Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One (10 page)

Amelia nodded and concentrated on
getting them there before the Kankul soldiers caught up. In ten
minutes or so, she had pulled off the freeway and the jeep rocked
hard against the rocky slope. But she didn't slow down. This type
of vehicle was suited for these forms of terrains.

The dark clouds had thickened
immensely, almost gathering directly overhead. The soldiers were
nearer. She glanced at Hadaen through the corner of her eye. His
jaws were clenched so tightly she thought they'd break at any
moment. A deep frown was plastered across Gideon's face, his face
wet with perspiration. Esyth looked frightened out of her mind.
Altogether, Amelia was getting the impression that they were
screwed.

"They are smarter than I'd thought,"
Esyth said, her expression worried as she fell out of levitation
and the glow disappeared. "They are just a mile behind
us."

Oh shit!

"Fuck!" came Hadaen's voice, hoarse
and strained. "Get off the road."

Amelia swerved off track and through
the woodland, dodging trees and breaking branches. The jeep jerked
roughly and bounced along the rocky land.

"They've got a missile!"
Gideon yelled. "They're about to launch. We need to get out.
Now
!"

Hell broke loose.

But not before all doors of the jeep
was kicked open and the four of them jumped out without
second-guessing it. They rolled and scraped against harsh stones
and trees, sliding down a hillside. It was a full one minute later
that a loud clap echoed through the sky, followed by the boom of an
explosion. The jeep went up in flames, forming a massive cloud of
black smoke. Debris fell everywhere.

"Keep moving!" Hadaen shouted above
the noise. "Amelia? Where are you?"

Amelia blinked the toxic smoke from
her eyes and struggled to her feet. She then felt his hand clasp on
to hers, pulling her into a run. Ahead of them, Gideon and Esyth
sped on through the woodland, with a bag in tow. Seemed as if he
had managed to grab one of the duffle bags before they had been
blown up to bits.

Loot had darkened their faces and arms
but it was better than being blown to scraps; far better than being
drained to nothing by the Kankul soldiers if they caught up to
them. Amelia did not protest Hadaen's grip on her. It was not the
time to be foolish. Jumping over a fallen tree, she almost twisted
her ankle and a shallow pain stabbed through her right leg. She
whimpered.

"Are you okay?" he questioned. "If
you're in pain, climb on to my back. I can move just as fast with
you."

"I'm fine," she said, loud enough so
he could hear but soft enough to not garner any unneeded
attention.

She was glad he hadn't questioned it.
Instead, Gideon directed them along another path holding up a
silencing hand at them. It was a warning that they should remain as
quiet as possible. Their pace slowed and Amelia struggled to
manufacture her oxygen debt. Hadaen pulled her down into a
crouching position next to him as the four of them sat hidden
behind thick bushes. He listened with his inner ear.

The Kankul soldiers had found
them.

* * *

H
adaen watched anxiously as four Kankul soldiers stepped out
into view. Their identity could not be mistaken. The infamous
Kankul tattoo stretched along the length of each man's arm, a thin
and vicious black cobra. They were big men, equaling him and
Gideon's height and built. He could sense the rest, twenty-five
men, some half a mile down the slope.

He felt Amelia's shaky breath on his
back. His jump from the truck had ripped his shirt straight down
the back. He was thankful they had managed to escape. Yet they were
cornered. And she was horrified. He wanted to comfort her, pull her
into his arms but the time for that was not this one. He was too
busy with thinking up a fresh idea. A way to distract the soldiers
away from them... or the best way to swoop in and fight it all
out.

He felt Gideon's touch on his arm and
turned slightly. His brother gestured to the duffle bag that was
sitting at his foot. Hadaen knew what he was thinking before he
even thought it. Casting a reassuring glance at Amelia, he saw her
pull in a deep breath. She was a strong woman, he knew it. Esyth
moved in closer to her and rubbed her shoulder. It was a gesture
that ensured him her safety.

Without further hesitation, Hadaen
followed Gideon silently away from the bushes, their feet barely
hitting the ground. They were lithe creatures and could move with
the grace of a cat if need be. They had succeeded a good distance
between them and the soldiers before he spoke.

"What's your plan?"

Gideon grinned. He always had envied
his youngest brother's good-naturedness. Hadaen just could not
understand how the man could be so happy all the damn time. Gideon
slid the zipper of the bag open. "Explosives, courtesy of Jacques.
Enough to floor a whole damn city."

Hadaen listened on with interest. "The
other soldiers are at least a half mile down the hill. If we can
get rid of them, the four that's left will be minced meat, no
doubt."

Gideon nodded and dug into the
contents cautiously. "We got C-4. Half a pound of this can blow a
whole fucking commercial passenger airplane to dust."

"You've been messing around with this
stuff, haven't you?" Hadaen narrowed his gaze on him. Gideon had
always had touchy fingers, even as a child. It was always a fault
that had gotten him into a lot of trouble.

"Maybe. We also have a few sticks of
dynamite, TNT and some stuff Jacques called Semtex. Said it's great
shit."

"Okay." Hadaen nodded and listened
outwardly. "Let's go. The others are catching up."

* *

A
melia couldn't tell if the soldiers had found their exact
location but she was praying that Hadaen and Gideon would move
faster. Her head was a bit tender from the blast and her limbs
ached from fatigue.

The last thing she had expected was to
be cornered by the same kind of men who had murdered her mother.
She had tried time and time again to not think about the past but
now...it only felt as if time was destined to repeat itself. But
she'd be damned if she'd let the Kankul soldiers sweep in and
demolish; as was their routine approach. She'd be making her way to
the Hub today and she'd receive the necessary training on how to
properly use her powers. She'd help to destroy the insufferable
Deorci once and for all.

Tension drenched through the air.
Esyth crouched still by her side. If this woman was even the
slightest bit scared, she did not show it. Her oval face was dusty
gray and she stared intently out at the enemy.

"Spread out!" yelled one of the men,
his voice a hoarse rumble, the Kankul accent rolling nastily off
his tongue. "They are somewhere around here, I know it. Move
out."

The three other men broke off into
separate directions, combing through the bushes. Amelia got a
closer look at the group's leader. He had long brown hair, snapped
tight in a ponytail that stopped just mid-back. He was a big man,
somewhere around Hadaen's built, she deduced. Dressed in dark gray
cargo pants and a black vest, he could easily pass off as a mortal
military man. But Marujans could effortlessly identify a Kankul
soldier from miles away. Their energies stank with a wretched
evilness that could bring tears to the eyes. And of course, there
was the tattoo.

Shaking her head, Amelia almost jumped
out of secrecy when the man turn towards the thick bushes. Had he
heard them somehow? Had he sensed their breathing? Esyth's fingers
gripped around Amelia's wrist and squeezed tightly, attempting to
calm her.

His eyes narrowed to thin slits as he
closed in on their position, one hand falling to his side where he
retrieved a large knife. Amelia gulped, her heart thudding wildly.
Esyth didn't even bat a lash. She was watching the man with nothing
but pure hatred in her light green eyes, her lips curled in a
sneer.

An explosion shook the area. Then
another. Birds scattered and the Kankul group leader spun around
instantly.

"Re-group!" he yelled on the top of
his lungs, running down the slope and supposedly towards the
explosion. "Move...out!"

Amelia could see the thick black smoke
rising in the air, could smell the toxicity of
bloodshed.

"What do we do now?" Amelia forced
out, worried she would not want the answer.

Esyth gave her a crooked smile, one
that sported victory even though they hadn't quite won yet. "We
fight."

And with that she pushed herself up,
her eyes glowing gold. A force moved around her as she walked
slowly into mayhem. Amelia felt around her neck for her necklace
and sighed with relief.

She then followed out
behind Esyth, tapping into her
mana.

They saw where the explosions
occurred. About quarter mile due east. Three Trooper trucks were
scattered across the ground, still burning. The earth around was
burnt black, some trees fallen and ablaze as well. Amelia narrowed
her eyes to zoom in on the scene. Hadaen--

"They're down there!" Esyth screamed.
"Let's go."

The other woman sped off like
lightening down the slope. Amelia nodded and followed behind, her
eyes glistening as the blue glow crackled around her.

The scene was a mess, dead bodies
lying around everywhere. Gideon's plan had managed to take out 19
men. Amelia's eyes scanned around for Hadaen. She could not find
him. Gideon held a man in a death grip, snapping his neck like a
twig.

Then a firm hand gripped her from
behind. Hadaen. Blood gashed from a cut above his right brow. And
another, supposedly where someone had slashed a knife across his
left bicep.

"You're hurt," she screamed above the
yells and anguish of men.

For a second he seemed surprised by
her concern. "I'll heal in a minute. Now get behind me!" He hadn't
waited for her to move. But had positioned himself in front her in
one swift stride.

"I'll fight!" she said.

"Stay guarded. And don't leave my
sight."

Two soldiers decided to attack him at
that point. Hadaen's energy vibrated around her as he braced for
the fight. One man lunged at him with a blade, the poisonous Kankul
fire blazing on it. Hadaen evaded the hit and kicked the blade from
the man's hand. He then grabbed him by the throat and slammed him
against the ground with all the strength his anger provided at the
moment.

The soldier's head rolled limply to
the side. Amelia was at his back, repelling the other. She ran like
the wind and back as she sent a solid uppercut to the man's ribs.
Hadaen smiled to himself. She fought like a damn man. Then she spun
around and sent her mana coursing through a kick to his gut. Blood
shot from the soldier's mouth as he went flying a good forty meters
back before he hit ground.

"Look out!" he heard her scream.
Hadaen spun around just in time to slip out of a hold he knew would
have left him crippled. The Kankul soldier smiled smugly at him as
he sized him up. He recognized the energy. This was the troop's
leader.

Esyth blew past them in an instant,
knocking the man off his feet. Hadaen heard Gideon's groan to his
left as he rammed a knife through the heart of another soldier. The
entire group was wiped out clean. Except for the leader who was now
back on his feet like wildfire and glaring at him.

"You think you've won, don't you?" he
said, spitting at Hadaen's feet. "What Deorci has planned for you
is nothing compared to anything you've ever seen."

"Tell your Deorci to come kiss my
stinking ass," Gideon muttered, dropping the bloodstained knife to
the ground. Esyth slithered towards Gideon, her hair going wild
around her head and glowing green when she reached him. Hadaen
wondered what the reason was for that but decided this was not the
time to question it. Amelia's presence behind him was the only
thing that kept his control from breaking loose.

The man laughed. "Tell him yourself
when you see him. And trust me, you'll never know when Deorci
approaches."

As far as he was concerned, Hadaen was
growing tired of this man mouthing off. Taking a step forward, he
grabbed the man by the neck. The soldier grabbed him back and they
both started off in a frenzy of face punches and uppercuts. He had
to admit, the soldier was good. But he was better.

Red fire blazed around Hadaen as he
knocked a few teeth loose and kicked the man across the field,
watching as his boots dug into the ground along the way.

Silence and tension stretched between
them…. until the soldier blazed past him suddenly. Gideon tensed
and pushed Esyth behind him. Hadaen snarled furiously, blood
rushing to his head as Amelia's agonized whimper echoed in his
ears.

Turning slowly on his heel, he took in
a shaky breath as the soldier held his woman slapped up against his
frame. He held one slender hand twisted behind her as he pressed a
blade by her throat. Hadaen was pissed out of his mind. It was only
by reflex that he edged forward.