Crusade Across Worlds (15 page)

“The Lost Princesses said the invasion
wasn’t for another two weeks.”

“Maybe this isn’t the invasion,” Walker
glances back to the passage. “You heard Pratt. It’s only the
Muskos.”

“Why are they here?” Mae frowns. “Why are
they fighting their own people?”

More shots fire down the passage but Jace
shoots back, orange blasts leaving his Traxpire, illuminating the
tunnel. The shots stop momentarily but start again a moment later.
Walker joins in, firing down the passage.

“Where are the guns?” Reid scans the room.
“The Enidds? Ariana said extras are always stored away in
here.”

“Ariana!” My focus flies to Tucker.
“Where—”

“Guards grabbed her. Last I saw they got her
out.”

“How?” Pratt cries. “We’re surrounded! And
how are
we
going to get out?”

“Found them,” Reid is on the floor, yanking
the Enidds out of the same compartment where the suits were kept.
“Here,” he starts handing them to Booker who begins passing them
around.

Jace fires down the tunnel a few more times.
“At least now we’ll be prepared if we have to leave the FH.”

“We need to leave,” I say. “We need to call
our Millix.”

“How are we going to get to them?” Werzo
asks. “If you haven’t noticed, there’s a bit of a crisis going on
out there.”

“And we can’t leave Sampson,” Reid states,
as though it’s not up for debate.

“We need to lead the Muskos away from here.
If they don’t leave, this place is going to crumble and everyone in
it will die.”

“How do you know they’ll follow us?” Walker
frowns.

“We’re human.”

“Most of us,” Werzo mutters.

I roll my eyes. “We’re human and that makes
us the worst enemy. If they see us trying to escape, they’ll turn a
majority of their forces on capturing us. We’ve got to try,” I look
at Reid, pleading. “If we don’t, they’ll destroy the FH. We have to
lead them away.”

After a second, he nods. “We head for the
Docking Station. We move in a group—Fallon, Pratt and Mae in the
middle. You see a shot, you take it, but you don’t stop. Keep
moving, just like on Nerwolix.”

“What happens after we get to the Docking
Station?” Werzo asks. “Where do we go?”

Reid and I exchange glances.

“To the surface?” I ask.

“Would they follow us up there?” Mae shifts
her focus to Able.

“And what do we do when we get there?”

“At least we’ll have air,” Jace laughs.
“That’s good enough for me.”

“Let’s get them to the surface,” I nod.
“We’ll have more room… we can figure out something up there.”

Reid moves closer to me. “You’ll tell
Sampson and Clarence where we are?”

“I’ll tell them right now,” I glance around
the room. “Everyone call your Millix. Tell them to meet you at the
Docking Station.” Stepping back, I face the wall and close my eyes,
summoning my great-great-grandfather’s face.

Clarence, we’re heading to the surface.
We’re going to lead the Muskos away from the FH.

A silent moment and then,
Are you all
together?

Yes.

Where?

In the East Wing—in our quarters.

Okay. We’ll draw them closer to the Dining
Hall… give you a better shot at getting to the Docking Station.

We’re ready to go when you are.

We’ll have it clear for you in a minute.
Fallon, when you get to the surface, keep close to the water. I’ll
send up reinforcements as soon as I can but if we can’t find you,
we can’t help you.

Got it. What reinforcements?

The city’s guards. Only a handful have made
it in here. The rest are outside the FH. Might even stop the Muskos
before you reach the surface.

Good.

You’ll have a clearing here in…thirty
seconds. Good luck, kid. See you soon
.

“Okay.” I turn to the others. “Clarence said
he’s making an exit for us now. Everyone call their Millix?”

“I don’t have one,” Walker glances at
Jace.

“We’re using the same pairs as earlier,” I
walk toward the tunnel, gripping the underwater gun close to my
chest. “Guards are waiting outside the FH. Hoping that the Muskos
follow us, we’ll have help once we reach the water. We get to the
surface and keep to the shore. If the guards aren’t there for
whatever reason, we keep as close to the shore as possible… make it
easier for help to find us once we land. Everyone got it?”

The others nod.

I close my eyes again and concentrate.
Lalu… I need your help. Can you get to the Docking
Station?

After a second, her voice fills my head.
Yes, Fallon, but it is difficult
.

Why?

There is much fighting between brothers.

We’re trapped and we need to get to the
surface. Please, Lalu, can you make your way to the Docking
Station?

Yes, Fallon
.

I place my helmet on and the others do the
same. “Everyone ready?”

“Remember,” Reid’s voice sounds through the
headgear. “Killing females is the bigger insult for them, so
they’ll be targeting the girls. Keep Fallon, Pratt and Mae in the
middle. Move together and quickly. We’re not stopping until we
reach the Docking Station. Alright, let’s move!”

With Tucker at his side, Reid climbs over
the heap of dead Muskos, guns drawn and ready. Pratt and Mae keep
tight behind me with Jace, Walker and Able on either side and
Booker and Werzo in the back. Moving carefully but quickly, we head
down the tunnel and toward the chaos still ringing up ahead.
Traxpire explosions continue to reverberate through the walls,
sending chunks of mosaic coral crashing down.

Once we reach the passage’s end, I find the
Dofinikes drawing the Muskos inward, leaving a spare bit of space
between us and the tunnel leading to the Docking Station. The rest
of the Mybyncians have fled into the passages leading to the Dining
Hall and other quarters. Only Muskos, the few Mybyncian guards that
have managed to break through, and Dofinikes remain in the Great
Hall, fighting amongst piles of fragmented boulders from the
damaged ceiling and walls.

“Let’s go,” Reid says and, as a unit, we
take off for the Docking Station to our left.

“The humans!” someone hisses and an orange
blast shoots above our heads.

Mae screams but Able fires back, missing the
purple-haired target. He shoots again and Perio dodges, sliding
along the floor and knocking Able’s feet out from under him.

“Keep moving!” Reid shouts but breaks away
to engage the Musko.

I want to stay but am shuffled along with
the group, Walker pinching my elbow and pulling me behind him.
Crying, Mae is hysterically trying to push past Booker but he
ushers her along and together, we keep moving forward.

Once we get to the Docking Station, we
stop.

Duels fill the entire domed space. Mybyncian
guards fight the Muskos, who seem to have no end. Individual
battles occupy every bit of the Docking Station, right up to the
edge of the pool where four purple Millix heads wait. A Traxpire
goes off, nearly hitting the creatures and they all duck beneath
the water.

My heart stops.

How are we going to get out?

Suddenly, Werzo goes flying. Booker is next,
thrown across the room, leaving our inner circle exposed. Jace
tries to cover Mae but a Musko flies in, tossing him back so hard
that he goes skidding across the floor. With a scowl, the Musko
reaches for Mae’s neck and just as she starts to scream, I push her
out of the way and shoot the bastard in his face.

Walker and Tucker are yanked back next,
drawn into their own battles, leaving the three of us exposed in
the middle of the room.

“Keep close to me!” I command, backing us
toward the closest wall.

Mae and Pratt squeeze together, guns out and
aiming as Muskos race closer. I shoot at them, hitting each one as
we retreat. The girls fire behind me, hitting some but missing most
and together we move as a unit. Walker and the Rogues try reaching
us, but they’re preoccupied in their own duels, shooting the Muskos
who keep advancing on them.

“Fallon!” Pratt screams.

I spin just as one of the Muskos reaches for
her. Concentrating, I slow everything down again. Grabbing his
outstretched hand, I twist it and with a foot planted firmly on his
torso, I pull, breaking his arm. A howl of pain emits but then Mae
gasps behind me.

I turn to find a Musko gripping her neck
with one hand, the other lifted high with a black blade. Placing my
Enidd on his stomach, I pull the trigger and he falls back. I
barely have time to reassure Mae before another Musko flies at me,
knocking the gun from my grip. He backhands me and for a moment,
I’m dizzy, pain splintering through my helmet and ringing into my
head. I try to regain focus when another blow slams into my stomach
and I fall to my knees.

“Human bitches,” the miyon sneers and lifts
his blade again.

Before he brings it down, I reach for my
gun, aim it between his legs and pull the trigger. His scream
echoes throughout the domed space and he falls back, hands on his
groin, cursing and yelping. Pulling myself to my feet, I block
Pratt and Mae who crouch against the wall.

Five Muskos stand before me.

“Fallon!” Walker calls and jams his fist
across a miyon’s jaw. He tries rushing over but another two block
his path and he’s deterred. With a quick scan, I find all the
Rogues are busy in their own duels, fighting the Muskos alongside
the guards that are sweeping in from the Great Hall.

Time to focus again.

Taking a breath, I concentrate and block
everything out, slowing down time. One Musko inches forward,
lifting his Traxpire. I scissor-kick it out of his hand and then
thrust my elbow across his jaw. Confused and disoriented, he falls
to the ground as two others miyons approach, both leveling guns at
my head. Their fingers inch toward the trigger but I drop to the
ground, shooting the last two miyons in their knees. Distracted by
their fallen comrades, I blast the remaining Muskos in their chests
and all five go crashing to the ground.

Standing, I speed up time and turn to the
girls. “Are you two o—?”

Something grips my neck and the next thing I
see is a sleek black blade hanging over me. I don’t have the air to
scream because a forearm is squeezing back, trying to snap my head
off. But just as the blade comes down, the pressure on my neck
abates and the Musko falls to the ground behind me.

I gasp for air with a cough, my hands at my
throat.

Breathe.

Sucking in a deep breath, I’m finally able
to fill my lungs again. Once the dizziness subsides, I realize
Walker is standing over the Musko, his arm outstretched and his
Traxpire aimed. Glowering, the tribesman finally looks at me. He
glances quickly at Pratt and Mae before his focus sweeps back.

“You okay?”

I nod, sucking in another breath.

“Come on,” he takes me by the hand, “we need
to get out of here. Girls!” he shouts and Pratt and Mae jump to
their feet.

The Millix have reappeared, but only five
heads are visible. Walker is racing over, toward the center pool
but I don’t see Lalu.

Lalu?

I am here, Fallon.

We’re at the Docking Station—we need
you.

I will come up
.

“What about the others?” I pull Walker to a
stop, glancing around. “We can’t leave without—”

Another explosion ripples overhead but
Tucker shoots back, sending the Musko flying. He gestures toward
the pool. “We’ve got to go!”

Jace, Booker and Werzo rush over, the three
already jumping onto their Millix.

“What about Able and Reid!” Mae cries.

“They’ll have to meet up with us,” Walker
lifts Pratt and places her on the Millix behind Jace. He picks up
Mae and helps situate her behind Tucker. “Go!”

The three Millix dunk below the surface just
as Lalu’s head pops up.

“We can’t leave without Reid,” I turn from
Walker, scanning the space. Fighting still dominates most of the
Docking Station, but more guards have arrived, balancing the
ratio.

“Rox will be fine,” he’s pulling me toward
Lalu. “Come on, we have to go!”

“But—”

Walker climbs onto Lalu and tugs me down in
front of him. I grip her Bairs and he wraps his arms around my
waist, shifting us forward. After one final scan and with no sign
of Reid or Able, I acquiesce.

Lalu, can you bring us to the shore’s
surface?

Yes, Fallon.

She submerges and we’re zipping through the
water only to be stopped by blazing white flares. I don’t believe
it. The entire kingdom is under attack. Millix and Stancimises race
past one another, their riders firing bright flashes through the
water, illuminating the golden city even more. I’ve never seen it
so filled with movement, with chaos. Guards fire at Muskos who zip
around coral structures, only to blast pieces of the city apart as
civilians flee the metropolis waters. Clarence was right—the rest
of the queen’s guards are out here, trying to stop the Muskos from
getting inside the FH, from getting to the queen and princesses.
But there are too many. Perio must’ve been recruiting like-minded
Mybyncians these past three months. And now he’s brought them here
to fight. For him. For a non-Arizal Mybyncia.

“Fallon, watch out!” Walker veers us to the
right. We narrowly miss an Enidd’s zap and then jerk left to avoid
another one. Everything is zooming past and Lalu is doing her best
trying to navigate us through the chaos.

“Holy mother…” Jace’s voice echoes in our
helmets. “This is insane!”

“We have to get to the surface,” Tucker
commands, firing his Enidd at an encroaching Millix. It’s ridden by
a sage-colored body with brownish bottoms instead of the guard’s
purple tunic-like attire. The Rogue Leader fires again and this
time he hits his target.