the blade and the feel of blood splashing.

  Shriekers weren't difficult to kill. Their primary danger lay in their numbers. There was a reason they were called the enemy of a thousand cuts. Bring one down, and there would be another to take its place in a never-ending cycle, leaving behind only despair when you realized your fate.

  A smart Kira would run, bleeding off their numbers and trying to divert their attention to other victims.

  But if she fled into the more densely populated parts of the city, civilians would die. The Haldeel peacekeepers would eventually arrive, but by then, it would be too late.

  Kira could take care of herself. Others couldn't.

  She danced around, feeling wind scrape by her as she narrowly avoided being disemboweled.

  She returned the shrieker’s attempt by embedding her blade in his back. The shrieker's scream of agony brought a smile to her face.

  That's it. That was what she wanted to hear.

  She yanked the blade free, slashing it across the shrieker’s throat in the next second.

  Kira took stock.

  Bodies littered the clearing. Many of them a result of her rampage. A few were Jin’s contribution, showing scorch marks.

  She pointed her blade at Jin. "This is your fault. Don't think I've forgotten that."

  "If you have breath to talk, you have breath to kill faster."

  He swooped on a clump of shriekers, lightning bolts erupting from his body.

  "How do you like me now?" Jin crowed. "Not the easy opponent you thought, huh?"

  Kira killed two more shriekers who decided to test her patience.

  "Maybe if you'd done a little more of that sooner there wouldn't still be this damn many."

  Jin sputtered. "How do you think I ended up pissing them off in the first place?"

  A shrieker padded toward Selene from behind. Selene slid out of its way in one graceful movement, bringing the parasol down hard on his neck. There was a crack, and the shrieker slumped to the ground.

  "Perhaps we should focus on the matter at hand," Selene suggested.

  "Is that a parasol?” Jin asked. “What is it made of? Steel?”

  Amusement touched Selene’s eyes as her lips curved up. "Something like that. It's an invention of my own design. This is the first time I've used it. Quite effective I might add."

  Instinct warned Kira. She leapt into the air, her body arching as she flipped over the shrieker that had thrown itself into her blind spot.

  She landed, stabbing into the base of its neck in the next moment.

  "You can handle it from here," Selene said, looking around. "I'll take my leave."

  Kira hesitated befo
re nodding in acknowledgment. Selene had stayed far longer than Kira had expected, dealing with more than a few of the pesky bastards. It would be greedy for Kira to ask her to stay to the end and risk exposing her to the Haldeel.

  "Maybe stay home until the quorum is over," Kira suggested.

  "You worry about yourself. Me and mine know what to do. We’re not nearly as likely as you to go tilting at windmills that are already on fire."

  With that, Selene glided across the steppingstones of the pond and disappeared into the trees.

  Kira and Jin moved to block the shriekers who would have followed, cutting through their ranks with zero mercy.

  A long time later, Kira's arms and body screamed. Exhaustion pulled at her, demanding a break. Just a little one. Enough to catch her breath.

  Kira felled another shrieker, whirling to meet the next, only to find nothing there.

  She panted as she looked around, noting the mounds of dead bodies. Nothing moved except her and Jin. The previously beautiful flowers were now speckled with red.

  "I think that's it," Jin said, listing to the side. He sounded weary as he came to rest on a tree branch.

  Kira's hand with the blade remained in a defensive position as she weaved on her feet. "Did any escape?"

  She held her breath, praying he said no.

  If a single shrieker escaped, they'd have to go after them. Otherwise, this would happen again. Shriekers reproduced through parthenogenesis, which was a fancy way of saying they didn't need a partner to multiply.

  There was also the small matter that where there were shriekers, there was a handler waiting in the wings. How else would the Tsavitee know when a target was adequately softened.

  "No," Jin said when Kira had resigned herself to having to embark on a foot chase. "We're clear."

  Kira's shoulders slumped. Thank the universe above for small mercies.

  Several seconds passed before Jin summoned enough energy to rise from the branch. "There's at least sixty bodies here."

  It wasn't as big as the swarms they'd seen during the war—some of which had reached thousands—but it was much bigger than a swarm on a Haldeel planet had a right to be.

  "You think the Haldeel know they're compromised?"

  Kira shook her head. If they didn't before, they would now. No way was this going to be covered up. Eventually a civilian would stumble on the scene and report it. There'd be no hiding from the truth then.

  "How did they get here?" Kira asked.

  The Haldeel were extremely advanced. They had warning systems in place that should have made it impossible to smuggle a shrieker embryo onto the planet.

  The fact the swarm was here and had grown to this size was concerning.

  Kira started retracing her steps toward the cafe. "Come on. Finn likely is on his way. We should depart before we're seen."

  "Too late. Several energy signatures belonging to Haldeel weapons are approaching quickly. The fight must have alerted their peacekeepers."

  Of all the luck.

  "What do you want to do?" Jin asked.

  Fleeing was pointless. The entire area was studded with surveillance equipment. Getting off-planet without the Haldeel catching them was pretty much impossible since they'd still have to use a Haldeel dropship. Leaving now would only make them appear guilty.

  "We'll wait and answer their questions," Kira said unhappily.

  Finn wasn't going to be pleased that the moment she was out of his sight she'd ended up in a fight for her life.

  Kira took out a cloth and began to clean her weapon. Only when it was as clean as she could get it in current conditions did she tuck it into its hiding place.

  The rest of her she gave up as a lost cause.

  At least none of the blood was hers this time.

  She finished just as three Haldeel sped into view, the long, wide skirts of their robes frothing at the quick movement of their appendages.

  They stopped abruptly, staring at the scene of the massacre in wide-eyed disbelief.

  Kira lifted a hand, smiling at them awkwardly. "Hey there."

  The three reacted, leveling weapons that held an uncanny resemblance to a trident in her direction. Kira's welcoming smile stiffened.

  It was never a good thing to be on the wrong end of a trident. Depending on its user, the trident had a variety of abilities. She'd seen them fire powerful laser bolts that could rip a hole in a Tsavitee drone. She'd also seen the Haldeel use them as staffs or bury the tips in an opponent and use that opponent as a battering ram.

  The Haldeel might prefer peace, but they could be as violent and merciless as any of the other races. They simply hid it better behind a facade of serenity.

  Kira held her hands up, trying to seem harmless.

  It was probably a wasted effort with the evidence of what she'd done strewn all around the clearing, some of it soaking into her white shirt and smeared across her jacket.

  "Are you responsible for this?" The tallest of the Haldeel jerked his trident to indicate the bodies. The base color of his skin was brown and he had forest green markings that encroached on the sides of his jaw and neck.

  Kira grimaced. "I guess you could say that, but in my defense, they attacked first."

  They took in the many bodies again.

  "Just you?" the Haldeel asked.

  Kira indicated Jin. "He helped."

  Their gazes went from Jin to the bodies whose only evidence of injury were the singe marks marring their flesh.

  "Incoming from your three o'clock," Jin murmured.

  Finn sped into the clearing, freezing at the sight. A second later, he aimed an accusing glare at Kira.

  Her gaze slid away. "I can explain.”

  Finn's expression didn't shift.

  Without hesitation, Kira pointed at Jin. "It's all his fault."

  Jin protested.

  Kira shrugged at him. "It really is."

  "Some friend you are," he shot back.

  "In situations like these, it's every person for themselves."

  "I'll remember this," he muttered.

  "You should. It's your rule."

  The leader walked forward, interrupting. "You're going to need to come with us while we sort this out. “

  Kira moved slowly, careful not to startle the Haldeel as she withdrew her blade and set it on the ground.

  "He needs to come too." The Haldeel indicated Jin.

  Reluctantly, Kira nodded. "J1N, power down."

  Although Jin would give the appearance of shutting down, in reality he would still maintain full control, aware of everything going on around him.

  "I appreciate your cooperation," the leader said.

  The Haldeel beside him shifted. "Za, I'm still sensing an energy output."

  Kira cursed internally. She’d hoped they wouldn’t pick up on that.

  "Jin has backup systems. That's probably what you're sensing.”

  Kira held her breath, waiting as the Haldeel consulted each other.

  An entire conversation passed without a word being exchanged.

  At last, a Haldeel with cobalt markings withdrew a device from a pocket. A buzz invaded her mind seconds before a wall slammed between her and Jin.

  The place Jin occupied in her psyche went dark.

  Kira flinched, horror and fear rising.

  "What did you do?" Kira demanded harshly.

  Finn advanced on her, a warning in his face telling her to remain calm.

  "Nothing permanent," the leader assured her. "We erected a field around your drone so that its energy output could not affect its surroundings. In the event you are deceiving us and he didn't power down, the field will make any attempts to move impossible."

  "He's not damaged, then?" Kira asked, unable to keep the note of fear out of her voice.

  The leader inclined his head. "He is not."

  For the first time since Jin's presence had disappeared, Kira drew a full breath. She could handle that. As long as she knew it wasn't permanent.

&nb
sp; She closed her eyes, concentrating.

  Once again, she butted up against that invisible wall. Her mental state trembled.

  With an iron will, she gathered herself. He was there. It was faint, almost impossible to register, but it was him.

  Kira opened her eyes and nodded. "How does this work? Will there be handcuffs?"

  The Haldeel leader considered her with patience. "As long as you don't have intent to bring harm to others or yourself, I think we can forgo such extreme measures."

  Kira stared at him. "That's rather nice of you."

  Much nicer than the methods that usually greeted her in a situation like this.

  The Haldeel’s smile was faint as he stepped to the side and gestured for her to join him as his companion moved forward to retrieve Jin.

  Finn shot the Haldeel a challenging look. "I'm going too."

  The Haldeel leader's lips twitched. "That is acceptable. I suspect before this is over it'll be us who owe you the apology."

  Kira contained her snort. That would be a first.

  ELEVEN

  A VEIN JUMPED in Finn’s temple as he fell into step beside her. "Next time, I would very much like to be apprised before you do something death-defying."

  "Why? You think you can stop me?"

  His eyes narrowed to slits. "No, so I can mentally prepare."

  "Aren't these kinds of things better as a surprise?"

  In his place, she'd rather not have advance notice when the person she'd vowed to protect did something dangerous.

  There was a crack in Finn's facade, exposing the boiling anger seething beneath the surface. "No, it isn't."

  Kira shrugged. "Suit yourself."

  It wasn't like Kira planned this. There was no way she could have known Jin would return with a swarm of shriekers. If she had, she would definitely have invited Finn to the party.

  Partners did things like that. They shared in their brushes with death.

  “Why were you so late?” Kira asked, eyeing him.

  No way did she believe he hadn’t heard the fight. Shriekers weren’t exactly quiet during a hunt.

  “I got hung up. It delayed my arrival,” Finn said in a tone that didn’t invite questions.

  Kira lapsed into silence as the Haldeel marched them along the city streets, drawing stares as they passed. Kira spotted children she suspected of belonging to the orphanage. They watched with fascination before disappearing into the crowds around them.