Blue solace complete ser.., p.49
Blue Solace: Complete Series Boxset, page 49
“You aren’t going alone,” Morgan said. “I know you have to do this. We’ll send your parents on to Charybdis Station with the kids.”
“Cas, do you have a couple of ships we can use,” Dru asked. “One to get Wyatt’s family home fast and one to take Water’s artifact back to the station? It would be best if they travel separately.”
“Only if you let me come with you,” Cas said.
“Dru,” Wyatt said. “You’re going to Charybdis Station. Why can’t you take Mom and the kids?”
“The Blue Sparrow is going with you, idiot,” she said. “Anyone who doesn’t want to come can catch a ride with your mom.” She looked around the table. Each person met her gaze, faces set.
“Alois,” Morgan said. “You need to get back to Sebastian.”
“I will,” he said. “When the mission is finished. Wyatt is right. We’re not done yet.”
Chapter 22
Morgan hugged Estella one more time. “I don’t know why I have to go,” she said. “I want to stay with you and Wyatt.”
“We want you with us too, sweetie, but we can’t put you in danger.” He refused to sugarcoat it for her. She had been through too much to be shielded from the truth now.
“He’ll need me,” she said, eyes imploring. “The monster is his daddy, and he’ll have to face it. He’ll need me to hold him while he cries.”
“I’ll hold him,” Morgan whispered to her. “I’ll hold him until you can. Alright?”
She reluctantly nodded, hugging her stuffed whatever to her chest. Morgan still didn’t know what kind of animal it was, but it comforted her. She turned to Wyatt to give him his share of love. Morgan knelt in front of the stroller and checked on Kiki and Pela one more time. It hurt so much to send his three girls away, but it had to be done.
Sandra stood beside him and patted his shoulder. She had aged overnight after watching the recording of Death wearing Morrick’s body.
“We’ll protect them, Morgan,” she said. “Please, protect my Wyatt. If Verion is in there somewhere, I know he won’t hurt him, but nothing is certain. Is it?”
“I will guard him with my life,” Morgan said, rising to his feet. “We’ll try to save Morrick too.”
“Wyatt showed me a few of his letters,” she said. “I wish I had known. I wish he could have told us what he felt. He was a good man.”
“He was,” Morgan said, surprised when Sandra hugged him.
“You’re a good man too,” she said. “I’m glad you’re Wyatt’s mate.” She released him and pushed him into Jordan’s arms, then headed for Wyatt.
The kind man hugged him tightly. “Your girls will be fine. We’re going to have to fight with Sebastian, Leti, and Ma to keep them until you two get home. They won’t lack for love.”
“Thank you, Jordan, for everything.” Morgan squeezed the man.
“We’ll be waiting on you.”
Morgan held Wyatt’s hand as they watched their family climb aboard the Green Wren. Water’s artifact had already left aboard the Green Sparrow that morning. Morgan had to admit he was relieved it wouldn’t be traveling with the kids. Now that he knew it existed, he cringed when he thought about how long it had been crammed under their bed.
“Alright,” Dru said. “We’re resupplied and as ready as we’re ever going to be.” She looked over her crew. “You all sure you want to do this? You can still catch a ride on a different ship.”
“If we didn’t want to be here, we wouldn’t be,” Linc said. “We’re good to go, Captain.”
“Rune? You’re not a soldier. Are you sure?”
“I’m not leaving Wyatt’s side. I told you before. I go where he goes,” Rune said.
“Rune,” Wyatt said. “This is going to be really dangerous.”
“All the more reason for me to go,” the big man said. “We’re friends, yeah, but this whole thing with your dad could go wrong fast. There will likely be injuries, and you’re going to be distracted. I won’t be.”
“Then you’re a fucking member of my crew,” Dru said. “I’ll add you to the payroll, damn it.”
“Finally! You can start having feelings conversations with the new guy,” Morgan said.
Dru glared at him.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Lerais said. “The man saved Dru’s life like six times.”
“Four times,” Dru said. “Wyatt treated me the other two times.”
“Sweet mama, you need to stop getting injured.”
“We were taking back a world,” she said, hands on her hips. “Every single one of us got badly injured at some point. Even you.”
“Excuse me,” a man said. He stood beside Morgan’s group with a small bag in his hand. He was short and slender, with black eyes and hair. His pointed ears curved against his head. Despite his delicate frame, his features were rough, but maybe that was just the scowl he wore.
“What do you want?” Dru eyed him suspiciously.
She is so good with people, Morgan thought with a smile.
“I’m going with you to Frost Veil,” the man said. “Leti called my brother because he was worried about some man named Wyatt. My brother insisted I come help with this idiotic mission of yours.”
Morgan had Leti on his comm before the man finished. “Leti, who’s this guy?”
“Oh, that’s Beol. He’s the Guild Master of the Half-Moon Assassins. Hi, Beol!” Leti’s little holographic figure waved at Beol. “He’s my friend Wolfe’s brother. Beol, you could have sent one of your people. I really appreciate your help, but I know you’re busy with the move.”
“Like I’d send one of my people on this fool’s errand. I read your report and watched your presentation. Plus, my guys told me what happened on Tammol. It would be easier to just blast the shit out of the man’s lab from the sky.” His scowl deepened. “Fucking dead people walking around alive is some messed-up shit.”
“Uh, welcome aboard,” Dru said, shrugging.
Silverlight System, Planet Frost Veil
* * *
“Okay,” Linc said. “This is really weird.” The Blue Sparrow eased past the frozen Charybdis Station ships. “How long does he keep them frozen?”
“About fifteen minutes,” Cas said. “We’re already in the planet’s atmosphere. Holy shit. None of my ships have gotten this far.”
“Do you think it’s because I’m on board?” Wyatt sat in a corner chair with Luna. He hugged the furry dog tightly. Morgan stood beside him, holding one of his hands. Morgan wasn’t sure how he felt about the hope flaring in his husband’s eyes. On one hand, he wanted Morrick to still be present. On the other hand, they seldom got what they wanted. He thought of Kiki and Pela’s sacrifice.
“I don’t know, Wyatt,” Cas said. “It makes more sense than anything else does. Don’t get your hopes up too high. Okay?”
“I’m a practical person, Cas,” Wyatt said.
Morgan nodded. His husband was practical in some ways. He was also a goofy, soft-hearted romantic.
“Where do you want to land, Captain?” Nugget stretched along the back of Linc’s chair.
Morgan still didn’t like the cat, but her presence made Linc happier and less nervous. Nugget looked at him and hissed. Fucking cat was worse than Leti’s dragon. He really needed his own pet.
“Any signs of other ships?” Dru sat in the captain’s chair, back straight. If she was nervous or afraid, it didn’t show. The whole situation with Tammol had allowed her to come into her own. Morgan felt a burst of pride. He knew he would follow her anywhere, even if she had made him have a talk with her when they landed on Union Station.
“Uh, yeah.” Linc double-checked his readings. “There are two small ships in the private spaceport closest to Morrick’s former lab. My scan shows several people gathered around the space port. No other groups though.”
“Why aren’t they frozen in space like the others?”
“Think about it,” Beol said. “Who might be a match for the power of Death?”
“Life,” Wyatt said. “Why would he come here?”
“If Death did go rogue, it makes sense that the Queen would send someone to collect him,” Dru said. “Who would be better at that than Life?”
“Where should I land?” Linc asked.
“Shit. We don’t want to be seen by the ships down there, but we need to be close to the lab,” Dru said.
Beol sighed and stood. “I’ll go speak with your engineer. You can have one of our cloaking devices.”
Dru watched him go. “That guy seriously grates on my nerves.”
“Is it because the two of you are kind of alike? You’re both grumpy, rude, blunt, and growly,” Wyatt said.
“Why do I like you?” Dru glared at Morgan’s husband.
The ship shuddered.
“What was that?” Linc asked.
“That would be the cloaking device,” Beol said, sitting back in his chair. “It physically hides the ship and prevents us from being scanned. Land, so we can get this shit over with.”
“I guess you’re useful.” Dru shrugged. “Land between the lab and the spaceport. We’ll scout out the spaceport first. See who’s there.”
“Sure thing, Captain,” Linc said and brought the ship down in the snow. “My scans show those ships are Concord ships.”
“Morgan, you and I will go and see what we can see,” Dru said.
“A storm is on the way,” Linc said. “You have maybe two hours before it hits.”
“I’ll come with,” Beol said. “I have personal cloaking shields too.” He reluctantly handed each person in the room a shield. “Make sure I get all of this back when we finish. Assuming we’re alive.”
“Definitely grating on my nerves,” Dru mumbled. “Dress warm and meet me at the door in fifteen minutes.”
Morgan and Wyatt went back to their room, and Morgan hurriedly dressed in his heated gear. He quickly braided his long hair and grabbed his ski mask. Wyatt cupped his face, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.
“Be careful, baby. I love you,” Wyatt said.
“I’ll be back before you know it, kitten.”
Wyatt rushed to his medical bag. He pulled out familiar looking injectors. “I’ll give everyone a couple of them, but here.” He handed him six.
“I’ll give some to Dru and Beol too.” He got one more kiss, then they separated in the hall. Wyatt headed for the bridge, and Morgan headed for the door at the back of the ship.
“Here are injectors of the poison that killed Water,” Morgan said, handing them to Beol and Dru.
“I really hope we don’t have to use these,” Dru said.
Chapter 23
Morgan and the others slid their protective masks on and left the ship. It was cold, really, really cold. While it wasn’t snowing at the moment, it was night and the ground was pure ice and snow.
Morgan looked around him as they walked toward the spaceport. Frost Veil didn’t have a lot of wildlife, but what it did have was supposed to be dangerous.
They came to the first frozen bodies quickly. The team of Concords were fully armored and had obviously been walking toward the lab. They were iced over and frozen solid. Likely they had been there overnight. They came across three more teams, all dead and frozen.
“Why didn’t they take a shuttle?” Beol kicked at a body, grimacing when its leg cracked and splintered.
“Death likely froze them at the spaceport,” Dru said. “Come on.”
They approached the walls of the spaceport, and Dru sent Morgan to the right while she took the left side. They activated their shields and went their separate ways. It was strange. One moment he could see Dru and Beol, the next they were gone. He saw their prints in the snow, but they mixed with others quickly.
He crept through the camp. A little over a hundred men and women gathered around fires outside the ships. The majority gathered around one particularly large fire pit. A ten-foot reptile was roasting over it. Morgan noted the shape of the head and tail and swallowed bile. He hadn’t realized Frost Veil had dragons, but it made sense. Except for the climate, the two planets mirrored one another perfectly.
Based on its size, this one must not have been as old as Princess Buttercup. He felt anger replace his nausea. Princess was a hissy bastard, but he was damn smart—smarter than some humans Morgan knew. The dragon had saved their lives more than once too.
He turned away, trying to put the horrifying sight out of his mind. He looked for any signs of Life.
A small group caught his attention. They sat hidden from the rest and looked around furtively. Morgan headed their way.
“How long until we can go?” a man said, rubbing his hands and holding them out to the fire. “The fucking ships won’t even turn on, and this place is cold as hell.”
“Admiral Sharp said to follow Dr. Belcort, so that’s what we do,” a woman said. “You don’t want to end up his plaything. Just follow directions.”
“John and his team followed directions,” the man said. “Now, they’re frozen outside the spaceport.”
“Eat some dragon and quit your bitching,” the woman said. She kicked at a cage. “This fucker will make a good breakfast when we finish with its mom. I can’t believe we were lucky enough to grab it and no one noticed. I didn’t see any others at the nest.”
A familiar hiss came from the cage, and Morgan saw red. His vibro-sword was in his hand and the first two were dead before he realized what he’d done.
“What the hell?” a man said, watching his two friends slump forward in their seats. His head rolled from his shoulders before he could say anything else. The other two mercs were dead seconds later.
“That was stupid,” Beol said. Morgan couldn’t see him but knew he was there.
Morgan looked down into the cage. A tiny Frost Veil Dragon looked back at him. How could it see him? The little thing was about six inches long and mostly covered in white scales. A variety of blue scales covered its chest and belly. He thought back to Wyatt’s teasing words about one day meeting the perfect pet. He shook his head. He was so not going to become Leti.
It was probably scared and would put up a fight, but he couldn’t leave it.
“What are you doing?” Beol did his own hissing as Morgan leaned down, unhooked the cage, and reached in. He picked up the dragon. A soft rumble came from its chest. Good so far. “Are you insane?”
Morgan ignored him and tucked the dragon into a pocket on his coat. The shield covered it. He could feel its warmth against his thigh. “Come on,” he said. “I haven’t seen Life yet. You?”
“No,” Beol said. “I was distracted by your stupidity.”
“Aww. I love you too, B,” Morgan said, moving away from the dead mercs.
The two of them walked around the spaceport but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary until they went behind the ships. A large cluster of about twenty non-humans were huddled together, searching for warmth. They had thin coats and were wrapped in blankets. They wore metal collars around their necks and were chained to one of the ships.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Morgan?” Dru’s voice came from the back of the group. “I explained why they can’t see us, so they won’t yell, but I can’t get these collars off.”
“I’ll do it,” Beol said. “How are we going to get them out of here?”
“No one is guarding them,” Morgan said. He watched as Beol deactivated his shield and pulled a short device out of his pocket. It was much smaller than a phaser. He turned it on and a small, blue flame lit up. The assassin held up the first chain and started burning through it.
“They don’t bother guarding us,” a man said. “They’re everywhere though. How could we get to the entrance?”
Dru looked from the tiny welding torch to the wall. “Hmm. Beol, will that thing burn through this wall?”
“It would take too long,” he said.
“Damn it,” Dru said.
“I have something else though,” Beol said, smirking.
“Could you not have led with that, asshole?” Dru moved toward the closest wall.
“Nope,” Beol said. “How thick do you think it is?”
“Two feet,” she said. “I remember checking it when we were here the first time. We needed to either go through the gates or the wall. The gates were only a foot thick.” She deactivated her shield. “Give me whatever you have, Beol.” He drew his Vibro-sword and handed it to her. “That’s it?”
He pushed a button on the end and molten fire spread through the blade. “There. The walls are mostly ice. This will work.”
“Thank fuck for environmentally concerned scientists,” Morgan said.
Dru made quick work of cutting a short door in the wall. Beol finished cutting the chains and politely held out his hand for his sword. “I believe that’s mine.”
“I want it,” Dru said, pouting.
“Keep wanting,” Beol said.
She threw it at him and stomped through the door. “Linc,” Dru called him through the comm.
“Captain?”
“Give me ten minutes, then move the ship behind the back wall of the spaceport. I’ll send you the exact coordinates.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s take out some patrols, guys,” Dru said.
Beol drew his swords. “Finally.”
Dru stared at the shiny, flaming blades, pining.
He paused. “Ugh. Here.” He handed Dru one of his weapons.
She wiggled with happiness and took it. “You’re the best.”
Morgan rolled his eyes, then turned to the prisoners. “Stay here while we clear the way. We’ll be right back.” They looked around, and he realized they couldn’t see him. That was so awesome. “Beol, I’m keeping the shield. Just so you know.”
The man growled.
There were only six guards along the wall, and they were quickly dispatched in the dark. Morgan heard the slight impact as the ship landed and headed back to the prisoners. He deactivated his shield. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you all aboard.”
