Defiance Rising (37 page)

Two machines lie beyond the soldiers, trampling everything in their path.
 
The hum of lasers sounds like a swarm of bees.
 
“We need a distraction.”

“No, no way!
 
I’m not going to let you go out there.”
 

I turn and place my hands on his chest.
 
“You know I can do this.
 
If we don’t get those guns we can’t save Kyan.
 
You know I need his help.”

Eamon’s face crumples under the full weight of my words.
 
He knows I’m right.
 
I can handle this…without him.
 
I lift up onto my tiptoes and place a kiss on his lips.
 
“I’ll be careful.”

“Ha!”
 
He snorts.
 
“Why don’t I believe you?”

I grin and race out through the driving rain and straight into the heart of my enemy.
 

“It’s the girl!” a soldier shouts, raising the alarm.
 
“She’s to be taken alive!”

The alien’s chest is emblazoned with the familiar crimson moons, but this one is encircled by three red stars.
 
I’m guessing he is someone important.

“Where is Drakon?”

He stiffens at my condescending tone.
 
“
Commander
Drakon is not here at the moment.
 
He returned to interview the traitor.
 
Once he is done with your friend’s mind, there won’t be much left.”

A low growl rumbles in my chest.
 
I glare at the tall alien, staring opening at the deep red gashes across his face that disfigure him.
  
“If Drakon wants me so badly, why didn’t he stay to capture me himself?
 
Instead he sent you.”

I walk into the center of circle the aliens quickly form around me.
 
They stand rigidly, their guns poised and ready.
 

The Caldonian’s smile is lacquered with hate.
 
“Obviously he didn’t feel you were important enough for his personal attention.”

I glare back, imagining several different forms of torture for him.
 
“If Drakon touches one hair on Kyan’s head”

“You’ll do what?
 
Glare at me?”
 
He openly mocks.
 
Chuckles rise all around me.

I laugh and cross my arms over my chest.
 
“He hasn’t told you who I am has he, Scar Face?”

The flesh around the man’s wounds turns deep red with anger.
 
“How dare you!”

“No!” I shout, planting my feet.
 
“How dare you!
 
You come into my home and attack my friends?
 
Drakon left you all here to die.”

Only the sound of the driving rain can be heard now.
 
Apparently, I got their attention.
 
“Strong words for a girl who is unarmed and all alone.”

I smirk and toss my drenched hair over my shoulder.
 
“Only a fool would think me unarmed.”

“I see no gun, no knife, no weapon at all.”

I lean forward slightly.
 
“The Shadow Walker doesn’t need physical weapons.”

The murmurs of the men around me rise as many of them take a step back.
 
I can feel their fear mounting.
 

“The Shadow Walker is a myth,” Scar Face spits.

“I beg to differ.”
 
The men shift uneasily as I lift my hands out.
 
Energy courses through my body and sparks flicker along my skin.
 

“Be careful, my dear.
 
Electricity and water don’t mix well.” The man taunts.

“Not a problem,” I sneer back.
 
I wave my hands and a nearly transparent dome forms overhead, sealing everyone inside.
 
Rain pelts loudly from above, but not a drop slips through.
 
Water gushes like a waterfall over the sides, cascading to the ground.

“Hold your ground!” Scar Face yells as his men scatter.
 
“It’s a parlor trick.
 
She’s trying to scare you.”

The soldiers fall back into place as the hum of charged lasers doubles in volume.
 
I grin and twirl around to look each man in the eye.
 
“I think your men believe in the Shadow Walker now.”

Scar Face casts a glance back over his shoulder as two spider drones approach the invisible barrier.
 
When he turns back to me, his smirk reeks of confidence.
 
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” He raises his weapon to aim directly at my heart.
 
“Personally I hope you choose the hard way.”

“Then today is your lucky day.”
 
I stand my ground as he trains his sights on me.
 
He stares down the barrel of his gun, unnerved by my lack of concern.

“Only a fool would stand off against Commander Drakon’s army.
 
He has never lost.”

I shrug and plant my hands on my hips.
 
“That’s because he hasn’t come up against me yet, but trust me, I
am
coming for him.”

He fingers the trigger with gleeful anticipation.
 
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I advise.
 
“I assure you, I am capable of much more than mere tricks.”

Scar Face glowers at me.
 
His soldiers brace for impact as a green light spirals out of the end of his weapon.
 
I raise my hand and cast it aside with little thought.
 
It slams into an alien’s chest to my right, dropping him woodenly to the ground.

“How’d you do that?”
 
The first hint of fear seeps into Scar Face’s voice.
 

“She is the Shadow Walker.”
 
The murmur spreads like wildfire through the men.
 
Many of them turn tail and run.
 
The dome ripples as they flee into the woods.

“Seems they believe me now.”
 

“Stop!” He bellows, waving his arms at his men.
 
“I order you to stop!

The Caldonians hardly acknowledge his shouts as they run full out, leaving their leader behind.
 
“It’s just you and me.”
 

With a jerk of his hand, the spider drones lurch into action, bearing down on us.
 
“I think not.”

I glance over my shoulder at the armory and find the door closed.
 
It’s impossible to tell if Eamon is still inside or if he and Toren got away safely.
 
I have no choice but to hold my ground.
 
I eye the approaching monsters with feigned disinterest, although my pulse thumps madly against my neck.
 
“Do you honestly think they will slow me down?”

Scar Face throws back his head and cackles.
 
It sounds rough and gritty.
 
“You’ve got guts, but you’re a bit too cocky for your own good.”

Two massive cannons swivel, locking me in their targets.
 
Diverting a small laser is one thing, but diverting one of those is a whole other story.
 
Everything within me shouts to run, but I can’t risk them hitting the armory.
 
I have to draw their fire. I open my stance and brace for a fight that I know I might not win.
 

Gut wrenching shrieks fill my mind, driving me to my knees.
 
The world spins before me as pain blisters my mind. I claw at my head, wishing I could dig the pain out.
 
My heart plummets as I recognize my name being called over and over again.

Kyan!
 
Oh God, what are they doing to you?

Get out of my mind.
 
He’ll sense you!
 
Kyan’s howl is fierce, deafening.
 

I’m coming for you.
 
I promise I will make Drakon pay!

No!
 
Kyan screams.
 
You can’t come here.
 
You’re not ready.

I’m physically thrown back as Kyan shoves me out of his mind. I shake my head, fighting to still a shudder as the echoes of Kyan’s screams reverberate through my thoughts.
 
Rage burns in my chest and the whispers rise, sealing out everything else.
 
I grasp hold of the power, embracing the Shadow’s thirst for revenge.

I rise slowly to my feet, my hands and clothes matted with mud.
 
My vision darkens as my pupils melt into liquid black.
 
“Drakon just made a huge mistake,” I growl.

“Attack!”
 
The cry comes from behind the machines.
 
Scar Face, with all of his blustery bravado, has fallen behind his safety net.
 

I slash my hands down to my sides and wide slits appear in the first machine.
 
The metal groans as it is peeled back to reveal a soldier within.
 
He scrambles out of his seat as I raise my hands again.
 
With a crunching of bones, the alien lands in the mud, groaning as he cradles his broken ankle.
 
I lift the machine into the air and toss it aside.
 
It crashes through thirty feet of trees before coming to rest, lying on its side, the crimson core flickering out of existence.
 
Only a cold shell remains.

A second machine takes it place. It’s cannons boil over as I hold my hands out before me and close my fists, twisting my hands around.
 
As the laser spirals down the cannon, the metal twists, sealing the flame within.

I duck as the machine explodes.
 
White-hot metallic debris rains down around me.
 
A small shield replaces the towering dome to protect me from the shards as they pelt the ground.

“Is that the best you can do?” I scream.

Scar Face turns and flees, sounding a retreat to any Caldonians that may be left.
 
I sink to my knees as I pull away from the Shadow.
 
It gives up control, but not without making its lingering presence known.
 
It has left, but has not gone far.

I hang my head in the fading drizzle, breathing deep as exhaustion tugs me to the ground.
 
I flop onto my back, gasping for breath.
 

“Illyria!”

Eamon rushes toward me, his feet splashing in the puddles as he dives for me.
 
“Are you alright?”

I nod.
 
“Tired.”

He pulls me into his arms, patting my face as my eyes begin to fall closed.
 
“Wake up, Illyria.
 
I have to get you to Bastien.”

“Bastien?” I rouse just enough to wince at the reminder of his wounds.
 
“Is he…”

“No,” Eamon shakes his head.
 
“But it won’t be long. You have to help him.”

“I…I can’t.
 
I don’t know how to heal him.”

Eamon cups my face, forcing me to focus on him.
 
“You have to try.
 
If you can’t heal him, he’s going to die.”

Thirty-One

I can’t wrap my mind around Eamon’s words.
 
Bastien can’t die.
 
It’s not possible.
 
How could he be in my vision of the future if he dies now?

“Toren says he’s fading fast.
 
He needs you, Illyria.”

Panic lances through my exhaustion.
 
“Take me to him.”

“I can’t,” Eamon says.
 
“They are ten miles away.
 
We won’t reach him in time.”

Toren!

Seconds later, a gust of wind ruffles Eamon’s hair. He turns, shocked to see Toren standing behind us.
 
“How did you…never mind.
 
Take Illyria to Bastien.
 
I’ll just hang out here until you get back.”

“Take this,” Toren says, handing Eamon a laser gun before picking me up into his arms.
 
My head lolls against his arm.
 
“Is she strong enough for this?”

Eamon shrugs.
 
“She took out two drones on her own.
 
I don’t know how much she has left in her.”

Toren places my arm over his shoulder and I weakly hold on.
 
I catch one final glimpse of Eamon standing in the middle of our camp’s ruins before my vision blurs brown.
 
Seconds later, Toren slows to a walk.
 
Shouts rise all around as we approach.

“Where is he?” I croak.
 

“Over here,” Aminah calls.
 
As Toren carries me through the milling crowd, I estimate that roughly forty people remain.
 
Most have burns on their bodies.
 
Some limp on twisted knees or sport cloth bandages over their faces where wood impaled their flesh.
 

Gently placing me beside Aminah, Toren rises and tells her he’s going back for Eamon.
 
The scent of blood draws me to Bastien’s side.
 
I feel his neck, barely detecting a pulse.
 
His cheeks are sallow.
 
His limbs have grown cold and his chest barely rises and falls.
 

“I did everything I could to stop the blood flow, but I’m not a healer.
 
I don’t really know what I’m doing,” Aminah says.
 
“Can you help him?”

“I have to try.”
 
I rest my head atop his chest, no longer able to hold it up on my own.
 

“He’s lost so much blood.
 
I don’t know how he’s hung on this long,” Aminah mutters, mopping Bastien’s brow.
 
Her trembling fingers betray her fear.
 

The blood on his shirt has dried to a faded maroon.
 
I stare at the wide stain, remembering how his life literally drained out on the floor of my cabin.
 

“I need you to hold me up, Aminah.”
 
I lock my gaze on her.
 
“Promise me, no matter what happens you will make sure that I don’t let go.”

“But if you can’t…” she begins to protest.
 

I cut her off.
 
“Promise!”

“I swear.”
 
She grips my waist and places my hand on Bastien’s arm.
 
Closing my eyes I struggle to focus, unsure of how to even begin to heal him.
 

Bastien?
 
Can you hear me?

Silence.
 
My head droops onto Aminah’s shoulder.
 
“He can’t hear me.”

“Don’t give up hope.”

Illyria?
 

I feel a rush of strength at the sound of his weakened voice.
 
I’m here.
 
I’m going to save you.

I tighten my grip on his stiff hand.
 
I’m cold,
he whispers to my mind.

Just hang on a couple more minutes.
 

This time there is no response.
 
Bastien?
 

Fear makes me claw at the veil that has fallen over my mind.
 
I direct my waning power into my hand, the way Kyan taught me, willing healing fires to pass on to Bastien.
 
Through my closed eyes, I can sense a glow and feel heat burning in the palm of my hand.

“You’re doing it!” Aminah cheers.
 

“It’s not enough,” I gasp, scrunching up my forehead to try and increase the flow of warmth radiating down my arm from my heart.
  
I can only manage a small spark instead of the bonfire I need.

“Help me,” I cry, latching onto Aminah’s arm.
 
My head rises slightly off her shoulder as I draw power from her, and her strength mingles with mine.
 
There is an explosion of heat within my chest, radiating outward.

Like lava flowing out of an active volcano, my life force seeps down my arm, singeing the hairs on my forearm as it goes.
 
It reaches my fingertips and then makes the small leap over to Bastien’s limp hand.
 
I begin to tremble violently but I clamp down, refusing to let go.
 

In my mind, I can see Bastien’s body enveloped by golden light.
 
I watch as the torn flesh slowly knits itself back together, sealing the wound with newly formed skin.
 
Blood cells rapidly multiply, replacing all that has been lost.
 
Bastien’s breathing steadies and his pulse regains its former strength.
 

“You did it!” Aminah cries, releasing my hand as she leans over Bastien.
 

The instant she releases my hand the glow goes out, snuffed from existence like a candle blown in the wind.
 
I slump over Bastien’s body, my mind shutting down just before everything begins to darken.

“Illyria!” Aminah screams.
 
The alarm in her voice doesn’t faze me as shadows fall across my eyes.
 
I feel my energy burn out, like an ember smoldering into ash, completely used up.
 
I sink into the void…gladly embracing the chance to rest.

“How could you let her do it?
 
She could’ve died,” an angry voice rises nearby.
 

“Let her?
 
I couldn’t have stopped her even if I’d been here,” another voice spits back.

“Someone should’ve knocked her out!”

“It was her choice,” a resigned voice responds.
 
“You would have done the same for her.”

A tense silence surrounds me.
 
I can hear feet shuffling on the ground.
 
“You’re right, but what she did was stupid and reckless!”

“Of course it was.
 
This is Illyria we’re talking about.
 
She does stupid things…especially for you.”
 
I recognize the bitterness of this voice and realize Eamon and Bastien are at it again.

A hand cups my face as I struggle to open my eyes.
 
The pain in my head is blinding.
 
All I want to do is escape to the void once more.
 
“I think she’s coming around,” Aminah calls.

I wince at the volume of her voice.
 
Heavy footsteps rush toward me.
 
I feel, rather than see, the crowd tighten around me.
 
I moan, feeling weak and oddly disconnected, but alive.

“Can you speak?”
 
Aminah asks, softer this time.

“I’m fine.”

Strong arms pull me into a sitting position.
 
I blink and smile at Toren, thankful a neutral friend chose to help.
  
I’m not sure I can bear to hear Bastien and Eamon bicker any more.
  
I take a steadying breath before searching for Bastien.
 
He hangs back in the crowd, his head hung low.
 

“You look better,” I call weakly.

He runs his hand gently along his closed wound.
 
A scar trails across his stomach, the only evidence of his dance with death.
 
“Yeah, but you look terrible.”

“Didn’t look so hot yourself a few minutes ago,” I remind him.
 

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he insists, his face stern with reproach.
 

“I lived,” I say, shrugging feebly.

Ignoring everyone around us, Bastien dips down before me.
 
“But you could have died.
 
You’ve never done that before.
 
It could have…” he trails of as his face pinches with anguish over what could have been.

“It was worth the risk,” I whisper, low enough that only he can hear.
 
He leans back as he strangles off a groan between gritted teeth.
 
He lurches to his feet and takes off before anyone can see the pain in his eyes.

Eamon rushes in to take his place as Toren and Aminah control the crowd to give us some privacy.
 
Eamon cups my face and kisses my forehead.
 
“I thought I’d lost you.”

“I’m sorry I worried you.
 
I didn’t know how else to save his life.”

“I know,” he whispers, pressing my hands together and kissing each of them in turn.
 
“If I weren’t so mad at you, I’d be really impressed.”

I smile.
 
“It’s no big deal.”

“Says you.”
 
He brushes his thumb along my cheek.
 
“Are you really ok?
 
Bastien was right, you do look awful.”

“Yeah, I’m just a bit off at the moment.
 
I can’t really figure out what’s causing it.
 
Probably just need to rest.”

“Of course.
 
Lie back and I’ll get you something to eat.
 
Toren’s called a meeting of the survivors soon so that should give you about an hour or two to sleep.”
 
He turns and points to a crowded clearing just over a row of low bushes.
 
“I’ll be right over there if you need me.”

“I’ll be fine.
 
Go on, get!”

He grins and places a kiss on my lips before hurrying off.
 
I sink down to the ground and curl my arm under my head.
 
I don’t actually mean to fall asleep, but the next time my eyes open, the moon is well on its way toward the eastern sky.
  
I sit up and stretch, surprised to find Eamon lying behind me, his soft snores rising and falling.
 

I untangle myself without disturbing him and head toward the dwindling campfire.
 
Several men surrounded the space, some snoring while others appear restless.
 
Only one person remains beside the fire.

“Bastien?”

He raises his head but doesn’t turn.
 
“I was wondering when you would wake.”

I move around to the side of him and drop down onto one of the log seats, holding out my hands to the fire for warmth.
 
“I thought someone would wake me.”

“Eamon thought it best that you get some rest.
 
He’s worried about you,” he says stiffly.