The Entean Saga - The Complete Saga

by C B Williams

  Wren’s stomach clenched. When he did return, what would he be like? She shook off the dread and quickly made herself think of something exciting. She had seen the two colonization starships. Now that was exciting.

  When they reported to Aiko about them, Aiko had reacted like a kid at her birthday party. She was all but Dirtside until Wren reminded her of the Caution First rule and Eloch’s instruction.

  Aiko had actually pouted.

  “Why don’t we wait until Eloch reappears?” she had suggested. “He’s the one with all the power, in case we need it. Those monster ships are surely armed. We have no idea what the people inside are thinking. And Aiko, they’re not going anyplace. They’ve been trapped under tons of rock for centuries. What are a few more days?”

  Aiko finally, if reluctantly, agreed. It was harder to convince Spider until Aiko suggested they access their resources, find the vessels’ schematics, and learn as much as they could in the time they had, because it would be easy to get lost in ships that vast.

  “And don’t worry about Eloch,” Aiko told her when they were ending their conversation. “He can take care of himself.”

  But against the fiery-tempered Longwei? Wren wondered. She rubbed the huge empty space in her chest that refused to stop aching. Worrying wouldn’t bring Eloch back any sooner. But she sure wished he’d show himself soon. Her sleeping mat was too big. Way too big. After the first night of his disappearance, she’d made Little Sister sleep with her. Gods, how she missed him, especially since it was Makini’s wedding day! Why wasn’t he back?

  Little Sister leaned into her and licked her hand.

  Wren sent the sniffer thoughts filled with thanks and love before she took a deep breath and returned her attention to the beach. Queen Ululani’s people mingled with King Rafa’s in a semicircle facing the ocean, symbolizing the merging of two kingdoms by marriage. In front of them, bathed in the crimson glow of the sunset, stood Kalea as priestess and officiator of the marriage. On either side of her stood Prince Likeke and Makini.

  Makini stood demurely, dressed in her sunset-colored pareo, her shoulders festooned with leis. Circlets of flowers graced her wrists and ankles. Flowers had even been woven into her cascading hair. The prince also wore red, but not so many leis. Wren noticed Likeke stealing glances at his intended, his expression verging on worship. When Kalea told him to take Makini’s hand, the huge man hesitated, as if afraid he might crush it.

  She tried several times to catch Genji’s eye where he stood between Pika and Haku, dressed as they were. It was fruitless. He was completely focused on Kalea. Since he and Kalea became a couple, he had thoroughly embraced her culture. And her culture seemed to have embraced him. The royal Nuri had accepted him as a part of their family. Especially Pika. Even Haku seemed to tolerate him, although she’d not seen much of Haku since his defeat.

  With the setting sun, the breeze picked up, filling the evening with the floral fragrances she would always think of when she remembered this planet. The shadows deepened. Torches burned. Shadows flickered and danced.

  And the ceremony continued.

  She hadn’t expected a simple sunset wedding could be so boring. The endless reading of the lineage made the ceremony very tedious…for her, at least. All the beauty in the world couldn’t change how boring that recitation was. And yet those around her were enraptured. Several were soundlessly repeating the names along with Kalea. Makini had quite the pedigree. How many more yawns would she have to stifle before Kalea was finished? She hoped Prince Likeke’s would be shorter.

  Looking back later, Wren was grateful for the boredom. She wasn’t as absorbed as the rest of the group, and therefore one of the first to react.

  Just as the skin at the back of her neck prickled, Little Sister growled deep in her throat. Wren reached for one of her ever-present knives, ducked, and whirled to face the moving shadows behind her.

  Standing beside Pika and the weakling Kalea had chosen for her lover, Haku had the perfect vantage point to watch his vision become reality. His people would learn very soon what a perfect leader he was.

  During the naming of the lineage, while he watched Akamu’s warriors creep silently to the rim of the surrounding jungle, blocking all escape routes, he bit his cheek to keep from smiling. No one on the beach would escape. True to plan and his promise to Makini, Haku watched the first thrown spear embed itself deeply into Likeke’s heart. The prince collapsed into a mountain of fat, even before his lineage was completed.

  The time was now! Haku let out a war cry. Little did his people know the cry was for Akamu, his partner.

  When the second spear stabbed deep in King Rafa’s chest, Makini screamed and shimmered into her Nuri form, flowers from her broken leis flying in all directions. She began to snake her neck, but before she could spit fire at the enemy, a beam from a fire stick traced a sizzling path across her shoulder. She roared and launched herself high into the air.

  Haku frowned. Makini attacked? He scanned the frantic crowd, trying to see who had shot her. The idiot nearly ruined Akamu’s plan to marry her. The idiot would die. He would make sure of that.

  Then he saw his mother go down.

  What? “No!” he shouted.

  His muscles quivered and tensed, and his eyes stung as the familiar heat of Nuri transformation surged through him.

  Betrayed!

  Akamu had betrayed him!

  “Ujarak!” he cried. “The pig has betrayed us! Attack!” He shoved at his brother. “Duck and shift! Pika! We must fight! They have fire sticks,” he shouted over the screams. “Defend yourself, Kalea!” He began his shift, saw the fire stick aimed directly at him. “No!” he bellowed and tried to move out of its way.

  The fire stick blast plowed into his gut and he went down. The agony of his shredded insides was the last thing he ever knew.

  Unaware of what had happened to Haku, Pika grabbed Genji by the waist and hauled the off-worlder away from the skirmish.

  “Stay behind the rocks,” he barked. “You have nothing to fight with, so don’t even try. We’ll need you afterwards.” His pupils formed slits. “There will be wounded.”

  “Kalea―“

  “Kalea can take care of herself. It would kill her if anything happened to you. Stay here. You must.” Pika shifted and launched skyward, mindful of the fire sticks in the hands of the unknown enemy.

  From above, he saw his mother was already down, lying in the surf in her human form. Kalea was spitting fire at anyone who got close while she struggled to drag her mother above the surf line. Her priestess robes billowed around her since she hadn’t bothered to shift.

  Pika banked and headed toward his family, landing just as Makini touched down. Together, they formed a wall of fire between them and their attackers, keeping the enemy at bay.

  But not the fire sticks.

  The little pink flames that pierced their firewall were scorching him and Makini. Fortunately, the flames made it nearly impossible for the marksmen to aim accurately, but it was only a matter of time. Someone was bound to get lucky. They would be too wounded to fly, their only escape the sea.

  With Little Sister at her side, Wren charged into the jungle. She hadn’t seen who threw the first spear, but she wrecked the aim of the second, hoping it was good enough to save a life.

  The warrior was nearly twice her size. He growled and reached for her, but she was too quick, and hamstrung him in one leg while she raced by.

  She paused, taking note. The villagers were fierce and quick to react, she’d give them that. But they were also unarmed and being herded out to the beach where they would be exposed.

  Something had to be done.

  She knew that somewhere at the center of the panic and chaos was the mind of the leader controlling the events. He would be close so he could observe the slaughter and issue commands. And he would be protected. But he would not be prepared for her, or for her knives.

  Little Sister! She silently called and darted behind a thorny thicket at
the jungle’s edge. Little Sister joined her, and Wren relayed her intentions with images. The sniffer roared, and together they reentered the melee.

  Little Sister, all fang and claws, cut a swath toward the center of their opponents, drawing their attention. Wren followed Little Sister, ducking, slashing, and wounding, but not bothering to stay and fight. The sooner she stopped the leader, the sooner she could stop the battle. And it needed to be done before it got much darker.

  She finally located him in the dancing torchlight, a tremendously fat man nearly covered with tattoos and heavily guarded. She raised her knife and took aim.

  At the exact moment she saw him, he saw her and bellowed.

  An equally large man―this one all muscle―pointed his laser rifle in her direction.

  She hadn’t counted on the rifle and quickly launched her blade before diving for cover. When the laser’s beam struck, the force of the impact knocked her sideways.

  Baffled at the lack of pain, she scanned for a wound. Once again, her animated had come to her rescue. There was a shallow slash dulling its shiny black surface, but otherwise she was fine. “I think I’m in love with this thing,” she murmured as she reached for another knife.

  A knife in each fist, she stood in a half crouch to scan the enemy, searching for the leader. The spot where she’d last seen him was vacant. From the shouts of the huge muscleman, the leader must be either dead or wounded. She hoped dead.

  He’d ruined a perfectly nice wedding.

  She chose her next target, aimed, prepared to throw—

  —the earth thundered, jolted, and threw her to the ground. She staggered to her feet, still intent on stopping the enemy.

  All around her combatants screamed and cried, trying to remain upright.

  The earth bucked and slammed her down again.

  Hard.

  This time, she didn’t even try to rise, but reached for Little Sister in her mind.

  The beast happily reported she was with Eloch.

  Eloch! Her heart leapt.

  “Enough!” thundered a voice so loud her ears rang.

  Chapter 20

  Death and Rebirth

  The surf eddied and surged through the silence.

  With her arms wrapped around her mother, Kalea looked everywhere for Genji.

  Pika squatted beside her. “Are you hurt?” he asked as he helped her carry their mother away from the surf.

  She shook her head. “Genji! I don’t see him.” Her voice trembled as she pillowed her mother’s head in her lap.

  “He’s safe. I made him hide.”

  Relief flooded her. “Thank you, Pika,” she said as Makini joined them.

  Her twin knelt down and took their mother’s limp hand. “Oh, Mother,” she whispered.

  “She’s alive, Makini. As soon as I can get a healing crystal, she will be fine. Genji will help too, with the burning.

  Pika nodded. “You look worse than Mother, Makini.”

  Kalea glanced over and sucked in a breath. “Makini! You’re wounded!”

  Makini raised her eyebrows. “Am I? Funny, I don’t feel anything. Just very tired.”

  “Consider it a blessing,” Pika told her. “You’ll feel it soon enough. Doesn’t feel good.” He glanced around. “Why did they stop attacking? They were winning.” He had never felt so exhausted.

  Makini pointed. “Longwei interfered. Didn’t you feel the earth move?” Her face paled. She let go of her mother’s hand and brought her own to her face. “Oh. Pika. I feel it now,” she said as she wavered.

  Kalea stripped off her cape. “Lie down, Makini, if you have a side that isn’t burned. Try to rest.”

  With a moan, Makini settled herself, and then sat up abruptly. “Haku! Have you seen him?” she asked Pika.

  Pika glanced over to where they had both been standing.

  Makini saw the color drain from his face. “What, Pika? You’re scaring me!” When he didn’t answer she turned to follow his gaze. Sorrow and guilt crashed over her like a wave. “No,” she whispered, “No.”

  She slumped into Kalea.

  “Makini?” Kalea looked at her twin huddled against her side. Instinctively she put an arm around her. “Pika? What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Haku, Kalea. He didn’t make it.” His voice sounded dull and tired. “No, don’t turn around.”

  “But his body―“

  “Ujarak is with him.”

  “Oh...Haku.” Kalea looked down at her mother’s unconscious face. “Poor Mother. First Father. Now, Haku.”

  “It’s my fault,” whispered Makini.

  “No,” Pika said. “It’s mine. I could have stopped him.”

  Kalea looked up. “Stopped him from what? I don’t understand.”

  “He had been plotting against Mother, and I chose to ignore it. I thought Mother would find out and take care of it.”

  “She did find out,” Kalea said. “She warned me about it. And she went to Longwei.”

  Makini looked up. “Warned you? Why?”

  Kalea stared at her sister until the other looked away.

  “We must listen to the Goddess now,” Kalea said quietly and removed her arm from around Makini’s waist.

  “I am finished with your petty squabbles,” Longwei thundered, appearing before them. “You destroy one another with technologies you can barely use. This ends now. I need My people strong. I need My people to learn and understand. I need warriors―fierce warriors who know more than you do now. Warriors who do not behave as children.”

  Her eyes flashed bright red. The earth rumbled as lava from the volcano fountained high into the air. “If you wish to face death, you may face Me now. Or throw down your weapons and live.”

  She waited in ominous silence.

  It was broken with the clatter and thuds of spears, knives, arrows and laser rifles.

  “I am pleased. Tend to the wounded and gather your dead. I will have words with,” she glanced toward where Ululani was slowly regaining consciousness in Kalea’s arms, “the Nuri queen and her family.” She scanned the crowd until She found Genji standing off to the side. “And you, off-worlder.”

  With a sweep of Her arm, She gathered them and disappeared.

  Wren’s eyes widened when she saw Genji disappear with the Nuri. But she dismissed it. There was someone more important. She leapt up and ran to Eloch, threw her arms and legs around him, and held on tight.

  Although she hadn’t dared move during Longwei’s speech, she’d stolen several glances at him. He had looked lost and unfocused. And vulnerable. She’d never seen Eloch vulnerable. What had Longwei done to him?

  “You’re bleeding, Wren,” he said softly, touching her shoulder.

  “Am I? Oh,” she said when he showed her the blood on his fingertips. “Just scratches. I’m fine.” She looked up at his face, “But I don’t think you are. Talk to me.”

  Eloch touched her shoulder with his staff. The bleeding stopped, the pain disappeared. “Longwei remade me. Gave me power. More power than I thought my body could hold. In fact, it nearly couldn’t.”

  “More power? I don’t understand.”

  “She said I’ll need it for where I’m going.”

  “And where are we going?” she asked.

  A ghost of a smile touched his face in response to her emphasized we. “We are going to Vela Kentaurus. Longwei wants us to take one of the two ships she’s got buried and find out as much as we can about the danger there. Longwei says it’s thinking of coming here next. We are to stop it if we can.”

  “But what is it?”

  He shook his head. “None of the Sisters know.”

  “How can we stop it if we don’t even know what it is? How can we stop something that terrifies planets, Eloch?”

  He shook his head again. “I don’t know, but that’s what I’m expected to do.” He released her. “I’ve had enough of this scene, haven’t you? Let’s go to our hut. Touch base with Akio.”

  He took her hand and she hesitated.
“Shouldn’t we help?”

  Eloch sighed. “I’m too weary. This is not our battle to clean up.”

  He used his staff as a beacon against the fading light and waited for her to move.

  She glanced at him sharply but allowed him to lead her away with Little Sister padding silently between them.

  “Little Sister looks like she came through without a scratch.”

  Eloch looked down at Little Sister, touched her head. “She had plenty. I healed her.”

  “Like my shoulder. Your new powers. That’s good, right?”

  “Of course it’s good.”

  “So why aren’t you acting like it’s a good thing?”

  He shrugged and remained silent.

  “There are people living on those ships,” she said.

  He nodded. “A few, yes. Longwei told me.”

  “Descendants of the original colonizers. Couldn’t be anyone else.”

  “Not descendants, Wren.”

  She pulled him to a halt. “Original colonizers? They must be ancient! How can they still move without crumbling to dust?” She felt some relief when she saw the ghost of a smile.

  They began to walk again.

  “They’ve been taking turns in cryogenic stasis,” Eloch explained. “No one has aged more than twenty to thirty years since they landed on Longwei. All that time, they’ve been teaching Longwei what they know.”

  “And now what?”

  “And now they will teach the Nuri. It’s been Longwei’s plan all along.”

  She remembered Kalea’s words. “But to keep those people underground for such a long time! It’s cruel.”

  Eloch glanced at her as they walked. “This is Longwei’s domain. Her world. Her choices. They were safe and healthy.”

  “But―“

  “Wren.”

  “I think Longwei gave you more than just Her power. I think you got some of Her personality.”

  “Perhaps.” He looked sad.

  She squeezed his hand.

  “Did She mention anything about the other off-worlders?”