23. TWENTY-ONE

twenty-one

Laser fire bombarded the perch Selene had created for Kira, shredding the top.

Seeing their prey had escaped, several drones dove after her.

Below, Selene’s hands moved with lightning speed as she cast shields in Kira’s direction. The first appeared a foot under her.

Kira stepped onto it, using it to launch herself in the opposite direction.

A laser pierced the platform an instant later.

By then Kira was already landing on a second shield platform using it to propel herself downward.

Drones swarmed her, chasing after her fleeing form. Always several steps behind her as Kira and Selene worked in tandem. Selene providing temporary perches as Kira pushed her muscles to the limit to lead the drones into the trap she and Selene were laying.

Alexander rushed from the ground, using the same shield perches as Kira.

The facade of the mild-mannered scholar had disappeared, his expression containing the wild ferocity that had always been present in the camps.

It was a welcome sight, a thrill filling her as their gazes locked.

A tacit understanding passed between them. The years of separation and hard feelings washed away.

In that moment, they knew exactly what the other wanted.

Could guess which way each would move and what needed to come after.

A platform formed to Kira’s left.

Kira leapt for it, planting one foot on its surface. Her quads burned as she launched herself sideways.

The drones shifted to intercept, locking her in their sights. A blue glow built as their lasers powered up.

Alexander burst out of the blind spot Kira and Selene had created.

He snatched the first drone out of the air, crushing it with one powerful hand.

It crunched, sparks flying. The blue glow died as Alexander hurled it at its brethren.

It flew, crashing into another drone with the force of a missile.

Kira took advantage of the distraction Alexander had provided to unleash a wave of ki.

It flooded out of her, whipping over Alexander’s head to collide with the front wave of drones.

The drones dropped, raining down on the sands as if they’d had their wires cut.

Kira and Alexander let themselves fall.

They landed within feet of each other. As one, they straightened, already prepared to face the second wave.

There was no need as a shield snapped over their heads.

Selene regarded them evenly. Beside her, Joule stared open mouthed as the perches Selene had created vanished.

“That. Was. Awesome,” he exclaimed in a near shout.

Selene’s lips tilted in a half smile. “Practice those exercises I told you about and you’ll be able to do this too.”

Joule nodded eagerly, his chin jerking up and down as fast as it would go.

“Impressive.” Raider held up his hand for Kira to clasp. “You looked like your old self.”

It had certainly felt that way, Kira thought as she glanced in Alexander’s direction. For a moment, she had deceived herself into thinking she was part of a unit again.

The teamwork with Alexander and Selene had felt natural. Second nature as all that training from the camps flooded back.

It was like she was with her Curs again. The camaraderie lulling her into a false sense of contentment.

Because Alexander and Selene had never been one of her Curs. They hadn’t wanted to be.

Something of her thoughts must have shown on her face because a mask descended over Alexander’s expression. He looked away and cleared his throat, as if everything they’d shared was nothing more than a figment in Kira’s imagination.

Kira looked away from him, her gaze meeting Selene’s.

There was sadness in the other woman’s eyes. A regret for what had been lost.

Selene dipped her chin in silent acknowledgement.

Kira didn’t say anything as Selene moved away, joining Alexander.

“What?” Kira asked at Raider’s inscrutable look.

Raider shook his head. “Nothing.”

Kira decided it would be best to drop the subject. Raider was a difficult person to predict in the best of circumstances. Kira didn’t want to delve into the mystery that was him while in the midst of battle.

“Did you learn anything?” Devon asked, his gaze intent.

Kira concentrated, picking up on the threads.

She pointed to her right. “If I’m correct, we need to head in that direction.”

Joule and Devon drew closer as they looked where Kira indicated.

“The number ten circle is in that direction,” Joule said slowly.

Kira nodded. “Enough slots for all of us.”

“How can we be sure it will open at the right time?” Devon asked.

There was no hostility in the question. He wasn’t trying to second guess Kira’s decision. More like he was trying to understand the reasoning of it for himself.

“Close your eyes and concentrate on the ki surrounding us,“ Kira instructed.

Devon and Joule followed along, startlement showing on their faces a second later as their eyes popped open.

She nodded. “By my calculations, we have about ten minutes before it opens then another five before the window closes.”

Plenty of time to achieve their objective.

“How many walls between here and there?” Raider asked.

“Three.”

“Weapons?”

Kira paused, leaving that question for Jin as it was more in his realm of expertise.

“Heavy artillery,” he said after a short pause. “But they look like fixed mounts so they should be easy to deal with.”

Joule and Devon’s gazes fell to Kira’s sleeve and the place Jin’s voice had issued from.

Devon’s stance turned rigid as a cautious look entered his eyes. Joule’s response was a little more subdued as he gave Kira a resigned look.

She shrugged at him. “It wouldn’t really have been fair to make him sit this one out.”

In more ways than the two in front of her probably understood.

Despite his present form, Jin was Tuann. He had every bit as much right as the rest to complete the adva ka—even if nobody but them ever realized.

Kira bent to sketch a quick map of their route on the sandy floor, adding the locations of the fixed mounts with the help of Jin.

Raider studied it for a moment before reaching out to tap two points. “There’s an opening here and here.”

He cocked his head, reaching out to touch a third spot. “We’ll need to be wary here. Their echelon lines of fire intersect ten feet from the opening. It’ll shred us if we’re not careful.”

Kira nodded in agreement. “We’ll also have to be on guard for ambushes. It looked like there were two groups posting themselves around these points.”

She pointed to where she thought they’d been heading.

“You got a plan?” Raider asked.

Kira glanced over at him. “Remember Epiron?”

Raider made a face. “I hate this plan already.”

“Agreed,” Alexander said. “You nearly didn’t make it out.”

Kira froze for a second before she and Raider shifted at the same time to look at Alexander.

“How did you know about that?” Kira asked.

“That was classified,” Raider said at the same time.

Discomfort showed on Alexander’s face. “I hear many things. That doesn’t make you special.”

“Sure, it doesn’t,” Raider drawled.

Kira ducked her head to cover the twitch of her lips as she rose. “Everyone ready?”

Raider gave her a cocky smirk. “I was born ready.”

Despite the lighthearted words, there was an intensity in Raider’s eyes that said he was looking forward to this.

“Let’s make it hurt, Nixxy,” he told her.

“Always and forever,” Kira promised. “Let’s see how much damage we can do as they try to take us out.”

Raider let out a war cry as he rose and loped away, Joule and Devon tearing after him.

Alexander shook his head in resignation as he ambled in their wake in no hurry to catch up.

Selene waited for Kira, falling in to step beside her. “You always were the leader in whatever you did.”

“I never tried to be.”

Kira would have been perfectly content for someone else to take the role. It was simply that no one ever seemed to have a plan or the ability to step up in her place. There had been plenty who thought they did, but most of those had been more in love with the idea of leading than being able to actually lead.

Their incompetence always forced her hand before long.

“We know,” Selene said with a smile. “It’s why we love you.”

Kira’s snort held disbelief.

“I never said we weren’t complicated, but that doesn’t mean we don’t see you.” Selene paused to aim a look at Kira. “Even when if it sometimes feels that way.”

Selene patted Kira on the shoulder, leaving her alone with her thoughts as she moved to catch up with the rest.

“You believe her?” Kira asked.

“I don’t know.” Jin sounded troubled about that fact. “We may have made certain misjudgments about the forty-three.”

Kira was quiet.

For so long, the forty-three had been a source of frustration. A thorn in her side. Neither her nor them were able to reconcile themselves to the other’s way of thought.

Kira had assumed they viewed her with enmity or a thinly veiled tolerance.

Maybe she’d been wrong about that. It made her wonder what else she could have been wrong about.

Kira hurried toward the rest as Raider and Alexander took cover behind Selene’s shield, careful not to get too close to the mounted cannons.

In the distance, the whine of cannons charging was followed by a thunderous thump she felt as much as heard.

Screams announced the departure of several more initiates as Kira reached the others.

Devon glanced in her direction as Joule listened to Selene’s instructions. Raider and Alexander were too busy arguing with each other to notice her presence.

“I don’t care how they did it in your camp. Kira and I have worked together for years,” Raider was saying. “This tactic will work.”

“You are impetuous,” Alexander spat. “It is better to be cautious in this situation rather than foolhardy.”

“What’s going on?” Kira asked.

“They are having a difference in opinion on how best to test the cannon’s range,” Selene answered. “They both seem to think they would make the better bait.”

“Really?” Kira’s expression made it clear she didn’t understand.

“It appears so.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Raider snapped, losing patience.

He made a blade with his hand, slashing it through the air and then toward the cannons in one of the hand signals the Curs had created to mean an attack was commencing.

Before anyone could stop him, he slipped through the protection Selene’s shield offered.

In different circumstances, Kira might have found Alexander’s look of fury hilarious.

She paused to think.

Scratch that, she did find it hilarious. Not to mention gratifying.

“He is brash,” Alexander said with a tight expression.

“That’s one way of looking at it.” Kira moved to the edge of Selene’s shield as Raider crept forward, his attention locked on the cannon for the slightest sign of movement.

“How would you put it?”

“Confident. Brave. Maybe a little bit brash.”

Raider had earned every bit of his brashness through blood, sweat, and tears. If he thought he could do this, he could.

“Just because it’s not the way you would do things doesn’t mean his method is without merit,” Kira pointed out.

Raider reached the edge of what Kira predicted would be the cannon’s range, pausing to give it another look. He bounced on his toes a couple of times as if psyching himself up.

“He’s also right in that he has more experience in these matters than you.”

Alexander and the rest of the forty-three were amazing fighters but they’d never fought in battles involving fixed-mount firepower.

Kira and Raider had.

“It looks like things are about to get started. Be ready,” Kira warned as Raider lifted a hand and pointed at the cannon. She nodded at him holding up a hand with two fingers, telling him she’d be ready in two minutes.

“Devon, Joule, you’re in charge of taking care of any Tuann who try to ambush us.”

The two nodded, looking excited to have a task.

“Selene, Alexander—“ Kira started, not even getting to finish before Alexander stalked toward the secondary cannon mount. “Never mind. You do you.”

She supposed that meant the truce was at an end.

Selene squeezed Kira’s hand. “Take care of yourself. There are many among the Tuann who wish to see you fail.”

“You think they see you two any different?” Kira asked.

“We don’t have quite your propensity for attracting attention.” Selene glided toward where Alexander was waiting for her.

Alexander charged the second cannon with a roar that shook the air. The cannon pivoted to face him, tracking his path.

A thump came as it fired.

Alexander didn’t shy away, instead picking up speed as he raced for the arc of light closing in on him.

Two steps before it would have taken off his head, a shield formed. The blast splashed harmlessly against the transparent walls.

Then Alexander was through, a mad snarl on his face as he sped toward the cannon.

Off to the side, Raider threw up his hands. “Are you kidding me?”

Kira shrugged at him. “Apparently those two have their own plans.”

“And he gave me shit about being impetuous. What the fuck is that?”

Kira shook her head. “I don’t know.”

If she did, she’d probably find Alexander and Selene a lot easier to understand.

“Let’s punch through,” Kira told Raider, shifting the focus of the conversation back to the matter at hand.

Right now, they stood on the edge of the cannon’s range but the moment they took a step forward that would change.

“Fine, but you’re the bait though. I’ll be the hammer.”

Kira scowled. “Why do I have to be bait.”

“Your plan. Your dirty job.”

Kira grimaced, really wishing she could argue with that statement.

It would have been easy to point out that he held no sword or ki with which to take out the cannon. However, she knew that if Raider dared to make the offer it meant he had something up his sleeve.

As cocky as he was, he’d never let that lead him into biting off more than he could chew.

As if sensing her question, Raider held up an oblong object. “Blue’s work. I’ve been dying to put it to use.”

“Must be nice to have a weapon designed especially by Blue,” Kira said, a tad jealous.

At heart, Blue was an inventor rather than a soldier. Anything created by her was guaranteed to work better than that low quality trash the military usually threw their way.

There was once a time when her modifications to the Cur’s weapons were highly sought after.

“It is.”

There was a smug look on his face that made Kira’s palm itch to do something about it.

She might have done it too if they weren’t being watched by a good chunk of Tuann society.

The loss of dignity that would have resulted on both ends from such an action wasn’t worth the momentary satisfaction.

And Jin said she was incapable of maturity.

Kira threw a look in Devon and Joule’s direction. “Stay back. Things are about to get dangerous.”

“Why do you have a smile on your face when you say that?” Devon asked.

Kira’s answer was cut off as an explosion from the second cannon announced the success of Alexander and Selene’s campaign.

Kira looked over to find the two disappearing through the hole in the wall they’d created.

“Our turn,” Kira said softly.

She burst forward. The cannon rotated to face her.

She darted to the side as it fired. The ground shook, particles of sand spraying everywhere as the blast hit.

That’s it. Stay focused on me, Kira silently told the cannon. Forget about everything else. Like the human who just stepped into your range.

Kira reached for more speed, changing direction abruptly to charge directly at the cannon in what should have been considered a suicidal move.

Raider let out a silent curse, sprinting for the cannon when he saw Kira playing chicken with it.

Kira pushed herself faster.

The mouth of the cannon swung in her direction; Raider’s presence forgotten as it focused on what it perceived as the greater threat.

A little more. Almost there.

The space in the center of the cannon’s barrel pulsed, power building.

Kira’s world narrowed to that tiny pinprick of light.

It grew, the area around it distorting.

Her muscles tensed.

Now.

Kira sprung to the right. The left side of her body was bathed in heat as the beam lanced past her.

The ground shook again, sand flying.

Kira darted backward, putting ten feet between herself and the cannon in an instant.

In the back of her mind, she realized her smile probably looked a tad deranged. She couldn’t bring herself to care, having far too much fun with her new toy.

The cannon roared again. And again. And again.

Each time, Kira barely evaded as she played the role of bait.

If it was possible to make an inanimate object insane with frustration, that was what she was trying to do.

The better for Raider to slip in unnoticed.

Jin kept a running commentary in the background, noting the power fluctuations in the cannon to provide her with enough warning each time to evade.

Raider was within feet of the cannon when it finally shifted in his direction.

“I guess it finally figured out who the real threat was,” Jin said.

“I suppose that means our fun is over,” Kira muttered as she launched herself in the cannon’s direction.

Even pushing herself as hard as she could, she knew she wouldn’t make it in time.

Not by foot anyway.

Kira concentrated, unfurling a tendril of ki and hardening it into two short spikes.

She launched them at the cannon as Raider raised the rod he held. With a flick of his wrist, he extended the rod to the length of a long sword.

He reached the base of the wall as the cannon fired, the blast sailing over his shoulder.

He swung his arm, the rod sheering the cannon in half.

Kira’s spikes landed a second later, embedding deep.

There was a pulse that had Raider’s eyes widening.

“Fuck,” he yelled as he shoved away from the wall, racing away.

Kira changed direction in the same instant.

There was a whoosh and then an explosion shook the arena. The force of which knocked both flat.

Kira rolled onto her back, her ears still ringing from the blast. Her shoulder throbbed, the pain letting her know she’d probably have a bruise later.

“Was that necessary?” Raider shouted.

His face was covered with sand from his hasty dive for the ground, giving him a strange looking beard and eyebrows.

“Probably not,” Kira groaned.

Raider crawled to his feet. “I had it.”

Kira raised herself to sitting, wincing at the faint twinges in her body. “You always double tap. You know that.”

It was one of the first things they’d learned in military training. The first shot to kill. The second in case the first missed.

Raider would have done the exact same if the situation was reversed.

Kira forced herself to one knee as she took stock of the aftermath.

The wall had been reduced to rubble, a smoking crater where the cannon had once been.

Kira jogged to the wall as Devon and Joule started toward them. She climbed the pile of broken stone, pausing once she was at the top to peek over the side.

She jerked back just in time as a half dozen blasts from zuipis attempted to turn her into a pin cushion.

Kira crouched, using the remnants of the wall as cover.

Raider put a hand on her back, leaning over to get his own look before taking cover again.

“You realize this is no longer the punch through,” he said with a scowl.

“That’s why we have them.” Kira nodded at Devon and Joule.

The two stood a few feet away. Their faces tense, their gazes focused in a way Kira recognized. Both boys had trained for this but that wouldn’t keep the jitters away now that their moment had arrived.

Right now, adrenaline was flooding their veins, throwing their bodies into a state of flight or fight.

Kira bet there was a faint tremble to their limbs, and they were fighting to keep a clear mind. Despite that, neither seemed like he was going to be sick which was better than Kira could say about some of those she’d led on their first time.

Of course, Devon and Joule wouldn’t be fighting against a horde of Tsavitee who wouldn’t know how to show mercy to their victims if it bit them on the ass.

And unlike the battlefield, there was relatively little chance either of them would die if they froze up.

That thought made Kira appreciate the genius of the arena and its illusion weapons a little more, letting the future warriors of their race ease into the fury of battle with little risk to life and limb.

“Ready to show us what you’ve got?” Kira asked them.

Both boys nodded, looking seconds from charging over the wall.

“I’ll give you an opening. It’s up to you whether you can take advantage.”

If they couldn’t, it would be proof that neither were up to the challenge of the adva ka. In that event, Kira would leave them to their fate.

Taking a deep breath, Kira placed one hand against the wall. She sank into the wild tangle of ki at her center, extracting two small strands while leaving the bulk of her ki where it was.

The attempt would have been impossible a few weeks ago.

The rest of her ki would have tried to flood out along the narrow paths she’d spent considerable effort to widen without bursting them.

Control had always been her primary problem when it came to ki. The soul’s breath as unruly and untamed as its owner.

Even now the great mass at her center tried to follow the small amount she’d taken; only her training with Harlow and Wren enabling her to soothe it back into place before it destroyed everything around her.

Sometimes it wasn’t how big or powerful your ki was—it was about how you used it.

And right now, Kira needed a needle not a nuclear bomb.

Kira spooled the two tiny strands into the center of her palm before compressing them into a spherical shape.

The method was slower than the way she used her ki before. When she’d rip it from her core and whack her enemy upside the head with little finesse.

She was hoping the tradeoff would result in less damage to her veins.

Footsteps sounded on the other side of the wall as those waiting lost their patience, deciding to pursue their prey rather than wait for it to come to them.

Tighter and tighter Kira spun her ki. Until it bucked against her control like a wild horse being brought to heel.

Pain lanced the inside of Kira’s mind.

Not yet. Just a little more.

Like idiots, the enemy on the other side of the wall crept closer, never questioning why Kira and Raider had relinquished the field of battle without firing a single shot.

There.

Kira glanced at Joule.

He took a deep breath, one hand forming the shield as the other lifted the blade he held.

Devon firmed his stance.

Good luck, Kira told the two silently as the footsteps paused on the other side of the wall she was touching.

About damn time.

Kira released the tight clamp on her ki.

For a moment, the world stilled, nothing happening.

The ki lay there.

And then, like a pressurized volcano whose magma had finally found its way out, her ki erupted.

It exploded outward, pulverizing the particles that made the wall into dust, but not killing anything beyond.

Dust and rock billowed outward as Kira took back her hand, feeling pride in her work.

That technique had worked so much better than she’d anticipated.

With a final nod of approval, Kira looked back to find Devon, Joule, and Raider frozen in shock.

“All yours,” Kira said.

Her words jolted the pair out of their stunned states.

Joule and Devon surged forward, disappearing into the cloud of dust.

“Could have used a skill like that during the war,” Raider observed as he joined her in front of the hole she’d created.

Kira shrugged. “We could have used a lot of things in those days.”

Ships that could better withstand Tsavitee weapons. A fleet with experience in fighting an enemy like the one they’d faced. Allies who didn’t try to make deals with their enemies.

The sound of battle came from the depths of the dust as it began to settle, showing Devon and Joule holding the advantage.

It was obvious from the way the two fought that they’d trained for countless hours to achieve such flawless teamwork.

As Kira watched, Joule punched the shield through the air, stirring up a cloud of dust to conceal Devon’s form as he snuck toward their opponents behind.

“You suppose we should do something about those?” Raider used his chin to gesture at the drones silently slipping their way over head. The commotion of the blast had probably been what drew their attention.

Kira sighed. “Might as well. Those two are working so hard. We can’t let them show us up.”

They had their reputations as Curs to protect after all.