Blood Bond (The Stones of Terrene Chronicles Book 4), page 15
Zak snarled as he rushed forward, sword raised. The guard met Zak’s blow with his own short blade. Zak swept the guard’s strike to the side and grabbed him by the collar. Using that hold, Zak bashed the guard’s head against the wall. Even through the shrieking whine of the alarm, Ben heard the audible crack of the man’s skull.
The guard that had stepped out of the hall reappeared, his eyes widening at the sight of his fallen comrade. Ben shot him in the chest, and the guard slammed into the door frame, leaving a red smear.
Christopher tried to stop by Zak, but his boots skidded on the blood, and Christopher threw out his arms, wind-milling.
Ben kept an eye on the doorway while reloading his pistol.
“More incoming!” Geist snapped as he backed into Ben. “We have to go.”
Ben searched the hallway, fear squeezing his heart as Zak and Christopher dispatched two guards that had come out of the research room. Had Raine and Finn left already? He wanted to assume so because of the damage, but he couldn’t believe that with confidence.
Raine said he’d recognize her sign but what––his eyes snagged on a crudely drawn cloud with jagged drops of rain falling from it, up above the door in the ashen aftermath of whatever happened in the research room. Even from his distance, he could make out a heart in the rain. His heart stuttered. A little x under the cloud cleared his concerns.
“They’re out.” He barely recognized his own voice. She wasn’t kidding when she’d said leave a sign. Did she know how much that meant to him? And how this wasn’t the time to make his heart stop?
“Good. Move, move!” Geist shouted, shoving Ben’s shoulder. “Zak, Christopher, move!”
Zak kicked the guard he’d just dropped and nodded before taking off down the hall again. They ran after him, but Ben paused at the split in the hallway and took aim, waiting. The first guard that came around the corner dropped before he even saw Ben. Geist took down the second while Ben reloaded. They both backed slowly toward Christopher and Zak while they took turns shooting and reloading. Steam swirled in the hallway, adding to the chaos of battle.
“Good enough,” Christopher hissed from behind. “One more and go.”
“I’ll take the last, you go first.” Geist didn’t look away from the pile of bodies they were mounding down the hall. “You still got that leg.”
“It’s mostly healed,” Ben ground out, but he nodded and took off after Christopher and Zak.
The final shot and hiss of steam sounded behind him, then Geist’s reassuring footfall behind Ben kept Ben company out the door and into the blinding sunlight outside.
They traveled as quickly as they could to where they’d left the horses, not bothering to cover their tracks. Zak broke through the shrubbery, and Ben caught a brief glimpse of Raine, already seated on her horse. Ben caught her eye and pink blazed high on her cheeks. Zak scrambled up on his horse and motioned to the pass they’d taken to get in, white puffs punctuating his orders. “Go, go! We’ve got to go!”
Finn immediately started for the pass, Raine’s horse just behind him.
Geist paused by his horse, one foot in the stirrups. “Where’s Serena?”
Zak swore and gestured for Christopher to follow Finn and Raine. He scanned the trees and shook his head, his voice hollow. “She made me promise to leave, even if she wasn’t back.”
Ben scanned the terrain, his still hammering heart in his throat. Had she been caught?
“She can take care of herself,” Geist’s tone didn’t hold the same confidence that his words did. He gripped his horse’s reins, and the mare pranced in place nervously. “She’s tougher than she looks.” Reluctance practically radiated off him. “And we need to get to the Phoenix.”
Zak’s shoulders hunched and he clicked his tongue, turning his horse to the pass. “She’ll catch up.”
Christopher passed Zak, peering back at the barracks. “I’ll be just behind you. Maybe she got lost.” He swore and plastered himself against his horse, his voice strangled. “Hide! They have an airship!”
Ben floundered, wanting to throw himself into the nearby bushes to stay out of sight, but he couldn’t while on his horse. He peered up at the dark underside of the airship. Who was on it, and had they seen Ben and his friends?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jade
Jade trotted after Master Videl, content with her day. After traveling for so long, a hot bath and a change of clothes had been beyond lovely. And the break here must’ve been good for Master Videl, too, as he hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d left Lord Sephirn’s office.
She caught Videl’s side glance, and she stuck her tongue out at him. “What, did I miss a spot of dirt or something?”
He blinked before smirking slowly, the curl of his lips making her think of a satisfied predator. “Or something.”
An ear-piercing alarm sliced through the air, and she half-ducked instinctively before looking to Videl for orders. The distant rumble of an explosion underlined the alarm.
Her fingers dropped to the hilt of the dagger on her waist. “Sir?”
“We’re not staying.” He spun on his heel and pointed down a different hallway than the one they’d come in. “Sephirn’s men will deal with it.”
They jogged down the hall, their steps in tandem. She checked each hall they passed until she finally had to ask. “Where’s Pamela?”
Videl’s lips pressed together as he huffed out his nose. “She’ll catch up.”
They burst through a door labeled “Caution: Landing Zone,” and Jade immediately clutched her still-folded coat closer to herself as the icy air sucked the breath from her lungs. She coughed and blindly stumbled after Master Videl.
He exchanged terse words with a man standing by the dock of the airship, who then bowed low and stepped aside, letting her master aboard. Videl motioned for her to follow up the wooden ramp and onto the main deck.
It wasn’t a steamie. Thank the stones.
“Looks like you got lucky with this one,” Videl commented.
Jade nodded wordlessly and swept her gaze over the ancient deck design, recognizing the original layout for the main mast, the clearly smaller cabins, the single safety rail that ran through the center of the airship instead of the side rails. She jogged over to the safety rail, the blaring alarm still audible. She peered over the edge to the field below, where a few soldiers raced around the building. “No Pamela.”
Videl bounded up the short stairs to the captain’s roost, his rapid orders spilling from his lips like nails dropping out of a bucket.
The orders didn’t pertain to her. She ignored them in favor of concern for their erstwhile comrade.
Jade searched the small, snow-blanketed shipyard for a sign of their dark-haired companion, her concern growing. Pamela was an excellent soldier, though she never seemed to like Jade. But her disdain hadn’t kept her from her duty. So where was she now?
The girl that had helped Jade in the baths –– Andrea –– burst out from the same doorway that Jade and Videl had come out of just moments before. Jade waved, and Andrea pulled her coat close to her body as she ran toward them.
“Have you seen Pamela?” Jade called out.
Andrea clambered up the ramp to join Jade. “Sorry, I missed what you said. What?” Jade repeated her question, and Andrea shook her head. “No. But someone blew up part of the research division.” Her eyes were wide open, the whites around her irises visible. “We were invaded by the south, somehow.”
The airship rumbled under their feet, and Videl sprinted down the stairs at them, his steps faltering once at the sight of Andrea.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed Jade’s arm. “We need to get below deck.”
Jade shook him off and gripped the rail as the ship lifted. “In a moment.” She lifted her face to the winter sky, gripping the rail as joy sang through her veins. “It’s been too long since I’ve been on a standard airship.”
Videl’s mouth opened, closed. “Fine. Be down soon.” He paused. “Both of you.”
Jade waved him off while Andrea bowed briefly. Jade leaned on the rail, cautious not to loosen her hold as she moved. She had no safety line, and she intended to have many more adventures in the sky like this.
Andrea’s rosy cheeks slowly paled. “I wasn’t supposed to be on this.”
“Too late now.” Movement caught Jade’s eye, and she pointed to the distant tree line. “See them?”
“The army from the south?” Andrea peered over the edge cautiously. She gasped. “Christopher?”
“Who?” Jade swept her gaze over the man she didn’t recognize, then traced a visual path over the trail and up to a group that looked only vaguely familiar. Almost like she’d seen them in a dream she could barely remember. Until she saw one clad in black, strands of inky black hair sticking out from under an onyx cap.
Even though she could see his face, she knew him.
Zak Monomi.
Fury lit in her heart, pouring down her nerves, alighting on her muscles, filling her lungs with liquid lava. Master Videl’s enemy. Her enemy.
She wanted him dead at her feet. She wanted his blood on her hands. She wanted to rip out his throat and give it Master Videl as a thank offering for freeing her.
She remembered him. Remembered how he’d been responsible –– somehow –– for Master Videl’s pain. For his loss and his anger.
A strange sound caught her ear. Andrea cried softly beside Jade, her tears visible on her cheeks. Concern broke through the hate roiling in Jade, and she loosened her two-handed grip on the safety rail to touch Andrea’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“That was my brother. I’m certain of it.” Andrea swiped an ungloved hand across her face. “I haven’t seen him in at least fifteen years. I didn’t even know if he was alive anymore.”
Jade patted Andrea awkwardly on the shoulder. “We’ll try to see him again.”
Jade looked to the south where they’d seen the small group, and she grit her teeth. She would do everything in her power to see them again. To find out why Andrea’s brother was in the company of the number one enemy of Jade’s Master.
And then Jade would do what she had to do.
She’d kill Zak Monomi.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Christopher
Christopher stared up at the airship, hoping desperately that they were searching on the other side of the bow, that they’d somehow miss seeing his group, even though they lacked winter camouflage.
No one else had looked up at the airship, instead racing for what shelter they could from enemy eyes. But he’d looked. And he’d seen her. Andrea. His sister was onboard that ship. It had been years, but he recognized her. And though it was hard to know with confidence, it looked like Jade had been next to her.
Where were they going?
But there was no time to think of them, not when soldiers were spilling out of the facility, and each of them was out for blood.
Blood. Like Pammy’s. He winced and ducked over his horse, willing her to go faster, to escape the pain that throbbed in his chest. The reins in his hands were tacky, sticky with the drying blood of the one woman he’d wanted to save.
And now the Phoenix wasn’t where they’d left it.
Muddied, churned snow surrounded the deep crevasses of the ground where the airship had been, but there were no other signs of it or the crew.
Zak prowled about, inspecting tracks and broken bits of tree. Geist sat astride his horse, glow stone in hand, trying desperately to reach them.
“We should keep moving,” Ben prompted, twisting in the saddle to look behind them. “The soldiers are going to follow.”
“They’re definitely following,” Christopher replied without hesitation. He gazed up the hill that the Phoenix had been hiding behind. “We could go further north, until we get a hold of them.”
Finn touched his fingers lightly against his satchel and gave him a decisive nod. “Lead on.”
Christopher led his group through every pass he could think of, deeper into the wilderness and away from Tastow. But they needed a direction. Somewhere, anywhere. And soon.
The light in the gray sky was already dimming. Nightfall would make it difficult to cross the terrain, and emotional and physical fatigue weighed heavily on him, making every breath difficult. His mind reeled. Pammy is gone. Her blood is on you. He pushed back against the thoughts. I killed Fulton. I avenged her.
But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
“Hold up!” Geist called out, his voice gravely and harsh. He hoisted up the glow stone he’d been cradling ever since they discovered the Phoenix missing. “I finally heard back from Nae. They’d been found and had to get out of there.” Geist grimaced. “They’ve been followed by another airship and are working to lose it. Where can we meet them?”
Christopher felt the weight of everyone’s eyes on him, but he didn’t know what to suggest. Where would be far enough, safe enough? His sister was on an airship. Jade with her. Was it the same airship that was following the Phoenix?
Finn broke the silence. “We’ve been going northwest. I know of a place.” His hesitated, brow furrowed. “It should still be there. It won’t be enough for the Phoenix to land directly by it, but we can hide there and rest. Once they lose their tail, we can make arrangements to meet up.”
A deep growl made the hairs on Christopher’s stand on end, and he scanned the dense trees for whatever animal was hunting them. It took a moment longer to realize it was Zak.
Geist rode up next to the Monomi and gently put his hand on the warrior’s back. “We’ll find her, man. We just need to regroup.”
Zak shook him off. “The sooner, the better.” Zak jerked his chin at Finn. “Lead on.”
Christopher swallowed the lump in his throat as he fell in line after the sage. Should he mention that he may have seen Jade? Or would it make things worse?
He glanced up at Zak, the Monomi’s shoulders hunched as he rode. Christopher grimaced. He’d wait to say anything. Zak was already tense, and Christopher had seen enough of soldiers snapping under too much pressure to risk that right now.
They’d find shelter first. Hopefully on the Phoenix. And then, when they had a better means of travel to pursue their quarry, he’d share.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Weston
Weston kept his hands clasped behind his back as he walked down the line of gray-and-silver clad Aerugan troops, General Titus at his side. Each soldier looked dead ahead, not meeting his eyes as he inspected them. His gut twisted. It didn’t matter. Shiny boots, gleaming swords, well-creased uniforms … none of it mattered. These men and women would be marching against an enemy that didn’t care how they looked. An enemy that would shred them from limb to limb just because they’d been ordered to.
An enemy that could be ordered, because of the blood bond, to not feel pain, to not feel fear, to not turn away.
Did the dread in the air belong to the troops, or to himself?
How had his father done this, time and again, without showing an ounce of worry?
What was he going to say to them?
A subtle glance over his shoulder showed Niles and Andre following him with the same gravity of presence. Andre caught his eye and tilted his head in the barest of nods. Weston returned his attention to the line of soldiers, now a blend of the brown and brass tones from Piovant. He could make out the faint whirring of their grappling gloves over the breeze that tousled his hair. In a field beyond them, the Lasimian shock-troops trained with the completed paratrooper gear.
These brave souls were going to fight against overwhelming odds. And not a single one of them looked as terrified as he felt in his core. Why? Was it because they were trained in the military? Though he’d undergone some of that training as well, as part of his schooling. Was it because their hands were already bloodied? It was all too easy to imagine his own sweat-slick palms damp with Zak’s spilled blood from just a few short years ago. The way his hands shook and his stomach turned after killing Bentley.
Perhaps it was because they were fighting for the same reason he was. Only, they’d made their peace, while he had yet to do the same.
What chance of survival did they have? Really? The question kept asking itself in the back of his mind, and he firmly shoved it into a mental drawer, turned the key to lock it, and tried to forget that doubt.
Weston sucked in a cold lungful of air and imagined all his fear swirling out with the vapor. Time to be the leader that he had to be.
He held his hand out to General Titus. “I need the amplifier.”
Titus’s lips twitched as if he were suppressing a smile. “Of course, Lord Weston.” He held out the conical amplifier and gave Weston a shallow bow.
The metal handle still held the warmth of Titus’s hand, and Weston made certain to wrap his fingers securely around it, nervous that it would slip right out of his grip in an embarrassing blunder that he wouldn’t be able to live down. He strode to the nearby ramp of an airship that would grant him some height to see as many of the troops as possible. He passed the mixed contingent of Perennian, Doldran, and Vodan military that had remained from the Summit. His skin tingled. What would he say? How could he encourage them?
He flicked the switch to turn the amplifier on, and the hiss of steam on the side reassured him that it was working. He lifted it to his lips and sent a quick prayer to Texx for wisdom. He raised it to his mouth and reminded himself to enunciate clearly for those in the back.
“We are facing the single most terrifying foe of our lives. And I commend each and every one of you for standing here, today. We go to liberate Doldra. We go to show the Elphen armies that we will not back down. We go to fight for our freedom, for our families, our friends.” Warmth infused his chest, and steel underlined Weston’s words. His concerns evaporated in the heat of his passion. “We go so that our neighbors may know peace.”
Weston stopped for a heartbeat, gazing over the blend of uniforms, the different cultures represented. Pride filled his heart. “We go to show the Elph that we will not lie down and accept their shackles. We will show them that we are united. That we are dangerous. And that we are powerful.” He swept his hand out to the soldiers. “And if the Elph win, it will be through a river of our blood. For we will not go quietly.”
