Page 55 of Hooded (Gladiators of the Gryn #5)
FERN
It’s clear this place once had a civilization. Broken relics poke up from the dust like jagged teeth. It gives me the shivers just thinking about what was once here and what happened to those who inhabited the planetoid.
The Galactic Council has much to answer for if they have been allowing the being called Proto to do this to more than one planet. But then, it’s in their interest to crush species which might challenge their existence. Species like the Gryn, who are clearly more than just a force to be reckoned with.
They are different to any warrior I’ve met, any other species keen on violence, and bounty hunting attracts a few. But the calmness with which the elite are approaching this showdown with the Proto, the way they prepare, the way they have accepted Klynn without incident, and the way he has accepted them—it sets them apart.
It warms my heart to see Klynn with the Gryn. Initially stiff and defensive, the more he talks with them (and the more weapons he’s handed) the more I see his body relax. He even laughs, sort of. Finally, Strykr gives a brief order, causing the group to scatter, and Klynn returns to me, handing over three pulsar rifles.
“Thanks.” I take them and select my preferred one, the sniper. “Do they have a plan?” I say without much hope.
Klynn blinks as if I’ve heard his thoughts, not something which is happening with any regularity today.
“They have a plan. Two ships, yours and the other one, are a decoy for the bots. Proto has an energy signature. I’m to locate it and take it out.”
“Did you know it had a signature?”
“I’ve met it, but it kept me busy with bots,” Klynn says, feathers bristling. “Some larger species have energy signatures I can feel.”
Strykr calls out to us both, beckoning. Klynn takes hold of my shoulders, his gaze raking over me before his lips hit mine.
“You are to hold back. No matter what. I don’t want to leave you behind, I can’t leave you behind, but this is not your battle, my eregri . This one is for the Gryn. You must stay safe and keep our youngling safe.”
“Believe me, Klynn, the last thing I want to do is fight.” I run my hand over my stomach, and it is stopped by his larger one covering it. “But I want to see this through to the end because I’m part of it, whether I like it or not.”
He cups my chin, clawed thumb gently stroking over my cheek, his other arm holding me close to him, wings wrapped around us both.
“Little fury, I wouldn’t ever think about stopping you from doing anything you wanted to do,” he murmurs. “But I will protect you with everything I have. The stars are yours, my mate. Just ask me and I will pluck them from the sky for you.”
His dark eyes study my face, almost like he’s making sure he never forgets it. I put my hand against his chest, feeling the warmth from his skin, the steady thump of the heart he thought was broken, when all it was doing was telling him there was more than just the fight.
“I will stay safe,” I reply. “This has to end, here.”
His hand curls around mine, and together we walk towards my ship, where the Gryn are waiting. They follow us up into the suddenly a lot smaller bridge space.
Together with another Gryn ship, we lift off, and under Klynn’s direction, we take a heading over the gray, dusty, featureless ground. Until all the warning alarms go off and the entire bridge fills with flaring wings.
“Bots,” Klynn says through gritted teeth.
Out of the gray sky, phalanx after phalanx of the things are heading towards us. I swear out loud, but Klynn grins at me.
“What is it?” I ask, urgently. “This isn’t good. There’s too many of them.”
“These Gryn are trained on bots. They have no fear. Open the outer airlock.”
I do as he says and half of the Gryn exit. Along with the other Gryn ship, they peel off, taking most of the bots with them. Now the sky is filled with falling debris as the warriors cut a swathe through the many, many bots.
“Over there,” Klynn urges me, pointing to a deep depression which looks like a bomb crater. It’s filled with jagged crystals.
“I can’t land there. Those might puncture the hull,” I say.
“Use the pulsar cannon,” Klynn says. “We’re not here to keep this place pretty.” He grins at me.
His glee is infectious, and I release a couple of volleys into the crater. The crystals slowly disintegrate until there is space for me to put the ship down.
“I think we might have got Proto’s attention.”
“It thinks it has the numbers to defeat us,” Klynn says grimly. “But it is wrong.”
I follow him out of the ship and into the crater. The air is thick with the sound of battle and all around the remaining crystals ping and crackle with the heat which sears my skin.
“Stay low, keep hidden,” he exhorts me as he strides past me.
I duck behind one of the large rocks which dot the bottom of the crater among the huge crystal spears.
Klynn walks over to one and places his hands on it, leaning in, eyes closed in the same way I saw him do on the Tormelek ship when he disabled the forcefield.
I hear it before I see it, a slithering sound, like fabric over fabric. But when I finally see it, it’s already too late.
“Ah, the human,” Proto says as a tail curls around me, squeezing tight. “And already with young, my favorite snack.”