Rise of Renegades, page 19
Abruptly the spikes lowered into the water. Not one at a time, but all at once, moving to the south and turning away. The movement pushed the water up and outward, giving a glimpse of a large creature with wings and a narrow head.
“A sea drake?” he asked, his eyes widening. “What’s it doing out here?”
“Watching us,” Siena said as the drake went deeper and departed.
“Probably for the queen,” Kensen said.
“The who?”
“With all that’s happened, I forgot you didn’t know,” Kensen said, and described the fight between the dakorians and the four drakes.
“How do you know what happened?” Siena asked, shocked.
“Quis overheard the dakorians talking. He can now augment his hearing to listen from quite a distance.”
“So the drakes have a queen?” she asked, scanning the water.
“The dakorians said they had a form of telepathy.”
“Really?” she said dubiously.
Kensen shrugged, unconvinced. “That’s what Quis overheard.”
She wasn’t sure how to accept the news. If there was a queen, that meant there was a government, and the drakes were not just mindless beasts. But how did that affect House Bright’Lor?
“You think they can reach us out here?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But it sounds like they don’t want to give up their world to the krey. You think they will fight the krey for us?”
“I don’t know.”
But she did know. To the drakes, the krey were invading their world. They wouldn’t see the humans spreading across the continent as friendly. They would see them as an opposing force. The result was obvious. It would be war, and the humans would be caught in the middle. She heard a faint rustle, as if a heavy weight had settled into the sand. She rotated—and cried out.
A drake sat behind them, its pure white body dripping with water. She stumbled back, taking Kensen down with her as they fell down the escarpment onto the beach. The drake followed them down, descending with sinuous grace, more like a feline than a lizard.
You have been summoned.
The words pierced Siena’s thoughts with a distinctly female voice. Siena tried to stand but the drake jumped into the air, its clawed hands wrapping around her and Kensen and carrying them aloft. She didn’t even have time to cry out before it carried them low over the surf and into the night.
Chapter Twenty
Siena clung to the drake’s claws as the beast flew above the ocean, her fear holding her bound. They were so low their passage kicked up spray, wetting her face. She caught glimpses of Kensen, of one arm stuck inside the large claw, the other struggling to hold on. The City of Dawn faded before she even thought to call for help.
“Where are you taking us?” she shouted.
Silence.
The drake banked upward, and Siena’s stomach dropped. She watched the sea recede so quickly she sucked in her breath, desperately trying to hold onto the drake’s smooth white skin. It didn’t have scales like the others, and its body was leathery and smooth.
It was a class seven—not the largest they’d seen, but close to it. Its narrow head had two horns sweeping back from its skull, and the jaws were large enough to swallow a dakorian like it was a snack. She gathered her courage and raised her voice.
“What do you want from us?”
We want you to die, the drake said. But another thinks you may be of value.
Anger flooded Siena’s body. “I didn’t survive so much to be killed by an animal!”
Is that not what they call you?
Shocked, Siena looked to Kensen, who seemed equally as surprised. Siena hated it when the krey called humans animals, but to hear it from a flying beast was unexpected. Uncertain of what to say, she tried to keep her bearings as the drake flew them south and east, closer to the mainland.
An island appeared below, and the drake folded its wings. Kensen squeaked in fear as they plummeted from the sky. The drake rumbled what could have been a laugh at their fear, but unfurled its wings as they got close to the water. Sweeping up the coast, it spun around the central volcano, its body passing through the rising from inside the mouth. The drake flew to the lip, where a large ledge was surrounded by cliffs. It backwinged, sending gusts of air across the ground, and opened its claws.
Siena dropped several feet but stretched her hand, warping the gravity to soften the fall. She landed on her feet, while Kensen landed in a heap. As the white drake banked to the side and alighted away from the volcano, she jumped to Kensen and caught his arm.
“You couldn’t cushion my fall too?” he asked.
“Sorry.” She lifted him to his feet. “I was a little distracted.”
Clinging to each other, they turned a slow circle, but the ledge was empty except for the white drake. Sheer cliffs dropped to the island, while one side of the ledge plunged into the volcano. From within the burning throat, another drake climbed up into view and spread its wings. Its scales were golden, and it was huge, bigger even than the white.
“It’s the queen,” Kensen hissed. “Reklin called her Gelthoriena.”
The golden drake approached and circled them like a cat treated its wounded prey. Siena rotated to keep it in view, struggling to bring her augments to the fore. But fear sapped the familiar power and left her terrified and trembling.
The golden drake then stopped and settled back on its haunches, its multi-faceted eyes twirling. You are the one to move the stones on the beach?
“You’ve been watching me?” Siena asked.
You are too small to possess such strength.
“She’s stronger than she looks,” Kensen said.
The white drake chuckled. He protects her like she is his mate.
Kensen flushed bright red. “Siena is my friend.”
Of course she is, the white drake mocked.
How do you block our minds? The queen leaned her head in, so close Siena could feel the hot breath on her face. She resisted the urge to recoil, and stood firm as the giant head drew close. The krey and their soldiers could not, and it takes a formidable mind to defy our power.
“We are different,” Siena said. “We have been made different.”
The golden drake pointed a foreleg at Kensen. Is that why this one can alter their machines?
“They really have been watching,” Kensen murmured.
“And listening,” Siena said. “But at least they cannot see into our minds.”
It doesn’t matter that your minds are closed, the queen said. Your bodies are still frail.
“What do you want from us?” Siena asked.
This world is already occupied, yet the krey think it belongs to them, the queen said, a darkness seeping into her voice. When you have told me everything I wish to know about the conquerors, we will give you a quick death.
Siena straightened. “No.”
The queen actually laughed, and smoke curled from between her teeth. Your defiance has no place here, child. We know your place in their kingdom. You are slaves. You are weak. And soon you will be casualties.
“You cannot stop them,” Siena said. “Even if you kill these, more will come, millions more. They can kill you without even dropping from the sky.”
The white drake surged forward and breathed a plume of frost that froze the stone in front of Siena and Kensen. You think us so weak? she snarled.
Calm yourself, Snowferin, the queen said. She speaks a warning that must be heeded.
We will not be conquered!
We have both seen the minds of the one they call Skorn.
“We can help you,” Siena said.
Both drakes turned their heads, and Snowferin scoffed. You? You’re like an insect between my claws. What could you possibly do?
Stung, Siena reached for the gravity and warped it around the white drake. It yanked the beast into the stone, slamming its body against the unforgiving rock. After lifting heavy rocks for weeks, she’d gotten stronger, and for several seconds the powerful drake was helpless. Then it jerked free with dangerous growl.
I’ll rip you apart and feed on your bones!
“You did ask for a demonstration,” Siena said, keeping her hands up and ready.
Gelthoriena chuckled at the white’s fury. You are indeed stronger than you appear. But what could you possibly do that we cannot?
“More of us are coming,” Kensen said. “A lot more. We will build homes and roads, ships and cities. And all of us will be augmented.”
Not if you are dead, Snowferin snarled.
“You are smart enough to know you cannot kill them on your own,” Siena said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t even be talking to us.”
We don’t need help from a human, the queen said with sudden vehemence. Flame curled from her nostrils.
“I know,” Siena said hastily, “but you’re months away from thousands of us showing up. By then it will be too late.”
Then maybe we should kill you now. Snowferin slunk forward, but the queen breathed a plume of fire in her direction and she came to a stop.
Killing the humans does not stop the krey, the queen said to Snowferin. They are as insignificant to them as they are to us.
“And you can’t get through their machines,” Kensen said. “When you attacked them before, the Nova’s shields kept you out.”
We will find a way, the queen said. Once you tell us about these machines.
“It won’t work,” Siena said. “We don’t know about their machines.”
Then you are useless. Snowferin prowled on the other side of Siena, frost passing through her teeth.
Perhaps we can keep the mate until the girl destroys their barrier, the queen said. When it is gone, we can rip their craft to pieces.
Siena swallowed at that prospect and fought to keep her voice even. “And if I did? Others would come with a vengeance and we would both die anyway.”
Would you rather we kill you now?
Snowferin opened her jaws and a burst of icy breath struck Kensen. He shouted in pain as ice formed around his flesh, engulfing his body. Siena stepped into the frost and raised her hands, pulling heat from the volcano to form a wall of fire. It sputtered and wavered, but held.
“Wait!” Siena shouted. “I said I can help you, and I can.”
What will you offer for his life? the queen asked, and the frost cut off.
“An alliance,” Siena said.
“What are you doing?” Kensen hissed, shivering in the pillar of ice.
“Keeping us alive,” Siena hissed back.
A predator does not bargain with its food, the queen said.
“They do if the food has a plan,” Siena said. “You can’t stop the krey now, but when there are more augments, we can fight together.”
And what would you want if we were victorious? the queen asked.
“You take the mountains to the south,” Siena said. “We’ll live in the north.”
The golden drake arched its neck and fire burst from its throat, the sound so mocking that Siena flinched. Even Snowferin seemed amused.
Then Gelthoriena dropped onto her haunches and regarded Siena. You think you can bargain for half a world you do not possess? I would praise your ambition if you were not so stupid.
“The krey are conquerors,” Siena said, conscious of Kensen shivering in the cocoon of ice that went to his neck. How long could he last? “But we just want to be free. If you attack and fail, you will prove you are a threat, and they will hunt you to extinction. To them, you are just a pest to be eradicated. But to us, you can be allies. And we will gladly share this world if it means our freedom.”
You would have us share our world with you? The queen was incredulous.
“Better half a world with us than no world at all,” Kensen said, his teeth chattering.
The golden drake did not respond, except by breathing a plume of heated air onto Kensen, melting the ice.
Siena caught him as she fell, his body so cold it stung her hands. Holding his shaking body to hers, she looked to the queen. “Does this mean we have an alliance?”
No, the queen replied, but we will let you live, for now. When the krey are destroyed, do not expect mercy.
The golden drake launched herself into the sky, forcing Siena and Kensen to shield themselves from the blast of wind. With a departing snarl, Snowferin followed, leaving the two of them on top of a volcano on the wrong island.
“They could have at least given us a ride back,” Kensen stuttered.
“You’re too cold,” Siena said, and helped him towards the volcano lip. He stumbled, and she set him on the warm stone. Then she pulled more heat, gradually pushing it into his body. She hadn’t used her fire augment nearly as much as Begle and Bort, but she could at least keep him from freezing to death.
“I didn’t realize you had a fire augment as well,” Kensen said, shivering.
“I figured it out when I was pushing boulders,” she said, her voice trembling as she tried to save Kensen.
“Since when do you negotiate with queen drakes?”
“I’m just glad they didn’t eat us,” Siena said.
He was beginning to shake less, but his skin was still cold to the touch. She risked pulling more heat from the air coming out of the volcano throat, and this time mingled it with her healing augment. Kensen breathed a sigh and finally began to relax.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it.”
She kept blending the augments, too tired to really think about how she was doing it, and just relieved that she could. After a minute, Kensen sat up with a groan. His lips were no longer blue, and he’d stopped shaking.
“What now?”
“We need to get back to the City of Dawn,” Siena said. “But I don’t know how.”
“You can shape and harden water, right? Just like Lyn?”
“Yes, but how does that help us?”
“Make a boat,” Kensen said.
“Even if I could, I don’t know how to get back to the city.”
“I do.” He pointed out to sea. “It’s that way.”
“You tracked us?” She was impressed. She’d been too terrified to pay attention.
“Nothing so clever,” he said. “I can sense the cortex on the Nova. It’s faint, but it’s that direction.”
It was as good a plan as any, so they worked their way down the short cliff and then descended the slope of the mountain. Siena was already exhausted from her labors on the beach, and every step, her feet felt like they were encased in seracrete. They trudged through a dense jungle to reach the ocean, and after four failures, Siena managed to shape a boat that didn’t automatically sink. They climbed in and she funneled water down the sides, propelling them forward.
They nearly capsized in the surf, but once they were out into the ocean the swells were smaller. Slow and plodding, they limped their way back to the City of Dawn. More than once, Siena considered not going back. She imagined turning the boat another direction and just running. But in her bones she knew Skorn and Ero would find them, and she didn’t want to imagine what they would do to a pair of runaway augments.
“I can’t believe they let us live.” Kensen turned the makeshift rudder.
“I can’t believe they can talk into our minds.” She shuddered as she thought of their words inserting themselves into her skull.
“The Krey Empire is filled with strange things,” Kensen said with a weary shrug. “But the strangest is seeing a human slave offering an alliance with a drake queen.”
“You think I shouldn’t have tried?”
“I think it’s the reason we’re alive,” Kensen said. “Even if you talked like Ero.”
She was too tired to laugh. “I’m nothing like Ero.”
“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” Kensen said. “You didn’t bow like a human. You stood tall like a krey. He’s rubbing off on you.”
“It didn’t matter,” she said. “They’re going to cause a war anyway, and the augments are going to be caught in the middle.”
“Maybe not,” he said.
“Why do you say that?”
“I think the queen let us go because she knows there is a chance attacking the krey will fail. And letting us live means she might be willing to ally with us in the future.”
“When did you get so smart?”
“When I met you,” Kensen said.
She smiled faintly and leaned against him. Huddled together in the small boat, Siena grappled with what had happened on the volcanic island, and what would happen if the drakes went to war.
The minutes dragged into hours, the water lapping at the side of the ship. The moon and stars gradually rotated, marking the passage of time. She fell asleep and woke with a start, but Kensen was there, his strong arm around her shoulders.
“I have you,” he murmured.
She smiled and leaned against him, grateful for his presence. She slept again, and this time did not wake until he nudged her. She sat up and saw the predawn light on the horizon. It was almost morning. But the boat was approaching an island. The Nova sat on the hill.
“We made it,” she said.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” he said with a yawn.
They rode the boat through the boulders and onto the beach. She touched its side and it disintegrated, leaving them both to crawl up the sand. She collapsed and rolled onto her back, relieved but also disappointed. She hated this island. Then she spotted white spines protruding from the water, and sat bolt upright.
“What’s the matter?” Kensen asked.
She watched the spines slowly dip below the surface, her blood thundering in her ears. Snowferin had followed them, probably just feet away as they’d pushed across the surface. She caught a glimpse of the drake’s narrow body before it turned and dove deeper, but she knew what it meant. The drakes would be coming.
Soon.
Chapter Twenty-One
Reklin watched the seracrete get loaded onto the Rising Star, a pretty name for an ugly ship. Thevvin class, the vessel had four decks, each flat and extending the length of the ship. The gravity drive was positioned above, like a balloon atop a brick. Both ends of the ship were open, allowing krey to guide sheets of refined seracrete onto the fourth deck. When full, the cargo ship would have five trillion glint worth of product.
