SoulQuest (26 page)

“Time is precious.”

“Tell me about it,” said Tanus. His gun-arm returned to its normal state as an artificial hand and he took out the radio hidden inside the armor. “Tanus to Excalibur, you know that distraction we needed? Now would be a good time.”

“S-stop,” said Zarim. “Vortai...he said...”

“We’ll worry about it once we’re back in the sky,” said Tanus.

“No, you don’t understand...fifth stone...it’s...”

“HALT!”

Weiss had recovered from Tanus’ strike and she was back, holding the gun aimed at them. “I see the slightest movement, your captain takes a round in the chest. That would make your rescue mission pretty futile, wouldn’t it?”

“So would getting caught,” said Tanus.

Liran hunched over, claws bared and her lips curled as she hissed at the Dreadnought. Weiss didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. “Keep that pet of yours on a leash, too.”

“Don’t worry about it, Tanus.” Zarim slid from Tanus’ shoulder and stood on his feet. He limped slightly as he moved towards Weiss.
 

“Not another step!”

“Zarim, what are you doing?” asked Tanus.

Zarim glanced over his shoulder and winked at his friend. Then he faced Weiss. “So tell me, Commander. They never
did
find your brother’s body, did they?”

“Stay back...”

“Zarim!”

“I’ll tell you why,” said Zarim, ignoring Tanus. “It’s because there was no body left to find. And do you know why that is?”

“I SAID STAY WHERE YOU ARE!”

“I eradicated any trace of him off this planet,” said Zarim. “He may as well have never even existed once I’d gotten through—”

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

Four rounds tore through Zarim’s flesh one after another, the force of the bullets slamming into him throwing him back. He remained standing for a few moments, then fell to his knees. As he did, Liran was already in motion. She slapped the gun from Weiss’ hands and raked her claws across the commander’s face. Liran threw her up against the wall, her hands grasping at Weiss’ throat, then pulling away, a shower of crimson spewing forth.
 

Tanus dropped to Zarim’s side, shedding the upper portion of his armor and tearing fabric from his shirt to wrap Zarim’s wounds. “Stay with me, you’re not making this mission a waste of my time!”

“I-it’s not gonna be...” muttered Zarim. “Tanus...listen...this
needs
to-to happen...”

“Shut up, you need to conserve your strength, and you’re talking nonsense, anyway.”

“V-Vortai...fifth stone is on the...on the other side...” Zarim’s voice had grown fainter. And it went fainter still the more he tried to talk, but he knew he needed to pass on this information to Tanus.
 

“Dammit, if you don’t shut up, I’m gonna gag you myself!”

“Other side...he has someone there...I need to go and...and stop them...”

Tanus picked Zarim up. “You’re not dying on my watch, kid! Liran!”

The Felidae warrior discarded the remains of Weiss’ body. Her hands and mouth were covered in blood and gore. Tanus flinched when he first saw her white fur stained red, but reminded himself that Weiss had definitely earned it. Besides, there would be time to debate whether her actions were right or wrong later.

“We have to get him back to the ship, now!”

Shortly after receiving the transmission, the Excalibur came within range of Erlik and its cannons opened fire on the prison. Alarms sounded within the complex and Dreadnoughts rushed to either respond or evacuate, as well as to ensure the prisoners were still secured. The chaos provided Ekala and Reyche with the perfect cover to get through without arousing suspicion. It came as no surprise, then, that Ekala’s radio started to buzz with an incoming signal. She activated it.

“You found him?”

“Do you know where the hangar is?” was Tanus’ response.

“Should be able to find it,” she said. “You found Zee, right?”

There was a hesitation from Tanus that caused Ekala’s blood to freeze. “We found him.”

“We’re on our way.” Ekala tucked the radio away inside the armor. “Reyche, time for us to—”

Reyche had her arms pressed against the wall, her head hanging between them. She looked as if she was on the verge of vomiting inside her helmet. She shook her head as she struggled to gain control over her body, fighting the demon within her.

“It’s too much...I can’t...can’t fight it...”

Ekala spun Reyche around and slammed her back against the wall. “Pay attention, church girl! Something’s wrong with Zee and Tanus won’t tell me what it is! So you’re gonna pull yourself together and we’re gonna get outta here, you got me?”

Reyche’s body began to spasm. She could barely hear Ekala, it was as if she were in some distant location. All she could hear, like a deafening symphony, was the sound of hundreds of hearts pumping fresh, delicious blood through the veins. She struggled to find a grip, trying to take long, deep breaths. She thought of her parents, of her hometown. She thought of happier times, trying to find some center, something to grip hold of.
 

“GET UP!”

Ekala’s voice broke through and Reyche’s spasms came to a sudden halt. The pounding had faded and though the stench of blood was still there, she was able to focus on the task at hand. “I...I’m okay.”

“Good, then stop screwing around and let’s get outta here.”

The hangar was located on the ground level, up two floors from where Ekala and Reyche had been when the alarm sounded. They were still in armor, so they were able to blend in fairly well. Other Dreadnoughts charged passed them, guns and swords drawn. And when the pair finally ended up in the hangar, they saw why.

The smoke from the gunfire had made it difficult to see. Battle cries echoed in the hangar and as Reyche and Ekala pushed through, they could see the Dreadnoughts converging on one central figure—it was Liran. Her ferocity was unmatched, she had gone completely feral and her claws shred through anything that came near her. The beautiful, silver mane she possessed appeared as if it had been dyed scarlet. She didn’t only attack, but also evaded. Liran was constantly on the move, darting to avoid gunshots and sword-strikes.
 

But Tanus and Zarim were nowhere to be seen. Ekala hoped that was because Tanus was prepping one of the small crafts for takeoff. Regardless, Liran could obviously use a hand and Ekala planned to oblige. Although she would take a different tact. In addition to the sword and the sidearm, the Dreadnought standard-issue weapons also consisted of a dagger. She drew it and moved towards one of the soldiers who had ducked for cover behind one of the crafts. He nodded at her in appreciation of some assistance, then peeked out to the side and fired again. As he did, Ekala grabbed his head and pulled it back, then drew the dagger quickly across his throat. She stalked towards another Dreadnought with the same intention.

Reyche froze in place, just watching the carnage unfold all around her. Blood had started to pool on the ground and she stared at it in shock, then started to get lost within herself. She discarded her helmet and the rest of her armor and opened her mouth wide, screeching as her fangs elongated and her eyes burned yellow. Jumping from hiding, she glided towards one of the Dreadnoughts, tackling him and tearing his throat with her powerful jaw. She drank him, feeling strength flow through her body.
 

Despite their superior numbers, the Dreadnoughts of Erlik barely stood a chance against three of the most vicious females of any species. The hangar doors opened and one of the aircrafts moved into position. Liran signaled to her companions and the three women ran towards the open hatch, jumping onboard as the craft raced down the short runway. Liran was the last one to jump in and once she ran up the ramp, Ekala closed the door behind her.
 

It was a small craft, only capable of housing six people. Tanus sat at the controls and lying on the ground, covered with makeshift bandages, was Zarim. Ekala fell by his side, holding his head in her lap and stroking his hair, which had been dampened by his sweat. His eyes were shut, his body cold.

“Zee? Baby, it’s me. Answer me, please.”

Her vision blurred and she tried blinking the fog away, but her cheeks quickly became wet from her tears. “C’mon Zee, you’re tougher than this. Don’t tell me you’re just gonna wimp out on me now. Not when we’re so close to the end...”

Tanus kept his eyes on the controls, trying not to listen to Ekala’s pleas. Reyche and Liran could do nothing but watch as their teammate tried desperately to will back the man she loved. Ekala bent over his body, her head buried in his chest.
 

Ekala Cosari had a tough life. Orphaned at a young age, growing up on the streets of Delfor, she had learned quickly that you had to be harder than stone to survive, had to keep your emotions walled up behind a dam of false bravado. Today, for the first time in her life, that stone cracked.
 

And the floodgates opened.

Although they had managed to escape Erlik, they weren’t out of danger yet. The small aircraft’s radar told Tanus that they had vehicles closing in on them and fast. “Strap yourselves in, it’s gonna get bumpy!”

Liran fastened herself to the seat beside Tanus and Reyche was behind them. Ekala, however, was still hunched over Zarim’s lifeless body, clutching onto it, waiting for some sort of sign of life. Reyche reached for her, gently brushing her shoulder. Her voice was low. “Ekala...”

Tanus banked hard to the right, narrowly dodging a blast from one of the enemy ships. It’d been some time since he’d had to fly in a combat situation, and the radar showed four airships on their tail. To make matters worse, the Excalibur was nowhere in sight.
 

He toggled a few switches and altered the frequency on the radio. “Tanus calling Excalibur, do you copy?” There was no answer. “Tanus calling Excalibur, I repeat: do you copy?”

“Why aren’t they answering?” asked Reyche.

“Not sure, maybe the signal’s not getting through.” He glanced back. “Ekala, get in a damn seat already, or you’re gonna start bouncing all over this thing!”

She ignored his pleas, appearing almost catatonic. Tanus had no choice and pulled hard on the stick. The ship rose and he turned, trying to get within firing range of one of the attackers. He had it in his crosshairs and fired. A rocket disengaged from beneath the wing and loosed itself on the target, obliterating it in a fireball.

“One down,” he sighed. “Dammit Swul, where the hell are you?”

Reyche unfastened her belt and got down beside Ekala. Tanus looked back and saw this. “Not you too!”

“Ekala, we need to secure ourselves.” Her voice was low and gentle, but Ekala still wouldn’t respond. Reyche gently tried shaking her. “Zarim would want you to keep going. You have to honor him by being the woman he loved.”

She stood and lightly pulled Ekala with her. Surprisingly, the young thief followed Reyche’s lead and allowed herself to be sat down in a seat, where Reyche quickly fastened her belt. She then sat back down and did the same for herself.

“Good, now all we need to do is—” Tanus was interrupted by a sudden jolt to the ship. The craft shook violently and Tanus grappled with the wheel, trying to keep the ship steady.
 

“What is this?” asked Liran.

“We’ve been hit,” he said. “Looks like they’re not happy about me blowing up their friend.”

The three ships were closing in from three different angles and Tanus knew they were about to meet the end. There was no way he could avoid their missiles, maybe if it were just one or two. But three all within ideal firing range? Not a chance.

He had almost resigned himself to their fate when the ship in the middle of the trio suddenly blew up. Tanus, Liran, and Reyche were stunned into silence, and then they saw the cause as the Excalibur burst through the clouds.

The radio crackled. “Sorry t’ keep you waitin’. After bombing the prison, we had to find some cover.”
 

Tanus exhaled. He’d never been happier to hear the faerie’s surly voice.
 

One of the ships broke off and went after the new, larger fish. It circled around the Excalibur and the cannon fired several times, each shot missing its mark. What the Dreadnought ship lacked in firepower, however, it made up for with speed and flexibility that was difficult for the Excalibur to match.
 

Tanus pushed forward on the throttle just as his enemy fired, the shot narrowly missing their purloined ship. Tanus saw the Dreadnought ship attacking the Excalibur and made a bee-line straight for it, increasing his speed.
 

“You’re cuttin’ it kinda close there, buddy...” said Swul.

“He’s right, you should break off. It’s risky,” said Reyche.

“Both of you shut up, I know what I’m doing,” said Tanus.

He pulled up slightly, narrowly buzzing past the metallic hull of the Dreadnought and drawing its fire away from the Excalibur. Now both Dreadnoughts were locked in on him, and he was sandwiched right between the two speeding cruisers. Tanus accelerated towards the second Dreadnought, the first following close behind. For a moment, it appeared that Tanus was intent on ramming the Dreadnought ship ahead. Just when Swul thought they would crash into the hull of the larger ship, Tanus pushed the yoke down and sent their transport ship diving beneath, scraping the top of their ship on the keel of the Dreadnought craft.
 

In its zeal to catch the hijacked transport ship, the captain of the pursuing Dreadnought pushed his ship to reckless speed, and now he found himself on a collision course with his brother ship. He dove, but his ship did not have the maneuverability of the smaller transport ship, and the two Dreadnoughts crashed into each other.

“Damn, that’s some good flyin’!” said Swul.
 

Tanus breathed. Despite the threat of death, the dogfight was actually a brief respite from reality. And now that it was over, he was once again faced with the fact that Zarim was indeed gone. And he didn’t know where to go from here.