Page 22 of Fated to the Hunter (Xarc’n Warriors #13)

I watched the skies warily as Kiera moved through the observatory, checking each telescope, the black and blue booklet clutched in her hand.

She was looking for the one that matched the user manual.

The first time we’d been here, I hadn’t even noticed that all the telescopes were different, with subtle variations in shape and design and different names.

Apparently, one of them had been a gift from the very person who’d drawn the treasure map.

The homeowner had accepted the generous friendship offering, not knowing he’d inadvertently committed his property to be part of a puzzle. Was the original buyer of the map meant to sneak in and search for clues? Or had he been expected to befriend the owner and gain access that way?

Whatever the plan had been, it never came to pass because of the scourge’s arrival on Earth. So here we were, years later, in a world he probably wouldn’t even recognize, going through the motions and solving his riddles.

What would the original seller of the map think of us now? Was he even still alive? Wouldn’t he have spoken up by now if he were still alive and had access to the survivor forum?

I was in awe of the fact that Kiera had managed to figure all that out from nothing but a single sentence riddle and this home.

Now that I’d seen her at work, I didn’t think of her as just the keeper of knowledge anymore. She was something more. She took simple facts and information and processed them, making them into something useful. When I’d asked her how she knew, she’d called it intuition. I called it magic.

And then there was her will to keep going even when it seemed impossible. She spent the entire day yesterday scouring that library for clues. And even when she was so frustrated that tears welled up in her eyes, she refused to give up.

And her perseverance had paid off.

Kiera’s wide grin and waving told me she’d found the right telescope. I stepped closer, moving slowly to avoid catching the flyers’ attention. To me, it looked just like all the others, but Kiera pointed to a word etched into the barrel. Pleiades. And below it was a drawing of the constellation.

She opened the booklet to the saved page.

“While you’re lost in the stars, don’t forget to search deep inside for your heart’s desire,” she read aloud.

“The key is inside the telescope.” She ran a hand along the bottom where it was connected to the base.

“Why couldn’t he just use a normal tripod like everyone else?

” she huffed. “We need to get this thing off.” She looked around the room.

“There has to be tools here for it somewhere.”

She went to the desk and started rifling through the drawers looking for tools, even as the shadow of a low-flying flyer blotted out the sun.

We didn’t have much time. The only reason the flyer hadn’t noticed us yet was because I’d come back last night and draped a large sheet over the support bars above.

It provided just the smallest bit of cover.

But it was a matter of time before we’d be spotted.

I analyzed the solid metal base the device was attached to. It was held on with only a few screws.

“Where the fuck are the damned tools?” She opened another drawer.

“We don’t have time for this.” I gripped the device in my hands and pulled, giving it a twist. Just as expected, the anchor points where the screws joined the base distorted and broke. The base groaned in protest as I tore free my prize.

Kiera gawked, mouth open. “That works. Okay, now can you get it open? I don’t think it’s a physical key because I doubt he could fit that inside without it hindering the telescope’s use.

I think we’re looking for a piece of paper.

” She bounced on her toes, unable to contain both her nervousness and excitement.

I made quick work of the device, and soon it was in pieces on the floor in front of us. She was already reaching for the gleaming white piece of paper that had been pressed to the inside of one of the tubes.

On it were several human numbers and the symbol from the map.

There was a quick intake of breath, then a short silence, before she squealed, “We got it!” She covered her mouth immediately, her eyes darting up to the sky. “We got it,” she said again, softer.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and her hands clapped silently. Paper in hand, she launched herself at me, a giant smile on her face. Then she was plastering my face with a million tiny kisses.

Her delight was contagious, and my chest responded with a window-shaking rumble.

And suddenly, I understood why the other hunters wanted to stay on Earth even after all the scourge had been defeated, and our job here was done.

I understood why they built homes, planted gardens, and planned for the future.

I understood why they saw Earth, a planet light-years from the place where we began, as home.

Her happiness was worth more than a million destroyed nests. What was the point of fighting on another planet if she wasn’t there? I wasn’t just one more hunter, meant to fight and die, and be forever forgotten.

A loud crash jolted me out of my epiphany.

I moved without thinking, throwing my body over hers to shield her from the impact. But the sound had been a warning. A flyer had spotted us, and in its desperation had slammed into the glass dome overhead. A jagged crack split across the curved surface, threatening to give.

Kiera scrambled to grab her things, and we bolted for the door. Another crash hit, and we dove to the floor as glass exploded above us, raining down in deadly shards. I curled around her, arms locked tight, determined to take every hit if it meant keeping her safe.

Nothing would harm her. Not while I still breathed.

The flyer, seeing its opportunity, extended a claw to swipe at me. But I was faster. I rolled, taking Kiera with me.

I reached for my blades, and the years of training filled in the rest. The dual glowing edges danced in fluorescent blue as I mounted my attack, slicing through every body part the flyer dared use against me. Moments later, it was dead.

“Watch out!”

The warning came too late. There was a shrill cry as another flyer slammed into the observatory. This one brought part of the dome structure down with it.

I wrenched my body to the side to no avail. The metal and glass came down on me, and pain had me snarling. The impact stole the breath from my lungs. The heavy beam pinned my right leg, and searing pain had me biting down on the roar clawing up my throat. Blood slicked the floor beneath me.

“Get away from him!” Kiera shouted.

She shook with fear, or rage, her blaster pointed at the flyer who’d crash-landed. It was already eyeing me and my compromised position. It noticed the much tastier human now and shrieked, turning on her.

“Run!” I yelled.

Seeing Kiera in imminent danger, all sense of pain left me. With a roar, I heaved the heavy metal beam off my leg, pulling the twisted metal that had impaled itself into my thigh out of my leg.

Her blaster shot hit the flyer in the neck, killing it. But it was the metal beam, thrown at full speed at its head, that crushed its skull into a paste.

“Bael’k, your leg!”

“Will heal.” I’d been injured worse before.

She started toward me.

“No. Stay back, away from the glass.” I went to her instead. “Got the code?”

She patted her jacket pocket. “Got it!”

“Good.”

I took her by the hand, grateful for the momentary connection, no matter how small.

Another shrill cry alerted us to yet more flyers, eager for our blood. A part of me wanted to stand my ground and fight.

“Krux! We must leave. Now.”