14. Kal’va

The Darkness Eternal lay before me, and I fell toward it. Pain faded, anger too, and a great peace settled on me like a warm blanket. Finally, I would go to my rest and see what lay beyond the last door. See if the Makers had indeed transcended death, or if the beyond was empty.

Only one thing held me back from the precipice, a single thread tying me to the world of the living. In this state, with my mind clouded and confused, I could not tell what it connected me to, but I clung to it just the same. It was important, that much I knew, and I refused to let go.

Then I felt her. Faint, distant, but unmistakable, Tal'ia rested against me, and I knew what held me back from the final gateway. Her tears touched my skin like drops of fire, and I shivered. Her emotions tasted of agony and regret, grief the depths of which I could only imagine.

I refused to accept this. Tal'ia would not suffer this pain. Tightening my grip on the fragile strand of fate that bound my heart to hers, I pulled myself up and away from the abyss. But I could not fight the pull of death. No matter how I struggled, my descent continued.

It was only when Tal'ia spilled her blood on me that I found the strength to climb. And climb I did, with desperate speed.

The living world grew closer, brighter, louder as I ascended. Humans with guns surrounded us, and one tried to drag Tal'ia away from me. She fought back, catching his knee with a nasty kick, and he fell to the sand, drawing his pistol with a curse.

It was the last action he ever took. My claws closed around his head, and I squeezed, hearing a crack as his skull gave way.

Around me, the other humans sprang into action, but slowly. Far too slowly. My being crackled with energy, charged beyond capacity by the laser beam that killed me, and I spent it freely. At a simple gesture, spikes formed from the sand surrounding us and stabbed upward. Two of the guards rose into the air, impaled and screaming. My claws opened up another from throat to navel, and I roared a challenge as I leaped forward to put myself between Tal'ia and the soldiers' weapons, raising a whirling shield of sand.

Lasers and stunners fired, all aimed at me. The black whirlwind blocked most of them. Enough got through to hurt, mere pain and easy to ignore. Only one weapon here was dangerous to me. The rest? Annoyances to be ignored. The whine of the turret laser powering up pointed to the real threat. It would effortlessly punch through any shield I could raise, and next time they would know not to leave my body intact.

I had no intention of letting that happen. I had not returned from the Darkness Eternal just to die again, failing my mate. Bounding forward, heedless of the pain and the risk, I scattered Taverner's guards as I rushed her. Black sand formed into knives of darkness, carving into those guards who tried to block my way.

To her credit, Taverner didn't try to flee. Instead, she pulled a small pistol from the bag slung over her shoulder.

My swing caught her just as she fired, a blue-white blast searing up my arm as my hand struck hers. Claws sliced into her wrist, and the blaster went flying. She'll die a warrior, I thought as I brought my other hand up to open her throat. Better than she deserves.

"No!" Tal'ia's voice cut through the chaos, and she flung herself into the space between us. I stopped mid-strike with a hiss, staggering as my blow's momentum spun me around. That turn brought me face-to-face with another mercenary who was aiming his gun past me. Tal'ia gave him no protection, so I pounced, ripping his throat out in a heartbeat.

"Everybody stop." Tal'ia's voice echoed off the black stone ruins, and all eyes turned to her. But it was the laser pistol that she pressed against Taverner's head which kept their attention. For a moment, there was no sound apart from the whistle of the wind heralding the arrival of the storm.

"No one else has to die today," she said, speaking into the silence, quieter but no less forceful. No one was more surprised than I was, but I let her talk. If there was a way to avoid risking her life, I'd take it.

"Make no mistake, my mate can and will kill you all," she continued, back onto ground I understood. "But that's messy, and no one wants to die. And I promise you, the first casualty will be your paycheck."

I rumbled agreement, looking around. When I met a mercenary's eyes, they quickly looked away.

"Second death will be whoever shoots at my mate." Backing Tal'ia's plan up was the least I could do, and there was no lie in what I said.

"What happens if we do back down?" one of the humans asked. Others glared in his direction, but no one actually tried to keep him from raising the question.

Tal'ia didn't have a ready answer, which made sense. She was riding the ragged edge of adrenaline and hope, making up a plan as she spoke.

"You go. Get on your ship. Race the storm." I spoke slowly and distinctly, partly for emphasis, more to give myself a chance to think ahead. "We stay, keep Taverner as insurance. Take Jules and Paulo with you and they make the big announcement. Everyone wins."

"Once the find is announced publicly, there's no taking it back," Tal'ia added. "Nothing Taverner can do after that, so we've no reason to do anything to her."

"I will kill you all for this," Taverner hissed unwisely. I growled, but Tal'ia just laughed.

"I guess you can try, but how's that policy worked out for you this far? I'll take that chance, but we're both better off working together."

A pause, then a different soldier spoke up. "Fuck it. That's the best deal we can hope for. I don't want to die here."

He stood up from behind cover, and it was like a dam breaking. In moments, all of them were running for their ship. My two human allies joined them, barely pulling themselves aboard before the mercenaries lifted off and shot skyward, racing the weather to get to safety.

Tal'ia stared after them, a look of relief dawning on her beautiful features. Taverner scowled but rose and came with us without protest.

It was over. We'd won.