Beauty and the Fleet (Intergalactic Fairy Tales Book 2) (23 page)

"It's safe to assume we'll run into more of your sword-wielding friends," Beatrix said. "I also wouldn't recommend falling down. The Anthrak are pretty helpless on their own, but if you lie around, they will try and attach to you." Both Pickle and Torch shuddered. Beatrix gave them a tight-lipped grin. "I thought you'd like that extra little bit of incentive."

"I think it would be best to stay in formation for as long as possible," said Torch. "Approach with one of those pillars between us and the queen's guards, and hold off firing until they take notice of us."

They probably would have solidified their plan more if one of the spider creatures hadn't leapt out at them from the shadows. It swung its sword in a high arc that Pickle ducked just in time. Her blond hair whipped around her head as she spun and cut the creature down with a swipe across its neck. Beatrix and Torch stood there gaping. "I think that's enough planning," said Pickle. "Don't you?"

Torch and Beatrix formed up around her and took the leading edge of the triangle since they had the guns. Beatrix took her first tentative step onto the writhing mass of Anthrak. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. They didn't feel much different under her feet than the strange floor did. As long as she didn't think too much about it.

One of the tentacles they used to connect to their hosts wrapped around her ankle. She let out an involuntary squeal. She choked it off, but it was enough to draw the attention of the guards in the center of the room. The creatures let out a bellow that was so deep it was felt more as a rumble in the chest than heard. Beatrix kicked the Anthrak off her ankle. "So much for the plan," she said. "Don't stand still. That bastard grabbed me."

That's when all hell broke loose. At least three of the spiders lunged at them at the same time, appearing out of the darkness like wraiths. Pickle sprung into action, swinging her sword and diving into the fray. Beatrix just caught sight of her mad grin before she danced away into the darkness and the sounds of creatures in pain followed. Beatrix took one of the creatures down with a shot to the head and stepped to the side as its body toppled where she had stood. More of the spiders boiled out of the darkness and were met with rounds from Torch's rifle.

"We've got to move," said Torch, and headed directly toward the center of the room and the queen. Beatrix fell into step beside him and took down another of the spiders with two shots to its chest. "Pickle," Torch called. There was no answer, but spiders kept shrieking in the darkness. Another sword slashed out and caught a piece of Torch's leg. He yelped in pain and then put its owner down.

"We can't wait for her," said Beatrix. "They know where we are. They're just going to keep coming at us." She caught Torch's nod and marched forward over the bodies of the Anthrak. They groped blindly after her. "We just have to kill the queen and it's all over."

Ahead, the queen's guards stalked toward them. The closer they came, the more horrifying they looked. She'd studied biology in her search to understand more about the Colarians and none of what she'd read had prepared her for them. Their heads looked like the horrible fish you only found in the deepest parts of the ocean; all sharp, exposed teeth and huge cloudy eyes. From the neck down they were slab upon slab of muscle, with short legs and long arms that held guns the size of Beatrix's leg. Even without the guns, they would be formidable opponents.

Born of long hours working in close proximity, Torch and Beatrix moved in opposite directions, flanking their opponents without even needing to speak. Torch went right and Beatrix left. There were three fish-faces that had broken off from the main group. Two of them came her direction, the other angling toward Torch.

Taking on two opponents in a gunfight without any cover wasn't an option. Beatrix ducked behind the last pillar between her and the queen's entourage. She peeked around the side and saw that one fish-face was on target to pass right by her. It would come between her and the other one, a perfect scenario. The leeches covering the floor parted before them and then closed behind.

Beatrix returned to her hiding spot and waited, doing her best to keep her breathing calm with the leeches swarming around her feet. She had the element of surprise.

"We know you're here," said a lisping voice, only a few steps away. She wasn't sure how they could talk with such a nasty mouthful of teeth. "We can smell your stink."

It made her want to check its location again, but she resisted the urge. That was probably what it wanted, for her to reveal herself. If it knew she was behind the pillar, it would have attacked.

Sure enough, she heard the leeches slither out of the way, indicating its approach. Beatrix took a steadying breath, and the tip of fish-face's gun hovered into view. When his meaty arm was visible, Beatrix shot her gun into the thickest part of the muscle. There was an inhuman shriek and the huge weapon dropped to the floor. Beatrix stepped into the open and fired two rounds into the creature's gaping maw. It dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Now she just had to find the other fish-face.

She spun around in time to see it charge at her from the other side of the pillar, its mouth hanging open, issuing an angry hiss. Rather than gun her down, the creature held the weapon up, intent on smashing her in the head with the butt. Beatrix had just enough time to dive out of the way, and immediately regretted it. Slick Anthrak flesh enveloped her body, tentacles groping for purchase on her skin. She rolled to her feet and tore one of the slimy bastards off the back of her neck and flung it.

Fish-face number two remembered the object in his hand was a gun and leveled it at her chest. Beatrix had just enough time to cringe when a sword sprouted from his chest like a gruesome flower popping out of the soil. The gun fired, making a booming cough, but the shots went wide of their mark by several feet. Fish-face number two collapsed, revealing Pickle behind him, a wicked grin on her face. She was splashed from head to toe in blood and other less easily identified stains. There was a cut on her leg, but otherwise she was in good health.

"Thank you, Pickle," said Beatrix, her shoulders slumping in relief. "You saved my life."

"My pleasure, Sting." She pulled the blade from the creature's back and flicked her wrist to shake off the blood. "Now, let's go rescue Torch and kill the queen."

"Agreed," said Beatrix, scanning the room.

Rescuing Torch wouldn't be necessary. He'd just dispatched the fish-face that had gone his way. Which was great, because killing the queen had suddenly become a much more difficult task. While they had been fighting, dozens more monsters had gathered. There was a large complement of the spiders and several more fish-faces. Thankfully, none of the new arrivals carried guns. Most were unarmed, but a few carried swords. Beatrix and Pickle stepped through the tide of Anthrak on the floor and met up with Torch.

"Glad to see you two again," he said by way of greeting. "What are we going to do about that mess?"

The monsters were swarming around the queen in ever-changing patterns. They seemed content to surround her and look menacing, rather than spreading out to attack. Beatrix hefted the enormous gun she'd taken from one of the fish-faces. "I say we empty a couple of these into the crowd and go from there."

Torch grabbed the gun from his dead fish-face and nodded. "Pickle, I know you like your sword, but how about you get the other gun."

"You got it, Captain," she said, and retrieved the massive rifle. "Do you guys hear that?"

Beatrix tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes. There was a noise just at the edge of her hearing. It was a low rumble that she could feel in her chest more than she could hear it. "What is that?"

"I think the reinforcements have arrived," said Torch. "Form up. We do this now or we don't do it at all."

Beatrix opened her eyes and found Pickle looking back the way they'd come in. It was hard to see in the dim light, but the huge crowd of beasts swarming from both above and below was impossible to miss. She tapped Pickle on the shoulder. "The only way we make it out is if we get the queen. Nothing else matters."

Pickle turned to face the crowd around the queen and slid back the bolt on the side of her rifle. She was quite a bit shorter than Beatrix. The gun was almost as big as she was, but the fierce look of determination on her face kept it from looking ridiculous. She'd planted her sword in the spongy floor where she could easily retrieve it.

That's when Beatrix noticed that the Anthrak weren't tangling around their feet any more. They were all crowding around the queen in a writhing mass. The larger creatures paid little attention to them. "That's just disturbing," said Beatrix, raising her gun.

"Open fire," said Torch.

The rumble of their approaching demise fell into the background as the rifles exploded into life. Large flashes of fire spouted from the barrels of the guns and bullets tore their enemies to shreds. It was incredibly satisfying to watch them tumble to the ground, but they were always replaced by another. Beatrix glanced over her shoulder. The first of the monsters approaching from the rear were getting ready to lunge. She shot a few of the closest ones down. "We're out of time," she shouted over the din.

"One of us is going to have to make a run for the queen," called Torch.

"Or all of us could go," suggested Beatrix. "Torch and I could clear a hole and Pickle could slip through."

"Just don't shoot me," said Pickle, dropping her gun and taking up her sword. Before Torch could agree, she was charging into the fray surrounding the queen.

Torch signaled to Beatrix to move off to the side and he did the same. They concentrated their fire on the path directly in front of Pickle, advancing gradually until they were just out of range of the mob. Pickle lashed into the beasts with a ferocity that was frightening. Her sword bit into a neck on her left and then two legs on her right, all without stopping. Her feet climbed bodies as if they were stairs. She worked her way through the small hole Beatrix and Torch had carved, and then she dropped into a depression and was gone from their view.

One of the spider monsters lunged at Beatrix. She jumped back and gunned it down, only to feel hands groping at her from behind. They were completely surrounded. She spun and fired into the front line all around them, pushing the creatures back. It wouldn't save them to be a few feet further away, but they didn't seem to be the brightest beasts.

Beatrix heard a human scream of frustration from amid the heap of monsters surrounding the queen. She couldn't let Pickle die in there. She had to do something. Torch was firing short bursts at any creatures that dared encroach on their clear circle. Beatrix locked eyes with him and it was clear from the pain in his expression that he heard the scream too. "I'm going in," said Beatrix.

Beatrix knew there couldn't be much ammo left in the rifle, so she only fired when a creature reached for her. It was hard to keep her footing on the wriggling Anthrak and the corpses of the fallen monsters, but slowly she climbed the mound. A fish-face lunged out of the crowd around her and dropped like a stone when a bullet caught it in the head. Torch was watching out for her too. When she crested the top of the pile, Beatrix saw Pickle, dancing around two circling fish-faces. In the center of the circle was a two meter mound of Anthrak bodies, pulsing and squirming. Other creatures looked on, but it was as if they were afraid to come any closer. The queen was off limits, even during dire emergencies.

Beatrix took careful aim at the fish-face that kept circling around Pickle. She squeezed the trigger, a burst of fire tore into the thing's chest, and then the gun clicked, signaling the end of her ammunition. Pickle slashed at her last opponent, but he lurched out of reach, favoring a leg with a large gash. Beatrix stepped into the ring made by the other creatures, gawking at the surrealism of it all. She didn't drop the gun. It was the only weapon she had, and while it was out of ammo, it still made a good club.

Pickle harried the mammoth beast with her sword, driving it backward toward Beatrix. Not wanting to draw further attention to herself, Beatrix waited. When it was within a couple meters, the fish-headed beast stumbled and Beatrix took her shot, swinging the rifle at the back of its head like a baseball bat. It hit with a sickening thud and the creature dropped to the ground. Pickle was on it like lightning, finishing it with a quick jab to the heart.

"Nice job, Pickle," said Beatrix, holding her hand up for a high five.

Pickle slapped her hand and grinned. "I think I'd like it if you called me Alice," she said.

"Very well, Alice," agreed Beatrix. "Let's dig through this pile of leeches and find their queen."

Beatrix and Alice shuddered in unison and then immediately dove into the task. They each glanced furtively at the ring of creatures. Beatrix kept expecting more of them to drop into the circle and attack, but they didn't. Every few seconds, they would hear some gunfire and a whoop from Torch that told them he was still alive. Eventually, they peeled off the last of the lesser Anthrak and tossed them into the sea of churning bodies around them.

What was left behind was strange, fascinating, and disturbing. The queen of the Anthrak was the same basic shape as the others, but rather than black, its body was the color Beatrix had come to know as Colarian grey, and it was about three times the size of her inferiors. At first it was hard to tell the queen's size and shape because it was wrapped around a raised bulbous protrusion of the floor which almost matched its color. A second look revealed that the queen was attached to the protrusion in the same way that the Anthrak attached to the Leothen.

It took a while for the implications of that to sink in. They hit Alice and Beatrix at the same time. "Gross," they said in unison.

"This building is alive, and having its brain sucked on by this thing?" Alice held up her sword to strike.

Beatrix put out a hand to stop her. "May I?" she asked. A sudden rage rushed through her body, setting her blood to boil. She hadn't been thinking about revenge since she realized that she'd killed so many innocent Leothen, but there, sitting in front of her, was her father's true murderer. Her revenge would finally be complete.