The Athru stumbled back some more until he fell, holding his stomach. “Ámas loak. Firus rolak. Maj-esh.” The words, though gibberish to her universal-coded mind, found a way to permeate an even older part of her and convey their meaning.

  Traitor. You have broken your bond to us. No one is safe.

  Evie furrowed her brow, holding her sword out in front of her. Her only hope was to get in one good swipe and lop that head right off. But that was easier said than done. At least maybe now they would come after her instead of just targeting Laura and the others.

  “Did you get that?” Martial asked, a few meters away.

  “I got it.” She stared at the Athru. He was more than welcome to take her head-on. She championed it. “I want you to go. Get everyone else back on the shuttles,” Evie said, not looking at Laura.

  “You can’t take them both at once,” Laura replied. “I won’t let you.”

  “That’s an order,” Evie said, not taking her eyes off the Athru. The moment she did, Laura was dead. He just stared right back at her, and she could feel the entity within stirring. She’d been right, she was too dangerous to go back with the rest of them. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t give them a fighting chance. Cas would take over as captain and get them back home. It would all work out.

  “That’s not an order I can follow,” Laura replied.

  “I’m serious, you need to leave. I can’t do this with you here.” She knew Laura was just being stubborn, wanting to stay for her sake. But Evie loved her too much to let her do that.

  “You mean you can’t do this without me,” Laura replied.

  “Listen to me,” Evie said, still not taking her eyes off the creature. “This has gone too far. Remember what you told me? I have to put a stop to this; this is that hard no. It’s over. Return to the shuttles, get everyone off this planet.” She didn’t turn to see Laura, but she could sense all the fight go out of her. If this was what it took to get her to safety, then damn the consequences.

  “You’re just saying that to make me leave.” There was hurt in her voice, like she couldn’t believe Evie had said that.

  “No, I’m saying that because you’re a liability. And they will use you against me. With you gone, I don’t have to worry about them hurting you.” The creature grinned with its small mouth; it was not an image Evie liked.

  “And what about you?” Laura asked. Evie could hear the tears in her voice. “What, you’re just going to stay here? Forever?”

  Evie wanted to turn and look her in the eye. She wanted to embrace her and tell her all the things she deserved to hear; but if she did that, she’d be compromised, and the alien would pounce. It knew it couldn’t get past Evie as long as all her attention was on it, but she could already tell it was working out a way to get under her defenses. And if she so much as glanced at Laura, Evie knew all her walls would come down and she wouldn’t be any good to anyone. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I have no business on Tempest anymore. This is where I belong. Now, please. Do as I ask. If you truly love me, you’ll give me that basic respect.”

  “I do love you,” Laura whispered. “But you’re wrong.” Her voice hitched on the last word. But relief flooded Evie’s entire body as she heard her jog away.

  “You did the right thing,” Martial said.

  Evie watched as the trees beyond the Athru parted, revealing a dozen more gray beings. “I know.”

  38

  This never should have happened. They never should have landed on this planet in the first place. Cas couldn’t believe the run of bad luck they’d had ever since leaving Coalition space. And now, here he was, trying to repair a type-six shuttle engine with little more than an engineering kit and his bare hands so they could get off this planet.

  “That doesn’t go there.” Box watched as Cas reconnected the injector assembly to the override capacitors.

  “I know that. But we’re in a pinch and I don’t have the equipment to repair it properly,” he replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was on his back, less than fifteen centimeters from the assembly, trying to work as fast as he could. The last thing he needed was Box’s distractions.

  “Is that what you did with me? You were in a pinch, so you rewired a few things?”

  Cas groaned. “Are you still on that? I don’t really think this is the time—ugh!” The spanner in his hand slipped from his grip and smacked him on the head. “Dammit!”

  “I believe I am owed an explanation,” Box replied. “I could be an entirely different person. Wouldn’t you want to know if someone messed up your circuits?”

  Cas grabbed the spanner again and resumed his work. “I didn’t…there…mess up your circuits. I just turned off some of the defaults.” He finished securing the injector into place. At the sound of feet running up he jumped, until he recognized Jann’s boots.

  “The other shuttle Xax shoved people in has the same problem,” she said. “Casing is gone, and the engines are shot. Either we’re going to have to move these people, or we need to come up with another plan.”

  Cas rolled out from under the shuttle and stood, wiping his hands. “What’s the situation over there?”

  “I’m not sure,” Box replied. “Last I checked there were still two of those things.”

  “We have to find a way to take them out,” Cas said. These things were tough, and there was no way they could hold their own against more than one. He turned to Jann. “What about the spacewings? Did you check those?”

  She shook her head. “Too far away. They’re on the other side of the clearing, remember?”

  “Still,” Cas said. “They’re the only things we have with weapons that might do some damage to those bastards. We need to get at least one of them up and running.” He glanced around. “Where are the rest of the crew?”

  “Xax was moving them back inside until Evie could take care of the Athru,” Box replied. “But it looks like they might be in there longer than they predicted.”

  “Think we can make it?” Cas asked. Jann sucked her lips between her teeth, cutting her eyes in that direction.

  “If there aren’t any obstacles, like more of those gray bastards waiting out there for us.” She checked his boomcannon. “There’s only six shots left.” She held it out for Cas.

  He shook his head, pushing it back to her. “Just make them count,” Cas replied. “I’m right behind you. Box will provide the distraction.”

  She leaned forward slightly like she was about to say something, then pulled back again, his weapon in her hand. “Thanks. Good luck.”

  “You too.” Cas turned to Box as she jogged off in the direction of the spacewings. “Time to do what you do best. I need to make sure all their attention isn’t on me or Jann. Help Evie, keep them occupied.”

  “You’re going to need me,” Box said. “You can’t do this by yourself.”

  “Yeah, I need you to be the distraction.” He could still see Jann, but she would disappear into the brush soon and he didn’t want to lose sight of her. “Just…help me out, okay?”

  “Dance, monkey, dance!” Box announced, turning away. “Don’t forget to do a few flips and stand on your head for the nice people! Coins only, please. No trash.”

  Cas ignored him, instead took off after Jann. Box could do this; it just needed to be a few minutes so he could make sure they could at least get one of the ships up and running again. He moved quietly, keeping his head down until he was out of the main circle of shuttles and into the woods again. Any pain he’d felt after traversing all those kilometers had long left him; he was on nothing but adrenaline now. And he knew there was probably only a thirty percent chance this would work, but it was worth trying anyway. At this point, what else did they have to lose?

  He’d lost sight of Jann, but could see daylight streaming through the thick underbrush. He was close; he couldn’t believe how much easier it was to run through all this in daylight. It felt like a different planet. Cas broke through the edge of the woods into the open field where the four spacewings sat. Jann was about a hundred meters ahead of him, running at a full sprint to the ships. Cas took off after her, but as he was running caught the sight of a massive brown form charging her from the right. He tried to yell but she’d already seen it and he watched as she froze for a moment, captured by terror at the bear-thing.

  Cas couldn’t watch this happen again. He yelled as loud as he could, waving his arms and running straight for them. The bear-thing turned its attention from Jann and charged Cas instead. He had nowhere to go; he was in the middle of a field with no cover and the bear was faster than he could ever hope to be. His one thought was to lead it away from Jann and the spacewings. At least he could buy her some time.

  He took off in the opposite direction, already feeling the ground rumbling from the bear’s feet pounding into the dirt behind him. As it ran it snorted, like a racehorse bearing down on its target. Cas’s mind flashed back to the scene at wave one’s camp where they’d seen all the blood. He only hoped it would be quick.

  They came in rapid succession; four quick pops in the air. At first he thought maybe his knees had failed him and the sound had been his kneecaps exploding. But as he found himself still on two feet Cas turned to see the bear charging back toward Jann, its rear red with blood. She had a determined look on her face, holding his boomcannon in front of her as the bear tore across the field with fury. If he’d been anxious to catch up with Cas, he was downright rabid to reach Jann. But she didn’t move an inch, instead held the weapon out in front of her as he drew closer and closer. At first Cas thought she had frozen again but then he saw the look of determination across her creased brow and he knew what she was doing. When the bear was right on her, no more than ten meters away she let the last two bullets fly, and they struck the animal dead center in its head, causing the front of the massive animal to pitch down and flip ass over head. Jann tried to jump to the side but the bear was too close and Cas watched in horror as she disappeared underneath the massive animal.

  “Shit!” he yelled, running over to them. As soon as he was close enough he could see she’d made it part of the way as her torso was sticking out from under the huge animal. But she was grunting in pain, her hands pushing against the bloodied fur of its hide. “Hang on, I’ve got you,” Cas said, and ran up beside her, shoving his shoulder into the creature’s back.

  “Legs…they’re—” Jann said, panic in her voice. Cas thought it was the first time he’d ever heard her sound panicked.

  “I know,” he replied. He pushed again, and the creature’s body rocked, but didn’t wasn’t enough. Jann yelled in frustration and pain. “One more time,” Cas said, really putting his back into it. “One, two, three!” He pushed as hard as he could at the same time Jann shoved forward and the bear rolled up. Jann scrambled back as fast as she could, out of range. Cas held the bear a bit longer than necessary to make sure she was clear, then let it drop back.

  He bent over, hands on his knees and sucked in air. If he made it to tomorrow, there was no way he was going to be able to move. “Nice shooting.”

  Jann returned a placating smile. “Not nice enough. I think my ankles are broken.”

  Cas’s face fell. He glanced to the nearest spacewing with its ladder that led to the cockpit. “Then we have a problem.”

  “No, we don’t,” she replied. “You’re going to fly it. I’ll walk you through it.” She tapped the comm on the back of her hand. “Secure connection, Robeaux.”

  The comm on Cas’s hand pinged. “Wait a second,” he said, standing back straight. “No way. You of all people know I can’t fly. Don’t you remember me taking the shuttle and almost killing someone? And you want me to fly what is essentially a weapon?”

  “We don’t have a choice, there’s no one else here to do it,” she said, gesturing around. “And we don’t have time to go back. You’re going to have to. Like I said, I’ll walk you through it.” She scooted herself back across the field, away from the bear.

  “Here,” Cas said, “let me help.” He bent down and let her put her arms around his neck. He secured her legs then lifted up, walking her over to one of the other spacewings for cover. “I can’t just leave you here.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said, her mouth precariously close to his ear. A shiver ran through him, and all of a sudden Cas felt like maybe he could fly a spacewing. “As long as you follow my instructions, I can get you through this. Set me down over there.” She pointed to Captain See’s ship. Cas jogged over to the far side of the ship, and set her down behind it, out of sight of the tree line.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked, his heart hammering in his chest. Was that because he was exhausted, or something else?

  “Quit wasting time and get into my ship,” she said, pointing. “We don’t have time to argue.”

  Cas hesitated one last second then ran over to Jann’s ship, noting her call sign painted on the side as he climbed the ladder: Rings. Captain Saturina Rings Jann. Cas chuckled; she must have really pissed someone off to get that one. He bet it was Rafnkell. He stepped into the cockpit and initiated the startup sequence. The ladder retracted and the cockpit cover came down and sealed itself all around him.

  “You in?” Jann asked through the comm.

  “Yeah,” Cas replied, staring at the hundreds of controls in front of him.

  “Okay then, let’s get you airborne.”

  39

  What were they doing? It was like the Athru were testing her, trying to see if she would make the first move. Or maybe there was something else to it. Laura was gone, all the crew was back in the shuttles, there was no one else to attack except for her and Martial. And if he really was Athru then their hesitation could be more about not wanting to break their own coda despite the head Athru’s words to her. Did he know what she’d done to Rockron? He’d at least seen her wound the one-armed Athru; his blood was still on her blade. A blade which she still held out in front of her. She really wished Cas would hurry up and get those engines working.

  “Okay, listen up!”

  She didn’t jump at Box’s voice, but she did take her eyes off the Athru in front of her for a split second. And that was all it took. In the millisecond when her gaze shifted to the side, the Athru charged her, but she managed to block his attack in just enough time. His hand had been coming straight for her face and she managed to slice a significant gash across the palm. The Athru winced in pain and took a step back but Evie could already see the other dozen Athru closing in.

  “Oh shiiiii—” Box yelled but was cut off. Evie didn’t have time to see what happened; her focus was on keeping as many Athru as possible away from the shuttles. A shiver ran through her, and she realized if she focused hard enough, she could match their speed. The thing deep within her howled, angry she’d harnessed some of its power. But Evie had control now and wasn’t letting go.

  In one deft move she shot forward, slicing right through the Athru’s chest with the sword, sending blood flying. His eyes went wide with surprise as he fell backward, dead or too wounded to continue fighting, Evie didn’t care which. She took stock of the situation. Box was being overwhelmed by two Athru, Martial had one in hand-to-hand combat which he seemed to be holding for a moment, and the other nine had run past all of them and focused on breaking into the shuttles, beating on the doors and windows.

  There was only one way to do this. Evie focused her newfound energy on them. On what they represented. She’d have to be quicker than they were, otherwise none of it would matter. Still the creature within her screamed for her to stop, to let her out, but Evie wasn’t going back there. Not after what happened last time.

  Evie leapt. She barely felt the ground beneath her feet; it was like striding across clouds. In no time she’d reached the shuttles and in a series of swipes, removed the Athru from its hull. Each cut of the blade was perfect, each slash hitting its mark while her arms worked without any guidance. It was if they had a mind of their own. They knew what to do, and how, and they were fast. Faster than the Athru could ever be. And still the entity deep within grew angrier with each Athru she cut down. In what seemed like no time at all, six Athru lay dead at Evie’s feet, their blood seeping into the ground.

  As she turned to face the others, strong arms wrapped around her, holding her back. Evie grunted, pitching her head back until it connected with the Athru, at which point he let go and she turned, sending the sword straight through the Athru’s chest. A surprised look came over its face and it fell back, holding the wound after Evie withdrew the sword. It said something in its language, but Evie didn’t understand it, and she didn’t care to. She was going to do whatever was necessary to protect her crew. In front of her, only two more Athru remained. She wasn’t sure where Martial, Box and the others had gone, but she’d deal with them once these were dead. The first one charged her and with a quick slash of her blade she disposed of him, his limp body falling to the side in a heap.

  Finally, the last Athru stood before her. He was lanky, but looked strong, though one arm hung limp at his side. The creature inside Evie screamed again and she wasted no time. She was going to kill every one of these things if she had to. Evie charged the him, her sword high above her head and brought it down, until it stopped as soon as it hit the Athru’s shoulder. Instead of cutting through the skin, it had hit something hard and clinked, metal on metal. Evie furrowed her brow; that wasn’t right.

  Inside, the creature’s fury turned to amusement as it began to laugh. It was an evil sound, and all of a sudden Evie’s world fell away from her and she was back on the precipice with the monstrous version of herself.

  “You lose,” the creature said, laughing as it morphed into smoke again, and wafted away in the imaginary breeze. Evie blinked, returning to reality only to find Box standing in front of her instead of an Athru, a tiny nick on his shoulder where her blade had hit him.

 

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