Page 19 of Eclipse Bound (Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides #7)

"And Lunar is still out there with Poppy," Eclipse added.

A heavy thud sounded at the front entrance. Then another.

Solar's form brightened dangerously. "Let them come. I will show them the power of Solarus."

"No!" Eclipse and Rowan exclaimed simultaneously.

"If you attack, they'll know exactly what they're dealing with," Rowan explained. "We need to escape, not engage."

Eclipse moved to the back window, peering out cautiously. "The cliff face provides cover to the west. If we can reach the canyon trail?—"

A deafening crash interrupted him as the front door burst from its hinges. Smoke billowed in, some kind of tactical grenade designed to disorient.

Solar reacted instinctively, his golden energy surging outward. The electronics in the room exploded in showers of sparks. The smoke dispersed in an unnatural ripple of superheated air.

Two figures in tactical gear appeared in the doorway, aiming what looked like specialized weapons. Not guns. Energy dampeners, if Rowan had to guess.

"Take cover!" Eclipse shouted, pushing Rowan behind the barricade.

One of the Milano operatives fired. A pulse of strange blue energy shot across the room, narrowly missing Solar and hitting the wall. Where it struck, the material seemed to warp and freeze simultaneously.

Solar roared in response, his human disguise burning away as his true form emerged, a being of pure golden light and fire. Heat rolled off him in waves that distorted the air itself.

"Stay down," Eclipse instructed Rowan, his own form shifting as the skin-suit dissolved completely. His twilight energy expanded, creating a shield of dusk-like atmosphere around them both.

The second operative fired at Eclipse, but the energy pulse dissipated harmlessly into his twilight field.

"The rear exit," Eclipse urged. "When I create a diversion, run."

Before Rowan could protest, Eclipse's form expanded dramatically, filling the suite with twilight energy that obscured everything in a purple-blue haze. The operatives' shouted commands were muffled, distant. It became difficult to breathe in the new atmosphere.

"Now!" Eclipse's voice resonated from everywhere at once.

Rowan scrambled toward the back door, unable to see more than a few feet ahead through the twilight field. Behind her, she heard Solar unleash his power. It sounded like a solar flare erupting, followed by the operatives' screams.

Her hand found the door handle just as something massive crashed through the front of the suite. More Milano forces. More weapons. They were out of time.

Eclipse materialized beside her, his energy contracting back into a roughly humanoid shape. "Go!"

They burst through the rear exit together, Solar following in a blaze of golden light that left scorch marks on the door frame. Outside, the desert sun beat down mercilessly, but there were no Milano operatives in sight. They'd committed their forces to the frontal assault.

"This way," Rowan gasped, leading them toward a narrow trail that snaked up the red rock formation behind the suite.

As they climbed, shouts and alarms rose from below. Rowan glanced back to see the Milano team pouring out of the ruined suite, pointing up at them. Several raised weapons.

"Faster," Eclipse urged, his twilight form flowing over the rocks with unnatural grace.

Solar, by contrast, left smoldering footprints in his wake, his golden energy barely contained as he ascended.

They reached a ridge just as the first energy pulse struck the rocks beside them, sending fragments flying. Rowan felt a sharp sting as a splinter of stone cut her cheek.

"Keep moving," she panted, blood trickling down her face. "There's a cave system up ahead. We can lose them there."

The trail narrowed dangerously, hugging the cliff face with a sheer drop to one side. Rowan's legs trembled with exertion and fear as she navigated the precarious path. Eclipse stayed close behind her, his energy occasionally brushing against her skin in what felt like reassurance.

Solar brought up the rear, periodically turning to send pulses of energy down the path, creating obstacles for their pursuers.

They rounded a bend, and the mouth of a cave appeared as a dark opening in the red rock face. Rowan stumbled toward it, legs burning from the climb.

"In here," she gasped, ducking into the darkness.

The temperature dropped immediately as they entered the cave system. Shafts of sunlight penetrated through cracks in the ceiling, providing just enough illumination to navigate.

"These caves connect throughout the canyon," Rowan explained, catching her breath. "The local indigenous peoples used them for centuries. Some parts are too narrow for adults to pass through, but there are routes to the other side."

Unfortunately, she didn’t know those routes. It would be just as easy to get lost forever underground. But that was a problem for later. Now they needed to escape danger.

Eclipse's twilight form provided a soft glow in the dimness. "Your knowledge of this terrain is invaluable."

The comment made her feel guilty.

"I've hiked here since I arrived in Duskrock," she replied. "Never thought I'd be using the caves to escape an alien manhunt."

Solar remained near the entrance, his golden light a beacon that would surely give away their position. "They are still pursuing," he reported. "Their thermal imaging technology will make concealment difficult."

Rowan's mind raced. "Deeper in, there's an underground stream. Maybe the water will mask thermal signatures?"

At least, she thought there was. She couldn’t remember for sure if this was the cave she was thinking of.

They moved further into the cave system, the passageway narrowing until they had to proceed single file. Solar's energy illuminated strange petroglyphs on the walls, ancient drawings that depicted stars, spirals, and humanoid figures.

"Look," Rowan pointed with a tiny laugh. "The original UFO enthusiasts."

Eclipse examined the markings with interest. "Your species has long looked to the stars."

"And apparently met visitors before," Rowan added, indicating a petroglyph that showed tall beings descending from the sky.

A distant shout echoed through the cave. Milano forces had entered the system.

"Those do not represent any species I have met. We must keep moving," Solar urged.

The passage twisted and branched. Rowan led them down a narrower offshoot that required them to crouch. The sound of running water caused her to sigh in relief. They kept moving, and it grew louder. Soon they emerged into a larger chamber where an underground stream cut across their path.

"We need to wade upstream," Rowan said. "The water's only about knee-deep, but I’m warning you, it's freezing. It comes from deep underground."

She stepped into the stream, gasping as the cold water soaked through her jeans. Eclipse followed without hesitation, his twilight energy rippling oddly where it touched the water. Solar paused at the edge, his golden form hissing as steam rose where he contacted the stream.

"The water dampens my energy," he said, voice strained. "It will be difficult to maintain form."

"It's our best chance to mask our trail," Rowan insisted.

Reluctantly, Solar entered the stream. Steam filled the cave, making it instantly humid. His light noticeably dimmed, and he moved with obvious discomfort as they waded upstream.

The cold numbed Rowan's legs as she pushed forward. It became hard to walk. Behind them, shouts and the beams of flashlights indicated Milano was gaining ground.

"There should be a side passage ahead," Rowan said through chattering teeth. "It leads to a higher chamber that eventually exits on the canyon rim."

They reached the passage, pulling themselves out of the stream onto a rocky ledge. Solar immediately brightened, his energy regenerating now that he was free.

"The passage narrows ahead," Rowan warned, already crawling forward. "We have to go single file. Be careful."

Eclipse flowed into the tunnel behind her, his twilight form adapting to the confined space.

The rocky surface scraped Rowan's palms and knees as she navigated the cramped passage. Water dripped from her soaked clothes, leaving a trail she hoped would blend into the landscape’s natural discoloration.

"How much farther?" Solar called from behind, his voice strained. The passage was clearly compressing his energy.

"I don't know exactly," Rowan admitted. But where else could they go but forward? "These caves are extensive. But if we keep climbing, we should reach?—"

A blue pulse of energy struck the rock wall inches from her head, sending stone fragments flying. Rowan flinched, covering her face.

"They've found us," Solar shouted.

Eclipse's energy surged protectively around Rowan. "Continue forward. I will delay them."

"No!" Rowan grabbed at his twilight form as it began to flow past her. "We stay together!"

Another energy pulse hit, closer this time. The narrow passage amplified the sound, making Rowan's ears ring.

"There's no time to argue," Eclipse insisted. "The passage is too confined for effective defense. You must reach the surface and contact the others."

Before she could protest further, Eclipse's form compressed impossibly thin, slipping past her and flowing back toward their pursuers like liquid shadow.

"Eclipse!" Rowan called after him.

Solar hooked her by the waist and easily pushed her in the other direction. "Move! His sacrifice will be meaningless if we are captured as well."

Sacrifice.

The word sent ice through Rowan's veins despite her rational mind telling her that Eclipse couldn't be killed by conventional weapons.

She hoped that was true and highly doubted it was.

She scrambled forward with renewed urgency, ignoring the scrapes on her hands as she clawed her way through the narrowing passage.

Behind them, flashes of purple-blue light illuminated the tunnel, accompanied by shouts and the distinctive sound of the energy weapons discharging. Eclipse was fighting, buying them time.

The passage suddenly opened into a larger chamber. Rowan tumbled out, Solar right behind her, his golden light revealing a cavernous space with multiple tunnels branching off in different directions.

"Which way?" Solar demanded, his form pulsing with agitation.

Rowan spun around, trying to orient herself. "I... I'm not sure." The admission felt like acid in her throat. She was completely lost. "I've never been this deep in the system."

A distant, muffled boom shook the cave, sending small rocks pattering from the ceiling. Solar's light flared in response. Rowan started to cry out and muffled her mouth with her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Eclipse.” Rowan felt a wave of panic rising. "We need to go back for him."

"He would want us to continue," Solar insisted. "To warn the others."

Another rumble, stronger this time, sent a shower of dust raining down on them. Cracks appeared in the chamber's ceiling. Each vibration felt like an accusation. They had abandoned Eclipse in the caves.

"The structure is destabilizing," Solar observed. "Eclipse's energy must be interacting with their weapons."

Rowan's mind raced, torn between going back for Eclipse and pressing forward to safety. A memory surfaced, something she'd read about local cave systems. The main passages followed underground water channels. If they kept following them, it would take them up or out.

They ducked into the tunnel just as another explosion shook the caves.

This passage was larger, allowing them to move more quickly.

Time felt out of alignment in the cave. They rushed and hid, but constant fear made minutes seem like seconds.

Solar's light illuminated their path, revealing more petroglyphs and strange mineral formations.

At one point, they had to stop so he could find a sliver of sunlight to recharge.

"What exactly are these weapons Milano possesses?" Solar asked as they climbed higher through the winding passage. "They are not familiar to me."

"I don't know," Rowan admitted.

They emerged into another chamber where the ceiling rose high above them, disappearing into darkness. Shafts of sunlight penetrated through cracks in the rock, creating spotlights on the cave floor.

"We're getting closer to the surface," Rowan said, hope kindling in her chest.

A flash of movement in the shadows made her freeze. Solar immediately dimmed his light, but it was too late.

"Don’t move," a voice ordered.

They'd been found.