Chapter Eleven

I had endured four years of war, but this battle was the most heart-stopping madness I had ever known. The blur of violence, noise and death swirled around me as I commanded the mass of mutated monsters to attack the Rodan soldiers. The air reeked of hot metal, overheated electronics, and blood. Insects swarmed over the wounded and pools of body fluids. Only Jedrick's calming presence in my mind kept me and Esme from freaking out.

Esme bristled on my head as another Rodan soldier charged us. "Me bite. He dies."

With one swing of his sword, Gael beheaded him. Some idiot Rodan commander had decided that only the mutant fighters should wear body armor, which worked out great for us, but not so good for the regular Rodan soldiers.

Right from the start, the Rodan combatants had been trying to capture me, and they were getting way too close to succeeding. "If they overrun us, you may bite as many as you like."

"Kay."

Esme had become my constant companion and the only other female in the battle group. We never found her mother and she was now part of our family.

Jedrick shot me a mental image of a laser cannon in a hidden bunker. "Send a mutant to take out the gunner."

"Yes, sir." I did and felt no remorse when the crocodile creature ate the gunner. He was part of a Rodan battle group that sic'd the mutants on a small, defenseless city. Those who survived were rounded up and taken to a slaughter ship.

To make things worse, Irus, the ruler of the planet we had been sent to defend and a trusted Coletti ally, had led us into an ambush. For the last three hours, the Rodan had been doing their level best to kill us. Jedrick, Keyan, and Gael kept the soldiers at bay while I drove the mutant horde to slaughter their masters. When my energy levels began to fall, Jedrick and Zarek fed me their power. I became unstoppable and the Rodan died by the hundreds.

A battle also raged in space between the Alliance and the Rodan. I caught fleeting glimpses of burning fighters falling from the sky. The ground shook and shuddered as they crashed around us.

An eerie silence suddenly fell across the battlefield. The dead were scattered over the charred landscape. I took a shuddering breath and scanned the area. Not a single mutant lived. "Is it over?"

"Yes, Imp, it is." Jedrick hugged me tightly and I could feel his utter relief that we had survived. "Without you, the Rodan's trap would have succeeded."

"Good thing their intel sucked, and they gave all their armor to the mutants." I looked around. There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies, but only a few were Coletti, Askole, or Alliance warriors. "Did that backstabbing ass escape?"

Jedrick shook his head. "Zarek destroyed his mind."

"Good. He deserved to die for selling his people to the Rodan."

"Irus was a coward and thought the Rodan would spare him."Not a speck of blood on his armor, Zarek walked over to me and gave me a chocolate bar. "Well done, Zadie."

"Thank you, sir." I retracted my helmet, tore the wrapper off and wolfed it down. I was starving.

Esme's sticky, little tongue snagged insects in mid-flight.

Zarek studied the bloody battlefield. "For the last four years you have been a valued member of this battle group, Zadie. Today your gift destroyed all but two of the Rodan command staff, and eighty percent of their soldiers. Not a single mutant survived the battle. For outstanding heroism in the face of almost certain death, I am granting you warlord status."

My jaw dropped. Only a few females had been granted warlord status. "Thank you, sir. I'm honored."

"You deserve the recognition,"Jedrick said proudly.

Keyan and Gael clamped an arm to their chests and said in unison, "We will fight by your side anytime, lady warrior."

"Ah, thanks, right back at you." Little tremors shook my body as it finally hit me. We had come so close to dying today.

A streak of black shot across the battlefield as Father Trayon zoomed up to me.

I took a step back. He reeked. Blood, bits of flesh, and insects covered his battle armor.

Father Trayon proudly held out a severed head. "I have brought you a gift, youngling. The head of Mallox, the creator of the mutant army."

"Oh. Wow! How thoughtful of you, but it's not necessary. Really."Nausea rose in my throat. "I'd be happy with chocolate." I engaged my helmet. The stench was overpowering.

Zarek took the head and scanned it with his warrior's bracelet. "Where did you find him?"

"He had a hidden lab at the base of those mountains." A second later, there was a thunderous explosion that blew apart the mountain. Father Trayon bared his teeth in a feral smile. "And his clones are no more."

I ducked a flying boulder. "Does that mean the war is over?"

"No," Jedrick said grimly. "The Rodan still have two battle groups left. We must hunt them down and destroy them."

My shoulders sagged. I was in serious need of some downtime and I really, really wanted to talk to another female. Eight months ago, I got what my mother called the monthly curse. Her mood swings had been legendary, and it didn't take much to set me off either. The warriors had started carrying chocolate and when I got angry, they would give me a candy bar. I now had forty-two of them.

I was too embarrassed to say anything to Jedrick. Besides, the processor created what I needed.

"Take Zadie back to the ship,"Zarek ordered. "She needs food and rest. I will deal with the cleanup."

"Yes, my lord." Jedrick wrapped an arm around me and teleported.