Aegis Rising (52 page)

Aari and Tegan, who were crouched just inside the mess hall, had also caught sight of the Elder’s fall. They heard Jag’s scream and saw him run toward his mentor. Tegan yanked at Aari’s arm and the two raced after their friend. As they reached Tayoka, with Jag kneeling beside him, they could see the blood soaking the Elder’s tunic from the injury in his back. Jag placed two fingers on his mentor’s neck and felt a very faint pulse. He slammed his fist against the ground, knowing Tayoka was hardly hanging on.

“Is he still alive?” Tegan murmured.

“Barely.”

Aari looked up at the Osprey. “We need to get him out of here. The plane’s going to turn back soon.”

“Take care of him,” Jag said, an edge to his voice as he stood up.

Tegan caught a look in his eyes and knew something was brewing in his mind. “What are you—”

“Just get him to safety,” he cut her off, turning to look at the plane. Without another word, he started to sprint in the direction of the aircraft. He heard his friends shouting his name but his mind was set and he was not turning back.

Inside the sniper’s office, Saiyu and Mariah faced the muzzle of the weapon with astonishment. They hadn’t expected to be intercepted so quickly. Saiyu instinctively shoved Mariah to a corner of the room. Forced to choose a target, the sniper pointed his weapon at the Elder while keeping a close watch on the girl.

Mariah watched the man as he spat at Saiyu. “Filthy savages,” he snarled. “You’ve destroyed everything and killed my men.”

Gathering courage to respond, Mariah said, “Your workers are mostly just immobilized.”

The man turned to look at her, perplexed that she spoke in English, then snapped his attention back to Saiyu. “Doesn’t matter. You’ve destroyed
months
of my hard work.” He looked at the Elder with unadulterated fury in his eyes. Just as his finger moved to squeeze the trigger, he caught a movement to his right and turned in time to see the crystal sculpture of Rasputin hurtling through the air toward him. It smashed into his face, breaking his nose on impact and shattering. He fell back, hitting his head on the desk behind him. The desk toppled over, its drawers sliding out and sending papers flying.

Saiyu turned to look at Mariah in surprise as the girl joined her mentor. She gave her apprentice a tight squeeze for her quick thinking, then removed an active vine from her sash and moved forward to tie the gunman up.

As she approached him, the sniper shook his head and grabbed a revolver that had fallen out of the desk. With blood dripping down his face, he pointed the weapon at the Elder for a second before turning it on Mariah and pulling the trigger.

Mariah heard the bang and squeezed her eyes shut. She thought her life was over as she covered her head in a feeble attempt to protect herself. Two heartbeats later, she realized she was still standing. Lowering her arms and opening her eyes, she saw a scene that appeared frozen in time.

No more than six inches from her face, the bullet hung in midair. The gunman stared and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Mariah watched as the bullet dropped to the ground, then looked at her mentor. Saiyu gave her a short nod before turning to the man, fierce anger scrawled across her face as she brought the full force of her power to bear. Mariah had never seen the Elder in such a rage before.

The sniper raised his hand to fire another round but found himself being lifted from the ground and smashed into the ceiling. Mariah winced as she watched him drop back to the floor in a daze before being picked up and smashed into the ceiling once more. Upon being released for the second time by Saiyu, the man plunged to the floor, screaming all the way down. For the finale, he was lifted off the floor at such a tremendous force that he crashed through the ceiling, leaving him stuck with his head and shoulders exposed through the roof. He shouted obscenities at the top of his lungs, unable to understand the force that had buffeted him into humiliation.

Mariah gawked at her mentor as Saiyu sent a message to Nageau, informing him of the sniper’s position. The Elder glanced at Mariah and smiled. Together they stared up, grinning at the wriggling legs of the man before he went limp as one of Nageau’s men shot him with a dart.

Sprinting at an inhuman speed, Jag’s blurred figure tore across the mining site toward the plane as it swung back around. Leaping onto the roof of the steel building that housed the beasts and using it as a springboard, he bounded off and propelled straight toward the open ramp of the plane. Traversing a distance of about a hundred and twenty feet within seconds, he smashed headlong into the man at the gun and sent him tumbling backwards toward the cockpit. The co-pilot sat up, stunned by the hit, and struggled to get to his feet. Looking toward the ramp, he saw a figure charging at him. He managed to yell a warning to the pilot before receiving a whirling kick to his helmet that floored him.

Jag, knowing he had no darts left, tried to knock the man unconscious. The pilot glanced back, and seeing that his colleague was under attack, tilted the plane violently. Jag was thrown off balance and smashed into a bulkhead. Seizing his opportunity, the co-pilot whipped out his pistol to shoot Jag but lost his footing and fell toward the boy as the plane leveled off.

Still holding on to the gun, he had barely picked himself up from the floor when Jag dove onto him, tackling him back down. They rolled toward the ramp. They were two yards from the edge when the co-pilot gained the upper hand and stopped the rolling. He sat over Jag and hit the teenager across the head with his weapon. The sharp pain stunned Jag briefly but he would not give in. He used both hands to grab the arm that was wielding the gun and held on.

The co-pilot turned his wrist and slowly started to point the pistol toward Jag. He was a breath away from pulling the trigger when Jag twisted his wrist. Three shots fired in rapid succession into the cockpit. The man looked back angrily and swung his other arm, punching the boy on his ear. Jag gathered his strength and kicked the man over his head and out the ramp. Realizing what he’d done, he quickly flipped over and tried to grab the co-pilot, but the man was already out of reach. Jag looked away, unable to bear the sight, then picked himself up and headed toward the cockpit.

Kody, who'd witnessed Jag’s amazing leap into the plane, was dumbfounded into silence for the first time in his life. “You, my friend,” he muttered under his breath, “are a remarkable nutjob.”

Aari and Tegan were tending to Tayoka behind the barracks, one on either side of the Elder. Tegan sat back in frustration. “We can’t handle this on our own. We need the Elders.”

“Would you like to step into a shower of bullets and go look for them?” Aari asked exasperatedly.

“Then what do you suggest doing?” she snapped back. “He needs help.”

Aari rubbed his forehead. “I know, I know,” he groaned. “I—”

He halted in midsentence, eyes bulging out. Tegan looked at him and then slowly traced his line of sight toward the end of the building. Her nails dug into the dirt. “You have got to be kidding,” she whispered.

One of the beasts was staring at them from forty feet away, head down, back arched. Seeing it had lost the element of surprise, it burst into a sprint, covering ten feet with each stride. Aari and Tegan tried to back away but were frozen with horror as the animal covered the distance and was moments away from bounding onto them. As it made its final leap, all paws in the air, a colossal shadow flew across the beast’s trajectory and bulldozed the creature into the building, demolishing a large part of the wall.

A loud, thunderous roar vibrated the air. Aari and Tegan covered their ears as they stared, agape, at the humongous shape of a muscle-bound creature. Rearing up, the black-furred bear stood at three-quarters of the height of the two-story building. It was the largest animal they had ever seen. It turned to look at them with a curious gleam in its dark eyes, and for some inexplicable reason the two felt their fear wash away.

Picking itself up, the beast charged back out of the damaged building but wasn’t quick enough to surprise the bear. In spite of its massive size the bear turned swiftly and smashed an enormous paw into the side of the creature, sending the beast hurtling through the tree line. Undaunted, the beast rebounded and raced back to attack the bear. It leapt, maw wide open, instinctively going for its adversary’s throat. Its massive jaws clamped around the bear’s scruff and its momentum pushed the bigger animal down. The bear countered by rolling over the creature, crushing it against the ground.

Getting back up, the furious bear stood over the beast and swiped one enormous paw over the animal’s face. The beast’s head snapped back and a gurgling howl escaped it. The bear leaned down, peering at its foe, then swung its other paw with incredible force. There was a sickening crack as the animal’s head twisted around at an odd angle and the beast went still.

Having witnessed the astounding battle, Tegan and Aari leaned closer to each other, shaking. The bear turned to look at them again and the two gazed back with gratitude. Dipping its massive head, the bear turned away from them.

Poking Aari’s arm, Tegan started to whisper in awe “That must be a Guar—” when another roar reverberated from across the site. The bear raised its head, alert, then broke into a run and rounded the building toward the center of the mining site.

Nageau’s group looked on in astonishment as a Guardian faced three beasts by the rubble of the vehicle shed. Two of the animals clambered onto the silver bear’s back and another fixed its jaws around its adversary’s throat. The weight of all three pulled the immense creature to the ground.

As Nageau watched, Ashack’s voice came into his head.
She is awake, Nageau.

Nageau immediately linked with his mate.
Tikina!

Hello, beloved.
He could almost hear the smile in her tired thought.

How are you feeling? How bad is the wound?

It hurts, but Ashack has done the best he could with all that he has.

We will get you properly cared for soon, I promise.
He paused when he heard the bear roar as the beasts assaulted it viciously.
You managed to summon the Guardians? How?

It was not easy. If only I had more energy. She paused to sigh. I only managed to call on two, though.

From around the side of the barracks, the black Guardian loped toward the first, ripping one of the beasts from its companion’s back and flinging it into the only vehicle that remained standing at the vehicle shed. The beast crashed into the truck and smashed the windshield into a million pieces before sliding off the hood and falling onto the ground in a daze.

Nageau followed the Guardians’ movements, exultant.
Thank you, Tikina.

Let us pray the Guardians will be the saving grace we need.

Nageau gently said goodbye to her and linked back to Ashack. Though he found it difficult to ask Ashack to leave his mate, he knew Tayoka was in dire need of assistance.
Ashack, Tayoka is down. You must help him.

Tayoka? What happened?

He was shot. I do not know his condition but he did not appear responsive.

I will take care of it. But . . . Nageau? I have not yet had a chance to contact Saiyu. Is she alright?

She is just fine, my friend. She and her apprentice have managed to remove a threat.

Thank goodness.
There was a pause.
Where is Tayoka?

Behind the building you are in. Tegan and Aari have moved him there.

Understood.
Ashack cut off the link.

Kody looked up from watching the large bears battle the beasts. “Are those the Guardians?” he asked quietly, wide-eyed.

Nageau managed a smile. “Yes.”

“One of them looks like it’s having trouble. Should we help?”

Shaking his head, Nageau responded, “It is best not to interfere.” He turned to his team. “Take every single one of the remaining miners out, and let the Guardians take care of the beasts.”

The men nodded and readied their weapons once more.

Kody looked back down to watch the bears fight. “I sure wouldn’t want to get tangled with that,” he said, shivering.

The pilot of the Osprey was struggling with the flight controls as Jag closed in on him. A plume of smoke trailed toward the roof of the cockpit from the control panel. Jag took a quick look at the scenario. He only had time to deduce that the shots fired into the cockpit earlier had caused the damage before the pilot turned around to see him. He glared at Jag and then pitched the nose of the plane up violently. The aircraft tipped skyward almost instantaneously. Jag was thrown backwards and tumbled all the way to the ramp. He tried to reach for something to hold on to but his flailing arms couldn’t find anything to grab and he slid off the back of the plane.

At the very last moment his fingers caught a groove at the end of the ramp and he held on, gasping. As he steadied himself, he looked down and regretted it instantly. The site lay about two hundred feet below his hanging feet with the plane hovering erratically at an awkward angle. Huffing, Jag used all his strength to haul himself back onto the ramp, managing to get only one foot over.

The pilot was having difficulty leveling the plane after the pitch. Smoke had filled the cockpit. Coughing, the pilot tried to wave the smoke away and noticed a fire had broken out in the control panel. The plane was losing altitude. With a sinking feeling he continued to fight the controls but the plane was not responding. “Come on!” he barked. “Raise your big butt off this bloody mountain!”

Atop the mountain, Kody noticed the plane was wobbling from side to side. He watched the nacelles of the aircraft tilt forward as the pilot executed a desperate attempt to gain forward momentum. The Osprey was losing altitude and Kody watched powerlessly as it slowly drifted past the landing pad.

His attention was jarred back to the mining site by two distinctive roars. The black-furred Guardian that had rushed from behind the miners’ barracks tore the second beast away from its comrade’s throat. It smashed the creature against the ground a few times. The beast kicked out, sinking its claws into the bigger animal’s muzzle. The Guardian shook its head to throw the creature off but couldn’t. Using its full strength, the beast pulled up with its front paws digging into the bear’s muzzle and leapt over the Guardian’s head onto its back, then bit into the base of the bear’s neck. The Guardian grunted, twisting around and bucking, but its assailant would not give. It pierced and tore through the bear’s thick fur until the Guardian gave a furious shake of its massive body and the beast skidded off.