Destiny (28 page)

Looking upon that inhumanly beautiful face frozen in its silent plea to the heavens, Megan could almost believe this was the same creature of legend. The bright thick snake coils that made up the woman’s lower body were brightly colored like a coral snake’s, while long claws visibly protruded from each outstretched finger. The woman’s full breasts hung free of restraints, her only clothing being an intricately crafted metal utility belt strapped around the line where the human-like body met serpent-like scales. It was kind of like the Queen of Blades meets Mother Teresa, but without the misshapen purple humanoid torso and bat-like wings. She should have been scared shitless and doing her best to see if anyone had C-4 to blow the rock to pieces before it let loose the alien in the midst of their defensive formation, but something stayed her hand. Before she could reconsider the roar of assault rifles forced her eyes back to the situation at hand as screeching howls of pain and rage blasted her eardrums.

Whipping her assault rifle up, Megan’s M4 kicked in her hands as she added her fire to the stream of bullets hammering the nightmarish creatures that suddenly strode out of the darkness into the open. Purple blood sprayed from the bullet holes that punctured the beasts’ chests and arms as round after round slammed into the advancing monsters, but although they were obviously hurting the creatures, they weren’t going down. At first, Megan had hoped that the weight of their combined firepower would drive the creatures back amongst the crystals at the edge of the clearing, but as she swapped out her empty magazine for a fresh clip, she realized that wasn’t going to happen. Already more and more of the nightmarish beasts were pushing their way into the open spaces between the outer rings of crystals, surrounding them in a solid wall of bodies as their screeching animalistic howls rose in unison like a hungry pack of wolves. There was no way this could be good.

Hollering to be heard, Megan called out her orders. “Hold your fire.” As the roar of the assault rifles stopped, her voice rang out again. “M-67 grenades on the count of three. One … two … three, fire in the hole!”

Ducking low Megan waited for a count of three seconds for the multiple concussive blasts, before bouncing back to her feet. What she expected to see was a bloody mass of mauled creatures reeling from the explosions. What she saw was a frenzied screeching rush of bleeding enraged monsters charging across the gap as everything went to shit. Without a thought, Megan’s grenade launcher barked in her hands almost at point blank range for the weapon. The explosive round blasted the nearest creature directly in the chest as the concussive backblast blew her off her feet. After that everything got fuzzy.

Megan rolled to her hands and knees coughing up blood. The ringing in her ears muted the screams coming from the soldiers around her as Megan scrambled after her assault rifle in slow motion. She was just reaching for the rifle’s handgrip when her face was driven into the rocky ground as the air whooshed out of her lungs. Immediately she was wrenched into the air. The straps of Megan’s backpack dug into her shoulders as her entire body was shaken like a rat in the jaws of a giant terrier. Megan felt the helmet rip from her head as flashes of bloody faces and screaming men fighting nightmarish creatures whipped past her face in a blur. As her helmet tumbled away, Megan slapped at her chest for the quick release clips. Gripping the smooth plastic in a death grip, she released the straps as the backpack was torn from her back.

The air was forced from Megan’s lungs as she slammed hard into the ground, nearly passing out from the pain. Something cracked in her chest as Megan pushed herself up to her hands and knees. Seeing her assault rifle in front of her, Megan dove for the weapon without a second thought. Gripping the M4 with both hands, she rolled onto her back firing as soon as she saw the glowing red eyes. Armor piercing rounds slammed into the monstrous face at point blank range as Megan wordlessly howled emptying the entire clip in one long burst, but as soon as the bullets stopped, the shrieking creature batted the rifle from her hands with a swipe of its claws. Chunks of bloody skin hung from its nightmarish face as it rose above her. Megan’s scream filled her ears as the fang-filled maw open to rip her face off when the monster’s head disappeared in a spray of blood.

The scream died on her lips as Megan was blinded by a fountain of gore spraying from the headless corpse. The sounds of combat around her were incomprehensible as Megan struggled to clear the blood from her eyes. An involuntary scream escaped her lips as powerful hands effortlessly picked her up like a child. Before she could do more than flail around blindly, she was gently set on the ground a short distance away.

Using the sleeves of her MCCUU, Megan managed to wipe enough of the blood away to meet the eyes of her rescuer as her jaw suddenly dropped open in shock. The large dark brown eyes staring down at her over the protruding brown furred muzzle were like nothing she’d seen before. There were no whites to the iris, dark brown filled the entire eye instead except for the black pupil at the center. Megan had no doubts as to what her rescuer was as her eyes goggled at the large curved horns protruding from the top of the beastman’s triangle shaped head. Her first thought was Tauren, but almost instantly the word was replaced in her mind with Minotaur as her eyes took in the ornate overlapping breastplate that covered the man’s … the male’s … the bull’s broad chest.

The Minotaur squatting before her should have terrified her, but something in those dark brown eyes calmed her fears without a saying word. The expression on the bullish face staring down at her wasn’t one of a brute wild animal or a ferocious beast, but one of empathy and intelligence. As the bull’s head turned away, Megan saw more of the anachronistic warriors fighting around them. Individually they completely devastated the nightmarish creatures with ease.

For a moment, Megan wondered if she were hallucinating. The power of the Minotaur warriors was incredible. Using large shields and curved glowing fist blades, the small group of warriors pushed back the wave of monsters with nothing but their brute strength. Megan nearly jumped out of her skin as the Minotaur’s head turned back to regard her once again, especially when one of his large gauntleted hands gripped her shoulder urgently.

“Ego Decanus Sestius Natalinus et nonam quidem legionem. Auxilium conservi bellantium hoc suis certare.”

Although the words made no sense, Megan blinked in surprise at the sound of the cultured intelligence in the Minotaur’s deep bass. It was almost as if she could make out the strange words. Before she could stutter out a reply of her own, a much large male suddenly strode into view.

Immediately, Megan’s mind labeled the new warrior as an officer. The ornate armored breastplate and fur-lined billowing white cape were obviously of a different quality than that of her rescuer’s simple gear. The Minotaur looked like a Centurion right out of the movie Gladiator. Without preamble the large male raised a spiked gauntleted fist into the air bellowing in a deep rumbling voice.

“Legionis veniat ad me … Legionis veniat ad me, Fratres, qui venerunt a somno defendere debemus et facerent sacerdos tutum!”

Megan instantly recognized the determination in the dark brown eyes of her rescuer as he released her shoulder with a grim nod. She recognized the look of honor in the bull shaped face. It was the look of a soldier prepared to die for a cause they believed in. In that split-moment, the Minotaur bending over her wasn’t just a dumb beast or animal in her eyes, but something more. Without another word, her rescuer rose to his hooves with the clanking sound of metal on metal. Hefting a massive double-headed battle-axe in his muscular arms, he strode towards the combat formation taking shape around the officer as the large bull bellowed out orders.

“Una formatio!”

Incredulously, Megan’s head jerked up in sudden comprehension. It was from her time stationed in Italy that helped her make the connection. She’d studied Latin in high school. Even though it’s a dead language, it formed the basis of most European languages. She couldn’t make out French the same as a native Spanish speakers could, but she was fluent in Italian. Thinking back, Megan translated the words the Minotaur had first spoken to her. Ego Decanus Sestius Natalinus et nonam quidem legionem … I am Legionary Sergeant Sestius Natalinus of the ninth legion … Auxilium conservi bellantium hoc suis certare … Help your fellow warriors, this is our fight ... Legionis veniat ad me, Fratres, qui venerunt a somno defendere debemus et facerent sacerdos tutum … legionnaires to me, we must defend our brothers coming out of sleep and keep the priestess safe.

Watching the handful of Minotaurs face the horde of nightmarish creatures rushing out of the darkness, Megan realized they weren’t in much better shape than her own Marines. Every one of them was injured. Most of their weapons and gear were obviously battered and worn. If they were worried about being horribly outnumbered they didn’t show it, except for the same grim determination that had been in her rescuer’s eyes. As the savage wave broke against the warriors’ line, Megan pushed herself to her feet. At first, she couldn’t have put into words exactly what drove her. Picking up her assault rifle, she loaded a fresh grenade into the launcher. There was no question that the Minotaurs had saved their asses. That they were a better choice than the savage creatures that were trying to rip them apart with their teeth and claws was an obvious yes.

Still, Megan didn’t believe in the saying “The enemy of your enemy is your friend.” That proverb had been disproved again and again throughout human history, but what stood out in her mind was the honor that Legionary Sestius Natalinus and his squad had shown her. They could have done nothing and let her people be slaughtered. It wouldn’t have cost them. If anything, it would have removed a possible enemy at their backs, but instead, against all reason, the Minotaurs had put their lives on the line to save her people. That, more than anything, had shown her the character of these creatures and it was something a Marine like her could respect.

Looking towards the seething darkness and the advancing red-glowing eyes between them and the exit, Megan gripped her assault rifle grimly as her mind focused on one thought. These Minotaurs was the single best chance she had of getting her people out of this alive. Locking n’ loading a fresh clip into her M4 she began pulling the soldiers around her to their feet screaming.

“Get your asses up Marines, we’re not out of this fight yet!”

***

Location Earth / Beth Kurwoski:

The six-hour flight to Naples was relatively uneventful. Most of Beth’s time was spent in silence due to the roar of the jet engines and the lack of sound insulation inside the cabin. On boarding, each of them was issued duel-ear noise cancelation headsets for the trip, which made talking nearly impossible.

They all received questioning looks from the combat soldiers already seated as they secured their weapons and prepared for takeoff. Klaus’ monstrous Zweihänder earned the most looks and a few derisive chuckles. The hilt and blade together had to be at least five feet long, which meant the sword was almost as long as Klaus was tall. Unconcerned about the soldiers’ sneers the native German stowed his gear away, lifting the great two-handed sword as if it weighed nothing.

Naples, on the other hand, was another story altogether. The excitement started shortly after landing. Meeting up with the Italian Ukkodians went much smoother. The two dark haired men waiting for them at the foot of the C-17’s ramp were quickly signed over to Ryan without comment, even though the men’s gear looked like something right out of a Matrix movie.

Although both men wore heavy black leathers, their styles were completely different. Fabio Lombard, the first man to introduce himself, was lean and tall with long wavy black hair that fell down his back that nearly blended in with the rune-covered, high-necked leather coat that hung down to his ankles. The buckles from the waist down were open, showing his knee-high boots and skin tight leather pants. The butt of a chrome-plated forty-five automatic hung from his waist, matching the intricate chrome-plated design on the hilt of the saber bobbing over his shoulder.

During the introduction, Fabio studied her intensely. His black eyes never leaving her face even as he was introduced to the rest of the team. The man radiated an animal-like magnetism that held her gaze. At least, until Marco Bruno stepped forward to take his place. Only then was Beth able to pull her eyes away from the man’s haunting looks.

Where Fabio was tall and sleek like a panther, Marco was short and heavily muscled with close-cropped hair and no-nonsense blue eyes. His chest was so broad that he hadn’t bothered to buckle his jacket closed, so Beth could see the silver-tooled wolf’s head worked into the leather breastplate that covered his chest and parts of the heavy pauldrons that encased his shoulders. Plain black forty-fives hung from his hips and gun-metal sword hilts with round knobbed ends stuck-up diagonally from his back on either side of his head. Everything about the man was no-nonsense, but, like Fabio, Marco’s blue eyes never left her face during the entire introductions.

While Beth had felt Klaus and the young Polish men studying her covertly during the trip, the reverent intensity from the two Italians was almost unnerving. Ryan helped defuse the edginess she felt as he got them all moving for the two V-22 Osprey’s that Mrs. Strafford had requested to be on standby for their arrival. The Marine Raiders trying to catch up to their deployed Expeditionary Unit were less than happy about the holdup. As soon as the Shore Patrol Humvees dropped them off at the waiting birds, the shit hit the fan.

“What the hell do you mean you have sixteen passengers? We’re not a civilian transport service. These are military aircraft assigned to deploy needed troops to the field. Command Sergeant Major Thompson has already ordered us to be in the air by zero three hundred hours with or without your group and it’s already zero two hundred fifty.” Turning around the Sergeant called out over his shoulder as he headed for his squad waiting at the base of the Osprey’s ramp. “It looks like you’re going to have to catch another flight out to Santorini for your people. This one’s already booked.”