17. Valmore

17

Valmore

Having made such a deep connection with Hazel that night, I slept like I had never slept before. I didn't even know such a sound sleep was possible, and I wouldn't have been surprised to wake up and discover I had slept for a week.

I was in harmony with Hazel, my mate. She didn't reject me after all. Our fate had always been intertwined, and these hurdles we faced only made us stronger, not weaker. And with this realization came a peace of mind that I had never felt before.

A distant shout startled me, and for a moment I wondered if I had imagined it. I jumped and my eyes snapped open. Hazel's scent filled my nostrils, her hair laid against my face. She stirred in her sleep and tightened her arms around my ribs. "It's all right," she murmured. "A child playing, I bet."

Another yell broke the stillness outside the bedroom window, followed by another one. I strained my ears to listen, then an explosion boomed through the cavern.

I launched straight up. "An attack! Get up quick!"

She jolted upright. Her hair scattered over half her face. The early gray light shone on her bare chest and shoulders. She looked more beautiful than she did last night.

Her wide eyes stared at nothing. "Are you sure?"

Another explosion rocked the cavern, shaking her out of her stupor. She leaped out of bed and attacked the pile of clothes on the floor. "Go to Garath's war room. I have to get to the shuttle."

"The shuttle—are you insane? That's miles away."

"It's the only way to alert the IPA. This is an emergency. They'll send the strike force to help us."

"Forget it. You aren't going out there in the middle of a Ranxi attack. It's suicide."

"It sounds like they're already here. Whatever defenses the Kavians had, they're already getting overloaded. We can't wait." She grabbed me and intently fixed her eyes on mine, as if we might never see each other again. "Do what you can. I'll try to…" Sh e broke off and kissed me. Then she grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the house.

The village was in pandemonium. Mothers, children, and elders charged down the long maze of walkways that led to the caves below. I noticed Daphne and Garath's child Obi being led by a woman along with several other children, and part of me was relieved there was a plan to keep the more vulnerable of the population safe.

Meanwhile, warriors took strategic positions with their bows and blades. Some even had laser weapons that they must've scavenged through trade and past victories. Still, as much as they seemed like they had a plan, I doubted the village's chances against a Ranxi invasion.

Before I could stop her, Hazel grabbed me. She kissed me once. "I'll see you soon. I love you."

Her eyes drilled into me for a moment, and those words echoed into the deepest reaches of my heart. The next instant, before I could respond, she was gone.

I took one look around, desperate for a way to call her back. Dozens of warriors elbowed their way through the mob, trying to reach Garath's war room.

I caught a glimpse of Daphne crossing a gangway near the healer's tent. She was headed for her house, and had to keep jumping to see over the heads crowding her in. "Obi!" she yelled in a panic. "Obi!"

I shoved into the sea of bodies and forged a path to her. I grabbed her, but she took a second to realize who I was. She kept looking everywhere for Obi. "Daphne!" I yelled over the noise.

"Have you seen Obi?" she cried out.

"I saw a woman taking him along with some other children down to the cave. He's safe. Make sure the rest of the vulnerable make it down there."

She pressed her lips, then nodded. "All right. I'll do what I can."

I found a nearby armory and grabbed as many weapons as I could carry. From there, I shouldered my way to the front where Xavier and Garath led the way toward the main tunnel entrance, before it got breached any further.

"We have to guard the entrance at all costs," Garath boomed over his warriors. "The Ranxi have already attacked our warriors patrolling outside. We can't let any of them in. Everyone, get into position. You know the drill. Spread out along the contour and prepare to repel anyone and anything that comes up the slope."

The warriors burst into action. They must have drilled this dozens of times. They split into two groups. One went left and one went right. They arranged themselves at strategic points along the mountainside, aiming their weapons downhill.

Garath and Xavier climbed up to a plateau overlooking the valley beyond. They didn't invite me, but I went with them anyway.

"How many ships?" Garath asked.

Xavier raised a set of field glasses to his eyes. "About eighty, as far as I can see. The first twenty are dropping their payload in the meadow. The others are hanging off, waiting their turn."

"Can you see the payload?"

Xavier didn't answer for a moment. Then he stuffed his field glasses inside his pocket. "They're hybrids. But not what I expected."

"What do you mean?" Garath asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll get a closer look."

Xavier then stalked past us without answering. He headed straight for the left flank of warriors and took his place with the others. He pulled a massive curved saber from his back sheath and hefted a giant battle ax in his other hand.

Garath turned back to the valley, squinting against the sun. We could see the huge ships descending, but we couldn't make out more than a bunch of black specks streaming over the ground.

I strode to the right and found some warriors holding a position under a clump of weeping branches. I unsheathed my short blade that I always carried at my belt and took out a war hammer with my other hand, braced to meet the enemy.

Xavier filled my head with all kinds of stories of monsters and other species that he fought in the Ranxi lab that held him and Merrit as prisoners. I expected towering, gruesome creatures sprouting multiple heads, stone hides, and hundreds of tentacles waving in all directions. I imagined horned quadrupeds impaling everything in sight.

Nothing could prepare me for what charged up the mountain toward us. At first, I thought I might be dreaming when mere humans raced between the trees. They held hand weapons barely big enough to hurt a flea. These men didn't even wear body armor.

Xavier took one look and burst out laughing. Chatter and more laughter echoed down the Kavian line. No one took these soldiers seriously. If they weren't all wearing the same uniform, no one would consider them soldiers at all. I squinted my eyes, wondering if somehow the IPA had arrived and sent in reinforcements, but the uniforms definitely weren't IPA-issue, and their behavior was too odd to make sense.

If they were here to help, they sure weren't making it obvious. As they ran closer, they saw us, yet they didn't turn aside. They didn't check their stride, nor did they raise their weapons. They just kept on running .

Once a few were finally close enough, Xavier jumped out of his hiding place. He landed right in the enemy's path, cocked back his arm, and hurled his ax at the nearest soldier.

The foremost soldiers dodged it, and the weapon embedded its razor tip into a man running behind. The metal tip shattered and dropped to the ground. The man it hit kept running as if he were pelted with a pebble.

Xavier blinked. He seemed to be having trouble registering what was happening, but I already had a suspicion. These hybrid soldiers were part human, part something with impenetrable skin, part something else. While we had expected hulking beasts, instead, the Ranxi had created small, efficient, and seemingly invincible soldiers.

Garath let out a roar, signaling a curtain of spears to soar out of the jungle. The weapons drove down at the Ranxi's hybrid soldiers, most striking their targets, but none penetrating any flesh.

The only thing that seemed to do anything were the laser guns, but so few warriors seemed to be armed with them. If our blades did nothing, we'd get overpowered soon enough.

The rest of the super-soldiers charged within range of the Kavian line. The first rank raised their handguns, spraying laser fire into the trees and downing several Kavians .

More Kavians swarmed out of their hiding places. An almighty bellow of rage, revenge, and battle fury swept through the ranks. That sound shot through me and a surge of energy erupted from some hidden part of my soul. Now that I had connected with my mate and found my home, none of these bastards would get near the cavern as long as I was alive.

I barreled into the battle along with my comrades. We smashed into the enemy with every weapon raised. I swung my hammer into one super-soldier's head. A spear might not have fazed him, but maybe some blunt damage would.

He didn't drop, though. My hammer crashed into his temple and bounced right off. It didn't even dent his skin. He rotated sideways and grabbed me with his free hand, catching me by the wrist. With one powerful twist, he wrenched me off my feet and yanked me down onto my knees.

I stared up at him, too surprised to react. He held my arm at the wrong angle. Pain wracked my nerves. One small tweak and he could rip my shoulder out of its socket.

I couldn't believe what was happening. He looked like any normal human man, but I never faced an enemy as strong as this. I summoned all my resolve and started to lift my hammer with my other arm .

He kicked out one foot and stomped my hand to the ground, pinning my hammer. He then swung his pistol around and aimed it at my head. One shot, and I would be dead.

Hazel flashed in my mind. Even if she had contacted the IPA already, it would be too late for me. Too late for us. I closed my eyes, hoping she would manage without me. The rest of the Kavians would keep her safe. I knew that at least.

I just wished I could have been there to grow old with her. To have a family with her.

She had made my life worth living, and I was grateful for that.

I hoped she knew how much she meant to me.