Trials of Conviction, page 9
"Maybe, but we could also get lucky and find something unexpected on the journey," Kira shot back.
This was a familiar refrain from their time as Curs. Something they'd said more than once on missions that were tantamount to suicide. It meant don't give up just because all looked hopeless. Keep moving forward. Because it might work.
That hope was what had driven them to surmount impossible odds on more than one occasion.
Knowing he'd already lost, Raider switched his focus to Graydon. "You're awful quiet. You must have some opinion on this."
Kira waited, interested in Graydon's response.
Whatever he planned to say was lost as the uncomfortable feeling that had been growing in Kira over the last few minutes edged into true pain. Agony lanced her brain. The barely scabbed over wound that represented Jin's place in her psyche was ripped open, leaking her soul's essence.
"Kira!"
Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe?
Kira's vision tunneled. Arms closed around her, hauling her off the ground. She didn't need to see to know they belonged to Graydon.
"Easy, coli. I've got you," Graydon whispered.
There was the sound of something breaking and then Raider's roar. "What did you do to her?"
It was the last thing Kira heard before she went limp.
Graydon
Graydon cradled Kira to his chest, watching as runes scrawled across her face and arms. They reappeared and vanished one after another. The shade of her skin shifted back and forth between graphite gray and her normal shade.
"That's interesting. She's caught between states. Almost like her primus wants to rise but can't," Aeron murmured with detached curiosity.
Raider yanked him to his feet. "What's wrong with her?"
There was something almost feral about the human’s actions. His eyes on the verge of madness.
Finn moved closer, not saying anything as he caressed the hilt of his en-blade. The gesture a threat.
"Don't look at me. For once, I'm innocent," Aeron said with a twisted amusement.
Raider shook him. "Liar."
"Ask the emperor's Face. He knows what's going on or at least has a guess. Just look at him," Aeron challenged.
Graydon didn't look up from the woman in his arms as he checked Kira with his senses. Quillon had warned him this was a possibility. Jin's absence had left a hole in Kira's soul. A wound that would kill her slowly unless she could fill it in some way. Until now, she'd somehow managed to stay fine. Probably due to the abundance of ki on Ta Sa'Riel and the Mea'Ave's own will.
Removing her had caused a backlash. Hence her collapse.
"He's right. You do know," Raider said, letting Aeron go. "Tell me what's going on."
Raider's demand fell on deaf ears.
Graydon put a hand on Kira's chest, channeling some of his ki through their bond. He wasn't a healer but their connection would offset his lack.
Wren knelt beside them. "Graydon—"
"We're not turning back," Graydon responded, already anticipating what Wren planned to say. "She wouldn't want that."
If there was one thing his coli was, it was stubborn. She'd be furious if she woke up to find herself planetside.
Wren touched one of the faded outlines of her runes. "This is dangerous."
"My decision is final." Graydon lifted Kira into his arms and rose.
"Of course, we're not turning back," Raider argued, his face holding confusion and worry. "Kira would kill you. So would I for that matter."
Finn stood by Aeron's side, one hand on the general's shoulder to hold him in place and make sure he didn't escape. There was anxiety and concern in the oshota's face as he watched Kira, the desire to attend to his sword warring with his duties to secure her interests. In this case, making sure their prisoner didn't try to go anywhere while they were all distracted.
"She's fading, isn't she?" Aeron said out of nowhere.
Every Tuann in the room stiffened before eyeing the general with hostility.
"What is he talking about?" Raider's gaze moved from Wren to Graydon and finally to Finn. "Someone explain to the poor, dumb human in the room."
Aeron's lips quirked in a humorless smile. "It's a sign of extreme grief."
Graydon raised his head at the vague note of knowing in Aeron's voice. As if the general had experience with this phenomenon.
"Why would she be grieving? There's no reason for that. Everyone is still alive," Raider said with an edge in his voice, looking like he'd explode if anyone tried to correct him.
"Jin isn't elsewhere on the ship, is he?" Aeron asked, acting like he hadn't heard. "The Tsavitee have him."
Raider pointed at him. "Shut your mouth. You don't know what you're talking about."
"She's connected to the soul bound in some way. That's why he's different from the rest. She's sustaining him and without him here to complete the bond, she's dying."
There was a crack. Aeron slumped to the floor unconscious as Raider stared in confusion.
"Thank you," Graydon told Finn.
The oshota gave him a firm nod. "He talked too much."
"He's wrong though, right?" Raider pressed. "Elena and Jin aren't dead. There's no reason for Kira to fade or whatever."
The silence that answered filled Raider's face with desperation.
"They're all fine, right?" he asked again, emotion thickening his voice.
Wren moved to comfort Raider. "I'm sure they are."
"Then why?" Raider asked, his gaze following Graydon as he stalked to the door.
His coli needed rest in a place where she could heal. Not to stand around while her secrets were spilled without her consent.
"Her body is acting like they are," Wren said as Graydon stepped into the corridor.
Raider glared at the seon'yer he shared with Kira. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"That if we don't find Elena and Jin before too long, they won't be the only ones we lose."
Six
Elena - Tsavitee Planet
Elena slunk along the edges of the cavernous room that had been her home for the last week, careful to avoid the pockets of Tsavitee clustered in the middle of the room. Meal times were always a feeding frenzy around here. The most dangerous part of the day as the horde competed for their share.
To survive, Elena had been forced to scurry around like a mouse.
Not that there was anything wrong with scurrying. She was a champion scurrier. Just ask Tommy, her nemesis, occasional friend, and fellow ward of Aunt Selene.
It was just that she was tired, cold, and hungry.
The last week had been a lesson in exhaustion. Her belly had almost forgotten what it was like to feel full. She'd barely gotten more than a few minutes of sleep at a time for fear of what would happen if a Tsavitee happened on her in a moment of inattention.
She'd already killed five of them since arriving. A skyling, two cannon fodder, a class one drudge and a class two war drone.
After that last one, the rest of the horde had left her mostly alone.
A stalemate that Elena suspected wouldn't last much longer given the arrival of a new group that her fellow pit dwellers all seemed to fear. She just needed to look at the way the rest gave the group and their leader a wide berth to know how dangerous the situation was.
The person at the front of the group had to be their leader. Taller than the rest and willowy—a word Elena had a certain fondness for due to the images it conjured up—the stranger oddly reminded her of Aunt Kira's friend Odin.
It wasn't in their looks since Odin and this person couldn't be more different. For one, the stranger wasn't wearing an eye patch and didn't have green eyes. They had black eyes that matched the hair of their angled, chin length bob.
The similarity lay more in the androgyny of their features. Their gender ambiguous and impossible to guess, making Elena wonder if that was a trait all of their species held.
The Sye as Aunt Kira would call them.
Elena wasn’t supposed to know that last part. One of her aunt’s many secrets.
This person was colder than Odin though. Their expression almost cruel as they looked arrogantly at the Tsavitee.
The seven, all children or very close to it, were arrayed around the Sye like an honor guard. They were roughly Elena's age. A couple slightly older and one or two a few years younger. The age spread was around twelve to eighteen or so if they aged like humans. With the Tsavitee you never knew. Some aged as slowly as the Tuann. Others had an accelerated aging process.
There were three generals among their number. A male around eighteen or seventeen. Another near Elena's age of fourteen. The last was the most interesting. A female. About fifteen.
If only Auntie was here to see the answer to her question of whether there were female generals or not.
The rest were an assortment of species. A yellow, so named by humans for the way they bled yellow blood. A wraith and a telepath who hovered at the back of the group. Along with two others whose appearance didn't match any Elena had studied in Aunt Kira's files.
Unknowns—which meant their species hadn't made an appearance during the war.
The children stared straight ahead, ignoring the rest of the Tsavitee as they waited.
Elena tucked herself further into the depression in the uneven surface of the wall, relying on the grayish mud she'd slathered all over herself for camouflage. The pit she'd been dropped into had a lot in common with a damp cave. Water dripped from the ceiling and walls, the moisture it left in the air and cool temperatures ensuring those inside never felt truly warm.
A ripple went through her fellow pit dwellers as they received some signal Elena missed.
The children remained motionless as the Sye tilted their head to look up at the grates in the ceiling. Elena followed their gaze, finding Lothos and the general who'd thrown her in here observing them.
Lothos nodded at his companion. The general lifted a container, dumping several coins through the grate and onto the floor of the pit.
Elena's fellow pit dwellers stared as the Sye looked over their shoulder to address the oldest boy. "You know what to do."
The boy gestured at the other children as the pit erupted into chaos. Blood flowed as the Tsavitee descended on each other, fighting over the limited number of coins. The children hung back, playing it smart as they allowed their much larger opponents to exhaust themselves before entering the fray.
All but the oldest boy, who threw himself into the midst of battle without hesitation. He laid about him with fist and claw, his face expressionless as he decimated the demons and war drones who got in his way. He reached a cluster of coins, bending down to grab a handful before stalking toward the nearest wall.
Elena didn't get to see his exit as a pair of Tsavitee crashed into the wall next to her, savaging each other with their claws. A strangled scream of surprise escaped Elena as she pressed herself as far back into the nook as she could go.
Blood sprayed as the larger of the two swiped his claws across the other's face, leaving ribbons of flesh hanging.
A howl issued from the injured Tsavitee. He hurled himself at the larger one's head, winding his body around it as he shredded everything in reach.
He got lucky, his claws ripping through an artery.
A gurgle came from the bigger Tsavitee as he stumbled, falling to the ground. The coin he was holding rolled to a stop at Elena's feet.
For a split second, time slowed. The surviving Tsavitee's startlement matching Elena's as they stared at each other in complete shock at the unexpected encounter. An instant later, her gaze shifted to the pair of children creeping up behind him, their daggers already raised.
Elena didn't give herself time to think or second guess, bending down to swipe the coin off the ground just as the children struck. The Tsavitee never had a chance, dead before he could scream.
Elena darted across the room toward the wall the general boy had disappeared through. The children, a yellow and a wraith, pursued her as she fled through the chaos.
A Tsavitee hit the ground at her feet, already dead.
Elena dodged around him, weaving through the press of bodies in a desperate bid for survival. She fed ki to the muscles in her legs. Her soul's breath was sluggish to respond, something in the environment bringing a sense of wrongness. A slimy feeling coated her insides, making her feel dirty as it followed her ki pathways.
Elena pushed the awful sensation to the back of her mind, deciding to analyze it later. You know, when she wasn't in danger of dying at Tsavitee hands.
Taking a chance, Elena glanced behind her, slowing when she found her trail entirely blocked off by adult Tsavitee battling among themselves. No pint sized assassins in sight.
Despite the reprieve, Elena didn't let herself relax. Danger still stalked her steps. An ever present reminder that there was no safety net in the form of an aunt or uncle to catch her if she faltered.
With that thought at the front of her mind, Elena turned to find her path obstructed by a Tsavitee demon.
He grinned down at her, showing sharp teeth as a pair of war drones flanked him. "Fresh meat."
Despite their name, war drones weren't actual drones in the way Uncle Jin was. Or machines of any kind.
Elena wasn't sure where their name came from or why humans chose it when there were so many other options. Maybe it was because of their resemblance to the drones of Earth's bees? As in they had one purpose in life. In this case killing instead of breeding. And also tended to be extremely short lived.
They were built like walls. Angry, vicious walls who were currently blocking Elena's path to salvation.
In the past few minutes, Tsavitee had started streaming toward the wall in increasing numbers as they snatched the coins and fled. That by itself wouldn't be cause for concern. Except the environment of the cave was quickly becoming unbearable. The air hotter. The walls steaming as drops of water evaporated from their surface.
What did she want to bet that it wouldn't be long before this place was uninhabitable. She didn't think she wanted to be here when that happened.
"You sure you want to do this? You saw what happened to your companion last time," Elena bluffed, reaching behind her for the femur she'd found the first day. The days since had been spent sharpening the bone's tip until it was a lethal point.
To call it a weapon was an insult to weapons everywhere. But it would do. More importantly, it was the only thing she had.
"Are you sure you saw her pick up an exit pass? There's not much time left if you're wrong," the smaller of the drone's pointed out.
Ah ha. Elena had been right about the coin's ability to get her out of here.
The demon exposed an incisor. "Best to make sure. Either way, the welp will make a tasty snack."
How lovely. They were planning to eat her.
Elena eyed the trio, trying not to let their size difference intimidate her. As Auntie would say, it wasn't the size of your weapon. It was how you used it. Any sharpened object would do in a pinch if applied in the proper fashion.
Her bone pick included.
Uncle Jin would follow up by pointing out that all monsters had a weakness. Eyes and throats for starters.
It was just too bad her opponents' greater height meant her targets were so far off the ground. She was pretty sure any attempt to pounce would result in being snatched out of the air before she could do any damage.
Maybe if she scaled their bodies like a tree? It always worked for Aunt Kira.
"Grab her," the demon ordered.
That was her cue. Elena broke left before spinning back to her right and slipping through the tiny opening her feint had created.
But not before she buried her bone pick in the side of the demon's leg.
His scream made a bloodthirsty smile form on Elena's face.
Good luck chasing her now.
She yanked the weapon out of his leg, drawing another pained sound from him as blood spurted. Then she was up, surging past him with as much speed as she could.
The wall the general boy had strode through beckoned, calling her name and promising safety she wasn't sure existed on this world. The fact the demon had referred to the coin she held as an exit pass gave her hope that at the very least, she could escape this pit.
If she was wrong—well, she'd be trapped and likely dead soon after.
Elena preferred to think positive. Auntie said a person's thoughts helped shaped their existence. It didn't matter how beautiful your surroundings or how blessed your life if all you saw was darkness.
It was why Elena embraced a mindset of eternal optimism. Things would always work out. One way or another. Crappy circumstances were always temporary. She could let them drown her. Rue the fate that had been set before her. Or she could persevere. Cling to the good around her and use it as leverage when the chance to change her situation finally presented itself.
It's what Aunt Kira would have done. Though maybe not as positively as Elena, considering Auntie was a bit of a grump.
Howls lifted into the air behind her. The sound primal, spurring Elena to move her legs faster.
Sorry, friend. Not today. Elena had a future to preserve.
"Stop her!"
There was a whistle as something cut through the air. A second later Elena's feet were swiped out from under her. She hit the ground with a muffled cry, barely noticing the pain along her left side as she twisted to glare at her feet.
Was that seriously a bolas they'd thrown at her?
The rope attached to a pair of rocks wrapped around her legs would suggest yes. It seemed a little low tech for a race that had nearly wiped out humanity, but okay.
The drones slowed. Their faces smug, thinking Elena was caught.
As scary as they were, it was the demon hobbling in their wake that truly struck fear into Elena’s heart. Something told her if he got a hold of her, forget the mercy of a quick death. He'd make it as painful as possible before sending her to her final rest.
Elena gave up the thought of undoing the bolas, knowing she didn't have time for that. They'd be on her before she could get even one foot free.
