Forged in Shadow Read online

  A tight ring of people had formed around the two fighters. Arin thought she even saw some miners discreetly exchanging bets. She rolled her eyes. Without proper order and structure, the situation had rapidly descended into a regular shitfight.

  On Fortuna Tau, they’d had rules, routines, and consequences. Space mining attracted a rough crowd, but they were kept in line by the fact that if they didn’t co-operate, they would lose their jobs.

  Now, they had nothing to lose.

  Arin squeezed through the crowd, using the weight of her pack and the mean appearance of her rocket launcher to force people to step aside. She reached the edge of the ring and dropped her pack. She rested the launcher on the floor beside the pack and removed her link-band, stashing it in one of the pack’s outer pockets. It was just in case she had to hit someone. If she broke it, it would be her third one this year, exhausting her military allocation. The damn things were expensive to buy.

  People respectfully stepped away from her stuff, giving her a bit of room. To her relief, there were no Xargek; this was just a common brawl, albeit a bit one-sided.

  Arin drew her bolt-pistol from inside her flight jacket and dashed into the makeshift ring. The big man called Grogan was chasing the slender woman around, trying to grab her with his huge arms, but the woman was too fast. Arin saw an opening and rushed at Grogan, intercepting him as he lunged. “Stop,” she said coldly, pointing the gun at his head.

  “What the…?” Grogan growled. He blinked, stopping dead in his tracks. “Stay out of this, lady.”

  “What’s the meaning of this, Grogan?”

  “None of your business, peacekeeper.” His pupils were dilated, and a network of fine red blood vessels crossed his sclera. He had the look of a long-term Spike user. “You’re only acting tough because you’ve got that thing in your hand. Wait until you run out of bolt-charge, beautiful. You won’t be able to do shit.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Arin had had enough. It had been a long day, and she’d really had enough. She stashed her gun and strode forward, catching Grogan by surprise. As she got close, she rushed at him, crouching down and grabbing one of his thick legs. Using all her strength, she lifted his leg and pushed him backwards, executing a neat single-leg takedown. Grogan cried out in alarm as he lost his balance and toppled to the ground, landing heavily on his back.

  “Oof!” The air left his lungs in a sudden whoosh as Arin brought her elbow down onto his torso in a savage blow, making him curl up into a ball. While he writhed in pain, she used her advantage to restrain him in a vicious shoulder lock.

  “What was that again, citizen?” Arin squeezed, and Grogan cried out in pain. “Can’t do shit, huh? I don’t need a gun to deal with your sort. I’ll ask you again. What’s going on here?”

  The crowd had erupted into jeers and catcalls. Arin ignored them.

  Grogan’s face had turned red. He wheezed and spluttered. “Th- the bitch stole my space-sausage!” he blurted, pointing his chin towards the woman, who was standing warily at the edge of the ring.

  “That’s bullshit,” she retorted. “He blames me for everything that goes wrong. I saw it fall off the grill and into a grease-gutter. His fat ass knocked it off the grill and he didn’t even realize.”

  Arin twisted Grogan’s arm. “I don’t care whether she stole your space-sausage or not. We’re not going to turn into animals over a piece of artificial meat.”

  “B-but…”

  As Arin twisted harder, releasing some of her pent-up frustration, she noticed that the raucous cries from the crowd had died down. Everything had gone quiet. Thee heavy rasp of Grogan’s breathing suddenly seemed very loud, and she could hear her own pulse thudding in her ears.

  An eerie stillness swept across the floor, and slowly, people began to back away, fear etched onto their faces.

  A shadow fell across Arin, causing her to look up. Her jaw dropped. “When did you get here?”

  Cheerful darkness crouched down beside her in the form of a Kordolian named Rykal. Grogan went stiff in her arms, not daring to move.

  Rykal glanced up towards the ceiling. “There’s quite the network of walkways up there.”

  “You jumped down from there?” Arin could barely make out the metal walkways dangling overhead. They were so far up in the ceiling of the giant hold that they were almost invisible in the shadows. It had to be at least a fifty-foot drop from up there.

  “Better to avoid the crowds, don’t you think?” Rykal smiled, his fangs gleaming.

  Sighing, Arin released her hold on Grogan. “If I hear of any more fighting, I’ll lock you in one of the lower cargo holds. Now get the fuck out of here,” she hissed, stepping up off him. He rose unsteadily to his feet and did exactly that, hastily scampering off to whatever bolt-hole he’d emerged from.

  In the space of barely a few minutes, all of the Humans had disappeared.

  Rykal was a dark, sleek cat amongst wayward pigeons. He stood, once again invading Arin’s personal space. He had a knack for getting just a little too close for comfort.

  “Formidable,” he remarked, studying her with a lazy half-lidded gaze. There was a note of approval in his voice. “It’s good to have you back.”

  He was so close that Arin could see the tiny flecks of brown threading through his brilliant irises. He was so close she could smell him. He reminded her of the early morning in winter, when icicles hung from branches like perfectly formed shards of glass.

  He was so close she could feel his presence; dark and deadly yet somehow reassuring, like a guardian devil.

  He was infinitely distracting, and if Arin were the impulsive sort, she might have been tempted to stare. As it was, she satisfied herself with a quick little glance at his ripped body, meeting his eyes before he got even the smallest inkling of what was on her mind.

  Damnit, Arin, not now!

  She couldn’t afford to get distracted right now. “What do you want, Rykal?”

  “I need some Human assistance,” he said in a low voice. “We have a minor emergency.”

  “Have you contained the Xargek?”

  “For now,” he said. “We killed a few, but the others have retreated into space. There are at least three mature ones left. They will regroup and attack again. It’s only a matter of time. In the meantime, we’re losing oxygen.”

  “Hull breach?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you need someone to fix it?”

  “Yes.”

  “We might be able to isolate the area and shut it off.” Arin thought fast. “Get me navigation,” she said, activating her comm.

  “Sergeant Varga?” She recognized the voice of one of the navigators; she remembered his face, but she’d forgotten his name.

  “Have you detected a pressure leak in any of the lower decks?”

  “Yeah. In the refueling pod. We tried to isolate it, but the damn doors ware jammed; they wouldn’t close.”

  “They’re not jammed anymore,” Rykal said, a cryptic expression crossing his face. “We removed the offending object.”

  Arin raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity, but didn’t press the issue. “Are your people out of there?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Try again, Navigator,” Arin ordered. “Shut the area off.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” There was a murmur of voices in the background. The navigator let out a surprised snort, then a pause. “Huh. It worked this time. Airlock doors are closed. The pressure leak’s been confined to the refueling pod.”

  “Thank you, Navigator.” She turned to Rykal. “There you are. Fixed. Now what are you going to do about the remaining Xargek? They’ll keep attacking, won’t they?”

  “They’re not stupid. They’ll search for an easier entry point. They’ll try to take us by surprise. This is a big freighter, Arin. There’s only so much area we can cover at one time. The plan’s changed. It’s time to force the hand of your leaders, Sergeant. Tell them they can send in rescue crews. We won’t harm the host
ages, as long as they don’t impede our passage to Earth.”

  For some reason, she believed him. The Kordolians could be savage, but they seemed to take keeping their word seriously. But these things were never simple. “So what’s the catch?”

  “We’re coming to Earth whether they like it or not. If they want to shoot us down, they can say goodbye to any chance of ridding their planet of Xargek. Oh, and as you know, three of my comrades have already made it to Earth. I’m assuming your people have no idea where they are right now. Cross us, attack us, shoot at us, try to kill us, and they will rain hell on your people. And don’t even get me started about what will happen when our General gets back.” Rykal smiled, but his eyes were hard.

  Arin blinked. “Why didn’t you just say all that in the first place?”

  “We wanted to give the Humans enough time to understand the situation, and we wanted them to feel they were negotiating on even terms. I am sure that by now they’ve tried to contain the Xargek and failed. Now, they understand what they’re up against.” Rykal’s expression became distant. “Whenever we turn up unannounced, civilizations tend to try and throw everything they have at us. It usually doesn’t end well.”

  Arin struggled to read him. The smile crossing his face didn’t touch his eyes. His attitude towards her people was a mixture of indifference and pragmatism, combined with a certain arrogance.

  We’re here now, and we can do whatever the fuck we want.

  That was how Kordolians treated the rest of the Nine Galaxies. It was starting to piss her off. “So you’ve just been hanging out up here while people on Earth have been dying?” The Xargek had already claimed dozens of lives. They’d emerged in the sandy deserts of North Africa, and no-one had been able to discover where they were hiding.

  Rykal gave her a long, hard look. “Perhaps you should ask your leaders those questions instead. We’ve made our intentions clear. We were ready to kill them from the start. We’re just waiting for an official invitation. I’m actually surprised it’s taken them this long. You Humans seem to be capable of great indifference towards your own kind. In evolutionary terms, that’s a failing.”

  Touché.

  His words sent a tiny chill down Arin’s spine, countering the heat she felt pooling between her legs. She’d been trying to fight that sensation ever since he’d appeared beside her. A super-evolved, biologically enhanced killer was lecturing her about her race’s evolutionary failings, and all she could do was secretly admire his exotic, chiseled looks. She forced herself to think rationally. “You’re a handful of soldiers against an entire planet. Do you really think you could subjugate the entire Human race?”

  “Subjugate?” Rykal inclined his head, a quizzical look crossing his face. “We haven’t been ordered to subjugate anyone. All we want to do is eliminate the Xargek before they take over your entire planet and turn it into a giant breeding nest. We like Earth better when Humans are running it, but if we’re attacked, whether it be by Xargek or Humans, we’ll fight to the death each and every time.”

  Rykal’s alien logic was doing her head in. Arin tried to see it from his perspective. The Kordolians didn’t really care whether Humans lived or died. All they wanted to do was kill the Xargek. There were nine of them and over eight billion Humans, yet they thought they could hold Earth to ransom.

  Because they possessed something Humans desperately needed.

  They alone held the ability to eliminate Earth’s latest scourge and Humanity’s direst threat, the Xargek.

  They had no escape vessels and no galactic fleet to back them up, yet they thought they could waltz their super-evolved, Callidum wielding asses into Earth and do whatever they liked.

  Talk about having giant-sized alien cojones.

  “So your boss will return at some point, and I assume he won’t be turning up without backup. If you succeed in eliminating all the Xargek, what then? Are you just going to leave us in peace?” Somehow, Arin got the feeling Earth wouldn’t ever be the same again.

  “Doubtful,” Rykal said nonchalantly. “Your planet’s too much of a catch to leave alone. I’m surprised no advanced civilization has claimed it yet.”

  “Huh,” Arin blurted, suddenly becoming aware of the ridiculousness of this conversation. It was unnerving to know that in the grand scheme of the Universe, Humans weren’t considered an ‘advanced civilization.’

  Arin’s unease must have shown, because Rykal placed a hand on her shoulder. Even though his hands were covered by his strange armor, which extended to form seamless black gloves, his touch sent an electric thrill through her.

  The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose, and Arin shuddered.

  He was the enemy. Why did he make her feel like this?

  “No matter what happens,” Rykal said softly, moving his hand so that his fingers grazed the bare skin of her neck, “I would not allow anything to happen to you, Sergeant Arin.”

  Chapter Nine

  She stepped away from him, turning to retrieve her pack and that ridiculous cumbersome weapon she’d been lugging around. For the shortest, sweetest moment, he’d connected with her, vowing he would keep her safe.

  Unable to resist, he’d reached out to brush his gloved fingers against the smooth skin of her neck, and he’d been pleased when her body had reacted.

  She’d tried not to show it.

  She was trying to be professional, but he knew. She couldn’t hide it from him.

  He’d seen the ripple of pleasure that had coursed through her, raising fine bumps on the luscious skin of her neck. Sweet, soft, Human skin. He wanted to put his lips there. He wanted to break her skin with his fangs and leave his mark. For one brief, glorious moment, their eyes had met, and for the first time, he’d seen a crack in the ice.

  Then she’d turned away, all business and efficiency as usual. Rykal stood in the center of a cavernous hall housing thousands of Humans and watched as the female who’d captured his attention bent to retrieve her belongings.

  He’d become slightly obsessed with watching her. He’d watched her from his vantage point in the ceiling as she’d decked that big, stupid Human male. Seeing her fight had brought his raging erection back. She was magnificent.

  He stole another look now as she turned away from him. Her fitted black suit stretched around the curves of her hips and her toned ass as she moved, and Rykal exercised all his self-control to hide his lust. His arousal was a wild, fierce thing. Its intensity was akin to the fierce killing intent that had consumed him back there when that silly old Human had pointed a missile at him, risking Arin’s safety in the process.

  It had come upon him like an atmospheric storm, swift and sudden and unexpected.

  Lust and violence. He realized now that the two were connected. They came from the same deep, savage place.

  It had taken Rykal so long to learn self-control, much longer than the others. He’d taken more beatings from the General than anyone else.

  Now, his hard-won self-control was threatening to unravel. He wagered it would only be a matter of time before he got the dreaded Mating Fever.

  “I’m going to put in a call to the Federation,” Arin informed him, “but I need to go somewhere private, where I can access secure line. Not here. Follow me.” She slung her pack over one shoulder. The long missile-thing rested on her other shoulder. Both items appeared heavy and bulky.

  “May I assist?” Rykal hovered by her side, gesturing towards the launcher-thing. It didn’t seem right that she was carrying all those heavy things when he had his hands free.

  Unexpectedly, Arin snorted in amusement. “You want me to hand over an EI rocket launcher to your scary looking ass in full view of everyone? That would not be a good look, soldier, but thanks for the offer.”

  He had to admit, she had a point.

  “I’ve humped heavier loads than these over much rougher terrain, so relax. We’re just going up to the communications room, anyway.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you have any more Xargek to ki
ll?”

  “Not right now.”

  “No rowdy Humans to guard?”

  “They’ve been surprisingly well behaved ever since…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

  “No take-over-the-world secret strategy meetings to attend with your boys?”

  “We’ve figured out our plan. We understand one another. There’s nothing further to discuss.”

  She regarded him with an odd look as they passed rows and rows of empty cargo containers, shaking her head slightly. Humans occupied some of the empty containers, which sat on long metal tracks. Strange smells reached Rykal’s sensitive nose. There was the typical slightly unpleasant Human-smell. It combined with the aroma of roasting food and the lingering scent of processed metal. Hushed whispers followed them, uttered in strange, exotic tongues.

  It took a great deal of walking, but they finally reached a wide elevator. Its doors slid open as Arin touched her hand to a panel beside it. The panels didn’t work for Rykal and his team. They had to make do with the labyrinthine stairwells and hidden passageways that riddled the freighter.

  They stepped inside the elevator, and the doors slid closed. Arin stood in one corner, staring straight ahead and keeping a slight distance away from him as the elevator groaned and started to ascend.

  “You were excellent,” Rykal said, admiration creeping into his voice.

  “Excuse me?” Arin turned to him, looking slightly perplexed.

  “The way you controlled the situation, asserting your dominance. When that big oaf tried to disrespect you, you smacked him down. You are not one to waste time.”

  If she was at all moved by his praise, she didn’t show it. “We have a time-bomb on our hands,” she said quietly. “Any dissent has to be stamped out quickly. It’s been a while since I’ve had to manage a full-scale riot, but as time goes on, those people down there are going to get more and more volatile.”

  “Sounds like it’s time to go,” Rykal said, moving closer to her. “We’ll use that Human transport to enter Earth; the one you returned on.”