Page 29

CHAPTER 29

E irik

The predawn air carries the metallic tang of an approaching sandstorm. I roll my shoulders, feeling the tingle of my spikes against the inside of my skin as Commander Rager and his Enforcers take position behind me. His twin blades catch the dim light, their curved edges promising death.

“On my mark,” I growl into my commu-link, my voice carrying to our assembled forces. The Enforcers grip their weapons tighter, bodies tensing. Rager’s green eyes blaze with anticipation, his striped fur bristling along his spine.

The Fortress’s entrance stands in stark contrast to my first visit. Instead of two drunken Binget brothers sharing a bottle, six heavily armed guards flank the double doors, their weapons held at ready positions. Their eyes scan the surroundings with military precision, bodies tense and alert. Two of them are humans and the other four are a mix of species known for their combat skills—a hulking Drekari with chitinous armor, two cybernetically enhanced humans whose artificial eyes glow red in the dim light, and a serpentine Vassith whose forked tongue tastes the air for danger.

They knew we’d be coming for them.

Gone is the casual atmosphere of the day I sneaked in with Sasha, replaced by the deadly serious preparations of men expecting war.

“Now!” The command rips from my throat. My muscles bunch as I surge forward, leading the charge toward Sargul’s Fortress. Each thundering step sends vibrations through the ground. The spikes along my arms extend fully, deadly black points gleaming in the darkness.

The blast of an ionic rocket launch tears through the Fortress entrance like a meteor strike. Stone explodes with a deafening crack that echoes off the surrounding buildings, the sound reverberating in my chest. Debris rains down as the Enforcers and I storm through the breach, weapons raised and ready. My enhanced vision cuts through the settling dust, scanning for movement in the shadows. The acrid smell of explosives mingles with pulverized stone, burning my nostrils as I take point, my massive frame providing cover for Rager’s men behind me.

It takes a few seconds for me to get my bearings, remembering the directions Sasha gave me. She was right that the Fortress is a maze. Sargul designed it that way.

To the right. That’s the fastest way to the Vault.

Shouts of alarm bounce off the walls, mixing with the sound of running feet and slamming doors. Crystal piles flicker weakly along the corridors, casting shifting shadows that dance and twist with our movement. Something crashes in a distant room, followed by muffled cursing. They’re after us.

“They’re coming!” That is all the warning I have time to give the Enforcers before the first of Sargul’s men rush me.

I slam my fist into the first guard’s face, bone crunching beneath my knuckles. His body crumples like wet paper. Two more rush me, blasters raised. My spikes extend with a metallic whisper, catching the dim light and sending gleaming reflections across the stone walls. One fluid slash of my arm and their weapons clatter to the floor in pieces, the severed arms of my attackers still holding their blasters. Shouts are replaced by screams of pain and terror as the men lie on the floor bleeding.

“Left flank!” Rager’s voice cuts through the chaos. His twin swords flash in deadly arcs as he spins through a group of two guards, his movements fluid and precise. Bodies drop in his wake, their throats opened with surgical precision.

I pivot, catching a knife-wielding human thug mid-lunge. My fingers close around his throat, lifting him off his feet. The bones in his neck snap under my fingertips. The knife drops from nerveless fingers as I toss him into his companions. They go down in a tangle of limbs.

“Go for the Vault,” Rager calls out, his blades finding targets with lethal grace. Bodies hit the floor in rapid succession and soon, the stone floor becomes a pool full of the blood of our enemies. “I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”

“With me!” I call to three of the Enforcers as I duck under a wild swing, my elbow connecting with my attacker’s solar plexus. The impact impales him on my elbow spike, ending his life in an instant.

None of Sargul’s men are a match for me. It’s senseless that they still keep coming.

The next three rights, then a left. I remind myself as I lead the Enforcers deeper into the Fortress, while Rager’s men cover our backs.

Then I stop. The corridor ahead splits into three paths. I catch movement in the shadows—six more of Sargul’s men taking cover behind makeshift barricades.

Shtako! Did Sasha mention a three-way path? Did I make a mistake somewhere? Sasha was right. This place is a maze and now, there’s no way for me to trace back my steps and make sure.

The first blaster shot rings right above my head, sending a splatter of stone dust down on my head.

I take the far right hallway, hoping the third option was just an omission from Sasha, but knowing deep down that it isn’t so.

The Enforcers don’t lose a beat, stepping right behind me as I bolt into the far right hallway at full speed. I keep going, taking turn after turn, just as Sasha told me. Then we all come to a full stop as a blast door blocks our path.

We’re trapped.

I turn around, placing my massive form in front of my men as the shouts of Sargul’s men, hot on our heels, reverberate on the stone walls. This is their home. They know we’re trapped.

“Cover me.” I drop into a crouch, muscles coiling. The spikes along my arms elongate fully, deadly points gleaming. Six of Sargul’s men have us pinned down in an indefensible position, their plasma rifles spitting death in steady bursts. The acrid smell of scorched stone fills my nostrils.

Rager’s Enforcers return fire, forcing our attackers to duck behind their makeshift barrier. In that split second of respite, I launch forward. My spikes are extended to their full length, each razor-sharp point promising agony. The first thug barely has time to lift his weapon before my right arm sweeps across his chest. My spikes tear through his vest, then his flesh, leaving deep gashes that immediately well with blood. He drops, screaming.

Two more turn their weapons on me, but I’m already moving. My left arm comes up in a brutal arc, the spikes catching their rifles and shearing through the metal like paper. The weapons fall in pieces as I drive my shoulder into the closest man’s sternum. The impact sends him flying into his companion, impaling him, then sending him crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

The remaining three thugs backpedal, eyes wide with terror. One fumbles with his weapon, managing to squeeze off a wild shot that misses me by inches. My spikes whistle through the air as I spin, catching him across the thigh. He goes down hard, clutching at the deep puncture wounds.

The last two break and run, but they don’t get far. The Enforcers shoot them with their blasters and they fall to the floor, unmoving.

Rager appears at the end of the hallway, followed by the rest of the Enforcers, his twin blades singing their deadly song. Those who escape my brutal assault find themselves dancing with the legendary gladiator, their deaths quick and precise. Together, we carve a path of destruction through the Fortress’s defenders.

“Clear!” an Enforcer calls out from the right corridor.

“Left side secured,” another confirms.

I straighten, surveying our handiwork. Dozens of bodies litter the floor, most still breathing but none getting up anytime soon. Rager steps up beside me, his blades dripping red in the flickering crystal light.

The corridor opens into a vast rectangular chamber, dominated by an enormous stone chair that sits like a throne in its center. Four blast doors line the walls, two on each side, their reinforced metal gleaming dully in the flickering crystal light.

Something about this setup makes my spikes tingle beneath my skin.

“This was too easy.” I keep my voice low, eyes scanning the shadows between the blast doors.

Rager moves to stand beside me, his fur bristling along his spine. His green eyes narrow as they take in our surroundings. “Agreed. We barely lost any men getting here. Sargul’s fortress should have been better defended than this.”

The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth as I study the stone throne.

This is an ambush.

Rager’s eyes meet mine and it’s like we have the same thought at this instant. His feline pupils dilate until there are barely any irises left. He turns to his men.

“Ambush!” he roars. “Let’s move out!”

But we’re too late. A booming roar fills the room, followed by the distinct sound of multiple boots pounding against stone flooring. Before I can respond, the far wall erupts in chaos.

The blast doors open and mercenaries pour through, their weapons already blazing. Leading the charge is Kendall, his broken nose twisted in a savage grin as he fires wildly into our ranks. His normally beady eyes shine with bloodlust, reflecting the muzzle flashes that illuminate the chamber in stuttering bursts.

“Down!” I tackle Rager behind a fallen column as plasma bolts sear the air where we stood moments before. The Enforcers scatter for cover, but two fall before they can reach safety. The acrid smell of burned flesh fills my nostrils.

More mercenaries stream in by the second, their numbers far exceeding what should be possible in this space. This is no random counterattack—we’ve walked straight into a carefully laid trap.

I slam my fist into the nearest mercenary, feeling ribs crack beneath my knuckles. The force sends him flying into two others, but three more instantly take his place. My spikes slash through the air, catching weapons and flesh alike, yet the tide of bodies seems endless.

My mind races even as my body moves on instinct.

Rager fights through the chaos, his twin blades weaving patterns of death. But even his legendary skills can’t match the sheer number of our enemies. A plasma bolt hits his shoulder, and he howls in pain and fury.

I rush to him as he abandons one of his curved blades to the floor. We stand side by side, facing an ever-increasing number of attackers. The thought of Sasha fuels my rage as I charge forward, becoming a living battering ram. Bodies crumple beneath my onslaught, but more pour in through those blast doors. The stench of ozone and blood fills my lungs.

Then Rager falls down, a blaster hitting him in his lower abdomen. I stand beside him as he struggles for his sword, but his fight is over.

We’re circled by Sargul’s thugs. Over a dozen are around us as I pull Rager up against the wall and place myself in front of him. All around, I see Enforcers down, the few that are left rapidly losing the fight.

They bested us.

There’s a pause as the thugs keep still and I notice one of them speaking through a commu-link in his shirt. I frown. This is not the behavior of pirates and thugs. After another look, I realize none of these men act like the lowlife criminals they are supposed to be.

“Getting tired, big guy? Should’ve stayed in your caves with the rest of your kind.”

Kendall emerges from the crowd, leveling a heavy blaster at my chest. I snarl, but I know I’m beat. As Kendall comes to stand in front of me, I understand everything.

He stands there, looking down at me with a smug expression. Wearing an Imperial soldier uniform.

The Empire has finally come upon Tartarus.