CHAPTER 16
“Your… ‘friend’…is gone,” Kalum Quist gloated.
The three remaining androids had taken matters in hand for their rendezvous with their master. Kalum had kept his distance, letting them go in ahead of them and transmitting to him everything that they saw. Through their electronic eyes, Kalum had seen the battle between the androids and the Knights, the final assault by the trio of automatons on Conran and Donar, and Brianne Heatherton’s fall into the stream.
Once their opponents were down, the androids rounded them up; the unconscious Knights had morphed back to human to heal the injuries sustained when they fell. Now they sat on their knees in the grass bordering the bank of the stream, their hands shackled behind their backs in energized manacles.
With them, bound in the same way, were Conran and Donar, their own morphing back to human having healed them of any bruises and contusions from having been shot with force beams; and Burton Hawkes and Sondra Kimura, whom the artificial men had seized from inside the Knights’ hover van. The Knights’ vehicles, of which the androids took control, now sat on the grass nearby near Kalum’s hoverjeep.
Kalum paced the grass back and forth like the general of some ancient army surveying the scene of a battlefield in which he had conquered some opposing horde and savored his victory.
“I’m sorry for the loss of Dr. Heatherton,” Kalum said, eyeing his cousins with smug, mock sincerity. “I’m grateful to her for bringing my quarry here to Lacerta. None of us will ever forget her—will we?” The hint of a venomous smile on his face was just enough to show his cousins how monumentally pleased he was at having taken everything from them: his own prize, and theirs.
The twins remained silent, watching Kalum through eyes filled with a tormented mix of fear, anguish, grief, and rage. Inside, Donar and Conran were both torn to shreds. Consuming their minds and hearts was the image of Brianne, stunned senseless, flying over the side of the hovercar and into the stream; further shocked by her impact with the water, carried away, the waters sweeping her off, claiming her body and her life.
As one, they shuddered and trembled with the agony of having been unable to help her, to save her. And through it all, the hatred that they felt for their cousin burned like the fire exhaled by some mythical dragon. If they could, they would have breathed out that hatred onto Kalum and incinerated him where he stood.
“You sick, stupid, filthy bastard,” Conran snarled. “We always knew you never cared about anything but getting what you wanted. But this…this… You’ve killed Brianne, damn you. This is on you. All on you.”
“And for what?” Donar practically hissed. “To hunt down and slaughter an innocent animal? For a trophy? For one more chance to show nature that you’re better than it is? You are sick. You are filthy. And you’re going to suffer for this, I promise you.”
“Will you make me suffer?” Kalum asked, more overtly smug now. “In your position I wouldn’t be making such promises.”
“Then listen to my promise,” Meline cut in. “You’ve assaulted Knights of the Spires, detained us, taken us captive. And you’ve caused a woman’s death. No matter what you do now, your days are numbered. Soon, you’re never going to see the outside of a dungeon again.”
“Soon,” said Kalum, “I’ll be off this planet with my kill, and your Knightly friends will have to find me to put me in a dungeon. That won’t be easy. I have buyers for the parts of my trophy already lined up, and I can broker a deal with at least one of them for asylum and protection from your almighty Knighthood. You’ll have to fill space in your dungeons with someone else.”
“Selfish. Hateful. Vicious,” Donar almost spat. “You were always like this. We just never knew how bad you really were, how little of a conscience you actually have. A good woman is gone because of your selfishness, your insane need to kill an animal to make yourself feel good. And you just don’t give a damn.”
“Let’s be honest,” said Kalum. “What was Dr. Heatherton, really? Why did you really take on this little conservation project of hers? Wasn’t she simply one more human female to share your bed? One more of how many others? The two of you have done more than your share of ‘conquering’. I simply conquer with wing and claw and weapon, instead of with my…”
“Shut your mouth!” Conran bellowed.
“Why? Because you’re so much nobler than I? You talk of the way you think I’ve always been. But that’s the way you truly are, isn’t it? Better than Xhondor and me. Better than our father. Our father, who’s spending his last days in disgrace, dispossessed and dying, because you are the noble side of the family. Well, my cousins, nobility has a way of dying out. This is the end of the line.”
“You don’t even deserve to go to a dungeon,” growled Donar. “You should meet the same end that you’ve planned for that beast.”
“I am a true dragon,” Kalum said. “A real dragon, a pure dragon, who takes what he wants. I claim what is mine!”
“On that one thing we agree absolutely,” Conran scowled. “You are going to get and take what’s yours. Every bloody bit of it.”
“True,” said Kalum. “And I’m on my way to it now. Goodbye…cousins. When I’m done and gone, I’ll leave you your lives—the better to remember your Dr. Heatherton.”
With a final glance of contempt, Kalum Quist turned and stalked off for his jeep.
Watching him go, Donar and Conran wanted to hang their heads in mourning for Brianne, who was theirs for so short a time. But they both refused to grieve in the presence of Kalum and his two-legged tools.
_______________
Heart pounding and bosom heaving, Brianne coughed and choked and gasped. She was grateful to be on land again. It was not so much dry land as it was the soggy, muddy, rocky bank of the stream. But at least it was land. And at least she was safe from drowning, even if that happened to be the only safety she could call her own at the moment.
The details of what had happened to her faded and tumbled in her mind. Brianne recalled the force bolt that separated her and Conran, throwing her back and away, over the side of the car. She remembered hitting the water. After that, there was nothing—until she felt her body hit rocks and opened her eyes to find herself clinging to boulders in the water into which the stream had tossed her.
She clung to the rocks, desperately gulping air, her gulps turning to coughs, and scanned her surroundings. Brianne did not know how far downstream she had gone. She knew only that she was in the water for a long enough time that where she had fallen in was out of sight. There was no sign of the androids or the Knights—or of the Quist brothers.
Clinging dizzily to the rocks, recovering her breath, Brianne gasped the names of her dragon twins— “Donar…Conran…” afraid to shout or call out. The shore lay just a short swim and wade from where she was. She needed only recover enough of her strength to get there. But she had better not take too long to do it.
She had better find cover soon, a safe place to figure out what to do next. Forcing herself to move, Brianne launched herself back into the water and swam the strokes necessary to get herself into the shallows, then did not so much walk as stagger the rest of the way to the bank, where she collapsed, coughing again.
There was a little ridge where she lay, and over it were some trees and shrubs that should at least get her out of the sight of prying, searching eyes. Brianne drew upon some inner reservoir of strength that she could not name and got herself over the ridge and into the concealing cover of vegetation.
That should keep her safe for the moment, she thought —unless the androids were equipped with infrared sensors in their eyepieces. She shook her head hard, wanting to slap herself for that. It would do no good to invent trouble and make herself more scared than she already was. She had to collect her thoughts. Sitting here indefinitely was not an option. Brianne had to do something. What she needed now was to think. Think.
Separating reason from fear, Brianne assessed the facts as she knew them. She was alone, an undetermined distance from where she had been. She did not know what had happened to Conran, Donar, or the Knights—but she had taken Donar’s pulse when he fell just before she went into the water, and at the time he was alive.
She had reason to hope that the brothers and the Knights still lived. Please, let them be still alive. Damara had gone into the water and they had been following her downstream. She still had the transponder code and could determine where the cralowog had surfaced and where the animal now was. And…
And there was something else.
Speaking of signals and codes, the words of Meline replayed themselves in Brianne’s head: When we get out into the field, don’t forget the transmission code I gave you in case we get separated somehow. Use it to keep in contact, or if you need it for any other reason.
Yes! Meline had given Brianne and the Quist brothers a special signal code that would enable the Knighthood, including the Knights and Mentors at the headquarters in Greenscale and the central authority of the Spires in Silverwing, to contact her or even track her location. They could use it to contact or locate Brianne—or she could use it to signal them!
At once, Brianne touched the cuff of her sleeve. A holographic interface appeared before her. With the brush of her finger on one of the figures etched in light in the interface, she sent the secret code that no outside party could detect or monitor. The mere act of putting her finger on something that was not physical, but was tangible in her mind, began to settle Brianne’s heart just a bit. They would be quick to respond, she knew; if not Meline herself, then someone else—some other Knight who could pinpoint her location. It should come at any second…
A male voice spoke from the comm unit in her cuff: “This is Sir Galen Vaughan at Greenscale Headquarters. Identify.”
Brianne exhaled a deep breath of something almost like relief and made a sound that was nearly a nervous laugh. Her danger was not over, but this might be the first glimmer of a way out. She steadied herself and found her voice. “This is Dr. Brianne Heatherton. I’m at unknown coordinates along the Corvulth Stream. I’m alone; I was thrown into the water. I don’t know the whereabouts or the status of Dame Meline, Sir Voran, or any of the rest of our party. And I haven’t pinpointed the location of the cralowog yet. We were attacked, and I was unconscious in the stream. I’m in trouble here, wherever here is.”
Sir Galen answered, “I have your coordinates and the coordinates of the cralowog, Dr. Heatherton. Remain where you are. We can get someone out to you.”
“What about the rest of our party? There were androids; there was a battle. They all fell and I’m afraid to try to contact them because the androids or whoever sent them might pick me up. Do you know anything about the others?”
“We’ve had no communication with them,” said Sir Galen, “and we’ve sent out another squadron to their last known coordinates. We’ll find them and deal with their attackers. We have a fix on your location; just stay there and keep this channel open.”
Almost ready to cry, Brianne said, “I’m not going anywhere. Just get your people out here, please. Please…” She settled back against the trunk of the tree and sat there, letting her heartbeat finish slowing.
Not knowing what had happened to Donar and Conran still gnawed at her heart. As a scientist she disliked any missing or lacking information, but her dislike of not knowing was especially acute now. Most of all, she hated being afraid to try to contact them. She felt almost like an insect pinned by the wings in a display. She could not move. She could do nothing but wait. Wait…
No—not just wait. There was one thing she could still do. The emergency code to the Knights was not the only thing she had that her opponents could not pick up. They also had no access to the transponder signal from Damara. While waiting, she could still use that to find where the cralowog was. It would send her all the data on all her vital signs. It would tell her whether Damara were still alive—or whether the cralowog had yet been hunted down.
Brianne touched another surface on her cuff, careful not to interrupt the secret signal between her and the Knights and called up the link to the transponder.
A holographic image of the cralowog appeared in the air, and beside it a series of other displays, showing the animal’s vital signs—showing that she still had vital signs. Yes, she’s alive! No one’s gotten her! The displays further indicated that Damara had left the stream where it emptied into a pond a little farther down than the waters had carried Brianne.
Damara was back on land. Good girl! Now follow your instincts and find a good place to hide! Someone will be along—I will, or someone will. Please, if I or the Knights can just find you before anyone else does. Please…
Still leaning against the tree, Brianne shut off the comm from Damara. The Knights would be quick to move, she knew. Of all the warriors and lawkeepers in the known galaxy, there were none others as efficient or powerful as the Knights of Lacerta. They must already be on her way—to her, to Damara, to Conran and Donar.
Her thoughts turned back to the twins who had brought her such happiness, such ecstasy, such bliss. They had to be all right. The universe could not be so cruel as to take them from her after just a night and a morning. She had only just found them, only just surrendered to everything she felt for them and everything they had made her feel. It couldn’t be over. It couldn’t…
Her eyes widened. Her ears pricked up. A tingle moved over her still-damp skin. Did she just hear something? A rustling in the grass? A snap of a twig? Was someone out there, outside of the bushes and tall grasses in which Brianne now sat? Perhaps it was one of the Knights. She had not heard the low whirring of one of their vehicles. Perhaps it had come in to a stationary hover some distance away. The Knight might be approaching on foot, drawn to the exact spot where she was waiting.
But how likely was that? The shortest distance for Knightly reinforcements to come would be from back in the city, back in Greenscale. If this were not some reinforcements, perhaps it was Meline, or Voran—or even Donar or Conran. If they had somehow rallied and gotten free, any of them might have come after her.
Brianne heard the rustling again—closer now. Her skin tingled more sharply. Her heart sped up again. She held her breath and licked her lips. What should she do? Call out? Bring whoever it was right to her? Or just wait? Just wait…
The tall grass in front of her parted. A figure strode into view, into the bare spot under the tree where Brianne sat. She looked up into red electronic eyes. A grey humanoid body loomed over her, training a weapon on her. Unable to stifle her reaction, Brianne screamed. She flinched back and away, scrambling to get her footing, to run, to dash into the tall grass and look for other cover. No sooner was she on her feet and ready to break into a run than a male voice called out to her:
“Please don’t run. There’s no place you can go where my automaton can’t follow. Stay where you are. I’ll tell you when you can move.”
Shuddering inside, Brianne turned back around and saw that another figure had emerged through the concealing grasses. Looking the new arrival up and down, she did not need to ask who it was that had found her.
“Dr. Brianne Heatherton, correct?” asked Kalum Quist.