Chapter Twenty
From the front of the line, Bort shouted, “I’m out!”
“Moving up,” Kren called grimly.
Arga came forward with him. Kren was on his last rounds of plasma fire and knew his partner faced the same situation. Everyone was at critical. Soon they would be out of firepower and at the mercy of the capture fields.
No one had called for retreat, however. They continued to press forward, determined to see the offensive to the end. Kren hoped the end didn’t include all the residents of Hahz being stretched out on Monsudan lab tables.
For his part, Arga maintained the savage joy of the fight. He even grinned at Kren as he fired round after round of plasma bursts at the enemy. “I think we’re getting into a critical area. The big bugs have come out to play. We must be near the queen or super-sensitive parts of the hive.”
He was right. It wasn’t just drones they fought now. The Monsuda themselves were sticking their insect heads out and firing scattershot at the Risnarish men.
“It also might mean we’re putting a real dent in the drones,” Kren shouted back. There were far fewer of the mechanisms confronting them. The now depleted boom cannons had done their job.
“Probably both,” Arga said. He whooped as a Monsudan fell to a plasma burst and jittered as it smoked. “Best day of my life!”
Kren couldn’t agree with that assessment, not as long as his main mission remained unaccomplished. Beneath the sounds of fire being traded, he moaned, “Jeannie, where are you?”
* * *
Jeannie scurried down the corridor, heading toward the distant sounds of a firefight. She wasn’t sure what she would do once she got to where the action was. In fact, she doubted her sanity. What lucid, weaponless person would run toward an armed conflict?
Yet she needed help if she was to pull off what she planned to. That meant finding someone she knew, someone she could enlist in her crazy idea.
If she was honest with herself, she also had the desperate hope of finding Kren alive, unhurt, and fighting his way to her. She hated the thought of him going into danger over her, but the selfish part wanted to discover she was indeed that important to him. Her shaky trust needed to see him come running to her rescue, even though she’d pulled herself out of immediate danger.
As she hurried along, she peeked into the various labs she passed, making sure there were no drones ready to spring out at her. Lab after lab came up empty.
Her luck didn’t hold, however, at least when it came to victims of the Monsuda. As Jeannie paused at one doorway and snuck a peek in, her eyes met those of another woman. A bronze-skinned beauty, the lab subject appeared to be of Native American descent.
Her dark eyes widened to see Jeannie standing there. “Help me. Please!” she begged.
Jeannie’s brush with nearly being imprisoned in suspended animation for life made her pause for an instant. It was a moment for which she felt immediate guilt. Part of her yammered that she needed to get moving, to not get caught again, to run and not look back. Yet wasn’t it her conscience that had prevented her from jumping into the portal and zooming away to safety? That and the need to be with a certain striped Risnarish man who might be risking his life for her right now?
Such thoughts passed in less than a second. Before they were done, Jeannie was running into the lab, heading for the frozen, naked woman.
The prisoner blinked tears free as she breathlessly said, “Thank you. Thank you for not leaving me.”
Jeannie looked at the side of the stretcher where the drones always fiddled about. Her gaze fell on heavy scarring of the woman’s left leg. Had the Monsuda done that to her?
“That’s old. Ignore it. I try to,” the woman said impatiently.
Jeannie frowned. “I don’t know where the release is. There are several different buttons and switches on here.”
“Push them all,” the other woman urged. “I don’t care if it kills me. It’s better than being brought here again.”
Jeannie couldn’t disagree, but she didn’t like messing with another’s life. “Are you sure?”
“Hell, yeah. Go for broke, babe!”
Jeannie pushed one button after another. There was no discernible change, but at least she didn’t kill the woman. “Damn it. Which one? They always mess with something on this side of the stretcher when they—”
She flipped a switch as she spoke, and the other woman jerked up and off the stretcher. She nearly fell in her desperate bid for escape. Jeannie caught her, saving her from a nasty tumble. “Careful.”
The woman caught her balance and stood up straight. “I got it.”
She grinned at Jeannie, the expression flashing bright in her lovely face. Jeannie couldn’t help but laugh in return. Two survivors, sisters of misfortune.
“Thanks so much. I’d hug you, but I’m naked and that might feel weird,” the woman told her. “Where did those little bastards put my clothes? Oh, there they are.” She snagged a bright pink blouse and jeans from a nearby rolling table and yanked them on.
The sound of fighting was coming closer. It reminded Jeannie of all she wanted to do. “What’s your name?” she asked her new friend.
“Anneliese. Anneliese Thompson.” The woman stabbed her feet into worn sneakers and bent to tie them.
“I’m Jeannie. Do you remember how to find the portal from here?”
Anneliese flashed her a bitter smile. “I do right now. No one’s slapped a memory blocker on me yet. They had a few more tests to run.”
“Get going. One way or the other, I don’t think we have much time.”
Jeannie turned, ready to run on in her search for Kren. A strong hand on her arm arrested her flight. She halted and looked at Anneliese.
The woman asked, “Are there others? Like us? In the labs?”
Jeannie thought of the man she’d seen on her way in. Of all those pods with frozen people. “Some are even worse off than us.”
“I’ll help you rescue them,” Anneliese said. “I can’t leave this nightmare with more still living it. I never leave people behind.”
Anneliese sounded military. Maybe she was, with her strong build. Jeannie drew a steadying breath. Her aim had been to keep the Monsuda away from Earth’s billions of people, to keep them from using this hive’s portal ever again. She hadn’t figured on rescuing the humans already here, but now that Anneliese had pointed the need out, she couldn’t turn her back on them.
She nodded to Anneliese. “Let’s get moving, then.”
They ran out of the room, searching the remaining labs. The sounds of fighting went on, coming closer though more sporadic.
* * *
“Arga!” Kren yelled as his partner took a hit from scattershot and staggered. While Kren dropped back to check on him, Nex and Bort surged forward to take point.
Arga grimaced. Blood dotted his armored skin in small drops. “I’m okay. That pop didn’t have much power behind it. I’m down to my last few shots, though.”
Kren took aim at a Monsudan that chose that moment to peek around a corner. He missed, but Bort scored a direct hit. Kren checked how many rounds he had left and scowled at the number. No matter. He’d go for as long as he could in the hope of finding Jeannie.
He told Arga, “Keep to the middle of the group. Save your shots for the ones you know you can make.”
He headed forward, getting up front again. The drones were definitely fewer now, and the Monsuda weren’t showing up as often as before. He thought they must be regrouping for a final assault or perhaps concentrating their defenses around the queen.
It gave him hope he might find Jeannie in time to grab her and beat a retreat. Then they came upon yet another junction leading to another corridor, and all hope fled.
The hallway was clogged with drones and Monsuda, protecting whatever was in that direction. The enemy opened fire, and Kren knew his warriors were done.
As their last-ditch offense exploded in a hail of plasma with scattershot flying at them, Kren wondered if he’d survive. Though nothing could be worse than being captured by the Monsuda, at least he might see Jeannie again. Maybe he’d have the chance to tell her he was sorry for having failed her.
Nex flew backward with a yell, his hide peppered. Bort’s plasma gun fell silent as it spent its last round. Kren stepped up to lead the charge, and immediately scattershot pounded into his chest and stomach. Pain bloomed, taking the breath from his lungs. Yet he would not stop. With Jeannie’s name on his lips, he crouched to make himself as small a target as possible and fought on.
Then he could no longer move. A capture field had hold of him, freezing him to the spot until the Monsuda could claim him for their hellish labs.
He heard Arga yell and knew they were all finished. Suddenly, the air filled with howls from many Risnarish throats, sending chills down Kren’s spine. Strangely, the cries sounded celebratory rather than the final calls of the doomed. His men sounded like they were cheering.
Then the Monsuda before him turned, their buggy legs clattering down the metallic hallway. The few drones retreated in confusion as well. Kren discovered he could move again. The capture field was gone. He wheeled around to face his group, to find out what had sent the enemy on the run.
The men of Hahz parted to let a charging pack through. Risnarish men, strangers to Kren, rushed up the space. The pair in front hurried past Kren, aimed their boom cannons, and blasted the laggard drones to pieces.
One of the unfamiliar men, his stripes golden and white, turned to Kren. Scarcely believing the strangers’ fortunate appearance, Kren said, “I guess the Assembly sent you? Welcome to the fun.”
The apparent leader of his saviors laughed, his silver eyes hectic with excitement. “I’m glad we could make it. I’m Jape Ihucas Bolep.”
His name indicated he hailed from Cas, the closest village to Hahz. Kren put his hand over his bloody chest. “From my spirit to yours, we are glad to see you.”
Jape looked at Kren’s bleeding torso. “I guess so. Any closer and that round would have gotten all the way through your skin. Can you tell me which of you is Kren Zvanhahz?”
“I am. And I’m heading that way.” He pointed to the corridor now vacant of all but the remains of the drones the boom cannon had taken out.
Jape grinned and put his palm to his chest. “From my spirit to yours, Kren. We’ve been ordered to assist you in rescuing our newly discovered sisters and brothers of the Spirit. Earthlings, I hear they’re called? Though in all honesty, I wouldn’t mind bagging a queen Monsudan while I’m at it.”
“You’re in the right place, then.” Kren clapped him on the shoulder. As far as he was concerned, Jape and the men of Cas were welcome to the queen. Kren only cared to find Jeannie. “Follow me and take whatever enemy trophies delight you. I am more interested in finding the victims.”
Especially one golden-haired Earthling.
With Jape at his side, Kren ran down the corridor. As he went, he breathed a whispered thanks to the All-Spirit, who had granted him the kindness of rescue.
“There is a particular Earthling I am looking for,” he told Jape. “She is the reason Hahz came in force.”
“I have heard. She made quite the impression on the Assembly from what I was told. She must be an amazing creature.”
“None more so.” Kren raised his voice. “Jeannie! Jeannie, can you hear me?”
* * *
Half a dozen people were immobilized in the labs. Jeannie and Anneliese freed them in short order, though the failing capture fields would have let them loose within minutes. In fact, the last man they found flailed himself free of his stretcher’s weakening hold as they walked in his chamber.
The sounds of fighting were closer than ever, including sounds like cannons going off. The Earthlings instinctively ducked as they ran down the corridor to the portal chamber.
Once there, they stood uncertainly before the panel that held the controls. The cyphers were beyond them, telling them nothing about the buttons on the surface. For lack of a better scientific method, they started pushing buttons at random.
One man said, “A drone has always been here when I came through, but I never saw it punch up anything. It just stood here as I was floated past.”
Everyone agreed. None of the buttons had an effect on the portal, though the saucer’s hatch opened after Anneliese triggered a green one. They were at a loss.
The sounds of pitched fighting came closer, sounding beyond the open door. Everyone kept casting worried glances over their shoulders. It seemed that the fighters would come into view at any moment.
At last Anneliese yelled, “We should hide! They must be right on top of us!”
Another woman began pounding buttons again frantically. “No! We can’t be this close only to give up. Somebody do something!”
As if in answer to her desperate cry, the sounds of fighting ceased. The Earthlings froze and stared at each other with wide eyes.
Then a voice called out from beyond the chamber’s door, one Jeannie had been almost certain she’d never hear again. “Jeannie?”
“Kren! Kren, I’m here!”
Like a shot she was off and running, bolting toward the door. Before she got there, Kren appeared, racing at full speed. They met halfway across the floor. Jeannie launched herself at him, her arms flinging about his neck, her hands tangling in his mane.
She covered his striped face in kisses, unable to hold back now that she was with him again. He’d come for her. He’d not abandoned her. He was here, with her, making bizarre laugh-sobbing sounds as he kissed her, over and over.
His strangled words emerged from the translator still on Jeannie’s belt. “I’m so sorry I let them take you. I swore I wouldn’t, but I did. Forgive me, Jeannie. I was afraid I’d lose you.”
“You’ll never lose me.” She meant it with all her heart.
She was aware of other Risnarish men filling the room, some she’d never seen before. One gold-and-white-striped man stared at her and Kren with an incredulous look on his face. Jeannie didn’t care about these strangers. She didn’t care about her fellow Earthlings and what they might think of her fiercely embracing an alien. All that mattered was Kren.
Arga brought them both to reality as he moved close to get their attention. “Jeannie? Who are these...people?”
Jeannie remembered there was an attempted escape in progress. Instead of answering Arga, she asked Kren, “Are we safe?”
Kren shook his head. “Not quite. The Monsuda went down another corridor. I was about to follow them when you answered my call. Once we found you, the main team was going after the hive’s queen.”
“Speaking of which,” Gold-and-White Man said, “We’ll go on with the fighting. Send the Earthlings to their planet, if you can. I’ll leave a few of my men here so they can defend you if the bugs double back.”
With that, he and most of the strangers left. “Cas Village sent them,” Kren told Jeannie. “With their help, I think this hive will be wiped out.”
“Good.” Jeannie looked at Kren, noting blood easing sluggishly from small, shallow holes in his chest and stomach. Arga and many of the other men had similar injuries. “Are you okay?”
Kren thumped his fist against the rock-hard flesh of his chest. “We’ll heal. For now, we have more work to do.”
Emotion choked her to see what Kren and others had done for her. They’d courted death. They’d bled.
Someone behind her cleared their throat. Jeannie rubbed her stinging eyes and reminded herself a lot remained to be done. She could indulge in overwhelming emotion later.
She motioned to the control podium. “Can you guys read the instructions on this thing? We need to get them home, plus a bunch more.”
“More Earthlings?” Nex, as battered as the other men, stepped forward. His gaze was on the portal.
“Lots. They’re frozen in some kind of suspended animation, both Earthling and Risnarish.”
She barely noted that Arga froze stock-still at her words. Her eyes were all for Kren as he looked over the frightened humans clustered around the control panel.
Kren stared at the portal ring. “Is that it? Is that how they brought you here?”
“That’s the portal. The ship thing there—we go inside and then I guess it goes through that metal collar thing.”
It was science-loving Nex who hurried over to the control podium. The Earthlings cringed away from the alien, except for Anneliese. She alone held her ground, staring up at Nex in fascination as he joined her next to the panel.
“We can’t figure out how to work it,” she said to him. “Can you read it?”
Jeannie used her portable translator to relate the question. Nex grinned at the black-haired beauty, his eyes lighting up as he responded and Jeannie’s translator told Anneliese what he said. “These are simple commands, all for the transportation pod. Sterilize. Load. Calibrate. Communicate. Send. Retrieve. The ‘send’ panel has a notation that no one is on board. I guess it won’t move unless it has a passenger.”
Kren frowned. “No addresses? Just send? How do you tell it where to take people?”
Jeannie had a flash of realization. “The tracking implants. I bet those have something to do with it.”
She and Kren exchanged looks. She no longer had hers. If she was right, it would not be such an easy matter to send her to Earth...not that she’d had any intention of going.
Nex took a CPP from his belt and attached it to the podium. He spoke a few commands, got a response, and nodded. “You’re right. The implants aren’t just transmitters letting the Monsuda track people down, but homing beacons as well. All you Earthlings have to do is board the travel pod. The sensors inside will read the signal your implants put out and take you to a preprogrammed site. It can also be operated manually, with the location entered in by voice or key commands.”
The watchful Earthlings took a step away as a group, their fearful gazes moving between the saucer and Nex. One woman asked, “What if it doesn’t work without the drones operating it? I’m not getting on that thing and letting you send me God knows where.”
Anneliese alone didn’t shrink. She still stared up at Nex with searching dark-chocolate-brown eyes. “I’ll go,” she offered in a wavering voice.
Nex gazed at her, his expression avid. He held his hand out to her. “I’ll go with you.”
Anneliese stared at the hand, which was sporting only three fingers. Her eyes grew wide, but when she looked up at his face, she smiled and took his hand. “Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”
Jeannie wondered how much of Nex’s eagerness to board the pod was his scientific curiosity and how much was his obvious fascination for Anneliese. Probably fifty-fifty.
Nex showed Kren the buttons he thought should be pushed. Then he and Anneliese boarded the saucer, their hands still linked. As soon as Nex gave the go-ahead, Kren closed the saucer’s hatch. He pressed send.
The portal turned red-tinged golden fire, a mouth to hell. There was a sound so much like the roar of a gale that Jeannie couldn’t believe her hair wasn’t whipping around. Yet only the Risnarish cried out in frightened surprise. The Earthlings had seen it before, and they remembered.
The saucer lifted from the ground and hovered in midair for a moment, then it shot into the portal, disappearing with a crack of thunder.
For several minutes, they waited to see if the experiment succeeded or failed. Jeannie and Kren huddled close together, worrying for Nex and Anneliese until the Risnarish officer’s somewhat breathless voice came out of the control panel.
“Kren, can you hear me?”
A relieved grin passed among the Risnarish. Kren thumbed a purple button. “I got you, Nex. Are you all right?”
“I’m terrific. Never better.”
He went quiet again, and Kren spoke worriedly. “Nex? Are you still there?”
“Sorry! I was—I got distracted. I think we got through to Earth. We’re flying over an alien landscape. I’ve never seen anything like this! But it’s similar to Risnar too, at least what I can observe. It must be night.”
Anneliese’s voice came through. “That’s my house! The ship took us straight here. Can any of you hear me?”
The other Earthlings, their faces lighting with hope, gathered closer as Jeannie confirmed. “We hear you loud and clear on this end, Anneliese.”
“What do you need me to do, Nex?” Kren asked.
“I think I can handle it from my end. There are buttons labeled ‘Release’ and ‘Retrieve’ on the control panel in this thing. I’m going to assume Release will let her out, but we’re hovering several feet in the air. I’m not sure how to land this thing.”
Jeannie spoke up. “We always floated through the air up into and out of the saucer. We were in the middle of the saucer, and that part of the floor was like a platform that did the work.”
Nex didn’t have a translator on his end, so Kren passed along the information.
Nex said, “All right, hold on...right, I’m doing a test run with the platform. You’re correct. That circular section floats down to the ground nice and slow. I’ll press the Retrieve button, then Anneliese can board the platform and go home.”
A few moments later, Anneliese’s voice came through. She was quiet, and Jeannie could barely make out the words. “I know you can’t understand me, but thank you. Thank you so much. Maybe you can come to the rescue again the next time they come for me. Or just drop by and say hello.”
Not a chance, Jeannie thought. She’d come to a decision.
No more abductions from this hive. No more fear. No more questioning what should happen next. As far as Jeannie was concerned, all that was done.
She looked at the rest of those in the chamber with her. Kren concentrated on the control panel. Everyone else fixated on him or the portal, waiting to see what came next.
Nex’s next report came in. He sounded more winded than before, as if he was heaving for breath. “She’s on the ground and waving. I guess that means she’s okay. I’m pushing the Retrieve button to get the platform back.” After a pause, he continued. “Okay, I think this is locked up tight again. I don’t want to experiment too much until I have a chance to explore this thing a little more. I’ll let you bring me home, Kren.”
“Done.” Kren pressed a button. Less than three minutes later, the ship emerged from the golden fire of the portal and settled on the ground. The hatch opened, and Nex stepped out, his face alight with the biggest smile Jeannie had ever seen on anyone.
“That was amazing. Okay, who’s next?”
This time, there was no lack of volunteers. All of Jeannie’s fellow humans called out, their faces joyful at the prospect of getting home, perhaps this time for good.
* * *
Except for Jeannie, the Earthlings were returned to their planet...indeed, right to their doorsteps in each case. Kren was glad Jeannie was in no hurry to leave him. She’d insisted on being present when they attempted to free those caught in suspended animation.
His temporary pleasure in having her safe and at his side for even a few minutes more soured when he entered the room full of suspension pods. His hearts stuttered to see not only his own kind but also people like Jeannie stored away, waiting their turns to be used in unthinkable tests and experiments. When he thought of how close Jeannie had come to joining them, he felt ill. The other Risnarish faces were horrified too. This was so much worse than what they’d imagined the Monsuda to be capable of.
Arga’s cry rang out moments after he raced through the rows, checking the faces displayed in the bubble tops of the pods. Kren could hardly believe Retav, Arga’s long-lost guardian, was there after two years. Nex confirmed the elder was still alive. At the harsh cries of his partner, who clung to the pod with a desperate embrace, Jeannie clutched Kren’s hand. Tears slid down her cheeks at the prelude to their reunion, waiting on Retav to be revived.
More cries of recognition rang out as four other Risnarish of Hahz were discovered among the frozen. Three additional Risnarish were tentatively identified by the warriors from Cas who Jape had assigned to guard Kren’s people.
The largest number of victims by far were the Earthlings. Kren’s grip on Jeannie’s trembling hand tightened. He told her, “If we’d known, I’m sure the Assembly would have done something about this before now. This is against everything that Spirit stands for.”
“It’s awful. Who knows how many people have been kept and died here? Their families and friends never knowing what happened to them? At least these can go home now.”
They were interrupted by the shocking arrival of the Assembly and Hahz’s Elders Council. Elder Notlin led the group in. She gaped in blatant astonishment, as did the rest. Even Yees had a look of naked horror on her face that Kren did not think he’d forget for as long as he lived.
Kren signaled to the men from Cas to close protective ranks around the elders. Thudding his palm against his chest, he cried out, “Elders! We have not yet cleared the hive or captured the queen. You should not be in here. It is too dangerous!”
Notlin spoke to him, though her wide silver eyes never left the abomination of the room. “We needed to examine this for ourselves. We needed to see the labs. This—this—”
She stopped talking and gestured at the pods, at their senseless occupants. Tears streaked down many of the elders’ faces, male and female alike. For a few moments there was only the sound of weeping.
At last Notlin drew herself up. She tore her gaze from the pods to look at the aware Earthling among them. “Jeannie Gardner, what can I say to you? I am sorry. With all of my being, I am sorry and we will see to it that this stops. We will deal with the Monsuda and keep them from the people of Earth. We will find a way.”
Jeannie’s eyes swam with tears too. “I believe you. Please know I don’t think that you are to blame.”
Yees sniffled. “Elder Notlin, these people must be recovered and sent home at once. I will call for our scientists to take care of the matter.”
Nex joined them. He’d gone to yet another computer podium in the far corner of the room, the one member of the team who hadn’t let sentiment rob him of his need to do something rather than grieve. “I don’t think a full complement of scientists will be required. From what I can tell, we need only remove the victims from the pods and they will be all right. However, it will take hours before they return to consciousness.”
Mekay spoke up. “They don’t have hours. Other villages report that the hives near them have gone active. Thousands of drones are on the march, heading in this direction. They are using short-distance portals to move quickly. The first wave will be here within the hour.”
Kren’s stomachs twisted. “Then this is a united effort by the Monsuda to secure Earthlings for their experiments. And for colonization. They’ve been in communication all along.”
Yees’s expression was grim. “So it would seem.”
“We can remove these people from the pods and send them home before they regain consciousness,” Nex suggested. “They won’t have any idea of our involvement or how they got home though.”
“That may be for the best, especially if they don’t remember what happened to them here. Few on Earth will believe them anyway,” Jeannie said.
Kren asked, “How many are there?”
Nex calculated. “Forty-three Earthlings. The rest are animals or our people.”
Notlin looked to Kren. “It’s all we can do at this point. The other villages are sending their warriors after the coming drones to delay, but not engage. We will fight the Monsuda soon, but we need more time to prepare.”
There was little time to waste. “Men, let’s start taking the Earthlings out and getting them to the portal. After that, we’ll evacuate our own to Hahz’s temple.” He had a sudden inspiration. “Bort, you and Chal see if we can’t erect a barrier around the hive to keep the coming drones out. If we secure this place, the scientists can evaluate everything.”
Notlin nodded approvingly, as did the rest of the elders. “Excellent idea, Kren.”
“We don’t have much time, so let’s hurry.”
They moved as fast as they could. The humans were sent through the portal with Kren manning the control panel and Nex accompanying the unconscious to Earth. He took them off the saucer once they arrived at their destination and left them in places he thought would be safe and yet conspicuous enough that help would find them sooner rather than later.
They put the Earthlings on all the available stretchers they could find. The anti-gravity fields employed by the slabs used much less power than the capture fields. Power usage was monitored so that none of the victims would end up crashing to the floor.
They were halfway through evacuating the Earthlings when Jape returned. He held a huge Monsudan head by its antennae, proudly lifting it high despite the looks of revulsion the elders gave it.
It was the biggest bug head Kren had ever seen. “The queen?”
Jape grinned, his sharp canines feral in his smile. “You bet. As soon as we tagged her, the drones attacked the rest of the Monsuda and destroyed them before crumpling themselves into nothing. This hive is done.”
“Great. Enjoy your trophy. Can you and your men help to set up a perimeter around this place? We may be welcoming uninvited guests before we finish getting the Earthlings home.”
“More fighting? And it’s not even my naming day,” Jape said with joy. “Let’s go, men.”
He headed out. With things well in hand and an attack force on its way, the elders followed, heading to the safety of Hahz. “Hurry, Kren. Goodbye, Jeannie,” Notlin said on her way out. “May the All-Spirit bless the rest of your life with peace and joy.”
Kren’s pleasure at clearing out the hive vanished. He’d almost forgotten he was about to send away the woman he loved.